DISCLAIMER:
Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret productions, and Gekko productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
The Hunted
Prelude
The building was cloaked in silence, it had been undisturbed for centuries. No people lived within its walls, no animals had braved the silence and ventured in to set up home. The decay was slow and gentle. With no violent weather to destabilize the edifice, it appeared to have remained relatively intact. It was a long low building without towers or outer decoration, sat in a desolate wilderness.
Under the meagre vegetation that spread out around it, the remains of dwellings could be seen. The vegetation looked pale, yellow in places. It was strangely stunted and distorted, seemingly unable to grow well in the sterile soil. The land around looked dry and deprived of care, even by Mother Nature herself.
Inside, at the enclosed end of the main room, a Stargate stood high on a pedestal. No steps or walkway led down from it. Rubble lay strewn around its base. The rubble was the remains of what had once been a set of ornate steps. With the rubble lay tiles from the roof, this now let in the weather in several places. Lying twisted among the rubble were several skeletons, still in the position they died. Nothing had disturbed them since the moment of their deaths, so long ago. The skeleton at the foot of the pedestal still wore its Jaffa armour. A symbol was still attached to the skull, a gold eye to signify to whom his loyalty had been. The rubble and skeletons clearly showed the violence the room had once seen.
Within the hall something moved. A rumble began, and a shaking that disturbed the silence. It appeared that the ghosts of this planet would again be disturbed. The Stargate was vibrating in a way it had not done for centuries. Shaking itself clear of dust, which drifted into the air. The chevrons lit up one at a time and locked into place, the Stargate seemed to whine in protest at being disturbed. Vibrations increased and spread through the building as power built. Dust began to rise from the ancient floor, drifting upwards to join the dust shaking loose from the large ornate stonewalls. The structure was not fairing well, some of the stones moved out of alignment with each other. The dust drifted across the tall, narrow windows, it sparkled and played in shafts of sunlight that had remained unpolluted for a very long time. Suddenly the centre of the Stargate burst into life. The wormhole poked its energy-saturated tongue into the room.
"There," it appeared to growl into the empty room, "you haven't seen the last of me yet."
More of the roof crumbled and the debris fell into the vortex and disintegrated. It never reached the floor. The open portal of the Stargate stabilized and silence descended again. The dust however, resisted the temptation to return to sleep and continued to drift in the air.
A MALP appeared, gliding forward on its tracks from the centre of the event horizon. It stopped on the platform and unfurled its arms. The camera scanned the room, transmitting the first pictures of this world back through the Stargate to the SGC.
In the Control Room at the base a group of fatigue clad people gather to see the pictures. They watched the images unfold with varying degrees of interest. One skeleton could clearly be seen, towards the back of the room. The transmission was intriguing enough for Sam to push the MALP forward to explore further. Although the picture angle was high, the absence of a way down was unexpected. The MALP reached the edge of the unseen platform, and abruptly disappeared off the edge. It made a resounding crash when it hit the floor. That was the last sound it transmitted.
"Oh great!" Jack commented, raising his eyebrow and looking quizzically at Sam.
The camera was still operating and the controls of the MALP still responded. Her hands flew over the controls making several attempts to get the vehicle back off its nose. All attempts ended in failure, no amount of manipulation of the treads or arms could right the machine.
"You will have to retrieve it later," General Hammond told them. Not one word of reprimand was directed at Sam, but the look he gave her said it all. "This one looks like a go people."
"The MALP is still sending back pictures," Sam commented, "the camera has survived. I don't think it's badly damaged, just stuck. What's that?"
Daniel leaned over Sam's shoulder for a closer look at the screen. "What?" Sam pointed at the corner of the screen. The remains of the Jaffa were partially visible. "Teal'c," Daniel called over his shoulder, "what do you make of this?"
Teal'c leaned over Sam's other shoulder, shutting out Jack's view of the screen.
"Hey!" Jack drawled at the Jaffa, "give a man some room to see."
"The camera can't show us very much in that position," Daniel commented, his amusement at the mistake Sam had made, masking the sense of foreboding the Jaffa armour initiated. "I'm sure I saw markings on the walls, before it went over. I think I'll go replay what we have, see if I can decipher anything."
"It would appear no one has been in that room for a long time," Teal'c commented as he stared at the screen. "The armour appears to be very old," he stated to Jack over his shoulder, then moved away to allow him to take a look.
"Well that's OK then. If the Goa'uld are no longer interested in this place, It'll be a holiday. Time we had one," Jack responded as he took his place.
"I would have thought you'd prefer Maui," Daniel threw back at him as he left the control room.
Hammond ordered the Stargate disengaged and glanced at the Colonel. Jack was staring down at the Stargate and absently chewing his lip. 'It looks like a routine exploration, it is an empty world for a change, a couple of skeletons can't do us any harm… I wonder what killed them? Well there are bits of old buildings for Daniel… New mineral samples for Sam… We've got to have it easy sometime.' Jack thought, 'why, oh why don't I believe it?' He tapped Teal'c on the shoulder, retrieving him from his study of the screen. The pair left Sam to the discomfort of having abused an expensive piece of equipment.
Back in the distant hall, the silence had not completely returned with the closing of the Stargate. The air within the room was silver grey with a sunlit dust so fine it drifted in the still air. Sounds emanated from the old building, it was settling again and the noises pervaded the rooms. Creaking within the walls, dust shifting a little more, puffing into the rooms from the cracks and crevices. Slowly as the creaking faded, the dust eventually settled. The MALP acquired a thin layer of dust along with everything else. It still rested nose down at the bottom of the platform. The unseemly end it had come to reminiscent of so many of its predecessors.
The Ruins
The Stargate burst into life again the following day. Resumption of its work filled the hall with vibration, causing more of the stonework to shift and groan. The whoosh of the vortex devoured a little more falling masonry from the roof. A beam across the closed stone doorway near the Stargate shifted. The supporting beam for the surrounding wall settled to rest on the top edge of the door. A distant rumble could be heard throughout the building, but it faded as the event horizon stabilized.
Almost immediately an ATV trundled through the event horizon, it stopped moving only three feet away from the Stargate. Sam had no intention of allowing their supplies to fall on top of the MALP. Jack and Teal'c appeared through the horizon next, side stepping the vehicle and moving on around the platform. Daniel and Sam closely followed them. The dust still hung in the air, thicker than expected. Jack coughed and waved a hand, in a futile attempt to clear a space in front of his face.
"That's like trying to swat gnats, Sir," Sam commented as she stepped to the edge of the platform. "Seems pretty broken up down there."
"Looks like someone wanted to make it awkward to get down from the Stargate," Jack murmured looking round.
