A/N: This one has a bit of medical information, nothing too graphic, but consider yourselves warned.
As the Team Giza filed into the gateroom, General West pulled Carter aside. "Major, are you sure you're ready for this?"
"No, sir," Carter answered, "We have no idea what's waiting for us other than a few hundred meters of passageways explored by the probe. But if you're referring to the," she paused as Dr. Jackson approached. He stopped and looked at the two officers, wondering what was going on.
Samantha waved him on into the room, and then leaned toward the general and said softly, "If you're referring to the other objective, I will fulfill my duty."
"Then you have a go," West said, "Good luck."
"Thank you, sir," Carter answered. She passed through the blast door and saw that her team was assembled around the F.R.E.D. She glanced up at the control room and saw West looking out from behind the technicians. She couldn't hear the order he gave, but the gate started dialing.
"Chevron One encoded," the tech said.
"Stay away from the vortex that the gate emits," she warned her team, "it will probably vaporize anything that comes into contact with it."
"Chevron Two encoded."
Samantha was pleased that her team starter to move away from the gate before they heard her reason. If they did what they were told, the mission would be a bit safer.
"Chevron Three encoded."
'Maybe I should have called my dad,' Samantha thought.
"Chevron Four encoded."
'No,' she answered herself, 'He would have found out what I was going, and he'd have stopped it.'
"Chevron Five encoded."
Carter heard someone humming the Air Force Song, and smiled, thinking about the aptness of the words.
"Chevron Six encoded."
Everyone in the team seemed to be holding their breaths except, Carter saw, for Pasteur and O'Brian, who were the ones humming.
"Chevron Seven locked!"
"Yee-ha!" O'Brian yelled as the vortex whooshed out of the gate.
"Permission to go first, Ma'am," Pasteur asked the major, but she didn't answer because West was on the microphone.
"Team Giza, good luck. We'll keep a light on for you," he said as the F.R.E.D. rolled up the ramp and through the gate.
Carter saluted the general and then smiled at Pasteur, "Not a chance. Watch my back." She walked up the ramp and heard her team behind her. "One small step," she joked, and then she walked through the event horizon.
Carter was thrown from the gate faster than she had entered it, covered with a thin layer of frost. She rolled into a crouch, grateful for her helmet and flak jacket, and swept her MP5 over the room, which was illuminated only by the blue glow of the stargate. There was no one in the room except her for a few moments, and then Pasteur came flying out of the gate. He also surveyed the room while getting up, and then he remarked, "She's got some kick to her."
"Flares," she ordered, letting her rifle hang by its shoulder strap and pulling two calcium flares out of her vest. She twisted the igniter on the first one and tossed it to the side of the room, away from Pasteur, as it started to burn, and then she ignited the second one and tossed it down the exit hallway. Then she knelt at one side of the doorway pointing her rifle down the hall, and Pasteur assumed an identical position on the other doorjamb. The only sounds for several minutes were the arrival of Team Giza members, each of whom was thrown across the room as Samantha and Pasteur had been. When O'Brian had recovered from his trip, he relieved her at the jamb, and she stood, again allowing her rifle to hang on its strap. She surveyed her team: her men looked only a little worse for wear, but Catherine was sitting on the steps cradling one wrist and Daniel was kneeling over one of the flares attempting to warm his hands.
"Dr. Jackson," Carter said, "Those flares are designed to burn cool to avoid igniting surrounding materials. Give it a minute and the chill wears off. Is everyone alright?"
"I think I sprained my wrist on that landing," Catherine answered, but the rest just nodded that they were fine.
"I'm first aid trained," Carter sighed. Catherine was lucky she hadn't broken her hip. "Lt. Freeman, take the men and secure the area. The probe should be in a large room a hundred meters down this hall."
"Yes ma'am," Freeman answered, "Jones, Maybourne, take point. Let's move." As the team moved out, Carter toggled her radio and said, "Team Giza to Cheyenne Mountain, everyone is accounted for. The ride's a bit bumpy, and Dr. Langford injured her wrist. I've sent Freeman ahead to check on the probe. Stand by, over."
"Understood, Major," Gen. West's voice answered, "Standing by, over."
Samantha took an aid kit from the F.R.E.D. and sat next to Catherine. "Let's take a look at this wrist," she said, taking it in both hands and squeezing gently. Catherine inhaled sharply, and Samantha felt the heat from the joint. "It may be broken, but all I'll be able to do is splint it anyway." Carter unwrapped a splint and aligned it to Catherine's forearm and hand. She threaded the Velcro straps and checked the alignment before tightening. Catherine gasped again. "Sorry," Carter said, "Do you need something for the pain?"
