Human M.A.L.P. : To Die With You

 

 

by Travelling One

 

EMAIL: travelling_one@yahoo.ca

WEB: http://www.travellingone.com/

RELATED EPISODES: Enigma, Between Two Fires

SUMMARY: Daniel plunges into the unknown to help his stranded teammates, but his status as human MALP becomes a perceived error in judgement as he lies near death on a forgotten world.

CATEGORY: Drama, adventure, angst, h/c

DISCLAIMER: The theme and main characters have been borrowed from the Stargate SG-1 tv series, and are copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. This story has been written for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

06/23/02

 

 

---

"Uh …yes there is, Sir."

 

Yes, there was a reason for General Hammond to rescind his "no reason to visit this planet" comment, and Major Carter was preparing to reveal it to him just as Jack entered the control room behind Daniel.

 

"So what exactly are you …we … looking at here?" Jack broke in, stopping to peer over her shoulder at the video monitor.

 

"It's not what we're looking at, Sir," Major Carter explained, knowing the MALP's visuals were not the best as far as distance or quality in darkness such as this, even when switched to thermal imaging infrared, "but what we're hearing. There's nothing apparent but a seemingly dry riverbed and some low vegetation, but …listen."

 

Jack strained his ears as the small room became silent save for a variety of clicks and squeaks. "Sounds like … mice?"

 

"It's some sort of communication, Sir. The signals are too controlled to be random sounds made by rodents or small mammals. My guess would be purposeful signals from an intelligent or more highly developed life form."

 

"So …where are the aliens?" Jack asked.

 

"Well, they might have planted some sort of recording or communication device on the Stargate, Sir. Maybe they're not in the immediate vicinity at all. Or maybe the MALP doesn't have the scope to track them in this darkness."

 

"For what reason would they need such a device?" queried Teal'c.

 

"To communicate with someone they're expecting?" Jack half questioned, half theorized.

 

"Or …to call for help?" Daniel suggested.

 

Jack listened more closely. "Doesn't sound like any code I've ever come across."

 

"So they have their own," Daniel reasoned. "I think we should check this out, General."

 

General Hammond had reached the same conclusion. "There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger, SG-1, however I advise you to proceed with caution. We'll try the MALP's visuals again at 1200; if the planet's in daylight at that time, you will have a go at 1300 hours."

 

_____

 

Seaweed?

 

That was sure what it looked like, short as well as long strands of it. Tangled loops and vines, healthy and thriving. Daniel and Sam bent down to get a closer look, while Jack watched impatiently and Teal'c surveyed the surroundings for any signs of life other than those huge birds swooping overhead. Maybe the MALP had registered the sounds of mammalian life forms, but so far, these seemed to be nowhere in sight, nor was there any visible mechanical device attached to the Stargate as far as they could tell.

 

The team continued on, heading towards a ridge not far beyond the gate itself. They seemed to be descending into a semi-dry riverbed, a canyon of sorts, just below the Stargate rise, although small puddles and watery dips attested to recent rainfall. Around them were varying levels of land, much higher ground and hillsides, and ridges surrounding this former river.

 

"Well, sir, the ground is mostly sandy, but it's wet, as though it's rained a lot here recently. The vegetation looks more like forms of kelp and algae than regular plant life, but this could be the indigenous form of growth here on the planet."

 

"…and ?…so …?" Jack queried.

 

"We should go farther, to compare this vegetation with whatever's over those ridges, Sir," Carter replied. "I doubt the growth in this area is indicative of the vegetation on higher, drier land."

 

Daniel bent down, separating some strands of the plant life. "Sam? Look at this."

 

Embedded in the wet terrain were what looked to be small lifeforms. As the two scientists peered more closely, spreading out for several metres along the low terrain, they recognized seashells, snails, and crab-like creatures similar to the small animals that had been alive tens to hundreds of millions of years ago on Earth. Ammonites, trilobites, living, breathing. Sam put a few into a sealed container, along with some water she extracted from a large puddle. "Hopefully this'll keep them alive until we get back."

 

The group trekked up the embankment, reaching the muddy hills beyond within minutes, and climbed quickly to the top. They could see the land spreading out for several miles, in its empty entirety.

 

"What exactly are we looking for, Carter?"

 

"The readings picked up something, Sir; you heard that communication yourself. Since there's no device on the gate, there must have been something alive behind the MALP but just out of view."

 

"Or maybe the life forms here all just fly," Daniel commented dryly. Two birds with very large wingspans were repeatedly passing overhead in circular routes, flying low above them.

 

"Watch out for any sign of their nests, guys. I'd hate to be seen as a threat to these things." Sam threw an apologetic look towards her teammates. "I suggest we keep walking a while. Maybe the other life forms are too small to be seen from this distance."

 

"Why would really small aliens be gathering to communicate at the Stargate?" Jack asked.

 

"Maybe because the Stargate's the only thing around here taller than two feet," Daniel suggested.

 

"So it was a social gathering? Meeting for tea? A bug lunch? Monthly rendez-vous to get their feathers preened…in the dark of night?"

 

Daniel shrugged. "For all we know."

 

_____

 

Three hours of walking had revealed a world of contradictions; small life forms lost to Earth or transformed over millions of years of evolution, yet low plant life that appeared much more modern…along with the presence of seemingly prehistoric birds that had been obvious from the start. While not finding any tall trees, they had found the sorts of bushes and shrubs that had not appeared at home until much more recently in Earth's history. Of course, this wasn't Earth; perhaps all types of life had survived here in harmony. Perhaps the predators or climate had just been that much different from Earth's to allow for different types or degrees of evolution.

 

The strangest thing they had noticed were the small two-toed hoofed animal tracks.

 

"Where would such creatures be concealing themselves?" Teal'c looked around the outlying landscape.

 

"In burrows, maybe?" Daniel suggested.

 

"That's likely, Daniel. There isn't a lot of growth around here high enough to provide shelter. Maybe the soil is too poor here to allow for abundant growth, or there could be solid rock just below the surface."

 

"Hate to see this one's burrow," Jack commented, looking at the ground, at tracks that were slightly larger than his palm. "Think this one was making the noises?"

 

"Except the animal making those noises sounded more …intelligent than a burrowing or cave-dwelling creature," Daniel thought out loud.

 

"Hey, that was just an assumption, Daniel. We don't know for sure that it was intelligent. Do you have any better suggestions?"

 

"Well…" Daniel began. "Unless the bugs here know an advanced version of Morse Code, I can't tell you what was making those sounds the MALP sent back to us. From what I can tell, there are no humanoid prints anywhere around, although the sandy terrain may have eradicated them in the last wind or rainstorm. There's no sign of any civilization having been in this area at all."

 

So …no reason to keep on looking…right? A drizzle had begun, and Jack was ready to turn back. "Okay, kids. Can anyone give me a reason to hang around here?"

 

"I haven't found anything of significance yet, Sir. Whatever it was that was here doesn't appear to be needing our help, anyway."

 

"Okay, then …so we're off …unless I hear any objections?" Jack was lifting his gear. "It's still three hours down the road."

 

There were no objections. Although the rain had started gently, it was now pouring down in heavy sheets. Within moments, the teammates were drenched, and more than happy to give up on this place.

 

The rain continued in torrents, swirls of water running off in rivulets down the low hills all around. It was a three hour hike back to the Stargate, but no place to take shelter, so the team carried on, water squishing under their boots and clothing plastered to their bodies.

 

Finally reaching the top of the hill range that overlooked the Stargate, the four team members picked up speed, eager now to be warm and dry within the confines of Cheyenne Mountain. This day's promising adventure was turning out be a fairly useless uncomfortable escapade, aside from the collection of a few ancient and interesting biological specimens.

 

As the team finally reached the banks of the riverbed canyon that lay parallel to the Stargate perched on the hill just beyond this final obstacle, the teammates froze, gazing in awed silence. The view before them had changed drastically. Now, the deep terrain leading to the gate had turned into a veritable river, flowing out to some unknown destination.

 

"What the…?"

 

"That must be how the marine creatures survive, Sir! Torrential rains bring down flash flooding, and turn this riverbed into a flowing body of water. I'd be willing to bet this happens fairly regularly, and that a few days after a downpour ends, this place quickly dries up again. This water must drain into a larger body of water, somewhere up ahead."

 

"So we arrived at the end of the last dry spell? Or in the middle of the wet one?" O'Neill queried.

 

"Most likely just a spell of a few days, Sir. I'd bet this is a continuous cycle."

 

"Okay, so our options are either waiting a few days until this water retreats…which may just be an overly optimistic guess on your part, Major," he eyed Sam, "or swimming across?" Not a good idea to enter a flooded area.

 

"It's not that far to the Stargate, Jack. Just a few metres. The current doesn't look too bad."

 

"And seeing as we're already soaked," Jack continued, catching Daniel's look out of the corner of his eye. His teammate was correct though, the flow did seem unmenacing enough to cross; the first influx of water from the flash flood was apparently slacking off. While under normal circumstances he'd be wary of suggesting they attempt this, he so didn't want to be stranded here for the next few days. Watching a twig float and twirl serenely past beneath them, his own mind was already made up. He'd go in first, to make sure they could handle this.

 

"I say we go for it, Sir. I don't really think we want to spend another several days here." Carter echoed his own unvoiced sentiments.

 

"Teal'c?"

 

"I concur."

 

"Okay, boys and girl, swim time. Don't swallow the water."

 

_____

 

The water was not too deep, probably around fifteen feet or so judging from the height of the riverbank, although this was just an estimate as the murky brownness didn't reveal any secrets that may have lurked below its surface. But it wasn't a far distance to the other side; they had walked it in barely more than three minutes, minus time for collecting specimens. While the packs on their backs were waterlogged and weighed them down, this was turning out to be a pretty standard swim. Urging them on was the downpour, stinging sheets of rain coming full force from above, and the sound of nearing thunder.

 

Almost halfway across, a sudden tug caught a startled Daniel offguard. Gasping as a swift, strong pulling sensation rendered his lower left leg nearly immobile, he tried to kick his foot out behind him, but the grip tightened as the stunned archaeologist felt himself being pulled under. Struggling frantically, trying to take a gulp of air before submerging, Daniel was caught in the throes of an impending panic attack. The damn seaweed….Too sudden to even cry out for help, he went down, pulled further towards the bottom, the tight grip on his extremity refusing to release its hold as he sank deeper. Continuing to struggle, he managed to loosen his pack from his back and let it go, furiously fighting to get an upwards motion. Holding his breath, exhaling slowly he reached down to his foot, trying to release himself from whatever it was he was caught on.

