BONDAGE

They landed just outside the auction center in a crowded parking area. Though a dark night had befallen the area, Daniel could make out lines of miserable people being led to ships. He eyed their trail backward to the foreboding facility. Near the entrance, guards were beating an individual senseless, no doubt sending a warning message to the other slaves. Vala watched the beating intently.

"Daniel, I don't like this." He turned at the vulnerability in her voice. She was dressed the part. A dirty, but silky, cloth barely covered her breasts. The material swept from her chest to half-length sleeves with holes in the sides. Her skirt was miniature, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. Daniel fought the urge to let his eyes roam over her white, creamy thighs. She stood with arms crossed over her chest, a tell-tale sign of nerves.

"Come on, it'll be a piece of cake. Just stick to the plan, and we'll be fine."

"Let it be known that I still object to the plan."

"Hey, if you want to find your father, you've got to do this," Daniel said more adamantly. She turned her face to him, then, eyes shining with fear. "What is it?" She shook her head and looked away. He stood up and placed two hands on her shoulders. "Vala?"

She took in a deep breath. "I don't like places like this," she whispered, gesturing toward the dark structure.

He placed a hand on her cheek. Daniel could guess that a place like this reminded her too much of her bondage to Qetesh. "Hey, look at me. I won't let anything happen to you, alright? That's why I'm here," he said softly. She nodded in acknowledgement, but still couldn't shake the terrible feeling in her stomach. It was too familiar. Too real.

A clanking sound made her look down. Daniel was holding the shackles for her wrists. He grimaced apologetically at her. She held out her hands, allowing her wrists to be bound together with the heavy metal. "I won't lock it. Not that it would be a problem for you in the first place." She stared at the shackles and nodded.

They walked over to the door. "You ready?"

She took in another breath and let it out slowly. "Yes." The door opened and Daniel grabbed her arm. He yanked her forcefully out of the ship and onto the gravel. Her bare feet protested as the small rocks cut into her flesh. Vala ended up on the ground. Daniel stood over her with a completely different look on his face. Oh he was playing the part, alright. Dark black and red leather covered his broad chest. His arms were exposed, but carefully adorned with knives sheathed on both sides. His dark pants were loose, enough to hide a weapon or two.

He pretended to kick her with his tough boots. She writhed, swearing she could feel the pain even though he had faked the kick. Daniel hauled her up and dragged Vala toward the facility. She struggled against him, not only to fool observers, but also because she truly did not want to go. It scared her how easily Daniel could act this way.

Two guards stopped them at the entrance. "Check your weapons here before entering." Daniel removed everything obvious, hoping to at least keep a knife hidden in his boot. The security guard waved a scanner over him. It beeped. He held out a hand, and Daniel grumpily surrendered the knife. The other guard sneered at Vala, but she kept her eyes on the ground. "Sellers move to the left," the gruff guard ordered.

The entrance hall ended in an abrupt T-intersection. Vala pulled on him slightly, indicating that they should go right. He grabbed her by the neck and jerked her in that direction. She stumbled, barely managing to stay upright this time. Before long, they reached a large room. Spotlights lit up cages with potential slaves. Some banged on the iron bars yelling to get out. Others sat dejectedly in the middle, either having given up or wailing over their misery. Vala began to have trouble breathing.

"Come on," Daniel growled. He pulled her forward some more.

No one seemed to notice them as they roamed around the room. Vala counted more than three dozen cages, all filled with at least ten or fifteen people each. There were hundreds of slaves here. She wondered how her father would have fared in a place like this. Of all the despicable things he'd done in his life, even he didn't deserve this.

The wails and indignant cries of slaves were drowned out by loud, thumping music blaring from an unknown source. Guards reached in with stunners to silence unruly slaves. Luckily no children were here. They weren't worth all that much. Daniel scanned each of the cages carefully, but saw no one who resembled Jacek. "He's not here," he muttered loud enough for only Vala to hear.

She wasn't surprised. He would have been long gone by now, sold to another trader or transferred to a different auction house. Daniel knew this was a possibility. He spied one of the main auction blocks and began leading her toward it. She pretended to struggle but he was too strong for her.

A female slave was standing on a pedestal. Various dirty hands reached up to grab her legs and squeeze. She winced, tears streaming down her face as she shivered. A cleaner-looking individual held up a long metal stick. He poked at her to indicate various assets and values the "product" possessed. A golden sash was laced across his green uniform.

"That must be the overseer," Daniel decided. Caius had told them that only the overseer had access to the records of where every slave was sent. Most Gelvian overseers had neural link-ups to the offsite database, making it impossible for others to physically hack into it from auction locations. Daniel spied a piece of metal protruding from his left temple, no doubt the neural circuitry that connected him to vital data. One of his eyes was modified, looking more metallic and ghastly than its pair.

With his hand still gripping her arm, Daniel stroked her imperceptibly with his thumb. He was signaling to stay calm as he would initiate the next phase of their plan. He moved off a bit to also grab the slave girl's leg, shoving other potential buyers in the process. The woman looked down at him in worry; someone this aggressive would make a fearsome master. The buyers Daniel had pushed didn't take kindly to his disrespect. One grabbed him by the shoulder, only to receive a punch in return. And thus the brawl began.

The overseer grumbled. As he scanned the crowded room for a guard, he noticed Vala standing alone. She made eye contact with him and flashed him a flirty smile. She waved her shackled hands at him. A ghost of a smile crossed his face. Ignoring the fight he stepped down to her level and eyed her.

"You look lost."

