By
TITLE: Sacrifices
AUTHOR: Jaclyn Horrod
EMAIL: jaclyn@thefifthrace.net
CATEGORY: Action, Drama
SPOILERS: Reference to The Fifth Race. Introduces original characters seen later
in stories 'The Rescue', 'Deception's Kiss', 'Judgement Day' and
'Interactions'.
SEASON / SEQUEL: Season 3.
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: When Jackson and Carter elect to study the ancient Aztec society they
discover on their latest mission,
STATUS: Complete.
ARCHIVE:
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters belong to MGM, Gekko Film Corp and
Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for
entertainment purposes and no money exchanged hands. No copyright or trademark
infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Without the constant support, critique, and honesty of my
beta reader, Rach, this Fanfic would never have been written. Meus amicus, my
eternal gratitude.
FEEDBACK: Most definitely!
Jack O'Neill slumped back into his favourite armchair,
feet up on the coffee table. He began to read the magazine on gadgets that he'd
bought hours earlier. He was thinking of maybe building a model aeroplane, it
had been a while, and what with the Stargate program taking up so much of his
time, relaxing appeared to have been merely a figment of his imagination.
Puccini's La Boheme emanated from the stereo,
something else he'd missed; real music. Having had the misfortune of turning on
his car stereo hours earlier and being subjected to some kind of weird and
deafening maelstrom, he found Puccini's company much more satisfying.
The doorbell interrupted his scrutiny of a
particularly cool looking remote plane. He raised both eyebrows ceremoniously
and sighed to himself.
"Great," he complained, taking his time to
lift his feet from the comfort of the coffee table, time enough for the
impatient visitor to sound the chimes again.
"Alright, keep your pantyhose on," he
yelled.
Opening the door, he was greeted with a smile from
Daniel Jackson. He nodded his head forward. "Daniel?"
"Jack, I'm sorry I hope you don't mind?"
Jack, sensing only something of great importance to
"No, I don't mind, come in," he said,
offering a smile in return. "What's up, Danny?"
"I was having trouble sleeping, kept dreaming
about Sha're. Could I get something to drink?"
"Um," O'Neill remembered Daniel's dislike of
beer. "Alcohol? Or coffee?" he asked.
Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "No, alcohol is
sounding good, um, bourbon if you've got it."
"Oh, I've got it. Have a seat, I'll be right
back."
Wandering into the kitchen. "You want anything in
that or just ice?" O'Neill called out.
Daniel had already made himself comfortable.
"Puccini," he said, more to himself, in surprise of O'Neill's musical
tastes.
"What?" O'Neill shouted. "Ice,
okay."
Daniel sighed heavily. "No, I, er…" He got
up and followed O'Neill into the kitchen.
"No, I said you listen to Puccini," Daniel
corrected. "And you'd better put some water in that if you don't want me
to pass out."
"Oh, sure," O'Neill confirmed, taking iced
water from the cooler. Then with a look of disdain, he added, "I'm not a
complete Neanderthal, I have my moments."
"Want to sit here or in the lounge?" O'Neill
asked him as he offered Daniel the drink.
"Actually, here's fine," the archaeologist
responded.
Jack felt more concern than he let on, and waited for
Daniel to seek his advice or counsel.
"So, you came to enjoy my great company
then?" he joked.
"Like I, er, said, I was having these nightmares,
and I didn't want to be alone."
Jack looked delighted. "Daniel, I'm touched. I
was the first person you thought of? Or am I being a little premature
there?" he added with a guarded expression.
"No, I, well to be honest Jack, even with our
constant disagreements, which, by the way I'm sure that I enjoy as much as you
do, you're probably the only person that understands. I mean," he offered
quickly. "I don't want to go over old ground here or anything, but we’ve
been through a lot of, er, stuff."
Daniel let out a heavy sigh. "No. Actually,
that's not it either. Remember when you told me that you would help get Sha're
back? I believed you. Well, I'm trying to."
"Daniel, will you just stop? I know what you're
trying to say. You wanted some company and you picked me, ‘cause despite our
differences, we're kind of the closest thing we both have to family...
right?" O'Neill offered, with sincerity in his tone as well as his face.
"Yeah, that's it, in a nutshell, Jack. I guess I
was waiting for..."
"Sarcasm? Oh, come on Daniel, I left that back at
the base. What's on your mind? You want to talk, or play chess?" Jack
asked. "’Cause I still haven't beaten you, and, well that's kind of
bugging me," he confessed.
Daniel smiled. "I knew that," he said.
"You hate to lose. I guess that's one of the reasons I believed you."
"Yeah, y'know, some people call that
stubborn," Jack quipped. "So after I beat you at chess, I can cook us
something to eat, and we could talk about whatever it is that's bothering you.
Deal?"
"Okay, deal," Daniel replied.
*********************
Major Carter, still at the SGC and studying some
samples brought back by SG11, stood bolt upright from the microscope she peered
into. "Whoa," she exclaimed. Sergeant Siler looked across from his
own studies. "Ma'am?"
"There's gold in this sample, Sergeant, give me a
hand, I'm going to try and isolate it, see how pure it is."
She looked again. "No, wait, it's some kind of
carved... it's a winged serpent," she said.
Sergeant Siler looked into the microscope.
"You're right," he agreed.
*********************
Daniel woke up hearing sounds of what was obviously
someone showering. He rolled over and checked his watch. He vaguely remembered
drinking far too much, and then nothing.
He was still dressed, lying on top of the bed, in what
he deduced must be the spare room.
