PEARLS OF WISDOM Series
Part IV: Passion
By Lady Grey
Nominated for Stargate SG-1/Slash/Best Action-Adventure
It is the passions that do and undo everything.
Bernard Le Bovier Fontenelle,
1657-1757, Scientist, Man of Letters
Daniel loved the hush of ancient places like this one. Golden dust motes filled the beams of sunlight slanting through the holes in the ceiling and walls, dancing like a glitter-fall in slow motion. His footsteps kicked up a low cloud of dust, but he didn’t sneeze. He was no longer allergic to every speck of wind-borne debris, thanks to the Tok’ra symbiote coiled up at the base of his brain.
**You are welcome, beloved.**
He sensed Meretseger’s smile and heard her soft chuckle echoing without sound in his mind.
--You’re pretty handy to have around, honey.—
He loved talking with Meret. Their almost constant internal dialogue reminded him he was never alone. It comforted him to know he would never be completely solitary, ever again. Over the year he had carried the Tok’ra queen within him, he had grown to love her deeply; now he couldn’t imagine being without her.
**I feel the same about you, beloved. You will be my last host.**
That brought his head up, his eyes losing focus as they gazed around the ruined room.
-- Wait a minute! Your people need you, Meret. You’re young yet, discounting the couple thousand years you spent in stasis. Until we can find a way to completely cure the Jaffa of their dependency on symbiotes or Tretonin, they need you, too. I know you love me, but let’s be realistic here—
**You will live a very long time under my care, my Daniel.**
There was sadness in her voice that echoed in his mind. Like all their emotions, he shared her grief with a being he saw only in his dreams.
--Oh, Jack...—
Now her despondence was also his. With her help, he would remain young, strong and healthy for as much as a hundred years or more. Jack wouldn’t live nearly that long. He would grow old and die in far too brief a span of time, and then Daniel and Meretseger would have to go on without him.
There were other options. They had talked about it, but Jack stubbornly refused to take a chance on hosting another symbiote. Jack’s unwillingness to even consider blending with another symbiote – or of taking Meret back and allowing Daniel to host another Tok’ra – had made Daniel a little impatient with him. He wanted more time with Jack and knew he wouldn’t get it, and the echo of that ache resurfaced now and resounded inside him with jagged pain, fresh and raw.
He sagged against the wall for support as that reality slammed into him yet again, with a clench in his chest and a lump in his throat, but he was powerless to change Jack’s mind. It was one of the things Daniel loved about him – Jack’s fierce independence, his strong sense of self, and everyone else be damned. He made his own rules, and that was how he liked it. Even the military fell into line behind him most of the time. Jack O’Neill was a force of nature, not to be controlled by anyone but himself.
Daniel sighed. The idea of a future without Jack was grim and hollow, and not one he wanted to entertain.
**Yes, beloved. It breaks my heart also, for your love for him is something I share with you, to the deepest corner of your heart. It is also the way I feel about you. Of all my hosts, dear Daniel, I have learned the most from you, and am a better person for having known you. I cannot imagine living without you, my sweet, so I will not try, for I believe my grief would be too great to bear. You will be the last. When the time comes, we will die together.**
He pulled off his glasses and ground the heels of his hands against his eyelids, fighting back the tears that threatened. “You know I’m going to talk you out of that,” he said aloud to the empty room.
**You may try.**
He was once again aware of her fond, unseen smile inside him. Her quiet joy and deep love brought him comfort, as if she had put arms around him and hugged him close.
**We are here to explore, beloved, and we are getting sidetracked. Look, what is over there?**
Lifting his chin and settling his glasses back into place, he spied what appeared to be a door that had been wedged closed, just off the main rotunda. After the initial MALP scans of the alien landscape, the building he was exploring had been determined to be an observatory. He had left Sam upstairs, elbows-deep in the machinery of the ancient telescope. Jack and Teal’c were on guard outdoors, occasionally wandering inside or calling one of them on the comm. unit to see what progress had been made.
By the look of it, there hadn’t been any signs of life in the place for centuries. From the erosion on the outside of the stone building, Daniel had guessed it hadn’t been used in several hundred years. The writing they’d found and the devices discovered inside the observatory were totally unfamiliar to Daniel, and he hadn’t been able to make heads nor tails of any of the written records. Sam had activated the instrument that served as a telescope, and she’d found it to project holographic star maps under the central dome of the building.
That had fascinated both of them for a while, but Daniel had wanted to find something else, something that would tell him about the history of the people who’d built the place; who they were; what had happened to them; what they were like; maybe a key to their language that he could understand. So he’d started to wander, looking into anterooms, closets, storage rooms. Eventually his search had taken him back downstairs to the majestic lobby with its dusty mosaic floor, which featured strange images unlike any he’d ever seen on other worlds.
In his cursory earlier exploration, the door Meret now pointed out had escaped his notice. It was jammed shut, and he hadn’t really seen the opening there in the wall; however, looking at it now in the afternoon sunshine, he saw a light glimmering beneath the panel. He went to the handle, disguised as an ornate fixture attached to the wall, gave it a couple of fierce pulls, and it swung open with a creak straight out of a horror movie.
When the dust settled, he stood rooted to the spot, unable to believe his eyes. A bench along the back wall had been converted into a bunk. High above it, a tiny window let in just enough light to see clearly, a curtain of dust motes caught in a glittering fall of sunbeam cutting through the gloom. The shaft of light pooled on the floor just at the threshold of the door into this tiny space, possibly some kind of storage closet. Daniel pulled his standard issue Mag-Lite from his vest pocket and turned it on, playing the beam over the shapeless shadows in the room.
A rough mattress against the back wall had been made of dried grasses, now turned brown and crunchy, and over the top lay a dark green North Face sleeping bag. MRE wrappers were neatly zipped into a large clear plastic bag that had expanded with gas as the interior contents decomposed and grew a carpet of disgusting-looking mold. Another sleeping bag was rolled up in a corner, and there were a lantern, some cooking utensils and other camping supplies neatly put away in a corner shelf unit.
A small table and a crude, handmade chair stood along one wall. On top of the table were several more familiar items: a couple of pens, a military-issue flashlight just like the one he was holding, a leather-bound journal, and a brightly colored, tie-dyed bandana with a Grateful Dead logo on it. Daniel recognized the design because Doctor Spencer, who had taken his place on SG-1 during his convalescence before he became Meret’s host, was a huge fan of the band and had their gear all over his office at the SGC.
He felt his insides shrivel up.
