PART TWO
It took a while for Daniel to get back to sleep, but at least he avoided
having anymore nightmares.
He woke up feeling like he'd not had much rest. His eyes felt sore and his head ached, causing him to wonder if he was coming down with something or if it was just his allergies playing up again.
Rubbing his temples, Daniel stumbled out of his tent with his eyes half closed. The rest of sg-1 watched as he sat down beside them.
'You ok Daniel?' asked Sam as she helped Teal'c and the Colonel to prepare breakfast.
'Just a little headache' he reassured her, one hand massaging his temple. 'Probably my allergies' Jack handed him a cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin. Daniel nodded his thanks, but avoided his friends concerned gaze. He felt more than a little guilty for brushing Jack off the night before. He knew his friend was only trying to help, but Daniel wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to Jack.
A month ago, he would easily have done so but now after machello's little surprise he wasn't sure of how Jack would react. Ok, so Jack wasn't exactly well known for giving physical comfort, but the way Jack had avoided coming anywhere near him whilst he'd been in his padded room, had left him feeling hurt and abandoned. Not that it was the first time he'd been left on his own. Being orphaned when he was 8 years old and spending the rest of his childhood bouncing from one foster home to the next hadn't really helped him feel like he belonged anywhere He'd finally found himself a family and he didn't want to risk sending Jack running again, especially now that Daniel really needed him around. Jack was like his best friend and big brother all rolled into one, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing him too. Sg-1 was his family and he finally felt like he belonged somewhere People found it strange that he and Jack could be so close, when they had so little in common. He certainly couldn't explain it to them, as he didn't really understand it himself. After his addiction to the sarcophagus, Daniel had found out just how much he meant to Jack, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.
' I guess we'd better have another look for those ruins' Jack said, starling Daniel from his thoughts 'but keep an eye out for unwelcome visitors. That rucksack had to have come from somewhere.'
After cleaning their camp they set off once again in search of the ruins. They hadn't got very far when Teal'c who was ahead of them, suddenly stopped .
'O'Neill, I hear something in the trees above us' he aimed his staff weapon into the trees. Jack and Sam mirrored his actions.
'Teal'c do you see anything?' the Colonel whispered.
The Jaffa shook his head.
' I do not.'
Jack made his way to Teal'c's position, ordering a Sam and Daniel to stay back incase there was trouble. 'Come down where we can see you.'
They heard more rustling and a rucksack dropped down from the branches high above them. The rucksack was quickly followed by a smallish figure holding some kind of weapon. Jack kept his gun trained on them, wondering how they'd managed to fall so far without getting injured. They appeared to be facing what they assumed was a 10-year-old human boy. The eye's which turned to lock on to Jack's, were blue but not like any blue he'd ever seen human eye's to be. They were incredibly bright, almost luminous, and incredibly blue. The deep blue of a bright summers day. The boys hair though technically blond, was more accurately described as yellow, it was styled similarly to the way Daniel had had his done when he'd first come back from Abydos. He wore a pair of camouflaged combat trousers, a black T-shirt and the camouflaged jacket was wrapped round his waist. The camouflaged design Jack and Sam recognised as being British. The deeply tanned skin spoke of many hours spent outside in the sun.
The boy gave them a cocky grin, before slowly lowering his gun and leaving it on the ground.
'Hi, I'm Lucy and I come in peace to ask for your help' she said in a British sounding accent.
They looked at her in disbelief until Jack broke the silence. 'Well that makes a change!' he commented to his teammates before directing his next comment at the girl. 'You're a girl?'
'Yeah' another grin, Jack and the others could see the barely hidden mischief in her eyes.
'How old are you?' Jack made a guess '10, 11...?'
'14'
Jack gave the 4 foot 10 inch girl in front of him a once over. 'Right' he drawled sarcastically.
She still looked very boyish and showed signs of muscle toning. The look in her piercing blue eye's stopped his next comment. Her eye's spoke of more experience than even a 14-year-old should have and seemed totally out of place when she grinned.
He changed the subject.
' Where d'ya get the gun?' he asked wondering who'd be dumb enough to just hand over a gun to a child. Maybe she'd stolen it?
'It's mine I didn't steal it and I'm trained to use it.' She told him firmly.
