[u][center]===Langford’s Medical Wing===[/center][/u]

[b]Joseph and Aeryn[/b]

All have gone well in the operation room, or at least as well as possible for the patient’s current condition. Currently the non Goa’uld was placed within a upright, comfortable bed with the sheets covering his mid drift down, his other arm hooked up to an IV tube that ran to a fluid bag filled with a saline solution and water. The patient had second to third degree burns which had required thorough cleaning followed by gauze being wrapped about from the hand to the shoulder. On top of that, the man had a broken arm and melted metal upon his wrist which Joseph had to carefully remove in surgery. In addition, he casted the arm to prevent any further damage and slung up where won’t have gotten bumped. It was unlikely the man would be able to use that arm and hand to its original extent in the future or at least that was the doctor’s opinion.
 
After at least an hour in surgery, the patient was in steady condition and melded to heal on his own for rest of his time on the ship. For however long that would be, Joseph wasn’t sure and uncared. Until he was sure the patient was stable enough to move he was under his care. Joseph’s hand repositioned his glasses to once more return to reading while a heart monitor beeped steadily for background noise. His leg readjusted back into a comfortable situation, one over the other, and his figure settled within a waiting chair opposite of the man’s bed end. It was a simple, worn cushion one that anybody would see in most Earth sitting rooms until their appointment and had been his seat each time he visited. 
 
His back leaned back into the seat cover and turned to read Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The man appeared relaxed and comfortable, his eyes scanned the current words in interest and delight until stirring from the bed jerked him from his hobby. 

[i]“It was not worth the risk Altenya, get yourself to safety.” Aeryn said. He was very weak; the representative from the Lucien Alliance that contacted Halion had done serious damage with one of the Goa’uld painsticks. Aeryn had several cuts to his body that would leave nasty scars and the metallic taste of blood ran through his mouth. “Aeryn I’ve come this far, besides if you die who's to fix my ship.”
 
It was sort of a running joke between them. Her ship had been damaged far behind flight capabilities and buried in rock of the mountain. They’d had to use the rings to burrow a hole to the surface. The ship would never fly again but Altenya often still said that his engineering skills were the only reason that she kept him around. “Come on boy let’s get you out of here.” She unhooked the shackles that had dug bloody marks into his wrists.[/i]
 
Aeryn opened his eyes. He woke very quickly as a habit to avoid being caught unawares. He was, he had to conclude on the Tau’ri vessel. He was lying on a scratchy material slightly propped up. When he glanced at the ceiling Aeryn noticed that his arm was coated in some sort of fluff much like the *cotton that he was forced to harvest all those years ago.
 
With a sudden panic Aeryn realized that he could not move or feel his arm. It was completely numb. In his shock Aeryn tried to reach out to make sure that it was not dead. His other hand clattered against something as it was wrenched to a halt midair. Aeryn looked there was a silver shackle that tied him to the metal post of this bed. He was trapped. As it dawned on him Aeryn’s hand fell limply to his side. Aeryn did not like to be trapped. Ever since he had been freed from Amenthes prison the thought of not being able to move as he pleased had terrified him. [i]Focus, concentrate, breath deeply, this is temporary.[/i] He heard the words in Altenya’s voice from the many occasion when she had to sooth him from his fear.
 
His damaged arm, concentrate on that. Had it been destroyed by the Jaffa staff blast? No, those weapons while powerful did not contain enough energy in a single shot to do that much damage. Perhaps it was part of the Tau’ri medical procedures. Yes that made sense, a numbing agent. Shut down while repairs were completed. That was the practice with disrupted and damaged technology so why should it be different for the human body.

Joseph sighed, softly, when he heard the handcuffs rattle. Slowly his head looked up to spot the patient who stirred. His hand casually pulled over the ribbon to mark his page then closed his book, set aside for another time. Next his legs uncrossed while he rose to his feet and made his way to a buzzer near the door. He pressed it then spoke in an unfazed manner, his eyes still peered at his patient’s direction from the eye corner. “Please notify the Cap’n and the IOA that the patient is awake.” 

