By Demon Faith and Stephali
TITLE: Defiant: - One plus one is three?
AUTHORS: Demon Faith and Stephali
EMAIL: rosabeth@hotmail.com and stephalij@hotmail.com
CATEGORY: Sam/Daniel, Romance, Series, Angst, Drama
PAIRINGS: Sam/Daniel, Jack/other
SPOILERS: Major spoilers for Defiant 1 and 2. Minor
for: The Movie, Fire and Water, Tok’ra, Fair Game, The Devil you know and
Upgrades.
SEASON/SEQUEL: Third in the Defiant series. There
will be a sequel.
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNING: Sexual situations and violence.
SUMMARY: More secrets are revealed, as the legend
of the Defiant unfolds…
DISCLAIMER: Anything that looks familiar i.e. SG1,
SGC etc belongs to MGM/Showtime. Anything original-looking i.e. Aurora,
Sasprai, Eliza etc belong to Demon Faith and Stephali
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Various types of telepathy appear
in this story. There are unique symbols for everyone communicating
telepathically:
*thought* - Daniel
[{(thought)}] – Sam
///thought/// - Anise
‘/’thought’/’ – Sasprai
The Saphyr people communicate in speech marks, even
though it is on a telepathic level, because that is the only way they can
communicate. Confused yet? Good!
Oh, so that blame can be placed accordingly, most
of the strange names came from Stephali’s imagination and most of the
‘questionable’ scenes came from Demon Faith’s imagination.
Thanks go to SDR (especially the Musketeers), Slug,
Meloko, Tash and Nic – for listening to our ramblings and being patient through
our confusion.
"Oh God, I'm Defiant!"
The words didn't really sink in at first, despite
the exclamation. She, Sam, was one of the Defiant, chosen to be hunted for
eternity by the Goa'uld, chosen by an alien race who bought their lives with
this promise. She was everything she never wanted to be. Her thoughts flashed
at once to fears of not being able to travel through the Gate anymore. If a
Goa'uld caught her or Daniel then surely they would know the possibilities open
to them. And that surely led to only one possibility open to the SGC... Then
suddenly she noticed Daniel's gaze upon her. It was full of understanding and
wisdom, but tinged with bitter sadness. He knew what she was going through,
what she was thinking. She felt guilty. Terribly guilty.
He had only learnt what she now knew by being host
to Apophis, and to Ra. He only found out when it happened to him, nobody had
even heard of the Defiant before then. He had not been himself for several
weeks whilst Apophis planned his attack on Earth. He had had to watch himself
hurting his friends and colleagues, and her. Though why she counted herself
special was a mystery really. She had finally opened her heart to him in the
desert, on the planet she gated to. And she remembered the utter joy she had
felt when he had told her that he loved her. It wasn't even him saying that though,
it was just Apophis exploiting her to get back to Earth.
She felt outraged, and confused, and a tremendous
volume of emotions and feelings that she couldn't begin to comprehend, but
overwhelmingly all she could feel was love. Love for the world, love for her
team, love for Daniel; there was no love left for herself.
Daniel gently laid his hand on her shoulder.
"I'll be there for you, you know that."
"I should have been there for you."
They both looked away from each other, not wanting
to meet the other's gaze.
Daniel broke the silence. "Perhaps we should
go and see Janet."
Sam edged towards the door, "You're right, as
always."
He grinned, albeit slightly nervously, and headed
off back down the corridor.
~
Janet just stood there in disbelief, desperately
trying to comprehend what her friends were telling her.
“You’re…you’re…no, you’re not…really?”
Sam and Daniel smiled at each other, and Janet
almost did a double-take. Okay, they never used to look at each other
like…that.
“Janet, I cut my palm on one of Daniel’s knives.
The wound instantly healed, and there’s not even a scar.”
Janet’s eyebrows raised and she started pacing
round the infirmary, rambling about all the theories that came to mind.
“How on earth…she could’ve…but no, surely…however,
she might…no, no not from then…maybe then…yes, perhaps…no, maybe not…when
the…yes, a possibility…”
Janet turned to them both, smiling, and they
immediately cringed. They knew what that meant.
“I need to run some tests.”
~
Jack stood outside the door, eyes widening by the
second. He had just been on his way to see if Teal'c had stopped by the
infirmary as he definitely wasn't in his office. They had arranged to meet up,
but it hadn't quite worked; maybe they got their wires crossed or something?
But anyway, now that had all changed. Sam and Daniel Defiant? That would make
his job of commanding SG1 one hell of a lot easier if they had their 'powers'
and Teal'c had Junior. So, wait a minute, where did that leave him?
Then he heard the dreaded word: 'tests'. He knew
Janet would have to have a 'human'
test subject as well, and he was guessing that meant him. No way. Not a chance.
He sneaked off back down the corridor to avoid suspicion. He just risked having
a single glance back towards the infirmary when he heard a loud crash and found
himself flat out on the ground.
Lifting himself up again he saw a large metal box
with the words 'Dr. Janet Frasier' printed neatly on the side. He apologised to
the airman he had walked straight into and started to pick up some papers which
had drifted to the floor. Then he heard the door opening. He tried to run, but
he was caught in her tight, malicious grasp. Janet then hauled him into the
infirmary, with him protesting all the way.
~
Teal'c was confused. He was at the designated spot
at the designated time and there was no sign of O'Neill. He may have been
bewildered by human behaviour before, but one constant was that they always met
with their friends when they promised to. He wondered if there had been an
emergency briefing that O'Neill had been summoned to, but thought this was
unlikely. A better bet would be the infirmary he figured, as that was where SG1
spent a great deal of their time. He left the office, shutting the door behind
him.
~
Janet thanked the Airman who brought the test
results, and stared. She had taken tests from Sam both now and before she went
off on her Danny-hunting expedition, but there had been a fire in one of the
labs, and she’d only just got the results back.
Most of them were as expected, but one…
“Sam…”
Janet looked up and her eyes met Sam’s, and the
woman gasped before collapsing down onto a nearby bed.
“No, it can’t be…”
Daniel looked from one shocked face to the other,
completely confused. And then he indulged in telepathy…
“Oh my, you can’t be serious!”
Jack heard
this little half-conversation from behind the cubicle curtain, and had had
enough. He drew it aside and stood up to face them.
“Right, seeing as I haven’t got that psycho-link
thing, someone please tell me…”
Jack caught Daniel’s expression, and his eyes
widened. Then, Teal’c walked in.
“There you are, O’Neill.”
Janet knew this was one person who couldn’t guess,
then realised she looked like the only one to tell him.
“Teal’c; Sam’s pregnant.”
~
"What?!" Jack said, then he looked around
at all their expressions. "Sorry, couldn't help it."
Janet leaned over and pulled on his arm, "I
think it's time we went to do your tests somewhere else, don't you think?"
"What a good idea. Teal'c, you're coming with
us."
The Jaffa stood confused (again) for a second, but
then realised that Dr. Frasier wished for Major Carter and Daniel Jackson to
have some time alone together. He agreed with the suggestion, so followed them
out without complaint.
There was silence. Neither Sam nor Daniel could
find anything to say, nothing that the other couldn't already guess anyway.
