SG-4 were about to leave the planet they’d been exploring for the last ten days when a commotion started in the marketplace. The trip hadn’t been exceedingly eventful by any means but they had met some nice people and started a tentative relationship with them. The inhabitants of this planet appeared to be traders and were more than just accustomed to having visitors come through the Stargate, they had a schedule for it. Mostly they traded goods, furs, foods, clothing, gems & metals and some rudimentary medical supplies.

A raspy voice was yelling in some language that none of them understood but DePeter thought he’d heard it at least once before. Looking around to see what was going on he saw a very large black man giving another very large black man a stern lecture. He was pointing to the cargo pad and it appeared he believed he’d been ripped off. Sine the big pissed off guy had several other big men with him, something like an apology came from the one who was being threatened and more goods were brought over to the pad. The men with him were certainly his guards because the big black man with the deep raspy voice and gray braids was the one who was large and in charge. However, he didn’t keep DePeter’s attention for long.

The man moved and on the other side of him was a red haired woman.

“Holy shit,” DePeter remarked. “Gimmie that fuckin’ thing.” He ripped the camcorder out of Smyth’s hands. Four years could make a big difference in a person’s life and in that time Fran DePeter had gone from low-man-on-the-totem-pole to heading his own SG Team.

‘Hey!”

“Quiet.” DePeter pointed the lens at them. Another familiar face came into view; Ambassador Omar. “Doctor Jackson’s never going to believe this.” He whispered and then let them pass the group by unnoticed. “Neither is General O’Neill.” DePeter adjusted the focus to be sure what he was seeing was sharp and crisp.

“Believe what?” Smyth asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Hey, isn’t that Ambassador Omar with the big guy?” Gellerman said as he came up from behind.

“You bet your ass it is. Let’s just hope he doesn’t see us.” Just before SG-4 embarked on this mission the news that Doctor Jackson’s wife might still be alive and wandering the universe broke. Just about everyone back at the SGC was trying to figure out who would go to such an elaborate length to make them all believe she was dead and where they might have taken her. At the moment the ‘why’ of it didn’t seem to matter to anyone but it just might after he got this tape back home.

“Shouldn’t we confront ‘em or somethin’?” Smyth was asking.

“You wanna cross his path? Be my guest.” DePeter returned as he focused on the big ebony man with the long braids and huge biceps. The guy was freakin’ huge and the others with him—except for Omar—were no exception. The marketplace was full and DePeter had no idea what the locals would do if fighting broke out, they could find themselves surrounded and then no one would ever know about Calla. DePeter turned the microphone all the way up in hopes of capturing some of what they were saying to each other.

Omar, the big guy, Calla and a few other people stepped onto the transport pad. The big man threw a sack of currency at the dealer.

In front of him on the transport pad the woman turned around as though she felt someone near. She stared straight in the direction where SG-4 standing hidden by the crowd and DePeter was able to get the full of her withered and bruised face on film. Oh, Doctor Jackson is not going to like that. But it is her. The big dark man with the long braided hair tugged harshly on the chain in his hand to pull her along with him. The dress she was wearing was too long and the chains leading from her throat to her wrists too short to allow her to grab it. Calla’s bare feet tangled in the velvet and she crashed to the transport pad. The big guy loomed over her, pointed a heavy finger down at her and yelled something DePeter didn’t understand. Calla cowered on the transport pad and he heaved her to her feet by her upper arms.

From up above a beam of white light shot down upon the people and cargo taking them up and away to a ship waiting for them.

“S’go!” DePeter ordered as he closed the camera and stuck it safely in his pack. “We gotta get this back.”

********************************** 

The Stargate opened and the four members of SG-4 came running through it. “Where is Doctor Jackson?” DePeter shouted to the control room. General O’Neill was standing up there.

“What’s goin’ on, DePeter?” Jack asked through the mic.

“I got somethin’ he’s really gonna wanna see, sir.” DePeter informed him excitedly. “I mean like right now. You’re probably gonna wanna see it too, sir.” He held up the digital recorder.

“He’s in his office, let’s go.”

Doctor Jackson had been sitting in his office staring blankly at the computer screen and feeling nothing but that awful numbness which had settled into his bones since he found out Calla was out there somewhere.

“Daniel.” Jack said as he knocked on the door and entered at the same time.

