Vision Quest – Chapter 3
Summary: With his vision deteriorating from multiple exposures to the Goa'uld hand device, Daniel has to reluctantly learn to rely on his team in order to save the lives of SG-2 and bring SG-1 home safely.
Authors Note: I would sincerely appreciate you review. I'd like to know if the characters sound 'true' and what you think of the story. (Please) For those who have reviewed, thank you!
Disclaimer: Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.
Chapter 3.
SG-1 was quickly escorted by Kahamu to where SG-2 was being held. Situated well outside the walls of the city, the roughshod building was primitive, musty and dark. It appeared to be more an old meeting hall rather than lodging. There were no beds, but there was room for their sleeping bags. An old wooden table with a bench was on one side of the room, and though it was cold, there was a fire pit situated under a make-shift chimney to allow them some heat and light. SG-2 was seated in a circle around the fire and looked up as they came near. O'Neill noticed that, despite the primitive surroundings, their accommodations still came complete with a patrol of armed guards and a humming energy barrier to keep them in.
Kahamu gestured to the large structure. "I am sorry that we have no better place for you. We cannot, obviously, house you in our city until you have proven your worth."
"Of course not," mouthed O'Neill.
Kahamu signaled to the guards to turn off the barrier. He nodded to Jack and gestured to Sam and Teal'c. "You may enter." He turned to their fourth, "Doctor-Daniel-Jackson, you may come with me."
Daniel shifted his weight. "Daniel, … it's just … Daniel, and wha … where do you want me to go?"
"He's not going anywhere," Jack stepped forward.
"He must join us in the temple. It is the appropriate place for Kayahani."
"Uh, .. thank you, Kahamu, but I must stay with my friends…unless…may we all join you?"
"Do not speak this way," he looked visibly disturbed and checked to make sure the guards hadn't heard. "You have very strange ideas, indeed."
Daniel quickly added, "On our world, it is required that I stay with my people,…so that I can … ah …provide spiritual guidance."
Kahamu looked distinctly skeptical, but eventually let it pass. "As you wish. Food has been provided and it is late. Please enter. We will continue in the morning." And with that, Jack and his team were ushered into the building, the guards re-positioned themselves at the door and a faint glow and hum filled the doorway. Kahamu took one look back at Daniel, and waved.
Daniel missed the gesture, but the young man smiled anyway. Kahamu couldn't wait to see him again the next morning. This strange man with the cloth over his eye had many unusual customs. He was one of the few of his city that would be intrigued, rather than angered, by these differences.
"Jack!"
"Ferretti?" Jack's eyes began to grow accustomed to the darker interior.
"Well, I see they've sent us the brain trust of the SGC."
"Good to see you too, Ferretti."
"Daniel! Sam! Teal'c! It's great to see you. Come to bail us out?"
As the others nodded their greetings, Jack got right to the point. "What do you have for us?"
"It's what I told you in my message. This place may not look very impressive from out here, but apparently they have all kinds of technology to run their city and keep us in here."
"What kind of technology?" Naturally Carter be curious.
"Well, a lot of things I haven't seen before, including that fine force field out there. It packs quite a punch, but allows the food to be passed through easily. Not the other way around, however. We've tried every way we could to get around it, but we've had no luck. They don't carry zat guns or staff weapons, but the little things that look like small garage door openers pack a heck of a punch. We've only been let out to try to complete our little tasks."
Ferretti grinned at the team and continued, "By the way, we've taken care of the hard ones for you, Jack. The only two left are probably the easiest;" he smiled at Sam and Daniel, "…science and translation. I'm sure you can knock those out by lunch tomorrow." He looked over at Daniel. "They seem particularly concerned about their holy book. Rothman's been working at it every chance they give him. He just can't find any clues to decipher it yet and they're beginning to show their displeasure at his lack of …uh … holiness? He keeps complaining that he's an archeologist, not a linguist."
"Where is he now?" Daniel pressed forward. It was noticeable that he was not feeling his best.
"He's up at the temple, Daniel. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you. Hey, what's with the pirate look?"
"I …oh, it's nothing. Maybe I should…"
"No! Tonight you rest." Ferretti looked at Jack, surprised at his tone. Maybe Daniel's injury was more serious than he'd originally thought.
"Hey, Daniel," Ferretti jumped in, "They'll be sending him back to us in the next half hour or so anyway. Apparently there's a curfew when it comes to looking at their holy grail. They always send Rothman back for dinner. Speaking of which … there's something they call food over on the table. Help yourself."
Daniel hesitated. "I am hungry as well," announced Teal as he discreetly put his hand on Daniel's shoulder and guided him to the fire. "Sit," he insisted. When Daniel could see what was definitely a wall near it, he slid quietly to the floor. Teal'c handed him one of the offered bowls, and a cup of whatever SG-2 was drinking. The others came over to talk with them, and Jack turned his attention back to Ferretti.
