Chapter 18
Reincarnation and realization
Alone in his room, Tolm felt safe, and yet open. She was gone! She was really really gone! He knew Kajren felt an equal amount of pain, for the loss of N'kiri. Alone on his bed, he wept. Finally, he'd finally kissed her! She had seen him as worthy, which he was not, and blessed him with her love, and then, she'd passed! How could he go on now? The tau'ri had decided to take her body back with them to Abydos, her true planet of birth, and give her a proper burial. He did not want to go with them, and yet he felt an obligation to do so. He remembered how cold her hands had felt just a few short hours ago, how deathly. They had finally washed the make-up from her face, so that he might see how she really looked, and not how N'kiri had wished for her to look. She was even more beautiful without it. And yet, so pale with her illness! The To'kra couldn't find the cure to the poison in time, so he would never see her in perfect health, ever.
"Tolm." a soft voice said, entering his door less room. Quickly he wiped his eyes and steadied his voice.
"Y-yes?"
"I think you might want to come look at this!"
Shakily, he got up and followed the tall To'kra woman into the room they'd lain Thera in.
"She seems to have an odd reaction to you. Someone mentioned you and Kajren, and suddenly, her life signs just rose. Then, it dropped down again. We think she may have had one last bit of energy left in her, reserved for you, but we weren't sure. Either way, I think you might be able to bring her back."
Slowly, Tolm walked over to her side, his breath quick and uncomfortable. She might not be dead! She might not be dead! He winced, seeing her pale, pasty face. There was no way. . . . But then he remembered the human religious concept of miracles. He'd never taken a religion, knowing that the belief of the goa'ulds as gods was one. But if she was truly alive. . . . He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. He almost pulled back, feeling as though he was touching ice. There was a sudden surge of warmth, them ice again.
"Tolm?"
Tolm whirled around and had to stifle a gasp. Thera stood before him, in a shimmering white gown, looking absolutely perfect.
"Tolm." she said again, smiling this time. "Are you all right? Okay, that was a stupid question."
"Are you real?" he whispered. Thera nodded.
"Yes and no. She can't hear me." she jerked her head toward the back of the To'kra woman. "And as long as we're talking, nobody can hear you. And, if you throw something at me, it'll go right through me, but I swear I'm real!"
Tolm just stared in awe, and took a few steps toward her.
"Thera! H-h-how did this happen?"
"Oma Desalla." she replied simply. "She ascended me. Of course, I'm not truly ascended. N'kiri is still alive, so I'll have to return to my body soon. And even then, I can leave it, for short periods of time of course."
"Then, you're coming back!"
Thera gave him a lopsided grin.
"I could come back, or I could join the ancients." she took a few steps toward him. "But I think I'd rather live!"
Tolm reached out to her, but was horrified to see his hand pass right through her. Suddenly, Thera began to glow a bright light.
"I'll see you on the other side." she murmured, and then disappeared.
"That's it." the To'kra said wearily. "She's showing no life force whatsoever. I guess it was just wishful thinking."
"No!" Tolm said suddenly. "Run a more complete scan! Her bio- readings are low because her body's slowed down! She's still alive."
The woman turned and began doing something with some control panels.
"You are right!" she exclaimed.
Thera suddenly gasped and gripped Tolm's hand. The two just looked at each other, smiling, and tears welled up in Thera's eyes.
"I'm back." she mouthed, and Tolm nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
When they left the To'kra base planet, Thera was heard whispering "I'll come and visit you." To the SG teams' confused looks, she simply assured them that she would explain later, and they all stepped through the Stargate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~
Without Tolm to distract her, Thera had spent hours locked up in her temporary quarters, sometimes trying to invent things, other times writing down the gobs of information she'd acquired during her brief ascension, then ripping the papers up so nobody could find it. Apparently, she had the same 'fine line' views as Daniel. She'd retired her skimpy Egyptian clothes and changed into the loose, comfortable clothes the military provided. This, of course, had not lessened her stress at all. In fact, she repetitively asked Daniel questions about anything he knew of his ascension, and the few questions he managed to answer, only made her more tense.
After one of her 'waste-five-sheets-of-paper-then-tear-them-up-and- throw-them-away, -give-a-strangled-cry-of-stress-and-pound-her-head-on-- desk' sessions, she headed down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. After scanning the possibilities, she selected a rich, chocolate mousse and a glass of milk and sat down at one of the empty tables. Nobody in sight! Good! She was sick of all the stares! Suddenly, as though to ruin her moment of peace, several people walked in. SG1 looked rather tired, having just returned from a mission. Jack and Daniel were arguing over the dumbest thing.
