Chapter 10
SG1, with Raphaella, gathered at the ramp the next morning at 1000 hours. Daniel seemed to have pulled himself together, but was very subdued. Jack was still apprehensive about allowing Daniel on this mission, however, it was a fairly simple operation. They were to begin discussions with the leaders hoping for permission to trade for some of that world's technology. They had an apparently clean source of energy that would be helpful on Earth.
Jack looked up to the control room as the wormhole opened for Hammond's final approval. When he gave his standard, "You have a go," Jack turned to his team and with a nod of his head, they stepped through the event horizon.
Daniel, still unsteady from his drinking bout two nights before, staggered to a stop, eyes closed until his brains stopped whirling around inside his head. Jack elbowed Daniel in the ribs to get his attention and spoke to his friend quietly through gritted teeth, "Don't make me regret letting you come, Daniel. Get it together. Now. That's an order."
Daniel took a deep breath and opened his eyes to see the expected delegation from the Bushido people. There were three men, all slightly smaller than the average Tau'ri male, dressed in what appeared to be Japanese Samurai battle dress, complete with two swords - the daisho. The man in the center stepped forward, bowed slightly at the waist and spoke.
"I am Daimyo, clan leader. These are my humble servants who will show you to your place of rest."
Daniel stepped forward to greet the small group, only to find that Damiyo had already turned his back on SG1 and was walking slowly up the path. The two other men bowed and followed their clan leader, evidently expecting the team to follow. Jack shrugged, flung his arm out in a gesture to say, "Let's go," and stepped off the gate platform to follow his hosts.
They were led through a small ravine to a large, open area ringed with graceful one story wooden buildings. In the center was a taller building, possibly a temple or government building, judging by the number of people entering and leaving. Daimyo entered the larger building, but their escorts continued past the center building and entered a one-room single story building just behind the temple. They were guided into a room devoid of furniture except for a low, black table in the center of the room.
The shorter of their two escorts told them that Daimyo would return in one hour to begin their meeting. In the mean time, they were invited to sit and enjoy refreshments that would be brought into the room, however, they would be required to surrender their weapons.
Jack turned to Daniel, "Daniel?" clearly asking what was going on.
"These people are an offshoot of ancient Japanese culture. Jack, they are very formal and easily offended. Please, please, be on your best behavior. Hammond wants that source of clean energy. I think to show them our willingness to bargain, we should surrender our weapons."
"Why, Daniel, you know I'm the model of graciousness and good manners, but we do not surrender our weapons."
"Jack."
"Daniel." Jack and Daniel had a thirty-second stare-down and Jack finally nodded his agreement to surrender their weapons as he unsnapped his P90 from his vest.
"Daniel, just going on record that this is a bad idea."
Teal'c had been quietly surveying the room for any possible threats, while Sam was searching for the source of the indirect lighting in the room.
"Sir, I can't seem to find any light fixtures, but the light in this room is clearly not natural. This is fascinating. I wonder if…"
Jack interrupted Sam's train of thought with an abrupt, "Carter! When you have it figured out, then tell me about it."
"Yes, sir." Sam turned her back on the Colonel and rolled her eyes toward Raphaella, who responded with a grin.
Raphaella had been admiring the clean, open room and the few pieces of art on the rice paper walls when the door slid open and several women dressed in traditional kimonos entered with serving trays. They bowed and began placing bowls on the table, obviously intended for the travelers. Jack shrugged and sat cross-legged on the floor at the table, soon followed by his teammates.
Raphaella, whose job was to detect any unfriendly feelings from the natives, opened her mind to the emotions of the serving women. She caught Colonel O'Neill's eye and shook her head slightly, letting him know that she sensed something. As soon as the women left, Jack turned toward her and waited.
"Colonel, I sensed some fear and apprehension from those women. It wasn't strong, but it was evident. It could have been simply nervousness from serving off-world people."
"OK, Raphaella, keep your 'ears' open to everyone from now on. I'm getting a bad feeling about this place."
Some time later, Daimyo and his two lackeys entered the room, along with several other men, all in full Samurai dress. SG1 stood and bowed toward the group, as Daniel had instructed them. The team now all moved to one side of the table with Daniel in the center, as he would be doing most of the talking, Sam and Teal'c on his left, Jack and Raphaella on his left, Raphaella the farthest away from Daniel.
Daimyo and his group sat on the opposite side of the table, with the leader in the center.
"We are grateful for your gracious hospitality toward us, Daimyo. We share a common enemy in the Goa'uld and wish to establish a working friendship between our peoples that we may all benefit." Daniel began the well-established opening to negotiations.
"The Tau'ri are most welcome among my people. We agree that an alliance between our two worlds could be of great benefit to both our peoples."
Raphaella had opened herself to the emotions of the leader and was becoming increasingly aware that the openness of his words did not concur with his feelings. She reached under the table to tap Jack on his knee, a prearranged signal that she was sensing a problem. Jack glanced at her without turning his face from Daimyo. As the talks between Daniel and Daimyo proceeded, she became more agitated, all the while keeping her face neutral. She communicated her feelings to Jack by squeezing his leg harder and harder as she became more concerned for the safety of her group.
Jack, not entirely insensitive to the emotions of others himself – he had been working in a command position for many years and knew how to read people – wished he had access to his P90. He reached under the table to pat Raphaella's hand in acknowledgment of her signals. He began forming a plan of escape while Daniel continued to talk with the diplomats across the table.
Raphaella's head jerked up and her eyes flew open as she sensed a sudden excitement in the leader, even though there was no visible change in his expression. Her fingers dug into Jack's leg so deeply, that he jerked and banged his knee on the underside of the table. Just at that moment, five Samurai burst through the rice paper door and positioned themselves behind each SG1 member, swords drawn. Before anyone could move they grabbed each SG1 member by the hair, jerked their heads back, and held the shorter sword they carried to their throats.
While this was happening, the men with Daimyo also jumped up, drew their swords, pushed the table away, and stood in front of each SG1 member. Daimyo arose slowly, his face morphing from benign friendliness to malice.
"You did not really believe that we could possibly be interested in aligning ourselves with you? Our Lord Yu will reward us well for the capture of the mighty SG1. However, I have an interest in keeping this one for myself." Daimyo stalked over to Raphaella and drew a finger slowly down her cheek and across her throat. "I have heard that this woman has special powers. She can serve me well."
He turned his back on the group, snapped his fingers at his warriors, and left the room. As the four members of SG1 were led out, Raphaella was forced to her knees, her head pushed down into a position of subservience
A/N: Finally, action begins. Well, this isn't intended to be an action story anyway, but the interaction between Daniel and Raphaella needs the action to go to the next level. As always, the reviews have really kept this timid author publishing! Thanks everyone.