STARGATE SG-1 29 Hall of the Two Truths (27 page)

That was that.

“So, now what?” Daniel looked back and forth between the Guardian and Iqen. Maybe they’d let him answer another three questions.

Or not. He recognized the sound immediately. He’d certainly heard it enough times.

It was of a zat being activated.

In a way, he wasn’t surprised. He’d had a nagging feeling that something like this was going to happen sooner or later.

What he didn’t expect, however, was the voice that accompanied the sound.

Never in a thousand years.

“You never have chosen the easy way, have you Dan’yel?”

He tried to say her name but before he could even get it out she fired the weapon. Spasaming waves of electricity ricocheted through him and he barely felt the ground as he hit it, still twitching.

As his vision narrowed and the weirdly flickering lights of the torches cast a strange orange light over the swiftly dimming scene, Sha’re’s face, looking more curious than compassionate, was the last thing to lose focus and fade away.

“YOU’RE sure there are only two of them,” Sam asked in a low voice. She and Martouf had taken position on the ridge overlooking the vast wall. In the dark there was no way to see it in its entirety, but Martouf assured her that, even in daylight, there was no end of it visible in either direction. What they could see were twin gateways with flickering torches on either side and the two figures who guarded them.

“I am,” he replied, equally as quiet. “One Gatekeeper, one Guardian.”

“I’m getting an energy signature.” She studied the scanner. Lucky thing she hadn’t sacrificed the device to start a fire back at the mausoleum. She’d practically forgotten about it, having tucked it in the bottom of the knapsack. When they’d finished off the food, she’d found it there, the batteries still strong. “I think it’s coming from the wall itself.” She pointed. “Over to the left, it looks like. Although, from this distance, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly.”

“Do you think those are the controls?”

Sam shrugged. “I’m willing to bet. Most Goa’uld ships have doors that operate on a similar principle. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that technology here as well.” That was the first thing she’d thought of when she saw the gates, that they looked just like the access doors found in every Goa’uld ship and structure she’d ever been in.

“You can open them.”

She sighed. “That’s the plan. Unless you think they’ll just let us go through if we go out there and ask nicely.”

“Regrettably, no. The Gatekeeper will not permit you to pass unless you can pass the test.”

Right. The questions. Martouf had explained about those.

“What about the other guy, the Guardian?”

“A hand device. I fear you would not stand much of a chance.”

Sam sighed again. “Right. Well, I never much cared for game shows anyway. I guess I’ll hotwire it, after all.”

Getting to the control panel wasn’t the problem. If it was where she thought, it would be easy enough to slip behind the two Goa’uld in the dark and access it.

Hotwiring it was a different story. She hadn’t had much luck with technology lately. Just ask the people of K’tau. Or Colonel O’Neill.

And even if she wasn’t completely incompetent and somehow managed to get the gates raised, there was still the problem of getting to them. There was no way the guards wouldn’t notice as soon as the doors began to open. A hand device couldn’t be the only weapon they had at their disposal.

“Once I get them open, we’re going to need a diversion,” she told Martouf. “Or we’ll never make it through.”

“I will provide the diversion.”

He said it so calmly, she almost mistook his intention.

“No. Absolutely not,” she said when she realized what he meant. “We’re both going through that gate.”

Martouf was shaking his head. “There is no point. At most, I could see you as far as the Stargate, but I would be able to go no further. Anat cannot leave this place and without him, I will most certainly die.”

“You’ll die if you stay here.” She refused to accept his decision. “They won’t like it that you’ve helped me escape.”

“True. But if I am to die, then I’d much prefer it to be for ensuring your safety than for any other reason. It is true what I told you before, Samantha. This is not a life I would have chosen. For a while, I had forgotten that. But you have reminded me of who I truly am.” His sad smile returned. “I am the reason you are here. Allow me to bring some meaning to this unintended existence by helping you to escape.”

“What about Anat? How can you make this choice for him?” It was a feeble straw she was grasping at, and she wasn’t even sure why. An inexplicable sorrow was descending at the thought of him sacrificing himself for her.

“Anat chooses this too. The others would never allow him to live after we betray them. They have been ferreting out the dissidents one by one and would be happy to have an excuse for his execution. He too wishes to die in a meaningful way. We both do.”

Sam wanted to argue more, but there was no point. Taking him with her or leaving him behind, his outcome would be the same. This way her chances improved dramatically.

She hated it. Almost as much as she hated the possibility of leaving the rest of her team behind. Sam stared at the two gates. A few simple steps through one of them and she would find Colonel O’Neill and the others. Those same few steps through the other, and she would assure the safety of the rest of the galaxy.

On a cosmic scale, the choice was easy.

She just wished she didn’t have to make it.

“Which gate?” Her voice came out choked, in spite of herself. She was doubly glad it was dark now. It was better that Martouf could not see her face.

Sam could tell he took her question as acceptance of his offer. “You will want to go through the gate on the left. It will take you to the Stargate. The gate to the right is the one that leads to the Hall of the Two Truths.”

She tried to ignore the sickening knot in her stomach as she marked his words. The control panel was closest to the Stargate doorway. It would improve her odds of reaching it.

“Once I get to the panel, it may take me a few minutes to sort out the crystals.” It was better if she focused on the logistics.

His silhouette nodded. “I will be ready.”

“Martouf, I —” But she couldn’t get anything more out. She wanted to thank him. To stop him. To forgive him.

He touched her arm lightly, his voice quiet and composed. “Goodbye, Samantha.”

