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yvi_writesTitle: Symbiosis - Chapters Three & Four
Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Author: Yvi
Rating: PG-13
Full header in the index post
Chapter Three: Mutualism
Sam woke up refreshed the next morning. Sleeping in a real bed had been good for her, and she found that she was actually quite excited about facing this new day. Looking at the clock on her nightstand she found that it was quite late in the morning already, she had slept for well over 10 hours.
When she entered the mess hall thirty minutes later, it was buzzing with people. Sam said hi to a few people she knew from the labs, but then sat down at one of the few empty tables to eat her breakfast. She was just as hungry as she had been the day before and the pancakes smelled delicious.
Five minutes later, someone sat down on her table. When she looked up, she found Daniel sitting across from her, a big plate with his own breakfast in front of him.
"Hey, Daniel," she greeted him.
"Hey, Sam." He sipped on his coffee, flinching back when the hot drink touched his lips.
Sam took a sip of her own coffee and looked at Daniel, waiting for him to say something, but nothing came. "How are you today, Daniel?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Good. I'm good," he answered, just a bit too fast to make it believable. He looked tired despite the early hour.
Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't look good."
"Thanks, that's always nice to hear," he replied and tried to laugh, but failed.
She rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. Didn't sleep well, did you?"
Daniel nodded. "Not really. Too many thoughts, you know the kind...," he trailed off and looked at his breakfast plate as though the toast on it was very interesting.
"Okay, bring it on."
Daniel just looked at her confused.
Sam leaned back in her chair. "Come on, I know you don't just happen to use the cafeteria at the same time as I do – you work until the early mornings, and almost never have breakfast anyway. On some days you live on coffee and power bars. What is it you want to talk to me about?"
He took another bite from his toast and carefully chewed before answering her. "I just wanted to hear how you are doing," he said.
"I am doing reasonably well," Sam answered, not convinced that this was his real reason for being here, but giving Daniel the time he needed. "Everything's a bit confusing, but other than that..."
"I can imagine," Daniel said. "Must be one hell of a ride."
"It is. I don't know whether to be excited or terrified or just... confused." Sam shrugged. "Very complicated," she concluded.
"Not just for you," Daniel said, very quietly, but loud enough for Sam to hear.
"Daniel, is there anything I can do for you?"
Daniel sighed. "It's just... I've been thinking about Sha're a lot lately."
Sam nodded. "I can imagine."
"Something of the host survives, doesn't it? Even with the Goa'uld?" Daniel looked at her, his eyes filled with hope, but also with fear that she would shake her head and tell him there was no chance. Sam knew what was going on behind those eyes more than Daniel probably suspected.
Sam leaned across the table and lay her hand on his. "Yes, Daniel, something of the host survives. Everything of the host survives, actually." She squeezed his hand and let go of them again.
Daniel nodded. "Do the Tok'ra know anything about where she is right now?"
Sam used her new access to Jolinar's knowledge to answer that question. "The Tok'ra seem to have lost track of her a few weeks after Apophis implanted her with the Goa'uld," she answered. "But Jolinar has been out of the loop for almost that whole time now, so maybe they know where she is after all."
He sighed. "It just all seems a bit pointless, doesn't it? I mean, even if we find her and can bring her here, we destroyed Thor's Hammer and surgery obviously doesn't work, and then there's the NID, so..."
Searching through more of Jolinar's knowledge, Sam smiled as she found something to cheer Daniel up. "The Tok'ra have devices for removing Goa'uld from a host. They don't use it often, but it seems to be working."
Daniel's eyes lit up and as usual when he was excited he started to talk fast and gesticulate wildly. "Really? You mean they can just do that. Well, it does make sense, doesn't it? I mean, they've been fighting the Goa'uld for a long time now and with their advanced technology and their knowledge of Goa'uld physiology and their wish to only have willing hosts, it certainly was only a matter of time until they thought of such a thing."
"Daniel, Daniel, stop," Sam interrupted him when he was taking a breath.
"Sorry, Sam. This is just such good news."
"I know." She smiled. "I would have told you earlier, but... everything was just so hectic."
Daniel nodded.
"You just focus on bringing her home, I am sure we'll find a way to truly get her back then."
Daniel looked down, trying not to show his emotions, but Sam knew that he was touched. "Thanks, Sam."
Sam and Martouf stood in the gateroom only one hour later, dressed in Tok'ra clothing that would nevertheless pass as Goa'uld if they were questioned. The gate was spinning already, as Jolinar had provided the SGC with the address to one of the worlds that were ruled by Cronus. Jolinar has been to this planet before and said that the gate on it was not very heavily guarded. A follower of Cronus ruled the planet, but he had a Tok'ra called Ovlek in his service. They would have to tread carefully to see Olvek without being caught by Jaffa or catching the attention of the Goa'uld ruler. However, if that happened they had prepared a cover story about wishing to serve Cronus that would hopefully get them at least to a point where they could escape.
Sam had spoken to Teal'c, but the conversation had also been short. Teal'c wasn't one for long speeches and since Jolinar had been a spy in Cronus's ranks for several years there wasn't a lot of new information coming from that source. It had been good to talk to him for a bit, though.
Sam hadn't told him she now shared Jolinar's memories, though, because she was afraid of being judged for it in some way she couldn't explain. Though she knew Teal'c wasn't one to do that. The thought of someone knowing made her slightly uncomfortable.
The rest of SG-1 was in the control room to watch them go through the gate and when the wormhole had established, Sam looked up to them and waved good-bye before she stepped through the gate. They had not sent a MALP to check out the terrain and whether the gate was guarded as that would have drawn unnecessary attention.
Sam and Martouf stepped out into a beautiful scene. To their right was a thick forest, its color a deep green. To their left were gently sloping fields, yellow-golden with what probably was a variation of wheat. A few green fields resided between the what-fields, cattle grazing peacefully. In front of them, a path following the edge of the forest led to a big city in the far distance and the sun was setting, coloring the scenery in a vibrant orange.
There was little time to enjoy the stunning view, though, and Sam and Martouf took cover behind a few scattered trees to their right side as soon as they had arrived. There was no one in sight, but still they waited until the Stargate had been closed for a few moments before walking into the direction of the village, taking cover behind the trees next to the road while they did so.
Sam and Martouf arrived in the city after half an hour and hid their weapons in their clothes as to not draw attention to themselves but still be able to defend themselves quickly should the situation require it. The city was Greek in design, built from white stone, and only sparsely guarded, which surprised Sam, as Martouf had briefly told her that while the gate was left completely unguarded, there were usually several guards on every entrance. They were there to guard the city as well as to intimidate its citizens who had to work on the fields most of the day to ensure the food supply for several other planets, most of them used for naquadah mining.
The plan was to sneak into the palace instead of taking the blunt approach that Jolinar had taken last time she wanted to talk to a Tok'ra operative. For one, they did not want to talk to the actual ruler of the planet, and another reason was that while Sam's appearance was not known to many Goa'uld, Martouf's face was a danger.
When they arrived at one of the minor gates, they watched the guards for several minutes. There were only three of them and it was obvious they didn't pay very close attention to what was going on. Nevertheless, attacking them would only cause unwanted attention.
"We should wait until dusk," Lantash suggested.
"Shouldn't be too long now," Sam agreed and sat down in the safety of the trees. They would have another hour or so before it started getting dark. Though as she now realized, there might be more guards during the night. Sam asked Martouf about that.
"Even if they increase the guards during the night, we should be able to get inside relatively easy without them seeing us. The walls are not very high and meant to keep people inside, not to keep people out."
Sam saw what he meant and nodded. The walls were about twice as high as a human of average height, so that without external means no one could climb them. But the forest also extended very close to the walls and when it was dark, they might be able to just climb on a tree and jump onto the wall. Getting down might hurt, but she had learned how to do that with minimal damage during military training. Their exercises then had been from higher heights. Besides, now she had the advantage of a built-in healing device.
Less than an hour later, it was almost dark. The last of the inhabitants of this planet seemed to return to the city, some of them laden with recently harvested crop and other with animals that Sam guessed were chosen for meat production.
Soon afterwards, Martouf started to move away from the nearby gate and towards the trees that stood close to the wall. Sam followed him, always keeping out of sight of the guards by hiding behind the trees. She could hear her heart pounding and could only hope that they wouldn't make any sounds that alerted the guards to their presence.
Finally, they reached a tree that looked like it could be easily climbed. Martouf looked at her questioningly, and Sam nodded. This would do. Martouf climbed up the tree before her, testing the branches for support. Sam climbed up behind him when he was halfway up. The climb wasn't too bad, the branches were relatively thick and well-spaced out. Martouf reached the branch that extended a bit under the top of the wall after less than two minutes and puled himself up to sit on the barrier, waiting for Sam.
Sam followed him, but could already hear a low cracking sound when she climbed on the last branch. The wall was still more than a step away and she quickly took that step and grasped at the wall, just in time to hear the wood crack completely. She looked down and saw that it was falling to the ground. It landed with an audible thud.
Her fingers firmly held on top of the wall and she tried to pull herself up, but the top seemed to be covered in moss and she started to slip. Then she felt Martouf touch her right hand.
"Let go," he whispered.
"You'll only slip yourself," Sam quietly said back, hoping that the Jaffa either couldn't hear them or would think it was people inside the city speaking. She struggled with pulling herself up, but it was a futile attempt. She let go of the border with her right hand and could feel Martouf's strong grasp. He pulled her up enough so that she could swing her right leg onto the top of the wall and after that, pulling herself up fully was no problem.
There were the sounds of footsteps. And they were coming closer, from the outer part. Sam looked at Martouf and knew that he had heard it as well.
Both of them pushed themselves off the wall.
The fall was deeper than Sam had thought – there was a ditch on the other side of the wall, probably meant to make it more difficult for the people inside the city to get up the wall. Sam landed as had learned in training and rolled off her shoulders to minimize the impact, but she could still feel a sharp pain. But it didn't feel like anything had been broken or seriously damaged, and she got up quickly. Martouf beside her seemed to be fine as well.
The landing hadn't been any less audible then the branch falling on the floor and so they weren't safe yet. There was a clear strip of land around the wall, but the first houses had been built less than a short sprint away and so Sam and Martouf did just that, they ran until they reached the first houses. But even there they only stopped for a little while and then continued further into the city, only this time slower and using the dark alleys for cover.
Following Martouf, Sam thought about what they had to do next. The palace had to be in the center of the city, that much was clear. But how would they enter it? Martouf hadn't talked about that.
The city was as big as it had looked from the outside and it took them several minutes to get near the center. The streets were wider and better now, the houses a bit bigger and better cared for, though still far from quality work made by people who had much time to build their homes. These people had to work a lot and couldn't care for other things as much as they wanted.
It took them a little less than an hour to arrive near the palace. The building was big and seemed well-guarded. Sam couldn't make out any details due to the bad lighting, but she could tell that it was an impressive building, like some of the Greek official buildings she had seen in books. The Goa'uld really loved to show off with their palaces.
"There should be an unguarded entry point on the west side," Martouf whispered.
"So, have you been here before?" she whispered.
"No. But I have met Ovlek before and he told me that this was how an intruder once managed to get in. Now let us just hope that this information still applies."
They walked to the west side of the palace, taking cover in the dark alleys leading away from it. The stretch between the houses and the palace was not very wide and so Sam hoped that a good sprint while no guard watched would be everything that was needed to gain entrance.
The entry point Martouf had spoken of was not easy to find in the dark, but finally, they found it. It was far removed from the palace doors on this side and Sam felt a bit better knowing that there was a good chance the guards wouldn't see them even if they should happen to look into the right direction.
Martouf looked at Sam, and when she looked back they nodded. Sam counted to three and they both ran towards the palace walls, ducked so they would not be seen.
The entry was hidden behind two large bushes and squeezing in made some noise that Sam could only hope wouldn't be heard by the guards. Sam and Martouf pressed themselves against the cold walls and held their breaths while they listened for any signs that their arrival had been noticed. As there was no indication for that, they moved onwards.
It was very dark inside, but Martouf had brought a small flashlight with him and led the way. The corridor widened after a while, there seemed to be a whole network of hidden tunnels built into the building. At one time, they reached a dead end and had to turn back, but other than that they moved swiftly and in silence.
"This is it," Martouf whispered as they stood in what seemed to be another dead end. "Let us hope he is present." He then proceeded to knock on the wall in front of him, which sounded a lot thinner than it looked.
They waited for over a minute before the wall swung back and the entrance was cleared.
Ovlek stood a bit beside the entrance. He was a tall, but clearly old man with graying hair, but facial features that marked him as someone who you wouldn't want to come across. He stood tall and like he was used to being treated with respect. He had worked his way up in the Goa'uld ranks and it had left marks.
"Martouf." He nodded.
Jolinar took over control over Sam's body, and she and Martouf climbed out of the tunnel into the room. They were in his private quarters.
"Ovlek," Martouf replied. "This is Jolinar."
Ovlek nodded in greeting and so did Jolinar. Since Jolinar and Ovlek had never met before he didn't seem to notice the switch in host body. "How may I be of service?" he asked, formal as all the Tok'ra seemed to be on the outside.
"We only have a few brief questions and then we will be on our way again," Martouf explained. "Have you heard of the attack on the Tok'ra base?"
Ovlek nodded. "I have."
"Have you been given the new location? We were injured during the attack and could not relocate with the others."
"Yes, I have been informed briefly." He drew the coordinates on the table in front of him with his fingers, and both Sam and Jolinar memorized them.
"Good," said Martouf quietly. "We were not sure whether the new coordinates had already been given out to all operatives."
Ovlek only nodded. "If this is the only reason for your presence here then I suggest you leave quickly. This is not the safest place right now. I can show you how to get out of here without being caught."
"Actually, we are also here to ask you whether you know anything about the Ashrak that was sent after me and the attack on the base. Does Cronus have anything to do with either?" Jolinar asked.
Ovlek raised an eyebrow. "I have heard nothing about the attack from Cronus, but the news that you survived has reached Cronus, and he is not satisfied with that outcome. Whether he was the one to send the Ashrak I cannot say, however. I was planning to include that in my next official communication."
"Thank you." Jolinar looked at Martouf, who shook his head to indicate that he had no further questions. "Then let us leave," Jolinar said and thanked the other Tok'ra for the information again.
He showed them a hidden passage in the walls of his quarters out of the building so that they could avoid running into the guards and then Sam and Martouf were alone again.
"That was quick," Sam said, standing still while her eyes adjusted to the almost complete darkness of the corridor they were in.
"Yes, he can be rather... monosyllabic," Martouf replied and turned on his flashlight again.
Slowly, Sam started to be able to see her surroundings. The corridor only led one way, so the decision where to turn to was rather easy.
The corridor was long and so they walked in silence a while, until suddenly, Sam felt herself being pressed against the wall so hard that it took her breath away. No sound escaped her lips, and after a second she realized it had been Martouf who had grabbed her. She looked at him, and he pointed to his ears.
A few moments later, she could hear it as well. Footsteps, several heavy footsteps. And they were approaching. Sam didn't dare to do as much as breath as she cowered down and pressed herself against the cold stone wall. The corridor was wide here, enough space for several people to walk next to each other.
The sounds were coming closer. Sam couldn't hear how close they were as the empty corridor made all sounds echo off from the walls and thus it was hard to pinpoint the location of the source. But they were definitely getting closer.
There was no way of telling whether the footsteps came from outside the corridor or from its inside. Sam and Martouf were only a few steps away from the first crossing they had seen and Sam carefully edged closer to the turn and glanced down to her left and then to her right. There was no one in sight and so she waved for Martouf to come closer.
"Which way?" she whispered.
Martouf shrugged, then pointed to their right. Only another few dozen steps from them in that direction was a turn to the left.
But just as they were about to turn, the sounds once again became louder and Sam could catch a glimpse of metal as the first Jaffa came out of the left-hand tunnel. It didn't take long for Sam's instincts to kick in, and she turned rapidly to her right and started running down that way while pushing Martouf into the same direction.
The guards shouted. They had seen them. The corridor was long in that direction, but it still wasn't enough distance to protect Sam and Martouf from their weapons. It was still a few steps to the next turn when the first staff weapon was fired. Sam could feel it barely missing her shoulder and when it hit the wall right beside her, a few shards from the wall painfully made their way into her skin and scraped her face.
Martouf ran around the corner, Sam close behind him. But the second blast from a staff weapon hit her right knee. She didn't feel any pain, but the impact was enough to make her stumble just before she could escape around the corner. With her last reserves, she flung herself to her left to follow Martouf and landed on her hands, protecting her face from the fall. The pain from the wound finally got to her and she wanted to scream out in pain. Sam bit her lip, but a small sound still escaped her lips.
Martouf, who was already halfway down the corridor, stopped and turned around. Seeing her lying on the floor, he ran towards her.
Sam tried to get up again, but her knee wouldn't support her weight at all. When she looked down, she saw that the gash was much bigger than she had thought. She crawled more than stumbled into Martouf's direction, but she could already tell she wouldn't be able to make it. But she could delay the guards. They wouldn't get both of them.
Martouf arrived by her side and tried to help her up, but Sam shook her head, refusing his help.
"I can't. Get out," she screamed at Martouf.
"I won't leave you here," he replied. The guards were close now, and would turn the corner within seconds.
Without any hesitation, Jolinar took over. "Go, you damn fool," she said to Martouf and pushed him away from her in the direction of what she hoped would be the exit, the way to safety. She could only hope that there were no more Jaffa that way. Martouf lost his balance and took a step into the direction, but still didn't leave.
He tried to grab her hand to pull her up, but Jolinar pulled away.
That second, the Jaffa came around the corner and within a split moment, a staff weapon was directed at Sam and Martouf.
"Go," Jolinar said again and finally, Martouf did as she told him and turned to run. One of the Jaffa fired his weapon at him. It wasn't a conscious decision, but Jolinar pushed herself off the floor with what little strength she had left, ignoring the pain from the gaping wound in her leg and got up enough to throw herself in the missile's path, protecting Martouf.
The staff weapon hit her directly in the chest.
Sam awakened with every bone and every muscle in her body screaming in pain. She was lying on her back and she wanted to look at where she was, but her eyes would not open at first and so she tried to grasp her surroundings by her other senses. It was warm, almost hot wherever she was and there was a smell of burning wood. The sound of crackling fire completed the picture.
Sam had a headache and the resounding voice of her symbiote in her head did nothing to ease the pain.
Sam tried to move her hand, but didn't get very far. Warm metal rubbed against the skin on her wrist. So she was bound. This was not going to go well indeed.
"You are awake." The voice was deep and clearly belonged to a Goa'uld. "Very good," it added.
Sam did not agree with this assessment. Finally, she was able to open her eyes and turned her head to look in the direction that the voice came from. What she saw really didn't do anything to make her feel better – the Goa'uld was tall and muscular and was already sliding on one of the Goa'uld ribbon devices. A brief glance at the big fireplace behind him revealed that there were several tools being heated by the flames.
Sam did not feel reassured by this admission.
Sam wondered how exactly Jolinar was planning to get through this. The way this looked, they were going to get tortured, probably to death and then revived only to have that happen again until they talked. There was a door in the room, but it was guarded by two Jaffa armed with staff weapons who didn't look like they were planning to rebel against the being posing as their God.
"There is no need to draw this out, you know. Just tell me how to find your Tok'ra friends, and this will all be over."
Jolinar raised her head and looked at him as determined as possible under the circumstances. "I know nothing, and I will tell you nothing," she said.
The Goa'uld sneered. "Very well. Then this is going to be a bit more fun." The ribbon device glowed in his hand and Sam tried to prepare herself for the pain that would result from this.
However, as she soon discovered, there was no effective way to prepare for this kind of pain. Her head felt like it was about to explode, her lungs felt like she was breathing fire and her heart pounded so fast she was afraid it would break her ribs.
Then the pain dulled. It was still there, but softer, less sharp and not quite so unbearable. But instead she could now feel Jolinar inside of her screaming in pain. Jolinar was pushing Sam's mind aside, trying to protect her human mind from the pain that was designed to make her crack.
All her senses were dulled now, but the pain ebbed away. Sam could see the Goa'uld turn away and walk towards the fire, pulling one of the torture instruments out of it.
Sam tried focusing, but it was hard. The world fogged over and shortly afterward, there was a sharp burst of pain. Something hot was touching her skin, leaving burn marks.
He talked to her, but she couldn't understand what he was saying. Sam felt Jolinar answer and knew it was her denying their torturer answers.
Another sharp pain which then gradually dulled. Sam could feel the life draining out of herself. In her mind, she wondered how often a human body was able to withstand this. Then she died the second time.
"Stop with this!" someone shouted.
Sam didn't immediately recognized the voice, but Jolinar did. It was during one of the rather short pauses in the torture, when her torturer was preparing his instruments. Jolinar was still holding on in the foreground, fiercely protecting Sam's mind in ways Sam had never thought possible. Still, every time the world turned black she felt herself dying in full intensity as Jolinar did the same and when she later woke up in the sarcophagus, Sam felt a little weaker, a little less human. She knew from Jolinar's memories that this was why the Tok'ra didn't use the sarcophagus despite that meaning that their numbers were getting smaller – it would corrupt the very essence of what the Tok'ra were.
Jolinar opened her eyes and saw that the Goa'uld who tortured them turned to face the intruder. "I am only getting started."
"We received new information," Ovlek replied.
The Goa'uld folded his arms across his chest. "Such as?" he asked skeptically.
"We shall discuss that in private."
With a short groan the Goa'uld lay aside the ribbon device he was holding and followed Ovlek out of the room. He shot Sam one last glance before stepping through the door which did nothing to settle Sam's mind, although there now was some hope rising in there. Ovlek had not looked at her in the entire time he had been in the room with her.
Sam heard some faint voices while they were away, but could not make out any of the words that were spoken.
Sam couldn't be as confident as Jolinar was, and she also felt that Jolinar was not as confident as she tried to appear. She could feel her symbiote's doubt as if it were her own.
After several more minutes, the door swung open and the Jaffa guarding the door stepped aside. But it was only Ovlek returning and he quickly moved to where Sam was bound.
"I am very sorry for this regretful mistake," he said loudly.
