1590 A.D.
Ambrose carefully set a large piece of wood on a tree stump, and stood back to take a swing with his ax. Just as he was about to lift the ax above his head, he heard a voice shouting from the distance.
Startled, Ambrose turned to see his daughter running as hard as she could towards him, her dress flapping against the wind. Elizabeth was out of breath when she finally reached her father's side.
"Good heavens child! What's wrong?"
"Father, it comes!"
"The ship?"
"No! I don't know what it is. But it's headed this way! We must warn the others."
In an instant, Ambrose dropped his ax and headed inside the house to get his musket. His daughter didn't scare easily, so whatever she was talking about was bound to be bad.
Ambrose had just stepped back outside when heard a thunderous roar from the east that seemed to get louder and louder. This was soon accompanied by the trembling of the earth beneath him.
'What on earth is going on?' Ambrose wondered fleetingly as he and several other men from the colony made their way to the gates of the wooden barrier that surrounded the Roanoke colony. Looking out, they could see a dark triangular shape moving towards them at an incredible speed.
Ambrose took a shaky breath as he looked around at the colony. In light of what was happening, he knew the wall would never be enough to defend them from whatever it was that was coming.
With a large rush of water-like energy, the Stargate activated. Thomas Brooke and Robert Viccars stood by to see SG-1 off.
"Thanks for the ore, fellas." Jack said. "We'll be back in a little while to make sure Morrigan doesn't come back for it."
"And to talk some more about your ancestors." Daniel added.
With that, the four of them stepped through the sparkling blue puddle and reemerged back on earth.
Daniel was looking forward to his post-mission exam, hoping he would get a chance to talk to Janet. He hated that things weren't right between them, and he planned to fix that as soon as possible.
But unfortunately, when he got to the infirmary, he found that she'd already left the mountain for the night. Figures. Daniel sighed, and resisted the urge to call her at home. He really needed to apologize face to face. She deserved no less for his behavior. He looked at the clock on the infirmary wall, if he left as soon as his examination was over…
Jack was sitting on the bed right in front of Daniel. Glancing backwards he caught the far-away look in his friend's eye. "Sorry, Daniel, I know you wanna go see Doc, but it'll have to wait. If this stuff is half as good as Carter thinks it is, Hammond wants us to go back to that planet ASAP."
"I can be back in time…"
"Daniel…" Jack said, using the warning tone he'd patented just for Daniel. "You look exhausted. The only place you're going is to your quarters for some shut-eye."
"But Jack…"
"Ah!" Jack said, holding up his hand. "Shut-eye!"
"Fine." Daniel mumbled.
"So, what'd you find out about the naquadah, Carter?" Jack asked.
Sam looked confused by this and she raised her eyebrows in a silent question.
"The General wants to know…" Jack admitted.
"Ah." Sam said, nodding her head in understanding. "Well, sir, from what I can tell this naquadah contains a special ion in its molecular structure. Basically it has more protons per molecule than normal naquadah."
Jack stared at her blankly.
Sam took a deep breath and continued. "When introduced to energy particles, it has the capability of producing a massive amount of energy because the extra protons cause a greater reaction."
"Carter, how do you know that?"
"Well, sir, it appears the molecular makeup of the ion is very similar to the substance the Tollan used in their ion cannons."
"The big honkin' space guns?"
"Yes, sir." Sam said, trying to hide a smile. "I happened to come across the specs for them the last time we were on Tollana. It's not exactly the same…but it's based on the same principles."
"Uh-huh….so…the stuff's good?"
"Yeah, I'd say so, sir."
"What about the earthquakes?"
"Well, sir, shifts in tectonic plates are normal. It will make mining the ore more of a risk, but precautions can be taken to reduce the risk significantly. My main concern is for the safety of the village."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, sir, living so close to such a volatile form of naquadah…I can't imagine any good coming from it."
"Well, Hammond wants us to go back and negotiate with the locals for the ore. Gear up, and when we get there we can discuss some options with them."
"Yes, sir."
"What the hell?" Jack said aloud, as they watched a departing Al'kesh disappear into the sky.
Carter automatically glanced at her watch. "Their shipment to Morrigan is about 3 hours late."
"Damn, she sics her jaffa after them over 3 lousy hours!" Quickly making a decision, Jack turned to Sam and Daniel. "You go ahead and see what happened. We'll dial home and tell Hammond there's been Gould activity in the area and request backup and a med team. Teal'c and I will wait here and lead them to the village."
"Yes, sir." Sam said as she and Daniel turned and hurried towards the village.
"You!" A voice shouted. "You have brought this upon us!"
They had barely entered the village when they heard the angry voice. They turned to see Edmond Gibbes pointing at them. He was standing amongst many other male villagers, all of whom had turned to see who it was Edmond was shouting at.
"You promised us she would not return! You promised to protect our people! Look at what you have done!"