She waited until he had melted back into the darkness before wiping her eyes. Then, checking her scanner one more time, she slipped away in the opposite direction.

Focus, damn it.

Sam had found the control panel about ten meters to the left of the first gate and with no small effort managed to finally pry off the cover. The glow of the inner crystals had been like a beacon light in the darkness and she’d quickly covered it with the empty knapsack, hoping the two guards hadn’t noticed the sudden flash of light.

Now it was simply a matter of figuring out which crystals to switch to bypass the locking mechanism. She’d done it enough times on Goa’uld motherships. It was something she ought to be able to do in her sleep.

Sam stared at the array, but none of it made sense. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about it. Compared to other crystal trays, it was relatively simple. But her brain refused to process what she was seeing. She might as well have never seen one before in her life.

Maybe the colonel was right to question her competence these days. If she couldn’t even figure out a simple crystal array —

No. She could do this. She had to do this. Everything depended on it. The rest of the galaxy, yes, but also her team. She didn’t care what Martouf said, there had to be a way to save all of them.

Sam knew what the colonel would say. Keeping even more Goa’uld from entering the galactic fray would be priority one. She could almost hear him telling her to get her ass off of Duat ASAP, no matter what it took.

She also knew he’d be the first one to dive through the other doorway to rescue his team, even if the odds were stacked firmly against him.

There was no way she could live with herself if she left them behind. No amount of logic or reasoning could lessen the heaviness in her chest when she thought of choosing that first gate. But risking capture and allowing another enemy loose on an unsuspecting Earth — that wasn’t an option either.

There had to be a way to do both.

Or at least attempt both. After all, what mattered in the end was that these Goa’uld remain stranded here with no way off. She just needed to be out of the picture, it was as simple as that. There were ways to make sure that happened.

Reaching around, Sam double-checked that Martouf’s knife was still secured to her waist with the torn strap from the knapsack. She might need it after all.

She gave her attention back to the crystals. What she wouldn’t give for an encouraging hand on her shoulder and a vote of confidence about now. But those were hard to come by lately, even when her team was around.

She’d just have to make do without them. She
could
do this. The only thing stopping her was… her.

With a sudden clarity, Sam knew which crystals she needed to swap. It was so obvious, she didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before. Now all she had to do was wait for the signal.

Martouf could have read her mind, his timing was so good. Sam heard a shout in the dark and hunkered down into the deeper shadows at the base of the wall. She saw the guards become instantly alert, the Gatekeeper stepping forward, the Guardian stepping back.

Even though they were relatively near, she couldn’t hear everything Martouf said. The Gatekeeper approached and engaged him, probably asking the required questions. Martouf seemed attentive, even thoughtful, as if he were giving careful thought to the Gatekeeper’s words.

When the Gatekeeper had finished speaking, Martouf bowed.

That was it. The signal.

Sam switched the crystals and slid the tray back in place. For a split second, nothing happened. Then everything happened all at once.

Martouf, head already down, plowed into the Gatekeeper’s midsection. The Goa’uld stumbled back and tripped, falling to the ground. With a roar, the Guardian rushed forward just as the gates behind him began to rumble. The sound and vibration caught his attention, but his forward momentum had already propelled him straight toward Martouf who landed, sprawling, on top of the Gatekeeper. Before Martouf could collect himself, the Guardian was on him, pulling him off and swinging him around like a rag doll. Sam heard a sickening crunch as the Goa’uld’s fist broke Martouf’s nose.

She was so absorbed watching the scene unfold before her that it took her a moment to remember to run. It was a short sprint to the gate. It would only take her a few seconds.

The Guardian saw her. He pivoted away from Martouf and ran toward her, his stride long and swift. Sam could already see that he would intercept her before she reached her destination. She wasn’t going to make it.

He was nearly to her when he stumbled. At first she thought it was an accident, but then she saw a bloody-faced Martouf clinging wildly to the Guardian’s back.

“Go, Samantha!” he shouted as the Guardian twisted and he lost his grip, falling to the ground with a cry of pain. She tried not to watch. If she lost her focus, all of this would be for nothing.

She was almost to the gate when Sam heard him cry out again. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, she glanced over her shoulder, searching for Martouf. In the macabre writhing torchlight Sam saw his face contorted in agony as the device in the Guardian’s hand slowly and torturously turned his brain to sludge.

“No!” she cried out, sliding to a stop. Her hand went to the knife at her waist. She couldn’t let him do this. He’d died once protecting others, she couldn’t let him sacrifice himself again.

But before she could pivot to charge his attacker, Martouf’s body slumped to the ground. For one horrible moment she froze, staring at him. She’d reacted too late yet again. He was dead.

Sam was transfixed by the scene until motion in her periphery snapped her back to her precarious situation. The Guardian had turned back toward her. A menacing grin spit his ugly face as he took two long strides in her direction. Behind him, Martouf was motionless. There was nothing she could do for him now. Nothing but make his sacrifice count.

Both doorways were before her, mere steps away. Sam could see the air in them ripple as though they were giving off heat. Something in the back of her mind whispered that these were not just ordinary doorways, but beyond that she didn’t have time to think.

The Guardian was nearly upon her. It was time to choose.

Sam took a deep breath and ran. A feeling that was both familiar and strange tore at her as she dived across the threshold, and the last thought that shot through her mind before oblivion took her was,
I’m sorry, sir.

“SO, LET me guess. The Hall of the Two Truths.”