Chapter 5
"You've got to be kidding me," O'Neill said.
"I cannot let you enter," Ningal said simply. "You will wait outside for us to finish."
SG-1 stood at the doors of the modest temple. Though it was dwarfed by the size of the ziggurat, the temple still held a magic and majesty all its own, serving as its own separate entity. Sam could understand why the structure seemed to hold so much power. She could feel the naquadah pulsing inside its walls.
"You mean to say we came all this way, and you're not going to let us inside?" Daniel asked.
Ningal glared at him. "No."
Daniel glared back.
Sam had the impression that this was becoming personal.
"I need then to accompany me into the temple," Sam said. "It's important."
"They are not pure."
"Did we not just undergo the rite of purification before traveling here?" Teal'c asked.
"But you are not blessed by the goddess," Ningal answered.
O'Neill mumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he rubbed at his eyes. Sam could tell that he was losing patience quickly, and apparently, Daniel wasn't far behind. He looked as thought he would pop.
"Is there anything they can do to enter the temple?' Sam asked.
Ningal studied her briefly before she turned her attention to the rest of SG-1. Her usual persistent frown was replaced by a smile. "I can bless them."
"Fine. Bless us," O'Neill said.
Ningal nodded and disappeared into the temple. That left the four of them standing alone for the time being.
Sam seized her opportunity. "Sir, I have some concerns."
O'Neill took off his cap and faced her. "Like what?"
"I couldn't help but notice that during our walk here, there were no children."
"So?" O'Neill shrugged. "Maybe they were inside."
"How is this of concern to us, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked.
"Of course!" Daniel exclaimed, beating her to the chase. "That makes perfect sense."
"What makes perfect sense?' O'Neill asked.
"Sir, if the men are suffering from some form of erectile dysfunction, then it would make sense that there would be a low birth rate."
O'Neill blinked at her. "Okay, first of all, let's not call it that."
Sam nodded. "What would you like to call it?"
"Nothing at all."
Sam sighed and shifted her weight to her right foot. He just shrugged and put his cap back on.
"It would explain a lot, wouldn't it?" Daniel said, sounding distracted as he searched the outside walls of the temple. "We were wondering how the population sustained itself. If they have a low birth rate and a small population, then they might actually have enough resources to maintain their numbers."
Only Sam didn't think they were maintaining their numbers at all. She felt her stomach flop from the memory of the withering man they'd encountered in the city.
"They're dying," she said sadly.
"If it is indeed true that the men of this world are born with this inability, then it is possible the Goa'uld have tampered with them," Teal'c said.
"But why?" she asked, her voice raw as she remained haunted by both the fate of Anu's husband and the local man's appearance. "Why would a Goa'uld make efforts to effectively destroy her own power base?"
"Don't know," O'Neill said. "But it's worth finding out. Maybe Perky there knows something."
Ningal reappeared at the door, carrying a small bowl. "I will bless you and then you may enter."
Daniel stepped forward first, though his enthusiasm seemed to have dipped to an all time low. Wearing a scowl that mimicked Ningal's, Daniel waited for her to begin. Sam watched as the priestess anointed his forehead with a coarse, sticky paste, rubbing it into his skin. Daniel wrinkled his nose as she chanted a blessing over him. When Ningal was finished, she urged him inside.
Colonel O'Neill stepped forward next. "What the hell is that?" he asked.
Ningal rubbed the paste onto his forehead, said a few words, and moved aside so he could enter. "It is the remains from our most holy of lizards."
O'Neill frowned. "Remains as in…"
"Sacred excrement," Ningal said proudly.
Sam bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh. When Teal'c looked away, she knew he felt the same way.
O'Neill's face fell. "You mean you just smeared me with sh—"
"Sir," Sam warned.
O'Neill shook his head, thoroughly disgusted. Readjusting his cap, he charged inside the temple.
Ningal performed the same ritual onto Teal'c. Only, when she was finished, he did not move from his spot.
"Teal'c?" Sam asked.
"I cannot enter."
"But you have been blessed," Ningal said with a frown.
Teal'c nodded. "I have allowed you to bless me to show my support in the actions of Major Carter." His face became cold. "I do not believe in your goddess, nor will I enter her place of worship."
Sam rubbed his arm, genuinely appreciating the gesture. But she couldn't just leave him alone at the gates to the temple.
Teal'c seemed to understand her concerns. "I will be fine. I will stand guard while you explore the temple."
Sam knew that there was no arguing with Teal'c when he got like this, so she just gave him another affectionate pat before entering the temple with Ningal.
It was amazing.
