Chapter Four
Once again, the village looked different, in an upgraded, quaint, old-world European way. They reminded Jack of the buildings on P9X-3971. The villagers continued on as if nothing had happened. Only the yellow troops remained as they had been. "Carter?" Jack looked at the major, "Why didn't those yellow guys do . . .whatever the rest of this place did." "I don't know, sir," Carter answered. "Perhaps it was meant to affect only the people of the village," Teal'c said, "That may be the reason the villagers wear the same color."
"It's possible," said Carter. "So far we've seen three different groups, each designated by a different color."
"Four," interrupted Daniel. "Four?" "The guy on the horse," Daniel said. At their puzzled looks, he added, "In the first battle. He was red." "Okay, four," said Carter. She watched the village for a few seconds, and Jack could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. Then, "Wow." Jack and Teal'c followed her gaze. Beyond the church, stood a building that could only be described as a castle, in the most classic, historical sense of the word. It loomed over the rest of the village, casting a shadow over the buildings nearest it. Even the church's steeple was dwarfed by the massive towers on each corner of the castle. A moat encircled the building, leaving the only means of access via the drawbridge. "Okay," said Jack, "Maybe somebody there knows something." "Sir?" Carter was less sure. "It appears the most likely place to find the ruling class of this village," Teal'c said. "But they-whoever they are-should have been here all along," Daniel argued, "They wouldn't just appear at this point in time." "Why not?" asked Jack, "Everything else is." He started toward the castle. "Maybe they just moved in." The building seemed to grow as they got closer. An optical illusion that didn't help the uneasy feeling he had about this place. The drawbridge remained up, forbidding entry, and the moat was wide enough that an attempt to cross it was probably futile. And he had no idea how deep the thing was, either. The lowest windows-for lack of a better thing to call them-were beyond reach, even if they managed to cross the moat. He paused, considering his options. "O'Neill." He turned toward Teal'c. From around the corner of the castle, three warriors approached the team. Although dressed in the blue-and-white of the village, these looked a bit more intimidating than the militia. They also had their faces painted blue, reminding Jack of a movie that he couldn't quite place. But that was neither here nor there. The warriors-his mind supplied that word to distinguish them from the others-were headed for them. A quick glance around confirmed that there were no green, yellow, red, purple, or whatever colored people for these guys to attack.
"Heads up," Jack said. One of the warriors said something that sounded like "fear-di-gah," before he raised his axe and attacked. They were quick, quicker than the militia had been. Aggressively moving in , they fought at a distance that made the P-90's almost useless. Jack found that using the butt end of his weapon was much more effective, but the warrior got in a few hits of his own before succumbing. Teal'c's staff weapon had made relatively short work of one, and Carter was apparently successfully in dealing with the other. She, at least, looked as winded as Jack felt. Daniel had wisely backed away from the altercation. "Where the hell did they come from?" Jack demanded, "I don't remember the bridge dropping."
"We would have known if it had," Teal'c pointed out, "It would have fallen on us." "Oh." Jack looked up at the closed bridge, confirming both its position and theirs. "So this place has a back door?"
"Well, it wouldn't make sense to fortify a place like this, then leave an easy access," Daniel said, " These things were built for defense." Jack glared at him. "Well, we're obviously not getting in there," he said, "Any suggestions?" "That mound," Carter said, thoughtfully. "What mound?" "On the beach." At the colonel's puzzled look, she added, "Near the DHD." "What about it?" "It doesn't fit with rest of the village. Or with the landscape." "A lot of stuff doesn't fit with this village," Jack said in exasperation, "Cactus and bamboo and . . .". "I know," she interrupted, "Maybe there's something in or around that mound that would give us some idea of what's going on here." "Okay," said Jack, "We'll go back to the . . . mound." They passed the military buildings on their way back, noting the buildup of swordsmen, archers, horsemen, and siege weapons. Glancing back at the castle, Jack saw that the warrior-types were gathering around it "Somebody's expecting a big battle," he said, softly. "Perhaps they expect another invasion," suggested Teal'c. "Or they're planning another attack." "Neither the warriors nor the ships returned from the previous attempt." Jack took off his cap, ran his fingers through his hair, and replaced the cap. "Y'know, that doesn't make sense either," he said, "These guys are popping up like mushrooms. And moving around like pieces on a chess board." "And they're all so single-minded," added Daniel, "Even during the attacks, the villagers go about their business as if nothing is happening."
