| Dept. for Good Reading |
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| WARS - PAST AND PRESENT Part I of the "Wars" series by Alyx J. Shaw |
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| WARS - PAST AND PRESENT - by Alyx J. Shaw It had been two weeks since Daniel had left for Sferkkaa, and even Jack seemed glad at the prospect of seeing him again. Daniel had been living on the planet, learning all he could about the rather shy aliens. The Sferkkaans had not been easy to make contact with; in fact, their first conversation with the Base had been a polite but firm; "Buzz off, please." They weren't an easy group to talk to, but they eventually came up with a carrot the Sferkkaans couldn't resist; music. Much of their society revolved around song, and they finally agreed to make contact, but on their terms. Hence Daniel's departure with a load of CD's. They'd heard nothing from him for a week and a half. Finally he had contacted General Hammond to say he was coming home, and bringing a Sferkkaan with him. Now they stood, watching the Gate as it boiled into life. They watched as four boxes popped through, one after another. Then Daniel himself emerged, filthy and grinning. He was absolutely covered with something that could only be called 'grime and slime,' and as he saw his three team mates he smiled and held out his arms. "Group hug," he said. "Not in this life," said Jack.. "Ech," said Carter, "what happened to you?" "Long story," said Daniel. He turned and looked towards the Gate. It was a full minute before the tiny Sferkkaan warrior stepped through, bedraggled, wet and filthy. His long white hair hung in mats over his pretty, heart-shaped face, and his black uniform was torn. It clung to his tiny frame, revealing a body that was little more than sinew and bone. A patch covered one eye; the other was luminous blue, and it surveyed the room warily. He perched delicately in black boots with four inch high silver heels, deciding if he should leap back through the Gate or not. Teal'c eyed the little being critically. He looked like no warrior he had ever seen, and wasn't even sure he could take him seriously as a man. Jack however was a little more apprehensive of him. The boot heels didn't look like a fashion statement; in fact he was pretty sure the flat gleaming metal would do some ugly things to a human body. The Sferkkaan seemed equally unimpressed with his audience. He lowered his head and shook, spewing goo in all directions. "Uh, you'll get used to that," said Daniel, his tone apologetic. "Charming," said Carter, wiping bits of sludge off of herself. "Well, now that I'm dirty..." She walked over to Daniel and gave him a hug. "Welcome back." "Yeah, welcome back," said Jack. He gave Daniel a friendly slap on the shoulder, then looked at his mud-covered palm. He wiped it on Carter. "So who's this little guy?" The Sferkkaan continued to eye them warily. He looked to Daniel for guidance, and Daniel reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a book. He consulted it a moment, then made a quick gesture at the Sferkkaan. He seemed to relax, and proceeded to ignore the SG1 team. "His name is Khandid. He's what's called a Whip." "Whip?" said Jack, raising his arm to shield himself as Khandid shook once more. "It's an elite type of fighter. His rank is 'Jeweled Bird.' That's ex-fighter pilot in our terms." "If he shakes mud on me once more it's going to be 'Plucked Turkey." said Carter. "You look good in mud," said Jack. "So the mud hen is an Ace?" "Was an Ace. Started out as a pilot, lost an eye, transferred to a special unit, lost a part of a lung, transferred to covert operations, single-handedly destroyed two enemy bases. He's seen a lot of action. Word of advice, don't come up behind him. Those boot heels can remove limbs. I'll fill you in on everything as soon as I get cleaned up." Daniel left to shower and change his uniform. Khandid followed him, moving lightly. Jack and Carter watched him leave, then Carter turned to face Jack. She smiled at him and gently took his face between her hands, then walked away, leaving perfect mud-prints of her palms on him. Jack said nothing, but made a mental note to get Khandid to teach him how to shake muddy water everywhere. Teal'c just arched one eyebrow and said nothing. ******** Daniel met up with them in the debriefing room, washed and dressed in clean clothes. He dropped into a chair, looking a little thinner than he had the last time they had seen him. Where's Khandid?" asked Jack. "Getting into his Class-A's," said Daniel. "With Sferkkaans, that takes a bit of time." He picked up one of his boxes and and set it on the table, opening it. He pulled out two rectangular metal cases. "They loaned me a camera to document things; buildings, ruins, people, the rain, the mud, the muddy rain, the rainy mud..." "Damp place?" Jack asked pointlessly. "Hot and humid, like living in a steam room. Virtually the whole planet is a jungle, except the northern parts, which are a swamp. And no sunlight, ever. Whole planet is covered in