Jack woke in a cell. This wasnt exactly unusual for him something about being on SG-1 meant that he spent more time in various forms of confinement than he would if he was a regular at Colorado Springs drunk tank and even before he opened his eyes he had to give this particular cell points for quality.
For one thing, he wasnt chained to the wall or otherwise strapped down. In fact, hed been laid out neatly on a bunk and someone had actually gone to the trouble of taking his boots off. Secondly, rather than the usual bare metal bunk or thin pallet, this bunk was actually quite yielding, it felt rather like an airbed in face, albeit a narrow and relatively thin one. Hed slept on far worse.
Opening his eyes, he saw a roof that was a brilliant white, and also looked as if it was perfectly smooth and seamless. Even the corners of the room were gently rounded. The bunk, rather than being placed against one of the walls, was actually on a low plinth in the middle of the cell, with the head against the back wall. At least he presumed that the wall was the back the opposite wall was largely covered by what looked like frosted glass but he was willing to bet was no more breakable than the walls. There was no other furniture, no obvious ventilation and no sign of his boots. Bastards.
His jailors had apparently also gone through his pockets as the only thing in them when he checked were his hands. It wasnt until he stood up that he noticed that one last item in the cell - a small, black rubber ball about the size of his hand.
Jack examined the ball carefully and then shrugged.
A couple of minutes later he was bouncing it off random walls. It was better than bouncing off them himself which was just about the only other alternative that he had.
.oOo.
Since the mysterious jailors had also taken his watch, Jack wasnt entirely sure how long it was before the glass wall slid smoothly up into the ceiling to reveal a squad of soldiers. Just to confuse him, the soldiers were neither the guys in turbans nor the Jaffa no, wait. That was the Jaffa who had led the squad that caught them. Except he wasnt wearing Jaffa armour and now that Jack got a look at him there was no tattoo on his forehead. And what sort of Jaffa walked around in cream slacks, a beret and an Ike jacket?
Okay, Ill bite, Jack said. If youre not Jaffa then why were you running around in the get up earlier?
The mans lips quirked. It was Halloween. Now, if you wouldnt mind following me please? The way that the soldiers held their pistols and what sort of gun were they? Jack had never seen them before, looked almost like flintlocks without the actual flints made it clear that the request wasnt one that could be turned down.
Im fairly sure thats its spring, Jack said as he stood up. There was a name tag on the mans uniform but Jack didnt recognise the script.
Well its a big universe, the man pointed out, ushering Jack along a battleship-grey corridor lined with frosted glass panels. The floor had a slight give to it under Jacks feet and he could feel through his socks that it was slight warmer than he would have expected. Im fairly sure it must be Halloween somewhere.
Great, Jack conceded the point. Obviously no answers on that just yet. He glanced at the glass, wondering if any of the panels concealed his friends. If were only going to talk trivia, how come there was a rubber ball in my cell? He pulled it out of his pocket, where hed automatically dropped it when the cell opened.
The man took it off him with a tsking sound. Its so that you dont have to play with your own for entertainment. No one wants to see that.
My own hey!
At the end of the corridor was a security barrier that snapped open when the man walked up to it. Two guards came to attention, raising their right fists to slap against their left shoulders in what Jack guessed was a salute. So the guy with him was some sort of officer. Good to know, even though it didnt give any immediate benefit. Jack started looking him over for rank badges. Knowing who the brass were had all sorts of side-benefits.
Through the security barrier, along a passage outside and then into a wider corridor and holy shit, it was full of stars
Jack halted in surprise as he saw that the new corridor had windows, albeit not much larger than the windows on an airliner. And the windows looked out on space, angled perfectly for the band of the Milky Way to be clearly visible. It took Jack a single gobsmacked moment to notice that the stars were not visibly moving, so even if he had been brought onto a ship they didnt seem to be going anywhere in particular.
