Eyes in Shadow
Part 9 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Dark Places'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
Thor woke to the sound of screams.
He stared into the concrete, briefly wondering where he was before remembrance hit.
The screams were O'Neill's.
He slowly tilted his head in order to gain a better view of the unfolding drama in the room. The Goa'uld stood directly in front of the Colonel and was applying a torture device to his midriff.
The Colonel's screams choked off as he coughed up a stream of green fluid.
The Goa'uld stepped back.
"Let that be an indication of the result of further flippancy."
O'Neill's head drooped sideways, but he managed to mutter a few words. "What do you want anyway? If you think using Danny's face is going to have me quaking in my boots, you're dreaming." He coughed again, bright green flecks danced in the air.
"Who said I wanted anything, human? I feel like some amusement. Inadequate returns for your crimes against me, I think, but I can keep this up for a very long time, so eventually I may be satisfied, and let you die."
O'Neill coughed again, his body slack in the restraints. "Been there, done that, didn't want the T-shirt. Have fun, by all means."
Thor cringed at the human's audacity in continuing to defy an enemy from whom he had no defense. A stubborn pride that could only lead to detriment, but one of which Thor found he was proud.
Moving as little as possible, in the hope of not being noticed, he glanced further around the room. Frere seemed to be awakening, but the Jaffa were still out cold. Several other Jaffa stood by the only entrance. He could see no other way to escape without alerting their captors.
As Thor watched, Frere groaned and finally sat up, clutching his head as if worried it might come off. Thor was surprised by his own hatred of the man he once called friend. He generally considered himself to be even tempered, using anger only when necessary, and as a tool in strategy, but the sight of Frere stirred within him a boiling rage of injustice, loathing, and betrayal. He wasn't sure he trusted himself if left alone with the man.
Frere eventually regained his feet, and his gaze swung around the room until it latched on to Thor. Thor, eyes closed again, feigned unconsciousness, and he heard the soft tread of the Asgard's feet as he approached.
It was at this point that O'Neill screamed again. Thor must have twitched, because Frere kicked him in the abdomen and snarled. "Get up, old man. Do not think for a minute that you can fool me."
Thor opened an eye. "Why? I already have once. Why not again?"
That earned him another kick. He had been around O'Neill for too long. He was starting to act like him.
Frere reached down and, grabbing him under the arm, wrenched Thor to his feet, shoving a weapon in his face.
"You are coming with me, so we can have out own little discussion. Anubis has his toy, now I want my part of the bargain."
He dragged Thor towards the door, but was stopped by Anubis' voice.
"Where do you think you are going?"
Frere snarled back at him. "You have what you wanted. Thor is mine." He turned and continued towards the door.
Anubis' voice was liquid. "I have not finished with him yet."
Frere spun around, almost tumbling Thor off his feet. "I would watch what you say, Goa'uld, the Asgard are not out of this galaxy yet. We are still capable of squashing you like the insects you are." The Asgard radiated contempt.
Anubis left the cross, and the limp, gasping body it supported, and made his way toward the two small aliens. "I would not be so self assured of your position, Asgard. I see no fleet standing to support you, no minions coming to your defense. You are in my domain now, little one." The contempt was mutual.
Frere studied him like some odd experimental result. "Sometimes I wonder how you people evolved enough to crawl out of your oceans and walk on land. You are so pathetically stupid. But then I remember, you didn't did you?"
Anubis towered over Frere, and Thor began to wonder a similar thing about the traitorous Asgard's ancestors, but as the Goa'uld raised his arm, Thor felt a familiar dislocation, as he was transported away.
**********
O'Neill, his body trying to decide between breathing and trembling, saw the familiar flash of the Asgard transporter, and smiled. Frere may an asshole, but he definitely knew how to deliver a line.
He could feel a cough stirring in his chest, and desperately trying to avoid the furious Anubis' attention, he did his best to smother it. A thin trickle of fluid slid out the corner of his mouth and down his chin. The healing fluid tasted nothing like the metallic taste of human blood. It was almost pleasant, a faint hint of peppermint, perhaps.
At least he would die with fresh breath.
His attention was wandering, but was abruptly reclaimed as Anubis stuck his torture device into his ribs.
