Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG1 or Stargate the movie, or anything else you lawyers can think of! But I do, however, own the heroine of this story, Aster! Yay!

Scene/time change

"…Speech…"

'…Thought…'

'…Quote…'

''…Foreign language…''


OoOoO

"I was sent along as the ecologist, to look for tracks or habitat signs of this… Puff the Magic Dragon," Aster explained snidely to O'Neill, who was currently not her favourite person in the world for always choosing Teal'c's opinion over hers.

"What is this Puff she speaks of, Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c asked O'Neill.

"Just Aster's little nickname for the large, invisible hummingbird with teeth," Daniel smiled.

"And what's your analysis so far?" O'Neill called back to the teen.

"That unless Puff's a herbivore I don't think we'll find him anywhere around here. There's no sign of any source of prey that's big enough for a huge flying creature to live off. Then again it might be a herbivore because it would need a lot of sugary substances to give it energy enough to fly and remain invisible which it could get from fruit…" Aster rambled on.

"Okay, that's enough, the last thing I need on this mission is another scientist," O'Neill announced loudly, "Alright, well there's nothing out there," he turned around, "Let's get back to the gear and… where's the Stargate?"

Daniel frowned, "That can't be good…"

"Maybe Puff ate it."

"That really isn't a comforting thought," Sam frowned.

"I don't like this…"

"Did anything like this ever happen to you before?" Daniel asked the ex-Jaffa.

Something caught Aster's eye, like the glint of metal among the dense forestry. She turned to get a better view of the suspected area, pretending to just be re-doing her hair for the eighth time. She had it tied in a ponytail, then doubled-back to make a fan of burning red hair flaring out from the back of her head.

Since the disastrous rescue-mission attempt on Chulak, Aster had been stuck on receptionist duty. Answering phone-calls and relaying messages all day inside of the dingy military base had almost driven Aster stir-crazy. That and the fact that everyone had so warmly accepted Teal'c into their hearts. Aster had been pushing for an off-world mission for ages, and was finally admitted on this one as the 'ecologist'. General Hammond chose not to disclose her age or any other details to the Secretary.

"Yep. Captain; let's start a box search. You and Teal'c take off in that direction, stay in radio contact," O'Neill ordered, "Daniel, you with me."

"And me?" Aster asked icily.

"Keep yourself well hidden and out of danger. We're going to meet back here; you'll be in radio contact the whole time. Just… guard the Stargate platform with your life!" O'Neill tried to sound serious.

"I hope, for your sake O'Neill, that something ugly and terrible thing eats me alive for lunch and you have to deal with all the nasty paperwork," Aster grumbled. The one thing she hated just as much as, if not more so, than Teal'c was when people treated her like a child.

"Oh, wouldn't that be a pity?" O'Neill murmured to himself.

"You are certain it was Apophis?"

"That's a coincidence. Teal'c suggests a planet to go to, we go there, and get practically ambushed by his 'former' boss," Aster sighed sarcastically, "What are the odds?"

O'Neill was about to argue that point, when Daniel interjected, "Okay, what are we going to do? We have to do something."

"That's not our mission."

"We could set up a trap for him here, in case he comes back for the Stargate. Because unless he has a spaceship parked in the near vicinity then his only way of leaving this planet is through the Stargate," Aster pointed out.

"Jack, he's the only one that knows where Sha're and Skaara are, we may not get another chance like this!"

"I'm on Danny's side. It's a big universe, we won't be able to find them on our own, Colonel."

O'Neill sighed, "Teal'c, what kind of entourage is he gonna have with him?"

"Two, perhaps three Jaffa guards."

"That's not much. Ra had at least six with him at Abydos, and that was just the honour guard. He had his servants to protect him also," Aster pointed out to Daniel.

"And yet we managed to nuke him pretty good," Daniel grinned.

"We? S'cuse me Danny but I was in the desert fighting off the guards off with Skaara. It wasn't my idea to kill Ra," Aster informed them, "And I'm sure as hell not getting sued for it."

