Hello everybody! I apologize in advance for the overall boringness of this chapter, fighting has to wait for the next chapter.
Benuham: Thank you! Well, here's more!
Trife: Thank you for your praise! Don't worry there won't be sharing of technology with humans at all; even if I wanted to, it would be impossible due to the fact all weapons only work on eldar hands (would have been good to know before, but oh well). Yes, they will continue to work from the shadows mostly, making their presence felt in a flashy and lethal manner. Heh heh just like in the next chapter.
Lunatic Pandora1: Yes, farseers are cool, and Avatars, too, although if one was the main character, then the story would be nothing but "kill, crush, burn them all!" style with Avatar beating the crap out of the everything it sees. Eldar-hates-human thing, huh? As far as I've written, only Farseer Aldreth actually hates them - the others of course still dislike and won't trust them. But yes, it seems to be more like superiority over the mon-keigh (can anyone confirm how that is pronounced? I'm not 100% sure). I'll try to include the paths, but it won't be easy, considering there is an unknown number of Paths.
starspawn07: Yes, eldar might have been an excellent choice for a playable race in DoW2. When the game was yet to come out, I had thought you could play as all the races like in DC or SS. Yeah, they would have probably been a better choice for a game like DoW2, but you can't argue with the game makers, can you?
VexMaster: Ah, but who said anything about a daemon? Well, except you, of course. Ulkair was an experiment of Sokar, who himself was just... something, I don't know, let's just say he was the devil, OK? And the mysterious voice who spoke to Jack will be revealed later on. I won't include real daemons from WH40K in this, but some might appear like Ulkair did.
Dusel: Thank you. Nurgle won't be in the story: Chaos is replaced with others, but we haven't seen the last of Nurgle's plagues or the daemon-things of Chaos, not by a long shot...
Left hand turn signal: Yeah, that is something that might turn out funny. Although explaining the Imperium to the Tau'ri won't take place until much further along the way, considering the eldar have to learn to speak English first, and the two sides have to actually meet. And even then it would take quite a while. I don't think the eldar even have to explain about the Emperor and the Great Crusade, though.
About the thing about psykers: No member of the SG teams will be psykers, but I will, however, include a Blank.
As always, enjoy!
Explanations And Offers
Autarch Fetalque Swiftblade sat in the Sword of Vaul's briefing room listening to Farseer Aldreth and Spiritseer Girneys tell him about the events that had occurred on the planet. They were sitting at the other side of the large, round table that dominated the room.
"So, you say there was no daemon after all?" he asked Aldreth, surprised by the revelation. Aldreth had told she had sensed a daemonic presence within the fortress, but now she said it was not what she had first suspected.
"Yes, that is what I said," replied Aldreth. Fetalque was sure she was frowning behind her helmet."But that is not all I said. There is indeed something daemonic and malevolent there. It is simply not the thing we defeated, but something hidden, something sealed away."
"That is troubling. Do you know where exactly? Is it inside the fortress?"
Aldreth was quiet, her mind searching for an answer in the Warp. "I am not certain, but I believe it is. Perhaps underneath it." She rose to her feet. "I apologize. I need to meditate in peace."
"I understand."
Aldreth nodded and walked to the door. As the door opened, she paused and slowly turned around, staring absently at the ceiling, her mind elsewhere entirely. "A Webway gate? Here? That can't be right..."
Fetalque raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Aldreth?"
"No. A fleeting sensation, nothing more. I will be in my chamber, if you need me." She then left, and the door closed behind her.
Girneys tilted his head to the side. "Hmmm, I, too, sense something. It is faint, and I cannot pinpoint it with any more certainty than the farseer. But there is something out there, and I do not refer to the daemon."
Fetalque nodded. If it really was a Webway gate, then perhaps they were not as lost as they had thought themselves to be. "Girneys, tell the rest of the seers on board to focus on searching for the Webway gate in the surrounding void. If it really is here, we might have a chance of finding our way back home."
"As you wish, Autarch."
A crew member came charging in out of the blue. He was dressed in a plain blue robe which was decorated with numerous sashes and small rune-shaped gems.
"Honored Autarch, we have a situation in the crew quarters!" he all but yelled, coming to a halt next to the table, panting. "Aft side, near the Aspect Warrior sparring room."
Fetalque shot up from his seat and stormed out of the room.
