![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: SG-Mummy - Part 5, 6
By:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kellifer_fic
Rated: PG
Disclaimer - Don't own, don't sue.
Is: Sam/Jack - Team
Note: Sorry, try four chunks because I'm having a weird coding problem with part 7 that I can't find so will be posted soon.
Summary: The Mummy - SG-1 style
Part Five
Kawalsky and Henderson wrenched and pulled until a chest was brought forth that had been sitting at the base of the statue. Henderson used the bandana from his head to wipe off the lid, revealing an inscription.
“Earn the money I paid you,” Kinsey growled. He had his arm in a sling, cradled against his body from the recent attack and was in no mood to linger much longer in a place where raiders would come out of the desert, guns blazing.
Maybourne stumbled forward, leaning over the chest and squinting in the gloom. “Death will come upon swift wings to whoever opens this chest,” Maybourne intoned and looked about, but the three men gathered near him looked unimpressed and Kinsey made a hurry-up gesture. Maybourne sighed. No one had a sense of the dramatic anymore. “He that is entombed below will rise again, killing all that open this chest and boiling their brains within their skulls.”
“It does not say that!” Henderson protested, smacking Maybourne on the back of the head.
Maybourne rubbed his head, treating Henderson to a sour look. “You got another translator nearby I don’t know about? No? Well, shut up then,” he snapped. “Released, he shall regenerate and walk the Earth once more,” Maybourne finished.
Kinsey shrugged. “Open it up,” he commanded.
“I really don’t think that’s such a –“ Maybourne protested as Henderson wedged a crowbar into the seam on the chest. Maybourne paled. “I… need some air,” he gasped, backing out of the chamber. Kawalsky made to go after him but Kinsey waved a dismissive hand.
“Let him go,” Kinsey sighed.
<8>
The Sarcophagus sprang open when Daniel had trailed fingers over a jewel set in the top.
“What did you do?” Jack demanded as Daniel sprang back with a squeak of surprise.
Jack strode across and leaned over the sarcophagus. “Huh,” he said, looking surprised.
“What? Is he gross?” Daniel asked, elbowing Jack out of the way so he could get a look. Sam came around the other side and leaned over as well.
“That’s impossible!” she exclaimed. “He’s over four thousand years old and he looks…”
“Asleep,” Jack supplied helpfully, looking at the man in the sarcophagus. He had perfect skin, dark features and a neatly trimmed goatee and close cropped hair. He did indeed look as if he were merely resting. Jack pulled his gun out and Sam blinked at him, incredulous.
“Are you going to shoot him?” she asked.
“You can never be too careful,” Jack said grimly.
<8>
Kinsey, Henderson and Kawalsky looked inside the large chest and were surprised that inside was only a tiny box. Kawalsky leaned over and retrieved it, snapping it open. There was a single, blood red jewel inside, which he lifted out with careful fingers and turned in the light.
“I’m thinking it’s going to be hard to split this three ways,” he sighed. Henderson cursed, kicking the chest in anger and Kinsey plucked the jewel from Henderson’s fingers, turning it over in his hands critically.
“Unless there is another statue of Anubis in this place, with a gold book at its base and the key to the Pharaoh’s riches, I think we should have a little chat with our friend Maybourne.”
<8>
“A mummy?” Kawalsky asked, incredulous. Jack sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Not a mummy as in wrapped in bandages and desiccated. He looked like he might’ve died yesterday.”
“Hmm, seems like it’s a bust for everyone. All we found was a small red stone, not even sure it’s valuable.”
Jack caught Sam emerging from their tent out of the corner of his eye. She ducked around the tent and headed for the other encampment. He watched her go, wondering what she was up to and knowing it was liable to cause him headaches. Both her and her brother seemed to be trouble magnets.
“I’ll see you later,” Jack smiled. Kawalsky was the most inoffensive of the members of the other group and in another life they might even have been friends. He knew Kawalsky didn’t like his employer very much and Jack could relate to just being a guy with a crappy job.
He skirted the edge of their camp and saw Sam emerging from the other set of tents, looking nervous and guilty. Playing poker with the woman would’ve been easy.
“What are you doing?” Jack hissed and Sam yelped, smacking a hand over her mouth.
“You scared me half to death!” she exclaimed in a harsh whisper, smacking Jack on the arm.
“I wasn’t the one sneaking around someone else’s tent. You’re as bad as your brother, and I remember where I know him from. He stole that bracelet from me.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “I’m not stealing anything, I’m just borrowing it to test out a theory.”
