The Key
Part 20 of the Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Told by Time'
By Gumnut
Nov 2003
It was like watching your own heart being torn out.
Lancelets of fire carved the delicate looking space station into a pile of shattered glass, a mass of shining flotsam, the pieces individually catching the spark of the Othallan sun and reflecting it as they spun.
Space was silent, but you could still hear the screams.
**********
The sudden silence aboard the 'Athaneyar' was broken by a blood curdling Furling oath.
Renaya flinched, and Eelyn broke into a keen, his hands clinging to Carter's uniform pantleg.
O'Neill glanced at Thor. The Asgard was staring at the maneuvering warships in shock, his eyes tracking them as they settled into orbit, as they set up a perimeter around Othalla, and proceeded to shoot down any ship daring to breach it.
They made no attempt at communication.
And there was no planetary response to the incursion.
But there was a response from Thor.
"No."
No-one had heard him, except the small group standing with him, but from several feet away from the Asgard, you could feel the fury building.
Thor glanced in Niikrahl's direction, his head giving a simple nod.
Niikrahl returned it.
And disappeared in a wave of red light.
Thor's eyes flickered to the Nox Ambassador. "I ask you but one thing, Renaya. Should I fail, protect the children."
The Nox bowed her head. "Ambassador Thor, you have my word."
And now it was O'Neill's turn. The silky, black eyes stared up at him, pain in their depths.
"Thor, what are you doing?"
"O'Neill, I must inform the Council of the activities of the Goa'uld. This is their doing. I must stop this civil war before it cripples us."
"You can't go down there."
"What choice do I have?" The Asgard looked up at him as if desperately attempting to find another solution. "I must go."
"Then let me go with you." He held up a hand at the sudden, but predictable protests of Carter and Daniel. "Thor, I owe these people."
"No, O'Neill, you do not. It is us that owe you. A debt that can never be repaid."
"Thor-"
"O'Neill." Teal'c's voice was alarmed, and he had Jack's attention immediately. His hand pointed toward the planet.
Just beyond the nearest rogue starship, a huge vessel suddenly appeared in orbit.
Aww, hell.
It was Goa'uld, the biggest Goa'uld ship he had ever seen, its pyramidal centre gold in the flash of the Othallan sun, slowly turning, as it slipped into orbit. It was something that this planet had never seen, or had ever thought to see.
It's presence in this galaxy could mean only one thing.
The Goa'uld were now intergalactic.
The problem suddenly got a whole lot bigger.
**********
O'Neill waited a moment. It wouldn't take long. The Goa'uld could be pathetically predictable at times. It was coming, he knew it.
He was right.
"I am Anubis. I am your God. From this day forth you will direct your allegiance to me."
The speech was typical, boring in its repetitiveness. Its interruption was not.
"Don't you people ever change your lines?"
Niikrahl.
Jack O'Neill felt his eyes widen as a fleet of fifty-odd blood red spider-like starships shimmered into existence around Othalla, around the Asgard ships, and around the Goa'uld. The Furling's voice echoed like the enemy's had moments before.
"I am Niikrahl, and I'm no god, but I do have a whole lot more ships than you do, with enough weaponry to carve up that mikbar ship of yours like a quekchek holiday roast. I seriously suggest you reconsider your previous offer.
"The Furlings stand by the Asgard. I suggest you leave."
Oh, boy, Jack thought, you gotta love his style.
There was no response from the Goa'uld, their ship silently sitting in orbit, its menace somewhat dwarfed by the vessels encircling it. The Furling's ship design was at a complete opposite to their physical characteristics. Having met Niikrahl, if O'Neill had been asked to guess the type of ship he might command, he would of suggested something blocky, tough, a tank-style dreadnought or some such. But no, these ships were anything but.
If you looked closely you could see a vague similarity between the Goa'uld and Furling ships. At the centre of both was the pyramidal structure, the Goa'uld's the ever present gold, the Furling's a deep blood red. But the Furling's pyramid was so rounded, so sculpted, as to almost not be a pyramid at all. And it blended with the rest of the ship seamlessly.
