DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Jack, or any of the other far less important characters that they say are also in the show. Probably for the best, because he’d never escape alive and I’d make Iraq look like a teddy-bear’s picnic. I think MGM own them, and Gekko something, or some kind of lizard creature, God knows (but probably doesn’t care). Don’t sue me, cos all I can give you are debts. So, actually, feel free.
AUTHORS (excessively long) NOTE: This one’s for Wonky, and for her busted ankle, because it is unlikely that I will finish the fic I started to write especially for her before she grows old and loses her vision. Follow MacGyver’s example Wonky, and make do with what you got. And this is what you got. It was written in the early hours of three mornings in a row, and whaddayaknow it involves natives and jack-whumping. I am never predictable, just reassuringly regular. ;) And you know what, I think I have a thing about Daniel and Jack and paste. Shut up Yoof. :P
Thanks to Forest (jackie) for the beta, you are a shining tree of gold amidst a ...boggy forest of... stupid sapling... things.
Also, thanks to Shanilka, who gave me some advice ages ago about Jack when he’s hurt, and which I have put to effect in this fic. Btw Wonky... GREAT SAVE! :P Read on...

boomerang

The forest had not been noisy, there had not been an overbearing presence of animal noises, but still every member of SG1 noticed when those noises abruptly stopped. Silence settled over the sun-streaked canopy above them like a cloak, and they came to a halt. O’Neill gripped his weapon with a renewed suspicion as he made eye contact with Teal’c and silently shared his fears with his stoic team-mate. Daniel’s head whipped from side to side as he struggled to make out flitting shadows in the thick foliage around them, and slowly SG1 backed together, drawing into a tight defensive circle, still absolutely silent.

Barely had their Colonel opened his mouth to issue orders than a sound broke the silence. A high pitched whistle cut the air, seeming to come from all directions at once. Jack’s ears seemed to shake with the sound and he flicked his head up to see where it was coming from, holding his gun high. A flash of silver was his only warning, before something fast and glimmering shot towards him and hit him full on in the chest. His only sound was an expellation of air as the object embedded itself hard, shoving him backwards a few steps. He heard his team’s cries from around him as if from far away, and felt tiny splatters of blood hit the underside of his chin. He barely found his footing before the metal object gave an almighty pull, as if on a string, and he was yanked off his feet and into the air. He screamed involuntarily as his head was whipped back with the speed at which he shot forwards, and abruptly it snapped forward again as he impacted a tree directly in front of him. His only sound was a sickening “oof” as he hit it bodily and it smashed his chest, his knees and face slamming unprotected into the thick bark, chipping small pieces of it away.

He waited for the falling, but there was none. All he could do was breathe, no ground beneath his feet and all his limbs hanging ineffectually as coldness spread from his chest outwards. The only warmth was the slick hot blood that flowed from his nose down over his mouth and chin. He choked briefly, moaning out loud and hardly hearing the sound over the gunfire that seemed to echo through his head, his name being shouted somewhere far away. Pain fought with numbness throughout his body, and vaguely he felt fingers clench into a shaking fist, army issue boots kick spasmodically against bark.

Carter was straining her ears for enemy sounds as she fired continuously into the forest around them, but all she could hear was Daniel’s panicked voice, bordering on hysteria behind her, “Jack! Jack!”
Over and over he screeched their team-leaders name, until Carter was damn sure that she never wanted to turn around. To her side she heard Teal’c firing his staff into the forest in blasts of three, steady, sure clusters of fire. Then suddenly in front of her she heard a distant yelp, a cry that indicated she had hit the target that she couldn’t see. Her finger hovered over the trigger on her weapon as she paused, straining her ears through the silence for any sound of enemy attack. She heard nothing, except a strange gurgling cough from behind her somewhere, and she closed her eyes briefly.
“Teal’c stay watchful,” she commanded, her voice sounding unnaturally weak in the thick silence, and then she whirled around. Knitting her eyebrows into an exaggerated expression of distress, she ran over to where Daniel was standing helplessly next to Colonel O’Neill.
“Colonel,” she breathed quietly as she let go of her gun and peered between him and tree where he was attached to the trunk, a few feet higher than standing height. A low growling diverted her gaze to his face and his barely open eyes, his gritted teeth and face smeared with blood from his nose. He was staring defiantly at the bark of the tree inches from his face, growling deep in his throat continually.
Her lip curled involuntarily as she put a hand to his arm, “it’s okay sir, we’ll have you down in a second,” and then wondered how she was going to do that exactly. The metal object seemed to be embedded into both the Colonel’s chest and the tree trunk, with only a small glimmering sliver showing between them both. She glanced helplessly at Teal’c, beckoning him over with a wave of her hand. She turned back at a noise from the Colonel, he yelped slightly, his eyelids flickering as he stammered, “What...what...” and then coughed harshly, his eyes screwing shut with the pain it brought.
“It’s okay Sir, it’s okay,” Sam chanted. Teal’c joined them with barely disguised distress on his noble face, and looked to Carter for instructions. She nodded, “stand behind him, we have to pull him off this tree, grab his waist and get ready to hold him as Daniel and me try to lever this thing out of the wood.”
She pushed her right hand in between Jack and the tree, screwing her nose as she felt slick blood slide over her fingers. She felt cold metal and then the sting of a sharp edge. She could just see Daniel’s pale face on Jack’s other side, staring at him as if hypnotised.
“Daniel! Get your hand in here, I need your help!”
He met her eyes to give her a horrified glance, and then seemed to come to his senses and slowly pushed his hand towards hers in between the tree and his friend. Clutching the metal, Sam felt Daniel get a grip too, and she heard Jack choke his protest at the movement they caused. “Okay Daniel we need to get it out of the tree, not out of the Colonel. Try and dislodge it.”
Simultaneously they both pulled on the metal object, feeling a shift in its position. Jack tilted his head back, the veins on his neck standing out and glistening with blood, he breathed out slowly, his lower lip twisting slowly, his eyes welling with tears as his team pulled hard on the thing lodged in his chest. “God...god...oh...god..” he spat, feeling his boots once again pound the tree trunk.

There was a hollow clunk, and then Jack lurched backwards suddenly. His descent stopped as Teal’c took his weight, and they all manoeuvred him carefully to the forest floor, trying to ignore his hisses of pain. Carter stared down at him, lost for a second. Shit, she thought, shit. The person to save her from indecision and potential panic was an unlikely one, as Jack met her eyes, “it’s okay,” he choked, and Sam heard Daniel let lose a panicked giggle, “I... don’t think it’s in two deep....just...hit a...few ribs... I think.” He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, and she stared back, drawing strength from his unwavering gaze. His face looked horrendous, she thought, but she was able to call on her training and remember that blood made everything worse, and that he could indeed be right about his injury. She knelt down and observed that a lot of the metal object seemed to be visible, and therefore there was not too much material within his chest. A glance to her left satisfied her that Teal’c was on guard, and she drew out her knife, motioning for Daniel to open the medical kit. She cut carefully around the object, her hands slipping on blood as she peeled away soaked fabric.

Jack stared upwards towards the blue sky framed by tall green trees, it seemed to spin below him as if he was staring down at it, his hands digging into the soft dirt to prevent his falling into the clouds and sunshine, the atmosphere, and finally the stars. Screwing his eyes shut for a few seconds and fighting to regain perspective, he lifted his head slightly and stared down his body to where the metal object was sticking out of his chest.
“Looks like... a boomerang,” he muttered, and then his head hit the dirt with a thump as he passed out.
“Unconscious?” Carter asked, as Daniel reached for Jack’s wrist. He waited a few seconds and then nodded to her, making her sigh tightly as she turned back to her task, “you know, I think he might be right, we might be okay here. There doesn’t seem to be much in him, it’s broken a few ribs though I think, and we have no way of knowing if there’s damage from those. If he was splitting blood we’d know but...” she motioned to the amount of blood that coated Jack’s face from his nose downwards. Daniel nodded, still gripping Jack’s wrist like a lifeline, “what are we going to do? We’re so far from the gate...”
“Start back as soon as we get him bandaged and on some kind of a stretcher,” Carter said, in as confident a tone as she could muster. Daniel’s subsequent trusting gaze was almost more than she could handle.

