Free Stargate SG-1: Trial by Fire: SG1-1 by Sabine C. Bauer Page B

which he probably will," she replied grimly, keying her radio.
"Colonel? This is Carter. Come in, sir... Colonel?"
    The radio burped copious amounts of static, but there was no
reply from Jack.
    "Damn," she muttered softly.
    "Yeah."
    "Major Carter. You have returned."
    Hands clasped behind his back, Teal'c strode across the
atrium, torchlight tinting his skin bronze. His measured, powerful
grace fit the place completely and lent him the air of an Oriental
potentate visiting his seraglio. You practically expected him to start
salaaming. He didn't go quite as far. He merely inclined his head.
Next, that eyebrow ratcheted up. Colloquial Jaffa for What's with
the numbers?
    "Colonel O'Neill hasn't come back yet, but Kelly's made up for
it by giving Daniel the slip," Sam informed the eyebrow.
    It was joined by its counterpart in a rare display of surprise. "I
see. Do you wish to search for Professor Kelly?"
    "No." She sighed. "I'm pretty sure the Professor's gone to the
temple, and you heard what Ayzebel said about that. If we turn
up as well, it'll only make matters worse. We wait. The Colonel
should be back in less than an hour, and if she hasn't shown up by
then we'll reassess our options."
    Teal'c studied her thoughtfully. "I believe you are correct, Major
Carter. It will be wiser to wait."
    Which was exactly what they did. Daniel stretched out on the
rim of the pool, staring up at a square of stars. A little further along
sat Sam and Teal'c, talking quietly. The whoops and howls of
the revelers in the street drifted in only faintly, and the patio still smelled of the flowers Ayzebel had strewn earlier in the day. He
could get used to this, if it weren't for the fact that things were off
somehow. Like one of those pictures by M C Escher, showing what
seemed like a perfectly good staircase until you looked closely
and realized that the stairs led both up and down at the same time.
The staircase grew larger and three-dimensional, and General
Hammond got really annoyed because he met Dr. Kelly who argued
that she'd been excavating staircases since before George was an
itch in his daddy's trousers, and he couldn't possibly be going up
the stairs if he was coming towards her. Kandaulo skipped downup the opposite side, chasing Hamilqart and Ayzebel who backed
up-down hopping like Easter bunnies into Teal'c and the Conga
Line who were singing Ay Bouzouki to Baal, but hopscotch wasn't
allowed on the stairs, so Sam was frantically typing on a computer
to figure it all out, because Jack lay upright, crushed against a metal
spider web, hurting and terrified, and he fell and fell and fell, up
and down, into a silent ocher downside-up-upside-down abyss, and
everything he always locked down floated up, inside out, carved in
his face, terrified and hurting.

    Daniel?
    "Jack!"
    He jerked awake, nearly rolled into the basin, and steadied
himself with the wrong hand, up to his armpit in water. At least
it chased away the remnants of his dream. If it had been a dream.
Teal'c and Sam stared at him, mystified, and the noise from the
street had stopped completely.
    "Daniel Jackson?"
    "Daniel?"
    "What happened to Jack?" he croaked.
    "I told you half an hour ago." Sam frowned. "The Colonel went
up to the temple."
    "That's not what I mean! While I was... gone!" His fingers
fluttered in lieu of a more accurate description, sprinkling drops of
water on the floor. "While I was gone. Something happened to Jack
while I was gone."
    Oh here we go again! That goddamn exchange of furtive looks.
Dr. Jackson, this briefing is classified. Screw this!

    "You were dreaming. Daniel, you're probably -"
    "Don't give me that, Sam!"
    "Daniel Jackson, we "
    At which point the front door crashed open. Daniel half expected
the Conga to make an entrance and felt an uncharacteristic desire to
shoot the lot of them. Except, it wasn't the revelers. It was a group
of twelve men, led by Kandaulo and Hamilgart, and they weren't