"Or making it difficult to reach," Daniel added.
"Well it would appear that they succeeded in doing both," Teal'c responded and lowered himself carefully to the main floor, avoiding the rubble.
Jack nodded his agreement as he followed Teal'c over the edge of the platform. Sam began to pass some equipment down to Jack, while Teal'c checked the MALP and attempted to right it. Daniel tried to help him. After a few minutes of tugging and pulling without success, the wall marking he'd seen the previous day distracted Daniel. He wandered across the room to peer at the nearest ones. They didn't look familiar. He couldn't place the script or pictorial representations. He began to survey the whole room and found it curiously depressing, a feeling he didn't understand. 'No different than a dig on Earth, why does this place feel sad as well as old?'
"The walls of this building have seen much violence," Teal'c commented.
Daniel swung round to stare back at him and wondered briefly if he had spoken out loud. Teal'c had left the MALP and wandered over to the skeleton in Jaffa armour. "O'Neill!" Teal'c called as he sank beside the remains.
The call brought the whole team to his side and Teal'c pointed at the skeleton's head. The golden emblem had been dulled by time but the form was clearly recognizable.
"Ra!" Daniel breathed as he identified the eye symbol.
Jack felt the hair on the back of his head raise in response to the name. Even knowing the Goa'uld was dead didn't seem to make any difference. Jack decided he didn't like this planet and tapped Teal'c on the shoulder. "Let's just check the area out, we'll worry about the equipment later."
Jack and Teal'c left the room carefully, they knew no one had been in there for a long time, but it didn't make them feel any easier. They checked the anterooms and the immediate area outside for signs of inhabitants or possible peril. Sam continued to unload the ATV, but when she saw Jack and Teal'c through a window, out came the science kit and she followed them outside. She settled to the task of taking soil samples and making the preliminary tests.
After a while Daniel left the scripts on the walls, and wandered out to join them. He began pulling the vegetation from some of the ruins. They were just piles of rubble, there was nothing left of interest. He guessed they had mostly been simple living accommodation. A few broken pots were scattered around, but they were undecorated utensils of simple design. By the time darkness arrived they were certain no one had been around for a very long time and relaxed a little, but the place still made them uneasy.
They built up a fire in the hall area, more to cheer the place than to ward off cold. In fact it did not appear to be getting any colder with the setting sun, a phenomenon that would have normally warranted some response from Sam. Jack noticed she appeared to be abnormally quiet.
"Well, at least the weather's good," Jack commented in an attempt to lighten the mood. He couldn't remember seeing his team so quiet. He slid into his sleeping bag and settled on his side watching them settle down for the night.
"It appears to be about all that is," Sam responded. "The soil is mostly sand, dried organic matter. Very little microbe life… I'm surprised anything survives here Sir. I guess it must rain from time to time… perhaps this is a desert region and the vegetation springs to life with the rain."
"I take it there is nothing here to interest us?" Jack inquired.
"No," Sam responded quickly.
"Daniel?"
Daniel shrugged as he answered, "the script is new to me, so I can't place it. Whoever was here… well the culture must have changed dramatically is all I can think… or maybe they didn't originate on Earth. After all," Daniel continued as he thought it through, "we aren't going to find relatives everywhere. I'll take some photographs tomorrow. I just wonder what happened to the inhabitants… well no, I suppose I wonder why Ra wiped them out, I mean, it appears he did."
Jack let him finish rambling as it just wasn't worth interrupting the flow. Besides he could understand why Daniel felt so unsettled, he felt a bit that way himself. Finally he summed up, "Then what you are both saying is… that we are wasting our time here?"
"Yes Sir, I think so," Sam agreed. She did not add that she hoped Jack would take Daniel's photographs, and her tests, and call a close. She wanted to go home.
"Hah, a consensus. Well that does make a change," Jack responded cheerfully. "We'll pack it in tomorrow then, no point in dragging this out." Jack noticed a universal look of relief at his decision. And realized they all felt uneasy in this place, even Teal'c.
Morning
'This place looks just as depressing today', Jack thought as they got on with finishing their tasks. "Come on guys, get everything finished, let's get out of here."
Daniel started his inspection of the script and pictures still visible on the walls. He rubbed the dust away in sections and began taking photographs. As he moved slowly down to the far end of the room, he began assessing how long it was likely to take him. 'Its going to take some time to work out what these might mean.' He mused and lost himself in the task at hand.
Jack glanced around the room, checking the team's progress. As he watched Daniel for a moment, he realized he would never really understand his friend. A wry smile appearing on his face, 'not that it mattered, Daniel always came through for them, when needed.'
Sam stood by the MALP and Jack joined her. It became the subject of their concentration, the discussion centred on how best to raise it onto the platform. "Can't use those roof beams to pulley it up, wouldn't trust them to hold," Jack stared at the crumbling roof above and then around for inspiration.
"There must be someway to MacGyver it," Sam responded. She levered herself onto the platform and began rifling the contents of the ATV. "Maybe we could use the Stargate as an anchor." She pulled a bundle of ropes from the ATV, Jack joined her to check which points to use as anchors for the ropes.
Teal'c returned to the large stone door that refused to open the previous day. He worked his fingers around the seams, trying to find a leverage point. Unexpectedly, he decided to put down his staff weapon and put his shoulder to the door. It started to give with a horrendous groan. Jack heard the noise, and turned to see what he was doing. The beam across the top of the doorway shifted forward, it suddenly seemed to pick up speed and slide out of its place.
"Teal'c!" Jack yelled and jumped from the platform, managing to land evenly in the rubble.
As Teal'c looked up at the danger, Jack dived into him. Catching Teal'c around the waist, his momentum carried them from under the falling beam. It landed with a resounding crash and broke up on impact. Sam came towards them and Daniel turned to look back down the room. As they all stared at the shattered remnants, the stone door toppled over, adding to the rubble as it shattered and scattered over the floor. Dust appeared to be rising from everything, for a second there was silence, then an ominous rumble began below their feet. It appeared that the last vibration, was one more than the building was willing to take unanswered.
"Carter! DHD!" Jack yelled and Sam ran at the platform, levering herself up in one fluid movement to reach the DHD and began dialling home. "Daniel! Leave it, we're out of here, now!" Jack continued.
Daniel did not require a second telling. He started to run towards them, but the floor in front of him lifted. As it slid away from his feet a hole opened directly beneath him. "Jack!"
A terrified Daniel screamed as he fell on the uplifted floor and began to slide into a hole. He tried to find a handhold, but the floor surface was smooth, he slid with increasing momentum into the opening. Jack tried to reach him, throwing himself over the raised and broken floor. Teal'c followed and grabbed Jack's legs as he began to slide in after Daniel. Jack caught sight of Daniel's terrified face as he slipped into the hole. Daniel snatched a handhold on the edge of the hole, but it crumbled beneath his fingers. Jack and Daniel's eyes locked for a moment and then he was gone.
