Listening to the Chancellor's seemingly sincere apology, Jonas
watched as he backed away slightly, even though the Kelownan made no move
towards the Aloshan.
Something had him spooked, and Jonas soon realised what it was.
Whirling immediately, he came face to face with the beautiful, yet wickedly evil features of a woman with blood-red hair, flowing over her shoulders like a discoloured waterfall, her green eyes regarding him curiously.
Jonas took a deep breath in, and stepped back, drawing his zat and aiming it.
The eyes flashed as she stepped completely from the shadows. As her description had informed him, she was clad entirely in gold, and an elegant but deadly hand-device was woven around her wrist and palm, tipping each of her fingers on her right hand.
Her eyes floated over Jonas' shoulder, and in her fluidic warped voice, she calmly said, "Leave, old man. And do not return."
Jonas watched out of the corner of his eye as Veran fled as fast as his old frame would permit, soon out of sight.
"Anta," Jonas said quietly, staring the Goa'uld directly in the eye. He wanted to fire, but his hand would not allow it, frozen in position.
She smiled wickedly, and nodded her head gracefully. "Yes. I have watched you. You have learnt much of me."
Jonas stood in the middle of the room, his only escape route happening to be directly past Anta.
"You know of my mother and father, do you not?" she asked smoothly, her voice sending a shiver down Jonas' spine.
He nodded, transfixed by her gaze. He closed his eyes briefly, giving his head a quick shake, before defiantly saying, "I know they are dead."
The eyes flashed again, and she growled, "You are responsible for their deaths, and you will be duly punished for this great injustice." She knocked the zat from his hand, and it skittered across the floor, several feet away.
Jonas made a grab for an opportunity to escape that he knew deep in his mind didn't really exist. As soon as he started to move, Anta had a hold of him, and had thrown him backwards without much effort at all.
His back slammed into the wall, and he gasped at the burning pain in his shoulder. He held a hand to it gently, watching her approach.
"I didn't kill them," Jonas told her, his voice wavering slightly. He swallowed dryly, and steeled his resolves. He wasn't going to allow himself to become frightened.
"Liar," she growled, pacing towards him.
"Ra has been dead for seven years... before I even went to Earth, and Hathor died before then as well. I never had the pleasure of meeting them," he told her, as she stopped before him. He knew sarcasm, even in such a small amount probably wasn't a good idea.
"You are not human?"
He shook his head. "No."
She stared at the hand he held on his shoulder, and inquired, "Where are you from?"
Jonas stayed silent. He should never have said anything to her in the first place. He had made a mistake in coming here... he knew that now. He would be lucky if O'Neill and the others made it in time.
In a swift action, Anta locked a hand around Jonas' throat, the other hand grabbing him by the right shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.
"What planet are you from?" she hissed, forcing him harder against the wall.
Again, Jonas did not speak, but concentrated on pushing the agony down. He didn't want Anta to know how much it hurt... she would use it against him.
Her eyes flashing in rage, she flung him through the air.
He landed hard on the floor near the far wall, giving a gasp of pain as he felt his shoulder dislocate as it had before. He clamped his eyes shut against it, and hissed through clenched teeth.
"Why do you insist on punishing yourself?" she asked of him as she moved gracefully across the distance she had thrown him.
Jonas' eyes looked up into hers, and he remained silent once again.
He heard the ringing of metal as she removed a sharp blade from a sheath in her belt, and twisted it so that the light reflected off of it.
Jonas knelt on the floor, holding his left hand to his right shoulder, staring up at Anta as she loomed over him, dagger in her hand.
"Very well," she grumbled angrily, "I will enjoy ending your life before I travel back to the Tau'ri. I will punish them for their crimes against my mother and father."
Jonas forced himself to stand, facing Anta off bravely. Suddenly, he wasn't so afraid to die.
But that was when he heard the faint sound of a zat from down the corridor, and he spun on his heels.
