Chapter Nine Summary: The SGC ‘Jaffa’, and the System Lord underling Lord Atarek, arrive at
Cronus’s secret shipyard. Soon they have not only helped themselves to a couple of motherships,
but also to the shipwright that was in charge of building it and improving its shields. As they
depart, they leave behind a ‘gift’ for Cronus’s Jaffa.
Rating this Chapter: PG -13
Kalach shal'tek: Victory or Death
Avidan: The Gods are Just
Arik tree-ac te kek: We do not surrender, even in death
Kel shak: You will do my bidding
Ya'isid ma'gue: We must leave
Ai’emain: Stand up/Rise
Ac’yr kash’trek: Loosely, “Who’s in charge/Who is responsible
Swaic: Understood?
Kree: Attention/Listen up/Stop/Yoo Hoo
Tewl’tac, Ja’nak: The names that Teal'c and Jack used during the mission
Tal shak: Come on/Hurry up/Do it
Mel noc tee: Something along the lines of “go check it out”
Jankin: Tell at once or search
Yas: Now
Shor'wai'e: Hurry up
Bradio: Now go/hurry up/come on
Sha’lokma’tor: Get them/him/her
“Italics” – Symbiote-Host Communication
SG-1 stepped into the event horizon and exited on the other side. Jolinar quickly scanned the
area, as did Teal’c. There were only two Jaffa on guard at the gate, and they, of course,
immediately challenged them.
Teal'c lost no time in intimidating the Jaffa guarding the Stargate, “Jaffa, Kree! Ke’i kyn, Lord
Atarek.” (Jaffa, attention! Kneel to Lord Atarek)
Seeing that the Jaffa with her appeared to be Cronus’s Jaffa, they relaxed somewhat, even as
they knelt at Teal'c's command. Jolinar stepped forward, “Ai’emain. Ac’yr kash’trek?
Sha'lokma’tor! Yas!” (Rise. Who is in charge? Get them! Now!)
One of the now standing Jaffa, bowed, and ran off, so Jack had to assume that he was going to
get the head guy, since that was what Jolinar had told him to do. He was glad now that they
had made them memorize some of the phrases she would be using. At least they were sort of
aware of what was being said.
In a very short space of time, the first Jaffa came running up with another Jaffa who took them
all in at a glance, even as he bowed to Jolinar. Daniel was watching as closely as Jack was.
He found it comforting that Jolinar didn’t seem the least bit nervous. Her demeanor was
probably what was keeping the remainder of them on an even keel. Turning his attention back
to the conversation, he heard the new Jaffa ask what he could do for Jolinar, “I am Prey’tac.
How may I serve you, My Lord?”
Her answer was swift and succinct. “My Lord Cronus has sent me to bring two of his
motherships to him, at once. He is in need of them immediately. Which ones do you have
ready to go into battle, and what is their compliment of Al’kesh and gliders?”
“We have two that are ready to go through their test flights tomorrow. Both of them have four
Al’kesh, and a full complement of death gliders.”
“Very well. I wish to see them.” Giving him no time to answer she continued, “Ya'isid ma'gue.
We must return immediately. Kel shak. Bradio! Yas!” (We must leave.) (You will do my
bidding.) (Hurry up!) (Now!)
He bowed low, saying, “Of course, my Lord. This way please.”
Nodding disdainfully, Jolinar consented to allow him to lead them to the ships.
“Jolinar, does this seem too easy to you?” Sam put her question to her, as they strode swiftly
toward the two ships.
Jolinar gave a mental shrug, as she began to give her opinion, “Not necessarily, my Sam. I have
on a ribbon device, and Teal'c has a great deal of presence. He has Cronus’s emblem, it is
obvious I am a quite highly placed Goa'uld underling, and I have an impressive contingent of
Jaffa and servants. However, I do not plan on tarrying. Besides the chance that Cronus could
show up at any time, there is also the chance that the Jaffa will think to check with him. So far, I
do not believe that he will; however, it is very possible that he will yet challenge me, as to why
Cronus sent someone, whom he has never seen nor heard of, to a secret shipyard to collect his
ships for him. I will be very sure that Teal'c remains with him. I do not wish to take the chance on
him contacting Cronus.”
“Are you sure we should take two motherships?” Sam sounded hesitant, as she second-guessed
the decision they made the night before.
“Yes, I am. The more thought I gave to it, the more I realized that, if Cronus was in a battle, and
sent me for more firepower, he would not have me take an Al’kesh or two. He would want several
Al’keshes as well as the death gliders. It is too bad that the Warship is not completed, but the
motherships will do nicely in its place.” She paused before adding, “Assuming, of course, that
we can pull this off.”
“You will,” Sam nodded, as she assured her quietly. “I have every confidence in you, Jol. I can’t
even perceive you failing in this. It just won’t happen.” She mulled over Jolinar’s reasoning, and
after a few moments thought, she agreed with her, “I believe you’re right. It does make sense to
take the motherships. If we came and took nothing more than a couple of Al’keshes, when there
is a battle either soon to begin, or already underway, it would definitely seem a little odd.”
“Yes, that is the conclusion I came to, as well,” Jolinar indicated her agreement, before the Jaffa
began speaking to her.
“My Lord, it is the two on the far end of this row.” They turned their attention back to the
Jaffa, as he pointed out the two motherships that were the most battle ready.
Jolinar grunted at him, before insisting that they inspect them. Speaking briskly, she informed
him, “I wish to see them. Escort us, and we shall soon see if they are truly complete enough to
go into battle.”
Sam spoke to her urgently, “Jolinar, he is looking at us rather oddly. I think he is waiting for us
to do or say something.”
Looking over at him, Jolinar had to agree, “You are correct, my Sam. He is becoming
suspicious.” She frowned, and then smiled slightly. “Cronus rarely leaves anything to chance. I
must admit that, in this way, he is very well organized, and I had forgotten about this. He is
waiting for me to say the correct phrases, which will tell him that I have indeed come from
Cronus.”
“Damn! What do we do now?”
“We tell him that which he wishes to hear. I leave nothing to chance either.” Turning to him,
Jolinar stated firmly, “Avidan. Arik tree-ac te kek. Kalach shal'tek! (The Gods are just.) (We
do not surrender, even in death.) (Victory or death!)” Jolinar whispered to Sam, “I wonder how
Cronus would feel, if he knew that his passphrases were part of the Tok'Ra funeral rituals?”
Sam laughed softly, “I very much doubt he would have used them. He would probably rather be
forced to kneel to a Tau’ri.”
Standing beside them, Jack almost frowned, but stopped just before it became apparent on his
visage. Why in the world was she telling this guy that the Gods were just, and that they would
die before they surrendered? What was going on here? Victory or Death? Well, whatever the
point of it was the Jaffa seemed pleased with it. Surly, this wasn’t going to be this easy, was
it?
Jolinar did not even glance at him, as she asked once more, “They are completely battle ready?
Are you positive? I do not wish to take a ship, which is not ready, into battle. We have little
time. I must return with reinforcements, as quickly as possible. The skirmishes could end,
and the true battle could begin, at any time.”
Finally believing that his God was in need of these ships, he told her, “I believe that they are
ready, except for the final testing. Would you wish me to have that done now?”
“Do you have any reason to believe that they would not be battle worthy?” She demanded of
the Jaffa. The more questions she asked, the more uncomfortable he was becoming.