Carter reached down to peel away more of Jack shirt, but her progress was stopped by Teal’c’s booming voice, “Halt!”
She jumped to her feet, her gun raised and ready to fire. Standing a few feet away from Teal’c was a man, perhaps of thirty years old, wearing ragged clothes that blended in perfectly with the woodland around then. Carter frowned, confused as to how Teal’c had allowed him to get so close before stopping him. He didn’t seem to hold any weapons, and was merely standing and staring curiously at them, particularly past her and at Jack and Daniel.
Carter stepped forwards, “keep your hands where I can see them and move forward.”
The man did as she asked, and as he came closer she observed his thin frame, and slightly haggard appearance. He looked like a survivor, not totally starved but on the brink of it. His hair was ragged, tied back but flying in all directions, and his stubble was unchecked.
“I won’t hurt you,” he started, in a calm voice that had an odd singing accent to it, “I’m not with the other ones that attacked you, I come to help the ones they terrorise. There’s not normally too much left to help.” Again he peered past her at Jack, and Carter thought she saw pity in his eyes.
He stopped a few feet in front of her, and Teal’c searched him quickly, finding only a few pouches of herbs in his roughly sewn pockets. Carter’s mouth twitched slightly, there was a gentle smell coming from the man, a natural herb-smell, pleasant and fresh.
“How can you help?” she asked, inclined to believe him.
He smiled briefly, “I’m...I was a doctor in my...with my people,” he answered falteringly, “I healed those I could using the forest’s resources. Then these scavengers came, “ he cast a disgusted look over his shoulder, “and soon there were less people to help.”
“Where did they co...” Carter started, and then realised that her questions could wait, she trusted this man, or at least she trusted him enough to give him the benefit of the doubt. “Our leader is hurt, hit by one of their...boomerangs,” she explained, letting Jack’s name for it calm her, “we have medications that can help him at home, but we need to get back to the stargate, the round gate.”
“That is many hours away from here, you cannot travel with him like this, you need to stem the blood,” the man replied, moving to Daniel’s side and kneeling on the ground next to Colonel O’Neill’s prone body. He cast a quick but worried look at Daniel’s pale face, and then stood, “you can bring him back to my home, we will be protected there and I have things that will help him, and you.”
Indecision flashed across Carter’s face for a mere second, and then she nodded curtly, “thank you.”
He nodded briefly and spared her a small smile, “lend me your hands.”
Carter frowned, “we need to build a stretcher...” she started uncertainly. The man shook his head firmly, “the scavengers will be back, and soon. Put your hand under his back here,” he motioned to Daniel, who was sitting on the opposite side of his prone friend. The man directed Daniel until they linked hands under Jack’s unresponsive form, and he helped Teal’c and Carter do the same at his legs. Together they stood, and found that Jack was effectively supported between them. Carter looked unhappily at Jack’s head, his neck strained as it hung back unsupported. The man noticed her expression and smiled reassuringly, “the position will help him breathe properly, I checked his neck and there is no terrible damage that will be aggravated, just maybe some pulled muscles which will not suffer overly from this. Trust me, he will be fine, and better than that if we get back to my home fast.”

With Carter’s confidence regained, they set off at a fast pace, carrying the silent form of their leader between them. Daniel tried not to watch the metal object as it sat firmly in the middle of Jack’s chest, it’s sharp edge gleaming menacingly in the scarce sunlight that met them on the forest floor. A tense few moments passed, with the man giving directions by movements of his head, until shortly he nodded, “this is it, please set him down for a moment.”
Carter slowly lowered Jack to the ground with the others, and her hand flew automatically to his wrist to feel for a pulse, some comfort and assurance that he was okay. The strong throb that met her fingers lifted her spirits a little and added fuel to hopes that the damage really wasn’t as bad as it appeared. She looked around now in confusion, wondering where on earth this man’s home was, and hoping he had not led them on some wild-goose chase. She watched him walk around in a small circle carefully, prodding the ground with his feet. Then, just as she was about to suggest that Teal’c help the man recover his sanity, his foot sunk into the ground a few inches and he smiled, “here we go”. He reached down to the soft bracken and pulled it away to reveal a large hole in the ground. He rejoined them and took up his position opposite Daniel. Together they lifted the Colonel again, and walked down into the large hole, following the incline down into darkness. After a few yards of pitch black, a faint light showed ahead, and Carter steered them towards it hesitantly.

Cautiously they emerged into an underground room, spacious but filled with clutter, shelves and objects, jars, pots, and vessels. A small light burned in one corner of the room, casting deep shadows as they moved into the room, and not affording them much of a look around. The man nodded his head towards a shelf to their left, covered with blankets and with a soft pillow at it’s head, “lay him there, and then I can get us some light to work with.”

Gently, and with a small amount of difficulty, they set O’Neill on the high bed and Carter set the pillow under his head, bunched up beneath his neck to give it support and keep his airways open. The light levels increased slowly as lanterns were lit about the room. Carter turned to look at the stranger and his home properly for the first time. He smiled at her tensely, “I am Soorka,” and with that said he grabbed a pot and some implements and moved over to Jack’s side.
Carter stood by his side, and helped him cut away Jack’s blood-soaked shirt, peeling it from his cold skin. Soorka turned briefly towards Daniel, “grab that fur over there, and put it over his legs.” Daniel was slow to respond, but he found the fur and covered as much of Jack as he could without interfering with the wound. He noted patches of blood on the Colonel’s knees, but knew they were the least of their worries. Soorka jerked, and turned again as if he had just remembered something, “you,” he said, looking at Teal’c, “can you go and cover the entrance to this place? We have to be careful...”
“I can,” Teal’c replied in a deep voice, not betraying the worry he carried for his friend. He moved quietly out of the dirt door, and towards the surface.

Carter winced as she used a wetted cloth to wipe away the blood that surrounded O’Neill’s chest-wound. Careful not to put too much pressure on the area, she revealed already the already darkening hues of bruising around the jagged gash. Soorka dipped his head down to hover over Jack’s, listening intently to the man’s gentle breathing. “His lungs aren’t broken, so we can take it out.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?” Carter asked, aware that removing the object would cause massive bleeding, and perhaps more damage.
“The material can be harmful if left in, so we must. You must pull it out when I say, and I can pack this in,” he indicated to a jar and put his hand inside, bringing up a fistful of leaves. He wetted them and mashed them in his hands until they became thick and paste-like. “Lavender,” he explained, “very good for wounds and healing.” Carter didn’t nod, or smile, she turned back to Jack, and stared at the metal in his chest. She put her hands on the edge of it, and tried to get a good grip. It was so slippery and shiny that it was near impossible to get a firm hold. She wasn’t given time to worry, as Soorka said, “now.”

She pulled, going with the shape of the device in an attempt to limit further cutting. After initial resistance it slid out suddenly with a sucking noise, and for a brief second Carter could see raw tissue and a flash of white bone. Then the blood welled and filled the gap, and before it could spill out onto Jack’s chest Soorka jammed the mushed leaves into the wound, effectively plugging it. Carter whipped a bottle of disinfectant from her first aid kit, and poured it over the leaves, and around the wound. She ignored Soorka’s confused look and then lifted some of the wads of material he had brought over, pushing them flat over the wound. Soorka removed his hands, and smiled slightly, “that’s the worst part done, now help me lift him and we can wrap these bandages secure.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Carter replied, pulling medical tape from her kit and tearing a bit off. She taped the material securely to Jack’s chest, and then handed the tape to Soorka.
“Huh,” he muttered, clearly impressed as he fingered the sticky edge, “very useful.”
“You can keep it,” Carter smiled, and closed her medical kit. “I’m Major Carter, Teal’c is outside, this is Colonel O’Neill, and this is Daniel.”
Soorka nodded, his gaze settling on Daniel, who was still standing in the middle of the room, looking slightly lost and pale. His gaze flicked back to Carter, who was standing stiffly over O’Neill’s still form, and looking in concern at the blood smearing his face.
“Right,” announced Soorka firmly, “you two sit down, and I will make you something to help with the shock,” he lifted a finger as Carter opened her mouth to protest, “I am perfectly capable of tending to your friend while you rest. Or do you wish to insult my abilities as a healer?" He fingered the tape, watching them. Carter smiled, letting it spread a bit further than such a situation would normally allow, “thanks.”
Soorka nodded, instantly losing his commanding tone and moving hastily over to some piles of books and containers. Throwing them aside he unearthed several comfy looking chairs, and pushed Daniel towards one of them in the corner. The archaeologist sat down, looking a little dazed, and shortly Soorka had a mug of something hot and steaming in the young man’s hands, “here, drink this.” Daniel looked at the liquid suspiciously, and Carter saw a bit of Jack in him for just a split instant.
“It’s just Begamot and Lavender to help with the anxiety and shock, drink it, it will do you good.” Soorka stood over Daniel, looking for a moment like some sort of ragged schoolteacher, waiting for his pupil to finish their homework. The feeling obviously spurred Daniel on, and he took a hesitant sip of the liquid. Soorka nodded, and carried another mug over to Carter, “here; Camomile, Bergamot and Ylang Ylang. Worry, anxiety and anger. Drink.”
As Carter conceded and sipped her drink Soorka moved back to Jack’s side, and pulled over a stool. To one side he piled a heap of herbs in a terracotta bowl and lit them from the small fire that glowed in the corner of his room. They flamed briefly, and then settled to a slow burn, emitting light white smoke with a strong exotic perfume. Teal’c returned and announced, “we are secure,” before sniffing the air with a quirky expression.
“Are we on fire?” he enquired.
Soorka shook his head with an amused smile, “star of bethlem incense, it will help with shock and will comfort the nerves. There is mug sitting there for you, please empty it.”
“I am not thirsty,” Teal’c replied, standing firm with his staff clutched in his left hand. Carter looked up from her hot drink, awoken by Teal’c caution and suddenly realising how much suspicion O’Neill would have had in her place. She stared down at the drink, the herbs floating in the liquid, and hoped to god that Teal’c wouldn’t have to save the day. She shared a quick glance with him, and then set aside her mug. It had indeed made her feel better, and she looked over to see some colour returning to Daniel’s face, “You okay Daniel?”

