A/N: Short chapter but it felt like a good place to stop. Next chapter will be interesting to write. I look forward to it.
Chapter summary: In which Seto has an illicit tour, makes a few uncomfortable realizations, and braces for an unwelcome talk.
14: Illicit Tour
The complex was deeper than he originally thought. It was tempting to just stare at the increasing number in the elevator. Already they were passing sublevel 25 and counting. His unassuming escort was a young captain who had enough energy to rival Yugi's loyal dog. He just couldn't stand still to save his life. At least he didn't talk Seto's ear off.
Finally, the elevator slowed and stopped at sublevel 28 and the doors hissed open. Seto waited for the captain to step out first before following behind him. The hall was wide enough for four, fully armored Horus Jaffa to stand comfortably abreast. Solid stone covered by steel reinforced concrete lined the walls and thick support beams. The grayness of the base made Seto feel enclosed and, dare he think it, trapped. Had the walkways been gold, it would have felt distinctly Goa'uld.
Perhaps he was just nervous, however much it galled him to admit it. The presence of so much concentrated naquadah from the Chappa'ai as well as the disturbances in close proximity were making him jumpy. That was never a good thing. Without his strict self-control and the soothing aid of the Millennium Rod, his Shadows had a tendency to act without his conscious command. He did not want another incident like what happened with Yugi's grandfather.
Military personnel moved through the hallway without so much as a side glance. If they worked with the Chappa'ai, then that wasn't much of a surprise. Seto could only imagine the things they'd seen and dealt with first hand. A strange face on occasion wouldn't be too big of a surprise. His escort was obviously a known face and dispelled any potential suspicion.
The captain turned down a side hallway that was narrower but with a higher ceiling, and Seto glanced around, noting the drop in foot traffic here.
"You don't need to take me directly to the Chappa'ai," he said when they were far enough from any eavesdroppers.
"Then where would you like me to take you, sir?" the captain asked, stopping and turning to face him expectantly.
Where indeed. Seto did want to see the Chappa'ai to satisfy his own desire and ease the insistent pull, but he needed to investigate the disturbances. If left to their own devices, Pegasus' ripples in reality could quickly become a tsunami. They needed to be checked now while the mess was still just ripples.
"Has there been anything unusual on base in the past couple days?" Seto asked, keeping one eye on the officers who passed by.
"Unusual, sir?" the captain asked, frowning in confusion.
Point.
"Is there anyone not military I can talk to about the activity surrounding the Chappa'ai?" he asked instead.
"That would be Dr. Jackson, sir," the captain said helpfully. "Dr. Jackson was part of the team that originally opened the Stargate. He'd be able to help you."
Stargate. At least the translation was accurate.
"Is Dr. Jackson here?" he asked.
Now that Seto was inside the base, he could begin tracking down whatever had caused the disturbances in the Shadows. Its proximity to the Chappa'ai was concerning. If the disturbances were indeed a weapon like he feared, then having them so close to naquadah was a nightmare. If this Dr. Jackson was a civilian, then it would seem less suspicious for Seto to wander the complex with him. With any luck, the good doctor would also be able to provide Seto with more useful information about the inner workings of this place.
"I believe so," the captain replied, looking over his shoulder at Seto. "I could take you to his office if you want."
Seto nodded and followed behind the young officer back the way they came. It took some concentration to remember the sequence of turns and curves of the complex and still focus on the general direction of the disturbances. He could feel them both now that he was closer and the sensation was clearer. The disturbances were nearby but not in the same exact location. One was close and moving closer.
Suddenly, Seto shivered as the Shadows shrank away from the path ahead of them. Tensing in anticipation, Seto looked up and readied himself for what he might see. He was stunned when a woman with blonde hair and an unfortunately familiar face rounded the bend ahead of him with a female guard by her side. The woman's face was the same as the little warrior woman from Setesh's compound who'd survived the removal of a Goa'uld symbiote. But Seto couldn't feel her. She was invisible to his naquadah senses.
It took a few seconds for him to realize she actually wasn't the same woman at all. Her face was the same, but the similarities ended there. This woman's hair was long and brushed straight in a distinctly non-military style. Although she was wearing a military jumpsuit, her build and carriage screamed civilian. Her blue eyes weren't as sharp as the ones that noticed him and assessed the threats in Setesh's compound either. They were softer and clouded by emotion.
