Chapter 2

"Doc, what the hell is going on?"

Fraiser turned towards him as he strode into the infirmary, her face already set in a 'don't mess with me' look.

"I had no reason to hold him, Colonel." Oh, he could see she'd been expecting his visit and had her speech all prepared. "He's not showing any symptoms and his preliminary blood work is fine."

"I'm tellin' ya, something's not right with him. He's—"

"I know." Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. "We're doing an in-depth blood workup and re-analyzing his MRI, but until something shows up, there's not much I can do."

Jack scrubbed a hand down his face, reining in the need to express his frustration by yelling at Fraiser. She was on his side, apparently having reached the same conclusion he had, regardless of what her tests showed. "I know. Just—keep me posted."

"You know I will. In the meantime, you might want to keep an eye on him."

"Got it covered, Doc. Carter's with him now."

Nodding her head, she turned to go, but he reached out and touched her sleeve. She looked up at him, her brown eyes soft with compassion. All he could say was, "Thanks."

~oOo~

Daniel stumbled again, bare feet protesting as he was pulled over the rocky path to the Stargate. More than one sharp stone had pierced his skin and he was sure his feet were both bleeding.

A few villagers lined the path, most looking on with curiosity while a few others gazed from their doorways. These were the same people who had happily welcomed SG-1 only a day earlier.

Turning a corner, the 'gate came into view. Urngarn and several other men stood at the base of the dais. Anxiety continued to churn in his gut as he wondered what they had planned for him. Urngarn still appeared as Jack, hoping, Daniel was sure, that the effect of having his team leader direct the torture would make him more willing to talk.

Daniel was pulled up short in front of the DHD, hissing as another stone pierced the tender sole of his foot. Urngarn moved closer until he was standing across from Daniel on the opposite side of the DHD.

"I will give you one last chance to provide us with the symbols to one of the planets you told us about. You may choose the planet."

Like hell I will. Daniel had no idea how long he could continue to stall before Urngarn's patience wore out, but it was the only thing he could do until help arrived. C'mon, guys, help me out here.

Tilting his chin up, Daniel leveled his gaze at Urngarn and stated firmly, "Not a chance."

~oOo~

"Are you sure?" Jack regretted the question as soon as he'd asked it. He knew Fraiser was very thorough and wouldn't tell him something if she wasn't sure of it.

"Yes, sir. Not something we usually look for, but his levels of potassium and cortisol are dangerously low. There must be a problem with his adrenal glands. I need him in the infirmary."

"You think something on the planet caused it?"

"I don't know for sure—yet. But I think we'd better get him where he can be monitored; if it's causing his odd behavior, there's no telling what else he might do."

"I'm on it, Doc. And thanks."

~oOo~

"Hey, Daniel."

"Oh, hi, Sam." Daniel flashed her a small smile as she entered the control room. She joined him where he stood behind Walter.

"What's up? We don't have any teams due back for hours," she remarked.

"I just stopped by to find out if we'd heard from any of them. You never know when someone might make contact."

Walter's eyebrows rose as he glanced at her over his shoulder.

"True, but I'm sure Walter here will call you if anyone dials in."

"Yes, Ma'am," the technician confirmed.

"Thank you." Daniel hesitated, glancing at the 'gate before turning back to Sam. "I guess I should go get some work done, then."

"Maybe you'd like to come to my lab. I can show you the results of my scans on that object SG-11 brought back last week."

"Um, sure. I'd like that."

Sam gestured towards the stairs with her hand and Daniel headed for them with a final glance over his shoulder.

~oOo~

"You are a very stubborn man," Urngarn said in a voice that sounded almost amused.

"That's what Jack says, although he has another word for it."

Urngarn chuckled, though it sounded humorless. "It simply means you need the right motivation to change your mind."

Daniel didn't reply, dread prickling his skin as he waited to see what form Urngarn's 'motivation' would take.

A woman's voice pierced the air behind him. "No! Please! I have done nothing!"

Other voices followed, their words indistinguishable. Daniel turned his head just as two men passed by him dragging a woman between them. They pulled her up the steps of the dais and shoved her down on the stone platform. Other men were holding back a small group of people—her family, he presumed—who were pleading with them to let her go.

Urngarn gave the woman a brief glance before turning cold, brown eyes on Daniel. "Give us the symbols to one of the worlds, or we will kill her."

Those words, spoken from Jack's mouth, sent a shiver across his skin. He looked at the woman who was on her knees, crying and pleading. Would they really kill an innocent woman just for a 'gate address? Staring back into Jack's cold, dark gaze, he knew the answer.

Closing his eyes, Daniel desperately searched for an answer. One life versus the lives of many. How could he give them what they wanted? How could he not?

"Very well. Arpello, kill her."

