Disclaimer: All the characters from the "Magnificent Seven" T.V. series are property of Trilogy Entertainment, The Mirisch Group, MGM Worldwide. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret Productions.
Unlike Chris and Vin who were at this moment, wondering what had become of Isis' Jaffa guards as they made their departure from the fortress relatively unaccosted, Buck Wilmington and company had no such questions in their heads. It seemed that the entire Jaffa complement was converging on their location. Finding Ezra had really been serendipity for they had no idea where to begin when Chris had set them the task of finding the gambler. Logically, they had centred their search on approximate supposition of where the cells would be located in the bunker and headed towards it. They had expected to find Ezra trapped in one of its dungeons until JD spotted the first traces of blood along the corridor.
There were no tracks to find in this environment of straight lines and sterile perfection of smooth iron finish and marble floors, just the lingering traces of blood that glistened under the cool lighting inside the corridors. It did not take them long to find the room and Ezra, confused and horrified by what they found upon laying their eyes on both. The pool in the centre of the room was ablaze. What it had contained was a mystery but they knew for certain, had anything lived within its fiery depth, that life remained no more. The stranger from the future seemed to have some idea, for he gazed at the fire in silent contemplation for a few seconds as the rest of the seven hovered around their injured comrade. Buck wanted to ask him what he speculated but the question slipped away in light of Ezra's condition.
Ezra himself offered no insight because he had slipped into feverish delirium by the time they had reached him. Considering the nature of his injuries, it was best to all that he remained in a state of unknowing for looking at his well chiselled features diminished under swollen and broken flesh was enough to convince him that he needed some respite from the pain. Yet, they heard him murmuring incoherently, surfacing words from his lips at random but could not fathom what he was seeing inside his mind. However, he did repeat one word more than any other.
Abomination.
It made no sense to him and Buck had the strangest feeling that when this was all over, Ezra would be reluctant to clarify anything for them. His injuries were deeper than mere wounds on his skin. One only need to hear the sorrowful whimpering of his erudite voice in the throes of delirium to know the place he was could not be escaped, with scars that remained forever. Unfortunately, Buck's puzzlement did not alleviate their present situation. While Ezra was still suffering the personal demons engendered by his experience here, his physical body was almost in as much danger.
The Jaffa guards who had been so elusive during their initial penetration of the fortress had emerged in force and were now determined to keep them from leaving. They had descended down the corridor almost immediately after they had found Ezra, all armed with the strange devices they had learned from the man named Teal'c to be staff weapons. Teal'c had retrieved the one that Ezra had used for his escape and managed to hold the guards back until they were able to leave the strange chamber.
The margin of escape that allowed them to keep a few steps ahead of the Jaffa was slight and as they hurried down the winding corridors, searching for the way out so they could return to the gate and finally reach home. Buck tried not to think about Chris and Vin, disliking the fact that they had been forced to leave the gunslinger and the sharpshooter, even if it had been at their own request. At the time, he did not understand their reasoning but with the Jaffa bearing down on them, it seemed logical that they offered the guards more than one large target.
It was hard to keep ahead of the enemy and the truth was, every one of them with the exception of Teal'c naturally, had some reservations about firing on the guards. Even though it was impossible to tell with their fearsome looking armour, every member of the seven felt uneasy about firing on the women who wore them. Eventually however, as the blasts of staff weapons came closer and the heat of the weapon's payload smouldered on the walls near to them, leaving black imprints of death in the steel, reluctance was quickly overcome and JD was the first one to start shooting. This was hardly a surprised to Buck of course, JD was always eager to pit himself against a new foe, no matter how different they were. In the absence of Chris and Vin, Buck was glad that Teal'c was with them.
Buck knew people and when he saw Teal'c act, flawless in all execution of moves and reaction, he could well believe that this man had spent his entire life doing nothing else but fighting these creatures. He wondered if he could endure an existence this way and decided to just be grateful that Teal'c was on their side. As he and JD fired, using the futuristic weapons that Jack O'Neill had provided them, they were amazed at a gun that could fire almost twenty bullets. Teal'c had given him his rifle, at least he thought it was a rifle. It looked like nothing Buck considered to be such and held something like 80 bullets in its chamber. After Teal'c had liberated Ezra's staff weapon, he had given Buck spare clips and showed him how to insert them into place. The Jaffa guards were soon driven back by the onslaught of bullets and energy blasts as they progressed deeper into the bunker in their efforts to escape.
This was a state of affairs that not all impressed Nathan because the healer wanted to get back to the gate or find or quiet place where he could tend to Ezra's wounds. As far as Nathan was concerned, Ezra was only a hair's breadth from dying and needed mending immediately, however, with the guards pursuing them relentlessly, never more than a few minutes behind them, Buck was starting to wonder if they would get him help in time.
"Are we even close to getting out of here!" Josiah called out as he and Nathan struggled to carry Ezra.
"The Jaffa seem to be coming after us in particular." Teal'c said mystified by their behaviour, wondering what was so important that they would forget about the rest of the bunker. After a second, he realised why the Jaffa had been reluctant to engage in the affairs of the two Goa'ulds in possession of Chris Larabee's wife and Vin Tanner's betrothed. It was always unwise to become embroiled in the warrings of two Goa'uld's when it was uncertain who would be the winner of their combat. The Jaffa would busy themselves with other matters in the meantime, until and outcome was decided which would give them an idea of a clear winner.
"Where are we anyway?" Nathan asked. "I think we've gone further underground."
"This place is a maze." Buck had to admit as they looked around this nondescript corridor of dark walls and polished floors.
"They are designed much in the way of Gao'uld ships." Teal'c said helpfully and realised by the blank expressions he received that they had no idea of what he meant by 'ships'. Deciding that it was probably too difficult to explain, it was better that they started making an ascent rather than a descent in their progress. By now, the rest of SG1 would have undoubtedly engaged the Goa'ulds and they had to be out of here before their presence becomes a hindrance to SG1 in some way.
