Chapter Two
Daniel slowly became aware of people moving around him and shouting orders at the top of their lungs. He also realized that he could smell blood.
He opened his eyes cautiously, and a blurry sight instantly came into view. He was surrounded by gurneys, their drab, gray sheets covering bleeding bodies. Some of those bodies were completely covered, obviously dead.
He could hear cries of agony, groans, whispers and sobs. His head throbbed painfully, but he tried to remember why he was there while attempting to make sense of his surroundings. The memories eluded him.
Medical personnel flitted amongst the injured checking vitals, wrapping wounds and injecting drugs. They were silent and efficient, but they emanated fear and apprehension, and they looked raggedly exhausted.
The ones doing the shouting and giving the orders were soldiers, but not ones he readily recognized. Where the hell were his glasses?
The uniforms were as unfamiliar as the faces were, but although the differences were small, he could tell they were not human. Then he remembered.
They were on P3X-123 and the locals, called Huns, were at war with the other country on this planet, Segara. Ironically, the reason for the war was the Stargate, even though it had not been active for hundreds of years. At least not until SG-1 had made contact with Huna, a couple of weeks ago.
Daniel was suddenly hit with the realization that he could not see the rest of SG-1 anywhere. The wounded surrounding him were most definitely Huns. They all looked human.
He grunted with the effort of sitting up on the gurney, trying to look for his friends, and realized that his ribs hurt worse than his head. He then felt a soft hand on his back, gently helping him to sit up.
“Be careful, we believe you have broken ribs,” a woman clad in a gray and very bloody medical uniform told him. She evidently was part of the medical team. Although young and attractive, her appearance indicated she was worn out, clearly exhausted. Her dark hair, pulled away from her face in a ponytail, was wet with perspiration.
He felt his ribs and realized he was bandaged. “I think you’re right,” he replied, wincing in pain. “Where are my friends? What’s going on?”
“She cannot tell you anything,” he heard a deep voice answer behind him. “Go tend to someone else!” the voice ordered the nurse at his side.
The woman promptly moved away, but gave him an intent look as she did so, as if trying to warn him of something.
The owner of the voice finally walked up close enough for Daniel to see him clearly, and he realized this man was not Hun. He had the nose bumps, pink skin and dark purple eyes of the Segarans. Although he had never met one before, his Hun archeologist friend, Mac, had shown him pictures of their enemies.
The Segaran was wearing a military uniform, dark violet with golden accents here and there. There were ornaments on his chest with symbols he recognized as numbers on each one. The man had black, straight hair pulled back from his face and held in a tight knot at the base of his neck. He held himself in a very military posture, hands behind his back, body very stiff, and he looked at Daniel with an affable but cold smile, inspecting the archeologist with interested and calculating eyes.
“I see you are Hun. You must have come from the same planet our Hun adversaries came from. We intend to find our original planet as well, and we are hoping that you will help us do that” the man abruptly informed Daniel.
A harried Segaran doctor suddenly interrupted the soldier, his face a darker pink than his military commander. “Commander! This man is in no condition to be interrogated. He has a head injury. You must wait for…” he was protesting, but the officer grabbed his shirt, stopping him mid-sentence.
“I will decide when it is time to interrogate my prisoners!” he snarled at the doctor through clenched teeth, his voice morphed into a menacing growl.
The physician, to his credit, did not back down. “I will file a formal complaint if you do not leave this man alone. There are regulations…”
“I am aware of the regulations! I was just introducing myself, wasn’t I?” he asked Daniel, a fake smile back on his face and his eyes still hard as stone as his tone again softened into a mockingly polite one.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know where your planet is. I don’t think I’ll be able to help you,” Daniel cautiously replied.
The Segaran officer just smiled contemptuously.
Daniel ignored him and asked the doctor as he looked around worriedly, “I want to see my friends. Are they here? Are they wounded?”
The doctor quickly replied. “No, they are not. You were wounded at the museum when a large cabinet fell on you during the bombing. You have been unconscious for many hours and suffered a concussion, but you are going to be all right.”
Daniel gladly realized that the physician was exhibiting the same professional concern and toughness Daniel was used to witnessing in Dr. Fraiser, and this was rather comforting, but the annoying commander rudely interrupted.
“Your woman friend was unharmed and is being held at our temporary headquarters. As soon as you are well enough to walk, you can see her,” he taunted, the falsely amiable and cold smile still in place.
“I’m well enough now!” Daniel replied anxiously, eager to go to Sam and make sure she was truly all right, but the man laughed as if amused by his concern.
“There is no rush! Your doctor just told us you need rest, Dr. Jackson.” At Daniel’s surprised reaction, he proceeded. “Yes, we know who you are. We also know who your friend is… Major Samantha Carter. And we know that Colonel Jack O’Neill and Teal’c are missing. We assume they returned to your world. Are we correct?”
Daniel stared at the Segaran at an unusual loss for words. In spite of the man’s outward friendliness and smiles, he could sense great danger emanating from him. ‘Try to think before you talk, Daniel,’ he reminded himself.
Jack had just lectured him about this bad habit of his after they had contacted the Huns and Daniel had been, as usual, forthcoming with information that Jack had not been ready to share.
The doctor glared at the commander again, obviously displeased at the soldier’s continued disregard of his objections.
“And you are?” Daniel finally responded, hoping to distract the man from asking any more questions.
“I’m Commander Adros, at your service,” he bowed to Daniel mockingly. “I am in charge of the Segaran Armed Forces and the retrieval operation that is currently underway.”
“Retrieval operation?” Daniel repeated, hoping for clarification.
The doctor shifted his attention to Daniel, his eyes begging him to stop talking.
“Retrieval of our Stargate,” the commander answered simply, still smiling at Daniel. “Don’t worry! We will have time to talk later, when you are well, and answer all your questions. Meanwhile, we’ll be talking to your… friend.”
Daniel’s heart froze at his words. Adros’ manner was suddenly openly threatening and very intimidating. The archeologist had had the misfortune of having met beings such as this one many times before, beings that would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, and he suddenly was very afraid for Sam. He watched as the officer’s cruel eyes became even harder with the realization that Daniel had recognized him for what he was.
“Doctor, if you wish for this man to remain here, sedate him until I am ready for him,” he then ordered with clear satisfaction, the smile gone and his eyes like flint on the alien archeologist before him.
“No! Wait!” Daniel began to complain, but the doctor did not think about it twice and called for the Hun nurse, who was by his side within moments with a syringe. “Take me to my friend! Please… don’t…” he loudly protested, but two Segaran soldiers had also materialized by his side, both wrestling him effortlessly back to the gurney as he tried to resist.
“Careful! He’s injured!” the doctor loudly complained.
The nurse quickly injected Daniel over his objections and he immediately felt himself start to drift. “No, please…” he kept begging weakly as he blacked out, “Don’t… hurt… her…”
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 ]