“I am not sure, My Lord. I am not in charge of the ships. I am in charge of security.”
Jolinar stood in quiet contemplation for a moment. She really did not want to linger, however,
there was something she needed to find out if it was at all possible to do so. Making her
decision, she turned to the Jaffa once more, stating, “My Lord Cronus indicated that you have
the shipwright here. I wish to see him immediately. Bring him to me, at once.” Turning her
back on Prey’tac, she appeared to be studying the outside of the ship.
“I will find and bring him to you immediately, My Lord.”
“Sha’lokma’tor! Shor’wai’e! Yas! (Get him!) (Hurry up!) (Now!)” Without pausing, she
continued, “Tewl’tac, Ja’nak, Kree! (Teal'c, Jack, Attention!) Go with him. Mel nok tee.
Shor'wai'e! Tal shak, yas! (Check it out.) (Hurry up!) (Do it, now!) My Lord Cronus is awaiting
us; the battle may already have begun. Bradio! (Now go!)”
Teal'c and Jack nodded, the two Jaffa standing behind them moved up into their places to take
over in protecting their Lord. Jack and Teal'c followed Prey’tac as he took off running toward
some buildings. Their task was quickly accomplished and Jolinar and Sam watched them, as
they jogged back toward them.
Jolinar found herself frowning, as she looked at the man with them. He was younger than she
had expected, dressed in desert robes, and he was obviously unhappy. Somehow, though, she
did not believe it was because of her and her demands. As they neared her, she realized that
she could detect no symbiote. Ah, that explained it. He was a slave, not a Jaffa, and she
would guess that he did not take to it well. There was a bruise on his right cheek, and he held
himself rigidly, as if he was in pain. She closed her eyes for a moment. Wonderful. She
supposed she would have to attempt to rescue him…if, that is, he wanted to be rescued. If he
was indeed an experienced shipwright, he would be a good person to pull into their sphere of
influence. Although, there were many Tok'Ra familiar with ships and able to work on them,
none of them would have the experience this man would have. Well, time would tell.
Approaching her, he introduced himself, “I am K’haydan. What may I do for you, My Lord?”
He spoke in an even tone, giving nothing of his inner emotions away; however, Jolinar could
tell that he would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else, and that he would rather chew
glass than have to call her My Lord. Well, she could not do anything about it with Prey’tac
standing by them.
She turned from him, before she answered, and told Teal'c, “Take Prey’tac and begin a check of
the other ship. Inspect it thoroughly. Remain there until we join you.”
Teal'c bowed his head to Jolinar, murmuring, “At once, My Lord.” He then turned to Prey’tac
who was standing near him, saying, “You will come with me to the ship in question, and we will
begin our inspection. Yas!” (Now!)
Prey’tac did not question the order; he simply turned, as Teal'c did, and started toward the
other ship.
Jolinar indicated that four more of ‘her’ Jaffa should accompany them. Once they were out of
hearing range, Jolinar waved toward the two Motherships, asking K’haydan, “Are these two
ships battle ready? Is there anything we need to know about that needs worked on, and can it
be completed once we are on our way?”
He answered promptly, if stoically, “They are quite ready, My Lord. It will take me only a few
minutes to finish the crystal placements on this one. The other one you are ruminating on is
completely ready, and both were due to be tested within the next day or two.”
Jolinar nodded abruptly, answering him quickly, “We will go now, and you will finish the
crystals. Yas!” (Now!)
The man did not reply, but turned and walked briskly toward the ship. Within a very short
space of time, they were watching, as he placed the last of the crystals. “Are there replacement
crystals on board, or do I need to send for them?”
“They are in there,” he answered, as he nodded toward a door on the opposite wall. “Most of
the extra parts that might be needed are in there as well.”
“Where is the homing device? I wish to assure myself that it is functioning correctly.”
The man looked a little surprised. Jolinar stared at him for a short time. Then, because he
was human and not Jaffa, even though, it was out of character, for a System Lord, she said
quietly, “If I should be attacked on my way to join the battle, and my ship is damaged, I wish to
have the homing device, so that they can detect and find us should the need arise.”
Since that seemed logical to him and he had no real choice, anyway, he nodded and led the way
down several service corridors, until they were deep within the vessel. “Kneeling, Jolinar looked
it over quickly. It was very simple in design, and she wondered if it had a failsafe mechanism.
“Does it have a failsafe? If we are boarded would they be able to disable it, if they found it?”
“No, it does not, so it would be easy to disable. None was requested; however, I could add one
to this mechanism. It would only take me a short time.”
Jolinar sighed deeply, and then, a vague plan began to take place. She turned back to him,
and shaking her head, she told him, “No, K’haydan, I do not have even those few minutes to
spare. Every second I spend here is that much longer, before I can return and help in the
battle. You have done all that you can. She paused before asking, “The other ship…does it
also have a homing device, and is there a failsafe on it?”
“No, it only has the same device as this one. I am sorry; there is no failsafe, My Lord. I was
not instructed to add one on that ship either.”
After a few moments of quiet deliberation, she suddenly turned to him, and asked, “If you had
the failsafe mechanism with you, could you install it during its flight?”
He frowned slightly, but scrutinized the idea carefully, before answering, “Yes, I believe that I
could do so. It is a fairly simple procedure.” She nodded in response to his answer. It was
obvious that she was thinking deeply about something, and he wondered why she wanted to
know. He did not voice his question, though, as he knew he would get no answer from her, but
he might get a beating from the Jaffa. Therefore, he waited as patiently as he could, while she
stared at the opposite wall, obviously considering something, and perhaps weighing
possibilities.
Finally, she turned back to the shipwright, telling him, “You will go with us. I do not have
anyone with me that could repair this ship, or the other one, if something goes wrong. After
seeing the sudden look of interest in his eyes, she was sure that she was correct in thinking he
needed to leave this world. At a guess, she would say that the Jaffa, for whatever reason, were
taking turns in beating him and possibly even torturing him.
She turned away, waved to one of her Jaffa, and told him, “Take K’haydan back to his quarters,
and then await him while he packs his belongings. Bring everything that you can, but it is his
choice as to what goes and what is left behind, if the complete removal is impossible within the
timeframe. Be swift. He will not be returning here, so take four of the servants, and another
Jaffa with you to help carry his things. She turned back toward K’haydan giving him a
questioning look.”
He shook his head. “I—I have very little. It will not take more than two of them.”
“Swaic,” (Understood) she told him, “However, I will send three, but no extra Jaffa, to help
carry your possessions. Hoe’tec, my Jaffa, will escort you back to your quarters. You will have
perhaps fifteen minutes to pack your things. You heard what I have already said…bring
everything which holds importance for you, as well as anything else you have time to pack.”
She nodded to three of the servants indicating they should be ready to go with him.”
Having indicated through subtle signs to another of ‘her’ Jaffa that she wanted the unknown
Jaffa kept occupied and at a distance, she watched, as he managed to slowly move them
farther away. She led K’haydan to the other side of the room. Once she was sure that they
could no longer hear her, she gave K’haydan her undivided attention. She began quickly,
asking him, “Do you wish to remain here? If so, then you can simply refuse to go with me.” At
the negative shake of his head, she continued, “I will tell Prey’tac that I am taking you, since I
have no one that can repair this ship should something go wrong.”
