Pentavus

Chapter 10

Again he felt that queasy feeling as Jordan emerged from the puddle. He was surprised as his eyes met an orange light, and as they adjusted he saw that the light was in fact coming from the rocks themselves. Here and there, a 'bulb' rock glowed, lighting the passages.

Jordan looked back at the Stargate. It was obviously of a different network than that on earth—the yellow chevrons and odd design gave that away easily.

"Damn hot, isn't it?" George grunted as he, too emerged.

"So true." Marcus uttered the first words he had since his travel to Pentavus.

It was indeed sweltering. The air was moist and it made the heat stifling. Jordan was about to remove his outer Kevlar before he realized where he was.

He was somewhere evil.

Jordan dug his hand into his pocket and grasped the small packet. It contained ten bottles of The Poison and several clips of ammunition coated in it. He removed one of the clips and loaded it into his gun. The others, who had similar packets with them, did the same as the gate disengaged.

He looked around. "Well, let's go." They headed down the passage.

Marcus suddenly threw out a hand. "No."

Jordan looked at him. "What is it?"

Marcus pointed at a few stones lining the passage. They were sparkly and purple. "Nocca stones."

"What?"

Marcus looked at him gravely. "Father told me of these. Watch." He removed a small pebble from his coat and tossed it down the passage.

The purple rocks suddenly shuddered and leapt up, grabbing the pebble with large teeth and mouths that appeared in the side. Then, realizing that the pebble was inedible, they spat it back towards Marcus.

Marcus looked at them sheepishly. "Very dangerous things. We shouldn't go this way."

George coughed. "Ya think?"

They headed back to the Stargate and passed through it down the other passage.

My liege, they have arrived.

Good. Bring them to me.

They are armed with weapons that—

Our weapons are far superior. And we are one. While I live, you live.

They have The Poison

Let them come. They will not defeat me.

"Is it me," George remarked, "Or is it just a bit too quiet here, you know, surrounded by darkness and evil?"

Right on cue, the Methra appeared, carrying large, complicated-looking weapons. They were dressed alike, and looked like green humans wrapped in aluminum foil.

"You-will-come-with-us," the creature said in its robotic voice.

Jordan sneered. "I doubt it."

"You-will-come-with-us-now."

"Again, I don't think so."

He raised his Poison-loaded gun and fired. Dodging out of the way as not to be hit by the laser blasts, he opened fire again as Pentavus-1 scattered behind rocks. The first three went down easily.

Hallie and George opened fire as well. Six more went down just as ten more appeared from the passage.

Marcus pulled from his pocket a small, spherical device. He turned it on and tossed it. "Cover your ears!"

They all did so just as the blast went off. Then there was silence.

Jordan raised his head and removed his hands from his ears. The Methra were all lying, unconscious, on the cave floor.

Jordan picked up the device and handed it to Marcus. "What is that?"

"It is a frequency conveyor. It sends out a signal that disrupts the Methra's thought processes, rendering them unconscious."

"Nice."

They continued down the passage until they reached a dead end.

Jordan and Hallie sighed. "Okay," George said, "There's killer rocks on one side and a dead end on the other. What now?"

A voice called out from above them. "THIS!!!"

Pentavus-1 didn't even get a chance to look up before they were enveloped in darkness.