**What does this mean, Daniel?**
--Someone from Earth has been here before us. Oh, my God.—
**Who are the Grateful Dead? What does this mean?**
--They’re a band of musicians on Earth.— He glanced at the sleeping bag, fixing his gaze on the brand name logo. –North Face is an American manufacturer. We have to find out who was here.—
He sat down at the table and, with trembling fingers, opened the front cover of the journal, looking for a name. The information he sought was there, written in a no-nonsense block script. Dr. Alex Epstein, 56 Coventry Place, Chicago, IL 60637
Turning to the first page, he saw that it was a journal very much like his own, with information on digs, postulation of theories, personal notes and academic research. Thumbing through until he was about three-quarters of the way back, he found two pages folded in half, acting as a sort of internal bookmark. He flipped the book open to that page and began to read.
I’ve been kidnapped. They broke into my house and drugged me, and I woke up here – wherever here is. My kidnappers brought along my knapsack, packed with some of my stuff, but just what I’d need to survive. The building looks like some kind of observatory because of its shape, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s old and crumbling, a beautiful ruin in itself, but if this is ancient, I’m a little afraid to think of what these people’s modern technology is like, because the telescope is like something right out of a science fiction movie. It has holographic star maps, and I didn’t know we even had those in the US.
I don’t know where the hell I am, or who these people are who have taken me. They’re all military types, four of them who seem damned suspicious; not like any soldiers I’ve ever met. They stayed with me for a few days, keeping me inside the building, trying to get me to translate a golden tablet they gave me, but I’m not having much luck with that.
I’m afraid that, if I finish and find what they want, they won’t need me anymore, and I’ll never get home.
The NID, Daniel realized. They’d taken Epstein and brought him here to help them, which meant they were probably after something big. More important to Daniel, however, was what had happened to the archaeologist. Had they killed and buried him? Or, he reflected, Dr. Epstein could be a woman. The ‘Alex’ name gave him no clue to the scientist’s gender.
He skimmed ahead, his heartbeat picking up, his mouth dry. His fingers shook as he turned more pages.
There was some kind of an emergency today. They communicated with their base, using a device like something straight out of a Star Trek movie – a little black ball that projects a holographic view of the other speaker’s head. Lt. Tobias told me they’d be back and ordered me to continue working on the translation. She wouldn’t tell me where they were going, either. They sedated me again and left me here alone, with orders to have the tablet translated when they get back.
I have no idea which direction they went, but when I woke up, they were gone. I’m not sorry they left. Think I’ll look around and see if I can find my way back to civilization while they’re away. I’m not going to stick around to be snuffed when they’re done with me.
“He didn’t even know about the stargate,” Daniel whispered in horror. “Didn’t know the way home. Didn’t know he was on another planet.” His stomach cramped as he glanced at the date of that entry. It was just before Jack had blown the lid off the rogue NID theft ring. Lieutenant Tobias and her team had never come back for the scientist. Epstein had been marooned on this alien world for five years.
“Oh, my God.” He exhaled in a whoosh, breath kicking up dust off the table.
--Jack will think it’s his fault.—
**He could not have known, Daniel. He would have come for this person, had he known someone was left behind. It is his way.**
--We have to tell him.—
Daniel rose from the chair. Almost as an afterthought, he pulled the tie-dyed scarf off the object it was covering and stared at it. This was the tablet Epstein had been trying to translate. It was thin and elegantly shaped, its face decorated with columns of text in several languages, including Ancient, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Goa’uld and another one that appeared to be similar to the language they had found in the observatory.
Across the top of the tablet was the stargate address of that world, which was how the NID had found it. Daniel would need to research the hieroglyphs to see if he could place it in an approximate time period, and possibly determine where the tablet might have been found on Earth. That could wait until later, though, because right now it was far more important to find out who Doctor Alex Epstein was, what he or she looked like, and which direction the linguist had gone.
He just hoped the good doctor was still alive, or Jack would never forgive himself for this.
Carefully
picking up the tablet, he wrapped it in the scarf and placed it into his
backpack, then cradled the journal in his hands as he headed outside to break
the news to Jack and get the rescue operation under way.
The fire which enlightens is the same fire which consumes.
Henri Frederic Amiel,
1821-1881, Swiss Philosopher, Poet, Critic
Jack stood, leaning his butt against the DHD, legs crossed at the ankles, his black cap shading his eyes from the sun. The stargate stood in the middle of a small courtyard right outside the observatory, paved with the same ochre tiles that formed the road winding away in the distance. The tiles were springy and flexible, comfortable for standing on, but Jack’s curiosity ended there. The visual of the yellowish road took Jack’s mind straight to Oz, and he’d driven that analogy into the ground with his team within the first five minutes of arrival.
They had dispersed as quickly as possible, off to efficiently do their jobs, leaving their CO to enjoy the silence, the sun, and the peaceful scenery. Wide green meadows rolled away to a flat horizon to the east and rose to meet toothy, snow-capped peaks to the west. The place was so peaceful and boring, he’d almost dozed off standing up.
Daniel emerged into the late morning sunlight, his expression grim, a small, leather-bound book clutched in his hands in front of him like a shield.
“’S’up, Daniel?” asked Jack, his gaze going between the tome and his lover’s face.
Daniel cleared his throat and stopped, two feet away. “Um, Jack, I found this inside. There’s a little camp in there that looks like it’s been recently vacated. Like in the last few years.”
“A camp? What kind of camp?” That meant they weren’t alone.
Straightening, Jack shifted his senses into full alert status as he reached for the book Daniel was offering him. He cradled the journal in one hand and reached for the comm. unit with the other. “Carter, T, we may have company. Stay sharp and meet Daniel and me—“
He glanced at Daniel for a location.
“Downstairs lobby,” he replied instantly.
“In the downstairs lobby. Out.” As Sam acknowledge his order, he flipped open the book and took his first step. “So what are we looking at here? Any idea who it is?”
Again Daniel cleared his throat, looking distinctly uncomfortable as he walked beside Jack. “Um, yes, actually. Doctor Alex Epstein. He’s, um--”
Jack made eye contact as they passed through the arched doorway.
Daniel took a deep breath and continued, “From Earth. He’s been here for five years, after the NID dropped him off, promising to be back for him. My God, Jack, they kidnapped him and left him here! I read some of his notes in that book; he had no idea where he was, or how he’d gotten here. Maybe he’s figured out he’s on another planet by now, but maybe not.”
Something inside Jack curdled and froze into a hard lump. What Daniel was trying so hard not to say was that the ring of rogue Tau’ri, funded by the NID, who had been out to steal any alien technology they could get their hands on, had marooned this poor guy when Jack had pulled the plug on their operation. In essence, Jack had unknowingly left someone behind. No one from the NID had ever mentioned this planet or the scientist they had brought here with them.