Buck was hearing something.
At first, he was uncertain what it was. It drifted through the air like soft whispers because it was evidently further along the corridor than he could see. As the others debated on their course of action, Buck found himself following the length of it, trying to discern from where it was coming. His gun remained poised to fire and he felt his palms sweat a little as he gripped it tightly in his hand. Buck was not afraid to admit that this whole experience had unnerved him and felt perfectly justified for feeling some measure of fear.
He followed the voices until he reached the end of the corridor and then found that they were no longer indistinct and could start to identify them a bit. As expected, the voices were that of women but the language was beyond him. However, though he could not understand what they were saying as he turned off the corridor and started down the steps that led him to them, he could hear the fear in their voices.
It did not take Buck long to realise that he was possibly entering the fortresses' jail for the place he entered reminded him of one of those Mexican jails no man ever wanted to find himself. As he left the steps that emptied out in a larger chamber, the voices became more excited and frantic the more apparent his footsteps became. When he stepped into the dungeon, the noise became fever pitch as the prisoners suddenly saw someone who did not appear to be a guard on the floor of their cellblock.
He could not tell how many they were but judging from the hands that waves frantically at him through the small window in the door to their cell and their frantic voices, he guessed they were many. Buck raised his gun to fire at the locking mechanism on the side of the wall when suddenly he heard JD behind him.
"Buck!" The younger man called. "Are you down there?"
"Yeah," Buck returned as he prepared to take aim again. He had seen Teal'c shooting a couple of these things while they had been on the run and was certain that this was some form of a lock similar to what they had previously encountered. "Cover me, will ya." Buck called out. "There are people trapped down here."
"Sure Buck." JD answered, hurrying up the narrow stairs to take watch at the entrance so they would not be caught unawares while Buck did what he had to. There was no question in his mind that they should not be wasting their time helping others because, what he had seen today convinced him that people here needed all the help they could get.
Pulling the trigger, the bullets tore through the metallic device, filling the room with noise and sending shivers of fright through the women he was trying to save. They withdrew immediately further into their cells, uttering squeals of shock as they did so. When the bullets had done their worst, the lock remained in smouldering fragments, its smooth metal casing completely ruined as the door clicked ever so quietly but loud enough for Buck to know that it could no longer keep its captives trapped. Pulling the door open, the lawmen peered through the dimly lit room to see a number of youthful faces staring at him with apprehension and a slight measure of hope.
"Come on now!" He called to them and realised they did not understand a word he said until he gestured with his hands to follow. Once that was done, there was no holding them back and they almost bowled him over in the stampede to flee their dark prison. It was only after they had emerged into the light, he realised who they were. These must have been the girls taken from the village to be used to create new guards. With a sigh of relief, Buck decided that they had yet to be implanted with the foul creatures that had taken over Mary and Alex.
Suddenly, he realised that was why Ezra was tortured.
The gambler had not submitted to Isis to produce any new creatures to enslave the women in this room. In her anger at his refusal, she must have vented the full torrent of her rage upon him and caused the injuries that was almost taking his life. She probably thought that the torture might make him submit to her desire to procreate. Good ol' Ezra, Buck thought with a smile of admiration as he gestured to his new charges to follow him out of this place. At least Vin could rest easy, knowing that nothing happened between Ezra and Alex, even though it was Isis who was using her body and Alex had no choice in the matter. Vin was abound with enough insecurities regarding his relationship with the lady doctor, without things being worse if Ezra had lain with Alex.
He hurried up the stairs, with the prisoners who were mostly young women in their late teens to early adulthood, following him closely behind as he communicated to them in hand signals and gestures, since they could not understand a word they were saying. He noticed they were all very attractive and healthy, making sense of why Mary and Alex had been taken. While both of the Four Corner's women were extremely intelligent and well spirited, it was their outward appearance that had made them so desired by the creatures who had taken their bodies. Mary with her gold hair and eyes that could see through your soul and Alex with skin so wild and her smile that could melt a man where he stood.
Emerging at the top of the stairs, he saw the others coming to meet himself and JD. With the freed captives behind him, the hallway suddenly became very crowded.
"Where did they come from?" Nathan exclaimed.
"They were locked up." Buck explained quickly, feeling it more imperative now than ever that they vacated the place. "I think they were gonna be used as guards."
"These are the women taken from the village as hosts." Teal'c nodded in understanding.
"Then they haven't been done yet." JD ventured a guess. "The thing that got Alex didn't have a chance to make more of them with Ezra then."
"I guess so." Buck shrugged, guessing that had to be the truth since the proof of it lay before them.
"I have found a way out," Teal'c announced, deciding that they could not linger here much longer and had to keep moving. "We must go, if any of us are to escape." As he spoke, his eyes shifted across the faces of the new arrivals who were looking frightened and relying upon him and his companions to lead them to freedom.
"All right then ladies," Buck turned to the group who seemed to have place their trust in the man who had liberated them from their dungeon and was prepared to follow his guidance. "Follow the man." He said as Teal'c started moving, waving wilding with his hands at which direction they were going.
As they started to leave, Josiah could not help but remark. "You know Buck," the preacher said with a slight smile as he brushed past Buck. "You're the only man I know who can find himself in a situation as crazy as the one we're in and still manage to find female company."
Buck was tempted to frown at him because he was no happier with the situation than Josiah. By all accounts, this ought to be heaven for him, a place where a man was highly prized and would be waited on hand and foot by the women who owned him and required to perform one duty, a duty to which he was extraordinarily equipped to handle.
It stabbed at the core of Buck Wilmington to know that he had grown.
His child was waiting at him on his world, not to mention the most infuriating woman that had ever walked the earth who captured his heart from the very first time she had told him to get lost whom he was determined to win, no matter what the sacrifice. God had a strange sense of humour by sending him here to test himself and Buck hoped the almighty was properly amused.