Jack gave her an incredulous look wondering how she'd guessed what he was thinking. 'What?!'
Daniel gave Jack a concerned look. He knew how his friend felt about kids and guns, especially after Jack's son Charlie had died after getting hold of his father's gun. He stepped in quickly. 'Aren't you a little young to be a soldier?'
Lucy gave Jack a long look before answering Daniel's question. 'I'm not a soldier, I only said I was trained with it. Anyway it's not really a gun in your sense of the word. It only has a stun setting and it's programmed so that I'm the only one who can use it.'
'Who trained you?' Daniel continued.
'The twins.'
'Care to elaborate?' Jack prompted.
'Ryan and Vicky, my brother and sister.'
'How old are they?' Jack felt his frustration grow with the lack of answers.
'20 years old. Look maybe I should start from the beginning.' Lucy could feel the frustration and annoyance from Jack and the growing concern from Daniel. 'Lets go to your camp and I'll explain it all to you, ok?'
Jack nodded and led them all back to their camp.
'It was your rucksack I saw wasn't it?' Daniel asked suddenly. Lucy nodded, picking it up along with her gun. She handed the gun to Jack before he could say anything, surprising him slightly. ' Keep it until I've explained. It'll make you feel better.' She told him cryptically.
Once back at camp and settled down around the fire, coffee was made and handed out. Lucy looked at her cup of cocoa.
' How come I don't get coffee?'
Jack ignored her.
'Ok, firstly. Are you alone here?'
Lucy shook her head.
'My brothers here and so are the people who have him.'
'And they are?'
Lucy felt Jack's frustration rise again. 'Jaffa, about 20 of them.'
'You know of the Goa'uld?' asked Daniel.
'Oh yeah!'
'So you know Teal'c...'
'Yeah, I also know he's against them, so don't worry.' Lucy reassured him, 'If you let me explain you'll understand, ok?'
'Go ahead' Jack motioned for her to start.
Lucy crossed her legs and leant forwards, resting her elbows on her knees before starting.
'Ok, first of all you need to know that I'm not human. I come from a planet called Gondolia originally, though I've lived most of my life on Earth. Ryan and Vicky are my half-human brother and sister and even though they also half Gondolian, they are not my real brother and sister because they adopted me when I was about 4. All Gondolians, physically, look human but there are some differences in our metabolism. We heal much faster than normal; a healing factor I guess you'd call it. We're also telepathic, have the ability to teleport and are generally faster, stronger and more intelligent than humans.'
'You have these abilities?' interrupted Sam.
' Yeah, but I'm also one of 6 children used in a Gondolian experiment back in 1989. So I'm stronger, smarter and more agile than even a Gondolian.'
'Experiment?' Jack raised his eyebrows.
'I really don't want to discuss it, ok?!' Jack shrugged, though still curious, he let her continue.
'All that you need to know is that I spent time in an orphanage, ran away and after spending a year with a local circus, Ryan and Vicky adopted me. They thought it would be a good idea for me to keep practising my acrobatic skills and when I got older they made me take self defence and combat survival lessons.'
'Now see, that's what I don't get' Jack interrupted 'why train a kid to fight?'
Lucy glared at him.
' If you let me finish explaining, you'll understand why they did it. Anyway, as I was saying. They sent me to self-defence lessons. I used to get into a lot of trouble at school because of my intelligence and willingness to get into a fight with anyone who had a go at me. After one kid ended up in hospital, badly injured after trying to fight me. Vicky felt that I needed to learn to control my strength and temper. That's why they made that particular decision. They also didn't want anyone to find out that I had a healing factor.'
'Ok,' Jack conceded looking thoughtful, ' are Gondolians very different from humans, technologywise?'
'Oh yeah, more advanced, but they don't really like to share.' Lucy replied and carried on before Jack had time to comment, ' now I need your help to free my brother.' She gave them a pleading look.
'Why did you come here?' asked Daniel.
'And how?' put in Sam.
'Through the Stargate, we needed more Naquada for the Resistance.'
'Resistance?' Jack asked, wondering what they were getting themselves into.
'A rogue group on Gondolia, intent on stopping experiments on children.'
