CHAPTER 5

Daniel woke with a start. He was in an Asgard healing pod. That didn't make any sense. He didn't remember getting injured or seeing the Asgard. Sensing his conscious state, the pod opened, and Daniel sat up. There seated beside the pod was Jack, his head lolled to the side sleeping. "Uh, Jack?" Daniel began cautiously. Waking Jack up was never a pleasure. "Jack?"

Then, he heard a voice that directed his attention away from his friend. "Hello, Dr. Jackson. I hope that you are now feeling better." Daniel studied the Asgard-like creature before him with surprise.

"Are you..." he began but trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his question.

Sif smiled. "Yes, Dr. Jackson. I am Asgard. I am female. I suppose that I should acclimate myself to that expression of surprise. Your brothers regarded me with the same confusion earlier."

"My brothers?" Daniel began, confusion evident. "Oh, Jack and Teal'c..." Then realising that his reaction to her might be considered rude added, "I'm sorry, I meant no offence."

Then Asgard tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Then, it is fortunate, that none was taken. I am Sif."

Daniel considered her name for a moment, then smiled. "Of course, Sif of the lovely golden hair, wife of Thor. Norse goddess of laughter and merriment, I believe."

Sif smiled at him indulgently as one might encourage a child, "Fanciful stories Dr. Jackson. But, it is true that I am the life companion of Thor."

Daniel looked back at Jack, surprised that his friend was still not awake. Sif answered his unasked question, "I am helping your friend sleep. He was agitated earlier, and I thought that rest would be beneficial for him."

"I see," responded Daniel. "And Sam and Teal'c?"

Sif's face fell–Daniel was surprised by how much emotion it conveyed. "Your friend, Teal'c, is in the forward chamber completing his kelnoreem. Your friend, Sam... I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she has been captured by the Go'auld, Thrym." Then, she proceeded to tell him what had been learned about Sam's capture while he was still unconscious and to fill him in on the history of this particular Go'auld.

Daniel listened attentively to all that she had to say his expression growing darker and more concerned as she went on, and then summarized grimly, "So, let me get this straight. Sam's being held captive by a maniacal Go'auld, one who was so evil and crazy that he killed one of Re's wives and only just escaped Re's wrath by seeking asylum on an Asgard protected moon, who plans to marry her and torture her, not necessarily in that order. And, we are on the way to rescue her, but you will be unable to help us when we get back to the planet because Thor made a deal with this Thrym years ago promising not to intervene when Thrym led a rebellion against him and kicked him off the planet."

Sif seemed to sigh. "Yes."

"Let me guess," added Daniel wryly. "That last bit was the part that made Jack agitated."

"Yes."

"Then, if you're not supposed to be interfering, why are you helping us at all?"

Sif seemed to consider his question carefully, then answered in a confidential tone. "Based on the contract between Thrym and Thor, no Asgard can directly intervene in the affairs of the Yotuns. Freyr, Thor, and the other Asgard will honor this contract because to break it would be to incite possible war with the Go'auld. As you know, we are not currently able to enforce the protected planets treaty because of our war with the replicators, and, if the Go'auld had knowledge of this, many worlds of humans would be enslaved."

Daniel nodded and she continued, "However, the fate of the Yotuns has been a cause of discomfort for all of the Asgard for many years. Thor feels that he should never have granted Thrym sanctuary. His trust and good faith were his undoing. When your friends informed Freyr that Samantha Carter had been captured by the Yotums, we realized at once that she had been chosen to become one of Thrym's wives. Though it is dangerous, we have been monitoring the moon and its people. For the most part, Thrym lives a modest and quiet life for a Go'auld. He cannot live otherwise because he must remain hidden from the system lords. His most atrocious deeds lie in the treatment of his wives. Each year, it is the custom that he wed a new bride on Midsummer's Day. He will wed her, torture her, and then proceed to enslave her by using his altered sarcophagus."

