INITIAL DISCLAIMER: I do not claim ownership of Stargate SG-1 or any references thereof. The original characters of Daelan, Andurek, and Ellen Caldwell and the situations portrayed in this work are, however, of my own invention and may not be used without my express permission. Many thanks to the owners of Stargate SG-1 for allowing fanfiction.
Any resemblence to real people, events, or ideas beyond those of the Stargate continuum are unintentional.
A brief note from the author: This is the first serious fan fiction I have ever endeavored to write, so for those of you with more experience in the field, critique and commentary is appreciated. Thank you for reading - and now...For Our Feature Presentation.
CHAPTER ONE: FINAL MISSION
As the Goa'uld mothership exploded behind him, Daelan could see the glinting death gliders regrouping for an attack of even greater fury. His small and extremely damaged craft was a cat without claws against the oncoming attack with the weapons systems offline and normal space engines limping badly.
So, Andurek, he muttered silently to his host, how are we going to maneuver out of this one?
"Call for help." His host growled, swerving the craft and hitting a few buttons. A flash of golden energy lit up the inside of the cockpit for a split second.
We don't have enough energy to send out a strong signal.
Splendid, he answered with an audible sigh,Let's try a jump.
The navigation systems are out, but it's better than sitting here and getting fried. All right.
He dodged several more close shots from the gliders and took a deep breath.
Here we go!
They jumped. With so many things malfunctioning, he wasn't even sure where to, but anywhere was better than here. The bright flashes of hyperspace nearly blinded him, and he squinted. As Andurek's adrenaline left his system, Daelan let him collapse limply against the seat.
"Let's take a look at that burn, now." He said, almost smiling. They had made it! They had assumed it would be a suicide mission, but by a strange twist of fate, here they were.
Of course, Andurek reminded him,you don't know where we might materialize at the end of the jump, so we're not quite off the eggs yet. Daelan mentally rolled his eyes at the odd expression. He had long since gotten used to them, having had Andurek as a host for nearly thirty years. He quickly busied himself with caring for the shallow staff burn on Andurek's left shoulder. It was pretty nasty, and he was already worn out from fighting their way into the cargo bay.
-Å-
They came out of the field with a jerk, sending Andurek crashing to the floor. Daelan picked him up and sat down in the seat again, checking the controls.
Well, we certainly jumped, my friend. Of course, there's no telling where we are...
These engines aren't going to hold steady much longer. That jump took a lot out of them - Oh no.
Alarms went off at the controls as the systems started overheating. Daelan brought them in closer to the planet, scanning for the best place to land, although they didn't have much choice at the rate they were descending.
The heat inside the vessel was reaching critical levels. He had to land now. As he came closer and closer to the surface, he guided the small craft to a wide, rocky area jutting out into a river. As soon as the ship touched down he was standing and then leaping for the exit. Daelan gave Andurek one last burst of energy and he sped into the trees as the craft exploded into the river. He dove to the ground as bits of metal flew overhead. After a moment of stillness, he picked himself up and sagged against a tree, gasping.
That will have attracted some attention. Who knows whether this planet is hostile or not. Andurek grumbled. Daelan agreed.
I need to fix you up first, though. I've got it numbed already.
Got what numbed?Andurek could feel his symbiote's amusement in the back of his mind.
Exactly. Some shrapnel caught you in the leg and in the side. You're bleeding pretty badly. And I never did finish properly with your shoulder...
No time. We need to get out of here.
Andy, you idiot! Stop running! I really don't want to have to knock you out!
No response. Their tired limbs kept going, nearly staggering now as the blood leaked from Andurek's leg and side. Daelan let him feel the pain then, hoping it would stop him. But his host had always had a stubborn streak. They worked well together, though, and Daelan was starting to worry that his friend was more severely injured than he was aware of. Somewhat alarmed, he attempted to at least staunch the flow of blood in the worst areas, but the gashes were long and deep. He could see blood on the bushes every time Andurek stumbled, but the man was unwilling to stop or even slow his pace. He was quite sure he had heard people behind them a while back and was in a dazed sort of determination to get away, although he wasn't being clear as where they were going.
Then he could hear voices.
Andy! Stop! There are people ahead! Please, let me see what I can do...
No - this could not be happening. Andurek's body chose that moment to have a violent allergic reaction to something in the air, and finally collapsed. Daelan fought down panic as he tried to find the cause. His host's airways were closing up, but he was too busy trying to keep his heart steady at the moment to do anything about it. Andurek's 'voice' was fragmented by panic as he mentally hollered to his symbiote.
