Book 4 - New Horizons 5
11/05/2024 – 10.46
Instantly there was a hurried argument, should they stay or should they go, then Rex pulled rank & made the call, “We stay”
Decision made SG2 fanned out, weapons at the ready but as unthreatening as they could be.
After the fumbling of keys in the lock the doors creakingly were pushed back, two females carrying oil lamps entered in conversation, both were dressed somewhat peculiarly, old fashioned to say the least. At first they didn’t spot SG2 as they conversed, a few yards in however they raised the lamps, saw SG2, screamed & ran. One dropped her lantern near the door which shattered spilling oil in the opening which immediately burst into flame.

SG2 watched as they fled shrieking down a gas light lit corridor before turning a bend after around 40 yards.
“That could have gone better” suggested Jayne
With time still left before the gate auto closed SG2 hung about waiting to see what would occur, twenty minutes later muffled voices & the tramp of feet were heard echoing in the corridor. A few minutes a head appeared around the corner of the corridor, a voice rang out “q*,(:”g**5/f4x+.’<(?“
Nobody had a clue what was said although Dungip was pretty sure it was Arabic in origin.
For several minutes the upper torso of the uniform wearing figure popped in & out of view however neither party could understand the other although SG2 with many a wave or hands, palm forward, held high did their best to look peaceful.
When the stalemate became tedious the unknown soldier stepped around the corner into full view leading a squad of four armed men, behind them followed one of the women, clearly the captain of the guard was unhappy that she was in view even though his words were unintelligible.
SG2 were slightly taken aback, the group of four were garbed in military attire but as would be worn several hundred years previous, both Jayne & Dungip commented that the muskets held at the ready looked like flintlocks. All four carried cavalry sabres on their belt, the captain, without a musket, brandished his sabre before him. The clothing hinted of European design despite the language spoken.
In the mean-time the captain had sent for reinforcements when he thought matters might not be so friendly, the corridor beyond the gate chamber was now occupied by 12 additional musket wielding troops giving 16 in total. Jayne mused on whether the lead shot from their muskets would penetrate the Kevlar armour at such close range, maybe he wondered it would be best not to find out.
Slowly the captain came forward, Rex, keen to show they came in piece stepped towards followed by Jayne & the others.
With the group, closer those of SG2 from military background could see all the trappings you would expect for use of black powder weapons. In lieu of a musket the captain carried a pair of matched pistols at his belt.
Despite a lack of verbal understanding the captain made it quite clear he wished SG2 to lay down their weapons, Rex gesturing the others to remain behind him placed his pistol & axe on the floor.
At something of a standstill, the woman bustled forward & engaged the captain, clearly they disagreed on what should be done next, however she appeared to prevail. Carefully she stepped forward with the captain hurriedly stepping to her side.
For many minutes with much pointing & slow words names were exchanged. The captain was clearly fascinated by the obvious weapons worn by SG2.
With the gate on the verge of closing there was a hurried debate on whether they should stay or go back, finally Rex instructed Didimos & Irving to head back & report their findings, they ran for the gate & stepped into the vortex as the gate shut down.
Back in SGC Didimos & Irving fell through the gate as it shut down, never had they left passage so late, both wondered what would happen if they were caught between the gates as the closed, it wasn’t a pretty thought. Knowing they had 90 minutes before the gate could be reenergised they headed for HR to see who spoke Arabic apart from Helen Schultz who was still in isolation, as well las for stores to see if there were any data chips for the Arabic language & the medical bay for supplies in case the shit hit the fan.
Off world Rex, Jayne, Dungip & Agatha continued to engage as best they could, clearly these people weren’t stupid but just lacked behind in technology relative to earth 2024.
There was some staring at SG2 as anomalies were obviously noted, the odd eye that didn’t blink & the glint of metallised cyberware however without intelligible conversation this would remain a hidden mystery, that is however until Agatha, foolishly some might say, revealed herself, or more specifically her added shoulder mounted tool limb. Unsurprisingly this was treated as an abomination by the natives & it was only with much arm waving Dungip persuaded the captain not to fire.
Thankfully the deadlock was broken by the reactivation of the gate & the return of Didimos & Irving.
11/05/2024 – 12.17
Didimos had been successful in locating a couple of memory chips, level 3, as good as it gets, he’d already slipped one into a vacant receiver before he passed the second to Dungip. Turning away Dungip removed a technical data card & slid the language chip into place, this drew several horrified glances from captain.
