Jacob stood at the front of the briefing room with an X-ray of the warrior's head and neck; a Goa'uld symbiote was clearly visible along its spinal column.
As they all sat around the briefing table, he had just finished telling Teal'c Daniel, Hammond and O'Neill their findings.
"It's a Goa'uld. Quite frankly, that's not as shocking as the host." Sam told the table
"How so?" Hammond asked
"It has an incredibly unusual organ structure." Sam said
"Everything's out of proportion. Physiologically, the heart and lungs had to be abnormally large to supply enough blood and oxygen to its muscles. Basically, it's like someone tried to genetically engineer the perfect athlete without any concern for longevity." Jacob added
"Leaving it to the symbiote to sustain its life." Teal'c said
"An engineered host… Not a good looking one at that either" Hannah commented looking down at the file.
"A seriously flawed one. Even a Goa'uld symbiote wouldn't be able to compensate for long. We're still in the process of analyzing genetic data. But for now we can tell you, there was no evident trauma from energy weapons." Jacob said
"What does that mean?" Hammond asked
"The warrior's armor appears to possess some sort of advanced energy absorption technology. If it works the way I think it does, it wouldn't matter how many staff or zat blasts were fired at it. Nothing would get through" Sam said.
"Are you suggesting that Teal'c and Bra'tac didn't kill this Goa'uld?" Hammond asked
"Yes, sir. Apparently, the host was on the verge of a pulmonary failure long before it encountered them." Sam answered
"It had a heart attack?" Hammond asked, surprised at the findings. Sam nodded and looked at Teal'c and Bra'tac.
"Sorry, Teal'c. You didn't stop it. You and Bra'tac just got lucky." She told them.
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After the debriefing they returned to the laboratory they had laid out the warrior on an metal exam table. It was clad in black cloth from head to toe, leaving it's face uncovered, all the armour had been removed.
Hannah looked at the face into the eyes, it was so eerie like a monster out of a sci fi movie. Sam, Jacob and Daniel stood on the other side of the table opposite her.
"Its entire cellular structure is less than three weeks old. It is organic, but it was definitely created in a lab." Jacob said
"It's younger than me" Hannah quipped
"Well, we know the Goa'uld have been trying to physically perfect a host that would be superior to humans." Sam said
"Well this thing's definitely a lot stronger than humans, but it's far from superior." Jacob said
"Traditionally. the Goa'uld are also somewhat vain about their appearance." Daniel commented
"This was obviously intended to be a new form of foot soldier. Possibly a reaction to the recent uprising of the Jaffa. What's most interesting is that this being was not alive when it was first grown. It was given life after it reached its mature state." Jacob said
"Frankenstein's monster." Hannah mused "How do you know that?" she asked looking up at Jacob.
Jacob lowered his head and Selmak took over "Remnants of a unique energy signature within its cells. It's similar to the residual effects left by the use of a sarcophagus." He said plainly
"Could it give life to something that wasn't alive in the first place?" Daniel asked
"No. A sarcophagus is designed to boost health and longevity, heal or revive someone terminally injured. They are nowhere near powerful enough to animate non-living cellular matter." Hannah said before Selmak could
"Then what could have?" Sam asked
"Thousands of years ago a Goa'uld found a device originally created by the Ancients. He determined its primary purpose was to heal. But it was so powerful, its effects on human hosts ultimately proved devastating. However, after much research and experimentation, the Goa'uld was able to use the technology to create the first sarcophagus." Selmak said
"Obviously he wasn't able to eliminate all of its negative side effects." Daniel said
"The Tok'ra have long sought this device in the hope of using it to perfect the sarcophagus technology, so that we could all benefit from it. Now, it may be the key to fighting this new warrior." Selmak told them
"How?" Sam asked
"With the device, we may be able to devise a weapon to counteract this life-giving energy." Selmak said
"Who was the first Goa'uld to find the device?" Daniel asked
"His name was Telchak." Selmak said
"Telchak." Daniel repeated
"As in maybe Chac the Mayan god of Rain?" Hannah asked, she had read many of Daniels books on ancient cultures among other things. Daniel got a look on his face like he just remembered something important and nodded
"Yes, follow" he said, he turned and headed out the door. they all followed him to his office where he proceeded to search for a book in all the clutter he stopped in front of the book case and looked at the volumes and spoke "Nicholas Ballard, my, uh, grandfather… One of Nick's early obsessions was finding the so-called "Fountain of Youth". He claimed he'd found evidence indicating the source of the fountain's power was a piece of alien technology used by early Mayan tribes around 900 B.C. Nick traced its origins to Chac, the Mayan god of rain."
