by Stargate
"Find anything useful?" O'Neill asked.
Daniel Jackson spun around. "Oh... ah, well, the name of the city was Picari. Their language is based on a form of ancient Mayan, similar to early Orban -"
"Do I need to know this, Daniel?"
"Uhm...I guess not, except they were definitely the same people who built Teotihuacan. From what I've read so far, they continued to use the skull network for six centuries after leaving Earth. But the really interesting thing," he said excitedly, "is that they used the network to trade with worlds outside those we saw in the map room!"
"That's nice. But what happened to them?"
"I was just getting to that. See here." Daniel Jackson pointed to the glyphs on a lichen-encrusted panel beside the door. "The Aztec priests from Earth arrived through the skull and, professing to have no knowledge of the Goa'uld, made friends and then returned to Earth. A short time later, thousands of warriors began arriving through the skull. The first thing the warriors did was take control of the skull transport system here in Picari, so the people of Yaxkin couldn't send word to the other worlds for help. Then Coatlicue arrived by ship, and, well, you can pretty much guess what happened next."
"We saw no evidence of any fighting in this city," said Teal'c.
`Because Coatlicue hadno weapons, she was relying on the sheer number and ferocity of the Aztec warriors. The people here had no experience in warfare or fighting, but they did have an advanced understanding of biotechnology. They employed a racially specific bioweapon, a pox." Daniel Jackson ran his hand along the bottom line of glyphs. "Unfortunately, the virus mutated so that everyone, not just the Aztecs, eventually became infected. The Picari elders left this note as a warning to any incoming travelers."
O'Neill frowned. "Virus. Great."
"No, it's okay Jack. The warning is about the Goa'uld. The people who inscribed this message knew that once the last of them died, the disease would die with them."
"Are you sure about that? You know how I feel about bugs, Daniel, especially the small kind."
"Yes, sir." Major Carter walked down the mound and joined them. "Although a virus isn't exactly a bug, poxes are species specific. That's how the WHO were able to wipe out smallpox on Earth, by eradicating it in the human population."
"So we have an empty planet. Sweet!" O'Neill turned to Major Carter. "You find any of the skulls?"
Daniel Jackson pointed to the mound. "According to the text, they're under there, encased in something that would take a nuke to open. The elders did that to prevent any of their own people spreading the plague off world." He walked across to another set of glyphs. "See here? Coatlicue also brought in a Stargate. I think this is the planet she used as a base."
"'Gate?" O'Neill's interest was evident. "Why wouldn't the Yak Skins have used that to get off the planet?"
"Perhaps they did not know how," said Teal'c.
"Where is it?"
"I haven't figured out their map system, yet," replied Daniel Jackson. "Could take me a while to locate it."
"All right, we'll keep it in mind." O'Neill looked around the dome once more. "What do you think, Carter? Can we use this place to evacuate everyone?"
Major Carter looked uncertain. "Teal'c, how big was that cave you saw beneath the Pyramid of the Sun on Earth?"
Teal'c examined the room. "I believe it was approximately this size."
"Assuming the cave beneath the Pyramid of the Sun on Xalotcan is the same, we could probably move up to two thousand people at a time. Problem is, sir, the dome is badly cracked. I'm not sure how much more shaking it can take."
Daniel Jackson shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Remember when the `gate on Earth was hit with an energy charge, you and Jack were redirected to the one in Antarctica?"
"We were deflected there," said Major Carter.
"Wodeski didn't arrive beneath the Pyramid of the Sun on Xalotcan, he arrived in the tzompantli, the skull cave, beneath the Pyramid of the Moon, because that's where four of the skulls were hidden."
"Then why didn't you and Teal'c arrive there?"
"Because Wodeski removed the skulls. Teal'c and I arrived in a cave beneath the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. That can only mean one of two things. Wodeski either hid them there, which I very much doubt, or-"
"A fifth skull is hidden somewhere inside that pyramid," said Major Carter.
"And? So?" O'Neill said impatiently.
"Sir, if this dome fails," replied Major Carter, "people will be diverted elsewhere."
"There is a large pyramid structure just outside," Teal'c pointed to the open doorway.
Major Carter nodded. "That would probably do it, sir."
