Title: Goa'uld Beware
Characters: Jack O'Neill, Saroosh, Selmak, Sam Carter, Lantash. Daniel, Teal'c, Martouf, Kelmaa and unamed Tok'ra have bit parts.
Pairing: NONE.
Summary: AU. Events of 'The Tok'ra Part I' happen rather differently.
Category: Gen.
Rating: K+.
Notes: I use the following conventions in this story: Bold is a goa'uld or tok'ra speaking, ~ denote host/symbiote communications. Italics are used for (some) goa'uld words as well as for emphasis.

To say that Jack was uncomfortable in this strange place of tunnels filled with snakes was an understatement. Still, he had to separate his personal feelings from antipathy from the situation, even if another set of personal feelings was as much a driver behind their presence as the strategic potential in the situation that had been used to justify it. He had watched Carter ever since Jolinar died. He had to watch her, as her CO and as her friend. Carter had needed to come here; it was part of her recovery and Jack couldn't ignore that.

Nor could he ignore the fact that she'd been off walking on the surface with one of the snakes for a while. He trusted Carter, he knew she'd be back – but he hated just sitting here doing nothing while they waited. He couldn't just take a look around, and he couldn't fault the reasoning they gave for that, but that didn't change his wish to do something. Anything.

It occurred to him that maybe there was somewhere else he would be allowed to go. "Hey you?" he called, stepping into the doorway of the room.

One of the Tok'ra guards stepped in front of him. "Did you need something?" he asked impassively.

"Well, I was wondering. Would you let me talk with that Tok'ra who need a host? Selmak, right?"

The guard stared for a moment and looked at his colleague who stared back. Jack wondered if they were actually communicating with each other with that cryptic stare or if it was just shared blankness. Behind him, Daniel stirred. "Jack, what are doing?"

The guard spoke a moment later. "If you wish to talk to Selmak, I will take you there."

"Never mind, Danny-boy. You just stay here." Jack said to the puzzled looking Daniel as he followed the Tok'ra off through the tunnels.

Once there, they found Selmak and Saroosh had company. The guard said why they had come and then retreated, leaving the stranger to introduce himself.

"Kelmaa," the strange tok'ra said, indicating herself. "I am one you would call a nurse, I think."

Jack grimaced. "Yeah. I'm O'Neill. Tau'ri."

"Saroosh is dying, O'Neill."

"Yeah. I was told." Jack reminded himself that this was far from the hardest conversation he'd got through in his life. "Is she able to talk with me? Or it this just not a good time?"

Kelmaa glanced down at her friend and saw the answer in the faint smile on Saroosh's face. "It isn't a good time but yes, she can talk with you. Do you wish me to leave? I have some work to do in the next chamber."

"That would be good." Jack agreed and after Kelmaa left, he came a little closer to the bed where Saroosh lay.

Saroosh turned her head just enough to be able to look at him comfortably and after a minute of silence, she smiled. "We are very alien to you, are we not?"

Jack flushed just a little. "Well, yeah. But so is lot of stuff out here in the big wide galaxy."

"But we matter." Saroosh said, rather shrewdly. "Because of Jolinar, you need to know more of us."

"Ah…" Jack had not expected her to spot that.

"I have been a Tok'ra for almost two hundred years, O'Neill, and I had seen nearly sixty on my own before that. So many years of experience can aid one's perception and being so near death, I no longer care about pretending I do not see what I see."

Jack had a fleeting thought about whether or not it was really the host talking. Knowing the irrationality behind that thought, he ignored it. "Your people only seem to care about whether we can be hosts. It seems pretty shortsighted when you live for centuries."

Saroosh blinked and sighed softly. She had a fleeting thought – shared by Selmak – that their people were frequently shortsighted in some ways. "It is not that they only care about finding hosts, it is that we are so dependent on that. What else you might bring us is as yet is entirely unquantifiable and if you yourself have not lived for centuries, as you put it then it is difficult to explain how it affects one's perspective."

"Yeah, well, I guess it will stay that way." Jack figured he might as well as the question that bothered him the most. "Why would someone choose to be a host?"

