Title: Fugue
Author: Jewels
Rating: PG
Category: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. They're not mine, never have been mine, even though I wish they were.
Summary: While SG1 visits the Tok'ra, Sam and Martouf are kidnapped. MAJOR Sam whumping.
Spoilers: Some for Hathor and a one-line aside for Seth.
Archive: Anywhere that already has my fics, my site http://www.geocities.com/jhantor/. Anyone else, please ask first.
Notes: Some people on one of the lists I'm on came out with: "Would I agree to host a Tok'ra? Yes!! I jump at the chance!" (or words to that effect) which got me thinking. It's all well and good finding a host for a Tok'ra... but what if the host wasn't altogether suitable for a Blending. This is the result. The word hir is gender neutral term that I... made up. You'll see where it comes in.

**

For some reason, the Tok'ra seemed to favour planets on which the surface conditions were as inhospitable as possible. Maybe the reasoning behind that was that any unwanted guests would step out of the Stargate, look around, see how utterly miserable the place was, and go back home again. Lacking in finesse, but it probably worked. That day, on the planet the SGC had designated P3D291, known by the Tok'ra as Enreth, the weather of choice was gale force winds.

Helen Sommers, who was physically weak and needed support at the best of times, sagged bonelessly against Samantha Carter, who supported the young woman's weight as best she could. Not that Helen weighed much in the first place.

The wind was kicking up vast amount of dirt, sand, and debris from the ground, making a throat-clogging combination in the air. Fighting the urge to cough, Sam couldn't help but worry about Helen - staying outside wouldn't do the woman any good at all. So where in hell were the Tok'ra?

As they started to descend the steps from the Gate, prompted by hand signals from Jack O'Neill, the only way they could communicate over the noise of the wind, a small, but solidly built figure wearing the beige colours of the Tok'ra staggered through the wind, hair and clothes being whipped around. As it got closer, they could see that the figure was definitely feminine, and Sam could just make out a few words.

"Tau'ri!" The figure was shouting at her top of its lungs, but could barely make herself heard. "It... good... see...!"

Perhaps realising that none of the SG1 team could make out a word she was saying, the Tok'ra made exaggerated beckoning gestures and started to lead them away from the Stargate. The six of them staggered through the wind to a point about twenty meters away from the Gate. It felt almost three times that distance by the time they huddled together in a small group and allowed the transporter rings to spring up around them.

Below, in the crystalline tunnels in which the Tok'ra made their home, the relief from the wind was startling. Sam's ears were ringing from the sudden silence - even though people around them were talking - and the absence of wind made her realise that her cheeks were stinging.

There was actually quite a large gathering waiting for them there, who had all stood back slightly from the rings as they lowered, so as not to get caught inside, however accidentally. When Sam, and the rest of SG1 had managed to get their bearings, a familiar face stepped out of the crowd and spoke to them in a warm tone.

"Greetings, people of the Tau'ri," intoned Garshaw, bowing her head slightly.

"Hey, nice to see y'all again." said Jack with a cheery little wave. Sam and Daniel both fought the urge to sigh.

Garshaw fixed an intense gaze on Helen, who Sam was still holding upright. "And this, I presume, is the new host for Genra."

Helen blinked tiredly, slightly unnerved by Garshaw's voice distortion. "Yeah," she murmured. "I guess so."

Helen was a young woman in her mid-twenties with shoulder length blonde hair that was streaked through with silver-grey. Whether that was a natural colouring or a dye, she wouldn't say. Nearly a year earlier, she had managed to contract a particularly vicious form of brain cancer, one which was inoperable. The Doctors had started her on chemotherapy, but the effectiveness had been almost non-existent. It had been practically certain she would die. While healthy, she had been a geologist, and her high intelligence and science training had been a key factor for her selection as someone to offer the chance to host a Tok'ra to.

The Tok'ra had called Earth rather urgently, telling them that one of their own, Genra, desperately needed a new host in order to survive, after her now-dying one had been shot by a Jaffa during a battle with the Goa'uld - injured beyond repair. Promising to consider it, the SGC had found a suitable candidate and had offered Helen the chance to become Tok'ra. Helen had, rather understandably, jumped at the chance to live, and before the next day was over, had found herself at the SGC, waiting for travel off-world.

Garshaw gave Helen a sincere smile. "We are honoured." she told her. She gestured to the Tok'ra that had been them on the surface, who was vainly attempting to flatten her hair after it had been left sticking out every which way by the wind. "Larrell will take you to Genra immediately."

Helen smiled slightly, nervous, and looked at Sam - who had been the one to offer her the Blending. Sam smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. "Go on, there's nothing to worry about."

Helen briefly gripped Sam's hand. "Thank you." she whispered before putting one arm over Larrell's shoulder, and then gripping the Tok'ra's left arm, which she had put around Helen's waist to support her. The short woman led the soon-to-be-Blended Helen away from the gathering, starting to chat happily to her almost immediately.

The crowd began to talk amongst themselves, some breaking away and returning to whatever they usually did at that time. Obviously the arrival of a new host had been the high-point of their day. Garshaw was smiling and relinquished to Yosef, who looked positively giddy.

"We're glad that Genra will not die," she enthused. "We've almost become accustomed to symbiotes dying with their hosts." She gripped Jack's forearm lightly in a gesture of friendship. "We are very grateful to the Tau'ri."

As Jack went into his 'aw shucks' routine, Sam was looking around, searching for her father's face. He wasn't especially hard to spot, as he waved as soon as he realised she was looking for him, and she left Garshaw/Yosef talking with Jack and headed for him.

"Hey," said Jacob, giving Sam a huge hug. "How's my favourite daughter?"

"I'm your only daughter, Dad." Sam pointed out with a smile.

"What? You're going to start quibbling over my words now?" Jacob rolled his eyes and gave her a playful whack on the shoulder. "Go on, I know who you're looking for. Get out of my sight."

"Love you too, Dad. Say hi to Selmak for me." With that last, and rather cheeky, remark, she disappeared into the crowd.

'Sam says...'

'I heard her, Jacob!'

Jacob smirked at the tone of Selmak's voice as her spied Elus, a Tok'ra who had been Blended a little over half a year earlier. His eyes were flicking over the corridor frantically, eyes wide.

'He could just be nervous.' suggested Jacob's symbiote. 'You know he doesn't like crowds.'

'Hmm... maybe you're right, Sel.'

Selmak's mental voice contained a definite smug grin. 'Of course I am. Why do you think we're the oldest and wisest among us?'

**

Jacob had been right about one thing. Although Sam /had/ wanted to see her dad, there was someone else she wanted to see as well. She was wandering through the crowd, absently nodding to greetings from some of the Tok'ra, her eyes scanning the group the whole time. So she was surprised that she didn't see the hand that touched her on the shoulder, causing her to spin around.

"Martouf!" she said, the warmth evident in her voice. She felt slightly giddy as he smiled back at her.

*Great, look at yourself, Sam. You're not sixteen. Get a grip.*

"It's good to see you again, Samantha." he told her, smiling widely and inclining his head briefly.

"Yeah, you too." There was a brief pause, then, "Looks like quite a turn out." commented Sam, looking around the corridor.

"Yes," agreed Martouf. "Everyone was eager to see the new host for Genra. We get so few joining the Tok'ra, we were concerned that both Genra and her host would die before a replacement could come."

Sam hmmed slightly, starting to walk through the crowd, side by side with Martouf.

"Ilian has, in fact, been ill for several weeks. We were holding out hope that Genra would be able to heal her host. When it became obvious she could not, the Council decided to ask the Tau'ri for help." Martouf told her as they wandered over to one wall, which Sam proceeded to lean on.

"I'm glad we could." Sam said, and meaning it. It had meant a lot to see Helen's face light up at the thought of living when she had consigned herself to death.

Someone was starting to talk in a raised voice over where Sam had left her team-mates. She glanced in that direction, curious, but returned her attention to Martouf when he started speaking again.

"How long are you able to stay?" he was asking her.

Sam thought back to what Hammond had told her when she had quietly asked him the same question. "Well, we'd like to be able to stay until the Blending's taken with Helen. I mean... I know it's rare, but if something goes wrong someone has to tell her family she died..."

Martouf nodded. "I understand. I believe I would enjoy spending more time with you."

Sam grinned but then the growing commotion towards the end of the group that was surrounding the area where the transport rings dropped down which was gradually drawing the attention of everyone present. Sam and Martouf exchanged glances and started to make their way through the crowd, towards where Garshaw was looking panicked, O'Neill was looking confused, and Daniel and Teal'c were looking curious, but baffled.

"Don't you have any idea what you've done?" a male Tok'ra was demanding of O'Neill as Sam and her companion drew closer. "That poor girl... condemned to live with a voice in her head." The man clutched the sides of his head, bending slightly and moaning. "That never SHUTS UP!!!" The last sounded like he was commanding someone to be silent.

"Oh no." murmured Martouf.

Sam glanced at him in confusion. "What? What is it?" she whispered, getting no response; Martouf's attention was riveted on the scene playing out.

Around her, Tok'ra were muttering in low, anxious tones. One said something about calling the guards and dashed out of the corridor, probably to do just that.

The agitated Tok'ra was now glaring at Garshaw, hatred in his eyes. "Evil creatures!" he spat.

Garshaw stepped forward, but it was Yosef who spoke, her softer voice and manner obviously aimed at trying to placate the man, who seemed to be hanging onto his sanity by a thin thread. "Elus, why don't you go with the Healers. They'll show you we're not evil."

Elus shook his head, eyes wide. "No, you have to die!" he shouted, then, without warning, he pulled a zat'nik'atel from somewhere on his outfit and fired twice into the gathering, the shout of 'look out!' coming too late for anyone to dodge.

In all likelihood, he had probably been aiming to kill someone, but instead, just hit two people who collapsed bonelessly onto the floor. The effect was that most of the Tok'ra took several instinctive steps backwards, away from Elus, a surge of people that caused a few to trip and fall.

This seemed to only hamper the Tok'ra guards only slightly, as four of the came barrelling around the corner of the corridor, staff weapons at the ready, dodging around those standing and jumping over those on the floor and started to take up positions around Elus.

Elus swung at the guard who came the closest to him, punching him in the chest, and causing him to slam into Daniel and the Tok'ra behind him, all of them going down in a heap on the floor. He grabbed the two he had shot, a demonic glow in his eyes that had nothing to do with the symbiote he possessed and hauled them within the range of the transport rings before shooting another guard who had started to aim a staff weapon at him. Then the rings lowered and transported him, and his two captives away.

As the light from the transport rings faded, Garshaw was already barking orders. "Tok'ra kree! Rian'nek Elus. Toren ik'lan foreth! Kree!" The guards responded to her orders, and several Tok'ra dashed out of the room to do whatever they had been told as some headed for the transport rings, staff weapons in hand.

Teal'c was helping Daniel and several other Tok'ra get to their feet, after being the equivalent of skittles. Daniel asked him, "Who did he take? Did anyone see who he took?"

"Yes." It was Selmak, eyes glowing, voice cold and fists clenched so hard the knuckles were white. "It was Martouf." She turned to the others. "And Samantha."

**

Ten minutes after Elus had disappeared with Martouf and Sam, the remainder of SG1, Garshaw and Jacob were standing in the council chambers, impatiently waiting for news from the guards sent out to track Elus. Daniel didn't know if he could stand the tension in the room for much longer. He was certain that if someone dropped a pin, someone else would jump and scream, 'Will you be quiet?!'. That was how tense they were.

There was the pounding of footsteps outside the council chamber, and a short form ran in, nodding briefly to the assembled. Larrell was out of breath, her hair messed up by the wind, except this time, she made no move to control it.

"The guards we sent out weren't about to find Elus." she informed them, her voice holding the telltale distortion that signified the symbiote was in control. "They did find the sentries though. He took them out. One is dead, another is healing, the others are unconscious. We think he took Samantha and Martouf through the Chaapa'ai."

"How did he manage to move both of them so fast?" wondered Daniel.

Garshaw stared at the surface of the reflecting pool. "I'm afraid that Elus is quite mad. That fact combined with the skill and strength of his symbiote makes him highly dangerous."

"What?" asked Jack, his voice incredulous. "You turned a madman into a host?"

Garshaw was clearly agitated. "He did not become mad until after he was Blended. He was one of the few that... reacted badly." she finished.

Jack nodded slowly. "I've always wondered how the Tok'ra got by without running across hosts who wound up with some form of psychosis from the Blending."

Everyone stared at him.

Jack shifted self-consciously. "Well, I did!"

Selmak, who was obviously in control because of her host's distress, changed the subject for a moment. "What about Helen and Genra? What is their status?"

Larrell/Aela was the one who answered, having regained her breath. "They are doing well. I believe that they will be conscious within the hour."

"Thank you, Aela." said Garshaw, she hesitated, then returned to the matter that was plaguing all of their minds. "We have no way of knowing where Elus took Samantha and Martouf, or even if they are still alive. If they are not back in three days," Garshaw's voice was taut and she seemed to force her words out. "Then we will move the Tok'ra to a new homeworld. We cannot take the chance that he takes them to the Goa'uld." She tilted her head. "I would recommend that you tell your leaders to change the codes to access your iris."

"You don't actually think they'd say anything, do you?" asked Daniel, sounding slightly incredulous.

"I agree that they would not tell anything, even under torture." supplied Teal'c.

