It's funny, because I remember a time when it seemed that the Sci Fi channel (I refuse to call it Scyfy because I'm a stubborn idiot that way) wasn't airing anything but Stargate Sg-1 reruns, that fucking Battlestar Gallactica remake and promos for Caprica, so it seems perfectly natural that now that I have an interest in the former I'm lucky if I can catch the final fifteen minutes of an episode. This story takes place during season ten because it's the only season I'm all that familiar with and because I'm planning on writing a scene in which Adria fights a fire demon while dual wielding two battle axes that are named Havoc and Malice, and I will it get into the story at any cost. I know a lot of you guys might be thinking that these two series may not fit together, which is kind of (very) important when you're doing a crossover fic, but I think I might have found a way to fit in The Elder God, his Wheel of Fate and a lot of other LOK mythology with Stargate's Ascension stuff.
And so I can write a scene in which Adria fights a fire demon while wielding two battle axes that are named Havoc and Malice.
And in the end, we need more stories in which that happens.
The Pillars had fallen to the Ori.
Of the members of SG-1 who had been present the battle between Kain's forces and the Ori Soldiers; it was perhaps only Teal'c who immediately understood the significance of the battle that had just been lost. Throughout this tiny blue planet, there was one single belief, one undeniable truth that united all of the people of Nosgoth, that the Pillars were the embodiment of the world's soul. That the entire planet's health was tied to those amazing edifices, which rose so high into the air they were visible from space. When SG-1 had first stumbled upon the planet nearly six years before they had been amazed by them, nine columns of cracked marble, each one marked with a strange eldritch symbol that even Daniel Jackson had been unable to decipher. They had been the first of many wonders that the team had encountered during their first expedition to the planet.
Nosgoth was the first planet in the entire Milky Way that had offered up anything more than token resistance to the Ori. The people of this wretched, dying world fought the Ori like starving, rabid dogs, and through their magic (Even Daniel Jackson had given up trying to correct everyone after some of the things he had seen), numbers, and sheer vicious and stubborn will they would not fall so easily. Still, it seemed that Nosgoth would fall as all the same, The Pillars, a symbol of hope for all of it's people, no matter what banner they lived under, had been captured by the enemy. Even if the battle had somehow been won it seemed inevitable. Nosgoth's people would never convert to Origin, but that didn't mean that their planet couldn't be devastated by the Ori battlecruiser that currently hung in orbit.
In fact, Teal'c had often wondered why this hadn't been done already, the Prior that seemed to be in charge of the whole campaign on the planet had apparently voiced his desire to see every man, woman, and child on this miserable heretical planet burnt to ash for their blasphemous ways on numerous occasions, but he still refrained from simply targeting the major population centers on the planet with the battlecruiser's main weapon. Instead the Ori forces had been pouring far more resources than they usually did to take control of the planet. Perhaps they were looking for something specific, maybe Adria believed that this was the location of the Sangraal, or maybe they simply intended to steal the secrets of magic from the populace. Either way, the restraint, however reluctant, was the only thing keeping the planet wide resistance from being completely toppled.
But now that the Pillars of Nosgoth were under Ori control, it seemed to Teal'c that it was only a matter of time before the planet as a whole surrendered. Why they had not been more heavily defended was anyone's guess, perhaps they had been, and whatever guardians that were in place had simply already been overwhelmed by the time Kain's militia had arrived to do battle. Maybe the Circle of Nine, powerful sorcerers who drew their powers from the Pillars and because of this fact wielded a great deal of political power on the planet had simply never thought of it. Judging from the bitter complaints Teal'c had heard both times he was on the planet it seemed that a great deal of the population was dissatisfied with the current Circle, considering them corrupt or incompetent. Or both.
But there was no doubt who the blame for the loss would be heaped upon.
His name was Kain.
At thirty years old, Kain was considered middle aged to the common folk of Nosgoth; even among the upper class life expectancy was fifty to sixty years old. And Kain, who never failed to remind even his closest friends of his noble heritage, was definitely upper class. The Nobleman had made a name for himself at a young age, when at twenty years old he slaughtered a pack of werewolves who had terrorized his hometown of Coorhagen for generations. A mage of no small skill, he had further cemented his reputation as a bloodthirsty, ruthless barbarian during his service in King Ottmar of Willendorf's army. Kain may not have been known throughout the land, but when his legend did spread, it painted a picture of him as a brutal, vicious monster with an unparallel appetite for combat, money, and sex.
At first SG-1 had found it difficult to reconcile the man with his reputation. Kain had a short temper and a sharp tongue to be sure, he was arrogant and proud, greedy and cynical, but Kain had hardly struck them as a merciless killing machine who left a trail of dead bodies and bastard children in his wake. Kain had protected and sheltered them from a group of Witch Hunters who believed them to be demons. It was he who argued their case and with their help he had drawn out the true perpetrators of the crime SG-1 had been framed for. Kain was a bastard to be sure, but he was also an ally, and indeed, a friend.
Today Teal'c, Vala, and Daniel had caught a glimpse of the ferocious devil warrior spoken of in half whispers on the streets of Coorhagen. The man was a whirlwind in battle, spewing bolts of energy from one hand while cutting down anyone in his path with his other, Kain was a berserker with a talent for bloodletting. He had the gift of rage, but he was a master of that rage and he never let it get the better of him.
In spite of the man's insufferable arrogance, Teal'c couldn't help but respect him, and the thought of him being blamed or even punished for the loss rankled.
