The Perojin Solution
by Travelling One
CHAPTER 1
"Well, this is exciting."
Daniel eyed Jack suspiciously as the M.A.L.P. made its unsteady way back through the gate; for once, he thought Jack might actually mean that. Not, however, in reference to the clusters of shrubs bordering lilypad-filled ponds, or the cascading flower and rock gardens surrounding this offworld stargate. Exciting solely for what this world might harbor.
Exciting for Teal'c, too, no doubt, who was convinced the land they were here visiting, Luok'shuo, would allow them to find technology to battle the Goa'uld and free all Jaffa, the Utopia of which he'd so long dreamed. It hadn't actually taken much to convince him; the simple suggestion that this was a world free from Goa'uld rule had brought light to Teal'c's eyes and determination to his face, his body almost geared to depart the very instant he'd heard of this world. The vision of such a moment when he could clasp his brothers' forearms and declare the Goa'uld empire over and done with forever, was always a permanent layer just slightly below the surface of his consciousness, there to be toyed with and nurtured, yet so far from present fulfillment that his brother Jaffas thought him to be insane. Here, now, he was ready to go, ready to begin his intense search for freedom once again, and he would never give up no matter how bleak the last mission nor how unenlightened his people. It was these colleagues, here beside him now, from this First World, who had not only given him hope but who were the most likely instruments of his people's future salvation.
Had that Tok'ra, Yarrden, not claimed that this was a world which might be of interest to the Tau'ri, they would never have known of this place. While the Tok'ra were distantly engaged in their games of "Spy and Tell Only What Suited Them", any world high in technology always had Pentagon ears perking up, and the good snakes knew that. What the Tok'ra might ask for later in exchange still placed that large hovering question mark over their heads, but that was for later; now was the moment for investigation and discovery.
"I thought you didn't trust Tok'ra intel, Jack."
"I don't."
Now, Daniel thought maybe Jack's former statement had been sarcasm after all... interwoven with thin shreds of hope.
"The Tok'ra did say there was nothing they could use here, sir, while we might find something beneficial to ourselves."
"Yes, they did." And that was all Jack was willing to concede to the Tok'ra. He'd keep an open mind.
"Although, they did say their informant was only here for two days," Daniel reminded them. In that time, the Tok'ra Yarrden had reported he'd seen nothing indicative of imposed labor, of servitude or fear; on the contrary, the city dwellers had achieved a high level of technological development. Yarrden had not been interested; while it was indeed wonderful that here was a planet free of Goa'uld domination, the Tok'ra were after yet more Goa'uld who were still out there wreaking havoc. Wallowing in others' victories wasn't part of their game. Still, the peoples' claim that they had been free from slavery for many decades had caught the attention of the SGC.
"I believe they have technology that will prove useful in fighting the Goa'uld," Teal'c insisted.
"Nothing good enough for the Tok'ra, though," Daniel reiterated smugly.
"So, something to check out. We know that. And we've been here for, oh, two minutes," Jack reluctantly agreed. "So let's not waste more time." He looked around for the best route to take to those tall reflective buildings, the ones glimmering in the sunlight, not too far off in the distance. Four or five miles, he estimated. Gardens, gardens, everywhere. Was the stargate in the middle of a park, or maybe a community square? Whatever. The city looked like a good place to start; besides, the Tok'ra told them they'd find a place there - in the downtown area - to camp out. "Isn't someone supposed to be meeting us?"
"Colonel!"
"Watch out!" Daniel grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him out of the way as a man came charging straight towards them, seemingly oblivious to the newcomers, intent on evading another who was in quick pursuit. One could almost have seen the wind in motion behind them, so quick was their passage, and once recovering from the surprise, Jack made a show of holding tight to his cap. Neither of the runners seemed to take notice of the surprised foursome as they raced across the lawn onto the pedestrian foot bridge beyond. SG-1's eyes tracked them as the two locals continued the chase down the mosaicked path; there, finally caught by his pursuer, the fleeing man was knocked to the ground. Rolling over and over each other, punches flying, they appeared determined to cause injury.
"Jack? Shouldn't we - "
"No."
"What?" Daniel eyed Jack brazenly.
"Daniel, we are not - "
"O'Neill." There was a curious urgency in Teal'c's voice, enticing his teammates to swing around. Jack sent a discreet, triumphant look Daniel's way. Saved by the Jaffa.
What they saw now, forced all memories of the dispute to vanish into history.
Teal'c was standing beside a seven-foot long, four-foot high oblong glass object, rounded at both ends, that hadn't been there two minutes before. Now, to the left of their waiting platform and just beyond the gate itself, the unmanned, transparent, enclosed object was hovering, a panel open lengthwise along its side.
"I believe we are being offered transportation."
"That what that is?" Jack sauntered over eagerly but warily, staring into the opening in the side of the module as it levitated waist-high. It looked like it could be an aircraft. Or a mini-rocket. Sort of a small glass blimp. There were seats. White, opaque, foam-thickness rubbery, with side edges that curled slightly inwards. "You trust it?"
Now he heard what Teal'c had already discovered; inside, a deep voice was speaking.
"Teal'c?"
"He speaks Goa'uld. There is a communications device within."
"Goa'uld?" Jack screwed his face up in consternation, catching himself when he remembered that Goa'uld was Teal'c's first language, too. Not necessarily ominous, in and of itself. The Tok'ra had said this planet was mostly bilingual, Goa'uld and English, a remnant from days past of Goa'uld dominance. "What's he saying?"
"Our arrival has been noted. We are to be transported to accommodation."
"Hotel shuttle?"
At Teal'c's frown, Jack heard Daniel beside him. "Or something."
"This must be what the Tok'ra meant by our being met upon arrival, sir." Sam's overeager brain was already searching for the technology that operated this thing. From this exterior angle, she could see nothing. No engine, no controls, just a one-inch round hole in the ceiling from where the voice had originated, filling the cabin. Single Hole Surround Sound; not bad. Sam stood on her toes but couldn't see the top of the module, although she doubted that the hole went straight through. Not if there was a speaker of some sort connected to it within.
"Ah. Of course it is."
"Jack?" Daniel's eyes had shifted from the unusual transparent floating bullet; now, Jack followed Daniel's gaze back towards the gardens. On the lawns, people were milling around, attending to various needs, nothing odd. But there, right across the walkway, was a family who was not doing anything… anything. Still as statues, enclosed in a huddle with heads bowed, they weren't moving a muscle.
"Daniel?"
"Those people. They're just standing there."
"I can see that. And?"
"My guess? I'd say they're praying."
"I think Daniel might be right, sir." Sam agreed, nodding. A few moments later, as one, the small group lifted their heads and continued nonchalantly on their way.
"That would be consistent with a society that isn't controlled by an overt, tangible presence," Daniel theorized, "such as the Goa'uld. Free to choose their own beliefs and rituals out in the open, with no fear of retribution."
"So, the Tok'ra may have been right." Jack acquiesced. He still wasn't taking anything for granted.
"Indeed." Teal'c was almost smiling.
"Then again, they might have been listening to the birds," Jack cocked his head, and turned back to the glass flying thing.
His attention was shaken by loud shouting, and he turned abruptly as yet another fight broke out, barely thirty feet away.
Fights… could they be more evidence of dead false gods? Daniel wondered. Lax societal rules, a symptom of lawlessness? Daniel felt troubled, his mind ablaze with concerns as to how SG-1 might be of service to these people. Not that he'd run such a possibility by Jack; the team leader was here for intel only, and would just accuse him of trying to get in the way of yet another world. Daniel knew he should just step back and learn to be more objective and accepting of the things he witnessed offworld; as an archeologist his job had always been to discover, not to judge. But for some reason there seemed to be this flaw in his personality that always needed to meddle, that couldn't stand to see anyone unhappy. His musings were abruptly interrupted, and Daniel scolded himself. He knew better than to lose concentration on a mission.
"Okay, let's go check in," Jack advised, turning away from the altercation, more than ever now not wanting to get in the middle of one of these seemingly frequent disputes. Pausing, he tapped the outer surface of the shuttle in curiosity.
"I don't think it's glass, sir. Probably some crystalline derivative, to ensure its strength."
"Crystal...ish?"
"Close enough, sir."
Glancing at his astrophysicist, Jack took notice of her imp...ish grin as she bent low and climbed into the middle seat. Someone would be having fun here.
Jack draped out his arm, offering a crooked smile at Daniel. "After you. Buckle up."
"There's a buckle?"
As soon as SG-1 was strapped into the car, the white ridges of the seat backs and platforms curling loosely around their limbs to keep them secure - although they could slide free of the gentle holds with a bit of maneuvering - the vehicle lifted and was airborne. Jack and Teal'c up front, Daniel and Sam behind them, the vehicle could hold two more in the rear.
"Cool," Jack beamed approvingly as he leaned over, his nose pressed to the transparent glass facsimile. He could look out both the front and side at the same time, for it was all one big window anyway, as the thing floated high above the criss-crossing grid pattern of walkways interspersed with green lawns and flower gardens. There were no controls, but the voice at the other end had returned, welcoming the team, sounding throughout the cabin. It would not, however, respond to questions; more than likely it was a recording. "Smooth." Beside him, Teal'c stared straight ahead. "Maybe we can negotiate for a few of these."
"And ride them around Colorado Springs?" Daniel was watching out the bottom of the unit, observing the people below, doing his best to get a handle on whatever he could see. While most individuals were engaging in common tasks, or just out strolling, pausing by fountains to sit, a few were bowed in unmotion. One group of what looked from this height like teenagers, were jumping on each other with fists flying. The discrepancies were apparent and obvious, a puzzle that would need further study.
"No, downtown L.A. Who'd notice?" Jack shrugged.
There was no comeback from the middle row.
"Daniel?" With no controls that she could examine, nothing but the golf-ball sized hole in the ceiling between the colonel and Teal'c, Sam turned her attention to her other teammate, noticing him deep in thought. "You okay?"
"Fine, Sam. Just watching what's going on."
"We can go out walking later, talk to people. Maybe we can find a library with archives." And science texts.
Daniel nodded mutely, returning his gaze to the street below. The street way down there under his feet. The whole elongated bubble was one big see-through chunk of clear crystalline substance; it was rather disconcerting to look down and see nothing below him but the slightly distant tops of people's heads.
"Whoa."
Daniel glanced up at Jack's whistle, and his own breath caught. Another transparent shuttle was crossing in front of them, at a distance of about a hundred feet ahead. In fact, a few of these things were flying around the skies as though they were public taxis. With the sky visible though their surfaces, and the white seats within resembling clouds, the vehicles were almost camouflaged while airborne. Yet, now that he looked more closely, Daniel could count at least seven of these modules scattered around the neighboring sky.
SG-1 was approaching the city; tall buildings spread out, looming up to fourteen or fifteen storeys high, with the fanciest architecture they'd ever seen. The craft was heading straight towards some building complexes with flower-like glass protrusions encircling their upper floors, multiple rooms looking like misty petals on tall green or brown stems. Together, the groupings - each of a dozen or so buildings - formed sculptures, gardens in the air. Glass flowers, above sparkling fountains flowing with colored water into large manmade pools.
"Judging from those buildings and these shuttles," Daniel motioned around them with his head, "it looks as though there haven't been any Goa'uld around to stop the advancement of technology."
"That would be the reason we're here, Daniel."
"I'm just saying." But Daniel's eyes went wider as the air-vehicle continued to threaten a head-on collision with one of the center buildings, and his hands tried to close around the contoured folds of his seat. "Uh… are we supposed to be doing that?" He questioned anxiously.
Jack's glare was pasted to the approaching view in front of them, an undisputed collision course; by his estimate, they had one minute before crashing into that Polaroid-darkened glass tower. "Talk to the thing! Daniel? Teal'c?" Goa'uld. He couldn't communicate in Goa'uld.
"Um...hello? We're heading straight for a building!" Daniel looked up, talking rapidly in Goa'uld to the hole in the ceiling. There was no response.
"Carter!" Jack was trying not to panic; he could leave that to Daniel. He couldn't, however, deny that any moment now there would be a nice loud crash-bang from their seats at point zero, about a hundred feet up in the air.
