The rain shimmered off the metal skin of a toy Phantom jet, which had been abandoned in the back garden of a small house. A young girl leaned on the back of a sofa chair and looked out of the window and into the dreary weekend day. An even younger boy was sitting on the floor in front of a television, mindlessly watching giant robots fighting each other. The girl looked at her kite and sighed.
"Mom, why does it always rain here?"
A voice spoke out of the kitchen.
"It doesn't rain here all the time you know."
A woman walked out of the kitchen and gave the girl a hug.
"Although it does seem like that here in England."
The girl continued to look out of the window and sighed again.
"Sam, I know you are upset because your Dad couldn't be here for your birthday yesterday, but you know he'd be here if he..."
As Sam's mother was going to continue, a green car pulled up outside the Carter's house. She saw two men, wearing military uniforms, exiting the car and began walking up to the door. Continuing to watch from her vantage point, she noticed the surprise on the first man's face as the doorknocker suddenly moved out of his reach.
"Um, can I help you, Captain?"
The captain cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Carter?"
"Yes? What's wrong? What' happened to Jacob?!"
"Ma'am, is it possible we could come in?"
The two men walked into the house and placed their coats on coat hooks and removed their hats. Sam's mother looked very grim.
"Samantha, take your brother upstairs with you please."
"But Mom this is the good bit..."
"Don't argue and go upstairs!"
Sam sat on the stairs and listened. She heard the words, 'mid-air collision' and 'ejected at sea' but their full meaning didn't register at the time. A quiet bleeping sound began bleeding into the background noise of her brother playing in his bedroom, completely oblivious to the events downstairs. She remembered her mother crying and in the silence hear her tears tap onto the newspaper on the table. Then the beeping got louder, and louder...
Sam opened her eyes. A white clock that had travelled around the world, and had suffered for it, pathetically gestured that it was ten to seven in the morning. She leaned over and slammed the button on the top, then turned over and waited for it to sound again in ten minutes time.
Sam hurriedly dashed towards the main briefing room of the SGC. She cursed to herself as she narrowly avoided colliding with two of privates having a conversation in the middle of a busy corridor, of all places. Looking through the open doorway ahead, Jack, Teal'c and General Hammond sat and waited as Daniel fought with a large piece of paper. Moving closer, she also spotter Doctor Fraiser quietly sitting in the corner with a cup of coffee and a clipboard on her lap. Blushing a little because of embarrassment, she apologised for her lateness and sat down. The monitor flickered into life as Daniel started presenting the findings from the MALP.
"PX45832 is roughly the same distance from its star as Earth. The problem is that the star in this system is a dull red star, so it's colder and darker. As you can see, there's nothing nearby the stargate... except that."
He pointed to a triangular silhouette in the distance obscured by the sandstorm enveloping the stargate site. Jack leaned back a little in his seat.
"So it's a Goa'uld landing platform, what's so special about it."
Daniel started typing into a computer keyboard.
"That's what we originally thought, until we looked more closely when the storm lifted."
Another image was displayed, and a square projected around the silhouette. The image was then expanded and brightened. Instead of the smooth pyramids made of stone that they had come to expect on the worlds the Gou'ald had occupied, this one was stepped and made of metal.
"It's estimated height is roughly the same as the height of the pyramid at Giza."
A slight frown dented General Hammond's brow.
"So is this a ghoul ship?"
Daniel adjusted his glasses.
"I have no idea. According to Teal'c it would be very unusual for the Gou'ald to leave a ship of that size lying around if it could be salvaged... assuming that this is a ship."
"So what else could it be Dr Jackson?"
He pulled off his glasses and sighed in frustration.
"I have no idea General. I could only tell you if I could have a closer look at it."
"Is that your suggestion then?"
"Um, yes."
General Hammond nodded.
"Agreed. We need to know why there are no signs of activity on this planet, and especially around that structure."
Jack sat up in his chair.
"All right, we'll go over and have a look like we normally do..."
Doctor Fraiser stood up.
"I'm afraid that the MALP's environment sensors had some bad news. The probe detected some inhospitable gasses in the atmosphere around the stargate. The concentrations were low enough not to constitute an immediate risk to health, but it's stuff that would come back to haunt you later. You're going to have to use rebreather units while outside."
