Journeys (Main Post): Daniel of Abydos, Book V
Title: Journeys
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen (mild insinuations of established canon pairings)
Summary: AU; sequel to Archaeology. The assassination attempt at the Goa'uld summit fails, and the Tok'ra base at Revanna is attacked. Someone has to use the symbiote poison on Zipacna's army for SG-1 to escape. Daniel volunteers. Explicit spoilers up to season 8.
Warnings: Character death(s); depiction of violence; mild language
Part I: Endings a b Part II: Ascension a b c d Part III: Enlightenment a b c d e Part IV: The Lost a b c d Part V: The Journey Home a b c d Epilogue: Beginnings
Notes: This is the fifth book in the "Daniel of Abydos" series that started in Translations, Diplomacy, Brotherhood, and Archaeology. Even more than the first four novels in the series, knowledge of the events in canon will be very helpful in reading this. Mostly, this means seasons 5-7 (and a bit of early season 8). Anything related to the Ascension/Ancients arc(s), including seasons 8-10 and Ark of Truth, may be referenced or hinted at (and spoiled), as well.
Also, because several hundred thousands of words have passed since I first started planning this installment, below is a bullet-point summary of the previous four AU novels for those who want it, with emphasis on events and facts that are different from canon and are important setup for this one. Alternatively, if you prefer, below that are several snippets from the previous books that do the same thing.
Cheers!
- 1982: First Stargate mission to Abydos (including Jack and Melburn and Claire Jackson). Ra is defeated and the Jacksons stay on Abydos while Jack returns to Earth.
- July, 1983: Daniel Jackson is born in Nagada, Abydos. He is raised alongside Skaara and sees him as an older brother, while Sha'uri has been both a sister and a maternal figure to him.
- 1997 (15 years later): Apophis attacks Earth through the Stargate. Jack returns to Abydos to find the Jacksons. Teal'c leads Apophis's attack on Abydos--the older Jacksons are killed, and Skaara, Sha'uri, and Daniel are captured. Daniel is rescued from Chulak with Teal'c's help (the other two become hosts) and is trapped on Earth for a year until the 'gate on Abydos reopens.
- 1997-98: SG-1 is formed (Jack, Sam, and Teal'c). Daniel works from the sidelines but remains close to all three members; they see him more as someone to be protected or mentored than as a peer. Robert Rothman encourages Daniel's studies and his deskwork, and Daniel decides to stay at the SGC to train (physically and intellectually) to fight the Goa'uld rather than returning to Abydos when he can.
- 1998: Daniel (15 y.o.) begins minor off-world travel, mostly for research or on safe missions with SG-2 or, occasionally, SG-1. On an abandoned world with SG-2, he finds brief mention of Thanos's naquadria experiments, though it seems unimportant to him at the time. He also opens an amicable relationship with Abydos.
- 1998: Sha'uri gives birth to the Harsesis, Shifu. She gives him to Daniel and tells him to find Kheb before she is recaptured (but not killed) by Heru-ur. Daniel cares for baby Shifu for months before finding Kheb, where he meets Oma Desala and eventually entrusts Shifu into her care.
- 1999: Because of his youth (at 16), Daniel finds himself useful in situations needing a harmless-looking spy, either to train potential SGC recruits or to infiltrate Goa'uld bases, as with Seth. He is now also an integral member of the research department and begins to learn about formal diplomacy. Jack is still uneasy with the idea of turning a child into a soldier but has begun to accept that it is Daniel's choice and that training him well might be a way to protect him.
- 1999-2000: Daniel joins SG-1 as a trainee, restricted to safe planets and short reconnaissance missions. None of his missions on SG-1 goes as planned, however, until mid-2000 when they help Thor save an Asgard homeworld from Replicators.
- 1999: Skaara and Sha'uri are freed from Klorel and Amaunet. Daniel returns to Abydos to help them readjust. While there, he finds and opens Ra's secret chamber in the main pyramid, though the compartment holding the Eye of Ra remains hidden. He does find the Ancient tablet that seems to lead to the Lost City, but he is unable to finish translating it or even grasp its full significance without more knowledge of Ancient language and history.
- 2000: Jack is MIA after the mission to Edora. Daniel returns to Earth to help when he hears the news and realizes that this is the life he has chosen: not peace on Abydos or even peace on Earth, but rather his team and his job at the SGC.
