Chapter One - Discoveries
General Hank Landry, General Jack O'Neill and the members of SG-1 sat in the conference room of Cheyenne Mountain, waiting for the meeting with the Asgard to begin. They had recently defeated the remaining Replicators in the Asgard Galaxy, and now the Asgard wanted to thank them.
"Carter, what time did they say they'd be here?" Jack was getting impatient. He wanted to go on his well deserved holiday with Daniel. It was the first time in years that the both of them had planned to go somewhere together.
"They should arrive in a few minutes, sir."
Just then Thor and Freya arrived by Asgard beamer. Thor turned to his favorite Tau'ri. "Greetings, O'Neill. It is good to see you."
Jack replied, "It's great to see you too, Thor. You're looking good."
The Asgard turned away from Jack. "General Landry, Colonel Mitchell, Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c; Thank you for receiving us. The entire Asgard race wishes to extend our gratitude towards the Tau'ri for their action against the Replicators. We are deeply indebted to you. Or, as you might say, O'Neill, we owe you one." Jack grinned.
Both Asgard suddenly stood immobile and grabbed their heads, as if in pain.
"Hey, buddy – you okay?" Jack asked. He didn't like seeing Thor in pain. Despite the Asgard's reluctance to giving any technology to Earth, he and Thor had become friends.
Just then both Asgard collapsed to the floor.
"Medical team to the conference room!" Landry shouted into the phone.
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Thor was lying on a bed in the infirmary with Freya in the bed next to him. He murmured, "We apologize for this, General Landry. We did not expect to need our mental shields while on Earth."
"What exactly do you mean with "mental shields", Thor?" Daniel asked intrigued. Despite their alliance they knew very little about the Asgard.
"The Asgard have a mental bond to each other. That way we know when one is in danger without needing technology to communicate. We just heard an urgent cry for help coming from Earth. We were not prepared for that. There is no other Asgard on Earth, except those on our ship," Thor explained.
"Well, if this wasn't an Asgard; who or what was it?" Sam asked.
"We think that it was one of the Ancients," Freya answered.
"Wow! An Ancient?! Here on Earth?" Cam exclaimed.
"We think so. There wasn't a direct contact between our minds. He could not have known that he would reach us. Under normal circumstances it would be impossible for an Ancient to enter our bond. However, we failed to receive a clear thought. We merely obtained an overwhelming sense of fear and pain. General Landry, we must find him. He is alone and in pain. Something or someone is hurting him at this moment. He is the last survivor of a once great race."
"General, I think we should try to help. Just think about a living Ancient on Earth. And who knows what is done to him right now," Daniel almost pleaded.
"We don't even know where he is, Doctor Jackson. How would we be able to find him?" Landry replied evenly.
"Our ship can scan your planet. However, we cannot transport him off planet: it is impossible to transport Ancients unless they consciously allow themselves to be transported. Once we have located him or her, perhaps you could support us and send a team inside?" Thor asked.
Aside from Freya's plea for help when Thor had been kidnapped by Anubis, none of the humans present could remember the Asgard ever asking for something so directly. This, coupled with the hopeful look on Thor's face, made it impossible to refuse. In addition, they were curious about this Ancient. General Landry barked, "SG-1, you've got ten minutes to get ready. I'll take care of everything else. SG teams 3, 5 and 18 will accompany you. Thor, I hope the Asgard remember to remain hidden until the situation is under control?"
"Yes, general, we will transport the Tau'ri down and wait for O'Neill's confirmation before transporting to the location."
"Alright, SG-1, you have a go."
tbc
