Gaia - The Princess 1

Captured

by romansilence

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asr/rsilence/gaiath01.php
Summary: While on the way to rescue Sam from a Goa'uld who tortures her, Gabrielle and Janet remember about another rescue mission where Sam was the hero and Sam and Janet's connection grows even more
Info: This is a sequel to GAIA. It might be easier to understand this story having read the first part.
GAIA – THE PRINCESS takes place about ten months after the end of GAIA. There are a lot of flashback to events that have taken place since then.

Prologue: Previously on GAIA

The team of SG-1 gates to the planet Gaia where they are greeted by the surviving members of the Amazon Nation of Ancient Greece. For centuries protected by Artemis and her host Athena, an Ancient, technologically they are far superior to Earth, and they offer to share their technology, provided that the SGC sends an all-female research team under the command of Major Samantha Carter and Doctor Janet Fraiser. The Amazons are led by Gabrielle, High Queen of the Amazon Nation, and her Consort Xena, Commander of the Amazon Armies. Both of them are more than two thousand years old and immortal.

They encourage the budding relationship between Samantha and Janet and help Samantha to deal with her memories of Jolinar. Samantha and Janet become lovers. As soul mates they develop a psychic link that allows them to feel the other's emotions. When Cassandra on her last day at summer camp gets captured by Nirrti, Xena, Samantha and the others come to her rescue. Nirrti is captured. Her unwilling host, Larina, is the Captain of Gabrielle's Royal Guard. In order to free her, Xena, Samantha, Gabrielle and Janet have to restore her original personality: Tirrin, child of Egeria, one of the oldest Tok'ra still alive.

At the end of Cassandra's school break, Samantha and Janet return to Earth and Samantha moves in with her lover and their daughter. Stephen, the gay brother of Janet's ex-husband, comes to visit and the SGC gains a new member.

-x-x-x- 

Chapter One: Captured

THE PRESENT: SOMEWHERE IN THE GALAXY

She had anticipated the hard kick to the back of her knees but that didn't make it any easier to keep her balance and it didn't make the hard floor any softer. She tried to tell herself that this was not the first time she had been captured by a Goa'uld but she also knew that this time was different.

This time she was alone.

There would be no Daniel to talk them out of it, no Teal'c from whom to draw strength, no O'Neill focussing the attention of their captors with his smart-ass remarks.

She was alone, blind-folded, and bound; without the faintest idea who had her in their clutches or where they were going. She only knew that she had been captured after the new recruits she had led on a supposedly routine mission had safely fled through the gate, that she now was onboard of a Goa'uld mother-ship, and was at the moment marched down the corridors to the pel'tac.

She cocked her head at the sound of an opening door; she heard some of the Jaffa snapping to attention and the warriors directly around her getting down on a knee. At least that's what it sounded like.

Another kick propelled her forwards and she only barely avoided breaking her fall face first. She felt eyes on her.

"Where are the rest of your Jaffa? And where is the rest of the Tau'ri shol'va?"

"Three Tau'ri escaped through the ring. Eight Jaffa died in your service, my Queen."

"What happened? My warriors were not supposed to be hurt." The voice sounded more troubled than angry.

A Goa'uld genuinely concerned about her subjects? How strange, she thought.

"As per your plan, my Queen, we hid around the Cha'apa'ai and remained invisible. The enemy marched away from the ring and we were about to spring the trap when we were unexpectedly spotted. Two of my men were instantly killed. Her comrades fled through the ring but we were able to capture her, my Queen."

"You failed me, Jaffa. She is just one insignificant woman. They won't send SG-1 to the rescue for just one female."

"My Queen, she is SG-1. She is Carter!"

"Get her on her feet. Remove the blindfold." The blonde looked into black eyes, set in a face of oriental beauty. "How many of your men did she kill?"

"Of the eight we lost, she killed six. The rumours were right, the Tau'ri have become powerful and Carter was a worthy adversary, my Queen."

The eyes in front of her flashed yellow. "Watch your tongue, Jaffa. You failed your God, and yet you brought me what I was after. You brought me the one who killed my children; so, I will consider forgiving your incompetence for now."

The ribbon device adorning the woman's hand flared to life, and Samantha Carter was hard pressed not to cry out. She recognised the energy driving it as hatred, pure unadulterated hate.

"You will beg forgiveness for killing those I loved, Carter. You will regret killing your Gods before I'm through with you."

