(Roeskva, thanks for the reviews through this story. I hope to hear from you again.

Ra'iira The Fiend, thanks. I'm glad you were amused.)

Part 7, How it's Supposed to Be

It was strange, but somehow Daniel wasn't too surprised. "So...Lahtin is really Lantash?"

"Yes," Sam said as she nodded.

"And Malin is Malek, and Kelila is Kela'an, and the Goa'uld after us is from the future."

"That is correct," Garshaw replied. "It is...strange."

"Somehow, it's not too strange," Daniel replied, which got a smile out of Sam. "We've time traveled before." He smiled as Garshaw's eyebrows raised. "Aren't they worried about changing their timeline?"

"According to them, they are doing what they are supposed to be doing," Sam answered. She heard Martouf move behind her, and she felt him rest his hands on her shoulders.

"Who's working on destroying the crystal now?"

"That would be the two Maleks," Martouf answered.

"Shouldn't I be helping them?" Sam asked. So far, she felt kind of useless.

"They are working with technology that, as far as I know, does not yet exist," Garshaw answered as she looked to Samantha. "It would be best to only have one person from the current time involved. "

She needs to have something to do, Yosuuf thought, having an idea of how Sam felt. She and Garshaw weren't really in charge anymore. Once the future Tok'ra were confirmed, they were the ones in charge. That didn't leave Garshaw and Yosuuf much to do but relay orders.

"We need someone to keep monitoring the other ship. I want to know exactly what they are doing."

"I'll watch with you," Martouf volunteered. "You can tell Lantash what he needs to know while we do that."

Garshaw gave a slight nod. "For now...we wait."

--

Malek frowned as a device he created didn't work. "Didn't you know it wouldn't work?"

"Of course."

"Then why didn't you tell me."

"If I told you, then we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Malek sighed. "Will the next plan work?"

"I can't tell you."

Don't get angry at yourself, Amb thought as Malek mentally grumbled. He's doing what you'll have to do.

I never realized how annoying I could be. Malek sighed as he started over.

I don't think you are annoying.

Malek smiled. Maybe you should work with him. He gave Amb control, who continued with the work. They got a lot better than Malek did with himself.

After another device was created, Malin watched it with a frown. "We did something wrong?"

"What?"

"I don't remember." He stared as the device while he tried to figure it out, hoping the answer would pop in his head.

Amb was trying to figure it out, but he soon smelled something burning. He saw the table under the device was melting.

"Right," Malin said as he remembered. "We put too much power."

Amb reached for it, but it burned his fingers. "Ow!"

Malin frowned, remembering that turning it off wasn't pleasant. "We'll take turns turning the dial." He wanted to numb his host's fingers, but the dial was so delicate, he'd not be able to feel what he was doing if he did that. He sighed before turning it as much as he could before he had to pull back. "Ow."

Amb did the same before pulling back his fingers. Then Malin. Then Amb. Then Malin. Then Amb finally turned it off, and they were both shaking their right hand. "Why didn't we use a tool?"

"We'd have had to make a special tool, and by that time, it would have burnt through the table." He sat down. "All right, now we do the same thing...but with less power."

It took time, but the device was finally created. Malin looked at it with pride. "Let's take it to the bridge." He gestured. "I'll let you the honor of holding it."

Amb smiled as he picked it up. He headed to the bridge as Malin followed. "We finished," he said as he walked on to the bridge. "Now we just push it out the airlock."

"You are sure it'll stay phased?" Jacob asked.

"Yes," Malin answered. "There are two backup systems in the power. It has more than enough power to stay phased until it is destroyed."

"How long should it take?"

"A week."

Jacaob didn't like that answer, and as he looked around, he saw he wasn't the only one. "What if this Goa'uld phases his own ship and just takes it."

"That was our concern too," Amb replied. He glanced back as Lahtin and Kelila walked into the room. "However, future Malek explained that it could only be done if he phases under the same frequency as the device. Given the infinite number of possible frequency, it is unlikely he would pick the one we used."

