DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author.
Teal'c stood silently at the table and watched the monitor. The Doctor and General Hammond were peering intently at every frame, trying to glean some information, trying to see how Teal'c's glimpse of the planet could possibly equate with what they were viewing from the original probe's camera.
"Is there any chance that somehow we dialled up the wrong planet when we sent SG1 through?" Janet Fraiser asked hopefully. She knew the answer.
General Hammond shook his head. "The computer records have been checked thoroughly. No mistake."
"The planet which you see from the probe's camera is the same planet that I tried to enter through the Stargate. It is the same planet that Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter are now on." Teal'c stated clearly.
"But from what you described seeing just before you returned, even though it was a brief glimpse through the vortex, it's totally different. You describe a barren looking, inhospitable surface. The probe's showing lush forests and a good climate. All the readings came up positive for supporting life. The probe went in for a second look only minutes before we sent you. It's just not possible," Hammond persisted.
"It is the same," Teal'c replied.
"Teal'c, do you have an explanation?" Hammond asked hopefully.
"It would not be easy for me to tell it," Teal'c said simply, his eyes still and dark, avoiding contact with the others and averted from the monitor.
The doctor and General exchanged quizzical looks.
"Teal'c, if you know something about this planet then you have to tell us," the Doctor persisted. "SG1's lives may depend on it."
"SG1 may no longer exist." Teal'c took the General's eyes and held them.
The Doctor raised herself from her chair and dropped her pen to the table in frustration. "Wait a minute, you don't know SG1 are dead. You didn't see them die. Do you think Colonel O'Neill or any of the others would give up on you like this? I've never seen you act like this before, Teal'c, just giving up on them."
"We have never before visited P3F231, Doctor. General Hammond, I would like permission to rest," he added and looked at the General meaningfully.
General Hammond nodded his head and put his hand up to ward off the Doctor's inevitable protests.
"You have thirty minutes, Teal'C. I want you back in thirty minutes. Then I want some answers. Is that understood?"
Teal'c turned to look at the General and then walked towards the door slowly. He paused before he left the room.
"When I return, if I can, I will tell you what I know of this place. If you choose to believe it you will understand why I was unable to help my friends, and you may choose not to help them either," he said as he closed the door behind him.
The rain came down slowly at first, then hard, driving it into their skin, their hair and their clothes. Dawn was a mere pinprick of illumination on the horizon, but at least the darkness was easing slightly. After the heat of the previous day, the cold of the early hours bit into every inch of exposed skin.
Sam shivered and pulled her jacket around her. No one had had much sleep. "Guess we should have expected this," she muttered ruefully.
"Sure. What else could this damn place throw at us," agreed O'Neill.
"You know, I've been thinking," Daniel started, reaching up and pulling his hat down further onto his head.
"Daniel my boy, thinking is what you do best," O'Neill quipped and smiled.
Daniel looked bemused for a moment and then resumed, "This whole mess definitely smacks of someone or something who has had some sort of previous encounter with the Goa'uld. We have to assume the Goa'uld came here at some point for the gate to have caused that sort of reaction in Sam and not letting Teal'c through."
"Yeah, but at this point, Daniel, we're just plain old assuming everything. Hell, we don't know whether they're Goa'uld fans or hate their guts, or maybe..just maybe it's the Goa'uld themselves playing some sick trick on us," O'Neill muttered as he smoothed the rain back off his forehead and replaced his cap.
"I agree, sir," Sam added. "We don't know who or what is responsible for the Gate. We also don't know for sure, that what we think happened to Teal'c and to me is anything to do with the Goa'uld. It could be coincidence, even though it seems plausible. We've seen too much on other worlds to be sure of anything." She looked up at the rain, which was now easing slightly. "Besides, if we're right, does that mean that the gate was defending itself only because of my Goa'uld connection and nothing else? You know, if that's the case, you could make it back through the Gate without any trouble".
"Now there's a thought. We go back home and leave you here, Captain. Daniel, I think the lady's telling us to go," O'Neill joked and shook his head.
"Just a thought," mumbled Sam, snuggling down into her jacket further.
"Sam's got a point, Jack. If one of us could get back through the gate without it firing on us or the DHD, we could maybe get some sort of help or work things out through the other side," Daniel retorted.
"Look kids. I'm not leaving a man behind. Never have done. Never will. That device thing which wouldn't let Teal'c through...Thor's...thingie.. well, you guys know what I mean, that wasn't Goa'uld technology, now was it?" Jack looked to them both for answers.
"No it wasn't. But the defences on the gate here weren't being too specific about who they hit when they fired on us, once we were through. If our theory's right, it sort of looked like if you're with a Goa'uld you're dead. Thor's Hammer specifically disposed of Goa'uld only. None of us were harmed then. I don't think these are the same aliens involved." Daniel rested this particular case.
