A/N: This one is short, but I wanted to break it from the next chapter. I should have the next one up tomorrow!

Thanks again for all the feedback! I love it!

Seshat's Secret: Chapter 6

"So, what's up?" Daniel stepped up behind Sam. She sat in one of the technician chairs in the control room.

"I've been going over the images received from the MALP on P2H-994. I think it's experienced a massive destructive force that threw the planet into an ice age.I've found evidence that this was once a forest."

He shoved his hands into his pockets. "Another sleeper bomb?"

"I don't know" Sam admitted. "Maybe. But it could have been a meteor or…

"Any number of other things. Sam, it's been weeks since we've seen or heard about anything pertaining to the Scrolls…or Seshat. I appreciate you looking, though."

"Yeah, okay." She sounded tired.

The Stargate suddenly began to spin, chevrons locking one after another. The alert went out. General Hammond descended the steps as the iris closed. As the event horizon came to life behind the protective shield an audio transmission began immediately.

"I need to see Daniel Jackson immediately. Please open the chap'ai. I am out of time."

"Ati?" Daniel leaned closer to the technician, who looked passed him to the General.

Hammond keyed the microphone. "This is General Hammond. Please ident. . ."

"I don't have time!" a loud blast sounded. "Allow me through. I am surrounded and will not be able to dial again if the chap'ai closes." Another loud blast, and she cried out.

"Sir?" Daniel anxiously looked back and forth from the iris to the General and back.

"Full security complement to the Gate Room! Defensive positions! Sergeant open the iris." He turned back to the microphone. "You're clear to come through."

The iris opened and several staff blast emerged, hitting the protective window. Daniel held his breath until she fell through. Seshat collapsed on the ramp. He was dashing from the control room even before the Stargate closed.

"Doctor Jackson!" The General's booming voice stopped him at the doorway. "Wait right there, son."

"But,"

"I have ordered a full security alert. You are not going barging in there."

The radio crackled. "All secure. Sir, she's injured."

"Colonel, call in a medical team. Place her in isolation room three under full guard."

"Come on, Daniel." Sam touched his shoulder. "We'll keep tabs on what's going on from the observation room." She looked over at the General, who gave her a discrete nod.

Daniel and Sam got to the observation room just as the doctor cut away the material of Seshat's gown to reveal a nasty wound across her side. The flesh was raw, oozing and charred. Along her shoulder another wound screamed out from her pale flesh.

"Aw, dammit." Daniel dropped into the chair.

"She'll be okay. Her symbiote will heal her. She'll be okay." Sam touched his shoulders.

"What happened?" Jack and Teal'c came in.

"Those are staff blast injuries." Teal'c commented immediately.

"She came in hot." Sam volunteered.

"What'd she say?"

"There wasn't time to say anything, Jack. She fell through the gate this way." Daniel chewed his lip.

Fifteen tense minutes later, the doctor spoke into the intercom. "She's stable, but her symbiote has a lot of work to do. She's slipped into a deep sleep, almost coma deep, to heal. I don't know for how long, though. Could be hours. Could be days."

"I'm going down there." Daniel stood.

"No, sorry. You're not." Jack spoke quietly, looking down.

"Yes, I am."

"General's orders, Daniel. She's to be kept in isolation until the Tok'ra arrive."

"At which point they're going to take her away." He returned tightly.

"Probably." Surprisingly, Jack didn't sound too thrilled about it either.

- - -

More than six hours later, she began to stir. The nurse attending to Seshat moved closer and checked her vitals and spoke softly to her. Daniel watched intently from the observation room. Having to wait so far away angered him, but orders were orders.

The nurse pointed at the window, right at him and said something quietly to Seshat. She, in turn, tried to lift her head from the pillow. Daniel raised his handto sayhello and smiled sadly when her eyes met his. She closed her eyes, looking calmer, and laid her head back down.

"General Hammond, the patient is awake." The Tok'ra next to him spoke into the phone. "We would like to begin immediately."

"Now?" Daniel turned to Corwin, instantly angry. "She's still weak. She can barely lift her head."

"Movement on her part is not necessary, only consciousness." The Tok'ra retorted after a long pause.

"Are you kidding?" Daniel stood up. He got louder. "It's barely been six hours!"

"Doctor." The General barked from the doorway. "What's going on here?"

"She can barely lift her head, and they want to begin interrogating her now? It's ridiculous!"

Hammond raised his hand to stop Daniel from continuing. He turned to the intercom. "Doctor, could you please come in here?"

For the first time, Daniel noted Sam had followed the General into the observation room. A moment later, Dr. Frasier joined the crowd in the little room. "Yes, General?"

"How's our patient? Is she ready to meet with the Tok'ra?"

"Absolutely not." Daniel breathed a sigh of relief and Corwin began to protest. "She just woke up. At the very least I need to examine her further and determine her current level of comprehension. She may need to rest even longer."

"There's no reason. . ." Corwin began.

"Because she's my patient and I say so. That's exactly the reason. Now, I will contact you when she's well enough." Without waiting for a reply, the doctor left the room.

"You heard her. Might as well make yourselves comfortable." The General began to leave as well.

"Sir, I'd like to go down and see her." Daniel stopped him.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I can't allow that. Not yet."