"Where have they gone, human?"
"What?" Sputter, cough, attempt to keep breathing. "He's your partner in crime, how should I know?"
He didn't even see it coming. The Goa'uld swung the device like a baton, and it impacted on the side of his head. Jack fell abruptly into a painless oblivion.
**********
Thor found himself on the same ship that had snatched their party from the dying 'O'Neill'. Except this time he wasn't in a cell.
Not yet.
And he seemed to be alone with Frere.
Thor spun, one hand going for the weapon, the other fully intended to gouge vulnerable eyes. Frere stepped back, but not quickly enough to avoid Thor's fingers reaching the soft, black surface of his corneas.
Thor dug in.
Frere screamed in agony, arms flailing. The weapon went flying.
And Thor was on him.
All his pent up rage and anger found a release as he lay his hands on the cause of it all.
Frere lost his sight within the first few moments. And as the images of all the suffering of his people, and that of O'Neill, danced through Thor's memory, Frere lost a lot more.
At some point Thor realised that they needed this piece of Trakyak vomit alive for questioning, but by that time Frere was well beyond unconscious. Thor stood back, eyeing the crumpled heap on the floor. The council would disapprove, but he honestly didn't care.
Thor looked around for something to restrain the piece of filth, but was unable to locate anything. So, picking up the weapon, he grabbed an arm, and pulled, dragging the unconscious form behind him.
**********
Daniel had begun to pace.
Finally the screams had stopped, but now that just worried him more. He eyed Janet, sitting, knees drawn up to her chest. He had watched her as she flinched in rhythm to Jack's outcries in the distance. Now she sat almost rocking her body with pent up distress, her brow crumpled with strain.
Teal'c still sat calmly. Daniel understood it was because the Jaffa knew he could do nothing at this present time, but part of Daniel just wanted to shake him, just to see an expression on his face.
Face it, Danny, you're losin' it.
God, even his own inner voice had started to sound like Jack.
He cursed, causing Janet to flinch and Teal'c to raise an eyebrow.
He looked at them apologetically. "Sorry."
"O'Neill is strong, Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah, fine, sure, Teal'c. He is strong. One of the strongest men I know. But that isn't going to stop some scum sucking Goa'uld from ripping his heart out, is it?"
The silence after that statement was deafening.
Damnit, Daniel, pull yourself together.
It was almost as if Jack was standing next to him. When had it become so integral to his being that Jack would be there for him? Cajoling, muttering, making snarky comments, sarcastic replies, the man was an annoyance, but Daniel had grown to rely on him, to trust him, and Daniel knew that if he lost him, it would be like losing part of himself.
Like the part of him missing that was called Sam.
He stopped at a wall and rested his forehead against the cold concrete, closing his eyes. Daniel had been unconscious though all the events that had led to the destruction of the 'O'Neill', and the loss of Sam Carter. But the group had had hours in this cell together, and Daniel had had to listen to a monotone rendering of events from Jack. The bleakness in Jack's eyes had cut Daniel to the core. While Sam's death had cleaved his heart in two, Jack looked like his heart had gone through a mincer. It wasn't long after that, that Jack had been forced to lie down by Janet, his body on the verge of collapse.
Daniel hit his head against the concrete wall. They had to find a way out of here. For Jack's sake, for Thor's sake, and for the sake of sanity itself. He turned to the others. "We have to get out of here."
"Daniel Jackson, I agree. However, an opportunity has yet to present itself."
"Well, then we'll have to-"
The clunk of the cell door opening cut him off. A horrifyingly familiar presence entered the room.
Anubis.
The son of a bitch Goa'uld who had destroyed Abydos, who had killed the last remaining members of his family...
Daniel's body trembled with tension, straining to hold back the impulse to attempt to strangle the bastard on sight. The heavy hood, as if sensing his animosity, turned in his direction.
His own face stared out from under the shadows.
And all the pieces fell into place.
Jack had been tortured by this...thing...wearing his face. This half goa'uld, half ascended being had used whatever abilities he still possessed to create this illusion, this fallacy, for what? To ingrain into Jack's mind a fear of his best friend? To imprint on his subconscious a terror that would be remembered each time he set eyes on Daniel? Or to seek information from the tortured man by displaying a 'friendly' face?
