Gaia - The Princess 2

The Search Begins

by romansilence

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asr/rsilence/gaiath02.php
Summary: see Part 1.

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE HA'TAK

"Here, Tau'ri, have some water." Sam slowly stood and took the mug the tall Jaffa offered her through the bars of her cell. There was a good chance that it would be poisoned or otherwise tainted but somehow she wanted to trust the giant with the gentle brown eyes.

"Thank you... What is your name, Jaffa?"

"Aisato."

"Thank you, Aisato."

"You are welcome, SamanthaCarter."

The blonde could feel the faint vibrations of the hyperdrive and slowly the knowledge began to sink in that the only chance to get out of here would depend on her and her alone.

Teal'c had taught all of them how to Kel'no'rem to center themselves in times of need. She never had been among his best students, but there was nothing else to do and during their sojourn with the Amazons she had lost most of her misgivings against this "waste of time", as she had called it at the beginning. She had learned to draw strength from the meditation and in a way had even made it into a part of her daily routine, especially after remembering that her mother just had started to teach her some of her own relaxation techniques before her sudden death. She sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and focused on her breathing.

Two hours later Aisato checked on the prisoner and her guard. She still was in deep meditation.

This Tau'ri female was not what he had expected, not with what he was used to dealing on a daily basis. The people on his world loved their queen. They never would even think of laughing at her, but this one had; and she had the instincts of a warrior and the proficiency of a seasoned fighter, a veteran of many battles. For a fleeting moment he speculated what it would be like to fight at her side but he quickly crushed the thought. His queen wanted her death, but first she would break the beautiful blonde, body and soul.

Aisato had been in his queen's service since he had received his first primta, and after his father's death he had been named her First Prime. He had thought that he knew his queen. She had never shown any interest in Goa'uld politics, content with taking care of the three planets that composed her domain; but right after the visit of this cloaked stranger she had ordered him to mobilise her troops and make the ha'tak battle ready.

Five groups had been sent to wait for the arrival of the Tau'ri but it had been his group to confront them. The others by now were back with their families on Schu, their home planet. Less than two days respite for the meditating blonde. Less than two days before he would have to torture and kill her.

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE XS-01

Janet was frustrated beyond belief. Tracking the ion trail turned out to be more difficult than she would have thought though the consort and the Amazon warriors seemed content with their progress. The trail for some reason beyond her understanding could only be picked up in normal space. So, they had to drop out of hyperspace regularly to make sure that they still were on the right track. A couple of times they even had had to backtrack.

This was all taking too long; Janet was pacing the passenger area of the small ship.

Since the queen had helped her to concentrate, she had held on to her connection with Samantha like a lifeline. Their connection was the only thing making this whole situation at least bearable. Samantha was considerably calmer than earlier but she still was scared and hungry.

Daniel followed her relentless track with worry in his eyes. He registered her sudden stumble and kept her from crashing to the hard floor. He cradled her in his lap. Her breathing was flat and when he gently pulled her eyelids back, the pupils didn't react to the light.

Consort Xena checked her life signs. "Niva, call the Scythia. Tell them to catch up as soon as possible. I was afraid that something like this could happen."

"What's wrong with Janet, Consort Xena? That's no simple passing out, right?"

"No, it isn't. We'll know more as soon as she comes to again but something happened to Samantha."

"Could you be any less specific?" O'Neill grumbled.

"Gabrielle could you? That's more your domain."

"Colonel O'Neill, since their first return from Gaia, Major Carter has been injured during one mission or the other, right?"

"Yes, three or four times, your majesty," Daniel answered on behalf of his confused friend.

"And how many times did you have to wait for a medical team to arrive for her treatment?"

"None, the Doc was always already waiting for us." He paused a moment. "Do you really want to tell us that the Doc somehow knew about Carter's injury? That they have some mind reading thing going on?" the Colonel asked.

"No, not exactly. It's more like some sort of empathy. They can feel each other's feelings, strong feelings like love, hate, pain, anger, joy. It's hard to explain but Janet can feel Samantha's pain, and I'm afraid that at the moment it must be really strong to cause this kind of reaction in Janet."

"And when the two halves are reunited they become one in heart and body, and even separated they will never be apart and gain the favour of all the Gods for they were stronger than the wrath of Zeus," Daniel slowly chanted with Janet's head still in his lap. He looked into the queen's gentle green eyes. "Soulmates really exist? It's not a myth?"

"No, it's not a myth, Daniel. Soulmates exist though I doubt that the part about humans having had two heads and four legs is based on fact," Gabrielle answered with a smile.

