10

Chapter 2: The Asgard Have A Problem

-Earth/SGC-

"Off-world activation," the PA announced.

General Hammond left his office and made his way to the Control Room. The wormhole had just splashed to life when he arrived. He watched the iris close.

"Any signals?" General Hammond asked Walter.

"Not yet, Sir," Walter replied.

Then the iris spun open without the proper commands.

"Sir? That wasn't me," Walter replied.

"Security, stand ready," General Hammond ordered the men below. Down in the Gate Room all the security personnel raised their weapons and took what cover was available.

The wormhole suddenly spit out the small form of an Asgard. The Asgard stopped at the top of the ramp and waited.

"Stand down," General Hammond ordered the security personnel. He immediately turned to head down to the Gate Room to greet their visitor, "Welcome to Earth."

"Greetings, I am Councilor Freyr," Freyr greeted General Hammond. Freyr walked to the bottom of the ramp. "You have contacted the Asgard," he stated.

"We have. Please come this way to the briefing room," General Hammond led the way for Councilor Freyr. "Please call SG-1 and Jacob-Selmak to the briefing room," he said as he passed Walter. He directed Freyr to one of the conference room chairs.

Once seated, General Hammond started without the others, "We think we found something that may help the Asgard in their fight against the Replicators," General Hammond began. "Recently, we came across a deactivated android on a barren planet. We brought it back and activated it. It was highly advanced and called itself Reese. But," General Hammond paused as Daniel, Teal'c, and Jacob entered, "but, it was very childlike and it created replicator blocks for what it called 'pets'. We eventually destroyed the replicators it had created and damaged the android."

Daniel started, "I think it might be the origin of the replicators. Reese had a signal that she… it… used to call all the replicators to her… it… when it was trying to leave through the Stargate."

"Interesting," Freyr said. "Studying it may help us to battle the Replicators. Learn their base code. This is a very useful discovery."

"You're welcome," General Hammond said with a smile. "I am having the body of the android brought to the Gate Room for when you are ready to depart."

"Thank you," Freyr said with an emotionless nod. "I also have a request."

"Of course," General Hammond said. "What can we do for you?"

"I would like to request the help of SG-1 to evacuate a research lab," Freyr stated.

"Uh, okay," Daniel said slightly confused. "Wouldn't one of your ships be able to do that much more efficiently?"

"They would. However, we have encountered several problems," Freyr stated. "Adara II is a protected planet currently under attack by Osiris in the name of Anubis. The goa'uld are currently being stopped by the Valhalla under Commander Aegir."

"Then they should be easily outmatched," Teal'c stated.

"They are not," Freyr replied. "While the Valhalla has prevented them from searching the planet, it has failed to breach the shielding of the goa'uld ships. Likewise, the goa'uld weapons have not breached the Asgard shields."

"Stalemate," Jacob stated to the room. At the Asgard's look, he continued, "Both sides have fought the other side to a standstill. Neither side wins or loses. But neither side will leave."

The Asgard nodded, "This is true. It is my calculation that SG-1 can take a cloaked ship to the lab and evacuate it while the Valhalla and the goa'uld do battle above."

"What about the rest of the planet?" Daniel asked, concerned about the natives being sacrificed by the Asgard.

Freyr looked over to Daniel and blinked, "The planet is barren. The hidden lab is the only thing of import on the planet."

"Oh, so if we evacuate it, then the Valhalla can leave and the goa'uld lose," Daniel stated nodding. He looked over to Teal'c, "Can we do it?"

"We can," Teal'c replied. "Master Bra'tac has a tel'tak that we can use for this mission. Will just the two of us be adequate?" he asked Freyr.

"That's a good question," Daniel said as he turned to Freyr. "SG-1 only has two people now; Teal'c and I. Will we be enough to evacuate the lab?"

"Where is O'Neill?" Freyr asked with a blink.

"Colonel O'Neill is not available. He has been blended with a goa'uld," General Hammond said with a sigh. "He and Major Carter have been compromised and cannot return to Earth for the near future."

"Jack chose to blend with this symbiote. Sam is staying with him. For now, they have been removed from SG-1," Jacob stated. "However, I would be willing to help with this mission."

"Are you sure, Jake?" General Hammond asked.

Jacob smiled, "Yes. Consider me the replacement for Jack and Selmak for Sam."

"Alright. If Freyr approves, then Jacob and Selmak are joining SG-1. Councilor Freyr, we will require coordinates for the planet and the lab location," General Hammond stated.

"I approve this change," Freyr stated then handed over a stone with the information they required. "I must now depart. Farewell." Freyr stood up and waited for General Hammond.