Jack grabbed Sam’s arm, which she had been trying to surreptitiously hide behind her back and forced her hand open. Inside was a black leather pouch. Jack pried it loose from her fingers and shook it out onto his palm. A single red stone fell out.
“Oh that’s just great,” Jack sighed, putting the stone back in the pouch. “We’re giving this back. I’m a lot of things but a thief isn’t one of them.”
“Wait,” Sam pleased, grabbing Jack’s arm. “The stone looks like it fits in the bracelet. What if the red stone does something different to the sarcophagus. Opens a secret compartment or something?”
“You’ll never know because I’m giving it back,” Jack growled.
“We can give it back after. Just… let me try this. How was that man preserved for so long and so perfectly? There must be something about the sarcophagus. Please!”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Alright, but you get ten minutes and then we’re giving it back.”
Sam clapped her hands, her eyes alight. “Thankyou,” she crowed, holding out her hand. Jack reluctantly dropped the pouch back into it and she dashed off. Jack sighed heavily and then followed.
<8>
“What happened?” Jack asked, looking at Sam who was holding the bracelet above the sarcophagus and looking disappointed.
“It closed when I passed the bracelet with the new jewel over it. I can’t get it open again.”
“You found something that closes it? That’s not very helpful.”
“I know,” Sam sighed, chewing her bottom lip. “Darn it.”
“Well, let’s get this back to its rightful thieves,” Jack said, smiling and Sam nodded, looking resigned.
When they passed into the upper chamber, the three other expedition members and their manual labour were fossicking around, looking for other entrances to other chambers. As they moved past Kinsey, Jack deftly slid the jewel into the man’s back pocket. Sam looked back at him and he grinned as he ushered her outside.
“I thought you weren’t a thief,” she hissed, her eyes dancing.
“I’m just good with my hands,” Jack said, grinning when Sam flushed pink to the tips of her ears.
When they’d reached the entrance, there was a mighty groan and the pyramid seemed to shift. Sam stumbled and Jack caught her. They came up short when the dust cleared and ten men stood before them, armed and looking grim. The man, who had turned back during the battle the day before, stood in front of them.
“You have unleashed the monster, the enslaver of men,” he intoned.
“What? Who? Us?” Jack spluttered.
“Leave this place, while you still can. We will do battle with the demon, may Allah protect us.”
Jack and Sam watched, wide-eyed as the men descended into the pyramid, disappearing in a swirl of dust. “There’s other guys down there,” Jack called.
“They are already dead,” the leader intoned, not bothering to look back.
“Let’s just go,” Sam said, tugging on Jack’s arm.
“Hi. Those dark robed men that keep threatening us with the pox or something are back. I thought it prudent to pack our stuff and head out,” Daniel said, dragging their four camels over, heavily laden.
“Good thinking,” Jack said, boosting Sam onto her camel and then helping Daniel onto his before pulling himself onto his own.
<8>
Maybourne picked his careful way through the dust and rubble, startling at every small noise. He had just past through a chamber which was coated with blood and had found Kinsey’s hand, with the watch still attached. He didn’t want to stay around and find out what happened to the rest of him.
Maybourne turned a corner and came face to face with an ornately dressed man, handsome but with cruel eyes.
The man grabbed Maybourne by the throat, but Maybourne squeaked, babbling pleas for his life in Hebrew. The man raised an eyebrow. “The language of the slaves. I may have use for you, if you would serve me. The rewards would be great.”
“I am your humble servant,” Maybourne squeaked as he was slowly released, rubbing his throat.
“Where is the hand device?”
“The woman has it,” Maybourne said.
“What woman?” The man demanded, glowering.
“I can show you. I know where her companion likes to stay whenever he’s here,” Maybourne babbled, not really believing that he was going to get out of the pyramid alive.
“Show me,” The man said. “And address me properly. I am your Lord Ba’al.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Part Six
Sam sat at the end of her bed, stroking the bracelet with a fingertip and watching Jack pack their belongings with half an hour.
“I’m not sure we should leave,” she said. Her curiosity was piqued and Daniel had always said she was scarily single-minded when such a thing happened. She’s just had an amazing few days and wasn’t ready for the adventure to be over with.
“I’m sorry, but this is starting to creep me out. Give me a battle and an enemy I can see and I’m your guy. All this ancient Egyptian hokum is really where I draw the line.”