"Yeah," Buck grumbled as he followed the preacher. "I'm so lucky."
Although Chris and the others had not encountered many guards as they made their escape from the bunker, they had encountered enough to delay their departure. Their flight from Isis' stronghold was not made any easier by the fact that the two Goa'ulds in their possession were almost feral in their determination not to be taken from this world. Sekhmet in particular, though bound and gagged had almost been hysterical in her captivity. She screamed through the gag in her mouth like some insane wraith while kicking at Chris with such ferocity, the gunslinger had no choice but to use his fists to settle her down.
As they neared the gate, it became obvious that no one was following them. There had been a limited number of Jaffa in the bunker as it was and if they had engaged Buck and the others while they had been retrieving Ezra that would account for the scarce numbers of Jaffa that had tried to keep them from leaving the fortress. Upon making the journey back to the stargate, Daniel advised that it was probably prudent that they avoid passing through the village for it was unknown how the Netjer would take seeing their gods as captives. Avoiding the village cut valuable time from their trip and less than an hour or so after they had left the pyramid fortress, they could see the outline of the star gate ring through the trees.
"You fools!" Isis swore in her Goa'uld voice. "Do you think taking us back to your world will change anything? This body is ours! We will not let it go!" Her eyes flared in defiance at Vin in particular, since he was the one responsible for injuring her and had her securely in his grip.
"Gag her." Chris ordered. He knew from experience what cruelties could come from her mouth after enduring the same unpleasantness with Sekhmet earlier. He would spare Vin that same torture.
"Good idea." Jack agreed, having heard something of what Sekhmet had said to him and had seen the haunted look in Chris' eyes to believe the man knew what he was talking about.
"Could you please get the scarf from my neck, ma'am?" Vin asked Sam who was staying away from both of the Goa'ulds. He was not prepared to let Isis go for any reason because their chances of getting Alex back relied almost completely on getting Isis to wherever Jack O'Neill had intended them to go.
"Sure." Sam nodded and removed the scarf tied around the tracker's neck, trying not to look at Isis as she did so. Instead, she had been staying well away from the two Goa'uld since they had been captured. Every Goa'uld she had met since her blending with Jolinahr, knew that she had been a host and it made her decidedly uncomfortable that they could ferret out such knowledge by just looking at her.
Almost on cue, Isis looked at her. "You have had one of us inside you."
Sam swallowed hard and did not answer, concentrating on undoing the knot around Vin's neck because this was not a subject she wished to discuss.
"Shut up." Vin snapped, seeing in Sam's eyes how much she disliked Isis making reference to that. To illustrate his point, he flashed Isis a look of warning that surprised himself because he was no longer seeing the face before him as belonging to Alex but to some hostile and vile creature that was hurting his friends. He supposed if he just kept that mind set in place, he might actually have some hope of getting Alex back.
"You will have the honour of being our first Jaffa." Isis hissed.
"Do all of you queens have nothing different to say?" Jack said sarcastically, remembering the same words coming from Hathor's lips when she had tried to make him her Jaffa.
She ignored him but then turned her attention to Vin once again. "If you desire this body so much, perhaps we will make you our Pharoah. You need only let us go and we will allow you access to our host mind. We promise you an eternity of pleasure at our side. We will expand the scant century you would have shared with her into millennia."
"I ain't listening to you." Vin said stiffly, unable to deny that spending forever with Alex was tantalising but not at the price they would have to pay. He was almost relieved when Sam finally removed the scarf around his neck and rolled it into a gag, which she promptly secured over Isis' mouth. The Goa'uld shook her head vigorously to keep the cloth from cutting off her speech but Sam was almost as determined to place it there as Isis was to have it gone. Eventually, the major won out and Vin let out a sigh of relief, not wishing to endure what Chris was going through at the moment with Sekhmet.
"Thanks." He said gratefully at Sam as the gate appeared before them.
"No problem." She replied with a faint smile.
"So where are we going again?" Vin asked Daniel, knowing only that the place they were going had a cure for Alex and not much else. Judging by the group dynamic, it was obvious that Daniel was the one who had the answers for such things.
"A place called Sumeria." Daniel explained. "We found it a few years ago. It's apparently protected by enemies of the Goa'uld called the Asgard. They've made it a protected planet and no Goa'uld can go there."
Both Isis and Sekhmet immediately recognised the word Asgard for they immediately renewed their struggles, with decidedly more vigour and desperation in their attempt to break free. Both Vin and Daniel had to grab hold of Isis to keep her from breaking free of him while Sekhmet became similarly agitated, requiring Jack to help Chris in restraining her.
"Carter, dial the gate." Jack instructed as the ring of stone loomed over them. Sam hurried forward, jogging to the dial home device located not far from it.
"So I guess this place can help us." Chris replied, if Sekhmet and Isis's reaction was anything to judge. They were fighting every inch of the way to the gate now, guessing how close to doom they really were with the mention of the Asgard.
"It's the only chance you get of getting either of them back." Jack answered truthfully. The moment they passed through the gate and reached the other side of the wormhole, Isis and Sekhmet's fate would be effectively taken out of their hands. Once at Sumeria, they would be spirited away to Thor's Hammer where the symbiote would be removed from the bodies of both women. Of course Jack did not feel the pressing need to tell them about the little surprise awaiting them inside the cavernous structure where Thor's Hammer was located. However, springing a Unas on them on top of everything else these men had to experience in the past few days would be too much even for their understanding.
"Jack," Daniel spoke since they would soon be departing this world. "Are we just going to leave? Shouldn't we find out if Teal'c and the others made it?"
Jack frowned, wishing they had news about their friends. Ideally, Teal'c and the others should already be on Earth, having entered the gate long before this. However, it was too much of a tactical risk for them to delay their journey to Sumeria and so Jack would have to rely upon Teal'c to get Chris' men to Earth and deal with it later if he had not. Teal'c was extremely dependable for such things and the men who rode with Chris Larabee seem to be of the same ilk. The colonel had to believe that they were capable of handling themselves because they could not afford to go back and look for them. They were having enough trouble keeping Isis and Sekhmet under control without having to backtrack.