When Daniel's radio had crackled a warning that Ori soldiers were headed for the Pillars, Kain had rerouted the men under his command, and had immediately headed to aid in the defense of the sacred place. Outnumbered and outgunned, and facing an enemy possessing far greater technology and weapons Kain had planned a brilliant strategy that had given them a chance. But in the end, it was not enough, Kain's men had been decimated, cut down to a mere three dozen, even the great Kain was human. His men were human, and even they must fall to the laws of probability. Bloodied, broken, exhausted and afraid they now trudged down the narrow path towards the nearest town. The full moon was high in the sky and in the distance a monster that was once a man howled in moon born fury.
Vala hobbled along, leaning on Daniel a bit more than necessary. Kain led all of them down the path. He was not a handsome man by any means, and stained in blood, soot and gore, he looked downright frightening. His shoulder length coal black (and starting to turn gray at the roots) hair tied in a ponytail, and his white and gold chain mail armor pockmarked and even burnt in some places, Kain was already a shadow of his former glory. This was not just a defeat in battle, this was overwhelming loss, and Teal'c suspected that the fact the nobleman had survived the fiasco made it all the more galling. Teal'c shook his head, even if Kain's reputation wasn't destroyed by the loss; he suspected his sense of pride would never mend. Kain had not just lost a battle; he might just have lost the entire war by allowing those Pillars to fall into Ori hands.
So naturally Vala wouldn't shut up.
"And…why can't we stop again?" She asked. Loudly.
Kain hunched his shoulders and lowered his head.
"You may feel free, at any time, to leave us and stay behind Vala. I'm sure whatever stumbles across you will be courteous enough to only eat you after it's killed you."
Daniel chuckled in spite of himself. And even Teal'c was glad to see that Kain's sense of humor had not left him completely.
"I mean, can't we make camp? I think my foot's broken…" Vala said mournfully.
"It's not broken." Daniel said flatly.
"How do you know?"
"Because you twisted your ankle? I saw you do it?" Daniel suggested. He pretended to look thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I'm thinking that."
"I am sure you would be much more comfortable resting in a town or village than out in the wilderness." Teal'c offered as he quickened his pace.
As if to punctuate the statement, something in the forest started to sing a nursery rhyme in a voice that wasn't quite human. The three members of SG-1 were wise enough not to ask what it was. They probably didn't want to know.
Teal'c passed Daniel and Vala (who had become silent and turned white as a sheet after the voice had screamed her name, told her she was going to die alone and then proceeded to laugh maniacally) to walk with Kain. While he may have wanted to be alone, Teal'c thought it was best that he wasn't.
"You did all that you could have done."
"Yes. I did, didn't I?" Kain answered in a tone was such that that the Jaffa couldn't quite tell if he was serious or not. "And yet it was not enough."
"No. No it was not. But the fact remains, you are not to blame." Teal'c offered.
"True." Was all he could say, for what else was there to say? Nothing. Nothing more than a question. "It seemed that Vala knew the commander of the Ori forces? Who was he?" He finally asked.
Teal'c took a moment to look back at the woman, who was now hobbling along at an admirable pace, practically dragging Daniel along.
"His name is Tomin." Teal'c answered at last.
"And?"
"He is Vala's husband."
There was a moment of silence.
"Pity." Was all Kain could say.
"Indeed."
"I thought she was just beginning to warm up to me." Kain growled.
"She is not entirely faithfully to the bonds of their marriage." Teal'c offered.
The voice in the woods had now begun to insult Daniel.
"I mean it is a pity I'm going to have to kill him." Kain snapped.
"This is a war. Tomin is a commander in an army bent on taking over your planet and subjugating your people. I am sure that she will understand, that in the heat of battle-"
"I'm going to kill him." The implication was clear. Kain had taken his defeat as a personal insult, and was focusing his indignation, his sheer rage, on Tomin.
"You must not loose sight of your goal. Your entire world is at stake, now is not the time for personal vendettas."
"Do not presume to lecture me, Jaffa. I know my duty." Venom crept into Kain's voice.
"Do you? I have seen many a warrior blinded by their own wounded egos. All of their skill and strength rendered useless because they are unable to separate their emotions from their objectives."
Kain stopped and turned to Teal'c, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. Everyone stopped to watch as the two stared each other down.
"Are you saying I am unfit for command? Perhaps I am, but that is not four you to decide, Offworlder." Kain growled.
"No. Your skills on the battlefield are unquestionable. But you are also human, mortal. I have seen other walk the path you have already begun to tread. It has destroyed each and every one of them in time."
Kain stared hard for a while, at first it seemed as thought he might be angered by the words, that he might even start a fight, but in the end he closes his eyes and nodded.
"I see the wisdom in your words, Jaffa. And I will try to heed them."
"KAIN! KAIN! YOU WHO FOUGHT! YOU WHO FAILED! NOW ALL OF NOSGOTH WILL FOLLOW YOU INTO HELL! AHAHAHAHAHA!" The voice in the woods cackled.
Kain was silent for a moment.
"Go on. I will join you in a moment. Follow the signs marked Ziegsturhl, they will take you to the town Colonel Mitchell agreed he would meet us at." With that Kain drew his sword and headed off into the woods.
"You know, if I wasn't already a married woman, I could use a man like him around the house." Vala yipped.
"Oh, I'm sure he has similar thoughts about you." Daniel quipped.
A half hour later Kain rejoined them, his hair singed and covered in sticky gray blood that smelled of rotting fish and burning rubber. Gore and viscera dripping from his sword.
He seemed in much higher spirits.
Ahhh, maybe not my best work, but it is my first attempt at diving into an Stargate fan fiction and I am relatively new to the franchise. Any suggestions are welcome.