Vice Versa

by Kleio the Muse

JD slash, set after 'Need'. Jack and Daniel have some soul-searching to do and what better place for that than this topsy-turvy planet!

2. Upside Down

Chapter 2: Upside Down

"We need shovels! And buckets!"

"Everybody out of the Gate room, now!"

"Where's the medical team?!"

"Hey, I really need those shovels!"

"Clear the room!"

"Someone help Colonel O'Neill!"

"Where are the fucking shovels? I'm drowning in sand here!"

"Close the iris!"

"No! You can't close the iris, Daniel isn't here yet!"

"Keep the Gate open!"

"Is anyone going to help me out with these buckets?!"

"Let the goddamn sand be and get the colonel out of there! Now!"

"It's shutting down!"

Jack could hear the mixture of noises around him, people running back and forth, the general's voice from the speaker demanding that the room be emptied, someone obsessing about the sand, and finally the silence, broken only by the sound of the disengaging wormhole. A pair of hands was grabbing him by the arm and lifting him up from the pile of sand on the Gate room floor.

"O'Neill, are you injured?"

Jack shook himself free from the Jaffa's hold and headed straight to the general, who was approaching him with an unpromising frown on his face and Sam right by his side.

"We have to go back! Daniel's still there! Sir, we have to..."

"Calm down, colonel, we cannot open the Gate before that sandstorm settles down," General Hammond said, trying to put as much authority into his words as he possibly could in order to keep the colonel from dialling the chevrons himself. "We will retrieve Doctor Jackson as soon as we can open the Gate without burying the whole base in sand. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Fine? There's no shelter, there's... nothing! Daniel will be buried alive if we don't get him the hell outta there!"

"Colonel, I'm just as worried about Doctor Jackson as you are, believe me. But it's not in our hands."

"Sir, this is Daniel we're talking about! He needs us!"

"Colonel O'Neill! Don't make me repeat myself. I'm not going to risk the lives of any more men. We will wait fifteen minutes and dial J5X-112 again to see if the storm has passed."

General Hammond stepped closer to Jack to place his hand on the man's shoulder, and lowering his voice he said:

"All we can do is hope and pray that it's not Doctor Jackson's time yet."

****

Daniel tried to spit out the sand in his mouth, but only ended up swallowing more with every attempt. Knowing he would never make it to the Gate in time, he turned back and crawled on his hands and knees to the DHD and curled as close as he could against it. Giving it his every effort, he managed to zip up his jacket and pull it over his head to prevent the sand from getting into his lungs. And that was it. There was nothing else to be done.

As he heard the wind draw more strength with every blow, Daniel's mind kept going around the same circle, in the centre of which lay the undeniable thought of dying. But somehow dying ceased to stand for the end of his life and instead it came to consist of the feeling of a new beginning, that the end had already passed and this was merely the next logical step on the cycle. As much as he tried to think about it, he did not feel like he was about to die. Death and end were the past and this was the new day.

Daniel dug his feet deeper into the sand for support. Giving up was not an option. He felt alive; as alive as only a condemned man on temporary reprieve could feel.

The sky had darkened with the arrival of the storm, but somehow Daniel started to believe that the darkness existed solely for him, that it was calling him, as if wanting to take him to places only the fortunate ones that have passed the point of no return and kept on going would be granted the right to enter. Light was escaping from him irreversibly, being torn away, leaving him alone in the dark. No light, no Jack. Was this the new beginning?

****

"Sir, it won't lock."

"What the hell do you mean, it won't lock?! We were just there, why wouldn't it lock now?"

Jack was pacing the control room floor. He had barely lived through the fifteen minutes they had had to wait until trying to open the Stargate again in order to send the MALP there to check whether or not the storm had passed. And now they were telling him it was a dead end.

"Sir, the Gate must have been buried in the sand," Sam said quietly.

"No, no it can't be... no, 'cos that would mean that Daniel..." Jack said slowing his steps before coming to a full stop by the wall and leaning his head against it.

"It is not impossible that DanielJackson has survived."

"Teal'c, I know you mean well, but how the hell do you think anyone could have survived in that storm?!" Jack yelled as he banged his head against the wall with increasing harshness. "I should've stayed with him, I never should've left him, never, ever..."

"With all due respect, sir, I don't see how that could've made a difference. Instead we'd now have two missing team members."

"Captain Carter has a point. I see no reason to start looking for someone to blame. We will continue dialling the address every thirty minutes. I will not have any more speculation until we're absolutely sure that planet can't be reached."

General Hammond turned on his heel and left the control room, so as not to let any of his staff notice the worried wrinkles on his forehead. This was not looking good. Not good at all.

****

"O'Neill, what is your state of mind?"

"Has been better. How long has it been now?"

"Exactly three minutes longer than the last time you asked me that question."

"Sorry, I'm just..."

"I understand. I am equally concerned about DanielJackson."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Do you wish me to know?"

"No. Not really."

"Then I will say no more."

Teal'c sat down next to Jack on the floor and like him, took a point on the opposite wall upon which to fixate his eyes.

There they sat, side by side, when Sam walked in, causing a sudden wave of life in both of them.

"How long has it been?" Jack was the first to ask.

"Twenty minutes. They're getting ready to try again. Sir, I've been making some calculations and..."

"And what?"

"And Daniel's chances aren't too good. If a person gets buried in the sand, he loses consciousness in matter of minutes and if he's not uncovered, he will..."

"Suffocate?"

Sam could only nod as an answer to him.

"Why is he doing this to me? The ultimate punishment? Well, he sure got to me, that son-of-a-bitch sure got to me..."

"O'Neill, you are not being rational. I do not believe DanielJackson would have done this on purpose."

"Accidentally on purpose..." Jack hissed between his teeth. "How can he do this to me? That bastard..."

"Sir, maybe we should go to the control room," Sam said, trying to keep her voice calm and reassuring as she took hold of Jack's arm and gently pulled him up from the floor, and with Teal'c following right behind them, she guided the still muttering man out of the room.

The colonel was truly reacting strongly to this, even more strongly than she would have thought. Of course she knew how close those two men were, but seeing Jack like this, so helpless and unbalanced, went far beyond anything she could ever have imagined. And of all the places, why had he hidden in the store room?

There was something more to this, but that would have to wait. First things first, as the colonel that she knew would have said.

They found the general standing in front of the control panels and the expression on his face was as bleak as Jack had feared.

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry, colonel. It will not lock."

Jack tore his arm free and rushed out of the room. He couldn't stand this, didn't care what everyone else would think, couldn't be here, couldn't let himself give in to the idea of Daniel being... gone. No. No. No. He went half-running back to the storage room and slammed the door shut. Lights off, didn't want to see, didn't want to think. Only the dark could help.

