Work Text:
Retracing…
by Bethany
I’ve been traipsing round this bloody planet for hours! Jack considered as he drudged on. Where the hell’s Rothman? I’ve done all this before anyway, and it’s BORING!!!
“Colonel?” She asked again… “Jack?”
Sam Carter grinned at the exchange going on in front of her. She could see Janet thinking Oh, dear God, man!
“Hmmm?” He said, thinking, or trying not to think, about what might be happening to Rothman right now.
“I guess you didn’t hear what I just said to you?” Frasier asked, just a little bit exasperated.
“Nope…” Jack said. “ I was thinking how I told all those geeks I told you so when they said they’d found another Goa’uld infested paddling pool of a world with some nice Unases to go with it!!!… I won’t tell ya what I said after that, but I’ve been proven right, haven’t I? I mean, look, Deja’vu or what???”
“I said, if he’s injured, we’re going to have to set up camp… I’ll have to see what I can do for him. That’s why I came along on this Mission, isn’t it?” She said, not too heatedly.
“I know, Doc… I know!” He said, a tad pre-occupied.
“Something the matter, Colonel?” Jan Frasier asked, her moment of frustration with her friend passing.
He leaned in conspiratorially, as if he didn’t really want to admit what he was about to tell her. “It’s just a bit freaky, don’t you think?”
“Knowing they’re out there, you mean?” Frasier didn’t have to guess hard at what he was getting at. “Or being back in this situation again, on a planet like this?”
“Yeah... Whatever! Both… I mean, on one hand we’re facing vampires, and on the other we’re facing even more vampires!” Jack said, tiredly wishing this were all just one crazy dream.
“Vampires?” She said, mimicking his pronunciation, and asking him the obvious question at the same time.
“Ahh, never mind. The Unas, that’s what Teal’c called them… And, the Goa’uld, well, isn’t that what they do? Suck the life blood right out of ya?”
Dr. Janet Frasier shivered all of a sudden a squeamish doctor. “Colourful description, but I suppose so…”
“Colonel!” Martouf’s voice was urgent, but not alarmist, until you thought about it too much.
Daniel and Jonas raced over to Martouf and Malik, then O’Neill joined them.
“What? You found him?” Jack asked, butterflies in his stomach.
“No, but I’ve found a blood stain!” Martouf explained.
Shit! Daniel blamed himself. He’d been called back to the SGC just before Rothman must have been taken, another mission had called SG1 away, and Hammond had called Daniel back to go along with them because he had had experience with the race that the Mission involved. N’am, the underwater world dwelling life-form whose mate died at Babylon had been contacted by the SGC again… He had insisted on speaking to Daniel, because it was Daniel, and SG1, whom he had learned to trust… Another team had remained on the planet with Rothman, but they had gone just a few metres away from where he’d been taken, helping Martouf and Malik to carry equipment boxes.
“Vampires…” Jack said, under his breath… Catching a puzzled look from Martouf, he explained, “Ask Teal’c…” He paused. “Is the blood dry?”
"It is, O’Neill…” Teal’c replied, as he touched the blood found by Martouf.
Rothman, I hope you’re still out there! Jack thought. If the man who had, Jack had to admit, become his friend, was either in some Vampire’s stomach by now, or if he had a vampire in his stomach… No one deserved that, because nobody else deserved the consequences either…
The Tok’ra, Martouf and Malik were along on this Mission as ordered by Garshaw, their Counsel. Needing to collect more natural immunity fluid, if they could, the Tauri and Tok’ra were working together, even if they weren’t sure how they could achieve their goal.
If this planet wasn’t crawling with Snakes and Vampires, Jack thought, it would be a pretty great place to do a spot of fishing… Yeah, the Tok’ra an’ me could sit on that big ol’ riverbank over there, and have a good ol’ chat ‘bout their knack for convincin’ the SGC to get us in trouble!… He paused, changing track of thought… Gramps would have loved this place! He thought, recalling his childhood fishing trips with his father’s father. Jack was rudely awakened out of his reverie by an excited shout from his friend and colleague, Janet Frasier.
“He’s over there!.. I see him! Look, Colonel!” She said, adrenaline and anxiety for Rothman, also a friend of hers, vying for position in her voice, but being beaten back by professional, clear-headed calm. She almost went to run to Rothman’s side, but Malik, the Tok’ra, stopped her.
“Not on your own…” He told her.
“For Chrissake!… The Unas is there, too!” Jack said, to himself, and his teams. “Buckle up, guys! Let’s go and do a bit o’ rescuin’!”
“Don’t shoot!” Daniel called. “Treat this just like when I met Chaka, remember?”
Jack looked at him… “I wondered why this seemed so familiar..! Well, you guys don’t exactly make normal friends, do ya?” He ignored Daniel’s grin back. Turning away, he Zatted the Unas instead.
“Why’d we bring Rothman with us anyway???” Jack asked Sam, as they stood beside an unconscious and recently Zatted Unas.
"Because Jonas and Daniel needed help translating some of the ruins round here, remember?” She said patiently.
"That’s a dumb reason..!” Jack said.
“No. It’s not!” Rothman called from down on the ground, where Janet Frasier tended to his wounds. “Without the likes of us, you hero guys’d be stuffed!”
“Well said, Robert!” Jonas and Daniel stated, at the very same time.
"You ought to be grateful I took a leaf out of Doctor Jackson’s book, tried talking to that thing…” Rothman said, as SG1 and the Tok’ra entourage got as far away from the Unas as possible.
“I take it, it didn’t work?” Daniel asked.
“No.” Rothman was supported between Daniel and Jonas, limping home. “He wasn’t the friend-making kind… I wouldn’t have lasted much longer!”
“See!…I told you so!” Jack grinned triumphantly, ignoring Rothman’s questioning look..
“You did indeed, O’Neill…” Teal’c agreed.
“Right everyone!” Jack paused. “Hi-ho, it’s back to the SGC we go!
THE END