STARGATE: EXPLORER
by
Lady Grey
Alpha/Beta by Jude
Not unlike surfacing from submersion under water, Daniel’s consciousness rose up from a sheltered place in his soul, and he realized his eyes were open. From somewhere came a vague awareness of a significant passage of time, but he had no idea how long it had been since he’d been in sync with the world around him.
A vague sensation of loss clung to him like a second skin, making it difficult to breathe; he couldn’t remember what had happened to him, or how he’d come to be in that unfamiliar place. His first tentative effort to search his memory brought a sharp stab of pain; he decided not to explore that at the moment. Some buried instinct told him there were things to be done, action needing to be taken, but he didn’t have a clue what that was. He would have to figure it out, and that would take a little patience. He would know the right moment to move, but he’d have to be patient until it came.
He knew instinctively that he should observe his surroundings for some indication of what was happening. The room in which he lay was bare, cold metal, including the shelf beneath him, just barely warmed by his body heat.
Then he realized he was naked, lying down over a hole just beneath his buttocks. The stink of his filthy body was strong enough to make him gag, and he became aware of a slow, burning sensation along his buttocks and thighs, where his skin was chapped from being unclean. From his physical condition, he guessed he’d been reclining there for some time, relatively unattended.
No guards were in view, but he could hear them talking, just out of sight, probably right past the perimeter of his tiny prison. He listened closely, taking care to keep still, eyes focused on the ceiling above him. He would play along with whatever his captors wanted, checking their reactions for cues to his recent behavior.
His empty belly growled.
“You turn to wash de Yaks’n, Darek,” said a male voice in rough Latin.
“I did last time,” argued another, deeper voice from the opposite side of the doorway. “By Zeus, he stinks.”
Oh, yes, please, Daniel thought. A bath would feel wonderful – and it would get him out of that cell.
A heavy sigh sounded to the left. “Zeus should kill him. Would be merciful.”
“Shhhh!” hissed the guard on the right. “You want his wrath, K’kez? Tell a god, be merciful? You brain-sick.”
Soft beeps sounded, and a moment later the door to the cell unlocked. The one called K’kez showed himself, stepping into the open cell. His wolfish face relaxed a little, and he sighed. “I not see dis one ever right again.”
Darek eyed his companion. “If he wakes,” stated the Ting-sha guard grimly, “he as strong as Jaffa say; I not see our home gone and live.”
At the alien’s words, Daniel felt some huge black thing rise up inside him, threatening to engulf him again. He fought it, refusing to think about it, about why he was there, and what he might have seen. He had to concentrate on here and now, and finding a way to escape. He didn’t know what these creatures were talking about and didn’t want to, not now. The holes in his memory would probably fill in later; if they didn’t, he thought he might be okay with that, too.
The two guards pulled Daniel to his feet. One wrapped a cloth around him, roughly tying it over his chest, and then they pulled him along in a stumbling walk, using the fabric as a leash. He concentrated on where they were going, remembering everywhere they took him. He’d need to be fast moving from place to place, whenever the time came to leave.
They took him to the nearest showers, where they stripped his covering off, unceremoniously shoved him under a spigot, and turned on the spray. It was instantly a warm, soothing temperature, a soapy mixture alternating with clear rinse water. Closing his eyes and swallowing the blissful groan of pleasure as the dirt, oil, and waste were sluiced from his body, he stood still beneath the jet, letting the stream force his head down. He dared not move to scrub himself, just let the water do the work.
Nearby, the guards chatted amiably. Daniel struggled to hear them, carefully adjusting his stance to keep his ears clear of the downpour. What he heard didn’t provide him with anything useful, so he would need to be patient. For the moment, he just enjoyed the water and what cleanliness he could get. When the shower shut off, K'kez wrapped a clean blanket over his shoulders and towed him back to his cell.
The guard sat him down over the toilet hole and draped the blanket over his lap, then returned to its post outside the cell, activating the invisible barrier over the doorway.
A few minutes later, Daniel was pleased to see an old woman appear. She kept her eyes downcast and bowed to the guards, waiting for them to shut off the force field sealing off his cell. As she shuffled toward him carrying a food tray, he sat very still, keeping his gaze fixed on the far wall.
She sat down beside him and scooped up a spoonful of gruel, touching his lower lip with it. “Come on, now,” she cooed gently in soft Latin. “Open up. Be a good boy.”
