"You're lying." But the creature within wailed, because it recognized the truth in this-so many deaths. A silken drape brushed her shoulder as she backed away, and she flinched, ducked behind the flimsy fabric as though it could shield her. "You're lying."
"I think we both know who's lying." He took a step closer, swiped at a barrier of silk. "You and Teal'c got separated? Separated as in: you killed him?"
"No!" Another step, and she was holding on to the drape as if to steady herself. "I disobeyed. I couldn't... I-"
"And Sam? She trusted you to help her."
"Carter is fine!"
"Her name is Samantha. You call her Sam. She's your friend. Your best friend."
"No." Her shoulders struck the wall. No more room to back off, and he still kept coming, and that buried thing, creature, in her mind was fighting her tooth and nail. Please, mistress, help! Silence. Only silence. Mrityu was beginning to feel cold, rime chilling her body from the inside out. "Don't! Don't come any closer!"
Two more steps. He wasn't listening. "You missed the main event last night. Did you know Nirrti has ways of using a healing device that will hurt the other person? Sam eventually passed out. Before that she screamed a lot, though. First, do no harm. Is that what you were thinking of when you sold her out? And Daniel? And Teal'c? First do no harm. You swore an oath, Janet. That's your name, by the way. Janet. Janet Fraiser and-"
"Stop it!" She flung herself against him with everything she had.
He staggered back against a low table, fought to regain his balance, lost, and slowly crumpled to his knees. For a while the only sound in the room were his gasps, low and shallow and never drawing enough air.
First, do no harm. First, do no harm. First...
"I warned you," she whispered, shivering. "Why can't you ever listen, sir?"
Waves of cold coursing through her, she edged closer, crouched beside him. He'd gone chalky white, sweat beading on his forehead, and she didn't like what his breathing was doing. The bruised ribs shouldn't cause him so much trouble, not after all this time. How did she know that? An exercise gone wrong. And he'd blamed himself. He was a friend, too. She gently clasped his shoulders.
"Your hands," he panted. "Freezing."
"Don't talk. You think you can straighten up a little? I want to take a look at you."
"I'm-"
"Peachy. Yes."
"What?" His eyes flew open, and he caught her in that disconcerting gaze again. "Janet?"
It was easier to bear now. And harder in some ways, because she couldn't be sure whether she'd be telling him the truth. "I don't know, Colonel. And I don't know how long it'll last, so-"
"What did she do to you? Tell me, Janet. You've got to."
"Don't, sir. Please. Don't say anything."
"She's nowhere in sight." Of course he wouldn't let it rest. He never did, did he?
"She doesn't have to be. She can make me do things." When she lifted his shirt and touched his bare skin, he flinched. Because her hands were cold. Or because he didn't trust her any longer-and why should he? "I'm sorry, sir."
"I'm starting to think it's not your fault, Doc."
The bruising was worse than she recalled. Maybe ribs were broken. No wonder he-
What are you doing? I asked you to bring him to me!
It cut into her like shards of ice, tightened around her mind, made her want to curl up and whimper. "Forgive me, mistress. I did not mean to-"
"Janet? Who are you talking to?" The Tauri's eyes were on her, they hadn't left, as though he thought he could keep the creature rampant just by staring at her.
There is no need for words! I told you this before. Do it again and you shall be punished.
Iforgot, mistress, Mrityu stammered. Iforgot.
What did you tell him?
Nothing. Nothing, mistress.
A lie. It was a lie. The creature had broken free. The creature had talked to the Tauri. She knew him. And if Lady Nirrti found out... Distract her. Distract her now.
The Tauri is injured, mistress. He requires healing, else the injury will worsen.
The silence that followed was intolerable. The Tauri kept saying things, but Mrityu barely heard him. At last the cold eased a fraction.
Bring him.
Yes, mistress. Yes.
"Janet? Don't listen to her, Janet." The Tauri's hands were clasping her face, freezing her skin and the flesh underneath, holding her in place so that his eyes could haunt her at leisure. "Stay with me. Come on, Janet."
"Let go of me!" she hissed.
"No. I need you, Janet. I need your help. Sam needs your help. If you help us, we can all get out-"
"Don't ever touch me again!" She slapped his hands aside, wishing she could do the same to his gaze. Why didn't she look away? Why? "Guards!"
