The negotiating parties settled themselves in the spacious tent around a large square table. It reminded Laura of the table in the briefing room. The Colonel and herself were seated at the head of the table, the leaders of either faction on the other sides facing each other. Lia sat slightly behind Kalim but Avrim sat right beside Marek. Lia looked nervous and Laura didn’t blame her.
Avrim’s sword was on the table, blade facing the opposition. Laura could now see that although the blade was only about a foot long, one edge was serrated and the other was covered in tiny spines, which, only the length of the first joint of her little finger, ended in a deadly triple hook. They resembled the kind used by fishermen and she’d seen what they did to a fish. If these were in human flesh the damage would be extensive. She suppressed the shudder that ran along her spine and concentrated on the file before her. Although the Colonel would be leading the negotiations she needed to be 100% sure she had all the information. Otherwise they may not have much time to get away.
The Colonel began the negotiations. It soon became obvious that both sides had serious grievances and neither was prepared to give ground. They did both however agree on one thing. They hated the idea of the camp run by the woman know as Sonja Ly. However neither would admit to the recent spate of bombings that had occurred in the region of the current camp. Laura sighed inwardly knowing it was going to be a long process. She became aware of a scuffle outside. Curious, she made her excuses, glad of the diversion, and went to investigate, sure that her CO could cope without her for a short while at least.
Cane and another of SG-9 were stood over a figure, slumped on the floor. The hands had been tied firmly at an uncomfortable angle. The voice, currently using very colourful language, identified the prisoner as male. Across the desert, away from the camp, scuffmarks indicated where he’d been found and dragged across the sands to his present location.
As the lieutenant approached, Cane straightened and saluted.
"What’s going on? Who is this?" the captain queried.
"We’re not sure Sir." Cane indicated the prisoner who had now pulled himself onto his knees. "We found him out on the perimeter. When we called for him to stop he ran. We pursued and he fired. Airman Dicks was shot sir."
"Is he alright?" Fear of losing yet another member of the team ran through her. Hammond would never let them off-world again if they did.
"Yes sir. It was only a glancing wound. Medic’s looking now. As for this one, we got him with a Zat. Thought we should bring him back, just in case. The others are checking he’s on his own."
"Thanks Cane." Laura walked to where the prisoner was now struggling to gain his feet. When she knelt beside him, he stopped, resting on his knees. He stared back at her giving Laura a chance to assess the would-be assassin.
She guessed he was in his early thirties. His face was tanned and a trickle of blood ran from his temple down past his eyes. They were deep blue and focussed intently on Laura. His hair was short and spiked as though he had just woken and run a hand through it. His coat, now covered in dust, was long, three buttons fastening the chest before flaring out to his ankles. The boots were heavy-duty biker boots. Under the coat he wore a black shirt of some kind and dark trousers. The shirt outlined the muscles across his chest and stomach and hinted at the strength in the arms that were at the moment pulled tight behind his back.
"Who are you?" she asked.
John glared at the female who was staring at him and spat on the floor. "I could ask you the same thing," he hissed.
"Lieutenant Laura Douglas, US Airforce." She reached out and caught hold of his chin, turning his head towards her. "That’s a nasty cut. Cane, get the first aid kit. Lets get this cleaned up." She looked back at the man before her and let him go. "I’ll ask you once more. What is your name?"
This must be some kind of peacekeeper trick, John thought. The US Military couldn’t be here. But then again, if they were peacekeepers they would already know his name, so what did it matter if he answered this woman’s question?
"John Crichton."
"See that wasn’t so hard now, was it." The man she’d called Cane handed her a first aid kit. She opened it and pulled out a swab. "Now, hold still while I clean this."
John hissed as the disinfectant stung his flesh. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she finished cleaning the wound and then taped clean gauze in place.
"Better?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
She straightened, forcing John to look up. He squinted as the clouds moved, sun pouring directly into his face. Unseen hands pulled him roughly to his feet. Instantly pins and needles started as the blood began to rush back into his lower body. He grimaced slightly. Then the pressure on his arms went as well. He rubbed at his wrists and was again rewarded with pins and needles. His shoulders ached. Laura, if that was her name, watched for a moment.
"Come with me." Her tone brooked no argument and John found himself following behind like some lost puppy. He soon fell into step. Raised voices could be heard coming from the main tent. Once there, they stopped and Laura disappeared inside. John thought about running but Cane’s friends were only a short distance away and he really didn’t fancy another blast of whatever they’d used to bring him down before. So he waited.
