The Barque of Heaven

by Stargate

  With their canteens confiscated along with the rest of their gear, they made do with sopping water up in a couple of bandanas and dribbling it into parched mouths. Thirst somewhat assuaged, they moved on silently. A bend and a careful crawl over slick boulders later, the rock around them opened up into an enormous cavern.

  "Wow." Major Carter's voice echoed off a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, many of which shone a lustrous pearly color in the beam of the flashlight. "You could get a B-52 in here."

  Small streams wandered out from other, unseen tunnels and joined into a decent-sized creek in the center. Their meager light was lost in the vastness but proved unnecessary as the blue phosphorescence found in earlier caves was here, spread thickly over the entire roof.

  "Is it me, or is the roof moving?" O'Neill asked suspiciously.

  "It is moving." Teal'c gazed at the glowing mass that shifted and shimmied over the roof. He walked after Major Carter as she moved out into the cave, peering intently upward.

  "They're bats, or something like them. There must be thousands of them." O'Neill shuddered and turned his attention to the trickling water. "Let's take a minute and drink as much as we can."

  They splashed into the central creek, each selecting an area that was flowing and deep enough to scoop water out with cupped hands. The water was sweet, numbingly cold, but tasting of earth and minerals and quite the most delicious Teal'c had tasted in a long time. He drank steadily while keeping watch for any sign of pursuit. Thirst slaked, he turned to look at Daniel Jackson, silently slumped on the rocks. He cast the pen light over his friend's pale, sweating face. "I believe we should go in this direction." He led off at a steady, but easy pace.

  It took them nearly ten minutes to traverse the uneven floor of the cavern, O'Neill assisting Daniel Jackson, Major Carter guarding their rear. Un-erringly, Teal'c took the direction of the stream into another tunnel and there-finally-daylight beckoned. Quiet exclamations of relief followed him as the team splashed through the water.

  Fresh sea air filled their lungs when they neared the opening. Satisfaction surged through Teal'c, almost immediately replaced by concern as he emerged onto a narrow shelf. He stopped. The stream flowed around his feet and plunged into a cascade that dropped down sheer cliffs to the beach below.

  He flung out an arm to stop the others.

  "Oh, for crying out loud." O'Neill peered over Teal'c's arm.

  "I regret I have made an error, O'Neill."

  "Swell. Can't be helped, Teal'c." O'Neill kept a steadying hand on the tunnel wall. "Let's see if we can get our bearings."

  They leaned out as far as they dared. Below, the shale beach was empty. It curved away to their right and with a stretch they could just see the crown of the Stargate above a clump of trees. In front and to one side of the ring stood a sun temple, where a familiar-looking obelisk glinted in the late afternoon light. They both searched the blue sky but no moon was yet visible.

  "I'm thinking the only way to head is for the 'gate," O'Neill said, "and hope we come across the address we need on the way." When Teal'c did not answer, he pulled back and clapped his friend on the arm. "You can do this, Teal'c."

  "I believe I made an error in preventing Daniel Jackson from accepting the Books of Djehuti, O'Neill. I do not believe I am the best person to interpret the writing of Ra." Teal'c glanced past him to Daniel-resting against the rock wall with eyes closed, one hand pressed against his stomach-then turned away to stare bleakly out at the sea, unwilling to meet O'Neill's eyes.

  "No, Teal'c, you did exactly the right thing. I think he's been carrying this injury for a while now, without realizing it. If he had to deal with this Book thing as well, we could have lost him already. Now, I know this isn't your field of expertise, but we're all here and we're gonna work through this, as a team. Okay?"

  Teal'c finally looked at O'Neill, and saw the wisdom in him despite his fewer years. "You are a good leader, my friend."

  "A leader's only as good as his troops," the colonel smiled tiredly. "And I have the best troops."

  They gathered up Daniel Jackson and Major Carter and retraced their path. Halfway across the cavern, sounds of voices and metallic boots echoed back to them.

  "Sounds like we've missed the party. Let's pick up the pace." O'Neill urged them into a stumbling trot until they were back at the last junction and much closer to the searching Jaffa. "Run."