“But it’s not all hokum,” Sam protested, standing and offering out her wrist. Jack looked at her quizzically. “This bracelet is probably about as old as that pyramid and yet it could throw a map up on a wall and open a sarcophagus.”
“So, they mastered lights and keys? Is this what you’re all excited about?” Jack had crossed the room to the window and stilled when he spotted a familiar figure skirting along the wall of their hotel. “Maybourne,” he growled. He turned to Sam and threw a pile of clothes at her. “Keep packing,” he instructed.
The single click-snick of a weapon had Maybourne freezing in place. “Hello to you too Jack,” he sighed, turning around slowly and with his hands held high.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t shoot you now,” Jack said, his voice calm but his eyes blazing.
“I’m not who you should be worried about,” Maybourne said, smirking, his eyes darting over Jack’s shoulder to the room he’d just left Sam in.
Jack paled. “What did you do?”
<8>
“Oh hey, look, I know you wanted to get out of here but can’t we just stay one more day?” Sam asked when she heard the door open behind her. She knew Jack would be annoyed to find her unpacking again but wasn’t ready to take no for an answer.
“I wish you to stay for all eternity,” a voice intoned behind her, smooth and deep and Sam spun, not prepared for what was behind her.
The man from the Sarcophagus, Ba’al, stood in the doorway, smiling gently. “Who… how…?” Sam spluttered.
“You released me from imprisonment. When my children awake, you will be the first to be blessed. Together, we shall rule.”
“Oh hey,” Sam squeaked, backing up when Ba’al strode forward. “I think you should buy a girl dinner first before there’s talk of…Jack!” she shrieked, leaning out the window.
Strong arms were gripping her, stronger than she thought possible, squeezing. She couldn’t drag in enough air and there was darkness at the edge of her vision when she heard cursing and the sound of a door being kicked off its frame. She was wrenched around and fell, rapping her head smartly on the tiled floor. Dizzily, Sam sat up as Jack crouched down next to her, fingers brushing over her temple.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his tone.
“Yeah, fine, except for the dead guy that was just in my room.”
“Okay, I’m going to admit that I might have been hasty in classing what’s happening here as hokum,” Jack admitted with a smirk and Sam smiled.
“There’s someone that might be able to help us. He knows more about the histories than Daniel and I put together.”
Jack nodded, standing and hauling Sam up as well. “Lead on,” he said.
<8>
“You!” Sam, Daniel and Jack exclaimed, seeing the large man with the tattooed forehead standing in the entry foyer of the Museum of Antiquities, George by his side.
“Samantha. It is nice to see you well.” George sighed, as if he had been expecting otherwise.
“Last time we saw you, you were in the pyramid,” Jack said and the man nodded slightly.
“What are you doing back here?” Daniel asked, looking puzzled. The man sighed heavily.
“You would not believe my tale,” he intoned and Jack snorted wryly.
“A dead guy just made a pass at Sam. I’m willing to take a little on faith here,” he said.
George led them into his large and comfortable office and they all seated around an ornate table with parchments strewn across its surface. The large man looked to George, who nodded slightly, before beginning.
“I am Teal’c, a member of an ancient society known as the Jaffa. We have been watching over the City of the Dead for four thousand years. We were prison keepers, sworn to guard over what we had hoped would be the final resting place of the High Lord Ba’al. Over time we have entrusted our secret to a few chosen individuals, those that are keepers of our history so that they would ensure that the keys to the City of the Dead never fall into enemy hands,” the man explained.
“I wasn’t vigilant enough to stop them falling into the hands of a drunken buffoon however,” George sighed and Daniel’s brows drew down in a scowl.
“Because of you, Ba’al has been set free and he will not rest until his children are awakened and they cover our world like a plague.”
“Okay. Doesn’t sound good,” Jack said, raising an eyebrow.
“In the times of our Ancestors, our people were enslaved by a mighty Lord who had them believing that he was a God, living amongst them. He had a vast army and many ships.”
“Ships?” Sam asked, incredulous.
“Yes, capable of travelling to other worlds.”
“You mean… you mean I was right?” Daniel breathed, going pale. Sam reached out a hand and rubbed his shoulder.
“Four thousand years ago, there was a great rebellion and those enslaved rose up and overthrew Ba’al, slaughtering his army and imprisoning him in his own sarcophagus. He was buried at the base of Anubis’ statue and sealed within the pyramid he had worked thousands to death to build. It was just.”
“Why didn’t you, you know?” Jack said, dragging a finger across his windpipe in an unmistakable gesture.
