Fanfiction: Let Go and Hold On - Part IV

[rachel500]

For disclaimers and author's note see Part I.

 

Let Go and Hold On

Chapter 10

Jack couldn’t really remember how he got from the top of the steps to the bottom. He only knew one moment he had been beside Daniel looking down at Carter and the next he was beside her. He immediately searched for a pulse, sliding a hand over her neck. The steady thump had him breathing out in sharp relief.

‘Jack?’ Daniel prompted anxiously.

‘She’s got a pulse.’ Jack confirmed. He reached for the radio with his other hand. ‘Reynolds, come in.’

‘Reynolds here, sir.’

‘We’ve found Colonel Carter in the temple. She’s unconscious. We’re going to need some assistance getting her out.’

‘Understood. I’ll redirect SG12 to your position with the med team. Out.’ Reynolds replied.

Jack looked up at Teal’c who had positioned himself on the steps. ‘Go wait for them at the entrance. Show them down here.’

The Jaffa nodded and sprinted back up the stairs.

Daniel was already kneeling on Carter’s other side, reaching into his pack to pull out medical supplies. ‘You think we should move her?’

‘No.’ Jack realised belatedly that he hadn’t removed his hand from Carter’s neck and slowly withdrew it. ‘We should wait until the med team gets here. She’s breathing.’

‘It looks like that she already did some first aid.’ Daniel noted as he motioned at the bandages on her hands.

Jack nodded. ‘She’s dry. She changed clothes.’

‘She must have come down here for some reason and fallen.’ Daniel theorised out loud. ‘Maybe there was another tremor.’

‘She knows to stay in easy reach of the entrance for rescue.’ Jack muttered.

‘It looks like she banged her head.’ Daniel pointed out as he covered her with a blanket. ‘She might have been disoriented.’

Jack shot him a look. ‘Where the hell is that med team?’

Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook violently. Daniel and Jack both covered Sam’s prone body as dust and debris fell from the walls.

Jack reached for his radio. ‘Reynolds!’

‘…, sir.’ Reynolds broken voice was barely audible.

‘Get everyone back through the gate now!’ Jack ordered. ‘Do not wait for us! Repeat, do not wait for us! Copy?’

‘Copy that.’

Jack let his hand drop and he held on grimly as the earth continued to shake. He didn’t know how long he and Daniel remained curled up over Carter. He spared a thought for Teal’c and hoped the Jaffa was OK. He figured the Jaffa would have stayed in the temple rather than heading back to the gate.

The tremors finally eased away. Jack checked Carter’s pulse again. It was still strong. He shone his light around the space. The artefacts in the room had fallen all over the floor although the Stargate at the far end had remained upright. He reached for his radio. ‘Teal’c?’

The radio crackled.

Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose and stared worriedly at Jack.

‘Teal’c?’ Jack tried again.

‘I am here, O’Neill.’ Teal’c’s voice came through strongly.

‘What’s your situation?’ Jack asked briskly.

‘I am well but the temple has sustained some damage.’ Teal’c radioed back. ‘The entrance way has been blocked by debris. I will endeavour to shift it.’

‘Copy that.’ Jack sighed. He clicked his radio on again. ‘Sierra Golf One to any remaining personnel. Come in.’

There was silence.

‘Repeat, Sierra Golf One to any remaining personnel. Come in.’ Jack shook his head. It didn’t look like anyone else was on the planet. His heart sank as his eyes fell on Carter. She needed medical attention.

‘You think everyone got back OK?’ Daniel asked as Jack kneeled back down next to Carter.

Jack shrugged.

‘They’ll send another rescue team.’ Daniel assured him.

‘Maybe.’ Jack muttered without thinking.

‘Maybe?’ Daniel asked.

‘There might have been more damage to our gate, Daniel.’ Jack pointed out. He rubbed a hand through his short grey hair. ‘And if I was Hank, I wouldn’t be keen on sending any more people to a planet that’s unstable.’ He tucked the blanket closer around Carter.

Daniel nodded slowly. ‘I’ll, uh, I’ll go and help Teal’c.’

‘Careful on the stairs.’ Jack cautioned. He watched Daniel until he was out of sight before he sat down beside Carter. He rooted into the pack for a long lasting temporary light. He switched it on and switched off the light on his P90. He placed it to one side before he scooted back over to Carter.