The two Jaffa had been posted outside the room and arrived within seconds, and the Tauri finally found something other than her to hold his interest.
"Lady Nirrti wishes to see him. Bring him." Mystified, Mrityu heard herself add, "But be careful. He is injured."
top clucking, Teal'c. I'll be fine." To demonstrate the veracity of this statement, Daniel Jackson flexed both arms. "Well, fine-ish," he grumbled, and the grin he had attempted wavered a fraction.
At first, Teal'c had taken the facial contortions for a rictus of pain. An easy mistake, considering the general state of Daniel Jackson's features. Several bruises and lacerations had been added to the existing damage. The young man also looked wom out and dejected, which was unsurprising in light of the news he had brought. O'Neill, Major Carter, and Dr. Fraiser were in the hands of Nirrti. Teal'c intended to rectify that situation as soon as possible. He had not developed a plan yet, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
"Your range of motion seems to be adequate," he said.
"I told you I was fine. The bullets took along a bit of skin, that's all. Rambo over there was saving the fun part for later." Daniel Jackson cast a sidelong glance at his attacker who lay tied up in a comer of the gallery and entertained himself by ranting at Corporal Wilkins. "How did you find me, anyway?"
It seemed a curiously irrelevant question. Was it not enough that Daniel Jackson had been found? Perhaps not. Teal'c carefully rolled up an unused end of gauze and stashed it in his medikit. "Corporal Wilkins and I had entered the city at first light to explore the ruins. We heard the shots and followed them. It was fortuitous that we arrived here in time to see you take cover in the corridor."
"Yeah. Maybe I wasn't wrong."
"Wrong about what?"
"Uh." Daniel Jackson blushed. "It's something to do with my personal belief system. Kinda difficult to explain."
"It would appear that way."
Whatever Daniel Jackson had meant to say, he did not finish the thought. Instead he leaned forward and placed a hand on Teal'c's arm. "I don't think I've ever been so glad to see anyone."
"Nor have I, my friend."
It was true. When he had discovered Daniel Jackson in his hideout, Teal'c's knees had threatened to buckle with relief. A kind of weakness, he decided, that was entirely acceptable. He smiled at the memory, grateful that, for the first time in weeks, he truly had something to smile about. His pleasure faded as he retrieved the handgun he had used on Corporal Wilkins the night before.
"Uhm, Teal'c?"
"Yes, Daniel Jackson?"
His friend wore a troubled frown and wordlessly pointed at the weapon.
"It is purely for medicinal purposes." Teal'c rose and walked over to the two Marines.
As he approached, Corporal Wilkins looked up, grinning. "Can't really tell what Lambert's saying, sir, but I think he's pissed."
"Hopefully we shall be able to remedy his disaffection."
"I'm gonna remedy you, you son of a bitch! Cut me loose or I'll kill you!" The execution of Sergeant Lambert's threat seemed to pose certain logistic problems.
"I shall release you shortly." Impervious to the man's rage, Teal'c squatted in front
of him and raised the gun. "However, I must ask you to hold very still now. I do not wish to cause more damage than absolutely necessary."
"What the hell?" The sergeant's eyes went wide. "You keep that thing the hell away from me! You hear-"
"Hold still!"
In fact, it would be considerably easier to knock the man unconscious, much as he had done with Corporal Wilkins, but Teal'c was not above petty retaliation. Sergeant Lambert had injured Daniel Jackson. Given the chance, he would have killed the young man. Teal'c saw no reason to spare him any discomfort and pulled the trigger. As the report of the gunshot shredded his eardrum, the sergeant cast into doubt Teal'c's intellectual capacity, manhood, and parentage.
"Teal'c!" Alerted by the noise, Daniel Jackson had joined them. "What are you doing?"
"What is necessary."