"And now I'm found," she said seductively.

"A sex slave," he deduced aloud. "Where is your master?"

"Somewhere in that throng of testosterone," she said easily, gesturing toward the fight. She glanced and saw that Daniel was managing to hold his own.

"He looks busy. He won't mind if I test out one of his goods to determine its worth." The overseer placed a hand on her back and prodded her toward the back of the auction pedestal. A door slid open, revealing a hallway that led straight back. They walked down this corridor a few meters before stopping at the only door on the left side. Without obvious prompt from the overseer, it creaked open automatically into a spacious room. By now, Vala had ripped off a piece of her skirt and let it fall just outside the door..

Meanwhile, Daniel had beaten back one of the potential buyers. The man was scrawny enough. He now had to challenge the bigger man that blocked his path. He channeled all his anger over the injustice of the slave trade into fighting him hand-to-hand. The bulky fellow put up a good fight, but was no match for Daniel's superior skill. He secretly thanked Teal'c for the lessons. The attacker was down in minutes. The gathering crowd pulled back slightly to avoid being hit. The slaves were in an uproar, beating on the iron bars that held them.

A guard finally pushed through, tiring of the show. He had let it go on long enough. Daniel turned abruptly to where he had left Vala. "Where is my property!?" he yelled maniacally. A few bystanders looked around. He grabbed the approaching guard by the collar. "You will tell me where my slave is or I will slash your throat," he said menacingly.

The guard noted the unconscious victim on the ground. He was not eager to challenge this maniac here. "I know not of which slave you speak."

"You have one more chance to change your answer."

"She's been taken by the overseer!" someone yelled. It was a brave slave in a nearby cage. Another guard stunned him.

Daniel turned wide eyes to the stunned slave then back to the guard. "Where," he demanded.

The guard remained calm. "The overseer is not to be disturbed." Anger boiled in Daniel's eyes.

He kicked the guard suddenly in the gut. Another guard took offense and approached him from behind with a stun stick. Daniel felt a slight burn on his back and turned to relieve the guard of his offending weapon. He waved the stick at him, dialing up the power as he did so. Its end glowed red hot. The guard stepped back as Daniel approached with the stick.

It crackled loudly. The guard continued backward until he reached the edge of one cage. The slaves inside forcibly pushed him forward. Daniel grabbed his collar and placed the stunner dangerously close to his neck. "Now I wonder what this will do if I stick it here?" he said in a low, dangerous voice. The fear in the guard's eyes was not well-masked. "Where is the overseer?"

With a shaking hand, the guard pointed in the direction of his private chamber. Daniel dialed down the power on the stick and stunned the guard into unconsciousness. No one stopped him as he ran toward the hidden entrance. Slaves beat on their cages and howled.

The door behind the auction block slid open automatically. The hallway it hid was well-lit. Few doors were available as he walked its length. A small piece of fabric caught his eye, barely visible against the filthy floor. He faced the door next to it, and it opened easily.

He was disgusted with what he saw. Vala was on her back, hand in the overseer's hair. He was on top, grabbing her in inappropriate ways. Neither noticed his presence as he stepped in. And thankfully both were still clothed. Daniel poked the overseer with the stun stick, causing him to cry out and fall off the table. Surprised, Vala looked up and sat up on her elbows. She breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"How dare you…" the overseer started.

"No, how dare you think you can take her. She is mine!" He prodded him again with a light stun. The overseer remained on the floor but began to crawl back.

Vala's eyes went wide. He looked absolutely crazed. There was blood on his back and scratches on his arms.

The overseer challenged him, "You should take better care not to let her run off!"

"The security in this place is pathetic," Daniel said, ignoring the man's words. He dialed up the power on the stick. It glowed red, the color catching the overseer's eyes. He glanced back and forth between it and this crazed man's face.

"Wait! You should know she has a mouth!" He pointed accusingly at her. Daniel turned to her. She looked fearful. "She was demanding information about another slave!"

"No! He's lying!" Daniel turned down the weapon's strength and immediately stunned her. She fell limp on the table.

He turned back to the overseer, whose mouth hung open. He thought Daniel had killed her. Such cruelty was dangerous for him. "What did she want from you?" he insisted. Daniel approached once again with a glowing hot poker end.

As it grew closer, the overseer's face went blank. He was accessing the database. "She wanted a location," he said hurriedly.

"Tell me," Daniel growled. The overseer spit out spatial coordinates and a name. For his trouble, Daniel stunned him into unconsciousness. Then he kicked him in the gut for good measure. Dropping the stick, he turned his attention back to Vala. He examined her body, checking for bruises, but found no marks.

Sighing, he ran his hands down his face. He didn't know he had it in him to be so… cruel. Daniel shuddered, remembering what Sha're's son had shown him. He truly possessed a darker side that he prayed would never surface again. Daniel hoisted Vala's limp form over his right shoulder and picked up the stunner.

Back out in the auction area, he scanned the crowd. The guards he had accosted were nowhere to be found. Good. He casually made his way through the throngs of people, who parted ways for him. Once closer to the exit, he threw the stunner into one of the cages and left without looking back. The slaves dove for it. One managed to dial it up and zap open the cage. Yells and shouts could be heard in the chaos that ensued.

Daniel reached the main entrance just as the crowd noise grew louder. The two guards who had relieved him of his weapons ran into the facility, ignoring him and Vala. He collected the weapons he had brought, plus a few souvenirs that he could carry in addition. Briskly, he made his way back to their cargo ship.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please feel free to review.