Gods and Magnuses
The first thing Janet Fraiser did when she arrived at the Mountain was head to Sam's lab to give her wife a piece of her mind. Sam had promised not to work later than seven the night before but not only had seven o'clock come and gone, the whole night had come and gone. Stepping into the room Janet had a sharp reprisal on the tip of her tongue but it slipped away when she found the room empty. Sam wasn't in her lab or the auto-assist aperture lab. She wasn't in the canteen, the locker room, or her on-base quarters. Vala was sound asleep snoring peaceful in her bed and Teal'c was half way through his morning exercise routine so Janet knew SG1 wasn't unexpectedly off world. She checked the infirmary and her office to see if Sam was waiting there with some sweet gesture of apology and that dopey grin Janet loved so much but she wasn't there either. Janet was starting to worry.
It only got worse when she tracked down the airmen on guard duty last night and was told that Sam left the base at nineteen hundred hours on the dot. That's when the painful knot in her stomach began to form. Something wasn't right. Janet just knew it. Stepping up to the open door of General Landry's office she tapped on it and waited for her commanding officer to look up and acknowledge her presence. He was writing something in a file so it took a moment and Janet could feel her impatience itching under her skin.
Finally Landry looked up and smiled. "Good morning Doctor Fraiser. What can I do for you?"
"Have you seen Colonel Carter, Sir?" Janet asked as she walked into the room.
"Not since last night, Doctor." Landry replied. "Why?"
It was only years of military training and practice that kept Janet from biting her lip worriedly. "She didn't come home last night, Sir. I thought she must have gotten caught up in preparing for the Asgard arrival, but she's nowhere to be found on base. Airman Phillips said she left when she was supposed to but she never made it home, Sir. She isn't answering her phone, and that's not like Sam."
Landry had gotten to know Sam pretty well since taking command and before that he'd known of her from all of George's bragging. He knew Sam Carter wouldn't take off without telling someone, especially Janet. That's why he didn't even hesitate to pick up the phone and order a search of the surrounding area. He was just placing the handset back in the cradle when an SF came into the room.
"Apologies for the interruption General, Doctor." The young man said as he came to attention. "But we have a problem. We've just apprehended three men who walked up to the entrance demanding to see Colonel Carter, or and this is word for word what he said, "The paramour of the genius off-spring, you know, the little doctor one.""
Janet knew instantly who that was. "Nikola? What on earth is Nikola doing here?" She looked confused for a moment before asking, "You said three men?"
She described Will and Henry to the SF and he nodded. "Yes Ma'am that sounds like them. Zimmerman and Foss were the names they gave me. The weird one refused to give his real name. He's using Nicola Tesla as an alias."
"He's not actually." Janet replied. "That is his name."
"Doctor?" Landry questioned. "You know these men?"
Janet nodded. "So do you, Sir. You met Will Zimmerman when Samantha Magnus was here. Henry Foss is kind of Sam's brother. They both work for Sam's mother."
"And this Nikola Tesla?" Landry asked.
"An old friend of Helen's." Janet explained and the frowned deeply. "Nikola's impulsive and he's been trying to get access to the SGC for ages. Sam keeps refusing him, but for Will and Henry to just show up here rather than call, Sir there must be something wrong."
Landry took a moment to think and then looked at the SF and ordered, "Bring them here."
"Will and Henry have seen the Stargate, Sir." Janet said as the SF left. "But Nikola hasn't and I don't think he should. Sam's trust in him only goes so far."
Picking up the phone again Landry ordered the blast doors sealed. By the time the three men were escorted in by SFs Janet had moved to stand beside Landry. As soon as they saw her they went to speak but Landry cut in before they could. "Gentlemen, I'm General Hank Landry. What the hell are you doing on my base?"
"General, I apologize for any breach of protocol but…" Will began but was cut off.
"The Doc and Ashley were abducted by aliens!" Henry told them.
Janet and Landry shared a look before turning back to the guys from Helen's Sanctuary. "Alright," Landry said firmly. "Start from the beginning."
"It's a long story. The important part is that Helen and Ashley were taken right in front of our eyes." Will replied.
"Using alien technology." Nikola added.
"How can you be sure it was alien?" Janet asked.
Nikola looked insulted.
Henry replied, "There were these ring things, five maybe six of them, they dropped down out of nowhere around the Doc and Ash. There was this bright light and then the rings went back up into nowhere and they were gone. It happened really fast but I managed to get a good enough look to know they looked kinda like the Sammie's Stargate."
Janet looked sharply at Landry. "Sir."
"Best call in the rest of SG1." Landry said with a nod as he went to his desk to pick up his phone.
She knew the searing ache she felt all to well. Getting zapped by a zat'nik'tel left an unforgettable feeling that Sam described as an internal sunburn. The fact that Sam was feeling this sunburn under her skin and throughout her muscles meant of course that a zat gun had hit her recently. The slow climb out of unconsciousness also gave Sam a clue. It took a few moments while coming around for her to remember what happened.
