Location: SGC Briefing Room

  POV: Marina Karssen

  Rina’s mind was still reeling.

  “You what?” she asked Carter, who was seated across from her.

  “Oh, this was before your time,” Jack explained.

  “Yeah, I gathered,” Marina answered dryly.

  “Jolinar. That was the name of the Goa’uld—or Tok’ra—that took control of me,” Samantha said, a faint note of discomfort in her voice at the memory.

  “How did you survive that?” Rina pressed.

  Nothing of the host survives.

  “Jolinar gave their life to save me,” Carter said, “And now I’m having these visions and—” She hesitated for a second before turning toward Hammond. “General Hammond, if I may. These Tok’ra were on the run. They may be in trouble. Now, if we want to find them again, we should find them before they move on, and my vision is the only lead we have to go on.”

  “Well, hang on,” Daniel cut in, “Are you really sure that these Tok'ra are what Jolinar said they were? I mean, good guys, for lack of a better word.”

  “Yes,” Samantha replied firmly.

  “Yes? Just yes?” Jack prodded, “Could you elaborate a little?”

  “I'm sorry Colonel. I know it's hard to understand. I don't really understand it myself, but I am sure. I…I just know.”

  “According to Jaffa legend, the Tok'ra are the Goa'uld resistance,” Teal’c put in, “Their stated goal is the destruction of the system lords and a change in the ways of the empire. They are hunted and despised by the Goa'uld.”

  Destroy the system lords? Rina’s mind repeated, an inkling of uncertainty rising within her, All of them…?

  “Well, Colonel,” Hammond said, pulling Marina out of her thoughts, “I'm prepared to send SG-1 through to the coordinates Captain Carter saw in her vision, if you agree.”

  “Colonel,” Samantha said, “I know you're skeptical about these things, but I am confident that I am right on this one.”

  O’Niell studied her for a moment, silence weighing on the group.

  “Let’s check it out,” he relented.

  As SG-1 filed into the hall a minute later, Rina kept her eyes fixed on Carter’s back, her mind still processing everything she’d heard.

  What was it like for her? she wondered, Being a Goa’uld host? Or…Tok’ra host, I guess.

  A group of Goa’uld that hated other Goa’uld…well, maybe that wasn’t exactly mindblowing. According to what little she’d heard from Ba’al, it seemed to Rina that most Goa’uld hated each other.

  Is it really a good idea to go looking for these ‘Tok’ra’ people?

  Rina shook the thought away. What even were the chances of Carter’s vision coming true?

  Probably slim. Rina frowned slightly. Still…Samantha seemed really sure about it.

  Regardless, it’d likely be better—for everyone—if the mission turned up nothing. After all, Rina couldn’t imagine Carter had any fond memories of being used as a host.

  I don’t.

  Location: Unknown Desert Planet

  Rina stared out over miles of sand. They hadn’t been walking for long, but there was no denying that the planet looked particularly unpromising. Though Jack was the first to say something about it.

  “No one’s tread here in a while.”

  “The Tok'ra are known for their ability to mask their trails,” Teal’c replied, “They are, as you say, ‘stealthy’ in their actions.”

  “How much do you know about them anyway?” Rina asked.

  Teal’c didn’t have a chance to answer.

  At least half a dozen camouflaged figures burst up from the sand around them, Jack, Teal’c, and Carter all instinctively readying their weapons just a split second before staff weapons were levelled at them.

  “Yeah, ‘stealthy’ would be a good word, Teal’c,” Daniel agreed, glancing around in concern.

  “Good guys or bad guys?” O’Niell asked warily.

  Two of the figures stepped closer, one a grey-haired man who told them, “We mean you no harm. But I warn you, if you make any aggressive moves, we will fire upon you.”

  “Same here,” Jack said levelly.

  “But I think we will have the advantage,” the man replied, “There are more of us.”

  After a quick glance around, Jack conceded, “This is true.”

  A younger man with striking blue eyes spoke next, his voice an angry hiss as he stared down Teal’c, “This one is Jaffa. Apophis sect.”

  Worry and anger blurred together in Rina. If Teal’c was threatened—

  “I am no longer in the service of Apophis,” Teal’c explained.

  “Who then are you in service to?” the younger man glowered.

  “I am allied with these,” Teal’c said, glancing at the rest of SG-1, “The Tau’ri, in battle against Apophis.”

  “And all other Goa’uld,” Daniel added.

  “Be careful, Daniel,” Carter warned softly.

  “Why?”

  “Because they are Goa’uld.”

  “Do not call us that,” the older man hissed, “We are not Goa’uld!”

  As he spoke, his eyes burned with a strange light, kicking Rina straight into memory. For a split second, she could see Apophis, his eyes glowing with that same light as he grinned at her. She stumbled back a step, her breath stuttering out of control.

  “Rina?”

  She forced her eyes toward Daniel, meeting his concerned gaze.

  “Hey, you all right?”

  She held his gaze, using it to anchor herself in the present, to calm her breathing.

  “Yeah,” she answered breathlessly.

  A stillness settled over the group, neither party backing down.

  “You know, in some galaxies, this is called ‘loitering’,” Jack said dryly, “How long do you think we can keep it up?”

  Rina cast him a sidelong look. His usual humor felt disturbingly out-of-place in this scenario.

  Then again, she thought grimly, He’s probably used to this sort of thing.

  “Martouf.”

  All eyes turned on Carter.

  “What?” Rina blurted.

  The blue-eyed man seemed most surprised.

  “I do not know this woman,” he said quickly.

  “But I’m right, aren’t I?” Carter persisted, “That’s your name: Martouf.”

  “It is,” the man admitted, “How do you know me?”

  “I don’t. But I know someone who did. His name was Jolinar of Malkshur.”

  A stunned glance passed between Martouf and the grey-haired man. The latter stepped forward.

  “Where is Jolinar?”

  “He died saving my life,” Carter told him.

  “That’s why we’re here,” Daniel elaborated, “To seek out the Tok’ra.”

  “Assuming, of course, you are the Tok’ra,” Jack added.

  “And if we’re not?” asked the grey-haired man.

  “Well, I guess we all start shooting,” Jack answered flippantly, “There’s blood, death, hard feelings. It’d suck.”

  “And if we are this thing you call the Tok’ra?” Martouf queried.

  “If you are indeed the Tok’ra of Jaffa Legend,” Teal’c said, “We should form an alliance.”

  “I learned a lot from Jolinar,” Samantha put in, “Enough to know that we could be good friends. And frankly enough to know that you are the Tok’ra.”

  Rina’s earlier uncertainty came crawling back into her system.

  So much for this mission turning up nothing…

  There was a tense silence. Martouf stared hard at Samantha, a light suddenly dawning in his eyes.

  “I believe this one speaks the truth, Cordesh,” he told his grey-haired companion, “Perhaps we should…just listen to what they have to say.”

  Carter gave a small smile. After a few seconds of anticipation, Cordesh raised his hand, the Tok’ra around him obediently lowering their weapons. Then, after another few seconds, Jack followed suit, getting to his feet.

  “Now that’s better, isn’t it?” Jack offered a patronizing smile. “So, take me to your leader.”

  He’s really pushing his luck.

  “I will take you to whom you seek,” Cordesh replied, his voice shifting into a familiar resonance, “But there is one condition. You must leave your weapons with us.”

  “Uh, no,” Jack replied quickly.

  “They won’t hurt us, Colonel,” Samantha insisted.

  “They’re Goa’ulds, Carter.”

  “They won’t hurt us,” Carter repeated.

  “And you, what, feel this?” Jack asked, his tone dripping with cynicism.

  Rina felt a twinge of annoyance.

  “Obviously, Samantha’s vision was right so far, so if she says they won’t hurt us, then they won’t hurt us,” she snapped, “Maybe stop being a jackass for five seconds?”

  Whatever expression Jack was making at her in response, his sunglasses mercifully disguised it.

  “I don’t feel it, sir, I remember it,” Carter said firmly.

  “O’Niell,” Teal’c interjected, “If they are the Tok’ra, we are in no danger.”

  “If you’re asking for opinions, I vote we take the chance,” Daniel pitched in.

  Jack took one more look at the unfamiliar Tok’ra faces surrounding him, then finally caved.

  “Okay. But I want it understood that we’re doing this in the spirit of future relations. I expect us to be treated as such.”

  Samantha was first to start removing her firearm, Daniel quickly following suit, while a few Tok’ra stepped forward to collect them. Rina likewise pulled out her handgun, passing it off to one of their new maybe-allies.

