OVERTIME by SG1fanfic at hotmail.com
Category: Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Drama
Summary: Carter puts in some overtime…so what's new? Alien 'tests', a rescue mission, assaults on 3 Go'a'uld mother ships… and that's just a part of the list. Unavoidable whumping.
Rating: PG-13 - Warnings: violence
Season/spoiler: mid-season 6ish or so…although I automatically wrote with Daniel… and forgot about Jonas (apologies to Jonas fans)
Status: complete
Archive: Heliopolis, Gateworld.net, Fanfiction.net and whoever who wants it.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N (Author's Notes): This story actually grew out of the first SG-1 fanfic that I started to write. That first one still sits unfinished… and then so did this one, for several months while my muse took me in several different directions and I wrote several other SG-1 fanfics before coming back to try and finish this one. There are many similarities with my other SG-1 story 'A Beautiful Mind'… which I was able to finish much more easily than this one here. I hope that this one is still worth reading….
Second, I am going to post this story in chapters… at the request of Melbell, who stated that my story 'Nine' took to long to load all as one chapter. Hopefully, this one won't clog any servers… :)
=====================
.
OVERTIME
.
Finally, a chance to breath.
The past week had been the busiest madhouse that Colonel Jack O'Neill remembered in SGC history. He was standing in the control room watching the cleanup activities in the gateroom.
And it wasn't quite over.
There were still 4 teams offworld on a combined mission with the Tokra.
But today, was the first time to take stock of what had happened over the past week. What were their victories…and their losses? How many people did they lose? What did they gain? O'Neill wasn't even sure where the other members of SG-1 were right at this moment. They had been separated as events had unfolded over the past week. He had seen Teal'c earlier this morning in the commissary. Daniel had been at one of the debriefings held yesterday. Carter… Where was Carter? He was worried about her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her – not since SG-1's mission right before they were all caught up in everything that happened as soon as they returned.
He shook his head a little trying to clear it. He hadn't had much sleep over the past week. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he should schedule an SG-1 meeting for the morning so that they could all touch bases and share what had happened from their own perspectives of the past week. And, after scheduling that meeting, he was headed to bed for some serious rack time.
==========================
-Briefing Room, 8am, the next morning-
"Daniel, Teal'c, any ideas where Carter is?" Jack inquired before the two men had found seats or coffee. Sergeant Greval had informed him that he had left messages for her in her lab and with several staff members that typically worked with her inside the complex.
"I have not seen MajorCarter since our mission to P4X-653, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.
"I stopped by her quarters and her lab on the way to breakfast this morning and I couldn't find her anywhere, Jack," Daniel responded, and the continued, "I haven't seen her all week…"
They all knew that the SGC had lost personnel over the events of the past week. A complete list of the missing and the dead was still being compiled. O'Neill went over to a phone on the wall and dialed the infirmary.
"This is Colonel O'Neill," he spoke calmly, "I need to speak with Dr. Frasier," there was a pause for a few moments and then he continued, "Doctor, is Major Carter down there anywhere?" On hearing the response, he shook his head negatively to let Teal'c and Daniel know what the doctor had said. "When was the last time that you saw Carter?" Another pause while the doctor replied. "Allright, thanks Doc, and I would appreciate it if you do see her, please have her get in touch with me ASAP. Thanks."
Hanging up the phone, he turned to the other two men in the room. "Carter is not currently in the infirmary and Frasier has not seen her in at least a week. The Doc is going to go through the infirmary records to see if she may have stopped by for anything when Frasier was not around."
Turning back to the phone, O'Neill requested that the current list of MIA's and KIA's be brought to him immediately. Next, he asked that Major Carter be paged over the SGC intercom.
"Major Carter, report to the briefing room. Major Carter, report to the briefing room," was coming over the intercom as a sergeant brought in the current list of MIA's and KIA's.
"The list is not complete, sir," the sergeant told the Colonel as Jack quickly scanned the list, "and many of these still need to be confirmed."
"Thank you, Sergeant," he replied. "Please keep me updated hourly on the list and the status of your certainty of each name listed."
"Yes, Sir," the sergeant replied and then he saluted and left.
"Carter is not on that list, at least," he shared with Teal'c and Daniel.
"So, where is she, Jack?" Daniel asked, his tone of voice revealing his worry.
