“And when the sickness came, it awoke?” Linea leaned forward eagerly.
“Yes. It purged the sickness. Healed me. Then slept again.”
“I have seen creatures next to the bodies of some of the people. Is that what you mean, your demon is such a creature?”
Sha’re nodded.
“How then did those creatures not heal the bodies they inhabited?”
“I believe my demon is of a higher order than the common ones who possess the Jaffa and priests. They live a very long time.” She did not want to dwell on the Goa’uld. “Tell me about your travels. Have you been to many different worlds?”
“A few only,” Linea shrugged. “Not very interesting places, but varied enough that I can make my way with my tonics and balms.”
“You have not met any Goa’uld before?” If this woman only traveled between a few isolated worlds, would she have met Danyel or Jack? She knew in her heart that her husband would search for her, but it had been many seasons since her capture on Abydos.
“I have not met a Goa’uld, no.” Linea did not elaborate on others she had met, though. “Why do they pretend to be gods? Do people like these really not know they are nothing more than a worm hiding inside them?”
“The demon Ra ruled my people for many thousands of seasons. It was the only way of life we knew. The Goa’uld give their hosts long life and protect them from sickness — from most sicknesses.” She paused for a moment. “Many people consider it a blessing and an honor to host the children of the gods. Those who are chosen to host the adult Goa’uld, we do not consider it a blessing. The demon speaks through your mouth, moves your hand and foot. Its powers appear to be magic to those who do not know its true evil.” Sha’re looked away from Linea, picking at a thread of the mattress she sat on. “They cannot take your mind. They lie and convince others there is nothing left of the host once they take it, but…” Her voice faded to a furious whisper. “I am here, am I not? I live and think my own thoughts. I will continue, no matter what the demon does to my body. I know Skaara lives too.”
“You are indeed yourself, my dear. Who is Skaara?”
“My brother. He was taken at the same time as I. He lives with his demon. Once, when it slept, he spoke to me.” Tears trickled down her cheeks, bidden by the memory of that desperate, stolen moment. She glanced at Linea and flinched with shock at the expression on the woman’s face. Not the compassion she expected, but a calculating hunger to know more of the evil of the Goa’uld. Suddenly anxious, Sha’re held back the question she most wanted to ask: Have you seen my husband?
“Tell me of the worlds you visit,” she asked instead.
“They are unremarkable. People grow food, live, die. Little of consequence is achieved.”
“If they are free of the Goa’uld they must be good places to live.”
“What is good to one is bad to another. Each world breeds its own kind of evil, I have found. One must find one’s own way to work with that evil and turn it to an advantage.”
“How can you work with evil? Evil must be fought. People should not live in ignorance of the power the evil ones have. They must fight it.”
“To what end?” Linea seemed genuinely curious.
“So that they may live as free people, be able to decide their own path in life.” It seemed so obvious now, but she had grown up under the rule of Ra, knowing her only destiny was to be married to one of his priests or Jaffa, to serve the god by serving his underling. Until fate brought Danyel and Jack to Nagada, and everything had changed.
Linea appeared unmoved. “Freedom brings many ties that bind a soul, my dear.”
“Better a binding of your own choice,” Sha’re said. She found herself discomforted by this conversation. Linea did not appear in reality to be the person she had first presented herself.
“I am very tired. I will sleep now.”
“Of course. Rest well.” Linea pulled the blanket over her, then moved away to the far side of the cottage.
Sha’re closed her eyes but sleep was far from her reach. After a time, she heard Linea leave. She sat up, hoping that the woman would not return for a long time.
“I do not wish to stay in this place.” She stood abruptly. Realization flooded through her. “Nor shall I. I am free…” She clapped her hands over her mouth. Free! Yes, while the demon slept she had time. And she knew where she could go.
Sha’re moved to the door. She stopped to pick up a shawl thrown on top of a pile of clothes in one corner. What lay beneath caught her breath. Drab green clothing: a shirt and leggings. Not the style of clothing worn here on Apophis’ world. They were, however, very familiar to her. She held up the shirt and tears filled her eyes again. How could she not know this cloth? She had washed one just like it every day until it had worn so thin Danyel had given up wearing it. One of Skaara’s boys had asked for it and born it with great pride, for it was the uniform of Colonel Jack and the soldiers who had set them all free.
“Danyel.” She breathed his name. She could feel him so close to her. She held the shirt against her and realized it could not be his, it was too small. Small enough to fit a woman…
She glanced at the door, but it remained closed. Had Linea met Danyel? Or had she been to his world, his Earth? If she had met the Tau’ri how could she call them unremarkable, when they were clearly so very remarkable? Sha’re had seen many worlds that lived under the rule of Apophis and none resembled the wonders that Danyel had described: wagons that moved under their own power, carrying ordinary people between towns with the speed of birds; drawings of people that moved and spoke, spreading stories well beyond the bounds of family or village; whole cities that lived in peace, surrounded by music, art and beauty; so many things no other world had achieved. She ran the tough fabric through her fingers. Yes, this could only come from Danyel’s Earth. Linea had been there and she had not mentioned it.