"Sir, I can't find any way to manually control this craft." Sam had tried sticking her fingers in that golf ball-sized hole. It was… just a hole.
"So far the aircraft has known what to do, O'Neill." Teal'c's calm voice probably wasn't just the façade that theirs had been; O'Neill suspected that Teal'c might actually be somewhat calmer than he was.
"So far it's only gone straight, Teal'c! Maybe they think we know how to operate it? Or stop it?"
With no other plan of action, SG-1 could do nothing but hold their breaths as the module pushed rapidly ahead, flying underneath one of those petal-like protrusions, each of which - now that they were so up close - they could estimate at approximately thirty feet in diameter. Directly below their position was a huge pool, with a fountain spurting in a variety of directions. And in about fifteen seconds they would slam straight into the smoky quartz stem holding up the petals, a circular building core itself nearly half a block wide.
SG-1 sat frozen, staring straight out the window ahead, no one daring to interrupt the silence.
With the building's glass tiles looming directly in front of them and a body of shallow water far, far below, Daniel closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, bracing for the collision.
Instead, he felt the vehicle abruptly slow down and turn, and he whipped open his eyes. Smoothly spinning a half-circle it halted, its rear to the building, its nose now facing the direction from which they had just come.
Eyes wide and hearts pounding, finally the teammates resumed their normal breathing, still in silence. Overhead, from what they could tell through the roof of this thing, some sort of hatch was sliding open. Then the aircraft began to lift straight upward.
CHAPTER 2
The shuttle stopped rising and hovered, the panel along its side closest to Daniel and O'Neill now opening. Surrounding them was nothing but empty space.
"Um…are we supposed to get out?" Daniel questioned hesitantly, no one making a move.
"Maybe," Jack confirmed, dubiously. "How's your levitation these days? Good?" Looking down, he could see nothing to step on. Below his feet… below the aircraft… he could see a drop of, oh, about a hundred and twenty feet… and nothing at the bottom of that but a pool of water.
They stared, unmoving, gripping their seats for dear life. That was when the voice returned.
"Welcome to Sovereign Hall. Please disembark." Neither Sam nor O'Neill understood a word.
"Jack, he said we should get out."
Jack turned to view Daniel, a look of skepticism on his face. "Right. Easy for him to say, safe and snug in a little hole in the ceiling."
"We have entered the protuberance that rose above us. Therefore we must be within the interior of a glass expanse," Teal'c scrutinized the surroundings. He could see for miles.
A really, really, clean shiny glass expanse. With an open hatch below.
"Yeah, well, we're hovering in mid-air, so I might just pass on testing that."
They heard Carter gasp. "Um…sir? I don't think we're actually hovering any more. Well, I mean, we're hovering, but I think there's a floor here. The hatch must have closed." She squinted, trying to make sense of what she was sure her eyes were seeing. "Behind us, sir, at seven o'clock. Is that - " she paused.
A bed?
Jack twisted around - they all did - and peered through the rear of the shuttle. "Holy damn. Our hotel room?"
_____
When they had dared to slip out of the craft hovering at waist-height, they'd seen that there was not only a floor beneath their feet, albeit a glass - or wafer-thin unfaceted crystal, Sam suspected - floor, but a single semi-circular transparent wall curving upward into a glass, or similarly crystalline, ceiling, rising a good fifteen feet above their heads. The hatch beneath the shuttle had indeed closed. Through the ceiling they could clearly see sky and puffy clouds; below their feet, the sparkling water of a huge emerald pool. Water flowing down the central stem of the building and cascading over several layers of colored glass formed a waterfall into the pool, rippling gently eighty to a hundred feet below them. Except for the back wall, this room was one giant, elliptical, transparent bubble.
The far wall was slightly contoured, an opaque metallic blue, the only part of the room that was not made from the transparent material, although the adjoining ends of the glass walls were thick enough to block out the views into any neighboring suites. Against that curved back wall rested an hourglass-shaped bed draped in a rubbery, fitted, patterned cover. Several wide white oval benches, similar to the seats in the shuttle but quite a bit longer, protruded gently from the wall on either side of the bed. A rectangular aperture in the wall above the bed was unidentifiable; it could be a safe… or a microwave… Jack suggested hair dryer, but then agreed the position would be too uncomfortable for a normal human to use. Personal washing facilities were in an alcove by the doorway, waiting for Sam to figure them out.
"How come only one bed, d'ya think?"
"Perhaps the Tok'ra Yarrden did not mention we would be a team of four," Teal'c reasoned.
"Right. So we'll go down and talk to management." Unless this room had a telephone…?
"Actually, Jack, these benches are comfortable. I could sleep here." Daniel was testing one out, lying down. The rubbery substance seemed to mold to his body.
The team hadn't yet ventured from the room, but they had taken a peek into the hallway, a narrow circular corridor connecting the petals of the flower - at least ten rooms in total - with the building's core, a deep smoky crystal elevator shaft. The floor of the hallway was tiled in thick burgundy glass panels, a mosaic of interlocking shapes. Under the floor - and indeed, within it - seemed to be flowing water… a horizontal waterfall.
Now, back in the room, Jack was staring past his feet, into the pool eleven or twelve storeys below. Creepy, living inside a bubble. The floor itself wasn't exactly the kind of solid as they knew solid to be, either; no, it had a little give to it - probably to add strength and prevent breakage, Carter had surmised - and felt eerily as though they were standing on really strong plastic wrap.
"Something wrong?" The soft voice reminded Jack that Daniel was the one who hated heights, not him.
Jack shook his head. "Nope. Just wondering; if I open the hatch, think I could drop a line and fish from up here?"
Daniel stared at him for a moment, an incredulous glint in his eyes, then turned around to help Sam figure out the lavatory.
_____
"So, what do you say we head downstairs and find out what this Ritz charges," Jack was done staring at the water below for now; no matter how long he looked, that feeling of weirdness would not dissipate, having nothing but wobbly glass or crystal or plastic beneath his feet. The room jutted out as if it were floating alone in space; they could just as easily have been in an alien spaceship looking down, if not for the shuttle still hovering in mid-air in its parking spot halfway across the chamber. Cool as it was, Jack had to admit it was intimidating. It would be odd to sleep here tonight. Although they were used to seeing nothing but stars overhead on overnight missions, their derrieres were mostly always planted firmly on solid dark soil.
Talking of cool, there was air conditioning in here somewhere. Maybe from that hole in the wall above the bed. Ventilation, anyway, which was a good thing, seeing as Jack was pretty certain he wouldn't want the windows to open.
"I'm game." Daniel agreed, dragging himself away from the windowed walls, heart beating quickly with each step that had him feeling as though this floor would give way at any moment, plunging them to their deaths. He was still confused by the actions of those out on the street below. For the past ten minutes he'd continued to witness friendship, animosity, and what really did look like spontaneous prayer. "I'd like to walk around and talk to people."
"There's a surprise."
Teal'c was the first one to the door, which opened at their proximity, but the last one out of the room, as he bowed slightly to the others, allowing them to pass. Once in the hall, the door slid closed and clicked shut behind them.
"Uh, how do we get back in?" Daniel inquired slowly, frowning as he faced the door, waving his hands in front of it, finally trying to manually slide it open. There was no handle and it didn't budge.
"Oops. Think we were supposed to leave in the shuttle?"
"To where?" Daniel bit down gently on his lip as he stared at his CO. Carter looked uncertainly at them both, having noted the absence of a stairwell. Teal'c had an eyebrow raised through most of the brief interaction, but he offered no suggestions.
The central core seemed to sense them, however, for as Teal'c backed up, a huge panel slid upwards into the ceiling, allowing them entry into a circular mirrored enclosure.
"Nah, I'm thinking we can leave the car at home," Daniel nodded confidently, as Jack thumped him on the arm.
"You're good," the CO commended, stepping inside.
For several moments they stood there, searching for nonexistent controls; there were no elevator buttons to be found. This was so getting old… in its new-fangled sort of way.
"Okay, now what?" Jack queried, looking around before his gaze fell on Carter, then on Daniel, only to see the archeologist peering up at the ceiling. There was nothing up there but a golf-ball sized hole. "I'm starting to think we need a golf ball with our names on it to stick in those things," Jack suggested.
Daniel spoke in Goa'uld. "We'd like to go to reception, please." Nothing happened. He tried in English.
"Level one," Teal'c said, also in Goa'uld, and the panel slid downwards, sealing them in. The descent began, gentle and smooth.
"See?" Jack stated triumphantly, "I always say, the less said, the better." He might not understand Goa'uld, but he could count to two.
"That's good, Jack," Daniel nodded approvingly. "You have something in common with an elevator."
CHAPTER 3
"What's that equal to?" Jack looked on as Teal'c's pocketed the rest of the little colored glass stones, just inside the door of the lobby. The Tok'ra had given them a small pile of this local currency, and the hotel cashier had given them a flat, two inch square crystal card with which to activate their door, upon payment. Press the crystal upon the door - anywhere - and it would unlock, tuned to the inner vibrations. The crystal also activated the room's flying machine, in daylight. At night in the dark, so they'd been warned, the thing wouldn't fly.
To Sam's delight - and slight disappointment, as it answered almost nothing - they'd discovered how those shuttles operated. Okay, not so much "how", as "why"; that honkin' huge mound of multi-colored quartz crystal sitting in a pool of water right there in the lobby was the base station. The modules were operated by remote control from reception, not unlike, as Jack decided, children's toy airplanes. Apparently there was an entire network of invisible laser lines along which they ran. Or flew, from one point to the next, zigzagging invisibly across the lower sky, triggered by implants in the parking platforms of buildings and other solid landmarks. Some could, however, also be controlled manually, and Sam knew she had a lot of research to do before leaving this planet.
The reception clerk and cashier, sitting inside his own rainbow-tinted glass booth, had willingly answered some questions but not all. He spoke English as well as Goa'uld. "Ah, bilingualism. True indication of an upper class establishment", Jack had remarked appreciatively. Except, however, for the lack of tourist brochures. The man in the booth had not even been able to direct them to a local library. Inquiring about a city hall just brought a confused look to his eyes. "There's the State Station," he'd suggested, but it sounded too much like a law court or police headquarters to make them comfortable. It seemed all those arriving from the stargate were taken to accommodation towers such as this one… and those folks apparently all knew where they were going and what they were doing here.
Now 'here' was where they stood, at one of the fourteen wide sliding doors to the outside world, the high ceilings of the lobby glittering in multi-layered, over-lapping geometric panels of the same tinted crystalline material. Carter was still staring at the huge round chunk of faceted crystal sitting in that low pool, the big gem trickling water all along its surfaces from the top down. It would take her days to analyze how this worked in conjunction with the laser lines, and she wondered if every home had one as well. Maybe they were just for major businesses or hotels; there hadn't been that many shuttles out and about, earlier in the day. Did the size of the hunk limit the distance the modules could travel, or where they could go?
"I believe it equals approximately nine hundred and eleven dollars, forty-four point three cents," Teal'c calculated.
Daniel's mouth dropped open, his eyes connecting with Jack's. For one night?
Jack whistled. "Point three, huh? You'd think we might have a jacuzzi."
"We do have a private airport shuttle, sir," Carter interjected, her attention having re-entered the present conversation at the mention of nine hundred dollars. There was something to be said for sleeping in tents.
"And a view," Daniel added.
"So, well worth the American tax payer's money. How much did the Tok'ra trade us?"
"We have enough for one more night, O'Neill."
Yeah, keep Teal'c in charge of the money. That way when Hammond asked for the expense account, they could all look his way with innocent eyes. Beats me, sir. We didn't have a choice of hotels. Jack motioned towards the doors. "Shall we?" Dramatically snapping his fingers and stepping forward, the doors sensed motion, five of the fourteen sliding into each other and then into the slits in the smoky crystalline walls.
The street was a wonder, with its oddly-sculpted buildings in rainbow colors, faux glass-garden office and hotel complexes towering over their heads, making them feel like ants at a picnic. Then there were the fountains; many, many fountains, complete with manmade garden waterfalls. Little spurts of water in rows; huge gushing geysers; peacock fantails of water; jets of mist. Everywhere they looked, water flowed upwards, outwards, inwards, into pools of silky, glistening basins painted in such a variety of pastel shades that their eyes barely had time to adjust. Flowers - real live ones - bordered every circumference and perimeter. Bright, beautiful, and serene.
