Halls of Osiris
Part
7:
Cheyenne
Mountain:
"Everything
ready, Major?" O'Neill made his way towards the Gateroom with long sure
strides, calm and businesslike, his earlier temper defused by the certainty of
action.
Carter
fell into step beside him, delivering her report in confident, clipped tones.
"Yes,
sir. SG-3 and SG-5 are in the Gateroom
and ready to go. General Hammond is getting ready to send a MALP through to the
coordinates of the planet where Dad and Selmak are supposed to meet us."
O'Neill
acknowledged the report with an approving nod. "Can't be too careful."
"No,
sir."
They
wheeled past the last check- point and into the unusually crowded Gateroom.
Teal'c was already there, giving his equipment one last inspection. The two
extra SG teams, plus a set of technicians busily fussing with a MALP, joined
the room's usual complement of SFs. A field medic stood slightly apart from the
rest deep in a whispered consultation with Dr. Fraiser.
O'Neill raised his voice above the general
hum that filled the room. "Alright,
folks. Listen up."
Sam
Carter slipped smoothly into place next to Teal'c. The members of the SG teams
snapped to attention, while the civilian techs straightened a bit more slowly.
The medic gave a final nod to whatever instructions the base's CMO had given
and both doctors turned their attention to the Colonel.
Ignored
by all except the technician controlling it, the MALP unit trundled up the ramp
and into the open gate.
"I
know you've all been briefed by your respective team leaders on the general
nature of this mission, so I won't waste time going over it again. I'm sure
you're all familiar with the concept of a search and rescue.
Specifically,
we will be traveling to a planet designated P9J-332 to rendezvous with General
Jacob Carter. SG-2, your job will be to secure the gate on J-332. Lt. Wylie, you'll be setting up shop there
as well."
The
medic responded crisply. "Yes, sir."
SG
units 1 and 5 will meet up with General Carter and travel on to Garawon by
Teltac.
It's
going to be a tight fit, but according to Tok'ra intelligence the only stargate
within several thousand miles of the complex where Dr. Jackson is being held is
right in Osiris' lap.
"Major
Warren, you and Major Carter have gone over the schematics of the complex and
the plan of entry with your men?"
SG-5's
team leader responded, "My men have their orders, sir."
"Alright
then. As soon as we have confirmation on the rendezvous site from the MALP, we'll
head out." O'Neill raised his head to
address the occupants of the control room above. "Ready when you are, General."
*******
P9J-332:
Starbuck
chewed angrily on the end of an unlit cigar and scowled at the petite
physicist. Dr. Pallas scowled right
back. She hadn't become the chief of
the Galactica's astrophysics department by allowing herself to be
intimidated by mere lieutenants.
She
indicated the upright circular monument with an exasperated gesture.
"As
I said, Lieutenant, our equipment can find no trace of any kind
of energy signature, much less what was indicated in the Viper's sensor logs.
There's nothing we can identify as a power source. The parts can be moved by
hand, but that's it. In short, it doesn't do anything!"
"Then
what's it for?" Frustration was
beginning to wear on Starbuck's temper. He was much better suited to action, and he knew it. Point him at the
enemy and let him go. All the fruitless searching of the last two days was
driving him crazy. Not to mention a certain undersized physicist with a sharp
tongue and even less patience with warriors than Starbuck had with scientists,
who insisted on pronouncing his rank as if it were a social disease.
The
aforementioned physicist was practically bouncing with irritation. "How am I supposed to know? If you want to
know what it's for, send for an archaeologist. All I know is that it is
definitely not the source of those readings. And neither is anything
else on this planet, for that matter."
"Dr.
Pallas? Lieutenant?" Pallas' assistant,
Torrin, called excitedly. "You'd better take a look at this."
Indicators
on the various monitoring equipment began to climb. With a thundering noise, the rings of the great stone monument
began to turn.
Starbuck
waved the warriors in the clearing into defensive positions before turning to
Pallas.
"Well,
doctor?" he said acidly. "What's it not
doing now?"
"I
have no idea," she murmured. She leaned
closer to one of the monitors – an indicator had climbed completely off the
scale. "Get back."
She
looked up quickly and called out loudly to the techs working near the device, "Get
back! Take cover, now!"
The
three men scrambled back just as the Stargate exploded into life, then calmed,
the empty center of the stone circle now filled by the rippling event horizon.
"My
God." Pallas moved from device to
device. "This can't be."
Torrin pointed out something on one of the
monitors.
"Doctor?" Starbuck was dividing his attention between the
quiet surface of the Gate and the bemused physicist.
"Lieutenant
– if these readings are correct – we're looking at the surface of a controlled
wormhole."
Starbuck
knew enough physics that the indications were not lost on him. "Frack."
"You
can say that again. Something's happening."
At that
moment the surface of the Gate wavered, and a short figure rolled into sight
and came to a stop on the dais.
Jolley's voice drifted across from the opposite side of the clearing. "It's a drone."
******
Daniel rose unsteadily to his feet and began to pace in an attempt to shake off the lassitude caused by the Tok'ra healing device. All his body wanted to do was sleep. If the device were to complete its work he would need to sleep.
No
time – no time. Gotta think.
Apollo
watched Daniel's agitated pacing for a long while before he spoke.
"You're
supposed to be resting," he commented when the other man paused to lean wearily
against the cell wall.
His
companion shot him an irritated glance and resumed his pacing with a stubborn
set to his shoulders.
"How
would you know?" Daniel muttered querulously. "I didn't translate that part."
Apollo
smiled. "I caught the gist. Besides, it's what doctors always say after a
treatment of some sort."
Daniel
snorted softly and continued pacing.
