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 surreptitiously studied his companions. Elden's facial expression was unreadable, but Laro's plainly showed fear. At least to Daniel's slightly paranoid state of mind. The young archaeologist knew he'd made a major blunder with the clothing, but chalked it up to exhaustion and fear for Jack's safety as well as that of Teal'c and Sam. Now if he could only correct his stupidity. "Laro?"
"Yes, Daniel?"
"These Goa'uld whom your people have captured, are they dressed as I am?'
Daniel watched in amazement as the fear in the other man's eyes mounted to sheer terror, but, to his credit, Laro managed to keep his voice calm. "Actually, ..."
Elden shot his companion a scathing look. "Laro..."
But the warning went unheeded. "... yes, they are."
Daniel feigned a heavy sigh. "It is as I thought. My friends, there were two others to the south."
Elden whirled on him. "What!"
Daniel nodded hastily. "Yes, but do not concern yourselves. I found them dead ... from a mugger attack."
The other two men halted to look at him, then Elden spoke up. "Why do you wear the clothing of a Goa'uld?"
"I was also attacked by one of the creatures," Daniel explained, working what he hoped was just the right amount of fear into his voice. "My clothing was of little protection after its assault. See here!" With that, the lifted the back of his T-shirt to reveal the lower part of the wound, taking care not to dislodge or reveal his weapon. The upper portion looked worse, but since it was butterflied together, he didn't dare show it. He acknowledged their gasps of horror with a nod. "Fortunately my loose clothing prevented the creature from doing more damage. The two travelers had extra clothing, such as it is, with them and, as they no longer had need of it, I took some of theirs. I apologize if I have frightened you, but I am very weary, and the wound on my back does pain me somewhat. Please forgive my lapse in memory."
Elden studied him closely before confessing. "We did indeed think you to be Goa'uld, and for that we apologize. No one as well-mannered, and well-spoken as yourself could ever be one of those. As to your injury, we have no medicines with us, but when we reach our home we will request the healer to look at your injuries. Redcap, uh, mugger, wounds can be quite insidious if not properly cared for."
"How long has he been gone?" Spenser asked ... again.
"Five minutes longer than the last time you asked." Anderson's tolerance for repeated questions was wearing thin.
Lieutenant Hancock frowned. "Back off, Anderson."
The young man had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry, sir. Sorry, Spenser."
The other airman shrugged silently as he stared at the door. Anderson watched him watch the door for a moment, then turned to the lieutenant. "Sir, the major's been gone a long time. You think something's wrong?"
Hancock barely bit back his own sarcastic comment. "He's okay, Airman. That I'm sure of."
Spenser turned to stare at the officer. "How? How can you be so sure? They could have killed him, Major Carter, and Mr. Teal'c by now, and we wouldn't know. Not stuck in here."
The lieutenant shook his head. "Not based on my experience. The leader, Vrax-something, wants an audience. He wants fear. If he was gonna kill even one of them, he'd have all of us there to witness the execution. And you're forgetting, SG-1 has a reputation to maintain. They'd totally blow it if they managed to die here."
"But Major Feretti's not part of SG-1, sir. What about him?"
"Not now he's not, but you're forgetting that he was part of the original team that went through the gate and defeated Ra. Can't get much more survivor oriented than that." Hancock was relieved to notice that both airmen seemed to relax at his words. Sighing quietly, he thought. 'Guess I shouldn't mention that Major Kawalsky was also part of that team."
Elden suddenly looked concerned. "Laro, did you remember..."
The other man stared at him puzzled for a moment. "Oh. No. I, uh, sorry. Should I, now?" He fumbled at the catch of the soft bag at his side.
"Not yet, idiot. We have to change the message."
Daniel listened to this interchange simultaneously amused and concerned by their words. He watched curiously as Elden removed what appeared to be paper ... 'wonder how they make that' ... and a writing implement resembling a pen ... 'Whoa! Wonder if it has ink. Oh! It does, maybe I can get... God, Daniel. Chill!' ... and began to scribble. After a short moment, he rolled the paper tightly, and reached for the small metal cylinder that Laro was holding. 'When,' thought Daniel, 'did he pull that out?' Elden carefully inserted the paper into the cylinder then nodded at Laro.
The other man smiled, and reached into the soft bag, gently removing a small multicolored bird. As Daniel watched spellbound, the little creature nuzzled the man's neck then settled on his forearm, dark eyes never leaving the man's face. Laro stroked the purple, yellow, and white feathers which made up the bird's head, then carefully turned the bird over. Elden affixed the cylinder to one of the bird's legs, then backed away. Laro turned the animal back over, talking softly as he did so. "Fly home, straight and swift my little one, and bring our news to my Lord Tiamon."
Daniel gasped. "I thought Lord Tiamon to be near death?"
Elden watched as the little bird disappeared into the distance. "He is. But the bird is one of his, and will return to his home. Marne, Tiamon's second, will retrieve the message, and the good news that two of the invading Goa'uld are dead."