Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG1 or Stargate the movie, or anything else you lawyers can think of! But I do, however, own the heroine of this story, Aster! Yay!
"…Speech…"
'…Thought…'
'…Quote…'
''…Foreign language…''
General Hammond's squat, plump form paced through the cold concrete and steel hallways of the mountain complex. Sharp black business shoes tapped almost soundlessly down the memorised path to his office. His worry was in all respects deserved, his staff were hurriedly locating all the personal that had been part of the original Stargate mission, trying to find out more information on who or what had just come through that unearthly ring of stone. Ferretti and Kawalsky were calling the mysterious figure the 'man who looked like Ra'.
The door to his office was already ajar. Curious, but mostly grumpy, the General stormed through it and met one of the last people on the planet he would have ever expected himself to find in his office. She leaned casually against the wall; the anxiety carved into her pale and freckled features as she glanced about the office depicted just how out-of-place she felt. She wasn't all that tall, no older than fifteen by first glance. Bright red hair in a French plait reaching her shoulders. She had a narrow country-girl-like face, complete with an almost button-nose.
"And what do you think you're doing here, young lady?" General Hammond asked in his light Texas accent.
The girl gave him an odd look, as if he should know, but masking her own worry, "I'm here about the Stargate-thing," she said in a wavering, impatient voice.
The General did a double-take in disbelief, "What?"
"I was one of the people that went through the Stargate to Abydos," she explained dejectedly.
"Oh, then why don't I have your file on my desk, miss…" Hammond trailed off.
"…West," she admitted, "Aster S. West."
"Well that's why. West… that was the name of the General coordinating the Stargate mission," Hammond mused.
Aster nodded, "He let me, sent me off with them as the ecologist. O'Neill didn't want me on the team but my uncle, General West, had the final word. I went with them…" she trailed off, remembering her unrecorded mission to Abydos, "But… you can't charge me for anything, as there's no solid evidence to support my visit through the Stargate."
"Guess you learned that line a while back, young lady," the General smiled.
"I am not 'young lady', I'm usually addressed around here as 'West'," Aster told him coldly.
"Here, miss West? You're part of the airforce? You're not on record."
"The army, there I'm on record as Aster Smith."
"Smith?"
"My mother's maiden name," mumbled Aster uncomfortably.
"Oh, of course. Well, could you possibly help shed some light on the, uh, situation we have here? Miss Smith?" General Hammond asked, leaning forwards in his chair and lacing his fingers together on his desk, looking interested.
"You mean the whole 'man who looked like Ra' thing?" Aster responded.
"Mm-hmm."
"It's not Ra," she told him simply, "He had a snowball's chance in Hell of surviving that damn nuke."
"You sound slightly distressed by this," Hammond inquired.
"Well killing him was just stirring up a hornet's nest. It's not surprising that another one of them came crashing through the Stargate after you guys."
"Another one?" Hammond demanded, "You're telling me there are more of those things?"
Aster pursed her lips, waiting for the right words to come; "I… heard a lot of things when Ra captured us. I could understand what they were saying. Dr Jackson helped on that one, he taught me all this stuff about Egypt and Egyptology when he was working on the Stargate. Then when he found the catacombs over in Abydos and he taught me how to properly pronounce the language the people there were speaking. Some sort of evolved Egyptian dialect."
"Yes. Dr Daniel Jackson sounded like a good, true man. I wish I could have met him…" Hammond murmured in respect.
Aster paused, then realised what he was talking about. She kept forgetting that Daniel had been recorded as 'dead' after he chose to stay in Abydos with his newly wed native wife instead of returning home. O'Neill had been he one that reported Dr Jackson as dead. Kawalsky, Ferretti and Aster all honoured that lie.
A soldier burst through the door, flinging it wide open, "General, sir, Colonel O'Neill is here."
"Good, good. Well Smith, if I can call you that, I guess I will see you later," General Hammond dismissed the young teen and left to see Colonel O'Neill.
