Rising from the Ashes of Ascension
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: As much as I might wish, I do not own Stargate: SG1, Highlander: the Series, or any recognizable characters from either show. If I did, I wouldn't be working in the public schools system. However, any characters that are not from either show are mine and I will use and abuse them as I see fit. Everyone else will be returned eventually, for I am only borrowing for awhile, but they might end up a bit scuffed.
Warnings: Potty language, violence, and occasional sexual references
They stepped though the horizon and were greeted by an unbelievable scene. The dirt was indeed orange and the sky was red and the people looked like escapees from the Blue Man Group.
Their bright blue heads were completely bald. Their ears were shapeless lumps on the side of their heads. They didn't have eyebrows or eyelashes. Their eyes were large and round; the whites were startling white while the irises and pupils blended together into a fathomless black.
They differed from BMG through their clothing. They all wore robes of grey and sky blue; apparently the color difference denoted the difference in their ranks within society. One couldn't tell the men from women since they were actually both – beings that reproduced like asexual plants.
"Holy shit! They're like that character from that sci-fi show you love to rip apart Carter," Jack whispered to his teammates, "or Smurfs actually."
"Nice Jack," Daniel whispered. "Can we avoid any further comparisons to fictional characters while on planet? Now remember, these people love all life, from baby seals to the smallest bug, so do your best to avoid," Daniel instructed but his voice trailed off as Jack swatted at and killed a mosquito-like creature that had come to rest on his neck, "killing stuff. Ah, crap."
Immediately a clamor arouse from the group of indigo colored humanoids. They started chattering loudly among each other and a few of the closer ones pointed long cylinder devices at them – weapons of some sort, no doubt.
The next thing Daniel knew, a now familiar pounding sensation that originated from the base of his skull and reverberated through his head and down his spine made itself known. Looking around, he spotted Methos threading his way through the crowd near the Stargate. Immediately the feeling disappeared and he was able to resume silently cursing his luck, Jack, and whatever god that was out there for smiting him so soon.
"What in the hell you guys do?" Adam asked as he drew close enough to the newly arrived Tau'ri, his hazel eyes looking at each member of SG1 carefully, his voice low.
Daniel shifted his eyes slightly to the left, towards the perpetrator.
"Damn it!" Methos groused. "This is not going to be good any of us, especially if we want to gain the naquadah mining rights that we were sent here for. I've worked pretty hard you know to get us to the point were they feel that we can be trusted and now this."
Jack sighed. It was just a bug after all. Surely it wasn't the last mosquito these people had on their stupid planet. "Danny, just go and tell them that I'm sorry and I won't kill anymore of their blood sucking creepy-crawlies."
Daniel stepped forward and started to explain that the Colonel didn't know about their customs and that he was very sorry. He did his best, conveying sincerity and honesty in his tone in words, hoping that the aliens would find it in their three hearts to forgive them for this small transgression.
The members of SG1, with Methos, stood there listening to the native people converse among them.
SG-12 stood by, weary and watchful, their hands on the butts of their weapons, ready for action. They looked towards Dr. Pierson, their teammate, to see if he knew what was going on, looking for some sort of sign that they should say the hell with the negotiations and save their backsides.
Adam minutely shook his head, silently telling his team that now was not the time for any sort of rash actions. While he wasn't the team's leader, the others tended to look towards him for guidance.
Finally, one of the giant Smurfs stepped forward and bowed his/her/its head. "Off Worlders, you have been made aware of by your envoys that we of Firdaws do not permit the destruction of living beings, no matter how small. You will be subject to our laws, the same as any of our people," the head blue guy pronounced while staring intently at Jack.
"So I get to write I will not kill mosquitoes a thousand times and sent to bed without supper?" Jack asked a hopeful tone in his voice.
"You will be subject to the Excoriare Corium," the leader intoned as others of his people encircled SG1, ruining any attempt at escape.
Daniel and Methos both sucked in sharp breaths, recognizing the words spoken.
"What?" Jack asked his dark eyes cold and calculating.
"It means to flay skin Jack," Daniel whispered. "They are going to scourge you."
"Like hell they will," Jack said and pointed his P-90 at the blue idiots who had an unhealthy fixation on the preservation of bugs.
Carter and Teal'c also brought up their weapons to bear.
Daniel however stepped in front of Jack. "I cannot allow you to do this to Colonel O'Neill. He didn't know that your laws extended to creatures that are considered to be nuisances on our world. His offense was not intentional."
"It matters not. He knew the rule and violated our laws. He must be punished," he leader said and thumbed a small button on his weapon. Lights came to life; it didn't look like anything good would come from the metal cylinder.
Daniel took a deep breath, praying silently to whatever true god that was out there that he could avoid getting Jack killed. Many people, he remembered from seeing it live and in person, did not survive scourging. "I was sent by the leader of my people to head this mission to your people. I am in charge of SG-1 and the Colonel's offenses are mine. I offer to take his place."
