Parallels
Chapter Three: A Very Long Night
Within half an hour SG-1 sat on cushions around a massive wooden table, and Daniel had received the full account of everything that had happened since he'd fallen unconscious. Barahir and Daniel's healer, who he had learned was called Fealglîr, had left shortly before to go prepare themselves for the meal, and the four humans from Earth were left on their own for a time. The night insects were the only sound in the silence as Daniel struggled to register everything he'd just been told.
"So…" he said after a few quiet moments, "we can't go back to the 'Gate?"
"Not without risking another ambush," Carter replied. "According to what we've been told so far, the Orcs have been searching for the 'Gate for years now. The elves have managed to hide it from them so far, but they say the Orcs are getting increasingly violent and aggressive."
"Of course, the only reason we didn't try to go back anyway was because you were hurt," Jack said. "Those Orcs have arrows. We have guns. I think we've got the advantage."
"They have arrows with poison on them," Daniel reminded him.
Colonel O'Neill shrugged. "We'll be ready for 'em next time."
"Oh. Well that makes me feel lots better," Daniel muttered.
"What would you rather do? Stay here forever?"
"Well, no… but we should at least find out more about these Orcs before we go out inviting them to attack us. I mean, does anyone know why these Orcs have been looking for the 'Gate all this time? They must have some kind of motive, some sort of reason…?"
"Because of the wizard," Jack quipped matter-of-factly.
Daniel stared at him.
"A being these people refer to as a wizard is the determined leader of the creatures called Orcs," Teal'c offered. "It seems he has been the one organizing the searches for the 'Gate for many years now."
"Does this wizard have a name?" Daniel asked, already searching for clues that might connect PT2-571 to Earth in some way, or perhaps something that might link them to the Goa'uld.
"They call him Romestamo," Carter filled in.
"Ring any bells?" O'Neill asked.
Daniel thought for a second, wishing he had access to his books or the Internet to double-check his memory. But after a while he shook his head. "No. At least it's not Egyptian, and off the top of my head I can't think of any other god in any other culture called Romestamo."
"Well they do call him a wizard, and not a god," Jack prompted.
Daniel looked at the Colonel from beneath his brows. "Yes. But the term "wizard" implies one who has magical powers. That's a little… different."
"They have elves here for Pete's sake," Jack sputtered. "What's unusual about a wizard when you've got lots of pointy eared people living in trees all over the place?"
"Perhaps what concerns Daniel Jackson is why this wizard would appear so eager to acquire access to the Stargate," Teal'c suggested.
Daniel nodded. "Right, yes. Thank you, Teal'c."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Daniel, our report to General Hammond is two hours overdue. If we don't get some kind of message back to him he's going to send another team through looking for us, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not expose any more SGC personnel to those poisoned arrows. Especially since they won't know what they're getting into when they step out of that 'Gate. We're going to have to go back there eventually, and it'll have to be sooner then later."
"Jack-"
"Daniel." The Colonel's voice carried the familiar warning edge to it, making it clear he was the one in charge and he had already made up his mind.
The archaeologist looked down to the finely carved wooden dishes set at the place before him and took a deep breath, drumming his fingers on the tabletop in frustration. "At least let me talk to someone before we go and see if I can find out more about Romestamo and these Orcs."
"Find out how we can get back to the 'Gate tonight," the Colonel instructed.
Daniel's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Excuse me?"
"We'll radio General Hammond and see what he wants us to do. If he wants us to stay here and investigate then you can do all the talking to the elves you want. If not, we'll go home. End of story."
Daniel opened his mouth to protest again but just at that moment the sound of approaching feet reached them, and all four of them looked toward the platform entrance in unison.
Two long rows of elves entered, each carrying a large dish or plate of food. Silently the elves split around the table, putting each dish in its proper place, arranging things on the table so that it somehow all fit. The last eight elves each carried rather large jugs, and Daniel wondered what was in them until they were uncorked and the contents poured into the goblets set at each place.
Wine.
Daniel leaned back to make room for the elf to fill his glass, still agape at the amount of food that had been crammed onto what now looked like a much smaller table.
O'Neill let out a soft whistle as his goblet filled with the fragrant, plum-colored liquid. "Barahir wasn't joking," he said quietly, echoing Daniel's thoughts exactly.
But then the food-bringers and wine-pourers were gone as suddenly as they had appeared, and the four team members looked at each other.
"What now?" Jack whispered.
Daniel was saved from replying by the sound of more footsteps, and then the guests of the feast finally arrived. Men and elves both filed through the entryway, most finely adorned in robes, gowns, and cloaks. Barahir gave the team a reassuring smile as he went to stand behind the cushion next to Carter. Fealglîr entered next and came around the other side of the table to stand at the cushion next to Daniel. The archaeologist glanced to her briefly, then did a double take as he noticed the delicately tapered points of her ears for the first time. He squinted at her, finally realizing she had put half of her hair back into a braid. That's why he had not noticed she was an elf before - her hair had been covering her ears.
