Only Misplaced - Part 2
Only Misplaced - Part 2
"Does it seem like everything's uphill?" Letting out a breath, Daniel hoped that didn't sound too much like a whining complaint. He had a suspicion it did.
He was used to walking-walking was fine. But he had the muscles for soft sand, not the calluses for hard metal that only looked like dirt. His feet hurt. From the burn he had going, he suspected a blister on the ball of his right foot, and another on his left heel. He wasn't about to stop and check. They'd had lunch on the go-some kind of military issue energy bars that actually weren't too bad washed down with warming water-but he ached for ten minutes to sit down. They didn't dare.
It'd taken just under five minutes for the paper to go poof, and when he'd torn up the wrapper from his power bar, he'd walked backwards, trailing bits of it. He timed each flash by counting the seconds. It took just under two minutes for the smaller scraps to turn into nothing, so the timing seemed to be related to the size of the item. But he wasn't sure what the reaction would be with living organic material. However, he didn't have any way to figure out further details without killing himself. Or Teal'c.
The blisters on the soles of his feet suggested the ground was heating up in spots any time they even paused-he'd swear he could smell the tread of his boots melting. Yes, another good thought that Jack wouldn't want to hear.
Daniel now officially hated this place.
Sweat stuck his shirt to his back, but at least there wasn't any dust or pollen-his allergies were fine. Teal'c's skin on the back of his shaved head and on his neck gleamed dark, and thank god for that. It would have been more than embarrassing if he'd been the only one getting toasted by just walking over endless hard ground.
In a way, the slower pace made everything worse. They had to balance slow with not too slow, which meant more focus-they couldn't fall into a ground-covering rhythm. It was also boring, seeing the same loop of scenery over and over.
Teal'c glanced at him now, that one eyebrow lifted-an exclamation point to underscore something he didn't understand. Or maybe he was smelling something bad. Then he asked, "Is that question rhetorical?"
Daniel thought back to what he'd just said about everything being uphill. He caught a faint gleam in the dark eyes-ah, that inappropriate humor Jack had been asking about. He started to smile back, and caught it, and had the heat notch higher under his collar. Well, damn-this wasn't expected, either. What-he'd forgotten already who this was? Ex-First Prime of Apophis, and god-literally that god-only knew what Teal'c's former job had entailed besides the killing that Daniel had witnessed. The man was-well, to be honest, Teal'c was just walking right now, keeping pace, glancing around. But the questions echoed hollow in Daniel's head-and so did the guilt. Trouble was, he couldn't shut up either of them.
"Teal'c?"
"Yes, Daniel Jackson?"
"Do you think less of me because I haven't..." How the hell did he put this-hadn't yelled, thrown a fit, punched the guy, asked for his head on a cafeteria tray or tried to take it?
No one had told him Teal'c's part in Sha're and Skaara's abductions, but he'd put a few inferred clues together. However, since it hadn't officially been mentioned, and no one was talking about it-at least to him-it seemed like a very large, very angry dog that he should leave sleeping. More illusion to keep going. But wasn't it better that way? If no one said anything, then no one had to do something, like put Teal'c on trial for war crimes. As if that would happen-if the bad stuff ever came up, they'd lock the guy away. That would leave Teal'c unable to be of any help to anyone, so why the hell was he even thinking about this?
His glance slipped away, and he wished the damn questions would go away just as easily right now. If he started in on them, he might not stop-and that wouldn't lead anywhere positive. He had to be practical-for the sake of Sha're and Skaara. So he should just stop.
"Because you have not what, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, and he sounded too patient and too reasonable. He just sounded like someone you could talk to who would actually think about an answer before giving one.
Lips pressed tight, Daniel shook his head and put his stare on the not-dirt ground. He wouldn't say it. Revenge was a stupid idea anyway. Would anything change if he just turned and shot Teal'c for what had been done?
And he could-well, in theory, he could.
He had a gun strapped to his leg and he could even get away with it. He could say Teal'c had gone crazy. Or he could let this world take care of the body-it'd turn Teal'c into so much smoke, so there wouldn't be a need to say much of anything. He had a dozen excuses and plenty of reasons.
But that wouldn't get him Sha're back.
Teal'c might, however.
If the guy felt bad enough about what he'd done-or just wanted change bad enough.
Daniel frowned as he thought of something else and it startled him enough that he stopped walking and looked at Teal'c. "Just how many worlds does Apophis hold? Places where he might be now?"
"Hundreds of systems. Not all with Stargates."
The ache that never left his chest these days tightened, but Daniel nodded and started walking again. Well, hundreds was better than thousands-or millions. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his breast bone-sternum from Latin, which came from the Greek, as did so many medical words. In this case, from sternon or chest…from the root that meant to stretch or extend, and related to stornynai, to spread out. Then he asked, "Just how long were you in service to Apophis?"
He glanced up to find Teal'c back to one of those patentable say nothing looks. God, the man was harder to read than early cuneiform.
"Years."
Well, that was as useful as the hundreds answers. Damnit, he'd known he shouldn't have started this. And he'd done it anyway. His steps had slowed, too-and he could swear he really did smell tread burning now. Catching up with Teal'c, he glanced at him again, caught only the man's profile-fixed and grim, a man who could kill others and not blink an eye in reaction. A guy with surprising softness if you looked for it-in the heavy fringe of long eyelashes, and around the mouth when it wasn't pulled into that sour-mouthed grimace as if Teal'c really did keep smelling something really bad. But you had to look for it.
Of course, who was he to judge Teal'c?
He'd helped Jack nuke a ship and had shot more than a few people on Abydos, and he didn't think he looked like someone who could do that. And he wasn't all that sure he could shoot Teal'c now-which just irritated.
"Is that year in our years, or Chulakian years?" he asked.
Teal'c glanced at him, and Daniel thought he'd glimpsed humor in the man's face again, dry and sparse, as shocking as bright flowers against the dunes of a harsh desert. Daniel shifted his pack and said, "Dogs on Earth live about seven years for every human year. So you can have a dog that you've known sixteen years be a hundred and something."
"One hundred and twelve, if that is correct. I, however, have not been in Apophis' service my entire life. Nor have I been there for so many dog years."
"Just most of your life?" Trying to get a little ahead so he could see more of the other man's face, Daniel skipped a step. He had that tingle under his skin that came whenever he knew he was on the right track, headed toward an idea, but not quit there. If he couldn't leave this, he'd better get it to a resolution he could live with. Or at least work with. "How much of that did you spend wishing for things to be different?"
He thought he saw a hesitation-a ghosting shadow in the other man's eyes-but he didn't get so much as the flicker of a glance sent his way.
"To wish the universe to be other than it is is to invite discontent."
"Is that a quote? A philosophy that's passed on to generations of Jaffa to ensure the status quo? But change has to start with someone… something. A desire. A wish? Even a failed dream can be the spark that leads to more. In fact, we have a long history of people who failed-who died because of that they said or did or wanted. Their desire for change still managed to start something that wouldn't go away. That sounds...optimistically simple, doesn't it?"
"Yes. However, that does not mean it is not true."
