Captain Elm walked up to Daniel. "I gave you a chance to be free. You have rejected it. You cannot deceive us. We heard everything you said. I am distressed at your attachment to your false gods, but now I cannot let you put my people in danger."
"They are not gods, false or otherwise," Daniel protested. "They are our friends and we will do our best to help them."
"They are not your friends, they are your captors, your enemy and ours. Tell us what we need to know so that we may fight the Goa'uld together." Captain Elm looked at them and knew he would get no information out of them. "I will return you to your 'friends'."
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
"So, Daniel, Carter, you're back."
"Yes, Sir. It was a trap. As soon as they knew Daniel was going to go home via Hanka, they switched off the show at the 'gate. It must be a huge hologram or something similar."
"Just Daniel going home?"
"Yes, Sir. I was going to try to gather information here."
"Good idea, Major. Pity it didn't work. So, they still think were Goa'uld?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Can you think of anyone who could tell them otherwise? Nox?"
"No they buried their 'gate, Jack. Asgard ?" asked Daniel.
"They're kinda busy with those replicators. Tollans? Nah, they don't really like us, well, me. Tok'Ra?"
"These people will just think we're all Goa'uld, Sir. Have you heard of them, Ashmel?"
"The Tok'Ra have had no contact with these people. As Major Carter says, they do not differentiate between us and the Goa'uld. The Tok'Ra could not help in this situation."
"So, it's up to us?"
"That appears to be the case, O'Neill."
"Any ideas?"
"I do not believe escaping from this facility would be straightforward."
"No, they got it pretty well tied up. Good thing is, the interrogation isn't too bad. I mean there's no blood of Sokar or anything. Just that pain stick thing."
"The attempts at forcing information from us do appear to be most ineffective."
"Almost like they don't really want to hurt us. But we are stuck here."
"Indeed."
The door to the cell opened and Captain Elm returned with a woman bearing a tray of food and a new guard who sat down by the door. Elm deactivated the barrier long enough for the tray to be handed to Daniel and then he reactivated it.
"You are correct. We do not wish to harm you. But you must renounce your false gods and tell us the symbols for the planet you have come from. We can then send a devise to destroy it and those of you who do not harbour Goa'uld will be free. I understand that the immature Goa'uld cannot be removed without the host dying and we have no technology to remove the adult parasite. So, the two who have parasites cannot be released, but we can make you more comfortable than in here. Please reflect on your situation. Inform the guard if you need anything." With that, Elm and the woman left.
"Some choice! Never mind. What's for dinner?" The tray held four dishes, each holding an unappetizing gray porridge and four cups of water. It had been some time since they had eaten, so they made the best of it. The meal was punctuated by the guard at the door coughing.
"Sir?"
"Yeah, Carter?"
"The woman who brought the food in didn't look so good."
"No, Jack. If you ask me, none of the people round here look that healthy," added Daniel. "You know, they are all really thin, even the ones in the plaza, who weren't real. And there are no old people, the oldest must only be in their mid 40s. You say the Goa'uld have been gone 34 years."
"The oldest inhabitants we have seen were too young, at that time, to receive their first Prim'Ta." Observed Teal'c.
"And that guard has a really nasty cough. If he was at home, he would be in the infirmary."
Jack called out to the guard. "Hey, Soldier, you had that cough for long?"
The guard looked worried. He hadn't been given any orders regarding talking to the prisoners. "Most people cough. Cough never killed anyone."
Sam looked concerned. The technology level of this planet was really high, some of it far in advance of what they had back home. Could it be that the medical and health advances were that far behind those of earth?
"Daniel, didn't the MALP recordings suggest a lower level of health provision here?" she whispered.
"And of medical knowledge? Yes, it ties in. The Jaffa wouldn't need any medicines."
"Sir," Sam whispered to O'Neill, "I think we should try to be careful about what we eat and drink. There may be, urm, contaminants present. And the diet here may not be very well balanced."
"You don't say. I haven't had a conversation like this since Charlie was about six years old. However, I don't think we'll be given much choice. Hey, Soldier, do prisoners get any fruit or fresh stuff to eat?"
"Why would you want any of that? Isn't our food good enough for you?"
"This what you eat too?"
"Yes it is! What's wrong with it?" The guard was beginning to get angry.
"Nothin'. It's really good. It's just not what we're used to."
Then the woman came back with Elm to collect the empty dishes, so the conversation stopped.
