Slugs, Snails, and Puppy Dog's Tails
Part 15 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Loyalty'
By Gumnut
Oct 2003
Thor was right.
No-one else on Othalla could be trusted.
A beam of some sort of weapons fire flew past his head and sizzled through the still fluctuating event horizon.
He ducked.
He rolled.
He yelled out orders.
"Everybody get down!"
SG-1 scattered for cover. Fortunately they had not returned through the same stargate that had sent them home last time. They were in some sort of parkland, possibly part of the Garden, but he could see little as it stretched off into the dark night.
And there were a dozen Asgard shooting at them.
Damn it!
He dove behind a tree that wasn't a tree, as he felt the hot breath of fire caress his cheek.
Eyeballing the enemy, he checked for SG-1's status.
Teal'c was in the best position, covered by a statue behind the now dormant stargate. Carter had opted for a tree-wannabe like himself. Daniel...
Crap.
Tala had Daniel, and was pointing what was obviously a weapon at the archeologist's midriff.
He waited for the demand he knew was coming.
"Colonel O'Neill, you know this is a no win situation. I suggest you surrender now to avoid some unpleasant consequences."
What is it? Are all bad guys related, or do they just read the same trashy novels?
He thought briefly of the box's contents, but dismissed using them. The box was stashed where no one could find it.
At least he hoped.
Damn it, this search and rescue mission had not gotten off to a good start at all.
"Colonel, I suggest you give yourself up. Doctor Jackson will not be of much use to me much longer."
Damnit!
"Jack, don't-" There was a blast of weapon's fire and the sound of a body crumpling.
Oh, god, Daniel!
A quick visual showed Daniel in a heap at Tala's feet. Dead or alive, he couldn't tell.
Shit!
"Colonel, one more shot and he dies. Your choice."
No choice.
He would have to rely on the box.
Arms outstretched, he walked out from behind the tree-wannabe. "Tala, okay, you got me. Let the others go."
The Asgard laughed. "How valiant, Colonel, but whatever gave you the idea I just wanted you?" The laugh turned to a sneer.
Jack's sight was blinded as Tala fired.
**********
She woke up lying flat on her back.
It took a few seconds for her to remember what happened. A brief flash of Jack O'Neill under a barrage of enemy fire had her sitting up in a hurry.
She was in a cell.
Four walls, solid looking door, the standard décor for such a room.
Daniel lay sprawled beside her, Teal'c on the other side of him. But it was her commanding officer who caught her immediate attention.
He was awake.
He was standing.
He had his hands down his pants.
"Sir?"
Despite the seriousness of their situation, god, she wished she had a camera at that moment.
He jumped. The look on his face was priceless. "Carter?" His hands were suddenly behind his back.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Oh, um, yes. You?"
She made a brief appraisal of herself. Nothing hurt, everything seemed to be working. "Fine. Stunned?"
"That's what I thought. Danny and Teal'c seem to be okay."
There was a silence. He looked everywhere, but at her.
She had to ask.
"Sir, what were you doing?"
He was obviously embarrassed. "It's not what you think, Carter."
"What do I think it is?"
He frowned at her, bringing his arms around to his front. He held out his hand. In his palm she could see a small patch about a quarter of an inch square.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer, but brought it in close to his body. He did something to it, and it changed.
It became the box.
The box Thor had sent him.
He held it close to him, obviously concerned about being observed by their captors. His eyes looked directly at her. "See if you can wake Daniel and Teal'c."
The Colonel obviously knew something she didn't, she could see the plans under construction behind his eyes. She shook Daniel and was rewarded by a muffled grunt.
"Oh, god, what hit me?"
"Wakey, wakey, Danny. Rise and shine." Jack was almost cheerful.
Teal'c was much faster to respond to her touch, coming awake almost immediately. "Major Carter, are you well?"
"I'm fine, Teal'c, how about you?"
He paused, as if reflecting inwardly. "I am well."
"Okay, kids, time for some show and tell."
