FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 8

The Walls of Jericho - 8 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus



Even the pictures didn't prepare Jack for the 'village.' There were no outlying buildings, no farms or suburbs gradually leading to a town square. No open air markets or chickens and whatnot. Just a path and one great, big, impenetrable door, the size you'd find on a castle, probably three stories tall. It was intricately carved with long, forbidding faces, and symbols that Daniel had said were unlike any pictographic language he'd seen. Which meant: not a transplanted human society. Genuinely alien, if humanoid.

Jack gazed up at the door, looking for windows -- or arrow slits. Any clue as to what these people were like militarily. There was nothing he could see. The door seemed to be strictly defensive.

"Well," he turned to his team. Teal'c peered up at it with undaunted curiosity. "Someone ring the doorbell."

Daniel folded his arms. "Actually, we don't know how."

"Oh for crying…" Jack walked up and knocked. There wasn't a trace of an echo, and the door could've dented his P-90. "Ow."

He shook the jangle out of his fingers and ignored the sly smiles exchanged between Daniel and Carter. "What is that stuff?"

"A form of basalt, sir," Carter explained. "An incredibly hard igneous rock."

Daniel scanned it with wonder on his face. "It must have taken them centuries to carve all this. Generations spent just on this door, like the gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe."

Jack was impressed. A door like that had to have the mother of all hinges. "So what do we do now?"

"Clearly we wait," Teal'c said.


Part 9 here. More coming.

FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 9

The Walls of Jericho - 9 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus




Daniel went to one knee and bowed low. Jack had strict instructions not to say a word, so he just smiled at the cluster of native people arrayed on the doorstep, wearing long red robes and head-dresses. Ah, primitive society. You always knew by the drapery they wore.

They didn't smile back.

"We give you greetings from a far away land, beyond the mountains and the stars," Daniel said in full formal mode, then added, "We're from a world called Earth."

One of the short little guys - not the leader, who looked as forbidding as the stone faces - stepped forward and kneeled as well. Jack hoped this wouldn't take too long, they'd let all the heat out. He winced at the big open door and could almost hear his mother yell, Jonathan, don't heat the outside!

Whatever Daniel had said, it had been the right thing because the leader nodded and everyone stood up. Without a word, the leader and the rest of the group filed into the… castle, for lack of a better word. Which was definitely weird.

The one who'd bowed gestured for them to follow.

Directly inside, they found themselves faced with more carvings and some sort of curtain made of what looked like a rough reddish-pinkish fabric that hung from a very, very tall ceiling. Jack craned his neck to see if it was suspended from a beam, but it was too high. The other aliens were already out of sight.

They turned another corner and threaded their way through what turned out to be maze of these tall panels, each lit by elaborate braziers of coals. Hopefully the stuff was fireproof. Once they'd gone through a few twists and turns, the breeze from outside was completely gone. It slowly grew warmer until Jack unbuttoned his coat.

"Which family of cithriel is this Earth, if you are permitted to say?" their guide asked.

Permitted-? Cith--what? Daniel returned Jack's confused look, equally puzzled.

"On the circle heirodalgia."

Sam took a quick breath of recognition, and pointed to her shoulder patch. "This one."

"Ah yes." The alien nodded knowingly.

"They mean the gate symbols, guys." They all glanced meaningfully at each other. She turned to the young man. "Do you mean you use the stargate -- this heirodi…?"

"Heirodalgia," Daniel said quickly. Note perfect. It never failed to impress Jack when he did that.

"From… there?" he pointed generally back the way they'd come. "No, no. We do not go there." He gestured to the Earth gate coordinate on Sam's jacket. "This is part of our traditions, the great families."

"Ah," Daniel said, as if that had made any sense at all.

"I will show you to your sleeping rooms, where you shall dress for the evening gathering."

"Dress for dinner? And me, I forgot my tux." Daniel gave him a dirty look, but Jack had bad images of the four of them in weird head-dresses trying to eat.

A slightly cooler breeze warned Jack that they'd come to the end of the curtains. They stepped out from behind the last panel, and Jack whistled.

There were pillars carved in rich detail, faces and bird-like things extending as high as he could see. Stretching out before them inside the cavern were roads, archways, side streets curving away, some uphill, some clearly sloping downward. Everything was lit at regular intervals and light filtered through doorways covered by more of that drape-y fabric. People glanced at them in curiosity, then looked away shyly.

It was an underground city.

Jack swiftly re-evaluated their level of threat, and the comfort level they could expect for the night. Definitely hot baths, he decided.

As they crossed the street, Jack trailed behind the group to get a better look at the place. Daniel slowed to match his pace, and murmured in Jack's ear, "I think the gate symbols represent some sort of religious icon. I doubt they know what the stargate is. Their dress and architecture indicates a pre-feudal, post bronze age level of development. Though their art is nothing short of incredible." He glanced around in awe.

Ah.

"Just so long as they don't think we're gods, I'm okay with that." Then he peered at Daniel. "What was with all the bowing stuff anyway?"

