DISCLAIMER: See Part 1
Champions Gate
By Elizabeth Carter
Chapter Twelve
Eighth Choir
In the furthest recesses of the deepest memory of the eldest Malakim mind, there has always been seven choirs. Seven ruling houses under which one Voice had been set above them all.
The Malakite, are the Virtues. They are the champions, warriors and the framework of interiority. Theirs is the most courageous path of honor. This was the Queen's own house
There were the Seraphim; the most wise. Their relationship with the Symphony is said to be the deepest; resounding from the most fundamental levels of abstract reality.
The Cherubim are the guardians. They are stouthearted. Strong willed, generally reliable and fanatically loyal.
The Ofanim are the swiftest. They are the resonance of motion, and the surest and swiftest of flyers; they were manic with excitement.
The Elohim are the powers. They are calm and self-restrained; they are the balance, the compromise between thought and feeling.
The Kyriotates are the dominations, they are collections of primal urges; they are the muses and are filled with multiplicity.
Mercurians are the diplomats. They are the developers of politics and the arbiters of discipline.
In ancient times, each wing held one angelic from each Choir and coexisted quite harmoniously. Even now, each Wing of the Malakim Empire held one heir of each Choir. It would always be thus. But ancient legend also spoke of an eighth choir, in the same breath as the Nephalim. This eighth choir was the watchers, known also as the Grigori. Usually, this choir was dismissed as pure myth. The Grigori were supposed to be the descendents of the Nephalim and the angelics. In human traditional myth these descendents would have been known as wizarding folk. But of course they were only fairy tales. Then again the Nephalim was supposed to have been myth. A tall blonde astrophysicist proved that myths could indeed become real.
Malakim mirrored human culture in a few ways. The angelics also named celestial bodies after myths, heroes and the supernatural. It was how the planet Grigori came to possess it's name. This, perhaps, was what had spurred the Blue Wing to choose the location. After all, what better ideal location for the Nephalim to take command then a planet named for the mythic Eighth Choir; the choir that could only exist because of the Nephalim in the first place?
Samantha Carter and Janet Fraiser did not know what to expect when they landed upon Grigori, but they had a vague idea. Having been on Hy-Basil and seeing the Forbidden Temple of the Exiles, the human women knew the new angelic Stargate Command would be exceptionally beautiful, in both form and function.
Of course, at the moment, the form and function Sam was admiring had nothing to do with Malakim architecture and technology. In fact, the form she was enamored with was a very tiny statured human.
There was no doubt in the blonde's mind, nor in her heart, that her wife was a paradigm of beauty. Janet Fraiser was the defining measurement of what was beautiful. In all the life forms she had met Sam had never come across another soul that was as glorious as Janet. Sam had always felt that her beloved wife was the very heartbeat of the SGC.
Without Janet life was void.
"You have such a strange _expression on your face," Janet said, as she lay poised above her wife. Their breasts softly touching, as their lips tasted each other.
"I think I fell in love again," Sam nuzzled her lover, her tongue seeking entrance into Janet's mouth
For a brief moment the brunette allowed it, she felt the strong slender hands of her beloved knead her waist, trailing down to her hips, resting upon the mounds of her buttocks. Janet moved back causing Sam to mutter a protest.
"You fell in love?" Janet smirked. "Anyone I know?"
"A five foot two angel." Sam said as she pulled Janet closer to her so that she might taste her lover's lips once more. "Every time I look in to her large brown doe eyes I lose myself."
Janet nipped the alabaster throat. "Are you sure its love and you're not coming down with something? Could be serious." She continued to nibble until she felt a sharp intake of breath from the woman beneath her. "Being the CMO, I should give you a physical just to make certain you're not suffering from some alien bug."
Slender, fine boned fingers traced the lines of bone and muscle of a magnificent body, ridged and un-yielding abdominal muscles, a pierced belly button and toned thighs. Those same fingers slipped around the curve of thigh to the apex between long colt legs. Soft wiry blonde pubic hair already slick with honey yielded to prying fingertips. Janet's fingers teased the folds of Samantha's nether lips, slipping easily within. The doctor deliberately traced the little bundle of nerves of Sam's clit, but only just.
Sam hissed a sharp breath of air, her back arching upwards, wanting to deepen Janet's thrusts. The Nox enhanced empathy between them flared to life, fully open so that what one felt the other did too.
"I know how sensitive I can make you." Janet whispered into her wife's ear before starting to run the tip of her tongue softly along it, suckling upon the lobe while at the same time teasingly rubbing her fingers over the overheated, sensitive flesh between the opening of the blonde's clit with a little more force. Feeling Sam's heat surrounding her, the slick walls around her fingers tightening and releasing in a torturously sweet rhythm sent waves of pleasure through Janet's own womanhood.
Sam sucked in another deep breath of air, when she felt the rosy lips leave her ear for one hardened left nipple, then to the other. Janet's tongue was working magic, flicking, teasing her at the same pace her fingers were manipulating the nubbin of her clit. The blonde arched upwards wanting more.
Janet's fingers continued their assault. In and out, in and out, increasing the pace, increasing the pressure.
"Jan….." Sam exhaled the name in a gasp
Janet pulled back enough so she might blow cool air upon the wetted nipple, sending shivers of pleasure coursing through out Sam's body.
"Yes, that's it, Sammy." Janet cooed. She felt the walls of Sam's womb close around her in contractions. A hand coursed in the thick soft blonde hair. " So wet for me…all for me."
"Yes…."Sam managed.
Having had very little intercourse with men, the blonde was exceptionally tight around Janet's fingers. So, only when she knew her wife was ready did she slip a third finger within, her thumb forcefully seeking the nub hidden in the sheath. Sam moaned loudly with this new sensation.
"Janet…oh god Jan."
The smaller woman smiled hungrily as she took Sam's breast once more, her teeth gingerly bit and pulled the rock hard nipple causing the reaction she knew she would get. Sam bucked under her lips, rising to meet each thrust.
"That's it, baby." Janet encouraged. "Cum for me…" her lips now nipped along the jaw line. Sam's pulse was rapid and her breath hyperventilating.
Sam's slickness coated Janet's fingers, running down to her wrists in sweet honey musk. "Yes….I know you're almost there…I can feel it." Janet whispered
Sam arched. "Oh God, Janet….Yes...there…oh god…. My all…love…goddess….mistress….god……" She arched again, her body shivering as she reached climax.
Janet slowly continued her stroking. Her lips soothingly kissed Sam neck, gently bringing her wife back down from soaring. "I love you….shush baby its okay….shhhh I've got you…I got you….." Janet said, even as Sam's own words of truth from her heart echoed the doctor's words of love.
Janet's kisses continued tiny pecks, nibbles until she could feel Sam's pulse returning to a more normal pace, only then did she slowly withdraw her fingers.
Sam's arms immediately folded around her wife, holding her tightly. "Oh Janet….I love you."
Blue eyes melted in to dark brown orbs. Azure flames burned as Sam watched her wife clean the glistening honey off of her fingers. Sam grasped the tiny wrist and, with Janet, helped lick the delicate fingers clean. She tasted her own musk upon long slender digits as her tongue made love to Janet's.
