General Hammond strode from his office to the gate control room as the siren indicating an offworld activation whined above his head. The sergeant at the computer announced, "We’re getting SG-1’s code, sir," as soon as the general came into view.
"But they’ve been gone less than an hour…" said Hammond . "Open the iris." The sergeant complied with a crisp, "Yes, sir," but the general had already disappeared down the stairs to the embarkation room.
The intricate metal of the iris slid smoothly apart and vanished into the grooves carved for it in the gate. As usual, though, General Hammond was too preoccupied with the reason for its opening to waste energy marvelling at its construction. He reached the foot of the ramp just as Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter and Teal’c emerged through the wormhole’s event horizon at a run and stumbled to a halt in front of him. They stood there panting, as the wormhole disengaged abruptly behind them.
"Colonel, what happened?" Hammond demanded.
Jack grimaced at the general’s question. "Oh, it was a walk in the park, sir," he reported with heavy sarcasm. "A booby-trapped park crawling with hundreds of Jaffa. We tripped some kind of alarm in the woods and they were on us in seconds. It’s a miracle we all got back to the gate in one piece."
General Hammond looked past him in confusion. "So where’s Dr Jackson?" he asked. The other three immediately spun round to look back up the ramp.
"He was with us when we came through!" Jack exclaimed. He glanced at Carter and Teal’c. "Wasn’t he?" Uncertainty crept into his voice as the reality that Daniel wasn’t there hit him, but Teal’c’s tone was confident.
"Indeed he was, O’Neill. I do not understand why he would not have emerged along with the rest of us."
"Request permission to go back for him immediately, sir," Jack said with urgency, but the General was already shaking his head before his second-in-command had completed the sentence.
"I can’t authorise that if you say there are enemy forces advancing on the gate, Colonel," Hammond told him. "We’ll get a probe ready and send that through to take stock of the situation. If the way is clear or we can reasonably mount an offensive, I’ll give you SG teams 3 and 5 for a rescue mission." Jack reluctantly acquiesced, but Sam was still adamant that Daniel should have come through with them.
"He was right with us, sir," she maintained. "Even if he’d been caught by enemy fire, the momentum of the blast should have pushed him into the wormhole, and none of the Jaffa were close enough to have grabbed him. We were several metres clear."
"Well, he’s not here now, Major," Jack pointed out in exasperation. Then a look of horror crossed his face. "You’re not suggesting he might have ended up somewhere else, like that whole Antarctica mess, are you?"
"It’s possible, sir," Sam admitted. She caught the eye of the sergeant up in the control room and called out to him, "Was there anything abnormal about the wormhole, sergeant – like an energy surge?"
He shook his head and spoke into the microphone on the desk in front of him. "No, Major – there weren’t any anomalous readings on the computer."
Sam turned back to Jack and shrugged her shoulders. "There’s nothing to suggest a malfunction, sir, and we three came through just like normal, so I don’t see how Daniel could have been sent somewhere else. It certainly couldn’t have happened the same way as before, because the other Earth gate has been decommissioned."
"Well, if he’s somewhere else entirely, he ought to be able to dial home – either that, or we’ve got a hell of a search on our hands," said Jack. "Let’s go with Hammond’s plan until we get different information." He started to head out of the room, turning his head to call over his shoulder. "But don’t stop thinking about what might have happened to him, Major – I want theories in case he’s not back where we just came from."
"Yes, sir," she replied. "I’ll get right on it."
* * * * * * * *
The sun was high in the sky as Ilyara Cabayne made her solitary way to the ring of the gods. The town in which she lived was not very far from the strange monument, but she was the only one who ever came near it, and that was against the specific instructions of her father. Her people’s legends said that an evil god had brought them onto this world through the ring generations ago and made them all his slaves. Some time later, the lord Odin had come to set them free and ensure their protection for all time. Odin had not used the ring, instead arriving in a giant shining chariot in the sky, so the people had grown superstitious about the ring, connecting it with evil. Ilyara did not believe the legends and besides, even if they were true, the ring had stood idle for many years and Odin’s protection had never faltered.
She was by nature a curious girl, and the alien beauty of the ring enthralled her.. It stood alone and silent on the plain and she liked to go there to think when she wanted some peace from the bustle of the town. She would look at the mysterious patterns on the ring and imagine that it could open a doorway to an exciting new world, far away from her mundane existence on Andragorn.
On this day, she had completed her morning chores and gained permission from her mother to look for wild fungus in the woods. Made into a paste, the fungus had been found to be an effective painkiller and Ilyara was famed for her skill in making it. Her basket nearly full, she had wound her way through the trees to where the ring waited. She laid her pickings down next to the smaller pedestal that rested slightly to one side, and stood before the ring of the gods, looking up at it.
Suddenly, there was a momentous noise and the triangular crystals around the edge of the ring lit up. Ilyara stepped back in alarm, losing her footing and falling as a great wave shot out from the centre of the ring and then sprang back to form a shimmering surface across it. As she watched in amazement, a figure hurtled out from within the shining liquid and landed heavily on the steps below. The liquid filling the ring vanished, leaving it as silent and empty as before. Ilyara crept fearfully forwards to take a closer look and saw that what had come through was a man. . Perhaps the legends had been true after all, and the evil god had returned. Terrified, Ilyara scrambled to her feet, grabbing her basket and running for her life back to the town.
* * * * * * * *
Colonel O’Neill paced across the gate control room, his expression one of extreme frustration. Seated at the computer, Sam suddenly called out, "The probe’s ready to go, sir."
Jack breathed, "Finally!" and came to stand behind her, while General Hammond nodded for her to send it through. She entered the destination co-ordinates and the gate began its familiar dialling sequence. Once the wormhole was established, she switched to the MALP controls and the bulky probe trundled up the ramp and through the gate.