He knew he couldn’t wait for a med team to confirm her condition. Carter needed immediate care. He gently stroked her bangs away from her forehead and winced at the dull bruise and raw scrape. He did a cursory check of her limbs and was relieved to discover she hadn’t broken any. He trailed his fingers gently down her neck and gave a sigh of relief; she didn’t seem to have broken her neck. He shifted and lifted her t-shirt to check her spine and ribs. More bruising on the ribs but there was no evidence of internal bleeding and her spine seemed OK.

He tugged her clothes back down and lifted her head to place his spare t-shirt underneath it. He shifted her body into a recovery position and tucked the blanket back around her. Once they had the temple door clear, Teal’c could carry Sam back to the gate, Jack determined.

The silence was oppressive.

Jack took a sip of water from his canteen and decided to look around; he should check for any dangers especially given the whole Doomsday machine thing. He picked up his gun, switched the light back on and quietly stepped away from Carter. He moved slowly, careful of any traps. His beam of light fell across the various statues, pots and vases that had fallen into the floor. His boots crunched on ceramic and jewels but his eyes were narrowed, looking for anything that might be dangerous. He came to a stop at the other end of the room.

The Stargate loomed in front of him. The light glanced over the silver ring, the symbols were unusual. Jack frowned. He’d spent eight years of his life going through the gate and authorising travel to other worlds, and admittedly, he wasn’t the best at remembering addresses but he didn’t recognise any of the symbols on the gate at all. He looked around; he couldn’t see a DHD. If Ra was using the gate as a second exit from the planet then there should have been a DHD…

‘Jack?’

‘Here, Daniel.’ Jack responded into his radio.

‘Teal’c and I have almost cleared the door.’ Daniel radioed back.

‘Great. You and Teal’c head to the clearing and check on the state of the gate. I want to make sure its OK before we try and move Carter.’

‘Right. We’ll check in when we get to the clearing.’

His light caught on a seam in the wall. A secret door? His frown deepened as he took another step towards it. Secret doors were never a good thing. His gaze followed the beam of light as it travelled down the crack. He couldn’t see a door handle or any way of opening it. He sighed. No doubt Daniel would find a way but hopefully they wouldn’t be on the planet long enough. If the naquadah generator was intact they could all gate home safely.

A moan drifted across the room.

Jack’s head snapped around.

Carter.

He hurried back across the wide space. She had already shifted into a sitting position, resting heavily against the wall, when he reached her.

‘Hey,’ Jack crouched down beside her

Her blue eyes widened at the sight of him and she held up a hand as though to ward him off. He refrained from touching her.

‘I was wondering when you would show up.’

Her direct tone him aback. He pressed his lips together. ‘Sorry.’ He said shortly as he sat down beside her, putting his gun on the floor and resting against the wall. ‘We had some trouble with the gate or we’d have been here earlier.’

‘Sure.’ Sam agreed wincing. She closed her eyes.

‘Daniel and Teal’c are checking out the gate. As soon as they give the all clear we’ll head home.’

Sam’s eyes opened and she stared at him.

Jack shifted uncomfortably under her relentless gaze. ‘What?’

‘I guess this is the pep talk?’ Sam said.

‘Do you want a pep talk?’ Jack asked bemused.

Sam sighed. ‘Isn’t that why you’re here? You think I need a pep talk. Well,’ she winced again, ‘I guess I think I need a pep talk.’

‘OK.’ Jack’s eyes flickered to the bump above her and wondered how badly Carter had hit her head. He decided it would probably be best to play long with her. ‘Well, I guess if you need me to give you a pep talk, I can give you a pep talk. What are friends for, right?’

Sam rested her head against the wall and her eyes fell shut again. ‘So we’re back to that?’

‘Look, Carter,’ Jack said gruffly, his heart suddenly pounding twice as fast at her question, ‘maybe this isn’t the best time…’

She laughed cutting him off mid-sentence. ‘When is a good time?’ She opened her eyes to look at him with frank amusement.

She had a point, Jack thought ruefully. Every time they’d ever come close to talking about what was between them something had gotten in the way.

Sam’s gaze roamed over him. ‘I know you’re always going to be here for me as a friend; I’ve never doubted that.’

Jack nodded. It was the truth no matter whatever physical distance might be between them with their various assignments. It was why he was there after all.

‘I just thought…’ she dropped her gaze, ‘hoped, I guess, it was more than that.’

‘Carter.’ Jack didn’t know what to say to her; he didn’t want to have this conversation with her when she was concussed and injured. Hell, she probably didn’t know half of what she was saying. He should stop this before it went any further.

‘You know the last time you told me you weren’t complex.’ She sighed. ‘Or I told me.’

