omniDANIEListic FanFiction
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed within this story belong to the guys that own the Rights to Stargate SG1 so MGM, Gekko and unfortunately obvioues SciFi too...but I have a friend making beautiful SG1-clones and sometimes I let them out to explore our universe!
Those aformentioned characters inspire a lot of people watching and adoring Stargate SG1 so be indulgent. Many thanks to Gekko and MGM, Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter and Teal'c plus their respective actors doing such a great performance!!
But I am tempted to cast an evil spell on SciFi.
Summary: see author's notes. Tag to "The Shroud".
Timeline: season 10
spoilers: The Shroud, s 10
Rating:Some Danny-whumping involved, of cos, angst, language, violence too, but nothing too serious so far
Size:
Author's Notes: Okay - Deep Breath - Here goes.
This is the first story that I've written that I've actually put up for public humiliation Wink (CP&UP being a
collaboration with Em, and on temporary hold till she's back in action, and just a bit of fun.)
I apprectiate that This may be every one's cup of tea. It focuses very much so on Jack and Daniel,
I just so love their friendship. But don't worry guys, the rest of our heroes aren't wallpapered.
It takes place after the events of The Shroud, and is kind of AU in that I ignore the events of the episodes
that came after. I wanted to write something that had them all having to deal with the consequences of Daniel's
and Merlins actions, Daniel dealing with his own feelings regarding them, and what it leads them and the team
into in their efforts to prevent to Ori invasion.
Where I refer to what transpired bewteen the time that he was captured by Adria and being De-Priorized,
it is all a lot darker than what we got on-screen. Nothing gratuitous or graphic though.
I hope you enjoy, I'm open to advice and critism, but please remember, as I rule I write for my own pleasure,
and I'm extremely nervous about posting this. Oh, and BTW, it hasn't been beta'd, so please don't hesitate to
pick me up on typos, bad grammar, etc. And please, it is fiction, so my somewhat strange imagination is at work
here
# Novel: Consequences Part 2 #
by Delta666
Once back in the square Cam turned to the others.
“Okay, we need to find somewhere quiet to have a little chat.” He told them.
“This is about Daniel, isn’t it?” Vala said sounding worried, and a little sad.
“You got it Vala.” Cam gave her a reassuring smile. Anyone with half an eye could see that she was more
than a little fond of Jackson. So naturally she was worried about him, as of course, they all were.
They were surrounded by a group of smiling tiny people. One of them, a pretty young girl reached out and
touched Sam’s MP-5.
“This is a weapon?” She asked.
“Er, yes, we only carry them for self-defense though.” Sam told her with a smile, but
carefully moved the weapon out of the girl’s reach.
“I have heard of such things, read of them in the library, but have never seen one before, would you
show us how it works?”
“Er, maybe later.” Sam responded, hoping they wouldn’t be too insistent on that.
“Come to my café.” Another of the small people invited. “I have just made a fresh batch of cakes,
and there is corva, freshly brewed.”
“Corva?” Cam queried.
“It’s similar to coffee.” Vala said. “I’ve heard of it, you know, before I came to the SGC.”
“Oh, right, cakes and ‘corva’ it is then.” Cam grinned. Perhaps they could find a small quiet corner in
which to have their ‘chat’.
Sadly, that was not to be the case. Curious Malkon’s sat at every available seat, and the café owner
looked delighted, their presence had quadrupled his business for that day.
“This is useless, we can’t discuss what to do about Jackson, with this lot straining to hear our every word.”
Cam said irritably.
“Indeed.” Teal’c drawled looking uncomfortable and annoyed.
“Hey!” Vala exclaimed as a little girl, not more then ten years old – in Earth terms at any rate – tried to
take her hair clip.
“It’s pretty.” The girl said. “You have very pretty hair.” She added with a shy smile. Vala preened a
little and smiled at the child.
“Thank you, so do you, but I need this to keep my hair from getting in the way, but, maybe, we could get
you some from Earth.”
The little girl beamed and scampered off, presumably to tell her friends who were standing by the
doorway giggling.
“Okay, Landry should be checking in soon, we need to have our little chat before then.” Cam reminded them.
“You wish to talk in private?” An older woman said to him.
“Yeah, why, do you know of anywhere?”
“There is a private dining room at the rear of this establishment. You may use that.” She smiled at Vala.
“That was my grand-daughter you just spoke with, and you have made her very happy.”
Vala beamed at the woman and muttered something about it being no problem. The woman made a path through the
throng of Malkon’s and led them to what was indeed a nicely decorated dining room.
“Talk, I will bring you more corva. You will not be disturbed. All I ask is that when you’ve finished, you
could perhaps tell us all of your world.”
“Done, and, thank you.” Cam smiled at her.
Once alone Cam started.
“Ok-ay, Sam, you and Teal’c know Daniel the best…”
“Well, he’s just been through a major trauma, had Merlin’s consciousness downloaded in to his mind, captured
and subjected to who knows what by Adria. Transformed in to a Prior, captured and interrogated by us,
his life threatened by Woolsey, and to cap it all, endured two weeks with General O’Neill at his cabin.”
She added the last bit in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“Indeed. DanielJackson is still dealing with the effects of the past months, perhaps we have expected
too much of him.” Teal’c added.
“Well, he was cleared by Dr Lam and that horrid little phyco-analysis man.” Vala made a face,
recalling her own encounter with that very individual.
“Well, I hate to say it, but I think he made an error clearing him for active duty so soon.” Cam said
apologetically.
“Well, had he not been acting so…….un-Daniel like, I would have argued with you on that one Cam.
But…much as I hate to do this to Daniel, I have to agree with you.” Sam looked uncomfortable at
having made this admission.
“I am saddened to say that I have to agree.” Tealc added. “Perhaps DanielJackson should receive
some form of therapy.” Cam and Sam both looked at him in agreement.
Vala decided at this point to cut in.
“Okay, we’ve just all agreed that Daniel’s suffered a massive trauma, one that the consequences
of which might be with him for the rest of his life, so – what? You’re saying he should be locked up in
one of those delightful mental institutions I’ve read so much about on your – internet.” Her eyes were
sparking with indignation.
“Well, I wouldn’t say locked away, but, it might not do any harm to talk with someone qualified in
these matters.”
“Qualified in these matters!” Vala exclaimed. “So, let’s see if I’ve got this right. Your planet abounds
with psychiatrists who have had plenty of experience dealing with people who’ve had another consciousness
downloaded in to their brain, abducted by the figurehead of a bunch of megalomaniacal beings with illusions
of God-hood, forced to do who knows what, physically transformed in to one of their henchmen, distrusted
by his closest friends, told that his life is to be terminated, then, that instead, he’s going to be
forced in to the very same stasis pod that his best friend was forced to use only a couple of years ago.
Have I forgotten anything, oh yes, he went through all of this in the hope of saving our galaxy, and
this is all the thanks he gets, lock him away and what, throw away the key, maybe stop by once a year
on his birthday.” Her eyes were flashing with righteous indignation on Daniel’s behalf.
“Have you finished Vala.” Cam said calmly, after she’d finished her tirade.
She flicked back her long black hair and put on a haughty expression.
“Well, I think I managed to put it all neatly in to a nutshell, to use one of your phrases.”
“Vala, that’s not what we want for Daniel.” Sam said soothingly. “But, you have to admit, he’s not
exactly himself.”
Vala glared at Sam.
“Which, is exactly why he needs our support, to know that we are on his side, always have been.” She
lowered her eyes as she said the last part, recalling how she’d voiced her own doubts to Daniel, in person.
She’d been a guilty as the rest of them for not believing in him, even though she’d been willing to help him.
She was ripping her poor harmless napkin to shreds she was so filled with pent up frustration.
“Hey, now, we aren’t talking loony bin – whoops there goes the key!” Cam interjected. “But, I think we
all agree, we must report his behavior to Landry, put the ball in his court.”
Vala sighed crossly, stood up and paced around the room.
“Maybe we should simply give him some time, be there when he needs us.” She insisted.
Sam followed the dark haired woman around the room with her eyes.
“Vala, you can’t deny that he hasn’t exactly been nice to you since we arrived her.” She said
gently. They may never be best friends, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t missed how hurt Vala had
been when Daniel had been downright rude to her. And, fond of Daniel though she was, she had to admit
that when Daniel decided to be nasty, he could be very nasty indeed, and, Vala being the volatile
personality that she was, would find it difficult to not react badly, despite her good intentions.
With a heavy, sorrowful sigh, Vala retook her seat and toyed with her mug.
“Look Vala, we only want what’s best for Daniel. To have him back to the Daniel we all know and love.”
Cam said. “But, and, bearing in mind I’m no expert, I’d say he’s that close to loosing it.” He held up
a hand indicating a tiny little gap.
Vala bowed her head and was deep in thought for a moment or two.
“Okay.” She said finally. “But, and, I know I’m right out of line here, I think you should ask General
Landry to speak with General O’Neill before any rash decisions regarding Daniel’s future are made.”
They all looked at her in surprise.
“General O’Neill?” Sam finally managed to say.
“Yes, why not, he’s Daniel’s best friend, he came without hesitation when we – captured – Daniel, and, after
all, Daniel did spend two weeks with him. Perhaps, he noticed things about Daniel that the rest of us
missed.” She was twiddling the shredded napkin nervously as she spoke. She was well aware that to involve
Jack would be a strange request, but, she didn’t give a damned about military protocol, and from what she
had seen of Jack O’Neill, when it came to the welfare of his friend’s, he wouldn’t either, besides,
he’d already trodden a very thin line once for Daniel. She was certain he would be prepared to do so again.
The idea of Daniel’s best friend being involved somehow comforted her.
“Well, I’ll put it to Landry, but, I am duty bound to report Daniel’s behavior to him. And, if he recalls us,
and Daniel has to undergo more evaluations, then, rest assured, it’ll be with his best interests at heart.”
Cam wanted to reassure Vala, well, all of them really. Daniel was an integral part of the team, as had been
proved more times than could be counted. But, he was also a human being who could be going through torment
at the moment, which is what he was beginning to suspect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel studied the books. They were extremely old, older than he’d expected if the truth be known.
They were also written in Ancient, which was not completely unexpected. He had suspected Ancient
involvement with this place even though it wasn’t immediately apparent. It was fascinating reading.
The city, Ylaaria had been built over fifteen thousand years ago, the records regarding it ended just
over ten thousand years ago, which presumably meant, it had been abandoned for that amount of time.
Of course, they could verify that when they explored it.
“Jerrod. Are you sure this is all of the books referring to Ylaaria” He asked the curator. He had
a feeling that there was something missing.
