Take a Chance on Me - Chapter 19
Rayne lay on the gurney, strapped down at her chest, wrists, and ankles. She had insisted on this; she didn't want to hurt anyone else. Still, she stared up at the ceiling of the medical bay terrified. Dr. Frasier, whom Rayne had been introduced to, was looking over her chart at the foot of the bed. Rayne had been through a battery of tests and was about to be moved to an isolation room. Until then, she stared at the curtain across the room where she knew that Jack and Jonas were being treated.
Rayne ran her tongue over lips nervously trying to make her mouth work. She blinked back tears and clenched and unclenched her fists. Her head throbbed, and now she knew why. She stared up at an x-ray of her skull where *something* was attached. Dr. Frasier placed her fingers to Rayne's neck to check for a pulse.
"Are they going to be alright?" Rayne whispered worriedly.
Janet looked at her startled. It was difficult to tell when it was the girl speaking and when it was the monster. "They'll be fine."
Rayne thought about that for a few moments. "Do you think. that I could talk to Jonas for a minute? Then Jack? Please? It can be over the phone or something, just. I need to speak to them privately."
"I don't know if that's a good idea right now. I'll have to talk to the general, but I'll see what I can do."
Rayne's eyes widened in alarm, her head darting back and forth. Janet took a step back, instinctively grabbing a needle with sedative that she had prepared earlier. "Sam is here." Rayne blurted out as Janet jammed the needle into the IV bag.
Rayne threw her head back as if in a seizure. Just as suddenly she stopped and her eyes opened again. A cackle escaped her mouth, reverberating eerily. He eyes glowed golden as she stared at Janet, her mouth twisting into a hideous smile, the demonic laughter continued. Even after all she had seen, it was the most intimidating sound that Janet had ever heard.
Sam peeped around the curtain, worry crossing her face. She too, had heard the sound and she knew that the Goa'uld was back in control. The naquada in her blood twinged even though she had not touched the girl. This had never happened before. She stared down at the girl in the bed. Rayne stared back, sneering.
Ignoring the alien, Sam turned to Janet. "The general wants her moved to isolation. We have a briefing in 20 minutes." At Janet's nod she turned and walked to the curtain where the colonel and Jonas were waiting.
Four female MP's came into the room and began to move the bed to the isolation unit. Rayne turned her head to glare at Janet as she was wheeled out.
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"Report, Doctor." General Hammond gruffly commanded. It had been a long day already. This made it worse than he thought possible. The general glanced over at his 2IC who showed no outward emotion but was strangely silent. That was a bad sign.
"Well, sir, Jonas and the Colonel will be fine. The chemical in their systems dissipates quickly when the Goa'uld is not in the immediate vicinity or when it doesn't have control over the host. This is different than what we have seen in the past, which is part of what brings me to my conclusion of the patient's condition." Janet took a deep breath to brace herself before continuing. "I've been looking over the scans of Rayne's brain. The Goa'uld's physiology is different than other Goa'uld that we have previously encountered. The parts of the brain stimulated are different than that of a normal Goa'uld and the chemical produced, although similar in effect to that of Hathor's, is manufactured as more a part of the host than that of the symbiote. It's actually composed of human pheromones rather than the pheromones of the alien itself. Additionally, the basic shape of the body is different and the naquada levels are much higher than that of any of the other Goa'uld we've encountered."
"Can we get to the point?" Jack asked, tersely.
"The point is," Janet responded gently, "that this is not a normal Goa'uld. I think we're looking at a different breed, if not a different species of alien."
"For crying out loud! You're telling us that there's more than one *kind* of snake now? And how did it get there in the first place?"
"I haven't figured that out yet. There is scar tissue in the back of the neck, which is probably the entry point, but it's too well healed, even with a symbiote, to be more recent than a year."
"Egypt." Jonas chimed in. "Rayne told me that she had been in Egypt when she was a sophomore. She passed out next to a cistern. If there had been Goa'uld larvae in the water, one could have jumped out and attacked."
"A sophomore? That's more than seven years ago. Teal'c, have you ever heard of an immature symbiote living that long in a host without being fully developed?" Sam asked.
