Author's Note: Fellow insane people, I now introduce section two of my tale. Critique welcome, so long as you play nice.
Disclaimer: The Stargate personnel and reality belongs to whoever wrote the series. Leiko belongs to me, and Ravindra to my soul-sister Rave. The crew of my ship belong to themselves, however I will be as vague as possible where they are concerned since I don't want to infringe on their own copyrights.
Section 2: StarDazed
"Why didn't you bring him when you found him? He's barely breathing, and I never bothered to learn much about humans. You'll be lucky if he lives through the night."
The Medical Officer, a black bird-like cyborg, was in full 'Doctor mode'. Leiko knew better than to engage in an argument with her, and so the Captain merely grunted and left the room. The Medical Officer would do what she could, and report if anything of interest occurred. Leiko would know sooner than anyone else, for she was linked directly into the ship's main computer. She could monitor the happenings in the medical ward. The Captain did this as much for security as for worry over the human's injuries. If he somehow got loose, he might cause trouble.
"Thinking about the human?"
Leiko looked up to see a pair of blood-red eyes gazing back at her. The white draconic cyborg, who happened to be Security Officer, seemed both curious and annoyed.
"I know you have final say, but you could have at least warned me about our guest. You're breaking your own security protocol."
"I know, I know...but it's not like he's much of a danger. Disease won't affect us, and we took away what weapons he had once we got him in the pod. I do intend to have you standing guard, though. At least until we find out just how much he knows."
The dragon grumbled. But, she admitted to herself, she had been asking for it. Next time the Captain brought an unconscious creature on board, the Security Officer would keep watch, but also keep silent.
"Captain to the bridge. Unusual activity detected on planet's surface."
Leiko twitched her one remaining eartuft, sighed, and headed down the large corridor. Never a moment's peace.
"General, we have to go back for him!"
Colonel O'Neill stood leaning over the wooden table, his eyes showing just how frustrated and angry he was. General George Hammond sat at the head of the long table, with Teal'c and Major Carter sitting near O'Neill.
"Colonel, the last probe we sent through was destroyed by the Jaffa. They have taken control of the Stargate and I will not risk loosing more people simply to retrieve a man who is, in all probability, dead. Teal'c has stated that he saw Dr. Jackson hit with a staff weapon, and I can't authorize a mission to a hostile planet simply to rescue a corpse..."
"But General..."
"Sit down, Colonel!"
O'Neill stared at the General, then reluctantly sank back into his chair. He closed his eyes and propped his face on his hands. There was no changing the General's mind on the issue. The only way to get Daniel back would be to disobey orders and risk court martial. He'd done it before, but this time Jack had to agree that his teammate was already dead, or a prisoner. Either way, he wouldn't be able to get to Daniel without risking capture himself, and without backup from the SGC it was suicide to go hunting Dr. Jackson's body on a planet that was now crawling with Jaffa.
"General..."
"Unscheduled off-world activation."
Whatever the Colonel had been about to say was lost as an incoming wormhole activated. Everyone in the room stood and headed down the stairs to see who, or what, was trying to dial in.
He's awake.
The knowledge entered Leiko's mind like a strong whisper. The cybernetic Captain stood, disconnected her left forelimb from the computer interface, and headed for the medical ward. She had questions that she'd been waiting days to ask of the human. The Medical Officer had managed to heal his wounds, but the man would have a scarred side for the rest of his life. Still, he was alive. He would recover, eventually.
The Captain entered the room that had been assigned to the wounded human and exchanged looks with the Medical Officer, who was literally hovering over her patient.
"Quit acting like a hummingbird and ask the Security Officer to keep watch on this. And bring in Ravindra. She's as much right as I have to be here for this."
The Medical Officer glared at her Captain, but obeyed. Within seconds Leiko felt her Security Officer 'listening' to the room. After another minute the door opened and Ravindra entered. The two gryffins walked over to the side of the human's bed and sat down. They both saw fear and confusion in his eyes, as well as a strange glazed look. Leiko realized that the man must think he was dreaming. Either that or her Medical Officer had gone a little too heavy on the painkillers.
"Nice to see you finally conscious. I am Leiko, Captain of this vessel, and the red one is Ravindra, my Science Officer. We found you on the planet and brought you here to be healed."
The man just stared at them for a moment, then began to speak.
"You...you aren't human. How do you know my language?"
Both gryffins were surprised at his question. They'd never thought English to be unusual. Still, it wouldn't do to have this human figuring out certain aspects of their past.
"We understand many languages, thanks to our implants. You may have noticed we're cyborgs. Now, anything else you'd like to know? I've got a few questions myself, after all, and time is precious."
