Only Shooting Stars
Part 10 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Eyes'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
Sam Carter woke to the sound of arguing.
"What do you mean you thought it was the right thing to do?"
"Frere said-"
"Frere is a traitorous fool. You know the importance of O'Neill. How could you do this?"
"Frere said it would be advantageous for our people."
"Advantageous?!" Thor's voice hit a new height of incredulity. "How does murdering thousands of people and mortally wounding one of our greatest heroes become 'advantageous'?"
"I didn't intend-"
"No, Loki, you never do." There was a frustrated sigh. "What were you intending to do with Major Carter?"
"Frere said I should alter her DNA to create a pathogen specific to the humans. This would enable us to defeat the Goa'uld without endangering any more Asgard lives."
There was a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass. Sam sat up quickly, just in time to see Thor pick up another piece of lab equipment and aim it at a terrified Loki. The look on Thor's face was pure thunder.
Carter jumped off the bed and intervened between the two Asgard. "What is going on here?"
"Major Carter, my apologies." Thor took control of himself. "Please forgive me." The depths of his velvet black eyes sparked flame as he stared malevolently at Loki.
Sam swayed for a moment as her body adjusted to suddenly being upright. "What were you doing to me, Loki?" Her eyes bored into the diminutive alien.
Loki shrunk back from both of them. Thor took a step forward threateningly. "Loki, tell us quickly and from the beginning."
The Asgard scientist swallowed. "Frere came to me with an idea. He believes that the Asgard have been fighting wars for far too long. We are just starting to recover from the war with the replicators. Our people are tired of being scared and running. He felt that it was time for the Asgard to look after the Asgard. We shouldn't have to look after every primitive race in the galaxies we span." He paused a moment, as if assessing his chances of getting shot in the next few moments.
"He thought the Goa'uld to be a force to be reckoned with, particularly with this Anubis person. We shouldn't have to endanger ourselves on behalf of aliens who don't even know about us, much less care. So, Frere took steps to alienate them from us."
He looked directly at Thor. "Your policies regarding the humans are widely known, but not necessarily widely supported. When our flagship was named 'O'Neill' many thought we were desecrating the memories of many Asgard heroes whose importance to our race's survival was as crucial, or even more than, the human O'Neill's."
The look on Thor's face was disbelief itself. "You did this because we named a ship after a non-Asgard person?"
Loki looked at the floor, flinching under Thor's stare. "It should have been named for an Asgard."
"But why infect all those people?" Sam was having as much trouble as Thor in believing the excuse.
"That was Frere's idea, a plan to create a rift between us and the humans, disguised as an attack by the Goa'uld. He came to me with this wonderful machine he had found. It is Ancient's technology, you would not believe what we could do with it."
Sam looked at the machine Loki was pointing at.
She knew it on sight.
She still had nightmares from the last time she saw one of them.
Nirtii's genetic manipulator.
Hell, that explained a lot. It also presented possibilities. She turned to Loki. "You worked out how to use it?"
The scientist looked proud. "Why, yes, it's rather simple actually. We only had to practice once."
Realisation kicked in. "It was you who did that to Ferretti, wasn't it?"
"Ferretti? Was that his name? Yes, I'm afraid we made some initial mistakes with that subject. We did need to practice before attempting the final design on O'Neill."
Sam felt the fury burning inside her, this...man...had taken a good friend and killed him so that he could try to do a similar thing to another. She took a step towards him.
Loki stepped back. "It is working well now. I know exactly how to use it."
She pinned him with her eyes. "So why is Colonel O'Neill dying?"
"He has served his purpose."
Sam had to restrain Thor once again. The Commander struggled slightly in her grip. Who would have thought he had such a strong temper?
Well, he did have cause.
She addressed the errant scientist again. "Can you save him, Loki? Can you repair the genetic damage and remove the pathogen template?"
The alien looked up at her. "Why, of course." Then his eyes narrowed. "But why should I?"
Sam reached out and took him by the neck. His eyes widened in alarm.
Her voice was calm and deadly. "Because, Loki, if you don't, and Colonel O'Neill dies, I will personally make sure you are physically incapable of performing any more such experiments in the future."
She let him go with a small shove, and he stumbled. She turned to Thor. "Where are they?"
"I'm afraid, Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and Doctor Fraiser are being held captive on the planet below. Colonel O'Neill is gravely ill." He paused looking her in the eye. "He has been tortured by Anubis."
Sam felt her heart sink even lower. God, how much more could the man stand?
Thor continued. "There is a shield protecting the facility and we are unable to transport them to safety." Thor looked Sam up and down. "Are you physically well, Major Carter?"
She paused a moment. "I think so." Her eyes fixed on Loki. "Am I?"
The scientist feigned innocence. "I have not done anything. She was transported aboard this vessel by Frere. As far as I know he only stunned her, and she has been kept under a sedation field ever since. Until you turned it off."
