Chapter 36
Yes! It's an update!! I know it is a shock and enough to bring on a coronary, but everyone stay calm, take deep breaths and….read.
Seriously…sorry for this taking so long. Life went nuts for a few weeks and killed the writing time. I am endeavoring to solve this problem and try and update more often, but be assured sooner or later I will update.
Thanks to all of you for reading!
Linc
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Chapter 36
The primal scream ripped through the desiccated halls of the ancient outpost with a chilling reminder of its most recent occupant. If the age worn walls had a voice they would raise them to match, perhaps ever surpass the pain and rage in the scream that reverberated against the metal passageways. It was to the structures advantage it could not cry out for any sentient being would be smarter to bury itself as deeply as possible to escape the malevolent being that walked its halls. It would cringe in terror when the scream faded to an animalist growl that grew slowly with an unholy crawl then erupted into an unsteady burst of manic laughter.
Suddenly, the laughter stopped replaced by a dead and ominous silence that denied the momentary evidence of life within the ancient structure. But the silence did not erase the reality. The beast had escaped the strangle hold of its inferior vessel, an empty shell, useless and dying. Now its reign of terror could be renewed. The Lady of Slaughter would be unleashed once again and her enemies would be destroyed.
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Jack stalked restlessly through the halls of the SGC. He hated waiting. It drove him to the brink of nutsville whenever he was stuck waiting for some other alien race (or his own race) to get their ass in gear so he could get the hell out from under this mountain and do something!
He was irritable, cranky and all around peeved at the inactivity and Jack knew that when these moods manifested themselves there was only one thing to do…he turned on his heel and made a bee-line for Daniel Jackson's office. If anything would make him feel better it would be annoying Daniel. There was just something therapeutic about it.
A few minutes and several flights of stairs later Jack entered the scholar's office.
"What'cha got Daniel?" He asked as he strode in.
Daniel looked up from a big ol' book and rubbed his forehead tiredly. "A headache."
"Ah." Jack grabbed a chair, turned it around backwards and plopped down on it. Crossing his arms and laying them on the back of the chair he stared expectantly at the younger man. "Anything else?"
Daniel stopped rubbing his head. "Nothing that will make you happy."
Jack picked up a palm size rock from Daniel's desk and ran his fingers over the pictographs etched in the smooth surface. "Well I am not happy anyway so let's have it." He began rolling the stone from hand to hand.
Glancing at the rock Jack was messing with, and then at the man himself in mild irritation, Daniel shifted his attention back to the book on his desk and flipped back a few pages from his current reading spot. "Apparently, Sekhmet's planet is protected by some kind of advanced defense system. It destroyed a fleet of Ra's ships when he tried to capture her around four thousand years ago."
"That must have pissed old Ra off."
"I am sure it did, but he never tried to take her on her planet again and ended up capturing her when she was off world." Daniel read him the account of the destruction of Ra's fleet. "Odds are the defense system is still there. We will have figured a way around it."
Damn.
"Anything else?" Jack asked tossing the rock up into the air and deftly catching it once again then taking an occasional peek at Daniel to see if it was getting on the young man's nerves.
Daniel was either ignoring him or did not see what Jack was doing with one of his precious artifacts. Without looking up the archeologist answered him.
"Nothing much. I was about to go back and look over the years that Sekhmet was on Earth before the rebellion that drove the Goa'uld away. I am a bit curious how it will compare with what we know from out own recorded history."
"Such as?" Jack asked.
"Well…According to Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was not only the Avenger of Ra, but the patron god of doctors and physicians."
Jack thought about his last check up with Doctor Frasier and her need for a few blood samples... "Sekhmet … all things evil … doctors … I can see the connection."
Daniel smiled slightly, "I wouldn't say that in front of Janet."
Jack imitated a shudder at the thought and Daniel let out a small laugh. The young man leaned back in his chair and delved deeper into what he knew of Sekhmet's earthly doings.
"In many ways Sekhmet was seen as a righteous avenger for Ra. If someone was punished it was because they deserved it."
"What about that 'Massacre of People' thing? Did they think that was a good thing?"