Startled out of his daze, Daniel jumped in the chair. “Geez, Jack, ya scared me.”

“DePeter here’s got something he says you need to see pronto.”

Fran DePeter didn’t wait; he pushed Daniel away from the computer, popped out the memory card from the digital recorder and pulled up the program on the screen. “You better sit down.” He told Daniel. “You have to see it because otherwise you wouldn’t believe me.” DePeter waited for Daniel to sit and then clicked on PLAY. The images of the market place began. “This is the planet we were just on. We were about to leave when, well, you’ll see.”

They did see. They saw Ambassador Omar. They saw Naganti Kanan and his burly guards. Naganti Kanan didn’t look as hale as he once did—if they only knew how he looked almost three months ago they’d say he looked fan-fucking-tastic!—and standing off to his left behind walked around like a dog on a chain was Calla.

“Oh God.” Daniel muttered and leaned in close to the screen, he reached out to turn the speakers up. She looked ragged and worn. A large gold collar weighed down her shoulders and stooped her spine; Daniel took in the jewels and the gold chains leading the wrist cuffs. A large bruise on her face was fading away and while her hair had been recently brushed it was not as full as it had been when she left. When she walked it looked painful, her weight lightly touched down with each step. “Bringing someone a great gift, is he?” Daniel asked no one as Omar’s image came back on the screen. “We gotta go.” He was getting up from the chair.

“No, they’re gone. Watch.” In a few moments the cargo and people standing on the transport pad were gone. “I dunno if you caught anything they said I tried to turn up the mic as high as I could get it. I asked around a bit before high-tailing it back here most people seemed to know his name is Kanan but they didn’t know where he was going just that he bought a lot of supplies.” DePeter explained hurriedly.

News travels fast on a small military base. Within moments Sam was working on plotting neighboring planets and systems to the one SG-4 returned from in an effort to determine where they might be headed. Jack got a team together to return to the planet with Teal’c to see what more information they could gather. Daniel sat listening and trying not to watch the digital recording. She was alive, at least now he was sure of that and that was a good thing. Kanan was yelling something about the merchant trying to rip him off that he wanted more water and meat if the merchant didn’t deliver his order at the price he paid Kanan would have his head for supper. While the merchant begged apologies and ran off to fetch the rest of Omar turned to Kanan and whispered something that Daniel could only catch part of. It was something about the chains Calla was wearing. Kanan shook his head in response and pulled her toward the pad, Calla tripped. The camera didn’t lie as much as he tried to look away each time she fell he couldn’t help it. The soles of her feet were bare and bleeding. Kanan cut the arches in her feet so she couldn’t get away from him.

It was the chains. Daniel researched quickly and found what he was looking for but couldn’t come up with an image for them. Not wanting to but knowing he needed his help; Daniel called out for his father in-law. Ares could say ‘I told you so ' all he liked so long as he confirmed what Daniel was already thinking.

“You’ve got a lot of balls, haven’t you, Jackson?” Ares snarled as he appeared in the office. “What do you want?”

Daniel moved away from the computer. “Sit down, Ares.” With suspicion in his movement Ares came forward and sat in the chair. Over his shoulder Daniel clicked PLAY. He sat very silent while the images and sounds played keeping his eyes on Ares’ face.

It was Ares’ turn to be stunned into silence. The fact that Kanan had recaptured her didn’t surprise him it was the chains. “They were meant to hold me.” He growled looking up at Daniel.

“So they are….”

“Hephaestus’ Chains? Yes, they are. Where the hell did he get them?” Ares pushed the chair far away from the desk and stood up rudely. “Those chains were forged for the sole purpose of holding me still so my peers could put me on trial for murder.”

“I know the story.” Daniel interjected.

“Then you know I was found innocent.” Ares remarked in a high voice. “That’s how Kanan is holding her.”

“Yeah, it would seem so.” Daniel agreed. “Where is he taking her? Could you make any of that out?”

Ares thought about it for a moment. “Some of it something about still having a long way to go and did Omar get it.” With pain in his eyes he looked down at Daniel.

“Get what?”

“I don’t fucking know!” Ares roared. “He said ‘it’…did you get it?” Ares looked back at the screen. “You don’t understand Jackson. Those chains were meant for me.” He pointed to himself. “They were only meant to be worn a day a few days at most. Their sole purpose is to confine me and my power. He hasn’t take then off of her. That’s what Omar said to him; when is going to take the chains off.”