“That is all that we have.” Jerrod replied. “Can you really read that? Our best scholars have tried,
but none of them even came close to understanding the language.”
Daniel glanced at the diminutive man.
“Oh, I happen to have had a lot of opportunity to learn this language.” But he didn’t elucidate further,
despite Jerrod’s look of extreme curiosity. He managed to persuade Jerrod to go and bring him something
to drink. He wanted some space. Ever since Adria had taken him, he’d not had a moment to himself, even
when left alone by her, Merlin had been a constant presence. Right up until the last time he’d used the
device. If he’d have had the slightest inkling that Adria had tampered with it so that it would suppress
Merlin, he’d have never used it. But, he’d had know way of knowing, and then it had just been him left
alone to try and fight what Adria was trying to make him become. That had been one of the most difficult
struggles of his existences. For a while, he’d failed, and, the things he’d done before SG-1 had finally
tracked him down would haunt him to the end of his days. The guilt of what he’d done whilst trying to
fight being a Prior, plus the guilt that weighed so heavily on his soul that he’d not been able to admit
to anyone, not even Jack, the terrible things he’d done, and, add to that the things Merlin had done on
several occasions before he’d been ‘priorized’, when the Ancient had completely taken control of his
body. No wonder he felt so terrible. Maybe he should just spill the beans and suffer whatever consequences
would arise from doing so. When he was a ‘prisoner’ of the SGC, it had only been their use of the ant-Prior
device that had allowed him to fully retake control of his own mind, and had also permitted Merlin to
overcome the affects of the altered ‘head grabber’.
He was fully aware that he was causing concern amongst his friends. But, he couldn’t help it, all the
guilt that was eating away at him was destroying him. He would do this one last thing for them, and for
the safety of the Galaxy, and then…….
“Daniel, I have brought you some corva, it’s a beverage highly favoured by my people.” He was almost
startled, so deep in thought was he. He forced a smile and took the mug. It smelled like coffee,
and when he tried it, it tasted like coffee too. Not the best, but not the worst either.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, very similar to a drink we have on my world.”
Jerrod looked inordinately pleased at hearing this, and he placed a plate of cookies on the desk.
Daniel realized he was hungry, his appetite hadn’t been what it should be, but these looked,
and smelt delicious.
“Your friends are enjoying the hospitality of our village, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also.”
The young Malkon smiled.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, really.”
Jerrod looked curiously at the great pile of books that Daniel was currently perusing. He’d never
looked at them himself. “Have you found what you were seeking?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No not really, although, this does make interesting reading, and makes me all the more certain that we must
explore Ylaaria.”
Daniel couldn’t help noticing that Jerrod looked a little perturbed.
“What is it Jerrod, Trika said she can’t stop us exploring Ylaaria, but she obviously isn’t keen on the idea,
Malveo seemed – nervous of the place, and you too look like you don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Jerrod perched on a stool. Daniel felt like a giant next the small man, but at least he didn’t have to duck
to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. This building was quite old as far as he could tell, and it made
him wonder of the Malkan’s had always been so diminutive.
“There are tales that those who went to explore Ylaaria, many many years ago, never returned. We don’t wish
that to happen to you and your friends.”
“Hey, don’t worry, we are used to dealing with all kinds of situations.” Daniel reassured him. He suspected
it was probably more a case that the explorers of old had probably just departed without the Malkan’s
knowledge rather the mysteriously vanishing. Over the years the stories had probably been embroidered a
little. It’s what happened all too often, the truth hidden amongst a tapestry of colorful embellishments.
In fact, it merely served to make him more eager to go to Ylaaria and clear up these myths. He just couldn’t
shake this feeling that there was something very important to find there.
Jerrod left him alone again and he carried on reading through the books and making notes. Time passed and
it was only when his radio crackled that he was disturbed. He realized that he still had the open link that
Mitchell had ordered him to keep, and that it was Mitchell responding to the scheduled check-in from the SGC.
He was about to switch it off when he suddenly caught something that disturbed him.
“General, we need to discuss Dr Jackson.” He heard Mitchell say. Not usually a one for eavesdropping, he
couldn’t help himself.
“I, that is we think that it might a good idea if he returns to the SGC for further psych evaluations.”
Daniel grew tense. They wanted to send him back!
“What makes you request that Colonel Mitchell, he was cleared by Dr Lam and the psychiatric panel.”
“Well, er….” He heard a snatch of muffled speech, presumably Mitchell was conferring with the others.
The Sam’s voice came on the line.
“Sir, he just hasn’t been acting himself, we’re concerned that perhaps he was allowed back on active
duty too soon. Vala thinks it might be a good idea for you to contact General O’Neill and see if he
noticed anything – odd – about Daniel while he was staying with him.”
There was a short pause and then Landry spoke again.
“Well, if you think that might help. Very well, I suggest that if you’re concerned as you sound, that you
bring him back ASAP. I’ll inform Dr Lam.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel clicked off the link and pushed down a wave of anger and hurt. Clearly they’d been discussing him
behind his back, and now, between them, had made up their minds, without even bothering to talk to him first.
So what if he’d been a little tetchy, he’d like to see how any one of them acted after having been what
he’d been through. Another thought occurred to him. If they took him back, he’d never get to Ylaaria,
and, he needed to go there.
Silently he gathered up his notes and stuffed them in to his backpack, shrugging it over his shoulder he
managed to slip out through the library and the main foyer without being noticed. Once outside he saw that
the square was thronging with people and he was surprised, but grateful to see dusk was falling. That would
make it easier for him to creep out of the village unseen by the others. Smiling at curious Malkan’s he
made his way to the gates. The street lighting was bright enough to illuminate the way, but not so bright
as to make it difficult for him to keep to shadowy spots. His radio crackled, but he ignored it. He guessed
correctly that it was Mitchell. In fact, just to be on the safe side, and knowing they could track him by
it, he dumped it in a large plant pot. That just left his subcutaneous tracking device that had become
standard issue for all SGC personnel who went off-world these days. But first, he needed to get away from
here and hide somewhere before they found him and dragged him back to the SGC. He slipped through the gates
and in to the forest. Away from the village it was dark, the leafy overhead canopy blocked out the light from
the rising twin moons and the billions of stars that he could see littered the sky through the occasional
gap. He knew he needed to head downhill if he was to find the road which led to the city, but, he figured
they would work out that that would be his most likely course of action once they realized he’d gone.
Fortune was on his side as he found a small cave, he used his torch, shielding it so that the light only
shone where he wanted it and wouldn’t give away his position. The cave was only small, but did go back
always and had a couple of sharp turns. It would do, he could remove the locater and make his way to Ylaaria
while it was still dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cam ended the communication with Landry and looked at his companions.
“Okay, we go, get Jackson, and take him back to the SGC ASAP. It would seem that the IOA have ordered
Landry to keep them appraised of any aberration in Daniel’s behavior. They were never happy about letting
him remain part of the SGC after…..well……let alone SG-1.”
“Landry’s not going to tell them is he?” Vala sounded horrified at the idea of Daniel being at the mercy of
the very people who’d ordered that he be killed.
“No Vala, as long as we get him back and in to the care of the medics, and he agrees to undergo more psych
evals, then he’s confident he can keep them at bay.”
“That is assuming DanielJackson will come quietly.” Teal’c drawled. “I suspect that he will not.” He added.
“And, I for one do not wish to be placed in a position where I may be required to use force to take him back.”
“Teal’c, none of us want that. Daniel’s a sensible guy, if we explain that it’s for his own good,
and that it’s only because we give a fig about what happens to him…..”
“I’m not so sure he’ll see it that way.” Vala said thoughtfully. “Just, put yourselves in his shoes for
a minute. How would you feel if the very people you trusted the most in the galaxy had ganged up on
you behind your back.”
“Vala, we’re not ‘ganging up’ on him.” Sam said in aghast tone. “We’d never do that, it’s just…..” She
tailed off as the reality dawned on her. “You’re right, that’s exactly how it’s going to seem to him,
maybe Cameron, we shouldn’t all come at him at once. Maybe it would be better if just one of us approached hi,
talked to him on a one-to one basis….” Her heart was breaking at the thought of what Danile must be going
through, and the fact that they had all tried to pretend that everything would be back to normal so soon.
Cam shrugged and agreed with her.
“Well, you and Teal’c know him best, but, I’d put my money on Vala here having the most sway over him
these days.”
Vala, despite the situation, looked pleased, that was perhaps the biggest compliment any could pay her.
“Okay, I’ll go seek him out, and I promise guys, I’ll do my best.”
“Perhaps I should accompany you.” Teal’c offered. “Just in case he is not as receptive as we hope to your
brand of charm.” He favored Vala with one of his tiny smiles and a nod of his head.
Vala sighed heavily and considered Teal’c offer.
“No, I think it would be better if I did this alone.” She said looking confident, but sounding a little
uncertain. If this had been anyone else other than Daniel, she would have had no qualms, but Daniel’s
opinion and respect meant more to her than she’d ever imagined.
“Keep on open line.” Cam ordered and she looked a bit annoyed. He sighed. “Okay, I understand, but call
us if you need backup.”
“Cameron, don’t.” Sam protested. “You make it sound like were trying to trap a dangerous enemy. This is
Daniel were talking about.” Her blue-grey eyes were wide with hurt on Daniel’s behalf. He’d never harm
any of them, even when he’d been at his worst as a Prior, he’d somehow managed to prevent himself from
hurting any of them. It had been that which had enabled them to convince the IOA that he was still their
Daniel, and not completely taken over by what ever it was that Adria had done to him.
Vala shrugged in to her jacket and carefully and deliberately removed and placed all of her weapons on
the table.
“You sure you don’t want to carry a zat.” Cam asked of her, her look told him no-way was she confronting
Daniel armed. “Okay, it’s your call.” He reluctantly agreed and Vala stowed the weapons in her pack.
They managed to get away from the café owner and the curious Malkan’s who were still crowding the main area
of the establishment, it was difficult because it seemed that each and every one wanted to wish the goodbye.
“Jeez, I thought we were never gonna get out of there.” Cam breathed as they finally exited on to the street.
“I would appear that night has fallen.” Teal’c stated somewhat redundantly.
“Their days a shorter than those we have on Earth.” Sam explained. “Due to the shorter orbit this planet
takes around their sun.”
“Yes, well that’s all very interesting, but shouldn’t we…..” Vala indicated the Council Building across
the square.
As they proceeded towards the building they were continuously stopped and had to waste time trying to
get rid of the Halkan’s without being downright rude.
Finally, they reached the steps that led up to the entrance.