  They dodged into the other passage, heading ever deeper into the cold, dim warren of tunnels and caves. The choice of directions came more and more frequently, a good sign surely that they were on the right course; but each time was a delay that brought their pursuers closer and did little to bolster Teal'c's confidence in his new-found abilities.

  For all Teal'c's doubts, only twice did they end up in a deadended tunnel and were forced to retreat. Sounds of pursuit at times seemed only meters away, other times it was an indistinct mutter or gleam of light in the far distance.

  SG-1 plunged on into the darkness, determination fighting bitterly against exhaustion and the steady count of time.

  Sound echoed on all sides, bouncing off jagged stone walls and low hanging ceiling: ragged, gasping snatches of breath, water dripping endlessly onto the ancient rock floor, the far away ring of metal-clad boots.

  Jack looked around, through the little clouds of his breath condensing in the still, frigid air. Maybe this niche in the tunnel walls would offer a few moments' respite. No movement showed in the passage they had just raced through. Ahead, another tunnel angled away into the darkness, offering at least somewhere else to run.

  His team gathered near him, faces turned toward the tunnels and watchful for any trace of pursuit. Carter balanced on her left leg as she scanned the darkness, denying the ache in her right ankle, twisted on the treacherously slick rock. Teal'c faced the opposite direction, alert as ever, yet his utter weariness could be seen in his slumped shoulders and slowing movements, his skin an unhealthy grayish hue.

  Daniel was leaning against the dank wall, the facade of stubbornness on his face slipping as surely as his body was sliding down the uneven rocks, his lungs now emitting what was little more than a distressed wheeze. His left fist was still firmly planted on the pain below his ribs.

  Jack shifted slightly, vainly trying to ease the muscles knotted along his spine and the stabbing pain that had been his constant companion for what seemed like his entire life.

  How the hell did we end up like this?

  Movement flickered in the corner of his eye-Carter's hand coming up and signaling they were about to be discovered.

  He sucked in a gasp of cold air, reached over and grabbed a fistful of Daniel's shirt, helping his teammate as they staggered off in Teal'c's wake-plunging on into the unknown.

  Within seconds SG-1 had vanished into the darkness, the eternal rock showing no trace of their passing.

  Huddled against the dripping walls in a space barely big enough for two, let alone four, heaving bodies, Jack placed a hand on Daniel's head and pulled him to his chest, muffling the pain-filled wheezes the cramped position was causing. Behind him, Carter and Teal'c pressed a little closer, then froze as footsteps clanged past them.

  A ten-count after the steps had faded away, everyone relaxed. Teal'c and Carter stood up and cautiously checked the Jaffa really had gone. Jack let Daniel go and grimaced when he sank against the wall. "Gotta go, Danny."

  "Wait...," Daniel panted. He fumbled in the thigh pocket of his BDUs and pulled out his roll of fine tools, forgotten since the last planet.

  Jack opened his mouth for a ready-made smart remark but Daniel silenced him with an upraised finger. He pulled the roll open and pulled out two scalpels and a dental pick.

  "They're not much as weapons go, but better than nothing?"

  Jack took the slim tools. The blades and pick end were razor sharp. Keeping one himself, he handed the others to Carter and Teal'c.

  "What else have you got in those pockets?"

  "A rope ladder, my lun
ch box and of course, my invisibility cloak."

  Jack smothered a snort and gently pulled Daniel to his feet.

  "O'Neill." Teal'c loomed up beside him. "I have found another glyph."

  "Only one?"

  "Yes. There appears to be no choice this time."

  "What does it translate as?" Daniel wobbled into Jack as he tried to see the glyph.

  "It merely represents the words `to ascend'."

  "Ascend?" Jack echoed.

  "Maybe there are stairs nearby," Carter panted.

  "No... I think it means," Daniel caught Jack's eye, mutual understanding flashing between them. "Rings," they said together.

  In moments, Carter and Teal'c were crawling over the ground, hands brushing away dirt and rocks. Jack held the light above them. He was the first to catch the dull metallic gleam of a ring transporter track.

  "There-Carter, under your knee."

  She scuttled backwards and swiftly they uncovered a small ring transporter circling the alcove they had sheltered in.

  "Looks like the mini version."

