A Source of Power - Chapter 4
Title: A Source of Power - Chapter 4
Author: SG_Betty
Word count: 6,420
Genre: Gen, Action/Adventure, Team
Rating/Warning: PG-13, Violence
Spoilers: spoilers up to and including early Season 7
Disclaimer: While the situations and dialogue in this story are my own, all characters are wholly owned by Gekko Productions and MGM.
Thanks: It is impossible for me to thank Lokei enough for the enormous time and effort that she put into beta reading, advice, and encouragement. There simply aren't fine enough words. All I can say is thank you, Lokei, this story simply wouldn't exist without you!
Jack was right, unfortunately. The boat didn’t travel far. Carter’s watch was just about done when they came within sight of another set of pylons, taller than the first. There was a stone arch joining the two towers, a few feet over the high prow. At least this time there was no visible threat. The barque pulled beneath the gate and stopped, as abruptly as before.
Sam looked over the side of the boat. “I’d love to know how the boat is being controlled. There’s nothing visible. This technology might have a lot of applications. I wish I could take a look at the exterior of the hull.”
Daniel winced. “That would be worse than going for a swim in a Venetian canal.”
“Maybe it’s on tracks, Carter. Like a really gross ‘It’s a Small World’ ride.” Jack hummed a few bars while turning and viewing the area around them. “Nothing to fight. Daniel, what do we have here?”
When the pylons had become visible, Daniel had gotten to his feet unsteadily and retrieved his knife. His face was pale and drawn as he stood next to Jack. “There are some glyphs on the top of the gate.” He moved back to get a better view. “It says ‘beware of the lake.’ That sounds familiar.” Daniel sifted through remembered information, trying to place the phrase. After a minute he said, “It sounds like one of the utterances of the early pyramid texts.” He frowned at the glyphs. “That’s unexpected…”
Jack gave him an incredulous look. “And you fully expected the rest of this place?”
“Uh, no. Pretty much out of the blue for me too. This is different… but not important right now, I guess. Anyway, the utterances were chants that were supposed to ensure the safety of the deceased in the underworld. I just have to remember which one…beware of the lake… I think it’s a reference to the lake of fire. That would appear fairly near the end of the texts…”
Daniel went through the utterances, thinking of the sarcophagus chamber of Unis. He looked at Jack. “‘Unis, beware the lake of fire.’ Sam, where’s that statue? I better have a look at it now.”
Jack looked alarmed. “Daniel? What do Unas have to do with it?”
“Nothing Jack. Unis is the name of a pharaoh, although one of the possible spellings is the same. Which is interesting…” Daniel sank to a bench and wiped his sweating forehead.
Sam retrieved the statue from where she had dumped it, unceremoniously, in her concern for Daniel. She hadn’t had time to look at it before. It was similar to the Ra statue, but where that was covered in gold, this statue was jet black. The head was a snake rather than the falcon head of Ra, but also had ruby eyes. It looked just like the Serpent Guards with their helmets closed. She took the statue to Daniel who set down his knife and examined their find as it lay in his lap.
“Apophis”, Daniel said, unsurprised. “It’s different than I would have expected, though. On Earth, he was depicted as a giant snake.”
Jack grimaced. “How apt. Or is that asp?”
Daniel tossed a pained look at Jack which had nothing to do with his shoulder. He looked up at Sam and Teal’c. “I thought the boat moved because we killed the guardians, but now I think it’s more likely that it was because we retrieved this. Symbolically, we captured Apophis in the name of Ra. Teal’c, have you seen a statue like this before?””
Teal’c was uncomfortable with doing anything in the name of Ra, even symbolically. His eyebrow rose. “I have not, Daniel Jackson. The Goa’uld have no use for small statues such as these, although they do build large statues and monuments.”
Daniel nodded at Teal’c, then examined the statue more closely. He raised his voice excitedly. “Look, there’s an opening in the chest of the statue. It’s about the same size as the knife blades! I think I know what to do with this… There’s an offering table under the platform, beneath the Ra statue. I thought it might be important. This might need to go there.”
Jack gave Daniel a serious look. “And you didn’t mention it. Daniel, you need to tell me when something might be important.”
Daniel’s eyebrows rose on his pale face and he looked as though pigs were lining up for take-off. “Uh, Jack. Past history leads me to conclude that if I’d said. ‘Oh, look Jack, a table! That might be important!’ I wouldn’t have got a very positive response. I was just waiting until I had some idea of why it might be important. It saves on aggravation.”
Jack frowned at the archeologist. “I’ll agree, that’s generally true. It was even mostly true up top…uprings, whatever. Most of the time, I can tell if what you’re telling me is something I need to hear, but not down here. So keep me in the loop, okay?”
Teal’c watched this exchange. He was very glad that his comrades were able to engage in such banter. Had they not, he would truly have been concerned. O’Neill was injured, and Daniel Jackson looked most unwell, but he believed that they would both survive. And after the number of times O’Neill had refused to listen to the words of Daniel Jackson, he found this most amusing.
“Okay, Jack, but you may wish you hadn’t said that. In fact, I can almost guarantee it.” Daniel gestured to Sam to take back the statue. He pulled himself to his feet, staggering slightly, then picked up his knife. Daniel slowly made his way to the platform at the back of the boat. There was a low table, covered with black tiles, beneath it. Someone had thrown a pack on it. “Can we not use the offering table as a luggage rack?”
He scowled as Jack shrugged, limped over to the pack, and tossed it to the side. Daniel crouched down and ducked under the platform, moving his shoulder as little as possible. Pain crossed his face, betraying his lack of success. He put his knife on the table and ran his hand over the tiles. “Here it is. Sam, can you put the statue down with the opening over this spot?”
Sam complied, adjusting the statue carefully. She saw where this was going. Why was a mystery, of course, like everything about the pyramid and Am-Heh’s underworld.
Daniel picked up the knife, still covered with the blood of the Unas, and fit it through the statue and the break that Daniel had found in the tiles. The blade slid through the statue to the hilt and the ruby eyes flared bright, then died. He backed out from under the low platform, wincing. “Okay, Apophis is dead. Symbolically, this time.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I like the other way better. So, what next? I notice that we’re still not going anywhere.”
“Oh, that wasn’t the key to this gate. I just thought we better see what was intended for the statue before we passed through another gate. While there are many myths about the underworld, such as the number of gates and what guards them, the one constant is that you have to complete a task before you can move through the next gate. So…” Daniel spread his hands.
“Oh. Okay. Let’s go then. Do your gate thing.” Jack moved out of Daniel’s way, so he could move to the front of the boat unimpeded. He was doing damn well for someone who was collapsed on the deck a little more than two hours ago, but was clearly in a lot of pain. Jack wasn’t feeling too great either, what being kind of cut up himself, but at least he didn’t have an Uber-Unas try to take his shoulder apart with its teeth. Jack thought about that and looked at his watch. “Daniel, hold off. What would happen if we stayed here for a while?”
Daniel stopped and turned back to Jack, surprised. “Stayed? Well, nothing I suppose. We are probably supposed to starve here if we can’t figure out the way to get through, or die in the water. I mean, it’s possible that there is some kind of secondary attack, but I think being stuck at the gate forever would pretty much cover the whole dying thing. I guess I don’t know, Jack.” Sensing a protracted discussion, Daniel lowered himself shakily to the deck and leaned against the side of the barque. Staying upright wasn’t getting any easier.
“We’ve been down here for almost five hours. We’re way overdue for food, we’re beat up, and we’re tired; I say we call it a night, eat, and continue in what passes for the morning.” Jack knew he’d made the right call when he saw a look of intense relief on Daniel’s face. Which he hid quickly, of course. Carter didn’t look too sad about it, either. Teal’c glanced at Daniel, then nodded in agreement.