"Good." Thor grabbed Loki, and forced him on to the bed Sam had recently vacated. He flipped a few controls and a restraining field snapped into place. "Stay here, Loki. I will deal with you later."
Thor led the way back to the bridge. She took in the compact set up, and turned back to the Commander. "Any ideas?"
"I believe assistance will arrive shortly."
As if on cue, the sky was suddenly full of starships.
The Asgard fleet had arrived.
**********
Jack woke to the sound of his name.
"O'Neill."
He faded out for a moment as the pain that was his body thrust its weight upon him. He tried to cough, but only emitted a rasping moan.
"O'Neill."
Whoever they were, they were persistent.
He made the effort to open his eyes, only to find a green filled blur. A brief fluttering of eyelids cleared it somewhat, and he felt the liquid run down his cheeks.
Was he crying tears of blood?
"O'Neill. Please wake up."
The voice had a hint of desperation. Was it worried? He didn't want to cause worry. He tried to lift his head and was rewarded by an explosion that surely took his head off.
"Oh, god." His voice was like sandpaper on tin foil.
"O'Neill, can you hear me?"
He was able to tilt his head slightly, just enough to sight a blurry grey form.
"Thor?" He coughed, and more fluid ran down his chin. "You okay?" The last he had seen of the Asgard, he had been in the hands of Frere. "F...Frere?"
"Frere is in Asgard custody, O'Neill. I am fine. We are attempting to find a way to get you and your team out of this place."
"B...Beam me up?" Huh? Asgard had those flashy things, why was he still here?
"I can not, O'Neill. There is a shield protecting the facility. We are going to attempt to negotiate."
O'Neill spat blood, his head came up abruptly in anger, and the pain was incredible. "N...Negotiate?! Thor, I'm ha..hanging on by a thread here." He coughed violently, and his world spun. He let his head droop once again.
"O'Neill? O'Neill?!"
"Thor?" The world kept fading in and out. "Can you get me down from here?" Why hadn't Thor already done that?
"I can not, O'Neill. This is only a holographic projection." O'Neill seemed to slip even further into despair. "O'Neill, we need you to hold on for a little longer. O'Neill? Can you?"
"Thor? What are you doing here?" Where was here for that matter?
"Jack, look at me." O'Neill followed the small grey hand to the face with its large black eyes. Why did his head hurt? "We will get you out of here." Those liquid eyes stared at him with determination. "I promise. Will you wait for me?"
"O..Okay." His throat hitched, and he coughed again, black spots dancing in his vision. A sudden thought occurred to him, and he panicked. "Sam?" Again he wrenched his head up, but this time the pain battered him into the dark.
*********
Thor saw consciousness pass from O'Neill's body and fought an urge to catch his suddenly limp head. He panicked briefly as the tortured body was still for a moment, but was quickly relieved as O'Neill drew breath once again.
The same sense of helplessness he had felt in that cell those many days before, attempted once again to consume him. He was unable to protect the man from the pain, and could not even touch him to give comfort.
But this time, he was not alone. This time he had the fleet to back him up.
This time he could save O'Neill.
He gave the order.
**********
Daniel watched as Anubis made a move toward Janet Fraiser and tensed his body, preparing to fling himself between them.
Fortunately there was no need.
Everyone froze at the sudden sound of a voice echoing throughout the cells and corridors of the complex.
"I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. I address Anubis, the Goa'uld in charge of this facility. You have committed multiple crimes against the Asgard and our allies. Please be advised that our fleet is standing by, and upon my order, will proceed against multiple objectives within your domain. Unless you release your prisoners into our custody immediately, you can, in the words of one of our allies, 'Kiss your ass, goodbye'."
**********
Across several thousand light years of space, Asgard ships started appearing above Goa'uld installations. Where they appeared, Thor's voice was heard.
Some outposts attempted retaliation. Those outposts were short lived.
Several accidents occurred in a busy Goa'uld shipping lane as six Asgard vessels appeared out of nowhere, weapons fully primed. Several of Anubis' mother ships met each other in a bright conflagration while attempting to avoid them.
And far beneath the feet of the Asgard Supreme Commander, a Goa'uld attempted spontaneous self combustion.
**********
He did not have to wait long, but for Thor, those few minutes were the length of years.
It was wholly a bluff. He had grabbed every available Asgard ship he could find. Although the Asgard had defeated the replicators, thanks to the efforts of O'Neill and SG-1, their military was not recovered fully enough to take on another opponent at this time. This was a show of force, a threat that Thor knew Anubis could not afford to ignore.
And there were important lives in the balance.
The shield came down with an abruptness that surprised even Thor. The captives were beamed immediately to the Medical Section.
No word came from Anubis.
Thor didn't care.
He just hoped they weren't too late.