Daniel slowly moved to sit by her and placed his head in his hands.
"God, Sam, I'm so sorry. I never meant for
this to happen."
She lifted his chin, forcing him to look into her
eyes. "Tell me you don't mean it."
"Of course I do. I let Ra do all that to you.
I just watched him do it; I couldn't fight him any longer."
She gazed at a mark on the wall, swallowing hard.
"Listen Daniel. I've always wanted a child. But I couldn't...... I always
put my career first. But now it's happened, and nothing's going to change that.
I want this baby. And I want the father to be you."
"The father's Ra, Sam! Ra. You're having the
child of a Goa'uld."
"No I'm not!! It's yours Daniel. It's the most
precious thing I could ever share with you, please don't throw it away."
He said nothing.
She began again, "Just tell me this. Do you
wish this had never happened? Because I've been waiting for this day for a long
time."
"Of course I wish it had never happened."
He took in her pained expression. "I didn't mean it like that," he
added apologetically.
Sam's eyes flashed with anger, "What? Are you
telling me your promises to me were all a lie? That our relationship didn't
mean anything?"
Daniel stood up to leave. Just before he reached
the door, he spoke, his voice raw with emotion. "No, I'm not saying that.
I just wish I could have said it all before. When it would have meant
something."
He turned his back, and went out.
~
Daniel ran towards his office, blinded by tears,
roughly shoving whoever stepped in his path. He dived for his sanctuary and
shut the door behind him, sinking slowly down the door.
“Oh, why all this pain?”
Suddenly, a bright light assaulted his eyes and a
beautiful young woman appeared, and smiled at him.
#You are the Defiant. I am pleased#
Daniel was getting a bad feeling about this. Here
was a strange woman who was Goa’uld who knew he was Defiant and was pleased
about it. Oh, a very bad feeling.
“What do you want? How do you know?”
The woman smiled, held out her hand and his pen
sailed straight between her fingers.
#For I am Defiant. Or, at least, my host is. And
what I want is you#
Daniel was more than a little confused and not
afraid to say so.
“Excuse me?”
The woman smiled, and knelt down in front of him.
#I am Eliza, Queen of Belos, Great Conqueror of
Babylon. My husband’s host died in battle, and he now resides in stasis. He
requires a new host, and your legend has just reached us. I made all haste here
and I have found you. Together, we shall make a Defiant child, and offer him to
Cronus in exchange for my husband’s lands. And you, Daniel Jackson, are the
key.#
As Daniel drank all that in, he began to make
several sudden realisations. Ra had made Sam Defiant: and Daniel had just found
a reason. A Defiant child: perhaps stronger than it’s parentage. Ra could’ve
started a whole new race of Defiant, a whole Jaffa army of Defiant…Daniel
shuddered at the thought. And, now he was being taken to create one of these
children…but why him?
“Wait: you said you were Defiant. Why don’t you just make another Defiant; I
know it’s possible.”
#You know of the blood bond, how interesting. Only
when true love exists between a human and a Defiant can the blood bond be
performed, entwining their souls and allowing the blood to flow freely. But
only where there is love: it is another ‘trap’ in you Defiant. There are many;
So far, I have found 37, yet I am sure there are more.#
The woman grabbed his chin, staring at his eyes for
a moment. Then, she let go, stood and lifted her right hand.
#See you in hell#
The device activated and Daniel was lost to
darkness.
~
Sam had sat motionless for a few minutes, only
breaking her stillness to rub the tears away that were drowning her eyes. She
was not sure what she was feeling or why, but she knew that it had hurt like
nothing ever before and that her soul seemed to be disappearing down an endless
vortex. She supposed it wasn't that much of a shock: being pregnant and all. She
vaguely remembered Ra telling her something about his plans, and she was sure
they included things that didn't bear thinking about. But she was also sure
that the child within her was created for a reason, a purpose. Something far
greater than even the Goa'uld could have predicted.
She knew how desperate she sounded, surely it was
every mother's wish.
She was suddenly aware of a movement outside the
closed door. Drying her eyes, she went to open it, hoping against hope it would
be no-one other than Janet.
She was relieved, when she saw her friend's slight
figure waiting for her. Sam opened the door and allowed Janet to draw her into
a hug.
"What's up Sam?" She knew it was almost
the worst possible thing to say, but there was nothing else to be said really.
"He.. he... doesn't want it."
"Oh Sam I sure he didn't mean it," Janet
patted her on the back gently, trying to calm her friend down.
"No he told me. He said that he regretted it
ever happened and that nothing meant anything any more."
"Listen, I know Daniel," Janet said
trying to reason, "And I'm sure he's just shocked and ..... oh my god,
Sam, it's Ra's and he knows it, isn't it?"
She slowly nodded and then shook her head, as if in
confusion.
"Then that's what he's come to realise Sam and
he's angry. Not at you, not at the child, but at himself, for letting this
happen. I'm sure once he's collected himself together, he'll be back full of
apologies and guilt and then you'll just have to be there for him, you
know?"
Sam looked more peaceful now, "I suppose I
keep forgetting how hard it must be for him," she said contemplatively.
"See, there's nothing that you could have
possibly done to make him act like this. It'll just take time Sam, that's all,
for him to realise that he's not at fault."
"What would I do without you Janet?"
Janet smiled appreciatively, "Thanks Sam, how
about I get you a coffee? And a chocolate muffin? You're eating for two
now."
"Sure, it's better than staying here."
"I hope you didn't mean that."
"Of course not."
~
Jack was getting impatient. How long did
decision-making take? Unless they were doing much more than talking…Jack shook
his head, wondering if Janet had just walked in on something she shouldn’t
have.
Jack was getting angry. All it took was a
supposedly-dead System Lord, another Goa’uld with a grudge and some aliens who
decided to save their race with exactly the wrong people to bring SG1 down.
Actually, that made a certain amount of sense. But, his team, the very people
he was supposed to protect, had got hurt, injured, and would bear the mental
scars for life. He had failed them.
Janet walked out, and pulled him to one side.
“Daniel’s upset. He’s gone off somewhere. Find him,
please.”
Her voice was pleading and Jack nodded gravely. Sam
had told them everything while they were waiting for Janet to wake up: the
‘Defiant’ story, Ra’s master plan for the universe and Apophis’ own destruction
plan. Daniel had suffered so much recently, and now Jack had to make it right.
He headed for the archaeologist’s office, knowing
Daniel would be there.
~
Or not. In fact, Daniel didn’t really know where he
was, but for a split second it reminded him horribly of the place Apophis had
used as a hideout. It was almost as if he was back there, reliving those
terrible days when all he could do was watch. And dream, and have those strange
visions, which told of the history of
the Defiant. More and more of those images were coming back to him, as if in
warning, as if to dispel some greater evil in the universe.
Not that he wasn’t concerned with his present
situation. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around at that particular
moment, which he wasn’t sure was a good or bad thing. One thing he was sure of
though was that his head hurt, his vision was swimming and that he would much
rather be somewhere else.
#You are awake. Belos awaits you#
Oh, most definitely somewhere else. Daniel edged
towards the wall, using the hard surface to push himself up. Once he had
regained some sense of balance, and he was sure the room wasn’t really spinning, Daniel ventured a step
forward and held out his hands to Eliza, and with typical Jack-like sarcasm
said:
“Take me to your leader.”
