CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Sam walked over to Daniel's bed and gazed down at the archeologist's sleeping face.
"Daniel Jackson's ability to heal himself has again served him well," Teal'c said.
"Yes, it has. If this had happened before he gained that ability, he'd probably be dead."
Just then, two men brought a third bed in and set it up against one of the walls. With a quick glance at Daniel, they left.
Daniel slept for a little over three hours. During that time, Teal'c went out among the villagers to learn more about them and the situation with the Methra. Daniel was filled in on everything once he got up.
"Did you ask anyone about the city?" he asked.
"I did not," Teal'c replied. "No mention was made of it by anyone I spoke to."
"I need to talk to Kelith. If there are legends and stories about the gate, there may be some about the cities. I have to wonder if they were built by a previous race that lived on this planet, and the ancestors of these people came here after the other race left."
Teal'c went to get the village overseer.
"So, how are you really feeling?" Sam asked. Daniel had claimed that he was fine, but she wasn't sure of how true that statement was. After he woke up, he'd spent a few minutes healing himself the rest of the way.
"I'm okay, Sam. Really. I'm not eager to tangle with those Methra again, though. Against, a few of them, I could hold my own, but that many were too much for me."
"They felt threatened by your abilities."
Daniel nodded. "Considering the situation going on between them and the human inhabitants, it makes sense. If the people here began developing psychic abilities, they'd be a threat to the Methra, especially since I'm guessing that the human population is a lot bigger. The Methra would no longer have the upper hand."
Teal'c and Kelith came in.
"It is good to see that you are well," the overseer said to Daniel.
"Thanks. Sam and Teal'c told me about the situation with the Methra. We'd like to help, but we're not sure what we could do. Do you have any idea how many people are on this planet?"
"Before the problem with the Methra, I had access to the census reports from all the villages and towns in this territory. At that time, there were nearly thirty thousand people. There are many other territories, though, and I do not know how many people are in them."
So much for evacuating the populace to a safer planet. "Um, Kelith, what do you know about that big city that's not far from here?"
"Legends say that the cities were created by a mighty race that then vanished. Some believe that they were built by the Methra, who then abandoned them and went to live deep in the forest. No one goes there because of the guardians."
"Guardians?"
"Creatures made of metal that chase away all who dare to venture into the city."
"It sounds like some kind of robot," Sam said, "left behind by the city's inhabitants."
"Have these . . . guardians ever hurt anyone?" Daniel asked.
"No, although I have heard tell that they sting any who refuse to leave with something that looks like a tiny lightning bolt."
"Sounds like a small electrical charge," Sam remarked.
Worried about the fire, Daniel went outside with his teammates. He was surprised to see that the blaze didn't appear to have gotten any bigger. He made a comment about it, and Kelith explained.
"The Methra will be fighting the flames. It has happened before. A lightning strike last year caused a blaze that the Methra extinguished within a few hours. When they combine their powers, they are very mighty."
Daniel nodded. It was not really surprising. After all, he had the power to put out fires, though certainly not one that big.
"I am sorry that you can never return home," Kelith said. "You would not make it back to your Stargate alive."
"Actually, there's a good chance that our people will send a ship to come get us," Sam responded.
Kelith frowned. "A ship?"
"Um, yeah." Daniel said. "It might be a bit hard for you to understand what that is. Do you have boats?"
"We do not here, but those who live near the sea do."
"Our people have spaceships, which are like boats that fly through the sky and out in space."
"That must be an amazing thing."
"Yes, it can be."
Kelith excused himself, and SG-1 went back into their hut, deciding it was time they ate something. Over the meal, they discussed the situation.
"We need to check out that city," Daniel said. "It's possible that there's something there that can help protect these people against the Methra."
Sam took a bite of her power bar. "I wonder how many of those aliens there are."
"At least several thousand, I'd say. One thing's for sure. This situation won't stay like this forever. Sooner or later, there will probably be an all-out war, and, unless the humans can overwhelm the Methra by sheer numbers, they won't be able to win."
The time that SG-1 was supposed to check in came and went. They were surprised when no call came through from the SGC to find out why they didn't check in.
"Do you think it's possible that the Methra did something to the gate?" Sam asked.