"I need to show you love." Sam whispered, her voice smoky with lust. Sam's hands stroked down Janet's back, and the doctor felt a thrumming between thighs that pined for the promise of touch. Sam's fingers teased her firm buttocks. Without breaking contact, the blonde rolled her wife over so Janet was now positioned on the bottom.
Janet loved the way her lover's breasts swayed slightly in the move and reached to take a nipple into her mouth, blue eyes rolled back as Janet suckled.
Sam enjoyed giving full control over to her wife. Being in command rested heavily upon her shoulders, and she thrilled to have the love of her life have dominion over her. Janet silently guided her lover where she wanted to be touched, how she wanted to be touched.
Janet abandoned her lover's breast to attack her neck; signaling to Sam she wanted her own breasts teased. Their communication was never set up, never planned, just instinctual.
Sam trailed slow sensual kisses along Janet's cleavage, nuzzling the soft mounds, before she locked her lips onto a dark rose nipple. The blonde's hand slid between lean and muscled thighs, teasing the slit with two fingers until the juices she wanted started to slick her way.
With much reluctance, Sam left Janet's breasts at the touch of a hand to the back of her head. Silently communicating once more, Janet touched her thumb to Sam's neck. Tiny kisses marked a path from breast to belly button. Sam paused, dipping her tongue into the tiny indent, gaining a giggle from her stimulated wife.
Janet shifted her legs, opening them further. Sam rose to her knees and turned, tasting Janet's invitation through the scent of her desire on Sam's fingers. Then, with her tongue and lips, she traced Janet's slit. The heady musk hit Sam making her almost drunk. Sam curled her hands around Janet's buttocks and with the merest tip of her tongue circled Janet's clit, slipping inward by infinitesimal degrees.
Janet hissed a soft moan. "Sammmmm."
Sam shifted her lover's hips until she was smelling, tasting, breathing the woman's molten soul. She wanted only to coax that rising heat to it's surging crescendo. Sam's tongue stoked the kindling fire and quenching it, kindling and quenching, till fire exploded, deep within the earth and spread outward and upward in wave after wave.
Janet's thighs quivered when she felt her wife's tongue circle around her clit, drawing the bundle of nerves between lips and sucking, even as two fingers entered into her womb. Janet felt one hand catch into Sam's blonde locks as the other pinched a painfully hard nipple.
Sam felt the hand upon her head, the nails non-too gently kneading the muscles of her neck. Janet was bucking and moaning incoherently. Janet came almost immediately, but Sam didn't stop.
Sam's tongue, feathery light, stroked Janet's labia, teasing backwards, then forwards again. Repeating, this time with light pressure behind it… again and again…and all the while her fingers continued to pump within her wife causing Janet to come yet again.
"Sammmm…..aaaannnnnn…….ttthhhhaaaaa" Janet screamed her release. It would not be the only time she would call her wife's name out like that.
There could be no counting of the repeating of love, the quantum releases of climax or the hours spent; there was only exhaustion.
Her body tired and sore, Sam rose from the bed she shared with her lover. A bright smile forever marking her face as she thought of the earlier hours she had spent worshiping every part of her wife. She could still feel Janet's nimble delicate fingers as they touched every part of her own body.
Uncoiling her body from her wife she started to rise off the bed.
"Sammy-bear?" a hushed sleepy mumble tumbled out of the redhead's mouth.
Sam smiled brighter, she loved her secret nickname. Janet only said it when extremely affectionate; it was the same as her own endearment for Janet, Baby-girl; it was something deep, intimate, and said only when no one else would hear it.
"Hush, my love, go back to sleep. I'll only be a little while, Baby-girl." A soft kiss touched the doctor's cheek. "I love you, Hun."
"Kay." Janet muttered, half-aware she spoke, but mostly aware she was falling back asleep.
Sam was off the bed and she simply watched her beloved wife sleep, her long fingers feathering back the dark red locks of hair. Leaning forward, Samantha placed a kiss upon Janet's brow. "You complete me." Another kiss and Sam disappeared into the bathroom for a quick military five-minute shower.
The tall, forever-young colonel dressed quickly in Malakim BDU's, which were the only clean clothing she had. Dark blue leather britches, black cotton shirt and a leather jerkin. Blousing the trousers into her combat boots as she tied them, Sam gave another look to her happily slumbering wife.
"In this life and into the next I swore I'd protect you, just as you protect your Sammy-bear." The blonde moved stealthily once more to Janet's side, unable to resist placing yet another kiss upon the sweet pouting lips before she left their quarters.
It was late by the ship's chronometer but Sam knew the Malakim had divided themselves into two shifts. The alpha shift was on duty, which meant that the beta shift was off. That meant the two souls the colonel was looking for would be free.
Going into the arboretum, Sam had an instinct that she would find both Turel and Zaire together. Her presence must have startled the angelic women as Turel was quickly donning a tabard and Zaire was still sleeping in a nest of blankets, under the large palms in the garden.
"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Sam said, a little embraced.
"It is well, Liege, my wife sleeps." The tall blue haired Turel said. "Your need must be great to have parted company from your own beloved."
"Yes," Sam nodded. "Wait, how did you …"
"The Symphony is glowing about you," Turel smiled. "It radiates, therefore it is obvious you shared intimacy with your wife."
A blush hit the tall blonde's cheeks. "Er….well…yes we did.' Sam cleared her throat. "Actually, that's why I wanted to see you and Zaire. I know the Queen told you to protect Janet. But I too must insist that you do." Sam looked at the sleeping silver maned Zaire. "You know what it is to love deeply and worry, Turel."
"Yes, my liege, I do." The stoic angel agreed.
"Some years ago, I thought Janet was taken from me. In fact she was pronounced KIA. It was only because of the Nox that she lives. Not a day has passed, from that day to now, I haven't been concerned for her. If she dies, so do I.
"Its obvious staying at home is just as dangerous as going through the Stargate. The system lords killed fourteen good people because of the SGC. Home isn't safe, and missions are far from safe." Sam sighed. "Janet would be the first to tell you the grave is a fine and safe place, but if we live we bleed. I don't want her in the grave, and I don't want her to bleed. I want her safe."
"Liege, rest assured, Zaire and I will not allow harm to come to your beloved."
"I need more then reassurances Turel." Sam said. Deep within her the tall blonde willed the dream of her beloved, cherished wife and children to be perfectly safe. Whatever it took. This was the only meaning, the only purpose, that Samantha could fathom, the dire need to protect her lover. It was a need so profound it consumed her.
Turel shuddered as she felt the massive implosion of the World Symphony descend upon her, surrounding her, there was no will, no voice greater then Samantha Carter's. Black wings flared out in full span before closing tight about the lean muscular body "As long as I exist Samantha, harm will not come to Janet." Turel vowed. "I give you an oath not of life but of my soul." Turel bowed her head then lowered herself upon one knee.
"As do I." A nude Zaira said, rousing from sleep, her black wings giving her a modem of modesty. "Nothing will stop us from protecting her." She too now knelt before her liege.