Daniel and Sam looked around the village, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. In fact, there weren't any visible signs that anything was wrong. That is…other than the haunted look that was reflecting in the villager's eyes.
"What happened?" Daniel asked, as he and Sam approached the ranting man.
"She returned! And brought the curse upon us!"
"Curse?" Sam asked, looking at Daniel.
Daniel shrugged slightly. "What curse? If something has happened, we may be able to help."
Wordlessly, Edmond pointed to the tree that stood in the middle of the village square. Carved on it was a familiar word, 'Croa'tan'.
"Croa'tan?" Daniel asked. "Croa'tan is a curse?"
Edmond nodded. "And there is only one thing that can save us. We must offer Morrigan a sacrifice so that she will lift the curse of Croa'tan from us."
"Sam! Daniel! You have returned!"
Turning at the sound of a new voice, they saw Thomas Brooke running towards them. "You must do something to help us."
"First tell us what happened."
A crackling of the radio caught Daniel and Sam's attention. "Hey kids," Jack said through the static. "Be advised. We've got SG-3, Doc, and SG-8 on the way."
Daniel felt his stomach flutter nervously. Jack said 'Doc', meaning Janet…and they still hadn't spoken since their fight. Daniel hoped he would get the chance to talk to her while she was here. He desperately needed her to know that she was important to him. Very important. He kicked himself once again for making her doubt that for even a minute.
"Understood, sir." Carter replied into her radio.
"Come," Thomas Brooke said. "We have much to talk about, and the middle of the village is not the place for it." With that, he turned and led Sam and Daniel down a series of narrow streets.
Soon they arrived at his modest wooden home on the far side of the village. Once settled in, Thomas turned to his visitors. "I'm not exactly sure where I should begin."
Daniel took a deep breath and began. "Well, first things first, what can you tell us about this curse?"
"Not much, I'm afraid. There are stories, of course. But much of it is merely legend. Each family has a different rendering of the stories of the ancestors."
"When we first met, Robert Viccars mentioned a journal. What was he talking about?"
Thomas Brooke looked around nervously and took a deep breath, "Morrigan thought that fear of the unknown would cause our people to serve her more fully. She ordered our ancestors never to speak of the specific events leading up to their coming to this place."
"Obviously they defied her order." Sam said.
"Yes. Stories of Earth and a curse circulated throughout the following generations, each somewhat different, and none with much detail. However, one family in particular rebelled against Morrigan's orders, the Viccars."
"Robert's ancestors." Daniel stated.
Thomas shook his head. "No, Elyn's. Robert has a brother to continue his family name, but Elyn did not. Robert took her surname to preserve it."
"I see. So Elyn's ancestors wrote down the stories that they were told?"
"Not exactly." Thomas replied. "You see, the journal is a first-hand account of what happened, and how our people came to be here. But, when Morrigan found out, she was furious and she unleashed the curse among the ancestors. She swore that only a substantial sacrifice would cause her anger to turn back."
"What happened?"
"A sacrifice was made." Thomas said sadly. "A beam of light carried away one of Elyn's ancestors. No one knows what became of her." Thomas shook his head, and continued the story. "After her sacrifice, the ancestors burned the journal before Morrigan's eyes. Then she lifted the curse from them."
"So…if the journal was destroyed, how do you have it?" Daniel asked.
"Apparently Elyn's ancestor had kept two journals." Thomas smiled. "Which merely goes to show you the stubbornness of that family. One of the journals was found by Morrigan and destroyed, but the other one was hidden away. Only a few of us even know it exists."
"Who exactly knows about it?" Sam asked.
"Not many, the three of us that you met in the forest, Robert, Edmond, and myself…and Elyn of course. And now the two of you. Not even the elders are aware of its existence. But while we know of it, none of us have ever read in it. We were afraid that Morrigan would somehow find out." Thomas shook his head in frustration. "But all this history does not matter. Morrigan has returned and released the curse!"
"Yes, what happened?"
"A craft, the likes of which I had never seen before, came from the sky. A loud booming voice could be heard for miles around. It was Morrigan. She said that for our defiance we would be punished. A beam of light came from the craft, and she and two others suddenly appeared before us. She held out a hand and carved the curse into the tree. Then she used a device on her hand against us, and then she was gone."
"Sounds like a ribbon device." Sam said to Daniel. He nodded. "Who did she hurt?"
"Elyn Viccars…poor child isn't doing well at all."
"Oh God." Daniel said, jumping up. With one look at Sam, they both headed towards the door. "Thanks for you help, Thomas." Daniel said as they left his home.
"Jack!" Daniel called over the radio. "We just found out that Morrigan used a ribbon device on Elyn Viccars. We're going to check on her now, but get Janet and the med team to her house as soon as you can."
"Copy that." They heard Jack reply as they took off down the street towards Robert and Elyn's house.