O'Neill and Teal'c made their way cautiously back through the steep-sided valley. Everything looked pretty much the way it had earlier – or later on, depending on how you looked at it.
I hate time travel, decided Jack.
The Stargate was probably functional now, but only the Doctor knew at what point in history they were – dialling Earth was probably not a viable option.
"At least the universe is still here," said Jack.
"Indeed," replied Teal'c.
See, that's what I like about Teal'c, thought Jack. Sam and Daniel are always rattling off some explanation to just about anything. Teal'c's happy to just say very little and get on with the job at hand.
Perhaps when we get back home, I'll invite him fishing.
Jack looked around at the arid walls of the valley. "Although... the universe might be better off losing this dust-ball. This is only my second visit and already I'm bored out of my – woah."
Before them lay the small farming community they had passed through previously. Now, however, the village was alive with activity. Farmers dragged heavy implements through the dusty soil, scattering rough seeds that looked like tiny pieces of shale into the furrows. A few market stalls were arranged in the centre of the village, selling crudely woven cloths, small items of simple jewellery and ornately carved staffs. From each of the domed, mushroom-like buildings a thin plume of smoke rose and twisted into the sky. The air sang with the hub-bub of a hundred voices as the creatures haggled over prices, chatted to their neighbours or shouted to their children.
As Jack and Teal'c entered the village they saw that the creatures, while being vaguely humanoid, had heads like that of some strange beast; the face like a snub-nosed version of a horse, with two tall ears like a hare's and large, dull green eyes.
"How ya doing?" asked O'Neill, trying to act naturally. Yeah, he thought, this is natural for me: I'm going to ask for directions from Mr Ed's ugly cousin.
"Uh... we're looking for a Goa'uld..." he said.
One of the creatures approached O'Neill and began sniffing the air around him, curiously, his large, dark nostrils flaring with a snuffling sound.
"Goold?" it asked. Made bold by their comrade's bravery, more of the creatures began to gather around, sampling the air around Jack and Teal'c with their wide nostrils.
"Yeah," said O'Neill, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "Looks a bit like me, but with brighter eyes and a meaner temper."
The creature's eyes widened. "God!" it said.
Jack glanced at Teal'c and could sense that he was about to contradict the creature about the supposed godly status of the Goa'uld. Jack held up a hand to stop him. "Uh... yeah, that's the guy. Where would I find him?"
"Temple!" said the creature, growing excited. "Come! Come!" It tugged on Jack's sleeve.
"We can find it," said Jack, not wanting to get the creatures involved. "We know the way." But their self-appointed guide had grabbed one its companions – despite the friendly start to the conversation, it clearly still believed in safety in numbers – and the two of them were already hurrying off in the direction of the crashed ship.
"Aw, crap," said Jack. "Come on, Teal'c – before they get themselves killed."
o o o
Between them, Daniel and the Doctor had managed to get the unconcious Captain Palmer into a bed in one of the many rooms of the TARDIS. They had patched up his wounds and he seemed to be resting relatively peacefully.
"Just how big is this ship, Doctor?" asked Sam, looking around the room. Apart from the repeating roundels on the walls, it could almost have been a guest room in a normal Earth home.
"Inside or out," replied the Doctor.
Sam smiled. Getting a straight answer from the Doctor was like getting a laugh from Teal'c. Giving up, she walked with the Doctor and Daniel back down the corridor and into the the console room.
"Shall we get going?" asked the Doctor, rhetorically.
"Colonel O'Neill ordered us to stay here," said Sam.
"Ah," said the Doctor, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "but he also told you to keep an eye on Palmer and me, didn't he? Well, Palmer's not going anywhere and he'll be quite safe in the TARDIS."
"And you?" said Daniel, already knowing what the answer would be.
"Me?" said the Doctor, lifting his hat from the hatstand and placing it firmly on his head. "I thought I might take a nose around outside, see the sights, save the world. That sort of thing. So, if you want to keep an eye on me..."
He lifted the lever that opened the doors and left the TARDIS without looking back.
Sam threw a frustrated look at Daniel, who answered with a helpless shrug.
"We'd better get after him, Sam," he said.