'They're still happening?' Jack felt slightly sick as he wondered why supposedly advanced people would experiment on their own children.
Lucy nodded and continued.
'Anyway Ryan got captured and I need help to get him out. So will you help me?' she looked at them expectantly.
'Ok, wait a minute... you know about Teal'c because you what... read our minds?' asked Daniel.
'Yeah, I read your surface thoughts, so I know who you all are and where you're from. I also know a few things, which tell me I can trust you.' She explained 'Don't worry I only pick up what you think loudly, I don't enter your minds.' She told Jack who'd opened his mouth to protest.
'How do we know that?'
'Trust me?' Lucy gave a slight smile 'Seriously, I wouldn't do that. I know first hand what it's like having someone delve into your mind and searching your most secret thoughts.' Her eyes darkened as she remembered things she'd much rather she hadn't. 'Anyway Vicky and Ryan brought me up to believe in loyalty, honesty and trust and that everyone has a right to privacy, so I always ask before going in and I only go in if it's absolutely necessary. Surface thoughts are very hard to block though, sorry! It's kinda like being sat between two people who are talking to each other over you, very hard to ignore.' Lucy looked at Jack and then at her gun which sat beside him.
Jack suddenly understood way she'd handed it to him. She'd obviously picked up on his thoughts of Charlie. 'Ok,' Jack told her feeling rather uncomfortable and handed her the gun back 'I guess we'll help you get your brother back.' He looked at the rest of his team for confirmation. Getting it he turned back to Lucy. 'By the way, I'm Jack. That's Daniel, Sam and Teal'c.'
'I know.' Lucy grinned.
'Uh, yeah. I suppose you would.'
'Actually, I've been observing you since yesterday. I heard you talking.' Lucy admitted. She released her psychic block and allowed them to see the ruins.
'Oh' for once even Daniel was left speechless. 'Uh... how?'
Lucy shrugged,
'It's like putting a blanket over your minds. I only let you see what I wanted you to see. Don't worry I've stopped. I couldn't let you see me too soon.'
'Well I guess we'd better let the General know what's going on.' Jack said, getting up 'Then we'll make plans for rescuing your brother.'
He woke up feeling like he'd not had much rest. His eyes felt sore and his head ached, causing him to wonder if he was coming down with something or if it was just his allergies playing up again.
Rubbing his temples, Daniel stumbled out of his tent with his eyes half closed. The rest of sg-1 watched as he sat down beside them.
'You ok Daniel?' asked Sam as she helped Teal'c and the Colonel to prepare breakfast.
'Just a little headache' he reassured her, one hand massaging his temple. 'Probably my allergies' Jack handed him a cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin. Daniel nodded his thanks, but avoided his friends concerned gaze. He felt more than a little guilty for brushing Jack off the night before. He knew his friend was only trying to help, but Daniel wasn't sure if he was ready to talk to Jack.
A month ago, he would easily have done so but now after machello's little surprise he wasn't sure of how Jack would react. Ok, so Jack wasn't exactly well known for giving physical comfort, but the way Jack had avoided coming anywhere near him whilst he'd been in his padded room, had left him feeling hurt and abandoned. Not that it was the first time he'd been left on his own. Being orphaned when he was 8 years old and spending the rest of his childhood bouncing from one foster home to the next hadn't really helped him feel like he belonged anywhere He'd finally found himself a family and he didn't want to risk sending Jack running again, especially now that Daniel really needed him around. Jack was like his best friend and big brother all rolled into one, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing him too. Sg-1 was his family and he finally felt like he belonged somewhere People found it strange that he and Jack could be so close, when they had so little in common. He certainly couldn't explain it to them, as he didn't really understand it himself. After his addiction to the sarcophagus, Daniel had found out just how much he meant to Jack, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.
' I guess we'd better have another look for those ruins' Jack said, starling Daniel from his thoughts 'but keep an eye out for unwelcome visitors. That rucksack had to have come from somewhere.'
After cleaning their camp they set off once again in search of the ruins. They hadn't got very far when Teal'c who was ahead of them, suddenly stopped .
'O'Neill, I hear something in the trees above us' he aimed his staff weapon into the trees. Jack and Sam mirrored his actions.
