STARGATE SG-1-23-22-Moebius Squared-s11

by Melissa Scott

  He broke off, and Daniel swung around, lifting the barrel of the P90 as he recognized Mitchell.

  “We’ve got to get out of here,” Mitchell said. “The Pharaoh’s ordered everyone to evacuate.”

  “Torches,” Sam said, deftly winding the baby into a sling against her chest. She was fussing, frightened by the noise and confusion, and Sam soothed her with one hand.

  “We’ve got flashlights,” Mitchell said.

  Sam nodded, and turned to direct the litter bearers. Danyel said, “Where’s Jack?”

  “Staying with the Pharaoh,” Mitchell said. Sam gave him a single stricken look, and Danyel’s mouth tightened, but neither said anything. Their Teal’c lifted his head.

  “That is ill-advised.”

  “No choice,” Carter said tightly. It might not be her Jack, but she couldn’t help but be affected.

  A pair of shaven-headed men emerged from the alcove carrying a gaudily painted litter. A part of Daniel’s mind tagged it as ceremonial, never intended for serious use, and he hoped it would stand up to it. The woman on it was wrapped securely in plain linen, her eyes closed, heavy black hair spilling over the pallet. She was beautiful, Daniel saw, beautiful in the same way Sha’re had been, and as he looked away he met his other self’s ironic smile.

  “Robes?” he said. “Something to cover the uniforms?”

  Sam nodded, the baby clutching at her breast. Another echo of Abydos, or rather, Daniel thought, Abydos had been an echo of this. She spoke to the girl, who nodded, and returned a moment later with an armful of heavy wool. Daniel took one, saw without surprise that it was a heavy cloak, and slung it around his shoulders. The rest of the team did the same, Vala wrinkling her nose at the smell of sheep that rose from the coarse fabric. The girl had brought a scarf for their Teal’c as well, and he wound it carefully around his head, hiding Apophis’s mark.

  “This way,” the other Sam said.

  She led them toward the door that led to the sanctuary, but before they entered it, she ducked behind a pillar. Her Teal’c shoved hard on a door whose outlines were almost hidden by the wall paintings, pushing it in to reveal a set of shallow steps descending into darkness. Daniel rummaged for his flashlight, flicked it on, and offered it to her. She took it with a nod of thanks, and started down the stairs, the light playing ahead of her. Daniel followed, Mitchell at his back, and the men with the litter made their way carefully after them. Carter stopped to light the door as the two Teal’cs pushed it closed again, and Daniel lengthened his stride to catch up with Vala, wishing he’d kept his flashlight. The baby was fussing again, and the circle of light at the head of the group bounced as Sam soothed her.

  “She’s very good at that,” Vala said, and let her light play over the painted walls. “Do you think our Sam has unsuspected qualities?”

  Daniel refrained from pointing out that Carter had helped raise Cassie from the day they’d found her, had been more or less her guardian since Janet’s death. Instead, he reached for the flashlight. “Can I see that?”

  She handed it over, mercifully without comment, and he swung the light over the half-finished paintings. Half-defaced paintings, he amended. It looked as though the priests had already begun removing Ra’s name and titles, and Danyel looked over his shoulder with a shrug.

  “We thought we’d won,” he said.

  “Apparently not,” Daniel answered, and Mitchell said, “Hey.”

  There was light showing ahead, and the ground underfoot sloped gently upward. Sam gestured for the litter-bearers to halt, and edged forward. The tunnel took a sharp bend, Daniel saw, presumably to disguise the exit. Then Sam ducked back, raising her hand in warning.

  “Jaffa. Three of them.”

  Danyel muttered something, and squeezed past the litter. Sam shook her head, already unwinding the sling that held the baby. She handed her to Tamit, and Danyel shook his head.

  “I’ll go. Keep Ellie quiet.”

  Sam hesitated, then nodded. Mitchell said, “The plan?”

  “I’ll distract them,” Danyel said. “You take them out — quietly, if you can.”

  Easier said than done, Daniel thought, and edged past the litter. The woman, Aset, lay unmoving, eyes still closed, only the slight movement of her chest betraying that she still breathed. He drew his zat, let it unfold with a whine and click, and both Teal’cs moved forward, readying their staff weapons. Danyel took a breath, and stepped out into the open.