He knew that a situation in the crew quarters could mean only two things: either an enemy boarding party had managed to get aboard unnoticed - which was impossible because the Sword of Vaul was hidden behind the sixth planet of the solar system and if any ship came close the ship's powerful sensors would notice it long before it could even launch a boarding party - or there was a conflict among the eldar themselves.
Fetalque hoped that neither was the case.
In the briefing room of the SGC, the mood was dark.
SG-1 had returned an hour ago with a man in jaffa armor in tow. After taking Jack to the infirmary to be taken care of, they immediately headed to the briefing room for debriefing, opting to leave the medical check-up for later. There they recalled their experiences on the hellish prison moon, Ne'tu, and on Delmak itself, the appearance of the great monster Ulkair and the battle against Sokar. General Hammond was glad they had stayed alive, but the fact that Jack had decided to fight against Apophis himself troubled him.
"About this new ship," Hammond began, after the long explanation was over. "What can you tell about it?"
"I can answer that, General Hammond," said the jaffa who sat across from him, next to Teal'c.
"Who are you exactly, again? I didn't catch your name."
"I am Ro'nak, the new ruler of Delmak and the supreme commander of Delmak's fleet." Ro'nak bowed his head as a sign of respect. "I was on board the Ha'tak closest to the ship when it appeared. A massive energy burst shut down nearly every system in the ship, and from what I hear it did the same to the rest of the fleet on Delmak and its orbit."
"How did it appear? You said it unleashed a massive burst of energy, but how is that possible?"
"I do not know how it appeared in the first place or why, but it was damaged and motionless for some time after its appearance. It was through luck alone we were able to get our ship working and head for Delmak before the ship blasted apart more Ha'taks than it did."
"How many did it destroy?" asked Hammond, suddenly afraid of the new ship in case it was hostile.
"Three Ha'taks and innumerable Death Gliders were lost to the rage of its massive frontal cannons. Their shots were powerful enough to destroy fully shielded motherships." Ro'nak took a deep breath and closed his eyes, recalling his experience.
"And the four that saved us?" asked Daniel, from his seat next to Hammond. "What can you tell about them?"
"Nothing more than that they were not alone there..." Ro'nak grimaced, most likely remembering the sea of zombie corpses that littered the front of the fortress' gates. "The corpses were a clear sign of it, and so was the crater in the courtyard."
"So, Ro'nak, how do you know the people and jaffa won't rebel against you when you rise to power?" asked Sam from next to Daniel. "Won't they think you are just another goa'uld who wants to enslave them?"
Much to everyone's surprise, Ro'nak laughed. "Anyone who is not Sokar would be an acceptable ruler. But let me tell you a small secret." He grinned, looking at everyone in the room in turn. "I am not a jaffa; I am a human. I was taken in by a jaffa when I was banished from my home years ago."
"Why were you banished?" asked Daniel, shocked by the revelation. "And didn't anyone notice the difference? Surely someone would have noticed you were not one of them."
"No one did notice. I guess I blended in well." He lowered his head a bit, recalling something from his past. "I was banished years ago because of my... abilities. You see, in my home village the goa'uld are seen as evil sorcerers because their technology is so advanced and amazing compared to ours. When people found out I was able to see visions and warnings from the future, they thought I was possessed by a goa'uld and acted accordingly."
"Did you say visions from the future?" asked Sam skeptically. "How is that even possible?"
"I do not know, but I consider that a great gift which has saved my life countless times already. They have prevented me from going into ambushes, warned me of attacks that would have surely killed me, and most importantly they prevented me from attacking the mysterious alien ship today like the other part of fleet did."
"What kind of visions are we talking about here, Ro'nak?" asked Hammond, skeptical about the fact himself but he felt Ro'nak told the truth.
"Mostly they are absurd and unclear - cryptic at best. In the vision that most likely saved thousands of lives, I saw my own dead body laying in front of me. Suddenly, it grabbed my hand and told me to find a 'guiding beacon'. First I believed it was the alien ship, but I am not completely sure anymore."
Hammond nodded; the explanation was enough for him, even if he didn't fully believe in visions from the future.
"General Hammond, I should get going now," said Ro'nak politely as he stood up from his seat. "It is only a matter of time before a goa'uld System Lord hears about Sokar's death and tries to take advantage of the situation. And since the alien vessel has disappeared and our fleet is in disarray, we have no real way to protect ourselves."
Hammond nodded in understanding and he stood up himself. "As you wish. I hope this is the beginning of an alliance between our people."
