"I am Herak" The First Prime said, He stood proudly in front of the other Jaffa. Hannah pulled her head back and moved to the side of the room.
"Congratulations. Failing upwards I see" O'Neill quipped.
"You have no choice." Herak said
"Actually I do. I've got the Eye and about a pound of very powerful explosives stuck to it. Give us clear access to the Gate or I'll blow it up." He said he stuck out the Eye of Ra and showed them he wasn't joking.
"Yourself along with it?" Herak said plainly, Hannah couldn't see him but she could hear his doubt.
"What's your point?" O'Neill asked
"I will speak with my master." Herak told him
"Yes, you do that. Don't forget to tell him you screwed up again." O'Neill shouted.
They heard the footsteps of one person leaving obviously Herak.
"Is it really necessary to further antagonise him?" Jonas asked
"Yes." O'Neill said,
"Would you really do it?" Sam asked O'Neill referring to the Eye.
"Sure, why not?" O'Neill said nonchalantly.
"O'Neill." Teal'c said, O'Neill tossed Hannah the Eye of Ra, she caught it one handed and placed it on the bench beside her.
"Skaara is in need of medical attention." Teal'c said to O'Neill.
"I have failed you." Skaara said
"Ah, stop it." O'Neill told Skaara, Skaara lost consciousness and his head lolled to the side.
"So now what?" Hannah asked
"We wait it out" O'Neill said
"What were you and Daniel talking about?" Sam asked Hannah "About a path?"
"Oh that's nothing… he -" Hannah stopped they heard footsteps approaching again and took up their positions again weapons at the ready.
"O'Neill, can you hear me?" Herak said
"Yeah." O'Neill replied
"Anubis commands that you turn over the Eye of Ra immediately or he will destroy all of Abydos." Herak told him
"Tell him to go ahead. He's not getting the Eye." O'Neill said, Jonas looked at O'Neill sceptically.
"He's bluffing." O'Neill told Jonas
"We don't have much of a choice. If we blow up the Eye he's going to destroy Abydos anyway." Jonas countered
"He's just as likely to attack after we give it to him." Hannah said
"Maybe not." Jonas said, Hannah shook her head at Jonas.
"He's a Goa'uld!" O'Neill exclaimed to Jonas.
"O'Nyer." Skaara breathed, they all turned to Skaara, O'Neill moved to his side, Skaara was barely conscious. His body shivered as he started rambling in Abydonian O'Neill looked at Teal'c.
"What's he say?" O'Neill asked
"He speaks of a bright light. Of giving up. Of releasing something." Teal'c translated.
Skaara looked up at O'Neill for the briefest moment and then his eyes closed as he exhaled his last breath. They watched as Skaara's body glowed and swirled into a bright light, it flitted up and out of the room leaving O'Neill looking down at Skaara's empty clothes. Hannah turned her attention back to the Jaffa outside the room.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Time seemed to pass slowly as they were at an impasse with the Jaffa, O'Neill took up his original position at the door and waved at the Jaffa.
"Sir, you're not considering shooting our way out?" Sam asked
"No. No, Anubis must really want that thing in one piece if his boys have held off this long." O'Neill said,
"He does." Daniel said, they all turned to him
"Where have you been?" Hannah asked him
"Busy, busy." Daniel said looking outside the room
"Hey! Thanks for Skaara. I assume he's okay." O'Neill said
"What are you talking about?" Daniel said confused
"He has ascended." Hannah told him
"What?" Daniel asked
"That wasn't you?" O'Neill asked, Daniel closed his eyes and sighed.
"Oma's here watching me" he said.
"And?" O'Neill asked,
"And I don't care anymore. Anubis is one of us." Daniel said, everyone looked at Daniel in distinct shock,
"What?" Hannah asked before O'Neill could
"At least partly in some…bastardised way." Daniel tried to explain
"Daniel, what are you talking about?" Hannah asked
"The Goa'uld Anubis used to be… figured out how to ascend." Daniel said
"He was believed to have been dead for quite some time." Teal'c said
"The Others didn't want him." Daniel said
"That's understandable." Jonas said
"He's not my Christmas card list" Hannah said dryly,
"They sent him back. At least they tried, but not all the way." Daniel said ignoring Hannah's quip.
