Finally able to walk steadily and down to a minimal dosage of just a few medications, Nes was released to return to her house for the first time since she'd been back on Earth. An airman was assigned to drop her off and she thanked him as she slowly got out of the truck. She made her way inside and paused just inside the door to breathe in the familiarity. She went straight to the shower and stayed under the warm water until it began to run cold and then threw on a robe and moved back into her bedroom, drying her hair as she went.

"I thought you would never finish up. I almost came to join you."

Nes whipped around towards the well known voice, instinctively adjusting her robe to conceal even more. Ba'al was lying on her bed in a dark gray suit, propped up against the headboard, ankles crossed, hands behind his head, and a smirk on his face.

"You have some nerve showing up here after what you did," she spat out as she whipped the towel in her hand towards the goa'uld.

Ba'al caught it with a smile before swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress and approaching her cautiously. "Come now, darling. It would have done neither of us any good for me to remain and endure the attack as well."

"They nearly killed me!"

Ba'al brought a hand to her face and gently traced the various crisscrossing scars. "Yes, they did mar your lovely face." He kissed the largest scar. "A short time in the sarcophagus will remedy that. Now, get dressed so we can go."

She stood glaring at him and he laughed quietly, reaching out to take hold of her robe's belt, and pulled her towards him gently.

"Unless you would like to spend a little more time here first." He laughed louder as she shoved him away. "Surely you're not going to withhold your forgiveness."

"Forgiveness first requires repentance, darling. I can't say I've heard an apology as of yet."

"You know I would so prefer to show you instead."

Nes scoffed and walked back towards the bathroom. "Wait there," she called as she went through to the closet. She grabbed a simple wrap dress and flats and threw them on as quickly as she could, pulling her hair up in a clip.

Ba'al wasn't in her bedroom when she returned and she panicked for a moment that he was gone, taking his offer of his sarcophagus with him, but she found him in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine.

"You have a nice collection downstairs. I hope you don't mind me picking one out." He poured two glasses and handed one to her. "This house is nice, but I think I prefer your Los Angeles one more. How many homes do you own?"

"Enough." She smirked. "But I'll buy more anyway."

He returned her smirk. "Always something new to acquire or conquer." He took another sip. "Especially here on Earth."

"How long have you been here?" She sat down, her body growing weary.

"Since Dakara. I'm afraid the combination of Anubis, the rebel Jaffa, and the Tau'ri managed to destroy all that I had worked so hard to control." The bitterness in his voice was thick and he threw back the rest of his wine in one gulp before filling his glass again. "Still, this planet is not without its charms."

"I think you'll enjoy it thoroughly."

Ba'al finished his second glass and then reached into his pocket to pull out a small device. "Locator beacon. I'll beam you to the ship."

Nes took it and watched Ba'al disappear in a flash of light. A few moments later she found herself standing in the cargo bay of an al'kesh.

"Follow me." He walked through a set of doors and around the corner to a side room and ushered her in.

Nes felt her body relax at the sight of the large golden sarcophagus, the months of agony simply learning to walk again about to be washed away. Ba'al turned the symbol on the top to open it and assisted her in climbing in. She momentarily remembered a time where she would have been hesitant to use the device, but she was willing to do almost anything to have her body restored now.

"I will see you soon,' Ba'al said as the lid closed over her and she gave him a genuine smile of anticipation.

Nes woke to the light streaming into her eyes as the top slabs parted above her and she sat up with ease, releasing a sigh of contentment. Ba'al extended a hand to assist her in getting out and she immediately reached up to touch her face, breathing out with relief as her fingers found only smooth skin instead of the bumps and lines she'd been left with.

"You look as beautiful as ever, Sekhmet."

She moved her arms and stretched some, enjoying every movement with her restored body. Bones, muscles, skin, all were healed and she breathed deeply before turning to Ba'al, his own eyes showing appreciation.

