/
8.
Kar-nat
Daniel falls in just behind him as they ascend the few low, wide steps that lead up to the entrance of the temple. It's framed either side by pillars, and he stops when he notices Daniel has paused to look at some of the images carved into them. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Sam and Teal'c begin their own tour of the area, walking side by side further into the gorge.
For a moment, he questions his wisdom in splitting up the team. It's still possible that there are Jaffa on this planet - perhaps just a handful stationed here by their absentee System Lord. It would take only a few warriors with staff weapons to bring their little outing to a quick and painful end.
And then there's Anoki, Jack thinks; the boy with cold eyes, and an even colder smile. He's never been one to distrust a child, but there was a first time for everything.
He gives Daniel a light nudge with his elbow. "We actually going in, Daniel, or just planning on creating a fire safety hazard in the doorway?"
Daniel's eyebrows knit together momentarily in a mix of confusion and annoyance, and Jack turns away before he can respond, moving on through the entrance.
They walk through a long archway into a large chamber lit by several torches placed along the walls. Despite being carved into rock instead of built, the space reminds him of the pyramid and cartouche at Abydos; full of pillars and ancient writing. It feels derelict, though, and he notices how there are areas of the ceiling propped up by wooden beams instead of beautifully cut stone, and to his right, broken, peeling floor has been smoothed over with thick, grass mats.
Towards the back of the room there are areas that appear to be demarcated by the pillars, split in the middle by the entrance to another passage. The pillars block the torchlight, casting deep shadows towards the back and corners of the space, but he spots Anoki in the far corner, crouching over a sort of portable lamp, his features lit eerily as he busied himself with some kind of task.
He's pretty confident there aren't any dangers hiding in the shadowy depths, but he grabs his flashlight and starts making a sweep of the area, MP5 at the ready.
The place gives him the creeps.
"What's this?" he asks Daniel, pointing the beam of his flashlight into the back, left corner of the chamber, and coming to a stop in front of a slightly raised stone circle, loosely covered by wooden boards.
Daniel pulls himself away from the glyphs covering the entire stretch of wall to the left of the main entrance, and walks over. "It's an absolution well," he says after a few moments. "The Temple of Seti I has them.
"It's believed they were used in cleansing rituals by the temple priests," Daniel continues, and Jack keeps the beam on him as he makes a slow circle around the stone well, forehead wrinkled in thought.
"The water is, unfortunately, poisoned," Sani offers. He stands silhouetted in the temple entrance, observing them. "Drinking or bathing from it causes illness.
"It is her doing," he adds cryptically, walking towards the small space being prepared by Anoki.
"What do you mean, Sani?" Daniel asks.
Sani kneels on the grass matting and nods at Anoki. Apparently a dismissal, the boy makes a quick exit from the temple, and Sani stretches his hand out, gesturing for them to sit.
They both find a spot on the mats, and Sani continues, "As Amun's priesthood, we are dedicated to preserving the ways of our God. Our people are a simple, humble people, but easily deceived, and the tainting of their own blood by our God's great enemy means that they are burdened by their own disloyal thoughts." He pauses, and looks almost sad. "Some have not been able to overcome this, and are lost to us. But that was not your question, was it?"
Daniel simply shakes his head in response, a slight frown creasing his brows. Jack resists the urge to roll his eyes; everything about Sani gave the impression that he was used to having people hang on his every word. It was tedious, and he could feel his impatience growing like an itch beneath his skin.
"The'besh was Amun's special place of worship, and our people were blessed - until the usurper." Sani says, gravely. "He seeded unbelievers among us, aided by our God's own beloved.
"She is the betrayer," he continues after a moment, "tainting our land, our water, our people."
Jack catches Daniel's eye at that, the other man's train of thought clear to him for a change as he remembers Daniel's speech about Amun and Amaunet back at the village.
"You don't refer to her by name, Sani. Is it, um, forbidden?" Daniel asks cautiously.