He tapped the box and it opened. He pulled out five small objects before closing it again.
Four objects were the same. One was not.
The Colonel fiddled with the fifth for a moment until he seemed satisfied. "Okay, kids, Thor has lent us some of his pet toys. This causes surveillance interference." He put the gadget on the ground between them. "You may recognise these." He handed out one each of the other four objects to the team.
Sam looked at the small piece of technology. It was round and about half an inch in diameter. There was something about it that seemed vaguely familiar.
Then it clicked.
Could it be?
"Sir-"
"Before you say it, Carter, yes, they are similar to those shape changy gadgets."
She looked at it again. Yes, it definitely was very much like the small holographic projectors the alien invasion had used to take over the SGC. But it was smaller, more compact, a different colour...
She had a million questions.
"Sir-"
The Colonel held up a hand for silence.
There were footsteps in the distance.
"Damn."
A couple of swift movements, and the box was gone.
At least now she knew what he had been doing in his underwear.
She quickly grabbed the interference device from the floor and stashed it, and her gadget, on herself. Daniel and Teal'c followed suit.
A scuffling outside the door was all that heralded the entrance of several Asgard.
Tala was not amongst them. He was lucky. Sam fully intended on strangling him the next time she saw him.
Several of the small grey aliens were holding weapons, trained, of course, on their captives, but the lead alien was not. He stepped forward.
"Greetings, O'Neill and SG-1. It is my pleasure to finally meet you."
O'Neill snorted arrogantly. "And it will be a pleasure to kick your ass on our way out."
"I apologise for your treatment, Colonel, it was necessary."
"Well, remind me to mention that to you if you get shot during our exit outta here."
"Your confidence is somewhat amusing, Colonel, but please excuse me if I know better."
Sam spoke up. "Why have you brought us here?"
The alien turned to her and she was surprised to find genuine sorrow in those deep, black eyes. "As I said, Major Carter, out of necessity." He turned back to the room at large, straightening his short frame. "You can call me Kalta."
Sam was persistent. "What do you want with us?"
He looked at her again, and again, his pain bore into her soul. "Life, Major Carter. A future for our people."
Her heart sank. She looked at Jack O'Neill. Beneath that silvery crop of hair was a mind that had held the entire knowledge of the Ancients. It wouldn't be the first time the Asgard had come looking for him.
He said the very words she was thinking. "But Thor said I could not provide what the Asgard needed."
Kalta looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but the Commander was correct on all but one point. You can not help us....and live."
The silence in the room echoed in her soul. It was broken by a quiet word from the Colonel. "You could have just asked."
Kalta's eyes flickered. "I sincerely doubt you would have given us what we need." He gestured towards the door. "Colonel, if you would please come with me."
His options limited to one, he complied, his eyes catching hers on the way out. His trust in her chilled the warmth from her bones.
The Asgard crowded around him and they left, the door clicking shut behind them.
The Colonel was gone.
It was up to her.
And she didn't intend to fail him.
She pulled out the gadget he had given her, and turning to her teammates, set about solving its mysteries.
**********
As Jack followed Kalta down the hallway, he tried his best to work out where they might be. He failed miserably.
The corridors all seemed the same. Similar Asgard accents, cool light, high ceilings. He could be anywhere. Whoever had built this place hadn't been a fan of windows.
"Where are we going?"
Kalta came back to walk beside him, almost as if he was playing the polite host. "I want you to meet someone."
"Who?"
"My son."
Son? He had heard of family groups, but this was a first mention of a familial relationship of the Asgard.
They came to a door and stopped. Kalta seemed to hesitate before waving his hand across the control to open it.
It was dark inside, but it brightened as they entered. Jack was reminded of his hospital room at the Othallan Medical Centre. The moment he located the occupant, he knew why.
A lone Asgard lay on his back on a bed in the centre of the room. He was awake, but seemed unaware of their entrance. When he finally turned in their direction, as Kalta approached, he saw the reason why.
