The stark images from planet P5C872 being transmitted from the M.A.L.P. panned smoothly across the computer screen. Daniel watched, fascinated, despite the feeling of dread making the short hairs on the back of his neck tickle. The images of skeletal remains, partial decomposed bodies, various stone and wooden markers and the bundling together of native materials such as wooden sticks, feathers and stones, did suggest a common theme to the archeologist: one he knew the other participants gathered in the briefing room were waiting to hear.
"Well," the archeologist began, clearing his throat, "it appears to be a burial ground of some kind as evidenced by the partial views of the skeletons and decomposing bodies. Some Native American cultures buried their dead on scaffolding to protect the bodies from scavengers similar to these or in stone box tombs similar to those in the background. And here...," Daniel stilled the movement of the scanning picture "Neolithic peoples from Europe and Great Britain would bury their dead in dirt or stone covered mounds or burial chambers like this example." He paused, then let the picture resume scanning. "They, whoever they are or were, may have considered the Stargate to be the entryway to the spirit world or sipapu, the underworld where all life began." Daniel turned to the older man sitting to his left. "I'm sorry General. I can't give you a more detailed analysis unless I actually go there."
"The M.A.L.P. readings show a breathable oxygen atmosphere, relative temperatures, no abnormal radiation levels and no signs of life or advanced technology within the immediate vicinity of the Stargate. And there is a DHD device nearby." Her report on the scientific particulars given Sam fell silent for a moment shuffling the papers in her opened folder. "But, there may be other resources we could use, sir. Nahquadah and trinium deposits come to mind," she added.
"Great. If no native population to deal with, we could just take what we need and as much as we need, no questions asked, no moral obligations getting in the way. Sweet," observed Jack O'Neill dryly.
"General, sir," Daniel said, ignoring Jack, "maybe we shouldn't go. If this is a burial ground of some kind, disturbing it may not be a good idea. Even some primitive Earth cultures of today consider it very taboo or bad juju to disturb the resting places of the dead."
"What, no friendly spirits, Daniel? You're saying you don't want to go? This, coming from the man who digs up old bones as a hobby?"
"Actually, Jack, I tried to avoid working on digs where bodies were being exhumed. I view it as disrespectful in a way. Besides, I dig up artifacts, not bones."
"Point taken. Still, I think it's worth a visit to take a look, sir," O'Neill offered. "Daniel's concerns are valid, but if we just walk through the burial ground and not disturb anything, I can't see as how that would be disrespectful in any way."
"So, Colonel, you're also assuming any natural resource deposits we find will be located outside the burial ground," Sam added, just wanting to clarify their position before embarking on this mission.
The four members of SG1 all shared a knowing look as memories of the botched effort to mine naquadah from Tonane's planet came to the forefront. It was a mistake none of them wanted to repeat.
"Ah, yeah, I think I just said that," O'Neill stated, arching his graying eyebrows.
"Would that allay your concerns, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked. "If SG-1 simply walked through the burial ground and did not disturb any of the graves?"
Daniel rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to be rid of the tickling unease he felt there. It was obvious SG1 was going, regardless of the misgivings he had. "Yes, sir, if we are very careful. I can live with that."
"Very, well. SG1, you have a go for a recon of P5C872 departing at 0800 tomorrow morning. Dismissed."
Jack and Teal'c departed quickly from the briefing room, following after Hammond. Sam gathered up her printouts but remained, favoring Daniel with a worried look.
"Daniel?" she asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Have you ever had premonitions, bad feelings about something?"
"Yeah, every so often. Why?"
"I just have a bad feeling about this mission, Sam," Daniel confessed in all seriousness.
"We'll be careful and respectful, Daniel."
"I know, but still---"
"Everything will be fine." Sam squeezed his left arm in reassurance before she, too, departed from the briefing room.
"Oh, yeah. Just peachy," Daniel muttered before he followed the wake of his team members.
***
The blue silver event horizon of the gate wormhole shimmered into existence on planet P5C872. A few moments later, four green fatigued clad figures exited the watery rippling to stand before the deactivating Stargate. Jack was the first to step away from the platform onto the surrounding hard-packed, black dirt ground. He removed his sunglasses since the sky overhead was heavy with lavender hued clouds, muting what sunlight there was. Jack began to survey their surroundings noticing Teal'c and Carter fanned out to either side, keeping a watchful eye on the immediate vicinity of the Stargate. He sensed Daniel's physical presence behind him.
"Well, nice quite, neighborhood," the colonel commented, taking in the view, almost an exact replica of the one sent from the M.A.L.P. in yesterday's briefing. He scrunched up his nose in disgust. "A little smelly, however."
"You usually get that near decaying bodies, Jack," Daniel commented dryly as he walked past the older man. VCR camera in hand he walked toward the nearest rickety burial scaffolding.
"The DHD appears to be operational, sir," Sam reported. She removed a handheld scanning device and slowly rotated in a circle, taking note of the readings, pausing to look over to their stationary mechanical probe. "The M.A.L.P. also appears to be operational and undamaged."
"Always good to know we can call a cab when or if we need one," Jack quipped as he watched Teal'c walk over to stand beside Daniel, the Jaffa's stance suggesting diligence and protectiveness. Just as well Jack thought. For some unknown reason, the archeologist was really spooked about even being here.
"I'm not getting any readings on deposits of nahquada or trinium. And before you ask sir, no nearby readings or signs of technology or industrialized civilization," Carter reported, shutting off the scanner and replacing it in her vest pocket. She moved over to inspect a partially ravaged stone cairn about thirty feet away from Daniel's and Teal'c's location.
"This just keeps getting better and better," Jack muttered, somewhat disappointed in the results of Carter's preliminary survey as he ambled over to join Daniel and Teal'c.
Daniel had been occupied in stepping diligently around the slightly damaged wooden scaffolding, careful to avoid trampling on the scattered bones lying around it. The whir of the hand held VCR before his face was the only sound.
"So, Daniel, news?"
Daniel stopped filming and lowered the VCR. "It appears to be a burial ground. As you can see," and he slowly turned around, his right arm fanning over the area. "I can cite at least four to five primitive human type of burials just within view of the Stargate."
"Human, not Goa'uld, or, anything else?"
"No, no markers showing Goa'uld or Egyptian hieroglyphs. I just think there isn't anything here for us to find, Jack. Aside from the fact the place exists. I'd call it a rarity to have examples of these burial cultures all clustered together in one place."
"And,... that's not enough to pique your interest?" O'Neill asked.
He favored Daniel with a slightly bewildered look. The archeologist returned a hesitant, uncertain one. The normal status quo, O'Neill reminded himself, would have Daniel bopping from one burial structure to the other, his mouth running at full speed, babbling on about the fantastic archeological discovery. The fact Daniel was standing still and silent spoke volumes. Once again, Jack silently cursed the day they had explored the Linvris chamber and how the exposure to Machello's Goa'uld killing devices still caused Daniel to hesitate in offering his more wild explanations, fearing the stigma of being thought insane. Jack realized it would take time, lots of assurances and vocalized belief in Daniel to get the archeologist beyond this self-doubt.
"So," Jack resumed, "you're suggesting we go home."
"I'm curious, but it just doesn't feel right. Like we're trespassing where we're not wanted." Daniel ducked his eyes away, but not before Jack caught a glimpse of doubt within the crystal blue depths. "I think leaving and not coming back would be the prudent thing to do," he added, softly.
In other words, Jack silently interpreted, Daniel had a wild idea about this place but was not inclined to say what it was.
"This path appears to lead through the burial field, O'Neill," Teal'c said, using his staff weapon to point out the packed earth leading away from the Stargate.
O'Neill flashed the Jaffa a look of gratitude. "So, no keep out signs, no trespassers will be shot on sight signs, anything like that?" Jack asked, directing his query to the young archeologist, still fishing for a reason to stay awhile.
"Ahh, no."
Normally, Jack thought, he would turn his team around and exit the way they came. They should, however, at least check this planet out, especially one with no apparent signs of danger or threat. Not wanting to waste the trip through the Stargate, a more thorough recon of the planet within the near vicinity was warranted. Besides, the lure of looking at rocks, er, well, artifacts, might give Daniel a chance to unwind and enjoy himself, get his hands dirty so to speak. And, well, Jack confessed, he didn't have much to do waiting for him back at the SGC either.
"Well, kids, let's take a little stroll, see where the trail goes, if anywhere. If nothing really exciting shows up in a few hours, we'll take our leave of, ah, Carter, just what planet are we on again?"
"P5C872, sir."
"Right. Okay with you, Daniel?"
Daniel looked pensively down the pathway then looked back to Jack. It was evident he thought this was a really bad idea. "Just for a few hours, then we come back, and we'll leave?"
"I promise," Jack swore, rising his left hand.
"Okay," Daniel reluctantly agreed. He turned around, taking the lead walking down the hard packed dirt path at a steady pace but keeping a diligent eye as he passed by the resting places of the dead.
"He's really spooked about this," Jack commented, moving forward with Carter at his side and Teal'c close behind. "I thought he'd jump at the chance to do some digging. He lives for this kind of stuff."
"DanielJackson told me many Tau’ri believe the spirits of their dead remain in the place where their bodies lie, watching for all time."
"Thanks for sharing, Teal'c. I feel, oh, so much better. Get a move on kids, Daniel is getting a little too far ahead of us."
Jack and the other two team members picked up the pace, but he couldn't help looking over his shoulder several times at the Stargate receding slowly behind them, wondering what it was Daniel was reluctant to share and thinking maybe, for this once, he should have considered Daniel's unspoken concerns and taken the team home after all.
