The Absorbers

by Travelling One

email: travelling_one@yahoo.ca
website: http://www.travellingone.com/
Summary: Unable to leave a deserted moon island, SG-1 struggles to avoid becoming part of the island's ostensible exhibition.

December 2008



The sun glared so brightly they were at first forced to turn away, heads bent towards their collars. Even Polaroid couldn't quite block the initial dazzling brilliance of such near-blinding light.

Ho-ly.”

“Wow.” A few moments of blinking away tears and squinting to bring his eyes level, had Daniel shaking his head. “Didn't anticipate this.”

“And why the hell not?”

Shouldering the embarrassment of seemingly inadequate research, Sam had no explanation, other than perhaps yesterday's weather had not been so clear. “It's not so bad now, sir. Daniel." Teal'c didn't appear to be as bothered as the others, or at least, he wasn't complaining. "Give it a minute.” Sam's eyes were adjusting, but she'd also noticed an advancing diluted effect due to the thin layer of cloud cover passing over, giving them reprieve. Even on this moon, the sun's light and heat were astounding. One eye squinting and the other closed, she lifted her face towards the huge planet hovering above, a central discussion point of yesterday's briefing room MALP viewings.

Now able to better see their surroundings, SG-1 tried to make sense of them. MALP transmissions had shown this to be a populated moon… according to assumptions, given the boats parked both on land and by the lakeside, and the island in the distance. There appeared to be objects on that piece of land, but nothing that - from this distance - looked to be Goa'uld. At least, no pyramids. The presence of water vessels, though, made a case for the development of a culture beyond the subjugation imposed by that parasitic, domineering race.

Behind them was a vast and grassy emptiness, save for a few abandoned boats; in fact, this area itself looked to be a flat, deserted island. Only about thirty meters of grass and sand separated them from the shoreline, and Jack began to walk, the others following unquestioningly.

Something already seemed odd about those boats.

“Rather Earth-like, no?” Or some of them, anyway. Jack strode to the water's edge, peering down at one of several small platforms that served as docks before testing its strength. Scattered farther up the lake's edge were fishing boats mostly, and sailboats, although nothing quite as modern as the present day water transport of North America.

“Rather,” Daniel agreed. “But when you think about it, it isn't that unlikely for water transportation to develop along similar lines among different cultures. If you consider one normally starts with available materials such as wood, then designs the structure that most easily floats - ”

“Yes, fine. Why's that one called Prince S'?” Jack nodded towards a large yacht about sixty feet away, then tilted his neck far enough into the nearest boat to note the similar, albeit slightly old-fashioned, workings of the interior. Not that not unlikely. "And by the way, it's aluminum."

“I don't know.” Daniel stared for a moment, considering. 

“Sir, I don't see any people to take us across.”

“Has to be people.”

“O'Neill,” Teal'c said simply, handing the binoculars to the team's CO.

“People,” Jack whistled, staring across at the small island. There was something else, too. Something - or many things - reflecting the sunlight, glinting back at him. With the sun's glare diminished through the lens, Jack could see that those flashes of brilliance looked something like - “And an airport.”

“What?” Carter held out her hands for a look, wiggling impatient fingers.

“Don't believe me?” O'Neill shot back, handing over the lenses.

"Why are there boats on this side, with no one to man them?" Daniel queried, eagerness dampened by impending frustration. “How do we get over there?”

“I think I can maneuver a cabin cruiser, Daniel.”

“Steal it?”

“Hey, for all we know they're here for public use, meant for anyone arriving by stargate. No one to tell us not to.” Jack hefted himself up into the cruiser and positioned himself behind the wheel, the others half waiting for some alarm to sound, as they hesitantly joined him.

"Jack, I don't think joyriding on an alien planet is the best way to make new allies."

“Quit whining, Daniel, and explain this.”

Daniel stole a quick glance at the instrument panel Jack indicated, paused, then bent down for a closer look. “Holy crap.”

“Get your own line. That one's mine.”

Without warning, the boat took off across the lake as four teammates grabbed for support, Jack's hands not yet having touched the controls. With poorly stifled consternation, he noted the dials were not even fluctuating. By all normal standards, this vehicle was stationary.

_____

Most of the journey across the lake passed in silence, and while the trip lasted about thirty minutes no one was paying too close attention to the time. It was the island itself, now, that captured their interest.

As they approached the docking poles, stuck in the mud and low water by the shoreline, Jack had had enough of quiet scientists and theories gone unvoiced. “Those are people, aren't they?” The field a couple of hundred meters to their left seemed to be filled with them. Human, people.

Daniel eyed them warily. “They're not moving.”

“Perhaps we cannot detect their movements from this distance, Daniel Jackson.”

Or.” Daniel blinked.

“Maybe they're all taking a mid-day nap,” Jack suggested, noting the forms leaning against trees and boulders, some sitting, some standing. They did look like people. They'd know more when they disembarked, right about…

The boat seemed to halt abruptly of its own accord, remaining in place without an anchor or rope. Nor had it been tied down at the opposite side of the lake, either. Jack was pretty sure that wasn't normal behaviour, for a boat. On any planet.

Teal'c helped Daniel and Sam onto the small platform by the shore. From this vantage point they could see the two halves of the island well. To their right, only steps away, was the approach into a field of rather old-fashioned airplanes. To the left, across a footbridge over a dividing ravine, was another field, flat and empty save for a border of trees and some large gray rocks, against which leaned the various clusters of people.

Unmoving.

“Why isn't anyone coming to greet us?” Jack asked suspiciously. It was a rhetorical question; they could do nothing more than speculate, and even that was next to ridiculous.

The Or, Daniel thought negatively, exchanging a nervous glance with Sam. “Let's go find out,” he suggested, watching his CO's eyes for reaction to Plan A.

Jack just shrugged. “Watch your step. We'll watch your back.”

The four teammates crossed the ivy-covered footbridge and hesitated. There seemed to be at least fifty people hanging out here, but none of them rose to greet the visitors. As Daniel slowly moved closer, the rest of SG-1 advancing with weapons held tightly to their chests, the scene that had been so curious and full of potential suddenly turned eerie and disturbing.

Daniel froze abruptly, stunned.

Every one of those humans, many dressed in clothing common to Earth, was propped up against a support of some sort, their faces and extremities replaced with a rubbery, semi-life-like substance. Each was posed in a natural stance, giving the impression of being involved in something moderately constructive; they were reading, writing, eating, star-gazing, even silently whistling. Two were playing cards. All activities, though, were never-ending, infinite, the characters motionless, frozen in time.

“They're stuffed,” Jack emphatically professed, lacking his usual exuberant sarcasm.

Daniel paled, and Carter's face was grim with horror, suspicion, and questions.

“Their positions are most disturbing,” Teal'c announced. It looked as though these non-people were in the midst of everyday activities, alive and about to rise at any moment. Their eyes, made of shiny black plastic… or something, seemed to be watching, their facial expressions serene and peaceful.

Daniel continued to stare, mesmerized.

“Hey.” Jack waved his hand in front of his teammate's face. “You okay?”

Daniel nodded. “They're just so…” What, realistic? Unexpected and inexplicable?

“Creepy?”

“That might be it.”

But it was Carter who finally began to voice the unexpected, inexplicable, creepy connection. “Guys, you realize their clothes are mostly from Earth.”

“I noticed.” How could he not, with that peppering of aviation and naval gear… circa the 1940's or 50's. That was part of the creepy part. Headgear and glasses obscured the full facial features of some.

Sam was perturbed. Nodding towards the landing field to their right, she continued. “Those planes, Colonel. 1940s Venturas, 1970s Pipers... and the fishing boats. I want to take a closer look at the… the airport.”

“You've got a theory, Major?”

Sam nodded, glanced again at Daniel, but said no more. Her eyes asked to go on another exploration.