- 2000: Martouf is identified as a zatarc. He and Lantash live through the removal procedure, though Martouf has suffered permanent brain damage that, while manageable, restricts him to being a researcher at the SGC rather than as an active Tok'ra field operative.
- 2000: The Russian government has a DHD but not a Stargate. Maybourne passes intelligence to both sides, and the SGC uses Russian data to find the Eye of Tiamat in Marduk's sarcophagus. The Eye remains at the SGC, though they do not know how it works.
- 2000: SG-11 is killed on the Unas homeworld. Daniel attends Rothman's funeral near the University of Chicago, where he and Jack learn of Osiris's rising. Sarah Gardner/Osiris kills Steven Rayner. SG-1 finds her in Egypt with the help of civilian archaeologist Dr. Jordan but cannot stop her escape. Dr. Jordan, though somewhat bitter about the death or loss of so many of his students, becomes a minor ally to the SGC archaeology department, and Daniel promises him to try to save Gardner if possible.
- 2001: Shifu seeks out Sha'uri and Daniel to teach them, through a shared dream, of the danger of holding too much power. Shifu subsequently Ascends.
- 2001: Daniel turns 18 and can legally participate in all SG-1 missions. SG-1 is sent to Juna, where Daniel helps android-O'Neill to infiltrate Cronus's base and watches Teal'c kill Cronus.
- 2001: SG-1, Jacob, and Martouf are forced into the Replicator galaxy with Apophis in pursuit. While they fend off Replicators and struggle to hold onto a malfunctioning mothership, Apophis boards their ship; with a bit of luck, a desperate Daniel and Teal'c kill Apophis together. While the two of them are left reeling at the thought that the ghosts of their pasts have been avenged, this and other such missions also gain Daniel and SG-1 the growing respect of the Tok'ra, especially Jacob and Selmak.
Previously...
From Translations, Chapter 1 ("Abydos")
Hammond gave a tight smile in return. "Down to business. I can do that. You were on the team that went through the Stargate in 1982, I understand."
"I'm sure you've seen the files, sir," Jack said in answer. "I was there."
..."Well, it's been nearly fifteen years since your trip through the 'gate. Has your perspective changed?"
Alarms began to sound in his mind, but he hadn't spent years in special ops for nothing--it would take more than this to spook a reaction from him. "It's been nearly fifteen years," Jack parroted with a shrug. "A lot of stuff's changed. What exactly do you need from me, General?"
"It seems a little clarification is necessary," Hammond told him, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Claire and Melburn Jackson..."
"It's all in the report," he said. "Sir."
...x...
Jack tore his gaze away from Major Ferretti's prone form and answered, "Base camp was hit while Carter, Kawalsky, and I were away on recon, sir. Ferretti was injured. The rest of our men...didn't make it. Some of the locals didn't, either."
"Same hostiles who attacked us?"
"That's a fair guess, sir. The Abydon boys thought it was Ra--had the glowy eyes."
Hammond looked around. "Where are the Jacksons?"
Jack's jaw tightened. "Sir...I regret to inform you that Claire and Melburn Jackson were killed in the attack. Their son Daniel was kidnapped by the aliens, along with two of the native Abydons."
From Translations, Chapter 3 ("Arrangements")
"I agree," Hammond told him. "We need you to lead SG-1. I'm not asking you to baby-sit him. But first things first..." He turned to Carter. "Captain, are you certain the translations Daniel Jackson gave you are correct?"
"As certain as I can be, sir," Carter said. "A small portion of what I gave him to look at was translated previously by his parents, and it's in one of the notebooks we brought back from Abydos. That section matched, with enough slight variation that I doubt he just memorized his parents' work word for word. As for the rest, when Dr. Rothman arrives, I can ask him for confirmation, maybe do more tests."
... "During the time he's here, I'll allow him into the laboratories at the discretion of the scientist in charge of the project, if no one minds his presence," Hammond said. "If this becomes a problem over the next few days, I'll reevaluate that decision. It's either that, Colonel," he added when Jack looked disgruntled, "or keep him locked in his room or find some other way to keep him occupied here over the next year."
"Sir," Carter said, "I know there aren't exactly laws that deal with this, but what is his official status as of now?"
