The Ancient Enemy: II
Stargate Command
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado
Prison Room
"It's dead, right?" asked Brigadier General Jack O'Neill hopefully as he peered down into the room below.
Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter hesitated for a moment. "Umm, no, sir, it's only sedated. I thought it would be wise to interrogate one alive."
"Isn't that a little dangerous?" O'Neill asked sarcastically.
"Well, yes. However, we've got him tightly secured and well guarded. It shouldn't be a problem," Carter said.
O'Neill looked away from the creature strapped down in the room below. "So, what is it exactly?"
"We don't know yet, sir," answered Carter. "They appear to be of the same vein as the Unos. A MRI scan of their body revealed much of the same make-up, such as the ability to heal themselves. It also revealed this." Carter turned on a monitor, which displayed a CGI image of the creature. It displayed the creatures' skeletal system, and what laid on its spinal cord.
"So, it's a Go'ald," O'Neill said simply.
"Well, not really, sir…"
"Carter," O'Neill interrupted, pointing at the image. "I know a Go'ald when I see one, and that's definitely a Go'ald."
Carter took a breath, then attempted to explain. "Well, yes, sir. Technically, it's a Go'ald; however they call themselves the Be'nox. Since this appears to be one of their common soldiers, and it is being directly controlled by the symbiot, I do not think we can count on a resistance like the Jaffa did. Other than this, we don't know much. We've examined the corpses of the symbiots, and like you said, they're pretty much your typical Go'ald."
The phone rang, and O'Neill walked over and picked up the phone. He listened for a few seconds before saying, "I'm on my way." He hung up the phone, and turned to Carter. "Daniels' awake."
They walked out of the room, away from the Be'nox soldier who, unbeknownst to them, was not sedated, and was very well aware of his surroundings. He laid motionless on the cold metal table, with the pathetic bonds strapped around his legs and arms. He kept his brain functions to the barest minimum in order to fool the primitive human technology. The Be'nox scorned the less advanced technologies the humans employed, as if their chemicals could inhibit him! Although he was stung that he had to allow himself to be captured, he took solace knowing that everything was going as planned. He allowed himself the slightest smile, an action that went unnoticed by his guards. The humans believed they captured him against his will, he thought to himself. How little they actually knew. The soldier ceased his thoughts when the voice of Lord Lek Nai entered his mind.
"Aki Rai," Lek Nai said.
"Yes, my lord?" replied Aki Rai.
"Remember what it is you must do."
"Everything is going as planned, my lord."
Medical Ward
Dr. Daniel Jackson was sitting up in bed, with an IV running through his arm, when Carter and O'Neill walked in. He looked confused. "What am I doing here?" he asked of them, touching the side of the bed.
O'Neill and Carter stood side by side next to Jacksons' bed. "You were in a coma," Carter explained. "You were attacked by a Be'nox when they boarded the Aeneas, and fell into a coma from the shock. You probably would have died if Teal'c hadn't showed up."
Jackson leaned his head back onto his pillow. "So that's twice I owe him, eh?"
O'Neill smiled slightly. "Hey. Just be glad Teal'c was around at all." Suddenly the smile left his face, and was replaced by a touch of sadness. "So, Bratak's really gone then?"
Jackson didn't look at him, and just nodded his head. "Yeah. How's Teal'c taking it?"
Carter sighed. "We don't know, probably not very well. He returned to De'kara shortly after our return. He never really talked about it at all."
An awkward silence followed, and Carter tried to change the topic. "So, Daniel. What happened to that one Be'nox, their leader?"
Jackson looked at her. "Sor Jakk?"
Carter nodded. "He seemed really upset after he used that device on you. What did he do?"
"Yeah, well. He was searching my mind," Jackson answered, something clearly bothering him. "He was searching through certain memories."
"Why would a Go'ald do that?" O'Neill asked. Carter opened her mouth to correct him, but thought better of it.
"He said he was looking for something. It probably didn't seem like a lot of time elapsed, but we spent a very long time in there. Towards the end, he mentioned that he was searching for a perfect host. I think he was seeing if I qualified, or something."
"What memories did he specifically pick out?" inquired Carter.
"Mostly the sad points, such as when my parents died, when Sarah and I broke up, and when I died for the first time…" Jackson stopped, his face screwed up. "And then he stopped, something bothered him. He lost control, somehow."
"How did that happen?" asked O'Neill. "Was it something you did?"
"I don't think so, I had not control whatsoever," Jackson paused again. He snapped his fingers. "I get it know!"
"Get what, Daniel?"
"The next memory after that was the time when I was Ascended," explained Jackson. "Perhaps I subconsciously fought him because I am still unable to directly remember anything that happened during that time."
Carter thought it over. "That makes sense."
"Well, it's been a while since my psych class," O'Neill said. "So, let's turn to something that I might understand better. Why, exactly, was he searching your memory in the first place? Why would he want you as a host?"
Jackson shook his head. "I have no idea."
Before the discussion could proceed any further, they were interrupted by an alarm. "Unscheduled off-world activation!"
Promising to visit soon, Carter and O'Neill left Jackson in the ward and headed to the Control Room