***
Nearly a hour later, the four SG1 members walked over the burial field boundary, passed a jagged, black rock outcrop jutting from the hard packed ground, and crossed a dry, white pebble strewn river bed. Not much later, they stood atop a non-vegetated plateau. Behind the four explorers stood the aged remnants of a flat-topped earthen pyramid. Sam surmised it was in direct alignment with the now unseen Stargate. Daniel had cryptically commented on the similarity of this structure to nearly obliterated earthen mounds sans pyramids located throughout the Midwestern United States. Moving to stand at the plateau edge afforded them an unobstructed view of the wide valley fanning out below. What appeared to be their first signs of occupied habitation on the planet was viewed in the form of a rudimentary village. Its flimsy, scattered structures Daniel guessed to be primitive dwellings, which began at the base of the plateau and spread into the valley. Even so, he mentally noted, there was a hodgepodge of construction materials and shapes where one would have expected to see a similar design throughout. And, he saw no herd animals, no signs of farming, which the rich soils of the valley would provide. Both he and Jack peered through field binoculars at the village below while Sam and Teal’c scanned their immediate area, weapons held at the ready. The longer Daniel looked, the more nervous he became about being on this planet, especially with the Stargate nearly four miles behind them.
"Well, Daniel, think the natives are friendly?" Jack asked, adjusting the focus of his binoculars.
"No."
"No?" Jack repeated, as he lowered his field glasses, then turned to face the archeologist's profile. "You're joking, right?"
"No." Daniel also lowered his binoculars. "I think we should leave right now," he stated, emphasizing the latter.
"Leave? And give up this opportunity to study whatever it is you study? I mean, you said so yourself a few hours ago; this is a melting pot of primitive human cultures on this planet, a rarity in itself."
"I know that's what I said earlier, and seeing this village, for lack of a better word, only confirms that. We should leave now. I can't explain why. I, ahhh, just have a bad feeling about this planet." Daniel leveled his worried gaze toward the older man. "I'm sorry; it's not very scientific."
"A bad feeling?" Jack repeated, then thought for a moment, knowing Daniel was usually always right regardless of how he came to his conclusions. That had never been truer than with Machello's killing devices. "Okay, Daniel you're the expert, and if you say you have a bad feeling and we should leave, that's what we'll do," O'Neill decided as he replaced his binoculars inside his vest pocket. "We've had our two hours and found exactly squat in anything we could consider useful. And I've probably pushed our luck more than I should have," he finally conceded.
"O'Neill, I believe we have been seen," Teal'c announced, gesturing to the valley below.
Jack's gaze followed Teal'c's pointed finger. The planet's natives, who all appeared to be human, were indeed stirring. Leather and fur clad figures, many armed with what appeared to be old style bows and stone tipped lances began running toward them, gathering numbers as word of the strangers' presence began to ripple through the village.
"Okay, kids. The sightseeing tour is over. We're outta here."
The four team members turned and began a hurried retreat past the earthen mound back toward the burial ground visible in the near distance, and for the moment, unseen Stargate in its midst. Behind them, the guttural yells of the native pursuers grew louder and louder and to Daniel's hearing, more threatening with each passing minute.
****
"Pick up the pace, Daniel!"
Jack's warning shout was quickly followed by the rapid tat-tat of automatic gunfire. Daniel distinctly heard two separate rounds echo behind him as he ran, gasping for air and forcing his aching legs to keep moving: Sam and Jack laying down cover fire as they retreated back into the hoped for safety and sanctuary of the mixed culture burial ground. Winded, Daniel focused on the bounding form of Teal'c ahead of him. The Jaffa seemed to be moving with no physical difficulty at all. Behind the archeologist, the gunfire ceased, but the roaring of the human horde pursuing them became louder and more terrifying. Daniel began to physically feel the fear growing within him.
Teal'c was the first of the group to reach the temporary safety of the upthrust rocky outcrop marking the boundary of the burial ground. The Jaffa turned, raised his staff weapon, releasing the fire balls to begin making a covering fire of his own. Daniel continued to run, his booted feet clipping over the slippery smooth, pebbled, dry stream bed, focusing only on reaching the rock formation so he could join Teal'c and add more firepower cover for Sam and Jack. Suddenly, the air around the linguist was filled with the whirring and hissing passage of various sized projectiles and stones. To his dismay, Daniel saw Teal'c lurch backward, his staff weapon clanking to the rocky ground as several feather tipped projectile points protruded from his chest. He heard a shout of anguish from behind him, and Daniel turned at the waist in time to see Jack fall forward face first onto the pebble strewn ground. O'Neill lay there, sprawled and unmoving, a thin lance shaft protruding from his back.
"Jack!!!"
Daniel skidded to an off-balanced stop, slid on the pebbles and with his arms windmilling unsuccessfully to regain his balance, he fell backward. His back hit the ground with a heavy thud, knocking the wind from him. As Daniel lay there stunned, gasping for breath, looking upward to the lavender clouded sky overhead, he saw another wave of various sized projectiles and stones fly to clank, ping and crash on the nearby rock outcropping. Recovering enough to roll over onto his stomach, Daniel winced and spied Sam, their rear guard, running, frantically attempting to get to Jack's sprawled, unmoving form. Behind her, the marauding hordes were quickly catching up to their prey.
"Sam!!!" Daniel screamed in horror, as he saw her fall, tumbling forward with a viscous looking serrated tipped spear imbedded in her right hip. Daniel's scream of warning came too late as her struggling form was overrun by the first wave of their pursuers and disappeared from his sight. "Nooo, Sam!"
Knowing that Jack's still form would be their next target, Daniel got unsteadily to his feet and stumbled back to where Teal'c lay unmoving among the rocks. He picked up the dropped staff and turned to face the screaming natives. Daniel began firing the weapon, heedless of whether he was killing anyone or not. All he knew was Jack and Sam were down, injured, and needed help, needed someone to rescue them. A pacifist to the core of his soul, Daniel would wrestle later with the possible deadly consequences of his use of the staff weapon at that moment. Startled by the fireballs hurling toward them from the edge of the burial ground, the natives halted their pursuit before reaching the sprawled form in the dry creek bed. They began to huddle together, apparently trying to decide what they should do next. Daniel, however, decided now was a good opportunity to attempt a rescue. He laid the staff weapon next to the unconscious Teal'c and took the warrior's Zat gun. Slowly, he advanced in a crouch, firing the Zat only when one of their pursuers attempted to advance. Upon arriving at Jack's body, Daniel knelt beside his injured friend protectively, the hand weapon pointed toward their attackers as a warning. A knot clutched at his insides as he saw with dismay and horror Sam's unmoving form being dragged away toward the village located beyond the earthen pyramid and plateau. The natives began shouting in what Daniel guessed was a victory cry as they retreated away from the burial ground with their prize. Daniel could only kneel helplessly and watch them go.
His reverie was broken when he heard a soft moan come from O'Neill's prone form. Laying the Zat gun on the ground where he could grab it instantly if the need arose, Daniel surveyed Jack's injury. A stone spear point and shaft was embedded deeply in his friend's upper left back. Since they had intended this mission to be a short recon, they had not worn the heavier backpacks full of several days’ supplies. The lightweight vest and field jacket had provided no protection whatsoever. Probing gently with his fingers, Daniel observed the spear point had missed Jack's spinal cord, and, Daniel silently prayed, his heart. He also saw a deep purpling bruise surrounding a bleeding cut on Jack's right forehead. The head injury, Daniel determined, explained why his teammate was unconscious. Either way, Daniel knew Jack's condition was beyond any field first aid he could give. His friend's life depended on getting back through the Stargate and to the medical facilities of the SGC. Tucking the Zat gun inside his open field vest, Daniel stood then stooped over, grabbing handfuls of green cloth at each of the prone man's shoulders. He began to slowly drag Jack toward the rocky outcrop where Teal'c lay, all the while visually panning the area for any surprises. By the time he got his burden to the partial safety of the rock outcrop, the Jaffa warrior was conscious, his dark face grimaced in pain, probably more pain than he would ever admit to suffering. Daniel pulled O'Neill's body next to Teal'c then turned his attention to the wounded warrior.
"O'Neill," Teal'c gasped, in a hoarse, pain wracked whisper.
"He's bad, Teal'c," Daniel answered, gently feeling Jack's brow beneath the smeared blood. "They got Sam." Daniel's voice cracked on speaking Carter's name. There was no need to expound on the simple statement.
"The native people have departed?" The Jaffa's query came through gritted teeth
"For now. They probably consider having captured Sam a great prize, and I'm guessing this burial ground is considered either sacred or taboo to them. Or, they're afraid of our weapons. Either way, we seem to be safe here for the moment."
"Are you injured, DanielJackson?"
"No, I'm fine, Teal'c but you're not. Let me look at you." Daniel carefully peeled away Teal'c's flimsy supply vest flaps and the green fatigue jacket, therefore gaining a better view of the three barbs stuck in Teal'c's blood soaked black tee shirt covered chest. He pulled the black tee shirt from the Jaffa's belted waist and lifted it slightly. "Well, they missed Junior. I imagine you'll heal in time. I think I can remove these; they don't appear to have imbedded too far."
"Then do so, DanielJackson."