****

The light came in faintly through Daniel's closed eyelids. Slowly he began the painful task of lifting them up, making a stifled shriek as he felt the burning tingling of the sand beneath them.

"Here, some water, try to rinse the sand out."

Still unable to see anything, Daniel felt his hands being placed into a bowl of liquid and having no alternative but to trust the female voice talking in a dialect closely parallel to the one spoken on Abydos, he obeyed the stranger's proposal.

"Where... where am I?"

"You're in Vun'tah. Don't you remember being sent here?"

"No... I wasn't..."

Hearing Daniel's voice drift away, the woman made a slight gesture with her hand and a cup was placed in it.

"Drink this. You need it."

Keeping to the submissive role he had taken on, Daniel emptied the cup without a word of protest or suspicion. The white liquid tasted sweet and rich, similar to goats' milk, but triumphed with an indisputable margin in the contest for the most repulsive drink in the universe. Only with difficulty did he manage to keep his nausea in control and the drink down.

"Uh, my glasses...?" Daniel muttered after he had swallowed all he felt himself capable of and made two circles in the air around his eyes to illustrate his request.

"You want these?" asked the woman as she solemnly held out Daniel's specs.

Only now was the woman's figure beginning to take shape - slimly built, early thirties, dark hair gathered high up on the top of her head, olive skin and big, almond shaped eyes looking straight at him with a sense of wonder hidden behind them.

"Thank you. I... I'm Daniel Jackson."

"I am Tulia. And this here is Sinera."

Blinking his eyes to focus on the figure Tulia was pointing at, Daniel could make out another woman standing behind her. Built similarly to the first one, though taller, with almost black hair and darker skin, and maybe a few years older as well, but all in all a strikingly beautiful woman.

"Thank you... both... for my life."

"You were lucky. Had you been in the sand much longer, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Who would've thought that something like this should happen on our cleaning day? Just to think of how we almost didn't go at all!"

The two women exchanged a warm smile.

"Yes... thank you. Um... 'cleaning'?"

"Yes, it was our turn to clean up the Entrance, to dig it up from the sand."

"We have to do it every time a storm comes."

"Otherwise it won't function properly."

"Every house has it's own turn, you see."

"Such amazing luck that this one was ours!"

The women were talking over one another, completing each other's sentences in a way that made it obvious they had spent a considerable time together.

Their jabbering gave Daniel the opportunity to take a closer look at the room. The whitewashed walls with hardly any decoration on them and high ceiling gave an impression of space though in fact the room was not all that large. Sparsely furnished as it was, the only thing occupying the empty space seemed to be the light streaming in from the uncovered windows on either side of the bed, the solitary luxury showing the apparent wealth of his hosts.

"Why did you say that I was 'sent' here?"

"Of course you were, we all were, originally."

"You must still be a little confused after that terrible ordeal you had to go through."

Daniel had lost track of which one was Tulia and which one Sinera, but it didn't appear to make any difference. Both dressed in like garments, white linen, similar to what he himself had worn on Abydos, and acting as one person, there was no reason to make any distinction between the two. And Daniel's shaky mind would never have accomplished such a demanding task.

"Where were you all sent from?"

"From home, where else?"

"He's very confused, isn't he?"

"And why were you sent here? Is this like a prison?"

Daniel was putting his every effort into forming meaningful sentences, coldly ignoring the appeals of his body to close his eyes again and keep them that way for quite a while.

"I don't believe we know what a 'prison' is."

"A place where you put people who have broken the laws."

"Oh, no, those people are not sent here, they're killed. Our laws are quite explicit."

"No criminals here! My god what an idea!"

"Then who do they sent here?"

"Everyone has a different story, don't they?"

"Yes, I and my brother Jarkof were born here, we're the old ones, our great-great-great-grandmother was among the first ones, those who built this city, but Sinera..."

"My grandmother came here almost sixty cycles ago, pregnant with my father, the bastard child, her family wanted nothing to do with her, so she was sent to Vun'tah. She and my parents have been dead for many cycles."

"Some even came out of their own free will, wanting to go to the Gods..."

"Not that we've seen any. Not ever."

"...but most were orphans or widowers or sick"

"Those naturally did not survive for long in this climate."

"No, especially the old ones."

"But nowadays all of us have been born here."

"Yes, I believe Sinera's grandmother was one of the last to be sent here, so it must have been what...?"

"Almost fifty cycles, I'd say."

"And no one has come here..."

"Or been taken away."

"...ever since."

"Until you came."

But Daniel was already gone to a place where no sounds could interrupt his rest, where there were no babbling women and most importantly, no sand.

****

"That was only the third time. We'll keep on trying," Sam whispered to the colonel, not wanting to disturb the silent shelter he seemed to have built around him. "Daniel's alive, I know he is. And we will get him back."

"It's over. All fun must come to an end. And this is it."

"Sir... are you alright?"

"It's over. It was over before we stepped on that cursed planet!"

All Sam could do was stare at her team leader. Something was wrong and it was not entirely due to Daniel's disappearance. She would have to get Jack to see Doctor Fraiser to calm him down. They were actually losing two men, instead of one.

But it couldn't have been clearer in Jack's mind. Daniel had left him. For good.

He refused to think that the man was dead. How could he have been? Jack was still able to sense the scent of his hair, even the taste of his skin; Daniel was very much alive to him. No matter what had happened to his earthly body, the image of him was still there, painfully vivid in Jack's mind. And yet he had left him, first emotionally and as the final nail to the coffin, also physically, as if to deliberately underline the irrevocability of his choice. Since what was death but leaving, going away for an infinite amount of time; the affect knew no difference. But Daniel had combined these two, added dying to leaving and constructed this excruciating wheel onto which Jack felt he had been tied, forced to listen to his bones being broken as the wheel turned slowly but irreversibly. It was a construction built on destruction.

Yet the reasons behind Daniel's choice were buried deeper than any sandstorm could ever achieve. Those words he had screamed into Jack's face kept ringing in his ears, evolving into his own private tinnitus that had only a limited vocabulary to be repeated over and over again.

As far as Jack's mind was able to comprehend in all its confusion, there could only be two options for why Daniel had ended it. Either he had truly had his fun and left the party before the inevitable downhill, or Jack had done something to upset him, hurt him on a level still unknown to himself. Since hope undoubtedly is the cruellest of all companions and makes people see things invisible to the eye of an outsider, Jack seized the latter with every drop of his optimistic power, rationalising that if he had done something to cause this, then he could very well also undo it. This option left him the desperately wanted chance to have control over the situation, the hope of making it better.

