TITLE: The Search

AUTHOR: Debi C

FANDOM: STARGATE SG-1

DATE: February 2001, revised April 2002

STATUS: Finished

CATAGORY: GEN, Pre-Slash, Action/Adventure, Hurt/Comfort

SPOILERS: Children Of The Gods, Tok'ra 1 and 2

PAIR: No actual pairing, contact w/ Daniel/other

SEASON/SEQUEL INFO: Second season

RATING NC-17

SUMMARY: On a routine expedition the Team is attacked and Captain Carter and Doctor Jackson disappear

WARNING: Violence, nudity, male/male contact and non-consensual sexual situations, serious whumping going on.

DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate(II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions and Gecko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copywrite infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted
elsewhere without the consent of the author. Thanks to Madeline for beta reading. The song The Last of the Mohicans is from the movie of the same name and stars Daniel Day Lewis. I think it fits this fic.

Theme from "The Last Of The Mohicans". by Clannad
Lyrics

Hope is your survival
A captive path I lead

No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a long long time
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years

(Mohican)
Nachgochema
Anetaha
Anachemowagan

No matter where you go
I will find you
In the place with no frontiers
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years

(Cherokee)
Hale wú yu ga I sv
Do na dio sv I
Wi ja lo sv
Ha le wú yu
Do na dlo sv

No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a long long time
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years

No matter where you go
I will find you
In the place with no frontiers
No matter where you go
I will find you
If it takes a thousand years

No matter where you go
I will find you

THE SEARCH

By Deb C

Chapter 1: THE CAPTURE

O'Neill slowly woke up. Something was terribly wrong. He was laying in the dirt, he hurt all over and he didn't know where he was or why he was there. It was quiet, too quiet and he had a headache. As his senses returned, he turned his head to look around.

There was the Stargate, behind him. It was nonfunctioning now, through it he could see sky and trees, but he remembered that it had brought him and his team here to a so-called uninhabited planet. Canting his head more to the right, he saw the unmoving form of Teal'c sprawled on the ground. Forcing himself to move, Jack rolled over and managed to sit upright. The large Jaffa warrior was lying on his back in an unnatural and uncomfortable looking position. His other two team members, Major Samantha Carter and Doctor Daniel Jackson, were nowhere to be seen. The Colonel got to his hands and knees and crawled towards his remaining team-member. When he got to Teal'cs side, he checked the big man for life signs. His pulse was strong and his breathing was good. As Jack put his hand on the Jaffa's shoulder, Teal'c opened his eyes and blinked up uncomprehendingly at him.

When the big man had sat up and got oriented, he looked at his team chief. "Where are the others, O'Neill?" Obviously he wasn't going to be any help in figuring out the mystery.

"Don't know." Jack helped steady his friend in sitting up. "I woke up and it was just you and me." He rubbed his face with both hands. "Daniel and Carter were both with us, right?"

"Yes, they were with us as we came through the Chappa'i." Teal'c slowly got to his feet and reached for his staff weapon. "Some force then struck us down." He frowned at the effort of remembering as he extended a hand to his Colonel to help him get up.

"Well, where are they?" O'Neill asked frustratedly as he climbed to his feet, dusting off his fatigue uniform and picking up his automatic weapon. He walked around in a circle looking intently at the dusty, dry ground. "Can you tell anything by these tracks?"

Teal'c joined the Colonel. He knelt down and looked around, casting for sign. There were some depressions in the soft ground. "Here. Here is where Majcarter and Danieljackson lay when we fell." He indicated some marks in the smooth dirt. "And here is where they were picked up." He continued over to a brush filled depression. "And here are their packs and weapons."

O'Neill followed the Jaffa's lead. The two men picked up the abandoned gear. "Did someone carry them off, or were they... 'beamed up' or what?

Teal'c returned to the marks on the ground fartherest away from where they had awakened. He squatted down and looked closely at the marks. "Here are footprints of soft-soled shoes. Someone carried them...to there." He indicated an area of disturbance on the ground. "A craft was used to transport them away."

O'Neill followed Teal'c to the area where all loose dirt and debris had been blown away. The ground itself appeared to have been burned. He knelt down and touched the scorched dirt markings. "I've never seen tracks anything like this." He looked up at the big warrior. "What kind of craft is it?"

"It travels on a pad of air. I do not know your name for it." Teal'c looked thoughtful. "But it leaves no tracks, only these markings at the start and the end of the journey."

O'Neill stood with his hands on his hips, looking around for nonexistent answers. "Why? Who would take them, I mean only Carter and Daniel? Why not us?"

"I cannot say. Perhaps... they did not want us." Teal'c looked around. "This is not a goa'uld transportation device O'Neill. Someone else did this." Jack looked at him. Teal'c thought a moment, then continued speaking. "They could have been taken by someone who does not know or care who they are."

"You mean they were kidnapped!" Jack was beginning to get angry. "Why?"

"Yes, O'Neill, stolen." Teal'c stood up. "There are beings that would take Danieljackson and Majorcarter for their value alone."

"Why? What 'value', what kind of value?" The Colonel looked at his remaining team member. "And so why not take us?"

Teal'c turned to look at his leader. "I am Jaffa. Traditionally we 'belong' to the false gods, the Goa'uld. And, you are older than the others, therefore less valuable a commodity."

. "I'm not that old." Jack grumbled and made a face at him when he realized what the warrior meant. "Wait a minute...you mean commodity...like property...like slaves?" He looked down at the scarred ground again. "Can you track this?"

"O'Neill. I can track them, but all indications show that this would be a large well-armed party. We two would not be enough to free them." The Jaffa shook his head unhappily.

"We need help here, don't we?" O'Neill looked worriedly in the direction that the marks led until they disappeared.

Teal'c only nodded at his Colonel.

O'Neill turned towards the Stargate. He absolutely hated this feeling of helplessness; he hated not knowing where Carter and Daniel were or what was happening to them and he definitely hated leaving without them; but they would be back and would not be alone."

* * * *

The Stargate opened and two figures emerged at a quick and determined pace. General Hammond left the control room and met Colonel O'Neill as they came off the ramp. "What happened? "He demanded. "Where's Doctor Jackson and Major Carter?"

Jack O'Neill jerked his fatigue cap off his head and angrily slapped it on his leg. "I don't know. They're gone. It was a set up! Someone took them!" He looked up at his superior officer. "Request permission to take a search team and return to the planet."

"Calm down Colonel O'Neill. What exactly happened?" The General was all too familiar with this look from his second in command.

O'Neill took a deep breath. "We exited the Stargate and bam, the lights went out. When we woke up...Daniel and Carter were gone!"

"Gone where?" The general was beginning to understand O'Neill's agitation.

"That's the problem. I don't know! Someone stole them." O'Neill almost shouted. He was becoming more frustrated. "They were just gone. Someone knocked us all out and took Carter and Jackson." He looked at his Commanding Officer and friend. "I've got to go back for them!"

The General nodded, acknowledging his Second in Command's feelings. "Jack, settle down. We can't go running off half cocked here." The General raised both his hands between himself and the emotional Colonel. "Teal'c, what's your opinion?" Hammond queried.

"As O'Neill says, We were rendered unconscious by some unknown force and when we awakened our teammates were missing." He paused. "We found sign of a craft or crafts, but agreed we were too few. We fear they were 'kidnapped', possibly by slavers. The Colonel decided we needed 'backup' and I agreed." He looked down at the General. "We are most anxious to resume the search."

"Of course you are. But we still have no idea who these kidnappers are or why they've taken our people! " O'Neill just looked at his Commanding Officer with a stony eyed glare. General Hammond made his decision and glanced up at the control room personnel. "Scramble SG-6, Search and Rescue. Priority mission."

As the sounds of his people running around in efficient organization faded into the background, General Hammond gestured O'Neill and Teal'c towards the newly arrived Dr. Fraiser and her team. "Before you leave Jack, let the doctor give you quick once over." As Jack opened his mouth to protest, Hammond waved him down. "You were rendered unconscious. Let's be sure you're all right before you leave. When the Search and Rescue team is assembled you can go." He glanced at Frazier. "Doctor, please make it quick."

"Of course, Sir." The petite brunette doctor met the Colonel with curiosity written all over her face. "Where's Major Carter and Doctor Jackson?"

* * * *

The two remaining SG-1 members allowed themselves to be led to the infirmary. Once there Dr Fraiser went straight to work. "Were you knocked out physically or did you just lose consciousness?"

"We just passed out Doc." O'Neill answered quickly, pulling off his outer shirt. "Can you hurry? We need to get back there and start looking." He jumped up on the exam table and stuck out his arm in her direction.

"I know you do. Now sit still and let me take your blood pressure." She quickly stuck a thermometer in his mouth and applied the cuff to his proffered arm and timed his pulse. "High."

Jack removed the instrument from his mouth. "Ya think! C'mon Doc, I don't have time for this."

"Colonel, sit still and let me finish this and it will be a lot quicker." Fraiser put the thermometer back in his mouth. "Do you have a headache?"

"Not until I realized they were gone!" He grudgingly admitted. "Then I got a headache!"

She glanced over to the next bed where a corpsman was working with Teal'c. The Medic shrugged. "He's fine, Doctor Fraiser."

Dr, Fraiser pulled out her penlight and made a move towards O'Neill's face. He gently pushed her hand away and removed the thermometer from his mouth. "I'm fine, he's fine." Jack slid off the table and stood in front of the doctor handing her the offending instrument. "We're both fine. But Daniel and Carter aren't fine. They're missing and we're leaving." He picked up his fatigue shirt and slipped it back on over his black tee shirt. Teal'c copied his movements. The corpsman just stepped back out of Teal'cs way.

Dr Fraiser, however, stood her ground. "Do you even know where to look?" She asked worriedly.

"No. But we know where to start. Then we'll follow it to the finish!" He reached down, grasped her by the shoulders and gently moved her out of his way. "Goodbye Doc."

"Colonel O'Neill," He turned at his name. "Find them!" Her last words followed them down the hall and lingered in the air.

* * * *

Hours later, O'Neill was sitting on a large rock watching SG- 6 set up the camp for the night. His head ached and his heart hurt. Teal'c came up behind him with a canteen. "You must rest O'Neill." He admonished his leader.

"Damn it! Where are they?" Jack O'Neill was not tired, hungry or thirsty. He was mad, worried and frustrated. "We need to keep going." He glanced over at the other team's campsite and scowled.

"Where, O'Neill?" The warrior felt the same way but was trying to keep it in perspective. "Where shall we search tonight in the dark?" He handed the water to his leader then sat down on a rock across from him. "If we continue, the tracking would only prove to be a hazardous guess."

Jack stared down at the canteen in his hand. "Yea. But why were Carter and Daniel taken?" He looked over at Tealc'. "Why them and not us?"

The dark skinned man tilted his head a moment, thinking of the two missing scientists. He spoke slowly and quietly to his friend. "Majorcarter and Danieljackson have more things in common with each other than they do with us." He shifted his position on the rock. "They are both fair skinned, they are both light haired, they are both young and they are both 'attractive'. They would both draw attention in a crowd."

The Colonel looked at him and nodded. "Then what you are saying is that someone took 'em because they're both 'pretty'?"

"It is possible." Teal'c spoke. "I believe that we are in a part of the galaxy that is frequented by slavers who capture innocents and sell them to others for their pleasure." He shook his head. "This is not unheard of even among the system lords. Occasionally the Goa'uld uses this practice as a source of hosts."

"Well, where are these sonofabitches?" Jack stood up and started pacing. "Why can't we find them and say 'Hey, those are my two geniuses and I want 'em back. You can't have them! I need 'em to save the flaming galaxy from snakes!"

"The victims are not usually sold on the planet that they are captured on, O'Neill." He replied. "Most of the time they are removed to other worlds where they are not so likely to be recognized and claimed by their people."

"And that leaves us where, Teal'c." O'Neill turned around and threw his hands up in the air. He spun on his heel to face the Jaffa.

Teal'c could only shrug helplessly. "I don't know O'Neill. I only know that we must search quickly. Perhaps we can catch up with them before the captors reach their ship."

"A ship!" O'Neill ran his hands over his face and through his short graying hair. He looked up at the Jaffa with despair. "They have a ship? "There are millions of planets out here. Where the hell am I supposed to look for them?"

"I do not know for certain, but it is a possibility." Teal'c continued on grimly. "Our best opportunity is to find them before they leave the planet."

Jack tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. They were different from the ones at home. These weren't friendly. They were cold.

Chapter 2: The Journey

{brackets} indicate alien language being spoken.

Daniel Jackson woke up to the rocking motion of the hard 'floor' of their cage. As he rolled over onto his back and opened his eyes he saw Samantha Carter lying next to him. He propped himself up on one arm and touched her face. The slender blond woman was breathing easily and appeared unharmed but was unconscious. As he looked around he noticed to his dismay that they were in a cage with metal bars that was balanced on some sort of trailer. It was being towed along in tandem with several others also carrying cages with captives in them.

A low moan caught his attention and he looked back down at his teammate. He moved over next to her. "Ow, what hit me?" Sam murmured in a low voice trying to focus on Daniel.

"As near as I can remember, we had just come through the Stargate and everything went black." Jackson answered her. "Some sort of force field maybe." The young man guessed.

Sam tried to sit up and the two of them together managed it by using the bars for support. "Where's the Colonel and Teal'c?" She looked around at their surroundings.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them since I came to here." He shook his head. "But I would think that they got caught in the same thing that knocked us out."

She looked back as far along the train as she could see. "You don't think...?" She looked at her companion in fear of her thoughts.

"I think that Jack being Jack and Teal'c being and Teal'c that they probably got away." Daniel shifted so that he could lean back on the bars of their cage.

"Why are you so sure?" Sam put a hand to her aching head and peered at her companion.

"Because I have to be." The slender archeologist took his glasses off and wiped his eyes; pinching his nose with his fingers. "I have to know that they are looking for us and they're going to make a dramatic entrance and rescue us." He paused looking up at her. "Because that's what Jack does."

"OK." She sat up and scooted over next to him, she tried to smile hopefully. "I like that idea. I just hope they don't take too long."

Jackson looked around at their sparse surroundings and nodded in agreement. "Me too, Sam. Me too."

* * * *

The train of cages continued across the barren landscape for several more hours. Daniel and Sam rode mostly in silence, taking comfort in their close proximity to each other. As the sun started to set on the horizon the transportation slowed and then settled down lowering itself onto the dusty ground.

"That's odd." Daniel got to his knees and crawled over to the barred wall of their cage trying to peer over the edge.

"What's odd?" Sam asked. She had been almost asleep, lulled by the motion of the vehicle but the drastic change in motion had awoken her.

Daniel tried to look down between the bars. "We're in, er on a hovercraft." He moved to a different angle to try to see more but finally sat down in disappointment of not being able to see their transport better. He looked back towards her. "No wheels."

"Are you sure?" She sat up and pushed her blond hair out of her eyes. "I hate to be dense, but what does that mean to us, exactly?"

"It means Sam, that we have been captured by an advanced race." He scooted back over to lean on the bars again next to his teammate. "I initially thought that we had been picked up by some natives of a primitive to mid level culture, but this advanced technology doesn't fit that scenario."

"Why do they have us anyway?" She didn't really expect to know but the question had to be asked. "Why us and not the Colonel and Teal'c?"

Daniel shifted to find a more comfortable position. "The closest thing I have ever seen to anything like this was in Morocco on one of my parent's digs when I was little." He answered her grimly. "When I was five or six there was this caravan that came through our camp. I remember my Mother and I hiding in the tent until they were gone. My Father said that they were slavers and that they might try to grab us for the market in Arabia." He shook his head. "I remember my Mother being very skittish for several days afterwards. I went off with one of the local kids the next day and she just about had a heart attack. It was the only spanking I ever got from my Father."

"But Daniel, we've never seen any thing of this sort before." She asked suspiciously. "Why now and why us?"

"Well, you said yourself before we left; this planet was going to be farther out from the center of the Gate hub than usual. As near as I can figure, we were taken because of our physical attributes." He counted off on his fingers. "We're the two youngest, and we're fair skinned, light haired and blue eyed. In a dark skinned society we're unusual enough to be valuable." He looked up at his friend sadly. "As slaves."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Daniel." Carter pulled her knees up to her chin.

"I'm not going to lie to you Sam. I'm sorry." Daniel looked up at her over his glasses. "We just have to get away before we're sold or separated. Once that happens we may never see each other again."

As they sat talking two of their captors had approached their cage. They were of human type, medium height but more slender than an earth human would have been. They wore flowing robes and turban like headdresses with a veil or face covering attached. They watched the two teammates as they spoke to each other for a few minutes.

Carter leaned over and whispered to Jackson. "Can you understand what they're saying?"

The younger man was listening intently. "It sounds sort of familiar, not Latin or Egyptian, but an Aramaic derivative."

He listened a few more seconds, then spoke to the pair. {"Hello, can you understand me?"}

The taller of the two looked back at him with amused eyes. {"Yes, young one. I hear you."}

Daniel tried another phrase. {"My name is Daniel Jackson, we are peaceful..."} He started to introduce himself but the man raised a hand to stop him.

{"I do not care to know your name young one. It is not important, and besides you will have a new one soon."}

{"Why have you taken us?"} Jackson tried another tact.

{"Why, you are my property now. I captured you at the great circle. I found you and your woman. I will sell you at the market to make my fortune."} The man laughed at Daniel's expression. {"She is not worth so much, I think. She is too skinny and she is not so young. But you, you are very beautiful and you will bring much at the Great Tent."}

{"Where are our friends?"} Daniel asked suspiciously.

{"One belonged to the great Gods and the other was too old. He would have been hard to train and harder to sell. So we killed them and took you".} He laughed at the young man's expression. {"But you, you will be worth much to the right buyers."} Daniel's heart sunk at this news of O'Neill and Teal'c. But he needed more information.

