Chapter Fifteen

19 May 2009 — Earth: SGC — 03:10 hours

 

Vala had to be sedated once more.  By the time they got back to the SGC she was in a towering rage.  When Jack saw her but not Daniel and then an injured Mitchell, he tried to slam his fist through the briefing room window.  It didn’t help.  Before leaving for the infirmary, after Dr. Lam had x-rayed and casted his broken hand, the General called a meeting.

 

Teal’c and General Landry were sitting at the table waiting for Carter and Jack to return from the infirmary.  They arrived preceded by Aisling.

 

“In his own inimitable way, it appears that our Daniel has gotten himself into a bag of dicks.  Now we have to figure out a way to rescue his ass.  First, Carter, what the fuck happened?” asked O’Neill, heatedly.

 

Sam looked down at the table.  She was beside herself with gilt.  With a deep sigh, she looked her superior officer in the eye.

 

“It was mine and Vala’s fault.  Daniel told us not to have any weapons, but neither of us felt comfortable without some sort of defense.  We were discovered and the region’s police arrested us.  Colonel Mitchell was knocked out when he tried to help us.  They took him back to the ‘gate.  By the laws of P5X-221, Vala and I were to be executed by fire immediately.  Daniel found a way to save us by offering himself in exchange for our freedom.”

 

She sighed and continued, “Because he is a man, he could not be put to death, only imprisoned.  Daniel told me before we left, that the way to get him home would be to work with their laws.  He also said that we should only let men go back to the planet, and not to let you— quote, storm the castle, end of quote.”

 

“Why the hell weren’t you with them?” he fumed at Teal’c.

 

“I could not enter, O’Neill.  I did inform the base of this matter.  Jaffa are not allowed,” the big man replied with no ill will.  He knew how passionate his leader was about his team, even if it wasn’t really his any longer.

 

Jack looked as if he was going to hit something again, but Hank put a hand on his shoulder to cool him a bit, and Aisling jumped into his lap.  For some reason, the cat calmed him almost immediately.

 

“It seems to me, that we need to call J.A.G. back again,” said Landry.  “Luckily, we had the law book scanned.  Colonel Carter, I want to have your report on my desk at 07:00 tomorrow.  I want details of what you saw and heard.  Please get with Ms. Mal Doran as soon as she is calm enough to work with you on that report, and the same with Colonel Mitchell if he’s well enough.  I should be tired of saying this, but…  We have to find a way to bring Dr. Jackson home.”

 

“How long would it take for us to send a ship after him?” Jack asked.  “Why waste our time in figuring out how to get him back with their stupid laws?  We can just go there and beam him up.  Problem solved.”

 

There was a murmur of agreement around the table.  General Landry considered the idea.  Standing up, he went to the phone and called Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman to come to the briefing room.  When the little sergeant came in, Landry motioned for him to sit down.

 

“Walter, where is our fleet right now?”

 

The Daedalus is in Pegasus and The Hammond just arrived in Atlantis and is not scheduled to return for two weeks.  The Odyssey is in dry dock for retrofitting.  She’ll be out of commission for at least a month.  However, The Eos is about three weeks away, sir.  They may be able to get here a little sooner if they push her to the limit,” he answered quickly, “but they are still working out some of the kinks with her new hyper-drive engine.  Her Asgard core is off line for the foreseeable future and she can only move at slow speeds.  She hasn’t really completed her shakedown voyage yet, sir.”

 

Carter turned to him, “Is she near any Stargate that we can go and meet her?”

 

“Um,” he considered a moment, “yes, I believe she is close to M6P-286.  Maybe a day or two away.”

 

Even with the grave nature of the meeting, everyone couldn’t help but be impressed with Walter’s ability to rattle off where every ship was and which planet was closest.

 

“If we could meet The Eos there, it shouldn’t take too much time to get to P5X-221,” Carter said.  “If I have my calculations right, it should only take a couple of weeks to get to Volzar from there.”

 

Jack leaned back in his chair, his wounded hand in a sling, the other was petting Aisling.  “Hank, I think we should call The Eos and tell them to stay put.  We will go meet her and leave for P5X-this is a fucked up planet- from there.”

 

“Are you planning on going too, General?” Landry asked him, knowing the answer already.

 

“You bet your ass I am.  And when I get my hands on him this time…” he let the statement trail off as he saw Vala stormed into the room, followed by Cam who was looking a little worse for wear.

 

Mitchell sat near Teal’c and the raven-haired woman took an empty chair next to Carter.  Aisling went to her immediately and snuggled.  “So… when are we getting Daniel back?” she demanded as she stroked the cat.

