"IMPERIUM"
Known to cause insanity in laboratory Goa'uld…
Welcome to another Thursday, and yes, another update!
IMPORTANT
I write some stuff in Goa'uld later in the chapter… and well, to be honest, my Goa'uld is a little rusty. So rusty, in fact, its just slightly adapted Latin (not, I'm afraid, Ancient Egyptian, or even Egyptian Arabic), mostly with an apostrophe and/or a 'k' added. We'll just call it an 'obscure dialect'.
Also, I don't think I've emphasized this enough, but THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed (and most especially, continued to review) this story.
Till next time, party on y'all.
"You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears. You play by the rules, you do as you're told and you deny yourself your own desires."
"I have no desire to rule the galaxy, believe me."
"All humans desire power. It's just that most of them are never in a position to attain it."
The Repli-Carter and Carter, "Gemini"
SG-1 had walked about three miles before it became apparent the source of the smoke.
"Oh my…" Daniel murmured as they crested a rise.
The team instantly dropped to their stomachs and hid from view in the long grass. In the small valley below them, a group of Jaffa were piling bodies up and burning them. Several people, obviously the natives, were clustered around, weeping as they were chained up by further Jaffa, while a tall, pale Goa'uld surveyed the scene with a triumphant smile on her face.
"What do you think they did to deserve this?" Daniel asked softly, evidently shaken.
"Naquadria deposits," Sam answered. "The UAV picked up signs of a great deal of naquadria in the area. Evidently, the Goa'uld found this out as well."
"It appears these people put up quite a resistance," whispered Teal'c, noting that the Jaffa were piling several of their own onto the fire. Scorch marks littered the valley.
"We have to help them," Sam murmured, carefully unslinging her pack from her back and being to rummage through it.
"Sam… we have one
90, a revolver, and a staff between us. We'd need at least four SG teams to take down that lot, and even that is a bare minimum."
"I concur with Doctor Jackson, Colonel Carter," said Teal'c urgently. "We cannot hope to defend these people. Our best chance is to return through the Stargate and bring back a team before the Goa'uldrealize the Stargate is being used."
"No, we can help them," Sam said.
"You and what army?" said Daniel, sounding more like Jack than himself.
"Don't be silly, Daniel, I don't need an army."
She smiled reassuringly at him and pulled her ribbon device from its concealed holster.
"O-kay, well, yes, that does improve our chances, but not by enough. That thing can't do enough damage to take out an entire contingent of Jaffa."
"Not by itself it won't," Sam said cryptically. She finally found what she was looking for in her backpack, and pulled out the second piece of technology that created the double-ribbon device. "However, I'm fairly sure this will."
Daniel stared at her, aghast. "Where did you get that?"
"I do not believe that this is a good idea, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, his face calm, but an unusual forcefulness behind his words. "You have shown you cannot control..."
"Teal'c… there are innocent people dying. I have the power to stop it. I can control it. I will control it.Why shouldn't I use it?" Sam shot back.
By now, she had attached the regular ribbon device to her left hand. She was now busily clamping the longer piece on her right arm. There was a slight whump noise as the catches closed, and Sam winced slightly.
Her teammates fell silent as she stood up.
"Any more objections?" she snapped peevishly.
Daniel gaped, and Teal'c lips tightened, but neither made a sound.
"Good," Sam replied, offering the two men a attempt at a reassuring smile, that came off as more downright disturbing.
She reached to the thin gold cord hanging from the device on her right arm, and attached it to the other device. The combined piece of technology hummed to life, and the clamps seemed to bite further into the flesh of Sam's arm.
Daniel stared dead at her, just in time to see a molten black wave radiate out from her pupils, before her eyes resumed their normal blue.
SG-4 stepped through the 'gate, weapons cautiously raised.
"Smoke, sir," observed Lieutenant Watts, the youngest member of the team, pointing in the direction SG-1 had gone only a few hours before.
"Quick thinking, Lieutenant," Colonel Walsh praised him. "Colonel Carter no doubt went that way. Dead match to the UAV data, too," he remarked, consulting his compass.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Alright, everybody listen up. Our mission objective is to retrieve Colonel Carter. General O'Neill has authorized the use of non-lethal force, so something pretty funky is going on here. Lieutenant Browning, try to raise SG-1 on radio, while we head on over to that valley."
Walsh surveyed his team, privately wondering what the Colonel had done to earn her formal commanders wroth. He could tell his team was also thinking the same thing. Best not give them time to dwell, lest it compromise the mission. He knew no-one present really wanted to have toharm the woman who had saved the world so many times, but…
"SG-4, move out!"