Most likely it was just for his pathetic amusement.
To toy with the both of them.
For the first time since he had descended, Daniel longed for the abilities he knew he had had, but didn't remember. To do one thing, and one thing only. To wipe this reject of mother nature out of existence.
But now he was just a man. So he stood tall and looked the obscenity in the eye and said one word.
"Why?"
"Why, Daniel Jackson? I know who you are, I know how you came to be aboard my ship, and I know your relationship to these...people. That is why."
He turned towards Janet and Teal'c. "Unfortunately, your friend, the Colonel, has left us for the moment, and I am in need of a new subject. Which of your friends would you like me to choose?"
**********
Thor ended up locking Frere in a closet.
The traitor was too heavy and too messy to continue to drag around.
As far as Thor could tell, this ship was a small Asgard courier vessel, and after securing Frere, he made his way cautiously to the bridge.
The bridge was empty.
A quick status check confirmed they were in orbit above a planet. A planet quite a distance from the solar system that had contained the now destroyed moon.
The ship was under cloak and a quick scan of the planet divulged the location of the underground complex. There was no sign of the 'O'Neill's companion ships, or the Goa'uld vessel.
With no time to waste, Thor quickly accessed the communications link, and, using a code known only to himself and his fleet commanders, initiated a call for assistance. Help would be here shortly.
Thor accessed the transport controls only to find that a shield had been erected around the complex. A response to Frere's sudden self evacuation earlier? Thor swore under his breath. Sensors could locate SG-1 and O'Neill, but all he could do was watch helplessly.
Check for weaponry. None.
Check internal sensors. Huh? Two other lifeforms on board.
Thor swore again.
Grabbing the weapon, he made his way off the bridge, intending to find those two people, and disable them if necessary. And to find out who else had betrayed the Asgard people.
*********
Thor came upon the lab quietly. Someone was humming merrily to themselves inside. He peered cautiously around the open door.
A lone Asgard was pottering around a prone figure. Thor gripped his weapon tighter, before storming into the room.
"By the six nebulae of Tarkis, Loki, what do you think you are doing?!"
*********
FIN
Part 9 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Dark Places'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
Thor woke to the sound of screams.
He stared into the concrete, briefly wondering where he was before remembrance hit.
The screams were O'Neill's.
He slowly tilted his head in order to gain a better view of the unfolding drama in the room. The Goa'uld stood directly in front of the Colonel and was applying a torture device to his midriff.
The Colonel's screams choked off as he coughed up a stream of green fluid.
The Goa'uld stepped back.
"Let that be an indication of the result of further flippancy."
O'Neill's head drooped sideways, but he managed to mutter a few words. "What do you want anyway? If you think using Danny's face is going to have me quaking in my boots, you're dreaming." He coughed again, bright green flecks danced in the air.
"Who said I wanted anything, human? I feel like some amusement. Inadequate returns for your crimes against me, I think, but I can keep this up for a very long time, so eventually I may be satisfied, and let you die."
O'Neill coughed again, his body slack in the restraints. "Been there, done that, didn't want the T-shirt. Have fun, by all means."
Thor cringed at the human's audacity in continuing to defy an enemy from whom he had no defense. A stubborn pride that could only lead to detriment, but one of which Thor found he was proud.
Moving as little as possible, in the hope of not being noticed, he glanced further around the room. Frere seemed to be awakening, but the Jaffa were still out cold. Several other Jaffa stood by the only entrance. He could see no other way to escape without alerting their captors.
As Thor watched, Frere groaned and finally sat up, clutching his head as if worried it might come off. Thor was surprised by his own hatred of the man he once called friend. He generally considered himself to be even tempered, using anger only when necessary, and as a tool in strategy, but the sight of Frere stirred within him a boiling rage of injustice, loathing, and betrayal. He wasn't sure he trusted himself if left alone with the man.
Frere eventually regained his feet, and his gaze swung around the room until it latched on to Thor. Thor, eyes closed again, feigned unconsciousness, and he heard the soft tread of the Asgard's feet as he approached.
It was at this point that O'Neill screamed again. Thor must have twitched, because Frere kicked him in the abdomen and snarled. "Get up, old man. Do not think for a minute that you can fool me."
