The somber group left the lab behind and continued down the long hall. In spite of his gloom, Makepeace couldn't help but smile when the hall ended at yet another of Varayimshaeta's audience chambers. Seemed he'd guessed right, after all. Idly, he wondered if every level contained one of these rooms. No, they were too tall. Some levels would have to be skipped. But they probably appeared with regularity every ten stories or so. He imagined a soaring tower, the highest in the city, with a pillar of vibrant energy stretching from its tip down into this world's deepest recesses, perhaps even into its molten core.
The interior of this chamber looked identical to the other two he'd seen. But the light column pulsed faster than it had before, like a heart overloaded on too much adrenaline. At irregular intervals, electronic flutes fluttered and trilled over the bass beats, then went silent again.
Conspicuously placed in front of the light column's guard rail were SG-3's weapons, ammunition, GDOs, and rucksacks. Their belongings had been arranged in four neat piles.
"Do you guys see what I see?" Andrews asked.
"Oh, yeah," Makepeace said, resisting the urge to just charge up there and arm himself.
Johnson said, "I wonder what's up?"
"I'm sure Vara's going to tell us what it's got in mind. It hasn't been real shy about its plans before."
The servitors floated away and took up positions at the rear of the room. Makepeace eyed them curiously. Their normal behavior was to act as guards, but on this trip they had seemed more like guides. He regarded the pulsing, blue-white light. The source of Varayimshaeta's agitation seemed plain enough to him; the earlier attacks would have upset anyone. Now, though, things were calm. There had been no explosions since SG-3 had been released from the bunker. Makepeace wanted to know why the attack had ceased, and who was responsible for it. He expected that Varyimshaeta would explain. Why else would the AI bring them here?
He wasn't disappointed. Electronic warbling filled the air, rising and falling like a dying, mournful wind. The sounds faded into silence, then Varayimshaeta spoke in English. "You must leave."
This was unexpected, although the sight of their gear in the room should have given him some warning. Makepeace mistrusted Varayimshaeta's motives. Until now, it had done everything in its considerable power to keep SG-3 on its premises. Now it was just kicking them out?
"About damn time," Johnson muttered.
Makepeace shushed him, then asked, "Vara, what's going on?"
As an answer, two hexagonal viewscreens formed in the air to the right of the light column. On the left one Makepeace saw the image of a Goa'uld pyramid ship settled on the planet's surface. Sitala's face appeared on the other viewscreen. She spoke in Goa'uld.
"I have got to take the time to learn that damned language," Makepeace mumbled under his breath. He'd make it a priority if—when—they got back to Earth. Then he heard Sitala utter the word "Tau'ri" and his blood turned to ice water.
"What's this all about, Vara?" he asked quietly.
Varayimshaeta said, "Yesterday, Sitala returned with her voidship and laid siege to this enclosure. She has demanded control of my World, and that you four be placed in her custody. To demonstrate her resolve, she has repeatedly attacked this access point with energy weapons."
Makepeace said, "So you locked us in that bunker to hide us from the Goa'uld, as well as protect us from the attack."
"Yes." The word reverberated through the chamber, echoing off the milky crystal walls. "But that precaution was too late. Sitala already knew you were here. She has given me one hour to comply with her demands. Upon my failure to do so, she will renew the assault."
Makepeace grimaced. He knew why they were so valuable to Varayimshaeta. He also knew he didn't want to become Sitala's prisoner. Death was literally the best he and his men could hope for from her.
"Why did she happen to come back now? None of us believe in coincidences that big," Andrews said. "And just how did she even find out about us?"
"There was no coincidence," Varayimshaeta said. "After her virus was eradicated from this world, Sitala placed surveillance devices at the Chenvwathd Gateway and the Zand-Faylakk road system." Two more viewscreens appeared in midair, on the left side of the light column. One showed a cylindrical object of burnished gold next to the Stargate, the other displayed another of the devices between the two yellow roads.
"Oh, hell," Andrews groaned. "It's the giant dildos."
Henderson said, "The one by the Stargate was inactive. We didn't get any power readings from it at all."
"More to the point, Vara," said Makepeace, "why did you leave those things alone? Why didn't you remove them as soon as you detected them?"
All the hexagon displays vanished. Varayimshaeta said, "Until the attack, I was unaware of their presence. Sitala's devices have no internal power sources to distinguish them from normal background radiation."
Makepeace nodded in understanding. "Unlike our MALP." Typically, the MALPs remained electrically active, to investigate a new planet for environmental hazards and for signs of inhabitants.
"Correct. Intensive diagnostic scans revealed that Sitala's devices were designed to be powered by large energy surges in the immediate environment. When such an energy surge occurred, the device would activate, scan the area, and transmit a compressed signal out into the void. The devices then discharged any remaining power to place themselves back into an inert state. Power fluctuations from the activation of the Chenvwathd Gateway and the Zand-Faylakk road system disguised their periods of activity."
Henderson said, "That's why you didn't know about them before. The Goa'uld must've dropped off the one by the road as they were leaving this planet the first time. And then they just came back through the Stargate and set up the second one inside the sealed dome enclosure. It might have activated when they left again, but the Stargate's own energy masked it from you."
Varayinshaeta said, "When Sitala returned and demanded you four be delivered to her, it was clear that she had somehow detected your presence here. More intensive scanning and environmental analyses revealed the devices."
"Translation," Andrews said dryly, "you went looking for bugs."
"The devices have now been rendered inoperative."
"A little late for that," Johnson muttered.
