The Barque of Heaven

by Stargate

  "Big, stinky monster," Jack agreed.

  "Big, stinky monster that can use Goa'uld technology, so therefore probably intelligent." They had found two of the expired grenades in the sand.

  "Which makes them more or less dangerous?"

  Daniel considered that and shrugged; no easy answer there.

  "One of these tracks is much deeper than the other," Jack pointed out. "My bet is that one's got Teal'c. We have less than five hours to trail them, rescue Carter and Teal'c, find the password and address and get out of this sandpit." He looked at Daniel and saw the man he was now, far removed from the sneezy dweeb who had homed in on their first mission.

  "We'll split up," Jack decided. He pushed himself to his feet and Daniel turned away from the sea. "You follow the tracks along the shore, Daniel. That's probably the one with Carter. You may have to carry her back if she's incapacitated."

  "Well, I hope you don't have to carry Teal'c back."

  "Hey, you and my knees both. Teal'c's got the greater chance of being mobile though. Now, Teal'c's taught us both a fair bit about tracking. Take it easy, but don't go too slow. Keep your earpiece in, Carter and Teal'c will try to contact us if they're able and if you have any problems, you call me. Okay?"

  "You're sure about this?" Daniel took the extra zat that Jack dug out of Teal'c's pack and one of the purloined Tacs.

  "I don't like splitting up, Daniel, but we're two hours behind them already. They may turn out to be fifteen minutes away. They could be hours away. We might rescue one of them and then what? Go and leave the other one here or all stay and fight off stinky monsters? Separating is the best option we've got."

  Daniel nodded slowly. "Wonder why they didn't take us?"

  "Maybe `cos you smell bad? Or... we... smell bad."

  "And Teal'c smells so sweet," Daniel grinned.

  "Oh, you betcha." Jack stashed their teammate's packs in a shallow scoop of dune. "I'm not even going to comment on what Carter smells like."

  "No, not if you value your health."

  Jack stood, settled his pack and picked up the staff weapon. "Ten minute check-ins. Be careful."

  Daniel bobbed his head, returning the sentiment. "You too."

  For over an hour Daniel jogged along the fore dunes, tracking the widely spaced footprints of whatever had taken Sam. For the most part it had made no attempt to hide its path, but Daniel had lost the trail three times, backtracking with increasing anxiety until picking it up once more. The bruising on his left side, from being thrown out of the Stargate on the previous world, was a dull, annoying throb that joined the chorus of complaints from his legs and abraded back. Still, he pushed on doggedly, breathing around the pain, trying not to limp as the healing gash in his thigh stretched and pulled with every step. His whole body ached with tiredness, but it was unimportant-he had to find Sam, or was it Teal'c? -and bring them safely back to the Stargate.

  A patch of loose sand gave under his feet and he fell and slid on his rump down a dune. The temptation to lie there, close his eyes and sleep for a moment was agonizing. Daniel groaned and rolled over, got his feet under him and clawed his way back to the top. At least it was a moment's respite from the battering wind coming off the ocean. He crawled up to the crest of the dune and sat to indulge in a precious sip of water. The canteen was less than half-full now, something else to worry about. Daniel creaked to his feet and pushed on, following the big footprints that were slowly being filled by sand.

  Ten minutes later he found proof that Jack's assumptions were right. A small black box lay in the sand behind one of the footprints. An SGC-issue radio. Relieved, he sank to the ground and activated his own radio.

  "Jack, do you read?"

  "Go ahead, Daniel. " Jack's voice came back to him, muffled by the background howl of the wind.

  "I found a radio, one of ours."

  "Is it damaged? "

  "No. It may have just fallen loose."

  "Good work, Daniel. Keep going. "

  "Okay. Out."

  On he went, feet sliding in the unstable dunes, his skin leeched dry by the salt-laden wind. Thirty-five minutes on, the trail suddenly angled inland, through small, sparse scrub toward a stand of tough-looking trees, all leaning defensively away from the wind.

  "Jack? I'm heading inland now, looks like it's gone towards the trees."

  "Acknowledged, Daniel. Remember you'll be more visible in greenery. Stay low, scope it out before you move. "

  "Okay. How are you doing?"