"Hey Ferretti!" Aster smiled at her old comrade.
"Aster?" Ferretti laughed in disbelief, "Oh so you do exist! Did you get a look at the dead body they had?"
"Dead body?" Aster recoiled.
"Yeah, some sort of human-alien they killed when the bad guys came through the gate. It's got this weird pouch-thing in its stomach," Ferretti shuddered, "Disgusting."
Aster' nose wrinkled in disgust, but she didn't say what was on her mind, "Changing the subject, when are we going through the Stargate next?"
"Woah, slow down," Ferretti chuckled, "Don't know the full story, but I'm pretty sure they'll let you go. You're the only one 'alive' that knows how to speak that other language."
"Oh yeah…" Aster mumbled distantly, fishing out a green jelly from the canteen fridge, "Where'd all the blue ones go?"
"Blue? Jellies? I dunno," Ferretti shrugged, perplexed with the teen's sudden interest in the jellies.
"Sir, we have a problem."
"What is it, son?"
"Sir… we don't have a uniform to fit Smith."
Hammond looked incredulously up at the officer, "What?"
The officer gulped, "We don't have a uniform small enough to fit Miss Smith. We think she's an XS, but there aren't any sizes available. We can have one shipped, but that would take at least another week."
"I don't believe this," Hammond grumbled, "Smith!"
"Standing in the doorway, sir," Aster replied, leaning in.
"Do you have a black t-shirt or something? Cargo pants?" Hammond reasoned.
Aster nodded, "Pretty much."
"Good, I expect to see you in your 'uniform' at 0800 for the debriefing," Hammond replied sharply.
Aster shrugged, "Whatever."
"West?" O'Neill addressed with raised eyebrows.
"Smith, actually. Glad to see you again, sir," Aster smiled. Dressed in a black Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt and a pair of dark green camouflage cargo pants.
"Smith?" the Colonel repeated curiously.
Aster shrugged, "My parents got a divorce, Dad left. So now I'm just 'Smith'."
"Oh, great," O'Neill replied with distant, and probably artificial, positively.
"So, I missed the meeting... didn't I? Like they would have saved me a seat anyway…" Aster shrugged, "When are we leaving?"
"Soon," Ferretti, Kawalsky and O'Neill replied in unison.
"Earth to Ferretti; that phrase is annoying," retorted Aster.
"Uh, Earth to Aster; no it's not," Ferretti argued.
"Earth to Ferretti; You've been watching too many space movies," murmured Kawalsky.
"Earth to Kawalsky; if O'Neill catches us doing this for the fifth time he will kill us, over!" Aster sniggered.
"Earth to Aster; he's on the other side of the gate room waiting for Carter, over!" Ferretti smirked.
"This is Ground Control to Major Pain-In-The-Ass; SHUT UP!" O'Neill yelled at the three, his voice echoing in the steel chamber.
"Damn, c'mon Ferretti!" Kawalsky hissed, walking faster up the ramp towards the Stargate following Aster.
"Ooh, that freezes!" Aster grumbled, rubbing her arms free of the Stargate-warp chill resulting from 'the compression your molecules undergo during the millisecond required for reconstitution.'
"Just as we left it, huh?" Ferretti mused, eyeing the stone Stargate chamber wearily.
"Almost," Aster replied, "We left it with a little more people last time…"
The Abydanian ambush sprang up, startling everyone, until Daniel appeared and stopped the villagers.
"Jack? Uhh... welcome back."
'Aw, typical Danny,' Aster reflected, "Hey, it's Skaara!"
"Right, the kid that idolises O'Neill…" Kawalsky nodded.
"Hehe, Aster's little guy-friend," Feretti sniggered under his breath.
"Shut…" warned Aster through clenched teeth and a forced smile to her comrade.
"Oh great," Kawalsky sighed, spotting Carter almost hugging the DHD, "Someone's made an attachment."
"So's Little Red," Feretti smirked, referring to Aster's red hair, which stuck out like it was on fire in the crowd of Egyptians clad in plain sand-coloured clothes.