~
Sam munched her way through the chocolate muffin,
constantly wondering where Daniel was and what he was doing, how he was feeling
and whether he was upset with her.
She was just about to order a second one, when Jack
burst in, an unusual expression of panic on his face.
“He’s gone!”
“Daniel?”
“Who else?”
“What do you mean gone?”
“Gone. As in nowhere here. As in nowhere to be
found. As in gone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve checked everywhere, asked
everyone....…”
“What?” Sam asked, “Why did you stop?”
“Unless he doesn’t want to be found. I mean, can
you people do that kind of thing? You know, hide from the rest of us?”
Sam thought about it for a second, then ‘went’ to
ask Daniel. Only, he wasn’t there. She stood up then: something definitely
wasn’t right.
“Sir! He’s gone…I can’t sense him…like
before…there’s nothing…what’s happened…not again…”
“Calm down, Sam! One thing at a time!”
Jack gently pushed Sam back onto the bed, where she
tried to calm herself.
“He’s not there…I can’t touch his mind…there’s just
emptiness inside me…he’s really gone…”
Jack nodded slowly, trying to catch every other
word. Daniel-gone…okay, got it!
“Right, Sam, I’ll alert the General. You try and
work out why you can’t sense him and I’ll…”
“Proximity. But then he can’t be on this planet…at
least, not in the solar system. Oh Jack, what could’ve happened? Is he…is he…”
“Sam, Daniel IS NOT dead! You hear me? We haven’t
come this far to lose him! Okay? Okay?”
Sam nodded glumly and he nodded to her, rubbing her
shoulder. He moved towards the door.
“Just stay here, okay?”
Sam nodded, and he left. Then, she got up and
closed her eyes. He had told her how to do this, if she were ever in trouble.
Now seemed like the right time. She opened her eyes again and looked down at
her hand. Only, it wasn’t there. She moved towards Janet’s office and the wall
mirror. No reflection.
Satisfied that she could not be seen, Sam headed
for the Gate Room.
~
There was a small, plain, unfurnished jar lying on
a heavily decorated table. It looked out of place, as if someone was trying to
cover up the importance of this chamber, but was failing. The very atmosphere
was that of torture and fear, its mood was darkness. The stench of death flew
freely, with no attempt made to cover it up.
Into this room stepped Eliza, her steps measured,
her head held gracefully. Behind her
stumbled Daniel, trying to break away. She needed no Jaffa, no weapon to bind
him to her. Her Defiant capabilities were strong, having had decades of
practise and he was struggling to concentrate on anything, unfit to resist.
Her husband had never had a Defiant host before,
and as such, had always been envious of her. Her power outshone his in
everything she did and he sorely regretted it, when Cronus attacked his
territory. But now it was time for an uprising. Together they could fight back
and reclaim what was theirs. Together. Although before that was possible, Belos
would need time to adjust and dominate his next host.
Eliza had decided Belos' implantation must take
place as soon as possible. She turned to Daniel, smiling sickeningly.
#Meet my husband#
She picked up the jar, and reached inside with her
hand, whistling eerily. She slowly withdrew her hand, a hissing Goa’uld in her
grasp. She walked towards Daniel, eyes fixing him literally to the spot. Eliza
placed the Goa’uld on his bare neck, and leaned close to him.
#Witness the might of the Goa’uld…#
Daniel closed his eyes tightly, as the Goa’uld
slithered over his skin.
~
Sam moved quickly through the SGC, careful to avoid
physical contact with anyone. She wasn’t totally sure how she was doing this
but it felt right so she kept going. She kept her senses alert for Daniel, but
there was still no ‘sign’ of him. She sighed quietly, and made her way into the
Control Room, narrowly missing Jack talking to General Hammond. She took a
spare keyboard and quickly typed in every locking code she knew.
“Sir! The computer’s locked me out!”
Sam hurried now, as everyone gathered around the
technician. Then, the Gate began to dial.
“I don’t understand it, sir. The Gate is dialling
out!”
“Trace it!”
Sam blocked that too, working her way through the
chevrons. She reached the seventh just in time, glad she had remembered to
block the iris too.
“The iris won’t shut, sir!”
Sam smiled to herself and walked past Jack, and
plucked his GDO from his waist.
“Hey! Who took my GDO?”
Sam ran quickly before they realised who had
dialled out. She ran straight at the Gate, aware that the ramp was banging with
her heavy footsteps.
“The ramp is moving…”
Jack stared in wonder, as he watched the ramp
vibrate. Sam had a few more paces and she jumped straight through the event
horizon. Jack saw it ripple, but nothing go through.
“Oh my, they’re invisible…it must be Sam…”
The Gate shut down. Jack quickly traced the codes,
specifically overriding SG1’s privilege codes. And Sam’s code flashed on
screen.
“It was Carter, sir. She dialled out from the
console right behind us, took my GDO and jumped through the Gate.”
“Jack, don’t talk nonsense. We would’ve seen her…”
The General trailed off as he realised what Jack
was implying. He motioned to the computer.
“Dial the Tok’ra.”
~
He felt the Goa'uld, or Belos, as it would prefer
to be called, edge away, as if tensing itself to spring. Knowing that that
would be the end, Daniel made one last desperate attempt to throw the Goa’uld
to the floor. He grabbed it, and felt it lashing in his hand. Then suddenly it
fell still and limp, as if weakening. Eliza watched with interest, she had seen
this scenario play out many times before and every time, her husband had won.
As she saw Daniel momentarily relax, Belos leapt to strike again and this time
Daniel was taken completely by surprise and had no time to react.
Belos burrowed harshly into the back of his neck.
Eliza clapped her hands together in joy.
Daniel screamed with pain. It was sliding through
him, violating him – and it was different. Not like Apophis, not like Ra –
something very different was happening. This Goa’uld had something very
positive about it. Suddenly, he just relaxed, and let the Goa’uld finish. He
felt the jaw latch on, the sudden pain and then a voice entered his head.
///Daniel Jackson, we meet again///
*And who the hell are you?*
///Why, Doctor Jackson, I am Anise///
~
Sam jumped through the Gate, careful to maintain
her invisibility, or Aksam, as Daniel had liked to call it. There were soldiers
everywhere – very confused soldiers. They had seen the event horizon ripple but
nothing come through – or so they thought. Sam smiled to herself and walked
straight past them, not able to resist hitting one over the head. The soldiers
degenerated into confusion, as she calmly walked into the Pyramid of Sol.
She wasn't entirely sure why she had come here. It
just seemed like the right place to be. She had been unable to download the
co-ordinates last dialled through the Earth Gate, even though she knew that
whoever had taken Daniel had used it. But she'd been having visions, day
dreams, whatever. There was a pyramid, standing high and golden in the sun and
all around it, soldiers fighting an invisible creature. She relaxed into her
surroundings and found the creature was her, and this planet was waiting for
her arrival.
Sam wasn't given to following dreams, but she had
nothing else to go on and was desperate. The glyphs sprang unbidden into her
mind and she just dialled. And hoped.
