Hi, people!
Kaeim: See my reply to Trife, please.
Mike9: Well, Low Gothic is the Imperium's official language and is supposed to be so complex that it would make no sense to us, so Daniel won't learning that, and certainly not High Gothic. Janet is an Omega level psyker (i.e. a negative one) and in this case more of a mix between Pariah and Blank, so she does hurt psykers and nullify their powers. I could go for an easier explanation that as a Blank she prevented psychic activity near her and hurt the eldar because they are a highly psychic race, but I am not too sure of its plausibility.
starspawn07: Well, I'm glad you liked the reveal (I thought it was corny). I don't think that's much of a spoiler when its clear that he's gonna be a baddie. Once again your suggestion was excellent, and I'll see how I can best make it happen. Just tell me when the characters start to be too numerous to keep track of, and I'll post a list of them. :)
Lunatic Pandora1: That she is. Please, see my reply to Trife for your answer.
Imperial warlord: Thank you.
Tyrannifex: Thank you.
Trife: I cannot believe I forgot to include these facts in my notes! I know of how they work, but here they work a bit differently. So yes, the blast doesn't vaporize in this story, only knocks back hard. Reason for this is that I never liked it and because Stargate travel is a bit different here as you'll see (i.e. not some near-instantaneous travelling of matter between two points via a wormhole) and I had to find a way to tie in our favorite version Hell. This also voids all deaths by iris closed gate, but not portal cuts. The zat is now a weapon that shoots electricity (the whole "third shot disintegrates" was seemingly too ridiculous for the show itself, in fact). I hope that explains enough,
Well, anyways. Enjoy!
Last time on Stargate Eldar:
"He hasn't come out at all?" asked Farseer Aldreth
"No, Farseer," answered Aluhrial. "He hasn't done much more than sat in there. I believe his mind is in turmoil."
Fetalque locked himself away in his quarters after his sister's sacrifice.
"Webb! Bannon! Parker!" yelled Sawyer, attracting the attention of his subordinates. "We're leaving!"
"Daniel! Teal'c! You heard the colonel!" yelled Sam.
The SG teams were about to leave the planet, if not for someone unexpected.
Keconrith spun around and struck his spear on the ground, unleashing a shockwave towards the insolent humans, only for it to dissipate before striking down any of them.
Only a pure coincidence saved them from any further conflict with the eldar warlock.
Energy burst from the Stargate sent Keconrith flying and knocking him out.
In the countryside, a jaffa pilot found a strange artifact under tree roots, only to be murdered in cold blood.
Apophis walked away coldly, cradling the sphere in his hands as Korra fell dead with a knife in his chest.
In the SGC, Janet and Daniel found out something truly shocking as they checked on awakening Keconrith.
Janet backed away more, and the alien got better with every step she took away from him.
"What is this?" asked Janet.
"I don't know," replied Daniel
And now, the story continues:
Jailbreak
Keconrith struggled to stand as the damned female human slowly left the room, probably to tell her superiors how to torture him even more.
The other human who had been there as he came to was still in the room, acting like he didn't know what was going on. Human insolence indeed. Like they could truly trick him into thinking that they didn't know anything of this event. Bastards, all of them. Their whole race could burn in the depths of the Warp for all he cared.
Keconrith leaned on a metal table as he attempted to collect his thoughts. With a passing thought, he realized that his singing spear was not in the same room as him; he couldn't sense it anywhere nearby, either. The damned humans had taken it away, leaving him without the means to channel his destructive psychic powers. He had to find a way to retrieve his equipment and escape.
The short time he had spent probing the male human's mind, the eldar warlock had found very little concerning his whereabouts. He couldn't understand the words that popped up within his mind nor the significance of people and places that he saw. He dared not dig deeper and force information out of the human, in fear that his comrades would react badly to his attempts to mentally traumatized their friend.
The human tried to speak again, his words unintelligible and confusing to the eldar warlock. Keconrith didn't understand anything he tried to say, but his tone was laced with false-sympathy and worry. Bah, like his act would really fool an experienced veteran like him; he had learned to never trust a human for they were barbaric, stubborn and arrogant to no end. There was no telling what horrors they would unleash if they conquered the galaxy after the eldar had died out. Their stupidity would only bring more death and despair upon themselves and the rest of the galaxy.
Grunting, the eldar warlock tried to stand without leaning on anything, his vision blurring and his head spinning like the cursed null, the damned blank, the vile untouchable, was still in the room with him. At least the ache that filled him was gone along with that monster.
His mind detected only two guards outside the door, but he knew that without a good plan to escape and knowledge of the humans firepower he couldn't get anywhere.
Keconrith sat down on the bed he had awoken on, knowing that meditation would allow him to clear his troubled mind.
The alien didn't spare him even a glance as he sat down, ignoring Daniel like he was nothing. He was slowly recovering from his weird reaction to Janet's presence, his legs unsteady as he walked the short distance to his bed. He hadn't even reacted when Daniel asked if he was alright and if he needed help. Granted, it was obvious he didn't understand English.