The phone starting ringing. He listened to see if Jack
was going to hear it, then realised with great amusement that his friend was
singing songs in the shower. He got up and left the room, walking past the
bathroom, where "
"Oh, now I know why he joined the Air
Force,"
He found the phone at the top of the stairs and lifted
the receiver. "Hello, Jack O'Neill's residence," he answered
politely.
"Sir," It was Carter's voice.
"Oh, hi, Sam, I meant to add I'm not him,"
Daniel said.
"Daniel?"
"Yes."
"General Hammond asked me to telephone both of
you, and tell you that we have a briefing at
"Thanks, but, er, I'm here, and now I know, so,
okay, look, I'll tell Jack, and we'll be there in time for the briefing,"
Daniel stammered, his head still throbbing. "Er, what time is it?"
"Zero
"Yes, I'm fine, I just need to find a large
supply of aspirin. I'll see you then." He put the phone down and
headed downstairs into the kitchen.
"Neat person," he acknowledged, as he opened
one meticulously tidy cupboard after another in search of his aspirin.
"Morning," O'Neill exclaimed. "Shower's
free... oh, Danny boy, you look like hell."
"Thanks. Aspirin?"
Jack pointed to the one place Daniel was yet to look;
the first aid box was on top of the icebox.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
"You don't remember?" Jack's face was now
beaming broadly. "Well, after I beat you at chess, which took over three
hours and plenty of bourbon, I might add. You owe me a bottle."
"A bottle?" Daniel looked horrified.
Jack laughed. "Yeah, you told me you wanted to
forget, so I got the bottle. Then you had something to eat, threw up all over
the kitchen floor, and passed out. You're quite a date Danny boy."
"Oh," Daniel looked even more mortified.
"Sorry. Er, how'd I get upstairs?" he asked.
"Well, thankfully for both of us, well you
really, ‘cause, well never mind. You missed diving into the interesting
cocktail you deposited on the floor, so I carried you up there, and dumped you
in the spare room," Jack replied, scratching his head thoughtfully.
"Want some breakfast?"
"No. Could I borrow some clean clothes? We have a
briefing at
"Sure. Check the closet, help yourself. There are
clean towels in the linen closet, and whatever else you need you should be able
to find. Like I said, help yourself."
Daniel stood there for a moment, almost in a daze.
"Thanks."
Jack took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with
water. "Here. You're not much of a morning person, are you?"
Daniel stared at him for a moment, struggling to come
to terms with his king-size hangover. "What?"
Jack smiled at him. "Never mind, have a shower,
you'll feel better," he said.
*********************
Daniel found Jack outside the back of the house,
eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.
"Feeling better?" he asked. "Listen,
Daniel, don't feel bad, it was probably my cooking," Jack quipped.
"No. I'm just not used to drinking. Can I have
some of that?" he asked gesturing towards the ample supply of juice,
scrambled eggs and toast that O'Neill was tucking into.
"Dig in, I made plenty."
O'Neill didn't intend to bring up the stuff that
Daniel had told him once under the influence, or mention the fact that once or
twice he'd broken down.
He understood the pain; it was his own constant
companion. Even if it would probably have helped Daniel to discuss it in less
inebriated circumstances, O'Neill felt it better left.
"Jack?"
"I know, Daniel. It's appreciated," Jack
said, seeing the apologetic look on
"Oh, wow!"
Jack smiled at him. "Well, it's about time you
chilled out," he said, the smile turning into a grin.
"Chilled out?" Daniel repeated.
"Yeah, come on, Daniel, when was the last time
you really let your hair down, had... fun?" O'Neill remarked "Last
night, I have got to tell you, every time you took one of the pieces at
chess."
"What?" Daniel had that same horror-struck
expression he had had when O'Neill confirmed that he'd accounted for half a
bottle of bourbon.
"Well, I hate to tell you this, but you kind of
laughed at me. Which, under the circumstances, made finally beating you
sweet!"
Daniel smiled then. "Oh... but only after the,
er..."
"Yeah okay, but hey! I learned a lot. Thanks, it
was an enjoyable evening," O'Neill told him, standing now. "Better
get to the base... you done?"
"Er, yeah, Jack?" Daniel's expression was
now one of his usual enquiring ones.
"Yeah?"
"You did beat me, you're not just saying
that?"
"Oooh, yeah, I beat you!"
*********************
Sam Carter greeted the two men as they left the
elevator.
"Sir, I've found something in the samples that
SG11 brought back. At first, I thought...."
"Major!" O'Neill snapped. "Whilst I
would ordinarily find this fascinating." His expression indicated the
opposite. "Daniel has a hangover, and I'm feeling a little delicate
myself, so..."
"Yes, sir," Carter confirmed.
"Thank you, Major," O'Neill responded,
offering her one of his more sarcastic smiles. He then muttered to Daniel.
"Boy, if I'd have known it would be that easy..."
Teal'c stood in the briefing room, drinking coffee,
waiting for the rest of SG1 to arrive.
"Morning, Teal'c," O'Neill announced
cheerfully, stretching his arms up over his head.
"Good morning, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel
Jackson," Teal'c greeted.
"Yeah, hello, Teal'c," Daniel replied
meekly. "Sorry, um, hangover."
Teal'c raised a quizzical eyebrow. "What do you
wish me to hang over, Daniel Jackson?"
O'Neill's face was a picture. "Er, Teal'c,
hangover is a term we use when we've had too much alcohol... you know, got
drunk?"
"I do not know that term, O'Neill, of what did he
drink too much?" Teal'c asked, looking even more intrigued.
O'Neill's face screwed up. "Teal'c you just have
to experience it. Don't know if Junior would like it though."
"It's a narcotic type, um, alcohol, you drink it
and it makes you feel, um, happy, yes?" Daniel attempted to explain.