Just as gilded as the ziggurat, if not more, the temple was a shining edifice of power, might, and prestige. Sam assumed the proud statues that lined the sides of the temple were representations of Nammu. She also noticed unmistakable writing lining the walls around the main altar.
"It's Goa'uld," Daniel said. He broke from them and approached the altar, standing in front of it as he read the inscriptions.
"Do not step on the altar!" Ningal warned.
Sam wasn't sure if Daniel was listening or not, but he didn't attempt to move any closer.
"Do you know what it says?" O'Neill asked.
"Yeah, I think so…" Daniel said. "It's definitely a place belonging to Nammu."
Sam didn't mind the confirmation, but that wasn't really useful information. "What else does it say?"
He was mumbling now, the Goa'uld coming harsh and fast from his lips, but garbled to the point beyond recognition. Then, suddenly, he turned to Ningal. "Do you have any tablets?"
She looked taken aback.
"Tablets," he repeated. "Or scrolls. Books…"
"You can read this?" she asked, sounding shocked, as she pointed to the inscriptions above the altar.
He nodded. "It's an obscure dialect, but I can make out most of it. Teal'c can always help with the rest."
Ningal stared at him.
"He's fluent," Sam told her.
Ningal looked away and rubbed her hands together. She turned her back to them to gaze at the altar.
"That a problem?" O'Neill asked.
"No," Ningal said quickly. "It is not. I will take you to the tablets." Without looking back, she left them and entered another room.
"Daniel?" O'Neill frowned, taking a step toward him.
"The altar inscriptions talk about her being 'mother of the gods' and 'creator of all.'"
Sam's grip on her weapon tightened. She didn't like where this was going.
"Please tell me it's not Hathor," O'Neill said.
"No. No," he said, looking confused. "Not Hathor. But I'm pretty sure she's a Goa'uld queen. In Babylonian, she could have been known as Tiamat."
"She's dead," Sam said.
"Yes. And there's no saying she is the same Goa'uld. Remember, the Goa'uld have taken names for various Earth mythology. They may be different, or they could be related for all we know."
"How is this helping us?" O'Neill asked impatiently.
Daniel leaned forward, lowering his voice, only adding another layer of anxiety to Sam's already uneasy outlook. "It doesn't just say she's creator of all. It says she's creator of man."
Jack glanced at the altar before focusing on Daniel. "Figure of speech?"
"No."
"So, we're going with the theory that Nammu somehow genetically altered these men," Sam said.
"I'm figuring that she must have some more information describing her accomplishments stored on tablets or other records," Daniel said. "I think our history has shown us the Goa'uld are nothing if not self-absorbed."
"To the tablets it is, then," O'Neill said, leading them into the next room.
When they made their way into the small storage area, Sam could see that Ningal was busily working her way through the tablets, sorting them into different piles. Sam glanced over to Colonel O'Neill. He raised his eyebrows. Sam knew that he felt the same way. Ningal was taking the selective route.
"What's on those?" Daniel asked.
"It is nothing," Ningal said. "Just more of our rules and laws."
"Oh? I'd like to…"
Ningal stepped between Daniel and tablets before thrusting a different tablet into his hands. "This describes some of our history. I believe that you would be interested in this one."
"Actually, I'm interested in all of them," he said.
"You cannot stay in the temple to read these. And it would be too strenuous to carry all of these back," she said, pushing the tablets farther out of Daniel's reach.
"Oh, I agree. But I don't need to bring them back with me," he said.
Ningal frowned. "No?"
Immediately, Daniel started to unpack some of his equipment. Sam saw the chalk was the first to emerge followed by some wax paper. She and O'Neill remained by his side, watching carefully in case his actions caused Ningal to act out of turn.
She didn't.
Daniel got to work on his rubbings, working quickly and efficiently. Sam knew that he had the habit of lingering, stopping after he'd done a rubbing to read what he'd done. Daniel loved his work. But she was surprised to find him fly through the tablets, as if he wanted get out there as soon as possible. That worried her.
And based on Ningal's contorted faces, she wasn't happy with Daniel's rubbings either.
"I'm done," he said, quickly shoving his work into his bag.
"Good," O'Neill said. "Then we'll just be on our way." He dipped the tip of his hat to Ningal. "Ma'am."
Ningal didn't smile. "I will have you escorted to the Apsu." She pointed to the door. "It is time for you to go."
Sam led the way with O'Neill and Daniel in tow. As they approached the door, Sam found Teal'c waiting for them. She offered him a thankful smile, but even seeing Teal'c well couldn't ease her tension.
She knew Daniel had found something.
He hadn't said anything to them, and Colonel O'Neill hadn't pushed him to talk. Whatever he had found had to be important, much too important to discuss casually and out in the open.
