CHAPTER FOUR - Malek


My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which further nurseth the disease,
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
Th'uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my love,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,
Hath left me, and I desperate now approve
Desire is death, which physic did except.
Past cure I am, no reason is past care,
And frantic mad with evermore unrest,
My thoughts and my discourse as madmens' are
At random from the truth vainly expressed;

For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright,
Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.

Sonnet 147 by William Shakespeare


Malek of the Tok'ra had been to the planet of the Tau'ri on one previous occasion. The humans' leader, General Hammond, had requested his and Jacob's aid in explaining the events that had taken place at the Tau'ri alpha site a few months before. This meant that he now found himself in the position of making introductions.

"General Hammond, may I present Kleyon, newly-elected member of the Tok'ra High Council."

"Welcome to Earth, Councilor," the General replied.

"It is my honor to meet the renowned leader of the Tau'ri," Kleyon returned, nodding her head respectively.

"I know you've come to begin your tretonin work with our guest," the General said, extending his hand down the ramp to indicate they precede him, "but there is another urgent matter I would like to discuss with you first. Please follow me to the briefing room."

Malek reacquainted himself with his surroundings as they followed the General. Aledar, his host, was pleased to be back. He was fascinated by the Tau'ri— members of his own race living free and fighting the Goa'uld. The only other humans Aledar had ever known had been slaves. This was chiefly the reason Malek had taken the trouble to become well-acquainted with Selmak's new Tau'ri host, Jacob Carter.

"Please explain this emergency," Kleyon requested politely as soon as they'd been seated in General Hammond's briefing room.

The general looked troubled. "For the past several months, our military scientists and engineers have been building a new prototype vessel capable of interstellar travel," he began.

Malek and Kleyon exchanged glances, the only indication of their surprise. "Indeed?" Kleyon replied. "The Tok'ra were not aware that the Tau'ri were pursuing such an endeavor."

"According to the terms of our alliance, there was no obligation to divulge its existence to the Tok'ra until the prototype proved viable."

Kleyon nodded. "Understandable."

"Yet you are telling us now," Malek pointed out. "Why?"

Hammond sighed. "Earlier today, the vessel— which we call Prometheus— was hijacked by insurgents. They were holding Major Carter, Jonas Quinn, and at least two civilians hostage, maybe more. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c went after the ship with one of our X-302 fighters. We believe they managed to board successfully, but we lost contact when the ship went into hyperspace. We've had no further contact since. From what little we've been able to determine, it's very likely Major Carter is dead already." The general's face was very stiff and grim.

"This is indeed grievous and distressing news, General," said Kleyon sympathetically.

"We've got our best people working on the problem, but I'm afraid our experience with this sort of thing is almost nonexistent," Hammond continued. He looked between the two of them. "With the data we can provide, is it possible the Tok'ra might be able to project the destination of the Prometheus?"

"It is possible," Kleyon said slowly, calculating, "I cannot make any promises, General, but if you provide me with the information, I will return at once to the Tok'ra base and see what I can do." She set her chin a little strongly as she spoke. General Hammond wasn't aware that this would effectively be the first request Kleyon brought before the council. Although Malek didn't foresee any objections to helping, particularly with Selmak and Jacob's presence, there were some among his people who found dealing with Tau'ri inexperience to be petty and tedious. For this reason, he'd been very satisfied when Kleyon had managed to edge several opponents for the highly coveted council position. She had a stronger habit of compassion than many.

"That is all I can ask for," Hammond said. "Thank you very much, Councilor."

"In the meantime," said Malek as the three of them rose to their feet, "I wonder if I might proceed with the tretonin matter, General, as it is the reason we're here. There is no need for me to accompany Councilor Kleyon back to deliver this request."

"Of course," General Hammond agreed, nodding. "I'll call Doctor Fraiser and let her know you're here."

A little while later, Malek stood politely aloof while General Hammond conferred with Stargate Command's doctor, whom he also recognized from his time at the alpha site. Fraiser gave him a cautious, sidelong glance out of the corner of her eye as they spoke. A moment later she nodded, then approached him as General Hammond took his leave. "Commander Malek," she greeted, "welcome to the infirmary."

