A/N: Again, my great thanks to those of you who review. I hold you in high esteem. --your humble author
Chapter Eight: Some Are Gold
"Something's bothering me," Jack voiced as they trudged through the tall grass. It had been bothering him ever since they were captured. Actually, numerous things were bothering him, not the least of which was whether Daniel was actually alive, if so, his state of mind, and how on Earth they were going to successfully pull off a search and rescue.
"I, too, am troubled, O'Neill."
"What's bugging you?"
Teal'C frowned. He did not appreciate idioms very much, even when he knew what they meant. "I am…bugged by the presence of militant Jaffa. If Daniel Jackson were correct in his theory, the larva that went through the Stargate thousands of years ago would already have matured, thereby populating this planet with full-grown Goa'ulds."
"Unless the Jaffa killed them."
"That is improbable given that, by the time the Goa'ulds reached maturity, they would have assumed their hosts' minds, as well as bodies. And it is also unlikely that the Jaffa killed their larva, since that would result in an excruciating death and render the population significantly smaller. However, I believe that Daniel Jackson was correct in his assessment that Goa'ulds and Jaffa came here."
Jack and Sam stopped in their trek. It wasn't like Teal'C to avoid a simple answer, but he seemed to need to think the matter out; Jack guessed he had interrupted his friend's thoughts when he voiced his own concern. Still, he wasn't in the mood. "Feel free to clarify."
"The Jaffa have tattoos on their foreheads."
He didn't get it at all. But Carter did, which kind of ticked him off. "Oh my gosh! There's a ruling Goa'uld here."
"Yes."
"It's been a long day; would someone mind being explicit?"
Sam nodded. "When someone becomes a Jaffa, he has the tattoo that represents his specific Goa'uld placed on his forehead. Given that Teal'C's was inlaid with molten gold, this isn't the kind of thing anybody would willingly do for fun, especially not if that someone had fought against and escaped from his previous "god." And they're too well organized to be in factions, like we encounter with the System Lords; there's a single Goa'uld ruling here."
"All right, then. Our first order of business is to get back our weapons—or any weapons for that matter. After that we can save Danny. Carter, when we get there, you keep your eyes peeled for weapons caches, hiding places within their village, and where Daniel might be. Teal'C I want an assessment of the Jaffa forces and what you think they're capable of; also, I want you alert us as to possible ambushes or if we're being followed. I'm gonna try to find whoever's in charge and put a large hole in his stomach. Everybody understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"I comprehend, O'Neill."
"And when we get where we're going, do not stray too far in your reconnaissance; the goal here is to bring the number of neutralized team members down to zero. Now, let's keep moving because it's a long walk."
They filed on in silent rumination.
His brain slammed into the wall of consciousness with a thud and he gasped, but didn't move. Danny wondered if it were possible to be in more pain. Every single nerve begged him to blackout again. Yet…it could have been worse. He distinctly recalled a couple minutes of agony while Qingu lingered at the door. Daniel could still hear his own screams and the soft chuckling of his captor. Then, as soon as the door closed, the source of the pain seemed to weaken to a fraction of its former strength. It still hurt, of course. Tears still streamed down his face. He still cried out. But he could breathe; he could think past the pain a little.
Suddenly, he had another person's face right in his own.
"You are awake?"
Ekur. "I'm not dead." His voice came out as a raspy whisper due to the wear on his throat. "What did that tool do to me?"
"It causes injury to…the inside of the body." He held a glass of what looked like water to Daniel's mouth. "Drink this," Ekur urged and gave his prisoner an imploring stare. Danny obeyed and found the liquid nauseatingly bitter.
"What do you know about the machine Qingu is going to use?
"Nothing. I have no need to know."
They sat in silence. Slowly, Danny began to feel a little drowsy and, more importantly, less pained. Obviously, whatever Ekur had put in the drink was meant to be an act of kindness. Languidly, Daniel pointed to the door, then to his eyes, and finally wagged his finger between the two of them. The Jaffa shook his head; no, no one was watching them. After a few more charades-type movements, they established that they could point at will, but not speak.
Phrasing his words carefully, Daniel mentioned, "The tool you used is very painful."
