Chapter 8 -
The Next Morning…
Abydos
It was early, the sun on Abydos had just risen and Chrislyn was up. She wanted so badly to explore the planet more…Abydos reminded her so much of Egypt. So, Chrislyn made her way out of the pyramid without being noticed by Colonel O'Neill or the others. She had brought along a small pack with a few supplies. She walked up the large dune and past the pyramid. She had a feeling that there was something more on Abydos. They had said that Ra had reigned there, and he only had some kind of mining operation, a small city, and a pyramid? She knew there had to be more. After about an hour of walking she felt like she was being followed, but decided that she wasn't until she heard her name. She turned around to see Riley running after her. "WHAT are you doing?" Chrislyn asked upset that Riley had followed her.
"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Riley yelled.
"I'm going off to find whatever's hidden out here!"
"Colonel O'Neill's going to be so pissed when he wakes up and you're gone! Let alone when I'm gone too!"
"Why'd you come then?" Chrislyn asked her as she continued to walk into the desert.
"Chris!" Riley yelled not happy that Chrislyn was still walking.
"WHAT?" Chris asked spinning around to face Riley.
"Where are you going?"
"To find what Ra had out here!"
"What's out here?"
"Something…"
"What?" Riley asked interested.
"I'm not quite sure…"
"Chris…come on! What are you talking about?"
"Look. SG-1 defeated Ra, right?"
"Yeah…Colonel O'Neill sent a bomb up to his mothership."
"Well Ra was the Egyptian sun god, he's pretty important. So, if you were an all important god wouldn't you have more than a pyramid and small city of natives?"
"Yeah…I suppose…where's this going?"
"So, Ra has to have some other structures around here…"
"Why here?"
"Well it's not THAT far from the city…well not really."
"Come on! Chris, can't we just go back?"
"Okay."
"Good!"
"You can go back!"
"I meant BOTH of us!"
"Sorry…can't!" Chrislyn said and then turned and started back off to where she was headed.
"How will you know where it is?"
"They'll be some kind of opening…"
"And if it's covered with sand?"
"Then it will show up on my scan that I've been doing every five minutes."
"Oh!"
"So, are you coming or not?"
"Fine, but just to keep you out of trouble."
"That's fine," Chrislyn pulled out the device she used to detect for underground structures. "We've got one!"
"Where?"
Chrislyn looked down at the device's screen and walked towards where the entrance was…she stepped on where it should be and the sand moved slightly. "Here it is!" Chrislyn said smiling happily.
"And how do we get in?"
"We dig a little…"
"With what?"
"Our hands!" Chrislyn set her pack down and then got down and started to pulls sand away from the opening. A few minutes later Riley joined in with the efforts.
"Thanks," Chrislyn told Riley after a few minutes of digging.
Riley smiled in response.
After about a half an hour of digging they managed to dig out the entrance.
"Okay, let's go!" Chrislyn picked up her pack and pulled out her flashlight. Chris jumped into the entrance and started down the corridor about a yard before she noticed that Riley wasn't following. Chris turned back and looked up at Riley. "Are you coming or not?"
"What happens if there's a sand storm and we get buried in there?" Riley asked pointing to where Chrislyn was.
"What? We can just dig our way out!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
"You're not scared, are you? A big bad Air Force Captain afraid of a little Egyptian…err Abydonian ruin? It's just blocks…" Chrislyn said giving her an innocent look. "If I can do it…then you certainly can!"
"Fine! I'm coming!" Riley said getting down where Chrislyn was and getting out her flashlight also. Riley followed Chrislyn keeping close to her.
Chrislyn glared at Riley, "You're making me claustrophobic!"
"Sorry!"
"Come on! A Goa'uld isn't going to jump out and make you a host!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Chrislyn yelled annoyed.
"Okay!" Riley said softly.
"Come on," Chrislyn said pulling Riley with her as she entered a main chamber and shown the light on the wall to review painted stories. "Ahhh…" Chrislyn gasped at the wall that was before her. "Can you shine the light at the wall? I gotta get this on video!" Chrislyn started to rummage through her pack to get her digital camera. She pulled it out and began scanning up and down the wall making sure to get it all on video.
