AUTHOR: Debi C

EMAIL: dcole6@satx.rr.com

STATUS: Finished

CATAGORY: Action Adventure

SPOILERS: None

SEASON/SEQUEL INFO:

RATING: 13,

ARCHIVED AT: HELIOPOLIS; Incoming Wormhole

PAIRING: None

SERIES: none

SUMMARY: The team meets the wrong side in a society of human sacrifice. Inspired by Chris and Tanya's Word Of The Month Challenge

DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

FODDER OF THE GODS PT1
Debi C

Jack hated to be tied up. And he absolutely hated it when he, Daniel and Carter were tied up. At least Teal'c was loose. Evidently the Jaffa had been considered an untouchable because of the symbol on his forehead. Either that or he was already dead. But for whatever reason, the large alien was not with them.

He glanced over at his other two teammates. Neither Daniel nor Carter was conscious. It was a good thing in the short run, as they weren't doing any actual suffering yet. But with their luck, it was a temporary condition. In the long term, they needed to wake up, as he couldn't even begin an escape without them. Both of his kids were strung up by their wrists to the same tree's limbs and stripped down to bare minimum coverage as he was. Carter was actually below what she would consider acceptable; even her sports bra was gone. Daniel, sans glasses, was also down to bare chest, as O'Neill himself was, but he wouldn't care as much as her. All boots were gone; trouser remnants just on by a thread or belt.

The next thing he could worry about, besides their modesty or lack thereof, was what the hell were they being kept like this for? Were they prisoners, hostages, what? He didn't know...really. Not a clue, just hanging around.

If he tried really hard at looking over his left shoulder, on another tree and set of bonds were some of the people that they had been visiting with when the hammer had dropped. But they obviously had a clue. They were quietly speaking to themselves, not quite loud enough for him to hear. Occasionally, a cry of pain would be a little louder...or maybe it was a wail of grief over their situation. He couldn't really tell as Daniel had been doing his linguistic translation thing. He hadn't picked up the lingo himself yet. But Jack could tell distress noises when he heard them...and he was hearing them now.

From his immediate left, O'Neill heard Daniel. He gasped a little for air then grunted slightly as he came too. The boy was tough; he had to admit it. Not even a whimper...just that light sound when reality came crashing in on him. "Daniel, can you hear me?" Jack hissed at him, trying to get his attention. "Danny!"

"Umph, Jack?"

"Daniel, over here." He looked at his friend, willing him to come to.

"Jack? What?"

"Here." He heard...felt the younger man becoming more alert.

"Sam?"

"Beside you. She's still unconscious." Then Jack had to ask the question. "You okay?"

"Hurts, but yea, I'm intact I think." He looked at Jack. "Oh."

"Yea...oh." Jack wanted to reach...touch...to be sure that his two team members were mostly uninjured, but of course, he couldn't being all tied up and such.

"Can you see if Carter's hurt? You're closer."

Daniel managed to stand a little, taking the weight off his arms and wrists where the leather thongs were cutting off the blood supply and feeling in his hands. He turned painfully to see the young female Major. He looked as carefully as he could for wounds or signs of injury. "She looks all right so far as I can tell. Just tied up like us."

Jack stood a moment before jerking on his bonds again. "See if you can figure out what the hell we're doing here like this, Daniel. Why we're being held. I can't make out the language at all."

Daniel nodded, putting himself in listening mode while Jack continued to struggle, trying to find a weakness in the leather thongs on his wrists.

After a few minutes, Jackson turned farther around to face their 'friendly' natives. He spoke quietly to the other prisoners at the next tree. They answered him and the wailing began again. "Jack."

"Yea." He thought he felt the rawhide leather give a centimeter or so.

"Uh, Jack. We have a bit of a problem here."

"Such as?" He was sure it had given, so he kept trying to stretch it farther. But it was decreasing the blood flow to his hands.

"Our captors are from an enemy tribe. Jack, they're cannibals."

On that piece of information, O'Neill paused a moment and took a deep breath. "Cannibals, hum. And we're invited to dinner?"

