Author's Note: This story is written in a similar style to my fic "Change of Heart": it tells a different side of the story from what we (the audience) saw. In this case, the prison on Hadante in "Prisoners" (203). Some spoilers for that ep. R&R please!
Injustice
"There are no returns from Hadante. For anyone."
-Taldur member #3
In the beginning, the Island States of the Taldur were like many other nations throughout history: crime was a part of life. All of that changed, however, with the discovery of the Stargate.
"What do you think it is?" a voice asked, echoing in the enclosed space.
Colin stood in front of the artifact his archaeological team had just uncovered, jaw hanging in awe. It took him a moment to find his voice. "I have no idea," he responded. The ring stood twice as tall as he. It was wide enough four of his team could have passed through shoulder to shoulder had it not been embedded in the cave wall. The edge was engraved with peculiar symbols; Colin could count at least twenty of them. Seven red jewels were placed at points around the edge. "Whatever it is, though," Colin continued, "we will be remembered for eternity."
"It's a doorway," one of the linguists, exclaimed. It had been two months since the discovery of the Ring, as well as the second, smaller artifact (a pedestal of some sort). The linguistics team had been hard at work translating the writings on the tablets found with the pedestal for the past month. Now, apparently, they had a breakthrough.
"A doorway?" the head of the team, Sheena, asked.
"According to this, there is a way to turn the Ring on. You enter the proper sequence, and a 'doorway to another place' is opened."
"Is a sequence provided?"
"I think I have something," another individual spoke up. "This part says 'We came to escape the Destruction of…' and then seven symbols that I can't translate."
Sheena was silent for a moment. "Well done," she finally said. "Keep working; I'll be back in a moment." With that, she exited the tent under which her team worked and made for the cave. Once inside, Sheena headed for the area around the pedestal, where she could see Colin. "I would speak with you," she stated, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"What is it?" he asked, stepping away from the rest of his team and leading her to the edge of the work area.
Sheena gave him a fast explanation. "We need to tell the Taldur," she concluded, referring to the governing body of the Island States.
"No!" Colin exclaimed. "Do you know what I had to do to get the permits to dig here in the first place? If they find out about our discoveries before we finish, we won't be allowed to finish. They'll move in their own team, we'll be told to never say anything, and the discovery will be covered up. This discovery is too important for that!"
"As you wish," Sheena told him. "If you will excuse me, I will return to my team."
Colin watched her as she walked away. "Colin," one of the other workers tapped his shoulder, "you okay?"
"Hm? Yeah," Colin shook his head and turned to the other archaeologist. "What have you got?" Even though he went back to work, Colin still couldn't shake the feeling that something about Sheena's attitude was bothering him. He just couldn't put his finger on it.
The big news at the dig over the next two weeks was when the linguistics team figured out that the last seven symbols on the stone tablets served as an address. Sheena briefed Colin on the discovery. "The symbols match those on the pedestal and those on the Stargate." One of the linguists had finally translated enough of the tablets to find the proper name for the ring. "Tor believes that if you press the sequence of symbols on the pedestal, they'll create an opening in the Stargate."
"How?" Colin asked.
"He has no idea," Sheena admitted. "But he wants to try it, anyway."
Colin thought it over. Tor was one of the youngest people on the project, and he was known for having some rather wild ideas. But something in Colin's mind agreed with the young man. "Okay," Colin told Sheena. "Tell him we'll try tomorrow."
The next day after morning meal, the entire team gathered behind the pedestal to watch the experiment. Tor stood in front of the pedestal, with Colin and Sheena on either side. Taking a deep breath, Tor reached out and pressed the first symbol. Everyone jumped as a rumbling sound issued from the Stargate, and one of the seven crystals glowed.
Stunned silence reigned for a few moments. "Tor?" Colin finally asked.
"Oh, right." Tor shook himself and pressed the remaining six symbols, then the large red dome in the center of the pedestal.
A waterfall erupted from the Stargate, causing everyone to jump back. It remained for only a moment, however, before snapping back into the Stargate, forming a shimmering puddle. Once again, a stunned silence filled the cavern.
Finally, someone spoke: "Wow."
At midday meal, there was much discussion and speculation about where the Stargate went. "We need to send an exploration team," Tor maintained. "I'll lead…"
"And what happens when you get stranded? Who will reconnect the Stargate to come and save you?" Colin asked. "You've told us yourself: the tablets say that there is no pedestal on the other side. If the other team wishes to come back, someone on this side has to open the Stargate."
"Then who will you send?" Tor challenged.
"No one will be sent," a voice said from behind Colin. Frowning, the team leader turned around.
Sheena stood behind him, along with several men who wore the uniform of the law enforcement officers. "This entire team is under arrest," the leader said, "for attempt to conceal facts from the Taldur."
"What?" Colin exclaimed. "You must be joking!"
Instead of replying, the leader motioned his men forward. The other officers moved in and began to bind the other scientists' wrists before leading them away from the table. "Sheena," Colin spoke to the linguist, "what's going on?"
"You should have let me contact the Taldur earlier, Colin," the young woman told him, shaking her head. "They have to know."
