Boy, this part took me a long time to write, and it's long! It was complex, trying to figure out how the SG-1 team and MacGyver would rescue Jack, but I finally have it ready, so enjoy!

The Queen’s Best Part Two
Rated: PG

In her expansive, luxurious boudoir, Hathor admired herself in her massive gold framed mirror. Occasionally her eyes moved to admire her new acquisition, finding him more beautiful than her plush bed draped in lacy curtains or the sparkling water fountain on her palace grounds. She had always found Jack O’Neill attractive, but with the more unpleasant part of his personality subdued by the Goa’uld, he seemed even more sensual, his dark eyes smoldering. He was all hers, and he could never leave her, no matter how much he despised her. She had tamed him, holding him in captivity, breaking his spirit and his will the way one broke a wild beast. The thought that she could suppress him when he had been so proud, rebellious, and stubborn and keep him against his will while she did what she wanted with him and made him do her bidding excited her.

Trapped inside his mind, Jack also stared in her mirror, fighting with the image that glared back at him. He wanted nothing more than to rip off the gaudy gold robes draped over his body, never finding himself looking more ridiculous in his life. The Goa’uld inside him prevented him from taking any such action, and as he stood there, hating the haughty expression that scowled back at him, the Goa’uld within him began to taunt him.

‘It must be frustrating not to have control over your body,’ it hissed in his mind.

‘Listen buddy, I had this body first, and if you don’t get the hell out of it…ahhh!’

Jack screamed inside his mind as the tendrils from the Goa’uld entwined themselves further into his brain, controlling him, using his body as a puppet, silencing him.

‘Your efforts are futile,’ the Goa’uld said. ‘I will never leave this body.’

All Jack could do in response was gurgle and whimper, almost as if the Goa’uld was strangling him.

Hathor noticed the continuing struggle Jack had with the Goa’uld, his face twitching as he attempted to fight it. She smiled broadly when his face returned to being expressionless, knowing that the Goa’uld had once again regained dominance.

“Tell us, our beloved,” Hathor said, standing and approaching Jack, gazing up at him lustfully and stroking his strong shoulder. “Is this not an exquisite host for our king?”

“Yes, my queen,” Jack said in the deep, throaty voice of the Goa’uld. He smiled. “I don’t even mind the gray.”

Hathor looked at him strangely for a moment, and then returned to smiling at him. “Soon, we will be the most powerful couple in the galaxy, and we will rule over many slaves.”

‘Oh please,’ Jack said inside his mind. ‘All you Goa’uld are the same. You even sound the same with that God-awful voice. Get some speech therapy lessons or something.’

‘I said silence!’ The Goa’uld screamed.

‘No, I won’t shut up this time. No, I won’t! I…’

Jack could feel a smirk form across his face. It was his smirk. Pushing his way through the block in his mind placed there by the Goa’uld, he even managed to speak for himself again.

“I wouldn’t bet on it, lady,” he said in his own voice.

“Insolence!” Hathor shouted, slapping Jack, raking her long, crimson nails across his cheek, drawing blood. “You will learn to control your host!”

Once again, Jack was forced back into the tiny, dark corner of his mind, unable to speak or even think. His eyes glowed as the strength of his Goa’uld returned to assert its power.

“I am sorry, my queen,” he said, his voice husky again. “I will try, but my host is…strong.”

“But you are stronger,” Hathor said, holding his chin in her hand. “That is why you are a Goa’uld.”

“There is something else in my host. I feel it, but I do not know what it is. He has some…degree of power that I cannot explain.”

“Well, soon we’ll learn all his secrets, but for now…”

Jack smiled, but he could feel it. It was no longer his smile. It was the arrogant smile of his Goa’uld. Pleased, Hathor began to explore his full bottom lip with her finger. She drew him close to her and began kissing him, her tongue sliding into his mouth. The urge to bite it off was merely an urge for Jack. He was unable to fulfill it, forced instead to return the kiss, and eagerly. His movements were not his own as he stroked her back. Grinning, Hathor slowly disrobed him, tenderly probing his skin with her fingers and her lips. She groaned and pressed herself against him.