“Then we have to find him, Daniel. We’re gonna scrub this mission and pack up. I’ll inform General Hammond, bring in another team to study this building, and we’ll go find this guy and bring him home.” He followed Daniel into the foyer to wait for the rest of the team to join them, and then headed into the abandoned room.
For the next few hours, they studied Epstein’s journal and his makeshift camp, trying to ascertain how long the missing man had been gone and what direction he might have taken when he left. Teal’c’s tracking skills were useless after all that time, but they decided the missing man must have thoroughly explored the area before finally setting off down the road toward whatever kind of Oz lay that way. Then the team returned to the base ahead of schedule, sat down with Hammond, began to gather information and laid out a plan of action.
Jack flew out to interview some of the NID operatives still in prison, while Carter and Daniel conducted an investigation into the life of Doctor Alex Epstein.
What they found was disconcerting.
The NID had been busy, once they had their expert in hand. They had apparently virtually erased Epstein’s past. There were no reports of his/her disappearance in any newspaper or at police stations across the country. There were no listings of any universities he/she might have attended, and no articles or books bearing the scientist’s name. Had it not been for the journal Daniel had found and the personal notations referencing a life on Earth, they would not have been able to find even a trace of Epstein to connect him/her to the culture from which he/she had been stolen.
Interviews with the NID people who had gone to jail also netted them nothing. Everyone wanted to make a deal, but Jack figured all they’d have to do is follow Epstein’s trail to find him, so any information acquired wouldn’t be that important in finding the scientist. Nobody would talk for free, and Jack wasn’t willing to make any deals that might benefit any of those NID scumbags, so he headed back to the base and planned the mission with Hammond to rescue the lost linguist, using what little information they had.
While preparations were being made, Daniel pored over the golden tablet and Epstein’s journal, seeking answers to what had made that planet so obviously important to the NID. He and Meret researched the languages, translating each one individually to see if they all made the same statements, or if there were differences. The alien language from P9X-707 would be untranslatable without a key, but if the other inscriptions all said the same thing, Daniel might be able to develop a codex that could be of use in translating the writings they’d found in the observatory.
Translating the known languages took them the better part of three days.
When he’d finished with the Goa’uld script, he felt his symbiote shudder inside him.
“What is it, Meret?” he asked aloud, concerned by her reaction.
His eyes slid closed against his will.
**Sit back and relax, beloved. I must show you something important. Something I have shared with no one else, save my original host, Nenet.**
Daniel obeyed,
taking a deep breath, letting his body grow limp in the chair, his head
supported against the back. He sank down in the darkness behind closed eyelids,
and let her take him away, back into her past, when she’d been very young and
Earth had been ruled by false gods.
I want no heaven for which I must give my reason;
no happiness in exchange for my liberty;
no immortality that demands the surrender of my individuality.
Better rot in a windowless tomb,to which there is no door but the red mouth of the pallid worm,
than to wear the
jeweled collar of a god.
Robert Green Ingersoll
Egypt
3000 BC
Meret rose from her bath with a sigh. The water was cool and felt wonderful, but she had things to do, places to be, duties to perform. Her servants dried her off, perfumed her skin, painted her face, and dressed her hair. They clothed her in gold tissue and sheer white cotton; garments that hid very little of her body, but in the desert, that was a necessity.
She dismissed her servants and padded barefoot through the palace to the rooms of Ra, who had summoned her. They were apparently expecting a guest, one who would arrive soon with his entourage. A messenger had arrived that morning, bringing gifts such as had never been seen at court. Among them were a golden box and a small black ball that allowed communication over long distances.
Meret had seen the visitor herself, long before his arrival, by the magic of the device.
A smile curved her lips. It was not magic, she knew; not really. It was a tool such as the Goa’uld used to travel through space, by ship or by the chappa’ai, and the people who had created the communication device had come to First World as explorers. This much the visitor had told them through the device he called a vo’cume.
He looked interesting, attractive in a strange, alien way. His hair was long, extending well down his back. It appeared to be made of metallic gold, not the soft blond of some of the humans who lived in the northern lands of that world. His face was much like a human’s, but his crimson skin was a different texture, softer-looking, and his eyes were black orbs that could not be read. Long white teeth marked the corners of his smile, and his voice was deep and rich, a sound that was almost hypnotic, very pleasant to her ears.
She had liked him instantly. His name was Herr-miis, and he would be arriving at sundown with the servants who traveled with him, people whom he admitted had come freely into his service from other lands of that world. He intended to take them with him to his home, a city called Arcadia on a planet across the galaxy.
Meretseger had been born on First World, daughter of Ra and Egeria, and she was not allowed off world. Her host, the princess Nenet, had never been farther than Memphis, though she was destined for Thebes. Ra had already told her she would preside over the city of the dead as the protector of the tombs, but that would be later, after he had seeded her when she was mature enough to breed.
She shuddered at that thought. It was not something she wanted, but she was powerless against Ra. His mind was not to be changed, his temper too unpredictable to challenge. All bowed before his will, but she knew the seeding would only happen once. Ra never touched the same mate twice; he liked them fresh and unspoiled.
Hot blood filled her cheeks as she slowed in her walk to the audience chamber. Ra was cruel and driven by whim, but he was also wary and intelligent. He and those closest to him suspected treachery around every corner. He was adept at maintaining his hold on power, cutting the legs out from under any who threatened him before they could fully formulate a plan of attack.
He sickened her. She and her mother, Egeria, had often discussed his cruel nature, sympathizing with the humans who lived and died by his will. They were very, very careful, living in constant fear that he might have spies who kept watch for the slightest breath of treason. Theirs was a dangerous existence, balanced on a razor’s edge.
Meretseger and Egeria did not plot or plan; only hoped. For his own protection, as well as to prop up his image as the most powerful god of all, Ra limited the weapons at their disposal, the ones that gave the Goa’uld the power of life and death with the wave of a hand.
However, Meret was sure real gods were never surprised, as he had been earlier in the day. She had seen the look on his beautiful face, when the messenger came and set up the communication relay. None of the mortals surrounding them were allowed to look directly at Ra, so they had not seen. But Meretseger had, through Nenet’s eyes.
This stranger might be powerful indeed. Her heart rose, but she quickly tamped it down. She didn’t want to get too excited or hopeful, but if this stranger could offer weapons that might defeat Ra, he would make an excellent ally… provided he was not interested in claiming power for himself.
She would have to be wary of him until she was more certain of his motives and character. If he were just an explorer, as he had said, interested only in knowledge and understanding, then perhaps…
Shaking off her worries and hopes, she hurried to the audience chamber to supervise the preparations for their guest. Security was her job as court protection goddess, and she would have to make sure there was not a hint of danger to Ra, no chance that this stranger or any of his servants might attack. She would meet their visitor first, before presenting him to her master, and that would be a perfect opportunity to test him, to see where his sentiments lay, and whether or not he could be trusted.
