A/N: The final chapter… yes, I was able to keep my 50-chapter limit! Hurray! I hope you enjoy!
"Jalen, Malek," Garshaw called upon her fellow council member and the chief of security of their permanent base.
"Lord Garshaw," Malek greeted her and walked towards the grand counsel. "How may I be of service?"
Canting her head, she regarded him. "I was informed you were unable to contact the Tau'ri."
"Correct," he replied. "They have not responded to my transmission."
"Grand Counsel Garshaw, Councilor Malek," Jalen respectfully greeted them as she joined the two Tok'ra. "You called upon me?"
"Indeed," Malek confirmed. "As chief of security the High Council had requested I contact the Tau'ri, yet I have been unable to establish a communication."
Garshaw nodded slowly during his explanation. "Therefore, I wish to travel to Stargate Command with you, Jalen. After all, you were the one who discovered the ha'taks."
"Indeed, it would be a proper way to redeem ourselves with our allies," Jalen agreed with a curt nod.
"Now that most of our kind has undergone the zatarc detector test, I feel it is important to re-establish our relationship with the Tau'ri for all the harm Thoran and Delek have caused," Garshaw explained with disapproval in her voice when mentioning their former Tok'ra.
Pressing his fingers together in a steeple, Malek recalled his activity of the past two weeks since O'Neill had informed them of the betrayal of some of their own. "Everyone present has passed the test and those who failed have been dealt with. At the moment, there are only several untested Tok'ra because of their long-term undercover missions throughout the galaxy. They will be tested upon their first debriefing."
"The behavior of Delek and Thoran have done grave injustice to O'Neill and Colonel Carter, their offspring and the rest of the Tau'ri," Jalen concurred in an even tone.
"I shall attempt to contact them once more," Malek suggested, before bowing his head respectfully and leaving for his security chambers.
Turning towards her fellow council member and Tok'ra operative, Garshaw raised a brow, her lips pursed together. "Perhaps the information you have gathered these past few days will aid the quest of the Tau'ri."
"I wish the same, Grand Counsel."
"If not, at least we did not fail to inform them of the suspicious activity of the unmarked ha'tak vessels," she replied, a hint of sorrow in her voice as she recalled the anguish O'Neill and Colonel Carter had endured because of Delek and Thoran's silence.
"Holy shit," Albert muttered as he spotted one of the creatures through his binoculars. The Asgard Freyr had beamed him and his team down to the surface of the planet Gubla as well as General O'Neill, Colonel Carter and Teal'c while Daniel Jackson and Doctor Fraiser had remained aboard the Samantha Carter.
"Sir?"
Glancing at Johnson, he handed him his binoculars. "Definitely looks like a dragon to me."
Jennifer impatiently waited for the burly captain to pass her the binocular, wishing she had one of her own. When he finally passed it on to her, she immediately found the dragon-like creature. "Ah, Colonel Reynolds?"
"What, Hailey?"
She winced at his loud tone as she lowered the instrument. "It looks like it's heading in our direction, Sir," she whispered.
Albert easily caught the binocular she threw in his direction and checked for himself. "Damn, looks like you're right, Lieutenant. Captain," he ordered in a soft tone, looking at Johnson, "you take Lieutenants Mooney and Hailey back to the ship and give a detailed description of the dragon to the Asgard and Jackson. Penhall and I will hold our position for as long as we can. Go!"
The trio nodded sharply, before retreating into the bushes behind them, trying to camouflage the bright white light that appeared as they were beamed up to the Samantha Carter.
"Dammit," Albert groused, exchanging glances with Penhall. "This sucks," he clarified, motioning towards the creature with a tilt of his head as he aimed his P-90.
Steadying his HK SL8 sniper rifle, he nodded. "Yes Sir."
"O'Neill," Albert spoke into his radio, keeping his eyes trained on the creature. "We've spotted one of the dragon-like creatures. Johnson is taking the kids back to the ship and Penhall and I are keeping an eye on it."
"Yeah, we found a couple of them too. Looks like they've got sharp hearing," came the general's whispered reply.
Swallowing he nodded. "You can say that again, Sir. Can't say I'm comfortable with its appearance, either," he replied in the same tone.
"Size isn't everything… Sirs."
Albert coughed uncomfortably at the petite doctor's voice, not having realized she was on the same frequency since she was aboard the Asgard ship. "You're right, Doc," he whispered placatingly.
"Sirs, the members of SG-3 are here. Daniel says the description sounds like that Chinese dragon."
A short silence was heard, until the general's voice broke it. "And…?"
"Well Jack, that probably means they can fly and are fiercely protective of their master," Jackson's petulant reply sounded.
"With all due respect, doctor Jackson," Albert started, flattening himself a bit more on the floor when the creature looked in their direction, "how is that different from the other type you mentioned?"
"Ah… well, um… it's suspected the Seraphim can actually breathe fire or incinerate people with their eyes."
Hearing that, Albert let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't really into all those mythological creatures but during his years at the SGC he had learned to be open-minded; he definitely wasn't looking forward to have to fight a dragon that can kill you with the blink of an eye! Glancing to his side, he noticed Penhall looked slightly relieved too.
"Like laser eyes? Cool."
Albert shook his head at his teammate and grinned at the General's child-like enthusiasm. "How do we disable it, Jackson? 'Cause I doubt a thing that size will be stunned by a zat."
"Ah, Hailey and Freyr have an idea," Jackson announced.
