Chapter 2
That evening as the team finished cleaning up after dinner, Jack turned to Daniel. "So, Danny, a new girl on this planet, too? Good, I'm glad to see you're keeping up with a girl on every planet." Jack didn't try to conceal his smirk.
"Yes, Jack," Daniel replied sarcastically. "Seriously, there's something about her that intrigues me. She's…well, she's different. I'm not sure how to explain it. And, no, Jack, it's not just physical attraction." Daniel glared at Jack over the top of his glasses, hoping to prevent any further teasing.
Sam decided she needed to intervene, "Daniel, I think she's interesting. She certainly gave us a fascinating problem. I wonder how the diamonds power the shield…"
"Thanks, Danny, you got her started into the techno-babble." Jack stood up and headed for his tent. "Danny, you've got first watch, then Carter, me, and Teal'c last. 'Night, campers."
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SG1 broke camp the next morning and had just fastened their packs onto their backs, when they heard a noise coming from above.
"Uh, oh, I know that sound." Jack snatched up his binoculars and scanned skyward. "There." He pointed as the rest of his team followed the direction of his finger. "Goa'uld death gliders. There must be at least six. Where there are gliders, there's a mothership."
"Jack! They're firing near the temple!" Daniel's voice echoed his near panic. "Chandani!"
Daniel took off for the temple with Sam and Teal'c immediately behind him.
"Daniel! Stop!" Jack tried to stop the younger man. "For a genius, he sure does stupid things sometimes," Jack muttered as he sprinted after his team.
Daniel's speed rivaled that of any Olympic Gold Medal runner as he covered the mile between camp and the temple, Sam and Teal'c immediately behind him.
The gliders were circling the temple, laying down fire on the ground around the building, but avoiding the temple itself. Chandani was standing on the top step, serenely watching the gliders. She lowered her eyes to see Daniel bolt out of the jungle in her direction.
Daniel could only see Chandani in danger. Almost exhausted from his run in full gear, he ordered his body to go faster. He had to get to her before the death gliders. He could not see one more person die because of him.
Sam, Teal'c, and Jack exploded out of the jungle, firing at the gliders. Chandani flew down the steps crying out for the others to stop shooting. "No! You must not kill for me! It is forbidden! Stop!"
She was so intent on stopping their violent defense that she didn't watch where she was going. She stumbled on a pebble and catapulted several meters to lie in a heap at Daniel's feet. He seized her arm, pulling her up. He scooped her up and hastened back to the relative safety of the jungle.
The others continued their covering fire and high-tailed it after Daniel as soon as he was under cover. At the base of a sheltering Banyan tree, Daniel settled Chandani down to check for injuries. Finding nothing more obvious than a bruise on her forehead, Daniel squatted beside her to catch his breath.
"So help me, Danny, if you ever do anything like that again and I'll shoot you myself." Jack stood nearby, bent over, resting his hands on his knees, gasping for air. "You add one more gray hair to my head and I'll shave you bald. You can be Teal'c's twin."
Daniel leaned against the tree, panting. He took off his glasses and swiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm. "Sorry, Jack. I didn't think. I just knew I had to get to her before they did." Daniel gestured vaguely toward the retreating death gliders.
Sam dropped down next to Chandani, dug out her first aid kit and began cleaning her face. Chandani allowed the ministrations, but was clearly upset. "Thank you for coming to rescue me, but you must never, never use violence to help me. Even if it means my death. It is forbidden for my people to use violence against any other living being."
She looked pointedly at Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, and Jack, one after another to make sure her words registered. She gracefully rose from the ground, once again every inch the priestess. She looked down at Daniel.
"I thank you for your help. This type of attack is frequent, but they never destroy the buildings. I think they only mean to scare the people. Sometimes they come to the village about 20 kilometers from here and take some people as slaves."
She paused, taking a deep breath. "They force my people to work in the mines until they die from abuse and starvation. That is why I need you to help me. When the Three Stars are united, Vishnu will protect us from the evil goddess. He will not protect us if violence is used. No killing, no shooting, no violence. Ever!"
"I'll do what I must to protect my people." Jack had recovered his breath. "If that means killing…well, I've done it before."
