Strategic Differences

by Jb

part two, of five

It was quiet on the other side of the Stargate. O’Neill and Carter stood on the steps and looked around. There was not a soul in sight; certainly, there was no Daniel Jackson waiting for them.

The place had been cleared up some, the chaos of the earlier Jaffa attack hidden behind a semblance of tidiness. The fallen cart was missing, along with it’s spilled load, however the place was once again deserted. Jack had a bad feeling. There was something not kosher, not right at all here. He motioned silently to Carter and she nodded and held her weapon at ready. He could see that she felt it, too. As Carter moved over to stand at the DHD, Jack approached the area where the cart had been. His heart leaped into his throat and threatened to choke him as he saw what lay on the ground, mostly buried in loose dirt. A syringe, uncapped... he bent to pick it up, and dirt flew into his face.

He heard the blasts first, then became aware of the bright flashes of energy coming from the buildings across the clearing. He heard another sound, the Stargate; Carter was dialing. Jack lunged for the object on the ground just as he caught sight of the Jaffa flooding out of the enclosure toward them. God... more Jaffa... Realization of what Daniel must have been trying to tell him hit, and with it, a burst of anger at himself so strong as to be momentarily disabling.

Carter fired on their attackers as she placed her hand on the center of the DHD. A blast hit the side of the DHD and she quickly dodged sideways. "Sir!" "Come on! We have to go!"

Jack cast a quick glance around him, firing to cover Carter’s retreat through the Stargate. Wherever Daniel was, he couldn’t help him right now. Reluctantly, Jack backed up the steps and into wormhole.

Breaking through into the SGC both he and Carter hollered for the Iris to be closed as several staff blasts surged out of the wormhole beside them. General Hammond stood at the base of the ramp, shock completely taking over his face. "Where’s Dr. Jackson?"

Jack sat down heavily on the ramp. "Sir, I don’t know, Sir." He put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths. "We didn’t have a chance to look for him."

Carter looked ashen. "We were only there a minute, and there were Jaffa... they were in the buildings... they must have heard our arrival through the Stargate, Sir. They attacked us." She turned to face Jack, her face and voice pleading with him to reinforce her actions. "We had... had to leave. Didn’t we?"

General Hammond walked up the ramp to O’Neill. "What do you have there?" He took the used syringe, needle still attached, out of Jack’s hand. "This... is this from one of our Kits?"

"Found it on the ground."

Carter, seeing it for the first time, took it from Hammond. Jack saw her face fall, saw his own anxiety plainly mirrored there, as she looked at the condition of the small amount of fluid remaining in the chamber. "Oh no. Sir. This is morphine. From a MedKit... Sir, the syringe has blood aspirate in it." It was obvious to all of them that the missing fluid had been injected, not just lost into the dirt. Sam’s voice was soft. "Not even a third of a ml. left. That means at the very least, um, over 12 mg gone." The implications were clear. Someone was hurting, and not just a little, either.

General Hammond asked "Perhaps he was helping someone else? One of the Byrsa? You just said the Jaffa are there. Perhaps one of the locals was injured and Dr. Jackson is helping them." Both O’Neill and Carter shook their heads.

"No Sir. Unlikely." Jack knew that it was not one of the Byrsa who had been the recipient of the contents of the syringe. "It was right by the Stargate, out in the open. The Goa’uld aren’t in the habit of supporting equal access to medical care. It had to have been used before the Jaffa arrived." There was something awful nibbling at the edges of Jack’s mind; what? He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Carter staring at him with a horrified expression on her face.

"Sir? If he took that much intravenously..."

Jack looked at her, appalled at that thought which had crossed his mind in the instant befoe she had voiced it. "He wouldn’t do that, Carter. He’s not stupid..." Yeah, but if he was hurt, if someone hurt him, and he was, maybe, not too clear-headed... Jack aborted that line of thought before it could get the better of him. "No. Some must have spilled out; I’m pretty sure I snagged the plunger when I picked it up."

Jack’s gut twisted. No, Daniel couldn’t have done that, he wouldn’t have overdosed himself. Yeah, you just keep trying to convince yourself.  This was all his fault. It didn’t take a mental giant to understand what had happened. It couldn’t have been the Jaffa who injured Daniel; they wouldn’t exactly stand by and watch while he treated himself. Jack knew it had to have been from before, from him, when he shoved the kid. He remembered catching a glimpse of Daniel as he precariously staggered back from the strong shove and then tripped, twisting and falling backwards over the debris strewn on the ground.