{"We are free people."} Daniel protested. {"You cannot sell us."}

The robed leader laughed. {"You don't look free to me. You look like two slaves on their way to be sold to the highest patron."}

{"We are a mated pair!"} Daniel said. {"We cannot be separated."} He knew he was grasping at straws but they needed to stay together. It was worth a try to convince them.

{"Huumm. That is an idea. But...I think you will bring more alone."} He laughed again. {"I have many customers who will want each of you...but not together."}

The other man looked thoughtful. {"But Boss, maybe as a breeding pair they would bring much more."}

The big man laughed again. {"I can get twice more for this one alone at the Great Tent."} He indicated Jackson. {"Besides, the quicker we separate them the easier it will be for all."} He shook his head. {"They aren't worth my trouble to find a breeder to sell them too."} He waived them off as he turned on his heel and left, his associate following closely behind him.

Daniel sighed and turned back to Sam. She had been watching the exchange silently but now demanded to know what was said.

"Unfortunately, I was right about them being slavers." The young man said. "I tried to convince him that we were a mated pair to be sold together, but he didn't buy it."

Sam was touched by Daniel's attempt. "Why not?"

"He said that you were too slender and" he looked awkwardly at the floor "He thinks you're too old to bring a high price. So we're going to be separated."

She looked a little discomforted by that but then shrugged. "Well, I am over thirty."

"Sam, I got the feeling if you were over 16 you'd be too old." He looked up at her. "Sorry."

"For what?" She tried to laugh, but it sounded hollow. "For me being too old to be of much interest a slave trader?" She shook her head. "I wish I'd have been forty or fifty. Maybe then he would have left me behind with the Colonel and Teal'c."

Daniel looked up at her worriedly. "I uh, I hope you don't mind..."

"About the pair thing? Forget it. I'd rather we stayed together." Sam acknowledged its importance to them. "It would be easier for the Colonel to find us."

"Me too. But that didn't do a lot of good either." He looked up at her. "He said we're worth more separately than as a pair." Now came the hard part. "Uh, Sam. I have to tell you. He said that he killed Jack and Teal'c."

Her heart stopped for just a moment. "Do you believe him?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, I don't. I think he just said that to discourage us." He reached out to touch her shoulder. "I'll take more than someone like them to finish Jack and Teal'c."

She nodded back at his confidence. "Yea, they're too tough to be killed by this bunch of jerks."

* * * *

Later that evening after a meal of some sort of boiled oat porridge, the two teammates settled down on the floor to sleep trying unsuccessfully to get comfortable. "I guess we're not getting any blankets or anything." Sam commented wistfully as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"No, I guess our comfort is not much interest to our owner." Daniel looked over at her. She was all curled up in a ball. "What's the matter? Are you cold?" He guessed.

"Yea, getting that way." She glanced over at the sun that was almost hidden, dropping behind some far away hills. "It's almost night."

"It always gets cold in the desert." Jackson looked pensive for a minute. "This reminds me of Abydos. It probably will get down into the 40's tonight. You'd better slide over closer." He moved in her direction. "We'll be warmer together.'

She shifted across the hard flooring to get next to her friend. She leaned up against his chest as they lay down together, they huddled into a spoon position and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Do you snore?" She asked him teasingly.

"I don't know. Neither Sha'uri and Jack ever complained." He answered airily.

"Well, you must not, 'Cause you know the Colonel would have told you."

"Yea, I figured as much." As they lay together, he pulled her closer as much for his own peace of mind as hers.

"Daniel."

"Yes, Sam."

"Do you really think they're still alive?" Unbidden, her eyes filled with tears.

"Yes, Sam. I really do." Daniel replied confidently. He pulled her hair away from her neck and whispered in her ear. "Jack and Teal'c are both awfully hard to kill."

"That's true." She nodded to herself. "But I bet he's really mad."

* * * *

Early the next morning, Daniel woke from a fitful sleep. He had been dreaming that he was back in Kousuf's tent with Sha'uri lying in his arms. But the hair that his face was nestled in was blond and smelled of shampoo, not the desert herbs his wife had used. He looked around without moving trying to determine what had happened while they had been sleeping. There was not much movement in the camp yet and he was able to study their surroundings in more detail. Sam groaned in her sleep and tried to get more comfortable on the hard surface. She shifted and cuddled closer to Daniel. He couldn't resist placing a kiss on her exposed neck.

She rolled over in his arms and sleepily looked at him. "Daniel?"

He blushed and shifted to put some distance between them. "Sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not." She responded.

"It's just we will probably be separated soon and..." He let the sentence go unfinished.

"It's okay, Daniel. Look, you're sweet and if Sha'uri and, uh, other things...hadn't happened I probably would have made a pass at you a long time ago. I care a lot about you." She looked up at him, still in his arms. "Do you think she would have liked me?" She asked thoughtfully.

He smiled at the thought of his wife. "I didn't know anyone whom she didn't like and who didn't like her." He looked away. "She was the best person I ever knew." His expression became troubled. "I didn't deserve her. I couldn't protect her from the Goa'uld and now I can't protect you from this."

She reached up and touched his cheek. "She loved you a lot, Daniel. It wasn't your fault and neither is this. Besides, I was supposed to protect you. I'm the Air Force officer here."

He shook his head. "No Sam, it doesn't matter. That's all past. But this is now and they're going to separate us soon. We've got to have a plan."

She nodded. "The important thing is for one of us to get free. We have got to get back to SGC for reinforcements." She placed her finger on his open mouth to stop him from interrupting her. "This is obviously well organized. We have to get back to the Stargate and find out what happened to the Colonel and Teal'c. Then we've got to report back to General Hammond. If they send another team in here without intelligence, this could happen again."

Daniel agreed unhappily. "But Jack said never to leave anyone behind."

"I know, but one person won't be able to stop this." She insisted. "If you can get away, go. Find the Colonel and Teal'c. If you can't find them or they can't help us, then get through the gate."

Daniel nodded unhappily. "Whichever one of us gets the chance, it's agreed."

Later that morning, the caravan started moving again. During the day Daniel had determined that Sam needed to learn a few important words and phrases...just in case she was the one to escape. They sat head to head on the floor of their cage and Jackson patiently repeated sentences over and over for her. Sam managed to get a few sentences memorized in the next several hours. The linguist wanted her to be prepared in the case that she got free and ran into someone who would help her.

"Here. Practice it again." Daniel calmly repeated the line to his friend again. {"My name is Sam. I am a free woman. Take me to the Chappa'i. My tribe will reward you."}

"Daniel!"

"Repeat it." Daniel was very stern. "You have to know it. Don't pull a Jack O'Neill on me now."

She made a face at him, then started again. {"My name is Sam. I am a free woman. Take me to the Chappa'i. My tribe will reward you."}

"Perfect." He smiled at her efforts. "Just remember that and you should be all right.

"Right. All I have to do is escape, find friendly natives, find the Colonel and Teal'c and find the Stargate. Piece of cake. I can do it in my sleep." She made a face at him. "Give me something hard to do."

"Ok, repeat after me. {"My name is Sam. I am a free woman. Take me to the Chappa'i. My tribe will reward you. Help me. May I have some water?"}

Chapter 3: The Escape

As the caravan traveled cross-country it left the dry desert setting of the Stargate. The path it followed entered a range of foothills where nature gradually reasserted itself with grassy meadows, creeks that ran freely and corpses of brush-like trees that grew in advantageous areas.

The two young humans sat in their cage hard at work. Daniel continued to teach Sam a few phrases of the local language, just in case. She had progressed satisfactorily but not as far as he had hoped. Sam continued to repeat the sentences to Daniel as he tried to add a few more words where he could. {"Hello, my name is Sam. I am a free person. Take me to the Chappa'i. My tribe will reward you. Help me. May I have some water?"}

"That's good Sam." Daniel nodded. "Let's try adding this." He continued. {"Have you seen my friends?"}

"Daniel, enough. I can't memorize the Gettysburg address." She ran her hand through her short cropped blond hair as if to massage her brain.

"I though you had a photographic memory?" He teased gently, smiling as he leaned back against the bars of their prison.

"That's right, 'photo' as in to see. I can memorize what I see, not what I hear, especially when it doesn't mean anything to me." She shook her head. "I wasn't that good in languages."

"Yea, well I'm just the opposite." He admitted. "I catch on quicker to sounds than sights. I guess that's why I'm a linguist, not an astrophysicist."

"Ya think!" She shook her head. "Sorry, it's addictive. I swear my speech patterns are changed forever."

"Ya, sure, ya betcha." Daniel reached over and patted her shoulder. "It's okay, Sam. We'll get out of this yet."

She nodded, her thoughts wandering to their missing teammates. "I just can't help wondering where they are, if they're okay."

"I know." Daniel replied, also thinking of their two comrades. "We specialists need our military generalists to keep us in line." He grimaced. "And out of trouble." Daniel looked around at the changing scenery. "I think that Jack would say "Okay kids. We're down but not out. What we need is a window of opportunity and if they don't give us one, then we make our own."

"Yea, we will just have to keep on our toes and recognize that window when it opens." Sam sat back up and unconsciously drew a line in the dust on the cage floor. An idea came to her. "Daniel, why can't you write what you want me to remember here on the floor?"

"OK, but if you can't read the language..."

"No, write it in English." She looked at him thoughtfully. "You know, phonetically."

He grinned at her over his glasses. "Ya know Sam; sometimes I do think you're way smarter than I am." They laughed then got back to the lessons.

* * * *

The next morning, after their usual breakfast of oat-stuff, the two teammates noticed a quartet of their captors walking down the line of cages talking among themselves. The four men were each carrying ropes, a whip, a pole with a noose on the end and what appeared to be a kind of rifle. Two vehicles away from them, Sam and Daniel watched as they roughly pulled one of the occupants out of his cage and sent the captive up the line to another car. He was paired up with another captive. They appeared to be dividing the prisoners into different groups. This was the time that they had been dreading ...their imminent separation.

The group of four men approached their cage. Daniel and Sam got to their feet, facing their enemy.

{"What is the problem?"} Daniel asked loudly. {"What do you want?"}

{"It's time little one. You two sweethearts must be parted."} The man with the ropes grinned at them with yellow teeth. {"The boss has plans for you that don't include your woman. I hope you got some pleasure last night. It's the last you'll see of her." }

{"What will happen to her?"}

{Oh, she'll be sold...after we get through with her."} They laughed among themselves. {"But she will go to the common market.

You are going to the Great Tent. So you two lovers must be parted."}

{"No! You cannot separate us."} Daniel frantically tried to think of a reason. {"We must be together. We are a mated pair."}

{"He who buys you will not want such as she."} The other man with the pole laughed. {"Now, step aside little one; we don't want to hurt you."} He advanced towards Daniel and Sam. {"We only want to move you to another cage."}

The two humans moved together to the far side of their barred enclosure, Jackson moved in front of his teammate. Daniel spoke to her quietly. "Sam, they're going to split us up. If you get a chance, make a break for it. I'll try to keep their attention on me." He stayed slightly in front of her

"What about you?" She shook her head, gripping his shoulder. "I'm not leaving you!"

"Get away and go back to the Stargate." He said between gritted teeth and pushing her away. "Then you can get help and come back for me. Just like the plan. Remember!"

"Daniel!"

"Look, Sam. Don't argue. It's better that it's you. You know how to do that military survival thing." He emphasized to her. "Just remember that they keep talking about taking me to the Great Tent to sell. Look for me there. Tell Jack I'm waiting for you."

They shifted their position as two of the men opened the door and entered into the cage with them. Jackson started edging away from Carter, pulling the attention of the pair to himself. Sam remained quietly unobtrusive in her corner.

The man with the catch pole device made a grab for Daniel but the younger man managed to duck under his loop and dashed towards the next corner opposite the opening in the cage. The second man with the rope tried to grab him by the arm but the archeologist pushed past him.

The first man yelled at his partner and the two together cornered their prey in the part of the cage opposite from Sam. The third man, who had remained outside the cage to work the door, came over behind Daniel to help the others get a hand on him.

When Carter saw him leave the door unattended, she saw her opportunity and made a dash for the opening. The doorman tried to get back to close it on her but Sam hit the bars with her full weight and speed behind her. The heavy metal door slammed back on him, throwing him off balance and toppling him off the hovercrafts edge. He fell to the ground four feet below, knocking the wind out of him. Jumping off the vehicle, Carter hit the ground in full stride.

The fourth man with the weapon had been watching the struggle inside the cage from a short distance away. When he saw the woman make her escape out of the cage, he dropped into a firing position to discharge his weapon on her as she sprinted towards the wooded area.

When Sam cleared the door, Daniel saw her jump to the ground and start her run. He then made his move, grabbing the pole out of yellow teeth's hands, and using it as a club, he hit the two men with a hockey check that would have made Jack O'Neill proud. The two guards went down in front of him in a tangled heap and for a brief moment Daniel saw a clear path after Sam into the woods. He headed for the door and leaped for the ground. But the still prone doorman saw him escaping and managed to yell out to the gunman to let the woman go and stop him instead.

The gunman wheeled and fired the dart gun at Daniel just as he cleared the cell. As Jackson jumped out of the cage, he felt a stinging impact on his shoulder. He managed a few more steps but his body betrayed him and he fell face first into the dirt. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was Carter making out of the clearing and into the trees, safe.

Meanwhile, Sam had made it to a corpse of trees some distance from the cages. After a few moments, She cautiously stopped to catch her breath, looking back to see if she was being pursued. From her hiding place, she could see that Daniel was down. The man with the rifle was standing over her friend's body and the two in the cage were looking out the door. The one whom she had knocked down in her flight walked over to Daniel's inert form, kicked him in the side and then rolled him over. He reached down and pulled the dart from the young man's body. Then he motioned to the gunman to help lift Daniel and put him back into the cage the two human captives had shared. The other two guards hoisted Daniel's unconscious body back into the enclosure and dumped him roughly on the floor, slamming the door to lock it. The four men then walked away together yelling angry imprecations at each other.

Her first instincts were to remain hidden in the trees and return later to try to free her teammate, but that wasn't in the plan. She knew that she had to make it back to the Stargate for reinforcements. If she could find the Colonel and Teal'c, then they could return and rescue Daniel. If she couldn't find them, she would have to get back through the Stargate to the SGC for reinforcements. Sam waited only until she had caught her breath then headed back in the direction that the caravan had come from.

* * * *

Some time later the caravan's owner and his henchmen stood outside the cage that now held the only remaining human. He was yelling at the three shamefaced handlers. {"What a loss. This will cost all of you your percentages of this trip."}

{"But boss, we saved the valuable one for you!"} The failed doorman whined.

{"Do I have a lizard in my pocket fool?"} The gunman snorted. {"I saved the boy. You and those two fools there let the woman escape. I would have gotten her too if you fools could have held onto one young male."}

{"That is true my friend. Your cut remains the same."} The leader admitted glowering at the other three. {"Your inept handling of the situation may cost us dearly. If she can find their companions we may have a fight on our hands. We must call the vessel in early now. We can waste no more time collecting any more slaves. We will go tomorrow to the meeting place."}

* * * *

SG1 and SG6 had traveled hard through the day. Earlier that morning, soon after decamping and continuing on, Teal'c had found the slave caravan's campsite with some suspicious markings on the ground by it. There had obviously been a struggle. The dirt some distance from the hover cars was heavily disturbed. There, Jack O'Neill found blood on the ground and a pair of metal-framed glasses, badly bent and with the lenses broken out. He knelt on the ground holding the damaged object in his hand for a full minute. Then he stood up grim faced and angry.

"Well, we know we have the right people anyway." He commented stiffly to Major Haverty and Teal'c when they reached his side.

"Danieljackson loses his glasses with regularity." Teal'c explained to the Major.

Haverty looked down at the bloody stain on the ground.

"Yea, well. He tends to bleed a lot too." O'Neill said in a strained voice. "It's definitely him."

"But what about Major Carter?" The Major asked, looking around the immediate area. "Is there no confirmation of her here?"

O'Neill started forwards towards the trail. "Not yet, but there will be."

* * * *

Samantha Carter was hungry, thirsty, tired, dirty and very determined. She knew that the alien convoy had traveled a good distance from the Stargate and she had no real hope that the Colonel and Teal'c would still be there. If 'Boss' had told Daniel the truth, her two teammates would already be dead. She could feel the tears starting to form, but she would have to deal with her feelings later. Daniel was depending on her now. She would have to get back to SGC and start the search from there. All she had to go on was Daniel had said they were taking him to the slave sale at the 'Great Tent'. Holy Hannah, it was too weird to be true. But there it was, and she was his only hope of rescue and she wouldn't fail her teammate.

She traveled eastward in the direction of sunrise that morning. She wished she had the Colonel or Teal'c here to proof her celestial navigation. Hey, if she was gonna wish, why not have Thor, the Azgardian, beam her up to his ship and then swoop over and get Daniel in comfort. Now, what was that phrase Daniel had been trying to get her to memorize? {"Hello, my name is Sam. I'm a free person'}...who's lost and scared and wants to go home. Oh, yea, that's on earth so {'Take me to the Chappa'i and my tribe will repay you'.} Or the Tok'ra even, I'm not terribly picky. By the way, do you know the way to the Great Tent Sale? I have a friend there who's going to be the red tag special.

Darkness fell and Sam found a little stream and decided that it would be stupid not to stop and take advantage of the fresh water. After drinking her fill and washing the sweat off of her face and arms she found a soft pile of leaves caught in the exposed roots of a large blue leafed tree. As she lay back to try to get some sleep, she saw a large light streak across the night sky. Funny, she thought. She hadn't seen any evidence of common meteor strikes and it was awfully close for a miss. Then it occurred to her. It wasn't a meteor, it was a ship! She sat up and watched it. A damned big ship, too big for a death glider or its equivalent. It had to be a cargo ship. A cargo ship that had come to pick up its crew and...Cargo. She got up and started to run back in the direct she had come from, praying she was wrong, knowing she was right.