  Well, this should be interesting.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Jack sidling up to her, then leaning in to hiss, “Karssen, do you have a problem with authority?”

  “Yes, I do, actually,” she answered unflinchingly, “Especially when they’re a controlling asshat.”

  “It’s my job to protect the team.”

  “God, if you say one more thing about the team—”

  “I cannot have you undermining me in a hostile situation!” Jack whispered fiercely.

  “I’m sorry,” Rina whispered back, voice drenched in sarcasm, “I didn’t realize it was a hostile situation; you didn’t seem to be taking it very seriously.”

  Jack opened his mouth to retort, only to be cut off by Martouf.

  “Please, come closer together,” he said, just as the other Tok’ra began to disperse.

  “Why?” Jack asked.

  “Jack,” Daniel said, his tone one of unspoken reproach.

  “It’s okay, Colonel,” Carter assured.

  “Oh, is it?” O’Niell demanded dryly.

  Marina rolled her eyes, moving to join the others as they pressed in closer to each other.

  “I saw that,” Jack muttered, shuffling closer.

  “Yeah, well—”

  Marina’s words cut short as a series of large rings catapulted up around them, startling her. There was a flash of light, then the rings retreated, leaving them in entirely different surroundings.

  It was a strange tunnel—built out of what, Rina couldn’t say—with multiple offshoots.

  “This way,” said Cordesh, turning down one of the offshoots with Martouf following at his heels.

  “The hell was that?” Rina demanded, staring at the ceiling where the rings had vanished.

  “Oh, transportation rings,” Daniel answered, “I take it you’ve never encountered them?”

  “No,” Rina answered, still staring at the ceiling with an incredulous expression.

  “This looks just like the place in my dream,” Carter said, looking about with clear fascination, “But that was on the planet that we—they were fleeing.”

  “It is said throughout the legend of the Tok'ra,” Teal’c recounted, “When they arrive on a planet they go deep underground. It is said they possess the technology to actually grow tunnels.”

  “This looks like some sort of crystal material, so theoretically it could be grown,” Samantha guessed.

  “Apophis had me searching for tunnels such as these for many years,” Teal’c said, “We never found them. It is believed when the Tok'ra move on, the tunnels are destroyed.”

  “Carter,” Jack said, gesturing her closer, “What’s the story with this Martouf?”

  He indicated their younger guide, who was standing several strides ahead speaking with Cordesh in hushed tones.

  “I’m not sure,” Carter admitted, “I get the feeling I know almost all these people, but my memories of Martouf are the strongest. It’s like I have some weird bond with him.”

  Martouf approached them then, offering a smile.

  “Please, come this way.”

  They were led into a large room with strange basins that looked more like tables with water pooled in a square-ish depression in the center. Their bases were built from the same strange crystal material as the tunnels, the water glowing faintly.

  “People of the Tau’ri,” Cordesh said, “Let me introduce Anise of the Grand Council.”

  A strikingly beautiful woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a deep brown dress approached from behind him, offering her greetings to the team in a resonant voice.

  “I understand you were sent to us by Jolinar of Malkshur,” she said, “I wish to know how that came to be.”

  “Well, it’s…it’s a long story,” Carter began hesitantly, stepping forward, “We were on this planet, Nasya, and the Goa'uld were attacking. Jolinar's host was killed, so he jumped into me while I was trying to save his host.”

  “So am I to understand you did not invite Jolinar to use you as a host?” Anise queried.

  “That is correct. He did it in an emergency situation to escape an assassin.”

  “Then if you are not a voluntary host,” said Cordesh, his voice returned to its previous resonance, “How do we know that you did not kill Jolinar yourself?”

  Rina felt a flash of irritation.

  Much as Samantha seems to trust these guys, the feeling’s clearly not mutual. Though I guess they don’t have much reason to trust us at this point…

  “Uh, well, because I didn’t,” Carter said, sounding a little stunned by the question, “I mean, I guess you're just going to have to trust us on that.”

  “And why should we trust you?”

  “You know something? I’ve been asking myself the same damn question,” Jack said, stepping forward, “Why should we trust you? You are, after all, Goa’ulds.”

  “Jack,” Daniel began, only to be interrupted by a sharp “Ah!” from Jack.

  “Don’t,” O’Niell warned him, raising a finger, “We’ve done nothing but get interrogated here. Now, are we prisoners, and are you Goa’ulds?”

  “You are not,” Anise said sharply, her eyes glowing, “And we are not Goa’uld.”

  “Well, I can’t say I’m convinced,” Rina muttered, suppressing a shudder.

  “Me neither!” Jack said, “Why do you talk like that? And what's with the glowing eyes, huh? Might it have something to do with a little reptilian activity in your heads?”

  “We have symbiotic creatures within us, yes,” Anise confirmed.

  “Well then, you can see how we might think you would be a danger to humans,” Daniel explained, “You take humans as hosts.”

  “Goa’uld take hosts,” Anise protested, “Tok’ra do not. Ours wish to be so.”

  “We have a truly symbiotic relationship,” Martouf added.

  “Symbiotic relationship? How is that possible?” Rina demanded, “Nothing of the host survives.”

  “That is merely a lie told by the Goa’uld,” Anise declared flatly.

  Rina’s hackles rose.

  “And how do we know you’re not lying?” she snapped.

  “No offence, but why would any human volunteer to be a host for a Goa'uld?” Daniel asked.

  In answer, Anise closed her eyes and dipped her head for a moment, then stepped forward with a gentle smile on her face.

  “Perhaps I can help you?” she offered, her voice sounding suddenly normal, “I am Freya, host to Anise. I speak freely, without restraint. All of us who serve as hosts volunteer to do so freely.”

  Marina scoffed. The Tok’ra’s clear blue eyes settled on her.

  “Goa’uld can sound human as well,” Rina pointed out, “That doesn’t prove anything.”

  “Rina,” Carter said, “She isn’t lying.”

  Rina hesitated. She didn’t want to believe Samantha was wrong, but it was getting increasingly harder not to.

  Those visions or memories or whatever might not be as reliable as she thinks.

  “So maybe you can answer my question,” Daniel prompted the Tok’ra woman, “Why would any human volunteer for…for that?”

  “Well, with the blending, I gain all the knowledge of Anise, much more than any human could ever attain. And my lifespan is twice what it would be without the blending. And all I must do in exchange is share my physical body.”

  “So you've kind of got a little Faustian deal going here,” O’Niell summed up, “Selling your soul for immortality.”

  “What you understand as ‘soul’ remains intact.”

  “So you say,” Rina replied skeptically.

  Daniel and Samantha each cast a quick glance in her direction, seemingly puzzled by her responses.

  How are they buying this?

  “So this symbiotic relationship is what makes the Tok'ra different from the Goa'uld,” Daniel pressed.

  “Yes.”

  “It is also this that has thwarted the Tok'ra's efforts against the Goa'uld,” Teal’c added.

  Jack and Daniel looked toward Teal’c in surprise.

  “Your Jaffa friend is correct,” Freya said, “If you'd like to come with me, I will show you what he means.”

  She strode past the team into one of the tunnel offshoots, Martouf following quickly, then Carter and the rest of SG-1.

  “Hey,” Daniel murmured, falling into step with Rina, “If you don’t mind me asking, why the change of heart? You seemed onboard with trusting the Tok’ra before and now…well, clearly, you’re not.”

  “They’re not exactly convincing, Daniel,” Rina muttered, “I just don’t get why they won’t admit that they’re Goa’uld. Why bother with this whole charade? We might not like Goa’uld that much—especially Jack—but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible that some of them might have a genuine interest in taking down the system lords.”

  Uncertainty bloomed in Daniel’s eyes.

  “Why are you so certain that a host can’t survive?”

  Rina looked him straight in the eye, her brows furrowing.

  “Because it doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well, why not?”

  “Because—”

  Rina stopped short as Freya turned off into a room with a bed in the center, upon which lay an old woman.

  “Allow me to introduce Selmak,” Freya said.

  “Her host's name is Saroosh,” Martouf explained, “She is one of the oldest and wisest among us, an important leader for our cause. However, she is unfortunately very ill, and will soon die.”

  “How old is she?” Daniel asked.

  “She will be two-hundred-and-three of your years in just a few of your days,” Freya answered.

  “I'm sorry, I was under the impression that Goa'uld lived much longer than two hundred years,” Daniel said.

  “The Goa’uld do. The Tok’ra do not,” Freya clarified.

  “That’s because you don’t use the sarcophagus, right?” Carter asked.