"Skaara!" Aster almost knocked the Abydanian shepherd boy off his feet with an enormous bear hug, "How have you been?"
"Good, very good," Skaara grinned back.
"Here, thought you'd like this. You know, since you loved O'Neill's lighter so much," Aster fished a tiny metal flashlight out of her pocket, and handed it to her old friend.
Skaara looked puzzled at the think roll of hard metal, until he was showed how to turn it on. It was like giving a little kid the key to a candy factory, and entertained the Abydanian and his friend while Aster caught up with Shau'ri and Daniel. Then the batteries ran out, a few hours of flashing fun later, and the guys started yelling in panic and trying to fix it.
"Batteries..." Aster exclaimed exasperatedly, ''Here, some new ones,'' she told the group gathered around Skaara as she changed the batteries, ''When these batteries die, you just shove some new ones in… like so…''
"Aw, ain't that cute?" Feretti murmured to Kawalsky, indicating to Aster and Skaara laughing over the torch, "She must've really missed that kid."
Daniel saw Skaara get up from the group of teens and move over to their circle, and offer O'Neill the 'moonshine', the event earning many laughs from the elated audience.
"No, it's yours. I gave that to you to keep. Remember?"
"Thank you," Skaara replied, a little choked. He politely excused himself from the room, to check on the weather. As he strode past the joyful clusters of Abydanians, he tapped Aster lightly on the shoulder, "You… come too?" he asked.
Aster grinned, "Sure," following him out of the pyramid chamber.
The sun, no longer obscured by the desert storm, flooded the stone hallway with crisp golden light, spilling in from any crack it could slip through. Aster smiled contentedly at the shifting image of the endless sea of glittering dunes shining through the stone doorway.
Skaara nodded, "Daniel will be glad, the storm has passed."
"Yeah…Ooh, I missed this place so much…" Aster sighed, arching her neck to gaze up at the limestone ceiling.
"I… there is something to tell you," Skaara struggled over his newly learned language.
Aster's eyebrows rose, her breath caught in suspense, "Oh?"
Skaara tried to hide his huge grin, Aster could tell by his shaking excitement that he'd wanted to tell someone this for quite a while. He managed to calm himself and say to her, bearing a smile too big for his face, "I am be… betrothed," he managed, stumbling over the word.
Aster's eyebrows arched a little higher, but nothing else changed on her face. She forced a learned smile to through her face, "That's great Skaara, congratulations!" she was glad that Skaara was too happy with his own reason to notice the change in her tone. Skaara continued on an explanation of who he was 'betrothed' to and about their two families both being important families and so on, but Aster was only half-listening with her fake smile.
Aster felt cold… and not just from the freezing winds blowing past. She had waited a whole year, staring longingly through her telescope, pining after the planet lost among so many other stars… How many cute little torches had she brought before being satisfied with the right gift for Skaara? Her life on earth had merely been a temporary time, for her, before she went back to her friend. Skaara, whom she'd fought along side with in the war against Ra…
'Forget it, just forget it,' her mind told her, lost in the futility of hope that there was. Skaara went back to tell Daniel that the storm had passed, and Aster stood there still, smiling happily for her friend.
Sighing, she returned to the festivities, her brain numb. Daniel, O'Neill, Kawalsky and Carter came past, explaining that they were off to see the catacombs. Aster passed the opportunity with a vague shrug and went back to the feast.
"Boy, I can't say I missed this place," Aster heard Kawalsky, before entering the main chamber. She strode in, smiled happily at Skaara and Sha're, and sat herself down next to the other soldiers.
"You alright?" Ferretti questioned, a little concerned for his younger friend, "You're looking a bit tired there, Smith. Up past your bedtime?"
"Shut up," Aster shoved Ferretti jokingly, "Just… remembering…"
Ferretti's face went stony, "Things?"
