Unity
Disclaimer: MGM et al own these guys. Not me. I get no money from these stories. Just laughs…
Rating: General
Authors Note: FINALLY!!!!! I'm sorry this has taken so long – I had a bad case of writers block on this chapter and add to that some serious work to do, and this story kinda got put on the backburners.. But here's the next installment. Enjoy.
Chapter 7 – Trust
"Are not." I shot back, mind rapidly going over the consequences of these four knowing who we were. If they worked for Loki, or whoever was against Thor, then this could be bad. Of course, that's if what they'd actually told Danny and I had been the truth. It could have been false information.
"Are too." He replied.
"Am not." I emphasised.
"Oh, please." He scoffed. Yes, he actually scoffed. "You travel with Apophis' Shol'va. You want to go undercover, I suggest you loose the really large sign that says 'SG-1'." I frowned, looking from Carter to Teal'c to Daniel and back again. We had no such sign. That would be pointless.
"He means Teal'c, sir." Carter explained patiently.
"Ah." Now I understood. Teal'c did tend to stand out in a crowd. Generally that was an asset.
"What did you mean, we caused the explosion?" Daniel asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. Serien turned to look at him, eyes gone cold.
"The Suniwe was set with a signature. The signature of the creator of the device. It was created on Taur. Your home planet."
"Actually, we call it Earth." Daniel couldn't help but explain. I know he couldn't. I knew it was a compulsive habit of his to correct people. But still, it would be nice if he kept his mouth shut, just once in a while.
"Daniel." I grumbled. He flushed, then shrugged an apology. I turned back to Serien and the rest of his team. "What makes you think it was the Tau'ri that placed that bomb? Wouldn't it be a little too convenient? I think we have enough smarts to fudge a signature, don't you?"
"Yes." Serien replied blandly. He was kneeling comfortably, hands sitting in his lap. Harmless, defenseless. Yeah, right. The rest of his team sprawled behind him. None of them looked particularly worried about being captured by their captees. Borlios looked downright uncaring. Of course, that could be because he was still trying to get his eyes to focus. Arwew was sitting crossed legged, curling a long piece of hair around her finger. Nyuil was staring at his hands, totally oblivious to Serien's and my conversation.
"Well, that's something then. So why did you try to capture us?" Daniel and Carter, upon hearing my tone of voice, relaxed slightly, standing back a bit and Carter's weapon lowered so that it was pointed at the floor.
"We didn't."
"You did."
"Didn't."
"Did." I was getting a serious sense of déjà vu. Daniel coughed into his hand, and I swear I saw him covering a smile. Carter's eyes were glinting, but I didn't want to know with what. Nyuil, I saw from the corner of my eye, shot his leader a disbelieving glare from underneath thick black eyebrows, but otherwise Serien's team didn't move.
"We did not try to capture you. We did capture you. And that wasn't our intention. We merely expedited a way to remove you from the scene before authorities gathered and found both of our teams in the area." Serien rubbed his lip with his forefinger, showing signs of annoyance.
"Why would you want to do that? Because of the signature?" Daniel, the ever curious archaeologist asked before I could.
"Yes. We were the only Tau'ri or Tau'ri descendants in Odin's Hall. It was a set up for one of us. And as I know that my team didn't originate on Taur- Earth, was it? As my team didn't come from there, the math indicates that yours did. So we got you out of there."
"Why?" Carter hitched her chin upwards, looking belligerent.
"Because our mission is to find and develop relationships with other people descended from the original Tau'ri. You classify as that."
"Ya think?" Yes, it was sarcastic. Yes, we'd both stated the obvious. But I don't think either of us could have stopped it if we'd tried.
"I've been known to, every now and then." Serien replied sarcastically.
"So, who do you think would try to frame us?" I asked, getting back on topic.
"Gee, let me see. Who has the Tau'ri pissed off lately?" Serien cocked his head to think. I got the feeling he was being sarcastic again. "More than likely Loki or one of his followers."
"It's the kind of thing Eschia would do." Arwew said softly. Serien shot a look at her, then nodded. I frowned at both of them.
"Yeah, it is, isn't it."
"And we did get intelligence last tenday that she'd received that cargo from the Nuiliam."