Jack retrieved his pack from the deck, where he’d tossed it earlier. He took a seat on one of the benches. Although he wouldn’t have said anything, Jack had to admit that he was pretty glad to sit down. His leg wasn’t doing so great.
Teal’c gathered his and Daniel’s packs and sat on the deck next to the wounded archeologist. “Daniel Jackson. I shall prepare your meal.” He opened Daniel’s pack and inspected the selection of MRE’s.
“Thanks Teal’c.” He noticed that even the Jaffa was moving a bit stiffly. They really had all been beaten up. Daniel leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m not going to sleep, or anything. Just resting my eyes...”
“Which menu do you desire, Daniel Jackson? You have Roast Beef, Country Captain Chicken, Chicken with Noodles, and Beef Ravioli.”
“I’ll have the Chicken with Noodles, please.” Daniel opened his eyes and smiled tiredly. He wasn’t all that sure that he felt up to eating, but he thought he could probably manage noodles if not the chicken. He seemed to have used up what little energy he had dealing with the Apophis statue. He’d better try to eat, anyway.
Teal’c opened the MRE and removed the cheese spread, which he carefully applied to the crackers. He stacked them up, wrapped them in a tissue and passed them to his teammate. “Daniel Jackson, perhaps you will wish to eat these while you wait for the food to heat.” Teal’c began to heat the meal.
Daniel smiled. Crackers with cheese spread seemed…not tempting, but Teal’c was working so hard to get some food into him, he didn’t have the heart not to try, so he nibbled on a cracker.
His head was spinning. Between the pain of his wound, exhaustion, and the painkillers, he didn’t feel like he could handle much more than staying awake. All the little details involved in something as simple as preparing an MRE felt beyond him. He wouldn’t have even tried.
He almost laughed when he saw Sam heading over with more fruit drink. They were certainly taking good care of him. He didn’t laugh, of course. That would be poor thanks for their concern. Besides, he really wanted that drink.
Sam couched down beside Daniel and Teal’c and handed another grape drink and an MRE packet to Daniel. “Here’s the fruit from my MRE, Daniel. You might find it easier going if you can’t handle the main course. I’ll bring you some more painkillers before we go to sleep.” Then she waved an instant coffee packet in front of him. “I shouldn’t give you this, Janet would kill me.”
He took the packet before she changed her mind. “Thanks, Sam. You have no idea how much I appreciate this right now! And the fruit will be just the thing.” Daniel was thinking that food might not be so bad after all. The crackers were going down okay, and fruit sounded good. Painkillers sounded really good.
Teal’c reached into Daniel’s MRE and retrieved the cocoa powder, which he handed to Sam with a regal nod. Then he handed Daniel his meal, which had been carefully arranged in bite sized portions.
Sam grinned. “Thanks, Teal’c!” She rose and went back to her meal which was waiting on one of the benches.
“Yes, thanks. I really appreciate the help, Teal’c” Daniel started with the noodles.
“It is my pleasure, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c reached into his own pack and picked out a meal at random. It was Jambalaya. He smiled, pleased with the choice. This cheese spread had peppers.
Jack was watching all of this from his seat on the bench as he ate his Roast Beef MRE. It was at times like this that he was especially proud of his team. They were in a really bad situation with no known way out, they were wounded and tired, but they were looking out for each other and their morale was…remarkable. They were really something.
The team ate their meals quietly, occasionally making a joke or a light remark. No one wanted to talk about anything important. They just wanted to eat, sleep, and not think about where they were. At one point, Daniel realized that his glasses were still splattered with gore and was forced to clean them with water from his canteen. When they had reached the hot beverages and dessert portion of the meal, Sam came around with a second dose of painkillers for all those who wanted them, which was everyone except Teal’c.
Jack swallowed his pills with the last of his instant coffee. “We’ll do two hour, 40 minute watches. Daniel, what I said before about next time? I lied. You sit this one out.”
“I’m not going to argue, Jack. I think I might have been a little overambitious, before.”
Jack gave a little smile and nodded. “I’ll take the first watch -”
Sam interrupted. “Sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It would be best if you got some rest and kept your weight off that wound in your leg for a little while.”
“Carter, I can -”
“O’Neill, it will cause me no distress to carry out the first watch. I believe this would be the wisest course of action.” Teal’c rose and picked up his staff weapon without waiting for an answer. He moved to the prow of the barque.
Daniel gave Jack a serious look, eyebrows raised. “Jack.”
Jack rubbed his face with both hands. “Gah!” He let his hands drop and said, “Okay! Okay! The whole darn lot of you win. I know when I’m beat. When’s my watch, then, Carter?”
“Third, sir, I’ll take the second.”
“Well, it’s good you have that all sorted out.” Jack stretched out on the deck, pointedly turned away from them, and feigned sleep.
Sam and Daniel shared a glance and grinned. Sam helped him lie down with as little pain as possible, which was far from none, and lay down near the platform. She was asleep in minutes.
The night passed without incident. Apparently, Am-Heh considered starvation an adequate death for those who failed to get through the gate. They didn’t bother with hot meals in the morning, but settled for pound cake or toaster pastry pilfered from MRE’s, and coffee. Or in Teal’c’s case, apple cider. Sam passed out a new round of antibiotics as well as the painkillers, changed their bandages, and they were ready to go.
Jack motioned Daniel to proceed, hoping that, once again, the archeologist could pull a giant rabbit out of his hat. They were all stiffer than they were yesterday, even Teal’c, and no less sore. They were a whole lot less exhausted, though. Daniel’s color was almost normal and he seemed much stronger, although that wasn’t really saying a lot. Kittens were stronger than Daniel had been. Jack had a feeling it was a pretty near thing. He hoped they found a nice Stargate real soon.
They moved to the prow and Daniel said loudly, “The messengers of your ka have come to you, the messengers of your father have come to you, the messengers of Ra have come to you.” He repeated it three more times and the boat started forward again.
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Well! That was easy.”
Daniel glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in return. “If you happen to know utterance 214, line 136, of the pyramid texts, then yeah.”
Sam dropped her head to hide a grin. She was feeling a lot more encouraged. The night’s sleep and the dissipation of her headache made things seem a little better.
“Right…. So, Daniel. Just wondering, how many more of these gates?” He led the way back to the benches, although Teal’c stayed at the prow, eyes on the water.
Daniel sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him with a sigh. “It’s hard to say, Jack. In Egyptian mythology, the number of gates in the underworld varied widely in different time periods. Our earliest records show seven gates, but that increased to twelve. It’s not like there’s a real underworld and this is a copy. I just can’t figure out why a Goa’uld would want to recreate some version of the Egyptian underworld!”
“The myths probably started as commemoration of a battle between Ra and Apophis in which Ra was triumphant. This… journey has only followed the writings conceptually, except for the utterance. That doesn’t appear in the myths at all. Daniel frowned as he thought of the pyramid text again. “The utterance was the obvious solution, but I was quite surprised at its use. We’ve always assumed that they were conceived sometime after the departure of Ra. Well, I’ve always assumed that.” He raised an eyebrow. “The rest of the archeological community would put it a little differently…”
“Anyway, there’s no way to tell how many gates there might be.” Daniel turned his head to look at Jack, who had taken a seat next to him. Sam had opted to sit on the deck and lean against the side. “But the reference to the lake makes me think that we might be close to the Lake of Fire. It’s possible this was the last one.”
“I have to say, I really hope so. I’m so looking forward to the Lake of Fire.” Jack scowled and looked out over the prow, although there was nothing to be seen.
The barque drifted forward to wherever their destination might be. They rested as best they could, and waited for some sign as to what was to come. As air grew progressively hotter and began to smell more strongly of smoke, sweat began to stain their clothes, joining the dried blood. The horizon took on a strange red glow.
