Daniel Jackson woke in the morning on a hard surface a little bit confused as to where he was. As he opened his eyes he saw a beautiful face and a friendly smile staring back at him. Then he noticed the woman's red eyes and the slender horns protruding from her forehead. Daniel pushed up on his elbows and took a closer look. The red eyes and horns remained, but so too did the smooth skin, alluring curves of a well-shaped bosom, and a very slender, feminine waist. She was saying something he didn't understand as she smiled and turned to walk away.
Daniel blinked a few times as he watched the woman's tail and hips swing seductively. Then he remembered the mission. He and the rest of SG-1 had arrived out the other end of a wormhole, but there had been no Stargate. They had joined with another group in a crazy fight against the cast of Night of the Living Dead and some weird Goth guy who could apparently freeze people in place.
Dr. Jackson crawled out of his bedroll and packed it up for travel with practiced efficiency. While he had never acquired the same competence as a career soldier when it came to combat or survival skills, he had long ago begun pulling his own weight. When it came to deciphering ancient languages and figuring out cryptic clues or face defeat and death, though, Daniel did much better than merely pulling his own weight. He was a polyglot and pure genius at linguistics.
"Morning, Sunshine," came Colonel O'Neill's playfully sarcastic greeting. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c sat together by a small fire eating a breakfast out of their MRE pack. They wouldn't be eating local food until they could test it for harmful microbes. "Seems our friends from the crypt want to break camp and get going in a short while. You'd better eat a bit before we get going. It might be awhile before we get to this fort you said we are heading for."
Daniel joined them and began eating. The group discussed their situation as they finished their meal and prepared to leave. Obviously, their first priority was finding a Stargate. Dr. Carter explained that while a pair of Stargates formed a stable connection of immense power, it was possible for position of one end of the tunnel through space-time to shift or redirect if there was a sufficient pull from another source. They had previously experienced such a pull due to a solar flare which had caused the wormhole to redirect to a different Stargate.
"The problem though, is that portal we came out of was apparently nowhere near as stable as a Stargate," Carter expounded. "My guess would be that it was the nearest point through space-time through which the wormhole could establish a temporal/spatial vortex. The Stargate we were supposed to come through could be anywhere. It could be a few miles away, on the other side of this planet, or even in another star system." Samantha paused a moment to let her companions think on her words. "The good news, though, is that we have some basic telemetry from the probe to P8F-202 that will narrow our search to a specific terrain, and we know it has to be aboveground. If there are some accurate maps of this world we may be able to locate our way home."
"So, things could be worse," Jack said and nodded. "Okay, so we head to the nearest city and find a good map store. In the meantime, let's see about learning more about their translation technology and medicine."
After breaking camp, Tamil Farlong followed along with Commander Tann. She considered the large group traveling with her, none of whom she had known for more than a couple weeks and most of whom she had just run into. The dwarf was the easiest to figure, he was basically a goodly sort and loyal, but with a short fuse and a love of battle. The tiefling was a bit of question mark, obvious a roguish sort not above a bit of deviltry (even having the horns and tail to prove it), but she seemed genuinely grateful for her rescue and was making an effort to "earn her keep." The commander, of course, was just along until they reached his fort. The four humans who had dropped out of a giant wall of rippling shadow, though, they were an entire different sort altogether.
As the group reached the outer walls of Fort Locke, Tamil was cut off from her contemplation by the approach of three soldiers. Taking the lead was Lieutenant Vallis, the one who had contracted her. Obviously, the two soldiers which they had rescued had arrived before them and announced their successful return.
"Commander, it's good to see you alive and well. I'm sure you will have a report ready once you arrive at the fort," Vallis greeted the Commander Tann. He looked at the size the party had grown to with a little concern.
"That I will, Lieutenant. We have much to discuss. Assemble the officers. I'll be with them shortly," came the commander's warm reply.