  “That’s correct,” Martouf confirmed, “We believe to do so would drain the good from our hearts.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Daniel said quietly.

  Rina looked to him in surprise.

  “What? I thought the sarcophagus was just a healing device.”

  “Actually, it has some dangerously addictive qualities,” Daniel explained.

  Rina was stunned.

  “You had a sarcophagus addiction?”

  “Yeah,” Daniel admitted, shifting awkwardly.

  Marina’s mouth went dry. Ba’al had always encouraged her to use the sarcophagus, even for the littlest things.

  If I hadn’t refused…would the same thing have happened to me?

  Uncertainty churned in her gut. Did Ba’al know this about the sarcophagus? Just how often did he use it?

  “That's why our numbers don't grow large enough to defeat the massive forces aligned with system lords,” Martouf said, yanking Rina out of her worried thoughts.

  “Zero or negative population growth,” Carter said, “Since you won't take new hosts by force, most of the time, the Goa'uld dies with the host.”

  “And this is what will happen to Selmak,” Freya said with a touch of sadness.

  “Unless one of you wishes to volunteer to serve as a host,” Martouf added hopefully.

  There was a tense silence.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding,” Rina hissed.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna pass on that,” O’Niell said.

  “Yes, although it does sound very fascinating, I think it's a little too long term for me,” Daniel said uneasily.

  Martouf’s gaze settled on Carter expectantly. She gave a small shake of her head.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve already been through that,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice.

  Turning, she abruptly left the room. Sympathy welled in Rina. She thought of going after her, but Martouf beat her to it, darting out of the room in pursuit. Rina gritted her teeth.

  Leave her alone, for fuck’s sake!

  She hurried after, vaguely aware of Daniel and the others at her heels. They followed back to the room full of basins, finding Carter and Martouf standing face to face.

  “We did not mean to upset you with the suggestion of becoming a host,” Freya called from behind, “But—”

  “Well, as long as you take ‘no’ for an answer,” Jack interrupted, leaving the rest unsaid.

  “Be assured that we have never forced a human to become a host,” Martouf insisted.

  “Except in Samantha’s case?” Rina asked icily.

  “Yes, but Jolinar said he planned to leave me as soon as he found another host,” Carter explained, “And I believe he meant it.”

  “So if you are not interested in becoming a host, may I ask why you chose to seek us out?” Freya queried.

  “To form an alliance,” Daniel answered.

  “Well, it seems apparent that the thought of an alliance is repulsive to you.”

  “Wait a minute, you think by 'form an alliance' we mean we want to be hosts?” Daniel asked, a barely detectable note of incredulity in his voice.

  “Well, what other sort of alliance would a non-blended human and a Tok'ra wish to have?” Freya questioned.

  This is unbelievable.

  “Well, we do have a common enemy; how about a friendship?” O’Niell suggested dryly.

  “We could share information,” Carter added.

  “We can engage in battles, side by side,” Teal’c said.

  “I doubt you can be of any service to us,” said Anise, the resonance in her voice giving her away, “You are neither strong enough, nor advanced enough.”

  Silent anger boiled in Rina.

  “You are incorrect,” Teal’c insisted, “It was these—” His eyes indicated the rest of his team. “—who destroyed two Goa'uld motherships.”

  “So that was you?” Anise demanded, her voice rising, “We had operatives who died on board those vessels.”

  The tension in the room mounted.

  “We were only defending our planet,” Carter protested.

  Again, Anise dipped her head, her voice shifting back to Freya’s.

  “We did not know they had travelled to the Tau’ri. This answers a great deal of questions. At least now we know how and why our operatives died, and for that we are truly grateful.”

  “So maybe we can be of service?” Jack prompted.

  “You may be correct,” Freya said, “I will try to convince the Council of Tok'ra to meet with you.”

  She turned to leave, Jack calling after her, “Uh, excuse me?”

  Freya halted in her tracks, glancing back.

  “Are we prisoners?” Jack asked again.

  “Until we decide what information we can entrust to you, we cannot allow you to roam this place freely,” Freya explained, “I'm sorry.”

  With that, she walked away, Cordesh and Martouf following in her wake.

  Fucking great.

  Rina glanced toward Samantha, feeling a pang of sympathy at the turmoil in her eyes.

  “Hey,” she said softly, edging closer, “Sorry this didn’t work out.”

  Samantha sighed.

  “I don’t know why but…I still feel like we should trust them.”

  Rina pressed her lips into a thin line, hesitating.

  “Are you sure you understand whatever Jolinar left in your head?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Rina half shrugged.

  “Well, at the risk of sounding like Jack, what if it’s not all…real? Yeah, the planet and the names have been right so far but, obviously, the people are…yeah.”

  She left the rest unsaid. Again, Carter sighed.

  “Look, I know it’s not much to go on but haven’t you ever felt something so strongly that you believed it, despite things telling you different?”

  Rina’s gaze fell to the floor, her mind pulling her back through the years.

  “Well, it’s not the same but…when I found out I liked girls, after denying it for so long, it just felt so—so real. Like everything fit. And that feeling just grew, and grew, until—” She shrugged. “—I had to do something. Even after my parents threw me out…when guys or girls I liked stopped talking to me…I couldn’t ignore that part of me. So I get it. I do.”

  “God, Rina, I’m sorry,” Carter murmured.

  Rina offered a resigned smile.

  “It’s fine. Those relationships weren’t worth it. But—to be honest—this one probably isn’t either. I want to trust you, Samantha,” she added quickly, “I just don’t think we can trust them.”

  “I still want to give it a shot,” Carter admitted after a brief pause.

  Rina sighed, a faint sound catching her attention before she could pursue the matter further. It was the sound of footsteps. She looked toward the source, Martouf soon emerging from that tunnel.

  “So, what’s the news?” Jack asked.

  “The council may be continuing their discussion for some time still,” Martouf said, prompting an impatient gesture from Jack.

  Then the Tok’ra turned his attention to Carter.

  “Would you like to take a walk on the surface?”

  “What?” Jack and Rina said in unison.

  Marina stepped forward.

  “I hope you mean all of us,” she said pointedly.

  “I'm only inviting Captain Carter,” Martouf replied, “I would like to hear more of Jolinar of Malkshur, and I would prefer if we were left to discuss it in private. I hope you understand.”

  “Actually, no, I don’t,” Jack said.

  That makes two of us.

  “Colonel, I…I think I should go with him,” Samantha insisted, “I think I need to go with him. There's a lot of questions he could answer about Jolinar.”

  “I assure you, sir,” Martouf told Jack, “She will be very safe with me.”

  Jack stared him down for a moment, stepping closer.

  “Okay, son,” he said lightly, “But I want you to have her back by 11 o'clock. You understand?”

  Rina ran her fingers through her hair, uncertainty gnawing at her. Meanwhile, Martouf turned to Carter with a puzzled expression.

  “It’s…I’ll explain it on the way,” Carter told him.

  Martouf nodded slowly, then led Samantha away.

  “Much as I hate to say it, I think this has gone badly,” Rina said.

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Daniel pushed back, “Not quite yet, anyway.”

  “Should we just wait until it gets worse then?” Rina asked dryly.

  “Well, it seems like our hosts aren’t giving us much choice,” Jack said.

  Rina gave him a withering stare.

  “The pun was unintentional,” Jack admitted.

  He glanced over his shoulder at a pair of armed guards standing by the tunnel where Freya, or Anise, or whoever had vanished. Edging toward his team, he lowered his voice.

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  “Karssen, you think you can get us out of here?”

  Dread flooded through Rina as she realized what he meant. She’d known this moment would come eventually, but a part of her had hoped it wouldn’t be so soon. She swallowed hard, considering her answer, but Daniel interrupted.

  “Jack, we’re not attacking these people,” he argued quietly, “We’re trying to form an alliance here, not make more enemies.”

  “Well, they don’t seem too keen on being allies with us,” Jack pointed out.

  “Well, let’s give it a chance at least.”

  “Hey, that’s what we’re doing, isn’t it? But if things go any more south, I just want to make sure we’ve considered all our options.”

  Rina ran a hand over her face.

  So if this alliance completely falls through…there might be nothing for it. Shit. I can’t treat the weapon inside me like some incredible asset if I can’t USE it in the first place!

  Perhaps she’d oversold her usefulness. But she’d had to in order to get on the team, to get away from the SGC’s imprisoning walls.

  What’s worse? Risking ending up in a coma, or guaranteeing it by not living up to my end of the bargain?