He looked bewildered; however, the offer of getting away from this place was important enough
that he would take the chance that she would be no worse than Cronus and his Jaffa.
Seeing his nod of agreement, she murmured, “All right. Remember, you must hurry, and bring
as much of your belongings as you can. You will not be returning here, I assure you. Swaic?”
(Understood?)
Bowing low to her, he answered swiftly, “Yes, My Lord, I understand.”
Both Jolinar and Sam were quite certain that he did not have a clue, as to what was
happening, but that was all right. Once they were away from this world, they would explain
who and what they were. Then he could decide his future for himself. For now, they had no
time to tell him anything. After first motioning to the servants, she turned to him, “You need to
go now. Fifteen minutes is all you have. Now hurry up. Go.”
Once K’haydan left, Jolinar finished examining the console in front of her, before turning to her
retinue. Nodding to the two Jaffa that were now her shadows, she told them, “I have finished
here for now. You will come with me to the other ship.” Turning to look at the servants, she
ordered them, “You will all remain here and prepare quarters for me and my lo’tar.”
Then she turned to Cronus’s Jaffa. “We will need supplies. Are they here, or do you need to
bring some to the ships?”
“It should be fully stocked with everything you would need, My Lord. It is one of the final jobs
that must be accomplished before the ship is tested.”
An abrupt nod was her only answer; however, she had one last order to give them, “You will
proceed to disconnect the ship in preparation for launch. When you have finished on this one,
you will do the same with the other. When I return, I expect to be able to leave at once.
Swaic?” (Understand?)
“At once, My Lord.” The Jaffa that was taking Prey’tac’s place, until he returned, answered her
and gave instructions to the other Jaffa that were with him.
Once they left, Jolinar and her Jaffa followed. They joined Teal'c on the other ship, and he
gave his report, “My Lord, everything appears to be in working order.”
Jolinar nodded slightly, before telling him, “I am taking the shipwright with us. He assured me
that this ship is completely ready. We may need him, if something goes wrong with one of the
ships. Since they were not taken through their test flights, I want someone that is very familiar
with them along. We can return him when we return the ships.”
Teal'c bowed slightly, as he answered, “As you wish, My Lord.”
“Was the homing device in place?”
“Indeed, My Lord.”
“Very good. Come, I wish to walk through the ship, and then we must be on our way.”
A very quick tour later and Jolinar turned to Prey’tac. “Come. You will need to make sure that
your Jaffa have finished disconnecting the ships. I will follow shortly, and I will expect your
report on their progress.”
Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Prey’tac left to find his Jaffa. He still wondered if he
should have attempted to contact Lord Cronus. But she had known the phrases and their
order, so, no. It was that so few knew about this shipyard. Having someone unknown come
and demand two motherships had disturbed him. He was still frowning, when he found the
first of his Jaffa. “Are the ships released?”
“Yes. Both of them are finished and ready to launch.”
“Very good.” Hearing a step behind him, he turned to see Lord Atarek. Before she could ask,
he told her, “The ships are released and ready to serve our Lord.”
He was given a curt nod from the obviously preoccupied Lord, before she turned on her heel
and made her way to the ship she chose as hers. She checked that the shipwright had
returned. Several of her Jaffa and servants changed from one ship to the other.
Prey’tac watched as one of the Jaffa placed something on the ground before moving to the other
ship. He wondered what he had set down, but he could not get to it now. Both ships were
powering up, and he did not plan on being any nearer than he already was, until they were well
away. Once they were gone, he walked over and picked up a stone tablet and the control for
it. Waving it over it, the words made themselves known, and it read: Lord Sokar sends his
compliments and thanks, for the gift of these new motherships, to Lord Cronus. He will see him in
battle.
The Jaffa turned pale and then looked up into the sky. His decision was made immediately.
He was leaving. He had heard that there was a resistance group started by Lord Apophis’s
former first prime, the Shol’va, Teal'c. He would search them out. It was time for him to also
become Shol’va…for staying here was a death sentence. Handing the tablet to his second in
command, he turned and walked away.
He had much to do and it must be done both quickly and stealthily. The others would attempt
to stop him, he knew. If he was absent, Cronus would take his displeasure out on the next in
command. He smiled grimly. There was a very good chance that, once he was gone, the others
might well decide to become Shol’va, as well. He would rather be a traitor to his supposed ‘God’
and be alive, than to be a loyal servant to a false ‘God’ and be dead. Entering his small resting
place, he began to pack. He did not hear his second-in-command come in, so his voice startled
him.
“Where will you go, Prey’tac? Do you truly believe that there is anywhere that Cronus will not
find…us? I am coming, as well. I see no reason to give up my life to him over something like
this. She knew the correct phrases. We had no reason to disbelieve her. That will not matter
to him, though, so I, too, am leaving. It is my belief that many will follow us.” He sighed. “I
am very much afraid, though, that we will find no place to hide where he will not find us.”
“If you are serious and truly wish to leave, then you may come with me. If I find that you are
doing it to be a traitor to me, I will kill you, that I promise you. I have hated Cronus, for a very
long time, and I am ready to leave him. As for where I am going—I am not sure. I believe my
first stop will be at one of the temples to steal a new primta. Mine is almost mature. I do not
wish to have to find one in the near future. Then I will attempt to find an old mentor of mine.
If anyone can find the free Jaffa, he can. If you want to accompany me, go pack. I will be
leaving very shortly.”
“It will not take me long. How are you going to rid the gate of the guards?”
“We will relieve them, so that they can eat something. Once they are gone, we will leave.”
He nodded agreeing, “You are correct. It will be time for their meal soon now. I will go pack
and meet you at the Chaappa’ai.”
“Very well. Do not take any longer than you must.”
The other Jaffa nodded and left. Prey’tac hoped he had not made a mistake. The two of them
were longtime friends, so he did not believe he had. He hefted the large duffle bag, which was
filled with what little he owned, his clothing, and his most important possessions. Then he
picked up his staff weapon, walked out the door, and did not look back. Excitement was
beginning to grow. Perhaps this was not such a bad thing, at all. He would know that in the
near future he was sure.
Jolinar stretched, retreated, and handed control off to Sam. For now, the ship was moving
along on auto and needed very little oversight. She contacted Teal'c immediately after leaving
the atmosphere to make sure that he disconnected the homing device, as soon as possible, if
he had not already done so. She sent O’Neill with K’haydan to make sure that he disconnected
the one in this ship. Then she changed her own clothes, something all of the others had
already finished doing.
K’haydan watched them, as each returned dressed in BDUs. It was obvious that he was
puzzled as to what was happening. Sam walked toward him and then sat down beside him.
Smiling slightly at him, she began the ordeal of explaining who and what they were, “K’haydan,
I would imagine that by now you’ve figured out that we aren’t, ah, Cronus’s, um, servants.”
Drawing a deep breath, he nodded before he replied, “Yes. However, although I know who you
are not, I do not know who you are.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll tell you, but I must have your word that you won’t discuss it with anyone but
those of us here. All of us, except for Teal'c, are members of the United States Air Force or the
United States Marines. We live on the first world, the Tau'ri. We’re a human resistance group
ranged against the Goa'uld. We just stole these ships, as you are aware. You see, although
Earth, our planet is called Earth, is fairly technologically advanced, considering our starting
point, we are a very long way from space flight. We have no way to defend our world from the
Goa'uld.”