"Yeah, I will, but,... but we have to think for a minute here." Daniel paused, crossing his shaking arms before his chest, trying to calm his shattered nerves and the adrenaline high coursing through his body. The archeologist suddenly realized he was now in the very unfamiliar position of being the one making the field decisions for SG1. He inhaled deeply, uncrossed his arms and then set his hands back on his kneeling thighs. "Okay, this is what we're going to do," he announced, trying to sound confident as he spoke to Teal'c. "I'll try to take out those barbs. Then, hoping you have the strength the curing abilities Junior will give you, we're going to get you and Jack to the Stargate." Daniel paused and laid his hand again on the unconscious older man's silver haired head. "You're going to take Jack back to the SGC. That's his only hope of survival. We, we can't even attempt to remove this spear and have no way to know the damage this head wound has caused. Tell General Hammond what's happened and have him send back as big a rescue force as he can."
"I will take O'Neill through the Stargate." There was no doubt in the words. Daniel knew Teal'c would do it even if he crawled to and through the gate with Jack strapped to his back.
"Okay, we'll leave our supplies here, and take only the signaling device and two Zat guns." Daniel pulled open his vest and checked to make sure the device was secure in the inner pocket. It was. He took Jack's Zat gun and added it to Teal'c's. Then he removed his field first aid kit, setting it on the ground between himself and the Jaffa. "Okay, let me see if I can get those out." Determination to proceed warred with lessoning the obvious pain his actions were causing, as Daniel began to pull and tug gently at the first barb, located in the fleshy area near Teal’c’s collar bone.
"DanielJackson, are you not coming through the Stargate?" Teal'c asked, his voice strained with pain as Daniel yanked, and the barbed, bloody point came free. Damn, Teal'c had too quickly seen the one flaw in his plan. He tossed the thing aside before opening the first aid kit and pulling out a sterile gauze pad, pressing it over the bleeding wound while securing the adhesive edges to the dark skin.
"No. I'm going back for Sam," he answered, beginning to repeat the procedure on the second dart located near the tip of Teal'c's breastbone.
"That would be a violation of the evacuation procedure," Teal'c reproached as Daniel yanked on the second barb. It moved but did not dislodge and Daniel yanked on it again, pulling it free. Teal'c gasped in pain, lifting his torso off the ground before falling backward.
"Sorry," Daniel apologized, his own face crinkling with discomfort at the agony his ministrations were causing his friend. He quickly covered the second bleeding puncture with a sterile gauze pad. "Look, Teal'c, Jack's not capable of giving orders right now." He spared a quick glance to his unconscious friend. "And if he was, I'm sure he'd say we're just having a bad day. So, just please do as I say. Okay?"
"DanielJackson, we must all go through the Stargate," Teal'c argued through clenched teeth as Daniel began working on removing the third point located to the left of the symbiont pouch.
"I'm not leaving Sam behind, " Daniel repeated, concentrating on his bloody work.
"Major Carter may be dead," Teal'c stated before arching his back in agony as Daniel gave a hard yank, pulling the third barbed point free along with a good chunk of bloody something Daniel didn't even want to identify. He tossed the offending object aside and applied the gauze pad, pressing down with the heal of his right hand to staunch the blood loss.
Daniel turned to his left, felt Jack's neck for a pulse and found it, rapid and weak but still there. "Stay with us, Jack," he encouraged the unconscious man before re-focusing his attention to the wounded Jaffa. "She's not dead. At least, she wasn't when they took her away. I'm not leaving her behind. End of discussion." Daniel removed his bloodied right hand and pulled and fastened together Teal'c's jacket and vest flaps, hoping this would assist in keeping the gauze pads in place over the wounds.
"Take a few minutes to rest. I need to bandage Jack's head wound then I'll gather up our supplies and hide them. Then, we'll go."
A few minutes was all Daniel needed to cover the cut on Jack's bruised head and wrap it with protective gauze. That task completed, he gathered up what items they were leaving behind and hid the small amount of field supplies and their weapons within several small cave-like crevices he found in the dark rock outcrop facing the burial grounds. Task completed, Daniel scurried back to the two wounded members of SG1 to see Teal'c already sitting up.
"I will get O'Neill to the gate," the stoic warrior announced before slowly shifting to a kneeling position. "Help place O'Neill over my shoulder." With Daniel's assistance, the unconscious Jack was draped over Teal'c's left shoulder, and then Daniel helped to leverage the Jaffa to stand on unsteady legs.
"Lean on me, Teal'c. We'll get there," Daniel instructed and encouraged, grunting as the combined weight of the Jaffa and the injured man fell heavily upon his smaller frame.
Together, carrying their wounded comrade, the two teammates shuffled down the worn dirt path toward the location of the Stargate.
Daniel trudged forward, concentrating on putting one booted foot in front of the other on the dirt path, his face grimacing with the physical effort required of him. He barely gave notice to the burials they passed, although one tiny part of his mind kept cataloguing the various human burial types as they were seen on the periphery of his vision. Eventually, he saw the round shape of the Stargate ahead, looming closer and closer with each heavy step. Every few minutes he would grab Jack's dangling right wrist and check for the weak pulse. Thankfully, every time he found it. Teal'c moved along in silence, most of his bulk resting heavily on Daniel's back and left shoulder.
When they finally reached the DHD, both men stopped walking.
"I believe I can stand alone, DanielJackson," Teal'c declared and put action to his words by moving away from the smaller man and standing nearly erect with his burden near the DHD.
Daniel was too exhausted, emotionally and physically, to speak as he wiped his sleeve across his sweated brow. He went about dialing the earth address and depressing the red activation button of the DHD. The Stargate wormhole kawhoosed into being and Daniel could not have recalled ever having seen such a wonderful sight. He pulled out the signaling device, nearly dropping the wet object, and punched in the SG1 code. The signal sent, he replaced the GDO in his inner vest pocket and stiffly moved to rejoin Teal'c. Placing his hands on the Jaffa's waist, Daniel ushered him forward to the rippling event horizon within the ring of the Stargate and then paused.
"Get Jack home, Teal'c, and then send back help for Sam and me."
Teal’c barely nodded his head in understanding before Daniel then guided the Jaffa and Jack into the silver ripple of the wormhole where they disappeared.
Daniel stumbled away from the gate back to the DHD and leaned heavily against the dial home device as the event horizon vanished. Thank God he had gotten Teal'c away before the Jaffa noticed Daniel's own physical state. He had thought for certain Teal'c would have noticed the blood slicked signaling device. Grimacing, Daniel slipped his right hand beneath his own vest and fatigue jacket and winced visibly. Pulling his hand out, Daniel looked at the sticky redness covering it. He clenched his hand in a fist, gave the inactive gate one last look, and resolutely turned around, beginning his return journey back to the rock outcrop and the hidden supplies. "Hold on, Sam. I'm coming to get you."
***
Teal'c stumbled forward onto the metal ramp, leading from the earth-based Stargate. He could not correct his balance and fell heavily to his knees, yet still managed to keep O'Neill's body draped over his left shoulder. He vaguely heard the echoed command for a medical team to come to the embarkation room, then felt the weight, which was O'Neill, being lifted from him and the babbling of voices shouting orders among the chaos. Teal'c allowed himself to be manually carried down the ramp to a waiting stretcher, trying to focus in on the hovering worried face of General Hammond above him.
"Teal'c, what happened to Dr. Jackson and Major Carter?"
Teal'c tried to answer but found, to his dismay, the words refused to come forth.
"Incoming traveler!" echoed in the cavernous room. Teal'c wondered when the Stargate had deactivated and then reactivated. Perhaps DanielJackson was coming after all.
"It's SG11's signal, sir!" the duty technician relayed over the loud speaker system.
"Open the iris!"
Teal'c felt the stretcher beneath him begin to roll away from the Stargate ramp toward the exit when he heard the Stargate kawoosh followed by a huge explosion. He lost conscious then, so he did not see the huge hole blown into the control room, shattering glass, human operators and computers alike as the members of SG11 came tumbling through the agitated event horizon just before it dissipated, and the protective iris closed.
"What the hell happened!" Hammond demanded, shouting over the din of confusion churning in the embarkation room.
"We were under attack from unknown assailants, sir," SG11's team leader choked out as he was helped up by two more medical corpsmen.
"Get these men to the infirmary," the general directed, beginning to gain some control over the turmoil. It was then he looked up to see the charred, smoking damage to the Stargate control room.
"Holy Hannah!" he cursed, and rushed out of the gateroom, up the metal stairs leading into what was now a mangled mass of twisted metal, shattered glass, scorched plastics, and the pungent odors of human blood and seared flesh. He saw Sergeant Siler already in the room assisting in the removal of the wounded and assessing the damage.
"Sergeant, we still have three teams out, not to mention an unknown situation with the rest of SG1."
"I'm sorry, sir, but this will require time to make repairs. I haven't even a rough assessment to report right now."
"I don't need to tell you this a high priority, Sergeant."
"No, sir. I'll even call in the off duty technicians."
"Do that. And keep me updated. I'll be in the infirmary."
Silently cursing under his breath at this streak of bad luck, Hammond rushed to the base infirmary to get debriefed on the status of the wounded. He stopped outside the open doorway, the sounds of emergency medial procedures wafting around him. As much as he wanted to know this minute what was happening, he also knew he should stay out of the way as the medical staff worked. Hammond glimpsed Dr. Fraiser and two nurses as they quickly wheeled Colonel O'Neill's prone form out the second infirmary entrance on their way to the surgical arena. He then spied Teal'c being tended to several beds away. There was less activity there so he hurried in and stood by the foot of the bed. Teal'c's eyes were open and staring ceilingward. His face was drenched in moisture and lined with pain. The older man had a clear view of the gaping, ragged wounds in the Jaffa's chest and abdomen. Luckily, Hammond noted, the symbiont pouch appeared to be undamaged.
"Status," the senior officer requested of the attending nurse.
Before he could get a reply, Teal'c spoke. "General Hammond, you must send a rescue team immediately through the Stargate to P5C872."
