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"For You, I Will "Written By: Jewel of Hell Disclaimer: Don't own nothin' but these words Rating: NC 17 Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, language, violence, torture, abuse, character death (sort of), misuse of electricity, telepathy, politics, Sci-fi, crossover, AU Pairings: 1x2, other Summary: Crossover w/ Stargate: SG-1. On an alien
planet, Colonel Jack O'Neill and the rest of SG-1 find a sick young
man and take him home. Unwittingly unleashing a great threat on the
SGC as the boy isn't all he seems . . . " For You, I Will "
Agreements Heero wanted everyone to leave the infirmary except for Janet, and there was little choice but to obey. General Hammond gave the petite doctor a significant look, telling her without words he wanted her to find out as much as she could. She gave no indication she understood, but when they were gone she busied herself checking Duo's condition. Strangely, he seemed to be doing better, a bit of color returning to his pale face. Though she couldn't be sure if he was an enemy or not, he was still her patient and she was still concerned. "Heero?" she asked. "Are you still listening?" "Yes, Doctor Fraiser." The fact that he knew their names unnerved her just a bit. It wasn't her main concern, but curiosity won. Besides, it might be a good way to break the ice and gain his trust. "How do you know our names?" A soft snort. "I'm in your computer systems. I've read all the personnel files. Mission reports, too. You seem like good people." The comment surprised her. "I like to think we are," she said. "I wanted to ask you about the N'saian. Can you create some kind of medical file for me so I can learn about your physiology? I can't treat Duo very well if I don't know enough about his physical makeup." She was guessing Duo was very important to Heero. "Of course. I'll create a file right away. Shouldn't take me very long. Also, your neural scanners aren't very accurate. I can show you far more accurate readings of Duo's brain waves. There are some small but important differences between a human's brain and ours." "Anything you can do, I'd appreciate," Janet agreed, smiling at the image of the handsome young man on the monitor. "Also, what can you tell me about the virus in Duo's system?" Heero's blue eyes shifted from her to the boy sitting quietly on the bed. They went from intense to soft - and even though this was just an image, she could still clearly see the love. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. "It's not really a virus," he said. "It was created by a scientist as a cure for another disease. It worked - but only to a point. It cured the disease but created massive complications. Duo was infected with the original disease, and then he was injected with the experimental cure." Heat flashed across Janet's skin. "Was he the first test subject?" "Yes," Duo cut in quietly. His eyes were clouded. Red filmed her vision. It never failed to infuriate her, hearing of people deliberately harming others. "I researched every single archive on Desaine," Heero said. "I pored through all their research on the virus. I'm cross-referencing right now with all the information pertinent on your Internet. So far there's nothing on Earth that compares. I'll construct a 3D representation of it, including a list of all its functions and primary symptoms." In about four seconds, it appeared on the monitor. Janet studied it. "Doesn't really look like a virus," she murmured. "No," Heero agreed, "though it was built to imitate one." The image disappeared, and it was replaced by a basic outline of a man. "Human physiology is similar to N'saian, with a few notable differences." Janet watched as Heero created a digital representation of a human body, filling in organs, veins, bone, muscle, and tissue. In place of the liver was something that distantly resembled a multi-chambered stomach. "What is that?" "Similar in function to the liver," Heero said, "the body's detox station. It is capable of drawing toxins such as poison and bacteria out of the blood where it attacks it and breaks it into harmless compounds to be flushed out. This virus is the only thing I have ever seen defeat it." A brief pause. "Our brains are similiar in structure to yours, but we have approximately twice the number of synapses. I'll show you a far more accurate and detailed brain scan." Janet opened her mouth to ask how, but Heero was already moving. The wires she'd attached to Duo were shifting, and to her shock the exposed ends burrowed into Duo's temples. The boy jerked and winced, but they held him still. "Shh, Duo," Heero murmured. "It won't hurt for long. The more she knows, the better she can help you." Janet was ready to protest, but it was a bit late. Not sure whether to be fascinated or repulsed, she turned to study the scans as Heero created them. o8o o8o "I need answers, people," General Hammond said, sitting at the head of the table in the briefing room. He didn't look happy. To Daniel's right, Jack stirred. "We couldn't know when we brought that kid through the 'gate he would attack the base," he almost snapped. Always quick to withhold judgment, Daniel shook his head. "I'm not sure that's what he did, General," he