She sighed. “The story is actually very long, so I’m just giving you the highlights, okay? I’ll try
not to leave any pertinent information out, but on the other hand, I can’t let you know any
classified material either. So far, I’ve only told you things that everyone at the SGC already
knows. The general population of Earth doesn’t know about the Stargate, though, so you can’t
talk about it should you be allowed to leave the base, which you probably won’t be, but just in
case…the Stargate is classified information. So, to continue…not long ago, we became aware of
the Tok'Ra. Are you familiar with them?”
He shook his head, stating, “No. My world is very advanced, but until quite recently, they were
both pacifist and isolationist. We had no ties to anyone else, although we knew of the Goa'uld
and other races. We thought that our defenses were sufficient. We were wrong. Not long ago,
Cronus attacked and razed much of our world, before we were able to force him to give up and
leave. Fortunately, we have some technology that negated his shields and by doing so, our
defenses were able to take care of him. He captured some of us before we managed to defeat
his attack though. I am the only one he kept. The others he…killed.”
He swallowed hard, keeping his emotions in check, before continuing, “I was the head of my
department, the lead scientist in our defense section of the government. Although not
aggressive, we did believe in having defenses against any attacker. Several of us tried to warn
the council many times that our defenses needed to be improved. I would imagine they believe
us now…if any of them survived the attack. Many died. My entire family was killed. I was
away at the institute at the time. I would like to be considered as a warrior for your cause,
Lord Atarek. I know I am not a trained soldier, but I might be able to work with your scientists
to develop some defenses for your world. Would this be possible?”
Sam gave a very small laugh, before replying, “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself to
you at once. I’m definitely not a Lord of any kind. I’m just plain old Captain Samantha
Carter. Lord Atarek, as far as I know, doesn’t exist except in our imaginations.” She paused
before continuing, “To tell you the truth, K’haydan, I don’t know what you’ll be allowed to do,
but I can tell you that it would certainly give them something to think about, since you
obviously have knowledge about technology that’s more advanced than ours. Of course,
cooperating in the stealing of this ship, and being the scientist that was in charge of building it,
will weigh in your favor, I can guarantee that. If you’re truly able to help, then, they may very
well allow you to stay.” Sam cleared her throat, before saying, “There are a couple of other
options open to you, if our government doesn’t agree to allow you to work with us…which to be
honest, I very much doubt. In my opinion, our leaders will be ecstatic to have you. You could
become a Tok'Ra.”
He looked at her blankly. “I am afraid I do not know what a Tok'Ra is.”
Sam smiled slightly, before telling him, “The Tok'Ra are a resistance group within the Goa'uld.
They disrupt and cause turmoil amongst the System Lords, since they can work from within
their ranks. The most important way they differ from Goa'uld is that they won’t take an
unwilling host, nor do they subjugate their host. They truly share the body with them. I know
this for a fact, K’haydan, because…I am Tok'Ra. You were talking to Jolinar, my symbiote,
during the theft of this fine ship.”
He stared at her with his mouth slightly open for a longish pause blinking at her in a dazed
manner, before gasping, “You have a Goa'uld within you?” When I realized that you were not
Goa'uld, I assumed you were using some sort of voice distortion technology, so that you would
appear to be one of them.
Sam nodded, as she smiled at him. “The reason Jolinar had control before was that she can
act the part of a System Lord, something that I can’t do. In situations like this one, it’s
imperative that there are no mistakes, so the symbiote takes the lead. As soon as the danger
was over, she returned control of the body back to me. They are always in need of willing
hosts, so you see that’s also an option for you. Don’t make a snap judgment or decision,
please. Get to know them first. Give it some serious thought, after you manage to push your
feelings about the Goa'uld away. Ask questions. We’ll revisit the subject sometime in the
future, I promise you.”
She shifted her position and relaxed a little more, before continuing. “It was Jolinar that
realized you needed to be rescued from the Jaffa, and she concocted the plan to get you away
from them and Cronus. But I am digressing, so I’ll return to the subject we were discussing.
Another choice you have is to return to your own world and people. I’m sure that could be
arranged. If you think that’s a possibility, we’ll definitely keep your abilities between just us.
There are some factions in our government who would take you and attempt to force you to
work for us. Those of us at the SGC don’t do that, so we can’t let that information out, unless
you decide to stay on Earth and work for us.”
Taking one more deep breath, she told him, “The last option you have is to go and live with the
Tollan. I have a feeling that you’re probably on a par with them intellectually and
technologically. They’re okay, I guess. I have one person among them that I really like and
consider a friend, but due to a very bad experience in sharing their technology with a less
developed world, they refuse to give us any technology at all. It’s frustrating, but I can see
their point of view. They lost their entire world because of the way the world they tried to help
used the technology they gave them.”
“There are other peoples that would be very happy to have you join their worlds, but most of
them are very far behind even us, as far as technology is concerned. I’m afraid you’d find you
have nothing to interest you on those worlds. Although,” Sam smiled softly, for she had a soft
spot for the people on this particular world, “the people of Argos might at least interest you, for
a while. And, though their population is very small, there are some lovely women there.” She
chuckled as his cheeks tinted with color. “I’ll stop teasing you now. Do you have any
questions?”
“Yes, I do actually. Where are we going now? To your homeworld?”
Sam shook her head, adding, “No. We’re on our way to a world called Abydos.” She nodded
her head toward Daniel, as he stood talking to Jack. “The man over there that played the part
of my Lo’tar is the reason we’re going there. His wife was stolen by Apophis, and he made her
his queen. It’s been about a year and a half now, since it happened, but he still loves her very
much. Jolinar believes she knows where Sha’uri is, so we’re going to see, and if she’s there,
we'll rescue her and take her back to Earth with us.”
K’haydan frowned before asking her, “But if Apophis made her his queen, does that not mean
that she is Goa'uld? How will you capture her? Will she not have a great many Jaffa to protect
her? You have very few warriors with you. I will be glad to help, if I can. I know how to use a
staff weapon and a zat’nik’tel.”
Sam reached over and clasped his hand, for a moment, before squeezing it gently. “Normally,
getting to Sha’uri would be extremely difficult. You’re correct, and she would have a hefty
contingent of Jaffa to protect her. However, this isn’t a normal situation. It appears that she
is pregnant with Apophis’s child, and we believe that he has hidden her on Abydos. Since the
symbiote must be dormant during a human pregnancy, Sha’uri has control of her body. There
should be no Jaffa there or at least very few, if any. Those things we won’t know, until we
arrive, which should be by early tomorrow. If our luck holds, Daniel will be able to convince
her to come with us, and we’ll have Amaunet removed from her. Unless something untoward
happens, it should be a fairly simple rescue. We can only hope that it will go as well as our
theft of these ships did.” She gave him another smile and stood. “I’m a little tired, so I think
I'm going to go take a nap. If you’re tired, just find a place and go to sleep. If you’re hungry,
I'm sure someone can find the food, or since you probably know where it is, you can help
yourself to whatever you want. Daniel will probably introduce himself, when he finishes talking
to the Colonel, if you don’t lie down. You’ll like him, almost everyone does. I’ll see you later,
K'haydan.”
He bowed his head in respect and he wished her beautiful dreams. As she walked away, he
leaned back against the wall of the mothership. Where, he wondered, would his life lead him
next?