“Go.”

Carter trotted off, the others following closely behind.

_____

Theories were beginning to gel in Jack's mind as well.

“Sir…” Sam looked as bewildered as a puppy lost in a storm.

“Spit it out, Carter.”

“These aircraft are from Earth. I recognize a few of them.” A few, though, were like nothing they'd ever seen before.

“And?”

“And I think some - if not most - of these planes disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, Colonel.”

Jack stared at her, his expression unreadable. He'd seen that coming; had tried unsuccessfully to ignore those pesky natterings in his head. That would explain Knoxville, Tennessee stamped on the cruiser's dash. He'd been hoping 'alternate reality', some creation with fake boats with fake instrument panels and fake people. “No.”

“No?”

“No. They've been accounted for.”

“Not all of them, sir. Many cases are just speculation, and researchers wouldn't be so quick to dismiss alternate theories if they knew what we know.”

Daniel's fingers were distractedly playing with the handles of his sunglasses, his uncovered eyes deep blue in this light. The thicker cloud cover had settled in nicely, just covering the sun. “How did they get here, Sam?”

“I don't know. Unless there's another stargate at the bottom of the Atlantic, I'd guess that whatever electrical anomalies affected these planes sent them through an astrophysical vortex connecting Earth with… this moon. For all we know there might be even more up there, on that planet,” she glanced towards the sky, the planet above spookily staring down at them, watching their every movement. Every now and then the cloud cover shifted, exposing landmasses that seemed to loom even sharper and more defined than ever. “Maybe some of the large ships that disappeared are up there as well. I don't see them here.”

“Not just Earth's planes, though,” Jack observed. “What about those?” A few bulky, unfamiliar machines took up space in the gravel lot.

“Meaning the phenomenon must occur elsewhere in the galaxy too, Colonel. For some reason, everything ends up here.”

“So these people…” Daniel let his words trail off. The thought was too bizarre to contemplate.

“Obviously not the real bodies of those who disappeared with the crafts.” Sam retorted.

“What if these are the real bodies,” Daniel interrupted, “and someone found a way to preserve them? I mean, the Egyptian mummies don't look like the actual people any longer, either.”

“Why do that?” Jack screwed up his face in disgust.

“As a memorial. Jack, I think this is a graveyard.”

“Or a wax museum.”

“Would not the passengers and pilots have been alive when they arrived here?” Teal'c asked. “The aircraft do not appear to have been damaged.”

The team looked towards the field of propped, prepped, stuffed bodies. The discrepancy between Teal'c's words and the bizarre sight was disconcerting and disturbing, and cause for too many questions. Sam forced an answer.

“Or the pass through a series of extreme time zones was too much for the human body to handle. Who knows how long it took? If we were in a wormhole for, say, forty minutes, we might not come out alive at the other end either.”

For the moment, this theory was deemed acceptable. No one wanted to consider what had happened to these folks if they'd still been alive upon arrival. They might have starved to death… but they looked so complacent and calm. Maybe they'd just been taken up above, to that planet, and lived full and happy lives.

“Well, unless you want to do an autopsy, Carter…?”

“No, sir.”

“Then I say we get the hell out of here.”

Three nods revealed no dissenters, and the team headed back into the boat, Jack again doing nothing when the vessel began to push off.

One third of the way across the lake, however, the cruiser halted abruptly and began to reverse.

“Jack?”

“I'm not doing that!”

Manipulating the controls was fruitless; the boat was backing up towards the island, and there was nothing Jack could do to stop it.

___

They had no choice but to disembark, far from the side of the lake they wanted to be on, far from the shore with the stargate.

“Now what?” There was a sharp edge to Jack's voice, tension showing in the lines of his face.

Carter looked around. There were no more boats on this side of the lake. “We could try one of the planes.”

“Right.” There was nothing to lose, for the team wasn't going anywhere if this didn't work. It wasn't as though they could swim across.

“Jack, um…” Biting his lip, Daniel wasn't sure if he wanted to express this unfounded concern. “What if they want pilots, for some reason that isn't obvious at the moment, maybe some aviation program of their own? What if this is a test for us? I mean, why else would they bring us back here, unless they thought we'd try the planes and wanted to see which of us could fly them? What if that's why they grabbed the planes in the first place but left them here to rot? They don't need planes, they need pilots.”

“They? Who?”

“It. Whatever brought those people here. How should I know?”

“Not rotting, by the way. And It, not who, brought planes here. Electromagnetic something or other. The people were unintentional. It also brought boats, Daniel, and boats don't have pilots.” Jack turned and strode towards a plane he was sure he could fly. The team followed, when Jack turned and raised his hand. “Just me. The rest of you stay here.”

“Colonel?”

“Just in case Daniel's right. If I make it across, think you can fly one of these, Carter?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. You'll come over with the others while I call in to the SGC.”

With that, Jack settled himself into the cockpit and hoped he had enough room to take off and land. This was basically an empty gravel patch of a field, not an airport, with other planes in the way. There was no runway, but for some reason the grass bordering the area was clipped short. There must still be caretakers around, somewhere.

“Um…” Daniel looked around uncomfortably.

“He's a good pilot,” Sam reassured them quietly. “He can do it.” Within moments, the plane lifted and was heading across the lake.

“Uh, Sam? I didn't think planes could do that fifty years ago.”

“They couldn't. They still can't. That was way too easy.”

“Oh-oh.”

The plane had stopped mid-flight and was now reversing.

“I didn't think they could do that either.”

“That isn't possible!” Carter cried out in frustration. She glanced briefly at her teammates; Daniel's face was taut, lips set in a firm line. Teal'c was frowning. 

The plane flew backwards, halted, hovered, then set itself down in the same spot it had so recently vacated. Jack emerged slowly, his legs unsteady.

“Well, that was… just…” he shook his head.

“What could have done that?” Daniel asked somberly. All eyes turned to Carter.
“Nothing that I know of, Daniel. Colonel. I'm sorry. It must be programmed, somehow.
“By something that doesn't want us to return home.” Daniel met Jack's glare, knowing that was last thing his CO wanted to hear. Not an It, a Who. 

Suddenly, Daniel felt himself being pulled, lifted, his feet raised inches off the ground, as though an invisible rope was levitating his body. “What the - ” Exclamation cut off in mid-stream, the force dragged and propelled him past the airplanes and over the gully, not stopping until it reached the macabre graveyard. Through his panic and shock Daniel heard his friends calling his name, saw them running, but he was powerless to halt or control his forward movement.

It had taken barely two minutes; then Daniel was set down near a boulder and shoved to the ground by a huge, wide, unseen hand. Sitting up seemingly under his own free will now but unable to stand, Daniel watched his left arm being placed in his lap, his right knee being bent upwards. Daniel forced his knee back down to the ground, only to have it propped up once again, both arms now being manipulated into some pseudo-natural, carefree pose. But carefree was the last thing Daniel was feeling. A panic surged through him as his friends grabbed his arms, pulling him to his feet, and the spell was broken. Daniel felt the force fade, felt himself gaining abrupt control of his limbs. Arms caught him as he stumbled.

“What the hell was that?” The angry voice behind the words belonged to Jack, but the sentiment had been Daniel's own.

“I don't, I don't know.” Distraught, Daniel's voice wavered unsteadily. “Something was moving me.” Something with intent. Something with a purpose. Something that was not a haphazard, coincidental, quantum physical anomaly. Something that wanted him to join the humanoid display.

Far in the distance, a lone wolf howled.

“What the hell is - ”

“Oh my God.”

The men looked up at Carter's sudden exclamation, finding her eyes focused behind them. Pivoting around to look, they watched, stunned, as several of the human-like figures, singly and in succession, moved. Repositioned, in slight, unobtrusive ways. An arm here, a leg or two there, a body shift, a head turn. Gentle adjustments, but unmistakable.

