Chapter 53 - Known Strangers
"So why were you involved with this?" Mckay asked Daniel, on his way up to escort Jean and Caleb Miller down. The astrophysicist had not been told the name of who he was going to meet, and given his slightly anti-social nature, it was not surprising that he hadn't asked.
"Tobias saw her work and thought it was good, but she resisted the military's advance," Daniel said. Mckay gave a shrug of grudging respect for that. "She asked that I step in and mediate."
"I find it hard to believe anyone's worth that much effort," said Mckay as the elevator rose floor by floor.
Daniel shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't know for sure."
"Exactly. Which is why you weren't the best one for the role."
"Well, of the other civilians, who do you think would have done better? You?"
Mckay gave a non-answer of acquiescence, and Daniel smiled to himself. On good days, this light banter was enjoyable. And reminiscent of his conversation with Jean, actually. He wondered what the two of them together would produce.
They arrived at the top.
"Why are you here, exactly?" Mckay asked.
"Just for the introduction," said Daniel, and that was straddling the line between truth and fiction a little more than any other part of this prank. He had a feeling it'd be worth it.
Mckay stood, looking bored and slightly fidgety. Daniel noticed the Millers coming from a ways off, but he didn't point Mckay in that direction. They were only fifteen feet away when Jean called.
"Ah, Dr. Jackson, there you are. I was hoping this was the right place."
"Call me Daniel," Daniel opened, as Mckay spun around at the sound of the voice.
Jean froze. "Meredith?" she choked.
Daniel was confused. Mckay was flustered. "Jeannie?" He turned to Daniel, incensed. "You recruited my sister?"
"Is your name Meredith?" asked Daniel, brow furrowed.
He winced. "Meredith Rodney Mckay, but I prefer Rodney, and that's not the point."
"Did he put you up to this?" Jean demanded, looking at Daniel.
"No," Daniel answered truthfully, looking her in the eye and pulling off a mostly-innocent look.
"Okay, this is just strange," Jean said, with a tense chuckle. She wore her hair down curled around her shoulders, and she pushed it aside and took a deep breath. "You didn't recognize the name?" she asked Mckay.
"I never heard it," Mckay protested. "I had no idea until yesterday, and—you're an actual scientist?"
Daniel smirked. The blunt subject change was very Mckay.
"Yes, Rodney," Jean said, rolling her eyes at the obviousness of the answer. "Far from what you think, I didn't just give it all up."
Daniel, not knowing exactly why Mckay and his sister had a supposedly conflicted relationship, glanced at Caleb now. He was standing almost unnoticed in the background, a great feat given his height. His calm hadn't wavered, though, so Daniel presumed that despite the bickering these two were safe to be around each other.
"Well, I didn't think you would stoop to government work," Mckay commented, crossing his arms over his chest. "Isn't that a taboo of yours?"
"First of all, I haven't agreed to work here," Jean said, gesturing with one hand while the other planted itself on her hip. "Because—which is secondly—the only thing I know is that Dr. Jackson was very convincing. I don't even know what goes on here."
"Oh," said Mckay, his crossed arms relaxing in surprise. "Really?" The sarcastic mask faded completely, leaving only a slight eagerness to share the wonders he'd seen.
Daniel ducked his head for a second to hide the grin.
"Yes, Mer, that's why I'm here," said Jean with a sigh.
"Are we ready to start the tour?" Daniel asked, judging it safe to jump into the conversation.
"Yes, please," said Jean, making herself brighten up and look past Mckay to Daniel.
"It's a good thing you weren't told anything, because you would not believe this," Mckay commented as they entered the elevator. The eagerness was mixed with just a slight overtone of smugness.
"Mer, shut up please," said Jean curtly.
"Rodney," said Mckay through clenched teeth.
"Down to level 28 then," said Daniel brightly. He glanced at Caleb over the siblings' heads, and saw a smirk on the man's face. As he'd guessed, there wasn't anything too deep beneath the superficial sharp banter—it was more a social ritual than anything real. And he didn't feel too guilty for enjoying Mckay in this flustered state.
ooooooo
The hours turned into days on Dorieth, and Sam only realized she cared about keeping track when Jolinar did not. They would stay until the job was done, not for an arbitrary amount of time. Still, Sam was bound by time, and so even Jolinar's deep-rooted ways of thinking were slightly dislodged until she gave in.
In the month since they had first arrived on this world, the weather had consistently grown hotter, and Sam and Jolinar had noticed it consistently less. Sam was glad for a symbiote who was more used to heated temperatures, even if it didn't fully compensate. The planet also started into its dryer stage, though, as much as that could be on such a humid world, and everyone appreciated it.