Soorka listened to the strangers talk in low whispers behind him as he concentrated on his task. Using a soft material dipped in lavender-water, he gently wiped away the blood that coated Jack’s face, caked over his mouth and chin. He cleared the mess away from his forehead to find a gash and nasty colourings of another bruise adorning the man’s face. Carefully he placed his index finger and thumb on the bridge of the silver-haired man’s nose, and squeezed experimentally. He felt no shifting movement and was glad to conclude that it was not broken, merely bruised. He moved his hand onto the man’s ruffled head of hair, pressing firmly and sliding his palm over the scalp and through the hair, feeling for any lumps or bumps. Satisfied that there was nothing hidden there he put a hand over Jack’s bruised chin and pulled slightly to open his mouth and check his front teeth, pushing gently he tested for loose or broken enamel.

Half-conscious, Jack was dragged bodily across a concrete floor, his knees tearing through grit and stone. Hands held his upper arms so hard as to stop the blood, he felt the movement stop and someone grab his chin in a fierce grip. Fingers wrenched his jaw open and lifted his lips to bare his teeth like some kind of animal. Dirty digits ran firmly over his front teeth and a harsh voice assaulted his ears, “smatretya, on zdarovee ih silyuhnee, etat chelyavek harasho bizav.” Someone behind him laughed, “Da!”.
Jack growled deep down in his throat, letting anger and fear fuel his body as it struggled to respond to his commands through a concussed haze. He’d be damned if he was going to be treated like that again...

Jack’s eyes snapped open, his pupils shrinking rapidly in the light as his hand whipped up to meet Soorka’s. The healer had scarce time to even gasp before Jack had wrenched his wrist back savagely and effectively. Carter jumped as she heard a loud ‘snap’ and Soorka yelled, the shout echoing loudly in the small space. He stumbled backwards and crumpled awkwardly to the floor clutching his wrist with eyes clutched shut and mouth side open in a silent scream. The next shout of pain came from Jack, as he tried to get up. His stomach muscles tensed, and his broken ribs protested loudly. Carter reached his side just as pain filtered across his expression and his arms flew up to his chest protectively, “oh god! Arh...”
“Sir,” Carter placed a hand on the Colonel’s shoulder as Daniel joined her at his side, “you shouldn’t move.”
“Gee Carter,” Jack gasped, ‘what gave you that idea?!” His eyes still shut he missed Carter’s exasperated expression, all his concentration focused on quelling the raging fire that seemed to have set up home in his ribs. Every heave of his chest caused waves of pain, and yet he was starved of oxygen.
“Jack try to calm down,” Daniel’s voice was barely under control itself, and the sound of his shocked team-mate brought some clarity to O’Neill. Gradually he evened out his breathing, clenching his fists against the cutting pain, and opened glassy eyes. Carter and Daniel were staring down at him, their faces a web of concern.
“Hi,” he said.
Daniel rolled his eyes, “hi Jack.”

A croak of pain distracted their attention, and Jack rolled his head carefully to the side. Soorka was sitting on the floor curled over his arm, with Teal’c standing behind him, a comforting hand resting on the man’s shoulder. “It appears that Soorka is injured.” Carter moved over to crouch next to the healer, while Jack tried to pull a confused expression without aggravating any of his facial wounds. He found it fairly impossible, so he switched his gaze to Daniel, “we’ve been rescued by someone called Sock?”
“Soorka Jack.”
“Soorka, Sock... same thing. You say to-may-toe, I... say to-mah-toe,” Jack waved a hand dismissively, pain creasing his face at the movement.
Daniel pulled a disbelieving expression, “Jack, I say to-may-toe, some people say to-mah-toe, you say passion-fruit.”
“God,” Jack muttered, pressing his hands to his sides and pushing, hoping to distract from his chest. His head and nose were throbbing something impressive too, and he was willing to bet a small concussion was on the cards. Seeing and raising that bet to internal damage wasn’t out of the question yet either, as things swayed around him a little, “what the hell happened Daniel?” he asked, his voice a low husky whisper.
Daniel rested a carefully hand on Jack’s upper arm, “you got hit by something metal, lodged in your chest. You, uh, got pinned to a tree.”
“Oiy,” Jack sighed and then croaked as another roll of pain smothered him for a second, “ack...ah...Jesus...”

“Let me have a look Soorka,” Carter coaxed behind them, and Daniel turned to watch her lead the healer to one of his own chairs. His face was a picture of pain, but he chuckled tensely, “well, that’ll teach me to go poking around without asking first!” He looked up to see Jack’s hooded gaze on him. The soldier offered no apology, merely observed Soorka with deep suspicion, his eyes glazed but his focus sure. Soorka dropped his eyes, and watched as Carter opened her medical kit again. She popped some Tylenol and handed two to Daniel, then turned and presented two to Soorka, “you can take these to help with the pain while I splint that if you want.”
Soorka frowned, “what good can small stones do me?”

Carter started to explain patiently how the painkillers were formed, and Daniel turned back to Jack. The older man’s eyes were shut again, his face muscles tense in concentration.
“Daniel, when I got hit by that boomerang thing...” Jack started, and Daniel leaned in close, “I screamed like a girl didn’t I?”
The archaeologist sat back on the stool with a cheeky expression. “Noo... not a girl at all...’ he crooned comfortingly. “Give yourself some credit Jack. I’d say you screamed like a powerful, mature career-driven woman.”
Jack mouth cracked a small lopsided grin, and he opened his eyes a touch to see the same expression on his friend. For a second they took comfort in the familiar humour, and then Daniel held up the Tylenol, “you should take these.”
“Water?” Jack croaked, his throat parched.
“Sure,” answered Daniel, reaching for a full cup of water beside him and putting a hand under Jack’s neck. Jack didn’t complain as Daniel helped him tilt his head and swallow the pills with small sips of water, groaning slightly when he coughed on his last gulp. “Can you roll a coat or something...and put it under my back, elevate me a bit.. to decrease the pressure on my chest?” Daniel, nodded, grabbing a wad of cloth and doing as Jack asked, pushing it under his upper back and hearing his friend’s breathing get easier with just that small change in position. He cursed himself that he had not thought of it himself earlier, and wondered how Jack knew.
“Are we safe here Daniel? Who is this guy?” Jack enquired urgently, his tone fresh with pain but dominated by a Colonel’s commanding air.
“We’re underground Jack, safe for the moment. This guy turned up as the scavengers left, he says he helps anyone he can. I think his people have been wiped out by the ones that attacked us. He’s proved harmless so far Jack, I think we can trust him.”
“Danny... you’d trust a python with your pet mouse. How far are we from the gate?”
Daniel pursed his lips, but held back a biting reply, aware that Jack was in pain, “about 24 hours walk still, we didn’t come far to find this place.”

