Disclaimer – Don't own.
A big thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Can I just say 'back at yer' because without your support and encouragement I would not have got this far, so thank you again.
A/N:- Over a week ago I was given the most precious of gifts, so while this tiny, wee, person settles in with us I'm afraid I have to beg your patience with updating this story. I don't want to rush the ending - Pike
Oh, Cassie appears in flashback.
============
General Hammond flicked over the paperwork he'd been reading and looked up at his flagship team. "The Doctor wishes to keep Mister Quinn in the Infirmary overnight for observation. Apparently there was no injury to his chest and no obvious physical damage. Tests also confirmed that the blood found on his shirt was not his own."
Jack rested his arms on the briefing table, his reflection taking the same poise in the wooden veneer, "not his?" He repeated, puzzled, "then whose?"
"I was hoping someone around this table would be able to answer that one, Colonel." Hammond looked, hopefully, along the line. Jack declined.
"I believe it was that of one of the Egyptian souls whom Huitzilopochtli slaughtered," Teal'c answered firmly, "that the blood left was but an imprint from the past as it tried to communicate through Jonas Quinn."
All eyes in the room focused on the Jaffa, "a voice from within Jonas recited an ancient verse from the Reu nu pert em hru before he became unconscious," he informed them patiently.
Jack widened his eyes at Daniel, "the chapters of coming forth by day, we, we know it as the Egyptian Book of the Dead," Jackson explained, with a frown.
"Indeed," Teal'c acknowledged, "the verse recounted was from 'the speech of the dweller in the embalmment chamber'. This is when a dead soul's heart is weighed against the feather of Truth to see if it may then continue onto a hallowed afterlife."
Daniel agreed tapping the silver pen in his hand rhythmically on the table, "and it's the god Thoth who presides over this judgement, in the Hall of the Two Truths, questioning the deceased and weighing the heart."
"Thoth..." Jack began.
"The symbol Jonas Quinn carries on his left palm is the Utchat or Eye of Thoth, O'Neill," Teal'c clarified.
Jack nodded, "right, of course," he looked towards Teal'c and Daniel slightly bewildered.
Daniel took a deep breath, "Jack, the heart was the only organ that the Egyptians left intact because this is where they believed the essence of a person lived. By removing the heart and consuming it, Huitzilopochtli was condemning these Egyptians, in, in their eyes, to state of limbo for eternity, that's why the link with Jonas is so strong. I think, they believe, they need him to continue their journey through the afterlife."
"To evaluate their, their 'essence'?" Jack asked, making quotes in the air with his fingers.
Daniel shrugged, "that's my guess," he said, opening his palms.
"But he can't give them back their hearts," Sam chipped in, leaning forward.
"No, no but maybe Huitzilopochtli can," Jackson replied, chewing his lip.
"Daniel?" Jack quizzed.
The Egyptologist rubbed his fingers across his mouth in consideration before continuing, "as you know Jonas is in possession of the files relating to his sister's disappearance and subsequent murder."
He coughed and took a sip of water from the glass in front of him, turning his notes over at the same time, "according to these records," he looked up, "Mia's death was the last of a spate of five killings, over a seven month period, on Kelowna."
He paused, picking up his pen and moving it down his notes, "all the victims were missing their hearts."
"Okay, so we've established that the son of a bitch was on Kelowna," O'Neill replied.
Daniel held up a hand, "one, one of the investigator's noted a similarity between these deaths and a group some ten years perviously, during a time of conflict on the planet, when several civilians were found with their hearts missing from their bodies. At the time it, it was thought that it was a heinous act by advancing Tiranian troops..."
"But you think it was Huitzilopochtli?" Sam finished off.
Daniel nodded, "that, that got me thinking."
"And?" Jack asked resting his chin between his thumb and forefinger.
"My Grandfather use to tell me a story, when I was young, about the first battle of Ypres. It was after the British Expeditionary Force charged the Germans north of the Menin Road," he made a sweeping action with his hand. "He, he told me that, the morning after the Germans retreated, the English found, amongst the enemy dead, at least three soldiers with their hearts missing."
