Ca'eles growled. The sound was low, threatening and articulating annoyance at the same time. Until now, he'd stayed out of the conversation. He'd remained completely silent, since none of the humans, nor the Asgard for that matter, could understand him anyway. But he could sense Vala's anger; visually contained as it was, it boiled beneath the surface. Given that, he was upset and his fur bristled in response.
He wondered if he could get away with taking a bite out of the little gray creature.
Vala slanted a glance at him, raising a brow in reply – her expression managing to remain entirely neutral. But she said nothing, she didn't have to. He could tell what she was feeling: trapped. She wanted to return home, or at least to the closest thing she had to one anymore. Ca'eles was in perfect accordance with that desire, even if it meant going back to the planet with the Marsi.
The Ka'rosh was tired of dealing with the Asgard, of trying to play nice when she couldn't fully suppress the part of her that craved retribution. The longer she remained here, the harder it got to deny that section of her mind its wish; to share a little energy with the gray alien – the hard way.
Fried Asgard… it did have an interesting ring to it.
However, she liked the humans here. Most of them, anyway, seemed alright. She didn't wish to ruin their relations with other races, even if she didn't personally trust or care for their apparent choices. It wasn't her decision to make. What was her decision was whether or not she quieted the parts of her mind clamoring for reprisal, stayed calm and waited it out. Eventually they would let her leave. Of that she was certain.
"We need your assistance." Thor's voice was even, composed as ever.
"I apologize, I am not feeing very cooperative today. Or ever, for that matter." Her tone, in contrast, was openly hostile once more. Vala was about to repeat her request to leave, when the little gray alien said the one thing that she hadn't counted on and it made her breath catch in her throat.
"We believe Gullveig has returned."
For a few moments, Vala contemplated what it meant to be able to breathe. When the process yet again resumed, and she was able to speak once more, she managed to keep her voice from betraying her unease. There was a certain level of pride in that.
"What makes you think I would believe that?" The Ka'rosh looked skeptical, but in truth certain key pieces were now snapping into place and forming a much larger picture. If Gullveig was still alive…
"We have evidence to support this belief."
"Of course you do." She waited expectantly. Her expression gave the impression of deep thought, when in reality Vala was still concentrating on keeping her breathing steady. Amazing the energy one could put into such a simple task.
Thor quickly surmised that his one opportunity to gain any aid and belief from the Ka'rosh was at hand, and he acted promptly to show the alleged evidence to her. Without any indication of activating some hidden technology, a hologram suddenly lighted in front of them. The subject matter immediately became visible; a battle underway.
Well, Vala thought absently, if you call that a battle.
It wasn't much of a fight, lasting only a few minutes before the small invading force had prevailed over the much larger one of some minor Goa'uld. The defeated Goa'uld himself was instantly put to death. No muss, no fuss.
When the smoke finally cleared, and the debris in the air settled, a tall red-haired woman stood, smiling victoriously. Vala recognized her. Who she didn't place right away was the woman who had actually killed the other Goa'uld. Making an unconscious comparison between the red-haired host and the new arrival, Vala knew the triumphant leader would be a good two inches taller than she, herself, stood.
The woman was tall, sporting shoulder length blond hair and gray eyes; pretty, the Ka'rosh supposed. But it was the eyes that caught her attention, they seemed to glow faintly – where the whites of her eyes should have been, was instead a silvery-blue.
Not just another Goa'uld – not by far.
"Gullveig," Vala said tightly; the word coming out in a soft hiss of breath. For a moment she could feel the tie that bound members of her race together. She wondered how it had escaped her notice before. Unless, of course, someone had deliberately cloaked their presence from the link. It made sense and was far more comforting than to think she, herself, had lost the ability to trace the link.
"We were not certain until now."
Rather than responding to Thor, Vala instead turned to General Hammond. Her expression was strained; sorrow warring with anger. There was a hint of pain in those overly bright blue eyes as well, yet her voice was once more under perfect control. "I am sorry."