Disgusted, Jack tried to close his eyes, to stop seeing himself perform these distasteful acts that he was unable to control, but the Goa’uld inside him would not even allow him to do that. His thoughts were blocked, but he wasn’t shut up away from witnessing the actions of his Goa’uld. He kept trying to think of other things to distract himself, but Hathor was a constant presence, thrusting herself against him and moaning. As she pressed him onto her bed and he continued to respond to her, his body moving under the Goa’uld’s command, forcing him to act and see her lurid display, Jack finally understood the meaning of the term rape. Arousal swelled in his body, but it was foreign to him and not his own, his lips smashed against Hathor’s hot mouth.

‘Mac, where are you?’ He asked inside his mind. ‘You have to get me out of this. Please, help me, Mac. I need you.’

Somehow, perhaps because of his sexual excitement, the Goa’uld inside him never heard this plea for help. It was the first free thought Jack had been allowed since his blending.

***

“SG-1, you are a go,” Hammond said over the microphone in the gate control room, his voice echoing through the complex. “God speed, and return Colonel O’Neill safely.”

MacGyver watched the wormhole engage with almost childlike fascination, his brown eyes wide and his mouth agape. Even though he had seen the initial rush and explosion of the water-like opening before, it never ceased to amaze him. Sam noticed his reaction and smiled, but as she studied his sturdy, handsome profile, it reminded her so much of Jack’s that she felt tears moisten her eyes. She sniffed, and MacGyver turned to look at her, seeing a single tear roll down her cheek and glisten in the glowing blue light of the wormhole.

“Hey Sam, we’re gonna get him back,” he said.

“Just the way he was,” Daniel added, noticing her sadness and doing his best to comfort her, secretly knowing the source of her distress.

Teal’c smiled gently. “We will not cease our efforts until O’Neill is fully restored to us,” he said.

Feeling awkward receiving so much attention, embarrassed to be caught crying, Sam quickly wiped her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said, clearing her throat. “Let’s get going.”

Teal’c nodded, and the team turned to face the gate. Disguised in ceremonial robes except for Teal’c, who wore his Serpent Guard armor, they walked up the ramp and disappeared through the watery door leading them to the hostile world ruled by Hathor.

***

On the other side of the watery opening, SG-1, with MacGyver, faced a small army of Serpent Guards and other Jaffa, pointing their staff weapons and glaring distrustfully at the new arrivals.

“What is your purpose here?” One of them growled in the gruff, Goa’uld language.

“I have brought pilgrims to worship at Hathor’s temple,” Teal’c responded in Goa’uld, his face covered by his Serpent Guard headgear.

“We bring offerings for the goddess queen,” Daniel added in Goa’uld.

Slowly, the guards lowered their weapons. Still snarling, the Jaffa that confronted them snapped his head in the direction of the palace grounds.

“This way,” he said.

When the Jaffa’s backs were turned and they began walking, leading the way, SG-1 exchanged glances. “Could it really be that easy?” Sam asked quietly.

“Remember this is only the first point of access to Hathor’s palace,” Teal’c said. “I am afraid it will be much more difficult to gain entrance to her quarters.”

“Well, how are we going to do that?” Daniel asked.

The three of them turned to look at MacGyver. Aware of them, he turned to look back.

“What?” He asked.

“Have you…heard anything from Jack lately?” Sam asked.

“Not yet,” MacGyver said, sighing. “All he does is ask for my help. I can’t seem to get much else out of him.”

“Maybe you should try communicating with him,” Daniel said. “See if you can get through to him.”

MacGyver nodded.

As they continued walking up steep stone pathways leading to Hathor’s palace, they couldn’t help but admire the lush, mountainous scenery of the planet. They began to understand why Hathor would choose it to establish her realm. Waterfalls surrounded by thick, abundant, dark green foliage and large, vibrant blossoming flowers were crowned by high, arching rainbows. Dewy, sweet fragrant air carried through the warm breeze. It was absolute paradise. Still, a dark feeling of foreboding filled the perfection surrounding them, its beauty hiding the danger lurking beneath. All of them could sense it, but MacGyver’s awareness of it was much more acute. His sense of dread increased the closer they got to the impressive, towering walls of Hathor’s palace, his steps feeling heavier.