Where the Goa'uld ship had its engines and armaments crouched haphazardly around its pyramid, the Furling's spoke of sleek, supple, and deadly. Ten long 'legs' arched out from the base of the ship, ten branches of blood red metal tensed to grab, attack, fire, to throttle the enemy. These ships were cool. These ships looked mean.
And they were on his side.
Way to go, Niikrahl.
For a moment, things looked up. Several respiratory systems suddenly found themselves under strain as a collective breath was held. Fingers were crossed, and a general hope that the Furlings would be able to scare away the Goa'uld with no bloodshed permeated the air.
A vain hope.
Anubis had another card up his sleeve.
Its name was O'Neill.
*********
The view flickered suddenly, and Thor found himself presented with a familiar sight, though with some unfamiliar players.
The Asgard High Council Chamber was full. The Council had obviously been in session when the attack occurred.
It certainly wasn't in session now.
Anubis stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by his Jaffa, one hand full of the neck of the High Councillor.
He was addressing the world at large.
"Colonel O'Neill, I am aware of your presence on this planet. I offer you a choice. Join me here for a little....discussion....or see the High Councillor of the Asgard die." The deep voice smirked. "You can take your time if you like, I have plenty of Asgard here to play with." His hand twitched and the High Councillor gasped.
Thor turned to O'Neill, knowing his answer before it was spoken.
O'Neill's face was taut with strain, and suppressed anger. "Looks like I'm going."
"Sir-"
"Carter, I have no choice. It is my decision."
"Jack, you can hardly stand on your own!"
Immediately, to refute Daniel's claim, the Colonel took his weight on to both feet, pushing himself away from the archaeologist. He swayed, momentarily, before straightening and looking Daniel in the eye.
"Jack, what the hell do you think you will be able to accomplish? Anubis is just as likely to kill the High Councillor whether you give yourself up, or not."
O'Neill's expression was cold and bleak. "He might, but at least it will be one Asgard death I am not responsible for."
"Jack-"
"Daniel! I can't do anything from up here. Perhaps I can do something down there."
"What?" The archaeologist was furious. "What, Jack? What can you do?"
"Daniel, just for once - just once - could you please just shut up!"
The look in O'Neill's eyes chilled Thor to his core. It spoke of finality and death. Doctor Jackson seemed to realise that a line had been crossed, his tone relented. "Jack, we can't let you go."
"Yes, Daniel, you can. And that's an order." O'Neill turned his back on his team, as if witnessing their distress was unbearable. Those cold eyes turned in his direction. "Thor, I need to get down there now."
"O'Neill-" Teal'c.
The Colonel held up a hand in the Jaffa's direction, but didn't turn to look. O'Neill's eyes pleaded with Thor. "We need to hurry. I doubt the High Councillor has much time."
Thor matched his stare, seeing into the depths of those small, dark eyes, seeing the determination and selflessness that made this man - and he made his own decision.
Turning to Renaya, he asked her, "Do you have my equipment?"
The Nox nodded, and a carryall appeared in the centre of the table. Thor reached into the bag and pulled out several weapons. He handed two to each of SG-1, including O'Neill.
The Colonel turned them over in his hands. "Thor?"
"You will not be going alone, O'Neill." Thor fixed a weapon to his hip, no holster, no belt needed.
O'Neill protested. "I will not endanger anyone else."
"Fortunately, O'Neill, I am not under your command. I will be accompanying you, or you will not be going." O'Neill's expression became stony. Thor looked up at him, knowing more at this point in time than at any other, why he called this human friend. "O'Neill, you are my friend. Asgard honour demands no less from me. To leave you to face an enemy alone and injured would be unjustifiable. And besides, I have not finished teaching you the Asgard language - and you know how I hate leaving things unfinished." Thor attempted a small smile to soften his statement.
"Thor, I-"
In an eerie echo of the gesture O'Neill had used on Teal'c, Thor held up a hand. "O'Neill, shut up."
If it hadn't been so dire, it would have been funny.
Even though Thor knew he would probably have an extensive conversation with O'Neill sometime in the future regarding his last statement should they survive this day, he had no time to think of it now. He gestured to SG-1 and the four humans came closer so he could quickly demonstrate the function of the Asgard weapons.
