NEARLY THREE WEEKS EARLIER
Daniel fiddled with his glasses in the town square as he threw another glance at the large stone building on the other side of it. Mitchell had been stuck in there for two days now, mediating over the formation of the new peace treaty for Uglop; Jackson couldn't help but smile at the memory of Cameron's 'SERIOUSLY?' when he'd first heard the name. Apparently it had been something to do with the Goa'uld lord that had previously ruled the planet, but even Daniel had been unable to get a satisfactory explanation of what it actually meant.
Uglop turned out to be a smallish planet made up of five very different nation states; the planet had erupted into a massive civil war the second news of their lord's defeat had reached their ears. Not that they had been exceptionally fond of their Lord, several of the nations had been trading behind his back for years. Although small, the planet was laden with valuable natural resources and therefore was an irreplaceable trading partner of many other worlds and races, such as the Asgard; why they hadn't been called in to mediate the talks, no one knew.
Cam had talked circles around himself trying to convince the leadership of the five nations that anyone else would be a better choice- especially if that choice was Jackson- to run interference during the negotiations. He'd cited Daniel's knowledge of the conflict, the nations' historical backgrounds, and the fact that he was the socio-political nerd on the team, but nothing had swayed them; they wanted the leader of SG-1 or no one. So Mitchell had done his homework, reading over numerous reports on the planet's history and political climate, as well as picking Daniel's brain every chance he got. The archeologist was secretly proud that he was taking things so seriously; he doubted Jack would have done the same. But still, Jackson couldn't help being just a bit jealous, hence his pacing through the town square on a regular basis; Sam and Teal'c had opted to sit this one out, but Cameron had asked Daniel to come along for nightly guidance.
Recalling the saying that a 'watched pot never boils', Jackson stood and moved through the bustling market place. As it was only lunch time on the planet, he knew that he had at least five hours before they would adjourn for the evening.
Last night Mitchell had emerged from the meeting nearly as frustrated at Daniel had ever seen him. "They're worse than a bunch of four year olds fighting over a new toy", he'd commented as they ate a quiet dinner together. The Colonel was not a patient man- never even claimed to be- and was used to a much more direct method of conflict resolution; Daniel could only imagine the torture he was going through trying to maintain his tact in the face of such childish behavior when the results could improve so many lives. The rest of the delegates were taking part in a special feast in honor of the talks, but the colonel had declined, declaring to Jackson privately that if he spent one more minute in their company that day he would kill them all and claim justifiable homicide.
The market place seemed even more crowded than it had the day before, news of the temporary cease-fire having spread to the outlying cities. The stalls displayed various wares, everything from household appliances to vegetables and rare minerals, many of which could only be found on Uglop. The bazaar took up nearly five square city blocks; Daniel had only managed to explore half of it in an hour of wandering when he thought he heard someone frantically calling his name. He turned quickly and found the liaison that had been assigned to Mitchell, Barston if he remembered correctly, racing toward him.
"Dr Jackson, I have been looking for you everywhere. You must leave through the Stargate immediately, the fighting will resume any minute now." The man's frantic looks to the surrounding market place added weight to his statement.
Daniel dug in his heels as the liaison began physically pushing him toward the gate, "hold on a second, what happened? Where's Col Mitchell? Did the talks break down?"
Barston continued forcing the reluctant archeologist toward the gate. "Something has happened to the delegates. The chamber was empty when we came to deliver the mid-day meal and there were signs of a struggle. Word has already leaked out, each nation is sure to blame the others."
"WHAT?!" Jackson dodged out of the man's grip, "what happened to 'high security'?"
"The security officers were found dead outside of the chamber." Barston finally realized that forcing Jackson to leave without knowing what had happened wasn't exactly an option. "We can only assume that rebels have taken the delegates hostage in order to stall the peace talks. Please, you must get through the gate, the other nations are no doubt planning retaliation as we speak." No sooner had the words left his mouth then there was an explosion several miles to the north of their position. Barston snatched Daniel's arm and bodily hauled him toward the gate; Jackson was not a small man, but the liaison easily had seventy-five pounds on him.
"But they may still be in the area; we have to mount a search. I don't know how things work here, but on my planet, we don't leave people behind," the archeologist explained frantically. They had reached the DHD by this point, Barston quickly began punching in Earth's gate address as the explosions continued around them. Jackson's despair and anger grew the more he realized that there was very little he could do to help Cam right now; "at least let me bring a team back to search when the attacks stop. We won't give up on Col Mitchell without a fight."
Barston gave him a hard look as the wormhole opened, "if the attacks lighten, I will contact you. But I warn you, our people will not welcome you back."
Daniel quickly punched in his IDC knowing that he was going through the gate one way or another. Sure enough, Barston soon forced him up the short steps. Jackson cursed the fact that he was unarmed- the city of Sylvain had become a weapons free zone while the negotiations were being hosted here- knowing that would have been his only chance of getting away from Barston and searching for Cameron. Daniel stumbled through the wormhole as Barston gave him a final shove.