He turned his attention back to the others coming in. Now that he looked more closely, Daniel realized there were several different ways to tell the men and elves apart besides the difference in the clothes and the cartilage of the ear. The elves seemed generally taller, and most were of slighter build then the men, although they did not look any less strong for it. There was something in their faces; something in the way their eyes shone, in the way they moved, that spoke of a great inner dignity and grace, an ancient nobility that Daniel could not quite place…
He snapped out of his wonderings as he noticed everyone remained standing behind their cushions except for him and the rest of SG-1. He quickly got to his feet, standing next to his cushion like the other guests who had just arrived, and cleared his throat loudly. To his relief Carter got his hint and also stood, and shortly after Jack and Teal'c followed her motion.
The last guest to enter was a tall, blond elf wearing elaborate robes of a pale blue color. Atop his forehead rested a finely crafted silver headband. He stood by the cushion at the far end of the table, looking across the long length of food and drink to smile at Jack and the rest of SG-1. Daniel shifted on his feet as the elf's blue eyes came to rest on him.
"Doctor Daniel Jackson. I am glad you have recovered enough to join us for this meal. I am Prince Legolas, Lord of the Ithilien Elves, and I welcome you to our home."
Daniel nodded. "Yes, thank you. Thank you for all of your help. We really appreciate it... all of it." He tossed a glance to Jack but the Colonel was ignoring him. Daniel tried to keep his frustration in check. It wasn't worth it. It just wasn't worth it…
Legolas gave a short bow in response to Daniel's comments. Then his gaze moved to include all those gathered around the table. "This feast is to celebrate the arrival of friends. In the tradition of Belegrandir, may we continue to learn from each other and help each other." The elves and men around the table bowed low in agreement, and Daniel followed their movements. Carter, Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill likewise echoed his.
Then Legolas settled himself on his cushion, and at once there was a buzz of talk as everyone else also sat down and began to pass around the wealth of food and drink.
An hour and a half later Daniel was just finishing his third glass of wine and swore to himself he had never been so full. Barahir had spoken the truth when he'd said the elves knew how to cook. The smoked bird and other forest game were unbelievably tender and moist. The massive helpings of fresh and cooked vegetables included, to his surprise, many of the foods on Earth: corn, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, zucchini, peas, green beans, onions, and cabbage. There were also two types of bread, one light and one dark, and then there was the fruit. Apples, oranges, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, and some things that resembled mangos and starfruit had been piled high into their bowls. He had stuffed himself on everything – apparently being unconscious for eight hours straight made one very hungry… and thirsty.
An elf appeared out of nowhere; just as one had the other two times Daniel had emptied his goblet, and refilled his glass for the fourth time. Daniel sighed deeply, thinking he was going to sleep very, very well tonight. He took a sip of his freshly poured wine, glancing around at the plates of his teammates. All of them had managed to put away a considerable amount of food, and most of them had put away a fair amount of wine as well. Everyone except Teal'c, whose first glass still sat, untouched. But Teal'c had never taken so much as a sip of alcohol for as long as Daniel had known him. The archaeologist just hoped the elves wouldn't be offended by the Jaffa's refusal of their drink… he hoped that he, Jack, and Sam had drunk enough of it to make up for Teal'c, at least.
A touch on his arm drew his attention to his right, and Jack leaned in to speak quietly in Daniel's ear. "Better slow down, Dannyboy. We have to get to the 'Gate tonight, remember? And you know you can't handle your alcohol."
Daniel exhaled irritably through his nose, swallowing his mouthful of wine as he set the goblet down leisurely next to his plate. "Jack," he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully, "I don't think we should-"
"Daniel, don't argue. We have to get a message back to General Hammond tonight. So if you could please ask our hosts how to get there…," he pushed the words through his teeth, "that would be most helpful."
Daniel gave the Colonel a squinted glare, unable to help himself. "Can I at least wait until dinner's over?" he asked, the words sharp and clipped despite his efforts.
"No." If Jack had noticed Daniel's tone he'd chosen to ignore it. "We're running out of time. Look, if you don't want to ask them I'll do it-"
"No," Daniel cut in immediately. Ever since Jack had referred to saving the Asgard's "little gray butts" to the face of the Asgard High Council, Daniel had vowed never to let Jack handle any kind of diplomatic talks ever again. "I'll do it."
"Ah, good man."
Daniel rolled his eyes, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He cleared his throat and stood from his cushion, feeling only slightly uncomfortable as all twenty-some pairs of eyes turned in his direction.