No word from other worlds, and no more Jaffa or slave transfers, had taken place in the last couple days since they'd been on the planet. Still, every time Jolinar glanced up from where the paving stones were being slid into place on the road, tiny figures were more than likely moving up or down the road that bridged the stargate and the village.
Sam wondered when Quetesh would send word or check up in person, though Jolinar's first thought was that the latter was unlikely. It was only an idle thought, and distracted from their cover. But it struck them as foreboding when only hours later, the gate activated unexpectedly.
One of the Jaffa glanced up and drew Sam and Jolinar's attention to it, and Sam frowned. The sun was particularly glaring, and even squinting Sam couldn't see anything, so she ignored it and turned back to the road.
Behind her, only a few minutes later, she heard the slide of dirt and stones, and looked to see a slave half running, half slipping, down the hill. "My lord!" he called before he was close enough. As soon as he was, he stooped a little, saying through heaving breaths: "My lord, a servant of the gods, to speak with you."
*Goa'uld?* Jolinar questioned, sharp in her surprise.
"Name?" Sam questioned aloud, impassively.
"He would not speak to your Jaffa at the gate," the young slave said, seemingly resisting with effort the desire to rest his arms on his knees as he bent forward.
"Then bring him to me, I have no time for meaningless distractions," said Sam, waving him off with her hand. ~So, this is curious, right?~
*Interesting, to say the least.*
~Why would one of Quetesh's lieutenants come here, and not to her flagship?~
*You're assuming it is one of Quetesh's. Any System Lord might have sent a servant, perhaps to issue challenge, perhaps to beg for alliance.*
A near mishap with one of the gravel carts caught their attention, and their near-snap of an admonition was only half act. Jolinar apologized for the hint of temper that had leaked through into Sam, although Sam wasn't sure that it wasn't her. They remembered the approaching Goa'uld only when more footsteps were heard.
Sam spun around, erect and skeptical, and looked straight up into the eyes of Lantash.
Jolinar froze inwardly as Sam did outwardly. Her eyes briefly glanced down, taking in the close-cut green silk robes and minimalist gold adornment, and then looked back up to his fact to confirm. She must have been mistaken—but no, Jolinar's reaction was all she needed. That really was Lantash, glint in his eyes and a firm set to his mouth.
Sam felt only emotionally overwhelmed when she connected with Jolinar, and so she tried to draw herself out as much as possible, focusing on the situation. "What brings you to Dorieth," she half-demanded of Lantash, a slight frown on her face.
"That is business between myself and your lord," Lantash answered smoothly, looking down straight into her eyes. "Am I to assume that you are the Commander Coron I seek?"
"Yes," answered Sam, finding it difficult to concentrate on what he was saying. He had always looked well in Tok'ra garb, but he wore both the garb and the personality of a Goa'uld with a smoldering intensity that Sam could almost feel. ~Jolinar?~ The symbiote certainly had it worse off, and only Sam's busy thoughts kept her from noticing exactly what scenarios were running through Jolinar's mind.
"Then I believe I have taken enough haphazard handling at your hands," Lantash said, settling back on his heels with a slight look of disgust. "Do you have any concept of the idea of respect, or will you keep me standing in this climate?"
~God, he needs to wear green more often,~ Sam's thought ran away with her. Then, giving herself a mental shake, she turned to a subordinate. "Keep your eye on this!" she ordered, then turned back to Lantash with a firm look. "I will hear your request at my lord's temple, but I owe you no respect until I know your connection to her."
Lantash said nothing, only flashed his eyes in a look that was both intimidating and teasing. Sam knew that the melting feeling, and the flush coming to her face, was not just from Jolinar. Realizing exactly who she was starting to fantasize about, she hoped that Jolinar was still too distracted to make the same connection, and she turned to lead the way up the hill. What really mattered was—why was he here? How?
It didn't seem to take as long as usual to get up to the temple. Jolinar, caught off guard by her mate in all his glory, only then started to descend from a cloud of distracted lust enough to realize that Sam had been trying to keep all the pieces together. *I beg pardon.*
~No, I understand,~ was all that Sam answered. And thankfully Jolinar didn't seem to realize that it wasn't just imagined sympathy, but something much closer and fresher, even if to a lesser extent.
At the top of the steps, Sam ordered the Jaffa guards in the main court to take up position outside, leaving her with Lantash for a more private audience. As soon as all Jaffa and slaves were out of the way, she turned and hissed to him: "What the hell?"