"Daniel!" Jack yelled after him. "Daniel!"
No reply came back. Jack stopped and listened, trying to hear the sound of him falling, or shouting. The only sound coming out of the hole was that of falling rubble bouncing off rock.
Teal'c hauled Jack back over the edge, putting an arm around his chest to restrain him. Afraid he would try to go after their friend. "He is gone O'Neill."
The vibration of the opening Stargate had been lost in the noise. The whoosh of the vortex forming, however, brought Jack's eyes back from the hole to the room.
Sam had come to the edge and was staring down into the darkness that had swallowed Daniel. "It's a tunnel or shaft, not a natural crevice. The sides are smooth and sloping, they could have slowed his fall," Sam said shakily. She couldn't believe Daniel was gone. No, she wouldn't believe it. "He could still be alive." She looked at Jack, eyes wide with fear for their friend, willing him to agree with her.
"We're going to need climbing equipment to rescue him," Jack said as he stared back down the hole and then at the Stargate. "We don't have enough rope." His mind refused to let go of the vision of his friend falling out of sight. He shook his head, closing his eyes against the vision. "Lets get back to the SGC and pick up what we need. He's going to be hurt real bad."
The three of them raced towards the Stargate, not knowing how long it would take to find Daniel, how far down he was, or even if he still lived.
The fall
Daniel saw Jack's horrified face shrink quickly away, and the light disappear. Blackness surrounded him, but it did not decrease the falling sensation that made his head spin. He bounced from one surface to another as he fell and the debris from the room above fell with him. He tried to reach out for the walls, but they were smooth affording no opportunity to slow him down. In the darkness he finally hit a shelf but it didn't bring relief. Pain erupted and he cried out, his shoulder numbed immediately. It felt like his arm had disappeared into the darkness. He had no time to think about the damage done to him. He bounced from the ledge and continued the fall upside down and the next outcrop caught him in the temple flipping him over again. Daniel lost consciousness. He bounced and rolled from two more ledges, now unaware of the sliding fall. His body finally slid out of an opening and dropped to the floor of a small room. The impact with the floor probably caused more bruising, but it did not matter to him. Daniel wasn't feeling anything, not then or for some considerable time.
'Everything hurts.' That was his first conscious thought, as he came awake slowly and groaned in response to the pain. Daniel had no idea where he was, or how long he had been there. His sense of disorientation increased, 'what the Hell happened to me!' Light filtered into the room. It was coming through a small gap down the side of a door. At least it looks like a door.' He tried to push himself up, but found one of his arms did not respond. He rolled over, using his one good hand to lever himself into a sitting position. Dizziness assailed him, his stomach heaved with the feeling of vertigo that descended as he tried to rise. Daniel promptly choked and emptied its contents.
Afterward he felt slightly better, but decided to crawl towards the light, rather than stand. One of his shoulders felt numb but the hand was tingling. He was relieved to note that feeling was returning, even if it brought more pain with it. He used the wall for support and got to his feet. His head was spinning badly and he rocked unsteadily in front of the door, using it as support. It was not locked and pushed outwards. As he leaned on the door, it swung away from him. He tottered through to find the end of a large well-lit tunnel.
A group of men and women turned to stare at him as he entered. Everything hurt severely, and he now noticed his shoulders were covered in blood. His hands also appeared to be bleeding. He looked at the strangers who were moving towards him. "I guess, I must look a sight," he sighed as he collapsed again. A Comforting and pain free darkness returned.
Where is Daniel?
As Jack and the others ran down the walkway towards him, concern showed on General Hammond's face. That something was wrong was evident, 'where's Daniel Jackson'. The event horizon's surface remained unbroken, and the team was not looking for their colleague to follow them.
"What happened Colonel? Where is Dr Jackson?" He asked Jack as they came off the ramp.
"There's been an accident and we've lost Daniel down a hole. We need climbing gear to go after him," Jack responded.
"Disengage the Stargate," Hammond called, as he looked the team over. "Is he badly hurt?"
"We can't tell. He's gone a long way down and we can't see him. We need to get back quickly Sir, we weren't carrying enough equipment for this kind of rescue." Jack told him.
The General looked at the team carefully; "do you know if Dr Jackson is still alive?" When no one replied immediately he continued, "How did it happen?" The General turned with the group as they headed towards the Gate Room door.
"I believe it's the Stargate Sir," Sam responded, "Every time it's opened the vibration causes further movement in the building. Nothing has been disturbed there for a long time. It's as if everything was perfectly balanced, but nothing was holding it together."
"A large door and part of a wall collapsed, it caused the floor to open up. There was a shaft under the floor and Daniel didn't have time to avoid it," Jack added as they headed along the corridor to gather climbing equipment.
"Hold on there," Hammond suddenly said, catching Jack by the arm and propelling him towards the Medical Centre. "No-ones going anywhere until Dr Fraiser checks you over. I'll let SG-4 know they are going to help you. I'm sure you'll trust them to gather the equipment. Are you sure there's a possibility of Dr Jackson still being alive? If its that hazardous…"
"General," Jack responded impatiently, aware Hammond might consider instability around the Stargate, an unacceptable risk. "We've left him for dead twice already. On Apophis' ship, and when we thought he had been incinerated. Daniel's just not that easy to kill. We… I have to be certain."
The General nodded and left them to enter the Medical Centre alone. He had to get things rolling and within minutes he had pulled Major Jamieson and his team in for a briefing. After he explained the situation, he dismissed the team to their preparations, but called Major Jamieson aside.
"How Phillips replacement shaping up Major?"
"He's doing fine Sir."
"Have you seen Phillips recently?"
"Pearson went to see him a few days ago. He's back on his feet, walking with sticks. Pearson reckons he'll make a complete recovery, given time. You know crush injuries Sir, they take time."
"Well Major, I won't keep you. Help SG-1 find Dr Jackson and bring him home."
"Yes Sir." Jamieson left the General and hurried to catch up with his men. He hoped it would be a rescue, and not the retrieval of a body.
Hammond stared out of the Briefing room window at the Stargate. The same thoughts were running through his mind.
Where am I?
When Daniel woke again he found soft, warm sheets surrounding him. Where parts of his body touched the sheets, they felt like barbed wire digging and scratching at him. The weight of the sheet hurt his chest and shoulder. A pain shot through his head when he moved and he raised a hand to cradle it, groaning. His hand discovered bandages wrapping his head, almost to his eyes. He lowered the arm and lifted the sheet. Here he found a large multicoloured bruise. It spread across his shoulder and part of his chest. The whole area was just too painful to touch. Several other bruises showed on his arms and lower rib cage.
