by Trish Williams
CHAPTER
SIX
~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
As far as Teal’c was
concerned, this issue was going to be resolved right here and right now.
The goa’uld inhabiting
Kayla was obviously on his side, and was probably pushing her to hear him
out. She was arguing with the being
sharing her body, demanding over and over why she should forgive him. Fighting fire with fire wasn’t going to
work, that much he knew. And he also
knew Kayla wasn’t intimidated by his anger.
If anything, it served to fuel her own.
And then it hit him.
Even when in the bashaak training,
Master Bra’tac had taught him and his fellow students that a Jaffa is in
control at all times. If a situation
seems out of control a Jaffa finds a way to take control. He was trying to control her and being
thwarted at every turn. And maybe, just
maybe, relinquishing control would make Kayla his again. At least until she left with the Tok’ra.
As Jack would say, it was
time for him to take a more subtle approach.
“I have something for
you,” he said, fumbling a little behind his neck. He slowly removed a delicate chain, then dangled it in
mid-air. The soft light of the room
reflected off of the gold cross charm that hung on it, making it look as bright
as a star gone supernova.
When Kayla saw it, her
fierce expression melted like ice cream on a hot stove. “I thought I lost that,” she said, sentiment
showing in her eyes. “It was a gift
from my parents when I was baptized.” Kayla
started to move closer, but changed her mind.
“You fixed it?” she asked incredulously.
“Yes,” he said fondly, still
remaining where he was. “I regret I
could not find a chain akin to one you had.”
A faint smile crossed her
face. “It’s okay,” she assured. “This one looks much nicer.” The light glinted off of the facets of the
chain, making it look like an eerie group of stars. Teal’c watched patiently as her eyes grew more and more
fascinated with it.
“Will you allow me to
fasten it upon you?” he asked tentatively.
Teal’c let the question hang in the air like bait on a fishhook. Kayla contemplated his request for a few
seconds, then took the bait by nodding her head.
Her eyes tracked his
movement towards her as he approached.
Teal’c made no sudden movements, taking cues from her body
language. When he stopped in front of
her, she dropped her gaze to the floor then turned around slowly so her back
was towards him. For a time, he just
looked downward, noticing again how low-cut the gown was in back. It took sheer will to remind himself of the
task at hand and not to presume too much.
Reluctantly refocusing
his attention, he gracefully put the chain around her, noticing the entry marks
on the back of her neck where the goa’uld had forced itself into her body. He didn’t want to think of what she’d gone
through when it happened, theorize how painful it was for her, nor picture
Apophis’ face as he watched it happen.
Kayla knew more about his kind now that ever before, and he wondered if
that would push them further apart.
“I…I accidentally broke
it when I toweled off too quickly,” she stammered, holding the cross in place
on her throat with a finger as he started to fasten it. “Caught on the fabric
loops. Isn’t the first time it’s
happened.”
“I found it after we came
to P5X-458 to search for survivors.”
“And you’ve had it all
this time?” she asked, still not turning around. “Why?”
Teal’c weighed his next
words carefully before speaking them.
“I feared I would never see you again,” he said in a soft, deep
voice. “I thought it was the last thing
you had touched and I have worn it close to me ever since. Close to my heart. Close to my soul.”
The words tumbled from
his lips before he even realized it. Of
course he meant every word, but was shocked at the ease with which they flowed
forth. He could smell the soft, fragrant
smell a recent shower, and moving a little closer could feel the softness of
her skin and the coolness of the silk that clung to each curve. His senses were on fire, his mind being
taken over by his emotions, and the guilt he had been feeling ever since she’d
been taken over by a goa’uld swelled up within him. A deep chasm in his soul needed to be filled, and being with her
was the only way to fill it.
“I am asking you to take
me back,” he whispered down her neck, noticing how her skin reacted. “Grant me another opportunity to redeem
myself and regain your trust.”
He knew time would not be
long before the Tok’ra took Kayla to Vorash, and he could not allow that to
happen until he was sure she no longer wanted him. If she wanted him, he would be happy. If she did not want him, he would be content. Either way, he needed to know.
“Why?” she demanded, her
breath becoming shallow. “What makes
you think you deserve it? Giving you
another chance would not be justice.”
As he watched her full
breasts rise and fall, erotic memories assaulted his consciousness. The desire he kept trying to keep at bay was
taking him over, planting suggestions in his mind he so much wanted to act
upon. But it all hinged on if Kayla
wanted him. And she still had not given
him a definitive answer.
Teal’c decided to toss
caution to the wind. “I am not asking
for justice,” he said huskily. “I am
pleading for you to be merciful.”
Taking a leap of faith,
he let his hands find their way to her waist and slid them down to her
hips. When she offered no resistance,
he pulled her closer to him, making her feel just how much he wanted her; how
much he needed her. Kayla moaned
softly, her head falling back onto his chest.
When her body relaxed in his grasp, he kneaded her full hips gently with
his thick fingers. Looking into the
full-length mirror, he could see her half-closed eyes and expression of
pleasure on her face. It was good to
know he could still affect her this way.
“Teal’c,” she
whispered. “I…”
Kayla’s words dissolved
into moans as he rocked himself suggestively against her. She could sense how much he wanted her, feel
how hard he was, smell the masculine smell that was uniquely his. Part of her mind wanted to break free, whirl
around and tell him to go to hell. She
wanted to tell him she could see right through his use of sentiment, flattery
and penance to get into her pants, but all she could do was lean back, feel his
hard rod against the small of her back, and groan as he rocked her. The strength of him wrapped around her and
the pheromones he was letting loose were bombarding her consciousness, and she
felt that tell-tale wetness making its way down to settle between her thighs.
Something was overriding her common sense and she didn’t know why.
“Forgive me, please,” he
implored, slowly turning her around to face him. “During Kel No Reem I have often seen you taken from me. And I have had visions during the day of the
same. ”
He went on to describe in
detail what he had seen. Told her how
he had visions of himself in the grips of a ribbon device held by her. How he’d pleaded with her not to kill him,
but the demon inside of her insisted he was to die. And he told her how it all ended with Daniel Jackson shooting
her, and she telling him he only loved himself and not her before dying.
“That wasn’t a dream,”
she said, looking up at him. “It
actually happened.”
Teal’c didn’t understand.
“How?”
Kayla sighed heavily as
she looked him over. “Nephthys called
my bluff,” she explained. “Using the
ribbon device she probed your mind and your thoughts. The thought of me dying by Daniel’s hand the way you killed his
wife was foremost in your mind. And
since Nephthys knew I was beyond angry with you, she gave me the choice of
killing you.”
“I am grateful you spared
my life,” he said thankfully, realizing just what additional consequences his
indiscretion with Shan’auc had.
“I wanted you to suffer,”
she said, wiping away the tear he wasn’t aware he’d shed. “Suffer knowing what happened to me, knowing
that you would feel what the loved ones whom you picked out for goa’uld
absorption went through. I know it
sounds childish but…”
“Forgive me,” he asked
again in earnest. “Please.”
He repeated his words several
times in his own language, the sound of the exotic words in his native tongue
making her groan in several octaves. He walked his fingers up her spine, taking
in the silken feel of the gown and her skin.
She shivered reflexively, and his nostrils picked up the unmistakable
smell of her desire for him. He wanted
her desperately, and he needed her like he needed air to breathe. The fertile curves of her body called to him,
throwing his mind completely into the mating dance that was as old as time itself.
She embraced him,
settling her lips into the crook of his neck.
“What does my forgiveness mean to you?” she whispered.
“Everything,” he rumbled.
Grasping her by the hips
again, his lips sought hers. They
pressed together initially for he was not sure if she would accept him. After a moment that seemed to stand still,
her lips parted and allowed his tongue to dance with hers. He wrapped his powerful arms around her,
straining not to give in to the desire that had been awakened within. They had been apart longer than they’d been
together, and their bodies longed to be reunited.