That's not possible.” Jack couldn't stop staring.

“One would think.”

“Ya think?”

“They're not alive,” Daniel insisted.

“No. They're not.” And by now they'd stopped shifting, remaining seated or standing by their tree trunks or boulders. If the entire team hadn't seen it, Jack was pretty certain they could have convinced him he'd imagined the whole thing.

Daniel crossed his arms tightly against his chest, his mood somber. “It wanted me.”

“What did?”

“I don't know.”

“Why would it?”

“I don't know.'

“We must leave this place at once,” Teal'c declared unnecessarily, agitated, his normally placid, logical manner discarded.

“Do you know what this place is, Teal'c?” Jack questioned.

“I do not. However, should we remain here, I believe that we, too, will come to an unfortunate end.” They all knew what he was looking at. With his eyes Teal'c indicated the waxen, rubbery bodies.

Jack looked around at the uneasy faces of his teammates; he'd had the creeps long ago, but this turn of events scared the crap out of him. “If you have a way to leave, don't hold back.”

Daniel stepped away from them, looking up, backing a few steps into the grassy field. “Hello?” he called into the sky, towards the planet above. “What is it you want from us?”

A few silent moments passed, before he realized how intently and curiously his friends were staring at him.

“Someone's around, Jack. I know it.”

“You do? And you know that how, exactly?”

“Because… this isn't a graveyard, Jack. It's a showroom. And those planes? They're someone's collection. Jack, this is a display and someone's been collecting them for decades… and they're watching us now, I guarantee it.”

“From up there?” Sam asked incredulously, peering through the muted sunlight at the planet above. Now she could almost believe the thin, filmy cloud cover had been placed there for their benefit, or was that her imagination getting the better of her? She was letting this place spook her, and Sam chastised herself, until she remembered what had just been done to Daniel. If nothing else here was real, that force certainly had been.

“Yes.”

The team lapsed into silence. So they were being watched, and played with; that theory made more sense than an old aircraft flying backwards, and taxidermed bodies shifting position of their own accord.

Daniel resumed talking to the sky, utilizing every language he knew. He talked of exploring the galaxy, of having come to learn from new cultures, to trade.

“How will we know if they understand?”

“Well, I'm hoping they'll let us go back to the gate. Or show themselves. Talk to us.”

“Yeah, as long as one of those things doesn't start talking,” Jack shuddered. “So should we try going back again now? See if they understood you?” He looked to Daniel for an answer, then at Carter. Sam turned towards Teal'c, who was staring in turn at Jack. “T?”

“All they could do is bring us back here again, right?” Daniel pondered aloud, hoping to be reassured.

“Sir, so far they only touched Daniel, and those… people were shifted individually. What if the equipment, or whatever they're using to control the objects on this moon, can only affect one person or vehicle at a time?”

Jack caught her drift. “Right, good thinking. I'll take a plane with Daniel, you take another one with Teal'c.”

“I am able to fly one as well, O'Neill.”

“No offense, Teal'c, but if they fly themselves like mine did before, so can Daniel. If not, it'll take more than a few minutes to show you how to take off and land. Let's try not to separate ourselves more than necessary.” Making sure his teammates were all on board, so to speak, Jack headed for the small Cessna he'd previously used, while watching Carter simultaneously settle into another, Teal'c in the single passenger seat.

“Buckle up, Daniel. Ready, Major?” Realizing their radios were not functioning in this place, whatever magnetic field was being employed here interfering with transmission, Jack sat back and listened to the engine come to life, silently wishing his other two teammates luck. Suddenly, with no help from him, the plane lifted and took off across the lower sky.

“So far so - ”

Both flights halted above the lake, and began to reverse.

“Ohh, crap.” So much for only one at a time.

“Jack? Sam's turning.”

As their small aircraft drifted backwards and lowered to its original parking spot, Carter's plane took off in another direction completely, then kept on going. As Jack and Daniel moodily disembarked, the second plane grew smaller in the distance, finally disappearing.

“Damn it.” Two of his teammates were gone. “'All they can do is bring us back here', right?” Jack growled out a repetition of Daniel's earlier words.

“I'm sorry. I didn't know,” Daniel whispered.

“Not blaming you, Daniel.” Jack kicked out at the landing gear. This place sucked.

“Maybe they're being taken to meet with someone,” Daniel suggested more hopefully.

“If anyone was watching, and if they were listening, they know you're the one with the languages. They took the wrong plane.”

At a loss for any further action, Jack rocked back on his heels and watched the sky. Daniel again began talking to the looming planet, trying each of his twenty-odd languages.

Five minutes later a spot appeared in the distance, then grew to become Carter and Teal'c's ride. With rapidly increasing pulse the two men watched it approach, land on the field, and slide back into its original location. The men ran over as Carter and Teal'c disembarked.

“What was that all about?” Jack asked as nonchalantly as he could manage, his features portraying his concern.

“Where did they take you?” Daniel piped in.

“What? No. No, I was flying that myself, Daniel. I wanted to see if I could fly away from the stargate; nothing stopped me. But when I turned it around to come back here I lost control.”

“So you can fly in the other direction.” Daniel paraphrased slowly.

“Yes.”

“What was out there?”

“There appeared to be more aircraft on other islands, O'Neill.”

“Larger ones, sir. And huge ships out in the water about twenty clicks from here.”

“People?” Daniel inquired hesitantly.

“Nothing alive, Daniel.”

“Although there did appear to be more of these graveyards,” Teal'c added, eliciting a muffled groan from Daniel's direction.

“Showrooms.”

“So we can head in the other direction. Ideas, anyone?”

But no one could come up with any useful reason to head farther away from the stargate, and three teammates finally settled onto the ground to think.

Daniel jumped to his feet. “No. This is what they want us to do. It's what they all did.” He motioned briefly towards the graveyard showroom. “We can't just sit here doing nothing.”

“I've been open for suggestions for the better part of a day, Daniel.”

“I don't know. I just… don't sit there. Just don't sit there like that.” Daniel's distress moved his teammates to listen, and Carter, then Jack, rose.

“We can't stand forever, Daniel,” Sam reminded him gently.

“What if I try to swim across?” Jack blurted out.

“You've got to be kidding."

“No, Colonel. It's too far.”

“Maybe not.” Turning to face the lake, Jack pondered the prospect. He began walking.

“Jack! Don't.”

“I'm a strong swimmer, Daniel. I've done lakes before; it'll just take a while, that's all. If they don't want me to get there they'll just bring me back here, right?”

That's what Daniel had said last time, but for some reason he didn't think Jack was making fun of him. “I don't know; can you swim backwards?”

But nothing anyone could say could stop him, and Jack splashed into the water. For a minute they watched him swim away from them.

Suddenly Jack went under.

“Colonel!”

Three sets of eyes stared in horror, waiting, but Jack didn't resurface. Then three bodies flung themselves into the lake after their CO.

It was Teal'c who reached the spot first where Jack had gone down. Diving under, he pulled up a coughing, wheezing colonel, who shook Teal'c away and swam the short distance back to shore.

As the four team members wrung out jackets and emptied soaked pockets, Jack sat on the grass near the airfield, catching his breath and steadying his composure. “It pushed me under.” His voice was haunted. Now he knew exactly how Daniel had felt. Even that water hadn't felt normal.

What did?” If Jack had an answer -

“Something. Just shoved me down. I was fighting an invisible force, and it knew what it was doing.”

And that, he knew, was the crux of the problem.

“That's what happened to me,” Daniel acknowledged. “Something's manipulating us. Playing with us.”

Jack nodded. “So some spoiled kid up on that planet just got a new set of toys for Christmas?”

“He'd be a pretty old kid by now, Jack, if he started his collection around 1940.”

