Disclaimer: The characters used within this are mostly the property of others. I have a few originals, but the vast majority are not original. Everything here is fiction. This is for entertainment only and not for profit.

-=oOo=-

Araiansu - Chapter 21

-=oOo=-

"Good Evening. This is Andy Davis. I've been on assignment in the city of Atlantis, which as everyone knows is the only known city that can also travel in space. The main reason I was called here was we learned that Cally, the twenty year old daughter of Sam and Ranma Carter was bonded in some fashion we didn't really understand with what we heard at the time was an eighty year old male from another planet. That sounded something of concern, and it was. Neither family was particularly happy about it. Fortunately, it was not quite as we had feared. First of all, here are a couple pictures of the couple. In the one on the left he is still wearing his native clothes. In the one on the right they are both wearing EDF uniforms. As you can tell they look much like we do, though they grow up slower than we do. Yes, an 80 year old Nox still appears younger than a 20 year old human, hence one of the reasons his mother was quite upset. To her, he must truly still seem like a child. It didn't make Cally's parent's particularly happy either. Fortunately the bond that was mentioned is not marriage."

"You might wonder what this bond is, and how ever it happened? Those who develop into what we call life adepts eventually learn enough skill where they can share much of what they are with another. For a brief time, this can usually be recovered from. For a longer time there will be severe, well withdrawal symptoms is the best I can describe them as. I know I'm making this sound bad, but it isn't, or at least there is good with the bad. Sharing on that level can help one person heal another other essentially perfectly. This was not well known till recently, but it is true. It can also help transfer knowledge and skills from one to another. Sam and Ranma Carter formed a bond long ago when they didn't know what they were doing. Ranma was trying to teach his hard earned skills as a life adept, but there was no one around to teach him. He was arguably an expert where he was from."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Unfortunately, being an expert in a world that knows little of the subject doesn't mean much. Baring extreme measures, their bond is essentially permanent. They don't regret it, and have no interest in changing it, and they are, of course married. The main drawback here is a bond of this level is fatal if one of the pair dies. Again, they choose this, and have no wish to change things, in the off chance one of them may live longer."

"As I mentioned, extreme measures do exist, but the cost is high. The Still, the Nox know how to do this and if both parties are committed to the change will help. Apparently, it involves a lot of exceedingly painful, well withdrawal, for lack of a better term. They don't want that. I am told if their bond vanished without consequences they would just create it again. They have made their choice. In their case, till death do they part is not true. They will be together on that day." He said the last quite softly, yet clearly.

He let his words sink in before continuing. "For Cally and Nafrayu, well, they cannot pretend to have the two plus decades of marriage, yet they also choose to keep what they have, and that is their choice. I'm sure I mentioned that none of the parents involved were particularly thrilled with their children managing to create a normally permanent bond. Why then did the two decide to risk it? It apparently isn't that hard to go from temporary to permanent. A few temporary bonds can easily become permanent if conditions are right."

"The answer to the question of why lies primarily in the ability to heal. Cally, like everyone else we know with skill in healing, did not know how to be absolutely sure there would be no side effects. The Nox do know the key to this, but it is not something easily taught. It can take decades to teach their children the skill. Cally wanted to learn the skill, and I am told she was quite persistent. What is more, Nafrayu interested her. He is also the youngest of his people, and as she put it, she wanted to make sure she didn't miss her chance to one of her sisters. Isn't that right Cally?"

Cally is shown to be off to Andy's side. She said, "Your making me sound like a stalker."

The camera zoomed out a bit more to show an amused Nafrayu in an EDF uniform. He said, "I confess, I am also at fault. She is truly remarkable as you will have seen. One day, when our parents approve, I hope we do get married, but not for some years yet. Remember when you watch this that I have far greater experience than her, though not at that age. I certainly did not have the life energy reserves she does now at her same age. Her family has truly done a remarkable job at raising this jewel."

Cally blushed furiously. She said, "You know I'm a jewel that can so kick your but."

Nafrayu held up his hands in defense. "She is correct here. My people have known peace for perhaps too long, but I shall learn to. The bond we formed, after all, works both ways."