"I suppose. Maybe truisms become trite by overuse, but that still doesn't manage to change the basic truth. But what's the truth here, Teal'c? When we showed up, were you waiting and planning-or just wishing for change?"
Teal'c did look at him this time. He didn't slow his pace, but he turned and stared for what seemed a very long time, and Daniel met the look. A few more pieces clicked into place for Daniel. He stepped forward and stopped and turned, blocking Teal'c, making him stop as well. "My god-you set up the whole thing, didn't you? On Chulak?"
"We must keep walking, Daniel Jackson."
"We will-when you answer."
Stepping to the side, Teal'c let his stride lengthen.
With a muffled curse, Daniel started after him. "What is it you don't want to admit-that you stacked the deck?"
"I do not understand-what is a deck?"
"It's, uh, a term for playing cards-something used in a game-and stacking it means you arrange the cards so the game goes the way you want. Were you setting up a palace guard with such bad training that the locals could revolt?"
Stopping, Teal'c turned and he pushed forward into Daniel's face so fast that Daniel stumbled back a step. "I would be without honor if I led into battle any man who did not have the training and skills to survive."
Harsh anger bit into the words, and Daniel wet his lips and put up his hands, palms out. He hadn't grown up with glasses and a deep love of books without learning to defuse this kind of male aggression. But then his mouth took off. "Yes-well, I didn't say otherwise. But those guards' shots still went wild. So like hell that was training. Besides, you didn't lead them. You turned and slaughtered them. Or is that just part of a Jaffa's training, too?"
Eyes narrowed, Teal'c stared at him, and then he turned and started walking again. "We must continue."
For an insane second, Daniel considered just sitting down. Childish, of course, but it would have given him the satisfaction of forcing Teal'c back here to finish this. Since that wasn't an option, he started walking again. He considered letting the distance between them widen-a rather blunt visual metaphor, but what the hell. So he went ahead and did it, drifting to the side to walk through trees.
Odd that, even knowing they weren't there, they'd been avoiding the seeming obstacles. Now he strode through trunks wider than his shoulders, had trees dissolve into shivers around him. It didn't feel like anything-no tingle, no change in pressure. But he noted the automatic hesitation that kept cropping up just before his face impacted a not-there tree. He started closing his eyes just before he hit the edge of the gnarled bark-then left them closed.
"Daniel Jackson!"
Opening his eyes, he glanced at Teal'c. "What?"
"You have gone off the trail."
"And that matters?"
Teal'c didn't seem to have anything to say, just stared at him, looking a little startled. Jack got that same look sometimes, so Daniel said, "Until Jack and Sam find us, aren't we just killing time?"
He shifted his stare away and bit the inside of his lower lip. Not the most tactful phrase to use, given what he'd been trying to discuss with Teal'c. Closing his eyes again, he started walking.
"Daniel Jackson!"
Mouth pressed tight, he opened his eyes and glanced at Teal'c again. He threw up a hand. "You think I'm going to get more lost or something? Walk off a cliff? Into a rock?" He waited for an answer, but he hadn't left one there for Teal'c, so he threw both hands wide now and said, "I'm a little tired of being manipulated by what someone wants me to see."
Closing his eyes again, he struck off in a straight line. This place couldn't be endless, but they could be kept away from walls with slight shifts in the scenery. They were being guided, kept to a track, and he was done with that. Teal'c could either follow him-or he could keep to his own damn path.
He heard a light step behind him, got distracted by how a guy that big could move with such silence, then put his focus on walking straight.
He smacked into a wall a lot sooner than he'd expected.
Stepped back, nose stinging, eyes watering, he blinked and put his hands up, but his nose wasn't bleeding.
He was, however, in the middle of shimmering trees-a dense stand of them. It was a little unsettling to have them flickering in and out of existence, as if reality wasn't stable, and his stomach turned on a wave of nausea that reached up to grab the back of his throat. He swallowed and tried to ignore what his eyes were telling him as compared with what his inner ear kept screaming, and then he closed his eyes again and put his hands out in front of him to touch smooth metal.
"There have to be controls somewhere," he muttered.
He could feel Teal'c at his back-his presence a weight that itched at his shoulder blades-but a click and a hum distracted.
What the hell?
"Daniel Jackson!"
The words came out sharp, but something was happening to the wall so Daniel kept his eyes closed and leaned closer. Vibrations tickled his fingertips, then the prick of something sharp stung his left palm. Something hard grabbed his waist. He was spun fast. Instinct opened his eyes and he caught at Teal'c's arm. Squirming, his back held to Teal'c's chest, he tried to get loose-and jeeze the guy was big. And strong.
A sharp hiss ripped past him and something pulled at the sleeve of his jacket, and he stopped struggling. Twisting, he glanced over his shoulder.
Teal'c had stiffened, eyes wide, so the whites of them almost glowed against his dark skin. Daniel felt the small tremors go through the other man. The arm holding him slackened, and Daniel staggered free and back two steps. "Teal'c?"
He put a hand out, but Teal'c simply fell forward, toppling like one of these trees would. Daniel stepped into him to catch him, and Teal'c weight took them both to the ground with a thud that pushed the air out of Daniel's chest.
Gasping, chest cold and a sharp ripping pain shooting up from his ankle, he pushed at Teal'c and called out his name. Damn! They were both going to die if they stayed like this. Squirming, he inched out from the couple hundred pounds pinning him, and he rolled, then glanced at his watch. They had a couple minutes of grace-and then he looked back at Teal'c.
Oh my god.
Pushing up to his knees, an insane comparison with porcupines dashed into his brain, and he choked back a near hysterical laugh because it wouldn't reassure Teal'c to hear that. It wouldn't do much for him, either. But-dear god-what the hell?
Dozens of black needles stuck out of Teal'c's back. They peppered the man's arms and legs, and Daniel glanced at down his own right arm and saw three stuck in the cloth of his jacket. They were a flat black and as he brushed them off he wondered if they were metal or organic. He looked at Teal'c again and tried to think.
Poison? A numbing agent? Something shot out of the wall to make you keep your hands away from any kind of controls. They'd missed him, had caught in his jacket instead, but Teal'c had caught the full onslaught.
More defenses and he really should have seen this coming.
"Teal'c!" he said again, making the name a plea for the guy to sit up and a curse at him for getting in the way of those needles. What did he think he was doing? And would he please just turn over and give him that single sardonic eyebrow that said he knew so much better than any simple-minded Tau'ri?
Please, just do that. And don't you dare die-I am so damn tired right now of people dying.
Reaching out, he started pulling out needles. They were only a couple inches long, and he went for the ones stuck in the back of Teal'c's shaved skull first, then for the ones in the dark-skinned neck. He wished they were white so they'd stand out more. He brushed at the ones caught up in cloth, and plucked at the ones embedded in skin. Blood welled, red and bright, and that was good-a natural agent to wash out infection.
He glanced at his watch again. They were out of time, so he stood, and took the time to prop the staff weapon on Teal'c's back. He really didn't want to see what would happen if something explosive interacted with this planet's defenses.
