He snatched it up, squinting in the dim light. He couldn’t quite read the eroded markings on its surface, but it was shaped like the crystals he’d seen inside the DHD. And there were more of them, he realized. Three, no, five of them, the dim light rendering them almost invisible against the tiny bands of crystal that held them. He picked them up one by one, turning them over to try to make sense of why Seeker had collected them. Two of them were completely undamaged, three were unusable, and the fourth had a single chip in its leading edge. That one was of a shape he didn’t recognize, and he held it closer to the light to examine its markings. Sam would know what it was — she’d know what they all were, he thought, and then he saw the mark in the center of the long shaft. It was a snake eating its own tail.
Janus’s mark. He checked the others, but they were ordinary, unmarked, and mostly styles he recognized. But this one… He slipped it into his pocket, wishing he had something to wrap it in, something to protect it from further damage. Ok, maybe there wasn’t much point, but if somehow he managed to escape —
There was a noise at the door, and he took two quick steps away from the niche and its jumble of treasures as the door slid open. Seeker smiled at him, showing very sharp teeth.
“So, Daniel Jackson. I hope you have reconsidered.”
“I thought maybe you might have changed your mind.” Daniel took another step backward, but there was no place to run. “Really, you don’t want to pursue this. It’s just going to end with everyone killing each other.”
“Which you could prevent.”
“So could you.” But he couldn’t, Daniel realized. Not if the Wraith lived on human lives, if they only lived on human lives. “Look, the last thing we wanted was to start a war. Just let us go, and we will not bother you again.”
“You cannot seriously expect me to believe that.” Seeker turned toward the gaming table, and it took all Daniel’s self-control not to reach for the ouroboros crystal in his pocket. Seeker didn’t seem to pay any attention to the niches, however, his gaze focused instead on the stones scattered on the table. He moved one, and then another, studying the result for a long moment. “Still. There is no harm in… conversation.”
Daniel felt the first delicate pressure of Seeker’s thoughts against his own mind, and braced himself to resist. “No harm at all.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Interlude
THE ZENANA was in an uproar, the Queen on her feet, glaring, while her favorites dodged her glance. Only the Consort seemed unmoved, but his rivals noted that he had been caught with his back to the wall, no other place to be without seeming to surrender. The Young Queen and her court, all the rest of the lesser courtiers, had been banished from this meeting; this was only the Queen and her closest men.
*How many men are dead?* she asked, dangerously calm.
*One blade,* the Consort answered. *A dozen drones.*
*A dozen!*
*Drones.* The Consort met her snarl without flinching.
*Drones cost me something, though you may not think it!*
*And we achieved our goal,* Seeker said. He was always willing to draw her fire when the Consort was concerned, and both Spark and Seldom Seen bared teeth. *I found one useful mind among them.*
*Only one?* Spark examined his claws.
*Only one survived interrogation,* Seeker answered. *The other knew nothing, anyway. Ill-informed and highly disciplined — more independence than I would have seen had I questioned one of our own drones, but no more knowledge.*
*And this other one.* That was Seldom Seen, not looking at his sister. *You’ve proved he’s no Ancient?*
*Yes.*
*As best you can,* Spark pointed out.
Seeker controlled himself with a palpable effort. *The Ancient device did not respond to him, as it would to anyone who carries the Ancients’ genetic heritage. And there are other reasons to believe he is no Ancient.*
The Queen took a deep breath and returned to her chair, though she did not fully relax. *Go on.*
*If they were Ancients returned, they would know what we are and how to fight us,* Seeker said. *Daniel Jackson knows only the most basic information about us, and there are gaps that are shocking. He is not an Ancient, and I do not believe he is from any world that has ever known our kind.*
*There aren’t many of those,* Seldom Seen said.
*No, indeed,* the Queen agreed. *Have you found this unknown world?*
*Not yet.* Seeker faced her unflinching. *He is strong, and he has some form of the Gift — he is aware of some of my probes, and is able to parry them.*
*Are you sure he’s not an Ancient?” the Consort asked.
*Absolutely.*
Spark uncoiled himself from the pillar where he had been leaning, and tossed his long braid back over his shoulder. *Be that as it may, I see no reason not to wipe them out entirely. They have proved themselves dangerous, their weapons are too far advanced, and nothing good can come of leaving them alive.*
*It would be a waste,* Seeker snapped.
*Putting aside your predilections, it’s the only sensible thing to do,* Spark answered. *While you have been busy — questioning — I have been monitoring what is happening on Athos, and all is not well. I believe they are joining forces with the Athosians, and that means the contagion is spreading.*
*You believe,* Seeker said.
*I have tracked their movements, the ones who are outside the city,* Spark said. *Parties have gone into the mountains where we have always had trouble hunting them, and the rest have joined into two bands. They are waiting for the right moment to join the ones in Emege.*
*Or they are waiting to attack them,* Seeker said. *We have no reason to believe that they are allies.*
*Most humans would ally with their worst enemies against us,* Seldom Seen said. *I’ve looked over the readings and I agree with Spark.*
*Ridiculous.* Seeker framed the words as a thought escaped involuntarily, but the Queen fixed him with a look.
