STARGATE: EXPLORER

by Lady Grey
Alpha/Beta by Jude

August 27
Three Days Later

“Feel better?”

Daniel groaned a little, lifting his hand to rub at gritty eyes. He scratched at an itch on his cheek and found several days’ worth of stubble growing there. Vaguely, he remembered being sick and some damned strange dreams. The People had apparently taken good care of him while he'd been so ill, seeing to all his needs, helping him hydrate and relieve himself, but he was desperately dry. 

“Thirsty,” he rasped in a parched whisper, struggling to remember to speak in the language of the Ancients.

“Good,” Hunter replied with a wry grin. “Have more taimin tea.”

The foul odor brought back fuzzy memories of a lot of the disgusting brew being poured into him over the last several days. He instinctively turned his face away, swallowing against the bile rising in his throat, and held up a hand. “No, thank you! Gah.” He almost gagged.

“Nasty, yes,” the little alien cheerfully agreed, pushing the steaming cup back at him, “but also saved life. Drink. Then go to bushes.”

Trembling and weak, Daniel sat up, held his breath, and downed the cup of liquid in three noisy gulps. Fortunately, it didn’t taste quite as bad as it smelled, but the aftertaste was bitter and made him shudder. He handed the empty cup back and mumbled, "How long have I been ill?"

"Long enough. We give you our medicine, you get well. Other injuries better, too."

Daniel glanced at the gash on the back of his hand, noting that it was only a dark pink, scabby line now. He tested his shoulder and found it was just a little sore. Whatever the People had done to treat him had repaired his body at a remarkable rate, far faster than any human being could heal on his own. What should have taken weeks had apparently only taken a few days to accomplish.

He suddenly realized he wasn't wearing his glasses -- they were nowhere in sight -- but he could clearly see the forming scar on his hand. To verify his visual acuity, he glanced around the area beneath the awning and the rest of the camp outside it, and was stunned to take note that his eyesight had somehow been miraculously repaired.

"The corrective lenses I wore," he said, pointing at his face and drawing circles in the air over his eyes, brows twitching together in confusion.  "I no longer need… How is this possible?"

"Good tea," Hunter answered with a gravelly chuckle.

"I guess the hell," Daniel murmured in astonished English.  He put his feet on the floor and automatically shifted his weight in an attempt to get up. Very quickly, he sat back down, grimacing and wishing he’d been a little less in a fog and paying more attention before he’d tried to rise.

“You better,” Hunter chuckled, “not fixed. Will need these.”  He held out a pair of crutches made from sturdy tree limbs, just the right size for him.

“Thank you,” Daniel ground out as he heaved himself onto them.  He hobbled out from under the awning and toward the nearest appropriate spot to relieve himself. 

When he was done, he limped back toward the canopy, where Hunter served him a breakfast of a bowl of fruit, roasted ghidan, and some kind of oatmeal-like concoction. Daniel ate until he was stuffed and washed everything down with a floral-scented, spiced sweet tea. When he had finished, he felt much better, clearer-headed, and far healthier than he should have been.

"That tea is amazing," he admitted to Hunter, trying to get information as well as being conversational. "My people do not normally recover so quickly."

Hunter made a non-committal noise just as two of the Grass Clan folk brought a big leather bag stretched across a pole, filled with water that had been gently heated over a fire.  "You bathe now,” Hunter announced. “Important to stay clean."

Daniel nodded, suddenly aware of his sweaty body. His BDU was crusty with salt from the fever, and he knew he'd feel even better with clean clothes. This time, he didn't hesitate to strip down and wash himself off with a cake of soap Hunter provided from the supplies in the mule. The aliens gave him a small cloth to use as a meager towel, and when he was clean, he carefully donned another uniform that Hunter brought him from the storage compartments.

By the time he finished cleaning up, he was exhausted, so he stretched out for a nap on his makeshift bed, which had been freshly covered with a clean blanket by Grass Clan.