"Okay, so if we accept that it isn't the same benevolent alien race controlling the Goa'uld's entry into this world, we have to assume that it's the residents of this planet stopping the Goa'uld from coming through the gate." Sam continued.
"Makes sense. We've seen other gates either being monitored by the natives or under some sort of control. The chances of finding another alien people looking after everyone's interests is remote. Just maybe someone's managed to find a way of stopping the Goa'uld from coming to their own world all on their own." Daniel said, his hopes rising.
"Okay kids, we need to meet these people, and we need to meet them fast. If they've got the technology to stop the Goa'uld from coming through the gate I'd like to make friends," O'Neill commented and grinned. "I'd also like them to take the dogs off the gate and let us go home," he added.
"Let's just hope the natives are friendly," muttered Sam as she pulled herself to her feet and assembled her backpack.
"You feeling okay, Captain?" O'Neill asked as he grabbed his weapon.
"Thank you, sir. I've felt fine all night," Sam replied. She wanted to tell them but she couldn't. She knew they'd be angry. She knew they'd think her weak. Sam didn't know why she felt like it. In the back of her mind she had a feeling they wouldn't react like that but she couldn't explain her fears. She thought she knew the others, knew their reactions, but now she doubted it. She'd never felt like it before. 'Deceive them to save your honor', that's what the voices had said. The voices had to be right.
"Maybe now you've been away from the gate for a while, the affect on you is less," suggested Daniel.
"Maybe, "Sam answered, ignoring her burning forehead and the dull ache which raged inside her gut. "I'd sure like to hope so," she added, glancing at O'Neill, who nodded his silent agreement with that sentiment.
"Right, let's take a look at the outside world," O'Neill suggested and moved through the small group of trees.
"Whoa..." O'Neill's exclamation drifted back towards the other two and they looked at each in surprise.
Sam and Daniel pushed their way through the trees to stand beside the Colonel and both exhaled sharply.
"Looks like we got ourselves an interesting little planet here," quipped O'Neill as he looked out across the surface. "Will somebody please tell me they saw those last night?"
Teal'c sat motionless on his bunk. Everything screamed "no" to him. Everything he'd ever been taught as a Jaffa, ever been indoctrinated into since he took on a Goa'uld larva, screamed "Don't tell them. This is for the Goa'uld to know and no one else." But he'd shared all he knew of Goa'uld technology, he'd sworn allegiance to this world. How could he not tell them this? Why was this so difficult?
Teal'c stared empty eyed at the wall. He felt torn within. He knew that knowledge of this planet would not be the enlightenment they sought, but merely a road into the darkness of a world gone mad. It was a dark piece of Goa'uld history.
But his heart was telling him that he was allowing his friends to die. Would they abandon him? He knew the answer to that one. He knew that each and every one of them would lay down their lives for him. But this time it wasn't that simple and he knew they wouldn't, couldn't understand. If he could only get through the gate he knew he would go alone to find them. Could he ask anyone else to go back there? Teal'c didn't have the answers.
Teal'c looked at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes left.
He saw their faces flash through his mind. Memories rolling past as though a film were playing through his tortured thoughts. He watched Jack O'Neill save his life on more than one occasion. He saw Daniel Jackson's interest in his culture, his compassion for people and for all that made up the civilisations across the universe. He saw his honesty and his innocence. He saw the smiling face of Samantha Carter and her energy, her strength and her compassion, and most of all her link to him as a Goa'uld host. He knew he couldn't let them down.
He laid his hand across his stomach in silent recognition of his Goa'uld larva. He felt the movement inside. He let his mind briefly remember the name he sought to hide. It flickered to the surface and he let it run around in his thought processes. 'Feldos'. He let it repeat. He let the revulsion of the teachings flood through him and he felt the knowledge of the years surface. His instinct was to bury the memories, the shame he felt, but it was too late, he'd opened the gate.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly to the parasite which lay within him, and stood up, making his way to the door and leaving the room.
The eyes, which had watched them from a distance through the night, had savoured every moment. The hunger had intensified. The desire to taste was lifted to new heights as they witnessed and felt the depth of SG1's feelings. The taste of their fear was in there too. The taste of compassion was strong. They were proving very pleasurable to manipulate.
"Fools. They never realise what they have, until it is taken away. It's the same with all the races. Especially the humanoids. It's been too long. Too long."
"Do not hurry the process. It has been many years since souls have passed through our gate. Many, many years since we have tasted. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy".
"I can sense Goa'uld among them and yet they do not appear to be so."
"Agreed. I too can sense it. Perhaps an aberration. Perhaps hidden from us. Goa'uld would be good, very good. Excellent. Excellent!"
