AN: "Blood Night" began with a whispered, badly rhyming poem one night way back in April, before Ninety-Nine Days and Second Front. The poem is not in the story anymore. This is largely because of what happened to me during the course of the writing.
Somewhere along the line, I became a fan of Janet Fraiser. Then, even more alarmingly, I became a 'shipper, and what began as a simple literary decision was suddenly a lifestyle choice, mostly for reasons which begin with "R" and end with "ite of Passage".
There are several people I need to thank and/or worship:
so.close, because my half is done. Now it's your turn.
MegTDJ, because great minds think alike.
Katerina17, because of the beta and the cruelty encouragement.
and Suzie Bagely, because "Frozen Flame" got me thinking....
Rating and Classification: PG-13, Daniel/Janet ERR.
Spoilers: Well, nothing too specific, but both Daniel and Janet are alive, so either between Threshold and Meridian or between Fallen and Heroes. Or that happy place, also known as Canadian Broadcasting, where Heroes hasn't happened yet. Alternatively, I could just call it AU and be done with it.
Disclaimer: How do I not own Stargate, let me count the ways....
Summary: And as long as there is light, we shall fear no darkness!
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Infection
"Chevron Seven is locked," announced Sergeant Davis as the wormhole surged out of the Stargate and then subsided to its usual watery aperture. "Wormhole established."
General Hammond activated the intercom between the Control Room and the 'Gate Room. "Have a good trip," he called down.
"Yes sir," replied Jack O'Neill, just a little too smartly, "We always have the best times when we're on mineral surveys."
Hammond decided he would allow himself one small smile after SG-1 had gone through the wormhole and he had retired to his office. Jack O'Neill's love of scientific expeditions was legendary, and the possible presence of naquadah on P3X 892 required SG-1's special talents, even if none of them belonged particularly to Jack. Hammond liked that they kept him humble. Jack nodded and raised his hand in a gesture that was half salute and half wave, then turned and led his team up the ramp and into the wild blue yonder.
Which turned out to be the smokey orange yonder, as the sunset glow filtered through the trees which surrounded the alien 'Gate. As the Stargate kawooshed out behind him, Jack removed his sunglasses and scowled into the surrounding foliage.
"Sorry, sir." Carter said apologetically. "I guess the time differential is bigger than we thought."
"It's OK, Carter. I just wish I hadn't wasted all that room in my pack with different kinds of hats."
"Perhaps we should set up our base camp, O'Neill." Teal'c suggested. "The UAV indicated that the naquadah was quite distant from the Stargate."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Jack replied lazily. "Carter, see if you can't find us something remotely defensible."
Sam nodded and was about to set off when a loud horn blast echoed through the forest. The UAV had not noted any signs of recent habitation. The initial blast was followed by a series of notes that, while not what Sam would call musical, was definitely the product of an organized species. Without words, SG-1 went immediately into tactical mode, fanning out with weapons ready.
"Daniel?" Jack put a world of questions into one word.
"I don't know," Daniel mumbled, adjusting his glasses with his free hand. "There isn't supposed to be anyone here. There was nothing by the 'Gate to indicate a culture. That was definitely a signal, but I haven't a clue what it could mean."
"Carter, Teal'c, give us a 50m sweep, radios on," Jack ordered crisply. "Daniel, count to fifteen and then follow them. I'll have our – "
And the woods around them were suddenly filled with men bearing crossbows.
"– six."
The men, for they were undoubtedly human, were dressed in brown and green tunics and vests with elaborately coloured embroidery. They wore hose, though Daniel was reasonably certain that he was the only one of the company who knew what hose were, and half boots made of something like leather. They had great variation in hair colour and were quite fair of face. There was nothing in their clothing or weaponry, however, that was immediately indicative of the Earth culture they had been taken from.
Jack and Sam steadily unhooked their P-90s and disarmed themselves. Teal'c leaned heavily on his staff weapon, as though to mask its true function. Off a look from Jack, Daniel cautiously stepped forward.
"My name is Daniel Jackson. We're peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth." Daniel kept his hands in plain view. "We came here looking for – "
"You must come with us at once." The man spoke in language that was almost English, but put emphasis in odd places. "It is not safe at night."
At a gesture from the speaker, the crossbows were lowered. Teal'c straightened and Jack stepped up beside Daniel.
"I think I'd like a bit more information before we go anywhere," Jack said.