He rolled his eyes, wondering if there would be a time Hailey would run out of ideas. Obviously, Colonel Carter had done a good job by selecting the young lieutenant for the SGC, but she wasn't very easy to get on with. Not like the colonel who, despite being a freaking genius, was probably the most likeable person he knew. "Let's hear it."
"When I first observed the creature, I noticed the scaled body and Freyr told us about a creature that is distantly related to the Goa'uld; only it's much bigger and its thick skin can't be penetrated by bullets… this is probably the creature, Sirs. It can also detect naquadah and that makes it a good guard, because it can sense the presence of their master – and Jaffa. Oh, and they're carnivores, Sirs; they mostly eat humans, carrion and cattle."
"Swell," the General sarcastically replied. "So, no zats or guns?"
"The plasma beams from the Asgard should suffice, Sir," Hailey quickly replied.
Within seconds, Albert changed his P-90 for the handheld plasma gun strapped to his thigh and signaled Penhall to do the same. "I guess we'll just have to shoot our way into the pyramid," he added.
"Yeah, we've got your six, Reynolds."
"Glad to hear that, Sir," he replied, smirking.
"Jack, Janet, the members of SG-3 and I will beam down. However, Freyr says that the creatures are probably attracted to the energy signature from beaming tech and ring transporters, so keep an eye out."
"Yeah sure you betcha."
Albert kept his plasma weapon locked on the dragon about six meters away as he waited for the rest of his team. Sure enough, as soon as he heard them in the bushes, the dragon pricked up his ears and slowly started walking towards them. "Dammit," he groused again. "I'll bet those creatures can run really fast too," he muttered as it picked up speed. "Hailey, Mooney, Johnson get your six out here," he yelled over his shoulder. No longer caring about the animal overhearing since it was already coming their way. As soon as his team was complete again, he and Penhall jumped up. "Let's head out!"
"Supreme Commander Thor, we are receiving a transmission from Stargate Command," Heimdall stated.
Hearing the scientist's voice over the intercom, Thor padded towards the primary console of O'Neill. "I shall access it now, Heimdall."
"Very well, Commander."
Within seconds the data package arrived and just as he was about to open it, a communication line opened. "General Landry," Thor greeted the commander of Stargate Command, the one who had replaced O'Neill several years ago.
"Supreme Commander Thor, good to see you again," the man jovially greeted.
"Indeed. I have received your data transmission."
"Ah, good," he chuckled. "Where's Jack?"
Tilting his head, Thor opened the data package and replied. "O'Neill has taken SG-3, the former-SG-1 and Doctor Fraiser with him on Samantha Carter. Councilor Freyr is transporting them to Gubla, a planet we suspect is the home of a Goa'uld Queen."
General Landry nodded pensively. "I take it you haven't found Ba'al or the baby yet?"
"Correct; your other teams are currently examining the abandoned planet of the Goa'uld Astarte, Kadesh," he politely informed the Tau'ri and relayed the other chain of events as well.
Once Thor was done, General Landry straightened in his chair, a small frown on his face. "We were contacted by the Tok'ra today; they ran into four ha'tak vessels as they exited hyperspace before the ships cloaked themselves and death gliders were deployed. They had to beat a hasty retreat, but felt it necessary to inform us of this since the ships used to belong to Anubis and yet they didn't have one of the locator beacons the Tok'ra have tagged most ha'taks with."
"That is indeed interesting," Thor confirmed. "Were you able to acquire the coordinates of this planet?"
"Yes and what is interesting is that it's not in our database," the general explained. "It wasn't part of the Abydos Cartouche nor did Jack insert it when he added the addresses from the repository."
Examining the contents of the data transmission, Thor found the address and compared it to the Asgard database of addresses. "It appears to be one of the addresses we have extracted from the Ancient database many decades ago," he informed the commander of Stargate Command, referring to the time they were able to extract parts of the information from one of the repositories. Since then the best scientists of their kind had been studying the vast data; not even the Asgard themselves had mastered the vast stores of Ancient knowledge. He narrowed his eyes pensively. "Perhaps Ba'al has found more Ancient technology or perhaps he is trying to use Anubis' knowledge to extract the information of another repository. The offspring of O'Neill is capable of activating Ancient gene-locked technology."
"To be honest, that's what I was afraid of," General Landry sighed.
"I shall inform Councilor Freyr, Heimdall and the Asgard High Council of this new information."
"Good luck!"
Back on Gubla, inside the pyramid Daniel took position next to Janet and Teal'c against the wall, but his eyes were focused on a symbol on one of the doors. "Jack!"
"What?" He hissed, glaring at the young archeologist against the opposite wall.
"See that symbol?" He asked, pointing at it with his gun. It was a curled up dragon in a circle. "It is sometimes used to indicate the tianlong."
Craning his neck, Jack cast a glance at it, noticing the others doing the same. "So?"
"Well, that could mean it's a doorway to their nest or something!"
He scowled at his enthusiasm. "All the more reason to stay away from it."
"But Jack-"
"Stop whining, Daniel," Jack barked. "Reynolds, come in."
"Yes Sir?"
Shifting his handheld plasma beam in his hands, Jack signaled Teal'c to take lead. "We've entered the back entrance of the pyramid, what's your progress?"
"Mooney and Penhall have secured the main entrance… Man, these guns are awesome!"
"Yeah, very effective," he grinned, glancing appreciatively at his. It had taken a couple of well-aimed shots, but the dragon-like creatures had gone down without much fuss.
"We're heading towards the center room as we speak, Sir. It's eerily quiet around here."