Sam had been driving home, the road coming from the Mountain deserted since shift changes had already happened for the night. She'd been trying to clear her head, to leave work back at the base, but she'd been finding it hard. The Asgard were coming to upgrade one of their ships and to share more of their knowledge. Sam had felt the same kind of excitement she'd felt the night before the first day of school only one hundred times more so. She'd been wondering what goodies awaited her when she caught sight of the silhouette in her headlights and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the figure in the middle of the road.
Rakia stood there wearing what looked like Jaffa armor. Sam had stopped and gotten out of the car. She remembered asking what the hell Rakia was doing there, what was going on, and the smile that came across Rakia's face. She remembered Rakia saying something about a queen, her queen, and then Sam felt the searing pain of being hit by a zat blast.
Sam moaned as she tried moving her arms but her hands were bound in front of her. The restraints felt familiar. The manacles used by Jaffa on behalf of their goa'uld masters. Sam swore in her head as she assessed the rest of her situation. She was laying flat on her back on a hard cold surface. Stone? No. Metal. She felt the gentle vibrations in the floor. She listened to the soft hum and whispered whirs of technology. She knew the tangy smell of naquadah as well as she knew the smell of Janet's shampoo, she knew the cold sterilized nothingness of scrubbed air that meant there was a life support system in place, and she knew the smell of… Wait was that lily of the valley and sandalwood? No, that didn't seem right. Every other sense was telling Sam she was on a goa'uld ship. That perfume was telling her she wasn't alone, but she didn't want to believe it. No, no she wasn't here. Sam was imagining it because she was in a bad spot at the moment. Sam was not seriously smelling…
"Samantha? Samantha can you hear me? Are you alright?"
Her mother's perfume. Forcing her eyes open Sam's heart sank. She was in fact on a goa'uld ship, and she was in fact not alone. "Mom?"
Helen looked down at her eldest daughter as relief washed over her. She did her best to help Sam into a sitting position with her own bound hands and once again began eyeing her over for injuries. "Are you alright, Samantha?"
"Yes." Sam replied. "I think so. Not my first zat blast."
"Great, you're ok, now want to tell us where the hell we are?" Ashley asked from where she sat with her back up against a gaudy gold wall.
"Ashley?" This was one of Sam's worse nightmares. As much as she wanted to share the wonders of the galaxy with her family, she was also as adamant about shielding them from the evil the galaxy held. "No." She said softly as she shook her head. "No, you two can't be here."
"Where is here?" Ashley repeated.
Sam looked around again as she drew her knees up to her chest. "The cargo hold of tel'tak." She told her sister. "It's a goa'uld ship, small transport which makes sense. Anything bigger would be have been detected, even cloaked."
"I thought you guys defeated the goa'uld?" Ashley replied. "You've moved on to the evil version of your bio-dad."
"We've mostly defeated them. There's Ba'al and a few of his remaining clones and a handful of less than minor ones that the Tok'ra and Jaffa haven't been able to capture yet." Sam closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as best she could. She had to get her family out of this. There was no way Sam would allow the goa'uld to hurt them or worse yet to take them as hosts, especially her mother. Looking up at Helen she asked, "How did you two end up here?"
"We'd just finished tracking down an abnormal in Texas." Helen explained. "Henry and Will were loading it into a truck. Nikola was complaining about being drug along. Ashley and I stepped away to discuss something and suddenly these ring things descended, encircling us."
"Next thing we know we're here with men wearing armor pointing weapons at us." Ashley added in.
"They shot us with one of those handheld energy weapons you use." Helen continued. "When we came to we were shackled and you were laying unconscious on the floor." She paused for a moment and then asked, "How did you end up here?"
"Rakia." Sam growled. She explained how Rakia had ambushed her. When she was finished she asked, "The Jaffa who greeted you, did you happen to notice the marking on their foreheads?"
Helen nodded. "It's the same as Rakia's. A star inside a circle."
"Well they're not Ba'al's Jaffa, then." Sam replied. "Or at least they weren't originally. He's incorporated some of the remaining goa'uld loyal Jaffa into his rank and file."
"Why would this Ball or any other goa'uld want us?" Ashley asked.
"I'm not sure." Sam said honestly. "It could be anything from the fact that we decimated their empire to me punching Ba'al in the face once. But that's why they would want me, I have no idea why they'd want the two of you."
There was a loud clank and the door across the room from them began to slide open. "Well, whatever they want with us." Helen said as the three women got to their feet. "I think we're about to find out what it is."
Two large Jaffa walked in aiming staff weapons at them. Instinctively Helen moved to shield her daughters but Sam stopped her, pushing Helen and Ashley behind her. This was Sam's world and she would protect her mother and sister from it at all costs. When Rakia stepped in Sam took a step forward as if to lunge at her but one of the Jaffa opened his staff weapon and she stopped. "What the hell is going on?"
"You'll find out soon enough, Colonel Carter." Rakia replied. She looked at the three women and said, "Our Queen only wanted Carter and her mother. Kill the other one."
Helen stepped in front of Ashley and Sam in front of Helen. "Lay one hand on my sister and when I kill you it's going to hurt."
Rakia looked at the Jaffa to her left. "I said kill the extra one."
The Jaffa pointed his weapon while the other went to move Sam and Helen aside. Both women struggled and then a loud shout from outside the cargo hold stopped both Jaffa in their tracks. "Jaffa Kree!"
