Authors note: Again I don't own Stargate but I sure wish I did, then I could live it rather than writing it. It you find some inconsistencies between the characters here and the ones in the movie it's because I'm basing my characterization on the way they were portrayed in the TV series since most of this fanfiction will eventually be occurring in the series.
Chapter Two
"Monitors up. Bring up the details on the center monitors please." The General commanded when we entered a control room of sorts.
"It was under the cover stones?" Dani asked gesturing in the general direction of the Stargate.
"Yes, my father found it back in 1928 made out a mineral unlike any found on Earth." Catherine rubbed a gold pendant around her neck and gazed at the gate like she was seeing old memories rather than the scene before her.
A lab technician began running across the screen of his computer pictures showing the marking on the gate in detail. As he went through one caught my eye.
"Hold it, wait." I said waving my hand. "Go back one." He did and on the monitor a symbol resembling a pyramid with a circle overhead appeared.
"That's it. Do you have a ...ah," Daniel grabbed a marker from the lab coat belonging to one of the technicians and began drawing on the screen, unfortunately it was a permanent marker.
Barry blanched and tried to snatch the marker away, "Hey! You can't do that!" Dani just ignored him. If he kept this up Barry was going to get a heart attack.
On the monitor Dani drew a rough representation of the seventh symbol we used in our presentation. "Two figures on either side of the pyramid, praying with the sun directly over head."
Everyone started at the screen in awe. "It was in front of us the whole time." Barry said, seemingly forgetting about the marker incident.
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Dani and I were going over some data when we overheard the General and Colonel O'Neill speaking off to the side. "That's why we may have to abort. This project is for not with out a reconnaissance mission." said Colonel O'Neill, a displeased expression on his face.
I inched my way over to hear them better.
"Once on the other side we would have to decipher the markings on the other gate. And in essence dial home in order to bring the team back." The General agreed.
"Based on this new information I don't see how we could do that."
"I could do that." Daniel interjected. Oh Dani, what are you getting us into.
"Are you sure?" The General asked while staring him in the eyes like he was searching for any signs of deception.
Please don't say it, please don't say it. DON'T SAY IT!
"Positive." Dani said emphatically nodding his head. I slapped my hand to my face.
The Colonel took one look at him. "He's full of shit."
"Hey, and what are you full of?" I protested indignantly lowering my hand. Then I quickly added, before the Colonel could yell whatever he was about to say to me. "Daniel isn't going anywhere without me. He goes, I go."
The General glared down of both of us. It was clear by his expression he was trying to find a good reason to deny us going, and when he found nothing. He grumbled unhappily,"You're on the team."
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In line stood about twelve marines and air force officers. Each with gruff looking weapons and an even gruffer expressions. They looked battle ready, hardened by the years.
Dani and I couldn't have stood out more if you painted us blue. The military fatigues requisitioned for us were hung off Dani's frame like plastic bags. On me they were tied and bunched in the back by a ridiculous number of rubber bands and safety pins. "You'd think a multimillion dollar operation would have clothes that actually fit."
"Sorry kid." one of the officers standing next to Kawalsky, Feretti I think, spoke up, "We were expecting grown-ups on this mission, not little girls. But if you want we might be able to find you something in pink." He smirked at down at me.
"Hey." I know I don't look my age, but if I was a kid there'd be no way I'd even be considered for this mission. "I'm not as young as I look. And I'm partly responsible for getting that hunk of rock working." I started towards the soldier.
"Erin." Dani warned, putting a hand on my shoulder. Right, not a good idea to pick a fight with these guys. They would so lose.
"Ten hut." Colonel O'Neill shouted striding into the embarkation area. All the officers snapped to attention, funny business forgotten. "Anybody has anything to say, now's the time to say it."
"Ah-ah-ahchew!" Dani sneezed unexpectedly and I patted his back.
"Riiiiight." O'Neill glance at us disdainfully. "Let's move out."
