Brotherhood (15/27)
Title: Brotherhood ( Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen
Chapter1 Chapter2a-- 2b Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Chapter9 Chapter10a-- 10b Chapter11 Chapter12 Chapter13a-- 13b Chapter14 Chapter15
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The Nox
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1 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 1500 hrs
"Your Eminence," Zipacna said, "Until a few years ago, the humans on Abydos lived under Goa'uld law, administered by Ra. By that law, they were Goa'uld property. Lord Klorel merely took what was already his."
The red crystal on Skaara's chest turned blue as he answered tightly, "I was born to this body, free of the demon Klorel. He stole my body--he stole the life I would have had on my homeworld, Abydos."
"Human Archons?" Travell said, turning to acknowledge the Abydos side.
Daniel stood. Kasuf was standing, too, so he remained silent until Kasuf began to speak, translating the man's words so they spoke with one voice. "Lord Zipacna is attempting to distort the truth. Skaara, when you were taken from Abydos by the forces of Apophis, was Ra the ruler of Abydos?"
"No," Skaara said. "The false god Ra was defeated when I was a small child."
"Who was the highest authority to whom you answered?"
Skaara's eyes remained fixed on Kasuf. "My father is the head of the Council of Elders. Abydos was governed by the Council, not any of the Goa'uld."
Kasuf fell silent then, so Daniel finished, "Your Eminence, by the time Klorel took Skaara's body, there had been no Goa'uld on Abydos in nearly twenty Abydonian years. Skaara was taken forcibly from his home and enslaved unlawfully, by any law imaginable."
Travell nodded to them. "Goa'uld Archon, do you wish to respond?"
Zipacna, still wearing his apparently constant smirk, stood. "I do." He walked slowly toward the center where Skaara stood, with the air of a predator circling his prey. Skaara's eyes followed him warily, his entire bearing tense and not quite leaning away, and Daniel had to clench his hands into fists under the table to restrain himself from rising to pull his brother away from the Goa'uld. "Do the people of Abydos hunt?" Zipacna said. "Do they use animals as beasts of burden, or for food and clothing?"
Still wary, Skaara answered, "Yes."
"Do you also eat the flesh of humans?"
Repulsion rolled over Skaara's face. "No, never!"
"Then," Zipacna said, "you make the judgment that animals are of lesser value than humans. This is the law, Your Eminence, that the human Archons have neglected--the law of nature."
Ah, Daniel thought. So it was like what they'd faced during the summit with the Asgard and the System Lords for the Protected Planets Treaty--the idea that humans were inherently inferior to the Goa'uld and, therefore, fair game for enslavement or death. It was a good thing, then, that he'd had a lot of time to think about the flaws of that argument since then, both on his own and in joint speculation with other researchers at the SGC.
"If a human has the right to take an animal's body and do with it as he pleases because he is a superior being," Zipacna concluded, his tone smug, "then so does a Goa'uld have the right to do as he pleases with a human's body. By that argument alone, the Goa'uld has priority--and the host belongs to Klorel."
"Do the human Archons wish to respond?" Travell said neutrally.
"We do, Your Eminence," Daniel said immediately, surging to his feet, but Kasuf was standing as well, so he ceded to his elder's argument first. "Skaara, you have hunted, killed, and cared for many animals in your life, have you not?"
Skaara looked more frightened now that it was clear this would actually be a fight, and not just a perfunctory ceremony to satisfy the details of the law. He looked at his father, as if trying to ask why they were still using this argument, but said, "Yes."
"Has any of them ever called you to a gathering of justice?"
"No. Of course not."
Kasuf gave him an encouraging smile. "If you learned that one of your beasts of burden felt itself to be wrongfully enslaved and could argue with you for its freedom, what would you do?"
"I would say that the animal is more intelligent than I knew before," Skaara said. "Perhaps it should not be enslaved."
Zipacna stood up quickly. "Your Eminence, I must insist that that the human Archons stop avoiding the topic."
Moving away from the table, Daniel stepped forward and said, "Your Eminence, we are only demonstrating the flaw in Lord Zipacna's argument. The fact that humans are standing here arguing for the rights of a human clearly shows that humans are self-aware, intelligent beings."
Travell answered neither of them but turned instead to Zipacna, as if to ask whether he had further response.
