Sorry this chapter is so delayed…I had computer issues earlier this week.
OC List
Amaris Gotin: Aged mid-thirties, female, Scientist (think Carter) and team leader, younger sister to Keane and Harvey.
Keane Gotin: Aged late-thirties, Male, in the Aldercian army, older brother to Amaris and twin brother to Harvey.
Harvey Gotin: Deceased, Male, was in Aldercian army, twin to Keane and older brother to Amaris.
Lowell Safran: Same age as Keane, Male, small but agile and in Aldercian army, has known the Gotin's all his life.
Devon Gibson: Early thirties, female (don't let the name fool you), archeologist.
Commander Allard: Total jerk , Male, late forties.
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Janet came in to find a contemplative Amaris, biting her lips.
"Hey," she said to the woman, smiling as kindly as she could.
"Hey," was her weak reply.
"Something's bugging you," Janet said pointedly as she took Amaris's pulse and made some marks on her clipboard.
"I said something that offended Daniel, and I feel horribly."
Janet arched her eyebrows. "Oh? And what did you say?"
Amaris opened her mouth to respond when the entrance of Major Carter interrupted her. Amaris then shut her mouth and smiled a greeting. She had met this woman briefly after she woke up.
"Hey Janet, Amaris."
"Hey Sam. Amaris was just telling me about something she said to Daniel. Apparently he got pretty upset."
"I didn't mean to bother him, I didn't know." Amaris tried to defend herself, which wasn't working because she was angry with what she had said.
"Well, what did you say?" Amaris meekly looked at the two women.
"I said…I would rather be a Goa'uld host than live with the memory of what has happened to me."
Both of them sucked in their cheeks, horrified, and knowing Daniel must have taken much worse than they did.
"I didn't know what I was saying! I don't mean that…I'm just…I'm scared."
Sam softened a bit, remembering the hell Amaris had just been through. The girl wasn't thinking straight. "Why are you still scared? You're safe here, Amaris."
Amaris pursed her lips and held back tears. "I'm afraid to fall asleep. Because I know it'll happen again. I'll see everything, feel everything. And I'll never stop dying."
Janet touched the woman's arm softly. "It's going to be a long time before you feel safe again, I understand that. It doesn't help that you're not home."
Amaris nodded, crying silently. "I didn't mean to offend him! I feel horrible." She wiped her eyes, and the two women nodded sympathetically. "Then he told me that his wife is a Goa'uld host, and automatically I knew I had screwed up, and how could I have been so blind as to not see how thankful I should be? I still have my life, my brother, my team…my free will." She hung her head dejectedly. "I'm a horrible person."
"No, you're not. You just didn't understand." Sam tried to calm her. Amaris was defiantly a sympathetic being, and she would continue to feel guilt for a long time.
"But his wife!"
Janet looked at Sam, and the blonde nodded. It was time to tell her about Sha're's fate.
"Daniel has been through a lot, Amaris. He first discovered how to use our stargate eight years ago, and he went through on the first mission to Abydos." Janet started, trying to be as abbreviated as possible. It wasn't really her place to tell this practical stranger Daniel's entire history. "He then fell in love. After defeating the System Lord Ra, the Abydonians were free, and Daniel stayed with them, married to Sha're."
Sam took it from there. "Unfortunately, Colonel O'Neill-you've met him- was supposed to eliminate the threat…and that meant to our military at the time blowing up Abydos. Needless to say, he didn't, and kept the people of Abydos a secret, and Daniel lived there with the people for a year. That was when it all fell apart."
Amaris stared intently into the women's eyes. "What happened?"
"Another Goa'uld came through the gate. And that was when we thought there were only two gates. So a team- this time with me on it- went through the gate and met the natives. While we were there, Sha're and her brother were taken by a Goa'uld to be hosts. And both were."
"Are they still Goa'ulds, then?"
Janet crinkled her forehead. "No. Skaara was actually freed from his symbiote; unfortunately he died a few months ago when another Goa'uld attacked Abydos. And Sha're…after giving birth to a child and hiding him, died at the hand of Teal'c. She still had her symbiote, and was only killed because she was killing Daniel."
"That's terrible." Sam nodded, blue eyes moist.
"Daniel has had a tough life, tougher than need be. He died a year ago, ascended, and returned. He has only recently remembered his life before ascension. He is also an orphan, and his grandfather didn't want to take care of him. His ideas are often laughed at by other archeologists who don't have knowledge of the Stargate program."
The three sat in silence, thinking about Daniel. Amaris finally spoke.
"Was all of that supposed to make me feel better? Because if possible, I feel worse."
"No." Janet smiled. "It was supposed to give you better insight. And now you'll know what not to say."
Amaris smiled slightly as well, still a little upset. "Well, there's that."
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"What is your name?" Keane blinked and looked into the spot as he was directed. The man speaking had a deep, distorted voice; much like Ba'al's and it was making him uncomfortable. But the Tau'ri trusted him, so he did too.
"Keane Gotin." He swallowed uncomfortably and shifted, only to find himself restrained.
"Keane. What is your purpose on Earth?" The man behind the machine looked up from the screen to look at the subject.