"If we knew it, it would be so," Sani replies with a firm nod of his head, "but it is forgotten - as it should be."
Daniel's eyebrows shoot up at that. "So it's not written anywhere among these writings?"
Sani bows his head as though chastised. "I know only what my father taught me - what we are all taught during our preparation for the priesthood..." The old man carefully lifts the portable lamp Anoki lit earlier, and rises to his feet. Stretching his arm out, he walks towards the long, glyph-covered wall opposite the mats and pauses, bringing the lamp up to a section of writing so the markings are more clearly visible, "... and it is all we need to know about her," he finishes.
Jack stands with Daniel then, and they both move over to Sani where the old man appears to be waiting for them melodramatically. "What does it say?" Daniel asks with admirable patience.
Jack is surprised at that, and he blinks. "You can't read this?"
"This script is different to what I've seen before," he replies, glancing around at the glyph-covered walls. "There are definite similarities, but I would need a bit of time to translate it properly."
Jack realises that Sani is staring at Daniel almost reverentially. "Amun has certainly brought you to us - at a time where our people's belief is fracturing, you have been sent through the Great Ring to reveal His wisdom."
Daniel crosses his arms across his chest awkwardly, and ducks his head. "Um, well, I don't know about that." He pauses then, and shifts, uncrossing his arms again and placing one hand gently against the wall they stand in front of, "But a starting point would be... very helpful."
"Yes, of course," Sani responds, nodding. "What is written here says:
/
"Amun, God of the Wind. God of The'besh. King of Gods. Betrayed at Kar-nat, his temple, and no longer walks with his people.
Lead astray by the adulteress and the false god Apepi, let them feel sorrow and weep."
/
Jack watches Daniel's eyes widen ever so slightly as they trace back over the symbols Sani has highlighted, and he can see those gears turning again. "So this is Amun's temple, Kar-nat?" Daniel asks, glancing around him.
"It is."
"And the usurper you mentioned - Amun's great enemy," Daniel continues, tracing one of the glyphs with a finger, "is Apepi?"
"He is," Sani says, gazing at Daniel expectantly.
"Who the heck is 'Apepi'?" Jack asks.
"Apophis, Jack," Daniel answers, his tone earnest, and Jack can almost hear the desperation in it, "It's another name for Apophis."
Oh. Of course it is.
"Are these the symbols for Kar-nat?" Daniel asks, turning his attention back to Sani, and pointing out another set of glyphs in the golden circle of light cast by the old man's lamp.
"I do not know," Sani answers, "the ability to read the writings has been lost - we know only what is said here."
"Yes, yes they are," Daniel mumbles softly, almost ignoring Sani, intent on the script before him, "and this is The'besh, and this one... this one is Apepi."
"Here we go..." Jack hums, rolling his eyes and rocking back onto his heels. Secretly, he's pleased Daniel has come across something to challenge him - something that will either distract him from his search for his wife, or, even better, help; Jack understood the frustration of inaction all too well - like the next few days were going to bring him while he endured the outright boredom of playing babysitter to the mad scientist.
"Hey, Sani," Jack says, interrupting the two men, "Mind if I finish taking a look around the temple?"
Sani simply nods, still captivated by Daniel's accelerating monologue as he continued with his translations.
Jack figures he's OK with temporarily denying the inevitable, and heads towards the dark passage at the back of the room.
/
/
It wasn't long into their walk before Teal'c spotted the first opening. By Sam's count, there were five in the immediate area - dark holes lining the sides of the gorge at varying points like gaps in a toothy grin.
"What do you think, Teal'c?" she asks, pausing in front of the third one they've come across.
Teal'c aims another raised eyebrow at her before peering into the darkness for a moment. "I think this is a naquadah mine, Doctor Carter."
"Naquadah?"
"The Goa'uld have used people for centuries in the mining of naquadah - either by force or by deception," Teal'c says, a mix of sadness and anger colouring his usually even tone.