"We can't risk it." Jack said after awhile. "Chris, you know your men, you think they can handle themselves long enough for us to get back if anything goes wrong?"
"They'll do all right." Vin replied confidently before Chris could answer. "With Teal'c showing em what to do at the rough spots, I don't see them getting into any trouble they can't get themselves out of." The tracker met Chris' gaze and knew the gunslinger felt the same way as he did. Besides, he could understand Jack's reasoning to get out of here as soon as possible. The Jaffa had not figured out what had happened to their goddesses yet but when they did, they'll be coming, not to mention the Netjer, who may not take kindly to the very same thing.
"They're on their own for now Daniel." Jack replied, since they had come to something of a decision.
Meanwhile, Sam had began the dialling sequence. Each symbol illuminated upon activation when her palm pressed against the keypad. Moving in tandem with the sequence of symbols being initiated, each chevron on the star gate began locking into place, following the same pattern of movements that the men from Four Corners had witnessed on the previous occasions they had seen it working. Despite themselves, Vin and Chris still stared at the thing in astonishment, marvelling at the science that made it work even if its understanding was so far beyond them it seemed almost like magic.
The ground began to rumble the closer the gate reached to locking in the seventh symbol, until they could feel the tremor under their feet become a violent quake that could easily topple them if they were not careful. Birds in the near by trees immediately took flight as the trunks began to resonate with a vibration that quickly spread through its branches and made its leaves rustle. In the cavern the effect had been contained but out here, where they were allow to witness it in the wide-open space. Its power seemed all the more potent. As the surge of energy required to open the wormhole finally manifested itself, the explosion of light and colour gushed out from the hollow of the ring, like white froth before receding into the serene ripple of energy that looked like a pool's calm reflection.
"No!" Isis screamed angrily, managing to loosen the gag from her mouth long enough to cry.
The sound of her voice took Vin by surprise and for a moment, she almost broke free of both Daniel and himself by a surge of strength that could have killed them both if her hands were free to inflict the damage. However, the ropes tied around her wrist held fast and Daniel pressed the zat gun firmly into her back to force her to remain where she was. He was completely prepared to immobilise her again if she offered any further resistance. Enough time had passed since the weapon had been last used on her to prevent any fatal consequences if he fired.
"You will pay for this!" She shouted, almost hysterical in her rage as Daniel and Vin pulled her up the stairs. Her legs were no longer cooperating and she was fighting them with every inch of strength she could muster. After awhile, both men were force to drag her forcibly, the tips of her toes scraping against the ground and then rock when they descended up the steps that led to the mouth of the gate.
"Daniel," Jack called out since it appeared that Vin and Daniel would pass through the gate first. "Remember to keep your hands on her after you get through or you won't join the party."
"I remember," Daniel declared, knowing all about Thor's Hammer. It was the only way of freeing Sharee from her captor and he had studied all he could about the device to know everything about its peculiarities. Despite himself, he felt a certain amount of scientific curiosity at witnessing how the hammer would work on Isis because he needed to see for himself if Kendra's claims were true, that the hammer could save Sharee when he brought her to it.
"Carter, I want you to get in touch with the locals. They were pretty willing to help us in the future, maybe we can get their help again. I want you round up some horses and get them to the mountain pass when we get past the hammer. None of these ladies are going to feel like covering the distance back to the gate once the Hammer is done with them." Jack instructed as they moved past her and headed towards the wormhole.
"Yes Sir," she nodded and followed him closely behind understanding completely. Sumeria's local inhabitants believe that the Asgard race as they were known in actual fact to be the gods of Nordic Myth. Indeed that was how the Asgards had presented themselves to the primitive race who knew of the Goa'uld only as the evil Etns. If Carter were to approach them and asked them for help against the Etns, then it was likely the Sumerians would think it their duty as Thor's children to assist
Sekhmet was struggling just as hard as Isis was although the gag in her mouth had not come loose and her protests were made with little more than furious grunts and guttural sounds from her throat that translated clearly into rage. Even as Sam followed behind, she could see Jack and Chris fighting to keep a grip on her and knew the amount of strength they were fighting to keep restrained. The Goa'uld made their hosts very strong, which was why their Jaffa were so formidable.
"You cannot do this to us!" Isis snarled enraged, fighting harden than ever as they neared the wormhole. "We will perish if we are taken there! You will be condemning us to die!" She pleaded, starting to realise that there would be no escape unless she could reason with them in some way.
All Goa'uld knew what Sumeria represented, not simply because it was a world protected by the Asgard. Teal'c had explained before their first visit to Sumeria that no Goa'uld went there willingly. Those Goa'uld who had dared to travel to the planet had never returned and upon arriving there themselves, SG1 understood why. Since all Goa'uld had genetic memory, no doubt Isis would retain the knowledge of this world being taboo. While she might not know what awaited her on the planet, Isis was no fool. As one of the oldest Egyptians gods, she was known for her cunning and intellect and knew that the Asgard would surely possess the technology to be of extreme danger to her.
"Please Vin!" She cried out, her voice losing all trace of the Goa'uld inhabiting Alex's body. "Please help me!"
Vin turned sharply to her, knowing that voice to be Alex's not Isis. "Alex?"
"Snap out of it!" Chris shouted before he even had a chance to entertain the notion that it might be Alexandra Styles speaking to him and not Isis. Having heard Sekhmet employ this particular ruse to trick him into letting down his guard, Chris was not about to let Vin suffer the same fate. "That ain't her Vin!"
"You know me Vin!" She pleaded again. "You can't let me die! You can't take me there!"