"He has been granted the equivalent of temporary protected status here," Hammond said, "specifically in the SGC itself unless other arrangements are made."
From Translations, Chapter 15 ("Decisions")
"I'm talking about everything you were just saying, Daniel," Jack said. "You're practically a full member of the research staff, you speak the languages we care about the most, you train with Teal'c every chance you get--"
"Wait, no," Daniel interrupted, unable to listen without defending himself, "we talked about that, Jack, you said you--"
"--you're helping prepare mission briefings to send teams off-world--"
"The general approves when we have good intellig--"
"--you're passing information about suspicious NID agents to Hammond--"
"That wasn't my fault, yi shay!"
"--and yesterday," Jack finished, shouting too, now, "I was standing in the briefing room about to confide in a kid how screwed up a...a military strike was! You shouldn't be sneaking around and trying to listen in to find out if your friends survived an insane mission, Daniel! Do you people not see something wrong with this?"
"I'm not on your team, Jack, I know that," Daniel said, trying and failing to keep his voice calm. "I'm not claiming to be anywhere near ready to be your perfect worker--"
"The way it's been going, in a few years you will be!"
"Then train me!" Daniel yelled back.
Jack stopped. "What?"
Lower, he repeated, "Train me, Jack! I'm good at this, you know I am. I don't make more mistakes than any other translator here, I learn fast...and it's not just languages or mythology; I'll go through any training asked of me, in whatever I have to."
From Translations, Epilogue ("Solstice")
"There are two parts to my request, sir. The first..." Daniel took a deep breath, then plunged in. "Abydos is very much at risk for an attack by the Goa'uld. The existence of the Tau'ri was first revealed there, a powerful System Lord was defeated there, and at least two Goa'uld are using Abydonian hosts and have the hosts' knowledge of the planet. Abydos doesn't have the technology to defend themselves, but the planet does have a large supply of mineral naquadah."
"You're proposing a trade?" the general said.
"Yes, or a...an alliance with benefits for both sides. Earth has technology that can help Abydos; Abydos has resources that Earth can use. And thousands of people who hate the Goa'uld."
... "Then there's your status on Earth to consider," General Hammond said. "To people here, you're a fourteen-year-old boy who has no business living, much less working, on a military base, especially in an operation as classified as this."
"Yes, sir, I know," Daniel said. "That's one part where I would need your help, as well as your permission."
"If I can cut in, General," Jack spoke up for the first time, "Teal'c lives on base, and he's had records created for anytime he needs to go out into the world. We could do something similar for Daniel--legally, he's a US citizen, by right of blood."
"How would his absence and sudden appearance be explained, then?" the general asked.
"Born abroad and currently serving as a representative from his...nation, or as a foreign volunteer in our operations. If Kasuf is willing to let Daniel stay and help us, he's got as much claim to that as Teal'c, who is, technically, a fugitive."
From Diplomacy, Chapter 5 ("Son")
Teal'c shifted almost imperceptibly next to him, his zat'nik'tel rising a few inches. Daniel placed a quelling hand on his arm, reasoning mentally that that didn't technically count as getting between Sha'uri and a weapon, so he wasn't really disobeying Ferretti's orders.
"Sha'uri?" Daniel said hopefully. His eyes were drawn immediately to her belly, and he wasn't Janet Fraiser of Earth or physician Sainu of Nagada, but he was sure there couldn't be very much time left before the baby came.
"Beware, chal'ti," Teal'c murmured beside him. "I sense the Goa'uld within her still."
From Diplomacy, Chapter 7 ("Thor's Might, Part II")
Teal'c pulled Sha'uri out, Daniel on his heels with the baby. Jack bent and pressed a final block of C-4 under the bed, readied his detonator, and followed, only barely avoiding two slaves who zipped by him, apparently looking to escape in the mass chaos beginning to break out.
The Harsesis was most definitely awake, Jack saw as they tried to blend in with the Jaffa and the excitedly panicking slaves. The baby's dark eyes were already open and staring, but, incredibly, it--he; Sha'uri had called it her son--was completely silent. ... As the sound of metallic stomping came closer, Jack motioned at them for quiet, then took a minute to look down at the Harsesis and make sure the kid was breathing. Quiet was a good thing, for the moment, but what newborn didn't make a sound while strangers carted him around? Sha'uri was eyeing the baby longingly. Teal'c readjusted his grip on his staff weapon so that it pointed directly at the woman. Daniel watched both of them and hugged the infant to his chest.