“Probably earlier,” Sam corrected. “Even Columbus noticed odd things happening to his instruments in the Atlantic. That may have been the beginning of this planet's experimentation.”

“More likely there's a research unit up there studying us, or maybe even a public viewing terminal. Something officially sanctioned and accredited,” Daniel conjectured.

“So you don't think the first disappearances were accidental?” Jack asked, knowing it was all hypothetical anyway. Better a logical discussion than to sit… stand here becoming depressed and morose. Not that that wasn't about to happen anyway.

“Maybe. But it's just as likely they were grabbing any and all vessels and people they could from the zone right from the start. They may have even created the magnetic forces in the first place, to be triggered under certain weather conditions,” Sam theorized. “For study.”

“Or play,” Daniel muttered under his breath. He still felt as though he'd been posed as a specimen in a showcase, a souvenir, someone's idea of a perfect alien knickknack. Just like those planes, each with its own particular place on the field, equidistant from all the rest. Like pieces on a chess board, only none were being moved. Try to fly one out of turn, however, and return to default setup.

The team jumped, as far away a lone wolf howled.

“Oh no.”

Maybe Daniel had spoken - or thought - too soon, but the bodies were being shifted again. Knees lowered or raised, arms lifted and bent. And still they looked like relaxed, if bored, participants at a Sunday picnic.

This time it was Teal'c who was tossed into the wind for a journey to the far side.

“Crap, not again!” As Jack rushed off with Carter and Daniel on his heels, they could see Teal'c being positioned like a rag doll, anger raging as he shouted, “I do not want this!”

“Teal'c!” Reaching him, the three teammates pulled him to his feet, struggling against the gravitational force trying to keep him down. This was worse than with Daniel; was it growing in strength, or had it not anticipated their determination and body mass the first time around? Suddenly the force cleared and Teal'c bounded to his feet, shaken and upset.

“You okay?” Daniel asked empathetically.

Teal'c appeared and sounded rattled. “I do not care for this manipulation.”

“Colonel…” Sam hesitated.

“Carter?" Jack snapped. "Spit it out."

“If they eventually get fed up with us, they can force us to do anything they want.”

“So far they haven't.”

Daniel objected. “They tried to drown you, Jack.”

Jack cursed under his breath. “So, what, we're puppets?”

“So to speak.”

“Terrific.” Jack grunted, peering around, searching. For what? For an idea? The sun was sinking, and he didn't want to know what would happen if they tried to sleep. They couldn't stay awake, watching each other's backs, forever. 

The team shifted uneasily, knowing the direction of each other's thoughts. Night was approaching, not a happy prospect. They were still damp and uncomfortable. Should they erect the tents, blocking whatever view they had of those mannequins? Would they be even more vulnerable while asleep? Could any of them intervene, if one of them was stolen during the night?

And most importantly, if they fell asleep, would they be able to wake up? No one knew how those people had died, if they were even dead. Maybe they had been suffocated during sleep, and had never known what lay ahead. Or maybe those things were just replicas, and the true bodies were up there on that planet. Maybe they weren't even modeled after real people at all, but were just wax representations of human-like figures in Earth's clothing. Then... what had they wanted with Daniel and Teal'c?

“Uh… Jack.” The beginnings of an idea were forming in Daniel's mind, but this could be risky. Depending on the frame of mind of whoever or whatever was behind this, it could possibly get them killed. But the odds were that such an outcome would happen anyway.

“What?” 

“What do people most fear about their prized collections?”

“Having them stolen?”

“Okay, second worst fear.”

“Having them burn up in a fire,” Sam contributed.

“Right.” 

“So?”

“So, what if we set fire to them? Whoever is behind this will have no reason to want us to join a collection that no longer exists.”

“Or they might need us to start a new one,” Jack scowled. 

“Yes, that's a possibility,” Daniel agreed. So was retaliation. An eye for an eye; start a fire and they could very well be tossed in.

“We might be caught in that fire, Daniel.” Sam reminded him. “We have no way to put it out and nowhere to go.”

“I was hoping they'd be distracted while we flew back to the gate.” Even though getting the planes to override any programming might be a long shot.

“Plan B, Daniel. Let's try for Plan A first.”

“I thought we did that with the airplanes.”

“I'm talking about Plan A and a half.”

“Oh, forgot about that one,” Daniel nodded, then turned his back on his team, not wanting them to see the despair in his face.

In the distance, a lone wolf howled.

A dark dusk had fallen; shadows crept across the living graveyard and the air had cooled down. Although the team remained in the airfield with the ghost planes, they could see well enough some of the bodies moving again, some ever so slightly and others nearly rising, propped against trees, and SG-1 knew that could very well be themselves come morning. The four team members had lapsed into silence, deep in personal musings, battling with internal demons and fears, and trying not to look across to the opposite field of moving puppets. 

All Jack knew for certain was that they couldn't remain here. Nor could they take the planes out again, with the oncoming darkness; it was useless anyway. Caught between a rock and a hard place, they were choiceless. At best, they'd be caught here for weeks until they died of starvation. At worst, the SGC would send a rescue team, who'd then be stranded here along with them, more toys for that planet to play with. What would happen if they did try to damage the collections? Would they just be dealt with that much sooner? Jack cursed that they'd taken a boat across in the first place; he should have listened to Daniel. 

“Daniel, put those things away.” Jack watched Daniel staring across at the graveyard through the binoculars in what little light remained, and he shuddered. How could the man look so closely at those faux humans, dressed so vividly in Earthly garments? Only a handful wore apparel seemingly foreign to SG-1's home planet, but it made little difference. They still spooked him.

Daniel had been engrossed in his own thoughts, and ignored Jack.

“O'Neill. How is it that we can be observed so readily?”

“I don't know. Honkin' big telescopes?” Jack shrugged. Did it matter? They were being watched. What could they do to attract the kind of attention they really needed?

“Or.” Daniel lowered the binoculars, his eyes still focused on one of the pseudo humans, leaning against a tree and seemingly staring back.

“Or?”

Daniel rose, trekking hesitantly towards the bridge.

“Hey. Don't.”

“What if their eyes are cameras or viewers? I mean, every time they shift, at least a few are looking our way. I've found it very disconcerting.”

Jack rose too, followed by Sam. Teal'c had not been sitting.

Slowly they followed Daniel into the macabre field.

Facing a seated figure and taking out his knife, Daniel inhaled deeply, disturbed by what he was about to do even though he knew these people were not real, or at least living. Their rubbery faces and staring black eyes were constant reminders that they were either modeled on real humans, or bodies stuffed after death. With a strong thrust, Daniel shoved his knife into the face above the eye socket.

“Oh!” He jumped back, his exclamation echoed by Sam, as the head caved in, crumpling.

“Bloody hell. They're inflated!” Jack hissed, along with the escaping air of the seated figure. The eye fell out of one socket, dropping onto the figure's chest and sliding to its lap, showing the tiny mechanism within. The thought of being watched by dozens of unseen eyes peering from some lab or museum up above filled him with rage. “Get the rest!”

As he and his teammates poised to attack four more of the pseudo humans, an agonized cry rose from behind him, and Jack swung around.

"Help me!” 

Carter's voice rang out next. “Daniel!” She was slowly but determinedly stepping towards Daniel, her arms outstretched, reaching, but as she closed in her steps faltered. Daniel stood motionless… except for the knife in his hand, pointing at his own throat.

“Daniel!”

“I can't help it, Jack,” Daniel's panic-stricken voice wavered. “They're doing this.” His hand shook, closing in, the fight both outward and internal, and Daniel was losing.

As Daniel fought with his own arm, trying to release the knife in his tight, backwards grip, Jack rushed him, grabbing Daniel's fist, prying the weapon away. Suddenly, as if abandoning its task, the force released itself and Daniel's arm dropped to his side. 

