TITLE: Repercussions
AUTHOR: Telsia~Cha'ris
STATUS: One off story set during season 5
CATEGORY: Drama/ Mature
RATING: R - violence, rape
CONTENT WARNING: Some reference to sexual situations, torture, minor character death
SUMMARY: Jack is arrested and court martialed. Anything else gives it away.
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.

REPERCUSSIONS.

PART ONE - THE CHARGE.

Brigadier General Shaw, Office of Special Investigations, flanked by two AP's walked into the briefing room and pulled his gun from its holster. The two AP's followed Shaw's lead and drew their weapons. Jack O'Neill and the rest of SG1 were sat round the table waiting for General Hammond. The briefing was meant to start at 0915. It was now 0930 so Hammond was late, which was strange in itself. Daniel and Teal'c were discussing the possible reasons for this, while Sam was in the middle of explaining to Jack how the scanner she wanted to field test worked. "So if we piggyback the signal on the MALP telemetry...." She broke off.

Jack was grinning at her with a vacant 'I don't know what you are talking about' look on his face. She said, "Something wrong Colonel?"

"No I just love listening to your techno babble. Carry on babbling.”

Sam shook her head. “I despair. It's important that you understand...”

“So long as one of us knows how the thing works Carter. You're the brains of the outfit. I'm the brawn. Daniel's the translator and Teal'c is....”

Shaw coughed slightly. SG1 turned. At the sight of the armed officers, the conversation stopped dead. Shaw introduced himself. “General Shaw, O.S.I. I am looking for Colonel O'Neill.”

“That would be me Sir,” Jack replied. “What can I do you for General?”

Shaw crossed over to Jack. He held up the handgun. "Colonel O'Neill. Would you accompany me please?"

"Why?" Jack said, still grinning at Sam.

“I have orders to take you to into custody. I suggest you come quietly."

The smile was wiped off Jack's face immediately. He felt like someone had kicked him hard in the stomach. "I'm sorry. Did you say 'custody' ?” he said, hoping he had misheard.

“Yes Sir.”

“Why the guns? Are you planning on shooting me if I don't comply?"

"If I have to."

"This is a joke right? Did someone put you up to this?"

“No joke. I shall not ask you again Colonel,” Shaw repeated. “If necessary I shall use the restraints."

Sam looked worriedly at him at him. "He means it Sir," she said.

"Why? What am I supposed to have done?" Jack asked.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill. I am apprehending you on the charge that on the mission to P5X-793, in May of this year, you did rape Airman Sonja Rodregius. Anything you say may be used in evidence against you."

Jack looked stunned. “I did what?”

“Colonel?” Sam asked.

“But that's not possible. Jack?” Daniel protested. Teal'c said nothing, just raised his eyebrow.

“Colonel. Now,” Shaw said, as the two AP's took up position either side of Jack.

Jack said, “No.”

“No what Colonel?” Shaw asked.

“No I did not rape her. I never laid a finger on her. For crying out loud, I'm her training officer.”

“Colonel O'Neill, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice.”

Jack looked across the table at the other members of his team. All of them looked stunned - except Teal'c. Teal'c as usual, kept his face totally expressionless. “She's lying,” Jack said.

Shaw said, “Colonel O'Neill. Now please.”

Jack looked squarely at Shaw. He may be the senior officer, but to waltz in here and arrest him, in front of his own team was not on. Anger surged through him. There were ways of doing this, and this was not one of them. Before he had time to bring his anger under control, Shaw nodded at the AP's. One of them grabbed Jack's arm and hauled him to his feet. Without thinking, Jack lashed out and with a sudden left hook, floored the AP on his right. He made a grab for the dropped handgun, with no fixed plan in mind. The other AP reacted slightly quicker than Shaw and chopped Jack on the neck sending him to his knees.

Jack shook his head to clear it and again tried to pick up the gun. The two AP's grabbed him securely and pulled him upright before he could get to it. The rest of SG1 watched in horror. Jack looked at Shaw. "Now what are you going to do?" he challenged him. Shaw didn't even hesitate before pulling Jack's hands roughly behind his back and fastening them tightly. He prodded him with his gun. "Add assault to the list of charges. Let's go."

“Colonel?” Sam began, moving towards him.

Daniel grabbed her arm. “Leave it Sam.”

“No I won't. I'm going to see General Hammond.”

She ran down the corridor and up to Hammond 's office. She knocked on the door. “Come in,” Hammond called. Sam opened the door.

“Sir are you...” she began. Hammond had company. Three uniformed officers were with him, all generals. He looked at her. “What can I do for you Major?”

“It's Colonel O'Neill Sir,” she said.

“I am aware of Colonel O'Neill's situation. I will brief you and the rest of SG1 later. Say about 1300 hours?”

“Yes Sir, but......”

“I'll see you then. Dismissed.”

Sam hesitated, then nodded and left the office. She went back to the briefing room, where Daniel and Teal'c were waiting. As she came in they looked at her expectantly. She shook her head. “He was busy. Said he'd talk to us at 1300 hours.”

“Well I guess that means that P6B-531 is off then,” Daniel said.

Jack, with an armed guard either side of him and Shaw behind him, walked the short distance to the lift and reached the holding cell in silence. They had passed enough airmen en route to ensure that the whole base would know that he was under arrest, by lunchtime. Jack hesitated slightly, but a nudge from Shaw's gun butt forced him over the threshold. Shaw removed the restraints and watched as Jack walked slowly into the cell. Shaw shut the door and locked it. He began to talk quietly to the security guard on duty.

Jack stood in the corner of the room and rubbed his wrists, convinced that Shaw had made the restraints too tight on purpose. He glanced miserably round the cell, wondering if security had deliberately chosen that route to the cells in order to humiliate him as much as possible. Okay so he shouldn't have lost his temper like that, but you couldn't say he hadn't been provoked.

Shaw came back to the door and opened it. "I will be back to interview you in the morning. If I were you, I would make myself comfortable."

Jack snorted derisively. "Why? I'm not planning on staying in here for the rest of my life."

"You may have no choice in that. If you are found to be guilty as charged, that is one of the options open to the court-martial."

"Along with summary execution I suppose?" Jack asked sarcastically. "What about my one phone call?"

"In the morning Colonel."

As Shaw shut the door, Jack paced round and round the room. Rape. The word echoed through his mind, with all its consequences horribly apparent. He faced a long stint in prison and a dishonourable discharge. That though, was nothing compared with the court-martial he would face and the disgrace that would bring upon his friends and the SGC. He had never....would never....... He was her training officer, for crying out loud. It was against regs for a start! Never mind something that he thought the lowest of all criminal acts.

Jack glanced across at the guard on duty. Even he looked at him as though he were dirt or something the cat dragged in. Did everyone here think the same? What had happened to innocent until proven guilty? Jack looked at his watch, only 1000hrs. He thought hard. Rape. There was no way on Earth, or any other planet for that matter, that he would even consider doing something as awful as raping a woman, never mind someone under his command. Besides which Rodregius was a kid, barely what twenty two?

Throwing himself down on the bunk, he racked his brains, trying to remember. P5X-793. That was the mission those two new airmen had gone on. One had been killed. The three of them had been separated from the rest of SG1 and had been on their own for six days before they had been rescued. He closed his eyes and the memories of that night in question five months ago, flooded back.

The door opened and Alpha 1 entered and looked at Jack. He spoke tonelessly, more of an order than a request. "We require one more piece of data and then our records on your species are complete. Co-operate fully and you and all the people on your world will live. Otherwise they will die."

"What do you want this time?" Jack asked warily.

"The human mating ritual. You have five minutes to decide."

Alpha 1 left the room. Sonja looked at Jack in horror. "They want what?!! No way!!"

"We don't have a choice," he told her firmly.

"You're wrong Sir. We do!"

Sonja struggled to her feet. "We just refuse. We've done enough. I didn't ask for this. They took us remember? Sent that false distress call, kidnapped us, poked, prodded and scanned us. They killed David, almost killed you, treated us like lab rats, made us do everything in front of cameras and now they want us..." She broke off her tirade as Jack grabbed hold of her arm and turned her to face him.

Jack took a deep breath and said, "That's enough! They will gate home and kill everyone. Is that what you want? I'm not exactly thrilled by the prospect, but let's at least talk about it like adults. Now sit down, airman."

"Yes Sir." Sonja sat. Jack let go of her arm and gently touched the side of her face. "It's a small thing to do in exchange for so many lives," he told her.

"There speaks a man!" Sonja snapped, twisting her head away. Jack turned it back to face him. "What are you so afraid of?" he asked.

Silence followed. After half a minute or so, Sonja said, “I'm promised to Juan. I have to wait until our wedding night. I'm sorry Sir, I can't. I won't."

"Not even to save the lives of everyone else?"

She shivered. "I can't. I...I've never done it before. Juan has to be the first. I promised."

"Sonja, if Juan loves you, then he'll understand. He's..." Jack broke off as he suddenly realized what she'd said. "Are you trying to tell me you're a virgin?"

Sonja blushed and looked at the floor embarrassed that he had mentioned it. "Yes Sir," she said quietly.

Alpha 1 suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Time's up. The human mating ritual in exchange for the lives of everyone on your base. What is your decision?"

Jack said, "We'll do it." Alpha 1 nodded and exited as quickly as he'd entered, leaving them alone. Alone that is, except for the camera in the corner of the room with it's all seeing eye. Sonja glared at Jack. "Thank you very much!" She pulled herself up and stepped away from him, terror and panic rising within her. He obviously had no intentions of caring how she felt about this. She limped into the shower room, locked the door and sank on to the chair.

Jack watched her go and left her for a while, before getting up. He crossed the room and knocked on the door. "Sonja?" he called.

"Go away."

"Open the door and talk to me. I'll listen to whatever you have to say. Running away isn't going to solve anything."

"Go away!" she screamed. "You don't want to talk. You don't want to listen to me. All you want to do is hurt me. So long as we co operate nothing else matters. I can‘t do it."

"Give me a chance to explain," Jack pleaded. "Open the door Sonja. Please."

Sonja undid the lock and opened the door a tiny bit. She looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car in the instant before it dies. Jack realised he had to regain her trust before they could comply with the Alphas latest demand. "I'm not that frightening am I?" he asked, smiling at her. "I'm not going to hurt you. That is the last thing I would do. We don't have a choice. What did you want me to do?"

She shrugged, opening the door a bit wider. Encouraged by this, Jack continued, "How can we condemn General Hammond and the others to David's fate? It wouldn't be a quick death. They'd see to that. It was my decision."

"Yes Sir it was." She paused. "I just don't like breaking promises."

"Neither do I." He held out his hand to her. "Come here."

Sonja tentatively took his hand. "I don't want to let you down Sir, but I can't." Jack led her back across the room and pulled her down onto the bench next to him. "There's no rush," he told her. "They can wait. Come here." He brushed the hair out of her eyes, then put his arms round her and hugged her. Sonja instinctively stiffened. "One step at a time," he said. "Start by dropping the Sir." He pulled her head up so she was looking at him. "You're shaking Sonja. What's wrong?"

"I'm terrified," Sonja admitted, the sheer panic she felt evident in her voice. “I can't do this. It's not right. You can't make me do this Sir.”

Jack inclined his head towards hers and brushed her lips with his. Sonja gasped. Jack smiled at her. "See? There is nothing to be frightened of." He kissed her again, harder this time, moving one hand through her hair, while his other hand slowly slid down her body to encircle her waist. She pushed him away. "No, I can't do this," she said, pulling herself up. She began to back away, wincing as her knee shot streaks of pain down her leg.