**********
Jack took his emotional turmoil and shoved it into the back of his mind where he could ignore it. If they survived this, he and Thor would be having some serious discussions regarding command protocol. It wasn't that he wasn't honoured by Thor's loyalty, it was just a long time since anyone had told him to shut up. Well, apart from George Hammond, but that was different. Wasn't it?
Who cares, O'Neill? There are more important things to think about at the moment.
Yeah, like offering yourself up for slaughter.
Jack looked at the two objects in his hands. One was obviously a gun, he had been shot with one of these often enough in the last few days to recognise it. The other was something he hadn't seen before. It looked something like a Swiss army knife.
Thor demonstrated quickly. "This is a shield disruptor." The little alien flicked the gadget in his hand and a blade appeared. Oooh, definitely a Swiss army knife. "If you are trapped by a Goa'uld force field, inserting this blade into the force field and activating the device will disrupt the field allowing escape."
Carter piped up. "If it is a force field, how can you insert anything into it?"
"The blade has nanophasic properties."
The look on Carter's face told O'Neill she understood that statement about as much as he did.
"Thor, if we are going, we better be going now." He turned to SG-1. "Kids, you are backup. If you see anything that could solve this problem, you have my orders to act on it, but - and this is a direct order, Carter - you are not to endanger yourselves." He swallowed, looking at his team, his voice softened. "Your safety is my responsibility." It was obviously clear to all of them that his statement had a double meaning. A second meaning he would not voice.
Both Teal'c and Carter looked unhappy. He could see that as soldiers, they understood, but it didn't mean they had to like it.
Daniel...
Daniel was Daniel. He could see that the archaeologist understood, but a stubborn denial, a refusal to give up, brought fire to his eyes, and he just stood looking at O'Neill, his arms folded, as if clutching himself for support.
Jack looked away. "Well, see ya, kids." He turned to Thor, who turned to Renaya, who waved her hand.
The forest dissolved around them.
**********
They materialised into chaos. Several Asgard had made an attempt to rescue the High Councillor.
They had all failed.
They lay scattered about the floor, dumped there by the Jaffa milling about them, their small grey bodies limp in death.
The figure of Anubis still dominated the scene, his fist still clasped around the neck of the now hopefully only unconscious High Councillor.
The eyeless face found O'Neill, and the voice sneered. "So you chose to join us, human." The hood waved in the direction of Thor. "However, I don't recall asking you to bring company." He gestured and Frere moved out from behind him. "Psyphus, I believe you and this Asgard have some unfinished business."
"Indeed I do." He raised the weapon in his hand, and fired.
For the third time that day, O'Neill flung himself in front of Thor. He felt the searing flame scorch across his back, and he landed hard, his breath taken away.
There was a roar of disapproval from Anubis, the soft thud of a falling body, and suddenly he was being lifted, a steel hand around his throat. "You continue to be an annoyance, human, a fatal habit." The hand squeezed.
O'Neill saw stars. "Wh...wha the hell do you want from me?" His hands flailed at the fist cutting off his air.
Anubis let his grip slacken as his voice betrayed astonishment. "You don't know? Your simple little mind hasn't worked it out?" The empty hood tipped backwards in laughter, before once again turning to his captive. The smoky miasma twisted beneath the hood, and features began to form. Daniel's face once again stared out at him. Jack flinched, but refused to show it. "O'Neill, you are the key." Daniel's lips curled up in what could only be called sensuous pleasure. "The key to the Asgard."
Those lips snarled. "You are their one vulnerability. Do you realise how these puny people view you? You are their hero. They consider you to be legendary. Imagine having someone as pathetic as you for a role model. However, my understanding is not a requirement, all I needed to know was that they would do anything for you. And they have." He smiled. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."
O'Neill didn't have a chance to react to that statement, before the Goa'uld grabbed his wrist, and began to bend it back. "And you are weak." The wrist bent further and further until with a sickening crack, the back of his hand met the top of his arm. The hand around his throat restricted his scream to a gurgling cry. "Their weakest link." He let the limp hand drop. Jack gasped, his groan becoming a whimper.
Suddenly the room lit up with light as Thor fired on Anubis. His weapon flaring up and down the length of the Goa'uld's robes.