"Sue you? Who would sue you for the death of RA?" Daniel laughed.

"His son?"

"Ra had a SON?"

"You really wouldn't be able to tell from first glance, would you?"

"Doesn't even seem logical…"

"Tell that to whoever's directing this series."


OoOoO

After the first few energy bolts were fired, Aster almost lost it. Every time a shot was fired she expected it to be aimed right at her. So now, she was hiding behind some rocks with Daniel, cringing every time an energy bolt hit near them.

"This would have been somuch easier if you'd let me have a gun!" growled Aster.

"Well, if we let you have a gun, you would be fighting them with us and in a lot of danger, and I do NOT want to see you get hurt," Daniel panted between shots.

Aster had to smile at that. Daniel after all was the only one that seemed to understand her. Carter and her weren't really close friends, O'Neill didn't like kids at all and Teal'c… Aster just wanted to murder him. Preferably painfully.

"Colonel!" Sam yelled, jumping to her feet.

Aster squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see the captain shot by their alien enemy, but didn't open them fast enough to prevent Daniel from following the same fate.

'Danny…' Aster's lips trembled, but she remained still.

"Teal'c," she heard Apophis address the last standing member of SG1.

"Oh of COURSE Teal'c just HAPPENED to be the last one standing. I mean, it's not as if this is a set-up or any—ack!" Aster squawked as a blast just missed the top of her head.

Apophis caught the sight of Aster's bright red hair and immediately recognised her from the Abydos gate-room. He pointed at her, "You! Come forth! Immediately!" Apophis demanded. Aster stood up from behind the boulder with pale hands raised timidly, but her eyes displayed no sign of weakness. Apophis' brows knitted together, "You… I was sure you were dead after the raid of…" Apophis paused, trying to pull the name of the planet where he had been so fortunate in finding good hosts for his wife and son.

"Abydos," Aster supplied the name, almost offended by how the self-acclaimed 'God' cared too little even to remember the planet's name. How rude.

"Abydos, yes. How did you survive that blast? Is you planet in possession of a sarcophagus?"

"No, I just don't die that easily." Aster replied, undaunted.

Apophis chuckled, looking from Aster to Teal'c, "How funny it is that you should be working side-by-side, now… with the very one that shot you."

"SIDE-BY-SIDE? Are you KIDDING me?" Aster yelled, "My respect to my orders NOT to kill that… that THING… is the only reason I am not gauging out his eyeballs out with a blunt stick as we speak. Respect for my orders, which is currently waning."

"How very interesting." Apophis smirked, pondering over what to do with the highly amusing human and the traitor Jaffa. The monarch raised his staff-weapon and aimed it at Teal'c, "Jaffa Shova!"

"Tal shekka mel, I die free." Teal'c announced, bracing himself for the shot.

Apophis took one brief look over the dead bodies of SG1 before aiming to shoot at Teal'c. But he had disappeared; as had the dead bodies of SG1 and his own fallen soldier. He turned to the boulder, expecting to see the redhead human gone also, but found her to be still there and looking a great deal more worried than she had been earlier.

"Oh shizen! Puff ate Danny!"


OoOoO

"We sent your enemy through the doorway."

O'Neill looked horrified, "What about Aster? Short, redhead girl? You said they had her with them! What is wrong with you? How could you let them take her prisoner?" the colonel barked.

Anteaus was shocked, "I thought the young one was an ally of your enemy. When we found you, she was threatening to kill your friend," Anteaus motioned at Teal'c sincerely.

"Well did ya think that all the screaming and struggling she was doing was just an act?" replied O'Neill through clenched teeth, visualising Aster being dragged through the 'gate kicking and screaming.

"She showed no sings of protest at all."

All of SG looked shocked at this, "What?"

"They informed me that she was very tired and was resting."

"Aw crap…" O'Neill groaned, "They knocked her unconscious…"

Daniel's face went a few shades paler, "Or worse."

