Episode 4.14 "The Serpent's Venom"

Despite her guilt, she continued to rely on Rak'nor to keep her informed of Heru'ur's orders to him. He was reluctant at first, but she was kind to him and she guessed that Heru'ur had never treated him in a similar manner. This day, he was clearly different when he came into her rooms.

"My Lord Heru'ur is sending me on a special mission."

"Oh? What plans does he have for you?" She directed him to sit, but he shook his head, so she stood instead.

"I am to acquire...a gift."

Tessa's frustration was apparent. "A gift. What kind of gift? For whom?"

"Lord Heru'ur also requests your presence aboard his mothership."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. What was Heru'ur planning? "Oh does he? For what purpose?"

"I'm sorry, my Lord Sekhmet. I cannot reveal any of that information to you, but Heru'ur has sent ships and jaffa to bring you to him."

"We have an arrangement, Rak'nor. Do not think I will let this breach go unpunished."

He seemed to be genuinely pained by her harshness and she momentarily gave up the facade, sitting down at her desk and letting her hands hold up her head. Why must she go from prison to prison? And even if she escaped this next warden, could she ever be free when bound to memories of a life that wasn't hers?

"My lord?"

He had moved closer by the sound of his voice, but she hadn't realized that allowing the mask to slip off would crack it. She stared at the dark wood of the desk trying to remember who she was or who she was supposed to be or who she used to be or who she would be or who she should be or who she wanted to be. It was a jumbled mess of different versions of the minds that had used this body and she couldn't manage to put the pieces together in any coherent fashion.

Rak'nor had reached his hands out to grasp her wrists gently and Tessa realized as she began looking up at him that her face was wet. Why this moment of all moments was the tipping point, she didn't know, but she had collapsed under the weight of burdens she'd piled on top of herself.

Now they buried her.

The jaffa warrior looked terrified as he took her in and she suspected that even if she had been a perfectly normal young woman, he would have been intensely uncomfortable with her tears, but the established relationship between them of master and servant, god and worshipper, made it much worse.

"Heru'ur plans an alliance with Apophis," he said slowly.

Tessa's shoulders slumped even further. "Then I am dead."

"Perhaps Apophis will be merciful."

That ignited the fire again and Tessa stood, her eyes flashing at the young jaffa as he stumbled backwards.

"You are foolish if you believe Apophis is even capable of mercy. He is a parasite, all the goa'uld are. They've stolen your lives, your bodies, your children, your minds, your souls. They are not gods. They are flesh and blood with technology they have stolen from other races." Her rant had begun in her goa'uld voice, but somewhere along the way she'd shifted into the human voice her body had been born with.

"You are a goa'uld, my lord. How can you say such blasphemy?" He looked ready to run, to scream to the ship of her betrayal or madness or both.

"I am not Sekhmet." She let the words slide out with hatred, but still parts of her doubted their veracity.

Rak'nor pulled the knife from his belt, having left his staff weapon near the door. "Who are you? A Tok'ra?"

She pulled her shoulders back and spoke with confidence. "I was Sekhmet's host. She is dead."

"Nothing of the host survives."

"I survived! Me!" She beat her chest in defiance. "Sekhmet was no god. She felt fear and uncertainty. She wasn't all knowing. She wasn't all powerful." She let her voice raise without concern for anyone overhearing.

"No. You're just an imposter. Heru'ur, Apophis, they are gods."

Tessa laughed. "I watched Apophis die, weak and afraid. He begged the Tau'ri for a host like the pathetic creature he was. And Sokar revived him with a sarcophagus, technology, not magic. He did not return from the dead on his own. And Sokar did not die by Apophis' hand. It was the Tok'ra and Tau'ri that killed him."

Rak'nor began to lower his knife as she spoke and Tessa wondered if he was accepting her words.

"No. You lie."

"What reason do I have to lie? I had every reason to lie about being Sekhmet. I have no reason to lie about not being her."