"Wow!, That's grand," he whispered, his fingers gently stroking the unconscious woman's face.

"Soulmates? Someone care to enlighten me! Sounds like romantic crap." Daniel threw his commanding officer an evil glance and the expressions of the others ranged from pity to compassionate amusement.

"Colonel O'Neill, just imagine a love so strong that you can feel it even light years apart. You should not look down on it lightly," Master Niva gently chided him.

Surprisingly he didn't make any further comments but quietly returned to his place.

~*~

THE PRESENT: THE PLANET 'SCHU'

The ha'tak had landed several hours ago, at least four, she estimated. It was hard to keep track of the passing of time in her cell. Samantha heard the unmistakable sound of armoured boots on the steel floor; slowly she got to her feet, and stretched. Six guards took position in front of her and Aisato opened the door.

"SamanthaCarter, my queen has ordered that you be brought before her. This is your escort. Armed guards are posted all along the way to the palace. I will leave your hands and feet unrestrained if you promise not to try to escape."

"Why would you do this for me, Aisato? Why would you trust me?" Samantha asked genuinely puzzled. "It's the duty of a prisoner to try to escape."

"I don't expect any less of you, SamanthaCarter, and in the end I will have to kill you, but for now just see it as a courtesy from one warrior to the other."

"You have my word, Aisato."

She stepped out of the cell and her escort closed around her; every twenty to thirty paces there was another guard posted. Even with all of her weapons she probably wouldn't have been able to escape. She held her head high and tried to memorise every detail of her surroundings. There were forested hills in the distance. They followed a gently sloped road to the palace, marked by elegant marble columns with a big star topping the entrance arch, matching the tattoos the Jaffa were wearing on their foreheads.

Over the years Samantha had seen a lot of pretentious Goa'uld palaces and on the outside this one was no exception. On the inside it looked different, almost homey with a lot of oriental rugs absorbing the harsh sound of the warriors' boots. The throne room, however, was very familiar and sinister with a sarcophagus on one side and a whole plethora of things that looked like they had been taken right out of a medieval dungeon on the other.

To get her mind off what undoubtedly would happen to her, she concentrated her attention on the woman sitting on the throne. During their first meeting the Goa'uld had been clad in a simple black robe. Now, she was wearing a night blue gown covered with silver stars. She would have been beautiful if not for the hatred distorting her features.

At the moment her anger was directed towards the tall Jaffa. "Why is she not bound? Do you take your responsibility this lightly?"

"No, my Queen," Aisato answered while sinking to a knee. "She promised not to try anything, my Queen."

"She promised? And you believed her? She's nothing more than a shol'va."

"SamanthaCarter proved to be an honourable warrior, my Queen. She gave me her word and I saw no need to humiliate her with restraints."

"And why would she give you her word?"

"Just a courtesy from one warrior to another," Samantha answered in his stead and was rewarded with a blast from the ribbon device that knocked her a few feet back on the hard floor.

Her whole body was screaming in pain but she refused to show it. She wouldn't give this snakehead the satisfaction.

"Not bad for an amateur! You got potential. A few hundred years from now you might even be able to do some damage with your toy if you practice diligently, that is!"

Another blast from the ribbon device hit her in the chest with enough force to propel her almost to the door that was flanked by two guards who aimed their staff weapons at her. It hurt like hell but she forced an unimpressed smile on her face.

"Get her on her feet! It's time she starts to pay for her crimes."

Instead of dragging her back to the throne, two Jaffa helped her on her feet and guided her back in front of the throne. She looked into the hate-filled black eyes and a bit of O'Neill cockiness overcame her.

"Before you start boring me to death with your rambling and posturing, care to tell me who the hell you are?"

The woman literally flew from her seat and stood only an arm's length from her. This could be her chance.

"You preposterous mortal, don't you recognise the mother of Gods, the mother of all mothers?"

"That's how Hathor introduced herself. Didn't do her any good."

A blow to her chin knocked her head back while her guards still held her arms. All her instincts told her to fight back, but the more rational part of her mind preached patience. The Goa'uld had to come closer for her plan to work. It was a question of timing.

A mesh enforced hand hit her mid-section. She grabbed it and hurled herself around while liberating a zat'nikitel from the arm holster of one of her guards and broke the hold on her arms. Using the Goa'uld as shield, Samantha retreated towards the throne. She felt a blow to her neck and the world went black.

