Trapped For Trade

by Elizabeth Lea

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/ase/elea/trapped.php
Summary: Daniel is kidnapped and taken to live on a unique planet

Part 1

Lieutenant Colonel Terry Weston stared at the inactive Stargate for several minutes after the deceptive blue pool disappeared. His teammate and subordinate Second Lieutenant Vince Potter stood beside him, hands in his pockets, rocking back on his feet. The other members of his team, Captain Rhonda Lewis and their civilian, Doctor Kim Chan had already left to clean up in the women's locker room. They were all scheduled for a debriefing with General Hammond despite the fact that there was literally nothing to report. They'd all seen plenty of planets lacking in people, vegetation, wildlife and water. P5X892 barely had air.

The only reason for their visit to the barren wasteland was a blip on the MALP that suggested there might be structures. Doctor Daniel Jackson, the lead linguist and archeologist for the SGC program had insisted that where one found buildings, one found intelligent life or signs of same. But, as often happened when dealing with limited data, the blip was probably a malfunction or a fluke and there were no buildings within ten miles of the Stargate and no signs of life either.

Terry couldn't explain why the Ancients put a Stargate on a planet like P5X892 but then, that wasn't his job. His job was following up leads provided by computers that existed light years away from each other, leads given priority by Doctor Jackson or any number of the other scientists working on the program.

"That was our last real mission, sir, " Vince Potter said softly.

Terry glanced away from the Stargate, favoring Vince with a mild glare. Any hint of their plans was dangerous but Vince only grinned at him.

"Lieutenant," Colonel Jack O'Neill greeted as he approached the two men. Terry and Vince turned automatically and saluted. O'Neill returned the gesture. Terry might be a Lieutenant Colonel but O'Neill was a full-bird and outranked both of them.

"Get lost in thought there?" O'Neill asked, nodding towards the Stargate.

"Yes, sir, I guess we did," Terry answered.

"Well, you better get moving. General Hammond will be waiting."

"Yes, sir," both men responded in unison, saluting again as they exited the room.

Once they reached the hall, Terry exhaled. He knew it was ridiculous to worry that O'Neill knew what they were planning. No one knew; they'd been far too careful.

They passed Major Carter and SG1's alien sidekick on their way up the narrow steps to the conference room. Just as they reached the top, Terry nearly collided with Dr. Jackson.

"Oh, excuse me," Jackson said, pushing his glasses back up.

"Not a problem," Terry responded.

"You might want to be more careful around these stairs," Vince added.

Jackson nodded with a smile. "Good advice."

Terry watched the doctor descend with more than a casual interest and Vince nudged him good-naturedly.

They arrived in the conference room to find Rhonda, Kim and the general waiting. After an hour of reporting that there was nothing to report, Hammond was satisfied enough to adjourn the meeting.

The rest of his team separated to follow up on various projects and details and Terry made his way back to the embarkation room where SG1 waited for the general to give them their order to go.

Terry watched from the doorway as the four of them fiddled with their packs while they teased each other. From where he stood, he couldn't hear their words but like everyone else in the mountain, he was familiar with their easy banter. Only the alien remained still and quiet while Major Carter grinned. Terry could guess that O'Neill was aiming his well-known wit at Jackson. He wondered how the close-knit team would survive when one of them went missing.

====

Daniel shook his head, deliberately hiding a grin while Jack teased him about walking into the women's locker room a few days before. Daniel had been engrossed in a file about an artifact that SG5 brought back and hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. One of the marines took advantage of his distraction to sort of herd him into the wrong door. His first sign that he'd made a mistake came from Major Phyllis Benton when she tapped him on the shoulder, not bothering to hide the fact that she hadn't donned a shirt.

The other women present varied between laughing at him and being annoyed with him as Daniel made a hasty exit.

"Benton thinks you need a leash," Jack said.

"Some days I do," Daniel responded, changing his expression just enough to make certain that Jack caught his double meaning.

They both knew better than to bring their relationship to work so Jack ended his teasing immediately. Luckily, that coincided with General Hammond giving them the go ahead as the Stargate rumbled to life.

====

Terry Weston shut off the alarm clock beside his bed with a start. He hadn't really been asleep but he hadn't been quite awake either. Despite the importance of the day, he had slept soundly, only stirring when his body decided that he had rested enough. Years of preparing for missions had taught him how to respond to his physical needs regardless of any anxiety he might experience.

A few moments after he shut down the alarm, his phone rang. He already knew who was calling.

"Good morning, Vince," he said.

"Did you hear about the accident that 'you know who' had yesterday?"

"It was minor. He's already out of the infirmary."

"But, we don't have to worry about them going on any sudden missions."

"That's true."

"I'll see you at the mountain."

"In an hour," Terry responded.

He hung up, wondering vaguely if he liked Vince Potter enough to do what they were planning. It was a bit late to question that, but suddenly he realized that the sound of Vince's voice often grated on him.

Deciding it was just nerves talking, he climbed out of bed. He showered, dressed and picked up his keys, the minor actions taking on greater importance in light of his plans. Locking the front door behind him, Terry took a final look at his house. He had had four happy years in that house. Four happy years tucked in between 18 years of misery.

"Good-bye, Patrick," he said, wistfully. "You were the only bright spot."

He opened his truck door, climbed inside and drove away without another look back.

The drive to the mountain took about the same time as usual though Terry thought that it felt both longer and shorter. He couldn't deny his apprehension but there was a balance of excitement too. He showed his ID to the Airman on duty and parked the only thing he was likely to miss. He patted the wheel of his truck lovingly before he slipped the keys under the front seat.

Walking through the entrance, he ignored the greetings of the lower ranked personnel who passed him, saluting automatically as necessary.

He wasn't surprised to find Vince waiting for him in his office.

"Did you send the e-mail?" Vince asked as Terry entered.

"Last night before I left." Terry sat down at his computer as he continued. "With luck, we'll already have an answer."

He signed on and scanned his e-mail seeing the two return addresses he had hoped would be waiting. The first was from General Hammond agreeing to his request and the second was from Doctor Jackson.

He read Jackson's message out loud.

"Lt. Col. Weston, I will be happy to assist with today's mission. SG1 is on down time while Colonel O'Neill recovers from his accident so I am available for the next two days. I'm fully briefed as I assisted Doctor Chan with her initial research so I'll see you in the gate room at 1:30pm."

When Terry looked away from the screen he was met with a knowing smile from Vince.

"We're a go, Lieutenant," Terry said.

Vince answered with a salute before he left to prepare for the mission.

====

Jack did not want Daniel to accompany SG13. He barely allowed Daniel to speak the words before he started arguing against it. Daniel just stood silently and waited for him to wind down before he reiterated that he was going, that it was a simple ruins exploration, that no signs of life had been registered and that Jack was a pompous ass if he thought that Daniel could be ordered to stay home.

"Pompous ass?" Jack said as he leaned back in his office chair with a groan, carefully shifting his sore ankle.

"I've been taking care of myself for a long time, Jack, despite your delusions."

"I don't remember hearing the word delusions last night."

"Maybe I was trying to spare your feelings."

"You weren't sparing my hearing." Jack grinned. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Ya know they're not as pretty as me," Jack said. "Ugliest team on the base."

"You are a bad Colonel."

"Hey, everybody says so."

"Did I ever show you what Cleopatra probably really looked like?"

"Not Elizabeth Taylor?"

"No."

"Then let me live with my illusions."

Daniel looked away from him, unsuccessfully trying to suppress a laugh. When he looked back, he had defeated it.

"Seriously, Jack, it's one night off world."

"I know. I just like it better when the whole team is together. Splintering away from each other doesn't seem to go that well."

"What happened yesterday is no proof of what will happen today."

"Tell that to the sun, the moon and the tides."

"Besides if you hadn't fallen off the dais, I wouldn't be available right now."

"We didn't have another mission scheduled until Friday so don't start blaming me. Besides, Teal'c pushed me."

"He did not."

"Did."

"Did not and stop behaving like a five year old."

"I thought you liked my youthful charm."

Daniel leaned forward over the desk. "I love your youthful charm," he whispered then he straightened up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Be careful," Jack yelled as Daniel left.

====

Terry glanced towards the Stargate as he straightened his pack. Loaded down more heavily than usual with extra food, water, ammunition and a few other essentials he concealed the discomfort of his burden. He noticed that Vince was having some trouble adjusting his pack as well. Rhonda was re-checking her weapon, which she did repeatedly before every mission.

Just as General Hammond appeared in the window of the control room, Kim Chan arrived with Doctor Jackson.

"So basically, the symbols don't make a lot of sense which probably means we're missing something from the telemetry," she said.

"I'm sorry you're not making this trip, Kim," Daniel answered. "I could use your expertise there."

"Well, when the Colonel decides something else is more important, then you go with it." She laughed as she threw a smile in Terry's direction.

"I hear you," Daniel agreed.

"Have a safe trip," she said to the group in general just as the Stargate came alive.

"Good luck, people, you have a go," Hammond announced from the control room.

Daniel joined SG13 at the ramp and Terry patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with us, Doctor."

"No problem. I was actually a little jealous of Kim on this one."

Rhonda disappeared into the shimmering pool, followed by Vince.

"After you," Terry said and Daniel stepped through. Terry hesitated for just a moment as he turned to look back at the general. Hammond nodded at him with a curious expression and Terry took his final step away from earth.

Terry arrived at their destination to near chaos. Rhonda was already unconscious lying near the base of the DHD while Daniel was beside her and pulling his weapon out of his holster. Vince was sitting, his expression furious and Terry guessed that Daniel must have knocked him down.

"What's going on?" Terry demanded, looking at Daniel.

Daniel had his gun out now, pointing it in Vince's direction. "I don't know. He stuck a needle in her.''

Terry pulled out his sidearm. "Is that so?" He asked calmly while Vince rose from the ground.

"We have to get her back to the SGC and he needs to be put under arrest," Daniel said as he holstered his weapon then pressed his fingers to Rhonda's neck. "She's still alive."

"Of course she is," Terry said and his tone succeeded in capturing Daniel's attention.

The doctor's eyes widened when he saw two P90's pointed at him, one from Vince and one from Terry.

"What's going on?"

"Rhonda will be fine. She has her GDO and she can go home as soon as she wakes up," Terry answered.

"That doesn't answer the question."

"You're coming with us, Doctor. Now lock your hands behind your head."

Daniel's hand moved slowly towards his Beretta instead.

"Hands behind your head," Terry warned him and Daniel scowled as he followed the order.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," he said.

Terry moved forward quickly, wrenched the gun out of the holster and stepped back.

"You're wrong about that, Doctor Jackson," Vince said as he approached the DHD and punched in their destination. The Stargate whooshed to life.

Terry kept a close eye on Daniel who had started to gnaw at his bottom lip.

"We're not going to hurt you but you are coming with us," Terry said.

"No, I'm not."

"Civilians," Vince muttered.

"I'll give you a choice," Terry said. "You can come willingly or I can hurt you and then drag you along with us. You have thirty seconds to decide."

"What are you doing, Colonel? We both know you can't hide from the SGC."

"There are thousands of destinations out there, Doctor, we'll be fine. You have ten seconds left."

"If you shoot me with a P90, you'll blow off a limb," Daniel said, still sounding surprisingly reasonable.

"I don't plan on shooting you."

Rhonda moaned.

"Time to go, sir," Vince said.

"Doctor," Terry prodded. "You are out of time. Bind his hands, Lieutenant, in front, so he can catch himself on the other side."

"No, dammit," Daniel said, obstinately.

Vince stalked over, dragged him to his feet by the back of his shirt and landed a jab into Daniel's abdomen. He went down with a gasp. With Vince standing six inches taller and fifty pounds heavier than Daniel, it was no struggle to bind Daniel's wrists into handcuffs, take his GDO and drag him to his feet. Vince shoved him through the event horizon and Terry followed.

Part 2

Daniel skidded across the wooden platform surrounding the Stargate. He retained enough balance to keep from falling off the edge but his stomach was throbbing and the trip had made him nauseous. He only managed to put one foot beneath him before Vince Potter joined him and then Terry Weston a moment after that. He had hoped he might have enough time to run before they materialized but that didn't happen.

Lieutenant Potter grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him to his feet, half-choking him in the process. Daniel jerked backward then away to make him let go. Just as he freed himself, Colonel Weston said,

"That's enough, Doctor. Just stand there quietly for a minute and I'll explain what's going on. Fair enough?"

"No, it's not. Give me the GDO and let me go back."

"That's not going to happen. We're a team now, Doctor. Lieutenant Potter, myself and you. We don't need a fourth. From now on, it'll just be the three of us."

Daniel swallowed nervously, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "For what?"

"Well, we're going to stay here. Live out our days in this paradise, that doesn't sound bad, does it?"

"You're not making any sense."

"You speak enough languages, Doctor, are you telling me you don't understand English?"

Daniel ignored the jibe as his stomach tightened with Colonel Weston's matter-of-fact speech. "Why do you want to stay here?"

"About five klicks over that rise is a small city. The population is a few thousand. Technologically, they're somewhat behind us and socially they're very primitive. We think we can be valuable to their society, help them evolve, give them some leadership. It's really as simple as that."

"You want to be gods?" Daniel clarified, not hiding his surprise or his disdain at the idea.

"No, what we want is a safe place to live. That city is our salvation."

"They have almost everything we have, Doctor," Potter added. "Television, radio, processed foods. It's all just on a smaller scale, a little less advanced, if you know what I mean."

"Compare it to the fifties on earth and you'll be close though they're pretty backward in things like transportation and medical care," Weston said.

"What do you need me for?"

"Therein lies the rub, Daniel. We have to buy our way in and they don't barter with money."

Daniel drew himself up. "What do they use?"

"Pretty young men, Doctor. It's a price," Potter said.

Daniel suddenly wondered if he actually did speak English because he couldn't comprehend what they were saying.

"Actually, it's not quite that dire," Weston explained. "We're not going to sell you into slavery. You're valuable to us on several levels so we'll be taking good care of you."

"I don't understand."

"Well, we knew we'd need someone attractive to get us a place to live. But, there are a lot of men at the SGC that would suffice and frankly, there are some younger and more striking than you are. However, in the interest of being prepared, we also figured we'd need a linguist as well as someone used to gate travel in case we decide to leave this planet at some point. And we needed someone who had seen enough adversity that we wouldn't have to worry about him panicking if things turned difficult. Frankly, Doctor, you fit our criteria too perfectly to ignore."

"I'm not helping you," Daniel said, despite the dry fear in his throat.

"Well, initially you won't have much choice. We are going to the city and if they don't accept us, then they'll demand a blood sacrifice and that will be you."

"Excuse me?"

"That's not going to happen. We're bringing the appropriate barter, which proves we understand their ways and embrace them."

Daniel swallowed, afraid to voice his next question but needing the answer. "What do you mean by barter?"

"Just young men, Doctor, they won't accept a woman or a damaged male," Potter said.

"But, what do they..."

"You serve for a period of time in the house of the town leader or his designate," Weston explained. "They set the time frame. If you meet their criteria, then they let us stay and send you back to us. If you don't, they'll banish us."

"This is insane." Daniel's voice rose in disbelief at what they were intending.

"Doctor," Weston said carefully. "Daniel... this is just the method in. After you've served, then it's a paradise. All of our basic needs will be met. All you have to do is get us through the initial phase and we're home free."

"And then you'll let me go home?"

"We can't do that." Weston shook his head as he answered.

"Why not?"

"Lots of reasons," Potter interjected.

"Because the minute you go back, the SGC will send a team after us. Then it's a court martial and prison and that's just not going to happen."

"I don't know the address." Daniel reasoned.

"You watched me enter it into the DHD," Potter said.

"I didn't."

Weston shook his head again. "It doesn't matter. You've seen the mission report. Even if you don't remember now, you will. And if that doesn't happen, all you'd have to do is describe this place and they'd know."

"I'm not doing this," Daniel said, refusing to admit that he did have a vague memory of the report regarding this planet. "I'll tell the people in the city what's going on, I'll run away the first chance I get, I'll sabotage you every way I can. I'm the linguist, Colonel, do you think I can't convince them of anything I want?"

"No one at the city will care what you have to say because they'll view you as inferior. Their entire culture is based on the idea that some men are born to be barter. You can try to sabotage us but the truth is, you'll just end up getting beaten back into what they think your station is. We saw it happen, Daniel, more than once. These people are set in their ideals. You'll only bring trouble to yourself if you try to convince them that we're the liars."

"Why should they believe you over me?"

"Because we were here before. We're familiar and you're a stranger. And given your status, you have reason to lie, whereas, we don't."

"I guess we'll just have to test that theory then," Daniel challenged as his fear grew.

"Everything here is based on appearance. We weren't known as the ugliest SG team in the mountain for nothing, Daniel and here, ugly equals status."

"This is ridiculous."

"They're not the only ones who can hurt you, Doctor," Potter said.

"What the hell are you talking about? I've known you two for what, two years, three years? We've been on missions together, had coffee in the cafeteria, now you're kidnapping me, threatening me?"

"Nobody wants to hurt you," Weston said. "You're the one trying to force the issue."

"You can't believe I'm just going to stand here and accept what you're trying to do. This is my life you're taking."

"It's our life now, Daniel. You don't belong to you anymore or to the SGC or to Colonel O'Neill."

Fury fled past fear. "Oh, right, so now I belong to you? Nobody owns me, Weston."

"That may have been true before but things have changed. Right now, if you want to eat, to drink, have shelter, have affection, if you want to continue living any sort of life, then you need to accept that we're are the ones providing those things for you."

Daniel wanted to yell his outrage but the chilling calm of Weston's voice kept him focused. The other man was neither angry nor agitated. Daniel had heard Jack use the same tone when giving orders. Oh God...Jack.

"This isn't happening." Daniel passed Weston, making his way to the DHD. He saw Potter glance towards Weston but neither man made a move to stop him. Using his bound hands he pressed the first three symbols for earth's destination.

"Daniel, you don't have a GDO," Weston said. "You'll be zapped out of existence the second you step through."

Daniel continued pressing the symbols. After depressing the sixth he scanned quickly for the unique symbol that would denote the point of origin. Before he could complete the seventh depression his right knee crumbled with the impact of something heavy. He went down and was soon tackled with Potter sitting on his stomach, pushing Daniel's hands above his head. Daniel struggled to breathe while he tried to dislodge the much larger man but he could barely move. His knee throbbed and the muscles in his shoulders protested the awkward position.

"You were going to send something else through, weren't you, Doctor? Maybe get the SGC to investigate?" Potter asked, blowing hot breath into Daniel's face. "Good idea but not going to happen."

"Let him up, Lieutenant and let's get busy with changing."

Daniel sucked air into his lungs as Potter's weight lifted. He winced as he was dragged to his feet, nearly stumbling on his sore knee. Potter shoved him away from the DHD and he fell again, only to be pulled back up by his shirt collar. He jerked obstinately out of the other man's grasp.

"Heads up, Daniel," Weston said before tossing some cloth at him. Daniel barely managed to catch the bundle.

He looked at the material curiously, finding lightweight cotton pants and shirt, both black and neither with any buttons, zippers or pockets.

"What's this?"

"You need to change into those. The clothes denote station, it's like a uniform."

Daniel dropped the items on the ground. "No."

He didn't have much of a plan but he hoped that if he caused enough trouble, then they wouldn't be able to use him. Potter would probably want to kill him for it but Weston might send him home. He had a lot of practice being a pain in the ass, Daniel thought, Jack could attest to that.

"I'm not Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, I won't put up with insubordination."

"I'm a civilian and you kidnapped me, that pretty much negates the whole insubordinate argument."

"Pick up those clothes and change into them."

Daniel shrugged trying to exude a confidence he didn't feel. "No."

"Sir?" Potter asked and Weston sighed.

"Go ahead," he said, eyes meeting Daniel's directly.

Daniel sidestepped Potter's attack but his hands were still handcuffed giving the other man a significant advantage. Before he could put up much of a fight, he felt a needle slide under the skin at his shoulder.

====

It took Daniel a few moments to wake up even after Vince cracked the ammonia packet under his nose. He sputtered and coughed and rolled from his back to his stomach before he yelled out in pain and fell on his right side. Terry watched, maintaining a self-imposed distance while Vince crouched closer, picking up Daniel's glasses off the ground and putting them in his pocket as he studied the effects of his work.

Vince Potter worked in Special Ops for ten years before he joined the SGC. He worked a different type of ops than the infamous Colonel O'Neill though. While O'Neill specialized in search and destroy with a spattering of rescue and assassination, Vince worked in interrogation. His menacing size combined with a relatively soft voice and an astonishing imagination made him one of the most talented interrogators employed by the military.

He hadn't held back from demonstrating his skills on Daniel.

Terry let Daniel feel the effects of his obstinence for a full minute before he finally spoke.

"Daniel, pay attention to my voice."

"Oh, God," he moaned, clutching at his left arm but not wanting to actually touch it.

"Are you listening? I need you to hear me now."

He gave no indication that he was hearing so Vince sank his fist into Daniel's hair and yanked his head back. His hair might not be as long as it once was but it was long enough.

"Are you listening?" Terry demanded.

"Yes...God, what did you do to me?"

"Two things, actually. Your shoulder is dislocated which is why you're in so much pain. It hasn't been out of the socket long but we'll need to put it back soon if you want to avoid a lot of swelling."

"You...you dislocated my..."

"Yes we did. We also took your uniform off you. Can you feel the ground against your skin, can you feel the cold?"

"Yes." He bit off the word.

"The sun is going down and the temperature is dropping. You can wear the clothes we brought for you or you can freeze out here."

"Son of a bitch."

Vince released Daniel's head, grasped his left shoulder and jerked it back into place. Daniel screamed, clenching his eyes closed and rolling on to his side.

Terry crouched beside him. "It hurts a lot now but it won't last." Daniel curled up tighter, his body automatically seeking protection from within. "This debate is over. Get yourself together and get dressed. In the morning, we'll go into the city."

Moving unsteadily, Daniel weakly gathered the clothes and slowly struggled into them. His cheeks glowed red either from embarrassment or cold, or more probably, both. He was still shivering even after he covered himself so Terry maneuvered him inside the tent that he and Vince erected while Daniel was unconscious.

Three sleeping bags filled the small space and Terry pointed to the middle one. "That's yours. Crawl in there and get some sleep. You cost us half the day with your crap so make yourself scarce for now."

Still cradling his shoulder, Daniel followed instructions.

Terry wasn't fooled into thinking that he was really acquiescing to their plans. The archeologist had a reputation for being tenacious but, for now, Terry was satisfied that he was in too much pain to cause more trouble.

He watched silently as Daniel worked his way into the sleeping bag. Daniel was biting his bottom lip by the time he managed to lie down.

Terry knelt and opened his pack. He pulled out a packet of ibuprofen and his canteen.

"Here," he said sharply, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "It'll help with the pain and the inflammation."

Daniel winced as he reached out with his left hand to take the pills and then the right to take the canteen. He took the medication without argument though, handed over the water and then settled on to his back looking sullen.

"Colonel," Vince's voice called out and Terry pushed aside the flap of the tent. Some locals were approaching, including several members of their local police force. Terry recognized a couple of the faces but most were strangers.

As they drew close enough to be heard, the City Leader, Jory Iltec greeted them.

"Restful Night," he said.

"Restful Night, sir," Terry answered and Vince echoed him.

Jory remained standing tall but the others in his group bowed politely, some lowering to one knee. Terry noticed that the police officers, or protectors as they were known, stayed on their feet after the brief show of respect.

"You've returned from the circle pool," Jory said.

"Yes, sir. We've returned in the hope of being accepted into your fine city."

"We thought as much. I said to my colleague, Brice Alsa, that you would likely ask for hospitality." He tapped the shoulder of a man beside him and the man stood. Terry guessed that he was Brice.

"We were very impressed with your city on our last visit," Vince said. "We've thought about returning many times."

Jory nodded cordially. "We're honored by you, but we must be cautious as we explained on your last visit."

"We understand," Terry said. "That's one of the reasons we waited so long to return. We wanted to be in a position to prove that we're worthy of your admittance."

"And what is your method?"

Terry glanced back towards the tent, then at Vince. Something inside him hesitated and it surprised him. He knew the plan, knew what Vince expected him to say. He steeled himself, took a deep breath and continued,

"We acquired the appropriate barter from a world through the circle pool."

"We have need of new barter in Isladium." Jory's interest rose measurably w ith their declaration.

"The barter we have is attractive and strong and intelligent."

"And his weakness?"

"Only that he's not as young as some. Still, he has been kept well and will likely add twenty years of service to your city."

"Only twenty?" Jory considered this, looking to his companion for an opinion. Brice Alsa closed his eyes once with a slight nod.

Jory faced Terry again. "We wish to see it."

"He's had an eventful day...not warm," Terry ventured. "He was taken from his home only a few hours ago and is not adjusted. We intended to present him tomorrow."

Jory waved a hand dismissively. "We've had starters before, we ask in courtesy that you present him."

"Is this what you seek?" Everyone present turned to find one of the protectors hauling Daniel out from behind the tent.

Daniel struggled with him for a few seconds but when it was obvious that he wasn't going anywhere he stopped. The enforcer shoved him between Terry and Jory. Terry shoved his leg into the back of Daniel's knee sending him to the ground with a grunt.

"It is spirited," Jory said.

"I'm not an it or barter or whatever they've told you," Daniel said, looking up from his place on his knees. Terry reached down, laying a painful squeeze into his shoulder. Daniel winced but continued, "My name is Doctor Daniel Jackson, I'm a peaceful explorer..." Terry squeezed harder, knowing the pain was devastating as he kneaded the tender muscle.

"Shit," Daniel cursed, as his eyes watered with agony. He crouched lower trying to escape Terry's grip.

"It is indeed spirited," Jory repeated. "Have you begun any sort of training?"

"We've explained its station here and have administered mild punishment so far," Terry answered. He relaxed his grip and Daniel fell forward, barely catching himself. "But, as I said, he has only just left his home."

"If it is able-bodied and intelligent as you say, then we can assist in these matters. Let us go back to the city where we can beverage together and speak long."

"Then you accept the barter? Accept us?" Vince asked.

"We will see. The barter may spend the warm night in my storage and if it is useable, my guardian will speak it so."

Terry stepped away from Daniel, suddenly feeling uncertain. After a lifetime of protecting civilians, he found it more difficult than expected to deliver Daniel into harm. Glancing across at Vince, he could see the same concern reflected back at him. But, Vince's expression hardened and Terry cemented his resolve.

Part 3

Daniel's shoulder throbbed with each step taken in the forced march back to the city. By eavesdropping, he had figured out that the people guiding him were called Transens and their city was called Isladium. He hadn't determined whether Transens were a nation on the planet or the entire population. He had learned that they didn't want to hear him complain or try to explain the truth of his position. After only a few minutes he found himself gagged with a balled up piece of cloth. It swelled with the saliva in his mouth and he couldn't close his jaw properly with it in place. Luckily, he didn't seem particularly allergic to anything on the planet yet so at least he could breathe through his nose.