The normally velvet black eyes of the Asgard were the colour of smoky milk.
He was blind.
"Father?" The voice was scratchy.
Kalta reached the bed and placed a hand on an unmoving arm. "I am here, son."
"Please end it."
"I can not, my son."
"End it, please. I can not go on like this."
"I have found an answer."
"Will you end it, Father?" The tortured soul was beyond hearing.
"Kanya, hear me, we have a solution." Kalta gripped the arm tightly.
"Father? Have you come to kill me yet?"
Kalta bowed his head, before looking towards O'Neill.
Jack asked quietly. "What happened?"
The grief stricken Asgard let go of the arm he had been holding and turned from his still pleading son. "The war with the Replicators took many lives. Many were saved via our genetics program." His eyes wandered. "I, myself, saved thousands. Unfortunately, not all Asgard are able to be cloned successfully anymore. Our genetic structure is failing. Kanya." He coughed to clear his throat. "Kanya was mortally wounded, but he was rescued in time and a clone prepared. However the clone's genetic structure was not stable and not long after transfer, his body began to fail." Kalta looked up into Jack's eyes, his pain echoing through his body. "His mind is intact, Colonel, but his body is not. His DNA can no longer support reproduction via mitosis at all. If I do not find a solution soon, he will die." He took a breath. "You are my last hope, Colonel O'Neill."
Jack swallowed a lump in his throat. His sympathy for the distraught father was absolute. But what could he do?
"What can I do?"
Kalta didn't hesitate. "You are aware of the discovery of a ship of our ancestors in your galaxy recently?"
"Yes."
"Using elements of our ancestor's DNA and combining it with yours, we will be able to restructure your body to enable it to support Kanya's consciousness."
Jack's eyes widened. "And what about my consciousness?"
"As I said, you will not survive the procedure."
Cold ice settled in his stomach. They didn't want his DNA, they wanted his body.
They wanted a host.
"No."
"I'm afraid, Colonel, that neither of us have a choice in the matter."
"There are always choices."
"You die, or my son dies. Which would you choose, Colonel?"
Jack's heart stopped momentarily, his mind filled with images of a dying Charlie. What would have been his choice? What would Charlie's have been?
O'Neill's eyes settled on Kalta. "You are no better than the Goa'uld."
Kalta's eyes hardened. "This is a matter of survival, O'Neill, and even your backward scientists know - only the fittest survive."
Realisation dawned. Kalta didn't plan to stop with Kanya. He saw it as a permanent solution to the Asgard's genetic problems.
He wanted to prey on O'Neill's people.
Jack couldn't allow that.
He was lightning fast. His hands moving towards Kalta, to stop this travesty at its root.
He wasn't fast enough.
A field snapped around him. He couldn't move.
Restraining field.
Kalta looked sorrowfully up at him. "I am sorry, Colonel, there is no other way." He signalled to the guards and Jack was levitated and moved involuntarily, out of the room and down the corridor.
Inside he fumed.
He swore.
He raged.
Visions of the Asgard swooping in on Earth, taking humans as they chose. Flashes of light stealing people from their lives.
He couldn't allow it.
It was his responsibility to stop it.
But there wasn't a single thing he could do.
So he raged.
Eventually his body was moved into a room, obviously some type of laboratory, in the centre of which lay a long tub of clear bubbling liquid. With Kalta's direction, the guards lifted him, straightened out his limbs, and slowly lowered him into the fluid.
He tried to move, tried to struggle.
He couldn't do a thing.
As the liquid swelled up around his body, his thoughts were of his team. Of how they had blindly followed him here, trusting him as always. Of how he had failed to protect them from what was likely to be a similar fate.
The liquid ran into his ears, and crept up his cheek. He couldn't even close his eyes as it slithered across his vision. Finally it filled his nose, running down into his lungs.
Beneath the still, motionless, submerged body, the spark that was Jack O'Neill took a deep phantom breath and screamed.
