Chapter 7
It didn't take long for Sam to find Teal'c. He was stumbling down a nearby corridor, leaning on his staff weapon for support. Ashen and sweaty, he appeared to be a ghost of his former self. Sam rushed to meet him just as his legs gave way.
"Teal'c." She pulled him to his feet.
"Major Carter." He swallowed hard. "I am not well."
Kel'no'reem immediately came to mind, but she quickly filed away that suggestion. Of course Teal'c would have tried that already.
She wrapped her arm around his waist and guided him down the hall. "What happened?"
"I am uncertain," he admitted, holding onto her for support. "I have felt a heaviness for some time."
Sam stared at him. Why hadn't he said something earlier?
"When did you start to feel ill?" she asked.
"Our first night on this world."
"Teal'c!"
"I did not believe it was of concern," he said. "After I performed kel'no'reem I was myself once again."
Sam continued to guide Teal'c down the hall as they backtracked to their suite. She listened as he described his inconsistent bouts of weakness to her. The more she heard, the uneasy she became. And the more she understood this was not a coincidence.
"When we reach the room, I need you to try to sense naquadah in Daniel and Colonel O'Neill."
Teal'c blinked, his eyes darkening with concern and anger. When he searched her face for answers, she nodded in confirmation.
She knew that Teal'c's ability to sense Goa'uld was hit or miss, an irregularity that she theorized had to do with a difference in Jaffa physiology as opposed to the residuals of being a host. She just hoped that today was one of his "good" days.
"At first, I thought they had been taken as hosts," Sam explained, slowing as they reached the doors. "But now I'm not so sure."
"What has led you to this conclusion?"
"It's not right. It doesn't feel right." That was the best explanation she could offer. It was killing her. She didn't have the concrete details in front of her. All she could rely on was a hunch. Daniel and Colonel O'Neill did not "feel" like Goa'uld.
And she knew that Colonel O'Neill, implanted or not, would have never left himself open for her to get the advantage.
"The Goa'uld use tricks to deceive us," Teal'c reminded her.
"I know," she said. "But trust me on this."
He bowed his head.
It was now or never.
Sam reached for her zat. Then, making sure that Teal'c was well enough to enter, she barged through the door.
O'Neill stood in the center of the room, pointing his Beretta straight at her and Teal'c. Daniel, who hung close beside him, mirrored O'Neill's stance, even if Sam felt it was more for show. She didn't miss the awkwardness in his body and the glassiness in his eyes.
Sam figured that O'Neill would be resourceful enough to break free and find a way to arm himself. But she also felt a rise in confidence. Sadly, she knew she was right. Something was amiss. She didn't waver.
"Lower your weapons," O'Neill said.
Sam kept the zat focused on O'Neill. Teal'c, though weakened, remained at her side, aiming his staff weapon at their fellow teammates.
"Teal'c?" she asked.
"I do not sense the presence of a Goa'uld," he stated. "However, the room contains naquadah, Major Carter."
Sam had already considered that possibility. Her reaction could have been triggered from the naquadah present in the archways of the palace and the finishing in her room. But she had felt the faint ripples in both Daniel and O'Neill.
"This is just a misunderstanding," Daniel said.
"A big one," O'Neill added. He raised his gun a little higher, as if to show he meant business. "So, why don't you just put down your weapons, and we can get ready for a nice trip back to the Gate.
Sam frowned, an inconsistency on the gun catching her eye. "Sir."
O'Neill frowned. But he didn't move. "I'm ordering you to drop it, Major."
Sam blew off the command. She glanced at Teal'c. The anger he wore just minutes ago was replaced by concern. She knew he had seen it as well.
"O'Neill, you have assembled your weapon incorrectly," he said.
O'Neill glared at him. "What?"
Before Sam had the chance to explain it, she noticed Daniel glance over to O'Neill. Next, he looked down at his own Beretta. Then, to Sam's surprise, Daniel flipped the gun around and extended it to her.
O'Neill scowled at him. "Daniel, what the hell?"
He shook his head and lowered the weapon, nearly toppling himself. "Teal'c and Sam are trying to protect us. Something's wrong."
"They attacked us. I'd say that's wrong."
"Trust us, O'Neill."
Daniel nodded to Colonel O'Neill once before he sunk to floor to hold his head. O'Neill hesitated, but after another unsure glance down at his Beretta, he flipped it around and handed it to Sam.
Sam took the sidearm from O'Neill's hand. She holstered her own before she started to disassemble the confiscated weapon. Quickly, she reassembled it correctly, showing O'Neill what he had done. He stared at her, a flicker of insecurity passing through his eyes.
"Damn," O'Neill muttered. "What's going on?"
Sam placed the weapons aside. "I'm not sure, sir. But Daniel's right. Something's wrong."
Teal'c took the opportunity to release his staff weapon and ease himself onto one of the suite's couches. She saw both Daniel and O'Neill frown as they watched Teal'c. Sam eyed them all with concern. She knew that whatever was happening, they needed to be examined by medical officials.
Thoughts of Anu and her husband wouldn't leave her. Flashes of the man sitting there, lost and incapacitated, kept assailing her mind. He had once been intelligent, studious, if what Anu said was true. And now, he was just a shell of himself.
Sam felt the knot in her stomach tighten as she gazed at her friends and teammates.
Daniel gaped at her. "You think we have what they have."
"What?" O'Neill asked. "That can't be right."