A thought distracted him from the damage, 'No clothes… surely I was wearing clothes?' it disturbed him that he couldn't remember what he had been wearing, or what he had been doing for that matter. 'Where am I?' Another pain shot through his head and he returned to trying to support the point of pain with his pain free hand.
He sensed someone watching him, although certain of their presence, he couldn't see them. "Hello!" he called out, "is anybody there."
The movement came from behind him and a young woman appeared beside his bed.
"Hello." Daniel repeated. The women offered him a drink but did not reply.
The smell of the liquid in the cup was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. He looked at her warily over the cup. Daniel decided that if anyone had intended to harm him, they would probably already have done so. He drank the contents and handed the empty cup back. "Thank you."
Daniel still didn't recognize where he was, and he certainly didn't recognize the woman or the way she was dressed.
"You are feeling better my Lord?" she asked quietly.
"Who are you?" he asked her, frowning as he tried to clear his head. The intermittent stabs of sharp pain were the only relief to the continuous pressure inside his skull.
"I am Cora, my Lord."
That was it. That was what was bothering him. "Why do you keep calling me lord?" he asked her.
"You are Lord Odessa, we have been waiting for you for a long time."
"My name is not Odessa," he told her and Cora suddenly looked uncertain.
"You have his face. If you are not he, who are you, and how did you find us?"
Daniel looked at the woman and suddenly realized he couldn't answer her. "I don't know, I can't remember," Daniel responded. He put a hand to his head, which throbbed with increasing pain. " My name isn't Odessa, it's… I can't remember my name," he said a sudden feeling of panic rising. The harder he tried to recall his name, the worse the pain became.
"You have been injured," Cora told him and smiled. "When you are recovered you will remember. Then you will take us back."
"Take you back… where?" He asked her.
"To the surface. You said that you would come back for us, when it was safe to return home."
"Why do you think I am this Lord Odessa?" Daniel asked, wanting to believe they knew him, and that he was safe. 'Why should I think I am not safe?' he wondered.
Cora left him, returning a short while later carrying a small flat frame, and a mirror. The frame she passed to Daniel. It contained a painting of a young fair-haired man with blue eyes. The old picture did look oddly familiar.
"This is our Lord Odessa," Cora told him pointing at the picture. Then she passed him the mirror with the comment, "This is also our Lord Odessa."
His reflection in the mirror and the face in the picture were virtually identical. 'This is an old picture. If I am he, how could I still look the same?' Daniel wondered. He put both articles down, closing his eyes against the confusion in his mind. The name did not feel right, not his, he couldn't be this man. A sense of being misplaced filled him. Cora seemed so sure he was Odessa, but the name meant nothing to him. Daniel could remember no other name, that problem he found even more confusing. He closed his eyes against the pain and pressure in his head, after a while he drifted back into a fitful sleep.
Who am I?
All the lighting had been turned low when he woke again. Cora was no longer there and he just lay for a while. A frown crinkled the skin around his eyes as he tried to remember who he was. 'These people seem to know me. They've left me alone here… No guard, but then why should they put a guard on me if they know me…? So… if my name is Odessa… Who is Odessa?' Daniel realized his mind would continue to run in circles so he tried not to think about it. He found some clothes lying next to his bed and reached for them. Dressing was a painful business, but he could use his shoulder and arm, which pleased him. The head didn't seem to have improved though, if anything the pressure seemed worse. 'Perhaps if I look around, something will jog my memory,' he told himself and moved towards the only doorway He quickly realized the room was a large alcove in a tunnel and moved into it to explore.
Everywhere he went the temperature seemed the same, comfortably warm. There was no sign of where the heat was coming from. He knew tunnels should be cold and dark, 'not even sure why I know that. What has happened to me? No doors anywhere…these people don't seem to require privacy'. Daniel came to a junction and swung slowly around, he was in a huge complex of tunnels. The wall surfaces were smooth to touch and they glowed. 'That's where the light is coming from. I've seen this construction before', he thought to himself, and he found the thought reassuring. There seemed to be no one up and around, it appeared to be a rest period. No guards or security anywhere, they obviously believed they were safe, 'there it is again, why should I need to be safe… why live in tunnels?'
Daniel noticed a bright light in one of the alcoves and moved towards the only sign of life he had seen. The pain worsened in his head and he leaned against the wall, waiting for the worst of it to pass. When he reached the alcove he saw an old man sat at a desk. He appeared to be reading. At first Daniel stood at the entrance to the alcove, not certain if it would be polite to enter, and unsure how to attract the man's attention. However, the man sensed his presence and turned to face him. They stared at one another for a few moments, and then Daniel became uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude… I'll go…" he began to mumble.
"Is there something I can do for you?" the old man asked.
"I don't… thank you." Daniel stopped and gathered his wits. His slightly wistful smile appeared, he realized how muddled he sounded even to himself. "I've been looking around, but I don't recognize this place."
"It is very different from when you brought us here," the old man responded. "You created these tunnels to hide us."
Daniel frowned, 'here I go again'. "How? To hide you from what?"
"Cora told us that you do not remember. I'm not sure how we can help you. We have the chronicles, they tell why we have stayed here. Would you care to read them?"
Daniel nodded and the old man left the alcove, beckoning to Daniel to follow him. The two of them walked slowly through the corridors, Daniel stopping now and again to let a bout of dizziness pass. The old man stopped each time to wait for him. As they walked the old man made conversation, he seemed to be a little nervous of his guest.
"Everyone sleeps… they will awaken soon. We're happy you've returned for us at last. Our numbers grow fewer. Fewer children are being born. We are unsure of the cause but the healers say our children need sunlight, fresh air." After a moment the old man commented wistfully, "I have never seen the sun."
"How long have your people been in these tunnels?" Daniel asked.
"Our ancestors followed you here, many generations ago."
Daniel stopped following, resting against the wall and staring after the old man. It took a second for him to realize Daniel had stopped following him again. He turned to see what he was doing. Daniel looked at him with a puzzled, almost frightened expression on his face. "How old do you think I am?"
"You are a god. You are immortal," the old man stated as if reciting an old truth.
"How? How can I be a god when I am sick, injured and have no memory?" Daniel knew he sounded desperate but nothing was making sense. 'I wish this headache would stop.'
"You are immortal not invulnerable, even gods can die. You taught us that… showed us, when you killed some of those who tried to enslave us. We are almost to the library, you will see," he finished and waved Daniel through the nearest opening in the tunnel wall.
