Coeurawyn – my heart
Amat(s) wyn – my love(s)
Pher’ak tel
- the scent given off by the female during the Lun’ak’mat. It is an
aphrodisiac and causes the couple to
mate repeatedly to insure conception.
Lun’ak’mat – The heat or breeding cycle of the
Furling.
Carusawyn – my dearest one
Daughters of the Queen
Chapter
23
Afternoon
Delight
Martouf stood on the balcony and looked
out across the valley towards the temple that had given them such hope for the
Tok’Ra. They had not found much more
information yet, but as Daniel said, they had also barely begun sorting through
all the material that they had available.
And tomorrow, they were going to Coreegadon.
In the week since they had found the
legend and remembered the poems and songs, Malek had recovered and was now up
and around, helping out with the sorting.
Gwennetha had been whisked to Avilion when she began to lose the kits
due to the stress that she was under.
Malek was striving not to fall into a state of depression, but it was
not easy, since he knew himself to be the cause of her stress. She had refused to talk to them, and Merdwin
had counseled them to be patient. Kataya
was with her and Gwennetha would listen to her, he had told them, of that, he
was sure.
Lantash and Martouf had insisted on
seeing him the day after the something had
happened. Malek had given them a
thorough version of their responsibility and culpability in the present state
of affairs. He had talked to Lantash for
quite some time, and only they knew how distraught he was. He was barely sleeping, as far as they could
tell, and he was eating very little. His
condition was deteriorating, though he was attempting to put on a good
front. He joined in conversations about
everyday events, but one could tell that it was an effort, and that he had no
real interest in what was being said.
On the other hand, as he worked on the
scrolls, translations, and Tok’Ra history with them every day, and joined in
the conversations and speculations surrounding it, there was no doubt that he
was really interested and excited about it.
He was going with them to Coreegadon tomorrow, and there was an air of
expectation about him any time that they discussed the expedition. The future of the Tok’ra and finding the
But, if Gwennetha did not forgive them
soon, he was not sure what they would do.
It would be a severe blow to them, one that they would have difficulty
recovering from. There was no doubt that
they loved her. They would never doubt
their feelings or her again. It had been
brought home to them starkly, burned into their hearts, souls, and minds
forever.
He was beginning to think that perhaps
the All should have shown Gwennetha as well as Devlin and Malek, so that she
would have known what was in store for them.
Sighing, knowing that he could not solve their problems, he turned
toward the open doorway just as Samantha walked out of the room.
“Martouf, I’ve been looking for
you. Gwennetha’s back and she’s talking
to Dev and Malek. Hopefully, things will
be okay between them. I know that it’s
been a really stressful time for all of them.”
“The kits? How are they?
She did not lose them, did she?”
“No, she didn’t, but she came pretty
close to it. If they hadn’t taken her to
Avilion, she probably would have. I’m
sure that Kataya talked to her a lot about the situation. I think that she told her something important
because as soon as they arrived, she went straight to Malek and Dev. They looked pretty stunned, but it didn’t
take long for them to recover and grab her close. The last I saw of them, they were headed for
their room,” Sam told him, obviously happy at the thought of them making up
their differences. She knew how hard it
had been when Martouf was angry at her, for those few hours. She couldn’t imagine living with that for a
week as Gwennetha had.
“I am extremely pleased, Samantha. I was becoming afraid for Malek and Dev. They, too, were feeling the stress of the
situation. The fact that she refused to
let them go with her to Avilion was a deep blow to them. I do not think that she could have used a
worse punishment, or better revenge, if she had deliberately thought it out. They are truly sorry for the way they
responded and want to make it up to her in any way that they can. Malek was quite candid with us. He was very blunt about what had occurred, as
you know.”
“Yes, love, I know. And I think that Gwennetha’s been told more
as well. But that wasn’t all I came to
tell you.”
“Was it not, my Samantha? Then impart this news that you wished to tell
me.”