General Hammond shook his head at the two in front of him. He looked very confused, and Jack knew the General had to be wondering just why in the hell Daniel would have needed the drug in the first place. That question, thankfully, never came. "We’ll assemble a team. SG3 is on standby today; Colonel, you and Captain Carter brief them on the situation. We’ll wait an hour, let things settle down, and then send a probe through and have a look around."

Hanno was upset. He had watched in alarm from his hiding place as the Circle burst into life again but instead of bringing forth yet more Jaffa, it disgorged O’Neill and the woman, Carter. The response from the Jaffa was instantaneous; before the disturbance of the Circle had even settled into the silver shimmering, Hanno had heard them calling to one another, positioning themselves.

Now, Hanno watched not in alarm but with growing anger as he realized that O’Neill’s poor timing might place all of his people in grave danger. The one called Daniel had been right; the Jaffa had done a superficial search and finding no Byrsa and apparently no convincing evidence of the previous raiding party, they had just been preparing to leave. But then O’Neill had come. More and more, Hanno was feeling that O’Neill was not one to be relied upon. He still couldn’t comprehend that O’Neill had left Daniel, injured, on Cartago.

Yet, that one, Daniel; Hanno accepted his intuition that Daniel had honor to match that of the Byrsa. Hanno hadn’t believed for one moment that Daniel had chosen to remain behind, but if Daniel chose to defend his companion by claiming that he had done so of his own accord, Hanno had thought that perhaps O’Neill deserved the benefit of the doubt. But now... no. No more.

He silently crept forward a few feet in order to get a better view. Hanno saw O’Neill bend to pick up something, and immediately the air was filled with the noise and light of the Jaffa weapons. The Jaffa burst out from the buildings adjacent to the village square, and the newcomers fired back at them. The loud noise of the weapons held by O’Neill and Carter was even more fearsome than the flare of the staff weapons, but few of the Jaffa succumbed. It was confusing.

While it was a relief to see O’Neill and Carter successfully escape back through the Circle of Woe, Hanno’s heart fell as the Jaffa huddled together in conversation. He prayed for them to leave, to just go, but his prayers weren’t answered. With loud commands and rapid waving of arms, Hanno watched as one of them directed the others to begin a new exploration of the village, as several others found and settled into new places of concealment around the square. They were not going to leave. The Jaffa were staying; staying to lay in wait, staying to search.

He would need to warn his people immediately; they would have to fade back into the forest even further. Hanno realized that for himself and his men that would not be so easy; with the Jaffa even now widening their search pattern they had to move very quickly, but the visitor Daniel was barely able to flinch, never mind run.

And there was no question; Hanno would not leave the young man behind. With a soft curse, he carefully backed out of his hiding place and crept away.

Burning-stabbing-shooting-squeezing-breath-stealing pain. Well beyond any measure of coping, Daniel pulled back from the hands that gripped him, from the arms looped underneath his own, that were relentlessly dragging him onwards. Unprepared for the sudden reisistance, the owners of the hands were surprised and their tight grip faltered just enough for Daniel to throw his weight to one side and slip out from the support of their arms.

Falling to his knees, jolts of fire lancing through his back and legs as he did so, Daniel’s only thought was that he would almost prefer to be captured by the Jaffa and get it all over with than struggle one step further. This was no good. In an instant Hanno’s hands were on his shoulders, the young Bursa’s face hovering before his own. Through a haze of his own sweat and unshed tears, Daniel could make out the impatience which lurked behind the concern in Hanno’s eyes.

Falling forward onto one outstretched arm, Daniel pushed out with the other, fighting against Hanno’s attempt to pull him upright. "No... I, I can’t..."

The answer was a low hiss. "Yes, you can. You must. They are heading toward us."

As Hanno hauled on Daniel’s arms, a great explosion of fresh pain rocked him. He tried to lean away but couldn’t and Hanno pulled him to his feet. Daniel cried out and sagged, unable to support his own weight. Frustration welled; he had to make Hanno understand, but the Byrsa just was not listening. "No. Hanno... really... I can’t. I’ll just get you all killed. Please, just go..."