"You will report directly to me, and I shall brief the officers. I'm relieving you of duty," Lieutenant Vallis said as he drew his sword.
"What's gotten into you? I've given you your orders. Now carry them out," Tann replied with a bit of impatience.
"I am the commander of the fort, now, Tann" Vallis said. He glanced back at the soldiers to his left and right—soldiers newly promoted by the lieutenant. "You will brief me and then return to your quarters, or I will have you arrested for insubordination. I am not about to watch you return the garrison to its undisciplined and shoddy state, Tann. The loss of three patrols was a direct result of your failure to prepare the men properly. You are unfit for command."
Commander Tann drew his sword. Tamil Farlong drew her sword as well. Khelgar drew his axe and got ready to charge ahead. Neeshka, very carefully, began to edge towards the back of the group partly to get herself out of the dangerous front lines, but tactically to position herself to slip in behind the enemy if the chance came. Tamil signaled to Khelgar and Tann to hold their ground.
Lt. Vallis and his soldiers charged the group, but before they got even halfway SG-1 had their zats out. The serpent-shaped Gou'ald weapons extended the tops of their heads in preparation of firing. Then triple jets of whitish, electricity-like energy zapped out and engulfed each of the charging men. Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, and Daniel Jackson all hit their mark and the unsuspecting soldiers all dropped to the ground writhing in pain until unconsciousness took them.
Tann heartily thanked the whole group and then ran ahead to bring men from the fort back to deal with the mutinous lieutenant. Tamil turned to SG-1 and smiled. She spoke some words which SG-1 now recognized were not the same as when she was talking to the dwarf or horned girl, and then she held her hand out to Daniel. Daniel took her hand.
"Thank you for your help, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, Jack O'Neill and Teal'c. Give me a moment to cast the spell again on myself, please." She repeated the strange words, which once again Daniel could not understand despite understanding the rest of Tamil Farlong's speech. Then she took his hand again for a second.
"I guess you are wondering what just happened there. Lieutenant Vallis was the second in command of the fort. He sent me off to investigate the disappearance of several patrols, including the commander's. But he didn't expect Commander Tann to return, so he decided to mutiny rather than return the garrison to its rightful commander. We should give them a minute to take care of things." Tamil hesitated for a second before asking her next question, "Did your weapons kill those soldiers?"
Daniel interpreted for the rest of the group. Then he answered the bard. "No, a single shot from a zat won't kill a person. It does stun and incapacitate for quite some time. Not to mention causing intense pain." Daniel frowned for a second remembering being struck by the weapon. "Two shots in a short period of time, though, is fatal. And three shots will disintegrate you. I'm not really sure how the physics works on it, but it has something to do with the energy building up and not dispersing until a certain amount of time has passed."
Tamil furrowed her brow a bit trying to make sense of what Daniel had said. The word "physics" had not translated and a few of the other words he had said that were translated into Common were things she didn't understand. Still, she got the general idea. A single shot would stun, two would kill, and a third meant no body for a resurrection.
"Could I ask you about the technology you are using to let us communicate? How does it work? And why did it wear off?" Daniel hoped she didn't think the question too sensitive. Too often others with advanced technology would deny them information on how their technology worked.
To Daniel's relief, Tamil didn't mind him asking. To his consternation, her reply didn't help him at all. "It's a simple arcane spell. It's not overly common, but there's usually someone around who knows it." When Daniel asked her how the "magic" worked, how it was accessed, she laughed. "Daniel Jackson, that's either a really silly question, or so incredibly philosophical that it's silly to ask someone like me. Some schools of mages have spent generations debating that question and who knows how many temples are set up simply to venerate the source of magic."
Daniel explained what he'd learned to the rest of the team. Then he turned back to Tamil with an odd look on his face. "So, Tamil, are you considered a wizard?"
Tamil laughed again. "Oh, no." Daniel relaxed for a second. "My friend Amie was a wizard apprenticed to Tarmas…" she trailed off, pained by the memory of her friend's tragic death.