"I'm here to help my sister get better."
As he answered, the Tok'ra kept his eyes on the screen with the occasional nod. "Who is your sister?"
"Her name is Amaris." His nostrils flared. "She was tortured by Ba'al for information she didn't have. And now she's lying in a sickbay, light-years from home."
"Are you close to your sister?"
"Yes," he said tensely. "Extremely."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? She's my little sister!" Keane's blood was staring to boil, and the Tok'ra nervously backed up.
"Yes, well…um." He looked at a clipboard and tried to regain his composure. "How do you know your other two companions?"
Keane took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. "Well, Lowell grew up with Amaris and I. We were neighbors, and Lowell went into the military with my brother and me. He ended up on our team for travels through the stargate."
The Tok'ra's eyes flew down to the screen again and he nodded. "Very well. Could you please give an account of your recent trip to P3R-525, and Ba'al's mothership?"
"Well," he started. "It was going to be a simple intelligence mission…"
As he gave his account to the Tok'ra, Hammond and Jack were watching from the observation room.
"Jack, are you alright?" Hammond looked to his 2IC with concern in his eyes.
"Yeah. Peachy," Jack snapped, then remembered who he was talking to. "Sorry General."
"I understand, son." They went back to silence.
"…When they came for Amaris, I tried to go in her place so she could get away…"
"They've had a rough day."
Jack snorted. "Yeah."
George cleared his throat. "Have you spoken to Ms. Gotin?" Jack looked at him, confused. "Amaris."
"Nope," he said nonchalantly.
"Well I think you should."
"General, it was bad enough being on a ship with Ba'al…then failing to take him down. I don't want to have a heart-to-heart with some alien about how he tortured us."
The General pursed his lips, then got up the courage to address the younger man again. "I think it would be nice of you to help her move past this."
"Well, I didn't have anyone, and look at me! I'm my normal, charming self."
Hammond stood, and tried to keep the disappointment off his face unsuccessfully. "Jack, it may be hard to talk about, but you should. For your sake, not just the sake of our new friends."
"…Devon and I took off, leaving Lowell with the Commander."
When Jack didn't respond, Hammond finished off with a powerful final word. "You're not exactly yourself, Jack. You know that. Maybe talking to Amaris will help you." He laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I won't order you, but as a friend, I recommend it."
He then left Jack to think for a while. Hammond knew Jack had the sense to know talking to Amaris was a good idea, and it would happen. When he was ready, of course, but it would happen.
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Keane walked out of the room and was about to make is way to the infirmary to see Amaris when Devon came bounding down the hall, practically glowing.
"Well, you're happy." Keane smiled at Devon's face. She'd been a radiator for joy in the past few hours, after Amaris had awoken. Keane, however, was not as joyful. He was ecstatic at the fact that his sister was alright, but the fact that he could never go home was looming in the back of his mind. He didn't remind any of his teammates, though. The last thing he wanted was to dampen their spirits.
"Of course I'm happy!" She grinned and enveloped him in a huge hug. "Are you a Za'tarc?"
"Nope."
"That's a relief." She sighed. "Sam was telling me about what they are, and it doesn't sound fun."
"Have you been cleared?"
"I'm going now." She grimaced. "Does it hurt or anything?"
"It doesn't hurt…but the guy is kinda nosy." He frowned. "He also talks like Ba'al, and it was bothering me."
She suddenly became very solemn. "I can imagine." The pair stood for a moment in silence, then Devon brought herself to her senses. "I should probably go now. Are you going to see Amaris?"
He shuffled from one foot to the other, a sign of impatience. "Yeah."
"Well, give her my love."
Keane waved as she disappeared into the room from whence he came, then made his way down the hallways.
He peeked into the infirmary to see what Amaris was doing. If she was sleeping, he would go to the VIP room and take a nap. He was exhausted, and he actually couldn't remember the last time he slept more than and hour at a time.
But Amaris was not sleeping, instead reading with a thoughtful expression on her face. Keane strolled up to the bed, and her eyes left the page to scan her brother's face. "Hey," she said quietly.
"Hey yourself." He sat in the chair that was next to her bed. Amaris was almost never without visitors, and it was almost without a doubt that the chair would be a permanent fixture. "What are you reading?"
"Oh, just a book on Wormhole physics from Sam." She flipped a page. "It doesn't really help that I don't recognize any of these terms, but I think I get it. We're at about the same technological level as the Tau'ri, but they do have different terminology."
Keane nodded with pretend interest, but Amaris noticed.
"You don't care," she said with a slight laugh and shut the book.
"Well…yeah." He took her hand. Amaris sighed.
"I'm fine, Keane. We don't have to do this whole 'at my deathbed' routine."
"I know. It just makes me feel better." His stomach growled, and at the sound, Amaris's eyebrow shot up.
"When was the last time you ate?"
Keane wore a guilty expression and didn't bother answering.
"Keane…go eat something. I'm ordering you," she said with authority.
"Yes ma'am," he saluted her mockingly, kissed her forehead, and backed out of the room. "But only because you're ordering me."