Recapturing her mouth
with his, he deftly worked a hand under her gown and between her legs. As his fingers crept inside the layer of
silk that separated her sacred parts from the outside world, Kayla let out a
soft sigh and called out for him.
The sound of his name on
her lips this way was pure heaven.
“I am here,” he whispered
huskily, working a finger across her small peak of pleasure. “I will not leave unless you wish it.”
When she said nothing
further, he stroked the small nub of flesh at a slightly faster tempo, glorying
in how her gasps and moans told him of how well he was pleasing her. The more he continued his ministrations, the
wetter she became. It was not long
before her juices began to run free down his fingers.
“Don’t stop,” Kayla
pleaded. “Please.”
She
gently motioned for him to get down on his knees. Teal’c complied obediently, gently nibbling the soft flesh of her
inner thigh before pushing her panties aside and capturing her clitoris with
his full lips. When she tried to back
away, he held her fast. He sucked
gently, as if paying homage to her sex.
“Ohhh,” she moaned,
grasping his muscular shoulders for support.
Her legs were starting to
buckle, so he gently nudged her backwards and sat her down on the bed. Teal’c slowly removed the silk panties she
wore, inhaling the smell of them deeply before dropping them ceremoniously to
the floor. With gentle yet firm
insistence, he parted her thighs and resumed the delicate work of teasing her
sex with his tongue.
The smell of her desire
was like an elixir. It was an
aphrodisiac he could not ignore. He
reverently licked every fold and sucked that spot of ultimate pleasure,
relishing how she moaned and rotated her lips against him. Her legs pressed against his shoulders, and
her hands rubbed the beads of sweat on his bald-shaven head into his
scalp. Kayla pressed his head closer,
and he noticed her smell and taste beginning to change. Her hips bucked against him harder, her
moans now being accompanied by cries.
And when his tongue probed her insides, she shrieked reflexively.
“Wait,” she panted,
pushing him back a little.
She pulled the dark blue bedcovers
back, and with her eyes still on him, laid down on her side. The white silk clung to her generous curves,
making Teal’c want to disrobe her immediately and have his way with her. But in this situation, ritual dictated he
follow her lead. Teal’c wanted this to
be on her terms. Anything less would
destroy the moment.
“Strip,” she sharply
commanded.
Teal’c wasn’t quite sure
she heard him right. “You wish for me
to remove my clothing?” he asked in a confused tone.
“Yes,” she hissed
lustily. “All of it.”
With a look as filled
with desire as the one focused upon him, Teal’c stood up and started at the top
by removing the black t-shirt that clung to his muscular chest. He tossed it to the side with one hand, and
began the work of unloosening his belt with the other. The belt quickly joined the t-shirt, which
was followed by boots, socks and finally the pants. He stood there like a finely-carved ebony statue, clad in
military-issue boxers and dog tags. The
only thing indicating he wasn’t human was the x-shaped pouch where his symbiote
took up residence.
“I believe I said to
remove all of your clothing,” she reiterated.
Teal’c complied
immediately, taking pride in how she sucked in her breath at the sight of his
complete nudity. He folded his muscular
arms in front of him, noticing how her eyes were centered dead on the hardness
between his legs. His mind couldn’t
help but remember the times she’d worshipped it with her lips.
“Very nice,” she said
approvingly. She crooked a finger to
let him know he was clear to approach.
The bed creaked a little as he got into it and imprisoned her under him.
“May I remove your
garment?” he asked with feigned innocence. Kayla mirrored his expression.
“Sure,” she said, raising
her arms above her head. Teal’c removed the silk gown slowly, groaning as her
familiar nudity was revealed to him. He
tossed the garment towards his clothing piled on the floor, watching as the
light fabric billowed its way down. He
turned his attention back to her and looked into her eyes, noticing her dilated
pupils and increased frequency with which she drew breath.
“You bind me to this
world,” he told her softly, tracing a line reverently across her jaw. “And
although Chulak will always be my home, until my people are free my place is
here…with you.” He shut his eyes
briefly, and a frustrated look crossed his face. “I was a fool to throw my relationship with you away for…”
“Hey,” she interrupted,
touching his face gently. “No more
than,” Kayla counted wordlessly, “four sentient beings in this bed at a
time. Okay?” She smiled at him and he nodded.
Teal’c cradled her body
under him, taking in the feel of her soft skin against his own. Being with her like this, it was as if he’d
been in the desert for weeks, and her body was the oasis he’d been searching
for. He shuddered a bit as she lightly
raked her nails down his back. It was as if she was attempting to reacquaint
herself with how he felt.
Her hands settled on the muscular
globes of his rear end, causing her to suck in her breath. The look in her eyes as well as the way she
rocked her hips against him, told him she wanted him in the same way he wanted
her. She pulled his head down for a
deep kiss, and when her tongue probed his mouth, the moans they both let out
only served to deepen their passion. By
the gods he wanted her, and he wasn’t sure he could stand this much
longer. Sliding a finger between her
legs, he felt again how wet and ready for him she was. Teal’c prayed this wasn’t a cruel joke she
was playing on him; only getting aroused so she could refuse him.
“Make love to me,” she
said breathlessly between kisses. He
answered by kissing her hungrily and sliding one of his fingers inside of
her. Kayla moaned sharply against his
lips as he did so, then whimpered when he removed it. She rubbed her body against his, relishing the strange sensation
of his pouch against her belly. Funny
how at one time it was alien to her, but now it was as familiar to her as
breathing.
“I do not have a
contraceptive device,” he panted after breaking the kiss. By the gods, he wished he could push himself
inside her without having to snap on the latex.
“You won’t need it,” she
told him.
He looked at her, stunned
at what she’d just said.
“Are you certain?” he
asked, not quite sure she’d heard him right.
“Yes,” she said. “Besides, Nephthys tells me she’s been
surpressing my fertility. I suggest we
take advantage of it.”
Teal’c still wasn’t quite
sure. Up until now she’d been adamant
about him using a condom. Before he
could protest any further, he felt one her soft hands clasp around his
manhood. He moaned sharply at the
feeling of contact.
“Please,” she pleaded,
sliding her hands down his back. “I
want you. I want you to take me as if I
were one of your own.”
“I am not certain I
should take you as one of my own kind,” he told her, still a little
undecided. “I could cause you harm.”
“I’m not as fragile as
you think,” she challenged, placing one of his hands on her outer thigh. She
smiled at the vocal reaction she got from him.
“Do I feel fragile to you?”
“You do not,” he growled,
gently spreading her thighs apart with one of his large hands. Once again
appraising her naked body, he said, “I have often dreamed of this moment.”
“So have I,” she moaned,
guiding him to the entrance of her temple.
“So stop dreaming and start doing.”
For a moment he
hesitated, still not completely convinced she’d consented to this. But when she pressed the entrance to her
temple against the head of his cock, the last shred of doubt was erased from
his mind. Bracing himself on his
elbows, he gave in to his instincts and pressed upward, burying himself to the
hilt within her.
They both cried out in
fulfillment as they became one flesh.
The pressure was
incredible. He fought not to lose
control as she tightly clenched and unclenched around him. As Kayla’s body adjusted to his size, he
could feel every ridge of her. And the
hot wetness of her only served to heighten the experience. It was a sensation he could only imagine
when wearing the Tau’ri contraceptive device.
But now, now he could feel her the way he’d always longed to, and it
took all the strength within him and his symbiote not to give in to raw passion
and come to completion within a few strokes.
Kayla moaned in several
octaves as he filled her, clawing at his back as she pressed her thighs against
him. The stretching sensation was
incredible, and she felt like there was no part of her he couldn’t reach, no
crevice he couldn’t fill. She called
out repeatedly to her god as the indescribably pleasurable sensations shot
through her. Kayla realized that Teal’c
had begun the series of long, deep, strokes within her that were designed to
bring her pleasure beyond anything she had ever experienced before…except the
first time he’d done it.