Throughout the day, Hunter interrupted Daniel's peaceful recovery to ply him with more of the terrible tea, refusing to accept Daniel's polite attempts to decline it. The more of the nasty stuff he swallowed, the better he felt. As the hours passed, he found himself sitting up, moving with little pain and starting to truly enjoy himself.

His companions chatted with him whenever he was awake, but ever the scientist, Daniel was enchanted to listen to the clans speaking to each other in their native tongues, which were different from the Ancients’ language that they used when speaking to him. Sky Clan's dialect featured elements of whistling and lovely trills, similar to bird-song, while Grass Clan’s vocabulary was punctuated with clicks, croaks, and chirps resembling animal calls.  It appeared they used two vastly different languages, yet neither race seemed to have a problem understanding the other, apparently completely bilingual.

The disparity in speech patterns between Sky and Grass was as distinctive as their clothing and size, but it was apparent to Daniel that they were simply two races of the same species. Grass Clan was energetic, easy-going, but egotistical. The people of Sky Clan were more aloof and cautious, secretive but assertive. Their tempers were quicker, and they also seemed very protective of those they chose to embrace, as evidenced by Claire’s close attention to him during his recovery. 

Another marked difference between the races was their coloring. Where Sky Clan had fair skin decorated with tattoos, Grass Clan was darker. Their hair, too, represented earthy tones, from silver and gold to muted green and brown, while Sky Clan had tresses in all the colors of a pastel rainbow, like tiny, delicate flowers. Both races were fit and beautiful, each one a pleasure to Daniel’s eyes. 

He wondered what environmental imperative had created such a huge difference in size and build. There was so much to learn about these people. His curiosity was definitely piqued, and he looked forward to additional study of the various races as he encountered them.

The camp became much quieter as twilight fell, and he noticed more Sky Clan buzzing about the edges of the gathering, their night-lights shining on the distant grass, keeping watch for any predators. Daniel began to carefully shuffle about without his crutches, chatting with several of the People, inquiring about various activities he observed. His sprained ankle still pained him a little, but not enough that he couldn't bear weight on it for a few steps. He estimated he'd be hardly favoring his injury at all by morning.

When he began to grow weary, he limped back to the awning for a long night's sleep, downing another cup of the disgusting tea without protest.

"Sleep well," Hunter told him, wrapping up in a blanket on the ground beside the cot. "We journey with sun."

"We leave in the morning?" asked Daniel. Sometimes the Grass Clan's syntax made them a little difficult to understand.

"Mmmmmh." Hunter's eyes were closed. He lay very still, his breathing deep and even.

Daniel thought that might have been an affirmative answer, but he wanted to be sure he'd understood correctly; he had some concerns -- he didn't know where they were going, or what the People intended to do with him. He glanced around for someone else to ask, but his Sky Clan companions weren't in sight, and everyone else was too far away to call without disturbing Hunter.  Deciding his questions would wait till dawn, Daniel closed his eyes with a grateful sigh, sliding instantly off into peaceful sleep.

Soon after sunrise, after Daniel had finished a hearty breakfast, Hunter rinsed out the bowls and packed them into the mule, which was parked not far away.

The rest of Grass Clan was already taking down the shelter, packing up camp. A blessed sense of contentment filled Daniel as he watched the industrious little people, comparing what he knew of these two races and wondering about the other two he hadn’t yet seen.

Hunter motioned to him, ambling toward the mule and the abandoned camp Daniel had set up days earlier.  "Come," the elder alien called to him. "We go now." 

Daniel walked gingerly over to the mule, relieved to find his ankle almost completely healed. The three Sky Clan fairies -- including a fourth with pale green hair and turquoise eyes that Daniel vaguely remembered from his first meeting with the flying aliens -- joined them and hovered above the hood until he'd taken his seat inside the roll cage of the transport.

“Um, where are we going?” Daniel asked, leaning on the steering wheel as he surveyed the quickly vanishing community.

