Chapter 5

Answers and Unanswerable Questions

The floor rumbled and rattled under his cheek. Jack groaned as the noise sliced through his head causing waves of pain. It was as he tried to clench his fists, expecting to feel the metal of a floor that he realised something wasn't quite right about all of this.

The feeling of disquiet continued as he cracked open an eye, realising that this was not the floor of an APC, but a stone floor... A stone floor that was lit by only dim torches, gleaming in golden hues to his fuzzy senses.

The floor was still rumbling under his body as he slowly pushed himself upright, reaching up to feel the tender, sticky mess in his hair where he'd hit his head. His sluggish brain took a moment to process that the room wasn't moving along on wheels. He remembered that the room had been buried for nearly five thousand years! No, not moving as such... but still shaking, trembling and rumbling, as if some ancient god had stirred.

It was then that he could start to make out faint screams emerging from ouside; terror-filled screams that told Jack one thing. They were in danger. The question was, Goa'uld, or natural.

He rose somewhat unsteadily to his feet and moved through the two chambers to the entrance, squinting against the harsh brightness of the Greek sun. But he seemed to remember the sun being brighter than this. Carefully, but as quickly as he could, he turned towards the sky, then gasped in horror as he saw the huge sulfurous cloud that had started to form over the volcano.

"Not good!" he muttered, turning and heading back towards the ring transport. "Not good at all."

Jena was carefully packing the few crystals she could fit into her satchel. Now she understood where Daniel had been, it only served to make her sad. This miracle, this wonder of ancient technology wouldn't be shared with the public! Noone would EVER know what they had found. She picked up one of the crystals, sighing as she realised that it, too, was damaged. "I hope you can make sense of these, Daniel..." she muttered, carefully stowing it away with the others.

"Dr Rey!" the voice of Jack.. no, Colonel O'Neill cut through her thoughts. "Where're the others?" it wasn't a question that could be ignored, she felt, seeing the thread of panic in his eyes. "Tell me now." it brooked no argument, no question, she instead pointed towards the main chamber, where the others were trying to extract the device. "Good, now get back to the room where we arrived. That's an order, Doctor."

She blinked at him, hearing only the urgency in his voice. "What..?"

"There's no time! Move it!" he yelled, already heading away from her and towards the others.

-----

"There has to be some catch or something." Carter muttered once more, feeling around the pedestal of the display unit, as if the continued search would reveal that which simply wasn't present.

"How do you think we get the .. thing down?" Daniel asked.

"No time for that!" Jack said, running into the chamber. "Pick up what you can, we have to move!"

"What is it, O'Neill?" queried Teal'c, concerned by the agitation that the CO of SG-1 was exhibiting.

"The volcano is about to rip the island apart!" he said, picking up crystals and throwing them into the nearby satchel. He didn't care if they broke, or even if he missed some. The whole reason for the hurry was to save their lives.

"Damnit, just as we were getting somewhere." Daniel said, moving to stand next to Jack and take the bag from him. "And we haven't found another exit!" The expression on his face could only have been described as a pout.

Jack spared a moment to glare at Daniel, took a small step forward in anger, then said "Hurry up. We don't know how long the ring transport will remain intact."

Carter started to gather her few items, then cast a glance to Teal'c. "Let's move it, boys and girl..." Jack said, interrupting anything she might have said, before grasping at someone's wrist and pulling them along the corridors to the ring transport and the only way out of here.

The light of the transport faded, leaving the five travellers momentarily blinded. It was only because they were expecting the earth tremors that they remained upright. Sam grasped at the golden wall for support, then looked along her fingers to where the eyes of Horus seemed to be glowing.. pulsing. "Sir, this wasn't like that, before we left."

Jack turned, about to admonish Sam, when he realised she was right. "Yeah, well we ain't got time to dig it out!" he said, raising his voice above the noise. "IF this place's still standing, in a few days.. and IF we can get here, then MAYBE we'll figure out what's behind that thing. Right now we're all makin' a run for that Hewey and gettin' our butts outta here, before they're blown half-way across the world!"

Sam blinked at her CO, then with a small start realised that the others were already running for the exit and that, if she didn't hurry, she'd be left behind.

"Yessir." she said to his retreating back, starting to run herself.

The thick, pungent stench of the volcanic gasses filled the air with an acrid taste that brought tears to the eyes. "Cover your faces!" Jack ordered, pulling his bandanna out and tying it around his mouth and nose. Too much exposure to this wouldn't be good, for any of them; considering the carcinogens within volcanic smoke.

Daniel slipped, unfortunately landing heavily on the bag as he landed, a soft sound of pain coming from him as the crystals within dug deeply into his hip. Standing, it was now obvious that he wasn't going to keep up. But the noise of the volcano was getting louder, none of the others seemed to notice that he'd dropped behind.