"Doctor Fraiser."

"Our patient is on her way," she said briskly, leading him further into the medical facility, shuffling several files in her arms as she spoke. "I have a few minutes to tell you a little bit about her condition before she arrives."

Doctor Fraiser paused, exhaled loudly, and then turned to face him. "I'll be frank with you, Commander. The last time I worked directly with a Tok'ra for the sake of experimental science, I was not overly impressed. Just so we're clear I will not be pushed around when it comes to the health and safety of any of my patients."

Malek frowned. "To what are you referring, Doctor?"

"Are you familiar with the Tok'ra Anise's research with the Atoniek armbands?"

Malek's frown deepened to one of disapproval as comprehension dawned on him. "Ah," he said knowingly, "Doctor, rest assured that Anise's methods have always been considered…rash among her peers. You needn't fear any such indiscriminate behavior on my part."

Doctor Fraiser seemed to relax slightly. "That's good to know," she said, though he could tell by her tone that she was going to decide for herself nonetheless. She turned once more to her files. "Our patient's name is Amelia Kinsey. She's suffering from acute cancer of the breast, which has spread to secondary cancer of the liver, and for all practical purposes… untreatable."

She put down the files and looked him in the eye. "I examined her myself this morning, at which time I also took the opportunity to explain to her a basic history of the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra in anticipation of your arrival today. General Hammond permitted her to read an abridged version of SG-1's mission to Pangar, so she has been introduced to the basics of tretonin, but I thought I'd leave it to you to explain the specifics."

Amelia Kinsey turned out to be quite young, of average height with a very pale face. She wore a standard green uniform like those he'd seen the other Tau'ri wear, though it looked slightly too big for her. After they'd been introduced, she took a seat cross-legged on one of the infirmary beds.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Fraiser asked her.

"I'm starting to feel sick again," the girl confessed, glancing cautiously and curiously at Malek out of the corner of her eye. "Nauseous. Usually the first few days after I recover from chemo I feel pretty good, but it doesn't last long."

"The nausea is likely a side effect of the cancer in your liver."

"Yeah, I know." Amelia clearly spoke from experience.

Doctor Fraiser turned to Malek. "Commander?" she prompted expectantly.

He nodded. "First of all," he began, "I'd like to thank you, Amelia, for volunteering to aid the Tok'ra in this fashion." He gave a short bow.

"Aid?" Amelia repeated dumbly.

"Since we began making refinements to the Pangarans' formula, we've been desirous of a test case upon which to try the improved drug. Miss Amelia's willingness to help us is most opportune."

"Test case?" Amelia blurted. "You mean this is a new thing?"

Malek was politely puzzled. "You did not know?"

After another moment's confused silence, Doctor Fraiser spoke up hesitatingly. "I'm sorry… we were under the impression that Amelia would be treated and cured in the same manner as the Pangarans. From what I understood, Egeria helped you isolate the defective gene that made the Pangarans dependent on tretonin."

Malek exhaled. He peered at Amelia for a moment, then back at Doctor Fraiser. "I apologize. If you are indeed ignorant of the changes regarding the tretonin, then I must make them more clear to you before we proceed. There is an element of risk involved, and the Tok'ra will not agree to this arrangement with someone who is not fully aware of it."

"Okay…" said Amelia cautiously.

"As you know," he began, "tretonin was discovered several weeks ago by SG-1 on a planet called Pangar, and the drug itself has an interesting background. Suffice to say, Goa'uld and Tok'ra symbiotes possess remarkable capabilities of repairing the human body. The development of tretonin was based upon these capabilities.

"The tretonin the Pangarans manufactured not only supplanted the immune system, it very nearly eradicated it. As you have said, Doctor Fraiser, it was Egeria who was responsible for the flaw in the drug, and Egeria who supplied the information we needed to create the antidote. Once synthesized, the antidote was able to reverse the effects of the tretonin and allow the Pangarans' normal immune system to reestablish itself."

"So what's the problem?" Doctor Fraiser asked.

"The problem is the inconvenience of the manufacturing process itself," Malek replied. "While it would be fairly easy to mimic the Pangarans' process— correcting the original flaw, of course— and produce a version of tretonin that would work correctly, it still requires the use of live symbiotes for production."