"I don't know, Daniel. The last time that I remember seeing her is when we came back from that last SG-1 mission…and then it just seemed like all hell broke loose. I've had so little sleep, events piled on top of each other, merged together, overlapped… When was the last time that either of you saw her?" he asked.
Teal'c responded first, "I remember that just after we exited the Stargate from 653, you were met by the General and a few other officers while MajorCarter was pulled aside by two of the gate technicians. After that, we too, were swept up by the events that transpired. I went on 2 missions with other teams and only saw yourself and DanielJackson in passing over the next week. I do not recall seeing MajorCarter since she was talking to the gate technicians last week."
"OK, how about you, Daniel?" Jack prompted.
Daniel blew out his breath as he thought it through. "I'm afraid I don't remember seeing her since then either, Jack. I was offworld at the Beta Site helping out for most of the week."
Jack considered the lack of information available and then, he asked to be connected to the General's office. "Hello, General? This is O'Neill. Sir, do you know where Major Carter is?" After a pause while the General answered, he continued, "I was hoping that you might be able to tell us if she had been tasked to one of the offworld sites or to one of the missions over the past week?" Another pause as the General responded. "Yes sir, thank you, sir. We'll check into it and let you know what we find out." Hanging the phone back on the wall, he turned back to Teal'c and Daniel.
"The General has also not seen her all week. He had asked for her several times over the past week, however, when she did not appear, he simply figured that she had been tasked by myself or some other team leader to work on one of the offsite missions… I was operating under the same assumptions. I figured that she'd been yanked offsite to help save the universe from death by exploding Stargate or some such," Jack paused. "I just figured that she was OK, because I never heard anything to even slightly indicate otherwise. But the past week…," and he sighed as he ran some of the events through his mind again.
"O'Neill, Doctor Frasier should have at least one entry for MajorCarter at the end of our mission to 653. Even if Doctor Frasier did not tend to her injuries, then some other doctor would have," Teal'c stated. "Perhaps we should find out what we can from that doctor and perhaps that will shed some light as to where she went next?"
"Whoa….Teal'c buddy," Jack interjected, "What injuries from the mission to 653? No one said anything abut injuries…?"
"Yeah, Teal'c," Daniel added, "What are you talking about?"
==========================
P4X-653
The people of 653 were an odd mix of seemingly archaic religions and beliefs, mixed with technology as advanced as Earth, and in some cases, perhaps a little more advanced. The planet had been visited twice before by SGC teams and brief introductions had been made between their people and those of Earth. Preliminary SGC analyses indicated that treaties and trade agreements with the people of 653 would be mutually beneficial. However, the people of 653, informed the first few SGC teams that the people of Earth must send representatives that must pass some tests before any such treaties or trade agreements were entered into. These were ancient tests that had been applied throughout the ages on 653 – whenever separate nations or peoples decided to work interdependently.
SG-1 was sent to see if they could pass these 'tests'. There was no information available as to what kind of tests they were…physical, mental, etc. The only data they had was that the tests should only take a day or two.
SG-1 was met by a large group of elders and religious leaders. The gate was 6 miles from the nearest town, and their culture and religion required that all who approached the gate must do so by foot. So, the entire entourage walked the 6 miles to town while chatting about non-treaty related topics. The members of SG-1 were separated from each other and each surrounded by different groups as they made their way to town.
Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson were taken to a room in the main administrative building while Major Carter and Teal'c were escorted to the temple across town. After the tests were completed, SG-1 was escorted the 6 miles back to the Stargate. The magistrate informed them that they would assemble all of the test results and evaluations and then they would let the people of Earth know if trade and treaties were to begin between their two peoples.
=======================
Playing it back through his mind, O'Neill realized that they hadn't heard back from the people of 653 yet. But that could be because the SGC gate had been so busy over the past week, that the people of 653 might not have been able to get through. Or it was possible that they had 'called' and left the results of the tests, but that information may just be waiting in a queue of information in his inbox.
O'Neill also realized that he'd never gotten a chance to find out what tests Teal'c and Carter had been given….
"Daniel and I were given a puzzle," he stated for Teal'c. "They related a story of an ancient battle and they had a 3-D hologram of information regarding troop locations, supplies, objectives, etc. We had to figure out how to end the war with the least casualties without surrendering land, property or people. I think we did pretty well. Between the two of us, we balanced strategy with logistics – and Danny kept it all as humane as possible."