"By saying this," Zipacna said, "the human Archons demonstrate their lack of comprehension of my words. It is a matter of degree and perspective. Your ability to stand and speak does not make you an equal to my species, in intelligence or otherwise."
"And yet--" Daniel pressed. He paused, glancing back once, but Kasuf nodded to him to go on, "...you stand in a room where a human presides, on a world built by a society of humans more advanced than the Goa'uld. Would you still argue that humans, including the High Chancellor Travell and all the humans of Tollana, are not only inferior to you but also worthy of being nothing more than slaves and property to the Goa'uld?"
At this, Lya spoke up to say, "Your point about the Goa'uld Archon's remarks is well made, and it is well taken, Dan'yel. However, I remind you that the fate of Skaara and Klorel, not of the Tollan people, is at stake today."
Chastised, Daniel retreated to their side, but Kasuf stopped him before he could sit down and picked up the argument. "Skaara, if you had the choice, would you choose to leave this planet with the demon Klorel still within you, or would you choose to--" As Daniel heard the last part, he faltered before he could finish translating. Kasuf gave him a stern look, and he finished, "...or would you choose to die?"
Lya's head tilted thoughtfully, but she remained silent. Skaara visibly steeled himself, then said, "I would rather die."
"Why?"
"What I suffer each day," Skaara said slowly, "is worse than death."
Kasuf looked like he had been expecting this, given what he knew of the Goa'uld, but his expression grew pained nonetheless.
Skaara turned suddenly to Daniel, and for the first time Daniel could remember in his life, his brother seemed to be on the verge of tears. "I remember the demon stretching out my hand to kill Dan'yel," he said. "My brother, whom I swore to protect when he was only a baby--the demon tortured him to the brink of death with my hand." Daniel had to stop himself from shivering at the memory as Kasuf gave him a sharp look--no one on Abydos had ever heard that story before. "There was nothing I could do to stop it," Skaara finished, finally tearing his gaze from Daniel and turning to Travell. "And I have seen many more, far worse atrocities than this."
Angry now, Zipacna rose to say, "I demand that the humans stop straying from the topic!"
"We are not straying!" Daniel said, just as angry and trying not to let it show. "This is exactly what this Triad is about. Klorel has stolen body, life, and choice from the host, Skaara, and they should be returned to their original owner. Their rightful owner: the host."
Zipacna turned to him with a sneer. "Nothing of the host survives."
Now Skaara lowered his gaze, squeezing his eyes shut as his hands convulsed on the railings that surrounded him.
This seemed such a ridiculous statement that Daniel almost let himself say something rash about how they knew a Tok'ra symbiote who'd died and left the host intact--and, in fact, that former host was on Tollana right now--but there was duty to his family and duty to the SGC and its allies, and he could not betray one for the other.
"When a Goa'uld takes a host, the symbiote also gains access to the host's mind, isn't that true?" Daniel said. "In fact, you benefit from human intelligence."
"Why would a Goa'uld need that?" Zipacna said, still smiling disdainfully. "We have no need of what the human mind can provide us."
But the SGC had been studying the Goa'uld for two years, and the people who weren't off exploring all the time had had time to formulate more than their share of theories of the Goa'uld-host relationship based on historical data collected. So...
"If that were true, then why would the Goa'uld have stopped using the Unas?" When Zipacna frowned, Daniel continued quickly, "That the Goa'uld used Unas as hosts before beginning to prefer humans is a well-established historical fact. Do you deny it?"
"No," Zipacna said.
"Because by using humans," Daniel said, trying to sound confident about what was admittedly only a theory, "you could gain understanding of...of human religion and their legends in order to better control slaves. If the host's mind did not remain, and the host was only a physical...vessel for the Goa'uld, what advantage would there be in using a physically inferior host?"
Zipacna scowled at them. "The memories of the host can be absorbed by the Goa'uld's mind, this is true," he finally conceded. "That does not mean that the host himself survives the process beyond the implantation."
"Then how does Skaara speak today?" Kasuf added.
"What you call Skaara is nothing but a remnant," Zipacna said immediately. "He can speak now only because the Tollan use their technology to silence Klorel."
"For the technology to work," Daniel pressed, "Skaara must still be alive, or there would be nothing left to speak when Klorel was silenced."
