Snake in the Horse's Shadow By Lord Raa Disclaim-me-do: These "no nonsense" solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel. Part 2 General Hammond was glad that his best team had all returned in one piece. "Welcome back, SG-1," he smiled. "Who are our guests?" O'Neill turned to introduce the older Jaffa. "General Hammond, this is Bra'tak, he's Teal'c's old teacher." "Greetings, Hammond of Texas," Bra'tak bowed his head respectfully. "It is an honour to meet you." "Likewise," the General bowed back. "And this is Ranma Saotome, he's… well, we're not quite sure what he is," Jack admitted. The pigtailed man rolled his eyes. "I'm Ranma Saotome, and I'd like to go home." "Where is home for you?" Hammond asked. "Tokyo, but as for anything more specific like the ward, you'll have to ask my father." "Tokyo? But how did you get off-world?" the Texan asked. "The Stargate was only activated two years ago." "Didn't go through your Stargate, it was a shuttle on the moon," Ranma half explained. "When was this?" Carter asked, intrigued that something as significant as an alien shuttle was missed during the lunar missions. "I mean, how long have you been out there?" "I don't know, what year is it? We lost track of the time." "1998," the blonde supplied helpfully. Ranma looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh, it's been that long?" Dr. Fraiser arrived to escort SG-1 into the infirmary. "Welcome back, SG-1. I'm sorry to do this, but I'd like to give you all a quick examination before you have your debriefing." Hammond gave O'Neill a look that warned him not to argue. "Since you asked so nicely, how could we refuse?" Jack asked with his usual irreverent nature. "What about me?" Ranma asked. "Can I borrow your Stargate and bring my father home?" "Not just yet, we'd still like to ask you some questions, Ranma," Hammond said apologetically. "Will there be food?" The bald man nodded. "I think we can rustle something up for you." "Lead the way, Hammond of Texas," the pigtailed man grinned. After their physical examinations, SG-1 walked into the briefing room where Ranma had been led to. The martial artist was sitting at the table behind several empty plates. Carter was surprised at the amount of food their guest had consumed in such a short space of time. 'Just where did he put all that food?' "Watch your fingers, Ranma," Jack wryly commented as Ranma wiped some sauce up with a slice of bread. "Did that even touch the sides?" "The bottom's a side, isn't it?" Ranma smirked in response. General Hammond arrived. "My apologies for the delay, I was just talking with the President and the Joint Chiefs. They said that they'll waive the courts martial for SG-1 this time, Colonel O'Neill." "Bet we don't get any medals though," the Colonel muttered good-naturedly. "I take it that means we're keeping the SGC going?" "We are indeed, Colonel. Now, Ranma," the Texan said as he took up his seat at the table, "What can you tell us about yourself and your travels off-world?" "It's a long story," the martial artist replied. "Over 20 years ago, my father took me on what was planned to be a ten year training trip. I learned all sorts of cool fighting styles and how to live off the land. After ten years of living on the road, I was starting to resent my old man." "Why's that, Ranma?" Hammond asked. He'd always enjoyed a good relationship with his father. "Sure, I'd learn some useful skills on my travels, but I'd been neglecting how to deal with people without making them want to cave my head in. My father admitted that there was a reason for this and we had a… frank exchange of views." Carter was beginning to wonder if she should make the effort to visit her own father. She asked, "Just what sort of man is your father?" "It's complicated," Ranma said with a sharp intake of breath. "When I was five, he was some invincible warrior that wanted to train me so I was the best. When I was seven, he was putting me through the harshest of training. When I was 16, he was a lazy hypocrite who wanted me to marry his best friend's daughter. "At 17, he was all I had in the universe." "Wow…" the blonde whispered. "Indeed it does seem like a complicated situation, Ranma Saotome," Teal'c said, nodding his head in understanding. "It reminds me of my situation with my son." "You should spend some time with him," the pigtailed man said. "Teach him stuff; help him understand things he doesn't." "I will, Ranma." "So, how did you get from China to the other side of the galaxy?" Daniel asked, the talk of families making him feel slightly uncomfortable. "We went to this temple. There was this weird writing on the walls that wasn't Chinese, we touched the writing and the next thing we know, we're on the moon in a shuttle. Soon after that, we're