* * * *

The second night out, SG6 plus one frustrated Colonel and one determined Jaffa had settled down in an area to camp. O'Neill had wanted to continue on. They had found a trail of sorts and confirmation of his teammates presence as captives of the Aliens. The trail was primarily made up of bent grass and occasionally, an area that appeared to have been swept free of debris. After hearing a description of the transport from Teal'c, SG6's commander had used the term hovercraft. That had seemed to fit the wheel-less vehicle's trail that they were following. Both of the SG1 members had argued with the younger officer, but Major Haverty had insisted on their stopping for the evening, saying that a tired search team was more likely going to miss the faint trail signs they had been following. So the tents were up, the fire built and dinner served. Jack was pacing the perimeter circle of his tent and bitching about the delay, threatening to just go on without the rest of the team.

Teal'c was seated in front of his tent finishing off his MRE and watching his team leader with concern. O'Neill was not happy, and he could not blame him. He too had wanted to continue on in the search. But as Hammond had instructed, they were committed to this team and they couldn't just pick up and leave in spite of O'Neill's threats to do just that.

Finally, his commander flopped down next to him, propping his head on his backpack. The Colonel sighed and looked up at the stars. "I don't get it Teal'c. Where could they be headed? This planet is about as backwater as they come. There's no major cities, no centers of commerce, nowhere to go to sell anything of any real value much less ...slaves."

"It is possible that they are heading to a meeting point or even a landing site." Teal'c didn't like his answers any better than he knew O'Neill would.

"That would be just peachy, wouldn't it? I..." He cut his words off short, leaping to his feet as he pointed up to the sky. "Teal'c, what the hell is that?" A large glowing object flew over the campsite. "Oh, God dammit! Don't tell me that's what I think it is!"

Teal'c quickly climbed to his feet, watching the object. "It is a ship, O'Neill." The Jaffa replied grimly as he came to stand beside his team chief. Their greatest fear was coming home to haunt them.

"Jesus, Joseph and Mary!" Jack turned and ran down into SG6's campsite. "Haverty! Major Haverty! Get your fucking ass out of your tent and get out here NOW!"

SG6 had already seen the large craft as it flew past their camp. Haverty was out of his tent and staring up at the sky with the rest of his men. "Here, Colonel O'Neill." He waited until the excited senior officer ran to him. "Yes, sir. I see it too. Is that...?"

"You bet your fucking ass, man! That is a goddamn transport ship and a goddamn big one too!" O'Neill was in full voice. "Do you want to guess what it's doing here, Haverty? Well, I already got a guess! And I don't goddamn fucking well don't like it!"

"Yes Sir." The Major knew better than to throw gasoline on this fire. "I'm sure I know what that guess is, sir. And No, Sir, I don't like it anymore than you do."

"Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c had come up behind the furious senior officer. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Haverty could not have known of this. We did not know until the ship passed over us." The Jaffa placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Come now, O'Neill. We must go on to the landing site."

O'Neill stopped and took a deep breath. He looked at Haverty, both fists clenched beside him, turned on his heel and started back to his tent for his equipment, the Jaffa warrior following his enraged leader.

Major Haverty stood for just a second, watching SG1 efficiently donning their gear preparing to move out with or without his team. He ached for this man who was losing his friends, his team. He murmured sorrowfully, "Sorry Colonel." Then he turned to SG6 who were all already getting ready to move. "Come on everybody. Saddle up. The bad guys are here and we're missing all the fun."

* * * *

The huge cargo ship was still glowing with heat from the atmosphere when it touched down in the clearing. A hatch ramp large enough to drive a train through opened downwards. Three uniformed alien officers descended to the ground under it. The leader of the caravan waved at his Commander then approached submissively to genuflect briefly in front of him.

The Captain stood still and allowed his Head Catchman to report. It looked like it had been a good haul in spite of the reported escape of the female captive. The spirits of his ship's crew were high; this was to be their last planet fall. They would now head back to their home world to sell their cargo of human wares and collect their riches.

* * * *

Major Carter had gone to plan B, giving up on A. She had to be sure of what would happen to her teammate. So, not according to the original plan, she had turned around and was heading in the direction of the huge alien ship's landing site. If her estimation of the ship's apparent trajectory was true, it should be just due south of her current position. She was trying to stay well into the tree line so as to not be seen by any unfriendlies or taken by surprise herself. Once she saw the ship, she would have a description that might be useful in determining it's planet of origin and more importantly it's next port of call.

Her concentration was broken by a loud metallic sound off to her left. It was definitely not a natural noise, not a bird or insect. She made her way through the thick undergrowth, crouched down behind the brush and started to reconnoiter the area. After a short walk and hiding behind some thorny shrubbery, she found what she had been looking for. The ship was huge. It was the classic saucer shape and had a loading ramp like a cargo ship should. Three men in ornate uniforms came down the ramp and the 'Boss' walked up to meet them then bowed. They spoke for a short while then the crew proceeded with the loading procedure. As the work details did their jobs, Carter tried to see any markings on she ship's hull, such as a name or numerical designation. She could see some runic inscriptions but was unable to make out a complete word. The ship itself was obviously not new, as it bore some carbon scoring on the side visible to her and even an unevenness in the finish that might suggest repaired damage. As the noise of the hovercraft engine began, Sam watched the string of hovercars pulled up into the loading bay. She could just make out a lone figure in car number 4. Daniel was conscious now as evidenced by his upright position and watching the proceedings with typical Jacksonian curiosity. As the hovercrafts were pulled completely into the belly of the large mother ship and she lost sight of him, her eyes filled with unwanted angry tears.

After an approximate total of fifteen minutes, the loading complete, the huge ramp retracted into its flight position. A roar shook the ground she was standing on and the leviathan shuddered and rumbled lifting its huge bulk off of the planet's surface. As the ship ascended into the planet's atmosphere, the area became strangely quiet. Then with the constancy of life, the small living sounds of the world renewed themselves to their normal level. Samantha Carter turned and trudged back down the trail that she had come on back towards the Stargate.

* * * *

The primary tractor hovercraft started up and the cars were hauled into the bowels of the great ship carrying with it the lives and souls of twenty-seven sentient beings. One of them, Daniel Jackson, late of Earth, stepson of Abydos and archeologist to the stars stood, holding onto the bars of his cage, watching and waiting for the arrival of his future.

* * * *

The Search and Rescue Team had also heard the ship leave planetside. O'Neill and Teal'c increased their speed and continued to lead the team towards the direction of the apparent landing site. Maybe there they could learn some small bit of information that might lead them to their missing teammates. But they walked in a somber zone of their own. SG6 stayed behind them, following at a respectful distance. As with all such teams, SG6 Search and Rescue, they wondered if they had taken too long, been too careful, had followed the wrong sign too far. Because a failed SAR mission resulted only in tragedy, not joy.

Suddenly O'Neill and Teal'c went on alert, their weapons held up and ready. The team behind them took a defensive posture, guns up. The two experienced warriors shifted back to back, all senses alert to possible attack. Then to their surprise, a tall slender female form wearing what was left of a BDU camouflaged uniform, ran out of the trees and right into the arms of her teammates where she disappeared within the embrace of O'Neill and Teal'c.

Chapter 4: The Journey

Daniel regained consciousness slowly, trying to remember what had happened to knock him out again. His arm ached like it had been punched in the large muscle. His face also had a sore, burning feeling as if it had been scrapped raw, and his nose felt two sizes too large. He opened his eyes, discovering that it was now late morning or early afternoon, his glasses were missing and so was Sam. The cage he was riding in was still moving it's slow, deliberate way along as part of the same slave/prison caravan. He sat up gripping the bars for support and shook his head to try to clear the cobwebs. That proved to be a mistake as he almost passed out again from the pain in his head.

He sat still for a while, searching his memory for possible explanations for this new situation. He remembered making a plan with Sam for one of them to escape as soon as possible to return to the Stargate; her learning words in the dominant language of their jailers and; finally, her dash for freedom followed by his failed attempt. He must have landed headfirst coming out of the cage, which would explain his missing glasses and the damage to his face. At least Sam was free. He was sure he had seen her make it into the scrubby bunch of trees that lined the 'road' they were following.

Well, he wasn't going anywhere he wanted to fast, and dinner was still a good time off so he determined that napping was the beneficial thing to be doing to try to regain his strength. Hopefully, Sam could hook up with Jack and Teal'c in time to make a daring rescue before evening when he would have to eat boiled oat stuff again. He settled back down onto the uncomfortable spot on the floor.

Some time later, he was awakened by a loud humming, vibrating sensation. He blinked and sat up, trying to shield his lens-deprived eyes from a very large, very bright white sun that had apparently appeared over the little train of cages. Some of the other captives were screaming out their fear in their own languages, some of them crouched down in their cages, most likely praying to whatever deity seem most appropriate to them. As the ship itself came into view, Jackson sat back and canted his head upward to try to make out any familiar markings on the huge, glowing space ship. After only a few minutes, it continued to pass over the caravan and finally settled in the wide-open area of the valley. Once it landed the ship ceased glowing and the deafening noise subsided but it was still large and imposing. Its final action was to open and extend a very large ramp hatch down onto the ground. At this time three more aliens wearing uniforms but matching their captors general descriptions decanted themselves down to the planet's surface.

The Boss and his four main 'handlers' approached the other three newcomers. After the boss genuflected in front of the leader, they stood and discussed the caravan of rag-tag captives. After a short delay, more crewmen from the ship started scurrying around the landing gear and the convoy, pulling cables, activating machinery and generally making preparations for on loading the line of cages into the belly of the ship. Daniel hoisted himself up on his feet, grasping the bars for support and tried to make out details of the interior or any other information on the ship. It looked like any SGC rescue parties would be running a little late for him this time. He turned to look over at the wooded area in the direction that he thought Sam had gone, but his lack of glasses hampered him for anything beyond a blurry gaze. If anyone were there, he wouldn't know it.

In due time the engine on their little train started it's motor and proceeded to tow the line of cages up into the cargo area of the spacecraft. Daniel remained standing, gripping the cage bars for support. As he passed from out of the relatively, clean air and sunshine of the planet into the dark, dank mechanical smelling hold of the cargo ship his heart sank. He could only hope that Sam had made it back to the Stargate safely and that Jack and Teal'c were alive there. It had been an interesting life; but now it was definitely taking a turn into a different direction.

* * * * * *

Major Samantha Carter was sitting at the campfire with her remaining teammates and SG6. She was gripping a cup of hot coffee and relating her impressions of hers and Daniel Jackson's captors. The fact the ship had left planet for places unknown had put a halt to the pursuit at this point in time. Although she knew that Colonel O'Neill wasn't so easily put off the rescue mission of his personnel, especially and including one MIA archeologist.

Teal'c hadn't recognized the markings she had been able to copy down for him. But the Jaffa had been the first to admit that he had not had much experience with other than goa'uld space craft. The next order would be to make contact with their allies to try to identify the aliens that had taken Jackson.

She glanced up across the fire to look into Colonel O'Neill's expression. He was staring into the flames, chewing on his lower lip. His initial joy and excitement at finding Sam had faded quickly when he realized that his best friend was still not only missing, but was now REALLY missing. She could almost see the wheels turning behind those dark brown eyes. He caught her looking at him and grimaced back.

"Well, Major Carter. Time to regroup and start on Plan, what is it now, D."

"Yes, sir." She nodded and put down her cup. "At least I know he was in reasonably good shape when the cages were loaded into the ship. I'm sure he was standing, watching what was going on."

"Yea," O'Neill pulled Daniel's glasses out of his top pocket. "If he'd still had these on, he might have spotted you."

"Might have." She agreed. "But he was insistent that I try to get back to the gate. He was concerned. Our captor had told him that they had killed you and Teal'c. We had made an agreement that the one who had the best chance to escape would take it, and then we would try to bring back the Calvary to rescue the other one. We didn't consider that the "hunting party" would be picked up by ship so soon." She shook her head. "We should have."

"And that would have done what, exactly?" Jack threw what was left of his cup of coffee into the fire causing the flames to hiss and spit. "You wouldn't have left him, or vice versa; you wouldn't have seen the ship's markings and gotten a description of the craft, we wouldn't have known what to think happened to you and I'd still be missing two teammates."

"O'Neill is correct." Teal'c interjected from his seat across the fire. "The information that you have will lead us to Danieljackson's destination. There are not that many space faring races. Most of them rely upon the chappa'i. We will find him."

"Wait a minute," she said, with a look of realization on her face. "I'm so stupid! " Carter almost jumped up off of the log she had been sitting on to start pacing back and forth. "He told me where they were taking him."

O'Neill did jump up to grab her by the shoulders and turn her to face him. "What are you talking about?"

She pulled out of his hands and started walking in circles. "Daniel could understand the language. He said it was a mixture of ancient Egyptian and.no it was Armenian.no Abyssinian." She saw the expressions on O'Neill and Teal'c s faces. "Well, it doesn't matter what it was. The leader said that we were going to be sold as slaves.but we were to be separated.and Daniel was going to be taken to the Great Tent to be sold. "

"Why not you too?" O'Neill asked, confusedly.

She laughed depreciatingly. "I'm too old. Evidently Daniel was more the type they prefer. I was going to the 'common sale'.

"I have heard of this place O'Neill." Teal'c put in, thoughtfully. "I have not been there, but Apophis spoke of it."

"Can you find out where it is?" Jack asked anxiously.

"Maybe the Tok'ra know." Sam put in. "They have people in a lot of places."

"Yea," O'Neill replied, hope bringing a little light to his eyes. "Sometimes they're even in the right places."

* * * * * *

The first 'night' that Daniel spent on shipboard was just that. The cages were all left connected in the darkened hull of the great ship as it sped through unknown space. Several hours after liftoff, their normal handlers came through and fed all the captives the same boiled oat gruel that they had become accustomed to. Then they were left alone again in the dark to do whatever crying, praying or sleeping that they could manage.

The following 'morning' the lights in the bay were turned up and the ship's crew descended on them. The captives were removed from their cages and separated into several groups. A few 'specials' were immediately transferred to separate cells and left to try to figure out the method to the madness. Daniel Jackson was one of these, whether due to his escape attempt, his injuries or some other indicator he didn't know. This took several hours and when the division was completed, the crew again left them alone in their new cages and the ever-present oat gruel was served as a lunch. The crew didn't return until right before lights out to feed them and then again the lights were lowered.

The following morning however, a group of Daniel's alien captors approached his cage. They were all of a type physically, dark skinned with spare build and black haired with black eyes. They were led by the 'Boss' of the caravan. With him was Jackson's regular 'keeper' who fed him and two members of the ship's crew; an officer in a very ornate uniform and a second man in a plain uniform tunic. As they approached Daniel's cage, the boss and the senior officer were in a deep discussion. {"This is the male I told you about."} The Boss indicated Jackson to the superior officer. {He speaks our language after a fashion and he attempted an escape with a female that we captured with him."}

The Officer dressed in the more ornate uniform inspected Daniel as he sat in the cage watching them. {"Where is the female now?"}

{"She is dead, my Captain. We could not allow her to continue to live after the escape attempt."}

Daniel looked at the 'Boss' in amazement. He was certain that Carter had managed to make the tree line and freedom. Had she been hunted down while he was unconscious? Surely not!

{"Of course, you could not."} The Captain smiled and nodded his quick agreement.

The man in the plain uniform approached the cage, peering in at Daniel's damaged face. {"How was this one injured, Boss."}

{"My name is Daniel Jackson. I am a peaceful traveler from the Planet Earth. I came to the world you found me on through the Stargate, the Chappa'i."} Jackson started his patented friendly spiel. The curious junior officer jumped back at his voice; startled by either his knowing their language or just that 'it' talked at all. Daniel pointed at his face. {"I was injured in my escape attempt with my partner, Samantha Carter. Someone shot me with a sleep drug."} He shook his head. {"I must have fallen on my face."}

{"So it would seem, Danieljackson."} The Captain smiled at him. {"But you are no longer a 'peaceful traveler', you appear to be a slave in the belly of my ship."}

{"So it would seem."} Daniel tilted his head to try to focus on the Captain's facial expression. {"If it is money you seek, my people would pay you for my return."}

He was disappointed to see the smile turn into laughter. {"I don't believe that I could get as good a price from your people as from my customers at the Great Tent."} The man rubbed his hands together. {"You are worth quite a lot of money there, but I tell you now it is not for your command of our language."} He turned to his junior officer. {"Doctor, please have this one removed to your office and treat his injuries there. It would not be wise to allow any scarring on this face."}

{"Yes, Captain."} The Doctor made a gesture to the handler, then the group turned to go on to the next cage. The handler picked up the rope/pole and approached the cage warily.

Daniel rose to his feet and walked over to the doorway. {"It's okay. I won't try to escape."}

{"Why?"} The man was amazed at the idea.

{"Where would I go?"} Jackson commented wryly. "{I'm in the belly of a slave ship."}

* * * *

Daniel was secured with the pole and rope around his neck and escorted up several flights of steep metal stairs into a plain white room with a padded exam table bolted to the middle of the floor and walls bedecked with cabinets, shelves and hanging instruments. He was chained to the table by his left ankle and left alone. Jackson decided to make himself comfortable and sat himself up on the table. He proceeded to look around the room, trying to recognize the purpose and manner of use of the many instruments. Some looked like something Doctor Fraiser would have used on him. Some appeared to be more from the 'Marquis de Sade' line of medical instruments than those approved by the American Medical Association.