perpetual clouds." He began setting up his slides in a projector. "Oh goody, vacation shots," said Jack. "They're great people," said Daniel, "I can't wait to go back. Oh, I brought presents..." He dived into another filthy box. Carter smiled at him, watching him act like a kid in a candy shop. The group of people abruptly moved back as a black and gold tarantula the size of a dinner plate jumped onto the table. It sat, calm, majestic, and extremely hairy, carefully exploring the table's surface with one of its eight delicate feet. "That's not mine, is it?" asked Carter. Daniel glanced up and looked at the beast. "No she's mine. That's Kita. Say 'hi,' Kita." "Thhrrp," said the arachnid. "Totally harmless," said Daniel, "Oh here we go. For Teal'c..." Daniel pulled out a wide and beautifully elaborate black band of leather, decorated heavily with runic-looking stones of black and glittering blood red. "This was made for you by one of the warriors of their world, an amulet to keep you safe on all journeys, physical and spiritual." Teal'c took the weighty thing, admiring its craftsmanship. "I am honored, Daniel Jackson." Carter began fastening about his wrist for him. "Freep," said the spider. It wandered over to the projector and touched it carefully, still watched by the group. "For Jack...." Daniel pulled out a small box, passing it to him. "I know it's not something you'd wear, but I told them you were a pilot and they insisted." He watched as Jack slowly pulled out a thin length of silk. Like Teal'c's gift, it was startlingly elaborate and beautiful, dyed an intense blue and studded with tiny hawks of a blinding silver metal. "All the veteran pilots wear them, the ones who've successfully flown combat missions. I didn't think it was up your alley, but I couldn't say no to them." Jack looked at the band of cloth. True, it wasn't something he would pick out of a store for himself, but the thought that it had been made by pilots of a distant world for one of their brethren made it all right. In fact, it touched something inside of him. Something he didn't think anyone at the table would understand. "No, it's...fine, Daniel. Uh, where does it go?" "Around your ankle." Daniel was moderately surprised to see the colonel put it on, but said nothing. He dug into the box one more time. "And, for Carter..." He passed her a small box. She took it and opened it. The object within glinted brilliant silver. As she removed it from the container it shone white light. It was a small pin. "It's the insignia of their women in armed combat," Daniel said. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust enough to see what the object was. It was a diving hawk, clutching a banner in its claws. There was writing on the banner, but she couldn't read it. Before she had a chance to say anything, General Hammond walked into the room. "Dr. Jackson, good to see you again." He paused and looked at Kita. "Thhrrp," said Kita, which seemed to be her customary greeting. "Sferkkaan High Command sent a diplomat," said Jack dryly. The General stared at the arachnid dubiously. "Where's Colonel Stracona?" he asked, hoping it wasn't the flashy bug on the table. "He'll be here shortly," said Daniel "Oh, there he is." Khandid Stracona prowled into the room, pausing to consider the group before him, and to make sure he could get out if he had to. He was almost fragile looking, he was so small, and even with his boots on didn't stand much over five feet. Cleaned of his mud-layer, several small scars were now visible on his face, just below his missing eye. His uniform was gleaming black, and he wore black gloves on his small hands. Silver blades projected from the backs of the gloves, matching the ones on his boots. His hair was purest white, and hung long and wild down to the small of his back. About his throat was a leather collar, rather like Teal'c's arm-band, but the runic stones were arranged differently. His delicate face was painted with an elaborate array of fine black lines, including three gold ones that formed a stylized broken wing. In his hair were woven thin strips of different coloured ribbon, some jeweled, some not, a couple with strategic-looking cuts. "Don't approach him," said Daniel quietly, "In Sferkkaan culture it's considered extremely rude." The General nodded, then said; "Pleasure to meet you, Colonel." Khandid nodded slightly, then backed up a step. "It's an acknowledgment of your greeting and superior rank," said Daniel. "Sferkkaans rarely speak, much of their language is based on sign, colour, and body movement. They're also highly empathic, they gain a lot of information through touch. That's why it's rude to approach, it's like reading someone's mail without permission. He's being formal now, but once he relaxes and gets to know us a bit better, he'll begin to vocalize, and be less standoffish." "Familiarity breeds contempt," said Jack. He watched as Kita crawled towards him. The spider paused, and stared at him with multiple eyes. "Thhrrp," it said. "This is a warrior?" asked Teal'c, a little