"Vin," Daniel said with a soft voice as the paused right in front of the shimmery veil of energy. "It's not her." He swallowed, understanding the pain he saw in the tracker's eyes as the man tried not to let the anguish overwhelm him.
Isis was still tryign to reach him with her duplicitous words, begging and pleading for him to release her but Vin hardened himself inwardly and ignore what she said. He met her eyes and knew what he saw there was not Alex at all but some stranger who would kill him if she had the chance. The only way he had to save Alex was to keep going.
"I beg you Vin," she begged, tears running down her cheeks as she met his eyes. "Don't let them take me there."
Vin blinked slowly and looked at the hand wrapped firmly around her arm. For a few seconds he looked at this firm grip saying nothing before moving his free hand to her cheek. A slow smile started to form on her lips as she saw his fingers moved down her skin before placing it on her neck. She was about to speak when Vin's hand secured itself firmly around her neck and stepped into the portal, taking her with him without any further delay.
"I will kill you!" Her scream disappeared with the rest of her as she and Vin went through, with Daniel being taken for the journey, since he was holding on to her other arm.
Sekhmet stopped struggling as she saw Isis taken, as if the shock of it all had temporarily numbed her senses. The warrior goddess stared at the space where her companions had been taken, unable to move and Chris saw the first semblance of real fear seep into her eyes as he and Jack started leading her towards it. She made no effort to struggle until they were poised at its very edge, facing the wormhole that would take her to the end of her two millennia existence.
Suddenly, she broke free, wrenching her arm free from Chris and using the momentary distraction to kick her foot into the flesh part of Jack's thigh. It was enough to be free of them for a number of seconds and she turned around and started to run away from the gate when Sam threw a fist into her face and send reeling backwards...
Right into the wormhole.
She disappeared so abruptly that for a moment both men were at a loss for words until Sam broke the silence of the moment. "Don't you think you better go after her?"
"Don't you just love her?" Jack said exchanging a smile of mischief with Chris as he turned back to Sam. "You're lucky, they still can't vote in your time."
"Jack," Chris remarked as he started to step into the wormhole. "You think my wife is trouble now? You should met before that thing got inside of her."
"Feisty is she?" Jack asked.
Chris shook his head and retorted. "Don't get me started."
The world of Sumeria was not unlike home.
The climate reminded Vin Tanner of places further up north but in essence, it did not at all look like an alien world. As he stared into the sky, he noticed that it was day time here as well but the sun was only starting to ascend across the horizon, not unlike their previous destination where twilight was only a few hours away. Vin did not have much time to contemplate the beauty of the place even though he had to admit he would like to have explored it if time had allowed. Unfortunately as he recovered from the latest trip through the portal, feeling the same icicles of cold stabbing at his skin, he also noticed Isis was trying to make a run for it.
She had broken free from him again, taking advantage of the disorientation he felt in experiencing gate travel to escape. He recovered faster than she gave him credit and took note of Daniel shouting at him to catch her before it was too late. He did not understand what was to happen here but it registered in his mind that she was trying to run and that was enough for him to launch himself at her. He knocked her over on the stone floor that the gate was perched upon and was half-aware of Chris and the others emerging behind him as he landed on top of her.
Another set of nails tore through his skin, his time on his exposed neck as he found himself straddling her once again, determined to make her stay put. Daniel was at his side in seconds, looking around anxiously waiting for something to happen. His eyes rested on a stone monument carved with intricate designs that Vin had not seen before. It towered over the gate, standing watch over the ring of stone like it was custodian of this place. Daniel viewed it with apprehension and as he looked at Isis, realised that fear was etched in her face as she stared at it.
Sekhmet emerged first and also tried to run but Jack O'Neill who was used to gate travel and had become accustomed to its effects caught up with her easily. He wrapped his arms around her chest and fairly lifted her off the ground to keep her from making it down the steps, not that she would get very far. Dropping the staff weapon when he had captured her, he quickly looked at Sam who was the last to appear through the gate before the wormhole collapsed and the gate returned to normal once again.
"Sam, give Chris your gun. You can take my staff weapon." He ordered.
Knowing what was coming as well as the rest of SG1, she slung her rifle over Chris's shoulder and started ushering him towards Sekhmet and Jack because now that the gate was closed, they did not have a lot of time. During their first visit to Sumeria, it had taken a matter of minutes for the device to work and they had to be ready for it as it prepared itself to perform its vital function during this occasion.
"What's going on?" Chris asked puzzled, trying to dispel the cold in his skin while at the same time, wrap his frostbitten fingers around the weapons that Sam was giving him, including all the spare clips she was inserting into the pockets of his duster. He looked at her in question but she did not bother to explain even if the urgency of the situation was in her eyes.
"You need to be near your wife." She said as they reached Sekhmet who was fighting for dear life in Jack's grip. Chris had just wrapped his hands around her wrists to stop her fingers from trying to prise Jack's arms from around her body when suddenly, he heard something humming behind him.
"It's started." Sam stated looking up at the monument.
"What's started?" Vin demanded as Daniel placed his hands on Isis' shoulders, pinning her to the ground.
"That," Daniel gestured to the stone monument that was the source of the strange humming sound. It was not very different from the noises made by the gate but there was something about this that was smoother and more penetrating. The low vibration could be felt in his teeth and picked up momentum with the seconds that tumbled by.
"Release us!" Isis cried again when a beam of blue light sliced through the morning air.
The light which Sam knew to be a sensor beam of some type, quickly scanned the humans before it and found nothing until it reached the two women who had been brought here against their will. The reaction as it bathed them in its sapphire glow was immediate. Both Sekhmet and Isis began to writhe with pain, the concentration of which seemed to be centred on their abdomens. Sekhmet tensed in Jack's grip, oblivious to her confinement now because what was coursing through her body was nothing to be enjoyed but intense and life ending. Chris looked at Jack's in question; panic starting to set in as he saw that what she was enduring was apparently agonising. He wanted Sekhmet to feel pain but not at the cost of Mary's life.