It took a good five minutes of turning and staring for SG-1 to absorb it all.
"Wow. It certainly is decorative," Sam said lamely, just to break the silence. People walked by in pastel panels of clothing; multiple lengths of fabric, folded and draped. Most had small colorful stars or crescent moonshapes on their foreheads.
"Jewellery?" Daniel asked hopefully, not wanting them to be anything else.
"This does not appear to be a Goa'uld dominated world," Teal'c declared realistically, knowing exactly what Daniel was thinking. "I do not believe those to be Goa'uld symbols." Or tattoos.
Daniel had already found something else to capture his attention; gazing off towards a far lawn, he watched as three people huddled close together, heads bowed inward. "Interesting."
"What?" Jack looked around.
"They just stopped. Suddenly, as though their power was switched off."
"And that makes sense." Although Daniel's statement had sounded bizarre, Jack did see what his teammate was referring to; two men and a woman in a neighboring garden were kneeling in place, motionless, their backs facing outwards, forming a tiny, enclosed circle. Whatever they might be doing, or not doing, Jack couldn't tell from this distance and angle. He doubted, though, that they were listening to birds. "Okay, a bit old to be playing marbles."
After another few moments the three stood up and continued nonchalantly on their way.
"Or maybe a lost contact lens," Jack shrugged, dismissing the curiosity. Daniel was interested in the people, Carter the crystal technology, and Jack knew he really wanted to bargain for one of those shuttles, although with a hotel room at nine hundred dollars a night he had a sinking feeling it wouldn't come cheap. Then there was Teal'c, who wanted to know how these people had rid themselves of the Goa'uld; so did he. That was their true purpose here, and the one that would have to take precedence. To accomplish everything else might take weeks, yet Jack knew that in order to discover anything useful to Earth, Daniel would have to talk to the people and Carter would have to study the technology. It all became part of the parcel, and therefore, they had a lot of business to cover in a short amount of time. One more night and they'd be out of local currency.
Two more men stopped, not far along the path, and knelt down, still as statues.
"What the hell is going on?" Daniel wondered out loud. "If they're praying, we have to find out who or what they believe in."
"Let's get out there and find out. Carter, Daniel…" Jack motioned with his thumb, "you two go that way. Teal'c, with me. Head out around the block and meet back here in one hour."
_____
"Hey! Watch it!" The shove nearly knocked him down, but the man didn't even seem to notice, as he raced away from a second, older man, barreling across their path. The one in the rear wielded a thick stick. What, did they reenact this scene hourly? Jack could've sworn they'd been through this before.
"There appears to be much unlawful behavior in this city," Teal'c remarked.
"Ya think?" Jack keyed his radio. "Unless the ones in pursuit are cops." Both men had been wearing the flowing local attire; maybe it was the color that mattered. "Daniel. Carter. Come in."
"We hear you, Jack."
"You two okay?"
"We're fine, sir. How about you?"
"We're good. Find anyone to talk to yet?"
"Not really, Jack. People just keep shying away when we try to ask them anything personal. And I don't think we're using the right terms for 'government building' or 'library'."
Jack scowled impatiently, wanting something more helpful. "Okay, keep trying."
"Yes, sir."
Teal'c twitched. "I would like to inquire about past Goa'uld activity in the region, O'Neill."
"Yeah. Figured you might."
_____
He saw her before Sam did. The young woman was trying to shove her companion out of the way, slapping at his face, but the man's grasp on her elbow looked painful and tight. Kicking his shin, the woman almost broke free.
"Stop!" Daniel rushed over. Grabbing the man's arm, he yanked him away from her, stumbling but remaining upright.
"Daniel!"
Twisting out of Daniel's grasp, the man caught a glimpse of Sam behind him and ferociously lunged at her, his motion swift and precise. Jumping to avoid contact, Sam tripped on the low rocks in the soft earth bordering the flower bed, falling as Daniel tackled the man to the ground. The guy had gone after Sam for no reason other than her proximity, and Daniel'd be damned if he'd rely on her to initiate the intervention.
Struggling under Daniel's grip, the man swore and cursed, thrashing until suddenly he was right side up and Daniel was flat on his stomach.
"Ow!" Daniel rolled over, the sharp kick to his head stinging. For a brief moment he lay there, stunned.
"Daniel!" Sam was at his side, bending to look into his eyes. When she saw them open and lucid, she turned in anger to the woman. "What did you do that for? He was trying to help you." But the woman's words were in Goa'uld, and the scowl on her face turned Sam's blood cold.
Then with a kick in the flower bed that threw dirt up into Daniel's face, the woman turned to her companion, and together they ran off across the lawn, watched by the two confused members of SG-1. Daniel was now sitting up, Sam kneeling at his side. Beyond a small clover-shaped pond the two locals stopped, face to face in argument, then turned to stand still as statues, heads bowed, in the shadow of a grove of trees.
"Daniel? You okay?" Sam's voice pulled her teammate out of his mesmerized trance.
"Um. Yes. I think so," Daniel stood up slowly, accepting the offered hand, brushing off the soil and grass.
"What was she saying?" Sam asked, gently touching the side of his head to feel for a lump. There was just a small one. "She had no business doing that to you."
"She said, euphemistically translated, 'mind your own… um, damn business'." He peered at Sam more closely. "Did he hurt you?"
"No, Daniel. I tripped. I'm fine."
"Okay. What do you say we go find Jack and Teal'c?"
Sam didn't move, her gaze locked on another unmoving group of people, her frown intensifying.
"Sam? Hey. You're starting to look like one of them," he teased.
"What?" She turned back to her patiently waiting teammate. "Oh, sorry. Daniel, do you remember P3X-289, that domed planet we visited?"
"The one that kept shrinking?"
"Right. Their people wore those neural links that interfaced with the databank. Remember what happened when the computer was uploading?"
Realization dawned in Daniel's eyes. "They all froze for a few seconds."
"Right."
He looked around, puzzled; some of the people were now moving as though they had never stopped. "And you think these people are connected to some program? They're not all stopping at the same time, Sam."
"What I'm thinking, Daniel, is that these people are not as free as we hoped they were."
_____
"And you're fine?" The sharp, clipped question held a truckload of implications and connotations.
"I'm fine, Jack."
"Back to the room." Jack's tight, closed expression, along with the hand on Daniel's elbow turning him around, had Daniel suspecting something else had not gone well. Something other than the little altercation he and Sam had related as nonchalantly as they'd been able, for the severe look on Jack's face had been there from the moment they'd regrouped.
"Jack? What happened?"
"Tell you in the room."
The team trudged on in subsequent silence. Daniel turned his head to stare at the people as they walked, people who were showing signs of anger, prayer, or engaged in nothing more conspicuous than sitting by a fountain in a garden munching this world's version of junk food. But neither Jack nor Teal'c, Daniel observed, were bothering to notice any of that, nor did they seem inclined to conversation. Picking up on the mood, he remained silent, now and then exchanging puzzled glances with Sam.
CHAPTER 4
The view would always be disconcerting.
Their breaths hitched upon entering the room, that huge bubble of thin smooth transparency jutting out over space and emptiness, emerald green pools of water beneath them, a panoramic view over the gardens and architecture of an alien world. A world they knew as P4X-959, or Luok'shuo, a Goa'uld word meaning 'Eternity'.
Teal'c aimed straight for the window, where he paused with hands clasped behind him and his back to the room and the team. If Daniel hadn't known him better he'd have thought Teal'c was daydreaming.
Or pouting.
Jack plunked himself down on one of the long white benches, and prepared to clean a weapon.
Daniel exchanged looks with Sam. Jack was fuming, internally, and Daniel was sure it wasn't because of the fight he'd been in. He cleared his throat, and sat down on the empty bench alongside Jack's, ignoring the renewed surprise at the softness and malleability of what seemed to be rubbery plastic. "I don't know what you found out, Jack, but Sam and I think the people are being controlled by something, some organization or program, and that those pieces on their faces aren't just decorative."
"They're being controlled alright." Jack continued doing what he'd been doing, which tended towards redundant motion of polishing an already shiny and unused rifle, not looking up to make eye contact.
"Sir?"
Daniel licked at the inside of his cheek, massaging a small sting that he figured must be a cut. "Care to fill us in?" Jack was definitely worked up about something; this stony, icy demeanor was unsettling his own nerves.
"Fill them in, Teal'c."
Teal'c did not turn from the window, full First Prime solidity revealing the stoic warrior within. "We did not meet anyone who would reveal any knowledge of Jaffa or Goa'uld."
"Okay… but…?" This bench molded to Daniel's lower body as he shifted, like memory foam amplified by a thousand. It might not be a hit at Ikea, Daniel vaguely caught himself thinking, but Home Depot would sell out in a day.
Sam sat herself down on the edge of the bed, wondering at its comforting, sensual feeling, luring her to lie down.
"Teal'c?" Daniel found himself urging once more.
"We discovered what the inhabitants are doing when they cease their motion."
Oh-oh. Daniel bit his lip. "Not praying?"
"They are not."
"Worshipping, maybe." Jack corrected sarcastically.
"What?" This was like pulling someone else's feet from quicksand. Teal'c was upset and Jack was angry or annoyed. Daniel knew Teal'c would only be upset if he'd found out these people were not truly free, yet he said he hadn't spoken to anyone about that. Jack would be angry if he'd discovered a Goa'uld ruled this planet. "Okay, fine, we'll go back outside and find out for ourselves, if you don't want to tell us. Coming, Sam?"
"Stay, Daniel." Jack nodded toward his pack, dumped down by the door. "It's in there."
Puzzled and acutely curious, Daniel peeled himself off the bench and strode over to Jack's pack. Rummaging inside, he pulled out a purple pouch, much heavier than it looked. Opening it, removing the contents for Sam to see as well, what he was now holding in his palm was a round, metallic, purplish-gray ball with small Goa'uld symbols on a flat oval-shaped base. Numbers. It looked like one of two things: a modified Goa'uld shock grenade, or a mini crystal ball. Crystal bowling ball. Or… with a bit less imagination, one other possibility came to mind. "A Goa'uld communication device?" Daniel frowned. They'd seen a small one before, in the hands of a Tok'ra traitor, although this one was even smaller, like a large opaque snow globe. Judging by its weight, it had to contain naquada.
"We saw a couple of people putting them into those pouches they carry at their waists, right after they'd frozen for a minute or so."
"So you think they were talking to some Goa'uld?" Daniel's eyes were wide, suiting the shocked expression on his face, and Sam was listening intently, grim and pensive. "All those people who keep stopping, they're communicating with their… Goa'uld god?"
"False god," Teal'c corrected.
"You know what I mean."
"Colonel, where did you get this?" Carter had taken it from Daniel's hands, and was examining it closely.
"Quit touching it. I don't particularly want to alert whatever Goa'uld is at the other end," Jack admonished. "Found a stand selling them. Equivalent of thirty dollars," he added.
"What?" Daniel stared at Jack for a moment, then sidled up to Teal'c, who continued to stand at the window. "I'm sorry, Teal'c. I know you didn't want to find another Goa'uld ruling here any more than the rest of us did."
"Good intel we got from the Tok'ra, eh?" Jack rubbed his P-90 more furiously.
"Sir, I don't know how Yarrden could have missed this. Maybe we're the ones missing something."
"He missed it, Carter, same as we almost did."
"What now, Jack?" Daniel dismally felt the promise of this mission, of this technologically developed world, swirling down the drain. The letdown was severe, the result of a build-up that had been too great, amplified by a shuttle flight into a piece of Shangri-la. Where were the Goa'uld, and why were they allowing such a display of modern progress? Unless they were the ones reaping the benefits, in some unseen, all-encompassing sovereignty.
"We'll gather more intel tomorrow and then head back to the base. Hammond can take it from there." Jack sighed loudly, laying his weapon carefully at his feet, where it bizarrely gave the illusion of floating high above a flowing fountain of water. Everything in this room - including SG-1 - appeared as though it was hovering. "We've paid a small fortune for a night in this room; I don't intend for it to go to waste."