 

“Workin’ on the plan now,” Jack told her in a firm voice.

 

“How long will it take?”

 

“We are just discussing that, Ms. Mal Doran,” Landry told her.

 

“I’m going with.  I won’t stay here and wait like a dutiful girlfriend!” Vala said with just a little venom.

 

“All of SG-1 will be going, princess,” Cam replied, “we’re not losing him again.”

 

Aisling looked at Mitchell and gave a loud meow.  He smiled at her and nodded, “You too, Aisling.  Maybe you will bring us some of that Irish luck.  We could all use some.”

 

Satisfied, the cat settled back on Vala with an air of superiority.

 

Teal’c made a slight motion with his hand, “I believe that DanielJackson told us to use their laws to help him.  I do not think that just beaming him out of prison is what he had in mind.”

 

“He’s right, sir.  Daniel told me he gave his word that he wouldn’t try to escape.”

 

“Ya’ know, I really don’t care what he had in mind,” Jack said roughly.

 

Cam looked over to General Landry, “Sir, why don’t ask some of the J.A.G people to go with us?  They can look over the laws en route and if they find something, great.  If not, we’d be ready to extract Jackson.  Fair enough?”

 

Landry looked at O’Neill and shrugged, “Sounds good to me, Jack.”

 

Jack let out an exasperated sigh and nodded, “Just as long as we get him back.”

 

“And then I’m gonna kill’em!” Vala murmured loud enough for all to hear.

 

“Walter, go and contact The Eos and tell them to head to M6P-286 and wait for SG-1 to arrive.”

 

***

 

20 May 2009 — Planet Designation: P5X-221 — 13:20 hours

 

After the Proctor and soldiers left in the truck, things turned ugly for Daniel.  A guard roughly shoved him forward into a hallway.

 

“Where do you want me to put him, sir?” the big guard asked.

 

Corwin turned his piggy eyes towards Daniel with a sneer.  “Put him in the holding vault for now.  We got a couple more comin’ from Segno.  Might as well take’em all out to The Island at the same time.”

 

The man with Daniel smiled, “Sure thing, Warden.”

 

Taking the condemned man by his arm, the soldier lead him into the back to a small cell.  As soon as they were out of sight from the front office, the man punched Daniel in the kidneys.  As he fell to the ground with a thud, he heard the man above him laugh.

 

“You know what, P-24601, we have a saying around here.  What the Proctor doesn’t know… won’t hurt us.”

 

“Funny.  We have the same saying where I’m from too,” Daniel told him painfully.  That earned him a kick to the ribs.

 

Pulling his head back by the hair, the guard spit in his face, “You gonna get pounced on the minute you set foot on The Island, P-24601.  Seeings as you’re soooo pretty.  Segno prisoners alone will eat you up.”

 

“Yeah, well… I’ll take my chances out there where my hands are free,” he growled.

 

“Oh, you think yourself a fighter, eh?” picking him up from the floor, the guard uncuffed his hands and legs.  “Let’s see what you’ve got P-24601.”

 

Daniel moved quickly and caught his tormentor in the throat with his fist.  The big man stumbled backward choking with a shocked look on his face.  He certainly was not expecting that.  With an angry yell, he ran at Jackson.  Turning on the spot, Daniel kicked his would-be attacker in the gut.

 

“My name is Daniel!”

 

“You got some moves, son,” the guy coughed.

 

“I work for the military.  They trained me well.”

 

The big guard blocked a hit from Daniel and punched him square in the nose.  It exploded with a dizzying crack and he hit the floor.  Blood gushed out both nostrils and he could hear a ringing in his ears.

 

“Your name is P-24601 now.  Better get used to it.”

 

Just as the guard started after him again, Corwin walked in.  “What the—” he yelled, “Ignatius, put the cuffs back on that man and leave him alone.  You heard what the Proctor said.  No one touches this guy.  Got it?”

 

The other man glared at his superior.  Naturally, he was used to being able to rough up the prisoners.  He nodded reluctantly and moved to put handcuffs back onto P-24601.

 

“Get him cleaned up you fool.  Damn!  You got woodchips for brains,” Corwin grumbled as he left the room.

 

Ignatius pulled Daniel up off the floor and tossed him onto a chair.  He put the hand and leg irons back on his prisoner before he left for a moment.  When he came back, it was with a dirty, wet cloth, which he threw at P-24601.

 

It was hard to reach his nose with the cuffs looped through the waist chain, but Daniel managed to get the bleeding to die down a bit.  Left alone, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to ease his headache.