The instant Laura stepped in to the tent, all five heads turned to face her. She glanced quickly around the antagonists. Avrim was standing over Lia, who was cowering backwards as if scared he would strike her. James was standing between Avrim, preventing whatever the man was planning. Kalim and Marek were also facing each other over the table, oblivious to whatever was occurring behind them. Colonel stepped fully between the two aides as Laura stepped further into the tent.
"Avrim. Please. The aim of this meeting is to solve this without bloodshed. Please, take your seat. Ah, Laura, are you coming back to help us?"
"Yes sir. I was wondering if I could have a quick word though. It is quite important."
James seemed somewhat puzzled but hid it quickly. "Oh course. Outside? Gentlemen, Madam Lia, if you will excuse me for a moment." He smiled, bowed and walked backwards from the door. Once outside however he turned on his second in command.
"This had better be could, Captain. This may take longer than SG-1 anticipated and the tension is beginning to rise. I don’t want to be gone any longer than is strictly necessary."
"Of course not sir." She gestured to Cane, who pushed the prisoner towards his CO. "We found him over by the boundary," Cane explained.
"Apparently his name is John Crichton. He wouldn’t say anything else however."
The two men stared at each other. Certainly didn’t look like peacekeepers, John thought, although he still wasn’t convinced it wasn’t all a very clever plot by Scorpius to find out what he knew. But it looked like he had no choice but to play along as the Colonel turned to Laura.
"Right. I’ll keep trying to get these people to talk. Find out what this man is doing here while I try and get these people to see sense. We’ll meet back here in two hours. Take Cane with you in case the prisoner gets violent."
"Okay Sir. Be careful. I get the feeling there’s more going on here than we’ve been made aware of."
"Isn't there always? I will be careful. Oh and don’t forget to let O’Neill know what’s going on. He’ll be annoyed if he thinks we’ve kept him out of the loop."
"Aye, Sir" then to Crichton and Cane, "You heard the man. Let’s move out." They struck out towards the rocks and brush where Cane had first spotted Crichton while the Colonel returned to the tent to continue in his task of bringing peace to this desolate planet.
Jack O’Neill wandered the length of the compound, surreptitiously checking for weaknesses in the defences and positions for a possible attack. Teal’c was off, on the Colonel’s orders, examining the countryside for somewhere to move the children to if the encampment did come under attack. It was a good job as Carter had just picked up a message from SG-9. Apparently they had picked up a lurker near the negotiations. Captain Douglas was dealing with the situation, leaving Colonel James to continue the negotiations.
He was deep in thought, pondering the new development as he drew closer to the medical tent and therefore not paying attention as he rounded a corner and was almost run down by a screaming, giggling group of children who suddenly appeared from out of nowhere. Following them, pretending to be what Jack assumed from the attire was an Indian, was Daniel, a feather tied around his head by a coloured band of cloth. Slowly the archaeologist straightened to look his commanding officer square in the eye.
"Daniel?" Jack’s tone was slow and menacing
"Jack." Daniel replied just as slowly.
"What are you doing Daniel? I thought you were helping the Doc?"
"I am...Sort of...she asked me to keep them occupied. They have a game here, similar to..."
"...Cowboys and Indians." Jack finished. At Daniel’s puzzled looked Jack pointed to the feather around his head. Understanding lit the younger man’s face.
"Okay, run along with your new friends Daniel. Just remember you’re bigger than them."
Daniel nodded then took off in the direction the children had run. Jack listened for a second before he heard the reassuring giggles and squeals of delight from the younger children. A grin split Jack’s face and he carried on his tour of the camp, glad that the laughter of children still lived on regardless of the trauma they had suffered. And that included the biggest kid of them all. A certain young man, who spoke twenty-three languages, had three PhD’s and had suffered more heartbreak than most people in his thirty-five years. Perhaps there was still hope after all.
Laura and Crichton stopped a short distance from the negotiation tent. Laura sat on a small outcropping and gestured for John to do the same. He folded his legs and sat on the hard dirt floor. Cane hovered several meters away, casual but for the death grip on his rifle, which John was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to use. Definitely US military, he decided. He turned to Laura who was watching him intently. He moved, feeling uncomfortable under the strength of her stare. When she spoke he was almost surprised, figuring he was in for a harsh interrogation.
