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Runaway To Hell
Chapter One
Veta didn't need to look to know who approached, though the man made barely a sound. His gaze never left the quarry he was assigned to watch. "How are Rinnie and Nessa?"
"A little shaken. Nessa's got a couple of scrapes but nothing a few seconds with a healer won't fix." As he drew near, Mahj'arc took in the relaxed pose of his head of security leaning in the door jam and knew their 'guest' wasn't giving any trouble, at least for now. He raised an eyebrow when he got a good look at Veta's face. "Who was stupid enough to take a swing at you? I'm assuming you've already taken care of the body." It was said in jest but it was based in historical fact. Not many people survived a physical altercation with Veta. It was one of the primary reasons Mahj'arc had him as his bodyguard.
Veta scowled at Mahj'arc, accepting the teasing that no one other than his best friend would even attempt. He wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand. "Your mystery avenger."
Mahj'arc's other eyebrow joined its counterpart, changing his expression to genuine surprise. "She actually got a shot in?"
"My own fault," he shrugged. "I let my guard down."
"That's not like you," he frowned, glancing through the door at the slender woman lying on top of the bed inside. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or unconscious, but couldn't see any evidence that Veta had retaliated by knocking her out. "Especially given the circumstances."
Another shrug. "I figured since she was unconscious she posed no threat."
"She was feigning?"
"No. She was out like a light. Still is."
"What happened?"
Veta launched into a brief summary. "I was searching her, looking for weapons, identification, the usual. Stripped her off, no worries. Scanned her. No trackers that I could find in her belongings or on her person. Her jewelry is distinctive. Was going to try to trace the designer. When I tried to remove the ring, she let fly with a mean right hook. Didn't even open her eyes."
"Huh. Intriguing."
"You don't know the half of it," he replied dryly. Everything about this woman was intriguing.
"What were you able to find out about her?" For the safety of the rest of the staff, Mahj'arc had wanted Veta to take care of the woman himself. They didn't know yet if she was friend or foe, for while she had saved Mahj'arc's life, it was entirely probable that the assassination attempt had been a ploy to infiltrate his inner circle. It was only due to the small chance this woman was a legit good citizen that she wasn't locked in the brig.
Veta had gone over the woman's belongings and the woman herself looking for answers. While he could draw some conclusions, his observations had created just as many new questions. "Skin pale, feet not hardened or calloused so she's not used to outdoor labor. Probably city bred, though which city I couldn't try to guess until I observe more of her mannerisms awake. But," he lifted her hand, being careful to choose the ring-less one, and turned it palm up to show his friend, "she does use her hands, so she's not a noble or an elite. No scarring or signs of shackles, no distinguishing brands or tattoos identifying ownership, so not a slave or serf." He placed her hand back down on the bed then brushed her hair from her forehead. "Although when I was cleaning her up, it revealed this."
Mahj'arc looked quizzically at the lilac star. "Birthmark?"
"Possibly, but it's none like I've seen before. Whatever it is, she's trying to conceal it. And her hair is not naturally black."
"How do you know that?" Mahj'arc could see no tell tale roots near her scalp indicating a color shift, and her eyebrows were also tinted black.
"Pubic hair is dark red," he shrugged. "She's gone to great lengths to change her outward appearance." He moved on. "Her muscles are toned but not to excess." He rubbed at his chin feeling the bruising her punch had caused. "Knows how to defend herself. From her movements on the planet, I'd say she's had training but she wasn't bred to be a soldier. She's exhausted, clearly on the run, but it hasn't been for long, I'd say a couple of weeks at most." He scanned the woman, whom he had redressed after his examination into a loose tunic, from top to toe to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Satisfied that he hadn't, he stepped backwards to the far side of the room, ensuring that he didn't turn his back on the sleeping woman. Gestured to the small table where he had placed her personal belongings neatly on top. "And then there're her effects."
Mahj'arc joined his friend, though he was also careful to always have the woman in his peripheral vision. "Enlighten me."
Veta skipped over the canteen and small pile of freeze-dried food, even though the dozen packets with the picture of a steaming brown beverage was unfamiliar to him. "A Goa'uld zat'n'ktel. A blade, looks military but I don't recognize the issue. The grip isn't material known in these parts, nor is the component of the steel. Her robe, at first glance is that of a lower caste commoner, but upon closer inspection it's very well made, with numerous pockets designed to hide the openings. Aside from the robe, her clothes, again, look military, but the style of uniform is unknown. There were four others on the planet that I saw wearing these," he tapped at the murky green, pocketed pants.