"But it is possible," Sam stated, rather concerned.

Lahtin stepped closer. "Not if we completed our mission correctly. There is, however, one last thing." He looked to Garshaw, and his expression told her that he wasn't going to like what he was going to say. "You must not tell anyone how the device was destroyed. We cannot risk the Goa'uld finding sooner than he is meant to."

Garshaw frowned, taking offense to the implication. "The Tok'ra-"

"It's an order," Lahtin interrupted.

"From who?"

Lahtin took out piece of folded paper that had been sealed and handed it to her.

"More orders from yourself?" Jacob asked as he watched Garshaw break the seal and open the paper.

Garshaw smiled, recognizing the language and handwriting immediately. "It's from Yosuuf." It's the first time you've given me an order.

I hope I knew what I was doing.

Garshaw nodded. "She's going into details that only we know to prove that it is her. Now. she's giving the order that Lahtin mentioned, and..." She read the last part. "'Trust me, Dilectus'compar.'"

"Beloved equal?" Daniel translated while a bit curious to the term.

"A term symbiotes and hosts use for each other," Lantash explained. "The term is only used once they are truly dedicated to each other...once they love each other. Before then they are just a compar.."

Garshaw gave looks that sent the future Tok'ra away. Then she sighed as she sat down. "I know myself too well." She looked to the letter. "Yosuuf has never given me orders before, and I've never not trusted her before." She reread the letter. "We'll tell the council we cannot tell them."

"They won't like that," Jacob replied.

"I will not go against Yosuuf."

"She's never given you orders before."

"This is the future. She might outrank me."

Daniel frowned. "How would she outrank you? Aren't you the highest ranking Tok'ra?"

Garshaw shook her head. "Currently, Per'sus outranks me. We switch positions every few hundred years."

"Oh...so what do we do now?"

"I don't-" Garshaw stopped when the future Tok'ra returned. "Were you standing out there and timing when to return?"

"We knew to come back when we saw others coming down the hall." Lahtin answered. "They are going to ask you what we are doing and why they haven't been allowed to do anything yet."

Garshaw knew they were referring to all the security officers that had been told to wait. "Do I have an answer for them?"

"You're going home."

"What about the Goa'uld?"

"Malek, our Malek, has created a false energy signature for when we unphase. The Goa'uld will think it's the artifact. We'll have him chase us around for a bit. By the time he realizes we don't have it, he'll have no way of knowing what we did with it."

"What prevents him from going back in time again?" Sam asked.

"He's trying to take it without destroying the timeline. He has his own successes to keep secure."

Lahtin looked back as the security officers came in.

"We're going home," Garshaw announced when they came in.

Vorran looked rather confused. "Didn't we have an artifact to deal with?"

"We're dealing with it," Lahtin replied. "We will bring it back to our time and destroy it there." He went to helm. "Ready to be shot at?"

Malin hurried to the weapons control. "Almost."

"Everyone should go to the rings and prepare to be rung down," Kelila said. She gestured as the security guards, but they ignored her until Garshaw nodded at them.

Martouf went to Lahtin. "Am I to wait by the rings too?"

Lahtin stood up and hugged him.

"Someday you'll see me again," Martouf said as he hugged him back. "After you have lived your years. You'll die peacefully in a bed, and then you'll be reunited with all of your hosts."

Lahtin smiled. He wasn't quite so sure about the afterlife. "In a bed, hmm?"

"Surrounded by people who love you, maybe being held by someone who loves you."

Lahtin's eyes flickered to the side, and he smiled.

"You have a love now?"

"You cannot ask about the future, Martouf." He hugged him again. He smiled when he saw Sam approach. He gave Martouf and extra squeeze before stepping away. Then he went to her and ran his fingers through her hair. "Samantha."

She hugged him. Lahtin closed his eyes as he felt his host's need to hug her. He released control.

Sam was a bit surprised when the hug changed. She pulled back slightly. "Hello...you."