  “Our lord Ra has returned! All praise to him!”

  “What are you doing here?” The Jaffa sounded more annoyed than alarmed, and Daniel heard heavy footsteps as the rest of the Jaffa came closer.

  “Now!” Mitchell said, and he and the Teal’cs stepped out into the open, firing as they moved. Daniel moved to cover them, but the Jaffa were already down, smoke rising from their bodies.

  “Nice shooting,” Danyel said, looking at his Teal’c, and the other Teal’c dipped his head.

  “Indeed.”

  “Let’s go,” Sam said. “We don’t have much time.”

  Daniel looked over his shoulder to see the litter-bearers already lifting their burden. They made their way through what looked like an upper-level official’s house, past the reception room, and into the deserted kitchen courtyard. Sam fiddled with the latch on the back gate, then waved them through. “Follow the road down toward the river,” she said. “Hurry, but —”

  “Don’t look like we’re hurrying,” Mitchell finished. “Aren’t they going to be suspicious if they see her?” He waved to Aset.

  “Ra shouldn’t be interested in refugees just yet,” Danyel said. “At least, we hope not.”

  Sam nodded. “And if we’re lucky —”

  “They won’t notice us at all,” Danyel finished.

  Daniel followed them out of the courtyard, tugging up the hood of his cloak to cover his unfamiliar haircut. He couldn’t resist one last backward glance, though things were suspiciously quiet behind them. Ra’s mothership balanced on top of the pyramid, lights glowing, impossibly large and dangerous. Even as he looked, a light flashed, and there was the faint sound of transport rings. They couldn’t stay and fight, he knew that, but he still wanted to try, to do whatever they could to protect the people who’d been left in the palace. The only thing they could do was get away, and hope to fight another day.

  Cam breathed carefully through his mouth, trying not to take in any more dust or the sheep-stink of the heavy cloak he was still wearing. He and Carter were taking six, hoods up, P90s ready beneath their robes. So far, there was no pursuit, and he’d like to keep it that way. Lights glowed and flashed on the horizon behind them from the mothership topping the pyramid, and it took willpower to keep from looking back to check it every few seconds. Ahead, the litter-bearers kept a steady pace, the woman they carried still deeply unconscious. Tok’ra, he amended. If that really was Egeria — and he didn’t seriously think it wasn’t, there was no way a Goa’uld could have known to tell that particular lie — then part of their job was done. Of course, they still had to rescue Carolyn Lam, and capture the renegade Tok’ra — oh, and defeat Ra for the second time — but he supposed he should try to think of it as some kind of progress.

  “They are good, these guys,” he said quietly, and Carter gave him a quick smile.

  “Well, they’re us.”

  “Yeah.” Cam wished he felt more reassured by that. Yes, they were SG-1, in some form or other, but that still made only eight of them, plus an Egyptian army of maybe a couple of thousand men at the absolute maximum, against Ra. He’d never really wanted to be Han Solo.

  They were coming up on a small compound, a handful of buildings surrounded by a low wall. The river was close at hand, a dock stretching out to the muddy water, and the walls looked more like they’d been built to keep out stray animals than to withstand a siege. The top of a tree peeped over the mud bricks in one corner of the compound, and the air smelled not unpleasantly of smoke and cattle.

  Sam organized the
m with brisk efficiency, dispatching her Teal’c and the litter into the back of the main house, and sending the girl — Tamit — off in another direction. She led the rest of them into what had to be the main room of the house, a large, bare room furnished with a single brightly painted armchair and a scattering of stools and small, low tables. A low brazier stood in the center, fuel piled ready for a spark. The floor was beaten dirt, but the walls were a riot of color, a frieze of flowers and hunters, spears poised over fish that swam beneath the blue line that marked the water.

  The other Teal’c reappeared, looking impassive, but on second glance, Cam thought he saw a faint worried crease below the paler mark where the tattoo had been.

  “Aset sleeps, Samantha,” he said. “She is healing well, but it will take time still for the blending to be complete.”

  “How long?” Danyel asked, and the Jaffa shook his head.

  “I cannot say. But she — they — are both aware of the situation.”

  “But what exactly are we waiting for?” Sam asked. “I thought Egeria would be able to heal her right away, like the Goa’uld usually do.”