Jack sighed and stood up. "Yes you can," he said, reaching for her. Sonja shook her head, hugging herself, trying to keep her distance. "No! Don't touch me." She stumbled and fell, crying out in pain as her knee twisted beneath her. Jack swept her up in his arms. She struggled against him. "Put me down!" His jacket tore open and she flinched as her hands touched his bare chest. "Sonja, you can do this. Do I need to make it an order?"

She struggled harder, forcing Jack to hold her tighter to avoid dropping her. "Leave me alone Sir! I can't!"

Jack carried Sonja across the room and laid her on the bed. "I told you not to call me Sir," he said, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "It'll be our secret. No one will ever find out."

"You'd lie your way out of it, just to cover your back?" she asked, refusing to look at him.

"Not lie exactly," he said, turning her to face him. He leaned down and kissed her. "Just omit a couple of things from the report."

He lay down next to her. Sonja hit out at him and tried to get up. He put his arm across her, holding her down. She flinched and tried to move away. "No! Don't!" Jack pulled her towards him, pulling off her jacket and throwing it onto the floor. He grasped both her wrists in his left hand. She fought against him. “Sir no! Please Sir, you're hurting me! Please stop! No!” Holding her tightly he kissed her, murmuring her name, ignoring her frantic struggles and pleading cries, his other hand moving deliberately and relentlessly down her body.

Jack sat up on the bunk and buried his head in his hands. Horror and shame flooded through him and he could feel his face burning. He didn't want to believe it. It was true. He had raped her. He was guilty as charged. He leaned back against the wall, feeling incredibly sick. Surely he would have stopped though. No matter what the provocation. Why hadn't he stopped?

 Hammond looked across the desk at Frasier, shock registering on his face. “There is no possibility of doubt Doctor?”

“None. The DNA test is conclusive. The baby Airman Rodregius is expecting is Colonel O'Neill's.”

He took the report from her and read it for himself. “Just when I thought this mess couldn't get any worse,” he sighed.

“Have they set a date for the court-martial yet?”

“Four days time. The Judge Advocate General's office just happen to have someone free then.”

“That's too fast. Isn't a general court-martial supposed to have a pre-trial investigation first?”

“Usually. They feel that as he broke regs by sleeping with her anyway, the charge of rape must be.....” his voice tailed off.

Frasier sighed. “I would never have expected Colonel O'Neill to be capable of anything like this.”

“Nor would I. Unfortunately the charges have been filed and it is out of my hands.”

“Sir, I was wondering whether the Tok'ra would be able to help. Jacob will have to testify at the trial anyway. The memory recall device they have.....”

“Probably wouldn't be admissible in a US military court.”

“What about the lie detector they have then?”

Hammond looked thoughtful. “Well I guess there is no harm in getting them to bring it in case.” After Frasier left Hammond contacted the Tok'ra and requested that Jacob/Selmak and Anise come to Earth ASAP with the equipment Doc Frasier had asked for.

Two hours later the off world activation sirens went off. Rushing to the control room, Hammond hoped it was just the Tok'ra as he had enough to cope with right now. The iris opened as the Tok'ra IDC signal was received, and the figures of Jacob and Anise came through the gate, carrying a huge box between them. Hammond hurried down to the gate room. "Jacob, thank you for coming." He motioned to two of the airmen. "Take this to the lab."

"I will go with them General, to set it up," Anise said.

“That won't be necessary for now. I have asked SG1 to join me in the briefing room. I would like you both to join us.”

Hammond took a deep breath. "As members of SG1 you have a right to know what is happening. However, I must emphasis that what I am about to tell you, is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and as such, is not to be repeated to anyone outside this room. Even though the whole base seems to know, not all the details are common knowledge. At least not yet”

“This is about Colonel O'Neill and this ridiculous rape charge isn't it?” Sam said.

“What?” Jacob said, taken aback.

“They arrested Jack this morning Dad. Accused him of raping a newly qualified airman on a mission back in May.”

“P5X-793. You assisted in the rescue mission,” Hammond said.

“Yes I remember. You are taking the word of a junior officer over that of a colonel George?”

“You know how the system works Jacob, as well as I do. The airman in question, Sonja Rodregius, broke into the armoury three days ago and tried to commit suicide. When I spoke to her several things came to light, as a result of which, she has made a formal complaint against Colonel O‘Neill.”

Hammond continued, watching the expressions round the table change. “Rodregius is four and a half months pregnant. She claims that the child is O'Neill's and that he raped her during the mission five months ago." He turned to Frasier. "Doctor?"

Frasier's expression changed abruptly. "Airman Rodregius underwent extensive blood and DNA tests two days ago. The results show that the baby is definitely Colonel O'Neill's. Although the charge of rape is a little difficult to prove one way or the other after this length of time."

Daniel shook his head, disgust written all over his face. "How could he have so little respect for a woman that he could do something like that? Never mind to someone whose safety he is responsible for, someone who is a lot younger than he is and more vulnerable than he'll ever be!”

Hammond said, "Nothing has been proved yet.”

"If it's definitely Jack‘s child though....," Daniel said. He slumped back in his chair and rubbed his hands over his face. "I thought I knew him."

"A baby?” Sam said, trying to get her head round it. “What I don't get though is why not make a complaint as soon as she got back? Why did she wait so long?”

“She has 180 days in which to make a complaint,” Jacob told her. “When does that expire George?”

Hammond replied, “Tomorrow. The beam scanned the whole of SG1 before O'Neill, Rodregius and King were taken. It could have been any of you. Likewise it could have been any of them who was killed. Colonel O'Neill's original report, which you have in front of you, says that the mission just involved routine repairs. Rodregius, on the other hand, claims that the locals kidnapped and tortured them. This actually fits their injuries, which are listed in the medical report you have, better than the way Colonel O'Neill said that they happened.”

Hammond looked round the table. “She then says that these aliens wanted a practical demonstration of the human mating ritual. She refused to co-operate and Colonel O'Neill raped her. The fact is, she is carrying his child and the timing fits perfectly. It is not up to us to make moral judgements on the rights and wrongs of his behaviour and that as a result, Sonja is now carrying his child. Breaking regs is a minor issue under the circumstances. The only issue at stake here is the rape charge.”

PART TWO - THE REACTIONS.

Jack lay on the bunk. His back ached. Must be all the reminders he thought. P5X-793. Suddenly a flash of memory took him by surprise.

"I believe the punishment for disobedience in your military is flogging. Cat o'nine tails if the memories we took from you were correct."

"Not for years!" Sonja objected.

"Over ruled," Alpha 2 said. He looked at Jack. "Strip," he ordered.

Jack shook his head. "No." He was in no mood to co-operate with someone who had lied to him. Alpha 1 tilted his head slightly. "Your choice." He held Jack firmly while Alpha 2 roughly stripped him to the waist. They pushed Jack face forwards into the wall and pulled his arms above his head and fastened them to the chains. Fear surged through him, but he refused to show it. The door opened and Alpha 3 entered. "I think ten lashes to start with," Alpha 1 said, taking the whip and raising it above his head.

King tried to stop him. "But that's really ninety! That thing's got nine cords to it!! You'll kill him!" Alpha 2 and 3 grabbed the two airmen and held them back, forcing them to watch. The whip swished through the air and made contact with Jack's back with a sickening thud, each of the nine tails spreading out to give nine separate deep wounds. Jack jerked and bit his tongue in an effort not to cry out. He lost his balance under the force of the blow and dropped to his knees. Sonja cried out, "Stop! He doesn't deserve this! Please stop!" Alpha 1 ignored her and as Jack struggled to his feet, the whip flew through the air again.

The pain was not what he'd expected Jack thought, as he grasped hold of the chains, it was worse. He jerked again as the whip hit him. As he fell to his knees again, his eyes watering with pain, he forced himself to stay silent. He dragged himself to his feet. 'Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they've won this round,' he thought. 'Stand up, don't show them how much it hurts. Face it on your feet.' Ten times in total the whip rose and fell; each time knocking Jack to his knees; each time he kept silent; each time but the last, he struggled to his feet.

Jack sat up, the memory vivid enough for him to remember the pain and humiliation he felt. He put his hands behind his neck and moved his head gently against them. He massaged his neck, feeling the headache begin to build. He looked across at the AP on duty and debated asking for Doc Frasier to be called, but decided against it. Lying down he decided to try and sleep it off.

That evening in the commissary, the chef put the final touches to dinner. He set a portion of the risotto aside for the prisoner in the holding cell and placed a lid on it to keep it warm. As the first trickle of people came in, he noticed that the atmosphere was subdued, with an undercurrent of sheer outrage and anger. "Good evening airman," he said. "What do you fancy tonight?"

"Stew," she replied. "Phillip, have you heard about Colonel O‘Neill?"

Phillip dished up a plateful of food. "No. What's that then?"

"He's been relieved of duty and arrested. They charged him with rape. He assaulted Sonja Rodregius and she's now expecting his child."

"That doesn't sound like him," Phillip said, handing over the food.

"It must be true," some one else said. "Why else is he under house arrest?"

"I heard that too," yet another voice said. The three women sat together at a table. "I went on a mission with him last week. The two of us got separated for a while. It could have been me, because he attacked Sonja on a mission."

"I can't get over him doing that. I thought he was someone I could trust with my life."

As the mess hall filled up, more and more voices added their thoughts. All of them condemning Jack and supporting Sonja. Daniel entered the room and Phillip grabbed the dish of risotto and rushed over to him, not bothering to hide his relief. Even if it meant coming face to face with the object of everyone's hatred, at least he'd have a minute or two away from the rising torrent against Colonel O'Neill. "Doctor Jackson. Can you do me a favour? Rand hasn't arrived yet and I'm on my own. Can you hold the fort for me for ten minutes?" He left without waiting for a reply and headed straight for the holding cell.

Jack looked up as the door opened, grateful for the interruption. "Dinner is served," Phillip said, opening the dish and showing the guard that there was nothing sinister hidden inside it. Maybe he should have poisoned it he thought. Or at least added enough spices to upset Jack's digestion. He deserved it after the way he had treated that poor young airman. The guard drew his gun and pointed it at Jack before opening the door.

Phillip handed the dish to Jack. He didn't return Jack's smile but instead turned to leave. Jack said "Phillip? Don't I even get a hello?" Jack sounded hurt, but Phillip ignored him. "I'll be back in the morning with breakfast," he told the guard, leaving the cell and heading towards the door. He was anxious to leave before he said or did something that he might regret. Not that he would regret it for a long time!

He returned to the commissary. "Thanks Doctor Jackson," he said.

"You didn't give me much choice."

"I know, I'm sorry. I had to take food to the cells. Have you eaten?"

Daniel shook his head. "The topic of conversation has made me lose my appetite."

"Same here," Sam said, making Daniel jump as he had not noticed her approach. "But as I have to work most of the night I have to eat. Anything will do. Join me? I persuaded Teal'c to eat to."

"Okay. Just a small portion then."

Phillip deftly dished Sam a plate of stew. Teal'c and Daniel accepted the stew too. As the three of them sat down at a table, silence fell across the room. Teal'c took a mouthful. Daniel looked at Sam and she motioned him to eat. "They are all looking at us," he hissed.

"Just eat quickly then."

A shadow fell across the table. "Major?" Sam looked up. One of the junior airmen, Tom Butler, stood next to them. "Yes Airman. What can I do for you?"

"Are the rumours true?" he asked.

Sam put down her fork and sighed. "What rumours are they?"

"About Colonel O'Neill. I heard that he is under house arrest."

Sam nodded and Butler plucked up the courage to go on. "I also heard that he raped Sonja and is the father of her baby, and is the reason she is now on suicide watch. We figured since you are a member of SG1 that...."