Jack found himself abruptly dropped to his feet. Agony shot up his leg to join the burning ache in his back, and the molten fire in his wrist. He stumbled and almost fell, catching himself only through stubborn determination.
A weapon was pressed into the small of his back. "Do not even think of moving, human."
Frere.
He looked up just in time to see Thor flung across the room courtesy of Anubis. The Commander fell into a crumpled heap as he rebounded off the wall. The Goa'uld raised his hand again.
"You bastard." His voice rasped with pain, but Anubis heard it, his attention once again turning to the injured human. "Leave him alone."
"Why?" The sneer illustrated to Jack his absolute lack of control of the situation. There seemed to be no damage to Anubis or his robes. Failure.
The weapon pressed harder into his back, and Frere snarled. "Answer him."
O'Neill had had it with the little rat.
One good arm was all it took. O'Neill spun using the full length of his arm as leverage, he slashed his fist across the Asgard's head. There was the sound of a snap, of twigs breaking, and the little alien was flung to the floor.
O'Neill knew it was coming, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Anubis came up behind him and grabbed him by his hair and pulled. "Not wise, human."
"Aach, what are you going to do about it, snake boy?" He could feel his scalp separating from his skull, but if the snakehead was focused on him, he was ignoring Thor. "If I remember correctly you are surrounded by a superior force and are unlikely to leave this galaxy alive."
"I intend to do no more than what I had already intended." Daniel's lips smiled once again. "Oh, but I haven't told you yet have I?" The confidence in the Goa'uld's tone chilled O'Neill. What didn't he know?
"Human, you are not aware of what is in the balance here. The Asgard are presented with a dilemma. On one hand they have the planet Othalla, their home, and on the other.....the planet Earth."
Oh, god, no.
An expression must have crossed his face, because the smile on Anubis' face widened. "Yes, human, I sent a fleet of ships to your pathetic little planet. The Asgard are a little occupied at the moment. Which planet do you think they will choose?" Daniel's eyes glinted with black humour. "And to think I couldn't do this without your help. I must thank you, O'Neill, before I dispose of you."
Oh, god, the implications spun in his head. No.
No.
No.
Not while he still lived.
His one functional hand groped for purchase, for anything, and Anubis laughed at his struggles. "You have lost, Tau'ri, give it up."
No.
His hand fell on one of the weapons Thor had given him.
A flick of his wrist and the shield disruptor was active. He had nothing to give.
And nothing to lose.
Twisting in the Goa'uld's grip, he abruptly shoved the knife deep into folds of the dark cloak, his eyes meeting the blue orbs of his best friend.
"I never give up, you asshole."
He didn't expect a reaction.
He expected to die.
But he didn't.
The grip on his hair was suddenly loosed and once again he found himself dropped to his feet, and stumbling.
There was a moan from within the dark hood. Anubis clutched his midriff and began to shake. There was a roaring sound, a sound of wind through pines, of waves on rocks. O'Neill still trying to catch his balance stumbled backwards, as the figure of Anubis became fluid, its cloak caught in a unseen wind, flapping frantically, revealing the smoky figure within. There was a scream of nails on blackboard, and what had been the most powerful Goa'uld in existence, spun into a tornado of black smoke and disappeared up through the ceiling.
There was a stunned silence, the only sounds the settling of fabric on the floor as the wind disappeared to wherever it had come from.
O'Neill stood dumbly, staring at the empty cloak.
He looked up at the first sound, and came face to face with a bewildered but angry Jaffa.
"What have you done?" He was nudged with a staff weapon.
His brain didn't seem to be connected to his body anymore. He stared at the Jaffa, not able to say a thing.
"Colonel O'Neill?"
He managed to turn without falling. The High Councillor looked up at him, a little shaken, but whole.
Suddenly the import of what Anubis had said came crashing down upon him. It had been all his fault. He had been the weak link. He stared at the rumpled High Councillor, suddenly aware that beyond the Jaffa, several hundred Asgard had witnessed his guilt. There was only one thing he could say.
"I'm sorry."
His voice trembled, and the world closed down around him. The floor came up and took him away.
**********
FIN.