"No," Catherine answered, "I'll just avoid bending it."
Samantha smiled at the older woman and nodded slightly. She slid the splinted arm through the chain of a large pendant that Catherine was wearing. She hadn't noticed it in the gateroom, so she assumed Catherine must have had it under her vest. Then Samantha picked up the splint's wrapper and pressed her radio again.
"I'm going to test two-way transportation," she said, tossing the balled-up wrapper through the event horizon and waiting for a count of fifteen, "Has anything come through? Over"
"No, Major, over," the technician's voice said.
"Understood," Carter answered, "recommend that you cut power to the gate. We'll start working on the return trip, over and out."
"Cutting power in ten; over and out"
Cater counted to ten, and then the wormhole dissipated, leaving the room much darker, illuminated only by the flares. "Doctors, figure out how to call home," she said, walking to the far side of the F.R.E.D. I think that podium is the dialer."
While the two archeologists examined the device, Carter moved one of the cargo cart's storage bags and pressed a recessed button. A panel withdrew from under where the bag had been, revealing a secret compartment. Within the compartment were a transmitter, a small cylindrical firing charge, and a sphere with a cylinder extending from it. The major slid the cap into a hole on the end of the cylinder opposite the sphere.
"We've secured the room," Carter's radio crackled, "I'm sending Harris and Green back with the probe, over."
"Understood," Carter answered, grabbing the transmitter and putting it into her vest pocket before closing the panel. She shifted the storage bag back to its original location and then walked over to observe the two archeologists. "Any progress?"
"Ah, yes," Daniel answered, "We think we've figured out how to dial, and what the point of origin is."
"Impressive," Carter answered.
"You see, as you press down on these glyphs, they light up. Thirty-eight of the glyphs are the same as those on our gate: the only one missing is our point of origin," he explained, "And this glyph," he pressed on it, "Was not on our gate."
"And the address for Earth?"
"We haven't found it," Catherine answered. "There's no writing in this room apart from the control glyphs. We hope the other rooms will have some."
"Well, I haven't seen any," Green said as he and Harris came back with the probe.
"Report," Carter ordered.
"The next room has a whole bunch of square columns and one hallway with light at the end of it, Ma'am," Green said, "There was no sign that the probe had been touched since we sent it."
Carter nodded, hoping that the warrant officer had missed some detail that would be meaningful to the archeologists. "Let's go," she said, and then she started down the hallway, resting one hand on the butt of her MP5. She set out at a slow walk, allowing plenty of time to observe the brown stone walls by flare-light.
Unfortunately, no one noticed anything on the walls, but just before they reached the colonnaded room, Freeman radioed again, "We've reached the exit, Ma'am," he said, "We're in a sandy desert. Temperature outside is in the hundreds, and I hope everyone remembered their sunglasses, because the sun is bright. Kawalski recommends that we use the pyramid; that's what we're in, by the way; anyway, he recommends that we use the naturally cool pyramid as our shelter rather than relying on the tents. Over"
"Sounds good," Carter answered, "Do you have any idea what time it is locally? Over"
"Looks like about noon, Ma'am. Over"
"Leave two sentries near the exit and bring the rest back. We'll set up and get some shuteye now and do further explorations in the evening when it's cooled off. Over" Sam's group had reached the column room by now, and she, Harris and Green searched it one more time for anything amiss. Finding nothing, they turned the room over to Jackson and Langford for investigation.
"The decoration on these columns is consistent with early First Dynasty burial temples in the Lower Nile," Daniel remarked, his nose a couple inches from the repeating pattern.
"Which is consistent with your timeline on the departure of the aliens," Catherine agreed.
"But what does it say?" Harris asked.
"What?" Daniel answered as he rummaged through his pack, pulling out a sheet of paper and a charcoal stick to make a rubbing, "Oh, um, it doesn't. It's just a decoration."
"Just a decoration?" Harris said, looming over Daniel, "Well, why don't you ignore it and find out how to get us home, instead of playing with crayons?" Harris grabbed the paper from Daniel, crumpling it up as he pulled it away from the startled archeologist.
"Airman Harris!" Carter shouted, "Back off." She glared at him without saying anything more until he had stepped back. "I'm sure Dr. Jackson has a perfectly good reason to be doing what he's doing. Unless you have a degree in Egyptology that you haven't told me about, I suggest you keep in mind that Dr. Jackson and Dr. Langford are trained professionals. I'm sure that they have a perfectly good reason for what they're doing." At the last sentence, she looked pointedly at the doctors.