*And what, then, do you propose we do?*
*Cull deep and often,* he answered promptly. *Take and question as many of the feral humans as we may, until we find where they have come from. That is the world we should destroy, not Athos.* He paused. *I have seen some glimpses of its location, images of its night skies, but I cannot yet identify it. There is a possibility it is not a world within this galaxy.*
*All the more reason to destroy them now,* Seldom Seen exclaimed, and Spark turned sharply, his coats flaring.
*What proof do you have of that extraordinary statement?*
*More than you have of an alliance.* Seeker framed the image of the sky he had cut from the human’s mind, presented it carefully. *I cannot match those patterns, not myself nor through the calculators. I do not say I have exhausted all other options — it could still be some world exceedingly distant from our usual haunts — but I must admit it to be possible.”
*How could they get here?* the Queen asked.
*I don’t know,* Seeker said. *Not through the Rings, certainly, and there’s no sign of a starship. It’s a puzzle we need to solve.*
*It’s a puzzle that we can solve without leaving too many of them alive,* Spark said. *We cannot allow their technology to spread.*
The Queen tapped her claws on the arm of her chair, frowning slightly. *I agree with Spark,* she said at last. *You may keep your choice of those we Cull, Seeker, but we must destroy this infection before it spreads.*
*They can be contained and controlled,* Seeker protested. He looked at the Consort, but Guide shook his head.
*Spark is right,* he said. *The danger’s too great.*
*It’s wasteful —* Seeker stopped himself, made an abrupt bow. *As the Queen wishes, then.*
*We’ll attack tonight,* the Queen said. *In case Spark is right and the groups are planning to join forces.* She looked over her shoulder at the Consort. *I want them utterly destroyed.*
The Consort bowed, graceful and deadly. *As the Queen commands.*
Into the City
TEYLA proved to be as good as her word, returning their P90s and offering a couple of the younger Athosians as guides to take them as far as the lake’s edge. To Teal’c’s surprise, Sheppard accompanied them as well, carrying one of the expedition radios tuned to a tertiary frequency.
“There’s no guarantee Sumner won’t be monitoring it,” he told O’Neill, “but this way we can yell if there’s an emergency. At least Teyla and Halling will know what went wrong.”
“I’m not really reassured by that, Major,” O’Neill said.
“Me, neither, General,” Sheppard answered, and they moved off into the forest.
The young Athosians brought them east along the ridge where the caves lay and then down an easier slope where the trees reached almost to the edge of the lake. Teal’c frowned — it seemed an obvious place for Sumner to expect an attempt to cross the lake, particularly as it narrowed here — but then he saw how far they had come around the curve of the lake. They were several miles from the encampment, further if the straight line through the city was blocked by fallen debris.
“As far as we know, nobody from the expedition has reconnoitered this far,” Sheppard said. “Or at least none of Colonel Sumner’s men have.” He looked at the Athosians. “You’ll stay here.”
“You will need our help, Major,” the taller one protested.
“I’ve got to say I agree with him,” O’Neill said. “Three of us just aren’t quite enough to take on the expedition’s entire Marine contingent.”
“Five of us wouldn’t be much better, sir,” Sheppard said. “If we can’t sneak them out, we’re not going to be able to break them out.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c said. He was beginning to believe that Sheppard was more reliable than he had first thought.
O’Neill made a face, but didn’t say anything. Sheppard rooted in the underbrush and dragged out a wooden boat. It was Athosian, by the look of it, long and narrow with a flat bottom. Teal’c eyed it warily — he had had unfortunate experiences with small watercraft when he was in Apophis’s service —but helped the Tau’ri run it down to the water’s edge.
“Timar, you’ll wait on the bank across from the rendezvous site. If we’re not back, or if we haven’t signaled, by the time the sun hits the tops of the trees, get on back to the caves and tell Teyla,” Sheppard said. He looked at O’Neill. “If we can’t make it back, she knows we’ll rendezvous with them in the city.”
“Ok,” O’Neill said. He squinted across the water. “You’re sure Sumner’s not looking in this direction?”
“He never has before,” Sheppard answered, and shoved the boat into the water.
“I will help paddle, Major Sheppard,” Teal’c said firmly, and climbed aboard.
They made it across without mishap, though there was less freeboard than Teal’c would have liked. Sheppard dragged the boat into a space hollowed out between the stub of a wall and an intimidatingly thorny bush, then turned, squinting into the declining sun.
“You see that stubby building, the one that looks like someone poured purple paint down it?”
Teal’c shaded his eyes. “I do.”
O’Neill nodded.
“That’s our fallback — the general one, I mean. If we get separated, or if there’s some other problem, that’s where we’ll meet. Where we’re going is to its right, that lumpy dome like an igloo.”
Teal’c frowned at that, but O’Neill nodded again. “That one?” he asked, pointing, and Sheppard nodded back.
Teal’c identified the dome then, and nodded in turn.
“Zelenka should be there,” Sheppard said. “He’ll know where your people are.”
