Ever since they stepped out of the gate onto Abydos, Dr. Daniel Jackson had been uneasy. Once he would have been excited to return to his home, his family and friends, but that was no longer the case. It was no longer home. His ties to what had been his family were tenuous at best, severed by the death of the thread that held him to them. His friends? He realized that the friendships he had made on the desert planet were little more than acquaintances after all. At the time he had no real depth of relationships to compare them to. They felt like friendships. Now he knew better.
There was no question that he was a different man than the first time he stepped through the Stargate onto this planet. His first time through, he awkwardly wore military BDUs that didn't quite fit. His hair was an untamed mop. His glasses were heavy with his prescription and made of untempered plastic. His body was thin in the way of underfed survivors of graduate programs everywhere and he saw little past his own nose, both literally and figuratively. Now each footfall was heavy with purpose. His shoulders had broadened, bulking up just enough to carry the burdens he'd accumulated over the past few years. His glasses were made of a thin metal, able to bend without breaking and given the military's nod for use. Just like me, came an unbidden thought. His BDUs were well worn and tailored to his form. His hair was just too long in the front to be proper military, but made a decent enough attempt to pass at a glance. Yes, much like him.
The Daniel Jackson from over five years ago was not the same man who now walked the same path through the village he'd walked countless times before.
He walked along, bringing up the rear. There was no worry here of attack and the team was in a loose formation. Daniel kept his distance from his father-in-law, Kasuf. Was he still considered his father-in-law? He still referred to Daniel as Good Son and Daniel called him Good Father. But the words were hollow now. The light that had filled the titles dimmed and sputtered out with the death of Sha're. Daniel didn't want to be here and so he slowed his long legs to keep pace behind everyone else, but moved just enough to keep from ever veering too close to stillness. If he stopped moving, the past few years would catch up to him and drown him with his own psyche. It was almost like Jack's constant need for motion was rubbing off on him.
Ahead of him, he saw the sun-faded headdress and robes of Kasuf, catching his face in frequent profile as he turned to speak to Jack. Jack's back was military-straight as if he marched at attention. His fingers rested on the side of his standard issue P90. Despite the lack of threat on Abydos, he was always ready for something to go wrong and it showed in his posture and the easy swivel of his neck to take in every last detail. Teal'c, ahead and to the right of Daniel, walked with a much easier gait. The large Jaffa's jacket was unzipped against the heat and would slightly billow at each movement if it wasn't weighed down by his unfastened vest and packs. Sam also carried a P90, required by all off-world teams even going to somewhere as friendly as Abydos. Though she was on the taller side for a woman, she still had to take more frequent steps to cover the ground and keep up with the men surrounding her. She was used to it, though. Kasuf might not be much taller than her, but he walked quickly and with purpose. The pace kept her blood pumping and kept her distracted from the possible ramifications of why they were there.
Kasuf had contacted them the previous night, or perhaps early morning would be a better description of the time. It was only happenstance that the entirety of SG-1 was still on base when the message came through. As Kasuf explained through the open wormhole that he heard his daughter's name whispered on the wind and requested SG-1 to come investigate, Sam had glanced over at Daniel. He showed no expression. His face remained impassive and stony. Aside from the slightest twitch that tightened the skin at the corner of his eyes, he was eerily still at the news. When the General ordered them to get some rest and prepare to leave in several hours once he could write up the mission specs and requisition the gear, Daniel simply turned and walked out.
He'd been strangely quiet since then. Even Sam's attempts to draw him into conversation fell flat as they geared up and entered the Stargate and were spit out on Abydos.
"Yeah, Kasuf," Jack ventured after they had walked for some time. "About this voice that spoke to you?"
Kasuf's hands waved at his sides as he walked, helping keep the momentum going as they neared their destination. "Yes, it spoke the name of my daughter, may she rest in peace." His heart clenched at the mention of his daughter, as it always did even then. "I'm not the only one who heard it. Many fear it is a sign that the gods are returning."
Jack wrinkled his nose at that thought. "I thought we'd finally convinced you and your people that the Goa'uld were not gods." He didn't need to turn to sense that Teal'c would have an impassive expression on his face to hide the sneer he felt inside.
"I said many. Not I." Kasuf fought back a sigh. These Tau'ri had been born into a life that offered freedom rather than slavery. They would never quite understand no matter how sympathetic they were. Shackles of being enslaved spiritually as well as physically and mentally were not so easily cast aside by those who could still feel them encircle them. "In the days of Ra, when he returned from a journey, a great storm would blow through the desert," he explained, arms lifting slightly for emphasis. Surely they understood the symbolism.
Or perhaps not. "It's just wind," was Jack's soft response. "Wind happens."
On the other hand, Sam understood Kasuf's meaning. "We're talking about a wind that blew out of an active Stargate."
"And formed a sandstorm." Daniel finally felt the urge to contribute verbally. Sam glanced over to him, unable to keep a twitch of a smile from showing on her face. He was quiet. He wasn't disengaged entirely.
Kasuf wasn't done trying to convince Jack of the importance, though. "You forget it said the name Sha're."
Daniel's heart thudded at hearing her name spoken in the Abydonian accent.
Jack's did not. "Ah well, it's not like it's a burning bush or anything," he retorted.
"I have seen many bushes burn."