So, he had hurt Daniel - how? He had been too rough with him, that much was evident, but it couldn't have been the whole of it. What did this man want from him? Jack had given Daniel everything imaginable, and would have been quite willing to go even beyond the limits of the physical world - if he just could have taken Daniel's place on that freaking planet... No amount of sand swallowed down the throat could have tasted worse than the words which Daniel had uttered to him only hours before; the words on which Jack had nearly choked.

As if out of spite, Daniel had left no clues behind, no paths leading to an explanation of any kind. He had truly managed to pull the ultimate trick and disappear for good, leaving only the voice in Jack's head, the scent, the taste. The absolute master in the great art of being present and gone at the same time.

Jack had never hated him as much as he did that very minute.

****

The dreamless sleep started to give in, the black nothingness around him being replaced by white light, the wind on his skin by linen sheets, the voice of silence by the two familiar female ones.

"He's surely a fighter. Not many would have made it."

"He will make an excellent father one day."

"What luck that we happened to find him. You haven't told anyone, have you, Sinera?"

"Most certainly not! I should know what happens to the new ones."

"I'm sorry, dear, I keep forgetting your background. But we cannot let anyone see him. This has to be kept in the strictest secrecy or we will lose him."

"You can rely on me. You know I don't entirely approve of what you're doing, but I would never betray your trust."

"I know, my dear, I know."

"Look, Tulia, I think he's coming to! Pull the sheet back up!"

Daniel was reluctant to open his eyes, although he knew that the blissful state of non-existence had already escaped beyond his reach and he would have to make his comeback to the world of the living. Leaning on his arms, he pushed himself to sit up on the bed.

"Careful, you've lost a lot of strength."

"Tulia, right?"

From the warm smile Daniel concluded he had made the right choice.

"What happens to the new ones?"

The women exchanged a quick glance before Tulia answered him hesitantly.

"All the new ones are destined to work as servants to the old ones."

"Old ones?"

"Those who descend from the first ones."

"So, you're... a slave," Daniel said, turning towards Sinera.

"I was. Not any more, thanks to Tulia."

"I took her into my household. I am a sixth generation resident of Vun'tah."

The pride with which Tulia pronounced those words was obvious enough.

"So, one is able to rise from being a slave to owning a house?" Daniel asked, trying hard to stay focused.

"Well, it is known to happen, but only seldom."

"Yes, very seldom, indeed."

"There are only fifty-five houses at the moment. Or is that fifty-six?"

"I do believe it's fifty-six, now that young Mesnel has started his own house."

"Of course, how could I forget him. Yes, that makes fifty-six."

"It took an awful lot of manpower away from the fields. Dragging those stones all the way over here, I mean."

"Yes, I wonder whether it was absolutely necessary for Mesnel to have a house of his own. But it doesn't concern me, now, does it. So, fifty-six, it is, then."

"And the slaves, but who knows how many there are of those."

"No, there's no telling of their number."

"But it does seem to be growing, and it should, as no new ones have come through for such a long time."

"Yes, there is no danger of there being too many of them, since the surplus won't live long."

"It's a perfect equilibrium."

"Excuse me..." Daniel cut in, worried that the conversation could go on for quite a while without stopping to miss his input. "Why am I naked?"

He was embarrassed to admit that he hadn't noticed the absent clothing until now; even the most basic observations had been too much for his tired mind.

"Your... 'clothes' - or whatever you wish to call them - were in pretty bad shape when we found you. You, uh... cannot wear them anymore."

"Then, could I please have something else instead?"

"Um, we'll see about that, yes, I'm sure we can work something out..."

"I really need something to wear." Daniel was getting nervous, seeing the reluctance of the women to venture any further with the topic. "I have to get back to the Gate, uh... the... the Entrance."

There was an hesitant silence before one of the women, presumably Tulia, cleared her throat and formed the obviously thought-through answer.

"No."

"No?"

"No. I am deeply sorry."

"Why?" Daniel asked, with a mixture of curious wonder and growing worry in his voice.

"No one can leave. Many have, oh yes, but no one has returned."

"You don't understand, I know how to use the Gate!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening and his hands swinging in the air to accentuate the point he was trying to make.

"So did they. Remember Raimon, Sinera?"

"How could I forget? He kept talking about leaving for so long and no one believed him, not until..."

"So, so sad."

"They dialled at random, right?" Daniel cut in. "But I *know* the address!"

"The 'address'? You mean the symbols? For Home?"

"No, not 'home'..." he stuttered. "Well, not *yours*, but..."

"No one can know the right symbols for Home! It is simply impossible, you see, as one of them is missing."

"You are still weak, better not trouble your mind with such fantasies."

"It's not a fantasy! Look," Daniel tried to calm down so as to make a more reliable statement to these two sceptics, "I wasn't sent here, I came through the Gate, the Entrance, with my friends. We're explorers, volunteers, we weren't sent."

"No one else was found by the Entrance but you."

"Perhaps it was only a dream. They can be very vivid sometimes."

The patronising attitude the women had taken to him was causing Daniel's blood to approach its boiling point.

"No! It wasn't a dream!" he cried out, but with a sigh, he managed to pull himself back together. "The missing symbol is the one for... Home, you don't need it to go to... Home."

Taking the time to let his words sink in and hopefully become rational also to himself, Daniel took a deep breath before laying more facts in front of the women.

"I have to go back. There are people who are worried about me and if I don't go back, they will come here and someone might get hurt. Now, can you please take me to the Gate?"

"No. It is not possible."

"Is this your way of expressing your gratitude for saving your life?"

The women were talking over one another again.

"No, of course I appreciate that, very much so, but you have to help me get back, you have to..."

Daniel wasn't sure whether to appeal to their sense of pity or to threaten them with the dark scenarios of his possibly violent rescue. But neither of them was bound to have any effect. The women were determined.

"We cannot let you go. For a number of reasons."

"Name one!"

"The Entrance isn't even cleaned yet. I only sent the servants there a little while ago."

"You mean, you didn't clean it up earlier?" Daniel asked, knowing that his rescue team, if there was one, wouldn't be able to get through before the sand had been removed.

"No, we had our hands full saving your life."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound ungrateful..."

Daniel's gaze moved restlessly from one woman to the other in search of compassion, but the matter seemed to be of no importance to either of them.

"You must be hungry. Sinera, come with me. We will go and get him something to eat. That will calm him down."

"No, I don't want food!"

But his words were not heard. He was already alone in the room.

****

"Sir, it's open!"

"Wha-?"

"The Gate, it's open!"

