DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
The crowd in the stadium had gone from violently hostile to openly enthusiastic in a matter of minutes. Tiamon's unexpected appearance on the tower had succeeded in doing what the guards could not ... quelling the riot. The young Euloean smiled and waved, as he searched the stage for his adversary. Vraxas, however, was nowhere to be seen. The older man had fled the moment Tiamon's name began to be chanted. Although back from the brink of death, Tiamon was still very weak. Marne kept a supporting hand unobtrusively glued to his friend's elbow as the young Lord acknowledged his supporters. "Marne, I do not see Vraxas anywhere." Tiamon spoke to his friend quietly, never taking his eyes off the crowd.
Marne leaned closer. "It would not surprise me to find him already out of the city."
"At night? With the Redcaps so near?"
The little man frowned. "True. It would indeed be foolhardy for anyone to venture outside the walls alone right now. But don't worry, Laro and Elden will find him."
Tiamon nodded, turning his attention to Sam and Teal'c on the stage below. "Marne, I am concerned about our friends. They should be relieved to be found innocent, and I know they were glad to see me well. But something is not right."
Marne studied the figures below. "Sam and Teal'c were very concerned about Daniel, but he is with them below. I will go find out. Will you be all right here by yourself? You are still weak."
"I'll be fine, Marne. Don't worry, I'll just sit and wave until the people calm themselves."
Sam's mind whirled as she listened to Daniel's words. O'Neill, injured? All this time she'd been thinking it was Daniel. Guilt threatened to overwhelm her emotions as she recalled wondering why the colonel had not come to Daniel's aid. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to concentrate on Daniel's brief description of the colonel's condition. Broken leg, broken collar-bone. Okay, well O'Neill wouldn't be walking anywhere anytime soon. Even with a crutch or a cane, the broken collar-bone would make traveling difficult at best. "Daniel! You said broken bones? How about bleeding, concussion?"
"He may have a concussion, but he's not bleeding. God. We've got to get back to him, the beasts..."
"The Redcaps know of his location?" Teal'c's normally placid voice held an unusual note of concern.
"Yes, they attacked us last night. Jumped into the cellar. But I had to leave him this morning to get help. He couldn't travel. Please, we've got to hurry. I left Jack my ammo, but I don't know if he had enough..."
"Whoa, Daniel," Ferretti interrupted the frantic flow of words, "there's no way to leave until dawn. It's just too dangerous."
Sam bristled at his words. "Major, this isn't a stranger. This is Colonel O'Neill we're talking about."
"I understand that, Major," Ferretti emphasized her rank slightly as he replied. "But my team has spent one night in the open surrounded by those things. It was only because we had some scant cover near the 'gate that we managed to survive."
"But..." The objection came simultaneously from Daniel and Sam.
Ferretti shook his head. "No. O'Neill will have my hide if I put his team in danger needlessly."
"Needlessly?" Daniel was furious. "Jack wouldn't..."
"Yes, he would." Ferretti replied with a forced calm that in no way reflected his true feelings. The fact that Jack O'Neill had not even attempted to accompany Daniel spoke volumes about the colonel's condition. "And since I'm the ranking officer, something you need to remember, Daniel, we're staying here until it's safe to travel."
"Your comrade is correct. You will do your injured friend no good if you die in the attempt to reach him. However, there might be a way to help him or at least leave earlier than first light." Marne had arrived in time to hear some of the argument. He motioned to the crowds below, their chants growing louder with each wave from Tiamon. "Let us take this discussion indoors where we do not have to speak quite so loudly. Lord Tiamon will join us as soon as he is able."
If anything, it was darker than before, leaving Jack wondering how much longer until dawn. He didn't know when the moon had gone down, but it terrified him that he hadn't even noticed. Just how long had he been in lala land anyway? God. Those...those things could have charged up the stairs and ripped his throat out before he could've even reacted. Hell, for what it was worth he could've taken the morphine - he couldn't have been any more unaware than he'd been a few moments ago. And he was quite certain he'd be feeling a lot less pain.
Jack sighed heavily, and shifted slightly away from the wall, trying to stretch unused, stiff muscles. He gasped audibly, and clamped down on his lower lip to stifle a groan as his good leg contorted into a cramp. Frantically, he stretched the offending leg out, and twirled his ankle, cursing under his breath as the muscles tried to tie up in knots. For a moment he almost lost his grip on his weapon, but the noises coming from below served as a pointed reminder of his predicament.
The growls in the cellar increased in volume, but at least none of the creatures had made a move toward the stairs since the first had fallen backwards through the doorway very, very dead. As his leg muscles began to relax, Jack breathed a sigh of relief and turned his full attention back to the creatures. He could hear the snuffling noises as the things continued to investigate their most recent fatality. With a start, he suddenly realized the creatures were ... afraid. Okay, that was fair. So was he.
"Okay, how? When?" The words tumbled from Daniel's mouth as the small group entered the sanctuary of the council chambers. From this sanctuary the cheers from the stadium were no more than whispers in the night.
Marne smiled grimly. "The Redcaps are very sensitive to light. Normal torch light does not affect them. However, enough of them in close proximity have been known to keep them at bay."
"Great! If we put enough torches together, we can..."
"How many torches?" Ferretti interrupted Daniel's excited words.
"If all your people go, plus myself as guide, then two to three apiece should be sufficient."
"And our equipment? Our weapons? Packs?"
"They shall be returned to you, but I do not know how you will carry all your things and two torches each."
Sam smiled and slapped her forehead. "The flashlights. You're thinking of the flashlights, aren't you Major?"
Ferretti nodded. "We noticed last night that the beam frightened the things. If we attach the flashlights to our packs, then we should be able to cut down to the SG teams carrying only one torch. We still have a problem, though."
"What?"
"Jack needs medical attention." Ferretti didn't bother to voice his fear that the man was already dead. "And the DHD won't work."
"What is this 'DHD'?" Marne asked suspiciously.
"The pedestal with the symbols from the 'gate on it."
"Oh. I can help you here as well." Marne held up his hand to forestall their comments. "When word came down that the Goa'uld had returned, some of the crystals were replaced with false ones. We will take the real ones with us when we leave."
"And how quickly can that be?" Sam asked quickly.
"We cannot be ready in under a hour's time."
"A hour? A HOUR? Jack's hurt! We don't have an hour!" Daniel's frantic protest was stilled by a firm hand on his shoulder. The young man turned to glare at Teal'c.
The Jaffa ignored the angry look. "Daniel Jackson, if we are remiss in our preparations, then Colonel O'Neill will not be the only one to suffer. You know as well as I that he would prefer his team to be safe."