“Okay, why don’t you guys wait here, and I’ll go and talk to Daniel.”
They found a bench next to a fountain and watched as Vala made her way in to the building.
“Do you think this is wise.” Sam mused out loud. “I mean, if Daniel really doesn’t want to go back,
he might be able to persuade her to help him.”
Teal’c thought for a moment or two and then spoke in Vala’s defense. “ValaMalDuran has proved that
she is trustworthy, and, I believe that her affection for DanielJackson will prevent her from allowing
him to sway her from her task. She only wants what is best for him.”
“Besides, whatever happens, they have to come out this way anyway. I checked earlier, the only other
way out of that place is there.” Cam pointed to an ally that ran down the side of the building. “So, we’ve
got both exits covered from here.”
The minutes ticked by and they were all on tenterhooks. They hated doing this to Daniel, but, they all kept
telling themselves that is was his own good. Sam’s eyes were glued on the doors, Teal’c kept watch on the
alley. They all jumped when Cam’s radio crackled.
“He’s not here.” Vala said over the line sounding agitated.
“What do you mean? He’s somewhere else in the building.” Cam responded and then cursed as the penny dropped.
“Crap, I told him to keep an open line. He must have heard us talking to Landry.”
Sam paled. That meant Daniel would most certainly have bolted.
“We must locate him immediately.” Teal’c intoned and grabbed a passer by.
“Tell me, have you seen a man, one similar in appearance to us wandering the streets recently.” He demanded.
“No, no, I haven’t, please, don’t hurt me.” The little man looked startled. Teal’c’s concern for Daniel had
made him overreact a little.
Teal’c let go of the man and apologized. His concern had made him forget that these people were so much
smaller and easily intimidated by his size and bulk.
“Vala, are you sure he’s gone.” Sam asked.
“Well, wither that or he’s found a great hiding place.” Vala said impatiently. “Do you want me to stay here
or come and join you?”
“You might as well come out here Vala. Daniel most likely heard us talking to Landry and hightailed it out
of there pronto.” Cam told her and then looked at Sam and she dug out a gadget from her pack.
“Okay, give me a minute.” She twiddled with the gadget and a look of relief washed over her face.
“It’s okay, he’s still in the village.” She informed them just as Vala rejoined them. She peered over Sam’s
shoulder. “That way.” She pointed across the square.
“He’s heading towards the gates, how the hell did he slip past us?” Cam was bemused.
“I do not believe that DanielJackson is still within the confines of the village.” Teal’c stated as they
trailed after Sam. Eventually she stopped and looked around with a slightly puzzled expression. Vala uttered
an exasperated sigh and plunged her arm in to a large tub that was crammed with flowering plants. With a
triumphant smile she pulled out Daniel’s radio.
“He’s a tricky S.O.B, I’ll give him that.” Cam admitted with more than a hint of admiration in his voice.
“That’s as may be, but we still have to find him.” Vala reminded them. “We’ve all got those…..things…” She
tapped her shoulder. “Can’t that device of yours find him with that?”
“No, we’d have to send up a UAV or have a ship in orbit.”
Cam wasted no time.
“Okay, Landry’s going to call in shortly to check on our progress, I’ll request a UAV, in the meantime,
we should start searching. My guess, he’ll be heading for that city. He did seem pretty annoyed when our
visit there was delayed.”
“In that case, we should be able to find him quite easily.” Teal’c offered. He recalled that for most part
the valley was quite open, there was the forest, but between where it ended and the river, was a great stretch
of open ground.
Cam looked pointedly at the radio. “He had the presence of mind to ditch that. He’s hardly going to be strolling
along that road in plain sight. If I were him, I’d probably lie low for a bit, in that forest somewhere most
likely. Wait for us to maybe look for him at the city, then, when we don’t find him there, and we start
expanding our search, well, that’s when he’ll make his move.”
“So, we request that Landry send through a couple of teams, extra manpower.” Sam offered.
“What about the ‘gate.” Vala added. “What if even now he’s heading off to some other planet, we’d have no
idea as to which one.” She looked a little panicked at this thought. Cam groaned in frustration.
“We’re stuck until Landry calls in, I’ll tell him that’s a possibility, he can send a couple of SFs through
to guard the gate, he won’t have reached there yet.”
“Question.” Vala said. “What if he left a lot sooner than we think, he could be almost there by now, and
we’ve have no way of knowing.”
Cam cursed and Sam considered the options. But it was Teal’c who spoke.
“I believe that it is more likely that he will indeed head for Ylaaria, He appeared to be fascinated by it
as soon as we saw it from the hilltop. Perhaps we should also enquire with the young man who was assisting
him as to when he last saw DanielJackson.”
“Yup, I’m with the big guy on this one.” Cam said after a moments thought. “Besides, Vala has a point too.
We have no way of knowing if he used it before you guys got there.” They looked at Vala.
“Apart from some old guy who told me how to find the library, I saw no-one.” She said defensively. “If I
had, I’d have asked them if they’d seen him.” She added
Cam made a decision. “Okay, Vala, you and Sam see if you can find – Jerrod, while Teal’c and I will start
searching the forest. Radio in when you’ve found anything out.”
Sam and Vala rushed back to the Council Building while Teal’c and Cam headed out through the gates and in
to the thick forest. Landry contacted him for a progress update, and it was with a heavy heart that Cam had
to report Daniel as having gone AWOL.
“Very well Mitchell, I’ll send a team through to assist you search for Dr Jackson and a couple of SF’s to
guard the gate. Oh, and Mitchell, I spoke with Colonel O’Neill, and he’s on his way to board a plane from
Washington as we speak.” Cam grimaced. Everyone knew that O’Neill was very protective when it came to Jackson,
hell, when he’d said to Woolsey that it would be over his dead body that he’s let hin kill Daniel,
he’d meant it. O’Neill would have his guts if he let anything happen to Daniel.
“If O’Neill is coming he must be greatly concerned.” Teal’c stated knowingly, and Cam felt even worse.
The transmission ended. Cam felt relieved that at least they were getting some back-up, and that at least he
didn’t have to worry about Daniel fleeing through the ‘gate.
“Siler’s preparing a UAV, it’ll be ready for launch in about an hour, it’s the best he can do I’m afraid,
technical problems apparently, they’ll track him from the SGC and send you the coordinates.” He told Sam
and Vala when they caught up with them. They told him that they’d tracked down Jerrod, who had in fact been
looking for them. Well, that was bit of good news, relatively speaking, Daniel hadn’t vanished prior to him
talking with Landry. “In the meantime.” He continued “We’re to return to Malkon and stay put.”
“Why! we should be out there looking for him.” Vala complained, deep concern evident in her eyes and voice.
“Vala, it’ll be much easier once we have a better idea which way he went, if we go out there we could be going
completely in the wrong direction and end being miles away when they do locate him. It makes far better
sense to wait it out till we have something definite. There are people guarding the gate now. So, if that
it is where he’s headed he won’t be able to go anywhere but back to the SGC.”
“Okay, but, just standing around doing nothing.” She pouted.
“We’re not ‘doing nothing’ Vala, as soon as we have the coordinates, we’ll find him and home, okay?” Sam
tried to reassure her, but all she could think of was Daniel and how he must be feeling.
“Take him home.” She said bitterly. “To what, after this they’re going to lock him up and throw away the key.”
“No, we won’t let that happen to him Vala, I promise.” Sam insisted, but she too was very worried. This was
such out of character behavior, the IOA were going to have a field day when they found out, and, what with
General O’Neill making another visit to the SGC, and the deployment of extra teams, there was no way they
wouldn’t find out that something was going on. Landry would be compelled to tell them what had precipitated
such events, and the repercussions, not just for Daniel, but perhaps the entire future of the SGC could be
severe and long lasting.
Vala perched on a windowsill and stared morosely at the ground. Adria was her daughter, her own flesh and blood,
even though she’d had no say in the matter. Now, not only was she attempting to make their entire galaxy bow
to the will of the Ori, because she had no doubt that Adria was still alive out there somewhere, but, in the
process, she had set in motion the destruction of the best person Vala had ever known in her life. She felt
despair for Daniel weighing on her like a ton of weapons grade naquadah.
TBC
Any kind of feedback? Please write to kauno_saario@yahoo.com I'll be happy to pass it on to Delta666 and she
will get back to you!
But I am tempted to cast an evil spell on SciFi.
Summary: see author's notes. Tag to "The Shroud".
Timeline: season 10
spoilers: The Shroud, s 10
Rating:Some Danny-whumping involved, of cos, angst, language, violence too, but nothing too serious so far
Size:
Author's Notes: Okay - Deep Breath - Here goes. This is the first story that I've written that I've actually put up for public humiliation Wink (CP&UP being a collaboration with Em, and on temporary hold till she's back in action, and just a bit of fun.)
I apprectiate that This may be every one's cup of tea. It focuses very much so on Jack and Daniel, I just so love their friendship. But don't worry guys, the rest of our heroes aren't wallpapered.
It takes place after the events of The Shroud, and is kind of AU in that I ignore the events of the episodes that came after. I wanted to write something that had them all having to deal with the consequences of Daniel's and Merlins actions, Daniel dealing with his own feelings regarding them, and what it leads them and the team into in their efforts to prevent to Ori invasion.
Where I refer to what transpired bewteen the time that he was captured by Adria and being De-Priorized, it is all a lot darker than what we got on-screen. Nothing gratuitous or graphic though.
I hope you enjoy, I'm open to advice and critism, but please remember, as I rule I write for my own pleasure, and I'm extremely nervous about posting this. Oh, and BTW, it hasn't been beta'd, so please don't hesitate to pick me up on typos, bad grammar, etc. And please, it is fiction, so my somewhat strange imagination is at work here
# Novel: Consequences Part 2 #
by Delta666
Once back in the square Cam turned to the others.
“Okay, we need to find somewhere quiet to have a little chat.” He told them.
“This is about Daniel, isn’t it?” Vala said sounding worried, and a little sad.
“You got it Vala.” Cam gave her a reassuring smile. Anyone with half an eye could see that she was more than a little fond of Jackson. So naturally she was worried about him, as of course, they all were.
They were surrounded by a group of smiling tiny people. One of them, a pretty young girl reached out and touched Sam’s MP-5.
“This is a weapon?” She asked.
“Er, yes, we only carry them for self-defense though.” Sam told her with a smile, but carefully moved the weapon out of the girl’s reach.
“I have heard of such things, read of them in the library, but have never seen one before, would you show us how it works?”
“Er, maybe later.” Sam responded, hoping they wouldn’t be too insistent on that.