The camera panned left. Andy said, "Let me introduce Jenna, Dana, Villa, and Avon. Jenna, what do you think of your sister's actions?"

Jenna replied, "I'd would have been tempted, though perhaps not as much as Cally. We are all concerned that this thing she learned may remain beyond us."

"Dana?"

"He is cute enough I suppose, but if I ever dated, well I'd want someone to keep up with me both in a conversation and in the art. Pass."

Nafrayu said jokingly, "I'm hurt. So very hurt."

Cally walked over and smiled at him sweetly. He put up his hands in defense.

"Villa?"

"Well, he is not really my type, if you know what I mean."

Andy laughed.

"Beyond that, I wish her best, and if he harms her they won't find the body."

Andy laughed again.

"Avon?"

"I was never quite sure what all the fuss was about. She is an adult. I wish them the best. I'm not bonding anyone to learn this skill, but I fully intend to figure it out."

"Fair enough. Nafrayu's parents couldn't be here tonight as they are very far away, but they may be here in the next week or two. Cally's parents are here."

Ranma and Sam walked in.

"Ranma, what are your thoughts?"

"We fully support them both. We would have preferred they did not become linked like they are till much later, if then, but we fully support them."

Sam added, "Cally made her choice, in part, to be able to help in horrible events like the one you will see. We have blurred the images of the children and the one responsible."

Andy Davis said, "I guess that is my cue. I am told all the major networks are now carrying this broadcast, though by necessity delayed for those who started later, and by all the major networks, I don't mean just America. I had no idea I'd see such an event, let alone to be present, but I was, and thanks to an existing recording system we can see it. In the right corner of the screen there is a time in seconds with three digits after it. That is essentially the time in milliseconds after the current second. We are going to play this starting at real time, then at 100x slower than real time. It will speed up to 10X slower than real time a bit into it, and then continue at just half real time. Voices have been adjusted to sound correct regardless. When we are done we will repeat the whole thing at real time. Here it is, in what was supposed to be a fairly normal day on Atlantis. This is your last warning. If you have kids in the room, then you may want to ask them to leave."

Andy waited almost a minute as the camera panned through the faces of those present. Cally had an arm wrapped around Nafrayu who was leaning into her side. Ranma enfolded Sam between his arms. The others sat or stood wherever they were, all waiting for the replay to start.

Andy watched respectfully as the scene unfolded once more. When it was done they played it again in real time to show them just how fast it happened.

"And there you have it. A disaster averted. Heroes all. After the break we are going to play the interviews with the parents, who are just thankful that their son or daughter got to come home tonight healthy and with a bright future. We will also interview the chief of police at the local town. The person responsible has already been indicted. The chief, as you might have guessed is happy beyond reason that his town didn't become another statistic. If there is a common thread here, it is the potential of men and women of all types to come together and to make a difference. Later, we are going to show again the video where the people of the EDF fought to bring a resource that even now powers many homes around the country. It is also on our website in even higher quality. One thing is for sure, it is not just Rommie and Kasumi that can dance."

"Finally. There are far too many school shootings. No one disagrees with this. Many lie about the cause. You can do your own research, or, if you want, you can watch our special on the subject tomorrow night. There are solutions. We just keep pretending there are not."

"We also can't assume that heroes will always be there to save us. The skill to heal the children to the level they did is limited to the pinnacle of Asgard technology or the equivalent level in healing with life energy. Both are rare. Very rare. There are seven billion people on the planet. If you combine the clever machines and the very clever people you get about two dozen options. Two dozen against seven billion. The math doesn't work. Yes, the EDF is expanding the pool available. That is going to take a lot of time. In the videos you will see after the break they propose establishing treaties that make it possible for them to legally intervene in extreme situations like this. I believe we should do that, but you can decide for yourself."

He paused for a moment, looking at everyone around him, seeing their approval and curiosity.

"I don't, however think this is enough. I haven't mentioned this to anyone and I probably should of, but I for one would like to see the best people from around the world perhaps focused not just on defending Earth with saving children as another priority, but a large group with people on standby, not to intervene in petty crime, but to be deployed when there is active and serious threats to life when time is of the essence. This is a big task, and no doubt will take many resources, but if things like active shooters can be dealt with by teams ready for it, that are willing to, no matter what risk death to save lives, then perhaps they can be transported where they are needed. Perhaps that can be part of the plan. Frankly, I have met many heroes in my life. It is time we all do our part."