Jack closed his eyes again, absorbing the information and trying to relax his punished muscles. He was exhausted, but pain was cascading through his body like a dragging tide and offered no rest for his pounding head. Daniel stared at Jack’s pale face in concern, “we’ve got time to play with Jack, just try to get some rest.”
He received no reply, so he turned back to Carter. She was expertly finishing off a splint around Soorka’s wrist, which he was examining approvingly, “you’re good at this.”
“I’ve had lots of practise,” Carter answered, casting a dark look towards Jack’s quiet form. Soorka followed her gaze and looked for a moment at the Colonel. His chest was rising up and down in sporadic breaths, his face tensed and his fists clenched. In all, Soorka observed, he looked about as un-relaxed as one man could.
He thanked Carter for her ministrations and rose from his chair, sparing a hiss of pain as his wrist said it’s piece. He found the herbs he was after and then went in search of a large mixing bowl.

Carter watched Soorka move about his house, unearthing various bits and pieces. She followed Teal’c as he moved to stand next to O’Neill’s feet, and she took a seat next to Daniel, as much for exhaustion as to stay out of the way in the small space. Daniel was fingering the smooth metal object that had speared their leader, and Carter frowned as he flipped it over and over, “Daniel, can I have a look?”
He handed it over, and Carter ran her fingers over a small ridge in the metal, still clogged with a small amount of dried blood. She dug her fingernail into the small gap and levered gradually, increasing the force when she felt something give. There was a small click, and a panel of the metal came away, revealing some electronics coated with dried blood. “Hey,” she said, peering at the interior of the device with interest.

Jack turned his head and opened his eyes a crack at her quiet exclamation, “what... is it Major?”
“This device is electronic Sir, which I guess makes sense seeing as it managed to lift you off your feet in the opposite direction to its initial trajectory, it must have been on some homing signal to it’s owner. Just like a boomerang,” she finished, giving him an appraising glance; for once one of Jack’s nicknames made sense.
O’Neill’s eyes lit up slightly and he seemed to pay more attention, “can you make it work again?”
Carter grabbed a small piece of material and started poking inside the metal with it, “I think so, some of these contacts are just clogged with blood, if I can get them cleaned and touching each other again then...” She had no need to continue her explanation, for the device suddenly emitted a short high pitched whine, and then faster than the eye could see it shot from Carter’s hand. She shouted harshly as it shot across the room with a loud whistle and embedded itself hard into the opposite dirt wall with a thud. “Damn!” Carter cursed, gripping her left hand with her right and gritting her teeth.
“Daniel,” Jack snapped, and Daniel moved over to Carter, cradling her hands in his and grabbing some material.
“Carter? Are you okay?” Jack asked, concerned and annoyed by his inability to get up and aide his team. He saw slick blood slide from between Carter’s palms, but she spared him a quick smile, “it’s okay sir, just a deep cut, that thing is really sharp but I can bend all my fingers.” Jack nodded, and fell silent as Daniel helped Carter tightly bandage the cut and elevate it to prevent further bleeding.

“Carry on like this,” commented Jack breathily, “and we could form the Cripple Club.”
“O’Neill, I have no intention of becoming crippled.” Teal’c boomed in a confident tone.
“That’s good to hear big guy, good to hear...” mumbled Jack.
“I imagine,” said Carter, patting the bandage on her hand gently, “that the device is actually designed to bring back whatever it hits to the attacker. You were just lucky that there was a tree directly in the way.”
Jack snorted, “yeah...lucky.”
Carter ignored him and walked over to the shiny object, half of which was gleaming outside the mud of the wall, the other half stuck firmly inside. It was sill whining ever so quietly. “I suppose I should switch it off again, so that it doesn’t fly back across the room and kill someone.”
“Don’t damage it though Carter, that thing is gonna... be useful,” Jack ordered, watching her with half-lidded eyes. Daniel frowned, “what are you going to do Jack?” somehow envisioning some horribly barbaric use that the Air Force Colonel would have in mind for the weapon and with which the archaeologist would almost definitely have to disagree. Daniel shook his head slightly, and concentrated on Jack’s answer.
“It gives us a tactical advantage,” Jack growled, “it can show us where at least one of those bands of scavengers is at all times, by the direction it moves when we turn it on. We’ll need that help when we try to get back to the Stargate.” Jack took in Daniel’s impressed expression and smiled slightly, “not just a pretty face.”
Both Carter and Daniel pulled expressions at that, taking in his bruised and battered appearance, and swollen nose - he wasn’t even a pretty face. He threw them a soft grin, and then turned his head away again, closing his eyes.
“Actually,” added Sookra, “I haven’t ever seen them move in any more than two main groups, so that will give you a distinct advantage! I have watched them train from a distance and they do not have individual signal for the devices, so it merely returns to the nearest or strongest signal. I would like to see how you propose to contain it when it does go though.”
“Certainly no chance of holding it,” Carter commented unnecessarily. Teal’c let go of his staff for the first time since arriving and propped it against the shelf O’Neill was lying on, “perhaps we can attach some kind of leather holder to it’s surface,” he approached the object with interest, “it may be possible to drill a small hole in the metal and attach something in that way.”
Carter gave a quick glance towards Colonel O’Neill, figured him to be happy to let her take lead, and then nodded to Teal’c, “give it your best.” Teal’c bowed his head in return. Sookra looked up to the vast dark-skinned warrior, “let me finish what I am doing and then perhaps I can find some tools that will help you. Daniel, could I obtain your help with this?”
Daniel stepped forward to O’Neill’s side as Carter and Teal’c talked behind them about how best to contain the boomerang. Soorka was mixing a thick paste in the large bowl that he held awkwardly, trying not to put any pressure on his splint. It was steaming, apparently hot.
“This is a mix of lavender, bergamot, chamomile, frankinsense, rose, impatiens and clematis. It will soothe, relax, and has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial actions. I cannot apply it with my wrist like this, and I dare say O’Neill would be happier with you doing it anyhow.”
Jack opened his eyes and observed them suspiciously, letting Daniel talk it out with Soorka. Jack was too tired to participate any more, all he wanted to do was cease the horrible pains vying for his attention, and sink into sleep.
“Where should I put it?” Daniel asked, dipping a finger into the paste and feeling it’s heat penetrate his finger right to the bone.
“The stomach is the best place for relaxation and heat, then the upper chest, shoulders and neck if it is not uncomfortable for him. Do you need water before you sleep O’Neill?’ asked Soorka gently, hovering a hand over the prone man’s shoulder, but unwilling to touch him after his last lesson in O’Neill-defence.
“Please,” Jack answered, politely, but with no trust, no respect. He wasn’t willing to give that for a good time yet. He watched Soorka pass some water to Daniel and then leave them to it, rejoining Carter and Teal’c to talk about what equipment they might need.

After helping Jack empty the cup of water, Daniel scooped a handful of the hot paste into his palm. Jack narrowed his eyes at the younger man. Daniel waved the gloop about, “it’ll help you sleep.”
Jack’s eyes relaxed in defeat, “just don’t go booking a church yet, okay?”
Daniel grinned, and pulled the blanket down to Jack’s waist, “the question jack, is not ‘where is the wedding’, but ‘who gets to wear the dress?’”
That earned a grin from Jack, and then an involuntary wince of pain as Daniel spread the paste onto his belly, “sorry.”
Jack smiled thinly, “s’okay.” He closed his eyes gratefully and let the heat and strong smell of the paste penetrate his senses, get inside his head and his body and relax him to the core. Daniel could feel Jack relaxing noticeably beneath his hands, and he moved up to his shoulders and chest, trying to knead the muscles that seemed most knotted but avoid areas that were bruised. Every now and then a wince or twitch of Jack’s face told Daniel he had touched something sore, but gradually Jack became stiller and stiller. He almost became hypnotised by his own massage movement, watching the paste stick Jack’s fuzzy chest-hair to his pale flesh, normally tanned but now starved of blood and shocked of its normal pallor.

Jack could feel Daniel’s hands unknotting his neck muscles gently, the heat of the paste sinking into his skin and soothing the aches and pains, even dulling the throbbing pain in his head. Slowly he neared the blissful darkness of sleep that he so desired.