Part 20 of the Asgard Sequence
Sequel to 'Told by Time'
By Gumnut
Nov 2003
It was like watching your own heart being torn out.
Lancelets of fire carved the delicate looking space station into a pile of shattered glass, a mass of shining flotsam, the pieces individually catching the spark of the Othallan sun and reflecting it as they spun.
Space was silent, but you could still hear the screams.
**********
The sudden silence aboard the 'Athaneyar' was broken by a blood curdling Furling oath.
Renaya flinched, and Eelyn broke into a keen, his hands clinging to Carter's uniform pantleg.
O'Neill glanced at Thor. The Asgard was staring at the maneuvering warships in shock, his eyes tracking them as they settled into orbit, as they set up a perimeter around Othalla, and proceeded to shoot down any ship daring to breach it.
They made no attempt at communication.
And there was no planetary response to the incursion.
But there was a response from Thor.
"No."
No-one had heard him, except the small group standing with him, but from several feet away from the Asgard, you could feel the fury building.
Thor glanced in Niikrahl's direction, his head giving a simple nod.
Niikrahl returned it.
And disappeared in a wave of red light.
Thor's eyes flickered to the Nox Ambassador. "I ask you but one thing, Renaya. Should I fail, protect the children."
The Nox bowed her head. "Ambassador Thor, you have my word."
And now it was O'Neill's turn. The silky, black eyes stared up at him, pain in their depths.
"Thor, what are you doing?"
"O'Neill, I must inform the Council of the activities of the Goa'uld. This is their doing. I must stop this civil war before it cripples us."
"You can't go down there."
"What choice do I have?" The Asgard looked up at him as if desperately attempting to find another solution. "I must go."
"Then let me go with you." He held up a hand at the sudden, but predictable protests of Carter and Daniel. "Thor, I owe these people."
"No, O'Neill, you do not. It is us that owe you. A debt that can never be repaid."
"Thor-"
"O'Neill." Teal'c's voice was alarmed, and he had Jack's attention immediately. His hand pointed toward the planet.
Just beyond the nearest rogue starship, a huge vessel suddenly appeared in orbit.
Aww, hell.
It was Goa'uld, the biggest Goa'uld ship he had ever seen, its pyramidal centre gold in the flash of the Othallan sun, slowly turning, as it slipped into orbit. It was something that this planet had never seen, or had ever thought to see.
It's presence in this galaxy could mean only one thing.
The Goa'uld were now intergalactic.
The problem suddenly got a whole lot bigger.
**********
O'Neill waited a moment. It wouldn't take long. The Goa'uld could be pathetically predictable at times. It was coming, he knew it.
He was right.
"I am Anubis. I am your God. From this day forth you will direct your allegiance to me."
The speech was typical, boring in its repetitiveness. Its interruption was not.
"Don't you people ever change your lines?"
Niikrahl.
Jack O'Neill felt his eyes widen as a fleet of fifty-odd blood red spider-like starships shimmered into existence around Othalla, around the Asgard ships, and around the Goa'uld. The Furling's voice echoed like the enemy's had moments before.
"I am Niikrahl, and I'm no god, but I do have a whole lot more ships than you do, with enough weaponry to carve up that mikbar ship of yours like a quekchek holiday roast. I seriously suggest you reconsider your previous offer.
"The Furlings stand by the Asgard. I suggest you leave."
Oh, boy, Jack thought, you gotta love his style.
There was no response from the Goa'uld, their ship silently sitting in orbit, its menace somewhat dwarfed by the vessels encircling it. The Furling's ship design was at a complete opposite to their physical characteristics. Having met Niikrahl, if O'Neill had been asked to guess the type of ship he might command, he would of suggested something blocky, tough, a tank-style dreadnought or some such. But no, these ships were anything but.
If you looked closely you could see a vague similarity between the Goa'uld and Furling ships. At the centre of both was the pyramidal structure, the Goa'uld's the ever present gold, the Furling's a deep blood red. But the Furling's pyramid was so rounded, so sculpted, as to almost not be a pyramid at all. And it blended with the rest of the ship seamlessly.