Memories
This was a larger alcove than the others were. It was lined with shelves full of bound manuscripts and scrolls. The musty smell of old paper struck a cord in Daniel's memory and he suddenly felt at home. He ran his hands over some of the manuscripts caressing the soft clean covers; there was no sign of dust.
"You look after these well," he complimented his companion.
"Thank you Lord. We have always believed our past should be remembered, and would be the key to our future. All the learning that survived is here for us to take back with us. Our roots must be preserved, you told us to forget nothing."
Daniel shrugged his good shoulder. Some things did seem familiar and memory fragments of libraries and violence tussled for a foothold in his conscious mind. Nothing made sense and he found the less he tried to follow the thoughts, the less his head hurt him. He picked up a manuscript and glanced at the script, "I'm sorry, I can't read this. My eyes don't pick up the small print, its blurred, and what writing I can see, I don't recognize."
"I will find the scroll of Odessa and read it to you, if you would like me to," the old man responded.
"What should I call you?" Daniel asked. He'd glanced up from the manuscript to watch the old man searching through a shelf of manuscripts. For some reason he looked embarrassed. When he received no answer, Daniel repeated the question.
"Lord… My parents called me Odessa. They were scholars, and my mother liked the name. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"It was not considered a correct name to give a child. We do not name our children after the demons."
"Demons?" Daniel's voice rose slightly at the implication, "you think I'm a demon?" Suddenly another reason occurred to him as to why the tunnels where empty wherever he had explored.
"A good demon, my Lord. You saved us from the others who came with you. You brought us down here to be safe from them," Odessa said hurriedly.
Daniel's questions were making Odessa increasingly nervous. He dropped a manuscript onto the table and opened it. He noticed that Daniel was swaying again and offered him a seat. After settling himself he began to read from the book. Daniel leaned back in the chair to listen, idly playing with small articles on the table in front of him.
The story of the demon gods was one that would have been familiar to Daniel, if his memory hadn't foundered. The Goa'uld had come through an ancient altar in their temple. They had taken many of the people as slaves and hosts. This was obvious in the writings, as some of the people changed, and became demons. Many others had disappeared through the ancient altar, never to be seen again.
One of the articles Daniel was playing with took his attention. It was a small circular object that looked vaguely familiar. Odessa glanced up, aware that he had lost Daniel's attention. His voice trailed off as he watched this demon, he realized the object in his hand had prompted some kind of memory.
"If you use it you can see for yourself, through your own eyes," Odessa whispered.
Daniel stared at the devise in his fingers. Into his mind flashed a scarred face, partially covered by a mask. Pain erupted again in his head, he gasped and dropped the object, pain and sudden fear warring for dominance in his mind. The old man retrieved the devise from the floor.
"You are afraid to see your memories?"
"How can I see memories I do not have?" Daniel snapped.
The devise would do more than that Daniel realized. He had used something like this before, or it had been used on him. 'Some of those memories had been false.' He tried to remember clearly what this object represented to him. Pain and pressure thundered through his head, blinding him temporarily and pushing the memories away. He was certain there had been something wrong with the memories it had prompted. His hands shook violently for a while, but as they steadied he retrieved the object from Odessa.
"Perhaps I do not wish to remember." He murmured. 'These people believe that I'm this demon, what if they're right?' He took a deep breath and decided this could be a way to find the truth. He placed the disc to his temple and flinched as it embedded itself there. The room around him dissolved and the pain vanished. Around him he felt the rush of a journey.
Odessa
He exited the Stargate and looked around a room hung with rich tapestries, candles burned on the platform in front of him, some no longer upright, but still lit. People were gathered in a terrified huddle at the bottom of the steps. Several bodies lay around, but the Jaffa had everything under control. He smiled and growled with satisfaction, 'Ra will be pleased.' A figure at the bottom of the steps caught his eye. 'This one is not afraid' he thought and strode down the steps towards him.
For a moment the memories became confused for Daniel. He could see himself at the bottom of the altar, watching as he approached. He could also see the approach of the creature he knew as Unas down the altar steps, as if both memories were his, in the same moment of time. From one side he could see the face he knew to be his stiffen suddenly, holding fear in check. He could hear both minds. Feel both the fear and the exultation together, as the Unas/he, grabbed the human/he, by the throat and lifted him from his feet. Eyes stared into eyes, making Daniel feel dizzy again as he reached for his own hands, which were slowly strangling him.
The memory shifted releasing Daniel from the confusion. He could now see the descent of Ra from the Stargate. He bowed low to receive his Lord, 'not my god, someday…' in the depth of his mind Daniel knew he intended to kill Ra.
"Odessa, has everything been prepared?" Ra asked the Unas.
"Yes my Lord. These creatures are similar to those you no longer control."
Ra's head whipped around to stare at his subordinate. "Be careful Odessa," he lifted a hand and the jewelled centre of his weapon glowed briefly. Odessa cringed.
Another shift in the memory found Daniel within his own body, being held down by two Jaffa guards. The Unas, Odessa, lay injured and dying, eyes glowing weakly. He heard the mind within Unas cursing Ra, but afraid. He felt himself rising, being presented to the demon. He realized he had been chosen as a new host and began to struggle. A terrible pain began in the base of his neck and he screamed.
The scream within the memory became real. The old man backed away from Daniel's arching body as it hit the floor. Cora and several other people rushed into the library.
"What have you done?" Cora yelled at him.
"He is wearing the dream maker, he knew what it was!" he yelled back, afraid of her anger, but more afraid of what was happening to Daniel.
Cora looked at the stranger lying on the floor. "If he is Lord Odessa why is he in pain?"
Cora directed two of the men to carry Daniel back to his bed. She reactivated the devise, rather than remove it immediately. No longer sure of the best action to help him, in fact believing that as a demon he would require no help to heal. She did nothing.
The confusion was gone from Daniel's mind. He was a Goa'uld now. He was Odessa. 'Ra will finally pay for the insults he has inflicted on his servant,' he thought as he made his way towards Ra's ship. It had now settled a short distance from the village, towering over the area. A woman ran towards him calling a name. Odessa stopped as he recognized the woman who had birthed his host. He smiled and his eyes glowed as he started to raise his weapon. To inflict pain and to cower his strong willed host was his intention. Then the smile faded, his arm would not respond, he could not move a single muscle.
The guard with him waited patiently for a response to the slave's advances. Odessa could not respond, he found himself locked in position. Not a muscle in his face would move, he had even ceased to breathe. The host was refusing to function, by its will it had trapped him inside this body. A fear no Goa'uld had ever known before filled him. He was inside another creature whose will was as great or greater than his. 'You will not harm my mother!' Daniel heard the inner voice scream, 'we will die together, before I will let you harm anyone else!'