Instead of answering, Hanno dragged Daniel to one side, pulling him into a dense patch of bushes and guiding him to the ground. Hanno turned and moved several feet away, and Daniel heard him instruct the other men to leave. He also heard the argument which ensued. Fear joined with the frustration as he realized that the others were unwilling to go. While Daniel appreciated their readiness to protect him he knew it would be their downfall, and that thought was unbearable. Even now Daniel could hear the steady weapons fire of the Jaffa, not far off in the distance, as they advanced through the forest and fired into the thick undergrowth in an attempt to flush out anyone who might be hiding there.

Daniel listened as Hanno’s men steadfastly refused to leave them, insisting that if the stranger was unable to go any further that they would all make their stand right here, together. He heard Hanno argue in favour of the safety of his men, in favour of them leaving to protect the women and children who hid further in the woods. Daniel had to stifle the sardonic laugh which bubbled up in his throat. Now the guy caught on to the concept... now, after all that had gone on before in the Cor-ai.

The staff blasts were getting louder. Daniel could smell the acrid stench of burnt foliage and could hear the crashing as small trees were vivsected by the bolts of energy from the weapons of the Jaffa. He would need to find the strength to tolerate the pain... it was only pain, after all; it wasn’t as though he couldn’t move his legs or feel the ground underneath him. Daniel gave a fleeting thought to the second syringe of morphine, but knew it wouldn’t work; he’d just become drowsy again. But then again, if he fell asleep... No. Undoubtably, Hanno would just scoop him up and even though he’d be carried rather than dragged stumbling through the woods, he’d be just as much an impediment to the Byrsa’s speedy escape from the Jaffa as he was now. Asleep or awake, it would make no difference to the fate of the Byrsa.

Suddenly, a loud blast off to one side thundered through the air and debris showered down into the bushes around him as the limbs of a nearby tree shattered from a staff weapon blast. Hanno and his men scurried about, forming a semi-circle around the brush in which Daniel lay. Their backs to him, weapons raised and eyes searching the woods around them, the Byrsa reinforced their spoken refusal to leave Daniel behind – their intent to protect him even at risk to themselves – with concrete action. Hanno repeatedly turned his face back toward Daniel, checking on him, giving Daniel an assured nod every few moments. If Hanno thought the gesture to be reassuring to Daniel, he was mistaken.

"Hanno..." The young Byrsa turned his head and with a sharp motion indicated that Daniel should be quiet, but Daniel knew he couldn’t let this happen. He had to try once more. "No. Hanno, listen to me. You have to leave. I will be fine... I’ll hide here..."

"No." The refusal was a harsh whisper, brooking no argument.

Oh,God, please, don’t do this. "Hanno. This is no good. Please... don’t do this to me..."

Hanno’s eyes widened in non-comprehension. He sidled back a few steps, moving closer to Daniel and bending over him. "We do nothing to you. We are protecting you, as we do our own. You must be silent now. They are coming."

"No... Hanno, don’t you see? You can’t do this. You’re protecting me at the expense of your own. I can’t... Look, my people will come; they’ll help me, I’ll be fine. Please..."

Hanno leaned forward, his face twisted with anger. "It is because of your people we are forced to flee through the woods. They bring no help; they bring only disaster."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Your people, O’Neill and the woman, came back through the Circle as the Jaffa were preparing to leave. They brought this upon us." Hanno stabbed a forefinger at Daniel’s chest. "You are with our people now. You will do things our way, and you will be quiet."

Daniel’s heart sank as he realized what had happened, and why the Jaffa were now so aggressively pursuing them. They had seen his friends return for him, at the Stargate, and were searching Cartago for more Tau’Ri. At the same time Daniel felt an acute pang of worry for Jack and Sam’s safety, hope rose that this might mean there was a solution for the Byrsa. "Wait... my friends, did they..."

"They escaped through the Circle of Woe." Hanno backed away and stood up to return to his men.

"Wait Hanno, just a minute. The Jaffa are searching for more of my kind. If you say that it was my people who brought this on, then let me fix it. It’s me the Jaffa want. Maybe they’ll leave your..."

Hanno had clearly had enough conversation. He gave Daniel a piercing look. "We know what they do. And we know what we must do. Our mandates deserve your respect. Enough, or you will draw them right to us." Hanno moved away, returning to his post in the semi-circle of those who would face death for someone they barely knew.