"Oh, I was presenting myself for a ritualized beheading." At Jack's alarmed look he added quickly, "No no, it wasn't dangerous. If there were some dispute between you and the leader here, you each offered up a proxy you see. But there isn't, so…." Daniel gave him an innocent look. "It was all in the briefing."

"No it wasn't." He was sure no one had mentioned the word 'beheading.' Hammond would have definitely sat up and taken notice.



Part 10 here. And more on the way.

FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 10

The Walls of Jericho - 10 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus



They were given a trio of rooms and, lucky them, and en suite bathing room just as Jack had hoped. The walls were all of that same black rock, rough with more carving (which was starting to wear on the eyes) but, wonder of wonders… Jack settled on the edge of the square platform with a sigh… this alien species had invented something bouncy and relatively similar to beds. It beat every sleeping platform, straw ticking, and pile of pillows he'd encountered off world.

Sam looked surprised when Jack assigned Daniel and Teal'c to share one of the rooms, while he gave one to Sam and the last for himself. But he wasn't giving Daniel a second shot at 'conversation.'

Unfortunately, just as he'd feared, there were also four sets of those curtains draped across each bed.

"They're a highly structured and ritualized society," Daniel said patiently when Jack complained; his tone said yes you have to. "We don't know their power structure yet, but they expect the forms to be followed at every level. If we want to get anywhere we have to play along."

"Okay. Let's freshen up for dinner then, shall we?"

Jack nabbed the bathroom first. If he was going to let aliens embarrass and torment him, he was going to take advantage of the amenities first. He was sure aliens did this just to fuck with people.

As he stepped out of the tub, Jack was surprised to find the floor warm on his bare feet and chalked another one up for these guys. Their towels were cheap-hotel scratchy - oops, they lost a point there - so he made do with his camp towel, dressed --

-- and stepped into his bedroom to find Daniel sitting on his bed, hands clutched together between his knees.

Quick-draw Carter had grabbed the bathroom behind him, and the heavy rock door shut with a soft thunk. Teal'c was nowhere to be seen.

"I already said no." Jack really hoped it was Daniel's pet theory he wanted to talk about. "You may not go artifact hunting and that's final."

"Um. This isn't about that."

It was too much to hope. Jack swung the towel around his shoulders, folded his arms and pointedly didn't sit.

"Come to apologize then, for nosing into my affairs?"

Jack inwardly winced at the bad choice of words, and the very unfortunate plural there. Daniel was a linguist. He wouldn't miss that.

"Nooo." Daniel looked down at his hands and hesitated. "I didn't think I'd get another chance."

He was right about that. Jack waited with a stony face.

"Jack…" His voice trailed off. He took a breath and started again, saying quickly, "Why do you stay?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. He had no clue what Daniel was talking about. But cornered or not, he was not going to discuss this. It was really not any of Daniel's business. He'd just made the mistake of answering before.

"In the military. Why don't you... leave?" Jack's mind couldn't even wrap around a word for this, and Daniel pressed on, urgently, "-- so you can be yourself."

Finally he managed a "What?"

"Where you don't have to…" Daniel's hand sketched in the air, "Pretend… anything any more."

"You think I'm pretending?" Jack stabbed a finger at his chest.

Daniel didn't budge. "Well to be here you'd have to, at least on a certain level."

"I am myself. This -- Colonel Jack O'Neill -- is who I am." Jack spun about in consternation. "What'd'you think, I'm acting? No one could fake this!"

Daniel rolled his eyes a little and muttered, "Well, you're right about that."

"Tell you what: I change my mind -- go artifact hunting. Now." Jack's finger pointed, dagger-like, at the door.

"But don't you want to be --" Daniel swallowed and started again. "You can't be complete without all of who you are. Don't you want that?"

Of all the romantic -- then Jack's mind did a three-step leap of logic and it clicked: Daniel. Incomplete. Shau're. That's what this was about.

"Daniel," Jack began gently. "I was married to Sarah for, what was it? A decade? You were only, well, you and Shau're weren't together very long. And there was all this exotic-ness and culture-stuff. Languages. Everything you ever wanted. But it isn't… this Romeo and Juliet thing, it isn't it."

"What does Shau're have to do with you?" Daniel's voice still broke on that name.

"I'm just saying -- it's not it. This fantasy you have, being together forever. It's not real."

Daniel looked dumbfounded and Jack pressed his advantage.

"She was just a person Daniel. If she'd lived she'd be… well, she'd be confused by what you've made of her. This larger than life Thing."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this."

There was a long silence, and Daniel was perfectly calm.

Then he stood and said in that all-too-cold voice, "And Charlie was just a kid."




Part 11 is here.

ETA: corrected typos (thanks kuteki!)

FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 11

The Walls of Jericho - 11 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus



Colonel O'Neill strode through the elegantly shadowed halls in full military gear, weapon slung over his shoulder, and face like a thundercloud. Sam, done up in local costume, looked him up and down.

"Where's the tour guide?" Jack said, forestalling any comment.