Suddenly, Lya said, "And he spoke well. His words were not those of a remnant personality."
"Lord Zipacna has now told two falsehoods that he himself does not or cannot deny," Kasuf said through Daniel, "about the Goa'uld relationship with Abydos and the nature of the host. The human Archons demand that the Goa'uld Archon refrain from further lies to win this Triad."
Glowering, Zipacna turned to give a reply, but Travell interrupted him with, "A valid request. You will hold to it, Lord Zipacna."
Zipacna looked thrown by the support from not only the High Chancellor but also the third Archon. Daniel suspected he himself looked more relieved than he should.
"Human Archons," Travell added, "please endeavor to remain more closely on topic."
And then Zipacna regained his smirk, and Daniel steeled himself for another round.
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1 December 1999; Waiting Room, Tollana; 1700 hrs
Jack paced in the waiting room. The door slid open as Carter came back. "I talked to Narim, sir," she said as soon as the door closed behind her. "He says that it's impossible for the Jaffa to have tampered with the ion cannons--"
"Well, they were doing something to those cannons!" Jack hissed.
"Yes, sir, I saw it, too," she agreed. "Narim did say he'd tell the High Chancellor when they're done with today's session, after they break for recess until morning." She looked around the room. "No word yet about the Triad?"
"None," Teal'c answered.
Carter nodded. "Daniel doesn't have experience with things like this," she said.
"There was Cronus," Jack said again, mostly because it was the only experience that could be counted as anything close to this.
Knowing that as well, Carter looked doubtful. "That was once, sir--spur-of-the-moment, with Cronus in our debt, and it lasted about two minutes."
"I know that, Major," Jack said. "Daniel will do all right, and Kasuf will keep him in line. They'll be okay. Come on, Lya's there--how can they lose?"
"The Nox will not unjustly favor humans over the Goa'uld, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"We don't need extra favor," Jack said. "If she makes a fair choice, it'll be in favor of Skaara."
"About that, sir..." Carter said. "Narim thought at first that I was trying to influence the outcome of the Triad by discrediting Zipacna and his Jaffa."
"And having Zipacna mess with the Tollan defensive technology isn't influencing anything?" Jack said sarcastically.
"I know, sir. I just wanted to warn you of what to expect when he tells Travell about it."
The door slid open again, and this time, it was Kasuf and Daniel, both looking furious as they entered. Jack took this as a bad sign but tried to be casual as he said, "How'd it go?"
"Do you remember trying to negotiate with the System Lords, Jack?" Daniel snapped.
Jack grimaced. "That well, huh."
"It's the same thing again. 'Humans are inferior.' 'Humans exist to be Goa'uld hosts and slaves.' I can't believe there's even a question of whether Klorel should be removed. I mean, two brains in one body--one of the brains is detachable and the other is not! What does that tell you? It's ridiculous that a society as advanced as--"
"Dan'yel," Kasuf interrupted sternly. Daniel exhaled angrily but stopped ranting. "We gain favor with the Nox Archon, Colonel O'Neill."
"See?" Jack said encouragingly. "I told you she'd be reasonable. So it's going well."
"Yeah, maybe," Daniel said, somewhat calmer. "It's just that something feels...I don't know. Zipacna just seems so confident." Jack glanced surreptitiously at Teal'c and Carter, who returned the wary look. Still caught up in his indignation, Daniel didn't seem to notice and only batted halfheartedly at the flag hanging on their wall with the Abydos point of origin. "Maybe it's just the way he is--Goa'uld arrogance or bluffing or something--but I don't know."
"Well, maybe it's something else, because here's the thing," Jack said. "We saw his Jaffa messing around with the Tollan ion cannons."
"The Tollan...ion-what?" Daniel said blankly.
Clearly, someone hadn't been paying attention to the big, honking guns that made Goa'uld motherships explode.
"The ion cannons are the defensive weapons that were used to destroy Heru-ur's motherships," Teal'c explained. "We have informed Narim. He is most likely speaking with High Chancellor Travell even now."
Daniel and Kasuf exchanged alarmed looks. "Do you think he's trying to sabotage the Triad?"