Jack shook his head in annoyance.
"Hell, not scrubbers. Get the SEALS to do this one, they love restrictive masks and rubber."
Teal'c frowned.
"Scrubbers?"
Sam turned her head to Teal'c and answered while Jack tried to find out if there were alternatives.
"They take out the carbon dioxide in the air you exhale out and then slowly bleed oxygen back in to the air you breathe in through a mask."
Daniel cut in, trying to ignore Jack and Doctor Fraiser's discussion.
"Kind of like a Goa'uld mask but not as large and nowhere near as intimidating."
Jack shook his head.
"Okay, okay. So we'll use the scrubbers, but how are we going to get all the way out there and back in only eight hours?"
"You'll have access to the prototype reconnaissance vehicle."
Jack grinned.
"So who wants to come out with me tonight, Dad's given me the keys to the car."
Later, all of SG1 stood inside the main chamber that contained the stargate. As they were waiting for the stargate to activate, Jack turned to Daniel and placed his hand firmly on his shoulder. He then flipped down the eyepieces of the night-vision goggles and breathed heavily through the mask.
"Luke... I am your father."
Sam looked away and smiled. As Jack continued helping Daniel with the rebreather, she thought about how Jack's cynical, and almost sarcastic, sense of humour had lifted some of the bleak situations that had faced them in the past. Daniel lurched a little as he pulled the rebeather pack on his back.
"Shouldn't these be only thirty pounds or so?"
Jack finished checking the air lines and looked up.
"Put it this way Daniel, you can either have the Kevlar protection around the scrubber, or you can find out what happens when someone shoots an oxygen tank."
"Oh. Okay then."
The final chevron fell into place, snapping Sam's chain of thought, and the iris retracted. At that point the vortex projected out and retreated into the frame, leaving a shimmering plane inside the rim of the stargate. She watched Jack stop in front of the vehicle and look over it. It was a lightly armoured car with a pinsel-mounted machine gun. The vehicle also had an impressive cluster of headlights mounted on the front, but they looked decidedly inferior compared to the monster that sat next to the machine gun. Instead of the normal roar of an engine, it quietly hummed to itself, and the look on a Colonel's face told her that for some reason it just didn't sound right to him. He picked his mask up from his webbing and turned around.
"Right, we'd better have these on. We've got eight hours of air with the scrubber working."
Everyone strapped on masks and a faint hissing sound could be heard as they all turned on their small air tanks and the scrubbers started working. Although Sam had warn a similar mask during her HALO training, she still hated the feeling of pressure around her face, and the dry, hot atmosphere caused by the recycled air. The hissing dissipated as the team made final checks and then signalled okay. Jack communicated over the radio links that had been built into the masks.
"Right then, Teal'c, we'll go have a look on the other side. If it looks good then we'll call the transport through."
Jack then Teal'c emerged through the stargate onto the planet. It was early morning on the planet, and the dimmed light from the red star only provided a meagre amount of light. Sand gently shifted across the barren red land, which lay undisturbed except for the few disappearing tracks left by the now sticken MALP. Both Jack and Teal'c looked around.
"It appears that there is no threat. Shall I hail us a taxi?"
Jack turned to Teal'c and smiled under the mask.
"Do you think we can get someone out here this time of night who won't rip us off?"
"Then we will have to keep an eye on the meter."
Jack walked over to the MALP and uncovered a transmitter. He plugged his own radio into it and switched it on.
"This is Colonel O'Neill to SGC, the stargate is clear."
The gate operator replied.
"This is the SGC, vehicle is on its way."
The reconnaissance vehicle slowly made its way through the stargate and drove down the dirt mount. As the vehicle came to a stop, Sam opened the driver's door.
"You know, Dad always told me never to pick up hitchhikers."
Daniel, who was sitting in the rear passenger seat, shivered a little.
"Is it me or is it cold here?"
Sam looked up. In the thin atmosphere a few wispy clouds drifted along the horizon.
"It'll be daylight soon, although here it won't make that much difference."
Jack looked out over the horizon and saw the ancient building hiding in the distance.
"We've got a long trip ahead... anyone know any good songs?"
