"In the Dark"
…
"To anyone on the other side. My name is Leonard Rush. I'm an anthropologist working with the United States Air Force. My location is P2X-558. Yesterday, me and my team were exploring the nearby Goa'uld ruins. I don't know what triggered it, but after allowing us to study the ruins, the natives attacked. They took the team captive and destroyed most of our equipment. I was away when the attack happened, so they didn't catch me. I've been living on the edible plants in the area. I can't dial Earth. I know the local indigenous population still has the team captive, but they're looking for me; I can't get close to their village. I've rigged the Malp to my video camera, and I have this video looping. If anyone receives this, please, contact Earth and tell the SGC to send—oh, crap. I gotta go."
The video showing a bespectacled man wearing a bucket hat froze just as his hand reached for the edge of the screen. The paused video made seeing the stubble on his round jaw more apparent in the poor background light.
Captain Lisa Warren stood from the conference table, nodding to an airman at the back of the room. When the light panels in the ceiling flickered on, she stepped around the table. One hand pushed a lock of her black hair away from her forehead.
"This was the video we received earlier this evening," she addressed the table before her. "As far as we can tell, this is Doctor Rush."
"There's reason to doubt this?" Doctor Jennifer Choi asked, her eyes barely open beyond a sliver.
"The Goa'uld are notorious for pulling tricks out of their asses like this," General Anson, sitting closest to the television, said as he looked back at the team assembled. "According to one mission report, they once tried to implant SG-1 by capturing the team and convincing them that they had been frozen in time."
"Not to mention what happened to our predecessors," Major Magdalena Jansingh added before taking a sip of her steaming coffee.
"Almost forgot about that, ma'am," Captain David McBay, sitting next to her, groaned as he picked his head up. "They've got a flare for over-exaggerated planning, don't they?" He grimaced. "What am I doing here?"
"Try not to over-think this, Captain," the general said.
"So what does all of this have to do with us?" Choi asked.
"Just this, Doctor," the general said. "As of now, SG-14 is on rescue duty. Major, your team will be going to P2X-558 to recover the survey team, if possible."
"Are you getting this, Lieutenant?" Jansingh asked.
"Head to P2X-558 and save the survey team's ass," Lieutenant Oliver Brandt answered in an energetic tone while his face remained pressed into the conference table with his arms serving as a pillow. "Got it, ma'am."
"We're not sure of the kind of resistance you'll face," Captain Warren continued. "Unfortunately, the best we can offer you are the weapons you came with."
"Any backup?" Jansingh asked.
"Sorry, Major," Anson replied. "SG-10 is working on getting us more supplies from P2X-755. And we can't spare any of our base security to support you."
"Ammunition and a spare sidearm or two is the best we can offer, Major," Warren said. "Unless someone accidentally raids a Goa'uld weapons cache, we'll be in trouble if someone unfriendly shows up."
"Right," Choi said. "Because… there's no way we'll be in trouble."
"Doc, you've got a strange way of making friends," McBay said.
"Did you hear all that, Lieutenant?" Jansingh asked Brandt.
"Don't piss off the locals," Brandt answered immediately, still not moving. "Got it, ma'am."
Jansingh nodded. "Just making sure."
"What do we know about the locals?" McBay asked.
"Next to nothing," Warren replied. "We don't have very many reports on individual worlds. Those files are with the SGC."
"The most we have is the day's itinerary from two weeks ago," Anson added. "But, if it helps, it appears that the natives don't like trespassers on their ruins."
"General," Choi said, raising her hand. "I'd like to point out—"
"Nope," Anson immediately answered. "Doc, I appreciate that your Ph.D. disqualifies you from most of the base functions at your chosen convenience, but as a member of SG-14, you are required to travel with the team wherever they need to go."
Choi gaped for a moment. "But… i-isn't there anyone else that can go? You know, in my place?"
"In short terms," Jansingh said, "no."