'Teal'c do you see anything?' the Colonel whispered.
The Jaffa shook his head.
' I do not.'
Jack made his way to Teal'c's position, ordering a Sam and Daniel to stay back incase there was trouble. 'Come down where we can see you.'
They heard more rustling and a rucksack dropped down from the branches high above them. The rucksack was quickly followed by a smallish figure holding some kind of weapon. Jack kept his gun trained on them, wondering how they'd managed to fall so far without getting injured. They appeared to be facing what they assumed was a 10-year-old human boy. The eye's which turned to lock on to Jack's, were blue but not like any blue he'd ever seen human eye's to be. They were incredibly bright, almost luminous, and incredibly blue. The deep blue of a bright summers day. The boys hair though technically blond, was more accurately described as yellow, it was styled similarly to the way Daniel had had his done when he'd first come back from Abydos. He wore a pair of camouflaged combat trousers, a black T-shirt and the camouflaged jacket was wrapped round his waist. The camouflaged design Jack and Sam recognised as being British. The deeply tanned skin spoke of many hours spent outside in the sun.
The boy gave them a cocky grin, before slowly lowering his gun and leaving it on the ground.
'Hi, I'm Lucy and I come in peace to ask for your help' she said in a British sounding accent.
They looked at her in disbelief until Jack broke the silence. 'Well that makes a change!' he commented to his teammates before directing his next comment at the girl. 'You're a girl?'
'Yeah' another grin, Jack and the others could see the barely hidden mischief in her eyes.
'How old are you?' Jack made a guess '10, 11...?'
'14'
Jack gave the 4 foot 10 inch girl in front of him a once over. 'Right' he drawled sarcastically.
She still looked very boyish and showed signs of muscle toning. The look in her piercing blue eye's stopped his next comment. Her eye's spoke of more experience than even a 14-year-old should have and seemed totally out of place when she grinned.
He changed the subject.
' Where d'ya get the gun?' he asked wondering who'd be dumb enough to just hand over a gun to a child. Maybe she'd stolen it?
'It's mine I didn't steal it and I'm trained to use it.' She told him firmly.
Jack gave her an incredulous look wondering how she'd guessed what he was thinking. 'What?!'
Daniel gave Jack a concerned look. He knew how his friend felt about kids and guns, especially after Jack's son Charlie had died after getting hold of his father's gun. He stepped in quickly. 'Aren't you a little young to be a soldier?'
Lucy gave Jack a long look before answering Daniel's question. 'I'm not a soldier, I only said I was trained with it. Anyway it's not really a gun in your sense of the word. It only has a stun setting and it's programmed so that I'm the only one who can use it.'
'Who trained you?' Daniel continued.
'The twins.'
'Care to elaborate?' Jack prompted.
'Ryan and Vicky, my brother and sister.'
'How old are they?' Jack felt his frustration grow with the lack of answers.
'20 years old. Look maybe I should start from the beginning.' Lucy could feel the frustration and annoyance from Jack and the growing concern from Daniel. 'Lets go to your camp and I'll explain it all to you, ok?'
Jack nodded and led them all back to their camp.
'It was your rucksack I saw wasn't it?' Daniel asked suddenly. Lucy nodded, picking it up along with her gun. She handed the gun to Jack before he could say anything, surprising him slightly. ' Keep it until I've explained. It'll make you feel better.' She told him cryptically.
Once back at camp and settled down around the fire, coffee was made and handed out. Lucy looked at her cup of cocoa.
' How come I don't get coffee?'
Jack ignored her.
'Ok, firstly. Are you alone here?'
Lucy shook her head.
'My brothers here and so are the people who have him.'
'And they are?'
Lucy felt Jack's frustration rise again. 'Jaffa, about 20 of them.'
'You know of the Goa'uld?' asked Daniel.
'Oh yeah!'
'So you know Teal'c...'
'Yeah, I also know he's against them, so don't worry.' Lucy reassured him, 'If you let me explain you'll understand, ok?'
'Go ahead' Jack motioned for her to start.
Lucy crossed her legs and leant forwards, resting her elbows on her knees before starting.