____
It lit the room.
Jack had innocently asked where the lights were, and Daniel had stuck his face into the hole in the wall, for the reception clerk had told them the hole was a power source. Nothing happened, so even more innocently Daniel spoke to the room in Goa'uld, using the simple word 'light', for Jack liked simple. Suddenly patches of gentle brightness had emanated from within the blue opaque wall. That was when Carter pointed out the golf-ball sized holes in the hole in the wall.
"A verbal command centre," she acknowledged in awe, figuring they'd all want to hear her conclusions.
"Tey'ac shenod," Teal'c said, and soft music filled the room.
The others stared, stupefied.
"Ask for beer," Jack told him.
"There is no word for beer in the Goa'uld language, O'Neill. Jaffa and Goa'uld do not partake in alcoholic beverages."
"Damn. Try something else then," Jack encourged him, then whispered to Daniel, "I suppose they have no words for 'The Simpsons' either."
"Water," Teal'c said in Goa'uld, but nothing happened. "Food." Nothing.
"Pie," Jack threw in, just in case. "Okay, so either it's the Light and Music box, or we need to set it to accept English. Why isn't the equipment on this planet bilingual?"
"Actually, Jack, the clerk did say it could be readjusted for other languages."
"How?"
"I don't know. Maybe we just have to tell it to switch to English."
"Pro'ke'shno ben'ha Tau'ri." Teal'c exclaimed. "Speak to it now, O'Neill."
"What did you say?"
"Language of the Tau'ri. "
"Ah." Jack eyed Teal'c dubiously, then said to the room, "Lights out." Nothing happened.
Daniel repeated the instruction in Goa'uld, and the blue wall dimmed and went dark, once again pitching the team into a world of stars and blackness. The play of subdued lights emanating from the pool below cast their faces into darkened shadows of pink and green.
Cool. Scenic. "Well, kids. I'm going to sleep. Seeing as there's nothing on TV."
They'd offered Sam the bed; the plastic-type white benches were long and wide enough to use with sleeping bags, and comfortable enough to lie on, with their form-fitting faux foam substance. Jack wasn't going to call for watch rotation in this hotel room, but he doubted he'd sleep much anyway. It was more intriguing to turn on his side and watch the dim spotlights in the pool below.
"Sir, here's a pillow." Sam tossed a pillow off the bed to the dark silhouette of Jack still sitting on his bench, and he caught it with an, "Ugh! What the hell is this?" sort of grunt.
It was thin, but soothingly soft and squishy, with hundreds of miniscule quilted gel-like bubbles covering its surface. It almost seemed to massage his fingertips as he tactilely inspected it. "Feels like a thick shoe insole," he said, tossing it back to Carter. "I'll stick with my jacket, thanks." Lying down, he tucked the edges of his sleeping bag around him and his jacket under his head, then adjusted his cap to nearly cover his eyes. Nearly; for he wasn't yet keen on closing out the wide open views around him.
Teal'c spoke to the room, and the music faded out.
Below, the gently rippling water was hypnotizing, as was the field of stars overhead, but Jack didn't sleep. He was too content pretending he was floating alone in space. Or kind of alone with Mary Steenburgen.
He'd watched Daniel looking at the stars too, for the longest while. Teal'c was sitting cross-legged facing the window. Carter had fallen asleep on that bed the moment her head had touched the sort-of pillow. Jack cringed; he'd rather have his jacket under his head any day.
"Carter. Carter!" Jack finally lifted Sam's head, raising her nearly to a sitting position, Daniel anxiously lending support on her other side. "Carter!" Her eyes flickered, then opened. "It's about time," Jack pursed his lips in a relieved frown, glancing briefly at Daniel's relaxing features.
"Sir?" Sam looked sleepily at her commanding officer, then at Daniel beside her. Teal'c was standing at the foot of the hour-glass shaped bed. Suddenly she felt very conspicuous and self-conscious, and she wrapped her arms around her knees. "What's going on?"
"You didn't want to wake up."
"Comfortable bed, Sam?" Daniel teased, but concern played in his eyes. Waking her had taken over a minute, and they'd been worried.
"Oh, wow. Sorry, guys." Now fully awake, Sam looked sheepish. "It feels like I just fell asleep. Very comfortable bed, Daniel."
"Well, have some breakfast and we'll head out. You sure you're okay?" O'Neill's complete focus remained on the major.
"I feel great, sir. I may not have had any dreams, but I think this bed does the seven-hour full-body massage. You ought to try it."
_____
They'd been walking for half the day already, and Jack was losing patience. This was getting them nowhere, and wandering aimlessly when the city was so full of useless wonders was nothing other than irritating. The fact that more often than not he couldn't understand the language factored into his frustration. They - or Daniel, mostly - had stopped to speak to several people, but conversation had been vague and clipped. No one had wanted to speak of the Goa'uld who may or may not be ruling them. Some had just scoffed, said they were no longer slaves, and continued on their way.
Teal'c remained on the lookout for Jaffa. If there were Goa'uld in charge here, there would be Jaffa, and if not, then there might be free Jaffa, which was even better. Still, Teal'c was becoming more and more convinced that unless this city was some wildly backwoods outskirts of an even more thriving metropolis of power, there were about as many Jaffa here as there were on Earth.
Yet they'd all caught more statuesque townsfolk bowing in seeming prayer, and subsequently - now that they knew to look for it - slipping orbs back into their pouches.
"I can go closer to the next group and try to hear what they're saying," Daniel offered.
"Eavesdrop?"
"That would be the proper term," Daniel nodded.
"Go for it."
So, about fifteen minutes later, Daniel slowly strolled by a couple huddled together kneeling on a lawn, bowing over what he assumed was the device.
The force seemed to come out of nowhere, even catching his teammates off-guard. Finding himself painfully dazed on the ground under a waving fist and furious countenance, Daniel was vaguely aware of teammates rushing towards him, pulling the other man off as the second blow hit him in the chin. Some part of his consciousness recognized Teal'c's threats to send body parts flying into the trees, and of being pulled to his feet and the nearby couple rushing off in shock.
"Are you injured, Daniel Jackson?"
"What?" Still dazed, Daniel tried to focus on Teal'c's moving lips. What the hell had just happened?
"You're bleeding."
"I think it's just a busted lip." Carter already held a cloth dampened with drinking water to Daniel's mouth - how'd she get that out so quickly? - when he began to focus in on what had just occurred. Presumably, those orb conversations must be as private as they'd suspected. Or had he just gotten in the way of another fight, having nothing to do with the communication at all? That couple didn't seem to have been involved; the attacker had come out of nowhere.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," Daniel nodded. "Thanks, Sam. I can do that." Taking the cloth from her hand, he wasn't prepared for the abrupt hostility.
"I was trying to help you, Daniel!"
"What?" Daniel's eyes went wide, features captured in a look of innocence. "I know, Sam. I didn't mean to -"
"What did you mean?" Sam's eyes blazed.
"Carter?!"
"What?" Sam lashed out at the colonel.
"What's gotten into you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"That." Jack's glare at his female teammate turned to confusion as he glanced towards Daniel and Teal'c, noting the incredulous looks on both their faces. "Damn it, Major, you're behaving like some of them. What's going on here?"
"Sam?" Daniel tried to intervene calmly, his voice soft and eyes sincere. "How are you feeling?"
"Screw you, Daniel."
"Carter! That's it, we're heading home. Back to the room, now."
"Why? Because I swore? Like you never do?"
"Carter, that's insubordination."
"No, sir, this is."
None of the men saw it coming. None of them were prepared for the slap that whipped across the colonel's face.
Like a world without sound, silence sucked them into a void.
For some moments, no one moved. No one seemed to take a breath. The tension hung in the air like wet mist.
Then Jack turned away, and took a single step forward. Without looking back he calmly said, "To the hotel. That's an order." And he continued walking.
Teal'c turned his back on Daniel and Sam, and followed in O'Neill's path.
Daniel waited one more moment, then nervously motioned for Sam to precede him. Without argument or fuss, she did; troubled, he followed behind, keeping his sixth sense unleashed in anticipation of more discord.
As individual units, each encased in a private, solitary cavity, the team reached the room without another word spoken.
_____
The guys packed up the bags, which didn't take very long. Sam lay on the bed, her scarred thoughts starting to clear. She recalled the outburst, recalled swearing at her friend, Daniel. Her good friend Daniel, someone she respected and cared about. She remembered slapping the colonel, and her spirit fell to the depths of that pool beneath their room, filled not with water but with remorse and shame. Slowly she sat up, overwhelming disbelief and regret painted on her face. The knowledge that she'd be court-martialled didn't yet factor into the reasons for her internal horror and self-loathing. Colonel O'Neill was not just her superior officer; he was a leader and friend whom she greatly admired, respected, and trusted with her life, and she would give her own for him in a heartbeat. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Colonel. Daniel. I don't know what to say." She paused, pain in her eyes. "I can't even say what came over me. I just don't know." A sudden surge of anger and annoyance just didn't cut it as an excuse. She knew better; she was always more in control than that.
The colonel didn't look up from his task. He had maybe a couple of hours at most to decide whether or not to report the incident, a report which would have grave consequences for Carter, for all of them. But worse than that, he had to decide whether or not to actually leave this planet so soon. If they returned so much earlier than scheduled, he'd doubtlessly have to explain why. He'd have no choice but to file a report. Besides that, though, he trusted his teammates and believed in the major; she'd never speak to either him or Daniel that way without something uncontrollable having influenced her. It wasn't just his cheek that stung from her slap.
"You've been affected by something out there, Carter." Unfortunately he had no idea what that could be or what taking her home right now might do. He had no idea if they could find out what was affecting her if they just turned tail and marched back to Earth. Yet, her mood seemed to have mellowed, worn off; hopefully he was worrying for nothing.
"Something in the air? The flowers? A Goa'uld…experiment?" Daniel suggested quietly, unhappily, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Sam. That might explain why the Goa'uld had allowed the city to develop as it had; maybe it was even their doing? It would also explain all the aggression they'd seen in the streets; if there was any way to help these people, he knew his team was already involved.
"So do we take our chances and leave now, without finding out what Carter was affected by, or do we stay to investigate and hope it doesn't get worse?" Jack lowered himself to a bench, the mindless task of stuffing packs and sleeping bags already done. They had no money left for extra nights here after this one, but they had their sleeping bags and would hopefully not be breaking any laws by camping in a public garden. Were the gardens, however, harboring an unknown danger?
"It's gone, sir. No more anger."
"So it is something outside. The flowers. Something."
"I felt fine out there, Jack."
"You take antihistamines."
"You felt fine out there… didn't you?"
Glumly Jack nodded. "I think so." He couldn't be sure whether he'd rather be affected, or not. If it wasn't something as simple as the flowers, they'd have a lot more ground to cover. Maybe it only affected women. No, local men had been involved in those brawls.
"Perhaps we need to ask more questions," Teal'c suggested.
"Or just the right ones," Daniel added.
"Half the time I can't speak the language; Carter's not going back outside, and you two aren't going off alone. I say we pay for one last night, then try to anonymously contact the Goa'uld in the morning with that comm ball."
"What?"
"Sir?"
Jack scowled. "Anyone have any better ideas?"
"We can go home now." Daniel didn't necessarily want to choose that option, but it was an option, and they had to consider all possible pros and cons of staying or leaving. His own choice, though, would be to find out what Goa'uld was experimenting on these people and put an end to it.
"And what if whatever happened to Carter happens back on Earth?"
"Then we come back."
"If Hammond lets us."
"I do not wish to leave without discovering who rules this place." Teal'c was well aware that his desires might sway O'Neill's decision. They had no reason to believe that Major Carter was in grave danger; to abort the mission now might be ill-advised.
"Staying gets my vote. I'd rather not have to explain why we're back so early." Jack looked at Sam, who was avoiding eye contact. "I'm not putting you on report." As Sam brought her eyes to meet his, the gratitude he saw in them was well worth the decision.
"Thank you, sir."
