Warnings: Major character death(s). Some disturbing images.

Author's notes: Again, some of the dialogue in this chapter was taken directly from New Ground (2). Please heed the "disturbing images" warning. And Mary, you and Daniel think alike: This was written beforeyour review....

Chapter 2

Daniel was functioning on automatic pilot. He hadn't slept and he'd barely eaten. He didn't want to believe it; he couldn't believe it. There was no way they could have done what Elizabeth claimed. There was no way they could have murdered Jack. He had done too much, sacrificed too much for it to happen this way. No. It was all part of some elaborate hoax or plan to defeat the Goa'uld. The Asgard would come, bringing Sam and Teal'c with them, they'd find Jack and it would all be O.K.

In the meantime, the so-called negotiations with the system lords had, predictably, gone from bad to worse. They Goa'uld had decided to call their bluff and test their defenses after all and had sent a ship to attack Earth. Daniel had discovered the plot in a coded message, and Weir had ordered the system lords, who were still at the SGC, arrested. Daniel and Elizabeth's next move was going to be to threaten the arrogant yet cowardly snakes with execution for the attack should it go forward, while at the same time continuing the bluff that the weapon and the Asgard would protect Earth.

As they were about to go convey that to the prisoners, though, a message came from the Prometheus, which was orbiting Earth in anticipation of the attack.

"Stargate Command, this is Colonel Pendergrast, do you copy?"

"This is Weir, Colonel. We copy. What have you got for us?"

"Good news. An Asgard ship has just dropped out of hyperspace and is offering assistance. Commander Thor sends his greetings."

"That is good news, Colonel," Weir responded, the relief evident on her face. "I will pass that on to our 'guests' with pleasure."

Daniel gestured toward the communications panel in a mute request to speak to Pendergrast. Weir nodded. "Go ahead. I'll meet you in the conference room," she said, and walked from the control room.

Daniel nodded to Walter that he was ready and leaned forward. "Colonel Pendergrast. This is Daniel Jackson. Did you speak to Major Carter or Teal'c?"

"Negative, Dr. Jackson. We only spoke to Commander Thor. He didn't mention them. Would you like us to raise them?"

"Yes. Welcome them back for me. Tell them, tell them. . . ." His voice cracked a little and he hesitated. Please don't make me have to tell them that Jack is dead, he thought. "Tell them we have to talk."

"Yes, sir, Dr. Jackson," Pendergrast responded, and then, "Hold on. We're getting something else. Yes, O.K. . . . Dr. Jackson, we have just received word that Ba'al has destroyed the ship the system lords sent. Ba'al's ship is still approaching."

Daniel pushed everything else from his mind once more. First he had to finish this. Jack and his years on SG-1 had taught him that: Complete the mission; fall apart later. "I'll tell Dr. Weir," he confirmed. "Thanks, Colonel."

Daniel left for the conference room. He'd see the system lords squirm at the news that the Asgard had arrived and that their ship had been destroyed; Ba'al would back off when he detected Thor's ship; and then, finally, Daniel could find out what the hell had really happened to Jack.

He entered the conference room as Elizabeth was saying, "I have just received word that the Asgard have arrived. They want to witness the demonstration of our new Ancient defense technology that you have forced us into. There's still time to call off the attack."


The Goa'uld Amaterasu obviously thought they were still bluffing and said with her usual arrogance, "We would also like to witness the demonstration.
"

Daniel decided that now would be a good time to share his news: "Your ship isn't coming," he said. "It was destroyed en route by Ba'al. The collective forces of the system lords are bowing, and you're losing the war."

Yu was responding, "And so are you," obviously also unconvinced that the tables had been turned, when Daniel was enveloped in the familiar flash of an Asgard transport beam.

As he found himself rematerialized on the bridge of the Asgard ship, he thought, "Well, if that doesn't convince them. . . ."

He looked around, seeing only Thor.

"Thor, hi," he said. "Thanks for coming. Where are Sam and Teal'c? They told you about Jack, right? We need to find him right away. They might have already. . . ."

"Dr. Jackson," Thor interrupted. "Your Colonel Pendergrast was also under the impression that Teal'c and Major Carter were aboard this vessel. I however have not seen either one of your teammates. I would have brought them here as well but have been unable to determine their location. I am here in response to a subspace message we received in the Ida galaxy. I apologize for our delay in responding to your request for aid. Our own situation with the replicators is dire, and I was only able to persuade the others that I should come here because I believe the greatest hope for our race lies in the Ancient knowledge the message said was again stored in O'Neill's mind."

"Wait," Daniel said, almost stupidly. "That message was from Sam and Teal'c. They aren't with you? They took a ship to Othalla to find you."

"That is disturbing news, Dr. Jackson," Thor said. "We also received a distress signal from the area. When one of our fleet responded, however, there was no sign of a vessel. Our commander surmised that the ship which sent the signal was destroyed when it came within the gravitational field of the black hole. If that ship was piloted by Major Carter and Teal'c, that is truly a great loss to both our races."

Daniel put a shaky hand up to his head. Oh, God, he thought. Sam. Teal'c.

"Thor," Daniel almost pleaded, "we need to search for them. They can't just be gone. This is Sam and Teal'c. They would have figured something out. You know them."

"We will continue to scan for them, but I am afraid we can do no more. Our forces are already stretched thin in our war with the replicators, a war we are losing. I am sorry, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel felt the trembling from his hand start to spread and he recognized the beginning of shock. Jack. Focus on Jack. There still had to be a chance. . . .