"Like on Abydos," she says. "The ore they were being forced to mine contained the same mineral used to build the Stargate."
"The material is invaluable in the construction and use of their technology," Teal'c adds, flipping his staff weapon and holding it out as though presenting it to her, "including our weapons."
"Of course," Sam continues, trying to hold back her excitement at this discovery, "the power cell in your staff weapon is the same material, but in liquid form - you call this naquadah?"
"Indeed," Teal'c answers, resting his staff weapon at his side once again.
Sam frees her flashlight from her vest and points the beam down into the gaping mouth of the man-made cave. "This would certainly explain the construction of a dam, wouldn't it?" she says, turning back to Teal'c.
Teal'c tilts his head at that. "Certainly more believable than contributing to these people's safety and development."
Sam hums in agreement. "This looks like it's long abandoned, though."
"It could be that the naquadah discovered here has been exhausted," Teal'c offers, walking a little way into the opening. "It would explain why these people appear to have been abandoned."
"It could, but I wonder why Sani didn't say anything about working these mines for Amun?" she pauses, her brows knitting together in a frown. "They know about Amun, the dam, the temple, that the Stargate brings travellers... Operating a mine - possibly several, based on the number of caves along this gorge - seems like something that wouldn't be easy to forget, or overlook."
"I believe the priest hides a great many things," Teal'c says carefully, his voice reverberating slightly as they walk further into the mine, "and not just from us.
"Though I suspect," he continues after a beat, "that his deception is borne of ignorance, and a desire for prominence, rather than malice."
She hums in agreement again and stops. Despite Sani's clear dislike, or distrust, of her, her impression of him was that of an ageing man, clinging to his influence in his community, his views shaped by ancient beliefs - lies fed to him by his forefathers and the meddling of the Goa'uld. It's entirely possible that he simply didn't know, or didn't want to know, about anything outside of what he'd been taught.
The thought doesn't sit quite right with her though, and she can't shake the feeling that there is a piece missing from this puzzle.
"Do you think this is safe?" she asks, looking over at Teal'c.
"Perhaps," he says, "but I would advise caution."
She knows he's not just talking about the mine.
She takes a steading breath and lets her flashlight lead the way.
/
/
Jack's tour of the temple is brief, quickly discovering that the only parts that seemed safely accessible were a long column-lined corridor off of the main chamber, and what looked like a small storage and sleeping area, presumably for the priests or students. He wasn't sure.
What he is sure of is that he doesn't have to worry about anyone hiding out back here.
He stands in front of a large column, collapsed partly into the corridor, and although it looked easy enough to pass, he can see the thick layers of dust and debris haven't been disturbed for a very long time.
Behind him he can hear Daniel talking, mostly to himself at this point, and Jack finds he'd really rather go forward than back.
Pushing past the fallen column kicks up a plume of thick dust, and it hangs in the stale air, almost sparkling in the beam of his flashlight. There are rocks and broken pieces of column littering the floor, and he shoves them aside with the toes of his boots as he traces the edges of the room. This space is square, a bit larger than the storage room, and he notices the only other exit seems to be off to the right. Crossing the room to it, he trips over a raised portion of stone in the centre of the room, and curses softly under his breath.
The next room seems to be no more interesting than the first, but looks even more unstable as large chunks of the ceiling have fallen, jagged pieces tumbled into the far corner where the force of the collapse shattered the stone floor beneath it. Deep cracks, filled with dust and dirt, were still visible, stretching like veins across the room.
Wandering into it didn't seem like the smartest thing to do.
Turning back to the square room, he pauses, lifting his flashlight to scan the wall opposite where he'd pushed past the collapsed column; it seemed strange to have a long corridor leading to such a relatively small space, and for that to then lead right into another small room. It felt like the passage led nowhere, but then, ancient tombs and temples and pyramids seemed to him to be filled with these strange spaces; history was full of deadends.