The pain suddenly stopped, and she did the only thing she could think of: she laughed. The mesh of the ribbon device hit her cheek when she was backhanded, and only the two Jaffa holding her kept her upright.

The burning on her left cheek told her that her skin was broken. It would probably leave a scar. Anger welled up in the blonde's eyes but her voice stayed calm.

"Pathetic. You're all the same, so predictable, so easy to anger, so easy to kill."

The ribbon device hit her again. It felt as if it was burning a hole in her skull and her next words came out in gasps.

"There were so many of you snakeheads. It's hard to keep track. Sokar, Apophis, Seth, Imhotep, Nirrti, Osiris, Hathor, Ammonet, Ra...argh...."

She cried out, a long agonised cry but the pain didn't stop. Focussing all of her considerable willpower she raised her head and looked into the eyes of her captor. Her cerulean eyes had darkened considerably and reflected the hatred in the glowing orbs of the Goa'uld with equally strong feelings. Suddenly it stopped.

"Get her out of my sight. I'll deal with her at home."

~*~

THE PRESENT: EARTH – STARGATE COMMAND

Major Janet Fraiser, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Stargate Command, was pacing the length of the briefing room next to General Hammond's office. It had been ten hours and eleven minutes since the group of recruits, her best friend and lover had led to a supposedly uninhabited planet for their first gating experience, had returned – minus one blonde astrophysicist.

"A routine run", Samantha had told her during the pre-mission physical. "I'll just take the kids for a walk. I'll be back before you know it."

'Routine – as if anything having to do with the SGC had ever, could ever be routine...'

The rest of SG-1 and the search-and-rescue specialists of SG-12 had been immediately deployed. They had found Samantha's Carter-special and her flack-jacket, as well as over half a dozen bodies of Jaffa whose identification tattoos had been burned out; one of them with the blonde's K-bar still sticking in his throat.

O'Neill and the others were still out there searching for any clues who could have taken her. One of their forensic experts was trying to reconstruct the markings of the Jaffa; not an easy task considering that the bodies belonged to simple Jaffa warriors and thus were tattoos and not golden inlaid brandings. And the only thing Samantha's science team had been able to find out by analysing the crystal of the DHD was that the Gate had not been used between the return of Major Carter's team and the arrival of the search-and-rescue group.

Janet knew that she should be in her office in the infirmary and tend to her paperwork, but here one level above the control room she just felt closer to her missing lover. Still, when Colonel O'Neill had radioed in earlier, she couldn't bring herself to descend the stairs and listen directly.

"Doctor Fraiser, I'm afraid the S&R teams have not yet found anything. All we can do is wait for them to find the decisive clue." General George Hammond said from the edge of the stairs; his eyes gentle with worry for his god-daughter and her partner.

A good soldier knew how to wait, but with what they had to deal with on a daily basis, it was hard to keep his calm. The bald general would move mountains for every single man and woman under his command. That's what made them so good at what they did. His unflagging support and care for them inspired their loyalty and let them more often than not beat impossible odds.

However, he was honest enough with himself to admit that SG-1 held a special place in his heart, and not only because of the blonde, blue-eyed major he had known since she was born. Daniel was like a son to him and Jack O'Neill a headstrong younger brother. Teal'c over the years had become a friend and the commanding officer of the SGC often relied on the tall man's quiet strength.

George Hammond knew he should set an example and retire to his office to do some paperwork but instead he stood in the conference room and surreptitiously observed his CMO who was right beside him staring at the dark ring below. He had seen her pull all-nighters and more over the years but he never had seen her that withdrawn and weary.

Jack O'Neill's report had not sounded optimistic, but he was not ready to give up just yet. The general could almost feel the tension emanating from Janet. That was the last incentive he needed to speed up his long-term plan; but to set everything in motion and warn his allies he had to keep up appearances a bit longer. So, someone else would have to call in the help he had in mind, someone he was not supposed to call upon since the Joint Chiefs had severed all ties with Gaia and the Amazon Nation.

"Siler, get a hold of Lieutenant Hailey, Major Williams, and Nurse Powers. I want them in the briefing room ASAP. Doctor, change into your BDUs. You're going on a mission. Call Cassandra and tell her that I'll have her escorted to the base."

"Cassy is in Texas at my grandfather's, Sir. I don't want to worry her."

"Doctor, this will not be over in a day or two. She has a right to know. Tell her that Samantha is missing and you're going on a rescue mission. Join us in the briefing room as soon as you're ready."