Finally Daniel was sure of Jack’s steady even breathing, and he carefully pulled the fur up to Jack’s chest, covering him up to the collar-bones. His hands were glowing from the heat and strength of the paste, it coated them in a thick layer. Pulling a face he muttered, “yeuch”. Before washing it off though, he rubbed small amounts into each of his pulse points, enjoying the heat and letting it relax him as it had obviously relaxed Jack. With the paste finally washed off, he pulled a chair over to Jack’s side, and sank back into it, intending to rest his eyes for a few minutes. Slowly, the soft smells in the room and the heat at his wrists closed his eyes for him, and he drifted to sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------

A loud shout, an echoing crash and a deep thud woke Jack with a start, and he hurt himself tensing his muscles in surprise. Growling softly, he turned his head to the side to see what had created the noise. A fair amount of cursing was going on in the small room, and Carter and Soorka were standing with barely disguised smirks on their faces, staring at the opposite side of the room. Amidst a collapsed mess of shelves, materials and jars, there seemed to be a tangle of black and white legs, and Jack could distinctly hear Daniel’s unintelligible curses from beneath it all. Suddenly, from under the ungainly pile of objects, a muffled but dignified deep voice rang out, ”I believe the scavengers are in this direction.”

Jack grinned, his smiled spreading to his eyes as he watched Soorka’s face crease into laughter. It was infectious, and Carter started laughing with him, a deep belly laugh as she stood doubled over in the centre of the room. When they had subsided to chuckles, they all heard Daniel’s plaintive and pathetic voice from somewhere in the destruction, “I think I’m being crushed to death...”

With a final giggle, Carter darted forwards to the rescue of her team-mate, and managed to locate one of Teal’c’s arms in order to heave him upright. He revealed a rather squished looking archaeologist, scrabbling for his glasses now that he had his arms free.
“Daniel,” Carter grinned, “the whole idea of having Teal’c test the boomerang direction was so that you wouldn’t have to get hurt.” She offered him a helping hand upright. He found his glasses, amazingly intact, and allowed her to heave him to his feet, “I didn’t know it was going to go this way did I?!” Carter grinned even more, glancing over to Jack and finding him grinning back, with just as much enthusiasm.

Soorka sighed deeply, getting a grip on a laughing fit the likes of which he hadn’t enjoyed for a good many years. “I hate to lower your spirits, but if the scavengers are that way,” he pointed to the direction that Teal’c ended up with the boomerang, “then we have a problem, because the gate is that way too.”

“Then we’ll go round them,” Jack concluded, not ready to let his team become disheartened. He tested his various injuries as his team helped Soorka restore some order to his room. Flexing his arms, legs and neck he found that they were aching but in working order, and he was feeling very rested. He left his chest alone for the time being, knowing there was nothing that could make that easier to cope with. For the time being, it was only throbbing with occasional sharp pains to rival his headache, and he was in no hurry to make that worse.

Teal’c walked over his side, stepping carefully over various strewn objects, “how are you O’Neill?”
“Better Teal’c, better,” Jack replied, looking down to the boomerang that Teal’c was holding. It was encased in some kind of leather sheath, and a strap from it was wrapped firmly around Teal’c’s arm, a few dozen times. “Can you turn that thing off once it takes off?” Jack asked in concern, stricken momentarily with a vision of having to watch one of his team fly helplessly away to the enemy. “I can,” Teal’c replied, “Major Carter inserted a small switch which enables me to easily engage and disengage the device.”
“Boomerang Teal’c.”
“Boomerang,” conceded Teal’c, distastefully. He held his hand up and showed Jack the small thumb-catch that Carter had inserted on the metal object. Jack raised his eyebrows in approval, “that’s some good work, how long have I been asleep?”
“Almost fifteen hours. It is darkness again.”
“Has everyone got their fair share of rest?”
“They have.”
“Even you?”
“I have partaken of an adequate period of Kel’No’Reem.”
Jack nodded, “in that case we should be able to make a break for the gate soon.”
“First,” chimed Carter, her face still glowing from her laughter fit, “food.”

It became apparent that Soorka had everything he needed in his underground home. In a side-cave he had stored meat, preserved with a salt-like substance, which they cooked over his fire. While Soorka cooked, he told the team a little more of the way he lived on the planet, how he stored foods so that he could remain in hiding when the scavengers were rife. How he valued the winter months when they moved to higher, warmer grounds, and he had the forest and lakes to himself. He told how he would break holes in the thick ice so that he could swim, something he so rarely got to do. He didn’t speak about his people, and Carter got the impression that he was the only one left.
She steered the conversation towards the healing powers of the herbs and plants he used, and he was eager to inform her of their properties. So she ate slowly, and talked fast.

Daniel, after having helped Jack into a semi-upright sitting position and helping him struggle into his t-shirt and shirt, was having to help him eat. Jack had known what to expect, having had broken ribs before and being aware that it made it incredibly painful to lift ones arms about the injury. He could barely reach his mouth with the spoon without incurring agony, and seeing as Daniel was on hand then it was not necessary. Jack had managed this and more on his own before but this time he was fairly happy to let his friend help him, he knew he had to conserve energy for their departure. Daniel spooned another mouthful of chicken broth into Jack’s mouth, and almost swallowed along with him, desperate for the movement to be less painful for his friend, “you look a lot better today Jack.”
“So do you,” Jack countered, nodding his head for more broth. “Must have been that new-age mud pack I had last night. It’s made me smell like a health-food shop though,” he grumbled. Daniel smiled, giving him another spoonful. Jack chewed and swallowed with a wince, and then pronounced, “that’s enough.”
“But you’ve only had...”
“Enough,” Jack cut him off, motioning to the water. Daniel huffed, setting the half eaten chicken to one side and lifting a cup of water to Jack’s lips. He drank slowly, savouring the coolness in his mouth as a stark contrast to his heated skin and the stuffy nature of the overcrowded room. Swallowing with a groan of pain, he finished, and closed his eyes as Daniel set the cup down.

He heard Carter move over to join them, and Daniel shuffled aside for her, “I just need to check your bandages Sir.”
“It’s just one joy after another isn’t it?” Jack groused. But upon opening his eyes and seeing her hesitant expression he smiled, “go ahead Major, poke away.” He felt her fine fingers pull his t-shirt up and lift at the edge of the bandage on his chest as Soorka drew their attention. He stood a the entrance to a side-cave, dragging behind him a stretcher made of reeds. He dropped it to the floor, and Jack noticed that there were traces of blood-stains on the dried foliage. Soorka smiled at Jack “this will make your journey a little easier I think.”
Jack nodded, and then turned his head back to Carter. She peeled back the edge of the bandage, revealing a mess of squishy herbs leaves and blood. Jack pulled a face as air hit the wound, and Carter pulled a lump of the leaves aside to reveal tender flesh. Jack took one look and then closed his eyes, the pain increasing as the full extend of the injury was revealed to him.
The Major looked long enough to be sure the wound was not infected, and then re-bandaged it with fresh bandages, leaving the leaves in place at the recommendation of Soorka.
Jack opened her eyes when she was finished, “Major, if we set off now, can we hope to be at the stargate when it is tomorrow’s night-time?”
“Yes Sir, I think we can make that.”
“Then we leave now, start getting things together.” Jack turned to the healer, “thanks for your help.”
Soorka nodded once hastily, “I will accompany you to the gate, I can help carry the stretcher, and I know some tricks for evading the scavengers.”
Jack dipped his gaze in affirmation, and then placed his hands on the bed at his sides. Soorka dragged the stretcher over to the floor at the side of the bed, and Jack threw back the fur covering him. Even levering himself into a fully upright sitting position left him breathless and shaking, but he swung his legs round and over the side of the shelf. He sat for a second, Carter’s hand resting on his left arm. Then, when he had regained some composure, he heaved himself forwards and planted his boots firmly on the earth floor. His knees buckled almost instantly, and the flash of agony from his chest overwhelmed him completely. Strong hands gripped him under the armpits, bringing even more pain to the fore, and he gasped as he was lowered to the floor, “argh...ah crap....” His back hit reeds and he lay flat again, his face unnaturally pale and his heart beating at double speed. Pain washed in waves over his chest and round his torso, with his head making things worse by spinning the world around him in every-which direction. “Crap,” he muttered angrily, “crap, crap, crap.” Angry at the scavengers for having stupid metal boomerangs, angry at himself for being a burden to his team, angry at the gate for being so far away.

Gradually the lights flickering against his closed eyelids started to fade out, and he opened them quickly, feeling at once silly for presuming it was anything other than Soorka putting out the candles. He gazed through half lidded eyes, as the shadows of his team moved against the wall in front of him, darting backwards and forward accompanied by the sounds of equipment being gathered. He felt someone rest his gun at his side on the stretcher, and he gripped the strap in his right hand. For a second, Jack let pain and misery curl his lip downwards, but then he pulled it up, tightening his expression and remembering his responsibilities.
“Let’s go kids,” he called out, and was pleased to hear Carter respond in her usual manner, “yes Sir,” and Daniel in his, “Jack wait a second...”