Inside the pyramid she found a temple of some
sorts, or so she guessed. A large graven image of a powerful sun goddess was
covering the far wall, and even the dust seemed to sparkle in the light. The
scientist part of her wanted to find out how this place was lit, but the human
part of her said no: she was on a mission far more important.
She wandered further through the labyrinth of
corridors and dead ends until she came across a young woman, apparently asleep.
Beside was an old man, his eyes glittering dangerously, as he formed a
protective stance over her.
"You will not take her! They have already
taken her sister, please spare her life!"
Sam was confused, "Sorry, I don't understand.
Take her where?"
The man's face wrinkled into a hopeful smile,
"Then you are not with them?"
"No I'm not. I'm here because I'm trying to find my friend."
"Was she taken by them too?"
"He actually, and yes, he was. Do you know
where her sister was taken?"
"She knows, but ever since that day she has
slept. It has been so long now, I cannot remember when it began. I have prayed
for her to awaken, but my prayers have failed, the gods have not
listened."
"Do you mind if I take a look? I might have
medicine that can help her."
Sam took a look at the sleeping woman and saw her
face glistening with tears. She whispered fervently, as if suffering from a
great fever, though still she slept.
"If we take her back to my home world, then we
may be able to save her life."
"Are you sure you are not with them?" he
asked suspiciously.
"Of course, I only want to help her, and to
get my friend back. Please let me do that."
The man looked into Sam's eyes, searching her soul.
He saw the conviction in her stare and the sorrow in her heart and believed
her. "We should go at once, my name is Luigi, and I offer you my
trust."
"With great honour I accept it and keep it. My
name is Samantha Carter. I'll help you
carry her; the Stargate isn't far."
~
The Gate began to dial, Jack began to get worried.
Funny, that: Sam would be awaiting some new scientific miracle to present
itself, Daniel would want it to be a diverse culture to explore, but both Jack
and Teal’c feared danger and another battle to be fought. Now, Jack was a
worried some Defiant army or angry alien spouting gibberish would charge
through, and their Defiant, and highly qualified, friends would be unable to
help them. Or, worse still, news that either of their friends was dead. Jack
couldn’t cope with that right now.
“SG-1 Iris…”
“Open it!”
Jack ran down the stairs, ready to confront Sam. An
old man backed out of the Gate, carrying the head and shoulders of a young
woman. And the rest of her body seemed to float in mid-air.
“Why do you conceal yourself, child?”
“I’m gonna be in enough trouble. I might as well
delay it.”
She said that loud enough for Jack to hear her
though, so he responded. “Carter!”
He reached out to grab the rest of the woman, who
was apparently floating, and helped lift her onto the stretcher that Janet,
with all her natural instincts, had already prepared.
When he was doing that, he bumped into nothing. Or
maybe it was Sam, as she figured that there was no use in hiding from Jack. She
relaxed her concentration and allowed herself to become visible again. As she
did so, she realised how much of a strain it was putting on her and how much
tension had been building up inside her.
She anticipated what Jack was going to ask her, so
answered it anyway. “I think she has information that could help us, sir. It’s
obvious she needed medical attention, and….”
“I understand,” he said, as Janet whisked her off
to the infirmary. “Wanna come?”
Sam just nodded, before feeling herself relax
completely and thud to the floor.
~
Daniel had very mixed feelings about this. Great, I’m stuck with Anise! Oh, can she
pick up on this?
*Can you hear my private thoughts, or just what I
share with you?*
///Just what you choose to share///
Thank
goodness for that, thought Daniel.
*Um, how’d you get here?*
///Later. I must convince Eliza I am Belos///
#My dear Eliza, I am whole again#
Eliza smiled beautifully at him, then pressed
herself against him and kissed him deeply. Daniel was completely thrown, but
apparently Anise had anticipated this.
*Oh, you have got to be joking…*
///Daniel Jackson, you are helping to save the universe
from a hostile takeover. Unfortunately, to do this, we have to make some
sacrifices…///
*We? Exactly
what sacrifices are you making?*
To Daniel’s surprise, Anise gave a mental giggle.
///I’m sure it won’t be too…tedious for you///
Daniel didn’t quite know how to answer that.
~
Sam drifted back to consciousness, feeling she had
a lot to answer for.
“She’s back, Janet!”
Sam groaned and awaited the light. And there it
was, shining way-too-brightly in her eyes.
“Janet, put the damn light away!”
Janet flicked it off and smiled.
“Oh, definitely with us, Jack.”
“So, how are you feeling?”
Sam took a double take: shouldn’t Janet be the one
asking the questions, not Jack? Never mind. “I’ve been better. I’ve been worse.
How’s she doing?”
Janet flicked a glance in her direction. “Well,
I’ve tried a few basic treatments, but she hasn’t responded. I haven’t dared
try much more, in case her physiology is different.”
Sam suddenly was made aware that ever since she had
been conscious, she had been feeling scared, for no reason. She looked at the
still unconscious woman and realised the focus of her fear was radiating from
her. She stood up and leant over her. “Janet, she’s Defiant.”
“Can you wake her?”
“I don’t know. I suppose I could try.”
Sam slowly got off the bed and then felt strangely
weak. Jack grabbed her before she swooned to the floor again.
“Sam, are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine. Just a little off-balance.”
Jack glanced sceptically at Janet, who just
shrugged. Sam pulled Jack’s arm off her and moved towards the woman. Drawing on
her ‘inner knowledge’, as Daniel had called it, she placed her two hands,
clasped together, over the woman’s head, as her father looked on. A strange
light seemed to flow from Sam’s fingers and into the woman’s eyes. They burst
open and the woman’s hand shot to Sam’s neck.
#You are Defiant!#
Sam had a feeling this meant trouble.
~
“General Hammond, no matter what you just said, I
am sure you did indeed hear O’Neill’s words correctly.”
“Thank you Teal’c.” Hammond had to admit that he
wasn’t quite sure if he was hearing things right anymore, in any case, he was
glad for Teal’c confirmation of his sanity. Jack had walked in and told him
that the woman was awake and had told them something of great importance. Now,
George had to go and find out.
As Teal’c and him entered the room, they were
greeted by the woman still holding Sam in mid-air, but this time, without the
aid of her hand.
“About bloody time,” she managed to gasp.
Teal’c marched up to the young woman and waved his
hand before her eyes. Sam dipped slightly, but then recovered quickly. Teal’c
tried another tactic. He grabbed Luigi.
“Release her, or he will die.”
The woman panicked and her ‘grip’ failed. Sam
plunged towards the ground and hit it before anyone could reach her. She just
lay there, unmoving. Janet came up to her and checked her pulse and breath.
“She’s breathing and has a pulse. I think she’s
just knocked out for a while.”
“She feels great pain.”
A sweet, musical voice rang out, as Teal’c released
Luigi. The young woman ran to him and hugged him.
“You are well, Father.”
“Indeed, Child. This man never meant to hurt me. No
one here wishes to hurt us.”
The woman nodded, closed her eyes and then opened
them again.
“I am Aurora. You wish for information on the
Defiant named Daniel?”
Jack nodded quietly, making a change from his loud
sarcastic comments. Aurora had a powerful influence, something tangible on the
air. It was freaky.