 

Unable to see in the murky water, futilely attempting to release himself, Daniel knew he was being pulled, maybe by the current, courtesy of the attached vines that were holding him tight. Couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, the struggle seemed endless. He needed air, and he needed it now. He couldn't keep this up, aware that he was about to involuntarily give in and inhale. As he continued trying to rip the vine that had him secured while being carried along with the current, Daniel's last retrievable thought was of his teammates, reaching the gate and finding him gone. Don't be angry with me, guys. I'm sorry.

 

_____

 

A drenched Jack climbed up the low slope to the mass of land that housed the Stargate, as lightning streaked around the sky, its thick fingertips trying unsuccessfully to catch the low-lying storm clouds. Behind him, Sam and Teal'c were struggling up the hill with their packs. Jack looked beyond them out into the river, sudden fear grasping his insides.

 

"Where's Daniel?"

 

Sam quickly dropped her heavily dripping pack and spun around. There was no sign of their fourth teammate.

 

"Damn!" Jack ran back down the hill, jumping into the water, Teal'c and Carter barely a moment behind.

 

_____

 

Jack sat perfectly still on the crest of the hill, in the shadow of the Stargate. He could hear Sam's quick breaths behind him, stifling the occasional sniffle, against the downpour. Teal'c remained standing down at the water's edge. The rains continued, and the massive, brilliant veins of lightning flashed at ever-quickening intervals.

 

There was nothing they could do now, nothing, but regain their own composure. Adjust to what had just happened, to how it could possibly have happened. This was unimaginable, unbelievable, and they couldn't get a handle on it yet.

 

Jack stared unblinking at the gentle current of the deceptively potent river, the river that had just taken Daniel away from them. Daniel was a good swimmer; how the hell could he have drowned? None of them had heard a sound. How could this have happened, and so suddenly? They couldn't bring themselves to head home, just yet. A few moments to adjust to the shock, first; let them grieve in this sudden, very personal mourning. Daniel was gone. Daniel had drowned.

 

Soon they'd go back and call for a diving team to search for the body, which may already have been carried downstream to the open sea or wherever these waters led. Jack had found nothing but Daniel's pack, lying on the bottom of the riverbed. But just for the moment, Jack and Sam and Teal'c needed some time in private, to grieve, oblivious to the torrential rains and the lightning screaming just overhead.

 

"I'm so, so sorry, Daniel."

 

He should never have taken his team across.

 

_____

 

Jack slowly trod along the riverbank, now a mere few feet above the water's edge. Much more rain, and the banks themselves might soon be flooded. Just another quarter mile or so, and he'd turn back. Of course, that's what he'd told himself before the last quarter mile. But they'd really have to gate home pretty soon. Just a little longer to search for a floating body, some sign of a friend he didn't want to leave behind…one way or another. Dreading the sight of what he expected to find, yet hating to leave without it, Jack put another quarter of a mile behind him.

 

There was still no sign of his fourth teammate. Damnit, how the hell could this have happened? God, Daniel, not again. You've played tag with my emotions for four years, stop doing this to me. Stop doing this. Jack wiped at his cheeks, probably raindrops, with his soaked sleeve. Why the hell didn't you call out?

 

Nothing. Jack turned to go back to the gate. They'd get divers to come, he wasn't leaving this man without a search, a chance to try and bring him home.

 

_____

 

He could see Sam and Teal'c up ahead now, still sitting where he'd left them, Teal'c gazing ahead into the river, Sam with her head down. They were going to have to do some serious mending, he and these leftover teammates.

 

Jack's heart jumped, as an arm of lightning hit the Stargate, and he saw Sam bounce onto her back and lie still. In a moment Teal'c was at her side, and Jack was running with every bit of energy he had. Not two of them, NO. A second bolt of energy, this one hitting the ground between the DHD and the gate, and lightning was flashing everywhere. A storm of this intensity he'd never witnessed on Earth.

 

Teal'c was lifting Carter and already moving swiftly to lower ground, as Jack swooped closer.

 

Breathing hard, Jack reached the two as Teal'c lay Sam at his feet. She was stirring, trying to sit up.

 

"Carter!" he panted, falling to his knees. "You alright?"

 

Sam stared at him, trying to catch her breath and conquer her dizziness and nausea.

 

"There was an energy strike," Teal'c explained, "near her position."

 

"I saw," Jack responded. "Carter?"

 

"I …Yes, Sir." Carter's gaze focussed. She grimaced at the pounding in her head. "I'm alright. Just a bit of a shock …I wasn't too close to the strike, Sir, I don't think." O'Neill steadied her as she sat up. "Daniel?"

 

Jack shook his head. "No. Let's get out of here." Jack grabbed his pack, and Carter's arm, as he and Teal'c guided her up the slope to the gate. "Dial up, Teal'c, now!" Another lightning strike, while Teal'c was dialling home, was not something Jack wanted to risk, but they had to get Carter home asap. Get them all home, and away from the storm that was driving all sane lifeforms into their havens. The lightning was not being choosy in where it was striking at the moment. There wasn't a lot out there, no real trees and not a whole lot of anything taller than they were.

 

The chevrons flashed, then died. "Teal'c?"

 

"The dialling device does not appear to be functioning, O'Neill." Again, he tried inputting Earth's coordinates, but each time, the chevrons faded away. "I believe the lightning strike has caused damage." Teal'c tried the coordinates to another of their friendly planets, then another, each time with the same result. "I cannot seem to get the Stargate to connect, O'Neill."

 

Jack looked at the now somewhat more coherent and focussed major.

 

"Can you fix it?" he asked desperately. Oh how he didn't want to have to stay here.

 

"If I can figure out what's wrong. We don't know yet if it's the DHD itself or some conduit between the DHD and the gate. Just give me a minute, Sir, and I'll go have a look."

 

"Take your time, Carter. That was a nasty jolt you took." Take as much time as you need, Sam … just please hurry up.

 

As the lightning flashed around them, once more hitting ground just beyond the crest of a nearby hill, the teammates knew that each moment here was a potentially deadly game of Russian roulette. Wet, out in the open, and too close to water, the tallest thing in the area being a metallic gate, none of them wanted to hang around a minute longer than necessary. Sam shakily rose to examine the DHD pedestal, finding the connections as intact as she could hope for. Yet the chevrons still refused to connect, neither with their own world, nor with any other. Sam was beginning to suspect that the electrical charge had somehow offset the gate's coordinating mechanism, scrambling the signals from the DHD.

_____

 

They had tried at least eleven addresses, and only one had nearly connected. The chevrons had stayed lit until the dome had been pressed, and then nothing more had happened. Nearly, in this case, was clearly not good enough. They had tried dialling the gate manually, but with no luck. Something was definitely screwed up, but it was looking more and more like it was the Stargate itself, and not the DHD. If that were the case, if the Stargate's coordinates had been thrown off kilter, they would have no idea of what Earth's address now was. And this, Sam had no idea how to fix.

 

Jack sat on the ground, watching Carter, watching the sky. The lightning had moved off north a bit, but the threat was not over yet. This was getting them nowhere, and the danger wasn't worth the risk.

 

"Carter, Teal'c…back off for a while. Let's find some shelter. We're not going anywhere soon, so we may as well wait this out."

 

"Yes Sir." Carter felt some relief at this order, her feelings of desperation had been growing too intense, and her thoughts of Daniel were starting to get in the way of her concentration. Daniel…oh God. Her headache continued, and she was in dire need of some emotional release.

 

"We won't put up the tents until the storm abates, but I figure we should go to slightly lower ground. Looks like there's a small depression out that way that might be sheltered from flash flooding. We can spread the tarp over some of the boulders down there," O'Neill gestured.

 

Making their way down the hill behind the Stargate, looking for land that was not crowded with puddles, Jack realized he was also still looking out for the missing fourth member of his team. Still expecting Daniel to come walking towards them in the distance…and knowing, this time, that there was no way his memory had been altered to believe in his friend's fake death.

 

_____

 

Choking and coughing, gasping in deep oxygen-filled breaths, Daniel finally realized that his head was above water. But where was he?

 

Unable to adjust his eyes to the blackness, Daniel tried to calm himself as he bobbed in the water, assuming the darkness must be the confines of a cave. How deep was this? His feet weren't touching bottom. Had he floated in with the current? It took at least a minute or two for him to realize that the sounds he was hearing were not solely those of his own gasping breaths.

 

They were the sounds he had heard in a control room back home, fascinating audio sent by the trusty old MALP. No Alien Morse Code, these were the official vocalizations of whatever beings rented space in this enclosure.

 

But he could see nothing. Gripped by fear and tension, Daniel tried to make himself invisible to eyes that could likely see well in the darkness.

 

It wasn't working. Something bumped gently into his side, and he spun himself around in the water. Another bump from behind, a tug from in front, and the sounds were beside him. Whatever was in here with him, definitely knew he was here.

 

A tug on his leg, and Daniel found himself underwater once more, struggling to regain his upright balance.

 

Don't panic, Jackson. Won't do you any good.

 

His admonitions to himself were not working, his fears and panic rising. The tension on his limb was released, and Daniel found himself in control once more, as his head and lungs found air. If only he could see what was out there…or maybe he didn't really want to know.

 

Remembering something useful that had not been lost with his pack, Daniel felt a small surge of nervous hope as he dug into his pockets for his radio and flashlight. Useful if, that is, the waterlogged batteries still worked.

 

Finding the radio gone but the flashlight right where it should have been, Daniel switched the light on. And shining in the glow, were at least eight pairs of eyes.

 

Eyes of creatures that had first appeared on Earth over 400 million years ago …it seemed at first glance. These were the intelligent life forms on this planet?

 

It took a moment for Daniel's breathing to slow. Partly from his near-drowning, partly from shock, he coughed in short spasms. As he backed up to a rocky protrusion which would serve as refuge from the cold water, Daniel realized that these creatures had been responsible for his capture; the long vine in the nearest one's tentacle was still wrapped tightly around his own ankle.

 

He also realized that they had been responsible for his rescue.

 

Daniel lifted himself up to sit on the natural rock ledge, acutely aware that the creatures had backed off, trying to keep out of the range of the light, content to wallow instead in the shadows. Removing his boot and sliding the twisted vine off his throbbing foot, he found himself having a single peaceful moment to study these creatures.

