Chapter Four: Exchanges of Knowledge

Every day of his life Col. O'Neil managed to convince himself that he had seen it all. The time he got his head caught in an alien library, the day he later met the Asgard, and even the time he was almost made a Jaffa after an unfortunate run in with Hathor were just a few of those times. But it seemed like the very next day only existed to prove him wrong.

It was out of morbid curiosity that Col. O'Neil forced himself to watch as Lt. Reed gulped down the blood from the IV bag, like a kid sucking on an orange. O'Neil did manage to convince himself that this was all apart of the job. He sat there in the chair by the desk while Teal'c stood to the side.

"Does this not disturb you Colonel O'Neil?" Teal'c asked conversationally.

"Not at all Teal'c," O'Neil responded. "I'm thinking of knocking back a few pints after he's done, I just didn't want to be rude."

Accustomed to Col. O'Neil's typical brand of sarcasm, Teal'c went on. "When I was first prime of Apophis, many of the Jaffa spoke of such creatures existing in the galaxy. On Chulak, stories of the shalik were a common part of our lore."

"The shalik?"

"A fierce and deadly creature, which possessed all of the qualities of a Jaffa. They were exiled from their home village and forced to feed on the blood of their own. My mother used to tell me these stories to ensure that I would not wander far from home."

"We call them vampires here on Earth. I watched all the Dracula movies when I was a kid. But usually he could at least turn into a bat, or a wolf and get away from people."

"It would appear that most of our cultures' theories regarding these creatures are false at best," Teal'c concluded. "All for one at least."

As if on cue, Reed finished draining the blood and tossed it on to the nightstand next to the other empty bag. Without waiting for a prompt, he recounted the events of the doomed mission to P-2985. He felt immense guilt for leaving without making a better effort to save Carter and the others, but he had no other choice. The "vampires", for lack of a better word, tried to follow him through the stargate, which explained the need to close the Iris.

"They had been there for centuries," He explained. "It takes the bacteria a few hours to completely affect the body. Once a few pints have been drained the body becomes a separate entity entirely."

"And these things told you this just before they ravaged you and your team?" O'Neil asked letting the disbelief drip.

"I know how it sounds," Reed said. "But as my body began to change, I suddenly knew it all. At least I knew what I was and what they were. I was able to link with the nurse I'd bitten earlier, and even now I can feel the minds of the soldiers she bit."

"Fascinating," Teal'c commented. "Infant Goa'uld are born with the knowledge of their kind. Certainly it is more than a coincidence that these shalik possess similar attributes."

Col. O'Neil rubbed his temples gently. "Listen, Patrick, here's the thing. Not too many people around here are excited about opening up a vein to feed you and the others. We also have the people you injured, and I know that isn't you're fault, but its adding pressure to the general. At this point I don't care if vampires, or shaliks, or whatever the hell you want to call them are real. I'm just interested in finding out if Sam and the others are all right, before it's too late.

"Anything you can tell us, anything at all would be helpful. But the most helpful thing at this point would be whether or not we can defend ourselves."

Reed nodded.

"Bullets seemed to take them down all right. But there were so many that it was impossible to fight them off. Sam was dragged away by about five of them. That's all I remember about her before I made a run for the gate. God only knows about Levine, Murray, Cooper."

"Did they show any sign of intelligence?" Teal'c asked.

"None. If they've been around for that long, the only thing that matters to them is blood."

Sensing that there was no more information to be gained, Col. O'Neil rose. "Thanks for your help. Is there anyone you want me to get in contact with? Any family I can get a message to?"

Reed shook his head. "No thanks. If I'm still alive at the end of all this there'll be nothing to tell them."

"How far is the stargate anyway?"

"The moons and the sun must pass over us once before we reach it." Cyan answered. "It is the only safe way to make the journey."

They were currently making their way along the river. It roared gently and the breeze off of it was refreshing. The moons were at their peek now and Carter had to work hard not to get caught gazing up at the glowing orange one.

"You said you had been here for many centuries," She said, trying to stay focused. "Has this world always been like this?"

"To my knowledge yes. For the first five hundred years I lived near the stargate, before the others got out of hand. Apophis always finds some excuse to 'feed' someone to me. A member of the Tokra came here not so long ago. He and I spoke for many hours before he finally decided that this world would not be safe for his people. I was saddened to be without company, but I also did not wish for anything to happen to him."

"Have the Asgard ever come here?"

Cyan shook her head. She led Carter to a small hut, a few feet from the river. It appeared to be made from large flat rocks, and a tattered cloth served as the door.

"We must stop here," she said. "I have a few things that will be of use to you."

