Just a short one tonight folks. Have had a serious eye infection so haven't been able to write much but I did manage this. Hope you enjoy and, as always, your reviews keep me energized to write more! Thanks all.
So this is PXK 8RS. Damn! He sighed as he looked around, remembering their last visit to this planet. Of all the planets, in all the galaxies, they would have to come here.
"Sorry Sir", Sam said softly, standing by his side. "I know it's not your favorite place, but it is safe and I figured it would be one of the last places they'd look. It's been months since we've been here and since there wasn't anything particularly special about it …"
He nodded and gave her a smile. He hoped it looked sincere, and he was grateful to her, but he still could have wished for anywhere but here.
"It'll be okay Jack", Daniel said as he walked down the short staircase to the ground below. "I mean, the natives were relatively friendly, the climate isn't bad, and as Sam said, it's safe."
"Sed arboribus Daniel!"
"What did he say?" Sam wanted to know, at Daniel's sharp bark of laughter.
"He was complaining about the trees", her friend told her with a grin.
She grinned back and then glanced over at a despondent looking Colonel. "I am really sorry Sir. I guess I should have tried for prairies or deserts."
"Ts'okay Major", O'Neill replied. After a moment of silence – and seeing the huge eyes of his second in command staring at him – he scowled. "What?"
"Uh Sir – you're speaking English."
"Num?" he asked, getting rather tired of this back and forth with languages. Although as far as he could tell he was speaking the same one all the time.
"Well, you were." Sam said, sounding slightly disappointed, but also rather curious. "Daniel?"
"I don't know. He did it once before. Maybe his brain is starting to -"
"To do what Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c had spent the last few minutes doing a perimeter check and had now returned to where his teammates were standing.
"Look, I really don't have any idea what's going on, but I think this is a good thing. Jack, you can still understand us, right?"
"Yeah", he nodded. It was very clear to his friends that he had no idea whether he was speaking English or Ancient at any given moment. They could only hope that he'd begin to retrieve his ability to speak his native language. Right now, however, they needed to get situated for the night. They didn't have long before it began to get dark.
"See, that's good. Maybe it's just a matter of him relaxing and not worrying about it and it will all come back."
Jack grimaced but started to feel relieved. He hated not being able to communicate, except to Daniel and hated that he was speaking Ancient. Even with the archaeologist he didn't want to talk too much, keeping his sentences short. He sucked in a deep breath of air and then did a 360 of the area. It was going to be dark before long and they needed to set up camp. He supposed they could make their way to the town, but he would really prefer to postpone the reunion with the natives.
He was about to open his mouth, to instruct Daniel to tell the others, when Carter beat him to the punch.
"Should we look for a place to set up camp Colonel?"
He gave her a nod, and then moved forward, glancing around the area again, just to make sure none of his less than favorite natives had shown up. He was followed, after a few seconds, by the rest of his team. They walked at a steady pace, away from the gate and towards where they knew there was a fresh water supply.
They'd spent almost a week here on their previous visit and had gotten to know the area between the village and the gate quite well. There had been some indication of Naquada on this world, and they'd been ordered to stay and determine whether it was of sufficient quality and quantity to try and initiate a treaty with the local residents. In their forays they had found a small lake a few miles from the nearest town. It was in a secluded area, surrounded on three sides by trees and on the forth by a sharp cliff with a waterfall descending into the lake. Even Jack had had to admit, when they'd stumbled on it, that it was a lovely spot. At the time he'd thought that it would be a great place to camp, especially if there were fish in the lake.
Well, it looked like he was going to get a chance to find out. He had no idea how long they'd be here – they really hadn't even had time to figure out next steps. All he'd known was that there was no way in hell he'd let the NID get their hands on him. He'd end up spending the rest of his life as a lab rat.
Mind you, he snorted, the locals here weren't that much better than his friendly neighborhood weasels from Washington. The Senecksi seemed to be a mild race and had treated them relatively well so he wasn't quite sure why he disliked them so much – certainly the rest of his team hadn't had the same intense reaction. All he knew was that they had given him the creeps from the first day. He'd felt this strange shiver run down his spine when the first alien – Chkultay - had appeared from the dark green forest to greet them on behalf of his people.
