Black Magician

[shade-shifter.livejournal.com]

Title: Black Magician
Author: Shifty
Summary: Methos' past comes back to haunt him and SG-1 make a surprising discovery. Highlander/Stargate SG1
Previous chapters can be found here.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Stargate or Highlander, and despite m wishes, the characters of said shows aren’t mine either. I’m not making any profit, just having a little fun.

For Moon and XWingAce, as always, my thanks and gratitude for beta’ing.

Chapter 3

Daniel and Sam had been cloistered in her lab for several days. Jack had come by once in a while to make sure that both of them had taken sufficient breaks and had stopped to eat. They were still trying to figure out how the device worked.

Daniel had determined that the language resembled Welsh, if not in its sound, then at least in its structure. From the little they had put together Daniel surmised that the inhabitants of P3X-724 had come to Earth some time between 4000 and 3000 BC, and from there had influenced the Ancient Britons and ultimately the rest of ancient Europe. It also seemed likely that they built Stonehenge or at the very least had inspired its building. Beyond that they had managed to uncover very little.

“So much for the Daniel-effect,” Sam muttered.

“What was that?” Daniel asked distractedly. Sam gave an amused shake of her head when Daniel continued to work, unaware that she hadn’t even answered his question. She returned back to her computer screen. She was comparing some of the results, trying to find some indication that she might have missed.

Daniel stared intently at the cube, turning it over in his hands. He was positive that the solution was something simple that he just wasn’t seeing. He pressed his thumb into a small depression in one of surfaces and ran his finger along a raised pattern on the side. Nothing happened. With a sigh he turned it over in his hands once more.

“How are my favourite geeks doing?” Jack asked as he sauntered into the room. Both Daniel and Sam cast a glare at him.

“No progress yet,” Daniel told him as he continued to fiddle with the cube.

“You mean the two greatest minds in the universe can’t work out a little puzzle box?” Jack asked glibly.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jack,” Daniel said as he absently slid his nail along a crevice in the pattern. He almost dropped it when a hologram of sorts appeared. Jack grinned and looked at Sam.

“See, I told you.” Jack had discovered long ago that if you put Daniel in a room with an artefact or device he would discover how to make it work, whether he was aware of its presence or not, and especially if you did not want him to. Daniel was too busy looking over what seemed to be pages and pages of script to notice the byplay.

“This is incredible. It’s some sort of storage device. I wonder if there are any of these cubes which deal with their scientific breakthroughs,” Sam mused.

“Or their histories,” Daniel added. Jack gave Daniel a pat on the back to catch his attention before it wandered too far.

“Don’t forget Cassie and Tessa’s play in two days.”

“I won’t Jack.”

Jack turned to Sam and fixed her with a look.

“Carter, I’m entrusting you with the archaeologist duty this time. Don’t let me down.” Sam gave him a solemn nod.

“I won’t, sir.”

--

Between Sam and Jack they had managed to drag Daniel away from work. He had kept insisting that if he had just five more minutes he would reach an epiphany of some sort. Jack had finally managed to lure him away with the promise that the next planet they visited would be of purely archaeological interest. Jack had a sneaking suspicion that Daniel had held out on purpose because he knew that Daniel was as eager to see the play as he was. Now they were milling around, having arrived about 20 minutes early, waiting for the last minute preparations to finish.

Jack was having the time of his life. Several of the younger children who had been roped into coming to watch their siblings were listening with rapt attention as Jack spun them a fantastic tale. Their parents gratefully chatted in peace a little distance away with only the occasional glance to make sure their child hadn’t wandered off.

Daniel looked out over the crowd of adults, amused to see that he recognised a great deal of them from the SGC. As he completed his scan of the room he saw Hammond in an animated conversation with another man who seemed familiar, though Daniel wasn’t sure from where. He began to make his way towards them when he realised who it was he was looking at. He back-pedalled quickly.

“Jack,” he murmured. When the other man didn’t reply he repeated himself more loudly. Jack finally looked up, noticed the look on Daniel’s face and quickly wrapped up the story before he came to stand at Daniel’s side.

“What’s up?” Daniel nodded in Hammond’s direction.

“You know the guy I was telling you about? Adam Pierson?” Jack nodded. “Well that’s him.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be dead?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Jack,” Daniel shot an exasperated glance at the colonel, who raised his hands in surrender.

“Just checking.” Jack craned his neck to take another look at the man Daniel indicated. “And you’re sure that’s him over there.”

“Jack, he’s a dead ringer for Adam Pierson. Though he does look a bit younger than I remember.”

“Maybe it’s his son.”

“Not unless Pierson was awfully irresponsible at about 15.”

“And geeks don’t have that sort of fun.”

“Jack.”