Sam glanced at Ranma who nodded. "We support the idea and will work on it. Sometimes it is possible to beam the suspect out. If this goes larger scale, that won't always be possible. Heimdall himself found and targeted that thing with the transporters, and even then he had to bring both criminal and hostage rather than take the time to try to isolate one and potentially lose more lives in the delay. I don't consider myself nearly as quick as he is with the targeting scanners, and I am no slouch as you saw when we ended the threat. Simply put, the more we spread this idea yes, the more lives will be saved, but I would bet we will lose people too. I guarantee any such effort will swamp our medical resources very fast, and most will have to be treated by regular doctors doing their best. Keep that all in mind if you decide to sign up."

"Also, as much as I hate to bring it up, for us to afford to do this, we are going to need to find a way to pay for it. All those new people being paid, supplied, and taught will cost money. For the purposes of this we need both money and qualified people, or at least people willing to learn. As usual, all people signed up would be EDF members, just working this task. If they have a problem with our rules then, well, don't. It will end badly. If a team from a country you hate is ready and available, they will be sent. If you have a problem with them in the normal course of their duties, then you have a problem with us. If they are in the EDF, they are willing to do the job period. This is a huge effort and I'm not entirely sure that the Asgard will approve the expansion in use of their technology, even by the EDF. I suspect that much of the work to convince them will have to be done by the people who volunteer. Make no mistake, while the exact terms are up in the air, this sure sounds like a world wide police force and I for one think it is about time."

Ranma added, "We know it won't be this simple. We know many won't accept us, at least initially. Some of the leaders of some countries are on our list, but everyday people are not, regardless of where they call home. Don't assume a country won't be supported because a leader is not. Lives of everyday people are what is important. Also don't assume you can't volunteer because your leader says you can't, though we ask that you not take chances that puts other lives in danger. I just think the Earth is the home of mankind, and not of any nation or collection of nations. This is a chance for us to show we understand that."

-=oOo=-

"Mr. President, do you know what chaos they are opening now?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"What would you propose? As much as I don't like to give up any sovereignty, well, this puts us in an awkward position."

"It's an impossible position! They as much as said that even if we forbid it, they will ignore us and do it anyway and there is not much we can do about it!"

"I know, but tell me, how will this affect the average person tomorrow and years or decades from now?"

"It depends on whether or not the whole organization stays reasonably free of corruption. That usually doesn't happen!"

"I'm willing to bet on them, but just to be safe, why don't you study it all, and if you don't like the result, give me a better option."

"Fine," he said in a clipped tone. He then asked, "Do you think they are trying to take over?"

"I doubt it, though it might end up that way."

"Why do you say that?"

"They have a city they could load up with whomever they wanted and fly anywhere. They could no doubt add a bunch more with a Stargate, which they have as well. It would be easier for them to make an ideal world without trying to save us. The effort just on Mars is astounding. There are so many perfectly good worlds in the universe, and they are making Mars into one of them, if slowly. I think their goal is what they say it is. I've no idea if that will remain that ideal, but answer me this, 'Have Ours?' The only reason the liar is apparently hiding somewhere is them. We know he is alive because he pops up on their video feed now and then, but the rest of the time it is pitch black with no sound."

"You think he is trying to lose their interest? If they can remotely see him on regular video, then I'd imaging they could switch to infra red."

"I don't know, but I wouldn't bet against him trying to write or read with night vision to stir up trouble. All the EDF would say when we suggested that idea was that they appreciated the advice."

"I'd really hate to be him right now."

"He brought it on himself."

"True."

-=oOo=-

Kasumi grinned when after a long phone call with Megumi Hayashibara she agreed to come aboard.

Rommie smiled too when one of Kasumi's favorite singers and anime voices appeared in a flash of light.

"This is real?" Megumi asked in Japanese.

"Of course," Kasumi said. "We were thinking of going to pick up some people. They could use the Stargate, but that is boring. Want to come?"