"I'm not a soldier!" Choi cried out, startling a drowsy McBay. "I can't even handle a gun! What am I supposed to do?"
McBay's half-opened eyes stared at her for a moment as he waited for someone else's suggestion. No one said anything, so he told her, "Well, if it comes to it, we can always trade you for maybe one of the survey team."
"'Maybe' one?" Warren asked.
"They might not go for it. The height difference lowers her value."
"Are you calling me short?" Choi asked.
He glanced around the table. "That… was obvious to everyone else, right?"
"Blunter than a baseball bat, sir," Brandt spoke up.
"Major," Anson said, "pour some coffee into your team. You head out in fifteen minutes."
"Yes, General," Jansingh said as everyone at the table stood.
Well, almost everyone. Before the rest of the briefing room occupants left, McBay, at the back of the pack, noticed one of their number was missing. He turned and found that Brandt still lay at the table. "Major?"
Jansingh turned, along with Warren and Choi. "Lieutenant?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Brandt called, still.
"We're leaving."
"On my way, ma'am."
However, Brandt's body remained unmoving. Jansingh gave him a moment, and then she met McBay's eyes. She nodded in Brant's direction. McBay crossed back to the conference table and grabbed a fistful of Brandt's fatigues from behind. He lifted Brandt with a jerk, and the two, Brandt's head drooping, approached the door.
As the briefing room emptied, McBay decided to test Brandt's awareness by nudging him towards the doorframe.
…
Jansingh's eyes met a thick forest dyed navy blue as she emerged from the shining pool of the Stargate's wormhole. Her boots treaded over a patch of bare ground as she moved before the other three members of her team bumped into her on their way through. The local night was absolute, no moon above to help illuminate the trees.
To her right, the Stargate revealed the survey team's mobile probe. She ran a hand across its surface, finding dents in its metal casing. After casting a glance at the nearby trees, she pulled a small flashlight from her vest pocket. She let the circle of light fall across the M.A.L.P. The extra illumination confirmed her suspicion; the local population, likely after they captured the survey team, had attempted to destroy the M.A.L.P. Large rocks littered the ground nearby, none of them forming any sort of familiarity with the dirt.
Someone sneezed behind her. She turned to shine the flashlight. McBay stood to one side of the Stargate, hand over his mouth. Light from the Stargate gave him only half of the glare formed on her face, but he raised a hand, gave a brief, apologetic look, and ducked into the darkness next to the Stargate. After Brandt stepped through a second later, he followed McBay while tugging on Choi's sleeve to make sure she followed.
The Stargate closed a moment later, casting darkness around the team. This left Jansingh with a problem, so she signaled the team to approach with her flashlight before switching it off.
"Captain," she said in a low voice.
Tunk. "Ow," Choi whined.
"Yes, Major," McBay answered.
"We're in the middle of a forest against a local hostile force with no natural light to navigate by," she told him. "How would you recommend proceeding?"
"If they weren't actively searching, I'd say wait for daylight, ma'am. But we can't afford to stay here. I'd recommend night vision equipment."
"We don't have night vision equipment."
"I know, ma'am, and that's part of our problem."
Skff. "Ow," Brandt grunted.
Jansingh cast the direction his voice came from an irritated look before continuing with McBay. "Would it be safe to walk around without light?"
"Only if we wanna run into everything in the area, ma'am. Including the locals."
"With light?"
McBay sucked in a breath. "It's a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't scenario, Major. Either way, we're inviting trouble."
"Would you stop poking me," Choi said in a loud voice.
"I'm not doing it," Brandt replied. "I'm standing over here."
Jansingh turned her flashlight on and aimed it right in front of her. McBay quickly looked away, raising a hand to shield his eyes. After illuminating the Stargate for a moment, she passed the spot of light across McBay to find Brandt standing just beyond McBay's shoulder. A little further from the Stargate, she located Choi.
Who turned to find her offender.
Who shared a terrified look with her. For a moment, no one so much as breathed.