"Sam…" Daniel pleaded one last time, as his commanding officer and friend made her way down the slope, barely stopping himself from physically restraining her.
She ignored him.
Teal'c moved towards her, but seemed to think better of it, and instead let out something Daniel could only figure was a Goa'uld curse word.
Sam was loping down the slope now, though as yet, none of the Jaffa had noticed the lone blonde woman. She slid the final few feet onto the valley floor, her hands carefully hidden behind her back so she appeared unarmed.
"Jaffa," she called clearly, "Kree!"
The group of Jaffa turned to look at her, stunned to be addressed in their own language by a woman who seemed to possess no obvious power.
"JAFFA!" roared the pale Goa'uld, suddenly turning to see Sam. "Kree! Ne'kora!"
Daniel and Teal'c watched as the event played out in horrible slow motion. The Jaffa, upon their orders, raised their staff weapons and advanced on Sam. The blonde Colonel stood her ground as fifty odd staff weapons charged and pointed straight at her.
"Somehow," she said, "I don't think so."
Grinning fearlessly, Sam flung her arms forward to reveal the double-ribbon device strapped to her wrists. She lifted her hands and the gold energy flowed between the devices. The energy balled between her fists until it formed a shimmering sphere, twice the size of a basketball.
Daniel looked over at the Goa'uld leader, and was alarmed to find that she was looking especially fearful. In fact, she was revising her orders to the Jaffa, gesturing at them to retreat.
"Goa'uld keso adsu'tedo ma'kina! Goa'uld keso adsu'tedo ma'kina!" the pale Goa'uld screamed at Sam, already backing away, so urgently she was tripping over her own ornate cloak. "MAL'FAKTA!"
Sam, hearing the woman's screams, turned to face the Goa'uld leader. She pulled her hands apart slightly, and the ball of light hovered between her hands.
"Mal'fakta," sobbed the Goa'uld desperately, raising a hopeless hand, as if to ward off the inevitable.
Sam cocked her head for a moment, confused at the torture written across the Goa'uld's face. Then she flicked her fingers, and the ball flew from her hands.
Even Teal'c gasped at the sheer power of the thing. It rocketed towards the woman, still sobbing, and simply obliterated her from existence. It plowed through several of the Jaffa behind her, leaving behind no trace of their presence. Sam adjusted her hands, and the ball followed her command, seeming to act intelligently as it singled out and hunted down the Jaffa, until none remained.
The surviving villagers, terrified, flung themselves to the ground and began singing nervous praises to Sam in a lilting, alien language.
As for Sam herself, she called the ball back into her hands and quashed it with the ribbon devices. She gently removed the clamps around her arm and slid the hand devices off. She was breathing heavily, and her cheeks were flushed bright red, but she was smiling proudly as she turned to face her teammates.
"Daniel! Teal'c!" she called brightly up the slope. "We won!"
Their Colonel was already striding happily up the slope.
"Teal'c?" Daniel asked, shaking slightly. "What just happened?"
"I do not know, Daniel Jackson. However, O'Neill appears to be right… Colonel Carter is certainly not herself."
It was at this moment that Daniel's radio came to life.
"SG-1, please respond," crackled a voice.
"This is Doctor Jackson of SG-1?" Daniel answered numbly.
"This is Lieutenant Browning of SG-4. General O'Neill has ordered us to retrieve Colonel Carter. We're approaching the valley now, what is your position?"
"Thank god Jack has a head on his shoulders," Daniel said softly. "We're at the top of a rise, overlooking that valley."
"Ah, we can see you now, Doctor."
Daniel looked behind him to see the members of SG-4, about aquarter of a mile away, waving.
"Thanks, guys. Can you try to hurry up? Only we might need some help with Colonel Carter. Jackson, out."
He lay down the radio and shared a look with Teal'c. By this time, Sam had made it to the top of the rise, still smiling excessively.
"Uh… Sam…" began Daniel, trying to think of how to phrase a request that she come back through the 'gate, possibly under arrest.
He was cut short, however, as Teal'c swung his staff up in the blink of an eye and caught Sam around the head. She remained conscious long enough for her smile to change to a look of pure surprise, before slumping into Daniel's arms.
"You know," he observed, "We could have just… asked her?" the young archaeologist panted, struggling to hold his friend upright.
"I do not believe Colonel Carter would have co-operated," Teal'c said bluntly. Handing his staff to Daniel, the stately Jaffa relieved the archaeologist of the blonde woman, hefting her weight easily, and placing her carefully over his shoulder, before striding purposefully off to greet SG-4.
"No," agreed Daniel quietly, to himself. "I don't think she would have."