It was the Sha’na Si’ra
ritual.
“Yes,” she hissed as he
thrust slowly inside of her. “Oh God,
Teal’c, yes!”
The series of deep and
shallow thrusts were accompanied alternately by moans and groans from both of
them. Kayla could tell he was holding
back, trying to spare her body the intense mating experience he was used
to. Teal’c knew she knew, but had resigned
himself not to increase the intensity unless she specifically asked him to.
“Show me how strong you
are,” she taunted.
He gasped as she tilted
her hips upward, giving him no choice but to slide deeper into her depths. A loud growl came from his throat, and he
sucked the pulse in her neck as he thrust deeper inside of her. She kept up with his rhthym, wrapping her
legs around his and voluntarily squeezing her muscles around his sheathed
member.
With each thrust, he felt
his past slipping away. With each
thrust, he felt he could erase what had happened in the present. And with each thrust, he felt himself
changing his future. Tossing a cursory
glance to the side, in the full-length mirror he could see the lower half of
their bodies moving to the symphony of life.
They were in perfect alignment, in perfect rhythm, and the sight of
their performance sent shivers of pleasure surging through him.
“Damn you!” she cried,
digging her nails into his back. She
panted and moaned, as if trying to hold back her release. With human men, more often than not it was
they who had to try and hold back from coming.
But with a Jaffa male, something about their physiology kept them in
perfect alignment with a human woman’s most sensitive sexual center, virtually
guaranteeing an orgasm every time. The
recall of this fact caused Kayla to buck her hips against his, urging him to go
harder and faster. As his tempo
increased, so did the pitch of her cries of damnation, and pleas for him to
deliver her to her god.
And to her, he was God.
Suddenly, Teal’c realized
something was wrong. He was breathing
too hard, shaking too much and thrusting too erratically. Without realizing it, he had completely
fallen out of the ritual rhythm. He
felt himself swelling within her, and that anticipatory feeling of inevitable
release swept through him like a tidal wave.
The mixture of his and her lubrication making every thrust exquisite
torture. The wet sounds and musky
smells of their lovemaking overloaded his senses, sending him into
overdrive. It was like a red flag going
up, telling him to slow down or else it would all be over quicker than he
wanted it to be.
“Kayla,” he panted, his
words trailing off into that of his own language. He tried to back off, but Kayla grabbed his rear end and pressed
him closer to her so he couldn’t. His
mutterings in his native tongue caused her to cry out and wrap her legs around
his waist. She was becoming tighter,
and her body was contracting more frequently about him, letting him know that
her release was not far off. The timing
would be critical for either he would wind up coming to completion first or she
would. But what she wanted most, what
she kept pleading for him to do was to take her without fear, without
hesitation, as if she were one of his own.
So he obliged.
With an animalistic
growl, he grabbed her shoulders and thrust like a man possessed, showing her
absolutely no mercy. Kayla clawed at
his back again, and he swore he felt her draw blood but did not care. She cried out in thanks as he took her the
way she wanted him to. The headboard
clapped against the wall intermittently to the tune of their mating, but
neither one of them cared. Kayla’s
moans and cries increased in volume in tune to his thrusts, and when he felt a
warm heat spread along the length he had inside of her, he was greatful to be spared
the embarrassment of taking his pleasure before she had hers.
Kayla’s nails dug into his back fiercely as
the contractions of orgasm ripped through her.
She held on to him desperately, shrieking his name repeatedly as she saw
her god. He kept thrusting within her,
trying with all of his might to ride out the course of her release, but her
orgasm was causing her to become wetter and tighter; tight to the point of
almost pushing him out of her. He felt
himself sliding down the slippery slope of self-control as his thrusts became
more shallow and less rhythmic. In the
seconds before he knew his seed would come, he told himself he would not call
on the false gods he no longer believed in.
So instead, he called out
for her.
The pain was intense, but
so was the pleasure. As he fought to
draw breath, he cursed repeatedly at his lack of control for not being able to
complete the ritual. But how could he
control what his heart felt? His
defenses were down, and his heart was exposed to her. The usually stoic expression he wore had dissolved into the
grimace of impending sexual release.
His skin was glistening with the sweat produced by vigorous mating, and
it mixed with that of his lover underneath him. Teal’c cried out for her again as his seed shot out of him and
bathed her insides, his mind failing to put into words the feel of Kayla’s body
contracting the last of his life force out of him.
His body collapsed against hers and he
shivered, then shivered again. The tears
they had both shed during the experience stained the pillows. Kayla sobbed silently, her arms lovingly
wrapped around his neck. He wiped away
her tears, then proceeded to kiss her as if she would never return to him. A heaviness called to him and he succumbed
to it. He was falling, and told himself
that if he was dying, he could not think of a better way to go. Teal’c was in the arms of his lover, his
true lover, and as far as he was concerned there was no other place he wanted
to be.
And he felt complete.
She
could tell me so much, Daniel thought.
He’d been pouring over
reference after reference in his office, trying to place the goa’uld Nephthys
within the context of ancient Egyptian mythology. But the more important thing he wanted to ask was about
Osiris. What did she know about the
banishment of her lover and his queen?
Could she help locate Osiris so he could save Sarah? What was the banishment about anyway? And why was she so anxious to turn against
the goa’uld and join the Tok’ra? All of
the questions made his head hurt.
To soothe the pain away,
Daniel concentrated on the soft jazz wafting through the speakers of his CD
player. Dave Brubek’s ‘Take Five’
always had a relaxing effect on him, so he quickly selected that track and
turned up the volume. As the first few
piano notes played, Daniel felt himself relax immediately. As he tapped his thigh in time to the music,
a part of him wanted to laugh out loud that one of his favorite jazz tunes was
known in American pop-culture as the song from the ‘Infinity’ commercial.
He picked up a piece of
chalk from his desk and went to the chalkboard, figuring it would be more
productive to start writing all this stuff down instead of cramming it in his
overworked brain. Near the bottom of
the board, he wrote the names of Nephthys, Isis, Osiris and Set. Then he wrote the name Anubis below
Nephthys’ name and drew a line from her name and Osiris’ name to Anubis’. Suddenly, he was wishing for one of those
goa’uld genealogy devices Jacob had.
That would definitely make the task he was undertaking much easier.
Why
couldn’t Sha’re have come back to me this way?
Ever since Nephthys
arrived in Kayla’s body, Daniel couldn’t help the thoughts that galloped
through his mind. Why couldn’t Amonet
have turned like Nephthys did? On
Abydos, she looked directly at him and Teal’c, yet didn’t expose that they were
hiding. Then again, Amonet hadn’t
hesitated in trying to kill him on P8X-873.
He felt glad for Teal’c that Kayla had come back, but he wouldn’t be
human if he couldn’t admit he felt a little envious.
“Hey,” Jack called softly
as he rapped on the door.
Daniel tossed the piece
of chalk from one hand to the other.
“Hey,” he called over his shoulder from the board. “Come on in.”
“Watcha workin’ on?”
“Goa’uld genealogy,” he
said with a sigh. He wrote Ra’s name at
the very top of the board, then drew a box around it. “I’m trying to decide where Nephthys fits in with all this. I wish I had more time to talk to
Kayla. Get some questions answered.”
The look on Jack’s face
said he had a few questions of his own.
“Well, from what Jacob told me, they plan to take her back to Vorash as
soon as possible. They want to be gone
before Vidrine and a select few storm the place to drag Kayla back to Langley.”
“Won’t General Vidrine be
upset?”
“Probably,” Jack
snorted. “But I figure General Hammond
will blame it on the Tok’ra. It’s about
time we boned them instead of the other way around.” Jack leaned up against a desk, giving the chalkboard a cursory
look. “Daniel, can I ask you
something?”
