Chapter 38: Omega Day
July 8
Gaia Transporter Room
Daniel stepped onto the transporter, his right palm grazing the Beretta strapped to his hip as his gaze roved restlessly over each face in the boarding party: Jack O'Neill and el-Mikha, along with Denali, Everest, Kilimanjaro and Fuji of the Mountain Clan.
As everyone crowded together to make room for the giants, Mikha jostled against Daniel on the pad. "You should've worn your s'resh," the elder advised quietly. "You need the protection it might give you."
"I want him to see my face," Daniel ground out, eyes straight ahead. "I want him to see me coming."
"That he already knows," Mikha returned, an ominous note in his voice.
"Yes, I suppose he does," Daniel agreed, nodding. "I've certainly left enough messages for him."
"Heads up, eyes open, everyone," ordered Jack, checking his weapon and releasing the safety on the P-90. "We're goin' in hot." He glanced at his old friend and added, "MacFarland's gonna be sorry she missed this, Daniel."
"As long as we get the bastard, I think she'll get over it," Daniel returned tightly, drawing his Beretta from the holster. He cocked his arm, pointing the muzzle at the ceiling, and thumbed off the safety. "Let's go."
He nodded at the Furling manning the transporter controls, his gaze flicking to Captain's face just as they started to dissolve into pure energy. Gaia's commander had tears in his eyes, and he'd been looking right at Daniel. Maybe he'd been saying goodbye. Everyone knew chances were high that not all of the boarding party would be coming back to Gaia.
From the moment they arrived on the Goa'uld flagship, there was no time to think. Staff weapon blasts at the materializing group scattered them in all directions. Twenty or more Ting-sha near the front of the ring room fired at them from behind storage crates and just outside the entrance. The boarding team returned fire, clearing their way to exit the transporter bay.
Everywhere Daniel looked, Jaffa and Ting-sha were running, wide-eyed, terrified. His reputation had preceded him; just making eye contact with him caused some to lay down their arms. When he saw the fear in their faces, he found it grimly satisfying, even though his quarrel wasn't with these misguided slaves, after all, but with their master.
Numerous cloaked Sky Clan had boarded the ha'tak in advance of the team's arrival, searching the spacecraft for Zeus; their reports had been filtering into Daniel's ear through the Furling comm link, so he knew his quarry was in the throne room. With every stride he took towards his archenemy, Daniel's memories of Earth's demise fueled his rage and hatred into a star-bright blaze.
Flanked by Jack on one side and Mikha on the other, the four Mountain giants behind them bringing up the rear, Daniel double-timed it down the wide corridors, all of them returning the volleys of those who still resisted, the best and fiercest of Zeus's personal guard, his most ardent believers.
Weapons fire dwindled as they approached the heart of the Goa'uld mother-ship; the tide had turned long ago, and there was no way for the Jaffa to win and save their master. Word of Daniel's arrival had spread, and as soon as the Jaffa and Ting-sha security forces saw the face of the man who hunted their god, they seemed to finally accept that the battle was over.
Daniel peered around the last corner and saw the entrance to the throne room was empty, save for one man -- Zeus's First Prime -- his golden forehead tattoo glinting in the light as he shifted uncertainly on his feet.
When Daniel and his party stepped into view, the Jaffa staggered back against the bulkhead, gargling a strangled cry of defeat, as if he couldn't decide whether to shoot his staff weapon anyway and martyr himself, or lay down his arms in surrender.
el-Mikha made the decision for him. A high-pitched whine sounded as the elder fired his tissé, and the First Prime jerked and crumpled to the floor, stunned, leaving the doorway unguarded.
Daniel stepped over his body and peered around the doorframe into the great hall, but there were no further signs of resistance. Boldly, he strode across the threshold, followed closely by Scout, Jack and the giants. The room was empty, save for the golden-haired man standing defiantly before his throne; not a single bodyguard was left to offer protection to their defeated god.
As Daniel approached, he saw that Zeus's chin was up, but in spite of his confident stance, the Goa'uld was sweating and appeared nervous, his haughty expression belying the air of uncertainly that clung to him.
Daniel headed straight for him, Beretta raised, right arm extended. He didn't stop walking until he stood with the pistol's muzzle inches from the Goa'uld's forehead. In his peripheral vision, Daniel saw Jack move just into view on his left side. Without looking away from Zeus's face, Daniel spoke over his shoulder to his old friend. "You got him in your sights?"