Daniel knew the Jaffa were heading right toward them; he knew, and he knew that Hanno was well aware as well, that their soft voices were not a factor in the outcome of this. The noise of the Jaffa’s approach, the frequent staff blasts and arrogant, careless destruction of the forest, was far in excess of any noise Daniel and Hanno’s group would ever make. Daniel could holler his head off, could shoot off a cannon of his own, and it would make no difference in the long run.

A cannon... he could shoot off...

Daniel took a deep breath as realization of possibly the only way out of this mess for Hanno and his men forced it’s way through his pain-addled consciousness. As it was, there was still time for the Byrsa to escape; to run and silently meld with the forest, to lose themselves in familiar territory. But with every second that passed...

"They will not have left there." Teal’c didn’t need to the MALP playback. He knew that no matter what the display might show, the Jaffa would remain on Cartago for quite some time. They would search, and even after they had found Daniel Jackson and the Byrsa and exacted punishment, they would stay and wait to see if the Tau’ri would once again appear through the Stargate. Teal’c mentally berated himself. This was his fault. He had allowed his guilt to interfere with the functioning of the team, and now... as a result of his actions Daniel Jackson was missing, undoubtably injured and possibly captured, or worse, by the Jaffa.

Daniel Jackson’s impassioned and intelligent arguments in support of him replayed in Teal’c’s mind. That support had been swiftly and willingly given; unconditional, despite Teal’c’s culpability in what Teal’c knew was the worst moment of Daniel Jackson’s young life – the moment Daniel stared into the cold eyes of the shell of the woman he loved and realized that his wife, his life, had been utterly and savagely ripped away.  "I wanted to hate him at first..."  You should have, Daniel Jackson... you should...

"We must go now. They will be guarding the Stargate, but we will defeat them. There is no more time." Teal’c drew himself up to his full height and stared intently at General Hammond. O’Neill stood there at the General’s side, but Teal’c couldn’t look at O’Neill just now. There was simply too much barely held inside, too much which threatened to break free at any moment and interfere with what had to remain their primary focus – retrieving Daniel Jackson – to chance meeting one another’s eyes. Teal’c could see, in the way in which the Colonel held himself and the shifting of his eyes, that O’Neill felt it as well.

So very much... how, incredibly, they did not realize that Daniel Jackson was not with them, and how O’Neill had not called him from his quarters the moment they realized their friend had not followed them home; how they had waited for a full hour – an hour during which Daniel was at dire risk, should he even still be alive – before considering another attempt to return to Cartago. Especially unbearable was the injustice of O’Neill having taken out his frustration on the only person who had truly respected Teal’c’s wishes and fought not to destroy what little he had left of his honour, but to defend it.

"The area around the Stargate is quiet. Teal’c are you certain they’re still there?" General Hammond was still watching the video playback. "I don’t see any sign of enemy activity. But, if there’s any chance that they are, I’m not sure it’s wise to..."

"General. They are there. We must go without further procrastination. Had I been aware of this unwise delay before now, I would have sought to prevent it. If Daniel Jackson has been taken, they may even now have removed him through the Stargate." Captain Carter’s sudden intake of breath indicated that he had at least caught one person’s attention. He turned to her. "You know as well as I that he cannot evade them; we saw him fall. Even the Byrsa will not evade them this time."

General Hammond straightened up noticeably and shot a hard, questioning look at O’Neill who turned away abruptly, his back ramrod straight. Teal’c’s own muscles felt as if they were in knots and his symbiote reacted to his tension with agitation of it’s own, twisting and slithering in it’s pouch. The sensation was a welcome distraction from the memory of seeing Daniel Jackson half laying on the ground, one arm extended out toward them, as they ignorantly entered the Stargate. This delay was intolerable... Teal’c turned to face O’Neill, his anger getting the better of him, but a small hand was placed firmly up against his chest.

"No, Teal’c... wait." Carter murmered at him softly. She then turned to General Hammond. "With respect, Sir, we’re wasting time here. We can’t see any sign of them... if they aren’t there, we’ll be okay. And if they are still there, then there’s no way of telling how long they’ll stay. Begging your pardon, Sir, but Daniel is out there and we have to go get him, either way. We need to go now, Sir."

Teal’c spun on his heel without waiting for a response. It was intolerable to stand around in duscussion when a specific course of action was not only required, but long overdue. He felt as though he would explode is he stood still one more moment. "I shall await you in the embarkation room..." He finally looked O’Neill in the eye as he passed him. "Colonel O’Neill."