 

It was quite some time before the others arrived.  Soon he was on the move to his new home.  They put the three men in the back of a truck and started over the bridge.  The ride wasn’t very long after they were off the bridge, but the lack of real roads on The Island made it seem forever before they got where they were to be left.  He knew how big the island was and that it was mostly wilderness, but with the hazy-grey day and steady rain, the place looked down right bleak.

 

Daniel was to be taken to the Southfield Camp with the two other prisoners.  On the way, Daniel studied the other two men.  Neither looked like criminals to him.  One seemed very educated, and the other clean-cut with soulful eyes.  The Tau’ri man was about to ask them why they were on the way to prison when they arrived at their destination.  The guards pushed the three men out of the truck, laughing.  Taking their shackles off, the three men were all handed duffle bags.

 

“I’d say good luck, but…” the big one that had fought Daniel just smirked and then the soldiers left.

 

Once the truck was gone, his fellow convicts took off away from the little village that was close by.  Rubbing his sore wrists and wondering if he should follow them, Daniel looked around.  The place resembled a Native American reservation he had been to for an archeology dig when he was doing his grad work at the University of Chicago.  Ramshackle huts were like the Cherokee wattle homes or asi in their native language.  They were made by weaving thin strips of wood, and vines into a frame.  Then the frame was coated with what Daniel surmised as the red mud that was in copious amounts.  The roof was thatched with grass giving the homes a Christmas look with the green tops and red walls.  Built in a semi-circle around a sizable well, there was an opening at both ends of the main strip.  No one was in view, but there was smoke rising from several of the homes.

 

Picking up the small duffle issued to him, he rummaged through it.  There were the basic supplies— a razor, a comb, a few items that resembled food, a lighter, and a moth-eaten blanket.  Looking at the outside, it had his number blazoned on the side, P-24601.  That was who he had become now… no name, just a number.

 

He heaved a sigh and looked back at the dwellings.  Daniel really wished they hadn’t taken his glasses.  Then he remembered what Jack had told him when they were incarcerated on the prison planet of Hadante.

 

“Oh Danny, you gotta trust me on this,” he said as he took Daniel’s glasses off of him, “signs of weakness are not a good thing in prisons.”

 

“Well, another thing I learned from you, Jack.  Never thought I’d need that tidbit of information again.”

 

Hitching the pack over his shoulder, he went to the well at the center of the little community.  Pulling up the bucket he splashed cool water on his face to try and ease the pain.  His ribs ached, his nose throbbed, hell— it would be a shorter list of what didn’t hurt.  Daniel placed his fingers on either side of his nose, took a deep breath, and cracked it back into place.  The pain was intense and he became dizzy.

 

Before he fell over, he sat beside the well in the mud and leaned his head back.  Closing his eyes he hoped to catch a glimpse of Vala, but no vision came.  He wondered if that meant she was too far away for him to keep track of her.  His heart sank and his eyes dulled.  It had been almost 48 hours since he had last slept.  Even with his mind racing, he soon fell into a restless sleep.

 

It started to drizzle while he slept there in the mud.  Although he was exhausted, his senses alerted him that something wasn’t right.  He woke up cold and wet— and with company.  A young boy sat in front of Daniel.  The child gave him a lopsided grin.  Rubbing his eyes, Daniel sat up a little more.

 

“Um… hi,” the man said to the boy as he held out his hand.  “My…my name’s Daniel.”

 

The boy just looked at the offered hand and cocked his head to the side, confused.  After a few moments, he stuck out his own small hand beside Daniel’s.  With a soft laugh, the man took the boy’s hand and shook it.

 

“Do you have a name?” he asked with eyebrows raised.

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“Will you tell it to me?” Daniel asked, amused at the boy.

 

“Branimir, but people call me Bran,” the towheaded boy answered.  “And you are P-24601.”

 

“Yeah— I guess I am, Bran, but people call me Daniel,” he said then looked back to the huts.  “Do you know if any of those places are empty?”

 

“No, but we have an extra spot you can have.  You look like a nice guy.”

 

Daniel laughed, “Thanks.  Do you live here in the penal colony?”

 

“I was born here.  The Island is my home.  I don’t know what a pe-nile col-lo-ni-ny is.  But I live with my mom.”  The boy pointed to the last hut on the edge of the forest.  “I’m sure she won’t mind, P-246… I mean, Daniel.  Come on!”

 

Bran grabbed his hand and pulled.  Jackson got to his feet and followed the boy to his home.  A few faces gazed out dirty windows as the two passed.  They seemed only curious about the newcomer.  There were skins laid out on wooden racks for drying, and a few furs.  Some of the homes were bigger than others and all of them were raised off the ground on stilts that were a little over half a meter high.  At the end of the one side of the circle was a long hut which Daniel presumed was a meeting place.  The forest butted up to the homes on the right, and flat, bare, plains were behind those on the left.  A muddy track split the village in two.  As they neared the hut that Bran called home, Daniel saw that it was one of the bigger ones, with smoke curling above the roof.  The whole village would have been picturesque if it weren’t so drab and forlorn.