"Affirmative," O'Neill shot back. "We all do."
"Right, then." Daniel stepped backward, out of Zeus's reach, maintaining eye contact with his enemy, still talking to Jack. "I'm gonna put my pistol down. You look after it for me for a minute. I have something to take care of, and I don't wanna take a chance on losing it."
"You got it."
Daniel thumbed the safety on, then squatted down, still maintaining eye contact with Zeus. As soon as he could reach the floor, he slid the pistol in the direction of Jack's voice without looking to see if he'd sent it along correctly. The abrupt halt to the skidding sound verified that he'd aimed true.
He took a deep breath as he stood up, gathering himself, and then using all his might, he threw a punch at Zeus's face. His fist bounced off without impacting, accompanied by the sizzling sound of static electricity as he hit the personal defense shield around the alien.
"Crap!" Daniel shouted, clutching his right hand. The pain was only momentary, but he knew any further attacks would be useless.
Zeus grinned, ego bolstered by his protective device.
"Ah, Daniel?" Jack's voice sounded nonplussed, but Daniel wasn't about to look at him. Not now.
"What?" Daniel was furious. He flexed his hand, wishing he knew where the controls were to that shield. He could use telekinesis to switch it off, if he just had that little tidbit of information. Unfortunately, it could be anywhere on Zeus's body armor.
"Did you notice this Goold is unarmed?"
Instantly, Daniel glanced down at Zeus's hands. There was no golden metal ribbon wrapped around either wrist, no gleaming caps on his fingertips.
"That's... unusual," Daniel observed. His rage was starting to fade now. This situation required reason, and he needed all his wits about him. He wrestled for control with his inner demons, thinking, thinking. Something wasn't right about this situation.
At last the Goa'uld found his voice. "You cannot harm me, you fools," he taunted. He lifted his hands in triumph and laughed. "I am a god!"
"You're an asshole," Daniel barked.
Why wasn't Zeus armed? That didn't make sense.
Rather than deducing the answer to that question, an idea came to him. He reached out, quickly searching for the perimeter of the protective field. As the barrier zapped his palm, he backed off a fraction of an inch.
From deep inside him, Daniel summoned up an enormous reserve of energy and discharged it.
Lightning jolted from his fingertips, skittering all along the invisible shield, but didn't penetrate it. The light show was impressive but harmless to the Goa'uld inside; still, it had the desired effect.
Zeus leaped backward, his expression wide-eyed with fear and shock. He recovered quickly, frowning and clenching his fists in impotent fury. "I should have killed you when I destroyed your pitiful little world," he snarled viciously.
"Yes," Daniel agreed, his voice thick with hatred, "you should have, but you didn't, and now that mistake has come back to bite you on the ass. You murdered billions of people, enslaved billions more, and now you're going to pay."
"If you expect me to feel remorse or guilt, you are sadly mistaken," the alien hissed. "Given the opportunity, I would wipe out all the rest of your kind for what they have done to my people. Have you forgotten that, you insignificant speck of dust?" His eyes glowed white with cold rage, and flecks of spittle flew from his lips as he spoke. "You are no innocent, either."
Daniel started slowly pacing in a circle around his enemy, maintaining eye contact as he herded Zeus toward the doorway, until they were well into the middle of the cavernous room. "I've had a year to think of an appropriate punishment for you," Daniel growled, "but there isn't one." His insides were twisting up, his heart pounding against his ribs.
At the edges of his visual field, he could see the all the others in his party. Jack and Scout stood closest, the four giants positioned near the entrance, cutting off the only path Zeus might use to escape. Every weapon was aimed and ready, but his friends were waiting for Daniel to act.
He was barely able to focus on the face of the abomination standing in front of him. He wanted to shoot the monster and keep on shooting, until Zeus' brains were splattered all over his gaudy golden throne, but Daniel knew it wouldn't be enough. Taking his revenge in that way would be too quick, and Zeus's pain would be too fleeting. Daniel's twisted fantasies of slow torture, gradual dismembering, blood, and never-ending screaming shot through his mind, but none of that came anywhere close to satisfying.