  "I'm in the trees already. Rain's coming down. Check-in again in ten. "

  "Roger that."

  Jack chuckled down the airwaves. "You coming over all military, Doctor Jackson?"

  "Been hanging around you too long," Daniel admitted. "Bye."

  Keeping as low as possible, Daniel moved toward the trees, leaving the beach to stretch endlessly on behind him.

  It was raining again. Runoff poured in over each side of his prison, sending rivulets of mud splashing into the pit. Teal'c failed to suppress a shiver that crawled over his entire body. Unable now to sit down as the water steadily rose around his legs, he ended another fruitless attempt to raise the team on the radio and leaned against one wall. He was trapped, simply and efficiently. He shivered again. His symbiote stirred weakly, unable to stop the slow drop in his body temperature.

  "Lahntil." The word slipped out, its meaning unknown and no help to him here.

  This enforced impairment and imprisonment filled him with anger. Teal'c eyed a patch on the rim of one wall not being eroded by sluicing water. He focused, mind and body concentrated, willing strength into chilled muscles. Bending his knees he sprang, legs powering him up the side of the muddy wall, hands outstretched and grasping, clawing for a grip in the soft earth. His fingers sank in and held; his feet slipped and scrabbled for purchase.

  So close-mere inches from the top. Teal'c grimaced with the effort. Oh, so carefully, he slid his left hand up, aiming for a chunk of rock only slightly higher. His fingers brushed it, then with nature's cruel irony the soil supporting his right hand gave way and he fell back in a muddy torrent.

  "Grrhh!" On his knees in freezing water, Teal'c let frustration take hold momentarily.

  Denied the reassurance that the other three were even still alive, he could do nothing but wait. Eventually whoever had placed him in this predicament would return, perhaps presenting an opportunity for escape and then he would be able to go to the assistance of his teammates.

  Sam peered through barely open eyelids as the person-creature-stopped moving. Beyond its furry rump she spotted a clearing in the dense trees. It huffed and muttered to itself, in gentle, almost musical cadences. Surreptitiously, she tensed and prepared to slide off its shoulder and make a run for freedom.

  There was a clang from somewhere behind her that sounded definitely metallic. Jerking up, she grabbed for purchase on the creature's shoulder as its huge hands clutched painfully around her waist, and found herself flying through the air. Then she was falling. She came away with two handfuls of fur and managed to deliver a stinging kick to its chest before landing hard inside a barred cage.

  Sam surged up instantly, only to be smacked down by a furry paw. The lid of the cage banged down and she was trapped.

  "No! Dammit, I'm not your enemy."

  The creature stepped back and she got her first real look at it-nearly three meters tall, solid muscle covered by glossy brown fur. Big brown eyes looked back at her. Its head was decorated in a wreath of twisted vines.

  "Please. Do you understand me?"

  It turned away, unheeding. Picking up a coiled rope, it pulled and her cage creaked up to dangle from the overhanging branches, high off the ground.

  "Whoa, hey! Will you listen to me? I'm not here to hurt you."

  Well, that much is painfully obvious.

  "We're peaceful explorers," she added lamely to the creature's back as it shuffled out of sight. "Nuts."

  Soft mist continued to drizzle down on Teal'c
's head, the rain not stopping completely. The water pouring in over the edge of his pit was not abating, however. It cascaded in little muddy waterfalls, bringing the level now up to his thighs. The cold was seeping into his very bones and the expected counteraction from his symbiote was not forthcoming; it seemed to be merely creating enough energy to warm itself.

  Teal'c pushed aside his physical discomfort and refocused on his connection to the Books of Djehuti. He had unlocked a store of knowledge in this unknown language. The initial confused chatter in his mind had subsided and with a little experimenting, Teal'c found if he thought of a word or sentence it immediately translated into a beautiful melodious dialect. With each word came an intricate and complex script, the written version of the language.

  Using his considerable powers of concentration, Teal'c pictured the writings on the walls in Ernest Littlefield's fortress, but none bore any resemblance to the elegant script remembered so clearly. Despite his dire situation, Teal'c smiled in wonder and desperately wished to share and discuss his discoveries with Daniel Jackson. Was this what his young friend felt as he explored the intricacies of a new-found language? It was exhilarating, liberating.