And wherever she moved, the Shadows rippled unnaturally in the fabric of reality.
The disturbances were people. Impossible. How? Seto had come in here expecting to find a piece of technology or a weapon of some sort. Not a person. Not people. A device could be destroyed or taken apart; people could either be killed or left alone. If Seto killed anyone in this complex, it would not be easy nor would it go unnoticed. He was clever but even he wouldn't make it out of here alive from a situation like that without Jounouchi's luck or full control of the Chappa'ai. And he currently had neither.
This changed things.
He forced his gaze to shift away from the woman's too-familiar face, hiding a cringe as his Shadows shrank away from her presence and clung to him like frightened children grasping at their mother. What he would give to have his brood of crows at his back. Hell, even the Pharaoh's lapdog would be preferable.
Neith had been reluctant to enter the compound with him, choosing to remain under the open sky. Seto couldn't fault her for that. Even he had trouble remaining in enclosed spaces without a view of the sky for extended periods of time. It didn't stop him from wishing she was here.
His mind turned that thought over and over before he finally grimaced. He needed help. This was not going to be fun.
"This is it," the captain said, gesturing to a nearby door.
It was unlocked and open wide in silent welcome to visitors. Without a word, Seto stepped inside and was disappointed to find no one there. The room was a decent size but the clutter made it seem claustrophobic. How someone could survive in such a mess was beyond Seto's comprehension.
A chalkboard stood nearby with hieroglyphics and their English translations hand drawn on it. Interestingly enough, there was another line of text beneath the ancient Egyptian and Goa'uld written in a language Seto hadn't seen in millennia. He hadn't been very good at it back then despite his best efforts. Kisara thought Seto's accent had been the problem, making it difficult for him to pronounce the words correctly.
With a frown, Seto noticed some of the ancient language had been translated to English as well, but it was broken and incomplete. That meant this Dr. Jackson had come in contact with that language recently. Yet another question to add to his ever-growing list for the good doctor.
Turning to leave, Seto froze and spun back around. There, visible on the glowing display of the only computer in the messy office, was a photograph that should not be in the American military's possession. He remembered the moment it had been taken with painful clarity despite having just recovered his soul from Pegasus' grasp.
Where had they gotten it? Masaki Anzu was an avid photographer and she loved her friends. Seto knew the girl wouldn't just hand over a photo of her friends to any military officer. Not without a very good reason. Which meant Dr. Jackson had gotten it some other way.
But first… Seto approached the computer and stared at the photograph on the screen, scanning it for any details that could potentially cause a problem for himself or the Pharaoh's group in the future. Seto was in the background with Mokuba on his shoulders but otherwise he looked normal. Jounouchi and Honda were squishing Yugi in a hug that Seto was certain had resulted in gasping and wobbly legs.
The Millennium Puzzle wasn't visible. It must have been pushed aside by one of Yugi's friends so they could hug him so tightly. The fact the Puzzle had been shoved to the side facing away from the camera was incredibly lucky. Blue eyes glanced significantly at Jounouchi. Lucky indeed.
Nevertheless, the fact the military knew about Yugi and his friends was worrisome. They probably remembered their faces from Setesh's compound, Seto realized with a muttered curse. He couldn't just let that stand.
Grabbing the mouse, Seto printed the photo and deleted the digital copy. He couldn't be sure if there were other copies of the photo, physical or digital, elsewhere in the complex, but he could get rid of this one. Snatching the printout from the printer, Seto folded it and stuffed it into his breast coat pocket next to his wallet and passport.
He needed to find this Dr. Jackson. He wanted answers.
He could safely bet the strike team that infiltrated Setesh's compound were aware Seto was a Goa'uld and knew his face. If they were willing to listen before firing first, which seemed to be the case when last they met, then perhaps Seto could call a truce. They did have a shared enemy after all. He didn't want the System Lords back here after all the work he and his fellow Priests had done to ensure they left in the first place.
Now with the disturbances here, the human disturbances, Seto needed to consider his options and choose wisely. Based on what he could sense from the strange woman with the familiar face, the ripple in the Shadows was beginning to distort the fabric of reality in such a way that Seto may not have to act. The distortion would rip the woman apart or dissolve her.
