(I'm going to keep calling him Lahtin, mainly because it's easier to type than "Future Lantash." It also reads better, imo.

Roeskva, thank you for the review. I'm glad to hear from you.
Sweetangel4, thank you. I'm sorry this next part has been delayed.
My blue rose, thanks. I am glad you liked it.)

Part 4, "Lahtin"

Garshaw's eyes glowed. "You expect us to believe that? You attacked us."

"I never hurt anyone."

"Samantha?" Jacob asked. "You kissed her...forehead." As it annoyed him, he also realized it sounded a bit ridiculous.

Lahtin saddened. "I miss her."

Jacob frowned. "Why couldn't you tell us the truth in the first place?"

"Part of that was keeping the timeline."

"It's already broken."

"No, I did exactly what I know I was to do."

"What?"

"That's how I knew I was going to be shot. I haven't changed anything. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do...though I didn't know being knelt on was going to be part of that." He frowned. "You noticed something yourself," he said looking to Jacob. "Selmak thought I sounded proud when talking about Martouf shooting me. I was proud. That took a lot of skill, and I hadn't helped him. It's not easy shooting someone you can't see, especially in that chaos."

Garshaw turned around as she noticed the collapsing tunnel was getting close. "We need to go." She stood up with Lahtin's zatnikatel in her hand.

Jacob pulled Lahtin up in a less than gentle manner. "How did I get this knife?"

"Martouf and I gave it to you as a gift before asking if we had permission to ask Sam to marry us. It also replaced the knife you had lost."

"Where are the others?"

"There's a ship on the surface. Everyone else is already there."

Jacob nodded, not wanting to leave the others behind. They arrived at the surface and the small ship was there. "So, is the ship from the future?"

"I can't answer that."

"How will Lantash know what to do if you don't tell him," Jacob replied, still not believing him.

"I had to figure some things out for myself."

Jacob looked to Garshaw. "You should go." He didn't want her going to the ship.

"She can't," Lahtin said before she could reply. "The stargate will not work."

"What did you do?"

"It wasn't me."

Jacob frowned as he pulled Lahtin towards the stargate. "How did this Goa'uld know where to find us?" He dialed the gate and realized that Lahtin was right about it not working.

"One of the crystals is missing."

"Where is it?" Garshaw asked.

"I don't know."

"The Goa'uld took it," Jacob stated in disbelief.

"Yes."

"The one without a name."

"He has a name."

"Which is..."

"We need to go now." Lahtin looked to his ship. He took a step closer to it before looking to them. "It's not safe here."

Selmak took over, flashing Jacob's eyes. Feeling a bit out of the control of the situation, she kept a grip on Lahtin. "I suggest hoping your allies care about whether or not you live." With the knife still out, she took him over to his ship.

Not wanting to be trapped on this planet, Garshaw followed with the zatnikatel. She would have preferred another weapon. Given the grip Jacob and Selmak kept on Lahtin, hitting him would mean hitting them. She looked around as they entered the ship.

What if it is Lantash? Yosuuf asked.

It's not.

You know as well as I do that he could be telling the truth, and we both know you'll feel horrible for treating him this way if you find out it's him.

Malin approached, and with one look at the situation, he dropped his weapon. "We need to leave."

"We'll be picking the designation, not you," Garshaw replied. "First, we're going to check on the other Tok'ra. You are going to wake them up."

"We need to cloak first," Lahtin said, then winced when Selmak squeezed his arm. "I realize you don't believe me and therefore don't care about what pain you are putting me through, but for the sake of my host, stop that!" His eyes flashed.

"You can heal yourself faster if you put your host in control," Selmak replied.

"And he would be in more pain as a result. I am healing him, though you are not helping any."

"Where are the others?"

Lahtin gestured to Malin, who lead the way. The unconscious Tok'ra and SG-1 were in a room in bedrolls. "They are comfortable," Malin said. "And some of them are awake even if they are pretending otherwise."

"Are they?" Garshaw asked.

"They talked to each other when we weren't in the room," Lahtin said.

Lantash sat up. "I wondered if we were being watched." He didn't see any reason to keep pretending to be asleep if they knew he wasn't.

Garshaw frowned. "Lahtin claims-"

"Yes, we were," Lahtin snapped. "We aren't foolish enough not to watch you."

Garshaw frowned as he looked to Lahtin. Though she knew Marlin could have watched them, she knew Lahtin hadn't had the chance. Lantash got off his bed and checked on Sam. It became clear he wasn't the only one pretending to be asleep when Malek and Aldwin got up.

Garshaw looked to Lahtin before grabbing his arm and taking him out of the room. She released him as she moved him against the wall. The zatnikatel was pressed to his head. "You have a very short time to convince me that you are Lantash." She heard Selmak follow them, but didn't look away from Lahtin.

"I met Yosuuf before you did. She was ill, but didn't know why. Others in her town had the same symptoms before dying. She agreed to become Tok'ra because she believed she had the same illness."