“A Goa’uld named Eliza learned the secrets of the
Defiant. She took my sister, Sasprai, as a host. She needed a Defiant host for
her husband, Belos, to make a Defiant child, to offer to Cronus in exchange for
Belos’ lands. She tracked your Daniel through Apophis’ message to the System
Lords. I believe I can take you to him.”
That long and thoughtful speech made everyone suck
in a breath. Then, Aurora looked at Sam pitifully.
“My sister’s demon has cursed your friend. She can
direct her energy through me, a gift only available to very close people. She can
possess me at any time and use my sister and I to her own purposes.”
Jack had lifted Sam off the floor and onto a bed.
Her features were drawn and pale, and her face looked haunted.
“God help you, Danny,” he whispered, “Come home to
her.”
~
And at that precise moment, Daniel would’ve liked
nothing better. Anise was having great fun, pretending to be Belos.
*You really mean to go through with this, don't
you?*
///Listen, all she wants is a child, then we can
get out of here///
*Why can't we get out of here now?*
///Because she still thinks you'll be able to fight
back. She won't let us out of her sight until she's sure I'm Belos///
*And how exactly are you going to do that?*
///By giving her what she wants///
*Oh God.... Listen Anise. Please. Okay. I can't do
this. You understand don't you?*
///Do you want to survive? Or would you rather she
killed us both here and now?///
*She won't kill me, she'll kill you.*
///How about we make a deal? I'll do this for you.
You don't even have to watch! Just pretend to be somewhere else and I'll take
over///
*Thank you. Hey wait! Don't go doing anything I
wouldn't do.*
///I'm Belos now. I'll do what I have to///
Time had barely passed since this conversation
began. The communication was instant, the sentences flashing past like streaks
of lightning. This was not like the telepathy he shared with Sam, this was much
better, purer, wholesome. That was it. He was blended with Anise now. They were
each other.
*Anise? What happened to Freya? And where's Belos?*
///I will tell you. Now is not the time. I think
right now, you had better look away, or you might experience something you
would rather not///
Anise hadn't given him much warning. Now the fun
was really going to start.
~
Aurora took a large sheet of paper from a nearby
shelf and began to draw. Her hands moved quickly and skilfully across the
paper: it was obvious she was not human. After a few minutes, she held it up.
“This is a complete map of Belos’ palace. You
should be able to take it from here.”
Jack took the map and observed it with scepticism,
while trying to hide his awe. Wow, this
girl can draw! Jack eyed the beautiful young woman, wondering what she was
doing for dinner.
“We must leave now.”
“Wait! Come with us! We might need you.”
The words were out before he could stop them.
Aurora watched Jack carefully for a moment, then nodded.
“Yes, that would be best. My father will return to
our planet. Where is your dialling device?”
Jack held his arm out towards the Control Room and
Aurora nodded, before walking through the hallway. Janet looked over to Teal’c
and whispered, “Someone’s got a crush…”
“I concur,” was the reply.
~
Daniel wasn’t thinking about it. Daniel wasn’t
really there. Daniel couldn’t forget it. His own self-disgust was tearing him
apart, as he realised he had committed the greatest betrayal of them all.
Not only had he abandoned Sam, when she was
pregnant no less, but he had allowed himself to turn his entire planet over to
the Goa'uld and let them keep his people as slaves for ever. The fault was his:
the choice was his.
Daniel was not one for hiding the truth from
himself, he knew that however much he tried to deny it, that he would regret
this day for as long as he lived. And if Anise had anything to do with it, it
might be a very long time.
///I believe our disguise is intact. We may plan
our escape very soon///
Daniel hadn't known what to expect: anger,
pleasure, fear? But this cold, calm, collective nature was not what he could
deal with right now,
*Don't you realise what we just did?*
///We did all that was necessary to fool the enemy
and buy ourselves time///
It made sense. At least, it sounded better put that
way. Lies concocted to protect himself from the truth, like a spider’s web. At
any rate, Anise's lack of concern meant that his Tok'ra had moved on and was
already planning their next move. Maybe he should just go along with it, as he
felt he wasn't really capable of making any rational
decisions.
*You're right. Thank you Anise. I don't know what I
would have done without you*
For the first time Anise seemed unsure and
reluctant. ///I'm sorry Daniel. I still miss Freya///
Daniel could have kicked himself. Anise appeared
too detached and in control for everything to be right, things just didn't
happen like that. *Where is she?*
///I don't know. She had been working as an
operative here, spying on the System Lords and she found out about Eliza's
plan. Like a true Tok'ra she offered her life instead and forced open the jar
which contained Belos. She threw him to the ground and killed him, before
implanting me in the jar.///
*But wouldn't she have...*
///Died? Yes, most probably. She would not survive
without a symbiote and it was unlikely that she would have been taken as a host
again///
*So she.... so you... so you both gave up your
lives for me then?*
///Not for you Daniel, for the cause of the Tok'ra
everywhere. We did what was right and honourable and gave everything to fight
the Goa'uld///
*I don't know what to say. Sorry, for everything
I've done to get everyone into this mess in the first place. I'm really
grateful, that both you and Freya did this for me. I'll never forget it*
///Neither will I. But now is not the time for
remembrance, we will have a hard task ahead of us///
*But we'll make it?*
///Of course we will///
Daniel wished he could believe what Anise was
saying, but it sounded like neither of them seriously thought they had a
chance.
~
Aurora looked carefully around this room, wondering
where the dialling device was. All she could see were rows upon rows of endless
metal. Where was it?
“I do not understand! Where is…”
“We don’t actually have one. Our DHD got lost. We
use this computer instead.”
“DHD?”
“Dial-Home Device.”
Aurora smiled, before shutting her eyes, reaching
out to Sam’s mind and then reopened her eyes. She located the ‘dialling
computer’ and moved towards it, typing in several symbols.
“This is where Eliza hides. We will bring back
Sasprai?”
“Yeah, we will.”
Jack was amazed at the confidence in his own voice.
They would save Sasprai, they would save Daniel, they would bring him back to
Sam, they would save Sam…quite a challenge for one day. But they could do it,
and they would. There was no other alternative.
~
#Belos#
Daniel turned to Eliza, to see her face burning
with rage.
#Yet you are not Belos. You are one of the
Resistance. What have you done to my husband?#
#What are you saying? I am Belos…#
#Lies!#
Eliza slapped him, and he fell to the floor, palm
to his cheek.
*What are we going to do?*
///There is nothing to be done. Goodbye, Daniel
Jackson///
Goodbye?
Daniel was confused, until he saw Eliza pick up a device,
a device he had seen before. A Goa’uld remover. Anise…
*Do the Tok’ra have an afterlife?*
///We call it Salvation. Jacob taught me a phrase
once, from your Ancient Rome. We who are about to die salute you///
Daniel felt like crying. Things weren’t supposed to
turn out this way. Eliza pressed the metal to his head. Pain coursed through
him, and Anise shot from his mouth. And Eliza lifted her heel and ground Anise
into the floor. Daniel had to close his eyes. When he opened them again, all
that remained was a blue smear on the floor. Daniel swallowed at the sight,
wondering why fate hated him so very much.