Inside the gate room that Stargate was already spinning. In the control room Barry called out as each chevron was locked into place. "Chevron seven is locked!" The gate stopped spinning and a whoosh of water exploded outwards, spiraling until it was sucked back inwards forming a vertical pool of glimmering indigo water.
"Wow!" I said as I looked up the ramp mesmerized by the light bounding off the subtle waves in the surface of the gate. Beside me the soldiers were already moving up the ramp and starting to go through.
Before he went through Colonel O'Neill turned around and barked at me. "Clark you coming or not?"
"Oh," snapping out of it, "yeah sorry." I clambered up the ramp joining him and Dani, we were the last yet to go through.
"This is amazing." Dani lifted his and lightly touched the surface of the horizon. Seeing that it moved like water he waved his hand a little more violently, making bigger waves.
"Oh, for crying out loud." and O'Neill promptly shoved him through.
I tried to stifle my laugh, but he heard me anyway and he turned to me. "Do I have to shove you to?"
"No sir." I shook my head and I jumped through the gate. It felt like I had been submersed in ice cold water for a moment, then I flew forward on the craziest roller-coaster I've ever been on.
It only lasted for a few seconds before I found myself landing hard on a rocky surface, all the air rushed out my lungs. "Oh crow." I groaned.
"Hey you alright kid?" Feretti asked helping me to my feet.
On my left Dani was lying on the ground with his head between his knees looking ready to be sick.
I took Feretti's outstretched hand and he pulled me to my feet, just a little to fast. A wave of lightheartedness swept over me and I pitched forward only to have Feretti save me from kissing the ground. "The hell was that?"
"Don't worry," Kawalsky called over, "keep moving and it'll wear off in a minute."
When I was finally steady on my feet I was able to look around at where we landed. The room we were in was huge with a large corridor stretching out before us. There was a faint light at the end. Sunlight? The wall were made of a sandy brown stone and were strangely bereft of carvings or writings making me think back to some of Dani's lectures on the pyramids.
"We gotta move out!" O'Neill shouted, already gathering his gear. "Three teams, lets go."
The soldiers broke up into thee groups and stalked forward with their guns at the ready. They formed a half circle with Dani and I in the center with O'Neill. As we got closer to the end of the corridor I saw that the light was in fact an exit.
"O2 levels stable sir," One of the officers held an atmosphere detector and tentatively stepped into the open. "Conditions similar to inside."
"I'm gonna take a look around, Kawalsky, Feretti." O'Neill waved them forward and they took point as we left the safely of the structure and walked slowly into the open.
Leading down to the ground was a huge granite ramp and on either side an obelisk rose rose up. The desert stretched on as far as I could see.
We reached the bottom of the ramp and I grabbed an handful of sand, feeling it's texture. "If I didn't know better this could be the Sahara."
""I knew it." Dani shouted triumphantly next to me startling me, making me send the sand I was holding flying into my face.
"Stop doing that." I grumbled brushing the sand off my shirt. Then I turned around and saw what he had shouted about. Reaching up into the sky was an exact replica of the great pyramids of Giza. "You were right Dani." I said as we looked at each other grinning like two children on Christmas morning.
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"Jackson, Clark get to work on the gate." O"Neill ordered us when we stopped staring at the pyramid.
"I don't know, I need more time. There's bound to be more structures here or traces of civilization." Daniel said gesturing to our surroundings.
"Not this trip. Just get back in there a reestablish contact." O'Neill said curtly.
"It not going to be that easy." Daniel retorted, earning a death glare from the Colonel. "This is a replica of the great pyramid of Giza," he said throwing his arms in the general discretion of the structure. "we wont find any hieroglyphs or pictograms anywhere in the structure, we really need to look around."
"You're job here is to realign the Stargate, can you do that or not." O'Neill approached us, his tone edging on threatening.
"I can't."
"You can't or you wont?"
"I can decipher the symbols on the Stargate but I need an order of alignment. Now those coordinates were marked on tablets back on earth, there has to be something like that here somewhere. I just need to find it. " Daniel explained.
"I knew it." exclaimed Feretti.