Sometime later the vehicle came to a stop in front of the pyramid. Jack looked up the tarnished metal sides towering in front of him.
"Wow."
"Indeed it is impressive Colonel O'Neill. But I still have no idea what the purpose of this complex is."
Jack turned around in his seat.
"Danny?"
"Nope I can't help you there."
"Okay then, we'll have a look for the entrance and have a closer look."
Jack turned on the search light and traced along the outside as Sam drove the vehicle around the outside of the pyramid. In the centre of the side of the great pyramid, a huge opening loomed in the freezing mist. Jack looked up at the ceiling high above him and still couldn't help being impressed.
"Stop!"
Sam slammed on the brakes, jolting Jack against the searchlight. They both spoke in unison.
"What!"
Daniel leaped out of the vehicle and looked at the wall.
"Bring the light over here."
Jack sighed and turned the light over to Daniel's position. He was excitedly brushing off the dust that had built up.
"Teal'c, can you have a look at this."
Teal'c causally walked over from the vehicle and looked at an inscription. It had been crudely dug into the wall.
"I cannot read most of it because it is damaged, except this section: '... beware the sun'."
Sam frowned.
"That makes no sense. The sun in this system won't give you a suntan, let alone cause cancer or other UV damage."
Jack looked at his watch.
"This is all fascinating and stuff, but we haven't really got time for this. Take a picture, or something, and we'll come back later."
They continued forwards until they arrived at the end of the massive corridor. The front headlights illuminated a pair of doorways that continued into the complex.
"Right, it's time to dismount. We'd better turn the car alarm on, I mean, 'activate the proximity sensor' in case someone wants to steal the tires."
The team got out of the vehicle and walked through the doorway, checking for any hostiles or traps as they moved along the much smaller corridor. Jack touched the ground and then rubbed his finger and thumb together. There was a thin layer of dust everywhere.
"Looks like no ones here. Move up in twos."
The team smoothly moved past the remains of a small altar and continued in pairs on either side of the corridor that lead across to another chamber. The two leads looked around the corner at the end of the corridor and into the chamber. Nothing. Then Teal'c saw a flicker of light in the distance along another corridor leaving the chamber.
"Colonel O'Neill. There is an active light in that direction."
Jack looked down the corridor and also saw the flickering. He then signalled to cautiously move towards the light.
"There has been an armed disturbance here."
As they entered the corridor Daniel looked more closely at the walls. There were some burn marks caused by Goa'uld weapons fire which had faded over time. They continued walking near the flickering light, but something was giving Jack concern.
"Where is everyone? You always find someone around a stargate or a large building. You know, collecting crops, milking cows, worshipping false gods, trying to kill us."
Sam squinted into the distance.
"There's some debris over there."
Sam and Teal'c cautiously walked over and examined what initially appeared to be rubble, while Jack watched over them. Teal'c picked it up, and dusted it off. He instantly recognised it even though it been under some tremendous punishment.
"The breastplate of a Goa'uld armour."
He ran his finger around the hole in its centre.
"The person who wore this armour was shot at close range with a staff weapon."
Jack walked up and looked around with the light of his weapon. There were more fragments of armour littering the ground.
"You know what's the big problem with this, don't you?"
Daniel looked around, then at Jack.
"What?"
Teal'c quietly placed the plate on the ground.
"Would you not agree, Daniel Jackson, that when someone shot with a staff weapon, there is a body."
"Well yes, but maybe they were shot with a Zat gun afterwards."
Jack felt something underfoot and looked down.
"Well if that was the case..."
He picked up a bare upper arm bone and looked at it.
"... then why has someone stripped this bone clean?"
Daniel looked at it closely.
"What's going on here?"
Jack shrugged.
"I don't know. Let's keep moving."
After a thoughtful silence, Teal'c said, "If this follows the layout of a temple, then the main chambers is towards the top of this structure."
Jack placed the bone on a ledge.
"Lead the way."
They continued down a hallway that intersected the corridor they were in. The thin beams of light fitted to the top of their weapons might have been sufficient in the open but they were proving less effective as they ventured deeper into the gloom which was punctured by a few dim or flickering lights. Daniel felt a slight breeze across the hairs on the back of his neck. He looked behind him and saw a faint blur rush into one of the rooms.