‘Jack, tell me where you are,’ he said in his mind. There was nothing but silence in response. ‘Jack, if you can hear me, you have to talk to me. Tell me where you are.’

‘Mac…’ Jack’s voice was weak, sounding almost as if he had been beaten. In some ways, he had been, the Goa’uld stifling any original thought of his own, slowly suffocating his essence. ‘Mac…help…’

‘I’m trying to, Jack,’ MacGyver said in his mind. ‘I’m here with your team, SG-1. I’m here on the planet where Hathor abducted you and did this to you. You have to tell us where you are so we can find you.’ Once again, there was silence. ‘Please, Jack.’

An agonized, ear piercing scream filled MacGyver’s mind. It was so loud that it caused him to flinch and to look at the others to see if they heard it.

“What is it, MacGyver?” Daniel asked.

MacGyver wavered slightly as he walked, feeling the intensity of Jack’s pain, his head throbbing. Daniel and Sam caught him, preventing him from collapsing to the ground and alerting the attention of the Jaffa and Serpent Guards walking ahead of them. He groaned and clutched his head as the pain pulsed through it. Soon, it subsided, and he looked up at them, his brown eyes glazed with pain.

“He’s…under a great deal of pain,” he whispered.

“The Goa’uld,” Daniel said quietly, almost spitting out the hateful name. He glared at the Jaffa’s backs ahead of them, secretly wishing he could kill them for what they had participated in, allowing innocent people’s minds to be destroyed, minds like that of his wife, and now Jack.

“Did he say where in the palace he was?” Sam asked.

“No,” MacGyver said. “No, he didn’t get that far.”

Sam noticed how pale he looked. “Are you all right?” She asked.

“Yeah,” MacGyver said. “I’ll be fine. It’s Jack I’m worried about. Let’s keep walking.”

They reached the expansive palace grounds, the Jaffa leading them to a courtyard framed by several massive obelisks and palm trees with wide fronds and colorful, exotic fruits growing from them. The Jaffa and the Serpent Guards stopped, and so did SG-1. The leader who had greeted them so roughly turned and glared at them.

“You will kneel here,” he said.

MacGyver, Daniel, and Sam kneeled as instructed, Teal’c remaining standing, pretending to stand guard over his charges. As they knelt, they noticed they were at the feet of two statues. One of them was carved in the likeness of Hathor, and the other bore a striking resemblance to Jack O’Neill. They stared at it, not believing what they were looking at.

“Oh my God,” Sam said.

Thinking that she was merely expressing her veneration for the couple, the leader of the Jaffa and Serpent Guards smirked and turned away, leaving the worshippers to their prayers. Once he turned, Teal’c fired his staff weapon at them, and MacGyver, Daniel, and Sam stood, firing Zat guns at them, stunning them until they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“All right, well that takes care of those guards,” Daniel said, staring at the pile of limp bodies. “Now what?”

MacGyver looked at an archway that led into corridors inside the palace. “What about this?” He asked. “It looks like some kind of entrance.”

He walked over to it, only to smash his body against an invisible wall that glowed blue with his impact. Fascinated, he ran his hand along it, studying the trails of iridescence that followed his movements and touch.

“A Goa’uld energy barrier,” Sam said, looking at it.

Now that he was safe from being recognized, Teal’c removed his Serpent Guard headgear, tucking it under his bulky arm. “I have warned you that it will not be easy to penetrate Hathor’s levels of security,” he said. “She uses all forms—from armed guards to energy barriers such as this.”

“Well, maybe there’s some way we can bypass it,” MacGyver said.

Sam shook her head. “I’ve tried everything to break this kind of barrier,” she said. “So far, nothing seems to work.”

“There’s got to be some way,” Daniel said.

The four of them stood there thinking. Occasionally, they glanced at the statue of Jack. Sam touched it, looking up into the stone eyes and cold expression, seeing more Goa’uld in him than Jack in the sculptor’s rendering of him. Only the appearance was the same. MacGyver watched her, feeling sympathy for her. He felt the same way about his cousin. He knew they all did. They didn’t want to see him transformed into some false idol, brutalizing the world helplessly, his body used as a vehicle for evil while in his mind he was a prisoner.