"I am not sure, Daniel Jackson, why would you
drink narcotics?" Teal'c asked, looking a tad concerned now.
"Oka-ay," O'Neill said. "We'll, um,
we'll do that real soon." He smiled at Teal'c and shook his head at
Daniel. "Guess Jaffas don't party much," he said raising his
eyebrows.
"Colonel O'Neill," General Hammond said,
"Doctor Jackson, good morning. Colonel, you're late,” he said, pointedly.
"Ten minutes, sir, unscheduled stop off." He
grinned. "Apologies for that, sir. Hopefully it won't happen again."
"Sorry about the car, Jack," Daniel stated,
looking considerably uncomfortable.
"Doctor Jackson, are you okay?" General
Hammond asked.
"Well, er, I'm feeling a lot better. Thank you,
General."
"Not sure my car is," O'Neill quipped.
"Anyway, what's the mission?"
Jack changed the subject quickly, attempting to
deflect further enquiry towards Daniel. "You know, I've missed this place,
it seems like only yesterday I was here."
Teal'c raised his right eyebrow. "It in fact was
only yesterday, O'Neill."
O'Neill shook his head. "You know what? You're
right!"
"Can we get started?"
"Of course, sir. Major, you wanna fill us
in?" O'Neill concurred.
Sam Carter began to brief the team on her findings,
finally bringing up the image she had discovered concealed within one of the
'rock' samples brought back from PJ5-909.
Daniel looked carefully at the image.
"Whoa," he declared, getting to his feet. "That's, um, that's
Quetzalcoatl."
O'Neill's eyebrows disappeared into his forehead.
"What?"
"He was a feathered serpent, god of air and
water, worshipped in many early, um, native American civilizations. Especially
by the Aztecs, who used gold predominantly to fashion their gods," Daniel
explained. "Did you find anything else?"
"No, we sent the UAV through and got these
images," Carter showed them the next slide.
"WOW!"
O'Neill looked across at Teal'c. "Ever been
there?" he enquired.
Teal'c shook his head. "No, O'Neill, I have
not."
"Great. Daniel?" Jack asked. "Dare I
risk saying that looks like a pyramid?"
"Ooh, it is, but not in the same way as the
Egyptians used them. Aztecs, Toltecs and Incas used their Pyramids for places
of worship and sacrifice," Daniel enthused.
"Sacrifice?" O'Neill sounded less than
impressed. "Great, but Goa'uld inspired right?"
"Well, actually, Jack, it's possible. Yes."
"Sweet. Goa'uld town! Whose is it?" Jack
asked. "And, Daniel, the basics please."
"Yeah, um, well, I don't, actually know, but
there is one way to find out." He gave General Hammond his most winning
smile. "That is, if you agree, General?"
"Whoa, Danny boy. You did say sacrifices?"
Jack asked. "Don't you think that might be just a little bit... life
threatening, unless we go in with a division?"
"Well, we really don't know if they've maintained
that way of life, Jack," Daniel replied. "And before we go in with
the, er, intentions of starting something, we really should do just a little
snooping around first?"
Jack's eyes rolled. "General, sir, permission to
take this man to the infirmary?"
Jack shook his head quickly as if trying to clear
cobwebs from his mind.
"Hello, I think if we don't report back, we're
probably fish bait!"
"Well, Colonel,"
"Jack, please. Let's go take a look?" Daniel
asked.
Jack regarded him with scepticism. "Arrgh.
Daniel," he growled. "Okay, sir, we'll go take a look."
*********************
Jack kitted up in the armoury; his favourite MP5, a
Zat gun, six spare clips, and for good measure he had included an M16 rifle,
which he now slung over his backpack.
Daniel, who was collecting his side arm, smiled to
himself. "Er, the UAV indicated the city is about six miles from the
Stargate, Jack, are you gonna make it with all the stuff?"
Jack regarded him for a moment. "Daniel, if I
could carry one, I'd have a tank with me too. You can never have enough fire
power, know what I mean?"
Daniel's head tilted to the side, acknowledging Jack's
thoughts. "Well, I guess. But um, do you think we could try peaceful
contact first?"
"Sure Daniel, I'm open to that," Jack
agreed. "Diplomatic stuff, but if there's a snakehead there, who wants to
shoot first, and ask questions later, these babies will do all the talking for
me."
O'Neill patted his MP5 and made his way past Daniel,
who shrugged and followed.
End of Part One.
The planet was of modest climate, Jack noted, as they
stepped through the Stargate. He pushed his sunglasses onto his head.
"Okay, the UAV indicated it was about 6 klicks in that direction, let's
move out people."
Daniel, as fascinated by the surroundings as a child
in
Teal'c silently observed, whilst Carter studied her
readings and kept a watchful eye for hostiles.
A long trek later, the vast pyramid structure became
visible. Jack halted the party and knelt, took out his binoculars and proceeded
to view the city a little closer. "Okay, we've got men in skirts," he
commented. "Seem to have swords for weapons, should be a walk in the park.
Let's go make friends."
The group moved on, entering the city, where a group
of Aztecs, their golden swords drawn, immediately confronted them.
"Okay. Daniel, you're on," O'Neill ordered.
Daniel began to speak in the Nahuatl language of the
ancient Aztecs, a language still used in
One of the Aztecs responded, the two exchanged
greetings, and the Aztec man gestured for the party to follow him.
"Daniel?" O'Neill asked.
"He's offering us their hospitality," Daniel
said.
"Well, now, isn't that nice," O'Neill
replied, ever the sceptic. "So, do we trust them?"
"Yes, I think so."
"I hope you're right," O'Neill stated with a
heavy sigh.
*********************
The 'feast' that was laid on for SG1 was impressive.