Sam guessed the Goa'uld was probably still standing outside, listening to them. She wondered how Ovlek had convinced him that Jolinar was actually a Goa'uld.
"This has been a terrible mistake," Ovlek stated again and started to open the cuffs holding Sam in place. The areas where they had rubbed the skin felt sore even though the sarcophagus had healed all wounds on her body very recently.
Jolinar was holding onto control of the body now, but Sam knew it was an advantage right now. Jolinar's reflexes were faster than hers and this was a dangerous situation. Sam could still feel the after-effects of the sarcophagus use, making her unfocused.
Ovlek helped her stand up and waited until the dizziness that immediately followed passed before leading her through a few corridors. They ended up in his quarters, and he carefully checked the area around his door before closing it and starting to talk. Jolinar settled down on a chair, exhausted from the physical torture despite the use of the sarcophagus.
Ovlek remained standing, from time to time glancing at the door. He talked quietly and hushed. "You can count yourself lucky that Gawar is absent right now and I have temporarily taken his place. Otherwise, I would not have been able to convince anyone that you are actually one of Cronus' spies and were handing me information that only I alone could receive. Halek did not see any reason to inform me of your capture and just started his way of retrieving information."
Jolinar bowed her head. "Thank you for your help."
Ovlek nodded in acknowledgment. "I had no idea that the secret passages were being patrolled now. That must be a recent development. My position is not safe at the moment."
"What about Martouf?" Jolinar asked, now that the situation was settling down, at least for a while, again remembering that something might have happened to Martouf and Lantash.
"For all I know he managed to escape. The guards are saying they saw two people fleeing from them, but I told them they must be mistaken and have called off the search." Ovlek started pacing the room.
Jolinar breathed a sigh of relief. Martouf might already be with the other Tok'ra by now or maybe he was hiding in the city until he could leave without fear of being caught, but he was probably alive and well. She had managed to save him. "What happens now?" Jolinar asked.
"Return to the base now if you want to. The whole palace is currently busy with preparations for the arrival of one of Cronus' new ships tomorrow. Your little visit might not attract too much attention if long as I can keep Halek from saying anything. Maybe it is time to get rid of him altogether."
Jolinar nodded, but completely disregarded the last sentence, declaring it to be Ovlek's problem. Instead, she was interested in something else Ovlek had said. "There will be one of Cronus' ships passing by soon?"
He nodded. "Tomorrow. Cronus might be on it. It is an experimental ship and he wishes to see what it is capable of. We have one spy aboard that ship already," Ovlek said.
Jolinar's thoughts were jumbled and fast, and Sam was almost unable to follow her. Jolinar suddenly wanted to board the ship, to take this opportunity to resume her work in Cronus' ranks and to find out who had betrayed her cover the last time. The idea was only half-thought out and vague, but Jolinar felt strongly about it.
And strangely, Sam felt the same desire. She wasn't sure whether it was actually herself agreeing with what Jolinar wanted or whether this was an effect of the blending, that she now shared Jolinar's goals, but she was also certain that the borders between those two options were breaking down. Or maybe they had already collapsed.
"Can you bring me aboard?" Jolinar asked, and Sam didn't protest.
Ovlek looked at her confused for a second. "Why would you want that?"
"I have my reasons." Jolinar looked him hard in the eyes, revealing no emotion to him.
Sam was taken aback by this a bit. She was also surprised by her own surprise. Somehow, she had almost forgotten that Jolinar's personality was different from her own – that Jolinar was sometimes blunt and arrogant, but also irrational in ways that Sam would never dare to. Centuries of working amidst the Tok'ra against the Goa'uld had shaped her in different ways than Sam had been through her military upbringing.
Her counterpart raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored Jolinar's tone. "To answer your question, yes, I could bring you aboard if you pose as one of the Jaffa bringing food onto the ship, which is what they are stopping here for."
"Good," Jolinar said. "That will do. I would be grateful if you would refrain from telling the Tok'ra what I am about to do."
Ovlek nodded. Sam found Jolinar's request odd, as did he apparently, but no one commented on it.
And with that, the plan was settled.
The next day, after a few hours of sleep, Sam followed the instructions she had been given by Ovlek. She entered the ship with a few Jaffa, feeling very uncomfortable in the Jaffa gear. But no one questioned her or why she had the hood covering her head. After bringing a few boxes filled with food and water aboard, she started lagging behind and finally went down a deserted corridor all by herself.
Jolinar knew quite a bit about the layout of Goa'uld motherships and this ship only slightly differed from the standard design, so in the end they ended up where they had planned to – in a completely unused area at the base of the huge ship. It was a huge ship and for a ship of this size there were relatively few Jaffa and Goa'uld aboard, so this part of the ship was unlikely to be used at all during the test journey.
Nevertheless, Sam and Jolinar treaded carefully. The ship would be launched in less than an hour and they didn't want to start wandering around until several hours after the launch when fewer people were walking around the corridors to prepare things.
This part of the ship was supposed to be used as quarters for Jaffa. The rooms were simple but livable, with four beds in each room and a bathroom for two quarters. Sam chose the last one in the dead end of a corridor and struggled out of the Jaffa uniform. Jolinar and Sam were still unsure on whether the best course of action would be to pretend to be a Jaffa or to try and sneak around the ship. The later would be a huge problem if she was caught, but the former would be a problem the moment she ran into someone and had to talk. Jaffa uniforms were not really designed to be stealthy in them.
For now, though, she could only sit and wait. She drank some water and after half an hour became bored enough to contemplate going on a little tour of the ship already, but Jolinar suggested some more patience.
*
In the end, Sam decided that wearing the Jaffa uniform would impair her movement too much. She snuck around a few of the unused corridors on the first day she was on the ship and found clothes that made her look more like our run-of-the-mill Goa'uld servant, but she would still try to avoid being seen by anyone. As she also found out during those excursions was that the ship was rather empty. Goa'uld motherships were huge and could carry thousands of Jaffa warriors to get them into battle, but this ship seemed to barely have one hundred Jaffa on board and only one or two dozen Goa'uld with their human servants.
In essence, Sam and Jolinar could explore the ship relatively un-bothered. It dropped in and out of hyperspace a few times and Sam guessed this was because they were experimenting with the drive. She would have liked to go into the engine room or see what was happening on the bridge, but that was where most of the action was centered, and she couldn't really risk just trying to pass for one of the human servants a few of the Goa'uld had brought.
After the first day, she got rather confident in her knowledge of the ship and went more into the inner regions where the private quarters of the Goa'uld and their close servants were located. Sam still had to get used to the fact that the Goa'uld had human servants like that – when she traveled with SG-1, they mostly encountered Jaffa and humans who worshiped the Goa'uld, but not those that were around the Goa'uld constantly and were responsible for their master's well-being.
Sam contemplated trying to pose as one of those servants, but decided against it because of the risks. While most of the Goa'uld she had so far encountered didn't seem like they would notice which humans were around them, they would be able to sense Jolinar. Also, she didn't really want to think about whether the Goa'uld were in the habit of using their human servants for something more than bringing them food. And so far, she hadn't figured out how to get off this ship again unless she stayed on it until it landed.
Many of the doors she encountered while walking through that part of the ship were locked and she didn't have anything with her to open them by force. That also would have attracted too much attention.
She was standing at a corner in a corridor, thinking of a way to get into one of the used quarters where she might be able to gather some information when someone ran into her. She hadn't seen or heard him coming and staggered to hold her balance.
"I am very sorry," the man said in a low voice, looking at the floor. "Please forgive me." He apparently thought that she was a Goa'uld.
Jolinar had lived pretending to be a Goa'uld for many decades and her reflexes kicked in. She pushed aside Sam's mind and took over control. "Whom do you serve?" she demanded to know.
Sam had wanted to just go on, hoping the servant would forget he ever saw her and now Jolinar was talking to him.
"I serve Lord Talkar," the man answered.
Sam froze. She had heard the name before. Actually, she had met him before, on the planet Jolinar had visited with her to get information on the Tok'ra base location. He was the one that Jolinar had suspected of sending the Ashrak.
"Where does your Lord reside?"
Sam couldn't believe what Jolinar was doing. She was going to try and sneak into Talkar's quarters, Sam could feel it.
The human servant described the way to Talkar's quarters.
"You can go now," Jolinar dismissed him afterward.
Sam remained unconvinced, but didn't voice her concerns. Jolinar and Talkar seemed to have a history of differing opinions and minor fights that seemed to have no apparent reason.
They walked on and Sam was just about to go around another corner when she could hear the sound of a door first opening and closing. There was the sound of footsteps. Sam walked another step forward and carefully looked around the corner. A figure that looked like a Goa'uld was walking in the opposite direction.
She waited until the figure had disappeared around the next bend before entering the corridor herself. Jolinar didn't object to her plan and so Sam proceeded to the door on the right-hand side that the Goa'uld probably came from. She tried the opening mechanism, not expecting it to work, but the door opened without any further problems. Sam pushed herself against the wall in surprise, but nothing happened. She entered the room.
It was a rather simple room, yet a lot more luxurious than the Jaffa quarters she had seen so far. Sam concluded that it was indeed one of the Goa'uld quarters and not used for the human servants. It was spacious and held more than the necessary furniture.
But Sam couldn't look around for long before there was a noise from the door. Instinctively, Sam flung herself into the first hiding place she could find – the empty wardrobe. Someone came into the quarters, and the door closed behind him.
The person moved around some more and then there was silence for a while. Just as Sam thought she might risk opening the wardrobe door a bit to see what was going on, she heard a Goa'uld voice.
"What are you contacting me for?" the voice said impatiently.
There was an answer and Sam figured that the Goa'uld had been contacted by a long-range communications device. But Sam couldn't understand what it was saying. The voice wasn't talking very loudly.
"Then speak," the Goa'uld replied.
"There is not much time," the voice said a bit louder and Sam could tell that she knew this voice. Well, not she, but Jolinar did. She pressed her ear harder against the wood.
"Then speak quickly," the Goa'uld said impatiently. "Cronus has not been pleased with your silence lately."
"I see," the other Goa'uld replied. "Well, I have new information. Most of the Tok'ra could escape the last attack and have relocated. I am transferring the new location to you now."
Now Jolinar recognized the voice. It belonged to a Tok'ra named Cordesh, whom she had talked to when she was on base quite frequently. Well, he called himself a Tok'ra, but surely, if he willingly handed over information like this he wasn't really one...
"The last attack wasn't very successful and Cronus was not pleased with that outcome. The Tok'ra appeared to have been forewarned," the Goa'uld replied. Sam could hear him pacing the room.
"I assure you if they were forewarned they certainly didn't hear from me," Cordesh defended himself. Sam felt slightly sick at hearing him talk like that. While Jolinar and he hadn't been friends, they had still been friendly towards each other. But there was no doubt as to who that voice belonged to.
"You can only hope that Cronus believes you, Cordesh," the Goa'uld said, eliminating any doubt Sam could have had about the identity of the spy in the Tok'ra ranks. She was shocked by this discovery. "I will notify Cronus of what you said when he joins us here in two days time. This ship's technology will certainly make an attack... more successful. Make sure to contact me again."
"I will."
Their conversation was over and Sam held her breath when the Goa'uld's attention shifted away from the communication device again. But there was no need for her nervousness as he left the room only minutes later. Shortly afterwards, she stepped out of her hiding place and didn't bother to search the room any further – she had certainly gained enough new information right now.
The door opened and Sam carefully into the corridor. Coming out of a Goa'uld's personal quarters would certainly attract attention. But the corridor was empty. She was able to make it back down to the deserted areas of the ship without being noticed. Her heart didn't stop beating quickly until minutes after she sat down on the floor in the room she had chosen for herself.
Sam leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to rest for a while, let this sink in. It definitely had not been what she had expected.
Sam felt the sadness that Jolinar felt when she thought about the blow this would be to the Tok'ra. With their few numbers, every Tok'ra counted and every loss was hard. Of course the Council had to be informed of this quickly so steps could be taken. Sam wondered what these steps would involve.
Sam knew that Jolinar was getting angry at herself and quickly tried to change the subject.
Sam thought about this and agreed with Jolinar. A cargo ship capable of entering hyperspace would be very good for getting off the ship and onto a planet that had a Stargate.
By the next day, after some rest, Sam and Jolinar had come up with a rudimentary plan. Sam had actually managed to convince Jolinar that they would not pursue Talkar further. It would add too much of a risk to this already risky plan.
The engine room was in the ship's core. On a ship this big that meant it was quite far away from the bridge. Sam stepped into the Jaffa uniform she had with her, hoping that it would keep anyone from second-guessing her purpose.
To her surprise, what she had planned actually worked. No one even took notice of her as she made her way through the ship, and as she approached the core region, she managed to join a group of five Jaffa that seemed to be going into the same direction. Inwardly, Sam was terrified, but she tried to get around that by concentrating on appearing as a Jaffa. Her steps were hard and she tried to look tall, carrying her staff weapon as she had seen Jaffa do countless times before.
As it turned out, the group she was following really had the engine room as its goal. The Jaffa entered a code on the door and then stepped into the big room, none of them questioning her about her intentions. Sam slowed down a little, and, when she lagged a few steps behind the Jaffa, turned to the right. There was several small rooms on each side of the engine room and her goal was a part of the weapon system. If she could just remove the right crystals in those controls, the ones responsible for the cooling mechanisms, nothing would seem wrong at first, until the weapons were being fired at high speed, at which point the temperature in the systems would rise and hopefully cause an explosion.
Apart from the Jaffa that she had followed earlier, she couldn't hear anyone. Sam looked into several of the rooms before she found a control console that Jolinar recognized as definitely belonging to the weapon systems.
Sam knelt down to work, but found that it was almost impossible in the too big uniform. "Damn," she muttered under her breath. She could not handle the delicate crystals like this. A quick glance outside assured her that there were no Jaffa standing outside and so she went into a corner and got rid of the uniform as fast as possible. She hid it behind what seemed to be some garbage from the ship's construction.
Finally able to work, Sam knelled down beside the control console and opened it with a push. There were blue, green and orange crystals and Sam just hoped Jolinar recognized the configuration.
Sam did as Jolinar told her to. The ship did not crash, which she took as a good sign.
Sam closed the console again and put the crystals she had just removed into one of her pockets. As Jolinar said, there was no way to test whether this manipulation actually worked. Now all she needed to do was get back to her quarters until she could be sure that the sabotage hadn't been witnessed and then sneak into the glider bay and steal a glider. She put the Jaffa uniform on again, which proved to be quite tricky.
Another glance outside assured her that once again, the path was clear and so she made her way to the door of the engine room. It opened automatically when approached from the inside and Sam stepped through, the door closing behind her.
Sam walked through the corridors that would lead her back closer to the glider room, as she had a few times before since this was also the way to the lower levels. There were abandoned quarters on the way, something she had discovered earlier. Their doors weren't locked in any way, so Sam just entered one of them, her hand on the zat gun. But it wasn't necessary, the room was empty. She struggled out o the uniform again and left it in a corner.
After Sam left the room, she made sure that no one was around. The hallway was empty and so she left confident enough no one would hear her that she shot the door opening mechanism. At the very least, it would make it harder for someone to enter that room now. She was nervous. The uniform had offered a kind of security, even though she knew that should anyone have actually talked to her, her cover would have been blown.
Sam continued on her way to the glider bay, this time sneaking through the corridors, her back against the walls on more than one occasion. She was caught completely off-guard when suddenly a door only a few steps away from her slid back and ducked back into a corridor she had just left. She walked into the direction away from the door, trying not to make a sound when she realized she could hear two sets of footsteps, one from behind her and one in front of her.
The sound coming from ahead stopped and Sam edged closer into that direction. Whoever it had been that had just exited the door also passed her position without noticing. And then Sam realized that she was in the part of the ship where she had met Talkar's servant. The footsteps came closer again and Sam pressed her body against the wall as hard as she could and didn't dare to breathe.
But the figure passed by her, not seeing her at all. It was indeed the familiar figure of Talkar. Once he had turned around the next corner, Sam slowly leaned out of the corridor to see whether the path was clear and when she saw that it was safe, she walked to the door to Talkar's quarters.
While Sam really believed that it was a stupid idea, especially since she had just managed to talk Jolinar out of this plan earlier this day, curiosity got the better of her. The door to his quarters was open in less than a minute's time. Sam slid in and let the door close behind her, exhaling loudly in relief when she saw that the room was indeed empty.
It was what looked like a standard Goa'uld quarters, very few personal things lying on the surfaces. He certainly hadn't been on board this ship long and also wasn't planning to stay for long.
Sam could only hope that he would stay away for as long as she needed to find... whatever it was that she was hoping to find. There was a nightstand and a table, but she found nothing of interest on there. Next were the drawers next to the bed, in which she found a ribbon device and a communication device, but nothing that was out of the ordinary.
"Found anything interesting so far?"
Sam froze. She knew that voice and she was in trouble now. Her mind raced as she considered her options, but there were few of them. She had a zat weapon, but it was hidden from view and she knew she also had one directed at her. He had talked like he knew he had the upper hand. There was only one exit from the room and Talkar was standing there right now, blocking it. She needed more time to think about what to do. But she didn't have time.
She turned around. Talkar had a zat weapon aimed at her from his left hand and was wearing a ribbon device on his right. The door behind him was closed. With not a moment's hesitation, he hit her with a blast from the ribbon device. Sam's body flew backward and crashed into the drawer. The weapon dropped out of her hand and fell to the floor next to her.
"I knew I saw someone standing in that corridor, trying to disappear into the shadows when I went by," Talkar said, his eyes flashing in anger.
There was no more doubt in Sam's mind that this... being was not what he pretended to be. He certainly was not the loyal Tok'ra he pretended to be.
Before Sam could react, she felt Jolinar take control, Sam's eyes flashing as well in the process.
"So you are not even trying to pretend that we are on the same side anymore, are you?" Jolinar said angrily and got up from the floor.
Talkar did not do anything to stop her. "Oh, but I am on your side. Well, not on your side specifically. But I am still one of the Tok'ra."
Jolinar raised an eyebrow. "A Tok'ra who attacks another Tok'ra is a Goa'uld and will be treated accordingly." She was in no position to make threats, but she was angry at him and at herself. They should have never entered his quarters. This was not going to end well.
Talkar lowered the ribbon device a bit, but the zat was still pointed at Sam. He was tense enough that in the time she would need to get out her weapon and aim, she would by lying on the floor in pain from the next blast.
"Be assured that I would not attack any other Tok'ra. Only you, Jolinar of Malkshur."
"Interesting. What have I done to deserve such high honors?" Jolinar responded.
His voice became human again, but lost nothing of its snide and angry tone. "Do you really not know? It is hard for me to think that."
"Well, if you are going to send the Jaffa to torture me anyway, you might as well tell me why. Not that I will tell them anything. Others have tried that and failed."
Had Sam been in control, she would have flinched a bit at the memory of the last experience with Goa'uld torture methods. This way, all Talkar could see was the cold determination that Jolinar was projecting outside.
"Oh, but I am not planning on handing you over. You still do not understand. I am not against the Tok'ra, just against you. I would never hand over a Tok'ra with so much valuable information to the Goa'uld." He paused. " No, I will just kill you myself."
"You are nothing more than a Goa'uld." Jolinar's voice was dripping with hate, but inwardly, she was mostly confused. The news about Cordesh's betrayal were still so fresh and now she could not understand what Talkar was saying.
"Do you even still remember Zamat, Jolinar of Malkshur?"
Jolinar froze at the mention of this name. Sam saw images of a dark-haired woman with eyes and skin almost black in color. She had been a Tok'ra as well, her host had been called Ilaina. "How could I ever forget Zamat?" Jolinar whispered. Sam felt guilt and regret wash over her.
"So at least you do not forget the people you kill."
"I did not kill her," Jolinar shouted, but Sam could tell that this wasn't the whole truth and that Jolinar did feel responsible for the woman's death, even if not directly.
Her opponent raised the ribbon device again, hate and the pain of loss clearly visible on his face. "You left her to die at the hands of Ra. You might as well have killed her."
"I tried to save her."
Sam knew what had happened now. Jolinar, blended with Rosha at that time, had been on a mission with Zamat and Ilaina. It had started out as a fairly routine mission, the objective being to find out how much naquadah was being mined on one of Ra's planets.
Then everything had gone to hell as Ra himself had shown up and noticed them. Jolinar could flee from his troops in a glider, but Zamat and Ilaina didn't make it. Jolinar had brought the sad news of the loss of two more Tok'ra back to the base. It was a sad story that now affected even Sam, as she thought of the memory.
"You only tried to save yourself. You never cared about her life."
Realization dawned in Jolinar. "She was your mate, wasn't she?" she whispered. She had never made that connection, but now it seemed so obvious. She had seen him grief for her for months. He had also been the only one who had expressed anger towards her after she had returned for saving herself instead of going back and had advocated in favor of a rescue mission for Zamat.
Talkar didn't answer that question. "You left her to die," he repeated.
"So you gave Cronus my position so he could send the Ashrak after me. Or maybe you even sent it yourself. I am sorry for your loss, I really am, but you are taking this several steps too far. Killing me will not bring her back. And killing my host would be killing someone completely uninvolved in this."
Sam was starting to panic while Jolinar was trying to stall Talkar. He had sent the assassin and he would kill both of them in cold blood soon. He didn't seem to be one for torture and drawn-out deaths, Sam concluded from the fact that he wouldn't have witnessed Jolinar's death by the Ashrak's hands. Talkar would be completely satisfied knowing that Jolinar was dead. And with her, Sam.
"Oh, I know it won't bring her back. I am not stupid."
There was still a weapon next to her. Jolinar lowered her head a bit to determine where exactly it was, hoping that Talkar wouldn't notice it. It was only just out of reach of her right arm.
"I am also not interested in punishing you. Your death will be quick and..."
Jolinar rolled to her right, picking up the weapon in the process. Talkar was not slow either, and hit her with the ribbon device before she could take aim. But he hadn't aimed well and didn't fully hit her. Her left side was flung back, but her right was unaffected.