"Probe should reach destination in 3 – 2 – 1… Receiving MALP telemetry now," Sam reported. They all looked up at the monitor as a view of the planet appeared. Sam moved the camera from side to side but there was no one in sight.
"Alright, Colonel, you have a go!" General Hammond announced and Jack immediately strode for the stairs.
"Sir, wait!" Sam called out and Jack spun round to face her.
"What is it, Major?" he growled.
"Look at the monitor, sir," she instructed. "The DHD…"
He looked back at the screen and swore loudly. The DHD was lying on its side, blasted into pieces.
Jack’s shoulders dropped as the general announced, "I can’t send you into enemy territory without an immediate means to get back. I’m sorry, Colonel, but we’ll have to think of something else." Jack thumbed the speaker that would project his voice into the embarkation room, where Teal’c and the other SG teams were waiting to go through the gate.
"Stand down," he ordered. "The mission’s scrubbed until further notice." Then he turned back to Sam. "Now what?" Teal’c came up the stairs and Jack gestured to the monitor screen before he could ask the obvious question.
"Now we know we can’t go back," said Sam, "but I don’t think we would have found Daniel there anyway."
"Major, explain." Hammond, like Jack, didn’t understand.
"Well, sir," Sam began, "the destruction of the DHD may explain how Daniel could have entered the Stargate with the rest of us but not emerged here on Earth. If it was hit while we were in transit, it could have affected the trajectory of the wormhole and caused him to end up somewhere else."
"So the Jaffa didn’t get him?" Jack tried to focus on the basics.
"I don’t think so, sir," she confirmed, but her face was grim. "And even though that may seem like a good thing, it means we don’t know where he is and, as you know, the possible destinations are fairly numerous."
"But you can narrow it down, right?"
"I can try, sir," she assured him. "I’ll let you know when I come up with something."
* * * * * * * * *
The Andragorn Council was in full session and Senior Councillor Cabayne suppressed a yawn as the Farmers’ Representative went into the fifth page of his report on the effect of early rain on the year’s crops. The amount of detail the man had put into his report was ridiculous; everyone knew the effect of the weather and the report could have provided in just a few sentences. It certainly was colder than usual for this time of year and the council chamber was rather drafty; Cabayne pulled the edges of his robe closer together and fought off a shiver.
Before he could think of anything else to complain about , the heavy door of the chamber was dragged open to admit a small figure he immediately recognised as his fourteen-year-old daughter. She sped up to him and stumbled to a halt, panting heavily.
He rose from his chair and glowered down at her angrily. "Ilyara! What do you mean by interrupting a council meeting?"
The girl gasped for breath. "The ring… of the gods… it lit up… a man appeared from inside…"
A shocked murmur ran down the table and the other council members all looked to Cabayne to see what his reaction would be. "A man came through the ring of the gods?" Cabayne was astounded and his anger turned to concern. "What did he do? Where is he now? Did he try to hurt you?"
Ilyara shook her head. "No father – he did nothing. He was unconscious. I left him there and came straight back to tell you."
There was a shout from the back of the room. "If he came through the ring of the gods, he must be a servant to the evil ones!" This prompted exclamations of fear from several others, but Cabayne spread his hands to calm them. "We don’t know that," he pointed out, reasonably. "If he is injured, he may be an enemy of the evil ones, sent through the ring as some kind of punishment, as our ancestors were. We must send a party to find him before he awakens. We can find out more once he is safely in our custody."
There were murmurs of assent and several men and women volunteered to accompany Cabayne to the ring to fetch the intruder. Cabayne sent Ilyara to find a horse and cart to transport the man back to the town, then dismissed the rest of the council and assembled the volunteers in the street outside. Ilyara soon reappeared, driving a cart, and refused to be sent home. "I found him," she maintained stubbornly. "I will take you to him." Cabayne let her have her way for expediency’s sake; he didn’t want to think what might happen if the man was an indeed an enemy and escaped before they reached the ring.
Luckily, the man lay just as Ilyara had left him, sprawled face down on the steps below the ring. Cabayne motioned for the others to stay back while he knelt down to take a closer look. The man was clothed in strange green and black garments that were much more form-fitting than those worn by the Andragonian people. He also had several unfamiliar devices strapped to his body and there was an odd construction involving circles of glass lying on the stone next to him. However, the most startling thing about him was a large wound high on his back. Cabayne stood and turned to face his colleagues.
"He is certainly from somewhere very different from Andragorn," he announced. "He is also grievously wounded. We must get him back to the town quickly." Between them, they lifted the man into the cart and headed back the way they had come. On the way back the group decided that they should lock the stranger up until they could find out more about him, since it would be better to restrict a potential ally than to allow an enemy to go free.. Ilyara listened to the adults talking with growing alarm. As she had initially, the majority of them automatically assumed the stranger must be evil because he had come through the ring. Now over her initial fright, Ilyara decided that such an undignified arrival could hardly be the first step towards an invasion..
Ilyara looked down at the prisoner lying at the bottom of the cart. He was still unconscious, and a trickle of blood oozed from a cut near his hairline. Tentatively, Ilyara reached over and wiped it away with the sleeve of her tunic, noting as she did so how pale the man’s face was in contrast to the stark red of the blood. He appeared to be quite young, certainly much younger than her father and most of the council. He didn’t look the least bit dangerous and Ilyara found herself wondering what colour his eyes were and if she would get the chance to see them open.
She remembered her basket of fungi, and broke into the adults’ debate to insist that she be allowed to treat the stranger’s wound. To Cabayne, it seemed that she was taking an almost proprietary interest in the newcomer, which made him uneasy, but he was unable to dissuade her, as usual.