"I suppose it's possible," Daniel replied. "They might have been worried that more humans like me would come through."
"General O'Neill is probably getting worried."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "When do you believe that he will send a ship if his efforts to contact us continue to fail?"
"It's hard to say. It'll be at least another week before the Prometheus is ready, so he'd have to send the Al'Kesh, if he decides to do something before then."
"I do not believe that O'Neill would have the patience to wait a week."
Sam smiled. "Yes, you're probably right. The problem is that some people might resist the use of the Al'Kesh. Look at what happened when we wanted to use it to go rescue Daniel on Tegalus."
"Yeah, but this situation isn't the same," the archeologist said. "They have no reason to believe that we're dead."
"True."
As night fell, SG-1 noticed a change in the demeanor of the villagers. There was fear in the air, and guards were being stationed at the village's perimeter.
"Have the Methra ever attacked the village?" Daniel asked someone.
"No, but we always fear that, someday, they will. The night belongs to them."
Jack paced his office. Repeated attempts to dial the planet SG-1 was on had failed. They were unable to get a lock, as if the gate had been destroyed or buried. Jack wondered what the hell could have happened in just those few hours that his former teammates had been there.
If they hadn't succeeded in getting through to the planet by morning, Jack intended to call Hammond and request permission to send the Al'Kesh. He'd have liked to send the Prometheus in case there was really big trouble on the planet, but it was going to be another week before the ship was ready to fly anywhere. So, the Al'Kesh would have to do.
It was well after midnight before Jack finally headed to his quarters, hoping that the morning would bring the return of his friends.
Morning dawned cold and clear. Sam, who'd taken the last watch, glanced inside their hut and saw that Teal'c was getting up. Speaking to him for a moment, she left to go use the village's bathroom facilities. On the way, she looked toward the forest and saw that the fire appeared to be completely out.
One of the villagers noticed the direction of her gaze.
"The flames died during the night," she said. "It took the Methra many hours to put out the blaze." She glared at the forest. "I hope that some of them perished in the fire." She smiled grimly. "Even if they did not, there is now a swath of forest land that they will no longer have for many years, not until the trees regrow."
Sam resumed her trip to the bathroom facilities. On the way back, she spoke to several people in the village, more than one of whom had lost loved ones because of the Methra.
She was just entering the hut when Daniel suddenly roused from sleep with a gasp. He sat straight up.
"We have to evacuate the village," he blurted out.
"What? Daniel, what are you saying? What did you see?"
"The Methra are going to attack the village tonight, Sam, and it's my fault."
"Your fault?"
"They see me as a threat, and they're going to attack the village in an effort to kill me."
"Then we must leave these people," Teal'c stated.
Daniel shook his head. "I don't think that's enough. The Methra may not realize that we're gone. We have to get everyone out of here, get them to the city."
SG-1 left the hut and went looking for Kelith. They found him emerging from his home.
"Kelith, we need to evacuate the village right away," Daniel said.
The man frowned at him. "Why?"
"Because the Methra are going to attack it tonight."
"How could you know this?"
"I have the ability to see the future. Please believe me, Kelith. The Methra will attack tonight, and anyone who is still here will die."
"He's telling the truth, Kelith," Sam said. "Daniel has accurately predicted the future many times in the past. He's never wrong. The attack will happen."
The village leader said nothing for a long moment. Daniel didn't know what he was going to do if he was not believed. He could not let these people die because of his presence.
Kelith nodded sharply. "Very well. I cannot deny that you are no ordinary man. I will trust that you are speaking the truth." He turned around and called out. "My people, the Methra seek to destroy us. They plan to attack us in the dark of night. We must flee this place."
His words caused an uproar.
"But where shall we go?" one woman asked.
"To the city," Daniel replied. "We'll have better shelter there."
"But what of the guardians?" another asked.
"We'll worry about that once we get there. Right now, we need to get out of here."
"Go and gather your belongings," Kelith said. "But hurry. We must be within the city well before dark."
Everyone scattered, running to their homes.
Kelith turned to SG-1. "I must gather my own things." He then left.
Daniel, Sam and Teal'c helped the villagers prepare to leave, heaping food and other supplies onto carts, which would be pulled by horse-like animals.