"Look, the day's wearing thin, and we have to use that flying thing in daylight anyway. So in the morning we either leave - and our reason will be lack of funds - or try communicating with whoever rules this planet, and then hightail it out of here if the Goa'uld at the other end recognizes us. We'll throw everything into the shuttle before we try calling." Jack looked straight at Daniel. "Think you're up to it? I don't want Teal'c showing his face to any snakehead."
Daniel nodded slowly. "I hope so."
_____
"Daniel." Sam sidled up to her friend as he looked at the stars in the darkening sky. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they gazed out at the panoramic view. "It's nice, isn't it."
"Yes, it is. You know, I don't think there are any moons here though."
Together they watched the sky. "You take the bed tonight, Daniel."
"No, Sam. I was fine on the bench. Really. It's comfortable."
"I've had my turn. Please. I owe you."
"You don't owe me, Sam. And anyway, you slapped Jack. Let him have it." Daniel bit his lip when he felt her cringe beside him. Out loud, the words sounded accusing. "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean it like that."
"I already offered. You know he won't." Her smile was brief, timid. She'd known the colonel would refuse, and she could then make the offer to Daniel. Two birds with one stone.
"Well, I'm sleeping on the bench, one way or another. If you don't want to use the bed, it'll just go to waste."
With only another second's thought, Sam patted his arm, then left him looking at the stars. At least she'd tried. She felt only a slight guilt at being the one to get a good night's rest.
Daniel stood a bit longer at the window, not that this whole room wasn't a window. He was walking in space - or so it seemed - with a solid nothing below his feet, the water of the pool softly glistening below, the stars stretching beyond the ceiling far out into the galaxy. He ought to be afraid, being so high in such openness, shouldn't he?
Finally he headed for his bench, and lay down facing upwards at the canopy of stars. He could connect the dots all night and still not be done by morning.
CHAPTER 6
This was the moment they'd all been waiting for. Or dreading, depending on who was thinking about it. Teal'c was eager to add another Goa'uld to his death wish list. O'Neill was cursing internally, gearing up for a verbal dual with Teal'c as to why they would not stay here one minute longer than necessary. As great a place as this seemed, he more than sensed a darker side, something not quite right. Apart from fights breaking out in the open, there was that not-so-little matter of Major Carter slapping him, an officer he would otherwise be quick to commend for outstanding conduct and performance in the field. Then, topping that list was lack of money for a hotel room.
Daniel was just sitting on the bench, staring at the ball nervously. Carter had removed herself from the proximity of the module which she'd been trying to investigate since she'd awoken that morning; this, she was eager to see, hopeful for it to give them some answers. She plunked herself down on the bench beside Daniel.
"Ready?" Jack anxiously stood nearby, hoping Carter had figured out how to start the shuttle, just in case they needed a speedy escape. He eyed her agitated mood, her impatient foot tapping up and down, and didn't want to invite another tantrum. Something told him she wasn't fully recovered, and she'd been indoors since yesterday.
"As I'll ever be, I guess. But I'm not sure which of these numbers to press." The simple Goa'uld digits around the base were basically just numbers one to ten. "We're sure this isn't a shock grenade, right?" Nervously, Daniel looked up, considering the possibility he might just knock everyone out and blind them.
"Individuals on the street were indeed using them, Daniel Jackson."
"And they were being sold from stands out in the open." Jack shrugged. "Go for it."
Daniel was fingering the purple metallic crescent that he'd also found in the purple bag. The piece of probably-not-jewellery had a dozen tiny pinpricks on its surface, he could see now as he looked more closely. "This came with it?"
Jack shrugged again, a preferred habit of late, peering at the object as Daniel held it up. "Isn't that what the people have on their faces?"
"Yes. Maybe it's necessary for two-way audio or visual communication."
"Or Goa'uld mind control. And you're not going to put it on. If the Goa'uld can't see you, that makes me happy."
"Thank you. I was hoping you'd say that." Daniel smiled serenely at Jack, then looked to his other teammates. Teal'c was standing in the center of the room, patiently anticipating whatever was to come. Sam's foot had gotten faster in its impatient tapping. "Here goes."
They waited as Daniel didn't move.
"Here goes when?" Jack asked smugly.
"Just, um, figuring out what I'm going to say."
"The individuals utilizing the globes did not appear to be speaking at all, Daniel Jackson."
Sam had had enough of this beating around the bush. For God's sake, Daniel was delaying while they weren't getting any younger. "No, they were probably just listening to some oratorical speech of self-aggrandizing bullshit by a parasite who thinks of himself as master of the universe. Get on with it, Daniel."
Jack cast her a toxic glare. There was no reason to be unprepared, and Daniel didn't deserve that. "Carter," his voice warned.
Daniel pressed the symbol for number one.
Nothing happened.
"Teal'c?" Daniel frowned. "Any ideas?"
"None, Daniel Jackson. There is most likely a pre-formatted sequence in which to press the numbers."
"To connect to the right frequency," Sam agreed. "Maybe it depends on one's location within the city."
"Try again, Daniel."
Daniel tried each number individually, and then a combination of two. At random, he picked three numbers. Soon, all four members of SG-1 were trying their favorite lotto picks, but it was Jack who threw in the towel.
"Wasting time here. Let's go down to the lobby and ask the clerk."
"You sure you want to do that?"
"Hey, we're playing roulette here anyway. What could be worse?"
_____
Daniel was the lucky one to be designated for the job, but Jack was right beside him watching his back. He didn't want Teal'c, with that emblem on his forehead, to be too close to the viewfinder. Jack's major worry, at this point, was no shuttle close enough to jump into for a quick getaway.
Daniel approached the desk clerk, seated inside that open low glass booth, and gingerly laid the ball on its flat counter surface. "Hi," he greeted the man with a smile. "Can you tell me how this works?"
With a stupefied jolt, the man's mouth dropped open, then he grinned. "Just press the numbers," he pointed towards the base.
"Which ones?" Daniel asked cautiously, hoping not to sound as dense as he felt.
"What numbers do you want?" The man asked, fingering the ball and waiting. These newcomers couldn't read Goa'uld digits?
"Uh," Daniel frowned, leaning closer. "I thought you could tell me."
The man's expression grew even more baffled. "To whom do you wish to speak?"
At Daniel's blank stare, realization began to dawn on the hotel clerk. "You don't use these where you come from, do you?"
Daniel shook his head. "No."
The laugh was hearty, and a bit embarrassing. Daniel tossed a glance at his teammates sitting on nearby benches, but they said nothing. He was almost glad for Jack's supportive presence, as long as his team leader didn't say something even more daft than Daniel presumed he just had done.
"You can communicate with another person who has one of these chol'rok'tals. But you have to know that person's number."
"Cell phone?" Daniel heard from beside him. "The thing's a damn cell phone?"
"Press 2-4-4-3." The man advised, and Daniel did so.
Another ball, on the shelf behind the man - this one deep blue - cleared from within, and as the clerk held it up and peered downward, half of Daniel's face appeared inside the sphere. In SG-1's globe, the gray interior now displayed the face of the hotel clerk. The man was speaking, but SG-1 could only hear him from inside his booth.
"To hear my words, you must put one of these on your face," the man pointed to the metallic moon between his eyebrows. "Bend low so I can fully see you, and speak into this small hole beside the row of numbers."
Daniel felt Jack's hand clamp onto his shoulder, and Jack's low voice said, "Maybourne used one of those. Bigger, had audio." He didn't have to bend over it, either. Upgraded model, apparently.
"Thanks," Daniel smiled at the man. "We have devices that work like this. They don't look like this though. Semiran?" His eyes flicked to the embroidered name tag on the man's pale yellow shirt.
"Yes," Semiran nodded, looking quickly and noting that Daniel had no such name tag.
"Daniel," Daniel said. "Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and Teal'c, the big guy over there."
"He uses these chol'rok'tals, does he not?" Semiran pointed to his own forehead, and that was when Daniel realized the people here thought Teal'c's tattoo was probably just a large, fancier version of their audio connections. These people had no recollection of what Jaffa even looked like. He twisted around to better see Jack, dumbfounded and speechless.
"So, Goa'uld-free after all," Jack muttered.
"The people in the park were bending over in order to speak into one of these and to be seen more clearly," Daniel whispered back.
"We're here to pay for another night," Jack turned to Semiran, making the split second decision. No Goa'uld, so their mission was just beginning. After all, how could the Pentagon object to $900 if they hadn't yet found out why there were no Goa'uld here? Not to mention Carter had a huge crystal laser base station to study.
"Further accommodation is free."
"It is?" Jack's eyebrows rose. "That's… nice. Why?" Did that nine hundred dollars pay for unlimited stay, and not just for a single night?
The clerk looked up curiously. "Are you not here to decipher the Stones?"
"Stones?" Jack parroted.
"The Ostracons."
"Daniel?" Jack cocked his head towards his friend.
"In Ancient Greece ostracons were potsherds with inscriptions on them, often intended to be used in a way comparable to our voting ballots," Daniel explained quietly. "Although on Earth they've revealed everything from ancient shopping lists to detailed and complicated hieroglyphic inscriptions." To Semiran, he asked, "Please tell us about the ostracons."
"Now I am the one who is misunderstanding. The friend who advised us of your visit, his name was Yarrden, said a Daniel Jackson would be coming to study the Stones. Is that not you?"
The sardonic tilt of Jack's lips was an outward indication of the aggravation scouring his insides. "Oh he did, did he?" Payback time, kids. He wished Hammond had taken him up on that bet after all. Told you so, sir. Would the Tok'ra ever send SG-1 out on a benign, straight-forward mission?
"For anyone who tries to decipher the rest of the Stones, accommodation is paid for by the state."
Ah. Right. Jack sighed, knowing duplicity when it hit him over the head. They'd just been surreptitiously snared by the sneaky snakes again. "Tell us more."
Daniel threw Jack a look, knowing he was the one being volunteered to work for room and board. But then he sighed too; that was his job, after all. If he could earn them free accommodation, they could stay that much longer.
"The Stones have been known for centuries, found in an area long regarded as a place of worship, yet no one can remember why they are there. Until this year, no one has ever been able to translate the symbols on them. People have come from many towns and far off places, but all have left in disappointment. The engravings on the Ostracons are unusual, never seen anywhere else on Luok'shuo. But one man, Oludaran, who arrived here during this past wet season, appears able to decipher the script. He only read one segment, however, before he discontinued his work."
"Why did he stop?" Daniel wondered. And, more importantly, if the script wasn't Goa'uld and it wasn't English, what writing could it possibly be? His curiosity peaked.
Semiran was pulling out paper-thin crystalline plate-sized tablets and spreading them out on his countertop, each with images of a large, smiling man. Goa'uld writings ran along the unadorned edges, and as Daniel leaned closer he could make out the equivalent of headlines and news stories burned into the substance.
"He was forced to quit due to the words themselves, which advise the interpreter that the Ostracons must be read and carried out in a series of consecutive steps. He refuses to continue until the advice on the first Stone has been fully followed. Presently, as counseled on the first Ostracon itself, he is supervising the construction of a stromachite chalet in the mountains of Verenko where he will reside. He claims that the rest of the words will be understood only when this new building opens to the energy from the sun and skies."
"What exactly did the words say?" Daniel was skimming the news reports; so far, he'd found mostly tabloid ramblings of a new sage or prophet come to work wonders on the long-lost meaning of the great Ostracon writings.
"Only that the ancestors of our people left a great legacy, powered from the heavens; that the way to everlasting happiness will be told to the one who masters the stars. For that, the prophet must build a great stromachite palace high in the mountains, surrounded by lakes and fountains."
"Stromachite?"
The clerk tilted his head, then motioned to the walls arund him. "This." Then he pointed down at the crystalline tablets. "This."
"Uh, Daniel?"
"Jack? I'm thinking those symbols might be Ancient."
"And the man - what's his name? All… allude or - ?"
"Oludaran," the clerk corrected.
"Right." Ollie.
"Well, if he can read the symbols - " Daniel continued.
Jack cut him off. "Then we ought to find out why. Okay, where can we find this man?"
"His number is 938839, but Verenko is not on the path of our public shuttles; access is private. You can reach the Stones, however," the clerk suggested enthusiastically, his eyes twinkling merrily. "If you can interpret the rest of the message, we would not have to wait for Oludaran's palace to be completed."
