Rating:PG-13

Chapter 8 - Lost - part 2

The Goa'uld who captured Buffy was talking with a strange figure in dark cloak, using the ship's communication screen. A short glance would be enough to notice the respect and fear in the Goa'uld face when he answered the questions of his superior.

"The orb didn't have the desired effect my Lord.", the Goa'uld informed his master, hoping he won't blame him for the lack of success.

"What happened?"

"We couldn't read anything from her memory and I think the experiment led to a complete memory loss even though she seems to be physically unharmed. We will continue the tests on her my Lord. She seems to posses unusual healing ability and strength."

"That won't be necessary." Anubis disagreed."I think I already know what she is. Collect some more slaves and then bring her to the planet on the coordinates I sent you. I have another use for her."

"As you wish my Lord.", the Goa'uld quickly finished the transmission, glad he didn't have to explain why the experiment was a failure. He read the planet coordinates Anubis sent him, entered the to the navigation computer and activated the ship's engines, his Pel'tac jumping to hyperspace to the ordered destination.

Buffy woke up in the ship's cargo room, feeling like a truck run her over, except she couldn't call to remembrance what a truck was. She wasn't alone and one of the women approached her to learn about Buffy's condition. "Hi. I'm Elen. You've been there more than ten hours. What did the Goa'uld want from you?"

"I have no idea. I don't know where I am or how I got here.", Buffy answered, desperately trying to recall how she had got to her current situation. Everything in her mind was fuzzy, hidden behind a barrier she wasn't able to cross.

"You have to remember something. At least your name?" the woman asked, her face filled with plain-hearted concern for the new prisoner.

"Joan." Buffy replied thoughtfully after a few seconds. "I think my name is Joan."

SGC, Tauri

"He agreed?" Jack asked General Hammond a little surprised. He wanted to help the people on P2X 586, but the president usually didn't agree with large operations without a good reason.

"We are allowed to use any measures necessary. I reminded the president and the committee there are deposits of trinium on the planet."Hammond explained. He knew well how to persuade politicians like Kinsey and other Senators who were aware of the stargate. "SG-3,4,5,12 and 14 will be under your command as well.", he added.

"Thank you General." Jack nodded and headed to gateroom where the five teams and the rest of SG-1 were waiting for him."You all know what's going on from the briefing so I'll make it short. Our mission is to evacuate as many civilians as possible before Apophis will send the reinforcements. SG-12 and SG-14 will safeguard the gate while my team, SG-3 and SG-4 will help the people in the village. SG-5 is equipped with rocket launchers and mine-throwers and will take position on the hill south from stargate to give us cover in case Death Gliders will appear. Understood ?" Everybody nodded. "Then let's move people!"

After they reached the planet, the six SG teams separated as planned, Jack's group carefully walking towards the village to pick up the local tribesmen. However they soon broke into run when they spotted a wing of gliders descend from the skies, flying directly towards the gate. The twelve soldiers hurried to the arranged rendezvous, hoping the villagers had enough time to escape Apophis's troops. However when they came to the village it was already almost destroyed and it seemed the locals had been taken hostage. A platoon of about hundred Jaffa - two times more then expected - spotted the three SG teams and Jack's group had to go to defensive, taking cover in the remnants of the destroyed houses, trying to stop the advancing troops.

Jack was firing his P-90, hidden behind a stone wall that used to be a wall of a small house, staff blasts exploding all around and realized that once again he got himself into a really crappy situation. The remnants of the village were surrounded by a lake from two sides, which gave his men an advantage, because the enemy could attack only from two directions, but it would also make a retreat much more difficult. These Jaffa obviously had some experience with fighting against Tauri, because they didn't use the mindless attacks over an open space typical for the Goa'uld assaults. They used every opportunity to take cover behind rocks or in ditches, giving each other cover when they advanced and concentrated their fire to destroy the walls SGC soldiers were hiding behind. The approaching Jaffa were already dangerously close when they found themselves under fire from mine-throwers, each grenade killing three or four of them.

'Thank god for support teams.' Jack thought, reloading his weapon and made a mental note to buy a drink for every member of SG-5 when this was over. The Jaffa started to retreat and Jack ordered SG-3 and SG-4 to follow them while his team would find the civilians.

They searched the near forest for about five minutes till they found them on a small grassy plain, not far away from the gate. Only three Jaffa were aiming their weapons at approximately twenty tribals, obviously preferring executing them to letting the Tauri rescue the prisoners. Jack, Sam and Teal'c each aimed at one of the soldiers and quickly killed them before they could harm anyone. Daniel approached the group and wanted to assure them they came to help when he saw another Jaffa hidden behind a tree aiming at one of the females.

"Get down!" Daniel shouted while running towards the woman. He managed to pull her to the ground just in time and the shot missed both of them. He aimed his pistol at the Jaffa and fired, killing him before he could shoot again.

Daniel regained his footing and held out his hand to help the woman stand up. She accepted it and nodded her thanks for his help. Daniel used the opportunity to examine her closer, making sure she wasn't injured. She seemed tired like she hadn't slept for days and also a little confused, which was understandable for someone who just escaped the Goa'uld slavery.

