Chapter Five: Into the Breach, part I
Series: Stargate: Alchemy
Chapter: Five
Title: Into the Breach
Authors: bluecove and aaaaaahz
Rating: PG
O’Neill’s eyes were blazing as he finished his assessment and signaled their retreat. He melted into the shadowy woods, Daniel and the rest of the survivors following his lead until they were well away from both the ‘gate and the village.
“We’ll rest here for the night,” the colonel whispered. “I want someone on watch for two hours at a time. Everyone else sleeps.” He glanced at the soldiers around him and gave the order of rotation.
Ferretti scanned the darkened woods around them. “Where’d our new pal go?”
A large, dark shadow slipped out from behind a tree. “Here,” answered Teal’c.
The colonel stuck out his hand. “Thanks again for saving our asses, buddy. You’re a hell of a wing-man. Uh, that’s a pilot’s compliment, in case you didn’t get the reference. Which you probably didn’t. Sorry.”
“You are a pilot?” asked the Jaffa master, a touch of interest in his voice, clasping the other man’s forearm rather than his hand.
The colonel nodded, glancing at the strange handshake. “Flown nearly everything on my world that can fly.”
Teal’c nodded, a tiny smile of approval turning up the corners of his mouth. “Perhaps we may fly together, one day.”
Privately, Daniel doubted that would ever happen. Their odds of survival were pretty slim at the moment. That didn’t leave much of a future for the Earth-folk, much less a ride in an airplane.
“We’ll catch a little rest,” O’Neill continued, “then see if we can find the rest of the men. Brodie’s probably still at the temple, so we’ll have to find him, too. No one gets left behind on my watch.”
“I will go in search of information about the others who have been captured,” offered Teal’c. “How many were in the camp?”
“Seven, minus the three who were killed,” O’Neill answered. “Including Brodie, you’re looking for five men.”
Sam spoke up quietly. “Teal’c, aren’t you afraid the others will figure out that you’re helping us?”
“It is a risk,” he agreed, “but one I must take if I am to further assist you.” He gave a nod to O’Neill, who nodded back. “I shall return.” Moments later, he vanished into the trees.
“Sir,” Ferretti began cautiously, “you sure you trust that guy? He could be going back to set a trap for us.”
“He could’ve turned us in already,” replied the colonel confidently, “but instead, he got us out of there. I’d say that’s pretty good reason to put a little faith in him.”
“Of course you can trust him,” Daniel interrupted, sudden bitterness pouring out of him. “He’s not an alchemist.”
The colonel shot him a warning glance, but didn’t respond to Daniel’s accusation. Instead, he took up a position in a protected spot where he had a good view of as much of the surrounding area as possible. Ferretti followed suit as he took first watch, and Sam and Freeman found comfy spots on the ground for a little shut-eye.
Still ravenous from his ongoing alchemic efforts, Daniel knew he couldn’t ignore his rumbling belly a second time. He shook off his fatigue and scarfed down a couple of MREs, splitting his concentration between listening intently for stealthy approaches and his own internal rumblings. Even if it weren’t his turn at watch, he’d still be expected to respond if they were attacked, because he was the alchemist.
He hated being a freak.
After a while, the colonel came to squat down beside Daniel as he ate. Apparently, he’d relaxed enough to remember how angry he was. His voice was a low rumble, and his shadowed eyes were gleaming with leashed rage. “I gave you a direct order to return to base camp, Jackson. You went to the temple anyway. Disobey me again, and I’ll shoot you.”
Without making eye contact, Daniel continued to eat, anger welling up inside him, making it difficult to swallow the unappetizing rations. “Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to shoot me, because there’s no way I’m going to let an innocent person die for no reason.” He specifically didn’t use the respectful address of “sir” to soften the remark. Daniel didn’t care what rank this man had, or that he held Daniel’s fate in his hands. He’d face whatever disciplinary action was necessary, once they got back to Earth. He’d done what he thought was right, and even though his attempt at saving Pedro had failed miserably, he’d at least made the effort.
“Pedro was just a kid,” he finally continued. “No matter what these people believe about alchemists, that doesn’t make it right to murder someone just because they’re different.” He cast his gaze back to the silver pouch in his left hand, reluctantly continuing to shovel the MRE into his mouth and chew.