"Have you ever been to Earth? You resemble a creature from our mythology..."
"The gryffin. Yes, we know all about that. We are gryffins. Our kind started those legends, and others. But don't think too much about the past. I'm more concerned with your present."
Daniel Jackson considered the giant beast's words. She definitely didn't want to talk about her past. What was she afraid of revealing? It wouldn't be the first time an alien race had interfered with the religions of the people of Earth. Still, he'd probably learn more from another source. The 'captain' wasn't about to reveal anything.
"How did you get to the planet? We know you don't have a ship, and we saw others jump into a metal ring and disappear."
"You saw them go through the Stargate? Did they make it back ok?"
"I assume by 'they' you mean the others dressed like you. We saw three go through the 'Stargate' as you call it. Armored warriors were firing energy weapons at them, so they seemed to be in quite a hurry."
Daniel relaxed and closed his eyes. He'd been worried about the others since he'd awakened and realized that they weren't with him.
"So you came through this Stargate? Does that mean you can go back through it?"
Daniel considered his answer. The gryffins had saved him, he had no doubt of that, but they were strangers. Thus, until he learned more, they were a security threat.
"Possibly. But Earth's Stargate is protected. If I were to just dial Earth and step through, I'd be killed."
"Can't you send a message with that radio we found strapped to your vest? I'm sure your friends will recognize your voice and let you pass."
"You have my gear?"
Daniel had wondered where his possessions had gone. At first he'd though that waking up naked was some sort of anti-escape precaution. But after seeing his captors, he'd decided that they simply didn't care about nudity. After all, gryffins didn't need clothes.
"We have what wasn't ruined stored in the next room. I'm afraid your clothing was beyond repair, but we'll have something suitable for you to wear when the time comes. As for the other devices..."
Leiko looked at Rave, giving the red one permission to take over.
"I've been examining your gadgets. The gun I'm familiar with. We destroyed that right off. The radio was damaged, but we can help you send a signal through if you wish. Our communications technology is a bit more advanced than yours. The rest was either damaged beyond repair or so blood-soaked it's useless."
"So you've basically got a pair of boots and a damaged radio. Not much for surviving on a strange planet. And you've been out for several days, before you ask. There's been no sign that your friends are coming back for you. In fact, I think they think you're dead. That wound would have killed you if we'd not been there."
Daniel realized for the first time that he had no choice but to trust the cyborgs. They weren't Goa'uld, he was certain of that, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. He had seen the spiked armour that covered them and the weapons that had been built into their bodies. Still, there was something in their voices that told him they could be trusted.
"I can see your thoughts churning, human. Decided anything yet?"
"I suppose I have to take your word that you won't attack my people."
"Obviously."
"When can we go back to the Stargate?"
Leiko and Rave exchanged looks. The Captain activated her internal communications link to ask the Medical Officer's opinion about the condition of the human. She then asked the rest of her crew what they thought. Naturally, the Security Officer didn't want Leiko to risk herself. The Pilot and Navigations Officer saw no harm in taking the human back. They, being far smaller than their fifteen-foot leader, thought that Leiko could handle anything that might arise. The Engineer didn't seem to care one way or the other, just so long as she wouldn't have to repair her Captain's mechanical parts when the large gryffin returned. The Cook, being organic only, was the only crewmember not queried.
"We can take you back tomorrow, providing your wounds continue to heal properly. Is there anything we should know about your Stargate procedures? Once on the surface we won't be able to retrieve anything from the ship."
"Uh...we'll need to send a signal through to identify ourselves. If they do think I'm dead, the code to open the iris will have been changed. If you could send a video signal it would be best."
"Video is beyond us. We never needed such things. No one can 'pretend' to be one of us, so it's never been needed. The best I can do is an audio signal at the frequencies you use. Your people will know your voice."
"Yes, but they might think I've been taken over by the Goa'uld."
The cyborgs stared at him blankly.
"The what?"
Now it was Daniel's turn to stare. They were space travelers and they'd never met the Goa'uld? He couldn't believe it.
"Parasitic race that pretends to be gods, enslaves people, and takes human hosts? You've never heard of them?"
"Not really. We stay away from humans. Bad past experience. Now, you'd better get some rest. You'll have to walk tomorrow. I'm not carrying you around a second time."
Daniel watched as the Captain and Science Officer turned and left the room. He settled back on his pillow and thought. He'd been left for dead. He should have died, but the strange beasts had intervened and saved him. They seemed friendly enough, and they were certainly more advanced than the humans of Earth. Perhaps the cyborgs could be talked into sharing some of their technology. The archeologist yawned and closed his eyes. When the Medical Officer returned to check on him, he was fast asleep, dreaming about going home.