He opened his mouth and accepted the bland-tasting food, swallowing it automatically. As long as she shoveled it in, he ate until his stomach was blissfully full. Once the bowl was empty, she wiped his face with a damp towel, kindly patted his shoulder, and took her supplies away.
K'kez entered the cell as she left and grasped Daniel by the shoulders. The Ting-sha twisted him and pushed at him, guiding his unresisting body into a supine position, then lifted his legs onto the shelf into a fully reclining position.
A moment later, Daniel heard the force field activate, sealing him inside the tiny room again.
Later, eyes closed and on the edge of sleep, glimmering memories of long hours spent uncovering fragments of pottery with fine brushes slowly appeared, bits of his past reminding him of a career as an archaeologist. Language was another love, and he let the sounds of Latin, Greek, Phoenician, and other ancient tongues provide a musical soundtrack to the images floating through his consciousness, spreading out like roots, grounding him to who and what he was. His name appeared – Daniel Jackson – and more pieces fell into place, old memories that gave him comfort and peace.
Where he was and why he was there still eluded him, but he knew that information would come. He was a patient man; his profession had demanded it, requiring long hours of research and slow, delicate work to uncover a buried past or a fragment of meaning in long-dead scripts. Daniel would watch and listen, and learn everything he could of Zeus’s plans for him, waiting for just the right moment to slip away. They’d passed other humans in the corridor, so he might be able to blend in with them, if he could find the proper clothing.
Above everything else, he knew how to wait, and he would stay as long as it took to escape.
August 7
K’kez was snoring, asleep on his feet. His usual partner was absent, and there was no one else guarding the door… but the electronic barrier was still in place, flashing with an occasional spark of energy. Escape eluded Daniel for another day, even though all his ducks had politely lined up in a neat row, and most of his memories had returned, including how he'd used his skills for the last ten years. He'd been a part of an organization called Stargate Command, and his mission had been to protect his people from alien threats.
This was obviously one of them.
There was a stargate on board, housed in one of the cargo rooms nearby. Daniel had felt the rotation rumbling through the decks, and he’d heard it activating. Through it, he could go anywhere, as soon as he was free.
He now also knew why Zeus had captured him. The stolen device was being kept in a laboratory on the way to the showers; he'd heard two Jaffa scientists talking about it while they were bathing, and he’d seen them afterward as they worked on it. Daniel was connected to it somehow and knew that it was valuable, which meant he had to either destroy it, or take it with him.
Daniel had also learned where to find clothing, weapons, and a handful of supplies. He knew the rhythm of the society that lived on board the ship. He knew the best time to move. All he needed was an opportunity… and then he’d go.
Gotta get out of here. Get back ho—
No, can’t go home, because…
No GDO, that’s it.
That was why he couldn’t go back, he told himself. He couldn’t go to Earth or the Alpha site, because he didn’t have his GDO. That was the problem. He’d have to go somewhere else, then.
But where?
Every time he pondered his destination, his mind shied away from familiar places, edging toward panic. The allies he’d met in the past might have become converts to the Ori or turned against the Tau’ri. Every familiar place led him inexplicably back to the same idea.
The last mission.
He fixed on the latest work he’d been doing, and decided that was where he ought to go. It was the last place Zeus and his people would look for him. There were supplies on that planet, too. He’d been taken from camp, and there were stores of rations and survival gear packed into the vehicles they’d been planning to use to travel to the distant ruins SG-13 had gone to explore. If he could just slip quietly away, he could hide there for a while before moving on to someplace else.
With that destination firmly in mind, he resigned himself to waiting a little longer for his moment.
Time passed. Daniel had no idea exactly how long, but the span seemed like weeks. He sat perfectly still, day after day, meditating and planning, daydreaming and remembering distant history lessons and details of long-ago archaeological digs. Eventually he grew bored, and his commitment to the plan waned. Sometimes he thought he would go mad from the inactivity, but every time he sat on the verge of screaming out loud, he summoned up a memory of Zeus’s face, smiling at him, smug and cruel.
Daniel’s mind would quiet then. Hatred filled him up with steamy heat, slow and deadly. He would contemplate his revenge, picturing all manner of horrible fates visiting themselves upon the Goa’uld. Sometimes the creature’s end would be the result of some disaster, but more often, it would involve torture and slow death at the hands of the aliens who served him. Either way, Daniel would be standing by, watching with satisfaction.
Never did he imagine killing Zeus with his own hands, but always, in every scenario, it was the result of something Daniel had inspired. That was how he craved it; not as murder, but as justice on a grand, cosmic scale. The vengeance Daniel wanted carried out had to be bigger than just one man; it needed to be something no one would ever forget.