"I'd know what was going on," Sam finished. She pushed her plate away. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. "Listen. Once the investigation is finished then we will all know the facts. Right now I don't know anymore than you do. Except that we have a lot of work to do. So if you have finished your meal, I suggest you report back to the lab. I want the centrifuge cleaned."

Butler , knowing when to give up, left the room. "Anyone else want to join him?" There was silence. "In that case, stop the gossip, finish your meals and either get back to work or find something less damaging to do." Sam pulled her plate back towards her and resumed eating her meal.

Daniel grimaced. "I can understand why they think we know more than them. I wish we had more answers than we do."

"I don't want to believe the story though, Daniel. We've known Jack for years. In fact on at least one occasion he saved me from being raped! But I just don't know anymore. Why keep the mating ritual quiet unless he wanted to hide something."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "Did you not just tell the others off for doing what you are doing now Major Carter?"

"Do what I say, not do what I do Teal‘c. Besides if you can't beat them, join them."

"Ooh two clichés in one sentence. Want to know what I think?" Daniel said.

Sam nodded, finishing her meal. Daniel put his fork down. "Ok. Jack doesn't always play by the rules; he breaks them if the need arises, likes to get his own way. So maybe he that's what he did this time. I mean the baby is his right? So he obviously slept with her. Why would she lie?"

"She does like him," Sam said, taking a mouthful of coffee. "She always used to blush whenever he spoke to her; be the first to offer to help him. But not recently."

Daniel nodded. "I'd noticed that too. So surely she'd have jumped at the chance to get to know him better. But that doesn't explain why she would want to kill herself. Unless he'd hurt her more deeply than she wanted to admit to. Or done something to her, or made her do something she didn't want to."

"Maybe she had a good reason to avoid him recently," Sam said, coming reluctantly to a decision and not liking it one bit. She finished her coffee and put the cup down. "I have to go. What's your point? Do you think he did rape her?"

Daniel played with his food for an instant and then said, "Yes, I do. What about you?"

"As much as I want to believe he is innocent. I can't."

“What about you Teal'c?”

“Colonel O'Neill is my friend. I do not believe him capable of such an act. It is not in his nature to treat women this way."

In the infirmary Sonja pushed her risotto around the plate. She could see Frasier watching her from her office and the ever-present guard by the door. They had given her a plastic spoon to eat with. What did they think she was going to do with a fork? Now a knife would be a different story. She put the spoon down as Frasier came over to her. "You need to eat. For the baby's sake as much as yours. I'll have to feed you myself if..." She broke off as Sonja went pale. "What's wrong Sonja?" Sonja gasped as the memories came flooding back, and dropped the plate onto the floor.

For a moment Frasier thought Sonja was going to pass out. She pushed her head down between her knees. After a minute, Sonja's breathing steadied and her colour returned to normal. She sat up. "I'm okay," she said quietly. A tear slid down her face. "Do you want to talk?" Frasier asked her. Sonja nodded. "We thought we could force them to let us go by not co-operating," she said. "Then when that didn't work, after it nearly cost Colonel O'Neill his life; we thought if we went on hunger strike we would be too weak to be of any use to them. We were wrong...."

Alpha 4 put the tray of soup down on the table. "Eat," he commanded. Jack shook his head. "You may be able to make us do most things but that is not one of them," he said. Alpha 4 smiled cruelly. "We shall see. You have twenty minutes." He left the room and locked the door behind him. King and Sonja looked at Jack. He answered their unspoken question. "Leave it," he said. "Let's go on hunger strike. I don't want to co-operate anymore." He shifted uncomfortably, his back sending waves of excruciating pain through him. "Does your back still hurt Sir?" King asked. Jack nodded. "Not too much though," he lied. These kids had enough to worry about without him adding to them.

Sonja walked over to the table. She lifted one of the dishes. "Smells like chicken," she said. She put the dish down. "I'm hungry." She crossed back to the others and sat down. Jack looked at her sympathetically. "We all are," he told her. "We can't give in now. It's been twenty hours since they took us. If we start co-operating now, we've lost. Everything we have done so far will have been in vain."

Exactly twenty minutes later, all four Alphas returned. "You have not touched your food," Alpha 1 said. "You have to eat. If you do not do so we shall have to feed you ourselves." The three prisoners looked at each other in unspoken agreement. "We are not going to eat for your entertainment," Jack told them. "I am tired of being poked and prodded and pushed around. If you want me to eat, you'll have to make me." Alpha 3 looked at him. "As you wish," he said. “We will feed you all.”

Alpha 2 grabbed hold of Sonja and pushed her firmly into her chair. Her hands were fastened behind the chair. At the same time, King and Jack were also tied to their chairs. Sonja tried to get up but Alpha 2 held her firmly. Alpha 1 came over to them carrying a covered tray. "Last chance," he told Jack, putting the tray on the table. He shook his head and said, “Don't you people know what hunger strike means?"

Jack's comment went unanswered as the tray was uncovered. He looked in horror at what lay there. The expressions of the others mimicked his. He opened his mouth to speak, hoping to avoid the inevitable. Alpha 3 made the most of it, grabbing hold of Jack's head and forcing it backwards; putting his fingers in Jack's mouth to keep it open.

Sonja sobbed as she described to Frasier how they forced the tube down Jack's throat, how he choked and gagged and struggled, and how they then poured the soup down the tube. "Then they did it to David. Then to me." Frasier held her as she wept. Her face a mixture of horror and disgust, she said, "I can understand why you don't like eating."

"The next three meals were like that. We weren't given a choice to eat properly. Don't make me eat, please."

"I shan't force feed you, but you do have to eat something. How about if I promise to leave you in peace until you have finished. Will that do?"

Sonja nodded. "I'll have to get you some more," Frasier told her.

Frasier soon returned with another plate. "Here you are," she said, handing her the plate and plastic spoon. "I'll leave you to eat in peace. Come with me," she told the guard. "She's not going anywhere for a minute." Sonja waited until they were in the office before taking her first tentative mouthful. She still had to force herself to swallow without gagging, but it was easier now than it had been for months.

Jacob entered the cell and looked at Jack lying on the bunk. Jacob looked at him. "Jack?"

Jack opened his eyes and sat up. "Jacob," he said. He got up and went over to him.

“How are you?” Jacob asked.

“Silly quest...” Jack began. Then his vision blurred and he grabbed at the table to stop himself from falling. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. The headache, which had diminished, returned with a vengeance, virtually exploding within his skull. His hands flew to his head, holding it tightly. He was vaguely aware of the door opening. He moaned softly, his eyes closed and just as he passed out he felt someone catch him.

Jack lay face down on the bed, totally naked, his wrists and ankles firmly tied down. He was cold and embarrassed, not to mention totally humiliated. Every part of his body ached. He'd just under gone an extremely meticulous and uncomfortable physical examination. The Alpha's had poked and prodded everything and everywhere, including several internal exams. Nothing had been missed out, not even the SGC medicals were that invasive or intensive. He could still taste the salt water they had used to pump his stomach out with and felt incredibly sick.

The tray of instruments rattled as Alpha 2 picked up a ten-cm long hollow needle. Jack turned his head as far as he could to see what was happening. Alpha 2 attached a syringe to the needle and turned to his helpless victim. He ran his fingers down Jack's spine, re-opening the half-healed welts, feeling for the joints in the vertebrae. When he reached the hips, he placed the needle against the skin. Jack tensed in apprehension. With a crunch Alpha 2 forced the needle deep into Jack's spinal column, hitting the spot between the two vertebrae on the first attempt.

Digging his nails deep into the palms of his hands, Jack bit his tongue in an effort not to cry out. He consoled himself with the thought that the pain was marginally less this time and hopefully it would be over soon. Maybe the Alpha's would let them go once they had completed this. Then again maybe pigs would fly. With relief, Jack felt the needle move upwards. The relief didn't last long as it was re-inserted at a slightly different angle.

This time the needle made contact with the bone. Alpha 2 forced the needle into the bone itself, using incredible strength. A small gasp of pain from his subject was his reward. This male was surprisingly resilient. He was strong. He controlled the pain well. He was a good choice for the final test they had planned. Another moan as he removed the needle told Alpha 2 that he had succeeded in giving the human a severe headache. One it would take many months to recover from. Assuming, that is, that he lived that long.

 Frasier looked anxiously at the monitors. Jack had been transferred to the infirmary soon after he blacked out. He was tossing and turning on the bed. Hammond, Jacob and Shaw stood beside her. “What's wrong with him?” Shaw asked.

“I have no idea, Sir. The readings are erratic. It could just be another headache, but its more than that. These readings indicate REM sleep, but he is not sleeping. He's not unconscious either.”

Jack moved violently and cried out, almost knocking over the monitor. “We'll have to restrain him for his own safety.” They quickly tied Jack to the bed. He continued to moan; unaware of what was going on around him.

Jacob looked up and Selmak said, “I believe he is re-living the events in question. When he awakes he will probably not remember any of this.”

All four Alphas fixed their steel grey eyes on King. His hands rose to his throat and his eyes began to bulge as his throat constricted. He fell to the floor, gasping for breath, landing with a crack as his back snapped in two. He looked frantically at Jack, his commanding officer, asking silently for help, as his uniform was shredded, five simultaneous rents at once. It was as if he were being attacked, Jack thought, as if some huge animal were on top of him and clawing him.

Jack tried desperately to get to him, but Alpha 4 restrained him. King lay on the ground, unable to move from the waist down. "Help me," he whispered. Alpha 1 inclined his head slightly and King's throat began to close in as if held in a vice. He raised his hands, trying to pull away whatever invisible force was hurting him. He coughed and gasped. Then his eyes glazed, his body contorted once more and then fell still.

Sonja gasped. "NO! David!" she cried and burst into tears. "It's my fault," she sobbed. "It should have been me." Jack drew her into his arms and held her tightly. His eyes glistened as the raw emotion surged through him and spilled over. They clung to each other, as a ship clings to its anchor in a storm, for once oblivious to the camera and four pairs of faceted eyes watching them.

Night fell and still Jack lay in the infirmary, fighting against the restraints, lost in the memories he was experiencing.

Sonja fought as Alpha 3 pulled her across the room, her eyes saying everything that her taped mouth refused to let her. "Don't fight them Sonja," called Jack as he was pulled after her by Alpha 4. She dragged her feet. Despite Jack's warning she was determined to make things as difficult as possible. Alpha 3 responded by lifting her effortlessly off the ground and carrying her. Five feet further down the corridor he activated a door control and entered a small room, no more than ten feet square. Back in the torture chamber Sonja thought.

As usual a control console and screen filled one of the walls, with the ever-present camera in the corner of the room. Alpha 3 placed her on the chair and quickly fastened the restraints. Sonja struggled against them. "That is a pointless exercise," he informed her, ripping the tape off her mouth.

Sonja glared at him. "I shan't help you!" she said. Alpha 3 looked disdainfully at her. "You have no choice." He touched a control and the screen on the console came to life. Jack was strapped to a similar chair, but his had no padding over the metal framework. He had electrodes attached to his wrists, ankles, chest and temples. From the way his body began to arch, Sonja could tell there was current running through them. "Resist us and he dies."

She gazed at the screen as Jack's body went limp. His head moved and his lips parted in what was obviously a groan. His body quivered and arched again, bending back at an almost impossible angle. "Alright," Sonja said, her loyalty to her commanding officer overcoming her desire to thwart them at every chance. "What do you want this time?"

"Your knee. We need to know how it works."

Alpha 3 picked up a knife and slit Sonja's right trouser leg to her thigh. Picking up a scalpel, he swiftly made an incision across her knee. Sonja bit her tongue in an effort not to scream with pain. She fixed her gaze on the screen, watching Jack's arching body, refusing to give Alpha 3 the reaction he wanted as he put down the scalpel and picked up a probe. Mercifully by the time the six-inch probe had reached its hilt Sonja was unconscious.