A strong arm latched around his chest, as he felt Anta press the dagger to his throat. He remained still, after a brief moment of struggle in which he had realised that doing so may result in his death.
Teal'c was the first to appear, and he halted instantly at the sight in the chamber. There was a certain hint of alarm in his gaze as his eyes flicked between his friend and the Goa'uld holding him tightly.
Jonas shoulder throbbed and burned with pain as Anta took great pleasure in applying large amounts of pressure to it as she gripped him. Jonas' hands were latched on her arm, but he felt he had no strength to try and free himself. He was in a considerable amount of agony, and from his prior exhaustion, he felt on the verge of collapse.
Carter and O'Neill arrived simultaneously, and the Colonel raised his weapon at Anta, followed by Sam.
"Lower your weapons or I will kill him," Anta warned loudly, her voice distorted, menacing.
Colonel O'Neill hesitated, but Carter mumbled his name to him, and he reluctantly lowered it to the ground.
O'Neill looked Jonas in the eye, and the two locked gazes for a moment. The only thing Jonas could see in the Colonel's expression was worry.
* * *
Carter stared at the Goa'uld holding Jonas at knifepoint, and shuddered at the frightening resemblance she held to Hathor.
Anta -as Jonas had called her- noticed her gaze, and said with a smile, "I see the shock in your eyes. The same surprise you showed when you saw my mother before you."
And then her body changed suddenly, and for one disconcerting and extremely confusing moment, she took on the form of Jonas. She smiled in her new form, and then quickly changed back.
Jonas struggled for a moment, before Anta squeezed his shoulder, and he gave a small cry.
Carter's face was as if set in stone, and she calmly, but firmly said, "Let him go."
Anta trailed the blade down Jonas' face, taking great pleasure in the discomfort she instilled in her captive. She did not speak, but continued to stare Carter in the eye as she contently tormented Jonas.
"Hey," O'Neill exclaimed then, and took a step forward. A single step, but enough to make Anta immediately move backwards, dragging the Kelownan back with her.
Carter noted the look of pain in Jonas' eyes, and the fear. He had never experienced anything like this before, whereas the others had. It was all too new for him, and all too unsettling. If she knew she wouldn't get Jonas and herself killed in the attempt, Carter would have rushed forward then and tried to help her friend.
"What do you want with him anyway?" O'Neill demanded in his usual sarcastic tones that he reserved especially for the Goa'uld. "From what I understand, you're holding a grudge on the one who killed your mom and dad, right?"
"This is correct," Anta growled, and waited for the Colonel to continue.
O'Neill held his hands out wide, showing himself off for all that he was. A now-unarmed man of middle age, and moderate fighting prowess.
"Well, here he is," he announced proudly with a smile.
But as Anta did not release the Kelownan, O'Neill shouted, "I'm the one you want, lady, let him go!"
* * *
Jonas heard O'Neill's words over the sound of his own beating heart, and felt the cold blade brush against his neck again.
The Colonel was trying to get the Goa'uld away from him, and so far, it wasn't working. Jonas could feel the tension now building in the woman's body, and he knew then that she was furious. O'Neill's words had stirred a response in her, if only a slight silent one.
Jonas looked over at Teal'c, who was staring intently on something across the room. He followed the Jaffa's gaze as best he could, and noted what had the man so transfixed.
Jonas' zat.
He looked back ay Teal'c, who now looked right back at him, raising an eyebrow.
Jonas tilted his head discreetly, feeling the cold metal brush again his neck once more, and gave Teal'c a silent signal of approval.
Anything was better than this.
Teal'c gazed to O'Neill, who -through years of working with the tall dark alien- understood his plan entirely, whereas Carter simply stood oblivious in the middle, glaring at Anta.
O'Neill lowered his hands to his sides, and spoke to the Goa'uld loudly, "What's the matter with you anyway? Where are all your little evil minions?"
"I do not have Jaffa," Anta replied, tightening her grip on Jonas again.