"No! Wait!" Daniel's eyes flew open and went straight to Urngarn. "I'll give you an address."

"I am warning you, do not try and deceive us."

Daniel nodded his understanding and his hands were quickly untied. He rubbed his chafed wrists as the crying woman was pulled roughly off the dais and out of harm's way.

"Do it!" Urngarn ordered.

Daniel reached forward and pressed the first glyph.

~oOo~

The elevator doors opened and Sam stepped out. Daniel hesitantly followed.

"I'm, uh, going to go to the restroom—I'll meet you in your lab."

"Sure. I'll get things set up," she agreed.

He flashed her a half-smile and headed in the opposite direction.

Reaching her lab, Sam picked up the phone. "He's on the move, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"I invited him to look at the scans of the object SG-11 brought back."

"And?"

"SG-11 didn't bring anything back."

"Good work, Carter. Stay there in case he actually comes back."

"Yes, sir."

~oOo~

As he pressed the seventh glyph, the wormhole connected, sending a giant blue wave pouring outwards before it fell back in on itself.

Ungarn turned to him with a pleased look. "Very good. You have made the right decision. Which world have you opened for us?"

"Monrava. It has a smaller population than the Land of Light, but their settlement is closer to the 'gate."

"Very well. We will send a small party to investigate. You," he pinned Daniel with his gaze, "will accompany us."

Oh, not good. He should have known they wouldn't take his word for it. So much for stalling.

Rough hands grasped his upper arms, pulling him around the DHD and up the steps of the dais.

"You may lead the way," Urngarn said with a smirk.

He was choiceless. "Stop!"

His handlers complied and Urngarn moved up to face him. Jack's brown eyes were intense, all trace of humor gone. "Is there a problem?"

"We can't go through." Urngarn remained silent as Daniel's statement hung in the air, and he knew the leader was waiting for an explanation. "The air is, um, unpleasant."

The hands gripping his forearms tightened, making him wince. Urngarn stepped even closer, his warm breath ghosting across Daniel's face as he spoke. "Merely uncomfortable or life-threatening?" the Minaran leader asked.

"It's… toxic," Daniel admitted. When Urngarn tilted his head in confusion, Daniel explained, "It would kill you."

He braced himself, knowing he would be punished for defying the man yet again. Surprisingly, Urngarn stepped back and nodded to someone behind Daniel. With bruising grips still latched on to his arms, he was pulled back down the steps and brought to a halt facing the 'gate. Moments later it winked out and Urngarn took up a stance in front of it.

Shouts of 'No!' and 'Please!' rang through the still air, followed by the appearance of two men pulling the woman who had been threatened earlier. Once again they dragged her up the steps and forced her to her knees in front of Urngarn.

"I warned you not to try and deceive us," Urngarn snarled, his—Jack's—voice deep and threatening. Reaching for the woman, he placed a hand on either side of her face.

Urngarn was really going to do it. "No!" Daniel lurched forward but found himself held fast as Teal'c's double assisted in restraining him. There was something disturbing about being held by someone with his friend's face. He shook it off as he tried to appeal to Urngarn. "She did nothing wrong! Punish me!"

Wailing from the crowd barely registered as he focused on the woman at Urngarn's feet, who was now trembling under the leader's touch.

Daniel struggled to find a way to get through to the man. "What could possibly be so valuable that you would kill your own people for it? If it's food, medicine, or something else—we can help you find it!"

Urngarn glanced over at him, but made no reply before turning his attention back to the woman he held between his hands. Her shaking intensified, her face contorted in a rictus of pain. Eyes rolling back, her body jerked violently. Urngarn finally released her and she fell sideways, her body twitching a couple of times before going still.

The crowd's wailing escalated as Daniel stared in horror at the dead woman, her blank eyes staring sightlessly back at him. Urngarn stepped in front of him, blocking his view. Jack's face was rigid with anger. "I will ask you once more—give us the symbols or more will die."

As his words hung in the air, two more of Urngarn's men pushed through the crowd and Daniel turned to see them pulling a teenaged boy and girl towards the dais. They were yanked up the steps and pressed to their knees facing the dead woman.

Daniel could see their eyes wide with fear as they stared at the corpse, and he couldn't contain his outrage. "How can you do this? How can you kill your own children?"

"It is not we who kill them," Urngarn said calmly, "it is you. Give us what we want."

Daniel had no idea when—or if—his team would come, but he knew he couldn't stall any longer. He'd try, one last time, to offer help. "Please," he said earnestly, focusing on Urngarn, "tell me what you need from these worlds; surely my people can help you."

For the first time, Urngarn appeared to be considering Daniel's offer. "I will tell you what we require and then you will understand why I do not believe your people will be eager to help us."