That was all Jack needed to storm out of his hiding place and head straight for the Gate room with Carter at his heels. The corridors felt like a never-ending torment, existing only to prolong his pain and take sadistic pleasure in watching him sweat and squirm in the crossfire of hope and fear.

In the Gate room they found General Hammond, already waiting with full set of gear.

"Everything's ready for you. We got back the results from the probe and it's all clear. The three of you will go first and SG-3 will follow right behind. Captain Carter has the metal detector."

"The metal detector?"

"You will need it to locate Doctor Jackson if he's been buried under the sand."

Jack nodded, fighting away the shiver caused by the thought of Daniel taking his last breath before running out of air.

"Teal'c! Where the hell's Teal'c?"

"I am here, O'Neill," the low voice answered behind Jack's back.

"Okay, we're burning day-light here, move it, move it!"

"Colonel," General Hammond called after him. "You bring our boy back to us."

"I won't come back without him, sir."

It was not so much the words themselves as it was the look on Jack's face that nearly made the general abort the mission, but for reasons unknown even to himself, he said nothing and watched the three figures disappear into the wormhole.

****

Daniel had two choices. He could either stay in the room like a good little puppy or do what he was really expected to do - escape. There was no door to the room, no locks keeping him there. He could use the sheet to cover himself and flee... where? He had no idea which way the Gate was and had no one to ask for directions.

He was trapped.

Wrapping his arms around his knees, he started rocking himself for comfort. What he wouldn't have given to have Jack here with him, be in his arms, feel his warmth, feel safe. It was painful to realise how much he missed the man, with whom he had only hours ago broken up. Why had he done it? What had gotten into him? He could have just as easily let things be as they were, keep his feelings to himself and be Jack's very own boy-toy until the man would get bored of him. What difference did make, as long as he could be near him?

That was when Daniel decided that he would have to get back, and not just get back to earth, but would have to get Jack to *take* him back, would have to. Daniel was ready to do anything to please him, whatever it would take to convince Jack to forgive him. Maybe if he let Jack tie him up again, hands behind his back, face down and his behind right on the edge of Jack's kitchen table. Daniel knew he loved that, loved being in control, slapping Daniel's buttocks with his hand, making him scream and beg for more, and he loved fucking his brains out, grabbing Daniel by the hair and pulling his head back as he rode him up to the edge, pushed him over and followed right behind to share the adrenaline rush of the free fall. And Daniel loved it too. He loved the man. He would do anything.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' Daniel screamed inwards, as he banged his sides with his fists. When would he grow up?! In what kind of dream world was he living to think that there was only one 'right' pattern of relationship? This was what grown-ups did, they had 'sex', they didn't always find love and dance on rose pedals and live happily ever after! Jack had wanted him, it had been *real*. And he had thrown it all away.

****

It was as if they had never left. The sand dunes were still there, without doubt much changed, but not in a way detectable to the human eye.

"Sir, where did you last see Daniel?"

Jack walked the few yards - those few, measly yards - to the DHD.

"Here. He stumbled and fell on his face."

"The wind is still pretty strong," Sam said, standing next to him. "Any footprints would have been wiped away instantly by it."

"There does not appear to be enough sand," Teal'c stated with his usual emotionless tone of voice.

"Not *enough*? This whole place's like the freaking Sahara!"

"There is not as much sand as one would expect after so powerful a storm."

"Sir, Teal'c's right," Sam confirmed. "The DHD should've been buried deeper and if the malfunction of the Gate was caused by the sand, then why isn't there any on the platform?"

Now Jack's gaze was also sweeping over the place and the point of Carter's remark was starting to become clear to him. But as he was just about to say something, the Gate flashed open behind them and SG-3 appeared from the blue wormhole.

"Carter, you and Colonel Makepeace take the metal detectors and scan this whole area, especially around the DHD. And Teal'c... Teal'c?"

"Here, O'Neill. I believe you should see this."

"What?"

Jack ran to the Jaffa to see what he was seeing. There was a small amount of dark matter on the ground.

"Is that...?"

"I believe it is."

"Oh, shit... Carter!"

"What is it, sir?"

"You tell me."

"Well, it's fresh. That's a good sign, right?"

"Depends how close you're looking at it."

"Colonel, this could mean that..."

"I know what it could mean, thank you, captain. And I also know that it might not mean a goddamn thing!"

"We must not allow ourselves to cease hoping."

"Sir?" Sam called out a little further away. "I think there's more over here."

"I am not familiar with the animal in question, O'Neill."

"Well, it's big. And probably ugly. They always are."

"This particular animal appears to be suffering from accelerated intestinal activity."

"We call it diarrhoea, Teal'c," Sam said, returning to the two men and brushing her right foot vigorously into the sand. "The wind has wiped away all other prints and you can barely see these - unless you happen to step on them."

"Colonel Makepeace, you go ahead with the search!" Jack shouted out to the leader of SG-3. "We're going to check out this... shit."

Leaving SG-3 by the Stargate, the three began to follow the broken string of droppings.

****

The view from the window gave Daniel's brains a badly needed stimulant. The room was on the second floor and since there were only two other buildings rising above the ground, he had a good look over the whole of Vun'tah.

In the light of the setting sun Daniel watched the people walk down the street, the only street, as it seemed, cats chasing chickens and children laughing at the sight, and for a moment he was sure he was back on Abydos again, that any time now Sha're would appear from behind the corner and wave at him in her cheerful manner. But the thought slipped on by and Daniel started noticing the obvious contrasts. Vun'tah was considerably poorer than Abydos and it showed.

All life seemed to be concentrated around the little square, in the centre of which lay the most precious property a people living in the desert could have - the well. The stream of people carrying water went past the stone-built city and even past the cluster of poorly constructed brick huts and tents, where the slaves presumably lived, and in the distance Daniel could make out the fields at the foot of the cliffs, now dry and in need of irrigation and most likely quite barren even if the water were to penetrate the vast expanses.

But there was another stream, veering off the one going to the fields, and at the end of it Daniel saw only dark figures, moving slowly back and forth. Cattle. But not cows, bigger and yet... Then he realised that those were the same animals he had seen everywhere in the city, probably kept as livestock as well as drought animals. They were something entirely new to him, as if someone had taken a horse, a donkey and a dromedary and thrown them in a blender. Though these were definitely able to reproduce, unlike their earth relative, the mule, judging by the young ones following after their mothers.

