Daughter of My Heart, Chapter Twenty-One
[Set during Rite of Passage]
It wasn't called the 'mind fire' for nothing. Cassie's head felt like it was roasting, inside and out. Janet had given her a broad assortment of medications to counteract the heat, but nothing helped.
"Let me come with you," she pleaded when her mom came to say the mission was a go. "I need to go into the forest."
"Janet doesn't think you should be moved right now," her dad said softly. "I promise, if we find anything that can help, we'll bring it here to you."
"I can find it," Cassie begged. "Please. Let me come."
"I'm sorry, Cass," her mom said, a catch in her voice. "You need to stay here, with Janet."
"Mom, I'm dying, and there's nothing she can do. I need to go into the forest!"
Cassie could feel tears spill onto her cheeks, only to burn dry moments later. Daniel reached a gentle hand to her face, pressing her cheek where the tears had been. His usually warm hand felt cool against her burning skin.
"Let us look first," he said, his own eyes pleading.
"We're wasting time!," Cassie countered angrily, pulling away. "The others would have left by now. I can't just stay here and die!"
"Cassandra," Sam said, pulling her close. "You are not going to die. Do you hear me? I won't let it happen."
Cassie let her mom hold her. Sam had never given up on her before, not even when it looked liked she really would die, and take half the planet with her. Cassie wrapped her arms around her.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"We're going to get through this," her mom promised, squeezing her tight. Her dad nodded.
"We'll be back before you know it," he added softly.
"We love you so much," her mom said, kissing her hair. Her dad leaned over to kiss her head too. Cassie clung to them both, just for a moment.
"Please hurry," she said, curling back up on the infirmary bed. She didn't know how much longer she could take the pain.
"We will," Daniel promised, and then they were gone.
Cassie willed herself to sleep, for what little good it did her. Even her dreams were filled with heat and pain, engulfing her in all-consuming waves as she struggled to find her way into the forest.
Janet joined the rest of SG-1 for the post-mission debriefing, noting with dismay the looks of strained concern etched into the faces of her two closest friends.
"What were you able to find, SG-1?," Hammond asked, taking his seat.
"A Goa'uld laboratory, Sir," O'Neill replied. "Looks like Nirti was busy."
Daniel snorted. "If by 'busy' you mean 'experimenting on a human population,'" he replied testily.
"From what we've been able to learn, Sir, Nirti introduced the retrovirus into the planet's population several generations ago in order to speed up their natural evolution. The only trouble is, the changes introduced by the retrovirus are insupportable in a human body. The only way to save Cassie is to stop the retrovirus and reverse the changes," Sam added.
"Doctor, what do you have for us?," Hammond asked, looking to Janet for answers.
"Unfortunately, not much Sir," Janet replied resignedly. "This retrovirus is way out of our league. Unless there's something in Nirti's notes we can use, I don't think there will be much I can do."
"Doctor Jackson?," General Hammond asked.
Daniel sighed. "From what I've been able to translate so far, we've learned what Nirti was trying to accomplish, but not how she was doing it."
"And what exactly was a Goa'uld hoping to gain by creating an evolved race of humans?," Hammond questioned.
"Hosts," Daniel said with a shrug. "Human hosts with advanced abilities. What Goa'uld wouldn't want one?"
"What sort of abilities are we talking about here?," Hammond asked, concerned.
"Well, Sir, based on what we've seen with Cassandra, telekinesis at the very least," Janet replied, shrugging apologetically to the girl's startled parents. "And if I had to guess, I'd say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Her brain activity is increasing almost exponentially. There's no telling what she'd be able to do, if her body could actually support the changes."
"Doctor Jackson, I want you to keep working on those translations," Hammond ordered.
"Yes, Sir," Daniel mumbled, looking down at his notes.
"Doctor Fraiser, keep me posted on Cassandra's condition. Major Carter, it might be time to call your father."
"Yes, Sir," the two women chorused.
"Dismissed."
Daniel rubbed his eyes wearily. There was nothing there. Nothing in the text that could save his daughter.
Nirti must have taken all the pertinent information with her when she destroyed the planet.
Daniel threw his translations across the room.
There had to be something they could do. Some way to find the Goa'uld responsible for this, and wring the information out of her.
He'd already lost Sha're to the Goa'uld. He'd be damned if he lost Cassie, too.
"Mom?," Cassie murmured hoarsely.