"And was it just a story Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.
"No General it wasn't. The report was buried, at the time, for morale reasons as the British didn't want to believe that one of their own was capable of such an act or for the Germans to use the incident for propaganda purposes; it has only, just recently, come to light."
"So what are we saying here," Hammond invited, shaking his head concerned, "that Huitzilopochtli been gathering hearts on Earth as well?"
Daniel swallowed, "according to the FBI database, there have been numerous unsolved murders, over the years, where the victim has had the heart removed, um, 'sacrificially'," he paused, "the, the most recent being two weeks ago."
"Where?" Sam enquired.
Daniel looked around the table, "Colorado Springs."
"Coincidence?" Jack voiced, raising his eyebrows.
"I doubt it Colonel," Hammond voiced, looking at his watch, "but let's make sure, shall we people? Major Carter, Doctor Jackson I want you to review the police investigation notes tomorrow, I'll make the necessary phone calls."
He scrapped his chair back as he got up, not stopping to dismiss the team.
==========
An image of a young man sat behind the wheel of a car steadied itself in the viewing screen. A girl's voice giggled as she wrestled to hold the camera still, zooming in and out until she was satisfied with the framing.
"Okay, okay, first time behind the wheel of a car, take one and action," she cried with delight.
The young alien's smile lit up his face and the car's interior as he pulled his Ray Bans, that had been resting in the spikes of his hair, over his eyes, readying himself. His forehead creased in concentration as he pushed the 'stick', as instructed, into drive and hit the gas, clouding the wheels with dust as the car lurched forward on the deserted track.
"Whoa," Cassie screamed, in a fit of laugher as the force pushed her back against the passenger door, filming the leather of the roof.
"What?" Jonas enquired looking towards Cassie for some direction.
"The road, Jonas," she said, trying to control her words, which were babbling hysterically between the snorts of glee, "watch the road, not me."
"Oh," he said nodding at her and smiling, "oh," he cried in realisation, turning his head back towards windscreen, pressing his nose closer to the glass, which brought more unladylike chuckling from his passenger.
"Relax, just try and relax. Sit back in the driver's seat, look as if you're enjoying it."
"I am, I am," he replied clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles.
Jonas looked up from the view screen of the camcorder and pressed the stop button. He sighed, an inward smile spreading across his heart with a mix of tears as his emotions fought against each. He rubbed his eyes and placed the camera down on the bedside table.
Teal'c entered the Infirmary carrying a large tray of various foodstuffs; Jonas sat up in greeting, "hey."
The Jaffa acknowledged him with a nod, "I thought you might be hungry Jonas Quinn."
The Kelownan gave him a lopsided smile, "am I awake?" He said in jest.
Teal'c gave him a glimmer of a smile and place the tray on the bed for Jonas to examine, taking a handful of grapes.
"Daniel tells me that Huitzilopochtli could be, here, in Colorado Springs," Jonas said, opening one of the small portions of butter from the tray.
The Jaffa nodded, "he and Major Carter have been given permission to view the law enforcement files tomorrow, to see if the killing could be that of the Goa'uld "
Jonas picked up a slice of bread and began to spread the butter, "I wish I could go too," he reflected, "but I'm under strict instructions to see Dr Booard tomorrow."
"I believe that would be a wise precaution," the Jaffa replied.
Jonas folded the buttered bread over and devoured a large mouthful, "to see if I'm nuts or not?" He retorted, folding his eyebrows.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, without emotion.
Jonas stopped chewing for a moment and deliberated the Jaffa's straightforward answer with questioning eyes; Teal'c smiled, Jonas relaxed again taking another mouthful.
"So what have you and the Colonel got planned for tomorrow?" Jonas shifted in the bed, stretching slightly.
"We are waiting for a communication from Jacob Carter."
"S'hang?" Jonas enquired, sitting up straighter.
The Jaffa nodded, speaking softly, "yes, he has just contacted the Tok'ra. It is Osiris who has subjugated your home world."
"Using Anubis' Jaffa," the Kelownan contemplated.