"Danny! For the last time, hockey is better than lacrosse!"
"Hockey has to be played in the winter, and the winter alone! Lacrosse can be played any time!"
"Yeah, until the players get rained out!"
"It can be played both indoors and outdoors!"
"Yeah, well-"
"SHUT-UP!" Thera cried. "GEEZ! Do neither of you have anything better to do than argue!? Here we are, the world in jeopardy because of a new system lord, and you two are arguing over equally fine sports! You two are SO immature!"
Thera snorted angrily and shoveled a bite of pie into her mouth, glaring at the chocolate.
"And she calls us immature!" Jack muttered, as they all made their way to the food area. When they returned, Jack and Daniel were arguing again.
"Daniel, it's a rock, for crying out loud!"
"It could hold all sorts of geographical or historical-"
"Daniel! It's a rock!"
Thera rolled her eyes and gulped down some milk, turning to the notebook she'd brought with her. Right now, she was working on a device that could bring a dead person back to life. More of a pastime than an actual idea, but it was more productive than the twelve pages she'd wasted writing 'Tolm' over and over. Suddenly, she found herself wondering who her real mother was. It was an Abydonian, of course. Had she been forced to give birth to Thera, had she been stolen, or willingly conceived? How old was she, actually?
Well, if you were curious, why didn't you just ask me?
Ok, N'kiri, who was my mother?
Well, it's not actually as simple as that.
I was afraid of that. All right, fire away!
Ra wanted me to rule the planet Carresia in his absence. Unfortunately, my old host died, so we took some of her DNA and cloned her. The cloning, however, was unsuccessful. Her DNA alone would not suffice. So, we also had to have you conceived, rather than created.
Ok, so, I'm a clone. That's just great! Go on!
So, the truth of who was your true DNA mother, I cannot answer. But, your birth mother was. . . different. You have her DNA, that of her father, and that of the original host. That was not supposed to happen. In truth, you yourself are hardly seven years old. Your growth was accelerated seven, as was your brain activity.
So, what was her name?
Sha're.
Thera gasped, drawing the attention of SG1.
"Daniel!" she exclaimed. "Sha're! Sh-she was your wife, right!"
"Yes." he said slowly, clearly confused. Thera blinked hard.
"N'kiri just told me something. . . oh my gosh! Oh crap!"
"Thera, what-"
"I'll explain later, I have to go!"
She rushed out of the cafeteria, leaving behind her half-eaten snack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven years ago, he and Sha're had been together, and she must have been born shortly after their departure, then Ammonet must have erased the memory from her mind! It all made sense!
Thera sighed in relief as she completed the schematics for the device. It could only be used once, but it would be worth it to revive Sha're! But, did she really want to? She shuddered. If only Tolm was here, he would know what to do! She still hadn't confronted Daniel. Shakily, she got up from her chair and stretched, after a full night of work. She would consult General Hammond first, praying that he hadn't left the SGC in her absence. Or, better yet, N'kiri could confront him for her! Thera's head rolled onto her chest, as she allowed N'kiri to take control and leave the room. How tempting it was, while N'kiri was in control, to just leave her body and visit Tolm. She missed him so much. . . .
Don't even, Thera! N'kiri snapped.
Fine, Fine!
On their way to the General's office, they bumped into Daniel.
"Are you all right? You left the cafeteria in a hurry yesterday!"
"Um. . . you see. . ." N'kiri stammered. "It-it's really complicated. . . . Ask me again later, all right." They picked up speed and ran off towards the office, Thera complimenting N'kiri on how humanlike she had become. When she slammed open the door, the general started, almost dropping his pen.
"Thera, or. . . N'kiri." he corrected seeing the eyes flash. "What can I do for you?"
"I am in need of a favor." N'kiri said. "It will call for an urgent message to the Asgard, and a trip to Abydos."
"What's all this about?" he asked, confused. "Maybe you should start from the beginning."
Thera took immediate control, and sat down in one of the chairs set in front of the desk.
"Now, go ahead and tell me from the beginning."
"Sir. Daniel Jackson is. . . he's. . ."
"Yes?"
"He's my father."