Jonas winced.
"Why not? Can't afford to pay them?"
O'Neill was taking his usual cheap stabs at the enemy, and this time they seemed to be working.
"They are unreliable."
"Oh, I get it... girl power and all that." O'Neill glanced at Carter with a shrug. "Fair enough."
Jonas looked over at Teal'c as the Colonel continued to ramble relentlessly about whatever came to mind... anything that would mildly insult the woman.
The Jaffa was edging closer and closer to the dropped weapon. Anta would have seen Teal'c reaching for the one he had dropped upon her command. It was too obvious.
Jonas hoped he hurried it along.
* * *
By this time, Sam had noticed Teal'c's tiny movements, and she saw exactly what he was headed for. A dropped zat, about seven feet away from him.
That explained the Colonel's non-stop rambling.
Carter felt a little useless just standing there, unarmed, and staring at Jonas and the Goa'uld. She wished to do something to help, but if Teal'c was going to do what she thought he was going to do, then she may very well come in useful very soon.
She eyed her P-90. It was set about two feet in front of her, just waiting to be picked up.
Teal'c gave a silent look to O'Neill, who loudly shouted, "Ever wonder why your mother and father are dead? Because you're pathetic life sucking worms who always lose!"
Anta's eyes flashed, and she gripped her dagger's blade, whilst tightening her fist around Jonas' dislocated shoulder, which caused him to give a shout.
At that exact same moment, Teal'c lunged for the zat, his hand clamping around it, opening it, and firing it.
The energy struck Anta in the side, knocking her to the floor. Jonas fell, rolling away, slightly stunned, and in a lot of pain.
O'Neill leapt back away from the swiping blade of the Goa'uld, who now screamed in fury. He stumbled to the floor, having tripped over his own foot.
Anta stood, moving intently for the helpless Kelownan near to her. She raised her dagger.
Move! Carter's mind screamed in her head, and she jumped into action, reaching down, grabbing her weapon, aiming it, and squeezing the trigger as hard as she could.
Something had him spooked, and Jonas soon realised what it was.
Whirling immediately, he came face to face with the beautiful, yet wickedly evil features of a woman with blood-red hair, flowing over her shoulders like a discoloured waterfall, her green eyes regarding him curiously.
Jonas took a deep breath in, and stepped back, drawing his zat and aiming it.
The eyes flashed as she stepped completely from the shadows. As her description had informed him, she was clad entirely in gold, and an elegant but deadly hand-device was woven around her wrist and palm, tipping each of her fingers on her right hand.
Her eyes floated over Jonas' shoulder, and in her fluidic warped voice, she calmly said, "Leave, old man. And do not return."
Jonas watched out of the corner of his eye as Veran fled as fast as his old frame would permit, soon out of sight.
"Anta," Jonas said quietly, staring the Goa'uld directly in the eye. He wanted to fire, but his hand would not allow it, frozen in position.
She smiled wickedly, and nodded her head gracefully. "Yes. I have watched you. You have learnt much of me."
Jonas stood in the middle of the room, his only escape route happening to be directly past Anta.
"You know of my mother and father, do you not?" she asked smoothly, her voice sending a shiver down Jonas' spine.
He nodded, transfixed by her gaze. He closed his eyes briefly, giving his head a quick shake, before defiantly saying, "I know they are dead."
The eyes flashed again, and she growled, "You are responsible for their deaths, and you will be duly punished for this great injustice." She knocked the zat from his hand, and it skittered across the floor, several feet away.
Jonas made a grab for an opportunity to escape that he knew deep in his mind didn't really exist. As soon as he started to move, Anta had a hold of him, and had thrown him backwards without much effort at all.
His back slammed into the wall, and he gasped at the burning pain in his shoulder. He held a hand to it gently, watching her approach.
"I didn't kill them," Jonas told her, his voice wavering slightly. He swallowed dryly, and steeled his resolves. He wasn't going to allow himself to become frightened.