Thor opened an eye. "Why? I already have once. Why not again?"
That earned him another kick. He had been around O'Neill for too long. He was starting to act like him.
Frere reached down and, grabbing him under the arm, wrenched Thor to his feet, shoving a weapon in his face.
"You are coming with me, so we can have out own little discussion. Anubis has his toy, now I want my part of the bargain."
He dragged Thor towards the door, but was stopped by Anubis' voice.
"Where do you think you are going?"
Frere snarled back at him. "You have what you wanted. Thor is mine." He turned and continued towards the door.
Anubis' voice was liquid. "I have not finished with him yet."
Frere spun around, almost tumbling Thor off his feet. "I would watch what you say, Goa'uld, the Asgard are not out of this galaxy yet. We are still capable of squashing you like the insects you are." The Asgard radiated contempt.
Anubis left the cross, and the limp, gasping body it supported, and made his way toward the two small aliens. "I would not be so self assured of your position, Asgard. I see no fleet standing to support you, no minions coming to your defense. You are in my domain now, little one." The contempt was mutual.
Frere studied him like some odd experimental result. "Sometimes I wonder how you people evolved enough to crawl out of your oceans and walk on land. You are so pathetically stupid. But then I remember, you didn't did you?"
Anubis towered over Frere, and Thor began to wonder a similar thing about the traitorous Asgard's ancestors, but as the Goa'uld raised his arm, Thor felt a familiar dislocation, as he was transported away.
**********
O'Neill, his body trying to decide between breathing and trembling, saw the familiar flash of the Asgard transporter, and smiled. Frere may an asshole, but he definitely knew how to deliver a line.
He could feel a cough stirring in his chest, and desperately trying to avoid the furious Anubis' attention, he did his best to smother it. A thin trickle of fluid slid out the corner of his mouth and down his chin. The healing fluid tasted nothing like the metallic taste of human blood. It was almost pleasant, a faint hint of peppermint, perhaps.
At least he would die with fresh breath.
His attention was wandering, but was abruptly reclaimed as Anubis stuck his torture device into his ribs.
"Where have they gone, human?"
"What?" Sputter, cough, attempt to keep breathing. "He's your partner in crime, how should I know?"
He didn't even see it coming. The Goa'uld swung the device like a baton, and it impacted on the side of his head. Jack fell abruptly into a painless oblivion.
**********
Thor found himself on the same ship that had snatched their party from the dying 'O'Neill'. Except this time he wasn't in a cell.
Not yet.
And he seemed to be alone with Frere.
Thor spun, one hand going for the weapon, the other fully intended to gouge vulnerable eyes. Frere stepped back, but not quickly enough to avoid Thor's fingers reaching the soft, black surface of his corneas.
Thor dug in.
Frere screamed in agony, arms flailing. The weapon went flying.
And Thor was on him.
All his pent up rage and anger found a release as he lay his hands on the cause of it all.
Frere lost his sight within the first few moments. And as the images of all the suffering of his people, and that of O'Neill, danced through Thor's memory, Frere lost a lot more.
At some point Thor realised that they needed this piece of Trakyak vomit alive for questioning, but by that time Frere was well beyond unconscious. Thor stood back, eyeing the crumpled heap on the floor. The council would disapprove, but he honestly didn't care.
Thor looked around for something to restrain the piece of filth, but was unable to locate anything. So, picking up the weapon, he grabbed an arm, and pulled, dragging the unconscious form behind him.
**********
Daniel had begun to pace.
Finally the screams had stopped, but now that just worried him more. He eyed Janet, sitting, knees drawn up to her chest. He had watched her as she flinched in rhythm to Jack's outcries in the distance. Now she sat almost rocking her body with pent up distress, her brow crumpled with strain.
Teal'c still sat calmly. Daniel understood it was because the Jaffa knew he could do nothing at this present time, but part of Daniel just wanted to shake him, just to see an expression on his face.
Face it, Danny, you're losin' it.
God, even his own inner voice had started to sound like Jack.
He cursed, causing Janet to flinch and Teal'c to raise an eyebrow.
He looked at them apologetically. "Sorry."