 

Almost a cross between ancient octopi and three-foot tall jellyfish, they had four long arms… or perhaps they were legs…so, not of Earth… and multiple outflowing tendrils. And if they had been present at the Stargate, they also had lungs that were adapted to breathing air. The shells on their humped backs more closely resembled that of the ancient nautilus, contrasting with the slimy translucence of the creatures's exposed flesh, and the elongated head ended in a blubbery, rubber form of beak. The arms seemed to be involved in purposeful activities, rubbing their heads, rolling up the long vine, putting items into their mouths and swallowing. Tentacles, if one were to compare them to the marine animals of Earth, that supposedly were capable of tearing apart any like-sized living creature. While the jaws of present day Earth cephalopods could crush crunchy organisms, these somehow appeared more … benign, or perhaps it was wishful thinking. Being on an alien dinner menu was not what he'd come to this planet hoping for. All the eyes, however, were gazing at a dazed archaeologist from a distant planet, and for a while no one made the next move.

 

Daniel's breathing was returning to normal, although the pains in his chest lingered. He throat ached, he must have swallowed some water along the way. But his heart was beating fast, as he kept up the eye contact with creatures he had never expected to encounter in his travels. The creatures were eyeing him warily yet seemingly devoid of fear; the irritation from the flashlight was only that: irritating, unpleasant, yet not alarming to them, or so it seemed. Daniel, at a loss for any other course of action, sat rigid, hoping his batteries would last a lifetime.

 

The staring contest continued, until one of the creatures made a slow, deliberate move towards the unnerved archaeologist. Daniel swung the light in its direction, and it backed off, squeaking a warning to the others, or perhaps swearing at him. Okay…good, he could hold them off with the light, as long as the batteries lasted. Or until one of them got too bored or hungry to wait any longer.

 

_____

 

It had been several hours, but the hard rains had finally slowed to a drizzle, the clouds were thinning, and SG-1 had erected two tents on a low-grade slope leading out of a small hollow in the land. Here, they would wait while Carter attempted more repairs of the Stargate, and Jack would go once again in search of a lost friend, the moment morning came. Right now, Teal'c was preparing a meal that no one seemed to desire. Jack picked at the hems of the dry clothing he had changed into, and sat under a low overhang, watching.

 

If he could take back time, he would. He'd give anything to rescind the worst command decision of his career, one that his gentle, caring, pain in the butt, intelligent, dedicated, loyal closest friend had just ended up paying for.

 

Now that near-calmness had seemingly settled in, Jack's mind could think of nothing but the profound pain of losing Daniel. How the hell could this have happened?

 

 

_____

 

C'mon, Jack.

 

Surely someone would be out looking for him, would find him? This stalemate couldn't last indefinitely. It had already been nearly seven hours, though it seemed a lifetime, and Daniel's nerves and patience were close to running on empty. The creatures remained curiously still; these were beings familiar with waiting patiently for their next meal, tracking their prey with skill. His heart bounded into his throat when the light flickered; when the hell had he last changed the batteries?

 

Solemnly, Daniel had been almost patiently waiting for a chance to make the first move. Not that he had a choice in the matter, he was outnumbered and the creatures were blocking any route out, not that he had any idea as to where an exit might be. Presumably, on the opposite side of the cave, although most of it was underwater. He would get only one chance at escape, and he would have to catch these creatures off guard. All access to the water was cut off, and Daniel could only hold the light on one or two of these creatures at a time. He was, quite literally, backed into a corner.

 

So he waited, and watched, and hoped for a rescue that he knew was not just unlikely, but impossible.

 

Everyone thought he was dead.

 

C'mon, Jack.

 

He had no idea how deep the water was, in here, nor how distant he was from the Stargate. His friends would have assumed him to have drowned. They'd be home by now. No one was coming, at least not in this rainstorm. And after that, they'd be looking only for a body washed up along the shore, if Hammond agreed it was worth the cost to come for a body at all. No, if he was going to get out of here, he'd have to do it alone.

 

The creatures eyed each other, and then him. High-pitched vocalizations sounded back and forth; they were indeed communicating. Talking about him?

 

Daniel realized then what those sounds had been, sent back by the MALP and heard by SG-1 in the control room. The creatures had not been calling out for help, but had been warning each other to stay away, having been startled by the sudden glow of the luminous blue vortex interrupting their nightly foray near the Stargate.

 

The light flickered again, and Daniel knew any escape from this place would have to be soon.

 

_____

 

Daniel was calling out to him, lightning landing at his feet, and Jack couldn't get close. The water was rushing down the mountain slope behind his teammate, and Jack knew that the moment the water engulfed him, the next lightning strike would electrocute his friend. Yet try as he might, Jack just couldn't get any closer. Daniel called out to him frantically, the look in his eyes one of trust, hope, fear…and Jack bolted upright, heart pounding, the dark tent confines feeling airless and claustrophobic.

 

Oh god, Daniel wasn't waiting for help, he was already dead.

 

Jack made his way out of the tent, early for his watch. But the howls and grunts in the near distance had put them all on edge, and he no longer wanted to sleep. Burrowing animals…right.

_____

 

The curtains were being sucked up into that blasted vaccuum cleaner, and Daniel let go the handle and grabbed the edge of the cloth. The machine was forceful, and he had to pull hard; as he pulled, the air machine sucked in another corner of the hanging fabric, then another, and in moments the entire room was being pulled into the machine, the walls closing in around him…

 

Daniel jerked awake, to a suction radiating along his left arm, enveloping it. Up and down, nearly to his shoulder, a strange vibrating pressure and he remembered with a gasp where he was. Why was it so dark?

 

Oh god… the light was gone, had the flashlight fallen into the water? Had the batteries died, his only source of light in a place with creatures that had perfect night vision? That feeling on his arm was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Oh fuck, damn him for falling asleep, stupid move, Jackson. Stupid, stupid.

 

Panicking and shoving with his feet, there was motion around him in the blackness, and a claustrophobic panic engulfed him with the breath of a dozen ancient sea creatures coming even closer. Shoving them away, futilely pushing out with whatever limbs could make physical contact, he was losing and they were on top of him now, and Daniel shouted out. "No! Get away from me!" and for just a brief moment, all motion stopped, only to resume seconds later. Fear, fear, yes this was what fear felt like; his time for escape had passed and no one would ever find him in the belly of a mutant nautilus. Shouting again and struggling, Daniel saw a brief glimmer of light. Where had that come from? Over by his left leg. Shoving his body up against the nearest creature, he succeeded only in losing more personal space, as he felt the suction on his arm increase. God, it was trying to swallow him.

 

With his free arm, he felt along his side in the narrow space between himself and the creature, and grabbed at the cylindrical object underneath him. With one shaking hand, his free arm, Daniel pressed the loose On switch and aimed the flashlight upwards, blessed light flooding the foreground. Inside that bluish-tinged translucent flesh, he could almost see the shadows of his arm , the interior muscles or organs pumping away at him furiously. Suddenly, the creatures reared back, Daniel's arm quickly released, spit out from the depths of his attacker's mouth cavity. The close-up view of his tormentor slid slowly out of reach, his arm resurfacing fully from deep within this grotesque being.

 

Heart and head pounding nauseatingly as he became aware of the numbness engulfing his arm, Daniel eyed the slimy substance oozing down his sleeve with shocked detachment. How could they have a taste for army apparel? he caught himself thinking.

 

Aiming the dwindling light around the cave, first at one creature, than another, Daniel knew he had to make a move. One way or another, these beings thought he was a futuristic, tasty meal. Why the hell can't I be kidnapped by vegetarians, he wondered. Oh …probably because vegetarians were more likely to kidnap a berry bush.

 

The light caught a place on the far side of the cave that captured Daniel's attention immediately. Faint pinkish light was reflecting on the water from what appeared to be a two-foot high doorway. The water seemed to be receding, revealing an exit that likely extended well below the water level. This had to be the way out.

 

Shining the light directly at the creatures barring the doorway, Daniel lunged forward as they retreated from the glare. Swinging the light around frantically, keeping them all off track and on guard, Daniel dove under the water and swam his hardest, with one fully functioning arm, out the exit.

 

He lifted his head above water and quickly turned around, shining the light once again on the creatures that appeared in the cave's entryway. But they did not follow; blinking in the faintly approaching daylight, the creatures turned and retreated into their dark abode.

 

Letting out his breath and feeling the frantic pounding of his heart, Daniel wasted no time in assessing his situation. He was outside, and the cave entrance went directly into the riverbank. All he had to do was climb up.

 

The relief at being free was overpowering, and after gaining slippery, muddy footholds, Daniel finally sank down onto the ground above the cave, rubbing some feeling back into his arm. He cringed at the touch of the sticky mess that had been left on his sleeve. Those ...things... must secrete a temporary anesthetic, a way to incapacitate their victims, but likely had never encountered a creature of his size, or shape, before, and had been at a loss to know what to do with their meal. Sitting there now, in apparent safety, Daniel shuddered, realizing with alarm that had those creatures had stronger jaws, his arm might have been severed.

 

A few more moments to calm himself and gain control, and he'd set out for the Stargate…whichever direction that might be. It was unlikely he had come too far; had he been underwater for any length of time, he would have drowned.

 

Daniel longed for the moment he could walk through that gate and see his teammates… friends who were at this moment trying to come to grips with his death. Only one thing could stop him from reaching his home, something that would be a definite problem. He had no GDO.

 

_____

 

Jack sat by the fire, watching the sky slowly awaken. There might actually be sun today, maybe. Teal'c was off to his right; the night noises had kept them all from sleeping, and two on watch at all times had been their silently agreed-upon decision.

 

Something in the distance caught Jack's eye. A flash of light…

 

Squinting past the fire, Jack stood up to see what was approaching. He swore that looked like a flashlight aimed into the approaching dawn, and a human figure. "Teal'c?" he whispered as loudly as he could.

 

The Jaffa approached, frowning, his gaze focussed up ahead. "O'Neill…I do not understand what I appear to be seeing."

 

Without answering, Jack cautiously moved forward as the figure drew nearer. What the hell… no goddamn way was this real… Jack couldn't help it, his eyes felt moist, and he blinked furiously.

 

"Daniel?" Jack raced the last distance, no way, no way, God please don't let this be a hallucination.

 

Daniel's grin washed away Jack's fears of insanity, and Jack grabbed his friend at arm's length, then pulled him tight.

 

"How the hell did you pull this off?" Jack's voice cracked. Geez, geez Jesus Daniel.

 

"I didn't drown…well, obviously. The vines that pulled me under were controlled by a sea, um, river, creature," Daniel held his friend, still grinning, his left arm still slimy and slightly numb. No GDO, but this was much better than having to gate home first.

 

"Daniel!" Carter was running, Teal'c following more slowly behind. "Oh my god! How…??" Her question remained unfinished, as she grabbed him in awe.

