Chapter 9: Anubis Thinks on Recent Events
Anubis partly listened to the Jaffa, but his mind was occupied with other matters. Osiris was dead and a new force had emerged in the universe. The balance of power had shifted. These sailor senshi had killed Osiris, rendering even revitalization by the sarcophagus impossible. He dismissed the Jaffa with a wave, and stood by the window, looking out at the dark sky. He was confident in his power; these senshi would be no match for him. Osiris had been weak, but he was strong. The Tau'ri would be destroyed. Nothing would stand in his way. Nothing.
Chapter 10: Return to Earth "Welcome back. Debriefing will be held in an hour." General Hammond greeted them as they stepped out of the gate. Freyr had been able to provide them with a way home quickly and for that the senshi and SG-1 were grateful. Shortly upon their arrival Dr. Fraiser and some of the medical staff quickly escorted them to the infirmary.
" I feel fine!" Usagi groaned, backing away from a nurse that approached her with a syringe. Raye nudged her sharply.
"It's simply protocol," Dr. Fraiser said, sticking a thermometer into Makoto's mouth and prepared a syringe of clear liquid, which she inserted into Setsuna's arm.
"Ouch! You could have warned me!" Setsuna growled, wincing at the pain, the Orb clutched in her hand. Makoto and Hotaru, the only ones to hear her comment, laughed silently so Setsuna wouldn't notice. Dr. Fraiser merely cleaned the wound and moved on, a small smile on her face and a wink to Hotaru and Makoto. Dr. Fraiser went over to Haruka who was looking at the round burn in the center of her forehead, between her eyes, in Neptune's mirror. "What was that thing that did this?" Haruka asked, indicating the burn. "Hand-device. It works with their symbiote to do all sorts of things. Some create an energy barrier around an individual, just like those around their ships. Some are weapons and some can heal damage that the symbiote cannot heal," Daniel came in, adjusting his glasses. The senshi looked at him blankly. Daniel cleared his throat nervously. "So, where do we go from here?" Makoto asked, breaking the silence. "We stop Anubis," Jack said. "He is the most powerful of the System Lords and by far the most evil," Teal'c stated. "He was once kicked out of the System Lords for crimes that even the Gou'ald found horrifying." The senshi looked at him, wide eyed, shocked. Haruka lowered the mirror, staring at Teal'c and Minako fell off her chair with a crash. Teal'c glanced at Minako sprawled on the floor, raising his eyebrow. Minako got up, wincing, her cheeks bright red. " So what?" Usgai said firmly. "We took on the Negaverse, the Black Moon, Pharaoh 90, and Galaxica and Chaos. And won," she said, looking around at them. For a brief moment, Usagi no longer stood before them but Queen Serenity. Silence descended on the room, they all stared at Usagi.
"We have the debriefing," Daniel said quietly, finally looking away, adjusting his glasses.
"Right,' Haruka gave Michiru the mirror back, putting a pack of ice on the burn and they followed Daniel out. Minako walked out, her cheeks still burning, her head bowed. Setsuna rubbed her arm, muttering to herself. They gathered in the conference room where General Hammond sat at the head of the long table, Selmek/Jacob next to him. Sam went to greet her father before taking her seat between Amy and Jack. General Hammond cleared his throat and the room fell silent.
"Colonel O'Neill, would you relate what happened?" General Hammond asked. Over the course of ten minutes with occasional input from Daniel, Teal'c and Sam, Jack told them what occurred. The senshi remained silent; Selmek leaned forward in his seat slightly but otherwise showed no outward indications of his and Jacob's thoughts. Jack finished, looking around the room. "So Osiris is dead for now," Selmek said thoughtfully, his deep voice echoing in the room. "For now?" Hotaru said, noticing his choice of words. "The Gou'ald have technology called a sarcophagus that is able to revive the dead or heal wounds," Selmek clarified. "Great," Haruka muttered, shifting the ice on her forehead. "Well, I don't think we'll be seeing Osiris again, sir," Jack said. "That attack of Sailor Moon's seemed to cause a lot of damage." "Well, for now we need to focus on Anubis. Where you able to gather any information?" General Hammond said shortly. "We were not," Teal'c stated flatly. "Tok'ra intelligence indicates that Osiris was not the only System Lord supporting Anubis," General Hammond said, glancing at Selmek.