Sha’re dropped the shirt and replaced the shawl on top of it. She crept to the door, listened for a short while, then slipped out into the chill air.
The next planet on their checklist was at least brighter than the last. A lot brighter. Daniel shaded his eyes from an intense, hot sun and reached for his sunglasses. The sun reflected from pearly white sand that surrounded the Stargate and stretched away into the distance to dissolve into shimmering waves of rising heat.
“All clear, Colonel,” Sam called.
Jack nodded and strode over to the DHD to check it. “Can’t see Linea liking this one, either.”
Eyes protected, Daniel managed to focus on a line of objects ranging away from the Stargate. Several lines. In fact, dozens of them. “Huh.”
He walked over to the closest. Small, no more than ten feet high, they were neatly constructed of light-colored stone blocks. He circled around, looking for markings or some kind of identification, but there were none to be seen.
“What have we got, Daniel?” Jack ambled up, fingers drumming restlessly on the stock of his gun. Beyond him, Daniel could see Teal’c still standing on the edge of the dais.
“At a guess, I’d say these are burial pyramids. I’ve seen similar ones near the temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal, in what used to be Nubia. Sudan,” he elaborated.
“Amun, eh?” Jack’s face immediately soured at the mention of Egyptian gods. “Which one was he?”
“Uh, oh, well,” Daniel indicated aimlessly with one hand. No, not going to get away with this one. “Ra.”
“And we’re outta here.” Jack turned on his heel.
“Jack, it doesn’t mean this place is one of Ra’s planets. There’s not even a temple here. This seems to just be a burial site, not an active place of worship or anything.”
“Daniel Jackson is correct, O’Neill.” Teal’c moved down to join them. He glanced at Jack then stared beyond him at the rows of pyramids. �
�I know this place.”
“You do?”
“Really?” Daniel butted in. “Have you been here before?”
“I have not. I know of this place from stories my father told me when I was but a small child. It is the burial place of those who attained a high ranking in service to their lord. My grandfather is buried here.”
“So,” Daniel thought rapidly, trying piece together the few things Teal’c had previously told them about his family. “This planet belongs to Apophis, then?”
“It did. He barred all access to it when his first prime abandoned his place in Apophis’s service and went to serve his enemy, Cronus.” Teal’c stared at the neat rows of pointed structures.
Daniel traded a look with Jack, who was itching to pepper Teal’c with questions. Sam came up quietly to join them.
Finally, Teal’c directed his attention back on his friends. “That first prime was my father.”
“Guess standing up for your principles runs in the family, eh, T?” Jack touched the bill of his cap in salute.
“I would request a short delay in our mission, O’Neill. I wish to locate the burial place of my ancestor.”
“We can do that. Time for a meal break anyway. Daniel, why don’t you see if you can help Teal’c. Carter, let’s see if we can rustle up some food. Failing that, there’s always MREs.” He gave her an exaggerated grimace and she chuckled.
“Take an hour, kids, then we’ll try one more planet. I think this search is not gonna pan out at all.”
Sha’re moved quietly as she could, keeping to the shadows of houses which were lengthening as the sun slipped down the sky. She did her best to avoid the bodies. She covered her nose with a fold of her dress: the stench of rot was all around her. Scurrying from one wall to another, the realization came that she did not know where the Chappa’ai was. Apophis had delivered her to the temple from his ship, through the ring transporter. Her demon had a dislike of clean air or exercise, so she had never walked further than the gardens at the rear of the temple. All she could remember was seeing farmers taking their goods into the town down the road that snaked along the lakeside.
She stopped. The street she was in was lined with little homes that all looked like the one next to them. Where would it be? Somewhere away from the houses? That seemed likely. A place where the Jaffa could move their equipment and themselves through from Chulak and other planets where Apophis kept his weapons and soldiers. Somewhere more open than here. She gazed up at the mountain, so close to the homes there was no real open space beyond the town.
There must be a marketplace, where the farmers go. Every town had a marketplace — Nagada’s had been in the center of town where everyone could walk to it. She turned this way and that, then headed off down a narrow alley, crossed over a house-filled street and another just the same. Her steps wove through the dead town, the silence draped heavily over her. Once she thought she’d heard a child crying, but it was a goat held in a little pen beside a house. Sha’re unfastened the bars and let it out; one more captive free.
Another alley ended in a dead end. She retraced her path and chose another small street. At the end, she peered cautiously out into yet another street. This one was wider than most, the houses larger with shop fronts in their windows. This looked more promising. She edged along the beaten dirt pathway, detouring around the fallen now and again. At the far end of the street she could see a more open area with brightly colored stalls — surely the marketplace!