"Good, because right now she is your only concern. Janet and my youngest daughter will be under your protection." Like the Queen, when she called upon the power of the World Symphony, Sam's voice took on the lyrical echo of the Malakim. If she was aware of it, the blonde colonel gave no indication. "Let nothing stop you from protecting her, even if that means encoring her anger. I don't care how much Dissidence, how much Discord is created in protecting my wife and children, I want them safe. I'd rather have her angry with me for the rest of my life, or even divorce me, than to have her harmed or even worse dead."
The Great Song blazed in golden light, ebbing around the blonde Nephalim. The rush of protective nature manifested in the World Symphony so strongly that it tapped into the spirit of the angelics making it their own dire need to protect Janet and Rebecca.
"Know this our Liege, Janet and Rebecca's protection is paramount, whatever the cost we will be their guardians." Both Turel and Zaira said in unison. "So you have commanded and so shall it be, ever on."
Sam nodded, satisfied in the angels' oath. Placing her hands on the shoulders of both kneeling warriors. "Thank you, I know I can trust you." The power of the Great Song still burned brightly around Samantha, filling her, transferring from within her to them. At the Nephalim's touch both angelics sucked in an air of near sexual climatic release.
Boudicca, who was within Cassandra's company, exhaled a shocked sigh of air.
"Boudie?" Cassandra asked, concerned over her friend's sudden _expression. .
"I….." the purple haired woman shook her head, "I felt a surge of resonance and strength beyond anything I have ever known."
"You okay?" Cassandra took the taller woman's hand into her own. "Talk to me, babe."
"The World Symphony is so full of power, so full of energy…need…. to protect. Always protect. Beyond my life I will protect…"
"What are you going on about?" Cassandra stood up, her hazel eyes pinning the avian woman.
"The Liege Commander… The Nephalim. Her need is great, the World Symphony sings of it."
Cassandra could not help but where her mind wandered. "Well she…. she's with my Mom…. You know….um…..initiating …um….well they're getting it together…."
"No, not intimate relations." Boudicca said, sharing Cassandra's blush. "It was something I can only say is a need to protect your mother and sister."
"Well that's my Mum for you. She is extremely protective over my Mom, sis and me," Cassandra said. "Are you still feeling it?"
"Not as before, no. But for a moment all I wanted to do was to vow I would do all I could to protect the Liege Healer, Janet, and your sister. Including sacrificing my soul to do so."
Cassandra stared at the purple maned woman with concern. She knew Sam would never cross the border into megalomania, despite the seeming power the Malakim insisted she had, but she wondered if the brilliant woman wouldn't tap into it, just to insure that her loved ones were safe.
'Hell, even if Mum didn't have the touch of the World Symphony, or whatever it was the Malakim used, she would do whatever it took to make sure her family was safe,' Cassie thought.
The Samantha Carter figuratively shuddered with the power of the World Symphony rippling through her. There was not one of the Malakim warriors of the Blue Wing that had not felt the desire to protect Janet Fraiser and the child Rebecca
Reassured that her heart was now safe, Sam Carter felt a weight lift from her shoulders; a weight she had been carrying since that tragic day back in 2004, when Janet had been so hurt. Since that day Sam had become extremely overprotective, which lead of course to several arguments over a certain physician's capacities as a solider on the field. Sam had admitted that she was terrified of the prospect of Janet coming home in a box and she knew it was something she would never be able to get over.
That need to ensure her lover, her wife, her heart was safe fueled Samantha's spirit. How she came to call upon the power of the World Symphony she didn't know, all she knew was that Janet and Rebecca had to be safe and protected no matter the cost. Even if that cost was Samantha's own life.
It was a calculated risk going through the Stargate. Sam told this to General Hammond some time ago when she was still a major. And she knew that everyone who worked in the SGC knew this, Sam was loath to see that risk touch her wife. But because of the Asherak/Zatarr the risk of simply being affiliated with the Stargate Program was a danger. Home was no longer a safe option.
Sam knew that her fiery spirited wife could handle herself. When they were both Captains they had taken on Hathor. Since then, Janet had proven herself a warrior as much as Sam had, including and not limited to taking a gun to Nirrti's head. Sam knew, more then anyone else in that room, that Janet would have pulled the trigger if Nirrti hadn't agreed to save Cassandra. Now, Janet Fraiser was a Colonel in the USAF, and just as capable of protecting herself as Sam was, but this fact never stopped the blonde from worrying.
Sam didn't care if she had to sleep a year on the couch just as long as Janet was safe. It wasn't just the SGC that bothered her, it was almost anything. Heavy rainy weather on the windy roads of Colorado, springtime when pollen was thick in the air and Janet's acute rhinitis struck, everything caused Sam to worry over her lover. And Rebecca, the lists of concern were far too many to list. But then, what mother didn't worry over their child, from crossing the street, to playing in the backyard, to being far too quiet in the playroom?
Now, Sam felt she could relax, two devoted warriors had vowed their souls to protect the greatest force in Sam's life, the life of her beloved wife and youngest child. Now that Samantha Marie Carter had the absolute power to insure Janet's safety, she had done what she could to make sure that happened. Cassandra was older, and a warrior like Sam, and although, as a mother and as a CO, Sam worried over her older child, she worried much more so for Rebecca who was little more than a babe in arms. Sam did what she had to do to protect her family.
Without realizing how she came to be outside the quarters of her eldest daughter, Sam found herself there. Normally, she would have knocked to announce her presence outside Cassandra's rooms, whether on Base, at home or, of course, Cassandra's apartment. But this time Sam had gone into the " my little girls" syndrome many parents feel with their children and forgone the ritual of politeness, and entered the chambers without first signaling she was there.
As a young mother, Samantha often wondered to herself, just how often her own mother had stolen into her room when Sam was a very young teenager just to make sure her children were safe and sound? It's what motivated the forever-young colonel now. Not a militant mind checking on her troops but a concerned mother checking on her little ones.
Sam clapped her hand over her mouth when she saw tiny Rebecca spread eagled on the bed. Apparently, the little tyke had decided to share only a portion of the bed with her big sister. Cassandra was on the very edge of the mattress, if the young woman were to roll over she would fall right off the bed.
Rebecca's head was resting upon Cassie's waist, using it as a pillow, while the rest of her little body was laying horizontal across the covers. If Becky flung her arm she would clock Cassandra in the mouth.
Gingerly, Sam leaned over and put to rights the child so at least her eldest would have some comfort. More often then not Sam knew exactly what if felt like to be startled out of a deep sleep by a tiny hand or foot hitting you in the head or stomach. Of course, Sam would bolt completely out of bed ready on the defensive. Or she would wake up with unexpected bruises that not even a sparring match with Teal'c could match.
Sam tucked her littlest in, snug and warm under the blankets, hoping at least that her eldest would find some rest after sharing a bed with the tot. Feathering back an errant lock of gold-red hair, Samantha kissed Rebecca tenderly upon the forehead and cheek, enjoying the soft scent of baby-powder that Becky seemed to emanate.
"Mama loves you Rebecca." Sam whispered.
Then on a whim that was pure mother, Sam kissed Cassandra on the forehead as well. The girl might be a woman now and protest to such a maternal gesture, but Sam justified it as her eldest was asleep and wouldn't know the difference if Samantha Carter the Mum had given her a kiss. "Mama loves you too." She uttered under her breath to the younger woman.