“There are stories of Ba’al being able to regenerate. He would suffer fatal wounds, sleep in his sarcophagus and rise again, whole. Those that overthrew him believed him to be immortal and so imprisoned him.”
“He can’t be killed?” Sam squeaked, her eyes wide.
“I am sure he can. All those that draw breathe are able to die. It is just a matter of finding the how.” Teal’c said, smiling coldly.
“I like how you think,” Jack said, grinning as well.
“This however, is a problem.” Teal’c leaned forward and tapped a finger on the bracelet still around Sam’s wrist.
“Why?” Daniel asked, looking worried.
“Ba’al needs it to open the Chamber of Dawn, the resting place of his children, entombed as he has been. He will come for it.”
“Ah, he said something about a blessing,” Sam said, sliding the bracelet off and setting it away from herself. She then used a single finger to push it further.
Teal’c raised an eyebrow, his normally passive face showing concern. “Believe me, what he speaks of is no blessing,” he looked at George, who nodded and rose from the table, retrieving a volume from the back of the stacks and bustling back over.
“There are some older stories that tell of a chosen few being blessed,” George said, laying the book out on the table in front of those gathered. They all leaned forward to look at the faded etchings on the delicate paper.
“That looks like a snake,” Jack said, pointing at one of the drawings.
The drawing he was pointing at was of a woman in long robes, lying on a stylised dais. What looked like a priest stood over her, holding aloft a serpent with a dragon’s head. The creature had its tale wrapped around the woman’s throat and she looked to be screaming.
“That doesn’t look very fun,” Daniel observed, flopping back into his chair.
“After the ritual, it was said that those people were changed. They would no longer age or die, but they were cruel as if their very souls had been removed.” George closed the book with a snap.
“Well, how about the first thing we do, is get rid of this,” Jack said, snagging the bracelet off the table and raising it above his head. Both Teal’c and George lunged at him, wrestling the bracelet out of his hands.
“No! Are you mad? It is the only weapon we have against him. It is the key to his tomb.” George spluttered, cradling the bracelet against his body and moving back to the head of the table.
“Ba’al has seen your woman with the device. If he finds her without it, she will die,” Teal’c said grimly.
“Hey!” Sam snapped. “I’m not anyone’s anything.”
“That’s what you object to?” Jack asked incredulously and Sam gave him a stony stare.
“We have to get him back to the pyramid. We need to imprison him once again.” Teal’c said, looking about the room.
“Why don’t we try and kill him this time,” Jack said, standing and pulling his gun free of its holster and smacking it down on the table.
“Yes, we could try that.” It was the first time any of them had seen the grim Jaffa smile.
“So, what do you suggest?” Daniel asked.
Sam grimaced. “I have a really terrible idea,” she said. Daniel looked at her with furrowed brows but Jack grunted in a negative.
“Not on your life,” he snapped.
“What?” Daniel pressed but then paled when Sam reached out for the bracelet. Jack’s hand smacked down on hers.
“No!” he said again.
“What other choice is there? Either he bides his time and comes at us when we’re least expecting it and maybe some of you die while protecting me, or we do this on our terms, when we’re ready. We know he has to come for this… and me. I’d rather have you all alive and ready to swoop into the rescue.” Sam slipped her hands and the bracelet from underneath Jack’s and put it on, sliding the rings over her fingers with a shudder.
“Alright,” Jack said, looking grey. “But we need a backup plan. Some way to ensure these children don’t get anywhere near the surface.”
“What do you suggest?” Daniel asked and Jack grinned at him.
“Oh no,” Daniel sighed, thumping his forehead on the table.
<8>
“I still say this is a bad idea,” Jack said, lingering in Sam’s doorway.
Daniel had looked physically ill as he had left them that afternoon, accompanied by George. Teal’c had stayed behind at the hotel to ensure Jack would be able to get back to the pyramid quickly. They didn’t want to show their hand too early and leaving Sam completely alone and defenceless meant that it would be obvious that they were planning something.
Sam smiled, leaning forward and pressing lips to Jack’s cheek. “If there is blessing of any kind, I’m coming back to haunt you first,” she promised with a shaky smile.
Jack chuckled. “Hey, it’s only fair I get to save your life after you saved mine,” he said, circling fingers around Sam’s wrist and bringing her palm up to his lips, pressing a kiss into her palm.
“So, see you at Hamuaptra,” Jack said, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Absolutely. Don’t be late.”