“Come to my café.” Another of the small people invited. “I have just made a fresh batch of cakes, and there is corva, freshly brewed.”
“Corva?” Cam queried.
“It’s similar to coffee.” Vala said. “I’ve heard of it, you know, before I came to the SGC.”
“Oh, right, cakes and ‘corva’ it is then.” Cam grinned. Perhaps they could find a small quiet corner in which to have their ‘chat’.
Sadly, that was not to be the case. Curious Malkon’s sat at every available seat, and the café owner looked delighted, their presence had quadrupled his business for that day.
“This is useless, we can’t discuss what to do about Jackson, with this lot straining to hear our every word.” Cam said irritably.
“Indeed.” Teal’c drawled looking uncomfortable and annoyed.
“Hey!” Vala exclaimed as a little girl, not more then ten years old – in Earth terms at any rate – tried to take her hair clip.
“It’s pretty.” The girl said. “You have very pretty hair.” She added with a shy smile. Vala preened a little and smiled at the child.
“Thank you, so do you, but I need this to keep my hair from getting in the way, but, maybe, we could get you some from Earth.”
The little girl beamed and scampered off, presumably to tell her friends who were standing by the doorway giggling.
“Okay, Landry should be checking in soon, we need to have our little chat before then.” Cam reminded them.
“You wish to talk in private?” An older woman said to him.
“Yeah, why, do you know of anywhere?”
“There is a private dining room at the rear of this establishment. You may use that.” She smiled at Vala. “That was my grand-daughter you just spoke with, and you have made her very happy.”
Vala beamed at the woman and muttered something about it being no problem. The woman made a path through the throng of Malkon’s and led them to what was indeed a nicely decorated dining room.
“Talk, I will bring you more corva. You will not be disturbed. All I ask is that when you’ve finished, you could perhaps tell us all of your world.”
“Done, and, thank you.” Cam smiled at her.
Once alone Cam started.
“Ok-ay, Sam, you and Teal’c know Daniel the best…”
“Well, he’s just been through a major trauma, had Merlin’s consciousness downloaded in to his mind, captured and subjected to who knows what by Adria. Transformed in to a Prior, captured and interrogated by us, his life threatened by Woolsey, and to cap it all, endured two weeks with General O’Neill at his cabin.” She added the last bit in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“Indeed. DanielJackson is still dealing with the effects of the past months, perhaps we have expected too much of him.” Teal’c added.
“Well, he was cleared by Dr Lam and that horrid little phyco-analysis man.” Vala made a face, recalling her own encounter with that very individual.
“Well, I hate to say it, but I think he made an error clearing him for active duty so soon.” Cam said apologetically.
“Well, had he not been acting so…….un-Daniel like, I would have argued with you on that one Cam. But…much as I hate to do this to Daniel, I have to agree with you.” Sam looked uncomfortable at having made this admission.
“I am saddened to say that I have to agree.” Tealc added. “Perhaps DanielJackson should receive some form of therapy.” Cam and Sam both looked at him in agreement.
Vala decided at this point to cut in.
“Okay, we’ve just all agreed that Daniel’s suffered a massive trauma, one that the consequences of which might be with him for the rest of his life, so – what? You’re saying he should be locked up in one of those delightful mental institutions I’ve read so much about on your – internet.” Her eyes were sparking with indignation.
“Well, I wouldn’t say locked away, but, it might not do any harm to talk with someone qualified in these matters.”
“Qualified in these matters!” Vala exclaimed. “So, let’s see if I’ve got this right. Your planet abounds with psychiatrists who have had plenty of experience dealing with people who’ve had another consciousness downloaded in to their brain, abducted by the figurehead of a bunch of megalomaniacal beings with illusions of God-hood, forced to do who knows what, physically transformed in to one of their henchmen, distrusted by his closest friends, told that his life is to be terminated, then, that instead, he’s going to be forced in to the very same stasis pod that his best friend was forced to use only a couple of years ago. Have I forgotten anything, oh yes, he went through all of this in the hope of saving our galaxy, and this is all the thanks he gets, lock him away and what, throw away the key, maybe stop by once a year on his birthday.” Her eyes were flashing with righteous indignation on Daniel’s behalf.
“Have you finished Vala.” Cam said calmly, after she’d finished her tirade.
She flicked back her long black hair and put on a haughty expression.
“Well, I think I managed to put it all neatly in to a nutshell, to use one of your phrases.”
“Vala, that’s not what we want for Daniel.” Sam said soothingly. “But, you have to admit, he’s not exactly himself.”
Vala glared at Sam.
“Which, is exactly why he needs our support, to know that we are on his side, always have been.” She lowered her eyes as she said the last part, recalling how she’d voiced her own doubts to Daniel, in person. She’d been a guilty as the rest of them for not believing in him, even though she’d been willing to help him. She was ripping her poor harmless napkin to shreds she was so filled with pent up frustration.
“Hey, now, we aren’t talking loony bin – whoops there goes the key!” Cam interjected. “But, I think we all agree, we must report his behavior to Landry, put the ball in his court.”
Vala sighed crossly, stood up and paced around the room.
“Maybe we should simply give him some time, be there when he needs us.” She insisted.
Sam followed the dark haired woman around the room with her eyes.
“Vala, you can’t deny that he hasn’t exactly been nice to you since we arrived her.” She said gently. They may never be best friends, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t missed how hurt Vala had been when Daniel had been downright rude to her. And, fond of Daniel though she was, she had to admit that when Daniel decided to be nasty, he could be very nasty indeed, and, Vala being the volatile personality that she was, would find it difficult to not react badly, despite her good intentions.
With a heavy, sorrowful sigh, Vala retook her seat and toyed with her mug.
“Look Vala, we only want what’s best for Daniel. To have him back to the Daniel we all know and love.” Cam said. “But, and, bearing in mind I’m no expert, I’d say he’s that close to loosing it.” He held up a hand indicating a tiny little gap.
Vala bowed her head and was deep in thought for a moment or two.
“Okay.” She said finally. “But, and, I know I’m right out of line here, I think you should ask General Landry to speak with General O’Neill before any rash decisions regarding Daniel’s future are made.”
They all looked at her in surprise.
“General O’Neill?” Sam finally managed to say.
“Yes, why not, he’s Daniel’s best friend, he came without hesitation when we – captured – Daniel, and, after all, Daniel did spend two weeks with him. Perhaps, he noticed things about Daniel that the rest of us missed.” She was twiddling the shredded napkin nervously as she spoke. She was well aware that to involve Jack would be a strange request, but, she didn’t give a damned about military protocol, and from what she had seen of Jack O’Neill, when it came to the welfare of his friend’s, he wouldn’t either, besides, he’d already trodden a very thin line once for Daniel. She was certain he would be prepared to do so again. The idea of Daniel’s best friend being involved somehow comforted her.
“Well, I’ll put it to Landry, but, I am duty bound to report Daniel’s behavior to him. And, if he recalls us, and Daniel has to undergo more evaluations, then, rest assured, it’ll be with his best interests at heart.” Cam wanted to reassure Vala, well, all of them really. Daniel was an integral part of the team, as had been proved more times than could be counted. But, he was also a human being who could be going through torment at the moment, which is what he was beginning to suspect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel studied the books. They were extremely old, older than he’d expected if the truth be known. They were also written in Ancient, which was not completely unexpected. He had suspected Ancient involvement with this place even though it wasn’t immediately apparent. It was fascinating reading. The city, Ylaaria had been built over fifteen thousand years ago, the records regarding it ended just over ten thousand years ago, which presumably meant, it had been abandoned for that amount of time. Of course, they could verify that when they explored it.
“Jerrod. Are you sure this is all of the books referring to Ylaaria” He asked the curator. He had a feeling that there was something missing.
“That is all that we have.” Jerrod replied. “Can you really read that? Our best scholars have tried, but none of them even came close to understanding the language.”
Daniel glanced at the diminutive man.
“Oh, I happen to have had a lot of opportunity to learn this language.” But he didn’t elucidate further, despite Jerrod’s look of extreme curiosity. He managed to persuade Jerrod to go and bring him something to drink. He wanted some space. Ever since Adria had taken him, he’d not had a moment to himself, even when left alone by her, Merlin had been a constant presence. Right up until the last time he’d used the device. If he’d have had the slightest inkling that Adria had tampered with it so that it would suppress Merlin, he’d have never used it. But, he’d had know way of knowing, and then it had just been him left alone to try and fight what Adria was trying to make him become. That had been one of the most difficult struggles of his existences. For a while, he’d failed, and, the things he’d done before SG-1 had finally tracked him down would haunt him to the end of his days. The guilt of what he’d done whilst trying to fight being a Prior, plus the guilt that weighed so heavily on his soul that he’d not been able to admit to anyone, not even Jack, the terrible things he’d done, and, add to that the things Merlin had done on several occasions before he’d been ‘priorized’, when the Ancient had completely taken control of his body. No wonder he felt so terrible. Maybe he should just spill the beans and suffer whatever consequences would arise from doing so. When he was a ‘prisoner’ of the SGC, it had only been their use of the ant-Prior device that had allowed him to fully retake control of his own mind, and had also permitted Merlin to overcome the affects of the altered ‘head grabber’.
He was fully aware that he was causing concern amongst his friends. But, he couldn’t help it, all the guilt that was eating away at him was destroying him. He would do this one last thing for them, and for the safety of the Galaxy, and then…….
“Daniel, I have brought you some corva, it’s a beverage highly favoured by my people.” He was almost startled, so deep in thought was he. He forced a smile and took the mug. It smelled like coffee, and when he tried it, it tasted like coffee too. Not the best, but not the worst either.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, very similar to a drink we have on my world.”
Jerrod looked inordinately pleased at hearing this, and he placed a plate of cookies on the desk. Daniel realized he was hungry, his appetite hadn’t been what it should be, but these looked, and smelt delicious.
“Your friends are enjoying the hospitality of our village, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also.” The young Malkon smiled.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, really.”
Jerrod looked curiously at the great pile of books that Daniel was currently perusing. He’d never looked at them himself. “Have you found what you were seeking?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No not really, although, this does make interesting reading, and makes me all the more certain that we must explore Ylaaria.”
Daniel couldn’t help noticing that Jerrod looked a little perturbed.
“What is it Jerrod, Trika said she can’t stop us exploring Ylaaria, but she obviously isn’t keen on the idea, Malveo seemed – nervous of the place, and you too look like you don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Jerrod perched on a stool. Daniel felt like a giant next the small man, but at least he didn’t have to duck to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. This building was quite old as far as he could tell, and it made him wonder of the Malkan’s had always been so diminutive.