TBC
Chapter Eight Home Chapter Ten
Table of Contents
Cronus’s secret shipyard. Soon they have not only helped themselves to a couple of motherships,
but also to the shipwright that was in charge of building it and improving its shields. As they
depart, they leave behind a ‘gift’ for Cronus’s Jaffa.
Rating this Chapter: PG -13
Kalach shal'tek: Victory or Death
Avidan: The Gods are Just
Arik tree-ac te kek: We do not surrender, even in death
Kel shak: You will do my bidding
Ya'isid ma'gue: We must leave
Ai’emain: Stand up/Rise
Ac’yr kash’trek: Loosely, “Who’s in charge/Who is responsible
Swaic: Understood?
Kree: Attention/Listen up/Stop/Yoo Hoo
Tewl’tac, Ja’nak: The names that Teal'c and Jack used during the mission
Tal shak: Come on/Hurry up/Do it
Mel noc tee: Something along the lines of “go check it out”
Jankin: Tell at once or search
Yas: Now
Shor'wai'e: Hurry up
Bradio: Now go/hurry up/come on
Sha’lokma’tor: Get them/him/her
“Italics” – Symbiote-Host Communication
SG-1 stepped into the event horizon and exited on the other side. Jolinar quickly scanned the
area, as did Teal’c. There were only two Jaffa on guard at the gate, and they, of course,
immediately challenged them.
Teal'c lost no time in intimidating the Jaffa guarding the Stargate, “Jaffa, Kree! Ke’i kyn, Lord
Atarek.” (Jaffa, attention! Kneel to Lord Atarek)
Seeing that the Jaffa with her appeared to be Cronus’s Jaffa, they relaxed somewhat, even as
they knelt at Teal'c's command. Jolinar stepped forward, “Ai’emain. Ac’yr kash’trek?
Sha'lokma’tor! Yas!” (Rise. Who is in charge? Get them! Now!)
One of the now standing Jaffa, bowed, and ran off, so Jack had to assume that he was going to
get the head guy, since that was what Jolinar had told him to do. He was glad now that they
had made them memorize some of the phrases she would be using. At least they were sort of
aware of what was being said.
In a very short space of time, the first Jaffa came running up with another Jaffa who took them
all in at a glance, even as he bowed to Jolinar. Daniel was watching as closely as Jack was.
He found it comforting that Jolinar didn’t seem the least bit nervous. Her demeanor was
probably what was keeping the remainder of them on an even keel. Turning his attention back
to the conversation, he heard the new Jaffa ask what he could do for Jolinar, “I am Prey’tac.
How may I serve you, My Lord?”
Her answer was swift and succinct. “My Lord Cronus has sent me to bring two of his
motherships to him, at once. He is in need of them immediately. Which ones do you have
ready to go into battle, and what is their compliment of Al’kesh and gliders?”
“We have two that are ready to go through their test flights tomorrow. Both of them have four
Al’kesh, and a full complement of death gliders.”
“Very well. I wish to see them.” Giving him no time to answer she continued, “Ya'isid ma'gue.
We must return immediately. Kel shak. Bradio! Yas!” (We must leave.) (You will do my
bidding.) (Hurry up!) (Now!)
He bowed low, saying, “Of course, my Lord. This way please.”
Nodding disdainfully, Jolinar consented to allow him to lead them to the ships.
“Jolinar, does this seem too easy to you?” Sam put her question to her, as they strode swiftly
toward the two ships.
Jolinar gave a mental shrug, as she began to give her opinion, “Not necessarily, my Sam. I have
on a ribbon device, and Teal'c has a great deal of presence. He has Cronus’s emblem, it is
obvious I am a quite highly placed Goa'uld underling, and I have an impressive contingent of
Jaffa and servants. However, I do not plan on tarrying. Besides the chance that Cronus could
show up at any time, there is also the chance that the Jaffa will think to check with him. So far, I
do not believe that he will; however, it is very possible that he will yet challenge me, as to why
Cronus sent someone, whom he has never seen nor heard of, to a secret shipyard to collect his
ships for him. I will be very sure that Teal'c remains with him. I do not wish to take the chance on
him contacting Cronus.”
“Are you sure we should take two motherships?” Sam sounded hesitant, as she second-guessed
the decision they made the night before.
“Yes, I am. The more thought I gave to it, the more I realized that, if Cronus was in a battle, and
sent me for more firepower, he would not have me take an Al’kesh or two. He would want several
Al’keshes as well as the death gliders. It is too bad that the Warship is not completed, but the
motherships will do nicely in its place.” She paused before adding, “Assuming, of course, that
we can pull this off.”
“You will,” Sam nodded, as she assured her quietly. “I have every confidence in you, Jol. I can’t
even perceive you failing in this. It just won’t happen.” She mulled over Jolinar’s reasoning, and
after a few moments thought, she agreed with her, “I believe you’re right. It does make sense to
take the motherships. If we came and took nothing more than a couple of Al’keshes, when there
is a battle either soon to begin, or already underway, it would definitely seem a little odd.”
“Yes, that is the conclusion I came to, as well,” Jolinar indicated her agreement, before the Jaffa
began speaking to her.
“My Lord, it is the two on the far end of this row.” They turned their attention back to the
Jaffa, as he pointed out the two motherships that were the most battle ready.
Jolinar grunted at him, before insisting that they inspect them. Speaking briskly, she informed
him, “I wish to see them. Escort us, and we shall soon see if they are truly complete enough to
go into battle.”
Sam spoke to her urgently, “Jolinar, he is looking at us rather oddly. I think he is waiting for us
to do or say something.”
Looking over at him, Jolinar had to agree, “You are correct, my Sam. He is becoming
suspicious.” She frowned, and then smiled slightly. “Cronus rarely leaves anything to chance. I
must admit that, in this way, he is very well organized, and I had forgotten about this. He is
waiting for me to say the correct phrases, which will tell him that I have indeed come from
Cronus.”
“Damn! What do we do now?”
“We tell him that which he wishes to hear. I leave nothing to chance either.” Turning to him,
Jolinar stated firmly, “Avidan. Arik tree-ac te kek. Kalach shal'tek! (The Gods are just.) (We
do not surrender, even in death.) (Victory or death!)” Jolinar whispered to Sam, “I wonder how
Cronus would feel, if he knew that his passphrases were part of the Tok'Ra funeral rituals?”
Sam laughed softly, “I very much doubt he would have used them. He would probably rather be
forced to kneel to a Tau’ri.”
Standing beside them, Jack almost frowned, but stopped just before it became apparent on his
visage. Why in the world was she telling this guy that the Gods were just, and that they would
die before they surrendered? What was going on here? Victory or Death? Well, whatever the
point of it was the Jaffa seemed pleased with it. Surly, this wasn’t going to be this easy, was
it?
Jolinar did not even glance at him, as she asked once more, “They are completely battle ready?
Are you positive? I do not wish to take a ship, which is not ready, into battle. We have little
time. I must return with reinforcements, as quickly as possible. The skirmishes could end,
and the true battle could begin, at any time.”
Finally believing that his God was in need of these ships, he told her, “I believe that they are
ready, except for the final testing. Would you wish me to have that done now?”
“Do you have any reason to believe that they would not be battle worthy?” She demanded of
the Jaffa. The more questions she asked, the more uncomfortable he was becoming.
“I am not sure, My Lord. I am not in charge of the ships. I am in charge of security.”