The stream of invective reached a crescendo and abruptly ceased when Teal'c fired again and destroyed the second eardrum. Sergeant Lambert drew a harsh breath, shuddered, and turned very pale. His gaze fixed on Daniel Jackson. Eventually he stammered, "Jesus, Mr. Jackson..." He paused, shook his head, momentarily thrown by the fact that his own voice had disappeared. "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. I've no idea why-"
"It's alright." Realizing that the sergeant couldn't hear him, Daniel Jackson winced and, somewhat reluctantly, patted the man's shoulder. "It's alright," he shouted again. Then he turned to Teal'c. "Don't tell me. This is some sort of weird Jaffa ritual you've neglected to mention so far."
"It is not." Teal'c tucked the handgun into his belt and gestured at Corporal Wilkins to untie his comrade. "It is the only method I could devise to protect these men."
"Men? Plural? And protect them from-"
"Corporal Wilkins was in the same predicament as Sergeant Lambert. Last night he attempted to kill me."
"He what?"
"Daniel Jackson, do you recall the events of PJ2 445?"
"Like yesterday." The young man stared at Teal'c for a long moment. Then he sighed. "Can we please not play Guess The Planet? My head hurts bad enough as it is. Does the place have a name?"
"It does not. Although I presume that some of the sounds the natives made might-"
"Oh, hang on. White naked plant guys, right?"
"Indeed."
"Yeah, I do remember. My head felt pretty much the same then." Daniel Jackson eased himself down the wall and into a sitting position. "So what does that have to do with Marines going on the rampage on P-whatever-this-is."
"Do you also recall what caused our discomfort?"
"Sure. It was those plants."
"How?"
"You know, the last time I had this type of conversation I was in grade school."
"Humor me, Daniel Jackson."
"The plants emitted some sort of infrasound that gave everybody a migraine and made them cranky. Especially Jack. You're saying the same thing's happening here? Low frequencies causing uncontrollable aggression?"
"In general, yes."
"And in particular?"
Teal'c slowly inclined his head. "This is not a natural phenomenon, and it affects carefully selected areas of the brain. It is a toy."
"A toy?"
"A form of entertainment," he corrected himself, unsure of how exactly to explain it. "On your television, do you not have programs where people allow themselves to be hypnotized for the amusement of others?"
"Yeah. Those bark-like-a-chicken-cluck-like-a-dog shows. Why?"
"The principle is not dissimilar. Some Goa'uld use this toy to achieve control over people and bend them to their will. Most often it is done for entertainment. However, I believe in this case it serves a different purpose. The victims appear to be forced into very specific behaviors."
"You mean mind control?" Glancing out across the courtyard below, Daniel Jackson frowned. "I don't know, Teal'c. Even in deep hypnosis you can't force a person to do something that goes completely against his or her character and convictions."
"This is more potent than hypnosis. I have seen mothers slay their newborn because a false god suggested the idea." The memory, as unwelcome as it was vivid, made Teal'c wince. He pushed it aside, carried on. "It also is potent enough to overcome these Marines' code of honor and force them to perceive each other as deadly rivals."
"Potent enough for Janet to betray us." This was a statement, not a question. Daniel Jackson's gaze strayed to the two Marines who seemed busy trying to communicate their mutual apologies. "And deafening a person negates the effect?"
"Apparently."
"I'm not deaf. Neither are you. So why aren't we going berserk?"
"Because for us to attack one another would require a direct command from Nirrti. She has attempted to control my actions last night, but I believe that, to a degree, my symbiote protects me."
"In other words, I could snap at any moment. You'd better keep that gun handy." The young man frowned, then decided to pursue a more constructive thought. "If it is a signal of sorts, there has to be a transmitter somewhere."
"Indeed."
Abruptly, Daniel Jackson came to his feet. "I want to show you something," he announced and headed for the ladder to the roof.
Teal'c was less than thrilled at the prospect of venturing into a location as exposed as that, but he had recognized the look on his friend's face. There would be no stopping him.
Although the sun had not reached its zenith yet, heat beat down relentlessly and chased shimmering specters through the air above the rooftop. Shading his eyes with one hand, Daniel Jackson stood by the parapet and stared out across the abandoned city and at a steep hill that rose from the jungle north of them.
"I can't see well enough, but I think there's a building up there," he said.
He was correct. Invisible from beyond the city walls or the narrow alleys below, an elaborate stone edifice perched atop the hill. The glint of a reflection on the upper levels caught Teal'c's eye. It came and went, a small bright flash cast by polished metal-most likely a harness-that told him someone was keeping watch up there, patrolling the battlements.