"Destruction of Mankind." Daniel corrected, his eyes following the arc of the artifact as Jack tossed from his left hand to his right. "No, as a matter of fact, they had a festival commorating Ra's stopping the slaughter. An annual festival. Lots of drinking, music…um…fooling around."
"You mean sex!" Jack smiled at the pained look on Daniel's face.
"Yes, Jack. Sex."
Jack frowned a moment. "You know…that sounds a lot like Hathor's MO, doesn't it?"
Daniel nodded. "Actually, Hathor and Sekhmet cross each other a lot in Egyptian mythology, so much so, that after Ra subdued Sekhmet after the massacre, it was noted that she became the gentler form of Hathor."
Jack raised his brows in surprise. "Hathor…gentle? Are you sure they only got plowed once a year?"
"Traditionally, Hathor was considered a benevolent goddess and revered by the Egyptian people. They loved her." Daniel said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Jack caught the rock in mid-arc, placed it down gently on the desk then grabbed the book Daniel had been reading, almost dropping the writing pad the scholar had set on top of the open tome. He looked down at the pages in disbelief. "Were the Egyptians sadomasochists or something?" The old book was unreadable, being written Goa'uld, so Jack changed his focus to the writing pad.
"I know it's weird, but you have to remember this was recorded and believed over five thousand years ago. It was a different world."
Jack was only half-way listening as he skimmed Daniel's notes. Hathor was the representation of the milky way…her symbol was the cow…
See, now why did he not know that before? He so could have used that tidbit of information when they saw her last. A snide comment here. A condesending remark there. Just too many verbal insult lost...
He continued reading Daniel's notes.
She was also known as "She with Two Faces".
Big surprise there. It was easy to see she was two faced.
The rest was a bunch of scientific babble about metaphorical comparisons and ritual gobbly gook.
Jack handed the book back to Daniel. "Well that was a fun trip down memory lane, but back to the Goa'uld of present. Anything else on Sekhmet?"
"Not yet. We have an hour before the briefing so I thought I would read over the section about the uprising on Earth. See if I can get anymore details on Sekhmet."
"All right." Jack stood up to go, but stopped himself.
Indicating with a flick of his hand the artifact that had not been helpful in annoying the archeologist and therefore not entertaining Jack, "So what planet did the rock come from?" Jack asked a little miffed and confused that his attempt to irritate the young man had failed. Daniel always became irritated when Jack played with his archeological knick knacks.
Without looking up from his book Daniel answered him. "Earth."
"It's from around here?" Jack asked a bit surprised. "What is it?" Still unable to believe that Daniel had not snatched the artifact from his hands the moment he picked it up.
"Just a something I picked up from Egypt last time I was there."
Jack's curiosity was peaked at Daniel's evasive answer. "Egypt, huh?"
"Mmmm…hmm." Daniel answered still not looking up.
Jack picked up the rock again and rubbed his thumb over the ancient script once more. "So what does it say?"
"It's a rock." Daniel stated glancing up at him.
"Ha ha." Jack was getting a bit annoyed by Daniel evasions. "What does the artifact say?"
Daniel reached across his desk and grabbed the stone from Jack's hand. He turned the side with the writing around so Jack could see it and ran his finger under the symbols as he spoke.
"This…is…a…rock."
Jack stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment as Daniel's words sunk in then a thunderous scowl planted itself on his features as a smug smile stretched over Daniel's.
He'd be damned, the kid had set him up. Put that stupid rock there just to mess with him. Jack glared at the young man a second then turned on his heel to the sound of Daniel snickering behind him.
Smart ass.
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Marcreat watched as Samantha Carter turned from the view of Sekhmet's planet. She looked completely in control with no outward evidence of the turmoil he knew must be going through her.
The ascended being was extremely impressed with the Tauri woman. He had seen other beings that one would consider stronger buckle under the pressures that she had endured these last weeks. He could now understand why Daniel Jackson admired her and had suggested her for this endeavor.
Samantha gave the Jaffa piloting the ship a command to notify her the moment they landed on the planet and exited the bridge or the pel'tak, as the Goa'uld referred to it. The Ancient followed as she and Breeshan made their way to her private quarters.