"I do not know." responded Garshaw. "But that is a risk I am not willing to take." she glanced at Larrell/Aela. "When Genra awakens, enlist her help in attempting to determine where Elus may have taken them." As Aela nodded, Garshaw started to head away, out of the council room.

"Don't you have any faith in your own people?" Jack called after her.

Garshaw glanced at him, but didn't respond.

**

The floor was hard and Sam's back and neck were killing her. Her immediate thought was, what had she drunk to make her pass out on a metal floor, then her memories of what had happened before she lost consciousness returned. She had been standing in the Tok'ra tunnels... the man had pulled out a zat gun... then something extremely painful...

"Ugh..." she muttered as she pushed herself into something resembling a sitting position and every nerve in her head rebelled at the move from horizontal to vertical by giving her a pounding headache. She leaned forward a little, cradling her head in her hands, rubbing her temples.

A pair of cool hands touched her own, causing her to start, and her head to protest even more.

"Samantha, are you in pain?" Martouf asked softly, laying a hand on her forehead.

"No, I'm fine." Seeing he wasn't convinced, she revised that. "It's just a headache."

"An after-effect of a zat'nik'atel discharge at close range. At such a distance, it is fortunate you weren't harmed more." Martouf commented, removing his hand, which Sam felt oddly disappointed at.

"Where are we?" she asked groggily, opening her eyes to see the dimly lit cargo hold they were sitting in.

"On board a ship in flight." Martouf said. "Lantesh awoke me about ten minutes ago. We've been waiting for you to come around."

Sam glanced at her watch. Unfortunately, it hadn't survived the energy discharge that had knocked her out. "Any idea how long we've been on board?" she asked, moving her hand to the back of her neck to rub it carefully, trying not to aggravate the pain.

"None. We could be anywhere by now especially if we have been on a ship that came from a planet other than Enreth."

The scraping of metal on metal startled them both, and caused them to jump to their feet, staring at the door as it opened to admit a figure with a crazed look in his eyes, and a zat gun out and aimed at the two.

"What do you want with us?" demanded Sam.

"Me? No, we... I... us... don't want anything with you." said Elus, shaking his head, the whites of his eyes visible all the way around the iris, which Sam had always referred to as 'crazy eyes'. The sight of them had always unnerved her. "We.... NO! *I* am giving you to the Goa'uld."

"Why?" demanded Lantesh. "You have always been dedicated to the Tok'ra. Would you betray us now?"

Elus shook his head again, and again, not stopping. "The Tok'ra put the snake in my head... Goa'uld... they'll take it away from me."

"They'll just torture you for information about the Tok'ra." said Sam softly. "And then they'll kill you."

"Don't care." mumbled Elus. "You know." he said, aiming his zat at Sam. "You know what it's like. But it's worse."

Sam felt her mouth go dry. It wasn't hard to guess what he was referring to. Elus turned to Lantesh. "I should kill you right here. Evil thing. Monster!"

Lantesh said nothing, merely staring levelly at Elus.

"Where are we?" asked Sam, trying to keep him talking.

"On a ship. New ship. On another planet." Elus nodded. "Through the Chaapa'ai... yes... the people didn't want me to have it."

Sam had a feeling she knew how Elus had managed to 'persuade' the ship's previous crew to give up their craft.

There was a brief pause, then, muttering something about evil, Elus started backing out of the room, whatever he had been intending to say apparently said.

The door slid shut behind Elus and Sam leaned against the wall, slowly sinking to the floor, settling in for the weight. Lantesh's head dipped and when his head raised again, Sam was looking once more at Martouf. She narrowed her eyes, looking at Martouf. "I have a feeling that you know what's going on with him." she jerked her head in the direction of the door.

Martouf sighed and joined Sam on the floor, their shoulders touching slightly. "There's a..." he frowned, trying to find the correct word. "Duality to our nature which some hosts are unable to reconcile. They aren't able to come to terms with another person sharing their every thought, their every feeling." Martouf paused there and look at Sam, gently touching her hand. "You told me once that having the memories of Jolinar made you feel schizophrenic. For some, the memories, and the presence of a personality to accompany them means they can't tell where they end and the symbiote begins. They lose all sense of identity, and slowly go mad."

Sam was silent, staring at her hands. "Do they die?" she asked softly.

"More often than not, they suicide."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "But... the symbiote... it can't take control to prevent that?"

"The madness of a host can overwhelm the symbiote, trapping them inside a world - their host's mind - that is tearing itself apart. If the symbiote is not removed, it is also driven insane."

"A Tok'ra driven mad." Sam shuddered. "Hard to imagine. I don't suppose it's something you can test for?"

"Not really. Besides which, considering our lack of available hosts, do you think we can afford to be..." Martouf hesitated. "Picky?"

Sam grinned, in spite of their current situation. "Picky? Where'd you learn that from?"

Martouf joined his companion in grinning. "Your father. He seems to delight in teaching us your slang terms."

"Nice to know he's good for something." Sam commented. "I'd hate to think the Tok'ra weren't appreciating him."

"Far from it." advised Martouf, causing Sam's grin to widen.

There were several long minutes in which they just sat there, leaning against one another in companionable silence. Then Sam said,

"Think we're going to get out of here?"

"Of course we are." Martouf may have sounded reassuring to his ears, and to Sam's, but Lantesh, who knew him best, knew otherwise.

**

The first thing that Helen became aware of was a blinding pain in her skull. Then there was a calm, soothing voice murmuring to her, reassuring her that the pain would be gone in moments, after her nerves had become accustomed to the Blending. It was only when the pain had indeed abated that Helen suddenly realised that the voice was coming from her own mind.

'Our own mind now,' the voice said, in an amused tone.

'Genra?' asked Helen tentatively.

'In the flesh, to quote Jacob,' Genra said cheerfully. 'Well, your flesh now, but the principle's the same.'

Helen gingerly opened her eyes to see a friendly looking face smiling down at her. She recognised the female Tok'ra who had brought to be Blended with Genra.

'That's Larrell and the man just behind her is Tren, one of the Healers.' Genra pointed out.

'I know... I know all this.' thought Helen in wonder.

'Good, that means the Blending is taken, our memories are merged.' Genra said in satisfaction.

"Helen?" Larrell asked softly, a hand on the Tau'ri woman's shoulder.

Helen blinked groggily. "Uh... yeah?"

Larrell smiled and rested a hand against Helen' forehead, checking her temperature. "How are you feeling?"

"Good. Very good." Helen admitted. "Better than I have in a long time."

'I'm not surprised, now that I've managed to get that veritable pharmocopoeia you call chemotherapy out of your bloodstream. Do you know what sort of rubbish those so called 'Doctors' of the Tau'ri were flooding your veins with?' Genra asked rhetorically. 'It's a wonder any of you manage to survive with your medical care. I mean, do you /know/ what sort of state your liver was in? Horrendous.'

Tren stepped up and waved what looked basically like the high-tech equivalent of a penlight in front of Helen's eyes, watching her carefully. "Helen, can I speak to Genra please?" he said, in the deep throaty voice of a symbiote.

'Genra?'

Grumbling something about Healers poking their noses in where it was neither needed or wanted, Helen's symbiote took over from her host, closing her eyes briefly in order not to be disorientated as they switched mental positions.

It was something of an ethereal experience for Helen. She could feel herself moving into a sitting position, but she couldn't control any of it. There was a brief moment of panic before Genra reassured her that she could always take back control if she wanted to.

"Genra, how do you think the Blending went?" asked Tren, holding a type-slate and stylus, making notes as he observed the newly joined individual.

"I believe Helen has adapted well." Genra told him. "Where are the Tau'ri? I wish to thank them for bringing her here."

The expression on Tren's face was unreadable, his face froze and he glanced at Larrell, who looked more than a little uncomfortable. Genra narrowed her eyes.

"What is it?" she demanded slowly.

**

'You weren't going to tell me? Who's bloody idea was that??'

'Well... it wasn't like anyone actually asked us about the problems about the inherent problems of a host-symbiote relationship...'

'Oh don't give me that crap, Genra. Considering that we are going to be together for the rest of our lives, I would appreciate a little honesty.'

'Alright, we didn't tell the Tau'ri because we thought they would withdraw the offer to look for hosts for us. Our situation was too desperate, and the chances of this happening is so small.'

'So you just wait until someone gets Blended, and /then/ you tell them they might go mad?'

'We can't tell who will reject the mental Blending, and who won't. Problems usually manifest within the first month after the initial Blending, as soon as that happens, steps are taken to remove the symbiote, and the host is returned to their homeworld, or a safe world. It never usually gets to the point where someone goes mad.'

'How dare you people bring me here, promising to cure me, to give me a long life when I thought I was going to die, knowing full well that you could drive me insane!!'

'You regret the Blending?'

'No... I... I was told that Blending with the Tok'ra was a panacea. I'm more than a little... disillusioned.'

'Helen... I'm sorry.'

'You should be.'

'Think you can forgive me?'

'If I go mad next week, no. But until then... I'll think about it.'

**

Larrell and Helen entered the Council chambers, armed with several datapads each, SG-1 and Jacob glanced up at their entrance, and smiled in greeting. Jack looked at Helen and asked cautiously,

"Helen?"

"Yeah, Colonel, it's me." said Helen, bobbing her head enthusiastically.

Helen's happiness was infectious. "Good to see you up and about again." Jack told her, meaning it. This young woman was a far cry from the pathetic little shell that had to be practically carried through the event horizon of the Stargate.

Daniel straightened from whatever it was he was looking at and asked, "How do you feel?"

Helen smiled. "Pretty good, considering it feels as if someone's forced several volumes of the encyclopaedia brittannica into my head."

Jacob, who had been pretty dour ever since Sam and Martouf have been taken, actually managed to crack something resembling a smile. "Finally, someone other than Selmak who'll get my jokes." he declared. "The people around here have abysmal senses of humour."

Helen rolled her eyes, then quickly sobered. "Um... Larrell told me about the situation, and Garshaw's order that I help..."

The return to the topic managed to wipe the smiles off the faces of everyone in the room. Helen raised the datapads in her hand. "We pulled the records of Elus' travels through the Stargate since he was blended. Maybe we'll find some indication of where he might have gone."

"Let's get started. We've got a little over two days to find a destination." said Jacob, pulling everyones attention back to the table where there was already a great deal of datapads lying around. Helen and Larrell joined the group and got to work.

**

A soft thump and a downscaling whine was all it took to bring Sam out of the light doze she had fallen into some indeterminate length of time ago. Raising her head off Martouf/Lantesh's shoulder - wihout realising that was where she been resting it - she blinked for a moment, waiting for her eyes to focus on her surroundings.

"We appear to have landed." pronounced Lantesh solemnly as he stood up, offering Sam a helping hand at doing so herself.

"What do you think's going to happen now? Wait..." Sam held up a hand as Lantesh turned towards her. "I already have a pretty good idea, you don't need to tell me."

Lantesh nodded slowly at her words, seemingly concentrating on something far away. "Do you hear that?" he asked after a moment.

Sam fell silent and cocked her head, ears straining to actually hear something. It took a few moments, but she eventually heard the characteristically heavy footsteps of Jaffa approaching. "That's not good." she muttered.

Lantesh had gone up to the bulkhead and was listening carefully. "They will likely have all exist and entryways covered. We should not attempt to make our escape until they remove us from this ship. Then we can attempt to locate the Stargate."

"That's assuming we're on a planet that has a Stargate, or that we're even on a planet." Sam pointed out, then shrugged at Lantesh's expression. "Sorry, just feeling cynical."

"Considering what has happened to us so far, cynicism may be justified." said Lantesh with a slight smile.

Sam was about to return the smile when the door screeched open, causing Lantesh to automatically jump away from the wall and move closer to Sam, and allowed several guards, wearing helmets which resembled a creative akin to bulls, to enter. The four that entered held staff weapons, aimed at the two of the prisoners and ready to fire.

"Tok'ra tem'shal. Kree." ordered one guard, and Sam didn't need to speak Goa'uld to get the gust of what was being said. Oddly, though, the guard seemed to think she was also Tok'ra. She would have thought that Elus would have told them she was Tau'ri at the very least, but then, it wasn't as if Elus had the greatest memory (or mind) on the face of the galaxy.

Lantesh and Sam glanced at one another and, as one, moved out into the corridor, accompanied by less than subtle prods from the guards. The passages they moved through were obviously designed for beings much taller than the human nore; the ceiling stretching high above their heads with display panels inset far above eye level. Well at least Sam knew the aliens that Elus had stolen the ship from had to be pretty tall.

They were led through a one or two corridors where jaffa (who were not armoured, so Sam assumbed them to be servents or scientists of a sort) were already beginning to disect the ship. It was apprently a technology the Goa'uld had not seen before.

Equally apparent was the fact that Sam's cynical view had been wrong. The final door they emerged from let them out onto muddy field of some sort. The air was thick, hot and humid, and made Sam immediately feel like her clothes and hair were sticking to her.

She slowed slightly as they were prodded away from the ship, to glance at Lantesh and to coordinate the moment at which they would move.

"Kree'anes!" snapped the lead Jaffa, presumably annoyed at his captives suddenly slowing their pace.

As the Jaffa started to move to poke Lantesh in the back, the Tok'ra spun to catch the weapon and wrenched it from the startled Jaffa's grasp, hitting him in the stomach with it. Sam, meanwhile, took advantage of that distraction to deliver a kick to the back of the leg of the Jaffa who had stood behind her, making him collapse as she snatched the staff weapon out of his grasp. Lantesh and Sam turned the staff weapons on the Jaffa who were now only beginning to raise their own weapons and shot the two, rather slow, guards.