dubiously. Daniel resumed setting up the projector. "No offense, Teal'c, I've got a lot of respect for your fighting abilities. But he'd probably kill the bunch of us before we laid a glove on him. I've personally seen him leap straight up and pick a man's eyeballs out of his skull with those heels, and those blades can cut titanium." Daniel finished with the projector and sat down. "And you want to go back?" Carter asked. "Yeah! Place is covered in really great ruins and historical sites. Absolutely fascinating. I've got some pictures..." "Just...get on with the debriefing, Dr. Jackson," said General Hammond. The lights were lowered. Rather than chose his own seat, Khandid sat on the one Daniel was occupying. Two weeks of Sferkkaan company had been enough to acquaint him with this gesture, and Daniel simply moved over to give him some room. Jack watched the Sferkkaan with a different attitude. As an empath, the being was probably using Daniel as an early-warning system. If Daniel got worried, Khandid would know it, and have time to start employing those blades. "Thhrrp," said something in the dark. "Kita, come here," said Daniel. The projector clicked. The first shot was of a large and imposing man. He had shaggy black hair, just beginning to grey at the temples. Three gold feathers were woven into it. His handsome face was drawn and tired, but his gold eyes gleamed like an eagle's. Next to him stood a younger man, his reddish hair tied back into an untidy ponytail. His eyes were vibrant green, and he wore the same intense expression as the older man. "General Jahannis Stratavarus," said Daniel, "the man beside him is his second in command, and lover of 18 years, Soarin. The General's men call him the Golden Death. Brilliant strategist. In every battle he's ever fought he's managed to keep most of his men alive. The three gold feathers in his hair mark him as third in line to ascend the Sferkkaan Throne should anything happen to the Emperor. Soarin is a munitions expert. He supplied the bombs Khandid used to blow up three enemy bases." The projector clicked. The next shot was Daniel standing beside General Stratavarus. Jack leaned forward in his seat. "Daniel..." "I had this shot taken for perspective," said Daniel. "It's accurate." "He must be damn near eight feet tall!." "He is," said Daniel, "So is Soarin. A lot of them are really tall. Khandid took the picture." Click. Next shot. Five men working on a pearl-grey craft with no markings. Behind it was a wall of dense green vegetation, spotted with flowers of vibrant red, blue, and orange. A spectacular bird of blue and green plumage perched on the nose of the craft and watched the men. "Recovering a plane that had been MIA for a month. They managed to repair the craft, but the pilot was dead." Click. Photo after photo rolled by, pictures of exhausted warriors, a ramshackle base, barely repaired air crafts and weapons. Pictures of Daniel digging up lost and mostly destroyed ruins. Shots of soldiers huddled in wet trenches, leaking huts, rain-dripping trees. "This is not a happy-looking group," said Carter. "Daniel," said Jack, "You have used the expression 'and his male lover' five times. That seems rather a lot, even for the Army. I mean, some of these guys must have an interest in women." Daniel clicked to another photo. "That's what I've been trying to show," he said, "there are no Sferkkaan women. Not any more. No women, no children. The Sferkkaan civilization used to number in the millions. In the last century, they have dwindled to around thirty-five hundred people. They're rapidly coming extinct." "My god," said Carter, "what happened?" "They were invaded by a race called the Kriphisians. I'm not sure what they wanted, but their ultimate goal seemed to be to wipe out the Sferkkaan race. Some were taken as slaves, some were slaughtered. They dumped a chemical into the water that was developed to exterminate all the women of child-bearing age. Little girls were rendered sterile. Some women were killed for their ovaries, so the Kriphisians could manipulate the fetuses into whatever they needed at the time. Virtually none of the men in the photos ever had a live mother, they were created artificially in labs as slaves, gladiatorial fighters, workers. However Sferkkaans aren't easily controlled. They fought back. They're winning, too. The trouble is, win or lose, they won't survive. They're fighting for the right to die free on their own planet." "Do they want us to help?" asked Jack. Daniel shook his head. "No. General Stratavarus was very specific about that, he doesn't want the Kriphisians to find us, or even learn of our existence. They don't want what happened to them to happen to us. Three days before I came back, a major skirmish arose. Stratavarus seemed to think it would be the final blow before the Kriphisians retreated. He took me back to the Gate and asked me to take Khandid with me. He wanted Soarin to go also, but he wouldn't leave. He said if we really wanted to do them a favor, we'd come back after the battle and start