"Yes, we did."
"It would make sense." Nyuil joined in the conversation. "Eschia has a lot more freedom to move around than Loki does."
"And she does enjoy destruction. Marsia proved that beyond doubt." Arwew added.
"Do you want me to…?" Nyuil faded out, leaving the suggestion as an implication.
"Yes-"
"Hello?" I interrupted them, waving a hand to get their attention. "Remember us? You want to tell us what the hell you're all talking about?"
"Sorry. We think that perhaps Eschia framed you for the explosion."
"Who is Eschia, when she's at home. And why would she want to frame us?"
"Eschia, daughter of Lui-Anda." Arwew announced.
"Well that explains a lot." I replied, then threw up my hands and looked pleadingly at Daniel.
"I've never heard of Lui-Anda, Jack." He replied, sounding interested.
"Lui-Anda is an ancient god of our world. He was benevolent, very kind and traditionally held the power of the wind and earth." Nyuil explained.
"The way legend has it, Lui-Anda saved our people from enslavement to an evil, powerful god. His name was Ra-An. Lui-Anda took us away and hid us from Ra-An. His daughter, Eschia, however, was spoilt and spent time with the Asgard God, Loki. Legend has it that Loki manipulated and influenced Eschia until Lui-Anda had no choice but to disown her."
"From that time, Eschia has become twisted and power hungry." Serien finished the tale off. I looked at Daniel.
"Ra-An?"
"Ra." He confirmed. "And Lui-Anda was more than likely an Asgard that rescued and then protected them from Ra."
"Why have we not heard of this Lui-Anda, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.
"He was probably given jurisdiction over a different section of the galaxy to ours, Teal'c. It would make sense that certain Asgard have responsibility for certain area's."
"So Eschia is an Asgard with a chip on her shoulder." I hopped back to sit on the table, suppressing a wince as my knee gave a final stab of pain.
"A large chip." Serien confirmed. "Do you believe us, then?" He asked.
"No. But I don't disbelieve you, either. Tell you what, why don't you send one of your team out to investigate this Eschia girl, and I'll send Teal'c with him. That way we can find out if it was Chip Girl, and the rest of us can stay here and get to know each other better." Serien hesitated as he thought over my suggestion, then nodded. He turned to look at Arwew who nodded and stood up. Teal'c stepped back and allowed Arwew to go ahead of him, closing the door after him with a soft click.
"You awake now, Burlios?" I asked, walking over to stand near him.
"Yes." He replied reluctantly.
"How's your head?"
"Sore. What the hells did he hit me with?" He put a hand to his head, gingerly touching a sore point.
"His fist. We're thinking about registering it as a lethal weapon."
"Don't think about it. Do it….. Damn." He made his way to a sitting position, inching closer to the rest of his team-mates.
"Ah, sir. We promised Hammond…" Carter said softly as I returned to them.
"Right, we did didn't we? How long ago was that?"
"More than two hours."
"Plenty of time, then." I checked my own watch, mentally setting my internal clock to remind me. I looked back to Serien and his team and sighed.
"You may as well get up and get comfortable. By the look of it, we're going to be here for a while." Serien stood up slowly wincing as his abused back muscles yelled at him. I hid a small smile, grateful that I wasn't the only one suffering.
"Seats, Jack?" Daniel suggested, and I nodded in reply. He looked around in vain for some seats, having no luck. Aside from the table and chair that I had been leaning on, the room looked like Mother Hubbards' Cupboard.
"There are some seats in the room next door. Through that opening." Nyuil informed him, cocking his head in the right direction. Daniel nodded and left the room. He came back seconds later, chairs under each arm. They were all a little small, like chairs in a primary school, but they would do. We all sat down in a circle, and I had the intense desire to get a teapot and start pouring out cups of tea. I almost looked for the cucumber sandwiches, but restrained the impulse. Although why people would eat just plain cucumber sandwiches I will never understand.
"So. I suppose we'd better reintroduce ourselves." I said, looking at the three in front of me.
"Yup." Serien agreed. "You first."
"Fine. I'm General Jack O'Neill. This is Colonel Samantha Carter and Doctor Daniel Jackson. Teal'c has obviously gone with your other friend."