Once they were on their way, the going was slow, and Daniel was glad that they didn't have very far to go.
Everyone stopped at the city's outskirts, the villagers hesitant to venture within.
"Kelith, you and your people stay here," Daniel instructed. "We'll go in and see if it's safe."
Gripping their weapons, SG-1 approached the boundary of the city. On the edge of it was a row of metal posts around four feet high and three inches in diameter. They appeared to be spaced around forty feet apart and went on for as far as the eye could see, possibly encircling the entire city.
Stepping past one of the posts, SG-1 entered the city. Sam pulled out a scanner and checked the readings.
"I'm getting energy readings," she said. She turned around, eyes still on the readings, and stepped up to the nearest post. "It's coming from this." Sam's eyes scanned up and down the row of posts. "I think these might be generating some kind of sensor field that detects anything passing between the posts."
"Well, Kelith did say that anyone who went into the city was confronted by one of the 'guardians'," Daniel said. "The sensors probably send a signal, which means that we'll likely have some company pretty soon."
The "company" arrived not quite ten minutes later, and it was, indeed, a robot. About five feet high, it rolled up to them on wheels and said something in a language that sounded vaguely familiar to Daniel. When the humans didn't move, it repeated the words and came closer. Sam and Teal'c aimed their weapons at it.
When the three of them still didn't go away, the robot said something else. The tip of one of its hands generated a small arch of electricity, not enough to cause harm but certainly enough to give someone a painful jolt. As it came forward, arm extended, Daniel stopped it. The robot made several sounds, fighting against the telekinetic grip on it.
"What shall we do with this thing?" Teal'c asked.
"I don't want to destroy it," Daniel replied. "It was obviously put here to protect the city."
"Um . . . Daniel?" Sam said.
The archeologist looked in the direction she was pointing and saw that three more robots were coming, possibly called by the first one.
He sighed. "Then again, they could really get in the way." He lifted all four robots into the air, trying to figure out what he was going to do with them. "I wish I could understand what they're saying."
Just then, one of the robots said something else, and Daniel recognized one of the words.
"It's a variation of Ancient. It's undergone so many changes that I didn't even recognize it."
Daniel spoke to the robots in Ancient, hoping that they'd understand. They stopped struggling and began beeping and clicking. Then the nearest robot spoke again, this time in a dialect of Ancient that Daniel could understand.
"We are the guardians. We are programmed to protect the city."
"We are . . . visitors," Daniel responded. "We and the others with us need a safe refuge against an enemy that wants to hurt us."
"You use a weapon against us."
"What? Oh. Um, sorry." Daniel lowered them to the ground. "I just did that to stop you from attacking us."
"Explain the functioning of this weapon."
"Um . . . it is not really a weapon, although I can use it as one. It is an ability within my mind." He used the Ancient word closest to the meaning of 'telekinesis'. "Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes."
"So, can we and the people with us take shelter in the city? We need to find someplace safe."
"Yes, you may enter."
The robots turned around and left without another word.
"Okay, so what was that all about?" Sam asked.
"I guess we have permission to stay," Daniel replied. "Teal'c, go get the villagers and bring them in. Let them know that the guardians won't attack."
As Teal'c headed back to the villagers, Daniel began looking around at the buildings. "From what Kelith said, this city must have been abandoned a very long time ago, but you sure wouldn't know it by looking at it."
Sam examined the wall of one of the structures. "This is some kind of metal. It appears to be resistant to corrosion. If it's the primary building material, that would explain why this place is in such good shape."
"I wonder if there are also maintenance robots. Have you noticed that there aren't any weeds growing anywhere?"
Sam looked about. "You're right." She stared down at the road they were on. "And there aren't any cracks in whatever this stuff is. Wow. I wonder how long this place has been maintaining itself, waiting for the inhabitants to return."
Daniel walked over to a sign, his eyes scanning the writing.
"Can you read it?" Sam asked.
"Not easily. Its roots are clearly Ancient, but it's undergone a lot of changes, just like the spoken language." Daniel concentrated on the writing, trying to make sense of it. "I think it's an advertisement." He looked around again. "I'd say that whatever people lived here were influenced by the Ancients in the same way that the Romans were. Latin was derived from the Ancient language just like this language was."