"Which is impractical because only a limited amount of the drug can be produced at any given time," Doctor Fraiser said knowingly, nodding her head. She seemed to be catching on to his train of thought.

"That is correct," he affirmed. "In addition, symbiote queens are few and far between. Those that exist among the Goa'uld are some of the most powerful and best-protected of their kind."

"And if the Tok'ra had another queen—" Doctor Fraiser began.

"—we would not be a dying race," Malek finished. "Not to mention that if we had another queen, she most certainly would not be spending her time helping produce tretonin."

Amelia timidly raised a hand. "Excuse me, but… if you've decided that making more of this tretonin is impractical, then what am I doing here?"

"That is what I was coming to," said Malek with a nod. "The Pangarans stumbled upon a remarkable discovery with the creation of tretonin, more so than even they probably realized. Ultimately, their version has— as you say— proven impractical, but there are several valuable factors that ensure the discovery won't prove fruitless."

"Can you synthesize it?" Doctor Fraiser asked.

"Yes. Although the drug still requires a genetic element based off of a symbiote, we have managed to create a prototype that uses byproducts of symbiote body chemistry. Essentially, these byproducts have been the key ingredient in tretonin all along, but the Pangarans didn't have the technology to isolate what they needed from the rest of the symbiote. The Tok'ra can glean the necessary byproducts from our own systems, however," he paused and looked at Amelia, the prototype has not been tested."

"Ah," said Amelia slowly, full realization finally coming upon her.

She looked at Doctor Fraiser, who only shrugged apologetically. "I'm sorry, Amelia. This is all news to me too."

The girl looked deep in thought for a moment. She looked at Malek. "You said there were risks," she said. "What kind of risks, exactly?"

"At worst, a poor reaction to the drug, resulting in death. However, I see this as unlikely. Far more likely is that the strength of the drug may be incorrectly accounted for, and you would become dependent as the Pangarans were, leading to an indefinite period of time before the Tok'ra were able to correct the problem."

Amelia exhaled, very loudly and very slowly. "I suppose," she said with deliberation, "that those risks aren't really all that big of a deal when it comes down to it." She looked at Malek squarely. "I'm dying anyway."

He nodded. "So you agree?"

"I agree."

"Very well. In that case, I wonder if Doctor Fraiser might assist me in taking some blood samples and other information from you, Miss Kinsey. We can use your genetics as a blueprint to hopefully adapt the drug to your specific needs. This will make the chances of success very high. I will take it back to the Tok'ra base and begin preparing the prototype for your treatment."

"So what exactly will it do?" Amelia asked. "Attack the cancer?"

"Effectively? It replaces your immune system with a much more powerful one. This is particularly successful with your malady. This cancer, as you Tau'ri call it, is especially difficult for your own immune system to deal with, because the problem lies within your own body's cells."

Doctor Fraiser opened a drawer in the cart she was standing beside. She had just pulled out a case of syringes when, without warning, a brilliant flash of light filled the rear half of the room. Doctor Fraiser jumped, Amelia gave a small cry of surprise, and Malek took a step backwards, shielding his eyes. When the light disappeared, there were several cases of supplies notably missing from the far wall. "What was that?" Amelia asked. Her eyes were as wide as cheriannath petals, a white flower that grew on Aledar's homeworld of Laicha.

Doctor Fraiser didn't seem to have taken long to recover her senses. "My guess is the Asgard beaming technology," she said. "I've never seen it myself, but that's exactly how I've heard it described." She frowned, and stepped around the nearest bed to a storage cabinet. A key from her pocket unlocked the cabinet, and when she opened it she found nothing inside. "What the—?" Doctor Fraiser shook her head, and turned back to look at Malek and Amelia in amazement. "I have to go report this to General Hammond. I'll send someone to help you with your tests, Malek, if I can't make it back soon. Wait here."


Discovering that Malek was one of the Tok'ra she'd just learned about— that he was, in fact two different people— was decidedly odd for Amelia. In fact, the frequency of odd discoveries since coming here was beginning to put her in an all-around state of numb detachment. It was as if she was turning off the part of her brain in charge of rational thinking just to absorb everything she'd been learning in the past few days. When she stopped to consider, it was really rather amazing how calmly she was handling things.

