fandomweekly | [#001] Escaping the Serpent's Clutches (Stargate SG-1)

Theme Prompt: New beginnings

Title: Escaping the Serpent’s Clutches

Fandom: Stargate SG-1

Rating/Warnings: PG

Bonus: Yes

Word Count: 973

Summary: Takes place during and after Season 2 Episode 1 - The Serpent’s Lair

Daniel came back to consciousness slowly. There was light all around him and he was lying on a hard surface. He blinked his eyes and found himself confined in some kind of glowing box. The sarcophagus - of course.

They had been on Klorel’s ship, trying to save the world. Daniel had come off rather the worse for wear in a firefight and had told Jack to leave him behind. He remembered the anguish in Jack’s expression, quickly replaced by the hard practicality of a seasoned soldier. Then, he remembered the pain. It had burned through him, making it difficult to breathe, and even more difficult to move. But he had moved. He had summoned some energy from somewhere and managed to drag himself to the sarcophagus.

Daniel took a deep breath, revelling in the ability to do so without pain. Then, with a slight whooshing noise, the lips of the sarcophagus lid slid apart above him, revealing the intricately carved ceiling of the ship. He sat up, glad to see that there weren’t any Jaffa in the immediate area. He put a hand to his chest, feeling where the sarcophagus had not only healed his wound but also repaired the jagged hole in his jacket.

It would be amazing to be able to study the sarcophagus and perhaps get Sam to figure out how it worked. Daniel imagined how much of a difference such technology could make on Earth. But he had more important things to worry about, like getting off the ship before it exploded. It was eerily quiet in the sarcophagus room, a disarming peacefulness that belied the impending doom. Daniel crossed to a nearby control pillar and quickly found the block of C4 that had been planted there. A glance at the timer told him he only had one minute and fifteen seconds to get off the ship.

He ran.

Cursing the size of the ship and his own less than peak fitness levels, Daniel sprinted down blessedly empty corridors to the gate room. He threw his gun down on a crate and skidded to a stop before the DHD. He had no way of letting Stargate Command know it was him dialling, so they wouldn’t open the iris if he went straight to Earth. He put his hands to his head, desperately willing his brain to come up with a solution. He had to go - and go now - but go where?

A gate address popped into his mind and it took him a couple of precious seconds to identify it. The Beta site from the alternate reality - was it possible the same address was used for that purpose in this reality? If he could get there, the SGC personnel stationed there would be able to lend him a GDO to get home. He punched the address in, barely waiting for the wormhole event horizon to settle before launching himself into it.

Daniel came out of a roll on the other side of the wormhole to find marines pointing guns at him, amidst the pre-fab buildings of a bustling military camp. He raised his hands, but couldn’t prevent a broad grin from spreading across his face. He was safe.

“Hold your fire!” one of the soldiers called out. “It’s Dr Jackson.”

Daniel was soon in the presence of the site commander, and learned that it was called the Alpha Site in this reality. The commander was glad to hear of SG-1’s success in setting the charges on at least one of the Goa’uld ships threatening Earth, and was more than happy to furnish Daniel with the means to get home.

On arrival back at the SGC, it was music to Daniel’s ears to hear that both ships had been destroyed, though bittersweet as everyone assumed the rest of SG-1 had perished in the explosion. Then, the news came in from the space shuttle that everyone had been recovered alive and were on their way back to Earth - the slow route. Daniel had never experienced such unalloyed mutual joy from such a large group of people as when that news hit Stargate Command.

The wait for Jack, Sam and Teal’c to arrive back felt interminable, not least because Daniel had no way of letting them know he was alive, too. He remembered how he had felt when he had assumed they were all dead, and imagined they must be suffering the same on his account. They had been together as a team for nearly a year, now, and had become very close. On the day the others finally walked back into the gate room at the SGC, it was all Daniel could do not to throw decorum to the four winds and launch himself at them right away.

His moment came at last, though, and the smiles on their faces when they set eyes on him made the whole wait worthwhile. Jack grabbed him in an enthusiastic hug, quickly followed by Sam, and even Teal’c looked happier than Daniel had ever seen him.

Later that night, they all gathered at Jack’s house for a well deserved drink.

“You know,” Jack said, once they were all settled, “if this had all happened on the first of next month, it would have made for a great April Fool’s joke.”

Daniel exchanged an exasperated glance with Sam at Jack’s weird sense of humour.

“If you ever play an April Fool on me by pretending to be dead,” Daniel warned Jack, “I will never speak to you again.”

“Seconded, sir,” Sam chimed in.

They all looked at Teal’c, who was regarding Jack quizzically.

“What is this April Fool of which you speak?” he asked solemnly, and the other three all laughed.

And so, SG-1 celebrated a new era as a team, free at last of the tyranny of Apophis. Or, at least, so they thought.

[#001] Escaping the Serpent's Clutches (Stargate SG-1)

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