"Well, no offense to any of you," Carter said, "but we suspect he's got bigger things on his mind than just Skaara or Klorel. If he can tamper with the ion cannons, there's only so much influence that could possibly have on the Triad, but it could have a huge impact on the Tollan defenses."
With a sigh, Daniel walked past all of them to drop slowly to a seat on one of the chairs around the room. "Why can't they just give him back and let us leave?"
"Because," Jack started without thinking, still watching the door and waiting for someone to tell them that the ion cannons were being screwed with, "they're a bunch of cocky, overconfident, ungrateful, self-righteous--"
"Sir," Carter said, and Jack turned to see Daniel sitting with his chin on his knees. Kasuf was still standing in silence, clearly uncomfortable with every possible aspect of the situation, but Jack decided right then that whatever backbone Daniel had developed might have been learned from this man as much as from anywhere else.
"What, you're not worried, are you?" Jack said, lightening his tone.
In answer, Daniel raised his head enough to scowl at him. "Don't patronize us, Jack."
Crossing his arms casually, Jack said, "I just think you're getting a little too wound up. Kasuf, you said Lya might be sympathetic to you. You just need her vote, and that's it. It'll be fine."
"What if she doesn't vote our way?" Daniel demanded. "Zipacna's doing something, and this is a formal...tribunal...thing. What do I know about this kind of thing? I'm not... My specialty is translating, Jack. My job is to be a...a mouthpiece for the team, not the brain behind it!"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Jack said, too exasperated with something that ridiculous to play cheerleader with it. "Things would be a lot simpler if you'd manage to shut up and stop thinking aloud more often. Are you even listening to yourself?"
To his surprise, Daniel actually considered that for a minute before admitting, "Not really."
"My point exactly. We'll make sure Zipacna doesn't screw things up," Jack assured him. "All you've got to do is keep doing whatever you're doing."
"I just don't want to lose him again," Daniel said more quietly, "not this time."
At that, Kasuf turned to him and said something in Abydonian. Jack knew enough to pick out the word 'kill' and 'Klorel' from Kasuf and a stiff 'no' from Daniel, though the rest was too fast to follow. Not sure if he should simply bow out of this, Jack looked to Teal'c, who was standing very still but shook his head slightly.
Finally, Daniel stood up and made what had to be a deliberate switch back to English as he said, "That is between Skaara and myself, Kasuf."
Kasuf looked like he wanted to insist, but whatever the relationship between Elder and citizen on Abydos, clearly it wasn't the same as the commander-subordinate relationship in the US. Whatever this was about, it didn't seem to be something either of them wanted to discuss publically. Eventually, both of them stopped trying to stare each other down and sat again. Jack wondered idly just how high the tension in the room would have mounted by the time morning, and the last part of the Triad, rolled around.
Footsteps at the door made them turn to see High Chancellor Travell standing in the entrance, somehow managing to look Very Displeased despite the frosty smile she still wore. "I hear that you have leveled accusations against the opposing party in Triad," she said.
"Believe me," Jack said, suppressing a surge of irritation at the implication, "this has nothing to do with Triad for us."
"We have only the welfare of the Tollan people in mind," Teal'c added.
"Lord Zipacna was very offended by your accusations," Travell went on. "He denied that he had ordered any tampering of our defense systems."
"Well, that's a shocker," Jack drawled. "You're not just taking his word for it, are you?"
"Our experts," she added sternly, "have been unable to find any form of tampering on any of the cannons." As Carter opened her mouth to argue, Travell held up a hand and said, "The defense systems are comprehensive. If any of the components were damaged, the others would immediately eliminate the threat. There was no sign of tampering found, because it is impossible. Our technology is superior in every way to theirs...and to yours."
"Haven't lost that arrogance bug, huh?" Jack said.
"Colonel," Travell said, "if this is an attempt to influence the outcome of Triad, it is a feeble attempt indeed."
At those words, Daniel hurried forward to say, "Your Eminence, I'm sure that was not their intention at all. They're only worried for the safety of this planet and its people."
"I hope so," she said. "But if you pursue this matter in any way, I will disqualify you from Triad and replace you. Skaara will be represented by someone else. Is that understood?"
"With protest," Jack said.
Kasuf shot him an angry glare and said, "Colonel O'Neill is not the Archon. We did not know of this, Your Eminence."