In addition, Didimos had recruited the nutritionist from SGC, Meera Taneja, Meera it seemed fluent in Arabic and spoke several related Semitic languages. Unfortunately, this was her first time through the gate & despite Irving’s administrations she’d lost her lunch & probably her breakfast as well.
Cleaned up as best she could & not exactly feeling brilliant Meera listened to the natives & recognised the tongue spoken as Coptic, hesitatingly she began to speak gaining confidence as the locals responded positively. Clearly there were some variations in dialect but this was small matter. Vainly Dungip & Didimos tried to keep up, they could pick out key words & the gist of the conversation but swallowing a dictionary doesn’t make you fluent.
As discussion continued with Meera translating SG2 lead by Rex explained the basics of the gate & where they were from but making no mention of the not yet desperate needs of SGC or anything relating to the viral destruction of humanity. In response, the woman & the captain, Lateefah Eldesouky & Bast Zaghloul, as they introduced themselves spoke of their city.
Lateefah confirmed they were in a museum, a tesseract, in the middle of their city, Memphis. The city was occupied by several hundred thousand citizens & was ruled by a city council, The captain also told there was but a single religion, the one true god but that there was a much conflict with the city of Hermopolis who believed in the ancient pagan pantheon which all new were false abominations.
It was something of a shock therefore to learn from SG2 that the ring as they called it was actually built by the ancients & was a gate to the stars & not simply a bizarre totem carved by her ancestors.
11/05/2024 – 13.52
Dungip keen to learn more of this questioned Lateefah in detail, she showed him many of the artefacts & trinkets stored in the dusty display cases in the museums gate chamber & offered to show him writings on the walls of other chambers depicting images of the ancient not quite so fairy tales.
In one case was the broken tail end of what was clearly an energy staff recovered by SG1 from Abydos, also in a cupboard was a plain carved block of heavily veined rock with a semi-circular slot around in its top face around 12” long. Clearly Lateefah had no idea what the broken staff or the block were but Dungip suspected he knew exactly what it was.
As rival soldiers have a want to do when meeting for the first-time Jayne & the captain measured cocks against each other. Jayne was confident she’d win the pissing contest should it occur that she needed to fire his A80 combat rifle. The captain however laughed openly when Jayne counted off on her fingers that whilst his pop gun fired only a single shot his would fire 35. Jayne promised to show the captain his prowess when the opportunity arose.
11/05/2024 – 14.27
With the initial pissing contest concluded Lateefah suggested that SG2 accompany her to the city palace to speak before the council, after a quick conflab it was agreed this would be for the best.
Before leaving the main camber there was a slight heated conversation concerning weapons, clearly thr captain would not entertain them being carried openly & SG2, especially Jayne clearly didn’t want to hand them over. Eventually a compromise was agreed. The bulk of the weapons were stacked on the gate plinth with magazines removed & kept by SG2. The captain swore on his honour that they would not be touched by the guard he proposed to leave, on the Bast’s oath of honour Jayne acquiesced & put down her various armaments but not the Kalishikove which it was agreed should be taken with them as proof of their superior technology for the council. Blades strangely were not requested to be left & the one or two members of SG2 who carried hidden sub-dermal pistols did not reveal them.
With a runner sent ahead Lateefah escorted the party to the entrance museum entrance but not before showing Dungip several smaller chambers which were liberally decorated with hieroglyphs of a distinctly Egyptian feel. Lateefah explained that these images were over 3000 of their years old & were the basis on the believers in the old god pantheon. Her face was troubled by this as she knew that if the gate was what SG2 said it was then what else from past was true. As Dungip recorded the images on the walls one caught his attention, it was a circle infilled in pale blue with a large bird flying towards it. With SGC’s acquired knowledge of the gates it wasn’t too difficult to work out what this was.
11/05/2024 – 14.27
Eventually Lateefah & the captain flanked back & front by an armed escort lead SG2 out into the fresh air onto a plinth some 200’ above the walled city. It was a pleasant day, warm & bright with a definite Mediterranean feel. Lateefah had explained they were in the heart of their summer & many people were working in the fields in readiness for the great harvest.
When asked captain Zaghloul had suggested the coast at its nearest point to the city was 6 days by horse & that their quarrelsome neighbours home, Hermopolis, was around 11 days ride away.
Rex, who had a reasonable knowledge of history was intrigued. The city was clearly old & built along the lines of Damascus but the decoration was a mix of what you’d expect in continuously occupied Arabic city but with considerable more modern decoration added such as might be found in western European city of the mid-18th century.