documenting who they are, what they had built before the Kriphisians came. He said, it would be an honor to have us chant their songs after they were all dead." The last photo slid by. A blank square was all that showed where it had been. Daniel turned off the projector. For a long, quiet moment, no one moved in the dimly lit room. Carter held the insignia she had been given and wondered who it had been given to originally, and how long ago she had died. She suddenly realized her eyes were wet, and she quickly dried them before anyone saw. The lights came on, and she looked over at Khandid. He was leaning back against Daniel, his gaze fixed on the floor. Teal'c was the first to speak. "We shall chant their songs, Daniel Jackson." "Yeahsure," Jack said, his voice little more that a rough whisper, "Y'betcha." Jack paced in his apartment, unable to get certain images out of his head. General Stratavarus was one of them, specifically those gold hawk's eyes, and the very weary expression on his face. He'd looked so damn tired. Not the kind of tired that went away after a little r&r and an evening in the brig. No, Stratavarus' tired went to the bone and through it. It was the kind that lodged in the heart, and nothing ever made it go away. It would creep up again and again, bringing with it images of failure, death, and friends lost forever. Jack knew that weariness. It still ambushed him from time to time, crawling out of his dreams to haunt him. It would lurk around his bed when he woke up, then follow him like a mad dog until it found something else to do for a while. But it never really left. It was always somewhere. Jack picked up the photo and looked at it. There they sat, a million light years away, watching themselves die. No wonder Stratavarus made certain as few of his men died as possible. There were no reinforcements in his war, no cavalry was going to come over the hill at the last moment. There were other photos as well, ones taken by the other Sferkkaans of Daniel, seeming to draw great amusement out of his enthusiastic attempts to understand them. He looked so earth-bound next to the light and deadly-fast fighters, so small against Stratavarus and his imposing height. The fondness the Sferkkaans had for Daniel was obvious, then it suddenly occurred to Jack why they would be so indulgent, so tolerant. He was, in a sense, their child, the closest any of them would come to having a descendant. Jack tossed the photos to the coffee table, then rubbed the heels of his hands against his eyes. The weariness was back, sickening him, carrying with it the stench of people lost and gone. Abruptly he grabbed his jacket and left the apartment, leaving the dead in the dark behind him. ******** Daniel was a bit surprised to see Jack outside his door, but had too much going on at the moment to dwell on it. He greeted him warmly, then darted back into the apartment to deal with some minor emergency. Jack walked in and closed the door, then noticed Carter sitting on the couch. He strolled over to her. "You too, huh?" he said quietly. She nodded, then looked towards the kitchen. "Daniel and Khandid are making dinner. Actually, we tried to call you about ten minutes ago. Glad to see you got the message." "They teach you how to psychically receive phone messages when you reach Colonel." He sat in a chair, facing her, noticing for the first time the tall class of coffee-coloured liquid in her hand. "What's that?" "Paralyzer," said Carter. "I love them, but I can only have one or two, otherwise they make me sick, but sometimes you just have to say 'What the hell.'" 'Ain't that the truth,' thought Jack. She passed him the glass, and he tried a sip. It was considerably stronger than he had anticipated. "JeezCarter, don't get too close to any open flames holding that thing." "No sir." She took her glass back. "Can I make you one?" "Sure, thanks. What's Daniel cooking?" "No idea, something he learned on Sferkkaa." He watched Carter get up, then glanced at his hand as he felt something softly touch it. Kita looked back at him, waving one little foot. "I see no one has flushed you yet," he said. "Geep!" "Well there's a new noise." "Geep!" "Daniel, your bug keeps saying 'geek,' I think it's looking for you." Daniel came into to room. "No, she's saying 'geep,' which as any good Gilded Cave Spider-owner knows, means 'grape.'" He gave her a green grape, and she ran off with it. "It eats grapes." "She's an omnivore, she eats anything. Grapes, bugs, small birds, rude Colonels..." "I'm not rude, I'm jaded and sarcastic." "I'll tell her." Carter came back with his drink, and Daniel returned to the kitchen. Carter sat beside Jack, passing him the aptly-named drink. She picked up her own, and they sat is silence, each lost in their own thoughts. "Why Khandid?" Jack said quietly, not realizing he had said it until Carter gave him a questioning look. "Why Khandid?" he repeated. "Look, Daniel said Stratavarus tried to send Soarin through also, right? Soarin and Stratavarus have been a couple for eighteen years, that's a long