"Then," Travell told him, "I suggest that you make it clear to your friends from Earth that their actions affect the fate of your son, Seshmit Kasuf, or banish them from this Triad. Now, you will return to Triad in the morning and you will not mention this further. Any of you."
The door slid shut behind her when she left, closing with a gentle whisper.
And, perhaps worse, she'd drawn a line between the Abydons and the Tau'ri, and now SG-1 looked like the bad guys for messing with the Triad. Daniel was standing with his elder, facing his team, and he said, "You can't meddle in this."
It was Teal'c who answered. "I know the Goa'uld, Daniel Jackson. They will attack."
"Then let them attack!" Daniel said, gesturing sharply with one hand. "Didn't they say one of their cannons destroyed two hatak vessels?"
Reluctantly, Jack said, "The Tollan have made it pretty clear they can take care of themselves."
"The Tollan have not been at war in many generations," Teal'c countered. "They do not think strategically. I believe that to be a fatal flaw."
"Their naiveté could be their downfall," Carter agreed.
"Allow Major Carter and myself to continue monitoring the Goa'uld contingent," Teal'c said to Jack, "in case of--"
"You'll be risking Skaara's chance at life," Daniel gritted out, standing stiff and tall. "You promised, Teal'c!"
"I regret that I must say this," Teal'c said, staring hard at Daniel. "But we should consider the possibility that this is greater than the survival of one person. The lives of many people here, and perhaps our own lives, may be in danger."
"You sound like the Tok'ra," Daniel retorted. "The greater cause. The lives of SG-1 for the fate of the galaxy, but I still came after you, because we don't sacrifice the individual. You owe me that much. You asked me what I'm fighting for, Teal'c?"
"I understand your meaning, chal'ti--"
"Then don't take that from me!"
Undeterred, Teal'c leaned closer and said in a low voice, "I have also given you my word to do as your brother would have wished, should it become necessary. Your life and his father's may be in danger. Ask yourself whether he would want you dead."
Daniel's mouth opened soundlessly, then closed as he swallowed. "Well, it hasn't come to that. We're not killing him yet, Teal'c."
"Enough," Jack ordered, suddenly very aware that this could be the culmination of Daniel's time at the SGC--that this was, quite possibly, the end of one of the events that had initiated the Stargate program, unless they screwed it up. "We offered our information to the Tollan; the Tollan don't want our help. Leave it there and don't try to interfere. Does everyone understand?"
"Yes, sir," Carter said, her eyes averted just slightly to show she wasn't pleased.
When no other response came, Jack said, "Teal'c?"
"I understand, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
Daniel scrubbed a hand through his hair and dropped back into a chair. Kasuf stared at him for a few long moments like he'd never seen him before, then sighed and took a seat as well. SG-1 remained at the door until Carter signaled that she'd take first watch, and Jack and Teal'c found their places to wait for Triad to restart in the morning.
This was going to be a very long night.
Except, as it turned out, it wasn't.
Only an hour later, the door slid open again, and Narim said, "I apologize, but Triad will be reconvening earlier than expected. Kasuf, Dan'yel, your presence is required in the courtroom in five minutes' time."
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1 December 1999; Tollana; 2000 hrs
Jack shifted where he sat outside the courthouse, watching Carter chat with Narim while Teal'c finished...whatever he'd been doing in the courthouse--meditating, maybe--and walked out to join Jack.
The Triad wouldn't go on for much longer, they'd been assured. The Archons for both sides were down to their final objections and arguments, although, having been engaged in many arguments with one of those Archons, Jack was aware that 'not much longer' could be quite a bit longer than anyone really wanted. Kasuf would rein Daniel in if he got too involved with a rant, Jack thought, but then again, from what he'd heard, they were talking meaning of life and philosophy in there. That was never going to be a quick thing.
"Colonel!" Carter called, running toward him. Narim was following close behind. "Narim says a Goa'uld mothership has been spotted in Tollan territory. We need to warn the High Chancellor."
This was what happened when no one listened to them.
"Narim," Jack said, glaring at the man, "I don't give a damn about your protocols right now. We warned you once already. Now let us in there before the rest of our warning comes true."
"Of course," Narim said, still looking far too gobsmacked for someone who should've known this was coming, dammit. "I will take you to the High Chancellor."