"It is designed to inflict the maximum amount of damage possible without killing the person, although that is usually dependent upon medical care. My Lord Qingu used the highest setting when he dispatched your punishment. Some transgressions do not call for such severity, but you were blasphemous, impudent, and stubborn."
"So, it has different levels?"
"Yes."
They stared at each other for a moment. Was Daniel interpreting Ekur's body language and actions correctly? Surely this meant that mercy had been shown and the young Jaffa could be trusted somewhat. Danny sagged against the rocky floor; Ekur's potion hardly killed the pain, but it relieved some.
"Tell me about yourself."
Ekur looked surprised. No one had ever asked him about his life. "What—what do you want to know?"
"Well, how long ago were you born? What do you like and dislike? Do you have a family? What do you do in your spare time?"
"I was born twenty years ago. I like…" He stopped to think for a moment, and Daniel thought, briefly, that his new friend might mention jazz and moonlit walks on the beach. "I like to eat. And to play with my son."
"You have a son?"
"Yes, Melammu. He is one year old." Ekur beamed. "He is already very strong; one day he will grow up to be Qingu's prime, I think." The beaming stopped for a second as a shadow passed over his face. Then he continued, having covered his doubt in a mental shroud. "He is big, like I am, but attractive—like his mother." Another grin, this one a bit more sly. "Do you have a wife and children?"
Daniel laughed weakly. "No, no. I—" Wait. He was married. To someone, somewhere, supposedly. "I…have a wife. I guess. I mean, I told you my memory was damaged, but I understand that I did get married. I don't think we have children, though." He shook his head wearily. He had trouble keeping track of sleeping and eating. Now they expected him to remember two lives? The current one being distinctly unpleasant, which Danny hadn't thought possible, considering his life from ages eight to 22.
"Tell me about your planet?
Daniel thought for a moment. "Gosh, that's an extremely broad question. Well, the terrain looks very similar, which is to be expected on planets inhabiting life. And we don't have any…beings like Qingu, unless you count dictators, which seem to be a proliferate bunch. For the most part, Earth is inhabited completely and divided into different sized countries of varying strength." He paused. What else was there to say? Was he expected to go into detail on the sociological aspects of thousands of cultures? It certainly didn't matter to Ekur. What would? "Y'know, you came from Earth."
"No, I was born here."
"Oh, I don't mean you specifically. I'm talking about your ancestors." This only served to produce a mien of confusion in Ekur. "Let me try to explain: About 6500 years ago, there existed a country called Sumeria. It would later become part of the Babylonian Empire, then the Assyrian Empire, then the neo-Babylonian empire, followed by part of Greece, and, of course, part of Rome, eventually, then part of dar-al-Islam, which led it to be a part of the Ottoman Empire, although they were defeated in World War II, which caused the lands to fall primarily under British control, even when the Iraqi monarchy was established—it ruled under the authority of the British Empire—until the Ba'ath party took over and established modern-day Iraq as it now is." Danny stopped again. The look on confusion had grown steadily. "Right. Sorry. I'll try and stick to the main points.
"The Sumerians recorded their beliefs in the Enuma Elish. The tablets tell the story of a great battle between the gods. You see, Tiamat was the chief goddess who had given birth to later gods; she had a great deal of power. Enki—a younger god—killed Tiamat's mate, Apsu, because Apsu was planning to murder all of the younger gods. This so enraged Tiamat that she waged war on those responsible and created from her own being—you have to understand that she was like a primordial entity—ghastly monsters: Serpents, dragons, scorpion-men, demons, and similar creatures to fight under her new mate and general, Qingu."
Daniel paused to let the revelation take effect. It did not. The expression on Ekur's face had gone from intense bewilderment to a sort-of disconcerted intensity. But he didn't seem surprised to find out about Qingu's involvement. Himself confused, Danny continued.
"Tiamat gave Qingu the Tablets of Destiny, which indwelt considerable power in him. And for a short time, their victory seemed assured; Qingu's strategy of confusing the other gods worked. Unfortunately for them, this didn't last and Tiamat was forced to battle Marduk—he headed the opposing gods—which led to her death. The rest of the story follows that Marduk used Qingu's blood to create the first humans, but that theory doesn't hold much weight among scientists. However, if my hypothesis is correct, the battle and defeat truly happened and Qingu, learning of Tiamat's demise, fled to this planet to escape Marduk's wrath. With him, he brought your forefathers. Hence, you come from Earth."
