By Psycho Llama
Disclaimer: I do not own StarGate the movie or Stargate SG-1 the series. Life is unfair.
"Banishment!" Klorel cried in disgust, "Father, what is the meaning of this?"
"You have failed me too many times, my son. If it had not been for your weakness we would not have failed in eliminating the Tau'ri threat and I would not have lost an army because of your foolishness! You are a disgrace to the Goa'uld, how you yield to your host's demands," Apophis hissed in rage.
"I do not!" Klorel yelled, almost throwing a tantrum where he stood. They had escaped to Chulak berley a second before it was too late. And now his father was banishing him to some God-forsaken backwater planet with no hope of ever returning.
Jaffa guards guarded every possible means of escape while two more grabbed Klorel, ready to lead him to the Stargate. Klorel struggled against the guards, unable to activate the ribbon device on his hand, "Father, you cannot do this!" Klorel screeched in anger.
"Oh yes I can!" Apophis growled before leaving the room.
Klorel could only watch in terror as the Jaffa guards dragged him down to the Chaapa'ai grounds of Chulak. He was not strong enough to fight them off. He tried bargaining, threatening, screaming… and finally pleading, but they did not let him go.
Klorel went limp with fear. He had heard stories about the planet he was being banished to. It was one of the places all Goa'uld knew to stay away from.
Ra had once let slip that a biological weapon his scientists had been developing on that accident had gone horribly wrong. A weapon built to kill rival Goa'uld, which was one reason no Goa'uld ever went there, for fear of coming into contact with the disease that had been let out into the open air. And in this freedom, the Tau'ri had rebelled and reclaimed the planet as their own. In further paranoia that a Jaffa could accidentally travel to the planet and bring the disease back through his symbiote and wipe out all of the Goa'uld, the System Lords sent a Tau'ri slave to the planet to destroy the DHD device.
So the planet contained a disease that would kill any Goa'uld that entered the atmosphere, was populated by rebel Tau'ri and the DHD device was destroyed. Apophis wasn't 'grounding' Klorel, he was killing him.
"You cannot do this to me! I am your God!" Klorel yelled. One of the Jaffa was already at work dialling up the Chaapa'ai. The Jaffa restraining Klorel said nothing. Klorel shrank away from the Stargate once it was activated in fear. The guards began to pull him towards it, Klorel almost whimpering.
Just before the Goa'uld prince was hurled into the blue abyss, one of the guards grabbed him by the shoulder, "Master Bra'tac wishes you well on your journey, false God."
Klorel's eyes went wide, both his host body's and his own, "Rebel Jaffa!" he growled, almost in disbelief. He felt a jerk and turned his head to see the universe flying past him as the Jaffa threw him into the Stargate, where his fate on the planet "Ini-herit"
oOoOoOo
Sena felt the hot suns bear down on her aching back as she made the laborious journey up the hill to where the Chaapa'ai rested. Her hard leather sandals at least made the journey over the dry, pebbly terrain less painful. Unfortunately, the Romanesque dress she was wearing made it difficult to go very fast up the hill by limiting how far she could place one foot from another.
When she finally made it to the rocky platform that the Chaapa'ai was situated on, she collapsed onto the nearest rock, panting in exhaustion. Everyone in the village had a job and every job had a person from the village. Her job was to make sure the Chaapa'ai and the surrounding temple were in perfect condition and spotlessly clean. She was the daughter of an architect, and the only one actually suited for the job. As a woman, she could never truly be an architect. But no man who knew architecture was willing to take the job, because it involved cleaning. Cleaning, Sena smirked, was 'woman's work'.
Sena picked herself up and walked into the roofless temple, checking to see that none of the plants that grew here for decoration had died. She heard something unusual and froze mid-stride. 'Whimpering?' the girl wondered, waiting to see if she'd hear it again.
There it was, a definite snivel and whimper coming from the centre of the temple, where the Chaapa'ai was raised to a cloudless sky. Sena walked faster, trying to think who would be up here at this hour. People usually came here to pray, but most people came at either sunset or sunrise, not at midday!
"Hello? Who's there?" Sena called. It was hard to see anyone in the temple grounds. The temple surrounding the Chaapa'ai was constructed mainly of pillars and small gardens. From the centre it looked like an optical illusion.
The whimpering stopped as soon as Sena spoke and rustling was heard. Klorel was cowering behind a pillar near the Chaapa'ai, his hands firmly clasped over the back of his neck, as if he could protect himself inside of his host from the disease with just his hands. Nightmarish thoughts on how slowly he would die when the disease finally took hold kept him cowering where he was… until he head a voice.
