Part 24 (1/2)

”Could she be Tok'ra?”

Jack shook his head. ”With her own Jaffa?”

”Okay,” he conceded. ”But that doesn't mean she won't help us. It wouldn't be the first time a Goa'uld has done a deal with their enemies when faced with a common threat.”

Jack grunted. ”And that always ends so well...”

They lapsed into silence, Daniel still up ahead and Teal'c walking close to his shoulder with his staff weapon at the ready. They looked tense, but Jack didn't feel any fear or hostility coming from the people around them - just curiosity.

Mostly there was a weary kind of resignation in the faces that watched them pa.s.s, and not a spark of hope anywhere. He wondered how long the people of his world had lived like this, in thrall to the Amam. A generation or two? More, perhaps.

A small child ran across their path and was s.n.a.t.c.hed up by a young woman who might have been her mother or sister. Jack gave a tight smile, like he always did when there were kids around, but kept on walking. He couldn't engage with these people, he had no way to help them. He couldn't even help his own people.

He yawned - G.o.d, he really was tired - and scrubbed a hand over his eyes; it was getting harder to think straight.

”Sir?” Carter nudged his elbow and held out a power bar. ”I'm guessing the Amam didn't feed you?”

”Hey, I'm just glad they didn't feed on me.” He glanced at the bar. ”Have we got enough of these?”

”It's yours, sir. We ate this morning.”

That was good enough for him, and after a couple of mouthfuls and a good sugar hit, he felt the weariness recede a few steps - not far, but enough. ”There's a lot of weird technology back in the s.h.i.+p,” he said between bites, throwing Carter a look. ”Apparently it's Ancient - capital A.”

”Really?” Daniel turned around again, fascinated as always by anything touching on the gate builders. ”What kind of weird technology?”

Jack shrugged. ”I don't know - star charts, gizmos, all sorts. Crazy had me testing a ton of it.”

Daniel blinked. ”Uh, 'Crazy'?”

”My freaky friend.” He frowned, remembering something. ”They don't speak to each other,” he said. ”You notice that?”

”Yeah,” Daniel said. ”Actually I was wondering if they have some kind of telepathic ability, because their written language is literally unp.r.o.nounceable.”

”Telepathy, huh?” Jack stuffed the rest of the power bar into his mouth. ”Handy.” He chewed, swallowed, and said what was really on his mind. ”So I'm thinking that where there's Ancient stuff there has to be a way to open the gate... ?”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. ”You want us to go back into the s.h.i.+p? Again?”

He opened his mouth to argue the point, but Carter got there first.

”Actually, sir,” she said, ”it might not be as simple as finding a way to dial the gate anymore.”

He sighed. ”I ask you, Carter - when is it ever simple?”

With a slight smile, she said, ”Sir, I think we may have been transported a significant distance away from the Stargate.” She glanced at her watch. ”The first night here, I reset my watch to 1800 hours at sunset - it's arbitrary, I know, but I wanted to measure the planet's day/night cycle. That night lasted sixteen and a half hours.”

”Wow,” Daniel said, his hand moving involuntarily to his side. ”And I thought it just felt like forever.” Jack could still see the b.l.o.o.d.y splotch on Daniel's jacket and felt a ghost of the fear that had dogged him since they'd arrived on this rock with Daniel practically bleeding out in front of him. The wound beneath the blood was healed and Daniel was fine now, but he'd been healed by an Amam and Jack had no idea what that might mean.

”The thing is, sir,” Carter continued, ”last night the sun set at 1200 hours, by my watch, and when I measured the hours of darkness they only lasted twelve hours and twenty minutes.”

Jack frowned, he didn't like where this was going at all. ”So you're saying we're in a different time zone?”

”Yes sir.” She gave a small shrug. ”I mean, there's no telling exactly how far that would be on this planet - but on Earth it would equate to a couple thousand miles.”

”A little more than a stroll, then?”

”It would be a long walk,” she agreed. ”And that's a.s.suming we could figure out which direction to go and that we're even on the same continental ma.s.s, because the -”

He held up a hand to stop her. ”Any good news, Major?”

She shook her head. ”I just think this Dix guy might be our best shot, sir.”

”Yeah,” he sighed. ”I knew you were going to say that.”

Not long after that, Daniel and Teal'c drew to a halt a short distance from a flimsy wood and cloth shack. ”Looks like we're here,” Jack said, instinct moving his hands to rest on his gun. Hunter served a Goa'uld, after all.

With a quick glance at Jack's weapon, Daniel said, ”He has a family - a wife and a son.”

”Then let's hope he knows how to keep them safe,” was all he said.

Daniel just nodded and approached the rickety shack. ”Hunter?” he called in a low voice. ”Hunter, it's Daniel Jackson.”

After a moment, the cloth drew back and Hunter appeared in the doorway. A grin flashed across his face when he saw Jack. ”Looks like you're right hard to kill.”

”So I'm told,” Jack said. ”Mind if we come in?”

Hunter's home was little more than a dirt floor, a smoky fire-pit, and some bed rolls. A couple of cooking pots hung on the wall and some shabby clothing was draped over a nail nearby. With everyone crowding in, the place felt cramped and claustrophobic.

”Um,” Daniel suggested, ”shall we sit down?”

It was better with them all sitting, although no one was small and it felt like there were long legs and booted feet everywhere. The weapons didn't help much either, but Jack wasn't about to leave them outside. At last, after a substantial amount of shuffling around, they all found a seat by the fire. Toward the back of the hut, Hunter's wife and child sat together on one of the bed rolls, the child's head in his mother's lap as he sucked his thumb and drifted drowsily toward sleep.

Jack didn't allow his gaze to linger there, instead turning his attention firmly back to Hunter who crouched close to the fire, feeding a few sticks to the flames. ”So,” he said, ”you can take us to see Dix?”

”Yup.” Hunter sat back on his heels. ”At first light.”

”Why not now?”

Hunter shook his head. ”'Cause Dix won't be back till mornin'.”

”Back from where?”

Hunter turned his eyes skyward, ”From speaking with the G.o.ddess.”

Jack followed his gaze to the ceiling before exchanging a glance with Teal'c. ”She has a s.h.i.+p in orbit?”

”You'll see,” Hunter said. ”I've already said more than I should.”