He had to agree with that. "We'll head there as well, watch your six," Jack remarked before signing off. "Daniel and Doc you're staying here to keep this exit clear; do not let him go through that door, Doc."
"No Sir," Janet smirked.
"Teal'c," he motioned forwards with his hand.
Raising a brow, Teal'c turned to his commander. "O'Neill, I am not entirely at ease with this situation."
"Neither am I," Sam mentioned. "I keep getting that tingling feeling."
"Goa'uld?" Jack questioned, quickly casting another look around but seeing no one.
Clearing his throat, Daniel got their attention. "Ah, well… um, what I didn't mention is that the creature Freyr told us about feeds off newly-spawned prim'ta. That's probably why they serve the Goa'uld Queens… they can't eat normal symbiotes, so the Queen has to spawn a special batch for them. Apparently they need naquadah in their diet, but it can't exceed a certain amount or it will be deadly – you know, because they can't heal themselves like the Goa'uld can."
"And because of that symbol," Sam jerked her head towards it, "you think they could be near."
Worried, Jack scowled at Daniel. "The prim'ta or the dragons?"
"Either," he shrugged helplessly. "I promise I won't open the door."
After receiving the communication of Supreme Commander Thor, Freyr reached for his communication stone to contact O'Neill from orbit. "O'Neill, what have you found?"
"We just entered the center room and there isn't a helluva lot here. We came, we saw, we slew a couple of dragons and… nothing."
"There are various naquadah readings on the planet's surface," he informed them.
"Yeah but… oh wait a minute…"
Puzzled, Freyr stared at his console. "I shall."
After several minutes, O'Neill reported back. "Reynolds found a dead Goa'uld and a bunch of different type of dragons… looks like one of those naquadah bombs went off in the private chambers. Lots of rubble and the Doc estimates the time of death was between six and twelve hours ago."
"I see," he replied pensively. "Nothing of the child or Ba'al?"
"Nope… looks like this was the Queen though, because it isn't Astarte."
Processing this new information into the computer, Freyr nodded his understanding. "Colonel Carter did not recognize this female Goa'uld?"
"She's a bit charred… but-"
"O'Neill, my ship's sensors are perceiving movement of several life signs with naquadah closing in on the building."
"Yeah, Mooney just reported a couple of dragons heading our way… can you beam us up?"
"I can," Freyr replied, moving his stone over the console. Moments later, the Tau'ri and the Jaffa appeared in a bright light on the bridge of Samantha Carter. "Have you remained uninjured?"
Janet nodded as she took off her vest and weapons. "Yes, no one was harmed."
"I love these things," Albert enthusiastically told the Asgard, showing him the handheld plasma gun.
"I am pleased to learn of this information."
Jennifer shuffled her feet, pursing her lips together nervously. "Sirs?"
"What, Hailey?" Jack asked impatiently, rolling his eyes in exasperation.
"With all due respect, Sir, don't you think we should examine the computer in the building, General?"
Freyr turned to his console and conjured up the information Supreme Commander Thor had sent him. "Indeed. I wish to suggest part of your team will remain here as I transport you to Supreme Commander Thor's vessel."
"Did something happen?"
"Correct," he nodded. "Stargate Command has contacted him to relay new information received from the Tok'ra about unidentified ha'tak vessels. They were in orbit of a planet of which we found the designations in the parts of information extracted from one of the Ancient knowledge bases."
Huffing, Jack turned to him. "Ba'al?"
"Very probable."
"We can't just leave SG-3 here on the planet while we fly back to the other side of the galaxy," Daniel grudgingly remarked. "We could handle a couple of dragons, but their family members appeared to have noticed and came for us-"
Holding up his small hand, Freyr interrupted the Tau'ri. "The Asgard vessels are capable of sending dematerialized matter from one to another over significant distances. I can safely send you to O'Neill while I remain here to supervise the movements of SG-3 and the creatures."
"You're sure that's… safe?" Jack questioned skeptically, not liking the idea of being sent all the way over to Thor's ship this way.
"I assume Freyr will use the beaming technology and a specific receiving platform on Thor's ship to safely send us there," Sam said casually. "Technically, it won't be that different from using the 'regular' beaming technology as-"
"Ack!" he held up his hand with a grimace. "I believe you. Let's do this, Freyr. Reynolds, you're in charge here; watch your six with those dragons and take as much of the information as you can."
Albert nodded sharply. "Yes Sir. Good luck!"
"Thanks," the words barely left his mouth before he felt himself being enveloped into the white light.
Pacing in her private chambers, Astarte tried to calm herself. Her ship was riddled with Ba'al's incompetent Jaffa now that Vi'tak had joined them in orbit with the ha'tak vessel he had taken to retrieve more of his lord's loyal Jaffa. She had kindly reminded Ba'al that perhaps he and his Jaffa should return to his own ha'tak, but he was reluctant to leave the child in her care, as she was only willing to spare two of her Kotharat. He did not think two would be enough to care for Ataratah and although Astarte had offered him a third priestess Lay'la for the nights, he had not accepted her more than generous offer.
She had only brought seven of her Kotharat, including Ba'na'frit who was carrying the maturing clone of Anat and two of them were nursemaids. The child did not need them anymore thus she had safely sent them to her other ha'tak, the one Saied – her second prime – was commanding before Ba'al would order them to take care of the child for him. They were quite qualified and she appreciated their efforts; they had been with the future goddess for weeks and not once complained. She had rewarded them by giving them time off before they would travel to Praxyon, relocate to another planet and there they would have to resume their duties as priestesses and nursemaids.