O'Neill relaxed a little, but kept a wary eye on what appeared to be the guards
of the city.
Daniel tucked into the feast heartily. "You
should try some of this?" Daniel told him.
"Um, no," O'Neill said. "I really
shouldn't, watching you redecorate the interior of my car this morning was
enough for one day, thanks all the same."
Carter was attempting to communicate with one of the
party that had greeted and offered them the food and wine, whilst Teal'c, like
O'Neill, declined the food and beverages.
One man, dressed in robes of feathers, appeared to be
offended; he spoke to Daniel quite abruptly.
Daniel replied, whilst O'Neill looked on.
"What?" he asked.
"He's offended that you aren't eating and sharing
the hospitality. I, er, I told him that you were fasting, on religious
grounds."
O'Neill raised a wary eyebrow, checking around the
vast hall once again.
Listening to Daniel speak in the foreign dialect,
Teal'c moved closer to Jack now. "O'Neill," he said. "I am
uncertain of this place. The figure at the far end of the hall, I have seen it
before."
O'Neill's eyes were drawn immediately to the huge
depiction of an eagle.
"Where?"
"It is shown in teachings. This is not a Goa'uld
planet, the Goa'uld do not come here anymore," Teal'c explained.
"They fear this place."
"Well that's usually a good sign, Teal'c,"
O'Neill pointed out.
"As you say, O'Neill, usually I would agree with
you, but..."
"Ah, ah, ah. No buts! We've got to make contact
with
Teal'c bowed his head, acknowledging that statement,
and seemed pleased by O'Neill's decision.
"Daniel, time to go,
"But, Jack!" Daniel was about to argue.
O'Neill's hand shot up, a single finger waved side to
side.
"No arguments, Daniel, you know what'll happen if
we don't send a report," Jack warned.
Daniel Jackson stood up, approaching the colonel.
"Jack, let me stay here a while. It's a great opportunity for me to learn
something more about their culture..."
"Ah ah. Don't do the ‘please, Jack’ thing,"
O'Neill threatened. He considered the request for a moment, a resigned heavy
sigh.
Carter was approaching him now, too. "Sir, I
think some of those weapons and statues are forged from pure gold, I'd like the
chance to study it closely, I’d like to stay too, sir, they've shown no
tendency towards hostility."
"Why do I go along with these fanatical
ideas?" O'Neill complained. "Alright, Teal'c and I will go back and
make a report to
"Understood, sir," Carter acknowledged,
before Daniel could protest further.
O'Neill and Teal'c made their way out of the city; the
curious Aztec citizens watched them but made no attempt to prevent their
leaving.
"Teal'c, why do I let myself get talked into
these things?" O'Neill enquired.
*********************
Carter was studying the great golden carved eagle; its
magnificence stared down across the hall where they had earlier feasted.
"Sam, this is terrific," Daniel said,
joining her. His face lit up with the discovery and fascination he felt.
"That deity you're studying is Huitzilopochtli, a great warrior god, who
was worshipped as the God of War and Courage. He's the guardian deity of the
city," Daniel enthused.
"The carving is almost perfect," Carter
said, as enthused as Daniel about the obvious technology required for such
perfection. "It hasn't been cast, it's carved, probably with laser
technology."
Daniel was silent for a moment. "Oh," he
said. "Um, Sam, I have just remembered something else about
Huitzilopochtli."
"What?" Carter asked, feeling a little
uneasy at Daniel's concerned expression.
"The Aztecs sacrificed thousands of human lives
to him, especially during the festival of Panquetzalitzili, the, er, 'Raising
of the Banners' that celebrates his supremacy as a God of War and
Courage."
"Daniel, what are you saying?" Carter’s
concern grew.
"I, er, think we may have partaken of the
festival, and now I think we might be part of the um, offering. I'm hoping not,
but I'm sure that's why they greeted us. They think we've been sent here, by
Coatlicue, another god, well, um, goddess actually, as a part of her offering
to her son."
"Well, we'd better get out of here, the Colonel's
not going to be back until morning. Daniel, are you sure?"
"Ah, that it's the festival, yes. One of the
people we ate with mentioned it, only at the time, well, it didn't quite...
well, anyway, I'm thinking that we ought to try and leave, if they let us
go," he added.
"If?" Carter began to gather her stuff.
"We're going, come on."
They made their way through the great hall, two Aztec
soldiers moved to bar their exit.
"Oh dear," Daniel said.
Sam looked at him, horrified. "Now what?"
she asked.
"Hmmm, I have no idea. Guess we better hope Jack
gets back before that."
Carter looked angry. "Why did they let the
Colonel and Teal'c go?" she asked.
"Well, I'm guessing it's because they didn't
partake, so they probably thought that Jack and Teal'c were the Guardians
entrusted with bringing us from Coatlicue," Daniel said, looking
apologetic, then adding, "Damn it."
Carter's expression changed. "What?"
"I hate it when Jack's right." His face
screwed up like a petulant child. "He gets to do the 'Daniel' thing,"
the archaeologist stated, doing his best impression of O'Neill.
"Daniel, exactly how did they sacrifice these
people?" Carter asked, joining Jackson who had seated himself on one of
the large cushions supplied for the purpose.
"Well, um, priests usually tore the heart out of
the living victim," he said quickly. "Or they flayed you to
death." His face muscles twitched at the thought of either.
"Oh nice. Hurry up, Colonel," Sam noted.
*********************
Jack O'Neill strode through the corridors of the SGC,
already kitted up and ready to embark back through the Gate to collect his
colleagues.
"Morning, Teal'c," he greeted the
"I am not returning, Colonel O'Neill, I have to
perform Kel No Reem, that planet has had a strange effect upon my
symbiote."
