Heart of Flame
Part 7 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Chess and Checkers'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
They came out of hyper-speed into a wall of vaporised rock and flame.
In that microsecond between hyperspace and normal space when any Asgard ship is briefly vulnerable, it struck.
Chunks of jagged rock impacted the immaculate hull of the 'O'Neill', carving canyons of crumpled alloy. One fragment completely severed an arched wingtip, deflecting the helpless ship into a spin. It tumbled over and over, pitted by rubble and seared by heat, until it came to rest, drifting slowly, battered and broken.
**********
First there came silence.
Then came the moans of injured people, punctuated by the creaks and groans of tortured metal. Erratically, the occasional boom would shudder through the ship as it impacted with a stray projectile. Sparks of disrupted power conduits and the hiss of escaping atmosphere echoed down the hallways.
On the bridge, Thor staggered up from where he had been thrown, a streak of dull violet smeared across the side of his face, the captain lying dead at his feet.
The viewscreen spat and frosted interference, but remained determined to perform its function, and, through the static, Thor could see the gas giant that had been their destination.
But the moon was gone.
**********
Once the shaking of the ship had reduced itself to the occasional shudder, Jack O'Neill unwound himself from the tight knot he had curled himself into. Hanging on for dear life, cramped under the table, which, thank god, was bolted to the floor, had saved him, as his world had suddenly redefined its definition of up and down.
Jack stretched out his limbs, the simple pains of bumps and bruises compounding his already aching body. The iso-field crackled against his skin, annoying him with its existence, a continual reminder of things he would rather forget. Gritting his teeth he sat up and surveyed his surroundings.
Broken bits of loose furniture could be seen in the reflections of the faint emergency lighting. The lights flickered like an erratic heartbeat in time to the shudders of the bulkheads.
In the darkness he could see little, but fumbling around he found his field pack, not too far from where he left it, wedged under a broken chair. Digging in, he pulled out a flashlight.
Time to put some light on the subject.
The flare of brilliance blinded him briefly, as he managed to turn on the flashlight while staring at the bulb.
One day he would learn not to do that.
He found his radio, and it seemed intact. Locate the team.
"Carter?" No answer.
"Daniel?" No answer.
"Teal'c?"
"O'Neill?"
"Teal'c, where are you? What's your situation?"
"I am well, O'Neill. However, Daniel Jackson in unconscious and in need of medical aid. We are currently in Major Carter's laboratory."
"Have you heard from Carter or Fraiser?"
"Doctor Fraiser, was in the laboratory next door. I have not seen Major Carter since this morning. I had thought she was with you." He could almost hear the arching eyebrow in his words.
"She left just before all hell broke loose. Teal'c stay there and try to locate Fraiser. I'll try to find Carter. We will meet you there back at Carter's lab asap."
"Agreed."
"O'Neill out."
He grabbed his pack and shouldered it, wincing as he settled it over his back. Considering briefly, he then grabbed Carter's pack as well.
Struggling with the door, but finally locating a manual override, O'Neill left the cabin. The first sight in the corridor echoed the sound of the dying ship around him.
Lying in a pile of mangled paper planes were the two security guards, both obviously dead. Having had nothing to cling to out here in the hallway, they had been flung around like leaves in the wind.
O'Neill turned his back to them and started off down the corridor.
The Asgard were so small. Like children. They sparked his instinct for protection. He had the urge to keep them safe. And the sight of their frail looking bodies mangled and broken... His heart lurched, and he swallowed, forcing himself to file the images away, and deny their existence.
The corridor sloped downwards in places, and upwards in others. Whatever the Asgard used for artificial gravity was obviously damaged, so O'Neill hurried, praying it would hold out. He combed the corridors with his eyes, hoping to find Carter, preferably in one piece, but apart from two other dead Asgard crewmembers, he found no-one.
Teal'c briefly radioed in at one point to inform him that he had found Doc Fraiser and she was attending to Daniel.
He only had to find Carter.
He came around a bend and almost ran head first into a dead end. The corridor bulkhead had collapsed and there was a suspicious hissing sound, probably atmosphere venting into space.
Turning around and intending to try another route, he was halted by a soft moan. He stopped, listening.
Another moan.
There was someone under all that twisted metal.
He made his way to the collapse, stepping over fallen light fittings and mangled bulkhead, a part of him hoping it wasn't Carter, the other hoping he'd found her. It didn't take long to find the source.
It wasn't Carter.
The crewmember lay on his back pinned just above his waist under some of that same mangled bulkhead, a pool of purple blood slowly spreading beneath him. He was conscious, and, as his eyes focused on O'Neill, his expression became one of amazement.