After Doctor Fraiser had gone, Malek and Amelia sat together in silence for a few moments, but it did not last long. "I have never yet witnessed Asgard technology in such close proximity," Malek said. "Most interesting, if that's what it was. I wonder what they want with Tau'ri medical supplies."

"I've never witness any Asgard technology before," Amelia replied cheerfully. The level of her bravado seemed to be increasing proportionally to the level of weirdness the longer this day progressed. "Heck, four days ago I didn't know they existed."

"The Asgard are one of the most advanced and influential races in the galaxy," Malek said.

"And they're short, gray, and naked," Amelia recited, nodding. At these words, Malek just stared at her, that puzzled expression returning. She laughed. "Sorry," she said. "That's just all anyone's told me about them." His expression changed from puzzled back to serene, and Amelia resisted the urge to sigh. Didn't this guy have a sense of humor?

"Miss Amelia—" Malek said slowly, almost hesitantly. He turned to look in the direction Doctor Fraiser had gone, as if checking to see whether or not she might be coming back. Then he returned his attention to Amelia. "There is another possible solution to your problem, apart from tretonin," he said carefully.

Amelia wasn't sure she cared for his clandestine manner. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly.

"You could become Tok'ra. I'm sure it will not be long before another of our number is in need of a new host." His face was grim.

"What gave you that idea?" she asked, edging back a little ways from him.

He seemed to notice her reaction, and frowned. "Four years ago, Major Carter's father was suffering from an affliction very like yours, except he had possibly only days to live. He was offered, and accepted, the choice of becoming a host to Selmak, one of the most respected Tok'ra of our number. Had he not accepted, they both would have died. Many of us had hoped—"

"Hoped?" Amelia prompted warily.

He met her gaze boldly. "Hoped that diseases of this kind might prove a source of willing hosts among the Tau'ri," he finished.

"So— you said there are two people in there, right?"

Malek paused and closed his eyes. Amelia wondered what he was doing, for it didn't seem as though he was at a loss for words. "That's right," he said when he opened them again, except his voice had changed. It now sounded quite normal. "I'm Aledar, Malek's host," he said. Then, to her surprise, he gave her a warm smile, something Malek had seemed incapable of doing. "I usually let Malek do the speaking for us. I guess you could say I'm kind of shy."

Amelia couldn't help but smile in return. "Nice to meet you," she said genuinely. "So… you're a host," she stated. "Were you sick like me?"

He laughed softly and shook his head. Then he looked thoughtful. "I was a slave," he said quietly.

Her eyes widened. "Oh," she said, not sure how else to reply.

Aledar didn't seem very concerned. "I met the Tok'ra when I was in the service of the Goa'uld Bestet, working as a lowly slave in her fortress on Laicha. When the fortress was attacked by Ba'al's forces, it was very nearly overrun with Jaffa. Malek, who was working undercover at the time, saved myself and a handful of others, but his host was mortally wounded in our escape. As thanks for my freedom, and because I wanted to help in the fight against the Goa'uld, I offered myself as a new host so Malek could live on."

"Wow," Amelia said. "So you don't find it at all difficult to be a host?"

"Difficult? Yes, at times. But not in the sense that I think you mean." He sighed. "The Tau'ri have displayed a very high aversion to the idea of blending on more than one occasion. Some of the Tok'ra take offense."

"What is Tau'ri?" Amelia asked. He'd used that term several times now.

"Those people native to your planet. Earth."

"Hmmn," said Amelia thoughtfully. Then she said, "Perhaps you're just looking among the wrong Tau'ri."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm guessing most, if not all, of the people you've encountered from my planet have been Americans, right?"

"The country for which your President speaks? Yes. I understand that our treaty of alliance is specifically with this America."

"Well then, there's something you need to understand about Americans," she said knowingly. "In our culture, the sovereignty of the individual is highly important. You might say it's what our country was founded on. The idea of… host and symbiote sort of flies in the face of all that. I wouldn't judge us too harshly. It's rather an ingrained reaction."