When his sentence finished, two men had entered. Joseph had to stop his eyes from rolling as he looked upon the pair, their bodies stiffened and alerted to the task at hand. At first glance they were armed and military sort with hands fixed at their weapons, completely ready to shoot the man should he attempt anything yet the doctor was certain it won’t come to that. After they were positioned near the bedside, Joseph made his way to do the usual checks and routine stuff. 

“Now that you’re awake, how do you feel?” Joseph wasted little time with pleasantries because his main concern was the man’s well being. Not his own bedside manner.

Soon as the physician realized that Aeryn was awake he slowly lifted himself and pressed a button on the far wall. No doubt some sort of Tau’ri communication device. Seconds after he had done so two men as large as Jaffa entered the room, guards. Aeryn began to feel that this had been a huge mistake. Tonak had spoken of this assignment as a simple task, he had underestimated the Tau’ri and Aeryn had duplicated his mistake. If they were smart Aeryn would never see the light of day again. This might very well be it for him. “Master Physician, if I am to be executed do not waste your resources on my health.” 

Joseph’s eyes narrowed upon the man, his expression calm and emotionless at the question. The two guards held their position nearby with their zats at the ready, namely if this man tried anything, as he answered the man’s question. His eyes brushed over the heart monitor then checked the flow of the saline bag to ensure there wasn’t anything clogging the tube before his voice began.
 
 
“They aren’t here to kill you. Rather make sure you don’t do anything stupid and attempt to hurt me in the process. I don’t know the current situation of what happened but it seems your own actions were the cause of your recent wounds from what I gather.” Joseph said firmly and continued; his hand took the clipboard at the end of the patient’s bed then raised it upright. His hand started to scribble his observations and double checked the man’s condition from surgery one more time. “You ended up with something metal melted upon your wrist, a broken arm, and several various degree burns along your body. Managed to stabilize you and remove the metal with some surgery. Another thing we discovered is you’re not a Goa’uld which explained you're lacking healing ability and other traits.” 

A moment of silence before he then added. “Currently you’re healthy considering your experience and likely you’ll be interrogated then taken out of my care.” 

How could he have been so foolish, Aeryn had known from the start how the Jaffa would react to seeing a Goa’uld. Aeryn supposed that the thought with all the rumour of the Tau’ri’s exploits that there warriors would be faster on the trigger and had the woman been the Jaffa would have had too much honour to shoot him while he was down, Goa’uld or no. Aeryn had miscalculated and it had cost him greatly. His hand he knew would never work quite the same way again that was unless he found a sarcophagus but Amenthes had never liked the restorative devices and with the state of the former Goa’uld empire it was unlikely that he would ever seen one. He had also lost the Kara’kesh, his main defence but he knew its sacrifice had save his hand from incineration.

Right now he needed a way out of here. The Tau’ri couldn’t have much information on him. Most likely all they knew was that he attacked there ground team. They hadn’t even known that he was without symbiote until performing a scan so he could spin any story to them and they would have nothing with which to contradict. He could not tell them about Tonak that much was certain. His best plan would be to feign ignorance. If he had been unaware of the Tau’ri’s presence then Aeryn would have assumed that the Jaffa and woman were a new scientist and escort for the Ancestral facility. That being said Aeryn had the perfect story but it required that they believe that he thought this was Halion’s ship and Halion’s men. If they knew he knew who they were it was all over.

“Come now, Halion has chased me over the mountains and back for many cycles of the sun. Now that he has me in his reach he 

does not wish me dead?” Aeryn made a show of looking around the lab for the first time. Not so much that he looked like he was showing off but enough that anyone watching would believe that he was just now taking in his surroundings. “Where has the Thilas gotten a ship of this caliber? A gift from his precious Alliance?”