Ba'al might not approve of the way she ruled her people, but they were far more competent than his Jaffa. He did not even have proper nursemaids. If not for her and her trained Kotharat, he would not have known how to handle Samantha's delivery or take care of the infant. If rewarding her underlings proved effective, she would gladly do so. Her Jaffa had not once betrayed her and thought of her as just, benevolent and yet fiery. She was quite accomplished for a Goa'uld who had remained inconspicuous for millennia and together with Anat, they were a force to be reckoned with. In particular when they bundled their forces – Anat's prim'ta and her trained Jaffa – to attack an unsuspecting planet. It was true that they both enjoyed the company of their lord, yet he usually did not overcrowd them or their territory.
She had retreated to her private chambers as he visited Ataratah to observe her progress and now she was ready to take back control of her ha'tak. Briskly, she crossed the room and opened the door. Resuming her way to the peltac, she glared at the ogling Jaffa of her lord and made impatient and threatening gestures for them to move from of her path. Her reputation was of a fierce goddess who never failed to claim what she thought was righteously hers and fortunate for them, the Jaffa were wise enough not to bother her and heed her requests. If they would only leave her ha'tak.
"My Lady," Nassir greeted as his goddess joined them on the peltac. "I was ready to request your presence but-"
"What has happened while I was away?" She interrupted him impatiently, scowling at the present Jaffa. Had Ba'al's Jaffa already shown their incompetence and wreaked havoc on her ha'tak?
Turning to the console, Nassir showed her. "Mere moments ago our sensors detected a nearing vessel once a hyperspace window was opened."
Raising a delicate brow, she glanced at the screen. "Who has emerged?"
"No one as of yet…" he replied, his voice trailing off as an Asgard vessel appeared.
Astarte growled lowly, grabbing the nearest Jaffa on her left. "Inform Lord Ba'al the Asgard are approaching," she hissed, pushing him back.
"Of course, my Lady," the Jaffa stammered, making a hasty retreat in search of his lord.
"We are still cloaked," she stated more than inquired.
Nassir inclined his head respectfully. "Indeed, my Lady. I am unaware of how they were able to locate us."
"It does not matter," she dismissed, waving her hand. "Man the cannons and raise the shields to full capacity," Astarte ordered. Turning to her First Prime, she leaned into him. "Deploy the death gliders and ensure they are piloted by Ba'al's Jaffa," she instructed him in a low tone.
"My Lady, are you certain?" Nassir questioned, surprised as she always praised his men over those of her consort.
Frowning, she narrowed her eyes, somewhat shocked he would question her. "I am. After all, the Asgard's weapons are far more powerful and apparently their ships have been improved as well," she murmured. She had calculated the time it would take them to go from her planet Kadesh to Gubla, where Jabir had taken the prim'ta from Ba'alat before activating a naquadah explosive. For her calculations she had used the information stored in Anubis' database, amongst the data he had retrieved from Thor's mind the specifications for the Asgard vessels were present. They should not have been able to reach Gubla, let alone locate them here if they were using maximum velocity. "Ba'al's Jaffa are incompetent yet mediocre pilots; I would rather they attack the ship and lose their lives than my own men. It is not as if we will be able to cripple the ship, no matter who is piloting the death gliders."
Smirking at his goddess' deviousness, Nassir bowed. "I will follow your instructions, my Lady."
"Have you contacted my other two ha'tak vessels?" She questioned one of Ba'al's Jaffa near her controls.
"Ah… I have informed them of our plan of attack and they have raised their shields. Ba'dru has taken over command from Vi'tak and is preparing for battle," he replied nervously.
"Very well," she sighed, exasperated with his obvious support for Ba'al. "Leave me, all of you," Astarte announced once silence descended upon the peltac. She watched the Jaffa – her own and Ba'al – leave to arm themselves and the ship's weapons, and stepped up to the primary control console. She quickly contacted Saied and Jabir, both commanding one of her other ha'taks and relayed the information herself. Once she was done she was contacted by Ba'al, who was still with the child and told her they – he, Ataratah and her four remaining Kotharat – were safe in the child's chambers, which were surrounded by Jaffa. Normally that would somewhat reassure her, but she was quite certain most of those Jaffa were his own as they had already been assigned there by him. He refused her request to join her on the peltac and so she ended the communication.
Now that she was alone, Astarte contacted her true lord by using the ship's communications. "My Lord," she respectfully greeted him.
"Astarte, my sweet. We were not yet supposed to confer," he replied, his tone slightly berating.
Dipping her chin, she cast her gaze downwards. "I am aware, my love. However, the Asgard have just submerged from hyperspace and are readying their weapons as we speak. I have no doubt the Tau'ri and the shol'va will board this vessel in search of the child."
"I see," he muttered in a displeased tone. "Your defenses?"
"They are in place but will not suffice; obviously the Asgard have upgraded their ships since the Supreme Commander's abduction as they are here ahead of schedule."
He nodded in understanding. "Very well. We should have foreseen this. Nevertheless, you will defend the ship until defeat is imminent. Ensure Ba'al," he smirked despite the situation, "the child and the Kotharat remain safe."
"In that order, my Lord?" She inquired with a puzzled frown.
"Of course not; the child is our priority, the Kotharat carrying the prim'ta come second and Ba'al is expendable."
She graciously accepted his instructions. "Very well, I shall see to it."
"This will not be a problem?" He obviously referred to her lover's status.
"Of course not," she echoed his words. "After all, I have you, my love."