Ro'nak smiled wildly. "Don't worry about it, General. As long as I am alive, my people will always fight beside yours." He bowed and walked to the staircase on the side of the room, stopping at the top to turn back to the other occupants of the room. "I saw you use a device before going through the Stargate, what was that?" he asked.
"It's called the Garage Door Opener," answered Daniel. "It sends a signal through the gate here and after confirmation the iris that protects the gate is opened." He stood up from his seat. "We can give you one. You can't come though without it."
"Thank you, Doctor Jackson." With that said Ro'nak descended the staircase to the control room to wait for the Stargate to open. Teal'c went after him to keep him company, knowing that they both shared the same goal: to free their people from the goa'uld. It was hard to imagine them not getting along well; Ro'nak even made Teal'c smile more in one hour than he usually did in an entire day.
"Excuse me. General Hammond, I have news," said Doctor Janet Fraiser as she came in through the door on the back. She seemed relieved.
"What is it, Doctor?" asked Hammond, hoping the news was good.
"Well, firstly: Colonel O'Neill is out of the surgery and is stable," explained Janet as she walked closer to the table. "His left eye is gone, however, and we had to remove it. He'll have to wear an eye patch for the rest of his life, I'm afraid. He was lucky the sword didn't cut deeper or he would have surely died from blood loss before he was even brought here."
Hammond felt relief wash over him in an instant, removing the anxiety he had felt since O'Neill was taken to the infirmary an hour or two ago. He could tell that the others were also relieved from the way their faces lit up, but he felt their worry when Janet explained how Jack would remain one-eyed for the rest of his life.
"Secondly: I wish to go to the planetside," she continued unexpectedly. "I want to make sure Jacob and Martouf are alright. I heard you were tortured to some extent." The last statement was not a question but it held a questioning tone in it.
"We were, but not badly. Just some mind games to make us break," replied Sam. "Apophis used some kind of hallucinogen to make us see things and reveal information. None of us broke, though."
"Why do you want to go to the planet so eagerly, Doctor Fraiser?" asked Hammond. "Even if the people have rejected the goa'uld, it doesn't mean there won't be possible rebellions against the new ruler."
"I'll take that risk if necessary, General," said Janet sternly, leaving little room to argue.
Hammond sighed in defeat. He had no time or will to argue with the doctor. "As you wish; you have my permission to go. You can wait with Teal'c and Ro'nak downstairs."
Janet nodded and turned on her heels. "I'll go change my clothes first," she said, referring to her white coat, skirt and heels. Hammond briefly wondered if she had any clothes for this kind of situation because she didn't go to other planets often. He'd have to trust her on this.
Janet walked out of the room closing the door after her.
Hammond turned to the other occupants of the room. "You are dismissed," he said as they stood up from their seats. "Return here in three hours and we'll discuss our next course of action."
"Yes, sir," they spoke in unison as they hurriedly left the room for the infirmary. They were eager to see the colonel recover, and he could understand that: they were teammates and friends after all. What kind of a friend wouldn't? The colonel's recovery would be very important for them.
Hammond went to his office to ponder what to do next. He closed the door and sat down on his chair.
He had to make a call.
When Jack O'Neill came to, he found himself in the infirmary of the SGC.
He moved his eye from side to side lazily feeling numbness on the right side of his face. He heard faint beeping from the side and knew it was a monitor for his vitals. He tried to sit up, but his body felt numb like he was drugged. Maybe it was some medicine he was given when he arrived here.
His eye widened in surprise as blurry memories returned to him. He remembered the near-fatal sword strike of Apophis that cut into his face; he barely remembered how he was carried on Teal'c's shoulders through the Stargate before he lost consciousness again; he even remembered the voice that resonated in his head, promising him power for his revenge.
Wait a moment! His eye, as in singular and not in plural?
Jack immediately lifted his hands to his left eye and was shocked to find bandages there - the whole left side of his face was bandaged. He sat up and dangled his legs over the side of the bed, still holding his face.
He stumbled up from the bed, feeling dizzy and having a headache that compared to the biggest hangover in his life.
"Feels like I was stomped on by an elephant," muttered Jack to himself as he reached for a wall to lean on to. He cursed as a wave of nausea washed over him. He stumbled backwards and ended up sitting on the bed he tried to get off from.
He checked himself. He was still dressed in his mission clothes: black T-shirt, baggy green trousers, army boots and a green vest which was a bit worn and torn from the last mission.
He groaned as he stood up holding his head; the headache wasn't going anywhere unfortunately. He walked to sink to wash his face.