"So, what happened to them?"
"Good question. I'd love to find a library or museum. That might give us some idea. First, though, we need to find some kind of power generator. If we can light this place up, the Methra will stay away."
"Well, the power for those sensors is coming from somewhere, but to find it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. This place is pretty big."
Teal'c and the villagers arrived a short while later. The Jaffa reported that the robots did not confront them, although one did observe them.
SG-1 found a building large enough that the villagers could make camp in. It looked like it may have been a warehouse, though it was empty of its contents. In fact, so far, every building they'd checked was empty, devoid of all furnishing and everything else.
"Well, wherever they went, it looks like they took everything with them," Sam remarked, "except for the robots."
Leaving the villagers to get settled and advising them not to wander far from their temporary camp, SG-1 resumed exploring the city. They'd been wandering for around two hours when they lucked out. They discovered a large map of the city and found out where the power plant was.
"It'll take a while to get there," Sam said.
Daniel looked up at the sky, checking the location of the sun. "It's going to start getting dark in another hour or so. The Methra probably won't leave the forest until it's completely dark, but we still don't have a lot of time."
"What's the likelihood that they'll follow us here?"
"That I don't know. Considering the distance and the fact that they can't be caught out in the open when morning comes, they may decide it's not worth the risk."
"But we cannot be certain," Teal'c stated.
"No."
"Okay, Teal'c and I will go to the power plant," Sam said. "You go back to the villagers. Contact us if there's trouble."
Daniel nodded and returned to the warehouse.
"Where are your companions?" Kelith asked.
"They're on their way to the place that supplies the power to this city. They're going to try to turn on the lights, which will keep the Methra away."
"What if they fail?"
Daniel hesitated before replying. "I don't know, Kelith. I'll try to protect your people as much as I can."
Jack put down the phone receiver with a little more force than was necessary. The call had been from the president. When Jack approached Hammond about using the Al'Kesh to go see what happened to SG-1, the leader of Homeworld Security had been all for it and had given his permission. Preparations were well underway when a wrench was thrown in the works. It seemed that certain high-ranking people had their own plans for the Al'Kesh, which didn't include risking it being damaged or destroyed on a rescue mission. They insisted that SG-1 could wait until the Prometheus was ready. The president didn't agree, but had just told Jack to give SG-1 a little more time to resolve the situation on their end. So, the Al'Kesh would not be leaving until tomorrow.
Okay, so it could be worse. The president might have sided with the idiots who didn't want the Al'Kesh used at all. But Jack was chafing at the delay, concerned about what trouble his former teammates might be in.
Once Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were back home safely, Jack had half a mind to blow up that damn Al'Kesh to teach the bigwigs a lesson about valuing a hunk of metal over a human life.
By the time Sam and Teal'c reached the power station, the sun had sunk below the horizon. Flashlights in hand, then entered the building and were immediately surprised by the sight of several small robots moving about. The robots ignored them, continuing about their business.
"I wonder if these might be some kind of maintenance robots," Sam mused. "This being the central power station, it would make sense that keeping it maintained would be a priority."
They wandered around for a bit before finding what they were looking for.
Sam frowned. "I was hoping that it would be something I'd recognize, but I have no idea how this works." She began studying the machinery and devices in the room, running her scanner over everything. "I wish I could read this text."
She got on the radio. "Daniel, come in."
"Yeah, Sam."
"We're there, but it's going to take me a while to figure this out. I see what looks like a user interface, but I can't read the language, so I have no idea what buttons to push. I could push the wrong one and overload the system."
"If the Methra decide to come to the city, we're not going to have a lot of time. I guess I should have come with you instead of Teal'c."
"No, you're the only one of us who has a prayer of protecting the villagers against the Methra, and we didn't know what we'd find when we got here. I'm not giving up on this yet. I'll get it figured out."
"Let me know how things are going."
"I will. Out."
Daniel went to the open door and looked out. Soon, it would be completely dark. After that, the Methra could leave on their mission at any time. Daniel desperately hoped that, once they saw that the village was empty, they'd give up on their plan and just go back home. But his instincts were telling him that was not going to be what happened.
The archeologist looked back at the men, women and children whose lives were now in his hands. They were in this situation because SG-1 had come through the gate, and it was up to him and his teammates to fix things.