Soorka watched Daniel take position at Jack’s head, ready to grab the stretched handles. Carter and Teal’c moved to his feet, and then Teal’c looked to Carter’s injured hand and his staff. Soorka licked his fingers and snuffed the final candle, plunging them all into a darkness broken only by the soft glow of the dying fire. He moved over to Jack’s feet, and bent down to grab the left stretched handle with his right hand, looking up to Carter. She smiled, and reached down to grab the right handle with her left hand. Teal’c moved ahead, and together they lifted the stretcher.
Jack’s stomach lurched a little, and the movement made his head beat out a renewed protest, but overall it was not a bad form of transport. At this moment he much preferred it to walking, and his team were being extra careful not to jolt him. The exotic smells drifted up after them as they scaled the exit to the surface, and the light of the moon spilled an eerie green glow on Carter and Soorka’s faces above Jack. With a bit of scuffling and rolling movement that Jack would have preferred to miss, they emerged into the night forest, and cool fresh air hit his face. His hot face welcomed the relief from the stuffiness of the cave, and he sighed, drinking in sweet midnight air. A sudden increase in the pain in his chest put a stop to his breaths, and he scowled inwardly.

Teal’c moved behind them as the stretcher was lowered gently to the ground, and he covered the entrance to the cave. Whispering in deep tones he commented, “I believe it would be wise for me to move a small distance away before activating the device.” He glanced at Daniel, and Jack heard Carter stifle a snort. Daniel pursed his lips and turned back to Jack, “do you want your goggles?” he asked, getting his own out of his pack while Carter did the same. Jack nodded, and Daniel pulled his from the bloodied rucksack that was attached to one of the stretcher poles. He pressed the goggles into Jack’s right hand, and then pulled his own goggles on, turning to watch Teal’c move to small clearing in the trees. Jack brought his hand up half way to his face, and then stifled a gasp of pain as his chest refused the movement, his hand falling back to the stretcher as he let his face crease in pain. Recovering himself somewhat, he swallowed, and looked up to Daniel, “Daniel?”
Daniel looked down to Jack, still holding his goggles. “Oh, sorry,” he whispered, ashamed not to have thought of helping his friend. He was constantly deceived by Jack’s show of courage, and fought hard to remind himself that his friend really was badly hurt. God knows, Daniel chastised himself, if he was well enough to put goggles on he would be up on his feet swaying around and challenging every available alien to unarmed combat. Including Teal’c.

The dark forest around Jack turned to graphic greens as Daniel helped him put on his goggles. He watched Teal’c stand readied in the clearing a few yards away. He looked up to watch Soorka’s face, the other man unaware that he could see him through in the sparse moonlight. Jack saw nothing malicious there, but he wasn’t ready to call judgement on Soorka yet. The low whine of the device filled the forest, and Jack turned his feet just in time to see the Jaffa shoot from his feet and fly directly towards them through the air, with the boomerang emitting a muffled whistle in front of him. The whining abruptly stopped as Teal’c dropped to the forest floor, hitting it with a thud and an audible “oof”. He looked up at them clutching the device tightly in both hands, his expression never wavering.
“Nice work Teal’c,” Jack commented in a whisper, “still in the way of the gate?”
Carter nodded, after consulting her electronic compass briefly. “So,” Jack said, his voice heavy with exhaustion, “we go round.”

-------------------

When Soorka has stumbled for the seventh time, and Jack had stifled a gasp of pain for the seventh time, he conceded defeat and thumbed his discarded night-vision goggles in agitation. “Here,” he whispered in the healers direction.
“What?” whispered Soorka, unable to see much apart from moonlit surfaces and deepened shadows. Jack stayed silent, and glanced into Carter’s goggles briefly. Carefully she grabbed his goggles with her free hand and passed them to Soorka, “put them over your eyes, put the strap round the back of your head...” she instructed him until he had them positioned correctly. They had slowed significantly to do this, and now Soorka was walking at an incredibly slow pace, shuffling his feet. Jack lifted his gaze to the dark sky above in tired exasperation, “open your eyes.”
“Oh!” said Soorka suddenly, having apparently followed Jack’s instruction, “these are wonderful!”
‘Yes’ Jack mouthed, resisting the temptation to give the man an encouraging smile. For a while as they walked on he stared up at Soorka and Carter watching the healer looking all around him in fascination, and Carter looking all around her for a totally different reason. Jack was able to relax only in the knowledge that she was on her toes, and that he could still use his hearing to add to her vigilance. He tried some breathing techniques, but found them severely limited by the pain in his chest, and instead had to run through the book of regulations until the sensations of his battered body receded to a manageable level.

Hammond would be proud he thought to himself as, after hours of walking, he got to page one hundred and thirteen.

------------------------

“I can see the gate Sam.”
“How far?”
“About a hundred yards. I can’t see any sign of them, I don’t know where they are.”
“I suppose they could be further than the gate, not waiting for us at all.”

Who? wondered Jack, as the voices floated into his dreams, splicing them with feel of the cold night air and the quiet rustling of feet on a forest floor. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly, his voice hoarse. He quelled his immediate desire to scrub his hands over his tired face, knowing he would never move them that far.
Daniel stepped up beside his friend, glad to hear his friend’s voice. The stretcher was lowered gently and Jack felt the forest floor beneath the thin layer of reeds. Daniel handed Teal’c staff back to him once he had released the stretched poles, ‘We’re at the gate Jack.”
Jack opened his eyes at that, “already?”
“We’ve been walking for a day and a night Sir, it’s nearly dawn again. We woke you a few times for food and water, don’t you remember?” Carter leant down to Jack in concern.
Jack pulled a face as her goggles hovered in front of his eyes, “no.” He squirmed slightly, unhappy under her gaze, and just as unhappy that he didn’t remember any of their journey. He attributed it to a concussion, and turned his attention to more present concerns, “ so, where are the bad guys?”
Carter crouched by his side, pulling off her goggles so she could look into his eyes properly. The pale moonlight gave his face an even more sickly pallor than the green of the night goggles. “The boomerang says they are directly that way,” she whispered, pointing towards the gate, “at the gate, but we can’t see anything.”
“When was the last time you checked it?” Jack asked in a low voice, closing his eyes in exhaustion again.
“A few minutes ago.”
‘Better try again then,” Jack commented quietly. Carter looked to Teal’c, who nodded curtly and moved a few yards away from them. Jack watched in the deep shadows as the whine of the device activated. With movement almost faster than the eye could follow the device jerked Teal’c to the right side and then back to the left, before the whine intensified and it started to spin round and round, dragging Teal’c with it in circles until he let go and merely let it spin, hovering in front of his face turning round and round, faster and faster.

“Oh crap,” Jack gasped, his eyes widening in recognition of what this meant, “we’re surrounde...” he hardly for the word out before a distant whistle sounded in the quiet of the forest.
“Down!!” he shouted, at the cost of what little breath he had. The four standing companions dropped to the ground as the whistle whipped past their heads, deafening them with it’s high pitched sound, and even as it swept away Carter was on her feet, firing her gun into the forest in short sharp blasts.
“Go!” Jack shouted, heaving himself into a crouch, adrenaline coursing through his veins as the forest burst into a thousand whistles all getting louder and louder. He felt Teal’c grab him by the arm, and he fell forward into the man’s support making a first lurching attempt at a run and starting their sprint towards the gate. The burning agony in his chest seemed a million miles away as the night vibrated with sound, the rattling of Carter’s gun joining with the zinging of metal as it dominated the air. Jack’s feet hit the dirt ground in an unsteady beat, pulled onwards by Teal’c unhalting pace. He heard a staff blast behind him, seeing the bright orange energy shooting past them and towards the enemy that were surely waiting at the gate, and figured Daniel was firing that. Through the disorientating movement, he heard the whistles bear down on them too close, “Down!” he shouted again, at the top of his voice. Teal’c brought him down as he dropped, and Jack felt him try to cushion his fall for him. Nevertheless he hit the ground with a horrible jarring thud, and he croaked in shock at the pain. For the briefest of seconds they paused, the boomerangs sweeping round and parting the hair on Jack’s head with their proximity. Then they were off again, Teal’c dragging Jack to his feet and Carter’s gun blasts resuming. They were passing bodies, aliens cut down by their weapons fire, and in the darkness Jack caught sight of a twisted figure and a flash of metal embedded in a slack face, blood oozing slowly to the dirt ground.