Daniel took in the red light. That was not a good sign. “There was more than one Lake of Fire in the underworld. The most important one was a step in the judgment of the dead. They were judged by a tribunal of baboons at the Lake of Fire. If you were righteous, it would appear as water. You could drink from the lake and be refreshed. If you weren’t though…”
“Not so much? Fire? Nasty Baboon stuff?” Jack waved a hand vaguely.
Daniel nodded. “Pretty much. The righteous could also turn into fire and destroy their enemies” The heat was increasingly uncomfortable. He felt a bit dizzy and sweat began to escape from under his bandana as it had outside the pyramid.
Sam looked intrigued. “I wonder what that might signify. Maybe some kind of flame weapon?”
“That would be cool. And we’re pretty righteous, aren’t we?” Jack spread his hands. “Ra’s still sitting pretty and we killed Barbie-Apophis.”
Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure that’s the kind of Lake of Fire this will be. Am-Heh wasn’t part of any of the judgment myths. We really don’t know anything about him other than that he dwelt in an underworld on a lake of fire and had an insatiable thirst for sacrifice. The reason I mentioned the other lake of fire was to bring up the fact that this might not be what we expect.”
“It may appear as normal water unless we do something to prove that we aren’t righteous. And it’s important to note that righteous to the Egyptians meant not breaking the laws of the gods or showing them a lack of proper respect.” Daniel put his glasses back on and gave them a significant look. “We might find that difficult. So far, we would probably be considered righteous, but I’m guessing we won’t be feeling all that respectful if we find him.”
Jack appreciated the new visibility but more than a little concerned about just how much fire might be ahead. “I’m thinking that we’re not heading for cool, refreshing water, Daniel. It’s getting a lot hotter.”
“I’d wish I was I was wrong, except that it’s our best bet to find a way out. Where ever Am-Heh is, or was, he must have had a way to the Stargate.”
“What kind of laws are we talking about, Daniel?” Sam saw a lot of opportunity for trouble there. She brushed back sweat damped hair and wished for a bandanna like Daniel’s. She amended that: a cleaner bandanna than Daniel’s. “Religious law is complicated in monotheistic religions, let alone a religion with as many gods as Ancient Egypt.”
“The Egyptians didn’t see daily life as separate from religion. They didn’t even have a word for religion, it was just part of living; the natural order of things. Sacred and mundane weren’t separate, but were part of a whole. Every action was important on a larger scale. So, that’s another thing we don’t know, Sam.”
Daniel stared at the orange horizon in front of the barque, like a nightmarish dawn. “Again, we have to remember that all of this means something completely different to a Goa’uld than it would have meant to the ancient Egyptians. That makes it really hard to predict which aspects he may use and how.”
Jack was scowling and rubbing his forehead. “I know I asked to hear everything that might be important but…wow. That’s the last time I say that. I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, I do, still…wow.”
Teal’c called to them from the prow. “I believe there is something ahead!”
Sam, Jack, and Daniel joined him as quickly as their battered bodies would allow, eyes straining to make out what Teal’c had seen. The rocky shores narrowed sharply in the distance. The pits of fire now dominated the landscape right up to the shoreline. Soon they would be passing through channel barely twice the width of the boat, mere feet away from the inferno.
Sam looked at the channel skeptically. “Daniel, how flammable is a papyriform boat?
He raised his eyebrows. “Gee, I don’t know, Sam. How flammable is wood?”
Sam rolled her eyes at Daniel. “We may have a problem. The spontaneous ignition temperature of wood is 572 degrees Fahrenheit. I would guess that the fire encroaching on the shore is that hot, probably hotter. If we move quickly through the middle of the channel without stopping, I think we’ll make it in time, but if we stop, even for a few minutes, the boat will spontaneously combust.
Daniel frowned at her. “Sam, if it’s hot enough to spontaneously combust the boat, won’t we, er… cook?”
“Well, yes. But the boat will burn first, so cooking won’t be our first problem.”
“So, burning alive or risking the yucky, possibly contaminated, critter ridden water, then cooking? That’s what we’re looking at?” Jack was rubbing his forehead again and feeling way beyond frustrated.
Teal’c interjected, “O’Neill, I believe the water in the channel is very hot. There is considerable steam rising.”
“Aw, for cryin’ out loud! Daniel, can you see anything up ahead that makes you think we’ll stop? Gate thingys or anything?”
“Nothing visible, Jack. But there are those oars…”
“Right. And we’ve had to use everything else in this damn boat, so we better get ready to row. That’s just outstanding! Daniel, there’s no way you can do this, is there?”
“Probably not. But I kind of think I have to… It’s not like a row boat where you can hold an oar with one hand. Each oar is meant to be manned by one person and there has to be the same amount of pull from both sides, or the barque won’t go straight. That would send us into the side of the channel and closer to the fire.”
They were silent for a moment. Sam looked at Daniel a frown and said, “Daniel, you can’t. Your shoulder will start bleeding again. You’ll probably even do more damage. You could end up permanently disabled.”
“That is unacceptable, Daniel Jackson. I shall row on one side. O’Neill and Major Carter will row on the other. You will tell us if we are following a straight path and when to pull harder.” Teal’c looked implacable.
Jack clapped his hands together. “And we have a plan! Let’s get those oars in place.”
They quickly retrieved the oars from narrow space between the benches and slipped them into the oar locks. Teal’c took his place on a bench near the center of the craft, oar in hand, held above the water. Sam and Jack did the same on the other side, opposite Teal’c.
The heat was now incredibly intense and made worse by the steam rising from the channel ahead. Their clothes were sodden and sweat poured down their faces. The roar of the flames became loud, drowning out their voices.
Daniel moved to the prow. “We’re entering the channel.” He estimated the distance to the pass in the cliffs at the end. “It looks like it’s about a hundred feet long,” he shouted over the noise. “Here we go!”
The sides of the waterway suddenly closed in. There were flames rising from pits of fire barely four feet away from the sides of the craft on either side. The air was hot enough to burn as they gasped for breath in fiery canal. The barque continued about half way into the channel, and then stopped, dead in the water.
“Go!” Daniel signaled the team, with a wave of his hand. He leaned over the front of the barque to check their position. He wished desperately that he could join them, feeling entirely helpless as the heat from the fire and the steam beat against his face. “We really need to move now…”
The oars hit in a simultaneous motion and dug deep into the water with Jack and Sam timing their movements to those of Teal’c. The barque foundered for a moment, then began to pull forward at a fast pace. All three were pulling hard, the heat beating at them and making sweat slicked hands slip on the oars. The roar of the fire was deafening.
Daniel eyed the channel, gauging the distance to each side, ready to correct them the barque began to pull toward one side or the other. They had to reach the jagged cliff at the end, through which the canal passed, before their craft burned, before they died from the heat. Ten feet; forty feet to go. The barque began to veer to the right. He waved a hand ‘up’ to Sam and Jack, ‘down’ to Teal’c. The craft evened out briefly then turned quickly to the left. Daniel frantically gave the ‘up’ signal to Teal’c. The barque straightened slowly. Twenty feet; thirty feet to go. As the heat from the fire burnt his skin and the steam scorched his lungs, Daniel watched the team struggle to keep the barque moving forward
Blisters were already forming as her hands were rubbed raw as she tried to keep a grip on the oar. Sam blinked the sweat from her eyes and kept a close eye on Teal’c for pace, and Daniel, for signs of trouble. The stain on her muscles was agonizing as she pulled the oar with all of her strength.
They were going mostly straight, but there was a slight drift to the right. Daniel decided to wait a minute before he said anything. The overcorrection had been worse than the drift. He looked over his steam covered glasses at Sam and Jack, trying to determine when he should have Teal’c ease up. He could see that they couldn’t pull any harder. Teal’c was sweating as much as the rest of them and showing as much discomfort as Daniel had ever seen in him, but was still rowing tirelessly. Thirty feet; twenty feet to go.