"What does it say?" Riley asked curiously.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's definitely been here a while…untouched. The language is definitely Egyptian hieroglyphs, so that means this has to be from when Ra first brought people from Egypt through the stargate…"
"How do you know for sure?"
"It hasn't evolved yet. Right now they speak a form of Egyptian, it's Egyptian that been changed over the centuries since they've been here."
"So, then it has to be from when they first were brought through the stargate?"
"Right…" Chrislyn said and traced a line of hieroglyphs with her finger.
"What does it say?"
"It says…And Ra brought slaves through the…chap'aii…ummm I think that means the stargate…and Ra…he feared the slaves would overturn him, so he banned language…"
"Language?" Riley asked confused.
"It probably means talking about their history or reading and writing," Chrislyn explained.
"Oh, okay that makes more sense."
"So, what is this structure for?" Chrislyn asked aloud to no one in particular.
"Maybe the Abydonians buried it?"
"Or maybe they forgot about it…"
An Hour Later…
Abydos – Pyramid
"Where the HELL did they go?" O'Neill asked obviously not happy.
"I'm not sure, sir. There's no footprints outside…the wind's been picking up…Skaara says a sandstorm is coming," Carter told him.
"Who had watch?"
"Captain Fox, I believe, sir," Captain Grant answered.
"I do not believe that Captain Fox would leave her post without a good reason, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"I agree with Teal'c, sir," Carter interrupted before O'Neill could say anything.
"Of course you do!" O'Neill told her.
"We going after them Jack?" Ferretti asked.
"Let's try the radio first."
"We already did, sir," Sam reported.
"Well…try again!"
"Yes, sir." Sam and Ferretti walked out of the pyramid for better reception. Sam held the radio close to her mouth and pressed the button. "This is Major Carter. Captain Fox or Doctor Star, please come in." She waited for a few minutes, but there was no response.
"The winds are picking up Sam," Ferretti pointed out.
"We better go tell to Colonel," Sam said and she and Ferretti went back into the pyramid.
Abydos – Ruins
Chrislyn had found another chamber, one that she had named the 'star chamber' because of the paintings and the fact that the symbols were numbers in sets of seven, which made her believe they were gate addresses. "Didn't they say that Doctor Jackson found a whole cache of gate addresses on Abydos?" Riley asked.
"Yes, that's how they started traveling through the gate after the second Abydos mission and only AFTER they corrected for stellar drift."
"Stellar drift?" Riley asked surprised, "and I thought you were just an anthropologist."
"I was listening to all the stargate lectures! We read reports…I remember, I wasn't just skimming through it!"
"Fine! I was just saying…" Riley told her and then there was a muffled static sound. "The radio!" Riley said and pulled out the radio, but didn't hear anything.
"I didn't hear anything," Chrislyn said turning to Riley.
"It was static," Riley told her. "I think we should get out of here and head back."
"Okay, I've got the location recorded and enough video and stills," Chrislyn told her stuffing her camera back into her pack. "I'm ready."
"Good!" Riley said as they started heading back down the corridor towards where they had entered.
"You just can't wait to be out of here."
"That's not true…I just don't want to get into anymore trouble than we're already in," Riley said just as they turned to see that the corridor leading to their now exit was flooded with sand. Sandy wind blew down the corridor at them. "Umm…didn't they say something about sand storms on Abydos?"
"Uh…yeah…" Chrislyn said looking down the sand filled corridor.
"I think one's starting, we better head back into your 'star chamber'," Riley suggested and Chrislyn nodded in agreement. Riley and Chrislyn turned and headed back to the 'star chamber'.
Abydos – Pyramid
"It's too dangerous right now sir," Sam told him.
"There was no response of ANY kind when you radioed?" O'Neill asked.
"None, sir."
"Damn!"
"Should we inform General Hammond, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
"Yeah…" Jack said hesitantly and then walked over to the stargate and dialed earth. The six chevrons engaged, the seventh chevron locked, and the wormhole formed. Jack pulled his radio up and pressed the button. "This is Colonel O'Neill calling General Hammond."
"This is Hammond," came General Hammond's voice. "Go ahead, Colonel."
"General, we've…well Captain Fox and Doctor Star are…missing…" Jack said making a face as he let go of the button and waited for a response.