“That way!” called the fairies.

Three of the four were pointing in the direction of the road, but Jack was indicating – well, nothing Daniel could see, except for more grass. Claire spotted Jack’s error, and, with a roll of her green eyes, she gave his arm a little shove to indicate the proper direction. Jack grinned and winked at Daniel.

“Okay,” Daniel returned, unable to keep an amused chuckle from slipping out. “What is that way?” He stowed his makeshift crutches in the open cab -- just in case he might need them -- and put his foot on the brake, preparing to start the mule's engine. 

“Rest of journey.” Hunter climbed up next to Daniel stretched out his stubby legs, only his feet and ankles hanging off the seat. "We go now."

"Safety first." Daniel put his seat belt on, demonstrating for Hunter how to fasten his own belt and waiting until the alien buckled himself in.

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  He was still tired from his illness and injuries, but ready to get going and see what lay ahead. He was about to ask about their destination when Hunter leaned over the dash, pawed at the controls impatiently and pushed several buttons, as though to hurry Daniel and get the vehicle started.

"Cut that out!" Daniel blurted in English, giving the offending hands a frustrated shove. He frowned down at Hunter and told him carefully in Ancient, "Please sit still and allow me to operate this. It can be dangerous."

“Bah! Child’s plaything.” Hunter eyed Daniel's hands on the steering wheel suspiciously, and he waved at him, pointing toward the road in the distance. “We go.”

“As long as you keep your mitts to yourself,” Daniel grumbled, again in English.

The older alien raised a curious eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Someone is irritable today," he mumbled under his breath.

Ignoring that comment, Daniel sighed and glanced up at the fairies hovering just outside the vehicle. “Do you think you can keep up?”

“We are very fast,” Jack assured him with a broad grin, darting around in elegant arcs and loops. He paused in the air long enough to activate his helmet and adjust the visor, then gestured toward Daniel to lead the way.

“What about everyone else?” he asked, glancing around the rapidly disappearing camp.  Already, most of those who had come to attend him were gone. Only a few were left, taking down his shelter and obliterating most of the evidence of their encampment. Even the grass had somehow been restored to its upright stance, and the aliens were quickly fading into the sea of tawny blades.

The fourth fairy also flew off, heading alone in another direction.

“Only our journey, now,” said Hunter. “We go.”

Daniel lapsed into English again.  “All rightie, then.” He pushed the starter button on the dash, put the vehicle into gear, and headed off across the meadow toward the road. The mule bounced over the uneven ground, giving Hunter a good jostle, which made Daniel grin in amusement. Once they were on the smooth stone surface of the alien highway, Daniel glanced around at his airborne companions to make sure they were still with them and, after allowing Hunter a chance to grab onto the roll bar for a little extra security, Daniel took off at top speed to see just how fast those little wings could fly.

August 30

Three Days Later

As the hours passed, rolling meadows slowly became dotted with occasional trees.  Daniel’s companions were quick to point out the great diversity of birds, animals and insects as they flew, plodded or scurried past the mule. He felt as if he’d been dropped into a Walking With Dinosaurs documentary.  The wildlife was generally of gigantic proportions, either in the size of individual animals or of their herds; everything flourished on this world.  It was beautiful and exciting, as well as occasionally terrifying.

They had just arrived at the edge of the grasslands, where the meadows merged with a leafy canopy of huge ferns and broad-leaved trees, when there was a sudden movement to their left.  Hunter’s warning cry made Daniel glance over just in time to see a huge animal charging toward them.  He swerved, slamming on the brakes as he tried to maneuver around the creature, but it was galloping right across the road in front of them. The mule skidded, its rugged all-terrain tires screeching as it slammed sideways against the enormous legs of the beast.  The vehicle tipped up onto its two right wheels before it bounced back onto all four, sliding around in a circle as Daniel fought the steering wheel for control. 

“Run!” Hunter shouted as he scrabbled at his seat belt, tearing it open, and leaping out of the vehicle. “Run!”

