Chapter 2
Their exit from the wormhole was unceremonious and undignified, the momentum of their run into it causing them to be spit out haphazardly at the other end, tossed carelessly to the ground like breadcrumbs left for the birds.
Daniel struggled to his feet, the heavy backpack making it difficult, and reached out a hand to help Aurora back to her feet. She smiled at him gratefully, "It has been a very, very long time since I have gone through the Ring of the Gods. I'd forgotten how strange it feels."
"You've been through the stargate before?" Daniel asked thoughtfully. "Then your world has one?"
"Our world itself does not, but there is one in our galaxy. Our people did not use it often, only when they were in a great hurry to go far distances, but we received many visitors from other worlds who used that mode of transport."
"Do you know the stargate symbols for your world?"
"It has been a very long time," Aurora said doubtfully, "I am not sure if I remember."
Daniel led her over to the DHD. "Look at the symbols for a few minutes and let me know if you remember."
"Daniel! What are you doing?" Carter asked striding over to join them.
"Aurora's planet has a stargate, well, it's near one anyway. She's trying to remember the symbols."
Sam glanced at Aurora nervously and signaled for Daniel to follow her several feet away. Teal'c moved closer to the DHD to keep an eye on Aurora.
"Daniel, do you really think it's wise to just take her back to her planet without any kind of preliminary investigation? She said herself she hasn't been there for centuries. You don't have any idea what we'll find there. Besides, there are a lot of things she could tell us about Ra and the other system lords while we check out the planet a little more cautiously."
"She's just looking at the symbols now to see if she remembers."
"And how do you know she won't suddenly start slapping symbols in and then run for it when the gate opens?"
Daniel rubbed his suddenly aching head and snapped irritably, "And what difference will it make if she does? She could turn into a bird any second and just fly away if she wants. Or become dirt and just sink into the ground. We're better off trying to help her than appearing to be her enemies."
"Daniel," Aurora called excitedly.
He turned from Carter and strode the few feet back to the DHD. "What is it?"
"These are the symbols in their proper order," she said, pointing them out on the DHD. "I've never been to this world before so I do not know what the 7th symbol would be."
"We have," Daniel replied, pulling out his notebook and scribbling down the six symbols she had given him along with a seventh. "It's this one," he said pointing.
"Then I can finally go home," Aurora said smiling happily at him.
Carter had followed Daniel back to the DHD but had missed seeing Aurora point to the symbols. She leaned over Daniel's shoulder to look at the symbols he'd copied in the notebook and gave an involuntary gasp of shock.
Daniel turned and saw her face had gone pale. "What is it, Sam? What's wrong?"
"Don't you recognize that address, Daniel?"
He looked at it in confusion and shook his head.
"Replace the last symbol with Earth's designator and look at it again."
"I don't . . . ," he started to say, but then the memory came. "Oh, no," he said feeling suddenly very sick to his stomach.
"That gate address has been locked out of Earth's dialing computer for a very good reason," Carter said. "We are not going there under any circumstances."
"What is it?" Aurora asked with concern, having listened to the cryptic conversation and noticed how pale they had both gotten. "What's wrong? Why can we not go to my planet? I must see if my people are well."
"We visited those coordinates once, Aurora," Daniel said numbly. They took us to what looked like an interplanetary transfer station. There was a stargate in one room and another kind of transport device in the other."
"Yes," Aurora said, "that is it. The secondary system goes to the planet itself. It has safeguards to protect our people from those wishing to do us harm."
"Daniel accidentally got transported down to that planet," Carter said coldly. "When he was finally sent back to us a few days later, he was close to death. Our doctors were barely able to save his life."
"That cannot be," Aurora said, clearly puzzled. "My people would not harm you. The goa'uld must still be in control there. They must have been the ones who hurt you. Do you not know who it was who injured you?"
"No," Daniel responded awkwardly. "I was drugged so I can't remember anything that happened while I was on the planet. I think it had something to do with a goa'uld named Niirti, and one named Janus, but I don't remember exactly what happened."
"Niirti! The evil one!" Aurora said venomously. "She is the one who took me from my people and gave me to Ra. If she is still there torturing my people, I must go back and help them."
"Niirti is no longer among your people; she is dead," Teal'c said evenly. "Col. Carter and I witnessed her death with our own eyes."
Aurora looked frantically to Daniel for confirmation.
"It's true, Aurora. Niirti's dead."
"You spoke of another called Janus. Is he also dead."
Daniel's head suddenly felt as if it wanted to explode. The memories were there, ready to cascade out of him, but as hard as he fought, he still could not reach them. It was as if a stone wall had been built between them and his conscious mind. His hand went unconsciously to his forehead and he began to rub it trying to massage away the pain that now felt like a knife through his skull. He forced himself to focus on the question that had been asked and finally shook his head wearily, the frustration clear in his voice, "I don't know. I just can't remember. No matter how hard I try, it won't come. I know the memories are there, but it's like they're behind a wall and I just can't get to them."