Aster grimaced, "Ra. The Horus Guards. Fighting them in the desert…" Aster sighed loudly, "There are just so many scars… everywhere… that you can't see, you know?"
Ferretti nodded solemnly, remembering the soldiers that hadn't made it. More than half of the soldiers that came from Earth had died, along with many, manyvillagers. Ferretti sighed and looked about, trying to find something to take his mind off the memories, and saw Daniel's wife. "Man, you've got to give Daniel credit. She's one beautiful woman."
Closing her eyes, Aster gently rubbed her itching eyelids, slowly becoming aware of how tired she really was.
The Stargate came to life with a sudden, surprising, hissing roar of moving rock. Aster jumped to her feet in panic, her hand groping about her side for the sidearm she'd left behind, "Oh, crap!" she growled, defenceless.
"Here," Ferretti stuck an army helmet on her head, "Keep this warm for me."
Aster thanked him and ducked behind a pillar, like of the other villagers were doing, the helmet slightly obscuring her vision. Aster poked her head around the corner, watching the gate's shimmering event horizon. Her crystalline blue eyes enlarged in wonder and suspense for the unknown… for this mysterious 'man who looked like Ra'.
The Serpent guards came through the vortex and started firing immediately, a plague of energy shots raining down on the mostly defenceless village people. Those who were unarmed hid where they could, trying desperately to protect their own lives. Aster was mesmerised by the alien figures, adrenalin and fear preventing her from moving.
The resistance seemed to die down as the defence forces of Abydos were dying out. Skaara was one of the few still fighting, adamantly firing bullets at the steadfast Serpent guards. Aster heard him yell for Sha're to make a run for it, "No…" Aster mouthed in panic as a guard caught Daniel's wife around the waist and took her captive. Aster's head turned quickly enough to see another guard heading towards Skaara. Fear gripped her innards, was Skaara even aware of the danger stalking towards him?
"Skaara!" Aster exclaimed in a yell, jumping out from behind the pillar. She didn't know what else to do, Skaara was about to be killed! Fortunately, her sudden appearance surprised the guard advancing on Skaara. It swung its weapon around and shot her instead. The blast hit just right of her mid-section, slamming her back against the stone pillar, sand and dust flying everywhere. Aster's right hand cradled the bloody, charred hole in her side as her limp form crashed to the sandy floor. She heard Skaara's distant cries of anger, and what Apophis said of him to the guard when Skaara had fallen victim, before the world around her started spinning, growing steadily cold… and then dark.
Apophis punched in the gate address on the DHD, turning his head to glance disdainfully at the ruins of the chamber, and on the ghost-white face of Aster, the strangely clothed girl that had tried to save her friend, but to no avail. Apophis assumed her to be dead and stepped proudly through the Stargate, guards behind him bearing the spoils of the raid as they, too, followed through the Stargate.
Aster felt someone shake her shoulders roughly, hearing O'Neill mutter, "Come on. Come on!" as he tried to rouse her. She opened her eyes wearily; taking in the hazy sight of the stone chamber like a near-drowned survivor would take in their first gulp of air, "Skaara…?" Aster winced, bringing her hand away from her injury, her fingers wet and sticky with her own blood.
"You alright kid?" O'Neill asked with genuine worry.
"I…" Aster couldn't reply. Skaara was most definitely gone, gone to a place of unknown horror and dangers that Aster could only imagine through the brief description of the universe Ra had given to her. Ra had told her so much… why? "It wasn't Ra," Aster whispered hoarsely, "Ra had long hair, Mr Golden… Idol… was… bald…" She groaned and let her head fall to the side, despite her comrades' protests and let sleep and unconsciousness to claim her.
"…Danny?" Aster squinted at the fuzzy shape sitting beside her bed in the infirmary, recognising him by the pair of fuzzy glasses she could see.
"Hey," Daniel greeted softly, "You, uh, feeling any better?"
Aster nodded stiffly, "I'll be fine by tomorrow, I the blast missed anything vital, I think..." she lifted her t-shirt a little to see the injury, "A few stitches… some bruising… Tell you what, it's going to be one helluva scar when it's healed!"