"Yes, Teal'c, I gathered as much, when only you and Colonel O'Neill came through the Stargate. What's happened to Major Carter and Dr. Jackson? Why weren't they with you?"
"We were attacked by the native peoples of the planet. The attack was unprovoked. Major Carter was wounded and captured. DanielJackson remained behind to rescue her."
Hammond's forehead creased in confusion. "Don't you mean Dr. Jackson was wounded and captured, and Major Carter, in violation of evacuation procedure, stayed behind to rescue him?"
"I spoke correctly, General Hammond."
"What was Dr. Jackson thinking?" Hammond barked, still incredulous at this news.
"DanielJackson said he would not leave Major Carter behind."
A brief pause ensued as each man mentally reviewed the whys and the reasons Daniel would have used to justify his actions. Both men dredged up the same two memories: one of SG1 unknowingly leaving Daniel behind and alive on Onnanes, and the second of Colonel O'Neill leaving a mortally wounded Daniel behind on Klorel's ship.
"There is something more, General Hammond," Teal'c continued. "Something on the planet greatly disturbed DanielJackson. He would not speak of it but finally convinced O'Neill we should depart. We were doing so when the attack came. I believe this is the true reason DanielJackson remained behind to attempt the rescue of Major Carter."
"Alright, Teal'c, rest." The older man placed a fatherly hand on the Jaffa's shoulder. "They've taken Colonel O'Neill into surgery. I'll work on getting that rescue organized."
Hammond departed from the infirmary to return to the damaged control room. If they didn't get the Stargate operational soon Doctor Jackson and Major Carter could be lost to them. As George had often heard Jack say, the SGC was definitely having a bad day.
***
With renewed effort, Daniel stumbled against the inner wall of the semi-cave crevice located in the rock outcrop where he had previously hidden their packs and weapons. Exhausted and in pain, he slowly slid down the cool, rough textured rock wall to sit. Both of his arms cradled his midsection, and his breath was labored. He reached up with his left arm to wipe off his forehead removing the moisture, which had been annoyingly dripping down into his eyes and onto his glasses. He pushed the Boonie hat off his damp hair. Removing the streaked glasses, Daniel rubbed the moisture from his eyes, then cleaned the lenses on a Kleenex retrieved from a vest pocket. With cleaned glasses once again resting on his nose, he looked around for a first aid kit and a canteen. Both objects were within arm's reach and were retrieved before popping the lid off the field medical kit.
"Aspirin, lots and lots of aspirin," Daniel instructed himself out loud, shaking fingers eventually getting the white pills out of the small sealed container. He swallowed four of the extra strength tablets with a gulp of water from the canteen. Setting the container aside, Daniel reached into the inner lining of his fatigue jacket. He then pulled out his right hand to look at the object that was responsible for his less than perfect physical condition. It was a crude but well crafted, chipped, bloodied stone arrowhead affixed to a broken wooden shaft.
"Clovis point," the archeologist identified aloud, before tossing it aside.
He pulled the unzipped jacket flaps aside. Where his black tee shirt covered his lower left abdomen, the cloth was shredded and caked with both dry and moist blood. Pulling apart the torn material, his fuzzy vision could see the ragged, puckered gash across his lower left abdomen. It was still bleeding, and the traumatized skin was swelling, alternately red and yellow hued.
"Ouch," Daniel commented before taking out a large sterile gauze pad from the first aid kit. He held the gauze above the wound squeezing his eyes shut. "This is gonna hurt." He covered the wound, pressing down as hard as he could tolerate. He grunted at the flaring pain this caused, got the adhesive edges to stick to his moist skin, then fumbled with getting his jacket flaps together and zipped up.
"Okay, now I see if I learned anything from that survival training Jack insisted I take," Daniel said, hoping to remain calm, functional and focused. "What to take? Binoculars. Flashlight." He glanced out from the rock shelter to notice it did appear to be getting darker outside. "Matches. Knife. Two Zat guns. Morphine." He set the collected items on the ground before him then carefully packed everything into empty vest pockets.
He slowly rose to a crouch. Using the rock wall for support, Daniel eased himself into a standing position. With a slight bent, he shuffled from the shelter, noted the cloud laden sky was darkening to black and began a cautious advance over the ground the SG1 team had covered earlier that day. Daniel spared himself a brief moment of wondering if the rescue teams had come through the gate yet, then focused all of his attention on rescuing Sam, relying on the same disciplined, single minded, obsessive work ethic he employed in his research. He wasn't going to wait; the rescue teams would simply have to catch up to him.
Later, Daniel knelt on the same plateau edge the SG1 team had found earlier that day. The dark mass of the earthen shaped pyramid shadowed him as he surveyed the village located below. It was, indeed, becoming night on the planet. He noticed the soft orange-yellow glow of numerous fires holding off the advancing twilight as they began to burn around the village perimeter as well as within the village proper. Vision blurring, Daniel lowered the binoculars away from his face. Lifting his glasses to rest on his head, he rubbed at his eyes with trembling fingers. Either it was the aspirin taking effect, infection developing from his untreated wound, blood loss or all three causing the dizziness. He replaced his glasses on his nose. Ignoring his physical discomfort, the archeologist renewed his visual recon using the field binoculars. Worse case scenario, if Sam was imprisoned within one of the village structures, he would have to search each hut. But then, Daniel reminded himself, if Jack were here, the older man would simply declare with the confidence all leaders possessed, Sam would simply be found in the first hut he searched. Sam already being dead was not an option to be considered.
He scanned the village, saw some crowd movement near a larger fire, and then refocused his scrutiny on this area. It seemed the natives were cooking a large hunk of something on a wooden spit, which was being manually rotated slowly over the roasting flames. Unbidden, thoughts came to Daniel of not seeing any herd animals in the village earlier in the day. And, these were followed by images of the general disarray and disturbance of the remains found in many of the graves in the burial ground. The hair on the back of his neck really started to tickle. Movement off to the right of the cooking fire drew Daniel's attention. He refocused the binoculars, silently cursing his own fuzzing vision.
"Found you, Sam," he whispered, feeling his heart rate increase with the euphoria of success.
Daniel saw Sam no longer wore her cap, vest or fatigue jacket. Her M51 and field knife were
nowhere to be seen. She was sitting on the ground, her injured right leg splayed out before her. She was securely bound to a wooden pole by hands tied over her head and a second binding wrapped around her waist. Several of the male savages meandered aimlessly around the captive. One bent down and grabbed Sam's chin, yanking her head upward. Suddenly, he let out a yelp and pulled his hand away, shaking it rapidly.
Daniel smiled as he watched. Sam was alive and had just bit her tormenter's hand. This earned her a hard slap across the face, which caused Daniel's smile to vanish and his eyes to narrow with anger.
"Just hold on awhile longer, Sam, I'm coming."
Replacing the binoculars in his vest, Daniel began a slow, furtive decent down the plateau face using tumbled boulders and lengthening shadows for concealment. When he reached the grassy, level plain of the valley on which the village stood, he paused and crouched as low as he could. The pain in his side was increasing, but Daniel told himself Sam's torment was much greater than his own, and thus encouraged, he began an unsteady crabwalk toward the village, balancing himself with his left hand while keeping his right tightly gripped around his abdomen.
****
Sam hoped the glare she favored her latest tormentor with was as effective as she imagined it to be. It was hard to gauge as the nearby feral, dirtied and bearded faces wavered in and out of focus in simultaneous rhythm with the throbbing agony radiating out from her right hip. Suddenly, too weak to keep her head up, her neck snapped forward and she felt a new wave of fevered hotness wash over her. Not for the first time, Sam wondered if the male members of SG1 were even alive. Her last view of them was of all three men being down, all apparently wounded or dead, the worst casualty being the colonel, sprawled face down and unmoving on the rocky ground with a crudely-made spear protruding from his back. Unbidden tears came once more to her eyes and trickled down her cheeks as she shook with muffled sobs. She had let the team down. She was the rear guard in their retreat and had failed to protect the colonel, Daniel and Teal'c They must all be dead. As she soon would be. Sam spared a morbid glance to her right, to the horror of the large, cooking fire and the object slowly roasting over the flames. All dead. All of SG1 gone on some backwater planet Daniel had warned them repeatedly not to explore. But they had ignored his warnings and had come anyway, she especially pooh-poohing Daniel's concerns before they even left the SGC. And now their mistake would be the reason for their demise. The tears became heavier, the choking sobs louder. She would never see her father again, nor Cassandra, or Janet, the closet person she had to a best friend. She would die alone and in burning agony, on some remote planet halfway across the galaxy. Samantha Carter would never go home.
Exhausted physically and emotionally, the wounded woman became a limp form held upright only by the bindings around her elevated wrists and around her waist. So it was, as time passed, Sam slipped into a terrified, fevered haze, and she did not see the flaring of flames in the distance as one by one, the crude wooden village buildings caught fire and blazed skyward. The first warning shouts of the occupants echoed throughout the village, and the pounding of running feet on the hard packed ground could be heard nearing then fading.
"Sam!" came the urgent whispered summons near her right ear. Stirring, Sam tried to lift her head but couldn't. She felt someone sawing away at the ropes binding her wrists and vague awareness of her numbed arms falling heavily to her side. The binding pressure around her waist lessened, and she sensed, rather than saw, her fevered body pitching forward. Unknown hands caught her and leaned her torso to the right against something that felt simultaneously warm and comforting.
"Sam," the urgent, whispered call again, fighting to get through the haze that was her consciousness, "I'm going to give you a shot of morphine to ease the pain." Sam's' face pinched at the jabbed prick in her upper left arm. "We're leaving this place. Just hang on. We're going home."