"Love ya too, Mum."
"You're awake. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Sam started
"Nah, its okay, I just turned in actually," Cassie smiled in a sleep-fogged _expression. Hazel eyes rested upon the tiny form of her sister, snoring little kitten snores as she propped herself up on an elbow. "What brings you into this neck of the woods? I'd figure Mom would have you in coma. The energizer bunny she is and all."
"Cassandra Fraiser!" Sam chided mockingly.
Cassie chuckled just as quietly. "Well?"
"Actually she did." Sam smirked, then ducked her head as she felt her face burning in blush. "Hey, I thought the whole 'parents having sex' was an eww factor?"
"Still is." Cassie shrugged "But the fact you two are still at it….is kinda neat too. But still, eww parents, sex, not a good visual place to go."
Sam snickered. "Of course the idea of twenty something daughter having sex is not eww, it's inconceivable."
"Oh yeah! I am a virgin." Cassie rolled her eyes
Sam sucked in an 'I'm a mother and my kid is over twenty and I can deal with this' breath.
"Of course. You and mom, stars exploding… lights flashing…"
"Stop." Sam warned.
"Angels singing arias to it."
" Would you stop?"
"They'll be singing of it for centuries about the two energizer bunnies…"
"Stop it!" A huge blush manifested over Sam's pale cheeks.
Both giggled quietly
"It took me five years, but I got ya back." Cassie flashed a very toothy 'Sam Carter' grin.
"Well, I didn't explode light bulbs."
"Nah, you just have the Blue Wing stand up and take notice."
"What?!" Blue eyes widened in embraced shock. "Tell me they don't know…."
"Just kidding." Cassandra chuckled. "But I gott'ya."
"Oh that's it, no more hanging around 'Uncle' Jack O'Neill for you." Sam warned. "His warped sense of humor is rubbing off on you."
"You just now noticed, Mum?" Cassie was still sporting the grin.
True, both Sam and Janet could not have wanted a better male influence upon the girls. Jack O'Neill might be a bit chauvinistic at times, but the man, when it came to kids, was all heart and protectiveness. It was one of the reasons the two ladies had asked their CO to be Rebecca's godfather. Both trusted him deeply, and both had come to care a great deal for the man. He had his faults, but Jack was a good man, and they did love him.
"You know I am still your CO?"
"Not on duty," Cassie said. "Ma'am."
"Details, details."
Cassandra looked at her mother and took the older woman's hand into her own as she had done earlier with Boudicca. "I meant it you know. Mum, Sam…Colonel I am going with you to Grigori. If I have to, I will resign, no question about it."
"Cassie, you're just starting your career…"
"Mum, do you seriously think I'll be content on Earth, knowing you and Mom are way across the galaxy on a new base that I don't get to be a part of? And besides, I have an in with the Wings, who's to say that I can't transfer my commission?"
"I would love it if you're with us, I just didn't want you to feel obligated."
"Nah, Mum, this is purely selfish of me, I don't want to be left behind. I am pumped about this and if I happen to have fun along the way…what's a girl to do?"
Sam smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Good." Cassie looked to the tiny bundle at her side. "And besides who's going to look out for Little-Bit when you and Mom get….'libidinous'?"
Sam blushed once more.
Cassie spared a thought to Boudicca, then looked back to her blonde mother. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
"How did you know? You and Mom? I mean how did you know?"
Sam sat with her eldest daughter thinking of the question. A smile crept forward as her mind rested upon the beautiful Janet Fraiser.
"I don't know," Sam said. "I just kinda knew. It's like when you look into her eyes and she's looking back into yours, you find yourself in a very strange place. No place on earth is like it. It's like she makes me strong and weak at the same time. It's like I can reach the unreachable. It's exciting, and thrilling, and yet terrifying. She makes me feel more then I ever thought I could be. She makes me want to be the best woman I can be. The world begins and ends in her eyes."
Cassandra thought for a moment, taking in her mother's words. She wanted those feelings, that wonder, when she looked into the eyes of the soul she loved. "You felt like you were born loving her," Cassie said, not truly asking a question.
But Sam smiled. "Yes. I think I was, only I didn't know until I saw her. I just knew then, as I know now, she would change my life forever. No matter what came our way, what blocks we stumbled over, what falls we took, what heights we soared, we were destined to be together. I was blessed when she came into my life, and then you came, Cassandra, and then Rebecca. I've been very blessed"
"You know Mom pretty much says the exact same thing about you, Mum." Cassie admitted. "Growing up, watching you guys…it was normal. A bunch of my friends came from broken homes… parents got divorced or single parent homes…I was one of the lucky ones that had a family. Two parents….even if in the beginning you couldn't be with us. You still were most of the time. Lots of kids didn't even have that, ya know. I mean you two showed me what real love is."
Sam tilted her head down, a bashful grin on her face.
Cassandra laughed once more. "Its like Gomez and Morticia Addams…" then she snickered louder, "or Morticia and Morticia Addams…you two are so into each other, it's sappy, but gives you the smiles to think of it."
Sam lit up as she thought of her wife in the skin tight black dress Morticia Addams was known to wear, thinking Janet would look mighty sexy in the snake dress. Very fine indeed. Janet, when she wanted to, could look very provocative. There was a picture Samantha took of her wife wearing a burgundy sleeveless scoop neck dress that showed Janet's eloquent cleavage rather well. Janet looked downright predatory in the picture. Her head was slanted slightly down, her eyes looking up, a coy _expression upon the refined face. It wasn't at all Dr. Fraiser. This was a seductress that would make a succubus pale in comparison. And she was all Sam's.
"Soooo," Sam drew out the syllable. "Is there someone…. some winged someone that caught your eye?"
Cassandra shrugged. "I don't know yet. But there is something there."
"Don't go all mama-bear on me, Sam. Dominic was so terrified of you…"Cassie chuckled.
"That was way back when you were in high school" Sam said "And you just turned sixteen…and hey I didn't want his grubby hands touching my daughter. I am not that bad."
"No. You don't have giant needles to threaten either." Cassandra didn't say anything about the fact, not hours before, Boudicca had felt a surge of World Symphony so deeply that it was like she had touched the very soul of the Great Song. Nor did the young woman say anything of the deeply rooted desire of her winged companion to protect Janet. It was just after that, that Boudicca had wanted to speak to the others, to see if they too had felt the surge.
"So, you don't want me to tell Mom." Sam's voice brought the young woman from her thoughts.
"Not yet, let me figure this out first." Cassandra looked at the blonde, "So, is that the new uniform?"
Sam noticed the change of subject and obliged. "Could be. We can affix the SGC unit patches on them but they are more suitable for the cooler environments."
"They are almost like flight suits, but go figure, what do you expect out of an avian society?" Cassandra pointed out. "Blue leather cargo pants, leather jackets, and they look cool."
Sam nodded. "I like them." Blue eyes rested upon the younger woman. "Oh and by the way lieutenant, we still need to talk."
"Yes, Ma'am," Cassandra slipped into military protocol.
"Until then, ga'night, kiddo."
