Chapter Two
The sun shone brightly high in the sky above her and she smiled as it warmed her face. Staring up into the sky's piercing blue she stretched as the soft dewy grass that lay under her cushioned her as though it was a bed of velvet. Off in the distance she could hear the sounds of children playing some game and enjoying the gifts that nature offered. A gentle breeze blew over her and carried with it the smell of freshly harvested wheat. There was a simple contentment that had rested in her as she just lay there, letting all her cares melt away for the moment so that she might better enjoy the pleasures around her.
She would have been able to hold onto that contentment for the rest of the day, but she knew that she could not lie there forever. Slowly she picked herself up off the ground as she realized her worries could not be pushed aside forever. Worries, that word didn't quite seem to fit anything that she had in her life. Nor did it seem to fit into the lives of anyone in her village. It seemed like the worst thing they might have to endure would be poor weather. No, worries didn't quite fit into her life at all. Responsibilities would be the closest thing she could think of to describe it, but even that didn't quite seem to fit. The hardest thing she might have to do in a day was to help tend the fields, though on a day like today that became a very hard thing to do. With a sigh and a touch of disappointment at having her moment ended, she brushed the dirt off of her dress and began to make her way down the grassy hill.
While walking down the hill something stirred within her. A childhood restlessness seemed to be whispering in the back of her mind and in that instant she felt like running down the hill. She gave the idea a moment's thought, but sadly was forced against it. Her adult role seemed to burden her against taking too many joys out of life, but she knew that some joys she wouldn't be able to let go of no matter how long she lived or what happened to her in life. Despite rejecting the idea something came over her though and she decided not to let herself push too many joys away as she quickened her pace.
As she bounded down the hill her shoulder length red strands of hair bounced slightly as her village came in sight. Her smile returned as the small buildings came into view and became more than shapeless blurs set against the horizon. Though she enjoyed her time spent in the hills she could never quite be as happy there as she could be at home. There was just a quaint serenity that seemed to be present whenever she returned home.
Being well into the day's afternoon the village's marketplace had already begun to calm down from its earlier bustle. Slowly making her way she took the time to give a smiling hello to each of the shopkeepers, all of whom she knew very well. She thought of her childhood and of growing up in the small village just as two of the local children ran past her yelling out some phrase from their latest game. Again she gave a wonderfully carefree smile as she headed towards the houses beyond the marketplace.
Almost immediately she saw her house. Smoke had already begun to billow from its stone chimney in preparation for cooking an evening meal. Her stomach let out its own opinion on the thought of promised food, but she pushed that out of her mind as her ears picked up a loud crashing sound coming from just outside of her house. Not even a moment's thought was given as to what the noise's source might be, as she instantly knew.
"Tobyn!" she cried out to the tall man as he came into view. As he heard his name he stopped chopping wood and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. A new joy came to the woman as Tobyn gave her a smile and she couldn't help but to fling her arms around him in embrace the moment she came near.
"Kaylea," he said as he put his arms around the woman. "You've finally come home..."
Suddenly her eyes flew open and a grinding sound of metal on metal could be heard as the lid of the sarcophagus slid away and off to the side. For a moment Egeria was startled by what had just happened, or what she had thought just happened, before she sat up in the Goa'uld healing device. Out of some unexplainable need she looked around the room to be sure that everything was real before slowly climbing out.
Half dazed, she made her way into a bathing room that adjoined her quarters and slowly found the symbol to turn on the facet to the room's elaborately decorated sink. As the sink began to fill with water she looked at a large reflective mirror that had been hung on the wall. The face that stared back at her was indeed her own, and she shook her head as she wondered why she thought that it wouldn't be. Cupping some water in her hand she washed her face and began to feel a little better as she reached for a hairbrush.
Taking a hairbrush that lay on a small table next to the sink she calmly began to brush her red hair out of instinct, as though it was a normal part of her routine. While she brushed her hair she continued to look at herself for a moment before suddenly she stopped. She wondered what she was doing as she pulled the brush away from her hair and looked at it as though it had some power over her. Brushing her hair wasn't something that she did. No, it was a task she always gave her Tau'ri slaves to do. And yet she had just begun to brush as though it was commonplace for her. Slowly she placed the brush back down on the table and tried to push any ill feelings out of her mind as she headed for her quarter's door.
When she reached the golden pair of doors she still felt a little uneasy about what had just happened, but she was resolved to push it to the farthest corner of her mind, if not out of it all together. Slowly she pressed a symbol on the wall next to the door and it slid open in response. For a moment she couldn't help but to just stand there and stare at the gold decorated wall opposite of her quarters, but after that moment she simply shook off any remaining ill feelings she harbored before stepping out into the corridor.
The moment Egeria left the serenity of her quarters the two Jaffa guards instantly dropped to one knee and knelt before whom they perceived to be their goddess. At first they startled her as she didn't expect them to still be standing guard, but that notion became stupid as she remembered just how dedicated to her the Jaffa were. "You," she said to the one off to her right. Once she had his attention he fought between the instinct to look upon her in curiosity at what she might want and the instinct to remain as he was. "I want you to go and get Aphrodite and bring her back here."