When she came to, she was bound to a contraption that in her world would have been called a St. Andrew's cross. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and she fought her restraints.

"They have been forged to hold men twice as strong as I am, SamanthaCarter. Resistance is futile. Drink, my queen wants you rested for your punishment. Try to relax."

Samantha took a few sips of the water Aisato offered her and thanked him. She could feel one of her eyes swelling shut from the Goa'uld's uncoordinated blows and remembered what the queen had been shouting while she'd waited for her chance.

"I am Nut, sister of Geb, mother of Isis, mother of Osiris, mother of Seth. You will pay for the death...."

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE XS-01

"Can't you get her to wake up? It's been over two hours now. What the hell happened that she's so out of it?" O'Neill asked while pacing the passenger area of the XS-01.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It's entirely up to Janet and Samantha. We have to wait 'til she comes back to us. The Scythia will come in range in about two and a half or three hours. Janet will rest more comfortably in one of our guest quarters. The queen will go with her and watch over her. That's the best we can do," Xena answered with a hint of worry in her voice Daniel immediately picked up on.

"How strongly will Janet be affected by what happens to Sam? Will she..."

"Will she die if Samantha is killed? We don't know. The surviving half has been known to lead a productive and even happy life without its mate but Samantha and Janet are very special. Their connection is the strongest we've ever seen. We don't know," Gabrielle answered his unspoken question.

Xena took her beloved in her arms and whispered, "They will be okay, my love. They both are strong and have a lot to live for. We will catch up with that ship and get Samantha back."

"By the time we find her she'll probably already have freed herself," Jack O'Neill added his two cents. "The woman is too damn brilliant for her own good. She'll find a way."

~*~

THE PRESENT: SCHU, IN THE THRONE ROOM OF NUT

"Cut her clothes off. Perhaps we can also strip away a bit of her arrogance."

After a moment's hesitation, Aisato signalled two of the female servants to execute his queen's orders who then stepped up to the dais on which the St. Andrew's cross had been mounted. She now was wearing a pair of grey slacks and a black top. Black eyes locked with blue.

"No one escapes the mother of Gods. No one lays a hand on me. You now will pay for your blasphemy."

She slowly unsheathed an obsidian dagger from her waistband and punctured the main artery in Samantha's right leg. A fountain of red liquid immediately erupted, and the Air Force major surprised herself with the thought that she was lucky to get such a quick death. She would bleed out within minutes. And there was nothing she could do to fight it. It made her angry, but she would be damned to show the pain she felt at losing her love and her daughter.

Nut studied her reaction like one would an insect and Samantha held her gaze as long as she could – and then there was darkness.

~*~

It was dark around her, darker than any night she could remember, darker than her quarters under the mountain during a blackout. She turned around and was surrounded by more darkness. Then she found the light, just a tiny dot, too far away to be real but she was drawn towards the bright dot, and as she got closer it became bigger, a ball of shining light.

Janet.

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD THE XS-01

The brunette opened her eyes and found her head resting on Daniel's thighs.

"The Scythia will be in range in a few candledrops," the weapons' master said.

"Daniel, what happened?"

"Janet, you're awake! That's great." Janet tried to sit up. "Take it easy. You were unconscious for more than four hours."

A shadow passed over the beautiful face and she called for the queen and her consort. "Xena, Gabrielle, they have a sarcophagus. She will kill Sam again and again. We have to get to her. She's so scared, so alone."

Janet now was openly crying, consumed by the fear of what else the sarcophagus would do to her beloved if they didn't get to her in time. The effect it had had on Daniel weighing heavily on her mind.

Xena took the shaking body in her arms. "Tell her that she's not alone; tell her that you love her."

They both closed their eyes and silence settled in the cabin of the small aircraft as if they all were waiting for something miraculous to happen. Half an hour later Xena and Janet simultaneously opened their eyes again. The doctor gave the tall woman a shy smile.

"Thank you, Xena."

"You're welcome, Janet. Is Samantha alright?"

"As good as can be expected, Xena. She felt me. She knows that we are on her trail." Janet fell silent; she could only hope that it would give her lover enough strength to tide her over.

"The young warrior is strong. We will get her back, healer," Niva, the Amazons' weapons' master, said. "The Scythia is hailing us. They are ready for the transport."

"I want to stay here but if I faint every time Sam d... Sam is put in a sarcophagus, I'll be a liability to you all. You don't have to go with me, your majesty."

"You'll need someone to talk to, Janet. We will not be too far behind the XT, I promise."

