Late that afternoon, Captain Elm came with several guards, to talk to SG1.
"You told Holly that you can cure her daughter." It sounded like an accusation. "She has the variola. No-one can cure that."
"I can cure many illnesses and injuries," stated Ashmel, "If I am given the chance and my medical equipment."
"Injuries too, is it?" Elm tossed one of the guards a knife and opened the barrier. "Cut the woman. Deep." The guards rushed in and grabbed SG1. Before anyone could stop him, the guard with the knife had stabbed Sam in the shoulder. The guards then retreated behind the barrier, which Elm then reactivated. It was a bad cut and blood was pumping out alarmingly. They must have caught a large artery. Jack quickly tried to apply pressure to the wound to stem the flow of blood.
"Sam!" Jack was beside himself, he should have seen this coming!
Ashmel promptly took over. "I need my equipment. An orange disc, about 6 inches across, metal finger holds on the back, in my pack. Quickly!"
Elm pulled the healing device out of his pocket. "This?"
"Yes. Give it to me! Hurry!"
"Then tell me the coordinates of your world."
"She will be dead before I can show you! Your men have done their job too well!"
"Promise me!"
"Oh, come on! My promise would mean nothing!"
You needn't have told him that!
We must do nothing to show we are untrustworthy.
But Sam is dying!
Elm looked puzzled and then to everyone's surprise, lowered the barrier and threw the device to Daniel. Daniel caught it and swapped places with Jack. Ashmel activated the healing device and pointed it at Sam's shoulder. Jack could see the damaged artery in his mind and watched as Ashmel drew the cut edges towards each other. He saw her carefully join the margins together. The blood was returned to its correct path. The flow from the wound slowed, but was still seeping out. Delicately, Ashmel closed every broken blood vessel and painstakingly joined each severed muscle fibre, each piece of split tendon, repaired every part of the damaged flesh. Until at last the skin itself was whole again. Not even a scar was visible on Sam's shoulder. Only the copious amounts of blood on her and Jack's BDUs gave witness that there ever had been an injury. Only that and the fact that, as soon as Ashmel had finished, Jack keeled over and collapsed on the floor, totally spent.
Elm turned to Daniel before he walked out. "Holly will bring her daughter."
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
It took Jack nearly two hours to recover enough to be able to sit unaided on his narrow bunk. A different woman had brought the meal and Jack managed to eat his, slowly trying to get his strength back.
"I feel like I've done a workout now!" he complained. He turned his attention to his 2IC and partner. "How are you feeling, Sam?"
"Not too bad, Jack." Actually she didn't look too bad either. "I think the amount of blood is a bit deceptive. It looks more than it probably is, spread out on our clothes. I don't feel any different from when I've donated a pint for Janet to use. You and Ashmel acted so quickly, you look worse than I feel!"
After they had finished their meal, Elm came back into the cell and lowered the barrier. He indicated to Jack. "You. Come with me and bring that instrument." Jack followed him out of the cell and down a corridor to a small room where Holly was comforting a small girl. The girl look dreadful. She was thin to the point of emaciation and her hair was greasy and matted. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. She was obviously running a high fever. But the thing that struck Jack the most was the terrible rash that covered every part of the small body that he could see. Red blisters and sore scabs, some bleeding. Some looked infected, a thin yellow pus weeping out of them.
Oh, God, Ashmel! Can you do anything for that!
I don't recognize it, Jack. We can only do our best. Ashmel held the device and activated it over the girl's body. As before, Jack felt himself going into the body, but this time her saw the girl's blood contaminated with some sort of foreign particles.
It's a virus, Jack. We must teach the white blood cells how to fight it, how to make antibodies. Don't worry, it's not as hard as healing a wound. The girl's body will do most of the work for itself.
What about the rash?
We'll kill the infection, but the rash will heal up on its own in time, it's not life-threatening by itself, once the virus is under control. In any case it took time to get the fevered body to learn to recognize the virus. As Ashmel had said, it wasn't as bad as healing Sam's wound, but it was still exhausting.
The girl was breathing easier and as Jack laid his hand on her forehead, he could tell that the fever was down. The rash looked less angry and the infection had dried up. She opened her eyes and looked at her mother, who by now was weeping uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, Mamma. I'm feeling better." Holly held the small body close against her own and rocked back and forth. Finally she looked up at Jack.
"I don't know how to thank you. She is saved!" Then she looked towards Elm, who had observed the whole thing from the corner of the room. "You must let these people go free, Captain. The Goa'uld would never help anyone. They must be telling the truth."