As he rounded the corner at the top of the steps and started down, Teal’c saw O’Neill wave at Carter, silently instructing her to leave as well, and then turn to address General Hammond, a look of guilty determination on his face.

.

He would not be responsible for the capture or deaths of these people. It was totally unacceptable. Neither the approach of the Jaffa nor his own words had changed their minds, but Daniel knew of one thing, probably the only thing, which would... one thing which would make their stance pointless and send them, finally, off into the forest where they would have at least half a chance at survival. There was no time left; if they were to get away, he’d have to do this now. He reached down and manipulated the strap holding the Berreta in place in it’s holster. Praying that he would somehow find the determination to actually pull this off, he slid the weapon out and brought it up to his chest, pushing his finger through the tirgger guard and grasping the gun in both hands as he released the safety. He looked up to see Hanno staring at him.

"That is a weapon? Like the large one of O’Neill which makes so much noise?"

Daniel nodded.

"Will it kill?"

Ohhh, yeah. Oh God.

"It makes a large noise as well?" Hanno came closer and bent down on one knee, looking with interest at the handgun. "It is small. It can be easily concealed when we face capture..." He put out his hand. "Give it to me; show me how it is used."

Daniel instinctively shuffled back away from the man, his back flaring as he did so. The pain filled him, stopping his breath and stealing the ability to speak. Tears stinging at his eyes, he shook his head and clutched the gun to tighter his chest. No. He couldn’t have it; Daniel would not let him take it away. Ironically enough, the gun was the Byrsa’s lifeline but turning it over to Hanno would mean their deaths. He struggled to control the pain, and found his voice. "This is the trigger." He wiggled his trigger finger slightly. "When you pull it, the gun fires a projectile at high speed through this tube."

"There is no time left... you must give it to me." Hanno reached out and almost touched the barrel, but Daniel pulled the gun away, holding it in a tight two-handed grip up at his shoulder. "This projectile... it is deadly?"

"Very." Gritting his teeth, Daniel shifted backwards to settle more firmly against the large tree behind him. Another nearby strike from a staff weapon sent leaves fluttering down onto them. "Hanno..." Daniel deliberately took aim, the menace in the act unmistakable. Hanno’s eyes widened in obvious confusion and shock as he stared at the barrel of the gun. "You and your men have to leave, Hanno. Now."

"Why do you do this? We are only trying to protect you..." Daniel could see the confusion still clouding Hanno’s face, but the shock was rapidly being replaced with anger.

"No. You protect nothing but a philosophy. Believe me, that’s pointless if no one is going to live to appreciate it." Daniel wasn’t at all sure if he believed that, but whatever it took to get these people to leave, he’d say it; he’d do it. He set his jaw and put all of the authority, all of the false self-assurance, he could muster into his tone. "Go, Hanno. Now. Or I will fire the weapon."

Hanno’s face was a kaleidoscope of emotion; disbelief, anger, fear, frustration, uncertainty. Abruptly, he turned and faded back to his men. Daniel could hear the low drone of their voices, the beginning of their conversation, but couldn’t quite make out the words. He kept his white-knuckle grip on the gun, the end of the barrel pressed firmly against his own throat, his hands shaking with the knowledge that if it came right down to it, he was pretty sure he didn't have the nerve to actually fire the damned thing. If they didn’t listen, if they decided instead to try to take the gun from him, he knew he would have to find the courage in a hell of a hurry. The Jaffa were close now and it was clear from Hanno's interest in the gun that the Byrsa would willingly die than be prisoners.

He lowered the gun and tried to crawl to one side, to go further into the brush, hoping to give himself a precious few more seconds should they refuse to leave; hoping to conceal himself in order to do what might have to be done – or, more like, to fail miserably – in privacy... but that proved impossible to do without a whole lot of noise that Daniel didn’t want to make. Any movement of his legs, and the stabbing pain became unbearable. The attempt to slither deeper into the bushes and the cry he was unable to hold back attracted Hanno’s attention. As Hanno stepped closer Daniel reasserted his aim and Hanno raised a hand, turning back to his men, the upraised hand still held high as he spoke with them yet again. The tones became louder and more urgent, and then the voices stopped entirely. And then, unbelievably, miraculously and incredibly, they were gone.