Silent nodding. Silent agreement to savour every part of their being to the last drop. Until the end.
"Teal'c, are you prepared to help us?" General Hammond put his hands on the table in front of him and looked the Jaffa right in the eyes.
Teal'c sat down directly opposite him and nodded. "I am prepared."
The General nodded his appreciation. "Before you left the infirmary, you told us that we might not choose to help SG1 once you told us about this planet, can you explain why on earth we would do that?"
Teal'c sat back in his chair and let out a deep breath. He allowed the name to surface again, then gradually the memories of what he knew. "When I have told you what I know, then you must make that decision," he said.
"Very well, Teal'c. Please go ahead," the General asked.
"The planet is called 'Feldos'. Its dark history is legend in the Goa'uld mythology." Teal'c paused and his eyes narrowed. "General, the explanation is lengthy," he added.
"We're prepared," General Hammond said, sitting back in his chair. Janet Fraiser sat to his left, her eyes intent on the Jaffa in front of her.
"Very well. Feldos was a planet rich in energy, a unique energy source the Goa'uld were fascinated to find. As with other such worlds, The Goa'uld sought to conquer it and yet they underestimated the aliens who dwelt there. The planet Feldos took many more of the Jaffa than their many battles with other races had." Teal'c paused and looked at the General.
"General, you find it hard to believe that the Goa'uld were easily defeated by an alien race?"
General Hammond nodded. "From what I've seen so far, the Goa'uld rarely lose."
"It is true that the Goa'uld consider themselves unbeatable. Their mistake was their arrogance. They refused to understand this new enemy or consider the dangers of sending many Jaffa to a world which returned none back through the Stargate. When their armies failed to return, the Goa'uld's anger turned to curiosity, but not stupidity. The Goa'uld sent an army of human slaves through the Gate instead. It was a test. Their Jaffa were more prized than the human slaves who were considered disposable. A few humans returned. Though most were unrecognisable."
Teal'c raised his eyes to the ceiling and paused, his mind racing. What he was about to tell them, he wasn't sure about himself, though the legends were passed down through the centuries, Jaffa to Jaffa, slave to slave, until it was ingrained. Until Feldos became a word to be feared, a word which equalled darkness.
"Can I get you anything, Teal'c?" Janet asked as she saw his discomfort.
"I am all right, Doctor, but thank you," he replied. "I must continue. The slaves who returned, and there were but a few who escaped through the Stargate, had no minds left. They were broken shells, drained of all their emotion, of all that made them what they were. None of these spoke of what they had seen, none was able. Only one slave returned unharmed. His name was Clydor. Clydor's name rests on the lips of all slaves. The only soul to survive Feldos and its terrors intact, the only slave to return to tell the Goa'uld the truth about the fate of the Jaffa and what lay on Feldos. None have ever returned since."
"How did he survive?" asked Hammond with interest.
"It is said that he recognised the aliens for what they were and refused to look on them, and refused to hear their words. When he saw what was happening to his fellow slaves he fled with cloth in his ears and with his eyes shielded by his hands, never looking back. It is said that when he came through the Stargate it took the Goa'uld three days of torturing him to extract the information, so strong was his terror of what he had witnessed."
"I have one problem with all of this," said General Hammond.
"Only one..?" muttered Janet softly.
"Why didn't the Goa'uld send a missile through and finish the aliens on Feldos off once and for all?"
"I don't understand that either, and Teal'c do you know why you can't go through the gate to Feldos?" Janet asked gently, her head burning with questions.
"I do," he replied simply and then continued. "As you say, General, the Goa'uld's first thought was to destroy Feldos and indeed they drew up plans to erase it permanently. There was accord on this plan within the Goa'uld hierarchy, until a System Lord named Gran'arl decided that the planet could be more useful to the Goa'uld intact."
"Gran'arl," repeated Hammond. "You haven't spoken of this System Lord before, Teal'c."
"He is not spoken of by the Jaffa," Teal'c replied. "Gran'arl was evil, his mind dwelling on all that is dark. He believed that Feldos would serve in the Goa'uld interest as a place where all aliens who defied them could be sent. The punishment would be worse than death, because death could be an honourable thing but Feldos was everlasting darkness, everlasting terror."
Janet shuddered. "Nice people," she whispered.
Teal'c turned to the Doctor, his face impassive. "Doctor Frasier, it is of great shame to many Jaffa to be associated with such eternal damnation for any creature, even enemies of the Goa'uld, but the Jaffa live with the knowledge for the sake of the symbiot within them. What I will tell you more, of these dark deeds and of the darkness which rages on Feldos, will perhaps show you why Colonel O'Neill and the others may be lost within Feldos...forever."