"Have I disrupted your plans?" Lantash asked, almost cheeky, but the hint of a frown on his face. His voice, low in the wide shady court, did not carry far.
"What are you doing here?" Sam pressed, wanting to get straight to the point. Any longer with this teasing, and she'd fall back into shallower thoughts—especially with Jolinar's thoughts still striving to climb out of the gutter.
His face was all seriousness. "We had a thought, Martouf and I, and we spoke to Council once you were gone. We did not think you would be able to establish yourself with enough speed, and even then you might not have the correct access. We offered ourselves to try to gain a closer look at Quetesh's court, at her plans."
*A spy?* Jolinar wondered, her mind now completely on Sam's level. *But they have not done so for many, many years.*
"And?" Sam asked, not knowing what else.
"And," Lantash said, moving his tall frame a little closer to them, almost towering. "And we found that Coron was not only well-established, but had been so for quite some time." He enunciated the last few words, the buzz of the symbiote voice adding even more weight. "Quite." His look was grave.
~They guessed,~ Sam said.
*And now they know. I should have foreseen this. Here, let me carry on.*
Despite the fact that she could not change her voice to be less like Sam's, both of them knew that Lantash could tell the difference as soon as Jolinar took control. "Do you consider your purpose complete, then?" she asked.
"Not in the least," said Lantash, moving even closer to her. "Jolinar, there was never a lead. You had this revenge plot planned from the moment Samantha reminded you of Quetesh."
"So I did, to some extent," Jolinar said, looking him directly in the eye to keep her eyes from wandering to the flattering cut of his robes. She could be professional, it was just difficult when caught off guard by the one person who could instantly spark heated sensations in her.
"And you thought deception was the way to deal with this?" Lantash pushed. Jolinar saw the glint in his eyes, the near-glow of strong emotion. He was angry with her, frustrated and disappointed.
"Samantha and I made a promise, not only to each other," said Jolinar. "And we hold that higher than anything else."
"But the Tok'ra do not, and as you are not disowning them," he trailed off, but the sharpness in his tone suggested an unspoken 'yet'.
"They would not have known," said Jolinar. "And they approved the mission, so there would be no harm."
"You can't live like this," Lantash protested, reaching out to grip her shoulder. His touch was distracting, but Jolinar kept her gaze tightly matching his. "Lies only provide good results for a time, and even then there is damage. This is yet another secret you were to keep from us. For how long?"
"Until all was finished," Jolinar said. She glanced around, making sure that they were still alone. "Lantash, you would not have approved, and in doing so you would have broken Sha're's heart, and Samantha's along with it, and I could not have remained whole with that. After all that is happened, you would have had me do that to her?"
Lantash frowned, but there was no tenseness in his answer. "Did you think of another way? Or did you leap for the easy route, even though it was deception?"
Jolinar didn't answer. Her eyes darted down for a second as she did not know what to say next. *We knew it was a mistake all along, did we not?*
~In some way, yes. But we could justify it. I—I don't know if that was truly good enough for either of us, though.~
"Either way was fraught with pain," Jolinar finally answered, no defense in her tone as she looked back up into Lantash's eyes. "We were not blind to that."
He nodded briefly, with a short sigh. His hand on her shoulder loosened, stroking instead of gripping. "We did not come to fight," he said, "but to help."
"So you will continue with the mission?" Jolinar asked. Both she and Sam assumed that it had been a ruse to be able to confront them.
Lantash nodded. "Despite ulterior motives, Martouf would not have agreed to this had we not had purer ones underneath. And as usual, I could not deny his reasoning."
"So you will attempt to infiltrate Quetesh's court," Jolinar clarified, her hands unclenching from her side as she crossed her arms loosely across her chest armor.
"It has been a long time since I took on such a role—I believe it will be worth it," Lantash answered.
"You most certainly look the part," Jolinar said, a small smile as she looked him up and down one last time. She didn't seem to notice that she was not the only one to find him more than attractive with this look.
Lantash leaned in, matching her look. "I'd say that your approval was the only one I wished for, but you understand that duty calls for more..."
"I think you will find success comes easily," Jolinar said, with a last nod. She licked her lips, glancing back. But she couldn't afford a kiss, not when so much depended on these guises. So she bit down her desire, leaving it smoldering in her eyes.
"Then all is settled," said Lantash comfortably. "And all the Tok'ra will know is that they have two operatives deep in the field."
Jolinar shook her head, thinking of the complications, and how unlikely this all was to happen in this way. Then she sighed and nodded once. "What are you calling yourself?"
