Part 1

Chapter 1 - Exodus... Stargate Disengaged

As Daniel floated through the Stargate for the final time, a sudden sharp pang of separation shot through his soul. He was making a mistake— a big mistake!

He felt he'd been rushed— rushed, and confused by all that mystic mumbo-jumbo. The only word missing there had been 'Grasshopper!' It had been too big a decision to take on the hoof like that. He'd told Oma Desala he didn't feel worthy, but she'd brushed it aside almost, telling him he was a good man. Well, relative to absolute evil, he'd had to admit that he was. She'd also kind of Shanghaied him by telling him that, while Jacob could have brought him back with the healing hand device, it wouldn't have restored him to full health. Well, so what?

He could still have been of use to Stargate Command - to Sam and Jack and Teal'c, the old firm. And some time or other, they'd have been bound to run into one of the higher races - the Nox, the Asgard, whatever - not to mention the finite chance of coming across yet another sarcophagus. He'd really appreciated those things, even if they were a little... disreputable.

Yes, here he was, not five minutes extinct on the earth plane and feeling thoroughly pissed off.

Before he had time to consider further, Oma Desala reappeared.

~ O-oh, think of 'angels’ and you see their glow-y swirls... ~

He figured she'd expect him to feel grateful for his 'ascension' and wondered guiltily if she could - and would - read his mind. Apparently not.

"We must make haste, Daniel. I’m sure you wish to see your loved ones as much as they wish to see you again before we move on."

Here she was, rushing him - again. Why? And where to? He had all eternity before him. Didn’t he...?

Abruptly, he found himself, back in human form, standing outside a large Greco-Egyptian building. He looked towards Oma Desala.

"Is this place what I think it is?" he asked, wonderingly.

"It is the Great Library of Alexandria, yes. Come..."

He half-walked, half-glided after his guide. It was a pleasant sensation, a bit like roller-blading but without the boots. She led him through a number of rooms that smelled blissfully of old manuscripts, and whose walls were lined with pigeon-holes full of scrolls and papyri - an archaeologist's paradise!

At the far end, two people were leaning over a large table, pouring over documents - two people who looked just the same as the last time he'd seen them. "Mom! Dad!" he cried, dashing towards them and flinging his arms round first one then the other. Another figure came shyly from behind a tall press. "Sha’re!"

The reunion was emotional all round with almost overwhelming sensations of relief and joy. His nearest and dearest were all fine and enjoying their present circumstances. If only he'd known. All the misery, despair and grief that he'd felt at their loss had been totally unnecessary - selfish even. It was quite a chastening experience.

"We must go now, Daniel."

It was Oma Desala hurrying him away again.

~ So where’s the fire? - Or should I not ask that right now...? ~

"Ah, wait a minute, please. Do I have to wait till they die before I see the rest of S.G. -1 again?"

His guide, in her business executive guise again, looked surprised at his question.

"Of course not. You only have to think of them and a part of your consciousness will be with them instantaneously. You must realize thatthey won’t be able to see you, although they will feel the temperature drop a little. You draw thermal energy from your surroundings to maintain your presence and to move around."

"Oh."

"If you want them to see you, you'll have to do a walk-in."

"A... 'walk-in'? Er, what's that?"

"When they're asleep, wait until they're dreaming, then just walk in."

"Oh. Will they remember when they wake up."

Oma gave a quiet little laugh.

"Oh yes. They'll remember that as long as they live!"

"Oh... Oh...!"

"Yes, Daniel, all those beautiful vivid dreams you had when you thought you'd seen your parents and Sha're..."

" ...They were real— ? Wow...! I never realized... "

"Very few people do, but it makes them feel a little better inside."

"For a while..." Daniel finished wistfully.

Chapter 2 - New Ground... In a Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Daniel's spirit melted back into its ethereal plasma form as the library blinked out, leaving him with Oma Desala in the tenuous ocean of space. With the speed of thought, she drew him across the galaxy and out the far side, through three more galaxies and on to a fourth. The trip left him breathless - figuratively speaking.

Finally, Oma stopped dead above a pretty blue and green planet covered with swirls of cloud.

~ Hm, home from home, huh? ~

"This planet is at an earlier stage of development from your old home world. Primate life is still very primitive, even by Earth standards. It's partly your knowledge of anthropology that made me think you were ideal for this mission. I think you'll enjoy it. I just hope we’re not too late."

~ O-oh, back to the cryptic utterances are we? ~

"There are several hominid tribes scattered across the planet. The two most highly developed ones are centred on a small continent a little to the north of the equatorial latitude. They are on the brink of becoming the planet's dominant species. They're beginning to question their world and their place in it - wondering what causes things to grow, rain to fall and so on."