She raised her arm and fired the zat weapon. Talkar jumped out of the way and the blue bolt missed him. He raised his hand, about to hit Jolinar and Sam again when Jolinar fired the zat gun again and hit him.
Talkar fell the the ground, his body shaking from the electricity running through his body. Jolinar squeezed the weapon tighter, preparing to fire at him a second time.
Talkar was still on the floor, but the effects of the weapon were already starting to wear off.
Sam could tell Jolinar was getting annoyed with her, but there was not enough time for an argument.
But Sam could tell that she had won this argument. Jolinar was already looking around and within a few seconds, she had decided on a course of action and took the ribbon device from Talkar's hand.
Jolinar let the ribbon device slide on her left hand and pointed it at Talkar's forehead.
Talkar was looking at her now, unable to move but apparently aware of what she was doing, as his eyes were wide with fear.
"I am not going to kill you. And if you keep quiet, maybe the Council will even decide in your favor," Jolinar said and activated the device. Talkar looked as though he was about to say something, but then his eyes rolled backwards and his body went limp.
Jolinar didn't answer, instead trying her best to hide the unconscious body of Talkar in his quarters. Finally, she bound his hands together behind his back with a light blanket, shoved his body under the bed and placed a few cushions so that he wouldn't be seen from the door should someone enter. It was the best they could do under the circumstances.
Jolinar was already half-way to the door. She stopped.
Jolinar stepped out of the door and shot the door control twice. It would now be a problem to open the door from either side.
Sam agreed with Jolinar's assessment, and Jolinar gave her the option as to who would be in control. While Jolinar knew the way better than Sam, Sam also had access to the information now and preferred to have control over her own body. She started to walk firmly in the direction of the glider bay, but not as though she was in a hurry, hoping that they wouldn't encounter any Goa'uld on their way. She had not much more than a couple of minutes before Talkar would wake up and not much time afterwards before he would raise an alarm.
Jolinar and Sam were lucky and encountered only two human servants until they were almost there and so the goal of the glider bay was getting closer. Then, of course, her luck ran out. Turning a corner directly before the bay, she ran directly into a Goa'uld and his Jaffa escort.
"Please excuse me," Sam instinctively tried pretending to be one of the human servants, only a second too late realizing that likely wasn't the best way.
"Watch where you are going," the Goa'uld said harshly and started to walk away, but then hesitated. He must have sensed that she was carrying a symbiote.
She started to run before any of the Jaffa realized what was going on. Behind her, she could already hear the Goa'uld shouting at his Jaffa to go after her. Jolinar didn't comment at all, trying not to distract Sam.
It wasn't far now and she ran as fast as she could and arrived at her destination barely one minute later. There were two Jaffa guarding the door to the glider bay, but the door was also standing wide open and Jolinar took the Jaffa out with her zat gun before either of them could even realize what was going on.
The Jaffa behind Sam were already firing their staff weapons towards her. They missed by a lot, but she would soon have to slow down to enter the cargo ship and then they would have a chance to aim at her before they fired.
Thankfully there were three cargo ships standing in the bay, and to Sam's surprise one of them had its doors open. Maybe something had been transported into the mothership by it and it had to be unloaded, but there wasn't much time to think about such matters. She ran through the doors of the cargo ship and hit the button to close the doors behind her hard. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the Jaffa coming towards her, but she was already on her way towards the controls of the ship. Behind her, a staff weapon blast hit the doors of the cargo ship.
Sam didn't have any experience with a ship such as this and so Jolinar took over for her without any hesitation. For a painfully long second, the cargo ship did not respond to her commands and she was almost ready to jump out of her seat to run into the engine room when the ship finally raised from the ground.
More staff weapon blasts hit the small ship. Jolinar enabled the ship's shield, but even so they had to be quick. There were enough gliders for a small army in the bay.
The mother ha'tak's glider doors were remote-controlled and Sam was immensely relieved when they opened for them. Obviously, there had not yet been a ship-wide alarm, or those functions would have been blocked.
Jolinar accelerated the tel'tak as fast as she could, squeezing through the opening with not much space to both sides. There were a lot of gliders on board of this ship. Not a lot of Jaffa, but enough to follow and eliminate one small cargo ship.
And they were following the cargo ship. Jolinar flew out into space. Soon afterward there were the first blasts of the glider weapons flying through the empty void around the ship. One of them hit the tel'tak, causing it to shake. So far, the shields were doing their job and no damage was done.
Jolinar was a good pilot, Sam had to admit that. Still, these cargo ships weren't designed for speed and also not to be flown by only one person. If anything happened, she would have to fix it manually and for that she would have to leave the cockpit.
The ship was at maximum speed and already buckling like crazy. On the screen Sam could see that there were four gliders following her.
It didn't sound like Jolinar was actually sure what she was doing, but Sam trusted her enough to not say anything. There were, after all, no alternative plans in sight and little time to think of something else.
Jolinar pushed a few buttons and the ship entered hyperspace with a jump. And then it directly exited hyperspace again.
Sam didn't get to finish the sentence, as Jolinar led the ship into a narrow curve and then directly jumped into hyperspace again. Her body was pushed against the seat.
They dropped out of hyperspace again, and she was jerked forward. Two gliders had managed to follow them despite Jolinar's efforts at shaking them off. Jolinar repeated the maneuver one more time.
Sam didn't know what to say. They were in the middle of nowhere in open space now and Jolinar was telling her that they were running out of fuel.
Before Sam could ask what else was wrong, she saw it. One of the gliders was still following them, apparently manned by a very skilled pilot who matched Jolinar's skills. Jolinar was busy with simultaneously evading his weapon fire and finding out where in space they were.
Soon the planet that Jolinar had found showed up on their short-range sensors. So far, the glider hadn't been able to cause any substantial damage and they could only hope that it stayed that way. Although this region of space was not completely empty of human and Goa'uld settlements, Jolinar could not tell whether it had a Stargate.
Finally, they could see the small planet, which at least looked like it was able to sustain life.
It only took Sam a second this time to draw from Jolinar's memories. If there was no ring platform nearby, the rings just went straight down out of the ship and would be able to get them to the ground.
Sam could tell Jolinar was growing impatient. The stress of simultaneously thinking of a plan, evading the glider's fire and arguing with Sam were getting to her.
There was a Stargate on the planet as Jolinar soon found out, but no ring platforms. She flew lower, evading the glider's weapons as well as she could. They would have to get down via ring transporters without a platform.
The ship was taking hits now and each one of them made the shields weaker and the ship more unstable. Jolinar was having trouble controlling it, keeping it steady. It would not get them much further.
Then, as she had steadied the ship rather low on the ground, Jolinar pulled it upwards again, hoping to confuse the glider pilot into thinking they were actually leaving the planet by ship again. Jolinar jumped out of the chair and ran to the ring transporter room, hitting the button to activate the rings as she passed by the door. The rings came down and encompassed Sam and Jolinar. Sam could feel the ship sinking with no one stabilizing it. She could only hope it wouldn't hit the ground anywhere near her.
The rings transported her to the ground beneath the ship. Jolinar reacted fast, running away from the ship, which was tumbling towards the ground. The glider was still firing at it, not having noticed Jolinar's maneuver so far. Still, one of the blasts hit the ground close to her. Jolinar tried to run even faster.
The hill was rather steep and the ground was stony. Jolinar struggled upwards, stumbling as she hit a rock with her foot. Sam could feel the pain emanating from her toes. A loud explosion made her stumble even further – the cargo ship had crashed to the ground. There was no time to look back, so Jolinar resumed climbing.
She could hear the sound of a glider landing behind her. That Jaffa was determined enough to get her to land and try to catch her on ground. Sam was sure that he would be highly rewarded if he could capture her, but she still wasn't going to let that happen. With only a zat gun as a means to defend herself, she could only hope to outrun the Jaffa, open the Stargate and dial out to the Tok'ra base before he could follow her.
Sam pushed her body as much as she could, running over the stony ground. Looking over her shoulder in a hurry she saw that the Jaffa had now left the glider and was following her, staff weapon in his hand.
The Stargate was in sight now, but the Jaffa was now also firing his weapon. At this distance he couldn't really hit her, but dialing the gate would take time and leave her plain in sight for him to aim at her. Sam briefly contemplated trying to hide instead, but aside from the fact that there wasn't much to hide behind on this planet, Talkar was surely awake by now and the Jaffa would have informed the mothership of their position. Soon this planet would be swarming with Jaffa.
She reached the DHD and started dialing the first coordinates that came to mind. No place to hide, she dialed as fast as could, trying to ignore the blasts missing her by only inches now. The Stargate spun as Sam finished dialing. She ducked behind the DHD, blindly firing her zat in the Jaffa's direction.
The staff weapon fire ceased for a few moments, but Sam did not assume she had hit the Jaffa. By now, the wormhole exploded into existence.
It wasn't a long way from the DHD to the gate and Sam ran it backwards, both firing at the Jaffa and ducking away from his weapon fire at the same time. Shortly before she arrived at the event horizon, one of the blasts came directly at her. Sam turned and jumped through the open wormhole.
Chapter Four: Co-evolution
Sam hit the ground hard when arriving on the other side. Years of military training made her roll into a ball instinctively when she hit the ground. The wormhole closed behind her, but there was an explosion she could not see but that sounded like it was very close to her. The Jaffa had fired one last staff weapon blast at her before the Stargate had disengaged.
Getting up, the right shoulder that she had landed on hurt a lot and Sam wondered whether she had dislocated it. Moving it around a bit, she dismissed that possibility and started to pay more attention to her surroundings. She was on a clearing in a thick forest and the DHD was very close to the gate. Sam hurried to the DHD and recalled the coordinates she had learned from Ovlek. She dialed as fast as she could, hoping that even if they were trying to follow her and had seen the address she had dialed, she would be faster. She punched in the last symbol and breathed a sigh of relief as the wormhole established – she had been faster.
The planet on the other side of the wormhole was just like the last planet the Tok'ra had set up their base, a desert planet with sand dunes. Sam knew that the base would not be far from the Stargate. Well, actually, Jolinar knew that, but it was also Sam's knowledge now, the Tok'ra preferred to keep close to the Stargate in order to monitor who was arriving at their planet and also to make for a quicker escape as they did not have many ships.
Sam laid down her gun in the sand and wandered a bit further away from the gate. Nothing happened, which wasn't too surprising as very few Tok'ra knew her face now. She decided to make her intentions known.
"This is Jolinar of Malkshur and I need to speak to the Tok'ra," she shouted to the empty place, and it felt weird to say that she was Jolinar. Still, this time, someone might recognize her. Her words seemed to get the point across, as very soon afterwards she was surrounded by three people pointing zat guns at her. The one right in front of her was a woman and Jolinar took over to address her.
"I need to talk to the High Council immediately," Jolinar said, not caring about proper etiquette.
She recognized the other Tok'ra in front of her – her name was Anise. The other Tok'ra shook her head. "I'm afraid that's impossible right-"
"Then make it possible, Anise."
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Anise asked, not backing down yet. Sam knew through her bond with Jolinar that there had been conflict between Jolinar and Anise before. They were both very strong-minded individuals and when they clashed, they really clashed.
Jolinar raised an eyebrow and looked even angrier. "No, I can not. I will only speak to the Council and I will do so immediately. Tell them not to inform Cordesh. And no, I will not elaborate on that."
The female Tok'ra visibly submitted to Jolinar's wishes at this point- – her whole posture changed from upright and strong to submissive. Sam wondered whether this was the Goa'uld or human in her, but when she spoke, it was with the voice of her host, Freya. "I will do what I can, Jolinar of Malkshur."
Jolinar nodded in recognition and accompanied Freya to the rings that brought them down into the base, which looked exactly like the last base had. Freya then gestured or her to stay where she was and went deeper down into the tunnels.
Martouf appeared only a few minutes later, his heavy breathing giving away that he had run the way from his quarters to the ring transporters.
"Jolinar, Sam, you are alive," he said, breathless.
"Yes, we are. And the mission was a success," Jolinar replied. Sam thought the greeting was rather cold on both side and wondered whether Martouf was still angry at Jolinar and Sam for their decision.
Martouf smiled weakly. "Really? That is good news indeed. What did you find out?"
But Jolinar only shook her head. "I am sorry, I can't tell you now. I really need to discuss this information with the Council. And quickly"
Martouf nodded. He obviously knew that this could only mean that they had found information about a spy among the Tok'ra or something equally worse. He looked around and when he saw that they were still alone he said "I am so glad you returned."
"As am I," Jolinar answered and Sam experienced once again the joy Jolinar felt at seeing Martouf – only this time even stronger, as Jolinar had stopped building barriers between herself and Sam. It was an overwhelming feeling and she knew that Jolinar would have leaped into Martouf's arms had they not been interrupted by Freya's return.
"The Council will be ready to see you in just a few more minutes."
"Good."
Anise stood in front of her, likely waiting for a word of gratitude or an explanation as to what Jolinar had experienced, but Jolinar just looked at her and Anise turned to leave after a few more moments.
Martouf lowered his head, his symbiote taking over with a flash in his yes. "You still do not like Anise, I see," he said, his amusement clear in his voice.
"I like Freya," Jolinar stated as a reply. "Anise is too... wearisome for me."
Lantash grinned. "In any case, it is very good to see you two. We were very worried for the time you were gone and afraid we would never see you again."
Jolinar was getting overwhelmed with feelings and could not look him in the eyes any longer. "As was I. There were some very close situations."
The conversation was cut short by the arrival of Delek, a member of the Tok'ra High Council. He looked stressed and rushed, but greeted them enthusiastically nonetheless. "Greetings, Jolinar and Samantha, it is good to see you again."
"Likewise, Delek," Jolinar replied. "Is the Council ready to meet with me yet?"
He nodded and extended his arm to show in which direction they needed to go. "They are eager to hear what you have to say."
*
Jolinar finished her story and handed over the crystal she had brought with her. Garshaw raised her hand to her head and rubbed her temples as though she was suffering from a headache. "Thank you for this information. I must say, these news really come at one of the most unfortunate times."
Jolinar had tried to keep it short, but Sam could still feel that her mouth was dry from all the talking. There had been very occasional questions, but most of the time it had been just Jolinar speaking. The Council members reacted visibly shaken to the exposure of the two spies, especially when Jolinar mentioned Cordesh.
Per'sus nodded in agreement with Garshaw. He was the leader of the Tok'ra High Council, who Sam had not met previously. "There is much for us to do now, and none of it will be easy. We thank you for bringing this information back to us, Jolinar and Samantha."
"What else has happened since I went away?" Jolinar asked surprised at this comment.
Delek sighed and looked at Per'sus as if to get permission to tell something. When Per'sus nodded, he answered, "Unfortunately, one of the eldest Tok'ra is dying and we have so far been unable to find a new host."
Jolinar immediately made the connection between that news and one of the missing Council members. "Selmak?" Jolinar asked for confirmation and Delek nodded.
Sam realized that this must be why the man was looking so worn-out.
"That is indeed sad news," Jolinar said. Sam felt that Jolinar had a lot of respect for the one called Selmak, but also for Selmak's host.
"Right now we can barely risk losing any of the Tok'ra, much less one of our oldest," Per'sus explained. "Even having to arrest Cordesh will be a very hard loss for us. Nevertheless it needs to be done sooner rather than later."
"There is still hope for Selmak," Thoran spoke up. He had been completely quiet during the rest of the meeting. "If we can find a host within the next few days it might not be too late yet."
"I take it that you have so far also been unable to find a new host for me?" Jolinar stated more than asked.
Per'sus nodded. "I am very sorry, but many died during the Goa'uld attack and the relocation also took some time. Then Saroosh's condition got worse and thus our efforts have focused on finding someone for Selmak. After all, we were under the impression that you might be dead."
Sam saw his point and if she was honest, the thought that Jolinar was not going to be with her forever hadn't crossed her mind in a while now. The issue also didn't feel too urgent for her at the moment.
"What are your plans now?" Garshaw asked.
Sam wasn't really sure. The last days, she had been so focused on her self-chosen mission that no other goal had been important. Maybe it would be best to return to Earth while the Tok'ra sorted out their own problems and relocated to yet another base before another attack occurred.
Jolinar gave control back to Sam. "I think I would like to return to Earth for a while. If that is possible?"
Per'sus smiled faintly. "After everything you have done for us, Samantha Carter, I am sure no one will raise any objections to whatever you plan to do right now. If you return to Earth, however, we would ask you to tell your representatives that the Tok'ra have been very occupied with their own problems in the last weeks. However, we do think that especially in the light of recent developments I think I speak for everyone when I say that," he looked around at the other Council members, seemingly waiting for an objection that didn't come, "we think that a Tok'ra-Earth alliance would be a desirable development."
Sam was surprised by this.
Jolinar laughed and Sam had to smile. "Thank you, I will certainly tell them."
"We are going to be dealing with Cordesh and Talkar very soon and will then relocate to another planet," Garshaw said. "I will inform you of our new coordinates before you leave and we can be found there in less than two days if everything if nothing unforeseeable happens. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to move Selmak in her current state, but there is no alternative since our position has been compromised yet again."
"However, we can hope that this is now a thing of the past, at least for a while," Thoran added optimistically.
The meeting over, once Sam got the coordinates from Garshaw, she walked to the gate alone, anticipating her reunion with SG-1.
Sam stepped through the gate expecting to be welcomed by soldiers pointing weapons at her, but instead she was greeted by General Hammond himself, who told her to come with him to his office with him immediately.
She closed the door behind herself and as he motioned to the seat opposite him, she sat down in the heavy chair, fully expecting to be asked to give a full report on what she had been doing the last days and why she hadn't informed Stargate Command about it.
But then she looked into the General's eyes and was surprised to see concern and... sympathy. Her heart seemed to stop for a second. No member of SG-1 had been there to welcome her – maybe something had happened to them.
"What is it, sir? Has something happened?" she asked, knowing that her concern was clearly audible to the General.
"I'm afraid something has indeed happened, Captain." Sam had never seen him look so concerned at her.
She felt fear rising inside of her. "Something with SG-1, sir?"
"No, they are all well, but on a mission right now. The Cimmerians have called for our help. No, the bad news is about your father."
Sam was so taken aback by this that she forgot to ask what had happened on Cimmeria. "My father?"
The General nodded. "He' in hospital now, and I'm afraid it's not looking good for him."
Sam stared at him. "Was there an accident?"
"No," General Hammond replied. He sighed. "I'm afraid that your father has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and it's progressing quite rapidly."
Sam felt empty--like she was standing beside herself, only watching the scene. It was like when Jolinar was using her body, but yet, not. She recognized this feeling. She had experienced it before when she had been told about her mother's accident. She remembered the complete lack of control over her emotions, her words, and how long it had taken to feel back in control again.
"How long... I mean, what's his diagnosis?"
He looked at her as though he was really fighting the urge to comfort her right now. "I'm not sure, Captain. But it's not looking good. Maybe you should go and see him, see how he is. I don't think it's really urgent right now, but... you might want to see him."
"Yes, I suppose I should...", she trailed off. This was too much. Sam felt that Jolinar felt it with her and that she was sorry for what they had just heard.
A bit of warmth spread to Sam's body, as Jolinar tried to comfort her, and then Jolinar took over control. Sam didn't mind that at all.
"My host is very shaken by this news," Jolinar said.
General Hammond raised an eyebrow at the switch in who he was talking to. "I understand, and I am very sorry to have to bring the news to Captain Carter, especially in a time like this."
Yes, Sam though. It really was all adding up on top of each other. This was getting too much for one person to handle.
"The reason we came here is because the Tok'ra have decided that they indeed want to form an official alliance with Earth. However, they are in desperate need for a new host for one of their oldest and wisest, a symbiote named Selmak. While they did not say it out loud, it is my impression that finding a willing host for a Tok'ra might be able to seal this alliance."
Sam was once again a bit annoyed by the subtleties of the Tok'ra, but at least she had Jolinar to help her with that. She hadn't even thought that they might expect of her to find a new host for Selmak.
Then she had an idea and immediately felt a bit stupid for not having had it before.
"I see," the General answered, unaware of Sam's inner conversation and obviously not too happy about the Tok'ra's need for a human host.
Jolinar gave up control over Sam's body. Sam pulled herself together enough so she could speak clearly. "General, I'd like to offer my dad to be Selmak's new host."
He looked at her in surprise. "You want to do what?"
"A Tok'ra symbiote could heal him."
"Captain, don't you think this is a bit... rushed? Maybe you should take some time to think about this first, talk to him...," he trailed off.
Sam shook her head. "General, you know my father well. He will want to fight. He will want to live. The least we can do is to give him an option, a way out."
General Hammond shrugged. "It isn't quite that easy. There are security risks that have to be considered."
Sam was getting a bit louder. Not loud, but more forceful. "We are talking about my father's life here. You yourself said that it isn't looking good, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yes, I did."
"We are in a position to be able to actually give him a chance here. How could I deny him that?"
"Captain, are you sure you want to do this?"
Sam wasn't, but she wouldn't admit that to him."Yes, I am. I need to try to save him."
The General nodded in defeat. "I understand you feels, and I will see what I can do for you. Let me talk to my superiors to get Jacob clearance and you the allowance to leave the base and then we'll get someone to drive you to the hospital."
"Thank you, sir. Has the NID come to a conclusion about me yet, by the way?"
"Not completely, no. But it seems like they are getting used to the idea. Also, we just won't tell them that you are going outside the base."
Had the situation not been so dire, Sam might have smiled.
Sam stood in front of the hospital room less than an hour afterwards. The President himself had given General Hammond the okay for informing Sam's father about everything involved in the Stargate program so he could make an informed decision. But now it was on her to explain the options to him.
She took one last breath and knocked on the door of the hospital room. When she heard a quiet "Come in" though the door, she pushed against it and stepped in.
"Dad?"
She didn't see him at first, but when she did, it almost broke her heart. Sam fought against the feelings that were trying to well up inside of her. He was lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines that were there to alarm the doctors is his heart stopped again. His skin was whiter than usually, and there were rings under his eyes. Sam didn't see much of her father these days, but she knew that the last time she had seen him he had looked so much healthier than this.
"Sam, you made it," she was greeted. Jacob sat up a little in his bed, but was interrupted by a coughing fit.