"What's the hell is going on?" He demanded.
"It's the hammer." Jack tried to explain, knowing what was coming next. "You want your wife back? Hold on because this is the only way."
Chris wanted a better explanation than that but it did not appear s if Jack was about to provide one. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Isis in similar pain, thrashing about wildly as Vin held on, instructed by Daniel to do so even if his fear was just as apparent as Chris' own. He met Jack's gaze again, trying not to show that he doubted the man even though the sentiment was in his eyes when suddenly, something happened which made just about as much sense as everything else that had taken place in the last two days.
The world around him vanished.
Sam saw the men disappear and let out a sigh of relief.
She did not envy what Mary Larabee and Alexandra Styles were about to endure but she was glad they would not be doing it alone. Now that the Goa'uld threat had been removed as far as the sensors were concerned, the guardian at the gate had returned to its dormant state with no evidence to prove that it was a matter transference device and not a simple stone edifice erected in honour of Thor.
She took a deep breath and dropped the backpack she had been carrying on the ground, eager to discard the Jaffa uniform she was wearing since it would most likely frightened the locals if she turned up in anything but her uniform. Unfortunately, the staff weapon was her only means of protection so she could not discard it. Nevertheless, the Sumerians were a peaceful people who did not believe very much beyond the capability of their god. It was likely she would be believed if she claimed this to be a weapon of the Etns that was taken by Thor's Hammer.
From their previous visits to Sumeria, she had a rough idea which direction the village lay and knew she had at least an hour's walk to reach it. If she was to meet the Colonel then she had better get moving, since it would take almost a day on foot to reach the cavern where Thor's Hammer would deposit the others when it was done with Sekhmet and Isis. Hopefully, she could induce the natives to volunteer some horses that would make the journey up the mountainous terrain somewhat smoother. In any case, she had to get moving and be ready for them when they emerged.
After all, Lord only knew what effect passing through the hammer was going to have on Mary and Alex when it was all said and done.
"Now where are we?" Chris grumbled as he felt his head swim.
"Inside a mountain." Jack answered helpfully as he felt the same disorientation when he got to his feet. Next to him, he could see Sekhmet lying on her face, still groaning from the intense pain she had felt when the Asgard device had scanned them to determine who was human and who was Goa'uld. It seemed as if the fight had gone out of her even though he was not foolish enough to take that at face value. If there was one thing he had learnt about this particular Goa'uld, she knew quite a bit about playing dead until one's guard was down before she proceeded to make you the same with no pretence in mind.
Chris stood up and examining his new surroundings only to decide in a matter of minutes that he did not like where they had been sent. He had not doubt that the device had taken them here as surely as the gate had carried them across the galaxy from one planet to another. He preferred not to think so much as to how or why but focus on what was required here to free Mary and Alex. Judging by Jack O'Neill's taut expression, it did not appear as if their troubles were quite over yet. He walked over to Sekhmet and pulled her to her feet, feeling no sympathy for the creature that had taken his wife and determined to expel her once and from all by what ever means this place with its dark halls and cavernous atmosphere promised.
"Everyone okay?" Jack turned to Daniel and Vin who had yet to speak but seemed more focussed on securing their grip on Isis who was strangely silent in this place. It did not take any amount of genius to know that the Goa'uld was frightened by what had transpired earlier. By now, she must have guessed that whatever this place was, she had no power in it and was at the mercy of the men who had brought her here.
"I'm fine." Daniel said stretching his neck as if he had pulled a muscle.
"What now?" Vin said impatiently, helping Isis to her feet but keeping as firm a grip on her as Chris was doing to Mary.
His question was never answered as the image of a man clad in medieval armour appeared in the nearby distance. While neither Jack nor Daniel reacted to his sudden emergence, Chris and Vin immediately went for their weapons, unwilling to chance anything after the events that they had endured these past two days.
"Its okay." Jack quickly said, gesturing for them to lower their weapons. "It's not real. That's not really a person." Just to prove it to them, he walked towards the hologram and ran his hand through it. The image of Thor shimmered as his hand moved through it and returned to normal when he withdrew.
"Strange." Vin finally said and holstered his weapon, trusting Jack in this matter.
"Who is he?" Chris asked as he studied the man from where he was, taking note of the armour and the sword, not to mention the clothes that looked straight out of a history book.
"That's Thor." Daniel explained helpfully.
As if aware of what was being asked, the image became animated and Thor's voice laced with a thick Scandinavian accent began to address those before him.
"I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet. The High Council of Asgard has designated Sumeria a safe world for developing sentient species by unanimous decree of 40.737.29. The Goa'uld System Lords were so informed.
You were warned not to come here under pain for death. For crimes against the living host and for all those you have murdered and enslaved, the sentence is death. This is your prison. There are no luxuries, no prisoners, no slaves to do your bidding, only basic sustenance and time. When you tire of this existence, go to the hall of Yulnar and face the hammer. There is no escape, only the host can leave this place alive."
The words made no sense to Chris and Vin, well not all of it. They agreed that this place was indeed a prison just as they realised that only the host could leave once the Goa'uld were brought here. While they had no idea how this would be accomplished, they trusted Jack O'Neill and company to know that he would not have allowed Mary and Alex to be brought here unless there was a genuine hope of salvation for the women they loved.
"We will not leave!" Isis burst out angrily, speaking for the first time since Thor's eerie warning was given.
"Oh yes you are." Jack turned around and faced her. "Because one little thing that I haven't let anyone in on and I'm sorry Chris, I probably should have told you that we aren't alone in here."
"What do you mean?" Chris eyed him suspiciously, not liking surprises and his annoyance at having one sprung on him right now, showing most evidently on the scowl he was flashing in Jack's face.