Where the Goa'uld ship had its engines and armaments crouched haphazardly around its pyramid, the Furling's spoke of sleek, supple, and deadly. Ten long 'legs' arched out from the base of the ship, ten branches of blood red metal tensed to grab, attack, fire, to throttle the enemy. These ships were cool. These ships looked mean.
And they were on his side.
Way to go, Niikrahl.
For a moment, things looked up. Several respiratory systems suddenly found themselves under strain as a collective breath was held. Fingers were crossed, and a general hope that the Furlings would be able to scare away the Goa'uld with no bloodshed permeated the air.
A vain hope.
Anubis had another card up his sleeve.
Its name was O'Neill.
*********
The view flickered suddenly, and Thor found himself presented with a familiar sight, though with some unfamiliar players.
The Asgard High Council Chamber was full. The Council had obviously been in session when the attack occurred.
It certainly wasn't in session now.
Anubis stood in the centre of the room, surrounded by his Jaffa, one hand full of the neck of the High Councillor.
He was addressing the world at large.
"Colonel O'Neill, I am aware of your presence on this planet. I offer you a choice. Join me here for a little....discussion....or see the High Councillor of the Asgard die." The deep voice smirked. "You can take your time if you like, I have plenty of Asgard here to play with." His hand twitched and the High Councillor gasped.
Thor turned to O'Neill, knowing his answer before it was spoken.
O'Neill's face was taut with strain, and suppressed anger. "Looks like I'm going."
"Sir-"
"Carter, I have no choice. It is my decision."
"Jack, you can hardly stand on your own!"
Immediately, to refute Daniel's claim, the Colonel took his weight on to both feet, pushing himself away from the archaeologist. He swayed, momentarily, before straightening and looking Daniel in the eye.
"Jack, what the hell do you think you will be able to accomplish? Anubis is just as likely to kill the High Councillor whether you give yourself up, or not."
O'Neill's expression was cold and bleak. "He might, but at least it will be one Asgard death I am not responsible for."
"Jack-"
"Daniel! I can't do anything from up here. Perhaps I can do something down there."
"What?" The archaeologist was furious. "What, Jack? What can you do?"
"Daniel, just for once - just once - could you please just shut up!"
The look in O'Neill's eyes chilled Thor to his core. It spoke of finality and death. Doctor Jackson seemed to realise that a line had been crossed, his tone relented. "Jack, we can't let you go."
"Yes, Daniel, you can. And that's an order." O'Neill turned his back on his team, as if witnessing their distress was unbearable. Those cold eyes turned in his direction. "Thor, I need to get down there now."
"O'Neill-" Teal'c.
The Colonel held up a hand in the Jaffa's direction, but didn't turn to look. O'Neill's eyes pleaded with Thor. "We need to hurry. I doubt the High Councillor has much time."
Thor matched his stare, seeing into the depths of those small, dark eyes, seeing the determination and selflessness that made this man - and he made his own decision.
Turning to Renaya, he asked her, "Do you have my equipment?"
The Nox nodded, and a carryall appeared in the centre of the table. Thor reached into the bag and pulled out several weapons. He handed two to each of SG-1, including O'Neill.
The Colonel turned them over in his hands. "Thor?"
"You will not be going alone, O'Neill." Thor fixed a weapon to his hip, no holster, no belt needed.
O'Neill protested. "I will not endanger anyone else."
"Fortunately, O'Neill, I am not under your command. I will be accompanying you, or you will not be going." O'Neill's expression became stony. Thor looked up at him, knowing more at this point in time than at any other, why he called this human friend. "O'Neill, you are my friend. Asgard honour demands no less from me. To leave you to face an enemy alone and injured would be unjustifiable. And besides, I have not finished teaching you the Asgard language - and you know how I hate leaving things unfinished." Thor attempted a small smile to soften his statement.
"Thor, I-"
In an eerie echo of the gesture O'Neill had used on Teal'c, Thor held up a hand. "O'Neill, shut up."
If it hadn't been so dire, it would have been funny.
Even though Thor knew he would probably have an extensive conversation with O'Neill sometime in the future regarding his last statement should they survive this day, he had no time to think of it now. He gestured to SG-1 and the four humans came closer so he could quickly demonstrate the function of the Asgard weapons.