"Dr Fraiser told me that they had to take your appendix out, but since that got the most damage, you were pretty much fine," Daniel smiled.
"Good, good…" Aster shifted uncomfortably, "The guy who shot me… he took Skaara…"
"We'll get them back, don't worry," Daniel smiled encouragingly, putting a hand on his young friend's shoulder in a calming gesture.
"Before or after they witness the horrors of the big, bad universe? Listen, Danny, I know what's out there," Aster sounded pained, "Ra told me… a lot of things. About the Stargate… the aliens, all of it."
"He-he told you? What? Why? Why didn't you tell any of us what he told you?" Daniel questioned franticly.
"I wanted to forget…" Aster murmured, "If I repeated what he said, that would mean admitting to myself that it was true."
"What did he tell you that was so bad, you didn't want it to come true?" queried Daniel patiently.
"Ra told me that if he was destroyed… The balance of power would be upset and all war and all hell would break loose. It's started already, they know Ra is dead..." Aster sighed and sat up, "I'm going home."
"No you're not. Dr Fraiser said that you have to stay here for the night so she can make sure you're fully healed. Blasts like that usually kill… I couldn't believe how lucky you were when they said you were still alive."
"I'm going through that 'gate tomorrow," Aster told him adamantly.
"We'll see," replied Daniel after a long sigh, "Make sure you get some rest."
Aster held her shoulder-length fiery-orange hair in check with her favourite black bandanna. Her Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt now replaced with a sleeveless black t-shirt with a cartooned skull printed on the front; a black leather stud-collar around her neck and matching bracelets on her wrists. Black pants and huge black combat boots completed her ensemble. There was a slight bulge at her side, under her black skull top, where there were still bandages on her wound.
Aster mostly listened during the briefing, occasionally adding comments supporting Daniel's information on the legend behind Ra. And to balance Daniel being part of SG1, Smith was assigned a place in SG2, which scared Kawalsky a little at the prospect of trying to stop Aster from ever doing anything drastic, stupid, and directly against orders.
"Glad to see I have Aster the Disaster on my side. You sure you're up for the mission?" murmured Kawalsky in good humour, using an old nickname of hers.
Aster fingered her chunky bandages, "I am seriously going to KILL that guard who shot me…" Aster sighed, then grinned, feeling an impersonation coming on.
Aster and Kawalsky did their little impersonation of Dr Evil; "Ow! …You shot me you a-hole!"
"Dammit, it's cold."
Aster didn't give a response, all she was thinking about just now was how badly she would injure the Jaffa who had shot her, and how soon she could get her hands on him… She followed everyone else in dangerous silence, shooting moody looks at everything she passed.
"This looks like a good spot right up here!" Kawalsky pointed, Aster froze.
"O'Neill, sir?" Aster spoke clearly.
"Smith?"
"Sir, I'd like to carry on with you and SG1," Aster requested pleadingly, "Sir, you're not the only ones worried about Sha're and Skaara."
"Major Kawalsky?" O'Neill asked flatteringly, "She's part of your command."
"Oh, uh…" Kawalsky shrugged, "Knock yourself out… or preferably others, dismissed," Kawalsky grinned.
Aster smiled appreciatively, "Thanks Major."
"Hey, we're in Rome!" Aster smiled admiring the marble pillars and the interior of the building they were walking through, "I've always wanted to go to Rome."
"Actually they called this place 'Chulak'," reminded Daniel.
"Ah, whatever. I just hope we don't have to eat any olives while we're. Can't stand olives," Aster sighed.
"What's wrong with olives? They're good for you," replied Daniel.
"Nah, don't like them…" Aster murmured, taking in the cityscape in awe, "Wow… how incredible… should have brought my camera."
"Guess you'll have to settle with postcards from the gift shop like the rest of us," voiced O'Neill.
