75

Queen's Gambit

When Sam and Teal'c returned, the first thing they looked for was Evree, who was once again sniffing her flower.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?" Carter asked O'Neill in a respectful aside. "After all, we're pretty sure the flower's scent is some sort of drug."

"I'm sure of it," O'Neill replied. "I may not be a doctor, but I can tell an addict when I see one. Evree is hooked on that stuff."

"So we're just going to let her get even more addicted?" Sam asked, aghast. "Shouldn't we cut her off?"

"And tip off Konaseus that we're on to him?" O'Neill pointed out. "Look, I don't like it. I don't like it a lot. But we can't take her away from here, or even try to start withdrawing the drug until we know the full extent of its effects."

"I had no idea you were so knowledgeable, sir." O'Neill seemed to make a career out of surprising her, Sam thought. "And you're right. She should be under medical supervision when she starts withdrawing." She sighed. "But it doesn't feel right, seeing her addicted like that and not being able to do anything to help."

"How do you think I feel?" O'Neill snapped, then immediately relented, he was taking it out on the wrong person. He just hoped that he'd have the opportunity to take it out on the right person. "Sorry, I'm a little tense about the situation myself."

"Understandable, sir." She felt for him having to watch someone he cared about like this. But she didn't think he wanted any sympathy. At least, not right now. "I guess I'd better get cleaned up for dinner."

Jack gave a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, we wouldn't want to be late for dinner."

&&&&&

The plan had been for them to sit in the same places at dinner that they had the previous evening, but that all went down the drain almost before any of them could think. Because the place nearest to Konaseus' had a vase with one of the drug-bearing flowers sitting right next to the plate. Evree had let out a delighted squeal and was seated there before any of the rest of them could react.

With a resigned sigh, O'Neill sat down next to her. He knew he wasn't going to be able to persuade her to sit somewhere else, so this was the best he could do, being near to hand in case things got ugly.

And speaking of ugly, he thought, Konaseus entered.

"Greetings all." His smile broadened as he saw where Evree was seated. But he was a polite scoundrel, if nothing else. "I trust that your trip went well, Major Carter?"

"Well enough," Sam replied. She had opted to stay in uniform tonight. Konaseus' leers of the prior evening had made her skin crawl.

"So happy to hear it," their host said genially. Now that things were going according to plan, his plan, he was in an expansive mood. He turned to look at, who else, Evree, who, not surprisingly, was sniffing the flower by her plate. "I am so pleased that you enjoy my humble gift, my queen. The fragrance is quite intoxicating, isn't it?"

"I just can't seem to get enough of it," Evree confessed. "I shall miss it terribly when we have to leave."

Konaseus beamed in satisfaction, thinking that while the first part of Evree's statement was true enough, the second part was pure fallacy. Evree wasn't going anywhere.

Jack found himself hard put to not to scowl at the big man. Too early yet to give things away. But when he glanced at Evree, face in flower again, he decided it was going to have to be soon, or they might not be able to get her off the stuff.

Aside from Konaseus, no one seemed to have much of an appetite for the meal that was served. SG-1 had various reasons, distrust of Konaseus, worry, and observing Evree. Evree spent more time inhaling more of the drug she had unwittingly become addicted to than eating.

Konaseus was in an extremely good mood. And seeing that O'Neill was not, just added to his pleasure. He'd taken a dislike to him the moment he'd first set eyes on him. Now, now would be the time. Enough of this cat and mouse. He surreptitiously slid a capsule from the folds of his garment and popped it into his mouth. Then, his hand reached for a button on the underside of the arm of his chair.

&&&&&&

"Oh, my head." Daniel sat up slowly, hands pressed to his throbbing temples. It occurred to him in a foggy sort of way that seeing as how the last thing he could remember was sitting at the dinner table, then working his way up to sitting up from laying down was wrong. Feeling adventurous, he slowly peeled his eyes open to see the rest of SG-1 arrayed around him in various stages of recovery from.., from.., whatever the hell had hit them.

But no sign of Evree anywhere.

O'Neill was already pushing himself up onto his feet. He wasn't much more recovered than Daniel was, but sheer force of will filled in for the shortcomings. He staggered painfully to the door of the bare cell they were in, feeling like he had the great-grandaddy of all hangovers. He almost forgot what he was doing until coming face to face with the door reminded him. He went to open it, but someone had neglected to put a handle or doorknob on this side of it. He gave it a good whack with his fist and instantly regretted it. It made his head feel like it was going to explode.

There was a grate in the door at eye level, though. He looked out blearily, and saw that the room they were locked in let off from a throne room of grand proportions. Of course, Konaseus would want an audience. But where was he? And, more to the point, where was Evree?

Sam was the last to wake up, and she, like Daniel was holding her head as though she was afraid it would fall off if she didn't. "What happened?"

Teal'c rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I believe it was some type of airborne tranquilizer."

"Knock-out gas, lovely." O'Neill turned away from the door and leaned on it. "But how could Konaseus gas us and not himself?"

"The guy seems to have his finger in everything," Daniel remarked, picking himself up off the floor at last. "He probably was dosed with the antidote ahead of time."