Through the confusing jumble of moonlit movement and deafening sounds, Jack saw Daniel charge past him on the left, running full pelt ahead of them as Carter screamed “dial! Dial!!” Jack suddenly saw the Gate looming above them, mere metres away, the moonlight glancing off its smooth surface and reflecting onto the people around him. Teal’c brought them to a sudden halt, and no sooner had they stopped than a screaming whistle screeched too near and Jack’s saw a flash of metal as a boomerang embedded itself into the ground inches from his left foot. It flicked up dirt onto his already shredded and bloody shirt as he heard Carter’s urgent voice, “faster Daniel!”
There was no reply, the archaeologist’s hands a blur punching symbols as the chevrons locked. A deafening whistle sounding too close gave him no warning as two boomerangs slammed into the DHD directly in front of him. He jerked backwards in surprise at their proximity, and then defiantly slammed down the last symbol, throwing himself to the ground as a third weapon sliced the air above his head and thudded into the DHD. With his teams gunshots ceasing for a moment, Jack was horrified to hear the sound of tens of alien voices raised in yells joining the zings of the metal weapons. As the stargate whooshed active behind them Jack sensed the air move again, and his strangled shout moved Teal’c into action. He jerked Jack to the side abruptly, and he felt the boomerang zip past his right sleeve, hitting concrete step and spraying stone shrapnel around them.

Daniel vaulted past them towards the blue as Carter screamed “go!” and the sucking sound indicated that he had gone. A harsh shout turned Jack’s head as he was pulled backwards by Teal’c, and he saw Soorka dart forward towards Carter, who was bent over her GDO transmitter. O’Neill saw a flash of metal and then watched as Soorka swung one of their guns up and into the boomerangs path, stopping it’s journey towards Carter’s head and deflecting it with a nasty whack. It hit his face full force with it’s flat side, and he fell backwards, Carter also peeling to the side in shock.
Jack lost his footing on the concrete as another boomerang hit inches from his leg and sprayed bits of debris around him, he heard Carter charge past him and hit the wormhole at top speed. He stared back to see the healer stumbling to his feet and breaking towards them, and Jack yelled desperately, “Soorka!” The man met his gaze for a second and then he was upon them, grabbing a handful of Jack’s shirt with his uninjured hand and pulling him backwards, pulling hard. O’Neill was yanked into the wormhole fast, but before he hit it he caught a last glimpse of the clearing, and the hundreds of figures lit by bright blue light, charging towards them with yells on their lips and the sky above them filled with gleaming flashing metal.

The strobing blue of the wormhole ended suddenly as Jack shot out onto the SGC ramp, landing on his butt like a child, arms flailing. The air was filled with urgent shouts as Carter yelled, “close the Iris!!” Soorka stumbled to his knees on the ramp beside Jack, as he felt air part his hair and a whistle cut the underground silence. Two boomerangs shot though the wormhole above his head in quick succession and one came through higher, Jack hearing them hit concrete with horrible clangs. His head snapped up as there was an almighty crash and he watched the viewing room window smash, raining glass onto the floor in front of him and provoking screams from the numerous technicians now vulnerable to the weapons. Even as the Iris grated closed behind him more boomerangs flew from the blue, zipping through the air and hitting consoles, concrete, everything. Finally the metal snapped shut over the wormhole, and he heard more clangs from the Iris. Then there were dull thuds, Jack counted five, before the wormhole disengaged and silenced the attack.

“Well,” muttered Jack, before sliding sideways onto the ramp below him, Teal’c’s supporting hand the only thing stopping his unprotected head from hitting the metal. Doctor Fraiser arrived at a run from the corridor and slipped her tiny frame through the blast doors as they were closing, trying to protect from a threat that was no longer a problem. She surveyed the scene as they slammed shut and immediately started to open again, the mechanics not acting fast enough for the situation. She immediately focused on the two people in the room that were not standing up. One man she didn’t recognise, and his face was blossoming into a beautiful red colour, and swelling up impressively. He was sitting haphazardly, and appeared completely dazed, but he met her gaze and that was enough to satisfy her for the moment. She moved past him and fell to her knees at Colonel O’Neill’s side. He was collapsed on his back on the ramp, eyes closed but not entirely unconscious, and she rested a hand briefly on his pain-creased brow before looking to Teal’c. “What happened?”
“Yesterday Colonel O’Neill was hit by a sharp metal object similar to a boomerang, and then impacted a tree. We suspect he has broken ribs and a head injury.” Teal’c summarised efficiently, holding up the boomerang that was hanging the straps looped round his arm. Hearing her medic team finally get the gurney into the room behind her, Janet’s lip curled upwards in momentary empathy, and then she waved her team around Jack’s prone form. “Lift,” she instructed, and together they moved him from the floor to the lowered gurney, eliciting a groan for their trouble. Jack’s gasp at the pain that their manhandling provoked turned to silence when an oxygen mask was put over his mouth, and breathing suddenly became a lot easier.

Janet glanced to her side to see her chief nurse and assistants wheel another gurney into the room and head for the stranger, and was satisfied that he was in good hands. She turned to follow Jack out of the gateroom when the tannoy sounded, requesting a medical team in the viewing room. Janet looking up quickly, meeting Hammond’s eye, “serious?”
“No,” he answered simply, understanding her question and communicating that Jack was in more desperate need of her attentions. She nodded gratefully and followed his gurney from the gateroom. Hammond turned back to his wrecked viewing room, and the technician who had narrowly missed stopping one of the weapons with his head. A thin line of blood marked where it had shot past his forehead, but other than that and a fair bit of shock, he was fine.

With the activity and noise suddenly lessened, Carter looked around her at the desolation that their dramatic return had caused. She counted eight boomerangs embedded in the concrete wall opposite the stargate, and she guessed from the broken glass and screens that at least two had gone through the viewing room. She jumped as a medic touched her hand gently, and then smiled as an apology for startling her. She smiled back softly and lifted her hand for the man to see, "I’m fine, but I’m going to the infirmary anyway so...” The medic nodded and left her to it, heading for the viewing room where he would be needed more.
She made a start for the door with Teal’c and Daniel in tow, glancing upwards as Hammond turned. “Go,” he said, giving her permission to follow Jack to the infirmary. She nodded with a grim smile, and left through the blast doors.

Daniel matched her brisk pace beside her, glancing at her uninjured hand and frowning, “what’s that?” Carter looked down to the scrunched mass of material that she held tightly in her hand, and she unravelled it, slipping it over her hand and lifting it for Daniel to see. It fitted her hand perfectly, a glove of thick leather with strategically placed strips of metal in the palm and inside fingers.
Daniel’s eyes widened in appreciative surprise, “you grabbed one of the devices for catching the boomerangs!” Carer grinned, pulled a curious expression, and twitched a finger. An audible whine from behind them heralded the device activating, and Teal’c suddenly and very involuntarily caught up with them, his arm nearly wrenched off as the boomerang sprang forwards into Carter’s grasp. She smiled at his chagrined expression and turned the device and the boomerang off again, "seems they can both be controlled by this, but only the boomerang really needs to be manipulated, the glove is just for catching when it comes back I suppose. When this one got clogged with Jack’s blood they probably tried once to call it back with the glove and then gave up.”
Daniel nodded, staring thoughtfully at the floor for a moment as they walked briskly into the lift. “What happened to Soorka?” he asked, changing the subject. Carter flexed her gloved hand and punched the button for the infirmary floor, “He saved my life Daniel. I was focusing on getting the signal from the SGC when he deflected a boomerang heading for my face. I think it bounced off and hit him in the face.”
Daniel winced in sympathy, “I hope he’s okay.”
“Yeah,” agreed Carter, “I wonder what he’ll decide to do, I doubt he’ll want to go back to that place.”

The elevator doors rolled lazily open, and they saw the entrance to the infirmary a few yards down the corridor in front of them. Urgent voices sounded behind the glass, and the distant beeping of machines could be heard amidst it all. Teal’c led them along the grey stretch of hallway towards the sounds, and they reached the doors uncertainly. Daniel peered in through the glass windows at one of the bays where nurses buzzed around a gurney. A parting in the action showed him a piece of bloodied and bruised chest, and he identified Jack.