flying off to some planet with a load of Jaffa abusing some slaves. It took a while, but we stopped all the Jaffa." O'Neill noticed that Teal'c looked surprised. "Teal'c? Is there something we should know about this planet?" "Did this planet have a Stargate?" "No, but it had two major resources being mined – naquadah and trinium," Ranma answered. The Jaffa wore a look that was part fear, part admiration on his face. "You were a part of the rebellion on Rokscha?" "I wasn't the guy who took charge after the Goa'uld left, but I killed a few Jaffa, if that's what you mean." "There were 500 Jaffa on Rokscha. Five left with their Goa'uld master," Teal'c explained to the rest of SG-1. "It was considered an important lesson for those who would become First Prime to learn." "It was a combination of surprise, sneaky tactics and collapsing buildings and mineshafts on the enemy and not just going around and murdering them in their sleep," Ranma insisted. "Though, that was how I killed that Goa'uld a couple of years ago." "You were responsible for the death of Jocasta?" the Jaffa asked. "There were rumours that the Ha're Kek were involved, but Sokar took over Jocasta's worlds and quickly silenced the survivors." "Yeah, I still need to deal with Sokar – he captured my father last year," the martial artist said, his left eye twitching slightly. "Speaking of which, I don't want to cause trouble, but I promised my father that I'd get him home." "I'd like our doctor to examine you, if you don't mind," Hammond said. "While Dr. Fraiser takes a look, I'll make the call." "Thank you, General Hammond," Ranma smiled. "I'm sorry for keeping on about this, but we're tired of having to worry about our next meal or whether or not people are going to try to kill us." "I know what you mean," O'Neill nodded. "We've upset a few people ourselves. Carter, would you show Ranma to the infirmary?" "Yes, sir," the blonde nodded. As they stood in the elevator, Carter turned to face Ranma. "So, I'd imagine you've seen some impressive sights over the years?" "Yeah," the pigtailed man nodded. "There were these people who managed to hide their floating cities. Can you believe it? Floating cities!" "You met the Nox?" the Captain asked. "Yeah, have you? I mean sure, they don't look advanced, but then I've seen enough elderly martial artists to know that you can't judge on appearances alone." "But if you met the Nox and they showed you their cities, why didn't they send you home?" "Well, they told my father they didn't know where our planet was, but one of them told me a few secrets," Ranma said. "Well?" Carter asked, clearly interested in what the Nox had to say to Ranma. The elevator chimed and the doors opened. "They're secrets that I promised to keep for as long as I could." "But…" "Hey, I made a promise," the martial artist replied, cutting the blonde off. "I don't know about you, but I think the Nox would be pretty upset if I blabbed all their secrets to the first person who asked." "True, but what can you tell us about the Nox?" Ranma sighed. "They're nice people and they can make their floating cities invisible." Carter was becoming increasingly frustrated with the long-haired man's reluctance. "This way." "Oh, I can tell you a couple of things though," the raven-haired man said as he caught up with the Captain. "Their Stargate is buried and they picked up the Tollan from here." Carter spun around to face Ranma. "How did you know that?" "I spent six months with them. I helped them bury their Stargate." "Then why didn't you get them to bring you home?" "My father," Ranma replied as they arrived at the Infirmary. "I needed to get him back from Sokar." The blonde was feeling a little embarrassed at her questions. "Here we are." "That's good, my shoulder's been hurting me for some time now," the martial artist said as he walked through the door. "So Doc, what can you do for an aching shoulder?" "Well, if you'll get ready and take a seat on the bed there, I'll take a look and see what's wrong," Dr. Janet Fraiser smiled. She turned to face Carter. "So, Samantha, what's our guest like?" "Well, he's… he's… naked?" the Captain answered in disbelief. "What?" the doctor asked. She turned to see what Sam was looking at. "Ranma! Why did you undress?" "You said get ready," Ranma replied. "Yeah, but I meant take your shirt off so I could see your shoulder. Why would you think you needed to be completely naked?" "I don't know, it's just that every other female healer has asked me to get undressed no matter what the problem was. I just assumed that it's because they knew what they were doing," the nude man shrugged. "But now that you mention it, it does seem a bit weird to get undressed if you've got a sore throat…" "Just… put your pants on!" Carter