"Was your reading successful?" Teal'c asked Daniel.
"We'll find out when I have a chance to better look at the text."
Teal'c arched an eyebrow. He understood as well.
As they left the temple, the four of them found Aya, Anu's daughter, waiting for them with two of the horse-beasts and a cart. She heard a groan from her friends. But they all knew it wasn't that bad. At least they wouldn't have to walk back to the Gate.
Sam helped them into the cart, one by one. When she was finished, she glanced back at the temple, noting Ningal standing in the doorway. Her eyes were cool, her expression cold. Sam didn't need to say what was on her mind. Colonel O'Neill voiced it for her.
"She's hiding something," he said.
She nodded in agreement and moved away, hoisting herself onto the animal. Ningal was hiding something. And Sam was determined to find out what it was.
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"And they're willing to trade?" Hammond asked.
"Yes, sir," O'Neill said, talking to the camera on the MALP. "It turns out the aerial survey was correct. They've got naquadah and a bunch of other gizmos that they seem willing to share."
"No strings attached?" Hammond sounded skeptical.
Sam moved to stand in front of the camera. "Sir, we've agreed to help the Sinnu with a medical anomaly."
The audio crackled and cleared, bringing Hammond's voice back to them. "What kind of anomaly?"
Sam glanced back to Aya who stood beside the DHD, watching them intently. When the girl found Sam watching her, she turned her head and stared into the nearby trees.
"There seems to be a medical situation among the men on this planet, sir," O'Neill said.
Another crackle, this time with a hiss. Daniel and Teal'c took a step closer to the MALP to hear.
"I have Doctor Fraiser with me," Hammond announced.
"What are the symptoms?" Janet asked.
"Fatigue, weakness, memory problems…" She cleared her throat. "We believe some kind of…reproductive problems with the men," Sam said, ignoring the look that Colonel O'Neill gave her. "We've noticed a very small population and the men appear to have a loss in bone and muscle mass."
"It sounds like a textbook example of testosterone deficiency," Janet said.
Sam had suspected it might be something to do with male hormones, but she hadn't wanted to vocalize it. And when she saw her teammates' faces, she was glad that she hadn't said anything.
Colonel O'Neill glared at the MALP. "Come again?"
Sam smiled, imagining Janet's face on the other side of the Gate. "It's not contagious, Colonel," Janet said with a chuckle. "In fact, all men experience a decrease in testosterone as they age. A congenital cause would be genetic and an acquired cause could happen at any point in a man's life. Acquired testosterone deficiency usually happens through damage to the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, or the testes." She paused. "Sometimes it can happen through disease. How are you, Doctor Jackson, and Teal'c feeling?"
"Never been better," O'Neill said.
"I'm fine," Daniel chimed in.
Teal'c stood taller. "As am I."
Sam readjusted her P-90 and glanced back at Aya. The girl seemed fascinated by their conversation, even if she seemed confused on the specifics on how it worked. Maybe she was just in awe that a man such as General Hammond could be given such a large leadership role.
"The Sinnu claim the affliction begins at birth," Sam added.
"Hmm," Janet said. "I'd really like to have a look at those affected and run some tests."
"Is it not abnormal for the majority of a population to suffer from such an affliction?" Teal'c asked.
"It is abnormal." There was a pause on the other end. "I assume that you have more information for me?"
Daniel gave Sam a pointed look, before glancing back at Aya. Sam nodded and turned to O'Neill.
"Teal'c, you want to show our friend your neat eyebrow trick?" Colonel O'Neill asked.
Teal'c cocked his head, raising his eyebrow as he passed his staff weapon to his other hand.
"Perfect," O'Neill said. "Now do it some place that's not here."
Teal'c nodded, taking Aya by the arm and pulling her away from the DHD. When Sam felt they were out of earshot, she nodded to the camera.
"What's the problem, Colonel?"
"Not sure, General," O'Neill said. "I think Daniel is about to tell us."
Daniel stepped closer to the camera, coming to stand beside Sam. "Well, after encountering some resistance, we were finally able to enter the temple. Inside, there was a vast display of—"
"Doctor Jackson…"
"Right. The inscriptions I found within the temple discuss experiments that Nammu performed on the male population," Daniel said. "Apparently, she was attempting to perfect a method of weakening the male forces, probably Jaffa and other slaves, used by other Goa'uld and to give herself more power. She was out to take Ra's place in the Goa'uld family tree."
Sam straightened at that comment.
"Ambitious," O'Neill said.
"And this Goa'uld is dead?" Hammond asked.
"According to Teal'c, deader than a doornail," O'Neill said, forcing a smile.