Elm looked worried. These strangers were more powerful than he thought. They would be more dangerous than the Goa'uld if his people made them their enemies! Because his people had put all their resources into technological development, medical advances looked like so much magic to them. When the Goa'uld still ruled the planet, medical research was useless, Jaffa and hosts had no need of it. Since they had gone, people had become ill, but all the scientific effort had be aimed at developing weapons to keep the enemy away. Because they had wanted to help Holly's daughter, Elm decided the only way out was to throw himself at their mercy.
"You must help us! There are many dying of the variola. All over the city there are outbreaks, especially in the Tamber district. Holly lives there. Please help us. We thought you were Goa'uld. I realize now you cannot be!"
"Yeah, well, it took me some time to see the difference too!"
Elm took Jack in one of the hovercars down to the Tamber district. There was a building there that was acting as a hospital, but like no hospital Jack had ever been in. No doctors or nurses or signs of treatment. It was just a building full of sick people, some abandoned by their relatives and cared for by those only slightly less sick than themselves. It reminded Jack of pictures of leper colonies you used to get in religious education books. Something from biblical times. Jack expected someone to appear with a handcart shouting 'Bring out your dead'. He didn't mean it in an amusing way, there was nothing amusing about this.
Ashmel, this is .... he couldn't finish, it was awful beyond words.
Let's get to work, Jack.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
The guards brought Jack back to the holding cell as the sun was reaching its zenith. The rest of SG1 was concerned to see him lying inert on a stretcher. He woke briefly only when the guards moved him over to his bunk.
"Jack, what the hell have they done to you!" Sam looked ready to take on the guards with her bare hands. Luckily, they had retreated behind the barrier.
"They've done nothin'. Just so many sick." He rolled on to his side. "Night."
"No, Jack," replied Sam, thinking it was a question, "It must be nearly noon."
Jack motioned her to come closer. He lifted a tired hand round the back of her head and pulled her close enough to plant a exhausted kiss on her forehead.
"No, Sam. Nighty-night!" and he fell asleep. For once, the narrow bunk wouldn't stop him sleeping!
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Nearly done. Just one more chapter.
Please click on that button. Send me a review.
"You told Holly that you can cure her daughter." It sounded like an accusation. "She has the variola. No-one can cure that."
"I can cure many illnesses and injuries," stated Ashmel, "If I am given the chance and my medical equipment."
"Injuries too, is it?" Elm tossed one of the guards a knife and opened the barrier. "Cut the woman. Deep." The guards rushed in and grabbed SG1. Before anyone could stop him, the guard with the knife had stabbed Sam in the shoulder. The guards then retreated behind the barrier, which Elm then reactivated. It was a bad cut and blood was pumping out alarmingly. They must have caught a large artery. Jack quickly tried to apply pressure to the wound to stem the flow of blood.
"Sam!" Jack was beside himself, he should have seen this coming!
Ashmel promptly took over. "I need my equipment. An orange disc, about 6 inches across, metal finger holds on the back, in my pack. Quickly!"
Elm pulled the healing device out of his pocket. "This?"
"Yes. Give it to me! Hurry!"
"Then tell me the coordinates of your world."
"She will be dead before I can show you! Your men have done their job too well!"
"Promise me!"
"Oh, come on! My promise would mean nothing!"
You needn't have told him that!
We must do nothing to show we are untrustworthy.
But Sam is dying!
Elm looked puzzled and then to everyone's surprise, lowered the barrier and threw the device to Daniel. Daniel caught it and swapped places with Jack. Ashmel activated the healing device and pointed it at Sam's shoulder. Jack could see the damaged artery in his mind and watched as Ashmel drew the cut edges towards each other. He saw her carefully join the margins together. The blood was returned to its correct path. The flow from the wound slowed, but was still seeping out. Delicately, Ashmel closed every broken blood vessel and painstakingly joined each severed muscle fibre, each piece of split tendon, repaired every part of the damaged flesh. Until at last the skin itself was whole again. Not even a scar was visible on Sam's shoulder. Only the copious amounts of blood on her and Jack's BDUs gave witness that there ever had been an injury. Only that and the fact that, as soon as Ashmel had finished, Jack keeled over and collapsed on the floor, totally spent.
Elm turned to Daniel before he walked out. "Holly will bring her daughter."