Sam waited until the fit settled down before asking him. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," her father replied and Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Dad, don't lie to me. You aren't fine." She sat down on the chair next to his bed.
He didn't respond to this. "I tried contacting you a few days ago. They only told me you were on a mission and they couldn't reach you. I wanted to talk to you about some things."
"Like your cancer?"
Jacob shook his head, but then nodded. "Well, that, too. But I also had good news for you. And I wanted to see your face when I told you."
"What good news?" Sam asked, confused.
"I talked to some people, Sam. I know that you have always dreamed of working for NASA, of being an astronaut some day. I made a call to Bollinger himself, the head of NASA."
"Dad, I..."
But Jacob interrupted her. "I told him that you’d wanted become astronaut since you were a little girl, and that you’d given up..."
"I never gave up."
"Let me finish, Sam. I told him that you gave up waiting for the Shuttle program to be reinstated after the Challenger disaster . And he agreed to be supportive of your application when you apply. You could actually be going into space."
Sam didn't know what to say. She knew by the look on his face how excited he was. Any negative response would just make him defensive and crush the tenuous good mood he now had.
"We need to talk about something," Sam said, realizing it wasn't the best opening there was.
His face froze. "Aren't you happy about NASA? I thought it was your dream."
"It was. But I need to tell you something. Something about my work." Sam was still unsure about how to tell him – she had never had to tell anyone about the Stargate project who was even remotely close to her.
Jacob coughed. "About your work? I thought I didn't have the security clearance to be told about your radar analysis."
Sam smiled weakly at his skeptic tone. "You have been granted security clearance, dad. I have been allowed to tell you what we do in Cayenne Mountain."
"Why?"
"Because we need your help."
Jacob raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything. He looked relaxed again, not as tense as he had when Sam hadn't reacted positively to his offer.
Sam nodded, only a few seconds later realizing that Jolinar could not see her and that it probably looked strange from the outside. But her dad either didn't see it or decided not to comment on it. She took a deep breath.
"In 1928, an archeology expedition to Egypt found a device near Giza. It was a big metal ring and they didn't know what to do with it, but it was brought to America for further study. It took dozens of scientists decades to figure out how it works, but in 1994, it was finally used by a team led by Colonel O'Neill. We now call that device the Stargate and we can use it to transport humans to other planets. Dad, I am not going to apply to the NASA program because not only am I going into space already, but I am actually visiting other planets."
There was silence for a while. Finally, Jacob responded. "You are kidding, right?"
Sam shook her head. "No, Dad, I am not joking. The Stargate is a device created by aliens that can create a wormhole between two of these gates and thus transport all matter to a place hundreds of light years away."
"And you... actually travel to other planets?"
"Yes. I am on a team called SG-1 that is led by Colonel O'Neill and we travel to other planets on a regular basis." Sam hoped this information wasn't too much for her father to take in all at once, especially as she had so much more to tell him still.
"Wow, this is... a bit overwhelming. There I was thinking that I could do my girl good by getting her a place into NASA and you are doing something so much greater and better."
Sam smiled. "It is an amazing job. There is so much to see and to learn out there. What we can learn from other cultures is..."
Jacob interrupted her. "Other cultures? So there actually is life out there?"
"Yes. There are hundreds, if not thousands of plants inhabited by humans out there."
"How did they get there? Through that... Stargate?"
Sam nodded. "It's a bit of a long story. To cut it short, they were taken through the Stargate from Earth by a race called the Goa'uld. They are a hostile parasitic race that takes over human bodies and usually poses as Gods, enslaving humans or using them as hosts for their offspring."
Jacob frowned. "Holy Hannah, that sounds like you met the bad guys. Do you encounter many of them?"
"We have encountered several, and we are at war with them. At the first mission, one of their most powerful leaders, Ra, was killed. And we recently defended ourselves against Apophis, who is also one of their highest rulers."
"Wow... that's just... wow. Is this what you were going to get the medal for?"
Sam nodded, feeling herself blush a little. She was still very proud of SG-1 for that mission. And of herself.
"I think I need some time to let that sink in," Jacob said. He started coughing violently again, and Sam had to wait for him to finish.
Sam sighed. "And I'd love to give you that, really. You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to tell you all this. Unfortunately, time is an issue right now."
"Okay, you said you needed my help. What could an old, dying General possibly do to help you?"
Sam laid her hand over one of his and squeezed it. "I want you to come with me - to another planet."
"Why? So I can die there?"
Sam shook her head. "No. Actually, what I'm hoping we want you to do will cure your cancer."
That made him sit up a bit straighter. "They have a cure there? What's the catch?"
She almost laughed at the familiar distrust of good news. "There is one, a big one, I won't lie to you on that. And I want you to make an informed decision on this one, so I'll try to explain. There's a group of beings that are like the Goa'uld, physiologically. But they oppose them and fight against them because they think enslaving humans is wrong. They are called the Tok'ra and they only take hosts who want to have them as symbiotes. One of the hosts is dying and the symbiote needs a new host to survive."
"And you figured I could be that... host?" Jacob said skeptical.
"Symbiotes possess enormous healing powers and can apparently heal cancer in humans. This could be your chance to defeat this."
Jacob folded his arms across his chest. "So the catch is that I would be a host to this symbiote thing?"
"Yes, exactly. You would share your body and you would probably need to live off-world a lot of the time, since Selmak is one of the leaders of the Tok'ra."
"But you are certain that this Selmak could heal me?"
Sam hesitated only a moment. "Almost certain, yes."
"So then my chances of survival would be about 99% better than they are right now, wouldn't they?"
Sam nodded.
"And you are also certain that these Tok'ra are trustworthy? I mean, I don't want to end up as a – what's it called again, a Goa'uld?"
Sam thought about whether she should not mention Jolinar. She didn't want to make her father uncomfortable, but the way it looked so far, he seemed pretty open to the idea of joining the Tok'ra. So maybe it was a good idea to show him why she knew that they were trustworthy.
Sam's father looked at her questioningly at the long pause, but he didn't say anything.
"I know this is already a lot of input for you and I promise you will have a bit more time to think about this. But to answer your question, I know that the Tok'ra deserve our trust because I carry one of them inside of me."
Jacob stared at her for a few moments. "You... are actually... one of those Tok'ra?"
Sam took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, dad. There's a Tok'ra inside of me. Would you like to speak to her?"
"Wait a minute. Does George know about this?"
Sam nodded. "He does."
"And he still let you go?" He looked surprised at this and Sam knew why. She was still viewed as a security risk, for obvious reasons.
"Well, there are people who aren't happy about this, I won't lie to you," she replied. "There's a guard at the door for a reason. General Hammond allowed me to come here, but there will also be someone else coming by as soon as I am done. Apart from having to fill out the paperwork, he will also be able to answer any questions you might have. They just wanted me to be here first." Sam understood the General's decision. She was biased in favor of the Tok'ra, there was no doubt about that. How could she not be?
"Sam, if you don't mind, could I call George? Just to check?"
Sam tried not to be disappointed by this request and nodded. "Sure. Here, let me write down his number in the SGC for you." She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her father's nightstand. She could understand him – the military trained you to not trust everything you are told. Maybe he was wondering if she had been compromised.
"I'll be back in a few," she said, standing up. Sam left the room and stood outside with the guard for what seemed like a long time, but was actually under 5 minutes. Then she knocked on the door and entered the hospital room. She sat down again. "Everything alright?"
He nodded and there was a small pause, after which Sam asked her father again. "So, do you want to talk to her?"
He hesitated a bit, but curiosity finally won. "I guess so, yes."
Sam lowered her head and allowed Jolinar to take over her body. She noticed that Jolinar suppressed the way her eyes usually glowed when she took over, probably not to frighten Sam's father.
"Greeting, Jacob Carter. My name is Jolinar of Malkshur." Jolinar didn't suppress the altered voice and Sam saw her father jump a bit at the sound of it.
"Hello," he answered, "nice to meet you, I guess. It's a bit weird to hear my daughter talk like that, I admit. Do you guys always talk like that?"
"Usually, yes. But I can also talk with your daughter's normal voice," Jolinar answered, switching the voice she used mid-sentence.
"So you're sharing my daughter's body with her, if I understand correctly?"
Jolinar nodded. "That is correct. Our minds, as you would call it exist independently of each other, but we now share this body."
Suddenly, Jacob looked worried. "Was Sam sick? Is that why she's now a host to one of your kind?"
Sam hadn't anticipated that reaction, but she had to admit it was a perfectly logical conclusion from what her father had learned so far.
"No, Samantha did not choose to be blended with me because she needed my healing capacities. In fact, our joining was more of an accident. I think she would like to tell you that story another time. But I have very much enjoyed the time I have spent with her so far, you have raised a wonderful daughter."
Without wanting to, Sam was a little embarrassed by that statement. Her father, however, looked very proud at the compliment.
"Thank you," he said.
Jolinar smiled at him. "Do you have any questions I can answer for you? I'd be very happy to help in any way I can."
"I am a bit overwhelmed right now. But.... do you know this Selmak? Is he a friendly guy, or Tok'ra? I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone I don't like." Jacob laughed.
Had Sam been in control of her body she would have laughed with him.
"To be honest, I do not know Selmak and his current host Saroosh very well, but from the few conversations I have had with them, they both seemed very friendly and nice. And funny."
"Well, funny is good."
Sam knew her father liked to laugh. She remembered him being quite a funny person before her mother's death. After that, it had taken years before she had seen him laugh again.
"I am sure you will have the opportunity to meet them and talk to them before you make your final choice."
Jacob nodded. "So, this switching thing – who gets control over the body?" He changed the topic.
"Since the relationship is symbiotic in nature, both parties usually agree who gets to be in control and speak at a given time."
Sam's father looked like he was thinking about this answer for a moment and Sam wondered whether he would ask what happened if they couldn't decide – the ugly truth of which was that ultimately, the symbiote could overrule the original owner of the body. But in the end he just said "Okay" and was silent again.
"Is there anything else I may assist you with?" Jolinar asked.
He nodded, then shook his head, his face clearly showing his confusion. "I honestly can't think of anything right now. It's just so much... Can I talk to Sam again?"
Jolinar quickly handed over control. "I'm here, dad," Sam said.
"You said time is an issue. How long do I have to decide?"
"The Tok'ra need some time for preparations," Sam answered, not mentioning what was really going on there right now. "They will be all set up in a day or two. If you agree to the blending we will send someone to tell them of your decision."
"Good. Good..." He was silent again, until the question burst out of him. "Are you happy, honey?"
Sam was taken aback by that question and pondered it for a moment. No, this was not what she had planned for her life and she was still not totally used to the other consciousness in her body, although Jolinar was beginning to feel like a normal part of her body. But in essence, everything that had happened had been a lot to take in and until now, she hadn't really thought about whether she was happy with the way things were. There had just not been enough time.
In the end, she shrugged. "I don't know, dad. But I think I will be. And I also think that knowing that you won't die in this bed surrounded by machines, knowing that you have a chance to live for much longer, would make me a lot happier." Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't know how long she would be able to fight them back for. And maybe she didn't want to fight them anymore. "I don't want to pressure you, but I just can't stand to watch you die like this." Tears started to stream down her face.
Her father looked taken aback by this display of emotion, but he opened his arms and Sam almost flung herself into his tight embrace. She hadn't had her father comfort her in a long time and letting herself be comforted by him like this brought back memories of times, long forgotten, of when she had been younger and her father had been less distant.
"I want to fight, Sam. I want to take that chance, if it's the last thing I will do."
One day later the SGC had sent a team to the Tok'ra to tell them of Sam's plan and they had agreed to it. They were almost done setting up their new base and ready to introduce Sam's father and Selmak.
SG-1 had not yet returned and so Sam had spent most of the day alternating between resting and talking to her father. Now Sam was accompanying her father deep down into Cheyenne Mountain to go through the Stargate. He was sitting in a wheelchair, but he had received enough drugs to make him feel better for a few hours. Sam hoped that would be enough.
They waited until the elevator arrived at its destination in silence. Her father hadn't spoken much since he had made his decision and Sam knew when not to bother him about something. He became withdrawn in the face of situations that evoked a lot of emotion in other people – it wasn't that he wasn't affected, but that he made it up with himself, not sharing it with the world.
As always, the elevator ride always seemed to take hours.
There was no need for anything further to be said. Just knowing that there was someone who understood - who didn't just say they understood, but actually did understand – made Sam feel better about herself already. Having Jolinar with her, it helped. Briefly, Sam wondered what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with someone who could understand her like Jolinar did. It didn't seem all that bad.
Then the elevator finally arrived at level 27, and the door opened to the familiar gray corridors of the SGC. Sam pushed her thoughts aside and pushed her father's wheelchair around the corner into the direction of the briefing room. General Hammond had requested a short meeting before they stepped through the gate to the new Tok'ra base.
"Jacob," General Hammond greeted Sam's father when they came into the briefing room. He stood up and walked to meet them in the middle of the room.
"George." Jacob tried to get up, but didn't quite manage to, instead just shaking the other man's hand vigorously. "You look good."
"I wish I could say the same about you."
The two men laughed for a moment.
"So you now have a very secret operation of your own," Jacob said while Sam pushed him to the table and sat down herself. "I must say I am impressed by what deep space radar telemetry can do."
General Hammond smiled. "You know how it works, Jacob," he said, sounding a bit apologetic.
"I do. I mean, I know you were doing something strange in this mountain, but sending people to other planets, fighting with some aliens and building alliances with others. This is huge."
Sam smiled. She loved seeing the sense of wonder on her father's face and hoped that she would see it more often now. Stepping through the gate for the first time was a huge thing for everyone, but for him, it would hopefully save his life.
The commander of Stargate Command folded his hands. "Yes, it is. And now we are hoping that some good can come out of it. Are you ready, Jacob?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"I will send a team with you and your daughter. I expect to see you back soon, without the wheelchair so I can show you the base." He stood up.
"I wouldn't miss that for the world," Sam's father replied.
Sam pushed her father to the window so he could see the Stargate standing in the gate room.
"Very impressive," he exclaimed.
"It is. Shall we go then?" Sam asked.
"Of course, Let's do this.
Upon their arrival at the Tok'ra new base, they brought Sam's father to Selmak right away.
"Selmak is a woman?" was the first thing Jacob exclaimed when he entered the chamber, leaning heavily on Martouf after having to walk through the Tok'ra tunnels from the Stargate.
Saroosh was lying on the bed Sam had last seen in her in and looked like she was in a lot of pain, but lifted her head at their entrance and mustered Jacob.
"No, but I am," she said. "You are Jacob Carter, I presume."
"That assumption is correct."
Sam grinned. "There goes the introduction I had planned for the two of you."
Saroosh's symbiote took over control of her host's body. "Come closer, Jacob Carter," Selmak said, being helped to sit up by the Tok'ra who was tending to her needs.
Sam's father stepped closer to the bed and when Selmak waved at him to sit at her bedside, he did.
"Maybe we should leave," Martouf suggested to Sam so that only she could hear him.
"Dad? Maybe you want to be alone with Selmak a bit?" Sam asked her father. She didn't want to just leave him with the Tok'ra if he needed her there.
"I don't think either of us is particularly up to anything that would require us to be alone," he replied.
Sam laughed and was shortly afterward joined by Selmak.
"He's got a sense of humor. I like that," Selmak said.
"Oh, he's an entertainer. Really, you won't stop laughing with him," Sam said.
Her father grinned. "Now she's exaggerating. But only a bit."
"Everybody thinks highly of themselves," Selmak stated.
He raised an eyebrow."Maybe, but just ask my daughter. I am a teddy bear."
Selmak smiled. "I think I like you."
"Stop, you are making me blush," he replied and they both had to start laughing. Which cause them both to cough violently.
"Personally, I think we're a great fit," Jacob said when he had caught his breath again.
"I think we can really leave you alone now," Sam said, rolling her eyes in mock despair and grabbed Martouf's shoulders. They left the room in a hurry, but stayed close enough so they could hear if anyone in that room needed them.
"Do you think that your father will choose the life as a Tok'ra?" Martouf asked.
Sam nodded. "He's a fighter. He'll gratefully accept this chance. Now they only need to choose each other as well."
"I think they will get along well," Martouf assured her.
"Do you know Selmak well?"
"I have been on some missions with him. He is very nice and loyal and... has a strange sense of humor, to say the least. I think he and your father definitely share that."
Sam laughed. Her father did indeed have a very strange sense of humor, even though he didn't usually share it with his daughter. Still, she had heard other people speak very highly of him.
Only five minutes later, Sam's father exited the chamber and joined Sam and Martouf in the hallway.
"I think I just agreed to become a host. And I am actually kind of looking forward to it."
"Very well," Martouf replied before Sam could say anything. "We shall inform Garshaw about this now."
*
Somehow, Sam had been convinced that a Tok'ra joining that didn't happen like hers would be a bit more spectacular than what she witnessed soon afterwards. At the very least, she had expected a more ritualistic character to the event, maybe certain phrases that had to be repeated or a leaving ceremony for Saroosh. While there were some of Saroosh's and Selmak's friends present, they already seemed to have said their last goodbyes to the soon to be former host of Selmak. When Sam accessed the memories of Jolinar's former bondings, though, she found that this was what it usually was like – a very intimate, but also informal event.
Jacob was given a bed to lie down next to Saroosh. Selmak would enter his body through the mouth.
"And now you need to kiss me," Saroosh said.
"You're not being serious, are you?"
Saroosh shook her head. "I am. Would you deny a dying woman her last wish?" she said, grinning even in the face of her last moments.
"Of course not," Jacob answered and edged closer to Saroosh. They whispered something that Sam couldn't understand.
Sam once again wondered how similar the host and the symbiote became after so much time together. Did they become indistinguishable from one entity until the last moment, when the symbiote could live on while the host was destined to live the last few moments alone? It was a bleak way of looking at it.
Saroosh opened her mouth. Sam could see that the other Tok'ra were closing their eyes or looking down, but she couldn't turn away as her father's mouth came into contact with Saroosh's and maybe she imagined it but she thought she could see the symbiote changing hosts through the connection.
The actual blending was also less spectacular than Sam would have thought. Her father's eyes opened a few moments after Selmak entered him and they glowed. Then he, or rather, Selmak, leaned forward and whispered some more things into Saroosh's ear and Saroosh smiled and took one final breath before closing her eyes for the last time.
Sam stepped closer to her father's bed and he looked at her.
"Let us mourn for Saroosh , but also not forget to be happy about our new member, Jacob Carter," Selmak said, in the voice of his host. He wasn't speaking loudly, but firmly enough that everyone listened to him. Sam could already tell that together they would be a force to be reckoned with.
"Can you heal him?" Sam asked.
He nodded. "It will take some time and rest, his condition is already severe. I do not know whether I could have healed him in a few days time, but it is possible now."
Sam could only nod. She wasn't able to explain it, but talking to her father without actually talking to him suddenly brought down the reality of the situation for her.
Four Tokra carried Saroosh's bed outside; Selmak lay back down to begin the healing process. It was a strange situation, and Sam didn't quite know what to do with herself.
"Would you like to watch over him?" Martouf asked her as though he had sensed her problem.
Sam nodded. Slowly, the other Tok'ra were leaving the room, likely to prepare Saroosh's funeral. She guessed that it would take place after Selmak had healed her father's body, so that Selmak could be present. For now, though, she just sat down beside his bed and watched as his new symbiote cured his body of its illnesses.
Chapter Five & Epilogue
Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Author: Yvi
Rating: PG-13
Full header in the index post
Sam woke up refreshed the next morning. Sleeping in a real bed had been good for her, and she found that she was actually quite excited about facing this new day. Looking at the clock on her nightstand she found that it was quite late in the morning already, she had slept for well over 10 hours.
When she entered the mess hall thirty minutes later, it was buzzing with people. Sam said hi to a few people she knew from the labs, but then sat down at one of the few empty tables to eat her breakfast. She was just as hungry as she had been the day before and the pancakes smelled delicious.
Five minutes later, someone sat down on her table. When she looked up, she found Daniel sitting across from her, a big plate with his own breakfast in front of him.
"Hey, Daniel," she greeted him.
"Hey, Sam." He sipped on his coffee, flinching back when the hot drink touched his lips.
Sam took a sip of her own coffee and looked at Daniel, waiting for him to say something, but nothing came. "How are you today, Daniel?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Good. I'm good," he answered, just a bit too fast to make it believable. He looked tired despite the early hour.
Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't look good."
"Thanks, that's always nice to hear," he replied and tried to laugh, but failed.
She rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. Didn't sleep well, did you?"
Daniel nodded. "Not really. Too many thoughts, you know the kind...," he trailed off and looked at his breakfast plate as though the toast on it was very interesting.
"Okay, bring it on."
Daniel just looked at her confused.
Sam leaned back in her chair. "Come on, I know you don't just happen to use the cafeteria at the same time as I do – you work until the early mornings, and almost never have breakfast anyway. On some days you live on coffee and power bars. What is it you want to talk to me about?"
He took another bite from his toast and carefully chewed before answering her. "I just wanted to hear how you are doing," he said.
"I am doing reasonably well," Sam answered, not convinced that this was his real reason for being here, but giving Daniel the time he needed. "Everything's a bit confusing, but other than that..."
"I can imagine," Daniel said. "Must be one hell of a ride."
"It is. I don't know whether to be excited or terrified or just... confused." Sam shrugged. "Very complicated," she concluded.
"Not just for you," Daniel said, very quietly, but loud enough for Sam to hear.
"Daniel, is there anything I can do for you?"
Daniel sighed. "It's just... I've been thinking about Sha're a lot lately."
Sam nodded. "I can imagine."
"Something of the host survives, doesn't it? Even with the Goa'uld?" Daniel looked at her, his eyes filled with hope, but also with fear that she would shake her head and tell him there was no chance. Sam knew what was going on behind those eyes more than Daniel probably suspected.
Sam leaned across the table and lay her hand on his. "Yes, Daniel, something of the host survives. Everything of the host survives, actually." She squeezed his hand and let go of them again.
Daniel nodded. "Do the Tok'ra know anything about where she is right now?"