  “It takes time for a blending,” Carter answered. “For a Tok’ra to join with a host properly. It’s easy to just take over, harder to leave the host autonomy.”

  That was a good sign, Cam thought, meant that Egeria was keeping her promise. He shrugged himself out of the cape. “OK, first things first. Carter — I mean, Dr. Carter —”

  “Sam,” she said, firmly.

  “Sam,” he agreed. “Is there a back way out of here? If Ra comes looking, we’ll need to move fast.”

  “Yes.” Sam’s smile reminded him of Carter at her most reckless. “There’s a cellar — we used it as an arms store in the rebellion — and tunnels that lead to the river and behind the stable wall. The river would probably be best, especially after dark. It comes out just under the dock, and there’s a boat ready.”

  Never underestimate any version of Sam Carter or her ability to provide a technical solution, Cam thought. “OK, that’s good. Next step —”

  “Drive out Ra,” Danyel said. His voice was bitter. “Again.”

  Sam rested her hand lightly on his bare shoulder. “And there is this Tok’ra problem to deal with. And your friend to rescue.”

  “Ra’s the immediate threat,” Cam said. “If the Tok’ra are coming here looking for Egeria, they’ll be walking into a trap.”

  “We’ll need to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Carter said.

  “Yes, but how?” Daniel glared at his other self, who glared back at him.

  “And we cannot destroy Ra,” Teal’c said — their Teal’c, Cam thought. “If he is destroyed now, that will change the time line. We must drive him away from Earth and prevent him from taking the Stargate, as you tell me he did before when the timeline was disrupted.”

  “Last time we harassed him so badly that he couldn’t get a lock on the gate,” Danyel said.

  “He’s not going to fall for that again,” Daniel said, and his other self nodded.

  “Much as I hate to say it, no.”

  “Sa-Mantha!” That was the girl, Tamit, darting through the door from the courtyard. She followed with an outpouring of words that made both Daniels and the other Teal’c start to their feet, reaching for their weapons.

  “Someone’s coming,” Sam said, and broke off to give a string of orders. Danyel added something, and the girl dashed off again. “Not Jaffa, she says, but —”

  “Be prepared,” Vala said, with her brightest smile, and unfolded her zat.

  “Teal’c,” Cam said. “Daniel. Cover the door. Carter, Vala, if you’ll take the window —”

  They were already moving, fanning out to take up position. Danyel opened his mouth as though he wanted to protest, then closed it again.

  “Aset is below,” their Teal’c said.

  “Get her ready to move,” Danyel said. “Sam, help him. We can’t use the bearers.”

  “No,” Sam agreed.

  “I’ll close the trap,” Danyel began.

  “If it comes to that.” Sam’s voice was firm. “Let’s see who it is first.”

  She touched his arm again, and she and Teal’c disappeared into the inner rooms.

  “Somebody has to hide the trap door after it’s closed,” Danyel said. “We never got around to fixing that.”

  There wouldn’t be many options with a dirt floor, Cam thought. He didn’t much like the idea of leaving anybody behind, but Danyel at least spoke the language, could blend in. He could hear voices in the courtyard, and risked a look past Carter’s shoulder. A heavy-set guy with a shaved head had thrown back the gate, and half a dozen men with spears were standing in the courtyard, surrounding a dark-skinned woman in a dusty shift.

  Danyel said something in Egyptian, sounding dismayed

  “The Lady of Egypt,” Daniel translated. “Hor-Aha’s mother, the Queen Nithotep.”

  “Wonderful,” Cam said, but Danyel had already pushed past Teal’c and his other self, hurrying out to meet her. He called something, and Daniel translated softly.

  “He says, greetings to the Lady of Egypt, a bright moment in a terrible day.”

  The queen cut him off with a gesture, her voice sharp and strained.

  “She’s a bearer of ill tidings,” Daniel said. “She’s setting her men on guard. And he’s inviting her inside to share her news and take refreshment.”

  Sure enough, the soldiers were taking up positions beside the gates. Danyel walked respectfully ahead of the queen, taller than she by more than a head. Behind him, the queen’s remaining escort had his spear ready to hand, and Cam wondered if Danyel knew it.

  “It’s OK,” Danyel called. “Let us in.”