Janet smiled comfortingly down at her patient, his breath steaming up the oxygen mask over his mouth. Her nurses had already peeled away his bloody t-shirt to reveal the bandaging that Carter had put in place. Getting a grip of the tape-edges, she pulled back gently, slightly worried to feel a heat to Jack’s skin. His face was flushed, but she had hoped to put that down to their dramatic return to the SGC. She kept a side ways eye as a nurse slipped an IV line into Jack’s left hand, and Janet revealed the wound on Jack’s chest. She screwed her nose up slightly, the wound seemed to be filled with debris and dirt. On closer inspection she found it was ground leaves, with a gentle fragrance to them past the smell of blood and sweat. Being as gentle as she could, she pulled a small wad of the stuff from the wound. Gentle wasn’t gentle enough however, and Jack gave a small huff as pain lanced through his front. Janet flicked her head up towards him in apology before pulling more aside, revealing a flash of white bone. To her dismay, the bone she found actually lifted out, and she fingered it looking towards Jack with a grim expression. Jack’s eyes found hers, seeing what she was holding. He grunted painfully, “I never used... them anyway.”

Janet flashed him a brief grin before muttering something to a nurse by her side, and then motioning for another blanket to be brought over, “you’re going to live Colonel,” she started with a smile, moving up to Jack’s head, “but we’ll need to take you into surgery to fix the damage to you ribs and clean up the bone shards. First we need an x-ray so we’ll go there now, okay?”
Jack let loose a muffled noise, which Janet took as permission to go to x-ray. She took the blanket that one of her nurses handed her, and draped it over Jack’s still trousered legs, tucking it up against the side of his chest for warmth and support, to stop his rolling or moving to much. She grabbed another and moved higher to his head, bunching it around his ruffled hair and under his neck. Jack gasped as one of the nurses applied a large dressing to his chest, lightly but still jarring an injury that seemed so much more painful than it had a few hours ago. Janet rested a hand on his shoulder at his vocalisation of pain, and then finished taping the dressing herself. His eyes followed her as she moved about, and then watching the ceiling as the gurney was pushed out of the main infirmary. His gaze caught a glimpse of his team and he tried to call forth a smile, remembering too late that they couldn’t see it under the mask anyway.

Cool air brushed his face as they entered the x-ray room. It was always cold, and Jack hated this room. This was the room where you had to lie on a freezing cold table when you were in agony, holding positions that seemed to be specifically designed to cause the most pain possible. They rolled the gurney over beside the x-ray table and gathered themselves around it, each gripping an edge of the sheet he was lying on. “Ready?” Janet asked Jack. Jack grunted in the affirmative, always silently glad for her habit of including him.
“On three, one, two, three...” The sheet was pulled, and Jack slid over to the cold table, his body rolling and his arms moving up protectively as he hissed into the oxygen mask. Janet put steadying hands on his sides until he had gathered himself, and then she removed the oxygen mask, “Okay, Colonel just lie like that as still as you can for the first one.”

Jack lay there, breathing harshly and as shallowly as he could, staring at the box above him. The cold from the plate and table below him seeped into his back and through to his broken bones, penetrating his aching knees too, and freezing the back of his head. He heard Janet shuffle behind him somewhere at the edge of the room as there was a metallic clunk and an extended hum. After a couple of second Janet walked back over to the table with her nurses and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, “okay, I just want one more, on your side. Can you do that?”
Jack grunted, tensing his muscles and turning his legs to give him leverage, placing sweaty palms onto the cold table below him he started to turn, feeling hands pushing on his back in support. Janet had a strong hand below his head as he groaned his way into a position on his side, “next budget review, we’re...installing heaters....here. And a ...rotating x-ray machine....” Jack muttered to himself, as Janet nodded seriously. “And a water bed... instead of a cold... table...” he mumbled.

Janet moved round to his back with a sympathetic smile, “can you stay like this?” she asked, of his position lying on his left side resembling the first-aid recovery pose. In answer he merely shifted his right foot further forwards into a more stable position, and he felt him tense a little. Her nurses let go, and she took her hands away from his back. She saw him start to roll back immediately and she pushed her hands onto his back again, staying there as he grunted again, “sorry, tired.”
“That’s okay,” she replied, and then turned her head to the x-ray technicians, “go ahead, I can stay here.”
Jack took comfort from her hand resting on his back and keeping him still as the machine hummed into action again. He examined a patch of condensation on the shiny table under his palm, wiping a finger through it absent-mindedly. Things were deciding to feel decidedly fuzzy, which he had been expecting really seeing as he had managed to stay on his feet for most of their hasty escape. Something had to give at some point, and this was apparently when the exhaustion had been planning to hit. He gave his eyelids a sharp order to wake up as they tried to shut, and then he felt more hands on him again, helping him roll over to his back. He sighed, glad for once to have someone put the oxygen mask back over his mouth, and then the sheet was slid sideways once more and he was back on the gurney with a moan of discomfort.

His eyes closed as he was wheeled back to the infirmary, and surgery. He felt every turn of the gurney, heard every squeak of the wheels, but he was in a fitful half-sleep long before the anaesthetic was administered.

------------------

“So you actually squeeze the juice from the lizards fang into the eyes?” Daniel asked, incredulous. Soorka, sitting in a hospital bed in a gown, had an amazingly coloured face with several sets of stitches where surgery had repaired a shattered cheek-bone and a chipped jaw-bone. His left wrist also sat in a thick cast, resting on a pillow. His smile was unaffected however, and the team had noticed he was a lot happier since coming round from surgery and discovering a lot of very friendly people who wanted to meet him. His hair was tied back, strands sticking in all directions nonetheless.
His shaven face had taken on a younger, handsome appearance as if some weight had been lifted. Daniel, Carter and Teal’s sat in the room with him now, talking to him and keeping an eye on Jack who lay in a semi-inclined position in the bed a few feet away, recovering from his surgery.
“Oh yes,” Soorka replied, clearly enjoying Daniel’s interest, “you just drop it straight in.”
“Wow,” commented Daniel, that’s impressive. “So, what does it do?”
“Oh it makes you go blind for about fifteen minutes,” grinned Soorka, and Daniel pursed his lips, pulling an exasperated expression. Soorka continued, “I did it to my friend once when I was twelve, he thought he was dying, he admitted that he had stolen my sling-shots and that he had told all the girls I had an infectious disease.”
Carter snorted in amusement, and Daniel’s stroppy expression dissolved into a smile. A noise interrupted their banter then, and they all turned their heads to Jack’s bed, as he turned a sluggish head to face them in return. “Morning kids,” he mumbled, enjoying the numbing effects of many, many drugs.
“It is in fact seven o’clock in the evening O’Neill.”
“Don’t bother me with trifles Teal’c,” Jack intoned in a snotty voice.
Teal’c frowned. Next to him, Carter snorted again.

Daniel walked over to Jack’s bedside and helped him take some water from cup, “how are you feeling?”
“Better Danny boy, better. How’s Soorka?”
Soorka smiled, “I’m fine Jack thank you. You have a wonderful medical staff here.”
“Yeah, they’re great,” Jack replied in a tired voice, and then mumbled in a low voice, “when they’re not prodding you.”

Daniel smiled, relieved to have Jack back to his old self, and somewhat looking forward to the weeks of grumbling that he knew would follow as Jack recovered. Carter moved over to Jack’s bedside and held out the boomerang, still in it’s leather sheath, and another object. Jack took them and pulled the glove on with an appreciative smile, “way to go Carter, quick thinking out there.” She smiled with a hint of embarrassment at his praise and watched him grab the boomerang with the gloved hand and shift it about, evaluating the feel of the weapon.

“There’s a switch in there that can actually remotely activate and call the boomerang...” Carter leant forwards, glad to be able to explain the technology of something that Jack was actually interested in for a change.
Daniel took a step away from Jack’s bed and towards the door, wiping a hand over his tired face, “I’m going to get a coffee, Carter, Teal’c you want anything?”
As they shook their heads Jack chimed up, “get me a doughnut Danny-boy, there’s a good spacemonkey.”
“Doctor says no, it’s jello for Jack,” Daniel waggled a finger at him. O’Neill narrowed his eyes and waved the boomerang slightly, “get me a doughnut or...”
Daniel snorted derisively, “Jack with those ribs you probably couldn’t lift your hand to scratch your nose. You couldn’t throw that two feet.” He snatched the weapon from Jack and marched from the room.
Jack looked down at the glove, looked at the door where Daniel had just disappeared, and twitched a finger. There was a muffled electronic whine, a startled shout and a thud as the wall opposite them shook suddenly.

“JAACK!”

Jack caught Soorka’s indulgent smile, and grinned.

---------------------------------------

Rough translation of dream dialogue, Russian to English:
“Look, healthy and strong, this one will present a decent challenge.”
“Yes!”