"If he is a servant to the evil ones, he can hardly harm me when he’s unconscious," Ilyara argued, "and if he is a friend to lord Odin, we must not allow him to suffer." Sighing, Cabayne could not fault her logic.
* * * * * * * *
Warmth and the application of moisture to his lips roused Daniel from unconsciousness. He ran his tongue over dry lips, and slowly opened his eyes. After a few seconds, his surroundings swam into focus and, with them, the face of a young girl leaning over him. Daniel tried to sit up, but he only got part way before the movement pulled at the wound on his back and he sank back down with a groan..
"Don’t agitate the wound," the girl admonished. "It took some doing to fix the dressing in place and I’d rather you didn’t dislodge it."
Daniel carefully rolled onto his side and managed to prop himself up on one elbow, so he could get a better look at where he was. He appeared to be in a small cell within a larger structure; the bars were thick and close together and it was difficult to make out anything beyond them..
The girl, who was looking at him curiously, appeared to be no more than a teenager.. She was slender, with delicate features, making her seem quite young, but the air of intelligence in her gaze suggested that she might just be small for her age. Her pale eyes looked out at him from beneath fine, sandy hair and she smiled hesitantly.
For want of anything more original to say, Daniel went with, "Where am I?"
The girl’s smile grew. "If you do not know, then your passage here was not deliberate?" Confused, Daniel shook his head. "Then you have not come from the evil gods to hurt us!" Before Daniel could formulate a response in his still-foggy mind, there was a harsh shout from outside the cell.
"Ilyara! Come out of there at once!" The girl immediately scrambled away from Daniel and slipped out of the door. A man wearing what looked like ceremonial robes appeared in the doorway. Daniel struggled up into a sitting position and squinted a little to try to see the man more clearly.
"I don’t think he’s dangerous, father," the girl, who Daniel realised must be Ilyara, said. "He does not know where he is, so he cannot have meant to come here. I think he’s lost."
"That does not mean that he is not dangerous, " her father pointed out, sternly. "He could be lying, trying to deceive you into trusting him. Now that he is awake, I do not want you anywhere near him. Is that understood?" The girl looked down at her feet in the universal gesture of all rebellious teenagers, but she grudgingly nodded in agreement..
Daniel decided to interject. "You are correct to be cautious ," he began, "There are those who would travel here the same way I did, with the intention of harming you – I believe your daughter referred to them as the evil gods. I’m not one of them. My name is Daniel Jackson and I’m a peaceful explorer from a planet called Earth. I came here by accident, and all I want is to be able to go home."
"Why should we trust you?" the man demanded. "The evidence speaks against you. You came through the device originally used by our enemies, the device our lord Odin has forbidden us even to approach. And you brought with you instruments of destruction. They may be of unfamiliar design to us, but we recognise weapons when we see them."
Daniel attempted to get up but was overcome by a wave of dizziness that forced him back to the floor. Rubbing his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, he attempted to defend himself, though he really didn’t feel up to carrying on a debate with the suspicious denizens of an unknown planet at that moment.
"Yes, I carry weapons when I travel through the ring," he admitted, fighting down nausea , "but that’s because my people are at war with those you call the evil gods." A thought occurred to him, and he looked back up at his captor. "You said you’ve been forbidden to go near the ring by Odin?" The man nodded warily. "Then if you live under his protection, we’re allies. I know of Odin’s fellow protector, Thor, who guards my planet as Odin does yours." Hope flared in Daniel’s mind. "Do you have a place where you go to speak to Odin?"
The man looked confused. " We speak to our Lord Odin only in our hearts, stranger." Daniel’s spirits dropped again; if there was no way of contacting the Asgard on this world, he would not be able to enlist their help.
"Your words interest me," the man told him, "and what you say is persuasive, but your fate does not rest in my hands alone. I must convene the council to decide what should be done." He took hold of the girl’s arm and shut the door.
Daniel was left alone, with no idea how he had come to this place, where his friends were, or what decision his captors might reach about what to do with him. It seemed from what the girl’s father had said that the rest of SG-1 were not prisoners along with him and he wondered how he had come to be separated from them. The last thing he could remember was running into the event horizon of a wormhole that should have deposited him on Earth, but clearly something had gone wrong.
He tried to think logically about the situation but the aching in his head increased the more he concentrated and eventually he was forced to lie down again and wait to see what the council decided to do with him.
* * * * * * * *
Sam was giving a technical update to General Hammond, Colonel O’Neill and Teal’c.. As far as Jack could tell, her theory remained that the destruction of the DHD had cut short the wormhole just after the three of them came through to Earth. It had to discharge somewhere, and the proximity of Daniel to the rest of the team meant that it had probably jumped to another Stargate very close to Earth.
"I’m theorising along the same lines as Daniel did when the Colonel and I got sent to Antarctica, sir," Sam said, "so I’m guessing the most likely destinations are those Stargates closest to Earth along a direct line from the point of origin. I suggest we work backwards from here, but, still, the chances of finding him…" She trailed off, her expression far from optimistic.
"Carter? What aren’t you telling us?" Despite the near hopelessness of the search she was proposing, Jack got the feeling that Sam was sugar-coating the situation somehow.
She turned to him in despair and spread her hands. "It’s just that I have no way of knowing if that’s really what’s happened, sir. I mean, for all we know, the wormhole could just have dissipated and Daniel’s molecules simply got lost in the matter stream. And even if he did somehow get sent somewhere else, there’s no real certainty that it’s close to Earth. He could be anywhere, and the fact that he hasn’t dialled home of his own accord isn’t a good sign."
"That’s not what I want to hear, Major," Jack said firmly. "Daniel didn’t give up until he found us when we were lost, and I don’t intend to give up on him either. We’ll find him."