"Guys, wait a moment."
He quickly darted into the room and looked around, which was illuminated by a faint glow from one of the malfunctioning lights. He was sure he'd seen something. Then, suddenly, a table was heaved forwards which covered the door. He narrowly avoided being hit by the table and turned towards the threat. The attacker charged towards him rapidly, screaming out in a fit of rage. He tried to raise his weapon but his hand was bitten and he dropped the weapon. In the terrifying darkness he could see the attacking creature lift up a club and brought it down with all its strength. The helmet Sam insisted he wore took the brunt of the impact as it stuck again and again. Daniel started drawing in deeper and deeper breaths as he tried to shield himself with his arms against the relentless attack. Suddenly, the table and its debris was kicked away and the sound of gunfire thundered around the room. The creature lurched violently and then exploded in a hail of body parts. Daniel tried to stand up, his respirator violently hissing as his breathing continued to become more rapid. His vision began to blur, and his lungs felt as if they were burning, caused ironically, from a lack of oxygen. He lurched against the wall when his knees almost gave way.
"Oh hell! He's hyperventilating."
Teal'c and Jack carefully scanned the room with their weapons while Sam made Daniel sit down, and kneeled down next to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Come on, Daniel, calm down."
For Daniel the room was beginning to spin. The mask felt as if it was going to smother him, and he began to panic, desperately trying to fight the urge to rip the mask off. Jack rushed over to the pair.
"Calm down, Danny. You can't keep breathing like that. Listen to Sam's breathing and breathe in time."
Jack bought his torch near Daniel's eyes and checked them, then looked at the helmet.
"He's stunned, but he's not concussed."
Teal'c continued securing the room while Jack glanced at the remains of the corpse. The shattered remains of Daniel's attacker reminded him of a bad accident when a retardation hook almost cut a ground technician in half. Jack was puzzled. How could two bursts from their weapons do this much damage?
"What are you firing these days Captain?"
Sam kept her attention on Daniel, who was slowly calming down.
"Just the standard issue, sir."
Satisfied that there were no more attackers nearby, Teal'c also looked at the remains.
"This person was suffering from a wasting disease, which is caused by bad conditions and lack of food. That would explain what happened to this woman when Captain Carter shot her."
Jack returned his attention to Daniel who was breathing normally.
"How are you feeling?"
"A bit dazed, but I'm okay."
"Come on then. We'll finish up and get back to the SGC."
Both Jack and Sam helped Daniel get up to his feet. He wiped off some of the remains from his BDU.
"I hope that's not contagious."
"Only if the right conditions are satisfied, Daniel Jackson."
Jack was beginning to become really concerned. This was all wrong in his opinion.
"We'd better get to the main chamber and find out what happened here and then get out of here as soon as possible."
After a short time they found the transport rings to the main chamber. They carefully walked from the side room into another room. Instead of the cascade of dust filtering down from above, there were no specks of dust caught in the beams of light from their torches. A sensor on Sam's belt bleeped. She unclipped it and looked at its readings.
"That's strange. The air in here is cleaner then the labs they make satellites in."
Jack pulled out a packet and ripped the top off. The thin piece of card underneath changed from a blue colour to green. He turned off the oxygen flow from his pack.
"We might as well save the 'scrubbers. But as soon as that gizmo you've got there starts bleeping at you, shout."
Sam nodded as she also turned off the oxygen flow from her rebreather.
Teal'c scanned the full length of a wall on the far side of the chamber. Something caught his eye about how it was set in relation to the rest of the room.
"There is something unusual about that wall. It can move out of the way, similar to the blast shield that protects the stargate control room."
Daniel looked closer at the door. Jack shrugged.
"Well that's not exactly up there with the other stuff we've found."
Daniel dusted off a single set of hieroglyphs surrounded by a frame.
"Not the door, but what's written on it. 'Aton'."
"So you're telling me there's a Gou'ald behind there?"
There was a sudden look of surprise on Daniel's face as his survival instinct momentarily took over from his overpowering curiosity. He quickly moved back from the wall but then composed himself.
"I don't know."
Jack frowned, and was about to ask Daniel to extrapolate, but was pre-empted.