She did not belong here. Wherever she was from, however she got here, Seto didn't care. The Shadows of this world knew she was foreign and hated her for it. She repelled them like no human should. The longer she stayed here, the worse it would get. It was likely the same for whoever was the other source of the rippling disturbance as well.
Death would be a mercy.
Which brought Seto back to the predicament from earlier. The best way to handle the two human disturbances, as far as Seto could see, was to kill them and get it over with. If he didn't, then the Shadows and reality would do the job for him and they would be neither quick nor painless about it. Unless there was a way to return the two disturbances to wherever they came from, then death was the only option.
Osiris take it all. And everything had been going so well too. Seto needed help and he didn't trust a single person in this base. Damn it. If he was going with option two, then he might as well make it official. When he got back to Japan after this, he was taking a few days off with Mokuba.
"Captain," he said, turning to see his escort still standing in the doorway obediently awaiting orders. "Who is the commander of this base?"
"That would be Major General Hammond, sir," the captain replied.
Obelisk, keeper of the balance, give Seto strength.
"I wish to speak with him," Seto bit out, hating every word.
The captain hesitated. "I'm not sure if he's in his office right now," he admitted, "but you can wait outside in the briefing room for him. I'll take you there."
"Thank you," Seto said curtly, leaving Dr. Jackson's office and following his escort down the hall.
Several minutes and turns later, Seto could feel the Chappa'ai within his immediate vicinity. It couldn't be more than a dozen or so meters away. Behind one of these gray walls was the… If he focused, he could almost… His escort guided him up a flight of steps into a control room full of computers, displays, and a wall of windows looking out over…
There. Seto had to catch himself to keep from staring at the large ring device through the windows of the control room he stood in. An officer with graying hair sat reading a stack of papers on a clipboard in the light of a series of computers. Seto's escort didn't stop to stare at the scene, instead continuing through the control room and beginning to climb a spiral staircase to the floor above.
The rest of the personnel might not notice Seto didn't belong, but an officer directly overlooking the Chappa'ai likely would. Ducking his head, he climbed the staircase as swiftly as he could without rousing suspicion.
The interior decorating of this floor was nearly identical to the rest of the complex. Dull, gray, and utilitarian. The first thing Seto noticed about the briefing room was that its right wall was made of three, large, near floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Chappa'ai below. A long table with ten rolling office chairs sat in the center of the room, three on either side and one at each end. On the far wall was a star map etched on thick bullet-proof glass looking into an office that likely belonged to General Hammond.
An emblem made of symbols Seto knew intimately was mounted on the wall nearest the stairs. The planet Earth served as the emblem's backdrop which was overlayed by a 'V' shaped chevron from the Chappa'ai. The topmost layer was the Earth's point of origin symbol. Artistic, clear, and succinct.
The captain shifted from where he stood waiting for Seto to acquaint himself with the room. "I'll go let the General know you-" he said, already moving back to the stairs.
"No," Seto said quickly, halting the captain's movements. "Don't. I'll wait for him here. You're dismissed."
"Thank you, sir," the captain said. He saluted one last time before exiting the briefing room and leaving Seto alone.
It wasn't quite silent, but it wasn't loud either. Seto wanted badly to look out the windows at the Chappa'ai he could feel right there. But he couldn't. Not yet. If he was going to do this effectively without coming across as a threat, then he had to do this right the first time.
Digging into his pants pocket, he pulled out the silver glove-like kara kesh and the palm sized healing device and placed them gently on the table. He would keep his wallet and passport on his person for security purposes. The photo, however, was placed next to the kara kesh, two of the metal fingers acting as paperweights to hold the printout in place.
After a few seconds of silent debate, Seto reluctantly unhooked his Millennium Rod and placed it on the table next to the Goa'uld technology as well. The Rod was capable of protecting itself from unwanted possessors so he didn't worry about it being stolen. He did miss the comforting weight of it at his hip and the soothing control it helped him hold over his Shadows. Better to appear unarmed if possible, however.
Finally, he turned and looked out the windows to where the Chappa'ai stood between two mechanical support beams far below and waited. This was going to be interesting.