Chapter 2

When Jaesin awoke, he felt bruised, beaten, and abused. He opened his eyes and observed the room that had become his cell since his return from the dead. Reluctantly, he turned, reached up until his fingers met the top of his "bed," and heaved himself up. Muscles bulged and strained and he was forced to bite back a cry of pain. His arms shook with the effort, but he pulled his legs underneath himself and shakily stood. Stale food fell from his lap.

Triumphant, he allowed himself a grin. He suspected it looked more like a grimace. The food on the ground wasn't worth eating, so he limped over to the wall he always saw Anise entering from. There was no doorway, but he knew she used certain crystals to make and unmake the entrance. The question was where Anise kept them.

His gaze swept the room, lastly landing on Anise's body. She would have needed to get out; why not keep the crystals in her pocket? With a dramatic sigh, he went back and kneeled agonizingly down until he could reach the body. Feeling self conscious, he rifled through her clothes, uncovering pocket after pocket. None held any crystals. He glared fiercely and persisted.

When he turned the body over (with valiant effort, of course), his breath caught. Did he hear something rattling around in her clothes somewhere? With new fervor, he burrowed through more folds in clothing until his searching fingers met something cold and hard. Enclosing it in his hand, he pulled it out. On his palm lay a blue, rectangular crystal. He reached into the same pocket and pulled out a smaller, red rectangle.

"If there ever was a god, I'd be thanking him now!" he muttered, grinning again. He could practically taste freedom! He stood up, stooped over like an old man. The trip to the door was much quicker as cramped muscles began to loosen.

If memory served him correctly, blue cleared the tunnels and red built them up. He hesitated, knowing that if he was wrong, the result would encase him, Anise's body, and the bed in an eternal tomb of stone. Not wanting to spend forever entombed with Anise but wanting out all the same, he rammed the blue crystal to the stone, wincing as his arm was excruciatingly jarred up to the shoulder.

The wall in front of him dissolved revealing typical Tok'ra quarters—presumably Anise's. It occurred to him that he was lucky the wall opened into her quarters instead of the middle of a tunnel. He also wondered how long he had been out and if anyone would come looking for Anise. He glanced back into the room. He glanced at the red crystal in his hand. Back at the room. With a shrug, he stepped over to the opening and put the crystal in the doorway. The entrance promptly closed again. Now no one would find Anise. As far as he was concerned, her body could rot there. Real Tok'ra didn't torture former hosts for information that was none of their damn business.

Silently, he padded over to the room's exit, careful not to lean against the wall, and cautiously peered out. The tunnel was deserted. Before fully emerging, he strained his ears for the sound of footsteps. Nothing. Still moving cautiously, he crept down the hall, praying to whatever true deity that might be out there that he was going the right direction.

He squinted, trying to see where the tunnel ended or divided up. If his vision proved true, the end was near and opened up to the left and right. He hoped that tunnel was deserted too.

Nervously, he crept over. He couldn't see or hear anybody, but he didn't know which way to go, either. Figuring he could just turn around if he had to, he stepped out into the corridor. As soon as he did, voices echoed around a bend several yards away. Panicked, Jaesin whirled back into the safety of his tunnel and slammed into the wall biting his tongue so hard in the process that he drew blood. Stifling a yelp, his eyes watered and he tried to concentrate on soothing his stinging back and tongue.

The voices came closer. "—glad that things are working out," one was saying. It was a man—that much Jaesin could tell, unless it was a lady with serious vocal problems. It—the voice—was uncomfortably familiar; Jaesin wondered why that was. Didn't it belong to…to…Selmak's host? He tried to remember if the name was right. But why was it bad if he encountered…Selmak? Wasn't Selmak's new host Jay…Jarrod…Jake…Jacob! That was it. Jacob. Jacob who? Jacob Car…Carter! Crap. Wasn't Samantha's last name Carter? Uh oh. If anything, that meant Jacob was Samantha's daddy. Mystery solved. Now Jaesin was positive he didn't want to encounter Jacob…or Selmak, whatever he was calling himself these days.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't heard most of the conversation. "The name's Ariana," Jacob went on. Jaesin thought he detected pride in the older man's voice. Why? Who was Ariana? Samantha's sister? Did Samantha even have a sister? Maybe a cousin. Stop it! Jaesin ordered himself. His thoughts were so scattered it wasn't even funny.

They passed his tunnel's opening. Jaesin froze, heart fluttering in his chest like a trapped butterfly. He wondered if Jacob and his friend could hear it flapping around. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't even notice the intruder pressed against the wall several feet away.

Said intruder waited until the voices faded before he released his pent up breath. He peeled himself away from the wall, the salty scent of blood reaching his nostrils. The notion to clean up the mess entered his head Screw it, he thought, anxious to move on. I have got to go!

This tunnel had several more open quarters that Jaesin had to skulk past. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, making his movements jerky and his senses tremendously heightened. He had to stop numerous times because he thought his steps got too loud. Finally, he got his motions under control only to hear more Tok'ra coming his way. With nowhere else to go, he ducked into the nearest room. He heaved a giant sigh of relief when he found the room unoccupied. At least a dozen Tok'ra passed the entrance.

Jaesin realized that it would be extremely difficult to get to the Chappa'ai even if he'd thought of a decent plan before impulsively gallivanting through the tunnels with no clue as to where he was going. He rubbed his temples, forcing himself to concentrate. First things first. He needed a plan, and a good one at that.

What if he just went to a Tok'ra and pleaded his case? That couldn't work. He snorted. He'd be hauled to the High Council and sentenced to death. He had heard the rumors about Quetesh. Wait, the Tok'ra had released the host. That was something Jaesin would have to keep in mind for later.

However, he mused, mood turning pessimistic, my circumstances are different. Quetesh was a Goa'uld. Gindesh was a traitor to the Tok'ra. Somehow, he didn't think the Council would let that part go. He would make sure not to get caught, that'd be for sure.

As soon as possible, he needed to find an armory. He wouldn't be totally defenseless then. When he found that, he would proceed to the Chappa'ai, no matter how long it took. There definitely had to be guards at the Chappa'ai. The Tok'ra would not leave it unprotected. He hoped there would be a ring platform; it'd give him the element of surprise. If he didn't have weapons…no, he had to be armed.

If he didn't have weapons, he was as good as dead.

R&R