The truth is that there is only one terminal dignity -- love.
And the story of a love is not important –
what is important is that one is capable of love.
It is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity.
1900-1993, American Actress
Long shadows painted the sand in blues, purples, and deepest black. Wind stirred, a hot breath that did nothing to cool her skin. Meretseger stood on the steps of the temple of Ra, looking out over the wide plaza and the neat rows of people dressed in strange costumes. Some were very pale, others very dark, but one thing they had in common was discipline. They all stood like soldiers, still and straight and orderly – even the children they had brought with them. They smiled with pride rather than cowering in fear, and that pleased Meretseger. Their attitude spoke highly of their master.
Movement caught her eye, and as she watched the ranks open, two people stepping aside between the rows allowed a hooded figure to pass through the space they made; afterward, they returned to their places and closed ranks. She focused her eyes on the one in motion, watching him stride through the crowd with a sure step, his black garments flowing about him like smoke and shadow.
As he approached the near columns, she could see the cloak he wore parting with each step, revealing his armor, glittering golden and scarlet in the torchlight. A high metal collar embraced his head like the open mouth of a serpent about to devour him. Small burnished horns adorned the shoulder caps of his armor, giving him a threatening appearance.
A warrior, she thought, and her hopes began to sink.
He wore shiny gauntlets on his forearms with a matching breastplate, down to his hips. Plates of interlaced squares of gold draped like a second skin over his thighs, and around his waist a belt was fastened over the armor, the V-shaped buckle adorned with the figure of a bird with outstretched wings. The bird’s long, elegant tail dangled downward almost to his ankles, glimmering in the light. The tail seemed to be made of real feathers, but it was wrought of some iridescent metal, and it jingled musically with every step. The figure of the bird and the collar were both studded with small gems, sparkling and winking as he moved toward the temple, announcing plainly that he was a person of great wealth and power. His costume alone was worthy of a god.
Only as he placed his foot on the first step did she return her gaze to his face. He was smiling. At her. He was obviously pleased by what he saw.
She waited until he reached the top of the stairs before holding out her hand up stop him.
Herr-miis was very tall. He was beautiful in an utterly alien way, his all-black eyes mesmerizing, his smile infectious and genuine, revealing gleaming white teeth with sharply pointed incisors. He pressed his palms together and bowed to her without breaking eye contact.
“I am Meretseger, daughter of Ra, protector of his temple,” she told him plainly. “I was not expecting a conqueror, but a scholar. Have you deceived us, Herr-miis?”
“Deceit is not in my nature,” he assured her. “I am but a cautious traveler.”
She almost gasped as the sound of his voice sent a ripple of pleasure over her skin. As she felt her body react, she tried to ignore the fact that her nipples were tightening beneath the thin layer of gold tissue covering her breasts. She desperately hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“Then you will not object to removing your armor and any weapons you may be carrying, before you present yourself to Ra,” she told him, staring into the black depths of his eyes.
Herr-miis chuckled, a sound of pure delight. He reached up and flicked a catch at his throat, and his black cape floated away a few feet behind him. With the crook of a finger he summoned a servant, who stood by to receive his armor as he undressed in front of her. All through the disrobing, he maintained his frank, interested gaze, until at last he stood before her, naked but for a short multicolored skirt, his gloves, and a pair of soft black boots that came half way up his muscular thighs.
The fabric of his garment was covered with whorls of deep blues, purples, emerald, crimson, butter yellow, orange, black and white, shot through with thin threads of silver and gold. It was beautiful, like nothing she had ever seen. She found herself hoping for an alliance between their people, if for no other reason than she would have liked to have clothing of her own made from such stuff.
With a wave of his hand, Herr-miis sent his servant away. He leaned in as he spoke, not threatening, but as if he might kiss her. “Am I presentable now?” he asked Meret, his voice huskier, softer.
She held her ground, lifting her chin, staring defiantly into his eyes and realizing that she wanted him to kiss her. No man had ever touched her skin. It was not allowed, for she belonged solely to Ra, but surrendering her host’s body to a man’s desire was also not something she had ever wanted. At least, not until now.
His face was delicately beautiful; full lips, high cheekbones, strong chin and jaw, and big, almond-shaped eyes with an intriguing upward slant. The deep red color and velvety texture of his skin beckoned her. His golden hair glittered like his armor, draping in a long fall over a powerful chest and rippling abdomen. Arms bulging with muscle lifted at his sides, palms upward in question.
“You see that I am unarmed,” he prodded, waiting for her answer. “Please take me to your god. You have my word; I am no threat, beautiful Meretseger. I live for knowledge and travel to learn, as do all my people.”
Her brain clicked on again, and she remembered her duty. “I… I must ensure that you speak the truth, and are, indeed, without weapons. You will submit to my search of your person.”
She wasn’t asking.
He grinned as he took a wide stance and raised his arms out from his sides, holding the position to allow her complete access to his body.
She had done this many hundreds of times. Though no man could put their hands on her, she could touch them in the performance of her office. She reached out for his cheek. She had never felt anything so soft, so warm and pleasant. Her heartbeat quickened as her mouth went dry.
Embarrassment at her unexpected reaction jerked her back to the task at hand. She was startled by the rough texture of the fine strands as she slid both hands up onto his scalp, searching for anything that might have been secreted in the long fall of his hair. Quickly and efficiently, she ran her hands all over his body, covering every inch of exposed skin. Dropping down to a crouch, she examined his legs, squeezing the boots to feel for any weapon that might have been hidden inside them, then resolutely smoothing up beneath his multicolored skirt to explore the curves of his buttocks and his male parts. She could not afford to miss anything, since to do so would cost her life.
Unexpectedly stirred, as much by his gasp at her touch as by her own reaction, she stepped back when she’d finished, bowing her head more out of mortification than respect. A quick glance at his face showed his eyes turned skyward, his mouth pressed in a firm line as he struggled for control, his hands gripped into fists. It was obvious he was fighting his own arousal, for her sake.
“You speak the truth,” she told him, eyeing the toes of his boots. “You are unarmed, as you said. Please accompany me. Ra awaits you.”
Without looking at him again, she pivoted and led the way into the temple. As she walked, her face cooled, and she steeled herself to report to Ra. She announced Herr-miis personally, and then positioned herself behind him and to his left as he and Ra conversed, standing guard in case their guest made any aggressive moves.
There were several of Ra’s personal guard constantly in his presence, but as protection goddess for his court, any failure by them would be her direct responsibility. For small audiences such as this, she attended personally and made sure her master was well protected. She’d be safest that way, and her skills were considerable. She was by far the most adept fighter at court, and trained Ra’s bodyguards herself.