"Knowing the context of this construction will help us in translating any writings we find," Catherine said.
"I . . . see," Harris uncrumpled the paper, smoothing the wrinkles out on the corner of one of the pillars.
Evening came, and Carter ordered the whole group out of the pyramid. "Freeman, take Johnson, Pasteur, Jones, and Dr. Jackson. Green, O'Brian, guard the doorway. Kawalsky, Harris, Maybourne, and Dr. Langford are with me," she said as they stepped out of the columned exit. She made eye contact with Lt. Freeman and pointed down to the obelisks and then off to the left, indicating the direction she wanted his group to take. The groups would circle the pyramid in opposite directions, making the most use of the moderate light. The soldiers, other than Green and O'Brian, stood on the steps as Daniel and Catherine examined the obelisks.
"These are the only obelisks I've ever seen that didn't have writing on them," Daniel said in exasperation.
"I was stationed in D.C., Dr. Jackson," Pasteur answered, "didn' notice any writing on the Washington Monument."
Daniel sighed and corrected himself, "Every Egyptian obelisk known to man is covered with hieroglyphics. They praise the gods, the pharaoh, military victories, something."
"Maybe Ra only brought laborers through the gate," Catherine suggested, "No one knew how to write."
"But we think that the Egyptians learned writing from the aliens," Daniel argued, "Why wouldn't they just re-teach the skill?"
"Daylight's wasting," the Major interrupted. She suspected that the sun would be up for a couple hours yet, but she also guessed that the archeologists could spend that arguing, and she wanted to find out what the rest of the pyramid would tell them, "Let's move." Carter took point for her team, but climbing the uneven sand drifts around the stone edifice required her to let her rifle hang and move on all fours as often as not. The drifts, and the sand's tendency to slide down as someone put weight on it, slowed their inspection to figurative crawl as well as a literal one.
They had been moving for about twenty minutes when Freeman radioed, "Ma'am, we seem to have, ah, lost Dr. Jackson, over."
Carter couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Say again, over," she answered.
"Dr. Jackson wandered off, Ma'am, over," Freeman said.
The major shot a look at Catherine and toggled her radio again: "Doctor Jackson? Major Carter to Dr. Daniel Jackson; respond! Over"
"This is Green," the warrant officer's voice came over the radio, "Dr. Jackson left his vest at the entryway. It has his radio. Over"
"That idiot," Carter exclaimed. Then she hit her radio again and asked, "Does he have his flare-gun? Over"
"No Ma'am," Green answered, "His Very Pistol is here. Over"
Samantha bowed her head for a few seconds and then radioed again, her tone curt but in control, "We need to find him before dark, we have no idea how cold this place gets at night. Green, fire a flare. If he's lost, it might help him find the pyramid. Freeman, we've left pretty clear tracks in the sand, backtrack to where Jackson left your group. Deploy your men in ten meter intervals, but leave someone behind to meet us. Do not let yourselves get out of sight of the pyramid, over."
"Understood, over," Freeman said.
Green had evidently fired the flare; it was visible above the side of the pyramid. Carter had a further thought as her group rounded the corner back to the temple's entrance. "Green, get the climbing gear from our supplies, over." She glanced back at Kawalsky as she neared a valley between two dunes and said, "Lieutenant, I believe that CBs are all climb-trained."
"A myth, Ma'am," he answered, cocking his head to one side and smiling, "That was never mandated. But I make sure all my boys are certified."
"That's the type of zeal that gets you sent on fool's errands like these," Sam smiled, although she was crawling up a dune now, so he couldn't see her face, "You and Harris will have quite a view from the peak. You'll keep a light up there through the night."
"I think this will deserve its own chapter in my memoirs," the lieutenant joked, "A Candle for Dr. Jackson."
Samantha laughed, regretting it as a breeze blew sand into her mouth. "Include this, and you'll have to shoot anyone who reads those memoirs."
"Then I'll keep it away from my wife."
Samantha snorted at that. She and West had made sure that no one on the team was married. Other than Catherine and Daniel, all of them had at least one brother back home too. The reasoning for that sobered her, though, and she was barking orders when her group made it back to the entrance, "Kawalsky, Harris, get climbing. Everybody have their flashlights?" She glanced around and saw Maybourne shake his head. "Green," she jerked a thumb toward the airman, which he understood and handed his flashlight to Maybourne.