He stared into Zeus's blue eyes as the rage and hatred seeped out of him, slowly realizing that no punishment he could conceive would serve his purpose. He had no resolution for what needed to be done to make this monster atone for his crimes. Whatever happened, Daniel knew, would not be going down in that room.
The war was over, but there was still no peace. Zeus had been captured and would answer for his actions somewhere else. Maybe they'd take him to Alpha and hold a trial. The Furlings would probably separate symbiote and host, and the rest of the survivors of Earth could choose what would happen to the snake.
Or maybe the decision didn't belong to any of Zeus's victims, because their emotions would undoubtedly color any sentence handed down. Human justice would be flawed.
Daniel's guts were trembling, so he took a deep, steadying breath as another memory slid into place, bringing with it a touch of solace. It felt right. "I'm too close," he whispered hoarsely, finally tearing his gaze from his enemy, shifting to take in the view of Mikha's face instead. His shoulders slumped. "I can't be the one to decide."
The Furlings had told him much the same thing long ago, when Daniel had gone to the Nox in search of the reason for the Ancients' war against the Third Race. They had allowed him to be judge and jury, because they were too emotionally invested to choose a proper punishment for the crime against them. They had acted with great wisdom, and he had learned from their shining example.
The elder nodded, his expression filled with compassion, endless regret in his eyes. Scout cocked his head, his gaze steady and serene. He took a couple of steps and put out a hand to touch Daniel's shoulder. "Do you trust the People, my friend?"
Daniel hung his head in weary resignation. "You've watched over me for quite a while now, given me the benefit of centuries of your people's wisdom and incredibly advanced knowledge. I may not always understand the choices you've made, but yes, I trust you with my life."
"Then we ask you to trust us with this judgment, and to abide by our will. Can you do this?" Mikha's voice was gentle, caring. He eased imperceptibly closer, giving Daniel's forearm a little squeeze of assurance.
Daniel knew putting his faith in someone else to carry out such a monumental task would be hard; el-Mikha was trying to tell him he understood. "I will," Daniel acknowledged slowly, nodding in agreement. Daniel's sense of relief was vast. "Whatever punishment the Furlings decree for Zeus, I'll accept. I can't say all of my people will agree, though." He shot a glance at Jack, who looked none too pleased at that pronouncement.
"I don't have a problem blowing the bastard away right where he stands," Jack growled, gaze fixed on the Goa'uld, just a few feet away from Daniel and Scout.
"But I do," Daniel shot back, eyeing Jack sternly. "It's not enough." He glanced back at Zeus with disdain. "Not for what he did to Earth."
The Goa'uld just stared at him, his initial bravado obviously fading rapidly, but not in the expected direction. He was quiet -- too quiet -- but he was smiling as if he had won, not been captured and had his power stripped away forever.
That didn't make sense to Daniel.
Zeus continued to smile at him wolfishly, blue eyes gleaming with triumph.
"You're not gonna just let him go," Jack declared. His conviction slipped a fraction. "Are you? 'Cause I can't. I won't."
"No," agreed Daniel, shaking his head. "We'll take him back to Gaia. Then... I don't know." He shrugged, truly bewildered at his lack of certainty. The purpose that had driven him for the last year was gone now, and he felt almost empty. Relieved. He offered an embarrassed grin to his old teammate and friend. "Sorry. This is kind of anti-climactic, huh?"
"I guess the hell." The muzzle of O'Neill's P-90 dropped about an inch, still pointed in the System Lord's direction, as he bent down to pick up Daniel's Beretta from the floor beside his boot. "It's your call, Daniel," he said, an edge of bitter humor in his voice, "but I still say we kill the bastard. Maybe a couple a times. There's bound to be a sarcophagus 'round here someplace."
Daniel sighed heavily, giving Jack a weary smile. "Ask the Furlings if you can play with him before we throw him in prison." He glanced at the elder, already certain Scout would decline.
Mikha came up beside him and patted Daniel's shoulder as if in congratulation... or farewell.
Forest's amber eyes filled with tears, blinked quickly away. "Now, a debt must be paid."
Jack shouted his name in warning.
Daniel glanced at him, catching a glimpse of horror on Jack's face in the same lightning instant that he sensed someone coming up behind him. Hands grasped his shoulders, and instinctively Daniel knew whose they were.