cut in. "Then what, Daniel?" Jack said in a sneering tone. "He's just here on an exploratory mission? Wants to learn a little about us? That frickin' thing's in our computers." "It was probably an act of self-preservation when we mentioned Desaine," Daniel tried to be reasonable. "We don't even know why he did it." "I'm not sure it matters, Doctor Jackson," General Hammond said. "With all due respect, General," Daniel said gently, "that's all that matters. It could mean the difference between a hostile takeover and an act of desperation. I don't get the feeling Duo meant to attack the base." "Then what did he mean to do, Daniel?" Jack growled. "Well, I'd like the chance to talk to him and find out," Daniel replied, giving Jack a Look. Demanding he see reason for once and not be such an ass. Tall orders, maybe. "Sir, I think Daniel may be right," Sam, bless her, piped up. "Near as I can tell there's no damage to the systems. No data has been erased and none has even left the base. It's more like the virus - Heero - is just . . . sitting in our computers. Using up memory, maybe, but not hurting anything." Jack, obviously, didn't like anyone telling him his perceived threat was not a threat. He glowered at her, but Daniel sent her a grateful smile. "Major," General Hammond said, "is there any way we can get this virus out of our computers?" Sam looked uncomfortable. "Well, sir, probably. My only concern is, we could fry our computers in the process." "General -" Daniel began. Hammond looked at him. "You have one hour, Doctor Jackson, then I'm letting Major Carter go ahead." Trying not to grind his teeth in frustration, Daniel nodded and rose, headed for the infirmary. He was glad Jack didn't follow; he wasn't all that sure he wouldn't deck the idiot. As soon as he entered the infirmary, cameras trained on him and Duo looked up. The boy wasn't as pale as he had been, and a hint of a smile crossed his lips when he saw Daniel. "Doctor Jackson." "Hi, Duo," Daniel replied, coming to stand by the bed. "How are you feeling?" "Better than I was," Duo said. "Good," Daniel said - and he meant it. Regardless of what Jack believed, Daniel didn't think this boy was a threat. "I'm here to ask you a few questions." "I know," Heero cut in, and his image blinked onto the monitor. "I can hear you, anywhere on this base. I'm in every single electronic program here, and since they're all electronic, I'm in them all. Maybe you should tell your O'Neill to remember that." For a moment Daniel struggled between alarm and amusement. That wouldn't make Jack happy. Still, even with the thinly veiled threats, Daniel still wanted to help these two. "So you know what we'd like to know." "Yes," Heero replied. "Duo and I will fill you in as soon as he's well, I promise. Doctor Fraiser?" Janet looked up from what she was studying. Which looked like . . . well, frankly Daniel had no clue. She stood and came to Daniel's side. "Tentatively, I'd say tomorrow." She smiled and brushed her fingers over Duo's arm. "You're doing well." She looked back to Daniel. "I'll give him another exam in the morning, but after that I think he could sit through a debriefing with General Hammond and SG-1." Hoping Jack and Hammond would be satisfied with that, Daniel looked up at Heero. "So, what have you three been doing?" "Learning about the SGC, humans, and Earth," Heero replied. "You have a strange role here, Doctor Jackson." "Daniel," he corrected. "And yes. I do." Duo shifted, sitting up a little straighter. "What is your role here?" "Well, I'm an archaeologist," Daniel replied. "I'm also a linguist. I do translations and research when we discover new civilizations and cultures. I'm also one of the few diplomats on the base." A hint of a grin. Duo broke into a sweet smile. "And tactful, too. So you're not military, then." "No, I'm not." "Seems like you wouldn't get along with Colonel O'Neill," Duo mused. Daniel blinked. "What makes you say that?" "Jarhead," Heero said flatly. "Earth term." Duo snickered. Daniel had to bite back a grin. "Uh, that might have been accurate at one time, but Jack's not as rough as he seems. He's a good man." "You respect him," Heero said. Not a question. "Yeah," Daniel confirmed. "Do you love him?" Duo asked. For a moment, it caught Daniel off-guard. This time his smile was a little wistful. "In a way. He's my best friend, and sometimes he feels like an overprotective older brother." He looked into Duo's indigo eyes. "You loved Heero, didn't you?" Duo's eyes darkened. "Love, Daniel. As in, still do." He looked up at Heero's image, and Daniel could see tears forming. "Yes, I love him with all my heart. They used that against us." Daniel saw Janet stroking Duo's arm, maybe trying to calm or comfort him, her dark brown eyes sympathetic. Though she was military, Daniel knew a homosexual relationship wouldn't bother her. As it didn't bother him. But there were some on this base who might be bothered. "I know what you're thinking," Heero said abruptly, startling Daniel. "No gays in the military, right? Don't worry about it, Doctor Jackson." "Just be careful," Daniel cautioned. "You've already made everyone here edgy." "Noted." o8o o8o "Major." Sam nearly jumped out of her skin when Heero's voice sounded in her lab. Looking