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
It took Jack nearly two hours to recover enough to be able to sit unaided on his narrow bunk. A different woman had brought the meal and Jack managed to eat his, slowly trying to get his strength back.
"I feel like I've done a workout now!" he complained. He turned his attention to his 2IC and partner. "How are you feeling, Sam?"
"Not too bad, Jack." Actually she didn't look too bad either. "I think the amount of blood is a bit deceptive. It looks more than it probably is, spread out on our clothes. I don't feel any different from when I've donated a pint for Janet to use. You and Ashmel acted so quickly, you look worse than I feel!"
After they had finished their meal, Elm came back into the cell and lowered the barrier. He indicated to Jack. "You. Come with me and bring that instrument." Jack followed him out of the cell and down a corridor to a small room where Holly was comforting a small girl. The girl look dreadful. She was thin to the point of emaciation and her hair was greasy and matted. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. She was obviously running a high fever. But the thing that struck Jack the most was the terrible rash that covered every part of the small body that he could see. Red blisters and sore scabs, some bleeding. Some looked infected, a thin yellow pus weeping out of them.
Oh, God, Ashmel! Can you do anything for that!
I don't recognize it, Jack. We can only do our best. Ashmel held the device and activated it over the girl's body. As before, Jack felt himself going into the body, but this time her saw the girl's blood contaminated with some sort of foreign particles.
It's a virus, Jack. We must teach the white blood cells how to fight it, how to make antibodies. Don't worry, it's not as hard as healing a wound. The girl's body will do most of the work for itself.
What about the rash?
We'll kill the infection, but the rash will heal up on its own in time, it's not life-threatening by itself, once the virus is under control. In any case it took time to get the fevered body to learn to recognize the virus. As Ashmel had said, it wasn't as bad as healing Sam's wound, but it was still exhausting.
The girl was breathing easier and as Jack laid his hand on her forehead, he could tell that the fever was down. The rash looked less angry and the infection had dried up. She opened her eyes and looked at her mother, who by now was weeping uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, Mamma. I'm feeling better." Holly held the small body close against her own and rocked back and forth. Finally she looked up at Jack.
"I don't know how to thank you. She is saved!" Then she looked towards Elm, who had observed the whole thing from the corner of the room. "You must let these people go free, Captain. The Goa'uld would never help anyone. They must be telling the truth."
Elm looked worried. These strangers were more powerful than he thought. They would be more dangerous than the Goa'uld if his people made them their enemies! Because his people had put all their resources into technological development, medical advances looked like so much magic to them. When the Goa'uld still ruled the planet, medical research was useless, Jaffa and hosts had no need of it. Since they had gone, people had become ill, but all the scientific effort had be aimed at developing weapons to keep the enemy away. Because they had wanted to help Holly's daughter, Elm decided the only way out was to throw himself at their mercy.
"You must help us! There are many dying of the variola. All over the city there are outbreaks, especially in the Tamber district. Holly lives there. Please help us. We thought you were Goa'uld. I realize now you cannot be!"
"Yeah, well, it took me some time to see the difference too!"
Elm took Jack in one of the hovercars down to the Tamber district. There was a building there that was acting as a hospital, but like no hospital Jack had ever been in. No doctors or nurses or signs of treatment. It was just a building full of sick people, some abandoned by their relatives and cared for by those only slightly less sick than themselves. It reminded Jack of pictures of leper colonies you used to get in religious education books. Something from biblical times. Jack expected someone to appear with a handcart shouting 'Bring out your dead'. He didn't mean it in an amusing way, there was nothing amusing about this.
Ashmel, this is .... he couldn't finish, it was awful beyond words.
Let's get to work, Jack.
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
The guards brought Jack back to the holding cell as the sun was reaching its zenith. The rest of SG1 was concerned to see him lying inert on a stretcher. He woke briefly only when the guards moved him over to his bunk.
"Jack, what the hell have they done to you!" Sam looked ready to take on the guards with her bare hands. Luckily, they had retreated behind the barrier.
"They've done nothin'. Just so many sick." He rolled on to his side. "Night."
"No, Jack," replied Sam, thinking it was a question, "It must be nearly noon."
Jack motioned her to come closer. He lifted a tired hand round the back of her head and pulled her close enough to plant a exhausted kiss on her forehead.
"No, Sam. Nighty-night!" and he fell asleep. For once, the narrow bunk wouldn't stop him sleeping!
@~@~@~@~@~@~@
Nearly done. Just one more chapter.
Please click on that button. Send me a review.