Part 10 (2/2)

”And the old G.o.ds fought them. They sent every one of their mighty warriors against the Devourers, but they couldn't defeat them. You see, the undead cannot die. And so the war lasted for many, many years. It is said that millions of people died.”

Daniel glanced over at Aedan, to see if he'd object to the exaggeration. He must have sensed Daniel's eyes on him, because he looked up from his work and gave a slight nod. ”That much is true,” he said. ”No one doubts that. We find their bones everywhere.”

And that was an image to keep you awake at night.

”The Goa'uld have been known to use tactical nukes,” Sam chipped in, talking around a mouthful of the stew she was eating. She gave a little shrug, ”If we're talking about WMDs and 'old G.o.ds'...”

Daniel nodded. It was pretty clear that the Goa'uld had been here at some point, and maybe they hadn't left. ”So these Devourers, the Amam, they won the war?”

The girl's expression darkened. ”Yes. They drove out the old G.o.ds and then there was no one left to protect us. The Devourers swarmed over the world like rats, feeding on flesh 'til they could eat no more. Some few of us survived, like this, under the ground where they can't find us. But others...” She looked over at Aedan, her voice less certain. ”In the south, they say, there are camps where humans live penned like animals. The Amam feed on them at their pleasure.”

Aedan gave a curt nod. ”That's true. I've seen it.”

He said no more, his face closing down into a hard expression that wouldn't have looked out of place on Jack O'Neill. The room fell silent, everyone subdued, and suddenly Daniel realized that this wasn't mythology, it wasn't even history. This was a cold, dark reality. The thought raised a s.h.i.+ver along the length of his spine.

”What about the Stargate?” Jack said, breaking into the silence. ”Do the dead guys still use it?”

”The Eye?” Elspeth said, glancing at Daniel for confirmation. He nodded. ”Yes,” she said. ”The old G.o.ds tried to destroy the Eye, but they couldn't. And still the Devourers fly through it.”

”Fly?” Jack threw a significant look at Daniel. ”In s.h.i.+ps, I presume. Not with... wings?”

Elspeth blinked. ”Neither boats nor wings,” she said. ”They ride in fighters.”

”Fighters?” Jack made a swooping gesture with his hand. ”As in fighter aircraft? In the sky?”

”Death Gliders,” Teal'c surmised from his place next to Sam.

”It's possible,” she said. ”Maybe they have some kind of on-board DHD so they can dial the gate remotely before they fly through?”

Jack nodded. ”You ever see them land one of these things?”

”Never,” Elspeth said. ”When the Devourers are close, we stay inside and put out all the lights. Discovery means death.”

With a soft clatter, Aedan dropped his arrows onto the floor and jumped down from his perch. ”You can't travel through the Eye,” he told Jack. ”Only a fool imagines escaping this world. And there's only death for those who try.”

”That's not true,” Elspeth retorted, turning to face him. ”People have escaped.” She appealed to the rest of her people. ”Haven't they?” Some of them shrugged, while others just shook their heads as if bored of an oft-rehea.r.s.ed argument.

But she had one rapt listener. ”How?” Jack demanded. ”Tell me how they escaped.”

”The resistance, of course.”

”And they are... ?”

She looked at him askance, eyes narrowing. ”Why do you pretend you know nothing of them when you're wearing their symbol on your arm?”

Jack's gaze darted to Daniel's. ”This?” he said, touching his SG-1 patch.

Elspeth shook her head impatiently and pushed up her sleeve, revealing a tattoo on her arm. ”This,” she said.

The Earth glyph.

Jack's eyebrows rose. ”Okay,” he said cautiously. ”Daniel, any ideas?”

”Well, think about it,” he said, mind racing ahead to make the connections. ”If you're looking for a symbol of resistance, of a place of safety, that's a pretty good one.”

”You mean because of what happened to Ra?”

Daniel nodded. ”Stories are powerful,” he said. ”They spread fast and they're almost impossible to stop. Over time they evolve into legends and myths, but there's usually a kernel of truth in there somewhere.” He brushed a finger over Elspeth's tattoo. ”And there it is.”

”The resistance is no legend,” Elspeth insisted, pulling down her sleeve. ”It's real.” She threw a defiant look at Aedan, as if daring him to object. ”They're led by a man called Dix, and he's helped thousands to escape this world and join them.”

”Through the Stargate?” Jack didn't sound convinced and neither was Daniel. No one was escaping covertly through a defunct Stargate, with no DHD, that was the only thing standing for miles around.

Elspeth shook her head. ”I don't know how. I just know that if you find him, he'll get you out.”

”Elspeth, stop it,” Aedan said at last, weary and frustrated. ”Stop your nonsense.”

”It's not nonsense!” She turned back to Daniel. ”Dix serves the old G.o.ds,” she said, ”and the resistance is going to help them return and save us. The old G.o.ds will drive out the Devourers and we'll be free again.”

”The 'old G.o.ds',” Teal'c said darkly, ”will not free you. They will enslave you.”

Elspeth folded her arms across her chest and fixed Teal'c with a hard look. ”Well, I'd rather serve the old G.o.ds than feed the Devourers.”

”Then you know nothing of slavery.”

”And you know nothing of the Amam.”

Teal'c glared at her and she glared right back. Daniel had to swallow a smile at the sight of this stripling girl going toe-to-toe with Teal'c.

”Easy there, big guy,” Jack said, not bothering to smother his own amus.e.m.e.nt. ”This one looks dangerous.”

”Take no notice of her,” Aedan said, glancing between Elspeth and Teal'c with a s.h.i.+mmer of concern. ”Elspeth believes in fairy tales.”

”Aedan,” she warned. ”Don't you -”

”It's a myth!” he snapped. ”The whole Dix thing is a myth. How could he still be alive? The war was generations ago.”

”The old G.o.ds can do anything.”

”Nonsense! Everyone knows the 'old G.o.ds' weren't G.o.ds, they were just creatures from another world. And now they're gone and they're not coming back to save us. No one can save us.” Aiden s.n.a.t.c.hed up his arrows from the floor and headed for one of the pa.s.sageways branching off from the room. He stopped at the last moment, fixing Daniel and Jack with a serious look. ”I don't know where you've come from, but, trust me, it's better to hide and live than to fight and die. That's the reality of the world and anyone who thinks otherwise ends up dead.”

After Aedan had stormed out, it wasn't long before Elspeth and the others started preparing to sleep. Sam was surprised when the colonel suggested they sleep back in the 'cell' until she realized that it had a door, which meant they could talk with a modic.u.m of privacy.

So they dragged their kit inside, along with a straw pallet to help Daniel rest more comfortably, and made camp. Once they'd laid out their bedrolls Sam extinguished the lamp and groped her way back to her sleeping bag. It was almost pitch black, only the dimming firelight seeping around the door cutting the darkness. Crouching down, she misjudged her position and when she reached out for her bedroll, she hit a nose and part of a face instead.

”Ow! Carter!”

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