"I'm here," Sam whispered, leaning closer.
"I hurt," Cassie said, echoing words from years before. A shiver ran down Sam's spine.
"I know," she said, squeezing her daughter's hand. "We're doing everything we can. You just need to hang in there."
Cassie nodded, wincing as she did.
Sam had to fight back the urge to weep. This was her daughter, her precious child, and there was nothing she could do to help.
"I'm going to miss my party," Cassie croaked.
"We'll have it as soon as you're well again," Sam promised, hoping the day would come.
Suddenly, Cassie's eyes widened in alarm, and Sam was about to ask what was wrong when she felt it too. Naquadah. Hope surged through Sam even as Cassie shrank in upon herself in fear. There was a Goa'uld on base.
Nirti.
Quickly sounding the alarm, Sam called up to the control room, alerting General Hammond.
If they could catch her, there was a chance they could still save Cassandra.
And then everything went dark.
The Goa'uld was refusing to cooperate. No big surprise there. But Daniel was through playing games.
Sam was being treated for a mild concussion, and Cassie was on her deathbed.
He rounded the corner, zatting both guards before they could see what hit them. Tucking the weapon away, he swiped his access card, opening the door. He stood face to face with the monster, who smiled decadently upon his arrival.
"Daniel Jackson," she purred, eyes glinting with thinly veiled malice.
Daniel pulled out his berretta, aiming it at her head. "Tell me how to save Cassandra," he said coldly.
She laughed, a hollow echo in the grey room. "And why would I do that?," she sneered, eyes never leaving his face. Calling his bluff.
He unlatched the safety, loading the gun.
"You cannot intimidate me with your primitive Earth weapons," she taunted, arrogance overriding any natural sense of fear.
He took a carefully aimed shot, grazing her shoulder. The Goa'uld howled in rage.
"Tell me how to save Cassandra," he repeated.
"What's in it for me?," she hissed.
He took another shot, grazing her knee. Her leg buckled, and she stumbled forward, grabbing the table for balance. Her eyes glowed with white-hot fury, a snarl curling her lips.
"Tell me, and I'll stop shooting," he reasoned coldly, his own fury carefully channeled into calculated moves. He wouldn't leave without an answer.
"Dr. Jackson, what the Hell is going on here?," General Hammond barked, barging into the room.
Daniel's eyes never left the snarling face. "Getting what we need," he said, taking aim once more.
"You are outnumbered, Daniel Jackson," the Goa'uld sneered, rising unsteadily to her feet. "Your own people oppose you."
He fired, clipping her left ear. The SFs behind Hammond moved to grab him, but Janet stood in their way. Nirti's eyes flashed with rage as she limped furiously toward him. Daniel held his ground, gun still aimed where it could cause optimal damage.
"Tell me how to save Cassandra," he repeated again.
"Over your dead body," she spat.
"Save her, or you die," he said, laying it bare.
"I should probably remind you, Miss, that right now you are dealing with the girl's father," General Hammond said mildly. "And I believe he's already proven his point," he added, indicating her injuries.
"You will pay for this," she hissed, glaring from Daniel to Janet to the General. "All of you!"
"Are you going to save Cassandra, or not?," Daniel demanded, the gun still trained firmly on the Goa'uld.
"I will save my research," Nirti spat, staring Daniel down in open, angry defiance. "And then you will set me free, with a vial of the specimen's blood."
Sam stayed glued to Cassie's side the entire time the Goa'uld was in the room, only half-registering that it was Daniel, and not one of the SFs or Colonel O'Neill, who held a gun trained on Nirti's head should she make a wrong move.
"It is done," the Goa'uld announced.
"Cassie?," Sam asked softly. She nodded.
"I feel...like me, again," Cassie confirmed.
"No telekinetic powers?," Janet checked. Cassie glanced over at a tray of instruments, shaking her head a moment later.
"Nope. Nothing," she replied.
"The sample," Nirti demanded. Daniel pressed the gun to the back of her head.
"You can leave without it," he spat.
"You are without honour, Daniel Jackson," the Goa'uld hissed.
"Maybe so. But in this case, I think I can live with that."
There was going to be hell to pay, Daniel was sure of that. But marching the Goa'uld to the gateroom at gunpoint, away from his daughter, his beautiful, smart, alive daughter, he didn't really care. Somehow, after all these years, after all their battles, this felt like his first real victory against the Goa'uld. And nobody could take that away from him.