Right… and where did that leave that commandment regarding a series of consecutive steps that had to be followed to the letter? "So, not too religious yourselves, are you." Jack didn't expect an answer to that.
Daniel pursed his lips. "Where can we find these stones?"
CHAPTER 7
Relinquishing control of a flying vehicle never came easily to Jack, although he had learned to capitulate to Jacob's - and Selmac's - superior maneuvering of Tok'ra peltacs. Still, he much preferred to be in charge when the ground was so far below his feet, but there didn't seem to be any controls in this shuttle in case of an emergency. He didn't even know if he ought to trust whoever it was who was directing this thing. Jack cocked his head to see the streets below; as they receded into the background, gardens and fountains gave way to meadows, then woods, as the craft flew higher. Treetops were just below them; open the door and they could probably catch leaves blowing off in the wind. "Doesn't it bother anyone else that this thing is being controlled by someone else?"
Every now and then the shuttle gave a little shuddering bump, as the wind picked up.
"Yes." Daniel's fingers were clasping his seat again. It was one thing to be in a Tok'ra cargo ship with enclosed walls around him. It was another to be encased in glass and uncertain as to where even the motor was, never mind the controls. His fear of heights didn't usually act up inside air transport, but this was… this was… incomparable. He could see the entire world below him.
Even Carter seemed edgy; but more than that, she seemed tired. Having woken that morning from another wonderful, deep sleep, she couldn't understand why she longed to go back home - or to the hotel - and lie down. She just felt drained. Watching Daniel translate the writing on some stones wasn't something that would keep her awake, either. Maybe she'd be able to study this module once they landed. Although, what she could do without taking it apart was uncertain, and short of smashing it, that seemed an unlikely endeavor anyway.
They were flying over water now, a huge body of water, no end in sight, and Daniel's hands gripped the seat even tighter as its rubbery edges did their best to melt around his fingers. The shuttle seemed to be slowing down, and his heart was picking up speed. "Uh, are we supposed to be doing that?" Forced water landings had never sparked his sense of adventure. Please, don't let us run out of power.
"You tell me." Jack looked behind him to see Daniel's pale face. Never mind. "Okay, Carter. You tell me."
"Beats me, sir."
This transport was definitely slowing, and SG-1 could see there was still no land in sight. As it began to lose altitude as well, all Daniel could do was take deep breaths and close his eyes.
He felt Carter's hand touch his own.
"Daniel." Two voices spoke in unison, and Daniel pried open his eyes, but not his hands. His entire body felt that odd combination of tension and weakness. In two words, he felt strangely like that seat rubber.
Brain focusing, he could only gasp. "Geez. The stones?"
"They call those stones?" Jack gaped. "I was thinking, little… oy."
So had Daniel. Runes, or something. Bags of them, in a museum. Not this. Talk about understatement. There were the Stones, the Ostracons, ten upon counting, forming one large standing circle. Daniel could only liken it to a single layered Stonehenge… circa 3001. These Stones seemed to be made of tinted quartz crystal, each a different pastel tinge glinting near-white in the sunlight, carved and smoothed into upright three-sided pyramids. Tetrahedrons, their apexes pointing towards the sky.
Each one protruded at least forty-five feet out of the gently rippling water.
Daniel peered out the windows as the craft lost more altitude, his taut hands forgotten as they unlocked and came to rest on the glass itself. Anticipation replaced anxiety, gearing up inside; whatever writing was on these crystal ostracons, the people who had carved into them were definitely an unknown, or at least unanticipated, race. Ancients were not out of the question. This was exciting.
Even Carter seemed to have perked up.
The craft lowered until it was only three dozen feet above the water, then leveled off, entering the inner circle, for the writing appeared to be only on the inner face of each structure. There it stopped, the pale greenish pyramid facing Daniel's side of the module. The writing was perfectly visible; beginning at this height, the etched message continued straight into the water, words large enough to be seen from this distance of six feet away.
"Oh."
Carter took her eyes off the pyramid-shaped, four-storey pointed blocks of crystal around her, to look at Daniel. In the front seats, Jack and Teal'c both turned around. "What?"
"This writing isn't Ancient. It's a form of early cursive hieroglyphics. Hieratic."
"Egyptian?"
"Ancient Egyptian, Jack."
"What the hell were the Egyptians doing carving pyramids in the middle of a lake on Luok'shuo?"
"Maybe not Egyptians per se, just people speaking the language, and more likely carving them on land, but for some reason they propped them up out here."
"Why?"
"How about I read some of this and see if I can find out?"
Sam bit back her own sarcasm; it would have been littered with colorful words. She was feeling irritable already and the ordeal hadn't yet begun.
_____
She was bored. Sam couldn't study the craft, with everyone inside it and nowhere to move. And they couldn't land, with nothing but water beneath them. Could this thing hover indefinitely?
Jack was wondering the same thing. "What if whoever is controlling the remote forgets we're here and shuts this thing off?" They'd been here two hours already.
"Do glass bottles not float, O'Neill?"
Jack stared at Teal'c. Right. So they'd bob up and down until someone realized they hadn't paid the room fee. Oh wait, no room fee. "How's it going, Daniel? Not to rush you or anything, but I have to pee."
Daniel had been frowning for the past hour. Nowhere could he find the references Oludaran had mentioned, and his confusion had been growing in increments. "Is this supposed to be the pyramid face Oludaran was reading?"
"I'd know that, why?"
"We have to find out. There's no way I can read them all today." Especially with the sun already low on the horizon. "Maybe they stopped us at the wrong one. Or the second one." There was no next step, though; what was supposed to happen after the construction of a crystal, or stromachite, mansion on a mountaintop?
"We have to get back soon anyway, Daniel. I don't want to drop into the water when the sun sets. That Semir guy said this thing won't fly at night."
"Cinderella's chariot." Daniel murmured.
"No. We don't have until midnight, Daniel."
"Thank God," Sam muttered under her breath. Her foot was tapping again, but all she noticed was a disagreeable irritation and jumpiness deep within, and nerves that kept tingling. A headache was playing around behind her eyes.
"Dial 2-4-4-3," Daniel directed.
"What?"
"2-4-4-3, the hotel. Ask whoever's at the desk which stone Oly… Oludaran deciphered."
Jack took the ball from its pouch at his feet. "Uh, Daniel - " Goa'uld numbers.
Teal'c took it from Jack's hands and pressed the four numbers. The ball cleared, displaying a different clerk's face. "We are in need of information," he spoke loudly into the tiny hole in the base, his head bowed. To anyone who hadn't known better, it might have looked as though he was praying.
"At the Stones," Daniel added, just in case. He really, really hoped Semiran had filled the new guy in on what was happening.
"Yes?" The lips mouthed, but no sound was heard.
"The clip," Daniel said quickly, reaching out to Jack. "Let me have the receiver."
"No. You're not putting that thing on." Who knew how that thing might connect to a human brain, or if it could even be disconnected once in place. Why couldn't they just use earphones?
"We need to talk to him."
"He can hear you. Read his lips."
Teal'c passed the ball to Daniel. With a scathing look at Jack, Daniel asked, "Which was the Stone Oludaran translated?"
He squinted, trying to decipher the man's words, frustration reminding him he was a linguist, not a magician. "I can't understand. Is it the one we're stopped at now? Do you even know where we stopped?"
Daniel understood the word "yes".
"Yes. Yes, you know where we stopped?"
The man mouthed yes.
"Yes, we're at the first Stone? The green one?"
Again, yes, and then a longer discourse of which Daniel caught nothing. "Jack, I have to use the receiv - "
"No." 'No' to physically messing with alien equipment; it reminded Jack too much of the links on P3X-289 and Tok'ra memory devices. What fun those had been. "Talk to him at the hotel. Sun, night, darkness…"
"Um, we'll need to head back now," Daniel told the face in the chol'rok'tal.
The words spoken, the craft started moving, skirting slowly around to the outside of the pyramid and the circle itself, facing back in the direction from which they'd come. It lifted until the top of the green pyramid sparkled underneath the shuttle's floor; then with a smooth burst of speed, it took off back across the lake.
_____
Flying into fire. That was how it seemed, by the time the city came into view. Sunset layered the sky with shades of red, orange, yellow; from their vantage point high in the air, above buildings that not only didn't collapse their view but - along with the water of fountains and pools - reflected the colors off their crystal façades, the entire city looked alight with a kaleidoscope of flame.
This time Daniel wasn't hanging onto the edge of the seat; he sat transfixed with his gaze glued to the transforming sky. Beautiful, breathtaking, and daunting, all at once. The shuttle could remain engaged forever, out of control, and fly into a never-ending abyss of atmospheric phenomena, engulfing the little shuttle and its occupants in a Twilight Zone field of permanent inferno.
Daniel didn't even notice when the shuttle headed directly towards the tower.
His trance was broken only when the shuttle stopped beneath their protruding room, turned around, and lifted up through the hatch. This time when the doors opened, Jack was out in an instant. Solemnly, mesmerized by the light show which was still displayed in a three-quarters panoramic vista around their transparent chamber but tempered by the decrease in height, the others followed. Sam headed straight for the bed and lay down.
Teal'c aimed directly for one of the areas of window.
Faced once again with reality, Daniel's thoughts returned to the issue that had begun to eat at his conscience while reading the script on the first Stone. Ignoring the colors fading into twilight around him, he distractedly stared at the far wall, knowing he'd turn the lights on if it wouldn't obscure Teal'c's view and bother Sam's sleep. It didn't matter; thinking in the dark might prove to be more effective anyway.
"Daniel?" Jack couldn't help but notice Daniel's downcast carriage, and made an assumption. "I'll go down with you to talk to the clerk."
Daniel turned his head a degree, and realized Jack was talking to him. "Oh."
The colonel frowned. "Didn't you want to talk to him?"
That wasn't, however, Daniel's main distraction. Daniel had no idea what to tell the clerk. How to tell anyone who might give a damn. "What do I do?" Daniel asked, starting to pace. "Oludaran's been lying to them."
"What are you talking about?"
"The stone I read was the one Oludaran had told them he'd read as well. I had to start with the first, just as he had, although whether that was the true first or just the one he chose to start with, I have no idea. But it said nothing of crystal palaces on a mountain opening up energy from the sun, or of reading only one Ostracon at a time, or following a series of consecutive steps. There was nothing about a legacy from the stars, or a prophet. There were a few references to Duat, one of the Egyptian names for a land of the dead that lies below the earth, and something about vast wealth that lay below our feet. Over at the lake."
"For what reason would he lie?" Teal'c turned from the window, not so oblivious after all.
Jack, however, seemed to be clueing in to the same wavelength as Daniel. "Oh," Jack scowled, "maybe to get himself a nice little palatial chalet, with a view? He can take all the time he wants, making up what he'd like those stones to say. Wealth, servants, ski resort in the Alps, rights to this little kingdom." He looked at Daniel a bit hesitantly. "Right?"
"Right. So what do I do?"
"They want people who can translate the stones, Daniel. You can translate the stones."
"Even though Ollie's their newest prophet? Or sage? "
"False sage. And we're so good at disclosing false things."
"Jack?" Daniel nodded towards the module.
They'd left the chol'rok'tal cell phone on the seat of the shuttle, but the transparent glass did nothing to conceal the globe now coming to life with part of the new reception clerk's face.
"We can't understand him from here anyway. Daniel, feel like an elevator ride?"
_____
"Yes, I can read the words," Daniel told the manager, Ho Paridu, and Semiran who stood behind him in the booth.
Jack wished for once the digital camera was in his possession right at that moment, for he'd never seen such an expression as on either man's face. Just think, two interpreters of the stones in one year. What were the odds, hmmm?
"You must go to the second Stone tomorrow," the hotel manager, that new face in the globe, said excitedly. Then he hesitated, his expression becoming darker. "The city cannot be expected to build a second palace for you."
Daniel's jaw dropped. "I don't want one," he stated emphatically, to Ho Paridu's obvious relief. He took a breath. "Look, sir… Ho; the Stone I read - and you did say the green one was the one Oludaran read as well - does not say that someone needs a palace on a mountain to get energy from the heavens in order to open up the next phase of translation or prophecy. It doesn't say anything like that."
