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rendered unconscious,” Teal’c said. “I have heard nothing so far that suggests that they are also prisoners aboard this vessel.”
    Once on his feet, Daniel could see that the barred walls formed three sides of some kind of large cell or cage. The fourth was a wall of solid metal. Most of the space was filled by bolts of cloth and sacks that might be filled with grain. There was a door in the wall opposite the solid one, fitted with a large and complicated-looking lock.
    He hadn’t thought until Teal’c spoke that they might be on a vessel, but when he thought about it he could hear the drone of what might be propellers, and feel a faint vibration under him that suggested some kind of engine in use somewhere nearby. There was no sensation of motion, but there wouldn’t be unless they happened to be accelerating or turning.
    Outside the bars, they seemed to be in some kind of bigger room, or maybe compartment was the word if they were on a ship. There was light filtering in from windows set deeply into two of the walls, and when he paced the length of the cage, he could see flashes of blue sky and wisps of cloud out the windows. No one was watching or guarding them, although he thought he heard the sound of footsteps overhead.
    The immediate problem was being in this cell. He felt their options would be increased by being out of it. “I take it that door is locked?”
    â€œIt is.”
    â€œThe bars?”
    â€œA possibility,” Teal’c said, inclining his head in a nod. “I did not wish to take the risk while you were unconscious and unable to aid in our escape.”
    â€œI’m up,” Daniel said. “Let’s see if we can get out of here.”
    His part in that consisted mainly of standing back out of the way as Teal’c wrestled with the bars, straining to bend them enough for them to be able to slip free. He’d been spending a lot of time in the gym since he joined SG-1, but Teal’c still sometimes made him feel like the ‘before’ picture in an advertisement for someone’s patented workout routine.
    Daniel had thought he was in reasonably good shape before he joined the team; scrambling through ruins and carrying around excavation equipment wasn’t exactly a sedentary activity. Then he’d started working with Jack and Teal’c — and for that matter Sam — and discovered their definition of ‘a nice little stroll.’ Between not wanting their nice little strolls to be an exercise in suffering and being highly invested in running faster than their pursuers when they had to sprint for the Stargate, he hadn’t needed much encouragement to make the most of the SGC’s workout facilities.
    Which still didn’t make bending metal bars with his bare hands his job. He took the opportunity to take stock of their surroundings instead. A spiral staircase made out of what looked like bamboo ran up and down from one corner of the compartment. Several of its stairs seemed to have been mended and patched, suggesting frequent use.
    Most of the space on all sides seemed taken up with shelves and doorways into smaller compartments. He could see coils of rope and a couple of coats and loose wool wraps hanging on hooks, but nothing that looked like an obvious weapon. Many of the shelves held what looked like machine parts of various kinds, though, which suggested he could at least find something heavy to hit people with.
    Teal’c’s shoulders strained as he tugged on the bars. It looked like he was actually getting somewhere, albeit slowly. Hopefully the bars wouldn’t be solid iron, not given the need to reduce the airship’s weight.
    â€œI wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a woman said from behind them. Daniel turned, inwardly wincing.
    The speaker was standing outside the bars on the other side of the cell, considering them. She was a handsome woman, tall and boyishly built, with dark