Time and Motion
Chapter Three
A small muffled groan from the back of the darkened cave made its way to Teal'c's finely tuned ears, and after once more scanning the clearing in front of their carefully concealed hide-out, he made his way back to his small friend.
"Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c lowered himself to the ground, reaching out to clasp the thin shoulder that had uncovered itself from the sleeping bag. The moment his hand connected with Daniel, the boy let out a piercing howl, his small body arching itself off the ground, eyes snapping open, wide and unstaring.
Teal'c panicked, grabbing Daniel by the shoulders and forcing him onto his side as his friend's body jerked violently from the spasm of a seizure.
"O'Neill?" Teal'c yelled frantically, one hand maintaining its death grip on Daniel, the other clasped firmly onto the radio attached to the pocket of his vest.
Waiting, but not expecting an answer, Teal'c jumped as a bolt of lightning arced into the entrance of the cave, blue tendrils of electrical charge spreading out from the impact point and lighting up the dark space with an eerie glow.
Teal'c blinked as residual flash from the lightning left a ghosting image across his sight. Turning his attention back to Daniel, he pressed his fingers against the pulse point in his neck, sighing with relief as his fingers registered a strong though slightly fast heartbeat.
Easing his friend onto his back, he frowned, the half-light afforded from the cave entrance casting a shadow across Daniel's features. Smoothing away sweat-soaked hair from Daniel's forehead, Teal'c ran a finger across the boy's jaw-line and throat, before gently tugging down the chiton robe, exposing his upper chest.
"This is not right," Teal'c muttered, covering Daniel's body back up and tucking the sleeping bag tightly around his shoulders. Sitting back against the wall, he gripped the radio in his hand and tilted his head down to speak into it. "O'Neill?" Releasing the call button he waited patiently.
Nothing.
Yes, Teal'c thought, something was definitely not right with Daniel Jackson.
~oOo~
Sam snatched the cap from her head, frowning as the near cyclonic winds tried to rip it from her hand and send it soaring into the heavens along with the other debris the massive storm was tossing around. Shoving the cap inside her vest, she rested her cheek against the side of her P90, peering through the targeting sight at the heavily wooded entrance to the gully.
Leaving Daniel and Teal'c in the cave, Sam and the colonel led Zahur and his priests on a wild goose chase leading them away from the dome and out of the gully. Taking up diagonally opposite locations across the only path leading into the gully, they had laid in wait for the last five minutes, listening intently as the Lhavanian patrol had crashed their way through the undergrowth obviously not caring that their intended targets could hear their every move. Even the howl of the blustering wind had not been able to dampen their haphazard movements.
"O'N…" Sam's earpiece crackled, static chewing up the words and spitting them out like a broken record. Looking across the pathway to Jack's location she could just make out his outline amongst the low-standing shrubs he'd concealed himself in.
Dragging her radio up to her mouth, she whispered, "Colonel?"
"I heard it, Carter, hold your position." Jack's reply echoed through her earpiece.
Releasing her radio, Sam turned her attention back to the slowly approaching Lhavanian's, watching with curiosity as the men sauntered along the wind-battered path, their crude weapons hanging low at their sides. They have no idea, she thought, moving her P90 from one person to the next, knowing that with one quick burst she could extinguish their lives.
"O'Neill?" Damn, Sam cursed, even though she was silently grateful that the team had employed their earpieces to cut down their chances of being heard by their pursuers. Looking across at Jack she could tell that he too had heard Teal'c's now desperate sounding call, but knew there was nothing they could do till the Lhavanian's had passed their position.
Moments later the Lhavanian patrol was on top of them, the wind pushing so hard against their bodies that every step they took looked like a struggle. The priests were wearing thick cloaks, their arms wrapped around their torsos to keep the cold out. Pushing forward, they stumbled past Sam's and Jack's location, seemingly uninterested in tracking their targets.
Sam let out the breath she had been holding, relaxing the grip on her weapon once the patrol had moved out of sight. Spotting Jack rise from his hiding spot, she followed suit, crossing the path to his position, watching with intense curiosity as she heard him calling Teal'c on his radio.
"Teal'c, this is O'Neill, do you copy?"
Sam could see Jack closing his eyes, trying to listen for radio chatter over the deafening sound of the wind. "Teal'c?" Moving closer, Sam raised her hand to her earpiece, pressing down on the small device in the hope of picking up any faint transmissions.
"O'Neill."
"We hear you, buddy; sorry about not answering you earlier. We had hostiles at our location."
Sam nodded her head, the relief at hearing Teal'c's voice easing her worried mind. Cradling her P90, she turned in the direction the departing Lhavanian's had taken, watching for any sign of their return, and simultaneously listening in on Teal'c's conversation.
"How's Daniel?" Jack asked, a hint of concern audible in his voice.
"He has suffered a seizure. It only lasted a few moments but was quite intense. I am concerned that something is happening to him."
Sam directed her attention back to Jack, noting the worried look that crossed his face, directly mirroring her own.
"What do you mean? What's happening to him?"
"His physical appearance has changed. He seems somehow older than when we first entered the cave."
"Older?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows and looking at Sam.
"Indeed. When the seizure abated, his facial features seemed altered. This took place at around the same time that lightning struck the cave that we are currently occupying. I am unsure as to whether the two incidences are related but the timing seemed most coincidental."