His own intent to put a stop to the conversation was arrested. Jack lifted one eyebrow in inquiry. ‘The last time?’

‘So I told myself that you weren’t complex and if I thought you wanted only friendship, then that’s all it was.’ Sam frowned. ‘At least, I think that’s what I thought.’ She closed her eyes. ‘It’s all so confusing.’

‘It’s that.’ Jack agreed wholeheartedly. He looked at her pale face concerned. ‘Carter…’

Her eyes opened to look at him with raw honesty. ‘I got it all wrong.’ She continued. ‘And now it’s too late.’

‘Is it?’ The question was out of his mouth before Jack could prevent it.

Sam looked at him curiously. ‘Isn’t it?’

Jack took in a deep breath and backed off the question. He waved at her. ‘Carter, don’t you think we should talk about this later? We really should focus on getting out of here.’

‘You’re right.’ Sam admitted. ‘I should really focus on getting out of here.’ Her eyes were still on his. ‘One more thing…’

‘What?’ Jack asked relieved the discussion was over.

Sam moved before he could react. Her lips covered his as her hand moved to cup the back of his head. It was everything he remembered about kissing her; passionate, loving, wonderful. For a split-second, he was stunned before the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea started yelling in his head; she was injured, he was taking advantage, they were off-world on a mission. His hand moved to push her away gently, only she moved back before he could.

Sam stared back at him in shock. ‘Oh my God.’ She murmured, her blue eyes searching his. ‘You’re real.’

Chapter 11

‘Yes.’ Jack answered hesitantly, his eyes filled with concern. ‘I’m real.’

Sam shifted away from Jack abruptly, grimacing in pain from her injuries. Her eyes closed. She couldn’t remember when she had last felt so mortified – maybe when she had interrupted his dinner with Kerry Johnson.

‘Carter…’

‘Sir…’ Sam opened her eyes reluctantly.

‘Jack?’ Daniel’s voice intruded harshly through the radios. ‘We have a problem.’

They looked at each other for a long moment before Jack reached for his radio. She looked around and registered the light, the packs – all the physical evidence that should have alerted her to the reality that he wasn’t a hallucination.

‘What, Daniel?’ Jack responded to the radio call.

‘We can’t get to the gate.’ Daniel said.

Uh-oh, Sam thought, that didn’t sound good.

‘Say again, Daniel?’ Jack snapped, getting to his feet.

‘We can’t get to the gate.’ Daniel repeated. ‘There’s some kind of forest fire between here and the Stargate. We, uh, can’t see a way around it.’

Jack pinched the brow of his nose. ‘You have got to be kidding me.’

‘Daniel Jackson is correct, O’Neill.’ Teal’c’s calm tone just irritated Jack more. ‘The fire is extremely dangerous.’

‘OK. Return to the temple.’ Jack sighed. ‘We’ll figure something out.’

‘How’s Sam?’ Daniel responded.

Jack looked over at her. Sam blushed furiously and ducked her head.

‘She’s awake. We’ll see you in ten.’ He clicked his radio off. He stooped and picked up his water canteen. ‘Thirsty?’ He handed it to Sam.

Sam accepted it with a murmur of thank and took a sip. He sat back down next to her and took the canteen back. He sipped from it himself before he screwed the top back on. The tension thickened until Sam could barely breathe.

‘Sir,’ Sam began nervously, ‘if I could just explain…’

‘Carter.’ Jack cut her off brusquely. He glanced at her. ‘It should be me apologising…’

‘Don’t.’ Sam said loudly, interrupting him.

They looked at each other and looked away again.

‘I, uh, thought you were a hallucination.’ Sam explained, lowering her gaze. Her fingers twisted the blanket that covered her and she wondered again why she hadn’t clued into it as evidence Jack was really there before. Her hand sneaked up to her bump.

Jack’s eyes widened. ‘Exactly how hard did you hit your head?’

Sam winced visibly at the jibe but didn’t argue with it. She took a breath and raised her gaze to his, hoping he would see her determination to move past the kiss. ‘Did SG12 get back safely before?’

Jack stared at her for so long she was afraid he wasn’t going to let the subject of their kiss drop. She kept her gaze steady, her jaw tightening reflexively. He suddenly shifted. ‘They did.’ He pulled a face. ‘Calliday bumped her head too but she’s OK.’

‘I’m guessing the energy surge blew some capacitors?’ Sam questioned, determinedly keeping them on topic.

‘It did.’ Jack agreed. ‘Siler and his team fixed it so we could come rescue you.’