"Please," said the man pleadingly, looking around nervously at the fading sunlight. "My name is Aeronn Swellingson and I swear by the Heart of the Lion, we mean you no harm. Demons came once through that 'Gate, but you are not they. We must get away from here before the sun is gone."
Daniel's reaction to the man's oath had been immediate, and he squinted suddenly at the men who still encircled them, his head tilted in thought. The reaction was not lost on Jack, who glanced into the woods, at Daniel and finally at Sam before nodding.
"All right," he said. "We'll come. But you need to talk to us."
"Of course, of course," Aeronn said as his companions formed something vaguely reminiscent of a phalanx around SG-1. "There will be the night to talk."
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Jack noted that Daniel had to restrain himself from skipping as they were escorted out of the woods. The archaeologist's eyes were everywhere, drinking in the details and cataloging them away for later. Not too much later, Jack hoped. Daniel's lectures tended to increase in length proportional to the amount of time he was forced to wait before giving them.
They broke free of the trees and Jack could just make out through the orange glare of the setting sun a town about 300 metres into what appeared to be a man-made clearing. Daniel became, if possible, even more excited. As they drew closer, Jack began to make out the architectural details Daniel found so entrancing.
The town was surrounded by a wall. The bottom metre and a half or so appeared to be fieldstone, on top of which was a tall wooden stockade. There were slits for arrows and look out points, which indicated that the wall was thick, and defensively necessary. Due to the height of the wall, only the tops of the houses were visible. They appeared to be made of wood as well, and about two storeys in height. Dominating the scape of the skyline, however, and as far as Jack could tell, the main source of Daniel's excitement, there stood the unmistakable silhouette of a Cathedral.
It was almost impossible to see in detail, because the sun was setting directly behind it, but there was no doubt in Daniel's mind. Somehow, these people had come from Earth, and they had done so more recently than he thought possible. Daniel thought back to the oath Aeronn had sworn and his mind began to reel. He definitely had questions.
Another series of blasts sounded on the horns, and the great wooden gate swung open. Immediately, though for completely different reasons, SG-1 began to scan their new surroundings. People were coming out of the houses which neatly lined the streets. The men were all dressed the way Aeronn's men were, and the women wore long skirts. A few of the older ones wore conical headdresses or scarves. Sam squinted into the crowd. The people did not act like they had just stepped outside to gawk at the visitors. No, it was more like they did this every night, regardless of the new additions to their company.
The street opened up into a wide courtyard lined by shops all of which were closed. At the far end of the square, still framed by the orange glow, stood the Cathedral. There were three steps up to it from the square, and standing on the steps were a group of robed fugues Daniel supposed were some sort of monks.
Aeronn left the groups and walked towards the steps. He disappeared into the assembled crowd and when he reappeared, he too was robed. The figures on the steps surveyed the crowd in silence and eventually there was no sound in the square. Sam craned her neck to see around the man in front of her, and he solicitously moved a bit when he realized he was blocking her view. She opened her mouth to whisper her thanks, but something stopped her. She knew, somehow, that a nod and smile was enough, that she should not make any noise at all.
The square got darker and darker as the sun sank. At last, the final few rays made their way over the horizon and then vanished from view. High up in the belfry, a bell began to toll. Daniel made an attempt to count the number of chimes, but the sound echoed around the square until it seemed to come from all sides at once and after three or four chimes they were quite indistinguishable from each other. As the last peal faded away into silence, the crowd looked up through the blackness expectantly.
Aeronn Swellingson's face was suddenly illuminated as he lit a torch which had been concealed in his robe. Though he did not shout, his voice carried well through the courtyard.
"Dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux. Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona et divisit lucem ac tenebras. Et appellavitque lucem diem et tenebras noctem." Aeronn held his torch out to the monks on either side of him and the trail of lights covered the stairs. "Et dummodo est lux, timebit nullam tenebras."
The monks left the stairs and began lighting lamps and torches in the square. When all were lit, they went into the town and Jack could see the windows of the houses light up as they went along. Daniel was so beside himself with excitement that Jack was surprised he wasn't literally dichotomous. The words had been in Latin, Jack remembered enough of the language to be able to recognize it, though he could not do an on the spot translation like Daniel could. Whatever Daniel was waiting to tell them, however, was going to have to wait a little longer.
Aeronn reappeared next to Jack and motioned them to follow him. Still in silence, SG-1 trooped out of the square and followed Aeronn down yet another street and into a house.
