Chapter Text
~*~
"It's definitely an alphabet of some kind. You can see the repetition of the symbols, that there's some kind of narrative here, complete with punctuation. No signs yet of being advanced enough for technology, but this civilization clearly surpassed the mud huts phase..."
Colonel Young nodded sleepily, pulling his cap lower over his eyes. The bright sun beating down overhead left the air pleasantly warm, so much that he shrugged off his jacket before crossing his arms back against his chest. He leaned against the strange purple tree-trunk, nodding again absently as the scientist continued to prattle on about the ruins surrounding them.
Nicholas Rush knelt beside a high stone wall, tracing one palm over the joint between two stones. "There's no evidence of tools, but these stones are massive. To be lifted in place by hand would show a masterful understanding of mathematics and gravitational factors..."
The two of them were alone on the planet's surface, following a long and detailed debate and discussion aboard Destiny the hours before. A rockslide had destroyed the local Stargate, but the seedship's data had provided an intriguing map of obviously abandoned structures from a long-dead civilization.
After listening to his lead scientist practically beg to explore via the shuttle, Young had agreed to fly just the two of them to the surface, to be picked up in three days time when Destiny passed back into range. Meanwhile, Camile would spend the time putting the various senior crew members through a series of training drills, testing each of them in their capacities as both mission commander and lead scientist.
In truth, Young felt as though he could use a vacation, even if it meant spending that time alone with Rush. So far, things had remained peaceful as they constructed a tent beneath the stone roof of one of the over-grown buildings, gathering firewood and spreading out their supplies. Rush had even found some edible fruits while Young caught and grilled some promising-looking fish-like creatures. The fish had proved tough and bitter, but the fruit was sweet.
Now, he settled down for a peaceful nap while the other man crawled on hands and knees throughout the structures, making notes and talking to himself.
"These structures appear to be far older than the ones closer to the Gate," Rush was saying, dusting his hands on his BDUs before getting up and practically jogging towards the buildings scattered a few yards away.
"Stay where I can see you!" Young called, already closing his eyes again.
Rush waved a hand at him dismissively, hiking up the hill to explore some more.
~*~
The next morning, Rush discovered an underground entrance, a set of cut stairs leading deep into the earth on the side of the mountain. Recalling Scott's nearly-disastrous away mission, Young initially forbade him to enter, but Rush insisted it would be safe as long as he took a kino and Young remained outside.
After watching Rush's exploration for a while on the kino viewer, Young decided to pocket the device and do some poking around of his own. Starting on the other side of the tall hill, he began searching through the buildings, looking for any signs of technology. The furthest and smallest structure still contained several intact clay vessels, along with other pieces shattered across the stone floor. Shuffling aside the dried grasses covering the stone, he discovered a rotten wooden panel covering a second stone staircase.
In his pocket, he heard Rush's steady, one-sided conversation, describing the tunnel he explored, "...Seems to be some sort of fertility cult, judging by the carvings. The usual emphasis on a rather... optimistic expression of masculine physiology, and curiously no depictions of the female form. Perhaps a more 'fraternal' organization? No wonder they died out..."
Feeling his lips draw back in a grin, Young decided to check the chamber directly below him - if it looked interesting, he would interrupt Rush and wait for him to return before going any further. It wouldn't do for both of them to be underground in case something happened.
Activating his flashlight, Young carefully picked his way down the steep, narrow stairs. The chamber at the bottom proved to be long and narrow, the ceiling so low he had to duck to keep from brushing his hair along the stone. Rush's voice echoed in the strange space, warped and muffled by the fabric of his pants and the distance between the two of them. "...The remains of a vessel of some kind. Presumably water ran through here at one time. Crossing the river would represent a cleansing of some kind, the passing of one life to the next..."
Young found yet another narrow set of stairs, leading deeper still into the earth. Leaning down, his flashlight caught something humanoid, making him jump before he realized it was a painting or carving of some kind on the walls below. Intrigued, Young made his way down the stairs into the second chamber.