Hurrying through the halls, Jack heard the click again as the weapon-jamming device activated, and he had to resist the urge to rip it right out of the wall. 'May I ask what you intend to defend yourself against?' they'd said. 'No harm will come to you--the Tollan will guarantee it.'
He wouldn't say 'no' to getting his money back on that guarantee right about now.
As they approached the main courtroom, Jack could hear Lya's voice inside saying, "Who? Perhaps one of you would volunteer?"
Daniel's voice answered, "The Tau'ri have provided two human hosts for the Tok'ra in the past, both of whom chose that fate. The symbiote lives in either case, but if the host is unwilling, as with Skaara, then he is condemned to a life with no choice and no freedom. That is no life at all."
In front of the door, Jack could now hear Kasuf's voice as well, speaking quietly in Abydonian as Daniel interpreted--a mouthpiece, like he'd said, but that part about the Tok'ra couldn't have come from Kasuf. Jack wasn't surprised; he wasn't sure it was even possible for Daniel to enter into a debate with someone and not add in his own thoughts.
As if to prove it, Kasuf stopped and Daniel kept going: "If you allow the Tok'ra to remove Klorel, they can find a willing host, rather than taking Skaara by force."
Narim yanked the door open, and they all walked in together.
Travell's gaze traveled over each of them but settled on Narim. "Narim, what is the meaning of this?" she said. "You know Triad is held as a closed session."
Undeterred, Narim said, "Your Eminence, please adjust your viewer to the orbital observatory."
Jack tapped his fingers impatiently on his disabled gun.
Narrowing her eyes, Travell nonetheless adjusted something on the panel before her, and then said, sounding surprised, "A Goa'uld mothership."
"Yes," Narim said. "It approaches Tollana."
Travell's cold glare transferred itself to Zipacna as all the Archons gravitated toward her, as if looking for an opening to justify or accuse. "Explain," she said to the Goa'uld.
"My vessel comes in anticipation of our victory in Triad," Zipacna said. "It is merely coming to take us aboard. Your Eminence, if our intentions were hostile, we would have attacked already."
Jack glanced at Teal'c, who had donned his most stoic expression, and at Carter, who looked just as skeptical as he felt.
Unappeased, Travell said, "Even so, your ship's arrival is premature and in violation of Tollan space. I must warn you that if your ship moves any closer before the conclusion of Triad, our automated defense system will destroy it."
"The Goa'uld rest our case, and we are prepared to vote," Zipacna said. "Therefore, Triad is over."
With more than a hint of censure in her tone, Travell said, "Triad is over when all parties agree, Lord Zipacna. Do the human Archons have any further arguments?"
"We do not," Kasuf said.
"We're ready to vote," Daniel said.
"Nox Archon?" Travell asked.
Lya inclined her head. "Yes."
"Then bring in the Seekers," she ordered.
At a stern look from her, Narim ushered the rest of them out of the room to wait. "Something is wrong," Narim said once the door had closed and someone had gone to fetch Skaara and Klorel.
"Y'think?" Jack said, still eyeing that stupid disabling device on the wall. Being unarmed off-world was one thing; being unarmed off-world with a Goa'uld whose goddamned mothership was floating over their heads, who was messing with the world's defense systems... "Do you get it now?" he asked Narim. "The--"
A Tollan man walked past, escorting Skaara along with him. Skaara's eyes were wide with fear, and Jack had no choice but to shut up for the moment and give him a reassuring smile. A second later, he remembered something Daniel had said about hero-worship, but either way, Skaara took a deep breath and looked slightly calmer as he was led into the courtroom.
Once the doors were closed again, Narim said, "I am beginning to think you may have been correct about Lord Zipacna's intentions. However, the fact remains that our defensive capabilities will engage immediately if there is an attack."
"And if all of the ion cannons are destroyed at once?" Teal'c said.
Narim seemed to consider, then shook his head. "The timing would need to be too exact. Without precise targeting of each of the cannons--"
"They were painting them," Carter interrupted, turning to Jack. "Sir, when we saw the Jaffa near the ion cannons yesterday, the Tollan couldn't find any signs of tampering, because there had been no tampering. They were just marking them as targets. I'm sure they've got ways."
"Samantha..." Narim said, sounding like he was caught between distress and denial.
