He shrugged. “Three? Three and a half? Why?”
She shook her head as if clearing a troublesome thought. “Nothing. I’m just trying to work something out. I don’t know…”
Jack let it go, although normally, when Carter was concerned about something, they should all be concerned. He knew that it was best to let her work it out on her own; when she wanted to tell him, she would, so instead he turned to set off back down the passage.
A face was staring at him out of the darkness.
“Whoa!” Instinctively, he brought his weapon round to bear. Behind him, he heard Carter and Teal’c do the same. Their new companion, he noticed, did likewise. “Easy,” Jack said. “Hunter sent us here. To see Dix. He said he could help us.”
The man’s eyes scanned each of them in turn and he frowned. Jack guessed they must stand out like a sore thumb in their BDUs when the locals seemed to prefer the grubby rags look. This guy was also sporting a Jaffa tattoo on his forehead, and looked slightly better fed than the folk on the surface. Getting in with a Goa’uld obviously paid well.
The man’s gaze came to rest on Jack’s MP5. He didn’t seem hostile, just suspicious, so Jack decided to take a gamble. “Look,” he said. “We’re here as friends, and to prove it we’ll put our guns down.” He let go of the MP5, letting it hang from the shoulder strap — within easy reach should things go sour. “Carter? Teal’c?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Carter following his lead. Teal’c took a few more seconds before closing his staff weapon.
“Who are you?” asked the man.
Daniel stepped forward. “We’re from a place called Earth. We came through the Stargate… the Chappa’ai… but there’s no dialing device to get us home. We were told that Dix may be able to help us. My name is Daniel and this is Sam, Jack and Teal’c. We really don’t mean any harm to you.”
As Daniel had been speaking, the man’s expression had grown more and more perplexed. If it hadn’t been for his question, Jack would have doubted that he even spoke English. But just when he’d started to think that there was no chance of this guy taking them to Dix, the man gestured with his head and said. “I think you’d better come with me. Zuri is going to love you.”
The four of them exchanged a glance and then followed the man, who introduced himself as Slade, further into the tunnels.
Eventually, they reached a large hole in one wall, about the size of a double doorway. A huge sheet of rusted metal covered it from the other side. Slade banged out a rhythm on it and after a few seconds it slid back to reveal a large cavern, manmade by the looks of it, and clear of debris. After the cramped tunnels they’d just crawled through, this place felt like Grand Central Station. Soft light came from a series of lanterns, which hung above orderly rows of chairs and tables. The room had a definite military feel, reminding him of, maybe, a mess hall.
He turned to say as much to Carter, but she was frowning again, lost in thought.
“Who the hell are these fools?” barked a voice from across the room. A woman, tall and dark skinned, with close cropped hair, had risen from one of the tables and was approaching. “Slade, no one enters the Inner Circle without Dix’s authority. You know this.”
“I didn’t think he’d say no to these ones, Zuri,” said Slade. “Take a look at their sleeves.”
The woman glanced at Daniel’s jacket, and then, with a frown, grabbed the sleeve and pulled him closer, her eyes on the SGC badge.
“Um, okay!” said Daniel, and tried to pull his arm back, but Zuri held it fast.
“I was right,” said Zuri. “You are fools! Why do you come here brazenly wearing this mark?”
“They say they are SG-1,” said Slade.
Jack cursed silently; he should’ve thought to take off their arm patches. Zuri’s reaction, however, wasn’t what he’d expected.
She gave a derisive snort of laughter and let go of Daniel’s sleeve as if she’d just discovered she was holding used toilet paper. “You are SG-1? Is this some kind of joke?”
“If it is, the punchline sucks,” said Jack, his patience wearing thin.
“I assure you, Zuri,” said Teal’c, “we intend no joke. We are in need of your help and must speak with Dix.”
When Teal’c stepped forward, Zuri’s expression turned from scornful to pensive. “You are true Jaffa,” she said.
Teal’c inclined his head.
Zuri crossed her arms and stood as if in thought for a moment. “You will wait here,” she said, before marching through another door at the opposite end of the hall.