"That one hurt…"

Ian groaned and staggered back to his feet, dropping into the command chair heavily and looking over his shoulder at Loki, who was just rolling himself over and sitting up once more.

"You okay?"

"It does not matter if I am or not, Ian Brooks. Not if you plan on continuing your plan." There was a definite sulkiness in his voice, and it was enough to make Ian scowl.

"This is all your fault, you little bastard."

"I did not call the Goa'uld-"

Another blast rocked the ship, once more tossing Ian out of the chair and rolling Loki across the small bridge.

"You have one more chance," Sobeck said, his voice sounding loud to Ian, who had reopened the stitched cut on his forehead and had added to the already colorful bruises on his chest and shoulders. "Surrender your ship. Now."

Loki looked up at the headsup display, his head smeared with blood as well.

"Shields are at 55 percent. It is not too late for you to surrender instead of-"

"I can't surrender, Goddamn it."

He reached for the speaking button once more, forcing his fear back and redirecting the anger he felt towards Loki to make sure the Goa'uld wouldn't be able to tell that he was scared. This was all Loki's fault, the little fucking bastard. His mother and father weren't going to know what happened – shit, Jack and the SGC wouldn't even know what happened. All they would know – and he was certain they didn't even know he was gone, yet – was that he'd vanished from the infirmary. Fucking Asgard.

He pressed the button.

"Go fuck yourself, Sobeck."

"You impertinent-"

"Yeah, yeah… I've been called worse by people who don't have snakes shoved up their asses, so feel free to come up with something original you dumb sonofabitch."

If it hadn't been such a desperate, surreal situation, Ian would have laughed at the stunned look in Loki's expression. And the shocked silence coming from Sobeck's ship. As it was, he just let go of the button and took a deep breath, leaning back a little in the chair when the breath caused him a sharp pain in his side.

"Damn it…"

The little ship was rocked again as Sobeck got over his shock and fired on them, and once more Ian was flung from the chair.

"Why don't you have any fucking seatbelts in this thing…?" he asked, rolling over painfully and looking at Loki, who had once more tumbled near by.

Before Loki could answer, there was yet another explosion, and this time from his position on the floor, Ian felt the little ship give a massive shudder as the shields failed and it started to come apart.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"How much longer?"

"We are almost there…"

"Damn it."

Thor palmed a panel on his chair and the ship slowed.

"What are you doing?"

"We're dropping out of hyperspace," Sam said. "If we don't we'll overshoot the-"

"'…been called worse by people who don't have snakes shoved up their asses, so feel free to come up with something original you dumb sonofabitch.'"

"That's Ian!" Shawn yelled, looking at the headsup display that came up the moment Thor's ship dropped out of hyperdrive. Everyone else was looking as well, although there was no doubt about the voice they'd heard over Thor's communications receptors.

"There!" Sam said, pointing.

On the screen were two ships. One incredibly small compared to the much larger one that was firing on it. As they watched, it fired again.

"Thor…"

The little alien palmed a panel on his chair once more, and looked up at the screen, just as the small ship disintegrated in a massive but completely silent explosion.

Jaffer and Jack both growled softly just as a brilliant flash of light on the bridge temporarily blinded everyone. When the light cleared, Ian and another Asgard were laying on the bridge of Thor's ship, looking bloody and battered, but alive.

"Ian!"

Dazed, Ian looked up just as Jaffer and Jack (the dog) swarmed him, the labs whuffling his bare chest and face as they greeted him as warmly as he ever could have wanted. Sam and Shawn were right beside them in an instant, pulling the dogs back so they could get a better look at him.

"This is Thor," Thor said, obviously addressing the other ship. "You are committing an act that can only be-"

"Kill him, Goddamn it," Ian snapped, staggering to his feet and clutching at Shawn for support when he almost fell. "He's-"

The Goa'uld ship fired on Thor's ship, but the battle cruiser was far larger and more powerful than Loki's little science ship – and even better, Thor carried weapons. Even as the Asgard ship fired, it was joined by two others dropping out of hyperspace, and the Goa'uld vessel suddenly found itself vastly outnumbered and outclassed. It was one thing to attack a single science vessel – especially one without weapons – but it was another to try and take on three Asgard vessels. The ship jumped into hyperdrive immediately, leaving the area to the Asgard.

Jack went over to where Shawn was pretty much holding Ian on his feet, and Janet was right behind him.

"Get him off his feet," she said, pulling him down to the floor of the bridge. Ian didn't have the strength to try and argue – and with the Goa'uld ship gone there was no reason to.

He sank gratefully down, wincing as he jarred a particularly nasty bruise.

"What were you thinking?" Jack asked, scowling at the young man, his relief mingled with disbelief at the conversation Ian had been having with the Goa'uld. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Ian looked over at him, but before he could say anything, it was another voice that answered.

"Yes. He was."

Everyone turned and looked at Loki, who was still tightly tied and laid out on the deck of the bridge, bleeding and just as battered as Ian.