"Okay, Major, set up the skull," said O'Neill. "The sooner we get back, the sooner we can begin the evacuation."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
on't even think it, Carter," snapped O'Neill. "Or, so help me, I'll have you busted to lieutenant!"
Sam was having her own issues with the long skirt and complex headdress that Daniel and General Hammond had wangled from the conveners of the Aztec sound and light show in Mexico. "This is worse than the Shavadai dress on P3X-593."
"You look fabulous, Major." Dabruzzi's gaze was frankly admiring.
Her scowl had no effect on him.
"He's right," said Daniel, who sported a square sunshade of feathers in the heraldic pattern of the Quetzalcoatl bird. The `shade was held in place by a frame across his back and fastened to a breastplate covered in red and green feathers. "It's so...you!"
"Although the P90 spoils the effect," said Dabruzzi thoughtfully. "Maybe you should - "
Sam's scowl turned deadly. Bad enough that they were going to a hostile planet dressed, as the Colonel said, like a bunch of feathered Chinese New Year dragons; no way she was going unarmed. "Do I have to wear it exactly like this?"
"TheAztec civilization was an imperialistic hegemony," replied Daniel. "You dressed according to your station or suffered grave, usually fatal, consequences. It was different when you were in mufti, as it were, but this is an official second coming. We have to keep up appearances."
"When in Rome, huh?" said O'Neill.
Sam finished tucking the last of the C4 detonators inside her shirt, and then looked around at the others.
If Daniel's outfit was fetching and Teal'c's magnificent, the Colonel looked, well, amazing. He was wearing at least twice as much gold as anyone else, and his feather headdress was half as big again as Daniel's sunshade.
"It itches," O'Neill griped as he finished packing hand grenades, knives, small packets of C4, P90 magazines and a zat gun into various pockets inside his floor-length green quetzal-feather cape. "And Fraiser made me take anotherAlka-Seltzer."
"Acetazolamide," correct Dabruzzi, who was dressed as a jaguar warrior.
Reaching down to Jack's loincloth, embroidered with the Mayan version of the feathered-serpent god, Daniel said, "All you have to do is adjust the apron part of the maxtlatl - "
"Ah!" O'Neill snapped. He jerked away. "I've been peeing all by myself for... a long time."
Sam turned to hide her grin. Acetazolamide worked as a prophylactic against altitude sickness by flushing CO2 from their blood, which pushed their kidneys into overdrive. Maxtlatls didn't come with buttons or zips, and it had taken the Colonel half an hour to put it on.
"So, what's the word for facilities?" asked O'Neill.
"Chinampitl," replied Daniel. "You'll see them everywhere, they look like tall wicker baskets. It's interesting, because the name actually derives from the word for reclaimed farmland. They use human manure to fertilize the gardens, so - "
"Daniel!" The Colonel threw him a particularly stony glare.
"Uhm...okay, well, all right everyone." Daniel turned to face the room. "Final position check."
In addition to Dabruzzi, who had insisted that he just had to see a planet in the process of tectonic self-destruction, eight Marines would accompany SG-1 to Xalotcan. Quetzalcoatl was expected to arrive with an entourage, so the Mari
nes were dressed as jaguar and eagle warriors, the elite forces loyal to both Tzcatlipoca and Tonatui. That would give the impression that `Quetzalcoatl' had power over both major gods. Although Chalchiuhtlicue didn't feature in the end-of-the-world scenarios, with the Goa'uld Coatlil- cue/Chalchiuhtlicue dead, Sam's presence as the `true and merciful' Chalchiuhtlicue could be decisive.
"When we arrive," Daniel said. "Four Marines - two jaguar and two eagle warriors - will carry the quetzal-feather canopy over Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter, Dr Dabruzzi and myself. Teal'c will take point and look... well, like you usually look, Teal'c."
"He means fierce," clarified the Colonel needlessly.
Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgment.
"Two more jaguar Marines will take up formation ten feet in front," continued Daniel. "The last two eagle Marines will be ten feet to the rear. Only Teal'c and I are expected to talk, so ignore anyone if they speak to you."
One of the Marines, a sergeant named Welch, shot the Colonel an uncertain look. "So ... Quetzal is the Grim Reaper, right?"
Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "No! Quetzalcoatl's return does not cause the end of the world. He promised he would return at the end of the world, to take his people to Omeyocan, or Heaven. The real Quetzalcoatl has asked Colonel O'Neill to do just that."
"What about this guy we're after, Wodeski? Isn't he pretending to be one of these Goa'uld?" Welch looked confused.
"Wodeski doesn't know what a Goa'uld is," replied Daniel. "But yes, he's masquerading as the god Tzcatlipoca, who we think is a Goa'uld due to arrive on the moon in three days. Wodeski's presence there now is actually to our benefit. By openly vanquishing `Tzcatlipoca', Colonel O'Neill - Quetzalcoatl - will have fulfilled one of the principal end-of-the-world prophecies. This should convince more people to follow him. And Wodeski won't be hard to find. During Nemontemi, Tzcatlipoca remains in his temple on the Pyramid of the Moon."
"Once we have Professor Wodeski," said Sam. "We'll set up the crystal skull in one of caves beneath the Pyramid of the Sun and begin transporting people to Yaxkin."
"And if the Goa'uld turn up, or they're already there?" Welch asked.
The Colonel was tying the last strap on his rubber sandal. "We don't have the luxury of time to wait until after they've gone," he said. "The Goa'uld are only as powerful as their Jaffa armies. None of the Jaffa we encountered had staff weapons, and they'd sooner work for Quetzalcoatl, so we should expect some support."
"Which is exactly what you're meant to convey." Daniel gestured to the Marines' eagle and jaguar costumes. "However, it's just a show of support. Prophecy says this final battle is between the gods, not their armies."
"These Goa'uld," said Sam, "are not able to sustain the host's bodies as well as other Goa'uld, and they don't have sarcophagi. We expect them to be old, and more susceptible to injury and death."
"Okay," said O'Neill. "Let's go." He edged sideways out of the door, cautiously trying to keep his headdress in place.
"Remember," Daniel added during the walk to the `gate room. "In the same way that our civilization revolves around economy, theirs revolves around ritual. Every building, every painting and sculpture, the clothes they wear, even how they fight is governed by religious doctrine. If we can maintain the illusion that Colonel O'Neill is Quetzalcoatl, they'll abandon their worship of the Goa'u1d, leave everything they own and move to a new world without batting an eyelid."
"No pressure," muttered O'Neill.
General Hammond followed them into the `gate room. When the vortex stabilized, he met the eyes of each of them in turn. There'd been other missions, more important, certainly more lives at stake, but there was something about this one that seemed... different. Sam couldn't quite place it until the General said, "On this day two thousand and one years ago, a child was born who brought with Him the hope of peace on Earth and goodwill to all men. Regardless of your religious convictions, this mission embodies the spirit of Christmas at its most fundamental level. Merry Christmas everyone, and God speed."
On the walkway from the Stargate to the pyramid on P7X-377, Sam pulled out her hand-held radiation detector, hoping to measure the decay rate of leptons; it would determine the exact type of energy being given off. Minutes later they were inside, and Daniel was staring into the eyes of the rose crystal skull. The by now familiar energy wind and spiraling golden light whipped out from the skull and enveloped them. She was still adjusting the settings when a dark emerald green replaced the disturbing, other-dimensional pyramid walls. The familiar stench attacked her olfactory nerves, triggering some really, really bad memories. Not altitude sickness then, and not fungi; surely not smell alone.
One of the Marines inhaled sharply. Dabruzzi was staring at the readout on his hand sensor. A verdant pallor had replaced his nutbrown tan. "Sub-harmonics really add to the sensorium," he said in a cracked whisper. "The magma chamber's emitting a frequency below the audible range of hearing - at just the right pitch to send cats mad, dogs howling, and people into those snug white jackets with straps."
"Suck it up, everyone," O'Neill ordered. "Do not adjust the controls on your television set. The creeped-out feeling you are experiencing is all in your mind."
"Or magma," quipped Dabruzzi.
Now that Sam understood what was causing her anxiety, she could deal with it and concentrate on assessing their surroundings. The cavern was as Daniel had described, complete with the bouquet of death and the fire priests throwing themselves onto the ground before them. An additional feature was a collection of headless corpses sprawled haphazardly across the blood-soaked ground. Tremors shook the cavern, and a deep, keening sound, the sort that would have made most people's blood freeze, emanated from the fire priests.