“Sure,” he said, tapping
the chalk against the board.
“Have you felt a little,
I don’t know, off-balance since Doc Porter came back?”
“Not that I can
tell. What’s up with you?”
“Just the way the snake
has her looking at me.” He clapped his
hands against his thighs and looked around.
“Maybe it’s nothing,” he dismissed.
Daniel finished drawing
boxes around all the remaining names on the board. “Well Jack, she is a very attractive woman,” he explained,
studying his work.
“I know that,” he quipped
as he made himself comfortable in a chair near the chalkboard. “So explain to me what you’re doing.”
“I take it you don’t know
the Osiris legend, right?”
“Just what you told me,”
Jack said with a yawn. “That Nephthys
got Osiris drunk, slept with him, got knocked up with Anubis. Oh, and she was married to Set but left the
loser.”
The archaeologist gave
Jack a funny look. “Right,” Daniel said
slowly. “And we know she was the
great-granddaughter to Ra. So if we
fill in the pieces here, I could tell you more about her.”
Jack pulled out a chair
on casters. “I’m all ears,” he said,
plopping himself down on it. “Why don’t
you tell me what you know so far?”
“It’s taken a lot of flipping
around but according to Budge, he equates Nephthys with corruption while Isis
is equated with pure intent,” Daniel lectured.
“Nephthys managed to ‘corrupt’ Osiris and Isis’s marriage by her fling
with him. Budge also equates Nephthys
as a passive goddess—very understated, while Isis is the more prominent
one.” He tapped the desk lightly with
chalk, trying to reconcile his next thought. “This would probably account for
Nephthys silently lurking within the ranks of the system lords.”
“And probably why hardly
anyone has heard of her,” Jack added.
Daniel looked at an open
book on a nearby desk for a moment.
“Now according to this reference, Nephthys, the twin sister of Isis, was
the daughter of Nut and Geb.” He
quickly drew the two names and boxed them.
“Obviously, Nut and Geb were the parents of Nephthys, Isis, Osiris and
Set,” he said, drawing lines from the parents to the children.
“Okay, so Anubis is the
grandson of Nut and Geb. I’m with you
so far.”
“According to Plutarch,
Geb is equated with a goa’uld we’ve got some familiarity with.”
Jack was intrigued. “And who would that be?” he asked with a
sideways tilt of his head.
Daniel erased Geb’s name
and replaced it another. When Jack saw
it, he let his breath out in a long whistle.
“Cronos?” he asked Daniel. “You
have got to be kidding me.”
“The god, Geb, is equated
with Cronos in Greek mythology. Also
according to Plutarch, Nut, who was known as Rhea in Greek mythology, was wife
to Ra but had a fling with Cronus and became pregnant. Ra was not amused.”
“Teal’c is definitely not
batting a thousand,” Jack muttered.
“Good thing he didn’t know about this before Nephthys sent for him.”
“Well, being in Kayla’s
body is probably the only thing saving her right now. If Teal’c were to find this out…”
“He’s not that crazy,
Daniel,” Jack assured. “Besides, even
if he did know, whacking Nephthys wouldn’t be an option.”
Daniel nodded in
agreement. “Now, the parents of Nut and
Geb…”
“Better known as Cronos,”
Jack interjected.
“Were Shu and Tefnut,” he
said, writing the grandparents names down.
He boxed them in and traced lines to their children’s names. “Shu, the god of atmosphere was the son of
Ra. Tefnut, goddess of moisture and
clouds was the daughter of Ra.”
As Daniel went to check
another reference book on the desk, he sighed when he saw Jack spinning around
in the chair. It was situations like
this where he wished Jack could be a bit more serious. Flipping through a few more pages, he also
reminded himself that not everyone was as interested in ancient mythology as he
was. Unless what he discovered was a
major security risk, Jack wasn’t going to get his boxers in a bunch.
“Wait!” Daniel said out
loud, causing Jack to stop spinning around.
His finger scanned a few more lines and a surprised look crossed his
face. “According to this reference,
there’s another goddess who is named as the goddess of the sky and the daughter
of Ra. It’s a pretty obscure reference
but...” The archaeologist turned to the board again and scanned the family tree
he’d drawn so far. Slowly he erased
Tefnut’s name and replaced it with one both men knew all too well.
“Hathor?” Jack asked, an
edge of alarm in his voice.
Daniel wasn’t as freaked
out. “I don’t know why I didn’t realize this earlier,” he wondered aloud,
tapping the chalk in his hand.
“Realize what?”
“Granted Nephthys isn’t
as well known as Isis or Hathor, she’s on par with them.”
“So she’s like what? A third-string quarterback?”
“In a manner of speaking,”
Daniel confirmed. “She was just as
powerful as they all were, but not as well known. Isis was the ‘mother’ goddess, Hathor stood for all things female
and feminine, while Nephthys was the ‘lady of the house’.”
“And ‘Mistress of the
Gods’,” Jack added with the usual sarcasm.
“She doesn’t want us forgetting that.”
“Osiris will more than
likely try to find her,” Daniel muttered.
“If Anubis doesn’t find
her first. Do you think Osiris will
kill her?” he asked Daniel.
Daniel’s mind had rewound
to over three years ago. Then, he was
face to face with the most beautiful woman who was or would ever exist. Hathor, who had him under her spell, was in
the gate room with him.
Yes,
Daniel said then realized he didn’t quite understand. What does that mean exactly?
From
us, all others come.
Daniel
still didn’t get it. “I don’t
understand.
Hathor
attempted to explain further. The Jaffa, she said as she came down the gate
ramp towards him. He has a goa’uld
child in his belly?
A
larva, yes.
Do
you ever wonder from whence the children come? Hathor prompted.
Daniel
blinked a few times. Are you saying that they come from you? He asked.
Yes,
she replied with a knowing smile. And others like us.
Daniel dropped the chalk
to the floor.
“Oh my God,” he said as
it shattered into pieces to the fade out of Dave Brubek. He quickly turned around, grasping the desk
for support. “Remember what Anise
said? About fresh blood for the
Tok’ra?” he asked Jack.
Jack scratched his
head. “Yeah and establishing the
balance of the system lords and all that jazz?”
“And something about what
she is being more important than who she is?”
“Yeah?”
“And you said you felt a
little, off-balance?”
“So?” Jack really couldn’t see where Daniel was
going with all of this.
“She might be a queen,”
Daniel deduced.
Jack didn’t want to
believe that at all. “Just because Hathor
was one doesn’t mean Nephthys is one,” he countered.
“But we didn’t know if
Isis was one either,” Daniel offered.
“Hathor told me there were others like her, meaning other queen
goa’ulds.” He paced around a bit,
trying to wrap his brain around the theory he’d just constructed. “Now going back to what Anise said. What is fresh blood to the Tok’ra?” he asked
Jack.
“Hosts?” Jack offered.
“And what do they need
hosts for?” Daniel asked.
“Symbiotes,” Jack said,
then swore under his breath. “And their
ranks are pretty thin at the moment.”
Daniel nodded as he
walked over and sat next to Jack. “It
makes sense. A queen in the Tok’ra
ranks is beyond invaluable. I mean, not
to diminish from what Shan’auc did this is something as, if not more, valuable. If it’s true.” He studied the genealogy on the chalkboard again. This time, Jack studied it as well.
“So, Nephthys is
Hathor’s…granddaughter?” Jack wondered aloud.
And the more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. “We gotta find Teal’c,” Jack said, getting
up and jogging out. After a few
moments, it occurred to him to follow the Colonel.
“Why?” Daniel called
after him as he rushed out of the room.
“He’s Jaffa so he’d be immune if she used that breath on him. He’s not in any danger!” Jack still pressed on and Daniel had to jog
to catch up. “Jack! Jack, wait up!”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Slowly, Teal’c was coming
around to consciousness again.