"Ba'al and Cronus have joined Anubis along with other minor System Lords. But operatives undercover in the service of Cronus indicate that, given the chance, they would take Anubis down," Selmek said with a small smile. "We can take advantage of that," Hotaru remarked. Selmek nodded. "So, shouldn't we ally ourselves with them?" Michiru pointed out. Jack, Daniel, Sam, Teal'c, and General Hammond stared at her, shocked. Selmek looked interested. "In doing that, we have a better chance in taking Anubis down and that is their goal as well," Haruka said, looking around for support. Expect for the other outer senshi and Selmek, the rest stared at her.
"That can work," Jacob mused.
"Excuse me? Does anyone remember who the Gou'ald are? How would we get them abide by a treaty or even honor it?" Jack demanded.
"Even the Gou'ald would honor a treaty they benefit from," Daniel admitted adjusting his glasses. Jack looked frustrated.
"It's simple," Hotaru said.
"Simple? Nothing concerning the Gou'ald is 'simple'," Jack turned to Hotaru. "You are what- 13? 14?"
"That is the age that she appears to be. However, in truth, Hotaru is much older," Setsuna said quietly, her eyes cold as she looked at Jack.
"Whatever. You have never have dealt with the Gou'ald before," Jack pointed out.
"That is besides the point, Colonel," Haruka said coldly. "And do not take lightly that which you do not understand."
"I concur," Teal'c stated. "And I have experience in dealing with the Gou'ald System Lords," he said, glancing at Jack.
"I can see their point," Daniel said slowly.
"A meeting can be arranged. I will contact you later with the time and place," Selmek said, getting up. He was surprised and impressed by the outer senshi's insight . He would mention this to the Tok'ra High Council.
"Still don't think this is a great idea, sir," Jack said, glancing at the outer senshi.
"We have sent a message to our princess on Kimoku and she is on her way to offer her assistance,' Seiya said. Jack didn't look thrilled at that either
" We are going to need all the help we can. Dismissed," General Hammond said curtly, walking out. Jack rolled his eyes and got up. As he left, he felt an hand on his arm. Looking up, he saw Setsuna, Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru surrounding him. The rest had left behind Hammond and the rest of SG-1, leaving him alone with the outer senshi.
"Colonel, in the future it would be wise to heed our words," Hotaru said. "We have lived and died through nightmares worse then any Gou'ald could inflict."
"Do not discard the weapon that is offered to you no matter from whose hands," Michiru said quietly.
Jack walked out of the conference room, running their words through his head.
Anubis partly listened to the Jaffa, but his mind was occupied with other matters. Osiris was dead and a new force had emerged in the universe. The balance of power had shifted. These sailor senshi had killed Osiris, rendering even revitalization by the sarcophagus impossible. He dismissed the Jaffa with a wave, and stood by the window, looking out at the dark sky. He was confident in his power; these senshi would be no match for him. Osiris had been weak, but he was strong. The Tau'ri would be destroyed. Nothing would stand in his way. Nothing.
Chapter 10: Return to Earth "Welcome back. Debriefing will be held in an hour." General Hammond greeted them as they stepped out of the gate. Freyr had been able to provide them with a way home quickly and for that the senshi and SG-1 were grateful. Shortly upon their arrival Dr. Fraiser and some of the medical staff quickly escorted them to the infirmary.
" I feel fine!" Usagi groaned, backing away from a nurse that approached her with a syringe. Raye nudged her sharply.
"It's simply protocol," Dr. Fraiser said, sticking a thermometer into Makoto's mouth and prepared a syringe of clear liquid, which she inserted into Setsuna's arm.
"Ouch! You could have warned me!" Setsuna growled, wincing at the pain, the Orb clutched in her hand. Makoto and Hotaru, the only ones to hear her comment, laughed silently so Setsuna wouldn't notice. Dr. Fraiser merely cleaned the wound and moved on, a small smile on her face and a wink to Hotaru and Makoto. Dr. Fraiser went over to Haruka who was looking at the round burn in the center of her forehead, between her eyes, in Neptune's mirror. "What was that thing that did this?" Haruka asked, indicating the burn. "Hand-device. It works with their symbiote to do all sorts of things. Some create an energy barrier around an individual, just like those around their ships. Some are weapons and some can heal damage that the symbiote cannot heal," Daniel came in, adjusting his glasses. The senshi looked at him blankly. Daniel cleared his throat nervously. "So, where do we go from here?" Makoto asked, breaking the silence. "We stop Anubis," Jack said. "He is the most powerful of the System Lords and by far the most evil," Teal'c stated. "He was once kicked out of the System Lords for crimes that even the Gou'ald found horrifying." The senshi looked at him, wide eyed, shocked. Haruka lowered the mirror, staring at Teal'c and Minako fell off her chair with a crash. Teal'c glanced at Minako sprawled on the floor, raising his eyebrow. Minako got up, wincing, her cheeks bright red. " So what?" Usgai said firmly. "We took on the Negaverse, the Black Moon, Pharaoh 90, and Galaxica and Chaos. And won," she said, looking around at them. For a brief moment, Usagi no longer stood before them but Queen Serenity. Silence descended on the room, they all stared at Usagi.