"What about Palmer?"
"I agree with the Doctor," said Daniel. "Palmer should be fine here in the TARDIS. With that maze of corridors, if anyone did get in, chances are they'd never find him."
They hurried out after the Doctor, but with his long, purposeful strides, it was actually a while before Sam and Daniel managed to catch up with him. When they did, he was nearly at the outskirts of the village.
"Things could be worse," announced the Doctor, without turning around. "I don't know what's been happening in the last hundred years or so, but it doesn't look like Sutekh has been successful."
Daniel looked down at the thriving farming village. He pulled a small, square-sided telescope from a pocket in his shirt and peered through it. "He's here, though, somewhere," he said. "There are signs of Goa'uld occupation throughout the village; carved idols, banners bearing his symbol…"
"Yes," said the Doctor, "I noticed that too."
"They don't look like superpowered beings," said Daniel. "They look like… farmers."
"Perhaps it's the joining with a Goa'uld symbiote that gives them the powers," suggested Sam, "affects their biochemistry in some way."
"Perhaps," agreed the Doctor, sounding less than convinced. "I think however, that under the circumstances it might be prudent if we were to walk around this village, rather than through it."
"But we might be able to gather useful information from the creatures down there," protested Sam.
"Sutekh might very well be one of those creatures down there," replied the Doctor. "He's had plenty of time to take a new host."
Sam thought about this. "I could probably sense him, if I was close enough."
The Doctor turned, surprised. "Sense him?" he asked.
Sam shook her head slightly. "It's a long story. But if he was close to me, I think I'd know about it."
The Doctor tilted his head as if studying Sam in a new light. "How close?" he said at last. "As close as we are now?"
Sam swallowed. Something about the Doctor made her feel like she was back at school – only this time, she didn't have the answers. "Probably, yeah."
"Too risky," said the Doctor, dismissively. He immediately set off on a route that took him a clear distance from the village and its surrounding fields.
o o o
Jack and Teal'c had by now reached the edge of the wide crater and were lying in the dust, surveying the makeshift temple at the far end. Their two newfound guides stood close by, looking faintly puzzled. Jack gestured to them to conceal themselves as well, but this seemed only to confuse them further. In the end, Jack gave up and hoped that the sight of the two creatures would be commonplace enough not to draw any unwanted attention.
He pulled out a short telescope, identical to the one that Daniel had just used.
"Couple of those robot mummies standing guard at the door," he observed. "It's not going to be easy to get by them without making our presence known. There's no cover at all leading up there."
The creature that had spoken to them earlier turned to them. "No – guard not attack," it said. "You safe."
Jack was unconvinced. "Me safe, huh?" he said.
"Yes!" said the creature. "Guard not attack. Safe!"
Teal'c turned from his observation of the temple. "It appears that we have no alternative to a frontal assault. If this creature is correct, we may be able to pass the guards without incident."
Jack agreed, reluctantly. "Yeah, and if he's not, we're gonna have to shoot our way in anyway, so I guess it's worth a shot."
They stood and dusted themselves off.
"I can't believe Sutekh would let us walk right through the front door without a fight," said Jack.
"Nor can I," said Teal'c, readying his staff weapon, "so I will be ready to give him one."
"That's the spirit, big guy," said Jack with feigned high spirits. "Let's go knock on Death's door."
Jack clicked off the safety on his weapon. "And hope we've got time to run away before he answers."
They walked cautiously along the long furrowed channel towards the temple. Broad banners hung from tall posts at regular intervals along the path, bearing the sign of Sutekh. As they approached the door of the temple, it appeared that their guide was true to its word. The two robotic guards stood fixed in place, each holding a staff weapon in its hand.
They mounted the steps to the temple, their guides ahead of them, beckoning them in, excitedly.
"Oh, this is not good," said Jack.
"We do not appear to be in any immediate danger, O'Neill," said Teal'c.
"That's what's bothering me. It's all a little too easy."
The interior lighting was low, presumably a deliberate measure to enhance the effect of the flickering torches that jutted from the walls. The shadows playing across the painted murals gave an eerie sense of motion.
"Mood lighting is so 1970s," whispered Jack, but the truth was he was beginning to feel more ill at ease as they went on.