"Goodbye and good luck, Councilor Freyr," General Hammond said as he escorted Freyr back down to the Control Room.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG

-O'Neill II Asgard Warship-

Thor had been scanning all of the Protected Planets in the Milky Way after the unwarranted attack on Adara II. The goa'uld were usually more circumspect in their violations of the Treaty with the Asgard. Midgard had notified the Asgard of the violation of the Treaty when Anubis sent the asteroid to destroy the planet. However, they noted that because of the type of violation, the Asgard would likely be unable to do anything.

They had also noted that Osiris had been bragging about how Anubis would destroy Midgard at the System Lord Summit. With that warning, they were able to prevent the destruction of their planet.

Thor was constantly amazed at how inventive the humans were. The humans, for as primitive as they were, consistently saved themselves and did their best to assist their Asgard Allies. He was constantly surprised by Major Carter's inventiveness.

"Supreme Commander Thor," the screen with High Councilor Freyr appeared.

"High Councilor Freyr," Thor greeted.

"I have just returned from Midgard. The goa'uld have not attacked again. The humans have located an android that makes replicators. I have sent it to be studied," Freyr reported briefly.

Thor was glad of the update. Midgard was one of the Protected Planets that Thor was certain would easily contact the Asgard if there was an issue with the goa'uld. They had done so in the past. The update on the android that may assist with the Replicator War was even better.

"I shall update them on my scan of Protected Planets in this galaxy," Thor replied. "I have complete 32 of the planets. I have another 12 planets to check before I return to Othalla."

"The High Council has another task for you in that galaxy before you return," Freyr stated.

"Does Commander Aegir require assistance with the goa'uld at Adara II?" Thor asked.

"That is not the task. O'Neill has been taken over by a goa'uld. The humans say that he did so voluntarily. However, O'Neill and Major Carter are not allowed back on Midgard. The High Council is very troubled by this news," Freyr reported.

"I can see why. O'Neill has the Ancient Life Code. He has also received the Ancient Repository of Knowledge. A goa'uld should not be able to access ancient technology or the knowledge," Thor said deeply troubled.

"That is why the High Council would like you to retrieve O'Neill and assess the treat of this goa'uld. Major Carter should be with O'Neill," Freyr said.

"I will finish my scan of the Protected Planets and find O'Neill," Thor stated to Freyr before shutting down the communication line.

The planet below was still free of goa'uld. Thor navigated his ship to the next planet and mapped out a path. He also activated his tracker for O'Neill. The Asgard tracker had been incorporated into O'Neill's Life Code. His own body created the energy that created the signal. As long as O'Neill was in real space and not hyperspace, Thor would get a signal.

One by one the remaining planets were screened and cleared of goa'uld. Thor was still trying to determine the cause for Anubis' sudden interest in Adara II. The planet was bare. It had no human population. The only thing on the planet was the research lab run by Heimdall. There was not even a Stargate on the planet. It made no sense to the Asgard. Why would the goa'uld suddenly want this planet?

With the remaining Protected Planets clear, Thor followed the tracker on O'Neill to a human planet. The tracker was in orbit on a cloaked Al'kesh. Thor beamed him onto the deck of the Warship, the O'Neill II. A force field popped into place around him after he appeared.

"Thor!" Jack greeted him. "Nice of you to drop by. I was totally not expecting you."

"You have been infested by a goa'uld, O'Neill," Thor replied.

"Woah! Hold on," Jack said raising his arms in a defensive gesture. "Don't do anything. I WANTED to blend with Shade. I VOLUNTEERED to blend."

Thor regarded his human friend. He had been told this. But the risk was great, Thor started to move his hand to the stone to remove the symbiote.

"Stop!" Jack told him.

Thor hesitated. He set his hand back down. "I must remove the infection."

"If you do that, I will die," Jack said with a look. "Shade and I will both die. We don't want to die. Talk to Carter. She has been with us the whole time. Shade is not like other goa'uld."

Thor considered his next actions. He didn't want to kill his friend. He had grown fond of O'Neill. "I will retrieve Major Carter," Thor stated. He move another stone and Sam appeared outside of the force field with Jack and Shade.

Sam blinked, "Jack, Thor, what's going on?"

"O'Neill is infected with a goa'uld," Thor stated to Sam.

"I think 'infected' is a little harsh," Sam snapped at Thor. "He is BLENDED with Shade."

"I will remove it," Thor stated.

"NO!" Sam screamed at him. "If you do that, they will both die!"

Thor blinked at her, "Explain."

"Fine!" Sam snapped at Thor and started pacing back and forth in front of the force field. "I voluntarily blended with Shade on one of our missions. I knew I couldn't go back to Earth. Jack refused to leave me. We went to a Safe House. I explained my reasons to Jack. Jack offered to blend instead of me. Shade accepted. Then shit when wrong," Sam said with a glare at Thor.

"Jack and Shade passed out. They blended too deep. Now they can't un-blend. It will kill them if they do," Sam said with passion. "And it isn't like we asked for your help. We were doing just FINE without the Asgard mucking up our lives."