The wounds on Jack’s arm and leg burned as he fought to keep time with Teal’c. Sweat had soaked right through the bandages and the sting of salt added to his pain. He gritted his teeth and looked from Teal’c, who rowed with a fortitude he envied, to Daniel, who was looking worried.
Daniel gave a sign to Teal’c to ease up. He hoped that this didn’t lead to another wild swing in the other direction. The temperature had gotten so hot that he didn’t think they could afford even the few seconds it would take to straighten their path. Steam was flowing over the prow as they passed through the water and his face stung like he was standing over a kettle. Forty feet; ten feet to go.
Teal’c glanced at O’Neill and Major Carter. They had little energy left in them although they fought valiantly to continue. He, himself, could feel the strain of muscles used in an unfamiliar way, of the unbearable heat against his skin. When Daniel Jackson had motioned him to lessen his pull, he had done so just slightly, but he would have to slow further if they did not reach the end of the channel soon.
They were almost there. Daniel held onto the prow and gasped for breath. He could see that Jack and Sam were close to collapse. He saw Teal’c adjust his stroke as they faltered. It felt as though the oxygen was being consumed by the fires around them. They couldn’t afford to slow down now. They were so close! They had almost reached the cliff through which the channel passed. “We’re almost through! Just a little more!” He pointed to the front and waved his arm wildly. “Come on!” He saw them put everything they had left into their strokes.
Stone rose up on either side of them as they moved through the pass. The boat shot forward into the cool blue waters of an underground lake and the temperature plunged. Daniel slid down the prow to the deck, gasping the chill air with relief. As he raised a shaking hand to remove his glasses, he saw that it was burnt like he’d spent a day in the hot sun, and covered with small blisters.
Jack let go of the oar and collapsed across two of the benches. His lungs were heaving in an effort to take in the oxygen they had been denied. His arms and legs were shaking from the strain. He closed his eyes and let the cool air wash over him.
Sam let herself collapse to the deck where she splayed out, letting the air cool her skin as it chilled her sweat soaked clothes. A tiny voice in her mind whispered about the effects of too rapid cooling after exposure to intense heat, but she ignored it, as she took deep, gasping breaths. She could feel the pain of the cut in her arm. That same little voice told her that the Colonel’s wounds were much worse and may have reopened, but she let herself ignore that for the moment, too.
Teal’c allowed himself to be still, hunched over the oar, breathing deeply, as in Kel’no’reem. He enjoyed the feeling of the sweat chilling on his skin, and released the tension in his muscles. As he sat up to survey the high cliffs surrounding this new place, the barque began to move. It was, once again, propelled by an unseen force. Teal’c rose from the bench and moved to the front of the barque. He offered a hand to Daniel Jackson.
Daniel lifted a blistered hand and waved it in front of him. “Uh, thanks anyway. I think I’ll just get up myself.” He pushed off from the deck, holding his injured shoulder stiffly, and climbed to his feet. “So. Where are we going?” He wiped his glasses on his shirt and put them back on.
“I believe our destination is that dock, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c pointed to a break in the cliffs that surrounded the lake. A stone platform, not unlike the one they had left, sat in an alcove set into the cliff face. There was a mooring post attached to the edge of the platform, mirroring the one at which they had found the barque.
“Ah. Well, good.” Daniel took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “I’m tired of boats.”
Jack and Sam had picked themselves up, Sam groaning, Jack complaining, and joined Teal’c and Daniel at the front of the barque.
Jack grimaced, stretching his sore shoulders. “I am going to be so stiff in the morning!
The voice of duty had pushed itself to the fore in Sam’s mind. She gauged the distance between the dock and the barque and said, “Sir, I think it will take us about half an hour to reach the dock at this pace. I’d like to check everyone’s bandages while we have a moment.”
Sam pulled out the med kit and quickly changed bandages where it was required. She knew that Daniel’s shoulder wound required medical attention that she couldn’t give and she was worried that it was looking infected. She also thought that he might have a fever, but that could be related to the extreme heat to which they had been exposed. She’d have to check again later.
The rowing had started new bleeding in the wound on the Colonel’s arm, but the leg wound, painful though it must be, had not been aggravated. Infection was looking like a real possibility with both wounds, just like Daniel’s. All she could do was continue with the antibiotics.
Teal’c announced that he no longer required bandages and she didn’t try to argue with him.
Finally, she changed her own bandage and gave Daniel a tube of burn ointment. His face wasn’t as burnt as his hands, but was very red. “Daniel, next time you’re in a river of boiling water, don’t lean out so far. Okay?
He lifted an eyebrow. “But, Sam, you know I try to play it safe. I’m only a scholar, after all. An ivory tower occupant.”
She stared at him for a second, at the sweat tracks in the dirt on his red face, at his soaked and filthy bandanna, at his deliberately innocent blue eyes, at the man to whom never played it safe, if he thought of risks at all. Daniel was as from being an 'ivory tower' academic as you could get. Sam gave a loud snort then started laughing uncontrollably. A grin split his face. They leaned against the side of the barque and laughed until tears ran down their faces.
Jack and Teal’c looked at each other and back at to them. Teal’c’s eyebrow had climbed to its highest. Jack grinned and said, “Teal’c, let’s move the gear to the front of the boat.” The two of them gathered the packs and canteens that had been left scattered around and moved them to a single location near the prow, along with their P-90’s and Teal’c’s staff weapon.
Sam and Daniel collected themselves and went to the platform, still snickering, to get the Ra stature. Daniel thought they should leave the Apophis statue where it was, since taking the knife out might change something. Sam put the statue in her pack and wondered if that would be considered disrespectful in light of Daniel’s words, but she needed her hands free to fire her weapon. She also collected their flashlights, and the remaining knives, since Daniel wasn’t sure if they would need them again.
They joined Teal’c and Jack by the pile of belongings just as the barque pulled up to the mooring post in perfect alignment with the platform. Sam and Jack clipped their P-90s to their TAC vests and Teal’c picked up his staff weapon.
Sam passed a flashlight to the Colonel and another to Teal’c. They trained them on the platform.
Jack looked at Daniel. “So we can just get off the boat? No riddles or booby traps?”
Daniel examined the platform “I think so. I don’t see anything here that would indicate a problem. I think we are supposed to be here, for whatever reason. Sam?”
“I don’t see any problem either, sir. No pressure plates, no obvious weaponry in the walls. I think we’re good.”
Jack picked up his pack and threw it on to the platform suspiciously, then said, “This is too easy. Okay, let’s get our stuff off the boat.” Teal’c climbed over the side. Jack and Sam passed him the gear then they helped Daniel over the side. It wasn’t easy and Daniel looked shaky when he made it on to the dock. Jack was trying not to let anyone see how much moving that gear hurt.
Jack climbed out last and looked back at the barque. “I hope the experience didn’t ruin your Egyptian boat for you, Daniel.”
“It did kind of take the shine off. I’ll get over it.”
Sam called their attention back to the platform. “Sir, there are rings here. The usual kind.” She had also located the controls on the right side of the platform, near the back wall.
Jack frowned and nodded. “Not as sneaky as I’d like, but it’s something. Let’s go find the wizard.”
“I shall take your pack, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c put on his own pack then threw the second one over a shoulder.
“Thanks, Teal’c.” Not having to deal with his pack meant that he could shoot if they ran into trouble. And they probably would. Daniel drew his Beretta once again.
The team gathered on the platform facing outwards, weapons ready. When they were in place, Sam activated the rings, ran to join then, and said, “If this takes us back to the same place, I’m going to be really pissed off.” The rings rushed down and drew them upwards into the unknown.
