Twisted Paths
Spoilers for: stuff relating to Daniel and Vala's childhood, other random eps which I'll note as necessary
Pairings: A lot of DanielVala friendship, who knows where it will end up?
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate:SG-1. This is written for fun, not profit.
Acknowledgement: This was inspired long ago by Chapter 10 of How Daniel and Vala met:The Alternate Scenarios by acer-sigma
Prologue
Jacek cursed as he pounded on the display screen. Despite the abuse, it resolutely displayed the same message: the star charts had been corrupted and the ship had travelled an unknown distance off course. He lashed out again and cursed the trader who had provided the vessel, but the situation did not improve. The only way to return home was to wait a week while the computer rebuilt its database and figured out where in the galaxy he was. He knew he only carried provisions for two more days. This meant he needed to find a planet where he could restock.
Sensors indicated a star of the right type within two days of hyperspace travel. He could not yet determine if it had habitable planets, but there was no other choice. Many long hours later, Jacek was relieved to see scans of a watery planet. It was definitely inhabited, and at a far greater level than he had seen on any other planet. Equally surprisingly was a notation indicating that there was not a single Gateway on the planet, but two. One appeared to be in a frozen region, so he set his course for the other.
At that point, the sub-light engine controls began to fail. Jacek began to regret purchasing such a cheap ship. It looked like he would be fortunate to land in a single piece on dry land. Landing in any specific place would be impossible. As it was, he could tell that he wasn't going to land on the same landmass as the Gateway.
After a harrowing struggle, the small cloaked ship landed in an unoccupied sandy area, not far from an inhabited area. The pilot checked that the computer would continue the mapping process, chose a few shiny trinkets which could be traded for food, and set out walking in the direction of civilisation. A hour's walk brought him to what looked more like the remnants of civilisation. Several people were working in the dirt, poring over buried ruins, broken pottery, and other items.
No one seemed to notice the newcomer, giving him an opportunity to listen to their conversations. They seemed to use a variety of tongues, some which were partly familiar to him. He began to understand they were investigating the remains of what had been a city in the nearly-forgotten past. He entertained thoughts of searching for treasure, but his belly reminded him of more pressing needs to fill. After taking a long drink from his water container, he continued past the dig site to the city.
The city contained much of interest to the newcomer. It was quite a mixture, of both people and technology. Mostly, it seemed primitive, though there were many things that appeared to be quite innovative and vastly different to any Goa'uld items he'd seen on sale. On that subject, no one seemed to understand his questions about the Goa'uld or the Gateway. From the odd looks he received, he gathered that these people knew nothing about the inhabitants of the galaxy beyond their planet. This was unexpected, but somewhat refreshing.
Food was something the people definitely did know about, and they were willing to part with a significant quantity of it in exchange for the jewellery he had on hand. He was also able to secure a comfortable bed to spend several nights. This gave him plenty of opportunity to learn about the city and the available commodities. It was definitely a place to which he could return for advantageous trade. A planet without threat of the Goa'uld was also attractive. His own home-world – a subsidiary holding, which merited several squads of Jaffa to keep the inhabitants in line – had a far more oppressive ambience.
Feeling pleased at his find, and leading a borrowed humped creature laden with provisions, Jacek returned to his ship. He again stopped to watch the archaeologists at the dig site. They were busily and carefully excavating artefacts from the past. One of the diggers was a young boy, and the sight of the child's meticulous work caused Jacek to think of his own daughter, who would be waiting for him to return, as was his dear wife.
Suddenly feeling anxious to be home, the traveller continued walking back to his ship. He loaded it with the items he had bartered, and set the camel free. The star chart was nearly repaired, giving him time to patch up the sub-light controls well enough to take him safely off the planet. Once everything was in marginally working order, he activated the drive, and the ship lifted away from the planet's surface, unseen by the inhabitants. As he prepared to jump to hyper-speed, he considered all the new stories he could tell. Yes, it would be good to be home.