With nothing else to do except think about his sore shoulder and tired jaw, he concentrated on the conversations around him. He kept most of his attention on Colonel Weston and the man called Jory who seemed to be a leader of some kind. Jory was short, rotund and bald. His companion, probably a friend, Daniel thought by the way he walked close to Jory, was taller and thinner with thick red hair. A third man also walked with them. He was about Daniel's height and size, maybe a bit lighter and his skin was darker than Teal'c's. The other four individuals in the group were called protectors and their function seemed to be looking tough and trying to scare Daniel into behaving. They were good at their job.

Daniel understood Weston's description of the people better now. They weren't as technologically advanced as earth but they had some machinery and tools and some sort of mass power source, probably similar to electricity. Daniel saw no motor vehicles, however, only large beasts of burden, resembling cows more than horses in build, but with long manes growing over the front of their faces instead of the back. Most were spotted. White with black spots, brown with white spots, black with brown discolorations that were probably spots if Daniel could have got close enough to see properly since his glasses were missing. The beasts were being used as transport for people and goods and Daniel wondered if they were used as food also.

Coming into the city was like entering a different world. They had clearly left the rural farmland and entered a humming metropolis. Small and quaint by earth's standards, it was crammed with narrow, paved streets and stores of every kind. Still no cars or trucks or motorcycles but there was a steady line of citizens pressing their beasts through the crowds. Following behind the line and along the sides of it, were more black clad men cleaning up the waste expelled by the animals.

A few minutes later they left the business district and arrived in a neighborhood of single-story, unpainted wood houses. They were built side-by-side along a narrow street and it was dramatically quieter. Daniel thought it was almost like a different world.

"Here we are," the man called Jory said as he led them into what Daniel would call a driveway on earth. Here it was more like the entrance to a barn and inside the structure stood one of the beasts. This one was brown with black spots and a bright, blond mane.

Daniel only had a moment to look around before the protectors yanked him in the opposite direction of his companions. Weston and Potter barely hesitated before they allowed him to be taken through a separate door.

Another new world waited on the other side of that door, a much uglier one. Straw smelling like rotten apples was scattered across a dirt floor. A man who should have lived in the Adams Family basement looked up from the table he had been leaning over revealing a naked man strapped by his arms and legs to the table. The man was squirming wildly, his silence as frightening as his violent writhing. As Daniel looked further, he could see the reason for the man's distress and it made his knees weaken. The poor man's scrotum had been tied by something that looked like leather.

Daniel couldn't help the surge of panic. He bucked against his captors, throwing his weight into one and then the other. They had obviously been expecting something because they shoved him to his knees, barely expending an extra breath to get him there. Panting with his useless effort, Daniel winced when Lurch yanked his head back by his hair.

"Settle yourself. That one is being punished. You are not. At least not for now." Both protectors and Lurch laughed and Daniel thought he was going to be sick.

"The chair will do," Lurch said. The protectors pulled Daniel back up, unfazed by his struggles and shoved him into a hard backed chair with narrow arms. His own arms were soon tied down with the "could be" leather and a narrow strip was cinched around his waist.

"It's yours to evaluate, Keegan," one of the protectors said then ruffled Daniel's hair with a laugh.

Lurch or actually, Keegan, waited until the others left before approaching him.

"Inhale breath and then blow out through the mouth," he said.

Daniel did as instructed and the giant pulled the gag easily from his mouth. Daniel sputtered for air over his dry throat. His jaw ached viciously.

"What do you do that one could trade for?" Keegan asked.

"I...I don't."

Keegan shook his head. "Regretful answer. I will stain you for sacrifice."

"What? Wait, I, uh, just meant that I don't, that I'm not..." Daniel stopped and took another breath. "I'm not barter. I'm a peaceful explorer from earth. My race is the Tau'ri and we use the Stargate, the, uh, chappa'ai to travel between..."

"Stop talking," Keegan ordered with a sigh. "You are barter. You are no more what you were. If you have no use, then you are sacrifice, if you have use, then you are barter."

"Why don't you let me send a message to my world? They'll confirm what I'm saying."

Keegan growled. Then he stuck his enormous hand down the front of Daniel's pants.

"Hey," Daniel yelled, squirming and trying to kick at the same time. "Stop that. Stop that now." He felt the hand squeeze around his penis and then move to cup his balls. "Goddamn it, stop that."

"I have your tenders in my hand, now stop fighting before I pain you."

"Let go," Daniel yelled at him then cried out when his balls were crushed. Sweat beaded across his face while his hands clenched into fists. He kept the rest of his body still, holding his breath. The grip lessened and Daniel fell back, hard breaths helping him cope with the pain. Still the hand didn't withdraw but scraped across his perineum and then snaked between his ass cheeks to brush his anus. Daniel flinched with the intimate contact but otherwise didn't move. Finally, Keegan pulled his hand free and stepped back.

"You're intact, looks like," he said as he circled the chair. "Is that your talent? Are you for entertaining?"

Daniel almost choked but he was afraid that he'd vomit. He swallowed instead. "I'm a scholar, a teacher, an explorer. I can read, I can write. I can make sense of things that are difficult to understand." He looked past Keegan to the man still writhing silently on the table. "I can tell stories and reveal the history of ancients. I can understand many languages and can usually translate ones that are new to me. I'm a diplomat and have been a soldier on occasion."

"Ah, so you do have talents. Some I've never heard of."

"I have talents. I'm a fucking genius," he said, sarcastically. He couldn't help wondering how someone considered so smart could end up in such a bad situation.

"I understand genius, what does fucking tell me?"

Daniel almost laughed, would have laughed if his genitals weren't still sore from the rough treatment a moment before.

"It's an expression, it just means I'm frustrated and angry."

"You will learn control."

Keegan pulled a heavy wooden chair across the room and sat down in front of Daniel.

"Relate me a story," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"You say you tell stories, relate one to me."

Daniel wished he could scratch his forehead. For a scary moment, he couldn't think of anything to say. Then, Jack popped into his mind and the words started.

"Once upon a time, there lived a special people called the Abydonians. They were nomadic by nature, traveling great distances only to settle for short periods near water and foliage. Then one day in ancient times, another race came upon them and called themselves gods and the Abydonians, being innocent, believed for a long time."

As Daniel spoke he felt himself growing more animated. Even with just the use of his voice, he knew he needed to make this story impressive or he might find himself using talents he never expected to need outside of the bedroom.

"When the Tau'ri warriors descended on the desert planet, they didn't understand all that they were witness to, but they soon came to accept that the Abydonians were good people in need of great help. Among the people was the leader Kasuf and his good son, Skaara and his beautiful daughter, Sha're. Kasuf offered his daughter to the scholar who accompanied the warriors."

"Hmm," Keegan interrupted.

"Something wrong?" Daniel asked.

"He should know better than to sacrifice the daughter. The boy would have been better suited. Kasuf is not wise."

"I assure you that he was wise."

"The boy should have been sacrificed to the warrior, not the girl to the scholar."

Daniel started to argue the difference in culture but he stopped himself.

"Should I continue?"

"You should," Keegan answered.

Daniel looked towards the man still suffering silently on the table behind them. "Could you release him now? You've left him in pain for a long time."

"He is being punished."

"For what?"

"Disobedience. You should look on him and remember the lesson he teaches you."

"How does he stay so quiet?"

"His voice was terminated at the last fullness of night shine. He did not learn."

"Please...I don't think I can continue while he's suffering, Keegan."

Daniel jerked back in surprise and agony when Keegan grabbed his hand and shoved it backward, bending his wrist too far. "You do not use the name of betters." Keegan pushed more while Daniel held his breath, fully expecting to hear the bone crack. "You do not tell your betters how to punish."

"I wasn't telling you anything...it's wrong to treat someone..." Daniel thought he heard something pull loose in his wrist.

"Relate," Keegan said.

Daniel bit back a cry when Keegan let him go and his hand jerked forward. He needed a minute to put his thoughts back together while his arm throbbed.

"It...it bothers me," he said, softly.

Keegan growled menacingly. He stood up and walked over to the table. Daniel couldn't see what he was doing but a second later the man started struggling violently.

"No," Daniel shouted.

"This bother you less?"

"No, God, no."

Keegan returned to his chair without a backward glance at the man he was torturing.

"Now, relate."

====

Terry woke up in Jory's guest room, disoriented by the surroundings and suffering from a mild anxiety attack. After several deep breaths and a trip to the bathroom, which looked surprisingly similar to Earth's design, he felt better. As he re-entered the bedroom area, Vince was just waking. Vince waved a greeting then padded off into the bathroom. When he emerged he looked brighter despite the crease of sleep across one cheek.

"How do you suppose Doctor Jackson got through the night?" Vince asked.

"I hope he did get through the night. They don't tolerate much."

"We should probably ask to see him."

"Yeah, I know. I hope they let us. If he behaved, he should be all right but if he gave them trouble, we could be looking at his sacrifice today."

"Doctor Jackson is smart. I'm sure he figured things out."

"We'll tell Jory today about his language skills. If the language of the Deserians is as close to Abydonian as we think, we'll be able to barter his translation abilities."

"Kim said it was close. She said it was as close as Spanish and Portuguese."

"We'll make the suggestion at breakfast. I don't want to prostitute him if we don't have to and I sure don't want him on the physical labor teams."

"Agreed," Vince said.

They spent the next half hour, taking turns showering and then getting dressed to greet their host.

Jory and his wife were already waiting downstairs. Kleah wished them a "safe day" before she took a tray of native fruits and pastries to the children's room. Women on Transen cared for the children. That was their only function. They raised, taught and fed them, met their every need. Clothes were handmade, food was complicated to prepare and schools didn't exist.

The males took care of themselves and society in general once they reached adulthood. All males were responsible for protecting and caring for the females. Barter was used to perform the menial but necessary tasks that free men did not have time for. As far as Terry could tell, both sexes were happy with their place in society.

Barter was always male and always attractive though Terry hadn't quite figured out their reasoning. Apparently, physical beauty in men denoted a lower intelligence, which might be simple prejudice or it might be a genetic anomaly in the race. In any event, the entire culture was based on that belief.

One immediate cultural problem caused by this thinking was that barter didn't have the opportunity to re-produce as readily as the other males. This was causing lower numbers of attractive males to be born, which meant fewer males could be used as barter. When Jory said they needed more barter, he wasn't being greedy. The city of Isladium was rapidly reaching a point of having to completely change their economic structure.

Since money did not exist, everyone used barter to obtain what they needed. Each barter worked in some capacity designated by City Management in return for food, lodging and entertainment for their providers. Terry and Vince were Daniel's providers and he would be required to perform specific tasks in order to keep all three in the city and supplied.

Terry hoped that Daniel would be assigned as a translator to deal with the nearby Deserians. Another oddity in the Isladium genetic code was a complete inability to learn foreign languages. Consequently they needed individuals from other planets to translate for them.

After Kleah had left, Jory invited them to sit down and join him and Terry waited as long as he dared before asking about Daniel.

"Keegan relates that it tells fine stories," Jory said. "And that it is intact. Given our shortage of entertainment, I believe we have found the niche. Though, I will require that it gives half a fullness in Brice Alsa's home before reaching a final decision."

"With respect, sir, Daniel has a talent that perhaps he hasn't made clear. If we could view him this morning, then I could demonstrate his talent which I believe you will value more than entertainment."

Jory raised bushy eyebrows, and then sat back slowly, folding his hands over his considerable belly.

"I am accustomed to decisions of my own making," he said.

"I understand and I mean no disrespect but if you would, in your wisdom, allow the demonstration, then I believe you won't be disappointed."

Jory leaned forward, scrunching his eyes to peer into Terry's. "It has value?" He asked, seriously.

"He has unique value."

Jory sat back. "It will be presented."

Terry thanked him while Vince smiled. They were convinced that once Daniel proved his linguistic skills, then their position in Isladium would be guaranteed.

Part 4

Daniel lowered his eyes to watch Keegan release the straps holding his arms down. His throat hurt from talking and no water had been offered. His body ached from sitting in the hard chair for so many hours. Keegan tugged his left arm to get him to stand and the nearly forgotten pain of the dislocation flared back to life. He refused to give his various aches voice though. On the table, the poor man still lay just a few feet away, still suffering, though the long hours had left him too weak to move any longer.

"The City Leader and your providers want you for tricks," Keegan said. "Empty yourself there." He pointed to a pail set near the back of the room. Daniel didn't need a further explanation with his bladder begging for relief. He shuffled over to the corner on stiff legs.

He urinated into the pail self-consciously then turned to find Keegan untying the band from his victim's scrotum. The man on the table looked as if he were moaning but no sound came and Daniel wondered how they accomplished it. Even those with a damaged or cut vocal chord still made noise but this man was utterly silent.

"Remain," Keegan told the man before he turned back to Daniel. "You accompany me."

Daniel nodded. He followed Keegan out the heavy door and into the barn-like garage and then through another door and up three stone steps. They ended in a kitchen with several large appliance-looking items though Daniel wasn't sure what the units represented.

"Run and you'll be sacrifice," Keegan told him before leaving him alone.

Daniel felt the cool air of outdoors against his back and he wanted to run. He turned towards the door only to have Colonel Weston call to him. He spun back around, hoping that Weston had changed his mind and they were leaving. Weston's eyes widened visibly at the sight of him. Lieutenant Potter appeared next and had the same reaction.

"What happened to you?" Weston asked sounding genuinely concerned, which only fueled Daniel's anger.

"I spent the night in a dungeon," he rasped over his dry throat.

Jory Iltec pushed his way into the room with Keegan standing a step behind him.

Weston turned to him. "Daniel is valuable property, sir. We don't want him hurt."

"It is a starter and treatment improves with learning," Jory said, perusing Daniel from head to toe as if he were a science project. "It is gifted with stories but I fear it refuses learning."

"He'll be valuable," Potter said. "If I could talk to him in private, I think I can make a difference."

"Use the bulber port," Jory said nodding towards the back door. Maybe the beasts were called bulbers, Daniel thought, or maybe that was the name of the carts they pulled or maybe that was another name for tool shed. He shook those thoughts away, trying to focus through a bleary mind.

"Come on," Potter said, taking Daniel's arm in a firm grip.

Once they were in the bulber port, Potter started pacing.

"Doctor Jackson, there are three possible outcomes for this day. One, you can be sacrificed and we can be banished. Two, you can be labeled entertainment and spend your time getting raped to keep us in food. Or three, you can get your ass back in there, translate a few documents to prove you can do it and we can trade on your real talent. What's it going to be?"

"I want to go home," Daniel said, stubbornly.

"No, not a choice."

"This is wrong, Lieutenant. You can't steal me like this just so you two can retire early."

"That's already happened. Now, make a decision, Doctor, because I'm thinking that things could be a lot worse for you than getting roughed up courtesy of 'Day of the Living Dead' in there."

"Take me back to the Stargate."

"You know what, Doctor, if you want to be the city slut, that's your business. As long as I have a place to live and food on the table, then I'm happy. You understand me?"

As any hope of changing Potter's mind died, a new determination gripped Daniel. If he could play along for a while then sooner or later the chance for escape would come.

"What needs translating?"

"The Isladiums, that's our hosts, have an enemy that lives in the next town. They're called the Deserians and their language is an offshoot of Abydonian. Kim Chan confirmed it when we were here last. Isladium needs a good translator. It's an easy job, Doctor, basically what you do for the SGC except on a smaller scale."

Daniel retained only a vague memory of the report regarding the previous mission to this planet, but he did remember the footnote about a similarity to Abydos.

"They don't have translators here?" He asked, unwilling to admit any of his memories to Potter.

"They can't learn the language. It's beyond them."

"What do you mean they can't..."

"Why don't you just go on in there and figure it out for them," Potter interrupted sarcastically. "Show them all how to translate so your next stop can be the local whorehouse."

Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose, absently wondering where he had lost his glasses. He didn't have to wonder long when Potter pulled them out of a pocket and handed them to him. Daniel put them on, grateful that he wouldn't have to spend his whole time on the planet trying to make sense of blurry shapes.

"All right?" Potter asked.

Daniel nodded. "All right. I see your point."

"Good. Now get in there and do your magic so we can all live happy."

Daniel led the way back into the kitchen where Weston was leaning against some appliance and Jory Iltec was leaning against a bank of cupboards. Keegan had left, probably to do more harm to someone, hopefully not the man in the dungeon.

"It translates, you say," Jory said with a nod in Daniel's direction.

"The language is new to him but he's got a lot of practice with similar ones."

"Bring it back here and we'll test it."

Another procession, this time with Daniel shielded, or more likely guarded, front and back between Weston and Potter. Once inside Jory Iltec's den, they separated, allowing him to approach a large desk-like piece while the City Leader spread out some papers.

Daniel looked directly at him, hoping to make some impression of humanity on the other man. Being referred to as 'it' hadn't given him any confidence that he was being viewed as a sentient being. Jory Iltec barely acknowledged him before pointing towards the papers.

"This packet has been translated and agreed. It is a treaty between Isladium and Deseria. Read some of it so I know you translate."

Daniel took the script in his hand. He recognized about a third of the symbols immediately. He could guess at many more. Training and experience overtook his exhaustion and anxiety and he felt the familiar patterns forming in his brain to create words and meanings. The process was not instantaneous, but as Potter pointed out, the language was strikingly familiar to the words of Abydos.

"Well," Jory Iltec interrupted.

Daniel took an impatient breath before speaking. He pointed towards the second paragraph. "This is regarding water rights. And this represents the time frame but I'm not familiar with how time passes here so I can't judge that in your terms yet. This section here concerns the trade of...the barter, just that. It's about using your barter to obtain the water located in their land."

Daniel turned a page. "This is their price but again, I don't understand your currency so I'm not certain if this means you'll sacrifice lives or just give away bodies for them to use as labor. And these sentences down here talk about destroying their water treatment facility if they fail to follow the contract."

Jory Iltec put a hand on his arm. "Cease speaking." Daniel kept his opinion regarding that order to himself.

"It understands enough to be useful."

"Yes, good," Weston said, looking relieved.

"But it must still spend half a fullness with Brice Alsa so that he may be observed."

"Just a half?" Potter confirmed.

"Half a fullness. But understand, Brice will evaluate and decide and lead it to the path of our society. He may return with some hurt as Brice is not a gentle man. He is an accomplished teacher and knows well."

Daniel felt a shiver run through him as he turned a worried look to Weston. Weston looked back with the same expression. But then the colonel took a breath, his features hardening. Daniel had seen Jack do the same thing. Usually when Jack had decided to do something he didn't necessarily believe in.

"We accept," Weston said.

"Colonel," Daniel objected.

Weston stared at him without expression. When Daniel turned to Potter, he found no support there either.

"Okay, Jack, now's a good time for a rescue," he said out loud but no one responded.

====

Captain Rhonda Lewis came through the gate, alone, half-unconscious and muttering about being attacked. Jack and General Hammond were in the control room when she stumbled onto the platform. Medics were summoned while Jack called for his team and Hammond scrambled SG2 as back up.

Fifteen minutes after Lewis' appearance, Hammond had a MALP sent to the planet. Jack watched anxiously while Carter maneuvered the mobile computer to gain a full visual. No threat could be determined, so Hammond ordered both teams to the planet. At first he objected to sending Jack off world due to his sprained ankle, but Jack assured him that he was fit enough to find his missing teammate.

Six hours of searching the planet netted no information. There was nothing to indicate a battle or alien interference or any other dangers on the planet. Finally Jack ended the search and they returned, more worried than when they left.

Ten hours after coming through the gate, Captain Lewis regained full consciousness and started insisting that Potter had drugged her and she believed that Weston helped him. Her memories were still vague, but she sounded certain.

"What about Daniel?" Jack asked her.

"I don't have any memory of him, sir, except for knowing that he was coming through the gate with us." Distress shown from her eyes as she gazed up at him from the infirmary bed. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Nothing to be sorry for, Captain, just keep trying to remember whatever you can."

Jack left her side to join Carter and Teal'c in the hall. Carter had been leaning against the nearest wall with her arms folded across her chest but she stood up straighter as Jack approached. Teal'c stood more rigidly, his eyes focused solely on the scene in the infirmary.

"She's still foggy but they weren't attacked by an alien. She's sure Potter injected her with something as soon as they came through the gate. Maybe Weston helped," Jack explained.

"For what reason, sir? To kidnap Daniel?" Carter asked.

"It looks like it. Maybe they're working with NID."

"If it was NID, then why go off world to kidnap him? They could grab him right out of his apartment, sir."

Giving her the full weight of his glare and sarcasm, Jack said, "Since we don't know what the plan is, then we don't have an answer for that, do we, Carter?"

"No, sir." She responded, chastened.

An airman interrupted them. He saluted. "Sir, General Hammond wishes the presence of SG1 in the conference room, sir."

"We're on our way," Jack acknowledged, dismissing him.

As they walked into the elevator, Jack was tempted to leave Carter behind so she could talk to Lewis but he decided against it. There were plenty of people who could talk to Lewis and hopefully draw out more information.

"Could Captain Lewis be involved in this plot?" Teal'c asked as the elevator doors closed.

"Doesn't seem likely," Jack answered.

"She would probably have disappeared with them if that were the case," Carter said.

"Has Doctor Chan been interrogated?" Teal'c asked.

"Yeah. Ferretti had a sit-down with her while we were off world. She's as confused as anybody."

"The actions of Colonel Weston and Lieutenant Potter make little sense."

"Well, we really don't know what their actions were, Teal'c," Carter said. "We're still investigating."

"They are gone. DanielJackson is gone. DanielJackson would not leave of his own accord, therefore they have taken an unacceptable action."

Jack raised his eyebrows but stayed out of the conversation while Carter tried again.

"It may not be that simple."

"It is for me." The elevator door opened and Jack led the procession into the conference room, glad that Teal'c saw the situation in the same way that he did.

The general was already waiting for them, staring out the glass window into the gate room below. He turned when he heard them enter. Jack could swear Hammond had aged since the day before.

"Sit down, people, I've just received a briefing from the team researching the backgrounds of SG13."

"This isn't going to be good, is it, sir?" Jack said, hiding behind flippancy as he felt his insides go cold.

"No, Colonel, it's not."

Jack took his usual place noting the others did the same but the table still seemed huge and empty.

"Second Lieutenant Potter liquidated his assets and set up trust funds for several family members. From what his lawyer has told us, he arranged everything under a strict time table so that nothing went into effect until the day before yesterday."

Jack leaned forward resting his forehead on the table.

"What about Lieutenant Colonel Weston, sir?" Carter asked.

"Weston doesn't have any family. In fact, he's been a virtual hermit since his wife left him. The SGC is the only place that we can find where he actually socialized. He did not sell his home or anything else. However, he did leave the keys to his truck on the floor and the doors unlocked. He also emptied his refrigerator and cupboards donating the non-perishables to a food bank. He took the perishables to a soup kitchen near his home."

"So neither one was planning to come back," Jack said.

"That's a safe assumption, Colonel."

"We found no such arrangements or plans for Captain Lewis, Doctor Chan or Doctor Jackson."

"You can't have thought Daniel was..."

"I can't believe it of any of my people, Colonel," Hammond interrupted before Jack could become too defensive.

"I'm sorry, sir." Jack knew better than to question him.

"I know you're worried," Hammond continued. "We all are. Now, we have to decide how to proceed."

"I think we can assume that Weston and Potter would go somewhere familiar, sir," Carter said. "If we go back through their mission reports, we may be able to narrow down some possibilities."

"I've already assigned Doctor Kim to work with Captain Lewis on that project. Lewis is still not completely recovered so that may take some time. What else can we do?"

"If I can get a list of what planets they visited, I can check atmospheric conditions and the nature of the local populace. It stands to reason, they'd want to go someplace comfortable."

"What about the DHD on the planet, Carter," Jack asked. "Is there anyway to see what destinations have been plugged into it?"

"No, sir. The DHD doesn't store information. It's more like a...like a vehicle for traveling. Your car can't tell you where you've been and neither can the DHD."

Jack remembered little about that meeting because little was accomplished. Basically, Weston and Potter could have taken Daniel anywhere and the only way they had of tracking him was traveling to planets that seemed most likely as candidates for retirement. Everyone theorized about why they took Daniel instead of Doctor Kim, but no one knew, everyone guessed why two respected and experienced Air Force officers deserted their command but no one knew the real reason for that either. All the conjecture and guessing wasn't finding Daniel and that was the only thing Jack did know.

Part 5

"Colonel, please..."

Terry woke up abruptly with the image of Daniel Jackson as he was taken away, his eyes wide with disbelief, and his voice filled with desperation. The memory plagued him constantly.

Even as he and Vince settled into their quarters, as their groceries were delivered, as their viewer was connected so they could sample Isladium's version of television, he still couldn't relax. Everything provided to them came from vouchers signed by Brice Alsa. And Alsa signed them because he had taken Daniel as barter.

Terry knew it was a temporary arrangement.

Once Daniel returned, he wouldn't be sent away again. Terry and Vince would be responsible for providing for him at home while he worked in the community to provide for them. Some weekly translations, some more menial tasks and beyond that, the three of them would just co-exist. Neither he nor Vince was interested in owning a slave. All they wanted was to adhere to Isladium's culture.

But knowing that provided little comfort when they hadn't received any reports on Daniel's progress. Jory assured them that they would receive notice if Daniel was to be executed but they shouldn't expect anything else. So, every day that passed, they breathed a sigh of relief that Daniel was still alive.

Besides worrying about Daniel, Terry continued to watch for SG1. Colonel O'Neill would not rest until he rescued his teammate and SG1 had a reputation for succeeding at the impossible.

When they visited before, Rhonda wasn't part of their team and Kim had only been working with them for a short time. No treaty had been forged and no battles had been waged so there was little to remember about Transen. There was no sign of the Goa'uld or any other familiar enemy past or present so the strategic value was limited. In short, there was nothing remarkable about Transen making it forgettable and obscure.

SG13 had visited hundreds of planets in the last few years so even if O'Neill was tenacious enough to go to every one of them, Terry and Vince would probably be long since integrated into the culture by the time he found them. By then even Daniel might not want to go back.

"What are you thinking about?" Vince asked as he joined Terry on their balcony.

"Daniel," Terry admitted.

"It's already been a week and we've pretty much figured out that half a fullness is two weeks long. Halfway there, sir."

"I know, but SG1 never left him alone and how many times did they get him killed?"

"He's not with SG1."

"And we don't have a sarcophagus."

"Execution is stabbing, then beheading and then quartering. I don't think a sarcophagus would help anyway, do you?"

"Who knows?" Terry said. He stood up, restlessly.

"Second thoughts?" Vince asked softly.

Terry turned around, leaning against the rail. "Not really. I don't want to go back. I'm satisfied with our choice in planets. What about you?"

"I miss the excitement of gate travel, I guess, but there's lots of new sports here to learn, lots of socializing with the Ones."