"You think they were her people?"
"If they were, she was doing her best to keep away from them. In the square, she wasn't running from us, she was running from them." That much he knew from her reaction on the planet. He'd seen the flash of panic in her eyes that wasn't there when she had thrown herself in front of the pulse blast. That desperation to escape had only come when one of the men dressed in the same uniform as she, had called out what he presumed was her name.
"Her boots are well worn, but not a leather indigenous to any planet I've seen. Under clothes are quality. Functional but also alluring." He picked up the bra that he hadn't bothered to replace after the strip search. "Supportive for such buxom breasts, yet padded, designed to enhance their natural shape. Not exactly military issue."
Mahj'arc's eyes swept the stack of clothing then darted to the sleeping woman. "How thorough was your body search?"
"Nothing invasive," he assured. "But you know the transmitter locator works best with no barriers. Once I determined there was nothing hidden beneath her skin, there was no reason to examine closer. Would have put this back on," he dangled the bra in the air, "but you know me, I'm all thumbs when it comes to little hooks." He gave him an amused grin. "Worried about your little avenger's virtue?"
"From you?" Mahj'arc gave a snort of laughter. "Not unless she's a Charchuok male of strapping vigor."
"Oh, I should be so lucky," Veta sighed. "So why the questioning of my methods?"
"If she was just trying to help, doing a cavity search isn't exactly a friendly way to say thank you."
Veta gave a nod of understanding then continued on. "All her clothes have small labels, script unknown. She's got what I assume are toiletries." He pointed to a bar of soap that he had pulled from one of the trouser pockets. There was also a small tube of skin colored viscous fluid, which he assumed was to cover the 'birthmark'. Next to it was a thin stick with a tiny brush at one end. The minty smell residing on the bristles matched the white paste from a squishy tube. Another brush was clearly a hairbrush. A bottle with a ball that spun freely once the cap was removed emitted a flowery scent, and two bottles of a sugary sweet but strong smelling oil. "I have no idea what this is." He held up a thin rectangle device with a square screen and circular section at the bottom with symbols indicating they were the controls. There was a white cord plugged into the base that split into two, with two small discs attached on each end. "Could be a surveillance device, but whatever power source it uses is drained. "This was in her trouser pocket." He picked up one of two small leather pouches with drawstrings. "A mix of currencies from local planets, not a lot. Wouldn't pay for a night in one of our rooms, but enough to get a one of mid-quality planet-side for a couple of weeks." He tossed the second pouch to his boss. "You'll find what's inside interesting. It was hidden around her ankle."
Mahj'arc tipped the contents out onto his palm. Gave a low whistle at the mix of gemstones that fell out. "That's a hefty sum."
"Could buy a small country or two."
"Stolen or payment?" he asked for Veta's opinion.
"Perhaps neither."
"What's this?" Mahj'arc picked up a small disc amongst the stones.
"Don't know. Looks Goa'uld by design, but the modifications aren't. It must be valuable, at least to her, if she has it with the stones."
With the show and tell over the men moved back out into the corridor.
"Any idea how she propelled the other guards from herself?" Mahj'arc asked.
He shook his head. "There are no devices or weapons that can do that in her belongings. It's possible it was left behind on the planet, if there was such a device."
"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" Mahj'arc leaned against the wall, intending to stay until he was able to interrogate the mystery woman himself.
"Her physiology is slightly different to our own, the healing device struggled a bit to knit her wound together. That could have drained her more than we're used to. Could also be that her body is taking advantage of her unconscious state to simply rest. She doesn't look like she's slept much lately."
A A A
Daniel gripped the bloody shirt so tightly his fingers went numb. Numb. Well, at least physically I now match my mental state, he thought bitterly. They'd been so close! He could even smell traces of vanilla still in the air. Or maybe it was just his imagination, the wishful thinking of his crumbling heart. "We did see her, didn't we, Jack? You saw her as well?"
Jack heard the desperate plea in his best friend's voice and stepped further into the shadowed alley. "We all saw her."
"It wasn't a hallucination or an astral projection?"