"Perhaps I can help you," Aurora said gently, stepping toward him.
"Help him how?" Carter cut in, stepping between them, her rifle at the ready.
Aurora frowned in confusion but stopped moving. "If there is a physical injury preventing him from accessing the memories, I may be able to heal it."
"How?" Carter asked suspiciously.
"I do not know how to explain it," Aurora said helplessly. "I can just do it."
"Sam, please let her try," Daniel said wearily. "I've always felt that those memories were important and that I need to remember what happened on that planet. It's been almost two years now. I want to know what happened to me down there."
Carter wavered at the defeated tone of his voice and the obvious pain etching his face, but held her ground. "We need to report in to the SGC before we decide anything. General O'Neill needs to know that we're alive, where we are and what our current situation is. I'm not even going to consider doing this until that's taken care of."
"Fine," Daniel said wearily. "Let's get on with it."
"Teal'c, dial home while I get the MALP ready."
"As you wish, Colonel Carter," Teal'c responded, moving in front of the DHD and beginning to hit the symbols that would open the gateway to Earth.
Sam moved from between Daniel and Aurora but looked at the woman warily. "Why don't you come with me for now."
Aurora looked unhappily at Daniel but responded, "If that is what you wish."
"We have an incoming wormhole, sir," Tech Sargent Walter Davis reported to an anxiously pacing O'Neill.
"It's about damn time. What the hell have they been doing!"
"We're receiving SG-1's code, sir. They're transmitting from P5C-898."
"At least Carter had the good sense not to bring that thing back here."
"I have audio and video, sir."
O'Neill leaned in to look at the viewscreen. "Carter, what's going on?"
"Sorry for the interruption, sir. We had a little problem back on P4C-447. When we brought the forcefield down to free Aurora, a damaged section of the columned area started to collapse, causing a chain reaction throughout the structure. We were able to get back to the gate room and dial out before it all fell down on top of us."
"So, no technology to study after all?" O'Neill said gruffly.
"I wouldn't say that, sir. Daniel found a stash of goa'uld devices that may prove interesting. From what I could see, we've seen most of them before, but you never know, there might be something new among them."
"It's good to know the mission's not a total loss," O'Neill responded caustically.
Carter hesitated a moment, looking uncomfortable, and O'Neill felt a nervous quaver go through his stomach.
"There's been another development, sir."
"I'm not going to like this, Carter, am I?"
"Doubtful, sir. It turns out Aurora's people have access to a stargate. She gave us the gate address and wants us to send her home."
"Sounds simple enough. What's the problem?"
Carter sighed heavily, "The gate address is to P3X-846."
"Shit," O'Neill said, "shit, shit, shit." He didn't even realize he'd put his hand into a fist until it smashed against the observation window overlooking the gate room. "Ow! Damn it."
Davis jumped up from his seat in alarm, "Are you alright, sir."
"Yeah, I'm fine," O'Neill muttered rubbing the aching hand as he tried to get a rein on his emotions. There were a lot of bad memories etched indelibly in his mind, but the memory of that day was one of the few that still gave him nightmares. He could still remember every word of the heated argument with Carter about whether they should make a rescue attempt that was suddenly interrupted by the linguistics expert they'd called in for help yelling something about Daniel. They'd all turned dumbfounded to see Daniel laying on the floor of the transport station practically dead. He'd awakened for a few seconds -- just long enough to tell them to deactivate the transport device -- before lapsing into unconsciousness again. He'd barely survived and it had been a long and difficult recovery afterwards. The experience itself and the almost total loss of memory that accompanied it had pushed Daniel as close to the edge as O'Neill had ever seen him. He'd bounced back after a few weeks, but O'Neill knew that experience still haunted the archaeologist.
"Sir, are you there? Is something wrong?" Carter's worried voice came from the speakers on the main console.
O'Neill sighed heavily and leaned back over the viewscreen. "Everything's just peachy, Colonel," he responded in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "And before you even ask, tell Daniel the answer is 'no'. He is not going back to that planet under any circumstances unless he's willing to do it over my dead body. Is that perfectly clear?"
"Yes, sir," she said looking uncomfortable again.
"Oh, great! There's more! Please tell me there's not more, Carter."
"Sorry, sir," Carter responded. "Aurora says she can help Daniel remember what happened to him on that planet, but she can't explain exactly what she's going to do or how she is able to do it. Daniel wants to let her try, but I'm not convinced it's a good idea."
O'Neill rubbed his face thoughtfully as he considered the request, then ran a hand through his close cropped hair as he began pacing again. He finally returned to the viewscreen, "Where's Daniel?" he barked.
"I'm right here, Jack," Daniel said wearily as his head poked into the left side of the viewscreen.
"I don't like this, Daniel. I don't like it at all. How do you know it wasn't one of her people that drugged you and almost killed you in the first place. How can you be sure she's not just going to screw with your mind some more?"