Klorel poked his head around the pillar, catching a glimpse of a Tau'ri girl searching the temple, obviously for him. He regarded her disdainfully, from the plain 'servant-grade' dress she wore to her shoulder-length, dry and slightly frizzy brunette hair. Nothing in comparison with the raven-haired seductresses and dancers that served as his loyal slaves back on Chulak… 'Ooh, how I miss Chulak!' Klorel's mind wailed in despair.
"Oh my…"
Klorel jumped at the sound of the girl's voice right behind him. The girl just stood there, stunned by his appearance, her hands clasped over her mouth. Klorel scowled up at her, doing his best to wipe the traces of moisture off his face.
The girl's expression changed from shock to worry, "…Are you alright?" Sena asked, crouching down beside him.
"Tau'ri scum!" Klorel hissed, getting up quickly, "You will be punished for your insolence!"
Sena was speechless; she could only stare at the youth enrobed in gold and fine linen. 'He can't be… no… a God?'
"Do not stare at me!" Klorel yelled, in full tantrum-mode, "Or I swear I shall have your village burned to the ground!"
"Who are you, exactly?" Sena asked, scowling. She also stood, the youth's last comment offending her. Who was he to think that he could yell at her like that? She never let any man tell her what to do, and this pompous little brat would be no exception.
"I am Lord Klorel, your God," the Goa'uld growled, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light.
"I have never heard of a 'Lord Klorel' before," Sena folded her arms, "I do not believe you are a God, Klorel, and I will not let you yell at me like that either!"
Klorel pursed his lips together, glaring daggers at the Tau'ri girl, although his host was warning him to keep his temper, 'If you strike her you could loose all chance of ruling these people. She does not seem the type to go down quietly.'
"My name is Klorel, son of Apophis. I wish you to take me to the leader of your village immediately," Klorel ordered, going to great lengths to keep his calm about him.
"Son of Apophis?" Sena echoed. Her brown eyes darted over him once again, trying to perceive if he was an immediate threat to her.
Klorel smirked proudly at her little hint of fear, "Yes, son of Apophis. And who would you be?"
'Don't even try to charm her, Klorel,' Skaara told him, 'She'll never fall for you.'
'Silence, host.'
"My name is Sena, daughter of Dakarius… the head architect," Sena added after a moment with Klorel's inquiring look.
'The daughter of an architect…' Klorel thought with disappointment.
'And still too good for you,' Skaara's mind laughed.
'I said SILENCE, host!'
Sena scowled, she knew the look on the youth's face well, even if it was far more disdainful than any she had seen previous, "Don't look at me like that," she told him in a low, dangerous voice. She turned and led the way out of the temple without another word.
'Wow…' Skaara thought with admiration, 'She's too good for you and she knows it!'
'Oh shut up!' Klorel inwardly groaned.
Sena lead the way down the stone mosaic path that wound it's way around the pillars. Klorel caught sight of the brilliant view before him. The rocky platform on the side of the hill gave a perfect view of the whole main village, the grand pyramid in the East and another temple built around a tall obelisk in the West.
It was one of the few perks of making the laborious walk up the path.
"Come, this village is this way," Sena told him automatically, making her way down the winding path with Klorel following behind her.
"Why did you come here?" Sena asked quietly, turning her head back briefly to look Klorel in the eye.
"It was not by choice. I… came here mistakenly," Klorel lied.
"Hmm… the Gods never choose to visit our planet. Except for our God Ra…" Sena sighed. Klorel quirked an eyebrow at her sigh, was that out of loneliness or just pure boredom. Sena cleared her throat, "But that was a long time ago. Our Lord Ra hasn't visited us in a long time. Yerik, the head priest, is very worried by this. He says 'If the Gods do not hear our calls then we shall have to summon Ra ourselves'… I don't think anyone really knows what he's saying by that."
'Oh if only they knew the real reason why the Gods no longer visit this infertile wasteland… Oh no! I wonder if I have caught the disease yet…' Klorel thought in a sudden bout of panic.
"You sound very interested in the ways of the Gods," Klorel observed, to keep the girl talking.
"I am responsible for the tidiness of the Chaapa'ai temple, it would be good if someone actually used it once in a while."
Klorel had to chuckle at her this, despite their situation, "And yet the Gods choose not to come here because the Chaapa'ai is broken."
"Broken?" Sena stopped in her tracks, "But… you came through it—"
"It is missing the stone altar with the symbols for the Chaapa'ai on it…" rather than reveal a weakness, Klorel decided not to tell the girl what the DHD was for, "It was only because I am a God that I survived the voyage here whereas my Jaffa did not. I doubt any of you Tau'ri would be able to be transported through the Chaapa'ai in the current state that it is in either."