Standing in front of the mirror, Jack examined the bloody bandages on his face as he let the water flow from the tap. He splashed water on his face and leaned over the sink so water would drip back to the sink and not to the floor; Janet would probably get mad if he messed the place up.
After wiping his face with a towel and putting it back to its place on the side of the sink, he diverted his attention to the bandages that hid the left side of his face. Slowly, he began to open them, ripping them off and dropping them to the side of the sink. The sight of his face made him gasp in shock: where his left eye should have been there was a bloody and empty eye socket and a long, vertical scar which went from his forehead to his cheek, dividing the eye socket.
"What happened to my eye?" he murmured. His hands tightened into fists as he grimaced. "What happened to... my eye!?" he shouted in confusion. He wasn't thinking clearly anymore: the lack of his eye was simply too shocking for him. He felt like screaming out loud for the whole base to hear.
"Jack, are you okay?" asked Daniel as he came rushing into the room. "We heard you yell and..." He stopped talking when Jack turned to face him with his empty eye socket. "Jack, your eye..."
"I know," growled Jack, staring back at Daniel.
"Oh my god," gasped Sam as she entered the infirmary. She stared at Jack - or, more likely, the empty eye socket which was still bleeding.
"Yes, I have no eye," said Jack, a little annoyed. "Is that so horrible?"
"Well, Janet did say she had to remove it and-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there! Janet removed my eye? Why would she do that?"
"She said Apophis's sword cut it in half," answered Daniel. "It had to removed. Oh my god, why did take off the bandages? You're bleeding!"
"Hmph, I know," said Jack before opening the tap again to wash his face of the blood that slowly flowed down his face. He washed his face and wiped it with the towel he used before. Maybe taking off the bandages was not so good an idea after all. Fortunately, the blood wasn't coming out anymore. "Where is she anyway?" he asked, referring to Janet who he thought would be there after he woke up.
"Off to change her clothes," said Sam. "She's going to the planet to make sure dad and Martouf are okay. General Hammond gave her permission."
"Ah, okay, I can understand that." Jack walked back to his bed and sat down. The headache was getting worse the longer he was standing up. "You can go now. I need to get some rest." He laid down without looking at them.
"Okay," said Daniel and walked out of the infirmary, dragging Sam in tow despite her protests. "You heard him, Sam. He wants to be alone."
The door closed after them, leaving Jack alone in the infirmary once again. He sighed, closing his eye for a moment. Maybe he shouldn't have taken off the bandages at all; even if his face was numb, the empty eye socket was still bleeding, although not as badly as a moment ago. He opened the eye again letting it stare dully at the ceiling.
This was not a good day for Jack.
"What is the meaning of this!" roared Autarch Fetalque as he witnessed the sight before him.
He had just arrived in the crew quarters of the Sword of Vaul, and already he felt his iron discipline - forged through centuries of walking the Path of Command and the Path of Warrior before it - failing him. It was not the crew quarters themselves that made him lose his patience. Oh, no, no, no, the white walls of the long corridor or the numerous doors on each side of the corridor that led to crewmen's quarters, each decorated with a beautifully crafted, glowing rune, were not the reason of his anger.
It was fact that a warlock - wearing a red robe, white helmet and rune armor; the colors of the craftworld of Saim-Hann - and a ranger of Alaitoc were wrestling in the middle of the corridor. They were at each others throats, ignoring Fetalque's presence like he didn't exist. This kind of behavior was expected from orks or even humans, but from eldar? Unacceptable!
Fetalque felt his anger rise, but kept himself from tearing them off each other. The many Paths he had walked and mastered did not allow him to lose himself to his anger, no matter what was happening - especially not now. He decided to give one last warning before he would stop this fight from going on any longer.
"Warlock, Ranger! What is the meaning of this!" he bellowed at them, finally catching their attention. "Why are you two fighting like some filthy orks!"
The two combatants hastily stood up to face the autarch.
The warlock was the first one to reply to him. "Autarch, I..."
"Silence, Warlock! I want to hear this from the ranger." Fetalque anger was suppressed but his voice made it clear he would have none of this. "Why are you two fighting?"
The ranger glared at the warlock with malice. "He called me eshairr," he explained, and Fetalque immediately understood the reason for this mess: eshairr was a deadly insult to a ranger.
Fetalque turned to glare at the warlock who stood motionless. "Explain your actions, Warlock. Why did you call him that? If not for the current circumstances you would be punished for this." Of course the warlock wouldn't be really punished for insulting the ranger or for the fight, but Fetalque had to scare him to avoid similar conflicts. He couldn't allow fighting aboard the Sword of Vaul no matter the circumstances.