 

The three teammates guided Daniel to a log by the fire, hands on his arms, his shoulders, relieved and ecstatic, unwilling to let go of their unexpected and very precious gift. As Teal'c heated water for breakfast, Jack sat by his resurrected friend, tousling his hair and hardly trying to keep the grin off his face. Sam brought Daniel an almost dry change of clothing from his rescued pack.

 

"What's this?" Jack wrinkled his nose at the sticky pink substance adhering to Daniel's wet sleeve.

 

"Saliva," Daniel stared down at his arm. "Or something."

 

SG-1 refocussed their attention on Daniel's face. "Or something?" Jack repeated. Where the hell had Daniel been for the past eleven hours? "You said river creatures?"

 

"I did." Daniel paused, picking up his new set of clothing. "Don't worry, they only come out at night. My flashlight bothered them." Daniel stood with feigned nonchalance, making his way out of sight and into the nearest tent to change his clothing.

 

Teal'c's gaze followed Daniel as Jack caught Carter's wide-eyed stare. After a moment, he retorted, "Remember that, will you? Flashlights bother them."

 

_____

 

The vortex swooshed open, bringing the Stargate to life. The others bounded over, enthusiastic bewilderment radiating from their features, hardly daring to hope.

 

"Daniel?" Sam questioned.

 

"I tried five chevrons over from each of Earth's symbols," he explained. After having played with the DHD for over three hours, this was the first success anyone had had at dialling out …to somewhere. "I thought if the gate was misaligned, everything might be the same degree out of whack."

 

"So you think everything's been misaligned by five?" Jack queried.

 

"One way to find out," Daniel replied. Resetting the DHD, he tried the address for Abydos, skipping four chevrons for each symbol. Nothing happened. Trying two more addresses, the scientist had no success.

 

"So now what?" Jack asked.

 

"Well, Sir… if that did happen to be Earth that Daniel dialled, I suggest we send the GDO signal, and then try to make radio contact."

 

"Let's do it," Jack ordered.

 

The address was dialled again, with a corresponding wormhole established. Attempts at radio contact met with failure.

 

"So …, not Earth then." Jack concluded.

 

"Not Earth, Sir."

 

"Now what?"

 

"We should send a message through," Daniel suggested. "In a few languages. Maybe someone will be able to understand it and respond."

 

"And if they happen to be Goa'uld, Daniel? To get their response, we have to tell them how to reach us."

 

"So we hide. Wait to see who or what comes through the gate. If Goa'uld find this place deserted, they'll think it was a trick."

 

"It will all be irrelevant anyway, Sir; if the gate's coordinates have been misaligned, it won't work from their side either. I mean, we couldn't dial out manually, nothing connected. So any address we give someone, still won't work."

 

Daniel's head shot up, startled. "You didn't tell me that."

 

Sam met his gaze, saying nothing.

 

"So, that means even the SGC can't contact us?" the realization hit Daniel like a zat blast.

 

"Not if the problem is the gate, Daniel. And it seems that way."

 

"So we can't get home!"

 

"Carter will fix the problem." Jack still had hope, but he knew things weren't looking so bright. They'd need to find food soon, do some hunting, and hope that the storms held off for a while. This wasn't the happiest place to be stranded, but it wasn't the worst.

 

"The gate's open. We can go through," Daniel suggested.

 

"Uh …no-o …!" Jack vetoed the idea. "No one's going to be a human MALP. That wormhole may go straight to a Goa'uld stronghold, the gate on the other side might be surrounded by Jaffa."

 

"Or," Sam continued, "the world might be uninhabitable. What if there's no oxygen?'

 

"So," Daniel began, "I'll hold my breath, and really quickly dial that DHD to Earth." He grinned halfheartedly.

 

"Joking, right?" Jack looked at him with suspicion. He could never be sure, with Daniel. "You're not going through. You don't even know for sure if there is a DHD on the other side."

 

"So how do we get home?"

 

"We give Carter time to fix the problem." Jack glared at Daniel. "I mean it. Now, go read or something."

 

"I'm going to try sending a message through. Maybe we're wrong about them not being able to contact us."

 

Daniel sat down against a boulder, ripping a piece of paper from his notebook. He wrote in seven of the languages they'd most frequently encountered, taped the note to a small rock, and tossed it through the open wormhole.

 

_____

 

The third day on this planet was almost over, and no other random diallings had worked. No message had come through the gate, and what was worse, their scheduled check-in with Earth had come and gone, with no Stargate activation. If Hammond had tried to contact them, he had not succeeded.

 

Wait for Sam to fix the problem. Right. She was looking ragged and worn, frustrated and worried. She had barely eaten since the lightning strike, and when Daniel had tried to talk to her, she'd seemed out of touch. He knew she was trying to mask her concern and fear, but it was clear she had no idea what was wrong with this alien technology, and had very little accurate equipment to work with. They needed help, and soon the unpredictable storms would start up again. Daniel had heard that Sam had already had one narrow escape from the lightning. He also knew that the night brought creatures stirring, and with the sounds the MALP had picked up, he knew his own nautilus-like creatures didn't confine themselves to the river. Neither did the eurypterids - sea scorpions - and Daniel had discovered none too cheerfully that the eight-inch centipedes were numerous once the darkness set in as well, posing danger for them even as they slept.

 

It had been his fault his teammates were stranded here. They should have gated home long before the lightning strike that had damaged the Stargate. They would've, had they not tried to go searching for him.

 

This might be a stupid move, granted. It could be suicide. But with all the planets they'd dialled up in the past, how many had had uninhabitable environments? Not more than two percent. How many were Goa'uld strongholds was another matter, but those planets would definitely have Stargates with functioning DHDs, at least.

 

He was willing to take the risk; in his eyes there was no other option.

 

Daniel looked around the meagre camp at his friends, his teammates. Sam was trying so hard. She felt the weight of this on her psyche; this was a burden she was carrying alone. Daniel knew she felt responsible for getting the team home. Teal'c, well, he was clearly feeling as helpless as Jack…as helpless as Daniel himself. Daniel knew Jack would do this if it were up to him, but the CO had a team to worry about and take care of. No, Jack couldn't do this. Nor would he knowingly allow anyone under his command to take the risk.

 

Daniel wrote another quick note, then redialled the one address that had worked.

 

Jack looked up suspiciously from his whittling. "Daniel? Watcha doing?"

 

"Trying something, Jack."

 

As the vortex opened and settled, Jack kept an intent eye on his friend. Daniel strode over to Jack, his pack in hand. Appearing to be getting ready to sit down beside his CO, Daniel hefted his pack over his shoulder, and with a determination he did not want to lose between here and the Stargate, he dropped the note into his friend's lap, then turned and sprinted up to the gate. Jack looked in confusion at the scrap of paper, taking only a brief moment to realize what was going on.

 

"Daniel!" Jack jumped to his feet, but he was too far behind Daniel to stop his teammate from entering the open wormhole. "Daniel! Damn!"

 

It took longer, however, for his shock and fury to ease, and when reality began to sink in, O'Neill noticed his two remaining team members standing, staring at the still open wormhole.

 

"Should we go after him, Sir?" The look of fear in Sam's eyes and the pleading in her voice snapped Jack from his trance. "No. Now we wait and see if he comes back for us." Shit, Daniel. If anyone was going to go through there, that would be my job.

Damnit.

 

Jack glanced down at his feet, and stooped to pick up the slightly soggy scrap of paper. He hesitated. A final note from his friend, but he didn't want to know what it said. If Daniel had written any sort of goodbye, there was no way Jack wanted to read this. Slowly, he uncrumpled the paper, and glanced down. One line. "If this doesn't work, forgive me, Jack."

 

Jack looked back up at the now silent Stargate.

 

Give him time, give him time.

 

_____

 

They'd been sitting,unmoving, for 48 minutes. Surely, if Daniel had a way to reach them, he would've done so by now. Either their gate must really be screwed, or Daniel ……Was either dead, Incapacitated, Being held prisoner, or on a DHDless world. Can't forgive you, Daniel.

 

But they preferred to think that wherever he was, he was safe, comfortable, and just couldn't figure out their present gate coordinates. And until they had any reason to believe otherwise, they'd believe that.

 

_____

 

The glow of Daniel's flashlight illuminated the narrow rock tunnel ahead of him, spiralling into an ever smaller exit point. He would have to be crawling on hands and knees to get out of here, as he headed for the point of light half a dozen metres distant. This Stargate had obviously been buried, for some reason… and Daniel wasn't sure he wanted to find out why.

 

_____

 

SG-1 breathed a collective sigh of relief as the nearby thunder did not sound a second time. Having helped Teal'c collect more tiny scraps of wet firewood, Jack rested on his pack and gazed at Carter working once again at the DHD. He knew their chances of getting out of here unaided were not good. He knew Daniel had not been swayed by his feigned lightheartedness. Geez, Daniel, leave it to you. You either have more guts than anyone I've ever known, or you just don't give a damn about yourself.

 

The SGC would eventually realize they were either stranded or captured, but would they call for help? Would the Tok'Ra be able to send a ship or even want to? Daniel should have waited longer, damnit.

 

For all the exasperating aggravations, he had to respect Daniel for his self-sacrificing sense of loyalty.

 

Why had he not checked in? All the logical reasons in the world couldn't stop Jack's mind from assuming the worst.

 

Jack turned away for a moment from the view of Carter struggling with the alien equipment. Until early yesterday morning, they'd thought Daniel had drowned. Only a day after getting his best friend back - having found out that he'd nearly been devoured by local wildlife, at that - he was burdened with the worry that Daniel had once again been lost to them, and he was helpless to do a damned thing about it. If these coordinates were screwed, they'd never even know which planet Daniel had really gated to. If he needed help, they'd never find him.

 

For a moment, Jack was tempted to dail up that address and go through himself.

 

No.

 

If Daniel had met an undesirable fate, following in his steps wouldn't help any of them. Whatever his friend's predicament, he would once again just have to rely on Daniel to get himself out.

 

_____

 

Daniel emerged from the short tunnel, coughing, sucking in deep gasps of hot, thick, dusty air, and stood tall in the gloomy, unnatural outdoor lighting. An involuntary intake of breath escaped his lips and started another coughing attack, as he realized exactly where he was…

 

While it had been altered beyond description, there was no mistaking which planet this was. Why had the gate even functioned?

 

_____

 

 

"Sir, there's no rhyme nor reason to the workings of this DHD. I press symbols that I'm sure are not on any of our known dialling sequences, and some of them start to light up, then blink out before I get past the fifth or sixth chevron. Yet few of the gate addresses I know have displayed any functioning symbols. Even some of the ones that nearly worked yesterday are not doing so now. I really don't know how to figure this out without some kind of feedback from the other side …from Daniel or Earth, Sir." Carter was down to theory number four …or five, maybe six, but the point was, she was getting nowhere. They could be stranded here for months, or longer.