Final Part
By:
kellifer_ficRated: PG
Disclaimer - Don't own, don't sue.
Is: Sam/Jack - Team
Note: Sorry, try four chunks because I'm having a weird coding problem with part 7 that I can't find so will be posted soon.
Summary: The Mummy - SG-1 style
Part Five
Kawalsky and Henderson wrenched and pulled until a chest was brought forth that had been sitting at the base of the statue. Henderson used the bandana from his head to wipe off the lid, revealing an inscription.
“Earn the money I paid you,” Kinsey growled. He had his arm in a sling, cradled against his body from the recent attack and was in no mood to linger much longer in a place where raiders would come out of the desert, guns blazing.
Maybourne stumbled forward, leaning over the chest and squinting in the gloom. “Death will come upon swift wings to whoever opens this chest,” Maybourne intoned and looked about, but the three men gathered near him looked unimpressed and Kinsey made a hurry-up gesture. Maybourne sighed. No one had a sense of the dramatic anymore. “He that is entombed below will rise again, killing all that open this chest and boiling their brains within their skulls.”
“It does not say that!” Henderson protested, smacking Maybourne on the back of the head.
Maybourne rubbed his head, treating Henderson to a sour look. “You got another translator nearby I don’t know about? No? Well, shut up then,” he snapped. “Released, he shall regenerate and walk the Earth once more,” Maybourne finished.
Kinsey shrugged. “Open it up,” he commanded.
“I really don’t think that’s such a –“ Maybourne protested as Henderson wedged a crowbar into the seam on the chest. Maybourne paled. “I… need some air,” he gasped, backing out of the chamber. Kawalsky made to go after him but Kinsey waved a dismissive hand.
“Let him go,” Kinsey sighed.
<8>
The Sarcophagus sprang open when Daniel had trailed fingers over a jewel set in the top.
“What did you do?” Jack demanded as Daniel sprang back with a squeak of surprise.
Jack strode across and leaned over the sarcophagus. “Huh,” he said, looking surprised.
“What? Is he gross?” Daniel asked, elbowing Jack out of the way so he could get a look. Sam came around the other side and leaned over as well.
“That’s impossible!” she exclaimed. “He’s over four thousand years old and he looks…”
“Asleep,” Jack supplied helpfully, looking at the man in the sarcophagus. He had perfect skin, dark features and a neatly trimmed goatee and close cropped hair. He did indeed look as if he were merely resting. Jack pulled his gun out and Sam blinked at him, incredulous.
“Are you going to shoot him?” she asked.
“You can never be too careful,” Jack said grimly.
<8>
Kinsey, Henderson and Kawalsky looked inside the large chest and were surprised that inside was only a tiny box. Kawalsky leaned over and retrieved it, snapping it open. There was a single, blood red jewel inside, which he lifted out with careful fingers and turned in the light.
“I’m thinking it’s going to be hard to split this three ways,” he sighed. Henderson cursed, kicking the chest in anger and Kinsey plucked the jewel from Henderson’s fingers, turning it over in his hands critically.
“Unless there is another statue of Anubis in this place, with a gold book at its base and the key to the Pharaoh’s riches, I think we should have a little chat with our friend Maybourne.”
<8>
“A mummy?” Kawalsky asked, incredulous. Jack sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Not a mummy as in wrapped in bandages and desiccated. He looked like he might’ve died yesterday.”
“Hmm, seems like it’s a bust for everyone. All we found was a small red stone, not even sure it’s valuable.”
Jack caught Sam emerging from their tent out of the corner of his eye. She ducked around the tent and headed for the other encampment. He watched her go, wondering what she was up to and knowing it was liable to cause him headaches. Both her and her brother seemed to be trouble magnets.
“I’ll see you later,” Jack smiled. Kawalsky was the most inoffensive of the members of the other group and in another life they might even have been friends. He knew Kawalsky didn’t like his employer very much and Jack could relate to just being a guy with a crappy job.
He skirted the edge of their camp and saw Sam emerging from the other set of tents, looking nervous and guilty. Playing poker with the woman would’ve been easy.
“What are you doing?” Jack hissed and Sam yelped, smacking a hand over her mouth.
“You scared me half to death!” she exclaimed in a harsh whisper, smacking Jack on the arm.
“I wasn’t the one sneaking around someone else’s tent. You’re as bad as your brother, and I remember where I know him from. He stole that bracelet from me.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “I’m not stealing anything, I’m just borrowing it to test out a theory.”