He raised his knife again and narrowed his eyes. "I should hand you over to Lord Heru'ur as a traitor!"

Tessa smirked and relaxed her body. "He would never believe you."

He glared at her for a few more moments before lowering his weapon and straightening. "Heru'ur's ships will be here soon to claim you. For my silence, you will release me from our prior arrangement."

"You are a fool, but I will release you. Silence for silence." She quickly wiped her eyes and then became Sekhmet again in appearance and voice. "I must arrange with my servants for my departure."

Rak'nor held her eyes for another breath before leaving her alone. She would not put any trust in his silence.

And he should not put any trust in hers.

Her arrival on Heru'ur's ship was not without a greeting from her current sovereign and she continued to play his games of diplomacy as he personally guided her to her quarters. She was equal parts awe, submission, and seduction as he led her through corridors and gave her an abbreviated tour of the rooms along their path, but this was unlike his usual curt manner and it concerned her.

He left her to get settled, but requested her presence for his next meal. She was glad she had built up a store of armor and brought a significant portion of it with her. In the end she chose a royal blue velvet gown that almost perfectly matched the fabric on Heru'ur's throne. She wanted him to feel she belonged next to him without quite knowing why, doubting he had ever taken note of the color as he sat. The front of the dress plunged just enough to be appealing but still mysterious, and the fabric skimmed over her curves. She needed him to want her instead of trading her away for an alliance. There was no logical reason not to use her in such a way, but desire rarely followed reason's path.

She was surprised to see Heru'ur in a blue and gold robe instead of his golden armor when she joined him later. In truth, she had sometimes wondered if he even slept in the metalwork. Her own armor (though really it should be called a weapon for it was clearly offensive, rather than defensive in nature) had its intended effect, with Heru'ur's eyes becoming large at the sight of her and lingering longer than would be considered socially acceptable in certain circles. The goa'uld were oddly formal in their interactions after so many thousands of years' acquaintance, but Tessa guessed it was because of their constant struggles for power. They were in a perpetual poker game, all holding their cards close.

"Did you find your rooms acceptable?" His tone was stiff and Tessa dreaded an entire meal with him, struggling through conversation.

"Yes, quite, my lord. Your ship is very impressive."

"Yes, it is." Heru'ur set down his glass before continuing. "I am assuming you know why I have brought you here."

"I have a few theories, but as you are my almighty, perhaps I should allow you to enlighten me?"

"I have requested a meeting with Apophis to discuss an alliance against the System Lords and I wish you to be at my side during negotiations."

"As a display of what you have already taken from him." Tessa kept her body from outwardly showing the calm that permeated her, knowing now she was to be a symbol of Heru'ur's power rather than a gift because of his weakness.

"Yes. I also have a gift for him that he will likely find most pleasing." He smiled to himself as he tapped his fork on the table.

"Oh? And what is this great gift?"

The goa'uld turned his smile towards Tessa. "The Shol'va."

Teal'c. Sekhmet's smirk deepened on its own, still refusing to obey Tessa, though she was grateful for its independence at moments like this.

"And have you already acquired the traitor?"

"I have. I sent Rak'nor for him and he has done well in tricking the fool." He chuckled slightly which was a rare sound from his throat. "All this time Apophis has sought him and he was caught so easily."

"Well, you and I have long known that Apophis is far from the mighty leader he claims to be."

Heru'ur turned serious again and held her gaze. "You will be my queen. I will have Apophis see you as mine."

Prison to prison to prison to-

"Of course, my lord. It would be an honor to serve you as your queen."

-prison to prison to prison…

The next day they began the journey to the Tobin System to meet with Apophis. The agreed upon spot lay just next to a mine field left by the extinct civilization of those worlds and the mines were programmed to hone in on specific energy signatures, including that of goa'uld weaponry. If either Heru'ur or Apophis fired upon each other, the mines would destroy them all.