“Hathor certainly wasted no time revealing her intentions for Jack,” Daniel said, looking at the statue of him in disgust.

“Alone, she is quite powerful,” Teal’c said, “but with a husband, she will become even stronger, and a greater threat to the balance of power among the System Lords.”

Sam closed her eyes, trying to contain the anger and sadness she felt over Hathor stealing Jack from them—from her—and using him as a piece of property to gain status and dominance among the System Lords. She realized this kind of strategy was nothing new to the Goa’uld, who perverted sacred ancient religions and used them for their own advantage, pirating their technologies along the way and converting them for their own purposes. They were clever, in a highly malicious, deceitful manner. She hated them for what they did to Jack, and secretly vowed she would kill Hathor if she got the chance.

MacGyver watched her struggle with her emotions. “I don’t think we can allow that to happen,” he said, hoping to comfort her even though he felt uncertain about the future for Jack as well. “Somehow, we have to get through that barrier.”

“But how?” Daniel asked.

MacGyver turned and studied the barrier again. He noticed a small panel on the side of the stone wall near the entryway that looked like a control panel of some kind. Tilting his head in curiosity, he approached it, running his long fingers along the sides, trying to figure out how to open it. Taking out his knife, he pulled out the largest blade and began to carefully pry open the cover.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked, watching him with intense interest.

“I’m trying to open this access panel,” he said. “If I can somehow get inside, I might be able to disable the controls to this thing.”

Sam approached him, watching him closely, almost directly over his shoulder. “I don’t know how you’ll accomplish this,” she said. “I mean, no offense, MacGyver, but you don’t know much about Goa’uld technology. I’ve been studying it for years, and I still don’t understand all of it.”

“It is highly sophisticated,” Teal’c said.

“Come on,” MacGyver said. “Even in the most advanced system, there has to be a flaw. I’ll just have to find it.”

Once he successfully removed the outer cover of the panel, he stared at the glowing tangles of bars and strange wiring inside. He probed them with his knife blade.

“Careful,” Sam said. “We don’t know what kind of power source Hathor is using for this barrier, and if you touch its sensitive areas, you might get hurt.”

MacGyver smiled slightly, hearing a level of concern in her voice that she probably reserved for his cousin most of the time. Knowing Jack’s propensity to touch unknown dangerous objects and get injured, he wasn’t surprised by her alarmed tone when she spoke to him.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.

Returning to the power source, MacGyver continued to poke at it with his knife blade. A memory suddenly returned to him. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he had seen this kind of setup before. He confidently began to pry at one of the bars with his knife blade until it came loose and stopped glowing. Sam looked at him, amazed.

“Do you think that worked?” She asked. “Could it really be that simple?”

“I don’t know,” MacGyver said, shrugging. “Let’s give it a try.”

He approached the archway where the barrier was and ran his arm through it. Traces of the blue, glass-like surface still appeared, and it took some slightly painful effort to get through, but the barrier’s resistance had weakened.

“I think we can make it,” he said. “Let’s go. It’s going to be a little tough, but at least we can get through it now.”

“Amazing,” Sam said, looking at MacGyver and then at the damaged control panel. “How did you know that would work? I’ve never seen an energy source like that before. I wouldn’t have known where to begin without further study.”

“I don’t know,” MacGyver said. “It just…seemed familiar to me.”

“It must be from your Ancient abilities,” Daniel said. “When Jack’s brain held the download, he gained all kinds of technical expertise. Since you already have that kind of mind, it might just be a residue from your Ancient gene, a past memory encoded into your DNA.”

“Or, it could have just been a lucky guess,” MacGyver said, grinning slightly and winking.

Daniel and Sam looked at each other. It was the same disarming humble attitude that Jack had whenever he surprised the team with some knowledge they didn’t know he had. It was almost as if the two of them were ashamed of their advanced knowledge and wanted to keep it secret, preferring instead that everyone see them as equals rather than special.

“I suggest we enter the palace as soon as possible,” Teal’c said, hearing a groan from one of the guards. “We do not have much time until the guards regain consciousness.”