"Sir. We're supposed to wear the ceremonial…"

"Forget it, Carter."

Her eyebrows raised, and she shot a quick glance at Teal'c. Which Jack ignored.

"Where's Igor?" Jack continued. "We have a dinner to get to, and I for one would like to know where it is." Then he spun around a little, checking up and down the hall. "And what happened to Daniel?" he snapped.

"He told me you gave the go ahead to hunt for artifacts," Sam said.

"Oh he did, did he?" Jack scowled at her; then nodded. "Right now he's better off out of my sight anyway. Let's get this over with, have a look at their damned caverns, and get outta here."

"Um. Sir, the briefing said we can't attend any diplomatic event armed."

Jack spread his hands. "Well, I'm sick and tired of going into every potentially hostile situation helpless and unarmed. The answer is no."

"These aliens are not hazardous," Teal'c said.

"Right. The residents have give us no reason to suspect --" Sam began.

"That's what Daniel would say," Jack snarled.

"Daniel would be right, sir." She was starting to look cross, and verging as close to insubordinate as she got.

"No, Daniel is not right." Jack glowered. "Daniel is wrong a hell of the lot of the time, and those few times he's right do not outweigh the times he's dramatically, spectacularly wrong."

"But sir --"

"Enough!" Jack put his hand up.

"Yes sir."

An alien guy arrived and looked a little taken aback by Jack's attire. But he was gonna have to get used to it, because Jack was not playing their game. Not today.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Jack growled at the 'friendly native' with a forced smile and as much warmth as he could manage at the moment. Guaranteed, peaceful natives; they all were according to Daniel. Until SG teams were getting their asses blown off.

part 12 is here. Oh yes, I have more written after this, too.

FICLET: The Walls of Jericho, Jack/Daniel. Partlet - 12

The Walls of Jericho - 12 (from part 1 here)
by Icarus


Daniel calmed his breathing and with an effort slowed his stride. He nodded politely to a pair of aliens he passed in the halls. They bowed, but then edged around him.

He was a mature adult. Just because Jack wasn't didn't mean he would let his mood get in the way of a golden opportunity for research. Daniel knew it was childish to gleefully take Jack at his word, happy it would piss him off… annnnd he didn't care.

The aliens hadn't said if strangers could wander their city, and based on the looks people gave him Daniel was beginning to suspect that it wasn't allowed. But he could apologize later. Sincerely.

He gazed up at the beautiful pillars. There was no writing that he could find; or recognize anyway. He turned the corner and glanced around at the open 'city' street, deciding where to go first. There was no real indication of a city center, no 'this way to the library/temple/something interesting' sign, so Daniel made a small helpless gesture and decided… okay, left.

He wandered at random, vaguely hoping he remembered the way back, until he found a section where the caverns grew steadily more crude, less decorative and more functional. The glow of the various cloth-covered entryways were spaced evenly apart here. Daniel rubbed the back of his head and guessed that he'd found some sort of residential street. The cloth doorways suggested a very low crime rate, possibly a small community with close family ties.

Or it could mean something entirely different. He had too little information.

The smooth stone streets were empty, and Daniel wondered where everyone had gone. A curfew? Or perhaps a religious ceremony? Everything indicated a regimented society, and their guide had placed a high significance on their wearing the gate symbol. Jack's voice came back to him - irritating because he was still mad at him - with a joke about his missing the obvious.

Daniel slapped his forehead. Of course. It was dinner time.

Which he was going to miss, and he was hungry, and so far he had accomplished nothing. He turned to leave. Hel-lo….

There was an odd puddle of light, over near the doorstep of one of the, well, houses was a bit of stretch. A child, no more than eight or nine - though who knew with alien physiology - sat playing with a collection of glowing balls.

Daniel approached, and squatted down across from him. He remembered these people didn't smile for whatever reason. It might have a different meaning in their culture.

"Hi," he said, and kept his face serious.

The kid glanced up, blinked at him, then continued to play. The glowing ball radiated heat, then broke off into two smaller balls.

"What have you got there? Looks like fun."

The little boy held up a couple of pebbles, a perfunctory gesture, and returned to his game. Whatever it was.

"Rocks?" Daniel picked up a stray stone and showed it to him.

The little boy made a disdainful face and shook his head, showing him the pebbles in his hand again with a curt nod. One was green, and the other white-ish; or maybe yellow, it was hard to tell in this light. As the kid turned away to show him, the globes melted behind him into a glowing, golden puddle… molten.

Daniel stared, light flickering off his glasses, as the kid held up the pebbles again, demonstrating patiently like Daniel was a little slow. At his gesture, the molten lava raised off the ground and twisted into a complex form, vaguely bird-like.

A woman's voice called out from the house. The little boy got up, ran the pebbles up and down the form hastily and it stopped twisting and froze into place. A few final orange flickers ran along its surface. He waved to Daniel as he ran inside.

Daniel lifted his hand, a little too late to wave back.

He carefully touched the shape -- then jerked his hand away. The basalt was still hot.





Part 13 here.