No camera wanted this time, as Jack watched the manager's face turn quickly from enthusiasm to anger, while Semiran's just went pale. Good ol' Ollie's about to find himself out on the streets. Jack ignored the fact that he hadn't seen any homeless people in the city, but maybe they were somewhere. They'd have to find out about social services in this place, before they left.
"You lie."
"No. No, I don't. Oludaran seems to be lying, to get things from your people. He's taking advantage of you."
"What do you think the Stone says?" Semiran's voice was accusing, and Jack drew in closer to Daniel's side, ready to aid his friend in an altercation. Not that he could intellectually back him up, but… he'd still back him up.
"It talks about something of great worth or value below the water. Much of the text itself is underwater, so I could only read a bit."
Ho Paridu studied Daniel's face, his own a blank mask. Finally, he made his decision. "I must notify the authorities. We must decide which one of you is telling the truth."
Neither Jack nor Daniel noticed the little red lights flashing across the bottom of another small round globe, high on a shelf.
CHAPTER 8
Jack was troubled. How they would decide who was telling the truth when it was Daniel's word against Ollie's, he didn't know and wasn't so sure he wanted to find out. But Daniel was right; the people had a right to know what their archeological site was all about, and they had to protect themselves from a man who might just get a bit too carried away and declare himself King. Not that he wanted to get involved in this world's politics, but had that ever stopped them before? Since it was Daniel who had tossed a bend into their already slightly twisted belief system, he was the one who had to follow this up and see where it led. His team would be behind him all the way.
Jack had shoved their few used, empty packages down the long tubes in the lavatory as he'd been directed by Semiran, tubes with water continually flowing, then watched as they were ground up into mush and swallowed by the system. The activity had kept his eyes occupied while his mind was free to wander. Now, however, unless he wanted to read Daniel's dictionaries, he was at a loss for what to do next. Shouldn't there be a Bible in a drawer, somewhere? Shouldn't there be a drawer?
The others were already on their way to bed; he'd follow in a moment. Best to try for some sleep and wake up bright and early. Jack silently watched his teammates. Daniel was bothered and probably wouldn't be able to sleep much. Carter was trying to soothe him with agreeable, comforting words. She didn't seem so exhausted now, and that was good; he'd been getting too worried about her. This time, she'd convinced Daniel to accept the bed. That was good too; he was the one going to be doing most of the work tomorrow, and maybe it could actually ease him to sleep. Teal'c had claimed another of the benches, and was sitting on it cross-legged.
Jack settled himself onto his own bench and pulled the sleeping bag up around his neck. The stars shone above, and he watched them until they began to move and coalesce into crystal bits of a spaceship, flying towards a pink glass stargate suspended over an ocean jumping with fish.
_____
She couldn't sleep.
The stars overhead were jewels in dark lace. But the lace was moving, shifting the beads until her eyes hurt, making her crazy. A thousand dots of light, pulsating, pulling her in, pushing her away. She couldn't stand to look at them.
Sam lifted herself from the bench, trusting her feet to find solid - well, nearly solid - matter above that dimly lit pool. Trusting them to keep her from falling well over a hundred feet down, from splashing into four feet of water and killing herself.
She knelt, feeling with hands and knees the give of resilient stromachite. Lying flat on her stomach on the transparent floor, Sam stared down into that pool below. Hovering, flying, suspended in space; try as she might, she couldn't drop into that sparkling water, couldn't touch its cool depths, or let its wetness sooth her tongue. The ripples were mesmerizing, shifting, pulsating, pulling her in, pushing her away. She blinked, shivering, and turned over. There were the stars overhead again, coming closer, growing larger, larger, larger, until the brightness made her eyes burn.
Sam rose slowly, then tiptoed soundlessly to the edge of the wall, edge of the window, and put her palms on the glass, heart momentarily jumping at that same slight elasticity that felt as though she might pop a hole through the bubble with too heavy a breath. Leaning her head forward, she could have been soaring, or held stationary in space by some force field, daring to let her fall the moment it shut down.
Time passed; minutes, seconds, an hour, each part of her brain competing for attention, thoughts spinning and jumbled, racing her heart, the fountain's reflected starlight pulsing pulsing pulsing as she waited for the glass to melt and the pool to suck her up into -
"Carter?"
The whisper sent chills down her spine; she spun around, startled, her heart thumping. It took her a moment to respond. "Sorry if I woke you, sir."
"I wasn't asleep." Any longer. Jack squinted at her but all he could see was a vague silhouette. "Something wrong?"
"Not sleepy." However, beginning to get annoyed at having her space and tranquility encroached upon.
Jack slipped over to the glass beside her, as close to the window as she'd been, as close as he dared, for he didn't care for that flexibility any more than Daniel did, and gazed around at the vast darkness, punctuated with starlight and a few lights in distant buildings.
"I was here first, sir."
"What?" Jack perked his head up, startled, squinting to see her better.
"I was here first." Carter opened her mouth to say more, then closed it and moved to the other side of the wall, as distant from him as possible, palms against the glass.
For a moment Jack stared, then shuffled back to his bench, troubled. Sleep didn't come again; he continued to watch Carter, for as long as she stood there.
_____
"Daniel. Daniel!" Jack finally lifted his friend by the shoulders, nearly to a sitting position, as Teal'c sat down to support Daniel from behind, keeping him from falling backward. This was getting old, and now even more worrisome. Carter, though, had been waking up normally since that first morning.
Daniel's eyelids fluttered, then squinted up at him.
"It's about time." Déjà entendu.
"Jack?" Daniel looked sleepily at the others surrounding him, their faces touched with distress. "What's going on?"
"You didn't want to wake up."
"Comfortable bed, Daniel?" Sam joked half-heartedly, her tone caustic. Part of her wished she'd had such a good night's sleep. Jack studied her expression as it flitted from concern into annoyance. Maybe he'd been imagining it; there was no way Carter would be irritated with Daniel's not waking up. But there was no denying her impatience now, as she rose from her one-kneed leaning position on the bed and turned her back on them all, striding over to the shuttle. Crouching on the floor, she slid underneath its belly.
Her mood so far this morning had been bordering on irritable and even rude, although she seemed to be holding back. When frustration rose, she'd responded by turning her back to the others.
"Geez." Now fully awake, Daniel looked sheepish. "It feels like I just fell asleep. Very comfortable bed. Think there could be some sort of sedative in the pillow?" he joked.
"I'd say that's a yes," Jack agreed quite a bit more seriously, noting the surprised look on Daniel's face. "There could be." The thought had occurred to him, oh, at least ninety seconds ago. "I knew those gel bubbles creeped me out for a reason."
"Part of the nine hundred dollar massage treatment, Jack. I'm awake now, nothing to worry about." Daniel rose from the 'very comfortable' bed. "I doubt most people who stay here and pay the equivalent of nine hundred dollars a night sleep on the benches out of choice." He tossed the pillow aside, knowing he wouldn't be using that again; having his team wake him up once had been embarrassment enough. "Maybe there's a way to set it to a timer, or something." Pillow alarm clock. Geez, how did people wake up for work if they slept on those? Perhaps they were used just for weekends, or hotel guests.
"Whatever. Have some breakfast. I wanted an early start so we could head back to base tomorrow." Free accommodation aside, Carter's mood was troubling him.
"Jack, I don't know if I can read all those Ostracons in a day."
"Do what you can. For all we know, they might all say the same thing."
_____
Carter opted to stay behind, hoping to study the workings of the crystal laser remote base located in the lobby. Silently Jack envied her; a full day sitting in that confined shuttle, watching Daniel translate, was equivalent to the time he'd been conned into babysitting his cousin's goldfish when he was five. He suspected Carter didn't have the patience to sit there with them, knowing her time was being wasted and itching to investigate the shuttle system. Uncertain as to whether he ought to allow her to stay on her own, he reasoned that with a big toy to study, she wouldn't even realize the passage of time. She'd be fine. Anyway, no reason for Teal'c to have the day off too; with Daniel involved in translations, Jack would need someone to talk to.
"Carter? If you need anything, use the hotel's chocolate device to contact us."
"Chol'rok'tal, O'Neill."
"Yeah, whatever."
"Yes sir." Was that tone his imagination, or was she impatient to get rid of them? Her thumbs were twiddling.
"And ease up on the coffee."
Settling himself into the shuttle, the other two already inside, Jack gave Carter one final look, uneasy that maybe he was making the wrong decision. However, if he couldn't trust the major in a hotel room, then he ought to just get them all home, right now. Jack wasn't entirely convinced that that wasn't the best thing to do, though, and that was the problem.
"Alright. How do we start this up?"
"Um, maybe call down to the lobby," Daniel suggested. "They have to set our route."
"They know where you're going." Sam grabbed the flat crystal card out of Jack's jacket pocket. "I'll be needing this to get back into the room," she reminded him, as she stuck her arm into the shuttle and pressed the card flat against the nearest window. Immediately the seat edges curled around her teammates' limbs as she stood back, watching the panel slide shut. The floor hatch opened smoothly and the shuttle began its descent, her teammates staring at the smug expression on her face. Wild guess but won't tell them, she thought, as she retreated towards the bed to have a short nap before beginning her investigative work down in the lobby.
_____
The water here didn't appear to be too deep, now that he looked more closely. Jack peered down into it; the sunlight was playing games with the breeze rippling shadows across the water, but Jack was sure he could see boulders, or other dark objects, maybe twenty feet down.
The shuttle aimed for and stopped at the second pyramid in the circle, and as Daniel read, his expression took on more and more of a grim, gloomy cast. Here, too, he found nothing describing a palace in the stars, or on a mountain, for anyone who could read the words and access the sun's energy. What he read was a history of the ruling powers, names he did not recognize, names that were not ancient Egyptian. Unknown Goa'ulds, perhaps, but that would be nothing but conjecture. The only mention of the sun's energy was in relation to the beauty of the Stones themselves.
"Food?" Jack held an energy bar up for Teal'c, who took it without a word, and Jack thrust another one under Daniel's nose. "Eat." Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he wished they'd searched out a grocery store; he could use some fresh fruit at the moment. Something more palatable for this onboard picnic than gooey pressed bars that didn't melt in one's mouth.
The third and fourth Stones shed no light on anything but historical sequences and a mysterious hint of something wonderful buried below. By the time they'd reached the fifth, Jack was visibly irritable and verbally abusive in his own sarcastic way; even Teal'c was showing signs of restlessness.
An energy bar was placed on Jack's lap by Teal'c. "Eat," was the Jaffa's command.
With a scandalous look, Jack asked, "How many of these do you have?"
"Several," Teal'c responded with a signature smirk.
"Why'd you take mine earlier?" Jack playfully scowled, with a false, accusatory look.
"I have learned it is impolite on your world to decline a gift."
"Oh, you didn't think…" Jack looked in confusion at the other man, still not knowing for sure when Teal'c was joking.
_____
By the sixth Stone, both men had lost their will to be there any longer.
"And you complained about fishing?" Jack glared at Teal'c. "Last one, Daniel, then we get them to turn this thing around." The day was growing late anyway; Jack knew he wouldn't have had the heart to end this jaunt any earlier, regardless of his discomfort and nearly unbearable boredom. If he'd brought Teal'c along for the company, that had paid off about as well as a dollar bill in Tiffany's. Still, he was preparing to raise a finger to Daniel's protest.
What Jack hadn't counted on was that even Daniel was getting bored and feeling the strain. Daniel's distraction had been camouflaged, but Jack could now see the other man was fighting exhaustion, his eyes red and brows drawn.
"I'm done. Let's go." The sky was still blue; fading, but a good hour or so of daylight left. By the time they got back, that would be changing.
"You alright?" It wasn't like Daniel to request they leave a project such as this any earlier than necessary.
Daniel nodded wearily, his eyes closing. "Let's just go."