up from the computer she'd isolated from the mainframe, she spotted his image appearing on another monitor. He looked cold, calculating, and even smugly amused. "Heero," she said. "It won't work, Major," he said. Trying not to jump to conclusions, Sam shrugged. "What won't?" "Let's just assume I'm as smart as you and not play dumb. Your plan to eliminate me. It won't work. I am not a computer program, and I'm not a virus. You can't simply overwrite me as if I were. I am the consciousness of a living person, and I'm far more complicated than any software you could conceive, let alone design." Biting her lip, Sam tried to guess whether he was telling the truth or if he was lying to try and save himself. Save himself. Daniel's voice abruptly sounded in her mind, asking her whether she had any right to be attempting the destruction of what, for all intents and purposes, was another living being. If Heero was telling the truth about what had happened to him, she would be preparing for his execution. Colonel O'Neill wouldn't like to hear her thinking like that. But what if it had been an act of self-preservation? "Why did Duo 'download' you into our mainframe?" she asked presently. "The data transfer device he had stored me in is too small. The memory capacity for me needs to be at least 10 terabytes, otherwise . . . in simplest terms, the program would destroy itself. I would be lost." "10 terabytes?" Sam repeated, shaking her head. Considering the fastest computers in the world needed only a few gigs . . . 10 terabytes worth of memory was a huge capacity. "This base doesn't have a memory capacity that big." "I know," Heero said. "For now what you have is enough. It won't be forever, just like the storage device Duo stored me in wasn't enough. I would like you to build one." Blink. "Build what?" "A supercomputer that meets my requirements," he replied. "You may isolate it from your base mainframe - I don't care." Sam took a deep breath. She knew Heero had read their personnel files - how else did he know their names? So she couldn't play dumb and pretend she didn't know how to build a computer with that kind of ram. And despite the fact that General Hammond had ordered her to destroy Heero, she wanted to help him. Besides, this was one of those 'alternate solutions' that would make Daniel very happy. Should make everyone happy, really. "I'll see what I can do," she promised. The image on the monitor nodded. "Thank you." And disappeared. Well. Nothing for it but to present this to the general. And hope he saw things her way. o8o o8o In the morning, Doctor Fraiser gave Duo the go ahead to attend a meeting with General Hammond and SG-1. She pushed Duo into the briefing room in a wheel chair, and while he was attached to an IV drip she had at least given him some clothes. BDUs she called them, and they were a dark-ish blue. They were also a little too big for him, but they were clothes. During the night, Heero had educated him a little about the SGC. Led by General Hammond, the bald man from a place called Texas was highly decorated and respected. SG-1 comprised his flagship team, led by Colonel Jack O'Neill - a formidable man who was known both for his smartass sense of humor and his devotion to the Stargate project. O'Neill's second-in-command was Major Samantha Carter, a brilliant woman both in the field and in her lab. Duo could tell Heero liked her, probably because they had a lot in common. The only non-human member of the team was a large Jaffa named Teal'c. Duo didn't like Jaffa as a general rule, but there was something gentle about Teal'c that put him at ease. The footsoldiers of the Gao'uld were seldom anything but cruel. And last but not least, Doctor Daniel Jackson. The man was an archaelogist and brilliant linguist, speaking 23 languages native to Earth, and then a few not native to the planet. Duo liked him the best, because of all the humans he'd met so far Daniel seemed to have the most accurate moral compass. He was certain Daniel would defend him and Heero. General Hammond looked a little anxious as they all sat. "Heero?" he asked. To his left on a large screen Heero's image appeared. "I'm here, General." "Then let's begin, shall we?" the general invited. "Heero, we'd like to know more about you. Both of you." Duo, glad the wheel chair was moderately comfortable, settled back and let Heero start. "I already told you a little about us," Heero began. "We are N'saian, a race pushed to the brink of extinction thanks to the Gao'uld." He spit the word out like a curse. "Our abilities include telepathy, healing, telekineses, and energy channeling. Not every one of us has the same abilities, though I possessed all four in one degree or another. There were a few of us that managed to escape when the Gao'uld began enslaving our people. We made it to Desaine and begged the Central Government to shelter us. They agreed. We later found out they were biding their time. Though they couldn't hope to overpower our parents, they certainly could their much younger children. "They were hoping to use us as weapons," Heero went on. "The N'saian pass on much more to their children than special abilities and skills. They also, much like the Gao'uld, pass on genetic memory. The Desaines were hoping to glean