"Aton is a deity of the Middle Kingdom. But he was never drawn as a man, but as a sun-disk with rays, and each ray finishes with a human hand which bestowing the symbols of life upon those below. In the later kingdoms he was often confused with Ra."
Jack looked around.
"Teal'c, is there anyway of opening this door?"
Sam felt apprehensive, something was screaming at her in the back of her mind, trying to tell her not to open the chamber.
"Are you sure that's a good idea sir?"
"That red orb in front of you controls the wall."
"Well, we're here to find out what's going on here and this Aton person might have some answers."
Jack walked forward and touched the red stone. Nothing happened. He pressed it again.
"Is it seized up?"
Sam walked over to the orb and looked under it. She placed her hand on the orb to steady herself and it glowed. The wall began lowering beneath the floor, creaking due to lack of maintenance, Jack, Sam and Teal'c raised their weapons while Daniel fumbled for his digital camera. As the wall lowered a warm yellow light began consuming the darkness in the room. As it finally opened Jack and Sam lowered their weapons as Daniel brought the camera to his eye. In the middle of a spherical cavern, a ball of heat and energy crackled and spun. Electric pulses jumped from the ball and earthed themselves on the side of the chamber. Then it began moving, almost unnoticeably at first, but it then started accelerating towards the entrance. Jack started hitting the button harder and harder, but nothing happened.
"Sam!"
Sam dashed across and pressed the button. As her finger brushed against the button and it darkened, beams of light shot out from the rapidly advancing ball that danced across her body. Although the mechanism slowly opened, it slammed back with the ferocity of a giant trap. There was then a howl from the other side. It reverberated around the lifeless corridors and echoed back to the main chamber, causing a fine layer of dust to filter down from the ceiling. A sharp sliver of coldness went down everyone's backs.
Jack has already turned his torch on and was reaching for the oxygen supply valve.
"Everyone move! We're getting out of here now!"
As Sam was about to answer, something whispered in her ear. Sam quickly turned, but she saw nothing.
"Um, yes Colonel."
Something touched her shoulder and it felt as if a hand was gently gliding down from there via her back to her hip. She raised her weapon turned again, but there was nothing in the tight beam. Then she realised that the others were out of the room.
"Teal'c! Daniel! Where are you!"
An unnatural red light began to full the room, and the voice whispered to her again.
"I am the hand of Aton... The time to choose has come..."
With no warning Sam felt something snatch her and lift her off the ground, thrusting her arms out to the side of her, releasing her grip on her weapon, causing it to pathetically clatter on the ground. The other members of SG1 rushed back in the room as they hear her cry on the radio, and were stunned by the sight before them. They saw Sam being suspended high above the floor, her mask ripped off her face and casually thrown away by an unseen force. Black ribbons with no apparent beginning or ending, slowly, and menacingly flowed around her, mimicking the curves of her body. Jack turned to Teal'c and Daniel.
"What the hell is that!"
Before either could answer a whispered word began reverberating around the room. The word was unrecognisable but getting louder and louder. Then, the ribbons suddenly snapped taught, covering Sam in the dark wrapping. She whimpered out one single word:
"Everlasting."
She then hung limp, still suspended by an invisible force. The voice dissipated as she was slowly tilted backwards. Her arms were crossed over her chest as the light in the room darkened.
Sam opened her eyes. A teenage girl sat next to her. She immediately recognised her.
"I must have fallen asleep, Cathy."
"I wouldn't do that too often in this heap."
She looked around. This was originally a theatre, although it had been closed for years and eventually it would be demolished. The walls around the corner they were sitting in was black from damp and dust, with the odd cockroach scurrying for cover. There were no windows in the main section, although it was possible to see some of the stars through the holes in the room which provided ventilation for the few small fires which had been lit to provide light and warmth. Around each fire was a group of people talking, drinking and exchanging cigarettes. On the floor next to her were the remains of a rusting, broken mirror. She looked into it. The image in the mirror was a seventeen-year-old woman wearing a leather jacket and jeans. She had dishevelled shoulder length hair and a black T-shit with the words 'Black Sabbath' printed on it. Someone interrupted her chain of thought. She didn't recognise this older man who had an eerie glint in his hazel eyes. He spoke in a southern drawl.