**********
FIN.
Part 15 of The Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Loyalty'
By Gumnut
Oct 2003
Thor was right.
No-one else on Othalla could be trusted.
A beam of some sort of weapons fire flew past his head and sizzled through the still fluctuating event horizon.
He ducked.
He rolled.
He yelled out orders.
"Everybody get down!"
SG-1 scattered for cover. Fortunately they had not returned through the same stargate that had sent them home last time. They were in some sort of parkland, possibly part of the Garden, but he could see little as it stretched off into the dark night.
And there were a dozen Asgard shooting at them.
Damn it!
He dove behind a tree that wasn't a tree, as he felt the hot breath of fire caress his cheek.
Eyeballing the enemy, he checked for SG-1's status.
Teal'c was in the best position, covered by a statue behind the now dormant stargate. Carter had opted for a tree-wannabe like himself. Daniel...
Crap.
Tala had Daniel, and was pointing what was obviously a weapon at the archeologist's midriff.
He waited for the demand he knew was coming.
"Colonel O'Neill, you know this is a no win situation. I suggest you surrender now to avoid some unpleasant consequences."
What is it? Are all bad guys related, or do they just read the same trashy novels?
He thought briefly of the box's contents, but dismissed using them. The box was stashed where no one could find it.
At least he hoped.
Damn it, this search and rescue mission had not gotten off to a good start at all.
"Colonel, I suggest you give yourself up. Doctor Jackson will not be of much use to me much longer."
Damnit!
"Jack, don't-" There was a blast of weapon's fire and the sound of a body crumpling.
Oh, god, Daniel!
A quick visual showed Daniel in a heap at Tala's feet. Dead or alive, he couldn't tell.
Shit!
"Colonel, one more shot and he dies. Your choice."
No choice.
He would have to rely on the box.
Arms outstretched, he walked out from behind the tree-wannabe. "Tala, okay, you got me. Let the others go."
The Asgard laughed. "How valiant, Colonel, but whatever gave you the idea I just wanted you?" The laugh turned to a sneer.
Jack's sight was blinded as Tala fired.
**********
She woke up lying flat on her back.
It took a few seconds for her to remember what happened. A brief flash of Jack O'Neill under a barrage of enemy fire had her sitting up in a hurry.
She was in a cell.
Four walls, solid looking door, the standard décor for such a room.
Daniel lay sprawled beside her, Teal'c on the other side of him. But it was her commanding officer who caught her immediate attention.
He was awake.
He was standing.
He had his hands down his pants.
"Sir?"
Despite the seriousness of their situation, god, she wished she had a camera at that moment.
He jumped. The look on his face was priceless. "Carter?" His hands were suddenly behind his back.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Oh, um, yes. You?"
She made a brief appraisal of herself. Nothing hurt, everything seemed to be working. "Fine. Stunned?"
"That's what I thought. Danny and Teal'c seem to be okay."
There was a silence. He looked everywhere, but at her.
She had to ask.
"Sir, what were you doing?"
He was obviously embarrassed. "It's not what you think, Carter."
"What do I think it is?"
He frowned at her, bringing his arms around to his front. He held out his hand. In his palm she could see a small patch about a quarter of an inch square.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer, but brought it in close to his body. He did something to it, and it changed.
It became the box.
The box Thor had sent him.
He held it close to him, obviously concerned about being observed by their captors. His eyes looked directly at her. "See if you can wake Daniel and Teal'c."
The Colonel obviously knew something she didn't, she could see the plans under construction behind his eyes. She shook Daniel and was rewarded by a muffled grunt.
"Oh, god, what hit me?"
"Wakey, wakey, Danny. Rise and shine." Jack was almost cheerful.
Teal'c was much faster to respond to her touch, coming awake almost immediately. "Major Carter, are you well?"
"I'm fine, Teal'c, how about you?"
He paused, as if reflecting inwardly. "I am well."
"Okay, kids, time for some show and tell."
