Chapter 4

Daniel began to notice changes in his daily routine after his first meeting with his friends, and he noticed other things as well. Every morning when he woke the door to what everyone was calling the "lounge" was open, allowing him to meet his friends for breakfast. The "lounge" was a room a little larger than their bedrooms and apparently all of their rooms connected to it, but in contrast to their bedrooms, but it was full of things to look at and examine.

The second day they were all together, everyone went into the lounge and stared, not certain what to think.

"What do you make of this, Daniel?" Jack had asked, slowly revolving on one heel. Everything looked very different from the day before.

"It looks like they've brought in all these things to educate us with," Daniel said after giving the room a cursory examination. "Thank goodness. I was beginning to get bored with nothing to look at."

As they found out, there was plenty to look at in the lounge. Large, brightly-colored cushions large enough to sit on (or even lie down on) were heaped in a pile in the center of the floor, as were several throw rugs to wrap up in if one were cold or sleepy. There were pictures hung on the walls, what looked like a tapestry or flag hanging in the corner from a pole, and shelving units had been moved in. Those shelves were full of books (which were packed with pictures and text) and several other things: stones, seeds, potted plants of all kinds, bits of animal skins and fur, pieces of fabric, bits of metals, and models of different animals native to the planet. There were even a few small animals in cages or tanks: an aquarium full of native fish, tiny little furballs that squeaked, two birds that chirped, and several tiny reptiles and amphibians. (The Ghenta made it very clear that the Tau'ri were responsible for the care of their "pets," so everyone took turns.) There were models of buildings (temples, houses, and others none of the Tau'ri could figure out) and there were a few models of what appeared to be vehicles and tools. Even more appeared in the lounge as time went by. A large board had been hung up on one wall that was made out of the same material as the writing tables, and Daniel easily saw it could be used as a blackboard during language lessons with the rest of SG-1. Supplies of what appeared to be paper were brought in, as were different-colored sticks that resembled crayons and colored pencils, and a tub of modelling compound (Sam said it wasn't clay, it seemed to be a malleable plastic) appeared as well on one of the bottom shelves. Several containers of large beads, blocks, and balls were used for learning the Ghenta number system. A model of their solar system hung from the ceiling, and that ceiling was painted to represent the night sky. An audio player that Ahntas taught Daniel to operate allowed them to hear samples of Ghenta music and singing as well as spoken selections. They couldn't tell if it were someone reading something or just speaking, but it was interesting to hear all the same. Maps were hung up, showing all the continents, mountains, oceans, and waterways of the planet. They were even shown on a map where they were and how close the Stargate was, and Carter predicted that it was only a mile and a half. More than once Jack commented that he felt as if he were back in kindergarten.

Breakfast was always waiting on the table in the lounge for them when they woke up, and they woke up usually near or at the same time every day. They would eat, put the dirty dishes and leftover food away in the cupboard (it was always replaced with clean dishes and fresh food, but they couldn't figure out how) and with the arrival of their Ghenta instructors, language lessons would begin. The Ghenta would not allow SG-1 to rely on Daniel as a translator, but they would allow him to clarify concepts and abstracts for the rest of the team on either side. Their fluency increased so much that the Ghenta were delighted. With pictures and manipulatives and objects at their disposal, they quickly moved into abstract concepts like numbers, feelings, thoughts, and time. They learned that their history spanned a little over seven hundred solar revolutions and that there was evidence of an advanced culture all over the planet that pre-dated theirs. The Stargate was a fairly recent discovery, first found four revolutions ago. Inscriptions in the temple where it was located called it a Shabbah, and it was a gateway to other worlds among the stars.

"Okay, so they know what a Stargate is supposed to do," Jack had said when they learned that bit of information. "Why are they bothering with us?"

"Because we came through it?" Sam suggested. "Maybe they're hoping we could tell them how to work it."