Nes reached out to take hold of his tie, pulling him towards her and he was more than happy to respond to her advances. With the combination of suddenly being pain free, the restoration of her physical form, the sarcophagus' mental effects, and pure adrenaline, she knew right away that she would do nothing but carry this through, wanting to enjoy him at least once before she began to take her revenge for his abandonment. For a moment, Elliot's face flashed into her mind and she wished she were with him instead, but the Sekhmet remnants had been strengthened by the sarcophagus and easily pushed away any stray thoughts to resume their focus on Ba'al.

"I told you to bring her to me!"

Nes looked towards the familiar voice in the doorway with confusion.

There stood Ba'al.

Another Ba'al.

Her eyes went back to the man holding her and then again to the intruder, blinking furiously as she tried to sort out the situation.

The new Ba'al grabbed the first one and pulled him away from Nes, throwing him against the sarcophagus in a rage. Nes wasn't sure what to do, simply staring in shock.

"You can hardly blame me for getting distracted," the Ba'al on the ground said as he wiped some blood from his smirking mouth. "I would have brought her to you...afterwards."

"She is mine," the new Ba'al said through clenched teeth. "I made that very clear. None of you are to touch her." He grabbed a staff weapon from the wall and aimed it at his duplicate.

"Ba'al, please…" But no words would calm the angry version of himself and the first Ba'al fell backwards, his chest bearing the large hole left by a close range staff blast.

Nes screamed in surprise and the new Ba'al turned to her, his fury starting to subside.

"What is going on?" she finally choked out.

"I did not acquire only the Asgard beaming technology."

The pieces clicked together. "Clones. You cloned yourself like the Asgard do."

This would make things more complicated.

The still breathing Ba'al smiled at her. "Yes. They've been quite helpful." He went over to the corpse and roughly picked him up to throw into the sarcophagus. "Come here, my dear." He reached out to her and she cautiously placed her hand in his, letting him pull her gently over to his side. He took the arm of the dead Ba'al and pulled back the sleeve, revealing a Greek beta tattooed on the inside of the wrist. "He was my second clone, but you will know me by own symbol." He rolled back his left cuff to show her his distinct symbol, the one his jaffa bore. "The others all bear their own letters of the Greek alphabet."

"Others?"

"Yes." He closed the sarcophagus and turned to her. "Of course you cannot be held responsible for Beta's deception, but now that you know how to identify me, I expect you to keep your distance from my clones." He stroked her face. "I will not share you."

He kissed her, trying to pick up where Beta had left off, but Nes pulled away with a laugh.

"My dear Lord Ba'al, if you want my affection, then you will need to charm me yourself." She began to strut out of the room in defiance, but turned back suddenly, walking over to the real Ba'al to slap him hard across the face. "That's for abandoning me," she hissed out at him before finally moving out into the corridor. That didn't nearly begin to pay him back for his betrayal, but he would be suspicious if she wasn't at least a little bit angry.

He caught up to her quickly, grabbing her arm, and angrily steered her to the bridge, where they found a few jaffa commanding the ship.

"You," he pointed to the closest jaffa, "Beta is in the sarcophagus. When he revives, bind him and bring him down to the complex for me to deal with."

The jaffa brought a fist to his chest and bowed. "Yes, Lord Ba'al."

They left and headed back to the cargo bay, Ba'al beaming her down first and then appearing at her side shortly after she found herself in a light filled foyer with marble floors, elegant millwork, and a ceiling that was more glass than solid.

"Welcome to my current castle of sorts."

"Where are we?" Nes asked as she walked to the windows to peer outside at a patio and green lawn.

"Just west of Bethesda, Maryland. Athena helped me acquire this property, as well as another, to set up our base of operations."

Nes bristled at the mention of Athena and Ba'al smiled at her jealousy.

"So you've taken over the Trust? Or is that still in process?"

"I control most of it, yes, though there are still some rogue operations and most of the humans do not know my true nature."

"They do not know they are working for the enemy they swore to fight." Nes felt a small amount of pity for them, but as their methods were far too similar to the goa'uld's, her sympathy didn't last more than a few moments.

"Come. I'll show you to your room. You will change and then accompany me to dinner. I did actually make reservations this time." He winked at her as he placed a hand on the small of her back to guide her down the hall.