He tapped the box and it opened. He pulled out five small objects before closing it again.
Four objects were the same. One was not.
The Colonel fiddled with the fifth for a moment until he seemed satisfied. "Okay, kids, Thor has lent us some of his pet toys. This causes surveillance interference." He put the gadget on the ground between them. "You may recognise these." He handed out one each of the other four objects to the team.
Sam looked at the small piece of technology. It was round and about half an inch in diameter. There was something about it that seemed vaguely familiar.
Then it clicked.
Could it be?
"Sir-"
"Before you say it, Carter, yes, they are similar to those shape changy gadgets."
She looked at it again. Yes, it definitely was very much like the small holographic projectors the alien invasion had used to take over the SGC. But it was smaller, more compact, a different colour...
She had a million questions.
"Sir-"
The Colonel held up a hand for silence.
There were footsteps in the distance.
"Damn."
A couple of swift movements, and the box was gone.
At least now she knew what he had been doing in his underwear.
She quickly grabbed the interference device from the floor and stashed it, and her gadget, on herself. Daniel and Teal'c followed suit.
A scuffling outside the door was all that heralded the entrance of several Asgard.
Tala was not amongst them. He was lucky. Sam fully intended on strangling him the next time she saw him.
Several of the small grey aliens were holding weapons, trained, of course, on their captives, but the lead alien was not. He stepped forward.
"Greetings, O'Neill and SG-1. It is my pleasure to finally meet you."
O'Neill snorted arrogantly. "And it will be a pleasure to kick your ass on our way out."
"I apologise for your treatment, Colonel, it was necessary."
"Well, remind me to mention that to you if you get shot during our exit outta here."
"Your confidence is somewhat amusing, Colonel, but please excuse me if I know better."
Sam spoke up. "Why have you brought us here?"
The alien turned to her and she was surprised to find genuine sorrow in those deep, black eyes. "As I said, Major Carter, out of necessity." He turned back to the room at large, straightening his short frame. "You can call me Kalta."
Sam was persistent. "What do you want with us?"
He looked at her again, and again, his pain bore into her soul. "Life, Major Carter. A future for our people."
Her heart sank. She looked at Jack O'Neill. Beneath that silvery crop of hair was a mind that had held the entire knowledge of the Ancients. It wouldn't be the first time the Asgard had come looking for him.
He said the very words she was thinking. "But Thor said I could not provide what the Asgard needed."
Kalta looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Colonel, but the Commander was correct on all but one point. You can not help us....and live."
The silence in the room echoed in her soul. It was broken by a quiet word from the Colonel. "You could have just asked."
Kalta's eyes flickered. "I sincerely doubt you would have given us what we need." He gestured towards the door. "Colonel, if you would please come with me."
His options limited to one, he complied, his eyes catching hers on the way out. His trust in her chilled the warmth from her bones.
The Asgard crowded around him and they left, the door clicking shut behind them.
The Colonel was gone.
It was up to her.
And she didn't intend to fail him.
She pulled out the gadget he had given her, and turning to her teammates, set about solving its mysteries.
**********
As Jack followed Kalta down the hallway, he tried his best to work out where they might be. He failed miserably.
The corridors all seemed the same. Similar Asgard accents, cool light, high ceilings. He could be anywhere. Whoever had built this place hadn't been a fan of windows.
"Where are we going?"
Kalta came back to walk beside him, almost as if he was playing the polite host. "I want you to meet someone."
"Who?"
"My son."
Son? He had heard of family groups, but this was a first mention of a familial relationship of the Asgard.
They came to a door and stopped. Kalta seemed to hesitate before waving his hand across the control to open it.
It was dark inside, but it brightened as they entered. Jack was reminded of his hospital room at the Othallan Medical Centre. The moment he located the occupant, he knew why.
A lone Asgard lay on his back on a bed in the centre of the room. He was awake, but seemed unaware of their entrance. When he finally turned in their direction, as Kalta approached, he saw the reason why.