  The answer was clear, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying.

  Jack stalked off, beginning to pace the room. Rina leaned back against one of the basins, clenching her clammy hands into fists.

  “By the way, you never answered my question.”

  Rina met Daniel’s gaze, confused.

  “What?”

  “About why you’re so sure a Goa’uld host can’t survive.”

  “Oh.” Rina sighed. “Look, I think it’s great you won’t give up on your wife. But—” She hesitated, then pushed on. “When Ba’al told me that nothing of the host survives…I looked into his eyes and—”

  An image of Ba’al’s face flashed before her mind’s eye and, for a second, it hit her…just how much she missed him. Missed his smile, his touch, his voice. She hadn’t really let herself think about it, but now it felt so overpowering that the words seized in her throat, tears stinging at her eyes.

  “I just saw him,” she managed, her voice breathless, “There was no else in there. Just him.”

  Daniel dropped his gaze, silence stretching between them for a heartbeat.

  “Just because you didn’t see the person in there,” he said quietly, “Doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.”

  Rina just shook her head.

  He’ll never accept it. Not as long as his wife is a host.

  Which would likely be a long time. Sympathy welled in Rina’s core at the thought.

  I wish, for his sake, he’d let it—

  “Rina.” Daniel fixed her under his gaze. “Look, I know you’re scared of what might happen when the weapon…well, you know. You’ve been through a lot, and I know because of that, you’re afraid to hope, but…thinking the worst isn’t going to help. We’re going to find a solution, I promise.”

  “You can’t promise that,” Rina said quietly.

  “Well, I did. And I’m going to keep it.”

  Rina just shook her head again, though the ghost of a smile touched her lips.

  His optimism is really something.

  The sound of approaching footsteps caught her ear then and she looked up to see Anise returning with Cordesh. Jack stopped his pacing, fixing his attention on them.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “The Tok’ra Council has agreed to speak with you.”

  Samantha and Martouf were promptly fetched, after which Anise led SG-1 through the tunnels to a dead end. Marina raised an eyebrow at it, until Anise stepped forward and applied something to the crystal wall. Shockingly, as they watched, the solid surface began to expand into a new tunnel, leaving the team staring on in awestruck silence.

  Then Anise led them onward, till at last they came to a spacious chamber with a large table in the center. Carter eagerly questioned Anise about the process for growing new tunnels, only stopping when the Tok’ra Council began to file in. They weren’t much more than a handful of people, but they all undoubtedly shared an air of importance. Some greetings were exchanged, then they turned their attention to the present issue.

  “We would like you to understand our situation,” said one dark-haired Tok’ra woman, “We are an illegal resistance group within the Goa'uld. We are the most hunted, most hated enemies of the system lords.”

  Most hated? That’s almost impressive.

  “Hey, we haven't made too many friends along the way either,” Jack pointed out.

  “The secrets of the Tok'ra would never be revealed,” Teal’c promised, “It is not the way of the Tau'ri.”

  “Not intentionally,” Cordesh said, “But you might be followed to us. You might be tortured into revealing our whereabouts or a spy might be introduced into your midst.”

  “We would like to know what you have to offer us that is of sufficient value to justify our exposure,” the dark-haired Tok’ra requested.

  “Well, I think we’ve got a lot of things,” O’Niell said.

  “The Tau’ri have become quite advanced,” said Teal’c.

  “Please, give us an example,” one Tok’ra pressed.

  Daniel and Carter both stuttered some answers: common goals, certain technology. But the council seemed deeply unimpressed. Then, abruptly, Martouf entered the chamber, whispering something to Anise.

  “Yes, bring them in,” she said, her tone angry.

  She turned on SG-1, her eyes glowing.

  “What is it you are planning?” she demanded.

  “Beg your pardon?” Jack said.

  In answer, Anise turned her head toward the entrance, cueing the arrival of four men who were wearing gear identical to SG-1.

  It was another SG team.

  “Colonel Makepeace?” Jack said in surprise, stepping toe to toe with one of the men, “What are you doing here?”

  Behind them, the Tok’ra Council clustered together, whispering urgently. Rina clenched her jaw.

  I think our situation just got worse.

  “General Hammond sent us to extract Captain Carter,” Makepeace said.

  “Why?” Carter asked.

  “I'm afraid it's your father, Captain. He's in the hospital in a serious condition.”

  Rina blinked.

  Her dad? The one she doesn’t even get along with? They came here for that?

  But the look in Samantha’s eyes was one of pure concern.

  Jack immediately turned to the council, insisting, “You have to let her go home.”

  “I’m sorry but we cannot,” Anise said, turning to face him. “We have decided not to accept your request for an alliance, meaning that with your knowledge of this planet, you have become a security risk. We cannot allow you to leave until we’ve moved to a location you do not know.”

  “Well, surely as Tok'ra, you're more compassionate than that,” Daniel argued, “Captain Carter's father is dying, I mean, at least let her go.”

  “She is the highest risk of all,” Cordesh said, “She contains the memory of Jolinar of Malkshur.”

  “We are not the only ones who have knowledge of this planet,” Teal’c said, “Those we left behind on the Tau'ri also possess this knowledge.”

  “As evidenced by our friends here,” Jack added, jerking a thumb at the other SG team.

  “It is our wish that your lack of return will convince them that we are Goa'uld and not Tok'ra,” Anise said.

  “So you want them to think that we’re dead?” Rina hissed.

  “I am sorry,” Freya said, “Hopefully, we can make your stay as comfortable as possible.”

  Turning, she took her leave, the rest of the council following suit. Rina resisted the urge to scream.

  “Colonel Makepeace?” Carter said, her voice trembling, “Did anyone tell you how far along my father is?”

  “No, I was only told to get you back as soon as possible,” Makepeace answered with a sigh.

  Carter’s hand smacked against her leg, her tone shifting to anger.

  “He doesn’t even know why I’m not there for him,” she said, pacing the room, “He thinks I'm off somewhere working on some damn satellite dish or something.”

  Rina’s anger smouldered. She reached for Samantha, tugging lightly at her sleeve.

  “Hey. We’ll get out of this.”

  Samantha met her gaze hesitantly, then nodded.

  “Yeah, thanks…”

  “To be honest,” Rina began uncertainly, “I thought you and your dad didn’t get along.”

  Carter gave a mirthless laugh.

  “We don’t, but—” She faltered, throwing up her hands in defeat. “But he’s my dad.”

  Rina’s gaze fell.

  “Yeah…I know what you mean.”

  I wish I didn’t.

  She wondered, if she were in Samantha’s position, would she feel the urge to go rushing to her parents’ side just as strongly? She shook the thought away. There was no point in asking. In her case, there’d be no one to send for her.

  “Well, the good news is there’s eight of us now,” Jack said.

  “That’s good news?” Daniel asked wearily.

  “Yes,” Jack answered, “More manpower.”

  So we’re back to the plan of using force to get out. Great.

  “It would be impossible,” Teal’c said, “There is only one way out: via the rings. We would then have to elude hundreds of Tok'ra.”

  No way in hell that’s happening.

  Rina grabbed a handful of her jacket sleeve and twisted, focusing on the feel of it drawing tight around her skin.

  “I, for one, don’t want to hurt any of them,” Carter said.

  “Look, I'm not too thrilled about hurting anyone either,” Jack admitted, pacing toward her, “But keep in mind these people want to make you a host, and as I recall you said that whole 'Jolinar Goa'uld in the head' deal was one of the worst things that ever happened to you.”

  “That's before I understood it better,” Samantha protested, “I-If I wasn't fighting her and I knew what it meant for Jolinar to be a Tok'ra, it might have been…I don't know, enlightening.”

  O’Niell stared at her in disbelief. Rina distractedly loosed her grip on her sleeve.

  “You were fighting it?” she asked in surprise, “How’s that possible? How could you have had any awareness at all?”

  “Goa’uld can’t shut you out completely,” Carter explained, “Some part of you will always be aware of what’s happening, you just can’t control your own body.”

  “That’s not possible,” Rina said falteringly, her voice not much louder than a murmur.

  “Well, it’s what happened to me,” Samantha insisted.

  “And she’s not the only one,” Daniel said, “About a year ago, we met someone named Kendra. She used to be a Goa’uld host, and she had the same experience as Sam. What’s more is she was even able to influence her symbiote.”

  Marina’s mind was reeling.

  “That’s not…”

  I lived with Ba’al for a year. I never saw anything that could even hint at a whole other conscious person living in that body.

  There had to be some explanation. But what?

