Thanks to the readers and reviewers, particularly those who have
stayed with the story this far. Sorry this is shorter than usual, but I
had to cut it off at a certain point for effect. Let me know if you
want more!
Chapter 10: Revelations
"Jackson," Daniel stated as he picked up the ringing phone from under a pile of papers.
"Hey Daniel," the familiar voice greeted.
"Sam, hey. Need something?"
"Is the Colonel down there?"
"No, he left a while ago," Daniel replied, continuing on with his translations. "We do think we've tracked down where Einar's original body might be, so that's good news."
"Great – he must be pleased about that."
"Not exactly, he's been strictly ordered to stay in the facility – no going offworld, even. I think he went back to his quarters to argue with Einar."
There was an aggravated sigh from Sam's end of the line.
"Who said what this time?"
"Probably just Jack blaming Einar for this little curfew – apparently Kennedy was sent from the Pentagon to do what he does best, but Einar wouldn't tell him anything," Daniel shrugged to himself.
"I was planning to ask the Colonel how he was doing with the whole alien in the head thing – I know for a fact it isn't very comfortable. I suppose this answers my question. Why wouldn't Einar talk?"
"He didn't say. I'd leave the two of them to simmer for a bit, though. They've probably both got things to consider. I'm working on the rest of this database for now. Maybe we could ask them about it tomorr…"
Daniel trailed off, gazing fearfully at the translation in front of him, freshly completed while talking to Sam. He ignored her confused question, only half hearing it as he flicked through his notes, and skimmed over the runes once more, clarifying that he had the text down correctly.
"Oh my god," he muttered.
"What's wrong!"
"Sam," he began slowly and nervously. "Get General Hammond and Teal'c. Meet me up in the briefing room as soon as you can… and don't bring Jack or Einar…"
"Doctor Jackson, what's the big emergency," Hammond demanded, gesturing for everyone to take their seats.
"Two things," he stated, flicking through his file to find the hastily written gate address. "Einar's helped me translate enough database records to track down where his body was hidden. He knows the gate address, so we could go there. Unfortunately, he's been stopped from going offworld."
"The President was very clear on the point: as long as he is withholding information that could prove valuable, he isn't allowed to leave the facility," Hammond admonished. "It's out of my hands."
"His body was hidden," Teal'c echoed. "The separation of Einar's body and mind was then intentional, DanielJackson?"
"It looks that way – it didn't cross my mind to ask why at the time."
"So, what is this second important issue, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond urged.
"I began to translate the rest of the database while the team is on downtime, and I noticed something strange in this section: 'Personnel'. All of the scientists working here were listed as 'Hakonan' and there was a second field denoting species. As you can see," Daniel stood and switched on the large display screen in the briefing room, and cycled through a few of the entries, "from the text and the images with each record, the Hakonans were humans, probably moved from a Norse culture here on Earth to Hakon by the Asgard…"
"What's unusual about that," Hammond frowned. "A lot of natives we come across offworld were originally transplanted from Earth."
"Why would it be necessary to specify a species if the Hakonans were all humans?" Teal'c pondered aloud.
"Exactly, Teal'c!" Daniel exclaimed anxiously. "That's what confused me. However, there wasn't any other mention of a different species in the personnel records… but then I found this."
Daniel used the display remote to switch to another part of the database, and annotated blueprints of a strange, fierce looking creature were thrown up on the screen. Flanked by Norse runes, the creature was clearly a wolf, but much more than just a wolf. It was a biped, standing upright and tall – a perfect cross between man and lupine. It was the structure and frame of a human, but with the head, fur, tail and claws of a wolf. From some kind of quirk between the combination, the fur on its head had grown long like hair on a human being, creating a grand, almost leonine, mane that framed the head and stretched down the top of its chest.
"This, ladies and gentlemen, is an Innarim."
Silence reigned over the briefing room.
Daniel was sure no one had even moved in amazement.
"That looks like a werewolf…" Sam breathed, wide-eyed.
"Perhaps it is where the legends originated," Teal'c offered.
"You mean one of these is inside Colonel O'Neill's head!" Hammond exclaimed.
"Yes," Daniel confirmed gravely, "but that's not everything. This line of runes along the top of the screen… It translates roughly as 'weapon designs'."
"Could this entry be in the wrong part of the database?" the General suggested.
"I don't think so, sir," Daniel shook his head firmly. "From the context of the runes in this record, it's in exactly the right place."
Teal'c and Hammond remained quiet in confusion, but Sam frowned dubiously. She looked at the screen, then at Teal'c and Hammond, and finally at Daniel. Her voice was astonished.
"You can't be serious?"
Daniel just nodded regretfully.
"They aren't just another species that naturally evolved on Hakon. The information in the entry is about genetic coding and characteristics," he affirmed.
"Major?" Hammond appealed.
"They're weapons, sir," Sam spun to face the superior officer with nervous awe. "They aren't born; they're built. The Innarim were sentient, genetically engineered weapons."