"Is this your home?" Carter asked, holding the cloth back and looking in.

"No. Just a place to keep my things."

Cyan knelt before a small chest. Inside was a Goa'uld healing device and a pair of zat weapons.

"Occasionally," She explained. "Apophis would take pity on a Jaffa and send him through with a single item to get by with. The zats will injure and repel one of my kind, but it will not kill them."

Carter gratefully accepted the zat and tested it on a nearby rock to see that it worked. She took the healing device and examined it.

"Can you use this?"

"Of course," Cyan answered. "And if I'm not mistaken, so can you."

Carter was shocked for a moment, but not when she considered it. Cyan basically had the same abilities as a Goa'uld. Even Carter could still sense the presence of the Goa'uld and the Tokra in their hosts. She pocketed the device and they continued on their way up the river.

A single representative emerged from the wormhole. The signature gray robes came to an inch above the ground. The host was a dark skinned man with warm black eyes and long hair.

"Welcome to the SGC," General Hammond greeted.

"Thank you General," The man replied. "My name is Hale."

Hale closed his eyes and allowed his symbiote to speak.

"And I am Kylan. It was I who journeyed to Larock forty years ago, where your people are now missing."

The general nodded in acknowledgement. "We appreciate you taking the time to help us. If you'll come this way to the briefing room."

The briefing room was a full house this time around. Hale/Kylan sat beside the General, across from Col. O'Neil. Doctor Jackson and Teal'c sat beside O'Neil, and all of SG-8-including Col. Graves and Doctor Clark. Doctor Frasier was also present incase Kylan could provide any clues to curing the bacterial infection.

"When I first journeyed to this world I thought it would be the perfect hiding place for the Tokra." Kylan began. "The pour light quality at night and the pure darkness during the day would have made it easy to set up a more permanent base. It was not until I encountered several of these creatures, which you have described that I decided it would not be safe for such an endeavor."

"We kinda came to that conclusion ourselves," O'Neil quipped.

"Colonel."

"Sorry."

"I did manage to meet a single woman there who called herself Cyan. She was different from the others, and she told me of how she and her kind came to be on this world. As I understand it, Osiris performed several experiments on her thousands of years ago. Cyan was forced to infect many Tauri with this strain of bacteria in order to build an army stronger and more durable than the Jaffa, but without the necessity of a symbiote."

"I take it you never discovered a cure for the infection?" Dr. Frasier asked.

"She had no desire for a cure." Kylan explained. "Though my former host and I tried to persuade her, she insisted that this was her lot in life."

"That would remain consistent with most of the humans we've met on Goa'uld controlled systems," Dr. Jackson interjected. "Most of them are conditioned to believe that the Goa'uld own their lives."

"What about our people?" O'Neil spoke up. "Can they be cured?"

Kylan nodded. "Fortunately Cyan did allow me to take a blood sample, so that I may study the bacteria incase it was ever needed in the future. After years of study I discovered that the bacteria is similar to the physiology of the Goa'uld. It requires a host body to provide its nourishment and therefore, it continually regenerates the host's aging cells, thus granting a kind of immortality. But, unlike the Goa'uld, this bacteria has no tolerance for naquada. Brief exposure will destroy the bacteria without killing off the potential host."

"How did you manage to make this discovery?" Dr. Clark asked, off curiosity.

Kylan closed his eyes, and allowed Hale to take over.

"I originally volunteered to be infected with the bacteria," He explained. "I fed from animals, and voluntary donors. But it wasn't until I fed from a Tokra host that my body experienced an anaphylactic reaction."

"An allergy?"

"Correct."

Kylan took over once again.

"We are prepared to donate samples of our blood so that you may defeat the infection."

"General," O'Neil spoke up. "If naquada can prevent a person from becoming a vampire than we might still have a chance of rescuing Major Carter." "We might also be able to rescue the rest of SG-14." Col. Graves suggested.

"It's likely we could save the other inhabitants as well," Doctor Clark added. "If we could get a large enough supply of liquid naquada it would be worth it."

"That would be almost pointless," Kylan stated bluntly. "Many of the infected individuals who are still roaming the planet's surface have been there for many centuries. Some have been there for thousands of years. Even if they were cured it is unlikely that much would be left of their original minds."

"Well, lets keep an open mind," General Hammond said, ready with a decision. "Doctor Frasier, I want you to work with Kylan and begin the process of curing our people. Colonel's O'Neil and Graves, your teams are scheduled to leave for P-2985 in two hours. Retrieve Major Carter, and if possible, try to bring back the rest of SG-14, but do not put yourselves at risk. Dismissed."