"Danny, what in the hell are you doing?" Jack hissed. "Nobody is beating anyone today. We take them out and go home."
"How do you plan on that Jack? We're cut off from the DHD and they have weapons that we know nothing about. I will survive this. You might not. I won't let you die for something as stupid as this," Daniel hissed back, never taking his eyes off Papa Smurf.
Oh great, Daniel bitched to himself. Jack has even me calling them Smurfs. I've been around him too much. I need to widen my pool of friends and quit spending all of my time on base. Was I like this before I ascended?
"Daniel, this is bullshit," Jack snapped.
"I know its bullshit, but unless you want to experience hell, you'll shut the fuck up and let me do this," Daniel said in a low voice, careful to keep his words between him and Jack, as he passed over his weapons, his side arm and knives, and the sheath he kept strapped to his arm that held his personal knife, to his teammates.
"Will you allow me to take Colonel O'Neill's place? I am sure that he will find it more of a punishment to have to watch me go through the Excoriare Corium that to go through it himself. As their leader, I should be held accountable for their actions. Their failings are my responsibility."
The azure-skinned people spoke among themselves, occasionally looking at the humans and Teal'c.
Finally after several long minutes of debate, the head Smurf turned back to the group. "While I do not understand why you would subject yourself to the Excoriare Corium when you have not given offense, we accept your offer."
With that, the escapees from the Smurf village grabbed Daniel and hustled him away from the gate and the rest of SG1.
Jack yelled at the Pierce, Brendan, and Tracy to remain at the gate while he, followed by Carter, Teal'c, and Methos took off after Daniel and his blue entourage.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
The blue people brought Daniel to their village, which indeed did look like Smurf village – several round huts with mushroom-like caps for roofs. In the center of the village was a wooden post, about ten feet tall with a ring and rope attached to it.
Daniel was quickly stripped of his vest, jacket, and t-shirt, leaving his bare chest exposed to the light, cool wind that had chosen at that moment to pick up. His hands were bound in front of him and the rope attached to the hook was then tied to those ropes. The rope was then tugged on, pulled though the metal loop, forcing Daniel to raise his arms high above his head. He was forced to stand with his chest pressed against the pole.
The crowd parted and a lone figure in white robes appeared, brandishing a multi-thonged whip that had metal balls tied on then ends
"Jack, do not interfere," Daniel ordered his friend. "Teal'c sit on him if need be. I'll be okay."
Daniel then looked at Methos, his oldest friend, a fellow warrior in a Game that no one really understood as to why it existed. Looking at the legendary Immortal, Daniel could recall many times when it was only thanks to their Immortality that they had survived some of the most trying times. He recalled the times that they had been there for each other, understanding and not judging when countless others would have executed them a thousand times over for their crimes. "Make sure they get back in one piece and that your team doesn't see anything," he said.
Methos nodded.
Daniel kept his eyes on a distant fixed point, refusing to look at any of his friends. He needed to concentrate, to find some semblance of clear-headedness if he wanted to keep his secret safe.
From behind him came a cracking sound and the next thing he knew his breath was completely knocked out of him. Fire raced along his spine, a horrible burning sensation froze his muscles, causing his body to seize up violently.
The metal spheres bruised the skin while the leather whips cut into the subcutaneous tissue. With each subsequent strike Daniel screamed, his voice finally loosen from the shock caused by the first strike, unable to control the involuntary reaction to the lictor brutalizing his back, legs, and even his head at one point.
Again and again the whip was applied to his bare back, slicing through the skin and into his skeletal muscles. Within minutes the skin was hanging off his back in long ropes, his muscles, bones, and spine exposed. He didn't have the strength to stand upright but couldn't sink to his knees. Instead he sagged, letting the rope support his weight, the mere act dislocating one of his arms. Blood rolled down his back from the gaping wounds, staining what little skin remained on his back, soaking into his pants.
Finally, after at least twenty lashes, the lictor declared that the punishment had been delivered. He stepped back, his once white robes stained with Daniel's blood. "You may cut him down," the blue man pronounced.
The others rushed towards Daniel. Teal'c propped the Immortal up while Jack made quick work with his knife, cutting through the bonds.
Sam gathered up Daniel's clothing and while she was doing that she saw the bloody mess that was Daniel's back. "Oh God!" she gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth, fighting to choke back the urge to vomit.
She rushed over to the men who were carrying Daniel's limp form a little further away from the site of his torture and further away from the aliens.
"Why isn't he healing?" she asked and dumped the clothes by his side.
Methos looked Daniel over with a practiced and critical eye. "He's suppressing his Quickening so the aliens won't find out about him."
"Is he still alive?" Sam asked; concern was evident in her voice.
"Barely," Methos said. "Danil, let go and let your-self heal," he then whispered to his friend.
Daniel remained unresponsive, lost in his own mind, unable to let go of the absolute control over his Quickening.