Go to Chapter 5
Back to Chapter 3
Author: SG_Betty
Word count: 6,420
Genre: Gen, Action/Adventure, Team
Rating/Warning: PG-13, Violence
Spoilers: spoilers up to and including early Season 7
Disclaimer: While the situations and dialogue in this story are my own, all characters are wholly owned by Gekko Productions and MGM.
Thanks: It is impossible for me to thank Lokei enough for the enormous time and effort that she put into beta reading, advice, and encouragement. There simply aren't fine enough words. All I can say is thank you, Lokei, this story simply wouldn't exist without you!
Jack was right, unfortunately. The boat didn’t travel far. Carter’s watch was just about done when they came within sight of another set of pylons, taller than the first. There was a stone arch joining the two towers, a few feet over the high prow. At least this time there was no visible threat. The barque pulled beneath the gate and stopped, as abruptly as before.
Sam looked over the side of the boat. “I’d love to know how the boat is being controlled. There’s nothing visible. This technology might have a lot of applications. I wish I could take a look at the exterior of the hull.”
Daniel winced. “That would be worse than going for a swim in a Venetian canal.”
“Maybe it’s on tracks, Carter. Like a really gross ‘It’s a Small World’ ride.” Jack hummed a few bars while turning and viewing the area around them. “Nothing to fight. Daniel, what do we have here?”
When the pylons had become visible, Daniel had gotten to his feet unsteadily and retrieved his knife. His face was pale and drawn as he stood next to Jack. “There are some glyphs on the top of the gate.” He moved back to get a better view. “It says ‘beware of the lake.’ That sounds familiar.” Daniel sifted through remembered information, trying to place the phrase. After a minute he said, “It sounds like one of the utterances of the early pyramid texts.” He frowned at the glyphs. “That’s unexpected…”
Jack gave him an incredulous look. “And you fully expected the rest of this place?”
“Uh, no. Pretty much out of the blue for me too. This is different… but not important right now, I guess. Anyway, the utterances were chants that were supposed to ensure the safety of the deceased in the underworld. I just have to remember which one…beware of the lake… I think it’s a reference to the lake of fire. That would appear fairly near the end of the texts…”
Daniel went through the utterances, thinking of the sarcophagus chamber of Unis. He looked at Jack. “‘Unis, beware the lake of fire.’ Sam, where’s that statue? I better have a look at it now.”
Jack looked alarmed. “Daniel? What do Unas have to do with it?”
“Nothing Jack. Unis is the name of a pharaoh, although one of the possible spellings is the same. Which is interesting…” Daniel sank to a bench and wiped his sweating forehead.
Sam retrieved the statue from where she had dumped it, unceremoniously, in her concern for Daniel. She hadn’t had time to look at it before. It was similar to the Ra statue, but where that was covered in gold, this statue was jet black. The head was a snake rather than the falcon head of Ra, but also had ruby eyes. It looked just like the Serpent Guards with their helmets closed. She took the statue to Daniel who set down his knife and examined their find as it lay in his lap.
“Apophis”, Daniel said, unsurprised. “It’s different than I would have expected, though. On Earth, he was depicted as a giant snake.”
Jack grimaced. “How apt. Or is that asp?”
Daniel tossed a pained look at Jack which had nothing to do with his shoulder. He looked up at Sam and Teal’c. “I thought the boat moved because we killed the guardians, but now I think it’s more likely that it was because we retrieved this. Symbolically, we captured Apophis in the name of Ra. Teal’c, have you seen a statue like this before?””
Teal’c was uncomfortable with doing anything in the name of Ra, even symbolically. His eyebrow rose. “I have not, Daniel Jackson. The Goa’uld have no use for small statues such as these, although they do build large statues and monuments.”
Daniel nodded at Teal’c, then examined the statue more closely. He raised his voice excitedly. “Look, there’s an opening in the chest of the statue. It’s about the same size as the knife blades! I think I know what to do with this… There’s an offering table under the platform, beneath the Ra statue. I thought it might be important. This might need to go there.”
Jack gave Daniel a serious look. “And you didn’t mention it. Daniel, you need to tell me when something might be important.”
Daniel’s eyebrows rose on his pale face and he looked as though pigs were lining up for take-off. “Uh, Jack. Past history leads me to conclude that if I’d said. ‘Oh, look Jack, a table! That might be important!’ I wouldn’t have got a very positive response. I was just waiting until I had some idea of why it might be important. It saves on aggravation.”
Jack frowned at the archeologist. “I’ll agree, that’s generally true. It was even mostly true up top…uprings, whatever. Most of the time, I can tell if what you’re telling me is something I need to hear, but not down here. So keep me in the loop, okay?”
Teal’c watched this exchange. He was very glad that his comrades were able to engage in such banter. Had they not, he would truly have been concerned. O’Neill was injured, and Daniel Jackson looked most unwell, but he believed that they would both survive. And after the number of times O’Neill had refused to listen to the words of Daniel Jackson, he found this most amusing.
“Okay, Jack, but you may wish you hadn’t said that. In fact, I can almost guarantee it.” Daniel gestured to Sam to take back the statue. He pulled himself to his feet, staggering slightly, then picked up his knife. Daniel slowly made his way to the platform at the back of the boat. There was a low table, covered with black tiles, beneath it. Someone had thrown a pack on it. “Can we not use the offering table as a luggage rack?”
He scowled as Jack shrugged, limped over to the pack, and tossed it to the side. Daniel crouched down and ducked under the platform, moving his shoulder as little as possible. Pain crossed his face, betraying his lack of success. He put his knife on the table and ran his hand over the tiles. “Here it is. Sam, can you put the statue down with the opening over this spot?”
Sam complied, adjusting the statue carefully. She saw where this was going. Why was a mystery, of course, like everything about the pyramid and Am-Heh’s underworld.
Daniel picked up the knife, still covered with the blood of the Unas, and fit it through the statue and the break that Daniel had found in the tiles. The blade slid through the statue to the hilt and the ruby eyes flared bright, then died. He backed out from under the low platform, wincing. “Okay, Apophis is dead. Symbolically, this time.”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “I like the other way better. So, what next? I notice that we’re still not going anywhere.”
“Oh, that wasn’t the key to this gate. I just thought we better see what was intended for the statue before we passed through another gate. While there are many myths about the underworld, such as the number of gates and what guards them, the one constant is that you have to complete a task before you can move through the next gate. So…” Daniel spread his hands.
“Oh. Okay. Let’s go then. Do your gate thing.” Jack moved out of Daniel’s way, so he could move to the front of the boat unimpeded. He was doing damn well for someone who was collapsed on the deck a little more than two hours ago, but was clearly in a lot of pain. Jack wasn’t feeling too great either, what being kind of cut up himself, but at least he didn’t have an Uber-Unas try to take his shoulder apart with its teeth. Jack thought about that and looked at his watch. “Daniel, hold off. What would happen if we stayed here for a while?”
Daniel stopped and turned back to Jack, surprised. “Stayed? Well, nothing I suppose. We are probably supposed to starve here if we can’t figure out the way to get through, or die in the water. I mean, it’s possible that there is some kind of secondary attack, but I think being stuck at the gate forever would pretty much cover the whole dying thing. I guess I don’t know, Jack.” Sensing a protracted discussion, Daniel lowered himself shakily to the deck and leaned against the side of the barque. Staying upright wasn’t getting any easier.
“We’ve been down here for almost five hours. We’re way overdue for food, we’re beat up, and we’re tired; I say we call it a night, eat, and continue in what passes for the morning.” Jack knew he’d made the right call when he saw a look of intense relief on Daniel’s face. Which he hid quickly, of course. Carter didn’t look too sad about it, either. Teal’c glanced at Daniel, then nodded in agreement.