“Alright, alright. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t usually run into people I know who are supposed to be dead.”

“Why don’t we leave it for tonight and speak to Hammond about him in the morning. I’m sure there’s an explanation.” Daniel nodded and they followed everyone else as they began moving into the hall, though Daniel kept sneaking glances at the man he was sure was Adam Pierson, even if he didn’t understand how yet.

--

Methos made his way backstage to check on the children before they went onstage. As the Social Studies teacher he had offered advice on what the historical period of Shakespearean England was like and the style of clothing that had been worn. Of course, the fact that he had actually lived through it had been to his advantage. The children had also insisted that he come watch at least one of the dress rehearsals to make sure that they had it right. As such he felt quite involved in the production of the play and invested in the performance.

“Mr Blackwell,” Tessa greeted with a grin. She fiddled nervously with the edge of her sleeve. Methos smiled reassuringly.

“I’ve seen you rehearse, you’re going to do just fine.”

“What if I forget my lines?” she asked him wide-eyed. Methos looked around quickly then leant down to her height.

“Let me tell you a secret,” he said softly. “It’s Shakespeare; no one understands what’s going on anyway.” He then stood back up with a wink. She giggled.

“Tessa, come on, we’re going on soon,” a girl a year or two older called. Methos turned instinctively to see who it was and was shocked to sense the faint presence of naquadah. Not enough to indicate the presence of a false god, but there none-the-less. He had seen her around the school, and recognised her from watching the rehearsals, but he had never been close enough to pick up on the naquadah.

“Mr Blackwell, this is Cassie. Her mom works with Grandpa George.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Cassie,” he said as he made a mental note to look her up as soon as he got home. She clearly seemed wary around him, as she watched him distrustfully. She wrapped a hand lightly around Tessa’s arm.

“We have to get onstage,” she insisted, dragging Tessa was from him. Methos resisted the urge to frown. Getting out of town seemed like better idea as time went on. Naquadah was not native to Earth, and his last experience with the beings that carried it was not pleasant in the least.

--

First thing the next morning Daniel and Jack made their way down to Hammond’s office. Jack wasn’t entirely sure that the whole thing wasn’t a misunderstanding, but he was willing to give Daniel the benefit of the doubt for now. There had been times in the past when he hadn’t and people had been hurt, Daniel most often.

Daniel on the other hand was positive that something strange was going on. He hadn’t known Pierson well, but the man had been absolutely brilliant at languages, even if Daniel was of the opinion that most of his talent was squandered, and he had kept up with the man’s infrequent articles. His death, while not widely publicised, was reasonably well known in academic circles. To see a man who looked so like him was surprising to say the least. To see him acting friendly with Hammond was just suspicious.

He knocked on the door to Hammond’s office and waited tensely to be acknowledged. Jack lounged against the wall next to him. Finally Janet exited the office looking drawn and concerned.

“Janet, is everything alright?” Daniel asked immediately.

She paused, unsure how much she could reveal.

“I’ve spoken to General Hammond, he’ll probably order you to follow up on it.”

Daniel nodded. He would have liked to help more, but couldn’t without more information. Hopefully Hammond would tell them whatever it was. For now he had his own news to deliver.

Jack entered behind Daniel and stood at his shoulder as they waited for Hammond to get off the phone. He looked harried, which was a little unexpected considering it was only 8:00am, and he’d seemed relaxed the night before. Standing before the general Daniel suddenly felt less sure than he had before.

“There was a man last night –” he began, but stopped when Hammond sighed. The general motioned for him to continue. “There was a man there and he looked exactly like someone who I am positive is dead.”

“Do you happen to know his identity?” George asked wearily.

“I knew him as Adam Pierson, I’m not sure what he goes by now. I saw him talking to you actually. Tall, thin, Roman nose.” Hammond nodded.

“Doctor Frasier has already spoken to me about Adrian Blackwell. He’s a teacher at the school. Apparently Cassandra sensed the presence of naquadah in him.”

“So that’s why Janet looked like something was wrong.”

“I want you to look into this,” George said. Both men nodded.

“And Sam and Teal’c?” Jack asked.

“I think it would be better if just you and Doctor Jackson went on this one. If Cassandra could sense naquadah in him, then he can probably sense it too. Major Carter and Teal’c would only alarm him.”

--

She paced the length of the hall, her frustration mounting with each step. There was so much to do, so much to prepare, and she was stuck waiting on a backwater planet. A figure scurried into the hall and dropped to one knee with head bowed.

“Yes,” she prompted impatiently.

“I bring news, my Queen, about the Tau’ri...”

“Excellent,” she said, her mouth curving into a malicious smile. “Fetch Ahmose, I will speak with him now.”

Fin

Shifty