"Or else he is naturally immune to it," Teal'c pointed out.

"We can figure out how we got in here later," O'Neill said, realizing that was not the priority. "Right now, I think our time would be put to better use trying to figure how we're going to get out."

"What's out there, Jack?" Daniel asked as he gave Sam a hand up.

"Looks like a throne room," O'Neill replied. "No one there at the moment, though. Not even a robot."

"I think it would be safe to say that Konaseus is not only quite intelligent," Teal'c observed. "But he is also not quite sane."

"I think the word is megalomania," Sam supplied, supporting herself against a wall. She seemed to be having the hardest time shaking the effects of the sedative. "He'd either get along just great with a Goa'uld symbiote, or there'd be a continual struggle for dominance."

"But he still doesn't realize that Evree isn't like the other Goa'uld," Daniel mused. "She's not really breeding Goa'uld, but Tok'ra."

"A Tok'ra symbiote would not be happy with Konaseus as a host," Teal'c murmured. "There would be continual conflict."

"I sincerely doubt that we'll be around to see the outcome since it takes years for the little snakes to mature," Jack commented. "Unless he's got some way of forcing them to maturity like Anubis.., oh crap, he probably does."

"Given what we've seen so far," Carter said. "I think that a pretty safe bet. But he'll have to make sure that Evree has a genetic code to work with. I don't know whether he'll want to use his own or be satisfied with.., well, with yours, sir."

They all flashed on to what that meant. And even though he knew it was going to hurt, Jack turned and thumped the door again.

&&&&&&

Evree was still asleep, curled up like a kitten. But Konaseus had decided it was time she was awake. He put a large hand on her shoulder and gave her a none too gentle shake. His impatience was beginning to get the best of him.

"Mmph?" Evree tried to squirm away and slip back into a comfortable stupor, but the hand was insistent.

"Wake up, my queen." Konaseus added words to actions. "You have a task to accomplish for me."

"I do?" Evree sat up, yawning. She was still groggy, but not in pain. The effects of the other drug in her system having canceled out the side effects of the tranquilizer. But it came at a price. Instead of questioning what was going on or where her friends were, she immediately began looking for one of the flowers. There was one, on a table half-way across the room. She began working her way up off the low couch upon which she had been lying, her only thought was feeding an addiction she didn't even know she had.

"Not so fast, my queen," Konaseus said, restraining her. "First, you give me what I require, then you shall have what you require."

"Of course," Evree responded warmly, the drug suppressing her judgment. "What do you require?"

&&&&

"She doesn't have my genetic code," O'Neill stated flatly. "We used protection. We decided we're not ready for kids yet," he added with grim humor.

Sam sighed. The whole thing was a catch-22. It was good that Konaseus wouldn't have a symbiote with O'Neill's genetic code, but on the other hand, it also meant that in order to give her something with which to work, Konaseus would have to have sex with Evree himself. And what he had her addicted to would probably work far better than any date-rape drug. Evree might even enjoy it. Sam felt queasy at the idea, and hoped the same thought wouldn't occur to Jack.

&&&&&

"You are lying," Konaseus stated calmly enough, though on the inside, he raged. "You must have his genetic data."

Evree shook her head, not understanding why her 'friend' would doubt her word. At long last, she realized that Konaseus was waiting for a verbal response. "Truly. O'Neill and I gave it much thought and discussion before we ever engaged in sexual relations. We took precautions."

"I need a symbiote," Konaseus went on as if she had never said anything. "A very special symbiote. And you, my queen, are going to give it to me. I have my reasons for not wanting it to have my own genetic markers." It was close to fetishism, he was sure, but the thought of absorbing his own 'child' back into himself and then mating with its mother filled him with a profound distaste.

"I have no genetic sequences upon which to base any offspring," Evree nearly whined. She was ashen and trembling, needing the drug to calm her nerves. Some queens, she knew had mated once and used the same genetic material forever, but it tended to deteriorate with time and usage, rather like a carbon copy of a carbon copy of a carbon copy. And she had deliberately purged herself of Ahriman's code, or, that of his host, once her children had been born. Not only out of her hatred for Ahriman, but because of the fact that it had been forced on her.

Konaseus pondered. He had no use for what was essentially a barren queen. He decided he would speak to his prisoners, glad now that he had not terminated them immediately. He looked at Evree, whom he still held immobile with one hand and realized just how badly her system was craving his drug. "Here." He handed her a vial sealed with a stopper. "This is a distillate of the flower's scent." Evree grabbed for it almost reflexively, but he held it out of her reach. "You must promise to remain here, first."

"I promise," Evree vowed eagerly. She would have promised him anything for that precious vial. She snatched it from his hand, removed the stopper and inhaled deeply, and her features became serene, and the tremors ceased.

"I shall not be long," Konaseus assured, or warned, her. "Remember your promise to me and rest there, my queen."

Evree had already sunk back on the couch. She had that which fed her addiction, she did not feel a need for anything else.