"Its some kind of a monster," Jack described for the want of a better word that would be as clear as that. "It's been here a long time and its hungry. Now we've faced it before so I can tell you it isn't invulnerable, just really hard to kill. Fortunately, it tends to lie dormant until it senses prey so if we can get to the hammer really fast, we can probably get out of here before it knows about us."
Vin and Chris stared at him, with expressions on their faces that did not show the same optimism he felt. "Oh this just gets better." Vin drawled with unhappiness. "What kind of a thing? Is it smart?"
"Yes," Daniel answered. "Its intelligence is equal to us probably more because its got a Goa'uld inside it."
"Unas!" Isis swore. "You have brought us to a place where there is Unas?" The fear in her voice was clear and Jack would not be surprised if she was rather glad at this point, that her captors were not carrying Goa'uld weapons since none of it would work inside the structure.
"A what?" Vin looked away from her and to Daniel in question. "What did she call it?"
"Unas." The linguist answered. "That's what they're Goa'uld. Before they started using humans as hosts, they used these creatures called the Unas. They're already very strong but with the Goa'uld symbiote inside of them, they're extremely dangerous."
"Unas will kill you!" Isis said derisively. "We are Goa'uld, it will be ours to command."
"Sorry your worship," Jack interjected shaking his head in answer. "This particular Unas or whatever has been trapped here a long time and I'd say the confinement hasn't been good to him because the first time we got zapped to this place, the bones we found were not just human. Apparently, our Unas has got a taste for Goa'uld as well."
Isis recoiled at the thought and an expression of disgust drained into her face. However, it was not long before her eyes narrowed with calculation and she straightened her back and raised her chin, looking very much like a queen as she exchanged a brief glance with Sekhmet.
"Sekhmet has hunted Unas." She said confidently.
"Hunt Unas?" Daniel retorted almost immediately and with a great deal of skepticism. "How can you hunt Unas, they're one of you?"
"They were some who became dangerous to us after we chose to abandon their species as a host." Isis met Jack's eyes, her lips curling at the corner as she spoke with authority on the subject they did not have. "Those who served as Jaffa attempted rebellion and we were forced to act. The System Lords made it a sport to hunt these creatures and Sekhmet was one of the greatest Unas hunters. She can aid you if this creature intends to harm you."
"And I'm suppose to believe this?" Jack retorted. "Even if I were to suspend all intelligence and personal sanity, how can I trust her?"
"It is to our benefit that we stay alive. Our immediate problem appears to be the Unas that is trapped here with us. We can resume hostilities later but for the moment, none of us wishes to be a meal for such a creature." Isis responded. "You need only ask Sekhmet herself. She will reveal to you how you may kill this creature."
"Really?" Jack looked at the warrior goddess's direction and removed the gag momentarily. "This true? You got the deal on how to kill one of these things?"
Sekhmet did not respond, allowing herself to become accustomed to the absence of the handkerchief in her mouth and finding her voice again after a moment. "Perhaps," she met his gaze and that of Chris. Chris was even more sceptical than Jack in regards to Isis' claims. "I have hunted many things in my time. Unas is no different from any other."
"I'm sure." Jack responded, more certain that ever that this was an attempt to escape and he was not about to fall for it. "No deal." Jack swung around and face Isis once again. "We can do this without you."
"You are fools!" Sekhmet shouted, eyes flaring in full Goa'uld fury as her voice became that coarse rumble once again. "The Unas will crunch your bones like kindling. I only hope I live long enough to see your death."
"That concludes this portion of the act," Jack said securing the gag back in her mouth as she tried to snap his fingers between his teeth. "For your information, I've been this way before so I know how to get to the Hall of Yulnar fairly quickly." He explained this not only for the benefit of Isis and Sekhmet to let them know why their offer was refused but also the humans present. "Besides," he looked at Isis to make this the final remark on the subject. "It will be a stone cold day in hell before I trust either of you with anything, let alone my life."
"Can't argue with the man there." Chris added, just in case Jack was even entertaining the notion which he did not believe the colonel to be. Jack was no fool, this much Chris had come to learn in the brief time of their acquaintanceship.
"Then you all die!" Isis declared angrily, furious that her plan to gain partial freedom had come to nothing. "We will rather die here at the hands of Unas then allow you to kill us by the hammer of Thor."
"You don't have a choice." Vin declared having heard enough from this stranger who was using Alex's voice to make her venomous remarks. Without arguing, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, like a sack. He had carried far heavier in his life and this was the only way to insure that she made no attempts to hinder their progress out of this place.
"How dare you!" Isis screeched in outrage, as Vin waited for the others to proceed. "We will kill you for this insult."
"Now you're starting to sound like Alex." Vin drawled, showing he was unperturbed by this tirade and would not longer be affected by anything she had to say to him. "You know the way out Jack?" He looked to the Colonel.
"Yeah," Jack said stifling a smile. "A place like this isn't easy to forget."
"Well then let's get a move on." Chris retorted, understanding now why Jack had been reluctant to tell them about the Unas before this but was aware that it would have made very little difference to him any way, even if he had known about the creature that lived inside this place. If Thor could bring Mary back to him, Chris would have been willing to gamble any risk for her life.
"Now that's the spirit." Jack said with a smile as they started moving out of the smaller chamber they were within, passing by Thor as they began their search for what was called the hall of Yulnar.
Once they had managed to escape the bunker, finishing off the dwindling Jaffa guards during their perilous departure, the visitors to Netjer made one stop at the village to deposit the people they had rescued from the fortress. As expected, the villagers were extremely grateful and had offered a place for them to rest as well as medical treatment for Ezra. Understanding them was difficult enough as it was without Daniel playing interpreter but eventually Buck, whom the group was particularly fond since he had been their saviour, managed to convince them that it was far more expedient that the visitors left immediately.
Ezra was fading fast and it took even more convincing by Buck and Teal'c to convince Nathan than that the best course of action at the moment was to continue their advance to the gate. The healer was not at all happy by this situation because many of Ezra's injuries needed immediate treatment. The fever that had gripped the gambler had let go but his condition was not improved for it. Ezra had slipped in and out of consciousness since they had found him but now he was completely unresponsive and did not even favour them with the comfort of his delirium to assure them he was still among them.