'Ok, first of all you need to know that I'm not human. I come from a planet called Gondolia originally, though I've lived most of my life on Earth. Ryan and Vicky are my half-human brother and sister and even though they also half Gondolian, they are not my real brother and sister because they adopted me when I was about 4. All Gondolians, physically, look human but there are some differences in our metabolism. We heal much faster than normal; a healing factor I guess you'd call it. We're also telepathic, have the ability to teleport and are generally faster, stronger and more intelligent than humans.'
'You have these abilities?' interrupted Sam.
' Yeah, but I'm also one of 6 children used in a Gondolian experiment back in 1989. So I'm stronger, smarter and more agile than even a Gondolian.'
'Experiment?' Jack raised his eyebrows.
'I really don't want to discuss it, ok?!' Jack shrugged, though still curious, he let her continue.
'All that you need to know is that I spent time in an orphanage, ran away and after spending a year with a local circus, Ryan and Vicky adopted me. They thought it would be a good idea for me to keep practising my acrobatic skills and when I got older they made me take self defence and combat survival lessons.'
'Now see, that's what I don't get' Jack interrupted 'why train a kid to fight?'
Lucy glared at him.
' If you let me finish explaining, you'll understand why they did it. Anyway, as I was saying. They sent me to self-defence lessons. I used to get into a lot of trouble at school because of my intelligence and willingness to get into a fight with anyone who had a go at me. After one kid ended up in hospital, badly injured after trying to fight me. Vicky felt that I needed to learn to control my strength and temper. That's why they made that particular decision. They also didn't want anyone to find out that I had a healing factor.'
'Ok,' Jack conceded looking thoughtful, ' are Gondolians very different from humans, technologywise?'
'Oh yeah, more advanced, but they don't really like to share.' Lucy replied and carried on before Jack had time to comment, ' now I need your help to free my brother.' She gave them a pleading look.
'Why did you come here?' asked Daniel.
'And how?' put in Sam.
'Through the Stargate, we needed more Naquada for the Resistance.'
'Resistance?' Jack asked, wondering what they were getting themselves into.
'A rogue group on Gondolia, intent on stopping experiments on children.'
'They're still happening?' Jack felt slightly sick as he wondered why supposedly advanced people would experiment on their own children.
Lucy nodded and continued.
'Anyway Ryan got captured and I need help to get him out. So will you help me?' she looked at them expectantly.
'Ok, wait a minute... you know about Teal'c because you what... read our minds?' asked Daniel.
'Yeah, I read your surface thoughts, so I know who you all are and where you're from. I also know a few things, which tell me I can trust you.' She explained 'Don't worry I only pick up what you think loudly, I don't enter your minds.' She told Jack who'd opened his mouth to protest.
'How do we know that?'
'Trust me?' Lucy gave a slight smile 'Seriously, I wouldn't do that. I know first hand what it's like having someone delve into your mind and searching your most secret thoughts.' Her eyes darkened as she remembered things she'd much rather she hadn't. 'Anyway Vicky and Ryan brought me up to believe in loyalty, honesty and trust and that everyone has a right to privacy, so I always ask before going in and I only go in if it's absolutely necessary. Surface thoughts are very hard to block though, sorry! It's kinda like being sat between two people who are talking to each other over you, very hard to ignore.' Lucy looked at Jack and then at her gun which sat beside him.
Jack suddenly understood way she'd handed it to him. She'd obviously picked up on his thoughts of Charlie. 'Ok,' Jack told her feeling rather uncomfortable and handed her the gun back 'I guess we'll help you get your brother back.' He looked at the rest of his team for confirmation. Getting it he turned back to Lucy. 'By the way, I'm Jack. That's Daniel, Sam and Teal'c.'
'I know.' Lucy grinned.
'Uh, yeah. I suppose you would.'
'Actually, I've been observing you since yesterday. I heard you talking.' Lucy admitted. She released her psychic block and allowed them to see the ruins.
'Oh' for once even Daniel was left speechless. 'Uh... how?'
Lucy shrugged,
'It's like putting a blanket over your minds. I only let you see what I wanted you to see. Don't worry I've stopped. I couldn't let you see me too soon.'
'Well I guess we'd better let the General know what's going on.' Jack said, getting up 'Then we'll make plans for rescuing your brother.'