After some long amount of time, the 'Doctor' came into his office and proceeded to gather up instruments and put them together in a packet. When he had finished collecting things and securing them, he turned to Jackson and approached him cautiously. {"Well, all right them. Let's see what our Slave master has done to you."}

Daniel sat still, trying to be non-confrontational to this man of healing. The Doctor gently touched his face then proceeded to do a skillful, painless examination of the scrapes and bruises his patient had received. As he put pressure on Daniel's abused nose, Jackson finally jerked back and said. {"That hurts."}

{"I'm not surprised. You're lucky it's not broken. The swelling should go down in a few days. But you suffered a hematoma on your optic organ ridge. It will be bruised and painful for some time units."}

{"You mean I'll have a black eye. Yes, I figured I must."}

{"A black eye. Yes, that is a good name."} The young man smiled at Jackson. {"Your eye will indeed be black."}

{"My name is Daniel..."}

{"Yes, I know Danieljackson. But as the Captain told you, you are now a slave. Not a peaceful traveler...not anymore."}

{"Apparently not."} Daniel acknowledged. {"What is your name?"}

{"You may call me Doctor, that is my title."} The man replied. {"It will do you no good to know my name. In a few days we will never see each other again, so there is no point too know more."} Thy physician began to clean and treat the abrasions on his face and arms. Jackson shrugged. He knew that there were cultures that put value on a person's name. He obviously was not going to be here long enough to count. When his treatment was complete the physician continued on. {"I must now conduct your examination. I ask you, will you allow it or must I call for assistance?"}

Daniel answered positively. He had no choice after all. {"I will allow it."}

{"Good, it will be less disturbing for you if I can do it with privacy. It will not be pleasant, but I will not purposefully hurt you."}

{"I understand."} He rose from his sitting position on the table to stand up.

{"Good."} The Doctor unfastened the chain from his ankle then led Jackson into another inner room. There an open rectangular frame stood upright in the center of the room. It had cuffs suspended from chains attached at each corner. {"You must remove all of your clothes."} The young doctor instructed. {"Then I will place you in the restraints. The examination will be done by me. After it is over, you will be removed and taken to another area of the ship. I will give my report to the Captain of your appearance, condition and my judgment of your value. You will not be harmed today if you don't fight me or the device."}

Daniel stood and looked uneasily at the restraining device. {"Why must I be chained? I have said I will submit."}

The young Doctor looked up at him from his preparations and replied. {"This is for both of our protection. This device allows me to secure you. If I accidentally cause you discomfort, you cannot attempt to escape. If you hurt me, you will be injured. You may be killed. This way I can insure both of our lives."} He looked at Jackson honestly. {"If you don't agree to this, I must call the guard. You will be forced to submit. The guards will enjoy your pain. Either way, it will happen. This way I can report that you are intelligent and non-violent. The other way, I cannot report either one. You must decide which it will be."}

Jackson closed his eyes. This was not how it was supposed to be. Jack would be fighting for his life, trying to get free, to get to the ship's controls, to escape, to die with honor. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live...with honor, if possible. He knew that if he died now, then he had done nothing but die. If he lived, there was always hope that tomorrow, there would be rescue and if not tomorrow then there was always tomorrow's tomorrow. He reluctantly undressed. When he was naked, he stepped over to the device.

When the doctor started to fasten the cuffs to his wrists, Daniel had a bad time. With the clicking of the locking mechanism, his limbs started to shake...not from fear but from tension. He wanted to run, to fight, to scream. But he forced himself to stand still and allow the alien physician to finish snapping his bonds in place. When he completed his task, the doctor stood back for a second, watching and allowing the captive to put his fear back into its place. This was a brave man. This man...should not be a slave. But he was only a poor ship's doctor and he had no say in the business of the ship.

Doctor started the examination as gently as he could. His 'patient' stood tensely, with his eyes closed while he gently ran his digital extremities over the skull, down the neck and shoulders. He then came around to the front of the face, where he manually and visually examined the ears, their orifices, the swollen nasal protrusion, and the ocular organs of that peculiar blue color. He opened and peered into the oral cavity and counted the number of teeth and noted their condition. He went to the chest area, annotating the vestigial mammary glands of a healthy male and the surrounding lymph glands and muscles. Finished there, he proceeded down the abdominal musculature to the spread of the ribcage, noting texture of skin, amount of hirsuteness and its patterning as it descended to the pelvic arch and genital area. The organs were of a normal size and form, with no injury or deformity noted. From the rear, the shoulder plates were of good shape. The spine supple, in line and of common structure. The hipline was straight and strong. The gluteal musculature was well formed and firm without excess. The anal aperture was normal with normal tension in the sphincter muscle. There were some old scarring noted on different places of the torso, but all had been properly treated and the patient was sound of body. Of the extremities, the doctor could say again, that they were strong, well shaped and correctly muscled. There were more signs of old injuries, however all of these had also received good medical care and the individual had no soundness problems, though there were some minor blemishes resulting from these old wounds.

Daniel stood still, trying not to move, trying not to tremble, trying not to let his hypersensitive body become unstrung. Good to his word, the doctor was taking care not to hurt, only to examine. But the procedure itself was telling him volumes. Once in Egypt when he was very young, his father had taken him to a bazaar and he had watched the Bedouins buying and selling their magnificent horses. This was the way he had seen them examined before a sale. The animals had been secured against injuring themselves or their potential buyers. The exams had been quick, gentle and very in depth. The animals were highly valued, but no one wanted to buy a crippled or unsound horse.

Finally, the doctor was through. He stepped back, and wiped his hands on a towel. {I am finished Danieljackson."}

Daniel exhaled a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. {"Good. Now what?"}

{"I will have you...no."} The Doctor hesitated a second, then made a decision. {"I will take you to your new place."} He started unfastening the cuffs from his charge. He held up a collar with a thong attached to it. {"I must put this on you. Then we will go. I will secure you there and then I must report to the Captain. No one else will touch you tonight." }

{"Doctor, May I have my clothes?"} Daniel asked as he was loosed from the device.

The physician seemed to think a moment. {"I will give you some medical treatment covers. I may not give you yours back."} He bent over into a cabinet and pulled out some things that resembled hospital scrubs. {"These will cover you."}

{"Thank you."} Daniel realized that this innocent request was being granted, and that it was unusual for it to be.

The young doctor fastened a collar and leash around his throat and led Daniel out of his office and down a corridor. Jackson could see that they were being watched by some of the other handlers and guards as he was escorted by the physician to a smaller cage in a long line of cages, some of them already occupied. The human entered the enclosure, where the doctor unsnapped the thong leaving the collar in place. {"I must go now. I will have food sent."} The man then locked the barred door behind himself and he went back down the corridor that they had come from.

Left alone, Jackson surveyed his new 'place'. It was slightly narrower that the other cell, but this one had a small mattress pad in the corner to serve as a bed. There were also two containers available, one on either end of the cage. One nearest the 'bed' contained water and a scoop, the other at the far end was empty. A quick check let him guess that while it was clean now, a residual odor identified it as the residential 'facility'. All he needed now was a sign on the wall announcing 'HOME SWEET HOME". He lay down on the mattress and tried not to think of tomorrow.

* * * * * *

SG Teams 1 and 6 came out of the wormhole into the comparative peace of Cheyenne Mountain together. Col O'Neill saw General Hammond come out of his office and down the metal catwalk that let him to the Gateroom floor. Behind him in the desert colored dress of the Tok'ra General Jacob Carter followed him closely. When the two senior officers met the returning teams, Jacob continued past O'Neill to hug his daughter and hold her close for just a second.

General Hammond stopped in front of O'Neill. "Well Colonel, I see you were partially successful at least."

"Yes, sir but not totally. Daniel has been taken off world in a space ship." He looked back at the family reunion behind him. "We were hoping to contact the Tok'ra to see if they might have any good ideas as to where he might have been taken."

Jacob and Sam had separated physically by now and the older man was giving her a visual inspection. At O'Neill's words, he turned around. "Of course Jack, if there's anything I can do..."

Major Carter glanced at her dad. "We know Daniel was okay when the ship left. I witnessed the takeoff after we managed my escape. He tried to make it out too, but he didn't get away."

"All right folks." Hammond interrupted. "Let's get you checked out then we can start the debrief in my office." He held up a hand to silence Sam. "You were missing for several days, young lady. I want Dr. Fraiser to check you over just to be sure."

Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Jacob smiled at his returned daughter. "Sam, If they're traveling in space, we have a little time to spare. I will be waiting with George for your report."

O'Neill took the lead down the hall to the clinic area with a 'Let's get this over with' air about him. He delivered Carter over to their diminutive doctor and he and Teal'c went through their more abbreviated exam with other medical personnel.

By the time the three of them had been cleared, showered and changed clothes they were anxious for the briefings to begin. The teammates met in the Conference Room and were joined by Major Haverty of SG6. The two General officers joined them within moments.

Major Carter started the briefing by relating her and Daniel's experiences in the caravan, including his attempts to communicate with their captors. She described their planning for an escape attempt if an opportunity presented itself and Daniel's prepping her with the language lessons in the dominant dialect of their captors.

Jacob Carter leaned forward with his elbows on the table. With a slight change of expression, Selmac came to the fore. "Samantha, can you still remember the lessons?"

"Of course," She smiled with the memory of Daniel's earnest instruction. ("Hello, my name is Sam. I am a free person. Take me to the Chappa'i. My tribe will reward you"} She looked at Selmac/Jacob. "Did that help?"

"Yes, it did." Selmac replied. "This is a language used by a group of free traders that travel about on the edge of the old Tollan space."

"Is that where P32x-etc is?" O'Neill asked

"No, the planet you were on was farther out. But it is possible that these people are expanding their boundaries seeking both new valuables and customers."

O'Neill thought for a moment. "Then you know how to get there?"

"Yes, but by ship it is quite a long journey." Selmac/Jacob replied. He looked at Sam. "Where did Daniel say they were going to take him?"

"He said, they were taking him to the Great Tent. That it was the best place to sell slaves of his type." She made a face at her words.

Jack put his fist down on the table in front of him. "What is his 'type'? Just what does that mean, exactly?" He looked at Selmac/Jacob.

Jacob/Selmac laid his/her hands out in front of himself on the briefing table. "Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson will be sold as an 'exotic'. Due to his appearance, coloration and shape, he will command a large price among certain individuals of specialized tastes on a primitive, barbaric planet. There is no law preventing his sale, therefore we will not be able to appeal to any governing body. To retrieve your friend, we will have to participate in the sale process." The older man looked directly at Jack. "We run a risk of being outbid. We will not find him unscathed. He will have been put through a very difficult process, probably drugged, and most likely physically assaulted."

"Then what are we waiting for?" He looked around the room at his co-workers. "The sooner we get there, the quicker we can get him back."

"Not necessarily, Colonel O'Neill" Jacob/Selmac interrupted. "The ship will have to travel to its home world. The sale must be scheduled. The victim processed and trained. It will be a very difficult procedure. Dr. Jackson may not survive the process, and if he does he will be much changed from the young man that you know."

"Yea, yea, I get the picture." O'Neill stood up and started pacing. "But don't go writing Danny off, Jacob, er Selmac. He's been through a hell of a lot in the past four years. Carter can tell you that. The kid's a tough one. It'll take more that these guys to break him. But..." Jack paused in front of the visiting General/Tok'ra and leaned down face to face with him. "The one thing that Daniel can count on is us! SGC doesn't quit. We don't leave our people hanging in the wind. Danny knows that we will come. If not tomorrow, then the next day. He knows that. He'll hold on, I know it and you know it." The Colonel straightened up. "So when do we leave?"

General Carter glanced over at Hammond. The SGC commander nodded. Jacob looked up at Jack. "We can leave as soon you are ready. We can gate to where my ship is; we'll fit it with supplies, then we can start to the planet. It'll be several days' flight. I'll have to get coordinates from the Tok'ra Central Command and permission from the Council."

Hammond looked over at his old friend. "Jacob, will they support us in this?"

"For one of SG1, you're damn straight they will." It was Jacob Carter who spoke this time and he had no problems with the plan. "If not, they know I'll go anyway."

"Okay, boys and girl, lets go and get packed." O'Neill started out of the briefing room. "I've got to go into town real quick to get something, and then we can get going." The door closed behind him as he exited the room

Major General Hammond watched him go, startled at his second in command's abrupt departure. Then he said in an even tone. "All right everyone else, dismissed." He remained seated as the Sam and Teal'c left after their leader, then he looked over at General Carter. "Thank you Jacob, and Selmac."

"Does he do that all the time?" Jacob asked curiously.

"Speak out, yes. Run out of staff meetings, not usually. Colonel O'Neill obviously has something on his mind."

"General Hammond," Major Haverty was also still at the table that had been vacated by SG1."

"Yes, son?"

"What Colonel O'Neill said, that's the way I feel too. I'd like to go."

Hammond shook his head. "Major, if we were just using the Stargate, I'd probably approve that. But since we're relying on the Tok'ra for transportation in one ship, I'll say that you and your team should stay here." Hammond rose to leave the briefing room. "And I know that you all would like to see this through to the finish. It's the way SGC operates." He glanced at his old friend, Jacob. "And I'm damn proud of that fact. But this time, we'll let SG1 see it through alone."

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"I knew you would. Dismissed son."

As the two Generals watched the young man leave the briefing room, Carter said quietly. "You've got quite a group here, George!"

"Damn straight, Jacob!" Hammond nodded. "Damn straight."

Chapter 5: The Training

Daniel woke up suddenly in his cage and for a brief moment he wondered where he was. As he looked around, he remembered that he was an unwilling captive on an alien spaceship due to be sold as a slave at next portcall. He lay back down and tried to forget. He had been dreaming that he was back at Jack's place, asleep in the guestroom and Sha'uri had come in. She was wearing the simple robes of Abydos as when they were first married. As usual she had woken up first and was trying to wake him up by singing to him. Then Jack had come in and told them both to get up and come to breakfast, then slammed the door. That noise was what had awakened him, but it was really the sound of a cage door swinging shut. The young girl in the cage next to him had been softly crooning a nameless tune. That was what had put Sha'uri in his dreams, the soft melodic lyrics, sung in a beautiful young voice. He wished he had never woken up at all.

Then it was his cage door opening and the ever-present oat gruel was served again. He watched the 'keeper' that fed him twice a day put the bowl on the floor of his cage, then he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Daniel knew that the girl would reach through the bars and take the food. She was more than welcome to it. He had no appetite anyway.

He and the other captives had been on the ship for at least four days now. They were fed; and they slept. Daniel had initially thought he might be able to talk his way out of the cell. The young doctor had seemed friendly, well, not unfriendly. But after his examination and treatment of his injuries he had not seen the doctor again. His 'keeper' was only that. Contact was very limited to bringing food and water, then removing the waste bucket. No conversation was returned. Once the Captain had returned to look him over, but again no words were exchanged. Daniel had even tried to talk to the young girl next door, but she either couldn't or wouldn't understand him. Not that there was a lot to talk about. How's the gruel today? Fine, thank you. How's yours?

Jackson also had his suspicions about the food. It seemed to have a different taste to it since they were on shipboard. And when the people ate it, they seemed to be in a better mood. Happier, or at least less unhappy. It didn't taste that good anyway, so when he decided to go light on eating it, it hadn't been a hardship.

* * * *

Some time later, he woke up again to the sound of the door opening. It was the young 'doctor'. {"Danieljackson?"}

He rolled over and sat up. After a moment, Jackson asked curiously. {"Yes, what can I do for you?"}

{"Well,"} the man seemed uneasy. {"I am told you are not eating."} He rubbed his hands together nervously. {"Why is this?"}

{"As you must know, the food here is not appealing."} Daniel stood up. As he did the ever-present guard moved closer to the cage. {It is bland and tasteless.}"

{"It is the same as we eat."} The doctor didn't lie well.

{"No, I don't think so. At the very least, we have an added ingredient, don't we?"} He picked up the bowl and handed it towards the small, swarthy man. {"That's why everyone else is so happy, isn't it?"}

The other man didn't try to lie to him. {"The food is specially formulated to make slaves easier to manage. It makes them more compliant."}

{"Yes, I imagine it does."} When the doctor didn't take the bowl, Daniel tossed it to the door by the guard.

{"You should eat the food. It is all you will get."} The Doctor encouraged him.

{"No, I don't think so, Doctor.}" He looked over at the young girl as she sat humming softly to herself.

{"You must eat the food. It will make your training easier."} The man looked at him sadly. {"If you do not, it will be very--bad."} Daniel sighed and shook his head. Then he turned sat back down on the mattress. {"Danieljackson, you must eat, or I will be ordered to feed you. It will be unpleasant for both of us."}

{"Oh, I'll bet it will hurt me more that it will hurt you."} He turned around away from the young physician and sat back down on his mattress and sat watching the young girl in the next cage.

The doctor turned back to the door and signaled to be let out of the cage.

* * * *

The next day two guards came and took Daniel to another part of the ship. After they reattached the leash to his collar, he was taken on a long walk down the metal corridors and up two levels passing more cages with a variety of beings confined in them. They entered a plain white room, empty except for a restraining frame, like the one in the 'infirmary', and narrow shelves mounted along the wall. On the shelves were 'instruments' of various shapes, sizes and descriptions. As before, Jackson was shackled to the frame spread eagled and left there by the two guards.

He was left alone in the room for what seemed like several hours. Finally, when his arms which had been chained over his head, had gone numb a new 'keeper' entered the room. This man was shirtless to the waist, clad only in short baggy trousers. He was at least as tall at Teal'c but lighter in color and his build was less massive. He walked over to the human and inspected the restraining cuffs. After satisfying himself that they were secured properly, he turned to the shelf and picked up a knife with a long sharp blade. He returned to Jackson and without speaking, proceeded to cut off the clothes that the doctor had given him. Once the human was naked, he put the blade back down and approached him.

{"I am told you speak our language after a fashion."} The man approached Jackson and walked around him, looking at his nude, restrained body. {"Good, that will make things easier for you I think."}

Daniel didn't reply. He continued to look straight ahead at a mark he had found on the wall.

{"I am here to prepare you for the sale."} The man continued to speak even though he didn't receive any answer. {"I will clean you, groom you and I will train you. I do not have to hurt you..."} The Trainer reached forward and grasped the young prisoner by the jaw and forced him to look into his eyes. {"But...be aware, I will do what ever is necessary, and I will enjoy my work. Do you understand?"}

When Daniel didn't respond, the man released his face from the hard grip. Then he stepped back and picked up a wooden rod about eight inches long and one inch in diameter. The 'trainer' started an indepth exam, much the same as the doctor had performed. But where the physician's had been clinical, this one was much more'intimate'. His large coarse hands passed over Daniel's body in a caress, rubbing and stroking the soft bare skin. Jackson tried to ignore the sensations, concentrating on the far wall. But when the hands started manipulating his genitals, he could ignore it no longer. Daniel's body jerked against his bonds, rattling the frame, but it was firmly attached to the floor.