The moment they entered her rooms and the door slid shut Samantha stalked further into her quarters and began searching it with her eyes.
"Where are you?" Her goa'ulded voice demanded. "Show yourself, damn it!"
Marcreat smiled to himself. He should have realized that this woman would not have simply accepted his presence and not question it.
"Hello Samantha."
The Tok'ra jumped slightly then immediately pulled out his zat and aimed it at him.
Samantha however was not the least bit unnerved by the Marcreat's presence in fact she seem annoyed by it. "Put it away, Breeshan." She commanded without taking her eyes from the Ancient. "It won't do any good." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Why the hell is an Ascended Being shadowing me?"
"Sekhmet is an evil being and its knowledge of ancient technology is of great concern to us. I am here to observe and report to the others and…" he began.
"No." She interrupted him. "There are plenty of 'evil beings' you have ignored in the past so you will have to do better than that."
Samantha's gaze narrowed as she waited for his answer. Marcreat resisted the urge to fidget under her uncompromising glare and knew that the evasive nature of the Ascended would be counter productive when dealing with this human. Honesty would be the only way to garner this woman's trust and if Sekhmet was to be destroyed her trust in him would be crucial. "I did not lie, Samantha, but there is more to my being here than simply observation."
"If you are truly one of the Ascended Beings why do you not simply destroy her?" Breeshan lowered his weapon as he asked, but kept a firm grip on it.
Samantha snorted at the question. She was well versed in the Ascended Beings refusal to interfere in the affairs of lower beings. Her response annoyed Marcreat even though in many ways he did agree with her.
Marcreat turned to the Tok'ra. "It is our law that we do not influence the actions of those still on the material plane of existence."
"Then why are you here?" The young man inquired.
"Yes, why are you here." Samantha cocked her head curiously. "And what exactly do you call what you did on the bridge? I would call that interfering."
"Technically it was not. I did not give you any information you did not already have." He tapped a finger to his temple indicated the stored memory in Sam's brain.
Samantha studied him for a moment and Marcreat could almost see the thoughts racing through her mind trying to figure out what was going on, why he was here, who he really was…then her expression changed from a concentrated frown to a look of suspicion.
"I know you…"
Marcreat said nothing. He had already violated too many of the restrictions that had been placed on him by the others. Samantha Carter was an extremely intelligent woman and he knew she would figure things out if she had the chance. Once she figured it out, he would be allowed to confirm it.
"You are the one who protected me when the download from Sekhmet's memories almost killed me…" she paused thinking some more then continued, "…that's why I am changing. You did something to my DNA."
Marcreat nodded. "If I had not you would be dead instead you are simply taking the next step in your species evolution…just a few million years or so sooner…" Marcreat smiled sheepishly. "I was 'under the gun' as Daniel used to say. I had to improvise."
Out of the corner of his eye, Marcreat saw Breeshan bow his head.
"We only downloaded Sekhmet's host's memories". Pha'esh's spoke from Breeshan's body. It was clear the Tok'ra was not pleased to see Marcreat. "Simple memories should not have damaged Major Carter's mind or physical body."
"Simple memories would not." The Ancient replied. "But the clone that Sekhmet's created was not a typical host. Its mind was engineered and enhanced to accept all of Sekhmet's memories, not just the selective ones normally known to a symbiote's host."
Samantha's gaze left Marcreat and turned to Pha'esh. "Are you telling me that a symbiote can withhold its memories from host?" She asked. The Tauri woman did not look very happy about that bit of information.
Pha'esh looked uncomfortable as he answered her question. "Yes." He replied. "The humanoid mind does not have the capacity to hold several thousands of years of memories. It could be damaging to the host to do so."
"Several thousands of years…" Sam responded. "But even the oldest among you are no more than a couple of thousands of years old. Selmak is among your oldest and she told my father she was two thousand years old."
"I believe that Selmak said she was over two thousand years old." Marcreat injected.
Samantha turned her gazed from the Tok'ra back to him her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "How do you know that?"
"Since the moment I ascended I have been watching the Tok'ra...and the Tauri. I was awaiting the time your two races would meet…again."
"Again?"