Once they were in hyperspace, Tessa journeyed to the prison hall where the screams relaxed her body, but not her mind, and she easily found Teal'c chained to the ceiling in one of the rooms, guarded by Rak'nor and another jaffa. Their prisoner was being tortured by Heru'ur's hired goa'uld, Terok, whose main job was to inflict pain on and extract information from those who were unfortunate enough to find themselves in Heru'ur's bad graces. Sekhmet had always despised any goa'uld who outsourced this particular task.

Upon her entrance, Terok turned to yell at whoever was interrupting his work, but Sekhmet's reputation was well known and he held his tongue at the sight of her. She allowed his eyes to take her in for a moment before moving further into the room, diligently keeping her eyes from Rak'nor's, but sensing his glare.

"The great Lord Sekhmet. Your reputation in torture techniques is well known among those in my line of work." He bowed with a flourish of the pain stick he still held, but Tessa merely gave him a sideways glance.

"Leave us." She would not entertain this repulsive creature even in routine pleasantries.

"My lord, I am in the middle of bringing this Shol'va to repentance for his heresy."

Tessa kept Sekhmet's voice low and controlled. "If I need to repeat myself, you will be by his side begging for forgiveness as well."

"Of course, my Lord Sekhmet." Terok quickly ushered the other jaffa out of the room and fortunately Rak'nor did not resist, though she could feel his suspicion.

As they left the room, Tessa turned to the recording device Terok had placed to make sure it was off and then moved towards the injured jaffa.

Teal'c looked up at her with anger. "Sekhmet."

"Scream." She spoke quietly, but realized it was still the goa'uld voice.

"I will not," Teal'c said defiantly.

Tessa sighed and bent down close to his face, returning to her human voice. "I have made it very clear my intentions in coming here and if they do not hear your screams, it will be extremely suspicious. Scream. Please."

Teal'c's confusion was apparent, but he finally released an intense scream after she had straightened up, and she could hear the shuffle of feet in the hall, likely Rak'nor's.

Tessa still kept her voice down. "I am not Sekhmet, Teal'c. It's too long of a story for right now, but I will do what I can to free you." He still looked intensely suspicious. "Scream again."

Teal'c again screamed in imitated pain and Sekhmet's smirk involuntarily appeared at the sound.

"I can come back at least some without raising suspicion to give you a break from Terok, but we are meeting with Apophis soon and I must be present for the negotiations as Heru'ur's queen." Teal'c raised an eyebrow and Tessa allowed some disgust into her voice. "Yep. Moving up in the world, Teal'c."

She stayed another half hour, as Teal'c screamed periodically, but she knew the longer she made Terok wait, the worse it would be for the jaffa.

Sekhmet had been the same.

She was the same.

As Tessa left, Rak'nor caught her arm as she passed by his solitary frame in the hall.

"Unhand me, jaffa." She allowed her eyes to flash at him.

He leaned his face close to hers and spoke through his teeth. "What were you doing with the Shol'va?"

"As your new queen, I demand that you unhand me or I will inform Lord Heru'ur of the jaffa who will not accept my rejection of his advances." She smiled wickedly and he released her quickly at the threat.

Tessa returned to the prison hall several times during the journey, annoying Terok with the constant interruptions, but as he was powerless to stop Heru'ur's new consort, he merely tightened his jaw and left when she commanded. Rak'nor remained silent about his suspicions, but then oddly, his demeanor towards her began to change subtly. The edge from his voice seemed to dissipate and when she caught his gaze, the suspicion and loathing were replaced with curiosity and confusion.

When she asked Teal'c about it, he had hopes that Rak'nor was starting to see the truth of the goa'uld, but Tessa scoffed at the idea.

"I told him that goa'uld are not gods and even hearing it from his goddess did not convince him."

"Perhaps he needs to hear it from his own kind," Teal'c said weakly.

"Perhaps." She helped him drink some more water before he screamed yet again. "We will be arriving at the location soon. I must go, but I will do what I can, Teal'c."