"Welcome, welcome," Aeronn said finally, breaking the silence that even Jack now recognized as ritualistic. "This is my house and, God as my witness, you are welcome here. I will answer your questions as best I can, but first, dinner is waiting."
Samantha Carter was no anthropologist. Still, she wasn't stupid. She had taken history in high school and knew the Middle Ages when she was standing in them. She'd been doing her best to keep her head down, and so far no one had said anything. There weren't many missions where her gender came back to haunt her, but those when it had stood out in her memory. This Aeronn who had so courteously invited them into his house had not yet, as far as she could tell, seen her clearly. His position in the community was obvious and he seemed to have religious responsibility as well. If her memory served her correctly, she wasn't sure that this was an equation she was going to like.
Her fears were immediately put to rest, however, by what happened next. Aeronn led them into a cheerily lit room with a roaring fire and a large wooden table laden with food. A woman was lighting the candelabra in the centre of the table, and she turned as they entered the room.
"Oh Aeronn, by the Heart of the Lion, you are the absolute end!" Sam no longer had any doubt who ruled this house and relaxed slightly. There was no mistaking that particular tone. "You really do enjoy showing off. Heaven only knows how far these people have come, and probably didn't even give them a chance to introduce themselves."
Aeronn stood in the doorway, spluttering slightly, and Daniel stepped smoothly into the conversation.
"My name is Daniel Jackson. This is Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Teal'c," he said, indicating each in turn. "We're explorers."
"My name is Maram Richisdaughter, and you are welcome to a seat at my table."
At her nod, SG-1 drew up chairs at the table. Aeronn sat at the head and Maram sat at the foot. On Daniel's left, there was an empty place setting, and Aeronn had his hand on the back of the empty chair. Maram too looked at the empty chair, somewhat longingly, but quickly glanced away and began serving up food on plates and passing them down the table. It appeared that they were about to tuck into something that was very much like a turkey dinner, but of course SG-1 ate nothing until their hosts gave indication. Aeronn said a few words in that language Jack recognized but couldn't understand, and then picked up his knife and fork.
"So, um, do you meet in the square like that every evening?" Daniel asked after carefully swallowing his mouthful.
"Yes," said Maram. "Every night, we meet in for The Lighting."
"So what is it with the dark, then?" Jack questioned. "I mean, my Latin isn't very good, but I recognize the words for light and darkness."
"That is a long tale," Aeronn said. "But we have time to tell it."
Maram made a noise suspiciously like a snort. Aeronn shot her a withering glare, which she more or less ignored and passed another roll to Teal'c.
"About eight hundred years ago, as far as we can tell, our ancestors left their homes for a long journey," Aeronn began, attempting to get some of his dignity back. "They traveled for many days across the lands they knew to a place where it was very hot. And there, they fought a war for a city that was held by a dark skinned people, completely unlike them, except that both sides were human.
"But it wasn't a normal war," Aeronn went on. "There were soldiers, of course, great knights who rode horses that shone in the sun for the metal they wore, but there were women and children and old men too. They brought everything they had with them, from chickens to family heirlooms, not knowing that they would never see their homes again."
"At any rate, the Demons with glowing eyes came and took them from the world in great ships." All of SG-1 straightened instantly in recognition. "They were brought here and enslaved. I see by your reaction that this situation is not unexpected."
"Um, yes," said Jack. "It's happened before. We live on the planet you were taken from."
"We know," Maram said calmly, "Terra. Our history is quite specific."
Jack momentarily understood how Daniel felt sometimes, but he recovered quickly. "Do the Goa'uld, the demons, still come here?"
"No," Aeronn looked again at the empty chair. "No, they abandoned us."
"You drove them off?" Teal'c clarified.
"Not exactly," Maram said. "The people prayed for deliverance, but none came. And then a generation of children were born, and when they came of age, they were sickened and could no longer bear the light. The demons made them work in the night, but they went mad. They began to attack and kill, even their own families, and they feasted upon the blood and flesh of their victims."
"The demons abandoned us here," Aeronn took over. "We could no longer work for them. But our freedom came at a great price. Now, in the week surrounding a child's Coming of Age, he or she goes into the mountains to a safe cave to pray and meditate. If they return, then they are Sandiem, those who walk in the light, and songs are written to welcome them as adults into our society."
"And if they don't?" Sam asked quietly.