"I have not." Teal'c responded. "I also must point out that if there was one symbiote in the water, it would also be possible that there may have been more. It seems unlikely that we would not have discovered more hosts if the source was here on Earth."
"I agree, Teal'c. The samples that we took on the Chaka's planet indicate that the water in which a symbiote lives requires an immense amount of oxygen and various chemicals to sustain them. A cistern simply wouldn't have that available. There must have been something else."
"What about a jar like the one that Osiris was imprisoned in? She could have found one of those and accidentally let it escape." Jonas interjected.
"It's possible, but why would anyone imprison an immature Goa'uld? It obviously wouldn't have the power to do anything." Sam asked.
"I'm not so sure that it is an immature Goa'uld." Janet replied. "It's as large as any of the mature symbiotes that we've encountered, larger in fact. It's either very close to maturity or it has just taken this long to gain control. I mentioned earlier that it has attached itself to different parts of the brain. I believe that it's been stimulating the part of the brain that many people believe is linked ESP. It's not controlling Rayne's body directly through the nervous system; it's controlling the part of the brain that influences the rest of her as it wants. It's also possible that, to a certain extent anyway, it can influence those around it.
"Are you saying that this alien can control other people, Doctor?" General Hammond, asked, alarmed.
"No sir, not control - influence. A person is more likely to do what she says, particularly if they aren't being cautious, but she can't physically make them do something."
Jonas piped up. "I still don't understand why, if the symbiote is fully mature, and has been all this time, why it hasn't taken control before now and why it isn't in control all the time."
"I have an idea about that." Sam replied quietly. "The Goa'uld reacts whenever I'm around. The intensity of the sense of naquada in her blood has also increased since our first encounter. It's possible that other Goa'uld are a triggering mechanism that exacerbate the problem."
Jonas shook his head in disagreement. "But she didn't do anything when we had dinner together last week and both you and Teal'c were there. And it took control when we were alone."
"Well, dinner was the first encounter with us. Perhaps it's been dormant for so long that it's taking a little while for it to come back full strength. Every time I go near her, it gets a little stronger. As for when it took control when it was just the two of you, perhaps there are other things that trigger the same effect." Sam countered.
"As fascinating as all of this is, we can argue about all of this later," Jack said irritatedly, "Sir, the Tok'ra are incommunicado right now and we don't exactly have many options; request permission to lead a mission to Cimmeria as soon as possible."
"Other options, people?" The general asked tersely.
"Sir, I think we should find out if symbiotic presence affects the Goa'uld before Teal'c and I plan to accompany the colonel on this mission." Sam suggested gently.
Jack looked at her with reluctance, knowing that she was right.
"Actually, I wasn't going to allow any of you to go. The Goa'uld's influence is obviously too great over you. I was going to send a team with Major Anne Waters of SG-7 in the lead. She will be accompanied by Capt. O'Melia, Lt. Briggs, Lt. Anderson, and Airman Ream."
"An all-female team." Sam added.
"General, with all due respect to Major Waters, she's never led a mission, Lt. Anderson is almost strictly a lab technician, and Airman Ream has never even been through the gate. This is the team that is going to save my niece from the Goa'uld?" Jack questioned sardonically.
"I'm sorry, son, but unless someone can come up with a way to keep the Goa'uld from influencing the men on this base, it's the best team we have available at short notice."
"Actually, General, there are pheromone blockers available. We may be able to adapt them fairly easily to use here. Jonas and Colonel O'Neill would be able to accompany the team with those in place. As an added precaution, they can wear environmental suits. However, I agree with Sam about her and Teal'c not going on this mission. I saw the Goa'uld's reaction when Sam was present." Janet suggested.
"And what about the influence that Jonas seems to have?" General Hammond asked.
Jonas blushed and looked down. "Uh, General, I don't think there will be a reason for those influences to exist on the mission." Sam added with a smirk at Jonas' pink tinged ears. "Right, Jonas?"
"Right." He mumbled, "no increasing the pheromone levels of aliens off- world."
General Hammond raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. "Okay people, you have until 0830 to get ready. I suggest you get as much rest as possible."