time. The decisive battle is coming up. He gets the civilian out of the way, then tries to move his lover to safety, but the lover won't go. So instead he sends a decorated veteran? I can understand him trying to protect his lover, but why ship off one of your best men? Wouldn't it have made more sense to keep Khandid with him?" "Khandid has seen a lot of combat," said Carter, "maybe he just can't fight any more. Rather than endanger soldiers' lives with someone whose nerve is gone, he sends him here on some bullshit diplomatic duty. You saw how edgy he was when he came through the Gate." Jack looked doubtful. "I don't know. Maybe you're right. Anyway, I came here to not think about the Sferkkaans." "Hmmmm..." said Carter, "thirty-five hundred well-built, good looking guys, all alone." "At ease, Major." "Yes sir." Daniel walked out and set two bowls before them, then headed back into the kitchen. Jack leaned forward and peered into his. "You go first," he said. "Uh-uh. Rank before beauty." "Oh no, ladies first." "Go find one, we'll make her eat this." Carter picked up her bowl and looked into it. She stabbed something with a fork and peered at it, then nibbled. She chewed speculatively, then shrugged and began eating. "Daniel and I were going to go out for a drink. Care to join us?" He nodded. "Sure. What about Khandid?" "He's coming. There's a neighbourhood pub just a couple blocks from here, we can walk down." "There goes the neighbourhood," said Jack. They ate dinner. Carter, despite her previous admission, had another paralyzer. Khandid dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, but kept his boots and gloves. With a leather jacket on he looked like a teenage girl, except for the eye patch and the fine lines around his other eye. He seemed to be looking forward to his night on the town, and was the first one out the door. Kita had spun a web in one of Daniel's plants, and opted to spend her evening hanging upside down sucking on a grape. The evening was pleasantly warm. Khandid kept pausing to look at the stars. He'd never seen them before, and seemed to find the lack of a cloud ceiling rather unnerving. He trilled at Daniel in his bird-like language. Jack pointed the moon out to him, and the little alien stopped dead to stare at it. Jack smiled inwardly at Khandid's innocent fascination with the bright sphere. This was a better way to end the day than sitting at home and letting his mind wander over old wounds. The pub was small and cozy, only about half full. Most of the patrons were at the far end, watching a baseball game. Jack ordered a beer, Khandid had vodka straight up, and Daniel asked for a Caesar. Carter ordered a paralyzer. "So does Stratavarus have any idea how long this battle could go on for?" asked Jack. Daniel shook his head. "No, just that it should be the final one. After this they expect the Kriphisians should be gone. Then they want to devote all their time to working with us to establish an archive." Carter looked at Khandid, who was watching the baseball game. "I wish there was something we could do." "So do I," said Daniel, "but as humans, we can't even cross-breed with them, the DNA is too different." "What happened to all the ovaries the Kriphisians took?" asked Jack. "I don't know," said Daniel, "if they could find some, it could save the race, but so far none of the raids on Kriphisian labs have turned up any. They could have been destroyed when the war began to turn." He looked up as the waitress came towards them. "Came I get you anything else?" she asked. Khandid tossed back the last of his drink. "Vodka," he said, quite clearly. He learned that fast," commented Jack. "Beer." "Caesar." "Paralyzer." The waitress went away. Jack looked over at Carter. "I thought you said they made you sick." "Last one," she promised. Jack and Daniel exchanged glances. "If you puke on me, I'll have you demoted." He looked at Khandid. "Okay, what else can you say?" The alien blinked innocently, then looked at Daniel. Daniel dug out his book, leafing through it, then made a gesture. Khandid grinned at Jack, giving him an intense, smoldering look. Jack leaned back in his chair. "Wait, that's not right," said Daniel. He flipped through a few more pages. "Daniel, what did you tell him?" "Not sure. Oh here we go." Daniel retranslated the message. Khandid sighed and sat back in his chair, then made a curt motion. "He says that's it," said Daniel. Carter was hiding a grin behind her hand. The waitress returned with their drinks, setting two before Carter. "This one's from the gent at the end of the bar," said the waitress as she put down the second paralyzer. Carter glanced up the reasonably attractive man. She smiled at him. "So why did they send Khandid here?" asked Jack. "Oh. He's the unit historian. If he dies, most of the background history of his group dies too. Also, he's not really...capable any more." 