A/N sorry for the long update time, I was blocking a little on where I wanted to go with this, but I think it's flowing fairly well, now.
Questions/comments are always welcome.
Daniel Jackson lay in the middle of the clearing his eyes were closed but his steady breaths showed that he was alive. After a moment a groan issued from the man; not one of pain but of frustration. He opened his eyes sat up and looked around.
"I can't believe this," he muttered around a few foreign but vehement epithets. He tried to stand up but found that his feet were bare and he was secured by the ankle to a large branch in the middle of the clearing. "Great," he said with a grimace tugging on the rope, "wonderful." He began untying in earnest picking at the knots, all the while muttering about his perfect situation. A twig snapped in the forest with a loud CRACK! Birds flew off in the distance and Daniel's head whipped around to stare into the gloom of the forest a sharp contrast to the bright summer day surrounding him. "Is anyone there?" he called, not really expecting an answer. A shadow moved between the trees. "Who's there?" he called, trying to keep his growing concern from his voice. "This isn't funny." He said, then more to himself. "I definitely didn't agree to this."
John O'Neill sighed; he was bored incredibly utterly amazingly bored. He'd tried reciting standard recon procedure in his head, tried to remember the names of all the constellations he'd seen and the stars that made them up. He got as far as Hercules and remembered that was the one that Daniel told him cracked the code of the Stargate for him. This reminded him he was on another planet waiting outside a tent; waiting for Daniel, who was being shown their indoctrination techniques. Which in turned reminded the Colonel that he was bored.
John glanced back at the tent; Daniel had said something about these people being a fascinating mix of African tribal culture and Native American belief structure. How does all that stuff fit into his head? John checked his watch glanced over at Teal'c, who was also standing guard, the jaffa nodded it had been almost two hours and they needed to check in with Carter at the gate with SG-5 examining some energy readings. John raised his eyebrows and turned to the flap in the tent. He pushed on the opening and ducked inside.
"What the hell?" he cried to the empty tent. Teal'c followed him a second later.
"Where is Daniel Jackson?"
"That's what I'd like to know? This is the right tent, isn't it?
"Indeed we have not moved from our post nor have I noticed anyone entering or leaving." John was making the rounds of the small structure. The walls were intact and the ground was disturbed on a pattern that would suggest several persons sitting in a circle.
"Where did they go?" Just then the radio crackled into life.
"This is Carter, Colonel are you there?"
"I'm here, what's going on?"
"We've been monitoring these energy readings coming from around the gate,"
"Yeah, I know that. Carter we have a situation here."
"A situation sir; I thought you were just talking to the village council."
"Correction Daniel was talking to them, but now they're gone."
"The council finished sir?"
"No Carter the council and Daniel have vanished into thin air. Teal'c didn't even know they were gone."
"They left sir, when?"
"I couldn't tell you Carter, we were about ready to check in, so I went to check on Daniel and the tent is empty."
"Could they have been gone more than an hour sir?"
"It's possible Carter why?"
"We recorded a large power spike about an hour ago."
"Damnit Carter didn't you think I might like to know something like that?" There was nothing but static until Sam got back on the radio.
"Sorry, sir but the people there are basically primitive where technology is concerned the energy is centered here we didn't think it was a concern to you."
"Yeah well tell that to Daniel when we find him."
Daniel sat back to survey his handy work, he'd managed to find, or rather his foot had managed to find a sharp rock on the ground near where he was tied. He then used it to cut the knots on the ropes around his ankle. Now he was free, Daniel paused to consider his situation.
'The situation is you're screwed.' said a small voice inside of him and in part Daniel couldn't help but agree, he was on another planet with no idea where the Stargate was, no GDO so that even if he did have his bearings it made the Stargate near useless not to mention the no food water or shoes part of the equation. A strong breeze rustled through the clearing. And no jacket he thought rubbing the shivers out of his arms. 'What do you have?' He asked himself. 'I have a rope and a sharp rock; I have a few more hours of daylight and a cut on my right foot thanks to said rock.' He looked around and spotted what he needed, 'I have a tall tree with low branches.'
The tree stretched up above the canopy of the forest and after a few minutes and a painful slip onto a knot he was up the tree and looking out at the surrounding area. Out in the distance he could see a stream glistening in the sunlight and a little further than that a tiny circle sat on the horizon.