The trainer stepped back to watch his prisoner's reaction. Then he smiled. He returned to the shelf and picked up a bucket. When he got back to his victim, he remarked. {"You smell bad. I will clean you."} He saw Daniel's frozen expression and remarked. {" Stand still slave, do not tempt me."} The large man dipped his hands in the bucket and scooped out a thick, fragrant oil the consistency of honey. He proceeded to smear and massage it onto Daniel's body starting on his lower face and going down his torso. No part of his body was spared the invasion. The knowing hands kneaded and stroked the substance into every niche and crack of his captive's body, rubbing him in places no other person but his wife had ever touched before.

When he was through, he replaced the container and picked up a long flat stick about the size of a ruler. This time he started below Daniel's neckline, scraping the viscous oil off in short firm strokes. When he completed this, the man next reached for a short, sharp knife and approached him from the front. {"I will remove your facial hair. It is not complimentary to you. Stand still or I might cut you."} The man started to shave him, taking his time to be careful. He also took the opportunity to stroke his victim's face as he wielded the knife. {"You are very different, your skin is very pale and delicate and I have not seen eyes the color of yours in a long time. You will bring the Captain a very large price indeed."} After he finished Daniel's face and neck, he then continued to shave his chest and underarms. {"You do not have much body hair. We will remove what is there."} Finally he stopped at Daniel's belly, and stepped back. He smiled down at the human. {"But I will not take it all. I will stop for now."} Daniel looked up at his face unflinchingly. The Trainer reached over to as if to check the manacles on Jackson's wrists, but as he leaned over the human; the man kissed Daniel on the mouth. Jackson jerked back as far as he could to get away from him, but the trainer grasped the back of his head and held him into the oral caress, mouthing the full lips, trying to force entry with his tongue. After a short while, the big man pulled back to look at Daniel. He then seemingly changed his mind about the arm manacles. He bent down as if to check the human's ankle cuffs. On the trip down he again kissed the human, this time on the abdomen and finally on the limp organ which he mouthed and manipulated for a few minutes. Again, the young man jerked back against his chains. At this last movement, his tormentor stepped back to look burningly at his victim. {"This will do you no good, you are aware."} He moved back in reach of Daniel. {"You must learn to accept...this. Your beauty condemns you."} He reached out and ran his hand down the oiled and gleaming torso. The trainer then moved around behind his captive and began stroking and fondling the firm buttocks. Daniel could feel the man's erection through the material of his captors trousers. The fear began to vibrate through his nerves. Then, he felt the man's hand begin to insinuate itself between the cleft of his ass.

Again, Daniel jerked away from his touch. {"No! Leave me alone!"} He hit the end of his chains causing them to cut into his wrists till they oozed a thin trickle of blood.

The big alien laughed softly at him, wrapping an arm around Daniel's waist and pulling him back, close to him. An oiled finger worried his sphincter muscle, carressing, stroking, and finally breeching him, working its way inside of him. The young human threw himself against his chains, unmindful of any injury he was causing to himself, the blood from his wrists running down his arms.

Finally, it stopped. {"Very well, for now.} The trainer commented, evidently realizing that his methods were pushing the captive past his capability to withstand. {"There is no hurry, but remember I offered to teach, gently."} The man stepped back and spent a few minutes putting his oil and the scraper away, then he reached down and unfastened Daniel's ankles and his wrists. {"Your new Master may not be so patient with you." You should learn now, while you have the chance."} When the chains were finally removed, the trainer refastened the leash to the shaken human's collar. He took Jackson through several strange corridors and finally to a new area of the ship. Daniel was put into a room with a single cage. There, still naked, he was placed in it and the door locked behind him. As the handler left the room, he turned out the light and the area fell into pitch darkness. Daniel found the sleeping pad by touch and he lay down. In the darkened place, he allowed himself to curl up in a ball and finally, he let the tears of hopelessness and despair come.

* * * * *

Jackson awoke to the light being turned on. The doctor had come into the room and was looking into the cage at the prisoner. {"I heard you had injured yourself. I came to treat your injuries."}

When Daniel turned over on the mattress pad, he realized that he was still naked and he was cold. He sat up as the young physician unlocked and entered the cage. The man had a food container with him. {"You must eat. I will examine your arms."} He lifted the lid off the container and handed it to his patient. This time it contained a type of stew or soup. The smell was wonderful. {"This is in truth what the crew eats. You must eat it. You are losing too much weight."}

{"Why? Will I not be 'attractive' at the sale?} Daniel replied bitterly.

The Doctor had sat the container down on the floor and had started to examine the young man's wrists. {"Yes, that is truth."}

Daniel sat still while his injuries were treated and bandaged. When the doctor was through he picked up the bowl and handed it back to the human. {"You need to eat."}

Jackson warily took the bowl of food. He looked at it longingly. {"Is it drugged?"}

The alien physician sighed. He could not lie to this man. {"Yes, there is a sedative compound in the mixture. It will not hurt you; it will help you to accept what must be."}

Daniel sat the food container down on the floor. {"I cannot eat this."} He thought a moment for the words he wanted. {"I will not be less than I am. Take it back."}

{"No, I will leave it. Perhaps you will change your mind."} He turned to leave, locking the door behind himself. As he crossed the distance to the entrance to the room, he heard a crashing sound beside him. The human had thrown the bowl out of the cage against the wall next to him.

{"I am not a slave! I am not an animal! I am a man, damn you! You and your drugs will not make me anything else!"} Daniel was standing in his cage, his fists clenched beside him, blue eyes boring into the doctor.

The alien picked up the empty bowl, and left the room closing the door behind him. {"I know."} He spoke softly so that no one else could hear. {"I know you are."}

* * * *

The following day, the big handler again came for Daniel. The man snapped the thong to the young man's collar and led him back to the training room. Once in the room, he motioned for Jackson to return to his place in the metal frame. The human started to acquiesce, but when the big man reached up and fastened the first wrist cuff, he ran his hard, calloused hand across Daniel's chest, stroking the soft skin. As he reached to fasten the other wrist cuff, the man caught Daniel's head and kissed him, forcing his tongue into his unwilling mouth long and hard, plundering it. Then, when the trainer reached to fasten the other wrist cuff and was in a vulnerable position, Daniel slammed his knee in the handler's groin as hard as he could. When the man bent double with the pain and shock of the attack, he followed through with a knee to the face. The Alien giant fell to the floor gasping for breath. Jackson jerked the wrist cuff's chain loose from the frame where it was supposed to connect with the other side and started running towards the door. As he fled the room, some of the crew saw him run and set out in pursuit. Jackson only managed a short distance down a darkened corridor before the crew surrounded him. He tried to defend himself with the length of chain that was attached to his wrist, but with the expertise of men used to capturing escaped fugitives, the crew quickly subdued him with ropes and a catch loop on the end of an eight-foot pole.

Once captured, Daniel ceased to struggle. He knew that he hadn't had a chance in hell of eluding his pursuers for very long. This time two big men half walked, half dragged him back to the training room where his handler still lay on the floor, moaning and bleeding from the mouth. The brawny bullyboys forcibly chained him tightly to the frame while another crewman went to get help. After securing their prisoner, one of them rolled the injured man onto his back and spoke to him in a ridiculing tone.

Within a few minutes, the young physician arrived and examined Daniel's victim. He then spoke to the other two and they picked up their crewmate and carried him out of the room. The young physician stood up and looked at the human captive in frustration. {"What did that prove? You had no place to go. You told me so yourself the first time I examined you!"}

{"I couldn't do it anymore!"} From where he hung in the chains, Jackson answered tiredly. {"I couldn't pretend it wasn't happening anymore."} He raised his head and looked into the Doctor's face. {"I...had...no...choice."}

The Doctor bowed his head and left Jackson hanging there in the room.

* * * * *

He was left alone for several hours. The cuffs that fastened his hands and arms tightly above his head were causing them to become numb. Finally, the ship's Captain, the "Boss" and another man from the slave caravan entered the room. Daniel could hear them talking but he was too tired and depressed to try to understand what they were saying. After a short discussion, the third man approached their captive and slapped him sharply across the face.

When he was sure Jackson was awake, he walked over to the equipment shelf and picked up a coiled knotted rope. Then he went behind the chained man and unfurled its length. Daniel closed his eyes and thought of Jack O'Neill and what he would do.

The first blow was bad, the knotted cord's length used to its best advantage on his naked body. The second was worse and from then on and forever. Daniel heard someone screaming and finally realized it must be him. The beating continued, the human sagged down into the length of his chains, finally unable to support himself without their help. An age later, the beating stopped. The Captain, the Boss and his assailant left the room. He hung helplessly in the frame; unable to do anything but taste the blood from his bitten lips.

After some indeterminable time, Daniel barely noticed when someone unfastened him from the chains and laid him down on the cold floor of the room. Then, the doctor was there and he was rubbing something onto his back. It didn't seem to help the pain much, but...it must be of some value or the man wouldn't be bothering to do it. The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in his buttocks, then the lights finally went completely out.

Later on, Daniel opened his eyes to look up at the young alien physician bending over him. The man stepped back and glared down at him disapprovingly. {"Well, you're awake at last."} The doctor disappeared from his line of sight for a moment and reappeared. {"I wasn't sure how long you would sleep. I thought I had given you too much."}

Jackson just lay there, moving seemed like such a bother right now. It would probably hurt like hell anyway.

The young man came back with a bowl of the stew he had offered earlier and a spoon. He lifted a full scoop to the human's mouth. {"You will eat this."} When no reply was forthcoming, he used his other hand to open Daniel's mouth and put the spoonful in it. This was too much; his hunger from the last several days, the drug in his system and frankly, he didn't care anymore, Daniel swallowed it. {"I told you to eat this. Nothing like this would have happened if you had!"} He fed his patient another mouthful. {"Well, I must remark, when you decided to do something; you really succeeded. Your trainer is still in my clinic and will remain so for some days. Besides him biting through his tongue, you ruptured his scrotum. I had to do surgery. I'm surprised he's still alive."} The third spoonful was enough, Daniel weakly pushed the hand away.

{"No, I can't eat anymore."}

{"You have no choice. You will eat it or I will administer the drug with an insertion device."} He looked unhappily at his patient. {"It will be harder for you."}

{"Why am I still alive?"}

{"For the same reason as before. You are valuable. You will be sold at the Great Tent in a few days."} He held out another spoonful. {"I must get you presentable by then. You must eat, and drink water."}

{"I don't want anything."}

The Doctor shook his head. {"You don't have a choice anymore. You will eat. You will take the drug."}

{"No! I won't."} Daniel tried to sit up, to get away. But the Doctor easily pushed him back down.

{"Danieljackson, it is no use. You cannot win this time. You must accept, or you will die here on this ship."} He forced Daniel to take another mouthful of the stew. {"You must live. Perhaps your friends..."}

Daniel closed his eyes and willed the doctor to go away. Evidently the young alien was satisfied with what he had eaten because he could hear him get up and leave the cell.

{"I will return later. I will bring ingredients to clean and attend your body. No one else will touch you."} The cell door clanged shut and the key turned in the lock.

Jackson looked warily over at the young alien Doctor. {"Why?"}

He turned back to his patient. {"Didn't you know? You have won that battle. Take advantage of your victory... and live."} The doctor left the room carrying his things.

* * * * *

So far things had gone too smoothly. Jacob had contacted the Tok'ra High Council and they had readily agreed to assist SG1 locate and free their missing member. The team had gated through to the planet where Jacob had left his scout ship. He got the supplies loaded and the ship readied in one day, they presented the plan to the council and got their blessings, money changed into something that would have some value at the sale and also some extra funding. Admittedly, the council didn't think they could even find Daniel much less try to free him, but they wished them well in their efforts. So less than forty-eight hours later, they were enroute to the planet that was the home of the Great Tent Sale.

After they were in flight, Jack called a planning meeting. They all knew there would have to be some role playing involved. Jacob would have to go, as Selmac was the only one who had been there, in a previous host. Jack was going as support for Daniel and Teal'c was going in case strong-arm tactics were needed. Sam was unhappy. She was staying behind as the ship-sitter but there was no way they were risking her getting recognized by anybody or worse, picked up again for any reason. The native women did not mingle with crowds; therefore she could not go.

Jacob had brought the proper clothing for the masquerade and they determined their roles. Jacob/Selmac was the wealthy older brother who was buying his younger sibling a present of an exotic slave. Jack was the brother, itching for a new 'toy' and Teal'c their faithful retainer/guard-dog. They were packing a large single tent, with accoutrements, medical supplies and a great deal of money. They would land the ship out of town and leave Sam to watch the homestead and the three of them would walk in. Once there they would set up camp, locate the G.T.S., go in, and purchase one Archeologist, then get out of town. Quick, clean and bloodless. The main trick was to hit town before the sale began. What rumors they could pick up stated that it would be in three days. That meant that Jackson had been in their hands for almost two weeks, a long two weeks. During the trip, the crew talked, worried and paced. Jacob gave everyone flying lessons in his scout ship in case of emergencies. It was the only thing that kept them from wearing out the floor and each other's patience.

Finally, they reached the planet, Sabor. It was primarily a desert planet, without many natural resources. This is what ultimately had driven its people to seek off planet sources of livelihood. Trading was their traditional roles. Some ships brought back food or luxury items. But some traders had discovered the value of the human gold of slavery and they imported captured victims. Then as dark follows the day, some of the neighboring civilizations found them to be a rich market from which to purchase their exotic servants. Servants that could serve many different purposes. And the best, most desirable beings were brought to the home world where all the clients could come at once to bid their monies on the beautiful people who were bought, sold or captured to fulfill their fantasies.

Jack, Teal'c and Jacob were dressed in their 'disguises'. The next part of the plan was to establish their identities. Their clothes consisted mainly of long robes similar to those worn on Abydos, with the addition of a complex headdress that included a veil that covered the men's faces.

Sam sat and watched as the three men arranged their robes over their clothing. "You know, I could go as one of the guys and nobody would be the wiser."

Jack turned around and shook his head at her. "No, Carter. You may not realize it, but just because you're covered from head to toe, there's no way you would fool these people. You just don't walk like a man." He grinned at her. "And to make matters worse, you'd be more suspicious cause you were wearing men's clothing."

"He's right, Sammi." Her father agreed. "Even if we can't see the difference, the men here can. You'd be a dead giveaway." Jacob paused to adjust his robes. "And I do mean dead. You'd be breaking a few hundred social mores."

Teal'c opened his mouth to speak but when she made a face at him, he desisted. "Not you too, Teal'c. OK, I give up." She plopped down on a pile of material that hadn't been used as robes. "I'll just sit here and go nuts wondering what's going on."

"As difficult as that may be Major Carter." Teal'c's soothing voice seemed to make it not so bad "It will be for the best. We will know that the ship is in able hands and can be ready to take off quickly if need be."

"Yea, yea, you've sweet-talked me into it. I'll have the motor running and the flaps down." She grinned crookedly at them. "Just find him."

Jack nodded. "You got it. One slightly used Archeologist, coming up." He reached under his robes and patted the hidden zat gun. "You heard the lady. Let's go shoppin'."

Chapter 6: The Sale

The three robed forms entered the village on foot, unnoticed in the bustle of the busy marketplace. They appeared to be no different that a great many other buyers who had come to make a purchase at or at least see the spectacle of the Great Tent Sale. They were early it turned out. The actual sale would start the following day at sun's zenith. Today was just for visiting and enjoying the sights and sounds of the busy village as it played host to their part of the galaxy.

"Sam's really mad." O'Neill spoke to Carter. "She wanted to come."

Jacob looked over at the younger man. "You were right though, Jack. Sammi would have stood out here. There are no other women around."

"Yea. I know." O'Neill scanned the crowd. "She'll just have to get over it, this time."

Teal'c had been following the pair as they walked through the crowd. He was watching the crowd of varied peoples from many different planets. With the veil that was part of his disguise, he could enjoy an anonymity that was unusual for him. He could hear many different languages, some of which were familiar. He thought of Daniel Jackson, who would have loved to be here. Teal'c hoped feverently that they would find and rescue the young man before some other fate befell him.

When the trio reached the center of town, it was easy to see where the tent was being constructed. It was a huge garish creation, large enough to hold several hundred people. "Wow," O'Neill was impressed. "You could have a hockey game in there."

"Or the Ringling Brothers Circus." Jacob agreed. "This is quite an operation. It's known of in most goa'uld territory. But they don't seem to like to come."

"Yea, they seem to like to do their own conquering and pillaging." Jack agreed. "I hope Hathor doesn't hear that Daniel's here."

"O'Neill, you said she was dead." Teal'c said, concerned looking around over his shoulder..

"Yep, I'm afraid she's just a big ole Hathor Popsicle now." He grinned back at his friend beneath his veil. "Don't worry big guy. I was kidding."

At the edge of town, they discovered an area that had been set aside for 'customers' to set up their tents or whatever form of shelter they had brought. Jack and Teal'c got their eight man tent up in good time and Jacob saw to the customizing of it. He added some oriental looking rugs as room dividers and entrance panels. At Jack's questioning look, he smiled and commented that they couldn't afford to scrimp on image. After all they were wealthy buyers out for a little diversion.

By the time they got their camp set up the sun had gone down and they dined on US Government Issue Meals Ready to Eat. "You know," Jacob commented. "These things have gotten a lot better. All we used to get was K-Rations."

"We've still got some back at the mountain." Jack replied. "During the last blizzard we all got stuck there and Janet Fraiser outdid herself."

"Indeed," put in Teal'c "The doctor has proven herself to be quite talented in emergency situations. She should be on a SG Team."

"Hell, no! Then we'd have to share her. As it is we're her favorites. " Jack smiled at Jacobs confused expression

"No, O'Neill." Teal'c replied "It is just that our team spends much time there." He almost smiled. "At least some of 'us' do."