"Do you want to try this, ladies?"
She looked down and saw a syringe and needle in his hands. Before she could answer a man interrupted.
"You don't go messin' with that stuff, Sam."
She looked up and saw Matt, a slim man wearing tattered jeans and a white T-shirt. His main distinctive feature was his long platinum-blonde hair which Sam she secretly envied. He was kicking the uninvited man in the back.
"Move it or I'll beat the..."
The older man stood up. His clothes were surprisingly good compared to what everyone else was wearing.
"No problem, boy."
Matt sat down, rubbed his hands and then tried to warm them.
"I'm surprised to see a good little girl like you down here, what would your Daddy think?"
Sam looked annoyed.
"I'm only kidding with ya. Cathy tells me how much a drag it is because her old man's in the military as well, and her Mum overcompensates with the extra stuff and rules she keeps giving out."
Sam looked around and saw Cathy talking to someone else.
"Yeah, anyway, I wouldn't mess with that stuff, although this stuff's okay."
He reached in his pocket, pulled out a rolled cigarette and lit it. He then drew on the cigarette and handed it to Sam. Sam looked at it inquisitively.
"Cannabis?"
"Yeah. Don't tell me you haven't smoked before?"
Under the encouraging view from Cathy, she took a puff, and then proceeded to almost cough her lungs out. Matt shook his head and rubbed her back.
"Hey, you're not only showing me up but you're hoggin' the spliff as well," he jokingly said. "Pass it over."
Cathy giggled as Sam quickly handed the cigarette over to someone else. Minutes passed as they all talked around the fire and the relaxing effects of the cannabis began to affect Sam. Then she turned to talk to Cathy, but she wasn't there.
"Hey, where's Cath?"
There was nothing but shrugs. Sam looked at the place where Matt was sitting, but he was lying on the ground. She walked over and knelt next to him, moving a discarded beer bottle out of the way. In his hand was a half-empty brown bottle, marked with a cream label saying, 'Cough Medicine'. Then someone had a flash of inspiration.
"I think I saw her going off to the entrance with a couple of friends."
The entrance was boarded up in a vain attempt to keep people out, which had obviously not worked. Part of the roof had collapsed and the whole area was illuminated by moonlight. Sam continued through the rubble, but tripped in darkness. Staggering to her feet, she looked to see what had caused her to fall. Suddenly panic caught her as she realised that it was Cathy. The background around the scene began to darken as she checked to see what was wrong. When Sam moved her something fell from her friend's hand. A syringe cartwheelled down the rubble and disappeared into the darkness. When she looked up at the abandoned reception, the theatre, was gone, there was nothing but the ground she was standing on. The voice that had come to her before she was abducted returned. It spoke to her from no single direction.
"Your closest ally chose death, now it is your time to choose."
Sam looked up. Tears were flooding from her eyes, as she realised that there was no pulse in Cathy's wrist.
"What do you mean!"
The body was fading into darkness, and Sam released the arm. As it faded away completely, she realised that her physical appearance had returned to her present age.
"I have... reminded you what happened to those who were closest. This, something similar, or something completely different... will happen to you without my power and my... influence."
"Why do you want me?"
"You have the marks of the second race who came to me."
It waited as if it was thinking. Sam wiped her tears away from her eyes on the back of her sleeve.
"Has no-one told you about our... arrangement."
Sam remained silence, the voice continued.
"Many eons ago a race of creatures, who were in fact two in one, travelled though the stargate. They intrigued... us... because one completely and utterly dominated the other. We knew that they were destined for greater things if they had the time to build and the chance to remember what they elders had learned before them. So we came to the agreement. I would offer them the means of live to their full potential... if they were to worship the great sun-disk."
Sam watched as a scene unfolded out of the darkness in front of her. A male and a female stood in shoot in front of the orb of energy. Their eyes flashed before they are wrapped in the black ribbons.
"They were enriched and strengthened. They went out and forged an empire. And most importantly, they sent worshippers at the temple of Aton, so that they would remember who gave them what they knew."
The scene in front of Sam is replaced by another. The stargate of this planet opens and a majestic precession walks though the gate. A large, beautifully decorated box is carried by a huge number of slaves. Following the main group are Gou'ald lords and ladies who are carried on top of thrones. They march towards the giant metal pyramid.