After a lengthy interview, the visitor was invited to dinner with Ra. Tribute was presented, the like of which had never before been seen in Egypt. Glittering jewelry and gemstones caught the light from where they rested inside boxes carved from aromatic woods. Spices and unguents were delivered, each with instructions for their use. Cloth that shimmered like moonlight on a lake was laid before Ra, who accepted it all with an air of boredom.
Meret knew what Ra most wanted was information about the apparatus the stranger had used to communicate with him, and any other such magical devices his people possessed.
Instead, Herr-miis told him about his people, about their passion for knowledge and the wonders of the many worlds they had already explored.
Meretseger saw Ra frown, and was suddenly afraid for the stranger. A nod from Ra brought the goddess of fertility and sensuality into the audience chamber, and Hathor sat down with Herr-miis to ply her wiles. He laughed at her and told her he had no interest in what she offered, and Meret knew then that the red-haired queen’s hypnotic drug had no effect on him. He had come only for learning, and if Ra could not offer him that, he would take his leave.
Behind her bright smile lay Hathor’s fury. She called her Jaffa, and with a swift gesture, she ordered them to restrain their guest.
Herr-miis tried to escape, but never made it off the cushions where he was seated. Four burly Jaffa pushed him face down on the pillows, holding him by each limb. He struggled and cursed them in an alien tongue, his black eyes wide with fear at this sudden change in his hosts’ attitude.
Ra sat back on his throne, gazing serenely down upon the scene, a smile of triumph on his beautiful face.
Meretseger watched in horror, careful to not let her feelings show. She had seen this far too many times to believe she might aid the hapless stranger, but her heart ached for him, knowing that he would soon be blended with a mature Goa’uld, reduced to being a prisoner in his own body. The secrets of his race would be ripped from his mind and laid at Ra’s feet in tribute to the mightiest and most feared of the System Lords.
The alien wept, finally giving up the fight, aware that he was defeated. “You have made a grave error,” he announced, his head turned to the side just enough to breathe, voice muffled by the pillows. “My people will never be slaves to you or any other.”
Ra chuckled, his voice husky and darkly seductive. “I will make slaves of all races, or destroy them,” he promised silkily. “Your people have much to offer me, and I mean to take what you have chosen not to freely give. That is your error, Herr-miis.” He waved a hand at Hathor to continue with the implantation.
With a nod of acquiescence and a smile filled with secrets, she motioned to one of her attendants, a slight, young, female Jaffa, who bared her pouch and stood waiting. After another knowing glance at Ra, Hathor crooned to the newly-mature symbiote, coaxing it from its incubating womb. Holding firmly onto the squealing, slimy creature, she knelt down beside her Jaffa and took pleasure in showing it off to its new host.
“Look, Little One,” she cooed to the creature in her grasp. “This will now be yours to command. Share his secrets with us, and you will be well rewarded.”
“What is that thing?” Herr-miis demanded, renewing his struggles with his captors in an effort to get a better look at the symbiote.
Hathor laughed cruelly. “Behold your god, unlucky traveler. You have chosen the wrong world to explore.” She lifted Herr-miis’ hair out of the way, showing the symbiote where to enter. It seemed confused for a moment, but could not survive long without a safe womb or a host. After a moment, it sliced its way into the alien’s neck. Accompanied by the sound of his raw, terrified screams, it entered his body.
Meretseger gazed at the floor beside his body until it was over and the Goa’uld was no longer in sight. Her anguished eyes slid back to the alien’s body, watching the wound at the back of Herr-miis’ neck close and begin to heal.
Herr-miis had had no idea when he arrived how he would be received in Ra’s court. He had come seeking knowledge, holding out the hand of friendship, and Ra had betrayed him at the first opportunity. Meretseger’s heart went out to him, but the deed was done. Herr-miis would now be the symbiote’s unwilling slave forever.
Hathor gestured to the four Jaffa, who released their prisoner and stepped back a little. The scarlet alien slowly lifted himself off the cushions, his dark eyes glowing white for a moment. Then he bowed, first very slightly to the queen, then more deeply to Ra. “My master,” he said quietly, his voice in many pitches all at once.
Ra’s chin lifted. “I name you Thoth,” he announced haughtily. “Now, tell me what you have learned of your host’s people, and what they can offer us.”
Thoth shook his head unsteadily. “I cannot, great Ra,” he answered breathlessly. “This creature – I can control his body, but I cannot as yet blend with his mind. Even now, I am ill and weak, as his body seeks to reject me. Our kind were not meant for his species.”
Ra’s disappointment showed. “Perhaps, in time, when you have recovered, you will be able to retrieve his secrets and show us the way to his world.”
“I will, master,” Thoth promised. “In time. If I survive.”
Meretseger schooled her face to reveal nothing of the grief and revulsion she felt. At Ra’s command, she withdrew from the audience chamber and went out to Herr-miis’ servants, ordering one of her Jaffa to accompany her. He was tall and forbidding-looking; an excellent warrior in his own right, and loyal to her and Egeria.
She ordered the alien’s retinue to seek shelter for the night, telling them their master was an honored guest and would be staying for some time. She advised them to return in the morning to see him and receive his instructions.
When the armor-bearer turned to go with the others, she called to him. “Your master wishes his armor returned to him, so that as he stands beside Ra tomorrow, he may appear in splendor to his people, when they arrive,” she told the man, thinking ahead.
The bearer was hesitant, shifting nervously on his feet for a moment. With a smile, she promised him all would be well; she would take the armor to Herr-miis herself, and it would not leave her sight.
In response, the attractive young man came up the steps to her, bowed and said, “I am Cochin, fair one. Please direct me to my master, and I will deliver his possessions to him. None may touch this garment but my master and myself. We mean no offense.” His dark curls danced around his face in the faint evening breeze. Big eyes as black as the night sky stared back at her without a hint of guile.
“None is taken, Cochin,” she told him gently. “Please, come with me.” Glancing at her Jaffa with an unspoken request to watch her back, she led the way through the temple, across the courtyard, and into the palace beyond it, conversing with the servant about his master, and what sort of ruler he was. The man told her that Herr-miis was just and fair, and that he had promised them education and fruitful lives in his service.
Meret’s step was sure as she headed to the guest apartments, where visiting kings and queens stayed when coming to pay tribute to Ra. She was impressed by this servant’s obvious respect and caring for his master. That made the tragedy of his becoming a host all the more lamentable, knowing already what he might become – whimsical and self-centered, egotistical and temperamental. She wished she’d had a chance to get to know the host, but it was too late now.