Then she continued, "But no, no, too much book reading, that's not the life for me. For me, I find magic through music. I'm an aspiring bard." For a moment, the first real moment since her home had been destroyed and many people she had known had died, Tamil let her natural levity return. "Tamil Farlong, songstress of the Meredelain, greatest teller of tales in the whole of West Harbor." She swept in a low, grandiose bow and came up with a big grin on her face.
Daniel smiled appreciatively. "Very charming," Daniel gave a slight turn of his head. "I'm afraid, though that I'm one of those book readers."
"Oh? So, you're a wizard? I had thought you were a physician. When you introduced yourself and the woman in your group I thought you had called yourselves doctors." Tamil frowned slightly.
Daniel explained that the title doctor in this instance meant "doctor of philosophy" instead of "medical doctor" and that he and Dr. Carter had both gained their titles through study. Apparently, there was no equivalent in Common. There seemed to be gaps in how the translation 'spell' worked.
"It seems you have many customs and ideas that are very different from anything I've ever heard of. You must be from someplace very far away," Tamil ventured. "Not that I have much experience with such things, but it seems that you are from another plane of existence."
Before answering, Daniel conferred with the rest of SG-1. They had no reason to distrust the young woman, but coming right out to explain things was not always the most prudent course. "I think we should tell her everything, Jack," Major Carter said. "We've experienced shifts in reality before, and if that's what Tamil means by 'plane of existence' then we must learn what she knows about this."
After a bit more discussion, it was agreed that they would take a chance on revealing their origins and mission even before finding the Stargate. Daniel explained to Tamil how the team was from another world and traveled from planet to planet through the use of giant ring shaped gates. A few times he had to explain some concepts, such as wormholes, in roundabout ways, but she showed no sign of shock.
"So, on your world you call magic 'technology' and wizards and sorcerers are called 'physicists' and 'engineers', right?" Daniel immediately corrected her.
"Not quite. Physicists and engineers create technology which allows us to do things, but it isn't magic. It's done with machines and science. We don't think there is such a thing as magic." Daniel paused, trying to think how to say it delicately.
"We don't mean any offense in saying so. But, we've encountered several advanced alien races who enslaved less advanced races by calling their technology 'magic' or the 'power of the gods'. We even know a benevolent race who disguised their science as magic so they could protect younger races without risking them harming themselves with knowledge too great for them."
Tamil considered the four Earth soldiers. "From what you said I can understand why you would doubt magic. But I assure you, there is magic here. I feel it. It's a part of life here. I'm sure you'll learn all about it."
After Daniel translated for the benefit of SG-1 Carter expressed her extreme incredulity towards the existence of magic. She went on for several minutes with nobody really arguing against what she was saying. Finally, she just shook her head.
Neeshka watched the discussion with interest. She had no idea what the blond girl was saying, and that irked her. It wasn't so much that she cared about the blond girl from another plane of existence so much as she wanted to know if they were talking about her. That and she really wanted to know what the brown haired man who wore the odd but cute spectacles was saying.
"You know, Tamil," Neeshka began, "it's really not fair, to you I mean, that you have to listen to all the things the new guys say and translate back and forth for us. That's got to be really annoying, right? If we're going to be traveling with them all the way to Neverwinter we should probably figure out a way to take the burden off of you." Tamil didn't buy Neeshka's motive for suggesting they find a better solution than casting and recasting the Comprehend Languages spell. However, she didn't disagree. Tamil said as much.
By that time, the soldiers had come and dragged the unconscious lieutenant and his soldier goons back to the fort. Tamil, Khelgar, Neeshka, and SG-1 all headed into Fort Locke and had a quick chat with Commander Tann. While they were discussing the fort and the local situation, Neeshka said a quick, "Be right back!" and dashed off to speak with the local priest.
By the time things were settled, Neeshka was back with a grin on her face. "I've arranged for getting a permanent way to communicate for our friends. Tor, the priest there, has just the right magical items that he'd be willing to trade."