Terry couldn't help smiling at the term. "Ones" meant single females and Vince was readily adapting to the society. He was also gradually dropping the "sir" from his statements as they began cohabiting as equals rather than by military rank. Terry could tell he was still Air Force enough to not give it up entirely but they were both learning to relax around each other.

"Just one more week," Vince said.

Terry nodded. One more week and they could all learn to relax.

====

Daniel maintained a rigid posture. He contemplated the lines on his thumbs while he kept his gaze down. Fingers threaded together, hands planted neatly on his lap, he fought against his dangerous eyelids. Continually threatening to close, he forced them to stay open with steady concentration.

He felt Alsa beside him. The heat and size of him was a constant presence in the last several days or weeks. Daniel didn't know how long. He lost his sense of time after the darkness. He bit back a shudder, not willing to remember.

Alsa shifted. Daniel remained still. He wanted to ease the pressure on his spine, he wanted to stretch and then lean his head back against the padded seat. He wanted to close his eyes. But he didn't do any of those things. Alsa said he had learned and he supposed it was true.

The bulber lumbered to a stop on a narrow street lined by two- story buildings. On earth, they'd be called apartment blocks but in Isladium, they were hidewells. Daniel gathered that the word was a derivative of high dwellings as opposed to the connotation that individuals could successfully hide there. He mentally shook himself, knowing that exhaustion was making his mind wander.

"You carry obligations here," Alsa said. Daniel knew better than to look at him but he had no idea what Alsa was telling him. Alsa put a hand under his chin and pushed his head back sharply. "Your learn is done. You carry obligations here."

Alsa released him and Daniel held back any sign of his relief. Apparently, he'd been taught all that he needed to know and he was being returned to Weston and Potter. Still uncertain if he was doing the right thing, Daniel slowly turned towards the open side of the carriage. Alsa didn't stop him. He set one foot on the ground, then the other foot and still he wasn't corrected. A light push to his back and he soon found himself standing outside the carriage with Alsa watching him.

"Daniel," a familiar, if unwelcome voice made him turn. Terry Weston stood a couple of feet away with Vince Potter beside him. "You can come home now."

For just a second, Daniel imagined home might mean Jack, might mean a warm, safe bed with arms curled around him. But the image faded. Weston meant his new home, on a strange world, where he was valued strictly as a form of currency.

Weston approached him but Potter didn't move.

"Safe Day," Alsa called out to Weston from inside his carriage then ordered his live-in barter to drive forward.

Weston touched Daniel's arm as the bulber carried Alsa away. "Are you all right?" He asked.

Daniel shook his head. "No. Not really."

"Come on upstairs. I'll get you something to eat and we can talk about it."

"I want to go home, Colonel." Daniel's voice almost sobbed with the words.

Weston squeezed his arm gently. "This is your home. Come on upstairs."

Daniel allowed himself to be led. There was little else he could do. In a few days, he'd be stronger. In a few days he'd make his break but for now he had to cooperate. If he didn't, they might send him back to Alsa or Iltec and then he might be too damaged to run.

The apartment was large, airy and spacious. With three bedrooms, a bathroom and a single living area, Daniel knew that Weston had been granted special privileges, probably because Daniel was a translator.

"You look like you're ready to pass out," Potter observed while he maneuvered him to sit on the overstuffed couch. He handed him a pillow of the same soft material that covered the furniture and told him to lie down. Daniel stroked the softness absently. It reminded him of satin.

"Lie down, Doctor," Potter repeated.

Daniel stretched out, his head sinking gently into the fluffy pillow and wondered if all cultures had sofas and pillows and beds. All of the ones he had observed so far had. Lying down was a mistake though because he couldn't keep his eyes open that way. He darted back up, stiffening his posture again, knowing he needed to remain at constant attention when in the company of his providers. Even exhausted as he was, he knew he didn't believe those words but he also knew what happened when he forgot.

Weston crouched in front of Daniel. "No matter what happens outside those doors, this is your home, Daniel. You can relax here. You can sleep."

"If anyone sees then..."

"Then nothing. You are our barter. We decide your treatment at home."

Daniel nodded, hesitantly. He hated the panic that started to well up inside him when he thought of Alsa, of anyone, seeing him behaving wrongly. Weston placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Are you hungry?"

Daniel nodded again. He couldn't remember his last meal but he knew it hadn't been much.

"I'll make you a sandwich. They call them bread meals here and they're almost as varied as on Earth."

Daniel stretched out again. The comfort of just easing his aching body presented too much temptation. His eyes closed despite himself and before long he could only vaguely hear the sounds around him. Jack called it sleeping with your eyes open though the expression didn't really make sense. In this case, his eyes were closed but he remained peripherally aware of the activities around him.

Soon that faded as well and Daniel slipped into a deep sleep.

====

Terry finished putting together a sandwich made with a salty meat and mild tasting cheese. He still hadn't figured out what it was since the food wasn't labeled, but it tasted good. When he started to bring it to Daniel, he found the other man sleeping. Vince stood close by, watching as well.

"We should put him to bed," Terry said.

"He's your boyfriend, sir, maybe getting him naked should be your department."

Terry shot Vince a glare. He had confessed several months earlier that he was interested in Daniel in a non-military way. However, he'd also been clear that his interest had nothing to do with stealing Daniel from the SGC. Daniel had met their criteria for barter and that was the only reason he had been singled out.

"Sorry," Vince said. "But, seriously, he's spooked enough without having both of us all over him."

"Just help me get him up. I'll take care of him from there."

Using soft voices and gentle grips, they managed to move Daniel from the living room into his bedroom. He curled up almost immediately when they set him on the bed. Vince opened his arms as if presenting Daniel and then left the room. Terry just shook his head as he removed the soft slip-on shoes from Daniel's feet.

He dropped the first shoe on the floor and backed away, his heart pounding. Going into the living room, he signaled for Vince to come back in.

"Holy shit," Vince muttered.

The top of Daniel's foot leading up under the plain black pants was striped with red marks. They looked like welts but the swelling had receded. Approaching slowly, Terry could see bruises brimming in color around the red. Tentatively, fearfully, Terry removed the other shoe only to find the same general markings.

"How far up do you think they go?" Vince whispered.

"I don't know." Terry walked out of the room and on to the balcony. He stared across the small city, at its gray buildings and cement streets, at its colorfully dressed populace contrasted against the plain-black uniform of its currency. He squeezed the railing under his hands until his knuckles turned white and fingers tingled.

"Terry?" Vince said.

"We made a mistake. We have to go back. We have to send him back."

"I'm not going back. We'll be court-martialed, sir. Put in prison."

"Then we'll send him to our starting place and he can dial home. He doesn't know the coordinates to here, it'll be safe enough."

"And then what's our barter?"

"We'll think of something. There has to be a way."

"There isn't. Look, the hard part is over. Doctor Jackson will recover. Eventually it won't even seem like that big of a deal."

Terry turned on him. "You can't believe that."

"Yes, I can. I'm telling you that losing your nerve now negates everything we've done, everything that he's gone through. It'll be like we brought him just to get tortured and sent home."

"You're twisting it."

"Am I? We knew, Colonel, we knew exactly what we were doing and how we were going to accomplish it. We accepted the sacrifices because our lives on earth were shit and this was the only way to make it better. Are you going to tell me that you don't believe it anymore?"

"We didn't sacrifice ourselves. He's a civilian, for God's Sake."

"And he survived the worst. He didn't get sacrificed and we got accepted so now all we have to do is skate. All he's got to do is be a linguist, which is what he does anyway."

"He looks like crap," Terry said softly.

"He'll sleep, he'll eat and he'll get strong. And then we'll have a pretty time trying to keep him from running every time we leave the gate open. Trust me, Colonel, the worst is over."

Terry accepted Vince's words. He ignored his own doubt since that would accomplish nothing. The only thing Earth held for them was prison and they weren't prepared to go to another planet. He walked back inside and went to Daniel's room.

Daniel still slept, curled up around a pillow, mouth slightly open as he breathed. Terry started to tug the blanket from beneath him so he could cover him up but he hesitated. Despite thinking many unpleasant things about himself, he never considered himself a coward. With a tentative touch he shook Daniel's shoulder.

"Jack?" Daniel whispered as he blinked into wakefulness.

"No, it's me," Terry answered, keeping his voice soft. "I need you to get undressed so you can rest."

"'m okay."

"Not like this. You'll be more comfortable if you get out of these clothes."

Daniel responded sluggishly but he finally sat up and pulled his shirt over his head. From his dazed expression, Terry thought he was still half-asleep. He fought back the gasp that threatened when he saw the multi-colored swirls of injury marking Daniel's stomach and sides. He shifted carefully to keep from being obvious and found the same bruises on his back.

Daniel started to lie down.

"The pants too, Daniel," Terry encouraged.

"I don't want to." The refusal sounded like a plea forcing Terry to look up. Daniel's eyes were wide now, liquid blue, and his mouth was set in a grim line.

"Please, I just need to see what they did to you."

Momentary confusion gave way to anger. "They beat me. What do you think they did?"

"Do you need medical attention?"

"I need sleep."

Terry felt his own anger flare. "I'm trying to help."

"Then send me home."

"That's not going to happen. I don't want to hear about it anymore."

"Let me go home and you'll never hear it again."

Seeming to act of its own volition, Terry's hand raised. He wanted to wrap his fingers around Daniel's jaw, drag his face close and force him to understand that he was serious. He caught himself in time and stood up instead.

"That was your last warning. This is home now. You're here to do a job and you're going to do it just the way I tell you. Call it a permanent team mission but don't forget who the team leader is."

Daniel met Terry's eyes directly. "I'm a civilian."

"You're barter," Terry countered and walked out.

Part 6

When Daniel woke again, the room around him hung dark and empty. The blanket was warm though and the pillow comfortable. He still didn't really know how long he'd been with Alsa but it was long enough to start forgetting about basic comfort. He spent enough time lying on a dirt floor to begin thinking that one side of the room was more comfortable, that one section of filth was better than another. It frightened him how easily and quickly he let go of worrying about the things that he used to take for granted.

He sat up slowly, confused at first by his bare torso but then he remembered Terry's visit. He scowled at that. Terry had been offended that Daniel wasn't more grateful for his concern. Unbelievable.

Daniel rubbed his face, letting the luxury of Jack fill his mind. It hurt to be separated from him, it hurt to think about him worrying and searching and being afraid. He missed his touch, the sound of his voice, his older-than-it-should-be face in the first light. He wanted to touch him, to smell his just woken scent. He wanted to lean into his chest and snuggle against the hardness.

Feeling the cool floor beneath his bare feet, Jack's memory washed away with the memory of Alsa and his stinging strap. Daniel hadn't been able to avoid getting hit no matter how much he tried to cooperate. On the rare occasion when he couldn't bring himself to do what Alsa wanted, he had been truly beaten. Despite all the off-world battles he'd been involved in, nothing prepared him for being restrained and struck like that. Alsa determined to cause as much pain as possible without resorting to permanent injury or scarring. Daniel could still hear the echo of his own screams inside his head.

The sound of voices in the front room jarred him back to the present. He stared at the closed door for several seconds knowing that he should get up and go out there. But he didn't want to go. He needed the serenity of this room, the chance to escape the insanity of this planet. The choice was taken a moment later when Vince Potter peered in at him.

"It's morning," Vince said.

Daniel only nodded, not knowing what was expected of him.

"We haven't gotten your schedule for the week so for now, you're free. Well, relatively speaking, that is. Anyway, you didn't eat yesterday, are you hungry? The Colonel is cooking."

"There is no Colonel anymore...or Lieutenant. You both are just civilians here, just like me." Even as he spoke, he cursed himself. One word from these two and it would be back to Alsa's or worse.

Vince rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever, are you hungry or not?"

The rumbling in his stomach forced him to admit that he was hungry. He hadn't had a proper meal in weeks and the aroma coming from the front of the apartment drew him out.

"I guess I am."

"Me too. They have a drink that's kind of like coffee, not quite as strong on the caffeine but the taste is close. And there are bird eggs too. You might want to grab a shower first though."

Only peripherally aware that he needed to use the bathroom, Daniel followed Vince's pointing finger. Without waiting for a response, Vince left and Daniel stood up. He ached badly but the promise of a shower and the urgency of his bladder propelled him forward.

The hall ran parallel with the living room and Daniel could see Terry sitting on the couch. He focused his attention towards his goal, Alsa's lessons still resounding through every movement forward.

The bathroom facilities were similar to earth though the shower was more complicated. A tub with waist high walls housed a seat in the center where the drain was also located. Daniel undressed and sat down, then found the knob to turn on the water. The knob operated several streaming sprays that shot out warm water from all sides, similar to a sprinkler with heavier pressure. There was no way to adjust for temperature but Daniel found the warmth to be perfect as the grime from Alsa's washed away. It was a strange but overall pleasant experience with one nozzle directed just high enough to easily wash his hair.

He stayed under the spray for a long time, ignoring the minor pain as the water pelted his various bruises. It just felt too good to be alone and warm and clean. He started when the water abruptly shut down, opening his eyes and looking around for a culprit. Instead there was a knock on the door and Vince's voice.

"There's a time limit, Daniel. It surprised us too. It won't turn on again for a while so you might as well dry off and get dressed."

Daniel leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his legs and trying not to let the overwhelming sadness he felt take over. With a deep breath, he stood, pulled the towel closest to him off the hook and dried off. He looked at the pants lying on the floor and considered foregoing them. There had to be clean clothes in his room. But despite years of changing in the locker room at the base, he still wasn't comfortable being naked in front of others. He also wasn't comfortable parading around his injuries.

He pulled the pants on, feeling like all the cleanliness evaporated with their press on his skin. Then he braved the attentions of his kidnappers by entering the living room. Terry was in the kitchen but Daniel didn't see Vince.

"Do I have anything clean to wear?" He asked, deliberately not making eye contact but aware of Terry's inspection of him.

Daniel shifted as he started feeling uncomfortable with the scrutiny then Terry turned back to the stove.

"In the closet in your room," he answered.

Vince came into the main room from the balcony.

"Breakfast ready?" Vince asked.

"Yeah," Terry said. "Grab a plate, everything's on the stove."

"Or the hot prep." Vince laughed at his usage of the Isladium term for stove.

Daniel had no use for their homey banter. He went in his room, opened the closet and pulled out the uniform for barter. All black, just like he was wearing. Alsa had taken the look-alike clothes that Terry had provided and had given him the real outfit. Apparently more of the same had been acquired while he was being taught his status.

He put the clean clothes on, hating them but not willing to smell like Alsa's any longer.

The aroma of breakfast finally brought him into the main room where Vince pointed to a plate on the counter. Vince and Terry were already sitting on the couch eating. Daniel picked up the plate, filled it with the remaining food and then leaned over the counter to eat. Despite the protestations of his sore body, he had no desire to share a meal or anything else with his captors.

A small red light flashed above the front door, followed a moment later by a dull buzz.

"Doorbell," Vince explained as he set his food on the coffee table and opened the door. Outside stood a young man dressed as barter and carrying a brown package.

"Instructions for you," the barter said. "From Iltec." Unlike earth, there were no titles in Isladium like mister or miss. Using a person's last name only showed respect. Friends used each other's first names.

"Thank you." Vince took the package from him. The barter wished him a safe day.

Daniel watched curiously but silently as Vince handed the bundle to Terry who set his own plate down. He ripped open the package and pulled out several folders as well as a book of some kind. Daniel continued eating vigorously as hunger outweighed curiosity but his eyes never left Terry.

"It's about you," Terry said, looking in Daniel's direction before he opened the top folder. "It's your duty assignment and the supplies we'll get in return."

Daniel wondered fleetingly about the similarity between the Isladium written language and Earth's and the fact that it was English as opposed to any other. Since they'd been traveling through the gate, they had rarely encountered a race they couldn't communicate with, which affected all the theories developed about the creation of language on earth.

"It says we're to maintain the training that Brice Alsa provided so that you can be of extreme benefit to Isladium. Apparently you have two night passes before you're expected to report to the City Management office where you'll spend, uh, six, I guess and this next part is probably hours, each day, translating Deserian documents."

"I wonder why they have so much translating to do." Vince said. Daniel had been wondering the same thing.

"Jory said the language was incomprehensible to them and it makes them nervous having another community so close without knowing what they're up to," Terry said. "Anyway, there's also a provision in here that you don't have to report to the Isladium City Clinic to provide samples for, and I'm pretty sure this means reproduction. Apparently since you're an alien and not as young as they'd like, they're not going to use you as a breeder."

"Sorry, Daniel," Vince joked but Daniel felt sick. Just the idea that others could make a decision like that for him, either for or against, made him nauseous. He didn't need any more reminders of his current status but they kept coming regardless.

The lack of choice in such a personal issue reminded him of Alsa's autonomy over him and he couldn't eat anymore. He dumped his food, retreating to his bedroom. He couldn't listen to his life being parceled out among strangers.

As soon as Daniel reached his room and sat down, Jack's voice sounded in his head as if he were standing in the room with him. "Focus, Daniel. They're not going to get anything you don't give them."

Daniel sighed. Jack's voice was right.

He cursed himself for throwing away the remnants of breakfast. He needed to eat if he was going to escape. He needed to work through the aches in his body and keep away from any further injuries. He needed to concentrate on doing everything necessary to make a successful escape.

====

Three quarters of SG1 stepped through the event horizon back into the embarkation room of the SGC. General Hammond stood near the bottom of the ramp waiting as he had been waiting for almost three weeks. Jack wished he had something positive to report but once more they had found nothing.

"I'm sorry, General, they weren't there."

'I'm sorry too, Colonel. Captain Lewis and Doctor Chan are waiting for us in the conference room." Hammond turned to Carter and Teal'c. "We'll have the debriefing in one hour."

Carter wanted to argue. Jack could see the set in her eyes but she just responded with her good soldier acknowledgement and followed Teal'c out of the room.

"Sir?" Jack questioned, wondering why his team had been dismissed.

"We have some new information and I think the less people who know, the better. Let's go to the conference room."

Jack followed Hammond, anxiety filling him. He couldn't help wondering if his relationship with Daniel had been discovered though he couldn't imagine how. He didn't really care anymore except that if he was court martialed or dismissed from the Air Force then he wouldn't be allowed through the gate, which meant he couldn't search for Daniel.

Captain Lewis stood upon his and the general's entry but Hammond waved her back into her seat.

"Any luck, sir?" Lewis asked.

"No. We met with some committee who said they were in charge of the City or something. Ugly, ugly, ugly bunch of people. Anyway, they said no one had come through the gate since the last time you all were there."

"That's one of the missions before I was assigned to SG13, wasn't it?" Lewis asked.

"Right," Jack said.

"Let's get started people," Hammond interrupted. "Colonel O'Neill can debrief when we're done. Captain Lewis, I'd like you to share your most recent findings."

Doctor Chan shifted nervously, staring at her notepad. Lewis stood up.

"Well, sir, we've been searching through the belongings of Colonel Weston and Lieutenant Potter, looking for some hint as to which planet they may have gated to. There was very little in the way of personal effects here at the base so we've also made several visits to their residences. Yesterday, Kim and I went to Colonel Weston's again but this time, we searched more thoroughly. And it paid off. We found a wall safe behind a picture in his bedroom."

"You just found it?" Jack asked, leaving no question in his tone that they should have found it sooner.

"Yes, sir. The picture was bolted to the wall so we had no reason to look behind it. However, yesterday, Kim and I were brainstorming and we decided to do another search, concentrating on the improbable, and that led us to taking down the picture."

"What was in it, Captain?"

"At first we thought it was a diary, sir, but upon reading it more thoroughly, we realized it was actually writings. They're dated to the first year that Colonel Weston transferred here. Apparently he only wrote in this book for a few months."

"Writings about what?"

"Uh, well, that's the difficult part, sir, uh, the writings were about Doctor Jackson."

Jack sat forward, feeling his muscles tighten. "What do you mean?"

"They're fantasies, sir, about Doctor Jackson."

"Sexual fantasies, mostly bondage and domination type," Doctor Chan added. "They're very graphic."

"About halfway through the notebook, the writings just stop. Abruptly," Lewis finished.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment. "My God."

"The thing is, what's bothering us, other than the obvious, of course, is that he stopped writing. That's unusual for this kind of focus but I think we discovered why."

"Go on," Jack said, stiffly.

"Colonel Weston started dating, sir," Lewis explained. "He was involved in a homosexual relationship with a man named Patrick Shoenberg. In fact, Mr. Shoenberg moved in with him and they lived together, ostensibly as roommates, for about sixteen months."

"And then what?"

"Schoenberg was killed in a car accident last winter." Doctor Chan answered.

"I remember when it happened, sir," Lewis added. "Colonel Weston was devastated. He took some personal leave."

"Yes, I remember," Hammond said.

"So, his lover gets killed and he gets back to being obsessed with my," Jack hesitated. "Archeologist."

"That would explain why they manipulated the team to take Daniel with them instead of me," Doctor Chan said.

Jack couldn't think about the implications they were suggesting. If he did, he wouldn't stay rational.

"Are you making any progress on where they took him?" He asked instead.

"Maybe," Lewis answered. "If we assume that they made the decision to leave after Patrick's death, then it narrows the number of possibilities considerably."

"Even if Schoenberg's death was the catalyst, they still could've chosen a planet from before that time."

"That's true, sir, but choosing destinations based on our opinion isn't really working. At least this is another method to try and we might get lucky."

"Or it might get us skipping the right destination."

"Yes, sir." Lewis looked at her paperwork and Jack felt like he kicked a puppy. He knew she blamed herself for letting Potter put the needle in her. She was a soldier and she'd failed to protect a civilian under her care. Worse than that, she'd been betrayed by her own team and had never noticed there was a problem coming.

Jack took a breath. "You're doing a good job, Captain. Both of you. But if we change tactics now we could be delaying the rescue that we need. I'll go to any planet you name but it's a mistake to change tactics."

"I agree with Colonel O'Neill," Hammond said. "You are both doing exemplary work and your efforts are appreciated. I think continuing with our current itinerary of possible planets is the most likely to garner success."

"Yes, sir," both Lewis and Chan responded.

"All right then, thank you for the update, you're both dismissed."

Lewis and Chan filed out but Jack remained. Both he and the general remained silent for several moments before Jack couldn't stand it anymore.

"Did you have something you wanted to say, sir?"

"Yes. But at the moment I'm trying to find the best way to phrase it."

Jack sat up straighter. "We've known each other a long time, General. Whatever you want to ask, I'll answer."

"I don't have a question, Jack, I already know the answer, have known for some time. What I want to say is that you need to be more careful. Doctor Jackson's abduction and the desertion of two SGC officers is taking a toll on all everyone here but I understand why this is more personal for you...for you and your team than for the rest of us. However, not everyone here will understand that and the NID certainly wouldn't."

Hammond stood up. "Just be careful, Colonel."

"Yes, sir," Jack murmured as the general exited.

Jack watched the door close as his friend and superior officer left him alone. He leaned forward resting his head against his arms. With a moment of solitude, he let the trembling he'd been holding back take over.

Part 7

Terry read the instructions again. Despite the addition of three extra letters in the Isladium alphabet, he'd been essentially able to read all the words. Still, the last line confused him because he couldn't believe it meant what he thought it meant.

Vince was tossing around fruit in his hands when Terry handed him the list.

"Read the last one," he instructed. Vince held the fruit in one hand while he read. Vince hadn't managed to learn to read the Isladium language as well as Terry so it took a few moments.

Vince finally looked up from the page. "Oh, shit."

"Then it says what I think?"

"Fuck," Vince said, looking towards Daniel's closed door.

"If it has to be done, then it has to be done," Terry said.

"He'll never go for it. He's already planning an escape, I can see it in his eyes."

"I know. But, this has to happen before he reports to City Management in two days and I don't think he was planning to run before that. He'll need to collect supplies, recover from his training, find an opening, this is going to be done before he's ready to leave."

"Not that we're going to let him go anyway."

"No, we're not," Terry agreed, forcibly setting aside his regret that they hadn't known more before committing themselves, and Daniel, to this planet.

"It's says something in there about how to make the arrangements, doesn't it?" Vince asked.

"Yeah. They gave us a list of times and we just have to send a message to Iltec and he'll write us in."

"Pick a time for tomorrow afternoon. Early," Vince said as he stood up.

Terry scanned the list. "This one, that's about one, I think."

Vince looked over his shoulder to where Terry pointed. "Yeah, that's about right. It's tough getting used to the new symbols for numbers, isn't it?" Terry nodded absently. "All right, you tell the doctor, I'll make a run to Jory's and give him the time."

"He'll be expecting Daniel to do it," Terry pointed out.

"If we send him, he'll run for sure once he knows what's going on."

"We have to be able to control him or he'll end up getting sacrificed and we'll end up out on our asses."

Vince pulled something out of his pocket. The warm metal startled Terry as it was pressed into his hand. "Then start controlling him."

Terry was vaguely aware of the front door opening and closing. He stared at the set of handcuffs resting on his palm. His body flushed with heat. Unbidden images flashed through his mind, more vivid than any time before. He scolded himself mentally as he pushed the item into his pocket.

He knocked once on the bedroom door then walked in to find his charge lying down. Daniel sat up immediately, putting his feet on the floor.

"Next time, can you wait until I tell you to come in?" Daniel asked.

Terry sighed, deliberately letting his irritation show. "I'll come in anytime I want. This is my place and I provide for you."

"Actually, the way this fucked up city is arranged, it's just the opposite."

"I know it seems that way but the truth is, you may earn our place but we're the reason we keep it."

"Chicken and the egg," Daniel muttered.

"I'm not arguing with you. I came in to tell you that we have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. The three of us will go together."

"Appointment for what?"

"Apparently, there's an aspect to the barter system that we didn't know about."

"Imagine that. A couple day mission and you didn't learn everything."

Terry chose to ignore the sarcasm.

"You have to be tattooed, Daniel."

"What?" Daniel stood up, pulling his arms against his chest.

"A tattoo. On your left hip. It's small, just our crest or the one Iltec assigned us."

Daniel shook his head, his expression stunned. "I'm not doing that."

"It's their method of keeping the barter marked and being able to identify the providers if the barter becomes separated from..."

"I'm not doing that."

"There's no choice. I didn't know about it either but now that we do, we'll have to go along."

"You need to hear me, I am not getting a tattoo."

"Yes, you are. That's their custom and since we're staying here then we'll adhere. Vince is already informing Jory so he can make the arrangements."

Daniel's face paled visibly as he started to pace, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around himself. "I'll fight it. I'll fight every second. They won't be able to do it and you'll look like you're not in control. You're expected to control me, right? If you bring me there, I'll ruin it for you."

"The only result of doing that will be your execution. If barter doesn't act like barter, then they die, that's how it works."

"I'd rather be dead than be a slave."

Terry's breath caught at the declaration. He hadn't expected that response and he didn't like it.