"She was not restrained in any way. We did not think of it to be foul play," Anteaus reasoned apologetically.

"No…" Carter murmured, realising that they had just lost another comrade to the enemy.

"Do you have the coordinates?" Daniel asked hurriedly.

Anteaus shook his head sadly. O'Neill exhaled heavily, "And even if we did have them, we can't go there on our own. C'mon team, we're heading home..."


OoOoO

"Danny…?" Aster slowly opened her eyes, murmuring her friend's name. She looked up and saw the inhuman mask of a Serpent Guard staring perpetually forwards as he carried her in his arms down a dimly lit corridor.

"STOP!" yelled Aster.

The guard stopped, alarmed by the sudden outburst. Aster fell out of his arms and landed on the stone floor, collecting several new bruises as she went. Aster scuttled back into a corner before the guard could grab her.

"Where am I?" Aster demanded loudly.

The Serpent Guard retracted his helmet. The soldier inside was an old, war-hardened man with a metal scull-cap on his head. His appearance stunned Aster as she had expected to see someone a lot younger and a lot less condoling under the metal mask.

"I was ordered to place you in a cell until you had awoken, but I guess that it is too late for that now," the man put a hand on his chest, "I am master Bra'tac, loyal servant of Lord Apophis and First Prime of Apophis' son, Lord Klorel."

"Klorel? Ack! Things just keep getting worse and worse…" Aster filed though her memory. She recalled one of the Serpent Guards hitting her over the head with one of their staff-weapons and then… this. "What planet are we on?"

"I… have not been given permission to inform you of that," the guard sighed regretfully.

"Oh. Am… I going to be a… host?" asked Aster in concern.

"It is not planned that you become a host, no," Bra'tac replied honestly, "You were to be brought here until you woke. Then you were to be washed and made presentable and then be delivered to Lord Apophis, who would then give you as a gift to his son, Klorel, as a reward for his recent capture of a Tok'ra spy."

"WHAT? NO! What would that spoilt little prick of an alien want ME as a present for?" Aster yelled, her voice echoing off the stone corridors.

Bra'tac spotted two Serpent Guards patrolling the corridor and signalled them over. Aster saw the guards coming closer and pressed herself harder against the wall and causing herself intense pain from the bruises running up and down her back, "No…"

It sounded so pitiful, so fearful… Bra'tac felt almost sorry for the little human. But it didn't matter; Klorel would soon break her, loose interest and then there would be another pitiful human to feel sorry for. Bra'tac knew Klorel's temper to be just as violent as it was unpredictable. Klorel seemed to chew through servants as fast as his father chewed through soldiers.

Bra'tac led the way through the dingy corridors, Aster in the secure grip of two Serpent Guards following him. The walk this was quite long and mostly going up-wards. But the further they walked, the brighter and more richly furnished the corridors seemed to get. The walls were made up of stone and plaster decorated with beautiful wall hangings and fanciful lamps that glowed with some technology Aster had yet to hear of.

They finally reached a pair of high wooden doors with intricate carvings weaving across it. Aster shrunk back a little, afraid of what might lie beyond those two, intimidating doors. Bra'tac pushed them open with inhuman ease and they marched through.

A crowd of handmaids immediately mobbed the four of them, their target obviously Aster, as they took the girl away to be cleaned and dressed-up for her presentation to what they only knew to be the 'Gods'.

Aster looked herself over in the body-length mirror, astonished at how talented the handmaids had been to transform her into the unrecognisable person staring straight back at her from the mirror's surface.

She had been dressed in a simple yet beautiful white Egyptian-style dress, gold bracelets and anklets, and adorned with lavish jewellery and expensive make-up, but not overly so.

"This is not going to go down well…" Aster murmured, noticing that the dress was slightly see-through.

"You look wonderful," one of the handmaids assured her politely.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Lord Apophis has called," a Serpent Guard announced resoundingly; "Get the slave ready."


