(Vinnet, thank you. Hope to keep you interested.
Ilaaris, thanks. Here's the update. Sorry it took a bit.

Stoko, I thought it would be easier to go through your thoughts one at a time. Hopefully how I reply makes sense.

"OK... lemme get this straight. Neither our SGC or our Tok'ra have the mirror, and they believe each other is in possession of it."
That is correct.

"Alt-Lantash, from the previous story, is in this universe..."
Yes.

"...and presumably took the mirror here for himself."
If that is what you presume, then yes. As for who took it, the story will get to that.

"But in the previous story, Lantash was blended with Rosha..."
Yes.

"...But in this story, somehow he's blended with Martouf now?"
He does have a new host. It's not Martouf or rather alt-Martouf, but it is an alternate version of a Tok'ra host. The question is who.)

Part 2, Illness

:.:.:Two weeks later:.:.:

Martouf sat down to eat. At the table were Aldwin and Kela'an. Aldwin was too busy reading to acknowledge Martouf. Kela'an nodded a greeting before he continued eating. Martouf tasted the soup and found it to be bitter. Is our cook actually getting worse?

We need a new cook, Lantash agreed.

He is our new cook.

"When someone takes a bite of food and scowls at it, that kind of worries me."

Martouf looked up, and smiled. "Malek, it's not that bad."

He sat down at the table. "You are sure?" He took a taste, and his face soured. "Not that bad?"

"Well, it wasn't after Lantash took away my sense of taste and smell."

"I'll do the same for Amb then."

Martouf finished the soup easier without having to taste it, though it did leave him feeling rather unsatisfied with the meal. He frowned as he stood up. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Martouf put the bowl away, and he passed Jacob as he left the eating area. "Avoid the soup."

Jacob smiled. "How is the...is that loaf?"

"I think so, but I have no idea what is in it. You can tell me how it is."

"Oh, thanks," Jacob replied with slight sarcasm.

Martouf smiled and headed over to the transport rings. He gave Lantash control after they ringed up. Lantash found a place to hide, and they spent the next several hours waiting for someone to come through the chaapa'ai or any other sign of danger. Nothing happened, and Martouf had wished at least an animal would walk by to cause some type of excitement.

I hate this job, Martouf thought. Of all the jobs around here, this is the worse, and I hate this planet. This planet was particularly bad. It was hot enough that Lantash had to work overtime to keep Martouf from sun burning. The sun was always too bright. The air seemed to suck the moisture out of them. Martouf finished his water before his shift was halfway through.

I told you the surface was bad. It had been 142 years since the Tok'ra last used this planet for a base. Setta hated this planet too.

Martouf touched his forehead as a headache started to form. Can you do something about that?

You're dehydrated. I can ease the pain, but the cause of it needs to be dealt with when this shift is finished.

I'll drink all the water you want after this, just as long as the headache is gone. He felt the ache ease. Thank you.

He was grateful when his shift ended. He ringed back down and ran into Jacob, who was on his way up. "Jacob, how was the loaf?"

"I had the soup."

Martouf frowned, a bit confused.

"I was going to have the loaf, but then Amb gave up on the soup and decided to have it instead. One bite of the loaf, and he was using the soup to wash the taste away." Jacob grinned. "Kela'an also said the loaf was to be avoided."

Martouf nodded. "I'll remember to avoid it from now on then."

"I think our new chef likes the meal. I also think he's the only one who will be finishing it." Jacob chuckled lightly and then went over to ring up to begin his watch.

Martouf decided to use his brief break to go to his room. He started heading that way when suddenly the feel of thirst was back. You could have just reminded me, he thought as he turned around and headed back to the cafeteria.

You'll drink more if you are thirsty.

Once arriving to the cafeteria, Martouf started drinking water. He drank until his stomach hurt, yet the thirst was still there. Knowing he had too much water at once, he paced around a bit until the discomfort went away. After drinking more water, he was full and still thirsty.

"You must have just come from the surface," said Kilso, the head healer, who had been watching.

Martouf smiled. "Lantash won't make the thirst disappear."

"Good. You need to know when you are thirsty."

Martouf finished another glass. I'm finished. He was still thirsty.

Lantash chuckled. You might want to hurry to your room, and do whatever you planned to do before your break is over.

Martouf nodded, though the conversation had been mental. He went into his room. He opened a small box and stared at the book inside. There was no need to read it. He had it memorized, and the book always made Lantash uncomfortable anyway. He set the book down. My family history is in there.

I didn't say anything, Lantash thought back.

I felt it. You wanted to squirm. Having a symbiote squirm in his head was not the most pleasant thing.

Sorry, next time I won't want to squirm.

:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:

A few days later, Martouf was sick. He closed his eyes as the other Tok'ra talked about the current missions. He felt dizzy and nauseous, and Lantash wasn't helping much.

How much longer will this go on, he thought about of the meeting. He really wanted to lie down.

We just started ten minutes ago, Lantash replied. These meetings tend to be a few hours.

Martouf's mental response was a string of curse words in several languages, which made Lantash feel worse. Lantash would take over if he could, but he couldn't while fighting against whatever was making his host sick. Martouf pressed on, saying very little, and speaking only when absolutely necessary. At some point near the end he just closed his eyes and stopped paying attention.

