A/N: I told you this would probably be a speedy update! Phew! I'm doing pretty well, considering a while ago I was only managing like once a week! Thank you for all the reviews… it's cool to see people I don't know reviewing for the first time – I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Again special thanks to BookWorm, with thanks also to Arrant Schemata and Revvie-S – they all helped valiantly with some of the facts for this chapter!
I hope you like!
Chapter X – Fodor
On the surface of Uluru, Jonas stood looking at the spot where both Sam and Jack had disappeared from. He glanced at the now silent communication device again and looked up to Teal'c.
"You think they're alright?" he asked quietly, trying not to let the Australians hear him.
"Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill are formidable warriors," Teal'c spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, confidence resonating in his voice. "They will contact us when it is again safe to do so."
Stacey had been struggling to come to terms with the events, but now realised with a slight shock that yet again she was left as the most senior ranking officer. Squaring her shoulders in preparation for the difficult tasks ahead of them, she stepped forward to address the small congregation.
"Ok. Here's the deal." Her mind was made up. "Apparently there is something going on underneath Uluru – we need to get help, and we need it now."
"But what can we do?" Bruce interjected, looking warily at Jonas and Teal'c, who both seemed deep in thought. "No-one knows how they got down there, no-one knows how to get them back here… what's the sense in panicking the locals and tourists?"
Stacey considered this for a moment. "At the very least, we should close the trail to tourists – make up some excuse… tell the public there was an accident that requires investigation."
"That's not far from the truth, actually," Jonas mused while fishing something out of his pack. "Doug," he turned to the Aboriginal man, "Do you think it would be alright if we got some more personnel here to investigate the transportation device?"
Doug hesitated, he had been increasingly uncomfortable with the situation, but felt trapped between two cultures. "Well…" he thought of the explanations he'd have to give to the indigenous community. "Technically there's nothing to forbid access to Uluru, so there shouldn't be a real problem…" he brushed his hand through his unruly hair, "But you do know that the indigenous population of this area strongly believes that no-one should climb up here? On top of that, cameras aren't very popular – so I don't know about any technology you wanna bring up." He shrugged his shoulders, demonstrating the difficulty of the situation. "I can talk to the people, but the government was hoping to avoid something that could drag on… as much as the Prime Minister values our relationship with the United States, we've got our own problems to deal with – especially when it concerns indigenous affairs."
"C'mon Dougie!" Bruce exclaimed, "There are now FOUR people trapped somewhere underneath this bloody rock – we can't just sit back and wait for 'em to reappear!"
Doug bristled at Bruce's coarse words. The two men hadn't got on particularly well right from the start – it was a matter of respect, and Doug felt that Bruce was somewhat lacking in respect towards the indigenous population of Australia.
"Bruce," there was a new, dangerous edge to his voice, "Despite what you may believe, you can't ignore the precarious situation the government must be in. Even I'm an outsider to these people – it's going to be hard enough without the army descending on Uluru as if they were trying conquering it - again."
Jonas' ears pricked up at this last statement. "Even you're an outsider?" he asked, "I thought you were aboriginal as well?"
"I am aboriginal," Doug's voice returned to its normal, even timbre, "but I'm what these guys would call a city blackfella– in their eyes I've been westernised, made into a quasi-whitefella… some of the elders probably even consider me a traitor to our culture." He rubbed his temples, trying to get rid of the headache that had formed through sheer exhaustion. "If I don't back up their beliefs, they'll consider me just as bad as the whitefellas in Canberra." He paused, before adding: "And that's exactly what's about to happen."
"I understand your predicament, DouglasGoonagulla." Teal'c's eyes indeed seemed to portray a sense of empathy. "I am sure we are all grateful for the personal sacrifices you will be making in order to render us assistance – as we are sorry for the difficulties your government may incur from this course of action."
Stacey had been listening to the debate, all the while formulating their immediate plan. "Sergeant," she addressed Bruce, "Get on the phone to the tourism bureau and the rangers – we need to get the rock sealed off for at least the next two days." She turned to Doug next. "Doug, I know what we're asking you to do here, and I'm sorry…" she saw him nod at her in appreciation. "I need you to go and talk to the elders and appraise them of the situation. Use as much discretion as you feel is necessary – but remember, no classified info." As Doug turned to head back down the side of Uluru, she turned to Jonas and Teal'c. "I can't issue you guys with instructions, but I imagine it would be a good idea to get in contact with your General Hammond in the States – we'll need all the help we can get to figure out this transport device."