"You know so little about what a symbiote can do that you cannot come up with reasons yourself?" When Jack did not answer, Saroosh rolled her eyes. "There are as many reasons as there are hosts. Some need a symbiote's help or they will suffer – even die - from a disease or injury. Some have been fighting the goa'uld and wish to continue to do so. Some have not fought the goa'uld but want to. Some have a thirst for the knowledge that comes from being Tok'ra. A rare few simply have enough compassion that they wish to help another sentient being."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Saroosh smiled again, her penetrating gaze turning wishful and pensive. "I was lonely, O'Neill. And Selmak's companionship has given me far more than I could ever have dreamed of."

Jack looked away, both troubled and reassured by what Saroosh had said. He didn't doubt that she had spoken from the heart and what that meant would not be simply to articulate. It was, therefore, a shock when a thundering crash came from nowhere. "Crap!" he swore, spinning round to look at the exit. But even as he took a step forward, another explosion – another bomb - shook the base and the exit disappeared beneath shattering crystal.

Hi spun back and cover the short distance to Saroosh's side – she was trying to sit up in alarm – and when another shriek of tortured crystal was the only warning that the roof above them was about to come down, he acted on instinct and snatched her off the bed platform and pulled them both down into the inadequate shelter of it's side. A moment later, everything went black as the chamber collapsed.

Jack woke to pain. Enough pain that, frankly, he wished he was unconscious again.

"Do not move," came a voice from dark and a gentle touch on his forehead told him he wasn't alone. "I know you are hurt but I cannot see, not yet."

Jack squashed his moment of panic. It's Selmak, he told himself. Just Selmak. Then he went to the pain and he realized he didn't hurt everywhere. Just his chest, his arms… his head. Nothing lower. Not even discomfort. Nothing. "I can't move," he finally answered flatly. "I think my spine is damaged.

Selmak did not immediately answer. Saroosh had been mostly protected by the bulk of O'Neill's body and had only slight injuries. Still, she was dying – she had had little time before this shock and now Selmak knew she had even less. The grief was walled away; Selmak could not spend time on it now. "I fear it has been." Selmak allowed as she touched Jack's badly broken leg. Had he been able to feel it, she knew he would have reacted. "It was an attack."

"Yeah, no kidding. Bombs do mean an attack."

Selmak could not help finding a spark of amusement in O'Neill's sarcasm, even if the spark swiftly died. "Not your people."

"Nope."

Selmak believed him. But when she finished her crude assessment of O'Neill's injuries, she knew it did not matter anyway. "I am sorry. We are both dying."

Jack knew that. He wondered why she didn't suggest the obvious – although it was probably quite pointless. Maybe not all these damned tunnels were damaged, but even if some of the Tok'ra or even his teamates were still alive, the odds of anyone friendly coming to dig them out was pretty damn close to zero. It was hard to think though, through the haze of pain. Is it too bad for even a snake to fix? he wondered before it drifted through his head that he was actually considering being a host. Strangely enough, with the reality of a painful, meaningless death before him, the emotions that had driven his disgust at the idea had fallen away. "Selmak?"

"Yes?"

"Could you fix all this?"

Selmak had been pondering exactly that. "I do not know. I am very weak from sustaining Saroosh and your injuries are extensive. But I did not think you would want to try, especially as we are trapped with little chance of survival even if I succeeded."

"I don't want to try, I just… don't know if want to… not try."

"I am growing steadily weaker. The sooner you choose, the better our chances.

He had faced death before. He'd never been tempted to do something insane to avoid it. But then, he supposed he'd never been faced with this particular death and choices before. Life is options, death an ending. Jack quoted darkly to himself. It was something he'd said, or someone had said to him, or… something. Thinking was making his head hurt even more and what the hell, he had nothing to lose. "Try. Gotta try, not give up."

Selmak almost asked O'Neill if he was sure but checked herself. The haze of pain in his voice told her it was almost certainly futile and in that case, she could at least make his passing less painful. "Very well – we will not give up," she whispered gently. She gingerly shifted O'Neill and Saroosh in the tiny space that sheltered them and pressed Saroosh's mouth over his.

It hurt. Jack hadn't thought of that before it happened and Selmak's entry was a sharp stap of pain at the back of his mouth, an unexpected agony that tipped him back over the edge into unconsciousness.

Selmak had thought it was probably futile and as she assessed O'Neill's injuries, she didn't change her assessment. Still, she would try. Systematically, she mended her new host's body. It was slow; she lacked the strength to work fast, and there was so much damage that as she fixed the most critical, the less critical became critical.