"Night, Mum."
Janet was still soundly sleeping when Sam entered their quarters. A smile found the tall woman's face. "You can definitely tell Rebecca's your little girl, Babygirl." Sam whispered. Both Rebecca and Janet would curl up tightly almost like a kitten. The difference was Janet wouldn't go spread eagle, and suddenly clock you in the nose.
For a moment Sam was memorized by the pure beauty of her slumbering angel, she wanted to gaze at the pureness in the face of the healer. Sam was tempted to shed her boots and jerkin so she could crawl back in to bed with her wife. Janet always made Sam feel safe. Like a child holding a teddy bear, the blonde loved to cuddle up to the smaller woman.
Giving into temptation, off came the boots and the jerkin that found a new home across the sofa. The rest of the clothing remained, as it would only be two hours before they would rise for a new day.
Instinctually, even in sleep, Janet burrowed her body into the spoon of Sam's own longer body. A deep sigh of contentment escaped the parted lips of the tiny doctor when she felt Sam's arms curl around her trim waist.
"You're safe now." Sam kissed the back of her wife's neck.
In her sleep, Janet lay her naked arm along side the thick cotton shirt. "How are the girls?"
"How…how did you know I checked on them?" Sam whispered.
"I know my Sammy-bear."
Another kiss to the back of Janet's neck "They're fine." The arm tightened around Janet's waist.
"The bed-hog nearly kick her big sister out of the bed?" Janet muttered, her words still drugged by sleep.
"Almost." Sam felt her heart race as she felt Janet snuggle her body into Sam's.
"Whaaa…?" Came the Doctor's stymied words when her hand came in contact with a leather-clad thigh.
"I couldn't very well go strolling around the decks naked could I? That would give the Malakim something to sing about."
"My shy Sammy-bear strutting around nude? Not likely."
Janet rolled over and threw a naked leg over her wife's hip. "Hmmm, you and leather. I've always loved you in leather. Sooo sexy!" She began to nip Sam's neck, her hands seeking to pull the shirt from being tucked in the trousers so she could feel the finely toned muscle and the weight of a full breast. "Very sexy."
"You like your Sammy-bear in leather, huh?" Sam teased as she felt Janet bite her neck.
"Definitely."
"Your Sammy-bear needs breakfast…"
"After last night…" Janet giggled, "I am not surprised."
"You know bears enjoy honey."
"So I heard." Janet sucked in a deep breath of air when she felt Sam's slender finger tease the lips of her mound.
"Sammm….if you do that we'll never get out of here."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Sam muttered as she nuzzled her face between Janet's breasts. Her lips enjoying the hardening nipples as she pulled and suckled upon them.
"Sa-am…" Janet hissed as her lover continued to move southward with tiny nibbles and kisses until she reached her goal.
Inhaling deeply Sam buried her face into Janet's center. The tall woman shifted her body, propping her wife against the headboard of their bed as she draped Janet's legs over her shoulders. She shifted Janet once more so that she had full access to the wonders before her. "Your Sammy bear will enjoy her honey." A swipe of the tip of her tongue caused Janet to start to hyperventilate. " all mine…."
"Only you. That's all yours." Janet muttered as she felt herself becoming wetter when she felt the soft kiss of cool air blowing across her overheated center.
Sam shifted so her whole face could luxuriate in worshipping her lover. She felt Janet's hands upon her shoulders and knew that her wife was close with so little stimulation. Sam wanted to draw her passion out a little longer. Her hands slipped once more so her fingers could dive into her wife's warmth.
A quake shook through out Janet, just as she felt Sam tickle her mound with increased pressure. The walls of her womb clinched trapping Sam's fingers within. She was so close, she wanted to fall, to fly; she wanted Sam. Her breath was coming in quickened pants.
Sam trapped the hardened clit as it peeked out of it's hood; her tongue easily danced across the sensitive center and began to trust within her lover. Her long fingers replaced her tongue as she fervently started to thrust in an out, her tongue rolling the little bundle of muscle causing the creamy thighs to quiver. The fingers dove deeper and deeper as Sam pulled the painfully hard nub between her lips, suckling hungrily.
The blonde's ears picked up as she heard the sound of her name moaned, and smiled.
"God, Sammy, please….please…let me go….Please…"
"I never want to let you go," Sam whispered, "not ever." She applied more pressure and quickened her pace. "Cum for me." Sam felt her fingers becoming even more trapped within the tightness of Janet's center. A new flood entered her mouth. Eagerly she lapped up the precious dew; she didn't want to waste a drop.
Sam's name was called out like an aria.
Sam moved softly until her body cradled Janet through the aftershocks of the petite mort. It was one of Samantha's favorite moments, after a climax, to hold Janet close to her own body, so the floating back to earth wasn't a hard fall.
Janet's arms held her wife closer to her, taking Sam's full weight onto her own body, her nose nuzzling the sweaty neck. It thrilled her to be held so close and so dear after she came. No one, before Sam, had ever held her so close, loved her so deeply. It meant the world to Janet, more then she had ever admitted to another soul. Kissing her beloved wife, Janet felt her heart flutter and her womb clutch in response to the taste of herself upon Sam's lips.
"I will hold you forever, Janet." Sam whispered, losing herself in the dark eyes. "Always."
Janet feathered back an arrant lock of blonde hair. "I know." another kiss, "I know."
Janet felt herself sinking in the ocean depths of blue. "I won't leave, I know your need me, darling, I know you need to feel I am safe. I know." She kissed tears pooling in the azure pools. "It's a part of who you are, Sweetie. Since the day we first met you were there to cover my six. I love you Samantha."
"….okay I get it, so the whole reason Zephon is hyper is because she's one of the Ofanim."
"Yes." Boudicca nodded. "The Ofanim can be excitable and they are …I think the term is 'a bundle of energy'. Their build is sleek, thin and, because their wing size is greater then say typical, they are the finest flyers."
"Yeah, kinda like cheetahs are the fastest land animal, not a lot of fat on those big kitties." Cassie said
"And Turel is a Cherubim, and so is Zaire..." checked the young soldier.
"Yes, the Ceriphan tend to be very….'buff' and because of their demeanors they are the greatest protectors."
'No wonder Mum and Novalis made the dynamic duo guardians over Mom and Little-bit.'
"And you are...?" asked the interested Cassie.
"I am an Elohim." The white winged woman smirked.
"Sooo, what is the Elohim's reputation?" Cassie was extremely curious.
"We tend to be objective and rational. We are more empathic then the others, thus we often take roles as counselors and such. Many Elohim are Malakim healers, like your mother Janet."
Just as Cassandra was about to ask about the Malakite, a klaxon sounded in the mess hall gaining the attention of all-personal.
"What's that?" Cassandra asked her breakfast partner. A member of the SGC, the young lieutenant was accustomed to a red-alert being sounded, but here on the Samantha Carter an alarm could mean anything from an asteroid field, to an enemy ship or a space anomaly.
"Proximity alert. We must be coming up on Grigori," Boudicca said
"Cool." Cassandra was grinning widely.
Grigori, like Earth, was a blue-green marble. Like Earth, Grigori was covered ¾ with water the other quarter was dense forests and mountains. The jungle planet didn't seem to have very many deserts, if any at all.