Jack retrieved his pack from the deck, where he’d tossed it earlier. He took a seat on one of the benches. Although he wouldn’t have said anything, Jack had to admit that he was pretty glad to sit down. His leg wasn’t doing so great.
Teal’c gathered his and Daniel’s packs and sat on the deck next to the wounded archeologist. “Daniel Jackson. I shall prepare your meal.” He opened Daniel’s pack and inspected the selection of MRE’s.
“Thanks Teal’c.” He noticed that even the Jaffa was moving a bit stiffly. They really had all been beaten up. Daniel leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m not going to sleep, or anything. Just resting my eyes...”
“Which menu do you desire, Daniel Jackson? You have Roast Beef, Country Captain Chicken, Chicken with Noodles, and Beef Ravioli.”
“I’ll have the Chicken with Noodles, please.” Daniel opened his eyes and smiled tiredly. He wasn’t all that sure that he felt up to eating, but he thought he could probably manage noodles if not the chicken. He seemed to have used up what little energy he had dealing with the Apophis statue. He’d better try to eat, anyway.
Teal’c opened the MRE and removed the cheese spread, which he carefully applied to the crackers. He stacked them up, wrapped them in a tissue and passed them to his teammate. “Daniel Jackson, perhaps you will wish to eat these while you wait for the food to heat.” Teal’c began to heat the meal.
Daniel smiled. Crackers with cheese spread seemed…not tempting, but Teal’c was working so hard to get some food into him, he didn’t have the heart not to try, so he nibbled on a cracker.
His head was spinning. Between the pain of his wound, exhaustion, and the painkillers, he didn’t feel like he could handle much more than staying awake. All the little details involved in something as simple as preparing an MRE felt beyond him. He wouldn’t have even tried.
He almost laughed when he saw Sam heading over with more fruit drink. They were certainly taking good care of him. He didn’t laugh, of course. That would be poor thanks for their concern. Besides, he really wanted that drink.
Sam couched down beside Daniel and Teal’c and handed another grape drink and an MRE packet to Daniel. “Here’s the fruit from my MRE, Daniel. You might find it easier going if you can’t handle the main course. I’ll bring you some more painkillers before we go to sleep.” Then she waved an instant coffee packet in front of him. “I shouldn’t give you this, Janet would kill me.”
He took the packet before she changed her mind. “Thanks, Sam. You have no idea how much I appreciate this right now! And the fruit will be just the thing.” Daniel was thinking that food might not be so bad after all. The crackers were going down okay, and fruit sounded good. Painkillers sounded really good.
Teal’c reached into Daniel’s MRE and retrieved the cocoa powder, which he handed to Sam with a regal nod. Then he handed Daniel his meal, which had been carefully arranged in bite sized portions.
Sam grinned. “Thanks, Teal’c!” She rose and went back to her meal which was waiting on one of the benches.
“Yes, thanks. I really appreciate the help, Teal’c” Daniel started with the noodles.
“It is my pleasure, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c reached into his own pack and picked out a meal at random. It was Jambalaya. He smiled, pleased with the choice. This cheese spread had peppers.
Jack was watching all of this from his seat on the bench as he ate his Roast Beef MRE. It was at times like this that he was especially proud of his team. They were in a really bad situation with no known way out, they were wounded and tired, but they were looking out for each other and their morale was…remarkable. They were really something.
The team ate their meals quietly, occasionally making a joke or a light remark. No one wanted to talk about anything important. They just wanted to eat, sleep, and not think about where they were. At one point, Daniel realized that his glasses were still splattered with gore and was forced to clean them with water from his canteen. When they had reached the hot beverages and dessert portion of the meal, Sam came around with a second dose of painkillers for all those who wanted them, which was everyone except Teal’c.
Jack swallowed his pills with the last of his instant coffee. “We’ll do two hour, 40 minute watches. Daniel, what I said before about next time? I lied. You sit this one out.”
“I’m not going to argue, Jack. I think I might have been a little overambitious, before.”
Jack gave a little smile and nodded. “I’ll take the first watch -”
Sam interrupted. “Sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It would be best if you got some rest and kept your weight off that wound in your leg for a little while.”
“Carter, I can -”
“O’Neill, it will cause me no distress to carry out the first watch. I believe this would be the wisest course of action.” Teal’c rose and picked up his staff weapon without waiting for an answer. He moved to the prow of the barque.
Daniel gave Jack a serious look, eyebrows raised. “Jack.”
Jack rubbed his face with both hands. “Gah!” He let his hands drop and said, “Okay! Okay! The whole darn lot of you win. I know when I’m beat. When’s my watch, then, Carter?”
“Third, sir, I’ll take the second.”
“Well, it’s good you have that all sorted out.” Jack stretched out on the deck, pointedly turned away from them, and feigned sleep.
Sam and Daniel shared a glance and grinned. Sam helped him lie down with as little pain as possible, which was far from none, and lay down near the platform. She was asleep in minutes.
The night passed without incident. Apparently, Am-Heh considered starvation an adequate death for those who failed to get through the gate. They didn’t bother with hot meals in the morning, but settled for pound cake or toaster pastry pilfered from MRE’s, and coffee. Or in Teal’c’s case, apple cider. Sam passed out a new round of antibiotics as well as the painkillers, changed their bandages, and they were ready to go.
Jack motioned Daniel to proceed, hoping that, once again, the archeologist could pull a giant rabbit out of his hat. They were all stiffer than they were yesterday, even Teal’c, and no less sore. They were a whole lot less exhausted, though. Daniel’s color was almost normal and he seemed much stronger, although that wasn’t really saying a lot. Kittens were stronger than Daniel had been. Jack had a feeling it was a pretty near thing. He hoped they found a nice Stargate real soon.
They moved to the prow and Daniel said loudly, “The messengers of your ka have come to you, the messengers of your father have come to you, the messengers of Ra have come to you.” He repeated it three more times and the boat started forward again.
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Well! That was easy.”
Daniel glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in return. “If you happen to know utterance 214, line 136, of the pyramid texts, then yeah.”
Sam dropped her head to hide a grin. She was feeling a lot more encouraged. The night’s sleep and the dissipation of her headache made things seem a little better.
“Right…. So, Daniel. Just wondering, how many more of these gates?” He led the way back to the benches, although Teal’c stayed at the prow, eyes on the water.
Daniel sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him with a sigh. “It’s hard to say, Jack. In Egyptian mythology, the number of gates in the underworld varied widely in different time periods. Our earliest records show seven gates, but that increased to twelve. It’s not like there’s a real underworld and this is a copy. I just can’t figure out why a Goa’uld would want to recreate some version of the Egyptian underworld!”
“The myths probably started as commemoration of a battle between Ra and Apophis in which Ra was triumphant. This… journey has only followed the writings conceptually, except for the utterance. That doesn’t appear in the myths at all. Daniel frowned as he thought of the pyramid text again. “The utterance was the obvious solution, but I was quite surprised at its use. We’ve always assumed that they were conceived sometime after the departure of Ra. Well, I’ve always assumed that.” He raised an eyebrow. “The rest of the archeological community would put it a little differently…”
“Anyway, there’s no way to tell how many gates there might be.” Daniel turned his head to look at Jack, who had taken a seat next to him. Sam had opted to sit on the deck and lean against the side. “But the reference to the lake makes me think that we might be close to the Lake of Fire. It’s possible this was the last one.”
“I have to say, I really hope so. I’m so looking forward to the Lake of Fire.” Jack scowled and looked out over the prow, although there was nothing to be seen.
The barque drifted forward to wherever their destination might be. They rested as best they could, and waited for some sign as to what was to come. As air grew progressively hotter and began to smell more strongly of smoke, sweat began to stain their clothes, joining the dried blood. The horizon took on a strange red glow.