Jack was not properly conscious but he was not resting either. The pain hadn't gone, not exactly; he knew it was there but it was distant, muffled. Stubbornly, he clung to life.

Selmak had long since thrown all she had into this healing and she could not help feeling rather shocked when she realized that she had actually managed to stabilize all that damage. It was not all fixed, but he – they – were past the crisis. Checking on Jack's state of mind, she gently nudged him to sleep. He needed sleep. That accomplished, she opened her new host's eyes and determined there was still no light to see. Touch showed there was no change. They were still trapped in a tiny pocket between the bed-platform, the floor and a largish section of roof that had come down at an angle. She turned her attention towards hearing and could detect nothing, no sounds at all. No signs of life.

Forbidding herself from considering the implications, she returned to her task. O'Neill needed a lot more healing before he woke.

On the surface...

Martouf and Sam had wandered some distance from the rings when the gate came alive and moments later, two alkesh uncloaked above the tunnels and immediately started firing at the ground. Despite their shock, experience and training directed them – they hid. Jaffa, mostly with the mark of Cronus, were pouring through the gate and Sam, Martouf and Lantash watched helplessly. Before long, they were forced to retreat further and and further away to avoid capture.

The bombardment from the alkesh did not last very long; instead of reassuring them, it suggested they were interested in more than simple destruction. It took time to find a way to see the gate and when they did, they were horrified. Tok'ra after Tok'ra – unconscious or dead, they could not tell – was being dragged through the gate by jaffa. They did not see any of SG-1, but that meant nothing – they could have been already taken through. At the end, they saw one Tok'ra, who walked free beside the jaffa – Cordesh.

"I. Will. Kill. Him." Lantash hissed in Sam's ear, his rage testing his self control.

Sam instinctively put her hand on his neck, a reassuring caress that she knew a moment later came from Jolinar. "And I'll help you."

All too soon, the planet was silent. The alkesh departed and after setting several devices in an arc in front of the gate and dhd, the last jaffa departed as well. "They put motion sensors down." Lantash told Sam, half furious, half despairing. "Anyone approaches the chaapa'ai or comes through, they will alert Cronus and he will send jaffa back to capture them."

Sam took a deep breath, forcing herself to step back from her anger. "I think we may have a way to escape. My people, when they don't hear from us, will dial in. If I can get my radio from the tunnels…"

Lantash turned to study Sam uncertainty in his expression. "That may be our only chance. It is unlikely that we will otherwise be able to dial-out before Cronus dials in."

Lantash was uncertain of the exact range of the motion sensors, so he and Sam kept as far as possible from them as they approaching the tunnels. They did not need to go to the ring platform; the bombardment had exposed the tunnels themselvs in several places. He checked on Martouf when they were finally inside and when he was firmly pushed away, he sighed. Neither of them was coping, it was just that Lantash was better at holding it together.

As the two walked soberly through the silent base, there were no bodies. He checked for the base's communicators – rarely used, but an essential link between the Tok'ra. They were gone and once again, he had to throttle down rage at Cordesh. However, when they reached the room the Tau'ri possessions had been stored in, they were all still there. Sam took back her radio and weapons and handed Daniel's to Lantash. They had found no other weapons. "Food? Water?" she asked.

"We should be able to get to the stores." Lantash confirmed, and started in that direction.

They were forced to go around rubble in several places and were picking their way through a half-collapsed tunnel when Sam, her hand on the crystal wall, felt a vibration. Freezing in place, she held her breath. It came again. Three short taps, three long ones, three short ones. Repeat.

Selmak was no where near finished; she was simply too tired to continue without a few minutes rest. Still, O'Neill's injuries were no longer a threat.

~Jack.~

Selmak started; she had been so engrossed and tired, she hadn't noticed him waking up. ~Jack.~ she acknowledged cautiously.

~You've been busy.~ Jack commented as he felt for their now-shared body. Selmak let him control it and refrained from comment as he carefully tested each limb for movement and pain. ~Yep, very busy. Thanks.~

~I haven't finished.~ Selmak pointed out.