Some time later both Jack and Sonja were returned to their cell. Jack, half-conscious, managed to walk with help. Every bone and muscle in his body ached and he felt like death warmed up. He collapsed on to the floor in a heap, grateful to be left alone, grateful that the pain had stopped and breathing was no longer an effort. The door opened and Alpha 3 unceremoniously dumped Sonja on the floor next to him.

Jack tried to rouse himself to see if she was alright, but found it too much of an effort and fell back onto the floor. Seventy-six hours of constant pain and no sleep was taking its toll on both of them. Sonja opened her eyes and whimpered. "It hurts," she cried, tears rolling soundlessly down her cheeks. Jack murmured in response and held out his hand. Sonja grasped it and held it tightly for a minute, feeling it go limp as Jack finally fell asleep. Then she too felt her tiredness overtake her and she gave in to it as a welcome release from the constant torment and pain.

 As dawn broke, Jack opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He fought against the restraints. “Hey? What are these for?”

The AP next to him called Frasier over.

“Morning Colonel. How are you feeling?”

“Fine. What happened? Why am I tied down like this?”

“You passed out yesterday.” She explained as she untied the restraints. “We had to do it for your own safety.”

A few checks later, she released him back to his cell. “You should eat first though,” she told him. She looked at the AP. "Let him eat in the commissary this time." Escorted by the AP, Jack headed to the commissary intending to do as he was told. As he entered the room, the buzz of conversation stopped and silence descended like a stone. He took his usual breakfast and went over to where Sam and Daniel were sitting. “Hey kids. What's happening?” he asked sitting opposite them.

Daniel looked at him. “Not much,” he said awkwardly. He looked at Sam. “Aren't we due in a briefing?” Sam agreed and they both got up. Jack looked hurt. "Carter?" he said.

She turned and looked at him. "What's wrong? What have I done?" Sam didn't reply. Jack looked at Daniel. "Daniel?"

"We have to go. If I stay I might end up doing something stupid, like punching your lights out."

“Is it something I said?” Then the penny dropped. "You both think I'm guilty don't you? You think I raped her?"

He could tell by the looks on their faces that he had hit the nail on the head. Sam and Daniel made a quick exit. "Well it's nice to know I can count on my 'friends' for support!" he said to their backs as they left without even a goodbye. He started eating his cereal, aware that the temperature in the room had dropped below freezing and that everyone was ignoring him. He put the spoon down and pushed the bowl away. He noticed Teal'c come in and didn't think he could cope with another one-sided conversation. He looked at the AP. “Ready to go,” he said.

As he was escorted from the room, he could hear comments being made. The closer he got to the door the louder they became. Eventually he could take no more. He turned round. “Did you say something Airman?” he asked. Airman Butler looked at Jack and nodded. He stood up and looked Jack in the eye. “I said people like you should be shot. Sonja is a friend. How could you?” A few choice words passed between them and before he knew what he was doing, Jack swung out with his fist and decked Butler . Butler responded with a well-placed left hook. Jack replied in kind.

One of the other airmen grabbed Butler , while Teal'c and the AP grabbed Jack's arms and pulled him from the room. They pushed Jack up against the wall. “Calm down Colonel!” the AP told him.

“That will not help the situation Colonel O'Neill,” Teal'c told him. “It will only blow the fire against you.”

“Fan the flames Teal'c,” Jack said. “Although maybe you were right the first time.”

They escorted Jack back to the holding cell. As the door was locked, Teal'c looked at Jack. "Colonel O'Neill."

"Yes?"

"For what it is worth I do not believe you are guilty of this crime. I am and always will remain your friend."

Jack looked at him. "Thanks Teal'c. That means a lot."

That afternoon, Jack paced across the cell, feeling like a caged animal. Annoyed that Shaw still hadn't bothered to come and interview him, he still couldn't believe he was locked up, accused of assaulting one of his airman. He'd gone over and over it in his mind not liking what he kept coming up with. He knew only too well what the rest of the base were thinking. If the reaction he got this morning was anything to go by, they had already found him guilty, sentenced him and then had him hung, drawn and quartered. All of his frustration and helplessness turned to anger. As he paced, his hands curled into fists and reaching the far wall he smashed his hand into it as hard as he could. All it accomplished was a glare from the ever-present security guard and a sore hand!

The following morning, Shaw walked down the corridor towards the infirmary, his face impassive. He entered the infirmary and crossed to the isolation ward where Sonja was sat on the bed looking totally bored.

"Good morning Airman. How are you feeling?" he asked crossing over to her.

Sonja snorted. "Fine, although I assume you're here to interview me, and not for polite conversation."

"That is correct." Shaw studied the notebook in his hand. "You have accused Colonel O'Neill of rape. That is an extremely serious charge. If it is proved he will lose his rank, his freedom and possibly his life. Are you aware of that?"

"It's no more than he deserves."

"You claim he attacked you on a mission five months ago."

"The one to P5X-793, yes."

"Why did you not report this at the time?"

Sonja pushed her hands back through her hair. "I don't know. I was frightened, ashamed, scared. I thought maybe I'd encouraged him somehow." She paused. "I just wanted to forget about it. It would have been his word against mine."

"It still is," Shaw reminded her.

"Look at me Sir. I'm four and a half months pregnant - with his child. How can he deny it?"

"That is not the issue airman. The charge is rape. Are you sure you want to pursue this?"

Sonja snorted. "You senior officers are all the same. You'll take his side, all stick together. What's the point?"

"I am not taking anyone's side. Colonel O'Neill is entitled to a fair trial, just as you are entitled to justice. Now I would like you to describe the assault in detail."

Sonja looked at him horror struck. "What?! Why?" It was one thing to tell General Hammond how Jack had held her down and attacked her, but to tell this officer from the O.S.I filled her with dread.

Shaw looked hard at her. "In order to ascertain the truth, I shall need as many details as possible. You will also need to give evidence at the court-martial. The Alphas asked you to provide the mating ritual. What happened next?" He rapidly wrote her response into his notebook as Sonja told him her version of events on P5X-793. "I kept asking him to stop, but he wouldn't. He held me down and..." Sonja broke off, tears starting to fall. "I tried to fight him off. He was too strong. He raped me Sir. And I can't even forget about it now. He's here, Sir. Growing, moving. I can't get away from it."

PART THREE - THE TRIAL.

One of the conference rooms on level 26 had been turned into a courtroom. Lieutenant General Ebdon, from the JAG's office, was the officer in charge, with the panel made up of three Colonels and three Brigadier Generals. Jack was led in, wearing handcuffs, and taken over to the table and chair that was serving as the dock. He glanced across the room and saw his friends sitting there. Teal'c nodded, but none of the others would even look at him. There were the other team CO's there, and several of the other base personnel. His lawyer came in and sat down next to him. “Sorry I‘m late,” he said. “The traffic is awful.”

Shaw stood up and asked Jack to stand and confirm his name and rank and then the cuffs were removed. Shaw read out the charges. “That on May 27th 2002 you, Colonel Jonathan O'Neill did rape Airman Sonja Rodregius while on a mission to P5X-793.” He nodded to Jack and he sat down. Then Shaw began the case for the prosecution. "Most offences that come to court-martial involve a lack of self-discipline, but crimes, such as the one before us today, involve a particularly gross absence of self-discipline amounting to a moral deficiency. They are the products of a mind particularly disrespectful of good moral standards. In most cases criminal acts, such as this one are not minor offences and, usually, the maximum imposable punishment are great." He paused. "This may seem like an odd way of doing it, but I feel the best way to deal with this is starting with the arrival of SG1 on P5X-793 then moving to the rescue and then moving forward to now. Then recounting the actual mission events.”

Shaw asked Sam to the stand. "Major Carter, can you tell us about your arrival on P5X-793."

"It was a normal trip. We had the two new recruits with us, so it was a standard recon mission. Until we picked up the distress call that is. There was this haze everywhere and it was difficult to see more than a few feet in front of us."

Sam called, "Coming up on the source of the distress call Colonel." Jack walked over to her, as if being closer to her made the signal easier to see. He turned to the others. Two new and raw recruits for this mission had joined SG1. He hated babysitting, but it was part of the job of training officer, so he had to grin and bear it. "Keep close together and don't go touching anything." The horizon was still filled with a blue-pink haze, and nothing else despite their proximity to it. "Are you sure you're reading a village there Carter?"

"Yep," replied Sam. "The distress call is coming from the straight-ahead."

A bright red light made its way across the group. "Is everyone okay?" Jack asked. A chorus of "Yes Sirs," answered him. Jack looked at the youngest members of the team. "Alright. This isn't the first tight spot we've been in," he said calmly. "Let's just see what happens." He moved on, looking as if this usually happened every day. Sam looked across to him and grinned wickedly. "You're not fooling me Colonel. I know you too well," she said quietly. Jack grinned back at her and shrugged his shoulders. "You can't kid a kidder, but it was worth a try!" He raised his voice. "How much further?"

"Not far Sir."

Jack smiled and was about to comment when Sam's voice changed. "We're being scanned again. Stronger than before." This time the beam was blue and shimmered. "No one move," Jack said. "Think nice thoughts." The light moved across the group surprisingly slowly. When it dissipated, Sam turned to her commanding officer. He was gone. She turned round. Airmen King and Rodregius were also missing. She tried her radio but there was no response.

Sam looked at the others. "Where are they?" she asked. Daniel looked at her. "Do you really expect an answer Sam?"

"They are not here," Teal'c said. "What of the distress signal and the village?"

Sam checked the readings. "Gone."

Shaw asked, "What did you do?"

"We tried contacting them on the radios but there was no response. We did a brief search, then gated home and came back with larger search teams."

"Including your father?"

"Yes. I asked General Hammond to contact him as he had prior experience in search and rescue."

Shaw turned to Jack. "Colonel O'Neill. Would you now tell us about how you were rescued fromP5X-793?"

Jack stood up and began to speak as clearly as he could. He was only too aware that his freedom and life were quite definitely on the line here.

Jack groaned and gingerly sat up. His head ached. His back was agony and still bleeding slightly, he realised touching it gently. He turned to the motionless figure on his left and shook her shoulder. "Airman," he said. Sonja opened her eyes and turned towards him. "Sir?" she began. Jack shook his head. "Don‘t say anything," he said brusquely. "Let's just get out of here." He swung his feet off the edge of the raised stone platform and stood up, adjusting the remains of his uniform. He ran his fingers through his hair and then tossed her jacket to her. “Put it on,” he told her.

Sonja sat up, her uniform as torn and stained as Jack's, and rubbed away the vestiges of the tears from her eyes. She put her jacket on and pulled her sleeves down to hide the marks on her wrists. Glancing at her knee, which was swollen to three times its normal size, she reflected that it was the least of her worries right now. She ached all over, but more than that she felt hurt and betrayed by someone she had trusted with her life. She got up, wincing as she put her weight on her right leg. She took a few tentative steps. "Ah!" Her knee gave way and it was only Jack's quick reactions that stopped her from landing in a heap.

He put his arm round her and taking her weight they headed towards the door. Knowing it was locked and uncertain what to do when he got there, Jack concentrated on keeping Sonja upright. She struggled and tried to ease out from his grasp but he tightened it. "Let me go Sir! I can manage," she gasped.

"You'll fall," he told her sharply.

Before they got any further, the door opened and Alpha 1 stood in their path. His green skin glistened and the prominent veins on his hairless head pulsated rhythmically. "Your co-operation is appreciated," he said tonelessly, holding out the radio. Suddenly a beam of blue light engulfed them and they were back in the forest on the surface. Sonja pulled herself free of Jack and dropped to the ground, next to the body of Airman King. Jack switched the radio on. “This is O'Neill. Anyone there?” The answer came almost immediately. Jack sat down next to Sonja to wait for their arrival.