Seeing no reason to stay, Daniel left the infirmary himself, closing the door behind him and leaving to see the rest of his team. The two armed guards stood guarding the door to the infirmary, mostly there just to discourage all possible attempts to escape with force. Their guns were real, though, and could tear up anyone with ease, but this alien had shown to be able to do something impossible already.
Daniel reached the elevator in a moment and stepped in. Just before leaving, Janet had said they should go inform General Hammond, who was talking with Sam and Teal'c about possible ways to proceed, of this development. Seeing that her mere presence was painful to their visitor, Janet had gone first. It was better than risking the visitor's health.
"Hey, wait up! Hold the door!"
Surprised, Daniel grabbed the closing door and held in place as man in a lab coat came running down the corridor. He pushed through the elevator doors, allowing Daniel to let go and the doors to close.
"Thanks, man. I was afraid you'd take the last elevator down," the man said, breathing heavily. "Phew, that was a close one."
The man was in his mid-twenties, had short brown hair and a shaved chin. He was about a bit under six feet tall. He wore a traditional white lab coat that was buttoned up to the very top.
"It sure was," said Daniel, not really recognizing the man. "You're going to check on whoever came through the gate?"
"Yeah. I was informed SG-2 has just returned and that Doctor Fraiser is currently occupied, so I'm going there. Hey, aren't you Daniel Jackson, from SG-1?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Colonel Sawyer told me you brought a real alien back with you when you came back from your off-world trip. But how come you're here before SG-2? General Hammond sent them to look for you, after all."
"Oh, they said something about staying behind for a moment while we returned to Earth. I didn't really hear them." Daniel let out a small sigh as he recalled how his team carried the unconscious alien through the gate. "We were pretty focused on the... alien."
"Heh, yeah. I saw a glimpse of him as you carried him to the infirmary with a couple of guards. What happened to him? Can you tell me or is it classified?"
Daniel let out a chuckle, such an idea sounding ridiculous. "Of course it's not classified. I'll tell you later after I talk to the general. What's your name, by the way?"
"Oh, yeah... I forgot to introduce myself." He offered his hand which Daniel shook. "Frank Baker, pleasure to meet you, Doctor Jackson."
"Same here, Frank."
The elevator stoppedand the doors slid open. Both men stepped out, heading for a different direction than the other - Daniel for the briefing room; Frank for the gate room.
He was beginning to regret dismissing Colonel Sawyer and his group after their report. Maybe they could have shed more light into this mystery that troubled him and others. But they were gone now, probably in the middle of their medical check up upstairs. But what was done was done.
General Hammond listened closely to Doctor Fraiser as she told him about the strange phenomenon in the infirmary. It was strange to hear how the alien was feeling more ill the closer the doctor got. It sounded unnatural, just like the doctor had said it had been.
"How do you know it's not some kind of an allergic reaction, Janet?" asked Captain Carter skeptically, yet there was hint of hope in her tone, like she was begging for the doctor to say yes.
"Not likely," replied Janet curtly, crushing any hope of a positive answer. "I do not know of any allergies that would get a reaction like this from simply being in my presence. Sam, our guest didn't simply start sneezing like he was allergic to pollen; he was visibly in agony when I got close enough to touch him. That is no allergy, it's something else."
"What is it then?" asked Hammond, curious about what could possibly be behind this. "What of Doctor Jackson? Does he have any effect on our guest?"
"No, nothing at all. Only I seem to have any effect on him."
"But how is that possible?"
Doctor Fraiser looked downwards in thought for a moment, until she shook her head. "I don't know. We could try and run a test on him to see if he has any reaction other people, but that would take time and would be even cruel if someone else does cause the same phenomenon."
"That is true," said Captain Carter. "But there must be some way to figure out why he is reacting to you."
Silence filled the briefing room as everyone pondered what could be behind such a mysterious occurrence until Daniel Jackson walked in. Unlike Doctor Fraiser, he hadn't changed his clothing during the time he was absent, save for taking off his green vest.
"Hi, guys," he greeted with a wave of his hand and sat on the chair closest to him, next to Teal'c and opposite of Doctor Fraiser.
"Good to see you too, Doctor Jackson," said General Hammond as the others greeted the doctor. "Do you have any information about our guest? Anything besides the fact that he feels pain when in Doctor Fraiser's presence? Anything at all?"
"Well, aside from the fact that I think he called me a monkey, I can't say anything, sir." Daniel's eyes swept across the room as he thought about it, until his eyes landed on the silver spear laying on the table where the general had inspected it during the debriefing. "What of the spear? He used it to do that weird shockwave of his back on Delmak."
"We haven't found out anything unusual with it - aside from being made from an unidentified material. By all means he should be unable to do anything like it."
"Maybe by returning his weapon we can convince him we are not evil like the goa'uld or Sokar," suggested Teal'c, speaking for the first time since Doctor Fraiser arrived. "He has shown himself to be quite hostile and distrusting towards us. This may be our chance to formally greet a member of an unknown species. They could be a formidable ally against the goa'uld."