  And he had denied Daniel Jackson this joy.

  The smile left Teal'c's face as he acknowledged that he had, by seeking to avert physical harm, caused a deeper wounding of his friend.

  Jack moved steadily through the trees, weapon ready, eyes darting from the occasionally still-visible footprint to the gloomy shadows around him. The rain, which seemed to sweep over him in broken showers every twenty minutes, was once again pouring down. Water cascaded off the brim of his hat and down the back of his neck.

  He cranked up the pace, painfully aware of every second ticking by. Nearly five hours gone now, a little less than two and a half remained before they were locked out for good.

  "Jack?" Daniel's voice crackled in his ear. "Come in, Jack. 11

  "Read you, Daniel. Go ahead."

  "I've found Sam. She's alive and okay, I think. "

  Jack took cover under a bush. "Any sign of what grabbed her?"

  "No. There's nothing in sight. She's in a cage, Jack, hanging from the trees in a clearing. "

  "Could be using her as bait, Daniel. Be careful. Can she see you?"

  "No, I'm under cover. She's doing something -I think she trying to break out. "

  "See if you can get close enough to talk to her. Find out where and what took her. Stay under as much cover as you can and watch your back."

  "Okay. "

  Jack slipped out of his own cover and pushed on.

  Several minutes later, Daniel whispered, 'Tin as close as I can get. I'll try and get her attention. "

  The slim path Jack had been following bent around one of the densely foliaged trees. He slowed and edged along, to find himself staring into a clearing some six meters wide. Set dead center, a large square hole gaped blackly. Runoff from the never-ending rain ran in channels from every direction, following a natural depression in the clearing to pour with alarming volume into the hole.

  And Jack just knew what he would find at the bottom.

  Daniel crept as near to the cage as he dared. Still no sign of whatever it was that had kidnapped Sam. He picked up a stone and carefully sighted on her. She had her back to him, concentrating on doing something to her prison. Gently he lobbed the stone. It fell through the widely spaced bars and hit her back.

  For a moment he thought she had not felt it, then her head slowly turned in his direction. Her eyes widened as she saw him. Careful not to move too much, she waggled her fingers at him.

  Daniel waved back, then silently mouthed, "Okay? "

  Sam nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

  "How many?"

  She held up one finger.

  "Where? " He mimicked a walking motion with his fingers.

  She pointed to a gap in the trees, ninety degrees from Daniel's position.

  He nodded, then tried to get a better look at the cage and the rope holding it. He fished out his knife and held it up.

  Sam shook her head and held up her own pocket knife. She pointed to the blade then indicated the cage bars.

  Daniel nodded in understanding. Metal cage-no cutting through it then. Keeping a careful watch on the undergrowth around him, he crawled closer. The rope, a dirty twisted thing, was secured to a rusted pole out in the clearing. Gingerly, he crawled over to it, hoping to cut through it quickly.

  He touched the rope and all hope of a fast rescue evaporated. It was a cable, made of fine strands of wire, strong and utterly unbreakable. Daniel looked up at Sam and gestured helplessly.

  "Metal," he whispered.

  Sam grimaced, her face closing over in thought. Daniel sidled back into the trees and called Jack.

  "Jack? I've got a problem. "

  "Seems to be the day for them, Danny." Jack crouched next to the pit, staring down. Well, at least he'd found Teal'c and he was unharmed. He might be standing chest-deep in water, twelve feet down, but he was alive. "I found Teal'c."

  "You did? Is he alright?"

  "For the moment."

  "Oh. Uh, Sam's in a metal cage, which is secured by a metal cable. I can't cut her free. "

  Jack looked at Teal'c, staring bleakly up at him. "Back in a flash, T." Returning to the cover of the trees, he unhitched his pack and rummaged through it.

  "Daniel? Get out the Tac. Set it to cover you while you free Carter. You're going to have to use the zat to fry the lock. Gun's too noisy and the ricochet might hit one of you."

  "Jack the cable will conduct the charge. It'll hit Sam. "

  "Can't be helped, Daniel." He pulled out a length of climbing rope and his own Tac. "You need to get her out of there, ASAP."