~
Eliza was angry. Very angry. Killing the Tok'ra spy
who had killed her husband wasn't nearly enough. She needed to wreak her
vengeance upon the Universe. And she knew a very good place to start.
Daniel had again been placed in the cold, dark room
where he had arrived. This time he was chained to the wall, apparently Eliza
didn't think her control over her host was certain any more. She was definitely
on edge, and her echoed ramblings reverberated throughout the blackness. Daniel
shuddered. She was insane. Totally.
It seemed that she had had a master plan, and even
if that scheme had involved betraying Belos in the end, she still did not wish
for his death. Now her preparations were in ruins and her dreams of conquest
and glory had hit a very hard wall. She still had the child though; she
desperately clung to the idea that that might just be enough.
She wasn't going to kill Daniel just yet. She knew
he was suffering and that increased her delight in his capture. Besides, he may
have other uses. If she offered him as a host to Cronus, or any of her
pursuers, then they might possibly leave her alone. Allowing her to rise
through the System Lords' ranks unchallenged.
Another thought hit her. Maybe she could use the
Defiant as an ally. An unwilling and unco-operative one at first perhaps, but
she could use his compassion against him and convert him into one of her
followers. Then he could be taken as a host, so to harness his power and kill
the other Goa'uld from within. That could work, although he'd need a bit of
training first. She couldn't rely on him to take down her enemies on his own
now, could she?
~
Daniel had sat there in the darkness, shivering as
he listened to Eliza shrieking her plans to the walls. He now knew what she was
trying to do and that gave him an advantage. Since it looked like he was going
to have a lot of time on his hands, maybe he could figure out a plan of escape
before things got too serious. He couldn't take her lightly though. Despite her
current change of mood, she would still be dangerous, her hurt encouraging her
to go on and do even greater evil. He'd have to be careful, especially now he
was completely alone.
~
Sam awoke to pain. And bright light. Damn it, how
she wished she could just destroy the bloody penlight…
“Get that thing outta my eyes! Where’s Aurora
gone?”
“How did you know that?”
Sam stood up, immediately regretting it, but really
past caring. She knew everything. It seemed Sasprai was fighting back.
“Never mind. Where are they? Have they left yet?”
Sam didn’t wait for an answer. She ran off towards
the Gate Room, realising she could hear the Gate dialling. As she heard the
seventh chevron lock, she made for the Gate room.
“Carter!”
“Sir, I’m coming with you. I know Eliza’s plan.”
~
Eliza looked at Daniel hard. Something had changed,
something subtle, but she couldn’t work out what. Brushing aside her feelings,
putting it down to the usual Defiant ‘background noise’, she continued her
speech.
“You seem an intelligent man. If you could work for
me, then I could give you great riches. Planets of your own, to rule, to toy
with, to destroy. Playing God can be much fun, Daniel Jackson. When in my old
form, my host appeared before me. I knew I could take her, suppress her. She
was a priestess of the Pyramid of Sol. Only a few years ago, a group of people
were taken from Tau’ri and laid on that world by the Asgard. The temple
priestesses learn the sacred language they brought. They speak in it
constantly. It took mastery of mind to overcome it, but I am greatly blessed.”
Eliza preened, as Daniel attempted to grasp that
long speech. People taken from Earth recently?
The latest civilisation they had encountered was Tananai’s people, descended
from the Native American peoples. How many years back, what kind of
culture…Daniel caught himself. What was he thinking? He was in a dungeon, on a
Goa’uld mother ship and he was thinking about culture? Serious insanity.
Suddenly, Eliza stopped and clasped her hand to her
head.
“No, she’s here, it can’t be…”
Slowly, Eliza sank to the floor, screaming for
Belos, before she slumped to the floor. The symbiot shot from her mouth and
onto the ground.
“What the…”
Then, gradually, the woman clambered to her feet
and looked straight at him.
“How now, Daniel? Thou seemst a little taken.”
~
There was silence for a moment, as Daniel stared at
the symbiot writhing on the floor.
“But how? But who? But she?”
“I see my presence is not what you anticipated, as
these events are indeed unexpected. My given name is Sasprai, though none have
called me that for many years.”
“…” Daniel opened his mouth as if to say something,
but no words would come; he seemed almost in shock.
“I may be Defiant, but I am also a twin, the bond
shared by my sister and I is magic that even she could not understand. She has
arrived on this planet, after almost her lifetime’s worth of searching and that
it what caused Eliza to fall from me.” She spoke the Goa’uld’s name as a curse,
something that ruined many innocent lives, which of course Eliza did. Daniel
felt that there was going to be a lot of explaining.
“Hey, can you release me? I’m kind of stuck.”
“Yes, I shall.”
Sasprai drew an ornate key from her belt and
unlocked the stiff chains. Daniel fell forward, and Sasprai caught him,
supporting him as he regained his balance.
“You are safe now, but your friends are in grave
danger. Aurora, my sister, may appear pure, but she is afflicted with It.”
“With what?”
“Evil. Pure, undeniable evil”
Sasprai bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes.
“When the people of Saphyr made their Defiant gene
pool, some mutated into Evil. They are known among Defiant as the Adari.”
“Sasprai, how
is Aurora…”
“Adari, when I am Defiant? Our mother was an Adari:
one of us had to carry the genes. That was Aurora. I take after my father. But,
Daniel, there is no time. We must find your friends, before Aurora takes them!”
~
Capsicum looked up from her work, as a dull tone
told her someone was approaching her door. She smiled, she knew who it was, who
it always was. Mancini appeared in the doorway, his purple skin highlighted
even more by the blue-ish tinge given off by her lamp. His face looked set
though, as if he had terrible news to tell her.
“What is it?” she asked.
The tall Saphyrian stood tall and looked her
directly in the eye. “The Tau’ri Defiant, the one we vowed must never be found,
was taken as a host.”
Her face fell, though not entirely in shock. “We
should have warned them… We knew that the Goa’uld strongholds in their galaxy
were getting too close…”
“He is no longer one, though he was possessed and
his blood was merged to form another.”
“Another Defiant!”
“And now she has become pregnant, bearing a Defiant
child.”
Capsicum closed her eyes, as if thinking quickly.
“Then we have no choice. We must find them and destroy them. We can set up
another Defiant host on the other planet nearby, what’s it called again?”
“Do you seriously think we can do that? That we
would be able to kill them? No. We must find another solution, and fast. The
Goa’uld are closing in on their planet, we don’t have much time.”
“I’ll prepare our ship. Do the others know?”
“Only Keogh, but he won’t give us away. He was
there when the transmission came through.”
“We’ll leave by nightfall. Tell no-one what’s going
on and don’t tell them where we’re going.”
“Of course I won’t. I know the risks. I’ve been
there.”
Capsicum stood up then, and touched Mancini’s face
gently.
“I know, my love. But we must all make our
sacrifices. The Defiant were the best thing that could’ve happened to our
world, but look what we have done! Condemned a race of innocents to damnation.
That is why we are here, Mancini, to protect them. And if we must kill one to
save the rest, it must be so.”
“Capsicum, how can you say that? We cannot murder,
anymore than we can abandon our Defiant. We must use the Final Amendment…”
“Not yet! It is too early! The situation is in
hand.…”
“This is far beyond our control, and you know it!”