Joseph arched an eyebrow like a white, wiry caterpillar over his eye. He watched the man’s reaction and tried to determine the cause, either physically or mentally, for the apparent confusion. Either the man had suffered some unknown damage that wasn’t reported or he truly didn’t know where he was. Joseph ignored, due to his medical profession and caution, that third option. One which should’ve been the mostly likely if he had known what happened upon the planet surface. He returned to the clipboard to its proper place before he turned to the man with a blunt answer. “My only concern is your current condition and ensure you didn’t suffer any prolong damage that could result in death. What you’re talking about has little to no meaning to me, it doesn’t aid me in my task. I have no idea who this Halion character, let alone care. It will be the Langford’s Captain and the IOA that determines your fate after you leave here.” 

Aeryn had difficulty forming an impression of this man. He seemed in all honesty to neither know nor care about the war that Halion had waged on Aeryn and Altenya. Perhaps information did not travel well on a ship such as this or the Tau’ri had done very little preparation for this mission. The latter seemed more likely. Aeryn respected what the Tau’ri had done for the galaxy but they had a reputation for entering a situation unprepared without the knowledge of what they faced. Aeryn had to conclude that the IOA whoever they were had some sort of authority over this operation. If he was to maintain this deception however he shouldn’t know that.

“I… O… A? What is that?” Aeryn asked his working hand clinking against the bed as he disturbed the shackle. “While we are asking questions would it trouble you to release this shackle.” This was not part of the deception, the restraint had been clawing at him every since he had woken up and done his best to ignore the nagging feeling that he was falling down a very dark well. “Halion’s mightily impressive should be enough to keep me here, besides I would not go anywhere till my arm is repaired. For his faults Halion does wield impressive medical technology.”

“Currently, you’re on…” Joseph had to pause and remember the correct term to use, a matter that took only a few moments. “Tau’ri ship called the Langford. I can do something about the cuffs but that’s it.” 

Joseph’s hand waved for one of the pair and pointed at his patient’s cuffs. Naturally the guard stiffened, the man seemed to feel the doctor was about to provide a natural security risk and for a moment, he thought the man would prove difficult. He inhaled then reply in a gruff voice. “If he tries anything shoot him with a Zat, it won’t kill him or me.” 

At least he hoped it won’t, Joseph’s mind still had its doubt about the alien technology's effect on the human body. It was a topic he still needed to finish brushing up on as he hadn’t much time with the continual flow of patients. Reluctantly the man stepped forward to unlock the cuffs while his companion held his hand onto his Zat, ready to fire. Naturally, the doctor paid them little mind when he replied to his patient. “Better?”

Aeryn heaved a sigh of relief when the cuff was unlocked. It was a huge weight off his chest. “You have no idea…” He let the sentence draw itself out for a moment before a thought seemed to dawn on him. This was the final moment, either they’d believe it or he’d would be in a cell for the rest of his life. “Did you say Tau’ri? [i]The[/i] Tau’ri? Destroyers of Apophis and enemies of Anubis?” He waited to see if the man would buy it. He need not say more lest he look like some form of deranged fan.

“I think you’ve answered my questions with your reaction. I would suggest you rest and heal, I’ll come back to check on you later. Anything changes, unexplained aches or numbness beyond your arm then press the buzzer beside you.” Joseph said in his indifferent manner, however he fought not to sigh at the man’s reaction. If he didn’t know better, at least presumed so, then he almost thought there was a hint of awe in the man’s voice. For Joseph it didn’t faze him as he had dealt with a wide range of patients, from deranged to stubborn and even the rare cooperative type, to allow his face express his inner thoughts. “I’m not sure when the last time you’ve eaten but I’ll have a nurse come in with a tray prepared. If there’s anything you prefer, then you might want to mention it now.” 

“Two days,” Aeryn muttered under his breath. He could go for longer he supposed but at worst cases Aeryn needed to keep up his strength the sound of food was welcoming. “I am unfamiliar with Tau’ri cuisine.” Not that is made much difference to him. On a world where he had to kill or steal for food he did not grow up having the luxury to choose his meals. He ate what was on the table or he did not eat at all. 

“I’ll have a variety selected then you can decide which is to your liking. Then you can fill out a form with what you liked and we’ll ensure it’s on the menu. The only way to know if you like something you’re unfamiliar with is to try it after all.” Joseph stated then left to both get back to work and make sure the meal was delivered.