"But... the great Aton taught them too well, gave them too much unlike the earlier race. The descendants of the ones who had originally received the gift believed that they could become the gods themselves. They told him that his home of aeons, built by the former race, was a prison not fit for his magnificence. He had become complacent and his ego had been fanned by their then utterly devoted worship. He accepted and allowed himself to be brought here. The pretence had to be excellent to fool one such as him, but over time they had nearly become his equals. They even left the priests and servants behind to convince him that all was safe before the door shut on him. The last one of their descendants died, only a short time ago."
The scene disappeared.
"I heard her cry echo through the chamber like the prayers in the old temple. It heralded the salvation that had been waited for. You killed her in less then a heartbeat, which is impressive. But in exchange for the release of Aton, there exists the means to make you even more powerful then you can ever imagine. Your home needs to be protected, yes?"
Sam swallowed hard.
"No, we can protect ourselves."
"You don't sound... convinced. What does the Gou'ald require? Three ships? Two ships? One ship and your world is in danger. You can have the power to decimate any ships that threaten you or the ones you love as easily as you killed the last human on this planet."
Sam began pulling herself together. She remembered what happened to Daniel.
"Oh yes, the sarcophagus. You are asking yourself what the price is. The only way Aton can be released is by one who has the mark of the kind who trapped him. Release him, and he will bestow the power of the heavens on you. Then you will crush those who worship the sarcophagus instead of the great sun-disk. We will stride the galaxy like a mighty colossus, and everything shall worship... us."
Sam clenched her fists and remembered. She remembered all the people that depended on her. She remembered all those who loved her. Could she betray those by making slaves to a new god? All she whispered one word.
"No."
"What?"
She spoke louder. There was the look of defiance in her eyes.
"No."
The voice turned from a caressing whisper into a deep angry bellow.
"How dare you refuse the gifts that the mighty Aton will bestow on you! You will open the gate and bow before... your... god!"
Suddenly, the black ribbons began wrapping themselves around Sam's feet. She could feel the dark influence beginning to consume her. She was losing to the hand's thoughts which was trying to shape her character into its own image. A wind softly blew from underneath Sam as an image she had not remembered previously came to her mind. Jolinar was reading an old text that talked of Aton. The ribbons were working their way up to Sam's chest as she began losing consciousness. Then another memory came to her as she was finally slipping away.
"If the influence of Aton attempts to consume you, you must fight him, or all will be lost to all those we both love."
The influence then froze and the wind increased, causing the ribbons, her hair, and her clothes to flow around her. The memories of Jolinar taught and strengthened Sam as she began purging the influence from her. The ribbons unravelled and cascaded from her.
"I cannot, and will not be your slave. I would never be able to look to the people I love in the eye because of my shame if I did so."
In the chamber blue lights pierced the black cloth around Sam. The ribbons were ripped and torn as they were viciously stripped off. When the last fragment was removed Sam fell to the floor. Just before she hit the ground she was caught. She opened her eyes expecting to see nothing. Instead she saw the concerned faces of Jack, Daniel and Teal'c, who was carrying her. The creature behind the walls was crying out again, its noise beginning to cause the walls to shudder.
"Are you unhurt Major Carter!?"
Sam managed a weak smile.
"Just get me out of here, please, Teal'c."
The reconnaissance vehicle was heading as fast as possible towards the stargate, which was nearby now, its ring shape outlined by the red sun. Jack was gunning the engine for everything it was worth, ploughing the fine red sand behind them as they sped along. Sam was laying on the back seat, her head on Daniel's lap, who was trying to make the rough journey as comfortable as possible. The vehicle stopped with a jolt, causing Sam to awaken. Daniel helped her up.
"You scared me for a moment, I thought we'd lost you again."
Jack rushed up to the DHD and quickly started dialling.
"I'm sorry, I just felt so sleepy, I couldn't help it."
The stargate spun and activated. They climbed out of the vehicle and started walking up the dirt mount as Jack sent a signal back to the SGC.
"I'm amazed you can sleep!"
Sam looked over her shoulder back to the metal tomb in the distance.
"That was the soundest sleep I have had in years."
© March 2001 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.