Jack grabbed Sam’s arm, which she had been trying to surreptitiously hide behind her back and forced her hand open. Inside was a black leather pouch. Jack pried it loose from her fingers and shook it out onto his palm. A single red stone fell out.
“Oh that’s just great,” Jack sighed, putting the stone back in the pouch. “We’re giving this back. I’m a lot of things but a thief isn’t one of them.”
“Wait,” Sam pleased, grabbing Jack’s arm. “The stone looks like it fits in the bracelet. What if the red stone does something different to the sarcophagus. Opens a secret compartment or something?”
“You’ll never know because I’m giving it back,” Jack growled.
“We can give it back after. Just… let me try this. How was that man preserved for so long and so perfectly? There must be something about the sarcophagus. Please!”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Alright, but you get ten minutes and then we’re giving it back.”
Sam clapped her hands, her eyes alight. “Thankyou,” she crowed, holding out her hand. Jack reluctantly dropped the pouch back into it and she dashed off. Jack sighed heavily and then followed.
<8>
“What happened?” Jack asked, looking at Sam who was holding the bracelet above the sarcophagus and looking disappointed.
“It closed when I passed the bracelet with the new jewel over it. I can’t get it open again.”
“You found something that closes it? That’s not very helpful.”
“I know,” Sam sighed, chewing her bottom lip. “Darn it.”
“Well, let’s get this back to its rightful thieves,” Jack said, smiling and Sam nodded, looking resigned.
When they passed into the upper chamber, the three other expedition members and their manual labour were fossicking around, looking for other entrances to other chambers. As they moved past Kinsey, Jack deftly slid the jewel into the man’s back pocket. Sam looked back at him and he grinned as he ushered her outside.
“I thought you weren’t a thief,” she hissed, her eyes dancing.
“I’m just good with my hands,” Jack said, grinning when Sam flushed pink to the tips of her ears.
When they’d reached the entrance, there was a mighty groan and the pyramid seemed to shift. Sam stumbled and Jack caught her. They came up short when the dust cleared and ten men stood before them, armed and looking grim. The man, who had turned back during the battle the day before, stood in front of them.
“You have unleashed the monster, the enslaver of men,” he intoned.
“What? Who? Us?” Jack spluttered.
“Leave this place, while you still can. We will do battle with the demon, may Allah protect us.”
Jack and Sam watched, wide-eyed as the men descended into the pyramid, disappearing in a swirl of dust. “There’s other guys down there,” Jack called.
“They are already dead,” the leader intoned, not bothering to look back.
“Let’s just go,” Sam said, tugging on Jack’s arm.
“Hi. Those dark robed men that keep threatening us with the pox or something are back. I thought it prudent to pack our stuff and head out,” Daniel said, dragging their four camels over, heavily laden.
“Good thinking,” Jack said, boosting Sam onto her camel and then helping Daniel onto his before pulling himself onto his own.
<8>
Maybourne picked his careful way through the dust and rubble, startling at every small noise. He had just past through a chamber which was coated with blood and had found Kinsey’s hand, with the watch still attached. He didn’t want to stay around and find out what happened to the rest of him.
Maybourne turned a corner and came face to face with an ornately dressed man, handsome but with cruel eyes.
The man grabbed Maybourne by the throat, but Maybourne squeaked, babbling pleas for his life in Hebrew. The man raised an eyebrow. “The language of the slaves. I may have use for you, if you would serve me. The rewards would be great.”
“I am your humble servant,” Maybourne squeaked as he was slowly released, rubbing his throat.
“Where is the hand device?”
“The woman has it,” Maybourne said.
“What woman?” The man demanded, glowering.
“I can show you. I know where her companion likes to stay whenever he’s here,” Maybourne babbled, not really believing that he was going to get out of the pyramid alive.
“Show me,” The man said. “And address me properly. I am your Lord Ba’al.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
Part Six
Sam sat at the end of her bed, stroking the bracelet with a fingertip and watching Jack pack their belongings with half an hour.
“I’m not sure we should leave,” she said. Her curiosity was piqued and Daniel had always said she was scarily single-minded when such a thing happened. She’s just had an amazing few days and wasn’t ready for the adventure to be over with.
“I’m sorry, but this is starting to creep me out. Give me a battle and an enemy I can see and I’m your guy. All this ancient Egyptian hokum is really where I draw the line.”