A tall, muscular, tanned skinned Jaffa appeared in the doorway. His armor was more detailed and the tattoo on his forehead gold. The First Prime ordered all three women taken to a cell. Rakia argued but he silenced her with a bark of, "Kree! Do not dare to give me orders, woman!"
As they were ushered out of the cargo hold at staff point Sam heard Rakia mutter something about orders and becoming first prime. It didn't really help when it came to figuring out what was going on but it was something she'd file away for later. They were escorted off the tel'tak and onto a ha'tak but it was to small to be Ba'al's. Even his clones wouldn't be caught dead on such a small ship. That was both comforting and alarming. Ba'al was a sadistic bastard, but at least she knew him. This goa'uld was a complete unknown.
"According to these satellite images there was a cloaked tel'tak in orbit above the planet for a short time." Cam reported. "At the exact time in which both abductions took place."
"So the Doc, Ashley and Sammie were abducted by aliens?" Henry asked, his eyes a bit wide from the realization.
Landry, SG1, and their Sanctuary guests were gathered around the conference table sharing what information they were able to gather in the hours since Sam, her mother and her sister went missing. They'd found Sam's car abandon, hidden off road and out of sight, which is why no one had seen it on their way into the Mountain that morning.
"If they're traveling by ship they can't be far can they?" Will asked.
"Tel'tak's do have slower hyperdrives." Janet pointed out. "They could still be in the system."
Landry nodded. "The Odyssey has been ordered to search the system. If there is a goa'uld ship out there, they'll find it."
"We must be open to the possibility that the tel'tak returned to a larger, faster ship." Teal'c pointed out. "In which case they could be far from the Sol system."
"It would help if we knew who they are." Daniel said. "Has anyone gotten back to us yet?"
Landry shook his head. "Nothing from the Tok'ra or Jaffa."
"I understand why some desperate goa'uld would want Sam." Vala said from her seat beside Daniel. "She's been desired as a host for years by countless number of them, especially the males who want to make her their queen, but why take Helen and Ashley?"
"Their charming personalities and good looks?" Henry said while Will and Janet exchanged a look that said they were wondering if maybe it was something deeper than that.
When Daniel and Teal'c shared the same look with the others Landry finally spoke up. "I've known for awhile now that when it comes to Colonel Carter's mother there's something that some of you are aware of that the rest of us aren't privy too. Now I understand the need for secrets, I command one of the biggest secrets in all the world, but I think in this case I can't keep ignoring that you know something we all need to know." Silence and more looks. Landry was getting angry. "Lt. Colonel Fraiser do I need to make it an order?"
Janet couldn't refuse an order but the look in her eyes said she didn't want to betray Helen's trust so it was Nikola who spoke up for her. "Helen has a unique attribute to her physiology that these aliens might find of interest."
"What kind of unique attribute?" Landry asked.
"She's immortal." Nikola answered.
"Excuse me?" Landry replied with a look that said he didn't believe Nikola and that he was that much closer to angry.
"As far as we know she's immortal." Will continued. "Magnus ages at an extremely slow rate."
"How slow?" Vala asked.
"The Doc was born in 1850." Henry told them.
Landry, Cam and Vala all had different degrees of disbelief playing over the faces. It was Cam who asked, "How the hell is that even possible?"
The next several minutes were spent listening to Nikola explaining the source blood and their college experiments. Cam nearly jumped out of his chair when Nikola told them he was a vampire. Janet put her hand on his arm to calm him. "It's alright Colonel Mitchell. Unless you're a bottle of old expensive wine Nikola's no threat to you."
"You knew all of this?" Cam asked her.
Janet nodded. "Since Sam and Helen were reunited."
"And the rest of you?" Landry asked.
"Shortly after that." Daniel replied.
"Other then Daniel, Teal'c and myself, and Generals O'Neill and Hammond, no one else living knows outside of Helen's own private circle. Sam was adamant about keeping the number of people who knew as low as possible. Believe me, this has nothing to do with Sam's trust in any of you. Her biggest fear was someone finding out and Helen being targeted as a host. She was just trying to protect her mother and sister by keeping this such a close secret." Janet told them. If a goa'uld really did have them this was Sam's nightmare come to life.
"A host that didn't need to use a sarcophagus to continue its life." Vala said with a frightened look.
"Exactly." Janet said softly. "Not to mention a host with Helen's knowledge, experience, and resources? We would be looking at an Anubis level threat."
"Anubis level?" Cam asked. "Really?"
"You have no idea what Helen Magnus knows." Janet replied. "How much she knows. What she can do, and the people she can get to do whatever she can't. You can do a lot with a century and half of life."
"Ok so assuming no one off world knows about Doctor Magnus what else would attract her to whoever has them?" Landry asked.
The answer to his question would come in the form of Bra'tac. The Jaffa master arrived with information he'd gathered from Ishta as well as the Tok'ra. Rakia had been discovered as a spy. Thankfully she'd never been entrusted with the location of Hak'tyl III so the planet was safe, but she had managed to escape with other possibility useful information. It was Bra'tac's belief that Rakia's mistress was looking for a new host, but not just any host.
