The Hunt for Babylon:
By cheekychaos
Chapter Eight:
"Hey, Daniel." Jack said, coming into Daniel's lab and almost thumping down into a chair beside his friend in exhaustion. "How's it going?"
"It's useless!" Daniel growled in frustration, putting down his book. "I'm just going around in circles! And the translation is no help."
Everyone had been working hard since early that morning. The General was demanding answers, but as of yet, no one had any answers to give. "I know what you mean." Jack said, rubbing a hand through his hair. "I can't find a trace of Espinosa anywhere. It's like she just disappeared. I left better minds to it, but I doubt if Agents Bristow and Vaughn will find anything either."
Daniel sighed. "We can only hope they do." He said, before getting to his feet. "Coffee?"
"Yeah." Jack replied.
As Daniel poured two mugs of coffee, Teal'c entered the lab. "Hey, T." Jack greeted the big man.
"O'Neill." Teal'c replied.
"Oh, hey Teal'c." Daniel said, when he turned around. "Coffee?"
"No thank you, Dr. Jackson." Teal'c said. "I have come to ask if you require any assistance."
"Oh, thanks Teal'c, but, no." Daniel said. "There's nothing more we can do."
It was then Lara strode into the lab, a book in her hand and a frown on her face. This morning, she was wearing her more characteristic outfit of boots, shorts and a black t-shirt, but had left off her guns, as she didn't think they would go down too well in the middle of a military base. "Oh, morning, Colonel." She greeted as she entered. "Teal'c."
Teal'c inclined his head in Lara's direction, as Jack smiled. "Morning, Croft."
Lara and Jack seemed to be getting on better since Jack had learnt what had happened last night. He seemed to have more respect for her now, and Lara gathered it was because she had kept Daniel out of trouble. She was beginning to see that the Colonel would do anything for his team and took every injury personally.
Lara turned to Daniel. "Have you seen my notebook?"
"Umm," Daniel mumbled, searching through the massive pile of books on the table. "Oh, here it is." He said when he found it.
"Thanks." Lara took it and sat down at the table, swinging her booted feet up onto the tabletop as she opened the book.
When Daniel placed a third mug of coffee down, in front of her, she looked up with a grateful smile. "Thanks. Any luck with that translation?"
"Well, depends what you call luck." Daniel said tiredly.
Lara raised an eyebrow. "I see." She said, dryly.
"Have you had no success in translating the inscription, Dr. Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"Oh, I managed to translate it." Daniel explained. "It just doesn't help us much."
"The Ancients did not do things without a reason." Teal'c said levelly. "There is a purpose for the inscription, Dr. Jackson."
Lara smiled at Teal'c. "I see you're the voice of reason in this little group." She told him.
"Hey!" Jack protested.
Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow, although something in his expression told Lara he was amused at her observation. "Indeed." He agreed.
Lara chuckled softly, before turning back to Daniel. "So, what does it say?" she asked.
"To those who seek what is hidden, knowledge is the treasure at the end of the journey, but the heart is the key that will open the door." Daniel said.
"They mixed their clichés." Jack said in the silence that followed. "You'd think they would be smart enough not to do that."
Daniel sighed. "I'm not even sure if that's right." He said. "I could have translated it in the wrong context, but it makes even less sense that way."
"What do you mean?" Lara asked.
"Well, I could have translated it like this: To those who seek what is not there, knowledge is the fortune at the end of the path, but the heart is the key that will open the course." Daniel answered.
"I tell you, the Ancient's must have got their kicks from confusing people," Jack said. "'Cause, not once has there been an instruction manual."
Daniel groaned, before putting his face in his hands. "Can this day get any worse?" Came his muffled voice.
"Ah! Don't say that!" Jack said. "'Cause when you say that, things always do!"
"Indeed." Teal'c agreed. "I, too, have noticed this phenomenon."
Lara, meanwhile, was frowning as she contemplated her coffee mug. Suddenly, she put it down and snatched up her notebook. Flipping through, she got to a page and read a few lines before looking up with an excited grin. "I've got it!" she said.
"Got what?" Jack asked.
"I know why Arvin Sloane wanted those artefacts." Lara explained. "I always thought they were a map, but that's not quite it."
Daniel stared at her, his eyes narrowed in thought. "I don't understand." He said. "Unless…" he looked up in surprise.
"The stones, when put together, are a transport device to take you to an orbiting ship." Lara said excitedly. "A camouflaged ship programmed to take you to wherever Babylon is."
Jack swore. "We have to tell the General." He said.
"There's more." Lara interrupted. "The inscription means there's a back door."
"Where?" Jack snapped.
"P4X-239." Daniel answered with a grin.
"Exactly." Lara replied.
"Where do we stand?" Hammond asked, sitting at the head of the conference table and staring at the faces around him.
Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Lara were sitting around the table, eager to share their news with the General and Sam, Vaughn and Sydney, who had just arrived. "Well," Daniel said. "We might have figured out where Babylon is."
A look of relief passed over Hammond's face. "That's great." He said. "Where is it?"
"P4X-239." Daniel told him.
"P4X-239?" The General repeated. "I thought you only found some old ruins when you visited the planet?"
"We did." Daniel said. "But Lara believes that the path to the city has been hidden. Besides, considering the possible technology of the city, it could have some sort of cloaking device."
"It's definitely possible, sir." Sam agreed with Daniel.
"Unfortunately, that happens to be the good news." Lara said. "I believe I know what the purpose of the stones is."
"What?" Hammond asked suspiciously.
"Well, I believe the stones act as some sort of transportation device leading to a hidden ship in orbit, which would take its passengers to P4x-239." Lara explained.
