2 – A Snake In The Head
(Chaser – Corridor – Year 2, Day 50, 0820)
Pelops was pleased. The Goa’uld parasite – which called itself Varash – had successfully taken over Doctor Park. And he had two additional parasites. ~And I know exactly who to put them in.~ While Doctor Park had been a random selection, he had chosen his remaining spies in advance. ~Hence the clothes.~
They were wearing as close to Icarus Base uniforms as they could managed, hoping to blend in with the crew. If everything went according to plan, it would allow them to implant their targets unnoticed. Then they would leave the ship by means of the Stargate and make their way back to Goa’uld space. Before he could ponder how long that would take, they reached their first destination.
“Status of dampeners ?” He asked.
“Holding, my lord,” His First Prime said.
The dampeners were devices they were wearing that kept the Chaser’s internal sensors from detecting them. Pelops nodded and opened the door. Much to his surprise, their target was actually in his quarters. ~I thought he was on the bridge.~ But Pelops did not mind. It would simply make things easier.
“Greetings, son,” He said with a smile. “Are you not going to greet your father ?”
“How did you…”
That was as far as Eli got before his First Prime shot him with the Zat and he went down. The Jaffa picked Eli up and put him on the bed, while Pelops took out another cylinder with a Goa’uld. These Goa’uld had been spawned by the same queen that had spawned him all those years ago. Soon, he and Eli would be family again.
(Chaser – Park’s Quarters - Year 2, Day 50, 0820)
Lisa Park was in hell. The Goa’uld had taken complete control of her body, while she had been pushed back into the darkest corner of her mind. And there was nothing she could about it. She kicked and screamed, but to no avail. She wanted to cry, but even that was beyond her reach. ~I read the reports, but nothing every prepared me for this endless suffering.~ And endless it would be, because even without a saprophagous a Goa’uld could life for centuries. ~Four hundred years in this !~
<~>Well, this stinks.<~> Another voice said, while Goa’uld was walking her body towards the mess hall.
~Who are you ?~
<~>I am….<~> There was a pause, as if the other person was thinking. <~>Scorpius.<~> There was another pause. <~>And yes, I just made a Farscape reference, it’s a good show. And I know what you know.<~>
~Are you the Goa’uld in control of my body ?~
<~>No. His name is Varash. And being a Goa’uld, he is a total asshat. I am…<~> He paused. <~>Hang on, I have an idea.<~>
Suddenly, Park was no longer in darkness. Instead, she was standing in an endless white space. But the place was not entirely empty. There was a pair of chairs with a table between them. And sitting in one of those chairs was a Nakai. The other chair was empty. So Park sat down in it. It was only then that she noticed that there was a tea set on the table between them. The whole thing was weirdly comforting, but also surrealistic.
“You’re a Nakai ?”
“Sort of.” Scorpius said. “Lisa, do you mind if I call you Lisa ?” She nodded that she did not object. She knew she was taking a risk, but something told her that Scorpius was a good guy and that she could trust him. “Did the healers on Freedom Prime ever tell you how they restored your eyesight ?”
“No, they did not tell me the details.”
“They gave you a blood transfusion from a Nakai. It allowed your body to repair the damage to your eyes. Except…” He paused, giving her a look that told her that she would not like what came next. “…it appears that they unknowingly also transferred the Nakai genetic memory to you.”
“The Nakai have genetic memory ?”
“Yes. And I am the manifestation of that memory,” Scorpius began. “It was dormant in your brain, but when Mister Asshat took control… Well, it trigger a defensive response, building me out of the knowledge of the Nakai and your memories. And here we are.”
“So, what do we do now ?”
“Well, I think we need to kick Varash to the curb.” As he said that, a door rose from the floor of the white space. “You game, Lisa ?”
The two of them stood up and Scorpius offered her his hand, which she took. Then the two of them walked to the door. Park opened it to reveal a dark space beyond. Inside that space, she could hear snakes slithering around. There were also display cases in this space, which appeared to represent her memories. ~That’s the part of my brain Varash controls.~ The fact that Scorpius was there to help her made her feel better. Park took a deep breath and then they walked into the darkness.
(Destiny – Gate Room - Year 2, Day 50, 0833)
Ginn was in the Gate Room, enjoying some alone time. After they had gained access to the Hydroponics Bay, they had trimmed the plants back to normal sizes and harvested all the food they could. It had left them with a considerable stockpile. Next, they had seen about the source of the magic can of oil that had saved them from starvation.
It was then that they had discovered the presence of a group of nanites created by a race called the New Asurans. The good news was these nanites were intelligent and friendly. The bad news was that they could only control so much of Destiny’s systems. By collecting the all the uniforms scattered all the rooms they could access, they had been able to provide the nanites with a stockpile of material. The nanites had then turned that stockpile into a small power source. It provided them with enough power for the Hydroponics Bay, the Gate Room and the corridors connecting the two.