"Astarte is one of two surviving goa'uld queens." Bra'tac explained. "According to Tok'ra sources her current host is to old to produce new larva. While on Hak'tyl Colonel Carter and Doctor Magnus both showed qualities that would make them perfect new hosts for her."
"So what happens to the one she doesn't choose?" Cam asked.
"The last larva Astarte produced was a queen." Bra'tac told them. "She will use either Doctor Magnus or Colonel Carter for herself and the other will host her daughter. She is hoping to restart the Empire using her own offspring."
Teal'c grumbled in such a way that Daniel asked, "What is it Teal'c?"
"Tok'ra sources." He replied. "They are watching her instead of bringing her in to face her crimes like the other goa'uld."
"That they are old friend." Bra'tac said with a nod. "Queen larvae are not like normal larva. Not only are they the only ones who can reproduce, but they also have a measure of free will. They are born with all the knowledge of the parents but they are not imprinted with their characteristics."
"Egeria." Daniel said with wide eyes. "The Tok'ra have been watching Astarte because they want her daughter, they want to try and make her their new queen?"
Bra'tac nodded.
"Ok so where is this Queen and how do we get to her?" Nikola asked. "How do we get Helen and her daughters back?"
Bra'tac suddenly looked angry. "They would not give me that information. However," He said as the anger faded a little. "Jacob Carter and Selmak still have many loyal allies and friends within the Tok'ra. It was one of those allies that gave me Astarte's location."
"Wait." Janet said as something hit her a little funny about what she was hearing. "Why would a friend of Jacob's tell you but not your Tok'ra contact?"
"What is that human phrase I have heard O'Neill use?" Bra'tac mused. "Do not slay the envoy?"
"Don't kill the messenger." Cam corrected.
"Yes that one." Bra'tac replied before looking at Janet and saying, "There is a small sect of Tok'ra who wish Colonel Carter to host the new queen."
Janet's eyes went wide with anger. "What!? Why, those arrogant son of…"
"I though the Tok'ra didn't forcibly take hosts?" Cam asked, cutting Janet's rant off while putting his hand on her arm.
"Even the smallest exposure to Colonel Carter and the remnants of Jolinar of Malkshur should be enough to turn the new queen towards the Tok'ra's side." Bra'tac explained.
"Well we're not going to let Colonel Carter and her family linger long enough for any of that to happen." Landry said. "SG1, you know what to do."
"Yes Sir." Cam said as he jumped to his feet. Vala, Teal'c and Daniel stood as well.
"We're going as well." Nikola said firmly as he stood.
"Absolutely not." Landry replied with a shake of his head. "My people will handle this."
The first time they were moved through the ship Sam noticed something peculiar about it. It took a few moments for her to realize what it was. The ship was only running on minimal power. Why? Was it damaged? Or was it trying to hide? Using the top speed of a tel'tak Sam calculated how far from Earth they could be. Was it possible they were still within range of one of their 303s? Wouldn't that be convenient, but of course Sam knew it wouldn't be that easy. It never was.
Glancing over at her mother Sam watched as Helen took everything in as well. She noticed a slight squint to Helen's identical pair of piercing blue eyes as she tried to read the hieroglyphs on the gold walls as they walked past. She saw the tension in Helen's muscles; she was ready for a fight at a moments notice. Good, because as soon as Sam figured out a plan there would be fighting involved. Thinking about taking on a ship full of Jaffa, though again Sam noticed how few there seemed to be and how odd that was, Sam turned her head to look at Ashley. She had to give her little sister credit. Ashley didn't look phased at all over the situation. There wasn't a single flicker of fear or uncertainty in the youngest Magnus. Sam knew that after this was done, when they were home on Earth safe and sound Ashley would finally give in to what she was feeling. Sam promised herself and Ashley that she'd be there to help her through it.
Their Jaffa escort pushed the three Magnus women into the ship's pel'tak and in front of the ornate throne. The throne was made of marble with lion claw feet and doves carved into each corner of the backrest. The woman sitting on the throne was beautiful. Her skin was the color of coffee with just a little too much milk, her hair was long and pure white, and her eyes were the color of caramel. She was old, which you didn't see often in goa'uld. An old goa'uld, that didn't sit right with Sam. The knot in her stomach tightened and her mind raced. How was she going to get them out of this?
"Kneel before your God." One of the Jaffa said behind them.
Before Helen could react she felt the bottom of the staff weapon he carried strike the back of her knees and before she could stop herself she was dropping to the floor. She would have gotten right back to her feet but when she leaned back to straighten herself to stand she felt the weapon press into her back between her shoulder blades. This wasn't her first time in a captive position. Hell this wasn't even the first time she was forced to her knees in front of someone. She'd been able to get herself out of those unfortunate situations, but those circumstances had not involved being on a spaceship in outer space. Every instinct she had was telling her to take control of things and get her daughters out of this mess, but she was slightly out of her element here and as hard as it was for Helen to admit, she knew she'd have to let Sam take the lead on this.
"Colonel Samantha Carter of the infamous SG1, former host to Jolinar of Malkshur." The goa'uld said from her perch as she eyed Sam in a way that made the blonde shudder on the inside. "I have heard a lot about you, Samantha."