"C...Colonel O'Neill?"
O'Neill crouched down beside the man, trying to locate a way to get him out. "Yeah, that's me." He reached under the crumpled heap, attempting to gain leverage, no luck. "What's your name?"
"Linper, sir." The small alien coughed. A trickled of purple made its way down the side of his face.
"Well, lets see if we can get you out of here." He began shifting broken metal. The Asgard nodded, but his eyes wandered.
"Commander Thor said you saved our lives." The words were almost whispered.
O'Neill didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything, continuing to heave pieces of ship over his shoulder.
"Thor said we should honour O'Neill." He coughed again. "I would so like to meet the Colonel." The voice faded out briefly before saying, "Just once."
The sudden silence was deafening.
O'Neill knew, before he turned back to Linper, what he would find. That absence, that emptiness, where life once was.
O'Neill couldn't even close his eyes for him.
He closed his own. Turning, grabbing his pack, he left, making his way down the corridor, leaving his thoughts behind him.
**********
Thor slammed his fists down in frustration.
Little or nothing remained working. The pride of the Asgard fleet had become nothing more than a drifting hulk. Whole sections of the ship had lost atmosphere as the mechanisms designed to prevent such an occurrence had been destroyed along with the hull they were attached to. All attempts at communicating with the other two ships had failed.
Shields were gone, weaponry basically non-existent, sensors patchy. All chances of reaching hyper-speed had evaporated once the hull had been compromised, even though the hyperdrive engines seemed to be functional. Sublight engines were not responding.
He had had to send crewmembers running through the ship to assess damage and report back, as the internal communications system was also inoperative. What they had brought back was not encouraging. Engineering was inaccessible due to a coolant leak. One transporter module remained working and that was the only good news. What remained of Medical had priority access to that.
He stared at the flickering viewscreen again. Thor was highly suspicious that a previously stable moon, would choose to explode precisely at the moment they exited hyperspace. He was awaiting the appearance of the aggressors. They had to be out there. In the meantime, he was desperately attempting to contrive some means of defence.
"Ach! Dimwo woo dah!"
The first officer jumped out from under the main control board spitting expletives in multiple variations of Othallan Asgard, as sparks flew in all directions.
So much for weapons control.
He sighed, turning to internal sensors, attempting to assess the crew capability of the ship. Those sensors at least were working, partly. They had lost many people. Thor felt his heart sink as the statistics of the number of living persons aboard flashed past. Only several hundred out of over a thousand. He shut his eyes, willing the numbers from his mind. Tomorrow is a day to mourn, today we fight for the living.
His eyes returned to the panel, flickering briefly as he came across four human life signs. Where was the fifth? Who was missing?
A sudden need to know prompted him to activate their one transporter.
A swash of bright light and four humans appeared on the bridge.
O'Neill had been walking and kept doing so for a second before he realised where he was. Daniel Jackson was unconscious on the floor, Teal'c and Doctor Fraiser standing over him.
O'Neill caught sight of him and moved in his direction. "Thor, what the hell happened?" The human had purple smears on his uniform. Thor closed his eyes briefly yet again, steeling himself, before opening them to find O'Neill studying his face. "Thor, you okay?"
"I am well, O'Neill" He touched a hand to his head. "The cut is superficial. Unfortunately, I can not say the same for the 'O'Neill'." He indicated the console. "It seems that by some agency, most likely external, the moon we had come to investigate exploded the moment we exited hyperspace. This ship is severely damaged. We are unable to defend ourselves, or call for assistance."
"Exploded? The entire moon?" At his subtle nod, he could see O'Neill's mind flicking through possibilities. "Is there anything we can do? Beam Carter up here, she may have some ideas."
"I could not locate Major Carter."
The look on O'Neill's face abruptly reminded Thor that despite his appearance, this was a seriously ill man. He immediately regretted his abruptness.
"The internal sensors are only partially working, there is a chance that the Major is in a section of the ship we are currently unable to scan."
O'Neill moved up to the console. "Thor, she was on her way to Doctor Fraiser's lab. She has to be somewhere between our cabin and the lab."
As far as Thor could tell, the sensors in that area were largely undamaged, but not wanting to give up hope, he scanned the entire ship again.
Nothing.
"I am sorry, O'Neill, I can not locate the Major."
**********
Jack looked at the apologetic alien, not wanting to believe what he might be telling him. Turning to his team, he made a decision.
"Doctor, look after Daniel and assist the Asgard medical teams anyway you can. Teal'c, please offer your assistance to the damage repair teams. Keep in radio contact. I'll go find Carter."