Wrapping his hands around one thick wrist, he dragged the guy, and Teal'c's weight pulled a soft grunt from him. This was not going to get them far, but he only had to go a few feet. He just had to move them. His grip slipped, so he dropped Teal'c's arm and bent to brush away more needles. He kept saying Teal'c's name over and over-like that was doing any good-and he swore he wasn't going to panic because he wasn't getting a response. But he was sick from the speed of his heart pounding, and light-headed from not being able to drag in a deep breath. He'd twisted his ankle when Teal'c fell on him and it throbbed hot against boot leather and lacing.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c another few feet.
By the time the needles were all out, Daniel had them back on the trail. He kept Teal'c there as he pulled off his own pack and dug for a first aid kit. He'd seen one when he'd gone through his pack to fit in his books. Now he pulled out the books, and the meal packets and the socks and everything else until he found the slim metal kit. He tucked it into his jacket, left everything else because it was time to drag Teal'c again. Six feet later he stopped.
Gasping for air, sweat stinging his eyes and plastering his hair to his forehead so he had to push it away with the back of his hand, he rested his back. He pulled Teal'c a few more feet, knelt and leaned on the unconscious Jaffa for a few breaths. Straightening, he pulled out the first aid kit from his jacket.
The damn thing'd better have something for snake bite.
It did.
He knew how to use it-snake bites had always been a worry on every dig he'd been on. He had no idea about how anti-venom would interact with Teal'c, but he didn't care. What he wanted was the suction pump. You couldn't suck out venom with your mouth-no way could anyone make a tight enough seal or apply enough pressure. But the kit had alcohol pads to disinfect, and benzocaine for pain, and a couple different sized plungers and suction cups. The holes at the back of Teal'c's neck were already puffing up, so Daniel ripped open the alcohol pad with shaking hands, wiped them down and covered the nearest punctures with the smaller cup. He fit the pump to the cup and pulled back on the plunger and clear liquid filled the tube along with blood.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c again.
Tucking the first aid kit back into his jacket, and thank god Teal'c had had his vest and a pack on to take the worse of those needles, he got them a few more feet down the path. Stopping again, he set to work on the next set of punctures to drag out whatever the hell had gone into Teal'c.
He worked methodically over the network of swelling, oozing dots on the back of Teal'c's neck and head, his hands steady now, but the tremors slide into his chest, leaving his breaths ragged and his stomach jumping.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c again.
He stopped and had to unzip Teal'c's vest. He pushed up the guy's shirt and jacket and he could finally let out a deep breath when he saw unblemished skin.
Then it was time to prop the staff weapon back on Teal'c and drag him again.
He found a few more punctures on Teal'c's arms. And the muscles along the back of his thighs cramped the next time he bent to drag Teal'c, but he couldn't stop. A burn had settled into his arms and shoulders and the blood in his ankle pulsed hot every time he stepped on it and he was sweating so much he shivered-and god, Teal'c's skin had become cold as well.
The next stop he was satisfied he'd gotten all the needles out, so he rolled Teal'c onto his back. Hoping that, other than the belly pouch, Jaffa physiology wasn't that different from humans, he touched his fingertips just under the jaw, at the carotid artery. Another word that went back to Old French, artaire, or arteria in Latin, and in the Greek aorta…and wasn't it odd that that word shared something with meteor; meta for beyond or over, and aoros for hovering, all related to aeirein, a beautiful way to say 'to raise'…
And, thank god, there was a quick, unsteady beat-and then Teal'c sat up.
A thick hand wrapped around Daniel's throat, and Teal'c moved with such a startling speed that he would have knocked Daniel back if Daniel hadn't been held in place by Teal’c’s fist. The grip choked off Daniel's thoughts, jerked him fully back to a not very pleasant moment. Eyes blank, Teal'c stared at Daniel, his face inches away and grim as a warning totem.
Daniel smiled-or he tired to. He noted-with the one detached part of his mind that wasn't trapped in the hot flare of panic-that it difficult to do anything with your breath wheezing out of a choked windpipe.
"Hey," he said, and it came out a dry croak.
Since he didn't want his neck snapped, he just rested one hand on the arm that gripped him. He fought the instinct to try and claw against muscles for his air and freedom.
The thick-handed grip slackened, then let go, and Teal'c glanced around. His stare started to focus, but his pupils were blown so wide that his eyes lacked even the faintest rim of warming brown. "What has transpired? I do not recall how I came to be on the ground."
Shifting his hand to rub the fresh bruises, Daniel cleared his throat, then said, "You were right."
Teal'c turned, looked at him and nodded as if Daniel had said a hell of a lot more than three words. Glancing down, Teal'c put a hand over his symbiote pouch. "There was a drug. Needles?"
"Can you walk? Or should I-?"
Grabbing Daniel's shoulder, Teal'c dragged himself to his feet. Daniel did his best not to fold under the weight, and then he stayed put, crouched on the ground, nursing his bruised throat.
Where had this shorthand of sudden understanding come from? Or maybe Teal’c thought explanations were irrelevant now. Daniel wondered if they did know each other a lot better than any of them knew. He wasn't used to that. What else had he missed lately? What other connections were already formed, like words written in stone that just needed someone to really look at them to understand what was utterly obvious.
"We must go." Teal'c took a step and his knees started to buckle.
That had Daniel on his feet, and he dragged the staff weapon up with him. He wrapped an arm around the other man, pushing the staff weapon at Teal'c.
"Yes, well, we can take it slow. We're supposed to take it slow." He wanted to thumb on his radio and call for Jack, but he had both hands full with Teal'c leaning on him, and his ankle throbbing.
A hum behind them interrupted. The whine had Daniel clenching his back teeth, and he didn't want to look because he'd just realized what it was and he was getting tired, too, of losing things. But Teal'c looked back, and then a sharp bitter tang scented the air.
Teal'c glanced at Daniel, a surprising sympathy in his eyes. "Your books."
Daniel glanced back, and he let out a long breath. Yep, pack gone. Books. Everything. But he didn't have much of a choice at the time-and he hadn't had time for distractions. Oh…damn. Oh, well. He shrugged, and tried to find a place to put Teal'c's arm that wasn't pressing on burning muscles. "It's not like they were first editions." Teal'c's eyebrows lifted, but Daniel pushed, and they staggered forward, steps almost fitting and Daniel limping. "They weren't rare. And they weren't mine-Jack said to just write down the books I wanted, so I did. I'm sure they'll get me new ones."
"Still, it is a loss."
Daniel glanced at him and frowned. Something in those words teased at him-a weary acceptance, a certainty as if this was the way of things. The nuance of accent and the stress on certain words was always important, and Daniel knew he'd missed something vital here.
Then Teal'c added, "I am not pleased to be proven correct about this place."
Their steps settled together, and Daniel let out a breath. Good thing he'd had years of walking places. He'd never been on a dig that had the luxury of more than two working vehicles, and he'd never been able to afford his own car, and Abydos...well, the less said about riding mastadges, the better.
"That's nice-actually, it's good to hear anything from you. I wasn't sure I would."
"I am in your debt."
"For what? Letting you get in the way of those dart-needle things?"
