Chapter 24 - Discovery
Sam and Jolinar stepped through the gate to another Goa'uld world. There was no guard kept on this gate, no need to be cautious at first. If anything, this world had all but forgotten that its gate brought more than what was demanded. This Goa'uld had become arrogant, blind, and the Tok'ra were not hasty to take full advantage of him yet. Instead, they kept one of their own to quietly steal and acquire, waiting for the right moment to end it, if it ever would come.
For this mission, Jolinar had pulled out a close fitting outfit of light material, dark and mottled with varying woodland colors, not quite military camouflage but something a little more natural and less angled in design. It was softly woven and clung without sticking—Sam liked it and wondered where Jolinar had been hiding it. But its purpose was not comfort or even fashion, but simply something to get them from here to where they would steal a Jaffa's uniform. That was the true goal.
Sneaking through the forest, walking with long strides over the quietest brush, ears open for any sound, the first part would be easy. They were several miles from civilization and didn't expect any Jaffa. Even if they were surprised, Jolinar counted on using her weapon faster, and that would save them the trouble of doing it later. Sam frowned at that, but it wasn't enough to give a vocal protest.
While Jolinar kept all her senses sharp and her focus on moving to the destination, Sam couldn't keep her mind from wandering. Like so many others, the Stargate on this planet was put in a green and wooded area. Not tropical green, not arctic green, not wetland green, but that idiosyncratic temperate green. Sam had always wondered about how the galaxy was populated, if Stargates had been planted on worlds most like Earth, or if some advanced civilization had terraformed them to be so. It was such a near impossibility that all the worlds they came across had Earth-normal gravity and similar ecosystems, and the impossibility was even greater by the high percentage of temperate planets. Even the greenest of the planets they'd discovered had some of the natural variations of desert and plains, but they'd discovered only a few that were anything else—be they water, desert, mountainous, or plain-covered in the majority.
It was like some race had decided the perfect climate, and then gone and reproduced it a hundred times over, making a couple mistakes here and there but in general succeeding. It made Sam shiver, both at the wonder and fear that such an idea stirred, and at the huge scientific implications it represented either way it was taken. And it was something she had never talked to anyone about, just kept as a quiet speculation whenever they visited a new planet.
Right now, she was thinking about a smaller aspect of the issue: the vegetation. As Jolinar marched forward, each step would crush the dead underbrush or the young new plant-life, sending up a cloud of scent. Often it was barely noticeable, but Sam had nothing else to focus on. Unconsciously at first, she had begun to categorize those smells ever since her first trip through the gate. She'd found that many were the same as on Earth, but some seemed entirely foreign, and common on some worlds while conspicuously absent elsewhere. She was no biologist, but her own senses gathered pretty clear evidence.
But her revelry in her own distracted thoughts was soon interrupted. Jolinar began to move slower, crouching lower and stepping with more care, cat-like in how easy it seemed. They could be near civilization now, any moment they might catch sight of someone or vice-versa.
Sticking under the canopy of trees and listening for any noise but their own, Jolinar snuck through the woods and Sam kept second watch from inside her own head.
ooooooo
"You have to be kidding, right?" asked Dixon, five seconds before they were about to walk through the gate.
"Do I kid? No," said Mckay. Jack and Teal'c walked through first. "Seriously, all I had to do—"
Daniel walked through, Dixon at his side, and for a few brief seconds he felt himself passing through a world that wasn't quite physical. His eyes saw again, he breathed out, and he was walking on the steps of a new world.
"—just get Lee to realize the importance, and then he went and looked up all the controversial scientists for me," finished Mckay, coming through right behind him.
"Nice," said Dixon, looking around.
It wasn't new to Daniel, as he'd scanned the MALP readings only yesterday in great detail, but the scale was certainly impressive. Tall thin columns lined a neatly paved path from the gate towards a stone city. It wasn't Celtic, Roman, Greek, or even anything older—Daniel couldn't put a name on it at all, in fact, and that was what was intriguing.
"The only problems were ones I expected," Mckay said, shrugging, unappreciative of broken stone buildings. "Felger was annoyingly over-helpful and Tobias equally on the opposite side."
Dixon, after his moment of being impressed, turned back to Mckay. "Wait a minute, you're not doing any of the work at all?"
"I told you, I couldn't think of anybody," said Mckay.
"That seems most unfair to your coworkers," said Teal'c from where he stood a few steps ahead, turning his head to let one lifted eyebrow be fully in Mckay's view.