".. Daniel...," Sam choked, disbelieving before her world tumbled, and she slid into pitch-blackness.
The medical syringe empty, Daniel tossed it aside before placing his bloodstained right hand at Sam's neck, searching for a pulse. Her skin was hot and damp, but the pulse was there, weak and erratic. Removing his hand, he looked around to see if they had been noticed and saw no one. The village inhabitants seemed to be occupied with his arson-set inferno rapidly consuming their primitive shelters. Daniel struggled to sling Sam across his back in a fireman's carry, gritting his teeth against the pain his actions aggravated in his left side. His injured friend finally positioned across his shoulders and back, secured by his left arm and hand wrapped over the back of her knees, Daniel grabbed the rough hewn pole with his right hand and used it to lever himself upward. The action caused a wave of nauseous dizziness, and he fell heavily against the pole for support.
Not now. Not when I'm so close to succeeding in this rescue. Gritting his teeth and drawing on the overriding purpose to get Sam home, Daniel staggered forward, knowing he had to reach the concealing safety of the nighttime darkness beyond the burning village.
***
The jumping shaft of the flashlight beam finally illuminated a looming object ahead in the pitch darkness. Daniel stopped moving, concentrating on keeping the beam steady in his shaking hand. He was close to exhaustive collapse himself, Sam's weight becoming heavier and heavier with each step taken. Yet, he had somehow found the strength to get both of them up the rock-strewn face of the plateau and around the earthen pyramid. He was certain this was the right way back to the rock shelter. Daniel pointed the flashlight down. The white beam of light illuminated the smooth pebbled ground of the dry riverbed beneath his boots. The light swung up again to the looming shadow ahead. This time he saw the familiar depression of the rock crevice and sighed with relief. Unlocking his legs, Daniel shuffled forward toward their temporary shelter. Once inside, he fell to his knees and lost his hold on Sam, whose body slid to the ground in an unresponsive heap. Daniel ignored her for the moment, fumbling around to find the aspirin bottle and canteen. Four more of the white pills emptied from the bottle into his hand. This time he nearly drained the canteen of the warm water needing to quench his thirst and rehydrate his body. Self-ministrations completed, he turned his attention to Sam.
A trembling hand placed on her wet forehead found skin burning with heat. Gently Daniel laid out and straightened Sam's body on the ground and shone the flashlight on her right hip. Despite his own discomfort, Daniel grimaced at the gaping wound, bleeding and dirty beneath the torn and bloodied green cloth of her fatigue pants. The skin around it had become red with heat. He cleaned the wound as best he could, his ministrations eliciting moans of discomfort from the unconscious woman. Daniel wondered if part of the stone point was still embedded in the muscle tissue and knew there was nothing he could do about it now. Sam's wound cleaned, he laid a sterile gauze pad--their last one--over the injury and secured it by wrapping an elastic bandage around it, Sam's upper thigh, and right hip.
Ministrations completed, Daniel moved to sit along Sam's left side, struggled to remove his vest and hat, then unzipped and removed his jacket. He pulled Sam to a sitting position, leaning her body against him and wrapped her torso tightly in the jacket before pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her to conserve body heat. His left hand gently held the back of her head as it rested on his front right shoulder. She whimpered, and Daniel spoke to her softly, while rubbing her right shoulder.
"Hush, now. You're okay; you're safe."
"…Daniel.. you…came for me?" she muttered, trying to keep her fevered blue eyes focused and open.
"I came for you," Daniel confirmed, tightening his embrace and pulling her closer.
"..I..I was...so afraid. I..saw..."
"I know," Daniel whispered. "Don't be." He didn't blame Sam for her fear. He was afraid, and she had obviously seen what he had seen. They both had reason to be scared, very scared, especially if they were discovered and taken by the primitives. "Go to sleep, Sam," he whispered.
Sam shifted in his grasp and settled more comfortably. "I want to go home," she sighed, then drifted into a fitful sleep.
Daniel rested his chin on her head, waiting for the aspirin he had swallowed earlier to have some effect on the fever and pain flaring from his own wound, allowing his own thoughts to wander. He wondered if Jack was still alive. What the hell had happened to their rescue, anyway? Had the building fever caused by his own untreated wound influenced him to misdial the DHD and not send Jack and Teal'c back to the SGC? If help was coming, they should have been here long before now. As if to add to his misery, Daniel heard the soft dripping of rain as the moisture began to fall from the clouds overhead onto the parched, welcoming ground below. Well, at least they should stay dry, he thought, trying unsuccessfully to keep his own eyelids open as the rhythmic patter lulled him into a fevered sleep.
***
Knowing his looming presence at the control room entrance was more of a distraction, General Hammond gave the busy technicians one last glance then stepped into the corridor. Nearly twenty fours had passed since the damage had been wrought on the room along with some ancillary damage to the Stargate ring itself. Twenty fours of keeping three teams and the remainder of SG1stranded on distant planets. SG 6, SG12 and SG14, were all past their scheduled return times. They were no doubt at their planetary gates trying to figure what in the hell was going on. As to the fate of Doctor Jackson and Major Carter, well, George just did not want to think on what could have happened to the two of them. Damn, he swore silently to himself, entering the elevator to take him to the infirmary level. If they retrieved the missing members of SG1 alive, he was going to lecture Doctor Jackson up one side and down the next. Then he'd fill out the paperwork to get the civilian something in recognition of his heroic actions. But at the moment, wishful thinking, however rewarding, George told himself exiting the elevator, never saved any lives. He walked into the now quiet infirmary and came to stand beside the bed on which Teal'c lay resting. The warrior saw him enter and turned his head on the pillow to look at the SGC's commanding officer.
"General Hammond, I do not see DanielJackson nor Major Carter here. Why have you not rescued them?"
Well, George thought to himself, did he expect anything less from the straight-to-the-point Jaffa? And he knew, Teal'c would quickly see through any fabrication. "Teal'c just after you returned, SG 11 followed you through the gate under heavy fire. An energy bolt got through the wormhole, damaged the ring and blasted the control room. We've been working on repairing both. Until then, I can't send a rescue, nor can any off world travelers come through the Stargate. I'm sorry."
"This is disturbing news."
"I agree. Do you believe there is any chance they could both still be alive?"
"I believe in DanielJackson. However, I regret I was not totally truthful with you, General Hammond," Teal'c confessed.
"Go on," George encouraged, when he clearly saw the concern emanating from the usually dark, stoic face.
"As you surmised, DanielJackson was also wounded. I was too weak to pull him through the Stargate with me. However, I do not offer my weakness as an excuse for my failure to protect DanielJackson."
George sighed, not really happy to have his first fears confirmed. "How badly, son?"
"I do not know. DanielJackson tried to hide his condition from me." Teal'c's dark, intense eyes bored into the general. "You will attempt--"
Hammond raised his hand. "No one gets left behind, Teal'c."
"I believe that is what DanielJackson said to me." And he closed his eyes.
Hammond moved across the aisle to stand beside the ward's other occupied bed. Jack O'Neill had survived the surgery, but the white pallor of the soldier's drawn face not covered by the head bandaging did nothing to ease the general's concern for the chances of the man's recovery. No, when he recovered, George reminded himself. Therefore, the SGC had better be successful in retrieving the two missing members of SG1. Because having to face and explain to Colonel Jonathon O'Neill two of his team, his family, had not only been left behind but died on P5C872, was not an option. George's round face frowned. He was going to chew on Doctor Jackson's butt but good for this latest escapade and flaunting of military procedures.
"General, I was just finishing my report," Janet Fraiser said as she came to stand next to the older man. The SGC chief medical officer checked the readings highlighted on the instrument monitors before taking up Jack's limp wrist and checking his pulse. She laid the appendage back on the sheets. "Colonel O'Neill is a very fortunate man, General," the doctor began. "Daniel made the right decision not to try and remove the spearhead before sending him back here. To have done so would have caused too much tissue damage and blood loss."
"What are Colonel O'Neill's injuries?"
"Deep puncture of the upper left lung, fortunately missing both his heart and spinal column. Severe tissue damage and an infection that at the moment the antibiotics are having a difficult time controlling. Teal'c, despite the efforts of Junior, is having the same difficulty. There is a nasty microbiological bug on that planet which seems to like our folks too much to let go. Skull fracture and possible head trauma." Report given, she turned to face her superior officer. " Sir, do you believe both Sam and Daniel are still alive?"
"Teal'c thinks they are. He seems to have a way of knowing these things. He also just informed me Doctor Jackson was wounded in the attack as well." Janet's dark brows arched in a 'Thought so' expression. "I've decided to lead the rescue mission myself once the Stargate is repaired."
"Very good, sir. I already have all the field evac supplies we'll need prepped and standing ready."
Hammond nodded his appreciation of his chief medical officer's efficiency. "Now, all we need is some good luck to get the Stargate operational again."
***
You must leave this place.
"What? I, ah, I know," Daniel mumbled in his sleep, rolling his fever soaked head against the rock wall.
You must leave at once. You are in danger if you remain. Your presence has disturbed us greatly.
"Yes,..I, ah, realize,..but we meant no harm, no disrespect. We're explorers…"
Explore here no more. You have seen why you must not remain. Leave!
"… Daniel…."
Daniel stirred but then settled. What a fever dream he was having, he thought through the fog, feeling himself falling into the cloying whiteness.
"…Daniel…" This time the calling of his name from so far away was followed by movement along his right side. If he was here alone in the fog, what was that bumping against him?