Daniel smiled weakly. "Now, try to understand that I'm only just beginning to comprehend what's going on. I mean, in one day, I've had it proven to me that there's life on other planets, I travel the galaxy, and Earth's ancient myths are more…historical fiction than anything else. This isn't set in stone. Er—except for the Enuma Elish, since it was written on tablets. What do you think?"
"You," the Jaffa stated vehemently, "shall never speak again! Do not talk of this!"
Daniel could only gawk. Crap! What had he done this time to elicit such a reaction? "I—I'm sorry," he faltered, holding his hands up in a pacifying surrender. "Whatever I did, I didn't mean—"
"Do not talk!" he shouted, standing up and aiming his staff weapon at the prisoner's head, for emphasis. "Such a thing never happened! You lie about my Lord Qingu!" For a moment, he struggled with his thoughts, and emotions flew over his face so quickly that Daniel couldn't assign one a name before another appeared. Finally, he bent down and pushed the aching archaeologist so hard against the wall that Danny thought he might be sick from the pain. "You are a liar," he whispered.
Ekur left without another word, leaving Daniel confused and scared.
Qingu's prime, Telal, retrieved the young man a few hours later. As Telal led him to the town square, Danny shook uncontrollably from the combination of physical torment and the understanding that he would soon die. He could barely walk and had to stop and throw-up half way there. When they arrived, he could see Qingu, a few priests and priestesses, and about ten other Jaffa waiting. In the very middle of their loose circle sat a large machine, which reminded Daniel of the bed Dr. Frankenstein used to make his monster in every movie. The uncanny resemblance continued down to the hand and foot shackles that would soon bind him.
While Telal locked him in place, Qingu positioned two electrodes on his temples. Sitting in a chair, the Goa'uld repeated the process on his own head, then turned to give his victim a smug look of superiority.
"Inside of you is the history of your entire planet. Everything humans have experienced and everything you have done are buried deep you. And, of course, your personal interactions, though momentarily forgotten, are exactly what this machine will entice from you. I hope the knowledge in your mind is worth this, young one. I am sure you do not wish to die for nothing."
"If—if you were really a g-g-god, you would—wouldn't have to d-do this."
Qingu's eyes narrowed and he reached for the lever next to him.
Jack, Sam, and Teal'C watched helplessly from a short distance. They could find absolutely no weapons except for rocks, which didn't stand much of a chance against even antique staff weapons. But they needed to do something, because each clearly understood the process before them would result in Daniel's death.
"Sir?" Sam questioned, hoping he might magically remember a stash of weapons in his pocket. Or at least that he might have a brilliant plan.
"We need to go down there."
"But we're unarmed."
"I know that, Captain. However, we need to do something, despite having nothing. If only they didn't know that." His thoughts drifted aimlessly for a solution and made a quick detour around the random Star Trek episode he'd seen only a couple nights before. Could it possibly work? He looked down at his wristwatch and pondered its usefulness. Had Qingu ever see The Corbomite Maneuver? "They don't know we don't have weapons. What if we led them to believe we did?"
"With what do you propose this, O'Neill?"
"Just follow my lead," Jack said, stepping determinedly forward.
They appeared just as Qingu's hand gripped the lever. The self-proclaimed god stopped and turned to face his guests with a slight smile. His head cocked as he noticed the humans holding their wrists and the Jaffa with some small package in one of his hands.
"You are utterly predictable," Qingu murmured satisfactorily.
"Only if you counted on us having weapons when we showed up."
Qingu raised an eyebrow and Daniel looked confused. He couldn't see terribly well without his glasses, which they had removed, but it seemed that Captain Carter and Colonel O'Neill were merely holding their wristwatches while Teal'C—Danny squinted harder—was he holding a chocolate bar?
"And you think you can somehow defeat me with those pitiful weapons? Against my many Jaffa who would incinerate you the minute you take your aim? You are gravely mistaken."
"We don't want to kill you. Actually, we do, but we won't if you give him back. Then we'll go and you'll stay and everyone will be happy and alive."
