Stargate SG-1: Sacrifice Moon (7 page)

y the time they were finished with the Town Council, it was
'dark outside, and the birds had gotten tired of twittering. Acton's
boys escorted them from the bouleterion across the wide, open town
square, to what must have been one of their finer hotels - considering they had an airport, it wasn't too surprising there were hotels,
too - and set them up with four separate rooms, second floor. Jack
was surprised to find that the concept of beds translated perfectly
well - no weird-looking contraptions, no alien slabs. Feather mattresses on wooden platforms with carved sturdy legs. Bundles of
fabric for pillows. Some kind of white fluffy wool rugs on the floor.
Bathrooms were in a building out back, but there were chamberpots
provided in the rooms.

Note to self, Jack thought. Tell SGC to screen planets for indoor
plumbing.

He ducked back out into the hall, where the rest of the team was
still talking quietly. "First scheduled contact with the SGC is at 0800,"
he said. "Everybody ready at 0700 to move out. Let's get some rest."

"We're all going in the morning?" Daniel asked, hesitating in the
act of opening his door. "Just to send a message through? Isn't at a
little, ah, excessive?"

"No, we're all going," Jack said. "As in, outta here. Back to the
SGC."

"But -

"No, Daniel."

"There's so much to learn -

"Maybe so, but there's nothing to learn about the Goa'uld, that's
pretty clear. We're an exploratory team. We've explored. Let somebody else do the follow-up."

Carter must have sided with Daniel; he caught the frown and the
narrowing of her eyes before she turned away to her own room. What
was it about scientists? Sure, these seemed like okay folks, there were some cool buildings and nice statues, probably a million things to
putter around with - but they weren't in the business of funding academic research-they were on a mission to find alien technology and
fight the Goa'uld. And find Share and Skaara. So far, they hadn't
asked around about that. That might have been why Daniel looked
mutinous. Well, that and the unavoidable fascination with learning
stuff nobody could possibly use.

Jack shut and locked the door, tested the feather bed, and sat thinking for a while before he thumbed on the radio in the tac vest he
hadn't yet removed.

"Daniel," he said, and waited for the response.

"Yes, Jack." Daniel sounded resigned.

"Listen... there were still some people downstairs in the lobby. If
you get a chance, show Sha're's picture around. It's worth a try."

Silence, for a few hissing seconds, and then Daniel's quiet reply.
"Thanks."

It wasn't much, but it was something.

Jack took off the tac vest and hat, set the MP5 next to the bed and
the M9 actually on it, next to him, and stretched out still wearing his
full kit.

Sleep failed to come.

He listened to the soft thud of Daniel's boots moving down the
hall, down the stairs, and thought about the wisdom of sending him
off on his own, even just downstairs. But Daniel wasn't some wetbehind-the-ears recruit, he was - in his own way - a seasoned field
agent, and hell, he was armed and knew when to yell for help, if it
came to that.

But Jack still couldn't sleep, waiting for the inevitable crisis to
blow up, for the shouting and shooting to start. Should've gone with
him. Daniel has a history of landing himself in trouble. And after
about thirty minutes of fruitlessly trying to convince himself that he
was being paranoid, he got up and strapped on the firepower again.

He'd only taken two steps down the hall when Carter's door
opened. No surprise to find that she hadn't disarmed, either.

"Trouble?" she asked tensely. He shook his head.

"Oh. Sony. I mean, good."

"Daniel went downstairs a while ago. I'm just taking a look around."

She started to step out and shut her door. He shook his head and
motioned her back inside. "Nah, Captain, you stay here. Rest. No
need for both of us to be cranky tomorrow."

She looked unconvinced, but he gave her the silent command
stare, and she just as silently obeyed. Her door clicked shut, but he
was under no illusions she'd follow the part of his orders that talked
about resting; she'd be sitting tensely all night, waiting for the other
boot to drop.