"There are worse things than being dead, Daniel."

"Like being a slave?"

Terry felt his patience slipping. "You are not a slave. You are the working member of this household."

"By force. Let's not kid ourselves now, Colonel. You kidnapped me and forced me into this situation. It's slavery, pure and simple."

"I'm not arguing about this anymore. You're here, that's it, there's nothing else to discuss."

"There's a helluva lot to discuss if you think I'm going to let anyone put a permanent mark on me."

Daniel started to walk past him, heading towards the main room and Terry's temper snapped. He had done everything possible to make this easier and he'd been rebuffed and argued with and insulted. He'd arranged for Daniel to continue being a linguist but did he get any thanks? He'd promised that Daniel would be treated well but did he get any appreciation? He'd been calm, rational, patient, even tried to comfort Daniel and all he'd received in return was hostility. Enough was enough.

Darting his hand out, he snatched Daniel's wrist squeezing and pulling him around at the same time. With surprise on his side he had the arm bent backward and shoved into the middle of his back before Daniel had the chance to react. Daniel pushed backward with all his weight and Terry had to plant his legs to keep from stumbling then he jammed his leg into the back of Daniel's knee collapsing the other man. Daniel grunted but he squirmed and pushed back again so Terry had to twist his arm up higher to get him to hold still. He shoved him forward so that Daniel was bent in half with his arm at nearly breaking before he stopped struggling.

"Get off me," he yelled.

"Hold still before I break it."

"Get off!"

Terry put more pressure on the limb and Daniel cried out in pain. "Stop fighting me."

"Let me go."

"You are not in charge here, do you hear me? You are going to do what I tell you and you're not fighting me at every turn. I'm not Colonel O'Neill and I will not tolerate any more of your crap."

Daniel's voice came back even, only his breathlessness betraying the discomfort of his position. "Let me go."

Terry pulled up on his arm again viciously; glad when Daniel yelled his distress.

"Tell me you understand."

"I understand, I'm just not agreeing," he gasped out.

Frustrated, Terry pushed him away and Daniel fell over. He scrambled to his feet, rubbing his arm and glaring, giving absolutely no indication that he understood that Terry could seriously hurt him if he chose.

"Is that your plan now?" Daniel demanded and Terry thought for a moment that he'd spoken out loud. "You're just going to try and bully me into this?"

"You act like you've got options, but you don't. I know you think you're going to escape, maybe dial an address that you know won't be guarded, contact SG1. Just wait until we're all looking in the other direction and off you'll go like the determined little mouse that you are."

"You can't be around all the time, can you?"

"I don't have to be."

Terry grabbed Daniel by the front of his shirt, dragging him forward, making him stumble. Daniel started swinging while he tried to get his feet under him. He landed a couple of minor blows but he didn't have the advantage of balance and Terry just tossed him towards the bed. Daniel's legs collided with the metal that framed the mattress and he fell back hard, banging his head on the wall behind him. Stunned but not stunned enough he bounced back up, still fighting. Unfortunately for him, he was still recovering from his stay at Brice's so he didn't have the strength that Terry commanded. Terry knocked him back down, seizing his wrist and yanking him on his side to the top of the bed. Daniel's shirt rode up revealing pale skin and mottled bruises. Terry snatched the handcuffs out of his pocket and snapped one side on. Daniel started struggling in earnest, panic outweighing fear or injury and Terry had to straddle him to keep him in place. He finally managed to snap the other side of the cuff to the metal frame before he pushed off and stood back.

Daniel twisted his torso around, first yanking at the handcuff then stopping to examine it and its attachment to the frame. Terry was impressed that he was already searching for a way to escape. He might be frightened but he wasn't surrendering to his panic.

"It's solid," Terry said after giving him sufficient time to see that for himself.

Daniel turned on to his back with a frustrated sigh. "So, now what? You're keeping me chained up? How am I going to do the all-important translating if I'm trussed up here?"

"You'll only be bound when you're at home and unsupervised. Vince or I will transport you to and from City Management or anyplace else you'll need to go. Jory's already told us there's security for restless barter so, for now, until you can settle in properly, you can be under guard."

Terry's mouth felt dry as Daniel turned on to his side, his skin still visible between the shirt and pants, his hand twisted slightly in the handcuff.

"This is crazy, Colonel. Can't you see how crazy this is?"

Daniel's muscles showed tight beneath the loose fitting top.

"Our first outing will be to the tattoo artist tomorrow," Terry said.

Daniel flopped back on the bed, his fingers curled tightly into a fist. His long body rested flat against the mattress.

"No. Dammit, Colonel, no."

"Get some rest. I think the less you eat today, the better. But, I'll bring water later."

Terry left the room, barely keeping his breath in check. Remembering all the stories he wrote, all the descriptions that kept him entranced as the images leapt from his mind to paper, nearly came true as Daniel lay, bound and helpless in the next room. If he hadn't walked out, Terry wasn't certain that he wouldn't have done something unconscionable.

He opened the oversized refrigerator to retrieve a stone jug filled with water. He drank one glass, then another before his legs stopped shaking. Blaming it on adrenaline, he put the water back and walked outside to the balcony. The air felt good against his skin, helping him to focus. Patrick had always said that shiny objects distracted him too easily.

====

Daniel practiced breathing. Leisurely breaths drawn in and then pushed back out. In and then out. He stared at the ceiling, counting the cracks in the wood beams and breathed. In and out.

The hard metal of the handcuff pressed against already bruised skin. As he recovered from the adrenaline rush of battle, his body complained that he had not been ready to take on a fight. He was still tired, still hurt and undernourished and he knew he should have chosen his battle better.

A tattoo is not mutilation he reminded himself. It's a drawing placed into the skin with needles and ink but it's art, not damage. If he had to get a tattoo to lull the populace into thinking he was complacent then he should have stood blithely by and gotten the tattoo. Refusing and threatening his captors only escalated the situation, making escape a more difficult goal. Jack would be angry with him, angry and disappointed that he didn't think before he acted and Jack would be right.

Trapped now with no promise of food and no hope of release, he decided to sleep. After all, his body and mind needed rest almost as much as it required nourishment. He had to get focused, start acting the part of the accepting downtrodden or he wasn't going to get a chance to escape.

Shimmying around on the bed, one hand securely fastened, he still managed to maneuver himself under the covers. He didn't want the vulnerability of nudity so he made no attempt to take off any clothes, especially since the shirt was staying on unless he ripped it off. Working awkwardly he finally succeeded in getting a pillow under his head before he stared at the closed door of his bedroom imagining his homecoming when he returned to the SGC and to Jack.

====

Vince returned to the apartment, having left Jory happily planning for the tattooing the next day. Apparently, putting a mark on new barter included some sort of ceremony that Jory, Brice and a few other City members would attend. Vince decided not to tell Daniel about that part, figuring the linguist wouldn't like the idea of an audience.

When he entered to the main room, Vince found it empty, but a quick glance towards the balcony revealed Terry's presence. He opened the sliding door slowly, greeting Terry as he joined him.

"Is everything arranged?" Terry asked.

"All set. Jory said to be there about fifteen minutes ahead of time so Daniel could be prepared."

"They're going to have to strap him down or something because Daniel's going to fight all the way."

"From the contraption that Jory described, I don't think that's going to be a problem. Apparently, while most barter is happy to serve the community, there are some who don't accept it. They use some kind of restraining chair for them. Daniel's already slated for it."

Terry leaned against the balcony railing, resting his torso against the edge while he watched the street below. Vince waited a few moments before he asked, "Things didn't go well with Doctor Jackson, sir?"

"No, they didn't."

"Jory thought he'd be more cooperative now. I guess Brice and Keegan are normally pretty successful with training."

Terry shook his head. "No. He's as stubborn as ever."

"We have to get control of him, sir."

"We have to start thinking about another planet. He's our free pass and he's going to get himself killed."

"No," Vince said, shaking his head and pacing a few steps. "No way. We can control him. We just have to find out what'll work. He's a scientist, sir, follow up on a few threats and he's ours."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy. You've heard O'Neill talk about the resiliency of his archeologist. He's like a weeble or something, just keeps getting back up no matter what happens to him."

"Yeah, well, I've never happened to him. Getting people to cooperate is what I'm good at, Colonel."

Terry turned away from the balcony. "We don't want to hurt him, Lieutenant. We decided that before we left earth."

Vince heard the words but the tone didn't match. "We don't want to damage him to the point that he's not useful. There's a lot of space between here and there."

"He isn't the enemy."

"He's standing between us and paradise. We worked for this, gave up everything to get here and now we're threatened by a fucking linguist? I don't think that's a situation that we can live with."

Terry turned his back to Vince. His voice was soft, his words measured as he spoke. "He says he's going to cause trouble tomorrow."

"And he could. He's our barter, if he's not useful to the community, then he's useless to us too."

"I know."

"It's time to make him realize that we're not going to tolerate anything from him."

"How are you going to do that?" Vince's adrenaline pumped in as he heard the first indication that Terry was really surrendering.

"Leave that to me, sir."

"He has to be able to walk into the tattooing tomorrow...on his own power."

"I'm very good at what I do, Colonel, don't worry."

"I think...I'm going to go out for awhile," Terry said, walking back inside the apartment while he avoided looking at Vince.

"Yes, sir," Vince acknowledged though he doubted that his conflicted Colonel heard him.

Part 8

Daniel curled on one side, pulling his knees up, knowing in an abstract way that sleeping fetally was a sign of insecurity or fear. Alsa had left him with both. He shivered despite the warmth of the blanket, the press of the handcuff reinforcing his vulnerability. He had to concentrate to remember that he wasn't helpless. Alsa had kept him restrained during his entire stay and now it was hard to feel the binding without remembering the terror instilled in him after the first couple of days.

He started when the door to his room opened allowing Vince Potter to enter. Daniel roused himself, twisting around so he could sit comfortably even with his arm being pulled to one side. He watched Vince approach warily, not trusting the other man despite his smile and relaxed manner.

"The Colonel went out for a while," Vince said.

"Good for him," Daniel responded.

"Yeah, it gives us a chance to talk."

Vince sat down on the bed, a bit too close to Daniel. He leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him for a moment. Daniel resisted the urge to shift away from him.

When Vince finally spoke, he kept his eyes on his hands and his tone unconcerned.

"Do you know why I left earth?" He asked.

"Because you didn't get promoted to First Lieutenant last year." Daniel almost smiled at the surprise in Vince's expression.

"No, that isn't the reason."

Daniel shrugged while Vince continued.

"I left earth because I was tired of being the ugly guy."

It was Daniel's turn to be surprised.

"Add that up with a Second Lieutenant's salary and the almost constant traveling and the debt up my ass and I was hardly a good catch for anybody."

"You left so you could be popular?" Daniel asked.

Vince glared but didn't respond to the question. "And I got tired of guys like you getting all the perks just because your ears aren't too big and you didn't get a face full of zits when you were fourteen."

Vince stood up as he continued. "The Colonel and I like this planet and this city. We have a nice place to live and plenty of food and clothes and entertainment. We even have companionship when we want it. And unlike earth, everybody on this planet thinks we're near perfect. The problem is, there's one thing that could stand in our way, that could make this little slice of heaven go away...I think you know what that is, Doctor."

"I'm sorry that you didn't like your life on earth, but I've heard the all the speeches and justifications," Daniel said.

"Well, good. Then you understand."

"Understand what?"

Vince slipped his fingers around Daniel's free wrist. Before Daniel could pull away, Vince's grip tightened sending a shock of pain shooting down the center of his palm and trailing up into his fingers. Daniel gasped yanking his arm away, surprised by the intensity.

"What the hell," he yelled.

"That's called a pressure point. You have them all over your body. Little spots of vulnerability just waiting for an expert like myself to manipulate. Here's another one."

"No." Daniel jerked to one side but not before Vince squeezed his thumb and forefinger against the point just connecting his shoulder and neck sending an agonizing shock through his shoulder and down his arm and back. Daniel swung his free arm throwing his weight into it but he was off balance and Vince dodged him easily.

Daniel scrambled to his feet but he couldn't stand up straight because of his tether to the bed. Vince knocked him back down, not hard enough to cause pain, just pushed him off balance. Daniel landed on his side, then popped back up, using his legs to push backward towards the wall. Fear welled up inside him but more than that, he was angry.

"Are you nuts? What do you think you're doing?"

Vince held up his hands up, miming surrender but his smile remained. "The beauty of those little clusters is that it takes a while for any real nerve damage to happen but the pain is excruciating. Of course, it's pretty short-lived. Not like a dislocated shoulder. Now that can hurt for a long time, especially if it doesn't get popped back into place right away."

"Oh, of course." Daniel forced the calm into his voice. "You're threatening me now. I won't behave like a good little hostage so now you're trying persuasion."

"This is my new home, Doctor. I'm going to defend it from all threats."

"It'd be a lot simpler on all of us, if you'd just send me home."

"There's nothing hard about what I'm doing."

Vince turned away from him. Daniel sighed, relief flowing through him that the threat had been made and now he'd be left alone. But, Vince didn't leave. He went to the far side of Daniel's room and opened a door that apparently led to a closet. Vince reached inside but Daniel couldn't see what he was doing. When Vince turned around, he held strips of black cloth that probably served as belts around the clothes Daniel was given to wear.

Daniel pushed further towards the top of the bed.

"Hold it right there," Daniel said. "Don't even think about doing whatever you're thinking about doing."

"What am I thinking about?"

"What do you want from me?"

Vince continued approaching. "I thought you'd heard all the speeches and justifications."

"You're right, I have. I get it, all right? I have no choices here. I'm stuck and I know it. This," he tugged on the handcuff. "Pretty much says it all, right?"

"Not quite. See, I think you're every bit as stubborn as we've heard you are. I think you're going to pretend for a while, until you think we trust you, and then you're going to run like hell. Beat feet to the first safe planet you can find and leave us without any way to pay the tab around here."

"My, uh, my reputation isn't really that accurate, I mean, whose is? You think Jack O'Neill has a razor wit, you think Teal'c is really that stoic? Okay, Teal'c is that stoic but... and Sam, well, she's...she's..."

When Vince rushed him, Daniel had no place to go. He used his body to fight, used his free limbs to thrash but Vince outweighed him and outsized him. Fighting someone who was a few years younger and ten times meaner, Daniel had little chance and within a few moments, he found his other wrist bound to the opposite side of the bed with the cloth belt.

"What do you want?" He gasped, yanking at both arms while he flung his body out in frustration. His heart was pounding, his breath came in hard gasps and he was furious.

Breathing hard as well, Vince stood back with his arms crossed. "You are not going to ruin this for me."

"You can't keep me tied up in here."

"I don't intend to."

Vince moved to the top of the bed, where Daniel watched him as best he could, dreading whatever he was going to do next. Daniel winced when Vince grabbed his hair, dragging his head back painfully. Struggling and swearing uselessly he didn't feel the pressure of a thumb against the edge of his collarbone until it blossomed into agony. Clenching his teeth together and ignoring the spots of water in his eyes, he rode out the pain until Vince released him again.

Vince bent over him, pressing his face close to Daniel's while he maintained the grip on his hair.

"You will not..." Vince began as Daniel pushed all his strength into his hips and thrust his legs up, turning himself in half and slamming his calves against Vince's head before the other man could finish his sentence. Vince yelled out, surprise and anger and some pain, Daniel hoped, coloring his string of profanity.

Daniel slammed his legs back down, twisting violently, trying to loosen the knot on his tied arm before Vince could recover.

There was no time. Vince was all over him a moment later, dragging him up by his shirt and plowing him with a fist that looked big enough to kill. Agony ripped through his cheek and blood filled his mouth. Daniel fell back, his eyesight more blurry than usual and his head pounding from the impact. Feebly he tried to struggle as he felt hands against his legs but he couldn't quite coo rdinate his body to fight. He wouldn't be surprised to find out he had a concussion from the punch. None of his limbs cooperated with him as he soon found his ankles tied to either side of the bed and Vince glowering over him. Daniel could barely focus but he could feel the fury wafting off the other man. Daniel felt blood trickle down his throat, fuelling his fear.

Vince grabbed his hair again, yanking back Daniel's head and pressing his mouth so close to Daniel's face that he could feel the man's spittle.

"We tried it nice. But, we're done. From now on, you spend your time tied up in here or down at City Management translating. I'll take you there and I'll pick you up and I'll keep you chained to this bed and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Go to hell," Daniel said, wondering when Jack's twisted sense of bravado invaded him.

"You stupid son of a bitch."

Vince leaned over, grasped Daniel's shoulder in two places and twisted with a vicious yank. Daniel felt the shoulder separate and screamed at the sudden agony. His arm, useless and heavy, lay at his side, pulsing with pain. He couldn't keep the tears out of his eyes and his stomach turned sickeningly.

"That's the kind of thing you can look forward to, Doctor," Vince said before he walked out of the room.

Shocked by the level of pain, Daniel couldn't move and he couldn't believe Vince had done this and then left him. He tried to shift his weight hoping to ease some of the pressure but the slightest move had him biting his lip to keep in a scream.

====

As time disappeared in a meaningless void of pain, Daniel felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. At some point, he urinated but Vince hadn't answered when he called and he didn't have the strength left to fight it.

He flinched when his bedroom door opened causing fresh pain and a moan to escape despite his best effort. Terry and Vince entered his field of vision, bringing new fear. He started trembling, knowing he was completely vulnerable in their care. He held his breath when Terry crouched beside him, then bit back a whimper when he touched his arm. Not knowing what they were doing, he could only watch them helplessly.

"Help me," Terry said though Daniel was sure he was talking to Vince. He was proved right when Vince took a stance above him. Neither of them spoke to Daniel but when they both lay their hands on him, he had to battle back the fear that wanted him to beg. A nearly identical twisting and a yank and Daniel felt the arm snap back into place. He was pretty sure he screamed again but his mind seemed to be blocking it out.

Darkness filled the edges of his vision but refused to take him completely. The sharp agony of moments before passed into a less demanding pain but his arm still ached and his fingers still tingled. The nausea returned with a slow roll through his belly but he hoped he wouldn't vomit. He doubted he could roll on to his side to escape choking, especially with three limbs still bound.

"Is this...is this what you expected?" Daniel pushed out through dry lips.

Terry stroked his hair gently for a moment. Then he turned his attention to something else.

He was speaking as he turned back. "We don't have a lot of this, Daniel so I'm only giving you half a dose." Something sharp plunged into the skin of his sore arm. The whimper escaped him this time but a few moments later, the dark finally took over.

====

The next time Daniel woke, the light of morning filled his room. He found himself untied but with Terry Weston sitting beside his bed, reading. His mouth felt like dust and his brain wouldn't engage properly. His body felt as though it were weighted down.

He stayed silent, not wanting to talk yet. The vicious pain in his arm reminded him of the events of the day before and he wasn't prepared to hear the justifications.

Brice Alsa had knocked him around and beat him with a long flexible tree branch that probably came from the equivalent of a weeping willow on earth. He had half-starved him and threatened him with worse on a daily basis. But, Alsa was a stranger, an alien and he'd had the greater purpose of trying to train him in order to maintain the way of life in Isladium.

The attack by Vince had been much worse. Daniel knew Vince, had worked with him, joked with him, even shared the occasional coffee break with him. The familiarity made his actions more of a betrayal, more shocking, and there was nothing but selfishness behind them. He pegged Daniel as the enemy and he used force to gain his cooperation, all for the sake of staying on a planet where they had no business remaining.

Terry interrupted his thoughts with a jaw cracking yawn, stretching his arms above his head and sighing. He set the book down so he could crouch beside Daniel's bed.

"How do you feel?"

Daniel answered with the first word that came to mind. "Thirsty."

"Yeah, I'll bet. You didn't get much fluid yesterday and the morphine will make your mouth dry anyway."

Morphine. That explained the fuzzy edges of his thoughts, Daniel realized.

"Here, let me help you sit up and I'll get you some water."

Daniel waved his good arm to keep him back. "I can do it."

"I'm trying to help you."

"Yeah, well, you're doing a great job so far."

Terry threw his hands up, obviously frustrated and walked out. Daniel figured he wouldn't be gone long so he pushed against the dizziness and pain to get himself sitting and his feet on the floor. His arm flared up, nearly sending him back into unconsciousness but he refused to surrender. He was damp with urine, thirsty and weak and those conditions could not continue, not if he hoped to escape.

Terry returned with a tall, ceramic type container. Daniel took it from him, favoring his left arm.

"Thank you," he said, meaning it. The water tasted slightly different to earth water but it felt good on his tongue. He could feel the cool liquid travel through his body. He resisted the instinct to gulp it down knowing his stomach was delicate from his enforced fast and from the morphine.

"There's a sling on the dresser over there. After you get showered and changed, I'll help you with it," Terry said.

Daniel swallowed his first response, which was to refuse. "Thanks," he said instead, fighting the knot in his belly.

"There's still a couple of hours before we have to go anywhere so you can eat too."

Nodding, Daniel drank some more until nausea set in. He set the cup down on the floor beside his feet, wincing at the strain of leaning over.

Terry frowned at him "Nobody wanted it to be like this," he said, before pacing a few steps away.

"I know that."

"It doesn't have to be bad for you if you'll just give in a little. I know you think the barter thing is wrong but it works here."

"Apparently so." Daniel kept his tone steady.

"Most of the barter live at home with their families. They're not abused, they do their duty for the community. It's only different for you because we're aliens here."

"Alsa said that too."

"Yes," Terry said, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Yes, that's right. Once you show them that you're just like the rest of the barter, then you'll be treated better."

Daniel picked up the cup, sipping lightly, trying to keep his anger hidden. He had seen men tortured in the last two weeks, had heard the stories of abuse.

"Even when a family has more than one son that can be donated to the community, he's still treated well," Terry continued. "They value the barter the same way that we value a good job or a paycheck. It's what keeps the family fed and housed and clothed. They're a commodity like money."

Daniel nodded. "It's just difficult to think of people, of myself, as a commodity but I do understand what you're saying."

"It's a transition thing. You'll fit in. You're an archeologist, right? You're supposed to embrace new cultures, try to think of it like that."

"Archeologists don't usually live with the different cultures, we just study them. Anthropologists move in."

Terry made a rude noise. "So study a live culture instead of a dead one. You've been doing it with the SGC for years."

"Yeah, you're right, I have."

"Don't patronize me, Daniel." The excitement at being understood or accepted or whatever Terry had been thinking disappeared in favor of sudden anger.

Daniel started to deny what he'd been doing but Terry interrupted.

"You think I can't tell? You think I've gotten stupid all of a sudden?"

"No, no, I..."

"Get showered. You stink."

Terry stalked out of the room, leaving Daniel shaken as he stared after him.

====

Terry glared at Vince as he walked through the door.

"Where have you been, Lieutenant?" Terry could see the wariness on Vince's face at the use of his rank.

"Figured I'd take a walk while you got Daniel settled again."

"He's in the shower."

"I can hear it. How's his arm?"

"It hurts, what do you think after you..."

"Hey, Terry," Vince said placating. "We agreed we had to get him to stop fighting us. I tried talking to him first."

Terry didn't want to be mollified. "It'll take days to heal."

"It's not serious enough to keep him from work tomorrow so don't worry about it."

"Well, I am worried about it. You went too far."

"He's not more cooperative this morning?"

"No, I mean, yes, he is, but..."

"I'm sorry, sir, but if we're going to keep him in line, there's going to be more lessons like last night. There's no way to avoid it. But, you know, you could...you could probably make it easier for him."

Terry looked up from where he was sitting. The knot in his stomach told him that he shouldn't listen but he couldn't help feeling a surge of hope.

"What do you mean?"

"We can play it like good cop, bad cop, if you want. I don't mind being the bad guy and then having you swoop in to give him a little support afterwards. As long as you and I know what we're doing, as long as we don't let the lines get blurred between us, then why not give him a safe place? It'll probably make him more compliant if he's not scared all the time."

Vince spoke casually as he searched their refrigerator. There was nothing in his tone to show that he understood the inherent wrongness of the manipulation. Terry did understand that part, but he couldn't deny the logic of the suggestion. He felt a twinge in his belly. Comforting Daniel through this early stage of acceptance was exactly the sort of thing he'd fantasized about before they left earth. He just knew that Daniel would eventually surrender and he'd need someone to help him get there.

"The water stopped. Maybe you should go check on him. He might need help getting dressed with his sore shoulder."

Vince bumped the refrigerator door with his hip before he took the fruit he'd retrieved and walked into his bedroom. Terry remained on the couch, staring after him thoughtfully. He knew that Vince was a skilled interrogator. He also knew that Vince missed the more creative aspects of that job. Vince had liked his work as an explorer with SGC but what he really liked was the battle, the excitement danger brought on a regular basis. He may have professed to want peace and quiet in his retirement but Terry could tell that Vince missed being active.

It was likely that he'd need an outlet for his boredom. Keeping Daniel in line would accomplish that nicely for him. As long as he didn't get too aggressive, Terry couldn't really argue with the necessity as well. And Daniel would need an ally, would need someone to lean on as he was forcibly adjusted to his new life.

Terry and Vince had always complemented each other. Maybe this was just a new way to do that.

Terry rose slowly when Daniel passed through the hall wrapped in a towel. In the last few years, he had filled out, gaining muscle and definition. Even pale, given the rough treatment he'd been experiencing, Terry couldn't help renewing his attraction. And if the rumors about Jack O'Neill and Daniel were true, then he had hope his attraction would eventually be reciprocated.

A wince and curse came from Daniel's room so Terry went in.

Daniel was naked and sitting on the bed with his pants half pulled up. His arm hung loosely by his side. He looked at Terry, first in anger and then embarrassment and then he worked the pants up determinedly, biting his bottom lip.

"I can dress myself," he said, now that his pants were up and he was standing, leaning slightly into his injury.

"I can see that. I just came to get your bedding. We only have one set per bed so I'll wash these out and hang them on the balcony."

"Um...thank-you." The reluctant gratitude came without any real feeling behind it and Terry felt his anger start to rise again. He forced it away, knowing that he'd have to be patient if he wanted Daniel's trust.

Daniel moved out of his way so he could get to the bed. He struggled silently with his shirt but Terry watched him peripherally. Terry took longer than necessary to strip the bed while Daniel took longer than it should have to finish dressing. When they were both done, Terry pointed to the sling lying on the floor.

"You should put that on. After you eat, take some ibuprofen. We have a supply of them from our packs."

"I don't want...no, I'm sorry, I'm just tired, I guess. Yeah, I'll do that."

Terry stopped at the door. "Vince was wrong, Daniel. He should've...we both should've realized that getting tattooed is a big deal. We can't stop it but we could've given you a chance to get used to the idea."

Pure confusion filled Daniel's expression and Terry had to hide his smile.

Part 9

The remaining members of SG1 sat around the conference table. At the head sat General Hammond. Janet Fraiser occupied the seat usually filled by Daniel Jackson. Jack cradled his wrist absently in his lap. He glanced at Carter, wincing inwardly at the ugly bruise surrounding a white bandage on her forehead. Teal'c remained stoically uninjured as he stared in Jack's direction.