Everyone assigned their tasks, Stacey took her phone out of her vest pocket and started dialling the military base. "Sir," she spoke urgently into the phone as soon as the desk clerk had connected her to the base commander's quarters. "We've got a situation here – two of the Americans have also disappeared…" she listened briefly into the receiver. "Sir there's more… we are in contact with them – they seem to be miles underground in some kind of alien structure… yes sir, alien… but what I was trying to say sir, apparently Major Fletcher is dead, and Colonel McGregor is badly injured." She pulled the phone away from her ear a bit as one irate general's voice boomed out of the tinny contraption. "Sir, believe me, we've been trying… no we don't know how they got there… no we have no idea how to get them out… yes sir, Sergeant Mayne is alerting them now… yes sir, I think the Americans do want to bring in reinforcements… yes sir, I'm aware of the political situation." She sighed in despair as she listened to the general's set of instructions. "Of course sir, I'll see you tomorrow then."
(A/N: I know I've got them using mobile phones, but in all honesty I reckon there'd be reception out there – it IS one of our biggest tourist attractions after all, there's probably a tower somewhere… if not, let's just imagine they've all got those cumbersome satellite phones, k?)
As she sat down on the ground and tossed the phone in front of her, Stacey saw Jonas was looking at her intently. She smiled weakly at him just as he approached and sat down next to her. He reached out a hand and touched her knee, indicating his support.
"The brass are coming down then?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Stacey sighed. "It's going to be a hellish of a couple of days…" she looked to the spot where the people had disappeared from. "You really think they're ok?" her voice hitched in her throat as she spoke, thinking about Major Fletcher's fate.
"I'm sure of it." Jonas said with such conviction that he surprised himself. "Teal'c's right – they're the best we have." All the while, he couldn't help thinking of Jack's state of mind the previous couple of days. He reminded himself forcefully that the Colonel was an amazing soldier – and besides, Sam was down there with him. She'd managed to bring him back from a near crisis a couple of times in the past few days, and would be able to keep in focussed now - if he needed the help.
Back in the small cave, a long way underneath Uluru, Jack tried to support the being's head as well as he could without causing it any pain. He looked at Carter again, who looked like she'd discovered the cure for cancer.
"Uh Carter?" he looked at her expectantly.
Sam ignored Jack, but spoke to the being instead. "Hello." She said nervously. "I'm Samantha Carter and this is Jack O'Neill – of Earth," she added, hoping to reassure the alien with these identifications. "Are you injured? I don't have much experience with Asgard physiology…" she looked briefly to the stasis pod and back to the small figure on the ground. "But I think I remember how the stasis pod works…"
As the alien moved its mouth in an effort to gain the strength to speak, Jack stood up abruptly to stand directly in front of Sam. "Asgard!" He exclaimed. "This is NOT an Asgard!" He was looking at Sam as if she had gone mad. "An Ancient maybe – we don't know what they look like… Carter, we know what the Asgard look like – this guy doesn't look anything like Thor!"
Before Sam could set Jack straight on the true identity of the body lying on the ground, a small voice broke through the silence.
"You are acquainted with Thor?" it asked quietly. "Then you are Ancients…"
Sam was just as surprised by this strange conclusion as Jack was. "Sir," she began hastily, before Jack could blow a gasket, "Don't you recognise this physiology? It really is an Asgard – just one of their ancestors, like the one in stasis we saw in that lab… just think of what that could mean for their research!"
"Oh." Jack looked down to the Asgard, who was looking worse and worse. "Sorry." He turned around to look at Carter again, before whispering urgently. "But we're not Ancients…"
Sam sighed with exasperation and decided to take over the situation – as Jack was clearly going to come to the wrong conclusion. They had to address one thing at a time – and for the moment the identity of the Asgard was more important than their status as Ancients. Moving passed Jack she knelt down next to the alien and spoke to him softly; Jack remained standing behind her, still tense.