The Goa'uld suddenly felt himself able to regain control of the host, but was left with the certainty that the host would retake control at any time it chose. Odessa now had a taste of what it would be like to be host, not Goa'uld. Not to be allowed to control what you could or could not physically do, not to speak, or eat, or breathe, without being allowed to. It was not a pleasant sensation and he was unwilling to do anything that might cause a re-occurrence of it.
When the woman reached him, he caught her arm and took her face in his other hand, lifting it to look into her eyes. His eyes glowed down at hers and she struggled, as she understood the implication. She hammered on his chest, "You have taken my son!" she screamed at him.
There was no fear in this face, only hatred. Odessa held her and looked across at the slaves close by. These people did not fear them, 'they call us demons, but there is no fear'. He let the woman go, pushing her roughly away. The guard was surprised as he turned away without harming her. He ignored the guard and went in search of the others who had taken hosts in this place. He was certain that he was the strongest of the Goa'uld that served Ra, if so many others would also be imprisoned.
Daniel woke slowly, the images of the dream lingering. He was back in the bed in which he had first awoken. Cora sat on the bed beside him, the 'dream maker' in her hand. She had finally decided to remove it, as he remained unconscious. She and Odessa behind her looked down at him, puzzled and a little afraid.
"It is not supposed to cause pain. We were told that it stored your memories, that it was not a weapon," she explained to him. "We use it to show the children the past, when they come of age."
"It's alright Cora, it isn't a weapon. The pain was in the memory not created by it."
"But the children never feel pain. Do you remember who you are now?" Cora asked, studying his face.
"I know who you think I am, and I know who you have been hiding from. The trouble is I don't know how I got here, so how can I take you back?"
"You came from behind the Altar stone, through the doorway," Odessa told him. "It is a room with only one door, the one you entered the tunnel by."
"Do you have any weapons at all?" Daniel asked them.
"Yes we have a few old weapons. They still work, but we have had no need of them," Odessa explained.
"I suggest that you put an armed guard on the place through which I entered. If I found a way to you, others may follow."
Cora nodded solemnly and Daniel noticed the old man immediately move away from the bed. "He will go and arrange for your order to be carried out," Cora told him.
Daniel winced visibly at the comment, "it wasn't an order," he told her, but no one seem to notice his discomfort.
Descent into Trouble
Sam rushed into Daniel's room in search of his spare glasses. She doubted that the ones he was wearing would survive a long fall intact. She threw the door wide, eliciting a loud grunt from someone stood directly behind it. Sam peered around the door and found Pearson righting himself, after Sam had half catapulted him over a short cupboard.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked him.
"Looking for Daniel's spare glasses," the SG-4 team member responded.
"Oh… " Sam smiled. "Have you found them?" Pearson held up the sort after article and Sam smiled in relief, they were already late to the Gate Room.
"Daniel will be alive," Pearson told Sam as they rushed along the corridor, "he's tougher than he looks."
"I know, it's just… " Sam found herself confiding, "well I think he's fallen a long way. I hope he had a soft landing."
"Where have you been?" Jamieson snapped at Pearson as he joined SG-4 in the Gate Room.
"Sorry Sir," he answered but didn't explain his delay, just levered his pack onto his shoulders and checked the weapon Eddings handed to him.
Jack looked at Sam, but didn't bother to ask, he was just impatient to get on with it. Both teams turned as the vortex sang into the room and settled into the event horizon. Jack looked up at Hammond in the Control Room.
"The MALP is still operating," Hammond told them over the speaker, "but it looks like a lot more masonry has come down. There appears to be some roof beams on the floor now."
"Well, they can't fall on us from that position," Jack responded. And waved a salute as Hammond nodded striding up the ramp ahead of the group. "Come on guys, Daniel's waiting," he told them.
The ruined building they found on leaving the Stargate bore little resemblance to what they remembered. The roof had finally caved in completely. Large parts of the outer walls had fallen over, letting in a sunlight that lifted much of the gloom that had pervaded the atmosphere. The shaft was now partially covered by a solid inner wall that had toppled over but remained intact. There appeared to be enough room to enter the shaft down the uncovered side.
"Hopefully the wall prevented to much rubble from falling down the shaft. We don't want to get partway down and find our way blocked." Jamieson commented and Jack nodded in agreement.
As they stood together looking down the shaft, Sam noticed the similarity between them. 'Jamieson doesn't have the Colonel's rather dry sense of humour though,' Sam thought as she began securing the edges of the shaft. 'No more falling rubble,' she told herself.
Pearson shone a light downward. "Yeah, this has to be artificial. Whoever built it would have added ledges at some depths for maintenance, I hope. There has to be somewhere to put your feet down now and again. I just hope it's not as deep as it looks."
Teal'c and Jack began the descent belaying off the stabilized shaft edge. They found a ledge a hundred-foot down the shaft and radioed up. Jamieson ordered Eddings and Phillip's replacement to stay at the top of the shaft. Sam and Pearson slid into the darkness with practiced ease, followed closely by Jamieson. When they had all reached the ledge it left little room for manoeuvre. Teal'c had already hammered in pins to support the next leg down, but Jack was beginning to wonder how far they would have to go. "Sure hope you're luck held out," Jack murmured.
Sam realized he was talking to their absent friend and sighed, she looked up and caught Pearson's eye, he responded by smiling briefly. He couldn't help thinking though 'if Daniel is dead, it's going to destroy the best team the SGC has'. Jack descended ahead of Teal'c this time, in case the shaft narrowed. His foot found a ledge and as he turned his torch downwards realized it was quite a wide one. Jack stepped back to use the room to stretch his tiring muscles. Something crunched under his foot and he glanced down again. The light from his torch reflected off broken glass under his feet. He stooped and picked up the frames of a pair of glasses. "I've found Daniel's glasses," he yelled and pocketed the remains. He knew they would be of no use but was reluctant to leave them.
Once everyone had climbed down to join him on the ledge, they sat and rested. Jack stared down the shaft wondering how much the delay was costing Daniel. He thought he saw a glimmer of light so touched Sam's shoulder and pointed down. Knowing that Daniel was not carrying his torch, he responded to the light with caution and silence. As Sam gazed down a light glowed briefly down and to the left of them. Everyone else noticed their preoccupation and looked down.
"I was right the shaft isn't straight down," Sam whispered.
"I still don't see how anyone could survive a drop like this…" Pearson began, but stopped when unceremoniously nudged in the ribs by his Team leader. "Sorry."
"It's OK," Jack murmured, "I was thinking the same thing, but we still have to find him. It doesn't feel like he's dead."