If the situation were not already grim as they made the trek back to the gate, there had been no sight of the others anywhere. Ever since they had separated inside the fortress, Buck and those with him had no idea of what had happened to Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. Had they made it out or where they still trying to retrieve Isis and Sekhmet? It drove Buck insane with worry not to know but then he told himself that it was what Chris wanted. For the moment anyway, Buck was willing to let that wish stand however, he made a silent vow to himself if enough time had passed and there was still no signs of their missing comrades, he was going through the gate after them.
Teal'c seemed to agree with this assertion, being just as devoted to Jack O'Neill as the seven were to Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner. However, like them he was just as bound to Jack's request as they were to what Chris had asked of them. Buck could see that he was fighting the urge to return to the fortress and find Jack and the others but duty and the most rigid sense of honour that Buck had ever seen, kept Teal'c at their side. Perhaps Teal'c knew as well as they all did that none of them could return home without him or for that matter, use the sarcophagus device that awaited Ezra once they passed through the portal back to the world they knew.
"How is he?" Buck asked after they had reached the gate and Teal'c had begun initiating the device for their return home. Nathan had set Ezra down momentarily and was trying to stem some of the wounds that were bleeding profusely from the time they had found him until now. The makeshift bandages that Nathan had fashioned were almost all soaked through with blood and Ezra's pallor seemed deathly pale. They had followed the trail of blood to find him and he had led it back here for most of their flight from the fortress. Buck could not even begin to imagine what he had endured as he tried to prevail against Isis' demand for propagation.
"He can't last much longer." Nathan said grimly, fastening a flesh length of material around the festering wound on Ezra's side. "He's lost a lot of blood."
"The fever seems to be gone though." Josiah said as he rested for a moment. He and Nathan had carried the gambler all the way here and for most of that journey, Ezra had been a dead weight. Relying solely on an alien device to heal Ezra when his wounds were so massive and becoming progressively worse similarly unsettled Josiah and Nathan.
"His body has started shutting down." Nathan swallowed, trying to hide how much losing Ezra would effect him. When they had first met, neither could say that they would consider each other brothers in the future that would come. Ezra had seen him as nothing more than a black man. Yet as time passed and they found themselves as part of this strange fellowship of seven, Ezra's prejudices had diminished and there came a time when the gambler was happy to risk his life for Nathan's and had proved it on several occasions. While friendships had been formed within the group dynamic, Nathan had found to his surprise that his had emerged with Ezra's, which in his opinion had been the most unlikely one of all. Letting him die like this without lifting a finger to help was more than Nathan could stand and he prayed secretly that this device would effect just a stunning recovery as it had done for Vin.
"Well it won't be much longer now." JD replied looking over his shoulder as he spoke and seeing Teal'c bring the device to life. Even as the symbols flare with light as he touched them, they could feel the slight quake of the ground as the gate was activated. Despite the urgency of their present situation, the men could not help finding their gazes transfixed at the wonder of the portal being opened. It felt like a force of nature that they did not understand was being shaped right before them and even though they were jaded about most things, they could not help being awed by what they saw as the gate came alive with rippling energy.
Once the wormhole was established, Teal'c immediately beckoned them forward as he started towards the steps that led to the mouth of the gate. Wasting no time because in truth, they were all eager to leave this place and return to the familiar surroundings of home, Buck and JD immediately hurried towards it while Josiah and Nathan gathered Ezra into arms and carried him forward. Teal'c waited for them to arrive, as always keeping an eye on the surrounding area for any danger that might unexpectedly emerge at the last minute. His staff weapon was poised to act as he saw Buck and JD step up to the wormhole take a deep breath before finally disappearing into its sparkling depths. Josiah and Nathan did not show any trepidation when it came time from them to enter because their primary concern was for their friend and reaching the sarcophagus that would save his life.
When the men from Tau'Ri's past had finally left Netjer, Teal'c stepped through the gate itself.
It was impossible to describe the journey that takes a man a part to the subatomic level and then spirit him across the galaxy in a matter of seconds. However, it is like being born some have described. Other have voiced a feeling of gratitude towards life as one steps through the other end of the portal and sees that he is the same even though a minute ago, he was nothing more than infinitesimal particles of energy whizzing across space time. Some are changed by it, others try to forget but most retain the memory of cosmic oneness that perhaps for a very brief second, all things were apart of one grand creation.
Certainly Buck Wilmington felt this way when he opened his eyes and found himself in the cavern they had left almost a day ago. Nothing inside the structure had been disturbed. Fortunately, no one had come to investigate why Doctor Faulkner and his team of archaeologists had not been heard from for the last day and for that matter, where the seven lawmen of Four Corners had disappeared to as well. It gave Buck a great sense of comfort to know that their horses were waiting outside and Four Corners were just a few miles down the track and Inez was going about her business, waiting for their child to be born.
"We're back!" JD cried out enthusiastically, even though Teal'c appeared surprised that the young man might have believed any differently. They were all getting back their bearings a little because they were not yet acclimatised to gate travel and the biting cold after effects could still be felt through their clothes even though there was a warm summery heat beyond this cavern.
"Thank god for that." Buck said with a smile.
"Save the thanks for later," Nathan said crisply as he shook the disorientation from his head and snapped back to full alertness since Ezra could not afford to wait for him to endure a lengthy recovery. "We need to get him into that thing."
"Nathan Jackson is correct," Teal'c answered in complete agreement because he too could see the human that had been sadistically tortured by Sekhmet was very near the end. "You will bring him to the sarcophagus while I prepare it for his use."
Buck let out a deep sigh and thought inwardly to himself as they prepared for the task at hand.
Yep, they were home all right but as usual, things were far from right.