  “A host,” Carter said suddenly, a light of realization dawning in her eyes, “That’s it.” Turning to the guards, she said firmly, “I need to talk to Anise.”

  Immediately, the guards strode off. Daniel looked to Carter in alarm.

  “What?”

  “It’s the one thing that they need the most,” Samantha said hurriedly.

  “Yes, but we can’t give them that,” Daniel pointed out.

  “Maybe we can.”

  Before Daniel could voice further questions, Anise strode into the room, Martouf at her side.

  “You wished to speak with me?”

  “A symbiote can cure most problems in a human, right?” Carter asked her in a rush, “So does that include cancer?”

  Martouf and Anise exchanged a confused look.

  “What is cancer?” Martouf asked.

  “It's a disease in humans where the cells grow out of control,” Daniel explained falteringly, “You get tumours and—”

  “Yes, of course,” Anise said, recognition dawning on her face, “It is a common ailment among your species. We cure it quite frequently.”

  Rina cast a sidelong look at Carter.

  “You’re not seriously—”

  “I think we should at least try to offer it to my dad,” Samantha said, looking to O’Niell.

  O’Niell didn’t answer right away. Then, slowly, he strode toward Anise.

  “We might have a host for you.”

  “For Selmak?” Anise queried.

  “Yes,” Carter said, “My father. He's got cancer and if Selmak can save his life, I think he'd be willing to try it.”

  “But you have to let us go back,” Jack said.

  Anise seemed to consider it.

  “I will allow two of you to go,” she said at last, “But the rest will remain here to ensure your return.”

  There was another moment of silence.

  “Okay, Carter,” Jack said quietly, “You and I will go.”

  Rina leaned heavily against the nearest wall.

  So the rest of us will still be stuck here.

  Still, it made the most sense for Carter at least to go. Jack, on the other hand, was debatable, though Rina didn’t feel much like arguing it.

  They’d better get back here soon.

  “Samantha,” she called just as they started down one of the corridors.

  Carter paused, glancing back.

  “Good luck,” Rina told her.

  The remaining prisoners were led to adjoined rooms, mercifully full of chairs. While the SGC personnel—with the added company of a few guards—dispersed themselves throughout one, Anise sat in the adjoining room by herself, waiting. Rina watched her, feeling curious. Gathering her nerve, she stood, making her way over. Anise spotted her approach, locking eyes with her.

  “Is there something I can assist you with, Tau’ri?”

  “Um, my name is Marina, actually,” Rina said, “I was hoping I could talk with Freya?”

  Again came that dip of the head, followed by a shift in voice and personality.

  “You wish to speak with me?” she asked, “Even though, according to you, I am only ‘sounding’ human.”

  Rina suppressed a grimace.

  “Mmm. Sorry about that.”

  Suddenly, Freya gave an amused smile.

  “I am not truly angry with you,” she admitted, gesturing to the chair beside her, “Please, sit.”

  Rina hesitated, then accepted the offered seat.

  “I was wondering,” she said slowly, “About this whole blending process. I guess I just don’t see how that’d work. I mean, you have two minds—two people, essentially, in one body. So wouldn’t one naturally take over?” She paused, taking a second to recall the word Daniel and Carter had used earlier. “It’d be the ’symbiote’, right?”

  “Neither is naturally dominant, no.”

  “But that’s not true for other Goa’uld, is it?”

  “Goa’uld actively seek to suppress their host. That is the only reason they appear dominant.”

  “Well, what if someone willingly gave up their body, their mind?”

  “Goa’uld do not take willing hosts.”

  Rina felt a spark of irritation.

  Say the people whose only previous interaction with us was taking a host by force.

  “The system lords all have worlds of people who would die and even kill for them, and you think they couldn’t find a willing host?”

  “The loyalty of those people was obtained through false pretenses. Deception and coercion is no better than force.”

  Deception? And how do you know YOU’RE not being fooled? You’re sharing your head with someone—assuming they’re really sharing at all. So how do you know what feelings and ideas are even yours?

  Rina turned her head away, staring off at nothing. This was getting her nowhere. So she opted to switch tracks.

  “You seem pretty convinced that all Goa’uld are somehow equally bad,” she pointed out, “But that can’t be true, can it? ‘Cause then you wouldn’t be here.”

  For a second, Freya closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her voice shifted to that of Anise.

  “Egeria, mother to all Tok’ra, created us with compassion. The Goa’uld lack such things.”

  Well, that’s funny. Because I haven’t seen much compassion from any of you today. Just self-serving bullshit.

  “So what was Egeria? Was she not Goa’uld?”

  “She was.”

  “So if she was capable of compassion, why couldn’t another Goa’uld be capable of the same?”

  “I have yet to see such things.”

  “So how much do you really know about the system lords?”

  “Sharing such information now would be premature.”

  Rina suppressed a sigh.

  Fine. Then I won’t waste my time anymore.

  She pushed to her feet.

  “Well, thanks for talking to me,” she muttered, walking away.

  Freya’s voice called after her, “I hope I was at least able to answer some of your questions to satisfaction?”

  Not really.

  “Yeah, thanks.”

  Rina dragged her feet back to the adjoining room, pausing as she caught sight of Teal’c’s form sitting against the nearest wall, his eyes closed.

  “God, I wish I could sleep that easily,” she grumbled to herself.

  “I am not sleeping, Miss Karssen,” Teal’c said suddenly, causing Rina to nearly jump out of her skin, “I am performing a meditative ritual known as kelno’reem.”

  Rina took a second to recompose herself before asking, “What’s that?”

  “A meditative ritual.”

  Marina frowned. “Yes, but what’s it for?”

  “To commune with my symbiote.”

  Rina did a double-take.

  “Your symbiote?”

  “Indeed.”

  Rina stared at him, momentarily speechless.

  “I…I didn’t realize you had a symbiote.”

  Teal’c said nothing. With his eyes still closed, he gripped the bottom hem of his T-shirt and lifted. Rina swore, stumbling back in alarm at the sight that followed. The center of Teal’c abdomen was slit open—four clean cuts joined at the middle. And as Rina stared at it, something began pushing at the skin from inside, folding it outward to reveal a slimy white head, its mouth opening to release a piteous whine.

  Rina tore her eyes away, clamping a hand over her mouth as bile threatened to rise to her throat.

  She’d asked Ba’al once what he really looked like. He’d refused to show her, his explanation being:

  “I believe you would find it...distressingly unfamiliar.”

  She’d poked and prodded him for further elaboration, but his answer had remained the same.

  Evidently, he’d been right. Rina wished now that she could burn the image from her mind. And it seemed she wasn’t the only one.

  Across the room, someone from the other SG team called, “Will you put that thing away? No one wants to look at that.”

  “Apologies,” came Teal’c’s response.

  Rina waited an extra second before chancing another look at him, silently voicing thanks that he’d covered up the unsightly thing in his gut.

  “How long have you had that?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

  “Since I first became a Jaffa,” Teal’c replied, sounding strangely unbothered, “The Goa’uld implant us with their young so that we become dependent on them to survive. We carry them until they are mature enough to take a host, then we are inevitably implanted with another.”

  “So…” Rina swallowed hard. “You’re incubators.”

  Like me.

  Another sickening thought struck her. Did Ba’al do the same disgusting practice for his Jaffa? Marina closed her eyes, running a shaky hand over her face. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know.

  “So why would you want to…‘commune’ with it?” she asked, her voice still strained.

  “It functions as his immune system,” Daniel’s voice answered.

  Rina turned to see him moving toward them.

  “He needs to ‘talk’ to it every so often to let it know what’s wrong, so it can heal him,” Daniel finished.

  “You actually talk to it?” Rina asked Teal’c uncertainly.

  “Not with words,” Teal’c replied.

  Rina opened her mouth to press him further when Martouf’s voice suddenly rang out from the adjoining room.

  “High Councilor Anise!” he shouted.

  Teal’c finally cracked his eyes open, the other SG team rising to their feet at the commotion. Rina and Daniel both gravitated toward the other room, listening as Martouf delivered his message.

  “We just received word from our scout in the Shoran'ka quadrant. The Goa'uld system lords have been told where we are. They have dispatched two motherships.”

  Rina’s stomach twisted.

  The system lords know we’re here…which means Apophis knows…and Ba’al knows.

  She swallowed, a strange hope mixing with her terror. Was there a chance Ba’al would come himself, that he would arrive first, that he would choose to capture them rather than obliterate them from orbit? Or was this all exactly what she feared it might be—wishful thinking—and Ba’al had never survived Apophis’ attack?