"Can you run like that?" Jack asked him quietly. Daniel nodded jerkily, pulling the baby even closer. "Hold him tight, and don't let him bounce around. Run fast, stay low, and leave the rest to us. You just worry about yourself and the baby. And hold his head steady." Daniel nodded again, sliding one hand over to cup around the baby's head.
"Kheb," Sha'uri whispered suddenly, making Daniel look up at her in confusion. She was staring at Daniel with an intensity that made Jack wonder who was in control, despite the distinctly human voice; the Goa'uld could control that, too, after all. "You must take my son to Kheb, Dan'yel."
"Kheb? But...but why? Where? What is--"
"There is no time!" she said urgently. "You will find answers there."
From Diplomacy, Chapter 14 ("Frater, Mater, Pater, Part II")
"Shifu will be in danger as long as he is on Earth," Daniel said, his voice suddenly flat. "And Earth will be in danger as long as he is there. Sha'uri said her son could be helped on Kheb...She meant he could be helped by Oma Desala, not by me or anyone else. She meant to bring Shifu to this place so he would be kept safe. He can't leave with us."
Jack drew in a breath. "You're...sure about this Oma Desala. You're sure she wants to help, even though she"--he glanced at the meditating monk and lowered his voice--"and this guy have been leading you around by the nose?"
Daniel didn't meet Jack's gaze. "I'm sure. They tried to tell me. All of this--they were trying to make me understand. I just didn't want to listen. The wind whistles through the branches, but the trees do not hear."
Jack stared at him, then looked to Bra'tac. There was no explanation there, either, but the old Jaffa nodded and apparently understood, which was going to have to be good enough for Jack, because this was starting to creep him right the hell out, and they needed to finish up right now and get home.
"Daniel," he said again, careful, but steady, in the tone that made Daniel listen and obey as much as any tone ever did. "I need you to think very hard about this. Objectively. How do you know what Oma Desala intends to do? We can't rely just on intuition now."
"She could have taken Shifu anytime she wanted," Daniel said woodenly. "But it had to be willing. That's what makes her--or them, whoever she is--different from the Goa'uld. She wanted me to understand so I would..." He took a deep breath. "I have to give up Shifu willingly, knowing exactly what it means."
From Diplomacy, Chapter 17 ("Winter Solstice")
"Anything interesting?" Ferretti asked.
"I'm not sure, actually," Daniel said, panning the camera carefully across the wall once more, just in case he'd missed something that they would see later, back on base. "There was a Goa'uld here named Thanos, but he moved all the people to another planet thousands of years ago. Something about going to a planet with more plentiful mineral resources, because this one was insufficient."
"Mineral resources...meaning naquadah."
"They don't call it that, by name, but I think so. It says Thanos tried to change it to make it better. I think he was experimenting with it; apparently, he tested...the changed mineral on another planet, but 'the people of that world failed him.' And that's why he came to this world and possibly went to others as well."
"'The people failed him'...meaning 'he screwed up and killed them?'" Ferretti guessed.
Daniel shook his head. "Maybe. The details are vague."
From Brotherhood, Chapter 4 ("First Contact")
"I'd be willing to try it," Jack finally said. "With certain conditions." ... All of their military officers were good at their jobs, but they weren't all equally experienced with off-world dangers. No one here was more experienced than SG-1. "We'll take Daniel, sir. At least for a period of time--"
"Like a training run, sir," Carter suggested. "He can pick up more experience in first-contact with us without facing the full range of dangers, and we'll reevaluate after a few missions to see if it's a bad idea. Or if it seems like it would work better, he can always transfer to a research or diplomatic team."
They used Daniel in training scenarios on base because his age made him look almost harmless, and they'd used him to infiltrate an enemy Goa'uld in practice, too, for the same reason. Daniel's nature might be best suited for being a researcher, but his training and field experience was geared toward covert operations as much as anything, inadvertently or not. An uncomfortable voice in Jack's head pointed out that children had been used as war spies throughout history for that reason.
Still. That didn't change anything. If Daniel was being called an adult now, nothing would stop him from worming his way onto a team, and SG-1 was the best team to guard him. If he ended up going down a path with as many guns as books, well, then Jack would make sure he had the training for it.