Apollo
eyed him for a moment longer. Whatever had
passed between Daniel and the man he had identified as a Tok'ra agent, an ally,
had obviously upset him. Their conversation had become quite heated, in fact,
in a subdued way.
The
warrior sighed, "Alright, Daniel. What aren't you telling me?"
Daniel
pushed off from the opposite wall and came over to slump down next to
Apollo. He rested his arms on his knees
and picked listlessly at the fabric of his jacket sleeve. The action had the
odd effect of making him resemble a small, slightly sullen, boy.
"Jacob
said that help was on its way," he said in a troubled voice.
"That
sounds like good news," Apollo responded cautiously.
"It
might not get here in time," Daniel finished flatly. "Apollo, I'm so sorry."
"For
what?"
"It's
my fault you're here."
Apollo
settled back while Daniel filled him in on the rest of the information Jacob
had supplied. When he lapsed into silence, Apollo nodded thoughtfully.
"Some
things are starting to make more sense now."
"What
do you mean?" Daniel asked. Apollo's reaction was not what he had
expected. He'd thought the man would be
angry, would blame Daniel as much as he blamed himself. Apollo's calm consideration
was unexpected but welcome, enabling Daniel to set his guilt aside for some
other time.
"Well,
I've been kind of confused ever since I got here as to exactly why I was taken.
I mean, I'm a warrior – I just sort of assumed that the Jaffa were interested
in information about my people, but Dren'ac hasn't shown the least bit of
interest in me since he dumped me in here. Which means he also hasn't the least
interest in any information I might have." Apollo stopped and ran a hand through his hair before continuing in a
rueful voice, "I was starting to wonder why I was still alive."
He turned
to consider the man next to him. "What makes you think your people won't get
here in time?"
Daniel
winced. "Oh, they'll probably get here in time for me – Selmak – Jacob – was here
pretending to be one of Apophis' under- lords looking to get in good with the
big guy. Depending on how well Selmak's
visit can convince Osiris that there's a market for me, I've got until he can
locate a nice discrete buyer. . . You, on the other hand. . . "
"As
soon as Osiris makes up his mind, I'm dead."
Daniel
glanced at him and shrugged. "Well, not dead, technically speaking. . ."
"Close
enough," Apollo said grimly. "I don't get it. According to your buddy Selmak, that other guy who came in here,
Morda, is Tok'ra as well?"
"Yes. Morda has managed to infiltrate Osiris'
operation and set himself up as his aide-de-camp. He's responsible for alerting
the Tok'ra High Council to my presence here."
Apollo
shook his head, frowning. "Why bother? The Tok'ra want to stop the Goa'uld, to
stop Osiris. Why didn't Morda just kill him, or blow the place up? Why go to
all this trouble?"
Daniel
tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. His body ws making its demands felt
again.
"Because
they don't want to stop Osiris. They want to control him." He leaned his head
back against the wall and closed his eyes wearily. "This is just an educated
guess, but I'm thinking that what they want is to allow Osiris to rise high
enough in power to rival Apophis. They may even plan on aiding him to a certain
extent."
"They
want to divide the System Lords' power. . ."
"So
that no single Goa'uld is supreme, yes," Daniel confirmed.
"Which
means the Tok'ra have no intention of helping me get out of here."
"No,
they don't," Daniel agreed softly. He moistened his lips. "Apollo."
He waited
until the warrior turned to meet his eyes.
"I
don't care what the Tok'ra intend. I intend for both of us to get out of here.
I won't have them sacrificing anyone for my sake. Understood?"
Apollo
studied the other man's serious eyes and nodded slowly. He glanced around the
room once.
"I've
been searching for a way out of here for centauri. The only way we're getting
out of this cell is if Dren'ac lets us out. We'll have to make the best of whatever chance we get."
Daniel
yawned again. "Which means that right now I have got to let the healing
device finish its job."
"Daniel?
This was what you were arguing about, wasn't it?"
"Hmm?"
"With
Selmak. You were arguing about whether or not your people would get me out
along with you."
"Oh.
Yeah, that was – part of it." Daniel's voice trailed off and he colored
slightly.
"Daniel?"
Apollo's
cell- mate looked embarrassed as he curled up on his side to try and rest.
"Don't
worry about it, Apollo. It was nothing. Just a moment of weakness."
********
Reflections from the torches danced on the polished walls.
Morda
stopped before the door to Osiris' throne room land waited for the Jaffa guards
to announce his arrival to the Goa'uld within.
Be
careful, Morda. I don't like this. Why
have we been summoned?
Be
at ease. All is well, Talliu.
He
suspects us.
He
suspects nothing. You will see. Be still.
The
symbiote continued to silently soothe his host's fears as the great gold-
plated doors opened silently.
"Morda."
Osiris
turned from his place near the open fire- pit that dominated the center of the
room. Osiris' hair picked up the
reflections in the room and gleamed like a cloud of spun gold. Fine white silk swirled as he moved to take
his seat upon the tall throne.
"My
Lord." Morda bowed deeply.
"Was
our guest impressed with the goods we have to offer?"
"Indeed,
my lord. Daniel Jackson will claim a
high price. The Tau'ri has many enemies among your peers."
Osiris
smiled gently. "Ah, but Morda, I have no peers."
"Of
course, my lord."
The
Goa'uld contemplated the bowed figure before him with satisfaction.
"You
have served me well, Morda. Stand and
receive your reward – Tok'ra."
Morda
froze for an instant, then his head snapped up.
"My
lord?!"
"Jaffa.
Kree." Osiris' inflection never
changed, just as his grey eyes never left Morda's as six Jaffa left the shadows
to surround the Tok'ra agent. "Fire."