The normally velvet black eyes of the Asgard were the colour of smoky milk.
He was blind.
"Father?" The voice was scratchy.
Kalta reached the bed and placed a hand on an unmoving arm. "I am here, son."
"Please end it."
"I can not, my son."
"End it, please. I can not go on like this."
"I have found an answer."
"Will you end it, Father?" The tortured soul was beyond hearing.
"Kanya, hear me, we have a solution." Kalta gripped the arm tightly.
"Father? Have you come to kill me yet?"
Kalta bowed his head, before looking towards O'Neill.
Jack asked quietly. "What happened?"
The grief stricken Asgard let go of the arm he had been holding and turned from his still pleading son. "The war with the Replicators took many lives. Many were saved via our genetics program." His eyes wandered. "I, myself, saved thousands. Unfortunately, not all Asgard are able to be cloned successfully anymore. Our genetic structure is failing. Kanya." He coughed to clear his throat. "Kanya was mortally wounded, but he was rescued in time and a clone prepared. However the clone's genetic structure was not stable and not long after transfer, his body began to fail." Kalta looked up into Jack's eyes, his pain echoing through his body. "His mind is intact, Colonel, but his body is not. His DNA can no longer support reproduction via mitosis at all. If I do not find a solution soon, he will die." He took a breath. "You are my last hope, Colonel O'Neill."
Jack swallowed a lump in his throat. His sympathy for the distraught father was absolute. But what could he do?
"What can I do?"
Kalta didn't hesitate. "You are aware of the discovery of a ship of our ancestors in your galaxy recently?"
"Yes."
"Using elements of our ancestor's DNA and combining it with yours, we will be able to restructure your body to enable it to support Kanya's consciousness."
Jack's eyes widened. "And what about my consciousness?"
"As I said, you will not survive the procedure."
Cold ice settled in his stomach. They didn't want his DNA, they wanted his body.
They wanted a host.
"No."
"I'm afraid, Colonel, that neither of us have a choice in the matter."
"There are always choices."
"You die, or my son dies. Which would you choose, Colonel?"
Jack's heart stopped momentarily, his mind filled with images of a dying Charlie. What would have been his choice? What would Charlie's have been?
O'Neill's eyes settled on Kalta. "You are no better than the Goa'uld."
Kalta's eyes hardened. "This is a matter of survival, O'Neill, and even your backward scientists know - only the fittest survive."
Realisation dawned. Kalta didn't plan to stop with Kanya. He saw it as a permanent solution to the Asgard's genetic problems.
He wanted to prey on O'Neill's people.
Jack couldn't allow that.
He was lightning fast. His hands moving towards Kalta, to stop this travesty at its root.
He wasn't fast enough.
A field snapped around him. He couldn't move.
Restraining field.
Kalta looked sorrowfully up at him. "I am sorry, Colonel, there is no other way." He signalled to the guards and Jack was levitated and moved involuntarily, out of the room and down the corridor.
Inside he fumed.
He swore.
He raged.
Visions of the Asgard swooping in on Earth, taking humans as they chose. Flashes of light stealing people from their lives.
He couldn't allow it.
It was his responsibility to stop it.
But there wasn't a single thing he could do.
So he raged.
Eventually his body was moved into a room, obviously some type of laboratory, in the centre of which lay a long tub of clear bubbling liquid. With Kalta's direction, the guards lifted him, straightened out his limbs, and slowly lowered him into the fluid.
He tried to move, tried to struggle.
He couldn't do a thing.
As the liquid swelled up around his body, his thoughts were of his team. Of how they had blindly followed him here, trusting him as always. Of how he had failed to protect them from what was likely to be a similar fate.
The liquid ran into his ears, and crept up his cheek. He couldn't even close his eyes as it slithered across his vision. Finally it filled his nose, running down into his lungs.
Beneath the still, motionless, submerged body, the spark that was Jack O'Neill took a deep phantom breath and screamed.
**********
FIN.