 

"Carter, if Daniel's able, he's working on it from his side. He'll figure something out."

 

"Until then, Sir…"

 

"Until then, Major, we keep trying." And if we get any more planet addresses that work, we each go through, one at a time. Chances are that at least one of us will make it to safety.

 

_____

 

The air was thick and heavy, lacking in oxygen and making it difficult to breathe. Yet three years had rendered the atmosphere slightly more bearable, lowering the temperature to a tolerable level for human existence, and the sky was a bit lighter, not that thick heavy darkness that comes with layers of ash. Yet the air and atmosphere still held that unnatural colour of a dying planet, and the volcanic activity had probably continued sporadically until very recently. The ground was alternately dark with hardened lava flow, and gray with feet of ash and pumice. All previous landmarks had been wiped out, either pushed out of the way or covered under many feet of solidified magma. Only in two places did the very tips of columns penetrate, and the Stargate had been thinly buried from the eastern side. In the distance, remnants of mountains had blown open, revealing craters still spouting puffs of smoke and steam. The land was black and white, the air purple and gray. Only a small opening in the recently-formed spatter cone gave any indication that an alien metal transport ring lay somewhere within.

 

Daniel stood in disbelieving horror, scrutinizing the landscape. It was almost as ugly now as it had been on that fateful day when ten Tollans had been rescued by SG-1, and just as grotesquely unnatural and devastated, still frighteningly barren and… dead… would aptly descibe the scene before him. Apart from the minimally more tolerable climate and a few newly sprouting seedlings, Daniel was not finding many blessings to count.

 

Turning slowly to the aperture he had just emerged from, he realized the SGC's act of accessing this gate for the Tollans had likely opened a tunnel in the still hot pyroclastic flow of one of the explosive volcanoes. Perhaps this final recent assault on the unstable rock had finally opened the ring once more to daylight.

 

But the land was changed, seemingly more desolate, more depressing without imminent danger, if that were possible. Worst of all, to Daniel's shocked eyes and psyche, was the clear and emphatic absence of a DHD. Gone, broken, or buried, there was no way to help his friends, and no way home for himself.

 

_____

 

 

Stupid, Daniel. He slumped to the ground, arms across his knees. Stupid. Gating to a dead world, there was nothing beyond his current position, no help out there, the Tollans had been the last people here and they had barely escaped from the fate of this doomed planet. And he, Daniel Jackson, had just stepped with barely a second thought, onto this world, of his own free will. Suicide is what it was, but he hadn't known. He'd taken the chance, what had seemed like the only chance possible, to get his friends out of their dire predicament, and for that he would never be sorry. But of all the worlds out there… why this one?

 

Daniel's eyes had been searching for the possible burial place of the DHD, the archaeologist in him at work. So many lava mounds, so many possible hiding places. For all he knew, it could be right under his present sitting location. What was he supposed to do, chop up the entire area? With what, his knife? Oh yes, and do it before succumbing to the toxicity in the air or dehydration.

 

Daniel fervently hoped that his breathing difficulties were due to the fine ash and dust still floating around, and not the possible toxic gases spewed out by the eruptions. Gases could travel several kilometres from the volcanic activity itself, he knew, and concentrated amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, methane, hydrogen sulfide…to name a few, could suffocate a person. Hopefully, the last eruption had been long enough ago to dilute and distribute the gases to render them harmless.

 

Daniel picked through his supplies. Three day's worth of MRE's and water, the wet clothing he'd been wearing in the cave, some journals, still slightly damp - apparently a severe dunking on a river bottom had rendered his pack not so water tight after all. Too bad he'd left his sleeping bag back in the tent, this ground was sharp and rough, but he hadn't wanted anyone to realize what he'd been planning. So much for counting on aliens to provide him with shelter. Some extra batteries, a handgun, his tape recorder and a camera. Let's see if the recorder still works.

 

"If anyone finds this," Daniel began, being struck by the déjà vu of having used those very words once before, and listened to the playback. Yes, the machine was fully functioning. At least something was.

 

"If anyone finds this, I've come here trying to find a way home for my team, SG-1 of Earth. We had no idea where this Stargate was located, but it was the only one that functioned from the planet we were stranded on, P4G 224." Daniel paused. Who the hell was he talking to? It wasn't as though the SGC was out looking for him here. It wasn't as though anyone was going to be visiting from another world, Goa'uld or otherwise. And it wasn't as though he would be separated from this machine; if he were alive to be saved, he'd be alive to tell the story first hand.

 

No, that wasn't what he wanted, needed, the tape recorder for.

 

"I'm sorry, guys. There's no way for me to alert the SGC. There's no way for me to even get back there." He paused for a long while. "I think I'll start searching for a DHD. There has to be one somewhere… I mean, how deeply can it be buried?" Daniel suppressed a morbid chuckle, jumping involuntarily as he pressed the Stop button, echoing like a gunshot in the stillness. Yes, he needed to talk to his friends, and at the moment the recorder was the only friend that would listen.

 

He'd do whatever it took to get himself out of this mess. He damn well did not intend to die here. So …where to start digging first? Straight behind him, probably. And until he did find the dial home device, he would have plenty of time to pray for it not to be smashed.

 

_____

 

 

The small fire was being tended by Teal'c, who, like Jack, was looking for any way he could in which to feel useful. Things were drying out now, and the tents gave shelter from the night wind. They were taking double shifts, with one teammate asleep at a time. Rarely had they kept watch this way before, but between the creatures Daniel had been nearly eaten by hanging around somewhere, and the howls and grunts of indigenous wildlife sometimes sounding too near for comfort, they had decided that the loneliness and lurking dangers were not worth the extra sleep. The eeriness of this world at night, exacerbated by the multitude of living sounds and the frequently changing directions of the wind, made Jack thankful that both he and Teal'c were still awake and keeping each other company. Now, if Daniel were here…

 

If Daniel were here.

 

If Daniel were here, Jack wouldn't be worried that somewhere out there, Daniel was spending a night just like this one, only terribly alone. He wouldn't be worried that his missing teammate was being held by an angry Goa'uld, or turned into one. He would know that Daniel was safe, albeit stranded, and alive and well. Not that he regretted what Daniel had done, not completely. If Daniel hadn't gone, Jack was pretty sure he himself eventually would've, and the worrying roles would have been reversed. Daniel…I'll assume, for now, you're in your nice warm bed …no. I know you're not. If you're on Earth, you're at the SGC, probably awake, trying to figure out how to get us home. So for now …I'll assume you're warm and dry deep under a mountain, large coffee in hand, close to rescuing us.

 

Good luck, Daniel. We're counting on you to get us home.

 

_____

 

Daniel sat with his back against a lava mound, the dark atmosphere covering the night sky, blocking all vision. The dust and remnants of exploding mountains effectively strained out the moonlight, along with all reflections from the stratosphere. The complete and total silence was like nothing Daniel had ever experienced, on any planet, anywhere in the universe. No crickets, no animals, no sounds of teammates breathing. His own asthmatic breaths, yes, triggered by allergic reactions to the dusts, and that sound was magnified, echoing in the stillness. A dusty sneeze, occasional wheezing coughing fits, a pen falling to the hard ground beneath him; every noise was like thunder, and Daniel had never in his life felt so isolated, so abandoned. Not even when he was eight.

 

He'd tried, for a good many hours, to break up some of the hardened lava sculptures, using pointed rocks. Smashing rock against rock, yet all he had to show for his efforts were a few small patches of cracked and chipped ground, an armful of scratches and cuts, painfully sore shoulder muscles, and a throbbing headache. He'd have to get a whole hell of a lot more done if he were to find the DHD before Earth's next millennium.

 

Closing his eyes, lying with his head on a bunched up military jacket, Daniel knew he'd never sleep. His nerves were on edge; while knowing full well there was no danger from living species here on this planet, he feared the danger from his own sleeping mind. He feared the panic upon waking during the night and finding himself…still here. And he feared suffocating in this thick, fetid air. His aching airway, tight chest, headache and shortness of breath were a combined result of excess labour, inhaled fumes, and irritants in the air, none of which were going away any time soon.

 

"I've tried breaking up some of the lava covering in the hopes of finding the DHD," Daniel had turned on his recording device, in the hope that talking to some unknown friend might actually ease his mind and nerves. Waiting for his coughing attack to subside, he then continued. "There seems to be nothing but more layers of hardened lava. I have no way of knowing if the DHD has remained in place, or been pushed along in the pyroclastic flows. In which case," he added, "I will never find it." Pausing, Daniel felt the eery silence of a world long abandoned. He watched as the sky sent occasional swirls of colour through the upper atmosphere, offering him only momentary absence of blackness in which to reaffirm that he actually was still outdoors, on an ugly devastated world. Then the brief flicker of clouds would again disintegrate, leaving only deathly stillness and penetrating darkness. No ….the DHD was here somewhere, and he was damn well going to find it.

 

"It's hard to dig with nothing but sharp rocks, but it's all I've got. What I'd give right about now for Teal'c's staff weapon." Keep talking, Daniel. Keep your mind occupied.

 

"I'll move in a little closer to the solidified, um, hollowed vortex tunnel in the morning. Might be a better angle for the DHD." Daniel was rambling, he didn't think the ground was high enough there to be hiding the dialling device; at least, not an intact one. But talking was comforting; perhaps one day, someone might even find this tape and listen to a stranded, terrified man's last words. A day long in the future, when somebody might decide to see if anything could still be salvageable from this world. In case those people turned out to be Goa'uld, he wouldn't give away any vital information, though.

 

_____

 

Another day, and no luck. He knew Sam was desperately trying not to give up, Jack knew she'd never give up. The long night had brought the appearance of many pairs of distant eyes shining in the glow of their flashlights, courageously drawing nearer, then backing up in apprehension before SG-1 could get a good look at what the animals were. Jack knew that each night, the indigenous life would grow more and more bold. They'd be hunting before the next storms, as SG-1 themselves would have to do. Perhaps they could do their hunting at night as well, by letting the wildlife come to them?

 

Jack was ready to go out in search of food, but with only three team members, that meant one of them would always have to be alone. He was unprepared to leave Sam by herself at the gate, nor was he about to go off and search for wild animals without backup. No, they'd eventually all have to head out together. So for now, O'Neill contented himself with watching Carter's many indications of frustration, and with trying to make telepathic contact with a lost teammate who was hundreds, maybe thousands, of light years away.