‘Just you guys?’ Sam frowned. It was unusual to just send a single SG team without medics or back-up on a SAR.

‘Us, SG3 and 12. A med team.’ Jack reeled off. ‘There was another earthquake, I ordered the others home.’ He smiled crookedly. ‘So as you can see we’re doing a fine job of rescuing you, Carter.’

She couldn’t prevent the smile she gave him. ‘Sounds like I missed a lot.’

‘Not much.’ Jack said wryly. He glanced at her concerned. ‘You know we kind of expected to find you by the temple entrance.’

Sam flushed. ‘I, uh, I thought I heard something down here.’

His eyebrow rose in an unconscious mimic of Teal’c.

She shifted under the blanket. ‘I, well, the, uh, reason why I thought you might be a hallucination was because I, uh, I’d already seen one.’

‘A hallucination?’ Jack checked, his eyes drifting to her head wound.

‘Kind of more than one.’ Sam confessed, studiously examining the bandages on her hands.

Jack nudged her. ‘How many fingers am I holding up?’

‘Three.’ Sam said immediately.

‘Follow my finger.’ Jack watched as she tracked his digit back and forth through the air.

‘Blurred vision? Dizziness? Nausea?’ He asked.

Sam glared at him, not wanting to admit how bad she felt. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Carter, you have a serious concussion.’ Jack replied tersely.

Sam softened as she took in his concern and worry. She touched his arm without thinking. Both their heads turned as they heard footsteps approaching. Sam gently withdrew her hand as Daniel and Teal’c appeared at the top of the stairs. They hurried down and Sam accepted their brief and gentle hugs before they moved to sit with them. Jack passed them water canteens.

‘It’s bad out there.’ Daniel informed them. He swiped at his face with the back of his hand.

‘How far is this fire from the temple?’ Jack asked, settling back beside Sam.

‘Not far, O’Neill.’ Teal’c confirmed. There were beads of sweat dotting his dark skin. ‘And there is much smoke. I do not believe it would be wise to leave this place.’

‘We should probably wait it out.’ Daniel agreed, reaching for an energy bar.

‘Well, this place is fairly solid.’ Jack motioned at the thick stone walls. ‘We should be OK from the fire if we can find a way to keep the smoke out.’

Daniel nodded. ‘We found a way to close the outside entrance.’ He looked back up the stairs. ‘I can probably close this door too.’

‘You guys do know that forest fires can last for days.’ Sam pointed out. She pulled the blanket closer. ‘And until it does, we can’t get to the Stargate and another rescue team can’t come through.’

‘We don’t really have a lot of options here, Sam,’ Daniel replied softly, ‘especially with the Doomsday machine.’

Her eyes widened. ‘Doomsday machine?’

Daniel looked at Jack who raised a hand as though in defeat.

‘The writing on the wall outside indicates there’s a Doomsday machine here in the temple.’ Daniel explained. ‘It’s possible that it’s responsible for the, uh, weather.’

Sam sighed. ‘I guess we need to leave quickly then.’

‘Any suggestions?’ Jack interjected.

‘Plan B?’ Sam attempted a smile. ‘I just don’t think we can rely on the fire burning out quickly, sir. And by the sound of it, we may not be able to wait for the SGC to send the Prometheus. It’ll take almost a week to get here.’

‘Colonel Carter is correct.’ Teal’c said supportively.

‘She usually is.’ Jack quipped. He nodded at the Jaffa. ‘What about your tretonin?’

Teal’c inclined his head. ‘My supply will be sufficient if we are to leave shortly.’

‘I have some spare.’ Daniel said. He smiled self-consciously. ‘I just automatically packed it.’

Teal’c inclined his head in gratitude.

‘OK,’ Jack declared, ‘I think we’re all agreed that we can’t wait here forever.’ His eyes strayed back to Sam and she realised anew how worried he was about her. He jerked his gaze away and pointed up the stairs. ‘Daniel, Teal’c, why don’t you take care of that door. It’ll help slow any smoke that makes it into the temple. We’ll work on a plan B after.’

Daniel and Teal’c nodded. They both stood up fluidly and made their way back up the stairs.

‘It doesn’t make sense.’ Sam murmured, thinking out loud.

‘What doesn’t?’ Jack asked.

‘The fire.’ She explained weakly. ‘It was raining outside for a long time. The forest should have been wet.’

‘So why the fire?’ Jack mused. ‘I see your point.’

‘Unless…’

‘Unless?’ Jack prompted.