The largest guest rooms were where she found Herr-miis, standing on a balcony, the night breeze lifting his hair as he braced his hands on the marble railing. At the sound of footsteps behind him, he turned to face her and spied his servant. He smiled and thanked Cochin in his normal voice, encouraging him to make sure their people were situated for the night.
His bronze skin gleaming in the torchlight, Cochin stowed the gear into an ornately decorated storage box that Meretseger pointed out to him. His brief costume showed off a well-muscled, lean body. When he had completed his task, he asked Herr-miis, “Should I prepare your bed, my master?” He glanced nervously between Herr-miis and Meretseger.
Herr-miis wandered closer to the handsome young man, stroking scarlet fingertips over Cochin’s smooth cheek. He smiled fondly at his servant and gave him a brief, sweet kiss on the lips. “I am weary from my travels and wish to rest, Cochin. You will warm my bed another night. Sleep well.”
Meretseger saw the servant’s disappointed shrug and nod, and watched him withdraw from the rooms. She sent away her servant as well, leaving the two of them alone on the balcony. With a tilt of her head, she asked, “How is it that you know the personal habits of Herr-miis, but nothing of his people?”
Surprise flashed across his alien face, quickly replaced by a confident smirk. “I am discovering bits and pieces of my host’s mind, fair Meretseger, but nothing of import to our people, or to our god.” He turned toward her. “You are his child?”
“I am.” She nodded. “My mother is Egeria. Who are your parents, Thoth?”
He chuckled. “I was born on the Goa’uld home world. Perhaps Ra wished to have strong, new blood in his court, yes? I do not know why I was brought here or by whom; only that I have grown strong in the womb that cradled me since shortly after my birth.”
That surprised her. She had not heard of this. Her eyes narrowed in thought. “Or perhaps it is some plot of Hathor’s to bring in one she can influence in her own ways; someone not loyal to Ra by parentage. If that is the case, I would advise you to be cautious. Those two play dangerous games at court.”
Thoth nodded. “I shall be careful, my sweet.” He smiled. “Very careful, indeed.”
She bowed to him and left his chambers, wondering what sort of effect this untamed young symbiote would have on the jaded court of Ra.
It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake.
A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all.
American Unity Minister, Metaphysician
Thebes
50 Years Later
Meretseger was eager to see Thoth again, after hearing of his travels throughout the kingdom. His arrival in the city of the dead was cause for celebration. Thoth was not only wise and just; he had also stolen her heart and graced her bed whenever they could steal a moment, out of sight of Ra and his spies. For decades they had met in secret, carving out a few hours here, a day there, until duty and Ra’s demands once again drew them apart.
Thoth had shown himself to be the quintessential teacher, the most astute scientist, and the fairest of judges. He had done great things for the people of Egypt, and through his brilliance and keen sense of justice, he had become mediator for the gods themselves. He had even traveled north to Greece and Rome, where he’d taken on other names and was equally beneficial to the human population there, often convincing the whimsical gods to be merciful and generous under his influence.
Sadly, however, when he moved on to other cities, his inspiration moved with him, and the terrible reigns of the Goa’uld returned to their former tragedies.
Meret was proud of what he’d accomplished and often told him so, using the long-distance communication device, or vo’cume, which he had provided for all the gods to use. He was the best of her people, and she cared for him deeply. There were few of the Goa’uld who could lay claim to her affections, and all the rest were her mother’s children.
They were different from other Goa’uld, since they sought only willing hosts, deferring control of the bodies they inhabited to their hosts. Egeria’s wisdom and compassion had been instilled in all of them, and now that Ra was off touring the galaxy inspecting his other holdings, the growing undercurrent of rebellion was becoming stronger. Thoth and Egeria’s children had influenced this disquiet, and soon Ra’s rule on Earth would be ended.
All they needed was a little more time.
Meret was in her private chambers when Thoth arrived. The doors closed behind him, shutting them off from the rest of the world, and she ran to him, her heart alight with adoration. He caught her up in his arms, lifted her high into the air, and twirled her about, beaming at her with unabashed joy.
“My sweet,” he cooed. “My goddess. My love.” He let her body slide down his as he set her slowly on her feet, smearing the intricate designs that had been painted with kohl on her belly and breasts, sacred designs that marked her as a deity.
Meretseger gazed into the black pools of his eyes and knew that he saw none of the gray hair now forming at her temples, that he ignored the crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes. He had not aged a day since the first time she’d laid eyes on him, a peculiar trait of his species, but she’d refused the sarcophagus and time was beginning to have an effect on her host’s body, despite Meret’s care.
Thoth loved her, as did Herr-miis, his host. Nenet loved them both, just as Meret did.
He kissed her as her feet contacted the floor, his hands touching her everywhere. The afternoon hours passed swiftly as they made love, refusing food and duty in order to satisfy their hunger for each other. As evening shadows began to lengthen and the heat of the day lessened, they retired to her bath, washing each other between kisses, living only in the moment, giving no thought to tomorrow, because the present was all they had.
As always, the flame burned within them, the fire banked now, decades later, to ever-smoldering, unquenchable coals. His passion for her always fanned those coals to life while they were together, and now in the afterglow of their lovemaking, she looked into the fathomless orbs of his black eyes and dreamed, just for an instant.
Reason returned, but in that brief flash, he had seen her heart wide open to him, and read her desire. “Bear my children, Meretseger,” he whispered. “Reject Ra’s seed and accept mine in its place.”
Her beaming smile was instantaneous, and she kissed him fiercely, pushing him back against the steps of her bathing pool. When she came up for air, however, her smile had disappeared, and she swallowed hard. “You know I cannot,” she panted. “Not while Ra is in power. He would murder them all, and us with them. All I can do is choose not to bear young from his seed, for as long as I have that choice.”
Thoth nodded, a fleeting smile crossing his kiss-swollen lips. “I know, Meretseger. I would do nothing to put you at risk, beloved. We already tread a perilous road. Ra is returning even now. Rumors of unrest here have reached him on Abydos.”
Meret sat back, water sloshing around her hips. She felt the blood drain from her face. “We need more time, Thoth.” A lump rose in her throat. “Just a little more.”
She rose from the water and left the bathing pool, fetching her own towel and drying off as fear and worry made her tremble. She hurried into her clothes with Thoth not far behind her. “When will he arrive?” she asked him.
“A few days, at most,” he reported sadly. “We will tell our people to remain quiet and obedient. We will wait and be patient, beloved. We will triumph. Have faith in these humans. They are strong, if not always wise.”
He caught her by the shoulders as he finished his speech, gazing longingly into her eyes. He was just leaning in for another kiss when her chamber door flew open and a teenage boy burst into the room.