"It would seem so," Teal'c confirmed. "We are waiting for S'hang to verify the coordinates to the false god's base of operation."
"Osiris isn't on Kelowna then?" Jonas asked.
"No it would appear that 'she' is keeping a low profile as not to alert the other System Lords to the occupation of your planet."
"And the Naquadria," the younger man added, brushing his hair back.
"It is a very powerful element," Teal'c ventured, "one you would not want your enemy to know about."
"Yeah," Jonas replied with a flick of an ironic smile.
Teal'c picked up a banana from the tray, peeled the skin back and broke off a mouthful, "what happens when the coordinates are received?" Jonas asked.
The Jaffa swallowed, "a small task force will be sent to verify the threat and what action needs to be taken to eliminate the Goa'uld. Osiris cannot be allowed to become as powerful as Anubis by using the resources of your planet."
"Maybe I'll get to go on that mission," Jonas considered, looking towards Teal'c.
"Maybe Jonas Quinn," his friend replied.
The Kelownan sighed and quickly looked over to where the camcorder sat, "but it doesn't end there, does it?" He stated.
"How so?" Teal'c asked placing the empty banana skin down on the tray.
Jonas shrugged, "we cut off the head of one Goa'uld and another one rises to take their place."
Teal'c pondered this for a moment and then spoke, "but each time we do, we free more people from their tyranny and add more allies for our fight. The Goa'uld's days are numbered, Jonas Quinn."
"And after?" Jonas posed, a sadness in his voice.
"Maybe we go home," the Jaffa said softly, looking into the future.
The Kelownan looked down at the tray but didn't really see it, "you are thinking of Cassandra Fraiser," Teal'c stated.
Jonas swallowed, "I, I guess." He looked up and gave the Jaffa a gentle smile, "I guess I feel that I'm not really sure where 'home' is any more."
"You will always be welcome on Earth, Jonas Quinn and Chulak of course," Teal'c bowed his head as he spoke.
The Kelownan gave his friend a poignant smile and rested his eyes.
-----------
Thanks for stopping by xx
A big thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Can I just say 'back at yer' because without your support and encouragement I would not have got this far, so thank you again.
A/N:- Over a week ago I was given the most precious of gifts, so while this tiny, wee, person settles in with us I'm afraid I have to beg your patience with updating this story. I don't want to rush the ending - Pike
Oh, Cassie appears in flashback.
============
General Hammond flicked over the paperwork he'd been reading and looked up at his flagship team. "The Doctor wishes to keep Mister Quinn in the Infirmary overnight for observation. Apparently there was no injury to his chest and no obvious physical damage. Tests also confirmed that the blood found on his shirt was not his own."
Jack rested his arms on the briefing table, his reflection taking the same poise in the wooden veneer, "not his?" He repeated, puzzled, "then whose?"
"I was hoping someone around this table would be able to answer that one, Colonel." Hammond looked, hopefully, along the line. Jack declined.
"I believe it was that of one of the Egyptian souls whom Huitzilopochtli slaughtered," Teal'c answered firmly, "that the blood left was but an imprint from the past as it tried to communicate through Jonas Quinn."
All eyes in the room focused on the Jaffa, "a voice from within Jonas recited an ancient verse from the Reu nu pert em hru before he became unconscious," he informed them patiently.
Jack widened his eyes at Daniel, "the chapters of coming forth by day, we, we know it as the Egyptian Book of the Dead," Jackson explained, with a frown.
"Indeed," Teal'c acknowledged, "the verse recounted was from 'the speech of the dweller in the embalmment chamber'. This is when a dead soul's heart is weighed against the feather of Truth to see if it may then continue onto a hallowed afterlife."
Daniel agreed tapping the silver pen in his hand rhythmically on the table, "and it's the god Thoth who presides over this judgement, in the Hall of the Two Truths, questioning the deceased and weighing the heart."
"Thoth..." Jack began.
"The symbol Jonas Quinn carries on his left palm is the Utchat or Eye of Thoth, O'Neill," Teal'c clarified.
Jack nodded, "right, of course," he looked towards Teal'c and Daniel slightly bewildered.
