reading the tension in
the crowd. They were very, very quiet as a tile was drawn and held
up to be read.
The priest said something. One word.
"I don't know," Daniel said before Jack could ask. "A name,
maybe. A clan? A family?"
A sigh went through the crowd. Most of them turned to go, hurrying away, clutching the hands of their children.
A small knot of people stayed, clinging together.
"Sir," Carter said quietly. "We really should get going, if we want
to stay on schedule."
Jack watched for a few seconds more. The knot of people left made
some kind of group decision. An old man kissed the foreheads of two
adults, a man and a woman, and knelt to embrace his grandkids.
Then he went up the steps to the temple.
"No human sacrifice, huh?" he said. "Right."
He'd be really happy to get out of here, feather beds or not.
The walk back to the Stargate took longer than expected, because
Daniel kept stopping to take video and rubbings of inscriptions, until
Jack's temper flared and he flatly ordered him to stay on the road and
keep up. Carter wasn't looking too approving of Daniel's distraction,
either. Her eyes stayed focused on the slowly-approaching bulk of the
Stargate airport, except when they moved for fast glances behind, at
the security detail trailing them.
"Sir?" She moved up next to him and fell in with his loose-limbed
stride. "Are you sure they're going to let us leave?"
"Oh, pretty sure that they won't be able to stop us," Jack said. "Not with the weapons we've seen so far. But I don't think it'll come to
that. These folks seem like the diplomacy-first types. Probably they'll
just fuss a little and want us to wait for the official kiss-off. By the
time they get their act together, we'll be back home."
Daniel cleared his throat. "Shouldn't we -
"No, Daniel."
"You don't know what I was going to say."
"And yet... still no."
The airport wasn't exactly bustling early in the morning. Even the
taxi stand was empty. Jack led the way through the big gates - which
were open - into an empty expanse of courtyard. The bar where
they'd sipped alien daiquiris was shuttered and locked. The desks all
stood unoccupied. The only sound was the flapping of canvas in the
breeze, and the distant heartbeat of the sea.
The Stargate sat silent in the morning light, looking like a particularly impressive piece of round alien sculpture in the middle of all of
these sharp right angles.
Despite the lack of travelers, there was plenty of security on duty,
Jack noticed. Twenty or more. They were standing at the steps of the
`gate, armed with spears.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said. "It appears that those who followed us have
summoned assistance."
How? No radios on any of these guys... Jack gave up wondering,
because it didn't matter. The fact was that the security detail behind
them had swelled to five. When added to the uniformed guys standing in front of the Stargate, that presented bad odds if you didn't want
to mow people down with automatic weapons, which would kind of
spoil the generally positive diplomatic tone they'd achieved.
"Jack," Daniel murmured, and jerked his chin toward a doorway
in the wall that was opening near the Stargate. The door was painted
jet black, and the ones coming out of it were in black, too - head to
toe, covered in veils that drifted in the morning breeze. Very ceremonial stuff. The first one out carried some kind of smoking brazier on a
chain. The second one carried flowers.
He was reminded, again, of funerals.
"Sir, maybe all this isn't for us," Carter said. "Maybe the extra
security's for these people."
"Who are...?"
Nobody on SG-1 answered Jack's question. They all paused,
watching, as the procession came to a stop at the foot of the steps and
the Dial Home Device.
One of them unveiled and began punching an address into the
machine.
"Daniel? Symbols?" Jack kept his voice soft, but the crack of
command in it made Daniel jump and fumble with his pack. He got
the
the crowd. They were very, very quiet as a tile was drawn and held
up to be read.
The priest said something. One word.
"I don't know," Daniel said before Jack could ask. "A name,
maybe. A clan? A family?"
A sigh went through the crowd. Most of them turned to go, hurrying away, clutching the hands of their children.
A small knot of people stayed, clinging together.
"Sir," Carter said quietly. "We really should get going, if we want
to stay on schedule."
Jack watched for a few seconds more. The knot of people left made
some kind of group decision. An old man kissed the foreheads of two
adults, a man and a woman, and knelt to embrace his grandkids.
Then he went up the steps to the temple.
"No human sacrifice, huh?" he said. "Right."
He'd be really happy to get out of here, feather beds or not.
The walk back to the Stargate took longer than expected, because
Daniel kept stopping to take video and rubbings of inscriptions, until
Jack's temper flared and he flatly ordered him to stay on the road and
keep up. Carter wasn't looking too approving of Daniel's distraction,
either. Her eyes stayed focused on the slowly-approaching bulk of the
Stargate airport, except when they moved for fast glances behind, at
the security detail trailing them.
"Sir?" She moved up next to him and fell in with his loose-limbed
stride. "Are you sure they're going to let us leave?"
"Oh, pretty sure that they won't be able to stop us," Jack said. "Not with the weapons we've seen so far. But I don't think it'll come to
that. These folks seem like the diplomacy-first types. Probably they'll
just fuss a little and want us to wait for the official kiss-off. By the
time they get their act together, we'll be back home."
Daniel cleared his throat. "Shouldn't we -
"No, Daniel."
"You don't know what I was going to say."
"And yet... still no."
The airport wasn't exactly bustling early in the morning. Even the
taxi stand was empty. Jack led the way through the big gates - which
were open - into an empty expanse of courtyard. The bar where
they'd sipped alien daiquiris was shuttered and locked. The desks all
stood unoccupied. The only sound was the flapping of canvas in the
breeze, and the distant heartbeat of the sea.
The Stargate sat silent in the morning light, looking like a particularly impressive piece of round alien sculpture in the middle of all of
these sharp right angles.
Despite the lack of travelers, there was plenty of security on duty,
Jack noticed. Twenty or more. They were standing at the steps of the
`gate, armed with spears.
"O'Neill," Teal'c said. "It appears that those who followed us have
summoned assistance."
How? No radios on any of these guys... Jack gave up wondering,
because it didn't matter. The fact was that the security detail behind
them had swelled to five. When added to the uniformed guys standing in front of the Stargate, that presented bad odds if you didn't want
to mow people down with automatic weapons, which would kind of
spoil the generally positive diplomatic tone they'd achieved.
"Jack," Daniel murmured, and jerked his chin toward a doorway
in the wall that was opening near the Stargate. The door was painted
jet black, and the ones coming out of it were in black, too - head to
toe, covered in veils that drifted in the morning breeze. Very ceremonial stuff. The first one out carried some kind of smoking brazier on a
chain. The second one carried flowers.
He was reminded, again, of funerals.
"Sir, maybe all this isn't for us," Carter said. "Maybe the extra
security's for these people."
"Who are...?"
Nobody on SG-1 answered Jack's question. They all paused,
watching, as the procession came to a stop at the foot of the steps and
the Dial Home Device.
One of them unveiled and began punching an address into the
machine.
"Daniel? Symbols?" Jack kept his voice soft, but the crack of
command in it made Daniel jump and fumble with his pack. He got
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