'Synchronised shooting... not bad...'

Sam didn't have time for more musings than that, as Lantesh gripped her arm tightly and they bolted for the little cover that the trees at the edge of the field provided.

They had only managed to get maybe six meters before Sam had an all-too familiar sensation, one similar to having a brick wall rush up and slam her backwards, sending her flying in the direction she had come from. That, unfortunately, meant her hitting the outer hull of the alien ship at speed, cracking her skill against the hull plates, and slumping to the ground, unconsious.

Lantesh was more lucky, in a way. He didn't hit anything except the ground. He immediately relinquished control to his host, and et about effecting repairs on the damage to their body, brought about by the unmistakable use of a ribbon device.

"It is too dangerous to leave him awake." a voice was saying in Goa'uld as Martouf listened, stunned and unable to move, especially since it felt like his lungs had been crushed and it was hard to breath. Lantesh was working as hard as he could, but one symbiote could only do so much. The voice then snapped an order to the Jaffa who were picking up his immobile body up from the ground. One swung his staff in an arc, and Martouf knew only darkness.

**

"What about Kerrel? That was one world he went to on his own."

"But he reported high solar activity - while he was still reasonably sane, so we can believe it."

"That would mean humanoids, even ones with a symbiote, would die soon after going there."

"Remind me." said Jack, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "What are we looking for again?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow, not looking up from the datapad he was examining. "We are looking for a planet that Elus would have scouted alone, so others would not know what it held. A planet that he would report as unsuitable for habitation."

Jack sighed and tossed his own datapad on the table. "And that really doesn't limit it, does it?" he asked sarcastically, levelling a glare at the Tok'ra in the room, all of who had the grace to look uncomfortable. "How many solo missions did you send him on again?"

Larrell shifted her weight from one goot to the other. "Talmar has been with us for centuries, proved trustworthy on many solo-assignments. We didn't realise his host was..."

"A few grenades short of an armoury?" finished Jack. Larrell probably didn't know what he was referring to, but nodded anyway. "I hate data analysis." muttered Jack. "Carter's much better at it than me."

"What about the Goa'uld?" asked Daniel suddenly, causing everyone to stare at him.

"What about the Goa'uld?" asked Selmak, looking at the archaeologist.

"Well, if Elus /was/ planning to take Martouf and Sam to a system lord or another Goa'uld, wouldn't he do some research to find out where he could contact one."

There was a long pause as everyone thought that over, then Selmak turned slightly to snap an order at Helen, who disappeared from the room with a bob of her head and without a word. There was a tense silence, broken only by the cheep of a datapad's keys as Teal'c continued to go through the planetary database the Tok'ra had amassed over time. Then Helen returning, holding what looked like a slightly more complicated version of the hologram projector Jacob had brough to Earth when the Tok'ra had been trying to locate Seth.

Selmak took it out of Helen's hands and placed it on the table. The device lit up, and displayed several line of the Goa'uld written language, hovering above the table in ghostly green lettering.

"This is an interactive version of our record of the Goa'uld," said Selmak, who then gave a vocal command to the hologram. Lines of Goa'uld text flickered by rapidly as the system searched for the necessary information. After a moment, it stopped, displaying a series of what Daniel determined to be names.

"There are the records Elus access," Selmak explained. "They're systems lords we have no operative with at the present time. Mainly because they're weak and are keeping to themselves rather than risk being conquered by other Goa'uld."

"I believe I have a match," Teal'c pronounced, holding out his datapad to O'Neill, who took it even though he was the only one present who couldn't read at least some Goa'uld. Daniel leaned over to peer at the information.

"Ate," he read, then added. "In Earth mythology, she was the greek goddess of mischief and vengeance, cast down to Earth by Zeus."

"In reality," It was Jacob again, having returned to control of his body when Daniel was explaining the name. He folded his arms. "Several of the system lords banded together when they decided that Ate had become too much of a nuisance. She seemed to delight in causing choas, and that irritated more than a few of them. They basically wiped out her forces, leaving her with only a handful of planets and Jaffa."

"One of the planet explored by Elus was close to Ate's territory, possibly within it." Teal'c said, nodding to the datapad O'Neill still held. "It is the most likely target."

"Alright, campers," O'Neill said, tossing the Tok'ra device to Daniel, who fumbled with it briefly before getting a grip on it and setting it onto the table. "This is where we'll go look then. Get your gear together."

"I must insist you take Tok'ra with you." came Garshaw's voice from the entryway. Everyone turned in startlement to look at her in surprise, not having seen her enter. "Talmar is, after all, an innocent in this matter and we should like to retrive him. Alive."

"How long have you been standing there?" asked O'Neill, annoyed at having been surprised.

"And I also insist that Selmak remain here." Garshaw said, ignoring O'Neill and staring at Jacob.

"I'm going." he said flatly.

"You are too valuable to..."

"Selmak's with me. I'm going, whether you like it or not."

There was a brief moment where the two Tok'ra glared at one anther, then Garshaw nodded in silent acquiescence.

"That's great." muttered O'Neill, then raised his voice slightly. "Let's get moving people."

As the group started to file out of the room, O'Neill said to Garshaw as he walked past, "When we get back, we're going to have to have a little chat about this driving hosts mad thing, and our supplying hosts."

Garshaw, looking a little deflated, nodded as he left.

**

Martouf heard Lantesh's voice urging him back to consciousness long before he heard anything else. Thankfully, the awakening was pain-free, even if he did feel a little groggy, so he managed to sit up and open his eyes with little trouble, ignoring Lantesh's grumbling about his host taking his time to come around.

'... Concussion and broken rib, serious, yes, but then I always knew you liked sleeping in...'

'Where's Samantha?' interrupted Martouf, cutting off his symbiote mid-sentence.

Lantesh fell silent, and Martouf could feel his regret that he hadn't been able to keep them conscious so they could see what had happened to the Tau'ri. 'I don't know.' he replied. 'I only just finished healing you, you know as much as I do.'

Martouf pushed himself to his feet, and glanced around the room. It was typically ostentatious Goa'uld design. There were a lot of clean, sharp edges, far too much gold to be anything approaching tasteful, and dozens of hieroglyphs adorned the wall, most of which seemed to depict the horrible fates which would befall those who opposed the Goa'uld. Martouf ignored them and looked for the door. Since there was only one, and there was no way to open it, it was safe to assume he was in a cell. Martouf started to wonder why Samantha hadn't been put in there as well.

'She could have been kept separate so we could not communicate with her, or...'

'Or they could be torturing her for information. Neither option is particularly appealing.'

Martouf set his jaw at his symbiote's blunt assessment of events. 'So who could have captured us?' he asked, blatently trying to get his mind off Samantha's current state, fortuntely, Lantesh was more than willing the oblige.

'Ate?' asked Lantesh, pulling a name out of their memory.

'I agree. The helmets of the Jaffa would support that. And she has not been heard from in a long time.'

'Yes, I wonder why Elus chose this Goa'uld to contact.'

'I do not recall the Tok'ra having an operative among the ranks of Ate.'

Lantesh hesitated. 'And therein lies the answer.' he said.

Martouf whipped around suddenly at the sound of a short, pain-ridden and feminine scream. He had spent enough time around the owner of the voice to recognise it when he heard her. He strode as close as he could to the door and listened. The sounds weren't pleasant, but they were coming from somewhere nearby. Probably so that he and Lantesh could hear them, so that they would know what was coming. Typical Goa'uld tactic. But they were less concerned for their own safety, more so of the woman down the corridor being tortured.

The scream echoed down the corridor again.

'Since there is nothing we can do...' Lantesh said, answering the feelings of his host rather than direct thoughts, feeling which he shared. 'Then we must wait.' He wished at that moment, more than anything, that he was deaf.

**

Ate lowered the ribbon device, and Sam, who was already on her knees, absolutely weak and exhausted, would have collapsed to the floor had two of Ate's Jaffa not been holding her in a more or less upright position.

"Now now..." Ate chided, almost as if she'd caught a naughty child up to no good. "It wouldn't do for the Tok'ra nech'ren to fall unconscious." That apparently was some sort of signal from the Jaffa behind Sam to hit her with... something she couldn't see.

"But I'm not..." Sam swallowed the blood that had welled her her mouth after biting her tongue. It was that or spit it out, and she really didn't think Ate would appreciate the gesture. "I'm not Tok'ra..." she managed to choke out.

Ate actually appeared to consider that. "You are not?"

"No."

"But you are allied with the Tok'ra." Ate glared at Sam, who didn't have the strength to lie.

"Yes."

"And you travel with a Tok'ra companion."

"Yes."

Ate stepped forward and grabbed Sam's chin, forcing her head backwards until Sam thought her neck would snap. "And the presence I sense within you. You were once host to a Tok'ra."

"Y... yes."

"Then that," said Ate with finality. "Is good enough for us." She raised her ribbon device once more.

**

The Jaffa had returned to Martouf and Lantesh's cell some time after they had awakened, dumping a heavy, unconscious form onto the floor, staff weapon aimed at Martouf the whole time, before backing out of the cell, leaving the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri alone.

Sam was a mess; she was lying on the floor, semi-conscious and black and blue. She was shaking as Martouf approached and touched a hand to her shoulder. "Samantha?"

Sam groaned and rolled over onto her side, promptly losing what little was left of her breakfast. Martouf said nothing, just gently rubbed her back as she tried to get her retching under control.

"I should have stayed in bed." muttered Sam miserably, drawing a slight smile from her companion, which was not mirrored in his eyes.

'I'm hardly an expert,' admitted Lantesh, 'But I think she's in shock. Cold, sweating...'

'Which would seriously hamper our chances of escape. We need to keep her warm.'

"Are you cold?" Martouf asked Sam, who nodded as much as she was able. Wordlessly, he pulled her into his arms and leaned back against the wall, embracing her gently.

Martouf noted that Lantesh needed, as Jacob would have put it, to get his mind out of the gutter.

"I could live with this." muttered Sam, which, this time, Martouf genuinely smiled at. They sat there for a few moments, Sam shivering as if the temperature had suddenly plummetted.

"Does the name Jef'ren mean anything to you?" Sam asked shakily, and rather suddenly.

Martouf frowned, surprised at the question. 'Where would she have heard that name?' Lantesh wondered, while his host said, "I believe so. He was a lesser Goa'uld, killed by Tok'ra operatives about fifteen of your years ago."

"Oh." Sam clutched his arm slightly tighter, savouring the warmth. "Then you have no idea the interest that Ate has in him?"

"No..."

"Apparently he was her mate."

There was silence for a moment.

"Ah." said Martouf after a moment, echoing Lantesh's sentiment.

"Hmm..." Sam murmured. "So, she has a slight grudge against the Tok'ra and has decided that you and I need to suffer and die for what was done to her. So she delighted in telling me while having her Jaffa beat me to a pulp." She flicked her fingers vaguely. "And the whole ribbon device thing."

Martouf didn't know what to say to that, just held her a little tighter for a moment before losening his grip, wary of hurting her. "Are you feeling any better?"

"A little, not much, but a little." Her eyes flicked around the cell for a moment. "So, any ideas on how to get out of here?"

Silence.

"Yeah..." muttered Sam, closing her eyes and leaning back against Martouf slightly. "That's what I thought."

**

"Water, water everywhere but..."

"Colonel O'Neill, please..."

"Sorry, Selmak."

Selmak shook her head. After hearing the same phrase run around Jacob's head whenever the Tok'ra went to a swamp-like or oceanic world, she was more than slightly sick of it. The Stargate they had arrived through seemed to be present in a water logged field, and the six on the team - the three remaining members of SG-1, Jacob, Helen, and Larrell - were currently waded through mud and water that was just past their ankles, aiming for patch of relatively dry land about seventy meters away. It was slow going, considering the distance involved.

Larrell couldn't help but be unnerved by the glances that Helen kept shooting in her direction. After much prodding from her symbiote, Larrell made her way over to the newly Blended Tok'ra and asked,

"Have I done something wrong?"

Helen glanced at Larrell for a moment, then came to a dead stop, surprising Larrell, who took a few more steps before she also managed to halt herself.

"Not you." Helen told her, tilting her head. "I just don't appreciate the fact that the council doesn't trust me... or Genra enough to know whether the host will go insane and so assigns you to watch me."

Larrell blinked slowly. "You're feeling Genra's resentment?"

"Damned right." snapped Helen. "It's not just that, y'know? No one told me that this could drive me mad."

Larrell shook her head sadly. "I know. But you must understand, I can't tell the council that I won't watch out for you."

Helen shook her head slightly with disgust and started across the field again.

"Helen..."

Helen turned at Larrell's voice. The other Tok'ra came up to her and took a deep breath before starting,

"I didn't know Ilian or Genra very well... before..." Larrell paused, then plunged ahead with what she was saying. "I know you resent the fact that I've been assigned to you, but I'd like to think... we can be friends?" she spoke the last with a hopeful note in her voice.

Helen managed to smile a little. "I'd like that." she said sincerely. Larrell grinned and the two of them increased their pace to catch up with SG-1 and Jacob.

Teal'c was standing still with a puzzled expression on his face.

"What's up Teal'c?" asked O'Neill, stopping beside the Jaffa.

"A high pitched whine. Upscaling." Teal'c said.