"Teal'c is right," said Captain Carter, nodding. "We can't achieve anything if we just sit here."
There was a knock on the door, causing everyone to turn to face the newcomer. It was a young man in a lab coat, standing at the top of the stairs that led downstairs.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, sir," the man began a bit uncertainly.
"Oh, hi, Frank!" greeted Doctor Jackson delightedly. "You're here kinda quick."
The man - this Frank, as the doctor had identified him - sighed silently before replying. "Yeah, SG-2 met me halfway to the gate room, said they were scheduled for another off-world trip in fifty minutes." He turned to face General Hammond who gave nod as a sign to go on with his report. "All members of SG-2 are fine and in excellent condition, sir. They report no problems during their short stay on the planet and are eager for the next assignment, sir."
"That is good to hear," nodded the general. At least SG-2 didn't get into trouble like SG-1 tended to do every time they went somewhere. "I am glad those four didn't get themselves into trouble unlike someone else I know." He glanced at SG-1 as he said the last bit.
The doctor looked confused for a moment before he asked, "Four, sir? Don't you mean five members, sir? I met five, not four, sir."
Hammond was instantly alarmed as were the others. They knew additional members who weren't supposed to exist meant trouble, a lot of trouble. Hammond was still puzzled how no one in SG-2 noticed that they had a stranger in their team, something that should have been easy to notice. This kind of a thing wasn't supposed happen to trained soldiers.
Hammond rose to his feet hastily and gave his orders to the already rising SG-1. "Go after them and catch this fifth member no matter what. We cannot take any unnecessary risks."
"What about you, General?" asked Captain Carter as she and her team headed for the door, visibly worried.
"I will alert the security from my office." He turned to Doctor Fraiser and Frank. "Doctors, go with them. Stay safe and be careful, both of you."
"Will do, sir," the doctors said in unison as Hammond rushed into his office.
He hoped the situation wouldn't escalate while he alerted the security forces.
The infiltration was a success: no one had detected him yet, and not even the group of mon-keigh seemed to think it was not odd for a stranger to follow them even if his illusions masked his true self. He knew this plan was risky and most likely fatal, but Keconrith couldn't be allowed to die in the hands of filthy animals. The human medic - by the looks of it - was a problem, though: although, he showed no signs of realizing the ruse, he would still report to his higher-ups who would instantly realize something was wrong.
Warlock Colnir stepped into the cramped human transport that took him and those with him upwards - a crude elevator, even by the Imperium's standards. He didn't know the exact destination of this elevator, but he sensed Keconrith dozens of meters above him, but he couldn't risk revealing himself at this point without knowing his destination and how to operate this crude thing, although the latter would be easily solved by trying the numbered buttons next to the door.
Looking briefly in to the future, Colnir saw a glimpse of himself and Keconrith walking back through the weird ring, its center obscured by the strange, watery surface that formed the passage between the two worlds. He couldn't make out any other details, and it was too risky to try again. These humans were not psykers like him, but even they would detect the energies of the Warp this close.
Thinking of the strange ring, Colnir couldn't help wondering how interesting it was: a device that formed a tunnel between two points through the Warp and allowed safe travel between these points, almost like the Webway in a smaller, less labyrinthine scale. It was fascinating, to say the least, and very advanced. He wondered who had built these rings; most certainly not the humans. But then who had?
The elevator, if such a crude thing could be called that, came to a halt and its doors slid open. One of the men with Colnir stepped out and he followed suit, sensing Keconrith's mind flare up as they sensed each other's presence in the same floor. The elevator closed behind him and continued its ascent, ignored by the eldar warlock.
Colnir, such a revered seer of Alaitoc, Keconrith mind-spoke, his words laced with surprise and subtle mocking. Here to rescue me? Why? No support, no escort? You are brave and foolish indeed. Just like before.
You can at least try to leave that behind you already. It won't be a long now, Keconrith. Soon we can escape this wretched place.
I warn you still, Honored One: the humans have a blank among them, a female in white. We must avoid contact if possible; our fate depends on what happens today.
Colnir gave a mental acknowledgement to his fellow warlock, deeply frightened by the existence of such an abominable human creature as a blank. He began to follow the human he was with, trying to keep up appearances. He sensed Keconrith's room was at the end of the corridor, behind the corner to the left, but the human was going to his right. He sensed the corridors would connect to another between them, leading right into Keconrith's prison. He had to be quick and subtle with his interactions with the human, walking behind him until the right moment to abscond to the side corridor.
They walked silently down the corridor.
Only five meters more and he would turn; it was so close now he could taste his victory.
Then the human turned around with his crude firearm aimed right at his face.
Aiming his gun, Captain Michael Griff faced the alien infiltrator who had been following him after the elevator.
