Section 3: New Friends
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Reflexively, Jack raised his own weapon a second later and put himself between Daniel and the alien that was shouting at them. The nervous and silent crowd pulled back quickly, leaving them in a bubble of space. One part of Jack's brain carefully took note of it while the other was getting royally pissed off. Just what the hell was going on?!
"Daniel, you didn't accidentally do anything to him, did you?" Jack asked when the alien finally finished yelling.
"Uh, no. I don't think so."
"Sir," said Sam, "I think he just asked us a question."
"Well that's great. Too bad we don't know what it was," Jack glared at the alien. He was tall, probably a foot taller than Jack, with brownish red hair in thin braids. What Jack had originally thought was pale hair was in fact a set of tentacles, covered in tattoos. The alien's hard expression softened slightly after Jack spoke. Then he said something else.
"Daniel? Teal'c?" Jack was starting to get nervous with this whole communication problem.
The alien's eyes narrowed. "What . . . are you?"
Jack could practically hear Daniel's jaw drop. As it was, only a lifetime of training and combat kept Jack's gun in his hands and fixed on the alien that had just spoken English. Fricken English. The broken stargate hadn't done its language trick so how did this guy speak English?
Before they could get an answer though, a flying green slug whizzed into their bubble talking a mile a minute to the red giant. Jack sighed in relief as the big guy pointed his weapon into the air. With a shift and a click, he snapped it together and sheathed it in a holster down his back.
"The authorities are coming," he said turning back to SG-1, again speaking in clear English. "We must go before they get here. I will carry the girl."
Whoa, that was quick. "I don't think so," said Jack.
"The authorities here do not take kindly offworlders who cause trouble. We need to get out of here now if we want to avoid getting thrown into a cell. Your companion is tiring, and we need to move quickly," the alien said briskly.
This was so not good. "Why should we trust you?" Jack asked.
"We don't have time for this!" the little green slug announced suddenly. Jack glanced at it, not really surprised that it spoke English too. "We are the only ones on this planet who speak your language, and unless you want to spend the rest of your short pathetic life in a zoo, I suggest you come with us, human."
Jack glanced back Daniel and Carter in surprise. Did he just say human? "We - "
"It's now or never," the giant snarled as he grabbed O'Neill's arm and pulled him through the crowd that had resumed its normal activity. Jack shook his arm free as the commotion not a hundred feet away grew louder. Craning his neck, he saw ten of the indigenous aliens with some not so nice looking faces approaching. People drew back in obvious fear. That and the growing agitation of the two offworlders made his decision.
"Alright," said Jack "We'll come with you. But you're not touching the girl."
A pained expression flitted across the giant's face, but he didn't have time to argue. Instead, he spun on his heel and led them through the market to a nearby side street.
Once in the relative safety of the shadows, the two aliens slowed their pace but continued walking. Jack just hoped they knew where they were going. The two never let SG-1 fall behind; in fact the giant walked beside Daniel and kept looking at the girl he held in his arms. Jack was starting to get annoyed with this whole situation.
"So, you got names?" he asked the two aliens not so kindly.
The giant shot him an annoyed look. "D'argo. This is Rygel."
"Dominar - " the slug began only to be cut off by the giant in his own language. They continued on in silence, seeming not to care whom SG-1 was. Vaguely insulted, it only added to Jack's annoyance.
A glance at Carter, told him she was nervous about the situation too, but was taking it in stride. Teal'c nodded at him to say he was on guard, and Daniel's look told him that the archeologist was getting tired but was equally determined to keep going and keep the girl safe. Jack shot a look at the aliens then back at Daniel. His friend nodded with a tight smile.
"Hey, I think we've gone far enough," said Jack, coming to a stop. The aliens exchanged a look then both looked at the girl. D'argo shook his head.
"We need to get Chiana to help. Our lodging house isn't far," he told them. Let me carry her. We'll talk once she's safe."
If Daniel hadn't been on the verge of falling down, Jack would never have allowed it. As it was, he had already followed them this far, and if the looks the giant gave the girl were anything to go by, he had no ill intentions toward her. "Chiana?" he asked.
"Her name. We're crewmates." The giant stared into Jack's eyes, and the Colonel had a feeling that he was going to carry her no matter what.
"Alright."
D'argo immediately gathered the girl into his arms, whispering to her in his own language as he turned and continued down the street.
"Sir, do you think this is wise?" asked Carter quietly. "It might have been better to wait for the authorities."
"I don't think he's going to hurt her," said Jack.
