Chapter 26

"So sorry to keep you waiting," Marson apologized, though Vala knew it was insincere. "Where were we again?"

"I'd just asked if we could have a little reciprocal information," Daniel nearly snapped, his temper having worn thin. Vala would have been surprised at his display of impatience were it not for her own irritation. Frankly, she was tired of this game Marson insisted on playing.

"Ah, yes, and I believe I told you that you were in no position to make any demands," the tarchios replied. Thankfully, he'd left his pet scientist and other hangers-on out of this meeting.

"I beg to differ," the younger man argued--and if the tests Marson's cohorts had completed were correct, "younger" was definitely right. Not that Vala believed the tests were right, of course. "You want us to give you information about the rest of the galaxy, about the places we've been and things we've seen, yet we know nothing about this planet. We don't even know what it's called, let alone how... how many continents, oceans, or moons it has! For that matter, since we came through the Stargate into the middle of a foggy swamp, we don't even know how many suns you have!"

"You're asking us for information on technology and resources," Vala continued, picking up his thread, "but since we know next to nothing about your own technology and resources, how can we make comparisons?"

"They're not asking for much more than a school child would know, sir," Balin appeased. She'd agreed to meet Daniel and Vala earlier in the morning while they ate their breakfast, but had been understandably leery of giving them more information. Thanks to Daniel's explanation of events, Vala now knew the syntagos was risking her career--and possibly her life--by helping them as much as she already had.

"You're far too sympathetic, syntagos," Marson warned, eyes narrowing as he emphasized the woman's lower rank.

"With all respect owed you, sir, they've given us no reason to mistrust them. In fact, they have been nothing but patient, polite, and cooperative up to this point... despite having been chased, imprisoned, and questioned. All things considered, sir, I think they deserve to know a little about the people they're helping."

The dark-haired officer's jaw worked, lips almost curling into a sneer but stopping only just short. "Very well. Answer their questions, syntagos."

"Thank you, sir." Balin laced her fingers and rested her hands on the top of the table. "We call this planet Jaya, and the state I serve is Lacana. The surface of Jaya is nearly four-fifths water, with five main landmasses. Each of these landmasses is a state of its own, though we were at war with two of the states up until--"

Marson cleared his throat. "Syntagos..."

"Sorry, sir." She didn't look any more apologetic than her commanding officer had earlier. "There is but one moon, Artema, and one sun, Apellus. Although the majority of the people live on Jaya's five states, others live on the islands surrounding each state and in the mining colonies on the moon."

"Your moon is habitable?" Daniel asked.

"No, the colonies are underground and artificially regulated."

"That's enough, syntagos," the tarchios announced. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Mister Daniel?"

"Not really," he answered, "but I suppose it's a start. It at least gives me some much-needed insight into your culture, anyway, as well as your need for the Stargate."

"Overpopulation?" Vala guessed, glancing at her partner.

"Probably not or they wouldn't be interested in the secret of eternal youth," Daniel answered, looking Marson directly in the eye as though challenging him. "My guess is that metals are the greatest concern. I mean, it makes sense: the planet is nearly covered in water. Unless you've developed some very ingenious mining methods, anything beneath the ocean's surface is out of reach... which is why you've moved on to your moon."

"You're a very observant man," Marson replied, confirming Daniel's assertions.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm also just a man," he continued, scowling at the tarchios. "I'm an archaeologist and a historian, not a technology expert, and certainly not some kind of 'ageless immortal'."

"And I'm an expert on ancient artifacts and somewhat of an authority on the Goa'uld," Vala supplied, pleased with herself for coming up with a simplified explanation of her own talents. "Now, because we know a lot of people from our travels, we might be able to find someone who knows someone who can set you up with a trade agreement for minerals and metals. I know it's not what you really want to hear, but it is the best we can offer."

"Just what would we trade in return?" Marson scoffed. "Water? Air?"

Daniel frowned. "Technology. Methodology. Most of the worlds out there have primitive agricultural systems which would benefit greatly from more advanced farming techniques. Of greater interest to you, perhaps, are the others who need better, safer mining practices. Probably the best things you could offer any of them are healthcare and education, which are virtually unheard-of on most worlds abandoned by the Goa'uld. But unless you want to make yourselves a dangerous enemy, stay away from the planets still ruled by them."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a simple fact," Vala replied. "The Goa'uld think they're gods. Anyone who impinges on the domains they claim as their own is a threat to their authority, and they'll take action."

"They'll find us to be a more-than-formidable foe," Marson promised.

"Oh, please!" Daniel laughed in disgust. "Just because you managed to subdue your enemies on two other states makes you think you can defeat a powerful race who will bombard your planet from orbit? Hell, they won't even have to do that... all it takes is a big explosive device pitched through your Stargate and this state's history, anyway. Like I said before, I'm no expert in technology, but I have seen enough of your weapons--and that transport that brought us here--to know that you really, really shouldn't mess with those guys."