Sam laughed up at him, and as they
strolled inside, she began to tell him the latest news. “Lanwin and Taesha are still immersed in
training with the SGC. Merdwin’s still there
as well. We don’t know when he’ll be
back, but it’s possible that he’ll be here for tomorrow’s mission. Colonel O’Neill, Teal’c, and Lt. Stevenson are
joining us for the mission tomorrow, too.
I take it that Artereos suggested it, since we aren’t sure exactly what
we may find when we get to Coreegadon. He
and Merdwin both think that the planet is deserted, but they aren’t
positive. So, we go in well armed, and
at our full contingent.”
“Oh, and Brialek will be here as well. It seems that Artereos suggested to Garshaw
that she send him an ambassador for a while.”
Sam smiled as she thought of the man she had come to care so deeply
for. Taesha had been correct when she
told Samantha how wonderful her grandfather was, and that she would come to
love him. She had come to love him
almost as much as her own father, and she had a great deal of respect for
him. He was an amazing and charismatic
man.
“You will stay here with Valynara
tomorrow, Samantha. I will not allow you
to come into harm’s way. You are
carrying a very special gift, and I do not wish to take a chance on it being
opened before it is time.”
“I discussed it with Kataya and
Artereos because I suspected you were going to, ah, suggest that. They both agree that there is no reason for
me to stay behind. We’re pretty sure that
there is no threat there. If there is,
then we will retreat immediately. I
won’t be left behind, Martouf.”
Martouf groaned, and looked at her
beseechingly, “Samantha, please, do not do this to us. We will worry about you the entire time that we
are there.”
She sighed and shook her head as she
looked at them with love in her eyes.
“I’ll be fine. You have to get
used to me being in danger, Martouf. You
can’t live with this constant anxiety. I
think that it’ll be a good exercise in not being so overprotective. Consider it on-site therapy.”
She watched as Lantash came forward,
probably to try to make her see reason.
“Samantha, is it truly necessary for you to go? Why would you wish to risk yourself, and the
kits by going on a mission? Why is it so
important to you?”
She took his face in her hands and leaned
toward him, giving him a soft kiss full of love. “You can’t protect me from everything,
Lantash. I could slip in the shower, get
run over by a car, fall down the stairs.
There are no guarantees. If this
was likely to be a dangerous mission, I would stay behind, for your sake and
Martouf’s, not because I don’t think that I would be perfectly all right. I’m still able to point and shoot a
weapon.”
“Please try to understand. This might be the only mission that I can go
on. What if all the others are
dangerous? I won’t have the same thrill that
the rest of you will get to experience when you find a queen, or a clutch of
mature symbiotes. Maybe a stasis tank
with younger ones in it. I want to share
this with you at least this one time. I
promise to take care and stay close to you.
Will that help?”
Lantash smiled down at her wryly, “I
think that it will have to. Your
arguments are logical, sensible, and they have Artereos’s blessing. He would not allow you to go if he felt that
it was dangerous. All right, my
Samantha, we will try not to panic tomorrow, and you will stay close to
us.”
Leaning forward, he brushed a kiss onto
her forehead. “Come love, we have a
couple of hours to ourselves today, while Valynara, Daniel, and Kataya go over the
lists of people that are wishing to blend.
There are thousands of them. How
they will choose, I do not know.”
“They finally decided that Kataya and
Valynara will try to enter the symbiotes’ minds, as well as the prospective
hosts’, if it looks like it’s needed. Valynara
thinks that the symbiotes are able to sense compatibility to a certain extent. I know that you’ve mentioned something about
that, as well, Lantash, though from what you’ve told me, it’s more a feeling of
either liking or disliking on meeting, much as humans, so I don’t know how deep
it really goes.”
“Anyway, they’re hoping that once the
symbiote chooses a person to blend with, the extra precaution in matching them
up through a mind link might help in the compatibility factor and lead to fewer
failures in the blendings. I don’t see
why it wouldn’t work. Of course, that
will take time away from the hunt, but with Brialek here now, as well as Malek
and Gwennetha, we’ll have more people going through the information, so maybe
it won’t make that much difference.”
Lantash agreed, and they turned to go
back inside. He would talk to Artereos
himself, if he got a chance. He knew that
he was planning on being here tomorrow.