"It is my position to look after you. O'Neill has said-"
"Jack, you'll notice, says a lot of stuff, and you shouldn't pay attention to all of it. He also thinks a big enough weapon equates security." Frowning, Daniel glanced at Teal'c's staff weapon, then at Teal'c. "Uhm...of course you might-"
"It is not the size of one's weapon, but how one wields it that matters most, Daniel Jackson. And why do you now smile?"
Head down, Daniel shook his head, then looked up and fought down the grin. "It's just...we have a similar saying that applies to...uhm, did Jack tell you that one by any chance?"
"He did."
"Ah," Daniel said and nodded. Being suckered on this, in other words; Teal'c knew the inference, but wasn't letting on that he knew. He shifted his grip on Teal'c and had no idea what else to say.
Teal'c kept his stare straight ahead and then said, his tone flat, "Those men on Chulak had an honorable death-far better than one by execution."
Daniel missed a step and struggled to keep walking as he turned to get his stare on Teal'c. Where had that-ah, their earlier conversation. The question unanswered. And the anger surged hot in his veins and face. "What-you owe me, so this is-a debt settled? Communication's supposed to be about a free exchange, not held hostage to some kind of idea about bargaining. And what the hell do you mean by better? My experience is that dead's pretty much dead no matter how you get there."
"Experience?"
Looking away, Daniel pressed his lips tight and then he took a breath and let it out. And he shook his head. "Somewhat long story there."
"We are not lacking in time, Daniel Jackson."
With a glance at Teal'c, Daniel decided he'd stepped into that one as well. He also decided he was going to teach Teal'c chess-it was about time he found someone who could give him a decent game. And since they had time, he told Teal'c about Abydos and Ra-about getting shot, and dying, and taking a breath again in a gold sarcophagus.
"You were revived by a god?"
Teal'c sounded impressed, but Daniel didn't see any reason for it. "Well, it's not like I managed to get myself into it. But it does sound amazing-mythology made into fact. Almost...'The gods rejoice when they see Ra crowned upon his throne, and when his beams flood the world with light...the earth becometh light at his birth each day.'"
His step hesitating, Teal'c pulled away. "You know the sacred prayers of Ra-his priests' words?"
Daniel had let the other man go, but he hovered close, unsure just how steady Teal'c was-as if he was any better-and unsure if the anger flaring in Teal'c's eyes was for him or something else.
"Ah-that's bad? But it's just a quote from The Book of the Dead-which is actually an incorrect description for the various papyri we've found in tombs. It's also referred to as The Book of Coming Forth by Day, but Pert Em'hru could better be translated as ‘manifested in the light…’ which sounds a lot like Goa'uld technology, doesn't it?" He stepped forwards, excitement gathering, quicken his pulse and his words. "Do you know any of the other prayers? Could you write them down for me? We really should make a comparative study."
Teal'c pulled back, and Daniel would swear he looked a little wide-eyed shocked. Daniel spread his hands wide. "What? What did I say?"
Teal'c started walking again, and Daniel slanted a glance at him. Teal'c was leaning too much on his staff weapon, putting his weight on it. Limping after him, trying not to favor his bad ankle too much, Daniel pulled his canteen off his belt. He drank some of the water and offered it over, but Teal'c only shook his head. Sweat, stained red, glazed the back of his neck. They couldn't rest, and since there wasn't anything else he could do, Daniel kept talking.
He started with the Rosetta stone-how any understanding of hieroglyphs had been lost for over a thousand years on Earth. Why not start there with talking to Teal'c about his field, since so much of Egyptology started with Champollion's translation. His words wandered as aimless as his steps, sliding over to papyri discovered over then years. That led to how the Latin papyrus comes from the Greek papyros, but the Greeks also had another word for it-byblos, which made its way into English as bilio and bible. He gestured with his canteen as he spoke, until Teal'c took it from him.
Daniel shifted to how the Ancient Egyptians knew papyrus as djet, as in the djet pillar used so often in art, which has rings at the top, not unlike the flare of the plant's burst of leafy ends.
Of course, in Proto-Sino-Tibetan, djet meant to be afraid, which evolve into thit in Burmese, or….
Oh crap….
Stopping, mouth open, Daniel stared at Teal'c. "Uh, those rings on a djet pillar...the rings the top. And the straight column. Inside a column of light. Transport rings-djet pillars. They're the same. Which means I really am going to have to rethink everything I know about Egyptian culture."
Teal'c looked at him and kept walking. "You know a great deal, Daniel Jackson."
Hurrying to catch up, Daniel took back his and quoted, "'All men by nature desire knowledge.' Aristotle wrote that over two thousand years ago. But I think I prefer, 'When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know-this is knowledge.' That's Kong Qui, who became known as K'ung Fu-tzu or Master K'ung, although Western culture knows him better as Confucius. But I suppose western and eastern doesn't mean much to you?"
"It is a geographic designation upon your world. And do we not all have many identities?"
"As in First Prime of Apophis? But that one's you left-along with all the others you had."
"Indeed."
The word came out slow and heavy and made Daniel look at the other man. What else had Teal'c left? And what things did he now want to leave unspoken because the words would summon memories so vivid and close they could crush? Was that what they had in common-this avoidance?
Their lives had been taken from them, plundered like a tomb, which left the dead unable to live in the afterworld. Without help to guide them to the life beyond, the dead would wander this world-shades that brought misfortune. Was that what both he and Teal'c had become?
Nice thoughts for a sunny day. He flicked on and off his radio, which he'd been doing now and then, and he wished for a good reason to call Jack. But if he called Jack now, he'd have to tell him Teal'c had almost died. "Think we need to warn Sam and Jack about the walls?"
Teal'c kept walking and didn't look his way, but amusement drifted into his voice. "I do not believe O'Neill or Captain Carter will close their eyes and wander off the trail. Their purpose is to find us."
"Ah-right." Daniel bit his lower lip. And was that meant to slight what he'd done? Or just an observation? "I guess Sam is a little busy."
Teal'c kept his steps short, as if each one took focus and thought, and that wasn't good. Then he said, relevant of nothing, "Captain Carter explained to me that it is your custom to offer an apology for a transgression."
Daniel was the one to stumble now as he shot a fast, worried frown at Teal'c-just where was this going now? Off on a new tangent, like their path? "Uh-she did, did she? Why?"
"Because I asked her if you would seek retribution…"
"Y'know, maybe we should just radio Sam about those wa-"
"…for the mistaken assumptions I made."
"Uh-what?" Daniel missed another step, and pulled in a sharp breath as pain jabbed into his ankle. He didn't want to look at Teal'c, and didn't want to get into what they seemed to be headed into now.
Teal'c slowed his pace, anyway, forcing Daniel to glance at him-and his words came out slow as well, forced and awkward for once. "I will tell you that it disturbed me to have O'Neill described you as a guide."
"Well, that's...." Frowning, Daniel stopped and stared. "You're talking about what happened with the…not what you did when….uhm, didn't you say earlier the point of training was to learn something about each other? Well-we did, so…why disturbed?"