Red flecks had started to dance within the smoke, like motes of iridescent fire, bouyed by the heat and the wind. Daniel paused a moment, letting the pain in his hip fade a little, but it was then that he saw it. The explosion, miles out to sea, that blew the top off the caldera of the Santorin volcano. Daniel gasped as a geyser of molten lava gushed skywards, plummeting back to the earth in a searing moment of destruction. "Thank god we're on the other side of the island.." he muttered, a short prayer of thanks for his life. He shook his head, moving through the miasma of smoke, coughing as he passed through thickened ash which stung his eyes, burned his throat and made him want to throw up. But he wouldn't let it get to him. He had too much that was precious on him to leave it behind.

"Jack!" he yelled, the smoke closing around, too thick to see. "Jack, where are you?" his voice echoed back, reflected after only a short distance, the sound deadened by the emissions from the darkness. A moment of panic wrapped it's icy grip around Daniel's heart, as he briefly entertained the idea that he'd been left behind.

"DanielJackson.." he heard, close to his ear. Teal'c reached over and grabbed the archaeologist's wrist, pulling him towards the airfield. Another explosion rocked the island, as the volcano released more of it's dazzling streams of destruction.

Both men stumbled, unbalanced by the sudden lurching of the island. What god had it in for Daniel that he would have to die like this? The thought, vehemently harsh, was fleeting as he realised he could finally hear the thrumming sound of the chopper blades.

Teal'c helped Daniel to climb to the back of the chopper, then swung the doors shut, effectively stopping more smoke from entering this small haven.

As they rose to the sky, Daniel watched in horrified awe as the extent of the damage was revealed. The island heaved and bucked under the explosions of the newly awakened Santorin, rivulets of lava running from newly formed cracks in the island's surface; destroying anything in it's path.

"No..." he whimpered, a sentiment shared by the equally distraught Jena. Daniel closed his eyes, trying not to picture the untamed destruction happening below.

Daniel lifted his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. Writing reports was certainly not his idea of fun. Tired eyes alit on the crystals that lay on the desk in front of him. To see the damage that had been done to them all made his heart ache. How many had been destroyed as a result of the accidental fall that Daniel had made, while fleeing the devestation? He sighed, looking at the coloured shards that lay on the black velvet of his presentation case. Just three whole crystals left and that truly was a disaster.

Daniel hoped that Jacob would come, perhaps with Anise, to investigate what they had found, or the destruction of Santorini would have been for nothing.

Blue eyes sought out the printed report, detailing that nearly 90 of the island had literally vaporised, or been sunk beneath the sea; lost without trace. Daniel lowered his eyes and for a long moment rested his head in his arms, dejected and feeling sad that so much had gone wrong.

-----

1538 BC.

"Tell me, Heru-akhen" Ra said as he rose from his elaborate throne. "Is the deed done? Does my grand-son lay dead?"

Heru-akhen knelt before the God to whom he had sworn fealty. He honestly did not know the answer. However, in Heru-akhen's experience, Ra may be angered when his agent didn't know the answer. He would turn murderous if his agent lied to him.

"Oh, mighty Ra, I do not know." Heru-akhen shrank back a little, unnerved by the proximity of his God. "I planted all of the devices, both in the volcano and within the chamber; along with those planted at the hidden base. Alas, I have no way of knowing if he was present when I collapsed the tunnels."

Ra paused, the dead eyes of his mask gazing impassively on the man who had pledged to betray his old master. "Heru-akhen, you have done well."

The words caused the misbegotten traitor to feel lighter of heart.

"As I promised, you shall be rewarded." Stepping forward, Ra raised his hand to his new slave's head, the garnet of his jewelery gleaming as a short burst of pain lept forward to incapacitate Heru-akhen. "You shall become host to my new son." he whispered.

Turning, Ra's robes whispered on the ground as the Jaffa priestess that carried the lava approached. "It is your time, daughter. Relinquish the burden you have carried and let your life be complete."

The priestess stepped forward and knelt beside the unconscious Heru-akhen. Lifting aside the veils surrounding her belly, she let the lava within emerge into daylight. With the speed of thought, the snake-like body pierced the neck of Heru-akhen and vanished into the flesh of his new host.

"No more does Heru-akhen exist, my son..." Ra intoned as the new Goa'uld rose from the floor. "You are Heru-ur. And yours shall become the truth behind the myth of Horus. None other shall bear that name."

"Yes, Father. Please, teach me what I must know to do your will."

-----

"So, sir" reported Janet as SG-1 listened to the medical debrief, "the damage done by the smoke was only minor and there should be no lingering effects as a result."

"Very good, Doctor," the General said, nodding in satisfaction and a small amount of pleasure that his best and brightest wouldn't suffer as a result of this small escapade.

The General cast his gaze along the table, watching as Daniel covered his mouth to cough. Sitting next to him, Teal'c glanced at his team mate, while Sam pushed a glass of water closer.

Jack had closed his eyes, trying not to show how tired he felt. Ten hours of jet-lag was a real bitch and they'd only been back a few moments.