"You mean they're developing a religion?"

"Animism - yes. They now need a carer, a guiding spirit to watch over them."

"You want me to be their god?" he asked, appalled.

Oma laughed softly. She a singularly irritating laugh, he noticed, full of superiority, like a mother with a particularly dense child.

"More of an anima mundi, Daniel," she said with such caressing gentleness that he would have puked if he'd had anything to throw up - or anything to throw it up from.

~ and what's that if it's not a god, for heaven's sake... from their point of view? ~

Yes, he'd definitely made a big mistake. Instead of applying his hard-earned knowledge for the benefit of S.G.C. he was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, babysitting a primitive race. And for how long...? ~ aaaggh! ~

"Let's go and see them, shall we?" Oma was saying, at which they were floating on the edge of clearing in a tropical forest.

It was some time after midday. His charges-to-be looked not so dissimilar to Neanderthals back home. They were short and stocky, with a pronounced brow ridge.

A small tribal group of some half dozen or so families seemed to be having a siesta. Children ran around in the clearing under the semi-watchful eye of a couple of older females while the rest of the adults were resting on platforms built some six feet up in the trees. One was playing a bone pipe. There were lath and leaf houses a little higher up in the trees too.

It all looked very pleasant and tranquil. Daniel didn’t see that they had any need of his 'guiding spirit' and said so.

"They call themselves the Yeemi and are more in need of your protection than your guidance as yet. They share this continent with the Ishten who are considerably more advanced - relatively speaking..."

"So... how do I protect them?"

"Well, they cannot see you, but their primitive senses are still much keener that those of more... 'civilized'... peoples. When you revert to human form, they will feel your presence."

"Like you said my friends back on Earth would?"

"Yes, only more so. If the Ishten pose a threat, all you need to do is stand near any Yeemi who are in danger. They will feel your chill, which will frighten them. They will run away from you and hide before the Ishten appear."

"Oh, right... Seems simple enough—"

~ even for me... ~

"So where are the Ishten?"

Forest flashed past into savannah in a way that would have left him feeling dizzy had he been in corporeal form. The movement stopped abruptly. It seemed to be Oma Desala's preferred way of travel. Did she never consider a little gentle deceleration?

"You’ll soon become acclimatized to it." ~ Oops, she can read my mind? ~ "When I need to, yes, or when your think your thoughts out so loudly that I can't help but hear them..."

The Ishten people lived in small, igloo-like mud huts circling a communal living area which had a central fire. Meat was being cooked over it.

The tiny village was bounded on three sides by a high rocky outcrop which gave them not only a good degree of protection, but also an excellent vantage point over the surrounding land. It would be hard for anyone, or anything, to creep up on them unawares.

In appearance, they were far more human-looking - taller and less stocky than the Yeemi but more muscular. Their biggest advantage over the Yeemi was in weaponry; the Ishten had them, the Yeemi hadn't, or not so far as Daniel had seen so far.

"They don’t look as if they need my protection," Daniel said with a marked lack of enthusiasm.

"No, they don’t," said Oma patiently, back in her 'pay-attention-to-mother' mode. "Like the Yeemi, they will be able to feel your presence in your human form, but some of them, mostly the younger ones, will be able to see you - faintly. One especially will see you quite clearly. He is their shaman. His name is Duva and will communicate your guidance to Parrass, their chief, who cannot see you."

As she was talking, she pointed out a skinny little Ishten who was applying yellow, white and blue paint to his face.

"And I communicate... how?"

"Mostly by sign language. Basically, you only need to let Duva know when his people are doing things wrong and to give encouragement when they're getting it right. Oh, and you don't have to look like Daniel Jackson. You can morph into any form - and size - that you think will get the point across."

Duva had finished his facial decorations and was collecting up a number of ceremonial-looking objects. Satisfied, he took off on his own around the protective rocks.

"Where's he going?"

"To the sacred place of the Ishten."

~ Oh, of course - silly me! ~

"You know, you really must take this seriously. It's a most important mission. Duva will need a great deal of your guidance. He is a devious little soul and will easily slip into the ways of the dark side, taking his whole tribe with him— and there are many of them spread across this continent and beyond."

~ Yeah. Right ~

"We may as well follow him, then you can begin learning the Ishten rituals. It will help you in your guidance."

Daniel floated after her as she followed Duva, and got the shock of his life— or after-life. The shaman was setting out his magical equipment on a large, flat-topped rock. Beyond it, stood a large, very familiar, grey ring.

A Stargate!