Janet confirmed the information to O'Neill, who had
gone with the
"So, I guess it's a long trip talking to
myself," O'Neill told
"No, Colonel, you'll be accompanied by SG2, Major
Coburn and his men."
"Thank you, sir," O'Neill enthused.
"I'm sure the Major will make jolly company." O'Neill doubted that
particular statement; Coburn was very military minded and he knew this to be an
instant humour killer.
O'Neill joined SG2 in the embarkation room. "Good
morning, campers," he announced. "The sun will be up in approximately
1 hour on the planet we're visiting, so you'll need your night vision glasses.
I'm hoping that will be about it, but hey! I've been wrong before."
The SG2 soldiers stared back at the Colonel, unused to
such levity from a commanding officer, and nodded one at a time.
O'Neill raised his eyebrows. "And a sense of
humour." he muttered to himself. As the Gate splashed into life, he
ordered. "Let's move out."
The darkness on the other side, improved by the night
vision goggles that he wore, seemed to be denser than that on Earth, or any
other planet he'd visited. O'Neill led the way, his MP5 cautiously held like a
baby in his arms.
"Major," he snapped. "It's a long
way."
"Yes, sir," Coburn replied.
"Keep your wits about you, I'm still not 100%
sold on this idea that these people are that friendly."
"Yes, sir," Coburn replied.
"Sweet," O'Neill said and marched on into
the darkness.
*********************
"Sun's coming up," Carter told Daniel as she
woke him. "Colonel is probably on his way."
"I hope so," Daniel replied. "I'm kind
of wishing that we'd gone back with Jack in the first place."
Carter was suddenly curious, needing to think about
something other than what might happen to them. "So, Daniel, why were you
over at the colonel's place?"
"Oh, we were playing chess, we're trying to learn
how to communicate, you know, Jack can sometimes be good company. Did you know
he liked Puccini? Surprised me, he was even reciting some of it later on."
Carter smiled. "No I didn't. Reciting it?"
"Yeah, he knew all the words, especially to
Madame Butterfly, I've never really listened to it much before."
"I never figured the colonel as being a culture
buff," Carter laughed.
"Well, um, no, it's not culture," Daniel
said. "Jack said it was peaceful and powerful, which is why he liked
it." He smiled then. "I guess it is," he added.
*********************
Jack O'Neill felt uneasy; he noticed the smoke coming
from the top of the pyramid, almost a mile away. "Major, do you have any
archaeologists in your unit?" he asked, bringing the group to an abrupt
stop.
"Lieutenant Fairfax is our archaeological expert,
sir."
"Okay,
"Aztecs used their pyramids as places of worship,
sir,"
"Okay, so, let me put it another way, why is
smoke coming from the top of that thing?" O'Neill snapped, his expression
reinforcing the question.
"Could be sacrifice, sir,"
"Thank you,
"Yes, sir. Jacobs, you heard the colonel. Double
time it, and get us some back up," Major Coburn snapped.
O'Neill looked at the pyramid and sighed heavily.
"See, now I did the 'you stay with Carter thing'," he cursed.
"Knew I shouldn't have done that. Okay, let's go, and be ready to meet
some resistance, these hostiles appear to have primitive weapons, swords,
arrows, that kind of thing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that that's not all
they've got."
O'Neill moved forward. "Someone watch our
six!" he barked.
*********************
The Aztecs were being taken, bathed, and changed into
ceremonial robes.
Carter shook her head. "Even if he does, he and
Teal'c will be no match for an army. In case you didn't notice, they took our
guns whilst we slept."
"Yeah, I noticed," Daniel looked around him.
"We don't have any choice, Sam, I just hope Jack got up in a bad
mood!"
*********************
Jack strode into the hall, leading Coburn and the two
remaining SG2 members.
"Jack!" Daniel declared. "How did you
get in?"
Jack looked at him in his usual deadpan way. "We
walked. Daniel, are you gonna tell me what's going on here?"
"We appear to be part of a ritual sacrifice to
their god Huitzilopochtli," Daniel informed O'Neill. "Um, I don't
think you'll be able to get out as easily," Daniel told Jack as he saw the
massed ranks of Aztec soldiers file in behind them.
"Ya think?" O'Neill snapped.
"Oooh. I've so missed that," Daniel replied.
"Daniel, next time I want to be cynical, no
arguments, okay?" O'Neill informed him. "Major Carter?"
"I'm fine, sir," she informed him.
"Sweet. Okay, Coburn, we're getting out of here.
Carter, take this." O'Neill handed her his side arm and offered Daniel the
Zat gun.
"I'm sorry, Colonel," Sam said.
"Yeah, later, right now we've got to go,"
O'Neill snapped. "Major Coburn, cover our six, let's go."
Jack led them towards the exit and the Aztecs came
forward, weapons drawn and raised.
"Sweet, I feel like I just stepped into an Errol
Flynn movie." O'Neill complained, firing his Zat gun at the advancing
masses.
Daniel did likewise; the Aztecs momentarily confused
by the weapon.
"Sweet," O'Neill said. "Let’s go."
The sudden surge of guards split the group up. Daniel, close to Jack, was
forced to flee with the colonel, whilst Carter, Coburn and his team fled down
another route.
"Where did? For crying out loud," Jack
complained. "Daniel, did you see which way they went?"
"No," he replied firing the Zat at more
oncoming Aztecs.
"Alright, I've had it with this," O'Neill
said, raising his MP5 and opening fire.
As many of them fell, others moved back,
shocked.
O'Neill saw the opening and grabbed hold of Daniel's
jacket, dragging the archaeologist behind him. O'Neill continued to use
the MP5 to forge his way through.