"Can you tell me your name?" she asked.
"I… I am Fodor of the Asgard." Fodor was having difficulty speaking. Sam glanced back towards Jack and motioned for him to approach.
"Ok Fodor," she tried to infuse as much softness into her voice as possible. "We're going to try to move you to the stasis pod – maybe we can treat some of your injuries."
Fodor merely closed his eyes while nodding slightly as they lifted him carefully into the pod. Sam worked carefully with the panel on the side of the stasis pod, trying not to do anything that would adversely affect the alien. She noticed his breathing had become less laboured and he seemed to be more alert than before. Satisfied she had done what she could for the moment, she leant in to speak to him before.
"Can you tell us where we are?" she motioned around the room. "Why do you think we're Ancients?"
Fodor looked at Sam and Jack, confused. He couldn't understand who these people were or why they were asking such bizarre questions. "Only the Ancients can access the transportation stream… you must be Ancients, or you would not be here."
Sam flinched with intrigue as she heard these words. She looked to Jack, who was now standing right next to her, looking just as clueless as she.
"I'm not Ancient." Jack emphasised redundantly, his eyes wide.
"No, but…" Sam was deep in thought, a hypothesis forming in her mind. "Thor did say that you represented a significant evolution in human physiology, right? Maybe the difference in your genomic structure has allowed you to use the Ancient device?" She widened the scope of her theory slightly. "Maybe either Fletcher or McGregor have the same evolutionary trait and that's how they got here…"
"No… only the Ancients may access…."
Sam realised Fodor was becoming distressed and moved to try and make him more comfortable. After a couple of minutes, he was calm again, and seemed able to answer their questions. "Fodor," she tried again, this time choosing to ignore the 'Ancient' issue, "Can you tell us what the purpose of this underground base is?"
Fodor looked at her, still confused, but answered anyway. "This is where Turramulli is imprisoned." He spoke slowly, deliberately, as if reciting a well-practiced speech. "Many years ago a new race of parasitic beings called the Goa'uld started infecting different species…. First the Unas, then the Yowies, before they discovered humans…"
(A/N: A Yowie is like bigfoot…)
"Is Turramulli a Goa'uld?" Jack interjected, sensing the danger of their situation.
"Yes." Fodor nodded slowly. "He is the last of the Yowies to have been infected… but he is… different." Fodor gasped slightly in pain, but continued nonetheless. "He destroyed many worlds – annihilating the animal and plant life – he can ingest almost any organic material… he was imprisoned here by agreement of the Asgard and Ancient councils to prevent him from causing any more carnage. I am the guard, to make sure he doesn't get out – the only way he could, would be for an Ancient to transport him out."
Sam tried to comprehend everything she was being told, but there was just too much new information for it to make complete sense immediately. "How was Turramulli different?" she pushed on with the questions.
"Why didn't you just kill the bastard?" Jack added, causing Sam to turn and glare at him reproachfully for a brief instant.
Fodor again hestitated before answering. The fact that these two Ancients, like the other two, knew nothing of the cave perturbed him. He pushed the doubts out of his mind as he remembered that they knew Thor – hopefully as an ally. He continued: "Turramulli possesses a unique quality that none of his brethren had – he is capable of an advanced form of hibernation where his entire body is transformed to an impervious mass. There is no way of killing him," Fodor looked meaningfully at Jack, "and that is why we were forced to imprison him instead."
"Wouldn't he starve to death?" Jack had the distinct feeling that these old Asgards had somehow missed the obvious.
Fodor just shook his head wearily. "He is capable of hibernating almost indefinitely. Until this day, he had not awoken once since our arrival here."
"Until THIS day!" Jack suddenly whirled around, pointing his P-90 back towards the cavern, as if he would suddenly see Turramulli, about to pounce on him. As before, there was nothing except the soothing blue haze covering the walls, illuminating the underground structure.
His heart was pounding and he could feel the blood rushing about his ears. Seeing that there was no immediate threat, he forced himself to calm down and move back towards Sam and Fodor. Glancing at Sam briefly, he saw the concern in her eyes and just nodded curtly, annoyed at himself for overreacting. He felt her fingers brush against his forearm in solidarity, and was grateful for the warm touch and sense of calm it imbued him with.
