Chapter Five
Daniel awoke the second time in a different room. He was now by himself, but still at the hospital. A Segaran soldier was standing by his door and knocked on it as soon as he realized the patient was awake.
The door opened briefly and he said something to a second soldier, who looked at Daniel curiously and nodded before closing the door again.
“Hello…” Daniel addressed the soldier tentatively.
He got no response, the Segaran studiously ignoring him.
“Okay, I can get a hint,” Daniel mumbled to himself, and relaxed on the bed, waiting for his next visitor, whom he suspected would be Commander Adros. He was not disappointed.
Minutes later, the Segaran entered the room, followed by the same doctor as before.
This time Adros was not smiling. He had a black look on his face as he spoke. “Dr. Jackson, I am glad to see you are with us again. I think it is time you see your friend, Major Carter. She has been quite anxious to see you.”
Daniel thought the man sounded frustrated despite his attempt to be glib, but could not imagine why.
“You better remember to…” the doctor started to warn Adros, obviously upset at losing his patient, but the commander looked at him as if ready to strike him and the doctor did not finish speaking. He, however, held the taller man’s stare unflinchingly.
Daniel just wanted to see Sam and did not hesitate to get off the bed, the soldier by the door approaching to escort him. He was still wearing his fatigues and, when he passed by a nearby mirror, he noticed that there was a bandage on his temple.
He had to painfully follow Adros, flanked by the two soldiers as he walked on bare feet. He did not think the lack of shoes was a good sign, but obediently stepped out of the building and entered the waiting vehicle parked outside, his toes complaining at the cold ground.
Daniel noticed the doctor anxiously standing at the entrance, following the vehicle with a frown on his face as they drove away.
Huna’s technology reflected Earth’s mid twentieth century’s with small differences. Daniel knew the city was mostly industrial, with large towns dotting the countryside that seemed to be dedicated to agriculture. He could see Segaran soldiers everywhere on his way to wherever it was they were taking him. There were few Huns in the streets. The occupation seemed complete, and Daniel wondered how long he had been unconscious.
They finally arrived at a tall building in the outskirts of the city. They entered a spacious lobby and Daniel realized this was a hotel, a third rate one by Earth’s standards. He was glad, however, to be indoors again. His toes hugged the carpet gratefully, but he did not have time to warm up much before he was shoved into the elevator and taken up to one of the top floors.
Adros had not attempted to talk to him at all during the trip to the hotel, which had made Daniel feel very apprehensive. The man had abandoned any attempts to appear congenial.
He followed the commander into a room that he immediately realized was as cold as the weather outside, and his eyes became twice as big when he spotted the blurred but unmistakable form of Major Carter on a small bed devoid of sheets, huddled against the wall. She looked terrible.
“Daniel!” she cried gratefully, a smile forming on her swollen lips. She started to stand up, but Daniel realized it was difficult for her and he came to her instead, forcing himself out of his trance.
He sat next to her on the bed and engulfed her in a soft hug, not only thinking of his ribs, but also trying to be gentle with Sam. She looked badly hurt. There was a bloody bandage on her left shoulder, where her shirt had been cut open. Bruises covered her face, the left side of her jaw was swollen, and she was extremely pale. Daniel also realized that her arms felt cold as ice, and that she was shivering miserably.
“I thought you might be dead!” she whispered in relief, letting herself be hugged and plainly trying not to break down, and Daniel turned accusing eyes to their captor.
-----
Adros sullenly watched the two friends from the door, wanting very badly to separate them and take out his rage and frustration on them, but he could not. He was under orders.
The Segaran representative of the president had arrived, and his first action had been to order Adros to stop brutalizing his prisoners. The diplomat, a man named Bregan, was now staying here, at the hotel, which was being used as headquarters for the occupation. He had taken over command in order to negotiate with Earth.
Adros knew the swiftest way to get the information they wanted was to get it from the two people in the room. They had been the ones dealing with the Huns for a reason.
‘Stupid bureaucrats! They are nothing but amateurs!’ he thought in aggravation, but his hands were tied for the moment.
“I will let you two chat for a while, but I will be back,” he promised the two Earth people hugging on the bed. He then left them alone. He had work to do.
-----
Sam finally relaxed in Daniel’s arms and sighed in relief when Adros left, locking them in the room together.
“Did he do this to you?” Daniel asked Sam softly.
She nodded as he pushed her down on the bed, encouraging her to lie down. “Are you…?” he started to ask, but stopped, probably realizing it was a stupid question. She was not okay.
“They want to know how to operate the Stargate, Daniel. They want gate addresses, information on the planets we have visited…” she groaned, hugging herself. She had been cold for so long that she had almost gotten used to it, but Daniel’s warm body next to her had reminded her of how wretched she felt.
He was briskly rubbing her arms, trying to warm her up, but she was still shivering, and Daniel decided to try to do something about it. He lay down next to her and held her, wrapping his arms around her and trying to transfer some his body’s heat to hers.
Sam sighed again, snuggling close, and continued. “They want to know stuff about Earth, about the SGC, about our team. But that maniac is most interested in Ancient weapons. He thinks…” her voice broke, and she was unable to continue, a sudden, painful stab of pain emanating from her injured shoulder.
“Hush, it’s all right. I know General Hammond and Jack are probably planning our rescue as we speak. How long has it been since the attack?” he asked, gently stroking her hair.