They stopped in the corridor outside the throne room. Jack dropped to a crouch, Teal'c covering him from the other side of the corridor and, slowly, he crept forward.
Their guide watched, his excitement of earlier turning to impatience at their increasing caution.
"Come," he urged.
Jack waved a hand to signal the creature to be quiet. "Keep it down!" he said quietly.
"You come temple," the creature stated. "You wish serve god."
"What!" exclaimed Jack in a harsh whisper. "We don't want to serve anybody!"
The creature looked astonished. "All who come temple come serve god. Is honour."
Jack groaned. "I knew it was too good to be true. We're gonna get ourselves killed," he said. "Teal'c, let's ditch high priest loudmouth here and fall back for now."
Turning back, however, they found the way blocked by the two guards from the doorway, their staff weapons now levelled and pointed directly at Jack and Teal'c.
"Aw, crap," said Jack, realising he wouldn't be able to get a shot off before the robots opened fire.
Their weapons were torn from their grasp and tossed aside. They were then marched back along the corridor. On the way, they passed the two creatures who had led them to the temple, who now regarded them with contempt. The two creatures huffed angrily through their large nostrils and turned away.
"Yeah, well, thanks for nothing, buddy," said Jack.
The robots pushed them through the doorway to the throne room with one thrust of their large heavy hands.
Before them sat a being who seemed to be of the same species as the creatures from the village. This one, however, had an air of malevolent intelligence and, tellingly, his large green eyes glowed brightly as if lit from within. Beside him stood a feeble, nightmarish creature, its face gaunt, eyes deep-set and bloodshot, its body hunched and twisted. With a jolt of horror, Jack realised that it was Scherer.
Jack struggled to regain his composure. "Sutekh, I presume," he said to the figure on the throne. "At least I hope so, otherwise he's gonna be pissed when he comes back and finds you sitting in his chair."
"You shall regret following me here," said Sutekh. In his new body, the Goa'uld's voice sounded less distorted than it had when in a human host. It had now taken on a cold, pitiless timbre, a little above a whisper.
"Yeah, it's not turning out to be the fun-packed day at the beach I was hoping for," said Jack. "Listen – I really hate all the gloating and the threats that I just know you've got planned. If you're gonna kill us, can you make it quick?"
Sutekh rose from his throne and held his palm above Jack's head. Jack saw the hand device and closed his eyes reflexively. When the ribbon of golden flame shot from the device, Jack couldn't help crying out; it felt like the inside of his skull was being seared from within.
Sutekh shut off the device. "You will not die while you still serve a purpose," he said. "You will draw the Doctor to me."
"Oh, yeah?" said Jack, his head still ringing from the attack. "And how am I supposed to do that?"
Sutekh tilted his head slightly and raised the hand device again. "He will be drawn to your screams of pain," he said simply, sending another ribbon of light blasting into Jack's skull. Jack fell to his knees
"What do want with the Doctor?" asked Teal'c, trying to distract Sutekh from his torture of O'Neill. It worked – Sutekh stopped and turned to Teal'c.
"That is none of your concern, Jaffa," replied Sutekh, his voice still pitched at a low, menacing whisper. "Suffice it to say, he may be of use to me."
"Are you sure that's wise?" asked Jack, ironically. "Didn't he kick your little snake butt, back in -" Jack looked at Teal'c. "What year did he say?"
"1911," supplied Teal'c.
"Yeah," said Jack, "that whole 'trapped in a time loop' thing?"
Sutekh looked to be considering this. "These events you speak of mean nothing to me. I was trapped inside a canopic jar since the Shol'vah Goa'uld imprisoned me until your soldier released me."
"Where is Lawson anyway?" said Jack. He already knew the answer, felt it in the twisting sensation of guilt in his gut, but he chose denial for a few more precious seconds.
"Dead," said Sutekh, without emotion. "I took a new body. Nothing of the host survives."
Jack shut his eyes and hung his head.
"Take them to the cells," ordered Sutekh. Jack was dragged to his feet and then he and Teal'c were pushed through a doorway at the rear of the throne room that led deeper into the gloomy depths of the temple.