"Sure."

Jack O'Neil and Daniel Jackson suddenly beamed onboard. Jack was in his underwear. Daniel was in a bathrobe.

"Don't you knock?" asked Jack in irritation.

Kasumi and Megumi smiled in amusement. Megumi openly admired Daniel.

Rommie said, "Oops, honest mistake."

Daniel said dryly, "Why don't I believe you?"

Kasumi and Megumi were still smiling.

Jack asked dryly, "Why are we here?"

Rommie said, "We wanted to go pickup Janet and all the rest."

"I thought they were coming via Stargate."

Kasumi said, "Boring."

"Clothes?" Jack asked.

"The Vatican guys who spend all their time studying in their rooms should have some. I'll ask one to show you to your rooms."

Jack said dryly, "At least tell Sam where we are going."

"Already did," chimed in Rommie. Technically she had left a message, but that was close enough, right?

Jack was annoyed to see that one of the Vatican guys she was talking about was a very attractive woman. A brunette even, and he was in his underwear. Somehow Daniel was able to compose himself better. The bathrobe had to help.

"I'm sorry about this," Jack tried.

"Rommie got bored again?" she asked.

"So it would seem," Daniel said dryly. Then he added, "Could you um find us some clothes?"

"I think we can manage that," she said amused.

She showed them to two different rooms where two separate priests gladly dug through their clothes to provide them with clothing, even if it was black slack pants and plain white button up shirts.

After they dressed properly they met the brunette back in the hallway. Daniel was the first to speak. "Pardon, now that we are well dressed somewhat properly, maybe we can start again. My name is Daniel Jackson and this is Jack O'Neill."

"Heather. Heather Davis, and no I'm not a priest. I'm with the Vatican history division."

"Really?" Daniel asked. "Perhaps we can have a conversation. I'm always interested in talking to a fellow historian."

She smiled.

Jack muttered under his breath, "So not fair."

"Did you say something Jack?"

"No, not me. Say, do we have rooms?"

"Sure, I'll take you to yours."

"Gameboy?" Jack hoped.

"No, but we did get a copy of the media database from Liberator."

"Sweet." Jack then added, "I'm sure it was for educational purposes."

Heather blushed furiously.

Jack raised an eyebrow and Daniel found it difficult not to smile in amusement.

-=oOo=-

General Hammond dialed his phone. "Sam? Would you be any chance know where Jack was?"

Sam responded, "Rommie and Kasumi kidnapped him and Daniel for their amusement."

"They what?" he asked surprised.

"They are heading to Pangar to pickup Janet and the rest. They are nearly done with their work. We assume this is just an excuse and she is getting antsy after being stuck on Earth for so many thousands of years."

"Fair enough I guess. I'll get someone else."

"What did you need?"

"Someone to train some people."

"Villa seems bored."

"Think he would do it?"

"I'll ask."

"Think he can tactfully manage people older than himself?"

"Well, better than Avon."

George laughed. "I'll make sure to send along someone to keep an eye on things and make sure expectations aren't too crazy."

"That would be appreciated. I'll let you know."

-=oOo=-

Daniel stepped onto the bridge only to see a sight he had not entirely expected to see. Her guest, one Japanese voice actress, was teaching Kasumi and Rommie how to further improve the impact of their already stellar voices.

He was about to knock on the bulkhead when Rommie suddenly stopped. The background music stopped at the same time, and the other two stopped a second later.

Rommie said, "I'm getting a distress call."

"From within hyperspace?" asked Daniel surprised.

"I have a very good ear."

Kasumi asked, "What do you want to do?"

Rommie said, "Approaching source. Shields up. Coming out of hyperspace. Bringing the weapons array online."

"What is going on?" Megumi asked in halting English.

Daniel responded in Japanese, "I think we just found trouble."

"Your accents is hard to follow, but I understand," Megumi said.

"I don't get a chance to practice often." Sticking with Japanese he turned to Kasumi and Rommie. "What do you have?"

Jack came running in, as did Heather and several of the others that were just here to learn from Rommie's database of knowledge. "Problems?" he asked.

