DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Daniel waited long enough for the morphine to take effect before helping Jack back down to the cellar. Remembering the pattern the sun took the day before, Daniel steered his injured friend into a semi-sheltered part of the room, well away from the unintentional skylight. Jack barely suppressed a groan as he slid down the wall and slipped awkwardly to the floor. His tightly closed eyes and painfully tight grip caused Daniel to frown. "Jack?"
"Minute." Jack gasped, pain evident in his voice.
"Damn it. I knew I should have waited longer to move you. I'm so sorry."
"Not your fault. Damned leg."
"Jack, are you..."
"Yes."
"Oh. Well, uh, I better get a move on."
"Ah ha." Jack watched as Daniel made no move toward the stairs. "Daniel?"
"Thought I'd wait until ..."
"Daniel. You're stalling." The older man barely managed to stifle a yawn.
"Well, yes. I'll leave in a minute." Blushing under the scrutiny of Jack's drugged eyes, Daniel continued, "I just want to make sure you're gonna be okay."
"Right."
Daniel waited until Jack's eyes closed, then slid both canteens within easy reach of the dozing man. Rising quickly, he headed for the stairs, only to be stopped by a firm voice. "Daniel!"
Gulping, the young man turned to see a pair of brown eyes glaring at him. Trying his best to appear nonchalant, he responded. "Yes?"
Jack nodded toward the two canteens, his eyes never leaving Daniel's face.
"Oh. Yeah. Right." Daniel hastily retrieved his canteen, then scurried up the stairs, anxious to escape even a hint of censure in his friend's voice.
The older man smiled as he watched his friend disappear up the stairs. The smile turned to a frown as he listened to the retreating footsteps. Sam and Teal'c were obviously in trouble. He was badly injured, unable to travel, and even Daniel was not unscathed. Jack shuddered at the thought of what kind of germs had been in the claws of the thing that had attacked Daniel. But the only choice, the command choice, had been to send Daniel out alone. As he contemplated his theory that the creatures only came out at night, Jack could only pray it had been the right choice.
The commotion outside their jail roused both Teal'c and Sam. The Jaffa rose gracefully to his feet, just as Sam sat bolt upright, both of them listening closely to the angry words coming from the street. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, and jumped up just as Marne stormed through the door. He glared at the two prisoners for a moment, visibly attempting to control his anger. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold. "What manner of illness have you given Tiamon?"
"We have done nothing to Tiamon." Teal'c responded gravely as Sam's jaw dropped.
"Exactly what are we supposed to have done to him?" She demanded angrily.
Marne moved slowly into the room, watching the prisoners closely for any sign of subterfuge. "He has collapsed and is at present unconscious and very, very cold to the touch. If it were not for the occasional rise and fall of his chest, I would have thought him dead. You know of no illnesses that would cause such a thing?"
Sam's eyes widened. "I'm not a doctor..." Noticing Marne's puzzled expression, she changed her terminology, "...healer. But there are probably lots of things that can cause those symptoms."
The small man frowned. "You did not do anything to cause this?"
"No, Marne, we didn't. We wouldn't even if we could."
"Major Carter speaks the truth." Teal'c looked thoughtful for a moment. "Are we to assume that someone is spreading this falsehood throughout your people?"
"Yes. Councilman Vraxas," Marne practically spat the name, "is telling everyone not to jump to conclusions, that the strangers may not have been involved in our Lord Tiamon's collapse."
Sam groaned. "Holy Hannah. I can't think of a better way to plant a thought in somebody's head."
Teal'c looked briefly at the young woman before responding seriously. "Then this Vraxas will be a dangerous foe."
Sam's response was cut off by the sound of a horn. Marne sighed heavily. "That is the first call. The councilors are summoned to the chamber. The next horn will call all interested citizens. The third and final horn will summon you. I must go." Before Sam could ask him anything else, the small man slipped quickly from the room.
"Terrific. Tiamon might have been able to help us. Now I don't know..."
Teal'c nodded gravely. "This is indeed most unfortunate, Major Carter, but I have no doubt that your argument before the council will be most effective."
Sam's eyes widened noticeably. "ME?"
Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow.
"But, but, I don't, Daniel always ... Daniel's not here. Me?"
"Yes, Major Carter. I do not believe my tattoo will lend credence to our story."
"Terrific. I'd rather calculate pi to the millionth digit."
"For what purpose?" Teal'c asked curiously.
"What? Oh, no, nothing. Forget... Oh, never mind, Teal'c"
Major Louis Ferretti couldn't remember ever being more frustrated. They'd been on this blasted planet for hours, and hadn't made it anywhere. Correction. They had made it back to the DHD, for all the good that did them. It didn't appear to work. Airman Hancock suspected at least one of the crystals was fake, but couldn't tell which one or ones. But it was obvious the Damned Hopeless Device was dead. As were their radios. They'd encountered only static during the night as they tried to contact SG-1, but by dawn the little units were deader than a doornail.
Airman Hancock kept muttering about electromagnetic fields, but Ferretti didn't really care. SG-1 was out there, somewhere, and hopefully had survived the night. The major shuddered as he thought about the beasts. It had not been a fun night. Rather than one on guard, and three sleeping, it had boiled down to just the reverse ... three on guard while one slept. Little sleep, bad coffee, worse food. Not an auspicious beginning for the day.
The bodies of the creatures they'd been forced to kill lay scattered around the gate. Ferretti frowned as he saw them in the light of day. There were only six. He'd thought for sure that at least ten had been killed. Could the others have only been wounded and crawled away to safety? Or had they been far enough away from the SG-2 team to be helped to safety by their comrades? That thought did nothing to comfort him.
Rousing himself from his thoughts, he glared at his group, all of which were, understandably, moving slowly. "Get in gear, people. SG-1's out there somewhere. Let's find them, preferably before dark."