Perhaps he would have time to question him then. Soon, they would have
to go back to the library, and the scrolls, books, and Tok’Ra history, but not
just yet. He wished that they could
remember other songs, or text, that would lead them to another site. He was sure they would eventually, but it
seemed to be going too slowly.
He placed his hand lightly on
Samantha’s back as they walked toward their room. He smiled slightly. All it took was a touch, sometimes only a
look, for him to want to make love to her again. He would be able to spend eternity with this
woman and never become tired or bored with her.
She completed the two of them on such a
deep level that they could not begin to find the beginnings of it. He and Martouf had talked privately of it
often. Even while they had thought her
gone from them forever, they had felt so connected to her still that it had
often comforted them. As if she would
remain a part of their very soul, until the end of time, if it came, or on into
eternity, if it did not.
/There will never be another woman for
us, carusawyn. Never will there be one to seep into the
crevices of our soul and heal them. No other has ever seen the tears in our
heart that she sees. Only she smoothes
and soothes them, covers them with a piece of her own heart, layering and
melding them together so delicately that they are completely whole, and there
is not even a scar to be seen. I do not
believe that she ever truly left us, Lantash.
No other love we’ve had has ever been loved as we love her./
/Her physical body left us, Martouf,
and we mourned that loss. But her
essence is entwined too deeply within us to ever leave us. I believe that we have both realized that
now. It is as we have been shown and
told; we are the recipients of a boundless eternal love, and it will never
really leave us. It will stay within us
forever. It grows in us, just as our
seed is growing visibly in her. It is
the most precious gift she will ever give to us, this part of her body and ours. We will not fail her in the loving and
nurturing of these tiny seedlings that she is honoring us with./
/No, we will not. And we will do our best to protect them. I will not say that we will protect them
completely, for no one can do so. Even
Artereos could not protect his daughters when the time came, and fate decreed
otherwise. Nonetheless, we will do so to
the best of our ability./
/Which, I believe, the Tau’ri would
declare is not to shabby,/ Lantash
stated, smiling slightly as they entered the bedroom. His smile became brighter. What was it, that Samantha had called this kind
of interlude? Ah, yes. Delight of an Afternoon. It certainly was.
When Gwennetha stepped from the
transport area, the first thing that she saw was Malek and Devlin. They stood across the room and watched her as
she stepped forward. Dear Universe, they
looked terrible, as if they were eating and sleeping very little. She felt a rush of guilt. She had refused to see them before she left
for Avilion, where her mother insisted that she go, when it looked as if she
would lose the kits. She had known that she
was right and agreed with little fuss.
She felt that she needed to get away, anyway. The Sanctuary was always a very healing place. Perhaps it would heal her heart. She knew that it would not, of course, for
her mother’s heart had never healed. It
had been soothed, though, she knew that much was true.
She was told that while her refusal to
see or talk to them was very hard on them, her refusal to allow them to go with
her to Avilion devastated them. She admitted to her mother that she did not really
believe it. Nor did she understand why
they revoked the charges that they placed against her. They were, after all, legitimate
charges. She had not told them, or asked
their opinion and permission, before it happened.
Once they arrived at Avilion, were
settled in, and the kits were no longer in danger, her mother had taken her
severely to task, for her attitude. She reminded
her again that Malek’s response was exactly as they had expected, except that
the hormone swings had made it worse than they thought it would be. She had explained her own father’s
exasperating, wounded, and accusatory behavior towards herself. Why would she expect that Malek and Dev would
be any different? They had anticipated
that Malek would react even worse than her father, and that expectation had
been borne out. More bizarrely than they
had expected, but he had recovered his equilibrium, and he wished to make his
peace with her. His true feelings for her
had never changed; he had only thought that they had because of the hormones
and the guilt he was feeling about Devlin.
And Devlin had never wavered at all; he
had simply been trying to stay calm and, in that manner, wait out Malek’s
frantic emotional storms, until he could reason with him. It had been a mistake, and he now realized
that. It would not happen again.
