Aerie

"Lie down on the altar. You will be an example of what happens when people defy the will of the Ori." Iollan turned his staff back to Ashling and Daniel did as he was told.

He lay still, assessing his injuries while two guards chained his arms and legs to the stone slab. A third guard approached with a clay vessel. Daniel had a pretty good idea that it contained oil.

"Oh, god. Been here, done this." He murmured to himself in English. Switching back to Gaelic, he hissed to Iollan, "I don't suppose you guys have come up with a new form of torture that doesn't involve fire?"

Seeing the unchanged expression on the Prior's face, Daniel muttered, "No? I didn't think so."

He allowed his head to fall back onto the stone surface as another wave of pain swept over his ribs. He knew he was bleeding faster now as he felt the blood begin streaming from the blast wound on his side.

The guard began pouring oil on Daniel's feet and worked his way slowly up his body. Ashling watched from across the squared and struggled to her feet between contractions.

"Iollan!"

What was left of her brother turned to face her.

"Please. Let us go. We'll leave and go back to Aintin Neala's home. I won't challenge your rule. Just please, let Daniel go unharmed."

Iollan's gaze remained blank and he turned back to Daniel to watch the last of the oil dripped into his hair.

He raised his staff and pointed to Daniel.

Odyssey

"Sir, we've arrived in orbit around the planet." Sam shifted from one control console to another and began fiddling with dials and gages.

Jack moved across the bridge and took his place in the captain's chair while Teal'c and Thor stood behind him. He watched the screen in front of them and took in the beauty of the planet below. Jack had been on dozens, if not hundreds, of worlds, but seldom had the chance to see them from above.

"Carter?"

"I've located a GPS signal, but I haven't pinpointed it exactly yet. Give me a minute."

"Is he alive?" Jack couldn't contain his concern any longer.

"There is no way to tell, sir. I can only locate the GPS device and hope that it hasn't been removed from Daniel."

Jack's fingers gripped the armrests tighter. He hadn't considered the possibility that the device might have been removed.

"Any time now, Carter."

Sam pressed her lips together in frustration. She knew Jack hated waiting, but she could only work so fast. "Got it!"

"Beam him up, Scotty." He'd always wanted to say that.

Sam rolled her eyes and adjusted the controls.

A pillar of light appeared on the bridge and Daniel materialized.

Jack jumped out of his chair and reached the prone archeologist at the same time as Teal'c.

"He appears to be injured, O'Neill."

Sam rushed over to Daniel's side. "He's bleeding a lot, sir. We need to get him to sick bay. I just hope that the medical supplies were stocked before we left."

Teal'c scooped up the unconscious man and the two humans and one Asgard ran to the medical bay.

I've never seen an Asgard run before. If it weren't so serious, I'd laugh. Well, Daniel and I will have plenty of ammunition later. Jack's thoughts were tumbling quickly through his head.

Teal'c placed Daniel on the examination table while Sam and Jack searched the room for medical supplies.

"Thank God! Sir, I've located bandages, supplies for suturing, and topical antibiotics. We can patch him up until we get back to Earth and find out if there are internal injuries."

Teal'c had already removed Daniel's clothing and begun to wipe off as much blood as he could. Sam dashed over and began using sterile gauze and antiseptic liquid to clean him up. When she touched his open wound with the wet gauze, Daniel groaned and tried to roll away from the pain.

"Daniel, can you hear me?" Jack leaned over his face.

"I hear you, Jack. You don't have to yell in my face," Daniel mumbled. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he focused on the face hovering above him. "Jack? What are you doing here?"

It all came tumbling back to him and he tried to sit up, but Jack and Teal'c held him down. "I've got to get to her! Jack, my wife! She's…" Daniel sank back down, too dizzy to continue.

"Your wife? Did you marry an alien princess again? I swear, Captain Kirk's got nothing on you!" Jack smirked.

Fighting his way through the haze and pain, Daniel tried to explain what was happening on the planet below. While he talked, Sam continued to clean him up.

He finished his brief explanation just as Sam finished tying a bandage around his ribs.

"How's he doing, Colonel?" Jack's first concern was for his friend.

"I think he has several cracked ribs and first and second degree burns on his chest and side, but barring any organ damage he should be fine." Sam frowned. "Of course, I'm not a physician."

"Well, I trust your training here, Carter." Jack turned back to Daniel, now reassured that he would be all right.

"Jack! We need to get back there now!" Daniel was sitting up now, his own pain pushed aside as he pictured what could be happening to Ashling.

"Carter, can you get a fix on her and beam her up?"

"I can't isolate her from others, sir."

"Sam, do you still have the coordinates from where I was? Couldn't you just beam everyone up within a," Daniel paused and tried to remember how far away Ashling was from him, "oh, about a ten foot radius?"

"I can do that." Sam turned to head back to the bridge.

Jack and Teal'c helped their friend off the table and onto unsteady feet. "Daniel, just how many armed men do you think will being joining us up here?" Teal'c raised his eyebrow in thought and he hoped that the armory had been stocked before they left.

Daniel closed his eyes again and tried to picture the scene he had left. "Probably only about four or five, and a Prior."

"Teal'c, let's go to the armory and get some zats and hope to god they included at least one inhibitor device."

Jack and Teal'c ran for the armory while Sam helped Daniel take a few steps before he gained his balance. The two of them headed for the bridge while Thor followed.

Sam quickly slipped into the console chair and brought up the coordinates where they had found Daniel. She adjusted the controls to encompass a wider area and nodded in satisfaction. Turning to Daniel, she said, "We need to wait for the general and Teal'c to bring up more weapons."

Daniel pulled off his glasses and pushed the heals of his hands into his eyes. He'd been up too long, he was injured and he was totally stressed out with worry over his wife and child. Sam stood and gathered him into a hug.

"God, Daniel. I've missed you."

"Me, too, Sam. Me, too."

Jack and Teal'c came sprinting onto the bridge, their arms full of weapons. Jack dumped everything down on the deck and began passing them out. He gave Carter and Daniel each one zat. He gave Teal'c two and took two for himself. He looked over at Thor and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I, too, will take two zat'ni'katels. We are not a violent race, but we do know how to defend ourselves, O'Neill."

Jack nodded and handed the alien two zats. "Carter, Teal'c, Thor, you zat everyone once. We'll sort out the good guys later." Turning back to Daniel, he handed him the inhibitor device and one zat. "Daniel, you've done this before with Mitchell. I'll be the Prior's target and you get this thing working."

Jack looked back at Daniel. "Did I tell you how glad I am that you're back?"

Daniel nodded once, knowing that it was difficult for Jack to admit that much.

"Okay. Carter? Ready?"

She nodded and the four others took their places around the area where Carter would beam the Prior and other people.

Jack signaled and she moved the controls.

Daniel watched, holding his breath, until he saw the beam begin to appear and he lifted up a silent prayer to anyone with power that Ashling was still alive.