Hammond was caught off-guard by the contrition he heard and his reply conveyed his confusion. "For what, Ms. Kyair?"
"It can no longer be doubted that it is my fault for the entry gained through your stargate, and as a result I am responsible for those she sent here."
"I beg your pardon?" Oh yeah, he was lost now. Someone else, however, was not.
"The telepathy between members of your species. She used it to tap into your thoughts." It was given the pretense of a question, yet Daniel's tone made it into a statement. He knew.
"Yes."
"But how did she know you were here in the first place?" Well, he didn't know everything, after all.
"The exact details I am not certain of. It is possible that the energy output generated when I accessed the stargate, and to allow us passage through your iris, alerted her. It is more likely that simply returning to such an energy form brought me to her attention."
"And it didn't do that before today?" Jack was somewhat skeptical.
" It has been some time since I attempted it," came the simple reply. "It consumes enough energy to where there is usually a better, less costly means of doing something. Besides," she almost reluctantly admitted, "it only serves to remind me of what is gone."
She ignored the curious glances that prompted, and instead focused on the issue at hand. If it was her coming here that brought Gullveig's awareness to the planet, then she couldn't just leave. As much as she'd like to tell the Asgard, Thor, exactly what he could do with his problem – fate had made the problem hers as well. She wasn't the type to abandon her responsibilities. Yet, the idea of helping the Asgard still grated on her nerves. Vala attempted to push past that thought, vowing to herself that if she were given the opportunity, she'd settle up with them when this was all over.
"I will do what I can to help you," the Vanir stated softly, directing her words once again to Hammond rather than Thor. Her gaze had returned to, and remained focused steadfast on, the image frozen in the hologram. For so long she believed herself alone, the last survivor of a once great race, and here before her was the image of another. Alive. Breathing.
Host to a monster.
Even if she could rescue Gullveig, what would there be left to save after all those millennia under the control of a Goa'uld? Could anyone's mind survive such an ordeal intact? Everyone had their limits, and Vala knew that would likely break her own. Of course, all of that assumed she'd be able to do anything for the other Vanir. From the dawning of realization on exactly who the host was, she had acknowledged the unchangeable fact of war: sometimes you lost those you tried most to save. Knowing that didn't answer the question that lurked in her heart, however. Would she be able to end the life of the only other known Vanir alive? Could she be responsible for an action that, throughout the species' history, had never occurred.
Vanir did not kill their own.
Wiping the uncertainty from her thoughts, and hopefully banishing any sign of it visually from her features, she trained her mind on the initial task. Undoubtedly the Asgard had some idea about how to proceed. She needed their intel on the situation, and that concept made her cringe inwardly.
Scolding her thoughts, Vala finally looked away from the hologram and met the inquisitive expressions of those around her.
"You have an idea of how to proceed." It wasn't a question, and it lacked any level of appreciation or warmth, but it was coolly polite.
"We have collected all of the data we currently possess about the Goa'uld and the domain she currently holds." The hologram altered its image, showing instead a beautiful, lush forest. "We believe she is on this planet."
"Great, more trees…" Jack muttered.
"We can do nothing more without breaking treaty with the Goa'uld."
"Of course you can not." The tone was indifferent, beyond caring about the dealings of the Asgard. They wouldn't do anything, they rarely did. She had long ago learned to rely on herself. But, she wasn't alone. Not really. She had Ca'eles and Lasha.. and if the humans decided to act – well, she trusted in them as well.
Hammond considered the information before him.
"General, you know we have to do this." Daniel offered softly.
"We can't have a Goa'uld like that out there," Jack chimed in, giving his two cents on the subject.
"If we don't do something, she could possibly dominate the System Lords." Sam ventured. "With a host body capable of the regeneration and power of a Vanir, we could soon find ourselves facing an army the likes of which we have never seen."