At the foot of steps leading down from the plinth awaited several horse-drawn carriages to which they were directed (They were clearly horses noted Irving but subtlety different to those seen on earth, he wondered how other many similarities there were to be found on Geb as Lateefah had called it.
11/05/2024 – 15.06
Having passed through a humongous pair of iron gates through a tall stone built wall the carriages pulled up outside an ornate palace. On route, it had seemed that the city whilst busy was clearly under occupied, SG2 concluded it would easily have accommodated several million inhabitants rather than the several hundred thousand their host suggested resided here.
Lead into the palace SG2 were soon stood before a hastily gathered council.
Hastily Lateefah & Captain Zaghloul summarised the mornings events, many were the questions directed at Meera & SG2 about where they had come from, although still nothing was revealed of the fate that had befallen earth.
Clearly there was much scepticism.
When Agatha again displayed his pair of shoulder mounted arms the horror on the faces of many of the council was clear & there were numerous calls of an abomination from one individual who Lateefah advised was the city’s premier religious disciple. Food was provided, again with a definite Mediterranean flavour, which was at odds with the style of dress.
During the captain’s disclosures, he drew the council’s attention to the weaponry which was carried by SG2 & the claims made by Jayne. As per the captain’s scepticism this was again treated as a long tale for old women. Knowing there was only one way to put such scoffing to bed Jayne asked if there was anywhere close he could demonstrate the A80’s capabilities.
11/05/2024 – 17.31
Gathered in one of the formal gardens within the palace’s walls SG2 watched Jayne check her weapon & reload the magazine accompanied by the tinkle of water from the many fountains & the squawk of birds in the numerous manicured fruit bearing bushes.
Looking around Jayne gestured to a statue some 60 yards distant & queried through Meera if it was acceptable to use it as a target, when nobody objected he raised the rifle to his shoulder.
Before Jayne fired Rex suggested through Meera that the council should cover their ears.
Jayne fired.
Somebody screamed.
A voice, translated by Meera, alerted SG2 to the fact that the statue had been his grandfather.
As the smell of cordite cleared all could see the devastation that some 25 rounds of 9.00mm slugs had inflicted. The statues head lay on the floor a did its shattered left arm & sceptre. Its chest & abdomen were peppered obliterating all details.
Jayne grinned.
11/05/2024 – 17.48
No longer smirking at Jayne’s claims the council reconvened in the palace & conferred. After conferring with SG2 Rex had suggested that Lateefah accompany them back through the gate to earth, surprisingly she was keen to do this. The council too agreed but on proviso that she was accompanied by captain Zaghloul. He too was keen on this since the demonstration of SG2’s fire power.
With discussions concluded SG2 accompanied again by Lateefah, Zaghloul & a honour guard returned to the ziggurat.
11/05/2024 – 18.21
Waiting for the gate to reopen Dungip raised the subject of the block of rock or as he suspected the charging unit for the ancient’s energy staff’s. Eventually he obtained Lateefah’s agreement to it being loaned to SG2 although she was confused by his interest in the polished stone. In return, however captain Zaghloul ‘negotiated’ the future gift of a pistol. After a whispered conversation with Rex this was agreed although he did think it might give Mahonney kittens.
Shortly thereafter the gate began hum followed by the whoosh of energy as the wormhole connected, both Lateefah & Zaghloul watched in silence as their beliefs were turned upside down.
Recovering their untouched stacked weapons, they drew their guests towards the gate.
Irving warned them both that they were likely to feel queasy when they emerged.
As they stepped through the gate the watching honour guard took position to await the Memphis emissary’s.
11/05/2024 – 18.49
Emerging into the SG chamber SG2 quickly alerted the waiting IS troopers that the two people accompanying them were friendly, at the command window above Mahonney’s jaw dropped.
Whilst Rex, Jayne & Didimos explained to the General just what the fuck was going on Irving, Agatha & Dungip lead the culture shocked & vomiting guests to medical. Here they were persuaded to provide bloods for analysis & there myriad of questions answered concerning modern science, cyberware & medicine. Agatha kept up a running commentary as well as using his tablet to show them images of the modern world & the modern English alphabet.
11/05/2024 – 19.27
When Mahonney was finally satisfied with the proffered explanations Rex was left to finalise a his written report while Jayne & Didimos withdrew one of the discharged & dead energy staffs from the armoury. Taking it & the recovered stone block to the labs where one of the technicians, Anton Levay, ran a scanner over it. He reported that it was solid stone although he didn’t know its type, with no circuitry or internals of any kind other than more rock. He did comment that it was heavily veined with some unknown metallic substance.

