Destiny's Child
Chapter Twelve
Royal Palace
Anubis Homeworld
Anubis sat quiet and alone in his inner sanctum. His thoughts completely dominated by his continuing problems with the Federation warship that was still sitting in orbit of Tollana - completely undamaged despite the best efforts of his forces. It still seemed impossible to him that one alien warship could cause him so many problems - but it was causing him numerous problems, threatening to derail all of his carefully laid plans. Though he supposed he should be grateful that it was but one warship not an entire fleet of them. A fleet of those seemingly invincible warships would make the situation even more untenable than it already was.
The Resolution was a very impressive ship he would admit that. Her technology was powerful and more advanced than his own, yet it also seemed to be different to the Ancient technology of which he had a great deal of knowledge. The treasure throve of technological wonders aboard that warship would take decades or even centuries to fully exploit. Unfortunately that very technology made the Federation ship a very grave threat to him, especially to his motherships.
A few hours ago the Alkesh he had dispatched under the command of Osiris to follow the progress of Tanneth's battle with the Federation ship had returned, with dire, unbelievable news. Tanneth's entire battle group five enhanced Shalkra-class motherships from his own fleet had been completely destroyed, three motherships - including the flagship - by the Resolution, two by a previously unseen class of Asgard battlecruiser that had been sitting in orbit of Tollana at the time. Nearly eight thousand Jaffa had been lost with those ships - for any Goa'uld that was a major defeat. And then their was the matter of a now host-less Osiris.
According to the two Jaffa the Resolution had detected them monitoring her - but instead of blasting them out of existence had shut down all of their Alkesh's power with some kind of energy pulse and transported them aboard. They'd been returned to their Alkesh a couple of hours later - to find Osiris had been removed from the very attractive female host he'd been inhabiting, and that all their sensor logs of the battle and its aftermath had been erased. Captain Parker had allowed them to leave at that point - humiliated on a ship that was completely defenceless, not that the Alkesh would have been a threat even with fully operational weapons.
Finding a new host for Osiris would not be that difficult - Osiris had expressed much interest in one of his lotars. He'd let that particular lotar have the great honour of being the new host for Osiris. But there was still a certain matter of discipline - for the two Jaffa - to consider. They'd done nothing to stop Osiris being removed from the host body and for that he would have to punish them. How he wasn't quiet sure yet.
And then there was the problem of the Resolution herself to consider. He still had the sensor records from Tanneth's first encounter with her and he'd been examining them in even more detail and discovered even more about the ship though scanning the interior of the ship was nearly impossible through the shields and armour. He was surprised by a report from the two Jaffa observers that the armour on the Resolution's hull was actually retractable, disappearing into the ship when inactive. Which made the technology even more impressive and intimidating because it showed that the Federation knew a lot about how to manipulate both matter and energy.
One of the things about the Resolution that really impressed him - while simultaneously intimidating and frightening him - was the advanced nature of her armaments. The energy weapons were similar to his own but were much more developed and much more powerful, wherever this Federation was they obviously knew how to phase energy. It made them very dangerous indeed, especially if the had portable phased energy weapons. While his partially ascended form wasn't vulnerable to the energy weapons of most species phased energy weapons were a different story. A direct hit from one, if it were powerful enough, would shatter his energy matrix effectively killing him.
And then there were the torpedo weapons the Resolution fired - of which their now appeared to be at least two separate types. The sensor logs from the first engagement showed that the first kind was a controlled antimatter explosive of some kind. On impact small quantities of matter and antimatter collided resulting in a massive blast of super-energised photons and gamma radiation that could inflict punishing damage even through shields. The second type of torpedo was completely unknown - the only thing Anubis had to go on was the Jaffa's report. They'd reported that this kind of torpedo appeared as a blue-white orb that detonated with massive force, unleashing a blast of energy that penetrated his best shields as if they didn't exist and vaporised the mothership. He had his suspicions about what that weapon could be, he suspected that the Federation had an understanding of a technology that previously only the Ancients had known anything about. He suspected that those torpedoes were based off a manipulation of zero point energy.
Anubis couldn't help but wonder where the Federation could have got the knowledge that had to be behind their technology. It was conceivable that they had gained access to some Ancient technology, though it didn't explain why there technology was so different, they were a mystery, a dangerous mystery. As he thought about it an even more unsettling thought occurred to Anubis, could the Federation Humans be descended from the Ancients or could they be some lost tribe of the Ancients returning to there home galaxy.
Anubis shuddered at that thought, if a lost non-ascended tribe of Ancients were coming back in the form of the Federation then the reign of Goa'uld would end and end quickly. Not even he would be able to stand against them, there was no known race that could stop the Ancients. Their power was just too great. I need to find out, he thought, I need to know if these Federation Humans are related to the Ancients. If they are then there not Human as we here in this galaxy understand the term but much more. But how to find answers, sending ships to attack the Resolution is pointless, they'll just be blasted from space in short order.
Anubis sighed to himself. He would find out the truth somehow, he would know if he was right or if he was wrong about the Federation. Until he knew the truth about them he couldn't risk crossing swords with Captain Parker again. As distasteful as it was he was going to have to leave the Resolution alone for now. But he was patient, he could wait to get his answers before defeating her and taking the contents of her databanks for himself.
It would make it all the more pleasurable and satisfying when he finally did take her for himself.