“Long time ago,” O’Neill began, his arms crossed over his chest, head cocked, “I was on a mission in the Middle East. Can’t say much about where or what we were doing, because it’s still classified. My team had an alchemist on board to help us get the… package… we’d been sent to retrieve. He didn’t listen to orders, either, and got two of my men killed. Once we had the item and were in the process of withdrawal, I got cut off from the rest of the group. He saved their asses, but not because he was being noble or looking out for the team. They just happened to be close to him, and I wasn’t. He saved my team and successfully completed the mission, but they left me behind, on his orders. Every time I’ve worked with alchemists, it’s the same story. They’ll help out as long as it benefits them, but the moment the rest of us become inconvenient, we’re expendable.”
Daniel had nothing to say to that unspoken accusation. He kept his attention on the MRE, opening up another one when that pouch was empty. He wasn’t sure where the colonel was going with this anecdote, and decided it would be best to just let him say his piece.
The colonel’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t get you, Jackson. I’ve never seen an alchemist stick his neck out for someone else before. You folks only look out for Number One.”
"Think about it for a moment, Colonel,” Daniel said quietly, without lifting his eyes, trying for an air of nonchalance, but aware of the unmistakable bitterness in his voice as the memories clawed at his soul. “Imagine seeing fear or hatred in another person’s eyes, because of a condition you were born with. Imagine not being able to choose your own career, but having the military choose it for you. Imagine not being allowed to fraternize with others like you, because, God forbid, you might produce a child. Imagine living like that, and then tell me how you would react."
O’Neill said nothing, but there were definitely cogs turning behind his dark eyes.
“I’m not surprised that self-interest is all you’ve seen,” Daniel continued, weary acceptance slowly taking the place of his anger. “A lot of alchemists feel that, since no one looks out for them, why should they look out for anyone else?” He finally raised his eyes to meet his commander’s. “I may not support that point of view, but I understand it.”
Moving his hands to his hips, O’Neill looked down at the ground, still thinking. “You put up a wall to protect me in that firefight and left yourself wide open. Why’d you do that?”
Daniel shrugged. “You had a weapon in your hands. You were a more obvious target and needed backup. That’s the real reason I was sent on this mission, isn’t it? Protecting all of you is my job, even if I’m not considered part of the team.”
“I may have had a weapon,” O’Neill argued, a trace of unease in his voice, “but you are a weapon. You’re the bigger threat, but you protected me instead of yourself.”
“You’re welcome.” Daniel wasn’t going to rationalize his behavior any further. He’d acted on pure instinct, moving to protect someone who needed it, events moving way too fast to stop and think his way through them. He’d seen the need and acted accordingly; it was as simple as that.
The colonel glanced away at the trees and spoke to the darkness rather than directly to Daniel. “Thanks for saving my ass,” he said at last, a trace of humility edging his words. He studied Daniel a moment longer, shook his head and sat down at the base of a nearby tree. He propped himself up, pulled his black baseball cap down over his eyes and leaned back against the tree for a nap.
Daniel supposed that was as close as he’d get to a real apology and let it go, returning his full attention to the MRE, and then curled up for a try at some sleep himself.
When he was awakened a few hours later for his turn at watch, Teal’c had returned, bringing with him a couple of suits of Jaffa armor. The alien was in deep conversation with the colonel, drawing maps in the halo of O’Neill’s flashlight, apparently planning a rescue operation for the captured men. Daniel listened to their conversation, dividing his attention between the two men and his watch.
“Your men are being held in a storage room at the rear of the temple,” Teal’c reported.
“Is Brodie with them?”
Teal’c nodded. “It is possible to rescue them, but it will be difficult. Orion’s army possesses far superior numbers and weapons.”
O’Neill agreed. “We brought some stuff you haven’t seen yet. Trust me, we can take care of ourselves.” Glancing at Teal’c’s costume, he met the other man’s eyes. “I’m not crazy about wearing one of those, but if it’ll save my men…”
“You’ll need a distraction,” Daniel said from his post, keeping his gaze on the trees, but already thinking ahead. He knew the colonel would need time to circulate among the villagers and plant some C-4 charges, both for defensive measures and the element of panic it would throw into the village. A few explosions would be a good start, but they’d need something more -- something to draw attention away from the strangers in Jaffa clothing, to make them not look too closely at the familiar and concentrate on something else. “I’m it.”