Sam shifted position under his gaze. ‘Earthquakes are usually caused by plate tectonic activity. It’s not unusual during severe shifts for molten lava to rise to the surface. If the lava has moved closer to the surface or broken through, it would probably be hot enough to cause the moisture to evaporate and create the fire.’

‘So we could be looking at having to deal with lava flows?’ Jack asked caustically. ‘Great.’

‘Maybe not.’ Sam sighed and rubbed her arms. ‘I’m just thinking.’

‘I would never expect you to stop.’ Jack joked.

Sam shivered despite the blanket.

‘C’mere.’

Suddenly his arm was around her shoulders tucking her closer to him. Sam resisted for a millisecond before she allowed herself to cuddle into his warmth and the solid comfort he offered. She was so tired.

‘Hey, Carter.’ Jack nudged her. ‘You have to stay conscious here.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Sam sighed even as her eyes fluttered shut. The blackness called to her and she slid into it gratefully.

Chapter 12

Daniel studied the pictures around the door intently, shining his flashlight onto each single one. ‘I think I’ve got it.’ He depressed the sun symbol on their side of the doorway. The door slid shut.

The two men made their way back down the stairs. They slowed as they got to the bottom as they took in the sight of Sam huddled into Jack.

Jack briefly glanced at them before his eyes fell to the woman he held. ‘She passed out again.’ His voice was filled with worry. ‘She has a serious concussion.’ He paused as though debating whether to say anything else. ‘She’s seeing…things.’

‘Really?’ Daniel crouched beside his friends. ‘What kind of things?’

‘Does it matter?’ Jack asked bluntly.

‘I guess not.’ Daniel murmured.

‘She thinks there might be the possibility that the earthquakes have triggered lava flows.’ Jack said, changing the subject. He adjusted his hold of Sam a little.

‘Oh.’ Daniel nodded. ‘She could be right.’

‘Which makes our returning through the Stargate even less likely.’ Teal’c murmured.

‘So, what’s our plan B?’ Jack said.

‘We have a Stargate.’ Daniel pointed towards the back of the room.

Jack nodded. ‘But no DHD.’

‘Perhaps it would be wise to explore this temple more thoroughly.’ Teal’c suggested.

‘Teal’c’s right.’ Daniel agreed. ‘I mean, with the amount of Goa’uld artefacts down here, we might even find a healing device for Sam.’

Jack frowned. ‘There’s some kind of secret room at the back behind the gate. Maybe there’s a DHD in there.’

‘It could hold the Doomsday machine.’ Daniel suggested thoughtfully.

‘The Doomsday machine?’ Jack said incredulously.

‘I’m still not convinced that it’s not connected to the seismic activity and what’s happening to the planet.’ Daniel said.

‘Nice.’ Jack stated dryly. ‘Look, let’s just focus on getting off this planet. You and Teal’c go explore.’ He nodded at Sam. ‘I’ll stay with Carter.’

Daniel exchanged a look with Teal’c but neither of them argued. The archaeologist pushed himself back to his feet. He picked up his flashlight. Without discussion, Teal’c moved to the right while Daniel took the left.

The beam of light fell on vases, statues and jewels. Daniel skipped over all of them as unimportant. His eyes fell on an ornate box with strange markings and he picked it up, turning it over carefully. He couldn’t decipher the markings and he placed it back on the bench where he had found it.

He saw artefacts that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an Egyptian museum collection and he knew half a dozen professors who would have killed to get their hands on one piece never mind the multitude that filled the room.

Daniel glanced back toward Jack and Sam. Jack hadn’t moved; he remained sat against the wall with Sam curled up over him. He had rarely seen Jack so concerned for their team-mate. Usually Jack’s visible displays of anxiety were limited to the times Sam was missing. That he was so visibly troubled when she was injured worried Daniel. It wasn’t good that Sam was unconscious or that she was seeing hallucinations.

He pushed his own burgeoning anxiety to one side and focused. They just needed to get off the planet, get back to the SGC where Sam could get medical attention. Although he wasn’t certain how they were going to do that given the fire he had seen raging in the forest, and if Sam was right and it had been caused by lava flows…it was highly unlikely they were going to make it out of the temple. They needed another way.

His light caught finally on the Stargate and he reviewed the symbols with a frown. They were unusual. He searched around but like Jack, Daniel found no evidence of a DHD or any kind of power source.

‘Daniel Jackson.’ Teal’c came to stand beside him.

‘Do you recognise any of the symbols on this gate?’ Daniel asked.

‘I do not.’ Teal’c confirmed.