"We're leaving; we're leaving," he muttered, trying to sit up only to be prevented by a weight against his chest. His crusted eyelids pried open, and Daniel blinked rapidly, trying to bring the dimly lit surroundings into focus. Even so, the entire world seemed to roll from left to right, shifting beneath him. Hot fingers were resting on his stubbled left cheek, and he looked down into the blinking, fever bright blue eyes of Sam trying to focus on him.
"Sam," Daniel said hoarsely before reaching for a nearby canteen. Once he held it in his hand, it took a moment of concentrated thought to decide why he had it. "Here, drink some water," and he fumbled and finally twisted off the lid and held the canteen for Sam to drink. She managed a few swallows then pulled her head away. He set the canteen aside and found one of the two remaining syringes of morphine. "I should give you another shot," his fogged brain was telling him to say. Sam lay on and against him, silent and non-protesting as Daniel awkwardly injected the needle into her right upper arm. Tossing the empty syringe away, he took up the aspirin bottle and swallowed the rest of the tablets and followed them by drinking the remainder of the water in the canteen.
"Wha.. happen..?" Sam asked weakly, as they both stilled.
"We were attacked," Daniel began, trying to get his fuzzy mind to function.
"Saw the colonel and Teal'c go down," she sighed.
"They were both injured, but I got them back through the Stargate," he continued, clearly remembering having done so.
"Sure… they… were alive? I ..thought..all of you...were dead. I.. thought, saw," and Sam became quiet.
"I'm sure, Sam. They're alive and gone from here."
Sam remained quiet, and Daniel thought she might have fallen asleep. "You…came…back for me?" came the timid question.
"Of course," Daniel replied, astounded she would even ask such a question. "I wasn't going to leave you behind, Sam," he added, brushing the damp blond bangs off her hot forehead before lifting his hand to do the same to his own hot, wet beaded forehead.
Sam's right hand fell free of the wrapped jacket and slid down across his abdomen. Daniel winced when her fingers brushed across the crusted, bloodied bandage covering his own wound.
"You're hurt," she stated, her voice seeming to him stronger and coherent.
"It's nothing, just a scratch." Daniel took her hand and moved to secure it back into the warm folds of the jacket. He looked outward from their shelter, noticing for the first time, the increasing lavender hued light outside. The day was returning, and thankfully, the planet’s savages had not found them. Daniel decided the natives really must believe the burial ground was a taboo place, one to be avoided. If true, for now, that fact had saved them. His brow furrowed as he tried to chase a fleeting thought. Had the spirits of the dead spoken to him as he slept? No, he shook his head, the fever, a dream, bad vibes, not friendly ghosts, Jack would have explained.
"Are they going to rescue us?" This came from Sam.
The morphine, Daniel decided, was dulling her pain, allowing her to think and speak coherently. He looked down to her upturned face. Somehow, he knew, Sam would know if he lied to her.
"I don't know," Daniel finally answered, struggling to get his own thoughts to focus. "They should have come long before now if they were. Something must have happened."
"Send message through the Stargate," Sam suggested, her eyes closing.
"I can't. The M.A.L.P.---" Daniel paused. What was it Jack had said not long after their arrival, good to know the cab would be available? "Is by the Stargate," he finished, after realizing he was literally sitting speechless with his mouth open. He was feeling a little better, too, the last of the aspirin must be affecting some control over his own raging fever and pain.
Daniel lifted his left hand to push his glasses onto his head and rub at his stinging eyes. "Okay," he said, "regardless, message or not, we need to get to the Stargate. That way, we're nearby if the rescue does come. Or, we can possibly gate ourselves home. Or, find out why they haven't come yet." Index finger and thumb held the bridge of his nose as he struggled to weigh the pros and cons of his next actions. "One syringe of morphine left, one canteen of water, no aspirin, no more bandages." Daniel lowered his hand to again rest it lightly on Sam's damp head. "I can't carry you to the Stargate. I barely got us both here from the village," he admitted to his colleague and hated doing so. "I need the M.A.L.P. It can carry you and the rest of our gear, to the gate." He exhaled. "But then I'd have to leave you here alone for several hours at least." He definitely did not like that idea.
"Go.…I'll wait..here for you. Daniel, go," Sam urged, whispering, but it sounded more like an order to Daniel.
A few moments passed and still Daniel did not stir. Wasting time," he berated himself. He knew Sam was right, knew she was willing to sacrifice herself to ensure he, at least, got home. But the latter was not acceptable to him. Still, it was the only option they had aside from staying here and both dying slow, agonizing deaths as their bodies were consumed by infection and fever, waiting for a rescue, he had to admit, might never come. Or the alternative, they would be found by the natives. Daniel shivered with fear and squeezed his eyes closed, chasing away the vivid memory of what he had seen in the village before his rescue of Sam. No, not going there he told himself. We are going home. Both of us.
Daniel reset his glasses on his face before reaching behind Sam's form to pick up both Zat guns. He carefully and painfully scooted away from Sam, pillowing her head on his folded vest as he did so. He laid one of the guns beside her hand and put the other in his empty gun holster.
"You keep this, well, you know."
"I'll cover your back," she whispered, giving Daniel uneasy deja vu.
He went to a kneeling position, bent down and lightly kissed her damp head. "I'll be back for you, Sam. I promise."
Once again, Daniel made use of the solid support offered by the rock wall to help him stand. The movement pulled painfully on his covered wound. He grabbed Teal'c's staff weapon, and using it as walking support, he began the long hike down the path through the burial ground to the Stargate.
Over an hour later, Daniel found himself painfully bent over before the DHD. Ignoring all his physical ailments and the pain radiating into his lower back and down his left leg, he concentrated on pressing the correct symbols to dial earth's address. He checked the lighted symbols twice to be sure they were correct then pressed the activation button. The gate began to vibrate, then fell silent. Closing his eyes in defeat, Daniel leaned heavily against the DHD knowing if he sat down he would never get to his feet again. The answer as to the delayed rescue was clear. Obviously something was wrong with the SGC Stargate. That part of the plan was temporarily screwed, as Daniel knew Jack would say, as he hobbled over to the M.A.L.P. He picked up the portable manual control device and activated it. The probe whined to life and began its slow crawl forward. This part of the plan was still feasible, and Daniel's slouching form fell in behind the moving probe as they slowly retraced the pathway back to where Sam, he hoped, still waited.
***
"Report, Sergeant Siler."
The senior technician had entered the general's office and stood at attention before handing the written report to the seated man.
"Sir, repairs to the control room are nearly complete. Repair to the Stargate is complete. I estimate another ninety minutes then we can try activating the gate system. Best we can do, sir."
"You've already done your best and then some, Sergeant. Well done. Keep it up. We have seventeen people out there depending on us to get them home."
"Understood, sir." Siler gave a sharp salute and departed to oversee the final repairs.
Hammond picked up the handset of his desk phone. "This is General Hammond. Have SG2 and 3 prepped and ready for a possible rescue mission. Inform Doctor Fraiser to get her people ready as well. Departure time from the embarkation room in two hours." He reset the phone on its cradle then stood and exited his office. Time to get changed into this own field fatigues.
Exactly two hours later, General Hammond stood before the towering ring of the Stargate, outfitted in military field fatigues and gear, his hands clasped tightly behind his back to rein in his growing impatience at the delay. The Marines of both SG2 and 3 were nearby, armed and ready to proceed with the planned rescue of SG1. Janet Fraiser, also similarly outfitted, stood to one side of the SGC commander, the four corpsmen under her command and their field medical supplies waiting.
Finally, the announcement they were all waiting for came from the intercom loudspeakers. "Stargate computer system powered up and functioning, General." The voice of Sergeant Siler echoed in the former rocket launch bay.
"Dialing in coordinates--" the female technician began, only to be interrupted by the familiar sound of an off world gate activation humming from behind the iris protected Stargate.
"It's SG6 identification code, sir," she announced looking down to the general through the newly replaced control room glass window.
"Open the iris."
The titanium metal iris dilated open, and a few seconds later the five members of the stranded SG6 rushed through the rippling event horizon onto the metal platform.
The SG6 commander spied General Hammond and came to attention. But he was prevented from speaking by the general's orders to stand down. Confused at the blunt dismissal, the military credo of obeying orders won out, and the five-member team departed from the gate room. The wormhole collapsed, and the iris closed. Hammond looked up to the control room, his unspoken order understood.
"Dialing the coordinates for P5C872," the female lieutenant announced. Slowly, the inner ring of the Stargate began to rotate, stopping to lock in the first chevron.
Hammond and Fraiser moved to stand around a computer monitor set in temporary position near the Stargate ramp. When the seventh chevron of the planetary address was engaged, the wormhole was activated and established.
"Do we have M.A.L.P. transmission?" Hammond asked, keeping focused on the black computer monitor.
"Working on it, sir." The computer screen remained blank as the seconds ticked by. "Receiving a faint signal, sir, but, it seems to getting stronger. Trying to link into visual."
The computer monitor flashed into life as jagged lines of rolling white scrawled across the screen. The blurry picture would freeze, then roll, and finally a jumpy, clearing view appeared. The M.A.L.P. camera relayed the images of the nearby passing landscape as the probe crawled along.
"The probe appears to be moving, sir, under either manual or planet-side control."
"Can you establish control from here?"
"Trying to, sir." The bouncing picture stilled on the monitor. "Probe control established from here, sir. Panning camera."
The view tilted downward and began a slow rotation. One booted foot, then a second could be seen hanging over the front of the probe. As the camera continued its arc, it was evident someone was being transported on the device. Finally, the camera revealed a fuzzy view of an apparently unconscious or even dead Major Carter lying unmoving across the top of the M.A.L.P.