From Brotherhood, Chapter 17 ("Need")
"My baby," Sha'uri said, one hand catching his and squeezing tight as she sat up. "Where is he?"
Daniel winced, shuffling closer to fold his arms around her shaking form. "He is safe. I took him to Kheb, remember? He is with Oma Desala."
Her face pressed into his chest. "My son..." she said, muffled in the front of his robes.
"I am sorry," he murmured, smoothing her sleep-mussed hair out of habit, because it was what she always did to him when he was upset. "Hush, Sha'uri. We may yet find Shifu again."
From Brotherhood, Chapter 18 ("Brotherhood")
Their wall still stood silent in the empty chamber under Ra's pyramid. Daniel touched a fingertip to the little spot in the middle of the painted eye of Ra that looked like a Goa'uld crystal, the red rays of the sun in the illustration reaching down to touch it. "The rays of the sun will reveal all," he read aloud.
Skaara grabbed the sight from his hands, aimed it at the crystal, and shot a line of red into the wedjat.
"I was going to do that," Daniel grumbled.
"Be quiet," Skaara said, concentrating on holding the laser steady.
The stone creaked.
They froze, staring at each other.
The stone creaked again, groaning as it began to move, to swing open like a door on hinges...
The wall opened completely, revealing musty air and another dark chamber beyond it. "Chel nak," Daniel said, laughing aloud and rushing ahead. "Skaara, come, we have to see it!"
From Brotherhood, Chapter 19 ("Absence")
"There's nothing I can do for Jack, is there?"
General Hammond shook his head. "I think we just need to wait for Major Carter now."
"Do you need me here?" Daniel asked.
"We certainly have a place for you," the general said. "You could resume your previous duties here. If you stay on Abydos with your family instead, the SGC won't collapse, either."
"Then I'd like to stay, sir," Daniel said. "I think it was only a matter of time before I came back, anyway."
"Is this just until Colonel O'Neill's return from Edora?"
Daniel shook his head. "My brother and sister are safe. If you can use me, I think I can do more good here, at least until the Goa'uld are defeated."... In a way, it was liberating to choose this as a job or a way of life instead of something he'd been thrown into.
...
"I examined the artifacts from Ra's chamber on Abydos as Dr. Rothman requested," Teal'c told him.
"Yeah? What did you think?"
"Many seemed to be human artifacts, as Dr. Rothman believed. However, some of them appeared to be ancient Goa'uld weapons."
Daniel raised his eyebrows, turning. "Really--weapons?"
"They are very old and inefficient weapons," Teal'c said, "less useful than Tau'ri weaponry or modern Goa'uld devices. ... It does not surprise me that a hidden chamber in the central part of a System Lord's kingdom would be filled with items for a war."
"You'd think he'd have left something more useful than outdated devices, though," Daniel said. "That's really odd. SG-11 didn't find anything more powerful than a lamp, but I was so sure there would be some...some huge purpose to that room."
"It is possible that Ra used that chamber many years ago, when the weapons would not have been considered ancient. Did you not find a tablet to explain the chamber's purpose?"
"Actually, I don't think the tablet has to do with Abydos or Ra at all," Daniel said. "Oh, but it's really interesting--I think it talks about the last of the Ancients. Either they were killed by a plague, or they were around a race of humans that were killed by a plague...something like that. Either way, I'm going to have to put that aside for now, until we find more reference material to help with that dialect."
From Archaeology, Chapter 6 ("The Zatarc")
"So, Marty, you've been tested on that...zarc...machine, right?" Jack asked.
Martouf's eyes widened. "No," he said, sounding surprised. "I have not."
The gentle white noise of rustling paper and shifting bodies stopped.
"You've been on two missions that we know of in the last two months," Daniel said nervously.
"I have been on three," Martouf said, still in the same tone of voice.
"Just to be safe," Hammond said. "I need to make sure, and obviously, it's for your own wellbeing, too."
Martouf looked down at the table for a moment, then nodded. "Of course, General. I will submit to testing as soon as possible."
"I'm sure..." Carter started in what seemed to be her idea of a reassuring tone. "Um...I mean, what are the chances, right?"
...
Halfway up the stairs, Daniel squeezed past a few dignitaries and caught up to him to say, "They're done with Martouf."