  Jack and Daniel were already standing inside the circle. It would be a tight fit for four. He flicked the light over the walls and found a ruby crystal activator.

  "All aboard the elevator. Next stop, sporting goods."

  "Perhaps we should go separately, O'Neill." Teal'c eyed the cramped space doubtfully.

  "No, no splitting up. For all we know it's one ride per... whatever. Budge up, Daniel."

  Jack looped an arm around Daniel's shoulders and pulled him close. Carter stepped in and plastered herself against Daniel's back. Teal'c joined them, wrapping his arms around all three.

  "And with one click of the ruby slippers...."

  Jack pressed the crystal and yanked his hand back as the rings shot up around them. A beam of light from above blinded everyone and swept them up.

  They emerged into warmth and light. Sam and Teal'c stepped back, wearily alert for guards or pursuit, but they were alone inside a bright, limestone-walled compound. Behind the transporter ring, fronted by an alabaster altar, the squat obelisk they had sighted from the cliffs rose up into a sky turning indigo with evening. The setting sun poured amber light through the archway entrance.

  "Sir, we've got a moon," Sam announced quietly, pointing out a small, beautifully blue full-moon sixty degrees above the compound. Teal'c moved quietly to the opening in the wall.

  The colonel grimaced as Daniel sagged against his shoulder, one hand clutching his t-shirt as a pained grunt escaped his lips.

  "Daniel?"

  "Okay...," Daniel panted, his whole body tensing. "Just give me a minute."

  "All clear, Colonel," Sam whispered as Teal'c signaled from the archway.

  Several controlled puffs for air brought Daniel's head up. He pulled back from the colonel and shakily looked around at their new surroundings. Sam noted, with a sinking heart, the pallor of his face and the smudges of exhaustion and pain under his eyes. Colonel O'Neill beckoned her with a jerk of his head and lowered Daniel to sit on the edge of the altar.

  "Daniel, let me take a proper look at you. How do you feel?" She evaded his protesting gestures and lifted the hem of his tattered t-shirt. Under his ribs, his belly was badly bruised and distended. He hissed and pulled away.

  "It's bearable, Sam." An unconvincing smile flickered over his face. "There's nothing we can do about it anyway, so...." He shrugged.

  Sam sat down next to him on the altar, the brush of their arms all the comfort she could offer. She looked up at the colonel, his bruises and the bums on his torso plain to see now through his ripped t-shirt.

  "You don't look too well either, sir."

  "I'm fine, Carter." He evaded further questions and moved to mirror Teal'c's position at the entrance.

  Sam sighed and relaxed a little beside Daniel, who was three-quarters asleep. Her ankle throbbed annoyingly; the rocks in the tunnels below had been a nightmare to walk on. She glanced up at the sky which was rapidly turning to a velvet black and dotted with a brilliant array of stars. She got a fix on the moon and in the silence of the twilight, tracked it until she was certain it was moving downward. Judging by its quick rate of descent, they had one hour at most before it would set.

  After a short conversation with Teal'c, the colonel limped back to the altar.

  "T thinks he has a handle on the glyph thing. There's another by the entrance. He thinks it points the way to the 'gate address, something to do with a mathematical code."

  "I'll go help him, sir. Why don't you sit down for a while?" Sam was up and hobbling off before he could object.

  Teal'c pointed out to her the complex strings of numbers-all in Goa'uld script-that made up the code he had found. It needed to be translated, decoded and then reassembled in correct order.

  "This could take some time."

  "Time we may not have to spare, Major Carter."

  Sam took a deep breath, but before either of them could begin, there was a flash of light and suddenly the little being, Bes, was standing on top of the wall looking down at them. Sam swallowed a yelp of surprise and backed into Teal'c.

  "The rules of the Trial of Moons have been broken," he said solemnly. "You have been unfairly disadvantaged. I wish to assist you." He blinked at them and held out one hand, bearing a large plant leaf with markings scrawled over it.

  Teal'c cautiously stretched out a hand and as his fingers brushed the leaf, Bes vanished with a loud popping sound, like air released into a vacuum. Sam and Teal'c both grabbed for the leaf as it fluttered to the ground. On it, written in what looked and smelt like thick treacle, were a Stargate address and what had to be the password they needed. They stared at each other, then turned and sprinted back to the altar.