Janet hugged Jennifer and the others, and the blink of an eye later they were on board of the Amazonian flagship. Gabrielle led the small brunette to the bridge where they could monitor the progress of the other ship.

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE 'SCYTHIA'

A few hours later, the queen convinced Janet to go to the commissary but the young doctor only played with her food.

"Janet, you have to keep your strength up. Samantha will need you when we get her back."

"I know. I'm just not hungry at the moment," the doctor answered with a small pout.

"Eat, Doc, that's an order!" General Hammond said while taking a seat to her right.

"General, Sir," Janet looked at him with tired eyes, "why did you risk coming here? What went wrong? Why did the President not interfere?"

"Doctor Fraiser, Janet, I'm afraid I don't have any answers right now. Let's just say that I called in a few markers. I'm sure that everything will play out just like we want it to."

Janet had spent enough time in the military to recognise when something fell under the need-to-know category. She also knew better than to insist on a more detailed answer.

~*~

THE PRESENT: SCHU – THE THRONE ROOM

Samantha didn't resist when she was taken out of the sarcophagus and put back on the cross. Guards lined both walls but there were no servants present and no sign of the Goa'uld.

"Aisato, would you tell me more about Nut, about your queen?"

"You really don't know, SamanthaCarter? I thought you only said this to make my queen angry?"

"Goa'uld tend to make mistakes when you get them angry enough. It has worked in the past and would have worked this time. But in Nut's case, no, I really don't know about her." Samantha answered, omitting that Jolinar's memories in the meantime had provided her with quite a bit of information on this particular snakehead. "I might have heard her name but nothing more. Please, Aisato, I want to understand."

The tall Jaffa searched her face and her eyes for any hint of deception or duplicity. Even though he didn't understand his queen at the moment he was very protective of her.

An hour later, Samantha thanked him for his information. It had given her a lot to ponder. The portrait he drew had next to nothing to do with the angry, vengeance-thirsty, unstable being she had met. The queen he talked about was compassionate and genuinely cared for her people. The humans on her planets were healthy and prosperous. She was a good ruler.

Samantha somehow had to find out what had happened to bring about such a drastic change; and she had to do it fast, before the sarcophagus let her lose perspective of right and wrong, like it had with Daniel; before she would use her very soul.

At the moment her connection with Janet shielded her against the dark part of her soul and she desperately needed to trust this connection. She knew that it was the only thing that ultimately would be able to bring her back, should she really give in, should she really greet the darkness as an old friend, should she really no longer care if she survived or who else would live or die.

No, she had to get out; she had to get back to her family, to Janet and Cassy.

She tried to shake herself out of these dark, foreboding thoughts by thinking of her partner. She remembered her jealous fit when Janet's former brother-in-law Stephen had unexpectedly visited. He was a friend now but then she had stormed off on her hog, at the beginning of winter, without a jacket or a helmet. Janet had been angry with her, for running off, for saying what she did, for being irresponsible but in the end they had made up.

Samantha smiled at the memory but she didn't get the chance to reminisce any more. A voice startled her out of her pleasant thoughts.

"What did you do to my son? Why did you kill Seth?"

The blonde took a deep breath and considered her options. She could alienate the woman even further with her answer or she could try to tell her the truth – Jack O'Neill or Daniel Jackson.

"It was an accident. I didn't want to kill him. The Tok'ra asked us to find him. He had his own little court in a secluded house in the country. The young men and women there worshipped him because he had clouded their minds with Nishta. We broke his influence and led them to freedom. Seth tried to escape and injured the Tok'ra. He gave me the ribbon device. I only wanted to stop him but the blast was so strong. Every single one of his bones was crushed. He looked almost surprised."

Samantha didn't even try to mask how much she had been shaken by the events but she didn't trust this Goa'uld enough to let her know that the Tok'ra in question had been her father.

The bound woman expected another attack, but the dark haired woman abruptly turned around and left the throne room without another word. Samantha followed her with her eyes. This certainly was not the reaction she had expected, especially considering the cold fury in the Goa'uld's eyes.

About ten minutes later the woman returned with guards and servants in tow. "Do you regret killing my youngest child, Tau'ri?"

"No, he is responsible for countless deaths. Over the last three thousand years, he made his followers kill themselves whenever he was bored or had to leave for other reasons. He killed them. No, I don't regret his death."

A sudden silence fell over the room at the blonde's stark but sad words.

"Turn her around. Whip her, and only stop when she apologises for my child's death."

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE XS-01

"That's the third shadow trail we followed today."