"What is he now?" Sam asked
"He's still some form of energy, that black mask is a shield, it's keeping his form intact. He's stuck somewhere between human existence and ascension." Daniel explained
"Why have the Others allowed him to remain that way?" Teal'c Asked
The conversation continued to flow back and forth until Daniel informed them of Anubis's incomplete exile and that he resided on some plane between the Ascended Ancients and here. Explaining Anubis's understanding of ancient technology to the revelation that the Ancients were the Stargate builders. Anubis's Jaffa started to move forward.
"Ah guys, I think Herak wants to go to first base" Hannah said pointing to the Jaffa that were closer than before.
O'Neill turned to Daniel "All right look, just bottom line this for me, will you?" he asked
"There's a fleet of System Lord Motherships surrounding Anubis, I warned them about the Eye and what it can do." Daniel told him quickly
"Nice." O'Neill said impressed
"Turn it over." Daniel said
"What?" O'Neill asked
"I made a deal with Anubis, you turn the Eye over, you go free and the people of Abydos remain unharmed." Daniel told him
"You made a deal with Anubis?" O'Neill asked in disbelief
"I'll make sure he keeps it. The Goa'uld are going to fight it out over the Eye and hopefully destroy each other in the process but even if they don't, while they're licking their wounds, you're gonna find the lost city of the Ancients." Daniel explained
The conversation continued again, but this time about the Lost City. A place with big and powerful weapons, Hannah looked outside the room and counted the Jaffa while Daniel filled O'Neill in on the basic details.
"Do you know where it is?" O'Neill asked him, he didn't want to give up the Eye so easily over a deal that could get him and his fellow unascended team killed.
"No, but I'll help you find it. Jack, nothing will happen to the Abydonians, the most important thing right now is for you to get out of here with that tablet. If Anubis gets his hands on it and finds the lost city before you do, it's all over. He already has a huge advantage over you because of what the Others have done or rather failed to do" Daniel said
"You gonna kick his ass?" O'Neill asked,
"If I have to." Daniel said
"Can you?" He asked
"We'll see. Nothing will happen to the people of Abydos." Daniel promised him, it was enough for O'Neill, He nodded to Daniel.
"Ok" O'Neill said, Daniel disappeared leaving them, O'Neill sighed and looked at the Jaffa outside "Let's do this" he said to everyone in the room.
"Coming out!" O'Neill said, he walked out first holding the booby trapped eye in his hand he moved up to Herak.
"I assume you know about the part where you don't kill us?" O'Neill asked with a smile, Herak stepped forward and looked at O'Neill with a deep-seated hate.
"As much as I would like to." Herak sneered, O'Neill stepped back from Herak and pulled the C4 off of the Eye and handed it to Herak.
Herak took the Eye and gave a small smirk staring at O'Neill "Jaffa! Kree!" he ordered, the Jaffar in the room stood to attention and then filed out of the room followed by Herak and two samurai guard.
Hannah lowered her P90 and stood next to O'Neill.
"Well spank me rosy!" O'Neill said in shock that the Jaffa hadn't just killed them.
"I'd rather not" Hannah said
"Let's book." O'Neill ordered they all moved back up into the Pyramid to where the Stargate was. There were clothes and dispensed bullets everywhere but no sign of the bodies the clothes belonged to it seemed like they all had ascended in the same fashion as Skaara had in Hannah's thoughts.
"Carter dial the gate" O'Neill ordered, The sounds of multiple explosions sounded from far away.
"Sounds like a hell of a battle going on up there." Jonas commented, as Sam dialled the gate. The wormhole established and after IDC was sent Hannah and Teal'c proceed first followed by Jonas and Sam. They meet on the other side and waited at the bottom of the ramp for O'Neill.
The wormhole started to dissipate and then sounded as through the capacitors were overloading as the wormhole fritzed. Hannah ran to the manual override switch for the Iris.