"You may do what you feel necessary to protect your people, Colonel Jack O'Neill, but do not use violence to protect me." Chandani drew herself up to her full 5'3" height to glare the colonel down.
"We need to get back to camp and then to the gate." Jack turned to leave, knowing that his team would follow without having to order them.
They quickly covered the distance to the camp, only to find that the gliders had paid a short visit. Several blasts from the gliders had completely destroyed the equipment they had packed.
They poked around for a few minutes, checking for anything salvageable. Jack turned to the group, "Let's head for the gate. Hammond's expecting us in a couple of hours."
O'Neill took point, followed by Sam, Chandani, Daniel, and Teal'c. Daniel decided this would be a good time to get to discover a little more about the beautiful Guardian of Asara.
Pushing his dark glasses back up his nose, Daniel took a couple of quick steps to catch up to Chandani. "How long have you been the priestess at the temple?"
"I have lived at the temple since my birth. My mother was priestess before me, as was her mother and on back for three thousand years. I became the priestess last year, when I came of age and my mother was allowed to leave. The women in my family do not marry, but a mate is picked by Vishnu to father the next priestess. After they leave the temple, they may marry." Chandani flung the hair out of her face. "Soon, it will be my turn to become mother to the next priestess."
Daniel swallowed strongly before asking the next question. "How do you choose the father? I mean, if your people all have brown eyes, how do you pick someone who will father a blue-eyed child? What happens if the child is a boy?"
Chandani slowed her pace and turned her head toward Daniel. "There has never been a boy child born to a priestess – only one girl to each. And I told you, Vishnu will pick the father of my child."
"How will you know who?"
"Vishnu will come to me in a dream and tell me. It has always been so."
Daniel decided that it was time to take this conversation off in a different direction.
"Your title is Guardian of Asara. What does that mean?"
Chandani picked up her pace in an attempt to narrow the distance between her and Major Carter. "Asara is the name of the temple. It means hope – I am the Guardian of Hope. My people's only hope for freedom from the goddess Kali is to return the Three Stars to the temple."
"How are we going to find the stars? Do you have any idea where they are?" Daniel was hoping she had some books or other writings that could help.
"Vishnu will guide us." Chandani spoke with the confidence of one whose faith is unshakable.
Jack halted the group as he saw they were approaching the gate. He wanted to be sure that there were no Jaffa waiting in ambush. The four others fell into complete silence as they scanned the area for signs of enemies. Seeing nothing suspicious, Jack ordered Daniel to dial home, while at the same time the others moved toward the gate.
Daniel sprinted to the DHD, while O'Neill continued scanning the area for trouble. He found it.
Just as Daniel pushed the first key in the sequence, a staff blast hit the ground by his feet. He ducked down as far as he could, still dialing. Teal'c immediately began returning fire as Jack moved quickly to protect Daniel and Sam positioned herself in front of Chandani.
"Teal'c! Only one Jaffa?"
"I detect only one, O'Neill!" Teal'c continued firing in the direction of the blasts, but their attacker maintained the harassment.
The gate whooshed open, Daniel sent their code through, and Sam pulled Chandani toward the event horizon. One final blast came from the jungle and hit the priestess just as she was vanishing through the gate. Jack continued protective cover fire while Daniel and Teal'c jumped through to safety. Jack ran up the stairs and through the safety of the gate, firing toward the jungle behind him.
As Jack stumbled backwards onto the metal ramp, he yelled, "Close the iris!" He turned to face his team, already waiting at the bottom of the ramp. He found them surrounding a prone priestess, Sam checking her pulse.
Hammond came rushing into the gate room yelling, "Are you OK? What the hell happened?" Don't I ask that every time SG1 comes home?
Janet came in, losing no time in reaching the injured woman on the floor. "Let's get her to the infirmary." Janet's medics placed Chandani on the gurney and dashed off, Janet running along side checking vital signs as they went.
Hammond turned back to the team as Jack gave a quick overview of the mission. "Briefing room in one hour." Hammond climbed the stairs back to his office muttering under his breath about injury prone teams.
"Let's hit the showers, then the infirmary," Jack handed his weapon to a waiting airman.