"Look, Jack, I'm doing this whether you like it or not. Why don't you make it easy on all of us and just say 'yes.' It'll save Sam and Teal'c from all the grief of trying to stop me, because they're not going to succeed. I've told all of you all along that I've always felt an urgency about those memories, that it was important that I remember what happened on that planet. I'm not giving up the chance to finally find out what happened to me down there."
O'Neill felt a surge of anger and frustration followed by a sense of helplessness. Not for the first time since he'd taken over command of the SGC, he wished he could drop everything and head through the gate and back to his team again. At least then he'd be able to knock some sense into Daniel's thick, stubborn head personally.
"Carter."
"Yes, sir."
O'Neill sighed heavily before speaking. "We're going to let Daniel do this really stupid thing, but keep a close eye on what's happening. If it looks like the alien is hurting him in any way, shoot to kill."
"Yes, sir," Carter said vehemently.
"Dammit, Jack," Daniel said with obvious annoyance.
"Shut up, Daniel, before I come through that gate and knock some sense into you myself. Carter, keep the gate open and the audio and video feeds operating as long as you can. I've got SG-11 on standby in case you need help."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"Okay, let's do this," Daniel said to Aurora with more confidence than he felt. "What do I have to do."
She walked over to him and held out her hands. "Just take my hands."
He deliberately restrained himself from giving one last nervous glance to Carter and Teal'c. He didn't want to give either of them an excuse to step in and stop this. Taking one last steadying breath, he reached out and took her outstretched hands in his own.
"Close your eyes and relax," Aurora said softly. "Breath evenly."
Carter watched anxiously, her weapon at the ready. She saw Aurora close her eyes and match her breathing to Daniel's. After a few seconds Aurora's skin began to ripple and shimmer. As Carter watched in amazement, the alien's features began to change. Within seconds there were two Daniels standing in front of her, hands locked together, eyes closed, breathing in unison. "Dammit," Carter cried out aiming the weapon at the Daniel she knew was the alien, "I knew she was up to something."
Teal'c had also been watching raptly and already had his staff weapon primed and ready to fire. But before either of them had time to react, Aurora's skin began to ripple and shimmer again. A few seconds later, she had reverted to her female shape. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at Daniel with something close to awe. His eyes opened slowly and he squinted at her in confusion.
"You did not tell me you are of the Ancients," she said softly.
"I'm not really, not anymore anyway. I broke the rules so they sent me back," he said uncomfortably.
"That is of no consequence. You still bear their essence. I found two places where your memories have been affected. I can do nothing about those that have been blocked by the Ancients. Their powers are far beyond any I possess. But the other will be very simple to repair. Do you wish me to do so?"
"Yes," Daniel said without hesitation.
"Very well," she said gently. "Perhaps you should either sit or lie down. When the memories come back to you they may be very vivid and powerful - strong enough to knock you off your feet if you are standing."
"I'll sit," Daniel said, lowering himself cross legged to the ground.
Aurora sat across from him, then carefully reached out her hands and placed one on either side of his face. "Close your eyes again, relax and breath, just as you did before."
Daniel did as he had been told as Aurora gently brushed her fingers along the sides of his face. Carter and Teal'c were watching intently, their weapons still at the ready. Carter kept her eyes glued to Daniel's face, waiting for something to happen, but when it did, she was too surprised to react in time to do anything about it. As Aurora's fingers passed over Daniel's face again, a tiny drop fell from one of the fingers. It landed on his left temple and disappeared into the skin.
"What was that?" Carter said frantically, "what did you do to him."
At the same instant Daniel gasped and his body convulsed. Aurora reached out and caught him before he could hit the ground. He laid in her arms trying to fight against the onslaught of memories that were sweeping over him like tidal waves, threatening to drown all conscious thought. He could hear Carter's frantic voice in the background, "Let go of him or I swear I'll shoot! What have you done to him?"
He felt his body moved from the comforting presence of Aurora's arms to the hard ground, then Carter's anxious voice over him saying "Daniel, Daniel. Wake up! Come on. Come back to us, Daniel," and Teal'c's voice edged with concern saying, "Daniel Jackson, are you injured? Can you speak to us?"
He tried to move his mouth to form words to comfort them, to tell them he was all right, but it wasn't time to return to them yet. There was too much that still needed to be seen, and remembered.
"We've got to get him back to the base," Carter said frantically to Teal'c. "We've only got 5 minutes until this wormhole closes and we have to redial. Can you carry him?"
"Indeed," Teal'c responded, lifting the unconscious Jackson over his shoulder into a fireman's carry.
"You should not move him now," Aurora said, clearly upset. "He needs time to reabsorb the memories into his consciousness. All of this movement will disrupt the process."
As if agreeing with her assessment, Daniel let out a small groan. Carter moved anxiously to him and checked his face. His eyes were slightly open and he appeared disoriented. "Get him back home, Teal'c. That's an order," Carter said, casting one last angry glare at Aurora before they stepped into the event horizon of the wormhole, leaving her behind.