"Still, we're trusting them an awful lot here. I've gotten turned around in all these streets. I don't know if I could get us back to the 'gate."
"I too am concerned," said Teal'c. "However, these two are the first beings we have encountered that we can understand. And they have not shown us any hostility since the tall one lowered his weapon."
"He knew we were human," added Daniel.
"But is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jack asked, wondering what to make of it.
"A good thing, you dolt!" the little green slug, Rygel, turned and snapped. Jack and his team started in surprise. Obviously they had good hearing. "Otherwise he," the creature jerked a finger at D'argo, "would have blown you're heads off for touching her. You're lucky to be alive."
"We're here," D'argo said, ignoring their conversation. They had reached a medium sized building that had definitely seen better days. The neighborhood wasn't as bad as the one his team had arrived in, but Holiday Inn it was not. D'argo and Rygel had a brief conversation as they headed through the lobby cum bar that ended when the flying slug went to talk to the one of the locals at the counter. "This way." D'argo led them to the stairs.
"Where did your friend go?" asked Daniel as they followed him.
"To get a healer," came the reply. The giant led them down a hallway to an unlocked room where he put the girl down on the bed. Jack didn't miss the concern on D'argo's face or the anger when he inspected her injuries.
"She's a friend of yours?" he asked.
D'argo glanced up at him but didn't answer right away. "Yes," he finally said. "Where did you find her?"
"In a junkyard," said Jack. "Somewhere . . . " He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the outside world.
"Where you landed?"
Landed? You could say that. Jack looked at his team, wondering how much they should tell this stranger. "Yeah," he said, and left it at that. D'argo nodded, his attention already back on the girl. He was taking off the last of her clothing - carefully since much of it was stuck to her drying blood.
"Will she be alright?" asked Daniel. He approached the bed slowly, concern written on every line of his face. Sam too inched forward to sit on the room's sole chair near the bed. Jack waited till she glanced at him before nodding and taking up a more comfortable position by the door with Teal'c.
"I hope so," D'argo answered. "She's strong."
The whirring sound Jack had come to associate with Rygel approached, followed soon after by the slug himself and one of the locals. SG-1 received a funny look, but the healer didn't comment. Daniel moved out of her way to let her get to her patient, their alien companions assisting her and answering questions.
While they were busy, all SG-1 could do was wait.
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Reflexively, Jack raised his own weapon a second later and put himself between Daniel and the alien that was shouting at them. The nervous and silent crowd pulled back quickly, leaving them in a bubble of space. One part of Jack's brain carefully took note of it while the other was getting royally pissed off. Just what the hell was going on?!
"Daniel, you didn't accidentally do anything to him, did you?" Jack asked when the alien finally finished yelling.
"Uh, no. I don't think so."
"Sir," said Sam, "I think he just asked us a question."
"Well that's great. Too bad we don't know what it was," Jack glared at the alien. He was tall, probably a foot taller than Jack, with brownish red hair in thin braids. What Jack had originally thought was pale hair was in fact a set of tentacles, covered in tattoos. The alien's hard expression softened slightly after Jack spoke. Then he said something else.
"Daniel? Teal'c?" Jack was starting to get nervous with this whole communication problem.
The alien's eyes narrowed. "What . . . are you?"
Jack could practically hear Daniel's jaw drop. As it was, only a lifetime of training and combat kept Jack's gun in his hands and fixed on the alien that had just spoken English. Fricken English. The broken stargate hadn't done its language trick so how did this guy speak English?
Before they could get an answer though, a flying green slug whizzed into their bubble talking a mile a minute to the red giant. Jack sighed in relief as the big guy pointed his weapon into the air. With a shift and a click, he snapped it together and sheathed it in a holster down his back.
"The authorities are coming," he said turning back to SG-1, again speaking in clear English. "We must go before they get here. I will carry the girl."
Whoa, that was quick. "I don't think so," said Jack.
"The authorities here do not take kindly offworlders who cause trouble. We need to get out of here now if we want to avoid getting thrown into a cell. Your companion is tiring, and we need to move quickly," the alien said briskly.
This was so not good. "Why should we trust you?" Jack asked.
"We don't have time for this!" the little green slug announced suddenly. Jack glanced at it, not really surprised that it spoke English too. "We are the only ones on this planet who speak your language, and unless you want to spend the rest of your short pathetic life in a zoo, I suggest you come with us, human."