Tulia had talked about being a sixth generation resident in Vun'tah, but considering that oral tradition was known to carry only as far back as five generations with any reliability, her roots could well reach much deeper than that. And by the fact that civilisations using stone as a building material took centuries to evolve, although these people had most likely had the technology already at hand when coming here, it would still be safe to assume that Vun'tah had existed perhaps twice as long. So, not forgetting the short life expectancy these people most definitely had, that could, nonetheless, amount to as much as three or four hundred years, or even more.

Wrapped in one of the sheets from the bed, Daniel was still standing by the window when suddenly startled by a sound, as the cloth covering the doorway was pulled aside. In came Tulia and Sinera, but this time they had company.

"Get away from the window!"

"What?" Daniel asked startled by her tone of voice.

"You mustn't let anyone see you! Get away from there!"

Tulia hurried to pull the curtain in front of the open window.

"You don't want to be sent to work in the fields, do you?"

"No, but I..."

"No, buts. No one outside this house knows you're here and I wish to keep it that way."

"Sorry."

For some reason, Daniel found himself apologising to these women yet again, though well aware that things ought to have been quite the other way around.

"It is for your own protection," Sinera stepped in. "It is nearly the end of dry season and when harvest time comes, all available manpower will be needed. And after that come the rains and the work in the mines begins."

"Uh, then, thank you," Daniel said, once more swallowing the patronising tone of the women, not wanting to make his hosts think he didn't appreciate his special treatment. "Um... about my clothes..?"

"Yes, here." Tulia pointed to the third person that had entered with them. "Help the man get dressed."

The girl, probably not more than ten years old and clearly a house servant judging by her tidy appearance, approached him hesitatingly, not once letting her gaze rise above his ankles. In her hands she carried a piece of white linen, evidently the only known garment in Vun'tah. Daniel wasn't sure whether to wait for the women to leave before putting it on, but since no one showed any signs of movement, he resigned himself to turning around and letting the sheet drop to the floor. But he was in for a surprise as he unfolded the linen.

"W-what is this?"

"You asked to have something to wear, this is it."

"But a loincloth?! Why can't I have that same long tunic everyone else here seems to be wearing?"

Receiving no answer, Daniel kept staring at the piece of linen, the very small piece of linen, in his hands.

"And how am I supposed to wear this?"

The servant girl was already on her knees and tying the loincloth around Daniel's waist.

"Thank you... I think," Daniel said, leaning down to help her up and still not succeeding in making eye contact.

"Fits you perfectly," Tulia said smilingly and received an approving nod from Sinera at her side.

"It's, um... a bit draughty," Daniel muttered, although conscious of the fact that all his complaints were doomed to be entirely futile.

"I'm afraid we owe you more than one explanation," Tulia started hesitatingly, "but all in due time. Now, we brought you something to eat, you must be simply starving."

"No, really, I don't have time for that, I have to get back to the Entrance at once!"

Daniel was pleading with the women again, trying to make them see the importance of his request.

"Do sit down," Tulia went on, completely ignoring Daniel's words. "Sinera, would you be kind enough to bring the table a little closer?"

"I am sorry we don't have more to offer you, but the first crop was a bit of a disappointment and so food is scarce. Or isn't it always," Sinera sighed as she lifted the small, round table next to the bed and stepped back to let the servant carry the tray with bread and a pitcher on it.

Daniel didn't resist anymore. As reluctant as he was to admit it, he was actually quite hungry and even ready to give the strange animal's milk a second chance.

****

"This planet must belong to a globular star cluster, that would explain all those little suns. It probably won't get much darker than this even in the night time," Sam said, talking more to herself than anyone else, as she knew at least the colonel had no intention of listening.

"I have not seen this many suns before," Teal'c replied next to her.

"Yes, Earth and Chulak both belong to looser groups of stars than this planet and even Abydos was only part of a binary solar system. Whereas our second closest star is four light-years away, in a globular cluster there can be as many as a thousand stars within the same distance. It's truly an amazing sight."

And even Jack had to admit that it was. The sky over them was lit by dozens of stars, leaving the planets in their shade and only being distinguishable from the moons by their size - quite the opposite as back on earth. It was as if someone had gone and turned on every single street light in the universe, creating this eerie atmosphere, where one couldn't actually be sure whether it was night or day. Or a dream.

"It's... nice," Jack said quietly.

"Sir, you know there's no guarantee that this animal has anything to do with Daniel."

"I know, captain. Believe me, I know."

"Will we proceed, O'Neill?"

Jack didn't answer, but he didn't stop either.

They had been walking for over an hour and though the sand seemed to be running out the further they got, nothing else was there to break the bareness of the land. And with the justly hated sand had also disappeared the animal droppings they had been following, the cathartic creature having evidently spilled its guts out, so to speak, to the last drop. Worn-out and tired, the world started to look even more bizarre in the eyes of the three. Who knows, maybe it was a dream after all.

And if it was, the time to awaken had come.

"Sir! Look!"

The city had appeared seemingly from nowhere, over one ridge and there it all was, the whitewashed stones of the houses glowing in the light of the stars.

"O'Neill, what action should we take?"

"Well, we can't ride in like the cavalry... assuming Daniel is there."

Jack wasn't sure whether to let his hope take over or maintain his cautious and setback-proof mode of thinking. The hope and the possible disappointment seemed to reinforce his already strong sense of responsibility, therefore Jack decided to go with that. He deserved all the pain imaginable.

"So, we'll go peacefully," Sam stated their plan as the colonel remained silent. "Sir? Are we going to go get Daniel home or not?"

"Yes." The giant lump in Jack's throat didn't go down easily. "We are going to get him home."

Trying to stand behind his self-made optimism, Jack started to make his way down the ridge and to the city.

They had barely even reached the first huts, when shouts filled the air and the town appeared to come to life. People were running back and forth, curiosity drawing them all towards the spectacle, though only the children having enough courage to come closer and get a good look of the newcomers.

"Teal'c, you getting any of what they're saying?"

"Yes, the language is very similar to the one spoken on Abydos and many other Goa'uld worlds."

"So-o...?"

"I believe they are referring to us as the 'new ones' that have come through the Entrance."

"The Entrance?" Sam said as they walked further, past the huts and tents and towards the glowing stone houses. "That must be the Stargate."

"Ya think?"

"I think so also, O'Neill."

"Well, thank you. What a pair of linguists the world is losing in you two!"

Jack's remark was swallowed by the radio and Colonel Makepeace's voice. With the same mixture of hoping for the best while expecting the worst he reached for the walkie-talkie.

"SG-1, do you read me?"

"Yes, *very* loud and clear," Jack responded, seeing the reaction of their audience to the device. "What's up?"

"We've found something."

Jack's breathing was cut off, taking his heartbeat with it, only to be restored when Colonel Makepeace continued.