Sam licked her lips, sending him a patient look. "Sir, you can't even remember how put together your—"
"Okay, I get it." He sighed. "So, not so hereditary after all," O'Neill muttered.
She nodded. "Sir, this goes way beyond testosterone deficiency. Somehow, you have trace amounts of naquadah in your system." That in and of itself baffled her.
"Naquadah forks?" he asked.
"Think more," she said. "For me to be able to detect the naquadah, it means you have to have concentrations large enough to be noticeable."
"I don't have a sudden epiphany that Junior is close by," O'Neill said, looking at Teal'c.
"Well, it's not nearly enough to reach levels of a Goa'uld, is it?" Daniel said, quickly catching on despite his noticeable fogginess. He rubbed at the lump on his head, causing Sam to wince. "How did we get it inside of us?"
"I can't be certain, but I believe that you have either ingested small amounts of naquadah or absorbed it through your skin." She glanced over to Teal'c. "Teal'c is probably affected as well, but it's masked by the properties of the symbiote."
"It is possible that my symbiote can absorb the naquadah."
"How lucky for you," O'Neill mumbled.
"So, the locals put naquadah in us?" Daniel asked, confused. "Why would they do that?"
Sam frowned. She didn't know. But the fact that at least the priestess knew about the medical condition of the men on this planet, a condition Sam was quickly being to suspect had nothing to do with genetics at all, alerted her to the possibility her team had been compromised somehow. The symptoms, the naquadah, the distrust…Sam knew that they could not rely on the people of the Sinnu.
"Gather all your stuff," Sam told them. She wasn't taking any chances. "We're going to back to the Gate."
---------------------------------------------------
Sam jumped off the beast that Anu had provided for her use. Worried, but trying not to show it, Sam opened the cart attached at the rear, allowing Daniel, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c to exit.
They appeared haggard.
"Daniel, dial the Gate," she said. "I think the three of you should report to the infirmary immediately."
Daniel nodded, stepped up to the DHD, and started to dial. While he worked to establish an active wormhole, Sam turned back to O'Neill and Teal'c. From where she stood, she thought that Teal'c was looking a little better, which gave her comfort. She knew that he had slipped into a state of kel'no'reem in the cart on the way to the Gate. Hopefully, he could fight off whatever was happening. He had that advantage.
She couldn't say the same for Colonel O'Neill or Daniel. Sam swallowed hard, catching the shadows under her commanding officer's eyes.
"You're doing a good job," he told her.
She forced a small smile. Sam didn't need the affirmation from Colonel O'Neill, but the vote of confidence made her feel like maybe they'd all pull through okay.
Then the DHD stopped dialing.
The brief flash of comfort she'd felt vanished as she jogged back to the DHD. Daniel was hovering over the device, his hand frozen above one of the glyphs. When she came around to look at him, she saw his forehead knotted with confusion, his eyes wide with panic.
"Daniel?" she asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I can't remember," he whispered. He faced her, shocked. "Sam, I don't remember the coordinates!"
Sam bit back the surge of dread that threatened to consume her. This wasn't happening. None of this was happening.
She fought the urge to tell him not to worry and instead nudged him over to take his place. Quickly, Sam started to redial the to get to Earth. The sooner they could get home, the better.
When she pressed the final glyph, she glanced up and waited for the Stargate to pool and splash with the outgoing wormhole.
It never did.
Sam stared at the Gate, completely bewildered. Then, she tried again. She struck the DHD glyph after glyph, willing with all her might for the damn gate to work.
Again there was no reaction.
"Carter?" O'Neill called from behind her.
Without answering Colonel O'Neill, Sam dropped to her knees and slung the strap of her P-90 over her shoulder before placing it on the ground next to her. She slid her hands along the column of the DHD. Finding the right panel, she detached it, and looked at the crystals inside.
"Dammit!" she cried.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.
Sam slammed the panel back in place and grabbed her weapon. "Someone has disabled the DHD," she said, rising to her feet and securing the weapon in place.
"What?" O'Neill asked.
"The crystals, sir. Someone has taken one of the crystals necessary to power the DHD."
"The Sinnu have sabotaged any attempt to escape," Teal'c said, his voice lowering. His grip tightened on his staff weapon as he started to survey the area.
Sam couldn't believe the Sinnu as a people would have done this to them. If anything, Sam's suspicions toward Ningal increased. She was stuck on a planet, her team's health declining, and she didn't even know what could be done to help them.
She couldn't panic. She couldn't think about what would happen if her team didn't receive help. They were losing full control of their mental faculties and losing them quickly. She needed to get them medical care immediately.
Sam licked her lips, trying to figure out her next move. She glanced down at the device that Anu had given her.
"To hell with this," O'Neill muttered. "We have to find a way off this rock."
"I believe the Stargate is our only way off this world, O'Neill."
"Teal'c, if they can cloak their city, they have other stuff," O'Neill said.
Sam wasn't sure, but she needed a better handle on this "disease" before she could find a way to help them.
"Daniel, did you find anything when you were reading through those rubbings last night?" Sam asked. "Anything at all?" She had to hold onto the hope that Daniel had found something important before he had started to lapse into the effects of whatever had a hold on them.
Please, Daniel, she thought. Please try to remember.
He wrinkled his forehead, the struggle evident in his face. Sam waited, mentally crossing her fingers that he had uncovered what she needed.