"No. Casper was here," Jack reconfirmed. He refrained from pointing out that the wadded shirt Daniel was clutching, that was standard Earth military issue, was proof positive. He understood Daniel needed the verbal confirmation. He couldn't bear to see the torment on Daniel's face, not realizing that his own wore the same look of frustration, confusion, worry and anger. He shifted his gaze to the trail of sticky redness that had led them to the empty alley. Stopped from mentioning his concern about how much blood they were seeing. "You...um...can't sense where she's gone?"
Daniel heaved a sigh, his hand pressing against his solar plexus. "I did for a few seconds." The block that Annika had instigated had been lifted briefly and he had known precisely where she was, or rather had been. In those few seconds he had followed that invisible link they shared rather than the blood trail. Then the connection had changed, becoming only a vague general sense of her direction and he knew she was no longer on the planet. With each moment that vagueness grew, telling him she was by now light years away. Their bond since their deaths from using the Ancient weapon only worked in pinpointing her exact location if they were in close proximity. "She's that way. Unconscious." His head jerked upwards to the sky and to the left.
That he could even sense her at all now, told him that she was unconscious. She'd been too careful in maintaining the block while she was awake for her to make that slip now. He'd reached that conclusion three days ago when it suddenly clicked in his head that the sporadic 'brushes' he'd felt on their bond were her testing his state of wakefulness. And that she'd been timing her sleep pattern, such as it was, with his. Janet had practically forced some sedatives down his throat after three days of sleeplessness since Annika had run off, and it had been a fluke that he'd been woken up by a noise and had felt that precious link, cluing in that she couldn't maintain the block while she slept. He could feel her agitation through their bond even while she was sleeping, but could only say for certainty which quadrant of the galaxy she was in. And that location had changed by the next time he'd been able to get a fleeting sense of her location before she woke up.
He stared up at the sky. And now they were back at square one.
There was movement at the end of the alley and he saw Sam and Teal'c appear, their faces grim.
"No luck?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.
Sam shook her head. "If anyone knows who that family was they're not talking. They and the body were beamed up from the planet. I scanned the area where they left from. There was a residual energy signature, but it's not one we've encountered before."
"Their clothes weren't local," Daniel said flatly. "They could have come from anywhere."
"The assassin's weapon was distinctive," Teal'c said thoughtfully. "Perhaps if we find who planned the attack we could find out who the target is."
"That's assuming Annika stays with that family and that she doesn't leave before we trace them."
"We'll find her, Danny," Jack said quietly. "We won't give up."
The walk back through the town was a silent one. Each of the teammates more dejected than they would ever admit, except for Daniel. He didn't try to mask the devastation of coming so close only to have her literally spirited away.
The hustle and bustle had resumed as though the assassination attempt had never happened. Halfway across the square Jack realized that they were one short. He turned back to see Teal'c frowning at the corner where they had been, his head twisting from one direction to the other to where Annika had saved the family. Raised an eyebrow when the Jaffa strode up to the monument in the center of the square and scaled it, his eyes now roaming around the entire area. Jack could already see two official-type people making their way over to them. "T, I'm no expert, but I don't think the locals approve of us climbing on their stuff."
For a moment Teal'c didn't speak, he simply finished his sweep, then jumped back down to the ground and caught up with the rest of the team.
"Care to explain the monkey routine?" Jack fell into step with him.
"The vantage point from the monument allowed a perfect view of the square," he replied. "I was trying to determine if any other structures resemble the buildings from Annika Jackson's vision."
"Why?"
"Clearly we were not in the correct spot to reacquire her."
"Maybe the vision was only to give a planet location?" Sam suggested. "Looking at the other storefronts, the one from the vision is the only one that has the galaxy coordinates in their logo. Or maybe..." She cut off, mentally cursing her tongue for running ahead of her mind, darting a quick look at Daniel a couple of feet ahead of her.
"You can say it, Sam," Daniel sighed, having heard the conversation though he didn't look back. "Or maybe we weren't supposed to get to her."
The vision that had led them here had only been a brief snippet gained from one of the altered memory devices. It had clearly shown Annika dressed in a robe walking by that storefront. What had been strange was that the vision had been tacked on, almost like an afterthought, to a totally unrelated vision involving SG-16. And they had almost missed it when they had conducted the search of Annika's belongings and work areas, looking for a clue as to why and where she had runaway. The two second vision was the only lead they had.