Read Part 3
"Does it seem like everything's uphill?" Letting out a breath, Daniel hoped that didn't sound too much like a whining complaint. He had a suspicion it did.
He was used to walking-walking was fine. But he had the muscles for soft sand, not the calluses for hard metal that only looked like dirt. His feet hurt. From the burn he had going, he suspected a blister on the ball of his right foot, and another on his left heel. He wasn't about to stop and check. They'd had lunch on the go-some kind of military issue energy bars that actually weren't too bad washed down with warming water-but he ached for ten minutes to sit down. They didn't dare.
It'd taken just under five minutes for the paper to go poof, and when he'd torn up the wrapper from his power bar, he'd walked backwards, trailing bits of it. He timed each flash by counting the seconds. It took just under two minutes for the smaller scraps to turn into nothing, so the timing seemed to be related to the size of the item. But he wasn't sure what the reaction would be with living organic material. However, he didn't have any way to figure out further details without killing himself. Or Teal'c.
The blisters on the soles of his feet suggested the ground was heating up in spots any time they even paused-he'd swear he could smell the tread of his boots melting. Yes, another good thought that Jack wouldn't want to hear.
Daniel now officially hated this place.
Sweat stuck his shirt to his back, but at least there wasn't any dust or pollen-his allergies were fine. Teal'c's skin on the back of his shaved head and on his neck gleamed dark, and thank god for that. It would have been more than embarrassing if he'd been the only one getting toasted by just walking over endless hard ground.
In a way, the slower pace made everything worse. They had to balance slow with not too slow, which meant more focus-they couldn't fall into a ground-covering rhythm. It was also boring, seeing the same loop of scenery over and over.
Teal'c glanced at him now, that one eyebrow lifted-an exclamation point to underscore something he didn't understand. Or maybe he was smelling something bad. Then he asked, "Is that question rhetorical?"
Daniel thought back to what he'd just said about everything being uphill. He caught a faint gleam in the dark eyes-ah, that inappropriate humor Jack had been asking about. He started to smile back, and caught it, and had the heat notch higher under his collar. Well, damn-this wasn't expected, either. What-he'd forgotten already who this was? Ex-First Prime of Apophis, and god-literally that god-only knew what Teal'c's former job had entailed besides the killing that Daniel had witnessed. The man was-well, to be honest, Teal'c was just walking right now, keeping pace, glancing around. But the questions echoed hollow in Daniel's head-and so did the guilt. Trouble was, he couldn't shut up either of them.
"Teal'c?"
"Yes, Daniel Jackson?"
"Do you think less of me because I haven't..." How the hell did he put this-hadn't yelled, thrown a fit, punched the guy, asked for his head on a cafeteria tray or tried to take it?
No one had told him Teal'c's part in Sha're and Skaara's abductions, but he'd put a few inferred clues together. However, since it hadn't officially been mentioned, and no one was talking about it-at least to him-it seemed like a very large, very angry dog that he should leave sleeping. More illusion to keep going. But wasn't it better that way? If no one said anything, then no one had to do something, like put Teal'c on trial for war crimes. As if that would happen-if the bad stuff ever came up, they'd lock the guy away. That would leave Teal'c unable to be of any help to anyone, so why the hell was he even thinking about this?
His glance slipped away, and he wished the damn questions would go away just as easily right now. If he started in on them, he might not stop-and that wouldn't lead anywhere positive. He had to be practical-for the sake of Sha're and Skaara. So he should just stop.
"Because you have not what, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, and he sounded too patient and too reasonable. He just sounded like someone you could talk to who would actually think about an answer before giving one.
Lips pressed tight, Daniel shook his head and put his stare on the not-dirt ground. He wouldn't say it. Revenge was a stupid idea anyway. Would anything change if he just turned and shot Teal'c for what had been done?
And he could-well, in theory, he could.
He had a gun strapped to his leg and he could even get away with it. He could say Teal'c had gone crazy. Or he could let this world take care of the body-it'd turn Teal'c into so much smoke, so there wouldn't be a need to say much of anything. He had a dozen excuses and plenty of reasons.
But that wouldn't get him Sha're back.
Teal'c might, however.
If the guy felt bad enough about what he'd done-or just wanted change bad enough.
Daniel frowned as he thought of something else and it startled him enough that he stopped walking and looked at Teal'c. "Just how many worlds does Apophis hold? Places where he might be now?"
"Hundreds of systems. Not all with Stargates."
The ache that never left his chest these days tightened, but Daniel nodded and started walking again. Well, hundreds was better than thousands-or millions. He rubbed the heel of his hand over his breast bone-sternum from Latin, which came from the Greek, as did so many medical words. In this case, from sternon or chest…from the root that meant to stretch or extend, and related to stornynai, to spread out. Then he asked, "Just how long were you in service to Apophis?"
He glanced up to find Teal'c back to one of those patentable say nothing looks. God, the man was harder to read than early cuneiform.
"Years."
Well, that was as useful as the hundreds answers. Damnit, he'd known he shouldn't have started this. And he'd done it anyway. His steps had slowed, too-and he could swear he really did smell tread burning now. Catching up with Teal'c, he glanced at him again, caught only the man's profile-fixed and grim, a man who could kill others and not blink an eye in reaction. A guy with surprising softness if you looked for it-in the heavy fringe of long eyelashes, and around the mouth when it wasn't pulled into that sour-mouthed grimace as if Teal'c really did keep smelling something really bad. But you had to look for it.
Of course, who was he to judge Teal'c?
He'd helped Jack nuke a ship and had shot more than a few people on Abydos, and he didn't think he looked like someone who could do that. And he wasn't all that sure he could shoot Teal'c now-which just irritated.
"Is that year in our years, or Chulakian years?" he asked.
Teal'c glanced at him, and Daniel thought he'd glimpsed humor in the man's face again, dry and sparse, as shocking as bright flowers against the dunes of a harsh desert. Daniel shifted his pack and said, "Dogs on Earth live about seven years for every human year. So you can have a dog that you've known sixteen years be a hundred and something."
"One hundred and twelve, if that is correct. I, however, have not been in Apophis' service my entire life. Nor have I been there for so many dog years."
"Just most of your life?" Trying to get a little ahead so he could see more of the other man's face, Daniel skipped a step. He had that tingle under his skin that came whenever he knew he was on the right track, headed toward an idea, but not quit there. If he couldn't leave this, he'd better get it to a resolution he could live with. Or at least work with. "How much of that did you spend wishing for things to be different?"
He thought he saw a hesitation-a ghosting shadow in the other man's eyes-but he didn't get so much as the flicker of a glance sent his way.
"To wish the universe to be other than it is is to invite discontent."
"Is that a quote? A philosophy that's passed on to generations of Jaffa to ensure the status quo? But change has to start with someone… something. A desire. A wish? Even a failed dream can be the spark that leads to more. In fact, we have a long history of people who failed-who died because of that they said or did or wanted. Their desire for change still managed to start something that wouldn't go away. That sounds...optimistically simple, doesn't it?"
"Yes. However, that does not mean it is not true."