**********
Jack took his emotional turmoil and shoved it into the back of his mind where he could ignore it. If they survived this, he and Thor would be having some serious discussions regarding command protocol. It wasn't that he wasn't honoured by Thor's loyalty, it was just a long time since anyone had told him to shut up. Well, apart from George Hammond, but that was different. Wasn't it?
Who cares, O'Neill? There are more important things to think about at the moment.
Yeah, like offering yourself up for slaughter.
Jack looked at the two objects in his hands. One was obviously a gun, he had been shot with one of these often enough in the last few days to recognise it. The other was something he hadn't seen before. It looked something like a Swiss army knife.
Thor demonstrated quickly. "This is a shield disruptor." The little alien flicked the gadget in his hand and a blade appeared. Oooh, definitely a Swiss army knife. "If you are trapped by a Goa'uld force field, inserting this blade into the force field and activating the device will disrupt the field allowing escape."
Carter piped up. "If it is a force field, how can you insert anything into it?"
"The blade has nanophasic properties."
The look on Carter's face told O'Neill she understood that statement about as much as he did.
"Thor, if we are going, we better be going now." He turned to SG-1. "Kids, you are backup. If you see anything that could solve this problem, you have my orders to act on it, but - and this is a direct order, Carter - you are not to endanger yourselves." He swallowed, looking at his team, his voice softened. "Your safety is my responsibility." It was obviously clear to all of them that his statement had a double meaning. A second meaning he would not voice.
Both Teal'c and Carter looked unhappy. He could see that as soldiers, they understood, but it didn't mean they had to like it.
Daniel...
Daniel was Daniel. He could see that the archaeologist understood, but a stubborn denial, a refusal to give up, brought fire to his eyes, and he just stood looking at O'Neill, his arms folded, as if clutching himself for support.
Jack looked away. "Well, see ya, kids." He turned to Thor, who turned to Renaya, who waved her hand.
The forest dissolved around them.
**********
They materialised into chaos. Several Asgard had made an attempt to rescue the High Councillor.
They had all failed.
They lay scattered about the floor, dumped there by the Jaffa milling about them, their small grey bodies limp in death.
The figure of Anubis still dominated the scene, his fist still clasped around the neck of the now hopefully only unconscious High Councillor.
The eyeless face found O'Neill, and the voice sneered. "So you chose to join us, human." The hood waved in the direction of Thor. "However, I don't recall asking you to bring company." He gestured and Frere moved out from behind him. "Psyphus, I believe you and this Asgard have some unfinished business."
"Indeed I do." He raised the weapon in his hand, and fired.
For the third time that day, O'Neill flung himself in front of Thor. He felt the searing flame scorch across his back, and he landed hard, his breath taken away.
There was a roar of disapproval from Anubis, the soft thud of a falling body, and suddenly he was being lifted, a steel hand around his throat. "You continue to be an annoyance, human, a fatal habit." The hand squeezed.
O'Neill saw stars. "Wh...wha the hell do you want from me?" His hands flailed at the fist cutting off his air.
Anubis let his grip slacken as his voice betrayed astonishment. "You don't know? Your simple little mind hasn't worked it out?" The empty hood tipped backwards in laughter, before once again turning to his captive. The smoky miasma twisted beneath the hood, and features began to form. Daniel's face once again stared out at him. Jack flinched, but refused to show it. "O'Neill, you are the key." Daniel's lips curled up in what could only be called sensuous pleasure. "The key to the Asgard."
Those lips snarled. "You are their one vulnerability. Do you realise how these puny people view you? You are their hero. They consider you to be legendary. Imagine having someone as pathetic as you for a role model. However, my understanding is not a requirement, all I needed to know was that they would do anything for you. And they have." He smiled. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."
O'Neill didn't have a chance to react to that statement, before the Goa'uld grabbed his wrist, and began to bend it back. "And you are weak." The wrist bent further and further until with a sickening crack, the back of his hand met the top of his arm. The hand around his throat restricted his scream to a gurgling cry. "Their weakest link." He let the limp hand drop. Jack gasped, his groan becoming a whimper.
Suddenly the room lit up with light as Thor fired on Anubis. His weapon flaring up and down the length of the Goa'uld's robes.