They stood in horror, a multitude of thoughts searing their brains, taking a moment to slow their breathing. If they were going to make an attempt at destroying this collection, make an impact and have their anger and annoyance heard, they were going to have to go about it differently. This way was proving far too dangerous. 

Maybe if they shattered the windows and landing gear of the planes instead, pelted them with gunfire and staff blasts…

Jack shook himself out of his reverie. “You okay?”

Daniel didn't respond. His features were haunted and distraught, and his hands were trembling. Grasping Daniel's shoulder, Jack tried to convey comfort, but his own mind was racing. Once again, he doubted they'd make it through the night.

To Jack's horror, what happened next was completely beyond his control.

With his left hand still on Daniel's shoulder, Jack turned his body slightly towards his friend, knife in his fist. With his back to the others, neither Sam nor Teal'c were in the position to react, until the knife had plunged into Daniel's side. Then Jack let go.

God. Oh, God.” As the flash of agony shot through his body, Daniel collapsed, hands at his side, fumbling with the blade's handle.

“Oh my God. Daniel, don't! Leave it in!” Sam fell to her knees beside him, frantically pulling his hands away. “We have to secure it.”

“O'Neill!” Teal'c grabbed Jack from behind as Sam knelt by Daniel, trying to calm her injured teammate and attend to the wound. Jack, though, had already regained control of his hand and was staring at it as though it was possessed. Shoving off from Teal'c and dropping to his knees alongside Carter, he gawked at the hilt protruding from Daniel's side, blood ringing its edges. His own eyes were wild, body and brain functionally numb.

“Christ. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

They knew he hadn't been in control, yet saying as much would prove nothing and help no one. They were at the mercy of whoever ran this moon museum, and they'd royally ticked someone off.

“How bad is it?” Jack silently begged Sam to negate what he already knew, as she opened the med-kit and grabbed the gauze. He could see how deeply the knife had penetrated and his shiver was involuntary. His remorse wasn't.

“If we remove it he could bleed to death, sir. He likely has internal injuries. What we have to do is pack bandages around the handle and tape it firmly in place.” And hope to hell they could find a way out of this mess, soon soon soon.

A humming sound drifted towards them and the teammates looked up. Circling overhead was a UAV.

“Yes, General!” Jack breathed loudly, pressing the speak button on his radio. “SGC, come in. This is Colonel O'Neill.”

There was no response.

“Sir, the EM energy has been disrupting signals ever since we got here.”

Teal'c added, “There will be no way for us to be retrieved from this side of the lake.”

“They'll think of something,” Jack insisted, but as he watched, the UAV stopped dead in the air, then descended onto the airfield and shifted into place between two of the smaller airplanes.

“No… crap! Don't!” Jack screamed into the air as he felt an unwanted, antagonistic force at his body once again, but fighting it resulted only in frustration. The curses escalated, transforming shock into fear; he had no control as he was lifted off the ground like a snowflake in the wind, watching the same thing happen to Carter and Teal'c, cries and pleas falling on deaf ears. As three teammates drifted up and away in the direction of the lake, in the last light all they saw was Daniel on his back, clutching at a knife and a wound that Sam had had no time to protect, staring up at them in all-consuming terror. 

“What the hell are they doing?” Jack yelled to his teammates, his own body drifting out now across the lake as Carter's and Teal'c's followed mere meters away. But Jack was certain he already knew; this was time for revenge, or disposal of thorns in an unknown alien's side. They'd be dropped into the lake and far too easily shoved under, and that would be that. No one to save them; no one to help Daniel as he bled to death and became another inflated prop, entertainment or research for a race they'd never understand. As for himself, Carter, and Teal'c, they'd probably be dried off, scooped out, and placed next to Daniel, a new collection replacing the one they'd tried to ruin. One that could most likely be repaired anyway. Nothing had been gained at the cost of their lives.

Guilt and anger flooded though him, overwhelming in its intensity. He'd let his team down, and left Daniel alone to bleed to death with a wound he himself had inflicted. If hell existed, he was about to make a personal, permanent visit, his final and everlasting mission. 

But as the flight continued and land drew near, a shred of rueful hope took root. Jack couldn't see much in the darkness while floating on his back, face turned to the sky, the only remaining light being reflected off the planet above, but he definitely felt land beneath him instead of water, when he was set down and released. Within moments his two other teammates had joined him.

“You two okay?” Jack asked bluntly, jumping to his feet and dusting himself off self-consciously.

“Yes, sir.”

“Indeed.”

“What the hell was that about?”

“It seems they wish us to leave now, O'Neill.” The shadowy shape of the stargate loomed ahead, silhouetted under the planet's misty light.

“What about Daniel?”

“I think they've claimed him, sir.” Sam's voice caught as she spoke; she'd had a lot to ponder as she flew out of control across a wide, open lake. “Maybe all of us together are too much trouble.”

“And they kept Daniel to replace that thing he damaged?” Jack scowled angrily. Should've been him. He'd trade places with Daniel in a heartbeat, if that was an option.

“Actually, sir, I think we gave them a new plane for their collection. That might be why they're allowing any of us to leave.”

Jack froze. A trade? An unpiloted plane… something new for their study. New and wild and wonderful. Jack stared at her, dumbfounded. Why hadn't they all been sent back to the gate earlier, when Daniel had told them SG-1 had come to learn and trade? Hadn't they understood him, believed him? Had arriving through the gate, instead of in an airplane, indicated they had nothing of interest to offer? “You two, get back through the gate. Tell Hammond what's going on; if they want to trade, get them another UAV; they still have one of our people. If they just want to be rid of us because three of us are too much trouble, then maybe we should get a whole hell of a lot more of us out here.”

“They might not want another UAV, sir. I didn't see doubles of anything else out there.”

“So add something to it, Carter. Paint it pink. Just make it fast.”

“Yes sir.” While Sam was uncertain that another UAV would tempt them, she also knew they'd never get across to the island again no matter how many more airmen and soldiers arrived, and there was no Plan C. “What about you, Colonel?”

“I'm staying with Daniel.” As ludicrous as that sounded, with no radio contact, no light, and a great distance between them, Jack still knew he wasn't going anywhere until he got Daniel home too. If SG-1 had been trouble on the other side of the lake, just wait 'til those up above got bored with him here.

“Sir?”

“I'll be fine. If they wanted me dead, I'd be lying on the lake bed right now. Go. Daniel doesn't have much time." He knew he hadn't needed to say those last words aloud; Carter knew well enough. Enough to know she had to leave, with or without him, one way or another.

"It wasn't your fault, sir."

Like hell it wasn't. "I know. Go. Get out of here."

“I shall remain with you, O'Neill.”

“No. Two heads are better than one. Go figure this out, Teal'c, with Hammond's help.” Jack wasn't going to voice his growing concern that whoever stayed behind would be toyed with some more. Or that the gate would never open a second time, if it even opened now. He just wanted his team out of there, ASAP.

_____

Daniel gasped as he tried to reach out for the med kit Sam had dropped several feet away when the …wind… had lifted her, and now it lay there, invitingly near, at the feet of a deflated headless mannequin, a looming silhouette in the dark field. The planet above shed just enough light to illuminate the black eyes of several dozen humanoid figures, causing them to shine like those of animals on a hunt. Daniel had the distinct feeling that before the night was done, he'd be one of them.

He tried to support the knife's handle tightly in a closed palm, but the position was unbearable; with each shudder it moved ever so slightly, antagonizing the muscle and flesh inside him.

Giving up, he moaned and lay still, flat on the cold grass beneath. If he closed his eyes, all he saw were jeering faces of fake people. If he opened his eyes, he had the choice of looking directly at those faces turned his way, eyes almost appearing to glow, or at the planet hovering above menacingly, threatening to fall to the ground and crush him.

The strangeness of the night, though, was not enough to overcome the searing agony in his side.