"Yes, sir," Sam agreed, trying to sound as confident as her commanding officer did, but she couldn’t dispel the sense of the impossibility of locating one man in all the vastness of the universe.
* * * * * * * * *
Ilyara had always been fascinated by the complex workings of her city’s government. Her keen observational skills often allowed her to perceive much about her father’s fellow Council members that they sought to conceal. Although her father sometimes discussed matters of minor importance with her, the official meetings of the Council were barred to her, so she had been forced to find another way to get her information.
The Town Hall, where the meetings took place, was one of the oldest buildings in the city, originally constructed as a place of assembly after the people had been delivered from slavery. Its purpose had changed little in the intervening years, but there had been many extensions added to the structure as the bureaucracy of the society gained in complexity and more offices were needed to support its practices. These additions had often lacked proper planning and the resulting building was full of pokey little rooms that were seldom used. One such abandoned cubby hole, now used only to house ancient records of the births and deaths of the population, was situated on the first floor, but still shared a wall with the high-ceilinged council chamber. Ilyara had discovered a ventilation grille in this seldom-visited room that afforded her an overhead view of the all the Council’s proceedings, as well as allowing her to hear quite clearly everything that went on.
It was to this hiding place that Ilyara now retreated to eavesdrop as the Council discussed what they should do about their unexpected visitor. Her own opinion was unchanged and in fact had been strengthened by her brief conversation with the prisoner because now he had an identity. His name was Daniel and his eyes were blue, an intense searching blue that spoke straight to her young soul. It was his eyes more than anything else that had convinced her of his innocence.
Ilyara listened as predictable opinions came to the fore from the men and women of the council in the room below her. Grayven Sintar, the town historian, a slight, nervous man, spoke hesitantly of the sufferings inflicted on their ancestors by the evil gods. Unsurprisingly, this provoked a panicked response from Badris Dince, the farmers’ representative, who still held to many of the superstitions that flourished in the agricultural community. The high emotions prompted Perandor Merith to launch into a treatise against angering the lord Odin, although he didn’t actually suggest a course of action. He was an insufferable man who took every opportunity to instruct the citizens in the teachings of Odin.. Many were convinced he fabricated these as he went along. Esta Laredo, a stout woman in her forties, put forward the practical viewpoint. She argued that, if the stranger was an enemy, and they were to allow him to leave, he would be able to lead others back to attack them, having gained knowledge of their location. On the other hand, if he was indeed lost, as he had told them, nobody would know where to come looking for him if they were to dispose of him in some way, thus eliminating any potential threat.
Her words chilled Ilyara and she waited anxiously, hoping that her father would show more compassion. However, when he finally spoke, it was to agree, albeit reluctantly, with the logic of Esta’s argument. Ilyara was stunned. Not one of the council members spoke up in Daniel’s defence; the entire discussion was dominated by fear. She couldn’t believe that the leaders of her people were considering murdering a man without even taking the time to talk to him or gain any sense of who he was.
To Ilyara, Daniel represented a wider universe outside her own small world. He offered proof of other lands, a broadening of the horizon with a million exciting possibilities. She was not prepared to let the council take that away from her, killing an innocent man in the process.
She scrambled away from the wall and ran out of the storage room, back down to where Daniel was being kept. He was sitting in the centre of the small cell, his head resting on his knees, his hands clasped behind his neck. He looked so helpless and alone that Ilyara’s resolve to help him deepened.
"Daniel!" she called to him softly, fumbling for the key that she had concealed in her loose clothing. At the sound of his name, his head came up but his eyes were unfocused and he seemed confused. She quickly opened the door to the cell and knelt down next to him. "Daniel, we have to go, now!" she told him urgently, grabbing one of his hands and pulling him towards freedom.
"What’s going on?" Daniel mumbled dazedly, making no effort to move.
"Just trust me!" Ilyara pleaded. "The Council are going to kill you! You have to hide! Quickly!"
Not even the threat of danger prompted a helpful response and Ilyara started to panic. There was no way she would be able to get him out of the cell and hidden away if he couldn’t move by himself.
Suddenly a noise from outside caught her attention. It sounded like a low rumbling of some kind and it seemed to be getting louder. Crossing to the small window, Ilyara looked out onto the town square and the sight that met her anxious gaze sent her heart straight into her mouth. From the far side of the square, a crowd of townsfolk was slowly advancing on the building. Many carried makeshift weapons in the form of pitchforks or scythes, and the rumbling sound she had heard was the angry murmur of the approaching mob.
When the crowd reached the middle of the square, one of the men in the front raised his pitchfork above his head and cried, "Death to the evil one!" The people behind him picked up the cry and soon the entire group was chanting it like a mantra. Clearly, news of Daniel’s arrival had spread throughout the town and the citizens had made their own decision about what to do.
* * * * * * * *
Ilyara’s precipitate flight from her vantage point above the council chamber meant that she did not hear the end of the meeting. Cabayne had indeed begun by agreeing with Esta Laredo’s reasoning , but that had not been the conclusion of the council’s discussion. After praising Esta for her practicality and dedication to the welfare of the people, Cabayne went on to suggest that it was not yet the time for such drastic action.
"The disposal of the prisoner may eventually be our only recourse," he continued, "but, at this stage, I am unwilling to decide upon anything quite so final. There is no way for him to do any harm, confined as he is, and I would suggest that we try to gain more information from him before we determine his fate." This caused an uncertain murmur from the most fearful members of the council and Cabayne gestured for them to be quiet. "Whether the stranger is innocent or guilty, he must have come from somewhere and there must be others of his kind. It is in our best interests to find out as much as we can about his origins and his passage through the ring so that we may defend ourselves against the possibility of future attack."