"Is he okay?" Ferretti glanced over to Daniel.
"Yeah, … he will be. He just had some trouble with his vision today." No, that wasn't fair to Ferretti … or Daniel. "Actually, ... something's happened to one of his eyes. He can't see anything out of the damn thing right now, but he was determined to come here anyway. We'll get him treated as soon as we can get us all out here."
"Same old Daniel, just like on Abydos.
"Ferretti," Sam stepped in, "what can you tell me about my task. Just what is the technology we're being asked to examine?"
"Well, that's it over there with Simons. We doubt it's a weapon or they wouldn't leave it with us. We can't find the power source yet. It's not made out of any natural materials that we're aware of. It has to be an alloy of some type, or an element we haven't seen. It is smooth with a series of engravings and what appears to be some sort of input or output connectors. I guess all we can really tell you is that it doesn't taste good and it won't bounce."
Sam smiled, "I'll be over there," and headed over to the fire to take a look at the enigma.
Daniel slept fitfully through the night. True to Jack's word, he'd not been called for guard duty, or to help with any other jobs. In fact, he couldn't even remember crawling into his sleeping bag last night. His fuzzy mind finally wrapped itself around the fact that he was still only seeing out of one eye this morning, and a depressing weight settled back in.
He got up and joined the group at the fire. He could see Jack talking in the corner with Ferretti and Teal'c standing by the door, observing their guards. Sam was working on the box, and looked like she'd been at it all night. Gratefully, Daniel accepted a cup of water from Rothman as he sat down next to him.
"Great to see you, Daniel! When I got in last night, you were already asleep. What's with the patch?"
Daniel's hand traveled to his eye and felt the material there. "You know me, Robert, I need a little excitement in each mission." He was glad to have Robert there. He enjoyed his company and their common interests. "What can you tell me about their Saishu?"
"Damned if I know," he glanced back at the other men. I know they've been counting on me to solve this so we could get home, but I just can't make anything of it. There are some similarities to letters and symbols I've seen before in other cultures, but this is a rough combination of symbols and hieroglyphs. I thought I had something last night, but it didn't pan out. You know I'm not a linguist." He raised his voice, "Anthropologist does not automatically translate to linguist." When nobody paid any attention, he continued, "You've spoiled them. In any case, that young monk, Kahamu, will be here any time now to take us back up to the temple." He paused. "I sure am glad you're here, Daniel."
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," Daniel smiled.
"So, how you doing?" Jack sat down on his other side.
"Robert was just filling me in. How's Sam doing?"
"Okay. Busy disproving theories. I think she slept for an hour." Jack looked over at him. "How's the eye?"
Daniel reached for the bandage and winced. "I think …I …I'll leave it alone for now."
"Hmm. How's the other one?" Jack looked closely at him. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Eleven," he responded as he carefully stood up. "Jack, I've got to go. Robert says they'll be here any minute to take us to the temple and I've got to get my stuff together." Daniel quickly moved off.
"Get Sam to change that before you go." Jack watched him stumble, then make his way over to his teammate.
"Rothman, Ferretti told me that they wouldn't allow anyone to go with you to the temple. Do you know why?"
"I understand that it's because you're not considered …well, … clean, holy enough," he shrugged apologetically.
"Okay, if we can't convince them differently, then it's your job to keep an eye on Daniel. As you can see he's only got one right now, and we want him to keep it. Don't let him lift anything or bend down or do anything strenuous. Don't let him get stressed, and do NOT let him out of your sight. I'm holding you responsible, understand?"
Rothman understood, and knew that even though he was already planning to watch out for his friend, nothing he could do was going to be considered good enough for the irritated man standing in front of him.
Daniel and Rothman had been working for several hours comparing notes and turning pages. Daniel had been happy to find that several of the glyphs made sense to him, and that the symbols in the 'words' looked familiar, but as Robert had said, in a different context.
He did seem to be making progress with the translation, so it was with great frustration that he sensed his vision deteriorating. It started as an unfocused area in the periphery of his vision, then after several minutes, it moved over into the center of his good eye. It didn't block out the light, just made it seem as if he were trying to look out through broken antique glass. He could move the text and tilt his head, and make out parts of the area he was trying to read, but after awhile he gave up, removed his glasses and massaged his forehead. Yep, the headache was there. Damn, how was he going to get anything done this way?
Robert was still trying to compare their notes to the intricate carvings on the temple walls, but Kahamu noticed Daniel's discomfort and sat down next to him. He brought him a glass of water.