"Excellent," he smirked smugly.
Hearing the unmistakable clunk of Jaffa boots coming closer, Daniel searched for a safe place; there had to be a room around here somewhere! "In here," he whispered, opening the door. Thor had been able to beam them aboard Anubis' former mothership before its shields had been raised to full capacity. Despite being cloaked, the Asgard technology had been able to identify it because of the Ancient technology incorporated into it. They had been prowling the corridors and as far as he knew, they had managed to keep under the Goa'uld radar for now.
Jack walked backwards – his back against Carter's – pulling up the rear as Danny-boy, Doc, Teal'c and Carter entered the room before him. Once he stepped inside and turned around his jaw went slack. "Whoa!"
"Shh!" Teal'c insisted, his finger against his lips in a signal for silence. "They are asleep," he whispered in a nearly inaudible tone.
Signaling the Jaffa and Carter to keep their eyes trained on the creatures, Jack inserted his knife in between the two sliding doors to peek into the corridor. Silently praying those damn Jaffa would hurry up before these… things, would notice their presence. As soon as the last one passed, he pushed open both doors and ushered everyone back into the corridor. "What the hell, Daniel!"
"Sorry," he immediately apologized. "I hadn't realized that," he tapped on a small symbol on the pillar next to the doors, "is probably the sign for the Seraphim."
Janet winced at the furious expression on the General's face and held up her hand. "Let's not wake them now, Sir. Just get out of here."
"Oh!" Daniel exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "Do you remember that pendant on Astarte's forehead tiara? It had six wings and a pinkish stone on it."
"Like that symbol," Sam muttered, jerking her head towards the pillar. "So, she controls the Seraphim?"
He shrugged, unsure. "I don't know, could be. I hadn't expected both possibilities…"
"At least they were caged," Jack commented dryly. Some of the dragons on Gubla had been chained in the corners of the room, but they had shot them as soon as they were spotted because he doubted a simple chain could hold these creatures. "Let's get moving."
"O'Neill," Thor's voice came from the radios. "I have located a Goa'uld life sign, surrounded by Jaffa in chambers to your right. It is possible your offspring is present as well as there is an unidentified signal."
Swallowing hard, Sam dug her nails in the palm of her hand. "The same as before?"
"It is similar, yet not identical. Nor is it Goa'uld, Jaffa or human."
"Are you sure it's not one of those fiery serpents?" Jack questioned, wanting it to be their little girl but not ready to be surprised by one of those Seraphim – that could apparently incinerate them with their eyes.
"The signal deviates from that of the creatures you just encountered and those from the planet Gubla."
Slightly relieved, he let out a sigh. "Teal'c, you take lead, I'll bring up the rear."
"Indeed," Teal'c replied evenly, readying his staff weapon before turning the corner.
Slowly but surely they reached the corridor Thor had referred to and Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her palms were getting sweaty and she knew it wasn't because of the heavy vest but simple nerves and anxiety of the possibility of yet another disappointment. Glancing over her shoulder at Jack, she could see he was just as nervous as she was – his face was a blank mask but his eyes told her a different story. She reached for her radio as Teal'c held up his fist at the end of the corridor. "Thor?"
"There are twelve Jaffa guarding the corridor to your left, which leads to the Goa'uld."
Jack didn't need to hear more and with a few quick signals instructed his team to take positions and get ready. "Go!" He said in a loud whisper once everyone was awaiting his order.
Within seconds, the five had shot the Jaffa with their zats – and Teal'c with his staff weapon – clearing the way to the chamber. They prowled the remaining feet to the door, their senses on high alert. Luckily, they had Thor for backup who would inform them as soon as more enemies approached.
Moving the last dead Jaffa aside with his foot, Teal'c glanced at the incompetent warrior. "They appear to bear the symbol of Ba'al."
"Maybe we're lucky and Astarte is gone already," Daniel said hopefully.
Jack growled, glaring at his friend. "I want that bitch dead."
"Me too," Sam spat with venom, surprising her friends as she clenched her fingers around the personal gun – the Carter Special similar in design to the M4/M16, one she had apparently modified herself over a year ago - she was exchanging for the zat gun. Standing with her back to the wall, she merely shrugged her shoulders at them. After everything Ba'al and Astarte had done to her, Jack and their baby she was ready to snap the woman's neck herself.
Positioning himself flat against the wall next to the door, Jack waited until the others were in place as well. 'Ready?' he mouthed. Seeing them all nod an affirmative, he reached for his radio. "Thor, how many hostiles and where is the baby?"
"Approximately thirty Jaffa divided over the two adjoining chambers. The one you are about to enter is most heavily guarded by at least twenty Jaffa. The unidentified signal is in the adjoining room."
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand to calm himself. It would not do to fail now; they were so close! "The corridor?"
"It remains suspiciously empty."
Daniel flexed his fingers and straightened to his full height. "Nothing we can do about that," he said with grim determination.
Surprised, Jack looked at him before looking at his wife and other two friends. Even before his marriage to Sam the bond between SG-1 and even Napoleon had been strong, so he guessed he shouldn't be surprised they were all sporting serious expressions, faces reminding him of soldiers ready for battle. Of course, they were all soldiers – with the exception of Danny-boy, but even he had his moments – but never before had they had that murderous glint in their eyes. He knew, because he had seen it on himself far too many times during his career and it always surprised him it was absent from most of the people working at the SGC – except for the seasoned soldiers like himself and Teal'c. "Let's go," he whispered in a dangerous tone, opening the door.
