Chapter 8
"You poisoned them!" Sam shouted, charging into Anu's main chamber.
Anu and her daughter, Aya, spun around, turning their backs on Urshanabi. Their hard glares cut through Sam, but did not sway her.
"How dare you burst into my chamber!" Anu exclaimed.
"You poisoned them!" Sam repeated, jabbing a finger at her teammates.
Anu's gaze fell to Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, and Daniel. The three of them remained by the door, leaning against the wall for support. Anu's expression of anger quickly turned to one of full outrage.
"I warned you this would happen. I told you that you could not push them as you did." Frustrated, she pointed to her husband. "Did you not understand? Did you wish for your men to become as Damu?"
"No," Sam said defiantly. "You know they are different than the men you govern. You know how strong and lucid they were. You saw them yesterday. You know this doesn't happen in one day!"
Anu opened her mouth to continue, but couldn't seem to find the right words. Sam continued.
"You said yourself that the men here are born with this disease," Sam said. "You told us that it happens gradually over time."
Anu glanced over at Sam's teammates once again. Sam saw a softening her eyes, a pain that she read as reflecting the agony she had been through with her husband. But while Sam felt sympathy for Anu, she knew that she had to remain firm for this to work.
"Take your men," Anu said sadly. "Take your belongings and leave this world to protect them."
"I would. But someone has sabotaged the Stargate so we can't leave."
Anu blinked at her in shock. "The Apsu does not work?"
Sam shook her head. "We're trapped here. It's clear why. It's never been about genetic problems. It's been poison all along."
"I would never harm my own people," Anu said through clenched teeth.
"No. Maybe you wouldn't. But someone else would," Sam said, focusing her critical gaze beyond Anu.
Anu's angry frown eased into displaced confusion. Slowly, she turned her head, following Sam's gaze. Aya stood quietly in the background.
"She lies," Aya said. "She tells you lies."
"Aya," Anu whispered, her voice filled with pain.
"You took the crystal, didn't you?" Sam asked. "You knew that we'd figure out what was really happening."
Aya shook her head, backing away under the scrutiny of her mother's gaze. Anu closed in on her.
"Aya, what have you done?" Anu asked.
Aya stood tall, but Sam could see the young girl quiver under the power of her mother's piercing gaze. "You would believe the strangers over your own daughter?"
"I know my own flesh and blood," Anu said evenly. "And I can see through your lies."
The girl held up her chin while keeping her arms straight by her side. Sam remained silent, watching the power play between mother and daughter, while keeping tabs on her own team. As she'd asked, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel, and Teal'c had kept their deal to stay quiet during the proceedings. But it was this same quietness that now had her worried. Teal'c seemed to be depending on his staff weapon more and more when he couldn't kel'no'reem. Daniel slumped against the wall, unfocused, while O'Neill seemed to have lost his edge. She needed to find a way to help them and to do it fast.
Sam returned her attention back to Aya and Anu, keeping herself firmly planted behind the Sinnu leader.
"Aya, if you are not honest with me, I shall banish you from this palace."
There was a flash of panic in the girl's eyes. She shot a wary look to Sam before she ducked her head and averted her gaze.
"Do not give me just an excuse," Aya said. "Give me the truth. Do it not for me, but for your father." She pointed to Urshanabi.
For the first time since they had arrived on the planet, Sam noticed Aya break down. She let the façade crumble and hugged herself, keeping her distance from her mother. "I did it for you. I did it for you and for Father," she whispered. "She said the goddess would be angry. She said Nammu would punish you for giving so much to Father, just as the other women had been punished before you."
Sam straightened at the comment. It took everything in her being to keep her mouth shut, but she knew that she had to let this play out between the two women. Any interference from her would jeopardize the whole thing.
"Who?" Anu asked, though the coolness in her voice led Sam to believe she already knew.
"Ningal," Aya admitted. "Ningal told me to take the crystal. She told me not to let the strangers leave."
Anu's eyes burned with anger as she whipped around to gaze at Sam. Everything in the woman's eyes indicated feelings of betrayal, pain, and shame. But above all, they searched for answers.