"I suppose. Maybe truisms become trite by overuse, but that still doesn't manage to change the basic truth. But what's the truth here, Teal'c? When we showed up, were you waiting and planning-or just wishing for change?"
Teal'c did look at him this time. He didn't slow his pace, but he turned and stared for what seemed a very long time, and Daniel met the look. A few more pieces clicked into place for Daniel. He stepped forward and stopped and turned, blocking Teal'c, making him stop as well. "My god-you set up the whole thing, didn't you? On Chulak?"
"We must keep walking, Daniel Jackson."
"We will-when you answer."
Stepping to the side, Teal'c let his stride lengthen.
With a muffled curse, Daniel started after him. "What is it you don't want to admit-that you stacked the deck?"
"I do not understand-what is a deck?"
"It's, uh, a term for playing cards-something used in a game-and stacking it means you arrange the cards so the game goes the way you want. Were you setting up a palace guard with such bad training that the locals could revolt?"
Stopping, Teal'c turned and he pushed forward into Daniel's face so fast that Daniel stumbled back a step. "I would be without honor if I led into battle any man who did not have the training and skills to survive."
Harsh anger bit into the words, and Daniel wet his lips and put up his hands, palms out. He hadn't grown up with glasses and a deep love of books without learning to defuse this kind of male aggression. But then his mouth took off. "Yes-well, I didn't say otherwise. But those guards' shots still went wild. So like hell that was training. Besides, you didn't lead them. You turned and slaughtered them. Or is that just part of a Jaffa's training, too?"
Eyes narrowed, Teal'c stared at him, and then he turned and started walking again. "We must continue."
For an insane second, Daniel considered just sitting down. Childish, of course, but it would have given him the satisfaction of forcing Teal'c back here to finish this. Since that wasn't an option, he started walking again. He considered letting the distance between them widen-a rather blunt visual metaphor, but what the hell. So he went ahead and did it, drifting to the side to walk through trees.
Odd that, even knowing they weren't there, they'd been avoiding the seeming obstacles. Now he strode through trunks wider than his shoulders, had trees dissolve into shivers around him. It didn't feel like anything-no tingle, no change in pressure. But he noted the automatic hesitation that kept cropping up just before his face impacted a not-there tree. He started closing his eyes just before he hit the edge of the gnarled bark-then left them closed.
"Daniel Jackson!"
Opening his eyes, he glanced at Teal'c. "What?"
"You have gone off the trail."
"And that matters?"
Teal'c didn't seem to have anything to say, just stared at him, looking a little startled. Jack got that same look sometimes, so Daniel said, "Until Jack and Sam find us, aren't we just killing time?"
He shifted his stare away and bit the inside of his lower lip. Not the most tactful phrase to use, given what he'd been trying to discuss with Teal'c. Closing his eyes again, he started walking.
"Daniel Jackson!"
Mouth pressed tight, he opened his eyes and glanced at Teal'c again. He threw up a hand. "You think I'm going to get more lost or something? Walk off a cliff? Into a rock?" He waited for an answer, but he hadn't left one there for Teal'c, so he threw both hands wide now and said, "I'm a little tired of being manipulated by what someone wants me to see."
Closing his eyes again, he struck off in a straight line. This place couldn't be endless, but they could be kept away from walls with slight shifts in the scenery. They were being guided, kept to a track, and he was done with that. Teal'c could either follow him-or he could keep to his own damn path.
He heard a light step behind him, got distracted by how a guy that big could move with such silence, then put his focus on walking straight.
He smacked into a wall a lot sooner than he'd expected.
Stepped back, nose stinging, eyes watering, he blinked and put his hands up, but his nose wasn't bleeding.
He was, however, in the middle of shimmering trees-a dense stand of them. It was a little unsettling to have them flickering in and out of existence, as if reality wasn't stable, and his stomach turned on a wave of nausea that reached up to grab the back of his throat. He swallowed and tried to ignore what his eyes were telling him as compared with what his inner ear kept screaming, and then he closed his eyes again and put his hands out in front of him to touch smooth metal.
"There have to be controls somewhere," he muttered.
He could feel Teal'c at his back-his presence a weight that itched at his shoulder blades-but a click and a hum distracted.
What the hell?
"Daniel Jackson!"
The words came out sharp, but something was happening to the wall so Daniel kept his eyes closed and leaned closer. Vibrations tickled his fingertips, then the prick of something sharp stung his left palm. Something hard grabbed his waist. He was spun fast. Instinct opened his eyes and he caught at Teal'c's arm. Squirming, his back held to Teal'c's chest, he tried to get loose-and jeeze the guy was big. And strong.
A sharp hiss ripped past him and something pulled at the sleeve of his jacket, and he stopped struggling. Twisting, he glanced over his shoulder.
Teal'c had stiffened, eyes wide, so the whites of them almost glowed against his dark skin. Daniel felt the small tremors go through the other man. The arm holding him slackened, and Daniel staggered free and back two steps. "Teal'c?"
He put a hand out, but Teal'c simply fell forward, toppling like one of these trees would. Daniel stepped into him to catch him, and Teal'c weight took them both to the ground with a thud that pushed the air out of Daniel's chest.
Gasping, chest cold and a sharp ripping pain shooting up from his ankle, he pushed at Teal'c and called out his name. Damn! They were both going to die if they stayed like this. Squirming, he inched out from the couple hundred pounds pinning him, and he rolled, then glanced at his watch. They had a couple minutes of grace-and then he looked back at Teal'c.
Oh my god.
Pushing up to his knees, an insane comparison with porcupines dashed into his brain, and he choked back a near hysterical laugh because it wouldn't reassure Teal'c to hear that. It wouldn't do much for him, either. But-dear god-what the hell?
Dozens of black needles stuck out of Teal'c's back. They peppered the man's arms and legs, and Daniel glanced at down his own right arm and saw three stuck in the cloth of his jacket. They were a flat black and as he brushed them off he wondered if they were metal or organic. He looked at Teal'c again and tried to think.
Poison? A numbing agent? Something shot out of the wall to make you keep your hands away from any kind of controls. They'd missed him, had caught in his jacket instead, but Teal'c had caught the full onslaught.
More defenses and he really should have seen this coming.
"Teal'c!" he said again, making the name a plea for the guy to sit up and a curse at him for getting in the way of those needles. What did he think he was doing? And would he please just turn over and give him that single sardonic eyebrow that said he knew so much better than any simple-minded Tau'ri?
Please, just do that. And don't you dare die-I am so damn tired right now of people dying.
Reaching out, he started pulling out needles. They were only a couple inches long, and he went for the ones stuck in the back of Teal'c's shaved skull first, then for the ones in the dark-skinned neck. He wished they were white so they'd stand out more. He brushed at the ones caught up in cloth, and plucked at the ones embedded in skin. Blood welled, red and bright, and that was good-a natural agent to wash out infection.
He glanced at his watch again. They were out of time, so he stood, and took the time to prop the staff weapon on Teal'c's back. He really didn't want to see what would happen if something explosive interacted with this planet's defenses.