  Don’t think that. Just don’t.

  “How soon will they arrive?” Anise asked.

  Martouf shook his head. “Within the day, perhaps hours.”

  “Begin the evacuation,” Anise ordered, rising to her feet.

  With that, she and Martouf raced off, the few guards watching over their prisoners soon pelting after them. Rina exchanged a look with Daniel, seeing the same unspoken question in her mind reflected in his eyes.

  What are we supposed to do…?

  “I guess that means we’re free,” Makepeace said, striding up behind them.

  “Well,” Daniel said slowly, glancing back at him and Teal’c, “We should help them. I mean, this place is gonna be overrun with Goa’uld in a few hours so if we want the Tok’ra to think we can be useful, now’s the perfect opportunity to show that.”

  Makepeace glanced around the room, at the faces of his men, at Rina, Teal’c, and Daniel. Then he shrugged.

  “All right then. Let’s give them a hand.”

  What followed was a barely contained frenzy consisting of people gathering things up and scrambling to get them out of the tunnels—an endeavor which the remaining SGC personnel soon joined—as well as Daniel’s repeatedly rushed explanations to one Tok’ra after the next that he, Makepeace, and the rest were there to help. Eventually, one of them stopped long enough to reveal where they’d stored both teams’ gear, enabling them to retrieve it. Then the maddened scurrying continued.

  What do they even have in here? Rina wondered as she helped deposit yet another identical-looking box next to the transport rings.

  “Karssen?”

  Rina quickly glanced up at the sound of Jack’s voice, noting Carter and who she assumed must be her dad standing next to him. Marina had hardly noticed the sound of the rings activating; it’d been going near constantly since the evacuation began so she’d grown used to it.

  “You’re back.”

  “What the heck’s going on?” Jack asked, stepping outside the boundary of the rings.

  “We’re evacuating. The system lords are coming, apparently.”

  “What?”

  “That doesn’t sound good,” said Carter’s dad.

  “Um, dad, this is Rina,” Samantha cut in, gesturing to Marina, “Rina, this is my dad.”

  Rina gave an awkward wave. Samantha’s dad nodded in return, looking highly disoriented. Rina didn’t blame him.

  “I’m sorry, how did you say the Goa’uld knew where to find this place?” Jack pressed Rina.

  “Somebody told them,” Daniel’s voice replied.

  Rina glanced over her shoulder to find him carrying in another box with Teal’c’s help.

  “We don’t know who,” Daniel added before Jack could ask.

  “All right, well, where can we find Anise?” O’Niell queried.

  “We last saw her in the council chamber,” Teal’c replied as he and Daniel finished setting aside their load.

  “‘Kay, let’s go,” Jack said, adding over his shoulder to Carter, “Call if you need me.”

  Rina fell in behind Daniel, Jack, and Teal’c as they wound through the tunnels, briefly detouring to where Jack could retrieve his gear before heading to the council chamber.

  “So do the Tok’ra not know who tipped off their Goa’uld friends or are they just not sharing?” Jack questioned as they walked.

  “It seems that is unknown to them as well,” Teal’c answered.

  “Are we talking about a spy here or what?”

  “Well, if that's the case, moving to another planet's not going to do them much good,” Daniel pointed out.

  “Teal’c,” Jack said after a pause, “You know those little teleball things?”

  “The long-range visual communications device?”

  “Right. I saw Cordesh with one of those things.”

  “Wait, when was this?” Daniel asked in surprise.

  “When Anise took us to meet the council, I saw him sneaking off, so I followed him.”

  “You stopped wise-cracking long enough to be stealthy?” Rina asked dryly, “Wow, I’m impressed.”

  “Har har.”

  They reached the council chamber, finding Anise inside with a few guards packing items carefully into a box.

  “Anise?” Jack greeted.

  She glanced over at him. “Yes?”

  Jack waited until the guards had taken the box and left before speaking.

  “I think you might have a spy in your ranks.”

  “That is impossible. The Tok’ra are loyal for life.”

  “How then were you located by the system lords?” asked Teal’c.

  Anise pressed her lips into a thin line.

  “I suppose you know the name of this spy?”

  “Well, I don't want to point fingers, but I'd keep my eye on Cordesh.”

  “Cordesh?”

  “You folks make a habit of walking around with those little teleball—”

  “A long range communication device,” Rina rattled off impatiently.

  “We have no use for those,” Anise said, “The system is not secure.”

  “Well, your buddy Cordesh has one,” Jack insisted.

  Anise seemed to hesitate, tension drawing the muscles in her face tight. Then she spun on her heel, striding swiftly from the room and shouting for her guards. They all stared after her, Jack suddenly breaking off from them and heading after her.

  “Better stay here,” he told them.

  “What?” Rina asked sharply, only for Jack to disappear around a corner.

  “I guess we’ll stay here,” Daniel said with a touch of annoyance.

  It wasn’t long, however, before Jack and Anise returned, both looking somewhat stricken.

  “What happened?” Rina asked.

  “Cordesh decided to tap out via a collapsing tunnel,” Jack answered.

  Rina grimaced. “Oh.”

  “Was he indeed the spy then?” Teal’c questioned.

  “Oh, he made that quite clear. Called the Tok’ra a ‘plague’.”

  “I had no idea it was possible for one living among us for so long to be capable of such hatred toward us,” Anise confessed, turning to Jack as she added, “I must thank you. You may have saved the Tok'ra a great many losses.”

  “So does that mean you’ll accept our alliance?” Daniel asked.

  Anise considered him for a moment.

  “We will see if the blending between Selmak and the host you offered proves successful. Then we will decide.” She paused briefly. “Since the evacuation is almost complete, I was about to assess their progress for myself. Do you wish to accompany me?”

  “Yes,” Jack said quickly, glancing to Rina and the others, “Shall we?”

  They filed out of the room, their path seeming oddly direct now that so many of the tunnels had been ungrown. The former frenzy that had seemed inescapable had now gone silent; it looked as though they were among the very few left in that place.

  In a few minutes, they arrived to find Martouf and Carter standing over her unconscious father, who was stretched out on the table, the unmoving body of Saroosh covered in a shroud.

  “Martouf, all the tunnels apart from this one and the escape tunnel have vanished,” Anise explained, “The other Tok'ra have gone to the new homeworld, and Goa’uld forces will arrive soon. We must leave now.”

  “But what about my dad?” Samantha protested.

  “When—and if—he gains consciousness, Selmak will know where we are,” Anise said, “We must trust he will follow.”

  “But the Goa’uld are coming,” Daniel reminded her grimly, “They’ll capture him.”

  “If he is captured, you may rest assured that he will die before revealing our location.”

  “Oh, yes,” Rina muttered, “That’s very reassuring.”

  This is how they treat their own people? I thought this Tok’ra was important to them. Guess not.

  “Why not take him with you?” Carter pressured.

  “Or we’ll take him with us,” Jack suggested.

  “I'm afraid that to transport him now, he will die,” Martouf said, “He needs to remain stationary until Selmak has completed her repairs.”

  “We can’t just leave him here,” Samantha said, her voice nearly breaking, “Let me stay with him, at least.”

  “No. You contain the memories of Jolinar,” Anise said, “I cannot allow you to stay.”

  “She’s right, Captain,” Jack admitted gravely, “We have to go.”

  Rina drew a deep breath, a confusing mess of emotions buzzing inside her. She saw the helpless look in Carter’s eyes, she pictured the Goa’uld forces coming down on them…and still, she felt that sliver of hope that it would be Ba’al who found her.

  Not with my luck, she knew.

  But that hope continued to burn.

  “I’ll stay,” she offered quietly.

  All eyes turned to her in surprise.

  “Are you sure?” Daniel asked, looking concerned.

  “Rina, he’s my dad,” Carter said.

  “Yeah, but obviously you’re a liability if you stay,” Rina said, gesturing pointedly to Anise.

  “Karssen—” Jack began, only to be cut off by Martouf.

  “I will remain here,” he said, nodding to Carter’s dad, “If I can get him out, I will. If not…I will allow the vanishing tunnels to consume us before the Goa'uld get here.”

  “Martouf—” Anise tried to protest.

  “Please,” Martouf said firmly, “It is my wish.”

  There was a tense silence.

  “You heard him,” Jack said grimly, looking over his team, “Let’s go.”

  “With respect, sir, no. I am not leaving my dad here,” Carter insisted.

  “Captain Carter and I will both remain,” Martouf amended, “I will assure that we will not be taken by the Goa'uld.”