 

_____

 

Daniel slouched down upon this last bit of cracked ground, wiping the sweat from his eyes. He could barely move his fingers any more, so split and bleeding from the rocks he'd been forced to work with. While he was collecting scratches on his unprotected arms as well, it was too hot to put his jacket back on. His aching muscles complained at every movement, but Daniel had refused to take a break for the past nine hours. Nine straight hours of smashing rock with all the force he could muster had revealed nothing but bits of buried columns, and one dead, decomposing body encased in a lava mold. Thoughts of Pompei had rendered his mind frozen when he'd come upon that corpse; a modern day parallel with the realization that they hadn't been able to rescue all those Tollan. No, they'd left some already dead behind, and Daniel was now unburying them. Or one, at least. But upon finding this man, he'd been almost afraid of what more digging might uncover. So now he was alone on this hostile planet in a graveyard with a dead body that should by all rights have stayed buried.

 

Daniel fingered the mechanism that had fallen to the side of the man's arm. He'd seen this device before, the other Tollans had also been wearing them. And if those arrogant aliens had shown him how to work it, Daniel might even find some use for it now. As he studied and scanned the device in the dusky light of mid-afternoon, Daniel swept his rough fingers over the faded coloured triangular panels. What the hell, if he was going to blow anything up, it might be an improvement on his situation. But the thing remained uselessly silent and unrevealing of its secrets, probably dead and broken. God, Sam, if ever I needed you…

 

Laying it down at his side, Daniel again stood to resume his questionable digging. Getting nowhere was better than doing nothing. His body screamed in protest as he bent to once more aim a deadly whack at an unsuspecting pyroclastic masterpiece, and his head was beginning to feel like melting rubber, irritated by the heat, stress, and the poor quality of oxygen, sending waves of nausea into his abdomen. Daniel closed his eyes for a moment, regaining some degree of composure. There was no way he'd die quietly; he'd work himself to death before giving in to fear and panic.

 

God, didn't this planet even have any weather? What he wouldn't give for a breeze, or rain.

_____

 

SG-1 restlessly prepared for another night of stressful, sleepless watch. "Sam…don't take this so hard. You've been doing all you can."

 

Carter could not keep the pained expression from saturating her features. "Sir, I'm so sorry. This is my job, to get us out of situations like this."

 

"You've done everything possible, Carter. You have nothing to work with here."

 

"That's not good enough, Sir. We can't go home. We can't go anywhere…except where Daniel's gone…"

 

"No, Major. Only as a last resort."

 

"For all we know, Sir, he's at home praying for us to follow him through."

 

"Let's hope so. If it's all that's left, we have that option. But I'm not taking that chance just yet."

 

"You don't think he's safe Sir, do you."

 

Jack hesitated. "I really don't know what I think, Sam. I hope so."

 

"We all hope so, Sir."

 

"If he is, Carter, he'll get us home. He'll get a Tok'Ra ship, even if it takes months."

 

"So how long do we wait?"

 

Jack shrugged. "I haven't figured that part out yet. Let's just say you have enough time to work on repairs without killing yourself first."

 

"We need shelter from the storms."

 

"Yeah. That could be a more immediate problem." Jack looked around at the forlorn landscape and approaching stormclouds. It was problably time to head over the far ridges into the tree... make that bush… line, into the home of the indigenous wildlife… and find a more stable sheltering area. But that would mean either leaving Carter alone at the gate, or giving up on repairs, for now, altogether. Jack was coming fairly close to choosing the latter option.

 

Welcome home, SG-1.

 

_____

 

"I don't really think there's a way out for me here. This morning I thought maybe… maybe I'd find the DHD today, maybe it would still work. But it's not in the vicinity of the Stargate, as far as I can see. I have… absolutely no idea where to look next." Daniel paused, realizing the truth. Saying it out loud made the reality all that much clearer. His repetitious morning mantra of 'There is a DHD here; there is a DHD here; there is a DHD here,' had slowed down perceptibly by mid-afternoon. He had no idea where to even continue digging. Fooling himself, that's what he'd been doing. False hope.

 

He didn't want to die.

 

But now, on the night of his third day, Daniel was fearing the truth, and allowing himself to think the worst. He was stuck here, his time with SG-1 over. His teammates knew where he was, yet could do nothing to help him. So close and yet so far… He didn't even want to think that his friends might still be on P4G 224; he wanted to believe they'd found a way home, and he'd lead himself into death believing that. To die with any hesitation on his tongue or in his mind, any doubt, would be the ultimate sorrow. No, his friends had made it home.

 

"Goodbye guys. If you're home now, you've realized I never made it back. I know your thoughts are with me. Thank you. Please stay safe. Please."

 

Daniel wiped the moisture from his eyes. That damned all-encompassing silence was attacking once more, causing an intense anxiety on what Daniel knew was the safest planet he'd ever been on, barring the toxic air. The irony of life, sometimes.

 

The air was causing more breathing problems, exacerbated by the heavy labour Daniel had been doing. The more he disturbed the volcanic soil, the more the swirling pollutants were inhaled as he worked.

 

He'd drunk most of his water, there was barely enough left for one more morning's work, but with his increased thirst and coughing spells, it likely wouldn't last the night. No water, bad air, and no way home. His throat was swollen and his lungs hurt, to say nothing of the aches and pains that barely let him stand. He couldn't go on doing this much longer, his body was refusing to cooperate. Face it, Jackson, you're low on time, this round.

 

As Daniel sat contemplating his next move, he felt what he'd been wishing for, as a drop of rain landed on his face. His smile was brief, for the momentary thought that he was about to have some relief from the heat and oppressive atmosphere was interrupted by the burning sting of raindrops on exposed skin. Daniel jumped up as more drops stained his fatigues, fading the drab olive.

 

Realizing what was happening, Daniel grabbed his flashlight and, following the eery manmade light cutting through swirls of floating dust, he ran, crawling the final steps into the spiral tunnel of the solidified unvortex. Daniel knew his next few hours would be spent in the shelter of this narrow, claustrophobic passage, for the few burns on his face and arms were testament to the deadly effects of concentrated chloride, fluoride and other volcanic gases leaching from the atmosphere and contaminated waters into acid rain.

_____

 

Only partway through day four, and he was being forced to give up. Admit defeat. There was no longer any reason to continue working, continue digging. His mind was still in shock, recovering slowly from the denial that this one small object had cast the rest of his life away.

 

Fingering the one item he'd never wanted to find, Daniel's shattered hope lay scattered around him like the unburied pieces of this orange dome. His nerves had frozen as this one broken shard had revealed itself early in the afternoon, and he had slumped to his knees, unbelieving, a sudden emptiness replacing the final vestiges of hope as he gingerly lifted the item from its deathbed. He had recognized instantly this vital piece of the DHD, and his stunned mind knew without a doubt that the dialling device, wherever it was, could no longer be functional. In one brief unburied moment of time, he had been sentenced to death.

 

As he sat laboriously trying to inhale, leaning against a boulder, Daniel listened for the sounds of non-existent birds, of leaves rustling in phantom trees. Daniel breathed in a gasp of thick air with aching, itching lungs. It was even harder to breathe than before, given his exhaustion and depression, and he desperately needed something to drink. The rain that had fallen was contaminated, and he stayed away from any puddles that had not soaked into the loose ash. He throat was sticking, dry, and swallowing had become painful. Daniel could swear he felt, or heard, the rumble of an earth tremor, and the visible distance revealed smoke from a far-off mountaintop. Another volcano, getting ready to blow? Well, he wasn't about to die in a lava flow, that he knew. There were other ways to go.

 

Daniel eyed the handgun sitting beside his mini recorder. There were definitely other ways to go, than being consumed by molten lava, or suffocating from ash inhalation, or lying scrunched up in a tunnel having vivid nightmares while waiting for burning rains to end. And dying of dehydration was not one of them.

_____

 

Jack lay in his sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of the wind, the howling of the animals, the hushed whispers of Sam and Teal'c. Ths was useless, he wasn't going to get any sleep.

 

And his team wasn't going home any time soon.

 

His memories of Edora were resurfacing. When he had realized, back there, that he could never go home, the forlorn wave of hopelessness had nearly consumed him, yet there had been friendly people, a home, food. He could imagine what his friends were feeling now, for though they still had a Stargate and DHD, so to speak, it was becoming pretty obvious that the two were useless. This was not a planet one would be happy living out the rest of one's life on, keeping watch each night so as not to be wild animal fodder. And as for daylight safety, well that lightning was gleefully attacking anything over the height of fourteen inches, so it seemed. Even now, Jack could hear another storm picking up in the distance. The lightning was still too far away to judge.

 

Please let Daniel be safe, at least.

 

_____

 

Only fear had kept him patiently waiting. No, not fear, only cowardice. Afraid to do what he knew he had to do. Afraid to let go of Jack, Sam, and Teal'c, of their memories, of all they'd meant to each other. He'd kept those thoughts lingering for the rest of the day, reliving all the good moments they'd shared. But it was over now. His lungs hurt pitifully, his throat hurt, his back and arms and body hurt, another volcano was practicing somewhere for its ultimate performance, there was no DHD, and no one was coming for him. How cocky and presumptuous he had always been, he realized, about his team's uncanny ways of coming to his rescue… or he to theirs. A mutual dependability, they would never let each other down, given the choice.

 

He had no choice.

 

Another night alone, in blackness, in silence. Daniel knew there was no point in putting himself through this, in suffering in the hope that any day now he'd be rescued. More like in sixty years from now someone might stumble across his gruesome remains.

 

He could no longer speak into his recorder, his throat was too damn dry.

 

No, one way or another, Daniel knew he would not last out this night. He didn't want to.

 

No choice.

 

Daniel sniffed once more, coughed, and wiped his eyes. He would never have imagined that with all the shit his team had gone through, this would be the way he'd spend his final night. Never would have guessed.

 

Even if he could still speak, he wasn't about to record these last moments. On the narrow chance that SG-1 ever got hold of this tape, he wouldn't want them to know what he'd gone through on this night. No, he could spare them that. Please God, let them be safely home.

 

Daniel fingered the gun lying in his bleeding and blistered palm.

 

He had the right to do this, and he had to do this right. There would only be one chance. No way was he going to make things worse for himself by screwing this up.

 

He stared at the metallic manmade object. What horrors these devices had brought to mankind.

 

Jack, Sam, Teal'c… Forgive me.

_____

 

They weren't getting off this planet without help, that was apparent. Random diallings were getting them nowhere; divine intervention with another lightning strike would be more plausible, maybe rearranging once again the alignment of the coordinates? Daniel couldn't get a message to them, and they had no idea if he was in any position to help.

 

Carter had watched O'Neill throughout the day, staring intently into the empty space of the circular Stargate.