"Her name is Alin Arwew Na'ita. I am Aliaern Serien Buopnias. This is Alin Nyial Ai'stion and Dujon Burlios Carmpon." We all nodded at each other. I guessed that those names, Alin whatever, would more than probably be ranks, like Colonel and Major. The Dijon Mustard rank had me puzzled, but it was something I could live with.
"So. Where are you guys from, again?"
"We are from Nuthol. It's in the Dusoto Galaxy, near Exismao."
"Know it well." I replied.
"Really?" Burlios asked excitedly.
"No." I said flatly, destroying his hopes. I'm cruel like that sometimes. I turned back to Serien, who was lounging comfortably back against his chair. "So, are we going to be honest with each other here, or what?"
"I have nothing to hide." Serien told me. I frowned at him, unsure whether I wanted to believe him or not.
"Jack." Daniel said softly, getting my attention. "Should we perhaps go back to the palace? Talk to Thor?" I turned my head to look at him, unsure what he was getting at. He moved his eyebrows pointedly, then looked at his watch. Right, time to move away from here.
"What about Teal'c?" I asked, standing up.
"A note?" Daniel suggested, then turned to the other four. "Have you got any writing implements, anything we can use to leave a message for Teal'c and Alin Arwew?" Burlios nodded, reaching into his jacket to retrieve something for Daniel. He took it, staring at it in perplexity.
"What's it do?" I asked.
"You press this button here, record your message, then press this one here. Leave the device on the table. When Arwew gets back, she'll activate the recorder, and see your message."
"Mini-camcorder device?" Carter murmured as she stepped forward. I could see her fingers itching to get control of the alien technology. Serien, who'd heard her comment, smiled softly.
"Right. Daniel, record the message. Then we're off to see the wizard." Daniel nodded and pressed the required buttons, telling Teal'c and Arwew that we were headed back to the place of the Hammer, and to meet us there. Daniel put the device on the table and then turned back to us. Serien cleared his throat and gained all of our attention.
"Right. Now, to make it out of the city, we're going to have to go down this alleyway to the end, avoiding any Asgard we may encounter. Once there, duck into the building across the way, up the stairs then out onto the roof of the next building. We'll need to keep a low profile until we get to Fed Square, but after that, we should be right to pick up a flyer to get us where we need to go." Serien faded off, noticing that I was just staring at him, full of amusement. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing. If your set on doing this the hard way, I have no problem with it. But frankly, I'd prefer to use this." I replied, holding up the device Thor's buddy had given us. Serien and his team stared at it in amazement, mouths gaping open. "Nice to see we can still shock you." I said sagely, then tossed the translocation device to Carter. "Figure out how to get us back to Thor's, would you?" I asked her. She nodded, quickly tapping out a few instructions on the device, then looked at the five of us.
"Can you all…" She waved her hands, "get in a little closer? The device isn't having a good time with you all spread out like that." We did as she ordered, gathering in as close as was comfortable, still managing to refrain from touching each other. Didn't want to get all touchy-feely now, did we? Carter nodded to indicate we were close enough, then stepped closer herself and pressed something on the device. Flash of white and we had moved. Serien and his remaining two team members staggered a bit on arrival, off kilter because of the transport, then looked around in dumb amazement.
"It's small, but we like to call it… Thor's Palace." I enthused, waving my hand graciously. I turned to guide them into one of the main rooms when who should walk around the corner but the man himself – or should that be alien himself?
"Thor!" Sam called to him. Thor turned and stared at us, his eyes taking in the newcomers.
"Good evening, Colonel Carter, Doctor Jackson. Hello, General O'Neill." He greeted us in his dry, monotonous voice. "I have been concerned about your safety."
"Really? Don't stress, buddy. We're fine. Just peachy." I reassured him, then frowned. Thor was looking pale. Er – paler than usual. "Thor? You okay, pal?" I put a hand on his small, thin shoulder and felt the cool skin underneath my own. That wasn't a good sign. Normally, Asgard body temperature remained constant, several degrees above our own.
"Who are your friends, O'Neill?" Thor asked, ignoring my concern.