Sam used her new access to Jolinar's knowledge to answer that question. "The Tok'ra seem to have lost track of her a few weeks after Apophis implanted her with the Goa'uld," she answered. "But Jolinar has been out of the loop for almost that whole time now, so maybe they know where she is after all."
He sighed. "It just all seems a bit pointless, doesn't it? I mean, even if we find her and can bring her here, we destroyed Thor's Hammer and surgery obviously doesn't work, and then there's the NID, so..."
Searching through more of Jolinar's knowledge, Sam smiled as she found something to cheer Daniel up. "The Tok'ra have devices for removing Goa'uld from a host. They don't use it often, but it seems to be working."
Daniel's eyes lit up and as usual when he was excited he started to talk fast and gesticulate wildly. "Really? You mean they can just do that. Well, it does make sense, doesn't it? I mean, they've been fighting the Goa'uld for a long time now and with their advanced technology and their knowledge of Goa'uld physiology and their wish to only have willing hosts, it certainly was only a matter of time until they thought of such a thing."
"Daniel, Daniel, stop," Sam interrupted him when he was taking a breath.
"Sorry, Sam. This is just such good news."
"I know." She smiled. "I would have told you earlier, but... everything was just so hectic."
Daniel nodded.
"You just focus on bringing her home, I am sure we'll find a way to truly get her back then."
Daniel looked down, trying not to show his emotions, but Sam knew that he was touched. "Thanks, Sam."
Sam and Martouf stood in the gateroom only one hour later, dressed in Tok'ra clothing that would nevertheless pass as Goa'uld if they were questioned. The gate was spinning already, as Jolinar had provided the SGC with the address to one of the worlds that were ruled by Cronus. Jolinar has been to this planet before and said that the gate on it was not very heavily guarded. A follower of Cronus ruled the planet, but he had a Tok'ra called Ovlek in his service. They would have to tread carefully to see Olvek without being caught by Jaffa or catching the attention of the Goa'uld ruler. However, if that happened they had prepared a cover story about wishing to serve Cronus that would hopefully get them at least to a point where they could escape.
Sam had spoken to Teal'c, but the conversation had also been short. Teal'c wasn't one for long speeches and since Jolinar had been a spy in Cronus's ranks for several years there wasn't a lot of new information coming from that source. It had been good to talk to him for a bit, though.
Sam hadn't told him she now shared Jolinar's memories, though, because she was afraid of being judged for it in some way she couldn't explain. Though she knew Teal'c wasn't one to do that. The thought of someone knowing made her slightly uncomfortable.
The rest of SG-1 was in the control room to watch them go through the gate and when the wormhole had established, Sam looked up to them and waved good-bye before she stepped through the gate. They had not sent a MALP to check out the terrain and whether the gate was guarded as that would have drawn unnecessary attention.
Sam and Martouf stepped out into a beautiful scene. To their right was a thick forest, its color a deep green. To their left were gently sloping fields, yellow-golden with what probably was a variation of wheat. A few green fields resided between the what-fields, cattle grazing peacefully. In front of them, a path following the edge of the forest led to a big city in the far distance and the sun was setting, coloring the scenery in a vibrant orange.
There was little time to enjoy the stunning view, though, and Sam and Martouf took cover behind a few scattered trees to their right side as soon as they had arrived. There was no one in sight, but still they waited until the Stargate had been closed for a few moments before walking into the direction of the village, taking cover behind the trees next to the road while they did so.
Sam and Martouf arrived in the city after half an hour and hid their weapons in their clothes as to not draw attention to themselves but still be able to defend themselves quickly should the situation require it. The city was Greek in design, built from white stone, and only sparsely guarded, which surprised Sam, as Martouf had briefly told her that while the gate was left completely unguarded, there were usually several guards on every entrance. They were there to guard the city as well as to intimidate its citizens who had to work on the fields most of the day to ensure the food supply for several other planets, most of them used for naquadah mining.
The plan was to sneak into the palace instead of taking the blunt approach that Jolinar had taken last time she wanted to talk to a Tok'ra operative. For one, they did not want to talk to the actual ruler of the planet, and another reason was that while Sam's appearance was not known to many Goa'uld, Martouf's face was a danger.
When they arrived at one of the minor gates, they watched the guards for several minutes. There were only three of them and it was obvious they didn't pay very close attention to what was going on. Nevertheless, attacking them would only cause unwanted attention.
"We should wait until dusk," Lantash suggested.
"Shouldn't be too long now," Sam agreed and sat down in the safety of the trees. They would have another hour or so before it started getting dark. Though as she now realized, there might be more guards during the night. Sam asked Martouf about that.
"Even if they increase the guards during the night, we should be able to get inside relatively easy without them seeing us. The walls are not very high and meant to keep people inside, not to keep people out."
Sam saw what he meant and nodded. The walls were about twice as high as a human of average height, so that without external means no one could climb them. But the forest also extended very close to the walls and when it was dark, they might be able to just climb on a tree and jump onto the wall. Getting down might hurt, but she had learned how to do that with minimal damage during military training. Their exercises then had been from higher heights. Besides, now she had the advantage of a built-in healing device.
Less than an hour later, it was almost dark. The last of the inhabitants of this planet seemed to return to the city, some of them laden with recently harvested crop and other with animals that Sam guessed were chosen for meat production.
Soon afterwards, Martouf started to move away from the nearby gate and towards the trees that stood close to the wall. Sam followed him, always keeping out of sight of the guards by hiding behind the trees. She could hear her heart pounding and could only hope that they wouldn't make any sounds that alerted the guards to their presence.
Finally, they reached a tree that looked like it could be easily climbed. Martouf looked at her questioningly, and Sam nodded. This would do. Martouf climbed up the tree before her, testing the branches for support. Sam climbed up behind him when he was halfway up. The climb wasn't too bad, the branches were relatively thick and well-spaced out. Martouf reached the branch that extended a bit under the top of the wall after less than two minutes and puled himself up to sit on the barrier, waiting for Sam.
Sam followed him, but could already hear a low cracking sound when she climbed on the last branch. The wall was still more than a step away and she quickly took that step and grasped at the wall, just in time to hear the wood crack completely. She looked down and saw that it was falling to the ground. It landed with an audible thud.
Her fingers firmly held on top of the wall and she tried to pull herself up, but the top seemed to be covered in moss and she started to slip. Then she felt Martouf touch her right hand.
"Let go," he whispered.
"You'll only slip yourself," Sam quietly said back, hoping that the Jaffa either couldn't hear them or would think it was people inside the city speaking. She struggled with pulling herself up, but it was a futile attempt. She let go of the border with her right hand and could feel Martouf's strong grasp. He pulled her up enough so that she could swing her right leg onto the top of the wall and after that, pulling herself up fully was no problem.
There were the sounds of footsteps. And they were coming closer, from the outer part. Sam looked at Martouf and knew that he had heard it as well.
Both of them pushed themselves off the wall.
The fall was deeper than Sam had thought – there was a ditch on the other side of the wall, probably meant to make it more difficult for the people inside the city to get up the wall. Sam landed as had learned in training and rolled off her shoulders to minimize the impact, but she could still feel a sharp pain. But it didn't feel like anything had been broken or seriously damaged, and she got up quickly. Martouf beside her seemed to be fine as well.
The landing hadn't been any less audible then the branch falling on the floor and so they weren't safe yet. There was a clear strip of land around the wall, but the first houses had been built less than a short sprint away and so Sam and Martouf did just that, they ran until they reached the first houses. But even there they only stopped for a little while and then continued further into the city, only this time slower and using the dark alleys for cover.
Following Martouf, Sam thought about what they had to do next. The palace had to be in the center of the city, that much was clear. But how would they enter it? Martouf hadn't talked about that.
*We will have to sneak in.*
Any ideas as to how?
*There are some hidden tunnels, but I am not exactly sure where they are. But if we go in by force, we certainly will not be able to get out again. Martouf will probably know what to do when we get there. Although I am not quite sure whether he had actually ever been here and went in that way.*
Do you want to do this?
*Not until I am needed. I will start to heal your injuries in the meantime.*
The city was as big as it had looked from the outside and it took them several minutes to get near the center. The streets were wider and better now, the houses a bit bigger and better cared for, though still far from quality work made by people who had much time to build their homes. These people had to work a lot and couldn't care for other things as much as they wanted.
It took them a little less than an hour to arrive near the palace. The building was big and seemed well-guarded. Sam couldn't make out any details due to the bad lighting, but she could tell that it was an impressive building, like some of the Greek official buildings she had seen in books. The Goa'uld really loved to show off with their palaces.
"There should be an unguarded entry point on the west side," Martouf whispered.
"So, have you been here before?" she whispered.
"No. But I have met Ovlek before and he told me that this was how an intruder once managed to get in. Now let us just hope that this information still applies."
They walked to the west side of the palace, taking cover in the dark alleys leading away from it. The stretch between the houses and the palace was not very wide and so Sam hoped that a good sprint while no guard watched would be everything that was needed to gain entrance.
The entry point Martouf had spoken of was not easy to find in the dark, but finally, they found it. It was far removed from the palace doors on this side and Sam felt a bit better knowing that there was a good chance the guards wouldn't see them even if they should happen to look into the right direction.
Martouf looked at Sam, and when she looked back they nodded. Sam counted to three and they both ran towards the palace walls, ducked so they would not be seen.
The entry was hidden behind two large bushes and squeezing in made some noise that Sam could only hope wouldn't be heard by the guards. Sam and Martouf pressed themselves against the cold walls and held their breaths while they listened for any signs that their arrival had been noticed. As there was no indication for that, they moved onwards.
It was very dark inside, but Martouf had brought a small flashlight with him and led the way. The corridor widened after a while, there seemed to be a whole network of hidden tunnels built into the building. At one time, they reached a dead end and had to turn back, but other than that they moved swiftly and in silence.
"This is it," Martouf whispered as they stood in what seemed to be another dead end. "Let us hope he is present." He then proceeded to knock on the wall in front of him, which sounded a lot thinner than it looked.
They waited for over a minute before the wall swung back and the entrance was cleared.
Ovlek stood a bit beside the entrance. He was a tall, but clearly old man with graying hair, but facial features that marked him as someone who you wouldn't want to come across. He stood tall and like he was used to being treated with respect. He had worked his way up in the Goa'uld ranks and it had left marks.
"Martouf." He nodded.
Jolinar took over control over Sam's body, and she and Martouf climbed out of the tunnel into the room. They were in his private quarters.
"Ovlek," Martouf replied. "This is Jolinar."
Ovlek nodded in greeting and so did Jolinar. Since Jolinar and Ovlek had never met before he didn't seem to notice the switch in host body. "How may I be of service?" he asked, formal as all the Tok'ra seemed to be on the outside.
"We only have a few brief questions and then we will be on our way again," Martouf explained. "Have you heard of the attack on the Tok'ra base?"
Ovlek nodded. "I have."
"Have you been given the new location? We were injured during the attack and could not relocate with the others."
"Yes, I have been informed briefly." He drew the coordinates on the table in front of him with his fingers, and both Sam and Jolinar memorized them.
"Good," said Martouf quietly. "We were not sure whether the new coordinates had already been given out to all operatives."
Ovlek only nodded. "If this is the only reason for your presence here then I suggest you leave quickly. This is not the safest place right now. I can show you how to get out of here without being caught."
"Actually, we are also here to ask you whether you know anything about the Ashrak that was sent after me and the attack on the base. Does Cronus have anything to do with either?" Jolinar asked.
Ovlek raised an eyebrow. "I have heard nothing about the attack from Cronus, but the news that you survived has reached Cronus, and he is not satisfied with that outcome. Whether he was the one to send the Ashrak I cannot say, however. I was planning to include that in my next official communication."
"Thank you." Jolinar looked at Martouf, who shook his head to indicate that he had no further questions. "Then let us leave," Jolinar said and thanked the other Tok'ra for the information again.
He showed them a hidden passage in the walls of his quarters out of the building so that they could avoid running into the guards and then Sam and Martouf were alone again.
"That was quick," Sam said, standing still while her eyes adjusted to the almost complete darkness of the corridor they were in.
"Yes, he can be rather... monosyllabic," Martouf replied and turned on his flashlight again.
Slowly, Sam started to be able to see her surroundings. The corridor only led one way, so the decision where to turn to was rather easy.
The corridor was long and so they walked in silence a while, until suddenly, Sam felt herself being pressed against the wall so hard that it took her breath away. No sound escaped her lips, and after a second she realized it had been Martouf who had grabbed her. She looked at him, and he pointed to his ears.
A few moments later, she could hear it as well. Footsteps, several heavy footsteps. And they were approaching. Sam didn't dare to do as much as breath as she cowered down and pressed herself against the cold stone wall. The corridor was wide here, enough space for several people to walk next to each other.
The sounds were coming closer. Sam couldn't hear how close they were as the empty corridor made all sounds echo off from the walls and thus it was hard to pinpoint the location of the source. But they were definitely getting closer.
There was no way of telling whether the footsteps came from outside the corridor or from its inside. Sam and Martouf were only a few steps away from the first crossing they had seen and Sam carefully edged closer to the turn and glanced down to her left and then to her right. There was no one in sight and so she waved for Martouf to come closer.
"Which way?" she whispered.
Martouf shrugged, then pointed to their right. Only another few dozen steps from them in that direction was a turn to the left.
But just as they were about to turn, the sounds once again became louder and Sam could catch a glimpse of metal as the first Jaffa came out of the left-hand tunnel. It didn't take long for Sam's instincts to kick in, and she turned rapidly to her right and started running down that way while pushing Martouf into the same direction.
The guards shouted. They had seen them. The corridor was long in that direction, but it still wasn't enough distance to protect Sam and Martouf from their weapons. It was still a few steps to the next turn when the first staff weapon was fired. Sam could feel it barely missing her shoulder and when it hit the wall right beside her, a few shards from the wall painfully made their way into her skin and scraped her face.
Martouf ran around the corner, Sam close behind him. But the second blast from a staff weapon hit her right knee. She didn't feel any pain, but the impact was enough to make her stumble just before she could escape around the corner. With her last reserves, she flung herself to her left to follow Martouf and landed on her hands, protecting her face from the fall. The pain from the wound finally got to her and she wanted to scream out in pain. Sam bit her lip, but a small sound still escaped her lips.
Martouf, who was already halfway down the corridor, stopped and turned around. Seeing her lying on the floor, he ran towards her.
Sam tried to get up again, but her knee wouldn't support her weight at all. When she looked down, she saw that the gash was much bigger than she had thought. She crawled more than stumbled into Martouf's direction, but she could already tell she wouldn't be able to make it. But she could delay the guards. They wouldn't get both of them.
Martouf arrived by her side and tried to help her up, but Sam shook her head, refusing his help.
"I can't. Get out," she screamed at Martouf.
"I won't leave you here," he replied. The guards were close now, and would turn the corner within seconds.
Without any hesitation, Jolinar took over. "Go, you damn fool," she said to Martouf and pushed him away from her in the direction of what she hoped would be the exit, the way to safety. She could only hope that there were no more Jaffa that way. Martouf lost his balance and took a step into the direction, but still didn't leave.
He tried to grab her hand to pull her up, but Jolinar pulled away.
That second, the Jaffa came around the corner and within a split moment, a staff weapon was directed at Sam and Martouf.
"Go," Jolinar said again and finally, Martouf did as she told him and turned to run. One of the Jaffa fired his weapon at him. It wasn't a conscious decision, but Jolinar pushed herself off the floor with what little strength she had left, ignoring the pain from the gaping wound in her leg and got up enough to throw herself in the missile's path, protecting Martouf.
The staff weapon hit her directly in the chest.
Sam awakened with every bone and every muscle in her body screaming in pain. She was lying on her back and she wanted to look at where she was, but her eyes would not open at first and so she tried to grasp her surroundings by her other senses. It was warm, almost hot wherever she was and there was a smell of burning wood. The sound of crackling fire completed the picture.
*This is not good.*
Sam had a headache and the resounding voice of her symbiote in her head did nothing to ease the pain.
Yeah, that much is clear. How bad is it?
*Well, we are not dead as we should be judging from the location of the hit, so I would conclude we have been revived by a sarcophagus.*
That's not good, right? It couldn't have been the Tok'ra?
*Tok'ra do not use the sarcophagus.
Sam tried to move her hand, but didn't get very far. Warm metal rubbed against the skin on her wrist. So she was bound. This was not going to go well indeed.
"You are awake." The voice was deep and clearly belonged to a Goa'uld. "Very good," it added.
Sam did not agree with this assessment. Finally, she was able to open her eyes and turned her head to look in the direction that the voice came from. What she saw really didn't do anything to make her feel better – the Goa'uld was tall and muscular and was already sliding on one of the Goa'uld ribbon devices. A brief glance at the big fireplace behind him revealed that there were several tools being heated by the flames.
*I have withstood torture before.*
Sam did not feel reassured by this admission.
Well, I haven't.
*We will get through this. Together.*
Sam wondered how exactly Jolinar was planning to get through this. The way this looked, they were going to get tortured, probably to death and then revived only to have that happen again until they talked. There was a door in the room, but it was guarded by two Jaffa armed with staff weapons who didn't look like they were planning to rebel against the being posing as their God.
"There is no need to draw this out, you know. Just tell me how to find your Tok'ra friends, and this will all be over."
Jolinar raised her head and looked at him as determined as possible under the circumstances. "I know nothing, and I will tell you nothing," she said.
The Goa'uld sneered. "Very well. Then this is going to be a bit more fun." The ribbon device glowed in his hand and Sam tried to prepare herself for the pain that would result from this.
However, as she soon discovered, there was no effective way to prepare for this kind of pain. Her head felt like it was about to explode, her lungs felt like she was breathing fire and her heart pounded so fast she was afraid it would break her ribs.
Then the pain dulled. It was still there, but softer, less sharp and not quite so unbearable. But instead she could now feel Jolinar inside of her screaming in pain. Jolinar was pushing Sam's mind aside, trying to protect her human mind from the pain that was designed to make her crack.
All her senses were dulled now, but the pain ebbed away. Sam could see the Goa'uld turn away and walk towards the fire, pulling one of the torture instruments out of it.
*We will get through this.*
Sam tried focusing, but it was hard. The world fogged over and shortly afterward, there was a sharp burst of pain. Something hot was touching her skin, leaving burn marks.
He talked to her, but she couldn't understand what he was saying. Sam felt Jolinar answer and knew it was her denying their torturer answers.
Another sharp pain which then gradually dulled. Sam could feel the life draining out of herself. In her mind, she wondered how often a human body was able to withstand this. Then she died the second time.
"Stop with this!" someone shouted.
Sam didn't immediately recognized the voice, but Jolinar did. It was during one of the rather short pauses in the torture, when her torturer was preparing his instruments. Jolinar was still holding on in the foreground, fiercely protecting Sam's mind in ways Sam had never thought possible. Still, every time the world turned black she felt herself dying in full intensity as Jolinar did the same and when she later woke up in the sarcophagus, Sam felt a little weaker, a little less human. She knew from Jolinar's memories that this was why the Tok'ra didn't use the sarcophagus despite that meaning that their numbers were getting smaller – it would corrupt the very essence of what the Tok'ra were.
Jolinar opened her eyes and saw that the Goa'uld who tortured them turned to face the intruder. "I am only getting started."
"We received new information," Ovlek replied.
The Goa'uld folded his arms across his chest. "Such as?" he asked skeptically.
"We shall discuss that in private."
With a short groan the Goa'uld lay aside the ribbon device he was holding and followed Ovlek out of the room. He shot Sam one last glance before stepping through the door which did nothing to settle Sam's mind, although there now was some hope rising in there. Ovlek had not looked at her in the entire time he had been in the room with her.
Sam heard some faint voices while they were away, but could not make out any of the words that were spoken.
*He will get us out of here.*
How? We ran away from the Jaffa. It's pretty obvious that you are not Goa'uld from that.
*I am sure he thought of something.*
Sam couldn't be as confident as Jolinar was, and she also felt that Jolinar was not as confident as she tried to appear. She could feel her symbiote's doubt as if it were her own.
After several more minutes, the door swung open and the Jaffa guarding the door stepped aside. But it was only Ovlek returning and he quickly moved to where Sam was bound.
"I am very sorry for this regretful mistake," he said loudly.
Sam guessed the Goa'uld was probably still standing outside, listening to them. She wondered how Ovlek had convinced him that Jolinar was actually a Goa'uld.
"This has been a terrible mistake," Ovlek stated again and started to open the cuffs holding Sam in place. The areas where they had rubbed the skin felt sore even though the sarcophagus had healed all wounds on her body very recently.
Jolinar was holding onto control of the body now, but Sam knew it was an advantage right now. Jolinar's reflexes were faster than hers and this was a dangerous situation. Sam could still feel the after-effects of the sarcophagus use, making her unfocused.
Ovlek helped her stand up and waited until the dizziness that immediately followed passed before leading her through a few corridors. They ended up in his quarters, and he carefully checked the area around his door before closing it and starting to talk. Jolinar settled down on a chair, exhausted from the physical torture despite the use of the sarcophagus.
Ovlek remained standing, from time to time glancing at the door. He talked quietly and hushed. "You can count yourself lucky that Gawar is absent right now and I have temporarily taken his place. Otherwise, I would not have been able to convince anyone that you are actually one of Cronus' spies and were handing me information that only I alone could receive. Halek did not see any reason to inform me of your capture and just started his way of retrieving information."
Jolinar bowed her head. "Thank you for your help."
Ovlek nodded in acknowledgment. "I had no idea that the secret passages were being patrolled now. That must be a recent development. My position is not safe at the moment."
"What about Martouf?" Jolinar asked, now that the situation was settling down, at least for a while, again remembering that something might have happened to Martouf and Lantash.
"For all I know he managed to escape. The guards are saying they saw two people fleeing from them, but I told them they must be mistaken and have called off the search." Ovlek started pacing the room.
Jolinar breathed a sigh of relief. Martouf might already be with the other Tok'ra by now or maybe he was hiding in the city until he could leave without fear of being caught, but he was probably alive and well. She had managed to save him. "What happens now?" Jolinar asked.