Daniel Jackson was audibly frustrated as were most of the others on board of the small ship. It was the fourth day of their search, not counting the time they had lost on the planet from which she had been taken. The trails were constantly getting weaker.

"From our last stop there is only one possibility left," Jennifer Hailey answered, "but fortunately we won't have to go back there to chart our new course. We mapped the area and can use the data to set a new course."

A sudden flash of insight crossed Jack O'Neill's face. "We can triangulate the next check-point?"

Jennifer's nod was almost imperceptible.

"Then why the hell didn't we do this earlier?"

"Take it easy, Jack," the consort said. "We never before took the time to map the area. We were too hell-bent on making progress. The equations this is based on are very complex. It takes at least three hours to complete. Until now the ion trails have only led us a couple of hours astray; so, going back was easier and faster.

"Can you speed it up, Lieutenant Hailey?" Jack asked.

"No, Sir. This is one of the fastest computers I've ever seen. Short of disassembling it and streamlining the processors, I don't see what we could do – and even then we probably would be lucky to get it back the way it works now. It's beyond what we can do, Sir." The frustration in Jennifer's voice was more than evident.

~*~

THE PRESENT: SCHU – THE THRONE ROOM

The first two strokes cut a big X in her back. She cried out in pain.

Teal'c would certainly see it as a sign of weakness and the Jaffa witnessing her flogging might think so as well, but Jack O'Neill, despite his usual bravado, had taught her that one had to pick one's battles. She certainly wouldn't win this one by trying to appear invulnerable or immune to pain. They already knew that she was mortal.

Her chances to escape were less than slim; so, there was only one thing left to do: she had to keep her integrity. She had to make it clear that, regardless of what they did to her, they never would be able to break her spirit. She only hoped that she hadn't deluded herself.

And then there was this persistent foolhardy thought that she would be able to change the Goa'uld's mind. She had to make her understand that they only wanted to protect their world and that given the circumstances they didn't have a choice. It probably was one of her rare blonde moments but for now it at least kept her from answering the alluring call of darkness.

The third and fourth stroke threw her back to reality and soon the pattern was evident: two lashes, a break, two more lashes, one above, one slightly below the previous strokes. This was the first real whipping she had ever experienced, but somehow she knew that the wielder of the whip could do a lot more damage than he actually did. Theoretically she should have passed out long ago.

Samantha no longer was screaming with every mark left on her body. It had changed to one continuous scream that soon left her hoarse.

Suddenly, it stopped.

The hand of a woman offered her some water. She wanted to gulp it down but remembered Janet's repeated lessons and only took small sips.

Aisato's voice whispered from behind her. "Tell Queen Nut what she wants to hear. I don't want to kill someone as brave as you are."

Samantha heard the concern in the Jaffa's words and she answered. "I can't apologise for what was right. Just do your duty. I won't hold it against you. My integrity, my sincerity is the only thing I have left. I can't give it up."

If the Air Force major still had been able to discern between the placement of the strokes she would have felt that the next hit her right on top of the very first. Her voice was gone long before she finally, mercifully passed out.

~*~

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE XS-01

"Here, Jack, eat something," Daniel offered him a trail bar. "We will get her back."

"I know, Danny-boy." He fell silent for a few seconds. "I just hope that we won't be too late."

"Don't even think of ruining our track record."

~*~

THE PRESENT: SCHU – THE THRONE ROOM

When Samantha came to, she found that her legs no longer supported her body. She could not feel her legs.

A surge of panic ran through her body and mind but she quickly calmed herself down. Was it possible that one or more of the lashes had injured a nerve? Yes, it was possible, but she didn't think that this was the case.

In a strange way, she trusted the big Jaffa with the gentle eyes. She didn't doubt that he would and could kill her but that...

Samantha suddenly remembered her Special Ops training, the final test.

They had been taken from their beds and put in a crude bamboo cage. After regaining consciousness, she had found bruises on her breasts and the inside of her thighs; there also was dried blood. Theory had paled in contrast to the reality she had had to face.

Then, they had wanted her to believe that, while unconscious, she had been brutally raped. They had wanted to break her with the fear of being subjected to this kind of violation again and again – but all it had achieved was to strengthen her determination.

She had not given in then, and she would not give in now.

Samantha tried to take stock of her physical condition but the over-all pain was just too much. The scent of her own blood made her slightly nauseous, and suddenly she knew why the whipping had not yet resumed. They once again would let her bleed to death. It was not very creative but she welcomed the chance at oblivion.

Next: Still Searchin