Daniel answered Shaw's questions as accurately as he could. “She was tired and in pain, but more than that she was scared.”

SG1, plus Jacob Carter and SG3 rushed across to their injured companions. Daniel crossed over to Sonja and opened the med kit. “Let me see that knee,” he said. Sonja shook her head violently and turned away. “Leave me alone please,” she said, tears starting to course down her cheeks. Daniel watched Sonja keep glancing over her shoulder anxiously. There was something she was terrified of and if he didn't know better, he would say it was Jack. “She's not going to be able to walk far on this knee,” he said.

Teal'c told of how he went to help Daniel with Sonja. “She could not take her eyes off Colonel O'Neill. I have seen countless victims of the Goa'uld look at them the same way in the moments before they are taken as hosts.”

“So she was terrified of the Colonel then?”

“Yes. I believe she was.”

Teal'c knelt beside her. “You must let Daniel Jackson bandage your knee. Then I will take you back to the Stargate.” Sonja nodded, still looking worriedly across at Jack. Once Daniel had seen to her knee, Teal'c picked Sonja up and placed her on the stretcher before he and another officer set off towards the gate

 Jacob felt ridiculously uncomfortable in his air force uniform. He avoided looking at Jack and instead smiled at Sam, who looked even more uncomfortable than him. Shaw crossed over to him. “Thank you for joining us General. I trust your long journey wasn't too bad.”

“It was fine.”

“Tell us about the rescue on P5X-793. How did they seem to you?”

“They were injured, in shock. One of them had been killed.”

Jacob went over to Jack. Jack struggled to his feet, but Jacob waved him down again. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Will be. What are you doing here?”

“You have to thank Sam for that,” Jacob said wryly. “SG1 gated home after you vanished and she insisted on going back with three assault teams. When that failed, she insisted General Hammond contacted us to help the search and here we are. What happened to you?”

Jack grimaced. “Kidnapped by the locals. King was killed in an accident....” He broke off as a wave of pain swept over him. “I need to talk to you later. I think I....” Jack passed out with pain and exhaustion.

Daniel helped Jacob lift Jack onto a stretcher and together carried him back through the Stargate and the safety of Earth.

“Did he ever finish the conversation General?” Shaw asked.

“No. To be honest I didn't think anymore of it. Like I said he was exhausted and in a lot of pain.”

Sam reiterated what the others had said. She had checked Airman King and then overseen the members of SG3 who put the body on a stretcher and taken it back to Earth. She had not spoken to Jack until he had come round in the gate room.

“Thanks Carter,” Jack said.

“Hey, you are my CO Sir. I am not that desperate for my own command you know.”

“But bringing the troops and your Dad in like that...”

“I would do it for anyone Sir, not just you.”

Doctor Frasier took the stand and was asked about the injuries the two officers had when they returned to Earth.

"They were both very tired. Neither had slept properly for days."

"I need you to be a little more specific Doctor. Start with Airman Rodregius injuries."

Back in the SGC infirmary Doc Frasier stood next to the bed where Sonja lay. "Your knee will be fine Airman," she said briskly, putting down the tray and motioning her to sit up. "It may take a while before you feel like running a marathon though."

"Don't worry. I don't intend to," Sonja replied. Without thinking she pulled her sleeves up and rubbed her wrists.

Frasier immediately noticed the bruising. Not having taken Sonja's BP or blood samples this was the first time she had seen them. "What have we here?" she asked. Sonja tried to pull her sleeves down and said, "Nothing." Frasier gently took her hand and pulled her sleeve up. She examined both wrists. "How did you do this? It looks like fingerprints." Sonja looked at Jack and he almost imperceptibly shook his head. "Accident," Sonja muttered. Frasier looked at Jack. "Colonel?" she asked. Jack shrugged in response. Frasier turned back to Sonja. "Airman, if someone did this to you I need to know." Sonja refused to answer.

"Well if it was an accident, which I doubt, you need to be more careful whom you play Chinese burns with in future!"

Shaw walked across to the other side of the room. "What about Col O'Neill? What sort of injuries did he have?"

"He was more seriously injured. Someone had attempted to do a lumbar puncture - remove some of the fluid from his spine - resulting in him suffering from severe headaches for some months now. There was slight damage to his heart following some kind of angina attack. And there were electrical burns on various parts of his body. He didn't want to co-operate though. He had refused to remove his jacket and took exception to the standard blood tests being done."

Jack sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed, the movement evoking a grunt of pain. "Colonel?" Frasier asked. Jack shook his head, wincing as he did so. "It's nothing," he said.

"Tell her, Sir," Sonja told him.

Jack looked at her and stood up. "I'm fine," he said.

"You have to get it seen to Sir, otherwise the infection will spread. Tell her."

Jack shook his head and repeated, "I'm fine."

Sonja sighed. "Well if you won't tell her, then I will. It's his back, Doc. You need to look at it. It won't heal. It's been like it for days and it won't stop bleeding."

Frasier pushed Jack back on to the bed. "Jacket off and lie down on the bed Colonel," she ordered. Jack, remembering the response to non-compliance, did as he was told. He lay face down on the bed, trying not to wince, as Frasier examined his back. He forced himself to remember that he was home now, that he was safe, that no one would hurt him anymore. Despite that he still flinched and withdrew inside himself, his hands clenching in anticipation of the pain that was sure to come. "How far down do these wounds go?" Frasier asked, tugging at the waistband of Jack's trousers.

Jack replied quickly. "Just as far as my waist. No further." He hoped desperately that Frasier would believe him. Of course she didn't, why should she after the injury had been kept from her, so with difficulty Jack undid his trousers to prove it. He hadn't wanted anyone else to see this. Having had two junior officers watching him being flogged was bad enough without rehashing the whole experience for the C.M.O. or General Hammond. The remembered pain and humiliation made his cheeks flush with embarrassment. Frasier's probing fingers produced ripples of pain which circled outwards causing him to gasp and dig his nails deep into the palms of his hands.

Frasier glanced up and called Hammond closer with her eyes. "What did you do to deserve this Colonel?" she asked. Jack slowly responded, "Resistance was futile." The multiple whip marks that extended from his neck, across his shoulders and down to his waist were red, infected and weeping.

Hammond asked, “When did this happen Colonel?" When Jack didn't answer he looked at Sonja. "Airman?"

"Six days ago, soon after we got there Sir," Sonja replied unwilling to go into detail.

"Why?"

"Like I said," Jack snapped. "Resistance was futile. Before you suggest it General, do us all a favour and don't send anyone back there. Just lock P5X-793 out of the dialling computer. If I never see that place again it will be too soon! For all our sakes, make first contact last contact."

Shaw asked, "Did anything strike you as strange about their injuries?"

"They were not consistent with the repair job story they gave me. The bruising on Airman Rodreguis's wrists for one thing. Only someone holding them too tightly could have caused them.”

"What kind of whip did they use on Colonel O'Neill?" Shaw asked, not expecting a reply.

"Cat o'nine tails. Nine rope cords, knotted at various intervals. It was used to discipline unruly sailors in the nineteenth century."

"Did Colonel O'Neill tell you why he received such a beating?"

"No."

 General Hammond was next to be called. Shaw looked at him. "General could you tell us how Colonel O'Neill and Airman Rodregius acted towards each other on their return from P5X-793? Colonel O'Neill is her training officer is he not?"

"Yes he is. It struck me as strange. She seemed frightened of him."

Sonja looked at Jack. "Sir. How do we..? I mean...." She dropped her gaze and looked miserably at her feet. Jack stood up walked over to her and lifted her head. Sonja flinched and pulled away quickly as if his touch had burned her, refusing to look at him. He said, "We don't say anything to anyone. I know what it means to you and I keep my promises. See you at 1030 Airman." With that he turned and left the infirmary. Sonja rubbed away the feel of his touch and pushed her hair behind her ears. "No Sir," she said bitterly. "You have no idea what it means."

Hammond watched the interaction between his officers, noting Sonja's adverse reaction to Jack's touch. He briefly wondered about it , and then watched as Sonja brushed King's hair out of his eyes. "Oh David. It should have been me that died, not you. Then I wouldn't be in this mess right now. You always protected me, like you did this last time. You would have stopped him. I tried to, but he was bigger and stronger than me. I wish I knew what to do. Better go, supposed to be resting. So long." She pulled the cover back up and turned to go, tears blurring her vision. She stepped away and collided with the General. "Oh! Sorry Sir."

"That's okay." Hammond put a comforting hand on Sonja's arm. "Saying goodbye?"

"Yes."

"Is everything alright? You seemed a little 'off' with Colonel O'Neill just now."

Sonja started to say something hesitated and then changed her mind. "Everything's fine Sir."

Sonja took the stand next. She didn't even glance in Jack's direction as the others had done; instead she looked down at her hands. Shaw looked at her. “I appreciate how difficult this will be for you. Can you tell the court what you did after leaving the infirmary?”

“I headed straight for the shower. I felt dirty. It had been a difficult mission.”

Sonja turned the shower on and waited until the water was scalding before standing under it. She gasped as her knee shot streaks of pain through her and angled her leg so her knee was outside the water. She grabbed the sponge and began to scrub herself hard. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was red and raw. Once dry and dressed she picked up her dirty, torn uniform and binned it. Only then did she realise that she was safe and it was over. It was as if the dam broke. The tears came thick and fast. Sinking to the floor and curling up in to a ball she sobbed, "Why me? What have I done? Where do I go from here? Why didn‘t I stop him?"

Shaw then handed Jack a copy of the mission report and asked him to read it Jack opened it and began to read. "Colonel Jack O'Neill. Mission to P5X-793. The team consisted of SG1 plus Airmen David King and Sonja Rodregius. On arrival the place seemed deserted. The inhabitants used a distress call to bring us to the village before scanning and transporting three of us to an underground complex. I have no idea what happened to the rest of SG1 during this time. I can only go by what the natives told us - that they were safe and sound some place else. The locals had an equipment problem that they requested our help with. They were afraid if they had asked first we would have said no. We agreed to co-operate with them. Airman King was killed when he fell from the top of a radio mast while attempting repairs."

"Airman Rodregius and myself also sustained injuries, notably to her knee and my back, as well as cuts and bruises. Due to an error on my part, some of their equipment was broken beyond repair. It was probably at this time that I received the burns. I was duly punished for this, hence the beating. We gave them our full co-operation. The tasks they asked us to do took the best part of six days. Once they no longer needed our help we were given our radios back. We were rescued by SG1, SG3 and Jacob Carter and returned through the gate."

Jack put the report down. Shaw looked at him. “Would you say that is an honest, if somewhat short, report of your mission Colonel? Containing everything that happened?”

“Virtually everything, yes.”

“Is it a true and accurate report or not Colonel?”

Jack paused briefly before affirming that it was.

They broke for lunch, Jack being escorted back to the holding cell for his. He was hoping to speak to his lawyer but never had the chance. Afterwards Shaw started with the more current events. Major McArthur, Sonja's department head, took the stand. Shaw asked her about Sonja's work record and why she had felt it necessary to go to Gen Hammond. There had been a meeting between them and Colonel O'Neill, Sonja's training officer. Hammond had made them all coffee.

" It's Airman Rodregius Sir. I've had about as much as I can take. She's always late, she's rude, and she doesn't even bother about her appearance anymore. Lately she doesn't even wear her uniform on duty and when she does it's three sizes too big."

"I had noticed her name on report several times," Hammond said. "It doesn't sound like her, though."

"And this morning," McArthur continued, "she hasn't turned up at all! She was due on duty at 0700. Its now 1130 and no one has seen her. She's not answering any calls and she's not in the infirmary."