WOW! That was a surprise!-Raven
*teehee* I love surprises!-Talon
And, yes, we will get on with it! We are open to questions, comments, and ideas! The latter are most appreciated.-Raven
If you want us to email you for the update, tell us, and leave your email in your review.-Talon
Reincarnation and realization
Alone in his room, Tolm felt safe, and yet open. She was gone! She was really really gone! He knew Kajren felt an equal amount of pain, for the loss of N'kiri. Alone on his bed, he wept. Finally, he'd finally kissed her! She had seen him as worthy, which he was not, and blessed him with her love, and then, she'd passed! How could he go on now? The tau'ri had decided to take her body back with them to Abydos, her true planet of birth, and give her a proper burial. He did not want to go with them, and yet he felt an obligation to do so. He remembered how cold her hands had felt just a few short hours ago, how deathly. They had finally washed the make-up from her face, so that he might see how she really looked, and not how N'kiri had wished for her to look. She was even more beautiful without it. And yet, so pale with her illness! The To'kra couldn't find the cure to the poison in time, so he would never see her in perfect health, ever.
"Tolm." a soft voice said, entering his door less room. Quickly he wiped his eyes and steadied his voice.
"Y-yes?"
"I think you might want to come look at this!"
Shakily, he got up and followed the tall To'kra woman into the room they'd lain Thera in.
"She seems to have an odd reaction to you. Someone mentioned you and Kajren, and suddenly, her life signs just rose. Then, it dropped down again. We think she may have had one last bit of energy left in her, reserved for you, but we weren't sure. Either way, I think you might be able to bring her back."
Slowly, Tolm walked over to her side, his breath quick and uncomfortable. She might not be dead! She might not be dead! He winced, seeing her pale, pasty face. There was no way. . . . But then he remembered the human religious concept of miracles. He'd never taken a religion, knowing that the belief of the goa'ulds as gods was one. But if she was truly alive. . . . He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed. He almost pulled back, feeling as though he was touching ice. There was a sudden surge of warmth, them ice again.
"Tolm?"
Tolm whirled around and had to stifle a gasp. Thera stood before him, in a shimmering white gown, looking absolutely perfect.
"Tolm." she said again, smiling this time. "Are you all right? Okay, that was a stupid question."
"Are you real?" he whispered. Thera nodded.
"Yes and no. She can't hear me." she jerked her head toward the back of the To'kra woman. "And as long as we're talking, nobody can hear you. And, if you throw something at me, it'll go right through me, but I swear I'm real!"
Tolm just stared in awe, and took a few steps toward her.
"Thera! H-h-how did this happen?"
"Oma Desalla." she replied simply. "She ascended me. Of course, I'm not truly ascended. N'kiri is still alive, so I'll have to return to my body soon. And even then, I can leave it, for short periods of time of course."
"Then, you're coming back!"
Thera gave him a lopsided grin.
"I could come back, or I could join the ancients." she took a few steps toward him. "But I think I'd rather live!"
Tolm reached out to her, but was horrified to see his hand pass right through her. Suddenly, Thera began to glow a bright light.
"I'll see you on the other side." she murmured, and then disappeared.
"That's it." the To'kra said wearily. "She's showing no life force whatsoever. I guess it was just wishful thinking."
"No!" Tolm said suddenly. "Run a more complete scan! Her bio- readings are low because her body's slowed down! She's still alive."
The woman turned and began doing something with some control panels.
"You are right!" she exclaimed.
Thera suddenly gasped and gripped Tolm's hand. The two just looked at each other, smiling, and tears welled up in Thera's eyes.
"I'm back." she mouthed, and Tolm nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
When they left the To'kra base planet, Thera was heard whispering "I'll come and visit you." To the SG teams' confused looks, she simply assured them that she would explain later, and they all stepped through the Stargate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~
Without Tolm to distract her, Thera had spent hours locked up in her temporary quarters, sometimes trying to invent things, other times writing down the gobs of information she'd acquired during her brief ascension, then ripping the papers up so nobody could find it. Apparently, she had the same 'fine line' views as Daniel. She'd retired her skimpy Egyptian clothes and changed into the loose, comfortable clothes the military provided. This, of course, had not lessened her stress at all. In fact, she repetitively asked Daniel questions about anything he knew of his ascension, and the few questions he managed to answer, only made her more tense.
After one of her 'waste-five-sheets-of-paper-then-tear-them-up-and- throw-them-away, -give-a-strangled-cry-of-stress-and-pound-her-head-on-- desk' sessions, she headed down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. After scanning the possibilities, she selected a rich, chocolate mousse and a glass of milk and sat down at one of the empty tables. Nobody in sight! Good! She was sick of all the stares! Suddenly, as though to ruin her moment of peace, several people walked in. SG1 looked rather tired, having just returned from a mission. Jack and Daniel were arguing over the dumbest thing.