OoOoO

"You have made me very proud my son," Apophis grinned triumphantly as the Tok'ra spy was escorted down to more secure quarters, "Therefore I have prepared a little… gift for you." Apophis waved the guard to go and get 'the gift'.

"Thank you father," Klorel bowed. He was quite puzzled as to what his father had in store for him. His father didn't usually give him things purely out of the goodness of his metaphorical heart. No, it was probably another servant he was to break or something similar. When he saw the Serpent Guard bringing the beautifully transformed Aster before them, all he could do was stare. After last seeing her last on Chulak with that army of Serpent Guards advancing on the renegade humans' position, he expected never to see her again. Alive, anyway. Perhaps that was when they captured her… Klorel watched as the guard forced her to kneel in front of the small gathering of Klorel, Apophis and a few of their guards.

Aster's face went as pale as death when she looked up to face of 'Klorel' and saw Skaara standing there before her. At first she thought it strange, to see such a familiar, friendly face in such a perilous time. Then realisation hit her; Skaara was a host. Klorel's host. And she was about to become his slave… she looked down at the ground. What would Skaara think of all this? Could he see what was going on? Was he worried? Was he disgusted? Aster felt dizzy.

Apophis seemed amused by it all, "As you probably know, this lowly human was a friend of your host. Perhaps you can break both at once," the self-acclaimed 'God' suggested, then he and his troops left. No one moved for a while, the guards making not a sound where they stood.

Klorel bent down until he was eye-level with Aster. When she still refused to look at him, he grabbed her chin and forced her to meet his eyes, and smiled, "I must say, you look a great deal more desirable when you are not dressed as a man."

Aster's brain stressed as it tried to come up with a witty comeback, but she couldn't think of anything. She couldn't insult Skaara, even if there was something else controlling him. Luckily, Aster's lack of response seemed to frustrate Klorel more than any smart-ass remark would have.

"Take her to my chambers," ordered Klorel, "I have errands to run."

Aster was, again, grabbed by either arm and taken forcibly away by rough Serpent Guards. At least there were windows on the higher levels of the enormous castle they were trekking through. Aster caught a glance of the extraterrestrial view every now and then, the unfamiliarity almost making her homesick.


OoOoO

They finally reached a small, cramped spiralling stone staircase against the back wall of the highest wall yet. At the top there was a small door carved into the heavy rock. Aster couldn't picture Klorel or any of the 'Gods' taking this long to get from one place to another, she supposed they must use a matter-transmitter or something. One of the guards pushed the door open.

It was a secret door located in one of the far walls that lead to foyer of magnificent proportion. The walls were all coated in golden hieroglyphics, the stone floor covered in polished resin. A small group of musicians and dancers played quietly in a corner near the two-storey-high doors that connected the anteroom to the next room. Layers of white silk curtains concealed the view from the next room, hanging down in the place of where doors should be.

Through the curtain-doors the luxurious living quarters of Klorel were revealed. To Aster the room had quite an Egyptian-Greek hybridised feel about it. Marble pillars and walls of golden hieroglyphs. The biggest feature of the room was the bed, which was more than twice the size and luxury of any bed Aster had ever seen. Although it didn't look like a bed that you sleep in, but more the type used for reclining on during the day, thankfully.

But the worst feature of the room, in Aster's opinion, was the fact that Klorel was already there, in the room, waiting for her.

"That is in no way fair," Aster muttered darkly.

"I am a God. Of course it's fair," Klorel grinned. The guards bowed and left the room, leaving the other two occupants to their privacy.

"You're not a God, you're a parasite!" Aster stated ardently.

"Now however did you find that out?"

"Ra."

"I gathered as much from my host's earlier memories of you and your little adventures… Aster," Klorel purred, playing with her name as he said it, "Aster… it's such a pretty name."

"It also rhymes with disaster," Aster remarked dryly, "Now why am I here?"

"You are here because you were gifted to me by my father, or did you miss that bit out?" he asked mockingly, "You are mine to do what I want with now, nothing else."