“No good, Jackson,” O’Neill shot back. “They already know what you can do. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“That’s the idea,” Daniel insisted. “If Teal’c marches me down the main road as his prisoner, nobody will give a second look to the Jaffa with him. You’ll be able to disappear into the crowd, and everyone will concentrate on me.”
“He is correct,” agreed Teal’c. “Orion will continue to search for the alchemist who challenged him. Once DanielJackson is captured, pursuit of those with him will halt temporarily.” He rose and eyed Daniel, studying him. “I have seen Orion use his ribbon device to invade the minds of others. If you are strong, you may resist him for a time, but he will kill you, slowly and painfully. It will please him to do this with his worshippers watching.”
Daniel had no trouble imagining that scenario. He swallowed hard, and nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly. “I’m still in.” He looked to his CO for approval, pretty sure the colonel knew Daniel would do it anyway, with or without an official command decision. The rest of the team’s survival might depend on him. If his life were the cost of their safety, then so be it.
O’Neill’s eyes were hooded, wary. He nodded. “All right.” He bent his head and cleared a small patch of dirt on the ground, drawing a floor plan of the parts of the temple they’d seen in order to start the actual planning of the rescue. “Back to your watch, Jackson.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel raised his eyes back to the treeline and wondered if anyone would care when he was dead. He decided it didn’t matter, and at least his death would count for something, if the others managed to make it back to the Stargate. They had the dialing sequence for home and didn’t need him anymore.
He’d just have to go out as honorably as he could, and hope he didn’t give their plans away. He purposefully didn’t listen to anything else they discussed, concentrating instead on what he’d say to the creature posing as a god the next time they met. Searching through his memories, he tried to remember as much as he could about the legend of Orion, in case there might be anything helpful in Earth mythology. That wasn’t likely, but then, this was a whole new world. There was no telling what might be possible here.
When the two men finally finished their parlay, Teal’c propped himself against a tree, closed his eyes and slept. By the time Daniel’s watch was done, Teal’c was gone again. When O’Neill woke everyone to get things started a few hours later, Daniel saw that Teal’c had made another trip to the Jaffa base, returning just before dawn with more uniforms and a few of the staff weapons. Daniel kept watch as the colonel explained their strategy to the others in detail.
Daniel remained in his BDUs, but the rest of the team put on the Jaffa uniforms and picked up their weapons. Sam changed into a woman’s brightly colored skirt and blouse, covered her fair hair with a shawl and tucked her supplies into a basket with a cloth draped over it to hide the contents - numerous C-4 charges, grenades and other weaponry they would need. She disappeared into the village with Ferretti and Freeman, and then Daniel moved out in front, hands clasped behind his head, Teal’c right behind him with a staff weapon pointed at his back. O’Neill walked at Teal’c’s side, the rest of the team loosely gathered around them.
It would take them approximately twenty minutes to walk to the temple, Daniel knew. Sam and the others would need time to set up, so this group was walking slowly. Once they arrived and went inside, Jack had told him to give them eight minutes. Eight minutes of torture would probably seem like forever.
Daniel didn’t want to die. He wanted to go home and live a normal life, but he was an alchemist. He’d never be normal, not on any world.
Someone had seen them coming and gone on ahead, because the temple bell began ringing and a crowd formed as the villagers heeded the summons. They gave Daniel and Teal’c a wide berth as they trudged up the path. Daniel glimpsed O’Neill moving off, unnoticed, heading around the back of the building. He concentrated instead on what was in front of him, the wide-open doors of the temple, and everyone staring at him in fear and disgust as they passed by.
Orion was waiting. He stood beside the twisted mass of cooled rock that Daniel had used to imprison him earlier, smug and triumphant. Jaffa stood all around him, their weapons aimed at Daniel, eyes wide, faces reflecting their uncertainty.