"You could have gotten that information elsewhere."

Lahtin frowned slightly, quiet for a moment. "Martouf's aim was good. I'm quite proud of him for it, but we still failed. For that we apologize."

"What?"

"We ask for your forgiveness. We hope not to fail you again. Thank you."

"I-"

Lantash walked into the hallway. He glanced between Selmak and Garshaw before approaching Garshaw. "Martouf's aim was good. I'm quite proud of him for it, but we still failed. For that we apologize." He paused briefly, wondering why his leader looked surprised. "We ask for your forgiveness. We hope not to fail you again."

Garshaw looked between them before settling on Lantash. "You're forgiven."

"Thank you."

Garshaw released her grip on Lahtin. The words and tone were the same. Even the facial expressions had been nearly identical. "Lantash."

"Yes?" Lantash answered.

Selmak frowned, glancing to Garshaw before looking to Lantash. "Stay with Samantha."

Lantash nodded and went back into the room.

"She's safe," Lahtin replied. "Though she won't stay safe if we stay here. We need to leave or we will be attacked."

"How can you be sure?" Selmak asked.

"Because we were attacked on the way out of here."

Selmak lead the way to the bridge. "Small crew," she said when she saw it was empty.

"Well, when time traveling, bringing a large number of people isn't the wisest idea."

Garshaw stayed where she was while Selmak took the helm. She looked to Lahtin. "How do we know you just didn't make Lantash say what you wanted."

Lahtin's eyes flashed. "You insult me. No one I thought of as a Goa'uld could ever force me to speak their words."

"You attack us, and now you claim-"

"I am following your orders!"

Garshaw was a bit surprised to be yelled at. If this was Lantash, she hadn't been yelled at by him since before Martouf. "Lant...Lahtin, why are we involved? If he just wanted the crystal, why didn't he grab it before we found it?"

"Because he also wants revenge."

"The Tok'ra have-"

"On you."

Garshaw's eyes flashed. "Why? Who is he?"

"He has a couple names. Lately, he's been calling himself Nalan. You sentenced him to death."

"I've sentenced a lot of Goa'uld to death."

"Yes, but he had help getting out of it."

"You aren't helping."

"You'll have to figure out who he is yourself."

"He wants revenge on me, and you aren't going to help? Tell me where he is in this timeline, and we can deal with him."

"It's better I don't." Lahtin replied as he sat down. "You'll understand in the future." He looked to Selmak. "We leaving orbit?"

"Soon."

It didn't take long for Lahtin to be proven right. The ship was fired on. Selmak performed a few evasive maneuvers before getting the ship out of range. Then she set the ship on autopilot, now watching instead of actually flying. "This is strange," she said as she watched the ship do something in autopilot that wasn't possible now. She looked over as someone entered the room. It was Sam and Aldwin. Aldwin looked around. Lahtin looked to Sam. "Samantha."

Sam looked to him. The way he said that reminded her of Lantash. She looked to her father. "Dad?"

Given control, Jacob moved closer. "He claims to be a future Tok'ra."

"What?" Aldwin asked.

"Says he traveled back in time on a mission."

"I did," Lahtin stated as he glanced over to Jacob. He looked back to Sam.

Jacob frowned. He looked to Sam. "Sam, you and Aldwin take a team and check the rest of the ship." He watched her and Aldwin nod and leave. He looked back to Lahtin. "I want to talk to your host."

Lahtin glanced to the door. "Another time."

Garshaw stepped closer. "I could shoot you and force him into control."

Lahtin looked to her. "That won't work. My armor will absorb the energy."

Garshaw was annoyed that she had been pointing the weapon at him for all this time for no reason. "I'll find another way then."

Lahtin frowned before closing his eyes. When his eyes opened, the host immediately went to tears.

Jacob was a bit alarmed by that. "Hello?"

"Hi Jacob," the man said as he wiped his tears. He sniffled.

That's why he didn't want him to be in control, Yosuuf thought. She was the only one who believed him.

It's not Lantash, Garshaw replied.

Jacob took a cautious step forward. "What's your name?"

The man gave a small smile. "Just call me Lahtin...or Lahtin's host if you prefer. I can't tell you my name. It'll interfere-" He sniffed. "-with the timeline."

"What's wrong?" Garshaw asked.

Lahtin's host looked to the door.

"Samantha?"

"I miss her...and I'm not handling it well."

Poor man, Yosuuf thought as she imagined what it would be like to go back in time and have to shoot the people she cared for. Wait, if he knows Sam, that means she outlives Martouf... Poor Martouf.

I think Martouf would prefer it that way, Garshaw admitted.

"Who are the other Tok'ra?" Jacob asked.

The host smiled again, feeling a little more in control of his emotions. "You can't figure it out?"

"How would I? They've mostly been acting like Goa'ulds."

"And you've seen who they've taken an interest in, and a bit of who's knowledge they have. Besides, the names should clue you in."