Of course he has, Jack thought. He knew it wasn't intentional, but Kasuf's quest for them was starting to irritate him greatly. If Daniel hadn't been on base when the call came through, Jack would have found a way to go on this mission without him. He didn't need the constant reminder of what he'd lost. "S'pose you have."
Kasuf wasn't sure what to make of Jack's words, so he concentrated instead on leading the way. "It's not far now," he indicated with a motion of his hand, uneasily going quiet as they continued on their way for some time. The wind coursed along the sand in waves. If it had blown any harder, talking would have been impossible without the potential to get a mouth full of sand. He finally came to a pause next to a dune in a valley dotted with sandy cliffs. "Here."
Daniel looked around, a hand raised to the brim of his hat. All he could see was unblemished sand stretched out in front of him in rippling waves. "There's nothing here." He tried not to feel disappointed. Was he secretly hoping somewhere deep inside that some miracle would bring Sha're back to him in the middle of a stretch of desert on the planet where they had lived together? He bit back the bitterness that crept into the back of his throat at the thought.
Jack was, as usual, more sarcastic. "A nice light breeze," he offered flippantly.
Kasuf would not be dissuaded by Jack's words. "This is where I heard the voice," he insisted, words as sharp edged as the sand that was being picked up by the growing wind. Jack tugged his desert sunglasses down, nearly goggles to keep out the blowing sand. Sam already had hers on before they began the trek through the sand so she had no reason to tear her eyes from her gadget in her hand.
"I'm getting a build up of static electricity, sir," she reported in a voice that sounded as ominous as it was gleeful.
The tendrils of glee that reached out toward Daniel turned to ice that saturated his veins as he heard his name on the wind. He did a double take across the space in front of him, but it was just as desolate as the rest of the area. The sand blowing in the wind met no resistance, indicating no cloaked people or vehicles.
Daniel. Daniel, the wind breathed. Surely he was hearing things.
"Anybody else just hear that?" Daniel asked, hoping for an answer he knew he wasn't going to get.
Sam peered across the sand as well, seeking some source other than insanity. "I think so." She didn't have to wait for long for evidence that was visual as well as audible. Sand began to swirl, drawn from the particles in the air rather than from below as what would happen with the development of a sudden sand whorl. It's almost as if the grit and dirt and sandy particles were manifesting out of thin air.
Squinting against the accompanying wind, Kasuf pointed. "There. Look!"
The entire team stared in wonder as the sand began to spin and whirl, now picking up the topmost layer of dust along with it. Though the wind spun and kicked at them as well, it was not nearly as powerful as what must be causing the funnel so close to them. "Now that's impressive!" Jack called into the wind.
Daniel. There it was again. This time there was no mistaking it. Even with the buffeting winds blasting harder every moment, the voice called to him. He stepped forward as Jack and Sam, military to the core, pulled Kasuf and Teal'c back. Teal'c took one step and froze, unwilling to leave Daniel alone. He shook off Jack's loose grasp to his arm. Kasuf nearly cowered behind Sam, overwhelmed by the mixed emotions such an event brought on. He had just gotten used to the idea of false gods and here he was faced with what could be a real one. It was not fear that made him cower but survival instinct. If the being itself were not a threat, the sharp building winds pelting them with sharp shards of sand were, and were a threat he knew all too well from a lifetime in the desert.
"DANIEL!?" This time the voice was not ethereal. It was loud and borderline angry and coming from Jack as he shouted into the wind. "Try to keep it in Kansas, huh?" Jack-speak for stay out of the tornado.
Glancing over his shoulder, Daniel waved his hand a little in an effort to bolster his inability to communicate vocally. "I was just trying to-" He couldn't even finish the thought let alone the words. What was he trying to do? He turned back to the column of sand that swirled up to the sky and straightened up, putting on his first contact persona. "I'm Daniel!" he called to the wind. "Who's calling?"
His words collapsed the column into itself and it began to break apart, the edges swirling free until with a whoosh and a roar of air, the sand broke off to show a small figure, a thin one wearing robes that were untouched by the wind around him. Him? Yes. The sand dispersed enough for Daniel to see that the figure was male, slight and young. Not even yet a teenager. A boy. A mere child.
The entirety of those gathered stared in wonder. Kasuf froze, awash at the thought that a god had returned. Sam's mind whirled at the thought of how a humanoid of some type could withstand the large levels of static electricity that had crept up and then suddenly bottomed out. Jack started to take a step forward, then paused, lips parting but no words coming out. Teal'c remained impassive, every muscle ready to react at a moment's notice. Daniel just stood with one hand holding his hat onto his head despite the sudden lack of wind trying to yank it off.
The figure came closer, wearing clothes that did not belong on Abydos, nor on Earth. The closest Daniel could remember seeing wearing such a thing was a monk on Kheb.
"I am Shifu," the child said. "I am Harcesis."
Suddenly the underlying feeling that Daniel had that he should recognize this figure made sense. Kasuf realized the same thing. The child's features, the tilt of his head, the rounding of his shoulders, it was all Sha're. This was Sha're's child. This was the baby Daniel had so recently given up to Oma Desala.
Shifu. Light, Daniel's mind translated. A fitting name, considering.
They all stared at him as understanding sunk in.
They had found Sha're's son.