"You LOST them?!" came the general's angry voice through the radio.
"Not…lost. They wondered off early this morning."
"Who was on watch, Colonel?"
"Captain Fox, sir."
"I see…Have you radioed?"
"Yes, sir. No response."
"Have your team search Abydos, then."
"We can't, sir."
"Why not Colonel?" Hammond questioned.
"There's a sandstorm."
"How bad?"
"Pretty bad, sir, and it doesn't look like it's going to die out anytime soon," Jack answered.
"I see…Well, then wait out the storm and then head out as soon as it seems safe."
"Understood."
"Good luck, Colonel. Hammond out."
The wormhole disengaged and O'Neill turned around to see that his team had been listening in on the conversation. "Why me?! I mean, does everyone I know die?!"
"No, sir," Sam said smiling a bit. "Teal'c, Ferretti, and I are still here…"
"Yeah, and I've known you a while," Ferretti added.
"We don't have any proof they're dead," Grant said.
"Two girls…" O'Neill started to yell.
"Colonel," Sam interrupted. "They are both adults. Not to mention that Riley's Air Force and Chrislyn's used to this kind of planet."
"It's a damn sandstorm Carter!"
"I know, sir."
"Where could they have taken shelter?!"
"Maybe in that old ruin that Sha're showed us…?"
"It would be sanded in too!"
"Why don't we ask Skaara where they could be?" Ferretti suggested.
"Good idea!" Jack said and then looked around for Skaara. "Skaara!" Jack yelled waving his arms a bit.
"Waneill! What can I be doing for you?" Skaara asked approaching the team.
"Skaara, the two girls that were with us left without telling us this morning, and I wanted to know if there was anywhere they could use as shelter during the sandstorm."
"How long ago did they leave?" Skaara asked.
"About an hour or so ago."
"The only safe place is here and the city, Waneill, and they did not have enough time to make it to the city so…" he said.
"Okay, thanks Skaara."
"So, what are we going to do?" Ferretti asked.
"The only thing we can do," Jack answered, "wait it out."
A Few Hours Later…
Abydos – Ruins
Riley had gone off to check to see if the storm was still going while Chrislyn tried to translate a 'star chamber' wall that had been more than coordinates on it. Chrislyn began to sing softly to herself as she tried to translate what she believed to be a history, Ra's history. "I am not a child now…I can take care of myself…I mustn't let them down now…I mustn't let them see me cry…I'm fine…I'm fine…" Chrislyn looked down at her watch, 3:00pm. Chrislyn let out a sigh and then continued with the wall. "I'm fine…I'll try…I'll try…" When will the storm be over? We really need to get back…
"WHAT are you singing?" Riley asked when she entered the 'star chamber.'
"A song," Chrislyn retorted, turning around to look at Riley.
Riley gave her a 'no duh' look before saying, "The storm is still raging."
Chrislyn leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. She looked up at Riley, "How long do you think it will be?"
"It's too hard to say."
"Greeaat."
"So, what does the wall say?"
"It's a history…"
"What KIND of history?"
"A history of Ra. It's all about how great Ra is…or rather WAS, AND a list of the world he conquered."
Riley looked at the wall, and then back at Chrislyn, "A lot of worlds."
"Oh yeah."
"So, you up for some more translating or more exploration of this place while we wait for the storm to pass over?" Riley asked a bit excited. She had finally gotten used to being in the ruin.
"No, I think I'm going to take a nap."
"A nap?"
"I'm tired…"
"Well, do you mind if I look around?"
"No, but take the camera," Chrislyn said handing Riley the digital camera.
"Okay," Riley said accepting the camera and then heading off.
Chrislyn pulled out a small thin blanket she had been given when they were spending the night in the pyramid. She pulled off her jacket and laid it down crumpled up a bit. She pulled out her hair hand and then pulled her hair up into a bun and secured it in place with the hair band. Chrislyn set her radio next to her. She laid down setting her head on the jacket and draped the blanket over herself. Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
TO BE CONTINUED!!
(What? You didn't believe that we'd update so soon? Well, SURPRISE!!! We really hope you like it and REMEMBER TO REVIEW! Thx!)