Then Choi screamed at the top of her lungs. The young man next to her, standing eye-to-eye with her, gave a holler in response. Jansingh, McBay, and Brandt brought their P90s to bare in a flash, but the man was already running through the trees. Jansingh switched hands to she could follow with the flashlight, catching sight of the man as he tripped in the distance. If it was not for the fact that he had fallen out of sight, she would have given chase.
As it was, they had just tipped off the locals to their presence. Their stealth, whatever amount they might have had after turning on the Stargate, was compromised.
She turned the flashlight back to Choi. "Nice to see you making new friends with the neighbors, Doctor."
"I-I-I-I-I-" Choi stammered, glancing back and forth between Jansingh and where the man had been standing.
Jansingh turned the light on McBay. "What's your recommendation now, Captain?"
"Run for it, ma'am," McBay answered, jerking a thumb at the Stargate behind him. "The 'good doctor' just gave away our position."
"I did not!" Choi argued.
Tink. Jansingh and McBay almost missed the flash of something crossing the light, having skipped off the M.A.L.P. next to them. McBay, flashlight already in hand, clicked on another spot of light to follow Jansingh's to the object that had flown between them. They met about ten feet away, illuminating the back half of an arrow buried in the ground.
"Captain, dial the Alpha Site."
"With frantic pleasure, ma'am."
McBay crossed in front of the Stargate in search of the DHD while Jansingh hunched down behind the M.A.L.P., flashlight and P90 aimed in the direction the arrow had emerged from. Brandt immediately dove out of her light and behind the nearest tree. It left Choi in the open, so he reached out and pulled her into the bush behind him.
"Oof," she grunted as she hit the ground. "What are you—"
"Shut up," Brandt hissed at her. His back to the tree, he switched on the light attachment on his P90.
"Movement straight ahead of me, Lieutenant," Jansingh said in a low voice. "Doc, get your gun."
"Major, I'm laying on it right now," Choi answered. "I really don't want to get it; I can't move."
"Just as long as I know where it is," Jansingh said, eyes locked on the vegetation in front of her.
McBay ducked behind the M.A.L.P. next to Jansingh. "Problem, Major," he said.
"Make it good, Captain," she replied. "I don't hear a Stargate working."
"Yeah, well, that's because we don't have a DHD."
Jansingh dared a glance at McBay. Meeting a stressed face, her lips formed a silent curse. Brandt used his P90's light to scan the area in front of the Stargate. True to McBay's word, there was no DHD in sight. A patch of bare earth two yards behind Jansingh and McBay hinted at its former location.
"That's not good," Brandt said to himself, lowering his weapon. "The bastards took it. They must have."
"Here's the plan," Jansingh said, raising her voice so Brandt and Choi could hear. "On three, switch off your lights. Run in as straight a line as possible behind me. I'll fire a few rounds and then follow. Get about fifty yards away, wait ten minutes, then switch your lights back on. We'll rendezvous then."
"Got it, ma'am," McBay said.
"Yes, Major," Brandt agreed.
"Are you crazy!?" Choi hissed.
"One."
"Oh, shit." Choi scrambled to her feet and nudged Brandt aside so she could share the tree.
"Two."
"DAAAAAH!" Choi's battle cry preceded her sudden dash towards the Stargate. Bewildered, Brandt and McBay followed her with their eyes, McBay trying to keep track of her with his flashlight.
"Ah, crap—three!"
Brandt kept his head low as he ran after Choi, light already off. Jansingh and McBay moved at the same time after he passed the M.A.L.P. McBay pocketed his flashlight and disappeared in a different direction from Brandt and Choi.
Jansingh aimed her P90 at the spire of stars before her. Her finger pressed the trigger hard, resulting in a slight kick as a burst of automatic fire broke the air. A chorus of alarmed shouting sounded from ahead, and she heard something skip off one of the trees in front of her. When she was certain that the locals had been sufficiently surprised, she switched off the flashlight and ducked past the Stargate and into the trees.