Teal'c sighed. A clue that they had clearly misinterpreted and now they were back to where they had been seven days ago. Only this time it was worse. He could see that beyond the worry and confusion of his wife's sudden disappearance, that there was anger growing within Daniel. Anger born of frustration and hurt that she had simply up and left without a word of explanation.
He replayed in his mind for the umpteenth time, that morning a week ago, guiltily wondering if there had of been something he could have done or said in those few seconds to convince the redhead to stay…
It had been an hour before the first dawn of a three day recon on a planet that had shown promising readings of naquadah. The UAV had sent back images of an abandoned Goa'uld structure twenty klicks from the Stargate. What had been unusual was that there were no signs of any other buildings or human habitation on the planet. It had been enough to pique Daniel’s curiosity and he had requested the mission. The team had arrived at approximately noon of the planet's day and had immediately set off in the direction of the lone structure. They hadn't counted on the quick weather shift. They'd gone approximately ten kilometers when the bright sunshine changed to roiling black storm clouds and they had barely managed to find shelter in a cave before the deluge poured from the heavens, accompanied by hurricane force winds, lightning, and hail the size of golf balls. The storm had lasted for hours, and though it had ended as suddenly as it came, nightfall had set in making it too dark for them to traverse the terrain safely. So they had remained in the cave intending to continue on to their goal at first light. They had drawn straws for the watch and Teal'c had drawn the last shift.
When he was woken by a quiet word from Annika, his eyes had automatically gone to his watch, and he'd been surprised to see that she was waking him an hour late for his scheduled shift. He'd turned to ask why and it was only then that it struck him as odd that the redhead had roused him with her voice rather than a gentle shake to his shoulder as she normally did. He blinked to see the transparent form of her astral embodiment. Bolted to his feet when he realized her physical body was nowhere to be seen. "Annika Jackson, what is wrong? Where are you?"
Her hands twisted together and she drifted back. "I'm almost at the Stargate."
"For what reason?" He raised his voice to wake the others.
She sent an almost panicked look in the direction of Daniel. He’d had rolled over at the noise, his arms automatically reaching out for his wife who was not there. "I have to leave."
"Leave? Why?"
She ignored the question, her eyes never leaving her husband as he groggily sat up. "Please, don't try to follow me or find me. I can't stay with you anymore."
"Annika?" Bewildered blue eyes finally focused on her.
"I'm sorry." Her gaze swept over Teal'c. Then moved on to Sam and Jack blearily blinking at her. She seemed to be imprinting their faces into her memory. When her eyes landed once more on Daniel who had scrambled to his feet, her face twisted into a mask of pain and they all saw the shine of tears in her eyes. "Goodbye."
And then she was gone.
After a moment of stunned silence, Daniel had jammed on his boots and had taken off chasing after her, using their bond to track her. Teal'c had been barely a step behind him. They had barely run two klicks when Daniel skidded to a halt, his hand going to his solar plexus.
"No," he whispered. "This...this can't be happening."
Breathing heavily from the sprint over the rocky terrain, Teal'c raised an eyebrow at his friend.
Daniel drew in a haggard breath. "Our bond...it just...dispersed, is the only way to describe it. I can't pinpoint her."
"She mentioned being close to the Stargate, do you think she has left the planet?"
The archaeologist concentrated as hard as he could on their bond, trying to get a firmer reading. After a few seconds, he felt it change direction from the vague direction of his left to behind him and to the right. He gave a slow nod. "And she's already 'gated to a third." Then suddenly he felt a familiar 'curtaining' around their bond. Annika was blocking him. He raised tortured eyes to his teammate. "Why?"
"I do not know."
There was the sound of jogging footfalls and Jack and Sam appeared from the brush each wearing a pack on each shoulder. Jack carried a fifth in front of him.
"She left most of her gear." Jack placed the backpack by his feet. "She also left these." He reached into the bag and removed a nine mil in its holster and three embroidered circles.
Daniel stared at the uniform patches. In his bolt after her, his mind had run through every scenario it could. That Annika had been coerced away, had been captured by one of their enemies and been forced to astral travel to them to relay that message. Seeing those patches so neatly stacked forced him to consider the one option he had avoided. She had left of her own accord...had planned to runaway.
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