SG1 tried to make the best of a bad situation. After some discussion a bucket of water was brought in for them to use for washing, but the concept of dirt causing illness was totally foreign to the native inhabitants. After three days Sam and Daniel both had gastric upsets. Only Teal'c's Prim'Ta and the presence of Ashmel stopped the other two from suffering the same fate. The guard didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary.
The humans members of SG1 were also suffering from lack of decent sleep. The natives of the planet were so thin that the narrow bunks were probably okay for them. However, Jack, Sam and Daniel couldn't sleep well when they felt in danger of falling out of bed all the time. Teal'c didn't bother trying. He just performed Kel'no'reem sitting on the floor.
Although they discussed escaping, there was really no way to try. The only person who could open the barrier was Captain Elm and it only stayed open as long as he had his hand on the panel. SG1 knew that they wouldn't be overdue until five days had passed. It would be sometime after that, that the General would try to find out what had happened to them.
Three meals each day turned up carried by the same woman and were eaten without relish. Mostly it was the porridge, with occasional addition of some meat or bread. At noon on the fourth day the woman seemed really upset and managed to drop the tray before Daniel could grab it. Elm was angry. He told the guard to get more food, told the woman to clear the mess up and then stormed off.
Daniel helped her pick up the broken dishes. "What's the matter... I don't even know your name."
"I'm called Holly. I'm sorry. My daughter has the variola. I'm so worried she will die like so many do."
"What's variola?"
"A disease, there is no cure. Most of the children and lots of adults who catch it die."
Ashmel spoke up. "I have a healing device in my pack. With it I may be able to help your child. Do you think you may be able to persuade Captain Elm to let me see your daughter?"
"I will beg him! She has no other chance. There is no treatment, even if she doesn't die it is a terrible illness. It will always stay with her."
When the replacement meal arrived, SG1 ate thoughtfully.
"If Ashmel can cure this disease, it may make them think more kindly towards us, Sir."
"Can't do any harm if it works. Do you think you will be able to cure it, Ashmel?"
"From the food we get here, I expect it is some kind of dysentery, which the healing devise will cure easily, if with a bit of effort from you, Jack. It can be quite tiring, especially when you're not used to working with me like that."
"I've never had much luck with the healing device." Sam added.
"It does take some getting used to even with a teacher still in your head! I'm Sure Jack will have no problems - except for the effort required."
"Well, I haven't had a good workout since I got here!"
"They are not gods, false or otherwise," Daniel protested. "They are our friends and we will do our best to help them."
"They are not your friends, they are your captors, your enemy and ours. Tell us what we need to know so that we may fight the Goa'uld together." Captain Elm looked at them and knew he would get no information out of them. "I will return you to your 'friends'."
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
"So, Daniel, Carter, you're back."
"Yes, Sir. It was a trap. As soon as they knew Daniel was going to go home via Hanka, they switched off the show at the 'gate. It must be a huge hologram or something similar."
"Just Daniel going home?"
"Yes, Sir. I was going to try to gather information here."
"Good idea, Major. Pity it didn't work. So, they still think were Goa'uld?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Can you think of anyone who could tell them otherwise? Nox?"
"No they buried their 'gate, Jack. Asgard ?" asked Daniel.
"They're kinda busy with those replicators. Tollans? Nah, they don't really like us, well, me. Tok'Ra?"
"These people will just think we're all Goa'uld, Sir. Have you heard of them, Ashmel?"
"The Tok'Ra have had no contact with these people. As Major Carter says, they do not differentiate between us and the Goa'uld. The Tok'Ra could not help in this situation."
"So, it's up to us?"
"That appears to be the case, O'Neill."
"Any ideas?"
"I do not believe escaping from this facility would be straightforward."
"No, they got it pretty well tied up. Good thing is, the interrogation isn't too bad. I mean there's no blood of Sokar or anything. Just that pain stick thing."
"The attempts at forcing information from us do appear to be most ineffective."
"Almost like they don't really want to hurt us. But we are stuck here."
"Indeed."
The door to the cell opened and Captain Elm returned with a woman bearing a tray of food and a new guard who sat down by the door. Elm deactivated the barrier long enough for the tray to be handed to Daniel and then he reactivated it.
"You are correct. We do not wish to harm you. But you must renounce your false gods and tell us the symbols for the planet you have come from. We can then send a devise to destroy it and those of you who do not harbour Goa'uld will be free. I understand that the immature Goa'uld cannot be removed without the host dying and we have no technology to remove the adult parasite. So, the two who have parasites cannot be released, but we can make you more comfortable than in here. Please reflect on your situation. Inform the guard if you need anything." With that, Elm and the woman left.
