Disclaimer: the usual. I don't own Stargate SG1 yadda yadda yadda. I'm just borrowing.
Authors' note:This is a collaborated story by sueKay04 and mishy-mo. We will alternate chapters, and will update as often as possible. This first chapter is by sueKay04, and we hope you enjoy it. Please R&R!
Synopsis: Jack has to take onboard a Goa'uld symbiote, but must keep it, and the naquadah masking technology the sybiote posesses a secret from the SGC.
Timeframe: Season six or Season seven.
Pairings: Sam and Jack (eventually)
Note: Italics indicates thoughts, indicates a flashback, and [ ] indicates a symbiote 'talking'.
The Third Party
Colonel Jack O'Neill awoke with a start. Slowly, he took in his surroundings. He was lying at the bottom of a steep embankment on the edge of a clearing. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could see the outline of bodies littering the clearing. When he realised that he was lying in a ditch, he looked at his uniform.
Oh great. That's your greens ruined, he though inwardly as he noticed he was caked in mud. He looked up sharply, but was stopped by a deep pain in his temple. Bringing his hand up to his head, his mud-covered fingers brushed over a large welt, causing him to wince.
Better not do that again
Feeling more tenderly this time, Jack felt a large gash down the side of his face. Another one for the scar collection, he thought as he staggered to his feet.
"Oh...crap." Was his exclamation. As dotted around the clearing were several dead Jaffa and a lone woman.
"This is just great! Stuck on a planet on my own with a dozen dead Jaffa, a dead woman and ten thousand not so dead trees!!"
Jack slowly stared to amble to where the woman was. Looking back, he saw just how steep the embankment was. It was vertical, and must have been about thirty feet high. The top of a Stargate was just visible at the top.
I must have fallen down there, he thought, as realised just how badly he was injured. His ribs and back were aching, and he was covered in cuts and scrapes.
Turning, Jack once again started towards the woman. Her face was in the mud, so he repositioned her to see what she looked like, As he turned her round, she let out a small sigh, then winced. She turned to face him, and as soon as he saw her, he got a flashback to previous events.
"Colonel" said General Hammond.
"We don't need to tell you just how important this Goa'uld is. You need to bring her here at all costs."
"Permission to ask the Tok'ra for help since it's them who want her." Enquired Jack
"Of course. You have a go Colonel."
"Please...don't shoot me!" said a weak, human voice."Sir" called Sam
"Carter what is it"
"The Jaffa are closing, we have to go now!"
Sam, Daniel and Teal'c ran towards the gate, but Jack held back.
"Carter! How'd Ba'al figure out where she was."
"I have no idea. Sir we gotta go!"
Jack turned towards the gate, but the edge of the embankment gave way, sending him crashing to the ground.
They had to leave me...
"Who are you?" asked Jack, toting his P90 to remind the Goa'uld just who was in charge.
"My name's Marana. Host to Sal'moro."
"You a Goa'uld?"
"In a way."
"In a way?" Jack asked quizzically.
"I'm not Tok'ra, but I'm not Goa'uld"
"You're a rebel...rebel then?"
"Yeah."
"A rebel without a cause?" Jack offered.
"What?"
"It's a classic mov... Never mind."
Jack decided that he was already too mucky to get muckier, and slowly sat down next to Marana, keeping a firm hold on his P90.
"Whatcha doin' here?"
"Erm...it's complicated."
"I'm not going anywhere."
If you are of the Tauri, which I know you are Jack O'Neill, then you'll know."
Jack turned to look at Marana.
"We non Goa'ulded humans suffer form things called concussions. Symptoms include drowsiness, dizziness, disorientation, memory loss and...oh yeah...big crackin' bumps on the head!!"
"So you don't know why you're concussed, covered in mud, in a clearing, surrounded by dead Jaffa and an injured rebel Goa'uld, on another planet?"
"No. All I know, is that the Tok'ra want you for something. That's all I remember."
Marana chuckled "Tol'sak was right. You are dense!"
"Hey! Dense guy's holding the gun!" replied Jack angrily.
"Sorry." Said Marana sheepishly.
"Well...tell me... why are you here?"
"A month ago, I was caught sneaking intel to the Tok'ra."
"I though you said you weren't Tok'ra."
"Sal'moro wanted to align herself with the Tok'ra, as she despises the Goa'uld. I however was fearful, thinking that we'd get caught if we joined them. I begged her to stay with the Goa'uld."
"Oh."
"We agreed that we'd sneak information through to a Tok'ra operative."
"What went wrong?"
"I was caught in the act, and tortured into confessing everything I know about the Tok'ra. The operative was murdered."
"Oh...who's Tol'sak?"
"The operative who died."
"Oh."
"Is that your favourite word?"
"What?"
"Oh."
"Oh...oh no...no...not at all."
Realising, he'd just said 'Oh' twice in the last sentence, he kept quiet, planning what he was going to say.