'Carter was right,' thought Jack, 'they just sent him here to avoid hurting his feelings.' He looked at Daniel, who was leafing through his book. "Oh, that's what I said." "What?" "I said you wanted to hear him in bed. I should mention, Khandid thinks you're quite handsome." "Yeah I figured that out. Doesn't he have a ... friend?" "Ari. He died two years ago." Jack kept telling himself he didn't want to think about what was happening to the Sferkkaans, but he couldn't seem to stop. It was almost more than he could comprehend. Every woman, every child, dead. Huddling in a jungle, watching each other die one by one, fighting for a quiet spot to die themselves. No hope, no future, just now. The room around him faded as he recalled the stench of his Iraqi prison cell. It was the same feeling, he remembered, that creeping sense of hopelessness, of wondering if his whole future would be reduced to a living hell. No yesterday, no tomorrow, just a continual death, endless time punctuated by violence. He glanced up at Khandid, still watching the ball game. The simple fact that these men bothered to form relationships at all amazed him. How could they take the risk? How could they not? Daniel's quiet voice made its way into his thoughts. "Jack? Are you all right?" "Yeah, yeah. Just thinking." He saw the waitress approaching and held up his glass. "Beer." "Caesar." "Vodka." "Paralyzer," said Carter. "Carter," said Jack, "I'm telling you..." "Yeah I know, if I puke on you I'll get demoted." "You drank both of those?" said Daniel. "I like them." Carter wove a bit on her seat. "Y'know Jack, you'd be cute with long hair. Sort of like Mel Gibson in 'Braveheart.'" "She's drunk," said Jack. "So am I," said Daniel. "And I think I'm allergic to something in this bar." He suddenly grabbed a napkin off the table and clamped it over his nose. "Definitely allergic." He tipped his head back. Carter passed him her napkin. Khandid chirped at him softly. 'My life,' thought Jack, 'welcome to it.' "Maybe we should leave before Dr. Jackson bleeds to death." "No I'm fine," said Daniel. "Let's at least finish our drinks first." Carter got up to get Daniel some more napkins from the bar, and Khandid hopped up to follow her. His white hair flowed down his back like water. Even in his heels, he wasn't quite as tall as the woman beside him. Teal'c was right, it was a little hard to take him seriously as a warrior. Carter leaned over the bar and caught the attention of the man behind it. "Could I get a few more napkins?" While the bartender hunted under the bar for some, Carter became aware of the comments of the men behind her. "Hey cutie, why don't you and your friend join us a while?" 'Cutie?' thought Carter. "No, thanks." "Aw c'mon, yer dad won't mind." She winced at the description. "Well I can't leave him alone, he worries." "Ah you'll be right here, it's okay." She glanced over her shoulder at them. There were three of them, all young. Too young, in fact. They were seated in a corner table, where they could get the best look at the ball game. "Sorry," she said. Two of them just shrugged and gave up, turning their attention back to the game. Carter looked towards the bartender once more. Khandid nuzzled close to her neck. He bit onto her collar and chewed it. Carter gave him a sidelong glance. "If anyone else did that, I'd punch their lights out." A voice came from directly behind Khandid. "C'mere, you can chew on me." It was one of the men from the table. He grabbed Khandid around the waist, and all hell broke loose. Khandid whipped around, slashing the man's face with his razors. The man let go, and Khandid leapt straight up, kicking out like a fighting cock, slicing off the tip of one of his ears. The man fell back, desperately trying to escape. Khandid leapt again, his boot heels making contact with the wall, shredding chunks of wood from it like mattress ticking. The man dove into the corner. Khandid did a spinning kick that left an inch-deep slice in the wood where the man's head had been seconds ago. Daniel and Jack arrived just then. Daniel planted himself in front of Khandid, trying to get the small alien to back off. Khandid pawed at the stone floor with one boot, scraping up sparks and small chips of rock. "It's okay," he said quietly, "he didn't mean any harm. It's okay." Jack was helping the man off the floor. His two companions had fled to the far end of the pub. He was shaken, but his injuries weren't serious. A few stitches would fix him. "That bitch is crazy!" he screamed, and Khandid lunged. Jack dropped the man and caught Khandid before he could finish slicing and dicing him. The bartender loudly suggested they get the hell out of his bar, and they left. "Well that was fun," said Jack. He set Khandid down. The alien aimed a parting shot at the pub, removing a chunk of masonry. Daniel took him aside to calm him down, and Jack glanced over at Carter. She was turning a lovely shade of green. "Status report, Major?" She saluted him. "Gonna puke, sir." He quickly turned her around and aimed her towards a trash can. "Go debrief the garbage." He watched her go, then shook his head. 