"So, what does this have to do with your current situation?" Hammond's disembodied voice asked.
"Well, the fact is that they knew," Daniel said. "The priestess of the temple has been aware of the medical condition of the men on this planet and has kept it a secret."
"They obviously didn't want us to know what the Goa'uld did to the men on this planet," Sam said.
"At first I thought maybe it was a measure to keep stability on the planet and not throw their whole society into chaos." Daniel adjusted his glasses and looked into the camera. "But now I'm thinking that they wanted to just keep the status quo."
"What leads you to that conclusion, Doctor?" Hammond asked.
"Just a hunch. I've found some key words and references in the rubbings I've sampled from the temple. I need some time to read through them and make sure I have the proper context."
Sam waited as for General Hammond or Janet to speak again. She took the silence to mean they were discussing options, and that General Hammond was contemplating the information they had just given him. Sam knew that there were some risks here that Hammond wasn't keen about.
"I have orders to do what's necessary to acquire naquadah for our weapons program or any available technology." Hammond paused. "You're in a delicate situation, Colonel."
Sam tapped the butt of her gun. Ningal knew that the Goa'uld had caused the problem in the men and might even know how it was done. She was withholding that information from them, and quite possibly Anu. All of these factors created a highly unstable political situation, which, in turn, put them in a dangerous position.
Sam knew all of this weighed heavily on not only General Hammond's mind, but Colonel O'Neill's as well.
"It's your call, Colonel."
"I've got Carter in charge of negotiations," O'Neill told Hammond. "There are some, shall we say, sensitivities on this planet."
"Do you need any form of backup?" Hammond asked.
"No, sir. Though, we did promise the leadership here some medical help."
"I can have Doctor Fraiser assemble a team and have her meet you at the Gate at oh-seven hundred hours," Hammond told him. "That will give you enough time to gather additional information."
Sam glanced down at her watch. The time difference between this planet and Earth was great enough that it gave Sam confidence they could discover something. Janet and her team wouldn't be due until tomorrow afternoon. That gave them plenty of time to go through the material Daniel had accumulated. Between Daniel and Teal'c, she was sure they would able to discover something useful.
"Copy that, sir," O'Neill said.
The connection filled with static before clearing. "You're sure about this, Colonel?"
"I'm confident that Anu is trustworthy," Sam said.
"That's good enough for me, General."
"Good. I want Major Carter to stay in charge of the negotiations. I expect you to be on your best behavior, Colonel."
"You know me. I'm the epitome of good behavior," he said with a smirk. "O'Neill out."
The transmission ended. Sam waited as Colonel O'Neill regrouped and called for everyone to gather back together. When Teal'c rejoined them, Sam didn't miss the scowl on Aya's face.
"All right," O'Neill said. "Let's get moving."
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"Our weapons are still here," Colonel O'Neill said, walking out of the spare room. He stopped and stared at Sam. "What's that?"
"A remote that Anu gave me," Sam said. She turned it over in her hand, easily finding the crystal that served as its power source. "She gave me one of these so we could reenter the city tomorrow afternoon when Janet and her team arrive."
"We no longer require an escort," Teal'c stated more than asked as he looked up from a pile of rubbings that Daniel had given him.
Sam nodded. "She trusts that I'll keep you in line."
This produced two soft chuckles from O'Neill and Teal'c. Sam found herself smiling a long with them until Daniel slammed his fist down onto the table. Startled, Sam frowned at him.
"Daniel?" she asked.
"I can't concentrate with all this talking." He leaned over and grabbed his head, scratching it, as he stared at the rubbings.
"It's never stopped you before," O'Neill said, tossing an apple in the air and catching it.
Daniel glared at him. "There is a part of the text that goes into detail about the experiments. Now, if I can just figure out what Nammu wrote…"
The apple sailed through the air again. O'Neill caught it. "So, figure it out."
Daniel stood abruptly, grabbing his notes and rubbings. "I'm close. I'm so close…I just." He rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "I need context."
And that's all he said. Without uttering another word, he stalked off to the spare room and slammed the door.
The three of them stared after him.
"Moody, much?" O'Neill asked.
Sam didn't know what to say. She knew that they were all tired and that Daniel was having a particularly rough time here. She hoped that after tonight, they could find what they were looking for, offer Anu some medical assistance, and wrap things up. The luxury of the suite and all its perks had started to lose most of its appeal to her.
She just wanted to go home.
"Ah well," Colonel O'Neill said, lying in her bed again. "Let Daniel work it off for now. Once he figures something out, he'll forget about it."
Sam sighed. She knew that O'Neill was right. She picked up the schematics she had been going over and settled in next to Teal'c, preparing for another long night.