"Coburn, come in?" O'Neill demanded.
"Reading you, sir. We're on our way back to the
Stargate, as ordered."
"Good, we're not that far behind you. Keep going."
The masses of screaming and terrified people seemed to
part like the
They were forced to retreat from the city, in exactly
the reverse way they had come in. O'Neill was less concerned about the location
than actually getting out in one piece.
Once in the clear, O’Neill allowed Daniel his freedom
from the tight, almost protective grasp.
"Thank you," Daniel said. "You almost
dragged me over."
"Welcome."
O'Neill continued to put as much distance between them
and the city as he could. "You realise we're heading in the wrong
direction?" Daniel pointed out.
"Yeah, Daniel, I knew that. Right now I'm a
little more concerned about keeping you from becoming another sacrificial
statistic," O'Neill commented.
"No I told you so? No caustic remarks?"
Daniel asked.
"Daniel. I told you so, can't think of a caustic
remark right now. Are you happy?" Jack concluded.
*********************
"They should have been here by now, try them
again," Carter insisted as the group waited for Colonel O'Neill and Daniel
at the Stargate. There was no reply.
"We've got to go, Major, those hostiles aren't
going to take long to figure out where we came from."
"We wait for back up and hold the Stargate,
Coburn, or else they'll figure out that that if they cut off that route the
colonel and Daniel are trapped, plus we'll have more trouble trying to come
back through," Carter argued.
"I disagree, Sam. We need to go back through now
and make sure the backup's coming," Coburn snapped.
The lieutenant and the sergeant of SG2 stood watching
the debate. Finally, Sergeant Peters, a seasoned campaigner stepped forward.
"Major Coburn, sir, with all due respect, Major
Carter is right. If we go back through the Gate and the hostiles get control
over it, it will give them the advantage."
Major Coburn looked from one to the other. "Okay.
Better take cover then. If our people come through we'll be their first line of
defence."
Carter looked satisfied.
*********************
"They're still some way behind," O'Neill
told Daniel, as they trod a careful path through the swampy forests to the
north of the city.
"Well, that's comforting," Daniel stated.
"It wasn't meant to be comforting," O'Neill
pointed out.
"Jack, how long is it gonna take us to get back
to the Stargate?" Daniel asked.
O'Neill considered the question. "Truthfully, I
have no idea. See, in case it slipped by you, we're being chased away from the
Gate."
"Well shouldn't we try and double back?"
"Yes, Daniel, right about the time they stop
following us, anymore stupid questions?" O'Neill snapped.
"Here we go," Daniel complained.
"Here we go what?" Jack echoed. "In
case it didn't sink in. Remember, the ‘Jack, I don't want to be with you’
thing?"
"Yeah, um, I think so," Daniel replied.
"What's your point?"
"My point is, this time we did the 'Daniel,
you're with Carter thing', and it didn't work out too well, did it?"
"See, see, I knew you were going to blame this on
me again!" Daniel emphasised the last word.
Jack stopped, turning and facing
Daniel looked furious. "Well…" There was a
long pause. "You let me do the 'Jack, please' thing."
"Yeah," O'Neill confirmed. "The 'Jack,
please' stuff is wearing a little thin right now, Daniel," Jack concurred.
"Wouldn't you say?"
A heavy sigh from
"Excuse me!" O'Neill vociferated. "I'm
not the one that keeps getting us into these fixes! You've got a damn short
memory, Danny boy."
"Oh, please. What about?" Daniel struggled
for a moment, thinking of exactly what had been O'Neill's idea. "What,
about the fact that you never have any?"
"Any what?" O'Neill demanded.
"Ideas or thoughts of your own, that is, that
aren't orders," Daniel remonstrated.
"Sweet. Head still hurting is it?" Jack
replied sarcastically.
"You're always putting me down," Daniel
protested.
"Oh, it's crossed my mind a few times,"
O'Neill warned, referring to the physical kind.
A long silence followed as the two men made their way
out of harm's reach, deeper into the swamp.
"How far do you think we are from the Gate
really, Jack?"
"About 40 klicks I guess," Jack responded.
"Wait here, I’m gonna climb that tree and see if I can see anything."
"Okay, try not to fall," Daniel quipped.
"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"
O'Neill asked.
"Mister Defensive," Daniel grinned.
Jack's scornful expression broke into a smile.
"Yeah, okay, Danny, if I do, it'll be on you!"
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "And, I suppose that
would be by accident?"
O'Neill took his backpack off. "Something like
that," he responded pushing the MP5 around behind him.
Daniel kept a weary eye on the surrounding marshland;
he hadn't heard any noises in a while and felt a degree of comfort from that.
Jack climbed as high as he could, looking in all
directions. He couldn't see any movement, but what troubled him more was the
fact that he could no longer see the pyramid either.
"Great," he said, as he hit the floor with
both feet. "No sign of anything."
He reached into his backpack and found his compass.
The compass was spiking in all directions. "Oh, what's wrong with this
thing," he moaned.
"What?" Daniel looked over his shoulder,
“Um, strong magnetic field around here, I suspect."
Jack's face screwed up, realising
"No you didn't," Daniel argued.
"Did," Jack countered.
"Did not!”
"For crying out loud, Daniel."
"You know, Jack, that ranks right up there with
being called in for a dressing down by an adult" Daniel commented.
"Well sometimes, Daniel, you have the tendency to
be a little... childish."
"Good," Daniel snapped.
Jack raised his eyes heavenwards. "We're gonna be
sleeping rough tonight," Jack said.
"I, um, gathered that."
"So, er, since you don't have your kit, and I'm
probably used to this more than you are, you can have mine," Jack said,
trying to avoid making it sound like Daniel might be somehow inferior, and
judging the reaction from the archaeologist.
