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So far, it was shaping up to be a good mission. They’d been greeted warmly as soon as they’d stepped through the Gate, and an official had pointed them in the direction of the local market. No one had asked them their business or drawn a weapon in their direction. Indeed, the plaza surrounding the ancient device was bustling with people from evidently different backgrounds, and the Stargate had spun into action again when they were less than ten paces from it. The scenario had immediately led Daniel into excitedly theorizing that the planet must be one of interplanetary commerce. Who knows how many different cultures they might meet? Jack had humored him for the short time it took to get to the center of the community. They weren’t being shot at and Daniel was an archaeologist after all.
At the entrance to the market, the quartet stopped as one to get their bearings. It appeared to be circular, two-story terraced buildings surrounding it, with bright stalls selling a variety of products including textiles, earthenware, and food. In the center, a small crowd of men gathered in front of a stage on which approximately a dozen children were being lined up.
“I guess we’re going to get a song,” Jack chirped with a grin. He nudged Sam with his elbow. “You ever been to a play or church service where they have a children’s choir, Carter?”
She shook her head. “Can’t say I have, Sir.”
“No? Not even to see your brother’s kids? You’re missing something, let me tell you. Half of them usually can’t sing. And there’s frequently at least one misbehaving while another waves at their parents all the time.”
Sam smiled. “Sounds fun, Sir.”
But none of the children looked like they were about to sing, and no one was waving at a parent. Instead, all wore ragged clothing and looked scared.
Daniel caught the attention of a man walking quickly past them. “What’s going on?” he asked, nodding his head towards the platform.
“Children’s market,” came the response. “You need to get closer if you want a good deal. You won’t be seen back here.” The speaker continued his hurried pace.
“Children’s market?” Jack repeated, the grin gone from his face. “Why do I have the feeling the kids aren’t the ones doing the selling.”
Sam swallowed and turned pale. “Oh God,” she muttered.
“It appears to be a slave market, O’Neill,” Teal’c said. “The children are the ones being sold.”
“Ack!” Jack shuddered and did an about turn. “We aren’t staying here. That’s barbaric.”
His team-mates followed as he led them down a side street. “To be fair, Sir,” Sam said trying to be conciliatory. “We used to do the same.”
Jack stopped, spun, and faced her. “Used to being the operative phrase here, Carter. Used to.”
But Daniel shook his head. “Not exactly Jack.”
“Excuse me?”
“It still happens.”
“You’re the historian, Daniel. Ever heard of a little thing called the Emancipation Proclamation?”
“I’m not talking about that kind of slavery, Jack, although that does still happen in some cultures on Earth. I’m talking about the kind people don’t talk about, the kind I’ve witnessed.”
It shouldn’t have been possible, but Sam now looked paler than she had when she’d realized what was happening. “What? Daniel…”
“Look, most foster parents were good, even if they didn’t have a clue what to do with the kids they took in. But some…” Daniel briefly removed his glasses and rubbed them on his jacket. “There was one couple, they regularly fostered a large group. When his wife was out, his friends would come over. The girls would have to come downstairs and do… things. The boys were threatened... if we misbehaved…”
Jack was furious. “And the authorities didn’t do anything?” he asked.
“Who was going to tell them? Any girl who stepped out of line would be singled out for special treatment, and like I said, the boys were threatened. The system’s overwhelmed, always has been, and this was a married couple who were always willing to take in more. The authorities loved them.”
“How did you get out?” Sam asked quietly.
“Got myself into enough trouble at school that I had to do a stint in a juvenile center. Then I refused to go back to that house and told them why. I wasn’t believed, but I wasn’t sent back there.”
“I don’t understand people like that,” Jack ground out. “I can’t even… imagine… doing anything like that.”
Now Daniel looked rueful. “Yeah, I used to say that too. Until I met Sha’re.”
“What?”
“I didn’t realize it until later, but yeah, Kasuf trafficked Sha’re.”
“Wait!” Sam exclaimed. “Trafficking? I thought we were talking about sexual abuse?”
“It’s often the same, Sam,” Daniel said with a sigh. “That foster parent, he trafficked the girls in his care to his friends. He received money for them.”
“Daniel,” Jack said firmly. “I understand where you’re coming from. But Sha’re was given to you. No money changed hands. Kasuf was adamant you take her, remember?”
