Patefactio chapter 3

Daniel was vaguely aware of being pulled through crumbling corridors. Strong hands supported him, which was a good thing since his vision grayed in and out with each step as he dealt with jolts of pain slicing through him. He could hear Vala's muffled protests ahead of him and wondered how long it would take for their captors to tire of her and do bodily harm. An inappropriate chuckle bubbled in his throat as he thought of how many times he'd wanted to do that himself. He really must be delirious.

Mercifully, his forced march came to a halt. Sweat dripped into his eyes as his head hung down and he took his first full breath in what seemed like ages. Any relief he felt was short-lived when he heard a familiar, metallic whirring sound. He knew without looking that it was the sound of rings descending around them. A bright flash searing through his closed eyelids confirmed it.

The rings released them and Daniel forced his eyes open to take in their surroundings. The familiar lattice work on the wall told him what he'd already suspected: they were on an Ori ship. Marching feet halted to his left and he turned his head, seeing four Ori soldiers standing at attention.

"The Prior is injured," one of his escorts explained. "Go and prepare a place for him and find the medicus. Take the woman to the cells."

More muffled protests came from Vala's direction. Not wanting to be separated from her, Daniel focused his failing strength on speaking. "Wait. I want her . . . to stay . . . with me."

There was a slight hesitation before the soldier replied. "Very well. But keep her restrained and silent," he instructed his men.

Relieved he'd managed one small victory, Daniel gave in to his body's pull toward oblivion.

~oOo~

Cam picked his way over another pile of rubble as they pushed deeper into the ruins. There were only two exits from the room where Jackson had been taken; Cam had sent Carter and Teal'c with Tareth and half of his men while he'd gone with Averill and the other half. He figured Jackson wasn't in any condition to move quickly, and he was sure Vala would have done her best to slow them down if the Ori soldiers had them. The ring room couldn't be too far away. At least, that's what he hoped.

"Carter. Got anything, yet?" He knew she would have called if she had, but somehow it made him feel like he was doing something constructive if he asked.

"Not yet." Short and sweet. She was as worried about what the Ori followers wanted with Daniel and Vala as he was.

"Right. Keep looking." It crossed his mind that they could be wrong about the rings, but he dismissed it; it was the only scenario that made sense. They'd find them and ring up to the ship, take out a bunch of Ori soldiers, and rescue Jackson and Vala. Piece of cake. Of course, he'd always been a pie man, himself.

~oOo~

Voices pulled him towards consciousness.

" . . . sure that he is a Prior?"

"Yes, the ship has identified him, but I also recognize him. He is the Orici's Most Favored. I was on her flagship when he was brought aboard. I saw his face before the Orici gifted him with the status of Prior."

"Not much of a gift if you ask me," he heard Vala mutter.

"I agree." Daniel opened his eyes and turned his head towards the voices, finding he was lying on a very soft bed.

One of the soldiers moved closer. "Why do you no longer look like a Prior?"

"Because I'm not a Prior!" Head pounding with the force of his words, he lowered his voice. "I've changed back into a normal human again."

"That is not what the ship's sensors say," the soldier in charge interjected. "They indicate you are a Prior."

How could that be? Merlin assured him—promised him—that he would be returned to his pre-Prior state once he'd left him. Why, and how, would the ship identify him as a Prior?

"Then the ship's sensors are wrong," Daniel argued.

"We shall see," the commander replied. "Are you finished treating him?" he asked someone just out of Daniel's line of sight.

"There is a fever in his wound." An older, gray-haired man moved into Daniel's view and he decided it must be their doctor—medicus they'd called him. "I fear it has been infected with a poison."

The words pierced through the fog in his head. Poison? That, at least, explained the burning that was spreading from his back to his arm and chest, along with the chill that wrapped itself around him.

"How is that possible?" one of the soldiers asked. "The Priors are impervious to injury."

"Perhaps he speaks the truth, that he is not a Prior," another added.

"Enough!" the commander ordered. "The ship recognizes him as a Prior. He must try the chair; otherwise, we will continue to be stranded here."

Daniel was still processing the fact that he'd been poisoned, but the commander's statement about being stranded got his attention. His head wasn't completely clear, but he understood the ship must be stuck in orbit with no one to fly it. He wondered, again, what had happened to their Prior.

"Can you counter the poison?" the commander asked the doctor.

"I have done all I can without knowing where the poison came from."

"Then we may not have much time. I am sorry, Prior, but we must move you," the commander said, a touch of regret in his voice. He nodded to his men and two came forward and began lifting Daniel to his feet.

"Ahh!" Daniel squeezed his eyes shut as agony flared through his upper body. Having no strength to resist, he let the soldiers take most of his weight as they tried to steady him.

"Where are we going now?" he heard Vala whine.

Daniel ignored her as he tried to push past the pain and focus on the situation. I've been poisoned and apparently, they have no antidote. Their Prior's gone and they think I can fly the ship. What's gonna happen when they find out I can't? He decided to make one more appeal.

"This is a mistake." He hissed as the soldiers shifted his position. "I'm human, just like you, which means I can't fly this ship."

"We will know soon enough," the commander replied. "Bring her also."

"You know, boys," Vala said as two soldiers grabbed hold of her arms, "I enjoy a little rough play now and then as much as anyone—just ask Daniel—but really, this is a bit much." He was beginning to wish they'd left the gag in place.