“Let’s go,” MacGyver said. “Remember, this won’t be easy, so be careful.”

He crossed the barrier first, pressing his body through what felt like deep, heavy water, the barrier’s force pushing back against him, but he finally got through, Daniel, Sam, and Teal’c following him, groaning and straining. Teal’c’s armor made his progress through the weakened barrier slower and more difficult, so they reached for his arms and helped to pull him the rest of the way.

“Well, at least that felt a little better than going through the stargate for the first time,” Daniel said, slightly out of breath from his exertion.

Teal’c looked back at the guards, who were beginning to stir. “We must remove ourselves from this area immediately before they discover us,” he said.

“Which way do we go?” Sam asked, overwhelmed by the labyrinth of corridors winding through the palace. “There must be at least one hundred possible rooms where Jack could be in this place.”

“Is Jack giving you any clues?” Daniel asked MacGyver.

“No,” MacGyver said. “He’s in here somewhere, I do feel that. Hathor hasn’t taken him anywhere. Both of them are here, I can…sense it somehow.” He cringed, hating to sound like some crackpot psychic, but he really could feel their presence somewhere in the palace. He didn’t know how, but he did, even without Jack telling him in his mind. “For now, let’s do what Teal’c says and get out of this archway.”

Deciding on a random corridor that wound away from the archway, they began walking down it, uncertain as to where it would lead them. Occasionally, they heard the loud, plodding stomps of Hathor’s Horus and Serpent Guards, their armor clanking as they marched. When a group of them was approaching, they hid behind a wall, waiting until they passed. They had to hide several times, delaying their progress through the palace.

“I wonder how long it will be until those guards we knocked out come looking for us,” Daniel said.

“That is why we must exercise great caution, and not allow ourselves to be detected,” Teal’c said quietly. “They may alert Hathor of our presence any time, so we must be prepared.”

More footsteps echoed down the wide, dark corridor, but this time, it sounded like only one person. The steps were lighter and less cumbersome, unburdened by the weight and bulk of Serpent Guard armor.

“Is that Hathor?” Sam asked, barely able to control the sudden surge of rage she felt, the urge to ambush her and attack her strong.

“No,” MacGyver said, not even looking out into the corridor. “It’s Jack.”

“How do you know?” Daniel asked.

“I just…do. It’s difficult to explain,” MacGyver said, once again embarrassed by his abilities.

“Perhaps Hathor has sent him to locate us,” Teal’c said. “The guards we surprised may have delivered the news of our appearance here by now, and she sent him as a trap. I would advise caution, as he is unfortunately not the O’Neill that we are familiar with as our comrade.”

“I don’t care,” MacGyver said, surprising the rest of the team with his sudden anger. “I have to see him. I have to talk to him.”

“He will not understand,” Teal’c said. “The Goa’uld now controls him completely, and he will show you no mercy. He will torture you until you reveal our location and deliver us as prisoners to Hathor. I do not advise it, MacGyver.”

“He’s still in there somewhere,” MacGyver said, looking at Daniel, who nodded in agreement. “I can get through to him and convince him to fight his Goa’uld. He’s been reaching out to me, so he can’t be completely shut down by the Goa’uld. Somehow, he’s still been able to communicate, even though it’s been difficult.”

Teal’c and Sam looked at him doubtfully. Daniel seemed more willing to agree with him, but he also had his reservations, peering over the rims of his glasses at MacGyver with concerned eyes.

“Guys, I have to try,” MacGyver said. “I’m the only one that can potentially talk to Jack right now. Let me do it.”

Sam nodded, and Daniel offered a small smile. Teal’c bowed his head.

“Good luck,” Sam said. “Be careful.”

“Thanks,” MacGyver said, sighing.

He stepped out into the open, and Jack stopped, staring at him. At first, MacGyver didn’t recognize him in his royal finery, wearing gold robes that he knew his cousin would never wear, even if dared to do so. His appearance was carefully groomed, giving him the majestic, pompous air of a Goa’uld.

“Jack,” MacGyver said.

Jack’s eyes glowed, and he raised his hand, revealing the deep orange glow of a Goa’uld hand device.

To be continued…