Jamieson looked at his teammate thinking, 'there was that thing again' and raised an inquiring eyebrow. These people seemed to be almost psychically linked. Pearson knew what was on Jamieson's mind as they had discussed it before, after their first shared mission. They finally decided it was the close calls all of them had gone through at the hands of the Goa'uld. That again set Jamieson wondering about the Goa'uld Teal'c carried. It was bound to become a problem one day, but he had often heard O'Neill refer to it as junior, it was almost as if they regarded it as part of their team. What would happen when it matured? He remembered what had happened to Kowalski and shuddered causing a questioning look from Pearson.
"Time to move on," Jack whispered, conscious that they didn't know who had been responsible for the light. He nodded to Teal'c who started down the final stretch first. He dropped down through the final part of the descent, through the roof of the room Daniel had fallen into. He straightened up, lifting his head to look around. His eyes came level with a very old Staff Weapon. He raised his eyes to meet those of the man holding it and froze.
"O'Neill!" he called, but he was too late. The other four followed him, dropping into the centre of a circle of guards placed in the room.
Demons
"My Lord… My Lord!" Odessa shouted breathlessly as he ran down the tunnel towards Daniel and Cora. "Demons are coming. We can hear their voices in the room you told us to guard!"
"Hear them? Not see them?" Daniel asked.
"No my Lord the voices come from above, quietly, but we can hear them. The guards are prepared," Odessa explained a triumphant smile appearing on his face.
Daniel hugged his chest with his injured arm and raised a finger, a puzzled look appearing again on his face. He opened his mouth to ask a question, suddenly he stopped, 'what if they're friends looking for me?'
"They may not be Demons you know, they may be friends, looking for me," he pointed out. Odessa and Cora looked at one another with sudden worry. "Well," Daniel tried to point out reasonably, "what if I am not Odessa? What if my being here is just an accident?" His head was throbbing again. It felt so pressured he was sure it was going to explode. He noticed that the lights in the tunnels were beginning to fade and wondered if they had power troubles. Daniel stumbled forward and Cora grabbed his arm to steady him.
"My Lord you should be led down, you are still not well!" Cora chided.
Daniel shook his head and hurried back in the direction Odessa had come. Instinct told him that something could go very wrong if he didn't. They entered the room in the midst of a fight, there appeared to be struggling bodies everywhere. Daniel picked up a weapon that looked familiar and aimed it at the ceiling. The shot from the MP-5 rang around the room and everyone stopped and turned as Daniel shouted.
"Enough!" 'Why did I do that… that hurt!' he thought to himself grimacing.
The Tunnel people retreated to stand behind Daniel, leaving their new champion to face the 'demons.'
"Daniel!" Jack shouted and stepped towards his friend, a smile of relief on his face.
Daniel lifted the weapon and Jack realized it was pointed at him.
"Daniel?" The name became a question.
"Who are you?" Daniel asked them, stopping Jack in his tracks.
"Daniel," Sam called from behind Teal'c, and then stepped to one side so that she could see him properly. "We're your friends."
"How am I supposed to know that," Daniel spat in an exasperated voice. "They call me Odessa, you call me Daniel. Neither names mean anything to me."
"They are demons Lord Odessa," whispered one of the men behind him and pointed at Teal'c, "look, the dark one wears the mark."
Teal'c saw no recognition in Daniel's eyes and wondered briefly if he would die by the hand of a friend, rather than through the Goa'uld. "Daniel Jackson," he repeated Sam's words, "Major Carter is correct, we are your friends."
"Odessa?" Daniel called to the old man behind him.
"Yes My Lord?"
"You did say there were good demons, as well as bad ones?"
"You are a good demon, you saved us from the demon Ra. We were told of no other good demons in our histories."
"Ra?" Jack picked up the name. "Daniel, you know Ra is dead, we killed him, try to remember."
Daniel remembered that Odessa wanted Ra dead. "Did I kill Ra?" he asked, everything was getting darker.
It was almost as if he was seeing everything in negative. The bandage on his head seemed to be tightening unbearably, and Daniel reached up and dragged it off, opening the wound in the side of his head. Blood began to ooze from the large gash in his temple, and trickle down the side of his head.
"We killed him Daniel," Jack said quietly, "don't you remember? We blew him to pieces."
The strength had slowly left his arms and the weapon began to slip from his weakening fingers. Suddenly Daniel slumped forward as his legs refused to hold him any longer. Jack stepped forward and caught him before he hit the floor. Daniel felt himself being lowered carefully and opened his eyes. A blond woman leaned over him, fingers on the side of his head.
"Cora," he called and she appeared beside the stranger. "I don't think they're demons, don't hurt them…"
Darkness descended again and Daniel wondered, as grey turned to black, if he would ever manage to stay awake for long.
Rescue
"Major Jamieson… Major Jamieson," the small voice emanated from the earpiece hanging from his vest front. Cora heard the small voice and backed hurriedly away from the man. Jack glanced around the room at the strange pale people watching them suspiciously.
"It might be a good idea to tell them we've found Daniel alive. Tell them to set-up a relay so we can talk to the General." Jack spoke softly realizing that it wouldn't take much to spook these people. He was uncertain how they would react.
"Sir, they listen to Daniel and he told them not to hurt us," Sam pointed out. She continued to wrap a support bandage around Daniel's head again. "He could have a skull fracture, he definitely has concussion. His body has lots of bruising… maybe a cracked rib. We need to get him home."
Cora picked up one of the Staff Weapons, and pointed it at the strangers. Her people slowly began to close in on them.
"I don't think they will let us take him out of here, willingly," Pearson commented as he moved to protect Sam's back from any possible hostility. "Why would they think we're demons?"
"They recognize the Jaffa symbol I wear," Teal'c answered him.
"Replace demon with Goa'uld," Jack added as he slowly bent to pick up a weapon, "they hate them as much as we do."
The old man caught Cora's arm and stopped the advance. It appeared that he had been listening to them.
"You call the demons, Goa'uld?" he asked, "why do you wear their mark?" he asked Teal'c directly.
"I was in the service of the Goa'uld," Teal'c told them.
"Hey, he saved our lives, he one of us now." Jack injected forcefully into the conversation. He hated the way Teal'c responded to the guilt he felt about serving Apophis.
"Lord Odessa has told us not to harm you, but we will not let you take him away from us," the old man told them.
"Will you allow us to bring a doctor to him?" Sam asked.
"A Doctor?" Cora questioned.
"Yes, a healer… a shaman… someone to heal his wounds," Sam finished as she struggled to find a common word.
"He is a demon, he will heal himself," Cora responded. Sam looked puzzled and frustrated and turned to appeal to Jack.