The officer had a smug look on his face when Jack dragged his eyes away from the window. The sort of look that Jacks own face displayed the first time he showed someone the stargate and got to watch their surprise. Hed been set up, dammit. At least it wasnt the sort of set up that was obviously hostile, but whoever set this up was a smooth operator
Isnt it a bit dangerous having windows onto a corridor like this? Jack asked, gesturing to indicate the immense length of the passage ahead of them, and extending almost as far in the other direction.
There are numerous safety measures, the officers assured him. The risk really isnt very great at all and it really is spectacularly useful for getting round the ship, plus the windows help with morale. Now, we are on a schedule, so please follow me.
The destination wasnt very far away at all as it happened another passage leading deeper into the ship and as they approached, another squad of soldiers escorted another prisoner out of it. Tealc, buddy. Are you okay?
I am uninjured, ONeill. Daniel Jackson is also unharmed, Tealc managed to reveal before his escorts hustled him away.
Where are you taking him, Jack demanded.
Back into confinement until a decision is made on your case, the officer said, apparently surprised by the question. Come now, you cant just wander into the middle of a military exercise and then just walk away.
Military exercise? They were shooting at eac- They were shooting zats at each other! Jack felt like kicking himself. All of a sudden it made sense, sort of. The Jaffa had been an opforce, like the Army battalions at Fort Irwin that were thinly disguised as Soviet troops to provide realistic training for the US Army. And if these people had been training to fight against the Jaffa, then they must be well aware of the Goauld. Although in that case, who had the turbanned troops been? And what would the likely conculsions drawn about Tealc?
He was still weighing up this new information when the officer showed him into a small interview room and left him there, faced by a single, pencil-necked officer in the same uniform. Two of the soldiers followed Jack in and stood on either side of the door, facing Jacks back. He could feel their eyes drilling into him.
Colonel Jonathon ONeill, the officer greeted him. Please, take a seat, he said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of the rooms small table from him. Jack sat down and grimaced. Institutional chairs were the same all over the galaxy. The officer placed a card on the table and Jack recognised it as his own ID card.
Id say welcome to Angrezi, the man said drily, But Im afraid that the Angrezi arent feeling too welcoming at the moment something about assaulting several of their soldiers and stealing an armoured vehicle. Since it was some of our personnel who actually apprehended you, we have custody at the moment. If you dont mind answering a few questions then it should be possible to smooth matters over. On the other hand
Jack frowned. Whats Angrezi?
That would be the planet that you were on. The soldiers you assaulted were members of the Padishah of Angrezis army involved in a training exercise. Now, perhaps you can tell me why you came to this planet?
Were explorers, Jack explained. We didnt know if the planet was inhabited or not, but the road to the stargate you know about the stargate?
He got a nod in response. So you knew that the planet had been inhabited and came to take a look. So, you arrived hmm, how long would you say you were on planet before that little skirmish?
Jack frowned but didnt see anything particularly damning about that detail. We arrived fairly early the previous day Walked along the road to the ruins on the coast and then saw the fighting well, the exercise, I guess -
Go on.
Im not sure what you want to know, Jack admitted. Im sorry about smacking the soldiers, but we didnt know that they werent really shooting at each other and we didnt want to get stuck in the middle of a battle.
I suppose that that makes sense, the officer said and considered his notes. So you came through the stargate in the morning and then followed the road to the ruins of the old villa. How did you travel?
Jack sighed, this was going to be a long conversation.
.oOo.
Hmm, well I suppose that that covers everything, the interviewer said at last, having questioned Jack extensively about what had happened since he arrived on P4F-117 and not at all about anything else. Youll have to wait until your accounts have been compared and a forensic investigation of the sites to compare your stories, but as long as it all checks out then the commander will explain matters to the Angrezi and youll be allowed to go.
Right, Jack observed. Feels kind of odd to go through all this and not get tortured. Nice change.
Torture? The man looked amused. You must have run into the Goauld then. Unimaginative devils. Tortures just pointless sadism when you have access to modern lie-detecting equipment.