 

Bran burst in the door yelling, “Mama!  Mama!  We have a new roommate!”

 

“Now hang on, Bran, your mom might not want a strange man living in her home with her son.  I could be anyone.  Remember… I’m a prisoner.”

 

“Not many here are prisoners anymore.  We just consider ourselves as a free people.  The men of Ertieg or Sengo do not govern us.  My name is Serin.  Welcome to The Island.”

 

She was comely if not a little worn, with hair the color of the sun.  Her smile could warm up the coldest hearts, but he hardly noticed.  He only saw kindness.

 

“Daniel.  Daniel Jackson.  Now known as P-24601,” he said as he lifted his little duffle bag, pointing to the number.  “Your son here said you might have a space available for me.  I won’t be any bother, I just want to get some sleep out of the rain and mud.”

 

Serin smiled and motioned for him to follow her.  She took him to a room off the kitchen.  It was small, but it had a bed and a chest of drawers with a small mirror hanging above it.

 

“Will this be okay, Daniel?” she made sure that he noticed she called him by his name.

 

Nodding he gave her a small grin, “More than okay, but I can’t pay you.  They took all my possessions and I doubt you could use any of them here anyway.”

 

Serin waved the offer away and said, “You look exhausted and you’re wet.  There is warm water over the fire and I have some of my husband’s old clothes that will probably fit you.  Rest.  I’ll have Bran forage some more mushrooms for dinner.”

 

“Serin,” Daniel said softly, “you are very generous. Thank you.”

 

She smiled and left the room.  When she came back, she had some clean dry clothes for him.  After he had finished washing off the mud and blood that was caked on his face and changed his soiled clothes, his new benefactor had him sit by the fire while she tended to his wounds.

 

Serin handed him a cup of some steaming liquid and said, “Drink this.  It will ease some of the pain and help you sleep soundly.”

 

Daniel was about to protest, but when he turned, his ribs screamed at him, and he took the offered drink.  It was bitter, hot and felt wonderful going down.  It was also fast working.  He could feel the weariness take him and Serin ushered him to his room.  He laid down on the lumpy, but warm bed and sighed.  As soon as his eyes closed, he saw Jack and Sam standing on the bridge of a ship.  The vision fogged then cleared and he could see Vala sitting in a room, staring out of the window into the blackness of space, Aisling curled on her legs.  She was safe and he knew it.  With a smile, he went to sleep.

 

***

 

22 May 2009 — Planet Designation: P5X-221 — 11:40 hours

 

Daniel slept for two days.  When he stumbled out of his room, disheveled and yawning, he was surprised that the sunlight hadn’t moved much across the floor.  When Serin told him he had been out for two days, he couldn’t believe it.  He never slept that long in one sitting.  At least not when he wasn’t drugged.  Maybe the stuff that Serin gave him was more powerful than he thought.  He also figured that because the days on this planet were only 18 hours long helped a bit too.  The housewife steered him to the table and soon there was a bowl of hot mushroom soup placed in front of him.  As they ate, Serin told her guest about his new home.

 

“There really haven’t been prisoners here for… oh, I don’t know… maybe fifty years.  The people that are sent here from Ertieg and Segno are supposed to be prisoners.  However, a lot of them are just folks wanting freedom from oppression,” Serin said.

 

“So… what then?  The Island is an independent country?” he asked around a mouthful of soup.

 

“I guess you could call us a country.  We choose not to let the others know about us, though.  The guards only come in if there is a problem or when they are dropping off people, so they don’t know that we govern ourselves.  They are not the brightest stars in the sky.”

 

He laughed at that, as he tore into a hunk of bread.  Still more questions were whirling around his head.  He had not expected this at all.  Daniel wasn’t sure what he was anticipating, but it definitely wasn’t this.  Remembering his conversation with the Proctor on his way to the guard station, he realized that this indeed was like Australia.  But how were they keeping it a secret?

 

“Don’t the guards wonder about the children here?  Bran can’t be the only one,” he asked.

 

“We have a lookout by the bridge that lets us know when there’s a drop-off so the kids scatter, but there are around 20 here in Southfield Camp.  Maybe a few more in Northfield Camp.  The camps are like an outpost, so not a lot of families live here.  It’s more of a ruse so Ertieg and Segno think we live in squalor and leave us alone.  Most of our population is much farther inland where our main city is.  It’s a small city surrounded by the forest and can’t be seen by water; not that they ever come looking.  In the city there are— I’m not really sure— I think there must be about 600 maybe 700 people living there.”