Claire launched herself out of Daniel's breast pocket, careening through the air and out of the mule's open cab.

That was when Daniel caught sight of another animal bearing down on them, one of the same species but easily three times the size of the long-necked giant with which they’d already collided. The 4X4 had barely slid to a stop when he threw himself out of it, landing hard on his belly and automatically rolling onto his side. He scrambled to hands and knees and pushed up into a stumbling run, hot on Hunter’s heels, heading for cover in the trees.

As soon as they were safely under cover, Daniel turned to look back at the mule, now being attacked by the second, larger animal. “What is that?” he panted.

“Zannu,” Hunter whispered breathlessly. “Baby startled by our noise. Mother not happy.”

The “baby” was twice the size of an adult elephant, with thick, heavy legs and mottled tan and brown fur, looking like some bizarre crossbreed of giraffe and Apatosaurus.  The mother could have easily looked into a sixth story window of any high-rise building back on Earth.

With a sinking heart, Daniel watched as the gigantic adult used its long tail to take a final swipe at the mule, flipping the insignificant vehicle upside down onto its roll cage and swatting it down the road with a screech of metal scraping against stone.  When the zannu was satisfied the mule was no longer a threat, it herded its offspring into the trees on the far side of the road without a backward glance. 

After a few moments, silence returned, and Hunter stood up, ambling slowly back toward the road with Daniel in tow. The Sky Clan fairies were already at the vehicle, inspecting the damage.

Daniel stared down at the wreck, hands on hips, sighing heavily. “What exactly is a zannu?” he asked, glancing at the trees where the creatures had disappeared. He and his friends had barely escaped intact. The mule hadn’t been so lucky, and most of his supplies now lay stomped and scattered along the stone road and in the vegetation that lined it.

“Eats tops of trees,” said Hunter, bending to pick up an unopened MRE packet, giving it a curious squeeze and sniff. “Mostly harmless.”

“You should see what feeds on them,” Claire commented climbing back into the breast pocket of Daniel’s BDU jacket. The little fairy had made herself at home in Daniel’s clothing for most of the trip, choosing to ride rather than fly. She yawned and stretched, kicking around in the pocket to create some additional space for herself.

“I would rather avoid that, thank you,” Daniel replied with a trace of impatience. He glanced at the surrounding terrain, not sure if he was pleased to finally be hitting the woods or not. Back in the grasslands, they could see large animals coming at them for miles around, but with the foliage encroaching against the pavement and crowding in close, it would be easy for wild beasts to suddenly leap out at them, like the baby zannu had done.

Squatting down next to the crumpled mule, he began to retrieve his provisions, starting with a backpack he tugged free of the wrecked storage compartment. His laptop -- strapped into a case fastened to the back of the seat -- was fortunately unscathed, and Daniel tucked it lovingly into the bottom of the knapsack before continuing to rummage through the spilled gear and supplies. Numerous silver MRE pouches lay scattered over the pavement, some whole, others crushed into oblivion. His last clean uniform was wedged into the wreck, and the one undamaged canteen dangled from the steering wheel, inside the upside-down cab. 

Tucked just under a messy pile of MREs was the little round Dial Home Device, also completely unharmed. Daniel put it in the thigh pocket of his uniform pants and collected as many of the unopened meal pouches as he could carry. He stood up, intending to lay the packages in a single pile on the roadside until he could get everything he needed gathered up and stuffed into the backpack.

When he turned, however, he found himself face to face with what could only be a member of the Forest Clan.  He was definitely male, with broad shoulders, a powerful chest, slim waist and hips, his body draped in a loose-fitting tunic and pants, girded with a wide leather belt. Suede boots reached up to his knees, and everything he wore was of an alien cammo design, mottled green and brown, colors that would blend perfectly with the woodsy background. His long, dark green hair was gathered above his ears and put up into a ponytail, and dark golden eyes ringed with burnt orange stared back at Daniel with cool interest.