“There are tales that those who went to explore Ylaaria, many many years ago, never returned. We don’t wish that to happen to you and your friends.”
“Hey, don’t worry, we are used to dealing with all kinds of situations.” Daniel reassured him. He suspected it was probably more a case that the explorers of old had probably just departed without the Malkan’s knowledge rather the mysteriously vanishing. Over the years the stories had probably been embroidered a little. It’s what happened all too often, the truth hidden amongst a tapestry of colorful embellishments. In fact, it merely served to make him more eager to go to Ylaaria and clear up these myths. He just couldn’t shake this feeling that there was something very important to find there.
Jerrod left him alone again and he carried on reading through the books and making notes. Time passed and it was only when his radio crackled that he was disturbed. He realized that he still had the open link that Mitchell had ordered him to keep, and that it was Mitchell responding to the scheduled check-in from the SGC. He was about to switch it off when he suddenly caught something that disturbed him.
“General, we need to discuss Dr Jackson.” He heard Mitchell say. Not usually a one for eavesdropping, he couldn’t help himself.
“I, that is we think that it might a good idea if he returns to the SGC for further psych evaluations.”
Daniel grew tense. They wanted to send him back!
“What makes you request that Colonel Mitchell, he was cleared by Dr Lam and the psychiatric panel.”
“Well, er….” He heard a snatch of muffled speech, presumably Mitchell was conferring with the others. The Sam’s voice came on the line.
“Sir, he just hasn’t been acting himself, we’re concerned that perhaps he was allowed back on active duty too soon. Vala thinks it might be a good idea for you to contact General O’Neill and see if he noticed anything – odd – about Daniel while he was staying with him.”
There was a short pause and then Landry spoke again.
“Well, if you think that might help. Very well, I suggest that if you’re concerned as you sound, that you bring him back ASAP. I’ll inform Dr Lam.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel clicked off the link and pushed down a wave of anger and hurt. Clearly they’d been discussing him behind his back, and now, between them, had made up their minds, without even bothering to talk to him first. So what if he’d been a little tetchy, he’d like to see how any one of them acted after having been what he’d been through. Another thought occurred to him. If they took him back, he’d never get to Ylaaria, and, he needed to go there.
Silently he gathered up his notes and stuffed them in to his backpack, shrugging it over his shoulder he managed to slip out through the library and the main foyer without being noticed. Once outside he saw that the square was thronging with people and he was surprised, but grateful to see dusk was falling. That would make it easier for him to creep out of the village unseen by the others. Smiling at curious Malkan’s he made his way to the gates. The street lighting was bright enough to illuminate the way, but not so bright as to make it difficult for him to keep to shadowy spots. His radio crackled, but he ignored it. He guessed correctly that it was Mitchell. In fact, just to be on the safe side, and knowing they could track him by it, he dumped it in a large plant pot. That just left his subcutaneous tracking device that had become standard issue for all SGC personnel who went off-world these days. But first, he needed to get away from here and hide somewhere before they found him and dragged him back to the SGC. He slipped through the gates and in to the forest. Away from the village it was dark, the leafy overhead canopy blocked out the light from the rising twin moons and the billions of stars that he could see littered the sky through the occasional gap. He knew he needed to head downhill if he was to find the road which led to the city, but, he figured they would work out that that would be his most likely course of action once they realized he’d gone.
Fortune was on his side as he found a small cave, he used his torch, shielding it so that the light only shone where he wanted it and wouldn’t give away his position. The cave was only small, but did go back always and had a couple of sharp turns. It would do, he could remove the locater and make his way to Ylaaria while it was still dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cam ended the communication with Landry and looked at his companions.
“Okay, we go, get Jackson, and take him back to the SGC ASAP. It would seem that the IOA have ordered Landry to keep them appraised of any aberration in Daniel’s behavior. They were never happy about letting him remain part of the SGC after…..well……let alone SG-1.”
“Landry’s not going to tell them is he?” Vala sounded horrified at the idea of Daniel being at the mercy of the very people who’d ordered that he be killed.
“No Vala, as long as we get him back and in to the care of the medics, and he agrees to undergo more psych evals, then he’s confident he can keep them at bay.” “That is assuming DanielJackson will come quietly.” Teal’c drawled. “I suspect that he will not.” He added. “And, I for one do not wish to be placed in a position where I may be required to use force to take him back.”
“Teal’c, none of us want that. Daniel’s a sensible guy, if we explain that it’s for his own good, and that it’s only because we give a fig about what happens to him…..”
“I’m not so sure he’ll see it that way.” Vala said thoughtfully. “Just, put yourselves in his shoes for a minute. How would you feel if the very people you trusted the most in the galaxy had ganged up on you behind your back.”
“Vala, we’re not ‘ganging up’ on him.” Sam said in aghast tone. “We’d never do that, it’s just…..” She tailed off as the reality dawned on her. “You’re right, that’s exactly how it’s going to seem to him, maybe Cameron, we shouldn’t all come at him at once. Maybe it would be better if just one of us approached hi, talked to him on a one-to one basis….” Her heart was breaking at the thought of what Danile must be going through, and the fact that they had all tried to pretend that everything would be back to normal so soon.
Cam shrugged and agreed with her.
“Well, you and Teal’c know him best, but, I’d put my money on Vala here having the most sway over him these days.”
Vala, despite the situation, looked pleased, that was perhaps the biggest compliment any could pay her.
“Okay, I’ll go seek him out, and I promise guys, I’ll do my best.”
“Perhaps I should accompany you.” Teal’c offered. “Just in case he is not as receptive as we hope to your brand of charm.” He favored Vala with one of his tiny smiles and a nod of his head.
Vala sighed heavily and considered Teal’c offer.
“No, I think it would be better if I did this alone.” She said looking confident, but sounding a little uncertain. If this had been anyone else other than Daniel, she would have had no qualms, but Daniel’s opinion and respect meant more to her than she’d ever imagined.
“Keep on open line.” Cam ordered and she looked a bit annoyed. He sighed. “Okay, I understand, but call us if you need backup.”
“Cameron, don’t.” Sam protested. “You make it sound like were trying to trap a dangerous enemy. This is Daniel were talking about.” Her blue-grey eyes were wide with hurt on Daniel’s behalf. He’d never harm any of them, even when he’d been at his worst as a Prior, he’d somehow managed to prevent himself from hurting any of them. It had been that which had enabled them to convince the IOA that he was still their Daniel, and not completely taken over by what ever it was that Adria had done to him.
Vala shrugged in to her jacket and carefully and deliberately removed and placed all of her weapons on the table.
“You sure you don’t want to carry a zat.” Cam asked of her, her look told him no-way was she confronting Daniel armed. “Okay, it’s your call.” He reluctantly agreed and Vala stowed the weapons in her pack.
They managed to get away from the café owner and the curious Malkan’s who were still crowding the main area of the establishment, it was difficult because it seemed that each and every one wanted to wish the goodbye.
“Jeez, I thought we were never gonna get out of there.” Cam breathed as they finally exited on to the street.
“I would appear that night has fallen.” Teal’c stated somewhat redundantly.
“Their days a shorter than those we have on Earth.” Sam explained. “Due to the shorter orbit this planet takes around their sun.”
“Yes, well that’s all very interesting, but shouldn’t we…..” Vala indicated the Council Building across the square.
As they proceeded towards the building they were continuously stopped and had to waste time trying to get rid of the Halkan’s without being downright rude.
Finally, they reached the steps that led up to the entrance.
“Okay, why don’t you guys wait here, and I’ll go and talk to Daniel.”
They found a bench next to a fountain and watched as Vala made her way in to the building.
“Do you think this is wise.” Sam mused out loud. “I mean, if Daniel really doesn’t want to go back, he might be able to persuade her to help him.”
Teal’c thought for a moment or two and then spoke in Vala’s defense. “ValaMalDuran has proved that she is trustworthy, and, I believe that her affection for DanielJackson will prevent her from allowing him to sway her from her task. She only wants what is best for him.”
“Besides, whatever happens, they have to come out this way anyway. I checked earlier, the only other way out of that place is there.” Cam pointed to an ally that ran down the side of the building. “So, we’ve got both exits covered from here.”
The minutes ticked by and they were all on tenterhooks. They hated doing this to Daniel, but, they all kept telling themselves that is was his own good. Sam’s eyes were glued on the doors, Teal’c kept watch on the alley. They all jumped when Cam’s radio crackled.
“He’s not here.” Vala said over the line sounding agitated.
“What do you mean? He’s somewhere else in the building.” Cam responded and then cursed as the penny dropped.
“Crap, I told him to keep an open line. He must have heard us talking to Landry.”
Sam paled. That meant Daniel would most certainly have bolted.
“We must locate him immediately.” Teal’c intoned and grabbed a passer by.
“Tell me, have you seen a man, one similar in appearance to us wandering the streets recently.” He demanded.
“No, no, I haven’t, please, don’t hurt me.” The little man looked startled. Teal’c’s concern for Daniel had made him overreact a little.
Teal’c let go of the man and apologized. His concern had made him forget that these people were so much smaller and easily intimidated by his size and bulk.
“Vala, are you sure he’s gone.” Sam asked.
“Well, wither that or he’s found a great hiding place.” Vala said impatiently. “Do you want me to stay here or come and join you?”
“You might as well come out here Vala. Daniel most likely heard us talking to Landry and hightailed it out of there pronto.” Cam told her and then looked at Sam and she dug out a gadget from her pack.
“Okay, give me a minute.” She twiddled with the gadget and a look of relief washed over her face.
“It’s okay, he’s still in the village.” She informed them just as Vala rejoined them. She peered over Sam’s shoulder. “That way.” She pointed across the square.
“He’s heading towards the gates, how the hell did he slip past us?” Cam was bemused.
“I do not believe that DanielJackson is still within the confines of the village.” Teal’c stated as they trailed after Sam. Eventually she stopped and looked around with a slightly puzzled expression. Vala uttered an exasperated sigh and plunged her arm in to a large tub that was crammed with flowering plants. With a triumphant smile she pulled out Daniel’s radio.
“He’s a tricky S.O.B, I’ll give him that.” Cam admitted with more than a hint of admiration in his voice.
“That’s as may be, but we still have to find him.” Vala reminded them. “We’ve all got those…..things…” She tapped her shoulder. “Can’t that device of yours find him with that?”
“No, we’d have to send up a UAV or have a ship in orbit.”
Cam wasted no time.
“Okay, Landry’s going to call in shortly to check on our progress, I’ll request a UAV, in the meantime, we should start searching. My guess, he’ll be heading for that city. He did seem pretty annoyed when our visit there was delayed.”
