from the ruins of atlantis, the lord of night rises from the sands

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel is in the basement cafeteria, absent-mindedly stirring a cup of cooling coffee as he stares into some middle space. His body may be present, but his thoughts are far away with his men back on Atlantis. What did they do when he never arrived? Are they still looking for him now? What if he never makes it back

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[paranoideloi]

Eloi frequents the cafeteria. For tea. His usual Earl Grey. Which is why he's here now.

And he's promptly VERY weirded out when he spots Daniel, because THEY HAVE THE SAME FACE.

"...What the Hell?!"

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel drops his coffee mug a whole two inches onto the tabletop, and his hand is on the butt of his Desert Eagle before either one of them can blink. Which he does, when he sees who decided to shout in his general direction. He looks the angel up and down, somewhat weirded out by the feeling that he is sitting in front of a reflection that just isn't quite right. He's never met one of his own alternate universe counterparts before, and even though this man may not be quite the same thing, it's close enough to spook him a little.

[paranoideloi]

And, of course, the moment Daniel meets Eloi's eyes, there's that exact same feeling he got when he first locked eyes with Martha.

Which causes him to hit his head on the nearest wall in annoyance.

"The universe hates me."

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel isn't sure what he was expecting, but that definitely wasn't it. He stands up slowly, letting go of his gun. "Are you okay?"

[paranoideloi]

Eloi turns to Daniel. "Not really, no. Just lost my last Ward, and now the Powers That Be decide to give me a new one... who looks just like me."

"...Er, no offense or anything, it's just... it feels strange, that's all..."

Eloi hasn't considered that Daniel might not know what he's talking about.

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel remembers Captain Harkness mentioned a guardian angel who resembles him, and it's fairly easy to fill in the blanks. He doesn't know the specifics of how exactly the guardian angel thing works in this reality, but he can make a guess, anyway. The surprising bit is that, from what he understands, the angel feels some kind of obligation to him already. He's not quite sure how he feels about that.

"Sorry?" He means it to be an apology, but it sounds more like a question. "This... certainly is... strange, I'll admit." It's bizarre, is what it is. Theory almost never prepares you completely for the real thing. "I'm Daniel Jackson," he introduces himself, hoping to put the angel at ease, if only a little bit.

[paranoideloi]

"Eloi Laurent," Eloi answers. "It's... okay. I just... wasn't expecting to find a new Ward so soon after I lost my first one. Among other things."

[egyptiansoldier]

There's that Ward thing again. Daniel's still not sure what that means, but Eloi sounds upset about losing his previous one, so now doesn't feel like the right time to ask, really. Daniel sits back down, scooting over a little in an unspoken invitation for Eloi to join him, if he wants. "Sounds like you're going through a tough time," he says sympathetically. "I know what it's like to lose someone you're responsible for." He doesn't know if Eloi will recognize the stars on his collar for what they are, but it doesn't really matter.

[paranoideloi]

Eloi sits next to him with his mug of tea. He does notice those stars and he can deduce what they mean. "You're a soldier," he says. "Pretty high ranking one, I would guess, from those stars."

Eloi shrugs. "My last Ward, Martha, died, a little while back. Only for a few seconds, she was brought back, but... It was long enough to sever the connection between us. I'm not her Guardian Angel anymore."

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel nods. He's going to have to get used to being around civilians again... well, civilians who aren't intimately familiar with the military, like his own people are. Spend a few years working on a base with several dozen soldiers, and you can't help but pick things up as you go.

He's not sure what the implications of that are, but Eloi sounds upset about it. "That sounds like quite a stumbling block," he says, hedging his words carefully. Even after years of using English, sometimes things still come out in ways he doesn't intend, and he's hate to piss someone off on his first day in a new universe. He's not one for hollow platitudes either, although this does leave him at somewhat of a loss as to what to say. "Is she okay?"

[paranoideloi]

"She's hurting," Eloi responds, softly. "She was tortured before she died. Only one of her torturers is still alive, and she wants revenge on her. She doesn't think she'll be able to get back to normal if she doesn't."

[egyptiansoldier]

Daniel knows the feeling quite well. He's seen it in the faces of his own men, walked through Hell himself and come out not quite whole. "It's a difficult thing to live with," he agrees, not quite looking at his doppelgänger. "Sometimes vengeance is the only option. Sometimes it can break you even more. There's no one absolute solution, and that's the hardest part about it."

He doesn't know this Martha woman, but hearing about her suffering ignites a smoldering, quiet anger in his soul. No one should have to go through something like that. Ever.