"Um…" he began uncertainly, "I just wanted to say, on behalf of myself and my friends, thank you for your hospitality. We really appreciate it… I really appreciate it… I certainly feel much better than I did a few hours ago…." He glanced down to Fealglîr and she returned his look with a smile, although Daniel had a good idea that she had no clue what he was saying. He turned his attention back to Prince Legolas. "But I'm afraid we really do need to get back to the Stargate as soon as possible."
Barahir and Legolas both shifted on their cushions. The Prince got to his feet, tucking his hands inside the voluminous sleeves of his robe, regarding Daniel seriously with his bright blue eyes. "I have been told your friends informed you of the dangers inherent in returning to your… Stargate?" the elf asked.
Daniel nodded, this time briefly glancing down to Jack, who gave him an almost imperceptible nod of encouragement. "Yes. They have."
"Then you know that the soonest we could escort you back would be in the morning. Is this not suitable enough?"
Daniel hesitated; hating to feel rude but knowing he had no other choice at the moment. "Well… no," he confessed at last, but then hurried to explain. "We need to send a message to our leader. We were supposed to send a message hours ago, and if we don't get one through the Stargate soon our leader will send more people through to look for us."
Legolas' brows drew together. "I see," he said slowly. "This is ill news indeed. The Orcs hate the sunlight and rarely hunt during the day -"
"That didn't seem to stop them from attacking us," O'Neill commented.
Legolas nodded. "I assume the sight of your unfamiliar armor and weapons drew them out of hiding. They would have been very anxious to question anyone who appeared to be a foreigner. Which is why you must not go to the great ring tonight. They will be waiting for you to return there, for night is their favorite time of day, and they can see better and move better in the solid darkness than any human. Without doubt you would be ambushed, and we cannot risk that."
Jack straightened up upon his cushion, opening his mouth to make some argument presumably in defense of human night vision, but Daniel signaled him to be quiet with a subtle wave of his hand.
"Our leader will send more people through if we cannot get a message to him," Daniel reminded the Prince, "if he hasn't sent someone through already. Wouldn't the Orcs ambush them as well?"
Legolas pursed his lips, his face grim. "Indeed they would. As soon as your friends emerged from our circle of enchantment they would be visible to the Orcs, and undoubtedly fall under attack."
"Then we should start out now so that won't happen," the Colonel put in, but Daniel ignored him.
"Wait a minute," the archaeologist said, peering at Legolas, "you said… circle of enchantment?"
"Yes. I believe that would be the correct term in your language."
Daniel waited, but as Legolas offered nothing more he prodded, "What is that, exactly?"
Legolas drew in a deep breath. "It is the area in which the Rind i Galad is hidden. We have enchanted the ring and a circle of forest around it so that no Orc may see it."
There was a silence while the SG team tried to absorb this new information.
"You mean… its invisible?" Jack asked.
Legolas nodded again. "That is an acceptable way to put it."
Jack frowned. "But… we could see it…"
Legolas canted his head slightly to one side. "You are not an Orc."
The Colonel pondered this. "True. But, uh… how exactly does this whole 'enchanted' thing work?"
The Prince hesitated, but then shook his head. "I do not think you would be able to understand it, and I could not properly translate it."
"Ah."
Daniel could tell from Jack's tone that the Colonel did not completely accept this answer, but at least he didn't press the matter. Probably because there were other things to worry about at the moment. Like how they were going to get a message to Hammond and prevent another team from coming through when the way to the 'Gate was prowled by those horrid Orcs.
"There might be a solution to your dilemma," Legolas offered after a short pause, and all four pairs of SG-1 eyebrows lifted in question. "I could send a company of scouts to the Rind i Galad. The Orcs should not pay them much attention; my scouts pass through the forest too often to be of much interest to those foul creatures. If your leader sends more of your people through, my scouts will convey whatever message you wish to send back to your realm to them. That way your friends may remain within the circle of enchantment and out of danger, and you may still send your message."
Daniel thought it was a great plan, but looked down to Jack to double check before saying so. The Colonel thought about it for a moment, then glanced to Sam and Teal'c. Sam shrugged - she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately - and Teal'c inclined his head. Jack turned to Legolas at the opposite end of the table.
"We will have to get back to the Stargate eventually though, you know," he told the Prince.
A slight smile played around Legolas' lips. "Of course," he acknowledged. "I will not prevent you from returning to your realm. I will have you escorted back to the Rind i Galad as soon as dawn's light touches the sky if you wish. But you must at least wait until daybreak, for then the Orcs will be many less in number."
The Colonel nodded finally, much to Daniel's relief. "All right… but you'd better let me write a note or something. I'm not sure General Hammond or another team would believe what a bunch of - er… strangerstell them."