"Liar," she growled, pacing towards him.
"Ra has been dead for seven years... before I even went to Earth, and Hathor died before then as well. I never had the pleasure of meeting them," he told her, as she stopped before him. He knew sarcasm, even in such a small amount probably wasn't a good idea.
"You are not human?"
He shook his head. "No."
She stared at the hand he held on his shoulder, and inquired, "Where are you from?"
Jonas stayed silent. He should never have said anything to her in the first place. He had made a mistake in coming here... he knew that now. He would be lucky if O'Neill and the others made it in time.
In a swift action, Anta locked a hand around Jonas' throat, the other hand grabbing him by the right shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.
"What planet are you from?" she hissed, forcing him harder against the wall.
Again, Jonas did not speak, but concentrated on pushing the agony down. He didn't want Anta to know how much it hurt... she would use it against him.
Her eyes flashing in rage, she flung him through the air.
He landed hard on the floor near the far wall, giving a gasp of pain as he felt his shoulder dislocate as it had before. He clamped his eyes shut against it, and hissed through clenched teeth.
"Why do you insist on punishing yourself?" she asked of him as she moved gracefully across the distance she had thrown him.
Jonas' eyes looked up into hers, and he remained silent once again.
He heard the ringing of metal as she removed a sharp blade from a sheath in her belt, and twisted it so that the light reflected off of it.
Jonas knelt on the floor, holding his left hand to his right shoulder, staring up at Anta as she loomed over him, dagger in her hand.
"Very well," she grumbled angrily, "I will enjoy ending your life before I travel back to the Tau'ri. I will punish them for their crimes against my mother and father."
Jonas forced himself to stand, facing Anta off bravely. Suddenly, he wasn't so afraid to die.
But that was when he heard the faint sound of a zat from down the corridor, and he spun on his heels.
A strong arm latched around his chest, as he felt Anta press the dagger to his throat. He remained still, after a brief moment of struggle in which he had realised that doing so may result in his death.
Teal'c was the first to appear, and he halted instantly at the sight in the chamber. There was a certain hint of alarm in his gaze as his eyes flicked between his friend and the Goa'uld holding him tightly.
Jonas shoulder throbbed and burned with pain as Anta took great pleasure in applying large amounts of pressure to it as she gripped him. Jonas' hands were latched on her arm, but he felt he had no strength to try and free himself. He was in a considerable amount of agony, and from his prior exhaustion, he felt on the verge of collapse.
Carter and O'Neill arrived simultaneously, and the Colonel raised his weapon at Anta, followed by Sam.
"Lower your weapons or I will kill him," Anta warned loudly, her voice distorted, menacing.
Colonel O'Neill hesitated, but Carter mumbled his name to him, and he reluctantly lowered it to the ground.
O'Neill looked Jonas in the eye, and the two locked gazes for a moment. The only thing Jonas could see in the Colonel's expression was worry.
* * *
Carter stared at the Goa'uld holding Jonas at knifepoint, and shuddered at the frightening resemblance she held to Hathor.
Anta -as Jonas had called her- noticed her gaze, and said with a smile, "I see the shock in your eyes. The same surprise you showed when you saw my mother before you."
And then her body changed suddenly, and for one disconcerting and extremely confusing moment, she took on the form of Jonas. She smiled in her new form, and then quickly changed back.
Jonas struggled for a moment, before Anta squeezed his shoulder, and he gave a small cry.
Carter's face was as if set in stone, and she calmly, but firmly said, "Let him go."
Anta trailed the blade down Jonas' face, taking great pleasure in the discomfort she instilled in her captive. She did not speak, but continued to stare Carter in the eye as she contently tormented Jonas.
"Hey," O'Neill exclaimed then, and took a step forward. A single step, but enough to make Anta immediately move backwards, dragging the Kelownan back with her.