"You don't have to be afraid. We came here to help you and your people." Daniel gave her his best smile to assure her about his intentions. "What's your name?"

"Joan." the small blonde woman replied. "My name is Joan."

"Nice to meet you Joan. I'm Daniel and we came here to help people from your planet."

"Thanks but I'm not sure this is my planet. I was brought here three days ago with several others in a transport ship. Our captors wanted to take more slaves from a nearby village and after they did they wanted to bring us to the Chappa-Ai. However before we reached it other ships appeared and the Jaffa escaped to the transport ship and left us here. We went with the locals to their village, but we were captured again by the Jaffa you and your friends killed. That's all I remember." Buffy explained.

"The Tok'ra say Apophis's ships are under way." Jack informed his team, switching of his transmitter. "Danny. You can chat about the planet's culture or whatever you two have been talking about at the SGC. We have to leave this place and fast."

Daniel nodded and SG-1 accompanied by twenty civilians hurried to the gate. The other SG teams were already waiting for them with activated stargate and they disappeared in the wormhole just before Apophis's Death Gliders could stop them.

----

"So what do you think?" Daniel asked doctor Fraiser, looking at the blonde woman at the other side of the infirmary who was now sitting on the one of the beds, dressed in khaki pants and black T-shirt that belonged to one of Fraiser's assistants, curiously observing the always busy live in the mountain.

"I ran the CT scan and found nothing. She suffers from lack of food and sleep and dehydration, besides that she is perfectly healthy, which makes me think her memory loss has not physical, but psychological origin. She was almost killed and that can have various effects on human mind and behavior. I definitely recommend a lot of rest and maybe she will start remembering, but at first she has to eat something."

"I'll take care of that." Daniel nodded, thanked the doctor and walked to Buffy, taking her hand. "Joan? Dr. Fraiser said you have to eat something and I agree with her. The worst cases of anorexia have more fat then you."

"What's anorexia?" Buffy wondered, standing up and following Daniel through the SGC corridors towards the mess hall, nervously watching all the soldiers guarding the halls. These people helped her, but she didn't feel very safe anyway. The lack of memory caused she had no idea if she should consider them friends or enemies. She trusted Daniel though, because he saved her life, risking his own.

"Just a human illness. People who have it refuse to eat, but that's not important." Daniel explained when they entered the mess hall. He took a plate and a chose a chicken wings with potatoes and a cup of coffee.

Buffy studied the various types of available food, looking upset. Some of it seemed familiar to her, however she couldn't remember how it tasted so she just took chicken and potatoes as Daniel and went to sit next to him. "So what happens to me and the others now?" Buffy inquired, trying to figure out how to use her knife and fork to eat the chicken, scattering her food on the table in the process. "Sorry.", she apologized and decided to simply use her hands.

"It's ok." Daniel smiled, helping her to cut the chicken and return her potatoes back to the plate. "I assume you'll stay here on our planet in a city called Colorado Springs until everyone is healed and then we'll find a planet without Goa'uld where you could live." Daniel explained. "There are few worlds that accept the refugees we save."

"I can't stay here?", Buffy didn't understand why SGC would send them to another planet. She was a little disappointed she won't have a chance to see more of Daniel's home world.

"Joan I'm not sure in what kind of society you lived before, but our planet is probably very different. It's hard for people from a less technologically advanced civilizations to accept the conditions and rules required for the life here. We abandoned most of the nature and our cities are miles away from lakes or forests, full of stress and often also open hostility to anything out of the stereotype. Believe me it's better this way. You wouldn't be happy here. The culture you come from is simply too..."

"Primitive?", Buffy looked down at her hands that were still dirty from her attempts to eat the chicken, a sad expression spreading over her face. The question wasn't an accusation, it was more like regret.

"I wanted to say pure.", Daniel took Buffy's hands into his own. "You definitely don't have to feel inferior for the fact you aren't used to eat with a fork. There is nothing primitive about it and you'd be surprised how I looked when I tried to eat WITHOUT a fork for the first time." Daniel recalled his life on Abydos. "Shauri had spent hours cleaning the sauce out of my shirt. She used to give me this look, like she was asking how can a man from so called advanced civilization be such a swab and I loved when she did it."

"You still do.", Buffy looked Daniel into the eyes, finding not only love for his wife, but also pain caused by her loss. "She's gone and you still love her. And you hate the one who took her away from you. That Goa'uld you mentioned when we were at the infirmary. What was his name? Asterix?"

"Apophis." Daniel corrected her."You're right. He is the only being I wouldn't hesitate to kill. He is the most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy and we don't know how to stop him. That's another reason why you should leave. Protected planet or not, he'll always be looking for a way to destroy us. Not mentioning the fact that we've got us a new and probably very powerful enemy recently."

"Really?" Buffy wondered. "Who are they? I mean if you are allowed to talk about it."

"There's not much to tell." Daniel admitted the SGC didn't know much about the possible adversary. "We just know that they look human, have strange powers, dress in black combat outfit, call themselves slayers and are extremely dangerous."

"Slayers." Buffy nodded without any sign of recognition in her voice. "I'll remember that."

End Chapter

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