"I agree, I think we did pretty well, but it's difficult to gauge what other cultures value as important," Daniel added. "What did you and Sam have to do?"
"MajorCarter and I were given separate tests," Teal'c replied. "Mine was a test of stamina. I was asked to hold several logs off the ground for as long as I could. I was able to hold them aloft for approximately an hour and a half. They gave me no indication if this was sufficient or not."
"After I had placed my logs back on the ground, I was taken across the temple to a large, highly decorated room. Hundreds of people were arrayed in seats and rows around a central stage. In the center of the room, on an elevated platform, was a frame-structure, slightly larger than a regular-sized door. MajorCarter's arms were tied to the top of either side of the frame. When I inquired as to what was happening, they told me that her test was one of fortitude. They had removed her jacket and she was attired only in her black T-shirt and trousers."
"Teal's why didn't you tell them to stop?" Jack demanded angrily.
Daniel just looked horrified.
"O'Neill, I did ask and I was informed that once the tests are agreed to, their customs do not allow those being tested to 'back-out'," Teal'c said softly. "Apparently as soon as we had agreed earlier in the day, then we became committed. I have no doubt that MajorCarter would have also protested at this treatment. I do not believe that she would calmly allow herself to be whipped."
"Whipped…?" Daniel repeated in disbelief.
"Actually, the weapon used was a whip at the end of a stick, or cane. And they used both ends over the next 15 minutes or so. O'Neill, I was allowed to watch, but from inside a forcefield. I could not get to her, nor could I stop the proceedings. MajorCarter stayed conscious during the entire length of the beating, " Teal'c paused, taking in the expressions of horror on his teammates faces.
"The spectators did not appear bloodthirsty. There were no cheers or catcalls. This was not a punishment, but rather it appeared to be considered an honor."
"What…?!" Jack blurted out with a look of outrage.
"I do not wish to justify their actions in any way O'Neill. I am just trying to relate my observations," Teal'c replied.
"This is barbaric!" O'Neill spit out. Daniel was just looking sick.
"When they finished, they cut her down and laid her facedown on a nearby plinth. A religious leader began a lengthy speech while I was allowed out of my forcefield cell and then led over to her side. They provided water and cloths so that I could try and wash the wounds while the religious oratory continued. She was in great pain, O'Neill, but she stayed conscious and yet did not make a sound."
"After 30 minutes or so, the oratory concluded, and we were presented with the rest of our equipment and informed that we would be walking back to the Stargate immediately. We were told that the tests and evaluations would not be concluded until we had arrived back at the Stargate. I helped MajorCarter get her jacket and gun back on. When I offered to take her pack, they informed me that she must take her own. She did not argue and I felt that I could not make that decision for her."
"They then led us over to where we met you and DanielJackson and we walked back to the Stargate. I believe that they were very careful to keep us separated from each other. Each of us appeared to be surrounded by a group that continued the testing and evaluation during the entire hike back to the gate."
"Teal'c…," Jack was staring at him, "Are you telling me that Carter walked 6 miles in full gear, with a full pack on a back that had just been beaten and -flayed-?"
"Yes, O'Neill," Teal'c replied quietly.
"You should have told me," and his voice was deep with anger.
"O'Neill what would that have accomplished? The damage was already done. And MajorCarter knew that. If either of us had pushed through to you and told you what had happened, what could you have done? You are not a doctor. You could not heal the bruises or cuts."
"We could have insisted that she not carry a pack. And we could have told those people to go stuff themselves!" his voice was climbing in volume.
"Exactly, Jack," Daniel finally spoke up shakily. "Sam knew how you'd respond. And she knew that she was still going to have to walk out. She knew that no one was going to be able to treat her injuries until she got back through the gate…," and his voice trailed off…and then he spoke so low, that the other two could barely hear him. "But, sweet Jesus…. we had no idea…and we just walked along talking about this and that….she must have been in so much…," Daniel looked like he was going to throw up.
"MajorCarter comported herself in a manner that surpasses that of most Jaffa. I watched her when the mix of people allowed me views of her and she allowed no outward signs of the pain that she was in," Teal'c added.
"Aahhh," Jack interjected, "And then we spent at least a half hour standing around in front of the gate while everyone exchanged formalities – and the magistrate made another speech!"
"I probably made that a lot longer than it needed to be, Jack," Daniel added. "I had no idea that Sam was standing there in pain."