Zeus!
At the same instant, el-Mikha's hand darted beneath Daniel's hair, lifting his ponytail off the back of his neck in a single, quick upward stroke.
Daniel tried to jerk away when he felt Zeus's open mouth press against his nape; the wet heat of lips and tongue moving against his flesh made Daniel's skin crawl. Teeth closed down on him in a firm bite, and almost simultaneously, a lancing pain drove Daniel to his knees, Scout snaking an arm around his waist to support him and hold him upright.
Daniel cried out as he realized Zeus's symbiote was entering his body, taking possession of him.
And el-Mikha had facilitated the whole thing!
Dimly, as though from a great distance, Daniel could see Jack charging toward him, his expression filled with disbelief and shock. Right behind him, Denali and Fuji were gaining on Jack with their huge strides. The giants were grimacing, teeth bared in helpless grief.
"Nooooo!" cried Jack in horror. "You goddamed bastard!" He aimed his P-90 at Scout and fired a short burst as he ran, but Denali cut in front of Jack and batted his rifle's muzzle upward, then wrenched it from his grasp to prevent him from putting more bullets into the Furling elder.
el-Mikha jerked backward as the armor-piercing rounds blasted into him, blood and bits of tissue and muscle splattering everywhere, all over Daniel's uniform and face. He pitched forward, breaking contact with Zeus's former host, and he and Scout dropped to the floor together, their limbs tangling as they fell.
Daniel valiantly fought for breath and sanity, struggling to maintain control of his body and mind, to shut the Goa'uld out. He had never imagined so much pain, like a light too bright, a noise too loud, and his skin was on fire, all the sensations mixed up together and overwhelming him. He was horrified to feel the creature wriggling inside him, digging into his flesh and the base of his brain, insinuating itself around his spinal column, but he couldn't move, couldn't fight the thing. Shock was setting in, robbing him of his wits.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the ragged breathing of the handful of people occupying it, and the pounding steps of Mountain Clan converging on them.
Then Jack was bending over him. "I'll get it out, Daniel!" he promised, his voice cracking with terror. He rolled Daniel onto his side, panicked fingers digging into the rapidly closing wound in the back of his neck. "Hold on! Fight it!" Jack's voice held the edge of a sob as he gasped, "Oh, God, no."
But it was too late, and Daniel knew it. He was looking right at Scout now, the Furling lying on his side on the floor in a crimson pool of his own blood. The elder was breathing hard, one hand splayed over the huge wounds in his chest, the other draped limply over his belly. He had eyes only for Daniel as he whispered, "Bel'ahkh riem, Gaha'ad."
Mute and utterly defenseless, Daniel couldn't give any indication he'd understood. He could only watch as Scout's eyes closed, his body relaxing. Then Fuji lifted Mikha in his arms and carried him away at a dead run.
Jack hopped over Daniel's inert body, kneeling in the blood he'd spilled, one foot slipping in the gore. He bent down to allow Daniel to make eye contact, cradling Daniel's cheek with one bloody hand. Their eyes connected -- Daniel could still move them -- and Jack spoke volumes without a single word.
I'm sorry.
Not your fault. You did all you could.
Not enough.
Then two other Mountain Clan giants caught Jack by the arms, wrenching his limbs back as they grappled with him and pulled him away from Daniel.
"Traitors!" Jack raged, struggling with them, kicking and doing his best to free himself. "We trusted you! God damn it. Damn you all!" He choked and gagged on his curses, then shifted his attention back to his friend. "Don't give up, Daniel. I'll help you. I'll find a way." His voice cracked and broke. "Oh, God," he moaned. "Ohhhh. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
He fell to his knees, his muscles slowly giving up the fight. The Furlings forced Jack's body into a twisted knot, his face pressed against the blood-spattered floor, until he couldn't move. His breathing came in ragged puffs.
"Take me!" Jack begged, looking into Daniel's eyes, his plea obviously meant for the creature inside him. "Take me instead. Please!"
His desperate offer was ignored. Zeus already had the host he'd wanted.
Daniel heard it, saw it all happening, but he couldn't speak, couldn't move. His skin tingled, the initial pain being replaced by a sense of euphoria filling his head, as if he were about to pass out. It was like he was hovering somewhere nearby, unable to access his nerves and muscles. His body refused to respond to his commands, but in spite of that, he felt himself get to his feet and lift his head.