"Yes." Fodor coughed slightly, wincing in pain again. "The two ancients that came before you. They awakened him and lowered the force-shield around his cell with the orbital control device – I had to try to stop them… There had been no agreement to move the Goa'uld."
Sam's eyes widened. "You mean, you-"
Fodor shook his head quickly, ignoring the pain it caused him. "No, I did not harm them. They shot at me with some kind of projectile weapon when I tried to speak to them…" Fodor's eyes suddenly looked as if haunted, as he remembered what had happened. "Then I heard him. I heard Turramulli. I heard him rip those men to pieces…" he looked sadly into Sam's eyes. "I only had enough time to activate my own protective shield… I could not save them." He paused, again wary. "They were of the same group as you?"
"Yeah." Sam said quietly. "But they didn't come here to release Turramulli!" She added hastily. "They came here completely by accident – they can't have known what they were doing…" Sam thought about the situation for a moment. The two men must have transported completely by accident and then inadvertently awoken and freed Turramulli. They knew nothing of the Asgard… it was entirely possible they'd shot him, thinking to ask questions later.
"Ah." Fodor's eyes glazed over. "Then I am sorry." He craned his neck slightly to look to the archway where Jack was now standing, as if on guard for the monster. "If you were able to penetrate this chamber, it must mean my force-shield has malfunctioned. You are Ancient – you must return to the orbital sphere in the main cavern and contain Turramulli wherever he is before he returns! He will not make the same mistake he did with the other two – he will attempt to force you to transport him out of here."
Before Jack could protest – yet again – that he was not Ancient; and that anyway he didn't know how to get out of there, a strange noise filled the corridor behind them.
Wonk.
Wonk.
Wonk.
Fodor's eyes widened and, his pain forgotten, he sat up in the pod in panic. "Quickly!" he hissed. "It is Turramulli! There is no defence or escape! You must get to the cavern and activate the shield!"
"Not without you!" Sam insisted, and she and Jack lifted Fodor out of the pod and started moving quickly away from the sound of the approaching monster towards the main cavern.
Behind them, the eerie wonking noise grew ever louder. Sam and Jack placed Fodor on the ground near the centre of the cavern. Sam moved to drag Fletcher and McGregor's limp bodies towards them as Jack moved towards the orb. He looked around to Fodor quickly, as if to ask what to do, but the Asgard's injuries had caused him to lose consciousness. Concentrating as hard as he possibly could on keeping Turramulli out, he wrapped both his hands around the orb and hoped for the best.
A/N: I really don't usually do all this cliff-hanger business… it's just that this is how the story goes! For those waiting for it – never fear, the S/J factor will reappear!
In the meantime, congratulations to Revvie, who correctly guessed that the creature was an Asgard ancestor – I was really impressed! Sorry Bookworm, you were nearly right, see? Just that little twist of him being kinda Asgard instead Asgard as we know them.
In terms of the name 'Fodor', I really hope it's not a swear word or something in another language. I just made it up. I figured since 'Thor' is the god of thunder, I'd make this Asgard the god of lightening. In French, the word for lightening is 'foudre' (interestingly, also one of the many translations of the English word f--k), so I just kinda mangled that so it seemed Asgard-y.
Now I want to clarify something so that I don't get people shouting at me: I've considered this whole Ancient gene thing carefully, and with advice from some trusted sources (who know who they are), I'm pretty sure that at this stage (season 6), they didn't actually know about the Ancient gene, and wouldn't piece it together until season 7. That's why I'm having Carter come up with the evolution hypothesis… of course, WE all know that it's because of the Ancient gene, right? First and only time Sam Carter will ever be wrong (and even then, she's kinda right – she says it's a genomic anomaly that Jack must share with the Ancients…)
One last thing, the 'wonk, wonk' noise is from the actual Turramulli myth… it's the same noise that the bullfrogs up in Cape York apparently make… apparently they are a reminder for people to always be vigilant.
Ok. This is the longest author's note EVER – it's ending here… but PLEASE review! I love getting them… and I'm going to need encouragement this weekend because I'm working 8 hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday (sniff)!