"How about here Sir?" Sam's voice interrupted his thoughts and it was only then that he realized they'd arrived. It certainly was a pretty spot, he had to concede. Well, if they had to remain here for the indeterminate future, they might as well be somewhere nice.
"Looks good Carter. Let's do it."
The smile he received was almost blinding in its intensity. He tilted his head, asking her silently why she looked at him with that expression. Not that he didn't like it – but it wasn't her usual response to one of his orders.
"You spoke in English again Sir", she told him. "I think Daniel's right and it's coming back."
He couldn't help it. He grinned at her and the two of them shared a small moment – just as if there was no one else on P –
"Are we setting up here Jack?" Daniel shouted, totally destroying the moment.
"Sic", he shouted back. With only a small glance towards Sam, who looked as disappointed as he did at the interruption, he swung off his pack and began to make camp.
As he worked his mind returned to the Senecksi to try and figure out what it was about them that had bothered him the last time. They were a small race, reminding him somewhat of pictures he'd seen of the tribes of the Kalahari. From what Daniel had told him, they were totally egalitarian, with decisions being made by all the adults of the tribe – both men and women. They were also, their resident archaeologist and historian told them, a non-violent people and they lived in harmony with each other and their environment.
That all sounded great and had reminded him somewhat of the Nox. What had creeped him out, however, was their reaction to him. At first he thought he was imagining it but after a while he became convinced that they were suspicious of him. He'd asked Daniel and Teal'c both and the two men had looked at him as if he was crazy.
"They do not treat you differently O'Neill", Teal'c had told him bluntly. "I believe you are simply being overly cautious."
Paranoid is what he'd meant, although the former Jaffa was too polite to tell him that bluntly. Daniel, of course, wasn't.
"Come on Jack! For once just accept the people for what they are. They are not trying to kill us or enslave us or anything like that. As far as I can tell they've had no contact with the Goa'uld and they have little in the way of technology. Just relax."
He'd sighed and tried to convince himself that he was being silly. They certainly hadn't done anything overt. It was more – a feeling he got when they were close by. He was also sure he'd seen a few of them staring at him when he wasn't looking directly at them. It had been creepy but nothing he could point to directly. In the end he'd simply been glad to leave the planet and had hoped never to return. Since they hadn't found any real Naquada deposits that were extensive enough to use, he'd been sure that he would get his wish.
And yet – here he was. Life always seemed to have a way of coming back and kicking you in the ass!
"O'Neill, do you wish to contact the natives tomorrow?" Teal'c had just returned from his turn on watch and must have heard Jack's thoughts and decided to have a bit of cruel fun with him.
"Nope", he shook his head, standing up and stretching from where he'd been sitting by the fire with Daniel. "But non habemus much choice."
Teal'c's eyebrow went up and he turned towards Daniel.
"Yeah, he's been doing that all evening. It's the reverse of what happened when he went Ancient before. Now English words are creeping in to his speech, although he appears to have no idea when he's using them."
"This is good news O'Neill. Soon you shall be able to communicate in English."
Jack lifted his cup and gave Teal'c a toast. He then took a final sip of coffee and set it down on the ground by the fire. "Yup. Well it's hora somni. Ne mordents bedbugs guys!" With a small wave he headed out to take his watch, pausing only briefly by Carter's tent. She had crashed earlier as she was on watch after him. When they were on away missions she always bunked with Daniel or Teal'c. Just once he wished – stop it O'Neill, he said to himself fiercely. He was usually always careful to control those kind of thoughts. This planet must be getting to him. That, or the Ancient stuff. He sighed and headed off into the night.
"Why did O'Neill speak of bedbugs?" Teal'c wanted to know, his brow crested with a deep seated frown. "They are most unpleasant."
"Yeah", Daniel laughed. "It's just an expression Teal'c. The full expression is 'sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite'. It's a way some humans have of bidding you good night.
Teal'c nodded ponderously and then turned his face towards his friend. "I have spent many years now, with humans, and still some of your customs confuse me."
Daniel stared in the night after Jack. He'd seen the Colonel's slight hesitation outside Sam's tent and wondered briefly what it had meant. "Yeah, me too Teal'c. Me too."
It was an uneventful night, which they all agreed was a good thing. The last thing they needed right now was to worry about any new threat. What they had to do was figure out how to handle the NID and Jack's going Ancient. For now though, they all agreed they had to let the Senecksi know they had returned.