With nothing to lose except possibly there life they lay the staff in the grove, it was a perfect fit. The technician was surprised to note that there was a small increase in the temperature of the cut stone. After twenty minutes or so Jayne couldn’t wait any longer. He removed the staff & headed for the dead ended corridor beyond the lift zone. Pointing the staff of at rough cut rock face he placed his finger in the small depression on the staff & concentrated, that staff fired triggered by his desire to to fire. Both he & Dungip grinned & then headed off to join up with the other half of SG2.

Rex, report drafted headed to the armoury & withdrew a Sternmeyer 41 & 5 clips before going in search of SG2 & their guests. Mahonney had given permission under advise from Rex, Jayne & Didimos that captain Zaghloul should be allowed a pistol but with a limited number of shells in exchange for the polished rock.

11/05/2024 – 20.04
Rex rejoined the others just in time for the Edward Kelly, one of the stations medical lab technicians to confirm the initial analysis of the blood results, “As human as you or I” exclaimed Irving

11/05/2024 – 20.11
Lateefah sat on the chair while Jayne ran through the mechanism of loading & clearing the S41 semi-auto to Zaghloul should it jam, he was a fast learner. When they left the physicians room she confessed to irving that she found the atmosphere of the underground chamber combined with the increased gravity oppressive but she was she she’d feel better if they could go to the surface. Rex, sympathetic, confessed they had a problem with reaching the surface because of a rock fall so alas they couldn’t go there at the moment, conveniently he yet again omitted to mention the world wide infection. He suggested SG2 return her & Zaghloul home before she suffered further.

Meanwhile Jayne accompanied by Zaghloul to the impromptu shooting gallery so the captain could try out the pistol, he proved to be an effective student. So pleased was Zaghloul with the feel of this magnificent weapon he presented his flintlock pistol to Jayne in exchange.

Done & dusted he re-joined Lateefah with SG2 in the gate chamber in readiness to return to the museum.