Before the rest of the council could respond, the chant of the mob outside penetrated the walls of the building.
Cabayne crossed to a window and quickly took in the scene. He called a halt to the meeting and made his way rapidly down to the town hall entrance. The others followed him and they intercepted the angry crowd at the steps that led up to the building. At the sight of their leaders, the citizens lost their momentum and their progress faltered.
"What is the meaning of this?" Cabayne demanded.
The man who had started up the chant stepped forwards and brandished his pitchfork angrily. "We know you have a servant of the evil gods locked up in there," he announced. "He must be killed!" Shouts of agreement floated up from the mob and Cabayne held up his hands in an attempt to gain control.
"The prisoner is securely detained and can do no harm," he began, but another voice interrupted him.
"What if he calls down the power of the evil gods to destroy us?" Others in the crowd murmured agreement and Cabayne realised he was fighting a losing battle. There was no way he could reason with a mob intent on killing when he knew they had support from within the council as well.
He glanced despairingly at the window to the prisoner’s cell and was startled to see Ilyara’s face looking out at him from inside. Her expression was one of both fear and disappointment and he returned her gaze helplessly.
Inside the cell, Ilyara had heard everything and knew that her father was trying to save Daniel, as she was. When she caught his attention and saw that he was powerless to stop the mob, she turned away from the window, fear spurring her into action. Crouching back down next to Daniel, who was still sitting on the floor , she reached out and delivered a resounding slap across his face.
His eyes snapped wide open at the blow and he looked up at her in shock, but she was gratified to see that his gaze was now focused. "We have to get out of here," she said, firmly. "Right now!"
Something in her tone told Daniel not to argue and he got unsteadily to his feet and followed the young girl out of the cell. She stopped briefly to shut the padlock in place behind them and then proceeded to the door.
Checking that the corridor beyond was empty, Ilyara took Daniel by the hand and led him as quickly as possible up to her hiding place on the floor above. Once they were safely inside, she let out a sigh of relief and sank to the floor in the corner of the room. Looking up at Daniel, she saw that he seemed to have recovered his senses and was regarding her curiously. At her shy smile he came over to join her, seating himself carefully on the floor next to her and listening intently as she told him what had happened.
"Why are you helping me?" he asked when she had finished, his voice gentle and his blue eyes intense.
Ilyara considered his earnest expression for a moment and knew she had made the right decision. "Because," she replied with feeling, "I don’t believe in reacting to the unknown with fear and suspicion. I don’t believe you are a threat to my people but, whether you are or not, I think killing you would make us as bad as those the council fear you serve."
Daniel was taken aback by the maturity of her words. He had taken her to be a naïve trusting young girl, but there was wisdom and intelligence in what she said.. He brought his thoughts back to his immediate predicament. "Can you tell me how to get to the ring?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied, then paused to think for a moment. "It would be better for you to wait until it is dark. It will be easier to leave the town unnoticed then."
"I agree," Daniel told her, "but there is a device I brought with me that I will need if I am to get home safely." He saw doubt flicker over Ilyara’s features and hastened to explain. "I promise you it is not a weapon. My people have placed defences our ring so that our enemies cannot gain access to my world. The device I need will send them a signal to let them know that it’s me and allow me to enter through the ring. It’s rectangular and black and has numbered buttons on it."
Ilyara searched his eyes for any signs of deception, but all she saw was sincerity and hope. "I know where your things were taken," she said. "I will try to get what you ask for. I’ll have to wait until the commotion dies down though." She looked at his pale face with concern. "I will watch for trouble if you want to rest. The distance to the ring is not far but the terrain is quite difficult."
She made as if to rise, but Daniel caught hold of her arm gently, causing her to meet his gaze once more. "Thank you," he said. "I hope you don’t get into trouble because of me."
She responded with a mischievous grin that reminded Daniel of just how young she really was. "Oh, don’t worry about me," she reassured him. "I’m always in trouble!" With that, she took up a position by the door and he leaned one shoulder against the wall, closing his eyes gratefully.
* * * * * * * *
Jack stalked down the corridor leading to the briefing room, his frustration growing with every step he took. They had searched a half dozen planets in the hours since they had lost Daniel but Jack knew deep down that the likelihood of them randomly stumbling across him was pretty non-existent. Even if they did gate to the planet he was on, there was no guarantee that he would still be in the vicinity of the Stargate, and they simply didn’t have the resources to mount comprehensive searches of entire planets. Carter had called both Jack and Teal’c to another meeting, to present the results of the simulations she had been running on wormhole malfunctions. Jack wasn’t expecting her to have come up with anything concrete; her previous assessment of the situation had made it only too clear just how clueless they still were when it came to Stargate technology.
Sighing heavily, Jack opened the door to the briefing room. As he stepped through, he was suddenly surrounded by blue light and, when it faded, he was no longer in the SGC. He spun round, startled, and was confronted by a member of the Asgard. He was pretty sure it was Thor, and the alien confirmed it before he had to say anything and risk embarrassing himself by guessing wrong.
"Forgive my abrupt removal of you from Earth, O’Neill," Thor began. "I have important news to impart and I thought it would be better to transport you up here rather than appearing suddenly amongst you."
Jack spread his hands. "No problem. I hope it’s not bad news – we’re kinda in the middle of a situation of our own down there."
"I believe it is that very situation that brings me here," Thor revealed. "We were alerted that the Stargate had been activated on one of our protected planets so we investigated and discovered that Dr Jackson had arrived there alone."
"You know where Daniel is? That’s great!" Jack clapped his hands together and grinned broadly.
Thor blinked slowly and continued. "Since the rest of SG-1 was not with him, we assumed he was there by accident and I came to tell you his location so that you may go and retrieve him."