'Hmm… the device he describes could be the one I found in the Temple of the Sun…' Sena mused.
'Klorel, don't. I have friends like Sena back on Abydos. All you will do is get us both seriously injured if you try anything on her…'
"And how is it that a beautiful young female like yourself should end up having to care for the Chaapa'ai? It's a horribly long walk," Klorel leered, keeping his voice low.
"Flattery? Are you really that desperate?" Sena gave him a weird look; "You weren't banished here by any chance, were you?"
'How did she KNOW?'
'Never underestimate that type, Klorel.'
"I was not banished, I came here accidentally. One of my Jaffa must have dialled the wrong address," Klorel replied hotly.
"Oh that must be it," Sena joked, "Where did you come from, anyway?"
"Chulak, the home of the Gods. Where I am always accompanied by the most entertaining and seductive servants in the entire universe, surrounded in only the most lavish of accommodations and my every whim completely satisfied," Klorel sighed, 'I miss Chulak so, so much…'
"And now all you have is this horrible little place…"
"Don't rub it in."
Sena laughed, the sound raising Klorel's interest in the girl even higher.
'Do you actually hold feelings for this girl or are you just reaching for what you can't have again?' Skaara's mind asked the Goa'uld possessing him.
"How much further is it to the village?" Klorel asked after a long period of silence.
"Not long. We're off the hill now, it's just a short walk through the forest," Sena announced.
"Understood," Klorel replied, "Something you said earlier plagues me. When you said that head priest was worried that Ra has been away for such a long time, was the priest alive when Ra was last seen? Do you know how long ago that was?"
"It will be fifteen years tomorrow. I was only a small child when he last came, but I remember a lot from when he came—" Klorel cut Sena's rant short.
"Fifteen years?" Klorel frowned, 'But the System Lords commissioned this planet inhabitable centuries ago… it must have been an imposter pretending to be Ra. What fools…'
Sena lead Klorel through the busy streets of the main village, ignoring the gawks she received from the other people on the street. None of them had ever seen someone dressed so finely since Ra had last visited. Sena had originally thought that Klorel was a messenger from Ra come to tell her village not to worry about his long absence.
"This is the village leader's home. I advise that you tell him who you are before he starts assuming things about you," Sena advised.
Klorel nodded and followed without question. Inside of him, Skaara was stirring, 'I have a very bad feeling about this, Klorel…'
'When I want your opinion on our situation, Host, I will ask for it.' Klorel watched as Sena walked quickly over to the village leader.
"Ira, I found this youth near the Chaapa'ai. He claims to be one of the Gods and wishes to speak with you," Sena told the village leader softly.
The aged man, known as Ira, caught sight of Klorel and bowed, "My Lord, how is it that we may serve you?"
"My name is Klorel, son of Apophis and I came to this planet by mistake—" Klorel was abruptly cut off by a gasp of horror coming from Ira and some of the other people in his lavish home.
Something clicked in Klorel's brain. He looked from Sena to Ira, realising that he had been set up. Obviously these people were devote worshippers of Ra, who was the sworn enemy of Apophis, 'I should have seen that coming!' Klorel seethed.
'Or listened to you host's opinion on your situation,' Skaara added.
"Guards!" Ira cried, "Get the demon! He must not escape!"
Two burly guards immediately grabbed Klorel for the second time that day. Klorel cried out in anger, "I am not a demon! I am your God!" Why did no one sever listen to him?
"He is the demon son of Apophis! Our Lord Ra's greatest enemy!" a bald man dressed in an animal skin robe and Egyptian-style linen kilt claimed, pointing his finger at Klorel. The bald man turned to Ira, clearly distressed, "My lord, this must be a sign! Our Lord Ra must be in trouble…"
Klorel could only guess that the bald man was the head priest Sena had talked about, "Ra is dead!" Klorel growled, shocking everyone in the room, "He was killed by the people of the Tau'ri on Abydos."
Yerik looked in shock at the youth hanging limply from the grip of the two guards. The priest grabbed Ira by the arm in urgency, "Lord Ira, we must summon Ra immediately."
"What if this demon is lying? You know the punishment for summoning Ra when it is not needed!" Ira croaked, "We must wait until the morning of the fifteenth year before we summon Ra to us, or there will be severe consequences."
Klorel laughed bitterly, "You cannot summon one that is dead, priest."
Yerik puffed out his chest a little, "Our Lord Ra is a great and powerful God, he cannot die!"
"Then what are you going to do with me?" Klorel smirked.
"We shall imprison you in the chambers below the sun temple!" Yerik announced, "Our Lord Ra will tell us what to do with you when he returns!"