That was all Hammond needed to see. "Alright, people we have a go. SG2, take the point; establish a foothold on the other side. Secure the gate and the DHD. SG3 come with me. Dr. Fraiser, you and your team follow SG3. Let's move!"
Orders given, the Marines of SG2 obediently moved forward. Hammond, with pistol drawn, followed them into the event horizon.
***
The alien landscape of P5C872, covered with the hodgepodge of burial structures, wavered in and out of focus. Daniel, barely managing to keep his balance, swayed dangerously with each labored step taken. He was raging with fever now, feeling the heat consuming him from within, his drenched clothes clinging to his hot skin. The probe carrying Sam had gotten some distance ahead of him, programmed to retrace the exact course it had previously taken to the rock outcrop shelter to return to the Stargate. Daniel stopped, leaning heavily on Teal'c's staff weapon and knew in his fevered confusion he could not go on, not take one more step. The last of his strength ebbing away, his legs buckled, and he slid to the ground, the staff weapon falling beside him. So it was the motionless man never saw the activation of the not too distant Stargate and the emergence of the rescue teams from the established wormhole. Before he lost all awareness, Daniel had one final moment of clarity. You're going home, Sam. Tell Jack I'm sorry I screwed up.
***
"Stargate and DHD secured, sir," the SG2 Marine commander relayed.
"Very good. SG3, Dr. Fraiser, let's move down this path. Be very mindful not to stray from it or disturb any of burials we pass. Move out people."
Not more than a hundred yards from the Stargate, SG3, along with Hammond and Dr. Fraiser's group, rounded a bend in the trail to see the immobile probe sitting on the worn path holding its precious human cargo. As one, the rescue team moved with rushed caution toward the M.A.L.P.. SG3 fanned out around the probe, guns at the ready, watching for any threat. Janet tended to Sam, making a quick assessment of the woman's injuries. Hammond waited impatiently.
"Still alive but just barely. The same organism that has its clutches on Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c must infect her wound. Start an IV saline drip and antibiotics drip," she instructed two of her corpsmen.
"We still have to find Doctor Jackson," Hammond stated as he watched the medical crew efficiently work inserting the IV needles into arms before carefully lifting Major Carter's body off the probe onto a field stretcher and covering her with several blankets.
"Well, he must be close by, sir. Sam is wearing his field jacket." Janet pointed to the JACKSON name Velcroed over the left breast pocket.
"Colonel, send two of your men back with the corpsmen. They and Major Carter are to go through the gate immediately while you remain at the gate with SG2. The rest of us will continue our search for Doctor Jackson."
Those members of the search party going on stood aside to let the four returning searchers carry Sam back to the SG2 guarded Stargate and DHD.
The remaining three members of SG3 moved ahead, forming a protective shield for the general, the doctor and the two remaining corpsmen. The searchers walked along the dirt path snaking through the burial field. Nearly five minutes passed before spying the final, unaccounted for member of SG1. Doctor Jackson was a crumpled, unmoving heap on the ground, a Jaffa staff weapon lying at his side. They rushed forward, following the same procedure as a few moments before.
Janet knelt beside the unmoving Daniel, and after a preliminary inspection was assisted in rolling him over onto his back and lifting him onto the stretcher. This revealed the now uncovered and visibly infected gash in his lower left abdomen. "Same diagnosis as the others, sir," Janet relayed, cleaning and recovering the wound while the IV needles were inserted into Daniel's arms by the corpsmen. "If what Teal'c told you was true, General, Daniel received this before rescuing Sam," she added, helping to cover Daniel's shivering form with a blanket.
"It was before, and I'll chew on his butt for endangering himself like this," Hammond growled. Then he knelt beside the unaware archeologist and gently removed the smudged glasses. The action caused Daniel to stir.
"We're leaving,... going home," he muttered.
"Easy now, son," Hammond soothed, placing one hand on the fevered forehead to still its movement.
"He made the right decision in staying behind to rescue Major Carter," Janet pointed out, as she watched this uncommon display of concern from the usually gruff general. "He very likely saved her life and felt his reasons were justified.
"I'll chew his butt anyway," Hammond repeated, standing and slipping the folded glasses into his vest pocket.
The two corpsmen picked up the stretcher, and the group cautiously made their way back to the Stargate and home.
***
"DanielJackson."
Upon hearing his name, Daniel tried to track the familiar sounding voice but lost it.
"DanielJackson," the calling came again.
This time Daniel was able to barely open his eyelids to mere slits. He still could not fathom from where the voice came from, but he now thought he recognized it.
"...Teal'c?.."
"We are in the infirmary at the SGC. General Hammond was successful in rescuing you and Major Carter."
With great effort, Daniel rolled his head on the pillow to his left, rapidly blinking to try and bring the source of the Jaffa's voice into focus. "...Jack.. Sam?" he croaked.
"Both are alive but unconscious," Teal'c's deep, disembodied voice answered.
"That's good,.. right?" Daniel tried to swallow, then opted to clear his scratchy throat instead. "...you?"
"I am well, DanielJackson. I am, however, concerned for your welfare."
Still blinking his eyes, Daniel stopped and squinted at the nearby blurred something he assumed was Teal'c. "Why?"
"I overheard General Hammond say he was going to chew your butt."
Daniel closed his eyes and grinned faintly. "It's okay, Teal'c. It just means I'm going to get yelled at."
"You will be reprimanded for saving the life of Major Carter?"
"No, for not coming with you and Jack through the Stargate."
"Then the fault is mine." At Teal'c's declaration, Daniel forced his eyes open once again. "I was aware of your wound, but I did not have the strength to pull you through the Stargate."
"Oops," Daniel whispered, his eyelids closing over his blue eyes once more as he lost the battle to keep them open. "Should have known, I guess. Can't keep anything secret from you."
Daniel felt himself tiring from the effort to talk and began to drift off to sleep when he heard Teal'c speaking in a somewhat agitated tone. He forced his eyelids to open again to the fuzziness of the infirmary.
"General Hammond, I can not allow you to chew on DanielJackson's butt," the Jaffa declared, sitting up in his bed.
Janet came into Daniel's blurred sightline then, and she put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile from the general's hardening expression.
"Teal'c, when you become the commander of the SGC, you'll have the authority to make these decisions. Until then, I still have the stars on my shoulders," and Daniel fuzzily saw Hammond point to his rank insignia pins. "Which gives me the discretion to chew on anyone's butt under my command I so choose."
"It's okay, Teal'c," Daniel interjected softly. His speaking now focused the attention of both Janet and General Hammond on him. He swallowed, drawing on his limited strength, then continued. "I made the right decision to go after Sam, especially when the rescue..." He paused, trying to stay awake. "What the hell happened to our rescue anyway?" he demanded, voice barely above a whisper.
"The Stargate was temporarily and unexpectedly taken out of commission just after Teal'c arrived with Colonel O'Neill," Hammond explained.
"If I had come back with them, Sam would be dead now," Daniel stated, his voice still only a loud whisper.
"You can't know that, son."
Daniel lifted his head off the pillow a fraction. The effort cost him greatly. "I know. I saw..." and weakening, his head dropped back onto the pillow.
"What did you see, son?" the older man encouraged. "Tell me why you risked yourself in this reckless manner?"
Daniel looked to the general with horror filled eyes. "They were going to eat her, sir," he said barely above a whisper.
Realization dawned for both Hammond and Fraiser. "Well, in hindsight, yes, you acted correctly this time," the general conceded. "But the SGC does not operate on hindsight, Doctor Jackson. We have established procedures and guidelines to follow. I know for a civilian like yourself, sometimes these methods seem suffocating and illogical."
"I agree with you in principal, General," Daniel conceded. "But, I'm sorry I couldn't leave Sam behind, not with what I suspected." He became silent, his eyelids closed again. This time they would not re-open.
Hammond's face softened further, and he leaned forward. "It doesn't deter from the fact you acted with courage and bravery. Thanks to your efforts, SG1 is returned, battered, but alive. That will not go unnoticed."
"And on that note, General," Daniel heard Janet interject. "My patients need their rest." He allowed himself slip away into blissful slumber.
***
Sam slowly became aware of a nearby presence. Her eyelids opening to uncover blue eyes, she stared at the gray concrete ceiling above her, the stark visual perception clashing with the unpleasant and fearful memories of events on P5C872. Her hearing became more cognizant of the soft whirring and beeps of medical equipment monitors and knew the presence she sensed was Janet.
"Janet?" she called, not surprised her voice was so weak.
Janet's smiling face hovered into view. "Sam, welcome home."
"...home...," Sam repeated.
"Yes, thanks to Daniel. From what he's told me, you had a rough time of it on P5C872."
Sam continued to stare upward, concentrating on organizing her memories of their last planetary visit. "Daniel. He promised to get me home."
"Well, he kept that promise, even wounded himself. General Hammond is still giving him a hard time about that, too," Janet confirmed. "You'll recover with time and rest. You'll need some PT for your hip. I'm afraid you'll have a nasty scar that your bikini won't cover. Sorry," the doctor apologized, still smiling.
Sam returned the smile then turned her head on the pillow so she could look at Janet. "Battlescar. Think I'll keep it. How are Teal'c and...the colonel?" she asked.
"Teal'c is doing fine. Junior pulled him through again. Colonel O'Neill got the worst of it. He's still unconscious but hanging in there."
"Thought he was dead," Sam stated. "I thought they were all three dead. Saw them fall. Then, later, when I was a captive in the village, I saw, and I thought..." She shivered. Janet moved closer to the bed, concerned. "I was never so scared in my life, Janet," Sam confessed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Janet took Sam's right hand into hers. "They're not dead, Sam. Not this time. They're all tough." She squeezed Sam's hand, "just like you."