"Less chit-chat, please," sighed Jack. Daniel looked up to see him glancing resignedly at a boot covered in a thick yellow substance.
"I don't think I want to get close to that," said Dixon, mouth twisting. "Looks like something out of one of my kids diapers, and frankly I'm not sure I want to know anything else about it."
Mckay stepped forward despite a look of disgust on his face. Jack, nose wrinkled up, shook his foot, and Mckay jumped back a couple paces.
"Hey!" he called. "Come on!"
"Jack, no throwing of the droppings please," said Daniel, staying well back.
"What is it?" asked Jack, keeping the contaminated boot stuck out a foot or so.
Mckay took a step forward, squatted a little, then backed up and said quickly, "Bird problem, most likely."
"Would not such droppings be the responsibility of very large creatures?" asked Teal'c, who stood looking over Jack's shoulder with his hands behind his back.
"Okay, so elephant problem, whatever," said Mckay. "It's not a booby trap or alive, so why do we care?"
"This planet looks pretty abandoned," commented Daniel, who decided it was time to end the dropping talk. "No people of any kind, no signs of recent living either."
"So...ghost town," said Jack, giving up on his boot and standing up straight again.
"Of some kind of advanced technology, yes," said Mckay, pointing at the glass-paneled building at the end of the path. "Nothing beyond our own, that we can see."
"Still, that's impressive," said Daniel, reaching into his pack for his video camera. "We can probably assume that there haven't been Goa'uld here for a while, even though the address was on the cartouche."
"We talking Tollan type civilization here then?" asked Jack.
Mckay glanced down at the palm-sized device in his hand. "No radiation or poisonous gasses, thankfully."
"The Tollan did exist for many years within the knowledge of the Goa'uld," said Teal'c. "It is likely that their advanced technology was enough to repel them."
"So if this place is advanced, it's probably because they had nice weapons," said Dixon. "Sounds good to me."
"What's that?" asked Jack, cocking his head.
"What's what?" asked Mckay, a second before the buzzing sounded.
"Maybe the animal that left these droppings," suggested Teal'c.
Dixon and Mckay both glanced down at the size of the droppings, and Mckay's face paled a little while Dixon's tensed.
"Holy—whoa!" shouted Jack, and jumped back a step.
Daniel, camera in one hand, flipped it up as something flew towards them.
"Yikes!" said Jack, shaking himself off as the thing flew past him.
"Yeagh, that thing's huge!" said Dixon, smacking at whatever-it-was with his P-90.
Daniel frowned as the thing slowed down to hover in the middle of them. "Is it a bug or a bird?"
"More like a dinosaur," said Dixon, keeping well away from it.
The bird/bug thing hovered for a couple seconds, darting back and forth a few inches in mid-air, then flew straight for Mckay's face.
The scientist let out a cry that might have been a shriek, justifiable in Daniel's mind, and dropped the device. He ducked, and the thing flew straight over his head just to land on his back as he stood up. "Gah, get it off, get it off!" he called, spinning and frantically trying to smack it off.
Dixon stepped forward a little, reaching out with his gun to smack at the thing. It didn't seem to move.
"I'm allergic to most insect stings!" said Mckay, starting to hyperventilate.
Daniel glanced to Jack, a bit of concern on his face.
Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Hold still, Mckay," he said, pulling up his gun.
Mckay's eyes went wide and round, but he held perfectly still.
Barely pausing, Jack let fly a shot, and the thing flew from Mckay's back to land mostly in one piece, dripping greenish black slime.
Mckay breathed out slowly, rubbing one hand on his forehead.
"Happy now, are we?" asked Jack, his tone just starting to get exasperated.
Now that the thing was dead, Daniel and Mckay stepped to look closer at it.
"Good grief, it's like a scorpion and a dragonfly all at once," said Daniel, reaching out with a finger to try and uncurl the carcass.
"Scorpion?" asked Dixon surprised. Daniel looked up and thought he saw a little sympathy for Mckay in the man's eyes. "You saying that thing's tail is a stinger?"
Glancing back down at the six inch "tail", Daniel felt a little retroactive fear himself.
"Okay, that thing's just nasty," said Jack, looking over the scientists as they squatted by it.
"It would appear that its intentions could have been violent," said Teal'c.
"Well, we'll have to take it back for study," said Daniel. "But look at what's dripping from the stinger—it was primed to inject something."
"Or someone," said Mckay pointedly.
"So shooting, good," said Dixon with a nod. "Mckay actually made a good call for once."
Jack indulged in a silent chuckle.