The events of the past
hour rolled through his mind, bring a smile to his usually stoic face. A shiver of pleasure coursed through his body
as he recalled the sensation of sex without the artificial intrusion of a
condom. He and his Tau’ri beloved were
now reunited, and even if she chose to remain on Vorash, they would have had
this time together. Instinctively, he
rolled over to press his naked body into Kayla’s back, and settle his hand on
the generous curve of her hip.
But instead of feeling
Kayla, all he felt were bed sheets.
Alarmed, he sat up and
looked around the room. There was
absolutely no sign of her anywhere. He
touched her bedside again, noting the sheets were cold. That meant quite some time had passed since
she had left. He checked the room
again, looking at the floor on his side and her former side of the bed in case
she had somehow decided to sleep there, but she was nowhere to be found.
Teal’c dressed hurriedly
then wondered why she would leave him like this. Had he not pleased her?
All of his instincts said he did, even if his stamina wasn’t as great as
it usually was this time around. But
given this was the first time they’d made love without a barrier between them,
it was to be expected.
“I said let me in!”
Jack’s angry voice protested from outside of the room.
As Teal’c made his way towards
the door, he groaned a little as he now felt just how deeply Kayla’s nails had
dug into his back during their lovemaking.
A small price to pay for being
reconciled with her, he thought.
“What is the problem,
O’Neill?” Teal’c asked as he exited the room.
“The problem is these
airmen wouldn’t let me in,” Jack stated, giving the SFs an angry look. Daniel stood there trying not to look
embarrassed by Jack’s behavior. “But
since you came out I can get some questions answered.”
“Doctor Porter is missing,”
Teal’c said, sounding more disappointed than worried. “She was not here when I awakened.”
“Isn’t it a little early
for Kel No Reem?” Daniel asked.
Teal’c raised an
eyebrow. “I was not performing that
ritual,” he said.
“Then why were you asleep?”
Jack lightly smacked
Daniel upside the back of the head.
“For a smart guy, sometimes you can be really dense. You know?”
He sighed in resignation as Daniel rubbed his head. “Not to get personal, Teal’c, but you and
Kayla didn’t …”
Teal’c got the hint. “Why do you ask?” he prompted, looking more
than guilty of what Jack was hinting at.
When Daniel finally figured it out, the color rushed to his cheeks.
Trying to regain his
composure, he said, “We have reason to believe Nephthys is a queen.”
“And it’s a safe bet
she’s somewhere hatching snakes right now,” Jack added with a snort.
Teal’c couldn’t
understand their alarm. “I am immune to
a goa’uld queen’s powers,” he said proudly.
“You know this to be true.”
“Um, I hate to break this
to you Teal’c,” Jack began, “but Nephthys doesn’t need the breath when her host
is someone you have feelings for. Get
my drift?”
After a few confused
moments, the realization smacked Teal’c in the gut like two by four. “I cannot explain how I allowed this to
happen,” he said shamefully.
“Maybe because you’re
mortal after all?” Jack joked. Teal’c
still didn’t look reassured.
“So where would she
be?” Daniel asked. “Obviously she got past the guards.”
Jack moved closer to the SFs
and said, “Who do you take orders from, airman?”
“We only take orders from
Nephthys,” they both said like trained seals.
“In addition she has
instructed us to follow the wishes of the Jaffa,” one of them said.
“Well, that confirms it,”
Jack said. “She used the breath on them
and now their brains are mush. And it’s
obvious Teal’c has some pull with the snake.”
“You will take us to
Nephthys immediately,” Teal’c commanded them.
“Follow us.” Both of the airmen turned and marched down
the hallway. Teal’c, Jack and Daniel
followed.
A few minutes later, they
were in a scene they had hoped to never see again.
A whirlpool in the locker
room was surrounded by airmen, all of them with the same brainwashed look in
their eyes. They stood at attention, ready
to defend what was in the whirlpool against any foe. When Teal’c saw them, his anger boiled to the surface.
“Step aside!” Teal’c
barked.
“Uh, Teal’c,” Daniel
began, “I don’t think that’s going to…”
The airmen parted
obediently, revealing a languishing Nephthys.
She laid there as if she didn’t have a care in the world, and her eyes
were closed to the daggers Teal’c stared at her. The water ebbed and flowed around her host’s body, leaving only
the top of Kayla’s breasts and knees visible to the public.
And swirling around her
was a school of freshly-spawned goa’uld larvae.
“So it’s true,” Daniel
said, stepping closer. “You’re a
queen.”
“Correct, Daniel
Jackson,” Nephthys said, opening her eyes to look at the young
archaeologist. Then her gaze shifted
towards the angry Jaffa. Feigning
innocence, she asked, “Why are you so vexed, our love? Did you not enjoy the pleasure we shared in
one another’s arms?”
Teal’c was fighting the
urge to want to kill the goa’uld but knew doing so would also kill Kayla.
“Neither she nor I consented to being used this way,” he angrily declared. He didn’t like being used, especially by a
species he’d committed his life to wiping out.
Nephthys actually looked
a bit offended. “I did not seduce you,” she defended, drawing
herself up straighter but keeping her host’s body submerged in the water. “I may have made her more receptive to your
advances, but that was the extent of my interference.”
Teal’c swore under his
breath in his native language.
“You told me you wanted
to reconcile with this host,” Nephthys reminded Teal’c. “And in return you provided the code of life
I required. Was it not a pleasurable
experience for you?” she prompted, knowing full well Teal’c knew it was
definitely that and more.
Daniel unintentionally
cleared his throat.
Nephthys looked in his
direction and said, “My decision to spawn was done so out of an act of love,
not lust.”
“Or rape,” Daniel added,
shuddering at the memory.
“Rest assured this host
did not have prior knowledge of my intentions,” she said to Teal’c as she
captured a few of the larvae in Kayla’s hands.
“You chose to take
advantage of the situation,” Teal’c growled as he went and stood next to the
whirlpool. “Why did you do this?” Nephthys didn’t answer him. She just released the larvae back into the
warm, swirling water to mingle with their siblings.
“Because we asked her
to,” Anise said as she came into the locker room.
Jack sighed heavily,
hating the fact that once again they’d managed to get screwed by the
Tok’ra. Except in this case it was the
Tok’ra and the goa’uld. He figured they
were running a two for one special today.
“You knew all along,
didn’t you?” Jack demanded.
Anise tried to make
Freya’s facial expression look neutral, but was failing miserably. “That she was a queen? Yes,” she confirmed. “We merely asked her for a show of
faith. We did not suspect she would do
so with such expediency and in such a manner.”
“Then you are to blame as
much as she,” Teal’c accused, feeling more and more violated. “It appears the two of you have conspired
together in this deception.” He hated
feeling used, and he also hated that Kayla had been used as well.
Nephthys smiled sweetly,
draping herself over the side of the whirlpool where Teal’c was standing. “I knew when I first saw you on the planet
you were the key to establishing my alliance with the Tok’ra. So much like Osiris’ last host,” she said
fondly, her eyes roving over his body.
“Can you blame me for wanting to have you?” When she went to touch him, he stepped out of her reach.
“So let me get this
straight,” Jack said. “Basically you
wanted to sleep with him because he looked like your ex-boyfriend?” The graying
Colonel shook his head, then shot Teal’c an amused look. “Payback is a bitch, ain’t it?” he asked the
Jaffa.
Teal’c was not
amused. His anger was boiling over and
flowing like hot lava. He couldn’t
figure out if he was more angry at the goa’uld or over letting his desire to be
with Kayla put him in the situation they were in right now. He was Jaffa—he should have been strong
enough to keep his libido in check.
“You are right, Teal’c,”
Nephthys said, submerging Kayla’s body again.