"And you think, for this reason, the Tok'ra should look for hosts elsewhere?"

Amelia nodded. "There are many, many other countries on Earth, some with cultures almost entirely different from that of America. In other parts of the world, group values and communal life are more respected than individual rights. Perhaps those people would be more approachable."

Aledar closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Amelia was once more speaking with Malek. "That is a very intriguing idea, Amelia. It is certainly worth considering. Thank you."

"Oh, well—" she said, panicking slightly, "I'm sure the secrecy of the stargate is still an issue. Please don't take anything I say as a certainty. I'm not exactly authorized to speak for my world."

"Of course not. But I take it you share in this… American mentality? You would not wish to be a host yourself?"

"I have to admit, I find the idea frightening," Amelia said after a pause. "I don't think it's for me." Not to mention, she added inwardly, I don't think dad would take too kindly to that course of action.

They talked a little longer, until at last Doctor Fraiser returned in a bustle. It was the Asgard," she said without preamble, returning to her abandoned syringe and setting to work again. "Apparently, they've been beaming up various kinds of supplies from all over the base."

"For what purpose?" asked Malek.

Doctor Fraiser gave a satisfied sigh as she looked over at him. "Prometheus just returned to Earth orbit," she said, relieved. "Commander Thor found them and brought them back here."

"That is good news. The crew?"

"All of our people are accounted for."

"Very good news," Malek reaffirmed.

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet, apparently," said Doctor Fraiser. "The supplies are for a mission Thor wants SG-1 to help him with. They might be gone for a while." A flash of worry passed briefly over her face before she continued. "When we're done here, I'm going to need to take an inventory to determine exactly what was taken." At this statement, she switched her tone from worried to mildly annoyed.

"SG-1?" Amelia repeated. "Is that… Jonas's team?" In the few days that she'd been getting to now her way around base— using a security card General Hammond had given her which automatically denied her access to areas she wasn't supposed to be— Amelia had started to pick up on some of the jargon of the SGC, including how they designated the various offworld teams. She'd also heard several people mention 'Prometheus' this morning, and had been dying of curiosity to know what it was about.

Doctor Fraiser turned to regard Amelia and looked suddenly chagrined. "Yes," she said, "but I'm afraid I shouldn't say any more. It's classified." She had finished assembling the materials for taking Amelia's blood, and now stepped over beside her. "Push up your sleeves," she instructed.

"Is he in a lot of danger?" Amelia asked as she obeyed.

The doctor's only reply was a curt, worried nod as her skillful eyes scanned the insides of Amelia's arms. This was the second time she'd done this today, so she opted for the unused arm, wrapping an elastic band around the upper half of it when she found a vein she liked. Amelia was quite accustomed to having blood drawn, so she didn't even wince as the needle pricked her skin.

After the blood sample was taken, Doctor Fraiser gathered a few other samples. When Malek had everything he needed, he made his goodbyes. "I will advise the Tok'ra Council that the Prometheus has been accounted for," he said. "And I will begin work on the tretonin prototype immediately. I should return with samples for your treatment in a few of your days."

After he'd gone, Amelia went back to her room and reread the file Doctor Fraiser had given her about the Goa'uld, the Tok'ra, and tretonin, more slowly this time. Now that she'd met Malek and Aledar, it made a little more sense and had become all the more fascinating. She had a lot to think about as she drifted off to sleep that evening, but before she succumbed completely, she offered up a silent prayer for the protection of her new friend Jonas and his teammates.


A/N: Yeah, yeah, stop staring at me like that. It's a tedious business to type up whole updates, okay? LOL

For those of you keeping score, the first half of this chapter was originally told from Doctor Fraiser's point of view, but in considering all aspects of the tale from a rewrite/ improvement perspective, switching to Malek was a natural, logical, and almost-necessary choice. When I was first writing the story, Malek became a more important part of it (characterization-wise) than I ever really intended. So I thought this time around he deserved more of a showcase introduction.

Next update, um… soon? LOL Actually, I'm going to try and get it up Saturday, and get a little momentum going on this puppy. I've already written three scenes for the sequel. Huzzah!

Until then,

Saché