Mckay stood up and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you would have just let it land on you," he muttered.
Daniel took a specimen bag out of his backpack and carefully scooped the messy carcass into it, noting the acidic smell with some distaste.
"ColonelO'Neill, I believe it would be wise to retreat from this planet," spoke up Teal'c.
"What, the poo and the bugs too much for your Jaffa warrior skills?" asked Jack.
"Wait, what about the technology?" asked Mckay.
"I do believe a retreat is in order," answered Teal'c, a little more forcefully.
Daniel looked up and followed Teal'c's look, as did the others.
"Shit!" hissed Jack between teeth as a buzz was heard to accompany the approaching cloud.
"Teal'c's right," said Dixon hastily.
"Mckay, dial the gate!" ordered Jack, half-jogging backwards with his gun up and ready to fire.
Daniel stood up, stuffing the bag in his backpack, and followed his quickly retreating team.
Mckay couldn't dial the gate any faster, but the cloud of bugs grew closer.
"Come on, come on," muttered Dixon, hands clenched around the gun.
The gate activated in the traditional rush.
"This is SG-1, we are coming in hot!" yelled Jack into his radio, as Daniel dialed their GDO code.
The bugs were almost on them. Teal'c and Dixon opened fire, and Jack held up his gun with one hand as he waited for the signal. "Now!" he said.
Mckay leapt through the gate with no pushing, and Daniel and Dixon turned to follow. They were barely in the gateroom before Teal'c and Jack came through. Mckay was calling up to the control room, "Close the iris! Close the iris!"
A couple bugs came through, but they flew high and Jack and Dixon's rapid fire had them splatted on the floor in a few seconds.
"What was that, SG-1?" demanded Hammond from the control room.
"Sorry, sir!" called Jack crisply. "Big honking space bugs!"
"All taken care of, sir," said Dixon, letting his gun lower slowly.
"I'll get a science team to handle the remains," said Hammond, nodding from where he stood.
The team eyed each other, breathing out their sighs of relief. That was certainly not making it onto the list of favorite planets.
ooooooo
This was Jolinar's favorite part of any mission, Sam decided. They had passed two pseudo-settlements by now, and were well into the most populated area on the planet. The trees broke every so often into clearings full of wooden dwellings. Some were the small cottages and barracks of ordinary Jaffa, others more elaborate for their masters, with two stories and balconies. No sign of where the clearly visible slaves would have be quartered, but that wasn't Sam or Jolinar's mission this time.
Flitting behind the trees no matter how thin the cover, staying behind buildings and away from guard posts as much as possible, Jolinar looked for signs of Tok'ra presence. There wouldn't be explicit signs, but that was the point. The Tok'ra expected it to take a few days to a few weeks for Jolinar to locate the operative's hide-out, but they assumed she'd need to use slower methods. Jolinar, on the other hand, planned to guess her way to success. Sharp eyes looking for the weaknesses in the village planning and the landscape, she watched for a perfect place for a small Tok'ra tunnel.
The sun was well past its apex, drifting halfway down the horizon as the day wore on. They were many miles from the gate now, with dozens of Jaffa between them and it, all well-armed and ready for battle. Sam paid close attention as she felt the faint tingle of naquadah from each one they drew near to, and had to remind herself that the Jaffa had only limited perception of symbiotes.
As the minutes passed, Sam began to quietly doubt Jolinar's plan of action. Leaping in with both feet was fine on some occasions, but in this case the Tok'ra's usual tactic of inconspicuous and steady searching might prove most effective. They had only stopped to eat once today, and the heat of midday had pierced even the trees and light clothing that had shielded Sam and Jolinar. As the water was well-patrolled, they had only the lukewarm bottle that they had brought.
Just as Sam was about to say something, though she didn't know what, Jolinar paused behind an especially large old tree-stump. Pulling her small data-pad from her pocket, she glanced at the information they had. The operative here was entirely science-focused, and had sent back very limited information about the structure of this planet. All Jolinar knew was the general population and that the settlement seemed to be stretched in a line along the space between the two ridges to either side of the Stargate, with a river running through the middle. It was many miles wide, but it certainly narrowed the field.
*As far as we know, he's moved his location every few months for his own and for the Tok'ra's protection,* said Jolinar finally. *But the pattern has been a low hill near a branch of the settlement that reaches out, no more than a mile in between so that he can pass into the village without being noticed.*
~We aren't anywhere near any of the hills here,~ said Sam.