"O'Neill is strong, Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah, fine, sure, Teal'c. He is strong. One of the strongest men I know. But that isn't going to stop some scum sucking Goa'uld from ripping his heart out, is it?"
The silence after that statement was deafening.
Damnit, Daniel, pull yourself together.
It was almost as if Jack was standing next to him. When had it become so integral to his being that Jack would be there for him? Cajoling, muttering, making snarky comments, sarcastic replies, the man was an annoyance, but Daniel had grown to rely on him, to trust him, and Daniel knew that if he lost him, it would be like losing part of himself.
Like the part of him missing that was called Sam.
He stopped at a wall and rested his forehead against the cold concrete, closing his eyes. Daniel had been unconscious though all the events that had led to the destruction of the 'O'Neill', and the loss of Sam Carter. But the group had had hours in this cell together, and Daniel had had to listen to a monotone rendering of events from Jack. The bleakness in Jack's eyes had cut Daniel to the core. While Sam's death had cleaved his heart in two, Jack looked like his heart had gone through a mincer. It wasn't long after that, that Jack had been forced to lie down by Janet, his body on the verge of collapse.
Daniel hit his head against the concrete wall. They had to find a way out of here. For Jack's sake, for Thor's sake, and for the sake of sanity itself. He turned to the others. "We have to get out of here."
"Daniel Jackson, I agree. However, an opportunity has yet to present itself."
"Well, then we'll have to-"
The clunk of the cell door opening cut him off. A horrifyingly familiar presence entered the room.
Anubis.
The son of a bitch Goa'uld who had destroyed Abydos, who had killed the last remaining members of his family...
Daniel's body trembled with tension, straining to hold back the impulse to attempt to strangle the bastard on sight. The heavy hood, as if sensing his animosity, turned in his direction.
His own face stared out from under the shadows.
And all the pieces fell into place.
Jack had been tortured by this...thing...wearing his face. This half goa'uld, half ascended being had used whatever abilities he still possessed to create this illusion, this fallacy, for what? To ingrain into Jack's mind a fear of his best friend? To imprint on his subconscious a terror that would be remembered each time he set eyes on Daniel? Or to seek information from the tortured man by displaying a 'friendly' face?
Most likely it was just for his pathetic amusement.
To toy with the both of them.
For the first time since he had descended, Daniel longed for the abilities he knew he had had, but didn't remember. To do one thing, and one thing only. To wipe this reject of mother nature out of existence.
But now he was just a man. So he stood tall and looked the obscenity in the eye and said one word.
"Why?"
"Why, Daniel Jackson? I know who you are, I know how you came to be aboard my ship, and I know your relationship to these...people. That is why."
He turned towards Janet and Teal'c. "Unfortunately, your friend, the Colonel, has left us for the moment, and I am in need of a new subject. Which of your friends would you like me to choose?"
**********
Thor ended up locking Frere in a closet.
The traitor was too heavy and too messy to continue to drag around.
As far as Thor could tell, this ship was a small Asgard courier vessel, and after securing Frere, he made his way cautiously to the bridge.
The bridge was empty.
A quick status check confirmed they were in orbit above a planet. A planet quite a distance from the solar system that had contained the now destroyed moon.
The ship was under cloak and a quick scan of the planet divulged the location of the underground complex. There was no sign of the 'O'Neill's companion ships, or the Goa'uld vessel.
With no time to waste, Thor quickly accessed the communications link, and, using a code known only to himself and his fleet commanders, initiated a call for assistance. Help would be here shortly.
Thor accessed the transport controls only to find that a shield had been erected around the complex. A response to Frere's sudden self evacuation earlier? Thor swore under his breath. Sensors could locate SG-1 and O'Neill, but all he could do was watch helplessly.
Check for weaponry. None.
Check internal sensors. Huh? Two other lifeforms on board.
Thor swore again.
Grabbing the weapon, he made his way off the bridge, intending to find those two people, and disable them if necessary. And to find out who else had betrayed the Asgard people.
*********
Thor came upon the lab quietly. Someone was humming merrily to themselves inside. He peered cautiously around the open door.
A lone Asgard was pottering around a prone figure. Thor gripped his weapon tighter, before storming into the room.
"By the six nebulae of Tarkis, Loki, what do you think you are doing?!"
*********
FIN