The Tomb 508

It had been one creepy and decrepit place. For Marduk and some of the Russians it was the site of horror and death. All this and the icing on the cake for O'Neill was a team of Russians with a chain of command issues and secret agendas.

The mission was now done and the Russians were leaving for home but a debrief with the entire SG-1 resumed.

"Now as you remember" Daniel droned on "it was Dr. Britski who found the coordinates and the reference to the Eye of Tiamat before he knew of the Stargate or the Goa'uld. Once they learned of the Stargate why did they want it so badly?"

"Especially since they sent a secret team of commandos to retrieve it." Jack interjected.

Daniel went on "The Eye had been merely thought of as mythical, a large jewel of magical power possessed by the god Marduk."

"So Daniel, this Eye of Tiamat, how come Marduk had it or how come it's not the Eye of Marduk?" Jack was sorry he asked the minute the words were out of his mouth.

"Tiamat was a primordial goddess of the salt sea, a symbol of chaos and creation." Daniel could see eyes rolling back in their heads as he went into lecture mode so he changed tactics. "Long story short, she mates with the god of freshwater and gives birth to the gods. They, the gods, in a power struggle, kill Tiamat's mate, their father. Then Tiamat, in turn, goes after them. She spawns monsters and dragons but is killed by Marduk, her grandson. He takes the Eye, her power source. And he cuts her up to make the heavens and the earth."

Even Carter looked a little grossed out.

"Nice family, they sound like Goa'ulds." Jack said.

"Oh yeah." Daniel agreed.

"So this Eye, what is the significance? Is it just a symbol or an ornament?" Carter asked.

"You mean like the Eye of Ra." This was more than familiar to Daniel. He wore the amulet around his neck on the very first trip through the Stargate. And the symbol was displayed in Abydos. When the Abydonians first saw it around Daniel's neck they bowed down to him as if to a god.

"I don't think the Russians thought so. They were intent on finding it." Jack went on. "Are there more? Does every Goa'uld have one? And I can't believe I'm suggesting this, should we go back and look for it? It is buried under a ton of rubble."

Hammond spoke "I'll order a M.A.L.P. sent through and access the damage to the planet. There's a pretty busy schedule today. Better make it tomorrow or the next day at the latest. After that we'll access whether or not it's worthwhile retrieving the Eye. Dismissed."

As they left the briefing room O'Neill could vaguely make out Daniel's voice as he droned on to Carter. "It's called Chaoskampf...storm god kills dragon...chaos vs order...patriarchy overcoming matriarchy. Common plot convention...trope" Jack was so glad they got the short version.

When the M.A.L.P. finally went through the Stargate and sent images back. It was hard to recognize the surroundings. The Ziggurat was totally destroyed, merely a heap of rubble.

"Did we do that?" It always offended Daniel when an archaeological treasure was destroyed.

"I don't think that's possible. It was a sufficient amount of explosives to bring down some of the internal structure but not that much." Carter said.

"The temple was exceedingly old. Perhaps age and C-4 were responsible. However it also looks as though a pit was dug and some stones were tossed aside." Teal'c noted pointing to a section of the ruins.

"Yeah like they were looking for something." O'Neill agreed. "Or maybe something crawled out."

The next day an unexpected visitor came through the Stargate. Bra'tac asked to meet with General Hammond and SG-1, all of whom assembled in the briefing room.

"A young Jaffa, badly wounded, fled to the Free Jaffa. He had been in service to a minor Goa'uld, Shai, who was a minion of Apophis. Their planet was invaded by a battalion of Jaffa and the Goa'uld Tanith looking for a treasure. They questioned many, tortured many and slaughtered them when they did not provide the answers they sought. There were too many for them to defend their world and he was the only one we know of that escaped their wrath. There were many women and children and he was troubled he did not stand to defend them. He does not know if any survived but if they did, they will certainly need help."

A M.A.L.P. was sent and no signs of activity were evident. In fact it was unearthly quiet.

SG-1 geared up and went to investigate. Bra'tac and a small contingent of Jaffa accompanied them. A few bodies were strewn about the gate platform. Next the team came across what once had been a burial ground. There were pits dug, fresh corpses, broken coffins, enshrouded bodies in various states of decay and dismembered skeletons.

"Someone was looking for something." Daniel said.

"Ya think." O'Neill growled. He was angry at the carnage, at the contempt for what was usually held as inviolate.

The smell and the buzzing flies, the horror of it all made Carter and Daniel feel physically sick. Unfortunately O'Neill and Teal'c had seen all of this before. The stench of decay and the smell of charred flesh that drew them to this spot was now what drove them away. There was nothing right now they could do for the dead.

The village was a charnel house. The once stately pyramid was reduced to rubble. The Goa'uld Shai in his exotic garments lay dead by a sparkling fountain with colorful fish bloated and floating. His robes were shredded like his flesh.

"Jack" Daniel called him again. The Colonel seemed lost in the disaster. "Jack, I think this is the same thing. I think they were looking for another Eye. I don't think they knew Apophis was dead. But Tanith either thinks Apophis has lost power or just out of the picture. But he was in service to Apophis so he might have known where Apophis hid his Eye."

"In this backwater, yeah, who would look here. Let's get out of here."

Before the Stargate as Daniel prepared to dial Earth, Bra'tac conferred with Colonel O'Neill. The Jaffa would remain and take care of the bodies of their dead and if possible salvage any symbiotes that had any life in them. The rebel Jaffa were desperate for them.

Only one question remained. Was Tanith working for himself having assumed Apophis remaining forces or was he in service to a more powerful Goa'uld?

Sam could not get the smell off her body or out of her hair no matter how well she showered. On her irritated skin she rubbed a flowery body lotion but it reminded her of the scent of a funeral parlor. She rubbed it off, irritating her skin more. Thinking the smell of death must have come back with them and was lingering there, Sam left the base as soon as possible. Still the smell assaulted her nostrils, it even persisted as a taste in her mouth.

On her way home she stopped by a local bakery, hoping the aromas there would replace or at least mask the smell she could not elude. She nearly gagged. She bought some cinnamon buns and dashed out.

Sam thought about going home, it had been a trying day. The fear that this day would replay in nightmare caused her to drive off in a different direction. There was one person who would know how to address this problem.

She found him in his aerie. The cushion she sat on a few weeks ago was beside him. She sat down and told him what she had done and yet failed to rid herself of what lingered from today's mission, the smells and the memories.

She asked "How do you do it?"

"Usually bourbon." O'Neill answered honestly.

"Not tonight?" She asked, noticing the coffee cup.

"Thought about it."

"How do I get the smell out of my hair, off me." She rubbed at her hands. "How do I get the image of all that carnage out of my mind?"

He leaned over and sniffed her hair. "Smells like flowers, subtle, not too overpowering, not too girly. Might be sneeze worthy to Daniel though."

She laughed.

He touched her leather jacket, his face close to her neck and said "Smells nice." His voice was soft and dreamy, he was entranced by this nearness to her.

She could feel his breath on her skin.

He was so close, he was whispering in her ear. "As for getting it out of your mind…" he paused for a moment and said "you need to make a new memory."

All she could smell was almonds and sandlewood of his soap and the leather of his jacket and him.

Her voice unusually breathy as she started to say "It would have to be a pretty startling memory to replace …"

He kissed her long and deep.

When he pulled away she was dazzled and gasping, he was a bit dazed himself. Somehow her fingers were in his hair and she could feel the warmth of his fingers on her face. And she seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

He seriously considered taking this further but he was afraid he had overstepped their usual bounds as it was.

His voice was rough and low when he asked "You still have those cinnamon buns?"