All right. I've had a few moments when I've thought that I should just drop
the whole story, and I haven't had a lot of time to write either. But I
decided to keep working on it nevertheless. My belated thanks for the
reviews.
And Ushmushmeifa: I don't hate Caramon or anything like that, I just don't
find the character particularly interesting. ;-) As for the serpent & horus
guards being together, it's something that I'm going to edit a bit one of
these days. It's actually already happened in the series, so it's
definitely not inexplainable...
Anyway, here you go: Chapter 11.
******************************************************
Once again, Raistlin was standing behind Sam as she operated the computer, that window-screened device they used to watch the pictures from the MALP. Caramon was there as well, and so was Teal'c. On the screen was an enlarged part of the picture that showed one of the draconian-helmed men.
"So, he's trying to look like one of those draconians - can you tell who the draconians serve? Or who they worship? An evil god of some sort?" Sam asked thoughtfully.
"No, I do not know who is their master, and I there are many evil gods in the legends of our world. But what does that have to do with this? Do you actually suspect that both the draconians and the newcomers serve the same lord?"
"That is quite likely," Teal'c commented in his deep voice. "The goa'uld often make the local population their slaves. Yet if that is true in your world, then I cannot understand why the draconians were driven away by these jaffa."
"All right," Sam nodded. "Teal'c, do you think it's absolutely certain that there is a goa'uld there?"
"I am, Captain Carter."
"And if there's a goa'uld in control of those jaffa, isn't it quite unlikely that they'll just instantly attack anyone who comes out of the 'Gate?"
Raistlin was beginning to see where the woman was aiming at with this, and he had to agree that she was right. Perhaps she wasn't a complete fool after all.
Teal'c raised his eyebrows. "Yes, that is true. Yet if it is a goa'uld who knows us, they will open fire as soon as they notice who we are. And there are not many goa'uld who have not heard of the Tau'ri."
"But we don't need to go there as people of the Tau'ri. What if we'd go in disguise? Just a small team of us? Say, you, me, Raistlin and Caramon?"
"I think that's a fine plan. I can see no other way we could get to the other side, actually. If we go there prepared to fight, we might end up facing first them and then the draconians," Raistlin offered his opinion.
"Indeed, we might succeed. Shall we go and explain this to General Hammond?"
"Yes - or no, wait. You can go. I'll start arranging it. We don't have any extra time to spare. Raistlin and Caramon, maybe you can help me. I'd like to make Teal'c and me look like people of Krynn as well."
"I will do as you ask, Captain Carter," Teal'c stated and headed out of the room.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What do you think, Raist?" Caramon spoke out, to Raistlin's amazement. "The draconians are from Krynn too, and they got driven away, or killed."
"Well, that's true. But the Jaffa are pretending to be draconians, and as such, I think they're trying to gain control over the local people, so they can command them instead of just having to kill them. If you give them a reason to shoot, they'll do it quickly, but if you don't, they probably won't. I'm just afraid that they'll want to use us as hosts - or that they've. No, they haven't, I'm not going to consider that."
Raistlin could finish Sam's thought by himself. She was afraid that the Jaffa had done something awful to her friends. "How do they make one a host, and what exactly does it mean?" he asked.
"They put a parasitic alien into the victim, and the alien takes over their body, so that they will be trapped inside, unable to stop the alien from doing whatever they wish. Because they're posing as gods, they usually choose people who are young and pleasing to their eye." she fell silent, as she eyed Raistlin.
"And they would not choose someone who is sickly?"
"They're able to cure most common defects, but I think they wouldn't bother. So, you're right. No offense, but I don't think they would pick you."
"None taken - that's precisely what I mean. And I believe the rest of you can pose something as well?"
Carter nodded, looking anxious. "We're going to get them back."
***
A pitiful-looking group stepped out of rippling blue surface of the stargate on Krynn.
Two of the four were strong men, but even out of the of these two, the fair- skinned was blind, and the dark one was leaning heavily on a stick, his back bowed and a hood of some coarse brown fabric covering his head. Then there was a woman who might have been beautiful without the ugly mass of scars that covered half of her face. And the fourth figure was the worst: sickly and skeletally thin, with wispy white hair and a strange golden skin.
The Jaffa guarding the gate didn't know what to think of this pathetic gathering, but the Queen had told them to inform her immediately of any activity at the gate. So, the first prime left to tell her, and the rest stayed, their staff-weapons aimed at the four odd figures.
The Queen was not particularly interested of this group. "And you tell me they all look ill, incapable of fighting you? Then capture them, bind them and keep an eye on them. We have no time for such distractions right now, when we have reason to fear that all our plans might be compromised. We shall interrogate them later," she declared in her god-like voice, her eyes flashing.
***
Raistlin hardly enjoyed the way the things were going. Their hands were bound tightly and feet were shackled together and they were led away from the stargate, to another part of the ruins full of the draconian-clad Jaffa running about. Though they didn't go far, their pace was slow, with the blindfolded Caramon stumbling and Teal'c lagging in a very believable limp. When they finally stopped, three of the warriors stayed as guards, though keeping some distance to the prisoners, probably afraid that some of them carried a contagious disease.
Nevertheless, the mage had to admit that this what what they had expected and hoped for. The most important thing was, they were still alive and they had made it back to Krynn. But there was something he should've thought of earlier, but he hadn't.
Raistlin was back where he'd always thought he belonged. He had never before realized how the magic was everywhere around him, touching everything, and making almost anything possible. On the other hand, he had never fully understood the price he had to pay for this power. The burden fell heavily on him as soon as he stepped out of the stargate - the feeling of dust and cobwebs filling his chest, and the cough that left him feeling like a ragdoll. He couldn't help noticing how Caramon turned his head, scarf-covered eyes or not, towards him, and Carter cast a worried glance every now and then. The mage sighed. He had hardly spent a day on the alien planet, but he had nearly managed to forget what his life was like.