Viator smiled. "Lantash's emotions are strong. I can't help but feel them myself."

Sam knew that feeling.

"I hope you don't mind."

"No. It's nice meeting you."

Martouf found himself a bit jealous that Sam got to hug Viator, but he didn't. They blended the same symbiote after all. They should be able to hug.

"They need to be going," Kelila said. She looked from Lahtin to Malin, who was hugging Amb.

Lahtin looked over to her. "You know everyone too, come hug them."

"Really?"

"Yes." He gestured. "Hug."

Kelila's eyes brightened as she walked over. "Oh, which one?" She looked back and forth before hugging Martouf. She lingered with a strong lock for a while before hugging Sam the same way.

"I thought they had to go," Malin teased as Kelila headed over to Jacob and hugged him.

Jacob was a bit surprised, since he wasn't very close to Kela'an. Then he heard Selmak telling him to hug her, so he did. Garshaw gave control to Yosuuf when Kelila headed to them. Yosuuf immediately hugged back.

Daniel smiled as Kelila made her way around the Tok'ra. After Amb, he was surprised to be hugged. "Oh...hi."

"Hello Daniel." Kelila smiled as she pulled away. Then she headed to Teal'c and hugged him. He tolerated it, but didn't respond. Kelila looked around afterwards. "Did I miss anyone?"

"There's a security force to hug through," Lahtin teased.

Kelila smiled. "I'll skip them." She then went to the door. "I'll show you to the rings. We are near a planet that has a stargate."

Those from that time followed her, leaving Lahtin and Malin on the bridge. Martouf took Sam's hand on the way down the hallway. When they arrived, Kelila had many of the security officers shove into the rings platform. It wasn't comfortable, but they patiently waited. It wasn't easy. The ship moved around a lot, dodging fire and hurrying to the planet. Then it stilled, and Kelila got a message from the bridge.

"Squeeze in," she said before triggering the rings. She watched them disappear and waited for the rest to go on to the platform. "Goodbye." She set it again.

They found themselves landing in sand. The stargate was out of view, but the Tok'ra knew where they were.

--

Up in space, they drove the ship around for a while, phasing whenever things got too dangerous. When it was time, they returned to the future. They let themselves be chased around a bit more before turning the signal off. They knew that the Goa'uld used too much energy at that point to return to the past.

They hid again, this time to slip to the Tok'ra base, where they were greeted by Garshaw. "Lantash? The mission was a success?"

"It was...assuming you listen to the letter."

Garshaw nodded as she now knew exactly when Yosuuf had written that letter. She pulled out the version she had been given so long ago. It was lined with plastic now, as it might have fallen apart otherwise. "I did." Pain filled her eyes. "How was she?" Of course, she already knew the answer.

"She was good. She will be for a long while."

Garshaw reread the old letter. "I envy you. Even if not everyone you met in the past knew who you were, you were still able to see them again." She put the letter away before looking to all three. "Congratulations to all of you. You helped save our timelime." She gave a small nod before continuing. "Welcome home."

--

Back in the present time, the group had walked until it was night. Not wanting to continue on in the night, they set up for camp. Sam set up her tent before looking for Martouf. She found him making another shelter. "Uh, Martouf?"

"Your tent is tiny."

"We can both sleep comfortably in it."

He wrapped his arms around her. "I was hoping to do more than sleep."

Sam reddened slightly as she glanced to the others.

"They don't have to know anything," Martouf promised as he put a flower in her hair. "Let's decide on that later. I don't know about you, but Lantash and I haven't eaten yet."

"I haven't either."

"Then let's have a nice meal of rations." He smiled as they walked back to the fire. "That was a strange mission."

"And later Lantash gets to do it again."

Martouf glanced to her. "He's not entirely looking forward to it."

"He gets to see us again."

"That's the only part he's looking forward to."

Sam smiled as she took his hand. "I hope that will make it worth it."

Martouf smiled. "I know my symbiote...and it will be." He put his arm around her and brought her close as they walked.

-The End-