So how come you didnt break that out? Jack asked as he stood up and the two soldiers moved to cover him.
There was a dry chuckle from the officer. You were under a lie detector for the whole interview, Colonel. Its built into the chair.
Jack stared at the chair in surprise. Diabolical, he admitted. Youre really very good at this. Well, since you know that Im telling the truth, why do you need to check anything else.
Come now, Colonel. You may think that youre telling the truth, but that hardly means anything these days. What if youve been programmed not to know what you were really up to?
Oh.
Sam was outside the room when Jack emerged, surrounded by yet another squad of soldiers, who were watching her with professional concern. Good to see you, sir.
Same here, Carter, Jack called as he was hustled away by his own escorts. Tealc says Dannys okay too.
.oOo.
So what do you make of them? asked the man sitting in a throne-like chair at the rear of the command centre.
Their stories match up, confirmed one of the two men standing in front of him, the officer who had captured Jack and SG-1. And a survey of the old villa confirms the times that they were there. I dont see how they could have been there at that time and also where the other activity took place.
Are you accusing us of lying, demanded the other man hotly, his turbanned head snapping around to direct a ferocious glare at the man beside him. This is -
Enough! snapped the first man, rising from his command chair. No one disputes the reports, your grace. However, it is possible that the presence of this group is simply a coincidence and that the attack was carried out by a third party.
Or perhaps they are merely a diversion, the turbanned man accused. A convenient cover for someone closer at hand
Perhaps the next step should be to carry out a check on the stargate, the commander proposed, ignoring the accusation. The activation records will show if anyone else has used it in the possible time frame. He smiled thinly. And if, your grace, someone else did arrive by the stargate then they can hardly have left through it, not with several hundred of my men securing it. Which would mean that they must still be on the island.
The stargate keeps a record of its activations? asked the turbanned man in surprise. I have never heard this.
I think I can safely say that Ive used them for a little longer than you, your grace, the commander pointed out reasonably. Send a technical team out to the gate and Ill have my men show you how its done.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
For one thing, he wasnt chained to the wall or otherwise strapped down. In fact, hed been laid out neatly on a bunk and someone had actually gone to the trouble of taking his boots off. Secondly, rather than the usual bare metal bunk or thin pallet, this bunk was actually quite yielding, it felt rather like an airbed in face, albeit a narrow and relatively thin one. Hed slept on far worse.
Opening his eyes, he saw a roof that was a brilliant white, and also looked as if it was perfectly smooth and seamless. Even the corners of the room were gently rounded. The bunk, rather than being placed against one of the walls, was actually on a low plinth in the middle of the cell, with the head against the back wall. At least he presumed that the wall was the back the opposite wall was largely covered by what looked like frosted glass but he was willing to bet was no more breakable than the walls. There was no other furniture, no obvious ventilation and no sign of his boots. Bastards.
His jailors had apparently also gone through his pockets as the only thing in them when he checked were his hands. It wasnt until he stood up that he noticed that one last item in the cell - a small, black rubber ball about the size of his hand.
Jack examined the ball carefully and then shrugged.
A couple of minutes later he was bouncing it off random walls. It was better than bouncing off them himself which was just about the only other alternative that he had.
.oOo.
Since the mysterious jailors had also taken his watch, Jack wasnt entirely sure how long it was before the glass wall slid smoothly up into the ceiling to reveal a squad of soldiers. Just to confuse him, the soldiers were neither the guys in turbans nor the Jaffa no, wait. That was the Jaffa who had led the squad that caught them. Except he wasnt wearing Jaffa armour and now that Jack got a look at him there was no tattoo on his forehead. And what sort of Jaffa walked around in cream slacks, a beret and an Ike jacket?
Okay, Ill bite, Jack said. If youre not Jaffa then why were you running around in the get up earlier?