Tamil recalled that Tor had requested help regaining his holy symbol from bandits. She guessed that Neeshka had talked the priest into trading the items for the holy symbol. When she asked how Neeshka knew he had such items, the tiefling explained that priests of Ilmaeter dealt with many shady sorts as priests of the Crying God were well known for their willingness to offer healing and aid to anyone in need, even criminals. Frequently they would even find themselves dealing with races unable to speak Common and so many would carry simple magical items that would grant the wearer the ability to speak the common tongue.
Tamil called a conference with SG-1. She explained that they had a way to gain a more convenient way of communicating without the time limitations that casting the spell repeatedly had. She explained the quest to regain Tor's holy symbol of Ilmaeter.
Colonel O'Neill was initially opposed to the idea. He explained that SG-1's mission, when it wasn't lost and trying to find a way back home, was to make allies and find technology. Making enemies or interfering with local politics was not part of their program. Tamil explained that the bandits were simply outlaws, not a political faction. However, what decided the matter was when it was revealed that the bandits had taken to kidnapping travelers and holding them for ransom. Major Carter argued persuasively that putting an end to a menace and helping the defenseless would likely help with diplomacy with the local authorities once the team had found a Stargate and could return back to Stargate Command.
The group traveled to the hidden bandit camp that Neeshka conveniently happened to know the location of. Initially, Tamil and Khelgar planned on going in the front gate of the complex and simply doing battle with the entire camp. Colonel O'Neill came up with a much better plan. "As much as I like the thought of walking straight into an enemy encampment and shouting, 'Here I am, please shoot me', I have a better idea."
After scouting the area using binoculars and walkie-talkies for communication, O'Neill sketched out a strategy for a stealth assault. Using the cover of darkness, SG-1 managed to pick off the majority of the camp's guards with shots from SG-1's zat'nik'tel weapons. The remaining guards were quickly overwhelmed by Khelgar's mad charge and furious ax.
The bandit chief's headquarter building was taken with relative ease. They managed to clear the initial hallway and first room by surprising the thieves and hitting them with quick blasts with zats. Once the bandits became aware of the intruders, SG-1 wisely fired from cover around corners and from within doorways. Some of the bandits managed to dodge the zat discharges, but those few were met by the fierce dwarf and the bard.
The team ran into a little trouble when a door opened and a man wearing a strange red robe noticed them in the hall. He pointed at the group with a stick and a bolt of lighting shot out into the hallway. Neeshka managed to dodge, but Colonel O'Neill and the dwarf were both hit by the blast of pure electricity. Khelgar grimaced but charged ahead. Jack was momentarily stunned, but managed to pull himself to his feat with a loud "Ow." Samantha Carter zatted the lightning shooting wizard, but the energy appeared to simply disappear into the man's red robe. It didn't matter, however, as Khelgar promptly arrived and struck him a critical blow with his axe.
The rest of the building was much easier. The only time any of the group was actually threatened was when Neeshka noticed an area of the floor designed to trap intruders and set about disabling the device. A pair of bandits charged at her while she worked, but Daniel shouted a warning and managed to zat both of them before they could reach her. Neeshka turned back and beamed a grateful smile his way, then continued on down the hall with her daggers in her hands.
When the group reached the bandit chief, the man tried to talk his way out of the situation. He offered to release the kidnapping victims and stop his men from continuing the practice in return for letting him go. When Daniel translated the conversation for SG-1, Jack wasn't satisfied. "We could do that." Without hesitation, he simply zatted the bandit leader and half of his men. "Or, I could just shoot you." The rest were easily subdued.
SG-1 and the rest of the group returned to Fort Locke with a score of prisoners and every single one of the kidnapping victims. Tamil and Neeshka sorted through much of the bandits' treasure. There were several magical items as well as Tor's holy symbol.
Things were looking up.