Jolinar stood in quiet contemplation for a moment. She really did not want to linger, however,
there was something she needed to find out if it was at all possible to do so. Making her
decision, she turned to the Jaffa once more, stating, “My Lord Cronus indicated that you have
the shipwright here. I wish to see him immediately. Bring him to me, at once.” Turning her
back on Prey’tac, she appeared to be studying the outside of the ship.
“I will find and bring him to you immediately, My Lord.”
“Sha’lokma’tor! Shor’wai’e! Yas! (Get him!) (Hurry up!) (Now!)” Without pausing, she
continued, “Tewl’tac, Ja’nak, Kree! (Teal'c, Jack, Attention!) Go with him. Mel nok tee.
Shor'wai'e! Tal shak, yas! (Check it out.) (Hurry up!) (Do it, now!) My Lord Cronus is awaiting
us; the battle may already have begun. Bradio! (Now go!)”
Teal'c and Jack nodded, the two Jaffa standing behind them moved up into their places to take
over in protecting their Lord. Jack and Teal'c followed Prey’tac as he took off running toward
some buildings. Their task was quickly accomplished and Jolinar and Sam watched them, as
they jogged back toward them.
Jolinar found herself frowning, as she looked at the man with them. He was younger than she
had expected, dressed in desert robes, and he was obviously unhappy. Somehow, though, she
did not believe it was because of her and her demands. As they neared her, she realized that
she could detect no symbiote. Ah, that explained it. He was a slave, not a Jaffa, and she
would guess that he did not take to it well. There was a bruise on his right cheek, and he held
himself rigidly, as if he was in pain. She closed her eyes for a moment. Wonderful. She
supposed she would have to attempt to rescue him…if, that is, he wanted to be rescued. If he
was indeed an experienced shipwright, he would be a good person to pull into their sphere of
influence. Although, there were many Tok'Ra familiar with ships and able to work on them,
none of them would have the experience this man would have. Well, time would tell.
Approaching her, he introduced himself, “I am K’haydan. What may I do for you, My Lord?”
He spoke in an even tone, giving nothing of his inner emotions away; however, Jolinar could
tell that he would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else, and that he would rather chew
glass than have to call her My Lord. Well, she could not do anything about it with Prey’tac
standing by them.
She turned from him, before she answered, and told Teal'c, “Take Prey’tac and begin a check of
the other ship. Inspect it thoroughly. Remain there until we join you.”
Teal'c bowed his head to Jolinar, murmuring, “At once, My Lord.” He then turned to Prey’tac
who was standing near him, saying, “You will come with me to the ship in question, and we will
begin our inspection. Yas!” (Now!)
Prey’tac did not question the order; he simply turned, as Teal'c did, and started toward the
other ship.
Jolinar indicated that four more of ‘her’ Jaffa should accompany them. Once they were out of
hearing range, Jolinar waved toward the two Motherships, asking K’haydan, “Are these two
ships battle ready? Is there anything we need to know about that needs worked on, and can it
be completed once we are on our way?”
He answered promptly, if stoically, “They are quite ready, My Lord. It will take me only a few
minutes to finish the crystal placements on this one. The other one you are ruminating on is
completely ready, and both were due to be tested within the next day or two.”
Jolinar nodded abruptly, answering him quickly, “We will go now, and you will finish the
crystals. Yas!” (Now!)
The man did not reply, but turned and walked briskly toward the ship. Within a very short
space of time, they were watching, as he placed the last of the crystals. “Are there replacement
crystals on board, or do I need to send for them?”
“They are in there,” he answered, as he nodded toward a door on the opposite wall. “Most of
the extra parts that might be needed are in there as well.”
“Where is the homing device? I wish to assure myself that it is functioning correctly.”
The man looked a little surprised. Jolinar stared at him for a short time. Then, because he
was human and not Jaffa, even though, it was out of character, for a System Lord, she said
quietly, “If I should be attacked on my way to join the battle, and my ship is damaged, I wish to
have the homing device, so that they can detect and find us should the need arise.”
Since that seemed logical to him and he had no real choice, anyway, he nodded and led the way
down several service corridors, until they were deep within the vessel. “Kneeling, Jolinar looked
it over quickly. It was very simple in design, and she wondered if it had a failsafe mechanism.
“Does it have a failsafe? If we are boarded would they be able to disable it, if they found it?”
“No, it does not, so it would be easy to disable. None was requested; however, I could add one
to this mechanism. It would only take me a short time.”
Jolinar sighed deeply, and then, a vague plan began to take place. She turned back to him,
and shaking her head, she told him, “No, K’haydan, I do not have even those few minutes to
spare. Every second I spend here is that much longer, before I can return and help in the
battle. You have done all that you can. She paused before asking, “The other ship…does it
also have a homing device, and is there a failsafe on it?”
“No, it only has the same device as this one. I am sorry; there is no failsafe, My Lord. I was
not instructed to add one on that ship either.”
After a few moments of quiet deliberation, she suddenly turned to him, and asked, “If you had
the failsafe mechanism with you, could you install it during its flight?”
He frowned slightly, but scrutinized the idea carefully, before answering, “Yes, I believe that I
could do so. It is a fairly simple procedure.” She nodded in response to his answer. It was
obvious that she was thinking deeply about something, and he wondered why she wanted to
know. He did not voice his question, though, as he knew he would get no answer from her, but
he might get a beating from the Jaffa. Therefore, he waited as patiently as he could, while she
stared at the opposite wall, obviously considering something, and perhaps weighing
possibilities.
Finally, she turned back to the shipwright, telling him, “You will go with us. I do not have
anyone with me that could repair this ship, or the other one, if something goes wrong. After
seeing the sudden look of interest in his eyes, she was sure that she was correct in thinking he
needed to leave this world. At a guess, she would say that the Jaffa, for whatever reason, were
taking turns in beating him and possibly even torturing him.
She turned away, waved to one of her Jaffa, and told him, “Take K’haydan back to his quarters,
and then await him while he packs his belongings. Bring everything that you can, but it is his
choice as to what goes and what is left behind, if the complete removal is impossible within the
timeframe. Be swift. He will not be returning here, so take four of the servants, and another
Jaffa with you to help carry his things. She turned back toward K’haydan giving him a
questioning look.”
He shook his head. “I—I have very little. It will not take more than two of them.”
“Swaic,” (Understood) she told him, “However, I will send three, but no extra Jaffa, to help
carry your possessions. Hoe’tec, my Jaffa, will escort you back to your quarters. You will have
perhaps fifteen minutes to pack your things. You heard what I have already said…bring
everything which holds importance for you, as well as anything else you have time to pack.”
She nodded to three of the servants indicating they should be ready to go with him.”
Having indicated through subtle signs to another of ‘her’ Jaffa that she wanted the unknown
Jaffa kept occupied and at a distance, she watched, as he managed to slowly move them
farther away. She led K’haydan to the other side of the room. Once she was sure that they
could no longer hear her, she gave K’haydan her undivided attention. She began quickly,
asking him, “Do you wish to remain here? If so, then you can simply refuse to go with me.” At
the negative shake of his head, she continued, “I will tell Prey’tac that I am taking you, since I
have no one that can repair this ship should something go wrong.”
He looked bewildered; however, the offer of getting away from this place was important enough
that he would take the chance that she would be no worse than Cronus and his Jaffa.