On the whole, he was finding he preferred camping out and living rough on these expeditions. Civilization made him nervous, and
besides, he hated to waste a good feather bed.

Combat boots weren't really made for stealth, but Jack had a lot of
practice; he eased down the hollow steps slowly, listening for any hint
of trouble. Before he was out of the shadows, he realized a couple of
things simultaneously: one, there wasn't any trouble, and two, he'd
just walked in on something private.

It hadn't occurred to him to wonder why Teal'c hadn't come out
along with Carter, but it was obvious now: Teal'c had the jump on
all of them in the stealthy exit category. He was already downstairs,
and sitting by the low-burning fire with Daniel. Over at the other end,
a couple of sleepy-looking bartenders polished glasses and yawned
pointedly, trying to emphasize some after-closing-time message.

Not that Daniel and Teal'c were likely to pay any attention.

Daniel was saying, in a low tense voice, "Tell me how it's done."
His head was down, shoulders hunched, as if he was protecting himself against a blow.

Teal'c looked as uncomfortable as Jack had ever seen him. "I do
not think it would help you to know," he said, and the context clicked
into place for Jack with an almost gut-wrenching snap. He should
have known better than to think that Daniel had let that particular pain
go; he'd never really stopped digging at it, and never would, until he
knew it all. No matter how much it hurt.

He wanted to know about Sha're. About how she became a
Goa'uld.

Daniel confirmed it by saying, "Whatever you tell me, it can't be
worse than what runs through my head, believe me. I'd rather know than just guess."

"I have made a full report of this to General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill - "

"Teal'c! They're not going to tell me this, and I need to know!"
Daniel sounded almost desperate, and Jack heard the sharp intake of
his breath as he calmed himself down. "Please. I just - need this. You
were there, right? You saw it. Just tell me how the Goa'uld take over
a host."

It was too late to retreat back up the stairs; no way could he be
that stealthy. Jack eased the strain in his left knee carefully, trying
not to wake a creak out of the wooden boards, and watched as Teal'c
thought it over.

And then the Jaffa slowly bowed his head. "As you wish," he said.
"The Goa'uld leaves the safety of its Jaffa's pouch and enters the host
through the back of the neck. Once inside, it establishes control of the
host within a matter of moments."

"But some hosts resist."

"Few." Teal'c glanced up, then away. "Those who do are subjected
to extreme pain. I have never seen one succeed in keeping a Goa'uld
at bay for long."

"But Sha're..."

"Your wife resisted," Teal'c said, low and quiet. "She was very
strong."

"Was there much pain? Teal'c, did she - did she -

"I do not know." That was a lie, and Jack could feel it all the way
across the room. Daniel, closer, had to know it too.

"Did she scream? Teal'c?"

"Daniel Jackson, it cannot help you to know." Teal'c's voice was
overwhelmingly compassionate. "But - I must tell you this. As First
Prime of Apophis, it was my duty to select potential hosts for him.
The choice was mine - who to take, who to keep, who to discard."

Daniel slowly raised his head, andhis glasses caught random flares
of firelight. "I don't understand." But he did, Jack saw it in the growing tension in his shoulders. Sometimes the body knew better than the
mind what was coming.

"I was with Apophis when he took your wife on Abydos."

I should stop this, Jack thought. Put on my best cheerful idiot face and ask them what they're talking about. Daniel won't pursue this in
front of me. But that would just prolong the pain, and leave Teal'c to
have to cauterize the wounds later. This conversation had to happen
sometime, and it would only hurt worse when there was more trust
to betray.

Daniel was shaking his head impatiently. "I knew that. I don't
blame you for that."

"There is more. On Chulak, I was given the responsibility of
selecting a woman to be the host for Apophis' queen. The woman of
the Tau'ri I selected was unacceptable, and Apophis killed her. I was
told to choose another... "

Daniel looked sick, and his blue eyes had gone very wide. "No. It
wasn't - let's not go into this, okay?"