"Smart-ass," she muttered, grinning, and opened her book to the last page, and started reading again.
"Miss Amaris. I am pleased to see you are well."
The deep voice came suddenly, and seemingly from nowhere. Amaris looked up from her book, and even though she had only have her attention on it for mere moments, a tall Jaffa was standing over her.
She at first felt fear. Amaris hadn't really had the best experiences with Jaffa. But then she noticed his emblem was different, and his smile was not menacing, but genuine. It wasn't overwhelming either, which was good. Every smile she'd been on the receiving end of in the past few hours was too broad. His was nice. There was no doubt she was standing (in a manner of speaking) face-to-face with Teal'c.
"You must be Teal'c."
He bowed, but did not take the seat next to her bed. "What gave away my identity?"
"From what I've heard, you're the only burly Jaffa on this base."
"At least at the moment."
"Of course." She closed the book, and gestured to the chair. "Why don't you sit."
"Thank you, Amaris Gotin."
Her smile became lopsided. "You don't have to call me 'Amaris Gotin.' A plain 'Amaris' will suffice."
Teal'c slowly nodded. "Very well. But do not tell O'Neill. He has on many occasions tried to make me call him 'Jack,' and on many occasions failed. As with Daniel Jackson and Major Carter."
"It'll be our secret." She extended her hand to seal the deal, and he took it hesitantly. The length of that arm was covered with a cast.
"How are you fairing, Amaris?"
"Good, considering."
"Indeed. You have shown much strength throughout this ordeal. However, you must remember there is still much for you to recover from." He hesitated then leaned in, as if to tell her a secret. "O'Neill went through the same difficulties you have, and he even he did not recover automatically."
"O'Neill…he's the one with the gray hair, correct?"
"Indeed. He has yet to come in and speak with you. I wished he would do so, however he is most stubborn about such matters."
"I understand why he wouldn't want to talk about it," she said quietly, and Teal'c was silenced. But not for too long.
"It may be painful, Amaris, but bottling up such pain can be destructive. O'Neill has yet to learn that lesson, despite the fact that many times his life has been in peril due to his stubbornness."
She smiled a little, and said, "I don't think one can ever be considered stubborn until it's put their life in peril."
Teal'c smiled in his subtle way and commented, "You may be correct."
Amaris was relaxed and leaned back slowly into the pillows. "So…where are you from?"
He had opened his mouth to speak when another presence came into the room. He turned in the chair to see a flustered Jack O'Neill entering.
"Amaris Gotin," Teal'c said in his formal manner. "May I present Colonel Jack O'Neill, leader of SG-1."
Her lip trembled a bit at the intimidating sight of him. The Colonel wasn't really a large man, but boy, did he have presence. And maybe it was because she was an ugly reminder of the past, but he was scowling and had a dark aura.
"Nice to meet you, Colonel," she managed, but he simply grunted.
That is, he grunted, but quickly amended himself when he say Teal'c's face. "Nice to see you doing well."
The silence was deafening. Amaris tried to keep smiling, but it was becoming more and more strained by the millisecond. Teal'c simply kept his eyebrow up, and Jack was shifting his weight from foot to foot.
Ok, this is enough, Jack decided and simply walked out.
The pair watched him go, and Teal'c shook his head. "I apologize for O'Neill's most immature behavior."
Amaris's sad eyes were still on the door from whence he left. "I'm not sure if I would behave any differently."
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Fa'mar made his way down the halls and to the main chamber. His master would be most pleased. Nato, he was most pleased.
True, that woman (he spat the word in his mind) had fled, with the help of the Tau'ri no less, but his master would be avenged. Because of that one man's foolish actions.
He would find pleasure in destroying that world. Fa'mar was as black in his heart as his master was. Ba'al knew it, and often praised him for it.
"My Lord," Fa'mar said as he bowed before his master.
"Rise." Ba'al looked upon him with pride. Fa'mar was one of the cruelest Jaffa in his troops.
"I bring good news. While the Tau'ri escaped, we now have a new stargate address. We have reason to believe that this planet is very important to the Tau'ri, as the people who were with them hail from there."
Ba'al frowned, not consoled. "I would have preferred the woman." He delved deep into thoughts, visions of killing her repeatedly; defiling her for the humiliation she caused him.
"I understand that, my lord. However, imagine the emotional damage the destruction of this planet would cause her. Far more satisfying than any physical pain." He grinned at the mere thought.
Ba'al's frown turned into his best smirk. "This is true." He stood and walked over to the window. "You are the wisest First Prime I have ever had." Fa'mar opened his mouth to humble himself, but Ba'al stopped him. "You are worthy of my praise."
Fa'mar bowed, elated. "Shall I go and change our course for this new world?"
"Of course," Ba'al said, then went back to his seat. "Inform me when we draw near."
Having received his orders, Fa'mar bowed once again and left the chamber. Once he was outside, his eyes glowed and he wore a self-satisfied grin. In a deep, distorted voice that was unlike his own, he murmured to himself, "That fool."
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New Character: Fa'mar, Jaffa in the service of Ba'al (First Prime), however, as you may have guessed, he has a hidden agenda! (gasp!)