Unable to fully comprehend that they had actually left, Daniel pulled himself forward to have a better look. The feet and legs he’d been able to see through the underbrush, the heads and shoulders which had topped the bushes, were no longer visible. He had to be certain, though; there could be no mistake. Daniel laboriously, painfully, rolled onto his hands and knees, the gun still tightly clutched in his right hand against the ground. Nausea washed over him as his back protested the movement. Shuffling forward inch by agonizing inch until he reached the nearby tree, Daniel pushed himself upright, reaching out with his left hand to brace himself against the tree trunk. He took a good look around to find that like wraiths in the dark, the Byrsa had indeed twisted and faded and simply disappeared.

Both stressed and relieved beyond measure, Daniel sagged against the tree and closed his eyes, his whole body shaking violently and sliding slowly down the tree trunk as his legs lost their will to hold him up. The pain in his back was relentless, the act of standing having provoked a massive and prolonged muscle spasm which was spreading to envelope even his chest and shoulders. His heartbeat thrummed too loudly in his ears and his vision darkened to the point that he was no longer able to discern the intermittent flares of light from the staff weapons. It was all Daniel could do just to keep hold of the handgun.

As he sank toward the ground, Daniel suddenly realized that it wasn’t just him; the noises of the Jaffa and the explosions of the energy blasts didn’t just seem more distant... they were more distant. Just as he awkwardly hit the ground, his legs folding underneath him with a flare of white hot pain which Daniel knew was the absolute last straw, he understood the sudden absence of the Byrsa for what it really was. Frustrated beyond measure, Daniel slammed his fist into the ground and cried out in inarticulate dismay just before the darkness took over completely.

The battle was short and, Jack thought, infinitely sweet. It had taken all of fifteen minutes for SG1-minus-one and SG3 to ensure that all of the Jaffa in the village were dealt with, and only ten more to wheedle out of the remaining survivor where the rest of the Jaffa had gone. Their captive wasn’t very smart, and arrogantly surrendered the information without even realizing it under Teal’c’s manipulative questioning. Not that they really needed to ask; the swathe of destruction leading deep into the forested area behind the Stargate told the story all too well.

"Makepeace, take your men and head around to the left. We’ll go right." Jack indicated the areas he wanted covered with a wave of his hand. Parallel the trail they left, but don’t cross it. We’ll do the same from the other side. If you come across any of the Byrsa... try not to shoot them, okay." He didn’t need to tell them to be quiet, nor did he need to tell them what to do should they find Daniel. This time, Daniel was going to be the first one through the Stargate, no matter what.

SG3 was quick off the mark, Makepeace leading his team into the woods with the assurance of a soldier well used to clandestine operations. Teal’c immediately moved to head off, but no matter the urgency they all felt, Jack thought they couldn’t leave just yet. Just a few minutes; it might get pretty hairy out there, and Jack needed a few minutes to see where they stood here.

"Teal’c..." the big man stopped, turning only his head. Jack stared at the stern profile and wondered if this was repairable. He took a deep breath and felt it catch in his chest. "Teal’c... before we go I need... I need to know if you trust me. I need to know that we can work together here." He was aware of Carter fidgeting nervously behind him. The silence drew out for a long moment, then for two long moments, and just when Jack’s heart plummeted at the thought that he had his answer, Teal’c spoke.

"Daniel Jackson needs us. We will work together." Teal’c didn’t move, didn’t turn around.

"That wasn’t really the question, Teal’c."

"Are you sorry?" This time, Teal’c did move, turning his head away as he spoke so that all Jack had to draw from was the stiff stance.

Jack wasn’t sure exactly which part of his ignorance Teal’c was referring to – there was so much to be sorry for – but the answer would be the same regardless of the context. God yes. Yes, he was sorry. Jack was sorry Daniel had taken the brunt of his frustration, sorry the young man had been left behind, sorry that their return here had been delayed... "God, Teal’c. Of course, I’m sorry."

Teal’c’s head raised ever so slightly higher but he did not turn around, nor did he speak. Instead, the voice came from behind Jack; a soft, tentative question which chilled his blood and left him feeling confused and hurt. "Are you sorry because of the results of what happened, Sir, or... or because it happened in the first place?"

Jack closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. He wasn’t any good at this at all. She would never know, ever, just what this was doing to him. God, Daniel...