The walls depicted some sort of ritual, showing humanoid creatures with strangely large heads. A group of figures, dressed in bright robes swirling with colours, waited grouped on one end of the wall. At the far end, a single figure, dressed in a bright, simple shift, bent low as though in a narrow space, carrying a light or lantern of some kind in one hand.
The journeying figure was then represented passing through a large archway, bearing a distinct resemblance to a portion of human male anatomy, before coming to a glowing river where they crossed the swirling green waters in a raft.
On the other side, the figure continued through an even darker, narrower space, until they were met by one of the bright-robed figures before a large altar. Young's eyes narrowed when he realized the next step on the journey appeared to be extremely intimate in nature, both figures grappling, mouths pressed together. A second illustration showed the initiate on their knees before the other figure, position clearly compromising. Feeling his face flush in the dark, Young turned quickly away, shining his light around the space, looking around.
The far end of the room featured an ornate doorway, a large stone door carved with various symbols and more phallic artwork. In one corner, a large mirror reflected his light, illuminating a desk or vanity covered in various clay pots and rotting wooden boxes.
Setting his light on the stone table, Young carefully unscrewed the lid of one of the jars. A blast of dark powder erupted as he pulled apart container, sending him into a coughing fit as his eyes watered. The powder smelled of sulfur and something sweeter, and it grit in his lungs like glass. Eyes burning, Young clapped his hand into his chest, trying to catch his breath.
Stumbling, he fell against the table, feeling the flashlight and jars go flying away from his arm into the floor. More powder choked his lungs and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Opening his eyes, he reached for the flashlight, far across the room now, just before his vision dimmed completely.
~*~
"...The initiates would then enter a high-vaulted chamber, perhaps representing the loftiness of the goals to which they would now aspire..." Rush raised the flashlight to look at the high ceilings, unable to make out much of the detail on the carvings high overhead.
In the center of the room, a large stone altar dominated the space. He ran a hand over the strange language carved all over it, noting the top of the stone was worn smooth. He wondered if they had sacrificed animals here, but there did not appear to be a drainage system for any blood, and roof did not seem ventilated for smoke. Perhaps they prayed at the altar instead?
Maybe it was a throne, he thought, studying the carvings on the side, the mysterious language and more of the phallic symbolism. That would explain why the top was worn smooth, if people sat on it for long periods of time. Perhaps a master waited here for an initiate to arrive and prostrate themselves before the throne, ready to receive the cult's wisdom at the end of their journey.
Rush stopped, hand still on the altar, coming up short as he cocked his head to the side. He heard it again, the sound of stone sliding on stone. Shining his light into the dark corners of the room, he squinted, trying to see the source of the sound.
"Hello...?" He called into the darkness, his voice echoing in the high-roofed room. A cold trickle of sweat crept down his spine as he realized he could hear breathing in the darkness. Reaching up, he caught the kino in his free hand, sending it gently into the dark towards the sound.
"Is someone there?" He called, holding the flashlight up near his face, listening hard. The breathing seemed to come from all around him - it was impossible to make out a source. He heard his own voice echoed, tinny and warped, and he wondered how it could be played back at such a delay.
Rush cried out as something heavy slammed into him from behind, sending him face-first onto his elbows. He felt hands on his hips, pulling him backwards as he tried to crawl forward. Half-turning, he slung his elbow back hard, feeling the grunt more than he heard it as his bone met something soft. Human hands, he realized with a start, kicking to his feet, tearing free of the grip.
He ran into the darkness, his flashlight somewhere behind him. Rush yelped as he hit stone, palms catching before his face did. Feeling blindly, he found open air to the right, realizing he had found a door of some kind. He could hear the panting behind him, a garbled grunting, as he surged through the door. His knees banged into the sharp stone of a flight of stairs and he scrambled up as fast as he could, on hands and knees.
The low-ceiling hut he burst into was littered with shards of pottery and intact vessels. He could see boot prints in the dirt level with his face, just as a hand closed around his ankle, pulling him down several steps.
Desperately, Rush kicked out, catching the man in the face. Whirling, hair in his face, he caught sight of Colonel Young's enraged face as the man stumbled back down the stairs. Not waiting for an explanation, disturbed by the man's violence and the emptiness of his gaze, Rush was up and running, fleeing the building.