"He is an outcast! He shouldn't be allowed on board! Who knows unstable he is! Autarch, we cannot allow outcasts like him to stay aboard! We should-"
"Enough!" bellowed Fetalque, having heard enough of the warlock's rantings. "Go from here! And make sure I will never catch you fighting with another ranger."
The warlock left without a word; he knew it was pointless to argue. He disappeared from the autarch's sight soon after, vanishing behind closing doors. His dislike for rangers was understandable, but insulting one and then having a fight with him, however, was not. Inner conflicts were common, but an outright fight while the ship was in unknown waters was inexcusable.
Fetalque turned to chasten the ranger. "You should have controlled your anger. Even if you have walked the dangerous Path of the Outcast, it doesn't mean you have a right to attack others aboard this vessel. I had thought your patience wouldn't be limited to battle only."
The ranger bowed. "My apologies, Autarch, but he insulted me and my loyalties. I couldn't allow that!"
"I do not care what he did or what you did; I want to make sure this doesn't happen again, ever. Do I make myself clear, Ranger?"
"Yes, Autarch!"
"Good. Now, get out of my sight!"
The ranger bowed once more and left, walking to the other direction as the warlock. Fetalque watched him travel down the corridor towards the ship's sparring room, probably to meet up with the rest of his squad.
Fetalque turned on his heels and began to walk back when the comm-feed rune in his visor began to blink. He blink-clicked it. "Speak."
"Autarch Fetalque, your presence is required on the bridge as soon as possible," came a voice Fetalque didn't recognize. Somehow the voice held authority not unlike that of an autarch like Fetalque himself. The other thing that made him feel suspicious was the use of his name and title; usually he was addressed by his title only.
"I'm on my way," replied Fetalque and cut the feed. He took one last look in the direction the ranger had gone in and closed his eyes to feel the psychic radiation of the ship's wraithbone core. It was a welcome feeling, one that allowed Fetalque to rest and calm down, to forget his burden as an autarch.
He opened his eyes and found himself back in the corridor. He hadn't moved from his spot at all during his brief trance.
Sighing, Fetalque turned back, walking down the corridor to the tall, narrow doorway at its end. He turned his head to look at a certain door on the far left before entering though the doorway, letting the door close behind him to stop his train of thoughts.
His surprise visit could wait for another time; he had more urgent matters at hand.
The Stargate activated and sent forth an energy burst before settling into a wall of still water. Out of its wormhole stepped a group of eight humans and a jaffa. They were greeted by another jaffa in dark red armor with a staff weapon in his hands.
"Kree, Lord Ro'nak," he said, bowing. "Your presence is needed within the citadel. Hundreds of humans have gathered before the gates to see the man who has freed them from Sokar's vile grasp."
Sure enough, a small crowd of men and women had gathered at the other end of the long road that led from the gate to the fortress. The sea of dead bodies had been cleared away and replaced with the crowd of living.
"Thank you, jaffa," said Ro'nak with a smile, watching the crowd with satisfaction. Behind him the human part of the group was staring wide-eyed at the mass of people, having never expected people to come to see him.
"My lord, I was instructed to escort you and your friends to the fortress."
"Who instructed you?"
"Master Meron, my lord," answered the jaffa, earning a gasp of shock from Teal'c and Ro'nak. "He gave me clear orders to wait for your return."
"Meron lives?" Ro'nak cried out in surprise. "But... how? I saw Ulkair rip him from my side as I closed the courtyard door as we fled. Even if he survived that, the explosion that tore open the courtyard should have killed him!"
"He said he had been near the front gates when Ulkair was struck down. The following explosion had thrown him backwards and saved him from the falling rubble."
Ro'nak shuddered at the memory of the crater. Pushing the thought aside, he smiled and grabbed the jaffa's shoulder, urging him to lead on. "Well then, let us be on our way!" he said rather enthusiastically.
"As you wish, my lord," said the jaffa, and with that they both left for the fortress that loomed in the distance like a mountain.
The humans and a jaffa watched them go, most of them clueless of what was going; while three of them knew exactly what the two had spoken about. They followed the first two, staying a few steps behind them.
As they neared the crowd, Janet walked closer to Sam. "Who's this Meron?" she asked. She had been briefed about the events that had taken place here but there had been no mention of any Meron.