“All goa’uld seek power. The
Tok’ra ranks are diminishing, and in the meantime Apophis grows stronger. I saw a means to serve the Tok’ra and took
advantage of it.”
“You guys will do
anything, won’t you?” Jack spat, tossing up his hands. He leveled his angry gaze directly at
Anise. “There’s no one you won’t
use! No line you won’t cross! No one’s feelings you’re not above fucking
with!”
“Need I remind you we are
fighting for our survival!” Anise snapped.
“And the protection of your world.
Sometimes certain means are required.”
Hell, even Daniel was
pissed now. “Even if the means include
influencing two innocent people?” he exclaimed.
Neither Nephthys nor
Anise were moved. “No influence was
needed,” Nephthys explained curtly. “If
it was not for the Jaffa’s desire to mate with this host, this would not have
occurred.”
Game. Set.
Match.
Anise’s host shut her
eyes briefly, then came forth to speak.
“These larvae will be taken to Chulak, and to other Jaffa within the
empire,” Freya told them. “No one will
know the difference.”
“So when they reach
maturity they will be loyal to the Tok’ra?” Daniel asked.
Freya nodded. “We believe so,” she said, trying to placate
Teal’c and Jack’s anger. “But there is
a chance they could be loyal to the goa’uld.
But since the queen who spawned them has come over to our side, this is
a means to sow the seeds of dissention among a future generation of goa’uld.”
“What makes you believe
such a thing?” Teal’c demanded.
“Shan’auc’s death is proof the goa’uld cannot be turned by the Jaffa who
carries it.”
“We have bred the Jaffa
so they are unable to influence our young within their wombs,” Nephthys
explained. “They are more influenced by
what knowledge they are born with. And
each goa’uld possesses free will.”
“So, just to catch those
of us up who are a little slow,” Jack said, gesturing with his hands. “What does this mean?”
Nephthys just smiled and
leaned back in the whirlpool. “It means
that once these larvae reach maturity, they will see Apophis as their enemy,”
she said. “And what could be more vexing
to him than a legion of goa’uld fathered by the one who betrayed him.”
Then Nephthys shut her
eyes and said nothing more.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
I
will kill that treacherous bitch when I get my hands on her!
Apophis thought as the sarcophagus opened.
He stumbled out of the
rejuvenating device, fuming at the events that put him there in the first
place. One minute, he was in the throes
of passion with Nephthys. The next minute,
he was enjoying the release of his host’s seed into that of his new queen. That is, until he felt a searing,
excruciating pain across his neck. When
he tried to speak through his host’s vocal cords, he discovered Nephthys had
cut them. She watched with wicked
pleasure as his blood splattered all over the silken sheets, and pulsed down
the arm that tried to hold his host’s throat together. She’d left him for dead, and she would have
succeeded in killing him if it weren’t for a loyal Serpent guard who found him
and placed him in the sarcophagus.
Apophis sincerely hoped this guard would be waiting for him for he would
reward him richly.
When Apophis looked
around the chamber, he saw no one. It
puzzled him that the person responsible for saving his life was not present to
receive praise for such an act. “Come
forth so that I may reward you,” he called out. Perhaps the guard had gone to retrieve something for him to enjoy
upon coming out of the sarcophagus.
“No reward is necessary,”
Anubis told him as he stepped out of the shadows. He looked at Apophis quizzically.
“Name whatever it is you
want, and I shall provide it.”
“Then my reward shall
be…your life.”
Before Apophis could
voice a protest, he screamed in pain as Anubis tortured him with the
harakash. The pain was even worse than
the device Sokar used on him, and he did not think anything could be worse than
that. The harakash tapped directly into
the host’s neurological system, which in turn went directly into the goa’uld
inhabiting it. Apophis screamed through
his host’s vocal cords, his mind wondering how he’d managed to get himself into
this situation again. Thankfully, the
torture stopped and Apophis caught his breath.
“You would do this to
your father?” he chastised, panting as he tried to recover.
Through Lieutenant
Johnson’s eyes, Anubis saw the fear on Apophis’ face. “I have banished my own father,” he said. “What makes you think I will not kill you?”
“Where is my mother,”
Anubis demanded.
“Like with Setesh, my
queen has left me,” Apophis said wistfully.
Anubis scoffed. “I lead you to the perfect specimen as a
host for my mother and what do you do?
You allow the Tau’ri to capture her.”
“That is not my fault,”
Apophis pleaded. “She attempted to kill
me then she fled to the world of the Tau’ri.
But without the code to open the barrier, more than likely she perished
on the other side.”
“You are mistaken,”
Anubis spat, turning the harakash on Apophis yet again. The system lord writhed in pain, pleading
for Anubis to let him go, but he did no such thing. “I have heard her Jaffa returned with the traitor Bra’tac through
the Chappa’ai on Chulak. So obviously
she found a way through the barrier.”
Anubis turned off the
harakash, watching as Apophis turned onto his back. The tortured system lord struggled for breath, but found a way to
thank Anubis for his benevolence. In
response, Anubis stepped on this chest, pinning him to the floor.
“You will suffer greatly
for turning against the system lords, Apophis,” Anubis declared, inflicting the
harakash on him yet again. This time he
did not stop until Apophis’ body ceased twisting. “Continue to defy the empire, and you will suffer a fate worse
than the one I inflicted on my own father.”
Anubis made Lieutenant
Johnson’s hand activate the transport rings.
As they came down around him, Apophis wheezed painfully, cursing the
name of Anubis. He vowed to use all of
his resources to hunt Nephthys down and kill her himself. All he asked was for her to love him. He would have done anything for her. Now he just wanted to see the life drained
from her body. And when the flash of
light appeared and Anubis was transported onto his ship, Apophis rationalized
that even the threat of retribution from Anubis wouldn’t stop him from killing
Nephthys the first chase he got.
Apophis slowly dragged
himself towards his sarcophagus, pledging he would wipe out the systems lords
once and for all. His army was strong,
and they would relentlessly pursue anyone he sent them after. After killing Nephthys, he would move on to
Anubis.
But first, he would start
with Heru’ur…
“So does this mean we’re parents?” Kayla
asked Teal’c as they made their way towards the gateroom.
“I believe so,” he
answered, noticing how regal she looked in the light brown robes the Tok’ra had
provided her with. He still was not
able to grasp the idea that he had fathered the larval form of his enemy. Never did he ever think it could happen to
him. He’d wound up helping to
perpetuate a species he hated yet depended on for his very survival. Even the thought of them possibly becoming
loyal to the Tok’ra couldn’t allay his fear or calm his anger.
Kayla shook her
head. “Definitely not the way I
intended,” she said, trying to joke a little.
“At least I didn’t have to deal with the weight gain.”
She wanted to tell him
exactly why she’d been so stubborn about condom use. It wasn’t being pregnant that scared her (okay it did but there
were worse things that could happen), it was what the NID could possibly do if
it happened. Besides the stereotypical
worry that having a child by an alien could come out with something more than
ten fingers and toes, she was scared to death of her own government taking her
baby away from her. Kayla didn’t want
to think of a child being endlessly tested on and hidden away from the rest of
the world just because its father wasn’t human. She wanted to tell him all of this, but something made her hold
back. So instead she just looked at him
and smiled as they walked.
Teal’c smiled back at
her. “According to Nephthys, she did it
at the request of the Tok’ra,” he said, swiping his pass card so they could
enter the gate room.
After the doors opened
she went through first. The ring of
symbols was rotating with the familiar grinding sound of metal against
metal. One of the chevrons was lit up,
indicating it had been encoded already.
“Chevron two encoded!”
Harriman’s announcement filled the room.
Teal’c looked up to see
General Hammond, Anise, Jacob Carter and Jack in the control room. Jack was gesturing wildly, which meant he
had probably fallen into another disagreement with Anise. As far as he was concerned, friction between
the Tok’ra and the Tau’ri would always be constant.
