Feriae
In Dr MacKenzie's office, Jack was ten minutes into his "consultation" and it was not going well.
"So, how do you feel about Major Carter being taken as a host?"
"How do you think I feel?"
"Why don't you tell me?"
"I'm her CO. I was supposed to protect her. And now she's host to the thing she hates the most and you know the worst thing?"
"What?"
"I know that she'd rather be dead than this. And I can't even get close enough to do that."
"How did it go?" Daniel asked as Jack strode past him in the locker room and started shoving clothes into a duffel bag. "Ah, not great then."
"I have to take a week off. Banned from coming in. Damn doctors."
"Jack. There's nothing you can do here. Besides, if she does decide to attack, it'll be best to get out of here."
Jack smiled wryly. "If Hera decides to attack, it doesn't matter how far away I am."
"We will save Sam right?" the archeologist asked.
"Of course. That's what we do."
Two hours and five beers later, Jack was feeling a lot less optimistic. He had always been wary of Sam. Not of her intentions because they were as honest as you could get. But ever since she had put on that hand device to fight Seth, the potential had been there. She had completely pulverized the fake god without even meaning to. Now she had the potential and the intent.
Jack spent the week moping around, doing odd jobs to fill the time he didn't spend ringing the SGC for updates. Hera appeared to be biding her time; taking over smaller planets and slowly amassing her forces but not enough for immediate concern.
On the morning of his return Jack woke up and was on his way to work two hours earlier than normal. He didn't think Hera's uncharacteristic caution was a good sign and he wanted to be around when something did happen. Which, knowing his luck, would probably be sooner than later.
When Jack did get on the base, he was surprised to find Daniel in his office surrounded by books.
"And I thought I was early."
Daniel glanced up. "I...er…I didn't really leave."
"What are you doing?"
"There has to be something in one of these books to help Sam. I just need to find it."
Hammond came in at that moment and Jack jumped up.
"At ease. I need to talk to both of you."
The three men sat down and Hammond sighed. "I know Sam is very…important to you. The time may come when you have to put those feelings aside."
"What are you trying to say?"
"The President has just authorized the use of any and all forces to take her down."
Jack sat in frozen contemplation long after Hammond had left. The thought of his second in command, a member of his team, being killed horrified him. The thought that he would probably have to be the one to pull the trigger made it even worse.
After Hammond left, SG1 spent their day pouring through books for anything that could possibly help their teammate. At some point, one of the men would leave to grab some food or stretch their legs but they always returned.
Some time later General Hammond walked past and saw the exhausted men
"How long have you been at this?"
Everyone instantly jumped to attention as Daniel answered, "About five hours."
"Did you find anything?"
"Not as such, no." Jack said, with defeat in his voice.
"I did find some information that could help."
The rest of the room turned to look at the Jaffa.
"A great deal of the books that I read came to the same conclusion. There have been several reports of the hosts overcoming weak or injured Goa'uld. All of these suggest appealing directly to the host."
Jack sighed in frustration, "We already know this T."
"Yes, but while reading these accounts a new idea became apparent to me. We have not yet tried other technology."
"What do you mean?" General Hammond queried.
"When Cronus sent an Ashrak after Jolinar, he used a hara'kesh. While this killed the parasite within Major Carter, the host still lived."
Daniel thought about it. "Yes, but only because Jolinar gave her life to save Sam."
"If we could use the hara'kesh on Hera, it could weaken the parasite long enough for Major Carter to regain control."
"Could this work Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked.
"Possibly, but it's only theoretical. Do we even have a hara'kesh?"
"It was sent to Area 51 after the Jolinar incident. Nobody there could make it work and Major Carter refused to even try."
"Can you blame her?" Jack muttered.
Hammond chose to ignore this comment and moved on, "If I can get this…weapon, who will use it?"
Teal'c again replied. "Surely General Carter would be the ideal choice?"
"I'm not sure if Jacob would want to torture his own daughter, even if she is a host now."
"I believe that General Carter has the strength of mind to do whatever is necessary to return his daughter and prevent the destruction of the galaxy."
Hammond sighed, "You're probably right. He's back with the Tok'ra now. I'll send a message asking him to come back."
Jacob Carter was soon briefed on Teal'c's idea and, although he didn't like it, he realized that it was the best idea that they had. They spent an hour in the briefing room talking about how to get the hara'kesh and how to practice using it until Jack spoke up.
"Okay, I'm going to ask the question that nobody else seems to want to. How the hell do we get close enough to Hera without her killing us?"
Surprisingly, it was Janet who answered, "She hasn't killed us so far and we've encountered her several times."
"Hate to disappoint you Doc, but she just kills other people. I would prefer that didn't happen."
"Maybe if we take her by surprise…" Daniel suggested.
"Jeez, Daniel, when is this gonna sink in? You can't surprise her. It's Carter! God knows what kind of traps and machines she's got working for her now. The only reason we're not dead is because she doesn't want us dead!"
There was silence at Jack's words, as if nobody had dared think of this idea.
"She wouldn't kill us." Jacob said, in a shaky voice.
"For Pete's sake. Can I be excused General?"
Hammond eyed Jack carefully, "Yes you can go but I want to speak to you later."
"Sure. Fine. Whatever."
Hera rose from her luxurious bed early. She hadn't been able to sleep or eat in the past couple of days. She had destroyed three civilizations in two days and she didn't really feel anything. Even when the inhabitants were pleading for their lives, she couldn't work up any enthusiasm and received little enjoyment. This troubled her. In the past, the mere sight of blood would satisfy her for days but now, nothing. At first she thought it was an illness that her host's body had hidden from her but after a thorough check, found the body to be in prime condition. Even the host had stopped struggling.
There was just this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. The feeling stopped her from enjoying the mayhem and making her question whether it was actually necessary.
Then it hit her. Was she feeling guilt? Were filthy Tau'ri emotions affecting her?
Now she was scared. How could this be?
Hera stormed out of her quarters, bellowing for her Jaffa. One appeared almost immediately, despite the early hour.
"What is it you require, my queen?"
"I want a new host."
"A new host? You only received that one a few weeks ago."
"I know. It displeases me now."
"May I ask why?"
"I
am your goddess! You question nothing I do!"
Instantly, the Jaffa knelt at her feet trembling.
How dare this mere Jaffa question her word? It was the host. She was causing these feelings and making the Jaffa query her.
The only way that Hera knew to subdue a host was to commit acts that the host could not comprehend. Settled on a plan, Hera now called for Nil'ac.
When he came, she made her plans clear.
"Lock this Jaffa away. Torture and then kill him to make him learn some respect."
"Of course, my queen."
"And Nil'ac?"
"Yes, my queen?"
"Prepare the troops. We invade the Tau'ri tomorrow.
Authors Note
Do you hate me for leaving it on that cliffhanger? I am sorry but the next chapter is the last one of the story and hopefully it will clear things up. Or will it?