She went on to explain a little about
the host/symbiote relationship that Gwennetha had not realized. Malek felt as if he had failed to protect his
host, and that was not acceptable. The
symbiote always takes care of the host to the best of their ability. Malek, in his eyes, failed to do so. He felt as if he had betrayed Devlin, and his
own mate was the cause of his lapse.
But, she had added, that was not the
only thing that was bearing down on Malek.
Malek, her mother had stated, was a very proud being, sometimes arrogant
and, unless captured, always in control of what was going on around him, or
happening to them. Even when Devlin was
in control of his own body, Malek always knew that he could take control, if he
needed to. During Lun’ak mat, because of the Pher’ak
tel, Malek lost control of Devlin’s body and his own. He was out of control. He could not control what happened and had
not even wanted to at the time.
When he became aware of everything the
next day, he felt assaulted. His free
will was taken away, and so was Devlin’s.
Not only that, but it looked as if you had attacked them
physically. Malek simply could not come
to terms with his so-called failure, or what he believed, at the time, was a
deception on your part.
When you added in the fact that he
could not control their response to the hormones that were released into their
system through the scrapes that were inflicted, it was a disaster in the making. That was, no doubt, the final pebble that started
the landslide, and took him rushing down the mountain, whether he wanted to go
or not. Malek was swamped by emotions
that he had little, if any, control over.
And then there was Dev’s past. Devlin hid some very painful things in his
past, and Malek had rescued him from a terrible situation that had gone on for
at least ten years. It was the basis for Devlin’s loyalty to Malek, and why he
felt that he could not go against him in this.
So, they both had legitimate excuses for the way that they had
acted. Kataya had gone on to tell her
that as much as she loved them, she should forgive them and apologize to them. And now that she was calmer, they had revoked
the charges, and they were asking to see her, she agreed with her mother. It was time to put this behind them and start
over.
Therefore, after she stepped out of the
transport area, she didn’t stop walking or take her eyes off of them. When she reached them, she put her arms
around them and started to cry. Malek
wrapped their arms around her and looked over her head at Kataya, his
expression showing both dismay and panic.
He did not know what to do. She
indicated that they should take her to their room, and Malek wasted no time in
scooping her up high against his chest and striding quickly toward the
transport area. Kataya was right. He needed to take her somewhere that they
could be alone and talk. Alone so that he
and Devlin could start trying to win her back to them.
/Do you think that she is crying
because she has decided that she can no longer live with us, or trust us, and
doesn’t know how to tell us?/ Dev managed to ask Malek. /She sounds as if she is heartbroken. /
/I do not know. I sincerely hope that it is not. I believe that many women cry for various
reasons, not all of which make sense to me.
However, I do not believe that this type of crying is that variety. This seems to be a much more serious, and
probably more specific, crying, not some random thing that has upset her./
/Do you think that Artereos did not
tell us the truth about the kits, as well as our Gwennetha being fine and back
to normal?/
/No.
That I can tell you with certainty.
I do not believe that Artereos would lie to us. He would have told us if something had gone
wrong again. And I do not believe that
he would have sounded as cheerful as he did, if he had just lost his unborn
grandchildren./
/I had not thought of that, but you are
right, Malek. Artereos is thrilled about
the kits, both Gwennetha’s and Samantha’s.
If something had happened, he would have told us, and his mood would not
have been as it was./
Reaching their room, Malek managed to
open the door without putting Gwennetha down.
Kicking the door shut behind them with one foot, he strode quickly to
the bed, and then set her down gently on the edge of it.
Not knowing exactly what to do, he
grabbed a container of tissues that were similar to the ones that they had seen
on Earth and put some of them into her hand, before rushing to the facilities
room to grab a cloth, which he soaked in cold water.
He knelt on the floor in front of her,
taking her free hand in his. He was still
at a loss as to what to do next.
“Hush, amat wyn, please, do not cry so.
Please, Gwennetha, we cannot bear to hear you weep so. You are breaking our hearts,” he murmured
softly.
She pulled on his hand, which he took
to mean that she wanted him to sit next to her.