Alas, because Destiny was still in paranoid mode, this did not do get them much. The control panels for the Stargate were now powered, but they were still locked out. As for the nanites, they were now all clustered one of the empty stasis pods, where they were transforming into a New Asuran that Ginn and Doctor Perry had begun calling Ben. He was called Ben because the body he was building was the exact image of Captain Benjamin Sisko from a television show called Deep Space Nine. Suddenly, her alone time was ended when Doctor Perry walked into the Gate Room.
“Ginn, we need to get to the stasis pod corridor,” She said. “I think Ben is about to hatch.”
“Lead the way.”
Ginn followed Perry out of the Gate Room. She had been worried that the construction wouldn’t been finished before Destiny dropped out of FTL. And that would mean that the nanites, without which they would still be stuck inside the computer, would be left behind. ~Of course, that’s presuming we figure out a way off this ship.~ And now that they had food and water, perhaps it was safer to stay aboard Destiny ? Because some of the planets out there could be pretty hostile. They entered the stasis corridor and Ginn pushed all her worries aside. For now, they had something else to focus on.
(Lisa Park’s Mind – The Dark Zone – Year 2, Day 50, Time unknown)
They had reached the heart of the dark zone, which surprised Park. ~Why hasn’t Varash tried to stop us ?~ The place looked like Destiny’s Gate Room, except for the fact that the Stargate was missing. In its place stood a throne. And on that throne sat a version of Lisa Park with solid black eyes. She was wearing a black monk’s robe.
“You were fools to come here,” Varash said. “Because here I have the power.” Lightning arced around her hands. “Unlimited power.”
“Really ?” Park said, while Scorpius rolled his eyes. “I mean, could you be more rip-off and cliché ?”
Instead of replying, Varash threw bolts of lightning at the two of them. They dodged the bolts, but some kind of tentacles began growng from the floor and grabbing for them. Park focused and suddenly she was holding a light-saber. Taking a deep breath, she began chopping at the tentacles. Meanwhile, Scorpius had created a shield and was using that to protect himself from the bolts. This was fine with Park, as it kept Varash distracted. Then one of the tentacles grabbed Scorpius and began choked him. So Park ran towards him, chopping tentacles left and right. Finally, she reached Scorpius and chopped him free.
“You will never….” That was as far as Varash got before Park swung her light-saber and chopped off his head.
The Goa’ulds head fell to the floor and dissolved into light. Then his body followed. Seconds later, the whole area began transforming into light. Park turned to Scorpius, only to see that he and his shield were fading away.
“Scorpius !? What’s happening to you !?”
“The threat is gone. You no longer need me,” He smiled at her. “Now, wake up and go mess up Pelops’ day.”
Before she could reply, she realized that she was standing in a corridor. And that she was back in control of her body. ~It’s over, at least for me.~ But as she flexed her fingers and took a couple of steps, she realized that she remembered bits and pieces of Varash’s knowledge. Including the fact that Pelops had brought three parasites. ~Oh, no.~ She bolted down the corridor. There was a Goa’uld she needed to stop.
(Destiny – Stasis Pod Corridor - Year 2, Day 50, 0837)
The stasis pod had opened and Ben had stepped out. He had been in complete working order. ~Now there are three of us, maybe four.~ Ginn thought as she watched the man in the only active pod. They had left him in stasis to stretch their food and water. But for the look on his face, Ginn got the impression that Ben wanted to change that. So she turned to him.
“What are you thinking, Ben ?”
“Well, I have an idea,” He began. “But you’re not going to like it.”
“Look, the power source keeping the Hydroponics Bay going will run out fuel in a couple of days,” Ben said. “And then we’ll have a food and water problem. Not to mention the fact that if the plants die, we will lose our source of oxygen.”
~Well, that settles that.~ They had to get off Destiny, or they would die. She got a feeling that the part she was not going to like would come next. And then Ben continued.
“But if we take him…” Ben gestured towards the soldier in the stasis pod. “…Out of stasis, I could remove some components from the control console. If I then swap them with their counterparts in the Dialing Computer console in the Gate Room, the AI would think that it is THIS console. Meaning that the controls should work again.”
“Can we do it without thawing him ?” Perry asked.
“No, if we don’t thaw him, the AI won’t fall for the modification and the controls won’t come back on-line,” Ben began. “And I know thawing him is a risk, but it’s either that or nothing.”
Ginn sighed. Then she made her way to the control console. ~This might blow up in our face, but like Ben said…it is this or nothing.~ She exchanged a look with Perry, who nodded in approval. Taking a deep breath, she began pushing buttons. The stasis pod deactivated and then opened. Its occupant open his eyes. When he saw them, he swallowed.
No comments:
Post a Comment