"You don't understand… I NEED to get home!" Aster was almost in tears.

Klorel granted her no pity, "I think it is you who does not understand, petty Tau'ri, this IS home. This planet, these walls and your restraints will be your confinements until I inform you otherwise, understand?"

"My restraints?" Aster repeated uncertainly.

"Yes, these," Klorel strode over to her and held her wrists, showing her the gold bracelets she wore. Klorel was a little surprised that she let him touch her with her current attitude. He turned the bracelets around so Aster could see the design better. The gold bangles Aster once thought to be just plain bands of gold were actually portraying a snake eating its own tail; not only a symbol of the Serpent God Apophis, but also of infinity.

"Wow, I never noticed that…" the blood-red tinkle in the ruby-studded snake eyes both intrigued and disturbed Aster with their liveliness.

"Oh it gets better, I assure you," Klorel leered. He ran his hand over the bracelets, the ribbon device he was wearing sparking with alien energy. The snakes on her bracelets and anklets started to swallow more of their tails, tightening the bands.

"Hey! Wait!" Aster yanked her wrists away from him, but the bracelets had already become too small to remove, as were the anklets. She tugged at them, trying to get them to move, but it appeared that the metal had already set.

"It's a gold-naquadah alloy," Klorel pulled her hands back into his as easily as a snake-charmer enticing a snake out of a hiding place, "It can do other things also."

"What other things?" Aster was losing patience quickly, her hands curled into fists.

Klorel smiled adoringly, "Watch the snakes," he whispered. His ribbon device glowed; brighter than before, emitting subtle waves of energy that washed over the snake bracelets and made them quiver. Like magnets, Aster's wrists snapped together. The serpent heads released their hold on their tails and in turn took the opposite's tail in their mouth, forming a figure 8 and binding them together.

"Does it work on the anklets as well?" Aster grimaced, trying the strength of her bonds.

"Of course. And the ones on your wrists can also join with the ones on your ankles if I so choose."

"Wouldn't we all love to see that."

"Definitely. And," he tapped one with his finger; "They're unbreakable."

"I guessed as much from the naquadah," Aster held out her wrists to him, "Would you?"

Klorel moved his ribbon device encased hand over Aster's wrists mindlessly, staring straight into the girl's soulful eyes. He seemed strangely drawn to this human, why? Was he channelling his host's feelings? "Tell me," Klorel purred, "How close were you to my host?"

Aster stiffened and pulled her released hands back; "We were friends. …Why?"

"Just friends?" Klorel asked suggestively, closing the distance between them, "Are you sure?"

"Ask him yourself," Aster replied, undaunted, "He has a fiancee in Abydos. I am just his friend."

"That must be difficult for you…" Klorel smiled, almost condolingly, but more to himself than anyone, "He doesn't even know."

'How can he know how I feel for Skaara…?' Aster thought but was mystified.

'Know what?' Klorel could hear Skaara wondering inside their head, but didn't answer. He felt for Aster, he knew how it felt to be neglected. His father never paid him more attention than Apophis could spare. He left the room silently, leaving Aster standing where she was in wondering shock. Klorel stepped lightly through the silk veil doors and across the resin floor. He called for two of his servants to arrange accommodation for Aster.


OoOoO

Klorel stared off into the blue sunset in a meditative state, the minds inside his head in a state of turmoil.

'Please, just leave her alone! You know she is not who I am in love with, she can mean nothing more to you!' Skaara argued passionately.

'Do you really think that this is all about you? A host can be broken in many more ways than by seeing a loved one tortured to death. You do not know the full extent of my powers, Skaara.' Klorel's thoughts revibrated through Skaara's brain, 'You must have loved the girl at some point… I can feel a deep-seated attraction to her every time I see her.

'She is my friend. That is all. If you are feeling any attraction, it isn't coming from me.'

'You are lying, Tau'ri. It can't be coming from anywhere else.'


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