I'm not supposed to have allergic reactions! You're supposed to prevent this sort of thing!
I've never encountered this one before! I don't know what's wrong! Daelan yelled back. There, his heart was stable, if not steady, but his respiratory system was currently demonstrating what it was like to be subjugated to the mercies of a boa constrictor underwater. At last that was solved as well, and they simply lay in the scrub, gasping painfully. All the thrashing during the attack had opened wider both wounds and added several scratches and a good bruise to the collection. Sluggishly, Daelan realized that he needed to do something before Andurek bled to death, but he was so exhausted. They were both worn down, and things just kept piling up. Andurek's head rolled back onto the ground with a weak grunt, and he resorted to speaking out loud to Daelan, something he had always been more comfortable with than silence.
"I think...Dael...that we just might not make it. I mean...we've been injured like this before, but you were always in good shape to take care of it, and we always had somewhere to go."
"But we never before were on a suicide mission, my friend. We weren't expected to survive and we didn't expect to survive. We may have saved many other lives, but there was no planned way out, no contact to spring us in the end."
"Why did we ever take that mission in the first place?"
"Saroosh."
"Ah yes. She talked you into it."
"You mean, she talked you into it. I'm not at all sure Selmak was involved in the least."
"You know I can't say no to the Lady, now..."
"Indeed not."
"I'm getting..."a bit out of breath, and my side hurts like Sokar's-
Don't say it!
Right.
There was a long silence of focusing simply on breathing. Then the sound of someone coming past, very, very close by, made Daelan stiffen. They needed to move. They needed to - a young woman appeared along a nearby deer trail, an inevitably, saw him. Her eyes widened in alarm, and she rushed to his side, pulling out what appeared to be a communication device of some sort.
"What on earth happened? I'll call 911! Oh my..." She was looking at his tunic and pants, which were now quite saturated with blood, as was the ground beneath, which she thankfully could not see. He wrapped a hand around her wrist and tightened it firmly, halting her call.
"No..." Andurek said urgently, "Don't call anyone else to this place. I am dying now. You must take Daelan."
His dark eyes looked at her imploringly, but were only met with confusion.
"Daelan? What?"
"My...symbiote." He said. When that obviously did not mean anything to her, he tried to explain, releasing her wrist and waving the hand weakly at the back of his neck.
"He's at the...uh...back of..." he indicated the given area before letting his arm flop to the ground, "He usually keeps my body in pretty good shape, but this..." he started laughing, but it was a hoarse laugh which led directly into a small bout of coughing, and a little trickle of blood collected at the side of his mouth.
"Anyhow, he's not from this planet, wherever here is, so none of his kin will be showing up...you've got to be the next host or he'll die..."
If possible, the wide-eyed look she sported earlier had gotten wider, although now a hint of skepticism was showing. There was a possibility the man was crazy, or it could be he was simply hallucinating from blood loss and who-knows-what. She reached again for her phone, but his hand shot up, grasping her wrist almost painfully.
His eyes flashed. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin.
"I am Daelan," said the deeper voice of the symbiote, though if she had been familiar with such things, she would have recognized it as notably indistorted. Before she could put a word in, he went on. "Andurek is indeed dying. And I, too, shall die if I do not have another host. I have now let my friend sleep and dream sweet memories in his last hours."
"A-are you saying you aren't human?"
"I am a Tok'ra. Andurek is human, but I am not."
"But if I helped you, I would...save a life?"
"His cannot be saved at this point, but mine, yes."
"And if this is some sort of sick joke?"
Daelan gazed intensely at her from Andurek's dark eyes, his expression telling her all she needed to know. In a soft voice, he said,
"If I am not what I say, I will die within a few moments. If I am who I say, the same thing will happen. The only difference is that there might be a chance of saving me with the second option. It's up to you. I am prepared to die."
The shocked expression faded from the young woman's face, replaced with resolution.
"You are a living being, and if I'm going to just let you die then I'm not what my mother raised me to be." She knelt closer to him. "How do I...?" The question hung in the air. Daelan closed his eyes briefly and then said, opening them and looking straight at her,
"Kiss me. I will go into you." He smiled, remembering Andurek's reaction to that, so long ago, and added, "Don't try to think about it too much."
The girl seemed to be going over her options again, rethinking. It was understandable, but time was running out. Daelan could feel the heart slowing and felt as each bit of his host became numb and started to lose its life. His eyes had closed of their own accord, so it was unexpected to feel, for a brief second, her lips on Andurek's. He sent one last heartbroken goodbye to his friend as Andurek's spirit fled him and detached himself from his host.
And then, his world changed.