Beside Jack, still wide-eyed and nervous about the whole thing, sat Jeanie, looking between all of the military personnel.. but her eyes were drawn to the open window and the large 'gate just beyond. She couldn't help it, it was as if this gargantuan device held her in a hypnotic thrall.

Steam started to emerge from the clamps at the sides of the device and Jeanie watched as it seemed to move, a circle of glyphs running around the edge and literally twisting. The loud grind of metal on metal was overshadowed by an announcement that made all of the military people rise to their feet. "Incoming traveller!" came across the tannoy and Jeanie watched as a troop of guards swarmed into the hanger below them and raised their guns to aim at the 'gate. More metal slid over metal as a shield emerged from the sides of the circle. Jeanie watched as a light flared up behind the gate, eyes wide. It took the voice of Daniel to draw her from the trance. "Beautiful, isn't it"
he murmered.

Jeanie looked up at him, then nodded wordlessly. "This.. is what you told me about, isn't it?"

Daniel nodded, watching as the iris opened again and the troops relaxed a little. "Yes, the StarGate. And our guests are about to arrive."

"Who is that?" she said, gesturing down to the three figures that had just emerged. "They look human.. for a moment I thought that they'd be little grey men."

"Those would be the Asgard, Dr Rey," Jack said with a smile for her perplexed look. "The little grey men?" he said, still grinning "They're called the Asgard. The men below are... mostly human. We call them the Tok'ra."

Jeanie frowned again "Those who are against Ra?" she translated, shaking her head. This was a confusing new world.

Jacob looked up at the conference room and waved to his daughter, a simple smile of joy forming from the fact that she looked well and mostly happy.

The lights glinted off the arrayed crystals on the desk. Most of them were chipped, cracked and some were shattered, from Daniel's fall.

"And these were on Earth?" Jacob asked again. "Where, exactly?"

Everyone listened as Daniel related the tale once more. "And there were more left, along with some sort of projection device. I just wish we'd had time to bring them back, too."

"Sir?" Sam queried, looking at her team mates and then her father. "I think I have an idea of where we were." There was a faint hesitation in her voice, but she ploughed on. "We know that there's been some activity in Antarctica, since that's where we found that StarGate. Now, we also know that a tranporter beam can pass through solid matter, like the floors of a ship, or the hull of a ship. By that token, can we assume that it could possibly pass through a section of a planet?" she looked to her dad for aid here, trying to think through her hypothesis.

"Maybe, Sam... I mean, we Tok'ra use the rings to transport from our tunnels to the surface of our planets. So yeah, I don't see why not, if there's enough power, of course."

Sam nodded, moving to the white board and drawing a circle. She marked a point on one side of it. "Here's Santorini." she said, "About 35 degrees latitude, by about 25 longitude. That's right, isn't it Daniel?" The archaeologist nodded. "So..." Sam said, drawing a line towards the south of the circle. "It'd have to pass through a rather large section of the planet. But there's a huge thermal source of energy near here, as well as any naquadah devices that were buried in the area where the ring transport was. I noticed that the eyes of the image were glowing, almost pulsing, as we left. I wonder if that's the power source?"

"It's a resonable assumption, Sam." Jacob mused quietly. "It could explain a lot of our own mythology, too."

Sam looked up, suddenly remembering the images they had seen. "Dad, Egeria was here, on Earth... whenever Horus was here."

Jacob blinked, then his eyes glowed as Selmak took over. "Egeria's presence here is something that we had no knowledge of. Do you know who held her captive?"

"No, noone, Selmak. That's what I was trying to say. Horus and she seemed to be lovers. Or something, anyway." Sam gestured to one of the crystals. "It's on one of those, a cracked one. We saw her taking a box from Horus, then heading away from the main control room."

"Could it have been before she birthed us?" Selmak queried of his companions, but all they could offer was a small shrug and puzzled looks. This memory did not exist within them, so surely there was more to this than met the eye.

Jacob stepped forward as Daniel handed him a green, cracked crystal. "This one, I think." the archaeologist said.

"George, could we take these crystals?" Jacob asked, looking at his old friend. "We have devices that can read these, back on the base."

"Sir, these were our finds. How can we be sure that the Tok'ra will share everything that they find out?" Jack's paranoia made Jacob start. Sometimes he forgot that the Tau'ri had been betrayed through this alliance.

"You could always come and watch as we learn from these. However, there will be many hours, for each crystal."

"So what? We just give these to you? Trust that you and your scientists will tell us everything?"

"Jack, we aren't exactly in a position to come to Earth to continue the investigations."

"Save it, Jacob. With respect, I want our people in on this."

Jacob sighed and shook his head. "I will have to talk to the council, Jack. You know how they react to the idea of sharing knowledge and technology."

"Yeah, well, not this time." Jack said defiantly. "We found this stuff, so you're obliged to share with us."

"Then let us hope that the council shares your sense of justice."

FIN