Although he and his team had made it seem like they didn't notice the fifth member in their group, they had planned this ever since they noticed their stalker coming through the Stargate after them and walking with them like nothing was up. Hah, as if! They weren't idiots.
"Okay, buddy," he said, taking the safety off from his P90. "We've been playing your game long enough. Who are you? What are you? And take off that stupid disguise!"
The infiltrator's face remained neutral even as he tilted his head to the side, staring intensely at Michael with emotionless eyes. It was unnerving, but he couldn't give in. He narrowed his eyes and inched his gun closer to his target who grinned. Then a cold chuckle followed, making Michael's hair stand up at the back of his neck.
His target wavered and flickered briefly; the young human replaced by a figure in blue robes, yellow helmet with piercing red eyes and yellow armor that didn't seem to protect much at all with its strange symbol-like form. Strange gems decorated the helmet and armor, glinting in the light of the ceiling lights, while the armor glowed dimly, pulsing frequently. The alien was also surprisingly tall - about six feet and seven inches - and slender.
"Who are you?" Michael asked slowly, taking a steady step backwards with both hands gripping his P90. "What do you want? Why did you come here? Is this about your friend we have in here?"
There was no answer for his questions, at least not a vocal one.
Quick as lightning, the alien grabbed his P90, tore it from his grip and threw it to the side like trash.
Michael drew his combat knife and took a stance, holding the knife in reverse grip. There was no need for him to radio for help, seeing that his teammates had gone off to get it. He was wondering where the security forces were, though, seeing that there was supposed to be at least two guarding the other alien in the infirmary as per protocol.
The alien before him didn't react, as if the knife was just a children's toy. Michael glanced at the long sword he had attached to his belt and at the holster on the other side, holding his strange firearm. The yellow helmet hid his face from the view, and Michael had difficult time trying to read him. It left him at disadvantage if his opponent proved to be good at martial arts.
"What's wrong? You afraid?" Michael knew antagonizing was not a good thing when it came to strangers, as proven years ago while drinking in a bar. That black eye was a pain in the ass to explain to his girlfriend.
The alien spoke for the first time, his voice melodious yet harsh, until he stopped mid-sentence as if just realizing Michael didn't understand a word. Then he moved fast, faster than the human captain could react, and seized his knife arm before delivering an elbow strike to his chest and throwing him over the shoulder to the floor, the knife joining the P90. Rising quickly, the captain delivered a powerful jab to the alien's face, only to miss by an inch.
Michael unleashed a left hook that grazed the alien's shoulder, then a backhanded blow with his right, narrowly missing. His right hook was blocked, and a right straight struck him squarely in the ribs, followed by a kick to the shin and a punch to the jaw. Captain was then sent to floor with swift kick to the chest, dazed.
The alien sent a quick glare in his direction before turning around and continuing down the corridor, ignoring Michael like trash lying on the ground. He turned left into a hallway that led to the infirmary and to his friend.
Groaning and coughing, the captain rose to his feet. He was going to be bruised but now wasn't the time to worry about that; he had to do something about this, his team had let this alien in here after all.
"Goddammit!" he yelled, picking up his gun and knife, wiping a bit blood from the edge of his mouth. He hadn't expected to get into a fist fight with an alien who could dodge and counter his hits that easily. It was like whenever he thought he was going to hit, he missed.
Gunshots echoed briefly down the corridor before seizing completely, and cold suspicion filled Michael.
Checking his gun and sheathing his knife, he went after the alien, intent on fixing his mistake.
As the Chappa'ai deactivated behind him, Apophis wondered where he had arrived. Having had no time to think when he got to the gate, he had selected the address randomly and arrived on this strange planet.
"What is this place?" he asked, standing on cliff overlooking a field filled with dead trees and strangely shaped, rock formations. The ground was nothing but ashy sand, deep sinkholes marking the field at places. Cold wind blew among the rocks, playing its harsh melody for this forsaken world. The sky was dark, covered by heavy clouds that rained black water. The air itself was heavy, and Apophis felt like something was choking him.
This place was evil, beyond even a goa'uld like him, a place best left forgotten.
Staring at the sphere in his hands, Apophis thought he felt something talking to him from inside it, subconsciously manipulating him into coming to this place. He needed to escape from here - and fast!
A low growl drew him from his horrified thoughts, urging him to turn around to see the source of it. The sight made him wish he hadn't done so.
Before him stood a four legged creature of nightmarish kind. It stood at least at the height of his waist; it looked like a skinned animal, its muscles and spine clearly visible; two tendrils that ended with a bladed tip grew from its back, one from either side of large bone spikes on its spine; its head was a more of a skull with a maw filled with sharp fangs, long blade tipped tongue lashing around hungrily; multiple hungry eyes embedded in the bone stared hungrily at him; a bony tail whipped behind it and its paws stomped the ash eagerly.
This beast was a nightmare made flesh, a hound from Hell itself.