"Okay, now, see I've offended you haven't
I?" Jack said quickly, "Go on, you can admit it."
O'Neill threw the blanket out of his rucksack.
"So, you want it or what?"
"No, Jack," Daniel insisted. "I'm fine,
it's not exactly cold here."
"Temperature's gonna drop," Jack pointed
out. "Always does in this kind of climate. But hey, guess you're
right."
Daniel looked at him through the gloom of the falling
darkness. "I'm right? Right about what?"
"Night, Daniel," Jack collapsed on the
ground, wrapping the blanket around him, grinning from ear to ear.
Daniel sat propped up against a tree, trying to get
comfortable. Sure enough in the early hours of the morning, he awoke shivering.
He considered suffering the cold, if only not to rouse
his companion from what might be a deep sleep, into a complaining grouch.
"Er, Jack," he said. "You awake?"
"What is it, Daniel?" O'Neill asked.
"It's, um."
"Cold?" O'Neill said. "Want the
blanket?"
"Um."
O'Neill sat up. "Daniel, for crying out loud,
just ask." He was already untangling himself, standing up and stretching.
"I don't sleep well outdoors anyway. I'm gonna check around, make sure
they're not lurking."
End of part two.
Sam Carter sat, leant up against a tree, Coburn close
by. "Wish we could raise them on the radio," she commented.
"Can't think why we can't, these things are good
for over 50 klicks," Coburn told her.
"They can't be that far away?” Carter said.
The Stargate's activation immediately snatched the
attention of the group from thoughts of the communication failure.
Teal'c strode boldly through, leading SG3 and fifteen
more marines who
"Teal'c," Sam greeted.
"Major Carter, is there still no sign of Colonel
O'Neill and Daniel Jackson?" the
"No, Teal'c, and no radio contact either. What's
the plan?" Carter asked.
"General Hammond has put Colonel Stuart in
charge," Teal'c added, gesturing towards the new colonel.
"Colonel?" Carter enquired. "Do we have
orders to look for Colonel O'Neill?"
"Negative, Major. We're to give Colonel O’Neill
exactly 12 hours to find us, or we're pulling out."
"Pulling out!" Carter exclaimed, and even
Major Coburn was about to protest.
"Relax, Major, I'm not gonna let O'Neill buy it,
even if he is an ass for leading you into this in the first place,"
Colonel Stuart spat. "Was always gonna happen. I've never known someone
who puts up with so much crap from his command. Jack's getting soft."
Carter looked furious. "With all due respect,
sir, Colonel O'Neill got us out of this... crap. If it hadn't been for him,
Daniel and I would probably be dead, sir."
"Ah, Jackson, another prince amongst fools,"
Stuart stated.
"Begging your pardon, sir," Carter said.
"But do we actually have a purpose here?"
Stuart looked Carter up and down. "Yes, Major! We
do, you’re here to follow orders, understood?"
"Yes, sir, understood," Carter felt like
responding in the negative, but recognised the attitude. She'd seen it many times
before, but still it never failed to annoy her.
*********************
Jack knelt quietly down beside the sleeping form of
Daniel Jackson, an evil glint appearing in his eyes.
"Danny boy," he whispered, taking his water
bottle from his pack. "Daniel." He lifted the bottle over
Daniel's head.
"Jack!" Daniel said, his tone tired and
weary. "I swear if you pour that over me...!"
"You wanna stay here the rest of your life, or
would you rather go home?” Jack asked with a look of smug satisfaction beaming
across his features.
"Well Jack," Daniel sighed. "Much as I
love to sleep in, um, such comfortable surroundings I think I'll opt for the
latter." He sat up now, rubbing his hands over his face abruptly, hoping
that the friction would aid his seemingly slow recovery from slumber.
"Good! Want some breakfast?" Jack asked,
glancing over at Daniel from the position he now squatted in.
"I, er, don't suppose we have any coffee?"
"Ah. Whatever gave you that idea," O'Neill
beamed, having already set up the small portable stove. "Listen, I did
some recon, we're in the clear here."
"Wherever here is,"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, no sugar,"
he said, as he handed Daniel his coffee.
"And, in a tin cup, sort of, um," Daniel
noted. "So, did you get an idea of where the Stargate is?"
O'Neill sat, his back pushed against the tree. "I've
got a rough idea, yeah."
"Good," Daniel acknowledged. "How long
will it take?"
Jack's face screwed up as he tasted the coffee.
"Oh, this could be better," he complained. "You know, I've kind
of gotten into that instant stuff lately, less like treacle."
Daniel's expression was suddenly one of complete
surprise. "And, the coffee's through the Stargate, so... how long?"
Jack finished the coffee. "Ah! Now, see, that is
the bad news." His head cocked sideways, his lips pulled together tightly,
that old familiar O'Neill expression sweeping over his face. "To get back
to the Stargate, we're gonna have to go around the pyramid thing."
O'Neill took a deep breath. "Which means we're
gonna have to go about 30 klicks
"You have no idea, do you?" Daniel asked.
That expression turned to a frown quickly. "Yeah,
I do, it's gonna take us about two days."
"Two days?" Daniel exclaimed. "You do
have your GDO?"
O'Neill nodded. "Look, Daniel. Relax, I have the
codes. I've got enough rations in here to last for three days. It'll be cool,
you and me in the wilderness. More downtime, no bourbon, come on, have some
fun."
"Whoa!" Daniel was guarded. "Almost
being sacrificed is not fun, Jack, neither is having one blanket, lousy coffee
and… um."
O'Neill frowned again. "Being stuck with
me?" he finished for
"Well, no, I wasn't exactly gonna say that!"