~*~

Less than fifteen minutes later, the small doctor took her usual seat at the conference table. Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, Major Jessica Williams, and Master Sergeant Alicia Powers were already waiting.

"How's Cassandra, Doctor?" General Hammond asked when he entered from his office.

"She's worried but promised to stay put when I promised that you would keep her informed."

"I'll see to it, Doctor. Neither the Tok'ra nor the Asgard answered our requests for help. Colonel O'Neill and the others have found no traces, no indication of who is behind Major Carter's disappearance. Basically, we ran out of options. So, I decided to pull out a gun I have been ordered not to use."

"The Amazons!" Janet whispered.

"Yes, Doctor. In five minutes I will order the gate room and the control room cleared of all personnel and dial the coordinates of Gaia. If you decide to make this jump, you will be in direct violation of the orders of the Joint Chiefs and the President. It could effectively end your careers; so, I will not order you to go."

"I'll go alone, Sir."

"No, Doc, you will not. I owe Major Carter. I'll be at your side," Jessica Williams said. "I'll go and get my gear, General Hammond, Sir!" She saluted and left the room with Jennifer and Alicia hard on their heels.

When they were alone, Janet asked, "Why are you doing this, Sir? You could get in a lot of trouble."

"There's more going on than I can tell you at the moment, Doctor, but bottom line is that the Amazons are Sam's best and possibly only chance at the moment. Queen Gabrielle and Consort Xena have assured me that regardless of the political situation we can always count on them," he answered.

"They were very hurt when we brought them the order of the Joint Chiefs to break any ties with them and put their planet on the red list," Janet said pessimistically. In her eyes the alliance between Earth and Gaia had been a done deal; the Pentagon, however, had stopped the whole proceedings under the pretence that the Amazons would not be reliable and in the long run could even be a danger to Earth.

General Hammond looked at his CMO and fought with himself. He longed to tell her that things were not as dire as they appeared to be; he wanted to tell her the truth but for now the strategist won out over the godfather and friend; so he simply said,

"The Amazons will help. Sam and you made very strong friends in the queen and her consort, Janet. You saved their lives and according to their code of honour they have to help you."

"It never would have gone this far if not for that narrow-minded JAG officer. It was the bond, the sexual bond between warriors that made the Spartans the fighters they were," Janet said angrily.

"You exaggerate Doctor. Commander Sturges is not to blame. You said yourself on more than one occasion that he's an honourable man. Even with his report and things as they were, Kinsey and his friends had to pull all the strings they had to get this decision through. Sooner or later the Joint Chiefs will be forced to change their minds about allowing same-sex-relationship in the military and this whole fraternisation hysteria. – And now, go, Doc. Your team is already assembling."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you for doing this for Sam."

"If not for their shield, I would go myself. I love Samantha as if she were one of my daughters."

"Sir, let me dial the gate. This way they might let you off the hook."

"No, Janet, that's my job. Just get her back."

"We'll do our best, Sir." Janet impulsively hugged General Hammond.

~*~

THE PRESENT: GAIA – HOME WORLD OF THE AMAZON NATION

The four women stepped through Athena's Ring. The clearing was empty but Janet knew that the surveillance monitors must already have picked up on their arrival. A couple of minutes later, the distinctive form of Consort Xena dropped out of the trees and swept the smaller doctor in her arms. "What's wrong, Janet?"

The compassion in the raven-haired woman's voice broke through Janet's defences and she burst into tears. Xena closed her arms tighter around the shaking body and cast a questioning glance at the other women.

In a quiet voice Major Williams told her what they knew about the mission and Samantha's disappearance.

"Let's go to the village. We have some preparations to make."

The Consort made as if nothing had ever happened between them, and Janet soon found herself strapped in one of the seats of the aircraft Samantha almost nine months ago had named XS-01. They were on the way to P3X-321 where Samantha had disappeared.

"How are you holding up, Jan?" the red-headed Queen asked. "How do you feel?"

"Afraid. I can't lose her, Gabrielle."

"Xena will find a way to get her back, Jan. Try to relax. We'll need about thirty-six hours to arrive at the planet. The ship's sensors then will tell us if there was a ship in orbit and where it went. The sensors will pick up the distortion of normal space occurring whenever a classical hyperdrive is used."

"I know you'll do the best you can, Queen Gabrielle. I'm sorry for the way we parted three months ago."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Janet. You were only following orders, and the last word has not yet been spoken on this front."

"We missed you." Janet said softly.