Apophis felt terror take hold of him as more and more of those creatures began to appear one at a time from out of nowhere, rising from the ground or from behind rocks or simply out of thin air. Those jaws seemed powerful enough to break his bones and crush his skull, and those fangs looked sharp enough to slice through his armor and flesh like a knife though wet paper. He would have run if those creatures weren't standing between him and the gate, not that it would help him now anyways.
He had no weapon with which to defend himself nor any jaffa to provide support for him - Apophis was alone with these things on this forsaken world. Only thing he had was the sphere in his hands, and it provided no protection from these beasts.
One of the creatures walked closer to him, tongue and tendrils lashing around as it neared. Apophis was sure it was going to end him.
The sphere glowed brighter for second, making the approaching monster pause and stare at the device. Others neared as well, only to sit down like obedient dogs as the sphere once again glowed. They stared at Apophis like lost puppies.
Command them, Apophis, spoke a voice inside his head. They await to obey your every command. They are your... pets, now. Lovely creatures, aren't they?
Apophis, too confused and terrified to question why a voice rang in his mind, walked closer to the beasts and watched as they made way for him to walk to the gate unhindered.
"Kree, creatures," he said weakly, and instantly these creatures gathered around him and sat down, waiting for him to go on. "Amazing! They are like tame pets." He let out a dark laugh as he instinctively patted one of them on its ugly head, earning a near purr-like reaction from it as its tendrils caressed his hand.
Now, he could return to his domain ever stronger with new allies to help him against the nuisance that was the Tau'ri.
Yes, the Tau'ri would fall and then the rest of the System Lords. After that Apophis would rightfully rule over all creation!
Apophis laughed again, this time louder than ever before.
His laughter was soon joined by a deeper, darker one.
The last guarding human slid down the wall he had been struck against, his partner lying unconscious next to him, both sporting a black eye and bruises in a moment. Their weapons lay on floor away from them, discarded after their opponent disarmed them quickly.
"Pitiful humans," said Colnir as Keconrith opened the door of his prison. He thought it best not to waste time asking about this. He did notice something that he had to ask about, though. "Where is your spear, Keconrith?"
"The humans have taken it, but I know I will recover it. Let us make haste, Honored One. The human security is not far away now."
Colnir could only nod, his mind detecting dozens of armed humans making their way towards them at all speed. They could pose a problem for the plan to escape, so the warlocks had to hurry downstairs and somehow activate the portal device.
"I know the way," he said, gesturing for Keconrith to follow. "Follow me."
A spray of crude human projectiles hit all around them, forcing them to duck and face their attacker. Colnir easily recognized the man as the same one he had beaten. He was still mentally kicking himself for thinking the humans were stupid enough to be fooled by an obvious illusion. Orks would be fooled, yes; but humans were much more intelligent and advanced than those primitives - even if they were ultimately still primitives themselves.
Keconrith, on my mark we rush towards our freedom.
As you command, Honored One.
The warlock of Ulthwé stood up behind him as Colnir faced their adversary, ignoring how the human was closing in and firing his primitive firearm to scare them. He focused on conjuring illusions that would let them escape unhindered, images of fire and darkness shrouding the two from view like the inferno had swallowed them whole.
The lone soldier stopped and recoiled in shock as the imaginary flames licked him. The fire may not have been real, but he didn't know it until he realized how the firestorm didn't burn him or anything else at all. When he did, it was too late to stop the eldar anymore.
Red lights and warning sounds began to blare, casting ugly color across the walls as they spun around in their places on the walls, their annoying noise reaching all over the facility. The two eldar didn't care, but they knew the humans had finally seen it necessary to sound the alarms. Too slow to stop them now.
Colnir pressed the small button that would summon the elevator, cursing how unreliable and primitive it was compared to the eldar's. He could feel Keconrith's uneasiness radiate from behind him as they waited, their psychic senses keeping them updated on the humans who were now dangerously close, just behind the corner almost.
With a swift move of his hand, Colnir grabbed his shuriken pistol and threw it into the air where Keconrith caught without so much as looking at it. They knew the coming fight was inevitable, but they didn't have time to waste in useless brawls with humans when they should have been on their ship, trying to solve the mystery of their baffling journey.
The first armed human who rounded the corner was forced back with a short burst of shuriken and illusionary flames. They weren't aiming to kill them but to give the elevator more time to arrive; and the less bloody they could do it, the better. One human, armed with the same kind of slug thrower as the guards Colnir beat up before, rolled from behind the corner and unloaded in their direction as he rose to a kneeling position. It didn't take long for Colnir to reward his useless waste of bullets by launching a conjured image of a fiery daemon at him, watching indifferently as he screamed in terror, thinking he was being burned alive. No one else dared to repeat his trick after the man barely managed to drag himself back behind the corner.
Finally the elevator arrived, its doors sliding open behind them. To the pair's great displeasure, three armed humans stepped out while looking a bit confused but still aiming their weapons at them. Keconrith quickly moved to strike them down, leaving Colnir to create an illusionary wall of ice to stop the other primitives from advancing before they had already escaped.