“That’s not completely
accurate,” she corrected, regaining his attention. “As a subtle way to control Apophis, the system lords have
resorted to choking off the flow of new larvae to Chulak. The formerly abundant supply is dwindling,
and she thought she could help the people of your world.” Kayla snorted as she
kicked the bottom of the ramp.
“Nephthys was looking for the right person to spawn with and she sure as
hell didn’t want to do it with Apophis.”
Teal’c was a little
confused. “If that is indeed the case, then why did the Tok’ra claim
responsibility?”
“Anise told her she
wanted a show of good faith,” Kayla said with a shrug. “Apparently she was the only one who knew
for sure that Nephthys was a queen.
Well, besides Apophis anyway.”
“Chevron three encoded!”
“DanielJackson
ascertained that fact as well,” Teal’c said, noticing how she was now studying
him quizzically.
“Nephthys wants the same
thing all of us want,” she told him.
“To be loved. She knew you loved
me and wanted to feel what that was like again.” Her tone then turned a bit sarcastic, but still warm. “Of course, it didn’t help that you look
like Osiris’ last host. The host he was
forcibly removed from before being banished.”
“For what reason were he
and Isis banished?”
Kayla thought for a few
moments then said, “Nephthys tells me it is forbidden to speak of. But she does say Daniel is well-acquainted
with the reason for their banishment.”
She looked up briefly when she heard the next chevron engage.
“Chevron four encoded!”
Harriman announced.
Teal’c wanted her to elaborate
further, but decided not to press. “Did Osiris love her?” he asked softly.
“Nephthys?”
Teal’c nodded.
“Osiris was in love with
two women. And in the end it caused him
a whole lot of problems. Sound
familiar?” she prompted with a knowing look.
She could have sworn the dark-skinned Jaffa actually blushed.
“Chevron five encoded!”
“A least we have resolved
the breech between us,” he said lovingly, looking into her eyes. At that moment, he felt everything was fine
where they were concerned.
That is, until her
expression changed.
“You men are all alike,”
she declared with a soft, wry laugh.
“You think one night of good sex just makes all the other stuff
conveniently go away.” Kayla looked up
at stargate as its ring rotated again.
“The only thing we resolved was all that sexual tension.”
She might as well have
stuck a knife in his back.
“How can you say such a
thing?” he asked, obviously hurt by what she’d said.
“I’ve been here before,
Teal’c,” she said softly, touching his face to soften the blow. “The first time I caught my husband
cheating, his way of making it up to me was…well, by a night of romance and
pretty pathetic sex. I got so caught up
in the physical that I thought everything was fine, you know?” She sniffled a little then traced a finger
down one of his muscular arms.
“Everything was resolved and we were going to be okay. It wasn’t until I caught him in bed with
another woman that I realized things hadn’t been and neither were they going to
be.”
“I see,” he said. Teal’c folded his hands behind his back,
absorbing what she was saying.
“Granted we’ve made a
little progress, but the bedroom isn’t the best place to discuss such things,”
she continued, pressing a hand against his upper forearm. “And considering Nephthys basically used
both of us, under normal circumstances I don’t think what happened would have
happened...so quickly.”
As much as he wanted to
protest, he knew she was right.
Besides, how many times had he used sex as a means of control? And he’d even told Jack, quite proudly in
fact, that the way a Jaffa keeps his wife and his mistress in line is to assure
they are sexually satisfied at all times.
More times than he could count, he stopped Drey’auc’s complaining spells
with a night of incredible sex. And more
often than not, he kept his mistress from driving him crazy by either making
love to her when she was upset with him or going to her for sex when Drey’auc
wasn’t or did not want to be in the mood.
Like General Hammond had said, sometimes things come back to bite you in
the ass. It was a classic case of what
went around coming back to him. He
could not be angry at Kayla for stating the truth. At anytime during their encounter he could have walked away. And he had only proceeded when she made it
clear he could approach her.
“Chevron six encoded!”
“Then when will we
discuss it?” he urged.
“I don’t know,” she
said. “There’s a part of me that still
doesn’t trust you because of all this.
I’m not blinded anymore Teal’c. I
no longer see you as a stranger in a strange land that I can introduce to Earth
customs and lose myself in.
An uncomfortable silence
passed between them. Kayla decided to
break it.
“It would be so easy for
me to get lost in what happened and forget the bigger issue,” she told him,
squeezing his arm a bit. “And if I were
younger I’d probably say everything is fine and buy into that happily ever
after garbage. I can see things crystal
clear and I have to decide if that’s what I want to continue seeing. And who’s to say another former lover of
yours won’t come through the stargate and we wind up going through all of this
again?”
Teal’c wanted to tell her
there was absolutely no chance of it happening again. That he would never risk her feelings for his ego ever
again. But he also knew she didn’t feel
she could trust him. And until she did,
nothing he said could make that happen sooner.
Kayla moved a little
closer and said, “I’m sorry if this isn’t what you want to hear, but…”
“It is what I need to
hear,” he assured in a warm voice. “And
yet again you have proven you are much wiser than I.”
“Chevron seven
locked!” Harriman declared.
They both looked up as an
unstable vortex splashed forth before settling into a stable wormhole. The event horizon shimmered in front of
them, casting an eerie shadow on them both.
The time was now, and Teal’c decided to take another approach to
obtaining what he most desperately wanted from her.
“I know it will take time
for you to forgive me,” he said.
Kayla looked at the blue
event horizon for a few moments. “I
have forgiven you,” she told him with an even smile. “It’s the forgetting part I’m having a problem with.”
Teal’c cast his eyes
downward. “I know,” he said
softly. “But the course of true love
never did run smooth,” he said.
Kayla looked
surprised. “When did you learn
Shakespeare?” she asked incredulously.
“It is a passage I
remember DanielJackson telling me.”
“So that’s what you think
this is?” she asked in all seriousness. “True love?”
Teal’c inhaled sharply,
then slowly let it out as he indulged himself in the sight of her beauty. “I have had to learn a great many things
during this ordeal. And I have learned
that …”
Kayla gave him a
playfully impatient look.
“Yes,” he said guiltily. “I believe that is what this is. It is the thing for which all other work is
preparation. It is what I have been
preparing for all my life for this moment.
Right now.”
Kayla was obviously
impressed. “What if I can’t say it back
to you?” she theorized.
“It is of no matter,” he
said. “As long as I can admit my
feelings to you I am satisfied.”
“No you’re not.”
Teal’c was taken
aback. “How do you…”
“When you’ve been
possessed by a ten thousand year old mistress to the gods, you pick up a few
things,” she said knowingly.
Teal’c bowed slightly in
acknowledgement, realizing right then she had spoken the truth about what was
in his heart. A part of him would never
be satisfied until she told him she loved him as much as he loved her. And that same part wouldn’t be whole until
she was his again.
“Tel ma te,” Kayla said,
bowing her head slightly and crossing her arms in front of her. When she looked up at him, her eyes said
goodbye. Teal’c wasn’t sure if he could
bring himself to say it.
He pressed his large
forearms against her slender ones, finally bringing himself to meet her
departing gaze.
“Tel ma te,” he repeated,
looking into her eyes, peering into her soul for some sort of answer to whether
she would return to him. He desperately
wanted to kiss her. He wanted to press his full lips to her own, part hers with
his tongue, and stay that way within the shimmering glow of the event
horizon. But decorum dictated such a
thing not take place so instead, he pictured it in his mind.
And she did as well.
“I hate to break this
up,” Jacob said as he came up the ramp with Anise in tow. “But we’ve got to get moving. George told me Vidrine’s plane just landed
at the airstrip and he’ll be here in ten minutes.”
“Knowing my father it will
be in five minutes,” Kayla snorted.