Great. First Carter, now Daniel. Too late now, it occurred to Jack that he ought to have tried contacting the major at some point during the day; subconsciously, he'd assumed that if she'd needed them she would have called in herself. Distracting her from whatever she was doing wouldn't have improved that insipid mood of hers any, but now Jack realized it was more than likely his two teammates had both picked up a bug. As for himself, he felt fine, but Jack didn't want to count on that continuing. One more day here and Daniel ought to be finished reading those stones. Tomorrow night they'd go home, with absolutely nothing gained.
"Do we need the room key?" Carter had taken ownership of that.
"I believe the chol'rok'tal is to be used in the absence of the card," Teal'c stated confidently.
Taking one final glance at his indisputably withered archeologist, Jack nodded at Teal'c to make the call.
This was getting to be routine; contact the hotel, have them move the shuttle. As expected, the craft did an about-face through the circle of comparatively small crystalline pyramids - small compared to those of Earth, anyway - and sent itself on its way, one drained and two bored explorers inside.
_____
The shuttle did not stop at their room. This time, it flew to an upper level pod around the side of the building, halted under a double petal protrusion, and lifted up through the hatch.
"What's going on?" Daniel wondered as he followed Jack, then Teal'c, out the sliding panel of the vessel. He was too tired to go visiting… or be answering questions. He needed sleep, and wanted only to return to their hotel room. "Sam will be waiting for us in the other room."
"No, I won't." Sam was inside the room, smiling, welcoming them. "We've been upgraded."
Jack's eyes went wide, gazing around. "Care to explain?"
"Can't, sir. All I know is one of the clerks came to me while I was downstairs studying the base station, switched crystal keys with me, and brought me up here. I assume it's because there are four of us."
"What's in there?" They'd all noted the emptiness of this room; the same benches along the interior wall, a couple extra holes in the wall, and a glass floor that looked down into the same extensive pool from a different angle, but no bed. The other odd thing was a foot-high, four-foot square plinth tiled in the same burgundy color as used in the hallways, placed in the middle of the floor where the bed should have been. However, the glass wall in this room didn't end at the door; it swooped around into another opening, and through the glass they could see a connecting second chamber.
"Come see." They followed Sam through the extension. She certainly seemed more cheerful than she had that morning. Daniel, on the other hand, was lagging behind lethargically, his features drawn. Jack slowed down, waiting to walk beside him.
Through the curved passageway was another semi-circular glass room, and there, dead center, was a large four-leaf clover shaped platform, patterned rubbery material covering each of the leaves, four gelled pillows at each rounded end. It didn't take a second glance for them to realize what they were looking at.
"That's a bed?" Jack asked incredulously. "For the four of us?" Their feet would have plenty of room, facing inwards towards the center, and each of the nearly-round clover leaves was wide enough for a tall person to sleep comfortably in relative privacy. "Interesting." The bed itself was on a round burgundy-tiled foundation; as in the other room, it was the only section of floor that wasn't transparent. More benches rested along this room's opaque interior wall.
"Wait, there's more." Sam led the way back to the entry room, or maybe they ought to call it the shuttle garage, now that it was no longer the bedroom, her troupe of three faithfully following.
"Where's more?" Quite a huge open space for just a single-shuttle parking lot, but all Jack could see in here besides the module were three benches and a tiled platform.
Carter had put herself to use during her free hours, though, and had discovered how to program the system to accept English. What she now said was "Food."
The plinth rose from the floor, blossoming into a white and burgundy box-like structure, extending four feet high.
"Ask for heat," she instructed Daniel cheerfully.
"Teymar," he said, and waited.
"In English."
"Oh." It hadn't registered with him that Sam had spoken English to get this platform to rise. "Heat," he said obligingly, longing only for the bed in the other room. Nothing happened.
Sam took his hand, passing it slowly above the surface of the box. It was warm.
"A stove," Sam grinned.
"So you've been playing with fun toys all day. Cooked us supper?"
"Colonel, this technology is amazing. And no, I left that for you."
"How about the rest of the day, Major?" Carter's much improved mood had not slipped past Jack unnoticed.
"I had a look at the crystal laser centre downstairs, sir."
"Good. Ready to bring the knowledge home?"
"Uh, actually, sir, I can't figure it out without getting inside the mechanism itself, which is…"
"Probably against hotel regulations."
"Yes sir. Not to mention that the laser mapping center is likely in some government facility unassociated with the hotel itself. The folks downstairs couldn't tell me how it actually works."
Of course not. "So, your day was as productive as mine." Although likely a lot less cramped.
"I slept a lot, sir. For some reason I was extremely tired. I'm much better now though."
"Glad to hear it. Now that it's bedtime."
A warm MRE later, Daniel was flaked out on his covers on one quarter of the clover. He was already asleep.
"I guess squinting at ancient engravings from a plane window tires out the eyes," Jack stated to Teal'c, wanting to believe that's all it was. They'd find out in the morning.
"Indeed," Teal'c nodded his agreement, and went to sit cross-legged on one of the benches, his head bent slightly towards the pool twelve storeys under their room. Whether his eyes were open or closed, Jack couldn't tell.
Jack threw the gelled pillow off the bed and stuffed his jacket under his head, as he propped his feet up and shoved them under the draperies. He watched while Carter gracefully tucked herself into the third clover leaf, curled up, and drifted off to sleep. He continued to watch as the faint stars above his head became brighter in the darkening sky.
_____
Daniel was sitting up in bed as Jack opened his eyes, squinting at the morning light filtering in. The younger man was staring towards the window, his body rigid.
Jack shot upright, his bare feet hitting the floor instantly, as he realized what Daniel was gaping at; it didn't take long to look out a window. "What the hell?"
In Daniel's humor was a badly disguised tension. "Paparazzi? Police?"
Outside their window - all the windows of their two room suite - was what seemed to be a fleet of shuttles, clear shuttles with various numbers of people inside each, all staring in towards them, the modules forming a barrier of hovering glass cigars that bordered their twin protruding rooms. Two rows deep, in places even three, the crafts were motionless, hovering, waiting. It looked like a floating marina.
"What do they want?"
"How would I know, Jack?"
Teal'c soundlessly approached from behind, and Jack could sense Carter shifting, awakening on her own clover leaf. "I will use the facial receiver, O'Neill, and inform the management of this situation."
Jack had no argument this time. They had to know what was going on. "Yeah. I'll do it."
"I shall." Teal'c was already attaching the thing above his gold tattoo. Must be self-adhesive, a wifi connection or something. Jack caught himself staring.
"Oh-oh."
"Daniel?"
Daniel was rising, moving closer to the window.
"Daniel, don't."
"Look." He was nodding towards one of the shuttles.
"What?"
"Between those shuttles, across the pond and gardens, you see that huge sign? The one you thought was a scoreboard?"
Jack knew what Daniel was referring to, and shifted his position to have a look. What had looked like the dark surface of a scoreboard the other day, seen from a better angle in this new room, was now lit up with moving pictures… and those pictures were the faces of himself and Daniel, down in the lobby of their hotel. "Crap," the whisper was barely audible, a constrained reaction to the morning's incoming tide.
_____
They could hear Teal'c's one-sided dialogue. It began with the simple question of why there were shuttles outside their hotel window.
Then there was silence, a long silence, with the manager's lips moving, and Teal'c's eventual "I see." Then the globe went dark.
"Teal'c?"
Teal'c was pulling the moon strip off his face, managing to do so, Jack noted, with hardly a wince. "Daniel Jackson is correct. They are the equivalent of news reporters. Word of Daniel Jackson's challenge of Oludaran's translation has been broadcast to the people, and it seems there are now crowds in front of the council station protesting. Still others are at the Stones searching for a way to discover the treasure."
"Treasure? When did I say treasure?"
Jack looked over to Daniel, observing the other man's appalled expression, his mouth open and face pale. He wasn't looking well. Carter, on the other hand, seemed energetic, almost too much so. Jittery. Then again, she had spent the entire day yesterday inside a fishbowl with nothing to do but sleep.
Yet, so had they - with nothing to do but yawn while Daniel worked - and Jack knew he was feeling fine.
Daniel's outrage was gaining dominion over initial shock. "I said there was something of value located in the area of the pyramids. Even if there was treasure of some sort, it might not even be there any more! I mean, those inscriptions were written what, several hundred years ago?"
"Yeah, we're out of here. Pack up your things, kids."
That order horrified Daniel even more. "Wait, Jack. We can't just pack up now and leave. Whatever's happening out there is because of what I told the hotel manager. I have to finish those translations, and I'm nearly done."
"Daniel, what's happening out there is because the hotel manager jumped the gun and couldn't keep his mouth shut. Any longer and we may not be able to get past the masses, either here or at the stargate. Not even sure we can get past them now."
"We'll find a way."
Through Daniel's drawn, tired face, his determination was blatant, and Jack knew better than to debate. They were already in too deep to just walk away, that much was clear from the mob - albeit a patient, silent mob - outside their walls. It didn't change O'Neill's motivation, but it worked to change his mind. "Then find a way."
Before Jack could stop him, Daniel had placed the receiver on his face and dialed the lobby.
_____
"You're sure this will work?"
"He said there's no one out back. We can borrow the delivery shuttle." Daniel and Jack were already halfway down to the lobby, hoping the gang outside their window wouldn't realize anyone had left the room. With Teal'c positioned in front of the window drawing attention and Carter only too happy to remain behind again, a fact which Jack knew ought to worry him but first things first, Jack just hoped they could sneak out without making a scene. He had no idea how patient reporters on this planet were, but he knew the limits of his own patience, and he wasn't about to spend the rest of the day just staring out the window shooting dirty looks into the windscreens of alien paparazzi.
The moment the elevator opened at the lobby level the manager was standing there; with one backward glance, he ushered them out through some room that looked like it might have been a kitchen - there were pots on white rectangular slabs in the middle of the enormous floor, but no cooks present - and into a two-level parking garage. Correction; hovering garage, where a dozen very large shuttles dominated the mid air and ceiling space.
Slowly, one lowered.
"I will guide you out. No one will notice."
"You sure about that?"
"We use these transports for deliveries. There would be no reason for anyone to be keeping watch over this zone."
"Thank you," Daniel smiled graciously. "Our friends upstairs - they have no communication device," he motioned towards the pack on his back. "Could you check on them a few times today and make sure they're alright?"
The manager agreed. "It will be seen to."
With no more words, Daniel stepped into the front seat - the driver's side, as they'd begun to think of it for no real reason other than it was the way of cars at home - as it was easier to see the pyramids' writings from that position, and Jack slid in beside him. The large craft, designed for four people - two at the front, two in the rear - and much cargo in the center, for the interior was completely empty, rose up and through a now-open hatch in the far wall.
_____
The sky above the lake was a parking lot.
"Holy crap." Jack stared in astonishment at the shuttles hovering around the Stones; dozens of them, caught in bumper to bumper traffic. "We won't be able to get near there."
Some shuttles were occupying center space of the circle, their occupants not trying to read the engravings but hovering inches above water level, as if trying to see what lay below through the glass bottoms. One or two had their side panels open, revealing men with lines dropped into the lake as though fishing. Most were just inching in closer, vying for a space up front. Still others, distant from the rocks themselves, were almost skimming the water's surface, as though treasure might show up elsewhere in the lake. Right ahead of Jack and Daniel, in long haphazard lines, shuttles of various sizes jutted out in every direction; every laser route in the vicinity must have been in use. For a moment Jack wished Carter was here to explain her theories as to how that might work; then he realized he was glad she wasn't. His nerves couldn't have taken it, and from the looks of it, Daniel wasn't in any form to listen either.
Daniel was silent, staring in shock. His face was tight and lined, eyes already red and he hadn't even begun the day's work. Jack studied his friend, then made a decision. "We can't continue today, Daniel." Like it or not.
Daniel nodded, and that struck more of a chord in Jack's brain than the paleness of his friend's face or the drooping eyelids. But Daniel just sat there, staring at the long line of airborne vehicles up ahead, a line that was barely moving. And now, there were shuttles pushing in behind them as well, closing them in.
Reaching into Daniel's pack, Jack lifted out the communications ball.
The thundering crash jarred their nerves, and the ball nearly dropped from his hands. "What the - "
"Over there!" Daniel exclaimed in horror, leaning into the front window. "That shuttle just slammed into another one!"
Jack could see one shuttle down on the surface of the water, quickly subm