  Cam lifted his P90 to port-arms, stepped back so that he could cover the door. Danyel entered, the queen and her escort following, and her dark eyes swept the room. She said something that made Daniel grin, and Danyel bowed, offering her the painted armchair. She seated herself, and the young soldier came to attention at her side. Nithotep was a small woman, not young, with the dust of the road clinging to her skin and her heavy wig. The kohl around her eyes was smudged, her dress dirtied, but there was no question that she intended to take charge. Tamit came hurrying with a basin and a cloth, and the Lady of Egypt allowed her feet to be bathed. Danyel seated himself cross-legged at her feet, saying something deferential. Cam recognized their names, and did his best to look stalwart and useful as her eyes met his. She spoke then, voice sharp, and Danyel translated.

  “The Lady of Egypt says that the palace has fallen — has been surrendered to Ra to save the lives of the people. The soldiers are disarmed, and command is given to the Jaffa. Pharaoh himself is Ra’s guest, which is to say his prisoner. O’Neill —” Danyel paused, just for an instant, and when he spoke again, his voice was unnaturally controlled. “Jack’s been taken prisoner, too. Ra picked him out from among the others, she doesn’t know why.” He listened again. “Pharaoh is held in the palace, but Jack’s on board the mothership. She wants us to rescue Pharaoh — to help him as we helped his father.”

  “To do that,” Carter said, “we should probably start by rescuing General — Colonel O’Neill.”

  “He’s on the mothership,” Daniel said. “We might have an easier time getting Hor-Aha out.”

  Either one was going to be close to impossible, Cam thought. Brute force was definitely out of the question, with all the Jaffa around. What they really needed was —

  “I have a clever plan,” Vala said. “I can pass myself off as a minor Goa’uld, get us into the palace that way.”

  She had been a host, Cam thought. There was still naquadah in her blood, it might work, at least long enough to get them in. But she wouldn’t pass if they came face to face with Ra, or any other Goa’uld.

  “You just want to get your hands on some of the jewelry,” Daniel said.

  “It’s very pretty,” Vala agreed, and bestowed her best smile on the queen, who looked dis
tinctly unimpressed.

  “She isn’t Goa’uld,” Danyel translated. “Even the Lady can see it.”

  “We can do better than that,” Sam said, from the doorway to the inner rooms. Aset stood beside her, Teal’c at their backs.

  “I believe we can.” The voice was a woman’s, but with the peculiar resonance of a Goa’uld. Or a Tok’ra, Cam reminded himself, and kept his hands quiet on the P90. The young soldier said something sharp, and readied his spear, but the queen lifted one hand to stop him. She said something, the words like the crack of a whip, and Daniel sucked in his breath.

  “I hadn’t thought you’d betray me,” he translated.

  “But I have not!” The Goa’uld timbre was gone from her voice, and Aset dropped to the floor at the queen’s feet. “I have not, Great Lady, truly. It is still I, still Aset. Egeria has saved me, made me whole, and she wishes to help us against Ra. To be Tok’ra, against Ra, in truth.”

  She tipped her head, and now it was Egeria who spoke. “What that one suggested has merit. But I can face Ra directly, and use any tool or weapon of the Goa’uld. I am in your debt, all of you, and I wish to repay.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Danyel said. “You’re going to pretend to be a Goa’uld —”

  “A survivor of the rebellion, come to offer allegiance to Ra,” Egeria said. “Perhaps with useful intelligence I have gained while I was in hiding? And of course I must bring my attendants.”

  “That — I almost hate to say it,” Daniel said, “but that might work.”

  Cam turned the idea over in his mind. Yes, it would work, and it was the best thing anybody had come up with so far. “All right, then,” he said. “So what does a well-dressed Goa’uld entourage wear, anyway?”

  Carter grinned. “No pants.”

  Danyel had been translating softly, and the queen nodded once.

  “The Lady of Egypt agrees,” Danyel said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jack O’Neill was pretty sure that something unpleasant was about to happen. That was how this went. There’s the ‘take him to the mothership’ part and then the ‘take him to see the System Lord’ part and then the really bad part. Not that he’d done that part before personally. Well, not him, him. But he’d gleaned enough from Danyel to know that the other him had. Way too often. So. Here it went with that part, hauled in to face Ra with his hands cuffed behind him, two big Jaffa to keep him in line, while Ra lounged around in a seriously overdone cloth of gold outfit that looked like it was off the back lot of a B movie.