Malek sat on the edge of the bed, took
her into their arms, and cradled her there.
She was crying as if she would never stop, and he was afraid that she
would begin to lose the kits again.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have any idea of how to calm her down. She was murmuring as she cried, her face, now
that he was seated beside her, buried in his shoulder and throat. Not only could he barely hear her through her
sobs, but part of what he heard, he could not understand. She was speaking in a combination of Furling
and Goa’uld, so of the words that he could make out, he only understood about
half. He was not fluent in Furling, and
what he knew did not extend to cover something like this.
/Pull her as close to our body as you
can, Malek, and then rock her in our arms, and rub her back in soft circles. Many cultures find those to be soothing
gestures, and I believe that the Furling are such. I remember Kataya rubbing circles on my back,
as well as long, gentle stokes up and down.
It was very comforting./
/Yes.
I remember that she also did it the evening that we found out about what
I had done. I think that you are correct,
and I will try anything to stop her. She
must stop soon, or she will make herself ill again./ He began to try once again to stop her,
adding Devlin’s suggestions. It seemed
like hours, but they knew that it was probably only minutes before her sobs
lessened. They both breathed a sigh of
relief, since neither of them knew how to cope with this other than as they
were doing. It took only a few minutes
more before they could make out her words.
When they did, Malek leaned back from her abruptly, and taking her by
the shoulders, he shook her just enough to surprise her into giving him her
attention.
“No, Gwennetha, you will not tell us that
you are sorry for what you did. You did
nothing wrong. We did. I – I did.
Not you. Never you.”
“Malek, do not say that, I know…”
“No.
No. No. You owe us nothing. We, however, do owe you. We owe you more than an apology. We owe you our love and our faith. I did not give you that, even though I
promised to do so. You have every right
to deny me anything you wish, and it would be no more than I deserve. I will do whatever you want me to do, but
please do not blame Devlin. There are
reasons…”
“I know. I know that there are reasons. I do not know what they are, nor do you have
to tell me. My mother told me.” She shook her head and lifted her fingers to
his lips to stop him from interrupting, as she continued, “Not what the reasons
are, only that they are legitimate. I know that there are things that have made
Devlin very loyal to you, Malek, and that he has reason to be. That is enough for me, for my mother would
not lie to me. I know that she is
helping Devlin with the pain of whatever happened. For her to be doing that, it must be
something that is terribly painful. If
it was not, then she would do it all at once.
She can absorb and diffuse a great deal of emotional as well as physical
pain, Malek. The fact that she is not
doing it in one session would tell me that it is a very painful thing, even if
she had said nothing.”
“That is true, and I assure you that it
is a very painful thing. After Kataya
has finished with the sessions, then we will tell you, when the pain is less, I
promise you. Devlin and I have talked
about it and agreed that you should know.
We are willing to tell you now, if you want us to.” Malek looked at her closely as he made his
promise.
“No.
No, I do not need that.”
“Then Gwennetha, tell me what you need,
so that we can rebuild our relationship.
We know it will take time and that you will not trust me. I cannot blame you for that, and I know that
only time will prove that it will not happen again. But, I will prove it someday.”
“The only thing that you and Devlin
need to show me is that you still love me and that you have forgiven me for
what happened. I know that you probably
do not want to have kits, but I will love them.”
“We,
all three of us, will love them fiercely, Gwennetha. They are a part of us. Devlin has been ecstatic from the moment that
we found out. I am afraid that I took
longer to realize what a special and wonderful gift you are giving to us, but I
am very aware of it now. It is something
that I never thought to have happen. It seems wonderful to me now that it has
happened, and I have finally opened my eyes to what it is.”
“We have been so worried this past week. If Artereos had not kept us updated on what
was happening, I think that we would have lost our minds. We do love you so much.”
“I know,” she whispered. “Just as I
love you more than anything else. And
you are both wrong about what I owe to you.
I owed you the benefit of the doubt.
I should have realized what was making you so upset. And, it was my responsibility to tell you what
our mating for breeding entailed before we bonded. I am truly sorry that I did not.”