"It seems to be a fortress," Teal'c observed.
"I think that's where Nirrti keeps Jack and Sam and Janet." Daniel Jackson's expression hardened, cold fury hovering just below the surface. "It's her hideout. Has to be. And it's higher than anything else around, right?"
"That is correct."
"Then that's where the transmitter is, too. And that's were we're going."
Even if Teal'c had wanted to argue with this decision, he knew he would not have prevailed.
Heckle and Jeckle were trotting along gamely, giving him the evil eye behind his back, but, as per Fraiser's order, they hadn't touched him. They hadn't even tied his hands. Still, now wasn't the time to try anything fancy: a) it might be useful to get an idea of what Nirrti was up to, and b) he stood a snowflake's chance in hell of taking out the twins, quintuplets, or however many there were of these guys. This despite the fact that he was only in about half as bad a shape as he'd led Fraiser to believe.
Jack pretended to study the flagstones and from under half-closed lids slid a glance at the doc. She-or whoever was running the show inside her head-had closed herself off completely, avoiding his gaze, not talking except to give orders. He knew enough about deprogramming to realize that there would be no getting through for the time being. But he'd seen what he'd wanted to see. Somewhere underneath it all, the essence of Janet Fraiser was still there, the healer was still there, and as long as that was the case, Carter had a chance of surviving. If she was still alive.
Yeah. Right. That's it. Think positive, O'Neill!
Tossing the thought into a mental compartment where he kept pointless dusty things-memories of Iraq, for instance-he forced his attention back on the here and now. Which, by a margin of about a millimeter, wasn't as bad as it could have been. If Janet had told him the truth-and he was pretty certain she had-then Teal'c might still be out there. And if Teal'c was still out there, then Daniel's odds of survival h
ad improved a little. Always provided that Teal'c found him or he found Teal'c. After which happy reunion they'd hopefully develop enough sense between them to dig up that DHD and get the hell Earthside.
Uhuh.
Daniel wouldn't leave. Neither would Teal'c.
So you'd better come up with an escape scenario that includes one Jaffa and one archeologist turning up when you least expect them to.
Piece o' cake. Unlike mapping a way out of here. Currently they were marching along a corridor six minutes away from his deluxe quarters, and that was the precise extent to which he could pinpoint his location. The route had been carefully chosen to avoid any windows, any landmarks at all that would have allowed him to orient himself. Nirrti's idea or Fraiser's? The doc knew him better, was one of the few people who'd ever had the dubious privilege of reading the complete, annotated deeds of Jack O'Neill. She knew exactly what he could and couldn't do. Sweet.
How was he going to work around that?
The usual way. Do the craziest thing possible at the unlikeliest moment.
Sounded like a plan.
They reached a wide stone staircase that spiraled, floor after floor, around a massive hole in the ground. Unless there were two of the things in this place, he'd been herded through here on his way up from the vault last night. The staircase was busier now. Below and opposite, flocks of umpteentuplets came jogging from one of the numerous hallways and scurried up the steps, some staring and smirking, others ignoring him. One little piece of intel at last. Quarters had to be off that corridor, which made it a good place to avoid. Among the men falling out, Jack spotted several copies of Heckle and Jeckle, identical right down to the snagged teeth, a half dozen brawny blond beach bums with a birthmark on the left side of their collective jaw, and nine lean, wiry Hispanics. Those were the biggest groups. A few other types came in threes and fours. All were Jaffa.
Had the men Carter had seen on M3D 335 been copies or originals? And was Nirrti planning to liven up her collection of multiple Marines with a bunch ofAir Force colonels? Make a few carbon copies of one Jack O'Neill, brainwash, and return to sender to wreak havoc-from `I' for iris codes to `S' for self-destruct. So not gonna happen. Back in the bad old days, he and his team mates had carried cyanide capsules on some missions. Jack briefly wondered if Fraiser knew that, too, and veered a little closer to the edge of the steps to peer down into the stairwell. Fifteen, twenty meters to the bottom. Just how dead did you have to be for a sarcophagus not to work anymore? Did it ever not-
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