The group trudged dazedly into a high-ceiling room, where a banquet was being held. The guest abruptly stopped what they were doing and stared wearily up at them. Aster started to fiddle with her stud-cuff bracelets; she was placed at the head of the table with her companions.
"Ok. We're gods. Now what?"
"I have no idea." Daniel replied to O'Neill's question.
"Lower the tax rate?" Aster suggested more to herself than anyone else as the man that was blowing the horn interrupted her. Immediately, the guests bowed forwards, touching their foreheads to the ground. Daniel followed; Aster did the same.
The guards strode in through the elaborate stone door, flanking the entrance for the 'Gods'. Aster spied the Serpent Guard that had shot her and kidnapped Skaara, she tensed. 'I'll start with his head. I'll gauge out his eyeballs, I'll strangle him, and then I'll… Danny?' Aster's menacing train of thought was cut short when Daniel jumped up and moved forwards to one of the self-acclaimed 'Gods'.
"Sha're, it-it's me," Daniel told her, hoping she would recognise him.
Aster thought she'd pass out, the emotional strain of seeing that her old friend, Sha're, had become one of THEM. Her body possessed by what Ra had explained as a 'Goa'uld'. Aster yelped when she saw Daniel repelled back by the other Goa'uld, "Danny!"
O'Neill pulled a gun on the Goa'uld, but was stopped short by a guard knocking him unconscious. Sam had a hand on her sidearm, but didn't pull it out. The four of them, Daniel unconscious and O'Neill fairly dazed, were seized by guards and escorted to the 'dungeon'.
Aster glared angrily at the guard to her left, the one who had shot her, but did nothing because of the activated staff weapon poking into her back by another of the Serpent Guards. Aster managed to piece together that the guard that was responsible for the most interesting scar Aster had on her side was the first prime of the Goa'uld 'Apophis'. 'Apophis…' Aster mused, brining up memories of reading through mythology books with Daniel, 'The Greek name for the Egyptian deity Apep, the giant serpent that guarded the underworld. No wonder the guards are all wearing serpent masks.'
"Hey!" Aster protested, the Serpent guard dragging her down to the dungeon had shoved her roughly into the chamber, causing her to tumble down the stairs and bruise her wound, "Ooh," she inhaled through gritted teeth.
"O'Neill!" Skaara called out delightedly.
Aster rolled over onto her knees, getting up slowly, "Skaara? O'Neill, sir?" Aster couldn't quite straighten up, the outcry of pain still reverberating up and down the burn mark on her side. Her small ears heard Skaara's astonished cry and the sound of his footsteps as he ran over to her. Through the babble of his native language, Aster summarised it in her head as mostly 'I thought you were dead' and 'Are you alright' –like sentences.
''I'm okay,'' Aster smiled, then her expression turned to one of anguish, "Oh Skaara, I'm so sorry…"
"About… what?" Skaara looked puzzled from Aster to O'Neill.
O'Neill grimaced, "Skaara, it's about your sister, Sha're…"
Aster sat with her back almost against the edge of one of giant medieval-looking doors that sealed off the entrance to the enormous dungeon-room, the bruising down her spine from the raid in Abydos preventing her from leaning back. Her weary hand reached up and dragged the dusty black bandanna wearily off her head, revealing her burning-ember-red hair. She had been stretched to the limit. She was tired, injured and fearing that she and her companions wouldn't make it home in time before they sealed the iris… forever. She would be stranded on a distant planet, ending up either dead or imprisoned in her own mind by a Goa'uld symbiote.
Aster huffed and pressed herself further into the corner where the wall connected with one of the doors, fighting against the pain. Skaara and O'Neill were scouting the walls for weaknesses; Skaara hadn't said two words since the news of his sister Sha're. Aster didn't blame him, but was still confused about her feelings towards her friend; thus she had hidden in a quiet spot away from the milling crowd of terrified humans to try and get some peace.