&&&&&&

Konaseus strode to the chamber where the others were imprisoned with long, impatient strides. He had waited so very, very long, he would not be thwarted by some Tau'ri who didn't seem to realize what an honor it was to have his genes used by a superior race. Even if O'Neill could not be persuaded to cooperate, there were still two other males in the party, each with desirable attributes of their own. Mayhap one of them could be made to see reason. Particularly the Jaffa, for after all, were not Jaffa raised from birth to be of service to Goa'uld?

&&&&&&

'Evree.' Evree looked around for the source of the voice, but in her drugged state, she was not as sharp as she was normally. Seeing no one, she shrugged and began to unstopper her vial again.

'Evree, no!' The voice sounded louder and clearer now, and seemed to be coming from inside her head. Draylea, of course, and Evree felt a stab of guilt that she had not spoken with her host for some days now.

'You have been preoccupied, I understand.' Even though the communication was all on a mental level, there was a strained edge to Draylea's 'voice'. 'This is very difficult,' her host went on. 'I am affected by the drug as much as you, maybe more. But I recognize it for what it is.'

'Drug? What drug?' Evree honestly had no clue as to what her host was talking about.

'The drug we are addicted to now,' Draylea informed her. 'The one you are about to inhale more of.'

'A drug?' Evree felt a sickness that had nothing to do with her addiction. 'Konaseus has drugged us? And how is it that you figured it out before I?'

'We are indeed drugged.' By now, Draylea didn't really need to say it, Evree knew. 'Maybe I could see it because I am not so.., involved. Sometimes a little distance, figuratively speaking, makes the observation keener.'

'I remember being at dinner.' Evree was trying desperately to re-create things to find answers. She then realized that she was beginning to pull the stopper out of the vial again. With a sob, she threw it across the room.

'You know this is probably going to be quite painful, don't you?' The words may have been discouraging, but the 'tone' wasn't. Draylea didn't care to be an addict any more than Evree did.

'But we will do this together, won't we?' Evree was putting on a brave face, but her courage came from the fact that she would not be doing this alone. And there was also a pang of regret that Draylea would suffer just as much as she, withdrawing from a drug she had, however unwittingly, gotten them both addicted to.

Then, the queen broke down and wept.

&&&&&

"Greetings." Konaseus' voice came through the grate unexpectedly, and made them all jump. And his voice had a clipped, urgent sound to it rather than his usual genial tones.

"Where is Evree?" O'Neill demanded, going up to the grate.

"Evree is resting now, and no doubt thinking lovely thoughts," Konaseus replied, unable to suppress a smirk at the thought that he had them all in his power. Now, to make use of it.

"You mean drugged beyond caring," Daniel nearly shouted. Soon, they were all gathered around the grate. And if looks could kill, Konaseus would be in for a painful death.

"You did notice," Konaseus observed mildly. "I thought you might. That was why I proceeded apace. That and the fact that I am weary of the eternal waiting."

"You do realize that if you take a Goa'uld symbiote you will be subject to its will and desires?" Teal'c pointed out. "I have never seen an example of the host's personality emerging except when the symbiote allowed it to do so."

Konaseus waved his hand as if swatting a bug. "Not the symbiote we shall engineer between us, Evree and I," he boasted. "Its will shall be subject to mine, and I shall truly be a god."

"So, what's the holdup?" O'Neill asked, sounding casual, though what he really wanted was to wrap his hands around the big man's neck and squeeze. But he had to keep his cool, for Evree's sake and theirs. "I'm sure that Evree is up for anything thanks to the drug you've got her hooked on."

"You are either a very brave man or a very foolish one," Konaseus remarked calmly. "And I cannot believe that an arrant fool would be put in command of others."

"He obviously hasn't been in the U.S. military," Jack muttered in aside, not able to resist despite the seriousness of the situation.

"If one rules out idiocy," Konaseus went on, his handsome face marred by a slight frown, he'd heard what O'Neill said. "Then you are indeed courageous. A very positive quality, and one that I would like to see in my symbiote."

Brave or not, a gusty sigh escaped O'Neill. So Konaseus hadn't slept with Evree. And apparently didn't intend to. It might just put him in a better bargaining position. "What if I say no?" he challenged. And there was no way he wanted so much as one of his genes to ever have anything to do with Konaseus.

Konaseus' smile was very obviously forced. "The next step would be to ask one of your companions to do that which you either will not or cannot." He planted the barb without much faith in its efficacy. If jealously didn't work, he didn't think casting aspersions on O'Neill's manhood would either. But one could never tell.

"And what happens when we refuse also?" Teal'c rumbled, glaring at Konaseus. It angered him to have Evree offered from one man to the next like a piece of trade goods.

"Why then, I will kill all of you," Konaseus said amiably. "But you will all get to watch her die first. And I promise you, it will take a very long time."

"May we have a moment?" Jack asked. Actually a moment wouldn't be nearly enough to discuss all the ramifications, but he wasn't sure he could get even that.

"You may have five of your minutes," Konaseus allowed them generously.

&&&&&&

The worst of the weeping had ceased. It was time to decide on a plan of action. But how? Almost the only thing that Evree could think of now was how much every cell in her body seemed to crave the seductive drug that Konaseus had so neatly addicted her to.