"It was my choice. I chose the fairest, the one with the most spirit...
I chose your wife. Had I not - "

"Stop! Just... stop!" Daniel sounded on the edge of desperation.
"You can't tell me this. I knew she suffered, that's not - that's not
new - but I can't hear that it was just - God, I can't hear that it was
you." He stood up and wrapped his arms around his chest. "Dammit,
just stop."

Teal'c stood too, facing him, golden serpent emblem glittering and
flashing in the firelight. "No. I am the one who brought your wife to
Apophis. I witnessed her humiliated and stripped, and I did nothing. I
heard her screams and pleas, and I did nothing. I have no right to your
trust. You should know this."

Daniel stared at him for a few long seconds, face gone white and
still. His eyes were glittering with pain, or tears, or both.

"Daniel Jackson - "

Daniel turned away, heading for the stairs and Jack's safe, anonymous shadows. Too late for him to go back up the steps. Busted. He
tried to think of something to say, but the truth was, there was nothing
he could say. Sorry just didn't cut it when you'd eavesdropped on
something that personal.

Luckily, he didn't have to trot out the lame-ass excuses. Daniel wheeled around after a few steps and went back at Teal'c, fists
clenched hard at his sides.

"Listen to me," he said. His voice was shaking, barely under con trol. "What you did - you had no choice, you were just as much a
slave to Apophis as she was. I had a choice. I left Sha're alone by the
Stargate. I was so eager to run off with Jack and Captain Carter, to
be the expert, to... to show off! I didn't even think what could happen, and I should have, I know better than anyone what could come
through the Stargate. God, I don't blame you. I can't."

The Jaffa stood absolutely still, unspeaking.

"Teal'c, I don't want..." He had to stop and swallow hard. "I don't
want your guilt. I want your help. I want you to swear that you'll help
me find her, and save her, and make her what she was before this happened. You owe that to her, not to me."

Teal'c's eyes glittered, softened, and he put his open hand over his
heart. "I will carry your words with me, Daniel Jackson. And I will
earn your trust."

"You don't have to earn it. You already have it." Daniel, with a
visible effort, smiled. "You saved my life, all the lives of those people
back on Chulak. We're in this together now." He offered his hand.
"Friends?"

Teal'c gravely shook his hand, up and down. "Yes, Daniel Jackson. Friends." He switched it to a clasp of forearms. "And brothers."

Something passed across Daniel's face, something Jack thought
he understood... Daniel had been alone, most of his life. Orphaned,
passed around from one artificial family to another, never had anyone
to call his own before Sha're. Being called a brother was a powerful
thing.

After a warm, awkward pause, Daniel asked, "Want to, ah, help
me ask some questions? Around town?"

"I will assist you," Teal'c nodded.

Jack let out a long-held breath as the two of them walked out of
the door, into the dark street, and he finally turned around and went
back to bed.

Sleep was still a long time coming, but at least he had one less
thing to worry about.

His watch - set to local time - read about 4 a.m. when he heard
footsteps coming back, and a very small knock on the door. Jack got
up and opened it, found Daniel standing outside, looking tired and discouraged and dusty.

He gestured him inside and shut the door.

"Nothing," Daniel said, before Jack even asked. "I showed
Sha're's picture, described Apophis, Skaara, the Jaffa... Teal'c even
came with me as a visual aid. If these people know anything, they're
good liars. By the way, wine shops stay open all night around here. m
case you're interested."

"Anything else?"

Daniel combed his shaggy hair back from his face. "Maybe.
Seems the mosaic on the wall might have referred to a fifth planet
in the Helos Confederacy, only everybody seems to agree it doesn't
exist anymore."

"Blown up?"

"I'd have to get Dr. Carter's opinion on that, but I think planets
don't usually blow up, outside of the movies. No, I think they made
it disappear. Off limits. Forbidden... something bad happened there,
and they want to forget about it, at least in terms of it actually having
happened."