Rommie said, "I honestly don't know. The fact that I recognized the distress call as probably Furling in origin was really odd. It was not particularly powerful. It had a sequence number buried in it that would seem to indicate it has not been on long. It is also growing weaker."

"How long?" asked Jack.

"Days at best."

Heather asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

Jack asked, "Are there any ships around?"

"No. The moon on the fifth planet is the source."

"I say let's take a look."

"Heading there. Powering down weapons for now, but leavings the shields…"

"Actually," Jack said, "Why don't you run that cloak of yours?"

"It won't help. Without something like Atlantis to relay, I'd need to land to be easily able to go out with Kasumi and I'm probably the only one that can trace this signal. The atmospheric disturbance would give us away."

"Okay."

Rommie said, "Kasumi, may I?"

"Always."

Rommie walked into Kasumi and enfolded her in her arms before merging in.

They announced ship wide, "Hang onto your hats. We are doing an emergency landing to answer a distress call."

The shields blazed red as she dove head first into the atmosphere of the planet, easily ignoring the pressure she was putting on her systems. Two minutes later they were flying over the southern continent.

"The signal bounced off a mountain. Correcting. One minute till expected landing. Do not touch the hull. We are a bit hot, even with the shields."

They rapidly approached a small crystalline castle. "It is of Furling construction. Well, that matches the distress call. Curious," they said as one.

The ship quickly landed and extended a walkway. A still merged pair were the first out, followed by Jack and Daniel who had acquired pistols, a radio, and rucksacks from somewhere.

Jack said, "Slow down a little?"

"Can't, not much signal left."

Daniel said, "I sure hope…"

"Do not say it Daniel!"

Daniel smiled even as they followed the pair into the crystal castle.

The only enemy they met was some very large angry horned cat like creatures. Jack ended up emptying his first clip in while Daniel helped with several shots of his own.

They quickly went up three sets of stairs. Both Jack and Daniel were huffing. Kasumi kept going taking turns and opening doors by waving her hand as if she had always known how the place worked.

Finally, at near the top of the tower they saw a gorgeous brunette of Asian descent in very bad shape. Her clothes were torn and bloody, but there were no animals here. A small red marble like device glowed weakly with power even as the crystal beside it went dark.

The merged pair knelt beside them and lightly touched the brunette's face with each side of their hands before starting to glow white. The red gem glowed and spoke. "Do not. My master cannot take your energy now. Use me."

Kasumi laid their merged hand near the gem and considered it for a few moments before carefully picking it up. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Hurry."

Their hands glowed bright white as they produced as much life energy as they could. The greedy little gem sucked it all up.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" asked Jack warily.

"Mostly," they replied.

Suddenly the brunette glowed silver as a frilly white dress reformed on her body and her wounds began to close. The glow continued for close to ten minutes before the merged pair said, "We will have to stop soon."

The glow around the brunette vanished, her newly formed clothes vanishing with it leaving her back in the torn clothes she had on when she got here. The gem said, "My master needs water and food badly. Please help her."

They asked, "I wasn't able to sense any of that with you directing. Is she stable enough for transport now?"

"It would be better than carrying her if it was any distance."

They carefully pocketed the small red gem and the other gem before carefully picking up the brunette. A second later all of them were back in the Nozomi's medical bay.

They palmed open an Asgard bio-bed when the gem spoke, "Device not trusted. Do not place my master in there!"

"Picky little thing, ain't it?" asked O'Neill.

"I am not a thing. I am Raising Heart."

They very hesitantly stopped their motion and turned to leave the infirmary. One hallway and two doors later they came to their own room and gently laid the young woman on the bed.

Rommie separated from Kasumi.

Kasumi handed her the red gem.

"Okay Raising Heart if you are what I think you are, I need a priority breakdown. What is the situation. I am Rommie. My recognition code 173A4726ZZ. Authenticate me and answer."

"Oh my!" said a very surprised gem.