"Return to the base now if you want to. The whole palace is currently busy with preparations for the arrival of one of Cronus' new ships tomorrow. Your little visit might not attract too much attention if long as I can keep Halek from saying anything. Maybe it is time to get rid of him altogether."
Jolinar nodded, but completely disregarded the last sentence, declaring it to be Ovlek's problem. Instead, she was interested in something else Ovlek had said. "There will be one of Cronus' ships passing by soon?"
He nodded. "Tomorrow. Cronus might be on it. It is an experimental ship and he wishes to see what it is capable of. We have one spy aboard that ship already," Ovlek said.
Jolinar's thoughts were jumbled and fast, and Sam was almost unable to follow her. Jolinar suddenly wanted to board the ship, to take this opportunity to resume her work in Cronus' ranks and to find out who had betrayed her cover the last time. The idea was only half-thought out and vague, but Jolinar felt strongly about it.
And strangely, Sam felt the same desire. She wasn't sure whether it was actually herself agreeing with what Jolinar wanted or whether this was an effect of the blending, that she now shared Jolinar's goals, but she was also certain that the borders between those two options were breaking down. Or maybe they had already collapsed.
"Can you bring me aboard?" Jolinar asked, and Sam didn't protest.
Ovlek looked at her confused for a second. "Why would you want that?"
"I have my reasons." Jolinar looked him hard in the eyes, revealing no emotion to him.
Sam was taken aback by this a bit. She was also surprised by her own surprise. Somehow, she had almost forgotten that Jolinar's personality was different from her own – that Jolinar was sometimes blunt and arrogant, but also irrational in ways that Sam would never dare to. Centuries of working amidst the Tok'ra against the Goa'uld had shaped her in different ways than Sam had been through her military upbringing.
Her counterpart raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored Jolinar's tone. "To answer your question, yes, I could bring you aboard if you pose as one of the Jaffa bringing food onto the ship, which is what they are stopping here for."
"Good," Jolinar said. "That will do. I would be grateful if you would refrain from telling the Tok'ra what I am about to do."
Ovlek nodded. Sam found Jolinar's request odd, as did he apparently, but no one commented on it.
And with that, the plan was settled.
The next day, after a few hours of sleep, Sam followed the instructions she had been given by Ovlek. She entered the ship with a few Jaffa, feeling very uncomfortable in the Jaffa gear. But no one questioned her or why she had the hood covering her head. After bringing a few boxes filled with food and water aboard, she started lagging behind and finally went down a deserted corridor all by herself.
Jolinar knew quite a bit about the layout of Goa'uld motherships and this ship only slightly differed from the standard design, so in the end they ended up where they had planned to – in a completely unused area at the base of the huge ship. It was a huge ship and for a ship of this size there were relatively few Jaffa and Goa'uld aboard, so this part of the ship was unlikely to be used at all during the test journey.
Nevertheless, Sam and Jolinar treaded carefully. The ship would be launched in less than an hour and they didn't want to start wandering around until several hours after the launch when fewer people were walking around the corridors to prepare things.
This part of the ship was supposed to be used as quarters for Jaffa. The rooms were simple but livable, with four beds in each room and a bathroom for two quarters. Sam chose the last one in the dead end of a corridor and struggled out of the Jaffa uniform. Jolinar and Sam were still unsure on whether the best course of action would be to pretend to be a Jaffa or to try and sneak around the ship. The later would be a huge problem if she was caught, but the former would be a problem the moment she ran into someone and had to talk. Jaffa uniforms were not really designed to be stealthy in them.
For now, though, she could only sit and wait. She drank some water and after half an hour became bored enough to contemplate going on a little tour of the ship already, but Jolinar suggested some more patience.
*
In the end, Sam decided that wearing the Jaffa uniform would impair her movement too much. She snuck around a few of the unused corridors on the first day she was on the ship and found clothes that made her look more like our run-of-the-mill Goa'uld servant, but she would still try to avoid being seen by anyone. As she also found out during those excursions was that the ship was rather empty. Goa'uld motherships were huge and could carry thousands of Jaffa warriors to get them into battle, but this ship seemed to barely have one hundred Jaffa on board and only one or two dozen Goa'uld with their human servants.
In essence, Sam and Jolinar could explore the ship relatively un-bothered. It dropped in and out of hyperspace a few times and Sam guessed this was because they were experimenting with the drive. She would have liked to go into the engine room or see what was happening on the bridge, but that was where most of the action was centered, and she couldn't really risk just trying to pass for one of the human servants a few of the Goa'uld had brought.
After the first day, she got rather confident in her knowledge of the ship and went more into the inner regions where the private quarters of the Goa'uld and their close servants were located. Sam still had to get used to the fact that the Goa'uld had human servants like that – when she traveled with SG-1, they mostly encountered Jaffa and humans who worshiped the Goa'uld, but not those that were around the Goa'uld constantly and were responsible for their master's well-being.
Sam contemplated trying to pose as one of those servants, but decided against it because of the risks. While most of the Goa'uld she had so far encountered didn't seem like they would notice which humans were around them, they would be able to sense Jolinar. Also, she didn't really want to think about whether the Goa'uld were in the habit of using their human servants for something more than bringing them food. And so far, she hadn't figured out how to get off this ship again unless she stayed on it until it landed.
Many of the doors she encountered while walking through that part of the ship were locked and she didn't have anything with her to open them by force. That also would have attracted too much attention.
She was standing at a corner in a corridor, thinking of a way to get into one of the used quarters where she might be able to gather some information when someone ran into her. She hadn't seen or heard him coming and staggered to hold her balance.
"I am very sorry," the man said in a low voice, looking at the floor. "Please forgive me." He apparently thought that she was a Goa'uld.
Jolinar had lived pretending to be a Goa'uld for many decades and her reflexes kicked in. She pushed aside Sam's mind and took over control. "Whom do you serve?" she demanded to know.
What are you doing?
Sam had wanted to just go on, hoping the servant would forget he ever saw her and now Jolinar was talking to him.
"I serve Lord Talkar," the man answered.
Sam froze. She had heard the name before. Actually, she had met him before, on the planet Jolinar had visited with her to get information on the Tok'ra base location. He was the one that Jolinar had suspected of sending the Ashrak.
"Where does your Lord reside?"
Are you crazy?
Sam couldn't believe what Jolinar was doing. She was going to try and sneak into Talkar's quarters, Sam could feel it.
The human servant described the way to Talkar's quarters.
"You can go now," Jolinar dismissed him afterward.
*I am not going to look for his quarters right now, if this is what you are concerned about. It is just an option to consider.*
Good then.
Sam remained unconvinced, but didn't voice her concerns. Jolinar and Talkar seemed to have a history of differing opinions and minor fights that seemed to have no apparent reason.
They walked on and Sam was just about to go around another corner when she could hear the sound of a door first opening and closing. There was the sound of footsteps. Sam walked another step forward and carefully looked around the corner. A figure that looked like a Goa'uld was walking in the opposite direction.
She waited until the figure had disappeared around the next bend before entering the corridor herself. Jolinar didn't object to her plan and so Sam proceeded to the door on the right-hand side that the Goa'uld probably came from. She tried the opening mechanism, not expecting it to work, but the door opened without any further problems. Sam pushed herself against the wall in surprise, but nothing happened. She entered the room.
It was a rather simple room, yet a lot more luxurious than the Jaffa quarters she had seen so far. Sam concluded that it was indeed one of the Goa'uld quarters and not used for the human servants. It was spacious and held more than the necessary furniture.
But Sam couldn't look around for long before there was a noise from the door. Instinctively, Sam flung herself into the first hiding place she could find – the empty wardrobe. Someone came into the quarters, and the door closed behind him.
The person moved around some more and then there was silence for a while. Just as Sam thought she might risk opening the wardrobe door a bit to see what was going on, she heard a Goa'uld voice.
"What are you contacting me for?" the voice said impatiently.
There was an answer and Sam figured that the Goa'uld had been contacted by a long-range communications device. But Sam couldn't understand what it was saying. The voice wasn't talking very loudly.
"Then speak," the Goa'uld replied.
"There is not much time," the voice said a bit louder and Sam could tell that she knew this voice. Well, not she, but Jolinar did. She pressed her ear harder against the wood.
"Then speak quickly," the Goa'uld said impatiently. "Cronus has not been pleased with your silence lately."
"I see," the other Goa'uld replied. "Well, I have new information. Most of the Tok'ra could escape the last attack and have relocated. I am transferring the new location to you now."
Now Jolinar recognized the voice. It belonged to a Tok'ra named Cordesh, whom she had talked to when she was on base quite frequently. Well, he called himself a Tok'ra, but surely, if he willingly handed over information like this he wasn't really one...
"The last attack wasn't very successful and Cronus was not pleased with that outcome. The Tok'ra appeared to have been forewarned," the Goa'uld replied. Sam could hear him pacing the room.
"I assure you if they were forewarned they certainly didn't hear from me," Cordesh defended himself. Sam felt slightly sick at hearing him talk like that. While Jolinar and he hadn't been friends, they had still been friendly towards each other. But there was no doubt as to who that voice belonged to.
"You can only hope that Cronus believes you, Cordesh," the Goa'uld said, eliminating any doubt Sam could have had about the identity of the spy in the Tok'ra ranks. She was shocked by this discovery. "I will notify Cronus of what you said when he joins us here in two days time. This ship's technology will certainly make an attack... more successful. Make sure to contact me again."
"I will."
Their conversation was over and Sam held her breath when the Goa'uld's attention shifted away from the communication device again. But there was no need for her nervousness as he left the room only minutes later. Shortly afterwards, she stepped out of her hiding place and didn't bother to search the room any further – she had certainly gained enough new information right now.
The door opened and Sam carefully into the corridor. Coming out of a Goa'uld's personal quarters would certainly attract attention. But the corridor was empty. She was able to make it back down to the deserted areas of the ship without being noticed. Her heart didn't stop beating quickly until minutes after she sat down on the floor in the room she had chosen for herself.
*I would have never suspected him.*
Sam leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a moment. She needed to rest for a while, let this sink in. It definitely had not been what she had expected.
I know you didn't.
*This is a huge loss for the Tok'ra movement. We must leave the ship and tell them as soon as possible. Before the new base is also attacked and more people die.*
Sam felt the sadness that Jolinar felt when she thought about the blow this would be to the Tok'ra. With their few numbers, every Tok'ra counted and every loss was hard. Of course the Council had to be informed of this quickly so steps could be taken. Sam wondered what these steps would involve.
Do you think he had something to do with the Ashrak attack?
*Quite possibly, yes. He could certainly have gathered information on where I was, even if he never heard about it officially. I probably told him myself that I was being sent to one of Cronus's planets.*
Sam knew that Jolinar was getting angry at herself and quickly tried to change the subject.
How are we going to get out of here?
*Well, we cannot wait until the ship lands the next time, as we had planned. We could, but that could take days. If they plan to use this ship in the attack, maybe as a test for a new weapons system, and that is what that sounded like, that might not be enough time to warn the others.*
So we will need a ship.
*Yes. There are definitely gliders on board and likely there are also cargo ships. I can imagine that they are not being too heavily guarded on a ship like this. Though there will definitely be Jaffa around that area.*
Sam thought about this and agreed with Jolinar. A cargo ship capable of entering hyperspace would be very good for getting off the ship and onto a planet that had a Stargate.
And what do we do about this ship?
*About this ship?*
They are planning to use it in the attack. Maybe we can do something about that?
*If we could get close to the engine and the weapons system, maybe.*
Are you familiar with this kind of technology?
*A bit.*
By the next day, after some rest, Sam and Jolinar had come up with a rudimentary plan. Sam had actually managed to convince Jolinar that they would not pursue Talkar further. It would add too much of a risk to this already risky plan.
The engine room was in the ship's core. On a ship this big that meant it was quite far away from the bridge. Sam stepped into the Jaffa uniform she had with her, hoping that it would keep anyone from second-guessing her purpose.
To her surprise, what she had planned actually worked. No one even took notice of her as she made her way through the ship, and as she approached the core region, she managed to join a group of five Jaffa that seemed to be going into the same direction. Inwardly, Sam was terrified, but she tried to get around that by concentrating on appearing as a Jaffa. Her steps were hard and she tried to look tall, carrying her staff weapon as she had seen Jaffa do countless times before.
As it turned out, the group she was following really had the engine room as its goal. The Jaffa entered a code on the door and then stepped into the big room, none of them questioning her about her intentions. Sam slowed down a little, and, when she lagged a few steps behind the Jaffa, turned to the right. There was several small rooms on each side of the engine room and her goal was a part of the weapon system. If she could just remove the right crystals in those controls, the ones responsible for the cooling mechanisms, nothing would seem wrong at first, until the weapons were being fired at high speed, at which point the temperature in the systems would rise and hopefully cause an explosion.
Apart from the Jaffa that she had followed earlier, she couldn't hear anyone. Sam looked into several of the rooms before she found a control console that Jolinar recognized as definitely belonging to the weapon systems.
Sam knelt down to work, but found that it was almost impossible in the too big uniform. "Damn," she muttered under her breath. She could not handle the delicate crystals like this. A quick glance outside assured her that there were no Jaffa standing outside and so she went into a corner and got rid of the uniform as fast as possible. She hid it behind what seemed to be some garbage from the ship's construction.
Finally able to work, Sam knelled down beside the control console and opened it with a push. There were blue, green and orange crystals and Sam just hoped Jolinar recognized the configuration.
Which one?
*The blue ones, I would guess.*
Guessing isn't enough right now. There isn't much time.
*I know. But I have never seen this specific configuration before.*
Then blue it is.
*Remove the upper blue crystal and switch the lower right one with the red one beside it. Also take the yellow one on the lower left side, it should contain back-ups of the weapon system configuration. That might be useful.*
Sam did as Jolinar told her to. The ship did not crash, which she took as a good sign.
That was it?
*I do not know. But we do not have any way to test it.*
Sam closed the console again and put the crystals she had just removed into one of her pockets. As Jolinar said, there was no way to test whether this manipulation actually worked. Now all she needed to do was get back to her quarters until she could be sure that the sabotage hadn't been witnessed and then sneak into the glider bay and steal a glider. She put the Jaffa uniform on again, which proved to be quite tricky.
Another glance outside assured her that once again, the path was clear and so she made her way to the door of the engine room. It opened automatically when approached from the inside and Sam stepped through, the door closing behind her.
*Maybe we should proceed to the glider bay immediately.*
Why the change of plans?
*I just have a bad feeling. Removing the crystals might alert someone soon after all.*
Sure, we can go to the glider bay as soon as possible. Should we get rid of the uniform before that?
*Maybe. The way there might require an a bit... more subtle approach.*
Sam walked through the corridors that would lead her back closer to the glider room, as she had a few times before since this was also the way to the lower levels. There were abandoned quarters on the way, something she had discovered earlier. Their doors weren't locked in any way, so Sam just entered one of them, her hand on the zat gun. But it wasn't necessary, the room was empty. She struggled out o the uniform again and left it in a corner.
After Sam left the room, she made sure that no one was around. The hallway was empty and so she left confident enough no one would hear her that she shot the door opening mechanism. At the very least, it would make it harder for someone to enter that room now. She was nervous. The uniform had offered a kind of security, even though she knew that should anyone have actually talked to her, her cover would have been blown.
Sam continued on her way to the glider bay, this time sneaking through the corridors, her back against the walls on more than one occasion. She was caught completely off-guard when suddenly a door only a few steps away from her slid back and ducked back into a corridor she had just left. She walked into the direction away from the door, trying not to make a sound when she realized she could hear two sets of footsteps, one from behind her and one in front of her.
The sound coming from ahead stopped and Sam edged closer into that direction. Whoever it had been that had just exited the door also passed her position without noticing. And then Sam realized that she was in the part of the ship where she had met Talkar's servant. The footsteps came closer again and Sam pressed her body against the wall as hard as she could and didn't dare to breathe.
But the figure passed by her, not seeing her at all. It was indeed the familiar figure of Talkar. Once he had turned around the next corner, Sam slowly leaned out of the corridor to see whether the path was clear and when she saw that it was safe, she walked to the door to Talkar's quarters.
*This is the only chance we will get for this.*
I know. It's still stupid.
While Sam really believed that it was a stupid idea, especially since she had just managed to talk Jolinar out of this plan earlier this day, curiosity got the better of her. The door to his quarters was open in less than a minute's time. Sam slid in and let the door close behind her, exhaling loudly in relief when she saw that the room was indeed empty.
It was what looked like a standard Goa'uld quarters, very few personal things lying on the surfaces. He certainly hadn't been on board this ship long and also wasn't planning to stay for long.
Sam could only hope that he would stay away for as long as she needed to find... whatever it was that she was hoping to find. There was a nightstand and a table, but she found nothing of interest on there. Next were the drawers next to the bed, in which she found a ribbon device and a communication device, but nothing that was out of the ordinary.
"Found anything interesting so far?"
Sam froze. She knew that voice and she was in trouble now. Her mind raced as she considered her options, but there were few of them. She had a zat weapon, but it was hidden from view and she knew she also had one directed at her. He had talked like he knew he had the upper hand. There was only one exit from the room and Talkar was standing there right now, blocking it. She needed more time to think about what to do. But she didn't have time.
She turned around. Talkar had a zat weapon aimed at her from his left hand and was wearing a ribbon device on his right. The door behind him was closed. With not a moment's hesitation, he hit her with a blast from the ribbon device. Sam's body flew backward and crashed into the drawer. The weapon dropped out of her hand and fell to the floor next to her.
"I knew I saw someone standing in that corridor, trying to disappear into the shadows when I went by," Talkar said, his eyes flashing in anger.
There was no more doubt in Sam's mind that this... being was not what he pretended to be. He certainly was not the loyal Tok'ra he pretended to be.
Before Sam could react, she felt Jolinar take control, Sam's eyes flashing as well in the process.
"So you are not even trying to pretend that we are on the same side anymore, are you?" Jolinar said angrily and got up from the floor.
Talkar did not do anything to stop her. "Oh, but I am on your side. Well, not on your side specifically. But I am still one of the Tok'ra."
Jolinar raised an eyebrow. "A Tok'ra who attacks another Tok'ra is a Goa'uld and will be treated accordingly." She was in no position to make threats, but she was angry at him and at herself. They should have never entered his quarters. This was not going to end well.
Talkar lowered the ribbon device a bit, but the zat was still pointed at Sam. He was tense enough that in the time she would need to get out her weapon and aim, she would by lying on the floor in pain from the next blast.
"Be assured that I would not attack any other Tok'ra. Only you, Jolinar of Malkshur."
"Interesting. What have I done to deserve such high honors?" Jolinar responded.
His voice became human again, but lost nothing of its snide and angry tone. "Do you really not know? It is hard for me to think that."
"Well, if you are going to send the Jaffa to torture me anyway, you might as well tell me why. Not that I will tell them anything. Others have tried that and failed."
Had Sam been in control, she would have flinched a bit at the memory of the last experience with Goa'uld torture methods. This way, all Talkar could see was the cold determination that Jolinar was projecting outside.
"Oh, but I am not planning on handing you over. You still do not understand. I am not against the Tok'ra, just against you. I would never hand over a Tok'ra with so much valuable information to the Goa'uld." He paused. " No, I will just kill you myself."
"You are nothing more than a Goa'uld." Jolinar's voice was dripping with hate, but inwardly, she was mostly confused. The news about Cordesh's betrayal were still so fresh and now she could not understand what Talkar was saying.
"Do you even still remember Zamat, Jolinar of Malkshur?"
Jolinar froze at the mention of this name. Sam saw images of a dark-haired woman with eyes and skin almost black in color. She had been a Tok'ra as well, her host had been called Ilaina. "How could I ever forget Zamat?" Jolinar whispered. Sam felt guilt and regret wash over her.
"So at least you do not forget the people you kill."
"I did not kill her," Jolinar shouted, but Sam could tell that this wasn't the whole truth and that Jolinar did feel responsible for the woman's death, even if not directly.
Her opponent raised the ribbon device again, hate and the pain of loss clearly visible on his face. "You left her to die at the hands of Ra. You might as well have killed her."
"I tried to save her."
Sam knew what had happened now. Jolinar, blended with Rosha at that time, had been on a mission with Zamat and Ilaina. It had started out as a fairly routine mission, the objective being to find out how much naquadah was being mined on one of Ra's planets.
Then everything had gone to hell as Ra himself had shown up and noticed them. Jolinar could flee from his troops in a glider, but Zamat and Ilaina didn't make it. Jolinar had brought the sad news of the loss of two more Tok'ra back to the base. It was a sad story that now affected even Sam, as she thought of the memory.
"You only tried to save yourself. You never cared about her life."
Realization dawned in Jolinar. "She was your mate, wasn't she?" she whispered. She had never made that connection, but now it seemed so obvious. She had seen him grief for her for months. He had also been the only one who had expressed anger towards her after she had returned for saving herself instead of going back and had advocated in favor of a rescue mission for Zamat.
Talkar didn't answer that question. "You left her to die," he repeated.
"So you gave Cronus my position so he could send the Ashrak after me. Or maybe you even sent it yourself. I am sorry for your loss, I really am, but you are taking this several steps too far. Killing me will not bring her back. And killing my host would be killing someone completely uninvolved in this."
Sam was starting to panic while Jolinar was trying to stall Talkar. He had sent the assassin and he would kill both of them in cold blood soon. He didn't seem to be one for torture and drawn-out deaths, Sam concluded from the fact that he wouldn't have witnessed Jolinar's death by the Ashrak's hands. Talkar would be completely satisfied knowing that Jolinar was dead. And with her, Sam.
"Oh, I know it won't bring her back. I am not stupid."
There was still a weapon next to her. Jolinar lowered her head a bit to determine where exactly it was, hoping that Talkar wouldn't notice it. It was only just out of reach of her right arm.
"I am also not interested in punishing you. Your death will be quick and..."
Jolinar rolled to her right, picking up the weapon in the process. Talkar was not slow either, and hit her with the ribbon device before she could take aim. But he hadn't aimed well and didn't fully hit her. Her left side was flung back, but her right was unaffected.
