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Dawn was less than an hour away as they began breaking camp, taking only essential supplies so they could travel more quickly. Teal'c could not defeat a feeling of trepidation as he thought of their young friend in the hands of one of the most cold-blooded Goa'uld he had ever known. They all knew of Nirrti's actions on Cassandra's planet, her plans for the innocent girl, her plot against Cronus...
Teal'c had heard tales of even worse atrocities, but wisely did not inform Carter and O'Neill, they had enough to worry about and wild speculation would not help...
Teal'c had suggested that O'Neill concentrate on his earlier, brief mental contact with the missing scientist. O'Neill had tried it, receiving a fleeting, uncertain impression that Daniel Jackson was east of their current position, toward the mountains. Despite O'Neill's doubts, they had travelled in that direction. It was against O'Neill's usual methods to rely on nothing more than "mumbo-jumbo", but at the present, Teal'c reasoned, they had nothing else to go on.
Carter had agreed that whatever had occurred between the two of them before hadn't completely disappeared and that the extreme situation had reactivated the connection. O'Neill had looked at his major with a bemused expression, but accepted the convoluted logic of her argument.
Hours later, as they drew closer to the mountains, O'Neill had fallen once again, clutching his temples. He had shakily informed them that it felt like his brain was on fire...a Goa'uld ribbon device. When he had recovered somewhat, O'Neill felt sure that Daniel Jackson was alive...
Teal'c theorized that it was a deliberate act by Nirrti to draw them to her. She was somehow aware of the mental bond between O'Neill and Daniel Jackson...had perhaps even caused it.
Carter tended to agree with Teal'c's theory. They had not seen any other 'psychic bugs' in the many days they had been on this planet and with the phase-shifting technology it would have been easy to plant the bug on Daniel Jackson. Carter even extrapolated that it was very possible they had been observed from the moment of their arrival on P3J050. O'Neill restated his original theory that the Stargate was somehow deliberately being hidden from them. At the time, it had seemed O'Neill's usual cautious paranoia, but now...
It had been a trap. A clever, insidious trap designed to lead them to this point...If Nirrti had been observing them all along, she knew all she needed to in order to exact her revenge...and none of them doubted that revenge was what Nirrti wanted.
Just before dark, they came to the base of the mountain. Teal'c and Carter watched as O'Neill tried to calm himself, to touch the presence of their missing friend. It was visibly difficult. As they had drawn closer to the mountain, O'Neill had been like a man possessed, pushing them onward. The feeling of 'Daniel', he said, had been fading steadily ever since the last wave of pain...
With a sudden jolt, they were all brought to their hands and knees by a sharp, burning sensation across the chest area. Teal'c was the first to recover, helping the others to their feet.
"Daniel?" Carter was in shock from her first experience with what O'Neill had been going through.
O'Neill was nodding his head, still unable to speak.
"How?" Carter didn't have to explain what she meant and the answer was evident to all of them. If they were all feeling Daniel Jackson's pain it could only mean one thing...
Nirrti had subjected their friend to a fresh dose of the alien venom, the venom that had caused him to become lost in his own mind...
O'Neill urged them forward, passing into a narrow crevice barely visible in the growing darkness. Teal'c knew...they all knew...that it was all the more urgent that they find Daniel Jackson...and soon. If O'Neill hadn't been with the young scientist the first time, he could have been lost forever in the dark places of his mind. Now, alone and in pain, there was no one with Daniel Jackson who cared enough to pull him away from the abyss of his own demon-ridden thoughts...
Passing through the crevice into a canyon, they were not entirely surprised to find an ornate temple carved into the face of the living rock.
Teal'c noted sadly that Daniel Jackson could have told them the meanings and origins of the symbols carved into the facade. There was no doubt in any of their minds though that this was the temple in Daniel Jackson's notes...the Temple of Nirrti.
As a unit, they readied their weapons...years of training taking over. The very stillness screamed out a warning to Teal'c as they moved quietly into the temple...senses heightened to pick up the slightest movement.
The team fell into the dance that had become second nature to them...point, flank, rear guard...It came with the ease of too much practice in too many tense situations. The dance was marred only by the stark realization that one of the dancers was missing...
For all his aversion to things 'military', Daniel Jackson had earned a place for himself in that dance. He performed it with a reluctant precision born out of necessity and the desire to protect his team...just as they protected him.
O'Neill indicated through silent gestures that he knew that Daniel Jackson was somewhere ahead of them. Teal'c and Carter moved to cover O'Neill, who decided to take a direct approach into whatever danger lay ahead, pushing the doors open with his foot, weapon at the ready....
The room was large and dark, lit only by two torches on either side of a low circular slab of dark stone at the center. In the guttering light, Teal'c could make out a figure lying on the slab....
It was Daniel Jackson...