She was not sure what caused it, but she could tell that adrenaline had taken over. Despite the darkness, she could perceive the terrain around her, and she ducked past trees and hopped shrubs as if she knew they were there all along. Flight was everything on her mind. She had forgotten about the mission, about her team, in those long, few minutes she ran. She could not even remember what she was running from; all her instincts told her to just run because there was danger in the other direction.
The ground in front of her suddenly dropped, and Jansingh found herself nearly swallowing a mouthful of water. Her hands felt solid ground in front of her, so she pushed against it. The moment her head emerged, she coughed out the water as fast as she could. Then she crawled to the shore in front of her. She waited a moment, trying to catch her breath and relieve herself of some of the water in her throat.
Then she flipped over, aiming her P90 in the direction she had run from. She strained her ears, trying to hear anything approaching. The brook in front of her, gurgling away with a happy-go-lucky attitude, made listening hard. Careful to keep the weapon pointed in the same direction, she pulled herself further away from the water. There, she waited for something to happen.
After what she believed was ten minutes, she pulled her flashlight from her pocket. She examined herself first, looking for any scrapes she might have received from the fall. Nothing obvious, but mud caked her uniform in places. Her head swiveled, following the flashlight as she searched for her team.
Ddddddda!
Jansingh's head jerked in the direction of automatic fire. She caught muzzle flash from the last couple shouts, and she was on her feet and running towards it in seconds. Who could it have been? McBay? Brandt? Choi did not have anything larger than the pistol the SGC had issued to her. Even if she did, Jansingh doubted she would ever fire it.
She saw light ahead of her and ducked behind a tree.
"Are you some kind of idiot!?" McBay's voice.
"Wha-d-I-I—"
"You don't ever—ever—sneak up on someone holding a gun!"
"Captain," Jansingh called out.
"That you, Major?" McBay answered.
Jansingh stepped out of her cover to examine the situation. McBay, standing behind a bush, jerked in response and had his P90 almost trained on her before identifying her. He looked back at the ground, so she aimed her flashlight in the same direction.
She recognized Doctor Rush, although he appeared to have taken a few lumps since making his distress video. One lens appeared to be missing from his glasses, and he had a cut across one cheek. What must have been a decent button-up shirt and business khakis had tears in a few spots. His left shoe had gone missing, replaced with local foliage and a nylon strap sloppily bound together to form a sandal.
"Everything all right, Captain?" she asked.
"Is now," McBay said. "Gee-I-dork here thought it'd be a good idea to sneak up on me, Major. Fortunately Doc Rush is as graceful as he is a video star."
"You-you found my video?" Rush asked. "I-I wasn't sure it worked."
Footsteps sounded from nearby, and Jansingh and McBay immediately brought their P90s to bear just as another figure emerged into the spotlight on McBay's weapon.
The figure immediately ducked behind a nearby bush. "Whoa, easy, sirs," Brandt said. "It's just me."
"Get out here, Lieutenant," Jansingh said. "Has anyone seen the doc?"
Brandt stood back up and said, "Sorry, Major. Lost her before I landed in the water."
"Captain?"
"Nothing, Major," McBay answered. "But I'd call it a good trade. What's your field, Doc?"
"I-uh… an-anthropology," Rush answered.
"How well do you know the terrain, Doctor?" Jansingh asked.
"Ah, well, actually… I'm-I'm a little lost," Rush said.
"A 'good' trade, Captain?" Jansingh asked. "Next time, find us a newer model."
"Hey, Doc," Brandt said as he walked past McBay. He held up his P90 so the light attachment shone on the brook. "Know where this water goes?"
"I-I can't say," Rush answered, shaking his head. "We were only here to examine the ruins that SG-15 found weeks ago. They're on the other side of the Stargate from here. I think."
"Lieutenant?" Jansingh asked.