"I hear it too." said Jacob, taking over from Selmak. Helen reached a hand up to her ear and rubbed it, a confused expression on her face.

Daniel blinked. "It just got louder too."

The whining was getting louder and higher and prompted O'Neill to say "What the hell?" in confusion. Actually, he only got as far as the word 'the' before the whining stopped abruptly, coinciding with a flash that blinded each of the team momentarily. When it faded, they were all lying in the mud, unconscious and unaware of the tall, willowy figures stealthily approaching them.

**

The fact that none of the team had actually been conscious enough to travel from the muddy field to the dark, dry damp caves, the fact that they had all been relieved of their weapons and equipment, and the fact that the metal ring they were encircled in projected a forcefield that stretched from the floor to the roof of the cave (discovered when O'Neill had walked straight into it), were all pretty good indications that someone had knocked them out and dragged them there, and, to judge by the partially dried mud on their clothing, that had been some time ago. The only lighting in the cavern came from strategically placed glow-strips located on the rock walls.

"What the hell was that?" demanded O'Neill, pinching the bridge of his nose. Something hurt just there, probably from the forcefield.

"A forcefield." said Daniel, from where he was sitting on the floor.

Jack glared at him. "I noticed that." He waved his hand in the general direction of the only way out of the cave, a rocky tunnel, indicating the field they had left. "I mean that flash of light."

"In all probability, a paralysis field." Teal'c commented.

"Is that Gou'ld technology?" asked Jack.

Larrell was the one who responded, from where she was helping Helen to her feet. The newly Blended was not so quick to recover from the attack as the rest of the group, and leaned slightly against the other Tok'ra for support. "To my knowledge, it is not. Not on such a scale."

"So who did that?" demanded Jack, as the annoying bone-vibrating sensation started to fade.

Daniel pointed towards the rocky tunnel. "My guess would be them."

There were three of the aliens, standing there before them wearing long, thick green robes that hung comically off willowy, almost skeletal frames. The aliens looked so delicate and fragile that a gently breeze could blow them over and break them. They all stood at about eight or nine feet in height and each had two pairs of arms, ending in three slender-fingered hands, each of the fingers being opposable. The two standing slightly behind the first held palm sized devices which were probably weapons of some kind. Large, soggy looking black eyes regarded the team intensely.

The first raised it upper left arm, keeping it lower two folded against it stomach, and began to speak. "Greetings, I am Im'venh, Second Speaker for this colony of the Seruuan people." Its voice was thin and reedy, impossible to assign a gender to, but its words were slow, and in heavily accented english.

Im'venh levelled its gaze at the three in the dark green fatigues. "You are of the Tau'ri? Not the Tok'ra?"

Daniel and Jack glanced at each other, while Teal'c raised an eyebrow slightly, before Jack nodded. "Yeah... that's us..."

Im'venh bowed its head. "We do not hold you responsible for the actions of your allies you are gree to leave and return to your homeworld." Im'venh said sharply and turned its attention to the Tok'ra.

"Why do you not wish us to return to our world?" Genra demanded. Jack tried not to frown. He'd never get used to hearing the Goa'uld voice come from a friend's mouth. "We have done nothing to you."

Im'venh narrowed its eyes. "You claim ingnorance? When one of your number came here through the arash'ikla..." Im'venh turned slightly to eye Daniel. "My apologies - the Stargate... killed two of our people and four members of the indigenous people of this planet. He then stole our ship and left the bodies to rot. Our laws and our council /demand/ that the Tok'ra answer for their crimes."

"Elus wasn't under orders." Jacob said. "We weren't aware he'd killed anyone, in fact, he kidnapped two of our people and we were hoping to follow him here."

"He is not here." Im'venh said flatly.

"We know that /now/." Jack returned, earning himself a 'you're not helping' glare from Jacob.

"Indeed," was the response. "Unfortunately, we are not certain where your madman took our ship to."

"So you believe us?" Daniel said, confused. "And how did you know he was mad."

Im'venh tilted its head. "You cannot hear another's thoughts?" It blinked. "No, I see you cannot." It continued on with what it had been saying before. "Several of our ships are currently out searching for our missing vessel. There is information on board we would prefer not to fall into the hands of the Goa'uld."

"Well, since we're both looking for the same guy," Jack said, glancing between Jacob and Im'venh to make sure he wasn't speaking out of turn. "Maybe we could work together. Share what we know?"

Im'venh appeared to consider that. "Very well." It said finally, after staring into space for several moments, apparently listening to something far away. "Continue your search for this madman, if you find anything, return to this world and inform us immediately." There was a stress in that last word that promised dire consequences if they were not to inform the Seruuan immediately. "We will do likewise."

Without waiting to see if they agreed, Im'venh nodded to one of its guards, who pressed a key on the handheld device. A few seconds later, the forcefield flashed out of existence and the guard took a slightly step forward.

"Your equipment will be returned to you." Im'venh informed them. "En'chal will escort you back to the arash'ikla."

Perhaps seeing the futility in arguing, the team wordlessly followed the tall guard out of the caves, following Im'venh's tacit dismissal.

**

To be honest, Martouf had expected to have Ate's Jaffa come for him or Samantha not long after they had returned the Tau'ri, but instead they had been left alone in their well lit, well aired cell that was utterly silent except for Samantha's quiet, if slightly laboured, breathing. She had long since fallen into a deep slumber, head drooping so that her chin touched her chest and was leaning against Martouf, his arms still wound around her, having fallen asleep in that position. It was probably best for her; she would need all the strength she could muster for when they, hopefully, managed to get out of there. Although how they were going to do that, Martouf had absolutely no idea.

'Prayer?' Lantesh asked with amusement. 'Magic? Or, as Jacob would put it, a miracle of biblical proportions? Whatever that means anyway.'

'You spend too much time picking up on Jacob's idiosyncrasies.'

'Wouldn't want to stay /bored/ during those quiet periods between brushes with death, now would I?' Lantesh said dryly. 'I'd lose that elusive quality that makes me so interesting.'

Martouf actually laughed out loud at that one. Sam shifted, slightly disturbed, so he quieted and she soon returned to her peaceful slumber. As peaceful as it could be with her injuries.

'This wasn't what I meant what I said I would enjoy spending more time with her.' commented Martouf wryly.

Lantesh emitted a mental sigh. 'Look at it this way: how can things get much worse?'

That was when the lights went off.

'If you didn't see that one coming, you should be killed.' Martouf would never be able to remember whether he or Lantesh had uttered that particular phrase, but that was the least of his concerns at that particular moment. He gently shook his companion awake, ignoring her protests in words of her language which he couldn't translate, but had a pretty good idea what they meant.

"Ooh... I think I'm going to be sick..." muttered Sam as she levered herself into a sitting position. Having been sitting with her in his arms for several hours, Martouf felt a sudden and rather discomforting loss of warmth, but mentally pushed it aside. "What's wrong with the lights?"

"I do not know. They deactivated a few moments ago."

There was a sudden downscaling whine and a quiet, off-key cheep came from the door. Then silence.

"That sounded like the power going off." Sam said, leaning forward slightly, she glanced at Martouf. "Help me up." she instructed as the Tok'ra clambered to his feet. She grabbed his outstretched hand and hauled herself to her feet, and made her way towards the door, ignoring the sensation of bones grinding together in her chest. There was the sound of crackling in the distance, accompanied by a boom muffled by goodness knew how many walls. "And that sounded like an explosion." she whispered. Martouf was at the door, and had managed to force the door open slightly.

"The lock must have disengaged when the power went off." he said as the door opened just enough to get a fingertip in the gap. Sam immediately leant over, gritting her teeth against the pain she was feeling, and forced her smaller hands into the gap, helping the door force open enough for them to squeeze through.

The corridors outside the cell was similarly dark, and the sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the complex as the Jaffa hurried on their way to whatever was going on. Hugging the walls, Sam and Martouf crept down the corridor, until they were close enough to hear the Jaffa barking orders at one another.

"What are they saying?" whispered Sam, her voice barely audible.

"They're saying that someone's attacking the ship..." responded Martouf, after listening for a moment. "The one we were brought here in I believe... they're trying to steal it. They believe it's the same people that shorted out the power generators."

"Then this is our best chance at escape." Sam replied, to a nod from her Tok'ra companion, and the two of them continued creeping through the corridor, searching for an exit. More than once they had to duck into small side corridors, to avoid the Jaffa as they barrelled along the corridors.

Sam actually ducked out of the way slightly too fast and felt something in her chest go. She bit her lip to stifle a cry of pain, and hoped that Martouf didn't notice her discomfort. The last thing she needed at that moment was him to get overly concerned about her state of health.

"I believe that the exit to the outside is in that direction." Martouf siad, gesturing to their left. Sam nodded, keeping her mouth shut, not trusting herself not to have a pain-filled voice answer.

They got down the corridor without being seen, and rounded the corner, and walked straight into three over-sized Jaffa.

"Tok'ra, kree'tol!"

The two of them turned in unison and bolted back around the corner as the Jaffa raised their staff weapons and started firing.

"We're going to have to find a way around them!" shouted Sam over the sound of staff weapon blasts as they ran down the corridor. Sam wasn't able to keep up well, so Martouf grabbed her wrist and pulled her along with him. They navigated their way around several corridors before managing to find one of the several exits from the complex.

The air outside was crisp and cool, the only light coming from the stars above, and the lighting from the outside of the complex itself, but soon more lighting was coming from the staff weapon blasts of the Jaffa as they followed the pair out of the building and started firing.

There was a sudden flash of light, an instant ahead of the enormous bang which signified the explosion inside the complex that caused a massive shockwave which knocked both of them to the ground, taking out the Jaffa that were chasing them, while Martouf fell slightly atop of Sam and knocked her damaged ribs once more.

Sam gritted her teeth, tasting blood in her mouth, and mentally managed to hurl an epithet at whatever higher power was responsible for her current predicament before she lost consciousness entirely.

**

Martouf was knocked out when the shockwave hit, and so Lantesh smoothly took over control of their body so that little time was lost. Seeing that Samantha was unconscious, he picked her up as gently as he could manage and started through the trees.

"Stop!" came a voice in clear, if slightly accented Goa'uld. Lantesh automatically halted, turning to see a small group of Humans, dressed in dark colours so that they blended in with the shadows of the trees. If they spoke Goa'uld, it was a good chance that they were Humans brought to this world from the Tau'ri all those millennia ago.

The male at the head of the group stepped forward slight to stare at Lantesh and Samantha. "You are fleeing from the evil Goa'uld?"

Lantesh decided at the moment that using the voice distortion he usually did to distinguish himself from his host would be a bad idea. It was more than a little uncomfortable to drop it, as if he were mascarading as the 'true' owner of the body - something many Tok'ra felt, hence the reason the symbiotes used to distortion - but he didn't think these people would react especially well to hearing his voice. "Yes, we are." he replied. "My companion is injured." he said, bobbing his head towards the unconscious body in his arms.

The male waved forward another member of his team, a diminuitive figure who hurried forward and quickly checked Sam over while Lantesh still held her. Martouf was gradually coming back to himself and was quizzing his symbiote as to who they were talking to. Lantesh replied by telling him to keep quiet until he knew himself.

"We should take her to a Healer." the figure said in a soft voice, definitely feminine. "She's badly hurt."

The male considered that for a moment. "Come with us." he ordered sharply, heading back into the woods, the rest of the team following. After a moment, so did Lantesh, glaring at the two who offered to carry Sam for him. They quickly moved away.

It took about ten minutes of moving at a near running pace to get to a rock face. Lantesh didn't actually realised where the entrance to the cave system was until they were practically entering them. There was a small rounded entry-room, with several tunnels leading off them. The group picked one slightly off-center and followed it through several twists and turns - which Lantesh was fairly sure he could navigate his way back through - until they reached a large central cavern, where there were dozens of people sitting around at tables or by a large fire in the corner. It was two tiered, with many exits at both the ground and upper level of the cavern.

The female who had examined Sam dashed off up a staircase carved out of the rock to the upper level of the cave, and after a moment, returned with a tall, middle-aged woman, who had an air of authority about her that Lantesh knew Martouf often associated with people such as Garshaw. Several much younger, eager faced people, who Lantesh guessed were apprentices or assistants of some sort from their attitude, followed her as she strode down to the lower level of the cavern, somehow crossing the distance rapidly without hurrying.

The display attracted the attention of many people in the cavern as the woman placed on hand on Sam's forehead, her eyes focussing on something far away. She then placed her left hand on Sam's abdoment, and her right over the woman's heart. "She bleeds within." the stranger said after a moment. "And many of her bones are broken." she spoke directly to her assistants, "Take her to the per-ankh." she ordered.

Lantesh glared at the woman briefly, before her gaze gave him the impression that she thought she knew best and he'd better co-operate. He finally relinquished Sam to two of the assistants, who immediately started carrying her to one of the exits off the lower level of the main cavern. Lantesh started to follow, but one of the assistants stopped him by standing in front of him with an outstretched hand, blocking his path.

Lantesh felt annoyance and irritation well up inside. "I will go with her." he snapped. "Get out of my way."

The assistant looked resolute, but the woman in charge slowed and turned back, staring at Lantesh, then beckoned for him to approach. Lantesh, uneasy at the situation, a feeling mirrored by his host, approached, and when he came within arms reach, the woman laid a hand on his forehead.

What happened next caused Lantesh to mentally jump back and relinquish control to his still fuzzy host very abruptly.