"How is Doctor Chan?" Hammond asked without any preamble.

"She's in a coma, sir," Fraiser answered. "The damage to her frontal lobe is extreme and frankly, I'd be very surprised if she wakes up. Even if she does, it's likely she'll be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life."

Jack held his breath. Fraiser's words bore into his gut like she was wielding a scalpel instead of words.

"And Captain Lewis?" Hammond asked.

"She was already deceased when they came through the gate. I suspect she had been for some time."

"She took two full blasts from a staff weapon, sir, there was nothing we could've done to save her," Carter said, her voice strong but shaky.

Hammond turned his attention to Jack. "What happened, Colonel?"

Jack sat up straighter, leaning against his rank and experience to answer emotionlessly. "When we arrived on the planet, it looked deserted. We walked for about a mile from the gate before I ordered us into teams. Carter, Lewis and I went one way. Teal'c and Chan went the other. I thought we could cover more ground that way but...that decision was a mistake. A few minutes after splitting up, we were overrun by Jaffa."

As Jack related the doomed mission, he relived it as well. The weapons battle between them and the Jaffa was ridiculously one-sided and it became obvious that their only hope was to run like hell for the gate. They managed to clear a narrow path long enough to meet up with Teal'c but he was already carrying Chan. Lewis went down a moment later. Carter stopped to help her and was butted in the head with a staff weapon. Jack turned back for them, which embroiled him in a brief hand-to-hand battle with two Jaffa. He managed to get his wrist sprained before he reached Carter and Lewis. Carter was getting to her feet, blood pouring grotesquely from her head wound. With Teal'c providing cover fire, Jack made sure she could run before he hefted Lewis off the ground. He knew she was dead but he wasn't going to leave her behind.

They killed enough Jaffa to make the rest scatter but the damage had already been done to his team.

After Jack finished speaking, Hammond gave them a few minutes to confirm his story and add their own details.

"And there was no sign of Doctor Jackson or the rest of SG13?" He asked, finally.

It felt like the words were lodged so deep inside him that he had to dig to retrieve them.

"No, sir," Jack answered.

====

A warm sun shone in a cloudless sky as they walked through the neighborhoods leading to the tattoo parlor, or whatever facility they used. Isladium was a small town with much the same demeanor as similar towns on earth. Strangers greeted each other, the air smelled clean if slightly odorous from the bulbers and the pace around them seemed slow, almost leisurely.

Daniel wished Jack were by his side sharing the day with him. He also wished they were on Earth sharing it.

He had had little experience with the Isladium community since he spent most of his time with Alsa either in the cellar or in the lesson room. Terry and Vince hadn't seemed particularly anxious to take him outside either. Consequently, he was surprised to find himself almost enjoying the walk.

As long as he kept himself focused on the moment rather than anticipating what was planned for him next, he could be fairly relaxed. He reminded himself like a mantra that Jack, Sam and Teal'c could show up at any minute to rescue him so there was no point in worrying about what might happen.

He brushed the material of the sling, forcing away the tension in his belly. Remembering the night before served no purpose. Things seemed better this morning. He had eaten, drank some sort of juice as well as the Isladium version of coffee and some water. Despite the throbbing in his shoulder, he felt stronger than he had in days. Vince glowered at him occasionally just to remind him of his status but he hadn't been threatened in hours and Terry was overtly friendly. Maybe too friendly but Daniel refused to think about that either.

They arrived at a square-front building with a pinkish tint and Vince said they were at the right place. Daniel took a breath, willing himself to calm down. There was really nothing to fear and tattoos are removable even if they leave a scar. It wouldn't be his first scar while working on the Stargate Project and probably not his last. Vince must have noticed his hesitation though because he put his hand on Daniel's sore shoulder and squeezed. Daniel winced as he pulled out of Vince's grip, turning around angrily, his hands curling into fists.

Vince straightened up, filling his frame. "Don't start something you're not ready to finish. Just get in there."

"I was going," Daniel said, wishing he sounded less defensive and more dangerous.

"Let's get this over with," Terry intervened nodding towards the entrance.

Determined, Daniel walked in first. He could get through this and there was always the chance that SG1 would arrive to save him. He stopped in mid-step when he saw Jory Iltec, Brice Alsa, Keegan Plin, and two other men that he didn't recognize. All were surprisingly ugly. On some level, Daniel understood that they would be ugly because if they were attractive, then they'd be barter, not government. They all looked at him but it was in passing as they greeted Terry and Vince.

"The imprinting is sacred," Iltec said. "We all observe to be confident the procedure is traditional. In your case, we also wish to embrace you into our community."

"That's kind of you, Jory. We appreciate the extra attention," Terry responded.

Daniel kept his sarcasm to himself while he watched Alsa warily. He didn't want to fear the other man but he couldn't help feeling uneasy around him. Alsa barely glanced in his direction though. Apparently Daniel was no longer an issue for him.

Daniel flinched when Iltec reached towards him, touching the bruise on his cheek provided by Vince the night before.

"This is not appreciated, Brice," he said, frowning in Alsa's direction.

"No facial marrings were done by my house," Alsa said, sounding insulted.

"The face is protected," Keegan Plin said.

Vince interrupted. "No, no, it wasn't...it was...Daniel. He ran into a door, uh, you know, he can be clumsy."

"It totters," Alsa agreed.

"Observe it closely," Iltec advised. "Its looking keeps it alive and in use."

"We will," Terry assured him, patting Iltec on the back.

Daniel clenched his teeth to keep from arguing. Disagreeing wouldn't help him win their trust and that was the only thing that really mattered. Vince could lie all he wanted. It wouldn't make a difference once Daniel was back at the SGC.

"Shall we commence?" Iltec suggested, apparently no longer worried about Daniel's injury. Alsa and the other men agreed.

While no one seemed to actually be watching Daniel, he knew they were. Every man there was waiting for him to do something sudden. They were in for a surprise because he was going quietly to the gallows.

"It is alien. It requires the chair," Iltec said, gesturing towards a steel contraption near the back wall.

The chair was made of metal twisted together to look like a narrow slide. But it was also fitted with obvious restraints and built for human size. Daniel froze where he stood, staring at it, knowing what they intended. His heart picked up, adrenaline begging him to fight and run, all of his instincts pushing him to escape but he remained still. He forced himself to think, to consider what he could do, what he could handle and he knew he'd survive the indignity. All he had to do was let himself be tied down while they stuck needles in his hip. He breathed, flexing his hands, trying to control the panic. He had been told that he'd be tattooed. It wasn't a surprise. They hadn't mentioned the audience, they hadn't mentioned the chair but he understood what was happening and he could survive it.

On legs that didn't feel like his own, he walked towards the contraption. He kept his eyes on it, memorizing the lines, trying to make it seem like something familiar. If he could understand how it worked, then he could accept it. He could see the narrow space for his head and the widened section where his shoulders would rest. The metal curved mimicking the lines of a body so his hip could be presented. There were stirrups fitted sideways where his feet would rest. At first he couldn't tell where his arms would go and then he saw one straight bar shooting upwards and attached to a horizontal pole with restraints attached. It made sense. It would keep his arms completely straight and immobile and severely limit any ability to move around.

So what if it looked like a medieval torture device, its real purpose was just to prevent movement while someone dug into his flesh.

He started regretting having breakfast.

His traitorous legs drew him closer until he stood at the edge of the contraption. He felt Terry and Vince move behind him, whether offering support or trying to prevent any embarrassing scenes, Daniel didn't know.

"Mobility first," Iltec instructed.

Daniel didn't understand and from the expressions of his providers, neither did Terry or Vince. Iltec stepped forward and tapped Daniel on the hip.

"Starts the walking process, I guess," Daniel explained absently.

"Makes sense," Vince responded before he nodded towards the chair.

Daniel turned to the side, silently searching the faces of his companions. Terry reached out, helping him discard the sling and suddenly Daniel liked the idea of the arm restraints even less. Sweat trickled down his neck making him shudder as he backed up until his hip was even with the chair. Leaning to one side, he fitted himself into the molded metal, flinching at the cold. From there it took both Vince and Terry supporting his weight to get his body twisted into it. Daniel discovered that the various restraints didn't just prevent escape, they provided balance and support so he wouldn't fall out of the damn thing. Terry held the top of his body while Vince fastened his feet in. Then they put a strap over his thighs and another over his waist. The leather pressed into his flesh uncomfortably but he was fairly certain that he wouldn't fall out. His arms were next and he couldn't keep in a gasp when his bad shoulder was straightened out and his arm locked into place. Terry stroked his hair gently while Vince completed strapping him in.

Daniel refused to look at the faces surrounding him. He stared towards the ceiling instead. He swallowed when his pants were lowered, relieved when they presented just enough skin to be marked.

"Commence with the ceremony, Paba," Iltec said and one of the strangers moved into Daniel's view. Using some kind of scented water or possibly oil, he rubbed his fingers all around Daniel's hip murmuring something unintelligible. The scent from that diminished vaguely in favor of something else. It took a few moments of concentrating before Daniel recognized the odor. There was a fire nearby burning something bitter and metallic.

Daniel tried to turn his head towards the smell but his awkward positioning made it difficult. Still he could tell that all the men except the one with the oil were standing around an open grill of some kind. He twisted until it hurt and soon met Terry's eyes. The other man looked terrified and pale and suddenly Daniel understood.

"The translation wasn't right," he said softly. Then louder. "You didn't read it right, did you?"

"It didn't understand the words?" Iltec asked Terry.

"He never looked at it. I didn't understand the words. I thought you were going to...to tattoo him."

"That is not familiar."

"It's a permanent marking of skin using needles and ink."

"Hmm," Iltec considered. He looked directly at Daniel. "We use fire and metal to mark."

Daniel's fear gave way to desperation. "They're going to brand me, Colonel. Are you going to stand there and let them?"

Terry seemed to think about it and Daniel had the faintest hope that sanity would finally prevail. His hope died when Terry turned back to the fire.

Daniel yanked at his arms, trying to free them only to have his shoulder explode in pain again. His vision darkened around the edges but he stubbornly hung on to consciousness. He didn't know when he started yelling, only that he grew louder as they approached with the hot metal. The man with the oil spoke louder but Daniel could barely hear him as the heat drew close to his skin. In one last moment of lucidity he appealed to Terry again.

"Stop this, Colonel. Please."

His words weren't answered and nobody seemed to care when he screamed as the metal burned a hole into his flesh. The darkness came again but he stayed awake. He could smell meat cooking, could hear his own whimpers, could hear the sounds of voices around him and despite the fact that nothing seemed connected or real, he knew the worst had happened.

====

The walk back to their apartment was hell. Daniel lurched along, limping, his face scrunched up in pain, sweat pouring off him, while Vince and Terry guided him on either side to keep him from falling. Terry was amazed when he managed to make it all the way without collapsing.

Going up the stairs provided a new experiment in torture as Daniel tried to haul himself upward, one-handed, using the railing for support. Vince stayed behind him while Terry stayed to one side but anytime either of them touched him, he made a fuss about being able to make it on his own.

When they finally reached their apartment, Daniel managed to propel himself into his room before the last of his strength gave out and he curled up on his right side. Eyes closed, breath coming in gasps, he buried his hands in the blanket, squeezing his fists around the material.

"We shouldn't waste that," Vince said when Terry took the morphine out of their pack. Terry ignored him.

Going into Daniel's room, he injected the second half of the dose that he used the night before.

Daniel objected but it was already done.

"It'll take the edge off. Just relax and let it."

Daniel whispered his accusation. "You let them brand me. You just stood there."

"I told you yesterday that we'd have to conform to their traditions. I'm sorry about this, neither of us knew, but it's over now."

"I can still smell it." His voice was quivering as he began to get groggy. He closed his eyes again.

Terry rubbed Daniel's side gently. He could feel the ribs beneath his hand and the soft exhalations of breath as Daniel drifted into sleep. Once he was certain that the morphine had acted, he pulled down the band of Daniel's pants revealing the brownish bandage placed over the brand by Paba Eldon. It was saturated with something that Jory said would keep the burn from getting infected. He was supposed to change the dressing every twelve hours and keep it moist. He was also supposed to peel off any scabbing as it occurred so the brand would stay raised. He knew it would be hard to do that but he also knew he didn't want Daniel to have to go through the process again.

Thinking that Daniel would be more comfortable without the extra weight of his clothing against the wound, he tugged the pants down further to keep them down. When he drew his hand back up, his fingers snagged on Daniel's top, dragging the material up and revealing the smooth skin of his side and stomach. Terry stared at all that soft warmth and without really thinking about it, he ran his fingers across the flesh. The slightly rough texture of dry skin tingled against his fingertips. He continued his minor exploration, seeking Daniel's stomach next, finding the muscles firm even in his relaxed state. Moving upward he closed his eyes to better experience the sensation of the lightest scattering of hair that greeted him. Just as his fingers brushed the first puckering of a nipple, another hand fell over his. He found Daniel staring at him, unfocused but still knowing.

"Get out," he said hoarsely.

"I was just checking your injuries from Brice." The lie came without thought.

"Just go."

Terry was surprised by the calm in Daniel's voice. He guessed the morphine was delaying any sort of anger.

He stood up, backing away. "I'll check on you later."

Daniel continued watching him, his blue eyes wide with wariness while he fought the drug in his system but his body was traumatized and the morphine was winning the battle. Soon he returned to sleep.

Terry walked backwards towards the door. He had let his desire overtake his good sense and while he might not have meant harm, he had exceeded the limits of acceptable behavior. He hesitated in the doorway for just a moment before leaving Daniel to rest.

Coming into the living room he found that Vince had stretched out on the couch with his arm draped over his eyes. Terry was grateful that the warm flush in his face wouldn't be seen. He took the nearest chair, exhaling slowly as he settled down. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Daniel's panic as Eldon poised the hot metal over him.

"Can we do keep doing this?" Terry asked after a few moments.

"I don't know," Vince answered and Terry was surprised to hear his doubt. "It gets worse every day."

Terry rubbed his eyes, his voice sounding strange in his own ears. "That was the end of processing. He got his training, he got his assignment, they've marked him."

Vince sat up abruptly, his eyes narrowed in anger. "What if they do a refresher course...or...or something else? What else don't we know yet?"

"I talked to Jory while you were releasing Daniel and he said that was it. As long as Daniel does his job and doesn't cause any more trouble then we're all set. We've been officially accepted into the community."

"You found all that out? What did you have, like three minutes?"

Terry stood up, pacing towards the balcony and back, angry at Vince's sarcasm and feeling unsettled by the choices he made. "What do you want me to say? I didn't know about the branding anymore than you did."

"I don't know." Vince stalked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. "Maybe I'm ready to call it quits. Maybe I'd rather go to prison than go through something like that again."

Vince closed the door and leaned against the kitchen counter. He looked towards the ceiling, taking several long breaths, before he turned his attention to the floor.

Terry watched him silently, his heart beating almost painfully. His fingers tingled where they had brushed Daniel's skin.

"It doesn't make sense to go back when we're so close to getting what we wanted," Terry said.

"I know that. But...I mean...Colonel...did you see him? Did you hear him?"

"I know. I almost stopped it."

"So did I."

"But, we didn't," Terry pointed out.

Vince sighed. "Because we made our decision months ago."

"And we knew there'd be hard choices."

Vince walked back into the living room and flopped on to the couch. He stared at the ceiling.

"Jory said it was over?" He asked.

Terry nodded as he answered. "Now, it's up to Daniel to behave. If he does, then we're home free."

"There are no guarantees about that."

"Then we'll have to work harder to make sure he does. We'll be saving his life if we can keep him in line."

"Then we're not turning back? We're all the way in?"

It was a pointless question since Terry knew they were beyond the point of no return. Despite his previous doubts, he understood that home was a closed door.

He nodded. "We got through the hard part. We'll be fine from here. All three of us."

Part 10

As morning lit up his room, Daniel groaned softly into the pillow. His mind felt muddled and his throat was dry. It didn't take long before he remembered the injection that Terry had given him. Slowly, like roll call, the various pains of his body registered. His hip first, then his shoulder, then over-taxed muscles and finally bruises. The bandage over his hip tugged at the surrounding skin, still tender and swollen. The brand itself throbbed. He re-injured his shoulder too so any healing that might have taken place was erased.

Rolling over slowly, he noticed for the first time that his right arm was restrained. At some point while he was unconscious they'd handcuffed him to the bed again. He swore angrily, barely able to believe that they were serious about keeping him tied down now. Fear reared up in his belly as he realized his vulnerability again. Those two could do anything to him at this point and he had no recourse.

That thought brought another memory niggling. Something had happened, something that remained just beyond the reach of his mind. He closed his eyes, fighting the odd panic and taking deep breaths. If he could settle down enough to meditate, he could probably regain the memory that was causing his fear.

He shifted a bit more to take some pressure off his shoulder, bending one knee in the hope of easing the scrape of the sheet against the brand. The brand. His couldn't catch his breath as his mind planted him back in the restraining chair while Paba Eldon pressed the metal into his hip. No amount of internal preparation could have made him ready. It was off the scale of his experience. Unfortunately, the smell after the first shock of pain was something he could recognize. The bitter odor of flesh burning still lived in his nostrils with every inhalation of breath.

"Oh, God," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut to escape the vivid sensations as they revisited him.

He closed his fingers tight until he could feel the strain on his shoulder, until he could feel the bite of his nails into his palm. He started counting in his head, picturing the spring birds eating grass seed from Jack's lawn. Several months earlier he had sung to Jack, teasing him about the minor disaster. "One little, two little, three little black birds, four little, five little, six little sparrows, seven little, eight little, nine little robins, stealing Jack's summer grass." He sang it again, hearing Jack's annoyed voice in his head and feeling the first smile he'd managed in weeks. A third chorus and he could breathe again, a fourth and he started to relax.

Meticulously channeling Teal'c's many lessons, Daniel let his mind go, searching for the peace he had learned from meditation. Gradually, his heart rate slowed with his breath, allowing his body and mind to unwind, then rewind. Freely allowing the memories now, he felt warmed by Sam's friendship, felt safe with Teal'c's strength, felt encompassed by Jack's love. Mini flashes of companionship and laughter and discovery gradually replaced tension. He allowed himself to immerse in all the positives that had filled him over the years, the belonging, the respect, and the adventure.

Teal'c was able to find balance by emptying his mind while Daniel found balance from the community of others.

Then with frightening clarity the peace dissolved with the unwanted touch of another. Daniel cringed inwardly. He left the brief serenity he found with a shudder.

He pushed the hair back from his face with his free hand, sighing softly at the wetness on his forehead and soaking his hair. He guessed he must have been running a low-grade fever during the night.

With nature beckoning and no desire to spend more time in urine soaked clothes, Daniel knew he had no choice but to yell for Terry or Vince. With the potential for violence demonstrated by both of them and the apparent lust of one of them, he dreaded it. Still, he couldn't stay chained to the bed and he really needed to use the bathroom. The bandage on his hip needed to come off too with hopefully the application of some kind of antibiotic. He'd have to keep the skin dry and covered if he wanted it to heal properly.

Forcing the sound passed a reluctant mouth, he called out. The last time he had yelled for help, Vince had ignored him and he'd been left to sleep in urine. He didn't expect the same this time, but he couldn't count on anything. He waited a few minutes but the pressure in his bladder was getting critical. He called again.

The door opened letting a disheveled and sleep worn Terry in.

"What?" He demanded while he scratched his head.

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh, sure, not kicking me out now, are you?"

Had Daniel kicked him out before? He couldn't remember. He scrambled around carefully until he could sit up, leaning slightly to keep pressure off his hip. His pants shifted back up and the elastic scraped against the burn making him wince.

"I have to get the key," Terry said, then proceeded to take several minutes before coming back.

Daniel suspected it was deliberate since Terry was obviously angry. Remembering the other man's hands on him, Daniel guessed he must have rejected him though that part of the memory remained vague.

When Terry returned with the key, he sat down beside Daniel before releasing him. Daniel fidgeted, starting to suspect he might have to get used to pissing himself.

"Would it be so terrible?" Terry asked miserably.

"Would what be?" Daniel feigned ignorance.

"Being with me. I know you're gay so it's not that."

"Is kidnapping me your idea of a courtship?"

Terry glared at him. "I've protected you." His expression softened to an almost childlike desperation. "I got you assigned to translating instead of a recreation house or a labor crew. I put your shoulder back after Vince got overzealous. I've tried to make this easier for you, can't you look at that instead of all the rest?"

Daniel was incredulous. "You want me to forget the beatings, the kidnapping, the branding and what...be your boyfriend?"

"It'd be good. I'll really protect you. I'll keep Vince away. I'll give you back some of your freedom. I can be your ally, Daniel."

Daniel shook his head, still not believing what he was hearing. "Look, just, unhook me, will ya. I have to use the bathroom."

"It's because of O'Neill, isn't it? All the rumors flying around the SGC about you and him. Or Carter and him. It was you, right?"

"Jack has nothing to do with my..."

"Well, I got news for you, Daniel, you're never going to see him again. You're here with me now. If you want to live a halfway normal life then you better start re-evaluating your options."

"I don't accept that, Colonel. And even if I did, I'm still not interested in you. Now use the damn key and let me out of here."

Terry wrapped his hand around Daniel's head pulling him in roughly, forcing hard lips against his, pressing his tongue into Daniel's mouth. Daniel nearly gagged. He shoved his arm in between them for leverage and pushed, nearly sending Terry off the bed and on to the floor. Still tethered to the rail, Daniel stood up, rage boiling. Unfortunately the morphine and sudden pressure on his hip made him stumble. He caught himself but Terry was already up and trying to steady him. Daniel freed himself from his grip.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He demanded.

"What's wrong with you?" Terry countered. "This is the best chance you're going to get."

"It's no chance. Don't try that crap again."

"You're a fool."

"You're not the first one to think so," Daniel said, evenly. "Now are you going to stand there while I piss on the floor or are you going to unlock this fucking handcuff?"

Terry leaned past him to put the key in as he said, "I guess even a linguist resorts to cursing, huh?"

Daniel ignored him as he shook his wrist free. He went to the bathroom without a backward glance. He reached the toilet just in time and afterward, he leaned against the closest wall, wrapping his arms around his middle and closing his eyes.

He cursed silently while his hip throbbed from the rush down the hall. His shoulder chimed in too and he cursed again.

====

A couple of awkward hours later, Daniel had washed and changed clothes. Vince had come in, disinfected the brand and covered it again with some chemical soaked bandage. Daniel argued that it should be kept dry.

Vince explained, "You think the swelling should go down but this is for identification."

"I'm not going to..."

"Doctor, if the brand doesn't look obvious enough, then they'll do it again. I'm guessing you'd rather avoid that."

Daniel couldn't argue the logic. He had to remind himself again that cooperating was his only way home. But between the sling on his arm and the bandage on his hip, he felt like he'd been in a battle. He was ready for some peace.

Despite the constant nausea, he forced himself to eat whatever Vince gave him. Since he was handcuffed in his bedroom again, he didn't get choices but it didn't matter. He drank the fluids, ate the food and read some Isladium books that Vince had procured. It helped to have something to do. While translating the language wasn't nearly as challenging as some he'd tackled, it still provided a distraction.

Terry hadn't returned since the morning and Daniel guessed he was embarrassed. He should be, he thought, remembering the forced kiss with disgust.

Daniel deliberately remained cooperative with Vince. He didn't argue when Vince handcuffed him. He didn't complain about the varying quality of food he was given. He didn't ask for anything except the occasional bathroom break. In return Vince didn't threaten him or reduce what minor freedoms he'd obtained.

When night came, Daniel counted the day as a successful beginning towards his plan of escape.

====

Daniel's first day of work began uneventfully. He stayed civil to Vince, dressed in the appropriate "barter" clothing and forced himself to eat breakfast. His shoulder still hurt but not as badly so he chose to leave the sling at the apartment. His hip throbbed but Vince didn't want to waste the ibuprofen that he and Terry had stolen from the SGC so he had to live with the ache.

Since Daniel hadn't actually begun earning their home yet, they didn't have any way to pay for a bulber so they had to walk to the City Management Building. Vince walked with him. Daniel hadn't seen Terry since the morning before. They left early to accommodate Daniel's slower pace and arrived at what Vince thought was the correct time. They were actually about a half an hour early by earth standards but Daniel didn't feel the need to help Vince learn the foreign language or the time keeping method.

They walked up a narrow stairwell then passed a door marked as Translations. When Vince couldn't find the right office after wandering for several minutes, Daniel finally pointed it out. His hip hurt and he was anxious to get rid of Vince and start what would pass for a normal day, at least for a while. Though he had to admit, watching the other man flounder had been amusing.

Inside the office they found Paba Eldon waiting. Daniel was surprised. From the branding ceremony, he thought Eldon was a priest of some sort.

"Ah, Warm Breezes, Potter."

"Safe Day," Vince responded.

"Your entrance is advance of day."

Vince took a moment to figure that out. Daniel guessed he probably thought they were a day early but he knew that Eldon only meant they were earlier than scheduled.

"It's anxious to help," Vince said smoothly.

"Accompany then," Eldon responded and led them to two desks placed side by side in the back of the office. He pointed to the left one. "It remains sitting."

Daniel pulled out the wooden-like chair and settled into it. He caught Vince frowning at him but he was confident that he was doing what Eldon wanted. Any discussion on the subject was interrupted when another man entered. He was dressed like Daniel and didn't hesitate to take the desk beside him. Daniel tried to make eye contact but the other man just pulled some papers from the corner of the desk and started searching through them. Eldon patted his head like he was a puppy.

Eldon took another stack of papers and set them in front of Daniel. Then he picked up a fat stick with a metal tip and pressed it into Daniel's hand. Glancing at his counterpart, Daniel realized that he was holding a pen.

"Translate to Isladium," Eldon said. "No stop, no conversate, record solely."

"That's all he'll do all day?" Vince asked.

Eldon looked at him with a frown that said he didn't understand the question. After a moment of consideration, he nodded.

"Shleve and Daniel do function."

"Your name is Shleve?" Daniel asked the other translator who glanced at him with surprise before looking back at his papers. Eldon tapped Daniel on the head.

"It is Shleve. No conversate."

"Understanding," Daniel responded.

He started looking through the stack of work he'd been given, concentrating partly on that and partly on Eldon and Vince. Vince didn't stay long and soon it was just Eldon to oversee Shleve and Daniel doing the work. Daniel did learn that Shleve was not from Transen either but apparently he'd been living there for a long time.

Early into the project, Daniel realized that translating Deserian into Isladium was something of a challenge. While Deserian resembled Abydonian and Isladium resembled English, there were enough differences to make it interesting. Still when Eldon called a halt several hours later, the only thing Daniel had translated was a grocery list.