"Wish I could say the same." Sam replied, as she looked the goa'uld in the eyes. "I don't even know your name."
"I am Astarte, and until now there was no need for you to know of me." Came the goa'uld's response. "I had as much use for Earth as you would have for your mother's womb." Her caramel colored eyes feel on Helen and she smiled. "Rakia tells me you are the mother of Samantha Carter." Her gaze shifted from Helen to Sam and back again. "She did not exaggerate regarding your apparent youth. How is this possible?"
"Just lucky I guess." Helen replied.
"Watch your insolence, woman!" The First Prime barked while raising a hand towards Helen.
"Jaffa kree!" Astarte ordered and her First Prime stopped. Standing from her throne Astarte walked down to where her three captives knelt. She stood in front of Helen and looked into her eyes. For several long moments all she did was hold that gaze, then he raised her hand, aimed her ribbon device at Helen and activated it.
The pain hit Helen by surprise and before she could stop herself she cried out. She was faintly aware of Sam and Ashley crying out her name but couldn't see the Jaffa grab them and hold them back. After the shock of the pain wore off Helen was able to gain control of herself again and she began struggling against the pain, fighting it. Her head had dropped, her shoulders had drooped, but as she pushed against the pain she straightened up and looked Astarte right in the eyes again.
Astarte stopped. She dropped her hand and smiled brightly. "Yes, yes you will do nicely."
Helen was panting but she didn't break eye contact and her voice was an angry growl. "Do nicely for what?"
"My new host of course." Astarte said before turning to Sam. "And you, Samantha Carter, you've played a major role in the fall of the Goa'uld Empire. It's only right you play a role in restoring it." Astarte singled someone with her hand and a priest came out holding an ornate larva tank. Astarte walked over and caressed the tank in a way that could almost be considered lovingly. Turning to look at Sam she said, "You will be host to a new queen, my daughter."
Her nightmare was getting worse by the moment. Sam watched as Astarte moved towards them once more. She had to find a way off this ship.
"Now, what am I to do with you?" Astarte asked as she stepped in front of Ashley.
"How about you bite me you space worm bitch." Ashley replied.
Ashley too was sucker punched by the pain of the ribbon device and like her mother she did her best to fight against it when she could.
"Ashley!" Helen carried out.
"Leave her alone!" Sam demanded.
"Why should I spare her?" Astarte demanded. "I only need the two of you." She let another moment pass before stopping. "She's strong. Perhaps I could find use for her. Once I've taken my new host I could bare another queen and use her as host, or, perhaps she would make a fine First Prime for my princess." Astarte turned to look at Sam. "Would you like that Samantha Carter? To have your sister serve you as First Prime?"
Anger and fear filled Sam's eyes as she said, "It's never going to happen. I won't let you take them."
Astarte laughed as she hand singled her Jaffa. They pulled the three women to their feet and before they started shoving them out of the room Astarte said, "That fire will be put to good use once my daughter has taken you."
They were taken back to their cell. Sam wondered why. Why was Astarte waiting? Did she want to make a ceremony out of it? Probably. Then she wondered if maybe Astarte was waiting because she didn't have a sarcophagus on board. Either way this would hopefully give them time.
"Are you two alright?" Sam asked once they were alone in the cell.
"That hurt!" Ashley complained as she held her head. "But yeah I'm ok, I think."
"We'll be fine, Samantha." Helen reassured.
"I am so sorry." Sam told them before going over to the wall and kicking it. "This is my fault. I've put you both in danger that I'm not sure how to get you out of."
Helen walked over to her daughter and turned Sam around so they were face to face. "This isn't your fault, Samantha, and I know you'll think of something. You just need to take a breath and deal with your fear, it's clouding your mind."
"The only reason you're here is because of me." Sam argued.
"Yeah because you're such a bad ass bitch that they want to be you." Ashley said with a proud smile. "And now they think it's a family trait so lets show 'em that a Magnus is to much for them to handle."
Sam actually smiled at that. "That's the reason we're in this mess, Ash. A Magnus with the power of a goa'uld? She'd be unstoppable."
"Well I have always wondered what it would be like to rule the galaxy." Helen teased.
"Mom!" Sam squeaked out a chuckle.
"What?" Helen replied. "Not funny?" She smiled reassuringly at her daughters. The tension and fear faded from her girls a bit and she knew now they could really get down to figuring things out. "So what do we do now?"
"We get the hell out of this cell." Ashley said.
"How?" Helen asked.
Sam had this far away look on her face for a moment and then her eyes flexed with a hint of surprise. "I think we'll get the chance to try soon."
"Samantha?" Helen questioned.
"Astarte's priest." Sam answered. "I know him, or rather, Jolinar knew him. He's Tok'ra."
The Tok'ra. How the hell were they suppose to trust the Tok'ra now? They wanted to make Sam their new queen. They wanted to use her and her memories of Jolinar to hopefully convert a goa'uld queen to their side. They had no way of knowing if that would work. They were willing to risk Sam's life on a gamble that her inherent goodness would change the inherent evil of the symbiote. Yeah, because that worked out so well for Shau'nac, Janet thought while stepping through the Stargate. Well, that was a gamble Janet wasn't willing to take.