"Apparently so." The younger man paused. "We really need to get out of here, cause I think we're the first course."

"Trying Daniel...trying; but someone took my knife and...uh, I'm only getting a little result here. I think a rescue would be good about now."

Carter moaned softly as she began to regain consciousness. Daniel, being closer to her, called out softly. "Sam. Sam. Are you with us yet?"

"Uh huh." She sniffed. "Oooah, oh."

Jack could hear her start to move around, making her own discoveries. "Carter."

"Uh, here Sir." She wasn't real clear about where her here was but she was with them. "What...?"

Jackson tried to turn back to face her. "We're being held captive by a different tribe. Maybe even species...we've got to get loose, Sam. They've got us for food."

" 'Kay." She seemed to be thinking as she shifted trying to take pressure off her arms.

"Carter, suggestions?"

"Teal'c?"

"Not here, maybe free, maybe dead." Jack kept working his wrists around in the leathers. "Don't want to wait that long." He stopped long enough to try and twist around to see her. "Status?"

"Cold, Sir. No weapons, but no wounds."

Daniel was trying to get more information from their former hosts, the other captives. He talked for a few minutes, then turned back to O'Neill. "No good. It seems like these are the indigenous inhabitants of this world. When the Katai were seeded here by the Goa'uld, they became bitter enemies. We're about to be sacrificed to their God, to defeat the other one."

Carter had been listening, processing the info. "I thought you said they were cannibals?"

"Well, after the sacrifice whatever the god doesn't want they get to eat."

"Efficient." O'Neill grunted. He was definitely getting his hands looser. The blood running down his arms seemed to be helping stretch the leathers.v "Jack." Daniel called to him. He turned to look. A group of 'indigenous natives' were approaching. They were shorter, stockier and uglier than the friendlys they had been captured with and appeared to be ready for business, all carrying very sharp looking stone knives, flaying knives.

"Circle up; try to keep our backs together." Jack was hoping they were close enough to try this defensive tactic. Couldn't hurt. Daniel made an effort and shifted his tether point on the tree branches closer to Carter. She tried to get closer to O'Neill. They couldn't quite touch but it was better.

The natives circled around them, making comments to each other. Luckily Carter was more on the slim side and not really obviously female with her hands stretched tightly above her head. "Daniel, Carter don't let them in our circle."

The aggressors were getting braver. One young male came close and made a lunge towards Jack with a stone-headed club. O'Neill waited until the hero got close enough then kicked out, catching him in the belly. The man fell, gasping for air and rolling on the ground. His buddies drug him out of harms way and yelled derisive sounding words at him. Another one took a try at Carter, but her toe connected with his jaw. He fell forward into Daniel who kneed him in the groin. The native lay there gagging until another one drug him back. But they weren't dissuaded, so easily. Their next feint again at Carter resulted in a bloody cut on her leg, tearing her BDU's and calf muscle. Jack tried to reach her attacker, but as he swung sideways he felt a burning sensation as one of the primitive's stone knives scored his side.

Two of them were trying to gang up on Daniel, possibly to hurt him or just to draw him out. One of them made a side feint and as he covered their center, he felt a hard blow to his upper leg. Both his attackers withdrew but one left his blade in Daniel's leg. He could feel the blood start to run down the back of his knee. He cursed them in the common language of the planet. The startled natives drew back.

The watching Katai shouted encouragement to them. Jack looked over his shoulder and saw both his team members bloodied. "Status!"

"Still here, Sir. But Daniel's hurt."

"Okay. Danny?"

"Back left thigh, above the knee. I'm still good."

Jack knew that this couldn't continue for long. They would be literally bled to death very soon. He could feel the warm flow of his own blood being soaked up by what was left of his BDU's waistband. "What did you say to them?"

"Oh, I don't know." The younger man replied. "I think I cursed their firstborns as cowards."

"Hey, it worked. Do it some more." He needed time; the wrist ligature was definitely loose now with all the jumping around. "My hand's almost free."

"Sir...your status?" Carter called out.

"Cut, bleeding and pissed, Major." Jack continued to twist in his bonds. "Not in that order." He stopped to catch his breath.