"Both, Carter. Look, I screwed up. I got so involved in what I... Oh, hell."

Teal’c had turned around. His eyes bored into Jack, making him feel incredibly insignificant. "You informed General Hammond of what occurred?"

"Yes." And it wasn’t pretty, Teal’c. Not pretty at all.

"Then my trust in you remains, O’Neill. Let us go now."

Jack suddenly found himself watching the retreating back of Teal’c as he headed with giant strides into the woods. He felt a light touch on his arm as Carter passed him to follow Teal’c, and he reached out and took her by the forearm. "Carter... " He realized he didn’t know quite what he needed from her; he didn’t know what he wanted to say and he knew that even if he did, he probably wouldn’t even be able to begin. He let go of her arm.

"It’s okay, Sir. We’ll find him. Daniel’s okay, Sir... he has to be." She gave him a quick, definitive nod and turned away to follow Teal’c.

Well, at least she knew what he needed from her.

An uncomfortable warmth in the small of his back and the feel of the earth under his body were the second and third sensations Daniel slowly became aware of as he woke up. The first, and by far the most easily interpreted, was the fullness of his bladder. He lay quietly for a moment, getting his bearings. He became aware of the smell of the foliage around him and of the sound of tall trees swaying in a breeze, and he remembered he was in the forest. He heard soft birdsong and gentle rustling of leaves, and then gradually became aware of indistinct and intermittent noises that had no proper place in these woods. Staff blasts, off in the distance... and something else... something...

Gunfire. It sounded like gunfire.

Daniel’s eyes snapped open and his limbs jerked uncontrollably at the sudden recognition of exactly where he was and what had brought him here... and at the thought that Jack must be here, somewhere, as well. For a moment he was frozen in place, afraid to move; afraid of the Jaffa, and of the pain. But then he realized there was considerably less pain than what he recalled; by far, the pressure of his bladder was more noticeable than the discomfort in his back. He tentatively moved his legs and found that although heat lanced down the back of both thighs, it was bearable. Maybe the pain before was just temporary; simply a sprain, and it was going away now. Yes. He was getting better. That was good, because he’d have to get moving; he'd have to take care of that full bladder before too long.

Daniel rolled onto his side and raised himself up onto one arm... and unexpectedly found himself face to waist with Hanno. The Byrsa was sitting cross-legged, silent and unmoving, not two feet in front of Daniel’s face. In his lap, he held the Beretta. Daniel stared at the gun, his breath caught in his chest, a huge question hovering there like a hot air balloon. It expanded until his chest felt it would burst and then it rose into his throat, choking him. He forced it out, not able to bring himself to look up at Hanno as he gave voice to his fear.

"Your people?" Daniel closed his eyes for a second in anticipation of an answer he didn’t really want, but knew he had, to hear. When he opened them and looked up at Hanno’s face, he saw what he thought was barely concealed anger there. Daniel felt a sudden chill come over him as Hanno’s eyes met his own, and he shivered violently, apprehension, anxiety and guilt all but overcoming his ability to hold himself up.

Hanno’s eyes softened somewhat, and the young Byrsa smiled faintly at Daniel. "My people are safe. The Jaffa are retreating, but we guard the Circle and none will be allowed to escape." Hanno turned the weapon over in his hands, regarding it with some seriousness. The remnants of the smile disappeared. "Your people arrived. Their noisy weapons and aggressive behavior are driving the Jaffa back away from the new Hiding."

Daniel thought he’d burst into tears, so great was his relief. Jack was out there, and the Byrsa had evaded the Jaffa. But Hanno was still toying with the gun. Daniel reached out for it, trying to see whether or not the safety was still off, but in a repeat of Daniel’s earlier motion Hanno pulled the weapon away and held it up at his shoulder, an inscrutable epression on his face. It didn’t take much thought for Daniel to decide that Hanno was more than just a little annoyed with him.

"Hanno... please. That thing is very dangerous."

"You did not fear it before."

Sure, like hell. "I always fear it... I hate it. Look, turn it over; see right by your hand there, there’s a small lever. You need to tell me exactly what position it’s in." Hanno turned the gun so that Daniel could see the safety. It was off. Daniel’s heart leapt to his throat as he saw Hanno’s finger was inside the trigger guard. "Hanno, you need to keep your finger off the trigger and flip that lever the other way. Carefully."

"Why?"