"We have the debriefing," Daniel said quietly, finally looking away, adjusting his glasses.
"Right,' Haruka gave Michiru the mirror back, putting a pack of ice on the burn and they followed Daniel out. Minako walked out, her cheeks still burning, her head bowed. Setsuna rubbed her arm, muttering to herself. They gathered in the conference room where General Hammond sat at the head of the long table, Selmek/Jacob next to him. Sam went to greet her father before taking her seat between Amy and Jack. General Hammond cleared his throat and the room fell silent.
"Colonel O'Neill, would you relate what happened?" General Hammond asked. Over the course of ten minutes with occasional input from Daniel, Teal'c and Sam, Jack told them what occurred. The senshi remained silent; Selmek leaned forward in his seat slightly but otherwise showed no outward indications of his and Jacob's thoughts. Jack finished, looking around the room. "So Osiris is dead for now," Selmek said thoughtfully, his deep voice echoing in the room. "For now?" Hotaru said, noticing his choice of words. "The Gou'ald have technology called a sarcophagus that is able to revive the dead or heal wounds," Selmek clarified. "Great," Haruka muttered, shifting the ice on her forehead. "Well, I don't think we'll be seeing Osiris again, sir," Jack said. "That attack of Sailor Moon's seemed to cause a lot of damage." "Well, for now we need to focus on Anubis. Where you able to gather any information?" General Hammond said shortly. "We were not," Teal'c stated flatly. "Tok'ra intelligence indicates that Osiris was not the only System Lord supporting Anubis," General Hammond said, glancing at Selmek.
"Ba'al and Cronus have joined Anubis along with other minor System Lords. But operatives undercover in the service of Cronus indicate that, given the chance, they would take Anubis down," Selmek said with a small smile. "We can take advantage of that," Hotaru remarked. Selmek nodded. "So, shouldn't we ally ourselves with them?" Michiru pointed out. Jack, Daniel, Sam, Teal'c, and General Hammond stared at her, shocked. Selmek looked interested. "In doing that, we have a better chance in taking Anubis down and that is their goal as well," Haruka said, looking around for support. Expect for the other outer senshi and Selmek, the rest stared at her.
"That can work," Jacob mused.
"Excuse me? Does anyone remember who the Gou'ald are? How would we get them abide by a treaty or even honor it?" Jack demanded.
"Even the Gou'ald would honor a treaty they benefit from," Daniel admitted adjusting his glasses. Jack looked frustrated.
"It's simple," Hotaru said.
"Simple? Nothing concerning the Gou'ald is 'simple'," Jack turned to Hotaru. "You are what- 13? 14?"
"That is the age that she appears to be. However, in truth, Hotaru is much older," Setsuna said quietly, her eyes cold as she looked at Jack.
"Whatever. You have never have dealt with the Gou'ald before," Jack pointed out.
"That is besides the point, Colonel," Haruka said coldly. "And do not take lightly that which you do not understand."
"I concur," Teal'c stated. "And I have experience in dealing with the Gou'ald System Lords," he said, glancing at Jack.
"I can see their point," Daniel said slowly.
"A meeting can be arranged. I will contact you later with the time and place," Selmek said, getting up. He was surprised and impressed by the outer senshi's insight . He would mention this to the Tok'ra High Council.
"Still don't think this is a great idea, sir," Jack said, glancing at the outer senshi.
"We have sent a message to our princess on Kimoku and she is on her way to offer her assistance,' Seiya said. Jack didn't look thrilled at that either
" We are going to need all the help we can. Dismissed," General Hammond said curtly, walking out. Jack rolled his eyes and got up. As he left, he felt an hand on his arm. Looking up, he saw Setsuna, Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru surrounding him. The rest had left behind Hammond and the rest of SG-1, leaving him alone with the outer senshi.
"Colonel, in the future it would be wise to heed our words," Hotaru said. "We have lived and died through nightmares worse then any Gou'ald could inflict."
"Do not discard the weapon that is offered to you no matter from whose hands," Michiru said quietly.
Jack walked out of the conference room, running their words through his head.