"Do we have to?" Jack had whined. His three teammates turned to him, all of them looking inordinately pleased. "Fecit illud, didn't I?"
"Yeah", Daniel nodded and then explained to the others. "He said he did it again. Jack, the good news is that you're speaking more and more English. I bet the Ancient will soon be gone."
"We may soon be wishing that his English did not return so quickly", Teal'c added, expressionless. "It has been something of a rest to not have to listen to all of O'Neill's jokes."
"Et tu Teal'c?"
Daniel and Sam laughed, neither of them knowing, or caring if the Latin/Ancient was intentional that time. It was just good to hear the Colonel joking around – Teal'c's words notwithstanding.
"Uh, we should probably get going", Daniel prodded them. "We wouldn't want the Senecksi to think we were sneaking around."
Jack rolled his eyes, clearly not too worried about upsetting the locals. He wouldn't do anything to actively insult or harm them, but he didn't really want to go out of his way, either, to accommodate them. Still, he nodded and indicated that they should go. They would leave their camp intact and return later in the day.
It was a short walk – no more than about 45 minutes – to the Senecksi town. Jack would have called it more of a village, but according to Daniel there were a number of buildings that seemed to indicate a more structured society. He'd tried to find out more details, but either the people were shy or they were trying to hide something. It didn't help that they were an incredibly quiet people. In fact, he couldn't remember hearing more than a few words from them when they were greeting the strangers that had appeared through the gate. In the end it didn't really matter what they called the damn place. Jack just wanted to get here, get the mission completed, and return home to rousing night watching TV.
They were a few minutes from the village when they heard the sounds of children playing. Jack couldn't help but smile. He loved kids and ever the Senecksi kids had been pretty special. He liked them way better than their parents and had attempted to spend as much time with them as he could. Of course it hadn't been nearly enough – not with the good Doctors Jackson and Carter on his case.
Just then they walked into a clearing, to see the kids playing with the rudimentary bat and ball he'd crafted. From what he could see, they were attempting a convoluted version of baseball – a game he'd taught them, even though he couldn't speak their language. It hadn't seemed to matter though, as he found he could always communicate with children. Right now he was itching to stop and play – knowing it was only partly because he liked kids. Mostly it was because he wanted to avoid their parents.
"Come on Jack", Daniel grinned, totally aware of the little boy inside the Colonel that wanted to come out and play. "You can play later. First we have to speak to the adults."
Jack groaned but nodded. He dutifully followed his teammates, although he stopped and gave a wave to the kids when he heard them call out 'Chack!'
They arrived in the town a few minutes later. At first no one noticed them, but within moments a small group of women, who had been chatting on a street corner, looked over and they were discovered. There were a few puzzled looks, and then some smiles. One of the women – Jack recalled that her name was Tirania – started to walk towards them, followed slowly by the others.
"Daneel Chasson", she called out (Daniel was always their favorite, thought Jack with a snicker) et Samanta, Teeuk." She looked happy to see them, which at least made him relax slightly.
But then Jack wondered why he hadn't been greeted. It could have been that they hadn't seen him yet – but more likely this was confirmation that they just didn't like him. At that moment Tirania reached them and Jack went to move out from behind Teal'c in case she hadn't seen him. At the very moment she became aware of him she instantly froze, her face blanching.
Yup, he thought, they didn't like him. He'd been right the last time. Something was definitely wrong and it was directed solely at him. He began to feel uncomfortable as Tirania continued to stare at him – along with the other women. In fact, he realized that they all looked as if they'd seen a ghost – and he was it.
"Uh guys?" he checked out his teammates to see if they knew what was going on but he received blank looks in reply. They had no more idea than he did as to what was going on. He had a sudden and infantile urge to say 'told you so' to his friends. Before he had a chance however he realized something.
His words had seemed to wake the women up, and without warning all four of them cried out and fell to their knees directly in front of him.
For a few seconds he gazed at them in confusion and then slowly lifted his head. "What the hell is wrong quid enam?"
At that Tirania raised her head, as if in wonder. "Ipse est!"
"Daniel?" Sam whispered. "What did she say?"
"She said -" he paused and glanced at Jack, looking perturbed, "she said, 'it's him!"