She raised her arm and fired the zat weapon. Talkar jumped out of the way and the blue bolt missed him. He raised his hand, about to hit Jolinar and Sam again when Jolinar fired the zat gun again and hit him.
Talkar fell the the ground, his body shaking from the electricity running through his body. Jolinar squeezed the weapon tighter, preparing to fire at him a second time.
Don't.
*Why not?*
We can't kill him, he's a Tok'ra.
*I think he has proven that he is not.*
He is just grieving. He isn't evil.
*And what do you suggest we do with him?*
Talkar was still on the floor, but the effects of the weapon were already starting to wear off.
There must be another way.
Sam could tell Jolinar was getting annoyed with her, but there was not enough time for an argument.
*If we let him live we will have to flee the ship before someone finds him.*
But Sam could tell that she had won this argument. Jolinar was already looking around and within a few seconds, she had decided on a course of action and took the ribbon device from Talkar's hand.
*I do not particularly enjoy doing this.*
Jolinar let the ribbon device slide on her left hand and pointed it at Talkar's forehead.
What are you doing?
*This will make him unconscious, at least for a longer while than the zat'ni'ka'tel will.*
Talkar was looking at her now, unable to move but apparently aware of what she was doing, as his eyes were wide with fear.
"I am not going to kill you. And if you keep quiet, maybe the Council will even decide in your favor," Jolinar said and activated the device. Talkar looked as though he was about to say something, but then his eyes rolled backwards and his body went limp.
*I know that I am going to regret this. He will only tell the Goa'uld more about the Tok'ra.*
Or maybe he will realize that what he tried to do was wrong.
Jolinar didn't answer, instead trying her best to hide the unconscious body of Talkar in his quarters. Finally, she bound his hands together behind his back with a light blanket, shoved his body under the bed and placed a few cushions so that he wouldn't be seen from the door should someone enter. It was the best they could do under the circumstances.
And now?
Jolinar was already half-way to the door. She stopped.
*Now we need to get off this ship as soon as possible before someone finds him*
Jolinar stepped out of the door and shot the door control twice. It would now be a problem to open the door from either side.
Sam agreed with Jolinar's assessment, and Jolinar gave her the option as to who would be in control. While Jolinar knew the way better than Sam, Sam also had access to the information now and preferred to have control over her own body. She started to walk firmly in the direction of the glider bay, but not as though she was in a hurry, hoping that they wouldn't encounter any Goa'uld on their way. She had not much more than a couple of minutes before Talkar would wake up and not much time afterwards before he would raise an alarm.
Jolinar and Sam were lucky and encountered only two human servants until they were almost there and so the goal of the glider bay was getting closer. Then, of course, her luck ran out. Turning a corner directly before the bay, she ran directly into a Goa'uld and his Jaffa escort.
"Please excuse me," Sam instinctively tried pretending to be one of the human servants, only a second too late realizing that likely wasn't the best way.
"Watch where you are going," the Goa'uld said harshly and started to walk away, but then hesitated. He must have sensed that she was carrying a symbiote.
She started to run before any of the Jaffa realized what was going on. Behind her, she could already hear the Goa'uld shouting at his Jaffa to go after her. Jolinar didn't comment at all, trying not to distract Sam.
It wasn't far now and she ran as fast as she could and arrived at her destination barely one minute later. There were two Jaffa guarding the door to the glider bay, but the door was also standing wide open and Jolinar took the Jaffa out with her zat gun before either of them could even realize what was going on.
The Jaffa behind Sam were already firing their staff weapons towards her. They missed by a lot, but she would soon have to slow down to enter the cargo ship and then they would have a chance to aim at her before they fired.
Thankfully there were three cargo ships standing in the bay, and to Sam's surprise one of them had its doors open. Maybe something had been transported into the mothership by it and it had to be unloaded, but there wasn't much time to think about such matters. She ran through the doors of the cargo ship and hit the button to close the doors behind her hard. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the Jaffa coming towards her, but she was already on her way towards the controls of the ship. Behind her, a staff weapon blast hit the doors of the cargo ship.
Sam didn't have any experience with a ship such as this and so Jolinar took over for her without any hesitation. For a painfully long second, the cargo ship did not respond to her commands and she was almost ready to jump out of her seat to run into the engine room when the ship finally raised from the ground.
More staff weapon blasts hit the small ship. Jolinar enabled the ship's shield, but even so they had to be quick. There were enough gliders for a small army in the bay.
The mother ha'tak's glider doors were remote-controlled and Sam was immensely relieved when they opened for them. Obviously, there had not yet been a ship-wide alarm, or those functions would have been blocked.
Jolinar accelerated the tel'tak as fast as she could, squeezing through the opening with not much space to both sides. There were a lot of gliders on board of this ship. Not a lot of Jaffa, but enough to follow and eliminate one small cargo ship.
And they were following the cargo ship. Jolinar flew out into space. Soon afterward there were the first blasts of the glider weapons flying through the empty void around the ship. One of them hit the tel'tak, causing it to shake. So far, the shields were doing their job and no damage was done.
Jolinar was a good pilot, Sam had to admit that. Still, these cargo ships weren't designed for speed and also not to be flown by only one person. If anything happened, she would have to fix it manually and for that she would have to leave the cockpit.
*We are going to enter hyperspace now. This might get rough.*
The ship was at maximum speed and already buckling like crazy. On the screen Sam could see that there were four gliders following her.
How will entering hyperspace accomplish anything?
*Gliders cannot open a window themselves. They will try to follow us, but... You will see.*
It didn't sound like Jolinar was actually sure what she was doing, but Sam trusted her enough to not say anything. There were, after all, no alternative plans in sight and little time to think of something else.
Jolinar pushed a few buttons and the ship entered hyperspace with a jump. And then it directly exited hyperspace again.
Is something wr...
Sam didn't get to finish the sentence, as Jolinar led the ship into a narrow curve and then directly jumped into hyperspace again. Her body was pushed against the seat.
What the hell are you doing?
*Getting rid of the gliders.*
They dropped out of hyperspace again, and she was jerked forward. Two gliders had managed to follow them despite Jolinar's efforts at shaking them off. Jolinar repeated the maneuver one more time.
*Unfortunately, we are running out of energy.*
Sam didn't know what to say. They were in the middle of nowhere in open space now and Jolinar was telling her that they were running out of fuel.
Can we still...
*Damn.*
Before Sam could ask what else was wrong, she saw it. One of the gliders was still following them, apparently manned by a very skilled pilot who matched Jolinar's skills. Jolinar was busy with simultaneously evading his weapon fire and finding out where in space they were.
*There is still energy enough to get to the nearest planet – it is not very far.*
Good.
Soon the planet that Jolinar had found showed up on their short-range sensors. So far, the glider hadn't been able to cause any substantial damage and they could only hope that it stayed that way. Although this region of space was not completely empty of human and Goa'uld settlements, Jolinar could not tell whether it had a Stargate.
Finally, they could see the small planet, which at least looked like it was able to sustain life.
*We need to land.*
He will shoot us down if we try to land.
*Not if we evade his weapons until we are flying very low and then use the ring transporters to get on the ground.*
It only took Sam a second this time to draw from Jolinar's memories. If there was no ring platform nearby, the rings just went straight down out of the ship and would be able to get them to the ground.
Are you mad? Even if that works we still don't know whether there even is a Stargate on this planet.
*I am scanning for that now.*
Sam could tell Jolinar was growing impatient. The stress of simultaneously thinking of a plan, evading the glider's fire and arguing with Sam were getting to her.
There was a Stargate on the planet as Jolinar soon found out, but no ring platforms. She flew lower, evading the glider's weapons as well as she could. They would have to get down via ring transporters without a platform.
The ship was taking hits now and each one of them made the shields weaker and the ship more unstable. Jolinar was having trouble controlling it, keeping it steady. It would not get them much further.
Then, as she had steadied the ship rather low on the ground, Jolinar pulled it upwards again, hoping to confuse the glider pilot into thinking they were actually leaving the planet by ship again. Jolinar jumped out of the chair and ran to the ring transporter room, hitting the button to activate the rings as she passed by the door. The rings came down and encompassed Sam and Jolinar. Sam could feel the ship sinking with no one stabilizing it. She could only hope it wouldn't hit the ground anywhere near her.
The rings transported her to the ground beneath the ship. Jolinar reacted fast, running away from the ship, which was tumbling towards the ground. The glider was still firing at it, not having noticed Jolinar's maneuver so far. Still, one of the blasts hit the ground close to her. Jolinar tried to run even faster.
How far is the gate?
*Behind that hill.*
The hill was rather steep and the ground was stony. Jolinar struggled upwards, stumbling as she hit a rock with her foot. Sam could feel the pain emanating from her toes. A loud explosion made her stumble even further – the cargo ship had crashed to the ground. There was no time to look back, so Jolinar resumed climbing.
She could hear the sound of a glider landing behind her. That Jaffa was determined enough to get her to land and try to catch her on ground. Sam was sure that he would be highly rewarded if he could capture her, but she still wasn't going to let that happen. With only a zat gun as a means to defend herself, she could only hope to outrun the Jaffa, open the Stargate and dial out to the Tok'ra base before he could follow her.
Sam pushed her body as much as she could, running over the stony ground. Looking over her shoulder in a hurry she saw that the Jaffa had now left the glider and was following her, staff weapon in his hand.
The Stargate was in sight now, but the Jaffa was now also firing his weapon. At this distance he couldn't really hit her, but dialing the gate would take time and leave her plain in sight for him to aim at her. Sam briefly contemplated trying to hide instead, but aside from the fact that there wasn't much to hide behind on this planet, Talkar was surely awake by now and the Jaffa would have informed the mothership of their position. Soon this planet would be swarming with Jaffa.
She reached the DHD and started dialing the first coordinates that came to mind. No place to hide, she dialed as fast as could, trying to ignore the blasts missing her by only inches now. The Stargate spun as Sam finished dialing. She ducked behind the DHD, blindly firing her zat in the Jaffa's direction.
The staff weapon fire ceased for a few moments, but Sam did not assume she had hit the Jaffa. By now, the wormhole exploded into existence.
It wasn't a long way from the DHD to the gate and Sam ran it backwards, both firing at the Jaffa and ducking away from his weapon fire at the same time. Shortly before she arrived at the event horizon, one of the blasts came directly at her. Sam turned and jumped through the open wormhole.
Sam hit the ground hard when arriving on the other side. Years of military training made her roll into a ball instinctively when she hit the ground. The wormhole closed behind her, but there was an explosion she could not see but that sounded like it was very close to her. The Jaffa had fired one last staff weapon blast at her before the Stargate had disengaged.
Getting up, the right shoulder that she had landed on hurt a lot and Sam wondered whether she had dislocated it. Moving it around a bit, she dismissed that possibility and started to pay more attention to her surroundings. She was on a clearing in a thick forest and the DHD was very close to the gate. Sam hurried to the DHD and recalled the coordinates she had learned from Ovlek. She dialed as fast as she could, hoping that even if they were trying to follow her and had seen the address she had dialed, she would be faster. She punched in the last symbol and breathed a sigh of relief as the wormhole established – she had been faster.
The planet on the other side of the wormhole was just like the last planet the Tok'ra had set up their base, a desert planet with sand dunes. Sam knew that the base would not be far from the Stargate. Well, actually, Jolinar knew that, but it was also Sam's knowledge now, the Tok'ra preferred to keep close to the Stargate in order to monitor who was arriving at their planet and also to make for a quicker escape as they did not have many ships.
Sam laid down her gun in the sand and wandered a bit further away from the gate. Nothing happened, which wasn't too surprising as very few Tok'ra knew her face now. She decided to make her intentions known.
"This is Jolinar of Malkshur and I need to speak to the Tok'ra," she shouted to the empty place, and it felt weird to say that she was Jolinar. Still, this time, someone might recognize her. Her words seemed to get the point across, as very soon afterwards she was surrounded by three people pointing zat guns at her. The one right in front of her was a woman and Jolinar took over to address her.
"I need to talk to the High Council immediately," Jolinar said, not caring about proper etiquette.
She recognized the other Tok'ra in front of her – her name was Anise. The other Tok'ra shook her head. "I'm afraid that's impossible right-"
"Then make it possible, Anise."
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Anise asked, not backing down yet. Sam knew through her bond with Jolinar that there had been conflict between Jolinar and Anise before. They were both very strong-minded individuals and when they clashed, they really clashed.
Jolinar raised an eyebrow and looked even angrier. "No, I can not. I will only speak to the Council and I will do so immediately. Tell them not to inform Cordesh. And no, I will not elaborate on that."
The female Tok'ra visibly submitted to Jolinar's wishes at this point- – her whole posture changed from upright and strong to submissive. Sam wondered whether this was the Goa'uld or human in her, but when she spoke, it was with the voice of her host, Freya. "I will do what I can, Jolinar of Malkshur."
Jolinar nodded in recognition and accompanied Freya to the rings that brought them down into the base, which looked exactly like the last base had. Freya then gestured or her to stay where she was and went deeper down into the tunnels.
Martouf appeared only a few minutes later, his heavy breathing giving away that he had run the way from his quarters to the ring transporters.
"Jolinar, Sam, you are alive," he said, breathless.
"Yes, we are. And the mission was a success," Jolinar replied. Sam thought the greeting was rather cold on both side and wondered whether Martouf was still angry at Jolinar and Sam for their decision.
Martouf smiled weakly. "Really? That is good news indeed. What did you find out?"
But Jolinar only shook her head. "I am sorry, I can't tell you now. I really need to discuss this information with the Council. And quickly"
Martouf nodded. He obviously knew that this could only mean that they had found information about a spy among the Tok'ra or something equally worse. He looked around and when he saw that they were still alone he said "I am so glad you returned."
"As am I," Jolinar answered and Sam experienced once again the joy Jolinar felt at seeing Martouf – only this time even stronger, as Jolinar had stopped building barriers between herself and Sam. It was an overwhelming feeling and she knew that Jolinar would have leaped into Martouf's arms had they not been interrupted by Freya's return.
"The Council will be ready to see you in just a few more minutes."
"Good."
Anise stood in front of her, likely waiting for a word of gratitude or an explanation as to what Jolinar had experienced, but Jolinar just looked at her and Anise turned to leave after a few more moments.
Martouf lowered his head, his symbiote taking over with a flash in his yes. "You still do not like Anise, I see," he said, his amusement clear in his voice.
"I like Freya," Jolinar stated as a reply. "Anise is too... wearisome for me."
Lantash grinned. "In any case, it is very good to see you two. We were very worried for the time you were gone and afraid we would never see you again."
Jolinar was getting overwhelmed with feelings and could not look him in the eyes any longer. "As was I. There were some very close situations."
The conversation was cut short by the arrival of Delek, a member of the Tok'ra High Council. He looked stressed and rushed, but greeted them enthusiastically nonetheless. "Greetings, Jolinar and Samantha, it is good to see you again."
"Likewise, Delek," Jolinar replied. "Is the Council ready to meet with me yet?"
He nodded and extended his arm to show in which direction they needed to go. "They are eager to hear what you have to say."
*
Jolinar finished her story and handed over the crystal she had brought with her. Garshaw raised her hand to her head and rubbed her temples as though she was suffering from a headache. "Thank you for this information. I must say, these news really come at one of the most unfortunate times."
Jolinar had tried to keep it short, but Sam could still feel that her mouth was dry from all the talking. There had been very occasional questions, but most of the time it had been just Jolinar speaking. The Council members reacted visibly shaken to the exposure of the two spies, especially when Jolinar mentioned Cordesh.
Per'sus nodded in agreement with Garshaw. He was the leader of the Tok'ra High Council, who Sam had not met previously. "There is much for us to do now, and none of it will be easy. We thank you for bringing this information back to us, Jolinar and Samantha."
"What else has happened since I went away?" Jolinar asked surprised at this comment.
Delek sighed and looked at Per'sus as if to get permission to tell something. When Per'sus nodded, he answered, "Unfortunately, one of the eldest Tok'ra is dying and we have so far been unable to find a new host."
Jolinar immediately made the connection between that news and one of the missing Council members. "Selmak?" Jolinar asked for confirmation and Delek nodded.
*Delek and Selmak are very close friends.*
Sam realized that this must be why the man was looking so worn-out.
"That is indeed sad news," Jolinar said. Sam felt that Jolinar had a lot of respect for the one called Selmak, but also for Selmak's host.
"Right now we can barely risk losing any of the Tok'ra, much less one of our oldest," Per'sus explained. "Even having to arrest Cordesh will be a very hard loss for us. Nevertheless it needs to be done sooner rather than later."
"There is still hope for Selmak," Thoran spoke up. He had been completely quiet during the rest of the meeting. "If we can find a host within the next few days it might not be too late yet."
"I take it that you have so far also been unable to find a new host for me?" Jolinar stated more than asked.
Per'sus nodded. "I am very sorry, but many died during the Goa'uld attack and the relocation also took some time. Then Saroosh's condition got worse and thus our efforts have focused on finding someone for Selmak. After all, we were under the impression that you might be dead."
Sam saw his point and if she was honest, the thought that Jolinar was not going to be with her forever hadn't crossed her mind in a while now. The issue also didn't feel too urgent for her at the moment.
"What are your plans now?" Garshaw asked.
Sam wasn't really sure. The last days, she had been so focused on her self-chosen mission that no other goal had been important. Maybe it would be best to return to Earth while the Tok'ra sorted out their own problems and relocated to yet another base before another attack occurred.
*That is completely up to you, Samantha. After all the excitement, maybe you want to have some downtime?*
Jolinar gave control back to Sam. "I think I would like to return to Earth for a while. If that is possible?"
Per'sus smiled faintly. "After everything you have done for us, Samantha Carter, I am sure no one will raise any objections to whatever you plan to do right now. If you return to Earth, however, we would ask you to tell your representatives that the Tok'ra have been very occupied with their own problems in the last weeks. However, we do think that especially in the light of recent developments I think I speak for everyone when I say that," he looked around at the other Council members, seemingly waiting for an objection that didn't come, "we think that a Tok'ra-Earth alliance would be a desirable development."
Sam was surprised by this.
*I think that was a compliment to you, Samantha.*
Yeah, that's why I am so surprised.
Jolinar laughed and Sam had to smile. "Thank you, I will certainly tell them."
"We are going to be dealing with Cordesh and Talkar very soon and will then relocate to another planet," Garshaw said. "I will inform you of our new coordinates before you leave and we can be found there in less than two days if everything if nothing unforeseeable happens. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to move Selmak in her current state, but there is no alternative since our position has been compromised yet again."
"However, we can hope that this is now a thing of the past, at least for a while," Thoran added optimistically.
The meeting over, once Sam got the coordinates from Garshaw, she walked to the gate alone, anticipating her reunion with SG-1.
Sam stepped through the gate expecting to be welcomed by soldiers pointing weapons at her, but instead she was greeted by General Hammond himself, who told her to come with him to his office with him immediately.
This doesn't sound good.
*Indeed, he did look rather worried.*
She closed the door behind herself and as he motioned to the seat opposite him, she sat down in the heavy chair, fully expecting to be asked to give a full report on what she had been doing the last days and why she hadn't informed Stargate Command about it.
But then she looked into the General's eyes and was surprised to see concern and... sympathy. Her heart seemed to stop for a second. No member of SG-1 had been there to welcome her – maybe something had happened to them.
"What is it, sir? Has something happened?" she asked, knowing that her concern was clearly audible to the General.
"I'm afraid something has indeed happened, Captain." Sam had never seen him look so concerned at her.
She felt fear rising inside of her. "Something with SG-1, sir?"
"No, they are all well, but on a mission right now. The Cimmerians have called for our help. No, the bad news is about your father."
Sam was so taken aback by this that she forgot to ask what had happened on Cimmeria. "My father?"
The General nodded. "He' in hospital now, and I'm afraid it's not looking good for him."
Sam stared at him. "Was there an accident?"
"No," General Hammond replied. He sighed. "I'm afraid that your father has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and it's progressing quite rapidly."
Sam felt empty--like she was standing beside herself, only watching the scene. It was like when Jolinar was using her body, but yet, not. She recognized this feeling. She had experienced it before when she had been told about her mother's accident. She remembered the complete lack of control over her emotions, her words, and how long it had taken to feel back in control again.
"How long... I mean, what's his diagnosis?"
He looked at her as though he was really fighting the urge to comfort her right now. "I'm not sure, Captain. But it's not looking good. Maybe you should go and see him, see how he is. I don't think it's really urgent right now, but... you might want to see him."
"Yes, I suppose I should...", she trailed off. This was too much. Sam felt that Jolinar felt it with her and that she was sorry for what they had just heard.
*Words cannot express how sorry I am, Samantha.*
A bit of warmth spread to Sam's body, as Jolinar tried to comfort her, and then Jolinar took over control. Sam didn't mind that at all.
"My host is very shaken by this news," Jolinar said.
General Hammond raised an eyebrow at the switch in who he was talking to. "I understand, and I am very sorry to have to bring the news to Captain Carter, especially in a time like this."
Yes, Sam though. It really was all adding up on top of each other. This was getting too much for one person to handle.
"The reason we came here is because the Tok'ra have decided that they indeed want to form an official alliance with Earth. However, they are in desperate need for a new host for one of their oldest and wisest, a symbiote named Selmak. While they did not say it out loud, it is my impression that finding a willing host for a Tok'ra might be able to seal this alliance."
Sam was once again a bit annoyed by the subtleties of the Tok'ra, but at least she had Jolinar to help her with that. She hadn't even thought that they might expect of her to find a new host for Selmak.
Then she had an idea and immediately felt a bit stupid for not having had it before.
Can my dad be healed by a Tok'ra?
"I see," the General answered, unaware of Sam's inner conversation and obviously not too happy about the Tok'ra's need for a human host.
*I am pretty sure he could. Do you think this is a wise idea, Samantha?*
I think it can't hurt to try.
Jolinar gave up control over Sam's body. Sam pulled herself together enough so she could speak clearly. "General, I'd like to offer my dad to be Selmak's new host."
He looked at her in surprise. "You want to do what?"
"A Tok'ra symbiote could heal him."
"Captain, don't you think this is a bit... rushed? Maybe you should take some time to think about this first, talk to him...," he trailed off.