Breathless from running, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Begging your pardon, sister, but Heru’ur is coming! He knows the Tok’ra have gathered here, and Ra has given orders to destroy us all. Heru’ur comes with an army of Jaffa, on foot and in death gliders. They will arrive in less than an hour.” He glanced up at her as he rose, his face pale, dark eyes wide with fear. “We have no ships and no chappa’ai in Thebes through which to escape, Meretseger. The rebellion will die here, with us.”
She stepped away from Thoth and put her hands to her temples. “A moment, Selmak. Let me think.”
Thoth spoke up, his voice strident with authority. “Gather them in my temple, Selmak,” he ordered the boy. “I will take us to freedom. The Tok’ra will not die today.”
He met Meretseger’s shocked gaze. “There is much I have not told you, beloved. Of who I am, and of my people. The symbiote within me did control my body at first, but he has learned much from me and has no will to power. He has kept my secrets and believes, as you do, that the false gods should be deposed. Will you still trust me, my love?”
She kissed him, her heart pounding. She wanted so much to believe, to trust him, as her heart declared she could. Turning to Selmak and his host, she gave a brusque nod. “Gather them, my brother. You scour the temples; I will take the tombs. We will meet in the temple of Thoth. Hurry!”
The youth was off like a flash.
Meretseger kissed Thoth, her lips crushing his, her arms starving for him even while they were wrapped around his neck. She pulled away and dashed off without a backward glance, lips still burning from his fiercely returned kiss.
Running for the tombs, she stood in each doorway and called out to the workmen inside. One by one she passed the message, sending everyone to the temple, Tok’ra and human slave alike. When she reached the last tomb, she found it already empty, but spared a few moments to run inside. Unwilling to leave anyone behind, she called out for any who might not have heard her summons. When she was sure the chambers were deserted, she turned and ran back toward the city.
Long before she arrived, she heard the death gliders’ screaming whine and looked up as they approached. They were at the outer edges of the city, where a crowd of people stood with upturned faces, praying, beseeching Ra to save them. They were the faithful, those who had refused to be swayed to the beliefs of the Tok’ra, and now they were the first targets, exploding into tiny bits as the blasts from the gliders churned up the earth all around them. There was nothing Meretseger could do for them, for they had made their choice.
She looked for the temple of Thoth and rushed toward it, ignoring the screams and blasts coming nearer, but her aging human body had been pushed far past its limits and the stitch in her side bent her double, demanding rest. She stood in the shadows of the tomb nearest the city, panting from her desperate run, watching the merciless strafing runs of the scarab-shaped craft. The Jaffa pilots targeted women and children as well as other Jaffa and human slaves, wiping the landscape clean of every living being, heedless of whom they killed.
What she saw as she turned her grief-stricken gaze to Thoth’s temple amazed her and turned her feet to stone, even as it lifted her heart on wings of hope.
She watched in awestruck wonder as Thoth/Herr-miis emerged from the temple, garbed in the glittering armor he’d been wearing the first time she’d seen him, 50 years earlier. He was resplendent and elegant, truly looking the part of a god. He walked out into the plaza, his crimson fingers dancing over the gauntlets on his forearms.
He pressed his palms against his heart before sweeping his arms outward in a graceful arc. The air in the path of his hands shimmered like rippling water, first turning blue and then black, then brightly white. The arc formed into a circle a few feet in front of his outstretched palms; after another moment, the light died down. The circle appeared to be a window to another world, one with thick forests filled with brightly colored flowers. He called to the Tok’ra and their followers, urging them to step through the portal, and they hurried to obey. He held his arms wide to maintain the opening, but his head turned this way and that, looking for one more face, watching for the one he loved.
Meret picked up her leaden feet, but only made it a little way before she realized she could never reach him in time. Hurrying as fast as she could, she began to call his name, hoping he’d hear her over the explosions taking place just on the other side of the portal, now blowing dust into the air all around him.
The last of the Tok’ra ran through the opening, but still Thoth waited, arms outstretched.
“Go!” she cried, but Nenet’s human voice would not carry. She tried again, this time using her symbiote-altered voice, and saw his head turn toward her. He saw her at last, and she waved her arms at him, urging him to go through and save himself, save her people. “I will be safe!” she promised. Taking one last, long look into his fearful, horrified eyes, she turned and ran back inside the nearest tomb.
After a few minutes, she peered out and saw that the portal and her lover were both gone. Tears streaming down her face, she limped out into the desert, confident that her lover was safe and that, in time, her people would find a way to survive and succeed. She had to believe that now; it was all she had left to keep her going.
As darkness fell on the desert, she heard the gliders’ bombing raid stop. In the morning, she would turn her attention to survival. She would go east, find a place to hide out in anonymity, and eventually make her way back to Egypt, to continue the struggle against Ra.
Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.
Denis Diderot,
1713-1784, French Philosopher
“Oh, my God,” Daniel whispered as the vision faded. “Meret, you loved him. You never told me…”
**Those were memories I kept only for myself, my Daniel. No other of my hosts have seen them, save Nenet herself.**
He bowed his head and closed his eyes. –You honor me, Meret. I will keep as much of your confidence as I can.—
After a few moments’ reflection, he sat upright in his chair and reached for the phone, called General Hammond, and scheduled a briefing as soon as the other members of SG-1 could be contacted and gather to hear what he’d found.
Three hours later, bearing illustrative materials prepared along with a hastily written report, Daniel sat at the big black and red table, with everyone else looking expectantly to him for answers. He cued up the graphics he wanted on his laptop, projecting them on a screen set up just behind his chair.
To one side lay Alex Epstein’s journal. As soon as Hammond turned the meeting over to Daniel, he opened the book to a marked passage and began to read it aloud.
“They have given me a tablet with languages I have never seen, and expect me to translate them. The Egyptian is easy enough, though I don’t really understand the message. It says, ‘From the Travelers, the Ancient ones learned to walk among the stars. The Travelers opened the doors, and the Ancients followed them. They built roads so that many could travel, and the Travelers put away their doors to walk the Ancients’ roads.’
“I don’t have a clue what any of that means. Who are the Ancients? Who are the Travelers? Roads and doors to where?”
Daniel then pointed to a column of the Ancients’ text, the message clear in his mind. “There are subtle differences between the hieroglyphs and the Ancients’ writing,” he told them. “This says that the Ancients got the idea for building the entire stargate system from another race, whom they called the Travelers.” He pointed at the columns of writing in the language of the Ancients. “P9X-707 must be the Travelers’ homeworld. I’m sure that’s why the NID was so interested in the place; interested enough to kidnap an archaeolinguist to do their research for them. There’s something there they wanted very badly.”
“Like?” asked Jack.