Not entirely caught off guard, the Jaffa aimed their weapons at them and Ba'al stood behind them, smirking. However, they hadn't accounted for the raw emotion turning the normally moral, ethical yet somewhat daring and most certainly obnoxious Tau'ri into dangerous killing machines. Their projectile weapons set to automatic mowed down the incompetent Jaffa within minutes if not seconds. Teal'c used his staff weapon to blast holes in the bodies of his enemies, Jaffa who were a disgrace for his kind – not only because of their incompetence as warriors but for their allegiance to Ba'al – and used the other end to floor and hit others.
"SG-1," Ba'al said in distaste, yet even he heard the quiver in his voice when his eyes locked on those of O'Neill and Colonel Carter.
As their clips ran empty and the Jaffa were down, Sam didn't even bother to change it and let her weapon dangle on its harness clip. Before anyone could do anything or say a word, she grabbed her Beretta and fired – thrice.
Jack gaped, his ears still ringing from the weapon's fire and he stepped closer to Ba'al's fallen body. He carefully leaned over it his P-90 still trained on the lifeless body, examining the points of entry. "Sweet," he drawled, admiring the two shots to the heart and one to the center of the Goa'uld's forehead.
Daniel was still gaping, his mouth trying to form words but no sound came out as he glanced between Sam and Ba'al.
Getting out of her stupor, Janet needlessly went over to the body to check for a pulse. "Dead," she stated, feeling none.
"What's that?" Jack commented, seeing a chair-like device on the opposite wall. "Looks like that memory implant device Thor and Heimdall mentioned."
"Ah, yes," Daniel stammered a bit, finally able to talk again. "Um, wow Sam," he muttered.
Teal'c smiled at Colonel Carter, approval clear on his face. "Indeed. Should we not proceed to the adjoining room?"
"Go," Sam said, not even realizing she started giving out orders as she walked over to Jack and the device. "Janet?"
Daniel quickly followed Teal'c on his heels, again flexing his fingers nervously. He still wasn't used to shooting – killing – people and he didn't think he ever would, nor did he enjoy it. He also wasn't particularly good at it. But now was not the time to contemplate the thought of how easily he had fired upon those Jaffa, simply because he was so angry about what had happened to Sam and the baby. A glance over his shoulder showed Sam and Janet hovering over the device with Jack standing guard a few feet away. He frowned as he took position opposite to Teal'c near the door of the adjoining chambers.
"I believe O'Neill and Colonel Carter are afraid of what may lie behind this door," Teal'c informed Daniel Jackson as he noticed the Tau'ri's gaze. He too had expected O'Neill to be the first to open this door, even if he had to claw his way through. Yet, had he not also been surprised by Colonel Carter's actions mere seconds ago? He could not deny it gave him great satisfaction to see his friend avenge the wrong Ba'al had done to her. For the first time since their quest, though, he was certain they would find the child behind this door. Yet he understood the hesitancy of the two Tau'ri soldiers – they had faced many disappointments already.
Nodding, he tried to show his comprehension. "Open it," Daniel said, readying his gun.
Teal'c did as instructed and once his view of the occupants was clear, he fired upon the Jaffa females – not concerned by their status of priestesses, as they obviously were aware of the child's heritage and had not done anything about it. "O'Neill," he bellowed.
Daniel swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked at the brown-haired, blue-eyed toddler standing in the center of the room. There can only be one possibility, right? "Um, hi," he said in a gentle tone, but the child took a step backwards. As she looked up at him though, he immediately recognized the blue eyes; eyes that only minutes ago had been icy as their owner killed Ba'al.
"Teal'c, Daniel?" Jack called out after hearing his name. He wasn't sure what to make of their tone of voice. They didn't sound relieved as if they had found the baby but also not very disappointed… more like distressed or concerned.
"You guys should get over here," Daniel replied, still looking at the child.
"Why, what's going on…" his voice trailed off as he walked through the doorway and came up behind his two friends. "Oh God," he whispered, staring at the little girl before him.
"Sir?"
"Jack?" Sam questioned at the same time as Janet. Pushing past him, Sam came eye-to-eye with the child.
Teal'c immediately held out his arm to prevent his friends from getting closer. "Wait," he warned them, gesturing towards the child.
It was only then that Jack noticed the green personal shield – something Ba'al hadn't activated in time – enveloping her small frame. "What…?"
"The harakash," Daniel said in a soft tone, his eyes trained on the small ring weapon the girl had around her finger, aimed at him.
Dropping her weapons, Sam pushed Teal'c's arm away and walked around him and Daniel. "Hey ho-" She swallowed hard and cleared her throat, blinking her eyes to keep her tears at bay. "Hi honey," she tried again, leaning down and crouching a bit closer as she felt more than saw Jack come up behind her.
Staring at the pretty woman, Ataratah experienced a familiar tingle in her belly but still backed away as the imposing silver-haired man stepped closer. She pointed her hand at the man as she had been taught and blinked at the couple.
"Easy there, sweetheart," Jack cooed as he too lowered himself – mindful of the dead bodies on the floor. It certainly weren't the best circumstances to meet your child for the first time…
Raising her eyes at him, something clicked in her head and she lowered her hand slowly. "Whewe is Lowd Ba'al?"
Jack fought the emotions welling up in him as he realized she was asking about the son of a bitch who was responsible for taking her away from them – the one currently lying dead on the floor in the adjoining room. He plopped down on his six on the floor and pulled Sam down with him. "He's not coming back, honey," he tried to be gentle but couldn't help the relief sounding through his voice. Scooting forward he cautiously reached out to her in a non-threatening manner. "C'mere baby."