“He’s going to crucify you for letting me go,” she warned Teal’c.
“I believe I can handle
your father,” Teal’c assured as he held her hands.
“It is much too dangerous
for her to remain here,” Anise said urgently.
“As long as Doctor Porter is blended with Nephthys, Apophis will come
looking for her. And Anubis will not be
far behind.”
“She is better protected
among you,” he painfully admitted. “I
understand.” Reluctantly, he let go of
her.
He watched as Jacob and
Anise led Kayla up the ramp to the stargate.
So many feelings ran through him.
Osiris was freed, Tanith was in her midst, and he was relying on the
Tok’ra to protect her. He prayed they
would protect her better than they did Shan’auc.
Kayla stopped short of
the event horizon and turned around.
“You wish to know if this host will return?” Nephthys asked him.
“Yes,” he said. When she motioned for him to come closer, he
quickly traversed the length of the ramp.
Time seemed to stop as he wondered what Nephthys had to say to him.
She placed a hand over
the left side of his chest. “Listen to
what your heart speaks,” she said, looking deeply into his eyes. “Therein lies the answer to your question.” Then she turned and disappeared into the
rippling pool of blue.
As he slowly descended
the gate ramp, he realized he needed to speak with General Hammond. He would ask for a leave of absence to visit
Chulak after completing the missions scheduled for the next two weeks. With the new larvae to be distributed
amongst his people, now was as good a time as ever to get his people to turn
against the false gods. Bra’tac had
told him of Ma’kar of the Gomai Foothills; how he had sent word that a number
of Jaffa were prepared to fight for their freedom. Teal’c told himself that soon he would meet with Ma’kar and
gather an army of Jaffa for the pursuit of freedom for their people. There was renewed hope now, and he was
determined to use Nephthys’ deception of he and Kayla in his favor.
As the event horizon
disappeared into nothingness, Teal’c’s heart told him the answer to his
question.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
~
Freya paced outside of
the council chambers, anxious to know what was going on. Of course she knew Nephthys was telling them
everything she knew about Apophis’ strengths, weaknesses, and what defensive
action the system lords would take against them. She wondered when the high council would figure out she was worth
a seat among them.
“Pacing will not make the
high council reach a decision more swiftly,” Korra told her.
Freya smiled at the
dusky-skinned Tok’ra host. “I am aware
of that,” she said. “But it makes the
time pass by more swiftly.” Korra bowed
his head slightly in agreement.
“I have heard this goa’uld
has turned to our cause,” he said. “Such a thing is doubtful.”
“She has provided us with
the means for new Tok’ra symbiotes.”
Korra was taken
aback. “How can this be?” he
asked. “You know as well as I that
Egeria spawned the only true Tok’ra symbiotes.
And only a few goa’uld have come over to our cause, but none in the past
few hundred years.”
Freya smiled widely. “All will be revealed in time, Korra,” she
said, noticing people were coming out of the meeting hall. Obviously, the high council had concluded
its debriefing of Nephthys.
“I take it things went
well with the high council?” Freya asked Kayla as she exited.
“They did indeed,” Kayla
said, stopping to talk with her. “It
was kinda weird though. Like some
hidden part of my brain did a core dump.”
“It will take some
getting used to,” he told her with a sympathetic smile. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to speak
with Jacob Carter before he goes back to Earth. He is most anxious to begin his…vacation.” Korra bowed his head slightly before taking
his leave.
“Don’t you have any doors
around this place?” Kayla asked as her eyes panned the room.
“We have no secrets from
one another,” Freya said. “You will
become accustomed to it.”
“I don’t think so,” Kayla
said with full ethnic inflection.
“My lady,” a voice behind
Kayla said. “It is an honor to meet
you.”
The voice made the hairs
on Kayla’s neck stand on end. She’d had
this feeling before and wasn’t anxious to experience it again. Sensing this, the symbiote within took over immediately.
“I do not believe we have
met,” Nephthys said as she turned Kayla’s body around, giving a polite look to
the man who had addressed her.
“I am Tanith,” he said
with a deep bow. “When I received word the
Mistress of the Gods herself had come into the service of the Tok’ra, I had to
see so for myself.”
“Tanith was taught by the
Jaffa who carried him that the goa’uld are not to be trusted,” Anise
informed. “He has pledged his loyalty
to the Tok’ra.”
“Have you?” Nephthys
asked, her tone tentative but still polite.
She was obviously feeling Tanith out.
“Indeed,” he said, bowing
before her.
“The Jaffa who carried
you must have put her life in great danger to communicate with one who would be
her god.”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “It is a shame I cannot repay her for
showing me the true way.”
“And why is that?”
“Unfortunately, because
she waited for so long, Shan’auc did not survive,” Anise said, trying not to
let on that she and her fellow Tok’ra knew Tanith murdered Shan’auc. “Even though we were able to get her a new
symbiote, it was much too young for the task of healing her.”
Nephthys closed her eyes
briefly and spoke a few words in Goa’uld.
“That is most unfortunate,” she said as she opened her eyes. “But you, Tanith, must see to it her
sacrifice was not in vain.”
“That is why I remain
loyal to the Tok’ra.”
“As do I,” she said,
easing the tension. “Will you excuse
us?”
“Of course,” Tanith said
with a short bow. He gave Nephthys a
look that said he knew something was different with her and was determined to
find out what it was. Nephthys and
Freya didn’t hang around long enough for him to find out.
Nephthys strode
purposefully out of the area with Freya beside her. When she determined they were out of Tanith’s earshot, she
said, “Have you a willing host ready?”
Anise took over. “Not exactly…”
“Time is of the essence,”
she said hurriedly. “Where is the
host?”
“Willing hosts are in
short supply,” she said. “It may be some
time before we are able to locate one for you.
Rest assured we are acting most diligently on this matter.”
“Be sure that you do,”
Nephthys said, stepping into an alcove.
“This is a matter of urgency that must be resolved quickly. And given Tanith’s true intentions, the
sooner it is done the better.”
“Why?” Anise asked,
suddenly looking a little puzzled.
“Do you not know what you
have in your midst?” she chastised. “He
is still loyal to the goa’uld. And even
worse, he is loyal to Apophis.”
“We are still not assured
of your loyalty,” Anise snapped.
“I have given you more
than he has,” Nephthys snapped back.
“Much more. By keeping him in
your midst you invite trouble to Vorash.”
Her expression turned disapproving.
“I expected more from you, Anise.
Perhaps I was wrong about the wisdom of the Tok’ra.”
“I do not apologize for
the means,” she said. “We are fighting
for our survival and will use any means necessary.”
“At the expense of your
own destruction?” Nephthys countered.
“Mark my words, the longer he stays, the more you and the Tok’ra are in
danger. Considering I am one of the
goa’ulds from whence the children come, I am most learned in their
behavior. You have taken on more than
you can handle.”
She started to walk out,
but stopped for a few moments. Anise
observed through Freya’s eyes that Nephthys was behaving as if hearing
something no one else could. Her hands
skimmed over the hips, crossed over the abdomen of her host before moving up to
rest on her temples. She began to chant
in Goa’uld, but her voice was too low for Anise to make out what the goa’uld
queen was saying.
“Is there something
wrong?” Anise asked as she stood close to Nephthys.
“I apologize but I cannot
come forth again until I have been placed into another host,” Nephthys said in
a whisper loud enough for Anise to hear, but low enough so no one who happened
to pass by would. “I implore you to
complete this successfully and quickly.
It will be only a matter of time before Tanith informs Apophis of my
whereabouts.”
“Why?”
Anise demanded. “What is going to
happen?” The look Nephthys gave her
said things were about to get complicated.
Very complicated.
Fin
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
[Chapter
One] [Chapter
Two] [Chapter
Three] [Chapter
Four] [Chapter
Five] [Chapter
Six]
~ * ~ * ~ * ~