He was about to ask Thor to beam him to her last location when there was a gasp from Fraiser.
Turning he caught a glimpse of the viewscreen.
Oh, damn. Wasn't one challenge enough? Did fate always have to throw him the curve ball?
As he stood and stared at the Goa'uld mother ship fast approaching their crippled vessel, he suddenly felt every single injury he had received in the last week or so come crashing down on him. He felt he didn't have the strength to rally himself for yet one more battle for survival. It had become too much. All these people dying, and now the fates wanted more.
He let one word slip, and it came out in a tortured whisper. "No."
No. No more. He was looking at the persons most likely responsible for all his pain and all the suffering of the Asgard. They were coming and the 'O'Neill didn't have enough life left in her to defend herself.
It had all been a trap. An elaborate trap. And they were caught like a bug in a spiderweb.
He looked at Thor and saw the answer in his eyes. They could not let the Goa'uld have access to this ship's technology.
He would not.
God, he hoped Carter was in a better place.
O'Neill held Thor's gaze as he let himself relax into a formal parade stance. "Commander, do we have any means of defense or maneuverability at all?"
Thor matched his stance. "Colonel, our defense systems are inoperable or damaged beyond repair, and our capability of maneuvering non-existent."
"Then, Commander, I formally recommend we blow the 'O'Neill' to hell and take those bastards with us."
Thor matched his gaze, and, for a moment the tableau froze pending his decision.
When it came, it was final.
"I concur."
Decision made, O'Neill relaxed. It wasn't a bad way to go, defending your beliefs and your allies. A brief glance at the still unconscious Daniel and his heart missed a beat. Sorry, Danny, we are not going to get out of this one.
The look on Janet's face made him proud. A scared, but steely, determination set her features. He sent her a slight smile.
Teal'c caught his eye and bowed respectfully. Always the warrior was Teal'c, and if he had to give his life, as long as he took a Goa'uld or two with him, he would be content.
Thor was fiddling with the console while conversing with a crewmember in Asgard. He finalised something and, turning to both SG-1 and his own crew, he made an announcement.
"Many have died today, but all have died with honour, and I have no doubt that all shall be remembered for their sacrifice." Thor caught his eyes and held them. "Let not us or our enemies ever forget the name O'Neill."
As the Goa'uld ship moved closer, one small grey finger pressed a button.
The world dissolved into light.
**********
FIN
Part 7 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Chess and Checkers'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
They came out of hyper-speed into a wall of vaporised rock and flame.
In that microsecond between hyperspace and normal space when any Asgard ship is briefly vulnerable, it struck.
Chunks of jagged rock impacted the immaculate hull of the 'O'Neill', carving canyons of crumpled alloy. One fragment completely severed an arched wingtip, deflecting the helpless ship into a spin. It tumbled over and over, pitted by rubble and seared by heat, until it came to rest, drifting slowly, battered and broken.
**********
First there came silence.
Then came the moans of injured people, punctuated by the creaks and groans of tortured metal. Erratically, the occasional boom would shudder through the ship as it impacted with a stray projectile. Sparks of disrupted power conduits and the hiss of escaping atmosphere echoed down the hallways.
On the bridge, Thor staggered up from where he had been thrown, a streak of dull violet smeared across the side of his face, the captain lying dead at his feet.
The viewscreen spat and frosted interference, but remained determined to perform its function, and, through the static, Thor could see the gas giant that had been their destination.
But the moon was gone.
**********
Once the shaking of the ship had reduced itself to the occasional shudder, Jack O'Neill unwound himself from the tight knot he had curled himself into. Hanging on for dear life, cramped under the table, which, thank god, was bolted to the floor, had saved him, as his world had suddenly redefined its definition of up and down.
Jack stretched out his limbs, the simple pains of bumps and bruises compounding his already aching body. The iso-field crackled against his skin, annoying him with its existence, a continual reminder of things he would rather forget. Gritting his teeth he sat up and surveyed his surroundings.
Broken bits of loose furniture could be seen in the reflections of the faint emergency lighting. The lights flickered like an erratic heartbeat in time to the shudders of the bulkheads.
In the darkness he could see little, but fumbling around he found his field pack, not too far from where he left it, wedged under a broken chair. Digging in, he pulled out a flashlight.
Time to put some light on the subject.
The flare of brilliance blinded him briefly, as he managed to turn on the flashlight while staring at the bulb.
One day he would learn not to do that.
He found his radio, and it seemed intact. Locate the team.
"Carter?" No answer.
"Daniel?" No answer.
"Teal'c?"
"O'Neill?"
"Teal'c, where are you? What's your situation?"