Tessa made her way back to her suite to change into a golden gown and elaborate necklace. She would mirror Heru'ur's armor in her feminine style making them a unified adversary for Apophis, though she chuckled to herself that it was much like an animal that puffs itself up to appear larger to a predator. Despite Heru'ur's displayed confidence, she knew the calling for this alliance clearly demonstrated his fear of Apophis. He'd already tipped his hand.

In the throne room, Heru'ur nodded his head in approval at her appearance and she took her place at his side as they dropped out of hyperspace, breathing deeply to remain calm. Apophis' ship was already in place near the mine field and Heru'ur took no time in hailing them.

"Kree shak shel, Apophis!"

The two adversaries greeted each other with open hostility and Tessa noted that Apophis was significantly less damaged looking, though his face still had metal plating on it and she wondered if he'd grown to like the look. The sarcophagus had likely healed more than just his face, though, as he had surrounded himself with female slaves.

"Onak kla keela vurok!" Heru'ur got right to the point, that Apophis could never defeat the System Lords without his help.

"Mak shel lo komo ashma!" Apophis wished to know what Heru'ur wanted in exchange for his assistance.

Heru'ur went on to explain that he wished to maintain all of his territory plus that of Cronus and that he also had a gift for Apophis as a sign of his loyalty.

"Ona rak shol'va!"

On cue, Teal'c was tossed into the room by Terok, but Tessa kept her eyes on Apophis as he practically salivated at the sight of the long elusive Shol'va. Suddenly Apophis shifted his eyes upward to hers and smiled in a way that made her body go cold.

He then returned his attention to Heru'ur. "And what of the ha'taaka?" He spat out the last word, referring to her as a vile creature.

Heru'ur stood. "You will not insult my queen in such a manner."

"Give me the ha'taaka along with the Shol'va and I will also let you have that which belongs to Kali."

Tessa turned to Heru'ur, trying to rein in her panic. "My Lord Heru'ur!"

He looked down at her momentarily before nodding to his guards to restrain her and addressing Apophis again. "I will include Sekhmet in my offered gift."

Apophis smirked maliciously. "I will think and give my answer soon." He cut off the transmission to end negotiations.

"My lord!" Tessa was filled with fear, but Sekhmet's influence made rage the dominant emotion. That and a tiny hope of opportunity.

"Take Sekhmet and the Shol'va back to the prison hall." And with a wave of his hand, the two traitors were dragged off, Teal'c as a weakened dead weight and Tessa in a confident walk of focused fury.

Terok was pleased at his new addition, taking personal pleasure in shackling her wrists, before returning to his other prisoner. "There is little time left for you. If you repent now, I would save your soul and end your suffering."

Teal'c slowly pulled himself upward to meet Terok's eyes. "So that Apophis can revive me, and begin again?" Teal'c's laughter filled the room and Sekhmet's smile appeared, enjoying the sound of his defiance.

Terok then turned his attention to Tessa, running the pain stick along her face. "I only wish Lord Heru'ur had given you to me sooner." He thrust the stick into her chest, pulling a scream from her body as the pain invaded every part of her.

The shackles did their job of holding her somewhat upright, but her legs gave out as they relaxed again and Terok looked at her wistfully. "I am envious of Apophis in this moment. He will take so much pleasure in your screams." He put his mouth next to her ear. "And likely in all the rest of you as well."

Again and again he burned her body with torment and her throat was soon raw, but this pain was still only second to what Sekhmet herself had inflicted upon her host. No outside force could ever replicate that. Eventually Terok was called back to the throne room by Heru'ur and Teal'c and Tessa were left weak, with just Rak'nor remaining.

Their guard was clearly upset by their suffering and helped each of them to drink some water. Tessa didn't speak, her own inner conflict taking up her remaining energy, but she watched as Rak'nor kneeled next to Teal'c.

"I've never seen anyone endure such torture! Yet, none of it comes close to what Apophis will do to you. He will kill you a thousand times!"