Aeronn looked at her for a long moment before answering, "Then they are Sanoctem, and they are lost to us."
"How many?" Daniel asked just as softly.
"About one if four never return." Maram said briskly with a quick glance at the empty chair. "In my grandmother's grandmother's time, it was as many as half."
"What exactly is a Sanoctem?" Jack's correct pronunciation of the word announced loudly how seriously he was taking this situation.
"They were like us, once," Aeronn sighed. "But they cry tears of blood and have horrible lesions all over their bodies. They rage mad in the forests and attack anything that moves in the darkness. In the sun, they undergo Inferno, a terrible sight to see."
The fire popped in the hearth and they all started. Looking down at his plate, Jack realized that everything was now stone cold and it was very late, locally at any rate. Maram stood up and took two lamps off of the sideboard.
"There are two rooms at the top of the stairs where you can sleep," she said as she lit the lamps and handed one to Daniel and the other to Sam. "We'll talk more in the morning."
Jack nodded and thanked her again for dinner. Daniel, who had calmed down slightly over the meal, was gearing up again. Jack was a little relieved. Late as the local hour was, it was still relatively early in Colorado, and Jack had never been one to adjust well to jet-lag. Still, he had discovered that Daniel's cultural lessons were the best sleep aid he had ever come across. It wasn't so much that Daniel was boring, it was that Jack found it hard to get so terribly excited about people and cultures that had been gone for centuries.
They located the rooms Maram had directed them to with ease. One was quite small and had a single pallet bed made up on the floor. The other was quite a bit larger, and had three beds. Sam left her gear in the smaller room and followed the rest of her team into the larger one.
"This is really amazing," Daniel said, setting down his pack and settling on one of the beds. "They're Crusaders."
"I agree," Teal'c said. Jack looked at him, somewhat surprised. "I have made a study of Earth conflicts. The Crusades were of particular interest to me."
No one asked why.
"So what do you make of this Snocktem thingy?" Jack directed his question at Daniel.
"They sound a bit like vampires, don't they?" Daniel mused. "I mean they're afraid of the sun and they drink blood."
"What about the language?" Sam asked. "You said it was Latin, sir?"
"Yes, it is." It was Daniel who answered, though both Jack and Teal'c were nodding. "And it's almost textbook. The bit that Aeronn said in the square was straight from the Bible."
"Which part?"
"Genesis One," Daniel said. "'And God said 'Let there be light', and there was light: And God saw the light, that it was good: And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day and the darkness he called night.' They have an extra bit on the end, "And as long as there is light, we shall fear no darkness'."
"Well, these people are definitely afraid of the dark," Jack said.
"Daniel Jackson, what is the Latin word for blood?" Teal'c asked, his voice speculative.
"Sanguen," Daniel said instantly, then his eyes widened. "So Sanoctem means Night Blood and Sandiem, Day Blood."
"What about the missing letters?" Sam asked.
"Languages shift over time, and letters fall out as common words or word combinations get shortened or left out altogether."
"Pardon?" Jack said.
"Precisely," Daniel was miles ahead of them by now, and not really paying attention. "You only said 'Pardon', but I know you meant 'I beg your pardon, Daniel, but what was that last part again?', so I can answer you."
"What about the religion?" Sam asked quickly before Jack could jump back in with something completely irrelevant. "Is there anything I – we, should avoid?"
"I'm not sure yet," Daniel looked at her understandingly. "I would have said they were early Roman Catholics and that you should be careful, but Maram doesn't really act like a model 12th century wife. And, if they were Roman Catholic, Aeronn wouldn't be married. We'll see what we can find out tomorrow."
"Wife?" said Jack. "But they don't have the same name."
Daniel did not quite restrain himself from rolling his eyes, though he made a valiant effort.
"Their names are Swellingson and Richisdaughter," he explained. "It's genealogical."
"Of course it is."
"I'd like to look at the MALP readings tomorrow, sir," Sam said, putting the conversation back on track. Again. "See if we can pin point where the naquadah is. I get the impression that the old mines aren't places these people willingly visit. We might be better to just find them ourselves."
"I believe we should endeavour to find out as much about the Sanoctem as we can, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "They may be a threat, should we need to go on an extended scouting mission."
"Indeed," Daniel coughed somewhat suspiciously, but covered it up, so Jack kept talking. "In that case, we'll turn in. It sounds like tomorrow is going to be a busy day.
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to be continued....