Eight minutes, Daniel reminded himself.
on to Chapter Five, part II
back to Chapter Four
Chapter: Five
Title: Into the Breach
Authors: bluecove and aaaaaahz
Rating: PG
O’Neill’s eyes were blazing as he finished his assessment and signaled their retreat. He melted into the shadowy woods, Daniel and the rest of the survivors following his lead until they were well away from both the ‘gate and the village.
“We’ll rest here for the night,” the colonel whispered. “I want someone on watch for two hours at a time. Everyone else sleeps.” He glanced at the soldiers around him and gave the order of rotation.
Ferretti scanned the darkened woods around them. “Where’d our new pal go?”
A large, dark shadow slipped out from behind a tree. “Here,” answered Teal’c.
The colonel stuck out his hand. “Thanks again for saving our asses, buddy. You’re a hell of a wing-man. Uh, that’s a pilot’s compliment, in case you didn’t get the reference. Which you probably didn’t. Sorry.”
“You are a pilot?” asked the Jaffa master, a touch of interest in his voice, clasping the other man’s forearm rather than his hand.
The colonel nodded, glancing at the strange handshake. “Flown nearly everything on my world that can fly.”
Teal’c nodded, a tiny smile of approval turning up the corners of his mouth. “Perhaps we may fly together, one day.”
Privately, Daniel doubted that would ever happen. Their odds of survival were pretty slim at the moment. That didn’t leave much of a future for the Earth-folk, much less a ride in an airplane.
“We’ll catch a little rest,” O’Neill continued, “then see if we can find the rest of the men. Brodie’s probably still at the temple, so we’ll have to find him, too. No one gets left behind on my watch.”
“I will go in search of information about the others who have been captured,” offered Teal’c. “How many were in the camp?”
“Seven, minus the three who were killed,” O’Neill answered. “Including Brodie, you’re looking for five men.”
Sam spoke up quietly. “Teal’c, aren’t you afraid the others will figure out that you’re helping us?”
“It is a risk,” he agreed, “but one I must take if I am to further assist you.” He gave a nod to O’Neill, who nodded back. “I shall return.” Moments later, he vanished into the trees.
“Sir,” Ferretti began cautiously, “you sure you trust that guy? He could be going back to set a trap for us.”
“He could’ve turned us in already,” replied the colonel confidently, “but instead, he got us out of there. I’d say that’s pretty good reason to put a little faith in him.”
“Of course you can trust him,” Daniel interrupted, sudden bitterness pouring out of him. “He’s not an alchemist.”
The colonel shot him a warning glance, but didn’t respond to Daniel’s accusation. Instead, he took up a position in a protected spot where he had a good view of as much of the surrounding area as possible. Ferretti followed suit as he took first watch, and Sam and Freeman found comfy spots on the ground for a little shut-eye.
Still ravenous from his ongoing alchemic efforts, Daniel knew he couldn’t ignore his rumbling belly a second time. He shook off his fatigue and scarfed down a couple of MREs, splitting his concentration between listening intently for stealthy approaches and his own internal rumblings. Even if it weren’t his turn at watch, he’d still be expected to respond if they were attacked, because he was the alchemist.
He hated being a freak.
After a while, the colonel came to squat down beside Daniel as he ate. Apparently, he’d relaxed enough to remember how angry he was. His voice was a low rumble, and his shadowed eyes were gleaming with leashed rage. “I gave you a direct order to return to base camp, Jackson. You went to the temple anyway. Disobey me again, and I’ll shoot you.”
Without making eye contact, Daniel continued to eat, anger welling up inside him, making it difficult to swallow the unappetizing rations. “Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to shoot me, because there’s no way I’m going to let an innocent person die for no reason.” He specifically didn’t use the respectful address of “sir” to soften the remark. Daniel didn’t care what rank this man had, or that he held Daniel’s fate in his hands. He’d face whatever disciplinary action was necessary, once they got back to Earth. He’d done what he thought was right, and even though his attempt at saving Pedro had failed miserably, he’d at least made the effort.
“Pedro was just a kid,” he finally continued. “No matter what these people believe about alchemists, that doesn’t make it right to murder someone just because they’re different.” He cast his gaze back to the silver pouch in his left hand, reluctantly continuing to shovel the MRE into his mouth and chew.