*Exactly. It may be another day or so for that, and we will have to rest in the forest.*
~Hey, I wasn't expecting a miraculously quick working of this,~ said Sam. ~But, now that we agree on that, can we eat soon?~
*Yes, yes,* said Jolinar. *The heat demands that we take a short rest as it begins to cool down again.*
Sam was glad once again to be reminded that Jolinar felt things as physically as she did.
oooooo
"Hey, Daniel, look at this!" said Mckay, barging into Daniel's lab as he was typing up his mission report.
"What is it?" asked Daniel, taking the sheet of paper from him without standing up.
"The biologists on level 17 got their hands on those bug things, and they sent the venom up for tests to Dr. Frasier," said Mckay.
"Deadly?" guessed Daniel.
"Oh yeah, and much worse," said Mckay, morbidly interested.
"Worse than deadly?" queried Daniel with raised brows.
"Yes," said Mckay. "These bugs don't just want to kill you, they want to use your DNA to make clones of themselves; it's how they reproduce."
"Ick," said Daniel.
"No kidding," said Mckay, taking the paper back. He stood for a moment. "You know, 'shoot first ask questions later' isn't sounding so bad anymore."
"Really?" asked Daniel, genuinely surprised.
"When it comes to bugs," amended Mckay quickly. "Just bugs."
Daniel nodded.
"I just hope I can sleep well tonight," muttered Mckay as he walked out.
Daniel smiled to himself, then paused, taking in what Mckay had said. Everyone they stung would turn into more bugs? He winced, shivered, and then shook his head. Oh yes, just what he needed for his own tranquil sleep. He quickly returned to his mission report.
ooooooo
Sam was glad to wake the next day without a stiff neck. She and Jolinar had traveled until it was past dark, using the faint lights of the village and how much of the night stars were blocked by hills to gauge their location, but had come across nothing and eventually went to sleep. Jolinar's on-mission sleep clock was very tight, and they woke just as the sky was blue-purple and the stars had barely finished disappearing. A slight fog had settled in, and Sam was still a little damp from the sweat of yesterday, but this morning it felt cool and nice and so she didn't care.
By the time tendrils of sunlight poked between the hills and through the trees to dive straight into Sam's eyes, she and Jolinar had traveled another few miles. They would go another few hours that day before finding anything.
Sam could imagine how this mission would have gone without Jolinar's sense of direction. With no knowledge of how the planet was set up, they would have had to carefully travel around in circles until they fully understood it, and even then go slower to make sure they didn't miss anything. As it was, Jolinar seemed to know this place like the back of her hand now, even though she assured Sam that it was nothing of the sort. Sam believed her completely; it was entirely like Jolinar to just know these things.
Even once Jolinar was sure that they had found a good location, though, the sun was high and they had several square miles to search. Afternoon had come when they were pretty sure of the entrance to the secret Tok'ra hideout, was leaving as they nearly gave up, and another hour passed after they actually found it while Jolinar had to guess the password. This Tok'ra apparently didn't trust that only other Tok'ra could find him. In between muttered curses, Jolinar silently admired that independence.
Making contact went well, however. Ollodrin was a tall, well built man with golden-brown skin and smooth black hair and eyes. Even in his underground laboratory, he still had the Jaffa tattoo that allowed him to sneak into the village, and he moved around with the grace of a warrior. It was only when he was explaining his work that his hands became gentle and precise, those of a scientist who understood his art. Jolinar at first nodded as he talked of the modifications to existing Tok'ra technology that he had been working on, and his own pet project of a device that would affect the Goa'uld's ability to fire their weapons. Sam took control after a short while, though, as she at least didn't have to pretend to be interested, and was well able to convey to Jolinar what she would need to report back to the Council.
"You are host to Jolinar, correct?" Ollodrin asked after a good half hour or more had passed.
"Yes, I am," answered Sam.
"I am sorry, I have lived in isolation for my own safety for quite some time, so the events among the Tok'ra are foreign to me," began Ollodrin. "Was Rosha lost?"
Sam nodded, her smile growing pained. "Some time ago, yes."
"Then please tell Jolinar that I am sorry for her loss," said Ollodrin, reaching out and clasping Sam's hand firmly between his. "And I hope that the next centuries are kind to you."
Sam's expression didn't change, her eyes darted slightly to one side, but after a second of hesitation she nodded and smiled her thanks. She wasn't about to explain all the complexities to Ollodrin. Need to know, and he was certainly not enough in the loop to have the need.