The woman smiled. "You need not hide your true identity." she said warmly. "We are aware of the Tok'ra. Your la'rsa will be safe with us. Do not concern yourself." With that, and a flutter of elegant blue robes, the woman disappeared after her assistants.

Martouf was still bewildered. 'What happened?' he asked his symbiote.

'That was odd.' muttered Lantesh. 'In fact... that was very odd.' He paused a moment, mentally reviewing the last few moments. 'I believe that was a reflex action. She pressed... something... at the back of my mind that caused me to release to your control. Very odd... she was a telepath...'

'A human telepath? That's not very common-' Martouf was brought out of his mental conversation by a hand on his shoulder. A heavyset man stood behind him, his bearing that of the leader. Behind him, the inhabitants of the cavern were watching him curiously.

"I am Herand." he said with a slight smile. "We are always happy to greet a member of the Tok'ra. The companion-protectors have told us of your kind. We never expected to meet one in person, though." He gestured to one of the tables, where people immediately started shuffling up the benches to make room. "Please sit. Tell us of yourself."

"I am Martouf. How were you aware I was a Tok'ra?" he said, introducing himself, feeling slightly bewildered at this turn of events. Things were moving too fast. "And who is-"

"Pende? She's our Healer." Herand said proudly and with affection, and Martouf got the distinct impression that Pende and Herand were mates. "You noticed her gift? She received it from the companion-protectors. That's how we knew you are Tok'ra." He pushed a plate towards Martouf. "Eat." he instructed. He sat across the other side of the table from Martouf as the Tok'ra picked up something which looked like meatrolls the Tok'ra ate for sustenance. He hadn't eaten since several hours before being shot by Elus, and so was more than a little hungry.

"So who is your female companion?" asked a young woman, barely out of her teens, sitting a few seats down to Martouf's left. A feral smile crossed her face. "Is she really your la'rsa?"

"Heane!" chided Herand. "What sort a question is that?"

Neither Lantesh nor Martouf could come up with a translation for the word la'rsa, and so they decided to avoid the question. Heane made a face.

"I was just asking!" she whined, picked up a piece of fruit and biting into it.

Martouf listened to Herand tell the girl exactly what were appropriate questions, and bit on the meatroll, his mind wandering back to the woman he had handed over to the Healer.

**

Ate paced the floor of her throne room furiously, robes billowing behind her with each step she took. Fury, at the Tok'ra, at the unknown species who had taken her new prize, at the Human inhabitants of this world, who had planted the explosive devices which had destroyed half her palace and then disappeared, at the Tok'ra traitor who had come before her, built with each passing step.

Suddenly, Ate whirled furiously and waved her hand. One of the ornate chairs that decorated the side of the room, and had taken two large Jaffa to haul inside, went crashing into the wall, embeddeding itself three feet into the smooth granite.

Feeling a little better for that outburst, Ate called for her First Prime and ordered him to bring the Tok'ra traitor to her. She wasn't going to let something of this magnitude happen and go without someone dying for it. She waited impatiently for his arrival, and when the beige clad man - who was far too weedy for her tastes anyway - was shoved into the throne room, she raised her hand and hit him with an energy wave from her ribbon device.

"We are most displeased." she said slowly.

"Please..." the traitor wimpered as she raised her left hand once more. Ate hesitated for a moment, savouring the fear she could practically smell coming from him.

"Kel'sha, Ate!"

Ate turned in irritation to her Jaffa, who had just entered the room. "What is it?" she demanded.

"The Tok'ra prisoners have escaped, and disappeared into the forest."

Ate felt the irritation and annoyance, and the fury, build up into a white hot rage and solidify inside her. She turned back to Elus. "You will pray for a quick death." she swore, raising her hand once more.

"Please... let me go after them. With some Jaffa. I promise, I'll get them back for you. Then we go through with our deal, yes?" His eyes were wide and his expression pleading, desperate for her approval on this course of action.

Ate was disgusted. When it came down to it, the Tok'ra had no more honour or dignity then a common vre'nat. She briefly considered ending his pitiful existence then and there.

*Let him go...* A small traitorous little voice said from somewhere deep inside her. *What harm would it do? He'll only die anyway and it would save us the trouble of having to pretend to honour his deal...* It was a very persuasive little voice.

Ate frowned, the nodded. "Very well. Do not return here to greet us with news of your failure." she warned.

Elus clambered to his feet, babbling thanks at her, before Ate waved at one of her Jaffa to come forward and take him out of her sight.

**

Her head hurt. So did her chest. And her back. And her neck...

Maybe it would take less time to catalogue what didn't hurt.

"My dear, do not open your eyes." said a soft, soothing voice. "You may soon, but not at the moment..."

"Where am I?" Sam asked, her throat dry, and her voice hoarse and croaking.

"You are within the hidden caves." responded the voice. "Your la'rsa brought you to us." There was a rustle of movement, and Sam felt some sort of pressure being removed from her eyes and cool hands pressing over the skin on her head. "You may open your eyes now."

Sam did so, slowly. There wasn't much light in the room, so it didn't take long for her eyes to adapt. A woman, middle-aged, with light brown hair and pale skin that had obviously not seen much of the sun in years, was leaning over her, a kind smile on her face. She held an earthenware cup in one hand, and slipped her arm behind Sam's back, helping her up enough to take a few sips, soothing her throat, and then gently lowering her back to the bed.

"I am Pende." the woman said with a soft smile. "And you are Samantha Carter. We are honoured to meet one of the Tok'ra..."

"I'm not a Tok'ra." Sam said, her voice a little more stable now, but weak.

"I see." Pende said, not sounding entirely convinced. "I am the Healer GuildMaster here. You were badly injured, and have been asleep for many cycles."

"Days?" Sam asked in disbelief.

Pende tilted her head and fixed Sam with a gaze; Sam had the uncomfortably sensation of someone searching her soul, then Pende smiled. "Not quite so long, my dear." she said. "Hours, in your terms."

Hours she could handle. A sudden thought occured to her. "Martouf? Where's Martouf?" she started to struggle to sit up, but a pain in her chest stopped her. Pende stepped forward and glared her patient down.

"Your Tok'ra companion is here in the hidden caves with us." she said reassuringly to Sam. "He has been most... persistant in enquiring after your health." she seemed to find that amusing.

"Can I see him?" she asked anxiously, wanting to know how Martouf was doing.

"In a little while, my dear." Pende told her. Practiced hands expertly probed the injured areas of Sam's body. "You are still very weak, and I would have my patients recover more before I will allow them to see visitors." She stopped her examination and reached for the cup again, forcing Sam to take a few mouthfuls. "Sleep now. I will return within a cycle."

With that, Pende walked out of the door. Unable to keep her eyes open, and having decided that Pende must have put something in that drink, Sam fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

**

A cool hand resting on hers was the first sensation to break into Sam's consciousness. She had a vague memory of Pende returning to her some time earlier, but Sam had been half-asleep at the time, and had returned to unconsciousness as soon as the Healer had left. She slowly turned her head to look at the person sitting beside her and smiled.

"How long have you been sitting there?" she asked quietly.

"Since Pende allowed me to see you." Martouf said with a smile. "Which was a little less than an hour ago. How do you feel?"

Sam blinked slowly. "Better than before." she answered truthfully. "I'll bet I look terrible." she said in a self-depreciating manner.

"I disagree," Martouf told her. "You still look beautiful."

Sam squeezed his hand with all the strength she could muster, which wasn't much. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Nearly ten hours. Your injuries were severe, as Pende repeatedly informed me." Perhaps sensing her intense curiosity about the people who were being so hospitable to them, he leant forward slightly, resting his elbows on the edge of the bed. "They are a people in hiding from the Goa'uld. Apparently there is a group of beings they refer to as the companion-protectors who help hide them, help protect them. It was this species who retrieved the ship from Ate's compound, and asked for their help in distracting the Jaffa."

"So they set the explosion." Sam said, nodding her head in understanding. "And Lantesh... do they..."

"Pende appears to be a telepath." said Martouf. "She discovered that I am Tok'ra. The people here were already aware of our existence though."

"Oh..." Sam said slowly. "Ok..." Her eyes slowly started to close, then she forced them open again. She was /not/ going to spend another ten hours asleep. She searched her mind for something to say to keep her mind active. "You seem to have come out of this better than I have," she said with a smile. "I have the /worst/ luck."

Martouf moved his free hand to brush Sam's hair out of her face. "It will change." he said reassuringly.

There was a long silence where neither of them could think of anything to say, just enjoying the other's company. Then Martouf leaned over before he could lose the nerve to do what he had in mind, and gently touched his lips to hers in a feather-soft kiss. Sam's grip automatically tightened on his own as she returned as much as she was able. Before the kiss could deepen, Martouf drew back slightly.

"You should get some sleep." he advised her.

Sam nodded slowly and closed her eyes, a smile lighting her face. Martouf stayed with her, their hands intertwined, until her breathing was slow and even. Then he carefully extricated himself from her grasp and headed back out to the main cavern, where Lantesh had noted there were some voices arguing. Martouf had ignored it, letting his symbiote listen.

When he arrived in the living cavern, the voices broke off suddenly, leading Martouf and Lantesh to the conclusion that it was they who had been the topic of conversation. He approached the two who had been arguing and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Pende was looking furious, Herand was looking discomforted, and the rest of the cavern were unnerved.

"The companion-protectors tell us that the Goa'uld Ate has dispatched several groups of Jaffa to search for two escaped prisoners." Herand fixed his gaze on Martouf. "They believe that if you remain here, it is only a matter of time before they track you here."

"They want you to leave." Pende said, then glared at Herand. "I do not believe that Samantha Carter is well enough to travel and evade the Jaffa as yet." she said sharply.

"We do not wish to endanger you." Martouf said smoothly, ignoring his symbiote's mental grumbling. "That is not the Tok'ra way."

Herand bowed his head. "Thank you for your understanding. We will allow you to wait until your la'rsa is well enough to travel, then we ask that you leave us." his voice was low, and intense.

Martouf bowed his own head, then straightened and finally asked the question that had been plaguing both him and Lantesh since they had arrived. "If you do not mind my asking a question?" Herand nodded in indication for him to go ahead. "What does la'rsa mean?"

Pende tilted her head. "Bonded. Entwined."

"Mated?" Martouf blurted out, a little surprised.

Pende just smiled. "Indeed."

"We're not..."

"Really?" Pende interrupted. "You could have fooled us."

**

It was the middle of the night cycle on the Tok'ra world, so apart from the sentrys and a few other night-workers, the whole facility was more or less silent. In what had been Ilian's quarters, bequeathed to her upon becoming Genra's host, Helen lay on the hard surface of her bed and turned a stone over and over in her hands, eyes tracking over every centimeter of the surface, examining it carefully.

'So what do you think?' Genra asked, pulling her host out of her reverie.

'I think it's a member of the feldspar group.' responded Helen, who in turn received a mental chuckle from Genra.

'I mean,' Genra said, a moment after she had finished laughing. 'What memories does it bring up? What does it make you feel?' Feeling her host's skepticism, she added, 'Come on, it's just a little mental excersise, so see if you can access my memories as well as I can yours.'

Helen sighed, admitting defeat to her symbiote, and closed her eyes, her hands still wrapped around the stone and gently lowering to her stomach.

'I remember that Ilian got this on Gorat...' she started.

'Go on...'

'She picked it up on one of the beaches not too far from the transport rings, after she had just finished a session of sentry duty and was walking back to the Tok'ra complex. It caught her eye while she wasn't even looking for it, just sitting there, among a lot of paler stones in the sand. It glinted in the sun, and only seemed to be able to be seen out of the corner of the eye. It took her about ten minutes to actually locate it properly. She extracted it from the sand with the base of her staff weapon; a lot of effort for a little rock, but she loved it... you told her she was getting overly sentimental over a rock... she laughed... She had a lovely laugh. Very clear, and uninhibited, not caring who might hear her having fun. She thought laughter was good for the soul...'

Helen felt tears welling up in her eyes as she relieved the memories of Genra's previous host, feeling the grief of her loss as keenly as if it were her own.

'I'm sorry,' muttered Genra, 'It's just never easy... losing a host. I probably should have picked another memory.'

'It's alright.' responded Helen, giving the mental equivalent of a reassuring hug. 'Well, there's one similarily between Ilian and I.'

'Oh?'

'Yes. We both love rocks.'

There was a brief pause, then Helen's skull resounded with her symbiote's mental laughter, and it sounded an awful lot like Ilian's laugh. Helen couldn't help but grin in response.

"Helen?" A soft voice spoke from beside her bed, a hand shaking her shoulder gently, obviously thinking she was asleep. Helen peeked open her eyes and looked up at Larrell/Aela, who's eyes flashed briefly, glowing in the semi-dark of the room.

"What is it?" she asked, feeling groggy. A brief mental check with Genra revealed that they had been conducting their mental conversation while the host body was effectively sleeping. Helen couldn't help but find that fascinating.

"Garshaw asks that you report to the council chambers immediately." Larrell's alto voice was deepened even further by the symbiote's distortion. Helen found it slightly odd; this was the first time she had heard the symbiote speak. Helen made a mental note to get to know the symbiote as well as the host.

"Thanks," Helen muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Shall I go and get SG-1?"

"Please." said Aela. "I will awaken Jacob." Aela hesitated briefly, then reached over and touched Helen's face, examining the dampness on her fingertips when she pulled her hand away. "Have you been crying?" she asked softly.

