A new order
Disclaimer: The characters etc. do not belong to me. I make no money from this.
No season in particular, but reasonably early on.
This is the first story I have ever tried to write so constructive criticism would be nice, thanks.
Chapter 1 - (This chapter has been edited and re-posted)
A familiar sound of klaxons blaring disturbed Sam from her slumber and as she peeled a sheet of paper from her face and replaced it on the pile on her desk she heard "Unscheduled off-world activation!" 'Damn' she thought, more annoyed at falling asleep at her desk again than the unpredictable wake up call. As she was running through the corridors to the control room she was met by Colonel O'Neill and a moment later by Daniel.
They reached the control room in time to hear General Hammond shouting "close the Iris".
Sergeant Siler was frantically typing commands into the computer; Sam started working on the next computer "The Iris won't close, sir! The computer says ..." She never finished her sentence. The wormhole slowly started spinning, as it got faster and faster it changed colour from blue to purple to pink to red and then to black where it stayed. No one in the control room could break their gaze, it was as if they were hypnotised by the wormhole. The SFs were still targeting the horizon when a group of ten people confidently stepped through the wormhole into the SGC, but, for a minute, no one moved nor spoke, they were too startled.
Sam couldn't believe what was happening. A woman with nine Jaffa guards had exited from the horizon and they were standing on the ramp. The Jaffa were wearing leather armour with staff weapons strapped to their backs, across their foreheads were three silver stars. The woman was unlike any race that Sam had seen before. She had completely black skin, as dark as the night sky, and Sam was sure that her skin was scaly. She had no hair on her head but rows of spikes that trailed down her back and along her spine. The woman was wearing a very small silver bikini top and a silver mini skirt with a wide black belt holding many different weapons and gadgets around her waist. What Sam found most disturbing was the hand devices that encircled each hand and the staff weapon that was propped up in her right hand.
What happened next was a surprise to everyone. They all dropped every weapon they carried, including the hand devices, and piled them at the bottom of the ramp, they then stepped back and put their hands behind their heads. The SFs started to pick up the weapons and move them to the side of the room, to be examined later. Sam looked to her right to see Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond hurrying down the stairs with Doctor Jackson and T'ealc close behind, she quickly followed them to the gate room.
When they reached the gate room the woman dropped on her knees and called out "We ask for sanctuary. Our enemies are following but cannot get through your iris. Please, we need your help." Sam could see Colonel O'Neill glance at the General, they were all thinking the same thing 'Why does a Go'uld want sanctuary?' The woman said "Please help, I am not a Go'uld. My name is Sienna and my host is called River. Please help us." General Hammond took a deep breath and said "Restrain them and take them to see the Doctor" he turned to face the newcomers "then we will decide if you are to be granted sanctuary or not."
In the infirmary Janet Fraiser was running all the tests she could think of. Whatever she did the conclusion was the same, the being that sat on the bed before her was host to two symbiotes, at the same time.
General Hammond and SG-1 were in the observation room, looking over the restrained 'guests' Janet walked in and said "I have never seen anything like this, I never even thought that it would be possible".
Captain Carter interrupted "This is definitely not possible, it must be a characteristic of her genetic makeup. Sir, we should ask the Tokra, they might know who she is."
Hammond looked between her and O'Neill "I will contact them" He started walking away, but turned back "Why not try talking to them while we wait for a response".
Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson walked towards the interview room where the River/Sienna/? was being held. Before opening the door they looked at each other and nodded, neither of them knew where this was going but they knew that they needed to learn more about these newcomers.
"Hello" Sam said as she walked in.
"Hi" came the reply in the overly confident, double voice of the symbiote.
"Which symbiote are we actually talking too?" Daniel asked.
"So you noticed. I am Sienna; we do not often allow the other symbiote to speak as he has a somewhat fiery temper. His name is not relevant."
There was an uncomfortable silence until Sam felt that she had to break it "Would it be possible to talk to the host?"
"She doesn't usually talk to others, but, I will ask her" The eyes flashed blue twice, and then the transformation was incredible. The once strong and confident young woman became a shy and nervous girl. She sunk into the chair so she was as small as possible. It was obvious to Sam and Daniel that even though she was shaking, she was trying to sound calm and confident. "Hi. My name is River. I am the host. How can I be of help?"
"How are you able to be host to two symbiotes?" Daniel asked.
River glanced from one of them to the other, then looked towards the door where the guards were standing. "I do not truely know, it is just how I am, what I am, how I have always been" She paused for a breath, and then whispered "I am so scared."
At that moment the familiar sound of the klaxons tore through the air in the interview room. The guards grabbed River by the arms and hauled her out of the chair to take her back to the cell. As they got to the door Daniel suddenly shouted "Stop!" He slowly crossed the room and stood behind River. He traced the faint outline of the two symbiotes wrapped around her spine with his finger, making her shiver from his touch. "Okay, you can take her away now."
Sam and Daniel made their way up to the control room, and saw that it was Jacob who had arrived. General Hammond had met Jacob at the end of the runway, and they were both going towards the briefing room, whilst Hammond was explaining what had been happening. When they reached the control room Hammond called SG-1 into the briefing room.
"Did you two find out anything about our visitors?" Hammond asked.
"No" Sam started to say, but Daniel cut her off. "I think I know who she is"
Daniel drew a caduceus of a bit of paper and pushed it into the middle of the table.