"Hmm?" Brandt said. Then he realized that Jansingh was looking for an explanation. "Oh. I was just thinking. If the locals built their homes in a reasonable place, somewhere close enough to the Stargate, they would have done it near flowing water. I think there may be a chance that we'll find them further down this stream."
"Captain?" Jansingh asked.
McBay shrugged. "Sounds good to me. That might be where they're keeping the survey team."
"Wait, wait," Rush interrupted. "I thought you were here to save me!"
"No, we're here to save your team, Doc," Jansingh replied.
"What about Choi, Major?" Brandt asked.
Jansingh had just opened her mouth to answer when their radios buzzed. "Choi to SG-14," the doctor's voice demanded.
McBay cringed. "Oh, please don't tell me she just did that…"
Jansingh squeezed the transmit button on her radio. "I don't recall saying you can use the radio, Doc."
"You idiots gave me the radio!" she screamed back. "Just what the hell am I supposed to do with it?! Eat it?!"
"Not a bad idea," McBay said.
"Doc, I'm going to make this as clear as possible," Jansingh said in a careful tone. "Get off the radio. Remain under cover."
"Go to hell!" Choi screamed, the sound echoing through all three radios. "To hell with all three of you! And that fat-ass general, he can kiss my ass!"
"Cut 'em," Jansingh said, switching off her radio. McBay and Brandt did the same, plunging the group into silence. Jansingh held up a finger to keep her officers quiet while she listened for Choi's voice in the distance. Nothing. She had thought it was a long shot. "Captain, take the point. We're heading downstream."
"Yes, ma'am," McBay answered with a casual salute.
"Wha-what about your other teammate?" Rush asked as they started down the side of the brook.
"She's become a problem," Jansingh said. "We can't afford to have her shrieking over our radios; it would give away our position. Do you know if the locals kill people?"
"I-I went back to the site to see," Rush said. "It was completely empty. I-I haven't seen any… b-bodies since."
"Hope it means they'll catch the good doctor and not shoot her," Brandt said.
Jansingh raised an eyebrow. "They did shoot at us, though."
"After she scared the hell out of that kid, Major," McBay commented. "She can't do it twice in a row, can she?"
"She's got a way with people," Brandt said with a grin.
…
Half an hour later, Jansingh, McBay, Brandt, and Rush hunched behind a line of bushes a few yards away from a humble-looking village. Most of the houses were made of combinations of stone and wood. Torches were posted about the dirt road, but only a few men seemed to be on patrol, each one holding a bow at the ready. Jansingh found herself surprised at their clothing choice: silk t-shirts and wool trousers.
"Are you sure these people are indigenous?" she asked across Brandt.
"We found out when we got here," Rush answered. "Someone from SG-15 forgot to pack their spare fatigues. When we arrived, half of the village had taken up the style."
"I wonder if they'll make me a couple Hawaiians," McBay said.
"You can go shopping when we get back to Earth," Jansingh told him. "In the meantime, do you see any sign of the survey team?"
"Yeah, they're right over there."
Jansingh narrowed her eyes at him before casting a glance around the village again. "Where?"
McBay pointed and said, "You see that hut with the dog faces standing out front?" Jansingh followed his directions to a reed-built hut near the edge of the village and nodded. "It's the only place they're actually guarding. I'm willing to bet they've never done this before."
"What, capture a survey team?" Brandt asked.
"Hold prisoners," McBay explained. "I've seen better handling from sword-wielding teenagers."
"Teenagers?"
"Before you ask, what happens in Utah stays in Utah."
Jansingh frowned. McBay had been assigned to SG-14 because, as a sniper in Special Tactics for two years, he knew how to assess situations on sight. She only had a vague idea of what his record looked like; she never got the chance to look closer at her team's qualifications after P3C-529. Her head told her to trust his judgment. It also said that McBay's criticism might be an indication that her view of the situation was not as straight-forward as the mission briefing.