"General Hammond is the name of our leader," Daniel supplied, and Legolas gave him an appreciative nod.
"Then it shall be arranged," the Prince said with a note of finality. "I will have a quill and parchment brought up as soon as the table is cleared, and then I will arrange for my scouts to journey to the Rind i Galad. They will deliver your message for you."
"Thank you," Daniel said, giving a slight bow. "We're very grateful for all of your help."
Legolas gave a low bow in return, offering another smile. "It is the least we can do for friends."
Sam sat cross-legged on her cushion, absently tapping one finger against the worn wood of the tabletop as she watched Colonel O'Neill fiddle with the white feather quill and coarse parchment. Daniel stood behind the Colonel, looking over the man's gray-haired head as he wrote, and Teal'c sat quietly on his cushion next to Carter, his dark eyes drifting from O'Neill to their surroundings and back again.
The table had been cleared, the guests of the feast departed. Even Legolas had left them alone to their task, and in the quiet of the night the insects were once again the prominent sound, chirping and whirring in similar rhythms to the nightly summer insects on Earth.
"How exactly do we know that these scouts will actually take our note to the Stargate?" Jack suddenly asked, squinting in concentration as he carefully scratched a word down on the parchment.
Sam looked to Daniel and Teal'c, but Daniel took the initiative to answer.
"They've been nice to us so far. Why would they just suddenly decide not to do what they've said they were going to do?"
O'Neill shrugged. "I dunno. But we just met these people… I'd rather at least one of us go with them, just to be sure."
"The Prince seemed pretty adamant about us waiting to go ourselves until morning, sir," Sam said, seriously doubting even anyone as stubborn as the Colonel would get the elves to change their minds about that. Not from what she'd seen cross Barahir and Legolas' faces earlier.
"If the elves are correct in assuming the Orcs are lying in wait for us," Teal'c added, "then it would prove foolish to walk into their trap."
Jack looked up from his note. "So you guys are okay with staying here overnight? In the trees?"
There was a short silence while the other three looked to each other again.
"Well, their beds are really comfortable," Daniel put in.
Jack twisted to look over his shoulder at the archaeologist. "But they don't have any plumbing in these treehouses!" he protested.
Sam suppressed a sudden urge to giggle, mentally picturing the Colonel having to stumble out of bed in the early morning and walk all the way down the ramp to the elves' equivalent of an outhouse to relieve himself. But then the idea wasn't funny anymore as she realized she would have to do the same thing. She cleared her throat. "It's only one night, sir."
"Unless of course the General approves my request to stay and question the elves about Romestamo and the Orcs," Daniel added quickly, glancing up at her and lifting his eyebrows in a way that asked for her support.
"Oh, right," she said, giving the archaeologist a small smile of apology.
"Of course," O'Neill muttered. "If the General approves –"
"Well he can't approve of it unless you put it in the letter."
"Yes, yes, I'm getting to it, Daniel."
"Really? 'Cuz you don't have much room left…"
Sam could tell from where she was sitting that half of the sheet of parchment was covered in indecipherable chicken scratch and scribbles – the Colonel had had a very difficult time mastering the technique of writing with a real quill…
O'Neill slammed the large feather down on the table, turning again to look up at Daniel. "Would you like to try to write with this damn thing?"
"Yes, actually, could I?"
"Be my guest." Jack stood from his cushion and Daniel took his place, and now it was Daniel writing and the Colonel looking over his shoulder, although Daniel's words seemed to be much more fluid than Jack's.
In a few short minutes the letter had been finished and signed, and the four of them stood from their seats to go meet Legolas and his assembled scouts at the bottom of the ramp as had been planned.
"Let's just hope these folks are good on their word," Jack said as the team stepped through the huge platform's wide entryway and began their descent.
"I have seen no signs of deception among these people," Teal'c said.
"And even if for some reason they can't get the letter to the 'Gate," Sam spoke up, "chances are the scouts will meet up with the other SG team eventually. And if not, they'll either find this settlement or we'll find them in the morning."
"Yah," Jack murmured, but he said nothing more about the matter.
Legolas stood with Aglarion and Barahir and a group of five elven scouts beneath the looming tree that held the feasting flet, waiting for their visitors to emerge with the letter. All eight figures stood motionlessly in the near dark, until at last Aglarion shifted on his feet and leaned in toward the Prince's ear.
"Are you sure this is wise, my Lord?" the elf whispered, speaking in Sindarin.
Legolas blinked, turning to look at his second-in-command. "What do you mean?"
"Allowing the strangers to stay here?" Aglarion clarified, still keeping his voice low, brows knitted together in concern.