"Take good care of it, Harry," Green said.
"Catherine, stay here," the Carter ordered, but the older woman shook her head.
"Not a chance."
"Dr. Langford—" the major began, but Catherine interrupted.
"I made the call to being Daniel in on this. He's my responsibility."
"You'll slow us down."
"I've kept up with your boys so far." The archeologist started in the direction that Freeman's group had gone, and Carter followed, wishing that they'd kept to strictly military personnel. The slope was more difficult in the direction they were going now, and so everyone saved their breath for climbing until they came to Pasteur, whom Freeman had left behind to show the others where they'd lost Dr. Jackson.
"Ma'am," he nodded when the group came within a short distance. Carter understood the lack of salute to mean that he was following combat procedures. Salutes marked out officers to any opposing snipers. "We estimate that Dr. Jackson has been gone about fifty minutes by now. Lt. Freeman and the boys have a twenty minute lead on us."
"No need to fan out with them ahead of us," the major answered, "Maybourne, take up the rear." She took point herself and set as rapid of a pace as the terrain allowed without running.
"Freeman to Carter," the radio crackled, "Jackson's trail meets with something else. It's a vehicle or a large animal, but the breeze had made it difficult to get anything certain other than which way it went. For that matter, I can't even tell which trail marks the thing coming and which marks it going. I'm sending Jones and Johnson on the left trail and taking the right one myself. Over"
"Negative," Carter answered, "I don't want anyone else wandering alone. Take the left trail, my group will take the right one. Over"
"Understood, taking the left trail, over."
Samantha took to glancing back at the pyramid from the crest of each dune while she waited for the others to catch up to her. She measured the height of the sun against the edifice with each glance. The sun was setting more slowly than she had expected. Either the rotation of this world was slower than that of Earth, or they were farther from the equator than she had guessed.
The tracks were indeed quite eroded by the breeze: there was little more than a furrow of disturbed sand in either direction when Samantha's group reached it. "Spread out, ten meters," she ordered, walking five meters from the groove itself. Catherine placed herself on the opposite side of the groove, and the two airmen flanked the women. Their vigilance proved fruitless, as there was no sign of activity except the furrow itself until they crested a dune and saw a cluster of tents with people and large animals moving between them. Carter waved to her people to drop back behind the dune and close up the space between them. "Pasteur, check it out," she whispered once the four were collected.
The sniper shifted how his rifle hung on its shoulder strap so that it wouldn't drag through the sand and then crawled on his stomach to the top of the dune. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and examined the facility. He then crawled back down and reported, "No sign of fortifications or guards, Ma'am. It looks like a mine to me. They must have a settlement somewhere nearby; there are no women or young children in sight. I'd guess that one of their beasts of burden made the track we've been following."
Samantha nodded, and then she looked at her archeologist, "What do you think?"
"We have to make contact, Major," Catherine answered, "They know the terrain, even if they don't have Daniel, they could help us find him. Besides, we haven't found a clue of Earth's address at the pyramid."
"So . . . what? Do we just walk up and say 'Hi'?" Carter asked.
"Why not?" Catherine said, "They have no guards and no fortifications. That probably means that they don't have any enemies. We should be pretty safe."
Samantha spoke into her radio, "This is Carter: we've found a settlement of some kind. Dr. Langford thinks that it is safe, so we're going to make contact. Over"
"Understood, Major," Freeman's voice answered, "So far, we've found sand. Over"
Samantha got up and began to take point, but Catherine's excitement about the meeting drove her to the front. No one seemed to notice the four as they came over the dune, but a few people looked up as they came into the camp itself. Catherine tried to greet the people, saying, "Salvate! γειά σου!"
The men looked curiously at the older woman but said nothing. She untucked her injured arm from its improvised sling and put both hands on her chest. "Catherine," she said.
This produced more of a stir among the men, who spoke rapidly to one another, finally sending one of the youths running towards the tents. A crowd gathered around the visitors. They stared at the four but looked down if one of them made eye contact. After a minute a worried-looking man made his way through the crowd. He was older than the workers, with more white than grey in his beard. He glanced at the visitors as he reached the front of the crowd and then bowed and knelt facing Catherine. The crowd followed his example, and soon the whole circle was kneeling.
"Doctor?" Samantha asked softly.
"I think it's my amulet," Catherine answered, "They couldn't see it when my arm was in the way. It's the symbol of the god Ra. They must still worship him here."
The old man spoke in a pleading tone, glancing up at Catherine's face to see if his entreaties had any effect.