The house, though modern and simple, fit Ba'al with its masculine colors and materials and she praised his adaptation to Earth culture. He left her to get dressed, saying he needed to attend to a few issues before they departed, and she went to the closet to find an assortment of clothing. She chose a classic little black dress, but paired it with red heels, knowing Ba'al always enjoyed anything that drew attention to her long legs.

She was glad to find her door unlocked and made her way back towards the center of the house to explore a bit. Nes eventually wandered into the kitchen where she found more than one Ba'al who all looked up as she click-clicked into the room with her heels on the wood planked floor.

"Sekhmet, when did you get here?" asked the one who had been rummaging through the refrigerator. He closed the doors and came over to her, taking her hand to kiss it.

"Not too long ago." She twisted her wrist to reveal his and found an epsilon. She looked up to a smirking face and patted his cheek.

The other two came over to greet her, each with a kiss on her cheek and letting her see their own tattoos: gamma and kappa.

"Going out?" Kappa asked.

"Yes, Ba'al is taking me out to dinner." She hadn't determined yet if this was fantasy or nightmare, but it was certainly odd, regardless.

"If he's too busy, I'd be happy to take you," Gamma said with a wink.

"You might want to chat with Beta before you make offers like that." All three raised their eyebrows and she opened her mouth to explain when a hand rested on her waist and a kiss fell onto her cheek.

"You look stunning. Ready to go?" She turned to find Ba'al glaring at his clones. "We'll see the rest of you later." He turned her around and took her hand as he walked down a different hallway. "I believe I told you to keep your distance."

"You can hardly blame me for getting distracted," she said in a silky voice.

Ba'al stopped and turned to flash his eyes at her, shifting into his goa'uld voice. "I will not tolerate any...fraternizing with them, my dear."

"Perhaps you should not have me live in the same house with them, then."

He grabbed her throat, though not as roughly as he'd done in the past. "Perhaps I should just make sure you are in my bed every night."

"If you had come to get me yourself, I would already be there, but you had your priorities." She smacked his hand away from her.

"And you're going to punish me for it."

"It's like I told Beta: forgiveness should be preceded by repentance." She turned and continued down the hall, the door at the end leading to a garage.

As she looked over the cars, Ba'al grabbed her around the waist. "I apologize, my dear. I thought you'd be in good hands with Beta."

Nes smiled seductively. "Oh, I was."

Ba'al's eyes flashed again, but he chose to ignore her baiting. "Let's go." He moved towards a black Mercedes and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in, curious what kind of a driver he'd be, and crossed her legs as he slid into the driver's seat. After opening the garage door and shifting into gear, his hand immediately found her thigh and she allowed it, adrenaline pumping through again with his fast, but precise driving.

He took her to an elegant restaurant in downtown DC and she knew he savored the attention they received.

"I think I may enjoy you on my arm even more on Earth. You inspire so much admiration and fear," he whispered in her ear as they walked into the building.

Nes turned to smile at him. "Yes, I must admit to loving that as well."

"I read up on your activities on Earth quite a bit, though I certainly enjoyed the various films as well."

"Don't count on those for accuracy, darling."

"You'll have to enlighten me on the facts later," he said with a quick wink.

They settled into a curved booth, Ba'al pressed up against her, and eventually ordered.

"What will you do with Beta?" she asked as she took a sip of wine.

"Hopefully he's learned his lesson."

Nes dropped her own hand to Ba'al's leg. "Don't be too hard on him. I am rather tempting."

Ba'al took a deep breath. "And that is precisely the defense he used." He kissed her gently before shifting away, straightening into a more professional persona. "I've been hearing more and more rumors about this new threat to our galaxy. What have you learned of the Ori?"

"They're certainly a formidable force. Closer to gods than we ever were."

"Yes...and with our armies vanquished, there's little hope of a united front against them."

"No, the Jaffa are divided and weak. The Tau'ri are...well, the Tau'ri." Her implication prompted a chuckle from Ba'al. "And the rest of the humans are so desperate for gods to replace us, they are easily swayed by the tricks of the Priors."

"There must be a way to control the Jaffa again…"

Nes cleared her throat. "We cannot even count on our own. Nerus came to visit not too long ago."