"Jack, they're coming again." Daniel was terse, concentrating on his breathing through the leg pain.

As their attackers started the circle dance again, Jack could see them judging the condition of their victims. He watched them warily as they passed closely to him. He smiled at them...trying to bring them to him. A youngster, fifteen years old maybe, took up his challenge and came straight in with an upraised knife. O'Neill met him with the side arch of his left foot under the ear, knocking the native down under him. The youngster fell on his belly under the Colonel and Jack stamped down quick and hard on his assailant's neck. He heard/felt the bones break under his weight.

This had a definite affect on their tormentors. They backed off some distance watching as the seasoned warrior pushed his victim out from under his feet. O'Neill again started to work on his bonds, only peripherally aware of them. He didn't even notice when they finished their discussion and moved away, leaving their unfortunate comrade behind.

Several minutes later, the group returned in mass. They cautiously circled around Jack giving him a wide berth. But they were moving in on the weakened Daniel. He was bleeding from the deep wound and was obviously in trouble. Sam tried to shift her position to cover her teammate. But one of the larger men managed to get his hands on her and while taking a beating himself, it allowed the rest to tackle the young archeologist. Jackson, who was weakening, was not out yet. Using his bonds to balance on his injured leg, he managed to trip one of his foes and fight off another, relocating teeth in the one and kicking the other one out of range. Sam brought her heel down on the bare foot of the man grappling with her, then dislocated his knee with a well-aimed foot.

Again, the natives pulled back to reorganize. These pale skinned strangers, thought to be fodder for the gods were becoming a problem. The elders' seeing the injuries and the one death and were unsure of the validity of the sacrifice. The victims had not appeared to be unusual other than their light skins. ButŠThe older warrior was a man of great power, killing a powerful hunter with one blow. The young one continued to fight on bravely with a crippling injury and the woman fought like a panthath with cubs. They needed a sign from the gods, guidance for their offering. So the Shaman was called and he and the chief retreated to the hut area.

"Daniel, what's happening?" Jack demanded catching his breath.

"Uh, yea." The linguist was beginning to sound a little out of it. "They've called in the big guns and are trying to decide if we're worth all the trouble. Evidently we were just supposed to go along with the sacrifice idea without objecting." His voice rallied. "You scared them pretty badly when you killed that man."

"Oh, you mean the one with the knife trying to filet my short ribs?"

"That would be him, yes."

"Oh, well." Jack sounded unconcerned. "How you doing Danny?"

"Tired, Jack. A bit dizzy."

"It's the blood loss. Carter, is he still bleeding?"

"Yes, Sir." She managed to arc around to see Jackson's leg. "It's still holding a knife."

"Carter, that weapon is yours if you can get it. Daniel."

"Sam, you can have the damned thing. I don't want it anymore."

"Danny, the only thing I want you to do is stop bleeding. That's an order."

"'kay, Jack."

O'Neill was concerned about his friend's condition but there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it until he managed to free himself.

As the evening wore on, the three SGC captives were left alone. O'Neill knew that it was just a tactic to allow their wounds to weaken them more. And by all appearances it was working. He knew that Daniel's injury was not only going to cripple him and interfere with their escape but the blood loss alone would kill him soon. As the darkness grew in intensity, Jack continued to work with the rawhide until finally his right hand slipped its bonds. He grasped the length in hand to maintain the illusion that he was still attached until full dark had fallen. "Carter, Daniel."

"Yes, Sir." Sam answered, Daniel didn't.

"Status?"

"Cut, not bleeding anymore and still pissed."

"Daniel?"

"Not good, still bleeding." She replied for her teammate.

Then a quiet voice said. "Still pissed."

A quick flash of relief washed over Jack. "Stay that way Danny, it'll help. My hands are free, as soon as the village quiets down; we're blowing this burg.

"Works for me Jack. The reservations were screwed up and the accommodations are shoddy." Daniel's voice was a little stronger this time.

"Good boy. Hang in there, kids. The steaks are on me at O'Mally's."

"It's a date, Sir. I'll buy the wine."

"Carter, you're on."