"What!" the General snapped. "You're telling me that an international terrorist has access not only to Ancient technology, but space travel as well?"
"I'm afraid so." Lara answered. "I'm sorry, General."
Hammond shook his head. "It's not your fault." He said. "Right, I'm moving up the timetable. Colonel, I want your team and Lady Croft to be ready to depart for P4x-239 in an hour. I suggest that Agent Bristow accompany you as well."
"Me?" Sydney echoed.
"You say you're mentioned in a prophecy of this Rambaldi. That could be useful. You also happen to know what Sloane is likely to do." Hammond said. "Be careful, all of you."
"Yes, sir." Jack said.
Sam stood at her locker and covertly watched the two women near her. The three of them were all in the woman's locker room getting ready for their mission to P4x-239. Lady Croft seemed to be taking the possibility of intergalactic travel better than Agent Bristow – so much so that she had argued with the Colonel about whether she was going to wear an SGC uniform or not. Eventually, they had compromised, so now Lara wore an SGC jacket over her T-shirt and shorts. Sam watched the woman strap two .45 automatics to her thighs and hid a smile. Lady Croft was a tough one, all right.
Agent Bristow, on the other hand, seemed to be hiding a fair amount of disbelief behind those intelligent brown eyes of hers. She struck Sam as a woman who had seen a fair amount of unbelievable things in her life, yet still refused to believe that impossible things could happen. There was also a lot of pain that she hid behind her smile, Sam would bet on that. She was rather like the Colonel in that way.
Like Sydney, Sam was wearing a set of her usual BDU's and quickly began to strap on all her equipment and weapons. "So, do we have any idea where the back door is?" Sam asked her companions.
"No." Lara said with a grin. "But that's part of the adventure."
"How are we going to find it then?" Sydney asked.
"Get me onto the planet and I'll show you." Lara answered.
At Sydney's somewhat sceptical look, she added with a challenging look. "They do leave clues, you know."
Sam looked at Lara curiously. "What kind of clues?" she asked.
Lara raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Surely you've done this sort of thing with Daniel before?" she said.
"Only once or twice." Sam admitted. "Usually he sits down and translates things. Or talks to the local population."
"Well, then." Lara said. "We'll be looking at first for any evidence of previous habitation – inscriptions, statues, ruins and the like."
"Is that all?" Sydney asked.
"Well, sometimes I'm lucky enough to find a large pyramid in the middle of the jungle, but it doesn't always work like that." Lara replied.
Before anyone could say anything else, Jack's muffled voice came through the door, accompanied by a loud knock. "Carter, are you ready yet? It's time to go!"
"Coming, sir!" Sam called back.
"Good." Jack replied. "I'll meet you in the gateroom."
Sam turned back to her companions. "Ready?" she asked.
"Absolutely." Lara replied, an excited gleam in her brown eyes.
Sydney nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be." She said.
"Alright." Sam said. "Let's go."
The three women walked into the gateroom about a minute later, to find Jack, Daniel and Teal'c waiting for them. Daniel smiled when he saw Lara and went over to stand next to the tomb raider. "This is going to be fun." He told her, an excited grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Absolutely." Lara replied. "So, what does it feel like to travel through a wormhole?"
"Cold." Daniel answered. "Like a really cold rollercoaster."
As the two archaeologists were having their quiet conversation, Sydney was staring wearily at the stargate. She felt a little nervous and cynical of the idea, but none of it showed on her face. She hadn't been a spy for years and not picked up a few skills. But she did almost jump in surprise when the inner ring of the stargate began to spin. Sydney let out a quiet breath as the first chevron noisily locked on.
"First chevron encoded." The gate technician said over the PA system.
"You don't have to go, Syd." Vaughn said from behind her.
Sydney turned, a little surprised at not hearing him approach. He must have walked up when she had been so transfixed by the stargate. "Yes I do." She said.
"Why?" Vaughn snapped. "We're not intergalactic explorers, Sydney, we're CIA agents!"
Sydney narrowed her eyes, sick of Vaughn's constant suspicion and resentment of the SGC. "I have to go, Vaughn." She said. "My whole life has been affected by Rambaldi and his stupid prophecy. I need to know what he meant by it."
"Are you so sure the answers are out there, Syd?" Vaughn asked.
"Yes." Sydney replied. "They have to be."
The somewhat tense silence between the two was only broken by the sound of another chevron locking into place. "Chevron four encoded." The technician said.
"Ready to do this?" Lara questioned as she walked up, grinning. "Outer space here we come."
"Technically it's not outer space." Sam said, also coming within earshot. "We'll be on another planet, not actually out in space."
"Details, Carter." Jack said. "Only details."
"It's a rather large detail, sir." Sam replied. "The planet has a mass of…"
"Ah!" Jack interrupted. "You're gonna make my head hurt."
Sam didn't look as if she believed him very much, but refrained from continuing. "Chevron seven locked." The technician said as the wormhole engaged in front of the group.
"All right, kids." Jack said, walking forward. "Let's go."
"Good luck people." Hammond said via the PA system.
Jack turned and gave his CO a slight salute, before continuing up the ramp. Sam was only a step behind him. Shooting Daniel a look, Lara turned to join Sam at the end of the ramp. Grinning, she looked at the rippling event horizon. "See you on the other side!" she called to Daniel, before boldly stepping through.
Laughed, Daniel followed her. Sydney, however, hesitated slightly. "Don't worry." Sam said quietly, still on this side of the wormhole. "It's not as scary as it looks."
"I hope you're right." Sydney said, before she gritted her teeth and stepped through.
Sam smiled, before following, Teal'c a quiet presence at her side.
To be continued…