"Also, there's that advanced culture that was here before theirs to think about," Daniel pointed out. "What if all of the things they're unearthing are all that's left of the human culture that was transplanted here by a System Lord? If it was a human culture, then what happened to it, and what if they've found human remains and made the connection to us?"

"That may be so, Daniel Jackson, but if it is, then from where did the Ghenta come?" Teal'c said thoughtfully.

That was a question no one could answer easily, and no one on SG-1 could think of a way to ask it.

After lunch with the Ghenta, SG-1 would be given sandals to wear, and they would go outside with their "teachers." Outside was a large, enclosed space, sort of like a central courtyard, but there was no way to the outside world from there. There were flat spaces covered with grass, small flower gardens, awnings and trees for shade, benches, pathways, and what could only be called a gym to the left. They spent the afternoons walking around the garden, running races, playing games (Jack introduced basketball, baseball, and football while Carter introduced volleyball) or working out with the Ghenta on equipment that could easily be adjusted for their use. Often, SG-1 would explain the type of equipment they wanted, and the Ghenta were always more than happy to get it for them and learn what games they were playing or exercises they were doing.

"I wonder how they figured out how to do that," Daniel commented one afternoon, referring to the equipment. "I mean, we are a lot smaller than they are. Compared to them, we're the size of eight-year-olds. Small eight-year-olds, really."

"Speak for yourself, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said, giving his teammate a slight smile. "I am at least the size of a ten-year-old."

After working out, everyone would head to his or her rooms to shower and change, and then there would be an hour or so of simple talk with the Ghenta before supper and bed.

Another change that Daniel and the rest of SG-1 noticed was that there were now new doors in their rooms, leading to a bathroom and necessary. That was when Daniel realized that during his first few "days" with the Ghenta he hadn't needed to use a toilet or take a shower. When he mentioned that to his friends one evening over supper (another meal the Ghenta allowed them to have to themselves), Carter remarked that they probably had a way of taking care of that for them while they'd been sleeping, but none of them cared for what that implied.

"Who knows how long we've been here?" Jack muttered. "We could have been asleep for weeks when they were doing that hand thing to make us sleep."

"That's been worrying me, but they've told me we've only been here for three of their weeks," Daniel pointed out. "I don't think they can really lie, shifting colors like they do. It would be like a built-in lie detector."

"Okay, three of their weeks makes...ooh," Carter said, working out the calculations on a table. "General Hammond's got to be going crazy by now. We've been here five and a half Earth weeks."

"We were only supposed to remain here for twenty-four hours," Teal'c said, seeming concerned. "Surely he's sent other teams after us."

"Yeah, but if he has, then where are they? They had guards in that temple where the gate was, and if we were caught so easily, then it stands to reason that any other teams that come through that gate would be caught as well. If they caught other teams, wouldn't they bring them here?" Jack wanted to know.

Daniel shrugged. "I guess we have no way of knowing. I wonder what they've done with all of our equipment?"

"I'm not worried about any of it except our GDOs," Colonel O'Neill muttered. "I don't think General Hammond will keep the door open for us if he thinks we may have been compromised by the Ga'ould or anything else. Why else would we be gone so long?"

"This is a nightmare," Sam groaned. "I mean, we can't stay here forever."

"Yeah, but how do we make the Ghenta believe that?" Daniel wondered. "They want us to stay and learn about them and learn their language, and they want to learn about us."

"I'm sick of school," Jack snapped. "I wanna graduate already!"

"I feel the same way, O'Neill," Teal'c assured him. "However, I do not think the Ghenta intend to let us go."

"What if we offered to take one of them home with us?" Daniel offered. "You know, we're here on their planet learning about them, what if one of them stayed on our planet learning about us?"

"Why do that when they've got all the information they want right here?" O'Neill countered. "All they have to do is ask us and boom, they've got answers."

"They want to know all about us, yeah, but there are some things they're not asking," Daniel said thoughtfully.

Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean?" Teal'c asked.