"Tirnin," Lantash said.
"Then Tirnin," Jolinar said, stepping back and lifting her chin, her voice cooling as she became Coron. "I believe my lord would wish to speak with you. You will be directed to her court."
Lantash was as Tirnin once again, the wicked gleam in his eyes matched only by the firm resolve on his face. "Then I will congratulate Quetesh on the efficiency of her servants."
And neither Sam nor Jolinar could fully understand what this all meant at the moment. All they knew for sure was, it felt good to have someone close who knew almost all. And—Martouf and Lantash had never been so attractive before.
ooooooo
"This is insane," Jean repeated, taking a seat in the mess hall just in case she fainted. They'd come full circle back to Level 28, only to have Jean need to withdraw.
"Rodney, she needs something to eat," said Kaleb, sitting by his wife and putting a hand on her shoulder.
To Daniel's surprise, Mckay went straight off to get something. He wondered if it was because, unlike his wife, Kaleb hadn't called the scientist Meredith. Meredith Rodney Mckay. Daniel wasn't sure he'd get over that any time soon.
Jean rested her head in her hand until Mckay came back, a bowl of blue jello in his hand. "Blue, Mer?" she asked skeptically.
"Oh what, you don't like it?" he asked.
"It's fine," she muttered, taking a bite and swallowing. She breathed out again.
"Sorry about that," Daniel said, sitting next to Kaleb at the table. "It's a bit overwhelming."
"Overwhelming?" Jean asked, a lot of emotion in that one word. "Earth is almost destroyed on a regular basis by aliens, what should I be feeling?"
"Not regular," said Mckay, a slight weariness in his tone.
"It's mostly about exploring peaceful worlds," Daniel agreed.
"You're both insane," Jean said firmly. "All of you here, actually. I mean, you have all this technology, and you still go out looking for danger—there's enough here to last you all several lifetimes already."
"Maybe," said Mckay reluctantly, sharing a glance with Daniel.
"But it's not just about us, it's about the generations to come," said Daniel, still persuasive.
Jean half-laughed through a mouthful of jello. "Just be glad you only have to explain that to me, not the billions of people this is a secret to."
"What does that mean?" asked Mckay.
She swallowed the jello and took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "Oh, just that I'm more easily swayed by the amazing science than the average rational person. This place is just—it leaves me speechless." She gestured vaguely with her hand.
"Glad you came?" asked Mckay, a little smug. Daniel noticed he'd forgotten that he'd been against her arrival only a few hours before.
"Maybe," she said carefully. She glanced down at her jello. "You know, Rodney, this stuff isn't too bad."
Daniel smiled to himself. Not only had she used Mckay's name, which was probably a good sign, but he saw her defenses waver.
"So, you have a family here?" Jean asked, changing the subject slightly. "How does that work, exactly, if you're locked up in a mountain doing things you can't talk about?"
Oh yes, she was almost ready to sign up. Daniel was just about ready to claim this recruit as a success.
ooooooo
Jolinar fell asleep before Sam that night, and Sam breathed out in relief. They'd gone over the surprising events of the day, trying to make it fit into their plan. Martouf and Lantash had surprised them, in more ways than one, and the extra support needed a little to get used to. But that part was pretty easy in the end—in fact, it was good.
What Jolinar didn't seem to notice was what Sam tried not to think of. That was the goal of course, but Sam was surprised she'd succeeded. It was the first time since the blending that she realized it might be more complicated than she thought. It wasn't the lack of privacy—and yet it was.
Jolinar's feelings for Martouf and Lantash had been powerful on first sight, but Sam hadn't been without an instant reaction of her own. Physical, but also emotional. How had it happened so fast? How did she care this much that her heart almost fluttered when they looked down at her with those eyes? This was Jolinar's mate she was talking about, someone who was supposed to share Jolinar only with the one who would be bound to her for life.
And that wasn't Sam, not really. She wasn't going to be around that long, and so she had no claim on them, despite being so close to Jolinar. Sam now realized how that fact would probably hurt her. She was falling in love, unintentionally, and it had been slow in coming but sure in the end. She didn't know how to stop it—and her heart was telling her she didn't want to.
But her mind kept telling her that it was unfair to Jolinar, unfair to Martouf and Lantash, to intrude like this. She shouldn't allow herself to do this to any of them. If she could just bury her feelings, avoid thinking those thoughts, the mission would be over soon enough. She hoped. And Jolinar need never know that Sam had accidentally committed herself too much.