*********
FIN
Part 10 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Eyes'
By Gumnut
Sep 2003
Sam Carter woke to the sound of arguing.
"What do you mean you thought it was the right thing to do?"
"Frere said-"
"Frere is a traitorous fool. You know the importance of O'Neill. How could you do this?"
"Frere said it would be advantageous for our people."
"Advantageous?!" Thor's voice hit a new height of incredulity. "How does murdering thousands of people and mortally wounding one of our greatest heroes become 'advantageous'?"
"I didn't intend-"
"No, Loki, you never do." There was a frustrated sigh. "What were you intending to do with Major Carter?"
"Frere said I should alter her DNA to create a pathogen specific to the humans. This would enable us to defeat the Goa'uld without endangering any more Asgard lives."
There was a loud crash and the sound of shattering glass. Sam sat up quickly, just in time to see Thor pick up another piece of lab equipment and aim it at a terrified Loki. The look on Thor's face was pure thunder.
Carter jumped off the bed and intervened between the two Asgard. "What is going on here?"
"Major Carter, my apologies." Thor took control of himself. "Please forgive me." The depths of his velvet black eyes sparked flame as he stared malevolently at Loki.
Sam swayed for a moment as her body adjusted to suddenly being upright. "What were you doing to me, Loki?" Her eyes bored into the diminutive alien.
Loki shrunk back from both of them. Thor took a step forward threateningly. "Loki, tell us quickly and from the beginning."
The Asgard scientist swallowed. "Frere came to me with an idea. He believes that the Asgard have been fighting wars for far too long. We are just starting to recover from the war with the replicators. Our people are tired of being scared and running. He felt that it was time for the Asgard to look after the Asgard. We shouldn't have to look after every primitive race in the galaxies we span." He paused a moment, as if assessing his chances of getting shot in the next few moments.
"He thought the Goa'uld to be a force to be reckoned with, particularly with this Anubis person. We shouldn't have to endanger ourselves on behalf of aliens who don't even know about us, much less care. So, Frere took steps to alienate them from us."
He looked directly at Thor. "Your policies regarding the humans are widely known, but not necessarily widely supported. When our flagship was named 'O'Neill' many thought we were desecrating the memories of many Asgard heroes whose importance to our race's survival was as crucial, or even more than, the human O'Neill's."
The look on Thor's face was disbelief itself. "You did this because we named a ship after a non-Asgard person?"
Loki looked at the floor, flinching under Thor's stare. "It should have been named for an Asgard."
"But why infect all those people?" Sam was having as much trouble as Thor in believing the excuse.
"That was Frere's idea, a plan to create a rift between us and the humans, disguised as an attack by the Goa'uld. He came to me with this wonderful machine he had found. It is Ancient's technology, you would not believe what we could do with it."
Sam looked at the machine Loki was pointing at.
She knew it on sight.
She still had nightmares from the last time she saw one of them.
Nirtii's genetic manipulator.
Hell, that explained a lot. It also presented possibilities. She turned to Loki. "You worked out how to use it?"
The scientist looked proud. "Why, yes, it's rather simple actually. We only had to practice once."
Realisation kicked in. "It was you who did that to Ferretti, wasn't it?"
"Ferretti? Was that his name? Yes, I'm afraid we made some initial mistakes with that subject. We did need to practice before attempting the final design on O'Neill."
Sam felt the fury burning inside her, this...man...had taken a good friend and killed him so that he could try to do a similar thing to another. She took a step towards him.
Loki stepped back. "It is working well now. I know exactly how to use it."
She pinned him with her eyes. "So why is Colonel O'Neill dying?"
"He has served his purpose."
Sam had to restrain Thor once again. The Commander struggled slightly in her grip. Who would have thought he had such a strong temper?
Well, he did have cause.
She addressed the errant scientist again. "Can you save him, Loki? Can you repair the genetic damage and remove the pathogen template?"
The alien looked up at her. "Why, of course." Then his eyes narrowed. "But why should I?"
Sam reached out and took him by the neck. His eyes widened in alarm.
Her voice was calm and deadly. "Because, Loki, if you don't, and Colonel O'Neill dies, I will personally make sure you are physically incapable of performing any more such experiments in the future."
She let him go with a small shove, and he stumbled. She turned to Thor. "Where are they?"
"I'm afraid, Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and Doctor Fraiser are being held captive on the planet below. Colonel O'Neill is gravely ill." He paused looking her in the eye. "He has been tortured by Anubis."
Sam felt her heart sink even lower. God, how much more could the man stand?
Thor continued. "There is a shield protecting the facility and we are unable to transport them to safety." Thor looked Sam up and down. "Are you physically well, Major Carter?"
She paused a moment. "I think so." Her eyes fixed on Loki. "Am I?"
The scientist feigned innocence. "I have not done anything. She was transported aboard this vessel by Frere. As far as I know he only stunned her, and she has been kept under a sedation field ever since. Until you turned it off."