  "Jeez. " Daniel's voice clearly carried his revulsion at the thought of hurting Sam. "Remind me to pack some of those flash things next mission. "

  "Will do. It's only temporary, Daniel. Get it done and get moving."

  "Yeah. "

  Daniel clicked off and Jack swiftly got on with his own rescue attempt. He secured one end of the rope to the base of a tree and clipped a karabiner to his belt. He looped the rope around his waist, through the karabiner and leaving the pack hidden in the trees, dashed back out into the clearing. He set the Tac to cover the area behind him. Moving back to the pit, he found Teal'c patiently waiting for him. The water was lapping ever higher and had to be uncomfortable to stand in.

  "How're you doing, Teal'c?"

  "I am... quite cold, O'Neill,"

  "I'll bet." Jack read that as `near frozen'. "Daniel's found Carter. She's up a tree. He'll have her loose in no time. Any idea what these things are?"

  "None. I awoke here. There was no-one else in sight. My radio is damaged and I was unable to contact you."

  "Damn things never hold up like they should."

  Jack swiftly settled the rope, and using himself as belay point, flung the remainder down to Teal'c. He backed up and braced himself, feet none too secure in the channels gouged by the runoff flowing into the pit.

  "All set, Teal'c. C'mon up."

  The rope jerked and Jack found himself skidding as the slick sides of the pit gave no purchase for Teal'c to take some of his weight on the climb. Jack let the anchor rope support him and hauled with all his might, the rope slowly sliding up and through the karabiner.

  A lot of grunting and effort finally produced Teal'c's mudcovered hands, groping at the rim.

  "Nearly there, big guy," Jack ground out.

  Teal'c replied but his words were lost as automated fire lanced out from the Tac. Startled, Teal'c slid back several inches, dragging Jack off-balance. He barely managed to lock the rope off before his feet slid out from under him and he was pulled to his knees. The Tac fired again. Jack craned his head and caught a flash of something big, brown and furry. It bellowed: pain, fear, anger? Thankfully it came no closer, the Tac doing its job for the moment.

  Jack lost all the air in his lungs as Teal'c slid again. Tom betwe
en bringing his gun up and trying to keep the rope from dissecting him, he braced his knees, pulled with all his might and slowly toppled sideways and backwards.

  "Gahhhh!"

  Something low in his back speared pain up and down his spine. Those few extra inches helped though and Teal'c got one elbow up and over the rim, relieving a fair amount of the strain.

  Teal'c looked up over his prone body and Jack followed his gaze. In the corner of his eye he saw the creature-huge and bleeding from numerous Tac hits. It held a rock in its hand and with unerring accuracy, pitched it at the Tac. The weapon shorted out and rolled away.

  "O'Neill, two o'clock. Now!"

  Jack, breath whistling in gasps with his body still being pulled in two directions, ratcheted the MP5's safety, pointed it over his shoulder and hauled on the trigger. Bullets sprayed in an uneven arc and he kept the trigger depressed until a wounded bellow indicated a hit. There was a great deal of shuffling and crashing, but he couldn't turn his head enough to see.

  "It is injured, O'Neill, and retreating into the trees."

  Teal'c heaved, forearms bulging as he pulled his entire weight up from the pit. His boots sent cascades of mud back into the water below. Slowly, he wriggled out and finally lay, soaked, chilled and exhausted next to Jack. He glanced over and met Jack's gaze, eyebrows rising at the sight of him: lying still, legs bent under him, covered in spent shell casings and his face grimacing with pain.

  "What has happened, O'Neill?"

  "Back's gone out-dunno-doesn't matter. We have to get out of here."

  "Indeed. The creature has gone but it is wounded and may be even more dangerous." Teal'c rolled to his feet and untangled the rope.

  Jack experimented getting his legs straightened, found they still worked and put out a hand. Teal'c hauled him gently to his feet.

  "Thanks. Oh, damn." He grimaced. "What's with the pit, anyway?"

  "I am unsure. Perhaps a method of keeping its prey fresh until consumed."

  "Nice. Jaffa stew." Jack staggered over to his pack, dug out a handful of painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills he usually kept in case his knee blew out on a mission. He washed them down rather desperately. He could walk, but it was going to be a new kind of hell getting back to the Stargate.