"Who awe you?" Ataratah felt something pull inside her and frowned, biting her lower lip. Still, she took a cautious step forward… and then another… and another.
As his fingers brushed the fabric of her deep blue mantle, he blinked his eyes furiously as he felt tears well up. "I'm… I'm your daddy."
"Daddy?" She questioned, the word coming out awkward as she tested it for the first time. Cocking her head, she looked at the pretty woman with the golden hair who felt familiar. "You?"
"I'm your mommy," Sam replied in a quivering voice, giving her a watery smile.
Before his daughter could move, Jack reached out both arms and wrapped them around her, pulling her against his chest in a tight hug – and effectively immobilizing her arm that still had the ashrak's weapon on its hand. "Oh God," he muttered, squeezing her tighter as he buried his face in her hair.
Janet tried to wipe away the tears trailing down her face, but it was of no use; they simply kept coming. "Oh my," she mumbled as the green shield flickered and then disappeared. The little girl, who looked like a perfect mixture of genes from Sam and the General, appeared to melt in the General's embrace now that the last barrier was gone. Sam immediately threw her arms around her husband and child as well.
"Our baby," Sam whispered, pressing her cheek against her daughter's shoulder.
Ataratah started pushing against the man's chest, getting uncomfortable in this unfamiliar hold. "Let go," she cried, pushing harder.
Surprised at her anguished tone, Jack immediately let go and watched his girl stumble backwards. "Careful," he cautioned her, before a blue light enveloped her. His head snapped back to his friends. "What the hell?"
Rushing towards her unconscious daughter, Sam effortlessly picked her up in her arms. "She's breathing, she's okay!"
"I'm sorry, Sir," Janet apologized, a pained look on her face. "I had to sedate her before she would hurt herself or any of us," she explained, putting away her zat. "I knew it wouldn't hurt her."
"My Lady!" Nassir exclaimed, pounding on the door to the peltac. The door opened to reveal his goddess with a questioning look on her divined face. "The Tau'ri came and the female killed Lord Ba'al!"
Frowning, Astarte stepped aside to allow him to enter and returned to her console. "What of the child?"
"Deasura was in the adjoining room; I could not reach her and had to leave to inform you of the events before the Tau'ri noticed my presence! I apologize for failing you, my Lady."
"Do not concern yourself with that," she replied coolly. "It was to be expected the Tau'ri would steal her away, driven as they were. Such passion," she sighed.
Confused, Nassir simply nodded, relieved his mistress apparently did not blame him. "Indeed. But what of Lord Ba'al-" He stopped himself as he looked at his goddess and for the first time noticed the man on the screen. "But how? I saw Colonel Carter-"
"He is a God," Astarte interrupted him, raising an eyebrow challenging him to dispute that now that he saw her consort – the original one – was very much alive.
"Indeed," Ba'al confirmed, smirking. "Now, my love, it is most unfortunate but we cannot retrieve the child at this moment. Ensure you and your underlings will join me on Praxyon soon."
She bowed respectfully, batting her lashes at him. "Of course, my Lord. I will inform you when we are underway," she replied, before disconnecting. As soon as the screen went black, she contacted Saied. "Retrieve myself, Nassir and my remaining Seraphim immediately and set course for Praxyon when we get aboard."
A bright white light enveloped the two of them before the peltac was devoid of life.
Hours later, Jack tiredly opened his eyes and squinted at the small alien standing in front of him. Glancing around the Asgard ship, he noticed his daughter was still asleep next to him in the medical pod and Sam was attached to the memory implant device. "Thor?"
"You are awake," he stated with surprise. "Doctor Fraiser and myself were able to retrieve the memories of Colonel Carter stored on the device's crystals and she is processing them now in her sleep."
"I can't believe I fell asleep," he muttered, rubbing his tired eyes. He couldn't even remember lying down or closing his eyes.
Thor tilted his head to the side curiously. "Doctor Fraiser assured me you had requested the mild sedative she injected into your bloodstream."
"Oh right, that sedative," Jack mumbled sarcastically, glaring at the petite doctor standing behind the gray Asgard.
"You needed your rest, Sir," Janet said in a non-apologetic tone.
He skeptically raised an eyebrow. "If I'm not mistaken, Doc, you've been awake longer than I have."
"Maybe Sir, but you were emotionally drained, which is not surprising since you just found your daughter," she replied with a smile as she glanced at the little girl. "Sam's naquadah and your ATA gene probably was what made her lower her guard, Sir; she recognized you because of it."
"You mean…?"
Thor nodded briefly. "Correct, while you were resting Heimdall conducted the proper tests and they revealed she is indeed your offspring. And that of Colonel Carter."
Hearing the alien's hesitant tone, Jack prodded. "But…?"
"It appears Ba'al has succeeded in his plans to implant her with the knowledge of the Ancients-"
"What?" He exclaimed loudly.
Janet stepped forward and placed her hand on the General's arm, hoping to calm him down. "Yes Sir. I won't bore you with the details but it probably has something to do with malleable intelligence and neural plasticity. The brain grows rapidly the first five years of a human's life. Children have a critical period in their brain development until they're eight years old. The critical period, defined as the beginning years of brain development, is essential to intellectual development, as the brain optimizes the overproduction of synapses present at the critical period, the neuronal pathways are refined based on which synapses are active and receiving transmission. It is a "use it or lose it" phenomenon. The beginnings of languages are formed before their second birthday and executive attention-"
"Ack! Bottom line, Doc? Because last I heard was that the human brain wasn't advanced enough for all that information. It nearly killed me – twice!"