"Not that I’m not grateful," Jack replied, "because you know we’re always real happy for any help you give us but – you couldn’t have retrieved him yourselves while you were there?"
Thor broke eye contact and looked down at his hands for a moment, and Jack could have sworn he looked almost sheepish. "As you know," he said quietly, "the situation with the Goa’uld and our treaty is a delicate one. The Asgard must be very careful with any contact we make with the people on the protected planets and that is why we left the holographic recordings on most of them – so we would be able to impart our wisdom without actually interfering with the cultures on those planets."
He paused and Jack picked up on the problem with what he had said. "Most of them?" he prompted.
"That is correct, O’Neill. The planet on which Daniel Jackson finds himself is one of those that has no such device. Their patron is Odin, one of our number who disagrees with our usual policy of maintaining the religious beliefs of those we protect. To be brief, the people of Andragorn no longer think of Odin as a physical figure who could visit them and issue instructions, and the Asgard are unwilling to set back their development in that way. Therefore, the best I can do is to give you the gate co-ordinates for the planet and suggest you go to collect Dr Jackson yourselves."
"Fair enough," Jack allowed, then suddenly a nasty thought struck him. "Hang on a minute. Why is it that anybody has to go get him? How come he can’t just dial up Earth and come back on his own?"
Thor took on his sheepish expression again and Jack’s concern grew. "Daniel is okay, isn’t he?" he asked.
"He is alive, yes," the alien assured him. "He was injured when he came through the gate, but he has been treated. However, just as the people of Andragorn have had no contact with the Asgard since Odin released them from Goa’uld slavery centuries ago, the Stargate on their world has not been used in that time, either. Understandably, they are very suspicious of your friend, since he has appeared via a means they associate with the Goa’uld. I am sorry to report they have imprisoned him and are currently discussing how to proceed. I believe you will be able to get him released if you are diplomatic. And I must ask that you do not harm or threaten them. They are not normally a violent people, and they have not harmed Dr Jackson as yet. They are under our protection and we do not wish to see their lives disrupted."
Before Jack could say anything, a small electronic pad appeared in the air in front of him. He plucked it from its impossible suspension and saw a chevron sequence displayed on its screen. "Those are the co-ordinates for Andragorn, O’Neill," Thor concluded. "I wish you luck." He bowed his head and raised his slender hand in farewell.
The blue light surrounded Jack once more and he cried, "Wait a minute…" but it was too late. The Asgard ship vanished from around him and he was instantly back in the briefing room. "I hate it when he does that!" Jack muttered, then turned to the expectant faces of Sam, Teal’c and General Hammond. He cast the pad down on the table and folded his arms. "The good news is that we now know where Daniel is," he told them, " the bad news is he’s being held prisoner on an Asgard protected planet and we’re not allowed to hurt anybody when we go get him."
* * * * * * * *
Cabayne managed to persuade the mob to disperse with difficulty, but knew they would soon be back if nothing decisive was done. He promised them that the council members would interrogate the prisoner thoroughly before nightfall.
Walking back with the council members to the prisoner’s cell, they found the room empty. Cabayne stood just inside the door, thanking Odin silently for his headstrong, impetuous daughter. Perandor Merith pushed his way through the others and turned to face them, his eyes wild. "Lord Odin has intervened!" he announced, evangelical passion making his voice tremble. "He has seen our plans and is angered by them. He has spirited the stranger away to save him from us, his sinful children!" He spread his arms in entreaty. "We must beg his forgiveness before he inflicts punishment upon us!"
The farmers’ representative gave a mighty groan and fell to his knees in anguished prayer, while the other council members looked at each other in fear and bewilderment. Cabayne was vaguely amused by Merith’s doomsayings and glad he had presented an explanation for the prisoner’s disappearance, however superstitious. Suddenly, there was a shout from outside, and the men and women behind him parted to let a young boy of about eleven through.
The child skidded to a halt in front of Cabayne, then announced, "More strangers have arrived! They are dressed like the first and come from the direction of the ring!"
* * * * * * * *
Jack strode into the town, trying to look as friendly as possible, while his thoughts whirled beneath his calm exterior. So far they had not managed to speak to the locals, who disappeared inside their houses as SG-1 passed by. The three of them headed towards the largest building in the village, facing the town square, in the hope that they might find someone in authority. As they approached, a group of about ten people emerged from within the building and stood watching them. One man separated himself from the rest and ran forwards, throwing himself to his knees at Jack’s feet and clutching at his legs.
"Please, have mercy!" the man cried, craning his neck back to look up at Jack, his eyes wild with fear. "We beg the lord Odin’s forgiveness for our sins! We were only trying to protect ourselves – do not smite us for failing the lord Odin’s test!"
"Oh, for crying out loud," Jack muttered in exasperation. "Teal’c, get this guy off me!" The big Jaffa stepped forwards, carefully detached the distraught man and tried to set him back on his feet, but he collapsed as soon as he was released and continued grovelling on the ground. Jack raised his voice to carry to where the other men and women were still milling about in the doorway of the building. "Nobody’s smiting anybody!" he reassured them. "Now, is there anyone in charge that we could talk to?"
The group of people parted to allow another man through. He walked out into the square, carrying himself confidently, his demeanour calm. Initially ignoring Jack, he addressed himself to his fellow citizen. "Merith, get up!" he commanded, exasperated. "There is no need for such unseemly hysterics." The man on the ground seemed to pull himself together at the words and retreated back to the others. The second man turned to the newcomers and introduced himself. "I am Councillor Abren Cabayne. I speak for the Council of Andragorn."