"Some choice! Never mind. What's for dinner?" The tray held four dishes, each holding an unappetizing gray porridge and four cups of water. It had been some time since they had eaten, so they made the best of it. The meal was punctuated by the guard at the door coughing.
"Sir?"
"Yeah, Carter?"
"The woman who brought the food in didn't look so good."
"No, Jack. If you ask me, none of the people round here look that healthy," added Daniel. "You know, they are all really thin, even the ones in the plaza, who weren't real. And there are no old people, the oldest must only be in their mid 40s. You say the Goa'uld have been gone 34 years."
"The oldest inhabitants we have seen were too young, at that time, to receive their first Prim'Ta." Observed Teal'c.
"And that guard has a really nasty cough. If he was at home, he would be in the infirmary."
Jack called out to the guard. "Hey, Soldier, you had that cough for long?"
The guard looked worried. He hadn't been given any orders regarding talking to the prisoners. "Most people cough. Cough never killed anyone."
Sam looked concerned. The technology level of this planet was really high, some of it far in advance of what they had back home. Could it be that the medical and health advances were that far behind those of earth?
"Daniel, didn't the MALP recordings suggest a lower level of health provision here?" she whispered.
"And of medical knowledge? Yes, it ties in. The Jaffa wouldn't need any medicines."
"Sir," Sam whispered to O'Neill, "I think we should try to be careful about what we eat and drink. There may be, urm, contaminants present. And the diet here may not be very well balanced."
"You don't say. I haven't had a conversation like this since Charlie was about six years old. However, I don't think we'll be given much choice. Hey, Soldier, do prisoners get any fruit or fresh stuff to eat?"
"Why would you want any of that? Isn't our food good enough for you?"
"This what you eat too?"
"Yes it is! What's wrong with it?" The guard was beginning to get angry.
"Nothin'. It's really good. It's just not what we're used to."
Then the woman came back with Elm to collect the empty dishes, so the conversation stopped.
SG1 tried to make the best of a bad situation. After some discussion a bucket of water was brought in for them to use for washing, but the concept of dirt causing illness was totally foreign to the native inhabitants. After three days Sam and Daniel both had gastric upsets. Only Teal'c's Prim'Ta and the presence of Ashmel stopped the other two from suffering the same fate. The guard didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary.
The humans members of SG1 were also suffering from lack of decent sleep. The natives of the planet were so thin that the narrow bunks were probably okay for them. However, Jack, Sam and Daniel couldn't sleep well when they felt in danger of falling out of bed all the time. Teal'c didn't bother trying. He just performed Kel'no'reem sitting on the floor.
Although they discussed escaping, there was really no way to try. The only person who could open the barrier was Captain Elm and it only stayed open as long as he had his hand on the panel. SG1 knew that they wouldn't be overdue until five days had passed. It would be sometime after that, that the General would try to find out what had happened to them.
Three meals each day turned up carried by the same woman and were eaten without relish. Mostly it was the porridge, with occasional addition of some meat or bread. At noon on the fourth day the woman seemed really upset and managed to drop the tray before Daniel could grab it. Elm was angry. He told the guard to get more food, told the woman to clear the mess up and then stormed off.
Daniel helped her pick up the broken dishes. "What's the matter... I don't even know your name."
"I'm called Holly. I'm sorry. My daughter has the variola. I'm so worried she will die like so many do."
"What's variola?"
"A disease, there is no cure. Most of the children and lots of adults who catch it die."
Ashmel spoke up. "I have a healing device in my pack. With it I may be able to help your child. Do you think you may be able to persuade Captain Elm to let me see your daughter?"
"I will beg him! She has no other chance. There is no treatment, even if she doesn't die it is a terrible illness. It will always stay with her."
When the replacement meal arrived, SG1 ate thoughtfully.
"If Ashmel can cure this disease, it may make them think more kindly towards us, Sir."
"Can't do any harm if it works. Do you think you will be able to cure it, Ashmel?"
"From the food we get here, I expect it is some kind of dysentery, which the healing devise will cure easily, if with a bit of effort from you, Jack. It can be quite tiring, especially when you're not used to working with me like that."
"I've never had much luck with the healing device." Sam added.
"It does take some getting used to even with a teacher still in your head! I'm Sure Jack will have no problems - except for the effort required."
"Well, I haven't had a good workout since I got here!"