Mancini broke away from his wife, turning her back
to her.
“The Defiant will triumph, Mancini, all on their
own. We just have to give them time.”
“Time is the one thing they don’t have.”
~
“So, this place looks a little …odd.”
“Be silent, O’Neill. I feel her presence.”
Aurora grabbed hold of Jack’s wrist, leading him
forward, while he just shrugged and motioned for Teal’c and Sam to follow. They
were in a dark, damp system of caves that Aurora swore ran under Eliza’s
palace. The Stargate was inside there to prevent intruders. There was usually
only traffic via rings, she said. And Jack had no reason to doubt her. Sam
followed behind, aware of the wide range of senses she could feel around her,
unidentifiable yet definitely tangible. Then, she felt something dark pervade
this aura, something of purest evil…
“Sir, I think she’s close. I can sense her.”
“So, you’re getting this bad mojo too?”
Sam smiled then, before speaking again.
“Yeah, you could say that. And it’s quite close by,
but its not getting closer of moving further away. Are we going round in
circles?”
“I feel this too. She’s probably above us, so the
distance is constant.”
Sam could’ve kicked herself. Of course that was the
explanation. How could she be so blind?
Aurora and Jack dipped round a corner, and Sam and
Teal’c moved to follow.
“Er…Teal’c, where did they go?”
“I know not, Major Carter. This appears to be solid
rock.”
Sam frowned, and closed her eyes, trying to find
Aurora, but she couldn’t find her presence. So, she reached for Daniel. I must be in range now.
*Sam? Where are you? You must be close…*
[{(Aurora, that’s Eliza’s host’s sister, gave us
this address. Are you okay?)}]
*I will be. Sam, where is Aurora? Keep her in
sight…*
Sam could sense his fear, the sense of danger in
his mind.
[{(Daniel? What is it? What about Aurora?)}]
*Sam, she’s evil! You have to stop her!*
“Major Carter, are you well?”
Sam opened her eyes, giving Teal’c a look of
terror.
“I think Aurora just kidnapped Jack.”
~
"Aurora... where are we going? What about Sam
and Teal'c?" Jack was clearly puzzled.
"Shh.. They don't matter, now that we're alone
together, we can finally do what we want."
"Which is what
exactly?"
"You know, there aren't many men like you on
my home planet. You would be considered a rarity."
"Good rarity or bad rarity?"
"What do you think?" Aurora moved closer,
till she was standing face to face with Jack. "Will you let me..?"
"Let you do what?"
Aurora leaned closer to Jack, her sweet musky scent
drowning him in its intensity. Her rich lips met with his, as she forced him
against the wall. She pressed herself close against him, moulding herself to
his form. Jack’s mind was screaming at him to stop, but he couldn’t seem to
break away. This is so wrong, but what
the hell? Jack seized her waist, and, together, they sunk to the ground.
~
Sam thumped the wall in frustration.
“There’s no way through this damn thing!”
*Sam, I’m coming to you. Hang…*
Sam lost connection. She turned to Teal’c, touched
his arm briefly and ran off towards Daniel. She could sense him now, his strong
presence filtering through her numbed mind. But something was wrong, she could
feel it. He was in trouble again. She ran towards a bright light and up a
flight of stairs. She raced down the corridor, feeling him getting nearer. She
rounded the corner and…
“Daniel!”
Sam gasped in shock. Daniel was lying in a pool of
his own blood, while a strange woman cradled him in her lap, a dead Jaffa by
her side. She looked up.
“Help him. Please. You must save him.”
Sam crashed to her knees, checking for a pulse and
trying to identify the wound.
“His back. The weapon caught him there.”
Sam gently turned him over, unto her own lap, and
saw the bloody wound.
“Oh Daniel…”
She supported his chest, as Teal’c helped her
loosely cover the wound, before hoisting him to his feet and coaxing him to
walk.
*Bloody hell…it hurts…Sam, please…*
[{(Come on Daniel! We’re gonna get you back. You’ll
heal soon enough. C’mon, love…)}]
*Yes ma’am*
Even telepathy seemed a strain to him. They started
on their journey back to the Gate.
~
Meanwhile, back at the SGC, General Hammond stared
around his office in dismay. The total chaos left as the aftermath of Ra’s
infiltration and attempted elimination of the base had left quite a few
personnel unsettled to say the least, and a few had taken leave, possibly
requesting transfer to another operation. They were significantly understaffed
and the paperwork was mounting up. And as an unfortunate coincidence to this,
SG1 were off on some apparently hopeless mission, with someone he didn’t entirely
trust. Hammond found Aurora’s story not entirely convincing and didn’t believe
she had his team’s best interests at heart.
He turned sharply at the sound of a persistent
knock, and saw Janet Frasier waiting respectfully outside his door. “Dr. Frasier?”
“I just wanted to tell you that we’ve sorted the
staff problems in the infirmary. With a couple of us working a couple more
shifts, we should be all right until we get a replacement for Dr. Smith.”
“Yes, I’m sorry we had to lose him, he was fitting
in well here.”
“I just think the whole situation got to him and he
said he would feel happier working at an alternative facility. To be honest, I
think he made the right decision, sir.”
“All right then.” He hesitated before asking his
next question, the implications obviously weighing heavily on his mind. “Do you
think SG1 will return home safely, Doctor?”
It was the last thing Janet wanted to think about,
“They always have before. And this time they have the Defiant abilities to
guide them.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Personally, that’s what Janet was thinking too. She
sent up a silent prayer to whoever may be out there, who was not a Goa’uld,
then swiftly left.
She had got about half-way down the corridor, when
the sirens started and the computer droned ‘off-world activation’. Janet froze.
No one off-world. That’s what the
technician had said, as she had walked out. Janet turned around and ran
straight into the Gate room.
The iris rolled open, and almost immediately Sam
and Teal’c stumbled through the Gate, supporting Daniel between them. A young
girl came through afterwards, covered in blood. Janet noted that she looked
remarkably similar to Aurora.
“Janet! Help us!”
Janet came up towards them, a gurney nearby. Sam
and Teal’c helped Daniel gently onto the gurney, and the medics wheeled him
off, followed by Janet. Another nurse walked up to Sasprai, and frowned.
“Are you alright, love?”
“I shall be, good maiden. But first I must see to
my saviour. This blood is not my own, do not fear. I shall be quite fine.”
The medic nodded slowly, before heading off down
the corridor. The General ran down to the Gate room.
“Where’s Jack? And Aurora?”
“General Hammond, I believe we have a problem.”
Sam was trying to concentrate on what they were
saying, but reality was slipping away.
“Major Carter?”
Daniel’s mental scream was too much, and she
slipped into unconsciousness.
~
"Why does this keep happening?!" Janet
yelled in frustration, as yet again, Sam and Daniel were both laid out
unconscious in the infirmary.
"Dr. Fraiser?" Teal'c asked politely,
"It seems that whenever Daniel Jackson is injured, because of his link to
Major Carter, they suffer as one."
Janet sighed. She already knew that. At least she thought she did. They suffer as one. It's like some tragic, evil fairytale, where
good ends up being corrupted and evil ends up winning. Though, if Sam was
taking some of Daniel's pain, then they both should come around quicker, and
that was something she supposed.