"Are you sure this is the planet they'll bring them too?" Cam asked as SG1, Janet, Bra'tac, and Will made their way along the path from the Stargate to a cluster of woods where they could lay low. Janet had some how convinced Landry to let her and Will come along. She used the excuse that there might be need for medical attention and she had knowledge of that unique Magnus trait they'd been talking about. She'd also vouched for Will and so had Jack when Landry called to talk to him. It was decided Nikola and Henry would stay behind. No one thought it a good idea to educate the goa'uld on the existence of vampires and werewolves. Or to let Nikola get close enough to the Stargate to get any ideas of his own.
Bra'tac nodded. "According to my sources this is where Astarte is keeping her sarcophagus, and there is no way to force the bonding with Doctor Magnus and Colonel Carter without one. Their minds and spirits are to strong to be so easily overcome."
Cam nodded. He took a moment to think and then began to speak, "Ok, so here's the plan…"
"Teal'c, Doctor Fraiser and I will make contact with the Rebel Jaffa of this world." Bra'tac told them. "The rest of you wait here."
"Um," Cam said, confused. "Wait, why are you three going off on your own? And why are you taking Fraiser?"
"The Rebels of this world will help us get into the pyramid." Bra'tac explained. "Once inside we will be able to aide Colonel Carter and the others."
Teal'c nodded. "I have no doubt that Colonel Carter will have devised a way to escape. We must be in a position to assist."
"Ok, and why are you taking the Doc?" Cam asked again.
Bra'tac smiled. "We may run into trouble."
"So you're taking her in case you get hurt?" Cam asked next, still very confused.
Bra'tac looked both amused and insulted. "Doctor Fraiser is well known and respected among the Jaffa. She helped to liberate us from the slave chain that was our symbiote." He huffed, nodded his head firmly, and then smiled. "I also enjoy watching the little one fight."
Janet felt both slightly insulted and oddly cocky. It was nice to know someone like Bra'tac saw her as more than just a passive healer.
As they watched the three head off into the trees Will stepped up to Daniel and said, "He's a bit of an old dog isn't he?"
"You have no idea." Daniel replied.
The door just outside the cell gate opened slowly. Sam watched as it revealed the robes of Astarte's priest. She stood and moved closer to the gate. He was alone. Good. He stepped into the cell and the door closed behind him. He pressed a jewel on his ring and the gate door opened. "Rousdy."
Dark forest green eyes twitched in surprise. Then realization hit. "You still retain Jolinar's memories."
"Her memories," Sam said with a nod. "Her emotions. I don't just know who you are. I know how she felt about you."
Rousdy sighed softly. "I hope that doesn't influence what you think of me."
"What I think of you will depend on what you're doing here." Sam told him.
"You've come to get us out right?" Ashley asked as she stepped up to stand beside her sister. "Because Sam says you're one of those good worms, like the one who was inside Jacob's head."
Rousdy looked at Ashley as she spoke but then turned his gaze to Sam once more. "I will help you if you'll help me."
Sam narrowed her eyes. "Help you how?"
"I will ensure your mother is not taken as a host, and that she and your sister are taken to the Stargate." Rousdy told her. "In exchange for you agreeing to host the new Queen."
Shock washed over Sam's features before she could stop it. "What?"
"The Tok'ra are so few with no hope of replenishing our numbers." Rousdy said. "You know this, Colonel Carter. If we are to survive we must find a new queen."
"And you're hoping this larval queen is that queen?" Sam asked him. He nodded yes. "Ok, but why do you need me? Just steal the damn thing."
"We believe the host will make a great difference in turning the new queen towards the Tok'ra and not the goa'uld." Rousdy replied. "We believe you to be the host we need."
Dozens of thoughts swirled around Sam's head as she tried to make sense of this. "Did you have a hand in this? In us being here?"
"Yes." Rousdy replied honestly.
Sam quickly snatched the front of his robes in her fists. "Taking me is one thing. Why my mother and sister?"
"To ensure you'd agree." Rousdy replied as he looked into her eyes and made no move to free himself. "Though the original plan was to use Doctor Fraiser, but Astarte would have never chosen her as a host. When Rakia reported back with news of your mother we knew she would be perfect."
Sam looked appalled, horrified even, as she pushed him away from her. "You're trying to force me to become a host by threatening to force it on my mother?"
"It would only be temporary if you so wished it." Rousdy told her.
"You don't know that!" Sam argued. "You don't know that this new queen would willing give up a host!" She looked at him with utter disgust. "What would Egeria think of what you're doing? You're going against everything she believed in!"
"We are a dying race Colonel Carter." Rousdy hissed at her. "The Tok'ra…"
"You're not a Tok'ra." Sam bit back. "If you insist on this plan of action you're no better than a goa'uld."
Rousdy eyes flashed with anger as he raised his hand to strike Sam but Helen was there to catch his wrist. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." She told him as she pressed her nails into the tendon in his wrist. "It really upsets me when someone raises a hand to my children."