All he was certain of was that his friends had been removed and probably tossed into the lake. Wherever they were, Daniel knew for a fact they would not be returned to him alive.

Renewed fear and anger lit him from within, and with one badly shaking hand trying to keep the knife still, Daniel tried again to reach out for the med kit. But once more, the harsh pain and dizziness forced him to abandon the task. He was bleeding internally, and knew he wouldn't make it until morning.

Far in the distance, a lone wolf howled.

As he lay there shivering, trembling, trying to keep his weak, resisting hands in position to support the acutely tormenting knife, Daniel felt as much as saw, in the darkness, the newly-beheaded mannequin shifting to face him, the bizarre thought occurring to him that it, they, might somehow be able to move closer to surround his dying body. Heart thudding and pain raging, Daniel forced himself not to pass out.

_____

Jack watched the planet, its enormous face doing nothing but blocking out any stars that might have appeared in the night sky. The lake was almost black, only silver strands of reflected light reminding him that there was water out there, the scattered hulks of boats looking even bigger as they shielded the glittering ripples.

“Daniel!” he shouted, hoping the night's echo would carry across the lake. There were no other night sounds; the chance remained that Daniel could hear him and know that he wasn't alone. 

Right. Some comfort, a distant voice from the man who'd nearly killed him in the first place. Powerless to stop the attack from happening, both he and Daniel knew he was just as powerless to lend a hand now. Jack was certain if this planet didn't do him in, his guilt would. "I'm sorry, buddy," he whispered.

Far in the distance he heard a lone wolf howl, and Jack knew the puppets had moved yet again.

“Stay away from him,” he raged at the night sky. “Leave him alone!”

He slumped onto the grassy shore, a cool wind at his face. Adrenaline working to keep him awake after the exhausting, stressful day, all Jack knew was that he had to think of something that would force the keepers of this land to give up its hostage. But if he wanted to cause trouble at this end, there was only the stargate. 

Got nothing.

Nothing of a plan. Nothing to help Daniel. Nothing, nothing, and damn well nothing. Those aliens knew he'd eventually have to turn tail and retreat homeward. They'd been holding the upper hand since the team had sauntered so nonchalantly through the wormhole early that morning.

He could still try setting fire to the boats, but dare he try? If stabbing a puppet had gotten Daniel knifed, then torching a boat might just spur them to burn him up as well.

“I'll leave him behind over my dead body!” Jack yelled again into the nothingness. Although, another dead body was most likely what they'd prefer. Maybe that wasn't the best reasoning he could have used. “We don't leave our people behind!” Well, wasn't that what everyone had done decades ago? No one had come searching for those lost in the showroom graveyard, had they. Again, maybe not the most plausible argument. Except this time, his kind were using the stargate.

Speak of the devil's equipment…

The chevrons behind him began to clatter, and Jack shot to his feet. Night may not be the best time to try to intimidate the locals with a small army, but Daniel didn't have until morning. They'd think of something; they all worked best under pressure.

The vortex exploded outward; seconds later it wasn't an army that burst though the open wormhole, but a giraffe-spotted brown and yellow UAV, equipped with small satellite dishes, fluorescent green and obvious on the outer hull. It shot forward and over the lake, circling the field, almost lost to sight save for the radiance of its patches, reflecting the planet's light. For a good ten minutes the wormhole remained open, but no one stepped through.

Suddenly the luminous patches plummeted and disappeared.

“What the hell?” Jack stood straighter, trying to see into the darkness on the other side. “It's gone down!” Maybe that was a good sign, though; maybe they'd accepted it as a trade for Daniel?

The shimmering wormhole flickered, and two shadows strode up beside him. The gate shut down, leaving the three teammates in temporary, absolute darkness, before their eyes adjusted to the planet's reflective light. 

“I see you camouflaged it nicely.” 

Carter flicked on a flashlight, but she didn't smile. Jack frowned; something not so good was up. Might it just be the fact that the aliens had taken the second UAV, but did not seem to be returning Daniel? Crap.

“General Hammond doesn't want to send more teams until daylight, sir. The UAV was equipped with infrared; for a short time we were able to get some pictures before the signals deteriorated. Janet wanted to see Daniel's condition.”

“And what the hell good did that do?” Jack growled, angered at the unsuccessful plan to save Daniel's life. “Daniel's condition is he's dying."

“I think you need to see this, sir.” Sam's voice was low and odd as she handed him a photograph, holding the light above it.

“Bloody hell,” Jack swore, his mind chilling in shock and his stomach reeling. The UAV had caught Daniel, leaning against a tree, sitting up. One arm was resting on a raised knee, the other hand held a pen, poised just above an open journal. He was smiling, his eyes large and wide and dark. Even in this grainy photo, his skin looked waxen and polished. The knife was gone from his side. The spot where he had lain was empty save for an open med kit and one bloody bandage. “Fucking bastards.”

Jack dropped the picture, his hand shaking, and ground it under his heel, the only part of him that seemed able to move.

They were too fucking late.

“They won't get away with this."

“O'Neill - ”

“I said over my dead body, and that's what I meant.” Jack's voice was low and menacing.

“Colonel, the general wants you to come home."

Jack shook his head. “No.”

“Sir - "

“I'm not done here.” Jack still hadn't moved.

“Sir, they're talking of sending one more UAV and dropping a bomb on the planes to show it's not over yet. Maybe they'll take the hint and… give us Daniel back.” Whatever's left of him. Or, it could get them all killed. “General Hammond doesn't want you here when that happens.” If the plan still didn't work, Hammond was not averse to dropping a bomb on all those pseudo people too. If Earth couldn't have them back, couldn't retrieve Daniel, he damn well didn't want to leave them there in the hands of whatever lived up above.

Jack nodded. He might get some satisfaction from the revenge, if nothing else. But he still wasn't planning on going home just yet.

_____

Daniel opened his eyes. Awareness and comprehension, however, did not come quickly. As he lay on his back on a hard floor, far above his head his vision gradually focused on a ceiling of glass, beyond which was a bright sky and full view of a small moon directly above. Hanging from the glass ceiling was... well... what looked very much like an oddly-painted UAV. Daniel squinted, his sunglasses a hindrance in this confusing situation, and he raised a hand to remove them.

That was when he registered the pain, and he peered down at his side. The knife still protruded bloodily from his body.

"Oh God. What's going on?” he groaned weakly. Shifting his head carefully, what he saw caused a jolt in is chest so sudden he nearly passed out again. As his gravelly vision settled and cleared, there they were; two dozen feet away, seated on wide, feathery chairs in this vast, seemingly empty endless room that faded into shadows around the edges, were the rest of his team - Jack, Sam, Teal'c - their lifeless faces smooth and waxen, blank black eyes staring towards him. Like scarecrows, waiting to be placed in a field of corn, or wax figures in the back room of Madame Tussauds. Lying grotesquely crumpled on the floor in front of them was the broken-headed mannequin, as though it was a fourth member of their team. Daniel shut his eyes quickly to the grim sight, and numbly prepared himself for death.

Soft patterings roused him from his misery. 

Slowly approaching from the shadows as though materializing out of a fog, one by one an ongoing line of people - mostly all human - neared and encircled him. More and more, they kept on coming, forming a C around him, an open circle out of which Daniel had only one view - that of his friends' desecrated bodies. Daniel turned his head away. 

As his eyes traversed the faces, with a shock he realized some were familiar. He recognized them, their formerly rubbery, waxen features unforgettable. That had been there, in that other place, but these people - men, women, children - were all fine, normal, alive. They continued arriving, the near-circle growing in depth, many rows deep, yet the room was still and silent. For such a crowd, it was eerily quiet, nothing but the pattering of their slippered feet to interrupt the oppressive dread filling Daniel's mind and stomach. He barely realized his middle body, his side, had been growing numb, as though anesthetized. Perhaps shock and adrenaline were overcoming his pain.

