Chapter 27
Medical Section, Iðavöllr,Aschen Prime Orbit
October 11, 2010
Janet looked up from her reading when the communicator in the room that had been assigned as her office on board the Asgärd command ship chimed and a holographic projection of Jack’s head and shoulders appeared.
“Prepare your team to depart to Aschen Prime with the Tok’ra in ten minutes. A squad will accompany you. They already know the deal.” Jack ordered curtly and his image winked out again.
Janet set aside the tablet she had been studying and smoothly rose to her feet. Pressing the comm button on her desk, she calmly informed the medics under her command that they would be departing for Aschen Prime in five minutes.
She knew Jack had said ten minutes but assumed that the time limit had been for them to get to the transport centre with all their supplies and personal and not just be prepared by. They were geared up in field uniforms, ready, and all assembled in seven minutes in the main beaming room where their military escort and eighteen Tok’ra in their signature brown leathers were already waiting for them.
“Dr Fraiser,” the youngest of the Tok’ra greeted respectfully with a warm smile of recognition. “We and our seneb’keshes are at your disposal while on Aschen Prime.”
“Thank you, I know using the healing devices are draining so I intend to use you to diagnose and stabilise the most critical that can not be treated on Aschen Prime,” Janet said as she looked searchingly at the young man as she rummage around her memory for who this Tok’ra could be. She did not remember him from any of SGC’s interactions with the Goa’uld resistance although she had mostly interacted with scientists such as Anise-Freya but his tone of voice indicated he had had personal contact with her.
“I see you have difficultly in recognising my host,” the ducal tones of the symbiote rumbled from the Tok’ra’s throat. Earning a few looks from a few of her human personal, the curious ones indicating they had never encountered a symbiote and host before and wary ones indicating perhaps they knew too much about the Goa’uld.
“Yes, I am sorry. Were you in a previous host when we met? I do not remember you coming to SGC,” Janet apologised.
“That is because I did not ever come to the SGC but left from it,” the host responded with amusement.
Janet blinked in surprise as she suddenly understood just who the Tok’ra host was, the young Reetou boy. “Charlie! It is a pleasure to see you.”
The Tok’ra smiled boyishly and inclined his head in confirmation just as white light enveloped them all and they were transported by the Iðavöllr beaming system to the defence instillation on Aschen Prime where the largest number of injuries had occurred.
Briskly Janet stepped forward from the group to demonstrate her leadership and was met by an Aschen in slightly torn grey clothing who otherwise looked unharmed.
“I am Dellen,” the Aschen greeted firmly.
“Dr Fraiser,” Janet returned.
Dellen’s brow furrowed slightly before clearing. “Ah yes, Earth’s title for a health practitioner.”
Janet gave a brisk nod of her head. “I understand that you already know the conditions for our assistance?”
“Very clearly,” Dellen nodded. “I will be your guide while at this facility.”
“Good, but first we’ll take a look at you.” Janet said critically now close enough to discern Dellen wore a defence uniform and if he was of high rank as she suspected, had been onboard one of the Aschen battleships when it had crashed back to Aschen Prime.
“I assure you I am unharmed,” Dellen drew himself upright. “There are others that require treatment.”
“Be as that may,” Janet said as she motioned a nurse forward with a kit. “You are still getting checked out. We don’t want you dropping dead from internal injuries you don’t tell us about.”
Still looking affronted but resigned, Dellen submitted himself to Janet’s care as she snapped on examination gloves.
. . .
Janet leaned over an unconscious Aschen soldier strapped to a stretcher and probed his abdomen to find it unnaturally hard. Hissing beneath her breath at the conclusion she came to she looked up and caught the eye of the closest Tok’ra who happened to be Charlie.
Giving Charlie time to finish telling his diagnostic to the human medic beside the soldier he’d just finished scanning with his healing device, Janet tagged the man and scribbled what injuries she’d found onto that tag.
“Internal bleeding,” Janet said quietly once Charlie was crouched by her side. “Do what you can to stabilise him and mark on his tag where the bleeding originated.”
Charlie gave a tired nod of agreement and placed his hand covered with the healing device over the man’s abdomen.
Janet could understand the Tok’ra’s tiredness considering they had been using their healing devices within minutes of arriving on the planet’s surface. She herself was beginning to tire as the med team moved from location to location and all she was doing was diagnosing and treating the most minor injuries—triage in other words.
Tucking a strand of hair that had escaped from her bun back behind her ear Janet stood and moved to the next Aschen to be examined. As she approached her patient there was a sudden disturbance behind her and she turned around just as voices began to shout.
A crazed looking Aschen in a torn uniform wielding one of the Aschen’s now inert pacifying rods like a club was charging across the room towards her. Before she had time to consider her reaction Charlie was between her and the charging Aschen and what sounded like the hum of an ashrak ring weapon filled the room.
Before however even Charlie could intercept the crazed Aschen and use his terrible weapon, the man was tackled from behind by not just green clothed resistance soldiers but a grey Aschen uniform. The four men wrestled him to the ground and soon enough the attacker lay weeping underneath Dellen. Sobbing brokenly in his native Aschen tongue up at his commander.
A few sharp words from Dellen in the same language had the attacker fall silent although he continued to cry. Dellen gestured imperiously to two other Aschens in the room and they obeyed, picking the crying man up and ushering him from the room with resistance guards on their heels.
Dellen rose to his feet and after a sharp tug on the hem of his uniform said briskly. “My apology doctor. Such a disturbance will no happen again.”
“Why did it happen in the first place?” Janet questioned sharply, not liking the fact that there seem to be division in the Aschen ranks and how roughly the attacker-then-weepier had been handled.
“His partner died,” Dellen stated coldly.
“From what?” Janet demanded.
Dellen snapped a question in Aschen to one of those that had followed the attacker into the room and not left. Once he had received an answer, he turned back to Janet. “From a perforated lung.”
“I asked to be shown the most critical! Why was that man’s partner not among them?” Janet demeaned furiously.
“He died an hour after our former Supreme Minister refused to accept Commander O’Neill’s offer of health practitioners,” Dellen responded icily.