"I will release you if you promise not to interfere," the commander offered.

"Oh, you have my word," Vala purred. "Daniel will vouch for me."

As they released her bound hands, Daniel looked over at her, seeing the mischievous smile he was all too familiar with. We are in so much trouble.

~oOo~

"Colonel Mitchell."

"What've ya got, Teal'c?" Cam released the button on his radio, hoping for good news.

"We have found the rings."

Yes! Finally something was going right. "Where are you?"

"Approximately one hundred yards from our starting point. The corridor divides at the sixty yard mark. Take the left passage and you will find us."

"On my way."

Motioning to Averill, he headed back the way he'd come, moving as quickly as possible without tripping on the rubble. He didn't need anything else slowing them down, like a sprained ankle.

A short time later, Cam's group met up with Carter and Teal'c's group who were standing around a ring platform set in the middle of a crumbling room.

"All right, we need to leave a group here to keep an eye on things; the rest of us will ring up to the ship," Cam began sketching out his plan.

"What about the SGC? Shouldn't we contact them for backup?" Carter glanced around the room at the group of natives armed with crossbows. Cam understood her concern, but he figured the last thing they needed was another delay.

Glancing at his watch, he said, "Check-in's not for another three hours. If we go to the gate and contact them, it'll take at least an hour for the round-trip. I don't want to leave Jackson and Vala in the hands of the Ori followers any longer than I have to. Besides, I think these people can defend themselves pretty well, if they're willing to go with us."

"We are," Averill confirmed. "We want to rid our land of these Ori and their followers."

Carter's mouth drew into a thin line, a sure sign she wasn't happy about it, but was going to go along with it anyway. "All right. Let's do it."

Cam turned back to Averill. "Then let's not waste any more time. Choose five or six men to stand guard here. The rest will come with us. Now, here's the plan . . . "

~oOo~

He could add vertigo to his list of complaints, the biggest being the biting pain of his injured shoulder as he was half pulled, half carried through the ship's corridors. Occasionally, a shiver coursed through his body, aggravating his wound. All of it, he knew, was due to the poison working its way through his system. Even so, his worry was centered not on his body, but on what would happen when they put him in the control chair.

These people had placed all of their hope into a misguided belief that he still had the powers of a Prior. They were desperate, and he knew all too well what could happen when desperate people found their final hope taken from them. Things could get ugly. There was one possibility, one chance, that he could convince them to let the SGC help them get home. He had a feeling that wouldn't go over well, but he had to try.

Entering the ship's bridge, Daniel lifted his head to see a control chair identical to the one he'd used when Merlin had still been a part of him. He could remember how it felt to have the ship's systems respond to his thoughts; this time, he was on his own.

"Place him in the chair."

"Wait!" Daniel tried, unsuccessfully, to halt his forward motion; they continued to move him towards the chair. "There's another option."

The soldiers supporting him stopped in front of the chair and looked to their commander.

"What option is that?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, knowing this may be his only chance to get through to them before they discovered their mistake, he continued. "My people, the Tau'ri, can help you get back to your home."

"What makes you think we want to go home?"

Daniel really needed to learn this man's name. It was always better to negotiate on a first name basis. "First, tell me your name."

"I am commander Revis, though I do not know why that is important."

"My name is Daniel Jackson. Revis, I know you have spent a lot of time traveling among the stars, taking the message of Origin to many worlds. But I'm telling you now, the Ori are dead. They were not true gods. There is—"

His sentence was abruptly cut off as Revis backhanded him across the face. Daniel staggered, but was prevented from falling by the hands gripping his arms. His face stung from the blow and his head pounded with the beating of his heart. Bile rose in his throat and he forced it back down.

"Blasphemy! You have been corrupted, just as our first Prior was."

"No, I'm telling you the truth." He paused and spat out a wad of blood before continuing. "Your Prior learned that truth, too, through a message sent by the Doci in Celestis. The war is over; there's nothing for you in this galaxy. Let us help you return to your homes." He knew it wasn't exactly the truth, but he hoped the faith these people had in the Doci would carry some weight with his words.

"You will help us, but not to return to our homes. We still have a mission, one which we will continue until Origin has been brought to every world in this galaxy. Put him in the chair."

Strong hands turned him around and settled him into the chair. He tried to arch away as his wound came in contact with the back of the chair, but the soldiers easily held him in place. Struggling would gain him nothing, so he sat still, waiting for them to realize their error.

A new sensation entered Daniel's awareness, not one of pain, but something else, something familiar and pleasant. A tingling entered his limbs, along with a feeling of warmth. It began spreading from his extremities to the rest of his body, dulling his many aches and pains until they barely registered in his consciousness. At the same time, he was aware of the chair beginning to glow with a soft blue-white light. He knew this—he had experienced it with Merlin. With little effort, he was able to 'see' what was happening in the ship's systems. He could feel the engines humming as they waited to be engaged, could hear the regular exchange of air in the life support system, and sensed the impulses of the computer circuitry connecting everything through him. A small part of him wondered how this was possible, but a larger part simply enjoyed the feeling of connectedness it gave him, and the sense of power running just underneath it all.

"You see, Prior, you cannot hide who you are from the ship. It recognizes you. And now, it, and you, will help us continue on our journey."

~oOo~