As he once again began to protest, she
again stopped him with her fingers. “Let
us begin again, Malek. We were both
wrong in what we did and did not do. Let
us put it behind us and go forward from this day. Please.
You wished to know what I want from you.
That is what I want; a new beginning, learning, and growing together, for
the three of us.”
Looking deeply into her eyes, he
nodded. “All right. If that is truly what you want, then I will
not deny you. But, we will not forget
what we did and how very wrong it was of us.
Me, in particular. There are so
many ways that I was wrong, amat wyn, that
I do not know if I will ever feel free of guilt. We love you more than ever, Gwennetha.”
“Then come to me, amates wyn, and show me your passions.”
Malek smiled for the first time in what
felt like weeks. “I will. We will.
But can you, can you mate with us?
What about the kits, Gwennetha?
We do not want anything to happen to the kits.”
“Yes, I can mate, or as Samantha calls
it, make love to you. I have been given
a clean bill of health. It is why they
kept me for a week, so that I would be well enough to make love with you fully.”
Malek laughed softly. “It is a true way to say it, coeurawyn. Make love to my mate. Our mate. We wish to make love to our mate.”
She smiled back at him. “It is my wish as well,” her voice was husky
with desire as she watched his lips descend toward hers. She felt Devlin come forward after Malek had
thoroughly kissed her, to kiss her just as well. She knew that Devlin had let Malek talk to
her, for his sake. Malek felt very
guilty, she knew. But he would
eventually forgive himself, once he realized that she had done so now.
They might still have some rough spots
to go through, but they would survive them and come out the stronger for
them. She felt their lips caressing her
throat and their fingers working on the fasteners to her gown. Yes, there was no doubt in her mind. She was back where she belonged. Just being in their arms was making this
afternoon a sweet delight.
“Well, I guess that about does it. So, we have the first few thousand names. How many more are there, Valynara?” Daniel leaned back in his chair and arched
his back, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and the small of his back
with the other. He was sore from head to
foot today, but the reason brought a smile to his face. Kataya had come home from Avilion two days
ago. They had spent the last two nights
loving as if they were newly mated. Some
of the positions that they had tried had left a kink in his back. It had been worth it. He forced his mind to leave their bedroom
gymnastics and concentrate on what Valynara was saying.
“I really do not know, Daniel, but the
adult population is quite large. I would
guess that there are literally thousands.
We stopped taking names when we reached the three thousand mark. And all those on our list were eligible, so
we should have many for others that we find.
Assuming, of course, that there are not several thousand symbiotes at
Coreegadon. Which, you know, the more I
consider it, we should not discount.”
“I have not mentioned it to the others
so as not to disappoint them if it proved otherwise, but I believe that Egeria
had a special world that she left a great many of her children on. I do not know why, but something leads me to
think it may be Coreegadon. I feel that I am missing something, but what
it is, I cannot say.”
“I have learned not to discount my feelings,
as most Furling do for they inevitably mean something. We are not all seers, as some, but we all
have some sense of “other”.”
“I do know that if it is the world, in
fact, then I shall ask Artereos to help me to shield the Star Portal as ours
here is. Not because there will be
symbiotes there any longer, but because the Goa’uld must never find any
remaining sign of her there. And if the
“And if we are lucky enough to find
more symbiotes than we have hosts ready, it will be a simple matter to collect
more names. Even though we only have
these, the rolls are still being accumulated in the villages, towns, and
cities, as well as all over the country side.”
“Our people here have flourished, and
had large families, anticipating the day that they would be needed and wanted
by the Children of their Egeria. Now
that the day has come, they are eager to become hosts and serve. You must understand the honor it is to have a
symbiote in your family. It is why those
whose family cannot claim one are allowed the opportunity first. Any family who already has a symbiote cannot
have another until all family groups possess one. Perhaps, soon, they will all be able to claim
a descendant of Egeria.” Valynara smiled
happily at them.
“If we ever find the next clutch,” Daniel
sighed resignedly. “Finding these worlds
is proving even harder than I thought it would be. At one time, I thought that it would be
fairly easy, but it seems to be getting harder, not easier.”