"Where else would you have them go? We cannot allow them to roam the forest at night; the Orcs would be upon them like wolves upon a deer."
"But how can you be sure they are who they say they are? How do we know they are not allied with the enemy and merely trying to learn the location of the Ring of Light?"
"I sensed no evil upon their arrival," Legolas replied. "They are somewhat wary of us, but that is to be expected. Tell me, Aglarion, have you sensed anything ill of them since they came to us?"
The Rivendell-native hesitated, but after a moment shook his head. "No, my Lord. I have not."
"They also speak the language of Belegrandir. Have you ever known any of our enemies to speak that language?"
Again Aglarion was forced to shake his head. "No, my Lord," he admitted, his voice now subdued.
"And they have agreed to wait until morning to go to the Ring of Light. Were they in the enemy's employ, likely they would have been much more insistent to be taken to the great ring immediately."
"That is true as well, my Lord. Forgive me for questioning you, my concerns were unfounded."
Legolas shook his head, dismissing Aglarion's apology with a wave of his hand. "That is not so, Aglarion. You are right in one matter. It is dangerous to have them here. The Orcs know of their presence in our woods… likely they will have already reported the appearance of strangers in this country to their leader. And that can only mean that more Orcs will be deployed to look for them."
"The Orcs will certainly test our borders," Aglarion said quietly. "If they believe the strangers to be here they may even attempt a full fledged attack. Our boundary enchantment is not as strong as that of Lothlórien – the Orcs could succeed in breaking it."
Legolas nodded gravely. "I know. I have already ordered the perimeter guard doubled. And scouts are out on the surrounding lands even now."
Aglarion's youthful face was troubled. "My Lord… perhaps we should send the strangers back to the Ring of Light tonight. We could triple their escort protection…"
But Legolas was shaking his silver-encircled head. "No. We cannot risk them falling into enemy hands."
"But my Lord… you risk the lives of all your people by harboring them…"
Legolas turned to Aglarion again, his blue eyes locking the gaze of the younger elf. "You have learned your history, Aglarion. Do you not remember what has been written about the dark years when the Ring of Light was in the possession of evil? If we should allow these strangers to go to the ring tonight, and they should by some means be captured, and the enemy learn of the ring's location… this entire world would be at risk. No… our guests must remain here for tonight, they are much safer within our borders than without, even if our boundary enchantment should fail."
Aglarion looked Legolas in the eyes for a long moment, and then he nodded in understanding and dropped his gaze, turning away to the ramp leading down from the feasting tree, where the footsteps of the four strangers could now be heard.
"Sooo… now what?" Jack drawled, turning away from the view of forest the room offered to look at the other three members of his team. The letter had been handed off to the appointed scouts, the scouts had headed off into the woods, Barahir had said his farewells and returned to his people – wherever that was – and Legolas had excused himself on official business. SG-1 had ambled back to the room Daniel had been assigned to while he was recovering from the poisoned arrow and now waited for morning, but O'Neill was getting tired of just waiting.
Teal'c, standing near the entrance to the room, merely offered one lifted eyebrow. Sam, sitting on a finely carved chair next to the room's single bed, opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it again as she realized she had no suggestions. Daniel was stretched out on the bed, left hand under his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"Well," the archaeologist began, "I would like to go speak to some of these people about Romestamo and Belegrandir and all the rest, but it seems the only ones who speak English are busy or gone, and I haven't quite worked out their language well enough to understand the others yet."
"You've worked it out at all?" Jack asked.
Daniel sat up, wincing slightly as he briefly put too much weight on his right bicep. "Yah… it seems slightly similar to Finnish, but I can't be positive unless I look at my notes… and I don't have my notes." He shrugged.
"I see," O'Neill commented flatly. "So… if General Hammond grants your request you're going to want to go back and get your stuff. Is that what you're saying?"
"Um… yah. Exactly."
"Okay. So… what do we do while we're waiting for Hammond's reply?"
"Maybe we should get some sleep, sir," Sam said. "It's been a long day… and we don't really have anything else to do…"
Jack pursed his lips and sighed. Now that he let himself think about it, he was rather tired. But he hesitated in relenting to Carter's suggestion, tapping his fingers on the butt of his P-90 as he tried to think of some alternative activity. His eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where Daniel's SGC-issued jacket, t-shirt, belt, and boots still sat neatly folded by the wall. O'Neill suddenly frowned, then glanced back at Daniel. He cleared his throat.
"Daniel. Where are your weapons?"
The younger man's blue eyes came up to meet the Colonel's gaze briefly, but then they flicked away to glance around the room. "Uh… I don't know. When I woke up they were gone."
"And you didn't think to ask where they were?"
"I didn't even know where I was, and I told you, I don't know the language yet."