"Oh Christ! What now? Why in the hell did I have to kill that damn bug? It was just one bug and these assholes did this over a fucking mosquito?" Jack raged, pissed that something this horrific happened to his best friend, thanks to his own act of stupidity. "I should have never allowed him to take my place."
"Colonel, Daniel will be fine. You probably wouldn't have survived something like this. I remember seeing this and it was something that even would have disgusted me at my worst. Most people, when scourged didn't survive and those unlucky enough to survive had to endure an agonizing death by way of crucifixion," Methos said, looking down at his friend. He noted how there was no tell-tale blue lightening healing the wounds. Daniel was that far gone.
"Let's get him away from these people, some place private. I think we need to kill Daniel to jump start his healing abilities and return his mind to its ability to focus outward. If those idiots lost it over a fucking bug, imagine what they would do if they saw us kill Daniel," Methos sighed.
Jack sent Teal'c over to the aliens, asking them for a place where they could tend to Daniel's wounds in private, not trusting himself to not beat the living shit out of them for doing this to their friend.
Papa Smurf led the group to a mushroom hut where they were given clean bandages and water. Like any of that would actually do anyone any good after enduring such torture. The only reason Daniel was still alive was due to his Immortality and the sheer stubbornness that possessed the man since day one of his life.
They stretched him out on the bed, face down, as gently as possible, doing their best to ignore the massive wounds and flayed skin that was dangling from his back.
"What now?" Jack asked, looking at the other Immortal. This was beyond his sphere of knowledge and understanding.
"If we shoot him, the aliens will know something is up. I say stab him through the heart and while he's dead, we cut off the loose skin and we can put his shoulder back in. Once we pull the knife out, his body will start to repair itself," the really old guy suggested.
"How long will it take for him to heal?" Sam asked.
Methos shrugged. "Not long – maybe. His power signature is still off the scale, like it was before. I don't think it will take long, but this is pretty extensive. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Okay people, let's get this over with. Roll him over," Jack pronounced, looking grim yet determined to get his friend out of his state of shock.
Jack then pulled a combat knife from his belt. When the others rolled Daniel over, Jack stabbed downwards, striking his friend in the heart. The act produced a wet, meaty sound, as if a steak knife was hacking into a side of raw beef.
Daniel's eyes went wide for a second and he looked down at the knife protruding from his chest. He then slowly looked up at Jack, his blue eyes looking at his friend in absolute disbelief. His eyes then clouded over and lost their focus. Death, however temporarily, claimed the Immortal.
Jack and Teal'c worked quickly, cutting away the ropes of skin while Sam and Methos held Daniel upright. Also, working together they popped his shoulder back into place, allowing his Quickening to work that much faster. Soon they were finished. The rest of the damage would have to be repaired by Daniel his self.
Jack then pulled the knife out of Daniel's heart, ignoring the sickening wet sound the act produced.
They turned Daniel back onto his stomach so they could monitor the progress his Quickening was making with the wounds.
Within minutes lightening was racing along his backside, knitting the wounds, healing the rips and tears made by the leather and the metal balls. The skin magically healed itself, returning itself to its original form, smooth and unblemished.
Daniel's eyes snapped open and he took a deep, shuddering breath, announcing that he had returned to the land of the living.
"Daniel?" Jack asked, as Daniel raised his head and turned to look at the people around him. "Are you okay?"
"No I'm not Jack," Daniel ground out, his blue eyes hard and angry.
A/N: Well, what do you think? Crap or not? Hit the shiny review button and let me know what you think.
I feel a bit nauseated with this chapter, but in a sick way it was kind of fun to write. I wanted to do something different with Daniel that I hadn't done before. I did some reading about scourging and most of it was associated with the story of Jesus. I even looked at a clip of The Passion of the Christ on YouTube (I think I am the only Catholic that has never seen the movie – and I really don't want to either) to see how they depicted the scourging scene – needless to say I ended up crying. In reality, it was a very horrible ordeal and most people did not survive the scourging. It was completely legal in the Roman Empire to scourge someone, although women, Roman senators, and soldiers (unless they were deserters) were spared from being whipped to death. Also, from what I read, according to Jewish custom a person was to only be whipped at the maximum of forty times. I also looked at a couple of sites that talked about the medical aspects of scourging. It was all pretty grim and gross. I hope I haven't offended too many people and if I have, I am sorry, but it made for an interesting chapter.
This was an extreme example of how some individuals go a bit nutty over environmental issues, but it was not directed at any one specific group. I didn't have an agenda here, beyond wanting an opportunity to get Daniel half-naked in my story again and beat the crap out of him for a little bit.
FYI, firdaws is supposed to mean paradise in Arabic (I just used it because it sounded different); and Excoriare Corium is supposed to mean to flay skin in Latin.
Anyway, thanks for reading my stuff and I hope you liked it; a double thank you to those of you that left a review and/or put me or my story on a list. It was very sweet of you to do so and I do appreciate it. Thank you and cheers!