Finally the movements stilled, and a soft yet firm male voice sounded as if from a speaker above him.

“Why did you kill Bennett?” 

The entire room waited in silence for Daniel's response.

For a moment, he had none. “What? Who's Bennett?” Daniel grunted, puzzled and confused, his head spinning from more than disorientation.

“You stabbed Bennett. He'd done nothing to you.”

“I didn't st… the, the… in the field? Those people?” Daniel still didn't understand, but the sight of the mannequin lying at his teammates' feet blazed into his mind, and he knew.

“He's the first one of us to die.”

The bizarre statement had a numbing effect on Daniel's mind, and he could barely think. “I killed someone? Oh God.” Daniel recalled the puncture, the deflation, the revenge. Attacking that inflated body had killed someone, for real? No, that was impossible. That couldn't be what they meant. “I, I didn't mean to. I didn't… didn't know.” Know? What? The puppets down there were needed to keep these people alive? How? It had been decades since they'd gone missing. They all still looked so young, so much like those replicas. "Is that why you made Jack stab me?"

"To stop you from killing more of us."

"Please," Daniel whispered. "Explain to me what's going on."

"You killed Bennett."

Daniel glanced around, trying to identify the speaker. But all lips were silent, all eyes focused on him as he lay there at their feet, at their mercy. He couldn't move; while motionless, his pain was negligible, but even deep breaths caused it to flare again. So, this was a hearing? A trial? Was he sentenced to a death that would come regardless of their judgment, from a knife wound inflicted by the hand of his best friend? In this incapacitated state he could not be expected to defend himself. “So that's not just a graveyard? All those, all those bodies?”

“A graveyard?” Around him, voices began to murmur, then faded away as softly as they'd begun. “Of course not. The Absorbers are necessary for healing, for our continued life and health. The Range is what you might understand as... a clinic.”

Oh…damn. "The absorbers... they're like, what, like sponges? Soaking up your injuries and diseases? How is that possible?" Daniel's incredulous mind was itself soaking up the possibilities.

"Not sponges. As you discovered, they're hollow within."

"So... more like black holes then, sucking negative energy inside?" 

"You wouldn't understand."

"Yes, I would," Daniel sighed. But they had no intention of explaining it to him; maybe they didn't deem him worthy. Was that the purpose behind all the islands on that moon, to keep this world's inhabitants alive and healthy? “I'm... I'm sorry about Bennett.”

“We'll try to forgive you, in time.”

“What? No. No, I can't, I can't stay here.” Daniel's breath hitched, and he tried to rise. Will, however, was not stronger than physical energy, and he lay back, dizziness overpowering.

“You can. You'll be healed.” A slight parting of the crowd allowed a child to emerge, and she crouched down by Daniel. In a swift movement she pulled the knife from his side, letting it drop to the floor as she lifted his shirt. Sliding three small fingers into the gash, she gently pulled them free again and pressed. Then she rose, mere seconds after having materialized, a waxy scar filling and covering Daniel's wound. 

Daniel gasped, lying completely still, realizing nothing about him hurt any more. Attempting again to sit up, an unseen force pushed him back down. 

“Not yet,” he was told.

“Am I a prisoner? Why did you bring me here? To heal me so I could be punished? Why weren't my friends and I allowed to leave when we tried to go home?”

Soft murmurs again swept the chamber, and this time it was a woman's voice that spoke from somewhere near the ceiling, the gentle cadence filling the room. “Leave? Your strange airplane wouldn't hold four.”

The UAV? “No, we came through the stargate. The huge wheel… but you wouldn't know about that, would you. You must have seen us come through it…." or, could they only observe the islands, the clinics, from their viewer cameras? Was only the Range within range? "You've all been here since your planes and ships were stolen? What is this place?" Daniel asked exasperatedly, trying to sit up again. Once more he was forced to lie back, gravity or an invisible hand not yet willing to release him, the crowd standing around him patiently. 

“Stolen? No, you misunderstand. We were crashing. Bringing us here saved us.”

“How? Who lives here? Were any of you born here? God, I have so many questions.” 

Heads shook gently around the circle. 

“You aren't ready to know.”

Daniel grunted in frustration; where had he heard that line before? He needed to know where he was. He wanted to know... exactly... what they had done to his friends. If these people were alive, with their matching Absorbers up on that moon, was it possible that his teammates were alright too? Where were they? He wanted answers… and he wanted to go home. “My friends - my teammates - we never wanted to stay here. We didn't come to hurt anyone. We just wanted to explore, to trade.”

“No one knew you were able to leave. This has always been a one-way destination.”

This wasn't adding up. Who was it who was really in charge here? Did the overseers of this world just go around rescuing people from other planets? “No, they tried to drown Jack. They wanted him dead.”

Heads shook. 

“He could not have mastered those waters. They were bringing him back to shore, but he fought. They meant to bring you all up here, to help you and keep you alive. You all resisted, for you didn't understand. Nor did we.”

"And now you do?" Daniel had an idea. “Look, most of you are from Earth, right? You can go home now. We have a way that doesn't involve flying.”

There was an embarrassed stirring in the room, and a deep voice spoke up. ”Earth has come far, if you no longer use airplanes. Are the wars over?”

“What?” Daniel tried to think quickly. Some of these people would have disappeared in wartime, but surely the more recent ones would have told them -

“Is Earth in peace now?”

“Not everywhere, no.”

“Then why would we want to go back?”

A new voice spoke, and Daniel again tried to identify its origin. All he could see were gentle, sympathetic eyes, gazing at him from all around. “We've been gone a long time. No one is there for us now. Were we to return, we would retain the injuries we'd suffered before being healed, and resume our true age. We have no reason to go back. This is our home now.”

Daniel nodded. “I understand, I think. But I do wish to go home.”

“If we send you back, your injury will return. You'll be as you were. We cannot help you on the moon.”

Daniel took a deep breath, and asked the question that he was desperate to know but had dreaded voicing from the start. “Are my friends alive? Did you drown them, heal them, and bring them up here too?” But where would his teammates be, if they were here? Why hadn't they shown themselves? Were they also being interrogated?

“You have to make your own choice.”

“First I need to know.”

“Does it really make that much difference?”

"Yes."

Slowly, one of the oldest individuals moved forward, approaching Daniel's supine position. She knelt down, holding something out for him to see. It was a crumpled, torn photograph… of himself, propped against a tree.

“My God. You…” Daniel closed his eyes. They'd made him into one of them, too; that's how they'd healed him? "You made one of me already."

"To bring you to us. That's the way it works. You can't co-exist on the moon with your Absorber, nor can it help you if you're dead. Once you are sent back, it will become like Bennett, and you'll be injured as before."

The pain of the knife wound was still embedded in Daniel's memory, still acute in all the cells of his body. He had no aid on that island; no way to get home. If SG-1 was alive - and though he had no evidence of that, he believed these people hadn't really meant to harm them - they would have returned to Earth by now. Even if they'd somehow, for some reason, managed to get back to him across the lake, they'd have found nothing but a puppet. The UAV had shown them that already; everyone at the SGC already thought he was dead. He'd just be going back to die in a field, with no help on the way. 

"The knife?"

"It will be placed in you as before, to stem the bleeding."

"If I can't get home, if I'm dying, would you bring me back up here?"

"No. The only way to obtain a new Absorber is to arrive once again from one's home world; in your case, Earth."  

Daniel's mind was half racing, half numb. He'd be taking an extreme chance if he asked to go back. Even if they put him on the stargate side of the lake, he had no GDO to get him through the gate, if he could even dial out with a knife in his side. He hadn't even had the strength to reach for a med kit.