Sif looked at Daniel, "I understand that you have experienced the power of a sarcophagus, but had you experienced Thrym's you would have felt very different effects. While it can heal the body, his sarcophagus stiffles the will and the spirit. So instead of losing her soul to the sarcophagus, your friend will lose her independence and vivacity. Her soul will be intact for him to torture for the rest of her youth, until he decides to revive her no more and casts her aside."

Daniel's mind filled with this disturbing picture. Sam being tortured, killed, and revived in the sarcophagus over and over again. Each time becoming less and less of their Sam.

Sif's face was filled with sorrow and disgust. "You ask why I help you, Daniel Jackson. I help because I wish for Thrym to be stopped. I've wished it for many years. And, though my intervention is indirect, in compliance with the contract, I hope that by giving you intelligence and beaming you back to the planet in a strategic location, I will be delivering the weapon that will finally end Thrym's tyranny over the Yotuns."

Daniel ingested all of her words and the gravity of the situation that she described. "Thank you. Thank you for doing what you can to help us save our friend."

"You are welcome." She continued, "I also give you this." She handed him a small blue stone.

Daniel examined the smooth stone in his palm."What is it?"

"It is a translation device. You need only hold it in your hand as you are doing. You will understand the Yotuns, and they will understand you."

His eyes grew in excitement and irrepressable curiosity, "The Asgard have translation devices? Why have we never encountered them before? Will this stone work for other languages?"

Sif smiled wryly at Daniel's enthusiasm but shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Dr. Jackson. It is only programmed to translate for the Yotuns. However, I hope it will assist you in your recovery of Samantha Carter."

Daniel's enthusiasm melted a bit and he looked a little sheepish."Thank you. It is a great gift, and, if it helps us rescue Sam, well, then it is the best gift you could possibly give to us."

SG1

Sam's body writhed in agony. She felt as though she had lived many lifetimes at the mercy of this vicious Go'auld, though she knew logically that it had been mere hours. Pain, fierce and vibrant, danced across all of her nerve endings. It was amazing that she was still conscious, but this Thrym seemed to know her limits. He seemed to want to keep her awake.

He would pause often to caress her face or, still worse, to talk to her. Honestly, she preferred the torture stick to either. But, apparently this Go'auld, like so many others, was enamored with the sound of his own voice. "It is always a lovely ceremony. A fine tradition. But, I must say, the Yotuns, have outdone themselves this year. Never have they presented me with a finer specimen..."

Blah, blah, blah, was all that Sam registered. Come on, she prompted herself, focus! Think of a way to get out of this before, well, before it gets really bad, she thought thinking all the while of that disgustingly ornate bed. Suddenly, Jolinar's memories popped into her head–the seduction of Binar on Natu It had been necessary, yes, but it had haunted Jolinar for the rest of her life. And, it had driven a wedge between her and Martouf. But, she had escaped... No, Sam thought forcibly, no way!

Thrym grabbed Sam underneath the chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes, the hot metal of his hand device burning into her skin. "My bride," he said, "I fear that you haven't been listening to your husband and your god." And, he backhanded her again, causing an explosion of pain in her other cheek. This time, her eyes widened as she hit the floor. Not in terror, like he supposed triumphantly, but because Samantha Carter had just had an idea. It was a crazy, wild, and unbelievable idea, which is why Sam instantly felt so confident in it. And as she lay there, physically exhausted from hours of torture, it took incredible restraint to keep a look of triumph off of her own face. All she had to do to enact her plan was wait. Wait for the slimy, evil bastard to take her to bed.

Maybe I can even speed him along, she considered cooly now that she had a strategy in mind. She quickened her breath and made it more shallow, causing her chest to heave. Then, tapping into her most feminine wiles, she caused her lips to tremble and her eyes to pool. Thrym eyes grew darker as he watched her breaking before him, helpless and weak and oh so alluring. Yeah, that's right, you sicko, Sam thought victoriously, come and get me.