Rated T for violence and nonsexual nudity. This fic is a sequel to my other fic "The Goa'uld Dialogues: Original Sin". Prior reading is not required, but helpful for orientation, as the character's connection to canon is introduced in that fic.

This fic will also be updated on AO3 where I can be found at: /users/Lilliterra

Symbiote thoughts are denoted in bold. "Bold" also indicates the symbiote intonation.

Host thoughts are denoted in italics.

Sidon had been one of Ba'al's best kept secrets.

The Stargate on Sidon lay in a secluded location; if one had stumbled on it by chance, perhaps by dialing a random gate address, they could have explored for many miles around and never known the moon was inhabited.

Ophrenet's intelligence, however, told her otherwise.

As she walked through the lush forests of the moon, dripping with rain, warm moisture rose from the ground and was cooled by breezes from the mountains. She was following the path of a ridge of land over a clear lake. Where the forest broke, she could see out over a wide vista, where rings of mist hung on the distant hills. The place seemed like a tantalizing paradise, swirling with mystery and hidden treasures.

At least, if she could find any civilization.

Ophrenet hacked away at the vines in front of her with her machete. Sweat dripped off her arms, soaking her Kelownian tunic. She'd taken off the outer garment long ago and tied it about her waist. Now she was contemplating simply stuffing it into her pack.

We need more water, her host Kianna reminded her.

The next waterfall is not far away. We saw it at the last bend, said Ophrenet.

I'm thirsty.

Fine, we will drink what we have left.

Ophrenet relaxed and allowed her host to drink the last drops of water from the canteen.

Nearby, some bold red fruits hung low from a bough.

Those would be good for moisture, too.

Kianna went to get them, and after quickly consulting her molecular scanner, concluded that they were not likely to be poisonous. She bit into one probingly. It was remarkably sweet, and Ophrenet was pleased.

Kianna, have we not found the perfect environment for our form's loveliness? She preened. It is as though we were made for this place.

Oh, stop it, you. Kianna teased. It is lovely, though.

Ophrenet had more skill than her host with the bladed tool, but she had grown bored of hacking through vines, and as her natural disposition was laziness, she retreated and allowed Kianna to continue their hike.

They continued in such a fashion, the Goa'uld only bothering to exert herself when Kianna's arm wavered or her feet threatened to slip due to fatigue. There, the body itself was the issue rather than Kianna, but it was nothing that could not be overcome with an effort of will.

At last the waterfall appeared before them. It tumbled from a high cliff in a narrow stream that turned nearly to mist by the bottom. But there was a small, cold pool, and Kianna knelt down eagerly, scooping the water into her mouth with her hands. Across the water, they both saw the first sign of civilization.

It was a wooden totem, standing about six and a half feet tall, engraved with a relief image of a dove. The bird was rendered in a lifelike style, its wings spread gracefully.

Below it was a narrow dirt path. As she stood up, Kianna wiping the drops from her mouth with the edge of the tunic, a woman came up the path.

The woman hummed as she walked, a light tune in a minor key. She did not notice them at first, and Ophrenet remained still, crouched beside the water, signaling to Kianna not to try to move.

The woman seemed intent on her own business. She wore a blue draped garment with a light and airy quality to it, which had no sleeves and came down about to her knees. In her arms she carried a basket of clothes. After stopping near the totem, she set down her basket, laid a kiss upon the dove, and then knelt by the other side of the water to wash her laundry.

This is my moment.

Ophrenet, are you sure about this? The thoughts of her host were suddenly hesitant.

We've been over this. It'll be easy. We get in, take what we're after, and get out. Nobody will ever suspect a thing. They probably won't even be missed.

All right, said Kianna. I'll let you take it from here. Just be careful.

THREE MONTHS AGO

Some nights they burned the candle for long hours in the lab. Kianna and Ophrenet had worked late that night, but Jonas was still there too, nose in a book, crunching some rather tedious numbers that had to do with radiation physics or something of that nature.

She, on the other hand, was listening. Listening intently, ears bowed near the small radio speakers, as she attuned the dial on the radio slowly. It wasn't an ordinary radio. This was a radio she'd modified specifically to pick up subspace frequencies, but for the last several nights she wasn't getting anything. Ba'al must have changed channels recently—the last galactic news she'd picked up had been the capture of the Temple at Dakara by the Free Jaffa, and apparently the subsequent turnover of Ba'al's forces involved some major security breaches for him.

Now, finally, at last, she was getting something.

The pencil flew across the paper as she jotted down notes and coordinates. The military commands and signals from Ba'al's Jaffa weren't much to listen to, but the information was there. It was. When these flight paths were charted out in three-dimensional space, she would have it. The location of Sidon.

And Jonas had ties with the Tauri, and the Tauri had a Stargate map. If Sidon had a Stargate, Jonas could get her an address.

She sat up, throwing down the pencil triumphantly. "I've got it!"

Jonas raised his cute little head distractedly. "Got what?"

"Sidon. I know where it is."

"Oh…" He scratched his head, parsing her meaning. "You're not saying…"

"I'm leaving. As soon as possible."

Jonas wrinkled his brow, with a slight frown. "Netty, I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you. That doesn't involve letting you run off back to Goa'uld territory."

"Please," said Ophrenet. "That's a formality. You know why I'm going. You know that I won't be rejoining Ba'al."