  "Oh for.... Now what?" The colonel creaked to his feet. "Will you keep it down?"

  "O'Neill, we have the address and password to leave this planet."

  "What? How?"

  Sam opened her mouth, wondering exactly how to explain what had just happened.

  "Never mind. Put it in the report. We're so out of here. Teal'c, take the rear." Colonel O'Neill indicated Daniel to Sam with a shift of his eyes, and headed to the archway.

  Without making undue fuss, she shadowed Daniel's haltering, silent progress.

  They sidled out into the open and turned left. Fortune was co-operating once more as their tattered BDUs camouflaged them against the sand-colored walls surrounding the sun temple. Jack led them around to the rear of the complex, where, through spiny coastal bushes, the arc of the Stargate could be seen silhouetted, less than a kilometer away.

  He kept up a steady, smooth pace, every sense attentive for signs of pursuit. In the distance, shouts of the searching Jaffa reached them intermittently. Hopefully they would still be concentrating on the caves and leave him a clear run to get his team out of here. Mat's nasty little promises were floating through his mind. No way was he going to let her get her fangs into his people again. God knew what Cronus wanted with Carter, but it wouldn't be nice and Teal'c being kept in an unending cycle of torture and death was just beyond comprehension.

  Not a chance in hell, snaky.

  As for what Mat had threatened Daniel with.... Jack grimaced and made particular effort to be quiet. He'd put a bullet between Daniel's blue eyes before he'd see that particular threat come to pass.

  The journey back to the Stargate was torturous. Sudden, indeterminate sounds forced them to freeze or scuttle into cover time and time again. Twice, patrols of Jaffa crashed through the brush nearby, headed in different directions. Neither discovered the fugitives. Each time the four resumed the slog to the Stargate their pace dropped off a little more.

  Jack could feel the bum in his legs and back, a lingering memory of energy long since used.

  Just a little further.

  Carter was sticking close to Daniel, a steadying hand or touch on the back enough to keep him going.

  When they did reach the Stargate, sliding down an embankment of san
dy soil to the concealing shadows of the last of the scrub, they could only stare with suspicion at the empty platform. No guards awaited them, no figures lurked in the starlit night. It was too quiet: an obvious trap.

  Jack peered out from the bush he was sprawled under and stared hard at the moon, now barely above the calm sea. He slid back a couple of feet and turned to his team.

  "I think we can expect someone to show up here, but we've got no choice," he whispered. "Stick together-no heroics. Teal'c, get to the DHD and dial. Carter, Daniel, we'll take cover behind the DHD. As soon as the 'gate opens, we're through it. Got it?"

  Carter and Teal'c nodded. Daniel squinted at Jack and said, "It sounds good in theory."

  Jack nodded curtly. "Go."

  Bent low, Teal'c launched out of cover like a jackrabbit and charged to the DHD. The other three had taken only two steps forward when a chillingly familiar chime filled the air and transport rings descended on a beam of light.

  "Dammit, run!"

  Six paces on and the rings shot up, revealing Mat and four burly Jaffa. Jack and Teal'c, in perfect tandem, launched themselves at the Jaffa who stepped in front of their goddess. Teal'c cold-cocked one with a mighty fist and grappled with another as Jack slammed into a third.

  Carter and Daniel dodged a staff blast from the fourth guard. The major pushed Daniel toward the Stargate and, spinning around, lunged for the guard's staff weapon. She yanked the staff toward her, pulling the man off balance. As he staggered forward, her fist flashed out and met his throat. Blood spurted and he fell, one of Daniel's scalpels poking obscenely from his neck.

  Jack was trading thumping blows with a man twice his mass. He managed to hook a leg around what felt like a metalclad tree trunk and toppled the Jaffa to the ground. Huge fingers closed around his throat and he retaliated with a thumb in the eye. The man gargled in pain and he heard Carter yelling above him.

  "Colonel, break off. Go right, go right!"

  The grip loosened around his throat and he reeled away, catching a freeze-frame sequence of Carter as she leaped feet first onto the Jaffa, landing with a pained cry. One boot impacted the man's groin, the other the symbiote pouch and he was down for the count.