Author's Note: Been a while since the last update. Well…here's a nice long section to help make up for that.
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 3: Homecoming
Unscheduled Offworld Activation.
The announcement echoed through the halls of the underground complex. General Hammond hurried down the flight of stairs that lead from his office level to the control room. The three remaining members of SG-1 joined him. Before a word could be said, the wormhole opened and the protective iris closed. A man turned from his computer to face the general.
"We're getting a radio signal, sir."
"On speaker."
The man pressed a few buttons and several speakers crackled to life.
"This is Daniel Jackson calling Stargate Command. General, can you hear me?"
The room was filled with a stunned silence. Everyone had finally come to accept that Daniel was dead. It had been too long for him to have survived on his own with the wound as severe as that which Teal'c reported him to have received. General Hammond recovered from the shock first and picked up a radio.
"Doctor Jackson is dead."
"No, general, I'm not. I would have died, but some…strange creatures saved me."
The voice continued on, relaying information that only Dr. Jackson would know. O'Neill turned to the General and spoke.
"Sir, it's definitely Daniel. He could be telling the truth about being rescued."
"Or he could be a Goa'uld. A sarcophagus could easily have healed him. He would be a perfect spy to infiltrate the SGC."
The general looked from O'Neill to Carter, considering his options.
"Open the iris. I want whoever steps through to be taken to the infirmary immediately."
General Hammond picked up the radio, wondering if he was doing the right thing.
"You may step through the Gate."
"Thank you, General. Uh…there will be two others with me. They look fierce, but they're not a threat."
"Very well."
All eyes turned to the active Gate. A dozen armed men were lined along the wall, watching for any threat that might come through the wormhole. A man stepped through, dressed in a strange robe of deep purple. Despite the unusual garb, the man was unmistakably Daniel Jackson.
Behind Daniel there appeared a large avian head. All eyes grew wide as the ten-foot creature stepped through the Stargate. It's red and purple body possessed metal that identified it as a type of cyborg. The beast stepped aside as a second came through the Gate. This one was also a cyborg, but it stood fifteen feet and its coloring was black and gray and red. The cyborgs stood to either side of Daniel, surveying their surroundings with great interest.
"Smaller than I thought. Won't be able to fit through any doors. Still, I can curl up on the floor and scare the locals as they come through the contraption."
"You have some serious issues, you know that?"
"Doctor Jackson, who and what are those creatures?"
The gryffins looked up through the window as Daniel tried to explain that he wasn't sure himself what his strange saviors were. Armed guards took Dr. Jackson from the room at the General's order, leaving two curious cyborgs standing in the Gateroom.
The General began questioning the cyborgs in an attempt to assess what threat they posed. They ignored his first question, though, and only asked their own.
"Where's Daniel going?"
"Our doctors are going to examine Dr. Jackson to verify his health. Now, who are you and why did you follow him through the Stargate?"
"We're friends of Daniel's, I suppose. Not too fond of humans as a species. You're such a savage race, you know. If you can't control it, you kill it. But Daniel said the people here were different. That you had advanced beyond that. So far I fail to see where he was right. Though I am relieved you didn't open fire the second we stepped through."
"I can assure you we will not fire unless fired upon."
"Of that I'm not convinced. Since we have mutual mistrust, I'd prefer to reach a sort of understanding before you ask for specifics. You can stay where you are, but get these trigger-happy toy soldiers out of here. I'm likely to be shot simply for sitting down. Plus the smell of fear of nauseating, and that won't disappear until they do."
The General considered the larger beast's words. He decided that armored as the strangers were, a bullet would do little against them. He ordered his men out, but had them standing ready just outside the doors in case they were needed.
"Thank you. Now I think we can proceed with introductions. You are General Hammond. Daniel told us about you. He was quite complimentary. I'm starting to think he might be right, but we'll see.
"I am Leiko, Captain of my vessel. This is my Science Officer, Ravindra. We are, as you must have noticed by now, cybernetic creatures. Our whole bodies are weapons, General, so be assured that if we wished you harm we could do so easily. Now where is the SG-1 we've heard so much about? I'd very much like to meet those who left their own man behind on a hostile planet."
Major Carter had to forcibly restrain Colonel O'Neill when the black beast spoke her accusing words. The Colonel had blamed himself for loosing Daniel, and his temper was short where that particular decision was concerned. General Hammond pretended not to see O'Neill's reaction.
"To my right is Colonel Jack O'Neill, beside him Major Samantha Carter, and behind her is Teal'c. They did not voluntarily leave Dr. Jackson behind. He was assumed dead and no rescue could be attempted with the enemy Jaffa guarding the Stargate. And speaking of that, how did you get past them unharmed?"