"A jaffa who saved us with Ro'nak and Teal'c when they started their rebellion," Sam explained. "He was... erm, is a good friend of Ro'nak and his second-in-command."
Janet nodded in understanding and turned her attention back to the road ahead. They were nearing the crowd and it had already gone silent after seeing Ro'nak walking toward it. People had departed to form a path in the middle of the crowd. The massive, black titanium gates were open, allowing the group to pass through.
"Lord Ro'nak! You have returned!" exclaimed a jaffa from the courtyard as they entered. "Master Meron awaits you inside," he said, gesturing at the door across from them. Of course, SG-1 and Ro'nak remembered the door easily; it was the same door they had used to get to the courtyard. "He is in the throne room with the Tok'ra representatives."
"I did not know Tok'ra would send a representative this soon," Ro'nak murmured to himself. "Unless the Tok'ra from before contacted their superiors about me and my coup..."
"My lord?" the jaffa asked, hearing Ro'nak mutter something he thought to be an order.
"Nothing, jaffa. You can return to your duty now."
The jaffa bowed and went into the guardhouse, intending to close the gates. The group stood there for a while, staring at the gates as they slammed shut with an almighty bang and its ancient, internal locking mechanism locked it in place.
"Let's go," said Ro'nak and began to walk round the chasm to the door with the jaffa escort, leaving the others behind to stare in amazement at the crater in the ground, fearing what the weapon that had done it could do.
The door to the command bridge slid open with a silent hiss, revealing Autarch Fetalque in all his glory.
"Report," he said as he walked up the stairs of his dais. "What is so important to call me here immediately?" He stopped at the top the dais when he saw someone else lying comfortably on his command throne. Not sitting like Fetalque would sit, but laying sideways on it with his legs dangling over the armrest.
It was an eldar wearing a brown armor like that of an autarch, a beautiful black cape edged with golden runes, and a blue sash that crisscrossed his chest. On the armrest of the throne was his helmet; it was just like Fetalque's, but instead of the white-feathered wings that bend upwards on the sides, there were mandiblasters on the sides. His weapons - a black and brown reaper launcher and a scorpion chainsword - rested against the throne's side. His face was pale and battle-scarred.
"Who are you and what are you doing on my throne?" he asked heatedly. Then he noticed what the stranger was holding in his hands: a glass of foul smelling liquid the Imperials called amasec. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Amasec that I stole from an Imperial outpost on Medusa V," the stranger replied, clearly not paying attention to Fetalque. He took a sip, savoring the taste. "Not as good as what you drink here on board, but good nonetheless. What took you so long, Autarch? I contacted you ages ago."
"You have yet to answer me. Who are you?" Somehow the armor color of the stranger was familiar to him, but he could not place his finger on it.
The stranger put down his class on the armrest. "I was once an admiral in the fleet of the Craftworld Zahr-Tann. I was respected and everyone said I had the potential to become a great leader. That is until I was disgraced..." He trailed off, staring at the floor, remembering something bad from his past. "I led a part of the fleet against a massive Imperial fleet that was going to eventually stumble upon our craftworld. My mission was eventually a success, but only a third of the fleet got back to Zahr-Tann. I expected praise, but what I got was loathing." His voice took an angrier tone. "They claimed I had left the craftworld open to attack when half of its fleet was gone, even if I had saved it! They said I was unworthy of my title. And so, they cast me out and I became a corsair."
"So that is why you felt so familiar! You are Aluhrial Juriane. I have heard you in the past. I would consider this an honor if not for the circumstances." Fetalque's facial expression hardened behind his helmet. "Are you here to commandeer my vessel?"
"Of course not, Autarch," denied Aluhrial, finally sitting up properly. "I would never do that after having to go through all that trouble to be allowed here with my corsairs. The lady autarch was kind enough to let us on board, and I am not one to squander such opportunities."
"Lady autarch? My sister, Elarique?" asked Fetalque. He couldn't understand why his sister would get involved with corsairs like Aluhrial. "But how? She died on Medusa, taking the foul Ygethmor with her as she did. When did she let you aboard this vessel?"
"Right before charging into the horde of Chaos warriors. She said my corsairs and I would allowed aboard the Sword of Vaul as a reward for providing her with much needed air support. I managed to snatch her spirit stone from her body before the warhost retreated completely." He reached into a small bag on his hip and produced a small oval shaped gem - the spirit stone containing the soul of Elarique Swiftblade within it. He handed it to Fetalque who took it with shaking hands.