Jack put his mug down on the desk and rubbed his ear thoughtfully. "Have you tried making sure she is on the base?" he suggested helpfully. McArthur snorted and gave him a withering look. "Of course I have! She signed in alright last night and hasn't bothered to report in since. Yet another thing to add to the list. Along with the fact that when she does bother to turn up, her work is sub-standard and that's when she actually does any work at all." She paused. "Normally I wouldn't bother you with this General, but I just don't know what to do next. I've given her verbal and written warnings and put her on report. She just doesn't seem to care."

Jack looked at her. "I'm her training officer. So why didn't you send her to see me?"

"I threatened, if that is the right word, to send her to see you Colonel. You should have seen her reaction! So, I thought it would be best if I came straight to you instead General."

Hammond leaned back in his chair. "You did the right thing. First we need to find her. Then I'll deal with her myself." He picked up his phone. "This is Hammond . Have security conduct a level by level search for Airman Sonja Rodregius. When you find her, bring her to my office." He put the phone down. "How long has this been going on Major?"

McArthur thought for a minute. "About three months," she replied. "But ever since P5X-793 she's been behaving strangely. Never sees anyone socially or eats in the commissary anymore. She used to be in on everything, the life and soul of the party. Not now though - these days you're lucky to get a hello out of her. But it was her reaction to Colonel O'Neill's name, which really got me worried. She was terrified."

Shaw then explained that the search for Sonja had found her in the armoury, attempting to kill herself. He called Frasier back to the stand. “Doctor Frasier, when examining Sonja after her suicide attempt what did you find?”

Frasier looked at her chart and looked sternly at Sonja. "I take it you know what I'm about to tell you, Airman?" Sonja nodded, blushing, not meeting her gaze. "Then why didn't you come to see me weeks ago?" Frasier asked, putting down the chart and picking up the blood pressure cuff. She began wrapping it round Sonja's arm. Sonja sighed. "Putting off the inevitable, I guess. Ignore it and it might go away."

"Airman, you are four and a half months pregnant, or twenty weeks to be precise. It's hardly likely to do that, now is it?" chided Frasier.

Shaw looked at his notes and then asked, "Doctor can you tell whom the father of the baby is?"

"We did blood tests on Sonja and the baby and ran a DNA test. So yes I can, without doubt, tell you who the father of the baby is."

"Who is that Doctor?"

"Colonel O'Neill."

Shaw looked at Jack who looked stunned, as if someone had just pulled the entire carpet out from under his feet. Despite virtually the whole base knowing about Sonja's pregnancy, he had not been told. The significance of the time frame did not escape him. It had always been a possibility, but the weeks had passed and she had said nothing, so he had assumed..... Jack shut his eyes and massaged his temples. The headache was back.

Then Jack looked up and turned towards Sonja so fast that she flinched, and even though she was on the other side of the room, half-raised an arm to protect herself. "Why?" he asked. "Why didn't you come and tell me you were pregnant? What did you think I was going to do - make you have an abortion?"

"Like you made me do it in the first place, Colonel?" Sonja shot back.

"Well it's not like I made it an order, Airman."

"That's one way to look at it. Sir."

Lt General Ebdon banged the gavel on his desk. "That's enough! Silence in court." Sonja gazed into Jack's eyes and saw the anger there. Eyes similar to Juan's, deep and fathomless, but with a beauty so intense it outshone everything else. Now though, they sparkled with anger directed solely at her. Ignoring Ebdon's order to be quiet she went on, "I didn't want to do it. You knew that, but you didn't stop."

Standing up, Jack quickly crossed over to her and grabbed her arms. Sonja gasped in terror. "We had no choice," he told her. "Do you think I did it for fun? This mission is a bit boring, so let's have sex and spice it up?! What kind of man do you think I am?"

Ebdon shouted orders at the AP's and they moved swiftly across to Jack. They pulled him off Sonja and dragged him across the room. They pushed him back into his chair and he sat there, his anger finally coming under control. Sonja stared at the US flag on the wall. She shook her head slowly. "Why? Why did it have to happen to me? It's not fair."

"Life never is," Jack replied abruptly.

Ebdon banged his gavel again. "Colonel O'Neill. One more outburst from you and I will find you in contempt of this court! You will be removed from this courtroom and the trial will continue without you! Do you understand?"

Jack nodded. "Perfectly Sir."

"That little outburst did you no favours at all Colonel. General Shaw continue please."

General Hammond came back to the stand. Shaw looked at him. “General when you spoke with Airman Rodregius following her suicide attempt, had you already spoken to Doctor Frasier?”

"I had done. I had her medical report on my desk along with at least six other reports from Major McArthur. Insubordination, being late for duty, refusing assignments, substandard work, not wearing uniform on duty, failing to turn up for duty and the one from security on her breaking into the armoury.”

“If you're not going to speak in your own defence, you'll just have to remain confined to your quarters until you do decide to talk." Hammond reached out to call security. Sonja sobbed, unable to hold back the tears any longer. "I want to die," she said, still not looking at the General. "I don't deserve to live."

"Sit down Airman," Hammond told her, compassion replacing some of his anger.

What could possibly have gone so wrong for this girl that she felt the only way out was to take her own life? Sonja sat and wiped her hand across her eyes. Her words tumbled out interspaced with sobs. "I knew that the armoury would be empty this time of day. I don't have my own gun. I thought I would stand a chance of doing it before anyone came back. I can't face living with what.....what he did to me. Seeing him every day, carrying on as if..... as if nothing had happened. I don't want his baby. I can't do this anymore. The only way out is for me to die."

"Baby?" Hammond asked.

"His baby. I didn't want to do it. He hurt me. I couldn't stop him."

Sonja put her arms on the desk and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed uncontrollably. Hammond leaned forward and put his hand on Sonja's arm. "Sonja, are you saying you were assaulted?" he asked gently.

Sonja nodded, finally looking up and meeting Hammond 's eyes. She took a deep breath. "General, I tried to fight him off. I really tried hard not to let him touch me, but I wasn't strong enough."

"It's alright." Hammond smiled his eyes full of concern for the burden this young member of his staff had carried alone. "It's not your fault. You are not alone anymore okay. Tell me who's responsible and I can do something about it. Who did this to you?"

"Colonel O'Neill," Sonja replied, the tears streaming down her face. "He raped me."

Day Two of the hearing started in a similar way. Shaw asked Jack to stand. “Colonel, yesterday you read your mission report to P5X-793. You said that it contained a full account of the mission, do you still stand by that?”

“Yes.”

“Then how do you explain this?” Shaw crossed to his table and picked up a floppy disk. “Do you recognise this Colonel?”

"It's a floppy disk. You use them to store files on. You put it in the computer and...."

"Cut the humour Colonel. Do you recognise this disk?"

“It looks like one of mine.”

“It has your name on it and it was found in the bottom of your locker.”

“Then I guess it is mine.”

Shaw put the disk down. “It had also been encrypted, with your personal encryption code. We had the disk transcribed. It is in fact a totally different version of the mission report.” He handed Jack a file. “Would you read it for us please?”

Jack took the file and glanced at his lawyer, who took it from him. He opened it and flicked through it. "Jack?" he asked. "What's going on?" Jack refused to answer.

Shaw looked at him. “We are waiting Colonel. Are you going to read it or will you tell us what it contains? I put it to you that you made up the original report as you went along. That there never were any equipment repairs; that you deliberately hid the fact that you had assaulted Airman Rodregius, by submitting a false mission report. May I remind you that you are still under oath? If you wish I will add perjury to the list of charges.”

Jack took a deep breath. He felt sick, incredibly about to be sick-sick, but doubted they would let him leave. "Alright. Yes. I submitted a false mission report." He could sense the shock and disappointment from SG1 across the room without having to look at them.

"Please either read the correct one or tell us in your own words what happened on P5X-793."

Jack looked down at his hands for a minute. Then he looked at Shaw and spoke quietly but clearly. "From the moment they scanned and then snatched the three of us, the Alphas wanted information on every aspect of human life. Sonja said it was being like a lab rat. They wanted to know how we ate and slept; how our bodies worked in minute detail. Circulatory and digestive systems, joints, bone structure. They took samples of my bone marrow and cerebrospinal fluid, not very carefully. Hence the almost constant headaches I've been having. Test after test, with needles and scalpels. And no anaesthetic."

He broke off as he found this more difficult than he had anticipated. He massaged his temples, his head pounding. Taking a deep breath he continued. "They had cameras everywhere and they filmed constantly. Everything we did, literally everything was recorded. Privacy was non existent. Our every word, deed, reaction was taped for their library database; how we coped with joy, grief and every form of pain they could think of. And then some. We were the first humans they had come across. As surprising as that may seem. We had to give them what they wanted. They gave us no choice, they demonstrated quite effectively what would happen if we refused. Force-fed us when we wouldn't eat, poured laxatives down our throats when we refused....”

He broke off, the memory making him shudder. “Anyway, they realised quite quickly that our own safety meant nothing, only if they hurt someone else would we co-operate. The beating they gave me with that, what was it?"

"Cat o'nine tails," Shaw supplied.

"Yeah that. It was for non-compliance. I refused to help them. So they chained me to the wall, stripped me and gave me ten lashes, the equivalent of ninety! I only agreed to their demands when they tried to beat Sonja, to give her my punishment when I defied them again. The torture went on for hours, days, with no respite. Then, when we were hoping they had finished with us, they wanted more. The 'human mating ritual' they called it."

Jack looked down. "If we failed to 'co-operate' this time, they would open the gate and send a bomb through. Then kill the rest of SG1, which they said they were holding hostage. We knew what that would entail. They had already killed David King to see how we faced death. They made us draw lots in order to see who should die. It could have been any of us."

"The lot fell on Sonja, but King insisted on taking her place. They made us stand and watch as they forced him to die for their records; slowly torturing him with intense pain, hallucinations, his worst fears. I don't know how but they made him walk across the ceiling. That's how he fell and broke his back. He survived that for five minutes, so they stopped him from breathing; he suffocated in front of me. There was nothing I could. He died right in front of me and I couldn't help him." His voice wavered and he paused, reigning in the strong emotions the memories evoked. "I still have nightmares."

"It was a simple choice. Give them the mating ritual or condemn everyone we knew to die. But like everything else they had demanded, they wanted a practical demonstration. Before you ask, faking it wouldn't have worked. I'd tried something similar earlier, and I paid for it. We had no choice."

"How did Airman Rodregius react?" Shaw asked.

Jack blushed. "She .... refused. .... Her betrothal vows forbid it," he said awkwardly.

Shaw looked at him closely. "Colonel, if she was unwilling to do this then how ..?"

Jack glared at him, the colour touching his cheeks deepening. "I...." he began. "I didn't...."

"Colonel O'Neill, did you have sexual relations with Airman Rodregius?"

"Yes."

"Did you have sex with her even though she repeatedly said no and asked you to stop?"

Jack's response was too quiet for anyone to hear. Shaw asked him again. "Colonel did you continue even though she said no and asked you to stop?"

Jack nodded, shame registering on his face. "I had no choice. Had it just been my life at stake there is no way they would have got their ritual, but the lives of everyone here depended on it." He broke off as something occurred to him. "I did stop. We talked for a while."

"But then you carried on and completed the mating ritual?"

"Yes Sir."

Sonja took the stand, looking pale and scared. Shaw crossed the room to her. "Who accompanied you to P5X-793?"

"Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Doctor Jackson, Teal'c and Airman King."

"How do you find Colonel O'Neill?"

"He's okay. He's a good training officer, easy to talk to. He always listens. He's fair, he doesn't prejudge people."

"Do you have any feelings for him?"