Sighing, she relented. "I know, Sir. Not even the Asgard can comprehend all the knowledge. But it looks like Ba'al used some kind of technology – possible the memory implant device from the Galarans – to stimulate her neuronal pathways. She didn't lose any of them, Sir and by using small portions extracted from the – by the baby – activated repository he was able to implement the knowledge without adversely affecting her brain."
Rubbing his face tiredly with his hand, Jack cast his eyes to the floor, a forlorn feeling settling over him. "Now what?"
"Heimdall and myself have been able to erase small parts of it, remove the memory of what she has endured and modify the parts of her brain that we could not risk affecting, so that the knowledge still present will gradually unravel itself with time," Thor explained patiently.
"So not everything from that head sucker is in her tiny head?"
Janet chuckled softly. "No Sir, I don't think Ba'al got even halfway through. Still, it's a huge amount of knowledge she has and with Sam's genes… Phew," she whistled, shaking her head.
He nodded in understanding, once more looking at her peaceful little face. "Were you able to determine how old she is?"
"Not exactly," Thor replied. "We identified the nano-virus that is responsible for aging her this rapidly. Apparently, the different stages of development were necessary for Ba'al's execution of plans. However, we were able to reverse it as she was not born with the virus-"
"Just like when I was infected," Jack muttered, remembering that horrible time in the first year of the program he had unwittingly married an alien woman and aged over fifty years in hours!
"Correct, once we reach Earth she will return to her natural age."
Squeezing his arm gently, Janet drew his attention. "Which should be about seven weeks, Sir. Now, I think you should rest a bit more. Heimdall made sure to knock Sam out because the implantation of so many memories at once could be a bit painful and unsettling, so she won't wake up during the night. And neither will your little girl."
"I think we can all use some shut-eye," Jack murmured agreeably as he noticed Teal'c approaching.
"Indeed, O'Neill. I merely wished to inquire about your wife and daughter," Teal'c replied as he stepped up to Colonel Carter's chair. With minimal effort, he moved the chair – with the Tau'ri still in it – next to O'Neill's gurney.
He smirked, gently caressing Sam's cheek. "Thanks T. They're both doing great, and should be back to normal first thing in the morning."
"That is indeed most fortunate news. I shall inform Daniel Jackson. Goodnight, my friends," he bowed his head and left for Daniel Jackson's personal quarters.
"I'm going to bed too," Janet mumbled, discreetly yawning.
"G'night everyone," Jack replied, watching the alien and the petite doctor leave. Grabbing Carter's hand, he placed his other on the medical pod and closed his eyes.
"O'Neill," Thor spoke up, waiting for the Tau'ri to open his eyes again. "The Asgard High Council has requested I suggest the name 'Alexandra' to you and Colonel Carter. According to our research of your planet and history, it means defender or protector of mankind. With the knowledge that will slowly unfold in her mind, she will be able to protect many more species. We would be honored to name your offspring and perhaps we can collaborate on designs for Alexandra O'Neill once she is of age."
"Welcome home," Hank greeted, for once prepared for the arrival of his people. "Jack, Colonel Carter, congratulations on your daughter," he grinned, gazing at the small baby wrapped in a dark blue bundle. "And the rest of you congratulations on your success of the most important mission we've ever had to face. I think this is the best Christmas present any of us could have hoped for," he added. He realized that with everything his old friend had gone through in the past year, Christmas wouldn't be high on his priority list but he also knew their Christmas was going to be far more special with their little girl present. Not to mention their first year wedding anniversary coming up on Friday, a week before Christmas.
"Indeed," Teal'c confirmed, grinning broadly at the infant in Colonel Carter's arms.
"Well Jack," Henry Hayes gleefully rubbed his hands together. "Good job! Now, why don't you introduce your daughter to us?"
Raising his brows in surprise at the President's presence in the gate room – which was already filled with grinning personnel – he smirked, wrapping an arm around Carter. "Of course, Sir. Well kids," his eyes darted around the room, taking in all the familiar – and some unfamiliar – faces, "this is our daughter; Alexandra "Sasha" O'Neill."
A warm applause was heard at his announcement, inadvertently waking the baby. Sam tried to hush her quietly as Jack looked on.
"Um… yes," Daniel spoke up, his brows knitted together in concentration as he realized his friends needed some time alone with their baby. "Why don't we start our debrief. I can tell you all about the origins of Alexandra's- Oomph"
"Sasha," Jack interrupted him with a poke in his side.
"-name," he finished indignantly. "It were actually the Asgard who suggested it because it has a special meaning…"
Sam smiled as Sasha's chubby little fingers reached for her fingers and looked up at her husband – the man she finally remembered – as Daniel's voice trailed off while he and Teal'c were herding everyone out of the gate room. "I love you," Sam whispered, leaning into him.
"I love you two too," Jack grinned, pressing a kiss to her temple.
The End…
A/N: It's over, the story has come to an end! I would love to hear what everyone thought of the story, since it was a bit more adventurous than my previous ones. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, even though I was sometimes frustrated with it! On one hand, I'm glad it's done, that I can label it complete and yet on the other I am somewhat sad because I truly liked the research and everything. One of my other fics, "Found" is a short sequel to this one.
To top it all off, this fic has been awarded the 2011 GateFic Award in the SG-1 Het Fic: Sam/Jack Alternate Reality category ! How awesome is that?
