Read Online STARGATE SG-1: Oceans of Dust by Peter J. Evans - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Peter J. Evans
Tags: Science-Fiction
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you hear.”
“Sure, sorry.” He spoke more quickly now, translating as directly as he could. “‘That which feeds is once again held in sleep. Those who dare defy the will of Ra, supreme of Heaven, will find eternal torment in the house of the…’” He looked across the table at Teal’c once more. “Eater of ash?”
“It is as you say, Daniel Jackson. This message holds no meaning.”
“Have you ever heard anything referred to as an ‘eater of ash’?” Hammond asked him.
“Indeed. ‘Ash Eater’ is a common phrase among the Jaffa, especially children.” The ghost of a smile played about the man’s lips, as though he had remembered something amusing from long ago. “It means one who cannot stop eating — he will eat the meal, the cooking pot, the fire and the ash beneath.”
Sam turned to Hammond. “General, I take it there are no clues as to where this message originated from?”
“Not a one, Major.” He ran a hand back over his scalp. “And now that I’ve heard what it means, I’m beginning to think we’ve only heard part of it.”
“It does sound like a fragment of something,” Daniel agreed. “If I’ve learned anything about the Goa’uld, it’s that they really like to let you know what they’re going to do to you. This is too, I don’t know… Ambiguous.”
“System Lords do not usually repeat themselves,” Teal’c added.
“Fine,” said Hammond, sitting back. “People, I think we’ve gone about as far as we can with this right now. We could debate the meaning of it all morning, but until we can gain further intelligence on this attack, I’m going to keep the security lockdown in place and devote all available resources to bringing the comms system fully online.”
“Sir,” Sam began, “I’d like to analyze this further. There may be some kind of information in the carrier wave that can give us a point of origin.”
“Major, what I need from you is to make sure another signal of this type can’t shut us down again. I can wait a little while longer before finding out where it came from.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“You’ll liaise with the tech team down in Operations as soon as we’re done here. Doctor Jackson, Teal’c, I want you to start running your translation through the databases. There’s already a copy in the lab — see if it matches anything we’ve met before.”
Teal’c tipped his head a fraction. “As you wish.”
“Colonel O’Neill, I’ll need your report on P2D-771 as soon as possible. I want to know more about this modified ship, and the speed of the Goa’uld response to that locator beacon.”
For a few moments Jack said nothing at all. Then he started, appeared to realize suddenly where he was. “Absolutely, General. Anything else?”
“Not for now.” He looked around, taking the four of them in. “I understand that things got a little rough back there, and I’m sorry you had to come home to all this. But until I’m sure we’re not going to get any more calls from Ra, the pressure’s got to stay high.”
Jack stood up, his chair rolling back. “No problem. It’s what we do.”
Hammond looked at him a little oddly — it wasn’t exactly procedure for a lower ranking officer to get up from the table before a General, but he seemed prepared to let it go. Maybe he could see the same thing in Jack’s eyes as Daniel had noticed. “Glad to hear it, Colonel. That’ll be all.”
The team dispersed. Sam headed down the spiral stairway directly to the operations room, while Daniel and Teal’c followed Jack out through Hammond’s office to the elevators.
Jack went straight to the right-hand elevator door without a word. Daniel found himself holding back for a moment, unwilling to break into the man’s reverie, but then remembered the look on Jack’s face when the Jaffa refugees had been taking their dead back through the Stargate. He stood next to him as the floor indicators counted down.
“Hey,” he
“Sure, sorry.” He spoke more quickly now, translating as directly as he could. “‘That which feeds is once again held in sleep. Those who dare defy the will of Ra, supreme of Heaven, will find eternal torment in the house of the…’” He looked across the table at Teal’c once more. “Eater of ash?”
“It is as you say, Daniel Jackson. This message holds no meaning.”
“Have you ever heard anything referred to as an ‘eater of ash’?” Hammond asked him.
“Indeed. ‘Ash Eater’ is a common phrase among the Jaffa, especially children.” The ghost of a smile played about the man’s lips, as though he had remembered something amusing from long ago. “It means one who cannot stop eating — he will eat the meal, the cooking pot, the fire and the ash beneath.”
Sam turned to Hammond. “General, I take it there are no clues as to where this message originated from?”
“Not a one, Major.” He ran a hand back over his scalp. “And now that I’ve heard what it means, I’m beginning to think we’ve only heard part of it.”
“It does sound like a fragment of something,” Daniel agreed. “If I’ve learned anything about the Goa’uld, it’s that they really like to let you know what they’re going to do to you. This is too, I don’t know… Ambiguous.”
“System Lords do not usually repeat themselves,” Teal’c added.
“Fine,” said Hammond, sitting back. “People, I think we’ve gone about as far as we can with this right now. We could debate the meaning of it all morning, but until we can gain further intelligence on this attack, I’m going to keep the security lockdown in place and devote all available resources to bringing the comms system fully online.”
“Sir,” Sam began, “I’d like to analyze this further. There may be some kind of information in the carrier wave that can give us a point of origin.”
“Major, what I need from you is to make sure another signal of this type can’t shut us down again. I can wait a little while longer before finding out where it came from.”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“You’ll liaise with the tech team down in Operations as soon as we’re done here. Doctor Jackson, Teal’c, I want you to start running your translation through the databases. There’s already a copy in the lab — see if it matches anything we’ve met before.”
Teal’c tipped his head a fraction. “As you wish.”
“Colonel O’Neill, I’ll need your report on P2D-771 as soon as possible. I want to know more about this modified ship, and the speed of the Goa’uld response to that locator beacon.”
For a few moments Jack said nothing at all. Then he started, appeared to realize suddenly where he was. “Absolutely, General. Anything else?”
“Not for now.” He looked around, taking the four of them in. “I understand that things got a little rough back there, and I’m sorry you had to come home to all this. But until I’m sure we’re not going to get any more calls from Ra, the pressure’s got to stay high.”
Jack stood up, his chair rolling back. “No problem. It’s what we do.”
Hammond looked at him a little oddly — it wasn’t exactly procedure for a lower ranking officer to get up from the table before a General, but he seemed prepared to let it go. Maybe he could see the same thing in Jack’s eyes as Daniel had noticed. “Glad to hear it, Colonel. That’ll be all.”
The team dispersed. Sam headed down the spiral stairway directly to the operations room, while Daniel and Teal’c followed Jack out through Hammond’s office to the elevators.
Jack went straight to the right-hand elevator door without a word. Daniel found himself holding back for a moment, unwilling to break into the man’s reverie, but then remembered the look on Jack’s face when the Jaffa refugees had been taking their dead back through the Stargate. He stood next to him as the floor indicators counted down.
“Hey,” he
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