"And you think this Chac may have actually been Telchak?" Jacob asked looking between Hannah and Daniel who had some weird brain moment.
"Just a hunch" Hannah said shrugging
"Maybe not just a hunch. The primary function of the device was to heal, right?" Sam asked
"For the Ancients. For humans to see any positive effect, it would be from very limited exposure at a safe distance." Jacob said
"Still, if the device was kept hidden near a water source, it could be the basis of the Fountain of Youth mythology." Sam speculated
"Nick believed Chac's temple was located somewhere in Central America. He spent decades of his life searching for it but came up empty. I've been over his notes and most of it's indecipherable. The only mention of the temple's location is somewhere near a waterfall and a river." Daniel said , he found the book he was looking for and pulled it off the shelf and fingered through the pages until he found the one he wanted.
He turned the book over to Jacob and Sam showing the illustration of a man holding a cube up in the air and light shining from it.
"This is written in an obscure dialect of Goa'uld." Hannah said Jacob nodded "How come I never saw this book?" Hannah asked
"It was in storage" Daniel said "until I returned, you can read it?"
Hannah made a face "Sort of " she admitted some of the words she understood but others just didn't make sense in her mind "but I'm sure Selmak would be better at translating it" she said
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After Selmak translated the book, with Hannah's help which Hannah felt was probably his way of just including her. They did manage to get a rough location on where Telchak's temple was in southern Honduras, with that in hand they went to Hammond and put down their case to find the temple to retrieve the device as it could hold the key to making a weapon to defeat the new warriors Anubis was making.
"Anubis defeated Telchak, but he never did find the device. It was believed to be hidden in one of Telchak's many temples." Selmak said
"You think Anubis is behind this?" Hammond asked
"He knew about the technology. While he never actually found the device, he ultimately wouldn't need to." Sam said
"He would have gained access to the knowledge when he ascended. He could theoretically have built himself a new " Hannah added Hammond considered what they told him for a moment
"Still it's only a guess." Hammond said
"Yeah." Daniel said
"Yes" Selmak said at the same time.
"But, it's a good one." Daniel offered
"The good news is, sir, the original Ancient device is probably still here on Earth." Sam said
"If we could analyze the technology of this device, it might be possible to engineer a weapon we can use against these warriors." Selmak said
"Not to mention the possibility of harnessing its power to heal." Hannah added
"Very well. Doctor Jackson, take Lieutenant O'Neill with you, Lieutenant you take your orders from Doctor Jackson as if they were my own. Understood?"
"Yes Sir" Hannah said
"Well Let's see what you can find. Dismissed." Hammond said.
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Hannah wore black t-shirt over forest green fitted cargo pants with the legs tucked into her calf high hiking boots. She felt naked not wearing her dog tags and locket but O'Neill had suggested as a precaution it was better to not wear any valuables or have any means of identifying her as US soldier since she and Daniel were going to be traipsing through possible rebel country. She couldn't wait to have them back.
They travelled to a small village with a cantina in southern Honduras, the heat was stifling and humid as Hannah dropped her backpack on the ground gently beside her as she sat with Daniel at a table. They both had enough gear to last them a week in the jungle, and Hannah felt happy she was able to carry her side arm even if it had to stay in her bag until they ventured out into the wild before she could wear it.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Hannah asked, she felt the sweat drip down her back it didn't bother her. It was a hot and very humid day in Nicaragua but that was the norm for this time of year as they were so close the equator. Didn't change the fact it was a change from the winter snow of Colorado.