"We missed you too, Jan, but if there's one thing one learns by being immortal it's to be patient. Samantha and you were not the only ones being cut off from friends and loved ones."

Janet looked around the passenger area of the small aircraft. Jennifer Hailey and Aria were cuddled in each others arms and Jessica Williams was in an animated discussion with the Amazons' weapons' master. Her friend Alicia had opted to follow on board of the Scythia, the Amazons' flagship, to make sure that the infirmary was prepared for Samantha's special physiology following Janet's exacting instructions.

"I'm afraid, Gabrielle." Janet burst out.

"I know, Janet. Sam is the other half of your soul; that's why you can't let your fears win. Close your eyes and concentrate on her love for you. You can reach her as soon as you let go of your fear. Follow your connection straight to her heart. Search for the light. At the moment it's nothing more than a single, tiny point of light in the darkness but it's coming closer with every breath you take."

Janet gave herself over to the queen's soothing voice. Her fear slowly ebbed away. When she reopened her eyes, tears were running down her face and she was smiling.

"Sam is alive. She has been hurt, but she is alive."

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE HA'TAK

Light years away a blond woman slept on the cold but smooth floor in the holding cell of a Goa'uld mothership and whispered her lover's name.

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE XS-01

Hours later the ship was on auto-pilot and all but Janet seemed asleep. She was too tired to sleep and instead reminisced about the strange and wonderful path destiny had let them on during the last year.

Thirteen months ago she never would have thought possible to tell the woman she loved about her feelings, or that Samantha had been just as afraid of being rejected as she had, or that they would live together and sleep in each other's arms every night.

Thirteen months ago she never would have hoped to reconnect with her beloved grandfather and now they were talking on the phone every week. He had accepted Samantha as her life partner and he loved Cassandra.

Thirteen months ago, she never would have thought it possible to be deliriously happy and scared to death at the same time.

The small doctor closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. She needed to sleep but the memories were more insistent. Janet remembered Samantha's uncharacteristic exuberance after having met the leaders of the Amazon Nation for the first time.

That evening at O'Malley's had been the beginning of a great adventure and of the fulfillment of her greatest dreams; perhaps that's why it had now come back in all its detail, beckoning a series of other equally cherished memories; their first kiss, the first time they made love.

Janet felt a hand on her shoulder, a gentle familiar touch but not the one of which she had been dreaming. "Janet, you have to strap yourself in. We're about to land."

"Gabrielle? How long did I sleep?"

"Not long enough, my friend. You still look tired. The sensors found an ion trail from a ha'tak. We'll follow it as soon as we pick up O'Neill and Daniel. Teal'c, Bra'tac, General Hammond, and the other SG-teams will wait for the Scythia."

"General Hammond? But he can't just leave the SGC. They need him."

"To make a long story short, General Hammond decided to join the search for Samantha on P3X-321 when one of his contacts told him that the Joint Chiefs were about to suspend him for sending you to us for help. After that SG-1 and SG-12 stayed out of range of the MALP's radio system. Three more teams were sent to bring them back but they put themselves under General Hammond's command. And the gate should be out of order by now. It seems as if the central memory board of the intranet is currently not accessible..."

"Protocol Omega-One. It scrambles the gate addresses. Without the right passwords it's highly doubtful that anyone will get the gate to work; at least not until they find another Samantha Carter to break the code; and Sam enlisted Daniel's help to create the passwords."

"So, no one from Earth will be able to follow us for quite some time. That's good news, though it could produce some serious fall-out later."

"As Master Bra'tac would say, we'll build that bridge as soon as we come to the river," Colonel O'Neill sounded as tired as Janet still felt but the mischievous twinkle in his eyes cheered her up a bit. "Besides, it just wouldn't be fair if the Amazons had all the fun. Right your highness?"

"Colonel O'Neill, Jack, welcome aboard the XS-01. Would you like to have a look at her controls?" They went to the front of the small aircraft. After their first rather adversarial meeting the Air Force officer and the consort had forged a deep friendship based on a shared, rather strange sense of humour and their experiences as military leaders.

Daniel sat down next to the small doctor and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She sank in the comfort of his embrace and fell asleep. When she woke her head was resting on a much softer surface. The queen had taken Daniel's place while the archaeologist was bent over a computer screen next to Jennifer Hailey.

"What happened, Gabrielle?"

"Daniel is checking our database for the Goa'uld who probably has Samantha. During the old kingdom the star the recruits described was the symbol of ..."

Next: The Search Begins