Rayne lay on the gurney, strapped down at her chest, wrists, and ankles. She had insisted on this; she didn't want to hurt anyone else. Still, she stared up at the ceiling of the medical bay terrified. Dr. Frasier, whom Rayne had been introduced to, was looking over her chart at the foot of the bed. Rayne had been through a battery of tests and was about to be moved to an isolation room. Until then, she stared at the curtain across the room where she knew that Jack and Jonas were being treated.
Rayne ran her tongue over lips nervously trying to make her mouth work. She blinked back tears and clenched and unclenched her fists. Her head throbbed, and now she knew why. She stared up at an x-ray of her skull where *something* was attached. Dr. Frasier placed her fingers to Rayne's neck to check for a pulse.
"Are they going to be alright?" Rayne whispered worriedly.
Janet looked at her startled. It was difficult to tell when it was the girl speaking and when it was the monster. "They'll be fine."
Rayne thought about that for a few moments. "Do you think. that I could talk to Jonas for a minute? Then Jack? Please? It can be over the phone or something, just. I need to speak to them privately."
"I don't know if that's a good idea right now. I'll have to talk to the general, but I'll see what I can do."
Rayne's eyes widened in alarm, her head darting back and forth. Janet took a step back, instinctively grabbing a needle with sedative that she had prepared earlier. "Sam is here." Rayne blurted out as Janet jammed the needle into the IV bag.
Rayne threw her head back as if in a seizure. Just as suddenly she stopped and her eyes opened again. A cackle escaped her mouth, reverberating eerily. He eyes glowed golden as she stared at Janet, her mouth twisting into a hideous smile, the demonic laughter continued. Even after all she had seen, it was the most intimidating sound that Janet had ever heard.
Sam peeped around the curtain, worry crossing her face. She too, had heard the sound and she knew that the Goa'uld was back in control. The naquada in her blood twinged even though she had not touched the girl. This had never happened before. She stared down at the girl in the bed. Rayne stared back, sneering.
Ignoring the alien, Sam turned to Janet. "The general wants her moved to isolation. We have a briefing in 20 minutes." At Janet's nod she turned and walked to the curtain where the colonel and Jonas were waiting.
Four female MP's came into the room and began to move the bed to the isolation unit. Rayne turned her head to glare at Janet as she was wheeled out.
************************
"Report, Doctor." General Hammond gruffly commanded. It had been a long day already. This made it worse than he thought possible. The general glanced over at his 2IC who showed no outward emotion but was strangely silent. That was a bad sign.
"Well, sir, Jonas and the Colonel will be fine. The chemical in their systems dissipates quickly when the Goa'uld is not in the immediate vicinity or when it doesn't have control over the host. This is different than what we have seen in the past, which is part of what brings me to my conclusion of the patient's condition." Janet took a deep breath to brace herself before continuing. "I've been looking over the scans of Rayne's brain. The Goa'uld's physiology is different than other Goa'uld that we have previously encountered. The parts of the brain stimulated are different than that of a normal Goa'uld and the chemical produced, although similar in effect to that of Hathor's, is manufactured as more a part of the host than that of the symbiote. It's actually composed of human pheromones rather than the pheromones of the alien itself. Additionally, the basic shape of the body is different and the naquada levels are much higher than that of any of the other Goa'uld we've encountered."
"Can we get to the point?" Jack asked, tersely.
"The point is," Janet responded gently, "that this is not a normal Goa'uld. I think we're looking at a different breed, if not a different species of alien."
"For crying out loud! You're telling us that there's more than one *kind* of snake now? And how did it get there in the first place?"
"I haven't figured that out yet. There is scar tissue in the back of the neck, which is probably the entry point, but it's too well healed, even with a symbiote, to be more recent than a year."
"Egypt." Jonas chimed in. "Rayne told me that she had been in Egypt when she was a sophomore. She passed out next to a cistern. If there had been Goa'uld larvae in the water, one could have jumped out and attacked."
"A sophomore? That's more than seven years ago. Teal'c, have you ever heard of an immature symbiote living that long in a host without being fully developed?" Sam asked.