"I am well, O'Neill. However, Daniel Jackson in unconscious and in need of medical aid. We are currently in Major Carter's laboratory."
"Have you heard from Carter or Fraiser?"
"Doctor Fraiser, was in the laboratory next door. I have not seen Major Carter since this morning. I had thought she was with you." He could almost hear the arching eyebrow in his words.
"She left just before all hell broke loose. Teal'c stay there and try to locate Fraiser. I'll try to find Carter. We will meet you there back at Carter's lab asap."
"Agreed."
"O'Neill out."
He grabbed his pack and shouldered it, wincing as he settled it over his back. Considering briefly, he then grabbed Carter's pack as well.
Struggling with the door, but finally locating a manual override, O'Neill left the cabin. The first sight in the corridor echoed the sound of the dying ship around him.
Lying in a pile of mangled paper planes were the two security guards, both obviously dead. Having had nothing to cling to out here in the hallway, they had been flung around like leaves in the wind.
O'Neill turned his back to them and started off down the corridor.
The Asgard were so small. Like children. They sparked his instinct for protection. He had the urge to keep them safe. And the sight of their frail looking bodies mangled and broken... His heart lurched, and he swallowed, forcing himself to file the images away, and deny their existence.
The corridor sloped downwards in places, and upwards in others. Whatever the Asgard used for artificial gravity was obviously damaged, so O'Neill hurried, praying it would hold out. He combed the corridors with his eyes, hoping to find Carter, preferably in one piece, but apart from two other dead Asgard crewmembers, he found no-one.
Teal'c briefly radioed in at one point to inform him that he had found Doc Fraiser and she was attending to Daniel.
He only had to find Carter.
He came around a bend and almost ran head first into a dead end. The corridor bulkhead had collapsed and there was a suspicious hissing sound, probably atmosphere venting into space.
Turning around and intending to try another route, he was halted by a soft moan. He stopped, listening.
Another moan.
There was someone under all that twisted metal.
He made his way to the collapse, stepping over fallen light fittings and mangled bulkhead, a part of him hoping it wasn't Carter, the other hoping he'd found her. It didn't take long to find the source.
It wasn't Carter.
The crewmember lay on his back pinned just above his waist under some of that same mangled bulkhead, a pool of purple blood slowly spreading beneath him. He was conscious, and, as his eyes focused on O'Neill, his expression became one of amazement.
"C...Colonel O'Neill?"
O'Neill crouched down beside the man, trying to locate a way to get him out. "Yeah, that's me." He reached under the crumpled heap, attempting to gain leverage, no luck. "What's your name?"
"Linper, sir." The small alien coughed. A trickled of purple made its way down the side of his face.
"Well, lets see if we can get you out of here." He began shifting broken metal. The Asgard nodded, but his eyes wandered.
"Commander Thor said you saved our lives." The words were almost whispered.
O'Neill didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything, continuing to heave pieces of ship over his shoulder.
"Thor said we should honour O'Neill." He coughed again. "I would so like to meet the Colonel." The voice faded out briefly before saying, "Just once."
The sudden silence was deafening.
O'Neill knew, before he turned back to Linper, what he would find. That absence, that emptiness, where life once was.
O'Neill couldn't even close his eyes for him.
He closed his own. Turning, grabbing his pack, he left, making his way down the corridor, leaving his thoughts behind him.
**********
Thor slammed his fists down in frustration.
Little or nothing remained working. The pride of the Asgard fleet had become nothing more than a drifting hulk. Whole sections of the ship had lost atmosphere as the mechanisms designed to prevent such an occurrence had been destroyed along with the hull they were attached to. All attempts at communicating with the other two ships had failed.
Shields were gone, weaponry basically non-existent, sensors patchy. All chances of reaching hyper-speed had evaporated once the hull had been compromised, even though the hyperdrive engines seemed to be functional. Sublight engines were not responding.
He had had to send crewmembers running through the ship to assess damage and report back, as the internal communications system was also inoperative. What they had brought back was not encouraging. Engineering was inaccessible due to a coolant leak. One transporter module remained working and that was the only good news. What remained of Medical had priority access to that.
He stared at the flickering viewscreen again. Thor was highly suspicious that a previously stable moon, would choose to explode precisely at the moment they exited hyperspace. He was awaiting the appearance of the aggressors. They had to be out there. In the meantime, he was desperately attempting to contrive some means of defence.
"Ach! Dimwo woo dah!"
The first officer jumped out from under the main control board spitting expletives in multiple variations of Othallan Asgard, as sparks flew in all directions.
So much for weapons control.