"I was directed by the Asgard High Council to find O'Neill," Thor told Sam.

"Why?" Jack asked. "I have been fighting all across this galaxy. Why would they care NOW?"

"Yeah. We were doing just fine without Earth or the Asgard," Sam replied.

"Because the goa'uld cannot be allowed to access Ancient Technology," Thor stated.

"REALLY!" Jack snarked. "Because that will give the goa'uld TOO MUCH of an advantage." He was pacing small circles inside the force field. "And that reminds me… Why didn't you tell me that the data nugget was still in my brain?"

Thor blinked, "To what do you refer?"

"The alien data nugget. The crap that almost killed me. IT WAS STILL IN MY BRAIN," Jack spouted.

"The Ancient Repository of Knowledge," Sam supplied with a frown.

"It was no longer accessible," Thor stated.

"Not so much," Jack stated. "Good thing Shade is a good snake."

Thor turned his head, "I don't understand."

"Shade poked the data nugget. It overwrote her genetic memories… well, up until her mother, anyway," Jack said.

"You are saying that the goa'uld has access to the Ancient Repository of Knowledge?" Thor asked.

"Yes, I am. And I am pissed at you for not telling me about it still being there," Jack said.

"How long has the goa'uld had access to this knowledge?" Thor asked slightly alarmed.

"Weeks," Sam replied. "AND THE NAME IS SHADE!"

"Not to be a pest, but Shade has been hiding from the entirety of the System Lords for THOUSANDS of years. Shade is NOT like the other goa'uld. In fact, hates the other goa'uld," Jack said with emphasis. "Sam and I were just getting stuff together to help take down Anubis."

Thor nodded making the decision to trust the judgement of his friends. He removed the force field around O'Neill. "Then I could use your assistance."

"Just to clarify, you are not going to try and remove Shade?" Jack asked.

"I am not," Thor stated.

"Good. If you will be so kind as to put our ship in your hold, we can tag along," Jack said.

"Jack?" Sam asked him with a look. Jack recognized that look. It was a Sara look.

"I'm sorry. Sam, should we help Thor? He seems to have a problem," Jack asked sweetly.

Sam grinned, "Why, thank you for asking. Yes, I would like to help Thor. What seems to be the problem, Thor?"

Thor watched the exchange between the two humans with confusion. He blinked the strangeness away. "Anubis has sent Osiris with ships to Adara II. Adara II is a protected planet. It has no human population or Stargate. Only an Asgard research lab. The Valhalla has prevented the goa'uld from looking for the lab, but been unable to destroy them. Likewise, the goa'uld have been able to destroy the Asgard ship."

"So, you need us to blow up some goa'uld ships?" Jack asked with a look at Sam. Sam got a huge grin. Thor knew that the human female had a strong desire to destroy things.

"Yes," Thor replied. "However, the goa'uld shielding has defeated our weapons."

"What about your beams?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Can you beam explosives or other things into their engine rooms?" Sam asked with a thoughtful face. She was already calculating what she needed.

"We would have to time it," Jack said talking to Sam. He was thinking the same thing.

A gas that is explosive when mixed with oxygen would do the most damage with the least amount of volume, Shade supplied.

"What about any Tok'ra that may be on board?" Sam said. Thinking about her father and his friends.

"And Osiris? Daniel wanted to save the host," Jack said.

"Jaffa?" Sam asked.

"No. They work for Anubis. They can go down with the ship," Jack said.

Thor watched the back and forth as the two humans walked over to another console and O'Neill began to move stones. Sam went with him to see what he was making. Jack looked over at Thor, "How many ships?"

"Three," Thor replied as he moved their Al'kesh into the cargo bay and moved the O'Neill II to hyperspace for Adara II.

Three force fields with a gassy material appeared on the deck next to the fabricator. Sam went over to examine them then returned to the console. Jack continued to work on the console and other items began to fabricate. He moved each to a nearby table.

Um… Thor?" Jack asked after thirty minutes of travel.

"Yes, O'Neill," Thor replied from his own console.

"This lab we are going to, is it really set up for cloning research?" Jack asked.

"It is," Thor replied. "As you know, the Asgard use clones. Our war with the Replicators has caused our cloning templates to become corrupted. Adara II was where the Asgard were attempting to rectify the problem. We had placed it in this galaxy to prevent the replicators from corrupting the research as they had our clone templates."

"And nothing else exists on this planet?" Jack asked.

"It does not," Thor stated.

"Do you think the goa'uld know about the importance of this lab?" Sam asked suddenly. She was thinking hard about the logistics.

"I do not know why the goa'uld have targeted Adara II," Thor said.

"I don't think why is important. The fact that they know about 'A' lab on Adara II is bad enough. They want to have Asgard technology in goa'uld hands…" Jack stated.