"The name Tol'sak sounds familiar."
"Well, you know Selmak."
"What's that gotta do with anything?"
"He and Tol'sak were...involved."
"Oh. Which host?"
"Jacob."
"Wha...Sam didn't know that!"
"Jacob did not want to upset Major Carter, so he kept the relationship secret. It was hard enough on her with him becoming a Tok'ra, without getting involved with one."
"Oh! That actually makes sense! So...hm...where were we?"
"I was kept alive for experiments in ... stealth technology."
"What sort of technology?"
"The ability to mask the Naquadah in a Goa'uld and their host's blood stream."
"Did it work?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! Sam's gonna have a field day with this!"
"There are some...side effects."
"Oh...oh crap! I keep saying oh. So...anyway...what kinda side effects are we talking about?"
"The host dies."
"Oh."
"There you go again."
"Crap!"
"You know, for a rather dense Tauri, you're quite funny!"
"Gee thanks."
Silence followed. Jack kept his P90 aimed at Marana's neck, still not completely trusting her.
"So...you're dying?"
"Yeah."
"Scared?"
"No. My memories will live on in Sal'moro."
"Oh. I didn't know that!"
At this 'oh', Marana giggled, but then quickly stopped and winced in pain.
"Are you okay?"
"Sal'moro's been sustaining my life for as long as she could. She's dying now as well. I cannot allow that to happen."
"Why not?"
Marana looked at Jack as if he were a madman, which he could well be from what she'd heard about him.
"Sal'moro and I are one. I've been her only host."
"Oh...sorry."
"Sal'moro and I possess valuable information that both the Tok'ra and the Tauri will need."
"Tell me as much as you can..."
He was interrupted as Marana let out a low moan. She was obviously in great pain.
"There's not enough time..." she gasped, "I hear you're not too good at technological stuff...the information I possess is very complicated."
"What type of Intel do you have? Troop movements? Base locations?"
"Weapon blueprints and specifications."
Jack stopped, taking a long look at the Goa'uld...Tok'ra...whatever.
"Powerful?"
"Oh yeah."
"How long do you have?"
"Not long."
"Crap...Listen...I'm better at technobabble than I let on. It's just...I don't like it and I'm not really required to use it. Technical stuff is Carter's forte. Tell me what you know."
"When I said not long...I meant not long."
"Shit."
"Take Sal'moro."
"What!!"
"Keep her until you build those weapons...then do what you want. We don't care anymore, as long as the Goa'uld suffer."
"Aren't you forgetting something."
"Huh?"
"Sam Carter is a former Tok'ra and Teal'c is the former first prime of Apophis. Both of them work with me on a daily basis. They'd sense her."
"And you're forgetting that the Naquadah in our bloodstream is cloaked and therefore it will be in yours too."
"I thought it didn't work."
"It did. The procedure kills the current host, then the symbiote is passed on to a new host. Sal'moro would be undetected. You could finish the weapons before coming clean. I swear you will not regret this."
Jack pondered his predicament.
Do I let them both die and lose valuable Intel, or do I let myself become a host and use this information to defeat the Goa'uld?
"Is there a third option?"
"No."
"Crap!"
Jack shut up again, considering his options. The truth was he was terrified about having a snake in his head, as both his previous experiences had been rather traumatic. But the SGC was at war with the Goa'uld. They needed this Intel...
"Fine. I'll do it."
Marana nodded. You know the procedure?"
"Yeah."
"There's two things you need to know. Number one - There are excess chemicals in Sal'moro from the procedure, and these may have an adverse effect on you."
"Like?"
" The chemicals may make you appear what the Tauri call...drunk?"
Jack thought about this for a second. "Fair enough. What's number two?"
"Jacob was the first operative I snuck Intel to. Before he and Jacob became involved with Tol'sak, he and I had a romantic relationship."
"Oh! Selmak sure gets around." Jack's face fell when a certain thought entered his mind.
Shit! Which host? Oh crap!
"Which host?" Jack asked calmly.
Please. Don't let it be...
"Jacob."
Not what I was wanting to hear!
"Is that a problem?"
Let me see...you're gonna see one of your best friend's dads like you've never wanted to see. Not a nice thing to contemplate. On the other hand...you get to save Earth for the ninth time and make big honkin' space guns to blow things up!
"Not a problem." He heard himself say.
"Well then...let's do it."
Jack hesitated slightly, before lowering himself to where Marana lay. He saw her open her mouth and felt a twinge of anxiety. Not letting his fear get the best of him, he too opened his mouth. A second later, he felt the symbiote enter his body. He gasped and lay back, overwhelmed by the instant tide of emotions the Goa'uld provoked. He regained control and looked over a Marana. Her eyes were peaceful, but her face was now twisted with pain, as she now had no symbiote to sustain her. She let out a short gasp and whispered.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Marana smiled, then she lay silent and still.
Jack, felt his eyelids shutting, and as he fell asleep, felt the blending begin.