Keconrith punched the first human in the face, then delivered a kick to another's thigh and smashed an elbow to the back of his head as he bend over from the kick. The third one fired a short burst at him, but his rune armor protected him effortlessly. The warlock threw the shuriken pistol at his face, giving him enough time to rush forward and unleash a barrage of punches when the human staggered. Keconrith grabbed the pistol before it hit the floor as the human fell backwards from a particularly hard punch to the chin.
"Colnir! Now!"
Without a word Colnir ran for elevator, getting in just as Keconrith pressed the lowest button, closing the door and sending the elevator downward.
"Where the hell did all this damn ice come from?"
The sight was disturbingly confusing to Janet: a good dozen men standing at the end of the corridor staring into nothingness while complaining about some ice wall and fire. It was like they had gone crazy or something.
"Does anyone have anything to break this?"
The conversation between different security guards and SG-1 was getting plain ridiculous by now. If she wasn't making sure an SG-2 member wasn't hurt badly in his struggle with the alien infiltrator, she would've gone and tried to talk some sense into their heads. Walls of ice and fire out of thin air? Ridiculous, she'd say, but having witnessed the supernatural abilities of the aliens and heard the reports, she could easily agree with the latter. This ice wall people talked about was nowhere to be seen, though.
"I said I'm fine," groaned Michael as Janet kept making sure there was no wound or serious injury resulting from the blows he took. "Really, doc, I'm fine."
"Well, if you so insist." Janet was still worried Michael would end up in the infirmary even if she found nothing that could result in anything permanent or fatal. As of now, Janet detected nothing but forming bruises. "You can go. Your team is probably waiting."
"But, doc, it was my team that let this happen. I should be trying to fix it, not sit around doing nothing!" He was agitated, and clearly felt he should try to fix what was wrong. Admirable, but futile.
"There is no need for that, now, captain. Do as I say, and stay away from trouble for now, OK?"
"OK," Michael said and nodded, knowing that arguing in a time like this was stupid.
"Doctor Baker, make sure he stays away from trouble, OK?"
The other doctor nodded, "Of course, Doctor Fraiser." He was just returning from checking the two security guards who guarded the infirmary. They were beaten up, but would be fine in no time.
A simple nod later, Janet left the two and went to join the others. Yes, it was annoying how the nearest elevator besides this one was a few corners and corridors away, but someone should have already gone after the aliens and not just stand here complaining about the non-existent ice.
"What are we still standing here for?" she asked Sam. "We should go after them already."
"Well, we would but there's a wall of ice in front us, if you haven't noticed."
"Well, I haven't! I see no ice anywhere." This was getting ridiculous. Was she the only one not seeing things here?
Daniel walked to her side and asked, "You can't see it? You really can't see it?" The way he asked it made it sure he was hoping for her to answer positively.
Janet could only nod before Daniel grabbed her by her arm and quickly dragged her through the crowd of amassed security forces and airmen, most oblivious to the alien escapees. He was probably trying to prove something again, like in the infirmary before. Maybe the fact she didn't see the ice wall was because of what caused the alien to act uncomfortably around her.
When they got to the front of the crowd, Janet felt Daniel's grip loosen. Everyone else had also gone silent, staring in her direction. She was confused, not seeing anything, but she thought her presence had dispelled whatever had blocked the way for them.
Now that she had direct view at the elevator she saw the other three members of SG-2 lying or sitting on the floor, holding their heads. The two security guards also appeared from behind the opposite corner, both looking a bit roughed up, but otherwise fine.
Of course, what she didn't see was the great, thick wall of frozen water slowly disappearing as she neared it, until everyone else could see what the great mirage had hidden from them.
"Amazing! It actually worked," said Daniel as he finally let go of her. His amazement was shared by everyone else present. Janet herself didn't understand what was happening, but people needed her help now.
"They went down! Hurry up!" yelled the leader of SG-2, Major Louis Ferretti, rubbing his aching cheek. He waved off Janet's attempts to check his face for possible bruises or broken cheekbones, continuing to urge them on.
"Captain Carter, you guys take this one, we'll circle back to the other ones like we should have done," said a security guard next to the captain as they followed Janet.
Sam nodded at him, and he left quickly with a hasty salute, leading a half of the security forces back to the original elevators they had used to get to this floor. SG-1 and a few security guards plus Janet entered the cramped elevator as Daniel pressed the button that said "28", sending the elevator descending to the bottom floor.
Janet hoped this situation could be solved without further need for violence.
"Do you know how this transporter works, Keconrith?"
Colnir ran his hand over the ring's surface, feeling every gap and crevice on it. It didn't feel special in any way, but he knew it was a powerful device capable of forming tunnels in the Warp without seemingly any side effects. Maybe the strange calmness of the Warp was to be thanked for this baffling form of travel.
He had to stop wondering and letting his thoughts travel. He had to concentrate on keeping up the illusion that prevented the humans from the seeing either him or Keconrith. His amazement and curiosity were going to be the death of him at this rate.