"Good." Thor grabbed Loki, and forced him on to the bed Sam had recently vacated. He flipped a few controls and a restraining field snapped into place. "Stay here, Loki. I will deal with you later."
Thor led the way back to the bridge. She took in the compact set up, and turned back to the Commander. "Any ideas?"
"I believe assistance will arrive shortly."
As if on cue, the sky was suddenly full of starships.
The Asgard fleet had arrived.
**********
Jack woke to the sound of his name.
"O'Neill."
He faded out for a moment as the pain that was his body thrust its weight upon him. He tried to cough, but only emitted a rasping moan.
"O'Neill."
Whoever they were, they were persistent.
He made the effort to open his eyes, only to find a green filled blur. A brief fluttering of eyelids cleared it somewhat, and he felt the liquid run down his cheeks.
Was he crying tears of blood?
"O'Neill. Please wake up."
The voice had a hint of desperation. Was it worried? He didn't want to cause worry. He tried to lift his head and was rewarded by an explosion that surely took his head off.
"Oh, god." His voice was like sandpaper on tin foil.
"O'Neill, can you hear me?"
He was able to tilt his head slightly, just enough to sight a blurry grey form.
"Thor?" He coughed, and more fluid ran down his chin. "You okay?" The last he had seen of the Asgard, he had been in the hands of Frere. "F...Frere?"
"Frere is in Asgard custody, O'Neill. I am fine. We are attempting to find a way to get you and your team out of this place."
"B...Beam me up?" Huh? Asgard had those flashy things, why was he still here?
"I can not, O'Neill. There is a shield protecting the facility. We are going to attempt to negotiate."
O'Neill spat blood, his head came up abruptly in anger, and the pain was incredible. "N...Negotiate?! Thor, I'm ha..hanging on by a thread here." He coughed violently, and his world spun. He let his head droop once again.
"O'Neill? O'Neill?!"
"Thor?" The world kept fading in and out. "Can you get me down from here?" Why hadn't Thor already done that?
"I can not, O'Neill. This is only a holographic projection." O'Neill seemed to slip even further into despair. "O'Neill, we need you to hold on for a little longer. O'Neill? Can you?"
"Thor? What are you doing here?" Where was here for that matter?
"Jack, look at me." O'Neill followed the small grey hand to the face with its large black eyes. Why did his head hurt? "We will get you out of here." Those liquid eyes stared at him with determination. "I promise. Will you wait for me?"
"O..Okay." His throat hitched, and he coughed again, black spots dancing in his vision. A sudden thought occurred to him, and he panicked. "Sam?" Again he wrenched his head up, but this time the pain battered him into the dark.
*********
Thor saw consciousness pass from O'Neill's body and fought an urge to catch his suddenly limp head. He panicked briefly as the tortured body was still for a moment, but was quickly relieved as O'Neill drew breath once again.
The same sense of helplessness he had felt in that cell those many days before, attempted once again to consume him. He was unable to protect the man from the pain, and could not even touch him to give comfort.
But this time, he was not alone. This time he had the fleet to back him up.
This time he could save O'Neill.
He gave the order.
**********
Daniel watched as Anubis made a move toward Janet Fraiser and tensed his body, preparing to fling himself between them.
Fortunately there was no need.
Everyone froze at the sudden sound of a voice echoing throughout the cells and corridors of the complex.
"I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet. I address Anubis, the Goa'uld in charge of this facility. You have committed multiple crimes against the Asgard and our allies. Please be advised that our fleet is standing by, and upon my order, will proceed against multiple objectives within your domain. Unless you release your prisoners into our custody immediately, you can, in the words of one of our allies, 'Kiss your ass, goodbye'."
**********
Across several thousand light years of space, Asgard ships started appearing above Goa'uld installations. Where they appeared, Thor's voice was heard.
Some outposts attempted retaliation. Those outposts were short lived.
Several accidents occurred in a busy Goa'uld shipping lane as six Asgard vessels appeared out of nowhere, weapons fully primed. Several of Anubis' mother ships met each other in a bright conflagration while attempting to avoid them.
And far beneath the feet of the Asgard Supreme Commander, a Goa'uld attempted spontaneous self combustion.
**********
He did not have to wait long, but for Thor, those few minutes were the length of years.
It was wholly a bluff. He had grabbed every available Asgard ship he could find. Although the Asgard had defeated the replicators, thanks to the efforts of O'Neill and SG-1, their military was not recovered fully enough to take on another opponent at this time. This was a show of force, a threat that Thor knew Anubis could not afford to ignore.
And there were important lives in the balance.
The shield came down with an abruptness that surprised even Thor. The captives were beamed immediately to the Medical Section.
No word came from Anubis.
Thor didn't care.
He just hoped they weren't too late.
*********
FIN