"We found Doctor Jackson's backpack. It was pretty far from the Gate, the wind must have caught it."

The air was released from the colonel's lungs.

"Anything else?"

"No, sir. Do you want us to keep digging?"

Jack hesitated for a moment. But in the end the answer was self-evident.

"Yes. Go through every inch within, say, fifty yards from the Gate."

"Yes, sir."

"We found some people over here," Jack continued. "A real metropolis that we need to check out. Better report that to the SGC. Captain Carter will give you our location - more or less - in case we need your help."

Handing the radio over to Sam, he walked, with Teal'c by his side, to the opening around the well.

"Ah, and here comes our welcoming committee. What, no red carpet?"

They were approached by a group of people, men and women, with a combination of surprise and delight written on their faces.

"Sir?" Sam's voice came from behind them.

"Just take it easy, captain," Jack said calmly, yet at the same time reaching for his own gun. "We come in peace, remember. So, now all we gotta do is get them to take us to their leader..."

"They do not appear to be hostile," Teal'c noted and greeted the man that had come closest to them.

"Welcome, new ones!" the man said with a warm smile on his face.

"...and I think we have the winner, ladies and gentlemen," Jack said as he returned the cheerful grin.

"It has been quite some time since the last ones came - welcome!" the man went on, his smile, if possible, even brightening. "I am Ghala, the oldest one of all."

Jack couldn't possibly have cared less about the age of this man or the ratio of visits he received. Coldly skipping all introductions, he cut straight to the point.

"Look, we're trying to find our friend, blond, about yea high and full of weird theories - haven't seen him by any chance, have ya?"

Ghala looked baffled when hearing Teal'c's translation of the stranger's words. This was not what he had expected from the new ones.

"No, no... you are the first to have come here for many cycles, many cycles."

"You are certain there is not one called Daniel among you?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, quite certain," Ghala answered and added: "You are the servant of the Gods, are you not? Oh, my, what an honour it is to have you escort the new ones personally, truly an honour."

As the man fell on his knees to the ground, Teal'c raised his eyebrow and turned to Jack.

"One more Goa'uld infested planet it is, then," the colonel replied to him, grimacing. "Better keep your weapons at hand, kids."

"Have you come to take any of us away?" Ghala asked, stopping his kneeling exercise and directing the question solely to Teal'c.

"No, I have not," Teal'c replied plainly.

"Oh, I see, you are only here to bring us the new ones," Ghala said with a touch of disappointment in his voice, but then another idea entered his mind and his face brightening up again, he gestured for the three to follow him into one of the houses. "Please, this way."

"Sir, we'd better go with him," Sam said to Jack, seeing the hesitation written all over his face. "If there's a reason they're hiding Daniel from us, we need to do everything to gain their trust."

"I agree with CaptainCarter," Teal'c confirmed. "We must first try to make more inquires in a peaceful manner and resort to force only as a secondary option."

"Yeah, yeah... " Jack nodded to acknowledge the point the two were making. "Let's hear what this old geezer has to say."

All he could think about was that if one hair, one single hair on Daniel's head had been touched, someone was guaranteed to pay high price for it. One hair.

****

"There are more new ones in the city, Tulia."

"What? Are you sure? Of course you're sure. Does this have anything to do with Daniel?"

"I'm afraid so. Jarkof just returned from the square. The new ones were asking after him. And that is not all - there is a Jaffa with them."

"The gods... have they come for...?"

"I don't believe they have. There was only one Jaffa and I heard he told Ghala he was not here to take any of us away."

"But why...?" Tulia looked confused. "Have the gods returned to Home after all these years?"

"No, the new ones speak differently. Only the Jaffa speaks our language," Sinera said shaking her head. "I don't think they are from Home."

"But Daniel speaks understandably. Not purely, but it can be a difference in dialect, can't it?"

"I'm afraid this is more complicated than we thought," Sinera said, shaking her head. "It was even suggested that maybe they aren't from Home at all and come from where the gods themselves live, and the Jaffa, who brought them, is here to ascertain that we continue to obey the rules of the gods. Or that is what the people are saying; I do not know what to believe."

"So, he was telling us the truth after all!" Tulia exclaimed. "He wasn't sent and he didn't come alone, either. But why would the gods do that? Shouldn't they be taking us there instead of bringing them here? I do not understand..."

"Neither do I, Tulia-dear, but they are looking for him and inevitably they will find him."

"Oh, Sinera, what are we to do? They can't find him, they can't, or we'll all have to face the consequences!"

"We will think of something, rest assured, my love. We will tell them nothing and they will believe he has died in the desert."

"I cannot lose him, I need him." Tulia had started shaking. "I cannot go there, I cannot let them see me, for I am certain I would give myself away the moment I saw them. Oh, and what Ghala would do if he were to find out..."

"We mustn't even think of that. Calm down, Tulia-dear, I am here for you."

"My darling Sinera, what would I ever do without you?"

****

They were led to a large room, most likely the only one of that size in the modest house. Servants were running here and there, carrying pitchers and trays, arranging seats for them.

"They sure do cut back on the electric bill," Jack commented as no lighting whatsoever was offered by their hosts.

"Wood must be scarce here in the desert and the nights aren't that dark because of the stars," Sam replied to him. "I think the o

nly fuel is the same thing that lead us here. Dried, of course." The last being added after she saw the questioning look on Jack's face.

Silence fell instantly as the old man stood up with a cup of liquid in his hand.

"Once more, I wish you welcome to Vun'tah," he said and raised his cup as a toast to the three. "We have waited a long time for new ones to come and your input is truly appreciated here. I myself and my sister Elila will be happy to tell you everything you need to know about your new home and its customs. And as for our distinguished guest," he continued, turning towards Teal'c, "I will personally make sure that you will be supplied with every piece of information you wish to obtain about our little town."

Teal'c tilted his head as sign of not having the faintest idea why the man thought he would be interested in gathering any information about this strange group of people, but as no more clues were handed out, he thought it best to reply their host with a simple nod.

Ghala put down the cup and headed straight to Jack, starting to go through the list of rules by explaining with great detail that he was to have only one bath a week, two if absolutely necessary, while making sure the Jaffa would get as polished a picture of Vun'tah as possible.

A woman had risen from her seat next to Ghala and approached Sam, gesturing for her to follow.

"This woman appears to wish to share a walk with you, CaptainCarter."

"Thanks, Teal'c, that much was clear to me," Sam said slowly, hesitating between the choices she had. "You go join the colonel. He looks like he could need your help."

"You will be well on your own?"