USS Resolution
She stood proud and arrogant on the bridge of a Goa'uld mothership, surrounded by Jaffa and slaves eager to cater for her every whim. Two Jaffa dragged a man before her, a man already badly beaten by her interrogator. Beaten but not broken, still defiant. A man she recognised as Daniel Jackson. She felt her hand, covered in the sleek golden ornamentation of a Goa'uld hand device, be raised and trained on him. She felt the demon in command of her body activate the hand device, invisibly trapped within herself she cried out in sympathy and horror as Daniel writhed and screamed as the hand device killed him slowly and painfully.
Suddenly a bright flash and once again standing on the bridge of that same mothership with a planet visible through the view port and several more motherships visible taking up bombardment positions in orbit. Her hand stabbing down on a control that unleashed the combined might of the fleet of motherships down upon the defenceless planet. The bombardment of phase cannon fire and plasma torpedoes blowing great holes in the crust of the planet letting huge geysers of molten rock to risk up into the air, vaporising the settlements. Seeing her face reflected off the polished surface of the console grinning and eyes glowing with evil pleasure as in front of her the planet burned.
Sarah awoke with a scream. Sitting up in the luxurious bed she tried desperately to calm her rampant heartbeat. Carefully she eased out of bed and started across the room to the bathroom. Activating the sink and filling it with water. She reached down to scoop up some of the water to splash it upon her face. Only to recoil in horror as a mature Goa'uld symbiote looked at her calmly from beneath the surface of the pool of water then with a muscular flick of its body leaping out of the water and striking her neck and burrowing instantly inside even as she screamed.
A sharp bleep jolted Sarah Gardner awake. Really awake this time. Reflexively she touched the back of her neck. There was no scar old or new Doctor Tarses had completely healed it while she was unconscious earlier. The bleep came again. This time she recognised it as the door chime. Quickly she pulled the bed sheets around herself.
"Come in," she called out. Recognising her voice as the vocal pattern they were programmed to respond to the doors opened with a silent swish to permit her visitor access.
She wasn't surprised to see that it was Daniel, dressed for sleep with only a Starfleet issue dressing gown and a pair of slippers on his feet. Though not for the first time she was surprised by how different he looked now to how he had been when she'd known him before. The Daniel she had known had been tall but very slim and lanky, even though he'd been reasonably fit. Daniel now though was very different, he was still tall but he was now much more athletically built, his body rippling with lean, well-defined muscles. The change was still startling but very appealing. Travelling through the Stargate two or three times a week most weeks obviously agreed with Daniel. What was even more appealing though was despite all he had been through with the Goa'uld Daniel was still the same gentle and caring person that he had always been.
"Are you alright Sarah I heard you screaming," Daniel asked coming fully into the room allowing the doors to close. He could guess what had happened, that Sarah had had a nightmare. A nightmare about what she'd done when she'd been a host, and some of the things that she could have done while still under the control of Osiris. It was only to be expected and as he recalled Skaara had gone through the same thing after being freed of Klorell. He had spent as much time as he could on Abydos in the immediate aftermath of Skaara's liberation helping him recover with the aid of Kasuf the father to Skaara and his late beloved wife Sha're.
"It was a nightmare," Sarah admitted looking down at the bed still shaking slightly from the after effects of the horrible nightmare. Daniel gave a slight knowing smile and moved over to the edge of the bed.
"I was dreaming that…" Sarah started to say.
"That you were still a host," Daniel finished. At her shocked look he smiled. "Skaara went through the same thing when he was liberated from Klorell."
"Does it stop," Sarah asked looking up at her old friend and former lover desperately her eyes shinning with unshed tears.
"Eventually the nightmares will stop," Daniel replied taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. "It will always be with you Sarah. But in time the memories and the pain will fade but they won't ever completely go away."
"But I don't want to remember," Sarah growled looking down and feeling tears come to her eyes again. "I saw myself do so many horrible things that I don't want to remember them. I just want to rip those memories out."
"That would actually do you more harm than good," Daniel replied softly.
"Why? I committed atrocities Daniel. I don't want to remember. I should have fought Osiris harder I could have beaten him." Daniel rolled his eyes.
"No you couldn't. No Human can beat a mature Goa'uld once it starts blending. Only one race of humanoids ever developed that ability and as punishment the System Lords destroyed their world and addicted the survivors to a drug and get them to serve as mercenaries. And Sarah…" Daniel gently reached out a hand and forced her to look at him. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what your body did while you were a host. You couldn't stop Osiris but in the end you beat him. You're free of him now, he can never hurt you again."
Sarah smiled slightly at Daniel's words even as tears started to seep from her eyes again. He was right as usual. Intellectually she knew that but it was her heart that needed convincing.
"I just feel like I…" She couldn't continue beyond that point and once again broke down in tears.
Daniel immediately took notice of this and smiled to himself. He had been expecting it. Gently he reached out and pulled Sarah to him as he had always used to when she'd been upset about something.
Sarah buried her head in Daniels strong shoulder instinctively wrapping her arms around him as he wrapped his own arms around her as her whole body shook with sobs.
They stayed that way for quiet sometime. With Sarah drawing comfort from Daniels strong form as she cried out her emotions. Her pain, anger, grief and humiliation at the way Osiris had used her had abused her body for his own vial evil ends. Eventually she slipped into a deep, troubled sleep.
Gently Daniel tucked her back into bed and pulled the sheets back over her. Then he gently placed a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room to return to his own quarters. As he left he instructed the computer to inform him immediately if Sarah awoke. He didn't think that it was likely but it was always a possibility and he didn't mind if he lost sleep because of it. What was important right now was that he be here for Sarah as she walked along the long hard road to recovery.