They picked their way carefully through the ruins as the sun sank toward the Stargate, moving in near-silence through the rubble. There were no birds, Teal’c realized, none of the small animal life that he generally expected in a place that had been abandoned as long as this. Here and there, an insect droned, or hovered for a moment in a shaft of sunlight, but he saw nothing larger. Emege had been empty for a long time, but it seemed nothing dared shelter in its remnants.
They had come perhaps two miles when Sheppard raised his fist, then motioned them into the shelter of a standing wall. Teal’c flattened himself against the shadowed stone, cool against his back, his P90 ready in his hands.
“Major?” O’Neill said, after a moment, and Sheppard dropped back to join them.
“Sorry. False alarm. I thought I saw somebody moving in the cross street up ahead.”
“You’re sure you didn’t?” O’Neill asked.
“As sure as I can be.” Sheppard shrugged. “We go underground from here, anyway.”
“Underground,” Teal’c said.
“Yeah.” Sheppard peered around the end of the wall. “There’s a network of tunnels under the city, and it’s mostly intact. Zelenka says he thinks it was some kind of transit system.”
“I knew I should have brought my spelunking gear,” O’Neill said.
Sheppard led them across a wide space that seemed to have been some kind of open square. Teal’c surveyed their surroundings as they crossed, but saw no movement, no sign that there was anyone else in the ruins. On the far side, what seemed to be a rubble-choked doorway proved to have a gap just big enough for Teal’c to slip between the piled debris and the remaining wall. He found himself in a circular room, unfurnished and roofless, but with a wooden ladder leading down through the floor. Sheppard rummaged in a wall niche, and pulled out a pair of flashlights, produced a third from his pockets. He handed each of them a flashlight, then swung himself down into the hole. O’Neill eyes him dubiously, but Teal’c merely switched his light on and off again to be sure it worked, and climbed down after him. He thought he heard O’Neill swear, but it was soft enough that he didn’t have to notice.
The next short tunnel was punishingly narrow, so that Teal’c had to go sideways, and by the time it widened again, his shoulders were burning from holding himself from touching the walls. Sheppard led them down another hold, scrambling down a slope of rubble, and they emerged into a much larger tube, its walls covered with faded paint in unfamiliar geometric designs. Daniel Jackson would know what they meant, Teal’c thought, but he himself certainly did not.
They followed that tunnel for perhaps half a mile, until it was blocked by more chunks of stone and concrete. Teal’c swung his light to examine the walls and ceiling, but saw no sign that further collapse was likely. Even so, he stepped lightly as Sheppard led them around the obstruction and into a smaller tunnel. This one was lined with battered tiles, streaked here and there with stains that looked as though they had come from flowing water. Where the tiles were intact, they were unexpectedly slippery, and Teal’c was glad when they returned to one of the larger tunnels.
At last a faint light showed ahead, and Teal’c wasn’t surprised when Sheppard waved for them to stop.
“Up ahead’s the rendezvous point,” he said softly. “I’ll go first.”
Teal’c moved to cover him as he swung himself up the ladder, head cocked for the slightest sound of trouble from above. There was nothing, no voices, no sounds at all, and then Sheppard leaned over the opening, his face grim.
“Come on up. Zelenka’s not here.”
“Crap.” O’Neill re-slung his P90 and climbed up, Teal’c on his heels. They emerged in a room that looked little different from the other ruined buildings — except, Teal’c realized, that there was slightly less dust on the floor. There was also a rag by the mouth of the tunnel, ready to brush away unwanted footprints, and he nodded his approval.
“So where is he?” O’Neill demanded.
“I don’t know.” Sheppard was pulling stones out of the wall, reaching into a narrow space as though searching for something. He pulled out a piece of white stone marked with “thirty-seven” in what looked like red crayon, and bit his lip. “And he hasn’t been here since yesterday.”
O’Neill g
ave the stone a jaundiced glare. “So what does that mean, Major?”
“I don’t know.” Sheppard looked around the room again, then went to peer out the narrow window. They were closer to the lake again, Teal’c saw, and closer still to Sumner’s encampment. “I imagine that with all the trouble last night he hasn’t been able to get back here.”
“Or maybe he got caught,” O’Neill said.
“Or maybe he got taken by the Wraith,” Sheppard answered. “If you want to be really negative about it. But probably he didn’t and probably he’s just gone to ground somewhere else. He’s got a lot of hidey holes in the city.”
“That doesn’t help my people much,” O’Neill said. “I take it you know where they’re being held?”
Sheppard looked out the window again. “Probably. But I’m not the expert in these tunnels.”
“I think it would be in everyone’s interest if you took us there, Major Sheppard,” Teal’c said.
“Yeah.” Sheppard didn’t look particularly happy at the idea, but he nodded. “This way.”
Sheppard’s knowledge of the tunnels proved adequate, though they did have to retrace their steps once after an apparently promising tunnel ended in an abrupt dead end, where water flowed from broken pipes into a hole too wide to jump. Teal’c shone his light into the depths, but could not see the bottom, just the sparkle of the water falling away into the dark. Sheppard stood silent for a moment, brow furrowed in concentration, then led them back through a series of corridors until they reached the base of another steep slope of rubble. Sheppard gestured for them to turn off their lights, and leaned close.
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