“Long time ago,” O’Neill began, his arms crossed over his chest, head cocked, “I was on a mission in the Middle East. Can’t say much about where or what we were doing, because it’s still classified. My team had an alchemist on board to help us get the… package… we’d been sent to retrieve. He didn’t listen to orders, either, and got two of my men killed. Once we had the item and were in the process of withdrawal, I got cut off from the rest of the group. He saved their asses, but not because he was being noble or looking out for the team. They just happened to be close to him, and I wasn’t. He saved my team and successfully completed the mission, but they left me behind, on his orders. Every time I’ve worked with alchemists, it’s the same story. They’ll help out as long as it benefits them, but the moment the rest of us become inconvenient, we’re expendable.”
Daniel had nothing to say to that unspoken accusation. He kept his attention on the MRE, opening up another one when that pouch was empty. He wasn’t sure where the colonel was going with this anecdote, and decided it would be best to just let him say his piece.
The colonel’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t get you, Jackson. I’ve never seen an alchemist stick his neck out for someone else before. You folks only look out for Number One.”
"Think about it for a moment, Colonel,” Daniel said quietly, without lifting his eyes, trying for an air of nonchalance, but aware of the unmistakable bitterness in his voice as the memories clawed at his soul. “Imagine seeing fear or hatred in another person’s eyes, because of a condition you were born with. Imagine not being able to choose your own career, but having the military choose it for you. Imagine not being allowed to fraternize with others like you, because, God forbid, you might produce a child. Imagine living like that, and then tell me how you would react."
O’Neill said nothing, but there were definitely cogs turning behind his dark eyes.
“I’m not surprised that self-interest is all you’ve seen,” Daniel continued, weary acceptance slowly taking the place of his anger. “A lot of alchemists feel that, since no one looks out for them, why should they look out for anyone else?” He finally raised his eyes to meet his commander’s. “I may not support that point of view, but I understand it.”
Moving his hands to his hips, O’Neill looked down at the ground, still thinking. “You put up a wall to protect me in that firefight and left yourself wide open. Why’d you do that?”
Daniel shrugged. “You had a weapon in your hands. You were a more obvious target and needed backup. That’s the real reason I was sent on this mission, isn’t it? Protecting all of you is my job, even if I’m not considered part of the team.”
“I may have had a weapon,” O’Neill argued, a trace of unease in his voice, “but you are a weapon. You’re the bigger threat, but you protected me instead of yourself.”
“You’re welcome.” Daniel wasn’t going to rationalize his behavior any further. He’d acted on pure instinct, moving to protect someone who needed it, events moving way too fast to stop and think his way through them. He’d seen the need and acted accordingly; it was as simple as that.
The colonel glanced away at the trees and spoke to the darkness rather than directly to Daniel. “Thanks for saving my ass,” he said at last, a trace of humility edging his words. He studied Daniel a moment longer, shook his head and sat down at the base of a nearby tree. He propped himself up, pulled his black baseball cap down over his eyes and leaned back against the tree for a nap.
Daniel supposed that was as close as he’d get to a real apology and let it go, returning his full attention to the MRE, and then curled up for a try at some sleep himself.
When he was awakened a few hours later for his turn at watch, Teal’c had returned, bringing with him a couple of suits of Jaffa armor. The alien was in deep conversation with the colonel, drawing maps in the halo of O’Neill’s flashlight, apparently planning a rescue operation for the captured men. Daniel listened to their conversation, dividing his attention between the two men and his watch.
“Your men are being held in a storage room at the rear of the temple,” Teal’c reported.
“Is Brodie with them?”
Teal’c nodded. “It is possible to rescue them, but it will be difficult. Orion’s army possesses far superior numbers and weapons.”
O’Neill agreed. “We brought some stuff you haven’t seen yet. Trust me, we can take care of ourselves.” Glancing at Teal’c’s costume, he met the other man’s eyes. “I’m not crazy about wearing one of those, but if it’ll save my men…”
“You’ll need a distraction,” Daniel said from his post, keeping his gaze on the trees, but already thinking ahead. He knew the colonel would need time to circulate among the villagers and plant some C-4 charges, both for defensive measures and the element of panic it would throw into the village. A few explosions would be a good start, but they’d need something more -- something to draw attention away from the strangers in Jaffa clothing, to make them not look too closely at the familiar and concentrate on something else. “I’m it.”