Daniel back-pedalled quickly.
"Oh, really," Jack said, his eyebrows
shooting upwards to underline the comment.
"Jack, please, can we not do this? I had a lousy
night," Daniel complained.
"Jack, please," O'Neill retorted.
"I seem to remember that expression from somewhere. Now where was that?
Oh, could it have been 'Jack, please, can we stay and get to know these good
folks better?' "
Daniel's expression blackened, then he looked
seriously amused. "I hurt your feelings, didn't I?" A hint of
achievement in those words.
"No," O'Neill sneered.
"Yes, I did. That was... 'change the subject'
wasn't it?" Daniel felt accomplished suddenly.
Jack regarded him with disdain. "I don't have
feelings, I have orders. Now let's go."
Daniel smiled to himself. His relationship with the
colonel had always been precarious, between respect and misunderstanding. Now
finally, he was beginning to see past the soldier. Congratulating himself on
this achievement, he helped Jack pack away their supplies.
"Okay," O'Neill confirmed. "Let's
move." He threw the pack on his back and picked up his MP5.
"Jack, I was thinking about that magnetic field
that threw the compass off."
"Yeah?" O'Neill replied, glancing back at
the archaeologist.
"Well, I think Sam could be right, I think they
have some kind of technology here," Daniel informed the colonel.
"So?"
"So, I don't think we actually saw the gods, the
rulers of this planet."
Jack stopped, he looked completely vexed. He turned
and regarded Daniel.
"Is it me?" he asked his face screwing up in
that familiar, 'this is about to be really annoying' way. "Or, did you
almost get to meet your god back there?"
Daniel looked perplexed. "All I'm saying
is..."
Jack waved his finger at Daniel. "No. See, you do
this all the time. Have you ever heard that old expression ‘curiosity killed
the cat’, Daniel?"
Daniel considered this for a moment. "But,
shouldn't we at least find out?"
Jack's eyebrows shot up so quickly, the effort made
him blink. "Is that before or after we find the Stargate?"
"Well I'm just saying, that if this is not a
Goa'uld world, they obviously have some technology that might help us?"
Jack considered it for a moment. "Yeah, Teal'c
seemed to think that the old snakeheads don't come here, so something pretty
advanced must be behind it."
He looked away from
"Okay," Daniel agreed. "Hadn't we
better start walking?" he asked.
Jack's eyes widened. "For crying out loud!"
He turned and began to lead
"Of course," Jack began, keeping his
attention firmly on their surroundings. "We might also end up in some
quick sand, recaptured by those friendly locals, or eaten by wild
animals."
"I thought I heard something," Daniel said,
stopping suddenly.
O'Neill turned around sharply. "Where'd it come
from?" he asked.
"No, I, er, thought it came from my radio,"
Daniel looked apologetic. "Yours is switched on isn't it?"
"Daniel, please, of course it’s switched
on," Jack looked at the area where a red glow would indicate its function.
"Ah!" His head tilted sideways and he looked slightly embarrassed.
"It might also not be switched on, which is why I haven't been able to
reach Carter. Damn!"
He pushed the on button. "No, it was switched on,
it's just got dead batteries. Great, gimme yours."
Daniel undid the retaining clips and took the earpiece
plug out.
"O'Neill to Carter. Come in, Carter." He
shook his head and looked frustrated. "O'Neill to Carter, Major, do you
read this transmission?"
"Er, guess not," Daniel replied. "Do
you think they're still here?"
"I don't know," O'Neill replied, a sour tone
to his voice. "
Daniel's eyes suddenly went wide. O'Neill looked at
him, shaking his head, the expression he wore was questioning.
Daniel's eyes flicked to his right, then back to
O'Neill.
"Friendly?" O'Neill mouthed, no sound
omitted.
Daniel's eyes rolled down.
Again, without the words spoken, O'Neill asked how
many. Daniel blinked twice.
The colonel, acknowledged. "Well then I guess
we'd better get moving. Gotta let the dog out.” He moved quickly, rolling down
to the side and turning at the same time. His MP-5 lifted towards two very
curious looking creatures.
Although human in form, their skin was almost golden
in colour, they had no lips, a mass of hair growing down the sides of their
faces, and the nose was similar to that of a lion. Huge eyes housing blue
tinted, vertical pupils, almost like those of a snake.
"Whoa!" O'Neill exclaimed, looking up and
down the aliens. "Hello." Cynically. "You folks seen a Stargate
anywhere round here? Big grey thing kinda round."
It appeared to Jack that one of them replied to him,
although he saw no movement that would indicate speech. "In that
direction?" he asked, confused, looking around at Daniel.
"Great, er, thanks," Jack acknowledged.
"Daniel, shall we," Jack looked warily back at the archaeologist,
then towards the aliens.
"No, no," he said, leaving Daniel looking
quite perplexed. "Thank you."
"Daniel," Jack said, beginning to walk away.
Daniel was caught between wanting to attempt his own communication with them
and following his colleague.
As he caught up to O'Neill. "Jack. What just happened?
Were they communicating with you?"
O'Neill looked slightly flustered. "Daniel, not
now, let's just get as much distance here as possible," the colonel
insisted.
"Jack, please."
O'Neill looked heavenwards, stopping. "Daniel,
for once can we not do the, 'Jack, please' stuff!" he snapped,
“Argh. No argument, you just have to trust me in this."
Daniel looked at him, his head inclining to the left,
eyebrows drawn down like a petulant child.
"And that won't work either," O'Neill said.
"It really spooked you didn't it?" Daniel
began, walking after the irate colonel as he threw his hands up in the air and
continued to walk.
"What did they say?"
"Daniel, they told me where t