He felt someone shake his shoulder. "Martouf!"

Martouf looked up and snapped, "What?" He regretted it instantly, especially when he saw who it was. "Jacob, sorry."

"I've been calling you."

Martouf looked around and saw the meeting was over. They were the last two in the room.

"I think you should be heading to the healers." The fact that Martouf was feeling unwell had been noticed by everyone at the meeting.

"I just need to rest and allow Lantash to heal me. We have had a busy day." Martouf got up, finding he needed to use the table. He did his best to hide that fact.

"You're sure?"

"Yes." He may be ill, but he and Lantash still had their pride. To go to the healers for a minor illness would be humiliating. "Good day, Jacob." Martouf hurried off before the other man could start insisting they go to the healers. He found moving quickly made walking easier, and it kept people from stopping him. Rather than laying in bed when he arrived, he fell on it.

:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:

Martouf woke up wondering when he fell asleep. He knew he had been asleep because he had dreamed. It was a pleasant dream actually. He came to Earth just to spend time with Samantha. They spend much of their time on the surface walking through a forest, which looked very much like the ones from Kiron. However, he woke up and felt disappointed in doing so.

Lantash?

Lantash was asleep.

Martouf got up and started heading to the cafeteria. He sat down at one of the table and stared at it for a moment. After looking around he noticed it was strangely empty. The cook, Jaki, approached him with fresh fruit. "I thought you might like this instead of what we have been having."

Martouf graciously took the fruit. "Thank you."

The chef sat down. "You mind not telling anyone about it? I don't want anyone to get angry at me about it, but it's the last of the fruit, and you have been sick."

"Your secret is safe." Martouf was even more thankful when he started eating.

Jaki smiled. "I just hope I keep this job. This planet's food supply is limited, and we have not been able to trade much either."

Martouf felt Lantash wake up and immediately start healing. "Hopefully you can trade for something soon."

"Thank you. I hope you feel better." Jaki left the table.

Martouf finished the fruit and went to find other Tok'ra. "Malek. Aldwin."

They turned to him, and Aldwin spoke. "Did you sleep well?"

Martouf smiled, a little embarrassed. "Yes. What time is it?"

"It's the tenth hour."

Martouf realized he slept through his shift of watching the surface. Usually that would bug him, but today he was pleased to know that. "Oh." He was surprised he had slept so long. "Thank you." He walked away before he could be put on a shift later that day and decided to find something else important to do.

Check communications, Lantash thought.

Martouf turned around a corner to do just that. He found Kela'an reading while waiting for possible communications. "Hello..." He wasn't sure if Kela'an or Drack was in control.

"Hello Martouf." The voice was human.

"I was hoping I could do that."

Someone approached from behind. "Martouf?"

Martouf turned around. "Hello, Malek" He wondered if he had been followed.

"You slept through breakfast. Did you eat?" He sounded concern.

"Yes."

"That is good. Has Lantash been able to heal you?"

"I feel better." Martouf wondered just how many people knew he was ill. Given the non-secrecy the Tok'ra had, at least everyone on this base knew. "He is still not sure what caused in it the first place."

"I've healed hosts before without knowing what made them ill. It is frustrating." He smiled. "Many people become hosts to Tok'ra because of our healing ability. Answering 'I don't know' to "Why am I sick?' is..." He made a light chuckle. "...quite embarrassing."

Martouf nodded slightly, knowing that from how Lantash was feeling now. "At this point, as long as he heals me, I do not care what caused it." He shrugged lightly. "Probably just some minor virus."

"Probably. I need to go to a meeting. Good day, Martouf..." He looked back to the man who had returned to reading. "...Drack."

Drack looked up. "What? Oh, bye, good day, whatever." He returned to his reading and followed him out anyway.

Lantash mentally chuckled. I hope he doesn't run into a wall while he is reading. That would be painful.

Martouf sat down and watched communications.

:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:x:.:.:

On Earth, Sam and Daniel were comparing signals that had come through the stargate. Sam altered it on the computer, and Daniel was trying to figure out if it was in a different language.

"I think we are getting the same message every time," Daniel said as he compared what they had.

"I agree," Sam said. "I think our computer is just not picking up the full signal." She looked at the clock. "It's almost time."

Daniel also looked at the time. He waited a moment before speaking. "Four...three...two...one."

The wormhole activated.

"Well, whoever is sending these messages knows Earth time," Samantha said, "and they are punctual." She noticed the signal was stronger. "I think we are picking up more of the signal."

"They finally figured out what computer we use?" Jack asked, who had entered the room. They all assumed that was the problem.

Sam didn't respond, trying to clear it up.

Daniel looked up from his work, noticing Teal'c and others had also come in.

"We got the message," Sam said after a few minutes, and there were a few smiles in the room.

"Need any help translating?" Daniel asked.

"No, this is in English."

Most everyone in the room moved closer to read what was on the screen:

To Earth of Universe 12 from the Goa'uld of Universe 4.

To be continued...

Tok'ra Character Key
Amb-Malek's host.
Drack/Kela'an-Tok'ra who went through the mirror in The Mirror.
Gete-Aldwin's host.
Kilso-Head Healer, symbiote
Jaki-The new cook, symbiote