Jack breathed a silent sigh of relief. At least there was one reasonable guy here that he might be able to get a straight answer out of "I wonder if you can help us, Councillor Cabayne," he began lightly, reminding himself to be diplomatic. "We believe a friend of ours turned up here by mistake earlier today and we wanted to collect him and take him back home with us."
Cabayne was just wondering how he was going to explain the situation both to the strangers and to his own people when there came a distant reverberating sound and the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. Momentarily thrown, he cast a wary eye over the three people in front of him but they seemed just as surprised as he was at the tremors. There were shouts of alarm from the council members behind him as the shaking of the earth grew in intensity and Cabayne spun round to see the town hall begin to crumble. As he watched in horror, the oldest sections of the ancient building gave way. The roof of the council chamber started shedding tiles and some of the outer wall collapsed in on itself, sending the people gathered on the steps scurrying out into the relative safety of the open square.
When the tremors first started, Jack automatically looked to Carter for an explanation, but she just shrugged to demonstrate that she had none to offer. Looking past him, her eyes widened in shock and she gestured at the building they had been aiming for. Jack turned back just in time to see one of the walls slowly collapse and then, after a few more seconds, the earthquake stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving behind an eerie silence as the dust began to settle and the people simply stood and stared. Looking round the edges of the square, Jack was relieved to see that the worst of the destruction had centred on the one building. People began to emerge from the nearest houses, heading instinctively for the place of assembly.
Jack stepped up beside Cabayne and laid a hand on his arm. "I take it that’s not a regular occurrence?" he enquired.
At the question, Cabayne seemed to snap out of his shock and he turned to meet Jack’s gaze, his expression anxious. "No, the ground has never shaken so in living memory," he revealed, his voice tight with fear. "I believe both my daughter and your friend are somewhere in the town hall, along with dozens of workers."
"Well, this day just keeps getting better and better!" Jack exclaimed. Then he switched smoothly into military mode. "Carter, see if you can organise some of these people into teams – some to help with moving debris, some for gathering blankets and other relief supplies and some to set up a suitable place for any wounded," he ordered. "Teal’c, you come with me. Let’s take a look at the extent of the damage."
In the face of such natural leadership, Cabayne was happy to let the spokesman for the newcomers take charge. Following in their wake as the two men strode across the square, Cabayne calmly directed Esta Laredo and Grayven Sintar to assist the female stranger in her organisation of the citizens and was gratified to see them obey quickly and without dispute.
When they reached the entrance to the town hall, it was immediately evident that the main corridor running the length of the building was blocked. Wooden beams and lumps of masonry cluttered the floor where the ceiling above had collapsed and the panicked cries of those trapped inside could be heard coming from beyond the rubble. Jack made a rapid assessment of the situation, then suggested, "Maybe we’ll be able to get in more easily through the hole in the outer wall."
With Teal’c, Cabayne and several strong-looking citizens in tow, he made his way quickly round to the side of the building. The damage to the wall gave access to a large hall that was mostly free from obstruction, since there was no second storey above it. Jack led his group carefully through to the far side where the large double doors leading to the rest of the building remained intact. Taking hold of one handle each, he and Teal’c slowly pulled them open to reveal the corridor on the other side of the blockage. There was still debris littering the passageway, though, and they set to work clearing it away. The rescue operation had begun.
* * * * * * * *
Up in the tiny storage room, Daniel came slowly back to awareness to find himself lying face down on the floor.. He could feel something heavy pinning him to the ground, and everything was dark. He tried to twist his body round but he was too securely held down. Even his slight shift of muscles caused a sharp pain to shoot down his back from the wound near his shoulder. Wincing, he heard a movement nearby and whatever was obscuring his vision was lifted away to reveal the dusty, tear-stained face of Ilyara.
"Daniel!" she cried when she saw his eyes were open. "Are you alright?" Her voice was shrill with barely suppressed panic. He took a brief moment to make sure that when he responded he would sound calm, knowing it would be up to him to reassure her. "I think so," he replied quietly. "What happened?"
"I don’t know!" she exclaimed. "The whole building just started shaking. Then the bookcases fell and I called out to you but you didn’t answer!" Tears threatened her words. "I thought you were dead!"
Daniel managed what he hoped was a comforting smile. "I’m sorry if I gave you a scare. Are you hurt?"
"No," she replied tremulously, "but the door is totally blocked and I’m not strong enough to move the bookcases. We’re trapped!"
Discovering that one of his arms was free, Daniel reached out and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. "Somebody will find us," he asserted with as much confidence as he could muster, but she wasn’t going to be reassured that easily and her reply gave him cause to curse her intelligence for the first time.
"But nobody even knows we’re up here," she pointed out, "and even if we are rescued, all the townsfolk want to kill you."
"I’ve been in much worse situations that this one, believe me," he told her firmly, "and I’ve always managed to survive before." He paused, then continued lightly, "Well, that’s not strictly true. I’ve actually died twice and been presumed dead at least four times on top of that."
He saw her eyes widen at his words and her innate curiosity won control over her fear at their latest set of problems. "This all happened during you travels through the ring?"
"Uh-huh," he confirmed, glad to have found something to distract her while they waited to be discovered. "I’ll tell you all about it if you like." She nodded vigorously and he began to relate his adventures to a rapt audience.
* * * * * * * * *
It had been a couple of hours since the earthquake and there was still no sign of Daniel or Councillor Cabayne’s daughter in the ruined town hall. All the workers were accounted for, however, and there had been no fatalities among them. There were plenty of broken bones but, considering the state of the building, Jack thought they’d been pretty lucky. Sam was organising the transfer of the worst of the injured through the Stargate to Earth for treatment, while Jack, Teal’c and Cabayne continued their search for the missing archaeologist and the little girl.