"It’s a safety mechanism and right now it’s in the ‘off’ position. The gun could fire. Please, Hanno. I don’t want any accidents here."

"No. No accidents." Hanno flipped the safety on. He pointed the gun at Daniel. "You come to our home and you challenge our mandates, first through the Cor-ai and now with this. You used this against us; against our ways."

"Hanno, surely you understand? I meant no disrespect to your people, but I couldn’t live with being responsible for your... Oh God, Hanno... it’s against my ways."  Daniel didn’t even try to keep his bitterness out of his voice. "Besides, you deceived me. You only left me to draw the Jaffa away. At least I was honest about my actions."

"Honest? I doubt that. You would really have carried out your threat?" The expression on Hanno’s face said that he didn’t believe for one minute Daniel would have killed himself. "No. You simply wished to force us to abandon our ways in favour of your own."

Daniel wasn’t all together certain himself if he would have been able to carry out the threat, but he did know, without a shadow of a doubt, that with the Jaffa only minutes away the threat had not been made idly. "No. I didn’t do it just to manipulate you. Well, actually, yes, I guess I sort of did do it to manipulate you, but I was honest, Hanno. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to finish it, but I meant it."

"If I am to believe that..." Hanno looked at Daniel intently; seemed to stare right through him. "Yes. I do. I believe you are honourable." Hanno threw the gun down on the ground. His confusion was obvious, but his tone was one of insulted righteousness. "You would have preferred to die by your own hand than to respect our mandates."

Hanno was accusing him of disrespect. Daniel felt anger stirring. God, if it weren’t for his insistence on paying deference to cultural mandates he really had no understanding of, if he hadn’t misguidedly held that principle over and above the safety of the team, he and Jack wouldn’t have... Teal’c wouldn’t have been...

The memory of his failed participation in the Cor-ai and the irony of Hanno’s accusation pushed Daniel’s anger into the open. "No! I don’t disrespect your people, Hanno. I was trying to protect them. Isn’t that your fundamental philosophy; that you protect one another? Yet you claim you don’t understand self-sacrifice? That’s self-serving, Hanno. Just like it was in the Cor-ai."

Hanno jumped to his feet, his face reddening. "You know nothing of this! You know nothing of us! To allow such a sacrifice is to deny the value of our lives; it is a dishonour!"

"No! I don’t believe your people truly believe that. I could see that on their faces, in their eyes, at the Cor-ai. It was only you who refused to acknowledge that Teal’c did what he had to, for the good of the many. I don’t understand why you insist on claiming that you don’t understand..."

"It is a lack of respect!"

"No it is not.  I don’t understand you; it’s just the opposite..." Caught up in trying to make sense of Hanno’s dogmatic position, Daniel instinctively tried to support his words with actions. He reared up onto his knees and spread his hands wide. The sudden sharp pains were all but incapacitating and with them Daniel realized that he wasn’t on the mend at all, but that the reduced pain of earlier was simply a result of the inactivity while he had been... asleep. He fell back against the tree and clenched his jaw, ducking his head to wait it out. He sqeezed his eyes shut as the world did a slow loop, and swallowed hard against the bile which rose into his mouth.

He felt Hanno’s hands on his shoulders and heard his voice, softened somewhat with sympathy. "The pain returns? Here... lay down... I will be back in a moment."

Daniel was vaguely aware of the feel of the ground underneath him and some indefinite noises alongside of the low moaning which he identified as coming from himself. This was bad again, so bad... In amongst a swirl of pinpoints of light in the blackness behind his closed eyelids, a roaring in his ears, and the intense heat in his back, Daniel felt a sudden pressure on his leg and opened his eyes to see Hanno with the second syringe, the needle uncapped and the point pressed firmly against his thigh.

Hanno’s hands, one gripping the syringe in a tight fist and the other pressed down heavily on Daniel’s thigh, were shaking. The young Byrsa’s eyes were wide with a combination of apprehension and determination. Daniel gasped, trying to both find and control enough air to tell Hanno what to do – to go fast and to be sure to pull back on the barrel before injecting the drug – but then what little air he had was lost in a huge exhalation of pain as Hanno inexoribly, very crookedly and far, far, far too slowly pushed down on the syringe, agonizingly sending the needle shearing into the muscle with a lack of finesse that rivalled even that of Nurse Clark.

Go on to part three

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