Jack found himself abruptly dropped to his feet. Agony shot up his leg to join the burning ache in his back, and the molten fire in his wrist. He stumbled and almost fell, catching himself only through stubborn determination.
A weapon was pressed into the small of his back. "Do not even think of moving, human."
Frere.
He looked up just in time to see Thor flung across the room courtesy of Anubis. The Commander fell into a crumpled heap as he rebounded off the wall. The Goa'uld raised his hand again.
"You bastard." His voice rasped with pain, but Anubis heard it, his attention once again turning to the injured human. "Leave him alone."
"Why?" The sneer illustrated to Jack his absolute lack of control of the situation. There seemed to be no damage to Anubis or his robes. Failure.
The weapon pressed harder into his back, and Frere snarled. "Answer him."
O'Neill had had it with the little rat.
One good arm was all it took. O'Neill spun using the full length of his arm as leverage, he slashed his fist across the Asgard's head. There was the sound of a snap, of twigs breaking, and the little alien was flung to the floor.
O'Neill knew it was coming, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Anubis came up behind him and grabbed him by his hair and pulled. "Not wise, human."
"Aach, what are you going to do about it, snake boy?" He could feel his scalp separating from his skull, but if the snakehead was focused on him, he was ignoring Thor. "If I remember correctly you are surrounded by a superior force and are unlikely to leave this galaxy alive."
"I intend to do no more than what I had already intended." Daniel's lips smiled once again. "Oh, but I haven't told you yet have I?" The confidence in the Goa'uld's tone chilled O'Neill. What didn't he know?
"Human, you are not aware of what is in the balance here. The Asgard are presented with a dilemma. On one hand they have the planet Othalla, their home, and on the other.....the planet Earth."
Oh, god, no.
An expression must have crossed his face, because the smile on Anubis' face widened. "Yes, human, I sent a fleet of ships to your pathetic little planet. The Asgard are a little occupied at the moment. Which planet do you think they will choose?" Daniel's eyes glinted with black humour. "And to think I couldn't do this without your help. I must thank you, O'Neill, before I dispose of you."
Oh, god, the implications spun in his head. No.
No.
No.
Not while he still lived.
His one functional hand groped for purchase, for anything, and Anubis laughed at his struggles. "You have lost, Tau'ri, give it up."
No.
His hand fell on one of the weapons Thor had given him.
A flick of his wrist and the shield disruptor was active. He had nothing to give.
And nothing to lose.
Twisting in the Goa'uld's grip, he abruptly shoved the knife deep into folds of the dark cloak, his eyes meeting the blue orbs of his best friend.
"I never give up, you asshole."
He didn't expect a reaction.
He expected to die.
But he didn't.
The grip on his hair was suddenly loosed and once again he found himself dropped to his feet, and stumbling.
There was a moan from within the dark hood. Anubis clutched his midriff and began to shake. There was a roaring sound, a sound of wind through pines, of waves on rocks. O'Neill still trying to catch his balance stumbled backwards, as the figure of Anubis became fluid, its cloak caught in a unseen wind, flapping frantically, revealing the smoky figure within. There was a scream of nails on blackboard, and what had been the most powerful Goa'uld in existence, spun into a tornado of black smoke and disappeared up through the ceiling.
There was a stunned silence, the only sounds the settling of fabric on the floor as the wind disappeared to wherever it had come from.
O'Neill stood dumbly, staring at the empty cloak.
He looked up at the first sound, and came face to face with a bewildered but angry Jaffa.
"What have you done?" He was nudged with a staff weapon.
His brain didn't seem to be connected to his body anymore. He stared at the Jaffa, not able to say a thing.
"Colonel O'Neill?"
He managed to turn without falling. The High Councillor looked up at him, a little shaken, but whole.
Suddenly the import of what Anubis had said came crashing down upon him. It had been all his fault. He had been the weak link. He stared at the rumpled High Councillor, suddenly aware that beyond the Jaffa, several hundred Asgard had witnessed his guilt. There was only one thing he could say.
"I'm sorry."
His voice trembled, and the world closed down around him. The floor came up and took him away.
**********
FIN.