He ran down the grassy slope, legs and arms pumping, moving full-pelt, trying to put as much distance between himself and the colonel as possible. He could hear Young crashing through the vegetation behind him, but he didn't waste time looking. He had no idea what had come over the other man, but his every instinct screamed at him to run, to ask no questions, just to escape.
His expression twisted into something like terror as he ran through the landscape, weaving through the purple trees, past the building where they had pitched their tent the day before, past the shuttle he didn't know how to fly. He could feel his lungs burning from the effort, his legs numb, wind whistling in his ears. Rush ran as though his life depended on it. For all he knew, it did.
Behind him, he heard Young let out a cry of almost inhuman rage that only belatedly did he realize was his own name. Rush dared a look over his shoulder, regretting it immediately as his feet suddenly tripped up.
He was sliding, one elbow skinning in the mud and the damp plants before he tumbled over. Curling instinctively into a ball, he tried to keep his limbs soft and pliant as he banged into roots and rocks, rolling now down the steep hill. He felt the air rush around his face and he opened his eyes just in time to see the trunk of a tree rising up before him. His shoulder hit first and he closed his eyes, not even feeling it as the darkness swallowed him up as surely as the tunnels.
~*~
When Rush came to, he was lying on his side. Flexing his wrists and ankles, he tried to assess the damage to his body. Nothing seemed broken, though everything felt rattled and bruised. His forehead felt hot and wet, but he couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not. When he tried to raise his hand to press his fingers to the wound, he realized his wrists were tied together.
Opening his eyes, he realized he was lying on one of the sleeping bags in the tent. It was dark, the camp lantern across the space casting his shadow large on the canvas wall. His wrists were bound together with a boot lace, a square of cloth from the tent materials wrapped around them to keep the thin line from cutting into his skin too badly. His ankles were tied with the other lace, looped over the pants of his BDUs. He could see his boots laying across the tent, discarded once they'd been stripped of their laces. Their gear packs were missing, no longer left by the entrance, the knives and tools gone along with them.
Shimmying to his knees, he pulled his wrists to his mouth, biting at the cords to try and loosen them. The knots held good, even when he worked at them with teeth and tongue. Soon his tongue and lips felt raw and he was no closer to freedom.
When he heard footsteps outside the tent, Rush dropped back onto his side, casting around again for some kind of weapon. Nothing remained in the tent apart from the boots and their sleeping bags. He tried calculating his chances of being able to crawl away and hide somewhere, but the tent flap opened too soon.
Closing his eyes, he feigned unconsciousness, trying to keep his breathing even. He knew it was Young. He could hear him breathing, still heavy and labored, almost like an animal. He couldn't stop a faint shiver as fingers trailed over his cheek and into his hair.
"I know you're awake," Young gritted out, voice tight and strained.
Stubbornly, Rush didn't move, trying not to tense as the fingers combed through his hair, gentle touch still making his skull throb where he'd hit the tree.
He let out a startled yelp as the hand gripped his hair, dragging him up on his elbows and then to his knees.
Young smiled at him, eyes wide and black in the lamplight. "You shouldn't have run away," he whispered softly, eyes searching his face. He looked him over, expression appraising, as though he did not even know him.
"What's gotten into you, Colonel...?" He whispered, licking his dry lips. Young looked like a cobra getting ready to strike.
He smiled, though his eyes remained dead and cold. He looked the other man over like a piece of meat, making him swallow hard.
"Colonel..." Rush began, but Young closed the distance between them, twisting the grip on his hair to pull his face up into a brutal kiss.
The scientist erupted into struggles, but Young held him easily, one hand fisted in his hair, the other on his jacket. Rush bit at his tongue, earning a sharp slap to the side of the face that sent him reeling. Young was on him in an instant, and he swore when he felt something hard and insistent digging into his hip. Rush struggled to claw his way towards the tent flap, but Young caught him by the hips, drawing him back easily.
The hands on his hips felt around to unfasten his borrowed pants, already lose from the lack of belt. Rush cried out as his skin was completely bared. He felt Young's hands at his ankles suddenly, and the ropes pulled free, allowing the other man to strip his legs completely.