Jack glanced back Daniel and Carter in surprise. Did he just say human? "We - "
"It's now or never," the giant snarled as he grabbed O'Neill's arm and pulled him through the crowd that had resumed its normal activity. Jack shook his arm free as the commotion not a hundred feet away grew louder. Craning his neck, he saw ten of the indigenous aliens with some not so nice looking faces approaching. People drew back in obvious fear. That and the growing agitation of the two offworlders made his decision.
"Alright," said Jack "We'll come with you. But you're not touching the girl."
A pained expression flitted across the giant's face, but he didn't have time to argue. Instead, he spun on his heel and led them through the market to a nearby side street.
Once in the relative safety of the shadows, the two aliens slowed their pace but continued walking. Jack just hoped they knew where they were going. The two never let SG-1 fall behind; in fact the giant walked beside Daniel and kept looking at the girl he held in his arms. Jack was starting to get annoyed with this whole situation.
"So, you got names?" he asked the two aliens not so kindly.
The giant shot him an annoyed look. "D'argo. This is Rygel."
"Dominar - " the slug began only to be cut off by the giant in his own language. They continued on in silence, seeming not to care whom SG-1 was. Vaguely insulted, it only added to Jack's annoyance.
A glance at Carter, told him she was nervous about the situation too, but was taking it in stride. Teal'c nodded at him to say he was on guard, and Daniel's look told him that the archeologist was getting tired but was equally determined to keep going and keep the girl safe. Jack shot a look at the aliens then back at Daniel. His friend nodded with a tight smile.
"Hey, I think we've gone far enough," said Jack, coming to a stop. The aliens exchanged a look then both looked at the girl. D'argo shook his head.
"We need to get Chiana to help. Our lodging house isn't far," he told them. Let me carry her. We'll talk once she's safe."
If Daniel hadn't been on the verge of falling down, Jack would never have allowed it. As it was, he had already followed them this far, and if the looks the giant gave the girl were anything to go by, he had no ill intentions toward her. "Chiana?" he asked.
"Her name. We're crewmates." The giant stared into Jack's eyes, and the Colonel had a feeling that he was going to carry her no matter what.
"Alright."
D'argo immediately gathered the girl into his arms, whispering to her in his own language as he turned and continued down the street.
"Sir, do you think this is wise?" asked Carter quietly. "It might have been better to wait for the authorities."
"I don't think he's going to hurt her," said Jack.
"Still, we're trusting them an awful lot here. I've gotten turned around in all these streets. I don't know if I could get us back to the 'gate."
"I too am concerned," said Teal'c. "However, these two are the first beings we have encountered that we can understand. And they have not shown us any hostility since the tall one lowered his weapon."
"He knew we were human," added Daniel.
"But is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Jack asked, wondering what to make of it.
"A good thing, you dolt!" the little green slug, Rygel, turned and snapped. Jack and his team started in surprise. Obviously they had good hearing. "Otherwise he," the creature jerked a finger at D'argo, "would have blown you're heads off for touching her. You're lucky to be alive."
"We're here," D'argo said, ignoring their conversation. They had reached a medium sized building that had definitely seen better days. The neighborhood wasn't as bad as the one his team had arrived in, but Holiday Inn it was not. D'argo and Rygel had a brief conversation as they headed through the lobby cum bar that ended when the flying slug went to talk to the one of the locals at the counter. "This way." D'argo led them to the stairs.
"Where did your friend go?" asked Daniel as they followed him.
"To get a healer," came the reply. The giant led them down a hallway to an unlocked room where he put the girl down on the bed. Jack didn't miss the concern on D'argo's face or the anger when he inspected her injuries.
"She's a friend of yours?" he asked.
D'argo glanced up at him but didn't answer right away. "Yes," he finally said. "Where did you find her?"
"In a junkyard," said Jack. "Somewhere . . . " He waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the outside world.
"Where you landed?"
Landed? You could say that. Jack looked at his team, wondering how much they should tell this stranger. "Yeah," he said, and left it at that. D'argo nodded, his attention already back on the girl. He was taking off the last of her clothing - carefully since much of it was stuck to her drying blood.
"Will she be alright?" asked Daniel. He approached the bed slowly, concern written on every line of his face. Sam too inched forward to sit on the room's sole chair near the bed. Jack waited till she glanced at him before nodding and taking up a more comfortable position by the door with Teal'c.
"I hope so," D'argo answered. "She's strong."
The whirring sound Jack had come to associate with Rygel approached, followed soon after by the slug himself and one of the locals. SG-1 received a funny look, but the healer didn't comment. Daniel moved out of her way to let her get to her patient, their alien companions assisting her and answering questions.
While they were busy, all SG-1 could do was wait.
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