"This is amazing," Catherine commented, "He's speaking Egyptian, probably."
"Great," Pasteur answered, "What's he saying?"
"I don't know."
"Come on, Doctor, don't joke. You did those translations, didn't you?" The airman asked.
"That was written," Catherine explained, "No one knows what sounds corresponded to the hieroglyphics." She tried writing the symbol for peace in the sand, but the old man hurriedly brushed it away. Catherine tried several more symbols, and each was wiped out except for the "Ra" symbol, identical to the one on her pendant.
Carter surveyed the tents around them, wondering if Daniel was captive in one of them. Growing impatient with Catherine's attempts at communication, the major ordered, "Pasteur, stay with Dr. Langford. Maybourne, you're with me." She walked toward the crowd, and one of the men called out. The old man answered, and the crowd parted in front of Samantha.
The first few tents had no one and few things in them. A few blankets, cups, and what looked like the remnants of a dice game sat where they'd been left when all the occupants left to see the visitors. As she approached the final tent in a row, Samantha heard a low groan. She gripped her MP5 with both hands and flipped off the safety. Maybourne likewise readied himself and they both charged into the tent, looking for guards or jailers holding Daniel captive. There were neither guards nor jailers. Instead, they found the archeologist and an adolescent boy each lying under a blanket. The sudden entrance of the two strangers was enough to dray the boy's attention, and he slowly lifted his head to see the newcomers through exhausted eyes. Daniel, however, did not respond.
Samantha flipped the safety back on and set her rifle down. "Daniel," she said, feeling his pulse. It was stable, but he did not wake up. His hair was disheveled and sandy, but Carter still noticed a swelling just above his hairline. "Concussion," she said.
Maybourne nodded and moved next to the boy. "Heatstroke," he declared.
"Yes," Carter agreed as she joined him over the boy. "Hi there," she said, smiling, when the boy made eye contact. "He's definitely dehydrated." There was another smell almost hidden by the stink of dehydration. Samantha felt his forehead and then under his chin. "He has a fever, and his lymph nodes are swollen. I think the heat stroke is secondary." As she bent over him, she was able to identify the smell—feces. "Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of death in undeveloped countries. It causes dehydration, and without medicines to treat it and replacement fluids, people don't always recover." She opened one of the pockets in her vest and pulled out an ounce-sized bottle. "But if they can get some Imodium and an IV, the problem usually resolves itself in a few days." She opened the bottle and held it to the boy's mouth. He slowly lifted one hand and held weakly onto the bottle over Samantha's hand. She helped him tip it back, and was glad to see him swallow successfully. As she tossed the now-empty bottle out the door, she used her radio, "We've found Dr. Jackson; he has a concussion but should be okay. Freeman, head back to the pyramid and get me a fluids IV from the medical supplies. Over"
"It'll be dark soon after we reach the pyramid, Ma'am," Freeman answered, "How soon do you need the fluids? Over"
Carter grimaced. The boy was young and, looked strong, but she didn't know how long he'd been in this condition. But at the same time she didn't want her people wandering around in the dark. "Set out at sunrise," she finally decided, "Over." She then ordered Maybourne, "Go show Catherine where to find us."
The airman nodded and left, and while he was gone Carter managed to get the boy to drink a few ounces of water from her canteen. Maybourne returned after a few minutes with Catherine, Pasteur, and the old man, who glanced at Daniel before kneeling next to the boy and saying only, "Skaara."
Catherine stood next to Samantha and said, "The man's name is Kasuf. He's the leader of the tribe, which has a city nearby. How's Daniel?"
"He still hasn't regained consciousness," the major answered, "What are they saying?"
"I think that's his son," the woman answered, "'How are you?' 'Better' 'How?' 'The woman'—I think that's you—'gave me strange water.'" Catherine gave Samantha an inquisitive look.
"Imodium," Carter answered, "It's mint-flavored."
Kasuf stood and bowed to Carter, and Catherine translated, "He's thanking you for bringing comfort to his son. He thinks you're Isis, or that you're one of her priestesses—I'm not really sure—and he pledges to honor Isis with a feast if Skaara recovers."
"Thank him for taking care of Daniel," Carter ordered, and Catherine did so.
The group sat down in the tent and Catherine spoke further with Kasuf inquiring about the history of his people, occasionally relaying information that she thought would be meaningful to Samantha: "When Ra retreated from Earth, he forbid the Abydonians all writing. He comes here only rarely; this planet is a mining colony. Every so often—I haven't figured out their time references—they send a shipment of ore through the stargate."