"What do you mean find it?" O'Neill took another step towards us.
I began backing away from the two men.
"You didn't say anything about finding something." he glowered and Dani.
"I assumed the tablets would be here." Daniel explained.
"You assumed?" O'Neill's voice sounded positively deadly now.
Turns out he wasn't the one I should have been watching.
"You lying son of a bitch!" Feretti barreled into Daniel and knocked him to the ground hard. "You never said a word about finding anything!"
Surprisingly it was O'Neill who jumped between them and threw Feretti off Dani. "Feretti! Set up a camp down here, organize our supplies."
"Sir." he protested.
"You got your orders." O'Neill boomed.
"You ok?" I asked Dani while I got down to check on him.
"Yeah but if I don't get us out of here soon, I wont be."
"One thing at a time. Lets get our gear to the camp for starters, then well worry about the gate." I sounded more confident than I felt. If we couldn't get back home we were going to be wrapped helically around an inclined plane. In short, screwed.
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We dragged our bags through the crude camp Feretti and Kawalsky had assembled. The glares from the soldiers burned into our backs and I dared not meet any of their gazes.
On the edge of the camp we set up our gear. Dani rooted through his vest pockets, throwing some of what he found on the ground.
"What in the world are you doing?" I asked as yet another object collided with the sand.
"I got everything here except sunblock." He answered, the annoyance evident in his voice.
"Here." I handed him my tube of sunblock.
"Were'd you find yours?"
"In the pocket that I put it in."
"Hey!" Feretti's voice broke up our conversation. He stood behind us with one of Daniel's bags full of his books. "Isn't there something you should be doing right now?" Then he hurled the bag at Daniel's head, just barley missing him. "Like getting us the hell out of here?!"
"That's enough!" I shouted jumping to my feet staring him down. Daniel had taken off chasing his books and papers before they were lost in the sand. "We're not dead yet, and it doesn't look like we're in any immediate danger. It takes time to find what we're looking for. And you all yelling at us every two minutes isn't going to get us home any faster, so can it!"
"Lady's right."O'Neill appeared out of nowhere next to me. "Where's Jackson?"
"Over there some here." Pointing my thumb behind me.
"We need to get you and Jackson back in there and start looking for the return code." he led us over a sand dune. "Feretti, you and your men stay here."
"Yes sir."
As we came over the top we saw Daniel standing next to a, well a literal walking carpet. The animal was huge and easy towered over Dani. Though the way it was sniffing and rubbing against him it seemed more like a big puppy begging for food, which Daniel was giving him.
"I wouldn't feed that thing!" O'Neill shouted at him, raising his gun so it was aimed at the creature.
"It's got a harness!" Daniel shouted back, tugging on the leather straps wrapped around the animal's mouth. "It's domesticated! I don't think its dangerous ahh..." the creature took off and the straps lying around it on the ground tightened around Dani's feet and the next thing we knew he was flying across the sand, screaming the whole way.
"Not again." I groaned in frustration before taking off after him with everyone else.
O'Neill and I ran side by side, seeming somewhat surprised that I could keep pace with him. I hadn't been the captain of the cross-county team for nothing.
"This has happened before?" he shouted a little breathless.
"Long story short, we were on a dig in southern Africa and he spooked an elephant." a grin spreading across my face at the memory.
We caught up to the animal and Daniel was lying prone across the sand mumbling curses in a string of ancient languages.
"You ok Jackson?" O'Neil asked as he helped Kawalsky lift Dani off the ground.
"Yeah." he said standing and brushing himself off. "Would you look at that!" He stared at something in shock behind us.
"Whoa!" I skidded to a stop. Far in the distance was a huge working camp of sorts. The sound of metal striking rocks and hundreds of voices were audible even at this distance. I squinted trying to get a better look at the aliens, then I gasped when I realized something. "Are those people? They look human!" Around me the soldiers nodded in agreement.
"Let's get a closer look, Jackson, Clark come on." O"Neill was already heading over the sand dunes.
Dani and I trudged behind them, struggling to keep up.