"Yes, Teal'c, I'm a trained hand-signaller," Sam said and smiled weakly. "And Teal'c, don't let the colonel do anything stupid."

"ColonelO'Neill is not known to be stupid."

"Stupid is what stupid does..."

Teal'c's eyebrow rose telling her the proverb had not and probably would not be understood.

"Oh, never mind. Just don't leave him alone. He's taking Daniel's disappearance pretty hard."

"I have strong feelings about the situation also and I am not about to become stupid."

"I know, Teal'c, but *he* might." Sam smiled meaningfully. "Now, go on, I'll be fine."

****

Daniel had been half-asleep when the curtain was pulled aside again and three people entered the room. But this time one of them was a man.

"I'd like you to meet someone," Tulia said and held out her hand to the man in their company.

"Uh, your husband, right? Hello, I'm Daniel Jackson."

"A husband?"

"Your husband, your mate," Daniel tried to explain the earth term.

The laughter of all three came as a complete surprise to him.

"This is my *brother*, Jarkof. Only partners of the same sex are allowed, nothing else."

"You mean..."

"Sinera is my partner, or 'mate' as you would call her."

All three were still looking at him with a strange grin on their lips; it had been so long since anyone had even mentioned the possibility of men and women forming couples.

"Naturally, he's not aware of our customs, that is precisely why he's so valuable to us."

The words managed to slide past Daniel's ears, as he was hurrying to organise the data about this culture in his head. Judging by what he had seen from the window, the land was obviously barren and the oasis, around which the whole settlement seemed to have developed, was their main life line, most likely the only source of water. Under these conditions the people were bound to come up with some means of regulating the size of the population and this ban on what his own culture would term 'normal' relationships, was evidently their way of coping in the rough climate.

"But how... I mean, I saw children in the street, but how can that be, if...?"

"Naturally we have children, but no more than two for each woman."

"The father supplies the mother with his substance, which she will insert into her body."

"If the result is a boy, he will be raised by his father..."

"...and if a girl, then by the mother."

"But how is it possible for you," Daniel asked, looking at Tulia, "to live with your brother? Shouldn't you be in your mothers house and he..."

"I did live there, but after she died, the house simply wasn't big enough for my sister and myself," Tulia replied with a tone that left no doubt that she was not talking in terms of physical space. "Jarkof and I share the same father, so I was allowed to move in here."

"It is not usually looked kindly upon," Sinera continued the thought, "but exceptions are made when needed. After all, Ghala himself lives with his sister, although that is a more complicated matter altogether."

"Yes, it is Elila's house and it is her descent that goes the furthest back, but somehow Ghala has succeeded in taking over the leadership."

"There was some nasty talk about the true nature of their relationship."

"And the fatherhood of her sons."

"But it is not our place to pass judgements."

"You are absolutely right, Sinera darling. And after all, the rules are broken by the slaves repeatedly."

Daniel was left speechless and no one seemed to mind - the women's rattle went on undisturbed in any case, and the new man looked more interested in something else. Jarkof had seated himself on the edge of Daniel's bed and was leaning in closer to him.

"Uh... it's nice to meet you," Daniel tried and forced a smile out of himself.

As Jarkof returned the smile, Daniel was already caught in his spell. His hair was shining black, slightly curled and reaching his beautifully constructed jaw-line. Daniel could see the outline of the slender muscles underneath his linen tunic and robe as he raised his arm to touch Daniel's cheek. Those hands had never worked outdoors and the lightness of the touch was in itself an adequate proof of that. The man was bound to turn heads wherever he went. But he wasn't going anywhere. He looked perfectly content right where he was.

"Your eyes truly are as blue as they keep telling me," the man said, locking Daniel's eyes into his. "I never would have believed if I hadn't seen them myself. I'm glad I did."

Daniel had no idea what to say, returning the compliment being quite out of the question.

"I know all this must be quite awkward for you, but you will learn to live in our way," Jarkof tried to reassure him. "And you will find it a good way."

His hand had slid onto Daniel's and the touch was causing some unexpected reactions in Daniel's body. How was it possible to detest and desire this beautiful man at the same time?

"Maybe, you'd like to pay me a visit later tonight..." Jarkof continued, reading only half of the signals Daniel's guilty conscience was sending out.

"Uh, I have no intention of staying here," Daniel said desperately, wanting to lose the feeling this man was creating in him. "I have to get back to my world... now!"

"I would be very sorry to see you leave. I believe your input would be much appreciated."

"You mean manpower?"

"And blood," Jarkof specified. "There are too many malformed babies born here, the blood is getting bad. Tulia has already had one unborn baby and two that never reached their sixth cycle."

Daniel gave the woman in question a quick glance, then stopped on Sinera.

"What about you? Do you...?"

"Oh, yes. I have two lovely daughters, both working here in this house," Sinera answered with apparent pride. "In fact, you have already met my eldest."

Daniel nodded, his mind running aimlessly around, trying to organise this load of unexpected information he had just had the questionable privilege to receive. The system of having to choose the mother or father of your child from only fifty or so houses, with probably two to four people living in them, was quite a simple case of a self-destructing society. This strange combination of tracing descent separately in the female as well as the male line was fascinating in itself, and the multitude of inheritable diseases and malformations was quite characteristic for these types of closed communities. Surely, they would do anything in their power to prevent the new blood from escaping out of their reach.

"I understand this is of great importance to you," Daniel tried to return to the subject of leaving, "but I really must get back to the Entrance."

"I told you already, that is impossible," Tulia replied firmly from across the room.

"Why? Why can't you just let me go? What do you care if I go through the Entrance and die?"

"We cannot let you go, because we need you."

"What difference would one man make if your entire people is dying out? Turning me into a breeder won't solve the problem!"

"We will do no such thing!" Sinera exclaimed clearly offended. "Naturally, we wish you to have children with our women, but we do not treat people like cattle!"

"You are needed for other purposes," Tulia added more calmly next to her.

"For... what exactly?"

****

Elila led Sam out of the house and into a small garden where the multitude of various herbs filled one of her senses leaving the rest in its shadow. Though not having the slightest idea of what the woman was saying, Sam got through to her well enough to exchange their names and then began the frustrating task of repeating Daniel's name to her, so as to see whether she had heard it before.

But her efforts proved of no use. Elila seemed more interested in Sam's hair than anything else and knowing how extraordinary it must have looked to the brown eyes, accustomed solely to different shades of black, she let the woman to continue with her exploration.

Tired as she was after the long walk, Sam was pleased to find a large stone bench in the corner of the garden on which to sit and rest her aching feet. Elila followed her lead and still saying things her companion was unable to understand, she refused to let go of the blond stranger, her fingertips moving cautiously on Sam's hair, accidentally touching her face and then getting lost in her hair again.