“You know who he is.” Daniel pointed at the image of Ambassador Omar on the computer screen.

“Steffen Omar.” Ares said in a dry voice. “I see you’ve been keeping some pretty low company lately.”

“He’s the Ambassador for the Mohun.” Daniel tried to explain but Ares let out a bellow of laughter which cut him off.

“Ambassador? Ee, Gods!” He turned his head swiftly to look at Daniel. “He’s the one who invited her to the planet?” Daniel nodded. “She didn’t tell you about him?” Daniel shook his head. “Yeah, well…” Ares voice trailed off.

“Well what? Who the fuck is he and what is he holding over her that she’d go with him?!”

“You asked the stupidest questions, Jackson!” Ares roared. “He’s a ruffian, a hoodlum, an intergalactic gangsta.” He said with a lilt and shake of his head. “As for what was threatened I’ll refer you to the mirror.” Ares grabbed hold of Daniel’s lower jar. “You make her so goddamn weak! She spends her energies worrying about you! Protecting you! It’s supposed to be the other way around!” Crushing the lower jaw in his hand while he gave a rough shove, Ares pushed Daniel backward and jacked him up against the wall. Daniel’s feet dangled inches from the ground as he weight was borne on his throat. “You useless coward! You were never fit for her. Weak. Pathetic. You’re not even intelligent enough to read your own wife!” Spit flew from his lips as his eyes blazed fire and Ares was lost in his rage. “I should kill you.” The harsh grasp around Daniel’s throat tightened unmercifully and then released, Daniel fell to the floor. “You saw her. She can’t endure this much longer. We must find her.”

“We?” Daniel choked from the floor and tried to rise to his feet. All he needed was his father in-law tagging along and brewing up war wherever they went on this little trip. Christ being stuck with David in the boat sailing around Greece was bad enough, he couldn’t image being cooped up with Ares anywhere. In a matter of days one of them would be dead.

“You don’t think you’re leaving me behind, do you?” Ares quipped. “I don’t think so. You owe me.”

“Excuse me?”

“David, my crown, my scepter, my daughter.” He smiled wickedly. “Striking up any bells?”

“Yeah.” Daniel agreed in a guilty tone. “I suppose.”

“Besides, you might find that I do have certain useful skills.”

*******************8**

Teal’c and his team returned with information that Kanan and Omar were heading Dega-Bah system to meet up with unknown persons. All they knew was that Omar—Ambassador or not-- dealt in several items of contraband and was quite well known for being exactly what Ares said he was; a man of low character even among the local smugglers. Kanan they hadn’t seen before but they all assumed he was in charge of their little excursion as he was the one with the cash as well as the one barking orders.

The Dega-Bah system was uncharted and unknown to the inhabitants of planet Earth it was also thousands of light years away and everyone assumed that because Kanan and his entourage were traveling by ship wherever they were going there was no Stargate present.

“I believe I’m calling in your marker.” Ares said to Thor as they stood around in the briefing room deciding on a plan of action.

“My ship is at your disposal, Lord Ares.” Thor returned.

“Very well,” Ares said. “Let’s go.”

“We’ll just get our gear and be right with you.” General O’Neill told the God of War.

“No.” Ares sneered. “You’re not coming, General and neither are you, Samantha.” Ares glared past both of them. “You Jaffa, you come with us.”

“Are you gonna let him talk to us like that?” Jack asked Thor.

Thor’s big black eyes blinked as he looked around. “This is how you say, Lord Ares’ ‘gig’. It’s his call, O’Neill and if he does not want you or Colonel Carter to come along then you should stay here.”

Not like the answer Jack squatted to his knees to look Thor in the eyes. “What’s he got on you? C’mon you can tell me.”

“I owe him a favor and I am paying that debt. That is all you need to know.”

“What about me? Are you going to let me come along?” Daniel asked as he stepped forward.

“Oh, yes Jackson, you’re coming all right. I have a feeling we’re going to need a little bait.”

Daniel turned back to Jack and Sam. “Take care of my kids.” He told them. “Don’t tell them what’s going on.”

Thor sent a signal to his ship and all who were supposed to, disappeared from the Gate Room.

End of Chapter Six
Daughter of the Gods: Captured
Continue to
Chapter Seven