When we got closer a worker spotted us called out to the rest. Immediately all they stopped working to watch us. So much for not making a big scene. It was like an epic staring contest between the thousands of them and the seven of us. It was completely silent for over two minutes and there seemed to be no end in sight. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a boy, about my age with dreads who seemed to be watching me with particular interest. But when I turned to meet his gaze he turned away quickly making me wonder if I had just imagined it.
O"Neill's voice broke into my thoughts. "Alright, Jackson Clark your on."
"Us?" I squeaked.
"You two are the linguists." he said like it was so obvious, which I guess it kinda was. "Try to talk to them."
"Well," I looked at Daniel with what I hoped looked like an apologetic expression. "Technically he's the professional."
He sighed in resignation before walking up to the group of people closet to us. "Um," he tried to decide what to say to them, "Hi!"
Kawalsky scoffed next to me. "Sure, professional. I coulda done that."
I tried to stop myself from giggling.
"Mettu aya." A dark skinned man said looking at Daniel. He whirled looking behind him to shout so the rest of them could hear. "Mettu a aya!"
Everyone, no matter where they were or what they were doing dropped what they were holding and fell to their knees before us.
"Ok, I was not expecting that." my eyes roved uneasily over the mass of people.
"What they hell did you say to them?" O'Neill questioned Daniel while we came to stand side by side with him.
'Nothing." he replied shrugging his shoulders.
"Hey." I interjected. "maybe we should try to get them up off the ground, this is creeping me out."
"I agree." O'Neill knelt down next to boy I had seen earlier and took his hand, trying to shake it in greeting. "Hi, how ya doing."
The boy looked up at him in fear and yanked his hand away screaming. Hurling himself to his feet he took off running. "Sheep esoy, sheep esoy. Asu..." his voice faded in to the distance.
O'Neill glanced back at us, confusion all over his face. "What I say?"
"I don't think it was you. I mean think about how strange we must seem to them." I waved my hand at the mass still kneeling on the ground.
Faintly I heard the boy's voice again, "Asu, sheep aya." He was leading what seemed to be an animal like the one that had drug Dani, only about twice as large.
When it got closer a man slid off the animal. If not for his ornate clothes, then his regal posture alerted me to the fact that this man was most likely the leader of these people. He watched us with some uncertainty, but approached us never the less. "Yeahyawa mahate ancac Kasuf."
Daniel's face was a mixture of awe and confusion which was his trademark whenever he was trying to understand something that for the moment completely baffled him. "I can't make it out."
Some of the words seemed vaguely familiar to me, "It may be a form of chatic or armanic." I offered.
The leader waved his hand at the mass, "Amow." and they all rose to their feet. Then he gestured to a group on his left and several women came forward with bowls full of water and offered them to us.
Next to me I saw the woman who gave the bowl to Dani watching him closely and then blushing when he looked down at her. "Thank you." he said and a brief smile crossed her face as she stepped away from him.
"Se plue." the leader gestured with his hands for us to follow him.
"He's inviting us to follow him." Dani translated.
O'Neill was still skeptical, "How do you know?"
"Because," and I mimicked the man's gesture with my hands, "he's inviting us to go with him."
"We were looking for signs of civilization, obviously we have found it. You want me to get us home? This is our best shot." Dani said.
"Colonel he's right. I took some reading of what they're mining. Its made of the same material as the Stargate." One of the soldiers added as he bent down and scanned a basket full of a dark rocky substance.
"Radio base camp, tell them to keep that area secure until we get back." O'Neill ordered Kawalsky.
"Yes sir."
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The leader, who we learned was named Kasuf lead us through the desert. In the distance a city of sorts rose up from the sand.
"That's amazing. "I said to no one in particular. I should have been watching were I was going because, what do you know, I tripped and plowed into someone almost knocking them over.
Whoever it was caught me and I looked up to see dark brown eyes starring down at me. It was the boy from before. My face blazed red, "Sorry and thanks." I managed to stutter out. Even though he didn't understand my words he seemed to understand I was thanking him.