"I was going to tell them--"
"When, Colin? When would you have told them?" Sheena asked. "Once someone had been hurt? Or what if someone died?" She shook her head. "We can't take that chance. The Taldur have to know what we found. They can make the necessary decisions from now on."
Colin opened his mouth to reply, but the commanding officer cut him off. "You can make your case to the Taldur." He looked at the other officers. "Load them into the transport."
With that, Colin, Tor, and the rest of the team were escorted out of the cave and into daylight.
"You are charged with attempt to conceal information from the Taldur," the deep voice resonated through the chamber.
Colin and his team, minus Sheena, stood in a shaft of light, the only light in the otherwise dark space. None of them could see into the gloom that surrounded them; there was no telling how many members of the Taldur were present.
"We were trying to finish our research!" Colin called. "We would have told you everything once we knew more!"
"Continuing to tell non-truths will not help you," a second voice, this one probably a female's, said.
"He is telling the truth!" Tor yelled. "Why don't you listen?"
Low murmurs were heard, as if the Taldur members were conferring among themselves. Eventually, a third voice spoke: "All of you will be sent through the Stargate."
Colin and Tor exchanged startled glances. "But there is no pedestal on the other side," Colin said aloud.
"We will open the Stargate again in two months' time," the first voice stated. "At that time you will be permitted to return. Until then, you will explore what lies beyond the Stargate."
"You will be given supplies to last the two months," the female voice. "The decision of the Taldur is final."
With that, the officers returned and led the team out.
Later that same day, Colin and the rest of the team stood in front of the Stargate loaded down with two months' worth of supplies as Tor entered the combination into the pedestal. When the Stargate opened, all of the officers took an involuntary step backwards from the prisoners.
Tor looked questioningly at Colin, who nodded. Tor returned the nod, stepped around the pedestal and making for the Stargate. With a quick look back at the others, Tor turned, took a deep breath, and stepped into the wall of water.
"Let's go, everyone," Colin told the rest of them, and led the group through the Stargate into the unknown.
Two months later
Tor stood in front of the Stargate, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Anxious?" Colin asked the younger man.
"I just want to go home," Tor responded.
Colin nodded his head in agreement. The Taldur were supposed to have someone dial Hadante within the next few minutes to retrieve the science team that they had summarily sent through the Stargate as punishment for "attempt to conceal facts" from them.
Colin snorted. Two months in Hadante. Thanks to anyone who would listen that it was over. Their arrival in the underground caverns had been rather uneventful. Camp had been quickly set up in the side chambers, while work on the main area had commenced immediately. Colin had also created a three-person team to look for an exit, hoping to access the surface of the planet.
Everything had gone rapidly downhill. The explorers had found a way to the surface, but the air was poison. Only one of them had made it back alive, and she had lasted just long enough to explain what had happened to her companions. The rest of the group had sealed off the exit and placed a warning on it, but that was all that they could do. After this incident, one of the students had named the world Hadante, after a child's bedtime story about an evil sorceress who killed you with her breath.
One scroll was found, but it disintegrated after only a few days. Best as the team could figure out, the previous inhabitants of the world, their distant ancestors, had managed to poison the world with some sort of experiment in weather control. Other than a few odds and ends, the scroll was the only thing they had found, and that had been almost a month ago. Since then, morale had sunk and tempers flared.
Rumbling from the direction of the Stargate drew Colin's attention back to the present. As he watched, the seven jewels lit up in quick succession, and the waterfall erupted before snapping back into place within the frame of the Stargate.
"About time," Tor muttered.
"Okay everyone, let's--" Colin's voice trailed off as an object came sailing through the wall of water with such force that Colin was able to catch it before it hit the ground. Surprised, he realized that it was a two-way communicator. He quickly turned it on.
"—Sheena calling Colin. Can you hear me?"
"Sheena, what's going on?" Colin responded, surprised to hear the linguist's voice.
"Colin! Don't send anyone through the Stargate!"
"What? Why not?"
"We found another tablet. According to it, the only way you can travel through the Stargate is if you are the one that activated it with the pedestal."
"There's no pedestal in Hadante!"
"I know," Sheena responded.
"We're stuck here?" Tor exclaimed, loud enough for the others to hear.
A babble of voices broke out, and Colin had to silence them so that he could talk to Sheena again. "What about supplies?" he asked. "Our food will only last another day."
"The Taldur will send through food on a daily basis. Other than that…"
Colin hung his head. "We can't go home."
"I'm sorry, Colin." Sheena sounded apologetic. Someone near her spoke, but the voice wasn't close enough to register. "Colin, I've just been told to shut down the Stargate," Sheena informed him.
His voice seemed to have deserted him. Colin worked his mouth a couple of times.
"Good-bye, Colin."
The communicator clicked off, and a moment later, so did the Stargate.
"NO!" Tor shouted, running up the stairs as if he could make the object turn back on just by heading towards it. "No, no, no," he continued to moan, dropping on his knees in the opening.
"Good-bye, Sheena," Colin finally replied.
"They called it Hadante," one of the Taldur members commented. They had been listening to the conversation between Sheena and Colin.
"An appropriate name for a prison," the female member stated. "It is proposed that all criminals be sent through the Stargate to Hadante."
"Agreed," a third member voted.
One by one, all of the others responded: "Agreed."