Even though it was late evening by the time Sam had conferred with Jolinar to make sure that they had enough to report, Jolinar insisted that they begin their trip back to the gate. Sam, still in control, understood the true reason but didn't have to act much to explain to Ollodrin that Jolinar was a bit obsessive about her work. Even better, Ollodrin knew enough about the Tok'ra to not need any convincing on that point, just a slight bow of farewell.
Leaving the hills, they began the journey back to the Gate the way they came. The terrain looked different to Sam going backwards, but for Jolinar it was similar enough that she seemed to move a little faster and without as many stops. The sun sank below the hills and the air grew cool again.
Just as it was getting dark, though, Jolinar spoke up without being asked for nearly the first time since they arrived at Ollodrin's.
*Samantha, I believe that now is the time to take on our role.*
~You have a plan?~ asked Sam.
*The same that I have used before,* said Jolinar.
They continued traveling for a short while, but Sam noticed that they were getting farther away from the safety of the forest and closer to the river. Soon she could hear its tumbling over short falls and stones that stuck up in its middle, the bubbling crash of small waves mingling with the sound of the water brushing against the overhanging grass on the banks. The moon was full, the stars were bright, and the sun of the day had cleared away all clouds from the sky.
The river grew louder as Jolinar ventured closer, braving the small points of light where Jaffa stood guard with torches and lamps. An hour past dark, the river grew calm and shallow where they were, and that seemed to be the sign for Jolinar's plan to go into action.
On the other side of the river, a lone Jaffa stood by a tall dark house. Inside, all the lights were out. Even as the river ran nearly smooth, it filled the night with a white noise. Crouching low to the ground, her eyes keenly fixed on the Jaffa, Jolinar crept to the edge of the river bank. She drew from her pouch a Tok'ra style needle that would stun a victim quickly and opened it. Slowly, without splashing, she stepped into the river—it was chilly even allowing the warm weather—and counted on the darkness and the gentleness of her movements to hide her from the Jaffa's sight.
Nearly across, she stopped and, stooping until she almost sat in the cold water, splashed lightly on its surface. It was perfectly timed, and Sam saw the Jaffa's head turn slightly. Jolinar splashed lightly again, just loud enough that it might not be a fish, but just soft enough that he wouldn't be absolutely expecting anything more. He stepped down to the edge of the river bank, and Jolinar tossed a small rock out where he was looking to make a soft plunk. With his curiosity peaked just enough, the Jaffa stepped into the river to take a closer look, zat drawn.
Jolinar was silent and deadly, stepping beside him and plunging the needle in his neck just half a second before putting him in a swift lock to keep him from flailing and making noise. All her strength went to keep him from moving, and Sam's muscles ached with the strain this hearty Jaffa put on them. But with one hand over his mouth and the river to keep the noise even more muffled, he couldn't do anything in the four seconds before he went limp. It had worked very well indeed.
Letting him float on the surface to give her arms a rest for a second, Jolinar then pulled the Jaffa to the bank. Without pulling him from the water, she stripped him of all armor and weapons and devices, then without giving a warning to Sam, gave him a lethal dose with another needle. Sam had a moment of shock before she realized that they could never have let him live if they wanted to keep any kind of safety. That was what the river was for as well, to leave no tracks or evidence as well as muffle their theft. Once Jolinar had all she needed, she let the body float away downstream. Who knew how far it would go before anyone noticed, but it was unlikely they would have any idea what to connect it too, and Jolinar and Sam would be well on their way.
Jolinar took all they had collected and made her way back into the forest. When they were once again a good ways from any civilization, she found a good place to hide and laid everything out to dry.
~Good plan,~ said Sam, recovered completely.
*Thank you,* said Jolinar.
For a moment, Sam had seen in her mind the flash of Goa'uld eyes relishing in the kill—but she knew better. Jolinar's eyes had not flashed because there was no emotion, no feeling bleeding into Sam's mind other than concern for the protection of Sam and others. Perhaps subdued over long years to a practicality rather than an active worry, but it laid Sam's fears to rest again.
Sleep was quick in coming, and Sam knew that she would go to sleep tonight as a Tok'ra and wake up to become a Jaffa. It would be an interesting tomorrow.
—
Author's Notes: This chapter covered the events of "Bane", though that was probably clear.
Also, remember that neither side in this story knows anything about the Ancients or that they built the Stargates, populated the galaxy, etc. They don't even know their name yet.
This story is now over 100,000 words, and we haven't even hit the true lynchpin of the story yet. Hope you're all still enjoying the ride! Thank you to all who reviewed—it means a lot to me.