 

Now, she approached him tentatively, dreading to voice what was on her mind.

 

Jack didn't turn around at her approach.

 

"You're going through Sir, aren't you."

 

"Yes." His voice sounded strange; determination mixed with regret, uncertainty and confidence.

 

"But Sir,…"

 

"No buts, Carter. I haven't made this decision lightly." Daniel had made his choice, had taken the risk, and Jack knew he shouldn't be worrying about him now. But his emotions weren't buying into it any longer. He could, and would, rationalize what he was about to do.

 

"So what about us, Colonel?" Sam's eyes were already starting to sting.

 

He turned to face her, his expression one of both sorrow and conviction. "You'll be okay, Carter," his voice was low, as he looked back into the hollow hole of the Stargate. "You and Teal'c. There's nothing I can do for you here. Maybe at least I can help Daniel get you home."

 

"You think he needs help, Sir, don't you." Sam's questions were statements of certainly; all she needed was to verify her CO's actions in her own mind. Sam herself had been worried about Daniel, afraid that they'd eventually find a way home and discover that Daniel had never arrived. Afraid that they would have no idea where he had been sent nor what had happened to him, and the only way to find him would be to leave from here. An option that would be void if they were actually to fix this thing.

 

"I think, Major, that there are three of us here and Daniel's alone."

 

"We'll be okay, Sir. I just hope you will be, too." For if Daniel was no longer alive, the colonel was now headed for the same fate. Sam could do this, could show confidence and optimism, if only for his sake.

 

"I'll be fine." Jack scrunched his face into a tentative, unnatural smile, and returned to the tents to collect his belongings. Sleeping bag, med kit, water filtered from the river before it had receded. The final three MREs he'd leave with Teal'c and Sam; he would have to find food wherever he ended up.

 

_____

 

Daniel leaned his head back, closing his eyes and listening to the rumblings of a decaying planet, a planet no one was ever supposed to uncover. Just one last moment of life, he'd allow himself that. One last moment of life.

 

But exhaustion had its own plans, a way of taking over Daniel's fourth sleepless night. For this time, he rapidly fell prey to a sweaty, feverish unconsciousness, the sidearm settling as his hand fell softly into his lap.

 

_____

 

Jack stood before the same wormhole Daniel had disappeared into. Turning, he saluted both Teal'c and Major Carter.

 

"O'Neill, you do not know what awaits you."

 

"Neither did Daniel." Jack sighed. "Look, you have each other. If Daniel's home, he's safe. If not, he needs someone. I wish you could know what was out there. Some way I could get a signal to you." A message, saying Come on Through, All is Well. Or Sorry, We've been Captured by the Goa'uld, don't Wait up. Jack trusted Carter and Teal'c, but hated leaving them. Jack hated leaving Daniel. "Keep trying to find more addresses, Sam. Give it enough time. Then, if you can't make it any other way, come on through….whatever's at the end of this can't be much worse than being stranded here." Hopefully.

 

"Colonel…wait." Carter moved forward, locking her arms around her CO's shoulders. "We'll see you again, Sir."

 

Reciprocating the embrace, Jack responded without conviction, "…yeah." But he wouldn't be doing this, if he had no hope….Or would he? Daniel was out there, somewhere. Either safe, as he soon would be, or in need of help, and Jack couldn't in good conscience leave him that way.

 

_____

 

 

Daniel bolted upright. Where was he?

 

Something had woken him, a rumbling, a noise, a vibration …was the distant volcano preparing to blow?

 

Something tumbled gently from his lap to the brittle ground, as Daniel recognized the sulfuric odor of a volcanic planet, the dimly lit atmophere encrusted with lingering dust, and the realization of what he'd been about to do. God. He'd fallen asleep; no other reason to make it through that night. No reason to make it through another day.

 

Daniel lifted the sidearm, swelling with the emotions of hatred for what this device had caused mankind, love for its present usefulness and intense purpose when all hope was otherwise lost. His chest ached violently, breaths were seemingly being taken through packed burlap. Desperate for a drink of water, Daniel wished for just one drop before leaving this place; one drop of beautiful cool liquid, to make his life complete. One last wish, and the night would not have been endured for nothing. One drop of cool, clear liquid…

 

But there were none. Last dreams faded, only to be replaced by a face, his friends faces, worry, humour, and the last time he'd seen them… Sam in frustration, sagging against a DHD; Teal'c watching the area, concern for their situation etched in his eyes; Jack looking up in confusion as a note fluttered into his lap. I'm so sorry, Jack. Please forgive me... I really miss you guys. I care about you so much, it hurts.

_____

 

Where the hell am I? Jack stared into the eery rocky passageway, his flashlight cutting into the dark spiral of a tiny tunnel. Up ahead was a pinpoint of dim light. Daniel's here somewhere? This is so not Earth.

 

Crawling slowly, warily, he emerged into a hazy mauve morning glimmer of light, recognition dawning. All around was the devastation of a battered planet, the sour smell of volcanic gases, lava chips littering the immediate area, and …and the form of his friend, lying huddled on the ground. Oh crap. Daniel!

 

Jack trotted over to the motionless man, slowing in trepidation as he saw the Beretta by his teammate's side. Fuck, no. What have you done to yourself, buddy?

 

"Daniel?" Jack fearfully knelt beside the man he'd been so hoping would be able to rescue them, feeling for a pulse, his own heart racing. There was no blood that he could see. Be alive, be alive, be alive…

 

Daniel's eyes flew open, as he slowly turned his head towards Jack. Jack? A hallucination? Was he home? "Jack?" The name didn't manage to come out.

 

Jack's hands gently grasped his friend's face in relief, eyes stinging. Damn sour air. He nodded, not trusting his voice. Christ. Daniel had been here for four days. What interrupted you from putting a bullet through your head, Danny? Daniel didn't go around trying to hurt himself. What made you desperate enough to want to do that in the first place?

 

Peering around, Jack noticed the broken lava chips, the overturned rocks, the damaged orange shards beside his friend…

 

Oh.

 

Daniel's eyes stared at Jack in pain and frustration. "What… why…?" he tried to whisper. Why had Jack come to this dismal place? No, this was wrong, Jack shouldn't have come.

 

Jack peeled out his water flask, allowing Daniel to take a few painful swallows before the coughing attack started. Was this asthma from the heat and dust, or pneumonia? Jack could feel the thickness and heaviness beginning in his own lungs. The air in this place was so not good.

 

"I had to come find you. I had to know."

 

"Both …dead, now." Daniel's teary eyes closed. God, he'd wanted just one drop of water before his life ended, but he'd never wanted Jack to be here serving it to him. Never wanted anyone else to be stranded here with him. Be careful what you wish for.

 

Jack eased himself behind Daniel, lifting him until his friend's head was resting against his chest. Daniel had obviously spent the past four days digging furiously.

 

"No ……dhd." Daniel whispered, taking more sips of water, swallowing carefully. Warm, delightful liquid; liquid life.

 

"I know."

 

"I'm so sorry, Jack. I messed up." A few silent tears fell gently along Daniel's cheeks, hesitating at the base of his chin before rolling sideways down his neck. The sight mesmerized Jack, who turned away before his own could escape and betray his emotions. So this is what Daniel had been going through. Suddenly he longed for lightning and a swollen river, and animal eyes gleaming in the night. Not death. Death was so what he didn't want.

 

"Yes, you did." Daniel's clothes were covered in fine white ash; his hands and fingers were a bloody mess of scraped and blistered skin. There was too little water to use any on cleansing them. Why did those look like burns on his face, along his arms? "But your intentions were good …as they always are." Geez, Daniel. Stranded, alone, guilt-ridden, injured and desperate enough to be suicidal. We all messed up on this one. Jack grasped his own hands, his arms closing lightly across Daniel, his cheek resting gently against Daniel's hair.

 

Daniel leaned against his friend, a weak coughing spasm abating, almost grateful to feel the human presence in these final hours. But it was because of him that Jack was stranded …and now they were both going to die here.

 

Daniel's eyes were half open as the realization overwhelmed Jack that Daniel would die before he did, unless he too did what Daniel had been preparing to do. But he wouldn't take action as long as Daniel was still alive. As long as Daniel needed him. This ill-fated rescue would at least be worth that much; reassurance that this friend would no longer be facing death alone. His need to know had been satisfied; he knew where Daniel was, now.

 

_____

 

Sam felt the loneliness creeping up to surround her from all sides, now that she was on solitary watch. That was one thing Jack had left to them, one less person on guard. She didn't blame him, though; she'd known it was going to happen sooner or later, Jack going after Daniel. She just had really believed she'd have them home by then.

 

Teal'c. He was her only companion now. Whatever happened, they'd go through it together. No one would have to be there alone, ever. Thinking this, Sam suddenly felt guilty. She was afraid of being alone, here, but wasn't that what Daniel had risked for himself the moment he'd decided to step through the gate to an unknown planet? If he could do it, she had no right to complain about being here with Teal'c her sole companion. She missed the colonel and Daniel, but she and Teal'c would make the best of each other's companionship, and find a way to get themselves home, together.

 

Where are you now, Colonel? Are you thinking of us?

 

_____

 

The rains had started up again, lightly. With a final flicker of determination, Daniel had hurried Jack into the tunnel, where they remained, cramped and sweaty.

 

"Rain. I wished for rain." Daniel spoke quietly without facing his friend. "Be careful what you wish for," he stated out loud this time.

 

"Daniel…"

 

"And one drop of water to drink before I died." Daniel turned to gaze into Jack's eyes, the eery light casting reflections in shadows on his cheeks. "Then you came, to bring me water and die with me."

 

Jack placed his arm around Daniel's shoulder, pulling him closer. The tunnel was uncomfortable, but Jack's sleeping bag was packed beneath them, offering some padding and minor relief from the rocks and bumps. Daniel was hanging in there, and hadn't yet mentioned the gun. Jack was pretty sure he wouldn't attempt to use it, with Jack around. Dehydrated, suffering from toxic stress, inadequate oxygen, and exhaustion, the archaeologist was breathing with difficulty but seemed a bit more alert now, having had the benefit of some water intake. But the water wouldn't last long between the two of them, and Jack was afraid of facing whatever came next.

 

_____

 

"We have arrived. We'll prepare to retrieve the bodies as soon as possible; however, there is a steady rain falling. We must wait until the weather settles."