“Oh, I know. But don’t you remember, Jack? Kasuf thought we were emissaries from Ra. You could say he gave me Sha’re in exchange for Ra’s grace and favor. He bartered her, like she was an object, and she didn’t have any say in the matter. I only accepted her when I heard the ridicule she was getting afterward. She was being shamed, Jack. And if I hadn’t accepted her, I doubt anyone else would’ve either. At least with me, she was under my protection. I’m not proud of it, Jack.” Daniel paused and looked down. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t fallen in love with her and decided to make a go of it.”
“You weren’t to know, Daniel,” Sam gently commented. “I know I didn’t like the idea that she was a gift…”
“I should’ve known, Sam” her friend retorted looking her in the eye. “Trafficking wasn’t exactly new to me even if Abydos was.” He looked away again. “That’s not the only time either. I can’t apologize to Sha’re, but… I can to you. I’m sorry Sam.”
“What? Why”
“On -595, when the elder’s son wanted to trade you for his girlfriend.”
Jack pulled his cap off his head. “Oh crap, Daniel. Do we have to discuss this?”
“You traded for her, Jack.”
“It was a rescue mission! And no money exchanged hands. We didn’t have enough gold,” he added defensively.
“It doesn’t matter. You bartered for her. Your gun was your currency. Turghan wasn’t going to let her go out of the good of his heart. He’d plans for her. You had to give him something of equal value so he’d force her to leave with us.”
“She was going with us anyway.”
“Only by escaping. Otherwise, like Sha’re, she had zero say in the matter.”
“I feel sick,” Sam said suddenly, leaning back against a nearby wall. “I know I was in danger, but I never thought about it like that until now.”
“Yeah, few do,” Daniel remarked. “There was a girl I knew at university in Chicago. She dropped out to move in with her boyfriend. I ran into her recently. Turns out he’d had her work at an escort agency to supposedly help pay the bills. She’d gotten used to the lifestyle, and the money. She said it took her years to realize what had actually happened to her. She now runs a safe house for other women who’ve escaped the life. And there are plenty of them. I gave her a donation then, and I’ve got another I need to mail to her.”
The small group stood in silence, each individual attempting to reconcile what Daniel had told them with their own experiences. Even Teal’c looked deep in thought. Who knew the entirety of what he’d done while in service to Apophis?
“So now what?” Jack asked eventually. “Do we attempt a rescue here?” He jerked a thumb back towards the market.
“Would it change anything?” Sam asked. “It sounds like these markets are a regular thing here. I mean, I hate to sound so negative, and I know we changed things on -595, but even if we did rescue these children, who’s to say there wouldn’t just be more next week or next month?”
“I think we leave,” Daniel answered unexpectedly.
“What?”
“We leave, and we remove this place from our dialing system.”
Jack was confused. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
“I know, I know. But even you know we’re vastly outnumbered here. And Sam’s right. This market sounds like it happens regularly. I refuse to trade for them. I’m never doing that again.”
“How about talking? You like to do that.”
“Yes, and they could pretend to listen to us and then keep on going once we leave. Look, -595 was different. Mughal said things were already changing when we came along, and we developed a relationship there. Just as we’ve done on other places where we’ve caused positive change. But no one knows us here. Only two people have spoken to us, the greeter at the ‘Gate and the guy who told us what was happening, and I don’t think he was a local.” Daniel took a breath. “And that’s the other thing, did you notice how many people were coming through the Stargate? And that the greeter didn’t even ask us where we wanted to go. It was immediately assumed we were here for the market.”
“So, what are you saying, Daniel? That we keep quiet and just let it happen?”
“No,” he said, a smile slowly crossing his face. “Those greeters seem like a big deal. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re asked how our visit went when we leave. We tell them how we feel there, tell them that’s why we’re leaving. And we tell them that we’re going to make sure everyone on every planet around knows what an awful place this is.”
Sam’s eyes lit up. “Bad advertising,” she said with a nod.
Daniel clicked his fingers and pointed at her. “Exactly! Every team that goes to a planet near here is to share how bad this place is and, depending on the culture there, talks about how children are treated here. I bet even people who come here simply for the non-human goods will think again about doing business here, especially if they didn’t know what was going on previously. We can also throw in that we don’t want to be allies with anyone who does business here.”
“A boycott,” Sam suggested.
“Sounds good,” said Jack. “But maybe Teal’c or I should take out the auctioneer before we go.”
“I believe another would take his place,” Teal’c observed.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I just hate the thought of not doing anything, you know.”
“We will be doing something, Jack,” Daniel reminded him. “We’re just using words instead of weapons.”
END