Then it told her that they were in trouble, the conclusion reached when she was suddenly aware that someone else was standing behind her. She sighed and said, "Guys, put your weapons on the ground."
"Major?" Brandt asked. Then he spotted the problem out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, crap…"
"Move slow," one of the men behind them said. "My fingers are getting tired."
The three Air Force officers placed their guns on the ground and rose with Rush. They turned to find that they had been captured by a seven-man group, five of them holding drawn bows to their faces.
In the space of a minute, their guns and utility vests were collected, and the four off-worlders were led across the brook. They were taken to the hut that McBay had identified.
Inside, Jansingh was surprised to find iron bars dividing the hut in half. Even more surprising, three men and three women wearing clothes similar to Rush (save the tearing) sat on the other side of those bars. Two men armed with daggers stood on the inside of the cloth-covered doorway. Their eyes trained on the newcomers instantly, casually drawing their daggers.
One man in the capturing party tapped Doctor Rush on the shoulder. When the doctor turned, he asked, "Who is your leader?"
Rush's eyes wandered to Jansingh, prompting McBay to groan, "Thanks a lot, Doc."
Jansingh, attention switched from Rush to the young man. "I am. Major Magdalena Jansingh, United States Air Force."
The man turned to the guard on his left. "Put the rest behind the key," he said. "Chief Grius will want to speak with her." The guard nodded and stepped to the bars while removing a key from his pocket.
"Major Jansingh." Jansingh turned back to the cage. One man, a middle-aged, balding man, stood at the bars as far from the door as possible. "How did you find us?"
"Doctor Rush got an emergency signal through the Stargate," she answered as she watched Brandt, McBay, and Rush enter the cage.
The man eyed them for a moment before asking, "You've been captured, too?"
"It was amateur hour."
"That will be enough, Major," the young man said, drawing Jansingh's attention. "You are not to speak with them until you speak to Chief Grius. If you speak, your subordinate will be beaten as punishment. Is this understood?"
Jansingh glared at him. "Understood."
The door slammed shut behind her. "Stand here and face the exit." Jansingh moved to the spot the man indicated, about the middle of this half of the hut. "Keep your hands at your sides and don't signal your subordinates. If you move your hands, they will be broken." With that, he signaled his group to follow him back outside.
"So what now?" one of the women asked as Brandt sat next to her.
McBay glanced back at the guards. "Is it okay to talk?"
The standing scientist turned and nodded. "We can, but not to the Major."
"Who's this 'chief'?" McBay asked.
"As best as we understand," another woman said, "he's like a cross between a sheriff and a judge. But none of us have met him yet."
"Why not?"
"They were waiting until they caught Doctor Rush. Then we were supposed to determine who would speak to the chief on our behalf."
"Any volunteers?" Brandt asked.
"It would have been Doctor Spade," one of the men said, indicating the standing captive. "But it looks like the major got the job instead."
"What happened to you?"
"Some kind of misunderstanding," Spade said. "We told the Addri elders that we intended to examine the old Goa'uld ruins. But when Doctor Jansen—" He indicated the man at the back of the cage who had yet to speak. "—stepped into an underground corridor, they popped out of nowhere and took everyone except Doctor Rush."
"I… h-had to relieve myself and stepped away from the site," Rush said. "I heard shouting, saw the Addri take the team away, and tried to find my way back to the Stargate."
"You guys were sent here two weeks ago," McBay pointed out. "How long have you been in here?"
"Six local days," the first woman answered. "We were exploring the naquadah mines first; that took about a week and a half."
"It's hard to tell Earth time here," Spade said. "They took all of our equipment and everything but our clothes."
"We've been kept here," Doctor Jansen added. "They've been pretty hospitable; they just won't let us leave."
"Will Earth send reinforcements?" Spade asked.
McBay shook his head. "We're out of touch with Earth. We don't know why yet."
"We came from the Alpha Site," Brandt added. "They picked up Rush's signal while they were trying to find the other teams stranded off-world."
