Chapter 4

Nareem sat on a bed in the sick-bay. It was white and softly lit, a comforting refuge for the sick or the injured away from the gray metal of the rest of the cramped ship. He was on the patrol ship, Sky's Grasp, of the exiled Tolan Fleet.

They had given him fresh clothes and now the ship's doctor was bandaging him.

"Only mild burns and lacerations. He's got some shrapnel in the leg pretty deep, there, though. Looks like concrete. It shouldn't take long to get out, but I'd like to put him under." She'd reported into her comlink.

A small voice had come back out of it, replying, "Very well, Doctor. First I'd like to talk to him. Then you can do your work."

"Yes, sir."

Now the Captain stood before him. He was older than Nareem, and looked just like a war veteran. His uniform was the same as the two men Nareem had seen earlier; classic Tolan grays plus a red jacket, only the shoulders of his were black and he wore an officer's hat smartly on his head. He had dark shin and a not-completely-stern, weathered face.

He introduced himself, "I am Captain Seehan, and you are aboard the Sky's Grasp, Fleet patrol and scout." He spoke in a command tone that would discourage any good spacer from interrupting. "Now, as a patrol ship, I have ended up with quite a few stowaways and hitchhikers. Most were fringe scum, looking to get a ride or something else for nothing. Here's your chance to prove to me that you are worth keeping this side of vacuum."

Despite his harsh words and blatant threat, the man eyed Nareem's features, and the small pile of his clothes and armband equipment on a table. He was interested and actually more than willing to listen.

"My name is Nareem," he started. He had decided to speak in Old Tolan. Few foreigners could speak it, or even recognize it if they heard it.

Captain Seehan's eyebrows went up, just a tiny bit.

He was so nervous. Well, he'd better start his story at the beginning. "Well, you know what happened to Tolanus' sister world. After the Fleet...ah...seceded from the Tolan, it took many years but your predictions were right. Our world continued on its unstable orbit into the sun. We managed to evacuate almost all of the survivors. The shuttles were in the air, and lava was approaching the Stargate..." He told in short the story of how they had met SG-1, been "rescued" to their primitive, militaristic planet, "had some difference," but managed to finally settle on an un-easy alliance. He, of course, left out personal details. "...The Nox agreed to help us..."

Nareem recounted recent history, telling of their clashes with the ever more reckless Goa-uld, and of their strengthening alliance with the Tau-ri of SG-1.

Finally he explained how the Goa-uld Mothership had somehow managed to bypass their planetary shields and defenses, and then black-mailed the Tolan Leadership into submission. "He made us create these weapons for them, nukes with our phase-shift technology. He told us to send one through the Stargate to the Tau-ri where it would penetrate their iris, but..." He finished with how they had sabotaged the plan and he had escaped.

"How did you know the Stargate would work?" The Captain inquired.

Nareem replied, "I didn't... This was the last resort. There was no other choice. It was too late."

The doctor looked up from her monitors, "This is enough, Captain, we need to work now. You can talk more later when he comes around."

He nodded to her. To Nareem, he said, "I'll be back." Captain Seehan left the sick-bay, wondering why Nareem had come to them and what he could possibly expect to come of it. Seehan definitely had a bad feeling about this.

The doctor instructed Nareem to lie down then put a cold metal object against his neck. It clicked, and he felt the anesthetic start to move through his body. He drifted off to sleep.