“We will find them, Daniel. I know that you can do it. You are not one to give up, and it will take
both patience and persistence, which you have in abundance.”
Daniel grinned at her. “Kataya says the same thing.”
“I do not believe that she was talking
about your dedication to your work when she mentioned it, though.” Valynara watched the color spring into his
cheeks. She laughed lightly, and then she
stopped teasing him to return to the job at hand.
“Some of these people I know quite
well, but others not at all. I trust Alys’yiat’s
mother and father, though. They know
everyone in their town very well. Her
father is the mayor, and her mother and grandmother are the local healers. Her grandmother’s symbiote is to pass to
Alys’yiat upon her grandmother’s death.
She is almost four hundred years old now, and soon it will be time. Alys’yiat and her symbiote will mourn her
passing together, as families here have been doing for centuries.”
“All very fascinating, I am sure,”
Valynara grinned at Daniel, “but, I believe that I was telling you something
else and became side tracked. Ah, yes,
now I remember. As I was saying,
Alys’yiat’s parents and grandmother know many in this first group. Some of them are from a different village very
close to their town, but here again; the mayor and local healer knew them.”
“This list has already been gone over
by Alys’yiat’s parents, as well as her grandmother, and all of them were
approved. Even Evalinia Callendaut, who
was a rival of Alys’yiat’s mother’s, and Joncast Tevinson, who was a rival of
her father’s. They have feuded for
years, but as you can see, they are on the list. Personal prejudice will play no part in the
choices. Even though they do not like
them, in all honesty, they will admit that there is no reason not to allow them
on the list, and therefore they allowed them on as acceptable. The only ones that will not be allowed on the
lists are known criminals. They will be
kept on a separate list. They wish to
discuss them with the Tok’Ra first, to see if it might be a way to control the
criminal. Not that the symbiote would
control the host completely, but it would, perhaps, prevent undesirable actions
and behavior. That is, if a Tok’Ra would
even take one. Then it will be considered.”
“Yes, I can see their reasoning, but
that, as you say, should be discussed with the Tok’Ra. Selmak might be a good one to advise on
that.”
Daniel nodded his understanding, and then
pressed on to the next topic. “The only
thing we need to decide, then, is how to do the blendings. Do we attempt to take the people to them or
bring them to the people?”
“What would you think of the team going
through first and checking everything out?
If they are there, and we can get them to come to the water’s edge, then
perhaps I can set a link and find out if they are one of Egeria’s
clutches. The truth is that until we go
and do some reconnaissance, we do not know what we need or how we can do the
blendings. We will not know if we need
to take both a transport container and a few of the new hosts, or not. We could blend a few of them there at the
“I would have no objection to doing it either
way.” Valynara turned to Daniel. “What
is your opinion, Daniel?”
“It makes sense to have a few blend at
the site, just to be sure that we’re definitely on the right track. I’m pretty sure, though, that if you and Kataya
can get a link, we’ll know from that. It
still might be a good idea to do a few of them there, though. It might take some of the uncertainty out of
it, if there are some symbiotes that are leery of whether we are Goa’uld
sympathizers.”
“Once blended, Kataya can set a link
for a three-way so that they can be reassured by the first few brave souls,
that blend that we really are not associated with the Goa’uld. I think that it might be easier to blend from
the lake than in the
“That sounds reasonable to me, Daniel. A sensible plan, which is wonderful to have
and will probably be all for naught, once you get there and find out how
matters really are.” Valynara nodded.
Daniel grinned at her, obviously
agreeing with her statement, before turning to Kataya and asking, “How did it
go with Malek and Gwennetha, coeurawyn? Will she forgive them?”
“I am hopeful that she will and that
they will. Malek and Devlin look
terrible, and I have given Gwennetha much food for thought during the past
week. I reminded her that both of them
acted as we expected and why. She knows
that we would not tell her to forgive them, if we did not think that they
deserved it. She was crying, and Malek
was panicking when I left. I indicated
to him that he should take her upstairs and begin repairing the damage that has
been wrought.”
“You’re sure that there’s no more
danger to the kits?”