'My life,' he thought, 'Welcome to it.' ******** It was a grey rainy Monday when Jack returned to the base. He found Daniel and Khandid inside, both soaking wet. Khandid greeted Jack by shaking water all over him, then racing off down the hall. Jack wiped his face with one hand, then looked over at Daniel. "So when can we get rid of him?" "The sooner the better," said Daniel. "He's turning my apartment into an aquarium. And he attacked my alarm clock this morning." They followed Khandid to the Gate, finding Carter and Teal'c already there. Khandid was on the ramp, staring at the vast circular device with an expectant look. Carter looked towards Jack and said; "We've lost communication with the Sferkkaan Base." "When?" "Three hours ago." Jack glanced at Khandid. "Does he know?" Carter nodded. "Yeah he does." "Come on, let's go find out what happened to them." ******** Nothing Daniel had told them prepared them for the muck of the swamp they suddenly found themselves in. It was a vast, sticky, green-grey mire, thinly disguised on top by tiny pink flowers. The rain that poured down was warm, but heavy, obscuring the world in a curtain of falling water and steaming haze. Jack sank into the mire up to his knees, already drenched through to the bone. He began trudging forward, watching as Khandid raced past him, skipping deftly from one invisible solid spot to the next. He stayed just within their range of vision, a smoky black shape beckoning them forward, a ghost made of mist and water. They reached the end of the swamp, slogging up the bank, skidding in the slimy green algae that grew there. Once out of the swamp they were swallowed by jungle, hemmed in on all sides by green plants covered in luminous blossoms. The air was heavy with perfume, alive with the sounds of birds and insects. Tiny, impudent birds harassed them, lighting on them to peck and pull hair, refusing to be daunted by any action the team took to chase them off. Finally the birds left, just when they stepped into the clearing that used to be the Sferkkaan Base. The buildings and shelters were a smoldering ruin, the dying flames still hissing in the rain. The foliage surrounding the make-shift camp was seared and burned, as was the dead earth that collected small puddles on its charred surface. Other than the hissing rain, there was no sound. Jack glanced over at Daniel. The younger man looked sick as he gazed at the ruin before him. He briefly rested his hand on his shoulder, wishing he could say something to make it better. "Come on, we'll look around." Daniel nodded, still looking sick. He trudged after his three companions. Khandid was scrabbling under every bit of debris and refuse there was, frantically clawing through the dirt and ruined buildings for any sign of life. Carter kept an eye out for anything suspicious while Jack and Teal'c sorted through the mess with Khandid. Beneath what was once a wall they found a large quantity of blood, and something that could only be called meat, but no actual bodies. Daniel watched them dig through the mess. It had only been a few days since he had last seen the base, he couldn't believe it had been destroyed in so short a time. But it was gone, and so were the men who had lived there. Finally Daniel sucked in a lungful of air and called; "General Stratavarus!" He got an answer, but not the one he wanted. Carter threw him to the ground behind a low, damaged wall just in time to avoid a tracer shot in the head. She used his back to steady her gun on and returned fire. "Stay down," she told Daniel, then headed for the jungle. The jungle was suddenly alive with flying ammunition. Daniel huddled against the remains of the stone wall where Carter had left him, sinking as far down into the mud as he could to avoid being seen. Something screamed overhead, spewing fire and death as it hit. Someone leapt over the wall and crouched near Daniel. It was Bryard, one of the warriors he had befriended during his stay on Sferkkaa. The tall man raised his six-foot gun and fired, blowing something to hell. Then he was back over the wall and running to another place of refuge. The Sferkkaan troops were emerging from everywhere. Men they had been unable to find moments ago were erupting out of the very ground to return fire on their hidden adversaries. Flame and death rained down, filling the air with the smell of charred flesh and burning ground and plants. A smoky haze rolled over the broken landscape. And then everything went silent. Daniel huddled against his wall, hearing his heart pounding in his chest. He was shaking, absolutely terrified that his next breath would be his last. Finally he forced his eyes opened, and stared at a pair of muddy black boots. He forced himself to look up, and saw General Stratavarus smiling down at him. "Dan-yel, my child," he said in his heavily accented voice, "while I ad-MIT I was at a loss to drrrrraw the enemy out, wanderrrring in to no-man's-land and sh-outing was not a thought that had occurrrrred to me." "Hello," said Daniel weakly. Stratavarus lifted him out of the mud and stood him up, then looked towards the other three members of the team. "Is