"Yes, I heard of the coward's betrayal."

"Fortunately, the attempt to form a beachhead in this galaxy failed, but I doubt that will stop them for long."

"And the Ascended beings of this galaxy will not help us?"

"Apparently there's some complexity with the rules or some such nonsense. I would say it would not be wise to count on any protection from them."

"If only we could start over again..." He waved a hand at the insanity of the idea and turned back to her. "And the Atlantis expedition? They also have encountered a new foe, correct?"

Ba'al certainly kept himself well informed. "Yes, the Wraith. Apparently they feed on humans like cattle, sucking their life force out of them." She held up her own hand examining the palm. "It sounds like a rather unpleasant way to die."

"And is there any fear of them coming to this galaxy?"

"They have already tried once. Thanks to us and our generous rule for so long, the humans of this galaxy are plentiful. The Wraith have not done as well to breed the necessary...livestock to satisfy their hunger."

"So they wish to come here for a feast? Are the Tau'ri handling them well?"

Nes suspected that Ba'al already had all of this information, but was testing her honesty. "For the moment, but I will continue to monitor that situation." She reached for her wine again and smiled. "With the threats of the Ori and the Wraith, I imagine the people of this galaxy will begin to long for the good old days when we ruled them."

Ba'al grimaced. "Yes...the good old days."

Nes patted his hand. "Now don't start brooding, my dear. It's really not very attractive."

He pulled his hand away and glared at her, but before he could speak, they were interrupted by the waiter bringing their meals. The disruption restored the conversation, though, and they spent the evening discussing Ba'al's discoveries on Earth. Nes rather enjoyed hearing his perspective on the various cultures of Earth as well as his amusement over the American lifestyle.

"So what are your plans from here?" Nes asked as they were driving back to the house.

"Well, I'm a legitimate businessman now," he said with a smirk, "so Farrow-Marshall will begin some strategic investments and takeovers. We have a few large ventures coming up."

"And what role would you have me take in these plans?" His hand again found her leg, but she removed it promptly. "I've made it clear that I will not simply sit off to the side and watch."

Ba'al cleared his throat. "Yes, you have. I'm sure I can find a task for you."

"Legitimate or otherwise." She gave him a broad smile.

"You do have talents on both sides of the coin, don't you? Well, your involvement under the name Nesert may be a bit problematic for the time being. Once our efforts are more...public, though…"

"Public?"

"If I'm to take over running Farrow Marshall, I'll hardly be able to stay invisible. Plus, it will certainly make it more difficult to kill me if I'm well known in your country."

"True, though I doubt it will provide complete security."

"Of course not, but some will be enough. Once I'm a public figure, your presence by my side will make things very interesting." He smiled at her in a way that let her know he would enjoy that type of interesting. "Imagine the rumors with The Butcher on my arm. Or at least a woman who so strongly resembles her."

He winked and Nes smirked as they pulled into the driveway of the house and turned into the garage. Ba'al walked her to her door and tried to follow her into the room, but she put a hand on his chest.

"Today was a momentary weakness which you were not present to take advantage of. My previous requirement still stands."

"Certainly I can name you my queen, but I'm afraid my territories have been severely diminished as of late."

She began to play with the lapel of his jacket. "Well, then I suppose we'll need to renegotiate our terms."

"My wife then. That's what humans here do, right?"

"Yes, but you will also involve me in all of your various...operations. Legitimate or otherwise." She cocked her head to the side. "And on Earth or otherwise as well."

"Of course. You've become a valued asset to my rule."

"Good. Then those are my new terms."

Ba'al reached out to pull her towards him. "No reason why we can't...skip ahead a little."

"And destroy your motivation? No, darling, I think we'll stick with the agreed upon order." She kissed him on the cheek before twisting away from his arms.

Ba'al took in a slow breath before releasing a short laugh of frustration. "I'll start working on the arrangements immediately."

"Lovely. I'll contact my lawyer to look over any documents you draw up. You should maybe do a bit of research into prenuptial agreements in this country." She wanted to let him know she was very serious about the professional side of this relationship, though she had absolutely no interest in his business affairs beyond information in general. She was a spy, but not of the corporate variety.