"Ahh, these are some people we met in Odin's Hall. This is Serien and his team. Burlios and Nyuil. Teal'c and their other member Arwew are investigating the explosion. Trying to find out what happened."
"Ah." Thor replied cryptically. "I…" Thor started to continue, but I was watching his eyes. They went glassy white, then the thin lids slipped down, and he was out. As Thor collapsed I managed to catch him in my arms, his small frame was very light.
"Carter!" I yelled, standing up with the Asgard draped over my arms. Carter, looking on shocked, rushed forward and put a palm to his chest.
"He's still breathing sir. And I can feel his heart beating." She hesitated. I knew what she was thinking. The Air Force Medical training course didn't cover Asgard bodily functions. Who knew if the heartbeat was erratic, calm. Hell, for all we knew, the guy could be asleep.
"We need to lie him down somewhere." I suggested, looking around at the lack of beds in the corridor.
"What about that lounge room thing we had dinner in?" Danny suggested. At my nod, he led the little parade down the corridor.
Carter rushed into the room before me, gathering up the brightly coloured cushions as she went. She lay them in a pile on top of the couch, which I then gently placed the still unconscious Thor onto. I stood back and fidgeted.
"Now what?" I asked the group at large.
"Check his vitals." Burlios offered.
I turned to him. "You know how?" Burlios nodded. I gestured for him to have at the Asgard. He moved forward, between myself and the couch, then crouched down and put a hand at Thor's inner elbow.
"This is the main pulse point." He started lecturing. Daniel and Carter were instantly rapt. "Here," Burlios pointed, "You find the main heart. They have a secondary heart here." Again, he pointed, this time to just below the thorax, where the neck met the chest. "He seems to be okay. The pulse is strong and steady, which is good. His temperature is a worry, however. We need to warm him up." Three of us immediately took off an outer layer of clothing and handed it to Burlios, who draped it over the still Asgard.
"What's wrong with him?" Daniel asked, leaning over the back of the 'couch'. Sam looked up at him and then shrugged her shoulders eloquently. She has very eloquent bones.
"I've never seen an Asgard collapse like that before." Serien said quietly, rubbing his now bare forearms. Nyuil stood next to his leader, grey eyes staring down at the equally grey Asgard. I have to admit that I was worried about Thor as well. I'd never seen him so… lifeless. Even when he was in the Replicator infested ship, (before being frozen) he'd shown more sign of life.
"So now what?" I brushed a hand over my jaw, wincing as the whiskers caught on my palm. Mental note, need to shave becoming paramount.
"I have no idea. I don't even know how to call another Asgard to get a medic here." Sam complained, sitting back. Her hand was still resting on Thor's thin arm at the pulse point, monitoring no doubt.
"Freyr!" Daniel blurted out, looking up at me. I frowned at him.
"What?"
"Freyr! He'd help Thor, they're allied, right?" Daniel turned to Serien, who nodded silently. Daniel continued, "So, we get in touch with our people, who in turn talk to Freyr using the Asgard communication device."
"You're kidding." I replied, dumfounded. "You're actually saying that we talk to someone all the way across the… universe! And then get them to talk to Freyr for us? Why not just talk to Freyr from here?"
"Well, we don't know how to, for a start."
"Carter can figure it out." I was confident. Carter cleared her throat, looking a little reluctant.
"I probably could sir. But I couldn't guarantee that I could get our contact with Glynda back. I wouldn't like to gamble on it. It makes sense to do it this way, sir. We don't know what kind of communication security Thor has set up, but it's a pretty good guess that the communication between Freyr and his people is fairly highly secure."
"There's no way they could have continued to monitor without a secure line?" I translated, thrusting my hands in my pockets. It was a habit I'd developed a few years ago, out of self-defense. Carter or Daniel (I forget which) had started lecturing, and I'd gone off into fidget mode, being bored. Unfortunately the item that I'd decided to fidget with was rather.. sensitive. It took me weeks to grow the hair back on my arms. Hence, hands in pockets.
"Exactly, General." Carter agreed.
"So. I guess I need to make a phone call, then, huh?" I shrugged, then turned to walk out of the room.
"If you do not mind, General O'Neill, I will join you." Serien announced, standing up.
"Just O'Neill will do." I told him, then lead him out of the room.