* * * *

The following day, Jacob and Jack entered the Great Tent and quickly found themselves a place in the middle of the floor. They set up their USAF Folding chairs, covered them with rugs and sat down to wait. Teal'c had stayed behind at their tent, posing as a guardian servant. In the shade of the tent, there were people seated and lying on various chairs, chaises and cushioned benches. Young, attractive male slaves wearing very little except jewelry in strategic places, came around offering drinks and food to all the potential buyers. Carter ordered two drinks for them. After the servant left, he leaned over and spoke quietly to the Colonel. "Jack, I have to warn you. Anything can happen here. Don't act surprised and don't do anything rash. No matter what happens. I mean it."

"C'mon Jacob. I'm not a kid." O'Neill answered somewhat testily. "You don't have to protect me from the big bad universe."

"In this crowd, Jack, I do. You're the innocent."

"How about you?"

"Don't look cross-eyed at me. Remember that Selmac is several hundred years older than both of us and has seen a lot. " Carter continued seriously. "Look, this is going to be hard enough on me. I like Jackson. But you are his C.O. and his friend. It'll be a lot rougher on you and God knows what shape he'll be in." Jacob waived away another slave with food. "Sam was lucky; you found her quickly and got her out of there in a few days. They've had a lot more time with Daniel." The slave with the drinks had returned. He took the two tankards from the young male slave and he left to serve other patrons. The older man gestured at the departing servant. "For instance, he's a eunuch."

O'Neill started to take a drink from his cup but he stopped at the comment. "You don't think...?"

"No...I don't know. " Carter replied with emphasis. "I think Jackson is worth a lot more to them whole. But, we don't know anything about his condition." He continued. "Look, he'll be displayed for sale. It will be disturbing to you, but you must not react or do anything to cause any suspicions. It could put us all in danger."

Jack nodded. He'd been playing the worry game ever since Carter had confirmed who had taken them and why. Jacob was only trying to prepare him for what they might find when they did locate Danny. "Do you think he's been hurt?"

"Probably, it depends, you know him better than I do. But I am certain that he will be drugged." Jacob took a sip of his drink, "If the bidding goes as planned, I will have to inspect him for any imperfections." Jacob looked seriously at Jack. "If he has been...altered, you do still want to purchase him, right?"

"Of course!" Jack's voice raised. Jacob shushed him with his hand. Jack looked shook up. "What the hell kind of question is that. I'm only worried that we don't have enough money."

"We don't expect that to be a problem." Carter assured his friend.

"Listen Jacob." Jack spoke earnestly to the older man. "I've brought some industrial diamonds with me just in case. Are they any good for trade here?"

Carter looked at O'Neill. "Could be. Where did you get them?"

"Back home." He shrugged. "I had them put away in a security box at the bank as an investment. I thought they'd be of some value here, or to the Tok'ra even."

"Hold on to them. That's a good idea." Jacob nodded to him. "O'Neill, you're not as dumb as you pretend to be."

Jack grinned nervously. "Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my image."

Shortly after their arrival, the lights started to dim in the tent and the stage itself began to glow as the 'salesman' appeared. Then, after a short spiel, the first of the slaves were brought out. She appeared to be a girl of about fourteen years; but like no fourteen-year-old girl on earth, ripe and full of promise. The bidding was over quick and the price high. Another came, a young boy, and so on. O'Neill began to get restless and nervous. What if he wasn't here? Then what? Where would they look for one young man in a galaxy as large as this?

Then, finally after several hours, and many slaves, A familiar male form that O'Neill would recognize anywhere was brought out onto the stage. A large slave led him in, Daniel's wrists were manacled together in front with gold colored chains, his head was bowed. At the center of the stage, his 'bracelets' were attached to a pully and lifted above his head so that he was held suspended from a hook dropped from the ceiling. This position allowed his lean musculature to be shown off to its advantage. The young human had been stripped of clothing except a white silken loincloth wrapped low on his hips. His tanned body gleamed with oil in the bright lights and his slim nude form was accentuated with golden chains around his torso that glinted in the bright light of the circle. Around his neck was a wide golden collar and suspended from his ears were crystal earrings. Daniel raised his head and gazed vacantly out at his surroundings. Jack could see that his friend's face had been highlighted with kohl and eye shadow and his mouth had been painted. The young man was obviously under the influence of some drug, Danny could barely stand. He seemed unable to steady himself, relying on the suspended chains to help him keep his balance, unknowingly flaunting his physical appeal. . Jacob/Selmac waited until someone else started the bidding, but then he quickly stepped in, matching bid for bid. Finally, the competition dropped off to only him and one other buyer. The auctioneer motioned for Jacob and the other bidder to come up. The older man left his seat next to Jack and they approached the platform where they spoke with the auctioneer in the planet's native language. Jacob then approached Daniel and proceeded to examine the younger man, feeling his skin tone, and examining him as if for flaws. O'Neill could see comments were being made on some half healed whip marks and heavy bruising on the slave's body. Then the other bidder stepped up, a middle aged heavyset man. He too handled the slave, grasping Daniel's face in a rough grip then running his hands down the helpless man's body in a familiar manner. Daniel tried weakly to pull out of his grasp, but the man just stroked him on the arm and stepped away to continue the conversation. After a few minutes of conversation, the strange man reached over and loosened the cloth that was Daniel's only covering and dropped it onto the floor, leaving him nude to the eyes of the crowd. A murmur rose from the gathered audience as the young man was exposed to them. O'Neill unconsciously gripped his stool's seat, cracking the wooden armrest. Both the prospective buyers discussed their prize's appearance with the auctioneer. Jacob motioned towards their table and then he made his way back to Jack. "He's matched my price. How many of those diamonds do you have?"

O'Neill hurriedly pulled out the small package and gave it to the older man. "It's about $15,000 dollars worth. There are a few really good ones in there. Take 'em all."

Jacob looked at the stones in the envelope and selected a few of the better stones. "This should do it." Jack nodded his head and waved the older man back towards the stage.

After Carter finished conferring with his 'partner', he regained his position on the auction block and the three way conversation continued. Finally, the other buyer shook his head. Jacob nodded and then he and the other man returned to their seats and sat down. After the sale was completed, Daniel was unfastened from his restraint and led off the stage.

Jack could barely conceal his nervousness as he leaned over to Jacob and whispered heatedly. "What happened?"

"It was close but we were successful." The older man looked at him. "Selmac informs me that this is the largest price she has ever heard of being paid for one slave. I'm sorry about having to use your diamonds."

O'Neill shook his head. "No problem, that's why I brought them. He's worth it."

Jacobs's face changed as the Selmac persona took over. "Colonel O'Neill, we have no doubt of the value of your friend. The cost was acceptable." He closed his eyes and Jacob returned. "We just hope that Daniel is relatively unharmed. He was marked up pretty good."

Jack started to get up from his chair. "Let's go see."

Carter/Selmac reached over and caught his arm. "The cost includes delivery. If you go up now it will only cause undue suspicion." He stood next to O'Neill. "We can go back to camp now, then we can have the evening meal. The slave will be brought to our quarters." He smiled at the concerned look on the Colonel's face. "Your Jaffa will protect him, I'm sure."

" 'My Jaffa', as you say will probably rip the heart out of the delivery boy."

"I doubt it, Jack." Carter returned. He smiled and grasped O'Neill's shoulder. "But we should go and explain it to him, though I'm sure Teal'c will know exactly what to do."

* * * *

After stopping at the tent to brief Teal'c, Jacob lead Jack to an open air eating establishment. He ordered for them both. When an obsequious waiter delivered the meal, Jacob started to eat with gusto. He looked at Jack and remarked in a loud voice. "Come on brother, you must eat to build your strength for tonight."

With an expression that indicated that this act was getting old very quickly, Jack picked up a morsel of food and put it in his mouth.

Jacob forced a laugh. "Surely you are not nervous. He is only a slave after all. We were successful."

Jack managed a smile for anyone who might be looking. "I'm just anxious."

"Yes, that is to be expected. Come eat your meal and we will return to inspect the merchandise."

As they ate the rest of their 'victory meal', Jacob noticed a young, dark skinned man watching them from a small table against the wall. Finally, after the man paid for his meal, he came across the floor to their table. Jacob looked up at him while allowing Selmac to come forward. "Yes, friend. What do you want?"

{"You are the ones who purchased the male slave at the Great Tent?"}

{"We purchased a slave, yes."} Jacob answered, as Jack looked on curiously. {"What concern is that of yours?"}

{"I am a healer on the ship that brought him. He was in my care for the last few days."}

{"And of what value is that to us, friend?"}

{"He is yet...untrained...be aware. He will need gentle handling...or he will die."}

Jacob looked at the earnest young man. {"You care what happens to him? Why?"}

{"His name is Danyeljakson. He is a brave man. If you make him truly yours, you will have a great treasure. If you only use him, it will be a great....waste."}

At the mention of Daniel's name, Jack had looked up at the man. Jacob shook his head warningly at his younger 'brother'. {"Thank you for your concern. All will be well with him."}

{"You, you are his friends?"} The man had caught the signal and looked at Jacob and Jack with dawning understanding. {"Yes, I see. All will be well for Danyeljakson. I will disturb you no more. Peace friends."} The young man stood, bowed his head and left.

After they finished their dinner, Jacob paid for the meal and they left the establishment. "What was that all about? Jack asked "Who was that guy?"

Jacob spoke quietly. "That man that came to our table knew Daniel. He warned me that he was still 'untrained', then he realized who we were."

"Are we in any trouble here?" Jack looked over his shoulder into the crowd. "Do we need to leave tonight?"

The older man shook his head. "No, I think we're okay. He seemed concerned about Daniel like he wanted to help him."

Jack shook his head in amazement. "That's Daniel all right. The boy can make friends anywhere."

They arrived back at their tent. Teal'c was in position standing guard. He nodded at O'Neill and Carter. "He is here. The delivery was made approximately one hour ago. I could see no obvious damage other that some striping, but I believe Danieljackson is heavily sedated." The large man looked at O'Neill then dropped his eyes. "He did not know me. I frightened him."

"That's not surprising." Jacob replied. "Don't worry my friend. It'll be OK."

O'Neill took a deep breath and looked at the other two men. "Look, let me go in first and talk to him. I don't want him any more upset than he already is."

"Of course." Jacob spoke up. "Teal'c, why don't you eat here in the shade. I brought you some food. I can fill you in on whats happened." He looked at O'Neill. "Jack, don't be surprised if he doesn't recognize you either."

"I know." Jack nodded. The two men retired back under the awning, leaving him to enter the tent alone.

Jack pushed the flap door aside and entered the tent looking for Daniel. He stepped forward, not quite believing what he saw as he got closer. A beam of light entered from a flap in the tent roof flap and was shining down on the center of the tent floor. The young man had been positioned in the center of the sun's ray taking advantage of the natural lighting. Daniel was kneeling on the tent floor, his head bowed; his sun bleached hair and golden tanned body gleamed with oil. Body jewelry was artfully arrayed around his torso, golden chains joined by colorful crystals were supported by a heavy collar and pierced nipple rings. He had matching earrings dangling from his ears. His loincloth of white silk had been replaced but it covered only the bare essentials. O'Neill walked slowly towards his friend, so as to not startle him. Daniel didn't move. Jack could see the marks of a beating; some old cuts, some much newer. There was a burn mark on one of his shoulders and if he looked very close he could see the remainder of a black eye.

O'Neill stopped in front of his friend, and knelt on the floor directly in front of him, still not touching. "Daniel." He spoke the name softly so as to not frighten the younger man. There was no response. Jack slowly reached out and touched Danny's shoulder with his hand, then cupping the jaw encouraging his friend to look up at him. The kohl and gray eye shadow emphasized the blue eyes, but they held no recognition. "Danny." O'Neill said gently. "Do you hear me?" No reaction. Jack used both of his hands and grasped his friend's face on either side lifting it and forcing direct eye contact. "Danny! Wake up, its Jack!"

Finally, after a seemingly endless moment, the blue eyes blinked and the beginning of awareness came to them. "Jack...?" The response was so soft O'Neill could barely hear him.

"Yea, Danny. It's me Jack. Do you recognize me?"

"Jack?" The voice was low and tremulous. "Jack" He repeated the name, trying desperately to come back to himself.

O'Neill moved into his friend and pulled the unresisting body into a hug. "Danny, it's OK. You're with me. You're safe now." He murmured into the sun-streaked hair. "Danny, we found you."

Daniel was still trying to grasp the idea that he was safe and with his friend. "Jack?" As he was pulled into the hard embrace, he could smell Jack's smell of sweat, worry and aftershave. His eyes filled with tears. "Oh Jack."

O'Neill could feel his friend relax into his embrace and he accepted the silent sobs that quivered through the slender frame that he held and into his robes. Jack tightened his grip not willing to let go until Danny wanted him to. Finally, the younger man relaxed enough to take a deep breath.

"Jack?" He seemed to have trouble putting a sentence together, but he grasped O'Neill's robes with his hands, holding on to the coarse material as if onto a lifeline. "It's really you?"

"Yea, Danny." O'Neill stroked his friend's back, trying to convince both of them that it was really happening.

"I thought you were dead; they said that they had killed you!" Daniel managed to say, looking up at his rescuer. "I lost Sam." He dropped his eyes to the tent floor. " I tried to stop them. I couldn't protect her. I couldn't s.save her."

Jack pulled him back into the security of his arms. "Danny, Sam's safe." He tried to calm the younger man again. "We found her. She's OK."

"Sam's s.safe?" He sounded confused, disbelieving.

Jack pressed Danny's head back onto his shoulder and held him tighter, unconsciously rocking the younger man in his arms. "We found her. . . We got her back. She's safe on Jacob's ship. She's waiting for us and she's worried about you." He pulled back to look at his friend. "Now you're safe too. Do you remember what happened?"

"I remember...the tent. Those men...they wanted....to buy me." Daniel's voice started to shake again.

Jack quickly spoke again. "We bought you, me and Jacob. High price too." He managed a small, shaky laugh. "We owe the Tok'ra big time, but you're worth it Danny boy." He looked at his friend noticing that Danny was beginning to weaken, leaning heavily on his shoulder. He shifted his hold on his friend to support him. "Danny! Can you still hear me?"

Daniel slumped wearily into Jack's arms. "Jack, I...I don't ..." The blue eyes looked up at him with fear. "Jack...don't let..."

He gently lay Daniel down on the tent floor, trying to straighten him out to a comfortable position. He moved the pillow around to support his head, still leaning over him, stroking his hair back out of his face. "Danny, it's okay. You can sleep now. You're safe."

O'Neill heard the tent open behind him and both Jacob and Teal'c came in. Daniel gazed up passed Jack and at them for a moment then his eyes closed. Jack checked him for a pulse and breathing, then looked up at the other two men. "Poor kid. He passed out." His voice was rough with emotion.

Jacob nodded, squatting down besides the Colonel. "It's the drugs." He explained. "They give them to 'untrained slaves' to make it easier for their masters on the first night." He looked over at Jack. "How are you doing?"

"I'm OK." Jack sat up and shook his head. "Glad to get him back." He rubbed his hands across his face. "It's one thing to hear about it, it's another to see it." He looked at Teal'c, who was sitting silently at Daniel's head. "How you doing, big guy?"

"I am okay also O'Neill." The big man looked down at his friend' s peacefully sleeping face, then his eyes traveled across Jackson's body with distaste. "Can we not remove these ornaments from Danieljackson? I am certain that he would be more comfortable without them." He indicated the body jewelry. "Now would be a good time, while he is asleep."

"That's a good idea, Teal'c" Jack realized that when Daniel did regain consciousness that the piercings would be painful. "I have some wire cutters in my pack." The Jaffa stood and went to retrieve the tool.

As Jack examined the jeweled chains, he looked up to Jacob. "Any use to these things, or are they just glass?" Teal'c had returned with the tool and started cutting through the links of the chain. Once they were gone, he removed the rings, gently manipulating them so as not to cause any incidental discomfort to Daniel. Jack gingerly removed the earrings and handed them to Jacob. "Maybe one of the Tok'ra will know what they're worth."

"You should keep them, Jack." Carter looked at them critically. "I don't know what the crystals are, but I'm sure someone will."

"I don't want to take them back. Take 'em for a down payment. If you don't want them, I'm leaving them here." Jacob took the jewelry with a shrug. O'Neill gently unfastened the loincloth from Daniel's hips to inspect the rest of his friend's body. "Just want to check if anything else was pierced." O'Neill glanced at Carter "No sense surprising Doc Fraiser."

Jacob shook his head. "I couldn't say. I was more interested in the bidding."

After a quick glance, Jack refastened the corners. "No thank goodness, I'd hate to have to explain that to someone." He looked down at his sleeping friend. "I guess he'll have to sleep it off tonight. We can try to get him back to your ship tomorrow."

Jack and Teal'c moved Daniel to a pallet on the side of the tent. The planet's sundown had passed a while ago so they prepared to spend another night in the camp and depart for Jacob's ship the next morning after Daniel had awakened. Teal'c moved his bedroll by the doorway determined to protect his newly recovered friend from any uninvited guests. Jacob settled across the room from Jack and Daniel. Jack unrolled his bedding next to his sleeping friend within arm's reach in case he needed him.

* * * *

The idea proved to be a good one. After a few hours Daniel became restless. Jack had become aware of his friend's movement when the younger man started moaning and jerking in his sleep. O'Neill sat up and reached for his teammate when Daniel sat bolt upright in his bed, crying out. The Colonel caught him by his arms as he flailed out, striking Jack a glancing blow on the face. O'Neill managed to subdue his friend by holding both wrists and talking to him. "Daniel, Danny, Stop it! Wake up! Danny!" He held on tightly to stop the struggling. "Danny!" Teal'c and Jacob, awakened by the noise had come over to try to help hold their struggling friend. Daniel finally stopped fighting when Teal'c helped restrain him by grasping his shoulders from behind. Jackson looked around blearily at the concerned faces of Jacob and Teal'c, then looked at Jack as he was holding him in his arms. "No! You can't ...Sam!"