"In a way..." admitted Helen, feeling slightly foolish for having cried in her sleep.

"Please do not." said Aela, giving Helen's hand a brief squeeze. With that, she turned and headed out of the door. Helen stared after her for a moment, then tried to swing her feet onto the floor, but whacked her foot against the edge of the bed and muffled a pain-induced curse.

'God, I'm tired.' she complained to Genra.

'Then sleep.' Genra advised her. 'I'll take over for a while.'

Mumbling her thanks, Helen drifted off into unconsciousness.

**

Daniel was semi-conscious as he, Jack, and Tealc were led by Larrell/Aela down the Tok'ra tunnels towards the council chamber, so he had only himself to blame when he walked into the shortest of the three tall pale aliens who stood inside the room. They might have been the same three that they had encountered on the planet they had left the day before, but Daniel had no way of telling the difference between them. Also in the chamber were Garshaw, Helen and Jacob.

Jack frowned. "Uh... Im'venh, right?"

The centremost alien bowed its head. "That is correct, Colonel O'Neill." Im'venh turned to Garshaw and extended its lower arms in what appeared to be a gesture of supplication. "Now that your people are assembled, High Counsel, shall I proceed?"

Garshaw, who had to have been awoken like the rest of the group, had still managed to look impeccable and bowed gracefully. "Please do, Second Speaker."

Im'venh folded its lower arms against its abdomen once more. "We have come to inform you that members of the fourteenth colony located our missing vessel, and retrieved it from the Goa'uld facility where it was being held." Im'venh hesitated. "I regret to inform you that they made no mention of the Tok'ra who stole it from us. They believe that in all likelihood, he is dead."

"What about Sam? Martouf?" asked Jacob, from where he was leaning against the table.

Im'venh stared at him, then glanced at its two guards, something unspoken passing between them. "We noted the presence of these individuals in your mind senses," Im'venh said after a moment. "We did not recognise their significance, and for that, we apologise."

"Never mind that," Jack sounded like he was trying not to snap. "What about them?"

"The fourteenth made no mention of anyone other than the theif... granted, they were not searching for anyone." Im'venh paused, in deep thought. "There is a chance that in the attack, they were able to make their escape."

"So they could still be on your world... your fourteenth colony?" asked Daniel, pushing his glasses a little further up the bridge of his nose.

"We will ask the fourteenth to locate your kidnapped personnel." said Im'venh. "They will be able to conduct enquiries with the native people on the planet. It is the least we can do for the enemies of the Goa'uld."

Garshaw seemed to appreciate the compliment, while Jack said, "We should go and try to go find them ourself."

Im'venh looked uncomfortable. "There is a sizeable Goa'uld presence on this planet. I would not advise the Tok'ra to send personnel there unless absolutely necessary."

"Second speaker," Garshaw said, moving to stand directly in front of the tall creature. "Do you believe that our people are on this world? And that they had been captives of the Goa'uld?"

Im'venh blinked those large soggy looking eyes, and managed to appear sympathetic. "It is a possibility." it admitted.

Garshaw nodded. "I see." She turned and snapped an order in Goa'uld to one of the guards, presumably one ordering the start of the evacuation. She turned back to Im'venh. "We appreciate all you are willing to do for us. Please make all efforts at retrieving our people. We can give you the means to conta-"

"You are transfering your people to the planet Sroth in the Caleb sector." interrupted Im'venh, who then eyed Garshaw. "Do not presume to think you can hide your destination from a telepath."

Jacob made an odd choking/laughing noise, quickly smothered. Garshaw just glared.

"We will contact you once we have more news." promised Im'venh. At an unspoken signal, the two guards stepped up, and the three Seruuans left the council chamber in the direction of the transporter rings.

"So... what now?" asked Daniel, looking from one person to another.

"We would ask for your assistance in the evacuation." Garshaw told him.

Jack nodded in agreement and gestured for Daniel and Teal'c to follow.

**

Pende's grip on her arm was reassuringly steady, and was probably the key factor that resulted in Sam's not falling to the floor of the chamber she had been recuperating in. Pende had made her resentment of the fact that her patient was being moved quite plain, but at that moment, her face was an emotionless mask. Sam was grateful for that; she didn't quite have the energy to suffer the brunt of Pende's ire at that moment.

"Now Samantha Carter..." Pende said, after Sam had managed to plant her feet firmly on the ground. "If you do not believe that you are capable of travel-"

"No, I'm alright." Sam said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"You lie poorly." Pende said softly.

"Look," Sam tried a different tact. "My people can heal me better than you can here. The sooner I get back there, the better."

Pende was forced to conceed the point. She turned her head towards the tunnel exit and barked, "Martouf! Kren'nor atik te la'rsa!"

*Goa'uld?* Sam wondered, then there came the sound of footsteps down the passage, and Martouf appeared, followed by a large man that Sam hadn't seen and a young woman who was watching everything with fierce curiosity.

Martouf quickly crossed the room and slipped an arm around Sam's waist, supporting her and allowing Pende to step away. She unashamedly leaned on him for support.

Herand nodded to Heane, who disappeared for brief seconds, then reappeared holding a hide-wrapped bundle. She quickly unwrapped it to reveal a Goa'uld ribbon device, which she extended towards Martouf.

"We believe you will find this helpful." said Herand as Martouf picked it up and examined it briefly, before slipping it on, flexing his fingers briefly to get used to the device on his hand.

'Where did they get this?' wondered Lantesh, and Martouf relayed the question for his symbiote.

"We stole it." said Heane cheerfully, receiving a glare of Herand. "Well, it's not like we have any use for it." she said defensively.

Sam, getting annoyed at not being able to understand a word of what was being said around her, asked Martouf, "They letting you keep that?"

Martouf nodded. "Apparently."

"Good. We're probably going to need it." Sam said briskly. She certainly didn't have the energy to swat a fly, so she wasn't going to volunteer to use it. "Thank them, and let's go." she muttered bitterly, wanting to get off this godforsaken planet as soon as possible.

"We must thank you for all you have done for us." Martouf told their hosts in the Goa'uld that they used, the group starting to walk into the main living cavern.

"It is nothing, truly." Herand said, affecting the manner of one who felt he had been most generous. Which, Martouf had to admit, he had. To a point anyway.

"Take that tunnel." Herand directed. "Do you need a guide?" Heane perked up in a 'pick me!' manner.

Martouf shook his head. "No, that will not be necessary." Heane sagged visibly.

"Then clear air, Martouf." Herand said, in some kind of traditional farewell.

Martouf bowed his head slightly, nodded to Sam, and the two of them started walking to the tunnel mouth, Sam trying to walk as much as she could on her own.

"Martouf," Pende touched his arm to get his attention, then held out a small flask. "Farrl juice. All round painkiller and medicine." Pende glanced at Sam, then back to Martouf. "Give it to her if she worsens."

Martouf nodded as he took the flask. "Thank you." he told her. Pende nodded with a slight smile, and stepped back to join the mass of people at the mouth of the cave as Martouf and Sam started to walk off into the tunnels.

They navigated the darkness in silence, and proceeded out of the caves, pausing at the entrance to survey their surroundings. Sam didn't remember it at all, and Martouf/Lantesh's shared memory of it was affected by the fact that it had been the dead of night when they had been taken to the inhabitant's caves.

"We should go this way." Martouf said after conferring briefly with Lantesh.

Sam shot him an odd look. "Why?"

"Why not?" he returned.

A slight smile touched her lips, a smile Martouf was happy to see. "Touche." she told him, and, leaving both Martouf and Lantesh to puzzle over that one, she pushed away from him slightly, walking on her own, if slightly shakily. Martouf knew that she would not want any assistance unless she asked for it - a trait that she shared with his former mate - and so did not offer.

They walked in silence for nearly ten minutes, occasionally glancing at one another if only to reassure each other of their positions. Finally, it was Sam who broke the silence.

"Let's rest... just a little while." Sam finally said, coming to a stand still and closing her eyes, forcing Martouf to stop beside her. After a moment, she leaned against a wide-trunked tree in order to regain her strength.

"Do we have any idea where we're going?" Sam asked quietly, still not opening her eyes. She didn't have the energy, or the will, to do so.

"You should know as well." Martouf pointed out.

Sam frowned at that. "Unfortunately, I don't have a map." she mumbled.

"You don't need a map. Can't you sense which direction the Chaapa'ai is in?"

This time Sam raised her head and peered at him oddly. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"You have naqada in your bloodstream, correct?" Sam nodded. "As does Lantesh. For some reason, the presence of naqada in the body allows the presence of the Chaapa'ai to be sense, and the direction in which it lies."

Sam thought, remembering an incident a while back. "The Goa'uld Hathor said she found the Stargate because it gave power to Ra... or something like that... Daniel was a little fuzzy on the details..." She tilted her head. "So the naqada in her body..."

"Allowed Hathor to sense where the Stargate was located." finished Martouf, nodding in agreement. "So which way is the Stargate?"

Sam became very still and quiet, as if listening to a distant voice. Slowly she turned and looked in a south-westerly direction. "That way?" she asked, unsure.

'Impressive.' commented Lantesh. Martouf couldn't help but agree.

"That is what Lantesh believes as well." Martouf told her. "Then that is the direction we will go in."

**

Im'rui, the Third Speaker for the Fourteenth colony of the Seruuan people, waved off the datastream that projected the image of the Second Speaker of the Ninth Colony and consciously damped hir emotive emissions, hoping to hide hir chagrin from the others in the council building. Could Im'venh not have contacted hir earlier with this needed information?

After achieving the necessary balance of mentality, Im'rui called upon one of hir personal assistants, Es'ven. "Send En'fel and En'oas to me." Im'rui ordered, giving off the mind scents for expected compliance. "And contact Ak'san. Hir skills as a Healer are required."

Im'rui could only hope that the Seruuan team being assembled would be able to reach the native's hidden cavern system in time, before they rid themselves of the Tok'ra in their midst. It had, perhaps, been short-sighted of the First Speaker to order that they be removed from the native population.

Or not. Im'rui would be one of the first to agree that guarding the planetary population from discovery by the Goa'uld was more important than the lives of two Tok'ra. Im'venh always had had a flaw in hir balance when it came to those who fought the Goa'uld for their lives.

When the two guards and the Healer arrived, Im'rui gave them a mental burst of information on their assignment, and the four headed out of the Seruuan's hidden colony, travelling routes that were known only to them, heading for the hidden caverns. Ak'san had no medicaments for bipedal-hominid lifeforms, other than a basic kit, so the two guards were along in order to expedite the transport of the Tok'ra to the arash'ikla when they located them, especially since the distance was so great.

Im'rui started broadcasting to the one true Person among the Humans on this world, the one they had favoured with their gift. As far as the Seruuan were concerned, those gifted with the capacity for mind-sense were true People. Not that the others weren't people, but Pende was a Person. When they drew close enough, the female Human (Im'rui had been told that the Person was female, hir personally had no idea what the distinction might be) came out of her caves and bowed deeply to the four.

"Greetings and salutations, companion-protectors." she murmured, her words coming out in a rush.

"Our greetings to you also." Im'rui told her, hir position as Speaker mandating that hir be the one to communicate outside their species. "We are here concerning the Tok'ra you held in your care."

The Person's face hardened slightly, and her mind-scent turned sour. "We sent them away, as you demanded." she told them, as they received the impression that the Person did not believe it wise to send them away.

Ak'san and the guards exchanged glances, and Im'rui sensed an amount of confusion coming from En'fal. That one was young. Perhaps hir did not comprehend the situation.

"So they are no longer here?" enquired Im'rui slowly.

The Person shook her head. "Our apologies." She told them. "But the two Tok'ra, as per your orders, left into the forest, nearly a cycle past."

"Gratitude." Im'rui told the Person simply in dismissal. She bowed and hurried back into her caverns.

There was silence among the Seruuan, their mind-scents registering their discomfort at the situation. Finally, Ak'san stirred. "What is it we are expected to do now?" Hir asked softly.

Im'rui clutched hir lower arms against hir abdomen tightly. "What are we expected to do when an incident such as this occurs?" Hir asked rhetorically. "We will contact someone else."

**

"At least it's not a swamp."

Jack ignored Daniel as he got out his binoculars and aimed them in the direction that Im'venh had told them to head in once they arrived in this planet. In the distance, they could hear explosions and see flames and smoke heading skywards - the promised diversion which would allowed the rescue team to arrive on the planet without being stopped by Jaffa, who were all hopefully all busy with trying to figure out who was blowing up parts of the forest.

"Well?" asked Jacob, waiting for an indication of what was there.

"It's a big... rock face..." Jack said slowly.

"We can see that." Jacob said slowly, as if speaking to a child. "Anything else?"

"Uh..." Jack muttered a brief 'hey!' as Helen unexpectedly snatched the binoculars out of his grasp and lifted them to her own eyes.

"Definitely a rock face." she said sarcastically. "Probably volcanic in nature. Leads to the possibility of natural tunnels formed by the lava flow being present there."

She lowered the binoculars to find everyone staring at her.

"What?" she demanded. "They didn't call me a geologist just 'cause I had a pet rock collection, you know."

Jack snatched the binocular's back as Teal'c said, "If there are indeed caves there, then it would be a logical place in which Major Carter and Martouf would take refuge from the Goa'uld. It must be the caves the Seruuan spoke of."

"So that's the direction we're going in." Jack said, tucking the binoculars away and replacing his sunglasses. "Jacob, Teal'c, Daniel, with me. Larrell, Helen, stay here and guard the gate."