The pain Helen was causing blinded Rousdy from Ashley slipping his dagger from his belt. He'd been so startled when Sam had grabbed him that he didn't notice her slipping off the brooch he wore inside his robe, which was a secondary control pad. "Let go of me human!" Helen did and he backed away, cradling his wrist in his hand. He glared at Sam. "Those are your options Colonel. Either way you're going to be host to a new queen. Wither your mother become Astarte's is up to you."
Sam turned her face from him. She made it seem as if she were considering it.
"Samantha." Helen said firmly. "I forbid it."
Sam looked up and blinked. "What?"
"You heard me." Helen said firmly. "I am your mother and I forbid you from becoming host to another space worm."
"We are not space worms!" Rousdy grumbled. "You have until we reach the planet to make your decision Colonel."
Once they were alone in the cell again Ashley looked at her sister and said, "Wow, that played out just as your said."
"Every argument Jolinar ever had with him was about trying to create a new queen." Sam replied. "A Tok'ra agent still undercover in service to a goa'uld rather than capturing her, the queen larva ready for implantation, it just all made sense once Jolinar's memories opened up."
"So what do we do now?" Helen asked.
"First we get out of here and find the armory." Sam said as she held up the brooch. "Then I need access to the ship's computer core."
They were hidden in the tent of one of the Rebel Jaffa who'd been trying to put an end to Astarte and her remaining larva. The Tok'ra might have been willing to at least try and separate symbiote from host, but the Jaffa preferred to just kill both and get it over with outright. It might seem like the more barbaric of the two but when you took into account the trauma of removal and it's rather low success rate when it came to the host surviving the process, was it really?
If Will weren't so worried about Magnus and Ashley, being on an alien world with alien warriors would be a totally different experience for him. "How much longer are we just going to sit here?"
"I'm with him." Cam said as he jerked a thumb at Will. "We're supposed to be rescuing Sam and her mom and her little sister, not having a Jaffa tea party."
"Patience." Bra'tac told them.
"Easy for him to say." Will huffed. This was is family out there. Magnus, Ashley, even Sam meant a great deal to Will and he hated feeling to helpless.
A short time later a young warrior came bursting into the tent. "Master Bra'tac! Master Bra'tac!"
"What is it boy?" Bra'tac replied.
"The warriors at the pyramid." The young man replied in a panting voice. "They're in an uproar. There's something going on aboard the Queen's ship."
That news got everyone's attention.
"What kind of something?" Daniel asked.
"I heard something about a fire fight outside an armory, and that life support was shut off to all the sections circling the computer core." The young man reported. "The ship is still on route here, but nearly all other systems were locked out."
"That's Sam!" Janet said proudly.
"How long before the ship lands?" Bra'tac asked.
"Soon." The young man reported. "Uur'ry says to come now. If your friends are boxed into the computer core they will need help fighting their way out."
"Saddle up SG1." Cam said as he checked his weapon. "Time for the Calvary to ride in."
From the ship's computer Sam had been able to discover what planet they were heading for and where it's gate was. She explained her plan to her mother and sister, showing them on the display the route they would take once she ringed them from the ship to the pyramid. Hopefully the Jaffa on board the ship would continue thinking they were locked in the computer core and would continue trying to get to them. Sam figured the hardest part would be getting to the gate, but once they had access to that they could dial one of the off world sights since she didn't have a GDO with her.
"Ready?" Sam asked them.
Helen nodded while Ashley smiled as she picked up her staff weapon. Helen and Sam had both grabbed zat guns, but Ashley just couldn't say no to the staff weapon.
"Ok then." Sam turned to the console. She activated life support in the hallway that lead to the ring transporter, and then she hit start on the self-destruct.
They made it to the rings and transported to the pyramid but that's as far as they made it before running into trouble. They took out the Jaffa waiting on them and managed to get a few corridors away before coming up against their first big foe. Sam fired on the First Prime first and then Helen, the second shot killing him while Ashley took out the two men he had with him. The three women were fighters but this was the first time the three of them had fought together, and it couldn't have been more natural. They responded to each other as if purely by instinct.
But they were just three women against an army.
Rakia had them outnumber and cornered. For some reason she didn't go for Sam when she attacked, she went for Ashley. Sam barely caught her screaming something at the younger blonde about being the rightful first prime to the princess. Rakia had Ashley pinned to the wall, the staff weapon she'd been using pressed against her throat. Sam grabbed the female Jaffa by the hair and pulled her away from her sister. Rakia charged at her, knocking the zat from Sam's hand. Sam had never missed her P90 more than she had during this whole ordeal. Drawing Rousdy's dagger from where she'd tucked it into her belt Sam found herself fighting hand to hand with Rakia while Helen and Ashley took care of as many Jaffa as they could.
The dagger sank into Rakia's symbiote pouch. Sam angled the blade upwards and thrust as hard as she could. The look of surprise on Rakia's face before she died was oddly satisfying, but Sam didn't get to enjoy it for long. She felt the force of the ribbon device before hitting the wall. She barely had time to catch her breath before she was caught up in the agonizing beam of energy.
"I was offering you the galaxy." Astarte hissed as she slowly began killing Sam. "Your world will be the first to burn!"
"Hey! Get your damn goa'uld hands off my wife!"
Sam watched wide eyed as Astarte turned her head to look at who had dared speak to her only to have a 9mm bullet sink into her forehead. Sam sank to the floor when the ribbon device shut off.