our secrets using whatever means they could - and these means often involved brutal torture. When they killed me and 'downloaded' my consciousness into their computers, they had at first developed a powerful program to control me. It was several days, perhaps just over a week Earth time, before I managed to grow beyond its capacity to control me. In six days I had complete control of every single computer system and electronic system in the city. It was because of this that Duo managed to escape. I had him transfer my consciousness into a data-transfer pendant and flee to the Stargate with a few possible addresses. But he was badly injured and terribly sick. He never made it that far, and that is where you found him, Colonel." Duo's eyes, half shut, finished the journey closed. He and Heero had been prisoner for months before they'd killed Heero. The things they'd endured ranged from starvation to physical beatings to electrical torture to exposure to extreme temperatures. Looking back he could barely believe he'd had the strength to run all the way from the city to the Stargate. It was almost ten miles. "So, not prisoners then," O'Neill drawled. Duo opened his eyes in time to see Heero level the colonel with an icy glare. "If you mean, were we criminals, then no. Duo and I never committed a crime. We were only thirteen and fourteen when the Central Government invited us to join their military program. We were proud to serve our new home in their continued battle with the Gao'uld. We trained in their adolescent program for over a year, then we were betrayed." Hammond was nodding. "Well, I certainly can empathize with your situation," he said, "but the fact of the matter is I cannot allow you to remain in control of this facility. I'm going to have to ask you to remove yourself, Heero." Heero's eyes were shards of cobalt ice. "That would result in my death." "General," Major Carter piped up, "Heero already asked me to build a super computer capable of supporting him. I've drawn up the specs, and I'm sure with a little help I could have it completed within a few days. I could isolate it from the base mainframe." Hammond looked at Heero as if to ask would that be sufficient. "Before I agree," Heero began, "there are some things I want to ask of you. If I do this, what will become of Duo? I read your files concerning the NID. What's to stop them from sweeping in and taking him to some facility where he will disappear?" It was Daniel who responded first. "We wouldn't allow that to happen, Heero." He turned his ice-blue eyes on Hammond. "Right, General?" "I don't like the NID any more than you do," Hammond agreed. "If that's what it takes, there is much we can offer you in exchange for our safe harboring," Heero went on. "We will fight for your world, as long as we have assurance the same thing won't happen to us here as on Desaine." "Never," Hammond vowed. "We would never consent to torturing anyone. It wouldn't be the first time the SGC has provided shelter to non-humans." He looked significantly at Teal'c. Though he hadn't contributed anything or expended any energy, Duo was starting to feel nauseous. He shifted, hoping it wouldn't escalate to the point where he vomited. "We haven't seen any proof that you're different," he cut in, voice cold and distant. "You tried to devise a plan to destroy Heero as soon as you found out about him." He saw Heero's eyes land on him, and they looked vaguely surprised. Of course, Duo was usually the nice one of the pair. "That was before we realized -" Hammond began. "It was after Heero talked to you for the first time," Duo snapped, finally sitting up. "After he told you he wasn't some virus attacking your systems. After he told you he was a person, just like me and you. After he told you he just needed a place to expand again or he would be erased!" "Duo . . ." Heero said, voice gentle. "We would never try to kill anyone, even a life so unconventional," Daniel inserted. "General Hammond was only preparing for extreme last resort -" "So you would try to kill someone if you deemed it necessary," Duo interrupted with a growl. "Even though you had no proof Heero was threatening your stupid base?" He pushed to his feet, slamming both hands down on the table. "We're not returning control to you, General. What's to stop you from killing us yourself the moment we do? We won't be that naive again!" Suddenly, dizziness, nausea, and sharp pain washed over him in a wave, turning his legs to jelly and darkening his vision. He probably would have fallen, but strong arms caught him. Looking up, he hazily recognized Teal'c as the Jaffa easily lifted him. o8o o8o Heero abandoned talks to watch Teal'c follow Doctor Fraiser back to the infirmary. Sick with worry, he waited for her to examine him. "It's the virus," he told her quietly. "It affects his moods. Causes irrational behavior." She completed her exam in silence, then turned to look at him. "His fever's back up," she told him softly. "I gave him a sedative. Do you know of any cure for this virus?" "No, but I was researching it," Heero said. "I will continue." She just nodded, and Heero hated the look on her face.
It was grim and dark, the expression of a doctor who knows her patient
is simply biding time until death.
tbc |