Helen looked offended. "And do what?"

"You have staff weapons." said Jack, starting away from the Gate, followed by the other three. "If anyone comes near the Gate, shoot 'em."

"That include you?" snapped Helen, as she and Larrell stood helplessly, and watched them go.

"That Seruuan speaker person," said Daniel, sidestepping to avoid tripping over a large stone. "Said that the caves are hidden, and that the natives kicked Sam and Martouf out."

"They'd head for the Stargate." said Jacob. "So they must be on a line between the caves and the Gate."

They approached the treeline, and discovered that the large thick leaves of the canopy obscured almost all the light coming from the clear, cloudless sky. It was possible to see, it was just difficult to do so. Within a few seconds, Daniel would be heard tripping over the root of a tree.

"How would they know where the Gate is?" Jack asked. "Those caves are way, way over there."

"They'd know." Jacob said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument, or questions.

"Maybe," said Jack, not stupid enough to try and dispute that tone of voice, having heard it used by Hammond on more than one occasion. "But in these trees, we could pass right by them and never notice."

"Selmak would be able to sense the presence of Lantesh." Jacob told him.

"Not if they're dead." was the pessimistic response.

Jacob refused to accept that possibility. As a Tok'ra, the loss of a valuable member of their organisation would be deeply felt, and the loss of his daughter... just didn't bear thinking about.

The team moved further into the forest.

**

When Sam stumbled, for the third time in ten minutes, and fell face first into the mud, it appeared that she'd had enough.

"Dammit!" she yelled, kicking at the offending root in utter frustration and letting loose with a series of words that would have made even Lantesh blush, if he'd had the slightest idea what it was she was saying. As it was, he was just confused.

"You're becoming agitated-" he started, but was interrupted by Sam's angry voice.

"No kidding, Einstein!" she snapped, throwing her hands up in the air. "I've been shot at, kidnapped, tortured, lost and now I keep tripping over into mud I'll never be able to get off me if I live to be a hundred, and WHAT THE HELL IS THAT NOISE???!!" She jumped and was looking around her with a frantic expression at a growling noise that had come from the undergrowth.

"Do you not think that Martouf is also exhausted?" snapped Lantesh, ignoring Sam's frantic glances and edging towards the nearest tree. A primal instinct to run up the tree and hide from the big bad animals was probably rearing its head. "We have been walking as long as you have."

Sam whirled, waving her hands in their air vaguely. "Yes, but unlike Martouf, I don't have this spiffy little symbiote that helps me go on!"

Martouf groggily responded to Lantesh's current train of thought with the impression that Samantha wouldn't like what Lantesh was contemplating. Lantesh responded with the thought that it might at least stop her from ranting as well as several unrepeatable words in Goa'uld directed at his host.

"Not that this discussion makes much difference," continued Sam, throwing up her hands. "Since we're GOING IN CIRCLES!!!" She broke off as Lantesh strode forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him, and his mouth descending upon hers for a few, charged passionate moments, before pulling back.

Sam stared at him for a moment, then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed forward into his arms.

'I had a feeling that might happen.' commented Martouf, dryly.

Lantesh noted the palor of Sam's face, and the fact that she was sweating, while her body was feverish to the touch. 'I don't think it was shock.' he told his host.

'Infection?' asked Martouf, repeating what Pende had told them when they had asked after Sam's condition the first time. Apparently she had a wound on her torso that had become inflamed. Pende had not been confident of its healing.

'I do not know.' admitted Lantesh. Neither he nor Martouf were used to being on missions with someone who could fall prey to a simple bacterial infection.

Gently, he lowered her to the ground, leaning her back against the trunk of the tree whose roots she had stumbled over, resting one hand on her shoulder to keep her upright and the other quickly retrieving the flask that Pende had given to them. Unfortunately, neither host nor symbiote had any idea how to administer medicine to an unconscious individual.

"Samantha?" Martouf knelt down beside her and gently shook her by the shoulder, trying to revive her. "Wake up." He put on hand to her forehead, stopping her head from lolling forward and feeling the burning fever. "Please, Samantha. You need to drink this."

Lantesh's agitation was almost tangible, and was magnified by Martouf's own. Some of Lantesh crept into their voice. "Samantha... you must wake up."

"Mart...?" her voice was weak, almost inaudible, and faded out in the middle of his name.

"Samantha?" Martouf asked quietly, instinctively gripping her shoulders a little tighter, experiencing a mixture of relief that she was conscious, and anxiety that she obvious was not healthy.

"Cold." she muttered, her voice low.

"I think you're suffering from an infection, maybe shock." said Martouf slowly.

Sam turned an penetrating stare on him. "You don't have a clue, do you?" Martouf had to admit that he didn't. Sam actually smiled. "I won't tell anyone."

Martouf belatedly remembered the flask in his hands. "Here, drink this." he instructed, lifting the flask upwards and helping her wrap weakened hands around it. He caught a glimpse of a leafy-green coloured liquid before Sam took a tentative sip, then gagged.

"That's disgusting. Tastes like SGC coffee." she muttered, and in spite of her opinion, it seemed to be doing her good. After a few minutes of Martouf badgering her to drink several mouthfuls, her colour had improved slightly, and her voice was steadier.

"Don't do that again," warned Martouf, raising a hand to her cheek. She laid her hand on top of his and smiled slightly.

"Well, if you insist on startling me like that." she told him.

"That was Lantesh's fault." Martouf said defensively, although was unable to resist smiling himself, even as Lantesh offered that he didn't need Martouf placing blame for actions which Martouf himself had considered on more than one occasion. "Keep drinking." he urged. Sam made a face at him and took a deep breath, swallowing two mouthfuls before pulling an even worse face.

"Why do you keep forcing dishwater on me?" she asked rhetorically.

"It's good for you." Martouf chided.

"Yes, mom." Sam responded with a grin. She leaned her head back against the bark and sighed. "I don't suppose you have any idea how far the Stargate is?"

Martouf was about to respond that he didn't, but stopped when a loud, booming voice snapped, "Jaffa, kree! Tom'ek'e'kran! Kree!"

He and Sam exchanged panicked glances, and Sam extended her hand. Martouf quickly got to his feet and grasped Sam's outstretched hand, pulling her to her feet and wrapping an arm around her waist, practically pulling her along as they moved as fast as they could.

**

White noise loud noise no silence always moving going mad can't get out must get out must not betray Tok'ra where are the Tok'ra what's wrong with me what's wrong with my host...

Stay calm lower adrenaline reduce blood pressue work on neurochemicals mustn't stop must get out of here out of this mind must get out MUST GET OUT!!!

**

Elus ignored the niggling sensation at the back of his mind, knowing it was just the deceitful tricks of the snake inside of him. He ignored it, the pitiful scratchings of an animal at the bars of its imprisonment. It was an irritation, nothing more.

He would find these two Tok'ra and return them to the Goddess, and she would reward him by removing the irritation, permanently. He didn't care what the blonde one said... what was her name? It was unimportant. What she had said about him being killed. Queen Ate wouldn't do it. He was too valuable to her, he knew it.

Elus was sweeping the forest with a sharp gaze when he caught a flash of beige, turning, he snapped, "Jaffa, kree! Tom'ek'e'kran! Kree!" One of the Jaffa turned to him, the eyes of his helmet flaring briefly. Elus didn't care how loud his voice was. The Tok'ra would not escape them, so what was the point of subtlety.

He strode forward, gesturing imperiously for the Jaffa to follow him, and headed in the direction of the beige flash. After several moments, they came across a large tree with winding roots, and on the ground next to it was a discarded flask, definitely primative in design, which had leaked some kind of green fluid that had soaked into the ground.

Elus bent down and picked up the flask, turning it one way and the other, as if it would somehow reveal everything it knew if he stared at it for long enough.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, followed by a loud, ground-shaking sonic boom, which caused the Jaffa to whirl and aim their staff weapon's in the direction of the explosion, and Elus turned slowly enough to see the smoke barrel upwards from the flashpoint, and could hear the patter of debris upon the leaves as it fell back to the ground.

The lead Jaffa barked an order to his troops, but Elus sharply countermanded the order. "Kree! Do not investigate the explosion. You will come with me."

The scratching at the back of his mind briefly grew intense, and Elus put a hand to his temple and forcibly shoved those thoughts back. He straightened to glare at the Jaffa.

The leader was silent for a moment, and then said, "It could be an attack on our queen."

Elus shook his head. "Don't be stupid. It's obvious a diversion, to keep us from the true purpose of our mission. We must not let the Tok'ra escape us."

When the Jaffa hesitated in following him onwards, he grabbed one by the front of his armour and shoved him forwards, snarling, "Move!". The Jaffa reluctantly did as he ordered.

The scratching got worse.

**

Sam and Martouf, the latter's arm still wrapped around the former's waist to ensure she didn't collapse, staggered awkwardly down an incline and dropped to the leaf strewn floor, on top of dead, brown leaves that had not yet decomposed from the winter months. They hadn't been able to move fast enough, not with Sam in the state she was, and so, by some unspoken agreement, they had dropped out of immediate sight and listened to the heavy footsteps of the approaching Jaffa.

"So what's the plan?" Sam whispered to her companion, leaning closer so she wouldn't have to raise her voice.

The blood red stone that was the functional part of a ribbon device flared into life. Sam glanced at his hand, then tilted her head. "Oh," she whispered, lowering her head to the ground. "That's what I thought."

Martouf withdrew to allow his symbiote control over their body, and Lantesh turned to look at Sam. "Samantha you should stay here, out of-"

He realised that Sam's eyes had closed and she was breathing steadily, unconscious once more. Lantesh supposed it was for the best. She was in no condition to try and fight off any Jaffa in her condition.

'Her condition,' Martouf said, uncharacteristically impatient. 'Is precisely why we should hurry and dispatch these Jaffa so we can get her to the Chaapa'ai.'

Lantesh wasn't going to argue, and so waited until the footsteps had walked past them, and then scrambled to his feet and climbed up the incline to come up behind the group of Jaffa, which had Elus at its head.

"Jaffa!" snapped Lantesh, gaining the group's attention. "Kree'anek!" The Jaffa, in an unusual display of synchronisation and fast acting, aimed their staff weapons in the direction of the Tok'ra that had suddenly appeared from nowhere.

Moving quickly, Lantesh raised his hand and a wave of energy slammed into three of the five Jaffa. One was flung into the tree a few feet behind him and was embedded into the trunk, while the other two were sent flying back even further and into similarly large trees. They collapsed to the floor and didn't get up again. Lantesh couldn't tell whether they were dead or unconscious, but didn't particularly care.

The other two Jaffa seemed to evaluate the situation carefully, while Elus shouted, "Don't just stand there! Kill the Tok'ra vre'tan!!"

Apparently, their orders didn't include protecting the life of a Tok'ra madman, and the two quickly took off back into the woods, in what Lantesh guessed was the direction of Ate's facility. Lantesh let them go, he didn't have the time or the energy to kill them, and so he turned his attention to Elus, whose eyes had widened so that the whites of his eyes could bee seen all the way around the iris.

"No!" he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth as he did so. "Kill you!!"

He dove for the staff weapon the had dropped to the floor when the Jaffa had forcibly become part of the forest, but Lantesh was faster. He raised his hand once more and hit Elus with an energy pulse before he reached the weapon. Elus was thrown back to crack his skull on a tree, and collapse to the floor unconscious.

Lantesh stared at the crumpled body as he lowered his hand, then started as he heard a slight groan behind him. He turned to the rim of the incline to see Sam crawling her way to the top. She looked up at him, and then at the bodies of the Jaffa. She returned her gaze to him.

"Did I miss anything?" she asked.

Lantesh gave her a half smile and extended his right hand to help her to her feet.

**

Still fighting still clinging on trying not to go want to get out-

Asleep!! Can get out must get out must get out MUST GET OUT MUSTGETOUTMUSTGETOUT!!!!!!!

**

"Lantesh..."

Lantesh and Sam froze at the voice, which was coming from the crumpled beige clad form. Lantesh's hand device flared into life, but Sam frowned and put a staying hand on his arm.

"That's the symbiote." she said, not removing her eyes from Elus' form.

Lantesh lowered his arm, not completely off his guard and took a few slow steps forward. "Talmar?"

"It is I, my friend." came the slow, pain-ridden voice of the symbiote. "I did not think I would be able to break through..."

Sam approached him, trusting the symbiote to be able to keep in control. "You've been trapped inside... all these months?" She dropped to her knees beside his head and put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

Talmar didn't have the strength to nod; merely blinked slowly. "Yes... I don't think I will be able to break through once more." He turned his eyes to Lantesh, who was standing over him. "Kill me."

Lantesh balked. "Talmar..."

"I will not allowed my knowledge of the Tok'ra to fall into enemy hands." Talmar choked out, a trickle of blood running out from the corner of his mouth.

"You're not going to heal your host, are you?" murmured Sam.

Talmar shook his head infinitesimally. "It will be a slow death, unless Ate's Jaffa find us and try to heal us to learn our secrets." An imploring gaze was turned on Lantesh once more. "Please. It is what Elus would have wanted if he had still be sane." Lantesh still hesitated. "You are my friend, Lantesh. In the name of that friendship, I ask this one thing of you."

Lantesh looked torn, but slowly nodded. "I respect your wishes in this matter." he told him, as Sam gently took Talmar's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "It will be painless."