"Well you'd better find out where they went before we leave for the 'Gate!"
Daniel opened his mouth to make some reply but before he could say anything there was a commotion from below. Jack turned to look over the half wall again, squinting down into the heavily shadowed depths of the forest around them. Sam, Teal'c and Daniel joined him at the railing shortly, and all four of them watched as an elf, bow and quiver strapped upon his back, came running down the path that passed beneath their platform, shouting something in a very urgent tone.
They followed him over to the other side of the room, watching as he disappeared off into the darkness again, his shouts gradually fading away. But in his wake many other elves were emerging from hidden places among the black shadows, and they spoke to each other in animated tones before hurrying off in the same direction as the first elf.
Jack looked expectantly to Daniel but the archaeologist threw his hands out in helplessness. "I told you I don't know –"
"Yah, yah I gotcha." O'Neill was having a hard time believing Daniel couldn't understand any of the elvish language. The kid spoke so many tongues that Jack had almost forgotten what it was like to not be able to understand someone. "Well, something's up, let's go see what's happening."
No one offered any protests as Jack hefted his rifle and led the way down the slightly-too-skinny-for-comfort ramp to the ground. He hesitated briefly at the base of the tree but then switched on the P-90's flashlight and trotted off after the elves, keeping his ears both on the footsteps of his team members behind him and the surrounding woods. He found it disturbing that the insects, annoyingly constant just moments before, had abruptly fallen silent.
"Ow! Damnit!"
Jack immediately swung around at the sound of Daniel's hissed words, rifle raised and heart jamming into his throat at the thought that the Orcs had found them again. Carter ducked out of his way, also bringing her rifle up, and Teal'c had his staff weapon primed and ready in the next instant.
Daniel was holding one bare foot, leaning against a tree and scowling, but there were no arrow ends sticking out of him this time and Jack lowered his rifle, exhaling a breath of combined relief and irritation.
"I think I stepped on a rock," Daniel explained, rubbing his foot and squinting a sheepish look into the beam of Carter's flashlight.
"What in the hell are you doing without your shoes on?" Jack demanded. He jabbed his finger toward the treehouse they had just exited. "Go back and get your boots." But Daniel hesitated, seemingly reluctant to leave the others. "Go now!" O'Neill barked, hearing the commotion behind him grow louder. He watched as the archaeologist grudgingly turned and carefully picked his way back in the direction they had come.
Jack turned to look over his shoulder, a feeling of anxiety growing in his chest. He didn't want to stand around waiting for Daniel to get back… he wasn't sure if they even had time to stand around waiting…
"Hey Daniel?"
The man turned at his name.
"Just stay in that room, we'll go check things out and get back to you."
"But I-"
"You don't even have your gun, Daniel! Stay in that room. That's an order!"
Daniel shot him a look before turning on his heel and proceeding, even more slowly now, toward the sloping ramp that led back up to the bedroom.
Jack shook his head, then gestured for Carter and Teal'c to follow him before heading off on his previous path. They had hardly gotten beyond the outskirts of the occupied trees before several figures stepped out in front them. Jack came to an abrupt halt and lifted his rifle again, but in the glare of his flashlight he saw the four shapes in front of him were elves, not Orcs. He lowered his weapon, wishing these people would learn how to announce themselves once and awhile.
"Fer cryin' out loud-"
"You must go back," one of the elves said, his words so heavily accented they were hardly distinguishable as English. "You cannot come this way."
"Why not?" Jack asked immediately. In the distance behind the elf-made barrier, sudden shouts echoed away into the night, followed shortly by the snapping of many bows and several inhuman shrieks the Colonel knew could only belong to those ugly, twisted creatures called Orcs. The elves in front of him exchanged glances with each other, and Jack took the opportunity to try and slip by them. But they quickly moved to cut him off again.
"You must go back," the one said again, and O'Neill peered at the blond elf, thinking it might have been Aglarion, although they all kind of looked the same to him.
"Look," he said, as calmly as he could, "I know something's going on out there, and it's not anything good. We can help you." Jack lifted his P-90. "See these? These are guns. They work really well… better than your bows and arrows. Really."
"You cannot help us," said a soft voice from behind, and Jack turned to see Legolas walking up behind Teal'c. The Prince no longer wore his robes or his silver headband, but instead had donned a green tunic and brown pants and carried his own long bow and loaded quiver upon his back. In fact, had it not been for the voice, Jack wasn't sure he would have even recognized the Prince for who he was.
"What?" It was all Jack could think to say at the moment.
Legolas went to stand among the other elves, and Aglarion – if that's who it really was – looked relieved to have his Prince there to explain.