Daniel took a deep breath, "Jack, the heart was the only organ that the Egyptians left intact because this is where they believed the essence of a person lived. By removing the heart and consuming it, Huitzilopochtli was condemning these Egyptians, in, in their eyes, to state of limbo for eternity, that's why the link with Jonas is so strong. I think, they believe, they need him to continue their journey through the afterlife."
"To evaluate their, their 'essence'?" Jack asked, making quotes in the air with his fingers.
Daniel shrugged, "that's my guess," he said, opening his palms.
"But he can't give them back their hearts," Sam chipped in, leaning forward.
"No, no but maybe Huitzilopochtli can," Jackson replied, chewing his lip.
"Daniel?" Jack quizzed.
The Egyptologist rubbed his fingers across his mouth in consideration before continuing, "as you know Jonas is in possession of the files relating to his sister's disappearance and subsequent murder."
He coughed and took a sip of water from the glass in front of him, turning his notes over at the same time, "according to these records," he looked up, "Mia's death was the last of a spate of five killings, over a seven month period, on Kelowna."
He paused, picking up his pen and moving it down his notes, "all the victims were missing their hearts."
"Okay, so we've established that the son of a bitch was on Kelowna," O'Neill replied.
Daniel held up a hand, "one, one of the investigator's noted a similarity between these deaths and a group some ten years perviously, during a time of conflict on the planet, when several civilians were found with their hearts missing from their bodies. At the time it, it was thought that it was a heinous act by advancing Tiranian troops..."
"But you think it was Huitzilopochtli?" Sam finished off.
Daniel nodded, "that, that got me thinking."
"And?" Jack asked resting his chin between his thumb and forefinger.
"My Grandfather use to tell me a story, when I was young, about the first battle of Ypres. It was after the British Expeditionary Force charged the Germans north of the Menin Road," he made a sweeping action with his hand. "He, he told me that, the morning after the Germans retreated, the English found, amongst the enemy dead, at least three soldiers with their hearts missing."
"And was it just a story Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.
"No General it wasn't. The report was buried, at the time, for morale reasons as the British didn't want to believe that one of their own was capable of such an act or for the Germans to use the incident for propaganda purposes; it has only, just recently, come to light."
"So what are we saying here," Hammond invited, shaking his head concerned, "that Huitzilopochtli been gathering hearts on Earth as well?"
Daniel swallowed, "according to the FBI database, there have been numerous unsolved murders, over the years, where the victim has had the heart removed, um, 'sacrificially'," he paused, "the, the most recent being two weeks ago."
"Where?" Sam enquired.
Daniel looked around the table, "Colorado Springs."
"Coincidence?" Jack voiced, raising his eyebrows.
"I doubt it Colonel," Hammond voiced, looking at his watch, "but let's make sure, shall we people? Major Carter, Doctor Jackson I want you to review the police investigation notes tomorrow, I'll make the necessary phone calls."
He scrapped his chair back as he got up, not stopping to dismiss the team.
==========
An image of a young man sat behind the wheel of a car steadied itself in the viewing screen. A girl's voice giggled as she wrestled to hold the camera still, zooming in and out until she was satisfied with the framing.
"Okay, okay, first time behind the wheel of a car, take one and action," she cried with delight.
The young alien's smile lit up his face and the car's interior as he pulled his Ray Bans, that had been resting in the spikes of his hair, over his eyes, readying himself. His forehead creased in concentration as he pushed the 'stick', as instructed, into drive and hit the gas, clouding the wheels with dust as the car lurched forward on the deserted track.
"Whoa," Cassie screamed, in a fit of laugher as the force pushed her back against the passenger door, filming the leather of the roof.
"What?" Jonas enquired looking towards Cassie for some direction.
"The road, Jonas," she said, trying to control her words, which were babbling hysterically between the snorts of glee, "watch the road, not me."
"Oh," he said nodding at her and smiling, "oh," he cried in realisation, turning his head back towards windscreen, pressing his nose closer to the glass, which brought more unladylike chuckling from his passenger.
