Author's Note: Part 3 will be up in a week. I hope you enjoy. I'll work on getting Chapter 17 written ASAP.
Unaware of the events going on around her, Sujanha lay asleep in a private room off a secured hallway. Kaja had done much to aid Malek in healing her many injuries, and unconsciousness had progressed to sleep, full of dreams. The Furlings did not dream as humans did but rather had some conscious control over their dreams, which usually involved memories of the past as they had happened.[1]
In Sujanha's dream, she rested within a stone chamber. The room was round with many sealed windows and a single door that led down a steep staircase lit by the eerie light of a flickering lamp. Around the edges of the room were several stone couches. Upon one of these couches, all piled high with blankets and coverlets, Sujanha lay, covered with warm cloths, pillows propping her up so she could look out. The visage beyond was frightful. The world was mountainous with tall peaks that disappeared into noxious, poisonous clouds and valleys through which ran rivers of fiery lava. Down some valley walls spilled lava-falls. Far in the distance, a volcano had recently exploded, and plumes of smoke, dust, and ash were spilling into the atmosphere.
"Where is this? And where are we?" Malek's voice suddenly broke into her thoughts, startling her. Sujanha had been alone in the room for some time, starring out at the visage beyond, and the quiet and peace of the room and the familiarity of the sights had lulled her a doze, a state in which she had spent many hours in this very room decades before.
Sujanha turned her head. Her symbiote was standing a few feet away in the likeness of his host who had so recently perished on Vorash. "You are in my dream, Malek," she said, "This is Drehond, the homeworld of the Dovahkiin, one of the races in my galaxy."
Malek paced the room quickly, his face puzzled. He stopped and touched one wall and then the blankets on another bench. "This is a dream? It feels real."
"Furling dreams bear more resemblance to the relieving of memories than the dreams you would be used to with a human host. My people have very precise memories, and I spent enough days in this room in years past to remember it in great detail."
Malek finished his pacing and returned to his host's side. Sujanha pulled her legs up far enough to give him room to sit down on the same bench. In this dream-world, her physical injuries felt muted to non-existent, though she knew that, after her injuries and the shock her body had been put through, waking would be less than pleasant.
"Interesting," he mused, leaning back against the wall and looking around again, "The pain is gone."
"It will return when we awaken," Sujanha warned, "Dream walking is only a temporary respite. Are our injuries healed?"
"The serious ones that posed the greatest risk to health and life are with your healer's help," Malek replied. Sujanha finally noticed how tired he looked. His hair was mussed, and there were heavy dark circles under his eyes. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked young and exhausted as he spoke. "I have some fine work left to do, mostly from the crystals shards that tore up your … our feet, but I needed to rest first."
"I can change the memory if you would prefer," said Sujanha. Deciding how best to talk to and interact with her new symbiote was still a work in progress. They were blended, but they were separate and still learning about each other. They did not automatically know everything the other knew, though they could access each other's knowledge, but Sujanha thought learning about each other the old fashioned way—what Daniel would call 'not a brain dump'—might be better.
"No," he replied, "This is nice. It is … quiet, and the warmth is soothing." He said nothing for several minutes and then asked quietly, "How do you live like this?"
Sujanha knew what he was asking, knew the symptoms that would have already started as he worked to heal their damaged body, symptoms that had been her companion for nearly 500 years. "What choice do I have? If I do not live, I only linger in darkness and despair until finally my soul is released to set sail home. If I surrender to despair and self-pity, I let the enemy win. The Creator gave me this fate. I fight to live the best life that I can. The rest is in His hands. One day I will return to His Halls, and when I have made account for my life, I will find peace and healing." Her words were tinged with heartfelt conviction but had a rehearsed quality that indicated Sujanha had been forced to repeat that message over and over again in the past.
"My people will wish to speak to me as soon as possible," Malek said after another long silence. "My work is valuable, and they will not wish to lose me."
"Even if I were not Supreme Commander, I would not be allowed to stay on your homeworld as others of my people have done," Sujanha warned.
"I understand. Your parentage makes that impossible. Am I allowed to use that as an explanation for the High Council?"
Sujanha thought for a brief moment and then shook her head, "My parentage is not known outside our Empire or our close allies like the Nox and the Asgard, and I would not wish it otherwise. I am third in line to the throne of arguably the most powerful empire in the known universe. Behind me is only my brother-son who is too young to rule. My status could make me a target. The Tok'ra have had spies in their ranks before and might have one again. I do not wish my parentage to become common knowledge, not even to Jacob-Selmak."
"The earthquake," Malek scowled, "I think we would all like an explanation for that."
"There could be a natural explanation, but the timing is suspicious."
Malek agreed, and then the conversation shifted to Furling politics and the concern that Malek sensed radiating from his host. Soon after, with her permission, Malek began to study her memories on those issues. The advantage of being Furling: the body slept and healed but Sujanha, and thus Malek, still had conscious access to memories. Sometime after—time had much less meaning in the dream-world—Sujanha was roused from sleep and found herself in a private room onboard one of the Furling relief ships. Anarr was sitting by her side.
"It is good to see you awake, sister," Anarr said.
Sujanha starred back at him from dulled, half-lidded golden eyes. The pain that was already reappearing and the lingering shock of her injuries made her feel foggy, dull, and slow. "Brother." She blinked several times, trying to rouse herself from her stupor. "How long have I slept?"