"Do you know where Colonel O'Neill is?"
Janet asked Teal'c.
"I am afraid not," he answered.
"Do you think they know where he is?" She indicated towards Sam and Daniel.
"It would not surprise me."
Janet agreed. Things were turning out to be just
too weird this time around.
"When they wake up, I suppose you'll all be
tearing off again," Janet said it almost wistfully.
"My symbiot tells me maybe not."
Janet chose not to answer this last comment. She
was having too much of a confusing day already.
~
"It seems we're arriving at a bad time,
Capsicum," Mancini said, as he looked down upon the two unconscious
Defiant.
"No time would be a good time," she
responded. She watched the two of them, both obviously in some kind of pain,
though it was lessening as the moments passed. "We should make ourselves
known to them yet."
"We can't wait long," Mancini insisted.
Capsicum smiled sadly, "I know. But we must
give them just a little longer."
~
Sasprai stood in this room, knowing herself
captive, and resenting her trust of these people. Suddenly, she could hear
something. Not in the air – in the mind. She closed her eyes and smiled. The
Creators were present. Sasprai cloaked herself, and knocked softly on the door.
The guard slowly opened the door, and stared in shock at the empty room.
Sasprai slipped past him, and ran quickly down the corridor. She followed the
strong presence, and realised the Creators were with her Defiant friends. She
slipped into the infirmary, and ‘saw’ the Creators hovering above the Defiants’
sleeping forms. She called to them.
‘/’Creators? You have come for us?’/’
Mancini and Capsicum turned to Sasprai, aware of
what she was and who she was, but still puzzled to her presence.
“What are you doing here, Sasprai of Defiant? Our
last word from you was that…”
‘/’Eliza had taken me. Yes, but I am blessed. Oh,
Creators, why have you forsaken us? My friends did not even know of you’/’
Sasprai gestured to Sam and Daniel, and Capsicum
smiled sadly.
“This planet is indeed crowded. Four Defiant here
at once…”
‘/’Four, Creators? Only us three, and Aurora…’/’
“AURORA!” Mancini roared, obviously distraught,
“When did she appear? We must remove her from this place, take her back to
Saphyr…”
Sasprai shook her head sadly.
‘/’Aurora has escaped, and taken one of these
people with her. They were deceived by her’/’
Capsicum sobbed despairingly.
“Then, we are already too late.”
~
If this was all there was to getting captured, Jack
thought, he might as well do it more often. His time with Aurora hadn't exactly
been unpleasant, but he was anxious about her motives to say the least. She was
asleep now, if he was going to escape, now would be a good time, but deep down
he knew, that it made no difference whether Aurora was awake or not. She'd
still know if he was gone, something to do with being able to sense things on
different levels to humans. Or something along those lines anyway.
Something which did seem to be a good idea though,
was to go about finding himself a weapon. Aurora had taken his rifle and
sidearm at the first opportunity she got, but she obviously wasn't sure how to
work them and had just dumped them over in a corner. Jack wouldn't have risked
even attempting to get his hands on one with Aurora around, so now would
probably be one of the few chances he got.
He crawled over to the weapons and debated which to
take. He decided on the smaller, lighter pistol, since it was both quieter and
easier to conceal. It was still ready to fire, from when he had last held it,
all it would take would be for him to pull the trigger and he could shoot
Aurora whilst she was defenceless. But then she'd probably recover anyway,
being Defiant, and he'd have no clue how to escape from here and he'd die of
starvation anyway.
But at least he had a choice now and that made Jack
feel better. He was almost back in control now. Almost. He just needed a bit
more information.... or a rescue party to come and get him. He wasn't bothered
which.
~
Sam felt herself surfacing, and was already aware
of a presence around her. She opened her eyes, and screamed. Physically and
mentally.
“Sam? What’s wrong?”
Janet ran over, and placed her hand reassuringly on
her shoulder. Sam looked straight ahead, staring at the strange beings hovering above her bed.
“Janet,” she whispered, “There are Saphyr above my
bed.”
“What?
Saphyr? What’s that, Sam?”
“Not ‘that’, Janet. Whom.”
Sam looked up at the Saphyr and began to
communicate.
[{(What are you doing here, Creators? I know you
from what Daniel told me, but why are you here?)}]
Capsicum drifted down to Sam’s level and Sam met
her gaze. Janet just watched, as Sam apparently stared into empty space. Over
to her right, Daniel began to stir, and Sam glanced across at him.
[{(Is this about Sasprai? Aurora? Or is it…)}]
“Daniel of Defiant blessed you while under Goa’uld
control. However, you share true love, and you are therefore now Samantha of
Defiant. This is very dangerous. And if that was not enough, you now carry a
Defiant child, the purest of our created.”
Sam nodded slowly, just as Daniel awoke. She
smiled.
[{(Daniel, you are awake)}]
*Yeah, looks that way. Why are the Creators here?*
Sam looked back at Capsicum, as Mancini ‘sat’ on
the edge of Daniel’s bed.
“We are here to help you. For centuries, the
Defiant have looked to the Creators for aid and guidance. And, in return, we
ask only one thing.”
Capsicum glanced at Mancini, and he looked at
Daniel, tears in his wide eyes.
“The Defiant shall not have children.”
[{(Hey, that wasn’t our fault!)}]
*We didn’t exactly ask for this. Sam didn’t even
want to be Defiant! And I had no idea…*
“That is our fault. We have been trying to locate
the tenth Defiant ancestor for many years, since they were scattered amongst
the stars. Because the Goa’uld transplanted so many from your world, we were
unsure if she had been moved. We now know that she created many Defiant, and a
few Adari, on Tau’ri. Daniel of Defiant is descended from her line. We are most
apologetic, that we didn’t reach you, that we couldn’t save Samantha. We are
truly regretting leaving you for so long.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Sam forgot herself, whispering the words quietly,
and then repeating them telepathically. Janet watched the two scientists
carefully, as their faces changed to expressions of complete horror. Sam
gasped, and Daniel moved to put his arm around her, hugging her close to him.
Sasprai became visible and went over to them, also looking sorrowful. Janet was
amazed – where did she come from?
Suddenly, a tray of instruments soared into the air
and smashed against the wall, as Daniel glanced up, eyes full of anger.
“How could you do this to us? How could you do
THIS?”
A glass vial rose into the air and crashed onto the
floor, splintering on impact. Another exploded.
“Daniel, please stop. Before someone gets hurt,”
Sam whispered, rocking herself, sinking back into Daniel’s embrace.
Mancini and Capsicum glanced at each other
sorrowfully, before turning to the Defiant present.
“Sasprai of Defiant, please return to your world.
Daniel and Samantha of Defiant, we will search for the Tau’ri that was
captured. Expect our return.”
The Saphyr raised their hands in salute, before
floating down the corridor. In the distant, the Stargate was beginning to dial.
Janet walked slowly towards the three people, holding each other helplessly.
“Sam? Daniel? What’s happening?”
Sasprai looked up at her, shaking her head sadly.
“The Saphyr must not allow three Defiant on one
world. Samantha must leave you.”
Sasprai paused, and then looked up sharply.
“Or, face death.”