It was notably easier to concentrate on one illusion now that the blank had dispelled his earlier one. The humans would be here any minute now, but at least they had deactivated their annoying alarms.
"Not exactly," was Keconrith's reply, "but I know these symbols and these triangle pieces have something to do with it. It seems like the inner structure of the ring can be spun." He stopped inspecting the device and turned to his fellow seer. "Do you not know this yourself? You came here through this, did you not?"
"The humans used an external device to activate it. This place lacks it, not that I would know how to operate it."
"Of course you don't," muttered Keconrith in a mocking tone. He still couldn't leave that incident behind him.
"Maybe they have other means to activate it," suggested Colnir, observing some humans inside the room behind a large window on the other end of the room.
"If they do, then how do you reckon we activate this... hmm?" The seer of Ulthwé turned to stare at the front of the room, his head tilted to side a little.
Colnir could also feel what his companion had: a baleful, soulless void slowly disintegrating the illusions hiding their presence. This was bad, very bad. They were trapped here like rats in a maze.
I trust you feel her now, Keconrith mind-spoke. Her soulless presence is dangerous to our kin, if you didn't already know that. We should escape.
And where would we escape? We are trapped here.
The fates tell of us both alive, returning to your ship. We cannot simply let ourselves be killed! Keconrith was justifiably angry, but he worried too much. The future was not set in stone nor crystal clear.
And did you see how we returned there? I think not.
Keconrith's silence was all Colnir required to confirm his suspicion, but his reply was something anyone would ask in a situation like this. You seriously believe we should stand here and see what happens? Are you insane?!
Inside his helmet, Colnir could only smirk. He blocked off his fellow's psychic voice and undid his illusions, seeing no reason to keep them up anymore with the blank closing in on them. He could sense the shock and surprise of humans as they saw the two seemingly appear out of nowhere in a blurry haze of dissipating psychic energies.
The doors on both sides of the room opened soon afterwards and armed humans came rushing in, taking firing positions at the bottom of the metal ramp.
If Keconrith had his spear, he could have easily annihilate them all with psychic fury, but such was not the case nor was it needed. No, this situation wouldn't be solved with brute strength and skill at arms, but with cunning and deceit. If these humans could be convinced that the eldar posed no threat to them and agreed to let them go, then perhaps the eldar might as well put this incident behind them for the time being - after all, what use was there to these humans if they couldn't be used in one way or another? Good pawns were always so hard to find.
Then Colnir saw her, the woman in white radiating a palpable aura of wrongness and psychic void around her. She walked into the room with a small group of humans who all wore green and black clothes. She was also accompanied by a bald headed man with a white shirt who carried something in his arms, something that didn't belong in the hands of his race.
A raging amount of psychic power flared right next to him.
Janet recoiled as a sudden force struck her, causing her to stagger backwards until her back hit the wall. Her head felt like a stone was bouncing around inside her skull, and it sounded like a swarm of flies was flying around her head. The feeling was unbearable.
No one else was suffering anything that was even remotely similar to hers, which meant her strange ability to hurt the aliens had something to do with this. The guards had noticed her distress, but couldn't tend to her, being busy aiming at the aliens in case their calm demeanor was a trick; SG-1 on the other hand.
"Oh my god, Janet! You're bleeding!" said Sam in horror.
Bringing a hand to her face, Janet felt blood leaking from her nose, staining her hand and face crimson. Her eyes widened, shocked that something this terrible had gone unnoticed by her till now. It was like veins had just burst on their own.
"What's going on?" she whispered, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. "How's this happening?"
Daniel produced a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. He was clearly worried, but his eyes were glued to the aliens - or, more specifically, the one in black, the one from the infirmary. Following his gaze, while pressing the handkerchief to her nose, Janet saw the alien was surrounded by a near undetectable haze, his hands clenched into fists.
"Maybe he wants what is his," said Teal'c, calm as always. He turned to General Hammond who carried the alien's silver spear, urging him forward. The general nodded, understanding that the situation depended on this.
"Men, stand back," Hammond ordered, boldly walking forward. The guards lowered their guns and stepped aside to let him pass.
Seemingly understanding his intentions, the alien in blue robes grabbed the other one's shoulder, stopping whatever he was doing. In that very instant Janet's nosebleed stopped as abruptly as it had started, confirming her suspicion that it was his doing. But how? Wasn't she immune to their tricks like the illusion and possibly the shockwave back on Delmak? Maybe her immunity had a downside after all.
The spear literally leapt out General Hammond's hands when he was only a meter away, returning to its owner's hands who proceeded to aim a strange firearm he didn't have when he was brought right at his face. The guards reacted appropriately, aiming at the aliens once again, but held their fire for now.
Sam, probably thinking the situation might escalate again, walked Janet out of the gate room with Daniel in tow, despite his insistence to be left behind in case his help was needed. It was like he didn't realize he could do that from the control room.