The two beasts seemed to communicate silently. Leiko chuckled, a deep bird-like twitter that emanated from her throat.
"You've not seen my Security Officer. One hundred feet of pure reptilian power. She literally blazed the way for us. Unfortunately her size prevented her from joining us, but she's standing guard over the Stargate, waiting for our return. Speaking of that, I'll need to send a message through in about an hour. She's got orders to dial this planet and launch an attack if she doesn't hear from us. I'm sure you understand why I'd issue such an order. Oh, and that iris you've got won't last long against our technology. So when the time comes I'd like your cooperation with contacting my officer."
The General, and quite a few of the other personnel, had gone pale as the stranger spoke of her orders. Hammond had to admit that he'd have done the same if in her position. Maybe not exactly the same, but close enough.
"We will see to it that you communicate with your officer…"
"Good. I don't want you all to die horrible deaths over a lack of communication. Now if you don't mind my Science Officer has some questions. From what Daniel told us, perhaps Major Carter would be the most suitable person to answer them. I'd very much like to speak with Colonel O'Neill, myself. I can assure you we won't start random killings. You're perfectly safe. I'd just like us to deal face-to-beak."
Carter looked to the General and, after observing his brief nod, proceeded down to the Gateroom. O'Neill, however, had to be ordered.
"That thing practically accused me of killing Daniel myself, sir. I don't want anything to do with it."
"You will go down there, Colonel. She wants to speak with you, and I'm hoping that you can find out more about them while you're chatting. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir."
Colonel O'Neill was far from enthusiastic as he entered the Gateroom and faced the large cyborg. He looked straight into her green eyes with an air of defiance.
"Glad you could join me, Colonel. I'd like to make one thing clear before I start. My rank may be Captain, but that is captain of a ship. I estimate my equivalent rank here to be somewhere around Admiral or General. I outrank you, Colonel, so I do expect some show of respect."
The man failed to answer, so Leiko continued. He was proving to be stronger than she'd anticipated. A good thing, considering his job.
"I was witness to your departure from the planet. My words earlier were meant to sting so that I might gage your reaction. I wanted to be sure that you hadn't left Daniel on purpose. You passed that little test, so I'll say what I'd planned on saying to you when we met.
"You did the right thing, Colonel. If Rave hadn't found Daniel when she did he would have died. It was a near thing even with the aid we gave him. Our healing technology is somewhat better than yours. If we had a hard time saving him, rest assured that there was nothing you could have done. To be honest, I found your reluctance to leave without him very admirable, if stupid. Next time, if there is a next time, save your team instead of trying to rescue a ghost."
O'Neill was stunned by Leiko's words. He had been ready to hate her for implying he was a bad leader, and here she was telling him that he'd made the right decision. The man was both relieved and confused. It was good to hear that he'd been right to leave the planet without Daniel, but he still wasn't sure that the beast was being totally honest.
"Wait, you saw us fight our way off that planet? Why didn't you help then?"
"You're human. You seemed to have things under control, so I saw no reason to endanger myself just so you could do what you were going to do anyway. Besides, at the time we didn't know what a Jaffa was. Daniel told us about them, and the Goa'uld. We didn't like what we heard, which is part of the reason I came."
"Why did our being human affect your decision to not help us? And if humans are so bad, why did you help Daniel?"
"I don't leave the dying, Colonel, no matter what the species. I had a choice. I could either give him a merciful death, or try to save him. And being human is a mark against you. I've had plenty of experience with your kind, none of it good. You can't blame me for letting you fight it out for yourselves. Besides, how was I to know you wouldn't start firing at us?"
"Good point. But why did you choose to save Daniel, instead of killing him? You had no way of knowing what he'd do when he woke up."
"I've had my fill of killing the helpless, Colonel. If he proved to be a threat we would have dumped him by the Stargate."
Leiko's voice had taken on a far-off quality that surprised O'Neill. It almost sounded as though she'd experienced war and was loath to speak of it. He could relate. He'd been ordered to do some things that he'd just as well forget during his long military career. Perhaps he had more in common than he'd thought with the alien beast.
"Looks like Rave and Carter are having fun. There's nothing more confusing than a room full of scientists. I think that the two of them are lost to us for a while."
The Colonel blinked. He found himself reluctantly starting to like the giant cyborg. At last, he'd found someone in authority who shared his dislike for technical chatter. O'Neill thought for a minute before asking something that would tell him if it was possible for the cyborg and himself to get along.
"Do you drink beer?"