The Minaran leader turned to fully face him. "Our bodies require a particular substance—without it we would die. In order to find new quantities we must move from planet to planet, using up a supply before moving on. One of our most treasured possessions was a list of planets—names we had bartered for in our journeys. Many years ago, there was a great fire and all of our records were lost. We have tried random combinations of the symbols," Urngarn gestured to the DHD. "Many do not connect; others have taken our scouts without returning them."

Daniel had a vision of brave souls stepping through the 'gate into the unknown, lost forever. These people were truly desperate. "What is it that you need?"

Jack's eyes narrowed, his sharp, brown gaze taking on a familiar threatening look. "People."

"People? How does that help you—" Daniel left the sentence unfinished, his gut twisting as comprehension dawned.

"I see you understand us now."

Questions flew through Daniel's mind. There was something in the human body that these people needed to survive? What? And how did they 'harvest' it? He shuddered at the thought. Something told him that the people they took it from didn't survive the process.

"You see now why your people would not be willing to help us."

No, Daniel couldn't see Earth agreeing to let them 'feed' on humans. But maybe there was another way. "You're right, my people would not allow you to do anything that would harm our population, but there is another way we might be able to help you."

Urngarn paused, appraising him with suspicion before dipping his head to Daniel. "Go on."

"Our medical knowledge is pretty advanced; there's a good chance we could find a way to make the substance you need, or maybe even find a cure so you don't require it anymore." He knew he was sticking his neck out—and Janet's—by making such an offer, but the alternative was unacceptable.

Urngarn studied him closely. "I think," he said, mouth quirking into a wry smile, "that you will say anything to keep us from going to other worlds."

~oOo~

"Not in his office," Reynolds' voice confirmed over Jack's radio.

"Acknowledged." Jack hadn't expected him to be. Something was seriously wrong with his friend and he was pretty sure where Daniel was headed, he just didn't know why. But it was the reason he and Teal'c were headed for the gateroom armed with zats; they had to make sure Daniel stayed on this side of the 'gate.

The blaring of a siren ripped through the corridor, followed by Walter's voice. "Fire on Level 27! I repeat, fire on Level 27!"

Jack glanced at Teal'c. "Clever."

"Indeed."

"We'd better hurry."

Both men sprinted down the corridor towards the 'gate room. Jack's temptation to stop and call the control room was tempered by the image of an SF gunning down one sick—and desperate—archaeologist on the ramp. Better if he and Teal'c handled it.

Arriving at the blast doors, they could clearly hear the grinding of the metal ring turning. Jack flashed Teal'c a signal and then headed up the stairs to the control room. As he neared the top, he inched his way forward, placing his steps as quietly as possible.

'Gate still spinning, he leaned forward and caught a glimpse of Walter slumped in his chair.

Damn.

A few more inches and he was able to see that the rest of the room was empty—no Daniel. Moving quickly to the console, he looked down on the room below, his gaze landing on the familiar figure of his archaeologist who was nervously pacing, a zat in his hand.

The big ring suddenly stopped and the blue wave of the opening wormhole billowed outward. Jack grabbed for the mic.

"Daniel! Stay put!"

The sandy head swiveled to look up at him, wild blue eyes locking with his. Every muscle in Daniel's body quivered with tension and Jack knew he was going to bolt.

"Teal'c!"

Daniel sprang towards the 'gate just as fingers of blue danced across his body, wrapping around him, the sizzling of electricity the only sound in the room. Daniel grimaced as the current raced through him and, dropping his zat, he crumpled to the floor.

Jack checked Walter's pulse and, satisfied the tech was okay, raced down the stairs to join Teal'c, who was standing over Daniel's body. At least, it was supposed to be Daniel, but this man wore a different face, one Jack had seen before—on one of the Minarans.

~oOo~

"I'm telling you the truth!" As Daniel watched Urngarn approach the boy and girl, he wracked his brain for something—anything—that would convince the leader that what he said was true.

Urngarn tilted his head to the side, staring intently at Daniel. "Give us the symbols."

Daniel could think of no other options. Nothing was going to stop them, not even the truth. Apparently, rescue wasn't imminent, either. Urngarn must have taken his silence as refusal, because he lifted both hands and placed one on each of the teenagers' cheeks.

"No!" God, no.

The boy and girl both began to tremble under Urngarn's touch. Daniel surged forward, his movement halted by painful grips on both of his arms.

"Stop! You win—I'll give you the symbols."

"No games," Urngarn warned menacingly. "And you will step through first—with help, of course."

Of course. "I understand."

Urngarn released his hold on the boy and girl, who sank to the ground, tremors still coursing through their bodies. The leader gave a curt nod and Daniel was dragged again to the DHD.

"Do it now."

TBC