"Well, they've asked us very little about us personally. Nothing about our families, and nothing about how we know what we already know. Nothing about our education on Earth. Nothing about the Stargate, other than "Did you come through it?" They didn't ask why we came through it or how it works. They didn't ask if we came through on our own or if someone sent us. There have been no questions about our equipment. Also, they've not asked about our group or why the four of us are together or what our relationships to one another are. They haven't even asked why Teal'c has a symbiote. Why aren't they asking us these things?" Daniel stopped and took a breath. "I think that there's something going on that they're keeping from us or something that we're not seeing. Why? I mean, they have to have told someone about us, right? There are other people on this planet aside from Ahntas, Liora, Soro, and Tehere. They weren't the ones guarding the Stargate, so where is everyone else? What about the other people who have to know about us?"

"I see what you're saying," Jack said, standing up and beginning to pace. "Who are the grand high pooh-bahs they report to, and why haven't we been introduced to them yet? Is that it?"

Daniel nodded, and Sam began to look worried. "Oh, God, I hope that this planet doesn't have an equivalent to Colonel Maybourne."

"Don't even think it, Carter," O'Neill warned her. "You'll put a jinx on us."

"Now that I've thought about it I can't stop thinking about it," she muttered. "I think it's only a matter of time before something bad happens."

Jack groaned. "Why do I feel as if you've already jinxed us?"

"Maybe we are already...'jinxed,'" Teal'c replied. "Our only worry now is, in what way are we jinxed?"

"I don't want to think about it," Daniel said, thinking about in all the ways things could go wrong. He didn't know then that something was going to happen that no one expected.

Space

The next morning Jack, Teal'c, and Sam were in the lounge, waiting for Daniel to show up for breakfast, but he was close to a half-hour late.

"If he's not here in the next ten minutes, I'm going in there with a pitcher of water and dump it over his head," Jack grumbled. "What's taking him so long? That thing won't open unless we're all in the same room!"

"Perhaps he is tired," Teal'c suggested in an attempt to keep the peace.

"Perhaps he needs to get his rear in gear," Jack answered.

Shortly afterward, Daniel wandered in, looking very white and wide-eyed. He looked as if he had had a very, very rough night, and as soon as the rest of his team got a good look at him, they shot to their feet and demanded to know what was wrong.

"What happened, Daniel?" Jack asked, reaching out to take Daniel's arm in order to lead him to a seat. "What's wrong?"

Daniel pulled away. "Please don't...touch me," he said, his voice raspy. "I don't think I could take it right now."

"Daniel, what happened? What's wrong?" Sam asked, worried. "Can you tell us?"

Daniel sank onto the floor cross-legged and looked at all of his friends while twisting his hands in his lap. "I don't know how to tell you, and I really don't want to."

"Can you try? We may have to know," Teal'c prompted, sitting down a few feet away. Jack and Sam followed his example.

"All right, but don't make me tell it more than once," Daniel said, shivering. "Could I have a blanket, please?" Jack passed him one, and once he was wrapped up in it, he took a deep breath and said, "Sha're was with me last night."

They all stared at him. "Daniel," Jack began. "Sha're is..."

"I know she's dead," Daniel cut him off. "I know. It's just that she...or someone who looked like her...was with me last night, and...a lot of things happened."

Sam nodded. "Okay, things. Are they the things I'm thinking of and are you certain they happened?"

"I wasn't dreaming, if that's what you mean," Daniel answered, still shivering. "I know I was awake. I had just gone to bed, and she was there, and..." He stopped, fighting to keep his voice steady. "Whatever it was, it wasn't human, and what happened was not...what I had with Sha're. Sha're was Abydonian, and Abydonians are always very...gentle and loving with one another, especially wives and husbands. That wasn't Sha're, and right now I feel so awful I want to die!" In the next instant, Daniel was sobbing, his knees drawn up to his chest and his face resting on them. He looked like a little kid that had just lost faith in the entire world.

"Daniel," Jack said, trying to comfort him. "Come on, now, talk to us. Talk to us."