The god dropped his gaze down to Daniel, whose pale face accentuated his large eyes. Qingu's expression turned patronizingly soft. "Tell me, child, do they possess any weapons with which to free you? I should certainly think not, given how long they've waited to make use of such tools."
Danny gaped for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Of course they do! They're not crazy enough to come here without weapons! Well, one of them might be, but the others aren't. Let me go and you can go back to deceiving your followers uninterrupted."
A tense moment passed, then another. Daniel lay, praying. Teal'C, Sam, and Jack stood stock-still, also praying. Qingu eyed not only SG1, but his Jaffa. He could not back down. If he backed down, he would lose all credibility. And if he lost all credibility, that would be a fate worse than death.
Just as he prepared to order his Jaffa to shoot the intruders, Ekur stepped behind them with a staff weapon, which he thrust into Sam's back. Ekur smiled graciously at his god.
"You may proceed as you intended, my Lord."
Qingu's smirk spoke volumes more than Ekur's ingratiating grin. Not only did he now have all of SG1 under his control and the situation resolved without losing any face, he also had the assurance of Ekur's loyalty.
With that, Qingu leaned back in his chair and threw the lever.
A bright light fell on Daniel's face from above. At the same time, it felt as though a knife ground right through his skull. His body stiffened and his eyes grew wider as their pupils dilated. In that instant, he found himself standing in a hallway.
Light illuminated the hallway in the same manner that the sun lights a stretch of snow, and the corridor went on at both ends so that no echo could be made. As he grew accustomed to the brightness, he looked around and beheld absolutely nothing; no doors, no windows, no paneling, nothing except an expanse of white. Slowly, he turned to look behind him and found himself face-to-face with a mirror. Only, instead of his reflection, he saw what could only be described as the head of the alien from Aliens. Dimly, he realized it had to be Qingu.
Danny backed up against the wall behind him. He could feel Qingu's presence in his brain and it terrified him. It was like having his greatest depressions drudged up to be relived in self-loathing. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, images began to flash on the mirror, all while Qingu's image remained like a watermark.
He saw Ancient Sumer, Egypt, Israel, Britain, China, India—everything. From country to country, images flashed across the mirror at warp speed and in chronological order. With the pictures, information relayed itself into both minds and the impact of experiencing human history in seconds left Daniel slowly sliding down the wall. His brain simply could not process all the information it received. He felt himself fall to the ground as his personal history hit his fading consciousness, although it didn't seem possible that he could lose consciousness in his own mind.
Then, suddenly, the two were torn apart with such ferocity that Danny's residual awareness found the means of relaying how painful the separation felt. His corporeal body promptly fell limp.
In the real world, tables had turned quickly. As soon as Qingu threw the lever, and while his Jaffa stood entranced by the procedure, Ekur pulled a zat out of his robes and covertly placed it in Jack's hand, which rested by his side. He also removed two pistols and quietly gave those to the other team members. In seconds, seven of the Jaffa were dead or disabled and Qingu's host had a bullet in his heart. The remaining Jaffa could only stare at the blood seeping from their god's chest. While Ekur, Sam, and Teal'C kept the guards at bay, Jack pulled the lever, grabbed a staff weapon, and blew a hole through the host's stomach.
"Is he alive?" Sam asked anxiously. Daniel didn't look alive as Jack unlatched the bounds.
"I've got a pulse. Barely. We need to get going now, because I don't think he's gonna make it much longer." He looked at Ekur, who seemed to understand the sense of urgency, but not the words they spoke, unlike Qingu had. Quickly, while lifting up his inert friend, Jack pointed to his team members, and then to the direction of the river. It was the only method of reaching the Stargate quickly. And they desperately needed quickly.
"Alaku." He pointed, and motioned for them to leave. He would take care of his stunned comrades and the consequences.
Jack nodded, let Teal'C heft Daniel onto one of his broad shoulders, and proceeded to zat the remaining guards. He didn't kill them, but he also didn't want them to overwhelm Ekur.
SG1 raced to the bank of the river and, working together, managed to get to the Stargate without anyone drowning. By the time Sam started dialing, Jack could find no pulse on Daniel. When they finally made it through the gate and back into the SGC, neither could Dr. Frasier.
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