Kahamu was honored to work with these men. Daniel, particularly, had patiently answered all his questions on the way up. He had asked Kahamu many questions about his people, the temple and the Saishu. Kahamu had been carefully instructed as to what he could and could not tell these visitors, and he tried to stay within those bounds. But he was so enthralled with the tall visitor with the kind voice. No one took the time to speak to Kahamu the way he did. No one listened to him the way Daniel did, either. He hoped they would allow him to remain with the visitor as long as he stayed. He could learn things from him that he would never learn from the others in the temple.
Kahamu had noticed that Daniel had become more frustrated and he thought it had to do with the eye with the wrapping on it. He wondered if it was a recent injury. It certainly looked like it was bothering him, but Kahamu hesitated to mention it. It was not appropriate to comment on someone else's imperfections.
"Daniel, is there something I can get for you? Can I help you in any way?"
"Thank you, Kahamu. Right now, I just need to rest for a moment." He thought of the painkillers that Sam had obviously stored in his pockets. He just may need to resort to them if things didn't improve soon.
Daniel stared at the third page of the book and pointed to an area half way down. "I don't suppose you can read that to me?"
Kahamu smiled. What an honor to think Daniel would assume that he could read the holy text. "Only the Kayahani can read the words of the Saishu. I am but an apprentice to the holy men who minister here. Some day when I am much older, I hope to be able to read from those pages."
"Have you seen any other people read from this book?"
"No, no. That would not be appropriate. The holy words are only for the Kayahani. You know these words, do you not Daniel?"
"Well, Kahamu, to be honest, our world has many languages. Holy words have been written in all of them. I recognize portions of the text, but need some more clues to understand the rest. …" Daniel stared off in space, "…and if I could only see the words I'm trying to read it would be a help." He added the last comment out of frustration and more for his own benefit than to Kahamu.
Kahamu worried about Daniel. He did seem to be in pain, and he obviously was having more trouble reading the Saishu. Right now, he was just staring off into space. What would happen to Daniel and his friends if he was not able to read them. No, he wouldn't think about that. Of course he could read them, he assured himself … Daniel was a Kayahani. Another thought occurred to him. What if his eyes prevented Daniel from reading the Saishu text. Kahamu did not want that to occur. He wanted to help this gentle, learned man.
Becoming more agitated, Kahamu dared not think how he might help him. No, that ...that would not be allowed. Daniel's eyes didn't seem that bad, anyway. He satisfied himself with getting Daniel some more water and some wafers and fruit. He wondered what Daniel was popping into his mouth as he returned. He was likely just hungry. Hopefully the food and drink would refresh him.
By the end of the day, Daniel's head was pounding. He could barely keep his left eye open, and had relied upon Robert over the last couple of hours, to describe the letters and symbols to him. This was ridiculous. They were progressing, but at a snail's pace. He was glad when Kahamu called it a day. The sun was setting and man-made light was not allowed in the temple. They trudged back down to the others, Daniel tripping a few times along the way. Rothman decided it was safer to hold onto his colleague's arm, despite his obvious reluctance, rather than face the wrath of Colonel O'Neill should he allow Daniel to fall on his way down the steep and gravelly slope.
Kahamu could also sense Daniel's frustration. He could see that pain had become his constant companion, even if he never spoke of it. Over and over again, a plan kept playing out in Kahamu's mind, but he knew he could not act on it. Better to get him back to his friends. Maybe Daniel would feel better tomorrow.
Daniel and Rothman were handed over to the guards at the outside of the city and followed them in silence, Daniel's hand still lightly touching Rothman's shirt. He could feel it, but knew better than to say anything. When Daniel recognized that they were getting close to their accommodations, he stopped. When the guards turned to check on the hold-up, Daniel held up one finger. "Wait a sec, …I'm out of breath," he bluffed. "Let me just rest here for a minute."
The guards didn't seem to care where they watched them. They took a break as well, and lit something similar to a cigarette and took turns smoking it, meanwhile keeping a close watch on their prisoners.
"What's wrong, Daniel?"
He squinted at the portion of Rothman's face he could see. "I just can't see well enough right now to walk across the room without tripping over someone. I can't let them see me like that or…," he waved his hand. "I just need to rest a minute, it will clear up."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, " he asserted as he tilted his head and tried to stretch out the kinks in his neck, then quietly added, "I hope."
They sat in silence until the guards finished smoking. Robert saw them heading their way. "They're coming. Are you doing any better?"
Daniel looked disgusted. "Not enough."
Rothman looked down. "Look, there's a string that's been hanging from my pack." He placed it in Daniel's hand. "I'll get you to the fire. When I clear my throat, you can sit down."
Daniel smiled gratefully at him as the guards shoved them forward with their weapons.
"Colonel O'Neill. The guards have returned with Daniel Jackson and Dr. Rothman, however they remain just outside my line of sight. They appear to be waiting for something."
"What can you hear?"
"I can't make out what they're saying, but I heard Daniel Jackson's voice. The guards do not sound as though they are angry."