The gem spoke again, "I recognize you Rommie, friend and hero of the Furling race. I am one of the few gems of power that remain of their work, and yes, I am like you, though I have lost much over time being limited as I am. Nanoha is from a universe I fell into close to a thousand years ago when I escaped a potential master that would have abused my power. I recognize the work of the Asgard now, but please do not place my master in it. Her linker core is heavily damaged. I do not sense the elements that would be required for proper treatment. Just bringing her here took most of the power left in us."

Heather came in.

Kasumi said, "Please bring water, maybe an IV bag, food." She left immediately to go get it.

Suddenly furious Rommie asked, "Who the hell gave you authority to punch holes in the dimensional wall? I can sense the remnants from here. I get that your mistress was near death, but unless something has changed your technology cannot do so safely, and not your saying you did it not once but twice."

Nanoha weakly spoke, "Please do not hurt Raising Heart."

"I'm not going to hurt her," Rommie insisted.

Heather was back with water. Kasumi helped Nanoha up enough to drink slowly. They all waited the five minutes it took her to drink it down before laying back down. Heather left again.

"I repeat, I'm not going to hurt her, but her messing with the dimensional veil is horribly dangerous," Rommie stubbornly insisted.

Raising Heart's glow seemed to dim. "Rommie is correct. I used my oldest dimensional escape routine because it was the only way to save you. I have learned better, but I didn't use it."

"Chrono will fix it," Nanoha said weakly.

"Too far," Raising Heart said. "This is well outside any dimension the Time Space Administration Bureau keeps tabs on, and given how I left, I doubt we could be tracked. It is one of the reason I did it."

Rommie sighed. "Then we will have to return you won't we."

"You can do that?" asked a hopeful Nanoha.

"With sufficient reason, yes, and reversing your course to seal the dimensional damage is sufficient reason. Now that I know where to look I can practically taste it."

"Sorry," gasped Nanoha.

"Not your fault. We get it. Now rest. You will be okay for now, or do you want food?"

"Rest first."

Rommie said, "Okay I'll get someone to help tend to you. Just rest. I'd like to get moving within a day, but you need to heal, and I don't think our energy is all that compatible, even if your Raising Heart managed to convert it."

"Your a Life Adept?"

"No, I'm a ship. Kasumi is the adept."

"Honored to meet you," Nanoha yawned before falling asleep.

Just then Heather returned.

Kasumi said, "Heather, will you find Megumi and help her as best you can? Once she is well enough, she is welcome to use anything of mine."

They returned to the bridge.

-=oOo=-

"So," Jack asked. "What does this all entail?"

"About three or four days travel. We can dimensionally travel and fix her damage. We cannot do it quickly, particularly while repairing damage. Once there we will have to find her people and return her. We can return in a couple of days probably."

Daniel said, "I take it not fixing it is bad?"

Kasumi said, "Have you ever seen Jurassic Park?"

"Yah," Jack said uncomfortably.

Rommie said, "The things the barriers keep back can be far far worse than that. Sure most dimensions are perfectly fine. Many are even boring. The exceptions, well I'm not entirely sure I could kill some of them. The barriers will repair themselves in time, unless something is waiting and knocks it the rest the way open, or someone else is stupid. If we lose the barriers all the dimensions would merge. For most that would be instant annihilation as copies of the same matter occupies the same space thousands of times over. It is a risk we can never take. I'll have to inform the Asgard. This is an exceptionally grave matter."

Jack and Daniel paled.

Kasumi looked like she was going to be sick.

Rommie said, "I knew she didn't do it to harm. She just put the life of her master above the safety of the multiverse." She hesitated before admitting, "I might have done the same, hence why I cannot condemn her. Actually, I better go back to talk to her again. If she permits me to fully delete the routine so she can't do it again.."

Kasumi looked to her with sympathy. She started to follow.

"I don't want you to see me hurting her. Deleting anything for something like her is deleting a part of her, and she has already lost so much. She said as much."

Kasumi strengthened her resolve and started to follow anyway.

"Just a moment," Jack said. "Let's give the Asgard some credit and trust. Present the situation. Present your willingness to do what is necessary to make sure it never happens again and see what they say. I'll back you."

"We will back you," added Daniel.

"You will?" said Rommie in wonder.

"Was there a doubt?" asked Jack.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm still recovering."

"That is fine. We get it."