Distant footsteps ground against the gritty dirt as they approached the gate-like portcullis doors to the dungeon. Aster paid them no heed. It was probably more Goa'uld and their Jaffa escorts eyeing up the possible hosts before the 'choosing'. One pair of footsteps stilled, then walked right up to the other side of the doors, right behind Aster. The tiny hairs at the back of Aster's neck stood rigid, she did her best not to react.
"What a pretty host you would make…" the Goa'uld's deep, alien voice sent shivers through Aster's nerves.
"Be polite," she chided in an icy drawl, "Females are called 'hostesses'."
"Very well then," the Goa'uld replied smugly.
Aster, unable to help herself, turned her head slowly to look at the one behind her. Dark chocolate-coloured skin… dressed in fine garments that looked exactly like they were truly made for the gods. Short, tamed black hair and rich dark eyes enhanced his already attractive features. He looked no older than Skaara. Aster's expression of dreamy shock froze with realisation, 'You're not speaking to whom you are seeing. The one you are speaking to has robbed the person you see of their freedom, of their very body!'
The Goa'uld, in turn, looked Aster over briefly, he smirked in satisfaction, "Hair of that fiery colour is such a rarity… it suits you well," he purred, eyes flashing with some strange, alien light.
Setting her jaw, Aster asked in a tone dripping with sarcasm, "What, are you going to? 'Choose me'?"
"Oh no, my new host has already decided on, but I hope they make it dramatic…" the Goa'uld smirked smugly, trying to show off, "I tire of the host I'm residing in, a new one will be quite refreshing."
Aster turned away in disgust, ignoring the egotistic parasite.
Eyes twinkling mischievously, he bent down leisurely and whispered in her ear, "I am the son of Apophis, Klorel. What is your name, Tau'ri? I could have you spared."
"I would rather die along with my comrades, son of Apophis," the young teen replied simply.
Klorel chuckled, "Very well then. Do not doubt I will see you again, but I hope you recognise me." Heavy footsteps marked his departure, Aster wrapped her arms around herself, feeling suddenly chilled. Her eyes floated across to where Carter sat, trying to shake Daniel awake, and her body followed.
"Daniel? Daniel," said Sam, shaking him awake.
It hurt Aster, to watch Daniel deal with the news of his wife's fate. She gave her comforts, and left, again, to sit in a quiet corner in an uncrowded part of the dungeon.
Aster's fingers traced her stitches through the heavy bandaging on her side, her thoughts trailing back 'Klorel'. What had meant by, 'I hope you recognise me'? If he were getting a new host, it would be impossible to recognise him, wouldn't it?
The imposing iron gates sealing the mouth of the cavernous dungeon began to open. Aster sat up alert; she could tell something important was happening. She attempted making her way over to where O'Neill and Skaara stood, but the frantic mob of pushing and shoving prisoners trying find out what was going on prevented her from getting any closer. Not being all that tall either, Aster could berley see what was going on at the front of the dungeon. She managed to shove her way close enough to hear Skaara state gravely, "They are going to choose."
Aster was lost for words, looking around through the sea of terrified humans for some kind of hope. But seeing Sha're once again, so uncharacteristically cold, so uncharacteristically inhuman, and Daniel's reaction to seeing her, only increased Aster's feeling of complete desperation. They were doomed. Her attention was then drawn to Apophis' first prime, who was yelling at them to 'Kneel before their masters'. Giving one last, lost look up at Sha're, Aster knelt along with the rest of the crowd.
The hairs on the back of Aster's neck tingled as she came dangerously close to being examined by the Goa'uld's servants who were searching for possible hosts. She was near the outskirts of the kneeling cluster of humans and there was a Serpent Guard stationed not too far behind her to make sure no one ran away. Deep in thought of how she could steal the guard's weapon without getting herself or others killed; she was only pulled out of her revere by Skaara's loud protests as he was 'chosen'.