Talmar looked unutterably relieved. "Thank you," he whispered, and glanced at Sam. "I am sorry I did not get the chance to know you better." he told her, weakly returning her grip.

Sam smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. Talmar closed his eyes, a serene expression on his face and Lantesh held out the hand device, red stone glowing. He placed his palm on Talmar's forehead, and closed his eyes, unable to watch what he was doing. Sam couldn't tear her gaze away.

There was an intensifying of light, and a jolt ran through Talmar's body, causing the skin on Sam's hands to jingle with the charge. Talmar's eyes snapped open, but were devoid of any sign of life. Lantesh pulled his hand away as if he had been burned and stood up, turning and walking away from the body.

Sam reached over, placed the hand she had been holding on Talmar's chest, and then brushed her hands over his eyes, closing them. From that vantage point, it looked like he was just sleeping. Sam stood up herself and walked over to Lantesh, resting a hand on his shoulder and walking around him to look him in the face, and so he didn't have to look at the body. He had pulled off the ribbon device and was holding it tentatively, looking as if he wanted nothing more to drop it and leave it.

Sam gently took it away from him and put it in one of the multitudinous pockets that the air force so thoughtfully put into all its jumpsuits. She put both her hands on his shoulders to make sure he couldn't turn away from her. "You had to do it."

Lantesh's head bowed, and when he brought his head back up, Martouf was the one in control. "We know..." Martouf murmured unhappily. "We both do."

Sam, overcome with her emotions, wrapped his arms around his body and held him tightly. After a moment, she felt his arms winding around her body as well. They stood there for a long time, just embracing. Neither of them wanting, or needing more. It was... almost peaceful.

Sam was no longer uncomfortable with the physical contact they shared. Over the last days she had found herself thinking of her companion at almost every moment, and when they had been together, they had spent most of the time in physical contact. She could be very happy that way. Back at the SGC, she was surrounded by men, and forbidden to think of any of them that way. She cared for Martouf... possibly more so than she had ever done so for anyone. Maybe it was more than simple caring...

Sam felt the edges of her vision greying as another wave of unconsciousness threatened and she drew away gently, not wanting to startle him. "We should get going," she whispered, resting her forehead against his.

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak; neither of them making any move to leave.

**

"Jaffa have come this way recently."

Teal'c announcement caused all attention to turn towards him, Jack taking several steps back from his position at the head of the group to speak to Teal'c. "What makes you say that?"

Teal'c pointed to the leaf-strewn floor. The leaves had been kicked away in large patches and fresh soil had been exposed underneath. "Tok'ra would have had more stealth than to leave evidence of their trail." Teal'c pointed out.

"It's safe to say they were following our people." Jacob said, searching the ground for more evidence of a trail.

"So we follow the trail and hope it leads us to Sam and Martouf?" Daniel said.

"Unless the Jaffa were heading in the wrong direction." Jack said, earning glares from the others. "Alright, let's assume they're not." he rephrased, with a roll of the eyes that couldn't be seen behind his sunglasses.

"If Elus was with them, then it is possible that they were on the right track." Teal'c said gravely, leading the way, eyes on the track so as not to lose sight of trail. "The Tok'ra are well known for their ability to follow trails as well as hiding them."

"That's right." said Jacob, sounding less and less cheerful by the moment. He must have been thinking about the possibility of not finding Sam and Martouf. "Jaffa aren't too good at the hiding part."

He suddenly came to a halt, and Daniel and Jack, who had been walking behind them, managed to walk into Teal'c and Jacob respectively.

"What that hell!" Jack snapped, walking around the two to see what was so interesting they had to come to a complete stop. His eyes widened and he headed over to the tree to peer at the body, stepping around one of the other two bodies as he went.

"Ouch." muttered Jack in sympathy, turning his head to peer more closely at the tree. "What could have caused that?"

"Hand device." answered Jacob distractedly. Jack turned to see him kneeling next to a beige clad figure, and for one moment, he thought it was Martouf. Alright, so he and the Tok'ra had never exactly been the best of friends, but he meant a lot to Sam, and he certainly didn't wish death on Marty.

Jack walked over and peered over Jacob's shoulder, feeling tangible relief as he saw that it was Elus who lay dead on the floor.

Jacob sat back, having finished a cursory examination of the body. "He was killed by a ribbon device."

"He looks peaceful." noted Daniel, who had walked up during Jacob's examination and was staring at Elus' face. "Aren't ribbon devices extremely painful?"

"They can be used that way. They can also kill someone quickly, and painlessly, although most Goa'uld don't choose to use them that way." Jacob told him, standing and glancing away from the body. Daniel took off his pack and started rummaging around inside.

"So you don't think it was this Goa'uld... Ate? that did this?" asked Jack, who had finished looking around the immediate area

"I don't know." answered Jacob truthfully. He looked off into the trees, and after a moment, bowed his head to allow Selmak to surface. There was a brief pause, then Selmak said, "I believe I sense something in this direction."

Selmak started out, the others glancing at each other before following. Daniel finished arranging the coversheet over Elus' body and trailed along behind.

**

"I understand how Talmar felt."

The two of them had collapsed some distance away from the bodies of the Jaffa and Elus/Talmar's body, one emotionally drained, the other physically exhausted. They had sat in silence for a while before Sam's sudden pronouncement.

Martouf glanced at her in confusion for a moment, before comprehension dawned and he nodded. "Because of Jolinar."

"Yes," Sam responded, staring down at their hands which had, at some point, become entwined. "Being locked inside a body you have no control over... watching yourself do... things... can't scream, can't cry..." Sam felt tears welling up in her eyes and fiercely blinked them back. "The wish that you were dead."

Martouf didn't know what to say. "I'm so-"

"Don't apologise." Sam's voice was more commanding than reassuring. "That's one thing I don't need."

Martouf was about to automatically apologise, but Lantesh stopped him short with a mental elbow in the ribs, and so he remained silent.

"And besides," Sam said, shifting slightly. "It's still hard, but not so painful any more." She looked thoughtful, staring off at a point somewhere in the tree canopy.

"I suspected as much when you volunteered your father to be Blended." Martouf told her. "Garshaw believed your people were sickened by us. She was... unwilling to look further." Martouf gripped her hands tightly.

"Hmm..." murmured Sam noncommitedly.

"If it helps, I believe she has since come to a greater understanding of the Tau'ri. Partially in response to Jacob joining us, I think." Martouf told her.

"Partially?" asked Sam, glancing at him, welcoming the distraction from her rather morbid thoughts.

Martouf actually smiled slightly. "She also seems to have a certain fondness for Colonel O'Neill. Something to do with saving the lives of many Tok'ra by uncovering the traitor Cordesh. And his sense of humour."

Sam grinned and her eyes widened. "His sense of humour? Now you're taking the-"

"I assure you I am not." Martouf told her. "She thinks it is... what is the term? Cute. She thinks it is cute."

Sam burst out laughing at the mental image of Garshaw, the High Councillor, thinking that Jack O'Neill had a 'cute' sense of humour. It was killing her ribs to laugh, and her head was getting light.

"Jacob's words, not mind." Martouf said, happy to see that she was laughing once more.

Sam eventually managed to regain her breath and the two of them sat in silence for a long moment.

"Samantha?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think..." Martouf hesitated.

Sam turned to look at him, a question in her face. "Do I think what?"

Martouf took a deep breath, and, edged on by Lantesh, continued, "Do you think you could ever... feel at home among the Tok'ra?"

Sam was stumped for a moment. "Wh... why? Ah... why are you asking?"

There was a pause and Martouf's eyes glowed as Lantesh took over. "We meant nothing binding by the question, Samantha." he told her. "We only wish to know your feelings on that matter." Lantesh hesitated, and decided against adding anything else, waiting on her answer.

Sam was quiet for a long time, just a long drawn out silence that Martouf/Lantesh were afraid they had offended her in some manner. Finally, she said, "I don't know." She bit her lip. "I honestly don't know."

"We have both become very... attached to you." Lantesh said. "The thought has occured to us. Forgive us if we have offended you?"

Sam disentangled one hand and placed it to her companion's face. "I don't know yet." she said truthfully. "But let me think about it. I will give you my answer... some day."

Lantesh smiled, then bowed his head, releasing Martouf to come to the surface. "Then that," he said, "Is good enough for us."

The crackle of twigs startled them, and the pair fell silent, barely breathing. Sam dropped her hand from Martouf's face and eased the ribbon device out of her pocket to put it on, Martouf noting the action and nodding to her. In spite of the fact that she wasn't sure she could activate it without dropping dead on the spot, Sam was prepared to use it.

Whoever they were walked slightly past their tree and whirled upon seeing them, raising their weapons. Sam lifted her hand and was prepared to activate the device, when she realised who it was. She was immensely relieved to discover that the people who had startled them consisted of SG-1 and her father.

"Dad." she called in relief, and felt Martouf assisting her to her feet, and then Jacob wrapping his arms around her for a huge hug.

"How you been, Sam?" he asked, half a joke in his voice.

Sam felt her head swim from the sudden movement. "Not so great, dad."

"Samantha was tortured by the Goa'uld Ate." put in Martouf, hovering uncertainly nearby.

A look of anger crossed several faces, and Jacob's eyes glowed as Selmak took over, probably to prevent her host saying something. "We must return to the Chaapa'ai." was her pronouncement.

Sam frowned. "No."

Selmak stared incredulously, while Jack asked, "What? What do you mean no?" in disbelief.

"No..." repeated Sam. "I want to go back there... and hurt her. Hurt her a lot, and then kill her." Sam wasn't even aware that she was babbling.

"It's understandable." allowed Daniel.

"Precisely." Sam said as Selmak grabbed her host's daughter by the arm and started hauling her bodily up through the trees. "Hey!"

"Sam," Jacob said, having reclaimed control. "Right now you couldn't go three rounds with a kitten. You're not taking on a Goa'uld System Lord and her Jaffa." he said with finality.

"Depends. How big's the kitten?" Sam's voice disappeared she passed out once more. Jacob moved quickly before Martouf could, and picked her up, cradling her in his arms as if she were a child. There were some advantages to symbiote enhanced strength.

"Right so now we go back to the St-" Jack was cut off as a staff weapon blast hit the tree beside them, sending wood splinters everywhere. Teal'c started returning fire, while Martouf pulled the ribbon device off the unconscious Sam's hand and placed it on his own.

Jack sent a few shots the Jaffa's way, muttering something about 'our luck' before shouting, "Stargate. Now!"

**

Back at the Stargate, a wandering, aimless tune drifted on the wind as Helen whistled idyly while reclining on the steps to the Stargate. Larrell was leaning on the back of the DHD, staff weapon held in loosely the crook of her arm. Helen sighed deeply as she broke off her whistling.

"God, I'm bored."

No response from Larrell.

"How about a game of I-spy?"

Larrell turned and looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Oh, well," Helen tilted her head back to look at the clear, cloudless sky as she thought about how to describe it. "I look around the area, spot something, and tell you the first letter its name begins with, then you have to guess what it is I am seeing."

Larrell paused, and frowned. "But I do not know your... your..." she searched for the term. "Shad'rash?"

Genra helpfully supplied the translation. "My alphabet? Oh..." Helen thought for a moment. "Well... we'll go for the sound at the beginning of the word. Ok?"

"Ok?" Larrell was perplexed at the term.

"Ok. Cool. Let's see..."

"Can you give me an example?"

"Um... well, I'd say 'I spy with my little eye, something beginning with "s"' and you'd say, 'sky'."

"Ah," Larrell nodded. "I believe I understand. Go on." she continued glancing around the area.

"I spy..."

"Is there a significance to reciting a rhyme?"

"No. I spy-"

"Then why do you say it?"

"Because." Helen sighed. "I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with 's'."

"Sky."

"No."

"Then why did you tell me that was what it was?"

"That was just an example." A long pause, and Helen stared at Larrell. "Well, guess again." she prompted.

"Ah... smoke?"

"No."

"Stream."

"No."

"Staff weapons."

"No."

"No." Larrell straightened, alarmed, and pointed towards the treeline. "Staff weapons."

Helen frowned and followed Larrell's gesture, then jumped to her feet, staff weapon out and ready. Jacob, carrying Sam, ran along with Martouf and the rest of the team, a group of several Jaffa chasing them, firing repeatedly.

"I'll dial." volunteered Helen, and dove for the DHD, while Larrell started shooting at the Jaffa persuing their team. She slammed in the seven glyphs with alarming speed, and turned, not watching the wormhole opening as she hefted her staff to join Larrell in firing on the Jaffa.

The team, under the pair's covering fire, had just reached the DHD when suddenly Helen cried out and staggered backwards under the force of a staff weapon blast that had struck a glancing blow to her midsection. Daniel and Martouf, without breaking their stride, grabbed Helen's arms and hauled her backwards up the steps while Jack grabbed her staff weapon and started firing at the Jaffa. They entered the event horizon, Jack, Teal'c and Larrell barely half a step behind.

The Jaffa put on an extra spurt of speed, trying to catch up to the escaping Tok'ra before the wormhole closed, to no avail. They came to a halt beside the DHD, just as the glyphs stopped glowing.

**

A fine layer of frost covered the stone steps that the team stepped out onto. Their breaths misted in the cold frigid air, and chilled them all, even if it was nothing compared to the freezing effect of the Stargate. Martouf glanced around, taking in the landscape. "This isn't Enreth."

"Yeah,"