"So… what, you're it?" Spade asked.
"Well, our fourth member has yet to show up," McBay pointed out.
"Special forces?" the second woman asked.
Brandt spat out a laugh before muzzling himself with his hands. "Geologist, actually," McBay said.
"Oh, great," Spade groaned. "So what now?"
"Anyone know any good lawyer jokes?"
Jansingh took the next few minutes to absorb the gist of the conversation while McBay told a number of groan-inducing jokes. Spade was right; it sounded like a simple misunderstanding. Maybe this was not a hostage situation after all. She thought this just might be this culture, the Addri's version of the justice system.
The leader of the capture party returned. But before he said anything, the guard on the right leaned over and whispered to him. His response was a cross look at Jansingh. She expected him to ask her a question.
Instead, he addressed the guard. "I have just awakened Chief Grius. There's no time for this." The guard nodded and returned to his position. The young man approached Jansingh. "Come with me."
Jansingh stepped outside with him and met two other men. One handed over the utility vest she had had to drop earlier. She took it, watched the man pull out his knife, and slipped the vest on. Then, to her surprise, the second man held out her 9-millimeter and her P90. She accepted these with some trepidation, wondering if they expected her to use them. She took the pistol first and checked the clip. Full. After placing it in its holster, she took the P90 and checked the magazine. The missing rounds accounted for the bullets she had used earlier, so she clipped it to the front of her vest.
Her escort took her to a large log cabin on the other side of the village. The inside reminded her of a courtroom. A dais opposite the entrance sported an empty, high-backed chair. An older woman sat in a booth just right of the entrance. She was surrounded by piles of rolled paper and looked to be busy scribbling on another sheet with a quill. Two more men stood on either side of a doorway on the left, one holding a bow while the other leaned on the head of a large, single-bit axe. Jansingh likened the axeman's grim expression to a man who stood by as an executioner.
The young man that had led her indicated a ring carved into the floor's wooden surface. "Stand there." Jansingh stepped inside the ring. "If you leave this ring without permission, you will be executed without question." He nodded to the man holding the bow. In response, the bowman positioned an arrow on the bow. Jansingh, in an attempt to make herself comfortable, unclipped the P90 and set it on the floor. The young man gave her a curious look and, when she met his eyes, nodded his approval. "We're ready!"
Jansingh caught movement in the corner of her eye. She turned as an old man wearing a blue cape over a silk gown stepped into the doorway. Although he sported stark-white hair, he walked to the dais with a brisk step. He looked healthy, but he also looked tired, and Jansingh figured that this was the man the capture party had to wake.
But instead of taking the chair, he folded his hands in front of him. "You appear to be a stranger to us," he said in a strong, graveled voice, "so I assure you that we will be as accommodating as possible. That said, you are going to conduct yourself according to our laws. Blatant refusal will result in your untimely execution. Is this understood, young woman?"
Jansingh folded her hands behind her back and answered in a voice that bounced off the ceiling, "Yes, sir!"
The old man looked surprised for a moment. "Good. I am Chief Grius. You've already met the leader of my enforcers, Treyus Lagga." He paused. "What's your name?"
"Major Magdalena Jansingh, United States Air Force Stargate Command team 14, nine-seven-one-zero-eight-four-two-seven-seven-ef- ar."
Grius gave her an even more bewildered look. "That's a long name," he remarked with a subtle laugh, wondering if that long string of numbers at the end was supposed to be part of her name. "Is there a shorter name you prefer?"
"If I may, Chief," Treyus spoke up. "I met with a member of SG-15. I believe that 'United States Air Force' refers to her group, and that 'Major' is her rank."
"And the numbers?" Grius asked.
Treyus opened his mouth but froze. "Ah… hmm… I don't know."
"I prefer 'Major Jansingh', Chief Grius," Jansingh said.
Grius nodded. "Are you aware of your subordinates' transgression?"