They continued toward the beach and the DHD. The dock was crowded with ships of all sorts. A second dock had been built south of it, and villagers appeared to be building a third dock some distance away. The second dock also seemed to be gathering ships around it. "They've been busy," murmured Carter. A tell-tale line of specks marched across the horizon. "Yeah, well, they're about to get busier," Jack said. A fleet of ships turned and headed out to sea. Several others pulled closer to the shore. A glance behind confirmed that troops and equipment were heading toward the transports once again, including the blue-faced warriors. Two priest-types from the church were also headed for the ships. A bell clanged in the town center. The blue-faced warriors halted, as did some of the catapult-things. At the far end of town, wisps of smoke rose in the sky, suspiciously dark and forbidding. A single yellow-clad warrior, feathers decorating his clothing, ran through the village, heading for the priests. He was followed by another, then several swordsmen, archers, and horsemen, all in yellow.
"Okay, kids," said Jack, "I think it's time we get off center stage."
They retreated to the mound, pausing long enough to ensure there was no immediate danger of attack. Ships trimmed in green, in yellow, and in red were moving in, engaging the anchored fleet in battle. Or were the red one allies? It was hard to tell. Several of the green transport ships had managed to get close enough to unload troops, and they marched toward the village. "There is an entrance here," called Teal'c, "It appears to be a cave." "Let's go," ordered Jack, "Things are heating up out here." He glanced around one last time before they scrambled for the shelter of the cave. The entryway was wide enough for them to walk next to each other. Although it looked like a cave, it didn't feel like one. It felt like a movie studio imitation cave. The walls glowed slightly, with enough light that they didn't need flashlights to see their way. And the floor was smooth, too smooth to be natural. It sloped downward slightly as it burrowed into the cave. The whole thing reminded him of the Tok'ra tunnels, except not quite as finished. After about two hundred feet, the corridor narrowed slightly, forming a sort of doorway wide enough for one. He and Carter brought their weapons up, and Teal'c readied his staff weapon. O'Neill paused, then cautiously stepped through the opening, moving to one side of the doorway. Carter took up position on the other side, and Teal'c covered the center area. They found themselves in what looked like a cross between the SGC control room and a classroom. Eight individual stations were set about the room, each with a sort of monitor and what was probably control panels. They were semi-enclosed, walls curving in a circular pattern. A ninth station was set off by itself, like a teacher's desk, with two objects-backpacks?-leaning against it. Two of the stations were occupied. There was a brief snap, as if someone had rapped their knuckles inside his brain. Or a bird had just pecked him. He heard a stifled yelp behind him, probably from Daniel. Jack put a hand to his head, half-expecting to find the culprit sitting there, and noted Carter doing the same. He blinked, and the occupants of those stations shifted and shimmered. He wasn't sure what he had seen before, but now they appeared to be two boys, maybe ten-eleven years old. Dressed in full-sleeved shirts covered with hip-length waistcoast, breeches, and knee length soft boots, they were completely absorbed in something on the screens, accompanying it with yelps and yells. They bounced in their seats as if to lend their own kinetic energy to whatever they were doing. Some of the more energetic bounces caused one or the other to grab at a headset-like device and reposition it on his head. The team moved closer. Each of the boys seemed to be working on only the largest of the monitors, and appeared to be engaged in a simulated battle. It looked to Jack like a computer game. A quick glance at the others on the team confirmed that they looked as intrigued as he felt. So intrigued that he forgot one of the basic rules of combat-watch your back.
"You guys are in big trouble," said a voice from behind the team.