"I wish I could believe that. Can I talk to Daniel?"
"Sure. He's awake and up. I'll bring him over."
Sam watched Janet walk across the ward aisle to the robed patient standing at the foot of the bed occupied by an unconscious Colonel O'Neill. Janet assisted Daniel as he slowly walked to an empty chair at Sam's bedside, guiding his mobile IV drip stand before him. The doctor helped the archeologist lower himself to sit in the chair.
"Don't keep him up too long, Sam. Past his bed time." Before she left, Janet pulled the privacy curtain around them so they would not be disturbed.
When they were alone, Daniel gingerly leaned forward. "You look much better, Sam." He smiled, his blue eyes bright behind his glasses.
"I'm alive, thanks to you. Janet told me you were hurt in the attack and you still came back for me. I thought I was going to die, that I'd never come home." Sam's soft voice caught and she blinked rapidly to try and keep the wetness in her eyes from falling.
She felt Daniel take her right hand into his. "No one gets left behind. I hear Jack say it enough."
"We should have listened to you. You warned us."
Daniel shrugged his shoulders, waving off her words. "We just had a bad day."
At that comment, Sam nodded and busied herself with fingering the bed covers with her free left hand. "Ah, Daniel, um, I think when we were, ah snuggling in the cave, well, I think I might have said some things, embarrassing things, that I..."
"Sam," Daniel interrupted her verbal fumbling. He leaned forward, tightening his grip on her right hand. "It's okay. No one will ever hear that you thought you were afraid from me." Sam's pale face flushed pink at the realization she had, indeed, said what she feared she had said. "Besides," Daniel continued, "it's not true, really. You're one of the bravest people I know. Now me, I was really scared. Afraid I wouldn't find you alive, wouldn't find you in time." He smiled to reassure her before continuing. "I saw the roasted half-eaten human remains spitted by the cooking fire in the village when I came to rescue you. I know what you were thinking, what you feared." Two sets of blue eyes gazed long and hard at each other. The horror of what they had seen reflected in both pairs.
"You saw," Sam began, swallowing hard.
Daniel nodded. "It's what I suspected during the debriefing. That's why I didn't want us to go to P5C872, why I wanted us to leave once we got there. You've nothing to be embarrassed about." He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial tone, then continued. "If I were you, I'd be more concerned about whether rumors of how we spent the night together actually get around the base." He smiled a teasing smile.
Despite the conflict of emotions roiling inside her, Sam had to chuckle. "You're a good friend, Daniel."
"And a tired one," he said releasing his hold on her hand and using the bed railing to pull himself to a standing position. "Talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks Daniel, for everything."
Daniel pulled the curtain aside and slowly moved toward his own empty bed. A nurse hurried over to help him. Sam shifted her gaze from them to the still form of Colonel O'Neill across the aisle from her. They were a good team. And Daniel had saved them all this time. The colonel just had to pull through.
****
Daniel sat in the padded chair thinking, it was, indeed, very uncomfortable for extended periods of use. That's probably how they could get the infirmary visitors to leave and not overstay their visit; torturous chairs. He squirmed around for a few seconds trying to find a more comfortable position then stilled, careful of not pulling out the IV drip taped into his left forearm. He glanced to the opposite side of the multi-bed infirmary ward to see Sam and Teal'c were sleeping soundly. Satisfied, his blue eyed gaze returned to rest on Jack's pale, drawn face, nearly as white as the sheeted pillow his bandaged head rested on. Daniel looked up to the blinking monitors, trying to decipher what the beeping lights and squiggles meant. Unsuccessful, he decided if they weren't ringing with alarm, everything must be okay. Okay, except Jack would not wake up. Settling back into the chair, Daniel resumed reading the archeological journal lying open on his robe-covered lap. He managed to get through several articles before stifling a yawn and looking up. His found Jack's dark brown eyes open and watching him. Daniel set the journal aside and using the IV drip stand, pulled himself to a standing position so he could lean against the hospital bed.
"Hey, Jack," he greeted, offering a reassuring grin.
"Hey, … Daniel," Jack replied in a hoarse whisper.
"How are you feeling?''
"Like I've been stabbed in the back and bashed on the head."
"Ah, well, you were, sort of. Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah. Vividly. The natives were definitely not friendly folks. How about you?"
"A little scratch in the side. As you can see, Janet is allowing me to cruse the infirmary with my drip in tow." Daniel proudly indicated the portable IV stand he held onto.
"Showoff," Jack quipped. He coughed, his face creasing in pain before the fit passed.
"Can I get you anything? Water? Should I ring the nurse?" Daniel asked, concerned and wanting to be helpful.
Jack shook his head weakly. "Fine. Think Doc Frasier'll let me have one of those so I can race you down the corridors?"
Daniel's grin returned. "Maybe, in a few weeks."
"How are Teal'c and Sam?"
"Doing okay. They're over there, sleeping." Daniel tilted his head in the direction where their friends were located. "We'll all be okay."
"Ya think?'' At this, Daniel's grin turned to a frown. "What?" Jack prompted, very familiar with Daniel's expression of guilt.
"Um, Jack, I'm sorry."
"Sorry? What for?" Jack had to pause to catch his breath before continuing in his scratchy voice. "For standing while the rest of us are flat on our backs?"
"For screwing up."
"For screwing up?" Jack repeated, astonished, even in his weakened state. He cleared his throat before he continued speaking in the same hoarse whisper. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but who was the one who said it wasn't a good idea to go to, where the hell did we go again?"
"P5C872."
"Right, in the pre-gate briefing?"
"I was."
"And who was the one who said after we got to," Jack paused, "wherever, that we should just turn around and go home?
"I was."
"And who was the one, two hours later, who said we really, really, really should go home?"
"I was."
"So, you screwed up. Sounds to me like your CO was an asshole who should have listened to you."
"Jack—"
"Ah, not your fault Daniel. My fault. Got it?"
Jack, exhausted with the effort talking was costing him shut his eyes and waited for the affirmation. When none was forthcoming, he opened his eyes and raised his head off the pillow. "I didn't hear you, Daniel."
"Okay."
Jack's head plopped onto the pillow. "Okay. That's better. We just had a bad day, is all."
"That may be, Colonel." This came from General Hammond, who had come to stand slightly behind Daniel, overhearing the end of the conversation. "But Doctor Jackson also violated every procedure in evacuation and rescue. By staying behind, wounded himself, to attempt a rescue of Major Carter, he put himself and her in greater danger."
"Gross violation of procedure," Jack repeated softly, his eyes narrowing. "And you just told me you screwed up," he admonished the archeologist. "Good job, Daniel," he praised, a crooked grin appearing on his stubbled, pale face. "Surely Daniel's actions are deserving of some recognition, or something, don't you think, General?"
Hammond smiled. "Paperwork already completed and submitted."
Daniel, confused, glanced from the general to Jack back to the general. "I don't understand. A few days ago you were reprimanding me for not following procedures. Now, why should I be rewarded for doing the right thing?"
"You're not being rewarded entirely, Doctor Jackson. I am ordering you to retake the military survival course and training on evacuation procedures."
"I hated that training," Daniel stated with some petulance.
"You're getting off easy, Doctor Jackson. If you were in the military, you'd get an official reprimand, and I'd still be chewing on your butt."
"But I made the correct decision," Daniel continued, arguing his position.
"Daniel," Jack warned. "Quit while you're ahead." Daniel acquiesced, becoming silent. "Hey, did you ever figure out why that place was the way it was?" The archeologist remained silent, his troubled gaze focused downward to the floor. "Daniel?" Jack prompted. When Daniel still remained silent, Jack knew he had to get the linguist to open up. "Okay, something about that planet bothered you from the start. I want to know what it was and why you didn't say anything."
When Daniel still refused to speak, Jack groused, "Consider that an order, Jackson."
Daniel looked up. "Well, I think those people on P5C872, well, from what I saw, especially in the village while rescuing Sam, well..." He trailed off.
"Well, what?" Jack encouraged weakly.
"I believe they were practicing cannibalism, starting with the remains in the burial ground and then advancing on to more warm blooded fare. When I didn't see any herd animals in the village, I thought it best we leave."
"Oh," Jack croaked, clearly recalling how adamant Daniel had been about leaving immediately.
"And, that's why I had to go after Sam once I knew you and Teal'c were safely gone through the Stargate...." Daniel let the unspoken thought trail off.
"Right, you did the right thing, then, going to rescue Carter." Jack paused to catch his breath. "But, why didn't you say anything?"
"It was just a theory, not a proof."
The repetition of the statement from a previous time jolted Jack. At least he had been right about what he thought was bothering the younger man. "Daniel, your theories are usually more valid than most proofs, no matter how crazy they sound. I know the Ma’Chello thing was bad, but I don't want you to be afraid to speak out, no matter what. Okay?"
"Okay. But theory or not, this is one cultural mystery I can leave unsolved, Jack. Like, why the cannibals didn't follow us into the burial ground when obviously they had violated it before. Although," and Daniel's brow creased in thought, "I thought..."
"What," Jack prompted.
Daniel shook his head. "Nothing. Must have been hallucinating. You're right, Jack, we just had a bad day," he said, effectively ending any further discussion on the matter.
"I hate bad days," Jack stated, willing to concede this to Daniel, closing his eyes and letting sleep claim him once more.
"Me, too," Daniel agreed as he allowed General Hammond to escort him to his own infirmary bed.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: My second SG-1 fic written, ever. The first is still hidden in a folder on my desk awaiting a massive rewrite. First published in the zine Gateways 4, in May of 2001.
© May, 2001 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.