A hand palmed over the curve of his buttock, pulling his leg up as Young settled between them. Rush spluttered and surged away, held in a bruising grip by the leg while Young twisted his fist in the back of his jacket. This could not be happening, he told himself desperately. This was not going to happen. Young could not possibly intend to...
He gasped when he felt a finger slide into the cleft of his ass, pressing hard against the opening there. "STOP!" He shouted desperately, throwing his hair as he looked frantically over one shoulder. This was all happening far too fast. One minute he had been lying in the floor aching, and now he was being pinned on hands and knees as the commander of their mission attempted to mercilessly breach his entrance with his fingers.
Young smirked and reached into his pocket for a condom. He opened the foil packet with his teeth, still keeping one hand on Rush's jacket to hold him in place. The scientist swore when the finger returned, slick now with the condom covering it as it stabbed at him. The finger became two, prying him open with almost expert precision. He kicked out at the other man but Young rewarded him with a swift punch to the small of his back, sending him to his stomach on the canvas floor.
"Why are you doing this?!" He cried, voice rising with a reedy note as the fingers plunged deeper. It hurt, what Young was doing to him. He had never been with a man before and it hurt to be peeled into this way. He could feel tears smarting at the corners of his eyes and he tried to crawl again to no avail.
"You need to be taught a lesson," Young growled, voice hissing in his ear as he wrapped himself around the smaller man. Rush sobbed as he felt the rock-hard arousal pressing at his bare flesh now. Young unfastened his pants, groaning as he sprang free.
"Colonel, please," He cried, not caring that he was begging. This was unthinkable, unconscionable, and he couldn't comprehend why or how this was happening. Young had been fine this afternoon, and now he was an animal, grunting and panting as he thrust his erection against his bare skin, fingers still clawing inside of him, threatening to pull him apart.
Rush froze when he heard another foil packet being torn open, right in his ear this time. "Colonel Young..." He whimpered, feeling the tears threatening again, hot and thick in his eyes.
The slick heat pressing against him shifted as the fingers withdrew. Young grunted, pushing the tip into the small opening, holding it open with the ends of his fingers as he began to fit himself inside.
Unable to stop himself, Rush screamed, bearing down on his elbows in an attempt to pull free of the burning pain. Young ignored him, clutching his shoulders in a bruising grip as he slowly sank his weight forward, filling the smaller man with his length.
"You take that," Young snarled, pulling his hips back before slamming them forward again, rocking the scientist as he set a brutal rhythm. Rush sobbed, tears flowing down his cheeks now. It felt as though he were being split in two and he couldn't focus on anything except the shrinking and blossoming pain of the other man inside him. "Oh, yeah," Young panted, mouth wet on his ear, "You take all of that..."
Rush bit his tongue, feeling the blood fill his mouth. He tried to retreat into himself, to ignore what was being done to his body. He focused on doing equations in his head, running through the distance calculations he and Eli had been working on before leaving the Destiny. He tried to ignore the way Young's hips slapped against his, the way his lower body screamed in protest at the intrusion, and the way the other man licked a hot, wet trail up the side of his throat.
Suddenly, Young snarled, his hips jerking so hard into Rush's that he cried out in surprise. He could feel the smile in the curve of his neck as Young thrust again, harder still, wringing another shout of protest. When the other man groaned, long and low, Rush moaned, feeling the condom swell inside of him. Colour flushed his cheeks and he collapsed forward, unmoving as Young withdrew.
He closed his eyes again as Young rolled to the side, pulling him over into an embrace. He could feel tears continuing to leak out past his lashes, but he didn't move or speak. It felt like Young was still inside him, the ghost of the brutal thrusts making him ache as he struggled to get comfortable. His hips hurt from being spread and his spine felt as though it had been kicked at the base. Young nearly moaned with contentment, his semi-erect flesh still wet against Rush's hip. Rush had never felt more violated, never felt more abused.
Taking several deep breaths, Rush resumed his mental equations, waiting for Young's breathing to even out and his grip to slacken. His wrists were still bound, but his legs were free. As soon as he was able, he would make a run for the shuttle.
~*~