"Wake up, Danny! You're all right!"

"Jack! They've got Sam!" Daniel's eyes were wild and he grabbed Jack's shirt.

O'Neill responded by pulling Daniel into his body and hugging him hard. "Danny! Wake up! Danny! Sam's okay! Danny!"

"Jack? Thank God! They've got Sam! I couldn't..."

"Yea, Danny. It's me, its' okay." He released one hand to grasp his friend behind the neck to hold him still. He nodded at Teal'c who released his hold on their friend. "Sam's safe. You're safe. I've got you!"

Daniel looked wildly around for a moment then seemed to settle at Jack's words. "Where am I? What happened?"

Teal'c, still behind Daniel, lay his hand on his young friend's shoulder. "Danieljackson, You are safe. We will not allow anyone to hurt you again."

Daniel was breathing fast and hard, as if he had been in a fight. He shook his head as if trying to clear it. Then he looked around at who was holding him. "Teal'c!"

"You are safe Danieljackson. No one will hurt you again." He repeated so Daniel would understand him.

Jacob came into his view. "You are on a free trade planet, Daniel. You were captured by slavers and you were brought here to be sold. But we found you. You're safe now."

O'Neill and Teal'c helped Jackson lay back down. The young man looked in confusion from one of them to the others. "Safe?"

"As a newborn baby." Jack pulled the blanket up to Daniel's shoulders. "Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning." Daniel opened his mouth, but Jack put his hand over it and shook his head. "Later, I'll explain everything later, but right now, go to sleep, Daniel. Okay."

As the others returned to their beds, Jack lay back down, but he watched his friend until Daniel seemingly fell asleep. He kept his hand on Daniel's arm. As he started to doze off he felt Danny move closer to him, as if seeking safety in his presence. Jack rolled over and put his arm around his friend and they both slept.

Chapter 7: The Leaving

The next morning dawned quietly. O'Neill awoke to find Daniel curled up against him, firmly gripping his arm as if he'd lose him in the night. He heard Teal'c and Jacob stirring around in the tent but he lay still so as to not disturb Jackson. After a short time, he could smell the aroma of fresh coffee brewing. Daniel moved in his sleep, then at last, opened his eyes.

Jack sat up and smiled, and then freeing his arm he reached over to stroke Daniel's face and greet his young friend. "Finally! You were beginning to worry me."

"Jack?" Daniel looked up at him as if he were seeing a ghost. Then he sighed. O'Neill slowly sat back but kept contact with his friend, keeping a hand on his arm.

"Yea, Danny. We're real. No dream." Daniel closed his eyes again, not saying anything but relaxing back into sleep.

Jacob Carter came over bringing a cup of coffee with him. He handed it to O'Neill. "Jack." He sat back on his heels and looked at Daniel, who was still lying quietly in his bed. "How is it this morning?"

O'Neill frowned. "Don't know yet. He still seems pretty out of it."

"Not surprising, all things considered." Jacob sat down cross-legged by the pair. "He looks as if he's had a pretty rough time. No telling when the drugs will wear off."

"Yea, I know. I'd really like to get him to Fraiser as soon as possible." Jack sat up and took a sip of the coffee.

Teal'c came over and joined them. "Will he be able to walk to the ship, O'Neill?"

Jack frowned as he considered the question. "He should be okay if we take it slow. They wouldn't give an expensive 'slave' something harmful. We'll just have to help him." O'Neill looked around. "I want to get him out of here as fast as we can. This place gives me the creeps."

The large man nodded. "I too feel uncomfortable here." Teal'c rose again to his feet. "I will begin to pack. You should stay with Danieljackson, to keep him calm. Then we will assist him on the journey."

While Teal'c and Jacob folded the tent and got it secured and ready for travel, Jack remained sitting with Daniel. He was concerned. Jackson had reawakened but had entered into a non- responsive state, only performing acts that O'Neill pushed him into doing. Jack treated Jackson's back, disinfecting the cuts that were still open and covering them with a soft bandage. He then assisted his friend in putting on a desert robe and tried to get him to eat something before they started the trip back to the scout ship. The normally slim young man looked like he had lost a good twenty pounds in the last two weeks. And now, for some reason, he was even refusing water.

"C'mon Danny. I know this stuff isn't pizza and beer but you need to eat something." Daniel just shrugged away from the food. O'Neill looked at him with puzzlement. "At least drink some water." His friend just looked past him across the now empty campsite and into the desert.

"Perhaps Danieljackson would take water from a canteen." Teal'c came over and sat down beside this two teammates. "It is more familiar to him than that cup."

"He's got to drink before we can even start to walk back to the ship. It's at least five miles out away from town." Jacob reached for one of the green plastic GI canteens from his pack and handed it to O'Neill.

"I know, now if I could just convince him to do it."

"Look, his problem is that he's under the influence of a drug that's supposed to make him more...pliant, right?" Jacob reasoned. "Why don't you just order him to drink?"

Jack just looked at Carter. Teal'c nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps, O'Neill. It can't harm him."

"Okay, what the hell...Danny," He poised the canteen in front of his friend. "Danny, drink the water. Now!"

Daniel took the canteen from Jack's hand, but he stopped before drinking the liquid. "No." The response was very low, but it was a response.

O'Neill leaned down to Daniel's field of vision. "Why not?" He asked gently.

"Can't."

O'Neill looked up at his companions in confusion, then continued. "Why not?"

"Drugged."

"Danny." He reached over and touched his friend's face. "It's not drugged. I promise. Drink the water, Danny. It's Okay."

Just as Jack was about to give up, Daniel tilted the canteen up to his lips and took a small drink. "See, Danny." Jack encouraged him enthusiastically. "It's just Colorado Spring water. Only the best for Hammond's teams." O'Neill smiled at his friend as Daniel took another drink of the bottled water. "Now, how about some M&Ms?"

* * * *

The trip across the desert was slow and taxing for everyone. Teal'c had pointed out that O'Neill couldn't carry a heavy load and watch out for Daniel too. So he had voluntarily burdened himself with both of their packs leaving Jack to carry mainly the food and water. Daniel continued to be very lethargic and slow to respond to anything but direct instructions, but as Jacob pointed out he was easy to get along with. After an hour, they stopped for a breather and again attempted to get the younger man to drink water and eat something. Daniel continued to resist their efforts unless directly ordered to drink. Food was still not accepted.

Their second hour passed much the same walking out into the arid landscape. Jacob commented that next time he would definitely park much closer and just leave the ship on automatic weapons fire and to hell with innocent passersby. Shortly after this, Daniel passed out. And true to his innate nature, it wasn't a graceful descent. He just suddenly pitched forward onto the desert landing on his face. O'Neill made a grab for him but he was just far enough away to be out of reach. Jack cursed himself, Daniel, the slave trade, deserts and walking in general as he reached his friend.

"Danny, damn it!" Jack knelt beside his friend and rolled him over on his back and gently wiped the sand off his face. Luckily the desert sand was forgiving and it had done no additional damage to its victim. It did serve as a reminder that Jackson would have to be made to take nourishment before going any farther. Jack hefted Daniel to a sitting position and cradled him in his arms lifting the canteen to his lips. "Danny, drink the water." He pleaded. "You've got to drink some water."

"No, drugged."

"Not drugged. Good, safe water. Drink it!" O'Neill finally forced the mouth of the canteen between the cracked, dry lips and tilted it back. Initially choking, the young man finally took the fluid and swallowed it. Jack wiped his face with a dampened corner of his robe and encouraged him to take more water. "You have to drink the water, Danny. We didn't come all this way for you to die like this. Drink the damned water."

A large shadow covered them both. "O'Neill, he cannot help himself." The Jaffa warrior knelt next to his two friends.

"I know what he thinks, Teal'c. But it doesn't matter. He needs to drink." Jack tilted the bottle so that the cool liquid dribbled down on Jackson's hair and forehead. "If he won't drink for us, how long has he gone without it before we found him?" He wiped the excess fluid off of his friend's face and tried to get him to drink from the canteen again.

Again, when forced, Daniel swallowed some of the water. Then suddenly, he started choking and coughing. Teal'c lifted him from O'Neill's arms and supported him face down across his knee, assisting his friend to clear his airway. Jack slumped, his elbows on his knees and face in hands. When Jackson stopped coughing, Teal'c rolled him over back into O'Neill's arms.

Jack looked down at the man in his arms and stroked his forehead. "I don't know what to do anymore." Jack looked up at the Jaffa, frustration and emotion causing his voice to shake. "He's got to drink something or he'll die."

"We will do what we must, O'Neill." The big man responded calmly. "We can do no less. If necessary I will carry Danieljackson to the ship."

Jacob brought a second canteen to the three men. "Jack, he'll be all right. We've only got a little way to go." He put his hand on O'Neill's shoulder. "You're tired Jack. We'll rest here a while. When we get Daniel back on his feet, then we'll go on."

Some time later, Daniel opened his eyes. He was lying with his head on a rolled up robe in the shade. The shade was the direct result of a large Jaffa warrior seated strategically between him and the hot desert sun. "Teal'c?" He asked softly.

"Danieljackson, you are finally awake. It is good to see you so." Teal'c smiled gently at him. "We have been very concerned."

Daniel looked around. "Where're we at?"

"We are on the desert on our way back to Jacobcarter's ship. O'Neill has been very worried for you."

"Where's Jack?" He asked in a muffled voice.

O'Neill and Carter had been sitting together reorganizing the load. When Teal'c motioned to them, they both came over. O'Neill quickly knelt next to his friend and took his hand. "Hey, big guy. How ya feeling?"

"Still woozy, but better." Daniel coughed a little. "Sorry to be trouble."

"Danny, don't...you didn't do anything." Jack replied. "Do you feel like eating or drinking anything?"

At Jackson's nod, O'Neill brought out a full canteen. "Do you want a candy bar? Something to eat?"

"No, not yet." He shook his head. "How far to the ship?"

"About a mile and a half or so, just over the next two dunes." Jacob supplied crouching next to O'Neill.

"Can we go?" Daniel asked, looking up at his friends. "I really want to go home."

Jack nodded wordlessly. Teal'c looked from one man to the other. "So do we, Danieljackson."

* * * *

Samantha Carter was going stark, raving nuts. She had even cleaned the small ship's galley and dusted the control panel. She had not slept well the night before, half expecting the men to return last evening. But they had said that they might have to stay an extra night. It all depended on the condition that Daniel was in when they found him. That they were late was actually good. It indicated that they had found their teammate. That he might be unable to travel or just slowing them down was much better than them returning early without him.

Finally, late afternoon, she saw not three but four silhouetted forms walking towards the ship. After a moment, she was sure it was 'her' men by the way they walked. One was obviously weak and sluggish. Occasionally another of the men, she was sure it was the Colonel, would reach over and steady him. She disengaged the cloaking field and opened the hatch to welcome them.

As they approached her, the weaker one stumbled and would have fallen if the two closest to him had not reached out to hold and support him. She left the coolness of the ship and ran out to meet them.

"Colonel, You found him!" She came up to the three men, but stopped before she touched them, recognizing just how precarious their balance was. They continued on past her, headed single- mindedly towards the ship. The Colonel had hold of Daniel by the upper arm and the younger man appeared very unsteady on his feet. Teal'c was hovering behind Jackson in case he was needed. The fourth, her father, held his arms out to her and she went into them.

"Yea, Carter. We found him." Jack answered her, jerking his turban off and pitching it towards the open hatch. "He's pretty done in though. Let's get him in where it's cool." He and Teal'c now each had one of Jackson's arm and were both supporting him. They proceeded to lift him bodily up the hatch's stairwell.

Jacob slipped his arm around his daughter's waist and the Carters followed them into the cool confines of the ship.

She looked up at her dad. "How is he?"

Jacob ran his hand up and down her upper arm. "Like Jack said, pretty bad off. He's been abused and drugged. But we think he'll be all right with time."

O'Neill and Teal'c had deposited Daniel on the floor up against the wall while they got out of their own gear. When the Carters came in, Sam moved over to where he was sitting to help the men with him. Jack had dropped his pack and skinned out of his robes quickly and was removing the turban-like head covering from Jackson. He was sitting passively against the wall, not fighting their administrations but not helping either. When Sam approached, Jack looked up at her. "Don't make a big deal of what you see." He warned. "He's going from passive to catatonic over anything."

She nodded warily. O'Neill finally got the intricate headgear off and she saw what he had meant. The left side of Daniel's face was discolored from a bad bruise and there had been some cosmetics applied to minimize the damage and emphasize his facial features. These had begun to smear from the sweat and whatever else had happened to him. When they peeled the robes and bandages off of him, Jackson's pale nakedness was again emphasized by livid bruising and some minor bleeding from cuts on his torso that had reopened during the trip. She looked over at their Colonel and tried to imitate his unrevealing expression. Jack's eyes met hers and she realized how much emotion he really was concealing. Her CO nodded at her, accepting her concern for their teammate. "Carter, could you go start the shower for me? Danny and I are using the 'buddy system' today. And 'we' really need to get cleaned up."

She nodded mutely, not daring to say anything for fear of saying too much. Once the water had reached a comfortable temperature. She stopped at the entrance to the room that the men were in. "Colonel, it's ready. I'm going up to the cockpit now. Call if you need help."

"Thanks Carter." He smiled over at her, the first smile she'd seen from him in a long time.

When Sam had left, Jack pulled off his own clothing down to his briefs and hoisted Jackson up on his feet. "C'mon Danny, give me some help here." He muttered under his breath. Teal'c stepped over and helped direct the unresponsive man into the shower area under the spray of warm water. They propped him up on the wall while Jack got a handful of the liquid that served the Tok'ra as soap. He dropped Daniel's loincloth and his own underwear then vigorously applied the soap to the front of friend's oily, sweaty body and worked it up into a mild lather. It was a quick job, just to get the worst of the crud off. He turned Daniel to face the wall and cringed inwardly. He carefully washed the entire field of half healed cuts on Danny's back, sides and buttocks where he had obviously been beaten with some sort of lash. As he started down his friend's flank, Jack's hands traveled across the young man's lower back. With a cry, Daniel jerked away from his loose grip and fell on to the floor, adding to the many marks all ready obvious on his arms and legs. Jack knelt down next to him. "Daniel, what's wrong?" He asked, while having a pretty damn good idea what was going on in his friend's head. He grasped Jackson firmly by the upper arms. "Danny, it's me, Jack. Daniel, come on buddy. Daniel?"

Daniel looked up at him and recognition reasserted itself. "Jack?"

"Yea, come on buddy, get up. We're almost through." He assured his friend as he helped him to his feet again.

By the time O'Neill got him back on his feet and finally get the younger man reasonably clean, Jack handed him off to Teal'c who wrapped Daniel in a large towel-like blanket. After the Jaffa had escorted the younger man back into the other room, Jack scrubbed himself clean then dried off with a similar cloth and pulling on his own fresh fatigue pants and t-shirt. All the while he was verbalizing a litany of acts that he would like to perform on whomever had done this to his friend.

* * * * * *

Sam went up to the instrument area of the ship and sat down next to her Dad. He gave her a small grin and she leaned into his shoulder.

"How they doing back there?" He kissed her on the forehead

The Colonel and Daniel are getting a shower. Teal'c is there for support, I guess." She sniffed slightly.

Jacob smiled and cuddled her to him. "He'll be all right, Sammi. He's a tough one."

"Don't I know it!" She looked up. "He kept them occupied while I ran off and left him."

"I thought that was the plan, for one of you to get away." He reminded her gently.

"Yea, but...it's always everyone else but Daniel that gets away." She rubbed her cheek against the coarse material of his robe.

Her father smiled down into her blond hair. "Jack will pull him back together...you wait and see."

"He's the best there is." She replied. "He taught us that no one gets left behind...ever. And I broke that rule."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, kid." Jacob rubbed her short, blond hair. "If you hadn't made it out, you'd be doing laundry for someone and as for Jackson....well, he'd be somewhere else a lot less pleasant."

* * * *

After O'Neill finished his and Daniel's shower, they had returned to the 'guest room' on the small ship. Teal'c had spread Daniel's bedroll out on the floor for him and after helping the Colonel settle their team-mate into the bed, he left them to take his own shower. O'Neill was sitting propped up against the wall next to their sleeping friend.

Carter came in carrying a container and several mugs. She put them down and sat next to her team chief. She poured him a drink and handed it to him.

He looked into the cup before drinking. "No beer?"

"Sorry sir. Evidently the Tok'ra don't brew any."

"Uncivilized bastards." O'Neill took a drink of the cool water.

"Look sir, why don't you take a nap. Dad said you didn't get much sleep on planet." She indicated their sleeping charge. "I'll sit here with Daniel."

He indicated a growing bruise on his cheekbone. "I don't think so Major. He still packs a punch."

"Daniel did that?"

"Well, he was having a nightmare and I kind of got in the way." Jack looked over at the object of their discussion. "He's spoken to me but he gets disoriented easily. And with the dreams, he can get violent. He could hurt you without meaning to."

"I'll be careful, sir. " She smiled assurance at him. "Do you want some ice for that?"

"Nah, but I could use some sleep. Tell you what. I'll unroll my bag over there on his other side and you just stay here and watch him. If he wakes up, call me."

* * * *

Some time later, after O'Neill had dozed off on his bedroll against the near wall, Carter noticed that Daniel was lying awake, watching her.

"Daniel." She leaned closer to him. "Daniel, do you know who I am?"

He concentrated a moment, then nodded. "Sam." A slight smile lit his bruised features. "I'm glad you're all right." He reached for her and she grasped his hand in hers. "They told me you were dead."

"Just like they told us the Colonel and Teal'c were dead, remember? How are you feeling?" Since he knew who she was, she felt confident to touch his face with her other hand. He felt almost normal temperature-wise.

"Groggy." He replied trying to sit up, but she held him down in his bedroll. "Where are we?"

"We're on a Tok'ra ship going back to earth. Dad's flying it." Sam smiled down at him.

"How long...?"