“In that case, we should be able to find him quite easily.” Teal’c offered. He recalled that for most part the valley was quite open, there was the forest, but between where it ended and the river, was a great stretch of open ground.
Cam looked pointedly at the radio. “He had the presence of mind to ditch that. He’s hardly going to be strolling along that road in plain sight. If I were him, I’d probably lie low for a bit, in that forest somewhere most likely. Wait for us to maybe look for him at the city, then, when we don’t find him there, and we start expanding our search, well, that’s when he’ll make his move.”
“So, we request that Landry send through a couple of teams, extra manpower.” Sam offered.
“What about the ‘gate.” Vala added. “What if even now he’s heading off to some other planet, we’d have no idea as to which one.” She looked a little panicked at this thought. Cam groaned in frustration.
“We’re stuck until Landry calls in, I’ll tell him that’s a possibility, he can send a couple of SFs through to guard the gate, he won’t have reached there yet.”
“Question.” Vala said. “What if he left a lot sooner than we think, he could be almost there by now, and we’ve have no way of knowing.”
Cam cursed and Sam considered the options. But it was Teal’c who spoke.
“I believe that it is more likely that he will indeed head for Ylaaria, He appeared to be fascinated by it as soon as we saw it from the hilltop. Perhaps we should also enquire with the young man who was assisting him as to when he last saw DanielJackson.”
“Yup, I’m with the big guy on this one.” Cam said after a moments thought. “Besides, Vala has a point too. We have no way of knowing if he used it before you guys got there.” They looked at Vala.
“Apart from some old guy who told me how to find the library, I saw no-one.” She said defensively. “If I had, I’d have asked them if they’d seen him.” She added
Cam made a decision. “Okay, Vala, you and Sam see if you can find – Jerrod, while Teal’c and I will start searching the forest. Radio in when you’ve found anything out.”
Sam and Vala rushed back to the Council Building while Teal’c and Cam headed out through the gates and in to the thick forest. Landry contacted him for a progress update, and it was with a heavy heart that Cam had to report Daniel as having gone AWOL.
“Very well Mitchell, I’ll send a team through to assist you search for Dr Jackson and a couple of SF’s to guard the gate. Oh, and Mitchell, I spoke with Colonel O’Neill, and he’s on his way to board a plane from Washington as we speak.” Cam grimaced. Everyone knew that O’Neill was very protective when it came to Jackson, hell, when he’d said to Woolsey that it would be over his dead body that he’s let hin kill Daniel, he’d meant it. O’Neill would have his guts if he let anything happen to Daniel.
“If O’Neill is coming he must be greatly concerned.” Teal’c stated knowingly, and Cam felt even worse.
The transmission ended. Cam felt relieved that at least they were getting some back-up, and that at least he didn’t have to worry about Daniel fleeing through the ‘gate.
“Siler’s preparing a UAV, it’ll be ready for launch in about an hour, it’s the best he can do I’m afraid, technical problems apparently, they’ll track him from the SGC and send you the coordinates.” He told Sam and Vala when they caught up with them. They told him that they’d tracked down Jerrod, who had in fact been looking for them. Well, that was bit of good news, relatively speaking, Daniel hadn’t vanished prior to him talking with Landry. “In the meantime.” He continued “We’re to return to Malkon and stay put.”
“Why! we should be out there looking for him.” Vala complained, deep concern evident in her eyes and voice.
“Vala, it’ll be much easier once we have a better idea which way he went, if we go out there we could be going completely in the wrong direction and end being miles away when they do locate him. It makes far better sense to wait it out till we have something definite. There are people guarding the gate now. So, if that it is where he’s headed he won’t be able to go anywhere but back to the SGC.”
“Okay, but, just standing around doing nothing.” She pouted.
“We’re not ‘doing nothing’ Vala, as soon as we have the coordinates, we’ll find him and home, okay?” Sam tried to reassure her, but all she could think of was Daniel and how he must be feeling.
“Take him home.” She said bitterly. “To what, after this they’re going to lock him up and throw away the key.”
“No, we won’t let that happen to him Vala, I promise.” Sam insisted, but she too was very worried. This was such out of character behavior, the IOA were going to have a field day when they found out, and, what with General O’Neill making another visit to the SGC, and the deployment of extra teams, there was no way they wouldn’t find out that something was going on. Landry would be compelled to tell them what had precipitated such events, and the repercussions, not just for Daniel, but perhaps the entire future of the SGC could be severe and long lasting.
Vala perched on a windowsill and stared morosely at the ground. Adria was her daughter, her own flesh and blood, even though she’d had no say in the matter. Now, not only was she attempting to make their entire galaxy bow to the will of the Ori, because she had no doubt that Adria was still alive out there somewhere, but, in the process, she had set in motion the destruction of the best person Vala had ever known in her life. She felt despair for Daniel weighing on her like a ton of weapons grade naquadah.
TBC
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“Okay, we need to find somewhere quiet to have a little chat.” He told them.
“This is about Daniel, isn’t it?” Vala said sounding worried, and a little sad.
“You got it Vala.” Cam gave her a reassuring smile. Anyone with half an eye could see that she was more than a little fond of Jackson. So naturally she was worried about him, as of course, they all were.
They were surrounded by a group of smiling tiny people. One of them, a pretty young girl reached out and touched Sam’s MP-5.
“This is a weapon?” She asked.
“Er, yes, we only carry them for self-defense though.” Sam told her with a smile, but carefully moved the weapon out of the girl’s reach.
“I have heard of such things, read of them in the library, but have never seen one before, would you show us how it works?”
“Er, maybe later.” Sam responded, hoping they wouldn’t be too insistent on that.
“Come to my café.” Another of the small people invited. “I have just made a fresh batch of cakes, and there is corva, freshly brewed.”
“Corva?” Cam queried.
“It’s similar to coffee.” Vala said. “I’ve heard of it, you know, before I came to the SGC.”
“Oh, right, cakes and ‘corva’ it is then.” Cam grinned. Perhaps they could find a small quiet corner in which to have their ‘chat’.
Sadly, that was not to be the case. Curious Malkon’s sat at every available seat, and the café owner looked delighted, their presence had quadrupled his business for that day.
“This is useless, we can’t discuss what to do about Jackson, with this lot straining to hear our every word.” Cam said irritably.
“Indeed.” Teal’c drawled looking uncomfortable and annoyed.
“Hey!” Vala exclaimed as a little girl, not more then ten years old – in Earth terms at any rate – tried to take her hair clip.
“It’s pretty.” The girl said. “You have very pretty hair.” She added with a shy smile. Vala preened a little and smiled at the child.
“Thank you, so do you, but I need this to keep my hair from getting in the way, but, maybe, we could get you some from Earth.”
The little girl beamed and scampered off, presumably to tell her friends who were standing by the doorway giggling.
“Okay, Landry should be checking in soon, we need to have our little chat before then.” Cam reminded them.
“You wish to talk in private?” An older woman said to him.
“Yeah, why, do you know of anywhere?”
“There is a private dining room at the rear of this establishment. You may use that.” She smiled at Vala. “That was my grand-daughter you just spoke with, and you have made her very happy.”
Vala beamed at the woman and muttered something about it being no problem. The woman made a path through the throng of Malkon’s and led them to what was indeed a nicely decorated dining room.
“Talk, I will bring you more corva. You will not be disturbed. All I ask is that when you’ve finished, you could perhaps tell us all of your world.”
“Done, and, thank you.” Cam smiled at her.
Once alone Cam started.
“Ok-ay, Sam, you and Teal’c know Daniel the best…”
“Well, he’s just been through a major trauma, had Merlin’s consciousness downloaded in to his mind, captured and subjected to who knows what by Adria. Transformed in to a Prior, captured and interrogated by us, his life threatened by Woolsey, and to cap it all, endured two weeks with General O’Neill at his cabin.” She added the last bit in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“Indeed. DanielJackson is still dealing with the effects of the past months, perhaps we have expected too much of him.” Teal’c added.
“Well, he was cleared by Dr Lam and that horrid little phyco-analysis man.” Vala made a face, recalling her own encounter with that very individual.
“Well, I hate to say it, but I think he made an error clearing him for active duty so soon.” Cam said apologetically.
“Well, had he not been acting so…….un-Daniel like, I would have argued with you on that one Cam. But…much as I hate to do this to Daniel, I have to agree with you.” Sam looked uncomfortable at having made this admission.
“I am saddened to say that I have to agree.” Tealc added. “Perhaps DanielJackson should receive some form of therapy.” Cam and Sam both looked at him in agreement.
Vala decided at this point to cut in.
“Okay, we’ve just all agreed that Daniel’s suffered a massive trauma, one that the consequences of which might be with him for the rest of his life, so – what? You’re saying he should be locked up in one of those delightful mental institutions I’ve read so much about on your – internet.” Her eyes were sparking with indignation.
“Well, I wouldn’t say locked away, but, it might not do any harm to talk with someone qualified in these matters.”
“Qualified in these matters!” Vala exclaimed. “So, let’s see if I’ve got this right. Your planet abounds with psychiatrists who have had plenty of experience dealing with people who’ve had another consciousness downloaded in to their brain, abducted by the figurehead of a bunch of megalomaniacal beings with illusions of God-hood, forced to do who knows what, physically transformed in to one of their henchmen, distrusted by his closest friends, told that his life is to be terminated, then, that instead, he’s going to be forced in to the very same stasis pod that his best friend was forced to use only a couple of years ago. Have I forgotten anything, oh yes, he went through all of this in the hope of saving our galaxy, and this is all the thanks he gets, lock him away and what, throw away the key, maybe stop by once a year on his birthday.” Her eyes were flashing with righteous indignation on Daniel’s behalf.
“Have you finished Vala.” Cam said calmly, after she’d finished her tirade.
She flicked back her long black hair and put on a haughty expression.
“Well, I think I managed to put it all neatly in to a nutshell, to use one of your phrases.”
“Vala, that’s not what we want for Daniel.” Sam said soothingly. “But, you have to admit, he’s not exactly himself.”
Vala glared at Sam.
“Which, is exactly why he needs our support, to know that we are on his side, always have been.” She lowered her eyes as she said the last part, recalling how she’d voiced her own doubts to Daniel, in person. She’d been a guilty as the rest of them for not believing in him, even though she’d been willing to help him. She was ripping her poor harmless napkin to shreds she was so filled with pent up frustration.
“Hey, now, we aren’t talking loony bin – whoops there goes the key!” Cam interjected. “But, I think we all agree, we must report his behavior to Landry, put the ball in his court.”