"Indeed, I watched MajorCarter while we waited for the formalities to conclude. If I had not known her condition, I do not believe that I would have suspected. You should not blame yourself." Teal'c tried to relieve them of some of their guilt.
"I should have known," Jack muttered. "I should have seen it, for God's sake!"
"O'Neill, if all had gone as normal when we exited into the gateroom, you would have known fairly quickly as either MajorCarter or myself would have told you what had happened. Unfortunately, there were other emergencies waiting in the gateroom for your attention." Teal'c paused again briefly as he remembered the sequence of events. "MajorCarter immediately began to take off her pack and I gave her a hand. While we were placing her pack and her gun on the ramp, two gate technicians came over with something urgent that they needed her to look at. She assured me that she would follow us in a few moments. As you were speaking with the General and a few other officers, DanielJackson and I were escorted through our standard post-mission routine."
"When we did not see MajorCarter during our post-mission checkups, I attempted to return to check the gateroom and the control room, however, I was diverted to join the hasty preparation for the mission to P9R-482. We left an hour later and I did not see MajorCarter in the gateroom or the control room before we left. Knowing what her injuries were, however, I believed that she must have made her way to the infirmary while I was occupied with the pre-mission briefing," Teal'c finished.
"Jack, maybe they just sent her home after they treated her back. She might not even know what has happened here over the past week," Daniel offered hopefully. No one had thought to call her home and see if she was there… With what had transpired over the past week, no one had imagined that Carter hadn't been running around like the rest of them.
With a little hope now, Jack went back to the phone and asked for the operator to ring Carter's home phone. The phone rang 4 times and then her message machine picked up. He left a message for her to call him at the SGC – and if she called and had to leave a message, then he directed her to also call Daniel. He ended by letting her know that they were just worried about her since they hadn't heard from her in a week.
"OK, here's what we're going to do. I have to orchestrate the cleanup and debriefings for the events of the past week. How about if you and Teal'c go and figure out what happened to Carter? Drive over to her house and see if she's there," he directed. "And when you track her down, tell her to get her butt back here ASAP." He couched it all in gruff, sarcastic terms, but Daniel and Teal'c knew that he was very worried.
.
====o0o==== End Part 1 ====o0o====
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Category: Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Drama
Summary: Carter puts in some overtime…so what's new? Alien 'tests', a rescue mission, assaults on 3 Go'a'uld mother ships… and that's just a part of the list. Unavoidable whumping.
Rating: PG-13 - Warnings: violence
Season/spoiler: mid-season 6ish or so…although I automatically wrote with Daniel… and forgot about Jonas (apologies to Jonas fans)
Status: complete
Archive: Heliopolis, Gateworld.net, Fanfiction.net and whoever who wants it.
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N (Author's Notes): This story actually grew out of the first SG-1 fanfic that I started to write. That first one still sits unfinished… and then so did this one, for several months while my muse took me in several different directions and I wrote several other SG-1 fanfics before coming back to try and finish this one. There are many similarities with my other SG-1 story 'A Beautiful Mind'… which I was able to finish much more easily than this one here. I hope that this one is still worth reading….
Second, I am going to post this story in chapters… at the request of Melbell, who stated that my story 'Nine' took to long to load all as one chapter. Hopefully, this one won't clog any servers… :)
=====================
.
OVERTIME
.
Finally, a chance to breath.
The past week had been the busiest madhouse that Colonel Jack O'Neill remembered in SGC history. He was standing in the control room watching the cleanup activities in the gateroom.
And it wasn't quite over.
There were still 4 teams offworld on a combined mission with the Tokra.
But today, was the first time to take stock of what had happened over the past week. What were their victories…and their losses? How many people did they lose? What did they gain? O'Neill wasn't even sure where the other members of SG-1 were right at this moment. They had been separated as events had unfolded over the past week. He had seen Teal'c earlier this morning in the commissary. Daniel had been at one of the debriefings held yesterday. Carter… Where was Carter? He was worried about her. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her – not since SG-1's mission right before they were all caught up in everything that happened as soon as they returned.
He shook his head a little trying to clear it. He hadn't had much sleep over the past week. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he should schedule an SG-1 meeting for the morning so that they could all touch bases and share what had happened from their own perspectives of the past week. And, after scheduling that meeting, he was headed to bed for some serious rack time.