Janet ran to Sam and dropped to her knees. "Sam? Sam, are you alright?"
Sam could only nod, looked shocked, and smile. Now that she wasn't under the thralls of the ribbon device Sam could hear the gunfire mixed in with the staff weapons and zats. It was a beautiful sound. Janet helped her to her feet and handed her a P90. Sam wrapped her hands around the metal and beamed at Janet as she said, "God I love you."
When the fight was over the relief was almost too overwhelming. Sam felt light headed but she remained steady on her feet as she took it all in. She grinned at the sight of her team. "What the hell took you so long?"
"Bra'tac couldn't decide on what cape to wear." Cam teased.
Bra'tac didn't get the joke. Sam wasn't sure if she was laughing at that or if she was just overly giddy because of the adrenalin rush. No, she'd never gotten giddy on a mission before. Oh, wait; her head hit a wall that would explain the pounding.
"Are you three alright?" Janet asked, as she looked her family over.
"Of course we are." Ashley grinned, ignoring the nasty energy weapon graze on her bicep.
Magnus was bleeding quite a bit and yet she replied, "We're just fine dear."
"So I don't know how you guys do it but now's the time when we normally get the hell out of dodge." Will said while handing Magnus and Ashley handguns.
"Yeah, we should go before this place explodes." Sam said with a firm nod.
"Sammie turned the ship into a bomb." Ashley said proudly.
"Ok then lets move people." Cam said and jerked his head towards the way out.
More Jaffa fell on their way out, and still more as they made their way to the gate, but they didn't hit any real problems until they reached the gate. Rousdy was there with the larva tank. He was in the middle of dialing an address on the DHD. As soon as Sam saw him she stumbled because she was hit with a memory. It was Jolinar promising she'd kill him before she let him risk their people by brining in a goa'uld queen. Sam aimed her P90 at him. "Rousdy stop!"
The Tok'ra turned, wide eyed with surprise. "Carter how did you…"
"There's a reason you wanted me for that thing." She reminded him.
"Yes, and my reasons are still just!" Rousdy replied. "We need a queen!"
"It isn't going to be me." Sam said as she continued to inch towards him.
The symbiote began to trash in its tank. Rousdy looked at it and them up at Sam. "My Queen likes you. She wants you as her host." He opened the tank and took the symbiote out. He charged towards Sam.
Sam fired. Rousdy fell. She fired again. There wasn't much left of the symbiote.
Sam and Helen were injured worse then they let on. Janet confined them to beds in the infirmary and even threatened to put armed SFs on the door if she had too. Sam's head was a still pounding but not nearly as bad. Looking across the room at her mother she couldn't help but feel guilty. Her mother was injured because of her. Thankfully whatever Astarte and Rakia knew about Helen went up in a fireball when the ship and pyramid exploded. "Mom?"
Helen opened her eyes and looked across the room at Sam and smiled. That smile faded a little when she saw the look in Sam's eyes. "Samantha, don't you dare."
"But…" Sam began.
"Samantha, I swear if you apologize one more time I'm going to get out of this bed and smack you." Helen warned.
Sam's eyebrow shot up in a quizzically amused way. "I though you didn't like it when people raised a hand to your kids."
"Other people, not me." Helen replied. "I'm your mother I'm allowed."
"Ok, fine." Sam said with a sigh. "I won't apologize for nearly getting you turned into a space villain." She paused a moment and then said rather quickly, "I am sorry I've given you more to worry about. I know it was easier to deal with what I do when you didn't know the finer details."
Helen thought that over for a moment and then smiled reassuringly at her daughter. "Yes, I do have a better understanding of what you're facing out there, and yes it's rather scary to think that that kind of threat exists out there and that you're out there fighting it. But that wasn't the only thing I saw out there, Samantha." Helen smiled proudly at her daughter. "I got to see you handle a tough situation with such brilliance. Watching you think through the situation, and watching the way you worked with all that alien technology as if you'd been born to do so, Samantha, I couldn't be more proud of you. Knowing what you are truly capable of, and knowing you have an amazing team backing you up, it helps. I'm still going to worry, but it helps."
Sam smiled as a soft blush crept over her cheeks.
"Everything alright in here?" Janet asked as she walked in carrying a tray.
"Everything's fine." Helen reassured.
Sam lit up. "Blue jello?"
"Of course." Janet said as she set the tray down.
"You bring me automatic weapons and blue jello." Sam beamed. "You're so perfect."
Janet laughed. "You're still not leaving this infirmly until I say so, Sam."
Sam pouted but it didn't last once Janet handed her the jello. Helen watched and smiled. Shortly after they were allowed visitors. Ashley, with her bandaged arm, Will and Henry. Nikola was escorted in by SFs and grumbled about it the whole time. Helen ordered Will and Henry to take him home. SG1 soon followed after their briefing. Vala was full of hugs and soft whispers of, "I'm glad you're alright Sam." In the end things had turned out ok and Sam had gotten to do what she did best, taking down goa'uld, with her mom and her sister. Like Ashley said, a Magnus was too much to handle, and three of them, well, gods help those who cross all three of them.