Seeing his nod of agreement, she murmured, “All right. Remember, you must hurry, and bring
as much of your belongings as you can. You will not be returning here, I assure you. Swaic?”
(Understood?)
Bowing low to her, he answered swiftly, “Yes, My Lord, I understand.”
Both Jolinar and Sam were quite certain that he did not have a clue, as to what was
happening, but that was all right. Once they were away from this world, they would explain
who and what they were. Then he could decide his future for himself. For now, they had no
time to tell him anything. After first motioning to the servants, she turned to him, “You need to
go now. Fifteen minutes is all you have. Now hurry up. Go.”
Once K’haydan left, Jolinar finished examining the console in front of her, before turning to her
retinue. Nodding to the two Jaffa that were now her shadows, she told them, “I have finished
here for now. You will come with me to the other ship.” Turning to look at the servants, she
ordered them, “You will all remain here and prepare quarters for me and my lo’tar.”
Then she turned to Cronus’s Jaffa. “We will need supplies. Are they here, or do you need to
bring some to the ships?”
“It should be fully stocked with everything you would need, My Lord. It is one of the final jobs
that must be accomplished before the ship is tested.”
An abrupt nod was her only answer; however, she had one last order to give them, “You will
proceed to disconnect the ship in preparation for launch. When you have finished on this one,
you will do the same with the other. When I return, I expect to be able to leave at once.
Swaic?” (Understand?)
“At once, My Lord.” The Jaffa that was taking Prey’tac’s place, until he returned, answered her
and gave instructions to the other Jaffa that were with him.
Once they left, Jolinar and her Jaffa followed. They joined Teal'c on the other ship, and he
gave his report, “My Lord, everything appears to be in working order.”
Jolinar nodded slightly, before telling him, “I am taking the shipwright with us. He assured me
that this ship is completely ready. We may need him, if something goes wrong with one of the
ships. Since they were not taken through their test flights, I want someone that is very familiar
with them along. We can return him when we return the ships.”
Teal'c bowed slightly, as he answered, “As you wish, My Lord.”
“Was the homing device in place?”
“Indeed, My Lord.”
“Very good. Come, I wish to walk through the ship, and then we must be on our way.”
A very quick tour later and Jolinar turned to Prey’tac. “Come. You will need to make sure that
your Jaffa have finished disconnecting the ships. I will follow shortly, and I will expect your
report on their progress.”
Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Prey’tac left to find his Jaffa. He still wondered if he
should have attempted to contact Lord Cronus. But she had known the phrases and their
order, so, no. It was that so few knew about this shipyard. Having someone unknown come
and demand two motherships had disturbed him. He was still frowning, when he found the
first of his Jaffa. “Are the ships released?”
“Yes. Both of them are finished and ready to launch.”
“Very good.” Hearing a step behind him, he turned to see Lord Atarek. Before she could ask,
he told her, “The ships are released and ready to serve our Lord.”
He was given a curt nod from the obviously preoccupied Lord, before she turned on her heel
and made her way to the ship she chose as hers. She checked that the shipwright had
returned. Several of her Jaffa and servants changed from one ship to the other.
Prey’tac watched as one of the Jaffa placed something on the ground before moving to the other
ship. He wondered what he had set down, but he could not get to it now. Both ships were
powering up, and he did not plan on being any nearer than he already was, until they were well
away. Once they were gone, he walked over and picked up a stone tablet and the control for
it. Waving it over it, the words made themselves known, and it read: Lord Sokar sends his
compliments and thanks, for the gift of these new motherships, to Lord Cronus. He will see him in
battle.
The Jaffa turned pale and then looked up into the sky. His decision was made immediately.
He was leaving. He had heard that there was a resistance group started by Lord Apophis’s
former first prime, the Shol’va, Teal'c. He would search them out. It was time for him to also
become Shol’va…for staying here was a death sentence. Handing the tablet to his second in
command, he turned and walked away.
He had much to do and it must be done both quickly and stealthily. The others would attempt
to stop him, he knew. If he was absent, Cronus would take his displeasure out on the next in
command. He smiled grimly. There was a very good chance that, once he was gone, the others
might well decide to become Shol’va, as well. He would rather be a traitor to his supposed ‘God’
and be alive, than to be a loyal servant to a false ‘God’ and be dead. Entering his small resting
place, he began to pack. He did not hear his second-in-command come in, so his voice startled
him.
“Where will you go, Prey’tac? Do you truly believe that there is anywhere that Cronus will not
find…us? I am coming, as well. I see no reason to give up my life to him over something like
this. She knew the correct phrases. We had no reason to disbelieve her. That will not matter
to him, though, so I, too, am leaving. It is my belief that many will follow us.” He sighed. “I
am very much afraid, though, that we will find no place to hide where he will not find us.”
“If you are serious and truly wish to leave, then you may come with me. If I find that you are
doing it to be a traitor to me, I will kill you, that I promise you. I have hated Cronus, for a very
long time, and I am ready to leave him. As for where I am going—I am not sure. I believe my
first stop will be at one of the temples to steal a new primta. Mine is almost mature. I do not
wish to have to find one in the near future. Then I will attempt to find an old mentor of mine.
If anyone can find the free Jaffa, he can. If you want to accompany me, go pack. I will be
leaving very shortly.”
“It will not take me long. How are you going to rid the gate of the guards?”
“We will relieve them, so that they can eat something. Once they are gone, we will leave.”
He nodded agreeing, “You are correct. It will be time for their meal soon now. I will go pack
and meet you at the Chaappa’ai.”
“Very well. Do not take any longer than you must.”
The other Jaffa nodded and left. Prey’tac hoped he had not made a mistake. The two of them
were longtime friends, so he did not believe he had. He hefted the large duffle bag, which was
filled with what little he owned, his clothing, and his most important possessions. Then he
picked up his staff weapon, walked out the door, and did not look back. Excitement was
beginning to grow. Perhaps this was not such a bad thing, at all. He would know that in the
near future he was sure.
Jolinar stretched, retreated, and handed control off to Sam. For now, the ship was moving
along on auto and needed very little oversight. She contacted Teal'c immediately after leaving
the atmosphere to make sure that he disconnected the homing device, as soon as possible, if
he had not already done so. She sent O’Neill with K’haydan to make sure that he disconnected
the one in this ship. Then she changed her own clothes, something all of the others had
already finished doing.
K’haydan watched them, as each returned dressed in BDUs. It was obvious that he was
puzzled as to what was happening. Sam walked toward him and then sat down beside him.
Smiling slightly at him, she began the ordeal of explaining who and what they were, “K’haydan,
I would imagine that by now you’ve figured out that we aren’t, ah, Cronus’s, um, servants.”
Drawing a deep breath, he nodded before he replied, “Yes. However, although I know who you
are not, I do not know who you are.”
Sam nodded. “I’ll tell you, but I must have your word that you won’t discuss it with anyone but
those of us here. All of us, except for Teal'c, are members of the United States Air Force or the
United States Marines. We live on the first world, the Tau'ri. We’re a human resistance group
ranged against the Goa'uld. We just stole these ships, as you are aware. You see, although
Earth, our planet is called Earth, is fairly technologically advanced, considering our starting
point, we are a very long way from space flight. We have no way to defend our world from the
Goa'uld.”