“But it’s not all hokum,” Sam protested, standing and offering out her wrist. Jack looked at her quizzically. “This bracelet is probably about as old as that pyramid and yet it could throw a map up on a wall and open a sarcophagus.”
“So, they mastered lights and keys? Is this what you’re all excited about?” Jack had crossed the room to the window and stilled when he spotted a familiar figure skirting along the wall of their hotel. “Maybourne,” he growled. He turned to Sam and threw a pile of clothes at her. “Keep packing,” he instructed.
The single click-snick of a weapon had Maybourne freezing in place. “Hello to you too Jack,” he sighed, turning around slowly and with his hands held high.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t shoot you now,” Jack said, his voice calm but his eyes blazing.
“I’m not who you should be worried about,” Maybourne said, smirking, his eyes darting over Jack’s shoulder to the room he’d just left Sam in.
Jack paled. “What did you do?”
<8>
“Oh hey, look, I know you wanted to get out of here but can’t we just stay one more day?” Sam asked when she heard the door open behind her. She knew Jack would be annoyed to find her unpacking again but wasn’t ready to take no for an answer.
“I wish you to stay for all eternity,” a voice intoned behind her, smooth and deep and Sam spun, not prepared for what was behind her.
The man from the Sarcophagus, Ba’al, stood in the doorway, smiling gently. “Who… how…?” Sam spluttered.
“You released me from imprisonment. When my children awake, you will be the first to be blessed. Together, we shall rule.”
“Oh hey,” Sam squeaked, backing up when Ba’al strode forward. “I think you should buy a girl dinner first before there’s talk of…Jack!” she shrieked, leaning out the window.
Strong arms were gripping her, stronger than she thought possible, squeezing. She couldn’t drag in enough air and there was darkness at the edge of her vision when she heard cursing and the sound of a door being kicked off its frame. She was wrenched around and fell, rapping her head smartly on the tiled floor. Dizzily, Sam sat up as Jack crouched down next to her, fingers brushing over her temple.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his tone.
“Yeah, fine, except for the dead guy that was just in my room.”
“Okay, I’m going to admit that I might have been hasty in classing what’s happening here as hokum,” Jack admitted with a smirk and Sam smiled.
“There’s someone that might be able to help us. He knows more about the histories than Daniel and I put together.”
Jack nodded, standing and hauling Sam up as well. “Lead on,” he said.
<8>
“You!” Sam, Daniel and Jack exclaimed, seeing the large man with the tattooed forehead standing in the entry foyer of the Museum of Antiquities, George by his side.
“Samantha. It is nice to see you well.” George sighed, as if he had been expecting otherwise.
“Last time we saw you, you were in the pyramid,” Jack said and the man nodded slightly.
“What are you doing back here?” Daniel asked, looking puzzled. The man sighed heavily.
“You would not believe my tale,” he intoned and Jack snorted wryly.
“A dead guy just made a pass at Sam. I’m willing to take a little on faith here,” he said.
George led them into his large and comfortable office and they all seated around an ornate table with parchments strewn across its surface. The large man looked to George, who nodded slightly, before beginning.
“I am Teal’c, a member of an ancient society known as the Jaffa. We have been watching over the City of the Dead for four thousand years. We were prison keepers, sworn to guard over what we had hoped would be the final resting place of the High Lord Ba’al. Over time we have entrusted our secret to a few chosen individuals, those that are keepers of our history so that they would ensure that the keys to the City of the Dead never fall into enemy hands,” the man explained.
“I wasn’t vigilant enough to stop them falling into the hands of a drunken buffoon however,” George sighed and Daniel’s brows drew down in a scowl.
“Because of you, Ba’al has been set free and he will not rest until his children are awakened and they cover our world like a plague.”
“Okay. Doesn’t sound good,” Jack said, raising an eyebrow.
“In the times of our Ancestors, our people were enslaved by a mighty Lord who had them believing that he was a God, living amongst them. He had a vast army and many ships.”
“Ships?” Sam asked, incredulous.
“Yes, capable of travelling to other worlds.”
“You mean… you mean I was right?” Daniel breathed, going pale. Sam reached out a hand and rubbed his shoulder.
“Four thousand years ago, there was a great rebellion and those enslaved rose up and overthrew Ba’al, slaughtering his army and imprisoning him in his own sarcophagus. He was buried at the base of Anubis’ statue and sealed within the pyramid he had worked thousands to death to build. It was just.”
“Why didn’t you, you know?” Jack said, dragging a finger across his windpipe in an unmistakable gesture.