The light column pulsed even faster. "The time Sitala allotted this cease-fire is almost at an end. You must leave now."
Makepeace didn't know what Varayimshaeta had in mind. The area around this city was certain to be a war zone, probably swarming with Jaffa, death gliders, and who knew what other war machines. SG-3 could try to fight, but the odds against them were overwhelming. They were at least a hundred miles away from the Stargate by his estimate, so there was no way they could make a run for it.
Another unpleasant option came to him. "Are you handing us over to her?"
"No!" The word boomed out, an atonal maelstrom that vibrated the air. The light globes overhead paused in their orbits, then resumed their eternal circling. Whispers of sound swirled through the room like blowing leaves.
Makepeace figured he'd actually managed to insult the machine. He remembered that it had loved its people, in its own, alien way. Since it had planned to repopulate its planet with SG-3's genetic descendants, it might very well feel a similar attachment to them. A mind-boggling idea, but it fit with Varayimshaeta's outraged reaction.
"Then where do you expect us to go?" he asked. "We can't make it through Sitala's forces and get back to the Stargate on our own."
"You will return to the Chenvwathd Enclosure as you came."
"You're sending us back on your train?" Makepeace scowled. "I would have expected Sitala to destroy the roads out of here, to cut off those escape routes. It's what I would have done."
"The Zand-Faylakk road system was damaged and deactivated," Varayimshaeta confirmed. "Repairs have been effected. The road system shall remain deactivated until you are ready to depart."
"You hope that'll fool Sitala into thinking it's still not working."
"Correct. Please collect your weapons and belongings."
"Please, it says," Andrews muttered. "Couldn't have asked nicely before, could it? What a time to learn some manners."
Makepeace walked forward, gesturing at his men to get their stuff. He picked up his M4 carbine and grenade launcher. The weapon nestled comfortably in his arm like the old friend it was. He checked it. Fully loaded, ready to rumble. He strapped on a GDO, and hefted his rucksack. It felt too light.
A quick inspection revealed that Varayimshaeta had included only the bare minimum of supplies: loaded magazines, grenades, two canteens, and a handful of energy bars. Makepeace didn't complain; he'd have made the same choices. No matter what happened, they'd need to move fast and travel light. For the same reason, he didn't ask about the missing FRED. He gnawed his cheek at this further evidence of his mental violation, but kept his mouth shut. In this situation, Varayimshaeta's extra knowledge was an advantage.
SG-3 geared up quickly. Makepeace asked, "What next, Vara?"
"The servitors will escort you to the debarkation platform. You will board the transport. The road system will be reactivated, and you will depart."
Andrews snorted in derision. "And Sitala's death gliders will blow the train clean off the road."
"Your departure will be protected."
Makepeace thought back to SG-3's first encounter with Varayimshaeta's servitors. The frightening weather, the tornado, the sound stunners. Those things might have limited effectiveness against a Goa'uld warship, but his implanted memories told him Varayimshaeta was capable of much, much more. Mother Nature had nothing on this alien creation.
"Vara, you control the entire planet," he said. "Why haven't you destroyed the Goa'uld, or at least chased them away like before?"
"Such action would eradicate all life on the World. The taint of Sitala cannot be cleansed until you have departed."
So. The bunker wouldn't have protected them from another radiation outflow. "Then...thanks for holding off on the big guns," Makepeace said, grateful for Varayimshaeta's concern for their lives.
"Sitala will be removed. The Goa'uld will not be permitted to ever return here again. The World will be purified, and made safe for all time." The words resounded, echoing off the walls, the floor, the ceiling. The air throbbed with the machine's implacable wrath.
Andrews whispered to Makepeace, "That sounds ominous. We'd better hurry this along, sir."
Varayimshaeta said, "You will go with the servitors. Now." The chorus of electronic voices had lost virtually all synchronization, becoming almost incomprehensible. The light globes flashed urgently.
The pillar of light flared with blinding incandescence. Makepeace threw his arms over his face, shielding his eyes from the brilliance. The terrible, unbearable illumination lasted only a few seconds, then the light dimmed. Makepeace lowered his hands.
Varayimshaeta's light column was gone.
"Shit," said Andrews.
Makepeace stared at the vacant space inside the guard rails, at the empty aperture in the arching ceiling. The light globes hung motionless in the still air. An oppressive silence weighed down on him like a smothering blanket.
"This cannot be good," Henderson said.
Makepeace agreed with that assessment. Six spheres floated forward and surrounded the men. Makepeace wasn't inclined to argue with them. "Move out," he told his team. "We need to hustle."
"Wait," Johnson said, stubbornly refusing to budge. "Colonel, what about the babies?"
Makepeace drew in a long, resigned breath and exhaled it slowly. He'd already made his decision on this subject. "Johnson, you heard what Henderson said about them. They're too young. We can't remove them from the tanks without killing them. They're dead no matter what."
"No, sir, I can't believe that. Vara's got to have some way, some technology we can use to transport them." Johnson turned and yelled at the front of the chamber, "Vara! Vara, answer me, damn it!"
"Johnson!" Makepeace grabbed the lieutenant's arm, forced Johnson to face him.
"Colonel, they're babies. They're our babies."
"Daryl," Makepeace said softly. He shook his head, allowing Johnson to see his own regret, and his resolve.
An expression of utter grief crossed Johnson's face.
Makepeace said, "We have to go now."
Johnson nodded, wordless.
Guided by the servitors, SG-3 departed the audience chamber.