Thanks for the review! I hope the story lives up to expectations, and gets away from Metamorphosis. I know it's shaping up like it, but I'm doing my best.
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"Easy on the material!" Jack told his Jaffa escort as they pushed him before their Goa'uld master. Or mistress, he supposed, given that the host was a woman. One who knew how much she could get away with when it came to outfits, he noted. No, that was probably still the snake in her head.
"Y'know, you people need to take Death 101, or something. None of you snakeheads has learned even the basics of the concept," he said, gesturing to emphasize his point. "I mean, Osiris was 'banished to oblivion' for a few thousand years, Apohis we had to kill a couple o' times, and I'm still not convinced we got rid of Hathor. The only guy we only saw once was Ra, I think."
Though the man projected an air of jaunty confidence, he was almost as afraid as his second in command was for him. He'd rather be frozen to death in Antarctica than have a slimy snake messing with his DNA and have fun at it, since Carter said it was painful to boot. Crap.
The woman did little more than raise an eyebrow and pause. "I've researched some of the Tauri zoology… I've been wondering how the human physiology would portray the traits of… hmm." Then she smiled. "For you, a hyena… a cackling scavenger, incapable of even pack organization without females in charge." Her wide set eyes turned down to the display readout, and her fingers set to work programming.
"Now, what the crap do you care about hyenas for? You weren't even famous in hyena country," Jack tried desperately to reason with her. He couldn't imagine what Carter would think when he started differing to her on command decisions, and laughing at jokes that even Jonas made. Actually, he couldn't decide which would be worse, but he'd soon find out.
"As the Tauri say, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' Or," she mused, "in my situation, 'Jacqueline a dull girl.' In short, I am not above mixing business and pleasure: genetic experiments and the torturing my favorite band of 'peaceful explorers,' respectively." She triumphantly tapped a last command into the interface, and looked up again. "You should be experiencing the gene resequencing at any time."
It had started before she began her last sentence had begun, and she had known it—or Jack imagined so, judging from that his initial yell and following grunts and groans had begun at the same time as the machine. Carter was putting this mildly, he thought, his mind clouded by the figurative smoke of the explosions happening throughout his body. He shivered even as flames licked the roots of every nerve. And how the hell does she know about Earth sayings? Don't tell me the Goa'uld have internet… He couldn't understand why he hadn't collapsed into a fetal position on the floor yet, and guessed that there was some kind of light forcefield keeping him upright. The treatment seemed to last an eternity.
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Nirrti's eyes flashed with interest, but there was little to see. Not that watching Tauri being tortured wasn't fascinating… it was only that no obvious change would occur for about half an hour. She was having Goa'uld designed audio and video playback recorders installed in the dungeon even as she watched, by a few of her more intelligent Jaffa. The real satisfaction of today would be watching her new creations take shape and interact with each other. She had interesting choices selected for the other troublesome members of SG-1, too. She sneered at O'Neill standing on the platform, his own DNA swirling in technicolor holograms around him. His torture would be the greatest, though, simply because he led them. As he succumbed to his new DNA, the team would fall apart at the seams. Another human expression, she thought to herself. I really should stop reading Tauri fanfiction. But it's addictive!
Finally, the machine was done with its work. The human started to collapse, but was caught by two Jaffa. They awaited their mistress' orders.
"Take him back to the cells," she said, her voice a Goa'uld growl. "Bring me the Jaffa of Apophis next."
Indeed, interesting choices. A game of exposition down in the cell block, to be played as she created new rules, cancelled old ones, and changed the players. A wonderful game.
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