  “Please, Colonel,” Samantha pleaded, “I need to be here.”

  Rina looked over at Jack, noting the clenching and unclenching of his jaw muscles. Finally, he responded.

  “Right. Daniel? Teal’c? Let’s go. You too, Karssen.”

  Rina blinked. “What?”

  “You heard me. Let’s go.”

  “But I can—”

  “It’s not up for debate,” Jack snapped suddenly.

  Rina stared at him, Jack holding her gaze for a moment before turning and striding out. Anise, Teal’c, and Daniel slowly trailed after him, Daniel pausing to cast a look back at her.

  “Rina,” Carter said softly, “It’s okay.”

  Marina’s gaze flickered from her, to Daniel, to the exit. Then, clamping her teeth together, she forced herself forward, surging past Daniel in pursuit of O’Niell.

  “That was very noble of you,” Freya said as Rina strode past her.

  Rina hesitated, slowing.

  “Not really,” she admitted quietly, “I didn’t really care about him, I just…never mind.”

  “No, please,” Freya said, her fingers closing gently around Rina’s arm and pulling her into step with the Tok’ra, “Go on.”

  Rina stared down at Freya’s hand on her arm, her brows furrowing.

  “Don’t you feel guilty?” she blurted, meeting Freya’s blue eyes, “For leaving them?”

  Freya’s gaze fell, her grip releasing.

  “I do.”

  “Then why not stay?”

  Freya shook her head sadly.

  “So few Tok’ra remain that we cannot afford to so readily sacrifice ourselves.”

  “That didn’t stop Martouf.”

  “I wish Martouf had chosen differently, but it was his choice nonetheless.”

  “He might have chosen different if you had stayed behind instead.”

  Freya shook her head again.

  “Anise and I are part of the High Council. As such, our duty is to all Tok’ra. We cannot prioritize the good of just one.”

  “Yeah,” Rina muttered, lengthening her stride, “You keep telling yourself that.”

  She pulled ahead, angrily shrugging off the conversation and resuming her pursuit of Jack.

  She didn’t even wait to look him in the eye before snapping, “Why not let me stay?”

  Jack turned his head to look at her, his frown lines deepening. His swift stride faltered at the crest of a dune, the stargate now visible in the distance, though Rina paid no attention to it. Escape was the last thing on her mind.

  “Karssen,” O’Niell said sharply, “It’s bad enough leaving one of the team behind. Now, you trusted Carter about the Tok’ra; I think you can trust her on this.”

  “This has nothing to do with trusting Samantha,” Rina countered, her voice rising, “Don’t bullshit me!”

  “Okay, fine!” Jack barked, abruptly halting, “Hammond would have my hide if I left you—is that what you wanted to hear?”

  Rina swallowed, saying nothing, her heart hammering against her ribs as pure fury flooded her veins. Jack turned, striding onward.

  “So Samantha gets to choose to risk her life,” Rina said, voice shaking with anger, “But when it comes to mine, I don’t get a choice?!”

  From behind them, Rina vaguely heard Daniel’s voice as he tried to interject.

  “Uh, guys?”

  “I’m not even a person to this team, am I?” Marina half-screamed, “I’m just a tool!”

  Jack rounded on her.

  “That’s not true.”

  “O’Niell!” Teal’c called sharply.

  Rina and Jack both turned to face him, neither missing the clear warning in his voice. His gaze was pinned on the distant sky, along with Daniel’s and Freya’s. Rina turned, following his line of sight. In the distance, just barely visible, was a handful of tiny, dark shapes, almost like birds.

  “Shit,” Jack swore under his breath.

  “Death Gliders,” Teal’c said, his voice quiet yet ominous.

  Fear curled into a hard knot in Rina’s gut.

  “Okay, go, go, go!” Jack shouted, waving everyone toward the stargate.

  They all launched into a dead run, Freya’s panicked voice warning, “It won’t be long before the Goa’uld come through the gate and block our escape!”

  Rina pelted across the sand, a string of obscenities tumbling through her mind as she kept her eyes on the horizon, watching the dark, glinting shapes steadily grow larger, nearer. For an instant, she was jerked back through time to when she’d been running for her life through the forested world where she’d met Ba’al, her gaze desperately searching the skies.

  Only, the theoretical ship she’d been looking for then was meant to be her salvation. These ships intended to blow them all to pieces.

  Why did I let myself hope…?

  Daniel was the first to reach the DHD, not wasting a second before beginning to dial. One light after the next sprang to life on the gate, its inner circle spinning madly to keep up. Meanwhile, the gliders continued to bear down on them, their dark shapes growing uncomfortably large. Rina felt her blood run cold. Around her, the others appeared just as frightened as she felt, Teal’c leveling his weapon at the approaching ships, as if it would accomplish anything.

  Then the gate flared to life, beckoning them to safety. Without a word, they all ran for it.

  Behind them, the first shot from the gliders fell, the explosive force sending sand flying and making Rina’s ears ring. Teal’c and Daniel flung themselves through the gate, Jack shouting something incoherent to Rina. Then the second shot fell, the burst of sound and sand intermingling with a scream. Rina whirled toward it, her hair standing on end. Freya had been knocked to the ground by the sheer force of the blast, her eyes wide with terror as she tried to scramble shakily to her feet.

  Jack and Rina started for her at the same time, but Rina was closer, her feet flying over the sand without thought. Blood roared in her ears, though it did nothing to dull the sound of the gliders overhead. There was a sharp hiss as one of the ships fired again, the panic in Rina’s system soaring. A second stretched into eternity as she reached for Freya, Freya reaching for her, their death barrelling closer. In that horrifying moment, an image sprang to Rina’s mind, of herself cowering on the floor of the SGC infirmary, of Fraiser trying to calm her, of a shimmering bubble curling protectively around her. Inside her, the weapon seemed to respond, its power swelling. Rina grabbed hold of that feeling, pulling it to the surface as her thoughts screamed a command.

  Shield! Shield, NOW!

  Her hand collided with Freya’s, yanking her into a desperate embrace. She closed her eyes as the blast struck, catapulting them backward. Rina expected the bite of intensified firepower, the crunch of their own bodies hitting the turf, the sting of flying sand striking their skin.

  She didn’t feel any of it.

  They landed softly at the base of the stargate, Rina cracking her eyes open to find the transparent glow of amber quietly dissipating around her. Freya stared at her, open-mouthed.

  Oh, shit. She knows now. The Tok’ra know.

  A hand grabbed at her shoulder, dragging her to her feet.

  “Go!” Jack yelled, herding them both into the stargate.

  A shot struck to their left as they jumped, Rina feeling the force of it reverberating in her chest even as the gate dematerialized her.

  Then they were stumbling onto the ramp at the SGC, Jack shouting for the iris to be closed.

  “Colonel?” Hammond’s voice rang out over the scraping of metal swallowing the surface of the gate. “Where are Captain Carter and her father?”

  “They’ll be coming,” Jack promised.

  “Uh, General Hammond, this is one of the Tok’ra,” Daniel interjected, gesturing to Freya, “The symbiote is Anise, her host is Freya.”

  Hammond inclined his head.

  “Pleasure to meet you both.”

  “Are you the leader of your people?” Anise asked.

  “I’m the leader of the people in this facility, yes.”

  “Then may I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why is it your people brought a weapon into our midst despite claiming they wished for an alliance?”

  A chill silence followed. Dread clawed at Rina as Anise looked directly at her.

  “Once we heard whispers of a weapon in the hands of one of the system lords, a great many Tok’ra dedicated themselves to learning more of its existence. I do not know how you came to be in possession of it, but I must ask what purpose you intend for it.”

  Rina’s jaw clenched.

  ‘It.’

  Hammond’s gaze hardened a little.

  “I’d be happy to address your concerns,” he said tightly, “But right now I’d like to know exactly what’s going on.”

  Jack launched into an explanation, Hammond’s expression turning grim. When Jack finished, there was a moment of silence.

  “Then I suppose all that’s left to do is wait,” he said finally, “And pray they make it back in one piece.”

  All eyes turned toward the gate, now deactivated and silent. No one said a word. Seconds turned to minutes, ticking away relentlessly. Rina wondered if Samantha, her father, and Martouf were fighting to get there at that very moment…or if they were already dead. Marina’s stomach twisted.

  Maybe it would’ve been better if she had stayed, regardless of what Jack said, regardless of her vain hopes.

  I could’ve helped.