"I have not." Teal'c responded. "I also must point out that if there was one symbiote in the water, it would also be possible that there may have been more. It seems unlikely that we would not have discovered more hosts if the source was here on Earth."
"I agree, Teal'c. The samples that we took on the Chaka's planet indicate that the water in which a symbiote lives requires an immense amount of oxygen and various chemicals to sustain them. A cistern simply wouldn't have that available. There must have been something else."
"What about a jar like the one that Osiris was imprisoned in? She could have found one of those and accidentally let it escape." Jonas interjected.
"It's possible, but why would anyone imprison an immature Goa'uld? It obviously wouldn't have the power to do anything." Sam asked.
"I'm not so sure that it is an immature Goa'uld." Janet replied. "It's as large as any of the mature symbiotes that we've encountered, larger in fact. It's either very close to maturity or it has just taken this long to gain control. I mentioned earlier that it has attached itself to different parts of the brain. I believe that it's been stimulating the part of the brain that many people believe is linked ESP. It's not controlling Rayne's body directly through the nervous system; it's controlling the part of the brain that influences the rest of her as it wants. It's also possible that, to a certain extent anyway, it can influence those around it.
"Are you saying that this alien can control other people, Doctor?" General Hammond, asked, alarmed.
"No sir, not control - influence. A person is more likely to do what she says, particularly if they aren't being cautious, but she can't physically make them do something."
Jonas piped up. "I still don't understand why, if the symbiote is fully mature, and has been all this time, why it hasn't taken control before now and why it isn't in control all the time."
"I have an idea about that." Sam replied quietly. "The Goa'uld reacts whenever I'm around. The intensity of the sense of naquada in her blood has also increased since our first encounter. It's possible that other Goa'uld are a triggering mechanism that exacerbate the problem."
Jonas shook his head in disagreement. "But she didn't do anything when we had dinner together last week and both you and Teal'c were there. And it took control when we were alone."
"Well, dinner was the first encounter with us. Perhaps it's been dormant for so long that it's taking a little while for it to come back full strength. Every time I go near her, it gets a little stronger. As for when it took control when it was just the two of you, perhaps there are other things that trigger the same effect." Sam countered.
"As fascinating as all of this is, we can argue about all of this later," Jack said irritatedly, "Sir, the Tok'ra are incommunicado right now and we don't exactly have many options; request permission to lead a mission to Cimmeria as soon as possible."
"Other options, people?" The general asked tersely.
"Sir, I think we should find out if symbiotic presence affects the Goa'uld before Teal'c and I plan to accompany the colonel on this mission." Sam suggested gently.
Jack looked at her with reluctance, knowing that she was right.
"Actually, I wasn't going to allow any of you to go. The Goa'uld's influence is obviously too great over you. I was going to send a team with Major Anne Waters of SG-7 in the lead. She will be accompanied by Capt. O'Melia, Lt. Briggs, Lt. Anderson, and Airman Ream."
"An all-female team." Sam added.
"General, with all due respect to Major Waters, she's never led a mission, Lt. Anderson is almost strictly a lab technician, and Airman Ream has never even been through the gate. This is the team that is going to save my niece from the Goa'uld?" Jack questioned sardonically.
"I'm sorry, son, but unless someone can come up with a way to keep the Goa'uld from influencing the men on this base, it's the best team we have available at short notice."
"Actually, General, there are pheromone blockers available. We may be able to adapt them fairly easily to use here. Jonas and Colonel O'Neill would be able to accompany the team with those in place. As an added precaution, they can wear environmental suits. However, I agree with Sam about her and Teal'c not going on this mission. I saw the Goa'uld's reaction when Sam was present." Janet suggested.
"And what about the influence that Jonas seems to have?" General Hammond asked.
Jonas blushed and looked down. "Uh, General, I don't think there will be a reason for those influences to exist on the mission." Sam added with a smirk at Jonas' pink tinged ears. "Right, Jonas?"
"Right." He mumbled, "no increasing the pheromone levels of aliens off- world."
General Hammond raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. "Okay people, you have until 0830 to get ready. I suggest you get as much rest as possible."