"Ningal knew that once we entered the temple, we'd figure out the truth," Sam explained. When she caught the confusion in Anu's frown, Sam motioned back to her teammates. "We can read the sacred text that has been kept from you. She knew that once we figured out that the men on this planet were intentionally poisoned, we would expose her."
"I have known Ningal all my life," Anu said, her voice dipping. "I cannot believe this betrayal." The sadness quickly morphed into anger. "I cannot allow this."
Anu marched over to a chest kept by the bedside, opened it, and withdrew a long slender blade that hooked like a sickle. She laid the sword on her bed before withdrawing additional armor, knives, and other weapons. She stopped and gave Sam a stern look.
"It is best for you not to remain," she said, slipping the bronze plate over her chest. "I do not expect this to be a clean confrontation."
Sam had not been expecting this turn. She shifted her weight and glanced back to her ailing teammates, before approaching Anu.
"I need that crystal to get back to my world. It's the only way I can help them." When Anu said nothing, Sam grabbed her arm and spun her around to face her. "We can come back and help you. We might be able to help your people."
Anu hesitated, casting a forlorn look to her husband. She eyed her daughter, and then SG-1, the passion in her eyes never wavering. Finally, she brought her intense gaze onto Sam.
"We have a ship for scouting. It is stashed in our upper west level," She turned to the bed and grabbed her blade. "Go now and help your men."
Sam knew she didn't have time to argue. "We'll come back to help," she promised, making for the door. With a nod, she motioned for Daniel, O'Neill, and Teal'c to join her.
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She thought finding the hidden ship would be difficult. Sam was wrong.
For all her pomp and circumstance, Anu appeared to be a trusting woman with very little security through her palace. Sam supposed with cloaking technology and a dedicated public – with a notable exception – Anu could afford to be lax. Or maybe, as she and Daniel had theorized, the people here didn't have a complete grasp on the alien technology they utilized. And as Teal'c had stated before, the interior of the ziggurat was Goa'uld in design, which made it even easier to navigate.
What she had not been expecting was a fully loaded cargo ship.
"Sweet," O'Neill said, staring at the outer hull.
Sam nudged him forward, moving him toward the ship. "Let's go, sir."
Sam guided the rest of her team on board the ship. While all three of them were sluggish, the full-blown lethargy in Daniel was a concern for her. For those that didn't know him, Daniel appeared to be a bookish, clumsy scholar, but Sam knew that he was not a klutz. Yet today, he struggled to climb the ramp, nearly tripping twice while entering the main room of the cargo ship. If she hadn't grabbed him in time, he would have walked into one of the walls inside.
"Daniel, you need to focus," she said, directing him to one of the seats in front of the main console.
"I am," he said, bumping into the side of the seat. He winced and rubbed his thigh. "We're leaving?"
"Yes, we're leaving. Stay right there."
Sam rushed to the back, helping to steady Teal'c. O'Neill hung in the background, quietly watching them. When Sam was certain the ship was ready for takeoff, she headed back to the main room.
"Do we know where we're even going?" O'Neill asked. He followed her as she and Teal'c started for the console.
"I'm going to tap into some of the star charts in the system and see if I can get a match," she said, calling over her shoulder. "We'll find the nearest planet with a Stargate and gate back to Earth."
He scowled. "And how the hell are we going to find a planet with a Stargate?"
"Sir, you know that before any standard mission, we use the coordinates to plot the surrounding systems. The Stargates form an interplanetary network, and generally are not placed at random." She stepped up to the console and started to prepare for launch. "Computer models help us pinpoint any viable options in the event we have to gate out or find an alternative means of escape." She glanced over her shoulder, noting the confusion laced in his deep frown. "Colonel, you're the one who ordered me to map this system."
"Oh," he said. "Then, carry on, Major."
Sam nodded and turned away before he could see the distress in her face. She knew that in a situation like this, she had to follow her own advice and focus. There would be a time and place for all the emotions that haunted her later.
"Teal'c, why don't you take some time to rest," she said. She pursed her lips and exhaled, staring at the controls. She'd always wanted to get some practice flying cargo ships. She just didn't think this was how she would get it. "I can handle things here."