"SKAARA!" Aster yelled, and tried to move to his aid but was restrained when the Serpent Guard behind her grabbed her arm and held her back. She watched, pained, as Skaara was dragged away from O'Neill, from her, and out of the dungeon to a fate possibly more horrible than death. "No… Skaara…"
Aster's knees wobbled and gave out; the Serpent Guard let her drop to the floor and moved to the front of the iron gates, back into formation with the other guards. 'How could this possibly get any worse?' Aster thought to herself.
"Kill the rest."
"Damn it."
The only people not running and huddling against the back wall were Sam, Daniel and O'Neill, her honourable comrades. Taking her rightful place beside them, she glared right at the one called 'Teal'c' hatefully. Hatefully as in the 'I want to cut off your head with a toothbrush' kind of hate.
"I can save these people!" O'Neill shouted desperately. Teal'c aimed his staff weapon at O'Neill, Aster reached for her sidearm, just in case. "Help me," said O'Neill, honestly.
"Many have said that…"
Aster whipped out the gun, just as the guard turned on his own men and fired, 'How could he do that to his own soldiers?' Aster thought incredulously, following the mob of frightened prisoners and abandoning her side arm. "But you are the first I believe could do it!"
As the prisoners escaped through the hole O'Neill had blasted through the wall, Aster waited behind for the rest of her team.
"Hey, come on!" O'Neill called to Teal'c.
"I have no where to go."
"For this you can stay at my place. Let's go!"
"WHAT? No way are we taking that thing with us!" Aster cried disbelievingly, "He's half the reason we are on this place anyway! If it wasn't for him, Skaara would still be safe and on Abydos!" 'With his oh-so-great fiancee,' she added silently.
Teal'c looked regretful of what he'd done. O'Neill looked annoyed at her rude interruption, "Smith, catch up with Carter and the rest."
The injustice of being treated like a child burned in Aster's eyes as she trudged after the fleeing mob, muttering obscenities under her breath. Her heart ached for Skaara, the images of him being dragged, flailing and screaming, away haunting her.
"Warren! Casey! On my right!" Kawalsky hollered.
Aster was running right behind the colonel, feeling just as desperate, if not more so, to see Skaara. O'Neill reached the peak of the last rise, seeing the Stargate before him, and Skaara. "No…"
Aster stumbled up after him, but by then O'Neill was already running towards the Stargate, yelling Skaara's name at the top of his lungs. Aster hesitated, fearing what she might see of Skaara, but followed quickly over to the altar before the platform. She had only gotten half way there when she saw O'Neill being propelled backward by the ribbon device on Skaara's hand.
"Colonel!" Aster went to his aid, checking to see if he was injured. Seeing he was alive, she lifted her head to look towards the Stargate, to see what had become of Skaara with her own eyes.
The Goa'uld residing in Skaara's body was about to turn to the Stargate, when he spotted the red-haired girl he had been talking to in the dungeon. She looked up at him, and their eyes. He watched her eyes search his desperately, 'searching for any trace of the host,' the Goa'uld thought, highly amused. He smirked slyly at the girl, then discretely beckoned Aster towards him.
Aster looked onwards in shock, but did not move any closer to him. On the contrary, she crouched down lower and further away from him, almost using the fallen colonel as a shield. She looked up at the Skaara she once knew with a look of fearful resolution. She would not go with him, whoever he now was, that would be simply foolish. But… she was afraid that he would go through that Stargate and she would never see him again. Her heart told her to follow, but her mind would not allow her to do it.
Looking slightly disappointed in her, the Goa'uld turned and left through the Stargate, swept away though a wormhole to some far away place in the universe that Aster could never hope to reach.
"Skaara…"
Now how was that for an authoress who has never actually SEEN seasons 1-6? I am basing this all on transcripts (from the lovely people at and ) and screen caps from the Internet. Feel lucky all those of you who have actually seen this episode… it sounds like a real good one…
I hope I'll be able to update soon, even though most of this story is still in the making.
All chapters have been edited, spell-checked, compared to evidence from the series and comply with the rules set down by FFN for our own good. Scout's honour! :)