Shleve set his pen down deliberately and stretched. When he stood, he nodded at Eldon before leaving the room. He never looked in Daniel's direction.

As Daniel watched him go, he was heartened since escape from the Translations Room seemed fairly simple. He started to follow Shleve, hoping to get an idea of the layout of the building as well as how many individuals were outside the door. He didn't get the chance.

"Daniel, you are alien and starter so you remain. Accompany me to functioning."

"I just wanted to stretch my legs," he said.

"Your words are senseless. Accompany me to functioning."

Daniel followed Eldon to the front of the room where Eldon had sat all morning except for occasionally checking on their progress. Beside the desk was a four by four platform covered by a cloth.

"Kneel here and remain," Eldon said as he pointed at the platform.

"I will translate with efficient if I walk now."

Eldon slapped him lightly on the back of the head. "Kneel here."

"Okay," Daniel murmured as he knelt on the platform. As soon as his knees touched the cloth he felt sharp ridges digging into his legs. The platform wasn't flat but rather a series of raised ridges beneath the cloth. He started to get up but Eldon pressed on his shoulder.

"Remain."

"There is pain here."

"Remain and no conversate."

"Why?"

Eldon slapped him on the head again, harder this time. "You are alien. No conversate."

Daniel looked towards the ceiling, regaining some control over his anger. With a breath and reminder that cooperation now, meant escape soon, he knelt down again.

It didn't take long before Daniel stopped feeling his feet. The ridges dug into him and there was no way to ease the pressure. By the time the break was over, his hip was throbbing, his lower back ached and his legs were bruised.

Eldon grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked to get him off the platform. Daniel stumbled into the wall while he tried to find balance on feet that were numb. Shleve walked past both of them without any sort of acknowledgement. Eldon told Daniel to go back to his desk.

"I'm trying," Daniel said before he started limping carefully towards the back of the room. He used the wall for support and managed to reach his chair without falling despite the pins of new feeling returning to his feet.

Part 11

Doctor Kim Chan succumbed to the injuries sustained during battle. Jack had stood by her bed while her heart stopped beating and Fraiser tried to save her. He stayed long after the final pronouncement of her death. He stared at the woman who had been under his command while she struggled for life and surrendered her last breath.

He mourned her as he mourned all those who had died while following his leadership. And he mourned for himself and his soul because he knew that while he regretted her loss, he regretted his own even more. With the death of her and Rhonda Lewis went the hope of finding Daniel.

People would continue scanning mission reports. People would continue to theorize and guess and manipulate data looking for answers. No one would stop the search. But with the losses of Chan and Lewis, the link to the remaining members of SG13 was severed.

====

On the third day of Daniel's new job, Eldon called an early break. Shleve glanced at Daniel, looking surprised. In their couple of days of working side by side, Daniel had seen virtually no expressions on the other man's face so his interest was piqued.

"Accompany to the window," Eldon said, pointing towards a heavy, cloth curtain.

Daniel had not had an opportunity to pull back the drape so he didn't know what view to expect behind it. Feeling like an obedient puppy, he followed Shleve as Eldon pushed back the curtain.

"See," he said, pointing down into a grassy courtyard. "You must show it so all is understanding consequence."

Kneeling in the center, surrounded by providers and barter was a single figure wearing the typical barter clothing. His head was down and he was crouched with his arms bound behind him. Daniel recognized Alsa and Plin who stood closest to the man.

In the space of a moment, with no speeches or fanfare, no declarations or pleas, Plin stepped forward, grabbed the man by his hair, pulled his head back and plunged a knife into his throat.

By the time Daniel shouted it was all over.

Blood splashed on to the ground while the man thrashed helplessly. No one from the crowd of spectators moved, not to protest or cheer. All were eerily silent. They stood by watching the man's life drain into the dirt while he struggled against death, twitching in the end, until finally, all movement ended and his suffering ceased.

Daniel slammed both fists into the glass.

"Why?" He demanded, his heart pounding wildly while he fought the urge to vomit.

"It could not be taught," Eldon said simply but Daniel heard the trace of sorrow in his voice. "It was trained but without success. It was not of use."

"Oh, God." Daniel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He turned away from the glass, unable to look anymore.

"Return to function," Eldon said.

Daniel thoughts jumbled with his horror. "I can't...you can't just..."

"Return and no conversate."

Shleve walked back to his desk while Daniel watched, incredulous. "How can you do this?" He asked, meaning both of them.

Eldon stepped in front of him, invading his space as he leaned forward. "Now, there is understanding."

"It's wrong."

"You do not tell your betters how to punish. It is not your deciding."

Daniel closed his eyes as he leaned against the glass. Immediately the image of the murdered man popped into his head and he opened them again. He looked at Eldon and saw the resignation and the belief and he knew there was nothing to win by arguing.

At the end of the day, when Vince arrived, Daniel was disturbed to find that he felt relieved to see him. As they walked home, Daniel told him about the execution.

"They just murdered him?" Vince asked.

"Brutally...in full view...a public execution. They took his life because he didn't meet their needs."

"They told us about it but I didn't think they actually did it. I figured it was like a...a folk tale, like the boogie man or something, to keep children in line."

"It's real." Daniel shuddered as the memory came back all too vividly.

"All the more reason to behave." Vince gave him a small smile to let him know that he was teasing but Daniel wasn't prepared to joke about it.

When they arrived back at the apartment, he didn't bother to tell Terry. He just went to his room to steal some solitude.

====

Five full days passed while Daniel translated garbage. There were no war plans, no communications between spies, and no weapons schematics. There were grocery lists, labels off food packages, invitations and funeral notices. Daniel could determine no reason why he and Shleve continued processing the junk they were given since it obviously contained nothing nefarious. And still, every day, more trash arrived and more translations were demanded.

Initially Daniel questioned the validity of their work. After all, there seemed no point. But he stopped when he realized that the end of translating would mean the end of his function and who knew what assignment he might receive next.

At every midday break, Eldon forced Daniel to return the platform. Towards the end of the week, he was limping constantly and sincerely dreading the time when Eldon would stop them from working.

In addition to the punishing platform, Eldon also charted the healing of Daniel's brand. There was no infection, which was the main concern, and the mark remained raised, which was the secondary concern. Initially, Eldon wanted to peel the scabs off as they formed, in order to keep the mark from fading but Daniel hated being touched so they compromised. Daniel peeled off the scabs while Eldon observed. At home, Vince monitored him and the brand as well. Daniel cooperated knowing that they would burn him again if he didn't.

The week developed into a pattern with Vince walking him to and from the City Management building. Daniel was allowed relative freedom around the apartment until Vince was ready to sleep and then he'd be handcuffed to the bed for the night. In the morning, Vince would release him and they'd start over.

Terry ignored him, but he also asked nothing of him and Daniel preferred that to any overt actions. On the final day of the workweek, things changed.

Daniel looked up from his desk when Eldon announced the end of the day and was surprised to find Terry waiting for him instead of Vince. Terry didn't look at or greet him but he did speak with Eldon for a few minutes, getting a progress report. Apparently Daniel was doing so well they were considering dismissing Shleve. Terry seemed pleased with this idea though Daniel had reservations about being the cause of Shleve losing his job.

As Daniel made his way to the front of the room, Terry frowned at him then said to Eldon, "He's still limping. Is that common after the branding?"

Eldon nodded. "Some totter but it is not the mark, I think, but this." He pulled the cloth off the platform revealing the notched wood beneath. "It bends and remains for resting."

"He kneels there? Why?"

"It is alien. We have no trust for it."

"He can't stand in a corner or something?"

"The carving makes the legs unfeel and so, it does not run."

Terry looked uncertain. He glanced at Daniel who couldn't help but listen curiously while they discussed his treatment. Terry sighed unhappily.

"All right. Safe Day, Eldon."

"And Companionship to you, Weston."

Terry nodded at him before prodding Daniel gently towards the door. He didn't speak again until they were on the street.

"You should've said something."

"Because you've been such a great help so far?" Daniel asked sarcastically. His patience had ended with his last day on the platform. He was tired of being in pain, tired of being questioned and tired of being treated like a prisoner.

"I would've told him that you're not a threat. I could've stayed here to watch you so he didn't feel like he had to disable you."

"All of a sudden you're worried about how I'm treated? You put me into this situation, remember? You've been here long enough, you can't tell me that you don't know how barter is handled."

"Most of the time..."

"So eighty percent of the slaves live in comfort with their families and twenty percent get abused by strangers and that's good enough for you?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know what I've seen. The first day I was here, I spent the night watching another man get tortured so don't tell me I don't know..."

"That's enough, Daniel. I don't want to hear any more of..."

"At Alsa's there were five of us getting evaluated. Alsa and Iltec and Keegan Plin used a flat club to keep our attention. They took turns training us, keeping us awake for..."

Terry grabbed Daniel's arm, yanking him to a stop. "I don't want to hear any more."

"They murdered a man in the middle of town because he couldn't..."

Terry shook him harder. "Shut up!"

"You can't live here and then close your eyes to the truth."

Terry released him with a shove, pushing him a few feet away.

Daniel shook his head, disgusted and muttering, "Unbelievable." He walked away from Terry wishing he could keep going, past the apartment, past the city limits and past all the insanity of the planet.

====

"Colonel O'Neill, I am ordering you to take leave. I want you off this base for forty-eight hours."

"General, with respect..."

"That was your third trip through the Stargate in two days, Colonel. Three separate planets, the last of which was hostile. You can't keep functioning at that level."

"I have to, sir."

"No, Colonel, you don't. I've given you as much leeway as I can but you'll be endangering yourself and your team if you don't get some rest. I'm sorry, Jack."

====

Daniel should have realized that Terry wouldn't allow him to argue. It was obvious that the Colonel was happier seeing only what he wanted to see and nothing else.

When they reached the apartment, Daniel retreated to his room, only to be visited a while later by Vince. There were no dislocated joints this time but he had fresh bruises and knew a few more pressure points that made him want to scream from the agony of them. Vince tied all four of his limbs down before he was left alone again and Daniel's only consolation was that Vince had a few matching bruises to nurse.

Terry visited in the middle of the night to release him, allowing him to use the bathroom and drink some warm water flavored with something similar to apples.

"I'm sorry that Vince is so rough," Terry said softly as Daniel sat down on the bed, clutching the ceramic-type mug in both hands.

"You could tell him to back off, Colonel." Daniel emphasized the rank.

"He's not my subordinate anymore. And he was furious when he heard about the scene you made on the street earlier."

Daniel sipped from the warm mug, not knowing how to respond. He was deeply tired, his mind barely functioning, but his emotions pounding around inside him. He wanted Jack with a desperation that made him want to cry. He wanted to feel safe. He missed hashing out theories with Sam and meditating with Teal'c. He missed his apartment and his books.

When the warm water sloshed on his wrist, he realized he was shaking.

Terry started to rub his back but Daniel shifted away, standing up. He set the mug down on the dresser without turning around.

"I know this is hard on you," Terry said.

Daniel hesitated, thinking of all sorts of angry remarks, but he didn't speak them. There was no point. He rubbed a finger around the edge of the mug instead.

"Why did you want to leave earth?" He asked, leaning on the dresser and keeping his back to Terry.

"There was nothing left for me there."

"You didn't like your job?"

"It was all right. But, I...I didn't have anything but the job. Nothing outside the mountain to keep me there. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way but in my case, there was an option."

Daniel turned around slowly, leaning against the dresser, searching his memory for anything he knew about Terry Weston.

"No family?" He asked.

"Uh, no. I was married but it was a disaster."

"There was a friend of yours...uh, someone who lived with you, right? But, he died. Around Christmas, wasn't it?"

"A stupid, pointless car accident. He was a good man."

"What was his name?"

"Patrick...Patrick Schoenberg. He was a history teacher at one of the high schools but he was working on his Master's degree. He got killed when he was coming home from a night class."

"I'm sorry," Daniel said, meaning it.

"I was off-world when it happened, so when I came back, Hammond was waiting with the news." Terry stood up, flexing his hands nervously, his tone turning bitter. "Patrick had already been dead for two days because, of course, the general didn't bother to shorten the mission. After all Patrick was just some border who paid me rent."

"That was wrong."

"No it wasn't. The mission is always the most important thing. Hammond had no way of knowing that Patrick and I were involved. I mean, I did everything I could to keep it a secret. And even if he did know, the mission has to come first, we all know that."

Daniel nodded. He didn't want to return to the bed but his legs felt weak from all the abuse over the last week. He had to sit down or fall down. Carefully, taking the warm water with him, he sat down with a relieved sigh. He hated the constant aching feel of healing bumps and bruises.

"What about you? You don't have a family so what did you leave behind that you're so anxious to get back to?" Terry asked.

"SG1 is my family. Plus, I like the work. I'm doing things that my peers can only read about and guess at."

"You can't ever tell them."

"Probably not but...I know...and that's enough for now."

Terry searched his face, looking for something that made Daniel uncomfortable. After a moment, he asked. "Do you ever see yourself settling in here?"

"I miss my home, Colonel."

Terry cupped his hand against Daniel's cheek. Daniel had to fight himself not to pull away. "I know," he said, softly. With a final, gentle brush of his fingertips, he stood up.

"You should lie down and get some sleep. It's been a long week."

Daniel accepted the suggestion. He was too exhausted, too beat up, to face another fight.

Part 12

It didn't matter what the Transens called it; Daniel called it Monday. The first day of the workweek and another five days sitting at a desk translating meaningless pieces of paper. He had managed to get through the rest of the weekend with minimal contact with both Terry and Vince, though he hadn't managed to finagle a trip outside by himself. Barring that, he rested and ate and exercised and planned. The brand had stopped being more than a nuisance pain and two days of not being relegated to the pallet had allowed his legs to feel better.

He was determined to be back on earth before the end of the week.

Terry walked him to City Management instead of Vince because Vince had hooked up with a One and had spent most of the weekend with her, which annoyed Terry. Daniel figured he was jealous that Vince was having sex and Terry wasn't but he didn't mention his theory. It had been over a week since the ill-advised attempt at seduction and he had no interest in reminding the other man.

Upon arrival at the City Management building, Eldon met them at the door. Shleve had already taken his seat and was working silently.

"Do not utilize the punish box," Terry said, looking Eldon in the eye.

"He is alien."

"Yes, he is. He's also my barter and you're damaging him. If he can't walk, he can't work so no more of the punish box."

"With courtesy," Eldon agreed.

As Daniel walked back to his desk, he couldn't help feeling surprised at Terry's intervention. He also couldn't help hoping that he would be allowed outside the Translation Room during the break.

The morning passed slowly while Daniel worked through a children's book written by a Deserian. He recognized some elements in the story as a tale that Sha're had told him which worked towards cementing his suspicion that the Deserians had been transplanted from Abydos at some point.

During his time in Isladium he hadn't seen anything to hint at a Goa'uld influence but where there was a Stargate, there was a good chance. The fact that the Transens were divided between two such diverse cultures and languages, but also living side-by-side lent credence to his theory. On Earth, cultures tended to be more similar based on physical proximity, Americans and Canadians, for example. And while Mexico and America seemed quite different on the surface, the languages were fairly similar and the border states displayed many examples of cultural blending. In any event, the diversity between Deseria and Isladium suggested they had been joined suddenly though in fairness, Daniel only had his translations to form that opinion. He hadn't met a Deserian and wasn't likely to.

His mental wanderings were interrupted by a slap to the back of his head. He glared at Eldon who glared back.

When the midday break was called, Daniel stood and stretched and followed Shleve but he didn't get far. Eldon stopped him at the door.

"Remain in Translations. No conversate."

Daniel rolled his eyes, disappointed. The week before he had managed to get a start mapping the layout of the building. Despite Eldon's insistence that he remain inside on the platform, he did need to use the bathroom a couple of times a day. Eldon had accompanied him though so he hadn't managed any time alone. Still he felt confident that he had enough knowledge to make a good escape if he ever got the opportunity.

He supposed Jack would have killed or injured Eldon in order to leave but Daniel didn't want to hurt him. The Isladiums might not be a good people but they were just following their own traditions. It would take the native barter rising up against the system to change things, not one alien who was really only interested in getting home. In any event, it would be wrong to harm any of them when it was Daniel who would be breaking the law.

====

Carter stood in Jack's doorway holding a sheaf of papers hesitantly. From her expression, Jack guessed she was undecided about whatever she wanted to say. He let her stand there for a moment before he grew annoyed and told her to come in.

"I'm guessing you're here for a reason, Carter, spit it out."

"Sir...I'd like to return to P5X103."

"The planet where SG13 gated to with Daniel?"

"Yes, sir."

"Why? Do you know something?"

"No, sir, but...remember when Daniel first disappeared and you asked me if the DHD could tell us where they went?"

Jack stood up. "Can it?"

"Maybe," Carter answered reluctantly. "Since Daniel's disappearance I've been doing some work with Doctor Felgar trying to determine if the DHD leaves any markers of activity. We think we found some common links."

"Felgar?"

"He's a brilliant scientist, sir."

"So brilliant that the two of you only 'think' you can trace the address?"

"We know there are some commonalities. We just don't know if they mean what we think they mean and we won't until we can look at a planet DHD and try the theory."

"And you didn't think you should tell me, your C.O., what you were doing?"

"I'm sorry, sir. So far this is all theory and computer models and it may not work at all. Searching the planets that SG13 visited is still the most likely way to find Daniel."

Jack let her squirm for a moment, irritated that she hadn't confided in him. Finally he said, "Let's go talk to General Hammond."

"Yes, sir," she agreed, sufficiently chastened.

====

The week had been going well. Daniel seemed content enough with translating and while he still complained about being handcuffed to the bed at night, he didn't fight Vince. Terry had begun to think that maybe he was surrendering somewhat. He knew that Daniel still wanted to go home, after all, it had only been a few weeks. But he was hoping that Daniel was realizing that he would have to release that dream and start embracing his new life. Wishful thinking probably, but Terry had to believe that sooner or later he would be able to make Daniel happy.

Terry felt confident that he'd made some progress the other night after Daniel and he talked. He understood that Daniel had needed some companionship without pressure and he'd responded.

Vince had agreed to pick up Daniel from City Management so Terry stayed at the apartment putting ingredients together and remembering spaghetti with some longing. He dropped a knife into the sink when the front door banged open and Vince called out.

He rushed into the main room to find Vince lowering Daniel on to the couch. Daniel's face was swelling and there was blood on his clothes. He was curling up on the couch, arms wrapped around his middle as soon as Vince released him.

"What happened?" Terry demanded.

"We got into something."

Terry took a look at Vince finding him unscathed. "What does that mean? You're supposed to protect him." He knelt next to the couch, probing at Daniel's face to see the damage while Daniel flinched away from him.

"It was his fault," Vince said, sounding disgusted. "Paba re-assigned the other translator today so, of course, Daniel overheard him and interfered."

"Paba did this?"

"No. I did it."

"Yes, you did," Daniel said, sounding irritated even through gritted teeth.

Terry stopped to look at Vince. "What?"

"It was either that or let Keegan take him to Jory's dungeon. I had to make a show of it or they wouldn't have let me bring him home."

"Heck of a show," Daniel added, sarcastically.

Terry tried to feel along Daniel's ribs and belly while his patient tried to push his hands away.

"I just need to see if anything's broken," Terry said, irritably. He glared at Vince. "There's a lot of bruising here." Vince shrugged before walking into the kitchen.

"Well, what's one more humiliation, right?" Daniel said.

Terry ignored him, yelling to Vince instead. "Is it over? Are they convinced?"

"I don't know," Vince answered. "Jory's supposed to visit tomorrow after he meets with Management. It's because Daniel's an alien, they're afraid he's not conforming."

Terry finished his amateur exam, furious at both of them "I don't feel anything moving. If we're lucky you're just bruised up."

"My luck's certainly been running lately."

"Better check his right ankle," Vince said, returning with a mug of juice.

Terry moved down Daniel's leg and Daniel gasped with a curse, trying to pull his foot away. Gently Terry removed the soft shoe while he pressed lightly against the bone.

"Stop that," Daniel ordered, his whole body stiffening while he sucked air in through his mouth.

"It's broken." Terry stood up, barely controlling his anger. "How did that happen?"

"He tried to fight back," Vince explained. "And Keegan used a wooden post to knock his leg out from under him."

Terry sighed. "Go retrieve Kleb Restor. He's at the end of the block playing that weird marbles game."

"How do you know that?"

"While you've been playing with Ones, I've been getting to know the neighborhood. Tell him what happened, tell him that Daniel's ankle is broken and he might have some other injuries."

"Yes, sir," Vince responded, stopping just short of a salute.

Daniel shifted on to his back then squeezed his eyes shut, breathing carefully.

"Damn it," he said.

"Where's the pain, Daniel?" Terry asked.

"My ankle...God...everything."

"I'm sure your ankle's broken so I need you to hold still until the Restor gets here. Do you have any specific pains? Anything that's worse than the rest?"

Daniel opened his eyes, meeting Terry's gaze. "No...no, I don't think so...unless you count my pride, of course."

"You shouldn't have interfered with Paba Eldon," Terry said as he went to the kitchen to retrieve water and a cloth. Daniel wasn't running a temperature but he pressed the cool liquid against his face anyway, hoping to ease some of his discomfort.

"They're assigning Shleve to street cleaning." Daniel sounded miserable. "He's a good translator but..."

"But you're better. And they don't have anything to worry about from the Deserians anyway. Be glad they chose you over him."

"But I shouldn't even be here."

Daniel shifted uneasily, his face going pale when he moved his ankle. Terry soothed him as best he could. Cleaning his face of the sweat and grime, telling him nonsense to keep him calm, putting a pillow behind his head and another under his foot.

Vince finally returned with Flin Kleb Restor. Isladiums added professional titles to the end of names so Flin Kleb was actually a Restor, which was similar to an earth doctor, though without the medical school training.

On a planet ruled by ugly men, Kleb stood out as significantly uglier than the rest. With ears that looked transplanted, a nose that dominated a small, thin mouth and eyes set so far apart it was difficult to see both of them at the same time, he defined homely.

"Oh, see, see," Flin said, searching Daniel's ankle with both hands. Daniel winced while he lay on his back looking up at the doctor. "It is whole."

Terry glanced at Daniel, surprised, then back at the doctor. "It's not broken?"

"Hmm?" Flin answered distractedly. "No, it is ugly with the darkened color but it is whole. It should not walk on the limb for some moon sets though. Until the moans go away."

"His stomach is pretty badly bruised too."

The Restor looked confused.

"The seat," Daniel said.

"Oh, the seat." He prodded Terry out of the way and then sat down. As soon as he pressed on Daniel's stomach, Daniel yelped. "There is damage here." He pressed up and down Daniel's abdomen ignoring the obvious pain he was causing. By the time he stopped, Daniel was sweating and pale.

Kleb stood up. "It must not consume and you should be watchful."

"What the hell does that mean?" Vince asked.

"No eating," Daniel muttered.

Kleb retrieved some elastic brown bandages out of his bag and wrapped Daniel's ankle and half his foot. Daniel endured it but Terry could see he'd nearly reached the end of his tolerance. When Kleb finished treating Daniel, he stood up, directing a half-bow towards Terry and Vince.

"Be watchful. Restful Night," he said.

"Wait a minute," Vince objected. "What about his stomach, his, uh..."

"Seat," Terry provided.

"Do not let it consume. The seat will improve or grow worse. I will knock tomorrow to press again."

"Oh, great, looking forward to that," Daniel said. Kleb barely glanced at him.

After Kleb left, Terry and Vince exchanged confused looks before they turned back to Daniel. Daniel had rolled on to his right side and was holding his arms around his stomach. Before either of them could speak, he said, "Seat of life, where food is stored. The stomach."

"Oh," Vince said, grinning. "A literal bunch, aren't they?"

"Let's get you to bed," Terry said, deciding that Daniel would be more comfortable in his own room.

====

Daniel almost bit a hole through his bottom lip when Terry and Vince helped move him into his bedroom. The pain in his stomach was actually higher up, closer to his left side but it didn't feel like a broken rib, maybe they were bruised. On the other hand, he'd swear that his ankle was broken but was relieved when the Restor said it wasn't.

As they helped him, Daniel felt a hand on his wrist and he panicked.

"It's all right," Terry said softly. "We're not going to use the handcuffs."

Daniel relaxed a bit, grateful for the concession. Terry lifted one arm and then the other as he pulled his shirt off. Vince started to reach for his pants but Daniel stopped him.

"I don't think we know each other well enough for that," he said, dryly.

Vince just laughed. "Thank God for small favors."

Daniel finally managed to lie down and found the pain around his ribs decrease significantly. Terry slipped a pillow under his ankle to elevate it then covered him with a blanket. Daniel thanked him as he closed his eyes.

He doubted he'd be getting sympathy if they looked under his bed and found the clothes he'd stolen out of Terry's closet. In a few hours he was escaping. It would be harder now but nothing was going to stop him. He needed to get away from this insanity and he needed to see Jack.

Initially his plan had been to wear Terry's clothes under his own and go to work. Then when Eldon let him go to the bathroom alone, he would make his break. It wouldn't give him a lot of leeway but once he changed out of the barter garb, he'd blend more easily. After that it was just a matter of getting out of the city without being detected. He already had his route mentally planned out based on some schematics he'd found in the translation books at City Management.

He shifted, causing an agonizing wave of pain to sweep through his leg. He cursed Vince for working so hard at being believable and himself for his rash actions.

Now, he'd have to limp his way to the Stargate and hope the Isladium citizens didn't notice. It would add time and difficulty, which he couldn't afford. Still if he could get a few hours sleep before he left, that would leave a few hours until morning, providing a better head start.

"Are you all right?" Terry asked.

"Yeah, I just need to close my eyes for awhile."

"You can't forget yourself like that," Vince said, his tone expressing his regret.

"I know. I appreciate your extra effort in keeping me out of the dungeon." Vince just laughed, patted him on the shoulder and left the room.

"Get some sleep. I'll check on you in a while," Terry said and then he left too.

Daniel stared at the partly closed door of his room wondering how he should feel about their sudden bout of camaraderie.

Eventually he did go to sleep but it wasn't restful. His ankle throbbed to life whenever he moved. His stomach still hurt though the pain was fading into a mild ache. He probably had some deep bruising but hopefully nothing that wouldn't heal of its own accord.

Some time later he woke up to the sound of the doorbell. He couldn't hear who was there so he struggled to sit up, wincing over his bad ankle as he stretched his hearing.

"You should accept some fear," Jory Iltec said. "Is there another in his world that would be more suited?"

"No, there's no one else we could utilize," Terry answered.

"The Management tolerations are limited."

"He's still new, Jory, still a starter. He'll learn his place."

"We have control of him," Vince said, firmly. "I proved that to Keegan earlier."

"The possible of hurt is not equal to control. At the coming of the warmth, you must show he is useful without trouble. He is alien and not of understanding."

"He'll be fine," Terry said. "He's a valuable translator and worth the effort we're giving him."