Daniel took in the red light. That was not a good sign. “There was more than one Lake of Fire in the underworld. The most important one was a step in the judgment of the dead. They were judged by a tribunal of baboons at the Lake of Fire. If you were righteous, it would appear as water. You could drink from the lake and be refreshed. If you weren’t though…”
“Not so much? Fire? Nasty Baboon stuff?” Jack waved a hand vaguely.
Daniel nodded. “Pretty much. The righteous could also turn into fire and destroy their enemies” The heat was increasingly uncomfortable. He felt a bit dizzy and sweat began to escape from under his bandana as it had outside the pyramid.
Sam looked intrigued. “I wonder what that might signify. Maybe some kind of flame weapon?”
“That would be cool. And we’re pretty righteous, aren’t we?” Jack spread his hands. “Ra’s still sitting pretty and we killed Barbie-Apophis.”
Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I’m not sure that’s the kind of Lake of Fire this will be. Am-Heh wasn’t part of any of the judgment myths. We really don’t know anything about him other than that he dwelt in an underworld on a lake of fire and had an insatiable thirst for sacrifice. The reason I mentioned the other lake of fire was to bring up the fact that this might not be what we expect.”
“It may appear as normal water unless we do something to prove that we aren’t righteous. And it’s important to note that righteous to the Egyptians meant not breaking the laws of the gods or showing them a lack of proper respect.” Daniel put his glasses back on and gave them a significant look. “We might find that difficult. So far, we would probably be considered righteous, but I’m guessing we won’t be feeling all that respectful if we find him.”
Jack appreciated the new visibility but more than a little concerned about just how much fire might be ahead. “I’m thinking that we’re not heading for cool, refreshing water, Daniel. It’s getting a lot hotter.”
“I’d wish I was I was wrong, except that it’s our best bet to find a way out. Where ever Am-Heh is, or was, he must have had a way to the Stargate.”
“What kind of laws are we talking about, Daniel?” Sam saw a lot of opportunity for trouble there. She brushed back sweat damped hair and wished for a bandanna like Daniel’s. She amended that: a cleaner bandanna than Daniel’s. “Religious law is complicated in monotheistic religions, let alone a religion with as many gods as Ancient Egypt.”
“The Egyptians didn’t see daily life as separate from religion. They didn’t even have a word for religion, it was just part of living; the natural order of things. Sacred and mundane weren’t separate, but were part of a whole. Every action was important on a larger scale. So, that’s another thing we don’t know, Sam.”
Daniel stared at the orange horizon in front of the barque, like a nightmarish dawn. “Again, we have to remember that all of this means something completely different to a Goa’uld than it would have meant to the ancient Egyptians. That makes it really hard to predict which aspects he may use and how.”
Jack was scowling and rubbing his forehead. “I know I asked to hear everything that might be important but…wow. That’s the last time I say that. I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, I do, still…wow.”
Teal’c called to them from the prow. “I believe there is something ahead!”
Sam, Jack, and Daniel joined him as quickly as their battered bodies would allow, eyes straining to make out what Teal’c had seen. The rocky shores narrowed sharply in the distance. The pits of fire now dominated the landscape right up to the shoreline. Soon they would be passing through channel barely twice the width of the boat, mere feet away from the inferno.
Sam looked at the channel skeptically. “Daniel, how flammable is a papyriform boat?
He raised his eyebrows. “Gee, I don’t know, Sam. How flammable is wood?”
Sam rolled her eyes at Daniel. “We may have a problem. The spontaneous ignition temperature of wood is 572 degrees Fahrenheit. I would guess that the fire encroaching on the shore is that hot, probably hotter. If we move quickly through the middle of the channel without stopping, I think we’ll make it in time, but if we stop, even for a few minutes, the boat will spontaneously combust.
Daniel frowned at her. “Sam, if it’s hot enough to spontaneously combust the boat, won’t we, er… cook?”
“Well, yes. But the boat will burn first, so cooking won’t be our first problem.”
“So, burning alive or risking the yucky, possibly contaminated, critter ridden water, then cooking? That’s what we’re looking at?” Jack was rubbing his forehead again and feeling way beyond frustrated.
Teal’c interjected, “O’Neill, I believe the water in the channel is very hot. There is considerable steam rising.”
“Aw, for cryin’ out loud! Daniel, can you see anything up ahead that makes you think we’ll stop? Gate thingys or anything?”
“Nothing visible, Jack. But there are those oars…”
“Right. And we’ve had to use everything else in this damn boat, so we better get ready to row. That’s just outstanding! Daniel, there’s no way you can do this, is there?”
“Probably not. But I kind of think I have to… It’s not like a row boat where you can hold an oar with one hand. Each oar is meant to be manned by one person and there has to be the same amount of pull from both sides, or the barque won’t go straight. That would send us into the side of the channel and closer to the fire.”
They were silent for a moment. Sam looked at Daniel a frown and said, “Daniel, you can’t. Your shoulder will start bleeding again. You’ll probably even do more damage. You could end up permanently disabled.”
“That is unacceptable, Daniel Jackson. I shall row on one side. O’Neill and Major Carter will row on the other. You will tell us if we are following a straight path and when to pull harder.” Teal’c looked implacable.
Jack clapped his hands together. “And we have a plan! Let’s get those oars in place.”
They quickly retrieved the oars from narrow space between the benches and slipped them into the oar locks. Teal’c took his place on a bench near the center of the craft, oar in hand, held above the water. Sam and Jack did the same on the other side, opposite Teal’c.
The heat was now incredibly intense and made worse by the steam rising from the channel ahead. Their clothes were sodden and sweat poured down their faces. The roar of the flames became loud, drowning out their voices.
Daniel moved to the prow. “We’re entering the channel.” He estimated the distance to the pass in the cliffs at the end. “It looks like it’s about a hundred feet long,” he shouted over the noise. “Here we go!”
The sides of the waterway suddenly closed in. There were flames rising from pits of fire barely four feet away from the sides of the craft on either side. The air was hot enough to burn as they gasped for breath in fiery canal. The barque continued about half way into the channel, and then stopped, dead in the water.
“Go!” Daniel signaled the team, with a wave of his hand. He leaned over the front of the barque to check their position. He wished desperately that he could join them, feeling entirely helpless as the heat from the fire and the steam beat against his face. “We really need to move now…”
The oars hit in a simultaneous motion and dug deep into the water with Jack and Sam timing their movements to those of Teal’c. The barque foundered for a moment, then began to pull forward at a fast pace. All three were pulling hard, the heat beating at them and making sweat slicked hands slip on the oars. The roar of the fire was deafening.
Daniel eyed the channel, gauging the distance to each side, ready to correct them the barque began to pull toward one side or the other. They had to reach the jagged cliff at the end, through which the canal passed, before their craft burned, before they died from the heat. Ten feet; forty feet to go. The barque began to veer to the right. He waved a hand ‘up’ to Sam and Jack, ‘down’ to Teal’c. The craft evened out briefly then turned quickly to the left. Daniel frantically gave the ‘up’ signal to Teal’c. The barque straightened slowly. Twenty feet; thirty feet to go. As the heat from the fire burnt his skin and the steam scorched his lungs, Daniel watched the team struggle to keep the barque moving forward
Blisters were already forming as her hands were rubbed raw as she tried to keep a grip on the oar. Sam blinked the sweat from her eyes and kept a close eye on Teal’c for pace, and Daniel, for signs of trouble. The stain on her muscles was agonizing as she pulled the oar with all of her strength.
They were going mostly straight, but there was a slight drift to the right. Daniel decided to wait a minute before he said anything. The overcorrection had been worse than the drift. He looked over his steam covered glasses at Sam and Jack, trying to determine when he should have Teal’c ease up. He could see that they couldn’t pull any harder. Teal’c was sweating as much as the rest of them and showing as much discomfort as Daniel had ever seen in him, but was still rowing tirelessly. Thirty feet; twenty feet to go.