"Of that I am certain."

Tessa was impressed by Teal'c's continued strength and defiance. She could see why he had started a revolution within the Jaffa.

"And you will never admit that he's a god?" Rak'nor was clearly impressed as well.

"Never!"

"You are either insane or-" He stood abruptly as the gates opened and Terok and another jaffa entered.

"Take them down! The shol'va and ha'taaka are to be transported to Apophis!"

The jaffa undid the shackle, but once freed, Teal'c called upon strength he had somehow tucked away and elbowed him in the face. Terok was quick to raise his hand with the ribbon device, however, and blasted both loyal and traitorous jaffa across the room.

"What do you think you are doing, Jaffa?" Terok began using the ribbon device to torture and slowly kill Teal'c and Tessa strained against the shackles that bound her, but she was no longer a goa'uld and her strength had been too weakened by even a small amount of torture.

Rak'nor, pain stick in hand, looked distressed. "My lord, you are killing him!"

"I will not be denied the satisfaction of watching him die at least once!"

Tessa watched, but found she didn't enjoy Teal'c's pain, especially knowing that as soon as he was dead, Terok would likely turn his rage on her. There was never enough death for goa'uld like him.

Like her.

Rak'nor shifted on his feet and Tessa could see his own internal conflict taking place. "My lord…" But then suddenly, a decision. His hands brought the pain stick to the back of Terok's neck and light poured out of the goa'uld's eyes and mouth as he collapsed dead.

Rak'nor's face was filled with fear and Tessa pitied the jaffa momentarily. He quickly recovered, though, the sign of a true warrior, and helped Teal'c to stand.

"Apophis will still be expecting a gift, Rak'nor." Teal'c could barely speak.

"We will give him one, then." Rak'nor picked up Terok's body as Teal'c worked to free Tessa, though the effort cost him dearly, and she reached over to take the ribbon device off the fallen goa'uld's hand, knowing she would need a weapon as they ventured into the corridors of the ship.

The three of them moved out of the room as the two prisoners attempted to support one another as they walked and the guards at the entrance to the prison hall were easily subdued by the still strong jaffa and Tessa utilizing the kara kesh. The nearby rings were also guarded, but again, the trio overcame Heru'ur's warriors.

Rak'nor roughly tossed Terok's body into the middle of the circle on the floor and Tessa stepped in as well, though he ordered her to move away from the rings so he could activate them.

"We must go!"

She stared at the two jaffa, trying to figure out what to do. "This may be my best chance for killing Apophis."

Teal'c's energy was failing fast and Rak'nor caught him just as he began to crumble. "Apophis will torment you endlessly! You will never succeed, but I can save Teal'c with your help. You must choose."

It was almost a silly decision on the exterior, torture or escape, but for Tessa, this was deciding whose motivations would be primary. Would she pursue Sekhmet's wishes or her own? Would she pursue revenge on Apophis for the death of a son that wasn't hers or help a man who had sat with her in silence after her first illusion of freedom?

"My Lord Sekhmet...please!"

Rak'nor addressing her with a name she did not own shook her awake and she smiled a smile that had Tessa's sincerity, but Sekhmet's power.

"I am not Sekhmet."

She would be Tessa.

She stepped out of the circle and sent Terok's body to Apophis, putting an arm around Teal'c's waist and assisting the jaffa toward the glider bay. The three moved as quickly as they could, but Tessa was grateful that they were not too far away, her own strength severely depleted.

With more effort than they likely thought they had left, both Teal'c and Tessa were able to climb into the rear seat of a glider, though it was certainly a tight fit, while Rak'nor piloted from the front. Tessa wished very hard that her tel'tak had been an option, but she had left it behind when she had been summoned by Heru'ur, something she knew she would be grateful for if they lived.