On the bridge, Cassandra saw that both of her mothers had already arrived, and both wearing the Malakim uniforms. The young lieutenant had also decided to wear the blue leather cargo, jerkins, and black tunics.
On the collars, as well as the shoulders, of both colonels a gold eagle was shown, clearly marking their ranks, and keeping a near formal air about them. The young woman thought it fortunate that she had decided to keep her Lieutenant bar adorned. Cassie couldn't help but think the new uniforms suited her mothers, more then the USAF ones had.
"We are in orbit around Grigori," said Malachi from the helm.
"Home of the Eighth Choir. Our home." Pumah softly remarked.
"Well said," Boudicca echoed. "We have become the Eighth Choir. We are the Grigori followers of the Nephalim."
Novalis, Queen of the Malakim, sat at the conference table of the underground SGC accompanied by the Crimson Wing. On the other side sat General Jack O'Neill, the remaining members of SG1, Colonel Davis, Jonas Quinn, Jacob Carter and Arion.
"The truth is General, I do not know where they have taken the Nephalim, and right now it isn't a priority." Novalis said dismissively. "As I said, she, the Liege Healer and their children will be well protected.
The _expression upon Jack's face told another story entirely. Sam Carter was a priority for him, as were Janet and the kids. "If you think I am going to ignore the fact my 2IC is out there as hostage to some lunatic fringe of your empire then you're sadly mistaken."
"She is safer in their company then here in yours." Briel said. "You contacted us to assist you in bringing the Father of the Nephalim to you to find your infiltrators. Fourteen died, one of which was in this earth facility, the others safe and seemingly sound in their own domiciles. Now, they are members of a massacre. The Nephalim and her consort are well protected."
"What is that…'Nephalim'?" Jack growled. "What is Carter, some kind of savior?"
Novalis's patience was wearing thin. To her, dealing with stubborn male minds was never easy, it was why she relied upon the Alien Affairs Guild to handle such things. The Malakite were warriors, not the easy diplomats that the Choir Mercurians were so apt to be. Mercurians were natural diplomats, arbiters of discipline and developers of politics. They could easily rein in the burning resonance of a spirit that Novalis could not. She was a Malakite, they were knights not politicians. Her wings fidgeted with barely contained frustration.
"You have your equipment to test for your infiltrators." Novalis said. "And I will leave the disbursement of the Protection Web in the capable hands of my engineers and the Guild of Alien Affairs. The Crimson Wing and I shall return to the Malakim Empire, via your Stargate. I assure you, I do not dismiss the actions of the Blue Wing out of hand. But I do not fear for the Nephalim's life, or that of her consort and offspring. When we have word of their whereabouts the AFG will be in contact with you."
"AFG?" Colonel Davies whispered to Jonas.
"Alien Affairs Guild." The young man answered. He was of course a quick student and had studied extensively the culture of the avian people known as the Malakim.
Davies wanted to point out they weren't aliens, but then, of course, to the Malakim, the humans were indeed aliens.
"Now wait one damn minute." Jack barked, the redness in his face a clear indication of his rage boiling to the surface. He was never as good as General Hammond at diplomatic affairs. This was one of the begrudging reasons he had Jonas Quinn present since the young man had a natural flair for diplomacy. Perhaps it was that creepy smile that gained the attention of off-worlders, whatever it was Quinn made dealing with aliens easier. And so Jack had come to rely on him to help smooth (pun not intended) ruffled feathers.
"You will have your technicians dial Hy-Basil." Novalis interrupted. "Leave the Blue Wing to us, you take care of your assassin General." With that the queen rose, her purple wings shifted to their full length then resettled against
her back. Not a further word was said from the tall winged woman as she moved out of the briefing room. Jack bolted to his feet. He was not about to be told what he could and could not be concerned about, especially when it concerned his own people, on his own base.
"Look here you puffed-up popinjay! That woman is not your 'Nephalim', your savior, or whatever else in God's name you want to call her. She is my colonel, and she belongs to this company, and she is…."
"General O'Neill, I have tolerated your ego long enough." Novalis glared. " We 'puffed up popinjays,' are not obscured to the greater vision of what is on the horizon. We are not blinded as you. Samantha Carter is more than you can ever possibly imagine!" The purple feathers flared out to twice the plumage in her display of anger. "Yes, Samantha is a savior. She is the savior of my very own soul. Her very existence is riddled within our dogma. She is myth made real and that is something we will not dismiss by way of coincidence. Now see here General, even now I can feel you are still deeply in love with a woman who can not be yours. Your emotions blind and betray you. I can feel them General "
Jack's face became beet red. True, there was not a person on base that didn't know that Sam Carter had a special place within the General's heart. Most played to the 'Don't ask, don't tell' stigmata of the whole affaire.
"Don't think I am going to let this go." O'Neill snapped.
"And what if she wants you to?" Novalis said. "If she wants to join the Malakim Empire what would you do?"
The silver haired general said nothing, for the moment.
"Colonel Carter is a free woman." Jack finally said. "But as long as she knows she is free." The hint that she might be otherwise within the hands of the Malakim was present, though unvoiced.
"Yes, she is, General. To enforce our will upon her would bring too great Discord upon her and that is something we can not tolerate." Purple feathers stilled and became sleek once more. "I can tell you now, I can feel her heart's desire. The greatest want within her is to see to the safety of her wife and child.
"In fact the World Symphony sings of it. If Samantha knows this or not, she has called upon the greatest depth of the World Symphony and enforced the power of the Great Song upon the Blue Wing. I can assure you; the nine of the wing will sacrifice their very souls to the Dark, to save the lives of the Nephalim's consort and children. Not even Usiel will be able to take Janet and the children without a grand battle. Samantha has evolved into her absolute power over the World Symphony."
When the argument between the winged potentate and the general of the SGC had escalated, the others around the table had followed. When Daniel heard the Queen mention the force of absolute power, he could not help but think of his own fall. The Harsisis had shown him what would become if he had such power and he had failed miserably. He had turned defensive weapons against allies. He had killed his friends. And he had done far worse then that. He had betrayed everything.
Sam, in the same context of having power, used such potential to protect. She protected Janet as she protected Cassandra and Rebecca. In Daniel's vision, just one year had been taken for Daniel to grow darker and darker and more corrupt. He couldn't help but wonder if Sam would to do the same. Did the beauty daydream of turning that power on her friends? Did she dream of killing Jack, or hurting Janet, Teal'c and Cassie?
With absolute power and the will of a thousand score angels at her beck and call, what would the blonde do?
Daniel closed his eyes and hoped that she would not fall as he himself had fallen. But then, when addicted to the effects of the armbands she dove into writing her book, when addicted to the Light the worst she did was become belligerent to Jack O'Neill. Only when Jolinar had taken her over had any darkness shown in Sam Carter.
And of course, that darkness, Sam carried with her because she had such a hard time forgiving herself. She even took so long to forgive herself the death of Seth, even though it was to save dozens of lives, even though, had he won, it would have been her spine crushed into a pulp. She had regretted the fact her brilliance had been used to make not one doomsday device but several. She hated it.