"We wish it to be truth," Iltec said. "But, there is doubt in Brice and Paba."

Daniel held his breath at hearing Brice Alsa's name.

"What can we do?" Terry asked.

"Allow Brice to have it for a fullness. I will lend Keegan. If it can stay improved for the whole moon then it will return for the better."

"I don't think that's necessary. Daniel forgot himself today but he's proved his value and he isn't going to forget again."

"It is common for the fears but Brice is certain. And Keegan is skilled. It will not be for life damaged."

Daniel pulled the blankets between his fists, squeezing the fabric while his fingers turned white with the pressure. It was difficult to hear over his pounding heart.

"If we agree," Vince asked. "Then he won't be executed?"

"I will prevent the possible of request. If you deliver it, we will give our duty for its benefit."

"And if we don't deliver him?" Terry asked.

"Keegan may demand the sacrifice and Paba will not defend against it."

"Then there's no choice," Vince said. "We'll give him to Brice as soon as his ankle heals."

Daniel had to force himself to stay quiet. He clenched his teeth, burying his face in the bedding, reminding himself that their decisions didn't matter. He would be far away by morning.

"With respect, it must be in delivery tomorrow. No added damage will be made to it."

"He needs to be able to walk," Terry said.

"No added damage," Jory repeated.

"We'll deliver him tomorrow. Do you want him at City Management or Brice's?" Vince asked.

"To Brice Alsa. I will have the arrangement."

"We'll do whatever we have to," Terry agreed.

"Then, restful night, Terry. Restful night, Vince."

Terry and Vince responded in kind and Terry thanked Iltec for visiting. Daniel heard the front door close before Vince spoke again.

"I'm gonna go have a talk with him." Daniel closed his eyes, his panic ratcheting up another notch. He'd never have the strength to escape if Vince used his "pressure point" conversation.

"No, not tonight," Terry said. "We'll sit him down and explain everything in the morning."

Daniel exhaled in relief. He maneuvered himself around to lie on his back, taking long breaths to calm down.

As promised Terry came in to check on him several times during the remainder of the evening, then made one last visit before telling him good night. Vince stopped in too, offering him morphine. Daniel refused, citing that he didn't dare take a strong drug until his stomach pain sorted itself out. In truth, he didn't want to be knocked out. He did ask for ibuprofen though and Vince complied before saying that he was going to bed too.

Daniel let himself drift for a while, until he was certain that the other two men were sleeping. Then he carefully rolled on to his side and waited for his balance to settle. He put one foot on the floor and then managed to swing himself off the bed, jarring his ankle hard enough to make him nauseous. He waited for that to pass before he shifted again on to his knees and dragged the clothes from beneath the bed.

Changing ate more time than Daniel wanted to give it. Every few movements forced him to stop, breathe through the pain, listen for his roommates and then begin again.

By the time he managed to get dressed, he was gasping and sweating and wishing he'd let Vince help him take off his pants earlier. He glanced towards his bedroom door, feeling despair creep up like a shadow. If he couldn't get dressed, how could he ever make it out the front door, down the steps and across town? Then there was the unpaved countryside to traverse before he would ever reach the Stargate. The goal seemed impossible and foolish. And yet, he could hear Jack's voice and see Jack's face and he knew if he didn't try he might never experience those things for real again.

He also knew that remaining on Transen meant a return to Alsa's and that thought alone made him nauseous.

He focused his energy away from thoughts of failure. He wasn't going to fail. He was going to reach the Stargate, go to the Land of Light and let them contact the SGC for him. In a day, in less than a day, he'd be in Jack's arms again.

Part 13

Terry woke to light in his eyes. He groaned, rolling into the pillow to hide. He hated that window and the fact that Daniel hadn't worked long enough to provide them with coverings yet. He stretched, feeling the insistence of his bladder. Knowing it was too early to rise but unable to ignore his body he rolled out of bed and to his feet, scratching his belly as he padded his way into the living room.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw a shadow move through the front door. Adrenaline kicking in with his training he darted forward, catching the door before it latched and coming face to face with Daniel Jackson. He took in the scene in a heartbeat. Daniel wearing his clothes, carrying a small duffle, his blue eyes nearly translucent with sudden fear.

"Son of a bitch," Terry said bitterly, as he grabbed Daniel by the collar and dragged him back inside.

There was no battle as Terry shoved him to the floor. Daniel's ankle refused to hold him up and he landed hard on his back. He started crab crawling away but Terry was too furious to let him go.

"Colonel, wait..." Daniel held his arms up defensively but Terry used them for leverage dragging his errant barter to his feet again. This time Daniel did fight but without balance, Terry easily knocked him back down.

"What's going on out here?" Vince asked, appearing from his bedroom.

Terry pulled Daniel back up again only to shove him into the coffee table. Daniel tripped over it and fell on his side.

"He was running away. That damn light from the hotel across the street woke me up again." He glared at Daniel. "After everything, I can't believe you were..."

"After what, Colonel?" Daniel asked, breathlessly. "After kidnapping me? I'm not grateful enough?"

"Oh, Doctor Jackson," Vince said, his tone the same as if he were chastising a child. "I knew you weren't settling in the way you should."

Terry leaned over him, watching tremors course through Daniel's body. "Why couldn't you?"

"I don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"Get up," Terry ordered, his rage barely concealed.

Daniel scooted backward until he could use the wall for support while he tried to follow orders, but Terry couldn't wait. He gripped Daniel by the arms and pulled him up before slamming him into the wall, making the nearby light rattle.

"Hey, Colonel," Vince interrupted. "You should probably..."

"Go to bed, Lieutenant, I'll take care of this."

"Do you think you should do that now, sir? We have to deliver him...."

"Good night, Lieutenant." Terry made certain there was enough finality in his tone to keep Vince from questioning him further.

"Yes, sir," Vince responded and Terry stared into Daniel's eyes while they waited to hear the bedroom door close.

He was surprised when Daniel head-butted him hard enough that he lost his grip and stumbled back a step. Daniel followed it up with a right hook that might have put Terry down if it landed but Terry saw it coming and dodged. Then he backhanded Daniel, sending the other man stumbling against his injured ankle. Before he could fall, Terry caught him, holding him up and shoving at the same time until they were both in Daniel's bedroom.

He backhanded him again, this time letting Daniel fall against the bed, a smear of blood across his lips.

"Colonel, stop," Daniel said, his voice breathless and desperate. "Just...just think...what would you have done?"

"I would've gotten away instead of getting my ass kicked, you stupid son of a bitch."

Terry could see Daniel struggling to think despite the repeated blows. But, Terry didn't want him to think so he viciously pressed a bare foot against his injured ankle. Daniel cried out, pulling his leg away and scrambling on to the bed. His movements were clumsy and panicked but it was still a struggle as Terry forced him onto his back. He captured a flailing wrist, imprisoning it in the handcuff still attached to the bed frame. Then he captured the other one. Taking a lesson from Vince, he tied it off with the belt from his own pajamas, letting the flimsy top, flap open.

"No," Daniel objected but he was hurting and defenseless. He kept pulling his sore leg in, automatically defending it from another injury.

Terry knelt over him, his legs straddling Daniel's waist, his hands pinning the already secured wrists flat to the bed.

"Get off," Daniel yelled, bucking up trying to dislodge him but Terry had all the advantage: weight, leverage and position.

He moved one hand to Daniel's forehead, pressing against his skull, immobilizing him further. Soft hair, longer than normal, brushed his fingertips. The body shook beneath his as frightened, hate-filled eyes stared up at him. He leaned down, licking at the blood coming from Daniel's lips and ignored it when Daniel gagged. Then he pressed his own mouth down, tasting and sucking at the salty sweat of his skin. Daniel struggled harder, objected louder and Terry could practically see his own fiction typing out across his monitor. The sensations, so different from his imagination, were intense. He could smell the fear and perspiration, could feel his own skin bruising from Daniel's fight against him, could absorb the damp lines around Daniel's eyes and the dry heat of his tongue.

Terry crushed him beneath his body, surprised at how freeing it was to finally take what he wanted without concern for anyone's comfort or reaction. Then pain lanced through his mouth and he jerked backward to escape the teeth that had nearly driven a hole in his lip.

Daniel's voice was deafening as he berated him with profanities and threats and accusations. And then Terry found himself sitting on the floor with Vince towering over him. He was so surprised that he could barely remember being grabbed and thrown bodily off the bed.

"That's enough, Colonel," Vince said calmly but his face clearly advertised his fury. Eyes narrowed and dark, skin pulled tight around his mouth and his complexion turning redder by the moment, he repeated himself. "That's enough."

"Yeah, you're right, Lieutenant," Terry answered, daring a glance at Daniel who was trying pointlessly to free his tied hand. "I was too angry to deal with this now. It was a mistake." He stood up slowly, brushing at his clothes.

"I've done a lot of hard things, sir, but I've never tried to rape anybody," Vince said.

"Rape?" Terry was genuinely surprised. "No one was going to be...don't be ridiculous. My temper just got the best of me."

"This was way past that and you know it. I'll clean him up. You get out of here, go for a walk, take a shower, do something to work off whatever your problem is."

Terry looked towards Daniel again, disbelieving the growing bruises on his face and the blood dripping down his chin. Suddenly shaky, he left the room.

====

Daniel couldn't breathe. He tried. He tried taking shallower breaths, he tried taking deeper breaths but he was suffocating. He was going to pass out like some thirties movie femme fatale but he couldn't stop it.

"Daniel," a firm voice interrupted, followed by rough hands. "Doctor Jackson, look at me."

Daniel didn't look, didn't dare to stop concentrating on breathing. The same hands shook him. "Doctor Jackson, snap out of it."

He felt himself dragged up so that he was sitting. It didn't register that his hands were free, only that dizziness followed the abrupt movement. Then his head was pushed down and held there.

"Breathe," Vince ordered and Daniel started to realize who was maneuvering him. He shouldn't be relieved, given their history, but for whatever reason, Daniel thought that he understood Vince on some level.

Gradually, the panic subsided and air came into this lungs. It scraped the passages as he inhaled but it was better than suffocating. With air came the beginnings of clarity. His dizziness began to fade as well and when he was ready to lift his head, Vince didn't stop him.

Vince frowned as he cupped Daniel's chin and shifted his head back and forth, cataloguing Daniel's face.

"You're a mess," he declared. "Don't move."

The declaration stirred Daniel's consciousness as his injuries soon began aching. Added to the beating he'd taken earlier that day, he felt like he'd been flattened by a tractor that backed over him for good measure. His ankle complained most loudly but his face hurt as well as his body.

Worse than all the physical agonies came the knowledge that he had failed. He wouldn't see Jack today. He wouldn't go home. Interminably trapped, furious at himself, the room seemed to collapse in on him and he couldn't breathe. Only peripherally aware of moisture on his face, he leaned back down, fighting the dizziness again, trying not to hyperventilate. Pain flared through his stomach, a visceral agony unlike anything he'd experienced. He wouldn't see Jack today, maybe not ever.

And they would give him back to Alsa.

Panic flared again only to be subsided when Vince laid a cool, wet cloth against his neck. He nudged Daniel's head back up. Using one hand to keep that cloth in place, he used another to wash the blood off Daniel's face. Not a gentle man, he used more care than Daniel would have expected. When Vince was satisfied he said he was going to get some ice.

Unable to summon anything except grief, Daniel pushed himself backward on to the bed and stretched out. His body felt like a useless, tortured weight.

Vince returned with ice wrapped in a dishrag. He put it in Daniel's hand then guided his hand to his cheek.

"Keep it there and you might bring some of the swelling down. How's your ankle?"

"It hurts." The cold seeped into his skin, sharing space with the emptiness.

"You're going to have to stay off it for a couple days. Kleb Restor should be coming back today and he can take another look."

"Will he find me at Alsa's?" Daniel asked miserably.

"You heard that, huh?"

Daniel didn't respond but he didn't have to when Vince's question was obviously rhetorical.

"You blew it, Daniel," Vince said, crouching in front of him. "After that crap at Translations yesterday, it's back to Alsa's or they'll execute you."

"I know." He barely recognized his own voice.

"Terry tried to work with you. He really did. And you just threw it all back at him." Daniel didn't have the energy to argue. All Terry Weston wanted was to make Daniel a happier slave, but he couldn't explain that, not to Vince, and not then.

"It didn't have to be like this," Vince said, before standing up.

Daniel didn't look up or watch him leave. He set the ice on the floor, curled on to his side and tried not to think about the new day that was bound to dawn.

He knew that his despair wouldn't last. It wasn't in his nature to stay depressed. But for that moment imagining anything beyond the four walls of his room was impossible.

====

Daniel woke some time later wishing immediately that he hadn't. Apparently the tractor made a return appearance while he slept because he couldn't move. He hurt enough to gasp when he tried to roll over on to his side, then again as he managed to get himself sitting. Taking long, deep breaths, he fought back the nausea rolling through his abused stomach.

"I'll get him," Terry's voice announced clearly through Daniel's closed door.

Terry came in with the handcuff key. His hair was disheveled and his face bore a few red splotches from where Daniel had hit him. The rest of his complexion looked pasty with black rims beneath his eyes.

"They're here to pick you up," Terry said, his voice taut.

Daniel started to speak, found he didn't have a voice and cleared his throat.

"Who?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"Brice Alsa and Keegan Plin. They've already spoken to Jory and decided they'd come and get you instead of waiting for us."

Daniel stood up awkwardly, his balance precarious between his injured ankle and tethered wrist. Terry didn't offer any help, just maintained a cold expression.

"You brought this on yourself," Terry said.

Daniel flinched backward when Alsa appeared in the doorway behind Terry. The hard metal of the bed frame pressed against his legs.

"See the floor," Alsa ordered and Daniel looked down immediately. He chewed at his bottom lip while he waited for Terry to release him, trying not to listen to the panicked beating of his heart.

A sharp rapping noise startled him making him lose his fragile balance. He fell on to the bed, barely holding in a yell when he twisted his ankle. His vision blurred with the pain as he landed and he was afraid he'd pass out.

"It totters," Alsa said.

Daniel turned slowly to his side, fighting back the darkness edging around his vision. Terry turned his back to him, blocking the entrance into the room.

"Brice, that's Jory at the door," he said. "Since Vince isn't back yet, will you let him in?"

"With courtesy," Alsa responded and disappeared from view.

Terry made short work of unlocking the handcuff while Daniel struggled up so that he was sitting. The pain was slowly receding but he didn't think he'd be able to stand.

"You don't deserve it but I'd stop this if I could," Terry said before he walked out.

Daniel pressed his hands against his face, feeling his body start to rock in a rhythm he discovered on the basement floor of Alsa's.

He didn't look when more footsteps closed in but a moment later Terry told him that it was time to go. He uncovered his eyes to find both Terry and Vince hovering over him. He let them help him, knowing there was no way he'd manage on his own and soon he was balanced between them.

"They promised not to bother your ankle," Vince said. "They know you have to be mobile."

Like striking a match, Vince's words inflamed all the fear and anger Daniel had been suppressing. Using their grip on him for leverage, he threw all his weight at Terry while he kicked out with his good leg. He felt Vince's knee collapse with the pressure and all three of them went down in a tangle. Daniel struck out wildly, feeling skin and bone against his fists as he swung in a blind fury. Then there were more people and more hands and Daniel found himself on his stomach and pressed into the floor, his arms twisted painfully behind him. Someone kicked his bad ankle and he cried out at the vicious pain shooting all the way up his leg. His vision darkened with the agony until finally the light went out.

Part 14

When he opened his eyes again, the pain had barely faded. He was on the bed, his arms bound to the metal frame feeling far too familiar. He wondered idly why he wasn't in the back of Alsa's bulber cart or in Iltec's dungeon.

Gradually sound entered his consciousness though it took a few moments before the garbled sounds around him coalesced into words. When they did, he discovered why he was still in the hidewell but understanding didn't bring any comfort.

"...two fullness or sacrifice," Alsa's voice insisted.

"Two months, two fullness is too long," Terry argued

"It has no value."

"You still need him for translations, don't you?"

"It is not sufficient."

"He fears you. He panicked, that's all."

"It must fear to obey, yet it fears but no obeying."

"We should wait for Jory to come back before we make any decisions."

Daniel closed his eyes against the pounding in his head and the sounds of their argument. While they chose between torturing or killing him, he hoped he didn't vomit.

A knock on the front door stopped their discussion. Daniel turned his head to watch Alsa and Terry walk out. Then he closed his eyes, feeling dizzy.

A moment later he startled when he heard the front door slam against the back wall and then a lot of yelling. He couldn't fathom what was going on and hoped the village hadn't decided to lynch the evil, uncontrollable alien.

"He's here, Colonel," a familiar voice yelled out and Daniel thought he must have passed out again.

Gentle hands touched his hair.

"Daniel," Sam said.

He didn't dare answer, afraid her image would shatter in front of him.

"It's all right. Let's get you free." She left his side and yelled. "Some asshole out there has a handcuff key and I need it."

She returned, touching his cheek gently with warm fingers.

"Are you all right?" She asked softly before leaning over him to untie one of his wrists.

He didn't know how to answer, still didn't quite believe, and then his gaze was drawn towards the door. Jack filled the space, hesitating there as if a force field prevented his entry. And then he broke free of it, coming in to crouch beside Carter.

"Daniel, you all right?" His command voice, tempered with caring, broke through the disbelief.

"I am now," Daniel answered, swallowing back the emotions threatening him.

Jack looked away so that all Daniel could see was the silver of his hair but he felt the handcuff open. Pulling his arms into his body, he longed to touch Jack.

"Carter, go help Teal'c. Don't let him kill anybody."

"Yes, sir." She smiled at Daniel and patted his shoulder before she left.

Daniel soon felt one hand enclosed in strength and warmth and he shivered.

"You want to sit up?" Jack asked.

"I have to go home," Daniel answered, seriously, hoping Jack understood.

"That's where we're going."

Jack pulled him up slowly until he was sitting then Daniel carefully moved his legs around, wishing he could somehow get his feet on the floor without jarring his ankle. Jack helped, maneuvering and supporting each movement until he was steady then Jack reached behind him and pulled the blanket around his shoulders.

"I didn't think I'd see you today," Daniel said.

Jack looked confused but he didn't comment. Instead he rubbed Daniel's hands, imparting some warmth.

"Can you stand?"

"Why couldn't I?"

"It looks like you hurt your leg."

Daniel held up one finger. "Bruised, not broken."

Jack took a moment to examine the wrapping around his ankle before he stood, groaning softly with the effort, then sat down beside him on the bed.

"Daniel, my boy, you're in shock," he said.

"Am I?"

"Yeah, we're gonna get you back to the SGC but let's get organized first. Do you want to stay here while I talk to Carter and Teal'c?'

Daniel reached out, pulling Jack's hand into his lap. "Where are they?" He whispered.

"Carter and Teal'c?" Jack asked but Daniel shook his head. "Weston and Potter are in the living room. They're secured but we need to get them ready to transport."

Daniel didn't have anything to say to that. He felt numb and Terry and Vince didn't seem important.

"Daniel," Jack said, squeezing his hand. "I'm...I...I've missed you."

"I wanted to come home to you but they needed barter." He shivered again.

Jack put his arm around his shoulders. "You can tell me about it later, okay?"

He nodded missing the warmth of Jack's hand but glad for the embrace.

====

Jack hated to leave Daniel alone. He looked terrible, all pale beneath some bad bruises and a swollen lip. There was a frightening emptiness in his eyes and his words were slow. But, bringing Daniel home required more than comforting him.

He walked to the bedroom door to check the status from there. Teal'c was looming over Colonel Weston and Lieutenant Potter where they sat, their hands bound behind them, on the couch. The deserters had been too surprised to put up much of a fight when they burst into the apartment.

On the other side of the room, being guarded by Carter, was a planet native named Jory Iltec. Iltec had led them here but he had also lied when they visited two weeks earlier.

Sitting on the couch with Iltec were two other natives and all three were looking nervous.

Carter's attempt to track this planet by using the DHD had been a dismal failure. However, Teal'c's current obsession with Masterpiece Theatre had netted another idea. They fingerprinted the DHD and by weeding through everyone who had touched it, they managed to match up several symbols to Potter's prints. They couldn't get all seven but by putting what they had into the computer they were able to narrow down their choices of planets visited by SG13. Logic, deductive reasoning or instinct led them back here.

Jack remembered speaking with Iltec the first time and the other man's blatant assurance that no one had arrived through the Stargate in recent years. Foolishly, Jack had believed him. He had ordered a general search but there was no sign of Daniel and no sign of the deserters and no reason to think Iltec was lying. And he had left, crossing this planet off the list of possibilities.

"Teal'c," Jack said.

Teal'c did not look away from his prisoners as he answered. "How is DanielJackson?"

"He'll be all right. His ankle is injured so we're going to need transport to the Stargate."

"Utilize my bulber," Iltec offered. "I desire to assist."

"You desire not to get your planet blown to hell," Jack said. "But, we'll take it. Teal'c, you and Carter get the prisoners secured. I don't want to move him until I have to so you've got ten minutes and then Daniel and I will be down."

"Stand," Teal'c said to the prisoners. They obeyed.

Potter looked worried but Weston looked nearly as traumatized as Daniel. Carter went into the hall first, then Weston followed. Potter hesitated at the door turning around carefully, obviously being cautious of Teal'c.

"You don't have to take us back. You've got Jackson," he said to Jack.

"Keep moving, Lieutenant."

"I'm just saying that we're not doing any harm here."

"I have no problem with zatting you right now and carrying you out," Jack was serious. It was clearly a conscious struggle not to just shoot both of them.

"I concur," Teal'c said.

Potter glanced at him then followed Weston out. Iltec and the other natives went next and then Teal'c.

Jack went back in the bedroom where Daniel still sat with a dazed expression in his eyes. Jack settled beside him, close enough to almost touch. He didn't speak for a long time, hoping that Daniel would respond to his presence. He wasn't disappointed.

"Jack?"

"Yes, Daniel."

"Can we go home now?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"I wanted to come back, to see you, I just couldn't..." His voice trailed off and his attention turned to his hands. Jack patted his leg.

"It's okay. You can tell me everything at home."

"I'm not sure I can walk."

"That's all right, I'll help you. And we got one of those big cow-looking things to take us back to the Stargate."

Daniel turned his head, his expression troubled. "I haven't earned enough to get us a bulber."

"We're borrowing," Jack answered before he lifted Daniel's arm to put it over his shoulder. He pulled them both up.

====

The trip to the Stargate netted nothing but some stares and a small procession of natives following them. Jack decided to keep Iltec in the cart with them as added protection but he let the other two go.

"They express anxious due to me," Iltec assured Jack.

"Yeah, they should," Jack answered. Iltec looked worried but he turned in his seat to call back to his companions.

"Brice, Keegan, my supporting friends, I remain in safety."

Once they reached the Stargate, Jack called Hammond to let him know they were bringing back two prisoners and Daniel. Potter put up a fight when the Stargate burst to life but Teal'c subdued him easily before pushing him through.

Weston stopped at the edge of the event horizon to look back at Daniel who was still sitting in the carriage with Carter beside him. The regret in Weston's eyes made Jack wary. But, finally he didn't do or say anything just stepped through the gate to be taken into custody on the other side.

Carter helped Jack get Daniel out of the carriage then they wrapped supporting arms around him as he seemed to be coming back to life. Daniel maneuvered them to turn around and face Iltec and his followers.

"Safe Day," Iltec called and a chorus followed him.

"Your barter system is nothing more than slavery, Iltec," Daniel said.

"Yes, the beautiful serve. Safe Day and Warm Breezes."

"Christ," Daniel muttered. "Let's just go."

Jack glared at the natives in general and at Iltec in particular before he and Carter helped Daniel through the event horizon.

On the other side, safe inside the SGC, Jack said, "Shut it down."

He was grateful to see Fraiser waiting with a couple of medics.

"Daniel, thank God," Fraiser said.

Daniel panicked a little when she pressed him to lie down on the gurney. Hammond was getting Weston and Potter sorted out and giving orders to the SF's so he didn't notice. But, SG1 did. All three surrounded him, Carter taking Daniel's hand.

"Go with him," Jack said to the rest of the team. Then to Daniel, "Just lie back and let them take care of you. I'll be along in a few minutes." Daniel settled his gaze on Jack for another moment before following orders.

Once the procession had swept out of the gate room, Jack joined Hammond who was talking to Weston and Potter.

"You two didn't just break the law, you violated the core of what being an officer means."

"This was never about you, sir," Weston said.

"This is my command. It is all about me." He turned to Sergeant Brighton who was directing the four SF's. "Take them to the infirmary and when they're done there, put them in separate holding cells."

"Yes, sir," Brighton said as his team efficiently escorted them out of the gate room.

After they had cleared the door, Hammond looked at Jack.

"How is Doctor Jackson?" He was obviously struggling to control his anger but just as obviously concerned.

"He's in shock, sir and I think his ankle is broken. He's with Fraiser now."

"You better head down there and make sure Brighton keeps the prisoners separated from him."

"Yes, sir," Jack answered.

Part 15

By the time Jack reached the infirmary, he found a confrontation in progress between Teal'c and the SF's.

"They should not be here," Teal'c said to Brighton, indicating Weston and Price.

"General Hammond ordered them to be brought," Sergeant Brighton said.

"They are not injured."

"They've been off-world, Teal'c. You know regulations," Jack said, hoping his tone conveyed that he agreed with Teal'c even if he couldn't support him.

Weston straightened up out of a dejected slouch when O'Neill spoke. He seemed to almost come to attention.

"Keep them separated from Doctor Jackson," Jack told Brighton. "They haven't been debriefed." Jack wasn't worried about the three of them hatching some fiction, he knew that Daniel had been their hostage, but he wanted to protect Daniel from them.

"Yes, sir," Brighton responded smartly before he and the others started herding the prisoners into the base hospital.

Potter shifted his weight, stopping all of them as he set his feet. He lifted his cuffed hands up so he could scratch his nose and took a breath before speaking to Jack. "We never intended for Daniel to get hurt."

Jack's temper took over as he slammed Potter bodily against the nearest wall. Hands attached themselves to him, trying to pull him back. Brighton yelled at him to let go but Jack couldn't see anything but Daniel's bruises, couldn't hear anything but the monotone of Daniel's voice. Putting his face as close as possible, he wanted Potter to feel his breath before he snapped the other man's neck. The only thing that prevented homicide was Teal'c stepping in to yank him away.

Sergeant Brighton tried unsuccessfully to suppress a glare as he and his team pulled Potter and Weston into the infirmary while Teal'c continued holding Jack back from attacking either one of them. Finally, Jack managed to wrench himself free, holding his hands up angrily as he paced a few steps away. Carter only glanced at him before turning her attention to the direction of the deserters. She had one hand resting on her sidearm.

"Colonel O'Neill." Hammond's voice attached itself to Jack's consciousness, cutting through his fury though not lessening it. "You will get hold of yourself or you will confine yourself to quarters until you can. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Jack answered obediently but still not feeling contrite.