‘Neither do I.’ Daniel’s light hit the back wall. ‘There!’ He walked over and traced the seam in the wall. ‘This must be the room Jack was talking about.’

Teal’c nodded. ‘I do not see a way to open it.’

‘Check back along the wall for any kind of lever or raised stone.’ Daniel suggested.

Teal’c raised an eyebrow but he complied.

Daniel smoothed away the dust covering the door. He could see the faint outline of a picture. He reached into his vest and brought out a small brush. He swiped it back and forth gently, dislodging more dust and dirt. He coughed but continued until the picture began to take form.

‘I regret that I have found nothing to open the door.’ Teal’c said.

‘I recognise this symbol.’ Daniel replied absently. ‘I saw it on the walls of the ruins in Abydos.’

‘I have not seen it before.’ Teal’c said.

‘It was the symbol for the end of everything.’ Daniel remembered. ‘I remember now. After the rebellion on Earth when Ra went back to Abydos, he told them that if he should ever die than his kingdom would be destroyed by a magical device he had found on his travels. Eventually the story became interwoven with all the other threats that Ra made about how they could never kill him because he was their God so they never paid it much attention.’

‘You believe we have found the device to which Ra referred?’ Teal’c realised.

‘This symbol represented the machine in the story.’ Daniel looked at him. ‘We have to get in there.’ He looked at the size of the door again. ‘I think it’s a revolving door which pivots at the centre. If we push the right side then we should be able to open it.’ He laid his shoulder to the door and pushed. The stone gave way infinitesimally.

Teal’c halted Daniel away as he went to push again. Daniel stepped back and allowed the Jaffa to step forward. Teal’c placed his sizeable frame against the stone and pushed. There was a grating noise as the stone moved; it was slow and Teal’c grunted with the effort as it finally gave way. The stone allowed two narrow entrances on either side.

Darkness beckoned.

Teal’c ignored the sweat dripping from him as he directed his flashlight beam into the blackness. He took a step forward.

Daniel followed him, feeling the same mixture of nerves and apprehension that he always felt. They found themselves in a corridor.

‘Look,’ Daniel pointed at the walls, ‘this isn’t the same stone. It looks…different. These blocks are precision cut.’

Teal’c glanced around the grey walls, his dark eyes wide.

They inched forward. The corridor ended with a smooth, grey wall which had been inscribed with Goa’uld. The two team-mates looked at each other and Teal’c attempted to push the side as he had done for the door behind him.

‘It is a dead end.’ Teal’c said as he stepped back.

‘It can’t be.’ Daniel sighed. ‘There must be some way to open it.’

‘Daniel, Teal’c.’ Jack radioed them. ‘What’s your progress?’

‘We’ve found a way through the door you found but we’ve hit another.’ Daniel responded. ‘We’re just trying to find a way through it. Sam?’

‘Still out of it.’ Jack said. ‘Keep me up to date.’

Daniel clicked the radio off. He looked at Teal’c. Their combined worry for Sam was almost palpable. Daniel turned back to the door.

‘There has to be a way to open it.’ Daniel muttered. He began to carefully examine the doorway and surrounding stones.

Teal’c directed his beam of light towards the words on the door. ‘Daniel Jackson.’

The archaeologist moved closer to the door as a response and leaned in to read the words. ‘Only the God Ra can enter here as he alone possesses the…the key?’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Perhaps one must be in possession of a symbiote in order to gain access.’ Teal’c theorised. ‘Or perhaps one must have a specific gene such as that possessed by General O’Neill.’

‘I think you’re right.’ Daniel sighed and rubbed his forehead, unaware of the streak of dust and grime he left there. ‘We need Sam and Jack. If it’s the Ancient gene then Jack should be able to open it and if it’s naquahdah or a protein marker maybe Sam can fool it.’

Daniel stooped and shone his flashlight on the lower portion. ‘OK, it goes on to say, that behind this door lies a machine of great power, one capable of destroying all worlds within Ra’s kingdom.’ He straightened abruptly. ‘And should this be read by one who is not Ra, the destruction of the kingdom will already have begun.’

His eyes flew to Teal’c’s. ‘I was right; we must have set off some kind of alarm system. Ra probably had some kind of code to stop the machine.’

‘Indeed.’ Teal’c commented.

Daniel froze as another thought struck him. ‘Teal’c, Ra still considered Earth part of his kingdom. If this machine is capable of destroying Ra’s entire kingdom then…’

Teal’c didn’t hesitate to complete the sentence. ‘Then Earth is in grave danger.’

Continued in Part V.