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.
Sam stared at Marne for a moment, before a moan from Tiamon pulled her attention back to the tub. "We need to get him out of the water and back into bed, I don't think his fever's gonna come down anymore."
Marne watched in amazement as Teal'c nodded, and effortlessly lifted the man from the tub. Grabbing as many towels as he could find, Marne dried his friend off, then followed the Jaffa back to Tiamon's bedroom. Sam had preceded the group, and was already smoothing the bedclothes as Teal'c walked in. With surprising gentleness, the Jaffa lowered the sick man onto his bed. Sam covered him quickly, concerned that he not become chilled, which would result in their efforts being in vain.
"I must go before it becomes too dark. Vraxas will be forced to claim you for trial at last light."
"Teal'c, go with him."
"Major Carter..."
"No, Teal'c. If I'm reading the situation correctly, then the symptoms Tiamon is experiencing are not familiar to the local population. Is that correct, Marne?"
"Yes." The Euloean answered.
"Okay, then it's possible that Vraxas is not lying when he says this a Goa'uld caused illness."
Teal'c's eyebrows rose. "You believe that he is in possession of Goa'uld devices?"
Sam nodded. "It makes sense. He's power-hungry, wants to rule everything. If he found items left by the Goa'uld, I'm betting he'd experiment to see what he had, and what he could use to his advantage."
Marne frowned. "Perhaps..."
"What, Marne?"
The young man hesitated. "It has been quite some time, but some of the livestock died mysteriously. The healers never did learn what killed them."
Sam nodded. "Vraxas experimenting. I'll bet on it."
Teal'c looked concerned. "If he has obtained a Goa'uld poison, he may also have Goa'uld weapons."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"I will accompany Marne, Major Carter. Will you be all correct here?"
"All corr.. Oh." Sam swallowed a grin. "Yes, Teal'c, I'll be quite all right here."
Jack's hand was shaking badly by the time he'd collected the extra clips, and pulled, pushed, and prayed his way up to the center of the stairwell. He leaned heavily against the wall, closed his eyes, and tried to steady his breathing. Images of his team plagued him. Teal'c, with his steadfast loyalty and strength of character, Carter with her amazing scientific acumen and military mindset, and Daniel of the twenty-plus languages and impulsive nature. Of the three, he worried the most about Daniel, but for the life of him, he didn't really understand why. Dweeb, space-monkey, Danny-boy. It didn't matter what one called him, he always managed to survive. Ra and his pyramid ship, Apophis and his pyramid ship ... no, ships..., Apophis and Sokar in Hell, Daniel had survived them all. Odd that he should remember that now. Maybe he should call him Daniel of the nine-plus lives. He smiled as he recalled the Biblical story of Daniel and the lions' den. Well, he had a Daniel too, and his Daniel's nemesis was usually a snake, in some form or other. But not here, not a Goa'uld in sight. Only creatures the likes of which he'd never seen. Ugly, fierce, blood-thirsty, single-minded creatures. Hmmm. Maybe they did have something in common with snakes.
A dull thud followed by low growls pulled him out of his thoughts, telling him he was no longer alone. Terrific. He'd spent years in the military, fighting nameless, often faceless, foes in hard-to-pronounce places, on-world as well as off-world, and under all kinds of horrific conditions. But injured, alone, and in a stairwell? The thought would have been absurd, if it hadn't been so absolutely terrifying. Well, Daniel the impulsive had left him his ammunition, and Jack would be damned if it wasn't going to be put to good use. But what of Daniel? Jack sighed heavily and took another breath. Danny would be okay. He just had to be.
Daniel jogged alongside Elden and Laro, pleasantly surprised to find that he could keep up with the obviously better conditioned men. Whatever that green stuff was, Daniel bet there'd be a market for it back on Earth. Provided one could overcome the taste. But at least it left little or no aftertaste. He was eternally grateful for that. He suddenly found that he was grinning stupidly, and wondered exactly how much alcohol the stuff contained. He could feel the ache in his back from the long gash, but he found he didn't care. And the stitch in his side. Well, it was back, but again, he didn't care. This was good. Running was ever so much easier when one could ignore the pain, not to mention the short, gasping breaths. He stumbled and went to the ground, where he lay for a moment, forcing himself to breathe slowly. Elden and Laro covered a few more yards before actually missing their companion. Turning, Elden frowned. "Daniel, are you injured?"
The young scientist waved a hand and managed a short, "No. Fine." before struggling to his feet.
Elden nodded. "Laro, wait on Daniel. I'll scout ahead. I do not want to be caught unawares by the Redcaps."
As the man jogged away, Daniel staggered slightly causing Laro to move quickly to his aid. A strong hand steadied him for a moment, then released its grip as Daniel stopped wobbling. "Thanks, Laro. That green stuff kinda gets to you."
"It would seem so, Daniel. We must not loiter here. The Redcaps will be abroad soon, and some may already be..." A beastly scream echoed by a human cry cut off the man's words. Whirling, Laro cried out in panic as one of the beasts bore down on his friend. Elden had fallen in his haste to flee the creature, and now lay sprawled in the dirt, hands over his head, awaiting his fate. "ELDEN!" Laro started toward the man, not entirely sure what he would do, but not willing to allow his friend to die so easily.
Daniel's eyes widened with horror as the beast closed in. He reached automatically for the weapon concealed behind his back, and fired quickly at the beast. The creature's scream of rage turned into a cough of pain as it collapsed into a lifeless heap on the ground. As Elden and Laro turned to stare at him, the only thing whirling through Daniel's mind was 'One shot. I killed it with one shot. Jack is not going to believe this.'