Sam was eyeing the projected image of the golden tablet. “Like the doors,” she answered. “The Ancients were ‘builders of roads,’ according to Daniel’s research. That’s one way to describe the wormholes. ‘Doorways’ is another. Maybe there’s a different technology for opening wormholes to other worlds. If Daniel’s right—“
“The Ancients may have improved upon the technology used by the Travelers, but if the technology still exists, there may be other ways of traveling to distant planets,” Teal’c added. “Possibly even to planets the Ancients and the Goa’uld never visited.”
“And if these Travelers have their own wormhole technology, maybe they have other cool stuff, too,” Daniel finished. “Like weapons, shields, power sources, transportation devices, spacecraft… The list goes on. General Hammond, we’ve got to find these Travelers. If that’s their city, where Doctor Epstein went, and if he’s made friends with them, this could be very good for us. Very good.“
Jack fiddled with his pen. “I just hope our Doctor Epstein didn’t make a bad impression on ‘em,” he said quietly. Glancing up at Daniel, he asked, “What about the other languages on the tablet?”
An uneasy look crossed Daniel’s face. He pointed to the third set of columns on the projection. “That’s Goa’uld.” He paused, his eyes searching Jack’s, flicking back and forth between him and the General. “It says the Travelers carried their doors with them, and they were to be hunted down and killed for their treasures.” He made eye contact with Hammond and held it. “I think we have to go to that city and find the Travelers. They may be even more important than finding Doctor Epstein.”
Sam frowned up at him. “Wait, what do you mean, ‘they carried their doors with them’? How is that possible?”
Daniel was silent for a moment, gazing down at the table and remembering the vision Meret had summoned up for him. He was aware of the scrutiny of the others around the table as they watched him turn inward, conducting a silent internal dialogue.
–Tell them, Meretseger. Let them hear it from you, in your own words.—
**Do you forget that I do not care for the way we sound when I force words from you, Daniel? I prefer the sweet velvet of your human voice.**
--You can use my voice, if you want. I’ll give over control to you, so you can speak freely.—
**That is not my way. You speak for us both, until it is necessary that I be heard on my own. We have agreed to this.**
-- But this is important!--
She remained stubbornly silent in the shadows of his mind, leaving him to explain for her. “Meret says the tablet is talking about a portable, wearable stargate. She’s seen it, along with one of the people who invented it and put it to practical use.”
“What?” asked Jack incredulously. He turned to Teal’c. “You ever heard anything about that, T?”
“Indeed,” he rumbled. “There are legends of a people who could open a path to other worlds with a wave of their hands. One such being, when it was fired upon as it attempted to escape, destroyed an entire world. That was the last time any of these people were seen. I believed they were destroyed by the Goa’uld, and the Jaffa who served them, many centuries past.”
Carter’s eyes were wide. “Wow. A personal stargate? The energy source for such a device would have to be… incredible.” She directed her gaze to her CO. “Sir, if such a device is on P9X-707, the power source alone could be the find of a lifetime. And if it’s still an intact and functioning wormhole generator, it opens up the possibility of finding additional worlds that are completely off everyone else’s map, like Daniel said. We have to follow this trail. If any of that is still there, or if there are still Travelers on that planet, we have to find them.”
Hammond glanced between the scientists. “Then we leave no stone unturned. Finding Doctor Epstein will be your first priority, but if you determine that he’s dead or has disappeared, your second goal will be to locate these Travelers and do what you can to gain their trust and any information on their technology. Thank you, Doctor Jackson. Was there anything else?”
Daniel shook his head and sat down.
Sam reported, “We’ve had no luck tracing a path back to Doctor Epstein. We interviewed several of the academics in the archaeology department at the Oriental Institute in Chicago, and either no one remembered anyone by that name, or they were too afraid to talk. I got the impression it was more fear than anything else.”
“The NID got to them, no doubt,” Hammond summed up. He frowned at the table. “That will make it harder to identify Epstein, since we have no clue to gender, age or physical description. The scientist may have adopted a new name and taken up life with the locals, if there are any. He might have been killed and eaten by some alien creature or fallen into quicksand or some other such natural disaster. We’ll do our very best to find him, but if that’s impossible, we’ll go on to the second part of the mission.”
He turned a frank, sympathetic gaze to the colonel. “And I will expect you to be prudent about knowing when to give up looking for our missing person, Colonel O’Neill. This wasn’t your fault. It was the NID’s, for marooning him there in the first place. Is that understood?”
Jack’s gaze had fallen to the table at the start of that personal lecture. “Yes, sir,” he said quietly.
“I’m sending Colonels Dixon and Kirkland with their teams as support,” Hammond declared. “SG-13 will explore the observatory and finish out your original mission objective on the planet. SG-3 will camp with them and do UAV surveys in order to cover more area than would be possible by a team on foot, in an effort to locate any possible Traveler settlements. SG-1 will perform the actual search and rescue. I’m putting Kirkland in command of all three teams, Colonel, and I’ve instructed him to overrule your decisions to continue the search past any reasonable efforts, if necessary.”
His voice gentled. “I know how you feel about this, and we’ll make every effort to find our missing scientist. We also have to realize that a lot of time has passed, and things may have happened that could prevent Epstein from ever being found. We have to accept that possibility at the outset.”
“Yes, sir,” Jack said woodenly. “Understood.”
“You’ll finish your mission preparations, and after a final briefing in two days, SG-1 will return to P9X-707 with the other two teams.” After a final nod to his people, Hammond told them, “Dismissed.”
Daniel hurried through shutting down his laptop and packing up his materials so he could walk out with Jack. When they were closed up in the elevator, just the two of them and Daniel’s unseen passenger, Daniel asked, “You doing okay?”
“Peachy,” Jack answered. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he pushed the button for the 18th floor. “I’ll just feel a lot better when we bring Epstein home.”
Seeing the stiff set of Jack’s shoulders, Daniel kept quiet the rest of the way to their stop. He watched as Jack stalked off down the corridor to his own office, without a word of parting or even a backward glance. Daniel knew Jack was still stewing over Epstein’s disappearance, blaming himself, and he hoped they’d find the linguist alive and intact somewhere on that alien world.
Daniel got out of the SUV and tried to wave to Teal’c, hoping his teammate would just drop him off and leave, but the Jaffa was big on formality. The rules set by the Tok’ra demanded that Daniel have a bodyguard anytime he was away from the base. Jack had gone home at the end of his shift, but Daniel had had things to tie up and stayed later, so regulations now in place required him and Meret to have an escort for the trip home.
Teal’c turned off the ignition and pocketed the keys, walked around the front of hia big black SUV and followed Daniel up to the porch. Daniel unlocked the door and called out to Jack, announci