"Danny! For the last time, hockey is better than lacrosse!"
"Hockey has to be played in the winter, and the winter alone! Lacrosse can be played any time!"
"Yeah, until the players get rained out!"
"It can be played both indoors and outdoors!"
"Yeah, well-"
"SHUT-UP!" Thera cried. "GEEZ! Do neither of you have anything better to do than argue!? Here we are, the world in jeopardy because of a new system lord, and you two are arguing over equally fine sports! You two are SO immature!"
Thera snorted angrily and shoveled a bite of pie into her mouth, glaring at the chocolate.
"And she calls us immature!" Jack muttered, as they all made their way to the food area. When they returned, Jack and Daniel were arguing again.
"Daniel, it's a rock, for crying out loud!"
"It could hold all sorts of geographical or historical-"
"Daniel! It's a rock!"
Thera rolled her eyes and gulped down some milk, turning to the notebook she'd brought with her. Right now, she was working on a device that could bring a dead person back to life. More of a pastime than an actual idea, but it was more productive than the twelve pages she'd wasted writing 'Tolm' over and over. Suddenly, she found herself wondering who her real mother was. It was an Abydonian, of course. Had she been forced to give birth to Thera, had she been stolen, or willingly conceived? How old was she, actually?
Well, if you were curious, why didn't you just ask me?
Ok, N'kiri, who was my mother?
Well, it's not actually as simple as that.
I was afraid of that. All right, fire away!
Ra wanted me to rule the planet Carresia in his absence. Unfortunately, my old host died, so we took some of her DNA and cloned her. The cloning, however, was unsuccessful. Her DNA alone would not suffice. So, we also had to have you conceived, rather than created.
Ok, so, I'm a clone. That's just great! Go on!
So, the truth of who was your true DNA mother, I cannot answer. But, your birth mother was. . . different. You have her DNA, that of her father, and that of the original host. That was not supposed to happen. In truth, you yourself are hardly seven years old. Your growth was accelerated seven, as was your brain activity.
So, what was her name?
Sha're.
Thera gasped, drawing the attention of SG1.
"Daniel!" she exclaimed. "Sha're! Sh-she was your wife, right!"
"Yes." he said slowly, clearly confused. Thera blinked hard.
"N'kiri just told me something. . . oh my gosh! Oh crap!"
"Thera, what-"
"I'll explain later, I have to go!"
She rushed out of the cafeteria, leaving behind her half-eaten snack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seven years ago, he and Sha're had been together, and she must have been born shortly after their departure, then Ammonet must have erased the memory from her mind! It all made sense!
Thera sighed in relief as she completed the schematics for the device. It could only be used once, but it would be worth it to revive Sha're! But, did she really want to? She shuddered. If only Tolm was here, he would know what to do! She still hadn't confronted Daniel. Shakily, she got up from her chair and stretched, after a full night of work. She would consult General Hammond first, praying that he hadn't left the SGC in her absence. Or, better yet, N'kiri could confront him for her! Thera's head rolled onto her chest, as she allowed N'kiri to take control and leave the room. How tempting it was, while N'kiri was in control, to just leave her body and visit Tolm. She missed him so much. . . .
Don't even, Thera! N'kiri snapped.
Fine, Fine!
On their way to the General's office, they bumped into Daniel.
"Are you all right? You left the cafeteria in a hurry yesterday!"
"Um. . . you see. . ." N'kiri stammered. "It-it's really complicated. . . . Ask me again later, all right." They picked up speed and ran off towards the office, Thera complimenting N'kiri on how humanlike she had become. When she slammed open the door, the general started, almost dropping his pen.
"Thera, or. . . N'kiri." he corrected seeing the eyes flash. "What can I do for you?"
"I am in need of a favor." N'kiri said. "It will call for an urgent message to the Asgard, and a trip to Abydos."
"What's all this about?" he asked, confused. "Maybe you should start from the beginning."
Thera took immediate control, and sat down in one of the chairs set in front of the desk.
"Now, go ahead and tell me from the beginning."
"Sir. Daniel Jackson is. . . he's. . ."
"Yes?"
"He's my father."
WOW! That was a surprise!-Raven
*teehee* I love surprises!-Talon
And, yes, we will get on with it! We are open to questions, comments, and ideas! The latter are most appreciated.-Raven
If you want us to email you for the update, tell us, and leave your email in your review.-Talon