Klorel inwardly groaned, 'The sun temple? That sounds like the exact place that biological weapon Ra was building will have been set off from…' Klorel sensed Skaara's fear, 'And why are you so afraid, host?'
'Ra will recognise me. I lead part of the rebellion that killed him… what will he do to us when he sees me?' Skaara shivered in fear.
'Ra is dead, you know that, you were there when he was destroyed,' Klorel ran Skaara's memories through their consciousness, trying to calm Skaara's fear so they could stop shaking like they were.
'BUT WHAT IF HE SEES ME?' Klorel cringed; it was a very rare occasion that his host would be so panic-stricken. Klorel had a hard time keeping control. Skaara had obviously been brought up with a fear worse than death of a God's rage.
"Klorel! He will kill us!" Skaara's frightened voice broke free of his control, echoing through the room they were in. Klorel decided to let Skaara keep control, playing the Tau'ri's weakness to help each other out.
Skaara, stunned by actually being in control of his body, looked around the room in fear. Sena noticed the change in stature, puzzling over the odd behaviour.
Skaara was still shaking, the fear of Ra's retribution buzzing in his mind. He bowed his head to the group of people gathered near Ira, "Please forgive us. We did not come here on purpose, Apophis banished us to this planet because he thought the disease here would destroy Klorel."
'Great, now they know our weakness!' Klorel stressed from where he sat in the back of Skaara's mind, watching.
"Would you rather they called us demons?" Skaara yelled at himself, appearing completely nuts. He noticed everyone in the room gawking at him in utter silence and blushed.
"…W-who are you?" Sena asked, her curiosity piqued. She stepped a little closer to get a better view of the boy in the limited indoor light.
"My name is Skaara. My body is the host in which Klorel resides… he has the control to silence me if he wishes…" Skaara told her solemnly.
"You mean… Klorel is… possessing you?" Sena looked ill.
"The demon is possessing an innocent?" Yerik gasped.
"Oh do shut up!" Klorel yelled at the priest, finally reasserting control over his host, 'You could have tried to find a way to earn their sympathy WITHOUT giving away ALL of our secrets!'
'It was just too tempting. And I want them to know what the Goa'uld are, maybe they can stop Ra…'
'Ra is dead you miserable little cretin! Stop saying he isn't!' Klorel was getting spooked himself. The great legends told that every night Ra would make a journey through the underworld and defeat the serpent God Apophis before returning the next day, legends that weren't very far from the truth. Ra always kicked his Dad's ass.
Klorel let out a long sigh, deciding to do his best to explain what a Goa'uld was without ripping his head out of Skaara's neck and snapping at them all. He cleared his throat, "Yes, I am possessing the host body. That is what Gods do. The Gods choose their host and use them like a vessel to live out all of eternity. The Goa'uld Ra was the first of our kind to possess a human host. And he has been in that host for almost ten thousand years, I am told."
"Lies!" the priest accused venomously.
"It is not," Skaara murmured, Klorel took his place, "For the host, it is like being in a living nightmare. They can see, smell, hear and feel all that goes on around them, even if they are not in control. And unfortunately for the Goa'uld, myself, I can forever hear his whining."
"I don't whine I critique," Skaara huffed. It was really quite an interesting display.
"Why do you shake like that?" Sena asked the youth, noticing how Skaara would immediately start trembling whenever he was in control of the host body.
Skaara gulped, "I am afraid of Ra. He was an evil God that terrorised my people into slavery and killed many of us if we displeased him. When Dan'el and O'Neer came to our planet, they helped us fight against Ra and win. I led a small force that fought Ra's guards in the desert. Ra was watching us, he will know who I am."
"And that is the price you shall pay for betraying your God," Ira told him gravely.
Skaara whimpered, retracting into himself. Klorel got a shock from that, how Skaara would willingly surrender control over his own body. The kid must be scared to death… Klorel felt a pang of worry for his host, even though he knew he shouldn't. He tried to keep in their minds that no matter what these primitive people tried, they could never bring back a Goa'uld so entirely destroyed by the nuclear weapon of the Tau'ri.
Sena watched the guards take Klorel to the Sun Temple, kicking and screaming all the way, and decided to follow. Something about what they had said, what they had done worried her. She had questions that needed answers, preferably before Yerik summoned Ra.
I'd write more, honest, but I've seriouslyflogged my wrist by writing too much too fast. I've got an RSI: Repetitive Strain Injury. It feels like someone got a mullet out and smashed my hand and wrist completely. Ow…
(Sorry for bad language)
And I'm off on holiday for the next two weeks, (sorry, sorry, sorry!) so I won't be updating for ages cries Please review! :)