Here, he'd be alive and healthy. He could learn what this place was, who lived here, how they healed. Some advanced race, never to show themselves otherwise, never to be encountered again. It could well take him a lifetime... and here, a lifetime's cup seemed bottomless. Eventually, he might even be able to atone for having killed Bennett, something that was eating at him now that he realized exactly what he'd done. Even here, once dead, people stayed that way. Daniel felt Jack would understand why he was staying, wouldn't he? If he was still alive. And if not, then it didn't really matter anyway.

Jack, who would never forgive himself for having stabbed him, even though he hadn't been in control.

Daniel glanced again at the photograph. It was creepy. It would have affected his friends the way their Absorbers had affected him. No, if Jack had seen that, all he'd understand was that these people had made a mockery of him, taken his body and propped it up like a toy. And that would get his friend very, very angry. “They'll do more damage to your people. If my friends think I'm dead, they might destroy those bodies, that whole... range.” And the rest of these people would die. “I have to go back.”

Very nearby, something howled. This time, it sounded less like a wolf, and more like…

_____

A weak and trembling Daniel lay on open ground, hands futilely trying to steady a wavering knife protruding from his body. The agony was worse than before.

He opened his eyes, darkness cut only by a huge planet hovering overhead, images flashing inside his mind mingling with bits and pieces of fading dialogue. God. Had the whole thing been a dream?

But there were no lifeless bodies staring at him, and slowly Daniel realized that the stargate was nearby. If he could get to it and dial out… but he remembered he had no GDO. Moot point, for he couldn't even crawl, much less walk.

Still, he had to try if it was the last thing he did; the SGC might open a connection to this side in the hopes it was him. His radio might not work, but all they needed was one fleeting image, a single call for help. It might be a long shot, but without taking the chance he was dead anyway.

As Daniel pushed himself to sit up the unstable knife wavered; his cry rang out and he dropped his head back to the ground.

The only way he was going to be able to do this was to remove that knife and drag himself along.

_____

A cry echoed in the night stillness; startled, Jack and Sam froze inside this third yacht they'd futilely been trying to start. Unless the air was playing tricks on their ears, the sound had come from the direction of the stargate, yet it was too early for Teal'c to have returned with news of the UAV. “That didn't sound like Teal'c, did it?”

“I didn't think so, sir.” Leaping from the boat, both Sam and Jack began to run. They were a short distance from the gate, but the soft sand was slowing their progress.

Suddenly lifted off his feet and dragged inches above the terrain, Jack swore loudly. He was not getting used to this loss of control, but at least this time the energy was sending him and Carter in the right direction.

It took only a minute or two to be set down beside a teammate who not only was not inflated and rubberized, he was still conscious and weakly but desperately trying to pull a knife from his side.

Lunging for the knife as Daniel's hands went limp and his eyes rolled back, Jack screamed, “Carter! Get the gate open!”

“I'm on it, sir!” She was already halfway through dialing.

_____

“What the hell happened?” Jack still trembled from nerves and another adrenaline rush, watching as Daniel was wheeled out of the gate room. “They knew what we were planning?” That was impossible. Wasn't it? “Or did they finally decide Daniel was worth the second UAV?”

“I think we'd better ask him what happened, Colonel.”

“Colonel?” Hammond strode into the embarkation room with Teal'c.

“No idea, General. Seems Daniel was more than a souvenir though.” He shook his head. "Permission to go to the infirmary, sir." Jack strode off, slightly ecstatic that he was in full control of his limbs, and even more euphoric that Daniel might still pull through.

_____

“Why?”

Sam's rueful smile had Daniel frowning as she sat on the end of his bed. “I don't think they wanted people at all, Daniel. I think they just wanted the planes. You were probably right about a showcase collection.”

“So the victims of the abductions were what, unfortunate casualties?”

“Wrong place, wrong time, probably.”

“So why didn't they just send the people home? That doesn't make sense,” Daniel argued, propped up on a couple of pillows, head of the bed raised. After passing out when those fake bodies had moved towards him, he couldn't remember a thing. He'd had a strange dream, though, something about UAVs that looked like giraffes and zebras, and Janet using Silly Putty to heal his knife wound.

“They probably couldn't send them back here via the same route they'd taken, especially without a plane or ship. They would have ended up in the ocean without a lifeboat. But who says they didn't send them over to the stargate on the other side of the lake at first? No one from Earth would have known how to use it at the time, so when they eventually died, they were placed in that field.” Sam had had plenty of hours to think about this, waiting for Daniel to wake up from surgery.

They,” Jack groused. “Who are these they you keep talking about? It could have been a natural phenomenon that moved us.” Yeah, if he wanted to keep playing Devil's Advocate, that is, for he really didn't believe there was anything natural going on there whatsoever.

“Or the large hand of an invisible giant.”

“Or magnetic controls superimposed on and manipulating gravity. However they controlled us, we can't deny there was conscious and deliberate thought behind it,” Sam insisted.

Yes, a knife in his friend's side was enough to convince Jack of that. “Not denying that, Carter. Nope. They sure as hell did control us. No way I know how to cross a lake without a boat or plane.” He looked at Daniel guiltily. “Speaking of which, you'll be out of here in a few days.”

“I'm just glad we're out of there. Stop looking so gloomy, Jack. We're home.” Maybe in a few days he'd stop seeing glaring black eyes under his closed lids, or hearing wolves howl. What was that, a signal? Equipment activating? An attempt at communication? Just how different were those aliens up on that planet, for them to want to keep a showroom full of human figures?

“Gloomy, Daniel? I keep seeing that knife in your side. I keep feeling my hand put it there.” Jack couldn't meet Daniel's eyes, his own diverting to everywhere and anywhere else in the room.

And Daniel kept feeling the thrust, as though it had happened more than once. It would be with them both for a very long time, so no need to aggravate the issue. “What I keep seeing is their black eyes staring.” Glowing, in the planet's radiant reflected light.

“Not eyes. Cameras.”

“I know. Jack, what sort of operation could be going on up on that planet?”

“Well, Daniel, I don't know. Want to go back and find out?”

“Actually, - ”

“Hey! Don't even think it.” While Hammond had considered sending a bomb to discourage the operation from continuing, in the end he'd worried that it might make the situation worse. No one wanted another flurry of planes to be stolen, in revenge or as replacements. They hoped instead to, well, let sleeping wolves lie.

“Not that we'd have any way to get up there.”

“Lalala, not listening, not listening, nope - ”

“But if we went back with another UAV, they'd owe us someth -”

“Daniel, shut up. They almost didn't make the trade for the second UAV; they don't want any more, trust me on that. We're not going back.”

Daniel let a wisp of a smile escape along his lips. “Trust me, Jack. I don't want to.”

“You said…but… Fine, pull my leg. I'm the one who stayed behind to keep you company, you know.” 

“Yes. I appreciate it. Now that I know.”

“So this is what I get for my trouble.”

“Right. Me.” Alive. Even though they'd said something about him becoming one of those things. He didn't have any recollection; he was just happy it hadn't been permanent. Happy he'd been traded for a UAV; as cheap as it made him feel, he could live with that. Still, if Jack and Sam hadn't been there, well, he'd be dead now. 

Jack stopped his dramatic tirade. Oh. “Uh. Oh.”

“Yeah. Thanks, by the way.”

“Don't mention it. Really sorry I stabbed you.”

“Forget it.”

“No, really. I feel bad.”

“So buy me lunch.”

“Like you're worth that?” 

“Jack… shut up. And don't make me laugh, I have stitches.”

“Sorry.” Jack grinned and tapped Daniel's knee. “Next week.”

Daniel nodded, sleepily this time. “See you later. When I wake up.”

“Right. Pleasant dreams.”

Somewhere in Daniel's groggy mind a crank groaned, a light flared, and out in the corridor as he drifted off to sleep he was sure wolves were trying to tell him not to be afraid.



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Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, etc. I've written this story for entertainment purposes only.