"How am I supposed to feel after what he did to me?"

Shaw repeated the question. Sonja glanced across the room towards Jack. The sight of him caused the same reaction within her as it always had. She looked back at Shaw and sighed. "I like him. He's a nice enough guy. Scores a 9/10 on the hunk rating, but he'd never take any notice of me. Besides it's against regulations."

Shaw looked sharply at Ebdon, and then continued. "Going back to P5X-793, did you perform the mating ritual with Colonel O'Neill?"

"Yes," Sonja answered in a small voice.

"Did you consent?"

"I did not." Her voice was almost inaudible.

"Did you say no?"

"Yes," Sonja's voice wobbled.

"Did you ask him to stop?"

"Several times," Sonja said, getting more and more distressed.

"Did he stop?"

Sonja turned her head away and closed her eyes. She shook her head slightly. Shaw said, "I need a verbal response Airman. Did he stop when you asked him to?"

Sonja opened her eyes and looked across the room to where Jack was sat, with an armed guard behind him. As she caught his gaze, she could see bewilderment in his eyes, silently asking her why? Strange she thought. Juan no longer seemed so important. More like a dream she'd once had that was slowly fading. She had used him as a safety net for far too long. All that counted was the here and now and what she had done to the one person who really mattered to her.

"Airman, answer the question," Ebdon told her.

There was no response. Shaw waved a hand in front of Sonja's fixed gaze, but there was still no reaction. Frasier went over to over her and checked her pulse. "She is fully conscious and aware of what is going on."

"Airman," Shaw repeated. "Did Colonel O'Neill stop when you asked him to?"

Sonja closed her eyes and shook her head. Shaw looked at Ebdon who nodded. "Airman," Shaw said firmly. "If you refuse to answer my questions, you leave me no alternative course of action, but to find you in contempt of court. I will ask you one last time. Did Colonel...”

"Yes!" Sonja cried out, as if in pain. She opened her eyes and looked at him, the torment evident in her gaze. "Yes, he stopped. We talked for a while. I... He... I wasn't strong enough. I tried to resist, but he was too powerful. He raped me, why won't you belie....."

Sonja paled and her eyes began to roll. Frasier and Shaw immediately laid her down on the floor. Frasier took her pulse and looked concerned. "General, this is not doing her or the baby any good. I need to get her to the infirmary now." Ebdon nodded. A medical team moved across and gently placed Sonja on the stretcher.

As they carried her out of the room Ebdon adjourned the trial for the rest of the day. Jacob looked at Hammond . "I think this might be the time to approach the board about using the memory recall device George."

Hammond nodded. "I'll arrange a meeting in my office with General Ebdon and the panel."

Ebdon and the panel listened to what Jacob had to say. "So you are one of these Tok'ra?" Ebdon said. Jacob nodded. He lowered his head and then spoke as Selmak. "Maybe I could answer your questions better than my host."

Ebdon spoke in some detail with Selmak and then looked at Hammond . "We will discuss this between ourselves and make a decision before morning."

PART FOUR - THE TRUTH.

Anise finished checking the equipment. “It's ready,” she said. Jack was led into the room and strapped into the chair. “Here we are again,” he quipped. “Must stop meeting like this Anise.” he winced as she inserted the memory recall device and pulled the head strap over him. In the observation room, Ebdon and the panel sat and watched. Frasier, Jacob, SG1 and Hammond were also present. “You may proceed General Shaw,” Anise said.

Shaw said, “Colonel O'Neill, I need a verbal response to some questions now.”

“I have done this before. Twice. I know the routine.”

"On the mission to P5X-793, who went with you?"

"SG1 plus Airman Rodregius and Airman King."

"What happened to Airman King?"

"He was murdered, while we were forced to watch."

"How do you find Sonja Rodregius?"

Jack paused slightly. "Competent. She's easy to get on with. We have a fairly good working relationship. Or at least we used to."

"Have you ever had improper thoughts about her?"

"No! What kind of a question is that?"

"Just answer the question! Do you find her attractive?"

"Yes. She's attractive but so is Amanda Tapping. Besides and it's a big besides, I am her training officer and on this mission her commanding officer."

"On P5X-793 who's decision was it to go ahead with the mating ritual?"

Jack sighed. "Mine. Sonja refused to even discuss it at first."

"Did you rape Airman Rodregius when she refused your advances?"

"No!" Jack responded instantly without thinking about it.

"Did she, at anytime, say no or ask you to stop?" Shaw asked slowly and insistently.

"Yes."

"Did you stop?" Shaw persisted.

Jack looked from Shaw to Hammond , desperation in his eyes. They had to believe him “Of course I did! We had no choice, but I wasn't going to go against my principals and force myself on her. We talked. We took things slowly. She consented."

Shaw looked at Anise. She nodded at him. Shaw said, “No more questions.” Jack looked at Anise. “Well? What does your box of tricks tell you?”

Shaw looked at him. “To the infirmary please Colonel. You will find out all in good time.” The AP untied Jack and re-cuffed him before leading him towards the infirmary.

Frasier had decided that Sonja was not strong enough to withstand the zatarg testing, so they would just use the memory recall device on her. At the same time, Jack would also undergo the same procedure. Jack was sat on one of the beds and the cuffs removed. “Lie down Colonel,” Shaw told him. Jack sighed and did as he was told. He objected to the restraints, but wasn't given a choice. Anise moved to the head of Sonja's bed and placed her hands on her face. Sonja fought as she inserted the recall chip, but then abruptly gave in.

Jacob, at the head of Jack's bed, looked at General Ebdon. Selmak said, “They are ready. You will see the memories appear on the screens.”

“Can you be sure they are not false memories?” Ebdon asked.

“It's not possible with this technology.”

“Okay. Let's do it.”

Jacob and Anise activated the memory devices. Both Jack and Sonja jerked slightly and closed their eyes. They found themselves back on P5X-793. At the same time, the panel, Ebdon, Hammond and SG1 could see the memories on the screen in front of them.

Jack laid down next to her. Sonja hit out at him and tried to get up. He put his arm across her. She flinched and pulled away. "No! Don't!" Jack pulled her towards him, pulling off her jacket and throwing it onto the floor. He grasped both her wrists in his left hand. She fought against him. “Sir no! Please Sir, stop! No!” Holding her tightly he kissed her, murmuring her name, ignoring her frantic struggles and pleading cries, his other hand moving deliberately and relentlessly down her body.

Sonja tried to scream but found it impossible. Her wrists hurt where he held her. She couldn't move, fear paralysed her and for a while she considered giving in, just so it would be over with quicker. She realised her top was untucked, his hand underneath it. Flinching as he touched her, she turned her face away only for Jack to move his to follow hers. She stared wildly at the far wall, trying to breathe and finding it increasingly difficult. Jack's hand reached her hip and his firm, insistent touch brought her back to her senses. She struggled with renewed vigour and lashed out with her foot, catching Jack's ankle. He stopped kissing her and gasped in pain. Sonja made the most of it, and twisted her head away. "Colonel, don't do this. Stop! Please stop!"

Jack instantly let go of her and sat up clasping his ankle. Sonja lay still, sobbing quietly, rubbing her wrists. He waited patiently, slowly massaging his ankle, until she'd calmed down. "Better now?" he asked, handing her the tissues the Alphas had provided. She nodded, drying her eyes. She looked across at him. "Sir, can we just talk, please?"

"Sure." He waited for her to start, his ankle throbbing.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really scared. I don't know what I should do. How do I explain to Juan when we get home?"

"Sonja, I'm sure Juan will understand. There's more to it than his feelings though, isn't there?"

Sonja hesitated, and then nodded. "Talk to me," he said. "If you don't tell me what the problem is, how can I help to fix it?"

"It's not something I'm supposed to talk about Sir."

"Try me; I doubt you can tell me anything that I haven't heard before. Take your time; there is no need to rush."

Slowly Sonja explained her upbringing and her ingrained attitude to sex. Her face coloured as she struggled over the words, trying to make the Colonel understand. With a profound sense of relief she finished and looked up at him for the first time since she began speaking. He smiled at her, hiding his horrified reaction to what he'd just heard. "It's alright. I understand. If it makes it any easier for you, I'll leave it out of the report. That way no one need ever know. It'll stay between us."

Sonja looked away. "But Sir, I regard you as a friend as well as my training officer. You've always been there for me if I needed someone. Weren't you listening to me - this would make me your property."

Jack took her hand. "Sonja, I'm not asking for a long-term relationship, proposing marriage or anything else. For one thing, marriage is against regs. Nor am I asking you to stop trusting my judgement. I will always be there as your training officer, for you to bring your problems to, whenever you need me. That is not going to change. I have no intentions of turning you into my property. No woman deserves that kind of treatment."

He paused. "We have to do this. This one thing will save the lives of everyone back home. It won't be easy, but we have no choice. We can't condemn all of our friends to death, just because things got too tough can we?"

"I guess not." Sonja pulled her hand back and turned away. They sat in silence for a while. Then Sonja said, "I'm still scared, but I'll do it. Just don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

Jack turned her round to face him. "I won't hurt you. We'll take it slowly. If you want to stop again, all you have to do is ask. Okay?" He leaned towards her and kissed her. Sonja looked at him. "Sir, what do I do? I'm frightened," she whispered. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his face.

Without taking his eyes from hers, he kissed her fingers, before slowly moving her hand down his chest and placing it on his waist. His skin didn't feel so bad after all, she thought. Maybe it wouldn't be as unpleasant as she had been led to believe. Maybe, just maybe it wasn't so wrong after all. Jack smiled at her and hesitantly she smiled back. "It's okay," he told her, running his fingers through her hair. "Just relax and follow my lead. I'll show you." This time when he kissed her, she responded and her fear faded away as he folded her into his arms.

Jacob and Anise deactivated the recall devices. Ebdon turned to the other members of the panel, and then looked at Frasier. "Doctor, may we use your office for a minute? Then I would like everyone to reconvene in the courtroom. In say an hour and a half." He turned to the AP's. “Take both Colonel O'Neill and Airman Rodregius back to the holding cells until then.”

Precisely one and half-hours later, the court-martial tribunal reconvened in what was now a packed courtroom. Word had got round that the panel had made their decision and everyone wanted to hear it first hand. General Ebdon stood up and asked Sonja to stand up. She did so and when asked if she had anything to say, took a deep breath and looked straight at Ebdon. "General, I wish to withdraw my complaint against Colonel O‘Neill. I wasn't entirely honest with you."

Ebdon' eyes narrowed. "Are you telling me you lied? That you falsely accused Colonel O'Neill of rape?"

Sonja nodded, dropping her gaze. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice almost inaudible.

Ebdon looked grimly at Sonja. "I don't care if you're sorry or not Airman, because sorry doesn't even begin to cover it. Not by a long chalk. You have falsely accused a fellow officer of a crime he did not commit. Do you have any idea of just what that means? Just how far were you prepared to take this lie?"

The colour on Sonja's face deepened. Ebdon continued, "If, thanks to General Jacob Carter, we had not discovered what you were doing, the consequences for Colonel O‘Neill, would have been more far reaching than you could possibly imagine. Mud sticks, Airman. People are wondering just what else he is capable of, if he can assault a young Airman on a mission. Why did you do it? Was it out of guilt, or do you hate him that much that you would ruin his entire life?"

"I don't hate him," Sonja gasped. "Far from it."

Ebdon glanced at Jack and then looked back at Sonja. "Well you have a strange way of showing it. We have given you all the support that you needed. Everyone took your side. No one, with perhaps the exception of Teal'c, spoke out for Colonel O'Neill. Not only have you let yourself down, but also you have let the Air Force down. General Hammond needs to be able to trust every member of his command. Right now I don't see how he can ever trust you again. It is the decision of this court that you are guilty of perjury and falsely accusing a fellow officer. You are hereby suspended from duty until further notice. You are to be confined until such time as a court-martial can be arranged."