They said their goodnights and Nes began to prepare for bed, though as she climbed under the covers, she found herself agitated and her mind racing. Too much had changed in just a single day. Lying there thinking wasn't going to get her any sleep, so she finally threw off the blankets and hunted in the closet for a swimsuit, remembering seeing a pool through one of the back windows. She found a simple tank perfect for laps, grabbed a towel out of her bathroom, and tiptoed barefoot down the long hall and out the first set of patio doors she came to.

The moon was almost full and gave her enough light to cross the lawn; the pool had lamps under the water giving it an ethereal glow. She slid completely under the surface of the warm water, staying down as long as her lungs would allow before coming back up and then began swimming back and forth, relishing in the renewed strength of her body as she moved cleanly and swiftly. Even before Sekhmet, she'd been a good swimmer, but now she was flawless in her form and stamina.

As she reached the far end after dozens of laps, she slowed and put her elbows up onto the edge, breathing hard and relieved that there was no pain associated with the effort.

"Do you always take late night swims?"

Nes' arms slipped off the edge as she jumped in surprise, but quickly found the Ba'al sitting on the edge of a chaise in front of her. "What is it with all of you sneaking up on me?"

"Not all of us, just me." He smirked towards her and held up his wrist.

"Beta."

"You wouldn't forget me so quickly, now would you? Not after the fun we've had."

"Why aren't you asleep?"

"Same reason you aren't. The sarcophagus leaves us with so very much energy to burn off." He stood and walked over to her, crouching down. "Perhaps we can help one another with that."

Nes smiled up at him seductively. "Pick up where we left off, you mean?"

Beta smirked and shrugged. "I could probably be persuaded."

Nes tilted her head and let her eyes roam over him, finally reaching a hand out for him to take. He smiled and stood, grabbing the offered hand, but instead of allowing him to pull her up out of the pool, she yanked hard downward and ducked as he toppled into the water behind her.

He splashed up to the surface and caught her mischievous grin, quickly swimming over to trap her between himself and the wall. "Funny," he said as he leaned forward for a kiss.

Nes put a hand up to his mouth. "You're going to get yourself killed again."

He pressed his body against hers. "It would be worth it."

"Except you'll get me killed, too. I was told no fraternizing with you clones." She put her hands on his chest to push him away, but he was too strong for her.

"Ba'al would never leave you dead." He began kissing her neck, letting his hands start to roam and she tried to think of how to at least delay him.

"This isn't exactly a private location, though."

"Your room then?"

"The one that is right next to Ba'al's? No, I don't think that'd be very wise either."

"You have houses. We can beam somewhere else."

"I don't have my ship anymore."

"Ba'al has it. And the bracelet you use to transport. I imagine he'll give it back to you soon."

That could change things considerably and give her significantly more freedom. "Well, then I suppose you'll have to be patient for the time being."

"It might be worth the risk to have you right now." He kissed her hard, but she pulled back quickly.

"For you maybe, but I would rather enjoy you without the worry of prying eyes or listening ears."

His arms relaxed as he thought through his options and she used his distraction to duck down under his arms and swim away. When she surfaced, he was chasing after her, but she kicked hard to splash him and reached the edge quickly enough to avoid his attempts to grab her. Once up on the deck, she walked calmly over to her towel, drying off briefly and wrapping it around herself, all while keeping her eyes completely on Beta prowling in the water.

"Goodnight. I hope you're able to get some sleep. A few laps should help wear you out."

Nes risked turning her back to him, but kept a brisk pace all the way back into the house, glad to see him still in the water when she turned around with opening the door. She fell into bed, running through various ideas to deal with Beta, and then slept soundly until the light shone in through her windows.

In the morning, she slipped on jeans and a tank top and went straight to the kitchen to hunt for a breakfast of some kind, hearing numerous copies of the same voice streaming down the hall. It was still early, but there were six matching faces all gathered around the island, all dressed for different kinds of days: suits, polos, shorts, jeans. Clearly they all had specific roles in this odd little arrangement and she was curious to hear more about how Ba'al had set things up.