Sam wasn't sure whether it was such a good idea to let the woman have that much freedom with her hair, but understanding her keen interest in it, she shrugged her shoulders and decided to enjoy the woman's gentle touch. Her backpack had been forgotten in the house and now for some reason, Sam felt the need to take her jacket off as well, and why not, the night was certainly warm enough. She placed her gun on the bench next to her, thinking she wouldn't probably need it at that very moment, since Elila was acting anything but threateningly towards her.

As her eyes closed slowly, she thought of the team, of how they would have to get some rest before turning the place inside out to look for Daniel. If these people were hiding Daniel for some reason, they could have an unwanted fight ahead of them. Though outnumbered, Sam was confident that the superiority of their weapons would be a sure bet against the rudimentary spears and knives she had seen in the hands of the men Ghala had introduced as his sons.

The people here had nothing. In everything you could read the undeniable poverty. Why hadn't they moved further from the desert? There might be more fertile lands on the other side of the hills they had seen, a river or a sea, even.

But the reason was obvious enough even for Sam's tired mind to grasp. Although they hadn't received any visitors for ages, they were all the same reluctant to move too far from the Gate, or the Entrance, as they called it. From what she had gathered from Ghala's babble to Teal'c when walking to his house, Vun'tah was considered a waiting place of some kind, a half-way point on the way to the gods, the Goa'uld. It was only natural for the people on the planet they had all come from to think that, since the gods came through the Gate, then anyone wanting, or *wanted*, to go to the gods in beforehand would do exactly the same. Maybe someone had in fact once witnessed the Goa'uld dial in an address and when imitating it, all it had taken was one wrong chevron and this was the result. Nevertheless, it could easily have been much worse.

Elila's hands had found the strained muscles of her shoulders and were rubbing the tension off with slow circular motions. Sam couldn't help the sigh of pleasure coming from somewhere deep down her throat as the hands moved lower down on her back to relieve the muscles of their burden. The sound was taken as a sign of consent and Elila's fingers dug under the black shirt, pushing it up to get a better contact with the creamy skin.

The thoughts in Sam's head wandered along their own winding roads. These people were waiting to be harvested by their gods, who, fortunately, had no knowledge of their existence. Such sickening irony that the most pious ones of all, those that had had the courage to step through the Stargate, trusting their lives in the hands of their everlasting faith and expecting to find a paradise waiting for them on the other side, were now trapped here, in this god-forsaken desert. But as everyone well knew, the ways of the gods were mysterious.

Something would have to be done to convince them to seek for a better place to live, make them understand that no one was coming to get them and if someone would, it was bound to be the exact opposite of what they were expecting. There was only one option and that was to bury the Gate.

But before any of that could become the team's priority, they would have to get some rest. Yes, rest, that's what she needed. Right there and then the touch of the woman, combined with the scents of the garden around them, were the only things allowed to enter her mind. All else could wait.

Not noticing the breeze on her skin, Sam tried to concentrate on the words whispered into her ear, though unintelligible to her as they were, the woman's voice itself carried with it an appealing quality, a soft undertone, inviting Sam to join her in whatever she had to offer. The whisper was losing volume and transforming into pure air, warm air, invading Sam's ear and then changing it's state again, this time from vapour to liquid, a moistness that was about to take Sam with it into its underground streams, swallow her whole and drown her in the dark river running through the centre of the universe.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sam had been able to shut the world around them out completely and concentrate fully on the woman's mouth, the gateway to that river still largely unknown to her, but her ears weren't quite as well sealed and a disturbing noise fought its way through into her consciousness.

It was the sound of a gun being fired, followed by a number of screams and shouts.

Sam sprang to her feet and with Elila right behind her, she ran back into the house and into the room where they had been received only a few minutes before.

They found that in between a great deal had taken place, resulting in even more chaos than their unexpected arrival had initially caused.

"Sir?! What happened?"

"We're getting the hell outta here! This son of a bitch... he... "

Seeing Jack couldn't finish the sentence, Teal'c took over.

"This man made ColonelO'Neill a proposition unsuited to his taste."

Sam did not need to ask for details, the truth of it being quite clear to her on account of what she herself had experienced in the garden. She could feel Elila place a hand on her shoulder and heard the woman's voice, presumably wanting know the cause of the disturbance. Pushing the woman's hand off of her shoulder and then, behind her back, taking it in her own, Sam gathered all the self-restraint in her to reply to her team mates in a concerned tone of voice.

"Are you alright, sir? It must be some custom thing we're not used to."

"You bet it is!" Jack half-screamed. "This Ghala-fella tells me that we're all their slaves now and they, as seniors..."

"The old ones," Teal'c corrected.

"...the 'old ones' get to have the first pick! He... he..." Jack said, pointing his gun at Ghala, unable to express the right amount of disgust he felt for the man.

Sam could see Ghala leaning against the long table, apparently trying to restore his recently lost dignity by devoting his every effort to breathing and through that, cleansing the dust of the insult from his body. But judging by his furious gaze that only knew one point of focus, his feeble attempts seemed to be hitting the same brick wall over and over again and returning manifold to their owner. And the only thing preventing that wall from coming at him with full force was the calm Jaffa, holding Jack firmly by the arm.

"Did this man's sister injure you, CaptainCarter?"

"No... no," she said and letting go of Elila's hand, she walked to the men on the other side of the room. "I'm fine."

"Since we're getting no help from these sick bastards," Jack continued, his face starting to regain its normal colour, "then we're just gonna have to look for Daniel on our own. Come on, let's go."

"Wait! You cannot leave like this!" Ghala had found his ability to speak again. "It has not yet been decided to which houses you will be assigned!"

"You make one more sound and I'll assign you permanently to a house where the ceiling is *real* low!" Jack shouted and would have been quite ready to attack the man if Teal'c hadn't still been holding his arm.

"I did not understand that threat, O'Neill. Do you wish me to translate it all the same?"

"Ah... forget it. He's not worth it," Jack muttered as he turned his back on Ghala and his people, safe in the knowledge that their weapons had made a deeper impact than threats ever could. "And mind letting go of my arm? I don't think I need someone to walk me just yet."

"I do not intend to walk you, O'Neill. You are capable of doing that yourself."

"Yes. Good. I can only handle one man putting his hands on me..." Jack hesitated. "...uh, I mean, once is enough. Carter, are you coming?"

"Right behind you, sir," Sam replied and gave Elila a quick smile to reassure her that everything would be fine, although afraid nothing would.

The three left the houseful of frightened people and headed out into the night.