Wrapping his hands around one thick wrist, he dragged the guy, and Teal'c's weight pulled a soft grunt from him. This was not going to get them far, but he only had to go a few feet. He just had to move them. His grip slipped, so he dropped Teal'c's arm and bent to brush away more needles. He kept saying Teal'c's name over and over-like that was doing any good-and he swore he wasn't going to panic because he wasn't getting a response. But he was sick from the speed of his heart pounding, and light-headed from not being able to drag in a deep breath. He'd twisted his ankle when Teal'c fell on him and it throbbed hot against boot leather and lacing.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c another few feet.
By the time the needles were all out, Daniel had them back on the trail. He kept Teal'c there as he pulled off his own pack and dug for a first aid kit. He'd seen one when he'd gone through his pack to fit in his books. Now he pulled out the books, and the meal packets and the socks and everything else until he found the slim metal kit. He tucked it into his jacket, left everything else because it was time to drag Teal'c again. Six feet later he stopped.
Gasping for air, sweat stinging his eyes and plastering his hair to his forehead so he had to push it away with the back of his hand, he rested his back. He pulled Teal'c a few more feet, knelt and leaned on the unconscious Jaffa for a few breaths. Straightening, he pulled out the first aid kit from his jacket.
The damn thing'd better have something for snake bite.
It did.
He knew how to use it-snake bites had always been a worry on every dig he'd been on. He had no idea about how anti-venom would interact with Teal'c, but he didn't care. What he wanted was the suction pump. You couldn't suck out venom with your mouth-no way could anyone make a tight enough seal or apply enough pressure. But the kit had alcohol pads to disinfect, and benzocaine for pain, and a couple different sized plungers and suction cups. The holes at the back of Teal'c's neck were already puffing up, so Daniel ripped open the alcohol pad with shaking hands, wiped them down and covered the nearest punctures with the smaller cup. He fit the pump to the cup and pulled back on the plunger and clear liquid filled the tube along with blood.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c again.
Tucking the first aid kit back into his jacket, and thank god Teal'c had had his vest and a pack on to take the worse of those needles, he got them a few more feet down the path. Stopping again, he set to work on the next set of punctures to drag out whatever the hell had gone into Teal'c.
He worked methodically over the network of swelling, oozing dots on the back of Teal'c's neck and head, his hands steady now, but the tremors slide into his chest, leaving his breaths ragged and his stomach jumping.
Then it was time to drag Teal'c again.
He stopped and had to unzip Teal'c's vest. He pushed up the guy's shirt and jacket and he could finally let out a deep breath when he saw unblemished skin.
Then it was time to prop the staff weapon back on Teal'c and drag him again.
He found a few more punctures on Teal'c's arms. And the muscles along the back of his thighs cramped the next time he bent to drag Teal'c, but he couldn't stop. A burn had settled into his arms and shoulders and the blood in his ankle pulsed hot every time he stepped on it and he was sweating so much he shivered-and god, Teal'c's skin had become cold as well.
The next stop he was satisfied he'd gotten all the needles out, so he rolled Teal'c onto his back. Hoping that, other than the belly pouch, Jaffa physiology wasn't that different from humans, he touched his fingertips just under the jaw, at the carotid artery. Another word that went back to Old French, artaire, or arteria in Latin, and in the Greek aorta…and wasn't it odd that that word shared something with meteor; meta for beyond or over, and aoros for hovering, all related to aeirein, a beautiful way to say 'to raise'…
And, thank god, there was a quick, unsteady beat-and then Teal'c sat up.
A thick hand wrapped around Daniel's throat, and Teal'c moved with such a startling speed that he would have knocked Daniel back if Daniel hadn't been held in place by Teal’c’s fist. The grip choked off Daniel's thoughts, jerked him fully back to a not very pleasant moment. Eyes blank, Teal'c stared at Daniel, his face inches away and grim as a warning totem.
Daniel smiled-or he tired to. He noted-with the one detached part of his mind that wasn't trapped in the hot flare of panic-that it difficult to do anything with your breath wheezing out of a choked windpipe.
"Hey," he said, and it came out a dry croak.
Since he didn't want his neck snapped, he just rested one hand on the arm that gripped him. He fought the instinct to try and claw against muscles for his air and freedom.
The thick-handed grip slackened, then let go, and Teal'c glanced around. His stare started to focus, but his pupils were blown so wide that his eyes lacked even the faintest rim of warming brown. "What has transpired? I do not recall how I came to be on the ground."
Shifting his hand to rub the fresh bruises, Daniel cleared his throat, then said, "You were right."
Teal'c turned, looked at him and nodded as if Daniel had said a hell of a lot more than three words. Glancing down, Teal'c put a hand over his symbiote pouch. "There was a drug. Needles?"
"Can you walk? Or should I-?"
Grabbing Daniel's shoulder, Teal'c dragged himself to his feet. Daniel did his best not to fold under the weight, and then he stayed put, crouched on the ground, nursing his bruised throat.
Where had this shorthand of sudden understanding come from? Or maybe Teal’c thought explanations were irrelevant now. Daniel wondered if they did know each other a lot better than any of them knew. He wasn't used to that. What else had he missed lately? What other connections were already formed, like words written in stone that just needed someone to really look at them to understand what was utterly obvious.
"We must go." Teal'c took a step and his knees started to buckle.
That had Daniel on his feet, and he dragged the staff weapon up with him. He wrapped an arm around the other man, pushing the staff weapon at Teal'c.
"Yes, well, we can take it slow. We're supposed to take it slow." He wanted to thumb on his radio and call for Jack, but he had both hands full with Teal'c leaning on him, and his ankle throbbing.
A hum behind them interrupted. The whine had Daniel clenching his back teeth, and he didn't want to look because he'd just realized what it was and he was getting tired, too, of losing things. But Teal'c looked back, and then a sharp bitter tang scented the air.
Teal'c glanced at Daniel, a surprising sympathy in his eyes. "Your books."
Daniel glanced back, and he let out a long breath. Yep, pack gone. Books. Everything. But he didn't have much of a choice at the time-and he hadn't had time for distractions. Oh…damn. Oh, well. He shrugged, and tried to find a place to put Teal'c's arm that wasn't pressing on burning muscles. "It's not like they were first editions." Teal'c's eyebrows lifted, but Daniel pushed, and they staggered forward, steps almost fitting and Daniel limping. "They weren't rare. And they weren't mine-Jack said to just write down the books I wanted, so I did. I'm sure they'll get me new ones."
"Still, it is a loss."
Daniel glanced at him and frowned. Something in those words teased at him-a weary acceptance, a certainty as if this was the way of things. The nuance of accent and the stress on certain words was always important, and Daniel knew he'd missed something vital here.
Then Teal'c added, "I am not pleased to be proven correct about this place."
Their steps settled together, and Daniel let out a breath. Good thing he'd had years of walking places. He'd never been on a dig that had the luxury of more than two working vehicles, and he'd never been able to afford his own car, and Abydos...well, the less said about riding mastadges, the better.
"That's nice-actually, it's good to hear anything from you. I wasn't sure I would."
"I am in your debt."
"For what? Letting you get in the way of those dart-needle things?"