The Forest Clan male’s approach had been totally silent, surprising Daniel into dropping about half of what he’d collected, most of it sliding to the pavement with a noisy patter. “Oh, hello,” he said, backing away, trying to gather his wits. “Um, I’m Daniel.”

“This will be a scout of the Forest Clan,” Claire told him, crawling back out of his pocket and up on his shoulder. She took a seat there, holding onto Daniel’s utility vest with both hands.

Daniel held very still to keep from shaking her loose. “Scout? Oh. More are coming, then?”

Sidestepping the human-sized alien, Daniel bent over to set the rest of the MREs on the side of the road next to the open backpack, freeing his hands, which he wiped nervously on his trousers. He smiled, mesmerized by those arresting alien eyes. The scout was striking, like a work of art come to life. 

“We have been watching you for some time,” the alien told him in a rich, resonant voice, his speech marked by a strong accent, elegant and fluid.

Daniel wondered if each Clan had a unique dialect of their own, suggested by the differences in the way they spoke the Ancients’ language.  “I have been anticipating meeting Forest Clan for many days now,” he assured the stranger. “Are others of your people nearby?”

He nodded, gesturing around himself. “Always. Wherever there are trees on this world, among them you will find my Clan.” He bent to begin helping gather Daniel’s things, turning some of the objects over in his hands for a quick examination before putting them into the pile with the other items already collected.

Daniel glanced around, looking for others like the scout, but saw nothing, not a shadow or flicker of movement among the trees.

“Forest Clan shy,” Hunter explained. He nodded toward the stranger. “Scout is bold, not like rest of clan.”

“Scout,” Daniel repeated, glancing up into the alien’s amazing eyes again as he retrieved a box of ammo for the Beretta. “May I call you that?”

He shrugged. “If it pleases you.” A hint of a smile played around his mouth.

“Thank you.” Daniel went back to picking up the mess, wondering at these people’s remarkable ability to avoid the use of each other’s names, including his. Interestingly, not once in the days he’d been there had anyone spoken his name, but as Claire had told him in the beginning, there was never any question who was being addressed at any given time.

"You not need all that," Hunter told him, nodding his head toward the amassed goods at the roadside. "Travel light, friend."

Daniel glanced at his companions, who were apparently carrying very little in the way of survival gear. Whatever they did to stay alive, he could do as well. They'd already shown they would help provide for him. "Oh. Right."

Stowing only the bare necessities into the backpack, Daniel loaded a canteen, a supply of water purification tablets, extra ammo and his last clean uniform on top of the laptop.  He made sure his Beretta was in its place in its holster, checked to see that the zat was in a side pocket, and strapped his field knife to his hip. He clipped the pack into the shoulder clasps of his utility vest, adjusted the weight comfortably against his back, and fastened the stabilizing straps at the bottom, tightening them on each side to keep the pack from shifting.

Once he had everything ready to go, Daniel made eye contact with Scout and smiled at him.  "Ready. Thank you for your patience."

The alien nodded, but instead of continuing down the road, he stepped off into the trees.

“Wait, I thought we were going that way, to the pyramid?” Daniel pointed down the untraveled road.

“We cannot go there,” Scout corrected with a shake of his head. “Not yet.”

“More zannu?” Daniel asked, taking a step to follow him. “Perhaps we can go around—”

“Not zannu,” Scout told him with a half smile.  “The council of elders wishes to speak with you. We are to take you to the city of Shahr.”

Startled, Daniel stopped again. “Is it far? We saw no cities in our survey.”

“With your primitive tools, that is no surprise.”  Scout turned away, continuing off the road into the trackless woods.

Daniel glanced down at Hunter, now passing him to follow Scout. “You told me nothing about a city.”

“You not ask,” Hunter said enigmatically, his face unreadable. He shot Daniel a glance, along with a tiny grin, that said plainly enough that there would be many more revelations in store for the newcomer to their world.

End Chapter 10

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