Sha’re moved as quickly as she could, her feet uncertain in the shoes Linea had given her; they were just a bit too big, but certainly better than the flimsy slippers the demon favored. Ahead, the area opened into a marketplace as she’d hoped. It too held no living people, only the dead, many of whom were clustered around the drinking well. For a moment she was tempted to drink, but the contorted expressions of the bodies convinced her not to. She turned her back on them, and there, at the far end of the square stood the Chappa’ai.
Relief swamped her. A sob escaped her choked throat. Freedom. Danyel had called the Chappa’ai a gateway to the galaxy, a thing that would take you wherever you wanted to go, as long as you had an address to dial. And she had one. Just after she had been taken by the demon and Apophis had installed her as his consort on his home world, there had been a woman who had furtively crept into her chamber. The demon had called the guards and in the moments before the woman made her escape she had scrawled a gate address on the floor, whispering, “I am Jolinar of Malkshur! Host, if ever you seek to be free go to this world. Help will greet you.” Then she was gone, but before the guards erased the symbols, Sha’re had memorized them and ever since, in the quiet of deep night when the demon slept, she repeated them in her mind, over and over.
Now, with the demon asleep, she could use that address and seek her freedom.
“I am coming, my love. Wait for me.”
Linea had completed her investigative tour of the town. The data she had collected would be analyzed and combined with the initial observations made during delivery of the toxin. She was confident that the optimum dosage was defined by her experiment. Once her notes were completed, she would make up a new batch of the toxin from the samples she had just collected. She might select another test site. Perhaps it was not necessary, though. She glanced around at the proof of her endeavor. These subjects were no different to those on her home world. They would succumb most efficiently.
Pleased with herself, Linea clutched her notebook to her chest and turned for home.
An unexpected rumble in the sky cut through her thoughts. Odd, the day had been cold but the skies were clear. Now, though, clouds suddenly boiled out of nowhere around the mountain peak.
Expecting rain, Linea hurried through the street and into the marketplace where there was one final ingredient to collect. To her surprise, there was one person standing amidst the fallen: the woman, Sha’re. Not only had she awoken, but she had left the house and was walking toward the Stargate. Did she intend to leave? Linea frowned. She wished to know more about these Goa’uld the woman had spoken of. There were experiments to conduct. Once the Taldor were taken care of, she would have time to investigate what powers these creatures had and how they could be manipulated. She did not want her only source of information to leave.
“Sha’re?”
The girl turned at hearing her name. Linea expected to see a welcome on her face, after all she had been nice to her, had she not? Instead, she saw an odd expression — apprehension, or was it suspicion?
“Where are you going? You should rest — for the child’s sake.” Linea thought that would have the woman concerned and returning to her side, but it achieved the opposite effect.
“I am leaving. Thank you for your care, but I must go — for the safety of the child.”
“I do not wish you to leave.” The words came out dull and flat, covering the surge of anger that swept through her. This Goa’uld was hers for the use of experimentation; she would not go searching for another.
Sha’re shook her head with a toss of curls and resumed her course to the Stargate. “I do not care for your wishes.”
Linea strode after her. “I cannot allow you to leave, you need care.” She had trouble forcing enough compassion into her voice, and by the stiffened back in front of her she knew the girl suspected her. “You must remain!”
“I will not.” Sha’re swung around, face furious. “You lied to me.” A crack of thunder directly overhead emphasized her words.
Linea appraised her coolly. “How did I lie?”
“You did not say you had met the Tau’ri. You said you only saw planets of unremarkable people, but you know they are anything other than unremarkable.”
“The Tau’ri?” She was surprised. This girl knew of the Earth people? How intriguing. “I met them in passing.”
“You were
with them long enough to take their clothing.”
So that is how she knew… “How do you know the Tau’ri, child? You said you came from a planet ruled by the creatures.”
“And the Tau’ri ended that rule. They set us free. Colonel Jack, Danyel…” Unconsciously, Sha’re’s hand went to her heart as her face crumpled in misery.
“Danyel — I met a young man called Daniel.”
Sha’re’s eyes widened. “Daniel Jackson,” she bit out the syllables carefully.
“That was he. A clever young man.” Too clever. They all were. One reason she had not stayed on Earth too long.
“He lives? He is well?” Sha’re surged forward to grasp her arm.
“He was very well, last I saw of him.” She fingered the tiny weapon in her pocket that had killed Vishnor and very nearly taken Daniel with him. “Daniel came to your planet?”
Sha’re nodded sharply. “He stayed, when the demon was gone, he stayed. He is my husband.”
“Is he really? Well, the galaxy is a place of infinite surprises, is it not?” Linea casually shifted her arm so that she was holding Sha’re. “You intend to go to Earth, to be with your husband?”
“I cannot. The Chappa’ai is barred. Apophis tried many times to breach their barrier, but he could not.”
“Then you will go home?”
“No, that way too is blocked.”
“Then stay with me, child. I will look after you.” Thunder cracked overhead again, drowning out her words.
STARGATE SG-1 ATLANTIS: Homeworlds : Volume three of the Travelers' Tales (SGX Book 5) Page 24