"Elarique," whispered Fetalque, holding the spirit stone close to his face to inspect it. He could somehow feel the presence of his sister calling out to him, telling him everything was alright. "I thank you, Aluhrial. I had thought I would never be able to recover my sister's soul."
"It was nothing, Fetalque. This is the least I can do for you and her." Aluhrial rose from the throne to stand next to Fetalque. "Maybe you can incorporate the stone in your sword, just like the Dire Avenger exarchs do to make direswords. You would be able to fight alongside your sister once again."
Fetalque looked at Aluhrial and then back at the spirit stone. "You think she would want that?" The spirit stone started to pulse faintly with warm radiance, catching him off-guard. "Sister?"
"I think she agrees," said Aluhrial, observing the glow of the spirit stone.
"Lord Autarch!" shouted a crewman suddenly. "We have detected a fleet of those pyramid-shaped ships moving in from the outer solar system. We believe they are heading to the planet we orbited before."
"What? Another fleet? Follow them, but make sure they do not detect us! Keep the holofields up at all times!" ordered Fetalque, and the crew began to issue commands to the Sword of Vaul. Fetalque pushed Aluhrial aside gently to sit on his throne. "Corsair Aluhrial, how big is your crew? Your assistance might be required."
"I have two Phoenixes and forty corsairs under my command. The rest left the Medusa system at my command." Aluhrial picked up his weapons and turned to face the viewscreen. There were at least fifteen of those pyramid-shaped starships, all colored in gold and black like the last ones.
"You can go to your men now, Aluhrial, if you want."
The corsair prince smiled at him and grabbed his helmet. He put it on and rushed off, jumping down the stairs. He stopped for a moment to look at Fetalque who watched him from his throne before the doors closed.
"Holofields online, Autarch," announced another crewman. "Beginning approach."
The psychic radiation of the wraithbone core was getting stronger, a clear sign of the ship's movement. It was starting to sail closer to the fleet, keeping its distance from them to avoid detection.
Fetalque glanced at the spirit stone in his hands, admiring its soft and warm glow. He formed a fist around the stone, promising to make his sister proud of him once again.
He smiled at the thought, while feeling Elarique's voice call out to him.
"We are approaching Delmak, my lord," said a no-name jaffa in normal grey armor. He was standing in front of the Ha'tak's command console, keeping track of the ship's distance to its intended target. "We will be there in a moment."
"Excellent," said a man who sat on a throne made of gold and silver. He was bald and had a small beard. He was wearing a golden jaffa armor, on his right hand was a Goa'uld hand device, and a white silk cloak was draped around his shoulders. Unlike some other arrogant goa'uld System Lords, he wasn't surrounded by slaves or servants but by a four jaffa guards wearing black armor and a helmet that resembled a bird.
"Order the rest of the fleet to advance and target the Ha'taks in orbit. We cannot allow interference," he said, and the jaffa complied without a word. "I will not accept defeat this day. Sokar told me his experiments would be almost ready to aid me in defeating Apophis and taking over his territory. And if what my spies said is true, then Sokar has been overthrown. Be prepared for resistance."
"My lord, what experiments do you speak of?" asked a guard on his left.
"He said he could finally create an army of monsters all under my command. Then I could march from victory to another until the whole galaxy was mine!"
The jaffa nodded. It was really no surprise that a goa'uld System Lord wanted even more power for himself, and the jaffa were honored to be his warriors in this conquest.
Through the window of the pel'tak, the goa'uld saw Delmak becoming larger and larger by the moment; the eve of his victory was at hand, and he would succeed with or without Sokar. The fleet orbiting Delmak was small; probably only nine Ha'taks, but there would be more on the surface, ready to reinforce the active fleet with their numbers. No matter; they would still fall against his might.
In his arrogance, he ignored the blasted wrecks of three Ha'taks and innumerable Death Gliders near Ne'tu, thinking them to be results of some ages old engagement.
This planet would be his; be it now or in the future, it would be his. With this thought in mind the goa'uld ordered the fleet to attack.
The time of Heru'ur would come.
Jack rolled uncomfortably around his bed; his peaceful dreams of fishing at his cabin had transformed dramatically.
What had once been his cabin and pond was now a raging sea filled with sickly green water. Great fireballs shot up from the water once in a while, exploding spectacularly in the air and raining down red substance. The ground under Jack had vanished, leaving only a small rocky patch of land behind. The skies burned with weird blue fires, making it seem like the place was uninhabitable. High-pitched screams echoed from the distant lands, unseen from his position.