"Thor, Jack is in Antarctica. Can you bring him here?"

"Yes," Thor responded. "I will attempt to retrieve Colonel O'Neill now." Thor walked over to one of the computer consoles and looked at the screen. "I have detected Colonel O'Neill's locator," he confirmed. "However, I cannot detect O'Neill himself. I am afraid this indicates that either his locator has been removed or that O'Neill has not survived. I will transport now."

"Jack," Daniel breathed, knowing despite himself which answer was the truth. "God, Jack."

The light of the transport beam appeared over a table on the bridge and then disappeared.

Daniel let out a sound that even he didn't recognize and took a step back. No. No. No.

"I am sorry Dr. Jackson," Thor said. "I regret that we have come too late. He was a great man and will be remembered as such by the Asgard should we survive."

When Daniel didn't respond, Thor said, "Dr. Jackson. If I had known that O'Neill's body was undergoing this procedure, this. . . ."

"Autopsy," Daniel supplied hoarsely, not recognizing his own voice.

"This autopsy," Thor continued, "I would not have brought him here."

Daniel continued to stare at the mutilated body of his friend. His chest and abdomen had been sliced down the center and gaped open, his organs gone, and the back of his skull had been sawed away, exposing his brain. Daniel felt his knees give, and he dropped to the floor. He thought he was going to be sick, but he managed to hold it back. The bastards, he thought. They had really done it. They'd killed Jack.

"Thor," he said, finally, looking up from his knees, "could you please cover him with something. I can't. . . . Just, please, do you have something?"

Thor blinked at him, then reached down and pressed a panel on his console. An opaque partition rose from the table and surrounded Jack's body, hiding it from view.

Daniel continued to stare toward the table. He grabbed onto a partition and pulled himself up. His body felt strange, heavy and light at the same time, as if he'd been flooded with some strange alien drug. Thor was talking again, and he tried to focus on the words, but they slipped by and around him, and he couldn't make out their meaning. The voice in his own head was much clearer. They killed Jack, it whispered. They killed Jack. Weir was right. They killed Jack. They killed Jack. And an even quieter voice chanted beneath that one, Sam and Teal'c are dead, Sam and Teal'c are dead. . . .

"Dr. Jackson?" Thor's voice broke through.

Daniel looked at him numbly. Thor, Jack's friend too.

"I regret that I must leave and rejoin the battle against the replicators," Thor said. "We have already contacted Ba'al, and his ship has turned away from your solar system. He now believes the Asgard still enforce the treaty, so Earth should remain safe for the time being. I cannot guarantee the future, however. The survival of the Asgard remains uncertain at best. I fear the knowledge held by Colonel O'Neill that is now lost may have been our last hope."

Daniel closed his eyes. He realized that Thor was saying goodbye and that he did not believe the Asgard would survive this last battle with the replicators. In all likelihood Daniel would never see this strange, kind and brilliant being again. "I'm sorry, Thor. I wish I knew what to do. I wish I had an answer. If. . . . if Sam, Teal'c or Jack were here, they would be able to help, but I . . . I don't know what to do."

"Dr. Jackson," Thor said, "do not underestimate your value to your world or indeed to the Asgard. You are equally revered by the Asgard for your insights and contributions to our survival. The ship you stand on is called The Daniel Jackson for that reason."

Daniel looked around at the great ship he stood on and back at Thor, and shook his head. There were so many things wrong with that, he didn't know where to begin.

"Perhaps you can perform one last service for the Asgard, Dr. Jackson," Thor said, when Daniel didn't respond.

Daniel closed his eyes. He was so tired. What could he possibly do? Still, he said, "I'll do whatever I can, Thor."

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson. There may be useful information stored in the Ancient lab you discovered on Earth. The Asgard people would be most grateful if you could request permission from your leaders that we be granted access to this information."

"You don't need permission, Thor. Just take it. Take what you need," Daniel answered wearily.

"I am afraid that would violate the agreement we made with your people. The Asgard honor our treaties."

Honor? Daniel wanted to laugh at the word, but it came out as more of a sob. "Thor," he said, "the people you want me to ask are the people who murdered Jack. The entire planet could have been destroyed because of their petty squabbling. They don't deserve your respect and they don't deserve to have their treaties honored. Your entire race is facing extinction. Just take what you need. Help your people, and if you succeed, I trust you to return and help mine."

Thor was silent as he considered what Daniel had said. He nodded once and went to a control panel and entered several commands.

"I have done as you suggested, Dr. Jackson. You have my word that, should we discover anything that could be of use to Earth, we will transmit that information immediately to the SGC. As this was in your possession in the first place, I do not believe such an action would be seen to violate our treaty with the Goa'uld."

Daniel nodded. "I hope you find what you need, Thor."

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson," Thor said. "I must leave now. I have been away from the battle for far too long. I will transport you now to your SGC, unless you choose to go elsewhere. Would you like to take the body of O'Neill, or should I return it to the Ancient lab?"

"No, God, no!" Daniel said, appalled at the idea of letting those vultures anywhere near Jack again. "Just, just. . . ."

Daniel stopped. Just what? he thought. Just what? He felt a wave of dizziness and then a chill even as he broke out in a cold sweat. Shock, he thought again. Maybe he should just let it take him. Instead, he told Thor, "Just send us both to the infirmary."

And before he could wish the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet luck, he was gone.