"Are you certain?"
She nodded. "I may need you to help me with Colonel O'Neill and Daniel later," she said quietly.
He bowed his head with understanding and headed toward the cargo bay. Sam slipped into the other seat in front of the console and started the ship's ascent. Through the corner of her eye, she could see that Daniel was watching her, but his eyes were dull, his pupils constricted. She didn't know how aware he truly was.
Sam swallowed hard and tried not to think about it.
"It's going to get bad, eh?" O'Neill said from beside her.
"I'm not going to let it come to that, sir," Sam said, steering the cargo ship through the open bay and into the open. The ship shot out from the palace and quickly accelerated toward space. When she broke through the planet's upper atmosphere, Sam slowed the ship, locking it so she could check the onboard computer. She started to scan the charts that had been input into its interface, hoping to find a match or something similar to the maps she'd created at the SGC. "This might take a while," she mumbled.
"I take it that's bad?" O'Neill asked.
"The time it takes to pinpoint the nearest planet with a Stargate will give the poison more time to progress." She sighed. She didn't want to tell Colonel O'Neill that they might reach a point where the damage was irreversible. "Once we get to the SGC, Doctor Fraiser should be able to find a way to flush out the poison."
"Are we sure it's poison?" Daniel asked, resting his head on the back of his chair.
Sam sighed with relief. At least Daniel was still semi-lucid, though the lapses in his memory were troubling her. But the truth was, they couldn't know for sure. Daniel couldn't remember what he'd uncovered in the rubbings he'd read. He couldn't even place which text to start from. Sam couldn't afford to spend the time having Teal'c go over everything that Daniel had read the night before. She had to go by her gut instinct that a biological or chemical agent had compromised them. And she was sure the naquadah was a part of it.
Her bluff to Anu and her daughter had paid off. But it didn't help Sam help her friends.
"We have to treat it as a poison or an infection," Sam said. "We'll be quarantined as soon as we go through the Gate."
"Quarantined for what?" Daniel asked, frowning.
The relief she felt vanished. She offered her best smile to Daniel, trying to ease him with familiarity. "Never mind," she said. "Just sit tight."
He nodded and turned to face forward.
"Dammit, Carter." O'Neill mumbled. "What the hell did they give us?"
"Sir, I have no idea what kind of poison was used on you," Sam answered, stealing another quick glance at Daniel. He was staring into space. "Whatever was given to you, Daniel, and Teal'c is acting quickly. If we don't get to you—"
"Ah," he said, holding up his hand. "I get it. It's bad.
She cleared her throat. "Yes, sir."
"Okay, then. I'll let you work." He glanced over to Daniel. "I'll just go keep him company while I still know my own name." He gave her an awkward smile before moving to stand beside Daniel.
Sam exhaled and rubbed her forehead. Daniel was spiraling out of control, and she knew that Colonel O'Neill would be quick to follow. She couldn't screw this up. She knew she couldn't fail. She just needed time – the one thing she didn't have.
"Major Carter!"
Sam jumped to her feet at the tone of Teal'c's voice and automatically went for her P-90. When she whipped around to face him, she stared in shock the sight before her eyes.
He held Ningal at the butt of his staff weapon.
Sam narrowed her eyes. Everything within her wanted to strangle the woman for the damage she'd caused, but she knew Ningal could yet be useful. And if nothing else, Sam knew that if anything happened to her team, the Air Force would make Ningal pay for it, some way, somehow.
She pointed her weapon at the priestess.
"I understand that my presence is awkward," she said softly.
No kidding, Sam thought, eyeing her angrily.
"I discovered her within the cargo hold," Teal'c informed her.
"Come to finish off the job?" O'Neill asked, leaning into Daniel's chair. Daniel twisted and lifted himself to peer over the top, joining O'Neill as they stared Ningal down.
"I can assure you that was not my intention," she said.
"No?" Sam set her jaw and glared at the woman. "But a lethal dose of poison is?"
Ningal looked down and did not answer.
Sam was losing patience. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't toss you out of the airlock."
Ningal opened her palm and displayed a small vial. "Because I have come to help."