ordered. "Huh, that's strange," Ranma muttered as he slid his pants on. "What is?" "Girls normally tell me to keep my clothes off, not put them back on. It makes a refreshing change." "…" the two women were stunned by this comment. They turned to face each other. "No, he can't be serious…" Janet said softly. "It must be one of his jokes," Samantha insisted. "So, are you going to take a look at my shoulder or not?" Ranma asked, interrupting the women's discussion. Janet smiled and walked over to where the semi-dressed man was sitting. It was then that she got a look at the scars on his body. "You've been in the wars, haven't you?" she asked with a whistle. "A couple of planetary rebellions, a few rescue missions, maybe one or two duels to the death," the martial artist shrugged. "When do you feel the most pain in your shoulder, Ranma?" the Doctor asked, noticing some heavy scarring on his right shoulder. "Most of the time, really," Ranma answered. "Some days it's just a dull ache, others it feels like there's something inside there, grinding against the bone. I have the full range of motion, but the pain can make fighting more difficult than it needs to be." Janet gently probed her patient's shoulder, doing her best not to be distracted by the rest of his impressive physique. "I'm going to lift your arm up now, ok? Let me know when it starts to hurt." "It's hurting now, Doc." "Oh. Well, I still need to move your arm to see where the problem is." "Ok, I'll let you know where the pain becomes worse. Ache, ache, twinge of pain, twinge getting worse, feels like there's something in my shoulder," Ranma said as he arm was lifted from his side to fully outstretched. Janet frowned slightly. "I can't really tell what the problem is without a scan, Ranma. Don't worry; we've got an x-ray machine here so this won't take long." In his office, General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill were discussing the security implications of allowing two civilians with knowledge of the Stargate to wander freely. "I can't say that it's a good idea for them to go around unsupervised, Colonel." "I agree with you there, Sir, but it's going to be difficult keeping an eye on Ranma," Jack said. "And why is that, Colonel?" the Texan asked. "Well, he can turn himself invisible, Sir," Jack explained. Hammond blinked twice. "Like the Nox can? Does he have access to advanced technologies?" The Colonel leaned back in his chair. "It's entirely possible, Sir, but he's not told us everything about himself and his travels." The bald man nodded. "This is quite the dilemma. We have to balance the fact that we don't have the right to deprive two foreign nationals of the right to go home when they've done nothing wrong with maintaining security around the SGC." There was a pause as the two men considered the situation. A knock on the door interrupted them. "Enter." "Sorry to bother you, Sirs," Captain Carter said, saluting her superiors. "But there's something interesting that we've discovered." "Oh?" O'Neill asked. "Is Ranma a robot or something?" "No, Sir, he's human, if a little unusual," the blonde answered. "We found a piece of metal shrapnel in his shoulder. It's a metal we've not seen before, but Ranma and Teal'c have identified it as 'trinium'. It's far lighter and stronger than anything we've seen before. "And not only that, Ranma says he knows where we can get some of the ore." Hammond nodded. "Do you think we could trust him to show us a planet where we could mine some of that trinium?" "I guess," O'Neill said, "if we allow him to bring his father home. Don't know what he'll do if we deny him that." "I don't really like this," Hammond said. "He's too strong and powerful. He could do anything he wants. And his knowledge of the Stargate programme poses a big security risk." "I don't like it much either," the Colonel said, "but he did help us blow up Apophis' ships. He basically saved our collective butts. We'll just have to trust him for now." "Very well, we'll get him to take us to the trinium ore and then we'll get his father," the bald man decided. Ranma stirred on the hospital bed. "Careful now," a nurse with blonde, collar-length hair said rushing to his side, "You've just had delicate surgery on your shoulder." "Surgery? But that wasn't that a couple of hours ago?" the pigtailed man asked, not immediately recognising his surroundings. "Yes," Dr. Fraiser confirmed. "But soon after you identified the shrapnel we removed, you fell asleep. I was expecting you to wake up for the first time in about 20 minutes, Ranma." "What? I fell asleep again?" "I'd be more concerned about the nausea you're feeling from the anaesthetic. Normally, patients have an empty stomach before they go under," the doctor explained. "Meh, my