"The Orcs are looking for you and your friends," Legolas said. "This is no ordinary scouting party attacking our borders. I had thought they would come, but not this soon. They are getting desperate, and that makes them even more dangerous."
"Which is exactly why you should let us help you out!" O'Neill insisted.
"No," Legolas said again, more strongly this time. "Your weapons may be effective against their numbers, but using them would only confirm their beliefs that you are here. And that would only increase their determination to penetrate our defenses and get to you, never mind how many of my people they kill in the process. Do you understand?"
Jack hesitated, the sounds of the unfolding struggle along the perimeters of the elves' territory growing louder. "If you let us help we could save your people-"
Legolas shook his head once. "No. If you use your weapons… if the Orcs see any of you here… you would be condemning my people to endless battle, for then the Orcs would not cease their hostilities until they had one of you in their custody."
"They want the 'Gate that badly, huh?"
The Prince's blue eyes sharpened. "I believe so. But even if I am wrong, would you be willing to risk your people and mine in such a manner?"
O'Neill sighed, remembering the sight of those Orcs jumping out of the forest at him and his team, remembering the arrow shaft sticking out of Daniel's arm, the panic that had first hit him when the kid had gone unconscious… "No," he answered finally.
Legolas gave him an appreciative nod. "The best thing for you to do is to go back to your rooms and wait. Do not fear; the Orcs have not succeeded in any of their attacks before this night, and they will not succeed now. I will retrieve you when this fight has finished."
With that the Prince turned and jogged off toward the outlying noise, the other four elves following after him. Jack stood and watched them until they vanished from his view, and then he turned to Carter and Teal'c, who were both looking at him in question.
"Sir…"
O'Neill waved away Sam's protest. "He's right, Carter. We'd better just wait." The words sounded wrong even to Jack's own ears, especially with the continued shouts and shrieks ringing through the otherwise silent night. But something in Legolas' face had convinced Jack the elf knew what he was talking about, and that reassurance had swayed the Colonel to give in to the Prince's request. Waiting. Oh, how he hated it. He sighed deeply. "Well kids, let's get back to the bunk. It's going to be a long night."
General Hammond stood in the Control Room of Stargate Command, looking out through the thick-glassed window to the Embarkation Room beyond. SG-13, under the command of Colonel Dave Dixon, performed some last minute checks of weapons and radios as they waited for the Stargate to finish dialing.
"Chevron seven, locked," Sergeant Davis said, his voice echoing through the 'Gate room via the PA system.
The familiar solid thump of the seventh chevron locking was followed almost immediately by the liquid whoosh of the forming wormhole's vortex. Then the event horizon stabilized, becoming a flat, shimmering pool of blue-white light.
Hammond reached forward for the nearest microphone, flipping the switch that would carry his words over into the Embarkation Room. "SG-13, be careful," he reminded them. "Your primary goal is to establish communication with SG-1. We need to know their situation. Do not, I repeat, do not take any unnecessary risks. Understood?"
Colonel Dixon twisted around to face the window, tossing the General a smart salute. "Understood, General, sir."
The other three members of the team turned to salute as well, and Hammond nodded to them. "Very well. I'll hear from you gentlemen at oh-two-hundred hours then. That gives you one hour to find SG-1 before you have to check in."
"Don't worry, sir," Colonel Dixon said, his voice echoing in the cavernous space of the Embarkation Room. "We'll be checking in well before then… with SG-1."
General Hammond allowed a small smile to touch his lips. "I hope you're right, Colonel. Good luck."
The man on the other side of the glass gave a nod, and then motioning to the three other team members he turned and made his way up the metal ramp toward the waiting 'Gate. Dr. Cameron Balinsky, SG-13's civilian archaeologist, was first to follow his commanding officer, and Senior Airmen Jake Bosworth and Simon Wells brought up the rear together. The four men stepped through the Stargate, vanishing from Hammond's view, and a few seconds later the 'Gate disengaged, the circle of quivering light vanished.
The General sighed, crossing his arms as he gazed out at the now silent 'Gate. SG-1 had failed to report at their first scheduled radio check in, and now it was six hours later. He had hesitated to send another team after them at first, knowing full well after all these years the kind of things that SG-1 got into, and knowing that they also often got out of such things on their own. But as the hours had passed and the 'Gate remained quiet, Hammond and grown more and more uneasy, until at last he determined that maybe this time SG-1 was going to need some help getting out of whatever they had gotten themselves into. Now he just hoped SG-13 wouldn't arrive too late. He hoped he hadn't waited too long to send someone after them.
Hammond shook himself from his thoughts, trying to fight off the guilt that seemed to close around his heart. If anything had happened to SG-1…
"I'll be in my office," Hammond told Sergeant Davis, and with that the General turned and made his way toward the spiral staircase at the back of the room. He had just put his foot on the bottom-most stair when the 'Gate's inner ring began to spin, prompting the klaxons to blare out a warning. General Hammond turned and went back to the window facing the Stargate, glancing down to Sergeant Davis.