==========================
-Briefing Room, 8am, the next morning-
"Daniel, Teal'c, any ideas where Carter is?" Jack inquired before the two men had found seats or coffee. Sergeant Greval had informed him that he had left messages for her in her lab and with several staff members that typically worked with her inside the complex.
"I have not seen MajorCarter since our mission to P4X-653, O'Neill," Teal'c replied.
"I stopped by her quarters and her lab on the way to breakfast this morning and I couldn't find her anywhere, Jack," Daniel responded, and the continued, "I haven't seen her all week…"
They all knew that the SGC had lost personnel over the events of the past week. A complete list of the missing and the dead was still being compiled. O'Neill went over to a phone on the wall and dialed the infirmary.
"This is Colonel O'Neill," he spoke calmly, "I need to speak with Dr. Frasier," there was a pause for a few moments and then he continued, "Doctor, is Major Carter down there anywhere?" On hearing the response, he shook his head negatively to let Teal'c and Daniel know what the doctor had said. "When was the last time that you saw Carter?" Another pause while the doctor replied. "Allright, thanks Doc, and I would appreciate it if you do see her, please have her get in touch with me ASAP. Thanks."
Hanging up the phone, he turned to the other two men in the room. "Carter is not currently in the infirmary and Frasier has not seen her in at least a week. The Doc is going to go through the infirmary records to see if she may have stopped by for anything when Frasier was not around."
Turning back to the phone, O'Neill requested that the current list of MIA's and KIA's be brought to him immediately. Next, he asked that Major Carter be paged over the SGC intercom.
"Major Carter, report to the briefing room. Major Carter, report to the briefing room," was coming over the intercom as a sergeant brought in the current list of MIA's and KIA's.
"The list is not complete, sir," the sergeant told the Colonel as Jack quickly scanned the list, "and many of these still need to be confirmed."
"Thank you, Sergeant," he replied. "Please keep me updated hourly on the list and the status of your certainty of each name listed."
"Yes, Sir," the sergeant replied and then he saluted and left.
"Carter is not on that list, at least," he shared with Teal'c and Daniel.
"So, where is she, Jack?" Daniel asked, his tone of voice revealing his worry.
"I don't know, Daniel. The last time that I remember seeing her is when we came back from that last SG-1 mission…and then it just seemed like all hell broke loose. I've had so little sleep, events piled on top of each other, merged together, overlapped… When was the last time that either of you saw her?" he asked.
Teal'c responded first, "I remember that just after we exited the Stargate from 653, you were met by the General and a few other officers while MajorCarter was pulled aside by two of the gate technicians. After that, we too, were swept up by the events that transpired. I went on 2 missions with other teams and only saw yourself and DanielJackson in passing over the next week. I do not recall seeing MajorCarter since she was talking to the gate technicians last week."
"OK, how about you, Daniel?" Jack prompted.
Daniel blew out his breath as he thought it through. "I'm afraid I don't remember seeing her since then either, Jack. I was offworld at the Beta Site helping out for most of the week."
Jack considered the lack of information available and then, he asked to be connected to the General's office. "Hello, General? This is O'Neill. Sir, do you know where Major Carter is?" After a pause while the General answered, he continued, "I was hoping that you might be able to tell us if she had been tasked to one of the offworld sites or to one of the missions over the past week?" Another pause as the General responded. "Yes sir, thank you, sir. We'll check into it and let you know what we find out." Hanging the phone back on the wall, he turned back to Teal'c and Daniel.
"The General has also not seen her all week. He had asked for her several times over the past week, however, when she did not appear, he simply figured that she had been tasked by myself or some other team leader to work on one of the offsite missions… I was operating under the same assumptions. I figured that she'd been yanked offsite to help save the universe from death by exploding Stargate or some such," Jack paused. "I just figured that she was OK, because I never heard anything to even slightly indicate otherwise. But the past week…," and he sighed as he ran some of the events through his mind again.
"O'Neill, Doctor Frasier should have at least one entry for MajorCarter at the end of our mission to 653. Even if Doctor Frasier did not tend to her injuries, then some other doctor would have," Teal'c stated. "Perhaps we should find out what we can from that doctor and perhaps that will shed some light as to where she went next?"
"Whoa….Teal'c buddy," Jack interjected, "What injuries from the mission to 653? No one said anything abut injuries…?"
"Yeah, Teal'c," Daniel added, "What are you talking about?"