"It is my position to look after you. O'Neill has said-"
"Jack, you'll notice, says a lot of stuff, and you shouldn't pay attention to all of it. He also thinks a big enough weapon equates security." Frowning, Daniel glanced at Teal'c's staff weapon, then at Teal'c. "Uhm...of course you might-"
"It is not the size of one's weapon, but how one wields it that matters most, Daniel Jackson. And why do you now smile?"
Head down, Daniel shook his head, then looked up and fought down the grin. "It's just...we have a similar saying that applies to...uhm, did Jack tell you that one by any chance?"
"He did."
"Ah," Daniel said and nodded. Being suckered on this, in other words; Teal'c knew the inference, but wasn't letting on that he knew. He shifted his grip on Teal'c and had no idea what else to say.
Teal'c kept his stare straight ahead and then said, his tone flat, "Those men on Chulak had an honorable death-far better than one by execution."
Daniel missed a step and struggled to keep walking as he turned to get his stare on Teal'c. Where had that-ah, their earlier conversation. The question unanswered. And the anger surged hot in his veins and face. "What-you owe me, so this is-a debt settled? Communication's supposed to be about a free exchange, not held hostage to some kind of idea about bargaining. And what the hell do you mean by better? My experience is that dead's pretty much dead no matter how you get there."
"Experience?"
Looking away, Daniel pressed his lips tight and then he took a breath and let it out. And he shook his head. "Somewhat long story there."
"We are not lacking in time, Daniel Jackson."
With a glance at Teal'c, Daniel decided he'd stepped into that one as well. He also decided he was going to teach Teal'c chess-it was about time he found someone who could give him a decent game. And since they had time, he told Teal'c about Abydos and Ra-about getting shot, and dying, and taking a breath again in a gold sarcophagus.
"You were revived by a god?"
Teal'c sounded impressed, but Daniel didn't see any reason for it. "Well, it's not like I managed to get myself into it. But it does sound amazing-mythology made into fact. Almost...'The gods rejoice when they see Ra crowned upon his throne, and when his beams flood the world with light...the earth becometh light at his birth each day.'"
His step hesitating, Teal'c pulled away. "You know the sacred prayers of Ra-his priests' words?"
Daniel had let the other man go, but he hovered close, unsure just how steady Teal'c was-as if he was any better-and unsure if the anger flaring in Teal'c's eyes was for him or something else.
"Ah-that's bad? But it's just a quote from The Book of the Dead-which is actually an incorrect description for the various papyri we've found in tombs. It's also referred to as The Book of Coming Forth by Day, but Pert Em'hru could better be translated as ‘manifested in the light…’ which sounds a lot like Goa'uld technology, doesn't it?" He stepped forwards, excitement gathering, quicken his pulse and his words. "Do you know any of the other prayers? Could you write them down for me? We really should make a comparative study."
Teal'c pulled back, and Daniel would swear he looked a little wide-eyed shocked. Daniel spread his hands wide. "What? What did I say?"
Teal'c started walking again, and Daniel slanted a glance at him. Teal'c was leaning too much on his staff weapon, putting his weight on it. Limping after him, trying not to favor his bad ankle too much, Daniel pulled his canteen off his belt. He drank some of the water and offered it over, but Teal'c only shook his head. Sweat, stained red, glazed the back of his neck. They couldn't rest, and since there wasn't anything else he could do, Daniel kept talking.
He started with the Rosetta stone-how any understanding of hieroglyphs had been lost for over a thousand years on Earth. Why not start there with talking to Teal'c about his field, since so much of Egyptology started with Champollion's translation. His words wandered as aimless as his steps, sliding over to papyri discovered over then years. That led to how the Latin papyrus comes from the Greek papyros, but the Greeks also had another word for it-byblos, which made its way into English as bilio and bible. He gestured with his canteen as he spoke, until Teal'c took it from him.
Daniel shifted to how the Ancient Egyptians knew papyrus as djet, as in the djet pillar used so often in art, which has rings at the top, not unlike the flare of the plant's burst of leafy ends.
Of course, in Proto-Sino-Tibetan, djet meant to be afraid, which evolve into thit in Burmese, or….
Oh crap….
Stopping, mouth open, Daniel stared at Teal'c. "Uh, those rings on a djet pillar...the rings the top. And the straight column. Inside a column of light. Transport rings-djet pillars. They're the same. Which means I really am going to have to rethink everything I know about Egyptian culture."
Teal'c looked at him and kept walking. "You know a great deal, Daniel Jackson."
Hurrying to catch up, Daniel took back his and quoted, "'All men by nature desire knowledge.' Aristotle wrote that over two thousand years ago. But I think I prefer, 'When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know-this is knowledge.' That's Kong Qui, who became known as K'ung Fu-tzu or Master K'ung, although Western culture knows him better as Confucius. But I suppose western and eastern doesn't mean much to you?"
"It is a geographic designation upon your world. And do we not all have many identities?"
"As in First Prime of Apophis? But that one's you left-along with all the others you had."
"Indeed."
The word came out slow and heavy and made Daniel look at the other man. What else had Teal'c left? And what things did he now want to leave unspoken because the words would summon memories so vivid and close they could crush? Was that what they had in common-this avoidance?
Their lives had been taken from them, plundered like a tomb, which left the dead unable to live in the afterworld. Without help to guide them to the life beyond, the dead would wander this world-shades that brought misfortune. Was that what both he and Teal'c had become?
Nice thoughts for a sunny day. He flicked on and off his radio, which he'd been doing now and then, and he wished for a good reason to call Jack. But if he called Jack now, he'd have to tell him Teal'c had almost died. "Think we need to warn Sam and Jack about the walls?"
Teal'c kept walking and didn't look his way, but amusement drifted into his voice. "I do not believe O'Neill or Captain Carter will close their eyes and wander off the trail. Their purpose is to find us."
"Ah-right." Daniel bit his lower lip. And was that meant to slight what he'd done? Or just an observation? "I guess Sam is a little busy."
Teal'c kept his steps short, as if each one took focus and thought, and that wasn't good. Then he said, relevant of nothing, "Captain Carter explained to me that it is your custom to offer an apology for a transgression."
Daniel was the one to stumble now as he shot a fast, worried frown at Teal'c-just where was this going now? Off on a new tangent, like their path? "Uh-she did, did she? Why?"
"Because I asked her if you would seek retribution…"
"Y'know, maybe we should just radio Sam about those wa-"
"…for the mistaken assumptions I made."
"Uh-what?" Daniel missed another step, and pulled in a sharp breath as pain jabbed into his ankle. He didn't want to look at Teal'c, and didn't want to get into what they seemed to be headed into now.
Teal'c slowed his pace, anyway, forcing Daniel to glance at him-and his words came out slow as well, forced and awkward for once. "I will tell you that it disturbed me to have O'Neill described you as a guide."
"Well, that's...." Frowning, Daniel stopped and stared. "You're talking about what happened with the…not what you did when….uhm, didn't you say earlier the point of training was to learn something about each other? Well-we did, so…why disturbed?"
Read Part 3