They were reaching the end of their sweep of the building, up on the second floor where Cabayne had told them none of the offices were in active use. As they picked their way carefully along a partially collapsed corridor, Jack asked, "What were Daniel and your daughter doing way up here, anyway?" He was expecting to be told that there were some musty old books up here that Daniel had shown an interest in, so he was surprised when Cabayne didn’t immediately respond.
Passing back a piece of debris in an effort to clear the way, Jack fixed the man with an intense stare and prompted, "Councillor?"
Cabayne wiped his forehead with one sleeve and returned Jack’s gaze steadily. "I am afraid that, shortly before your arrival, my daughter was forced to release your friend from his cell and conceal him from the townsfolk for his own protection."
"What?" Jack stopped what he was doing and stared at Cabayne in disbelief. "We were told you were a reasonable and peaceful people! Boy, did Thor get that wrong!"
"I am not proud of the way my people reacted, but they felt threatened by the possibility that the evil gods from our old legends were returning."
"Daniel, an evil god?" Jack was starting to get angry. "That boy wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless it was going to attack someone he cared about!"
"And so it is with my people," Cabayne pointed out.
"O’Neill, should we not leave this discussion until after we have completed our search?" As always, Teal’c brought Jack’s focus back to the task at hand, and the three of them continued on in silence.
It wasn’t long before they reached the end of the corridor and uncovered a door to the only room in the building they had not yet searched.
"All I can say is, they’d better be in here after all this," Jack muttered, anxiety making him irritable. Stepping up to the door, he called out, "Daniel?"
He was relieved to hear his friend’s surprised voice call back immediately. "Jack? How did you get here?"
"I’ll explain later. You okay?"
"More or less," came the rueful reply.
Cabayne joined Jack at the door. "Is Ilyara with you?"
The girl answered for herself. "I’m alright, Father, but the door is blocked and Daniel is trapped beneath one of the bookcases." Jack was impressed by the calm manner in which she related the most important information without indulging in hysterics.
"Okay," he announced, "get as far away from the door as you can. We’ll have you out of there in no time."
Inside the storage room, Daniel closed his eyes as relief washed over him. Jack was outside and soon he would be going home. He heard the wonderful sound of axes being swung against the blocked door and all his anxiety at his predicament drained away, leaving behind exhaustion and not a small amount of pain as various parts of his body protested the treatment they had received over the last few hours. After a moment, he opened his eyes again to see Ilyara huddled up against the fallen bookcase, regarding him worriedly.
Daniel gave her a tired smile. "See?" he murmured. "I told you someone would find us. And nobody’s going to try to kill me now that Jack’s here."
She returned the smile. "From what you’ve told me, I don’t think anyone could kill you even if they did try," she suggested impishly, "but I’m glad your friends are here."
"Me too," Daniel replied with feeling, "though I expect Jack’s pretty sick of me getting into trouble by now."
"You’ll be going back through the ring soon, won’t you?" Despite the danger he had put her in, Ilyara sounded upset at the prospect. "I hope someday I’ll be able to travel to other worlds to explore like you do."
"I haven’t managed to put you off with all my tales of the Goa’uld?" She shook her head stubbornly and Daniel concluded, "Well, in that case, I have no doubt that one day you will."
There came a crash from the direction of the door and several pieces of debris fell away to reveal Jack and Teal'c peering in.
Jack pasted on his familiar jaunty grin and said conversationally, "Hey there, Daniel! Picked yourself up another girl, I see." He held out his arms to Ilyara. "Come on, let’s get you out of there."
Giving Daniel’s hand a final squeeze, Ilyara crossed the room and allowed herself to be lifted over the obstruction to the corridor outside where her father was waiting. He hugged her tightly and immediately tried to take her out of the building, but she insisted on staying to watch as Jack and Teal’c carefully freed Daniel, and they all made their way back out to the square together.
There was a resounding cheer from the assembled citizens as they emerged, previous animosity towards the strangers forgotten in light of their help.
Jack took Cabayne over to where Sam was waiting in order to discuss the return of the injured Andragonians, leaving Daniel alone with Ilyara. He knelt down stiffly to bring their faces closer to the same level. "Thank you for risking your own life to save mine," he said seriously. "I think you’d make an excellent addition to the SGC if you were a bit older."
In response, she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. "Goodbye, Daniel," she replied, "and try to stay out of trouble!"
Jack’s voice floated across the square. "Daniel! Time to go!"
Daniel extricated himself from Ilyara’s embrace and slowly made his way over to where his friends were waiting. "I hope you guys haven’t been too worried about me," he said with a grin.
"Oh, we knew you’d turn up sooner or later," Jack joked. "You usually do!"
"How did you find me?" Daniel wanted to know. "And how did I end up here in the first place.?"
Sam explained as they made their way back to the Stargate. By the time she’d finished, they had reached their destination. While she entered Earth’s address into the DHD, Jack turned to Daniel. "You should think yourself lucky," he told him, then laughed at his friend’s confused expression. "You got a nice, cosy cell and some lovely new friends. Last time the gate malfunctioned, I got a broken leg, internal bleeding and a whole bunch of snow!"
Daniel pointed at his bandaged shoulder. "A concussion, a staff weapon blast and an earthquake aren’t good enough for you?" he asked indignantly.
"Death’s door, that’s where I was," Jack countered. "You look pretty damn healthy to me." He caught Daniel’s eye and saw a mirror of his own feelings of relief in the younger man’s expression. He placed one hand on Daniel’s undamaged shoulder and the newly reunited friends stepped into the wormhole together, very glad to be going home.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This one was far more difficult than it should have been. By far the longest so far, I never thought it would end! Needed help from a great many people, but we got there eventually!
© February 19, 2003 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.