But before he could go on, the doors opened, and Travell walked out, her usual, cool smile still on her face. "You may enter. I must summon the Tok'ra to remove Klorel from Skaara's body."
Skaara had won.
Jack stared for a moment, torn between the sense of alarm that refused to leave and the--relief? elation? uncertainty?--whatever it was they should be feeling on their friend's behalf. And then they all made various noises and gestures of 'okay, thanks,' and walked in past her.
Daniel's head turned when they entered, then swiveled in a rather goggle-eyed way between SG-1, Skaara, and Kasuf. Jack raised his eyebrows and gave him a thumbs-up.
Which was why Jack wasn't watching Zipacna, until he said, "Hatak--re nok, hatak!"
"Hey!" Jack turned in time to see Teal'c bowl into Zipacna, knocking a metallic communication device from his hand.
"He's ordered his ship to come!" Daniel called in warning.
Zipacna pulled away from Teal'c, but now Jack was waiting--it had never felt quite so good before to punch a Goa'uld in the face. Zipacna reeled back into Teal'c, who crushed an arm around Zipacna's windpipe until he collapsed.
"Nice," Jack said, making sure the Goa'uld wasn't getting up again any time soon. "Let's go. Everyone," he added to the Abydonian contingent. "Daniel, take them back to the room and stay inside until we or Travell come back. Everyone else, outside, now!" Jack waited long enough to see Daniel herd Skaara toward the waiting room, Kasuf behind them, as the rest of SG-1 and Narim headed outside, dodging the Tollans running about them in panicked chaos.
Bolts of energy were striking the planet. Jack waited for the superior defense technology to kick in, then realized the bolts were targeting the ion cannons, all at once. Jack turned to Narim and had to say, "You know, I hate when people waste my time like this. How're those security systems looking now?" Then he noticed--"Where's Teal'c?"
"Colonel!" Carter said, pointing upward.
Death gliders were beginning to swoop over the planet, firing on buildings. "Crap," Jack muttered as one came their way. "Take cover!"
"I must inform Travell," Narim said, ducking away with them before peeling off and heading in another direction.
"Sir, I don't see Teal'c anywhere," Carter said worriedly, "and it looks like all the ion cannons are disabled by now."
"O'Neill!"
Jack veered away from an explosion and headed in the direction of Teal'c's voice until the Jaffa came into view, Lya running up behind him. "I must inform you," Teal'c said, "that I have disregarded your orders concerning the Goa'uld."
"Please explain," Jack said, one eye still fixed on the gliders.
Teal'c nodded once to Lya, who passed her hand once in their direction... The world seemed to shimmer, and then blurred around them.
"We must go," Lya's voice said. Jack looked around himself and didn't see anyone else around, but something invisible jostled him from behind and an invisible hand closed gently around his wrist, and he realized that they were all invisible. "This way."
Jack let himself be pulled along, only aware of the others' presences by the feel of Lya's fingers guiding him by the arm while Carter's even breathing sounded from beside him and Teal'c's boots crunched the grass and twigs in front of her. It was a good thing that Lya seemed to know where they were going, because Jack found that being invisible apparently messed with their eyes. Carter would probably know why. Being invisible and not being able to focus properly on everything around them was a little disappointing and, really, not even the most surreal feeling he'd ever had in his life. It was still pretty cool, though.
By the time he was used to the somewhat vague quality of the world around him, it sharpened again, revealing that all four of them had found their way into a clearing in the woods, out of the way of the main city area. "Teal'c, what's going on here?"
"I have requested Lya's assistance," Teal'c told him.
Without looking at them, Lya extended her hand, and an ion cannon shimmered into view before them.
"You hid one," Carter said, looking at Lya with more interest. Stories of the Nox had garnered curiosity on base, which had, over time, faded to something of an impressive-but-useless reputation among some of the personnel. It seemed the Nox were perfectly capable of doing things that were not only impressive but also very useful.
"Travell explained that it would take but one to destroy a Goa'uld mothership," Teal'c said.
Two death gliders zoomed close overhead. Jack watched the cannon, waiting for it to do its magic...
"It should already have fired," Teal'c said.
"Well, it hasn't," Jack said, thinking that it was just typical that even when they managed to get their hands on a bit of fancy, perfect Tollan tech, it didn't even work. "Let's go."