"I assume that they are being held for trespassing."
"Good." He finally sat down in the chair. "Give your explanation."
Jansingh frowned, glancing at Treyus. "Explanation?"
Treyus turned his back to Grius and whispered to her, "You are expected to explain why your subordinates violated our law."
She addressed Grius, "Chief. As I understood the situation, the survey team previously obtained permission to explore those ruins."
Grius shook his head. "No elder would condone violation of the law to satisfy your subordinates' curiosity."
"Doctor Spade claimed otherwise."
"You believe that he has told the truth?"
Jansingh halted herself from answering the affirmative. She remembered the briefing she had attended before SG-14's first mission. It had been an introduction concerning how to treat contact with local populations. It had not been particularly interesting to her, as Doctor Jackson seemed to have been pushing the need to respect the laws of other populations a little strong. However, she remembered that Doctor Jackson had warned against direct accusation when SGC personnel were put on trial. She had not had time to think that telling this man that his elders had given the team permission might be looked on as an accusation. So she spent some time finding an acceptable answer.
"I believe that a mistake has been made," she finally said.
Grius nodded. "Indeed it has."
"I was not present when the survey team made their request. Did one of your elders give permission to approach the grounds?"
"We do not object to people being on those grounds. We just do not permit people to enter the ruins."
Jansingh narrowed her eyes. "Was this distinction made clear to the team?"
"It is always made clear. If it was known that they would visit the ruins, it would have been a warning."
Jansingh could tell where the conversation was going. There was no doubt the survey team had violated their law, whether accidentally or on purpose. They were going to receive whatever punishment was associated with the law. So she asked, "What will you do with them?"
"The punishment is hard labor for a year. They will take the place of our laborers and serve them to make up for their transgression."
Jansingh nodded her understanding. "I see. Allow me to be the first to apologize for this situation. I assure you that it is not Stargate Command's mandate to violate the laws of others."
Then she heard paper crumbling nearby and turned. The older woman who had been writing had just finished balling up the paper and threw it out the open door near her, seemingly in annoyance. She turned back to Grius just as he stood. He gave her a nod and left through the doorway to her left.
"Major Jansingh," Treyus told her. "The inquiry has concluded. You may step out." She bent over and retrieved her P90. "We will release your subordinates back to your care. We shall also replace the Gateway's pedestal so that your may leave."
Her brow furrowed. "When you say my 'subordinates', who are you referring to?"
Treyus returned her frown. "All nine people we have behind the key," he said. "You were defending them all, weren't you?"
"Wait, they're all free to go?" Treyus nodded. "What about the year of hard labor?"
"Only if you find it appropriate as their superior. Otherwise, this situation has been resolved."
Jansingh glanced around the room as if in search of an answer. "I don't understand. I was certain that the survey team, maybe even my team, would be stuck here for a year."
"That was inevitable. Until you apologized."
"Until I… You mean the Chief is releasing us because I apologized?"
"You openly admitted their wrongdoings. And, as their leader, you are responsible for their actions. When you apologize, you show eagerness to make up for their actions. To Chief Grius, that is enough."
Jansingh's face circled for a moment as she considered whether she understood or not. "You're telling me that a criminal could get out of here if they simply apologize to Chief Grius?"
"If the crime is light enough," Treyus said with a nod.
"Treyus." Both he and Jansingh turned to the door as more of Treyus's men entered. Two entered side-by-side, one sporting a black eye. The next entered with one end of a log on his shoulder, and the following man carried the either end. Jansingh tried not to be surprised by the fact that Doctor Choi had been tied to the log by her hands and feet. Amusingly, Choi's silence had been achieved using a rag held in her mouth by a piece of rope. "We found this one sitting in front of the Gateway. We tried to talk to her, but she went mad and attacked us."
Jansingh turned to Treyus with a serious look on her face. "I don't suppose you'll want to sentence her to hard labor for a year."
Choi's eyes widened.