Chapter 4

September 20, 1931

Steward Expedition Campsite, Nubian Desert, Egypt

When the heat of the day gave way to the chill desert night life at the dig-site died down. Workers and academics alike retreated to their tents for reprieve, leaving behind only a handful of watchmen to guard the camp.

Or at least that was the situation on most nights. Tonight the sentries around the storage tent were laying motionless face down in the sand.

Lantash was returning to the base when he noticed the odd sight. Most might have concluded that the guards had too much to drink that night and were passed out. But a lingering odor of ozone told the Tok'Ra a zat was to blame for this predicament.

Immediately on alert, the Tok'Ra crept closer. A cursory check showed that the guards were alive and mostly unharmed. Whomever did this knew how to stealthily use a zat yet were unwilling to kill, narrowing down the list of suspects significantly.

Without hesitation or fear Martauf entered the crate-filled tent and confirmed his suspicions. There stood Daniel Jackson, somberly examining a canopic jar by the dim light of a kerosine lamp.

"He showed them to me you know." Daniel spoke slowly without looking up. "Dr. Steward brought me here to demonstrate his 'most unusual finds'. To him they are just academic curiosities. If only he knew..."

Jackson's grip on the vessel tightened as he thought about its occupant. "It could be so simple - smash the jar here and now, kill Osiris before he can take Sarah as his host. Dr. Jordan won't have to die, Anubis will have one less underlord, the Trust won't ever be able to use Osiris's Al'kesh to launch their attacks. Millions of lives could be saved. So why do we do all we can to preserve the timeline?"

"I believe you are right Dr. Jackson."

Daniel expected a rebuke and hearing Martauf agree with him was a shock. He quickly looked up from the jar only to come face-to-face with the Tok'Ra's karakesh.

"But I'm afraid I can't let you smash that jar."

Before the stunned archeologist could act the hand device glowed & released a pulse of telepathic energy. Just as with Savoretti, Jackson's muscles instantly slackened as he entered a fugue state. All it took was a simple mental command from Martauf for Daniel to hand over Osiris and walk off to bed, never to remember what transpired.

With Jackson gone Martauf set to work.

For the S.G.C. the notion of changing the timeline was unthinkable. For the Tok'Ra it was unthinkable not to. Just like a drowning man clutching at a razor blade, a species on the brink of extinction would do almost anything to save itself.

Using a small pocket knife Martauf located a barely perceptible groove running along the jar's center. The Tok'Ra dug the blade into the seam and with a loud pop the ceramic shell split in two.

When Earth contacted the High Council requesting Tok'Ra assistance in a time-travel mission a plot was hatched. As luck would have it SG-1 planned to stay a few days with Dr. Steward so as not to raise suspicions by a sudden departure. That meant Martauf & Lantesh had plenty of time to send out their message. Names, dates, key battles, failed missions - all the information that was needed to save lives and operators was recorded on a Tollan long-range communication device. It was just a matter of sneaking out of the camp at night and releasing the information stream into the starry sky.

Without its outer ceramic layer the mimetic metal of the canopic jar glistened dully by the lamplight, leaving no question about it's alien nature. Lantesh sent a quick command through the hand device and the vessel opened, smoothly & seamlessly folding in on itself like a Jaffa's helmet. The liquid within begun to stir as Osiris woke up for the first time in millennia.

Although the information would reach the Tok'Ra world there is no guarantee they would act on it. The Council might deem it a Goa'uld trap, too fantastic to be true. The message might not even be translated to reach the Council's ears if it is seen as an equipment error - for what would a Tollan be doing sending data bursts from the edge of Ra's space? To ensure success the plan needed contingencies.

As the god squealed and thrashed in delight at its freedom a hand snatched it out of the jar. Expecting to see a Jaffa priest ready to give him a new host Osiris instead beheld a knife being pressed against his flesh. The Goa'uld gave off one last surprised squeak before Martauf bisected the squirming body.

With the gruesome act done the Tok'Ra bent over and begun to wretch. Both host and symbiote were long preparing for this moment, with Lantesh relinquishing control more and more often over the last few days as he unwound his tendrils from Martauf's brain, undoing decades worth of connections with his host. Bile mixed with blood as the back of Martauf's throat was torn open by the uncoiling process. Heaving a few more times the man spit out Lantesh's snake-like form unto the dirt floor.

Taking a moment to compose himself, the ex-host quickly picked up his helpless partner and placed him in the stasis jar. Lantesh felt his body slow as the cooling liquid of the vessel flowed over his skin, soothing the raw tendrils left bare by the removal. Settling to the bottom the Tok'Ra symbiote fell into a long slumber, awaiting the day he would be reawakened. With another command from the hand device the jar sealed itself and Martauf begun to put back the ceramic cover.

Martauf knew that if the plan went as expected he would be reunited with Lantesh upon returning to the present. But if the timeline remained unchanged than in 69 years Dr. Sarah Gardner would open this very jar. Neither Martauf nor Lantesh liked to think about that eventuality. Taking an unwilling host violated the Tok'Ra's highest law and Lantesh wasn't sure if he could break it. Yet the opportunity was there - the possibility to save countless with the future knowledge encoded into his every cell ... so long as he was willing to spit on Egeria's edict.

With the jar now whole once again Martauf gently placed it back into the crate as he left his friend in the hands of fate. The task done he stayed there for some time, praying he may see Lantesh again soon, before finally leaving to face an uncertain future.

Fin

Author's Note: There you have it folks, hope you enjoyed the ride. This fic was created in response to prompt number 95 ("Martouf|Lantash and SG-1, time travel to any time in Earth's past, maybe while the Goa'uld are still there") of the Tok'Ra Kree! Writing Contest (round #9).

-Best regards & thanks for reading, A.A.