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.
They traveled on without stopping. They all knew, without any of them having to put it into words, that they couldn’t afford to stop anymore. Daniel didn’t have the time. Sam was sure as it was possible to be of that fact. Daniel had been asleep since his desperate revelation about the ancient contract that had brought them here in the first place.
Sam had been well aware that something had been weighing on Daniel’s mind for several days. Knowing Daniel’s propensity for worrying a problem on every level of his psyche, Sam knew that even in his fevered dreams Daniel had likely been sifting through every angle of that translation, probably not even consciously. Daniel’s free-style intellect had saved them on more than one occasion. Sam just hoped this new information would make some sort of difference.
Somehow Sam doubted that, if Tel’nat knew about this, he would even care that he had brought them here under false pretenses. And Sam was pretty sure there wasn’t some sort of intergalactic police that they could seek any sort of justice from.
Connor looked over his shoulder at the soft murmuring coming from Daniel. The major stepped alongside the stretcher and wrapped the cloak tighter around the restless form. Her hand lingered on Daniel’s forehead, her mouth tightening in grim confirmation of their fears.
The fever was rising again.
When the major had changed Daniel’s bandages before they left the forest, Connor had known they weren’t out of the woods on that front either. The wounds on Daniel’s back were nearly lost among the inflamed flesh that surrounded them. Daniel may have defeated the delirium brought on by that shadow creature, but the core illness that Tel’nat had exposed him to was far from gone.
Connor turned his eyes back to the trail, but not before catching a look of utter desperation in the colonel’s eyes. Connor knew Colonel O’Neill well enough by now to understand that he was a man of direct action. He could handle anything that he could counter in a physical way. The problem was that nothing he, or any of them, could do was going to help Daniel defeat this thing. They had to find Thor … and the healing device … and there was no guarantee that even that would be enough. They were locked in a probable lose-lose situation based on uncertainties and hope, and Daniel would be the one to pay the price if they were wrong.
Teal’c could understand a few of the muttered words coming from Daniel Jackson’s agitated dreams. The phrases were familiar from the translation they had worked on together before coming here. Somewhere in the depths of Daniel Jackson’s mind, he was still hard at work on a solution to aid them. Teal’c reflected once again on the tenacity the young man so often showed in the face of seemingly overwhelming opposition. Looking down upon Daniel Jackson, Teal’c could see the concentration being exerted by the scholar even subconsciously. Teal’c had learned over time that Daniel Jackson did not give up easily. This situation was no different. Daniel Jackson would fight to the last.
Teal’c had a feeling that there was something vitally important about the information Daniel Jackson had given them. Obviously Daniel Jackson believed there was. Teal’c had a vague memory worrying at his mind, something he had once heard Apophis say to another System Lord. It had been sometime before Teal’c had earned his place as First Prime. The young Jaffa who had been Teal’c had overheard things then; Jaffa … rather like slaves … were ignored as a rule, considered too ignorant to understand much, if they were considered at all.
Teal’c knew that whatever it was that eluded him, it had a definite bearing on their current situation. Teal’c wished they could spare the time for him to indulge in the deep concentration provided by Kel’noreem, it would help him to focus his thoughts. Teal’c settled for a lighter state of meditation that would allow his conscious mind to maintain focus on the task at hand …and remain alert for danger… while it would also aid him in isolating the memory that he was sure held a vitally important clue.
And at this point, Teal’c knew, Daniel Jackson’s very life could depend on that memory.