Stepping towards the wall, he brushes a section of it with his hand, the dust immediately filling his lungs. Coughing, he brings his elbow up to cover his nose and mouth, uselessly waiving his flashlight in the air to clear it. After a moment, and some furious blinking, he steadies the light on the section he'd brushed some of the dust from, and notices some lines etched into the wall.
Yup. More fun for Daniel.
Thinking it may be a good time to check in with the rest of the team, he reaches for the PTT button on his radio with his free hand. "Anyone read me, over," he says, and coughs involuntarily at the dust still hanging in the air.
After a beat the radio crackles, "Affirmative, Colonel."
Jack knows it's Sam, but there's so much static on the frequency it's only just audible - probably because of how deep he was into this temple. "Got anything to report?" he continues, "Over."
"Teal'c and I are currently exploring an abandoned mine," she answers.
"A mine?" It seemed like he wasn't the only one currently underground.
"There are several of them actually. We're just going deep enough to collect some samples to confirm what they were mining."
"I assume you have theories, Carter?" he asks, turning and heading back towards the collapsed column.
"Teal'c thinks it's a naquadah mine," she responds.
"Naquadah?"
"The material that makes up the Stargate - it's what the Jaffa and Goa'uld call it."
"Don't you have an analyser thing for that?"
The radio crackles again, and he can just make out her chuckle before she replies, "I do, but I'm not getting strong enough readings - likely because the mine is exhausted, or we just need to be deeper."
"Affirmative," he says, pausing and taking in the ruined, and possibly unstable, area he was standing in at the moment. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Be safe. Got it," she says, and he winces slightly to himself.
"Daniel, did you get all that?" he continues.
There's nothing but silence for a few seconds, and then, "Yes, Jack." Silence again as Jack imagines Daniel finally realising that he was alone with Sani. "Where are you?"
"Exploring," he replies. "There's more writing back here that you might want to take a look at."
"I'm... pretty busy here for the moment, but thank you," Daniel says, clearly distracted.
Jack pushes back past the column into the corridor, and makes his way to the main chamber. The light from the fiery torches is warm in comparison to his flashlight, saturating the front part of the chamber in an orange glow along with the earthy smell of whatever oil they were burning, and the dried grass of the matting; much more pleasant than the almost acrid smell of the rooms he'd just been exploring.
Daniel is sitting, legs crossed, furiously scribbling notes into a small notebook, while Sani seems to have decided to give him some space; kneeling on the grass mats on the other side of the room.
Jack realises that Sani is praying - the old man bowing his head low over clasped hands.
Jack's boots scuff the floor as he walks over to Daniel, and Daniel glances over his shoulder at him as he drops to his haunches beside the archeologist.
"Not exactly good reading light," Jack says, aiming the beam of his flashlight at Daniel's notebook.
Daniel blinks in the strong light, and pauses, tapping his pencil to his lips thoughtfully. Jack turns his flashlight off and sits back, stretching his legs out in front of him, and gives Daniel a moment to gather his thoughts.
"So..." Daniel begins.
"So?"
"This wall definitely doesn't have any glyphs that could represent..." he stops, glancing over at Sani, and lowers his voice to a whisper, "... Amaunet.
"Not even a variation of Amun," he continues again at a normal volume. "But Amun did have a queen who betrayed him with Apophis..."
"Oohhh, that sounds like our wacky pair of Goa'ulds," Jack interrupts, and the look of raw pain that momentarily flickers across Daniel's face makes him immediately regret it. He looks away and down at his hands resting in his lap, waiting for Daniel to continue.
He actually hears Daniel swallow in the silence.
"Well," Daniel says, clearing his throat, "from what I've deciphered, the betrayal sparked a great battle, or a war - the scale is unclear - with The'besh apparently being Amun's last stand against Apophis."