"No he isn't," Jack responded, he finally understood what they believed Daniel to be. "He has no Goa'uld, no demon inside him. He cannot heal himself."
"But Lord Odessa has a demon," Cora replied. "We were told he has a demon."
Jack thought about trying to convince them that Daniel was not Odessa, whoever he was, but thought better of it.
"Sam here, was possessed by a Goa'uld, but she no longer has one," Jack pointed out, "Daniel hasn't got one either."
"I was not possessed by a Goa'uld!" Sam protested indignantly, "Jolinar was Tok'ra."
A concerted gasp rose from the group surrounding them. Cora stared at her for a moment. "Do you realize what you have just said? Jolinar? This was the name of the creature that possessed you?"
"Yes, her name was Jolinar," Sam responded
"In our language Tok'ra means 'against Ra'. This is what our people who were possessed by demons were known as. They resisted the demons and taught them, over time, to become one, to unite with the creature they possess. The demons learnt that there was another way for them to survive."
"If that's true, then the Tok'ra must know of this planet," Sam commented, "but we have a more pressing need here. Daniel is deteriorating, we must get Janet and some equipment here quickly."
Jack ignored the Tunnel people and turned up his radio. "We need Dr Fraiser down here now. Sam says Daniel has a possible skull fracture, broken ribs and…" he looked at Sam.
"Possible fractures in right arm, shoulder. It's the skull fracture I'm worried about… and the Amnesia."
"Did you get all that?" Jack asked.
"Yes I got it," General Hammond's voice came over the earpiece.
"General, where are you?"
"Up top, with Dr Fraiser. We came through as soon as we had the message he was alive. We'll be down shortly."
"Well you may not want us to help him, but help is a coming," Jack told them.
"Please let us move him back to his room," Cora pleaded and Daniel was carefully lifted and carried back into the tunnels.
Recovery
Daniel woke to the sound of whispering and moved his head, carefully at first. The pain had receded to a dull ache, and the pressure was gone. He sighed in relief. He noticed someone asleep on a stack of cushions beside his bed. A movement by the bed-end caught his eye and he found a pair of familiar dark eyes watching him. Daniel smiled in relief and recognition. "Dr Fraiser!"
"Hello Daniel, I guess you must be feeling a great deal better. That was some blood clot we had to remove." She glanced at the sleeping Colonel, "everyone's been worried about you."
"Yeah right," Jack's sleepy voice intruded into the soft-spoken conversation.
"Thought you were a sleep," Daniel responded, a smile hovering, "it's good to see you."
"You didn't think so earlier, shooting me was what you had in mind."
Daniel smiled wearily, "you're still here aren't you?"
Jack smiled in response, "how's a man supposed to sleep with all this yapping going on. I'm off to find a decent bed." Jack rose as he spoke and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Space Monkey," he said softly, "can't you ever stay out of trouble."
"Cora!" Daniel gasped, suddenly remembering her out of the confusion.
"We're still in the Tunnels Daniel. We have contacted the Tok'ra. These people appear to have some kind of connection with them. Apparently, this Odessa guy they mistook you for, may have been an early Tok'ra. Would you believe it, these people could resist the Goa'uld when they were taken as hosts. I guess the Goa'uld tried to wipe them out, when they realized what was happening."
Daniel thought for a moment about the Odessa memories he had shared. "Yes I could and yes I expect they did. Jack go and get some sleep." Jack smiled tiredly at his friend and went to find a bed.
Janet Fraiser, however, didn't go away. "We have to get you back to base and proper care, but we have a little problem with that," she told him.
"What problem?" Daniel asked her and tried to sit up.
Janet pushed him gently back and explained as she sat on the bed beside him. "They still believe, want to believe that you are Odessa. They are afraid if they let us take you away, you won't come back and help them. General Hammond has arranged for lifting gear and engineers. He should be here soon. You certainly seem to have impressed these people."
"Not me Janet," Daniel told her, "Odessa did. He was a Goa'uld, but he turned on Ra and rescued them. If he had survived, I am sure he would have come back."
"Which means that he did not survive," Teal'c injected into the conversation.
Neither had seen him enter the alcove, but Daniel smiled in greeting. "Did I try to kill you too?" He asked Teal'c.
"I think the thought may have been in your mind," Teal'c replied. "The Tok'ra have been in contact with the SGC. It would seem that they believed this entire race had been exterminated. They are eager to return to this place and meet the descendants of their first free hosts."
"Hi," Sam called as she came over to the bed, "how are you feeling?"
Pearson walked in behind her and grinned at Daniel, "not a dinosaur in sight and you still managed to get banged up!"
"Stow it," Daniel responded, but grinned back. Pearson slipped Daniel's spare glasses out of his pocket and handed them to him. "Perhaps if you'd had these with you, you might have avoided the hole."
"Thanks Pearson," he responded, perching the glasses on his nose and taking a fresh look at his friends. "That's better, now I can see you. This room seem to be getting very crowded."
"That's because you can see us," Pearson responded, causing Sam to laugh properly for the first time in a couple of days. Teal'c smiled in response to the lightening atmosphere as Jack returned to the alcove with Hammond and Cora following behind.
"This room is getting far too crowded," Janet stated with a disapproving frown, "he is still far to weak for all this attention and frivolity. Some of you will have to go, now!" she emphasized by pushing Sam and Pearson away from the bed.
"See you later Daniel," Sam called as she left.
"That includes you Teal'c," Janet continued pointedly.
"I will see you soon Daniel Jackson," Teal'c responded and nodded to Jack as he passed the incoming group.
"Not long General," Janet addressed him, "he needs to sleep."
Cora was fascinated by the way everyone responded to the Healer. "Is she allowed to talk to your leaders like that?" She asked Jack in a whisper.
General Hammond smiled but pretended not to hear. "How are you feeling son?"
"A lot better thank you sir. When am I going home?" Daniel asked.
"Soon, we have to get these people to the surface and re-introduce them to the Tok'ra. You will be going up with the first of Cora's people."
Cora came to his bedside. "You will not stay with us my Lord?"
Daniel looked at the woman and took the hand she had laid on the bed. "I'm not Lord Odessa. He did save your people, but as Odessa told me a little while ago, he was not invulnerable. I think Ra killed him or he would have returned." He looked back at Hammond and Jack, "I'm sorry sir, Jack, I really am tired."
"That's OK son, we'll see you tomorrow at the makeshift lift."
"Daniel…" Jack said sheepishly as Hammond left.
"Yes Jack"
"I found your glasses," and he handed him the frames. Daniel looked at the twisted frames and back at Jack who shrugged apologetically, "I stepped on them."
Daniel grinned at him and then closed his eyes. "Jack."
"What?"
"Go to bed!"