Sam shook her head. "General, you know my father well. He will want to fight. He will want to live. The least we can do is to give him an option, a way out."
General Hammond shrugged. "It isn't quite that easy. There are security risks that have to be considered."
Sam was getting a bit louder. Not loud, but more forceful. "We are talking about my father's life here. You yourself said that it isn't looking good, didn't you?"
He nodded. "Yes, I did."
"We are in a position to be able to actually give him a chance here. How could I deny him that?"
"Captain, are you sure you want to do this?"
Sam wasn't, but she wouldn't admit that to him."Yes, I am. I need to try to save him."
The General nodded in defeat. "I understand you feels, and I will see what I can do for you. Let me talk to my superiors to get Jacob clearance and you the allowance to leave the base and then we'll get someone to drive you to the hospital."
*Do you think your father will agree to the blending?*
He doesn't have a lot of options, does he? All we can really do is ask.
"Thank you, sir. Has the NID come to a conclusion about me yet, by the way?"
"Not completely, no. But it seems like they are getting used to the idea. Also, we just won't tell them that you are going outside the base."
Had the situation not been so dire, Sam might have smiled.
Sam stood in front of the hospital room less than an hour afterwards. The President himself had given General Hammond the okay for informing Sam's father about everything involved in the Stargate program so he could make an informed decision. But now it was on her to explain the options to him.
She took one last breath and knocked on the door of the hospital room. When she heard a quiet "Come in" though the door, she pushed against it and stepped in.
"Dad?"
She didn't see him at first, but when she did, it almost broke her heart. Sam fought against the feelings that were trying to well up inside of her. He was lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines that were there to alarm the doctors is his heart stopped again. His skin was whiter than usually, and there were rings under his eyes. Sam didn't see much of her father these days, but she knew that the last time she had seen him he had looked so much healthier than this.
*I am so sorry, Samantha.*
"Sam, you made it," she was greeted. Jacob sat up a little in his bed, but was interrupted by a coughing fit.
Sam waited until the fit settled down before asking him. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," her father replied and Sam raised an eyebrow.
"Dad, don't lie to me. You aren't fine." She sat down on the chair next to his bed.
He didn't respond to this. "I tried contacting you a few days ago. They only told me you were on a mission and they couldn't reach you. I wanted to talk to you about some things."
"Like your cancer?"
Jacob shook his head, but then nodded. "Well, that, too. But I also had good news for you. And I wanted to see your face when I told you."
"What good news?" Sam asked, confused.
"I talked to some people, Sam. I know that you have always dreamed of working for NASA, of being an astronaut some day. I made a call to Bollinger himself, the head of NASA."
"Dad, I..."
But Jacob interrupted her. "I told him that you’d wanted become astronaut since you were a little girl, and that you’d given up..."
"I never gave up."
"Let me finish, Sam. I told him that you gave up waiting for the Shuttle program to be reinstated after the Challenger disaster . And he agreed to be supportive of your application when you apply. You could actually be going into space."
Sam didn't know what to say. She knew by the look on his face how excited he was. Any negative response would just make him defensive and crush the tenuous good mood he now had.
"We need to talk about something," Sam said, realizing it wasn't the best opening there was.
His face froze. "Aren't you happy about NASA? I thought it was your dream."
"It was. But I need to tell you something. Something about my work." Sam was still unsure about how to tell him – she had never had to tell anyone about the Stargate project who was even remotely close to her.
Jacob coughed. "About your work? I thought I didn't have the security clearance to be told about your radar analysis."
Sam smiled weakly at his skeptic tone. "You have been granted security clearance, dad. I have been allowed to tell you what we do in Cayenne Mountain."
"Why?"
"Because we need your help."
Jacob raised an eyebrow in disbelief, but didn't say anything. He looked relaxed again, not as tense as he had when Sam hadn't reacted positively to his offer.
*Maybe you should start at the beginning.*
Sam nodded, only a few seconds later realizing that Jolinar could not see her and that it probably looked strange from the outside. But her dad either didn't see it or decided not to comment on it. She took a deep breath.
"In 1928, an archeology expedition to Egypt found a device near Giza. It was a big metal ring and they didn't know what to do with it, but it was brought to America for further study. It took dozens of scientists decades to figure out how it works, but in 1994, it was finally used by a team led by Colonel O'Neill. We now call that device the Stargate and we can use it to transport humans to other planets. Dad, I am not going to apply to the NASA program because not only am I going into space already, but I am actually visiting other planets."
There was silence for a while. Finally, Jacob responded. "You are kidding, right?"
Sam shook her head. "No, Dad, I am not joking. The Stargate is a device created by aliens that can create a wormhole between two of these gates and thus transport all matter to a place hundreds of light years away."
"And you... actually travel to other planets?"
"Yes. I am on a team called SG-1 that is led by Colonel O'Neill and we travel to other planets on a regular basis." Sam hoped this information wasn't too much for her father to take in all at once, especially as she had so much more to tell him still.
"Wow, this is... a bit overwhelming. There I was thinking that I could do my girl good by getting her a place into NASA and you are doing something so much greater and better."
Sam smiled. "It is an amazing job. There is so much to see and to learn out there. What we can learn from other cultures is..."
Jacob interrupted her. "Other cultures? So there actually is life out there?"
"Yes. There are hundreds, if not thousands of plants inhabited by humans out there."
"How did they get there? Through that... Stargate?"
Sam nodded. "It's a bit of a long story. To cut it short, they were taken through the Stargate from Earth by a race called the Goa'uld. They are a hostile parasitic race that takes over human bodies and usually poses as Gods, enslaving humans or using them as hosts for their offspring."
Jacob frowned. "Holy Hannah, that sounds like you met the bad guys. Do you encounter many of them?"
"We have encountered several, and we are at war with them. At the first mission, one of their most powerful leaders, Ra, was killed. And we recently defended ourselves against Apophis, who is also one of their highest rulers."
"Wow... that's just... wow. Is this what you were going to get the medal for?"
Sam nodded, feeling herself blush a little. She was still very proud of SG-1 for that mission. And of herself.
"I think I need some time to let that sink in," Jacob said. He started coughing violently again, and Sam had to wait for him to finish.
Sam sighed. "And I'd love to give you that, really. You have no idea how much it means to me to be able to tell you all this. Unfortunately, time is an issue right now."
"Okay, you said you needed my help. What could an old, dying General possibly do to help you?"
Sam laid her hand over one of his and squeezed it. "I want you to come with me - to another planet."
"Why? So I can die there?"
Sam shook her head. "No. Actually, what I'm hoping we want you to do will cure your cancer."
That made him sit up a bit straighter. "They have a cure there? What's the catch?"
She almost laughed at the familiar distrust of good news. "There is one, a big one, I won't lie to you on that. And I want you to make an informed decision on this one, so I'll try to explain. There's a group of beings that are like the Goa'uld, physiologically. But they oppose them and fight against them because they think enslaving humans is wrong. They are called the Tok'ra and they only take hosts who want to have them as symbiotes. One of the hosts is dying and the symbiote needs a new host to survive."
"And you figured I could be that... host?" Jacob said skeptical.
"Symbiotes possess enormous healing powers and can apparently heal cancer in humans. This could be your chance to defeat this."
Jacob folded his arms across his chest. "So the catch is that I would be a host to this symbiote thing?"
"Yes, exactly. You would share your body and you would probably need to live off-world a lot of the time, since Selmak is one of the leaders of the Tok'ra."
"But you are certain that this Selmak could heal me?"
Sam hesitated only a moment. "Almost certain, yes."
"So then my chances of survival would be about 99% better than they are right now, wouldn't they?"
Sam nodded.
"And you are also certain that these Tok'ra are trustworthy? I mean, I don't want to end up as a – what's it called again, a Goa'uld?"
Sam thought about whether she should not mention Jolinar. She didn't want to make her father uncomfortable, but the way it looked so far, he seemed pretty open to the idea of joining the Tok'ra. So maybe it was a good idea to show him why she knew that they were trustworthy.
Could you talk to him for a bit? Telling him a bit about your side of the story?
*I would be honored to do that.*
Good. Then I'll just tell him my side.
Sam's father looked at her questioningly at the long pause, but he didn't say anything.
"I know this is already a lot of input for you and I promise you will have a bit more time to think about this. But to answer your question, I know that the Tok'ra deserve our trust because I carry one of them inside of me."
Jacob stared at her for a few moments. "You... are actually... one of those Tok'ra?"
Sam took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, dad. There's a Tok'ra inside of me. Would you like to speak to her?"
"Wait a minute. Does George know about this?"
Sam nodded. "He does."
"And he still let you go?" He looked surprised at this and Sam knew why. She was still viewed as a security risk, for obvious reasons.
"Well, there are people who aren't happy about this, I won't lie to you," she replied. "There's a guard at the door for a reason. General Hammond allowed me to come here, but there will also be someone else coming by as soon as I am done. Apart from having to fill out the paperwork, he will also be able to answer any questions you might have. They just wanted me to be here first." Sam understood the General's decision. She was biased in favor of the Tok'ra, there was no doubt about that. How could she not be?
"Sam, if you don't mind, could I call George? Just to check?"
Sam tried not to be disappointed by this request and nodded. "Sure. Here, let me write down his number in the SGC for you." She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from her father's nightstand. She could understand him – the military trained you to not trust everything you are told. Maybe he was wondering if she had been compromised.
"I'll be back in a few," she said, standing up. Sam left the room and stood outside with the guard for what seemed like a long time, but was actually under 5 minutes. Then she knocked on the door and entered the hospital room. She sat down again. "Everything alright?"
He nodded and there was a small pause, after which Sam asked her father again. "So, do you want to talk to her?"
He hesitated a bit, but curiosity finally won. "I guess so, yes."
Sam lowered her head and allowed Jolinar to take over her body. She noticed that Jolinar suppressed the way her eyes usually glowed when she took over, probably not to frighten Sam's father.
"Greeting, Jacob Carter. My name is Jolinar of Malkshur." Jolinar didn't suppress the altered voice and Sam saw her father jump a bit at the sound of it.
"Hello," he answered, "nice to meet you, I guess. It's a bit weird to hear my daughter talk like that, I admit. Do you guys always talk like that?"
"Usually, yes. But I can also talk with your daughter's normal voice," Jolinar answered, switching the voice she used mid-sentence.
"So you're sharing my daughter's body with her, if I understand correctly?"
Jolinar nodded. "That is correct. Our minds, as you would call it exist independently of each other, but we now share this body."
Suddenly, Jacob looked worried. "Was Sam sick? Is that why she's now a host to one of your kind?"
Sam hadn't anticipated that reaction, but she had to admit it was a perfectly logical conclusion from what her father had learned so far.
"No, Samantha did not choose to be blended with me because she needed my healing capacities. In fact, our joining was more of an accident. I think she would like to tell you that story another time. But I have very much enjoyed the time I have spent with her so far, you have raised a wonderful daughter."
Without wanting to, Sam was a little embarrassed by that statement. Her father, however, looked very proud at the compliment.
"Thank you," he said.
Jolinar smiled at him. "Do you have any questions I can answer for you? I'd be very happy to help in any way I can."
"I am a bit overwhelmed right now. But.... do you know this Selmak? Is he a friendly guy, or Tok'ra? I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone I don't like." Jacob laughed.
Had Sam been in control of her body she would have laughed with him.
"To be honest, I do not know Selmak and his current host Saroosh very well, but from the few conversations I have had with them, they both seemed very friendly and nice. And funny."
"Well, funny is good."
Sam knew her father liked to laugh. She remembered him being quite a funny person before her mother's death. After that, it had taken years before she had seen him laugh again.
"I am sure you will have the opportunity to meet them and talk to them before you make your final choice."
Jacob nodded. "So, this switching thing – who gets control over the body?" He changed the topic.
"Since the relationship is symbiotic in nature, both parties usually agree who gets to be in control and speak at a given time."
Sam's father looked like he was thinking about this answer for a moment and Sam wondered whether he would ask what happened if they couldn't decide – the ugly truth of which was that ultimately, the symbiote could overrule the original owner of the body. But in the end he just said "Okay" and was silent again.
"Is there anything else I may assist you with?" Jolinar asked.
He nodded, then shook his head, his face clearly showing his confusion. "I honestly can't think of anything right now. It's just so much... Can I talk to Sam again?"
Jolinar quickly handed over control. "I'm here, dad," Sam said.
"You said time is an issue. How long do I have to decide?"
"The Tok'ra need some time for preparations," Sam answered, not mentioning what was really going on there right now. "They will be all set up in a day or two. If you agree to the blending we will send someone to tell them of your decision."
"Good. Good..." He was silent again, until the question burst out of him. "Are you happy, honey?"
Sam was taken aback by that question and pondered it for a moment. No, this was not what she had planned for her life and she was still not totally used to the other consciousness in her body, although Jolinar was beginning to feel like a normal part of her body. But in essence, everything that had happened had been a lot to take in and until now, she hadn't really thought about whether she was happy with the way things were. There had just not been enough time.
In the end, she shrugged. "I don't know, dad. But I think I will be. And I also think that knowing that you won't die in this bed surrounded by machines, knowing that you have a chance to live for much longer, would make me a lot happier." Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't know how long she would be able to fight them back for. And maybe she didn't want to fight them anymore. "I don't want to pressure you, but I just can't stand to watch you die like this." Tears started to stream down her face.
Her father looked taken aback by this display of emotion, but he opened his arms and Sam almost flung herself into his tight embrace. She hadn't had her father comfort her in a long time and letting herself be comforted by him like this brought back memories of times, long forgotten, of when she had been younger and her father had been less distant.
"I want to fight, Sam. I want to take that chance, if it's the last thing I will do."
One day later the SGC had sent a team to the Tok'ra to tell them of Sam's plan and they had agreed to it. They were almost done setting up their new base and ready to introduce Sam's father and Selmak.
SG-1 had not yet returned and so Sam had spent most of the day alternating between resting and talking to her father. Now Sam was accompanying her father deep down into Cheyenne Mountain to go through the Stargate. He was sitting in a wheelchair, but he had received enough drugs to make him feel better for a few hours. Sam hoped that would be enough.
They waited until the elevator arrived at its destination in silence. Her father hadn't spoken much since he had made his decision and Sam knew when not to bother him about something. He became withdrawn in the face of situations that evoked a lot of emotion in other people – it wasn't that he wasn't affected, but that he made it up with himself, not sharing it with the world.
*How are you feeling, Samantha?*
Aren't you able to tell that?
*Yes, I am. I just thought you might wish to talk about this a bit.*
As always, the elevator ride always seemed to take hours.
It's... very strange. I mean, I know that this might be the one thing that can save him and on the other hand... I feel selfish.
*For not wanting him to die?*
For not wanting him to die because I can't deal with it.
*I do not think of you as being selfish. I think you are a very caring person.*
Still, I also feel like I am somehow betraying him by just shipping him off. I know that's not what I am doing, but it feels that way.
*I understand.*
There was no need for anything further to be said. Just knowing that there was someone who understood - who didn't just say they understood, but actually did understand – made Sam feel better about herself already. Having Jolinar with her, it helped. Briefly, Sam wondered what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with someone who could understand her like Jolinar did. It didn't seem all that bad.
Then the elevator finally arrived at level 27, and the door opened to the familiar gray corridors of the SGC. Sam pushed her thoughts aside and pushed her father's wheelchair around the corner into the direction of the briefing room. General Hammond had requested a short meeting before they stepped through the gate to the new Tok'ra base.
"Jacob," General Hammond greeted Sam's father when they came into the briefing room. He stood up and walked to meet them in the middle of the room.
"George." Jacob tried to get up, but didn't quite manage to, instead just shaking the other man's hand vigorously. "You look good."
"I wish I could say the same about you."
The two men laughed for a moment.
"So you now have a very secret operation of your own," Jacob said while Sam pushed him to the table and sat down herself. "I must say I am impressed by what deep space radar telemetry can do."
General Hammond smiled. "You know how it works, Jacob," he said, sounding a bit apologetic.
"I do. I mean, I know you were doing something strange in this mountain, but sending people to other planets, fighting with some aliens and building alliances with others. This is huge."
Sam smiled. She loved seeing the sense of wonder on her father's face and hoped that she would see it more often now. Stepping through the gate for the first time was a huge thing for everyone, but for him, it would hopefully save his life.
The commander of Stargate Command folded his hands. "Yes, it is. And now we are hoping that some good can come out of it. Are you ready, Jacob?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"I will send a team with you and your daughter. I expect to see you back soon, without the wheelchair so I can show you the base." He stood up.
"I wouldn't miss that for the world," Sam's father replied.
Sam pushed her father to the window so he could see the Stargate standing in the gate room.
"Very impressive," he exclaimed.
"It is. Shall we go then?" Sam asked.
"Of course, Let's do this.
Upon their arrival at the Tok'ra new base, they brought Sam's father to Selmak right away.
"Selmak is a woman?" was the first thing Jacob exclaimed when he entered the chamber, leaning heavily on Martouf after having to walk through the Tok'ra tunnels from the Stargate.
Saroosh was lying on the bed Sam had last seen in her in and looked like she was in a lot of pain, but lifted her head at their entrance and mustered Jacob.
"No, but I am," she said. "You are Jacob Carter, I presume."
"That assumption is correct."
Sam grinned. "There goes the introduction I had planned for the two of you."
Saroosh's symbiote took over control of her host's body. "Come closer, Jacob Carter," Selmak said, being helped to sit up by the Tok'ra who was tending to her needs.
Sam's father stepped closer to the bed and when Selmak waved at him to sit at her bedside, he did.
"Maybe we should leave," Martouf suggested to Sam so that only she could hear him.
"Dad? Maybe you want to be alone with Selmak a bit?" Sam asked her father. She didn't want to just leave him with the Tok'ra if he needed her there.
"I don't think either of us is particularly up to anything that would require us to be alone," he replied.
Sam laughed and was shortly afterward joined by Selmak.
"He's got a sense of humor. I like that," Selmak said.
"Oh, he's an entertainer. Really, you won't stop laughing with him," Sam said.
Her father grinned. "Now she's exaggerating. But only a bit."
"Everybody thinks highly of themselves," Selmak stated.
He raised an eyebrow."Maybe, but just ask my daughter. I am a teddy bear."
Selmak smiled. "I think I like you."
"Stop, you are making me blush," he replied and they both had to start laughing. Which cause them both to cough violently.
"Personally, I think we're a great fit," Jacob said when he had caught his breath again.
"I think we can really leave you alone now," Sam said, rolling her eyes in mock despair and grabbed Martouf's shoulders. They left the room in a hurry, but stayed close enough so they could hear if anyone in that room needed them.
"Do you think that your father will choose the life as a Tok'ra?" Martouf asked.
Sam nodded. "He's a fighter. He'll gratefully accept this chance. Now they only need to choose each other as well."
"I think they will get along well," Martouf assured her.
"Do you know Selmak well?"
"I have been on some missions with him. He is very nice and loyal and... has a strange sense of humor, to say the least. I think he and your father definitely share that."
Sam laughed. Her father did indeed have a very strange sense of humor, even though he didn't usually share it with his daughter. Still, she had heard other people speak very highly of him.
Only five minutes later, Sam's father exited the chamber and joined Sam and Martouf in the hallway.
"I think I just agreed to become a host. And I am actually kind of looking forward to it."
"Very well," Martouf replied before Sam could say anything. "We shall inform Garshaw about this now."
*
Somehow, Sam had been convinced that a Tok'ra joining that didn't happen like hers would be a bit more spectacular than what she witnessed soon afterwards. At the very least, she had expected a more ritualistic character to the event, maybe certain phrases that had to be repeated or a leaving ceremony for Saroosh. While there were some of Saroosh's and Selmak's friends present, they already seemed to have said their last goodbyes to the soon to be former host of Selmak. When Sam accessed the memories of Jolinar's former bondings, though, she found that this was what it usually was like – a very intimate, but also informal event.
Jacob was given a bed to lie down next to Saroosh. Selmak would enter his body through the mouth.
"And now you need to kiss me," Saroosh said.
"You're not being serious, are you?"
Saroosh shook her head. "I am. Would you deny a dying woman her last wish?" she said, grinning even in the face of her last moments.
"Of course not," Jacob answered and edged closer to Saroosh. They whispered something that Sam couldn't understand.
Sam once again wondered how similar the host and the symbiote became after so much time together. Did they become indistinguishable from one entity until the last moment, when the symbiote could live on while the host was destined to live the last few moments alone? It was a bleak way of looking at it.
Saroosh opened her mouth. Sam could see that the other Tok'ra were closing their eyes or looking down, but she couldn't turn away as her father's mouth came into contact with Saroosh's and maybe she imagined it but she thought she could see the symbiote changing hosts through the connection.
The actual blending was also less spectacular than Sam would have thought. Her father's eyes opened a few moments after Selmak entered him and they glowed. Then he, or rather, Selmak, leaned forward and whispered some more things into Saroosh's ear and Saroosh smiled and took one final breath before closing her eyes for the last time.
Sam stepped closer to her father's bed and he looked at her.
"Let us mourn for Saroosh , but also not forget to be happy about our new member, Jacob Carter," Selmak said, in the voice of his host. He wasn't speaking loudly, but firmly enough that everyone listened to him. Sam could already tell that together they would be a force to be reckoned with.
"Can you heal him?" Sam asked.
He nodded. "It will take some time and rest, his condition is already severe. I do not know whether I could have healed him in a few days time, but it is possible now."
Sam could only nod. She wasn't able to explain it, but talking to her father without actually talking to him suddenly brought down the reality of the situation for her.
Four Tokra carried Saroosh's bed outside; Selmak lay back down to begin the healing process. It was a strange situation, and Sam didn't quite know what to do with herself.
"Would you like to watch over him?" Martouf asked her as though he had sensed her problem.
Sam nodded. Slowly, the other Tok'ra were leaving the room, likely to prepare Saroosh's funeral. She guessed that it would take place after Selmak had healed her father's body, so that Selmak could be present. For now, though, she just sat down beside his bed and watched as his new symbiote cured his body of its illnesses.
Chapter Five & Epilogue