"Relax, just try and relax. Sit back in the driver's seat, look as if you're enjoying it."
"I am, I am," he replied clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles.
Jonas looked up from the view screen of the camcorder and pressed the stop button. He sighed, an inward smile spreading across his heart with a mix of tears as his emotions fought against each. He rubbed his eyes and placed the camera down on the bedside table.
Teal'c entered the Infirmary carrying a large tray of various foodstuffs; Jonas sat up in greeting, "hey."
The Jaffa acknowledged him with a nod, "I thought you might be hungry Jonas Quinn."
The Kelownan gave him a lopsided smile, "am I awake?" He said in jest.
Teal'c gave him a glimmer of a smile and place the tray on the bed for Jonas to examine, taking a handful of grapes.
"Daniel tells me that Huitzilopochtli could be, here, in Colorado Springs," Jonas said, opening one of the small portions of butter from the tray.
The Jaffa nodded, "he and Major Carter have been given permission to view the law enforcement files tomorrow, to see if the killing could be that of the Goa'uld "
Jonas picked up a slice of bread and began to spread the butter, "I wish I could go too," he reflected, "but I'm under strict instructions to see Dr Booard tomorrow."
"I believe that would be a wise precaution," the Jaffa replied.
Jonas folded the buttered bread over and devoured a large mouthful, "to see if I'm nuts or not?" He retorted, folding his eyebrows.
"Indeed," Teal'c said, without emotion.
Jonas stopped chewing for a moment and deliberated the Jaffa's straightforward answer with questioning eyes; Teal'c smiled, Jonas relaxed again taking another mouthful.
"So what have you and the Colonel got planned for tomorrow?" Jonas shifted in the bed, stretching slightly.
"We are waiting for a communication from Jacob Carter."
"S'hang?" Jonas enquired, sitting up straighter.
The Jaffa nodded, speaking softly, "yes, he has just contacted the Tok'ra. It is Osiris who has subjugated your home world."
"Using Anubis' Jaffa," the Kelownan contemplated.
"It would seem so," Teal'c confirmed. "We are waiting for S'hang to verify the coordinates to the false god's base of operation."
"Osiris isn't on Kelowna then?" Jonas asked.
"No it would appear that 'she' is keeping a low profile as not to alert the other System Lords to the occupation of your planet."
"And the Naquadria," the younger man added, brushing his hair back.
"It is a very powerful element," Teal'c ventured, "one you would not want your enemy to know about."
"Yeah," Jonas replied with a flick of an ironic smile.
Teal'c picked up a banana from the tray, peeled the skin back and broke off a mouthful, "what happens when the coordinates are received?" Jonas asked.
The Jaffa swallowed, "a small task force will be sent to verify the threat and what action needs to be taken to eliminate the Goa'uld. Osiris cannot be allowed to become as powerful as Anubis by using the resources of your planet."
"Maybe I'll get to go on that mission," Jonas considered, looking towards Teal'c.
"Maybe Jonas Quinn," his friend replied.
The Kelownan sighed and quickly looked over to where the camcorder sat, "but it doesn't end there, does it?" He stated.
"How so?" Teal'c asked placing the empty banana skin down on the tray.
Jonas shrugged, "we cut off the head of one Goa'uld and another one rises to take their place."
Teal'c pondered this for a moment and then spoke, "but each time we do, we free more people from their tyranny and add more allies for our fight. The Goa'uld's days are numbered, Jonas Quinn."
"And after?" Jonas posed, a sadness in his voice.
"Maybe we go home," the Jaffa said softly, looking into the future.
The Kelownan looked down at the tray but didn't really see it, "you are thinking of Cassandra Fraiser," Teal'c stated.
Jonas swallowed, "I, I guess." He looked up and gave the Jaffa a gentle smile, "I guess I feel that I'm not really sure where 'home' is any more."
"You will always be welcome on Earth, Jonas Quinn and Chulak of course," Teal'c bowed his head as he spoke.
The Kelownan gave his friend a poignant smile and rested his eyes.
-----------
Thanks for stopping by xx