"So Amun is... dead?" he finishes in a whisper, leaning in towards Daniel so Sani can't hear.
"It seems that may be the case," Daniel answers, "but I believe these glyphs are a retelling of whatever happened on this world - these symbols appear to be engraved with different tools than what was used for the images on the pillars."
"So, written by survivors or victors," Jack supplies, cocking his head to one side and raising an eyebrow, "and one guess which one applies here."
Daniel doesn't respond, instead closing his eyes and tilting his head back to stretch out his neck - if the writings were made by the human survivors of a Goa'uld battle, it's unlikely they'll find any useful information about Apophis or Amaunet here.
Jack lets him take his time.
"You said you found some more writings through the corridor there?" Daniel's looking at him intently now, grasping for that thread of hope again.
"Yeah, there's a room at the end of the passage," Jack replies, "but the dust is so thick they're barely visible."
"Show me."
Jack grabs his flashlight again and pushes to his feet, his knee popping softly as he straightens his legs, and turns towards the corridor at the back of the chamber. They walk together to the entrance and down the dark passage, stopping at the fallen column.
"Mind your head," he tells Daniel, before pushing past it again.
Daniel follows, spluttering and sneezing at the rising dust.
On the other side of the column Jack stops again, aiming his flashlight at the wall opposite them.
"Over there," he says, and Daniel peers at where Jack's light is shining, walking forward while fumbling to release his own flashlight from his vest.
"Watch your step," Jack warns, but it's too late as Daniel trips over the same raised portion of stone he'd nearly fallen over earlier.
Daniel recovers and points the light at his feet before sweeping aside some of the debris with one foot. Jack notices then that the floor hasn't simply subsided with the shifting of heavy rock; the stone is uniformly raised on all sides - a large, near perfect square sitting in the middle of the room.
Daniel gingerly taps the toe of his boot along its raised edge before crouching down for a closer look. "This looks like it's made from a different material than the rest of the floor," Daniel says, and begins gently brushing some of the dust off of the top of it.
Jack stands over Daniel and simply watches the archeologist examining the stone; the oppressive darkness of the room, the dust, and the pungent, stale smell of the place fueling his borderline disinterest in an out-of-place rock.
"There's definitely something written on here," Daniel says, his voice muffled as he leans in closer to the stone.
"What's it say?" Jack asks after a moment, his impatience rising steadily in the growing silence.
"I haven't the faintest idea," Daniel says, standing up and wiping the dust from his hand on his thigh, leaving a big, pale streak on his fatigues. "And this is more of the same," he adds, turning his attention back to the wall Jack first indicated.
Jack watches Daniel make a circle of the space, ending up at the threshold of the second room off to the right, but he doesn't go in - the air of resignation that hung over him only minutes earlier had shifted.
"Is that good or bad?" Jack asks, but already knows the answer.
Daniel catches his eye. "It's good," he says with a slight nod, "I hope.
"I'll need Teal'c to take a look first - it's a Goa'uld temple, so some of this may be familiar to him," he continues.
Jack reaches for his radio, "Carter, you read?"
Daniel walks over to him, his impatience palpable as they wait for a response. "We do," she answers, finally.
"You and Teal'c done collecting rocks?" he asks.
"Yes, Jack, we're done collecting rocks," she says with feigned annoyance. "We were just about to head back."
"Good," he says, a small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth, "we need Teal'c's help in the temple."
"Affirmative. On our way."
He and Daniel stand together for a moment, barely able to see each other since they'd both lowered their flashlights at some point - only the floor and part of the fallen column are visible in the beams, with just a tiny splash of muted orange where the torchlight from the chamber spilled into the corridor ahead of them.
He has the sudden, terrible sensation of being buried alive.
"Right," Jack says, placing a hand on Daniel's shoulder, "let's go get some fresh air."
/
A/N: As always, thank you so much all followers/favouriters/readers/reviewers!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the Stargate franchise. All other characters mentioned in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.