The mans lips quirked. It was Halloween. Now, if you wouldnt mind following me please? The way that the soldiers held their pistols and what sort of gun were they? Jack had never seen them before, looked almost like flintlocks without the actual flints made it clear that the request wasnt one that could be turned down.
Im fairly sure thats its spring, Jack said as he stood up. There was a name tag on the mans uniform but Jack didnt recognise the script.
Well its a big universe, the man pointed out, ushering Jack along a battleship-grey corridor lined with frosted glass panels. The floor had a slight give to it under Jacks feet and he could feel through his socks that it was slight warmer than he would have expected. Im fairly sure it must be Halloween somewhere.
Great, Jack conceded the point. Obviously no answers on that just yet. He glanced at the glass, wondering if any of the panels concealed his friends. If were only going to talk trivia, how come there was a rubber ball in my cell? He pulled it out of his pocket, where hed automatically dropped it when the cell opened.
The man took it off him with a tsking sound. Its so that you dont have to play with your own for entertainment. No one wants to see that.
My own hey!
At the end of the corridor was a security barrier that snapped open when the man walked up to it. Two guards came to attention, raising their right fists to slap against their left shoulders in what Jack guessed was a salute. So the guy with him was some sort of officer. Good to know, even though it didnt give any immediate benefit. Jack started looking him over for rank badges. Knowing who the brass were had all sorts of side-benefits.
Through the security barrier, along a passage outside and then into a wider corridor and holy shit, it was full of stars
Jack halted in surprise as he saw that the new corridor had windows, albeit not much larger than the windows on an airliner. And the windows looked out on space, angled perfectly for the band of the Milky Way to be clearly visible. It took Jack a single gobsmacked moment to notice that the stars were not visibly moving, so even if he had been brought onto a ship they didnt seem to be going anywhere in particular.
The officer had a smug look on his face when Jack dragged his eyes away from the window. The sort of look that Jacks own face displayed the first time he showed someone the stargate and got to watch their surprise. Hed been set up, dammit. At least it wasnt the sort of set up that was obviously hostile, but whoever set this up was a smooth operator
Isnt it a bit dangerous having windows onto a corridor like this? Jack asked, gesturing to indicate the immense length of the passage ahead of them, and extending almost as far in the other direction.
There are numerous safety measures, the officers assured him. The risk really isnt very great at all and it really is spectacularly useful for getting round the ship, plus the windows help with morale. Now, we are on a schedule, so please follow me.
The destination wasnt very far away at all as it happened another passage leading deeper into the ship and as they approached, another squad of soldiers escorted another prisoner out of it. Tealc, buddy. Are you okay?
I am uninjured, ONeill. Daniel Jackson is also unharmed, Tealc managed to reveal before his escorts hustled him away.
Where are you taking him, Jack demanded.
Back into confinement until a decision is made on your case, the officer said, apparently surprised by the question. Come now, you cant just wander into the middle of a military exercise and then just walk away.
Military exercise? They were shooting at eac- They were shooting zats at each other! Jack felt like kicking himself. All of a sudden it made sense, sort of. The Jaffa had been an opforce, like the Army battalions at Fort Irwin that were thinly disguised as Soviet troops to provide realistic training for the US Army. And if these people had been training to fight against the Jaffa, then they must be well aware of the Goauld. Although in that case, who had the turbanned troops been? And what would the likely conculsions drawn about Tealc?
He was still weighing up this new information when the officer showed him into a small interview room and left him there, faced by a single, pencil-necked officer in the same uniform. Two of the soldiers followed Jack in and stood on either side of the door, facing Jacks back. He could feel their eyes drilling into him.
Colonel Jonathon ONeill, the officer greeted him. Please, take a seat, he said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of the rooms small table from him. Jack sat down and grimaced. Institutional chairs were the same all over the galaxy. The officer placed a card on the table and Jack recognised it as his own ID card.