"I just let him go in there alone!" cried John frustrated beyond reason. How could he have fallen for the 'we'll show you our sacred ritual routine'? It was the oldest line the book; he must be loosing his edge.
"Daniel Jackson was in no danger from the elderly gentlemen that accompanied him into that tent, O'Neill and he also believed he would not come to harm."
"But still!" he clenched his fists itching to lash out at something anything.
"Indeed." said Teal'c echoing his leader's sentiment.
Daniel was tired; bone tired, and his feet were becoming an issue. Though he'd made good time getting to the river, he was still concerned about his situation;
'The situation? Jees, Jackson understatement of the century or is this just becoming disconcertingly normal to you?' Daniel scooped water up into his hands and tasted its cool sweet flavor. He wished he had a canteen to take him the rest of the way, but it seemed that this test was to be performed sans amenities.
John circled the tent; there was nothing. Not a kicked over rock not a bent blade of grass nothing to indicate that anything had been around there recently.
"O'Neill!" the Jaffa's loud and sonorous call brought the Colonel back to the entrance to the tent.
"What? What is it?"
"The council has returned." Teal'c stepped aside to show that as he'd said the council of elders that Daniel had been meeting with was once again in the tent except they were all unconscious and lay on top of one another in the middle of the room.
"Hey!" cried Jack, "Where'd they come from?"
"I do not know, but Daniel Jackson is not among them." John started into the tent as the men began to rouse.
"Yo, Tuba, head chief guy." John helped the eldest council member, Uba'ula and the guy that Daniel had been talking to in very rapid excited run on sentences. The old man looked puzzled. "Hey what happened? Where's Daniel? Daniel you know young guy about yay tall, wears glasses." Uba'ula blinked slowly and looked up at Jack.
"The young one was taken and we sought to recover him before you knew."
"Taken? Where?"
"We don't know, our power is limited, we were there only seconds I saw the young one and his brother the one whose eyes are dark and cold. I fear for Daniel in the presence of this reflection of his soul." The man shuddered and said no more, in fact none of the council would speak to them after that, they spent the rest of the day and into the night chanting mournfully in a language that neither John nor Teal'c could understand, but from the voices and the sobs they figured they were better off not knowing.
Daniel plodded on, at the river he slept a while tied to the branch of a tree in case of predators, but it was so uncomfortable that he'd barely drifted off when he was jerked awake again by the throbbing for his feet in time with his right arm and head. He drank his fill of water and cleaned his feet. He used strips cut off his shirt to bind them and at least provide a little protection to the soft soles. The moons were high in the sky now, and Daniel was beginning to wonder what the point of this particular test was, endurance sure, but a look at his field record would confirm that. Major Dan wanted something from him and damned if Daniel knew what it was.
The questioned begged, why go to the Stargate at all, that's what he'd expect and yet what else was there to do? If the 'gate was active on this world then there would be people, and people were usually a good thing to have when in need, usually.
John, Sam and Teal'c sat around the camp fire. No one said anything what was there to say? Daniel was gone, not dead or, ascended or any of the other million things that Daniel Jackson had been in his life and times as a peaceful explorer for the planet earth, no he was just gone. There was no trail to follow no bad guys to question just the story of an old man who said he'd been taken to a place with his brother who had no soul in his eyes.
"John," said Sam as she gestured wildly over his should behind him, "look there's something in the woods." Teal'c looked over the direction she was mentioning, and his eyes widened in surprise. The man staggered forth from the woods clearly out of breath and teetering on the brink of exhaustion. He frowned at the gathering a few feet from him.
"Jack?" he asked confusedly and collapsed.
"Daniel Jackson?" called Teal'c striding towards his friend.
"Did he just call me Jack?" asked John handing a med-kit to Teal'c.
"I think he did," said Sam with a frown, at Daniel feet. "His feet are pretty cut up; he must have been walking barefoot for sometime."
"Ahh, crap Danny what's being going on with you now?" Daniel heard the familiar voices around him, and though a distant part of him told him they were not his family, his exhausted body and mind simply said, 'Close enough.'
You all got that he's been dumped in an alternate universe right? Oh good, I was afraid I was being vague. CynicAlb