They ran for cover, but by the time they reached the trees, Jack turned to see Teal'c still at the cannon, glancing up occasionally at the approaching ships as he readjusted the controls.
The cannon rose, took aim, and fired.
They flinched reflexively as first one death glider, and then another burst into flames, the heat reaching them even from where they were.
"Nice," Jack said, but the cannon hadn't finished yet--as they watched, it swiveled around again. Scrambling out from their cover for a better view, they looked upward just in time to see a fireball in the sky where the mothership had been.
Teal'c turned to them, his expression almost smug, as the cannon turned again and again, firing on the remaining death gliders. "Very nice," Jack amended.
"We should return to the city," Lya reminded them. "High Chancellor Travell must be told about what happened." Her words made them all hesitate, not sure exactly what she meant by that--Jack couldn't be sure if even saving their planet was a good enough excuse to disobey an order with these people--but she smiled very slightly and said, "I am certain the Tollan will be grateful for your help. Come."
Carter caught up to Lya and said, "Lya, can I ask you something? The way you make things disappear--is that a technological innovation, or a genetic ability in..."
Jack clapped Teal'c on the shoulder and pulled him along, following a safe distance behind that discussion. "You disobeyed my orders," he said. "Well done."
When they reached the main part of the city, it became clear how much damage had been done. There seemed to be few or no people hurt, however, at least that they could see, but a lot of buildings had been destroyed. "They built all of this from scratch in less than two years," Carter pointed out. "I'm sure they'll be able to rebuild."
Narim met them as they reached the courthouse and escorted them inside. "The Goa'uld Zipacna seems to have left through the Stargate during the confusion," Narim told them. "However, very few Tollan lives were lost."
"Well, maybe next time you people will remember that having the best toys doesn't mean you can always win," Jack grumbled.
"We will certainly remember, Colonel O'Neill," Travell said, stepping out of the courtroom to meet them with her unflappable smile.
Jack grimaced. "Right," he said lamely, before looking over the top of her head to see the three Abydons in the room beyond her. "Ah…anything else wrong?"
"I have contacted the Tok'ra," she said. "A representative will arrive soon to take Skaara and Klorel to their homeworld, where the extraction will be performed."
"They can't just take the Goa'uld out of him here somewhere?" Jack asked.
"Colonel," Travell said, "I assume you have never seen the Tok'ra symbiote extraction device."
Well, wonderful. Now that she'd mentioned it in that tone, Jack was going to spend the next few hours imagining a high-tech, maybe naquadah-based torture device with straps and who-knew-what hanging off everywhere. How the hell did one extract a snake curled around someone's brainstem, anyway? "Too big?" he guessed.
"Among other things," she said in her usual, oh-so-helpful tone of voice.
Jack glanced past her at Skaara, who stood in front of Kasuf with Daniel standing off to the side with his arms folded like some sort of teenaged bouncer in glasses. All of them still looked like they weren't sure it was all over quite yet. "Skaara's not going alone, is he?" Jack asked. Hearing that, Skaara's eyes widened very slightly, but he didn't move or protest.
"As I am sure you are aware, the Tok'ra place high value on their secrecy, particularly concerning their homeworld. I am certain no harm will come to Skaara." Jack started to point out that SG-1 knew everything, including the name, coordinates, layout, and position in space of the current Tok'ra homeworld, but Travell added, "I have a few things I need to say to your team, Colonel O'Neill."
"I've been to their homeworld," Daniel spoke up. "And some of the Tok'ra know me. I'll go with Skaara. Shemasiu, Seshmit?" he added to Kasuf, who placed a hand on his son's shoulder briefly and then nodded.
The doors opened again, and a Tok'ra whom Jack vaguely remembered as they guy who'd ferried them from Netu to Vorash. "Your Eminence," the Tok'ra said with a short bow. "Is this the prisoner?"
"This is Skaara," Daniel said when his brother twitched slightly at the description. "Thank you for coming, Aldwin."
If Aldwin held any grudges about having a zat gun held on him on their last visit, he didn't show it and only said, "Come. We will return as soon as the procedure is complete."
From the next chapter (" The Abydons"):
Skaara did not remember his brother being so tall.