He nodded and smiled faintly saying something, which I took for a 'you're welcome'.
Next to me Daniel started huffing, "ahh-achew!" he took out his filthy handkerchief.
"I think it's about time you burned that." I pointed at it.
"What? No, I've had this for years." he looked slightly hurt, but I could tell he was joking.
I laughed, "My point exactly."
Behind us I heard the boy mumble to the group of kids that had assembled around us. Then there was the distinctive sound of a slap. I whirled around to see what was going on just in time to see the boy shove Daniel's handkerchief back into one of his pockets.
I couldn't suppress my laugh and I heard someone else laughing with me. The woman I saw eying Daniel for the past hour gazed affectionately at the boy and Daniel. I think Dani has an admirer.
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Entering the city I glanced around us. There were several levels weaving in and out of the buildings swirling above.
Kasuf called out and two men on platforms about twenty feet up ran over and pulled away a leather covering over a gold medallion suspended in the air. Kasuf knelt on the ground in front of Daniel and the rest of his people followed.
The intricate symbol engraved into the gold caught my eye. "The eye of Ra." I breathed out. "The Egyptian Sun God." I explained when many of the soldiers looked clueless. "They must think he sent us here."
"Yeah. I wonder what gave them that idea." O'Neill walked over to Daniel picking something up off his chest.
For the first time I noticed that around Dani's neck was Catherine's gold pendant. "How did you get that?" I asked.
"Catherine gave it to me. She said it might bring me luck."
I bent down next to Kasuf and pointed at the symbol above us, "Ra. Ra?" He looked up at me and nodded slightly.
Suddenly all around the air filed with the sound of horns and shouting. The people started to shout at each other and move farther into the city while several men ran to the gate we had just came through and frantically began to close it.
"What are they all doing? Where are they going?" O'Neill shouted at me and Daniel.
"I don't know." I said shrugging my shoulders before having to step out of the way of some natives running past.
Static came from the Kawalsky's radio, "Feretti! I can't hear you." He handed the radio to O'Neill. "Sir I can't make this out."
"Feretti, repeat." O'Neill shouted into the radio.
Static, "Sir we have to..." garbled words. "I repeat we have to abandon base camp."
"Arando she boy!" Kasuf shouted and the men finished closing the gates.
"We're going back right now!" O'Neill hoisted his gun and shoved his way through the crowd, using his gun to part a path.
"Colonel!" I barreled after him trying to get his attention. "I think they're closing those gates for good reason."
"Yeah." He yelled back at me but continued forwards. "What reason could that possibly be?" He and the soldiers reached the gate. When the natives wouldn't move they started shooting at the ground, sending the everyone screaming in terror. "Get out of the way!" He and Kawalsky grabbed two men trying to flee and held their weapon on them.
"Colonel stop it!" I commanded, not that they would listen to me. Running, Daniel and I put ourselfs between them and the rest of the people gathering around us holding our hands up.
The natives grew silent, waiting to see what we would do next. I felt someone brush pst me and I glanced beside me to see the boy bravely approaching O'Neill.
"Ney ne, ney ne." he said calmly waving his hands slowly at the gate. When O'Neill slowly started to lower his gun the boy gestured for O'Neill to follow him. "Shashe teu, yu yu."
Before he follow, O'Neill stopped and turned to Dani and I. "You two stay here."
The boy lead him up three level till we saw that they have come out on and walkway running across the top of the gate.
"What is it Colonel?" Kawalsky yelled up while still firmly gripping his hostage.
"Sandstorm, and coming this way." The Colonel shouted down, and a chill went down my back.
With a huff Kawalsky released his hostage then waved for the rest of his men to lower their guns.
"Well that would have been an excellent reason to shoot everyone." Daniel mumbled.
I knelt on the ground and put my head in my hands, trying to control my breathing. We had been in only one other sandstorm before. I didn't remember much except for how the constant sand blowing in my face made it seem like I was drowning.
