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 felt Jack's hand grab for his arm as white light filled the room. There was long moment of nauseating disorientation and Daniel felt a sensation akin to weightlessness. Then he hit the ground to the accompaniment of a blinding flash within his own head and the crush of warm weight on his back that sounded suspiciously like Jack.
"Dammit...I wish he'd quit doing that..."
Daniel was too busy trying to breathe beneath the pressure of Jack's weight and the resulting rush of heat and pain to respond verbally, but he managed to free an arm and swipe backward, catching Jack's ear.
"Ow...What? Daniel?"
The weight disappeared immediately followed by gentle hands on his shoulders, helping him to turn over. A wash of nausea returned, and Daniel's world nearly faded to black again. Jack seemed to realize what was going on, the hands guided Daniel's head down.
"Deep breaths, Danny...Hang on to it...."
Daniel could feel Jack's weight shifting on the...ground?....and heard his voice calling out for the rest of the team. There was no response. As the blackness faded a little, Daniel tried to look around. They were somewhere....else....
It was very dark, but somehow Daniel doubted that it was night. Two deep-gold moons bathed the rocky landscape in a sickening glow that resembled the orange-y cast Daniel had sometimes seen at sunset after a summer storm. There wasn't much to see. Hilly ground, rolling off into the gloomy distance. A cool breeze brought the sickening scent of decay, what life there was in this place, Daniel was sure, didn't thrive.
Jack looked searchingly into Daniel's face, "You okay?"
Daniel nodded, not exactly lying. ...and they had more important things to worry about.
"Where are we? And where are the others?"
Jack shook his head, scanning the distant hills. "I don't know...and I don't know." Jack smiled wryly, "What do you think that Tel'nat guy meant about sending us on a hunt?"
Daniel shook his head slightly, closing his eyes as the cool breeze eased the nausea he'd been feeling. "Wish I knew..."
"You sure you're okay?" Daniel opened his eyes to see the stark concern in Jack's eyes.
Daniel nodded again and reached out a hand, asking Jack to help him up. Jack sighed, but took the hand. Daniel was pleased that he managed to stand without swaying too much, and nodded again at Jack.
"So what do we do now?"
With that irritating sense of timing that was becoming increasingly familiar, Tel'nat's voice 'spoke' again. Daniel realized it was originating from a nearly invisible device imbedded in the rocks behind them.
"Now the hunt begins, Daniel Jackson."
Jack was obviously getting tired of the games the Pal'noor leader was playing, asking with bad-tempered irritation, "Hunt for what?"
That barking laugh sounded again. "The proper question would be 'who', Colonel O'Neill. Your teammates have been placed elsewhere, that is your first objective. The second phase of the hunt involves the Asgard known to you as Thor." A beam of light shot out of the device, coalescing into an image of Thor in a small room, lying on a bed of straw still wrapped in the blue cloak. "If you can find one another, and if you can reach Thor and free him...you will be sent back to your world with no repercussions." Tel'nat's voice revealed heavy doubt as to that possibility. "This place is a self-contained world. You are no longer on Pal'noor. Your only escape is to succeed in the hunt...or die in the attempt. This world has food, water...the potential to produce weaponry. As an added 'convenience' we have provided more suitable clothing and one knife for each of you...a simple tool. Few have survived the hunt...but it has been done."
"That's it? We find our team, we find Thor...we're outta here?" Jack sounded guardedly optimistic, but Daniel didn't trust Tel'nat anymore now than he had the moment he'd met the alien leader.
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?" Daniel asked, tiredly.
"Just one minor detail...This world does have certain varieties of animal life...among other dangers...that you will have to avoid. The hunting fields were designed to provide a challenge. We shall see if good fortune was indeed the means for your success against the Goa'uld."
The light faded, the image dissipating into nothingness.
Daniel felt a sudden chill. He knew Tel'nat. If the Pal'noor said this place was a 'challenge', Daniel was sure that word was a massive understatement.
Jack sighed loudly as he changed into the simple black jumpsuit Tel'nat had provided...anything was preferable to the skirt he'd been wearing since he'd gotten to Pal'noor. He'd known this mission was going to be trouble...but he'd never expected anything like this. He didn't like the look in Daniel's eyes...hell, he didn't like how Daniel looked...
Even in the weird light of the twin moons, Jack could see the lack of color in his friend's face, the creases of pain between his brow as he returned from where he'd been changing behind the rocks.
As if aware of his team leader's scrutiny, Daniel turned away quickly. "So where do we go from here?"
Jack allowed himself to be distracted; for now there was little choice, they had to get moving. If...and Jack had no doubt there was very little 'if' in this situation....there were hostile creatures on this planet, they needed to find a way to defend themselves, as well as find the rest of the team. Jack was a firm believer in the tenet 'safety in numbers'...and if those numbers consisted of SG1, then their odds would improve greatly.
Jack knew they were flying blind right now, and he didn't like the feeling. They didn't know where they were, they didn't know where Thor was, and they didn't know what threats they might encounter on their way to that unknown destination...or even what direction to start out in.
"Any ideas?" Jack asked, admitting indirectly just how hopeless the situation seemed.
Daniel paced around the rocky ground, moving rather stiffly Jack noticed. "I don't think this is just a test of physical strength. Tel'nat is assessing everything about us."
"So you think there'll be clues?"
Daniel shrugged, wincing at the motion. "I dunno, Jack. We don't have much to go on. I don't even know enough to guess whether Tel'nat will keep his word when all of this is over."
Jack didn't miss the fact that Daniel was avoiding the "if" word. Jack wondered if it was a matter of faith..or denial. Things looked bad, but Jack knew his generally pessimistic nature could often cloud his perceptions...just like Daniel's optimism could often pull him too far in the other direction.
"One thing we can't do is nothing..." Jack offered.
Daniel smiled a little at that. "Yeah. So we just...pick a direction?"
Jack nodded with a grin. "Works for me."