"Incoming wormhole," Davis said, promptly closing the iris even as he watched the computer monitors for any sign of an offworld team's identification code.
Hammond saw a signal come in, displayed on the screen as a jagged line.
"Receiving IDC, sir," Davis said, and then he blinked, squinting through his glasses at the monitor in front of him. "It's… it's SG-13, sir."
"Already?" Hammond muttered, unsure of whether to be relieved or concerned at the swiftness of SG-13's return. "Open the iris," he ordered, and Sergeant Davis was quick to comply. Colonel Dixon stepped through the 'Gate, followed by the rest of his team, but when SG-1 did not follow them General Hammond made for the stairs that led to the hallway and the door to the Embarkation Room.
The heavy blast door slid open and Hammond strode through, coming to stand in front of SG-13 just as the 'Gate disengaged again. "Colonel," the General said, frowning as he looked over the group, "what's going on?"
"We, uh… we made contact with SG-1, sir," Colonel Dixon explained. "Sort of."
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
The Colonel held out a neatly folded piece of rough paper.
The General took it from the Colonel's fingers, frowning in confusion. He unfolded it carefully, then skimmed over the scrawled words until he came to the bottom of the page, where two familiar signatures stood out: Colonel Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson. Hammond's frown deepened. The signatures looked authentic… he reread the message the letter contained:
General Hammond,
We know you're probably worried about us by now, but we're all fine. We've holed up with some natives who have told us some very interesting things, but we can't get back to the Stargate until morning. There are these really ugly things called Orcs that seem very intent on capturing us, so we're going to do as the elves say and just wait out the night. We should be back at the 'Gate sometime early tomorrow morning, though, so we'll see you then.
Hammond grunted. That sounded like O'Neill. After the Colonel's message was a short paragraph undoubtedly written by Jackson:
We think there might be a Goa'uld on this planet, one that has no idea where the Stargate is, which means they're stuck here. We think the Goa'uld might be the leader of the Orcs, but I need more time to question the natives about this. I request permission to remain on PT2-571 and further investigate the possibility of Goa'uld occupation. I can give you a more detailed explanation in the morning - Jack has taken up most of the paper in his attempts to use a real quill.
And then, scrawled just above the signatures:
It's not as easy as Daniel makes it sound, sir, trust me.
The General glanced to the scratches and splatters of ink smeared across the top half of the paper and smiled. Yes, Jack and Daniel had written this, there was no question about that. Well, that was good news. At least they were safe, just cut off from the 'Gate for a few more hours… A sudden thought occurred to him, and he looked up at Colonel Dixon.
"Colonel… how did you get this letter?"
The man cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, then looked over his shoulder to Dr. Balinsky, who gave the slightest shrug of his shoulders. Dixon turned back to the General. "Er… well, sir, there was a group of natives waiting for us when we went through the 'Gate."
"Waiting for you?"
"Yes, sir. As soon as we came through they approached us. I thought they might be hostile but… it turned out they weren't."
"One of them spoke English," Dr. Balinsky put in.
"Very broken English," Wells added.
"He tried to explain things to us, I think," Dixon spoke up again. "But his accent was so heavy I could hardly understand him. All I got was that SG-1 was safe, back at his village, or whatever… and that this letter was from Colonel O'Neill. Of course I didn't believe him at first… we tried to tell them that we needed to look for SG-1 anyway, but he seemed very insistent that we not stray too far from the Stargate."
"Do you think it had something to do with the Orcs O'Neill mentions in this letter?" Hammond asked.
Dixon shrugged. "I don't know. It's possible, sir."
"Or it could be that they're hiding something," Bosworth commented.
Dixon hesitated. "That's a possibility as well, sir. But after I read the letter… I thought it was best to bring it back to you and have you look at it."
"You did good, Colonel. The letter seems authentic… you say the natives were not hostile?"
Dixon shook his head. "No, sir. They carried bows and arrows but never threatened us. Even when we tried to get passed them they seemed much more inclined to talk us out of it rather than resort to force."
Hammond sighed. "Well, it seems the best thing we can do then is wait until morning. If we don't hear something from SG-1 then we'll arrange another rescue team."
"And what if the natives are hiding something, sir?" Bosworth asked.
The General turned to look at the man. "We'll look into that in the morning as well, Airman. But for now I think waiting is our best option. Let's just hope that by morning, as Dr. Jackson said in the letter, we'll get a better explanation. You boys go get some rest while you can… it's going to be a long night."
TO BE CONTINUED...