Sam hated the fact that she was too weak to pull the trigger to kill Jonas Hansen and yet she would have hated herself if she had done so. No, Sam Carter was a warrior, but she was not a killer. She wouldn't kill Zipcana even though he was at her mercy and she believed the System Lord had killed Cassandra. Sam wouldn't leave that as a legacy. She couldn't leave murder as a tribute to her child, wife or herself. She wasn't only a warrior, she was indeed a paladin, far more then a knight.
The archeologist knew now, more then ever, that Sam would not turn this power on her friends, that she was not easily corrupted, not like Daniel who so easily fell. When addicted to the sarcophagus he had said such hard and cruel things against Sam that, later, she would weep within the privacy of Janet's embrace. Daniel only knew of it because, when he was over the effect, Janet had confronted him and said if she had been present, she would have forgotten all about her oath 'to first do no harm.'
Perhaps, there was more truth then myth in the title Nephalim. The Nephalim was the product of divine fornication, a child who was both mortal and angelic. More then once Daniel, or Jack O'Neill, had thought Sam was angelic as too the dynamic little doctor, who was a goddess of healing.
"Jack O'Neill." Novalis said confidently. "Samantha Carter has evolved. Become accustomed to the idea that she is more then human now. She is no longer a mortal. She is an anomaly. She is more Malakim then human now. She is beyond both of us." The purple head cocked, the wings flared up and out, then settled once more. "She is the Nephalim. Like it or not, Jack O'Neill, she is beyond the scope of your reality."
Silver eyes gazed into Jack's dark orbs. "Believe me when I tell you she is safer in the fold of the Blue Wing than she is here. I fear that there is more then a Asherak after her bounty."
"What?" Jack reclaimed the calmness that made him an effective leader.
"Usiel has awakened."
"Usiel?" the silver haired general frowned.
"Usiel, the prince of lies. Usiel, the great corrupter, the dark lord, the first of the fallen and he will stop at nothing to claim her life. It is my ardent belief that he is directly responsible for the hunter that has plagued your people."
"You think this Usiel sent the Asherak?" Selmak asked. "I doubt that. There are more then one of the System Lords that have put a price upon Samantha's head. There is not one System Lord that does not curse her name. The Goa'uld want her."
"To be sure." Novalis commented. "Which is why Usiel, more then likely, has allied himself with one of them."
"Oh….that is so not good." Jack grumbled.
"The wakening of the Nephalim will call his attention, and demand an answer. And with the Nephalim comes the birth of the Grigori, the Eighth Choir. Their resurgence into existence will cause a stirring in the World Symphony that will change the Malakim ever on. Usiel will be drawn out. As I have said Jack O'Neill, where Samantha is now she is the safest she can be."
"How can you guarantee that?" Teal'c asked in his typically stoic voice.
"Because the Nephalim has the power to call upon the blades of 200,000 warriors, even without my consent." Novalis said. "Can you say the same General O'Neill? Can you tell me that at a mere call of your colonel that she can have 200,000 warriors that will willingly die for her and Janet Fraiser? Can you? I can.
"I can promise 200, 000 warriors who have the power of the elements, and the power of the environment at their beckoning, what can you guarantee? I can promise you fleets of warships that will willingly go to battle, their crews lay down their immortal souls for the Nephalim, what can you promise?" The Queen looked deeply into the general's eyes. "Can you in truth promise the same? Tell me where is she the safest?"
Jack didn't want to admit it. He was loath to say no, Carter couldn't call up the Pentagon or the President to have 200,000 troops who would go to battle just for her. He was loath to admit that Novalis had a point. Samantha Carter and Janet Fraiser were the safest in the custody of the Malakim Empire.
"For now she stays where she is." The General of the SGC commented. "But if she, or Doc Fraiser, or the kids are hurt, don't think I won't come down on your feathery backside."
To that Novalis Queen of the Malakim could not help but find a smile. "Don't think my wrath will not come down upon the Blue Wing should such an abhorrence occur."
Even as the Queen and the Crimson Wing approached the Embarkation room, Briel approached Her Eminence.
"My queen, I could not help but comment on your behavior to the Blue Wing. And the Nephalim "
"What is your question?"
"Do you believe in the resurgence of the Eighth Choir?"
"I believe in the truth." Novalis admitted, not appreciating the position the Minster of Defense had placed her in. To admit to this something was to admit to a belief in fictional tales told to kits and featherlings, "Sometime ago the Nephalim was spoken of only as a holy icon, nothing more than a myth that the holy scrolls spoke of. Now, the Nephalim sings and you can not disregard the existence of the very possibility of the Eighth Choir"
But the question lay in someone else shoulders. "No." she admitted "The Blue Wing?
"They are only the first to call themselves Grigori." Novalis said.
"But not the last?"
"No. Not the last. I spoke true when I told that human male, General O'Neill, that Samantha Carter had 200, 000 warriors at her call. She is not yet aware of the power she wields. 200, 000 thousand souls will turn to her…….."
"200,000 Grigori, the Eighth Choir, is no longer a story." Briel said
"No, and it is said, when myth becomes reality trouble is not far behind" This was said not from Novalis but from Arion.
"Indeed." The queen nodded.
"Are you not concerned that so many go to her?" Arion asked.
That was a question Jack O'Neill wanted answered as well. He wanted to know just how much trouble his 2IC could be in if Queeny got her purple feathers all ruffled. He would have to think of how fast he could pull her out, given the fact he knew where she was to do so.
"Yes, of course I am. But, if I tell them they cannot then I am no longer Queen. I do not rule with disparity as perhaps your new 'band' might."
Jack frowned, but at least the answer was an honest one. When the Queen boasted of the number of warriors / followers at Sam's call he had no clue to what extent this was.
"The Tok'ra do not rule with disparity, we are not Goa'uld." Xad almost growled.
The General harrumphed under his breath getting him a stare from Jacob, but the younger man shot back another glare that said' prove me wrong, buddy.'
Briel had not been prepared for the emergence of the symbiote. She could feel some sort of dissidence coming from the younger Malakim's gut, but she had put it down to a prodigal child seeing her mother and nothing more. The Secretary of Defense's hand automatically went for the hilt of her sun-sword.
"Do not Briel, I am not a Diabolical and I have not joined a Band of the Fallen." Now it was Arion's softer more melodious voice back in control.
Novalis started at the woman who was her daughter and felt a touch of betrayal. She was only to be exiled for 100 years. Which, for an immortal, wasn't that long at all. Arion would have been admitted back into the fold. Now that she had allowed herself to become blended, there would no place for her in the Malakim Empire.
Briel must have read the _expression on her Queen's face for she put to voice the thought they both shared. "You may not be of the Band of Diabolicals or the Fallen, but you truly number amongst the Exiled now."
"That is the fate I have chosen for myself and it concerns you not." Arion retorted. "You may shun me now mother but the Nephalim has not. She has even forgiven me the transgression I passed upon her from Chimera."
Novalis remained mute, for she had nothing to say to that. Once more Briel noted the Queens unrest, which was further elevated by the approach of Jacob Carter. Not so much for the presence of the Tok'ra but because there was an exchange of looks, the _expression only lovers possess, that passed between the Father of the Nephalim and Arion.