Id say welcome to Angrezi, the man said drily, But Im afraid that the Angrezi arent feeling too welcoming at the moment something about assaulting several of their soldiers and stealing an armoured vehicle. Since it was some of our personnel who actually apprehended you, we have custody at the moment. If you dont mind answering a few questions then it should be possible to smooth matters over. On the other hand
Jack frowned. Whats Angrezi?
That would be the planet that you were on. The soldiers you assaulted were members of the Padishah of Angrezis army involved in a training exercise. Now, perhaps you can tell me why you came to this planet?
Were explorers, Jack explained. We didnt know if the planet was inhabited or not, but the road to the stargate you know about the stargate?
He got a nod in response. So you knew that the planet had been inhabited and came to take a look. So, you arrived hmm, how long would you say you were on planet before that little skirmish?
Jack frowned but didnt see anything particularly damning about that detail. We arrived fairly early the previous day Walked along the road to the ruins on the coast and then saw the fighting well, the exercise, I guess -
Go on.
Im not sure what you want to know, Jack admitted. Im sorry about smacking the soldiers, but we didnt know that they werent really shooting at each other and we didnt want to get stuck in the middle of a battle.
I suppose that that makes sense, the officer said and considered his notes. So you came through the stargate in the morning and then followed the road to the ruins of the old villa. How did you travel?
Jack sighed, this was going to be a long conversation.
.oOo.
Hmm, well I suppose that that covers everything, the interviewer said at last, having questioned Jack extensively about what had happened since he arrived on P4F-117 and not at all about anything else. Youll have to wait until your accounts have been compared and a forensic investigation of the sites to compare your stories, but as long as it all checks out then the commander will explain matters to the Angrezi and youll be allowed to go.
Right, Jack observed. Feels kind of odd to go through all this and not get tortured. Nice change.
Torture? The man looked amused. You must have run into the Goauld then. Unimaginative devils. Tortures just pointless sadism when you have access to modern lie-detecting equipment.
So how come you didnt break that out? Jack asked as he stood up and the two soldiers moved to cover him.
There was a dry chuckle from the officer. You were under a lie detector for the whole interview, Colonel. Its built into the chair.
Jack stared at the chair in surprise. Diabolical, he admitted. Youre really very good at this. Well, since you know that Im telling the truth, why do you need to check anything else.
Come now, Colonel. You may think that youre telling the truth, but that hardly means anything these days. What if youve been programmed not to know what you were really up to?
Oh.
Sam was outside the room when Jack emerged, surrounded by yet another squad of soldiers, who were watching her with professional concern. Good to see you, sir.
Same here, Carter, Jack called as he was hustled away by his own escorts. Tealc says Dannys okay too.
.oOo.
So what do you make of them? asked the man sitting in a throne-like chair at the rear of the command centre.
Their stories match up, confirmed one of the two men standing in front of him, the officer who had captured Jack and SG-1. And a survey of the old villa confirms the times that they were there. I dont see how they could have been there at that time and also where the other activity took place.
Are you accusing us of lying, demanded the other man hotly, his turbanned head snapping around to direct a ferocious glare at the man beside him. This is -
Enough! snapped the first man, rising from his command chair. No one disputes the reports, your grace. However, it is possible that the presence of this group is simply a coincidence and that the attack was carried out by a third party.
Or perhaps they are merely a diversion, the turbanned man accused. A convenient cover for someone closer at hand
Perhaps the next step should be to carry out a check on the stargate, the commander proposed, ignoring the accusation. The activation records will show if anyone else has used it in the possible time frame. He smiled thinly. And if, your grace, someone else did arrive by the stargate then they can hardly have left through it, not with several hundred of my men securing it. Which would mean that they must still be on the island.
The stargate keeps a record of its activations? asked the turbanned man in surprise. I have never heard this.
I think I can safely say that Ive used them for a little longer than you, your grace, the commander pointed out reasonably. Send a technical team out to the gate and Ill have my men show you how its done.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.