"Well…" he shrugged. "It's not that I don't trust you. But, it's dangerous."

"We have done dangerous things before."

"Yes…"

"Please, Jonas," said Kianna. "Just help us get the gate address from the SGC. You know this is what we've been working on for a full year. We've kept you involved every step of the way. You know the plan. We just want to steal a symbiote from Ba'al."

"You say that like it's no big deal. Oh, it's just stealing a symbiote from Ba'al." Jonas laughed a little.

Ophrenet felt her host's nervousness, and decided to take over. The appeal to safety was a little too persuasive for Kianna. "No, not even from Ba'al. With any luck at all, we will never encounter him. We are going to Sidon, the homeworld of one Ba'al's mistresses."

"Yes, his most important mistress, his queen Ashtoreth."

"It is a secluded world. Ashtoreth never leaves the moon. Its location was Ba'al's most closely guarded secret for years. The only reason it is now being discussed at all is because it is considered a safe haven for Goa'uld. All over the galaxy, minor Goa'uld whose Jaffa rebelled and overthrew them are fleeing to Sidon. We will blend in. I will simply use a cover story for my absence and pledge my service to Ashtoreth."

"Why didn't the Jaffa rebellion affect Ashtoreth?"

"Ashtoreth has never permitted Jaffa on Sidon. That is the reason why the planet is considered a safe haven."

"I see." Jonas rubbed his chin thoughtfully, placing his elbow on the table. The low-power glass bulbs that lit the room flickered slightly, lighting only his face and the table, leaving the deep shadows in the corners of the lab. "So, when you get the symbiote, you bring it back here. Then what?"

"It's a start." This was the voice of Kianna.

"To the orphanage."

She nodded.

"And how are you going to raise them without Jaffa?"

"Thankfully, I don't have to figure that part out. Supposedly, Ashtoreth is already doing it. At least, that's the rumor I heard in my days under Ba'al. But we'll find out. Then we just steal whatever tech she's using, or at least I can take the plans and figure out how to build it myself."

"And Netty, I know we've talked about this, but you're sure you can raise these symbiotes to be like you?"

"Hells, I hope not." Ophrenet smirked.

Jonas tilted his head again in confusion.

"I'm going to raise them to be like you."

He was so modest. The human ducked his head, and rubbed the back of his neck. "All right, Netty. But you're sure…?"

"That's why we're starting with one. Would it help you to think of them as human babies?"

"I… have to admit, it's hard to make the connection."

Kianna took over. "They haven't done anything wrong, Jonas. They have the same capacity for goodness as Ophrenet."

"Okay. But as I understand it, Netty was… a little different before blending with you."

Ophrenet felt her pride was a little wounded. "Oh, Kianna likes to take so much credit for that."

Jonas raised an eyebrow.

"It's not like she bent me to her will. I observed her. I observed you. I saw that there was a better way. I chose this."

Really? That was Kianna's only coherent objection, but Ophrenet could feel her skepticism.

What?! You defended me to the whole SGC. You told them I wasn't so bad.

Jonas interrupted the internal debate. He had a habit of doing that. "Still," he said. "How do we know any of these symbiotes would attempt blending in the same way you attempted it on Kianna? At any rate, it's going to be a hard sell for any potential host, due to being so risky. And I don't see any other way to educate them."

Ophrenet smiled. "Don't worry about that. It will not become an issue."

"Oh, really."

"We are going to capture a memory-free symbiote. I think that may be an easier sell, as you put it."

"Hmmm." Jonas put the end of the pencil in his mouth. "Aren't those a bit hard come by since the fall of Anubis? His symbiotes were bonded to the artificial hosts, and they died when the supersoldiers died."

"Yes. But Anubis wasn't the only Goa'uld who sought independence from the Jaffa. As I have just told you, Ashtoreth never allowed Jaffa on her homeworld. I have it on good authority that she was inspired by Anubis to find a way to make her own offspring into foot soldiers. She doesn't have access to the same technology that Anubis used, but it's highly likely that she's breeding larvae without the ancestral memories for the same purposes."

Jonas was silent for a while. It was getting late. He closed the book in front of him and sighed. "Well. I see what you mean. I will try to get the gate address for you."

Kianna turned off the radio and stood up. "Thank you."

"But you can't… just go traipsing off with no return date. You have to promise to come back to me. Kianna. Ophrenet. Both of you. I want you both back here even if it doesn't work out."

"I do not think it will take us very long after the date of our departure," said Ophrenet. "If we do not return within one month, it will be safe to assume we are dead or captured."

Kianna flinched. Oh my word, Netty, quit being so dramatic. Why do you always have to jump straight to the worst-case scenario?

I am not afraid. It is you who are afraid.

Only because you keep putting these terrible ideas in my head!

I am merely stating the facts. Even if we were tortured for information, we would not—

That's exactly what I mean! You're scaring me.

We are strong. Ophrenet did her best to imbue her host with confidence, but Kianna wasn't taking it this time.

Maybe you are, but I'm not! I know you feel confident about your own abilities, and that's great. But you are not taking any unnecessary risks with this, because we are NOT getting caught.

Only a fool would allow themselves to be caught, affirmed Ophrenet. Don't worry. We are not getting caught.

They were at peace after that, though Ophrenet kept her thoughts to herself for the rest of the night.