==========================
P4X-653
The people of 653 were an odd mix of seemingly archaic religions and beliefs, mixed with technology as advanced as Earth, and in some cases, perhaps a little more advanced. The planet had been visited twice before by SGC teams and brief introductions had been made between their people and those of Earth. Preliminary SGC analyses indicated that treaties and trade agreements with the people of 653 would be mutually beneficial. However, the people of 653, informed the first few SGC teams that the people of Earth must send representatives that must pass some tests before any such treaties or trade agreements were entered into. These were ancient tests that had been applied throughout the ages on 653 – whenever separate nations or peoples decided to work interdependently.
SG-1 was sent to see if they could pass these 'tests'. There was no information available as to what kind of tests they were…physical, mental, etc. The only data they had was that the tests should only take a day or two.
SG-1 was met by a large group of elders and religious leaders. The gate was 6 miles from the nearest town, and their culture and religion required that all who approached the gate must do so by foot. So, the entire entourage walked the 6 miles to town while chatting about non-treaty related topics. The members of SG-1 were separated from each other and each surrounded by different groups as they made their way to town.
Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson were taken to a room in the main administrative building while Major Carter and Teal'c were escorted to the temple across town. After the tests were completed, SG-1 was escorted the 6 miles back to the Stargate. The magistrate informed them that they would assemble all of the test results and evaluations and then they would let the people of Earth know if trade and treaties were to begin between their two peoples.
=======================
Playing it back through his mind, O'Neill realized that they hadn't heard back from the people of 653 yet. But that could be because the SGC gate had been so busy over the past week, that the people of 653 might not have been able to get through. Or it was possible that they had 'called' and left the results of the tests, but that information may just be waiting in a queue of information in his inbox.
O'Neill also realized that he'd never gotten a chance to find out what tests Teal'c and Carter had been given….
"Daniel and I were given a puzzle," he stated for Teal'c. "They related a story of an ancient battle and they had a 3-D hologram of information regarding troop locations, supplies, objectives, etc. We had to figure out how to end the war with the least casualties without surrendering land, property or people. I think we did pretty well. Between the two of us, we balanced strategy with logistics – and Danny kept it all as humane as possible."
"I agree, I think we did pretty well, but it's difficult to gauge what other cultures value as important," Daniel added. "What did you and Sam have to do?"
"MajorCarter and I were given separate tests," Teal'c replied. "Mine was a test of stamina. I was asked to hold several logs off the ground for as long as I could. I was able to hold them aloft for approximately an hour and a half. They gave me no indication if this was sufficient or not."
"After I had placed my logs back on the ground, I was taken across the temple to a large, highly decorated room. Hundreds of people were arrayed in seats and rows around a central stage. In the center of the room, on an elevated platform, was a frame-structure, slightly larger than a regular-sized door. MajorCarter's arms were tied to the top of either side of the frame. When I inquired as to what was happening, they told me that her test was one of fortitude. They had removed her jacket and she was attired only in her black T-shirt and trousers."
"Teal's why didn't you tell them to stop?" Jack demanded angrily.
Daniel just looked horrified.
"O'Neill, I did ask and I was informed that once the tests are agreed to, their customs do not allow those being tested to 'back-out'," Teal'c said softly. "Apparently as soon as we had agreed earlier in the day, then we became committed. I have no doubt that MajorCarter would have also protested at this treatment. I do not believe that she would calmly allow herself to be whipped."
"Whipped…?" Daniel repeated in disbelief.
"Actually, the weapon used was a whip at the end of a stick, or cane. And they used both ends over the next 15 minutes or so. O'Neill, I was allowed to watch, but from inside a forcefield. I could not get to her, nor could I stop the proceedings. MajorCarter stayed conscious during the entire length of the beating, " Teal'c paused, taking in the expressions of horror on his teammates faces.
"The spectators did not appear bloodthirsty. There were no cheers or catcalls. This was not a punishment, but rather it appeared to be considered an honor."
"What…?!" Jack blurted out with a look of outrage.
"I do not wish to justify their actions in any way O'Neill. I am just trying to relate my observations," Teal'c replied.
"This is barbaric!" O'Neill spit out. Daniel was just looking sick.
"When they finished, they cut her down and laid her facedown on a nearby plinth. A religious leader began a lengthy speech while I was allowed out of my forcefield cell and then led over to her side. They provided water and cloths so that I could try and wash the wounds while the religious oratory continued. She was in great pain, O'Neill, but she stayed conscious and yet did not make a sound."