  Suddenly, alarms blared through the SGC, signalling the gate activating. Rina’s heart leapt into her throat as she saw the stargate light up. After a few tense seconds, Hammond glanced toward the control room, a female technician cuing the P.A. system in response.

  “No signal yet, sir,” she said.

  Come on.

  More seconds ticked by.

  Then came the technician’s excited voice over the speakers, “There’s the signal!”

  “Open the iris!” Hammond ordered, the metal cover quickly retracting.

  More seconds. More waiting.

  Then three figures came tumbling onto the ramp, relief flooding through Rina. She hurried forward with a smile to help Samantha to her feet, a pair of SGC guards moving to assist the other two.

  “Thank god,” Rina said, her tone light, “You were giving us a heart attack.”

  Carter breathed a laugh. “Sorry.”

  They strode down the ramp, Samantha’s dad moving toward Hammond.

  “I must give you thanks,” he said, Selmak clearly speaking through him, “You have saved my life and that of my new host.”

  “I am glad the blending was successful,” Anise said.

  “Yes,” Hammond agreed, “Can we talk to your host?”

  Samantha’s dad dipped his head, clearing his throat.

  “It’s strange,” he said, his voice human again, “I can feel myself talking but it’s not me saying the words. You know?”

  “Don’t know,” Jack said dryly, “Take your word for it.”

  “Listen, George,” Samantha’s dad said, putting a hand on Hammond’s shoulder, “Because of this blending thing, I already know everything there is to know about the Tok'ra. You made the right call.”

  “I hope so,” Hammond said, smiling.

  “I would be proud to serve as liaison between Earth and these people,” Carter’s dad offered, nodding at Anise and Martouf.

  “Good,” Hammond said, adding after a pause, “Well, on that note, Anise here has some pressing questions, and I’ve got a few myself, so if you’d all come with me, I’d like to do a little debriefing.”

  Not all the Tok’ra joined them. Martouf was sent on to the Tok’ra’s new hideaway to warn them to stop growing the tunnels and discuss relocation in case the spy had already given away any information regarding the new site.

  The rest of them filed into the debriefing room and seated themselves at the long wooden table, Hammond at the head. A number of questions were bandied about, the other members of SG-1 all occasionally pitching in with answers, while Rina sat utterly silent, twisting and untwisting the band of her jacket sleeve around her arm, waiting for the topic to inevitably shift to her.

  No…not her. The weapon. The only part of her that truly mattered.

  It came soon enough, the Tok’ra asking for the story of how she’d come into the possession of the SGC. Rina nearly flinched at the word, but there was no denying it was correct.

  Prisoner.

  Tool.

  Possession.

  ‘It.’

  “And you’ve been bringing this weapon on missions to unexplored worlds?” Samantha’s dad asked, his tone one of incredulity.

  “Miss Karssen asked to become part of SG-1 and I approved her request, with several conditions, of course,” Hammond explained.

  “All due respect, George,” said Carter’s dad, “But isn’t that a little careless? The weapon could’ve fallen back into Goa’uld hands today. I don’t think I need to tell you what kind of catastrophe that would’ve been.”

  Hammond said nothing, his expression thoughtful. Rina stared down at the table in front of her, drawing shallow breaths.

  “It must be contained in a safe location, or else destroyed,” Anise said.

  Rina’s pulse quickened, her breath stuttering in her lungs.

  “Destroyed?” Daniel asked in alarm, “Well, hang on, we’re not talking about—”

  “We would attempt to remove it from the host first, of course,” Anise added, almost as an afterthought.

  Host.

  Shell.

  Incubator.

  “We’ve looked into that, with no success,” Hammond explained grimly.

  There was a pause.

  “Then perhaps you would allow us to conduct some experiments—”

  Rina jolted to her feet, the room falling into silence. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, but she kept her own gaze pinned to the table.

  “Excuse me,” she said shakily, “It’s clear I’m not part of this conversation, so I’ll…I’ll just go.”

  “Miss Karssen, wait—”

  “Rina—”

  “Please stay.”

  Freya’s voice stopped Rina in her tracks. She kept her gaze fixed downward, refusing to meet the Tok’ra’s eyes.

  “I assure you, we meant no harm,” Freya said, “And I apologize if we caused you any discomfort. Anise and I owe you a great debt of gratitude for saving our life, and we would not seek to add to your misfortune.”

  Rina said nothing, still choosing to stare at the floor.

  “The truth is,” Hammond interjected, “We feel Miss Karssen is a far greater asset to us out there—” He nodded toward the stargate. “—than she is hidden away. I’m sure, seeing as she saved your life, you would agree. And I trust she would be open to hearing any viable option you have to offer in regard to safely removing the weapon.”

  Rina felt eyes on her again and reluctantly lifted her own, gazing upon the expectant faces watching her. Then, slowly, she returned to her seat.

  “As I was saying,” Anise began, rising to the forefront again, “If you would allow to conduct some experiments—”

  Rina immediately cut her off.

  “What ‘experiments’?” she asked coolly.

  “We would perform some tests to determine—”

  “Are these tests invasive?” Rina pressed.

  Anise exchanged a look with Carter’s dad.

  “Yes, but—”

  “Then no.”

  There was a tense silence. Samantha’s dad sighed, turning to Hammond.

  “You said you looked into having it removed yourselves,” he recalled, “How so, exactly?”

  Rina’s hackles rose.

  Doesn’t even have the decency to ask ME.

  “We contacted a brilliant spinal surgeon, but he said it couldn’t be done, not without risk of death, or at the very least paralysis,” Hammond explained.

  Anise turned to Rina, a contemplative look on her face.

  “Then perhaps, if you do attempt this operation, you could agree to becoming a host for one of our symbiotes, so that any injury you may suffer would be he—”

  “No,” Rina said sharply, her anger burning hotter.

  “Yeah, no offense, but that’s not much of a choice,” Daniel added.

  Anise turned her gaze on him.

  “She may not have much choice, Dr. Jackson.”

  Rina bit the inside of her cheek, tasting the coppery tang of blood on her tongue.

  I hate this. I hate it.

  “Would you at least be willing to share whatever you’ve learned about the weapon?”

  Again, Carter’s dad directed his question to Hammond.

  I should’ve just kept on walking…just ignored Freya, ignored them all.

  “Of course,” Hammond answered readily, “I’d hope, in light of an alliance, things would remain open and transparent between us.”

  “Thank you,” Samantha’s dad said, rising to his feet and clasping Hammond’s hand in a firm handshake.

  Then, with a dip of his head, his voice switched to Selmak.

  “Your help has proven invaluable so far,” they said, “Rest assured, the Tok’ra will gladly accept your offer of alliance.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Rina glanced around the room, at Carter’s beaming face, Teal’c’s gentle smile, Hammond and the Tok’ra’s pleased expressions. Daniel and Jack were the only unsmiling faces there, Daniel’s eyes tainted with concern as he turned to look at Marina.

  None of the others seemed to care.

  As everyone rose from their seats and began to move toward the exit, Rina hastily slipped through their midst, striding swiftly down the halls toward the nearest lift. She heard Daniel’s voice softly calling after her, but she ignored it. Her resolve, often quietly slipping below the surface of her thoughts, now burned brightly in her mind.

  I have to get out of this place.

  Memory pulled her back to the quiet sanctuary of Ba’al’s stronghold and the warmth of his embrace. Tears burned behind her eyes and she blindly stumbled forward into an elevator, slapping at the buttons.

  Daniel caught the door just before it closed.

  “Wait, wait!” he panted, slipping onto the lift and taking a moment to catch his breath.

  The doors slid shut behind him and the elevator began its ascent.

  “Look—” Daniel pressed his hands deep into his pockets. “Try not to take it too personally.”

  Rina stared at him in disbelief.

  “Try not to take it personally?” she echoed angrily, “They were treating me like an object in there!”

  “Rina,” Daniel sighed, “You know we don’t see you that way, right?”

  Rina shook her head at him. The elevator came to a stop, the doors sliding open.

  “Who’s ‘we’, Daniel?” Rina asked, “Because from what I’ve seen, you might be one of the very few exceptions.”

  The last three words she each punctuated with brief silence, letting them sink in and linger in the quiet.

  Then she turned and walked away.

  So this is the first chapter written exclusively in Rina's POV! What did you guys think? Did you miss seeing Daniel's perspective in the mix? I figured, since I retread a lot of familiar ground with this chapter, that it'd be best to keep things as fresh as possible by covering events from the perspective of the only original character present.

  Anyway, I'll see you all in the next chapter! <3