Heat flashed across his forehead. Without seeing himself in a mirror, he knew what that looked like. His eyes had glowed white as the symbiote took full possession of his body. The wound in his neck was now completely closed, sealing the monster inside. In the depths of his mind, Daniel screamed, but no sound came from his throat. His lips curved up into a triumphant smile, and his eyes glanced down at his new hands.
His gaze swept the room, searching for the previous host, and found him crouched on the floor near the throne. The man stared at him uncertainly, a trickle of blood running over his lips and down his chin from the wound in his throat the symbiote had made when it abandoned his body.
Daniel felt his right hand come up in a dismissive wave. "You may go off somewhere to die now," Zeus said through Daniel's lips, his voice guttural and inhuman.
"Thank you," said the man wetly. "You have released me from eternal torment." He stood slowly, bowed to Daniel, and turned to the remaining Furling giants, his gaze moving from one face to another as he forlornly wrung his hands. "What shall I do now?"
"Come with us to our ship," Denali invited graciously.
He bowed slightly toward Zeus's new host, giving him a smile. "You will also come with us, so that you may fulfill your part of the bargain our elders made with you."
"What?!" Jack shrieked, attacking his captors with renewed vigor and fruitlessly trying to stand up. "You assholes agreed to this? You set him up? I'll kill you! Bastards! I'll kill every goddamned one of you!"
As if on a pre-arranged signal, the Mountain guards let go of Jack, and Denali fired his tissé, rendering him unconscious. As he dropped to the floor in a heap, the sudden silence in the room was shocking, as if someone had just turned off the lights and plunged the room into total darkness. Kilimanjaro squatted to pick up the General's limp body, heaving him over one shoulder.
"I would be pleased to complete our bargain," said Zeus with Daniel's mouth. "When we have arrived at your homeworld, I will require the return of my flagship, so I may be on my way. Until then, it amuses me to be your guest. I am quite interested in your technology." He gestured toward the doorway.
Denali led the way, Zeus/Daniel just behind him, Kilimanjaro carrying an unconscious Jack O'Neill, while Everest and the former host brought up the rear.
The Furlings' war was over now, but for Daniel Jackson, the battle had just begun.
~~**~~
Psychic retreat had been automatic for Daniel. From the moment he'd felt the symbiote trying to get at his mind, he'd sealed himself off from the invasion. This wasn't the first time he'd been a host, after all. He'd been the unwilling recipient of downloads of numerous alien minds years earlier, and hibernation was the only thing that had save his individuality and allowed the other minds to eventually be removed from his body.
Not too long ago, Daniel had discovered deep recesses in his consciousness, places where he'd had information locked away from himself, things he hadn't wanted to remember from the year he'd spent as an ascended being. Now, that formerly inaccessible place was a haven for him.
It wasn't a real place in the sense of space and time, but he envisioned it with an ambiance that reminded him of the temple garden at Kheb. He strolled the grounds barefoot, contemplating what would happen to him, now that he could no longer control his body. If he concentrated and listened intently enough, he could hear voices, threads of conversation as if from a great distance.
Most of it he didn't want to know. The knowledge of the Furlings' betrayal was about all he could cope with; he was wounded to the core of his soul. He simply couldn't believe Mikha would do this to him. It didn't make sense. The elder had asked Daniel to trust him, and he had.
An instant later, he'd given Daniel to the Goa'uld as a host.
It was easy enough to work out why Zeus would want Daniel's body. The powers he'd exhibited among the Jaffa would be handy tools for someone who wanted to play god, only what Zeus didn't know was that those abilities didn't come along with the body -- they were part of Daniel's mind, now shut away, out of reach of the symbiote, and there was no way Daniel would let Zeus have access to that place.
If that meant he had to keep himself locked away forever, then so be it. He needed to stay calm and focused, if he were to remain locked down. Thinking about Mikha's betrayal might push him into losing control, and that would play right into Zeus's hands. That was the last thing Daniel wanted.
If necessary, he could spend eternity in this quiet spot, contemplating his fate. But if he could figure out what needed to be done, maybe, if he were strong enough, he just might find a way out of this Hell.
End Chapter 38