“There are stories of Ba’al being able to regenerate. He would suffer fatal wounds, sleep in his sarcophagus and rise again, whole. Those that overthrew him believed him to be immortal and so imprisoned him.”
“He can’t be killed?” Sam squeaked, her eyes wide.
“I am sure he can. All those that draw breathe are able to die. It is just a matter of finding the how.” Teal’c said, smiling coldly.
“I like how you think,” Jack said, grinning as well.
“This however, is a problem.” Teal’c leaned forward and tapped a finger on the bracelet still around Sam’s wrist.
“Why?” Daniel asked, looking worried.
“Ba’al needs it to open the Chamber of Dawn, the resting place of his children, entombed as he has been. He will come for it.”
“Ah, he said something about a blessing,” Sam said, sliding the bracelet off and setting it away from herself. She then used a single finger to push it further.
Teal’c raised an eyebrow, his normally passive face showing concern. “Believe me, what he speaks of is no blessing,” he looked at George, who nodded and rose from the table, retrieving a volume from the back of the stacks and bustling back over.
“There are some older stories that tell of a chosen few being blessed,” George said, laying the book out on the table in front of those gathered. They all leaned forward to look at the faded etchings on the delicate paper.
“That looks like a snake,” Jack said, pointing at one of the drawings.
The drawing he was pointing at was of a woman in long robes, lying on a stylised dais. What looked like a priest stood over her, holding aloft a serpent with a dragon’s head. The creature had its tale wrapped around the woman’s throat and she looked to be screaming.
“That doesn’t look very fun,” Daniel observed, flopping back into his chair.
“After the ritual, it was said that those people were changed. They would no longer age or die, but they were cruel as if their very souls had been removed.” George closed the book with a snap.
“Well, how about the first thing we do, is get rid of this,” Jack said, snagging the bracelet off the table and raising it above his head. Both Teal’c and George lunged at him, wrestling the bracelet out of his hands.
“No! Are you mad? It is the only weapon we have against him. It is the key to his tomb.” George spluttered, cradling the bracelet against his body and moving back to the head of the table.
“Ba’al has seen your woman with the device. If he finds her without it, she will die,” Teal’c said grimly.
“Hey!” Sam snapped. “I’m not anyone’s anything.”
“That’s what you object to?” Jack asked incredulously and Sam gave him a stony stare.
“We have to get him back to the pyramid. We need to imprison him once again.” Teal’c said, looking about the room.
“Why don’t we try and kill him this time,” Jack said, standing and pulling his gun free of its holster and smacking it down on the table.
“Yes, we could try that.” It was the first time any of them had seen the grim Jaffa smile.
“So, what do you suggest?” Daniel asked.
Sam grimaced. “I have a really terrible idea,” she said. Daniel looked at her with furrowed brows but Jack grunted in a negative.
“Not on your life,” he snapped.
“What?” Daniel pressed but then paled when Sam reached out for the bracelet. Jack’s hand smacked down on hers.
“No!” he said again.
“What other choice is there? Either he bides his time and comes at us when we’re least expecting it and maybe some of you die while protecting me, or we do this on our terms, when we’re ready. We know he has to come for this… and me. I’d rather have you all alive and ready to swoop into the rescue.” Sam slipped her hands and the bracelet from underneath Jack’s and put it on, sliding the rings over her fingers with a shudder.
“Alright,” Jack said, looking grey. “But we need a backup plan. Some way to ensure these children don’t get anywhere near the surface.”
“What do you suggest?” Daniel asked and Jack grinned at him.
“Oh no,” Daniel sighed, thumping his forehead on the table.
<8>
“I still say this is a bad idea,” Jack said, lingering in Sam’s doorway.
Daniel had looked physically ill as he had left them that afternoon, accompanied by George. Teal’c had stayed behind at the hotel to ensure Jack would be able to get back to the pyramid quickly. They didn’t want to show their hand too early and leaving Sam completely alone and defenceless meant that it would be obvious that they were planning something.
Sam smiled, leaning forward and pressing lips to Jack’s cheek. “If there is blessing of any kind, I’m coming back to haunt you first,” she promised with a shaky smile.
Jack chuckled. “Hey, it’s only fair I get to save your life after you saved mine,” he said, circling fingers around Sam’s wrist and bringing her palm up to his lips, pressing a kiss into her palm.
“So, see you at Hamuaptra,” Jack said, his eyes dark and unreadable.
“Absolutely. Don’t be late.”
Final Part
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