He turned to Jack. "Colonel O‘Neill, would you stand please?" Jack stood. Ebdon fixed his gaze on him. “Colonel, it is the decision of this court that you are innocent of the charges brought against you. The charge of rape has therefore been dismissed. You are free to resume your duties here. Let me say this though. Colonel, if you had been honest in the first instance, none of this would have happened. All this stems from your invented report. By not including the mating ritual, it made it look as if you had something to hide. I realise you were trying to do the right thing by Airman Rodregius, protecting her honour, but next time you feel compelled to edit a report, don't.”

Ebdon continued. "You made a decision and acted on it. I'm not questioning that, or judging whether that decision was right or wrong. Who knows, if it had been me in that situation I might have made the same choice that you did. Making tough decisions is all part of the job, as is accepting the repercussions. Thank you for attending. Dismissed."

Jack sat down, feeling very sick. Hammond came over to him. “Colonel O‘Neill, I would say congratulations but.......”

“It doesn't seem right some how does it?” Jack said.

“No it doesn't. As of now you are back on the team. You do understand why I had to act the way I did?”

“You did what you had to do Sir.”

Hammond left him and the room slowly emptied. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were left sitting in their seats. Jacob gave Sam's hand a squeeze on his way out. Jack looked across the room at them. The silence was thick and heavy. After a while Jack stood up. “I'm outta here,” he said. “Things to do, places to go.”

“Colonel O'Neill,” Teal'c said. “I am glad things worked in your favour.”

Jack smiled for the first time since the nightmare began. “So am I Teal'c.”

“Colonel,” Sam began.

“Carter I don't want to get into a fight right now. I'm tired and I could do with getting out of this uniform. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Sir?”

“Ack. Tomorrow.” Jack left quickly. He reached the door, turned and said, "You know what hurts the most? The lack of support I got from my," he made speech marks with his fingers, "friends."

As Jack's footsteps echoed down the corridor, Daniel looked at the others. “That went well.”

“He is hurt,” Teal'c said. “He feels betrayed because we did not support him.”

“You never doubted him. We did.”

“He will forgive you Major Carter.”

“I hope so.”

PART FIVE - THE AFTERMATH.

A week of down time followed. Jack left the base immediately after the trial and spent the week hiding in his cabin by the lake. He had not wanted to face anyone, preferring as usual, to be alone; to lick his wounds, as it were, in private. His mobile switched off and the landline off the hook, he spent the week sitting by the lake and kicking piles of fallen leaves. He had been found innocent but had been hurt by the lack of support he had received. He went over and over things in his mind, trying to come to a decision over what to do about Sonja and the baby. His baby.

The day before he was due back at the base, he stood in the chilly autumn sunshine looking over the lake, deep in thought. A voice made him jump. “Colonel O'Neill.”

Jack looked round. “Teal'c. What can I do for you?”

“It is more a case of what I can do for you.”

Jack turned his attention back to the lake. “Oh?”

Teal'c stood next to Jack. “You are feeling hurt and betrayed because no one believed you. You doubted yourself, blamed yourself for making the wrong decision.”

“I did make the wrong decision Teal‘c. And now I have to pay for it. So does Sonja.”

“If you had decided any other way, the base would have been destroyed. Your choice was the right one.”

“Yeah, well maybe I had better give it all up. Retire. Again.”

“That would not be wise.”

Jack picked up a stone and threw it into the water. “Yes it would. At least that way I wouldn't mess up like this again.”

“May I speak freely?”

“Sure,” Jack said throwing another stone as hard as he could.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. “What is the significance of the stone throwing?”

“Nothing. Something. Why?”

Teal'c picked up a stone and threw it into the lake. “Not as good as playing golf through the Stargate.”

“True. Nothing beats that.”

“Colonel O'Neill. Inside yourself, are you not the same man as you were last week?”

Jack shrugged. Teal'c continued. “I believe you are. One bad week should not be allowed to take over like this. As first prime of Apophis, I did many things that I am not proud off. Do you remember the Cor-Ai where you said that Apophis was ultimately responsible for my deeds?”

Jack nodded. “I was wrong.”

Teal'c shook his head. “You were not. You were not given any choice. You had to comply in order to save the base. It was the right decision.”

“So why do I feel so bad?”

“You feel differently about events now to what you did two weeks ago?”

“No. But then I didn't know about the baby. It changes everything Teal'c.”

Teal'c watched Jack throw another stone into the lake. “Why?”

“Because it does. I have a responsibility to her now.”

“Do you love this woman?”

“No.”

“Then you should not marry her. It will only make the two of you unhappy.”

Jack picked up a big stone and hurled it into the lake. “Easier said than done.”

“You should go and talk to her.”

“Yeah?”

“You can not resolve this without doing so.”

“Maybe you're right.” He looked at his watch. “After lunch. Fancy lunch?”

That afternoon, Jack drove himself over to the base. Sonja refused to see him, so after seeing General Hammond he spent an hour or four in his office, catching up with his paperwork. Then he went back to the holding cells. The guard sighed as he approached. "She won't see you Colonel," he told him. "You know that."

"I won't take no for an answer Sgt. You can stand in the room if it will make you happier. All I want to do is talk to her. Open the door."

"No Sir."

"No Sir? Last time I looked it said Colonel on my uniform. Sgt, it's an order. Open the door."

The airman didn't like it, but opened the door. Sonja, lying on the bed, looked up as Jack entered the room, followed by the guard. "Go away," she said, turning to face the wall. "I don't want to see you."

Jack crossed the room and sat next to the bed. "So don't look at me then," he said. "But you can listen. We have to talk."

"No we don't. There is nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is. We have decisions to make."

Sonja snorted. "No!"

"No what?"

"No I won't marry you."

Jack looked aghast at her. Sonja turned and looked at him. "That was what you wanted to talk about wasn't it? Play happy families, give my baby two parents."

"No," Jack managed. "I never...."

Sonja sat up and looked at him. "Leave us," she said to the guard.

The sgt looked at Jack. "She's quite safe," Jack said. "Watch through the door."

Sonja waited until the guard had left the room. "Jack be honest. You owe me that much."

" Me be honest?! Shouldn't that be my line to you? You are the one who lied in court, you made up the false charges against me."

He watched as she blushed. "I know and I'm sorry. I can never make it up to you."

"We have to make a decision about the baby."

"It's my baby Jack. Mine. The decision is mine. No one else's."

He pushed his hands through his hair. "I don't believe this."

"So you didn't come here to propose then?"

"I..." Jack began and gave up under her hostile glare. "Okay so I thought about it, but no I didn't come here to propose."

She looked surprised. "So why didn't you? What changed your mind?"

"A long talk with a friend. He convinced me it wouldn't be fair on either of us or the baby." He sighed. "Why didn't you come to me and tell me as soon as you suspected?"

"Jack do you remember any of what I told you? Breaking my betrothal vows is the equivalent of adultery. Punishable by death for both parties. You as well. They will hunt you down and kill you if they found out. I am not free to marry you - even if you did ask. I can't do that to you."

"What will you do?" he asked quietly.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Jack you don't love me. I know that. But you were my friend. I won't forget that."

"Past tense?"

"I'm tired. I ought to sleep."

Jack stood. Sonja lay down and closed her eyes. Jack watched her for a moment and then left the room.

Sonja heard the door shut, her hand clutched tightly round the shard of glass from the one she had broken that morning. The decision was made. There was one thing left to do. She sat up, shoving the glass under her pillow. She asked the guard for some paper and envelopes. When they came she wrote two letters and sealed them. As the guard took the remaining paper away, he dropped his penknife. Sonja kicked it under the bed before he noticed it had gone. That would work even better. Now she just needed the right moment.

Jack spent the night in his quarters. He woke, with a jump in the early hours of the morning, when the gate room sirens went off. “Off world activation. SG5 have wounded. Med teams to the gate room stat!” came a voice. Unable to go back to sleep, he wandered down to the infirmary to see what was up with SG5. En route he was distracted by a call for a med team to the holding cells. He turned round and ran towards them as fast as he could. What he found there was what he had least expected.

He got there before the med team did. Sonja was lying on the floor, an ever-increasing pool of blood surrounding her. The guard stood uselessly by, not knowing what to do. Jack dropped to his knees and grabbed her arm, clamping his hands over it in a vain attempt to stem the blood flow. She had slit her left arm vertically from wrist to elbow.

"What have you done?" Jack asked.

Sonja's eyes flickered open. "No-o. Leave me. Let me go."

Frasier ran in, her normal staid composure shaken by what she saw. "Colonel, let us see to her now." Jack stood up and moved out of the way, blood dripping from his hands and clothes. He watched as they fought to save her life, knowing it was a fight they stood little chance of winning. It was only when they turned her over he realised with a shock that the knife was protruding from her stomach. He felt violently sick and ran from the room, barely making it to the bathroom in time.

He threw up, and then sank onto the floor, her blood drying on his hands and clothes. He had no idea how long he sat there, alternately throwing up and dry retching. Eventually he stood and flushing the toilet again, went to wash his hands. He was rinsing them when he glanced up and saw Frasier looking at him in the mirror. He turned to face her. "Janet?" he asked, knowing without being told what she had come to say.

SG1 assembled in the briefing room, the following morning. for the usual pre-mission briefing. They sat silently waiting for Jack and General Hammond to arrive. Frasier came in and sat next to Sam. She looked tired. “Heavy night Janet?” Sam asked.

“You could say that. SG5 came back with heavy casualties, which didn't help.”

Before they had time to wonder where Jack was, Hammond entered the room. “At ease people,” he said. He sat down at the table. “The mission to...”

"Ah General, excuse me for interrupting, but aren't we going to wait for Jack?" Daniel asked.

"No. This concerns him, but he is too involved. There is no easy way to say this, but just coming out with it doesn't seem right either." He paused. "Sonja Rodregius died at 0300 hours this morning.”

There was a collective gasp of shock round the table. "What?" Sam said.

"How?” asked Daniel.

"She committed suicide. The guard turned his back for a few minutes. By the time the medical team got there it was too late.”

Sam looked up. "How is Jack?"

"In shock is probably the best way to put it. He got there before the medics did. In spite of everything she had done, he was prepared to stand by her and the baby."

Sam said. "That's the kind of guy he is......"

She broke off as the door opened and Jack entered. "Sorry I'm late," he said, taking his usual seat. "Colonel, I wasn't expecting you. I thought I had suggested you take today off," Hammond said to cover the awkward silence.

Jack glanced round the table. "Would you all rather I left and came back in again?" he asked, realising they'd all been talking about him.

"Colonel," Sam began. "I, we're all really sorry. If there's anything I can do?"

Jack sighed. "No, thank you. I'm fine. I keep thinking how different things would have been, if only she had come to me and told me about the baby when she first found out."

"It wouldn't have changed anything Sir," Frasier told him. His face was a mask of pain and sorrow. Her heart went out to him, remembering the shattered look on his face when she broke the news to him. "There still would have been nothing I could have done. The damage was just too great.”

Jack looked at Hammond . “Right, so where are we off to next then? Oz? The dark side of the moon?”

Hammond smiled. “Not quite. P4V-251. However that won‘t be......”

“General don't postpone the mission on my account.”

“The decision has been made. You don't go until Friday.” He stood up. “However you four have a lot to talk about. We‘ll leave you to it.”

As Hammond and Frasier left, Daniel looked across at Jack and his voice changed abruptly. "Jack, I'd like to apologise for what I said the other day." Jack looked at him blankly. Daniel continued, "About punching your lights out. I was out of li