“No good, Jackson,” O’Neill shot back. “They already know what you can do. You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“That’s the idea,” Daniel insisted. “If Teal’c marches me down the main road as his prisoner, nobody will give a second look to the Jaffa with him. You’ll be able to disappear into the crowd, and everyone will concentrate on me.”
“He is correct,” agreed Teal’c. “Orion will continue to search for the alchemist who challenged him. Once DanielJackson is captured, pursuit of those with him will halt temporarily.” He rose and eyed Daniel, studying him. “I have seen Orion use his ribbon device to invade the minds of others. If you are strong, you may resist him for a time, but he will kill you, slowly and painfully. It will please him to do this with his worshippers watching.”
Daniel had no trouble imagining that scenario. He swallowed hard, and nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly. “I’m still in.” He looked to his CO for approval, pretty sure the colonel knew Daniel would do it anyway, with or without an official command decision. The rest of the team’s survival might depend on him. If his life were the cost of their safety, then so be it.
O’Neill’s eyes were hooded, wary. He nodded. “All right.” He bent his head and cleared a small patch of dirt on the ground, drawing a floor plan of the parts of the temple they’d seen in order to start the actual planning of the rescue. “Back to your watch, Jackson.”
“Yes, sir.” Daniel raised his eyes back to the treeline and wondered if anyone would care when he was dead. He decided it didn’t matter, and at least his death would count for something, if the others managed to make it back to the Stargate. They had the dialing sequence for home and didn’t need him anymore.
He’d just have to go out as honorably as he could, and hope he didn’t give their plans away. He purposefully didn’t listen to anything else they discussed, concentrating instead on what he’d say to the creature posing as a god the next time they met. Searching through his memories, he tried to remember as much as he could about the legend of Orion, in case there might be anything helpful in Earth mythology. That wasn’t likely, but then, this was a whole new world. There was no telling what might be possible here.
When the two men finally finished their parlay, Teal’c propped himself against a tree, closed his eyes and slept. By the time Daniel’s watch was done, Teal’c was gone again. When O’Neill woke everyone to get things started a few hours later, Daniel saw that Teal’c had made another trip to the Jaffa base, returning just before dawn with more uniforms and a few of the staff weapons. Daniel kept watch as the colonel explained their strategy to the others in detail.
Daniel remained in his BDUs, but the rest of the team put on the Jaffa uniforms and picked up their weapons. Sam changed into a woman’s brightly colored skirt and blouse, covered her fair hair with a shawl and tucked her supplies into a basket with a cloth draped over it to hide the contents - numerous C-4 charges, grenades and other weaponry they would need. She disappeared into the village with Ferretti and Freeman, and then Daniel moved out in front, hands clasped behind his head, Teal’c right behind him with a staff weapon pointed at his back. O’Neill walked at Teal’c’s side, the rest of the team loosely gathered around them.
It would take them approximately twenty minutes to walk to the temple, Daniel knew. Sam and the others would need time to set up, so this group was walking slowly. Once they arrived and went inside, Jack had told him to give them eight minutes. Eight minutes of torture would probably seem like forever.
Daniel didn’t want to die. He wanted to go home and live a normal life, but he was an alchemist. He’d never be normal, not on any world.
Someone had seen them coming and gone on ahead, because the temple bell began ringing and a crowd formed as the villagers heeded the summons. They gave Daniel and Teal’c a wide berth as they trudged up the path. Daniel glimpsed O’Neill moving off, unnoticed, heading around the back of the building. He concentrated instead on what was in front of him, the wide-open doors of the temple, and everyone staring at him in fear and disgust as they passed by.
Orion was waiting. He stood beside the twisted mass of cooled rock that Daniel had used to imprison him earlier, smug and triumphant. Jaffa stood all around him, their weapons aimed at Daniel, eyes wide, faces reflecting their uncertainty.
Eight minutes, Daniel reminded himself.
on to Chapter Five, part II
back to Chapter Four