"Where am I?" Jack asked.
"You have come..." whispered a voice from behind him.
Jack turned around, alarmed, but found nothing save for more of this endless sea. He blinked and rubbed his eyes, realizing his left eye was back where it was supposed to be.
"I am pleased you have come here so quickly..." the voice spoke again. It sounded female, but somehow hollow, ghostly. Still there was no one to be seen. "Come, Jonathan O'Neill..."
Suddenly a long, sandy land bridge rose from the sea, making him a path that disappeared beyond the horizon. Seeing no other choice, Jack started to walk. He noted how the water splashed against the sand, leaving behind ugly, green glow. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw rotten corpses floating in the sea.
"Come, Jonathan..." This time the voice was coming from behind him.
"Who's there?" asked Jack and turned around to see - nothing, again. "This is getting annoying." But when he turned back forward he came face-to-face with someone he never expected. "Carter?"
Before him stood Captain Samantha Carter in her SG-1 uniform, but the clothes seemed old and worn out, as if they were about to fall apart. Something was off about her, namely the pale color of her skin and lifeless, black eyes. She held her hands behind her back, grinning at him and his confused expression. Her teeth were black, rotten.
"Welcome," she said, taking a step backwards. Something about her stance made Jack cautious; maybe it was because she kept her hands behind her back or maybe it was her grin or maybe it was her appearance. "I have been expecting you for ages, and you finally arrived to see me..."
"Carter, what the hell are you doing here? Where am I?"
Sam began to walk backwards, and Jack followed her, trying to keep up. Sam's grin widened even more, and now it seemed like she couldn't grin any wider. "We are in your dreams. Here the powers you can wield very soon are manifest. Look around, little human. I can gift you power, any power you want..."
Jack was taken aback for a moment, before slowly nodding. He should have expected something like this when he made a deal with a voice in his head.
He looked around, seeing the sea still raging and the fireballs still rising; he saw the skies still burning with mystical fires and heard the screams still echoing from the distance. He felt the sand under his feet get wet as a wave washed over it, leaving behind ugly, green blobs that burned his feet. Ignoring the pain, he focused on Sam again.
"Which power do you choose, Jonathan?" asked Sam, tilting her head to the side in anticipation. "There are four of which you can choose. Any of them could be yours to command. You could accomplish so much with them..."
"Just get to the point. I'll judge what I can do when I hear it."
"Do you want the power to rip your enemies apart with your bare hands and fill your allies with unseen bloodlust? Or would you like to have the power to fell your enemies with plagues and diseases at your command, while your immortal body shrugs off any punishment? Or maybe to cast great storms of thunder and lightning, and incinerate your foes with a wave of your hand? Or the power to break the will of even the strongest warrior, while turning entire armies against themselves with but a whisper?"
"I... Uh, I... Umm..." Jack stuttered, shocked by the information. He didn't know which one he should choose at all. They all sounded quite amazing. Yet amazing or not, they still sounded evil, like something a goa'uld would accept without hesitation.
"Oh, you don't have to choose now," said Sam, grinning wickedly again. "You can do it later on..."
"Who are you anyways?"
"Just an apparition of the powers you can wield in the future. I simply took the form of your teammate to make sure you listened to me..." She finally took her hands from behind her back and caressed Jack's face with long, clawed fingers. She dragged her claws against his cheek, leaving behind bleeding cuts. "Don't worry; all shall be revealed to you in time..."
Jack felt himself fly backwards, hurled across the dream world by an invisible force. He saw Sam's apparition disappear as he hit the water, sinking under the black waves like a stone. He felt himself drown as the polluted water filled his lungs. He tried to swim to the surface, but couldn't.
"Aaargh!" screamed Jack, jolting up from his bed. He was back in the infirmary; his dream had ended when he drowned, but it felt so real, as if all it had been true. He brought a hand to his left eye socket and felt it empty again.
"I guess it was just a dream... or was it?"
And cut! Thank you for reading!
Yes, Jack will take up the offer for one of the four Chaos powers. Which one you may ask? Well, its up to you! Go to my profile and then vote in the poll on which power he takes up. The choice will affect him and his actions, as well as the story and the others around him.
So, how do you like fact that Fetalque got back the soul of his sister? What about Aluhrial? What about Janet going to Delmak? The explanation is a bit crappy, but it works for now. And what about Fetalque's possible romance?
That's all for this time, the next chapter will be out some time during the summer when I finish it.
Till then, bye!