![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlow Title: At the mercy of the gods
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Characters: Jack, Daniel, Sam, Teal'c
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 233 - Curse at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Characters: Jack, Daniel, Sam, Teal'c
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 233 - Curse at
fandomweeklySummary: Even the abandoned places of the Goa’uld can prove deadly and dangerous.
P4X-591 was so far turning out to be a bust. No inhabitants, no cool technology, just a bunch of old hieroglyphs deep inside a maze of caverns that had Daniel fixated.
O'Neill pulled a few more glow sticks from his pocket and idly snapped them before tossing them around the cavernous space. There was probably light enough down here but there was also a string of catacomb-like tunnels splintering off in every direction. That alone made O'Neill wary enough that anything could be lurking down there. He wanted eyes on it long before it put eyes on them.
‘Daniel, how much longer is this gonna take?’ When he didn't get a response, he flicked one of the glow sticks at him, hitting his ear and causing him to turn. ‘How long?’ Jack repeated.
‘There's a lot of text here, Jack. It’s literally a chronicle of all the deeds of Apophis. This could reshape everything we know about the history of the Goa'uld and their political allegiances over thousands of years. Understanding this could be key to everything.’
Uh huh. Where had he heard that before? He kicked the base of a low stone altar and then suddenly a large stone door fell into place behind him, sealing the tunnel through which they’d come. ‘Goddammit,’ O’Neill swore, finding the stone immovable.
‘Ah,’ Daniel said, causing O’Neill to quirk an eyebrow at him. ‘I was afraid something like that might happen. There's a warning here that no one is permitted to leave this place without the consent of the one true god Apophis.’
Jack rolled his eyes at the pompous rhetoric. God but that schtick was getting old. ‘And you didn't think to mention it before now?’
‘It’s kinda what you expect to see carved on the walls, isn’t it?’
Jack shrugged conceding that was a fair comment. When did the Goa’uld ever not think they were more important and that all the heathens needed to die?
‘To be honest, I think we should be more concerned about what it says after that,’ Daniel added.
‘There’s more?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Daniel’s fingers moved along the columns of crumbling symbols. ‘This part mentions the twelve chambers of hell. That's a reference to the passage of the unworthy towards the afterlife. Those that didn’t survive would have their hearts cast to the demons to be torn to shreds and devoured.’
‘Guy knows how to have a good time.’
‘This part here mentions the curse that Apohpis laid upon the tombs.’
‘Curse?’
‘Remember those twelve chambers of hell?’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Daniel, the place looks like it’s been abandoned for years. All I'm asking for is a way out.’
Daniel seemed unperturbed. ‘Well, we know that Apohopis was Ra’s greatest enemy and that the two were at war for thousands of years. No doubt Apophis set up this place to lure Ra and his followers. Ra has been dead for years which would explain why the place appears to be derelict, but, if it’s been armed to be able to kill Jaffa and Goa’uld…’
Then good luck to the humans, Jack surmised. Oi. He reached for the CB radio clipped to his jacket. ‘Carter? Teal’c?’
‘O’Neill,’ came the one word monotone response.
‘Yeah, we’ve got a little problem here right now.’
‘Are you okay, sir?’ Carter asked.
‘Yeah. I’m fine, Carter. Daniel’s fine too,’ he said, pausing to give the archaeologist a withering glare. ‘For now,’ he added, making his displeasure known. One of these days, Daniel, he thought. One of these days… ‘Daniel seems to think we’ve been locked inside some kind of boobytrapped maze. No way we’re getting back out the way we came in unless you can budge two feet thick stone. Teal’c? Any intel on what kind of goodies our old buddy Apohpis might have set up? Could be nothing, of course, but, y’know…’
‘It is hard to say, O'Neill, but you may be sure that Apophis delighted in causing his enemies great physical pain.’
‘Yeah…’ Like he didn't know that already.
‘Alright, c’mon Daniel. You got us in this mess, let’s get out of it.’
There was a boom and the room trembled, then shook violently, sand spilling from weak points in the roof above them. Jack wondered if the place wasn't simply rigged to collapse in on anyone who wasn’t welcome. Not much of a way to kill a whole lotta enemies but as a one off, not a bad idea.
The room ceased shaking and from a hole in the roof revealed by the tremors a beam of light came down, forming into a serpent-headed warrior, at least ten feet tall. “Enemies of our great god Apophis,” it announced. “Your fate is sealed.”
‘Yeah, I don’t happen to believe in fate and all that,’ Jack replied even though he knew the hologram was undoubtedly pre-programmed and couldn't hear him.
“Pass through the twelve chambers and come face to face with your god where he will judge thee. Renounce your allegiances to all other gods and you may be spared.”
‘No thanks,’ O’Neill replied. ‘But tell him I said “hi”, okay? Oh, and “screw you”.’
‘Sir?’ The voice coming through on his radio was grainy and hard to hear.
‘Go ahead.’
‘We just recorded some serious seismic activity in the area. Are you okay?’
‘Yeah. Just a bunch of fear mongering. All part of the show.’
‘We’re going to try and find a way to override the controls on the doors to get you out of there.’
‘Sam,’ Daniel interjected, ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to stay where we are.’
‘Why not?’ That was from Jack.
‘Think about it. If Ra is your enemy and you want his followers to renounce their loyalty to him, you’re not going to just let them sit around here.’
‘Twelve chambers of hell?’ Jack asked, dreading where Daniel was going with this.