"After 30 minutes or so, the oratory concluded, and we were presented with the rest of our equipment and informed that we would be walking back to the Stargate immediately. We were told that the tests and evaluations would not be concluded until we had arrived back at the Stargate. I helped MajorCarter get her jacket and gun back on. When I offered to take her pack, they informed me that she must take her own. She did not argue and I felt that I could not make that decision for her."
"They then led us over to where we met you and DanielJackson and we walked back to the Stargate. I believe that they were very careful to keep us separated from each other. Each of us appeared to be surrounded by a group that continued the testing and evaluation during the entire hike back to the gate."
"Teal'c…," Jack was staring at him, "Are you telling me that Carter walked 6 miles in full gear, with a full pack on a back that had just been beaten and -flayed-?"
"Yes, O'Neill," Teal'c replied quietly.
"You should have told me," and his voice was deep with anger.
"O'Neill what would that have accomplished? The damage was already done. And MajorCarter knew that. If either of us had pushed through to you and told you what had happened, what could you have done? You are not a doctor. You could not heal the bruises or cuts."
"We could have insisted that she not carry a pack. And we could have told those people to go stuff themselves!" his voice was climbing in volume.
"Exactly, Jack," Daniel finally spoke up shakily. "Sam knew how you'd respond. And she knew that she was still going to have to walk out. She knew that no one was going to be able to treat her injuries until she got back through the gate…," and his voice trailed off…and then he spoke so low, that the other two could barely hear him. "But, sweet Jesus…. we had no idea…and we just walked along talking about this and that….she must have been in so much…," Daniel looked like he was going to throw up.
"MajorCarter comported herself in a manner that surpasses that of most Jaffa. I watched her when the mix of people allowed me views of her and she allowed no outward signs of the pain that she was in," Teal'c added.
"Aahhh," Jack interjected, "And then we spent at least a half hour standing around in front of the gate while everyone exchanged formalities – and the magistrate made another speech!"
"I probably made that a lot longer than it needed to be, Jack," Daniel added. "I had no idea that Sam was standing there in pain."
"Indeed, I watched MajorCarter while we waited for the formalities to conclude. If I had not known her condition, I do not believe that I would have suspected. You should not blame yourself." Teal'c tried to relieve them of some of their guilt.
"I should have known," Jack muttered. "I should have seen it, for God's sake!"
"O'Neill, if all had gone as normal when we exited into the gateroom, you would have known fairly quickly as either MajorCarter or myself would have told you what had happened. Unfortunately, there were other emergencies waiting in the gateroom for your attention." Teal'c paused again briefly as he remembered the sequence of events. "MajorCarter immediately began to take off her pack and I gave her a hand. While we were placing her pack and her gun on the ramp, two gate technicians came over with something urgent that they needed her to look at. She assured me that she would follow us in a few moments. As you were speaking with the General and a few other officers, DanielJackson and I were escorted through our standard post-mission routine."
"When we did not see MajorCarter during our post-mission checkups, I attempted to return to check the gateroom and the control room, however, I was diverted to join the hasty preparation for the mission to P9R-482. We left an hour later and I did not see MajorCarter in the gateroom or the control room before we left. Knowing what her injuries were, however, I believed that she must have made her way to the infirmary while I was occupied with the pre-mission briefing," Teal'c finished.
"Jack, maybe they just sent her home after they treated her back. She might not even know what has happened here over the past week," Daniel offered hopefully. No one had thought to call her home and see if she was there… With what had transpired over the past week, no one had imagined that Carter hadn't been running around like the rest of them.
With a little hope now, Jack went back to the phone and asked for the operator to ring Carter's home phone. The phone rang 4 times and then her message machine picked up. He left a message for her to call him at the SGC – and if she called and had to leave a message, then he directed her to also call Daniel. He ended by letting her know that they were just worried about her since they hadn't heard from her in a week.
"OK, here's what we're going to do. I have to orchestrate the cleanup and debriefings for the events of the past week. How about if you and Teal'c go and figure out what happened to Carter? Drive over to her house and see if she's there," he directed. "And when you track her down, tell her to get her butt back here ASAP." He couched it all in gruff, sarcastic terms, but Daniel and Teal'c knew that he was very worried.
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====o0o==== End Part 1 ====o0o====
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