The glider was launched out of the mothership, pushing Tessa's body into Teal'c and causing him to groan in pain, and as they got beyond the larger ship they could see that Apophis had somehow gathered an entire fleet around him. If Heru'ur hadn't just betrayed her, she'd have felt a little sympathy for him and his foolishness in trusting Apophis, but moments later, their glider was propelled forward by Heru'ur's ship exploding, having been shot by Apophis. The mines in the vicinity activated at the use of the goa'uld weapon, but the fleet sacrificed themselves to protect the ship of their god as he escaped.

As they watched the destruction, they were suddenly hailed. "Onak Sha Kree! Shal Goa'uld!" Someone was asking which god they worshipped.

Rak'nor hesitated. "What should I say?"

Teal'c was still barely conscious, but managed to give their pilot the correct response, explaining it to be the Tok'ra password.

"Goah Sha Kree! Loe Goa'uld!"

Tessa could feel all three on the ship holding their breath, waiting to see if they would escape with friends or be caught by foes.

"This is Jacob Carter! Identify yourself!"

Major Carter's father! She remembered reading in the files that he'd decided to share his body with the Tok'ra Selmak when he'd had cancer ravage his body.

"My name is Rak'nor."

"Who are you? How did you know how to answer my hail?"

"I am the jaffa who helped Teal'c escape."

"How do we know that?" A different voice, one more familiar questioned them. Teal'c recognized it immediately.

"It is good to hear your voice, O'Neill."

There was a long pause before Jack responded. "Glad ya made it, Teal'c."

Tessa inwardly chuckled at that man's inability to express emotions of any kind.

"As am I." Teal'c could only get out those last words in a whisper before passing out.

"Rak'nor, he needs help." Tessa realized too late that her voice would be heard over the radio as well.

"Who's that, Teal'c?" O'Neill sounded intensely suspicious, likely finding her voice as familiar as she had found his.

When Tessa hesitated to respond, Rak'nor spoke. "We also have Lord Sekhmet with us."

"Sekhmet? What the hell is she doing with you?"

Tessa cringed at the expected response.

"She helped us to escape."

"Yeah, because she was about to have her ass handed over to Apophis. Things not working out too well for ya, Sekhmet?"

Tessa knew that the colonel had every reason to speak to her this way, but it still took all of her rapidly flagging strength to not shift into Sekhmet's attitude. She clenched her teeth hard to get the words out. "I am not Sekhmet."

"Oh, right. You're Tessa." His sarcasm shifted to yelling. "You took one of my men hostage through the gate!"

"I didn't hurt Airman Harris." Tessa's voice was getting increasingly strained.

"Neither did Sekhmet the first time. Or was that you, too?"

"No. That was Sekhmet." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Colonel, Teal'c needs help. You can bind my hands or zat me the moment you see me, but we need to get Teal'c medical care as soon as possible."

There was silence for too long, but finally Jacob Carter responded. "We can rendezvous on the third moon of Tichenor."

"We will meet you there." Rak'nor ended the transmission and directed the ship towards the designated moon. He turned his head slightly to direct his voice to the rear of the ship. "You have friends everywhere it seems."

"What can I say? I leave an impression." Tessa rubbed her hands over her face, then twisted to check Teal'c again. "Just fly."

Fortunately, the moon was close, but small enough to be ignored by Apophis and his fleet. The two ships landed and O'Neill took her up on her offer and immediately bound her hands roughly as she climbed out of the glider. Unfortunately, just getting down to the ground was all the energy she had left and she collapsed onto the sandy ground as she tried to walk to the cargo ship..

"What's wrong with her?" O'Neill nudged her with his boot.

Rak'nor had a bit more sympathy at least and came over to help her up. "She was tortured by Terok after Heru'ur agreed to give her to Apophis."

Tessa heard a bit more conversation, something about Apophis now being stronger than ever, but it was jumbled in her head. She allowed Rak'nor to lift her into his arms, but she hated feeling such intense weakness or seeing the concern in his eyes.

Still, it was a nice change to have anyone worry about her again.

"Thank you, Rak'nor." She finally let her head fall to his chest as the world disappeared.