"Good morning, boys." They all turned to look at her, most with a smile. "And who do we have here today? You do make it rather difficult to tell you all apart."

Nes walked around the island looking at wrists: Iota, Alpha, Epsilon, Theta, Kappa, and Beta, whose other hand rubbed her thigh discreetly as she stood next to him.

"Where's Ba'al?"

"He had a meeting this morning," Theta said as he put a scoop of scrambled eggs onto his plate.

"I'm done eating, Sekhmet. Take my seat. Iota cooked this morning." Kappa (or was the one in shorts Epsilon?) got up from his seat and waited for her to take his spot. She thanked him as he grabbed a clean plate and dished up food for her.

"So what do all of you do all day?" She allowed her more casual Nes personality to dominate, wanting to appear non threatening and trustworthy.

Alpha, in a perfectly tailored suit, eyeballed her suspiciously, but answered anyway. "I run a lot of the daily operations at Farrow-Marshall. Beta and Gamma work within The Trust mostly. Delta has been working on some construction work we have in Seattle. Epsilon has been acquiring various real estate. Zeta and Eta you haven't met yet, but they're offworld right now. Theta, Iota, and Kappa are our newest additions and we're working on assigning them their roles." He narrowed his eyes. "Does that sum it up nicely for you so you do not have to attempt interrogating us separately?"

"Beautifully. Thank you, Alpha." She wasn't sure the reason for his hostility, but hoped it had nothing to do with her swimming partner the night before. She sat quietly as she ate, observing and listening and noting that only Alpha's eyes fell on her with distrust instead of desire.

She finished eating right around the same time as the first clone and he stood up and directed his eyes to hers. "Sekhmet, may I speak with you before I go?"

"Of course," she said rather magnanimously as she laid her napkin down and followed him down the hall to the garage.

"Ba'al will be by to get you for lunch." He looked her over with disdain. "Try to put on something a bit more appropriate for our social status."

"I think your memories should inform you that I'm more than capable of dressing appropriately, Alpha. I'll be ready." She began to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.

"I find it genuinely disgusting that I'm forced to feel Ba'al's desire for you."

Nes smiled sweetly and stroked his cheek. "And it must be frustrating to not be allowed to do a thing about it."

Alpha's eyes flashed and he grabbed her shoulders to push her against the wall, kissing her forcefully. Nes responded without thinking, but it became rapidly clear what Alpha was planning and she began to fight against his strength.

"Just once would probably be enough for me to stop wanting you."

"Or just make you want me more. Has kissing me like this satisfied you at all?" she asked breathlessly, still straining to be released.

Alpha smirked at her sadistically. "I guess we won't know until we try, my dear."

Nes began to panic. "Ba'al will kill you. Release me and this little lapse in judgment will be our secret."

"I don't think you'll tell him you've been...tainted. He'd blame you as much as me. Especially after he saw some rather interesting security footage of your midnight swim with Beta."

He would blackmail her into silence.

Nes knew her last option would have to be well timed. She waited until his hands were struggling with belts and buckles and buttons before releasing the loudest scream she could muster. Hopefully the other clones were still just down the hall in the kitchen and would come to her aid or at least bear witness that she had not been complicit in any of this. She'd take her chances trying to explain last night to Ba'al.

Alpha slapped her hard to stop the scream before covering her mouth and Nes' muscles froze as she saw the fury in his eyes. He turned his head to the side looking for something and Nes tried to move her eyes far enough to see what he reached for. She could see various gardening tools, but the footsteps pounding down the hall drew her eyes the other direction.

Alpha released her abruptly and she began to relax that it was over, but the sudden pain in her chest forced her to look down to see a pitchfork sticking out of her body. She looked up to catch Alpha's eyes, pure enjoyment in them, and he smirked at her as the other clones came rushing through the door.

Alpha leaned forward with a whisper. "I suppose that was fun, too, darling." He yanked the makeshift weapon out and her body collapsed to the ground amidst the shouting and yelling of the same voice. "Get her into the sarcophagus and clean this up before Ba'al comes back. And none of you are to say a word. Let me deal with it."