"It was an alliance between the Tok'ra and the Tauri that led to rejection of Ra as the god of the First World and in turn the downfall of Sekhmet." Marcreat explained. He watched as Samantha looked away her brow furrowed in thought, her mind sifting through the memories now stored there. It did not take long for her to find the information she sought and Marcreat watched as Sam's body stiffened as the memories of Sekhmet's time among the Tauri became clear. She turned and stared at him.
"You were there…" she state firmly. "With Sekhmet…you were her host."
"Not willingly." Marcreat clarified. He wanted Samantha to understand that he had suffered as Sekhmet's host and had not been a willing participant in the goa'uld's actions.
"No. You hated her..." Sam confirmed. "…and fought her constantly." Samantha closed her eyes in an effort to find more memories. "Sekhmet was Ra's defender residing with him on the First World…Earth. She was instrumental in overpowering hundreds of planets for him." Samantha opened her eyes to stare at him. "Even the Goa'uld were terrified of her, several attempts were made on her life, but the ancient knowledge and abilities she had received from you aided in keeping her alive."
"The other Goa'uld eventually stopped their assassination attempts, but in the end it was not an enemy that led to her failure on Earth and her imprisonment. For all her power though she did have a weakness…"
Sam turned and glared at Pha'esh accusation filling her eyes. "And that weakness is a hell of a lot older than two thousand years."
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In the presence of the alert and conscious mind the past can be pushed aside perhaps even forgotten, but at rest the conscious mind is overthrown and in the realm of dreams the past is relived and feared…
Jacob felt weird. As if he was himself, but at the same time someone else. The golden hieroglyphic engraved wall he was currently walking through were familiar to him and yet completely unknown. He knew where he was going, but had not idea what his destination was…
Such were the dreams of a Tok'ra host.
This was not his dream. The feet that carried him through elaborate halls were those of another host. One that Jacob had no recollection until that very moment as he followed along through the oddly familiar halls. He could not hear the thoughts of this host or even those of his symbiote, Selmak, but he could feel the tenseness that flowed through the host and the apprehension of his friend and constant companion.
The golden corridor opened up into an elaborate temple adorned with an opulent throne at the forefront of the cavernous area. Pictographs and hieroglyphics dominated the walls heralding the glories and awe inspiring divinity of the god that resided there. He walked among pillars the widths of which rivaled the most ancient of trees. It would be task for three grown men encircle their arms around a pillar and be close to touching the other outstretched hands. These also proclaimed the glories of their god. Their omnipotent ruler of life, death and the after life, all powerful, all knowing…
Jacob rounded one of the great columns and passed through a ray of brilliant sunlight that shone down through high windows at the very heights of the temple's ceiling. The light sparkled across the crystal blue waters of a cleansing pool at the center of the room and Jacob thought of his daughter's eyes that sparkled with the same intensity when she had just conquered some mystery or challenge.
He turned from the pool and made his way toward a raised dais at the far end of the temple area. A man plain looking man adorned in scarlet robes stood on the dais next to the elaborate throne watching his every move with an intensity that unsettled the former air force general. Hazel eyes bored into him and he felt a shiver pass through Selmak's unknown host. The hazel eyes flashed in appreciation as the host mounted the steps of the dais and thrust his hand forward in invitation. Jacob noticed the delicate hand of the host reach out lay her fingers on the man's palm; the man's fingers enclosed the host's in a firm almost painful grip. The two walked behind the throne to a set of huge intricately carved doors that seemed to open magically at their approach.
Blinding sunlight washed over them as they continued to forward into the roar of a thousand voices. Jacob blinked against the over powering brilliance of light that surrounded them and as his vision adjusted his eyes fell on an eerily familiar sight.
Three massive structures rose from the sands shining white in the bright sunlight. Three pyramids…
"People of the Tauri," a booming voice filled the air and the roar of the crowd ceased abruptly, "behold the might of the god Sekhmet! Avenger and Bringer of Ra's Justice!". Without releasing the host's hand, the man next to him took a step forward his expression haughty and cold. A slight pull at the host's hand prompted her to step forward.
The disembodied voice boomed once more.
"People of the Tauri! Behold the beloved of Ra! Hathor, Queen of the Gods!"
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