~I know. But its good enough for right now so the next task is to get out of here, snake.~ Jack began to explore their tiny prison, traceing it's shape and pausing when he found a cold spot near his ankles. ~Draft!~

Selmak was momentarily dumbfounded at being called a snake but set that aside for now. When she had last checked over the space, she had not yet repaired many of the sensory nerves in Jack's spine; she had not been able to detect the chill and faint air movement. ~Careful.~ she said, still pondering that word. Snake.

Jack wasn't listening and barely noticed the voice in his head. He didn't think about. But as he eased his fingers over the shattered remnants of crystals, he suddenly noticed that they no longer felt alien. He paused to analyse this and was shocked by the sudden wealth of knowledge that was at his mental fingertips. He hadn't thought about it initially, any more than he would have thought about how his tv worked when he turned it on. It was just… background knowledge. Only with it was the edges of memories... and with the discipline born from dealing with too many horrific memories of his own, he pushed them away. ~I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry, Selmak.~

Selmak sent a wordless wave of understanding. ~I'm not sure either…. Grumpy.~

Jack wasn't sure what he had expected when he'd decided having a snake along was a better option than dying, but this wasn't it. ~Grumpy? I call you a snake and that's all you can come up with?~ He kept shifting crystals. It turned out to be easier than he'd thought to get from where they were to the edge of the cavern's original door but then he was stymied. He tried several way to keep going and nothing worked. ~Damn!~

Selmak had already sought and shown Jack as much information she could find. None was particularly helpful and they stopped to rest while they contemplated the problem. Privately, she had stolen a moment to wonder at the sheer determination of Jack. Despite having come to terms with dying here, she found her resignation fading and her own stubbornness reassert itself. They would find a way, and she would find the perfect come back to being called a snake.

Jack was turning the possibilities over, systematically analyzing everything, no matter how ludicrous it seemed when something interrupted his thoughts. A sound. The first sound that hadn't come from him. He felt Selmak snap to alertness and they both listened, straining for any hint that they weren't alone here.

It was forever.

It was only minutes.

It was definitely footsteps.

Jack reached out for a suitable chunk of crystal and started tapping the wall. Three short, three long, three short. SOS.

"Lantash!" Sam whispered, her heart racing as she heard the pattern repeat.

Her companion frowned as he put his palm on the wall beside her and his eyes then widened as he realized there was a pattern. "Someone is trapped."

Sam looked at him, trying to stay calm when her question spilled out in a nervous rush. "Does the pattern mean anything to you?"

Lantash was already trying to trace where it was coming from. "Hmm?" he answered absently before noticing the question. "Nothing that I can think of. Is it a Tau'ri one?"

Sam was gleeful for a split second before she remembered that if it was one of her teammates, then it wasn't one of the Tok'ra. Controlling her reaction, she explained SOS to Lantash.

"Ah." Lantash had moved back and forth along the wall, mentally tracing the original outline of this tunnel section. "We are not anywhere near where your friends were… this is near the infirmary room. Where Selmak was." He pushed away the thought of Saroosh and Selmak. They could not have escaped.

Sam shrugged and followed as Lantash made his way through a mostly blocked tunnel.

Judging he was close enough, Lantash called out. Not too loud; it was possible the fallen debris was as yet unstable. A faint yo! Over here! came in reply – which really did not sound at all like any of the Tok'ra. Still, it was someone. So they kept going.

In the end, it took them nearly two hours to free O'Neill and Selmak. Even that time wasn't enough for Sam to stop being shocked that Jack, of all people, had consented to be a host. Lantash was just grateful he didn't face all that had happened alone. The three of them – Jack still limping and visibly exhausted, collected supplies and made their way to the surface. Nothing there had changed, but they didn't need to wait long before the gate activated.

Between Selmak and Jack, it didn't take long for a plan to be formulated. The key was to destroy the sensors before they sent any signal to Cronus, and Jack knew the exact capabilities of the SGC's resources in that. It was just a matter of matching up what Selmak knew about the sensors and what Jack knew about the bombs… and then devising a way to render this stargate inaccessible long enough to prevent any returning Tok'ra dialing in and being captured.

Sam had to wonder... Who in the galaxy was going to be able to stand against this alliance?

A/N: Right now, I have no plans for a sequel or continuation, although I guess I might someday come up with a suitably cunning plan for Jack and Selmak to take down Cronus. I'll post if I ever do.