Thor became thoughtful. "Indeed," Thor said. "Why the goa'uld would choose this planet is unknown. However, your explanation is the most likely."

"Anubis is a smart cookie," Jack said. "All of the Protected Planets have human populations and Stargates, except this one. Made him curious."

"Like his use of an asteroid to destroy your planet," Thor stated.

"Exactly," Jack said. "What are the Asgard going to do about this violation of the treaty now?"

"As you know, the Protected Planets Treaty is how we have prevented the goa'uld from attacking many human populations while we deal with the Replicators. It is unknown how we will respond to this blatant attack on a Protected Planet," Thor said sadly.

Jack was quietly working on his console. Several more items were fabricated. Finally, Jack looked up at Thor. "When arrive, stay cloaked. Scan the goa'uld ships. We need to know precise locations of their engine cores and every blended goa'uld present."

"Very well," Thor said. "We will be arriving in two minutes."

"Sam, when the cores are identified, beam the gas, but not the field to the engine core itself. Thor, beam the blended, goa'uld here like you did me. Force field each, separately," Jack commanded.

The ship dropped out of hyperdrive and cloaked. They moved closer in the Adara System to Adara II. The closer they got the easier it was to see the three ha'tak vessels and the Asgard ship as they skipped around the planet.

"I have found and locked on each of the blended goa'uld on the ships," Thor stated.

"Engine cores locked," Sam stated.

"Beam away!" Jack ordered. Sam and Thor executed the maneuver at the same time. The gas disappeared in the force field bubbles while the three goa'uld appeared on the ship and were immediately surrounded by force fields.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Osiris demanded from behind her force field.

Thor, Jack, and Sam ignored her and watched the space battle. The Ha'taks seemed to founder in space as their goa'uld leaders disappeared.

"Nothing appears to be happening, O'Neill," Thor stated.

"Wait for it," Jack said with a grin. Right then the three ha'tak exploded sending debris in all directions. "See, good things come to those who wait."

"Cliché, Jack," Sam said with a huge grin. "Don't worry about it, Thor," Sam replied. "The gas just needed a little time to mix with the oxygen in the air in the engine room. Then… Boom."

"Most impressive," Thor said. Then he turned to the three goa'uld, "What do you want to do with these?" Thor asked.

Jack and Sam came forward to the three goa'uld.

"That one is Osiris. Take the goa'uld out and free the host. That one is Zippy. Same. But who are you?" Jack asked the third blended goa'uld.

Osiris and Zipacna disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the last goa'uld. The man stood nervously and looked between the two humans.

"I don't recognize the host," Sam said. "But it has been years since Jolinar and she never really saw all of the Tok'ra."

"You got a name?" Jack asked the goa'uld.

"Damir," the goa'uld said.

"Well, that's not very goa'uld-ish," Jack said. "And your host?"

The man's eyes darted around and finally he dropped his head, "I am called Tarquin."

"Newly joined ol' Anubis, are you?" Jack asked with a smirk.

"Jack," Sam chided. "Thor, I would sample the goa'uld's DNA. You should be able to identify which are Tok'ra and which are goa'uld."

"Hey…" Jack said with a whine.

Sam gave him a smirk, "I'm sure Selmak can provide you a comparison sample of Tok'ra DNA, since they all have the same queen. In the meantime, Damir and Tarquin, I ask that you remain in a force field until Thor can check your credentials."

"They haven't said they are Tok'ra," Jack pointed out.

"I know. But he let his host speak, maybe. Goa'uld just don't do that," Sam said.

"I have notified the Valhalla that we are present. The lab has already been evacuated. Commander Aegir is removing the remaining Asgard technology," Thor stated.

"Now what?" Sam asked.

"Earth?" Jack asked with a look at Sam.

"Sure," Sam replied.

Thor directed them back into hyperspace towards Midgard. "We are now heading to your planet."

"Just don't beam us down. Beam Jacob Carter and Selmak up here. We want to talk to him anyway," Jack said.

"Yeah. It would be good to see dad again," Sam said with a smile.

"Thor, is there some place secure you can send him?" Jack said gesturing to the maybe-Tok-ra.

Thor nodded and beamed the man to a locked room. He placed a force field around the room as well. "He is now secure. I have placed the hosts of the previous two goa'uld in rooms designed for humans to rest. I do not think the male will survive long. His body is aging rapidly," Thor stated.

Sam sighed, "That happens when a goa'uld has had the same host for a long time. At least he gets to die without the goa'uld in him."

"Yeah, and now Sara Gardner is free too. Daniel should be happy," Jack said.

"Oh, Thor, sample Shade's DNA too," Sam said suddenly. "We want to make sure that it is in your database of good non-goa'uld."

"Good call, Sam. I didn't want to mention Shade in front of our funny friend," Jack said.

"I didn't either," Sam said.

SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG-SG