She sighed. “The story is actually very long, so I’m just giving you the highlights, okay? I’ll try
not to leave any pertinent information out, but on the other hand, I can’t let you know any
classified material either. So far, I’ve only told you things that everyone at the SGC already
knows. The general population of Earth doesn’t know about the Stargate, though, so you can’t
talk about it should you be allowed to leave the base, which you probably won’t be, but just in
case…the Stargate is classified information. So, to continue…not long ago, we became aware of
the Tok'Ra. Are you familiar with them?”
He shook his head, stating, “No. My world is very advanced, but until quite recently, they were
both pacifist and isolationist. We had no ties to anyone else, although we knew of the Goa'uld
and other races. We thought that our defenses were sufficient. We were wrong. Not long ago,
Cronus attacked and razed much of our world, before we were able to force him to give up and
leave. Fortunately, we have some technology that negated his shields and by doing so, our
defenses were able to take care of him. He captured some of us before we managed to defeat
his attack though. I am the only one he kept. The others he…killed.”
He swallowed hard, keeping his emotions in check, before continuing, “I was the head of my
department, the lead scientist in our defense section of the government. Although not
aggressive, we did believe in having defenses against any attacker. Several of us tried to warn
the council many times that our defenses needed to be improved. I would imagine they believe
us now…if any of them survived the attack. Many died. My entire family was killed. I was
away at the institute at the time. I would like to be considered as a warrior for your cause,
Lord Atarek. I know I am not a trained soldier, but I might be able to work with your scientists
to develop some defenses for your world. Would this be possible?”
Sam gave a very small laugh, before replying, “I’m sorry. I should have introduced myself to
you at once. I’m definitely not a Lord of any kind. I’m just plain old Captain Samantha
Carter. Lord Atarek, as far as I know, doesn’t exist except in our imaginations.” She paused
before continuing, “To tell you the truth, K’haydan, I don’t know what you’ll be allowed to do,
but I can tell you that it would certainly give them something to think about, since you
obviously have knowledge about technology that’s more advanced than ours. Of course,
cooperating in the stealing of this ship, and being the scientist that was in charge of building it,
will weigh in your favor, I can guarantee that. If you’re truly able to help, then, they may very
well allow you to stay.” Sam cleared her throat, before saying, “There are a couple of other
options open to you, if our government doesn’t agree to allow you to work with us…which to be
honest, I very much doubt. In my opinion, our leaders will be ecstatic to have you. You could
become a Tok'Ra.”
He looked at her blankly. “I am afraid I do not know what a Tok'Ra is.”
Sam smiled slightly, before telling him, “The Tok'Ra are a resistance group within the Goa'uld.
They disrupt and cause turmoil amongst the System Lords, since they can work from within
their ranks. The most important way they differ from Goa'uld is that they won’t take an
unwilling host, nor do they subjugate their host. They truly share the body with them. I know
this for a fact, K’haydan, because…I am Tok'Ra. You were talking to Jolinar, my symbiote,
during the theft of this fine ship.”
He stared at her with his mouth slightly open for a longish pause blinking at her in a dazed
manner, before gasping, “You have a Goa'uld within you?” When I realized that you were not
Goa'uld, I assumed you were using some sort of voice distortion technology, so that you would
appear to be one of them.
Sam nodded, as she smiled at him. “The reason Jolinar had control before was that she can
act the part of a System Lord, something that I can’t do. In situations like this one, it’s
imperative that there are no mistakes, so the symbiote takes the lead. As soon as the danger
was over, she returned control of the body back to me. They are always in need of willing
hosts, so you see that’s also an option for you. Don’t make a snap judgment or decision,
please. Get to know them first. Give it some serious thought, after you manage to push your
feelings about the Goa'uld away. Ask questions. We’ll revisit the subject sometime in the
future, I promise you.”
She shifted her position and relaxed a little more, before continuing. “It was Jolinar that
realized you needed to be rescued from the Jaffa, and she concocted the plan to get you away
from them and Cronus. But I am digressing, so I’ll return to the subject we were discussing.
Another choice you have is to return to your own world and people. I’m sure that could be
arranged. If you think that’s a possibility, we’ll definitely keep your abilities between just us.
There are some factions in our government who would take you and attempt to force you to
work for us. Those of us at the SGC don’t do that, so we can’t let that information out, unless
you decide to stay on Earth and work for us.”
Taking one more deep breath, she told him, “The last option you have is to go and live with the
Tollan. I have a feeling that you’re probably on a par with them intellectually and
technologically. They’re okay, I guess. I have one person among them that I really like and
consider a friend, but due to a very bad experience in sharing their technology with a less
developed world, they refuse to give us any technology at all. It’s frustrating, but I can see
their point of view. They lost their entire world because of the way the world they tried to help
used the technology they gave them.”
“There are other peoples that would be very happy to have you join their worlds, but most of
them are very far behind even us, as far as technology is concerned. I’m afraid you’d find you
have nothing to interest you on those worlds. Although,” Sam smiled softly, for she had a soft
spot for the people on this particular world, “the people of Argos might at least interest you, for
a while. And, though their population is very small, there are some lovely women there.” She
chuckled as his cheeks tinted with color. “I’ll stop teasing you now. Do you have any
questions?”
“Yes, I do actually. Where are we going now? To your homeworld?”
Sam shook her head, adding, “No. We’re on our way to a world called Abydos.” She nodded
her head toward Daniel, as he stood talking to Jack. “The man over there that played the part
of my Lo’tar is the reason we’re going there. His wife was stolen by Apophis, and he made her
his queen. It’s been about a year and a half now, since it happened, but he still loves her very
much. Jolinar believes she knows where Sha’uri is, so we’re going to see, and if she’s there,
we'll rescue her and take her back to Earth with us.”
K’haydan frowned before asking her, “But if Apophis made her his queen, does that not mean
that she is Goa'uld? How will you capture her? Will she not have a great many Jaffa to protect
her? You have very few warriors with you. I will be glad to help, if I can. I know how to use a
staff weapon and a zat’nik’tel.”
Sam reached over and clasped his hand, for a moment, before squeezing it gently. “Normally,
getting to Sha’uri would be extremely difficult. You’re correct, and she would have a hefty
contingent of Jaffa to protect her. However, this isn’t a normal situation. It appears that she
is pregnant with Apophis’s child, and we believe that he has hidden her on Abydos. Since the
symbiote must be dormant during a human pregnancy, Sha’uri has control of her body. There
should be no Jaffa there or at least very few, if any. Those things we won’t know, until we
arrive, which should be by early tomorrow. If our luck holds, Daniel will be able to convince
her to come with us, and we’ll have Amaunet removed from her. Unless something untoward
happens, it should be a fairly simple rescue. We can only hope that it will go as well as our
theft of these ships did.” She gave him another smile and stood. “I’m a little tired, so I think
I'm going to go take a nap. If you’re tired, just find a place and go to sleep. If you’re hungry,
I'm sure someone can find the food, or since you probably know where it is, you can help
yourself to whatever you want. Daniel will probably introduce himself, when he finishes talking
to the Colonel, if you don’t lie down. You’ll like him, almost everyone does. I’ll see you later,
K'haydan.”
He bowed his head in respect and he wished her beautiful dreams. As she walked away, he
leaned back against the wall of the mothership. Where, he wondered, would his life lead him
next?
TBC
Chapter Eight Home Chapter Ten
Table of Contents
| An Alliance of Friends Chapter Nine The Theft |