Ba’al stood on the bridge, glowering at the swirling rainbow of hyperspace outside the ship. Ten ha’taks had been sent to this quadrant of space to search for Zeus’s ship, and Ba'al was spoiling for a fight. He’d killed half a world as penalty for allowing the Hub to be stolen from him, and he was determined to get the device back. It hadn’t taken long to ferret out who had purloined it, and only a few weeks to acquire a possible location of the thieves.
That upstart Zeus had been lurking in the background for millennia, sniffing at Chronos’s skirts, currying his favor, sucking up to him. Once the Tau’ri had killed Chronos, Zeus had disappeared into the background, but now he was making his move.
Stealing the Hub had been the first play of his game. Then he’d sent out ships with his wolfish Ting-sha armies, taking Ba'al's most recently acquired territories, flexing his military muscle, making Ba’al look weak. Zeus might be greatly outnumbered by Ba’al’s forces, but his weapons were impressive, and his cunning keenly felt.
“We have found him, my lord!” announced a voice behind him.
Ba’al looked over his shoulder and spared a haughty glance for his First Prime. “You are certain it is Zeus?”
“Yes, Lord of the North.” Down on one knee, pale-faced and trembling, Para’c stared intently at the polished black marble floor. He was tall and powerfully built, his golden tattoo gleaming against his forehead. A black moustache and beard framed his mouth, but he kept his jaw line neatly shaved, clearly revealing his handsome face. Para'c was a powerful man, feared throughout the galaxy, yet now he uncertainly knelt before his god. “He has come to this area of space from the First World. He—” Para'c swallowed hard.
“You are afraid,” Ba’al sneered. “Do you fear Zeus more than me?”
Para'c's dark eyes shifted back and forth, as if seeking some avenue of escape. In perfect subservience, he dipped his bald head lower. “N-no, my lord. Ba’al is the most powerful—”
“Then why do you shake like a frightened child?” Ba’al sneered as he turned to face his minion, staring down his nose at the weakling.
“Forgive me, my lord. It is said… Zeus has destroyed the First World. He has smashed the resistance of the Tau’ri. If he has such power—” Para’c choked on his words. His hands were raised in supplication, but he dared not meet his god's gaze. He was truly terrified and bent so low, his forehead almost touched the floor.
Ba’al dared not show his surprise. He narrowed his gaze and clenched his teeth, hating Zeus even more. If true, an event of this magnitude would not go unnoticed. It could very well swing the balance of power between them, winning voluntary converts who would believe Zeus were the more powerful of the two.
“Call every ship,” Ba’al ordered. “Coordinate the attack so that all appear at once as we drop out of hyperspace. Target the ship's weapons and engines first to disable it, but take no chances, and leave no survivors. If we can question his crew and retrieve the Hub, so be it. If not, it will be destroyed along with Zeus and his ship.”
He turned his back on the slave, hatred boiling inside him.
Zeus would regret the day he’d chosen to reach for what belonged to Ba’al.
Ba’al would see to that personally.
Zeus’s mother ship shuddered violently, a deep roar echoing down the corridors. It took a few seconds for Daniel’s body to react to the event, but his guards instantly raised their weapons and growled. Either their vessel was under attack, or some other object had hit it, and the impact was somewhere near the brig.
Another violent quake, and Daniel was sure the ship was under attack. The ceiling in Daniel’s cell buckled slightly, and the barrier at the door shorted and went out. Out in the corridor, people were scrambling everywhere. Both guards left their posts as a call came over the PA system for damage control.
As soon as the room was clear, Daniel forced himself to action, wrapping his meager blanket around himself, and heading for the opening to his cell. He’d lost significant muscle tone, and weakness made his head spin. His heart was racing as he eased through the doorway, grateful when his guess that the barrier had been deactivated proved correct.
He hurried out into the corridor, but no one seemed to notice one more body among the shouting, frenzied crowd. Someone down the hallway started firing, but the shots weren’t directed at him. Even though he was filthy and practically naked, Daniel was ignored as he headed for the armory to fetch a zat, which he secreted in the folds of his blanket. He ran for the storage rooms, hurried into clothing and boots that would further help him blend in, gathered up some field rations, the zat, and a water canteen. He put everything into a kind of shoulder bag he found, and then headed for the lab.