As the last of the light died, Daniel closed his eyes, casting his mind across the distance between here and the village. He looked for any sign of movement, any hint of activity. There was nothing.
"Daniel?"
Daniel's eyes blinked open, and he turned to see Kelith standing beside him with a bowl.
"You should eat," the man said.
Daniel took the bowl. "Thank you."
"Are you tired? Your eyes were closed."
"No. I have the ability to see things that are happening far away. I was looking to see if there was any sign that the Methra are on the move."
Kelith stared at him closely. "How is it that you have these powers?"
"It's a long story, Kelith, a lot of which would be hard to explain. I can only say that something happened that changed me and gave me these abilities. There are other things you don't know about yet, other powers I have. You should know that I was the one who set the fire. The Methra attacked us, and I had no choice but to fight back with fire, which I can create with my mind. If the Methra come here, I will probably have to fight them."
"And will you win?"
"Probably not, but it's the only thing I can do."
"If you lose, you will die."
Daniel nodded. "But at least the Methra would then have no reason to attack you. I'm the one they want. They believe I'm a threat to them because of my abilities. We told them that we'd go back through the Stargate and never return, but they wouldn't accept that. I'm sorry that our presence here has threatened you."
"You have no fault in this, Daniel. You came in peace and with good intentions. You did not know of the Methra. They are evil. We would happily have shared the forest and its bounties with them, but, instead, they chose to take it from us by force."
"Whether or not they're evil is something I don't know, but they did make the wrong decisions."
"I will pray to our god that you will be victorious."
"Thank you, Kelith."
The man went back inside. After eating his dinner, Daniel checked the village and forest again. No more than a couple of minutes had passed when he saw the Methra emerge from the trees. His heart sank when he saw how many there were, at least sixty. He'd have no hope of withstanding an attack from that many.
Daniel watched as the aliens approached the empty village and searched it. They passed beyond it, their eyes on the ground. Daniel knew that they could see the tracks left by the villagers. For several seconds, they appeared to talk to each other, then what Daniel had feared happened. The Methra began following the tracks, heading toward the city.
Daniel's eyes opened, and he got on the radio. "Sam, Teal'c, come in."
"Yes, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered.
"Bad news. The Methra are coming. They just left the village."
"How long do you think it will take them to get here?" Sam asked.
"If they keep up their present pace, no more than half an hour. Have you had any luck yet?"
"A little. I managed to turn the lights on in this building, and I've identified a few other systems. It's a start."
"Sam. . . ."
"I know, Daniel. I'll hurry. I just wish I had my computer with me."
The archeologist looked at the people under his protection. That's when he realized what he had to do. "Sam, I can't stay here. I'm the one that the Methra want. As long as I'm with these people, they could get caught in the crossfire."
"Daniel, what are you saying?"
"I have to draw the Methra away from them, get them to chase me. They'd have no reason to attack the villagers, then."
"Daniel, you can't go out there alone and have any hope of making it out of this alive."
"Sam, there are at least sixty of them. If I stay here and fight, I won't last long, and a lot of people could die with me. In the city, I can move quickly. It's obvious that the range of the Methras' abilities is limited. If I can stay far enough ahead of them, I might be able to give you enough time to get the lights on."
There was a long pause, then, "Be careful, Daniel."
"I will. It would probably be best for you not to call me again. I don't want to get distracted."
"Okay."
"Daniel Jackson, do you wish me to join you?" Teal'c asked.
"No. It'll be better if I only have to worry about myself."
"I have faith that you will succeed."
"Thanks, Teal'c. Daniel out."
Daniel went into the warehouse and sought out Kelith.
"The Methra are coming," he said. "I've decided that it would be best for me to leave. They'll come after me, and you'll be safe."
The village overseer searched his eyes. "We would fight with you, Daniel."
"I know you would, Kelith, but you'd just die needlessly. I'll try to stay ahead of them, keep out of their reach. Sam just needs more time."
Kelith laid a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "May the great god keep you safe and bring defeat to your enemies."
"Thank you. After I leave, close the door and tell everyone to keep quiet. I'll make sure that the Methra don't come to this building."
Grabbing his things, the archeologist stepped out into the night.
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