father would tell me off for wasting food. Speaking of which, I don't suppose I could get a drink, could I?" Ranma asked. "My throat's a bit dry." "Nurse Smith, could you please get Ranma a glass of water?" A moment later, Ranma took the offered glass. "Thank you." The nurse smiled back at the martial artist. "You're welcome, Ranma." There was a knock at the door and Colonel O'Neill entered. "I see you're feeling better already." "I'm feeling much better, thanks to Dr. Fraiser and her top medical team," Ranma said, smiling at the two women in the room. "So, what's the plan?" "Well, as soon as you get the all clear to travel from the Doc, you're to take us to where we can find some trinium ore to bring back. After that, we're going to pick up your father," Jack answered. "Don't get anything for nothing these days, do you?" the martial artist asked rhetorically. "Still, if it's what I've got to do to get my father home, then I can't complain too much." Ranma stood up off the bed and looked down at his naked body. "You know, we really need to work out our barter scheme." "What do you mean, Ranma?" the Colonel asked, pointedly not looking below Ranma's neck. "Well, I blow up Apophis and I get lunch," the naked man explained, "Very tasty, by the way. I'm taking you to a trinium ore deposit in exchange for getting my father home and it seems that payment for taking care of my shoulder is to strip me naked and stare at me. "I can't expect you to just do things or give me stuff for nothing, but we should work out a proper scale, don't you think?" "Yeah… we should," Jack conceded. "Doc, let me know when Ranma's fit to travel and we'll start prepping the mission." "Yes, Colonel," Janet nodded. After Jack had left, she turned her attention back to Ranma. "Err, Ranma, I don't suppose you'd mind covering up, would you?" "If it makes things easier for you," the martial artist shrugged. He sat back on the bed and covered his waist with the sheet. "So, ready when you are." "Let's just change the dressing first, ok?" the doctor suggested with a nervous smile. Ranma was clearly bored with being kept in the infirmary. His fidgeting was beginning to annoy even himself. "Gah, so bored…" he complained to the airmen guarding him. "I don't suppose you guys could let me go for a run, could you?" "Sorry, Sir, but we're under orders to keep you under close supervision." "But I need to do something, or I'm going to go nuts. There's nothing we can do? You guys don't have gym or anything here?" Airman Cervantes looked at the pigtailed man sympathetically. "Let me check with my superiors." The Hispanic man walked to a phone and dialled General Hammond. "Sorry to bother you Sir, but our guest says that he needs something to do. Would it be possible to allow him to use our gym on base?" "¬What does Dr. Fraiser say about him exercising?¬ " the Texan asked. "¬If she says it's ok, then I'll allow. But be sure to mention that it's Mr. Saotome's health that's holding up the mission to bring back his father.¬" "Thank you Sir," Cervantes said before hanging up the phone. He turned to face Ranma. "I need to ask Dr. Fraiser. The General also told me to mention that it's your health that is holding up the mission to bring your father home." "This?" Ranma pointed to his shoulder. He moved it in a circle. "This is feeling much better. I'm ready to go when you guys are." "It's still Dr. Fraiser's call, Sir." "Yes, it is," Janet Fraiser said as she entered the room. "Ranma, stop waving your arm about and let me have a look at it." Ranma did as he was told. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, hoping to contain his nervous energy for a short while longer. The doctor gently peeled away the dressing and blinked in surprise. "Just how fast do you heal, Mr. Saotome?" "What? I'm Ranma, Mr. Saotome is my father," the martial artist said dismissively. "And I guess I've always been a fast healer. You kinda need to be out there when you've upset as many people as we have." "But the way your scar has healed isn't exactly textbook, Ranma," Janet commented dryly. Ranma shrugged. "I guess I'm just special. So, what's the word, Dr. Fraiser? Am I ready to go on a couple of missions through the Stargate?" "I can't really see any reason why not, but you must be careful when you're off-world. And I want you to come back for a check up as soon as you come back," the doctor instructed. "Well, if that's part of our barter scheme, then I guess I can't do a great deal about it. I promise I'll come here as soon as we come back." To be continued…? Pre-read by Chi Vayne with suggestions from foesjoe. Is this more of what you were expecting?
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Snake in the Horse's Shadow
Chapter 02: Chapter 2
By: Lord Raa