"And?" Jack answered quietly from the back of the procession.
"And...we're not sure yet."
Jack resisted the urge to grab Daniel by the neck and shake out more information. It would come if he waited.
Sure enough, Daniel lowered his voice even more and said, "They...think the procedure was completed. Martouf is alive, and he doesn't seem homicidal. Sam's sitting with him, and Teal'c, too...just in case. But he, uh...he's been asking for Rosha. You know, Jolinar's former h--"
"I know who Rosha was," Jack said impatiently, and a little too loudly, because Per'sus turned, clearly recognizing the name as well.
By then, they'd reached the briefing room table, but before sitting, Per'sus said, "Martouf has survived the procedure?"
"Yes," Jack said. "Apparently, he's a little...disoriented."
From Archaeology, Chapter 9 ("The Eye of Tiamat")
"So what is this, exactly?" Hammond said, turning the whatever-it-was in his hands.
"Apparently, it's the Eye of Tiamat," Jack said.
Hammond nodded, still examining the device. "Is this writing up here?"
"Yes," Rothman said, leaning forward. "It's not...well...it's kind of a mix between Goa'uld hieroglyphs and cuneiform, which, as you can imagine, makes things a little complicated. But we think we have the general idea. It says that this is the Eye of Tiamat. And the source of power, but the problem is that we don't--"
"No, sir," Jack said loudly to cut the archaeologist off, "it doesn't tell us more about what the device does."
"Per se," Daniel had to add. "Now we know it...conferred power of some sort on Marduk."
"Do we know what kind of power?" Hammond said, turning to Carter.
"If it is a weapon," she said, "then it's something we've never encountered before. It's crystal technology; not the same as the Goa'uld technology we've seen before, but, just like a Goa'uld crystal...well, we think it needs something to plug into. It looks almost like something's missing."
From Archaeology, Chapter 17 ("Personnel")
"Dr. Jordan has asked if he could speak with you, Mr. Jackson, about a few personal matters," the general said.
"You mean Robert Rothman and what happened in Chicago and Cairo," Daniel said, glancing at the general again.
"He has full clearance to hear about it," the general assured him. "And you'd know better than anyone if the doctor has questions about how his work will be applied in practical situations."
... "You understand now what happened to Dr. Gardner and Dr. Rayner," Daniel said once they'd reached his office.
"Osiris," Jordan said, nodding, only his tightly clenched hands showing that his calm expression was a façade. "The others I've talked to weren't clear about what that means, though. Your goal now is...what? To kill her?"
Daniel straightened and took a breath, glad now that he was Mr. Jackson to this man and not Daniel. "We have two principal goals concerning her. The first is to kill Osiris, and the second is to save Sarah Gardner. Unfortunately, while the two are not mutually exclusive, that is the order of our priorities."
Jordan looked surprised at the bluntness. "But you'll try?"
"I...don't want to give you false hope," Daniel said. ... "Look, there's a chance. It's just very small. In the most likely situations I can imagine, trying to save Dr. Gardner would significantly reduce the likelihood of stopping Osiris and would also risk many other people's lives, both at the time of the operation and also after it if we failed."
"But if a risk assessment were made," Jordan pressed, "and it were deemed possible...?"
Sometimes the practicalities and other responsibilities had to take precedence over what they would have preferred to do. He understood that now, even if he hated it.
"We'll try," Daniel said, and promised himself that he, at least, would try to save Sarah Gardner if he could. "We truly will. But that's all we can promise."
From Archaeology, Chapter 21 ("SG-5")
"It is not only memories of evil that causes a Goa'uld to become what it is," Sha'uri said quietly. "It is the knowledge itself, and it is...difficult to see until it is too late. In the dream, my son showed us what would have happened if he had given us the knowledge we asked for."
"Well," Carter said, "I mean, I guess it would be difficult to extract one memory without disturbing any others associated with it...or does it have something to do with how Oma made Shifu forget to begin with?"
"It's not even that, Sam," Daniel said. "Knowledge is power. That's a saying here, yes? And when the knowledge is of weapons and the best way to win a war..." His gaze moved toward Teal'c but stopped halfway and went back to Aldwin. "If you don't trust me, trust Egeria's methods. There's a reason you're different from the Goa'uld, and what we asked of Shifu... You wouldn't have liked the result."