 

This was overwhelming news to Daniel.  He felt nothing but admiration for these people.  So different from either of the other two nations.  How have they been keeping this a secret?

 

“This is just— wow!” he said.  “If I had to stay here very long, I might actually enjoy living here.”

 

Serin looked at him confused, “No one ever leaves The Island, Daniel.  Why would they want to?  Northfield Camp is a farming community that supplies the island with food.  We are artisans and hunters here at the Southfield Camp.  We trade our kills and crafts for grain.  There are schools for the children and a medical hut in both camps.  Even though we don’t live in the city, we are still considered citizens of The Island.  We vote and have elections every two years for council members that govern us.  The men and women are equal here and that’s the way we like it.  We may be prisoners to Ertieg and Segno, but to us… we are free.”

 

“Don’t your families wonder what’s become of you?” Daniel asked.

 

“For most of us, our families are here.  We do have a way to communicate with the resistance.  There is a system in place that helps defectors make it onto The Island without the guards seeing anything.  We make sure the outpost looks like a prison and that there is room if any real prisoners that are dropped off.  Still, most people that come here want to be here: just folks that are sick of the laws of separation or being forced to work in the mines.”

 

“So, no real criminals?  I can’t be the only one to come here involuntarily.”

 

“In the beginning there were a few problems with the detainees.  Soon, though, it was more and more social activists ending up here.  The ones that wrote papers and organized protests.  They are the ones that built the city and began our free government.  When the hardcore believers came here as convicts, the ones that ruffled the wrong feathers, they really helped to get all of this organized.  But if someone is violent or tries to disrupt our way of living, well, let’s just say… they don’t last too long here.  The laws take care of them.”

 

“Capital punishment?” Daniel asked astonished.

 

Serin shook her head, “Not in that we actually kill them.  Think forced banishment.  They have to try and survive on the west side of the island.  There, you can’t farm because of the minerals in the soil.  There isn’t much game to hunt and the fishing is spotty at best.  Most of those that are sent there are never seen again.”

 

“How do you get the ones that want to come here, here?”

 

“We have sympathizers in Ertieg that knows about us.  If someone wants out of the system, they lets us know.  The one in charge of getting defectors to the launch site is rather high in Ertieg’s political party. They are smuggled over in a boat at night.  Many years ago, someone found a weak spot in the dome and we can get people through that way.  It only gives a small jolt when they pass the border.  And because they aren’t convicted, they have no chip to alert the warden.”

 

“Proctor Odoaker, he’s your contact… right?” Daniel figured.

 

Serin smiled and said, “You’re good, Daniel.  Maybe you should teach at the school.”

 

Jackson liked that idea.  If he was going to be here for any length of time, he might as well enjoy it, but then he thought of Vala and his heart cried for her.

 

Shaking his head, he looked down, “I have someone waiting for me.  My… my girlfriend.  I promised that I would find a way to get back to her.”

 

Serin stared at him, “But… but you are a convict, Daniel.  You had the chip put in, right?  There— you can see the red light under the skin on your arm.”

 

“Yeah, so?  Proctor Odoaker said he would try to find a way to free me.  And my friends, they are going to look into any loopholes the law may have.  I really don’t plan to be here very long, Serin.”

 

“I hope that will be true, Daniel.  The people that have the chip, though, the ones that are prisoners, they can’t leave our island.  I could because I don’t have a chip.  My husband did and when he was trying to get his mother here, his boat caught the current and took him to where the border is strong and well… let’s just say, Bran is all I have now.”

 

Daniel looked up, apprehension in his eyes, “But, Odoaker told me…”

 

“Odoaker is just as much a prisoner as you are, only his prison is the law of Ertieg.  He does what he can, but he is only one man.  One man with a council of men that want nothing to do with change.”

 

“Well, I’ll just cut the chip out— it’s not that far under the skin,” Daniel suggested inspecting where the chip blinked malevolently in his arm.

 

“I’m sorry, but if you try and take it out, or if you try and leave, your… your heart will explode.  Unless you can find a way to deactivate the chip, you are stuck here.  The chip is how we can live free.  The guards know that no prisoners can leave without… dying, so they leave us alone.”

 

Devastated, Daniel stood up and walked out the door.  Bran looked to his mom and then went after him.  Daniel walked to the well and sunk to his knees, his face in his hands.

 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!” The primal scream erupted from deep in his soul and he released it to the sky.