"So Mr Crichton. You’re not a native of these parts. Care to explain what you are doing here?"
He was silent. Brooding almost, Laura thought. She wondered what was going on behind those baby-blues that were focussed so intently on her.
"I asked you a question. An answer would be appreciated."
Crichton watched her for a moment. She could be a Peacekeeper, but he wasn’t so sure. Something about her didn’t fit the profile. Perhaps he could tell her part of it. Just nothing that would jeopardise his crew.
"No, Captain. I’m not a native of these parts. I’m a traveller. I’m looking for parts and supplies for my ship. My scans revealed what I needed could be found on this planet. Unfortunately your pals caught me before I could get away. So, if you’ll just let me go I’ll get out of your hair." Well it was nearly the whole truth.
Laura looked objectively at her prisoner. She wasn’t convinced he wasn’t lying to her. The answer he gave was certainly truthful, as far as it went. He shifted slightly under her gaze. She went for the kill.
"What about the rest of it?" He almost jumped. Not quite, but the question caught him by surprise. What did she mean? Was she a Peacekeeper after all? He looked again at the uniform.
"I could ask you the same thing." Now it was her turn to look surprised. "What are the US Airforce doing here?"
The negotiations were not going well. He had adjourned once and taken the opportunity to apprise Jack of the situation. Which was just as well considering the turn the negotiations were taking.
The Colonel massaged his temples as the Tir’ash delegate Marek once again renounced the clause in the treaty requesting safe haven for the children of the encampment. This time one of the words was out of place, apparently altering the context of the statement and allowing the Dirans some kind of special privilege. Personally, James couldn’t see it but, change it must. If only Laura would hurry back. This was getting silly and she was better at calming people in these situations.
"This is highly inappropriate. Marek is dictating the pace of this meeting. He wants full control of the Diran childe."
"Why should I want such tainted meat. I want only the best for my people and that includes segregating us from your contamination."
"How dare you! It is not us who are contaminated. The childe must be cleansed."
"I agree entirely. The sooner the better."
Finally they were getting somewhere. Or not, as the next sentence from Marek’s mouth proved.
"Avrim, prepare to cleanse the encampment. We must save our childe’s souls from the Diran taint. Tell our people to ready the fires."
"You will bring our force against you. You will fail where we shall succeed."
"We shall prevail. With the holy fires our childe’s souls be free of the taint."
"You cannot. Our childe would not be cleansed if they burn with yours."
"Then so be it. Avrim, ready our people"
"Avrim, stay where you are." All four heads turned to face the Colonel, Avrim halfway to the doorway of the tent.
"I have to ask. Marek what exactly is the cleansing?" James already had an idea but he needed to be sure. He prayed he was wrong. Marek confirmed his fears.
"Colonel, there is only one was to free our childe of the taint of Diran. That is in the holy fires of the Tir’ash. Only then will they be free to wander the stars."
James felt his stomach turn. He’d heard some cold - blooded things before but this took the biscuit. The man was calmly planning on burning some fifty-five children to *Cleanse* their souls. He schooled his face, his mind in turmoil. All he could hope was to find a better solution.
"Marek. I know that your people have been at war for many years. I don’t know why but at the moment this is not my concern. My only concern is for the childe, as you call them. Is there no other way that you would be satisfied?"
"There are none that our people would willingly acknowledge. It is the way of our people."
"Very well. Marek, I ask that you reconsider. I feel that there may be another way if you would only be willing to think about it. Kalim, if it saved your chide, would you agree to another proposal?"
Both men sat in silence for a moment. Kalim was the first to speak.
"We will think on this some more. However we cannot see another way forward, but we shall try. Lia." He strode from the tent, the young woman shuffling after him, head bowed.
Marek also stood, joining his colleague at the entranceway. He bowed low, turned on his heel in a swirl of cloth and disappeared. Avrim stood for a moment; eyes fixed on Colonel James. He reached across the US Colonel, picked up his lethal looking blade and followed his commander leaving James alone in the tent wondering if there was any other way out. He rose from his chair, his hand on his radio.
"James to Douglas."
"Douglas here sir. How’s it going?"
"Not good. They reached an impasse and I think that we may have to get ready to evacuate."
A noise sounded behind him. He turned.