Vala sighed crossly, stood up and paced around the room.
“Maybe we should simply give him some time, be there when he needs us.” She insisted.
Sam followed the dark haired woman around the room with her eyes.
“Vala, you can’t deny that he hasn’t exactly been nice to you since we arrived her.” She said gently. They may never be best friends, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t missed how hurt Vala had been when Daniel had been downright rude to her. And, fond of Daniel though she was, she had to admit that when Daniel decided to be nasty, he could be very nasty indeed, and, Vala being the volatile personality that she was, would find it difficult to not react badly, despite her good intentions.
With a heavy, sorrowful sigh, Vala retook her seat and toyed with her mug.
“Look Vala, we only want what’s best for Daniel. To have him back to the Daniel we all know and love.” Cam said. “But, and, bearing in mind I’m no expert, I’d say he’s that close to loosing it.” He held up a hand indicating a tiny little gap.
Vala bowed her head and was deep in thought for a moment or two.
“Okay.” She said finally. “But, and, I know I’m right out of line here, I think you should ask General Landry to speak with General O’Neill before any rash decisions regarding Daniel’s future are made.”
They all looked at her in surprise.
“General O’Neill?” Sam finally managed to say.
“Yes, why not, he’s Daniel’s best friend, he came without hesitation when we – captured – Daniel, and, after all, Daniel did spend two weeks with him. Perhaps, he noticed things about Daniel that the rest of us missed.” She was twiddling the shredded napkin nervously as she spoke. She was well aware that to involve Jack would be a strange request, but, she didn’t give a damned about military protocol, and from what she had seen of Jack O’Neill, when it came to the welfare of his friend’s, he wouldn’t either, besides, he’d already trodden a very thin line once for Daniel. She was certain he would be prepared to do so again. The idea of Daniel’s best friend being involved somehow comforted her.
“Well, I’ll put it to Landry, but, I am duty bound to report Daniel’s behavior to him. And, if he recalls us, and Daniel has to undergo more evaluations, then, rest assured, it’ll be with his best interests at heart.” Cam wanted to reassure Vala, well, all of them really. Daniel was an integral part of the team, as had been proved more times than could be counted. But, he was also a human being who could be going through torment at the moment, which is what he was beginning to suspect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel studied the books. They were extremely old, older than he’d expected if the truth be known. They were also written in Ancient, which was not completely unexpected. He had suspected Ancient involvement with this place even though it wasn’t immediately apparent. It was fascinating reading. The city, Ylaaria had been built over fifteen thousand years ago, the records regarding it ended just over ten thousand years ago, which presumably meant, it had been abandoned for that amount of time. Of course, they could verify that when they explored it.
“Jerrod. Are you sure this is all of the books referring to Ylaaria” He asked the curator. He had a feeling that there was something missing.
“That is all that we have.” Jerrod replied. “Can you really read that? Our best scholars have tried, but none of them even came close to understanding the language.”
Daniel glanced at the diminutive man.
“Oh, I happen to have had a lot of opportunity to learn this language.” But he didn’t elucidate further, despite Jerrod’s look of extreme curiosity. He managed to persuade Jerrod to go and bring him something to drink. He wanted some space. Ever since Adria had taken him, he’d not had a moment to himself, even when left alone by her, Merlin had been a constant presence. Right up until the last time he’d used the device. If he’d have had the slightest inkling that Adria had tampered with it so that it would suppress Merlin, he’d have never used it. But, he’d had know way of knowing, and then it had just been him left alone to try and fight what Adria was trying to make him become. That had been one of the most difficult struggles of his existences. For a while, he’d failed, and, the things he’d done before SG-1 had finally tracked him down would haunt him to the end of his days. The guilt of what he’d done whilst trying to fight being a Prior, plus the guilt that weighed so heavily on his soul that he’d not been able to admit to anyone, not even Jack, the terrible things he’d done, and, add to that the things Merlin had done on several occasions before he’d been ‘priorized’, when the Ancient had completely taken control of his body. No wonder he felt so terrible. Maybe he should just spill the beans and suffer whatever consequences would arise from doing so. When he was a ‘prisoner’ of the SGC, it had only been their use of the ant-Prior device that had allowed him to fully retake control of his own mind, and had also permitted Merlin to overcome the affects of the altered ‘head grabber’.
He was fully aware that he was causing concern amongst his friends. But, he couldn’t help it, all the guilt that was eating away at him was destroying him. He would do this one last thing for them, and for the safety of the Galaxy, and then…….
“Daniel, I have brought you some corva, it’s a beverage highly favoured by my people.” He was almost startled, so deep in thought was he. He forced a smile and took the mug. It smelled like coffee, and when he tried it, it tasted like coffee too. Not the best, but not the worst either.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, very similar to a drink we have on my world.”
Jerrod looked inordinately pleased at hearing this, and he placed a plate of cookies on the desk. Daniel realized he was hungry, his appetite hadn’t been what it should be, but these looked, and smelt delicious.
“Your friends are enjoying the hospitality of our village, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t also.” The young Malkon smiled.
“Thank you Jerrod, this is great, really.”
Jerrod looked curiously at the great pile of books that Daniel was currently perusing. He’d never looked at them himself. “Have you found what you were seeking?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No not really, although, this does make interesting reading, and makes me all the more certain that we must explore Ylaaria.”
Daniel couldn’t help noticing that Jerrod looked a little perturbed.
“What is it Jerrod, Trika said she can’t stop us exploring Ylaaria, but she obviously isn’t keen on the idea, Malveo seemed – nervous of the place, and you too look like you don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Jerrod perched on a stool. Daniel felt like a giant next the small man, but at least he didn’t have to duck to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. This building was quite old as far as he could tell, and it made him wonder of the Malkan’s had always been so diminutive.
“There are tales that those who went to explore Ylaaria, many many years ago, never returned. We don’t wish that to happen to you and your friends.”
“Hey, don’t worry, we are used to dealing with all kinds of situations.” Daniel reassured him. He suspected it was probably more a case that the explorers of old had probably just departed without the Malkan’s knowledge rather the mysteriously vanishing. Over the years the stories had probably been embroidered a little. It’s what happened all too often, the truth hidden amongst a tapestry of colorful embellishments. In fact, it merely served to make him more eager to go to Ylaaria and clear up these myths. He just couldn’t shake this feeling that there was something very important to find there.
Jerrod left him alone again and he carried on reading through the books and making notes. Time passed and it was only when his radio crackled that he was disturbed. He realized that he still had the open link that Mitchell had ordered him to keep, and that it was Mitchell responding to the scheduled check-in from the SGC. He was about to switch it off when he suddenly caught something that disturbed him.
“General, we need to discuss Dr Jackson.” He heard Mitchell say. Not usually a one for eavesdropping, he couldn’t help himself.
“I, that is we think that it might a good idea if he returns to the SGC for further psych evaluations.”
Daniel grew tense. They wanted to send him back!
“What makes you request that Colonel Mitchell, he was cleared by Dr Lam and the psychiatric panel.”
“Well, er….” He heard a snatch of muffled speech, presumably Mitchell was conferring with the others. The Sam’s voice came on the line.
“Sir, he just hasn’t been acting himself, we’re concerned that perhaps he was allowed back on active duty too soon. Vala thinks it might be a good idea for you to contact General O’Neill and see if he noticed anything – odd – about Daniel while he was staying with him.”
There was a short pause and then Landry spoke again.
“Well, if you think that might help. Very well, I suggest that if you’re concerned as you sound, that you bring him back ASAP. I’ll inform Dr Lam.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daniel clicked off the link and pushed down a wave of anger and hurt. Clearly they’d been discussing him behind his back, and now, between them, had made up their minds, without even bothering to talk to him first. So what if he’d been a little tetchy, he’d like to see how any one of them acted after having been what he’d been through. Another thought occurred to him. If they took him back, he’d never get to Ylaaria, and, he needed to go there.
Silently he gathered up his notes and stuffed them in to his backpack, shrugging it over his shoulder he managed to slip out through the library and the main foyer without being noticed. Once outside he saw that the square was thronging with people and he was surprised, but grateful to see dusk was falling. That would make it easier for him to creep out of the village unseen by the others. Smiling at curious Malkan’s he made his way to the gates. The street lighting was bright enough to illuminate the way, but not so bright as to make it difficult for him to keep to shadowy spots. His radio crackled, but he ignored it. He guessed correctly that it was Mitchell. In fact, just to be on the safe side, and knowing they could track him by it, he dumped it in a large plant pot. That just left his subcutaneous tracking device that had become standard issue for all SGC personnel who went off-world these days. But first, he needed to get away from here and hide somewhere before they found him and dragged him back to the SGC. He slipped through the gates and in to the forest. Away from the village it was dark, the leafy overhead canopy blocked out the light from the rising twin moons and the billions of stars that he could see littered the sky through the occasional gap. He knew he needed to head downhill if he was to find the road which led to the city, but, he figured they would work out that that would be his most likely course of action once they realized he’d gone.
Fortune was on his side as he found a small cave, he used his torch, shielding it so that the light only shone where he wanted it and wouldn’t give away his position. The cave was only small, but did go back always and had a couple of sharp turns. It would do, he could remove the locater and make his way to Ylaaria while it was still dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cam ended the communication with Landry and looked at his companions.
“Okay, we go, get Jackson, and take him back to the SGC ASAP. It would seem that the IOA have ordered Landry to keep them appraised of any aberration in Daniel’s behavior. They were never happy about letting him remain part of the SGC after…..well……let alone SG-1.”
“Landry’s not going to tell them is he?” Vala sounded horrified at the idea of Daniel being at the mercy of the very people who’d ordered that he be killed.
“No Vala, as long as we get him back and in to the care of the medics, and he agrees to undergo more psych evals, then he’s confident he can keep them at bay.” “That is assuming DanielJackson will come quietly.” Teal’c drawled. “I suspect that he will not.” He added. “And, I for one do not wish to be placed in a position where I may be required to use force to take him back.”
“Teal’c, none of us want that. Daniel’s a sensible guy, if we explain that it’s for his own good, and that it’s only because we give a fig about what happens to him…..”
“I’m not so sure he’ll see it that way.” Vala said thoughtfully. “Just, put yourselves in his shoes for a minute. How would you feel if the very people you trusted the most in the galaxy had ganged up on you behind your back.”