Daniel came over and put his hand on my back. "It's going to be okay, we're safe here. You going to be okay?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, I'm going to go over there to talk to Kasuf," I looked over to where Kasuf and Kawalsky were talking. Kawalsky seemed to be apologizing. "Come get me if you need anything."
I sat on the ground for a few more minutes before someone nudged me. "Dani, I'm ok." I responded without looking up."
"Esoy?" a voice that was definitely not Dani's questioned. My head snapped up and I saw the boy, really needed to learn his name, looking down at me with concern.
"Oh, um... Hi." I smiled up at him and he held out his hand smiling back. Taking his hand he helped my up. When we were standing said by side I noticed that he was actually sort of short, though not as short as me, no one is as short as me. My face started to burn slightly when he didn't release my hand.
"Um." Thinking of something to say. "Shashe teu? Sandstorm?" I said using words I heard Kasuf used, they seemed familiar.
The boy's eyes widened and he nodded his head vigorously, "Shashe teu!" he pointed at the gate.
He lead me to where I heard some music coming from. A party had formed around where the rest of my team were sitting with Kasuf. A bunch of women came up and sat down in front of them trays full of various exotic foods.
O'Neill looked up at the boy and I, "I see you made a friend." He said jokingly.
"Huh, what?" I was a little confused. He gestured at our hands and my face burned scarlet when I realized the boy and I were still holding hands.
I bit my lip and plopped myself down next to Kawalsky. The boy let go of me but sat down next to me. The soldiers smirked over at us, but at my death glare they immediately became very interested in the dirt.
"Hey Jackson," O'Neil drew my attention to where he and Dani were side by side. Dani was just about to put a handful of food into him mouth. "I don't think we should be eating the food here."
"I don't know." I called over. I nodded in thanks when the boy handed me a bowl of food that looked like mangoes. He smiled at me then handed me another bowl. "They might consider that an insult." I took a piece of bread from the boy, or at least I think it was bread.
A cheer rose up around us and two women came and placed a huge tray, presumably the main course, in front of Dani and O'Neill. When they pulled the cloth off I wished I had brought a camera to capture the Colonel and Dani's expressions at the fried lizard split open down its back.
"Well." Scoffed Kawalsky. "We wouldn't want to offend them now would we."
I nearly spit out the food I was eating to keep from giggling when the Colonel glared over at Kawalsky.
Daniel tentatively reached forward and took a hunk of the cooked meat from the creature. He scrunched his face up in preparation of a bitter taste, but his expression slowly softened till he was smiling. "Tastes like chicken." he laughed out. "Tastes like chicken." Kasuf was looking at him trying to understand. "Tastes like um... bow-bwock-bwock-bow-bow."
"Jackson!" The Colonel yelled to get him to stop. "You said that was and Egyptian symbol, Clark?" he asked me looking at the gold plaque.
"Yes. It the symbol for the Ancient Egyptian god Ra."
"Do you think it stands to reason that if they knew one Egyptian symbol..." he said tuning his head to look at Dani.
"Yes! Um here." Dani rose walking across the circle to Kasuf. He pulled out the necklace Catherine had given, him. Immediately Kasuf averted his eyes and bowed his head to the ground. "No no, you don't have to do that." Dani got him to rise back up. With his finger Dani began to carve into the sand an Egyptian symbol of greeting. Kasuf stared at the symbol in fearful shock and quickly covered it with his foot. He shot to his feet and called out for the players to stop the music.
"Whats going on?" O'Neill got to his feet, his hand wavering toward his gun.
"It seems like writing is forbidden to them." Daniel answered.
"But forbidden by whom?" I asked.
A group of women surged forward and surrounded Daniel. "Hey, Hey! What are you..." he exclaimed in surprise as they whisked him away.
"Daniel!" I shouted trying to follow, only to be stopped by O'Neill.
"I think he's going to be fine." A ghost of a smile playing on his face.
My eyes widened in realization of what he meant. "Oh." was all I could say.
Author's note: For the Abydonian language I didn't know exactly how it was spelled, so I spelled it as close as I could get it to how it sounded in the movie.