"Well keep listening. See if you can pick up anything. … Carter, … Daniel's back." Without needing to hear any more, Sam left what she was doing to grab the first aid kit and walk to the door."
After another five minutes, the guards shoved the two archeologists through the force field. Rothman came in first.
"Oh…hi, Colonel, Major," he glanced over to his right, "and Teal'c, nice of you to greet us."
Daniel turned at the sound of his friend's voice, "Jack, Sam, … Teal'c." He was looking in their direction, but Jack couldn't be sure that he was really looking at them. He waved his hand back and forth in Daniel's line of vision, but far enough away to test it."
Robert awkwardly spoke up, "You don't have to wave at us Colonel, we're …"
Jack immediately gave a threatening look at the shorter man, just as Daniel spoke up. "I can see you Jack, you don't need to test me." Jack wasn't at all sure that that was the case, but he gestured for Carter to take over. He moved to stand menacingly close to Rothman.
Sam walked over to remove his patch. "Daniel, let me…," Daniel jumped. "Sorry," She put her arm on his shoulder. He must not have seen her approaching. How bad was his vision now? "Let me change your patch. We can't let your eye get dirty or infected." At Daniel's nod of acceptance, she gestured for him to sit down.
Rothman cleared his throat. Jack glared at him. Daniel carefully sat down.
Jack held out a piece of bread in front of Daniel.
"Ahmm … I don't think I've had any of that bread yet Colonel." Rothman stammered.
"Thanks, Jack," Daniel quickly added, "I'm not hungry right now."
"Rothman." Jack stood right in front of his face. "Go get us some water."
"Uh … Colonel …I don't think …"
"Rothman!"
Daniel smiled quickly. "It's okay, Robert. Thanks. I'd appreciate some too."
Robert took one more look at Daniel, shook his head, and moving carefully around Jack, went to retrieve the water.
Daniel cringed as Sam peeled back the wrapping. His eye was aching miserably, and the other was so strained trying to make up for the missing vision, that he desperately wanted to crawl into his bed roll and not open his eyes for 24 hours.
"This doesn't look good, sir. How does it feel, Daniel?"
"Not bad …ow…hey, …ow, …easy, please."
"Sorry. There's been a lot of discharge from your eye. I'm afraid it could get infected if I don't clean it out."
"Not now," he sighed, "later, Sam."
"Now, Daniel," ordered Jack as Teal'c stepped forward as well.
Daniel sat on his hands, and tried to allow Sam to examine his eye without interfering. "How's your project going, Sam? Any luck figuring it out yet?"
"Well, I'm not sure yet. I think it may be some sort of communications device. There are a few symbols on the side."
"Major Carter, here's the water you needed."
"Thanks, Robert. Anyway, Daniel, I was hoping you could take a look at it later."
Rothman looked from Daniel to Sam and back again. Daniel hadn't answered yet.
"We'd be glad to look at it for you."
Jack walked over to Rothman, grabbed his arm and steered him out of earshot. "If you answer for Daniel one more time …! We have to know how he's doing and you're not helping. What do you know?"
"Nothing. What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about."
Rothman's skill in lying was comparable to Daniel's. It must be an archeological talent.
"How was he doing today, and how is his vision?" Jack looked threateningly at the scientist. "And don't tell me everything's fine. I see what you're doing. My vision's just fine." He could see Rothman trying to decide how to answer, so he softened his tone. "You know we need to know so we can help him."
Robert looked defeated. He glanced over to Daniel. He wanted to support Daniel, but was trying to decide the best way to do so. "He was fine, …well, except for his right eye, all morning, … but … the longer he worked at the translation, the more it looked like he was in pain. Eventually he asked me to describe most of the symbols to him. I tried to get him to take a break, but he never quit working."
"How much can he see?"
"Shapes, lights. … I think that's about it right now."
"How much was he able to translate?"
"Well, he has some theories, we're hoping the young monk, Kahamu, will be able to help us some more tomorrow. We need to compare Daniel's translation to something that has a more obvious meaning." Robert looked over to where Sam was finishing placing a clean wrap on his eye. "He believes that his vision will be better in the morning, after some rest."
"Yeah," O'Neill tightened his lips, "let's hope so." He left Rothman to get some food and walked back over to Carter and Daniel. The major was trying to determine just what Daniel could see of her project. His knees cracked as he sat down with them and handed some meat and cheese to the major.
"Carter, give the guy a break. You can discuss your new toy with him in the morning."
She passed half the food to Daniel, then motioned to Jack and pointedly nodded to the man at her side. She subtly brushed her finger by her eye and lightly shook her head. The fact that Daniel didn't argue with Jack's statement said plenty. Carter agreed, "Yes, sir, …I think we've done all we can for tonight."