 

Trandell gazed at his partner's features in the fluorescent light of the Tollan ship. Few of their people had managed to escape the Goa'uld's torrential ravaging of Tollana, but they would never give up the search for survivors. Those who had been in the air on that disastrous day were doing all they could to preserve what was left of their people, once again. Their newly located planet of Axeda would house them until they once again could begin life anew. Strange, how this signal had come from their original Tollan homeworld, a planet not far from Tollana that was thought to have been completely destroyed by volcanic action three years earlier. A world in cataclysm, their final task to shut down the gate so that no one else could come through and be harmed. The gate had indeed been buried; no one could possibly have accessed it. And why would anyone have even wanted to? Their rescue operations had not thought to cover that distant world, but the distress signal had summoned them, and they were not about to ignore it. Most likely, an arm band had dislodged from a perished comrade, causing the pre-programmed audio signal to activate; still, at the very least, they would be able to retrieve another body and give it a final, decent, resting place. It was the least they could do for their fallen comrades.

 

_____

 

Jack watched his friend sleep fitfully, feverishly, waking every fifteen or so minutes to find himself still on a ruined, angry world. He brushed the sweaty strands of hair from Daniel's forehead.Yes, this was where Daniel had spent his days since leaving his friends, alone, determined, and scared.

 

"No more, Daniel. You're not alone any more."

 

_____

 

"Callsiah, Cheropat, Maneda, you're with me. Trandell, keep the ship ready to depart as soon as I give the signal to retrieve us."

 

Trandell nodded, and manipulated the controls that would send down the search team. He hoped it would be Laropat's body down there. Not that he could bring himself to gaze upon what his friend had become, but the ceremonial burial would finally put his heart at rest. At least his friend would never have to know what had become of so many of his people, or of their so newly colonized and beloved planet.

 

_____

 

The search team materialized onto a gray, dark, illogically luminescent scene bathed in lavendar and mauve, eerily changed from the beautiful planet they had once settled upon. They appeared to be just a short distance from where the Stargate had once been located. The controls had set them down in just the right place; Trandell was good with that equipment.

 

Looking around quickly, they approached the area of chopped lava, disturbed ash, and broken shards of DHD crystal.

 

"Someone seems to have been here recently. How can this be?"

 

Warily wandering the area, speaking in low voices as if volume would disturb a fragile balance and send tons of debris raining down on them or set another volcano exploding, the quiet commotion awakened an anxious man, partly dozing inside a narrow volcanic tunnel.

 

_____

 

There were drums beating, the volume rising consistently louder. Jack looked out his window as a parade marched past, all of the participants in SGC apparel. Taking a closer look, he noticed that all the participants resembled … Daniel. He peered at their faces as they passed; each one's eyes were closed, and they sported small round scars on their cheeks … the drums disappeared as the Daniels marched on, but the drumming remained, and Jack realized the sound was rain on the window, but the rain was burning holes through the glass panes. The footsteps of the marchers faded into whispers, voices,…

 

Jack jerked awake. Where was he?

 

Daylight faintly illuminating the interior of a vortex mold, Jack chided himself for falling asleep. What if someone had come through the gate … Sam, or Teal'c? They were right in the line of fire.

 

Then, he realized what had awakened him so suddenly… he could've sworn he'd just heard voices.

 

Gently disentangling himself from his sleeping or semi-unconscious friend, Jack ducked his head as he lowered himself through the tunnel exit.

 

"Hey!" Jack called out to the four men now standing a short distance from his position. They were all clothed in the familiar style of the Tollan people. "Over here!" He waved excitedly. I don't know how you did it Carter, but I could kiss you right now! Damn, that woman was brilliant. Jack grinned, feeling sudden pride for his team. Got to go get Daniel.

 

The Tollan S&R team stood in momentary shock, staring at the waving apparition. They had never expected to find anybody down here … alive. Nor had they expected it not to be one of their own.

 

"He looks like one of those Tau'ri, does he not? The clothes are similar." Cheropat had not encountered the SG-1 team, but had only heard of them. The entire Tollan world knew how their planet had been saved from Goa'uld attack once before, by the humans of Earth. He recalled a conversation between himself and Gusander, when the recent rescue and relocation had begun:

 

"We perhaps should notify the Tau'ri of our new location," Gusander had surmised. "Our former governmental representatives would have desired this. Narim spoke highly of O'Neill's team."

 

Cheropat had contemplated this for a moment."We cannot. We do not know the access signal of the Tau'ri Stargate."

 

"I have heard that we can send a cat."

 

His puzzled face had looked up at Gusander, but Cheropat did not refute his commander's apparent knowledge.

 

Approaching the enthusiastic man in Tau'ri apparel, they quietly discussed the present situation. "Why would he be here?" Cheropat queried.

 

"Perhaps he's been exiled."

 

"Then why would he have sent the emergency signal? His arrival here must have been an accident. Perhaps he dialled the wrong address on the Stargate."

 

"I was led to believe the Tau'ri did not know how to use Tollan technology."

 

"Yes. Well, this one does."

 

Jack watched as their saviours closed the distance, then he headed back into the tunnel to awaken his friend. Daniel didn't look good; his breathing was laboured and his expression was one of pain.

 

"Daniel." Jack shifted him gently into a more comfortable position. "Daniel. Wake up. We're being rescued." Worry erased his own grin; he just hoped Daniel would be able to appreciate this rescue, at some point soon.

 

Daniel felt movement jarring him into a hazy awareness. He heard Jack's voice…

 

Oh, god. Right; Jack was here now. Here in this mess with him, dying here, with him. Because of him.

 

"Daniel, come on. Help's here."

 

"What?" What did Jack just say? Just a dream.

 

"Daniel, open your eyes. There's a Tollan ship upstairs."

 

"What?" What did Jack just say? No, definitely a dream. The Tollan were gone, decimated. "No. Tollans are dead."

 

"Well they look Tollan. But I'd settle for Goa'uld, I'm not being choosy, at this point …..Come on, Daniel. Wake up and see for yourself."

 

Daniel cracked open tired eyes. Ow, his face hurt. "Rescue? Tollans?"

 

"Yeah." Time for that grin to set itself free.

 

"How?" Daniel tried to sit up. Ow, his arms hurt.

 

"I'm guessing Sam contacted them. Our trusty teammates must've gotten home, Daniel." Wide, wide grin.

 

And a small grin from Daniel. Ow, his chest hurt. Thank you, Sam. God, thank you. Daniel's eyes closed again. He really wasn't feeling so well…

 

Heads poked into the opening of the tunnel.

 

"Well, well, well, rescue. We thought your world had been destroyed." Jack turned away from his partner for a moment.

 

"Some of us survived. I am Cheropat and this is Callsiah, we are crew of a rescue ship, transporting our survivors to our new homeworld, once again. Might you be O'Neill, Carter, or Daniel Jackson?"

 

"O'Neill would be about right." Jack indicated the once-again semi-conscious man huddled on his sleeping bag. "This is Daniel."

 

Cheropat looked at the legendary Tau'ri before him. "We have heard much about you." He looked at Daniel. "He sleeps, or he is not well?"

 

"Not well. He needs medical attention," Jack added unnecessarily.

 

"There is little we can do for him on our vessel but tend to his outer wounds."

 

"We apologize for not being able to do more. Our ship carries little medical equipment, and we ourselves have no medics among us," Callsiah apologized. "But we will arrive at Axeda before tomorrow's day is out, where we can send you home through the Stargate."

 

"Thank you," Jack looked at them gratefully. "Are our other friends on your ship, or back on Earth?" Jack was certain that no circumstances would have kept Carter or Teal'c from tagging along.

 

The Tollan looked puzzled. "We haven't found anyone else here but yourselves. We have only just arrived…"

 

"No…" now Jack was puzzled. "Not here. I left them on P4G 2… uh….P4G….224."

 

"We don't understand this designation."

 

Jack picked up Daniel's notebook and pen, and did his best to draw the corresponding Stargate symbols.

 

Callsiah looked at Cheropat. "That is the Roxhaisi world."

 

"Which was abandoned, due to the abundance of dangerous wildlife and the inclement weather."

 

"The Stargate on that planet has never functioned properly, what with the frequent electrical storms."

 

Huh? Never? Oh crap.

 

"Wait a minute. I don't get it. Who did you speak with then? General Hammond?"

 

"We have not been to your world. We were on a rescue mission to relocate survivors of Tollana to our new homeworld of Axeda, when you signalled us."

 

"I signalled you?"

 

"Yes …with the Tollan arm device?" Something wasn't making a lot of sense. "Its signal was preset to contact the nearest rescue vessel."

 

"What Tollan arm device?"

 

"This one…"

 

"No, I didn't do that." All eyes turned to the unconscious Daniel. "But he did." Realization finally dawned. "Our other teammates are still stranded on P4G…224, then." Jack looked up, his expression troubled. "Can your ship pick them up too?"

 

"Yes. It will take longer though, and your friend needs help."

 

Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel's shoulders, looking anxiously down at him, one hand resting gently on his friend's t-shirt sleeve above his scraped and bruised forearm "He'll understand."

 

Fuck, Daniel.

 

Wake up so I can tell you you saved us.

 

_____

 

Finally, Daniel's eyelids fluttered. "Daniel?" Jack whispered.

 

The blue eyes flew open, a half gasp, half disbelieving chuckle escaping from Daniel's lips. His wide round eyes stared at the vision of his friends. A dream? A good dream for a change, calmness.

 

Daniel felt the aches throughout his body, the pounding in his head. He saw Sam sitting beside him, Teal'c lowering himself to kneel at his side. Jack's face came into view a few inches overhead, from behind. Where was he? Where were they?

 

His gaze skittered to a stranger standing across the small room. A Tollan?

 

So Sam had figured out the Stargate's problem. Thank you, Sam. Daniel tried to formulate the words but the sound from his dry throat and swollen tongue came out as an indecipherable puff of air.

 

The brief memory of figures appearing in a tunnel entrance brought his understanding up to date. But… he'd been about to kill himself. He'd pulled the trigger mechanism …hadn't he pulled the trigger? No… Jack had arrived. He remembered thinking that he didn't really want to die, not that way.

 

"Ssh, Daniel. We'll be home in a few hours. You'll be okay." Jack was speaking, leaning over him. He was lying on Jack?

 

Daniel nodded. Yeah, Sam had found a way home for Teal'c and herself, and then they'd come for him and Jack. Should've had the confidence in you that the others did, Sam, Daniel chastized himself. I should've waited. I screwed up, Jack, put you through this for nothing.

 

Forgive me.

 

As Daniel's eyes slowly closed, the discrepancy flitted through his mind that they were on a Tollan ship, not Tok'Ra. But weren't the Tollan all dead? How had the SGC managed to contact them, hadn't their Stargate been destroyed? And weren't the Tok'Ra ships faster?

 

Daniel felt arms tighten around him, as he again drifted off to sleep.

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