"You Bonded yourself to the Father of the Nephalim?" Novalis was enraged.
"Yes, Mother. We have yet to take the Oath" Arion said simply.
"Whoa! Jacob, you old dog!" Jack clapped the older man on the back. "Carter is going to love this!"
"Xad and I were mated many times in the past." Selmak decided to take control of the situation before it escalated out of control. "And our hosts have a fondness for each other, it's an equitable arrangement."
"Yeah I bet." Jack gave a look to Arion. 'Young knockout like that. Half Carter's age…. Going through some snake midlife crises there Jacob? Yeah, I should talk….Carter is young enough to my kid and …..Not going there…Not going there. But when Carter finds out you're nailing a girl that could be her baby sister, she is going to be so pissed off.'
"I see." Novalis shifted, her purple wings showing her agitation though she was forcing herself to calm down.
Briel was even more visually agitated, her orange wings ruffled.
"What? Is my union with Jacob so unsettling, Briel? Tell me, is it because he is male, Tok'ra or the Father of the Nephalim that has you agitated?
"As you have told me, it is the fate you have chosen for yourself and it concerns me not." The russet wings flared once before settling. The Sectary of Defense was of an archaic mindset that the bonding of opposite genders was a practice of sexual deviancy. It was certainly not something to speak of in polite society.
Novalis, and the majority of the Malakim, didn't share this view. As to force someone in loving a specified gender when the hearts lead them to another was to create great discord. Novalis's concern steamed from another reason. It was a mother's concern. Novalis knew Arion had deep feelings, as the mortals would say, a crush upon Samantha Carter, perhaps then her child had decided to settle. If she could not have the Nephalim, the Arion had obviously settled for the father. The Queen had no desire to see her estranged daughter hurt. And this had all the earmarks of such ache. But Arion was well over the age of parental control and now she was no longer a Malakim. Perhaps the fact Xad and Selmak were long time lifemates would be enough.
Jacob read the _expression in the older Malakim's eyes. And he recognized a parents concern. The former general also gave a look to Jack O'Neill. "It s not as if I am robbing the cradle, Arion is several times my age." He mumbled defiantly.
"The Nephalim will not be pleased." Briel icily snapped.
"I was just thinking that." Jack pointed to the orange winged, then to his head nodding.
"I'll deal with my kid." Jacob snarled. "Sam will be fine, once I explain things."
Both Jack O'Neill and Briel rolled their eyes, not convinced of Jacob's assurances.
"On the subject of Samantha," The queen decided to alter the flow of conversation. "I would have the name of the assassin's master, once your tests are concluded."
"If you have the name, then you know who Usiel has allied himself too." Arion concluded
"Yes."
"Why are you so adamant he has risen from torpor?"
"Because Arion, I felt him awaken when the Nephalim was born as she restored my life. Even now the discord he generates is manifested by the creation of the Eight Choir."
Since the blending, Arion was almost deaf to the notes of the Great Song. She could still summon the World Symphony but she could not discern it's music as clearly as she once had.
"You will have the name." Selmak reassured the Queen of the Malakim. "We have no desire to keep that information from you."
Jack made a coughing sound that had the remarkable hint of words disguised as bovine fecal matter.
Selmak grunted. "As we expect information of your strike against this Usiel and the Goa'uld he had allied himself with."
"Indeed." Novalis nodded with a very polite political smile.
"The Eighth Choir you keep talking about," Jack interjected. "This is the 200, 000 strong warriors at Carter's call isn't it."
"Yes." Novalis said.
"I thought it was only the Blue Wing that were fanatical groupies."
"No." the purple maned shook her head. "I felt the division happen when the call to rescue the Nephalim was cried out. All Malakim are still loyal to the Empire, only a small fraction has proclaimed themselves solely to the Nephalim. Now you must understand General the very power Samantha Carter wields. It is said, within our scriptures, that the Nephalim will give birth to the Eighth Choir and they are called the Grigori. Until now it wasn't wholly clear, if she was the progenitor of such or if they were to be born from her womb. It seems she has spawned a movement rather then offspring."
"Can't picture Carter pumping out 200,000 Rugrats." Jack said, then shifted a little uncomfortably, as he realized what he had said and found his cheeks burning red. His face became redder when he saw Jacob glare at him, as did Novalis. "Sorry." He apologetically shrugged and gave a brief smile.
"The Liege Commander has the supreme loyalty of the Grigori and they will follow her, where ever she goes." Novalis realized, if she wanted the mortals to understand the gravity of the situation, she would have to explain it as if explaining things to a kit. "Tell me General, what would your planet do if 200, 000 fired of their own dogma were to suddenly walk amongst them?"
"Planet wide, chaos. I am not really a religious guy, but I know, 200,000 angels suddenly walking around earth wouldn't be good, I can tell you that."
"No, I imagine it would not. I warn you General they will follow her here."
"Jack, maybe it's time to think seriously about giving Sam her own command off-world, frankly, it will be easier for you." Jacob said.
"Yeah." Jack gritted his teeth. He was loath to admit it but he was going to lose Sam. He relied on her so heavily, and when she was on something, her mind working over time, Jack O'Neill rarely worried. Of course, his blood pressure went through the roof anytime Carter said she was a little concerned over something, which usually meant something big was going to happen. Brown eyes widened.
"Say Novalis, did Carter say she was a little concerned over the Blue Wing or this Eighth Choir?"
"No, in fact she was enthusiastic about it."
'Damn!'
"Why?" Silver eyes narrowed for the words unspoken.
"Well nothing…. I'll get on the horn to the President and the Joint Chiefs."
"I warn you, General, if your government thinks to control the Nephalim, remind them that going to war against legions of troops that can use the very elements and environment of their world against them is dangerous. This is no threat General O'Neill it is reality. The Eighth Choir will not tolerate their 'Queen' to be manipulated by any faction, your government or mine. They are completely independent of the Throne and only Samantha Carter, Liege Commander of the Malakim Empire, can control them and they will know if her words are not her own."
Jack finally understood the very significant role Carter had in the avian society. "I don't want her used either. I'm just as protective over her as your Blue wing and this Eighth Choir. So you'd better make damn sure she is okay with this. And I want to know where she is."
"Once I discover her location, you will have knowledge of it." Novalis commented evenly.
Jack turned to Captain Walter Davies and signaled the man to start the dialing program to send the Malakim home but stopped when the Queen held up her hand. "No need." Novalis turned back to the Stargate, closed her silver eyes, and made a circular gesture with an open hand, then she closed her long willowy fingers into a fist. The gate activated.
Behind the queen the seven warriors of the Crimson Wing took up guard and marched along side her and the Secretary of Defense. The latter leaned close to her queen. "You know where the Nephalim is, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Where else would the followers of the Eighth Choir take her?"
Briel blinked and had the do'oh _expression of a very famous cartoon character by the name of Homer Simpson. "I can't believe I didn't think of that." The orange-feathered woman said, amazed.
The queen grinned, saying. " And I wonder how long it will take Arion to think of the same thing," she stepped through the gate and was gone.