Carter noted the look of pain in Jonas' eyes, and the fear. He had never experienced anything like this before, whereas the others had. It was all too new for him, and all too unsettling. If she knew she wouldn't get Jonas and herself killed in the attempt, Carter would have rushed forward then and tried to help her friend.
"What do you want with him anyway?" O'Neill demanded in his usual sarcastic tones that he reserved especially for the Goa'uld. "From what I understand, you're holding a grudge on the one who killed your mom and dad, right?"
"This is correct," Anta growled, and waited for the Colonel to continue.
O'Neill held his hands out wide, showing himself off for all that he was. A now-unarmed man of middle age, and moderate fighting prowess.
"Well, here he is," he announced proudly with a smile.
But as Anta did not release the Kelownan, O'Neill shouted, "I'm the one you want, lady, let him go!"
* * *
Jonas heard O'Neill's words over the sound of his own beating heart, and felt the cold blade brush against his neck again.
The Colonel was trying to get the Goa'uld away from him, and so far, it wasn't working. Jonas could feel the tension now building in the woman's body, and he knew then that she was furious. O'Neill's words had stirred a response in her, if only a slight silent one.
Jonas looked over at Teal'c, who was staring intently on something across the room. He followed the Jaffa's gaze as best he could, and noted what had the man so transfixed.
Jonas' zat.
He looked back ay Teal'c, who now looked right back at him, raising an eyebrow.
Jonas tilted his head discreetly, feeling the cold metal brush again his neck once more, and gave Teal'c a silent signal of approval.
Anything was better than this.
Teal'c gazed to O'Neill, who -through years of working with the tall dark alien- understood his plan entirely, whereas Carter simply stood oblivious in the middle, glaring at Anta.
O'Neill lowered his hands to his sides, and spoke to the Goa'uld loudly, "What's the matter with you anyway? Where are all your little evil minions?"
"I do not have Jaffa," Anta replied, tightening her grip on Jonas again.
Jonas winced.
"Why not? Can't afford to pay them?"
O'Neill was taking his usual cheap stabs at the enemy, and this time they seemed to be working.
"They are unreliable."
"Oh, I get it... girl power and all that." O'Neill glanced at Carter with a shrug. "Fair enough."
Jonas looked over at Teal'c as the Colonel continued to ramble relentlessly about whatever came to mind... anything that would mildly insult the woman.
The Jaffa was edging closer and closer to the dropped weapon. Anta would have seen Teal'c reaching for the one he had dropped upon her command. It was too obvious.
Jonas hoped he hurried it along.
* * *
By this time, Sam had noticed Teal'c's tiny movements, and she saw exactly what he was headed for. A dropped zat, about seven feet away from him.
That explained the Colonel's non-stop rambling.
Carter felt a little useless just standing there, unarmed, and staring at Jonas and the Goa'uld. She wished to do something to help, but if Teal'c was going to do what she thought he was going to do, then she may very well come in useful very soon.
She eyed her P-90. It was set about two feet in front of her, just waiting to be picked up.
Teal'c gave a silent look to O'Neill, who loudly shouted, "Ever wonder why your mother and father are dead? Because you're pathetic life sucking worms who always lose!"
Anta's eyes flashed, and she gripped her dagger's blade, whilst tightening her fist around Jonas' dislocated shoulder, which caused him to give a shout.
At that exact same moment, Teal'c lunged for the zat, his hand clamping around it, opening it, and firing it.
The energy struck Anta in the side, knocking her to the floor. Jonas fell, rolling away, slightly stunned, and in a lot of pain.
O'Neill leapt back away from the swiping blade of the Goa'uld, who now screamed in fury. He stumbled to the floor, having tripped over his own foot.
Anta stood, moving intently for the helpless Kelownan near to her. She raised her dagger.
Move! Carter's mind screamed in her head, and she jumped into action, reaching down, grabbing her weapon, aiming it, and squeezing the trigger as hard as she could.