The device that had been so important to Zeus was fitted into a machine connected to a Goa'uld computer station. It was running some kind of program, but the characters were in Ancient script rather than hieroglyphs. Daniel didn't waste any time trying to figure out how to turn the computer off or whether improper removal might damage the device. He simply pried it out and yanked it free, dropped it into the shoulder bag, and ran for the cargo hold.
In minutes that seemed like hours, Daniel waited in the bay where the stargate was kept, squeezed in with dozens of others who had been shoved aside as panic-stricken Ting-sha soldiers and Jaffa abandoned ship.
He needed a way to dial his own destination, and to make sure no one followed him. For that, he’d have to make use of the high emotion surging through the corridors. “We’ll never get out in time!” he shouted, pleased to feel the level of panic in the room jump up several notches. Turning to a Jaffa standing beside him, he grabbed the man's arm. “Bar the door! It’s the only way we’ll make it.”
Hysteria in the Jaffa's eyes sent him into action. The alien fought against others pushing into the room and grabbed a few more Jaffa to help him. They were manually closing the door panels, forcing everyone in the corridors back, closing them out. A few Ting-sha helped them, and one jammed its baton weapon between the ornate door handles to keep the passage closed.
The ship continued to shake and shudder, but Daniel waited, backing away from the commotion, hiding himself as those who had helped lock the room departed through the 'gate. Finally, only a small group of Ting-sha were left in the room as the doors began to open, the baton starting to bend. He wouldn’t have much more time, and knew he needed to act.
With practiced precision, he aimed his zat at the last five Ting-sha warriors and took them out, dodging their weapons fire with the last of his strength. He stepped up to the DHD and punched in the coordinates he wanted, glancing over his shoulder as the doors groaned open a little further. Someone started shooting at him, and he ran out of the line of fire, getting as close as he could to the ‘gate while avoiding the forming kawoosh.
As soon as the event horizon stabilized, he made a mad dash and darted through it. He rolled onto the other side, breathless and exhausted, while weapons fire came through and kicked up dust all around him. As soon as he could get to his feet, he stumbled behind the ‘gate, shielding himself with one side of the great wheel, ready to shoot anyone who followed him, but none of the alien soldiers took the risk of coming after him.
After a moment, the wormhole shut down.
It was quiet on that alien world, the sun just beginning to rise.
Daniel surveyed the rocky, barren, gray landscape all around the stargate, and found it empty, save for the occasional large dragonfly. He waited to see if anyone would redial his destination, but the portal remained still and silent. He sat down to catch his breath, maintaining his position of using the stargate as a shield, and searched through his bag for something to eat and drink.
The SGC camp was only a few hundred feet away, right where they'd left it. He squinted and could just make out the blurry images of the vehicles, but the tents were piles of canvas lying on the ground. He knew there would be additional food and water there, as well as weapons and an extra pair of glasses, but he needed to stay in that protected spot for just a little longer, to rest and make sure he hadn't been followed.
Hours later, there was still no sign of pursuit. Daniel was getting drowsy; the constant state of alertness and his weakened physical condition had exhausted him. He remembered the previous survey data from this world; there had been some concerns about large predatory mammals, so he thought he should search for some sort of shelter where he could recover a bit. He couldn't sleep in a tent, since there was no one to stand watch while he slept, and the camp was too close to the stargate. If anyone came after him, he'd need to be out of sight, away from there. He decided he could come back tomorrow to search through the supplies, pick out a vehicle, and put some distance between himself and the stargate.
All around him, there was little but rocky ground and powdery ash. Pinnacles and boulders rose and fell in wind- and water-sculpted twists and curls, dotted with loose pebbles, fringed with short, hairy-looking brown grass. It was starting to get hot, now that the sun was fully up, and not a single cloud offered the possibility of shade or rain.
The mission to that planet had been to travel down the yellow brick road to the step pyramid that lay three hundred miles distant. It would be a long journey on foot, but Daniel had his choice of the ATVs or the mule at the camp, whenever he was ready to travel. He vaguely remembered some crevices nearby where he might take shelter, providing no alien creatures had beaten him to it. Picking up the canteen marked with Zeus’s lightning bolt, he took a swig of water and started off at a slow walk, keeping watch on the surrounding terrain for native dangers and seeking a suitable place to rest.
He was stumbling by the time he found shelter, a mostly horizontal fracture in the rock. The crack was barely big enough to admit him, but he wedged himself into it. He pulled his pack in after him, pushing it up by his head, where it would be easy to reach and provide him a little padding. He surveyed the brightness outside and, seeing nothing moving in the mid-day heat, he fell instantly, deeply asleep.
End Chapter 4
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