"Assuming you are telling the truth." Jacob glanced up as Garshaw left.

Where is she going? Selmak wondered.

Jacob looked back to Lahtin to see his eyes were closed. The expression changed when he opened them. Lahtin sat back and was quiet. His cheeks were streaked with tears, but he didn't bother to wipe them. Jacob took a step back. "Is this Goa'uld really after Garshaw?"

"He is."

"He seems to be going about it the wrong way."

"His priority is the device, and he may not be interested in killing Garshaw. Doing so could interfere with the timeline, which could have an effect on his own successes."

Jacob felt queasy as he wondered what the Goa'uld planned on doing with her. "Assuming you are telling the truth and assuming you succeed in your mission, does she and Yosuuf come out of this unharmed?"

"They do. However, that won't be the case for all Tok'ra. He's a Goa'uld, and he'll be a large threat for a while."

"And you can't stop him in the present."

"I'd be inferring with the timeline."

Jacob was starting to hate that answer.

Garshaw returned with a scanning device. "Now we'll see who are you."

Lahtin looked to her. "I was wondering when you'd remember that was with the equipment."

Jacob took the scanner from her, deciding not to let her near Lahtin. He ran the scanner over Lahtin. Jacob looked at the results. "This can't be."

"What is it?" Garshaw asked.

"He's Lantash."

"That's impossible," she stated as her eyes glowed. She took the scanner and ran it herself. She found the results to be th same. "You...you are Lantash?"

"Yes."

As Yosuuf had predicted, she began feeling bad for the way she treated him. "The others?"

"Malek and Kela'an."

"Which one of you shot me?"

"That would be me... Sorry."

"So, I sent you back in time to attack myself."

"Among other things."

I told you that it could be him, Yosuuf thought. Stop shaking my head. You scanned himself. You see that it's him. You can even see how old he is.

Garshaw decided against checking his age. She did make another check to confirm that he wasn't from a parallel universe. She stepped away as he stood. Then she watched him head out. "Where are you going?"

"I have something to do."

"Why would I allow you to leave?"

"You know who I am, though you still want to deny it." He took a step closer to her. "Are you saying you don't trust Lantash?"

"I trust Lantash."

"Then you trust me."

"You're..." Garshaw checked the scanner again. "Go."

"That's not a good idea," Jacob said as Lahtin left.

Garshaw looked to him. "He is who he says he is, so unless you are excusing Lantash of turning against us..."

Jacob sighed.

"I don't like this either. I don't want to believe it's him, but every time there is a chance to prove him wrong, the evidence shows that it is Lantash... If the artifact is as dangerous as he says, then it should be destroyed. We'll ensure that it is."

Meanwhile, Lahtin found Samantha checking out the weapon's locker. "Samantha."

She turned to him. "Hello."

He took a step closer to her. "I apologize for breaking our deal."

Sam remember what he claimed to be, and though knew she shouldn't believe a thing Lahtin said, everything she knew about Lantash was telling her that this was Lantash. The way he stood. The way he spoke to her. The way he looked at her. "You're from the future?"

"I am."

Sam looked over Lahtin. "Lantash." The look of pride and joy he held in hearing his name confirmed it for her. "You are Lantash."

"Yes." Lahtin moved closer. "The others don't entirely believe me, but that doesn't matter." He took her hand. "I could not stand to see you hate me." A flicker of pain filled his eyes, and he tried to hide it. It became too much to hide from Sam though. Seeing the hate from others he loved had been too much.

"I'm guessing the others don't know... Martouf?"

"No, but he'll figure it out soon enough," Lahtin replied. "Though it will be a long time before he is able to convince my younger self."

"How come he didn't figure it out sooner?"

"He didn't know time travel was possible the first time. I didn't help by drugging him...or by shooting Jolinar."

Sam was quiet for a moment, trying to remember his reaction to shooting her. The memories were fuzzy. "Did you shoot me?"

"No, that was Malek... I'm sorry." He looked at her with longing.

"For what?"

"I miss you, Samantha."

It was odd to basically be told you were dead. Sam couldn't think much of it though. She had no idea how far in the future this Lantash was. She felt him touch her hair, and she found herself at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry because I must ask you to promise me that you will not tell younger myself that I'm...well, him."

"I promise."

"You can confirm it when we bring it up to you."

Sam nodded.

"I love you." He leaned in and kissed her.

The first was quick and almost innocent. The second one was not. In his years, Lantash has mastered a technique that was somehow both tender and dominant. Sam quickly noticed he had somehow perfected it. As she responded, she felt guilty. In the past, she had kissed one without the other because the other was asleep, but this was a completely different host. As she told herself that it being Lantash made it not count as cheating, she heard the door open.

As Lahtin pulled away, his held an odd combination of bliss and sorrow.

The explanation of the sorrow was explained as soon as she heard Martouf's voice. "Get away from her."

to be continued...