Daniel shook his head. "When I woke up this morning I went right into the shower and stayed there, but no matter how many times I washed I couldn't feel better. What happened was...very intense. I don't know what really happened or who it was or even what, but now I want to go back to Earth and forget everything that happened here! I want to go!"

"Trust me, I know you do," Jack said. "Don't doubt that we want to leave and get you out of here. But first, we have to find out how to get out."

"What if she comes back?" Daniel demanded.

"None of us are gonna sleep alone until we get back home," Jack promised. "We're not going to leave you alone for a second."

At that, Daniel broke and crumpled over sobbing. Jack guided him to a pillow and made him sit down, asking Sam to get Daniel something to drink.

"Right," Sam said, turning to face the now-open cupboard. Then, she stopped and stared at it, wondering if it could be that simple. "Oh, I am so stupid! Sir, what about the cupboard?"

"What about it?"

"Well, they have to put the food in, and it's pretty big...what if it has more than one opening? How else would the food get in there?"

"I will go," Teal'c said grimly.

"Teal'c, what if it doesn't work like Carter's thinking?" Jack pointed out. "You could run out of air, be transported someplace..."

"Or it could be our way out," Teal'c argued. "Allow me to try, O'Neill. Please."

O'Neill nodded, and Teal'c swept everything out of the cupboard before climbing into it. He waited and slowly, the opening closed, shutting him off from the lounge. A moment later, another opening on the opposite side opened, disclosing a large room that looked like a laboratory. He slipped out and looked around, and a moment later he spotted Liora standing in front of a table, examing a few items. He saw a digital video recorder, Daniel Jackson's tape recorder, their radios, their GDOs, Major Carter's soil-testing apparatus, and a zat nik'tel (or, as O'Neill would have called it, a zat gun). At the moment, Liora was examining a radio and she was paying no attention to her surroundings.

He moved very quietly, silently congratulating Major Carter for her solution, and approached the table. Liora looked at him the moment his hand touched the zat, and in the next moment, she was on the floor and unconscious. He heard feet running as he looked around, searching for the door to the lounge in order to let his friends out. Tehere rushed into the room, and Teal'c zatted him, still looking for the door. Soro came in, pulling out what looked like a weapon, but Teal'c fired at him before he could even use it. Realizing his strategy was ineffective, Teal'c hid himself quickly and waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Ahntas came in, carrying a few things, but he dropped them when he saw all three of his colleagues unconscious on the floor. In the next moment, Teal'c had the zat pointed at his head.

"Show me the door to the lounge," he snapped in Ghenta. "Let my friends out."

"Tilk, what are you doing?" Ahntas asked. "How did you get in here?"

"Let my friends out, or I will shoot you," Teal'c said. "Now."

Ahntas nodded and with Teal'c watching his every move, went to the nearest wall and laid his hand against it. A door appeared and opened, revealing the lounge and the rest of SG-1.

"Carter, remind me to put you and Teal'c in for commendations!" Jack said, pulling Daniel to his feet. "C'mon, Danny boy, we're getting out of here!"

Hurriedly, Carter and O'Neill led Daniel out of the room, and it seemed to Teal'c that he wasn't well. He was still very white, his eyes were glazed, and he didn't look as if he were thinking. In fact, he almost looked catatonic.

Ahntas stared at them. "Dannul, what is the matter?" he asked.

"As if you didn't know!" Jack snapped. "Let's go, people!"

"We shall bring Ahntas with us," Teal'c said. "We may not be able to operate the doors."

"Good thinking, Teal'c," Jack told him. "Lead us outside, Ahntas," he added in Ghenta. "Now."

"Why?" Ahntas asked, staring at all of them. "Why are you doing this?"

"We're leaving," Jack told him. "Now shut up and take us outside."

Ahntas had no choice. He led them through what turned out to be a vast compound, and fortunately, they met no one. Once he opened the last door and Jack was certain there was no gate, force field, or anything else to get in their way, he had Teal'c zat him.