"Oh...crap," Daniel said. "I was afraid of this."
"Which particular this, would that be, Daniel?" demanded O'Neill.
"The sacrifices. The increased tectonic activity and sense of terror has prompted them to start mass sacrifices to all of the gods, even Quetzalcoatl. They're hoping to stave off the end of the world."
Dabruzzi glanced up. Sam's eyes followed - to the cracks in the roof and walls of the immense cavern. "Sir, I really think we should leave."
"Not sir." Daniel sent her a warning look. "Quetzalcoatl."
"Right." Had to remember that.
"Quetzalcoatl returns!" Teal'c's deep voice echoed ominously. He stepped forward, prompting the filthy fire priests to scurry backwards. "Rise, so that he may lead the chosen to Omeyocan before your world is destroyed!"
A peppering of large rocks crashed to the floor as yet another quake hit. It was too much for the fire priests, who panicked and fled the chamber crying out Quetzalcoatl's name. Their voices carried the mortal terror that Sam had heard on too many planets dominated by Goa'uld. Judgment Day had arrived on Xalotcan.
"Okay, move!" O'Neill ordered when whole chunks of the ceiling began to fall.
"This way." Teal'c led them up through a bewildering maze of passages and richly decorated rooms. Gold ornaments andpieces of once-bright murals lay scattered across the ground between fallen rocks. Dust filled the air, and masonry shuddered and creaked dangerously. Daniel sneezed and then sneezed again as they pushed past fresh corpses.
Finally, they were outside in a narrow courtyard flanked by tall walls. They dusted themselves down and unfurled the canopy of quetzal-feathers.
"Car - Chalchi," said the Colonel softly. "Okay?"
She nodded.
"Daniel?"
"Wind-feather," Daniel corrected, straightening his sunshade.
"And Jaguar-claw," Dabruzzi reminded them, pulling his jaguar `helmet' over his face.
O'Neill did a double take. "Jaguar-claw?"
"What, you don't like it?"
"It just seems a little ... pretentious."
Dabruzzi looked the Colonel up and down. The expression on O'Neill's face conceded the point.
The sounds of voices, hundreds, thousands of gaily chatter
ing voices filtered over the top of whitewashed stone walls. Sam tried to get a glimpse, but all she could see were rows and rows of thatched roofs and adobe buildings. Every few hundred feet the skyline was broken by taller ziggurat structures, each one alive with activity. The upper steps looked to be decorated with wine-red rugs, somewhat frayed at the edges. Then her stomach clenched. Not rugs, blood. Sam swallowed and looked up. Above it all hung a bruised and ocher sky.
Teal'c led them along a narrow passage. The ground was covered in tiny, pockmarked pebbles. Ominous rumblings came from within the pyramid. The cavern had probably collapsed; they had got out just in time. Of greater concern were the caverns beneath the Pyramid of the Sun. With the Stargate inaccessible, the skull transport system was their only way to evacuate the planet.
They turned the comer, walked past a row of stone featheredserpent heads, and emerged in the huge sunken plaza of the Citadel.
Abruptly, everything went quiet. It was like walking out into a football stadium, except that everyone - those milling around inside and the tens of thousands on the surrounding platforms - were staring at them in absolute, chilling silence. No one moved, no one seemed to breathe, not even a baby cried. The Colonel shot her a worried look; the Citadel was a natural trap, a killing ground.
One of the feculent fire priests broke the silence. "Abase yourselves before Quetzalcoatl and Chalchiuhtlicue!"
A sea of cloth and gold and feathers instantly moved to obey. It was a spectacular motion of color, but like O'Neill and the Marines, Sam was more interested in the behavior of the hundreds of jaguar and eagle warriors across the platforms and along the steps of the surrounding pyramids. They bowed low, but they did not abase themselves. Quetzalcoatl was a god, but he was not their god.
The Marines stood perfectly still, as stonily indifferent as Daniel had warned them they must be. But Sam felt their tension. No mistake now, the red on the steps of the pyramids was blood, huge pools of blood. Sam had seen death before, and carnage that would have sickened the hardiest of soldiers. But the horror here resided in the atmosphere of manic celebration. This wasn't some unspeakable war crime, but a gigantic, citywide festival of death.