Jack hadn't thought Daniel's thoughts could make any less sense than usual. He'd been wrong.
"It's not that we don't trust you and Sha'uri, Mr. Jackson," the general said carefully, "but we don't understand what you mean."
"I am told that you command this place honorably, General Hammond," Sha'uri said. "If you had the knowledge that you seek, you would not command so well, and many would suffer for it."
"General," Daniel said, "even if we wanted to get Shifu back, we can't. He's left. A lot of what just happened was personal to Sha'uri and myself. Can you please just accept that we can't get that knowledge? And, by Shifu's own words and Oma's--and Egeria's--actions, we shouldn't try again."
From Archaeology, Chapter 25 ("The Others")
"Teal'c," Daniel gasped, crawling toward his friend. "Teal'c!"
"I will live," Teal'c whispered, but he closed his eyes, still trembling in pain. "And you?"
"I'm okay," Daniel assured him, grabbing Teal'c's wrist to check his pulse because he didn't know what else to do. It seemed steady, if fast from the exertion, and Junior was moving within Teal'c's abdomen, so he dropped back onto his hands and knees, trying to make the spots in front of his eyes go away.
"Cronus?" Teal'c said weakly, staring to push himself back up.
Daniel cursed himself for the stupidity of fussing over each other before they knew they were out of danger. He forced himself to move, wincing at the ache starting to settle into his back where he'd hit the console, and looked at Cronus's staring eyes. Just in case, he reached out and touched a finger to the Goa'uld's throat.
"Dead," he said. He lowered himself gingerly to sit on the floor and found Teal'c staring at the dead form of the Goa'uld he'd been hoping to kill for over seventy years. "He's dead," Daniel repeated, thinking he should feel triumphant or relieved, or at least something other than tired and bruised.
From Archaeology, Chapter 27 ("Vorash")
"We are aware that few humans are willing to blend with a symbiote without understanding it," Martouf said calmly, "especially when that symbiote is not...completely whole. Lantash did suffer some damage from the zatarc device, though not as much as I."
Daniel glanced at his face. "I didn't mean... I mean, you seem to manage pretty well most of the time."
But Martouf said, "There are certain things that both of our minds lack--the ability to strengthen some types of memories, for instance--but Dr. Fraiser believes those impairments in Lantash would be compensated by a fully functioning host's mind. Truthfully, if Lantash sought another host now, he might be able to return to our work as an operative."
...
Jacob shrugged unconcernedly. "I tell you, next time we need someone completely undaunted by System Lords to help us on a mission, we'll come right to you. Pick your specialty--infiltration?" When Daniel's eyebrows shot up, Jacob said, "Worked on Seth. Worked on Cronus. I hear it's worked on Heru-ur and more than a few human enemies. You know what--we should just make you an honorary Tok'ra spy."
"Uh...right," Daniel said, unsure whether to be amused or disturbed.
"That was a joke."
"I know."
From Archaeology, Epilogue ("Life")
"I'm not sad," Daniel said, and was surprised to find that that was mostly true. Relieved, maybe, between Apophis and Cronus and being here on Abydos, and overwhelmed at the idea of what had passed and what was still to come, but not strictly sad right now. He took another step back, and this time, Teal'c stepped back with him. "I just can't believe it's over."
It wasn't over, not even close. Killing what had ripped him from his home and his kin and his life didn't change anything, really. Apophis's death marked something important, and yet, all it meant for them now was a brief reprieve, staving off imminent defeat just one more time in a string of battles that each meant so little to the war, and the joy and the despair of the moment was almost more than he could stand.
"Indeed it is," Teal'c said softly, understanding. "And it is not."
He's dead, Daniel told his parents' grave. We killed the one who killed you, and I don't know what it means. "What does it mean?" he asked.
Teal'c didn't seem to know, either, or not at first. And then, he said, "We live in fear of one less Goa'uld. Those who fell fighting him can continue on their journey in peace."
"All roads lead to the great path," he said, Shifu's words echoing in his mind. Shifu would know, surely, he and Oma Desala. Maybe Daniel's parents were on the great path and had met Robert after all, and all the other people--friends--that they'd lost. Maybe they had been watching him all along.
"That is not now," Teal'c said.
"But eventually," Daniel said.
"That is not now," Teal'c repeated.