Vala had never before seen her partner so passionate about anything. He was fighting a losing battle, though, as she could see that the tarchios had as closed a mind as anyone she'd ever met. Perhaps still flush with the glow of victory over their neighbors, he truly believed his people to be invulnerable to the Goa'uld or any other threat out there. The selfish, petty part of her almost wanted to witness his first encounter with a Goa'uld ha'tak and see if he was still convinced of his own superiority. The other, more rational side--the side which had begun to get noisier ever since she first met Daniel--argued that no matter how much of a jerk Marson was, the rest of Jaya probably didn't deserve the same fate.

"Sir, they are the only source of information we have about the--"

"Not another word, syntagos!" Marson snapped. "And you--you!--have no right to come to my planet and make threats."

"I am not crazy." The odd, flat tone startled Vala. She whipped her head around to stare at Daniel, realizing that while his eyes were open, he actually wasn't looking at anything.

"Maybe not, but you are a fool to think that Jaya's most powerful state will sit idly by while--"

"Senator, they are coming."

The dark-haired man fumed. "Tarchios! Not some weak-willed, useless excuse for a spineless senator!"

"Sir!" Balin protested.

Taking advantage of the sudden chaos, Vala lunged for Daniel's shoulders, hissing his name between her clenched teeth. She gave him a shake, then another one. Amazingly, it worked, snapping him out of wherever his mind had taken him.

He looked around in confusion. "What just happened?"

"I think you had a flashback of some kind," she replied, nearly shouting to be heard over Balin and Marson.

"Of what?"

"You called Marson 'Senator'."

Daniel gave her a wide-eyed look before they both turned to look over her shoulder at the arguing officers. Marson was nearly toe-to-toe with the diminutive Balin, but the woman didn't look the slightest bit cowed by the height he had over her. Instead, she was apparently listing a number of times when Marson had exceeded his authority or defied the governing body of the state. Vala silently cheered her on, then turned her attention back to her companion. He'd never zoned out like that before and that concerned her.

"Did anything else happen in that dream you forgot to tell me about?"

He swallowed heavily. "Other than you being in one of those little cages right next to Jack and Sam? No..."

"You dreamed I was there, too?"

"It was a nightmare, okay? It started as a memory but it got all twisted... and... and I'm not really sure, but there was some kind of kidnapping. Sam was kidnapped, Jack and Teal'c and I went to save her. That guy from the first two memories was also with us, only he was on our side this time. When Teal'c and I got upstairs, you were lying on the floor and--"

"I'll have you arrested, syntagos!"

"Not on my base, sir!" Balin snarled back, not intimidated in the least. "Now, when Strategos Calius gets here, we can all discuss this rationally and come to a conclusion we can all--"

"The only conclusion will be the one where I leave this base with these two in custody!" Marson roared. "The amount in her blood alone is enough mineral to enhance two more warheads, and if we can get more on other worlds, all the better!"

"Excuse me?" Daniel interrupted. "Warheads?"

Balin made a noise of disgust. "We 'defeated' Massona and Dorae when then-Strategos Marson melted an ancient artifact down to create a pair of projectiles. The results were… devastating."

"The results were exactly what we'd hoped for," Marson retorted. "Only the Senate seemed to think--"

"You built naquadah-enhanced bombs?" the archaeologist demanded, incredulous.

"We saved thousands of lives by stopping the war when we did!"

Beneath her hand, Vala felt Daniel's rigid anger change imperceptibly. She turned her head, witnessing his face taking on a distant expression. "I just wish there was another way."

"Daniel..." she began, squeezing his shoulder gently.

Suddenly, he leapt back from the table, staring at his upturned palms in horror. "Don't touch me!" he pled, arms curling protectively around himself.

"What's going on?" Marson demanded.

"He's having another flashback!" Vala explained hurriedly, though she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the bad dream from the previous night or not. "He's never had these before, not until today."

"--Something called 'ataxia'," Daniel continued in a frighteningly calm voice, still pressed against the back wall of the room. "Surface tissue, brain tissue and internal organs will inflame and degrade… I believe that's called necrosis."

Balin choked. "Blazes, that sounds like what happened to the others!"

"The others?"

The officer nodded, eyes wide. "In the two cities that were hit, the people not killed in the initial blast--"

"--If I don't drown in my own fluids first, I will bleed to death... and there is no medical treatment to prevent that," he finished with a small, pained smile.

Marson slammed a fist on the table. "He's some sort of mind-reader now?"

Vala shook her head, torn between screaming at the tarchios to shut up and just trying to awaken Daniel from whatever hellish world he was in now, babbling to the unseen. She crouched in front of him, tentatively reaching out to stroke the back of her hand down his face, hoping the gentle touch could get through to him since all else had failed. "Please, Daniel."

He gave a pained moan, eyes rolling back into his head as he suddenly began convulsing. Shocked, Vala nearly fell over, sweeping an arm out just in time to catch herself. Balin dove in front of her, catching the back of Daniel's head before it slammed into the wall. Yanking him downward, she pressed on his shoulders, holding him on his side.

"Help me!" she shouted at Vala. Before the younger woman could react, Daniel gave one final shudder and went still.

Author's Notes:
I told you I was evil.