"That's an order, Colonel. Put your personal feelings aside."

"Yes, sir, understood, sir." Jack forced strength into his voice, willing himself to calm down. As long as he stayed out of proximity with Weston and Potter he could maintain his professional demeanor.

"All right then. Doctor Fraiser just called and would like to see us both in her office."

"I will remain on guard here," Teal'c said.

"As will I, sir," Carter added.

Jack nodded at them gratefully before following Hammond back to Fraiser's office.

She was shutting a file cabinet drawer when they entered. "Thank you for coming here, sirs," she said as she turned around. "Given the nature of all of my patients, I didn't feel comfortable leaving the infirmary right now."

"Understandable, Doctor. Now, how is Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.

"The most serious issue is a broken ankle but we've set it properly here and I don't expect any lasting problems. He'll likely need some physical therapy in a few weeks. Other than that, he's mostly just a mass of contusions, both old and new. I'd say he was beaten, probably with some frequency. Luckily, there's nothing to indicate internal injuries and no sign of infection."

"How's his mental state?" Jack was glad Hammond was asking the questions since he started picturing Weston and Potter as targets on the firing range as soon as Fraiser began cataloguing Daniel's abuse.

"He was a bit dazed when he arrived but he seems more lucid now. I did administer a sedative a short time ago which is helping him relax."

"Can we expect a full recovery, Doctor?"

"Yes, sir...however, there is one more thing that you should know...that you both should know."

"What?" Jack asked, dread filling his stomach.

"Daniel was...they branded him, sir. Some sort of identification marker on his left hip."

"They did what?"

"I don't know many details. He's not prepared to discuss it yet. What I do know is that it was some custom practiced on the planet and he didn't have any choice in the matter."

Barely keeping a steady tone, Jack asked, "What about Weston and Potter?"

"Sir?" Uncertainty filled her expression.

"Were they marked too?"

"I don't know. Doctor Warner is with Lieutenant Colonel Weston and no one has seen Lieutenant Potter yet."

Jack met Hammond's eyes evenly.

"They'll be prosecuted, Jack."

"It's not good enough."

"It has to be. Your concern right now should be with your team. I'm sure Doctor Jackson would like to see you."

"General, sir, I..."

"Do your job, Colonel."

Jack clenched his jaw, fighting every instinct inside him. Despite the raw anger reflected in Hammond's eyes, it was the general's command that kept Jack from launching a personal seek and destroy mission.

====

Jack had taken a few minutes to calm down. Fraiser vacated her office so he could have the privacy he needed to absorb the information she'd imparted. Hammond left him alone too though Jack suspected the SF's had been told to watch him.

Once he managed to reign in his emotions, Jack bulldozed a straight path to Daniel's private room. He paid little attention to the various nurses and other medical personnel as they dodged out of his way. When he arrived, he opened the door quietly, not surprised to find the curtain drawn and his view blocked. He could hear though.

"Whoever said this wasn't broken was not very skilled, Daniel," Fraiser said.

"No, I don't think he was." He made a noise of pain.

"I'm sorry."

Jack listened while Fraiser puttered around doing her doctor thing. It was good to hear Daniel's voice sounding strong. He wished he could bust in, get Janet out and just hold him for a while, let him know how much Jack missed him.

"Jack, I can see you standing there," Daniel said and Jack pushed the curtain aside, with a grin.

"You wanna excuse us, Doc?"

"I'll be back in a little while, Daniel," she said. "Please call me if there's any change, Colonel."

"Will do," Jack responded then waited until he heard the door close behind her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Jack said. "I wanted to see you."

When Daniel didn't respond, Jack didn't know what to do.

A couple of moments of silence passed before Daniel said, "Jack, come here."

Jack followed directions and soon found himself being tugged down close to Daniel's face. At first he thought that Daniel would kiss him. This was a safe place, as no cameras were allowed in the private examination rooms, but he didn't.

"As soon as we get home," he whispered. "I want a proper welcome."

"Anything," Jack answered, allowing a smile and squeezing his hand.

"Okay. Now, I've got to show you something."

Jack straightened, following the movements of Daniel's hands. Daniel pulled the sheet back and pushed the pajama bottoms off his hip, revealing a symbol, dark in the center and pink around the edges. It almost looked like a "W" or maybe a "P" but it wasn't exactly a letter.

"Jesus Christ," Jack cursed, automatically reaching out but stopping before he touched.

"It's a brand. The Isladium version of a crest. It's supposed to symbolize..."

"Daniel, Fraiser already told me," Jack breathed.

Voice shaking but determined, he finished the explanation, "It's supposed to symbolize my providers."

Jack paced away a few steps, trying hard to control his anger. He wanted to rip something apart. Knowing hadn't prepared him enough. They'd branded Daniel. They'd actually burned a mark into his skin.

"I think it can be removed. It'd probably take a skin graft...Janet will know."

Jack still couldn't speak. What could he say?

"They did it a few weeks ago so it's mostly healed now."

"Who's they? Weston and Potter?"

"No. He and Vince, uh, let them, but it was the Isladiums' custom."

Jack blinked in surprise when he took a moment to look at Daniel and saw fear in his eyes.

"It's not permanent," Jack said.

"Probably not." Daniel ducked his head down. When he brought his arms up to wrap around himself, Jack rubbed his face with a sigh.

He returned to the bed, sitting next to him. Daniel looked up, his expression starting to show the distance he carried on the planet.

"Tell me," Jack said quietly.

Daniel looked up and away from him, finally settling for a watching a spot near the ceiling. He swallowed and untangled his arms to rub his neck.

"My ankle really hurts," he said with a hard laugh.

"Do you want me to get Fraiser?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, not yet." He took a breath. "I need...I need to go home with you. Can you take me home?"

"I'm pretty sure Fraiser will keep you overnight. And the general wants to know what happened. If I had to guess, I'd say you're here for 24 hours minimum."

"I don't think I can hold out that long. I need to be with you, Jack."

"I'll be here the whole time."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know."

"The brand isn't forever."

"Daniel, I don't care about the brand. Other than wanting to kill Weston and Potter and those bastards on the planet, I don't care. We'll deal with the brand, we'll get rid of it. The Tok'ra can probably take care of it faster than any doctor here so don't worry about that."

Daniel finally took his eyes away from the ceiling. When he looked at Jack, there were tears just shimmering but not heavy enough to fall.

====

Daniel wished their solitude could last but when Sam and Teal'c visited, he was happy to see them. They didn't stay long once Sam noticed that that he couldn't keep his eyes open. He couldn't even volley comments with Jack since his mind was a hazy jumble. But his body was at ease and warm and comfortable. He still wanted to go home but at least Jack was staying with him and that was more than he'd had in weeks.

Sam squeezed his hand welcoming him back one last time before she left. Teal'c vowed to keep him safe until he recovered.

When General Hammond stopped by later in the day, his relief that Daniel was home and safe was obvious. He explained that his visit was only to check on him and that the debriefing could wait until Daniel felt ready.

After Hammond left, Daniel settled back in bed, closing his eyes. The sedative that Janet gave him warred with a general anxiety. He wanted to sleep but couldn't quite get there.

Not bothering to open his eyes, he said, "The general seemed tense."

"I thought you were going to sleep," Jack said.

"Not yet. I'm still kind of wound up."

"You should get some rest."

"I will. Tell me about Hammond."

"Two of his officers went AWOL plus they kidnapped you," Jack said simply.

"It's not his fault."

"Still not a good feeling. They're under his command and he didn't see it coming."

"I didn't see it. Kim Chan and Rhonda Lewis didn't see it, did they? How was he supposed to?"

"Knowing your people is part of the job, Daniel."

"You think it's his fault?"

"No, I don't."

"But, you said..."

"I said he has reasons for blaming himself. You can't be in command and not have people go rogue on you once in a while, but that doesn't make it easier to take."

"Kim and Rhonda must be taking it pretty hard too, huh?"

"They did. They were a big help in narrowing down possibilities. If that head asshole down on the planet hadn't convinced us you weren't there, we would've found you weeks ago because of their work."

Daniel felt sleep coming as his body surrendered. "I'm surprised they weren't in the gate room."

Jack didn't speak and Daniel realized there was something odd about the sudden silence. He forced his eyes open though it didn't feel like he'd achieved more than slits. He tried to focus on Jack but only managed minimal success.

"What?" He asked softly.

"Doctor Chan and Captain Lewis are dead. Lewis died off world. Doctor Chan spent a few days in a coma before she died."

Daniel asked questions until he finally fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. When he woke up the next morning, he grieved.

====

Knowing that Hammond had reservations about Jack attending the debriefings of Weston and Potter had forced Jack to behave. Initially the general tried to keep him out completely but Jack had forced the issue and Hammond reluctantly agreed. As second-in-command of the Cheyenne Mountain complex, Jack had the right and obligation to attend.

Jack stayed professional knowing that Hammond would oust him if he didn't. He listened to Weston explain repeatedly that he knew that taking Daniel was wrong. Then he listened to Weston justifying their treatment of him, saying they were protecting him.

Every indignity, every abuse visited upon Daniel was minimal and necessary according to Weston. If Daniel had acclimated properly, none of it would have been necessary.

Jack felt slimy just listening to him and was relieved when Hammond ended the interview.

After a lunch break spent with Daniel, the debriefing with Potter began.

Like his former CO, Potter admitted that he knew they were wrong. Unlike Weston, he didn't try to justify their behavior. He explained in concise terms that he knew exactly what they were doing and made a choice to continue. He liked Transen and would have happily continued living there. He regretted the need for Daniel's participation but he believed it was necessary in order to succeed with their new lives.

"Essentially, Doctor Jackson was collateral damage," Potter said simply. "Not that we wanted him hurt, we just wanted him to settle in."

Hammond asked a few more questions and the only surprise revealed was that Potter knew Jack had been to Transen a few weeks before. Weston had not known and Potter admitted that when Jory Iltec told him of Jack's visit, he deliberately kept the information to himself.

"Why was that?" Hammond asked.

"Daniel was a determined pain in the ass most of the time. I figured if he had some hope of getting rescued then he wouldn't do anything too stupid."

A short time later, Hammond ordered the SF's to take Potter back to his cell. Unable to sit still any longer, Jack retreated to the weight room and spent the next two hours sweating out his anger.

Part 16 Conclusion

Daniel insisted he could use crutches to get to the conference room for his meeting with the general. Janet insisted equally that he should use a wheelchair. Jack, Sam and Teal'c agreed with Janet so Jack pushed the chair while Sam idly explained why her experiment with the DHD failed to produce results. Daniel tried to concentrate on her words, usually he was interested, but he was nervous about the debriefing. Jack had told him that both Weston and Potter had already been interviewed and he couldn't help but wonder what they'd said.

At the door of the conference room, Sam ruffled his hair.

"We'll see you at lunch," she said.

"I will be waiting here," Teal'c said, taking up a protective stance.

"That's not necessary, Teal'c, I'll be fine in here."

"I do not mind."

Daniel looked to Jack for help but he only shrugged. Teal'c had been hovering and guarding Daniel since his return. He was always subtle, staying outside in corridors but he was always near.

When the door closed behind them, Daniel said, "You have to convince him that I'm not in danger anymore."

"He'll figure it out. We'll just indulge him for now."

General Hammond entered from the back. Jack wheeled Daniel to the end of the table then sat beside him.

"Good morning, gentlemen. How are you feeling, Doctor?"

"Better, thank-you, sir."

"Good." Hammond flipped through some pages on the file in front of him. He looked up, serious but still compassionate. "You know why we're here?"

"Debriefing," Daniel answered.

"That's right. We're being recorded, which is standard procedure."

"Yes, sir, I know."

"All right then, are you ready to begin?"

Daniel nodded then remembered the recording. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Why don't you start from the beginning? You accompanied SG13 to P5X103 on Wednesday, July 9 of this year, is that correct?"

"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Colonel Weston requested my presence stating that he thought I was more qualified for the mission than Doctor Chan."

"What happened when you reached the planet?"

"Lieutenant Potter and Captain Lewis had already gone through. By the time I arrived, Potter had injected Lewis with something and she was unconscious. At that point, I was told that they were taking me to another planet."

"You were told this by Potter or Weston?"

"Weston did most of the talking at first."

"All right, please continue, Doctor."

Daniel could feel Jack watching as he spoke. Unable to hide his anger at being betrayed, he felt Jack lean into the arm of the wheelchair. Jack didn't touch him but he made his support clear just the same.

When Daniel described the branding process, he found himself detaching from the experience by explaining it.

"The branding was a tradition. It was actually an effective way to mark barter and keep track of where they belonged. It's not unlike many cultures who use permanent marks to identify the different castes in their society."

"Like the Nazi's and the Jews," Jack said, dryly.

"Well, yes," He admitted, wondering why he felt slightly defensive. "But there are more positive examples."

"I'm sure there are," Hammond interrupted. "However, what I'd like to have on the record is whether you volunteered or agreed to this...marking."

"I didn't want it. Once I understood what was going to happen, I asked Weston to stop it but he didn't."

"Just as he didn't intervene during the training with Brice Alsa?"

"No. He told me repeatedly that we had to do what the Isladiums wanted in order to stay there."

The debriefing continued for a long time. Hammond allowed Daniel to speak mostly uninterrupted unless he needed clarification. When Daniel finally reached the part about getting rescued, he slumped somewhat in his chair, suddenly exhausted.

"We're almost through, Doctor," Hammond assured him. "But, I need to discuss your medical report from Doctor Fraiser."

"My medical report?"

"How did your ankle become broken?"

"Keegan Plin broke it."

"Plin is one of the men who dealt with barter training?"

"Yes, sir."

"And why did he break it?"

"Barter, in this case, me, isn't supposed to question the decisions of the rest of the population and I was arguing with Paba Eldon about transferring Shleve out of Translations...so, Plin hit me with a club."

"Were either Lieutenant Colonel Weston or Second Lieutenant Potter present during this altercation?"

Daniel felt his face grow warm with anger.

"Yeah, uh, Vince was there."

"And what were his actions?"

"Plin wanted to take me to Brice Alsa's for re-training. Vince thought the only way to keep that from happening was to, uh, well, kick the hell out of me actually."

"And this happened the day before yesterday?"

Daniel frowned. "The day before yesterday? Yes, I guess it was. It seems longer but, that's typical, I suppose."

"Yes, I'm sure it is, Doctor," Hammond said, gently. "Would you like to take a break?"

"No, uh, thank you, sir, I'm all right."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, did you know that Colonel O'Neill led a team to Transen a few weeks ago?"

"No, sir. Not until last night."

"Apparently, Weston didn't know either," Jack said. "Potter didn't share that bit of news."

"I'm surprised. They were trying so hard to convince me to give up, I would think they would have used that as proof that no rescue was coming."

"Yeah, well, according to Potter, he was worried that you'd only try harder to escape."

"Which brings me to my last question," Hammond said. "What can you tell me about your last night on Transen?"

Daniel looked at Jack who nodded at him, trying to be encouraging. "I tried to escape and Weston caught me. Terry liked to think that he was my protector. He took it personally when I disagreed. I guess the escape attempt was a big betrayal for him."

"How often did Colonel Weston and Lieutenant Potter abuse you?"

Daniel winced visibly at the terminology. "They didn't...they didn't...what I mean is, they weren't trying to harm me so much as control me. On Transen, the provider controls the barter. They were always worried about being rejected for not being in control."

"Colonel Weston indicated that he believed that they were keeping you from being executed."

"There is some truth to that. I could've been legally executed if the City Management thought I was a detriment to the way they run their city. I saw them murder someone so I know they could've done it."

Hammond looked disgusted and Jack was practically vibrating with anger. Daniel knew they weren't upset with him but rather for him. Still, it made him uncomfortable to be the focus.

"Doctor Jackson, do you have anything else to add before I close this procedure?" Hammond asked.

"No, sir." His answer came quickly, probably too quickly but Hammond just smiled at him.

"All right then, thank you for your time."

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll just wheel him back down to the infirmary, sir," Jack said.

"You do that. And stay away from the holding cells, Colonel."

Jack hesitated but Hammond's expression eliminated any argument he might have waged and Daniel was relieved.

====

Another day passed before Janet released Daniel. While Jack drove, Daniel watched the scenery, drinking in the familiarity of home. Despite the chilly day, he kept his window cracked a few inches so he could smell the crisp air and hear the sounds of earthlings while they lived their lives. Goosebumps raised along his arms but he just breathed in the cool air, grateful for the scents that wafted over him.

When Jack pulled into the driveway of his house, Daniel sighed out loud. He felt much of the tenseness in his shoulders dissipate just by arriving. By the time Daniel opened his door to swivel around to exit the truck, Jack had already come around to help him. He accepted the assistance since he still wasn't steady on the crutches.

Once he was firmly planted, Jack grabbed his bag of supplies, some clothes, some food and a bottle of pain pills that he hadn't taken since Janet prescribed them. He hobbled along beside Jack to the front door, wondering how he had survived for weeks without seeing it. The entryway represented so much peace and safety to him that he couldn't imagine not seeing it for such a long time.

"Why don't you grab a seat on the couch while I put this stuff away," Jack said as they stepped across the threshold.

Daniel shook his head. He pivoted slowly, dropped his crutches and fell into Jack's body, knowing he would be caught and cradled. Jack didn't disappoint as he gathered him in his arms, pressing his mouth to Daniel's cheek and ear and finally his lips. Daniel pressed back, searching outward with his tongue until he found the entrance.

"Oh, Jack," he hummed, while he staked his territory. Jack just held him tighter, pursuing a search of his own as his hands kneaded and massaged Daniel's body.

Reluctantly, Daniel pushed away, absorbing Jack's hungry expression like a meal. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too."

"Show me how much."

"Daniel..."

"Show me now. It's all I've thought about since we got back home. Please, Jack."

He knew Jack couldn't deny him, wouldn't even try. And they kissed and touched all the way to the bedroom while Jack both supported and propelled him simultaneously. When they reached the edge of the bed, Daniel pushed back, grasping the top of Jack's jeans with both hands and skimming the zipper down. Jack attacked his mouth again, bruising his lips with welcome enthusiasm.

====

Daniel kissed him gently, licking the inside of Jack's mouth one last time before resting his head against Jack's shoulder. Jack rubbed his back, stopping at the swell of his buttocks, looking to comfort rather than start over, and being careful to avoid the many bruises still visible on Daniel's body.

He had traced the brand earlier, gently learning it, proving that he didn't fear it and that he didn't want Daniel any less for its presence.

He had just finished cleaning them up with warm washcloths while Daniel moaned gratefully and now they were sated and comfortable. It was too early for bed but a nap was well deserved for both of them.

The loneliness he experienced during Daniel's absence had nearly killed him. Only the determination to bring him back pushed him out of bed every day. Now that Daniel was back, in his arms, his weight lying heavily against his body, Jack could finally release some of the fear.

He closed his eyes and sighed, falling asleep to the soft sound of Daniel snoring.

====

"Daniel," an urgent voice prodded at him. "Daniel, wake up." He fought at the hands touching him until he found he couldn't, his limbs trapped.

"Stop it," he yelled.

"Daniel!"

Startled, barreling out his mind and into the light, Daniel opened his eyes, blinking rapidly until Jack came into focus. A worried Jack who hovered above him, leaning against his arms but only hard enough to keep him still.

"Jack...I'm...I'm sorry. Was I dreaming?"

Jack exhaled, releasing him and collapsing at his side. "You could say that."

Daniel rubbed his hands over his face, surprised by the perspiration he found as well as the pounding of his heart. The nightmare had not remained but the aftereffects were obvious.

"What was that?" Jack asked, sounding breathless.

"I don't remember." Daniel wiped at his face again, still feeling wet.

"We've ridden through some nightmares together but I gotta tell you, Daniel, that was a beaut." Even as he complained, Jack rubbed Daniel's arm comfortingly. "You don't know what it was about?"

"No, it's kind of vague, I guess. Just some flashes are all that's left."

"Flashes of Weston and Potter?" Jack asked.

Daniel had to think about that. He still couldn't get a fixed image in his mind but he felt like Jack was right.

"I'm not sure."

"Daniel, do you remember when Martouf died?"

Not understanding the change in subject, Daniel just nodded.

"They almost put me and Carter in a coma to keep us from becoming what he became."

"A zatarc."

"Right."

"What are you getting at, Jack?" Daniel didn't need to be reminded that Jack would rather die than leave Carter behind, even if he knew that Jack felt that way about the whole team.

"I think we need the Tok'ra machine thing that they used to test us."

"Why do we need a zatarc detector?"

"Because you, Daniel, would fail the test on the spot and then you'd have to admit that you're not being completely honest with me or Hammond."

Daniel rolled on his side to face Jack. He reached out to gently brush the hair off his forehead. "What are you talking about?" He asked the question even though he knew the answer.

"Tell me the secret that you're keeping about Transen."

"I'm not keeping a secret, Jack, there are just some things that don't necessarily need to be shared."

"Let me decide that."

Daniel scooted further under the blankets. A moment later he felt Jack's hands searching for his. He wiggled his fingers and soon found them held fast.

"Tell me about Potter." Jack said.

"Vince?"

"Yeah, that'd be him."

"There's not much to tell."

"He said he dislocated your shoulder...twice."

"Really?" Daniel was genuinely surprised.

"He didn't?"

"Oh, no, he did, I'm just surprised that he told you about it."

"He's playing 'let's make a deal'. Trying to reduce his time in prison."

Daniel nodded. That made sense. Vince was entirely about self-preservation.

"How bad was he?"

"He wanted what he wanted and he made it clear he'd do whatever he needed to get it. Weston was a lot of head games but not Vince. I always knew where I stood with him, which actually made him easier to deal with."

"Weston was different?"

Daniel didn't know how to respond. He still wasn't sure how much to say. Had Weston been as forthcoming as Vince?

"Weston wrote down fantasies about you," Jack said, bluntly.

Daniel lifted his head. "What?"

"Pornographic stories featuring him dominating you."

"Oh, God." Daniel turned his face into the pillow. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, what Jack, in his most detached military voice was telling him.

"Did he make any of it come true?" Jack asked.

Daniel shook his head but kept his face hidden. Jack released one of his hands to stroke his hair. His tone softened.

"You can tell me anything, Daniel."

"Jack, you've been planning Weston's murder since the day we got back. I hardly think I can tell you anything."

"I think you just answered my question."

Daniel relinquished the safety of the pillow, both to breathe and to read Jack's expression. The fury he saw made his stomach tighten.

"No," he said, firmly. "No, I didn't. It got close a couple of times but he didn't..." Daniel stopped.

He expected Jack to interrupt him or go storming off to the base. Instead, he found himself being watched intently. The anger was still there but it was tempered by caring and Daniel started to realize that he could continue without fear. He was safe with Jack and Jack was safe with him and neither of them would do anything to endanger their time together.

He took a breath before continuing. "He wanted me to need him..."

Jack listened. Daniel could feel it, in the hand that he'd squeeze or the slight shift of his body, drawing Daniel closer to him. He listened and heard the words that Daniel didn't think he'd have the courage to speak out loud. Intellectually he knew that he'd never invited any kind of intimate contact with Terry Weston, but emotionally, he couldn't prevent the dark thought that maybe, in his loneliness, he'd actually encouraged it. That fear combined with concern about Jack's reaction had kept him silent but as the words were spoken he felt some of his worry lessen.

"The last night, when Vince pulled him off me, I don't think he would've stopped on his own."

"Probably not," Jack said, quietly.

Daniel closed his eyes, pushing closer into Jack's body, resting his head against all that strength. "I gave up everything after that. I couldn't see a way to escape anymore. I knew they'd just keep a closer watch, keep me chained up more. They never would've trusted me again."

"You would've found a way."

"I gave up."

"Temporarily," Jack said, firmly. "I know you, Daniel, you're never down for long."

Daniel rolled on to his back. "I don't know. Even after you found me, I couldn't quite believe you were there."

Jack propped himself up, leaning over him. "Daniel, give yourself a break. You were beaten up twice in less than a day, had your ankle broken, were nearly raped, you had reason to be in shock."

"But, I was giving up on us, on getting back to you."

"Yep... for about five minutes. If we hadn't come and got you, you would've shaken it off and started coming up with a new plan."

"I'm not so sure."

"I'm sure enough for both of us."

Daniel wanted to believe him. The considerable force of Jack's personality alone drew him in. Now, he just had to convince the rest of his psyche.

====

Lieutenant Colonel Terry Weston and Second Lieutenant Vince Potter were never court-martialed or tried for their crimes. At least not officially. Given the necessity for secrecy within the Stargate program, they were shuffled off into the black hole of military justice. General Hammond turned over all of the transcripts and recordings of testimony to the proper authorities and the two men disappeared.

Daniel felt inexplicably guilty about that, as if he had somehow caused their downfall. He and Jack argued for several days about it, particularly after Daniel went to Hammond to officially protest. In the end though, it was not his decision or within his power to control.

Daniel's ankle required six weeks to heal. He wasn't able to go through the gate but he was able to catch up on some of the work that had been gathering both before and after his disappearance.

True to expectation, outwardly Daniel refused to be affected by his kidnapping. He worked with his typical voracity, spent time off base with the other members of SG1 and stole as much time as possible with Jack. If he still had nightmares, that wasn't new. If he still felt guilty about leaving the Isladiums to continue unchallenged with their barter policy of economics, that wasn't his to control either.

What Daniel needed to do, and even succeeded at on some days, was to release the past.

====

General Hammond stood beside Jack, looking through the glass window of the conference room where Daniel and Carter were calibrating something or another. Carter nudged Daniel playfully and he laughed, shaking his head at her. Daniel rarely laughed making the moment even better for Jack.

"How is Doctor Jackson adjusting, Colonel?"

Jack glanced at Hammond before looking back to where half his team was diligently recording numbers that would only make sense to Carter.

"He's good, sir."

"His ankle?"

"Doctor Fraiser says it's healed. She thinks it'll be twingey for a few days yet but she's says it'll be fine."

"I'm thinking of authorizing his return to gate travel. Is he ready?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said confidently. "He's anxious to get back out there."

"There are no lasting psychological effects that I should be worried about?"

"He has some scars, there's no denying it. But, Daniel works through trauma by, well, uh, working through trauma. He's ready, sir."

"What about the brand? Is he still looking into the removal?"

"Yeah, but, it's going to take some cosmetic surgery which means more time off and he's already freaked about getting so far behind while he was on Transen."

"He can have whatever time he needs, Colonel."

"Yes, sir, I've told him that and he's going to do it. He's just not ready yet."

"All right, then, I'll sign the authorization today. You'll inform Doctor Jackson?"

"Yes, sir. I'll do that now."

Hammond left Jack standing in front of the window and Jack looked down to see Carter distracted but Daniel looking up at him. Jack waved, earning himself a full-fledged smile. When Carter called out, Daniel turned away and Jack started downstairs to give them both the good news.