“Vala, we’re not ‘ganging up’ on him.” Sam said in aghast tone. “We’d never do that, it’s just…..” She tailed off as the reality dawned on her. “You’re right, that’s exactly how it’s going to seem to him, maybe Cameron, we shouldn’t all come at him at once. Maybe it would be better if just one of us approached hi, talked to him on a one-to one basis….” Her heart was breaking at the thought of what Danile must be going through, and the fact that they had all tried to pretend that everything would be back to normal so soon.
Cam shrugged and agreed with her.
“Well, you and Teal’c know him best, but, I’d put my money on Vala here having the most sway over him these days.”
Vala, despite the situation, looked pleased, that was perhaps the biggest compliment any could pay her.
“Okay, I’ll go seek him out, and I promise guys, I’ll do my best.”
“Perhaps I should accompany you.” Teal’c offered. “Just in case he is not as receptive as we hope to your brand of charm.” He favored Vala with one of his tiny smiles and a nod of his head.
Vala sighed heavily and considered Teal’c offer.
“No, I think it would be better if I did this alone.” She said looking confident, but sounding a little uncertain. If this had been anyone else other than Daniel, she would have had no qualms, but Daniel’s opinion and respect meant more to her than she’d ever imagined.
“Keep on open line.” Cam ordered and she looked a bit annoyed. He sighed. “Okay, I understand, but call us if you need backup.”
“Cameron, don’t.” Sam protested. “You make it sound like were trying to trap a dangerous enemy. This is Daniel were talking about.” Her blue-grey eyes were wide with hurt on Daniel’s behalf. He’d never harm any of them, even when he’d been at his worst as a Prior, he’d somehow managed to prevent himself from hurting any of them. It had been that which had enabled them to convince the IOA that he was still their Daniel, and not completely taken over by what ever it was that Adria had done to him.
Vala shrugged in to her jacket and carefully and deliberately removed and placed all of her weapons on the table.
“You sure you don’t want to carry a zat.” Cam asked of her, her look told him no-way was she confronting Daniel armed. “Okay, it’s your call.” He reluctantly agreed and Vala stowed the weapons in her pack.
They managed to get away from the café owner and the curious Malkan’s who were still crowding the main area of the establishment, it was difficult because it seemed that each and every one wanted to wish the goodbye.
“Jeez, I thought we were never gonna get out of there.” Cam breathed as they finally exited on to the street.
“I would appear that night has fallen.” Teal’c stated somewhat redundantly.
“Their days a shorter than those we have on Earth.” Sam explained. “Due to the shorter orbit this planet takes around their sun.”
“Yes, well that’s all very interesting, but shouldn’t we…..” Vala indicated the Council Building across the square.
As they proceeded towards the building they were continuously stopped and had to waste time trying to get rid of the Halkan’s without being downright rude.
Finally, they reached the steps that led up to the entrance.
“Okay, why don’t you guys wait here, and I’ll go and talk to Daniel.”
They found a bench next to a fountain and watched as Vala made her way in to the building.
“Do you think this is wise.” Sam mused out loud. “I mean, if Daniel really doesn’t want to go back, he might be able to persuade her to help him.”
Teal’c thought for a moment or two and then spoke in Vala’s defense. “ValaMalDuran has proved that she is trustworthy, and, I believe that her affection for DanielJackson will prevent her from allowing him to sway her from her task. She only wants what is best for him.”
“Besides, whatever happens, they have to come out this way anyway. I checked earlier, the only other way out of that place is there.” Cam pointed to an ally that ran down the side of the building. “So, we’ve got both exits covered from here.”
The minutes ticked by and they were all on tenterhooks. They hated doing this to Daniel, but, they all kept telling themselves that is was his own good. Sam’s eyes were glued on the doors, Teal’c kept watch on the alley. They all jumped when Cam’s radio crackled.
“He’s not here.” Vala said over the line sounding agitated.
“What do you mean? He’s somewhere else in the building.” Cam responded and then cursed as the penny dropped.
“Crap, I told him to keep an open line. He must have heard us talking to Landry.”
Sam paled. That meant Daniel would most certainly have bolted.
“We must locate him immediately.” Teal’c intoned and grabbed a passer by.
“Tell me, have you seen a man, one similar in appearance to us wandering the streets recently.” He demanded.
“No, no, I haven’t, please, don’t hurt me.” The little man looked startled. Teal’c’s concern for Daniel had made him overreact a little.
Teal’c let go of the man and apologized. His concern had made him forget that these people were so much smaller and easily intimidated by his size and bulk.
“Vala, are you sure he’s gone.” Sam asked.
“Well, wither that or he’s found a great hiding place.” Vala said impatiently. “Do you want me to stay here or come and join you?”
“You might as well come out here Vala. Daniel most likely heard us talking to Landry and hightailed it out of there pronto.” Cam told her and then looked at Sam and she dug out a gadget from her pack.
“Okay, give me a minute.” She twiddled with the gadget and a look of relief washed over her face.
“It’s okay, he’s still in the village.” She informed them just as Vala rejoined them. She peered over Sam’s shoulder. “That way.” She pointed across the square.
“He’s heading towards the gates, how the hell did he slip past us?” Cam was bemused.
“I do not believe that DanielJackson is still within the confines of the village.” Teal’c stated as they trailed after Sam. Eventually she stopped and looked around with a slightly puzzled expression. Vala uttered an exasperated sigh and plunged her arm in to a large tub that was crammed with flowering plants. With a triumphant smile she pulled out Daniel’s radio.
“He’s a tricky S.O.B, I’ll give him that.” Cam admitted with more than a hint of admiration in his voice.
“That’s as may be, but we still have to find him.” Vala reminded them. “We’ve all got those…..things…” She tapped her shoulder. “Can’t that device of yours find him with that?”
“No, we’d have to send up a UAV or have a ship in orbit.”
Cam wasted no time.
“Okay, Landry’s going to call in shortly to check on our progress, I’ll request a UAV, in the meantime, we should start searching. My guess, he’ll be heading for that city. He did seem pretty annoyed when our visit there was delayed.”
“In that case, we should be able to find him quite easily.” Teal’c offered. He recalled that for most part the valley was quite open, there was the forest, but between where it ended and the river, was a great stretch of open ground.
Cam looked pointedly at the radio. “He had the presence of mind to ditch that. He’s hardly going to be strolling along that road in plain sight. If I were him, I’d probably lie low for a bit, in that forest somewhere most likely. Wait for us to maybe look for him at the city, then, when we don’t find him there, and we start expanding our search, well, that’s when he’ll make his move.”
“So, we request that Landry send through a couple of teams, extra manpower.” Sam offered.
“What about the ‘gate.” Vala added. “What if even now he’s heading off to some other planet, we’d have no idea as to which one.” She looked a little panicked at this thought. Cam groaned in frustration.
“We’re stuck until Landry calls in, I’ll tell him that’s a possibility, he can send a couple of SFs through to guard the gate, he won’t have reached there yet.”
“Question.” Vala said. “What if he left a lot sooner than we think, he could be almost there by now, and we’ve have no way of knowing.”
Cam cursed and Sam considered the options. But it was Teal’c who spoke.
“I believe that it is more likely that he will indeed head for Ylaaria, He appeared to be fascinated by it as soon as we saw it from the hilltop. Perhaps we should also enquire with the young man who was assisting him as to when he last saw DanielJackson.”
“Yup, I’m with the big guy on this one.” Cam said after a moments thought. “Besides, Vala has a point too. We have no way of knowing if he used it before you guys got there.” They looked at Vala.
“Apart from some old guy who told me how to find the library, I saw no-one.” She said defensively. “If I had, I’d have asked them if they’d seen him.” She added
Cam made a decision. “Okay, Vala, you and Sam see if you can find – Jerrod, while Teal’c and I will start searching the forest. Radio in when you’ve found anything out.”
Sam and Vala rushed back to the Council Building while Teal’c and Cam headed out through the gates and in to the thick forest. Landry contacted him for a progress update, and it was with a heavy heart that Cam had to report Daniel as having gone AWOL.
“Very well Mitchell, I’ll send a team through to assist you search for Dr Jackson and a couple of SF’s to guard the gate. Oh, and Mitchell, I spoke with Colonel O’Neill, and he’s on his way to board a plane from Washington as we speak.” Cam grimaced. Everyone knew that O’Neill was very protective when it came to Jackson, hell, when he’d said to Woolsey that it would be over his dead body that he’s let hin kill Daniel, he’d meant it. O’Neill would have his guts if he let anything happen to Daniel.
“If O’Neill is coming he must be greatly concerned.” Teal’c stated knowingly, and Cam felt even worse.
The transmission ended. Cam felt relieved that at least they were getting some back-up, and that at least he didn’t have to worry about Daniel fleeing through the ‘gate.
“Siler’s preparing a UAV, it’ll be ready for launch in about an hour, it’s the best he can do I’m afraid, technical problems apparently, they’ll track him from the SGC and send you the coordinates.” He told Sam and Vala when they caught up with them. They told him that they’d tracked down Jerrod, who had in fact been looking for them. Well, that was bit of good news, relatively speaking, Daniel hadn’t vanished prior to him talking with Landry. “In the meantime.” He continued “We’re to return to Malkon and stay put.”
“Why! we should be out there looking for him.” Vala complained, deep concern evident in her eyes and voice.
“Vala, it’ll be much easier once we have a better idea which way he went, if we go out there we could be going completely in the wrong direction and end being miles away when they do locate him. It makes far better sense to wait it out till we have something definite. There are people guarding the gate now. So, if that it is where he’s headed he won’t be able to go anywhere but back to the SGC.”
“Okay, but, just standing around doing nothing.” She pouted.
“We’re not ‘doing nothing’ Vala, as soon as we have the coordinates, we’ll find him and home, okay?” Sam tried to reassure her, but all she could think of was Daniel and how he must be feeling.
“Take him home.” She said bitterly. “To what, after this they’re going to lock him up and throw away the key.”
“No, we won’t let that happen to him Vala, I promise.” Sam insisted, but she too was very worried. This was such out of character behavior, the IOA were going to have a field day when they found out, and, what with General O’Neill making another visit to the SGC, and the deployment of extra teams, there was no way they wouldn’t find out that something was going on. Landry would be compelled to tell them what had precipitated such events, and the repercussions, not just for Daniel, but perhaps the entire future of the SGC could be severe and long lasting.
Vala perched on a windowsill and stared morosely at the ground. Adria was her daughter, her own flesh and blood, even though she’d had no say in the matter. Now, not only was she attempting to make their entire galaxy bow to the will of the Ori, because she had no doubt that Adria was still alive out there somewhere, but, in the process, she had set in motion the destruction of the best person Vala had ever known in her life. She felt despair for Daniel weighing on her like a ton of weapons grade naquadah.
TBC
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