P&P(CN5)
Chevron Nine Part 5: Persephone and Psyche
"I'll have to cannibalize the M.A.L.P.'s power core," Sam said. "Actually, I'll probably have to take the whole thing apart to patch these cables."
O'Neill put his hands up. "Don't look at me; I ain't MacGyver. The whole thing'll be F.U.B.A.R. if I touch it."
"F.U.B.A.R., sir?"
"Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition."
"Oh. Well, I wasn't really asking for help, anyway. It's not hard, just tedious. I guess what I'm saying is, make yourselves comfortable; this is gonna take a while."
O'Neill gave her a mock glare. "I noticed you didn't disagree with me, Major."
"Well, to be honest, sir, your technical skills..." Sam trailed off and busily attacked the M.A.L.P.
Sha'uri had been treated like a queen for the past few days, but each day, each hour, her heart sank deeper into utter despair. She remained cold toward the lord of the mountain, no matter how many gifts he showered upon her. She had given herself body and soul to Daniel and Daniel alone, and never so much as smiled as long as she remained in the palace.
She wore only her own clothes, refusing the elaborate but scanty costumes the old man provided for her. She washed her homespun dress when she bathed - using none of the deliciously scented oils she'd been given. Ignoring the recreational activities the old man made available for her, she spent her time in her lavishly furnished rooms, staring out the window, waiting for Daniel to come find her. She did not dine with the lord of the mountain; instead, using the authoritative voice she'd learned from Amaunet, she had his servants bring her meals to her rooms - but only when she thought she would faint from hunger.
In the afternoon of the sixth day, someone knocked softly on her door. Sha'uri turned away from the window to snap at the old man to go away, but her visitor had already opened the door. Instead of a long white beard and mismatched eyes, she beheld a face she'd begun to think she would never see again.
"Dan-yel!"
Daniel put a finger to his lips. "I've come to get you out of this place. But we'll have to do this quietly. Come on."
He led her down a corridor that led, oddly, not toward the exits but toward the interior of the castle. "We are going the wrong way, Dan-yel," she murmured.
"You don't think I came in the front door, do you?" he replied softly with a grin. After another minute or so, they stopped, and, looking around to make sure they were alone, Daniel dropped to his knees, searching for something.
"What are you looking for?"
"A trap door. Ah, here it is." He pried up what looked like a stone but was in fact painted wood, revealing a staircase descending into darkness. "It's a tunnel that comes out right by the Stargate. Go on, I'm right behind you."
Daniel closed the trap door behind them, and Sha'uri froze on the steps. "Dan-yel, I cannot see," she said anxiously, her voice echoing even in a whisper.
"Not for long." There was a soft click, and a beam of white light illuminated their surroundings. It seemed to take some of the chill out of the damp air. "Let's go."
At the bottom of the staircase, the tunnel opened up into a wide chamber. Daniel's flashlight picked out small enclaves, about ten cubits square, set into the walls. Only when she saw the solid iron doors did Sha'uri realize that this was a dungeon. She shivered from more than the cold and clung tightly to Daniel. He slipped an arm around her shoulders as they entered one of the cells, giving her a quick squeeze before gently prying her off. He ran his hands along one wall - feeling for a doorway, Sha'uri assumed.
After a moment, Daniel turned to face her, and his flashlight burst into flames. "There is no escape, Sha'uri." In the blink of an eye, Daniel was gone, and in his place stood the old man. "I grow tired of your continual rejection of my hospitality," he growled. "Your husband is dead. You are forever cut off from your world. Either accept your new life with me, or rot in this cell. Choose."
Sha'uri felt as if the lord of the mountain had plunged a knife into her heart. "No!" she cried. She lunged for the door, but the old man stopped her, forcing her back with his torch. "No..."
"A pity. You would have been my queen, treated like a goddess."
"I have had enough of queens and goddesses to last me for eternity," she spat.
"Very well."
The heavy door slammed, and the darkness was total. Sha'uri sank to her knees on the cold stone floor, sobbing. She refused to believe what the old man had told her, but she was desperately afraid he was telling the truth. She knew he could be.
Daniel was not dead. He was coming back for her; he would find her and rescue her. Sha'uri repeated it to herself like a mantra. But, oh, gods, it was hard to be optimistic in the chill blackness of a dungeon.
Gods. She should know better than to call upon the gods; they were all charlatans. Ra had only been the first of many. Her experience with Amaunet had wiped away whatever lingering traces of belief had remained in her inmost heart. There would be no divine intervention on her behalf.
She felt something crawling up her leg, and jumped up with a cry. In the echoing silence, she heard something skittering across the floor toward her. Whimpering with fear, she backed away from the sound until she hit the wall of her tiny cell. She gasped as something with far to many legs tangled itself in her hair. Suddenly, Sha'uri felt unseen insects swarming over her, and her panic burst forth in a scream. "Dan-yel!" she shrieked hysterically. "Dan-yel, help me!"
But nobody came. She was utterly, completely alone in the impenetrable darkness, with only the figments of her terrified imagination to keep her company.
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