"Yes my queen," he replied so fast that Egeria could barely make out what he had said before he quickly rose up off the ground and took off down one hallway.
With one guard gone off to find her subordinate Egeria gave a passing glance to the other guard who still knelt beside her before she turned around and withdrew back into her quarters. Walking across the room towards the force shield opening she finally managed to put any thoughts about the brush aside, only to have them replaced by thoughts of the near loss suffered at the hands of Ra's Jaffa. Gazing out she saw the looming green and brown coloring of the world that had cost so much to win. She wondered if what little that had been gained was really worth the lives of so many of her soldiers. In the end though it didn't matter because what was done couldn't be changed and there was no way to go back and undo her mistakes now.
Turning away from the window she found her way to the velvet couch that adorned the room's center. Relaxing back onto it she thought of her discussion with Aphrodite after telling her the news of her latest campaign. Aphrodite had been right about one thing, and that thing was painfully obvious. Ra was already gaining an advantage over the System Lords, and he probably had enough of one so that no single Goa'uld could hope to defeat him on their own. She didn't know how in that moment she would kill Ra, but she knew that she had to think of some way. The balance between the System Lords was too important to have one Goa'uld like him seize such overwhelming control. Even though she knew that it would be near impossible without the help of the other System Lords, and even though she knew that it would hard to be able to convince any of them to help, she was resolved to find a way to do so.
As she became lost in her thoughts she almost didn't hear the soft chime that rang out from the golden doors. Slowly she rose from the velvet couch and made her way to the doors, making sure to smoothen her gown before reaching them. When a second chime came she reached over and tapped the same symbol that she had earlier and the doors slid open to reveal whom it was who had gotten her attention. "Ah Aphrodite," Egeria said with a calm smile on her face.
"You requested my presence, my queen?" the young woman said.
"Yes. Please come in," Egeria gestured. Once her subordinate had stepped into the room Egeria whispered something to the two Jaffa who had remained vigilant outside of her quarters before giving a slight wave of her hand, sending them away on some secret new task.
As Aphrodite took a seat on one of the velvet chairs she looked at her queen and wondered if she would talk about her plan to take down Ra in any more detail. She knew that Egeria thought of Ra's demise as a big issue at the moment, but Aphrodite knew there were other matters that needed to be gone over first. Biting her lip in hesitation she went back and forth in her mind a few times about whether to bring up anything else and to go against whatever Egeria had in mind. It was not an easy decision, as fear of retaliation came from saying the wrong thing in her queen's presence, but in the end she decided upon taking the chance. "Before we continue the matter concerning Ra I think there are a few other things we should go over," Aphrodite said as she braced herself just in case she had upset Egeria.
"I agree," Egeria suddenly said in a soothing tone that put Aphrodite at ease. "What did you have in mind?"
Calming down from the tension she had built up inside her, Aphrodite gathered her thoughts before continuing. "I think the naquadah mine down on the planet should be our top priority."
As Egeria took a seat she was shocked for a moment that Aphrodite would once again mention the mine. That she would claim it to be their top priority surprised her even more. Looking at Aphrodite she knew that while the mine seemed almost insignificant in the grand scheme of things it was very important in Aphrodite's mind. Seeing no reason to ignore the subject completely Egeria made a gesture for Aphrodite to continue.
"Well I was just curious as to how big of an army you were going to leave here to guard the mine once we leave orbit."
"How big of an army? Why would we need an army down there? As far as I see it we won't need anymore than a size large enough to extract the remaining mineral ore."
"Are you certain that's such a wise idea, my queen? I mean what if Ra comes to take back the mine?" Once Aphrodite had uttered her question she instantly regretted it. For a moment she was in disbelief about what had come over her so suddenly as she would question her queen's judgment, and her body seized as she knew some sort of punishment was about to be dealt to her, but none came.
Instead of punishing Aphrodite for her question Egeria simply took it in thought for a moment. Her subordinate had made a good point, but she was still firm in her belief that a large force was unnecessary. "I don't believe that Ra cares enough about the mining operation down there to launch a full scale assault to retake it. The only reason he had control over it in the first place was that he gained it when he killed EshuI would think that the mine is far enough in my territory to dissuade him against launching an attack. Plus the mine is getting close to being bled dry of its mineral deposits. If my Jaffa can work quickly enough to mine what's down there then in another six months it'll be hardly worth mention."
"That may be true, my queen, but what of the other System Lords? Surely one of them with territory closer to our own would try to seize the mine from us were we to let it be so vulnerable?"
"And who might try and attack? Lord Yu has the closest territory to this planet, and I doubt that his interest in it would be enough to attack."
"Again, you might be right, but why take the risk and chance it? I mean after everything you lost to gain control over it..."