Janet's head was still killing her and her feet felt unsure, so she allowed them to take her outside. She hoped this moment wouldn't turn into a bloodbath.
"Come on, Janet," said Sam, practically dragging the senior medical officer by her arm. "We can watch the situation from the control room."
"It's also safer in there for you and us," added Daniel rather seriously, seeing her still trying to wipe the last bits of blood from her face.
"That I agree, Daniel," replied Janet. "That I agree."
Calm yourself, Keconrith, ordered Colnir, grabbing his fellow seer by the arm, if you fire that gun, you will destroy our last chance to survive this mess.
But, Colnir! He stole my spea-
Do not argue! I know what I'm doing, unlike you! Sometimes I think you should have stayed on the Path of Warrior for good. His less than subtle insult was not lost on Keconrith, quite surely, but he did not comment on it.
Reluctantly, Keconrith lowered the weapon, and Colnir took it back from him, holstering it as he turned towards the humans again. The guards had lowered their slug throwers and the blank had been taken away. Good, now to put his plans into motion.
Next to him, Keconrith stepped back a bit to allow him to proceed with his gambit. In his opinion, all this was unnecessary, but he let the seer of Alaitoc to have his fun. At least his spear was back with him again, and so long as Colnir could get them out of here, that was all he cared about at the moment.
Colnir unleashed a brief series of psychic messages, each consisting of an image directed into the bald man's mind. This was the only reliable way of communicating with lesser beings who couldn't be talked to in the same language. With these images he was instructing them to activate the ring and send them back; in return they wouldn't destroyed by the eldar forces. It was risky, but it had to be done.
The human clearly understood what he was trying to get through and nodded. He turned around and walked down the ramp while giving out orders. The guards moved aside, few of them leaving the group, including a dark skinned man with a golden mark on his forehead who was similar to the foes the invading fleet had used back on the other planet - a human who carried within himself a parasite. Colnir could easily sense the smaller mind within the man, but couldn't detect any hint of arrogance, lust for power or fanatical faith in his mind unlike the rest of those he had faced. This could turn out to be interesting.
"I hope you know what you are doing, Colnir," said Keconrith out loud, walking away from the ring much to Colnir's confusion. "I do not wish to repeat what happened on Medusa V."
"You still can't let that be," observed the seer of Alaitoc. He saw humans starting to press buttons in their little room and heard the ring behind him spin. He saw the blank inside the room, too, surrounded by her group.
"Word of warning," said Keconrith suddenly. "Stand back from the ring as it activates, otherwise you might get hurt."
Colnir had a feeling Keconrith had experience of this, so he did what was asked and walked away, keeping an eye on the ring as it spun and those strange stones locked; all the while humans kept bombarding his ears with their unintelligible nonsense over the speakers. Being this close to the blank was still uncomfortable, even with the distance that separated them. He sensed Keconrith was also uncomfortable, glancing at the human guards who still lingered inside the room. He was also fingering his spear suspiciously, malicious intent in his mind but he held himself in check. No need to spoil their success.
The ring activated, sending forth a burst of rippling energy that flowed back and formed a vertical wall of what looked like standing water. After a shared glance and a nod, the two warlocks made their way to the portal. Without looking back once, the eldar duo departed from this world and into to the long tunnel of swirling energy that opened before their eyes.
As they walked in silence, taking in the tunnel's interesting appearance, Keconrith thought about what he could have done to the human complex before entering the portal. A strong psychic shockwave could have easily shredded the whole room the ring occupied and killed a good dozen of the mon-keigh, but that would have been a waste of psychic energy. Like Colnir had proven, these humans were quite easy to manipulate, naïve bunch, so they might be useful in the future.
No need to waste handy pawns.
And, that's the end of that. Sheesh!
I apologize again for the lateness of this chapter and the overall dullness. For those of you wondering: Yes, Janet's nosebleed was caused by Keconrith's attempt to mind rape her by directing enough psychic energy at her to overwhelm her (un)natural defense against psychic powers. I heard it happened to an Untouchable in Ravenor, although he was burnt out and possessed, so in this case it's a variation. As you all might have noticed, Janet's not really an ordinary Omega, since she can interact with others without irrational loathing or fear, but this could be explained that others have become accustomed to her presence.
Also: those monsters were khymerae the dark eldar beastmasters use. The sphere allows Apophis to control them and was manipulating him to visit the world. He's gonna be trouble in the future. And also, the SG-2 members are real, not my own creations.
How did you like the escape? It shows some rivalry and the eldar's manipulativeness. When should the eldar start to learn English? When and how should I introduce Jonas Quinn, and should Daniel die? Did anyone understand how I changed the gate travel? I think I was too unclear with that. What do you think of Apophis controlling the khymarae? Out of idle curiosity, one last one: have you ever heard of a horrible fanfic called Squad Broken? If you haven't, be glad. There is a reason it's listed in So Bad, It's Horrible. Probably shouldn't have mentioned it, but oh well.
Well, anyway. See ya in the future.