"Over a day. It is currently late in the evening of the next day after the incident, about the 23rd hour on Uslisgas. You were severely injured."
"I was starting to come to that conclusion by the end." Sujanha replied after a minute, gritting her teeth to ride out a painful tremor that coursed through her body. In front of only her brother, she made no attempt to ride out the pain. Malek's presence in the back of their shared mind was dim, like he was still searching through her memories.
"I'm sorry to have to wake you, but we needed to speak." Anarr was tapping blunt fingers against one of his horns, a sign of his unease.
"The High Council?" Sujanha blinked again. She was with it just enough to feel annoyed at how dull and weary she felt. She was a hunter. She hated being confined to a bed.
Anarr nodded. "An emergency meeting has been called for tomorrow. I do not know by whom and will not speculate."
"And the king, has he spoken?"
"Beyond prayers for your quick recovery, no. Our king has his concerns, yes, though I cannot say that I do not either, but he knows your mind well and will reserve judgment until he has time to speak to you at length."
"Good," Sujanha shifted again, trying to find a comfortable position, and looked her brother in the eye. Dull though she felt, she had thought enough about her situation while she dreamed to speak competently, after dredging up the right words, "I knew the likely consequences of my actions full well when I made my choice. I have devoted my life to the Empire, but I refuse to sacrifice my honor, and I am not so conceited as to think that the Fleet cannot survive without me at its head. Algar is my greatest lieutenant. He is ready to lead if that is deemed best."
"Do you intend to step down?" Anarr asked bluntly.
Sujanha was silent for a long minute, considering her brother's question. "I do not know yet," she replied slowly, "I know the likely reasons why the Council will ask me to step down, and I think I have reasonable explanations to counter each of them. However, I have not yet decided whether I am only trying to justify myself in my own mind because I do not wish to step down." She paused again, and her voice softened. "I'm not sure what I will be outside the Fleet. It is growing hard to remember life without war."
"Plenty," Anarr replied sternly, his eyes flashing, "but we can discuss that more at a later time. For the moment, we both have politics to deal with, as unpleasant as that is. You say you have rebuttals against the Council's likely arguments. Explain them to me. I regret, sister, having to do this now, but the meeting is tomorrow, and I need to know more for guidance before I return to Uslisgas in a few hours."
"The main points I expect them to raise are the risks of having a High Councilor whose impartial judgment was threatened and whose loyalty to the Empire could be impaired by the presence of a symbiote. I expect the issue of my health will also be raised, but that would be an old argument."
"Such concerns are legitimate," Anarr cautioned.
"And I have never argued that they were not," Sujanha replied without heat, "just questioned … how they raised such concerns: when I am not present to speak for myself."
Anarr gave a snort of agreement.
"My health has largely been stable for some years now with the periodic problem not included, and events such as this would be difficult for anyone."
"Agreed, sister."
"Daniel's presence and aid have been … very helpful to my health. I have become quite fond of him." Sujanha felt a rush of fondness as she thought of Daniel. He was a good boy, and she had come to find his presence and assistance almost indispensable. He had a different viewpoint on some issues, a different way of approaching matters that she found helpful.
Anarr gently nudged his sister back on topic. "What about the other issues?"
"Further time to reflect might make me change my opinion, but for the moment I do not deem that Malek's presence threatens my loyalty to the Empire or my impartial judgment as Supreme Commander and High Councilor."
"Because…" Anarr prompted again gently.
"The way the blending is, Malek and I can speak together; we can know what the other knows; but I cannot make him think in a certain way, or he me. Granted he has better access to me to speak and persuade than even you do, brother, but his role is one of possible indirect influence like that of you, Thor, or even Zinjotnax, not direct change."
Sujanha had felt Malek stir in the back of their shared mind—it was still an odd prospect to consider—and now he spoke to her silently, asking for control. Consciously switching control was a very strange feeling, similar to taking a large step back and to one side and allowing Malek forward. Feeling her head move and her voice sound independent of her control was even stranger, even though she trusted Malek.
Anarr instantly realized when his sister's symbiote took control, and Sujanha believed he would have realized even without the grandiose and flashy voice and eye-flash. He straightened and pulled back his hand that had been clasped around his sister's paw.
"I am grateful to your sister, Commander Anarr, for this chance to live," Malek began. Exhaustion was weighing upon both host and symbiote. They had little energy and had expended much just in the conversation with Anarr. "I thought I would die with Loknu in those tunnels. I have no wish to influence your sister towards position that she has no wish to hold. Any knowledge that I possess that can be used to speed the downfall of the Goa'uld is hers gladly. Any advice, any council that I can give her, I will gladly do so. What she does with that knowledge and council is her own decision, not mine."
As soon as he had spoken, Malek pulled back, and Sujanha retook control. She instantly felt a wave of exhaustion. "Does that give you enough information for now, brother?"
"It does."
"Then we must rest. We are very weak."
Anarr rose, gently touching her arm in farewell. "Then rest, sister. I will return with news tomorrow or the day after."
Sujanha's eyes slipped shut as soon as the door slid shut behind Anarr. Within moments, she was asleep.
[1] Much inspiration is taken here from the dreams of the elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.