At the mention of loss concerning the mine Egeria suddenly sat up and had an intense look to her eyes. While so far Aphrodite had avoided upsetting her queen, bringing up the fact that she had lost so much to gain the mine struck a nerve within Egeria. "Don't talk to me about loss," she said in an angered tone as she stood up from where she sat and glared down at her subordinate.
"I apologize, my queen." Aphrodite said in a frantic attempt to regain any ground she had just lost. "I only meant to show that the mine down there isn't something that you would want to so carelessly lose."
"I know," Egeria said as she began to calm down. "It's just..." she paused for a moment and turned to look out at the starscape as though one of the twinkling points of light would suddenly be able to help her finish her thought. "It's just Lo'tak," she said absentmindedly.
"Yeah," was all Aphrodite could think to say in response.
"In all my time being a System Lord I have never had a more strong willed or a more dedicated First Prime. And now he's gone. I sent him to command that mission and it killed him. I should have known that Ra's forces would be so strong."
"It wasn't your fault, my queen. You're right; Lo'tak was a very dedicated Jaffa. I'm sure he fought and died as bravely and as intensely as any Jaffa could ever hope to. And he died carrying your name and fighting for your cause. Isn't that enough to honor his death?"
"Honor his death?" Egeria looked on at her subordinate with a bit of disbelief for a moment before her features smoothened and she went on. "I ask you this Aphrodite, how much more death must there be to satisfy us? Every day legions of Jaffa soldiers fight and die in the name of Goa'uld kind, and for what? Because they believe we are their gods?"
"But my queen," Aphrodite started with a questioning tone, "we are their gods. Physically the Goa'uld race may not have any divine traits borne in, but to the Jaffa and the Tau'ri we are nothing short of almighty."
"Who decided that role for us Aphrodite? Who decided that we should be a race who dominates others and blanket them under our power?"
"It is not a decision but a necessity, my queen." As she looked at her queen Aphrodite wondered what was going through Egeria's mind to bring about such questions. While it struck her as odd she decided to do nothing about it except to try and help her queen remember what it truly meant to be Goa'uld. "What do you think would become of either the Jaffa or the Tau'ri if they were to be free of our guidance? They would be lost I tell you. Neither race can function wholly on their own. That is our purpose, my queen, to be their guardians and to help them serve a worthwhile cause; our cause."
"Of course you are right Aphrodite," Egeria said half-heartedly. "I guess losing a soldier of Lo'tak's quality made me lose my objectivity for a moment."
"It certainly is understandable, my queen," Aphrodite said in an attempt to comfort Egeria. "He will definitely be hard to replace."
"Replace..." Egeria barely whispered absentmindedly. "Yes he will. Did he have an apprentice?"
"No he didn't."
"Well then there is a very hard task ahead indeed." Walking away from the velvet furnishings and her subordinate Egeria stood before the force shield opening and simply stared out into the dark abyss. The whole campaign of taking the mine and combating Ra's forces had left her feeling very drained. In that instant she didn't care that her First Prime had died or that Ra's power was steadily growing to surpass that of her own as well as the other System Lords. All she cared for was that she be taken home and given a moments rest. "Aphrodite, set course for Ventarea." she said without taking her gaze away from where it rested.
"Of course my queen," the young woman sharply said before slipping out of the room. Before she did so though she paused for a moment and stared at her queen. As she did she wondered if Egeria's distress could all be accounted to losing Lo'tak or if something else was bothering her.
Lost in her thoughts Egeria took a last look down upon the muddied world where the body of her First Prime lay. Through her mind raced all the planning and discussion that had led up to the campaign and of how Lo'tak seemed so eager to fight a battle in the name of his goddess. He was a good soldier, and she would not forget him. It wasn't until the world blinked away and was replaced by a purple backdrop did she turn away.
Slowly she made her way across her quarters to the golden sarcophagus and pressed the small button to open it. Still weary, she put her hands on its side as it opened. For some reason though she didn't get it. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind a voice screamed out and told her not to use the sarcophagus, that to do so would do more harm then good. She didn't understand where the voice came from and the fact that it was there took her aback for a moment. Standing there she almost questioned what she should do next before she found her hand pressing the button again and the lid sliding close over the Goa'uld coffin. Looking around and feeling every bit of the emotional and mental fatigue that had been caused to her, she wondered where she should fall in rest. In the next moment she found herself standing next to a large, plush bed that had served as little more than decoration. Carefully she climbed on top and laid down upon the silky velvet that covered it. For some reason the material beneath her felt so familiar and yet so distant all at once. She would have wondered about the feeling, but suddenly her eyes fell close and her consciousness drifted off.
A/N: Just thought I'd add a quick little note here. First of all I'd like to thank those that commented on the first chapter of this story, there was some really great feedback there. So I've decided to continue the story. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story and how the character of Egeria will unfold as the story progresses. One last quick note here is just to let you know that with a Star Trek series also being worked on and a Silent Hill one soon coming there could be slight delays between chapters of this. I'm hoping not to have it be longer than 2 or 3 weeks in between each but if be patient I'm sure you won't be disappointed.