"What are you doing?" Jonas asked, O'Neill came through and Hannah pulled the override the Iris closed a few seconds later the wormhole disengaged.
"What just happened?" Jonas asked as O'Neill walked down the ramp toward them.
"Abydos was hit." O'Neill said
"You saw it?" Sam asked
"I felt it. Just before I came through." O'Neill said, Sam ran out of the gate room, O'Neill turned to Hannah "How did you know to close the Iris?"
"Gut feeling" Hannah said with a shrug.
"Good call" O'Neill said, "Let's see what we have"
He and Hannah went up into the Control room, Sam was sitting in front of one of the diagnostic computers with Sgt Davis "Carter?" O'Neill asked Sam turned to them
"We're lucky Hannah closed the iris when she did, Sir. A massive energy wave followed you through the wormhole." Sam said
"Redial." O'Neill orderd
"Yes, sir." Sgt Davis said, Hammond came into the Control room as they dialled the Stargate
"Welcome back SG-1. What's happened?" Hammond asked
"Seems there was a large explosion on the planet just after we left, Sir." Sam said as the gate spun dialling the Abydos
"Is that possible?" Hammond asked
"Unfortunately, Sir." O'Neill said
"We're dialling Abydos now to see what happened." Sam said
"Chevron 6 encoded." Sgt Davis said, the gate continued to spin until it reached the point of origin "Chevron 7 will not lock." The gate stopped and the Chevron refused to lock.
"Briefing room." Hammond ordered
"Yes, Sir." O'Neill said.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
They were all sitting around the briefing table, Hannah sat next to Jonas and listened quietly while Hammond look at the Tablet written in ancient.
"The only thing we can assume is that Anubis didn't keep his deal with Daniel." Sam said
"That's a shock, eh?" O'Neill said dryly, sitting back in his seat.
"And that Daniel Jackson was unable to prevent Anubis from destroying Abydos." Teal'c stated
"Which leaves Anubis in possession of a powerful weapon that has given him clear superiority over the System Lords." Hammond said as he looked at the tablet.
"We don't know any of that for sure, Sir." O'Neill said
"What we do know, is we need to find the city that's described on that tablet." Jonas said
"Can either of you translate this?" Hammond said, he placed the tablet on the table and pushed it toward Hannah and Jonas.
"Oh yeah. It will take some time and Dr. Jackson did offer his assistance." Jonas said, before Hannah could answer.
"I'm not sure that we can count on Daniel for anything anymore." Hannah said she didn't hold the same enthusiasm as Jonas did for translating the Tablet. When she said it was the oldest she hadn't mentioned the most obscure dialect of ancient she had seen or have memory of either. Enough bubbles were burst today.
"Why not?" Hammond asked
"Well, Sir, he would have done everything in his power to protect the people of Abydos. If he was somehow prevented from doing that then…" Sam drawled they all exchanged looks of concern and distinct feel of being uncomfortable with the thought they might never see Daniel again.
SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1
Hannah had showered and changed into fresh fatigues. She now sat next to Jonas in Daniel's office, it had been changed dramatically it seemed less like Daniel's. With a TV playing the weather channel nonstop and fish tanks on the main table in the office. Daniel's books stilled lined all the shelves but some physics books and science manuals dabble in the mix even Hannah's note books had two dedicated shelves.
They both looked at the Tablet and then at their own books for reference, then switched books "This is really hard" Jonas said as he put the book down.
"I told you, this is going to take longer than you thought…" Hannah sighed "Well, that's the problem with Ancient languages. I mean, the pronunciation can change within a handful of generations, let alone thousands of years. The etymology of an individual word can be lost entirely… so we have to be careful in our translations"
Hannah stretched her arms above her head "We'll get there Jonas" she said slapping him on the back, he smiled and nodded.
TBC
Author's Note: Thanks always to my Beta nluvwithemmettcullen and Lee my dedicated reader/reviewer! It's always awesome to know people are enjoying the story I'll be updating weekly… So stay tuned for next week's instalment!