Sam shook her head, trying to make sense of the situation but knowing she was failing. How could the weather be related to the changes that Teal'c had noted in Daniel? Resting her P90 across her left arm, she took out the diagnostic tool from her vest pocket and flicked the screen on. Scrolling through the readings, she stopped at the readings she had taken previously when Daniel had been struck by the energy beam from the orb. Frowning, she scrolled even further down, bringing up the results the MALP had taken prior to the team setting foot on P7Y337.
"Problem, Carter?"
"I don't know, sir." Sam flicked the screen off and packed the device back into the pocket of her vest. "I just compared the readouts I've been taking on the atmospheric conditions of the planet and running them against the electrical discharge that enveloped Daniel and they are almost identical." Shaking her head, she continued, "Teal'c gave me the idea when he mentioned the lightning strike coinciding with the seizure that Daniel had and it made me think."
"And?" Jack asked, his eyebrows raised questioningly.
"And I don't know, sir. The readings are very close but I haven't quite worked out what the connection could be."
"O'Neill!" Teal'c's frantic called echoed through their ear pieces disrupting Sam's chain of thought. "Daniel Jackson is seizing again and the weather in the vicinity of the cave has intensified. I have turned him onto his side and cleared his airway but I am unable to render any further assistance."
"Hold tight, Teal'c, I'm on my way back to you!" Jack turned to Sam, squinting as a sudden gust of wind slapped him in the face. "Carter, I need you to make your way to the gate and get help. Bring Fraiser back if you can. I'm heading back to help Teal'c."
Sam nodded her approval. "The Lhavanian's are still in the area, sir."
"I know, but I think our options are limited and Daniel's time is running out. Keep your eyes open. I think they're going to head back in our direction when they realize they can't track us any further, so you should be safe."
"I'll be fine, just take care of Daniel."
~oOo~
Teal'c leant close to Daniel, the bone cracking seizures finally ending. Wiping away the frothing drool from his mouth, he tucked the survival blanket tighter around Daniel's small form, making note of his pale face. Teal'c was sure the changes he had noticed in Daniel's features were not a product of his imagination but somehow connected to the escalating weather patterns taking place on the planet.
"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c urged, rubbing his friend's all-too-small shoulder and whispering close to his ear. "Daniel."
Teal'c watched closely as Daniel tried valiantly to open his eyes, blinking furiously against the dim light that filtered into the cave.
Running his tongue over his dry lips, Daniel tried to sit up, his body encumbered by the survival blanket Teal'c had swaddled him in. Teal'c reached forward to assist his friend only to draw back when Daniel's eyes suddenly went wide and his face paled. Clumsily pushing the survival blanket down, Daniel scrambled from the sleeping bag, never taking his eyes off Teal'c, his face a mask of terror as he backed himself towards the nearby wall.
Startled by Daniel's violent reaction, Teal'c whispered, "DanielJackson, it is I, Teal'c."
Daniel's head shook, his teeth chattering violently. The tremors continued to course through his body making Teal'c watch him closely. Gripping the discarded blanket in his hand, he held the item out hoping Daniel would take it, but was instantly disheartened when the child ducked his head into his shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut.
Teal'c nodded his head, understanding that this was not the Daniel he knew, this was a child who had no idea where he was or who he was with. A small child, sick and afraid, that he had little hope of communicating with. Leaving the blanket just within reach of Daniel, he slowly moved himself backwards, affording his friend some space and opportunity to take the offered warmth if he wanted to.
As he moved closer towards the mouth of the cave, movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention and he was immediately on his feet, priming his staff weapon and bringing it to bear.
"Whoa!" Jack exclaimed, raising his arms in defence as he swept ungraciously into the cave on the wings of a particularly strong gust of wind. "Just me, Teal'c, stand down."
Relaxing his stance slightly, Teal'c greeted Jack with a small nod and turned his attention back to the rear of the cave.
"Daniel Jackson has awoken but appears most disturbed by my presence." Teal'c led Jack back to Daniel's position, noting that the boy hadn't moved at all, not even to retrieve the blanket.
"Daniel," Jack whispered, placing his P90 on the ground and getting down on all fours. "You gonna talk to me buddy?" Wincing, Jack sat back and grabbed his left knee with his hand, "You can't be comfortable there, and I know I'm not. What's say we get you wrapped up and away from that cold wall?"
Teal'c watched as his team leader tried to persuade their friend out of the protective cocoon he'd retreated into, without success.
"I do not believe that Daniel Jackson understands us," Teal'c stated matter-of-factly as he watched Jack climb back to his feet and back away from Daniel once again.
"Well, something is definitely not right here, T." Shaking his head sadly, Jack ran his hands over his face and let out a long sigh. "I've sent Carter back to the gate to get some help. I only hope we're not too late."
"As do I." Tilting his head, his brows knitted in deep thought, Teal'c growled, "I do not believe the Lhavanian leader was honest in his intentions towards us from the start, O'Neill."
"Oh, Teal'c, in so many ways." Jack stepped forward and cautiously pushed the blanket towards the seemingly asleep Daniel with the toe of his boot. "No, my friend I think he had Daniel pegged as their so called 'Savior' from the start, and in typical Daniel style, he fell right into it."
To be continued….