Jack looked at the drawing, turned is head to one side, and to the other "Isn't that one of those medical symbol thingies?"
"Yes. It is called a caduceus or Wand of Hermes. The staff in the middle represents authority, the snakes represent wisdom and femininity, they are bound in a double helix which represent stability, creation and life. So the whole thing means the authority to deliver wisdom and information to aid and enlighten others..."
Jack interrupted "Is this actually going anywhere, Daniel?"
"Just bear with me, Jack. When River/Sienna was leaving the interview room I saw her back. The two snakes were wrapped around her spine just like a caduceus. I think she was on this planet a long time ago, and helped to teach us medicine, and science." Daniel looked around the room trying to find acceptance for what he said. His eyes landed on Jacob who slowly nodded.
Selmak was the next to speak. "There is an old Tokra legend which tells of a young woman who travelled the galaxy and aided anyone who was in trouble. She could heal with just a thought, she could kill with even less, but she only ever killed the Go'uld, never those who served them. Some of the stories even say she could change whole planets, move the sea and the mountains, even change the weather patterns. They say she carried two others with her who could never be seen, but could talk through her. I believe Doctor Jackson is correct and this is the same being"
Everyone looked at everyone else, trying to gauge what each other was thinking. Hammond finally picked up the phone and called for the guards to bring River to the briefing room. The same question as on everyone's mind, would they finally be able to finish off the Go'uld?
River / Sienna was brought into the briefing room by two armed guards. Hammond motioned for her to sit in the empty seat next to Sam, and then dismissed the guards.
Hammond looked across to where Jacob was sitting and nodded. Jacob ducked his head and let Selmak take control. "Tell us who you are, from the beginning."
River looked around the table, taking in the expressions on everyone's faces. She took a deep breath to try to still her shaking, and began to tell her tale.
"Many, many thousands of years ago, there was a society of beings who controlled a mighty empire spreading across many galaxies, comprising of many different species, all living together in peace and harmony. Then the sickness came. None of our healers could help, none of our technology could find a cure, and our medicines couldn't even prolong the suffering. Thousands of races became extinct over night. Within a year all those who were still alive had been placed in seclusion at the first signs of the epidemic. Billions had turned into millions then thousands and then just a few hundred. Slowly, we rebuilt our empire, making sure that every new city was protected from the sickness by miles of desert; all birds that approached the cities were shot down so they didn't bring in the sickness. After many hundreds of years had passed, a few brave people ventured outside to see if the sickness had passed. They came back with reports that a new race had filled the power vacuum that had been left by the sickness. They were systematically wiping out everyone who wouldn't follow their ways.
"For a second time, my race was dying out. We had encountered an enemy which matched our strength, intelligence and power. So the Great Council of our race decided to choose six children from around our empire that were genetically unique enough that our race could be reseeded on a new planet when the newest of dangers had passed. I was among the six chosen. When we had developed enough to carry a symbiote we each had two of them surgically implanted into our bodies. The symbiotes were young and pure, without any inherited knowledge or experiences. It was then thought that they would not turn against the host. We were then sent to different galaxies that were far away from our home, in hope that we would not be found by the enemy."
Jack waved his hands about to draw attention to himself "Hang on a minute, who is this enemy? Will they come an attack us now that you are here?
River calmly turned towards him and stated "Please can you leave questions until I have finished the story. Who our enemy was, is not important, they were destroyed many millennia ago. Anyway, I shall continue. I was sent to a galaxy near to this one but had to flee after war broke out there, and there was a risk of my identity being revealed. I travelled to another galaxy and met three of the other chosen; then together we travelled to this galaxy and met with the final two. We hid for a long time in the caves on a planet on the outskirts of this galaxy until the creation of the star gates and the ascension of the masses, when we then had to flee to avoid discovery. I stayed behind and eventually talked to the Ancients, but the codes of my people meant that I was not allowed to interfere with the development of their race, so we parted ways, without them even realising who I was."
Jack snorted "This is sounding a little familiar!" Hammond glared at him, so he shrugged and looked away.
"Since then I have been hopping from planet to planet, running out of places to hide. But now I find myself in great need of safety. Your enemy, the Go'uld, have realised who I am, they want to turn me into one of them, so they may learn what I know. I am ill, and I cannot fight them until I have time to heal myself. I am running out of time."
Jack spluttered out the mouthful of
water he had just taken, "So you come here, begging for
protection, you have admitted that your codes prevent you from
helping us, you came here with a group of Jaffa, we have no reason to
trust that what you say is true, so why should we help you?"
River's
eyes flashed blue as Sienna took over. You could see and hear the
anger that was consuming them. "The codes have been changed,
adapted. You need our help more than ever", Rivers eyes flashed
blue again as she retook control "and I need your help,
please."
Hammond looed at Jacob, and they silently conversed as only old friends can. Hammond took a few deep breaths and slowly said "We will grant you sanctuary, if you will promise to help us fully, in our fight against the Go'uld."
River
looked around as if there was something else she wanted to ask. She
nearly whispered "and my friends, the Jaffa?"
Hammond
replied "they will be granted sanctuary too."
River smiled warmly at them "We are truly grateful for your kindness. There is one favour I would like to ask now though" there was a brief expectant pause "would it be possible for my friends and I to have something a bit more comfortable to wear, I feel slightly undressed" Daniel chuckled at this, as Jack spluttered into his drink again. Sam smiled and said "I am sure we can find something."
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