"Two weeks since we were captured." She shifted so she could look at him squarely. "I was headed back to the Stargate when I found the Colonel, Teal'c and SG6." She released him to pour him a glass of water.

With her help, Daniel grasped the cup with both hands, sipping it slowly. "Jack and Teal'c, they're OK?"

"Yea, they rescued you...bought you from the sale. You don't remember?"

"I sort of remember, but...the drugs...I didn't know if I was dreaming it or what." He looked at Jack who had left his bedroll at the sound of their voices.

O'Neill sat down beside him and looked at the prodigal archeologist critically. "Well, at least you got him to drink something without an argument." He smiled at his two 'kids'. "How ya doin', big guy?"

"Better. Thanks to all of you." He tried a small grin and it felt good. "A little fuzzy on the details."

"Yea, drugs will do it to you." Jack reached over and touched him on the shoulder. "Doc Fraiser is gonna poke lots of holes in you when we get you back." He warned teasingly.

Daniel was tiring and the two could see it happening as they watched. Sam took the cup from him. "Look Danny, you go ahead and finish the nap. We'll be here when you wake up again. You're safe now."

Jackson nodded sleepily at his friends. Carter got up and left the two men some privacy. Jack got up and pulled his bedroll over beside Daniel's, then lay down next to him to try to talk Daniel back to sleep. "What happened to your face, Jack?" Daniel asked sleepily.

O'Neill reached out and stroked Daniel's arm as he answered him. "Oh, I got in the way of someone's nightmare." He grinned over at his friend. "But it's all right now. Go to sleep, Danny." in the same voice that he had used on him on hundreds of missions.

Daniel's eyes closed slowly and his breathing steadied into a comfortable, relaxed sleep. As he slipped away, he felt someone kiss his forehead.

Chapter 8: The Homecoming

Later that day Daniel woke up to find Teal'c sitting next to him, meditating. He tried to change positions but when he moved a small moan escaped him as he shifted the wrong way. The big man immediately came to his assistance helping him get comfortable in the bedroll where he had been sleeping

"How long have I been asleep?" Daniel asked him in a weak voice, looking pale and tired.

"For several hours and it appears to have been without nightmares...this time." Teal'c replied with one of his small smiles as he returned to his position next to his friend.

Looking up at him with embarrassment. "At least I didn't punch you in the face." The younger man commented wryly.

"You may if you like. Would it assist in your recovery?" Teal'c offered seriously

"No, no. I guess I hit Jack accidentally earlier." Jackson replied, a little chagrined.

"I do not believe he minded Danieljackson." Teal'c commented. "We were pleased that you were strong enough to do so at the time."

"How did you find me?" Daniel asked. He was still confused at waking up back among his friends. "The man in charge told us you were killed. That they didn't want you two for some reason."

Teal'c nodded at him. "We held no value for them as slaves so they abandoned us at the Stargate. We were able to rescue you because Majorcarter escaped from your captors. When we found her she was able to furnish valuable information on your whereabouts. As to why we were not taken, Jaffa are known to be servants of the false gods. They would not take me." He glanced over across Daniel at the colonel where he was curled up in his bedroll apparently asleep. "They didn't take O'Neill because of his age. They were looking for young ones who would make valuable slaves."

"Thanks, I think." Jack spoke up from his bed where he had been napping/ eavesdropping. He sat up stiffly in his bedroll with a grimace.

Daniel tried to sit up, but had to grasp Teal'cs arm for support. "Oh, boy." He gasped.

'What is it?" Teal'c was at his side, supporting his friend's shoulder. "Let me assist you." Teal'c helped Daniel to come to a sitting position, then leaned him back against the wall in a more comfortable position.

"Dizzy...must be the drugs. Thank you." He looked up at the Jaffa. "Sorry."

At their movements, Jack crawled out of his bedding to sit next to his two team members. He leaned over and felt Daniel's forehead looking concerned. "You okay, Danny?"

Daniel smiled crookedly at him "Oh, yea." Regaining his equilibrium, he commented. "Point me to the gate."

"No gate." Jack prompted his friend's memory. "We're on Jacob's ship, remember." .

"Sounds like a wonderful idea." Daniel looked around at his surroundings.

"You want something to eat before you have visitors." Jack looked at him with an encouraging expression. "Sam's flying the ship, waiting for you to wake up." He smiled. "She's been worried about you, Danny."

"OK." Daniel replied. "But I'm really not that hungry."

"Oh yea," Jack commented sarcastically. "I've heard that before. Danny, you need to eat something."

Teal'c had gone over to where their packs were stored and pulled a clean t-shirt from his pack and found some clean fatigue pants in O'Neill's bag. He returned to where their young friend was sitting and they helped Daniel to pull the clothes on and adjusted the fit. "Wouldn't do for you to catch cold now would it." O'Neill teased him.

Danny sat back somewhat decently dressed. "I'll be OK." He was sounding more like himself by the moment. He ran his hand over his chest, pulling the oversized shirt away from his front to look down it's neck. "But I hurt in weird places."

O'Neill laughed gently. "Body jewelry." The Colonel told him dryly. "You were into body jewelry."

"Oh, really?" He looked up and smiled shyly at his friends. "Not by choice, believe me." Daniel took a deep breath and looked over at Jack. "I just want to get home."

Jacob Carter came in the room from the cockpit area and came over to kneel at the men's side. "I thought I heard voices." He said with a smile. "We are presently enroute to that destination, Doctor Jackson. While our decor is spartan, our price is low. ETA is sixteen hours back to mother Earth. Thank you for flying Tok'ra airlines." Jacob got up and said. "I've got to go relieve Sammi." He smiled down at Jack and Teal'c. "She's still mad at us."

After a few minutes, Sam came back through the door. When she saw Daniel sitting up and talking to the others, she broke into a wide smile and hurried over to them replacing O'Neill who had stood up to stretch and head for the head. "Daniel, we were so worried." She grasped his hand and held it. "I'd hug you but I'm afraid to. I might break something."

He managed to smile back at her. "Too late. Already broke." He looked up to her. "I see our plan worked."

She held on to his hand and sat back on her heels next to him. "I guess so if you say it did." She became quiet and her voice broke "Daniel, I'm sorry." She looked at him with eyes that suddenly filled with unshed tears. "I'm so sorry, I should never have left you." She wiped some suspicious moisture from her cheeks with the back of her free hand.

"No, Sam. Please don't." Daniel tried to lean forward but couldn't; so he pulled her closer to him. "If you hadn't left, who knows where I'd be...where we'd be. You did what you had to do to get us rescued." He looked up at their commander who had returned to stand next to the two. "Tell her Jack."

Jack smiled at them both. "I'd say it was a success, you're both back. And he's right Carter, you did good. Sometimes the right thing is the hard thing." He stood up. "I'm gonna go raid the galley to see what Tok'ra airlines offers in cuisine since they DON'T carry pizza and beer."

* * * *

General Hammond was at his desk finishing a report, the last of a long line of reports for this week. When he dotted the last i, crossed the last t and scrawled his name at the bottom of the paper he lay the pen down. He glanced briefly at a requisition form filled out by Colonel O'Neill for the sum of ten thousand dollars. The money ostensibly was to be used to re-acquire their premier archeologist from his latest misadventure. He hoped that Colonel O'Neill could do one of his famous rabbit-out-of-the-hat tricks and make a miracle for the boy. He had a lot of faith in his second-in- command but this was a tall order of the Pecos Bill category. And all they could do now was wait and see.

The waiting part irked him. The hardest part of this job was to send good men and women out there never knowing what or whom they would have to face. He would have preferred to go himself. But Major Generals didn't do that kind of thing, no matter how much they wanted to. It came with the territory.

Someone knocked on his office door, and Sergeant Davis stuck his head in. "Sir," the younger man said excitedly. "Sir, we have radio contact with General Carter. He requests permission to download four packages at our location!"

"Out-damn-standing!" The General quickly got up from his desk and strode through the door and down to the Command Center. He quickly took over the radio. "Jacob, good to hear your voice."

"Likewise George, I've got some people anxious to see you."

"Well, I've got some people down here anxious to see them. Can you come down?" Doctor Fraiser appeared, breathless from her run, at the Command Center doorway.

"No, George, I'm afraid that your airspace is a little too crowded for that today, but can you give me some co-ordinates for delivery?"

Hammond thought a moment, and then Sergeant Davis gave him a hand held radio. "Just a moment Jacob, I'm taking a portable radio down on the big room's floor. Can you lock on to that?" He started down the stairwell to the Embarkation Room.

"That's affirmative, if you can keep it keyed to transmit while I triangulate on it." The General could hear Major Carter talking and possibly Colonel O'Neill in the background. "OK George, we've got your fix." Hammond could hear the female voice in the background checking the grid for the radio signal. "Have everyone stand back from the central area. They'll be right down."

In a few seconds, a heavy metallic drumming sound filled the room. Then the decibels exploded in the relatively small area. Five huge metal rings appeared in concentric order; another explosion of displaced air and four figures appeared within the apparition. Then with the same noise and enthusiasm, the rings disappeared leaving the four 'packages' on the floor and intact.

O'Neill, Carter and Teal'c were easily recognizable in their SGC uniforms but the other figure, appearing frail and clad in an ill fitting uniform was startlingly changed. O'Neill and Teal'c both made a grab for their unsteady teammate before Daniel came to grief on the concrete floor of the Embarkation Room.

General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser were the first to recover, moving quickly into the group, Hammond going to O'Neill and Fraiser homing in on the injured member of the team. She turned and waived a gurney to approach. With his support system's assistance, Daniel stayed upright until it got to his side. Then his teammates assisted him onto it, laying him on his stomach at Jack's insistence. Fraiser and her assistant then took control of both the situation and the patient, wheeling him down the hall to the infirmary.

General Hammond indicated that they would accompany the doctor and patient to the clinic and the four of them followed the medical team down the hallway to the treatment room. Once in the infirmary, the Fraiser indicated some metal chairs against the wall and slid the curtain shut behind her as she followed the gurney in to start her examination.

"I must say Jack, I'm very happy that you all got back safely." The General pulled his chair around to face SG1. "We have all been very concerned over the fate of Doctor Jackson. What happened?"

O'Neill leaned forward in his chair elbows on knees and hands clasped in front. "Honestly sir, we had to buy him back." He rubbed his hands together. "It took all of the money we had."

" Jack, I don't care what it cost! Is the boy all right?"

"He's pretty roughed up sir. He's been drugged and beaten pretty badly. Danny is starting to come around though. He's been talking and making complete sentences since yesterday." He looked over at the curtain. "Doctor Fraser's not gonna be happy with his physical condition though."

"Major Carter, how are you doing?" Hammond looked over at her noting her worried demeanor.

"Fine, Sir." She glanced at her CO. "I couldn't go in with them due to the planet's women leading cloistered lives. I spent the last several days ship-sitting and sleeping."

Doctor Fraiser came out from behind the exam cubicle's curtain. "Sirs."

Hammond stood up and turned to look at her. "Doctor, what's your assessment?"

She looked relieved and smiled at her audience. "I've pulled some blood from him to run a toxicology test. I need to isolate the drugs he's been given. He's suffering from dehydration, malnutrition, a slight concussion, lacerations all over, bruises ditto and the result of the unknown drug in his system. I'll need to do some debriding of wounds and some wound closures." She looked at Jack. "He needs a lot of food, and rest." She looked over at O'Neill. "Anything else you can tell me that I need to look for Colonel?"

O'Neill took a deep breath and looked down at the toes of his boots, then back up at her. He replied in a low voice. "Possible sexual assault." Peripherally he heard someone take in a gasp of air.

She nodded, acknowledging his discomfort at the disclosure and reached out to take his hand. "I already checked. He's okay."

Jack let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Thank God!" He smiled shakily at Janet. "And thank you."

She just smiled and squeezed his hand. She then turned and went back into the curtained cubical with her patient.

General Hammond cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "All right, SG1. Go ahead and get checked out and showered. We can debrief in three hours." He put his best fatherly smile on and beamed at all three of them. "Good job, people." He nodded and left them together as he headed back to his office.

* * * *

Several days later, Jacob Carter returned through the Stargate. He and General Hammond went into the General's office for a closed-door session. After about an hour, Colonel O'Neill was summoned to join the meeting. Dr. Jackson had been released from the clinic the day before and reported with his team leader. General Hammond greeted him with concern.

"Son, are you supposed to be at work? I thought you were on medical leave."

Daniel sat up and folded his hands in front of himself on the briefing table. "I am on leave sir; I was getting some things from my office when Jack found me."

"Caught him was more like it, General." O'Neill made a face at his friend and turned to the two senior officers. "I left him at my place on the couch with a TV remote control in his hand." He shook his head. "We're going to have to post guards, sir."

"Well, see to it Colonel. We can't have him running loose on an unsuspecting Colorado Springs." Hammond smiled at the blushing archeologist. "Colonel, that aside, I need some clarification on your report."

O'Neill looked curiously at his superior. "What would that be sir?"

"How much did you pay for Dr. Jackson's release?"

"Sir?" Jack looked uncomfortable and glanced sideways at Daniel who was in turn watching him curiously.

"You heard me Colonel, How much did you pay for Dr. Jackson?"

"Well, sir..." He looked unhappily at General Carter. "We...well; Jacob did the actual bidding."

"I know that Jack, that wasn't the question. How much was the total amount you paid?"

"Well, I gave him the ten thousand dollars that you provided...and the Tok'ra pitched some in, too." O'Neill was becoming very uncomfortable.

Hammond leaned forward. "Jack, that's the first problem. I just offered to make up the difference to Jacob here, and he informed me that you had already paid them back."

O'Neill made a face at General Carter. "Oh, he did, did he?"

"Sorry, Jack. I didn't know there was a secret here." The elder Carter looked sheepish and shrugged his shoulders.

Daniel leaned into the conversation. "Jack, what did you do?"

O'Neill pushed himself away from the table. "OK, we paid twenty three thousand dollars at the sale." He stood up and walked around the table. "What were we supposed to do, let him go to that... that.. other customer?"

"No, Jack of course not." General Hammond replied softly. "Sit back down, son. I just need to get this straight so everyone can get reimbursed."

O'Neill came back around to his chair next to Daniel, who was sitting dumbfounded. "Okay, sirs. Here it is." He looked at Hammond. "You gave me ten thousand dollars which I exchanged with the Tok'ra." Jack looked at Jacob. "You gave me an equivalent to ten thousand dollars from the high council." Jacob nodded. Jack continued. "I had fifteen thousand dollars in uncut industrial diamonds in my safety deposit box at my bank. They were an investment that I had made...before...for a ...college tuition. I took those with me." He glared at the other three men, daring them to say anything.

Hammond nodded. "That's when you left the briefing before the rescue mission, to get the diamonds"

"Yes, sir." Jack continued on doggedly. "When the sale was going on, we ran short of money. I gave Jacob some of the diamonds. After we got Danny back, I started thinking that the Tok'ra might have some use for the diamonds too, which they did." He looked at Carter, who nodded agreement. "So instead of us owing the Tok'ra, I just gave them more of the diamonds." He looked down at his hands on the table, then glanced at the speechless Jackson. "Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Go ahead, Jack." Hammond nodded him on.

O'Neill looked over at General Carter. "Jacob, you're a good friend, but I'd just as soon that we, Danny didn't owe the Tok'ra anything. I didn't want them to have anything over his head that could be called back on him!" He looked at Hammond. "I had the damned things anyway! It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Jack," Hammond asked gently. "Why didn't you just put in a voucher for a refund? You know I would have approved it."

"Sir, I probably would have. It just didn't seem too important right then." He looked over at the still stunned Daniel. "We got Daniel back in pretty much one piece, we didn't make anyone mad at us and the Tok'ra got something that that they needed. What's the big deal?"

"Nothing , Jack. We just have to fill out the forms, get you reimbursed and make the paper pushers happy." Hammond stood up and shook Jacob's hand. "Thanks again, old friend."

Jacob Carter shook the general's hand and smiled over at the two younger men at the other side of the table. "A pleasure doing business with you, Gentlemen. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to hunt down my lovely daughter and take her to lunch at the cafeteria." He continued. "I will see you later, George."

General Hammond escorted his friend out to his office leaving the two men alone in the briefing room. Jack looked uncomfortably at Daniel.

Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "Twenty three thousand dollars. I don't believe it. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Jack replied apprehensively.

"Why did you pay off the Tok'ra, Jack?" Daniel still hadn't looked directly at him.

"For the reason I said. I didn't want them to have anything on you Danny." Jack replied heatedly. "What did you want me to do? Leave you there for that pervert to buy!"

"What are you talking about, Jack" Now Daniel was confused.

"Danny, I saw the way that other 'customer' was looking at you! He wanted you in the worst way, and there was no way in hell he was gonna get you. And I didn't care if I ever saw that money again; do you get it now?" O'Neill leaned forward towards his teammate. "And you know what?"

"What?" Daniel replied in a low voice, looking up at Jack wonderingly.

"I firmly believe you would have done the same thing, for me, for Carter, and for Teal'c. Just like I did. Just like they would. You know why?"

"Yes." Daniel asked softly.

"Cause we're a team." Jack continued on in spite of Daniel's answer. "And damnit, nobody messes with my team but me!" He looked down at Daniel. "Right?"

A feminine voice spoke from the doorway. "Right sir." Jack and Daniel looked up in surprise at the interruption. Sam and Teal'c were standing there watching their two teammates.

"I too agree O'Neill." The Jaffa warrior spoke up. "A team without loyalty is not a team. You have taught me this. It is a good thing."

The other two members of SG1 entered the room. Jack looked a little embarrassed that he had been overheard in his vehement declaration. "Well, then fine." He looked down at Daniel. "I'm hungry. Is anyone else hungry?"

"Well," the younger man looked thoughtful. "I'd like something, maybe a steak ..."

"Hallelujah!" O'Neill shouted and raised his hands over his head. Then he looked over at the other two team members. "Steak it is, and I'm buying!" He thought a second. "Carter, go find your father. I owe him one too, big time!"

FINISH