“Very sure. She has been released to do whatever she
pleases. I am sure that will please
Malek and Devlin as well.”
Daniel smiled at her. “Yes, I’m sure that it will.”
Valynara was looking over the list one
more time, “We should choose a handful of people to go. They will wait at the
“Of course, as excited as the people
are, they may very well come with us as far as the Temple, and then wait there
to hear what we do, or do not, find. It
would save us time, if we do find symbiotes there. Either way, it will not take them long to
arrive there, if they are summoned after we find the symbiotes and deduce that
they are indeed Tok’Ra.”
“When are Colonel O’Neill and his team
due to arrive?” She wanted to know.
“They will be here by around eight
o’clock this world’s time, which is actually a little later than Earth time.” Kataya said absently, as she looked over some
papers.
“All right, we should all be here and
ready when they arrive. Is it just the
three of them?” Daniel watched Kat
shuffle papers and look at her watch.
She wanted to get this finished.
He grinned to himself, knowing why she wanted to finish it, and it
wasn’t to take a walk.
“I am not sure. They may have added a fourth person to the
team, but if that is so, I have not heard.”
Kat shrugged.
“Jack isn’t real, ah, happy when they
add new members to the team. I think that
he’ll wait for Sam to come back. I hate
to tell him, but she may not now. I hope
that she does, though. It wouldn’t be
the same without her.” Daniel knew Jack
better than any other person on the team.
“You are right, carusawyn, it would not.
However, she may choose not to continue off-world missions. Once the kits are here, she will make her
choice. If she decides to continue, then
we will find a good nursery maid. It
will not be difficult. I continued after
my kits were born. It was a wrench at
first, but we all soon became accustomed to it, and it became a fact of their
life and mine. One that has remained in
our lives ever since then. It never made
my love for them any less, nor theirs for me,”
Kataya pointed out quietly.
“I never even thought about the kits
part. I was thinking about Lantash and
Martouf. What if they decide to rejoin
the Tok’Ra?” Daniel questioned.
Kataya nodded somberly. “Yes, at that point, she will make the
decision that must eventually be made by all of us.”
“I guess you’re right. It just feels so weird.”
“I know, my love, but what is it your
poets, or authors, said? This, too,
shall pass. And, of course, it will, as
all things do.”
Pulling them back from what looked to
become a long and involved conversation, Valynara let them know that she was
leaving, “I really do have to run, my dears.
If you think of anything else before tomorrow, just touch me through the
link. I will either answer, or tell you that
I will get back to you later, if that is acceptable?”
“That’ll be fine, Val. We’ll be as near as the link, as you
know. I have my doubts that much work
will get done the remainder of this afternoon, actually. Malek, Dev, and Gwennetha probably won’t
surface until time to embark on the mission in the morning. I saw Martouf and Sam heading upstairs not
long ago, as well. Since our helpers
seem to have deserted us, I believe that my lady and I may just play least in
sight for a few hours ourselves this afternoon, and very possibly, on into the
night.” Daniel smiled mysteriously, as
his look slid to Kataya.
“In that case, I will bid you goodbye,
for now.”
“We will see you in the morning, Val,”
Kataya answered, before turning to Daniel.
“What is it that you wish to do this afternoon, my love? You believe that playing hooky for a day would
be good for all of us? I think that you
are correct.”
“And “I think” that I’m in the mood to make love to my soul’s mate, while
we dance in the fire, to the very heights that the fire can take us. It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve
done that, Kataya, and though I still don’t have that many firm memories, my
gut tells me that we used to dance in the fire during, ah, those times, pretty
often. Right?”
“Yes, Daniel, as a matter of fact, we
did. We both loved the sensation, and it
never bothered us, no matter how often we, ah, played, in it, which it does to some.
I would love to do so with you, my love.
Shall we take a bedfur and surrender to the dance just as twilight falls
in the
“I can’t think of any other place I’d
rather be on such a delightful afternoon than with you, Kataya. Tomorrow will be soon enough to face the
future and whatever it holds for all of us.”
TBC
Chapter
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