He sighed, turning to internal sensors, attempting to assess the crew capability of the ship. Those sensors at least were working, partly. They had lost many people. Thor felt his heart sink as the statistics of the number of living persons aboard flashed past. Only several hundred out of over a thousand. He shut his eyes, willing the numbers from his mind. Tomorrow is a day to mourn, today we fight for the living.
His eyes returned to the panel, flickering briefly as he came across four human life signs. Where was the fifth? Who was missing?
A sudden need to know prompted him to activate their one transporter.
A swash of bright light and four humans appeared on the bridge.
O'Neill had been walking and kept doing so for a second before he realised where he was. Daniel Jackson was unconscious on the floor, Teal'c and Doctor Fraiser standing over him.
O'Neill caught sight of him and moved in his direction. "Thor, what the hell happened?" The human had purple smears on his uniform. Thor closed his eyes briefly yet again, steeling himself, before opening them to find O'Neill studying his face. "Thor, you okay?"
"I am well, O'Neill" He touched a hand to his head. "The cut is superficial. Unfortunately, I can not say the same for the 'O'Neill'." He indicated the console. "It seems that by some agency, most likely external, the moon we had come to investigate exploded the moment we exited hyperspace. This ship is severely damaged. We are unable to defend ourselves, or call for assistance."
"Exploded? The entire moon?" At his subtle nod, he could see O'Neill's mind flicking through possibilities. "Is there anything we can do? Beam Carter up here, she may have some ideas."
"I could not locate Major Carter."
The look on O'Neill's face abruptly reminded Thor that despite his appearance, this was a seriously ill man. He immediately regretted his abruptness.
"The internal sensors are only partially working, there is a chance that the Major is in a section of the ship we are currently unable to scan."
O'Neill moved up to the console. "Thor, she was on her way to Doctor Fraiser's lab. She has to be somewhere between our cabin and the lab."
As far as Thor could tell, the sensors in that area were largely undamaged, but not wanting to give up hope, he scanned the entire ship again.
Nothing.
"I am sorry, O'Neill, I can not locate the Major."
**********
Jack looked at the apologetic alien, not wanting to believe what he might be telling him. Turning to his team, he made a decision.
"Doctor, look after Daniel and assist the Asgard medical teams anyway you can. Teal'c, please offer your assistance to the damage repair teams. Keep in radio contact. I'll go find Carter."
He was about to ask Thor to beam him to her last location when there was a gasp from Fraiser.
Turning he caught a glimpse of the viewscreen.
Oh, damn. Wasn't one challenge enough? Did fate always have to throw him the curve ball?
As he stood and stared at the Goa'uld mother ship fast approaching their crippled vessel, he suddenly felt every single injury he had received in the last week or so come crashing down on him. He felt he didn't have the strength to rally himself for yet one more battle for survival. It had become too much. All these people dying, and now the fates wanted more.
He let one word slip, and it came out in a tortured whisper. "No."
No. No more. He was looking at the persons most likely responsible for all his pain and all the suffering of the Asgard. They were coming and the 'O'Neill didn't have enough life left in her to defend herself.
It had all been a trap. An elaborate trap. And they were caught like a bug in a spiderweb.
He looked at Thor and saw the answer in his eyes. They could not let the Goa'uld have access to this ship's technology.
He would not.
God, he hoped Carter was in a better place.
O'Neill held Thor's gaze as he let himself relax into a formal parade stance. "Commander, do we have any means of defense or maneuverability at all?"
Thor matched his stance. "Colonel, our defense systems are inoperable or damaged beyond repair, and our capability of maneuvering non-existent."
"Then, Commander, I formally recommend we blow the 'O'Neill' to hell and take those bastards with us."
Thor matched his gaze, and, for a moment the tableau froze pending his decision.
When it came, it was final.
"I concur."
Decision made, O'Neill relaxed. It wasn't a bad way to go, defending your beliefs and your allies. A brief glance at the still unconscious Daniel and his heart missed a beat. Sorry, Danny, we are not going to get out of this one.
The look on Janet's face made him proud. A scared, but steely, determination set her features. He sent her a slight smile.
Teal'c caught his eye and bowed respectfully. Always the warrior was Teal'c, and if he had to give his life, as long as he took a Goa'uld or two with him, he would be content.
Thor was fiddling with the console while conversing with a crewmember in Asgard. He finalised something and, turning to both SG-1 and his own crew, he made an announcement.
"Many have died today, but all have died with honour, and I have no doubt that all shall be remembered for their sacrifice." Thor caught his eyes and held them. "Let not us or our enemies ever forget the name O'Neill."
As the Goa'uld ship moved closer, one small grey finger pressed a button.
The world dissolved into light.
**********
FIN