The wounds on Jack’s arm and leg burned as he fought to keep time with Teal’c. Sweat had soaked right through the bandages and the sting of salt added to his pain. He gritted his teeth and looked from Teal’c, who rowed with a fortitude he envied, to Daniel, who was looking worried.
Daniel gave a sign to Teal’c to ease up. He hoped that this didn’t lead to another wild swing in the other direction. The temperature had gotten so hot that he didn’t think they could afford even the few seconds it would take to straighten their path. Steam was flowing over the prow as they passed through the water and his face stung like he was standing over a kettle. Forty feet; ten feet to go.
Teal’c glanced at O’Neill and Major Carter. They had little energy left in them although they fought valiantly to continue. He, himself, could feel the strain of muscles used in an unfamiliar way, of the unbearable heat against his skin. When Daniel Jackson had motioned him to lessen his pull, he had done so just slightly, but he would have to slow further if they did not reach the end of the channel soon.
They were almost there. Daniel held onto the prow and gasped for breath. He could see that Jack and Sam were close to collapse. He saw Teal’c adjust his stroke as they faltered. It felt as though the oxygen was being consumed by the fires around them. They couldn’t afford to slow down now. They were so close! They had almost reached the cliff through which the channel passed. “We’re almost through! Just a little more!” He pointed to the front and waved his arm wildly. “Come on!” He saw them put everything they had left into their strokes.
Stone rose up on either side of them as they moved through the pass. The boat shot forward into the cool blue waters of an underground lake and the temperature plunged. Daniel slid down the prow to the deck, gasping the chill air with relief. As he raised a shaking hand to remove his glasses, he saw that it was burnt like he’d spent a day in the hot sun, and covered with small blisters.
Jack let go of the oar and collapsed across two of the benches. His lungs were heaving in an effort to take in the oxygen they had been denied. His arms and legs were shaking from the strain. He closed his eyes and let the cool air wash over him.
Sam let herself collapse to the deck where she splayed out, letting the air cool her skin as it chilled her sweat soaked clothes. A tiny voice in her mind whispered about the effects of too rapid cooling after exposure to intense heat, but she ignored it, as she took deep, gasping breaths. She could feel the pain of the cut in her arm. That same little voice told her that the Colonel’s wounds were much worse and may have reopened, but she let herself ignore that for the moment, too.
Teal’c allowed himself to be still, hunched over the oar, breathing deeply, as in Kel’no’reem. He enjoyed the feeling of the sweat chilling on his skin, and released the tension in his muscles. As he sat up to survey the high cliffs surrounding this new place, the barque began to move. It was, once again, propelled by an unseen force. Teal’c rose from the bench and moved to the front of the barque. He offered a hand to Daniel Jackson.
Daniel lifted a blistered hand and waved it in front of him. “Uh, thanks anyway. I think I’ll just get up myself.” He pushed off from the deck, holding his injured shoulder stiffly, and climbed to his feet. “So. Where are we going?” He wiped his glasses on his shirt and put them back on.
“I believe our destination is that dock, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c pointed to a break in the cliffs that surrounded the lake. A stone platform, not unlike the one they had left, sat in an alcove set into the cliff face. There was a mooring post attached to the edge of the platform, mirroring the one at which they had found the barque.
“Ah. Well, good.” Daniel took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “I’m tired of boats.”
Jack and Sam had picked themselves up, Sam groaning, Jack complaining, and joined Teal’c and Daniel at the front of the barque.
Jack grimaced, stretching his sore shoulders. “I am going to be so stiff in the morning!
The voice of duty had pushed itself to the fore in Sam’s mind. She gauged the distance between the dock and the barque and said, “Sir, I think it will take us about half an hour to reach the dock at this pace. I’d like to check everyone’s bandages while we have a moment.”
Sam pulled out the med kit and quickly changed bandages where it was required. She knew that Daniel’s shoulder wound required medical attention that she couldn’t give and she was worried that it was looking infected. She also thought that he might have a fever, but that could be related to the extreme heat to which they had been exposed. She’d have to check again later.
The rowing had started new bleeding in the wound on the Colonel’s arm, but the leg wound, painful though it must be, had not been aggravated. Infection was looking like a real possibility with both wounds, just like Daniel’s. All she could do was continue with the antibiotics.
Teal’c announced that he no longer required bandages and she didn’t try to argue with him.
Finally, she changed her own bandage and gave Daniel a tube of burn ointment. His face wasn’t as burnt as his hands, but was very red. “Daniel, next time you’re in a river of boiling water, don’t lean out so far. Okay?
He lifted an eyebrow. “But, Sam, you know I try to play it safe. I’m only a scholar, after all. An ivory tower occupant.”
She stared at him for a second, at the sweat tracks in the dirt on his red face, at his soaked and filthy bandanna, at his deliberately innocent blue eyes, at the man to whom never played it safe, if he thought of risks at all. Daniel was as from being an 'ivory tower' academic as you could get. Sam gave a loud snort then started laughing uncontrollably. A grin split his face. They leaned against the side of the barque and laughed until tears ran down their faces.
Jack and Teal’c looked at each other and back at to them. Teal’c’s eyebrow had climbed to its highest. Jack grinned and said, “Teal’c, let’s move the gear to the front of the boat.” The two of them gathered the packs and canteens that had been left scattered around and moved them to a single location near the prow, along with their P-90’s and Teal’c’s staff weapon.
Sam and Daniel collected themselves and went to the platform, still snickering, to get the Ra stature. Daniel thought they should leave the Apophis statue where it was, since taking the knife out might change something. Sam put the statue in her pack and wondered if that would be considered disrespectful in light of Daniel’s words, but she needed her hands free to fire her weapon. She also collected their flashlights, and the remaining knives, since Daniel wasn’t sure if they would need them again.
They joined Teal’c and Jack by the pile of belongings just as the barque pulled up to the mooring post in perfect alignment with the platform. Sam and Jack clipped their P-90s to their TAC vests and Teal’c picked up his staff weapon.
Sam passed a flashlight to the Colonel and another to Teal’c. They trained them on the platform.
Jack looked at Daniel. “So we can just get off the boat? No riddles or booby traps?”
Daniel examined the platform “I think so. I don’t see anything here that would indicate a problem. I think we are supposed to be here, for whatever reason. Sam?”
“I don’t see any problem either, sir. No pressure plates, no obvious weaponry in the walls. I think we’re good.”
Jack picked up his pack and threw it on to the platform suspiciously, then said, “This is too easy. Okay, let’s get our stuff off the boat.” Teal’c climbed over the side. Jack and Sam passed him the gear then they helped Daniel over the side. It wasn’t easy and Daniel looked shaky when he made it on to the dock. Jack was trying not to let anyone see how much moving that gear hurt.
Jack climbed out last and looked back at the barque. “I hope the experience didn’t ruin your Egyptian boat for you, Daniel.”
“It did kind of take the shine off. I’ll get over it.”
Sam called their attention back to the platform. “Sir, there are rings here. The usual kind.” She had also located the controls on the right side of the platform, near the back wall.
Jack frowned and nodded. “Not as sneaky as I’d like, but it’s something. Let’s go find the wizard.”
“I shall take your pack, Daniel Jackson.” Teal’c put on his own pack then threw the second one over a shoulder.
“Thanks, Teal’c.” Not having to deal with his pack meant that he could shoot if they ran into trouble. And they probably would. Daniel drew his Beretta once again.
The team gathered on the platform facing outwards, weapons ready. When they were in place, Sam activated the rings, ran to join then, and said, “If this takes us back to the same place, I’m going to be really pissed off.” The rings rushed down and drew them upwards into the unknown.
Go to Chapter 5
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