this yourrrrrs?" "No that's okay," said Jack, "You can keep him." "Oh we just might. We have be-come rrrratherrrr fond of him. Colonel O-Niell, I prrrresume." "General Stratavarus. We thought we'd lost you." "Not me, child, I'm too mean to die." Stratavarus towered at least a foot over Teal'c's head, his long black hair tied back loosely from his handsome face. "Come, let us get out of the line of firrre, while my men clean up the last of those...misefyi." The General led them to a smaller camp, hidden within the ruins of what was once a temple. Faintly, in the background, they could hear the occasional shot, but it seemed the battle was over. They sat at a large table. Soarin appeared with an orderly, who began serving lunch for the General and his guests. Soarin stood behind Stratavarus's chair, watching the strangers warily. His eyes were luminous green, and he was at least as tall as his lover, perhaps taller. The firearm he cradled in his well-muscled arms was nearly six feet long. He made a suitably intimidating bodyguard. Lunch arrived, and Stratavarus began describing the last few days. The Kriphisian forces had found them before they could launch their own attack, but they had underestimated either the strength of the Sferkkaan base, or perhaps their determination to survive, possibly both. After the initial assault the Kriphisians had become careless, too certain of their victory. That was when Stratavarus had begun guerrilla tactics, using their knowledge of the jungle to slowly wipe out the Kriphisians, until there was only a small pocket of them left, hidden and trapped. They would likely still be there, had Daniel not proved to be such a tempting target. "So they have left us," said Stratavarus, "in one way orrrr anotherrrr. And we shall not miss them." "So, what now?" asked Jack. Stratavarus chewed his lunch, looking thoughtful. He swallowed. "Usual non-sense that follows battle, I suppose. Put the dead to rrrest, clean up what we can." A thought seemed to occur to Daniel, and he looked around. "Where's Khandid?" The little Sferkkaan was no where to be seen. Daniel suddenly had a horrible twisted feeling inside, and he rose from the table and walked out of the building. Once outside he picked up his pace, heading towards the battlefield. He reached it, pausing at the edge of the wasteland. There were men carrying the dead and wounded off the field. The wounded were being taken to a structure near the temple, while the dead were being laid near the jungle to wait for burial. He didn't want to look, but couldn't force himself to turn away when he saw the tiny body lying on the blood-soaked foliage. The long white hair was tinted and spotted with red. He looked so very small and frail now that he was devoid of his spirit. Daniel slowly sat next to him in the jungle growth, reaching out to touch the cold hair. He pulled it back from the white face, smoothing it down. He was in shock, unable to believe what he was looking at. Jack knelt beside him and gently tried to move him from Khandid's side, but Daniel shook his head. Stratavarus appeared on the other side, looking at Daniel, his eerie gold eyes filled with sympathy. "He did not die forrr no-thing, Dan-yel. He saved us all." Daniel was still unable to take his eyes from the little Sferkkaan. "What do you mean?" "We had found something, only rrrecently. Vials. Five of them. Live, ferrtil-ized ovarries. Seven hundrred and fifty thousand Sferkkaan lives. The enemy was looking for them. They now think they have destrroyed them." Jack looked up at Stratavarus. "Khandid was a red herring?" "As you say. The enemy knew we had hidden them inside one of our warrriorrs. We led them to believe Khandid had them. Then we put them in the last place the enemy would look." Stratavarus placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "In you, child." Daniel looked up sharply. "Me? How did you manage to do that without me knowing?" "We sedated you, while you slept. Then we slid the vials down your throat, and they attached themselves to yourrr stomach wall. In the worrrst case, you would have lived yourr life with-out knowing they werrre therrrre." Daniel just stared at the larger man for a time, then lowered his gaze to once more look at Khandid. He stroked the soft, white hair, then finally allowed himself to be led away. |
| CATEGORY: AU, gen, drama SPOILERS: None. SEASON: Daniel is in it. RATING: PG-13 WARNINGS: some language, and if you're arachnophobic, this thing is not for you ... :-) This story mentions homosexual relationships involving the author's original characters. SERIES: Yes, Part 1 of ? FEEDBACK: YES PLEASE! Directly to the author: ALYX J. SHAW ILLUSTRATION: Alyx J. Shaw ARCHIVE: no archivation, this is story is a Pink Khaki exclusive. NOTE: To read Part II of this story, please go here: CLICK HERE TO READ "RUMOURS OF WAR" DISCLAIMER: The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. (thanks to Jmas for helping us out with the rating and the disclaimers). |
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