"This is where he said he'd be." Daniel said, he was dressed in civilian clothing long tan khaki pants with a white t-shirt, and a brown cotton shirt with his sleeves rolled up, he was even sporting a five o'clock shadow.
"What if he doesn't show up?" Hannah asked
"Well, we have a few beers, make a few friends" Daniel said with a smile.
"I like the sound of a cold cerveza" Hannah said with a smile, it seemed to attract the attention of the waiter as he came over to their table.
He smiled "Hola, muy buenos días, señor, señorita. Quieres una cerveza o una tequila o algo?" he asked.
(Hello, very good day to you, sir, miss. Do you want a beer or a tequila or something else?)
Hannah was about to say a beer when Daniel spoke.
"Um, de hecho, estamos buscando a un guía llamado Rogelio, el quedó de vernos aquí." Daniel said to him ( In fact, we're looking for a guide named Rogelio, who was to meet us here.)
The waiter smiled and shouted into the cantina "Pedro, haste cargo, tió!"(Pedro, take over, Uncle!) before he took a seat down at the table with them.
"I am Rogelio, Rogelio Duran, at your service. This is just my day job." Rogelio said with a smile he indicated to Daniel "You must be Doctor Jackson." He said he offered his hand and they shook.
"That's right. Uh, this is Hannah O'Neill my associate" Daniel said gesturing to Hannah, Hannah held her hand out he shook her hand and gave her a smile.
"Buenos Días." Hannah said with a warm smile
"Encantado. So, you guys want to see some temples?" Rogelio said still looking at Hannah with a sly smile.
"Actually, we want to see one temple in particular." Daniel said he pulled out their map from his backpack and placed it on the table. He tapped the location Selmak and Hannah had deciphered as the location. "Here." He said, Rogelio looked at the map and shook his head.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, Señor, but there are no temples there. What you want to do is go north. That's where all the good stuff is. There's lots of ruins. My cousin has a truck. We could be there in five hours." He said
Daniel tapped the same place "Yeah, I'm sure the North is great, but we really want to go here." He told Rogelio
"Señor, I've been to this part of the country many times. There is nothing there, I promise you. North—that's where you want to go. Trust me." he said sitting back in his chair, Hannah looked around the cantina surreptitiously at the other people her inner senses were squirming like they were being watched.
Her eyes locked with a bald man who was being served by two women, he was staring blatantly Hannah sat back into the conversation. He and many other men had looked at her it wasn't unusual for men to stare with her blonde hair and skin complexion.
"Look, either you take us south or we'll find someone who will." Daniel told Rogelio
"Oh, okay, okay, okay…it's your money." Rogelio said holding his hands up in defense.
"So you say your cousin has a truck" Hannah asked glancing around the bald man was gone.
"Simón. His house is just around the corner. Of course there is the issue of filling the tank with gas." Rogelio said with a shrug
Daniel nodded at Hannah who pulled out money clip with a small amount of money, she dropped a few bills on the table. Rogelio frowned so Hannah tossed a couple more on and it made him smile. He pocketed the money and stood up from the table.
"Okay! Now we're talking business. Let's go, after you senorita" Rogelio said, he took her backpack for her before she could say 'no' and moved ahead waving them to follow him.
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Author note :Updated it after a review Kaekaed I understand the purpose of dog tags and that they are worn for identification purposes though thank you for pointing it out the sentence :-) my point was she wanted to be recognised as civilian and not be open up for too much grief or have any of her personal items used against her. She's trying to be a tourist. Also if it were me I'd not want to go into a politically unstable country identified as soldier from another country snooping around ruins with the prospect of being captured..if on holidays then it would be a different story... but then that's just how I see it..