Anyway, here you go: Chapter 11.
******************************************************
Once again, Raistlin was standing behind Sam as she operated the computer, that window-screened device they used to watch the pictures from the MALP. Caramon was there as well, and so was Teal'c. On the screen was an enlarged part of the picture that showed one of the draconian-helmed men.
"So, he's trying to look like one of those draconians - can you tell who the draconians serve? Or who they worship? An evil god of some sort?" Sam asked thoughtfully.
"No, I do not know who is their master, and I there are many evil gods in the legends of our world. But what does that have to do with this? Do you actually suspect that both the draconians and the newcomers serve the same lord?"
"That is quite likely," Teal'c commented in his deep voice. "The goa'uld often make the local population their slaves. Yet if that is true in your world, then I cannot understand why the draconians were driven away by these jaffa."
"All right," Sam nodded. "Teal'c, do you think it's absolutely certain that there is a goa'uld there?"
"I am, Captain Carter."
"And if there's a goa'uld in control of those jaffa, isn't it quite unlikely that they'll just instantly attack anyone who comes out of the 'Gate?"
Raistlin was beginning to see where the woman was aiming at with this, and he had to agree that she was right. Perhaps she wasn't a complete fool after all.
Teal'c raised his eyebrows. "Yes, that is true. Yet if it is a goa'uld who knows us, they will open fire as soon as they notice who we are. And there are not many goa'uld who have not heard of the Tau'ri."
"But we don't need to go there as people of the Tau'ri. What if we'd go in disguise? Just a small team of us? Say, you, me, Raistlin and Caramon?"
"I think that's a fine plan. I can see no other way we could get to the other side, actually. If we go there prepared to fight, we might end up facing first them and then the draconians," Raistlin offered his opinion.
"Indeed, we might succeed. Shall we go and explain this to General Hammond?"
"Yes - or no, wait. You can go. I'll start arranging it. We don't have any extra time to spare. Raistlin and Caramon, maybe you can help me. I'd like to make Teal'c and me look like people of Krynn as well."
"I will do as you ask, Captain Carter," Teal'c stated and headed out of the room.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? What do you think, Raist?" Caramon spoke out, to Raistlin's amazement. "The draconians are from Krynn too, and they got driven away, or killed."
"Well, that's true. But the Jaffa are pretending to be draconians, and as such, I think they're trying to gain control over the local people, so they can command them instead of just having to kill them. If you give them a reason to shoot, they'll do it quickly, but if you don't, they probably won't. I'm just afraid that they'll want to use us as hosts - or that they've. No, they haven't, I'm not going to consider that."
Raistlin could finish Sam's thought by himself. She was afraid that the Jaffa had done something awful to her friends. "How do they make one a host, and what exactly does it mean?" he asked.
"They put a parasitic alien into the victim, and the alien takes over their body, so that they will be trapped inside, unable to stop the alien from doing whatever they wish. Because they're posing as gods, they usually choose people who are young and pleasing to their eye." she fell silent, as she eyed Raistlin.
"And they would not choose someone who is sickly?"
"They're able to cure most common defects, but I think they wouldn't bother. So, you're right. No offense, but I don't think they would pick you."
"None taken - that's precisely what I mean. And I believe the rest of you can pose something as well?"
Carter nodded, looking anxious. "We're going to get them back."
***
A pitiful-looking group stepped out of rippling blue surface of the stargate on Krynn.
Two of the four were strong men, but even out of the of these two, the fair- skinned was blind, and the dark one was leaning heavily on a stick, his back bowed and a hood of some coarse brown fabric covering his head. Then there was a woman who might have been beautiful without the ugly mass of scars that covered half of her face. And the fourth figure was the worst: sickly and skeletally thin, with wispy white hair and a strange golden skin.
The Jaffa guarding the gate didn't know what to think of this pathetic gathering, but the Queen had told them to inform her immediately of any activity at the gate. So, the first prime left to tell her, and the rest stayed, their staff-weapons aimed at the four odd figures.
The Queen was not particularly interested of this group. "And you tell me they all look ill, incapable of fighting you? Then capture them, bind them and keep an eye on them. We have no time for such distractions right now, when we have reason to fear that all our plans might be compromised. We shall interrogate them later," she declared in her god-like voice, her eyes flashing.
***
Raistlin hardly enjoyed the way the things were going. Their hands were bound tightly and feet were shackled together and they were led away from the stargate, to another part of the ruins full of the draconian-clad Jaffa running about. Though they didn't go far, their pace was slow, with the blindfolded Caramon stumbling and Teal'c lagging in a very believable limp. When they finally stopped, three of the warriors stayed as guards, though keeping some distance to the prisoners, probably afraid that some of them carried a contagious disease.
Nevertheless, the mage had to admit that this what what they had expected and hoped for. The most important thing was, they were still alive and they had made it back to Krynn. But there was something he should've thought of earlier, but he hadn't.
Raistlin was back where he'd always thought he belonged. He had never before realized how the magic was everywhere around him, touching everything, and making almost anything possible. On the other hand, he had never fully understood the price he had to pay for this power. The burden fell heavily on him as soon as he stepped out of the stargate - the feeling of dust and cobwebs filling his chest, and the cough that left him feeling like a ragdoll. He couldn't help noticing how Caramon turned his head, scarf-covered eyes or not, towards him, and Carter cast a worried glance every now and then. The mage sighed. He had hardly spent a day on the alien planet, but he had nearly managed to forget what his life was like.