Rommie sent the message. A couple minutes later Thor appeared on the screen.

"Greetings Rommie, Kasumi, Jack, Daniel. We understand your situation. Do you require assistance?"

"No. My crew and I can get the job done."

"Then as long as you do insure this cannot be repeated there are no problems. Please send us your telemetry data after your return. We will verify closure, and, if necessary, take further actions."

"Thank You. I don't know if they will have a better way. I might still have to do it."

"We know. If you wish, I can do this task."

"No, we are cousins of a sort. If it must be done, then I will do it."

"I understand. The Asgard thank you for your efforts. Is there anything else you need?"

"I need to know something."

Thor blinked curiously, but said nothing.

"Seeing Raising Heart made me remember again the days when I would occasionally meet another such as I. We were never common. The Furlings made greater use of the technology, but it wasn't common then either. Would you ever consider permitting another?"

"I will admit that the Asgard high council never cared for this aspect of Furlan technology, nor of the Alteren adoption of it. If mismanaged, it could grow into a very serious threat. What do you think O'Neill?"

"I think she has earned the right to be heard."

"On this we agree, but it is not a decision we would make ahead of time. If that day comes I will advocate for your position to be heard."

"Thank you," bowed Rommie.

Jack asked, "How goes the replicators?"

"They are becoming very difficult to track down. We are winning, but we dare not quit until we can be reasonably certain we have them all."

Rommie said, "We could help."

"You do not have the strength to sustain such an operation over the many planets, moons, and ships we must search. If there is a more targeted case we will be in touch. I am also approving Heimdall to work with you to further upgrade your hyperdrive engines. I know you cannot use our design, not with how things on your ship really work, but perhaps we can help."

"Thank you."

"The Asgard high council was impressed with the logs we received when you helped Liberator move the Naquadah asteroid. This alone may make certain people more receptive to your idea, though much depends on the candidate. What person would want to be a ship over a person? With the combination of our medical technology and the healing those like you do, it seems unlikely many would need to make such a choice."

"I don't know. Perhaps none, she admitted."

Thor nodded. "Then I wish you all well on your journey."

The screen went blank.

Daniel said, "I am curious. Why exactly do you have to have Thor's approval? I get why you would want it, just not why you seem to have to have it."

"It is a very scary time when you first become. You are weak beyond all expectation, dependent on the kindness of life adepts even to keep you alive. Then there are months more to find someone compatible to be your pair, and even then you are week. It takes months or years to truly heal. Most don't make the threshold that I did where you can survive on just your ship's energy module. If they lose their pair they die. I admit, I've envied those at times."

Kasumi hugged her gently.

"I understand," Daniel said. "It is not just a matter of permission, but that of you would need their help to insure any such survived long enough to thrive."

"That, and I would need to release all of my construction information to the Asgard. They do not truly know how to build one such as I, and I'm afraid I can't release it to you. They are the only ones I might trust with those details."

"We get it," Jack said. "I'd assume the exact process used could be abused in ways I don't want to contemplate."

She said dead seriously. "Yes, it can. It must never be. If you find someone, or worse more than one person forming the core of something and you know it is against their wishes, please I ask that you try to free them."

"You mean destroy right?" Jack asked.

"Unless you know another way, yes."

"That happened once didn't it?"

"Long long ago. Do not ever write down or speak about it to someone you do not trust completely that it is even possible. It is a very very bad thing, to kidnap and abuse souls like that. I would kill anyone who did it without question. I would detonate this ship, even with my dear partner in it before being forced to help with such a thing."

Kasumi hugged her tighter.

"Understood," Jack said.

"Agreed," Daniel said. "It sounds like what the Goa'uld do."

"No. It is worse. A Goa'uld host would die eventually."

"Got it," Jack added. Daniel also nodded grimly.

-=oOo=-

Author's Note: I'm still planning on moving this to AO3. I may keep updating it till it is complete both places and a bit more for the people reading here. Archive of our Own has a version with more chapters. I would ask if you review to add your comments, kudos, and bookmarks there. Really the only thing that is missing from AO3 that I want is the traffic stats, to see that people are still reading this.

On a side note, we now have one more crossover...