“I’m not positive, but I think it has been about a day, maybe a little longer. I was out for a while… I’m not sure for how long, but I don’t think it was for more than a few hours.”
She was already warming up and was starting to feel drowsy, feeling comfortable and safe in the warm embrace of her friend. She had not slept for too many hours.
“Daniel, I’m tired…” she began to say.
“Sleep, Sam. I’m here now. Just rest,” he soothingly encouraged, and she just managed to nod.
-----
Daniel had never seen Sam so weak. He felt rage take hold of his heart and he internally railed against Adros. At the same time, he knew something was now holding the Segaran commander back. He just hoped that it would be for long enough so that they could get some help.
He looked down at Sam, now sleeping peacefully as her pale hands held on to his warm arms. If Jack could see her now, no one would be able to stop the Colonel from beating the crap out of the Segaran commander.
Daniel was surprised to realize that he looked forward to such a scene.
-----
“You are an idiot, Adros! A cruel idiot, to make matters worse! I bet that you would have tortured the injured man as well if the field doctor in charge had not prevented it! He filed a formal complaint against you!”
Bregan, the Segaran Presidential Representative, was pacing the large office in the bottom floor of the hotel while Adros stood stiffly in the middle of the room wishing he could strangle the little man.
“I am telling you that you are wasting your time! They will not give you anything unless you force them to. The Huns confessed, thanks to my “idiotic” measures, that the Earth people had refused to reveal much about the Stargate. What makes you think they will be more forthcoming with us, when we are not even of the same race?”
The military commander was trying very hard to remain cool, but he knew that Bregan could tell that he was furious.
“They will certainly be less forthcoming now that you have tortured one of them, you ass! And I am well aware of your measures. Two prisoners have already been killed under your personal interrogation. You are insane! Get out of here! And stay away from those two aliens! If I hear you have touched them again, I will personally see you reassigned to Grangia,” threatened the Segaran diplomat. “That would definitely be a better assignment for you! In my opinion, overseeing a prison is the only thing you’re fit to do."
Adros gave Bregan one last, malicious look, and silently turned on his heels to leave. He purposely slammed the door on his way out.
“Idiot!” he spat as he stomped down the hallway, dutifully followed by his two guards.
-----
Staring at the door Adros had exited through, Bregan let out a sigh of irritation. He had a huge mess to deal with now.
The military man had his supporters, since he had always produced results, but he was grateful that the President disliked Adros intensely and had decided not to leave the occupation under his command.
“Sir! The Stargate is active and a signal is being sent through this device again!” his secretary entered the room in a rush, holding a radio at arms length. “You need to press the side button to speak, Sir.”
He watched Bregan take a hold of the device and press the button tentatively, a professional mask suddenly falling into place.
“This is Bregan, Segaran Presidential Representative in Huna. To whom am I speaking, please?” he politely inquired.
He waited patiently for an answer, holding the radio close and giving his trusted secretary a silent order. The young man immediately left, closing the door behind him again.
“This is General Hammond of Stargate Command. I was expecting to talk to Commander Adros,” a firm and authoritarian male voice answered. It sounded tense and suspicious.
“Commander Adros is no longer in charge of this operation; I am. I am pleased that we are able to talk, General Hammond. I am eager to start negotiations with Earth and I am sure we will be able to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.” Bregan was smiling, hoping that they could tell he was sincere.
“Since we are not talking to the same person as before, I hope we can start anew and request that our people be returned safely through the gate,” the General asked optimistically.
“Personally, sir, I would love to be able to send your people back. But my orders are clear. I am to negotiate terms with you, and our only assurance that you will continue to talk to us is the presence of your people in Huna. I realize you are concerned about them, but let me assure you that I have put a stop to the torture of your Major Carter, and she is now in the company of Dr. Jackson. They are safe as long as I am in command.”
Bregan swallowed hard, knowing that the Earth people were anything but pleased with the Segarans right now. He had been informed of all the details of their previous radio conversation with Adros and he knew it would be difficult, if not impossible, to create any kind of trust between them.
“Mr. Bregan, let me say first that I am relieved to be speaking with you and not Commander Adros. I will hold you to your word that our people will remain safe. Let me also inform you that, if we were not willing to share information about the gate with the Huns, it was for their own protection. We feel the same way regarding the Segarans. Believe me when I tell you that, if you have had no activity for hundreds of years through the device, you are one of the lucky few. You probably want to leave well enough alone.”
Bregan frowned, wondering what the man meant, but he had his orders. “Even if what you say is true, General Hammond, please realize that I would never be able to convince our government of that. As I said before, my orders are clear.” Bregan spoke the truth, but even if it hadn’t been, he was now too curious about the Stargate to just leave well enough alone.
“All right! This is what I propose. Send us two Segaran representatives to negotiate terms and you have my word that they will be treated with care and respect as long as they remain here. I think it is just fair, given that you have two of ours,” Hammond suggested.
“I was about to propose the same thing, General Hammond. Now, if you would please let us know how to operate the Stargate, we will be sending our representatives within the hour,” Bregan smiled, encouraged by his early success. He had been ready for this request and now he was eager to get the negotiations going.
“No need. Colonel O’Neill will gate to your world in exactly one hour and return with your representatives for negotiations,” General Hammond replied.
“Agreed,” Bregan promptly responded. He would have to proceed one step at a time, but he intended to succeed in his mission to obtain access to the Stargate.
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]