"Let's go, we're only a mile and a half from the gate," Jack said. "C'mon, Daniel, we're almost there."

Half an hour later, they were away from the road leading to the compound and into the forest, and their feet were thoroughly miserable. "We should have grabbed our sandals, sir!" Carter said, stepping on yet another rock.

"They'll have band-aids at the base!" Jack answered. "Let's keep moving!"

They reached the temple, and Jack was sure that there was no sight as wonderful as that in the world, except perhaps for an activated Stargate. They rushed inside, with Teal'c still keeping guard on their back as he had for the entire trip.

"All right, Carter, dial us home!"

"Sir..."

That was when they all got a good look at the gate and they knew why Hammond hadn't sent any teams after them: it had been covered. There was no way they could get home.

Space

Ahntas came to with an awful headache, certain that he had dreamed the Tau'ri shooting him. Why had they done that? Why had they suddenly tried to leave? What was going on around here?

He was certain that it had to do with their visitor.

He went back to the lab to see if Liora and the others were awake, and he found them just sitting up, rubbing their heads.

"They're gone," Ahntas said, helping them up. "Where's Korh?"

"Korh? He's left. He left last night; said he had all the information he needed. Why?"

"Well, something happened to Dannul, and I think that's what spurred the Tau'ri to leave," Ahntas explained. "They were all upset, and Dannul...he looked as if he'd lost his mind. What was it that Korh said he wanted to find out?"

"What didn't he want to find out? I think that man has no shame," Soro muttered. "You think he did something last night?"

"What other explanation do we have?" Ahntas snapped. "Of all people they send to check up on us, why did it have to be Korh?"

"Do you think the Tau'ri will listen to explanations?" Tehere wondered.

"How will we explain to them? They're gone!" Ahntas reminded them.

"Where would they go? They're most likely still at the Shabbah since Korh had it covered. Let's see if we can catch them," Soro pointed out. "If they're still there, we can bring them back, but something tells me we'll have to fight to do it."

"All right, let's go," Ahntas said, sounding doubtful. "Just watch out for the weapon Tilk has."

Space

"Do you think we can zat it?" Carter asked, examining the cover.

"I'm willing to try it," O'Neill said, sounding worried. "C'mon, Daniel, try to keep awake, there."

"I will carry him if need be," Teal'c said, aiming at the cover. He fired, once, twice, three times, and the cover dissolved.

"Yes! We are goin' home! Dial, Carter!"

Carter dialled and then dialled the GDO, and with a whoosh, the Stargate burst to life. Once the event horizon was stable and Teal'c had picked up Daniel, they started towards it, looking forward to going home.

"Stop!" Ahntas shouted, running into the temple. "Stop, Jack!"

"Go!" O'Neill shouted, running and waving his team ahead of himself. "Teal'c, get Daniel through!"

There was the usual vertigo associated with gate travel, but in the next instant, O'Neill found himself rolling down the familiar ramp at the SGC and hearing the alarms.

"Home sweet home!" Jack shouted, getting up from the ramp as the gate closed behind him. "Boy, is it good to hear those sirens!"

"SG-1, where the HELL have you been?" Hammond demanded, standing at the bottom of the ramp while the airmen kept their guns up. "And who is that?"

O'Neill looked, and he saw Ahntas lying on the ramp behind them, holding his head and looking around as if he were sure he was dreaming.

"How the heck did he make it through the gate before it closed? He was all the way at the entrance of the temple, and that place was big," Sam said, amazed.

"Long legs," Jack said. "Just...put him in a holding cell or something, Daniel needs to go to the infirmary pronto! They did something to him, we don't know what..."

"Don't worry," Dr. Frasier said, leading in a medical team. "You're all going right now."

"Right. SG-1, report to the infirmary, sergeant, take..him to the tallest holding cell we've got."

Ahntas didn't say a thing as he was led away, and he still looked as if he were certain he was dreaming everything he was seeing.