‘It’s probably the only way out.’
Jack heaved a sigh. ‘You know what? I really hate this sonofabitch.’
P4X-591 was so far turning out to be a bust. No inhabitants, no cool technology, just a bunch of old hieroglyphs deep inside a maze of caverns that had Daniel fixated.
O'Neill pulled a few more glow sticks from his pocket and idly snapped them before tossing them around the cavernous space. There was probably light enough down here but there was also a string of catacomb-like tunnels splintering off in every direction. That alone made O'Neill wary enough that anything could be lurking down there. He wanted eyes on it long before it put eyes on them.
‘Daniel, how much longer is this gonna take?’ When he didn't get a response, he flicked one of the glow sticks at him, hitting his ear and causing him to turn. ‘How long?’ Jack repeated.
‘There's a lot of text here, Jack. It’s literally a chronicle of all the deeds of Apophis. This could reshape everything we know about the history of the Goa'uld and their political allegiances over thousands of years. Understanding this could be key to everything.’
Uh huh. Where had he heard that before? He kicked the base of a low stone altar and then suddenly a large stone door fell into place behind him, sealing the tunnel through which they’d come. ‘Goddammit,’ O’Neill swore, finding the stone immovable.
‘Ah,’ Daniel said, causing O’Neill to quirk an eyebrow at him. ‘I was afraid something like that might happen. There's a warning here that no one is permitted to leave this place without the consent of the one true god Apophis.’
Jack rolled his eyes at the pompous rhetoric. God but that schtick was getting old. ‘And you didn't think to mention it before now?’
‘It’s kinda what you expect to see carved on the walls, isn’t it?’
Jack shrugged conceding that was a fair comment. When did the Goa’uld ever not think they were more important and that all the heathens needed to die?
‘To be honest, I think we should be more concerned about what it says after that,’ Daniel added.
‘There’s more?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Daniel’s fingers moved along the columns of crumbling symbols. ‘This part mentions the twelve chambers of hell. That's a reference to the passage of the unworthy towards the afterlife. Those that didn’t survive would have their hearts cast to the demons to be torn to shreds and devoured.’
‘Guy knows how to have a good time.’
‘This part here mentions the curse that Apohpis laid upon the tombs.’
‘Curse?’
‘Remember those twelve chambers of hell?’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Daniel, the place looks like it’s been abandoned for years. All I'm asking for is a way out.’
Daniel seemed unperturbed. ‘Well, we know that Apohopis was Ra’s greatest enemy and that the two were at war for thousands of years. No doubt Apophis set up this place to lure Ra and his followers. Ra has been dead for years which would explain why the place appears to be derelict, but, if it’s been armed to be able to kill Jaffa and Goa’uld…’
Then good luck to the humans, Jack surmised. Oi. He reached for the CB radio clipped to his jacket. ‘Carter? Teal’c?’
‘O’Neill,’ came the one word monotone response.
‘Yeah, we’ve got a little problem here right now.’
‘Are you okay, sir?’ Carter asked.
‘Yeah. I’m fine, Carter. Daniel’s fine too,’ he said, pausing to give the archaeologist a withering glare. ‘For now,’ he added, making his displeasure known. One of these days, Daniel, he thought. One of these days… ‘Daniel seems to think we’ve been locked inside some kind of boobytrapped maze. No way we’re getting back out the way we came in unless you can budge two feet thick stone. Teal’c? Any intel on what kind of goodies our old buddy Apohpis might have set up? Could be nothing, of course, but, y’know…’
‘It is hard to say, O'Neill, but you may be sure that Apophis delighted in causing his enemies great physical pain.’
‘Yeah…’ Like he didn't know that already.
‘Alright, c’mon Daniel. You got us in this mess, let’s get out of it.’
There was a boom and the room trembled, then shook violently, sand spilling from weak points in the roof above them. Jack wondered if the place wasn't simply rigged to collapse in on anyone who wasn’t welcome. Not much of a way to kill a whole lotta enemies but as a one off, not a bad idea.
The room ceased shaking and from a hole in the roof revealed by the tremors a beam of light came down, forming into a serpent-headed warrior, at least ten feet tall. “Enemies of our great god Apophis,” it announced. “Your fate is sealed.”
‘Yeah, I don’t happen to believe in fate and all that,’ Jack replied even though he knew the hologram was undoubtedly pre-programmed and couldn't hear him.
“Pass through the twelve chambers and come face to face with your god where he will judge thee. Renounce your allegiances to all other gods and you may be spared.”
‘No thanks,’ O’Neill replied. ‘But tell him I said “hi”, okay? Oh, and “screw you”.’
‘Sir?’ The voice coming through on his radio was grainy and hard to hear.
‘Go ahead.’
‘We just recorded some serious seismic activity in the area. Are you okay?’
‘Yeah. Just a bunch of fear mongering. All part of the show.’
‘We’re going to try and find a way to override the controls on the doors to get you out of there.’
‘Sam,’ Daniel interjected, ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to stay where we are.’
‘Why not?’ That was from Jack.
‘Think about it. If Ra is your enemy and you want his followers to renounce their loyalty to him, you’re not going to just let them sit around here.’
‘Twelve chambers of hell?’ Jack asked, dreading where Daniel was going with this.
‘It’s probably the only way out.’
Jack heaved a sigh. ‘You know what? I really hate this sonofabitch.’