"Then I want to be there when the Tok'ra questions her."

"No." Corwin snapped.

"Doctor, I've assigned Major Carter to be present during the questioning. We've agreed to have only one representative from both the Tok'ra and the SGC present, medical staff and security excluded."

Daniel looked from him to Sam. He could see it in her eyes. She would be fair where Seshat's interests were concerned. "Alright. Fine. I'll stay here."

It took another two hours before Janet allowed them to see her patient. Admittedly, Daniel was surprised Seshat was sitting propped up in the hospital bed and conversing with the doctor. He could tell the moment Janet told her of the pending interrogation by the Tok'ra. Her dark eyes found him immediately, but the concern on her face turned quickly to resolve. At least, he thought, she doesn't look afraid.

Corwin and his companion wheeled in a cart holding the small memory device and the larger holographic image projector. Seeing the projector, Daniel felt heat rush up his face. Although their relationship couldn't be considered consummated, he and Seshat had shared some intimate moments. He silently prayed they would stay private.

Corwin's companion exited and Sam entered. They spoke briefly. Daniel desperately wished he could hear what was going on, especially now that he was alone in the observation room. Almost as if Janet was reading his mind, she covertly walked to the centrifuge on the counter along the back wall, placing her body between the communication panel and the others in the room. Making like she was checking the test tubes, she switched on the microphone.

Daniel looked down at the control board. It was on one-way. He could hear them but they couldn't hear him. Looking at the others, he checked that their attention was centered around the holographic projector. He mouthed 'thank you' to Janet. She gave him a smile before turning back to her patient.

"Now," Janet stepped up beside the bed. "Seshat, do you understand what's about to happen?"

Corwin and Sam turned to her expectantly. "Yes, doctor. This Tok'ra will use a memory device and a projector to verify the sincerity of my answers to his questions."

"Mine as well." Sam added. Seshat inclined her head in acceptance. "I do have one more question." Sam looked at Corwin. "Will it matter if it's Seshat or her host who answers?"

"Yes and no. The host is privy to actions taken by the symbiote, and thus would remember those events. That applies to the other way around, as well. Anything predating their joining would have to be answered by that individual, however. Answers need not be vocalize. We will simply see her answers." Corwin explained.

"You ready?" Janet asked again. "Are you certain you feel up to this?"

"I want to get this over with." Seshat nodded.

Corwin placed the small disk on her temple and turned on the projector. Sam wasted no time, jumping in to be first to set the tempo of the questioning. "What's the first thing you remember after coming out of stasis?"

The gray ceiling of one of the SGC isolation rooms popped up above the projector. The image shifted to show Daniel, smiling and offering his greeting. They all watched the exchange. Up in the observation room Daniel watch himself with a touch of confusion. He looked good in the image, really good, better than he remembered looking that day. Then it hit him. That's how she remembers seeing him. I made him smile.

Sam's questions continued, revealing how she remembered her time here. With growing anxiety, Daniel waited to see if their private moments would be revealed. "You were left alone in Dr. Jackson's office and you accessed classified information. Why?"

Images flashed. It wasn't as coherent. Seshat sitting beside Daniel looking at the image on the computer. A bald, tanned Goa'uld asking her questions, lavishing her with compliments to make her more compliant. Seshat standing in a golden room, building a device. Ra striking her hard across the face, condemning her for recording her knowledge. Two Jaffa holding her tightly as she pleaded with Thoth, the bald Goa'uld from earlier, to stop. Men in leopard tunics being slit ear to ear by Jaffa daggers.

For the first time, Corwin asked a question. "How were you worshiped?"

The image changed. She sat upon chair of Egyptian design, outside, on a stone dais beside the Nile. She wore a gown of gossamer linen covered by a leopard skin tunic. Before her, a low, narrow table extended many feet to either side. Men in loin clothes and tunic made of the same animal skin sat around the table writing on fine papyrus. Rolls and rolls piled in front of her.

Daniel thought the Tok'ra looked confused. He muttered to himself, "She didn't have temples, you moron. She wasn't worshiped like most of the others."

"How did you obtain your followers?" Corwin asked again.

This time they saw an older man bringing a young boy, holding a rolled papyrus, to her. The boy looked serious, but not afraid. The older man, his father perhaps, beamed with pride. It changed to show another man, kneeling and presenting a finely engraved tablet to her. Again and again, these images appeared. Each showed men, only men, coming to her as children eager to learn or scribes wishing to prove themselves.

"Seshat, how did you come about your host?" Corwin pressed.

A young girl of about five, with black hair and big brown eyes, stepping up and taking her hand. The same girl was seen, only a little older, sitting beside a man wearing a tunic of Seshat's priesthood. They were studying mathematics. A beautiful woman laughing, soaking to her shoulders in a bath. The same woman, smiling warmly, and leaning forward to offer herself.

"Seshat-Ati, how were you treated and taken as a host?" Corwin pressed harder.

Rapid images of a dark eyed woman appeared. The moments were full of serious lessons and adventurous travel, joyous laughter and lavish ceremony. Brief flashes of large palaces and gigantic libraries intermingled with the faces of dozens of people, all of whom died thousands of years ago. The dark eyed woman, presumably Seshat in her previous host, appeared often.

Daniel sat above, watching. He tapped his lips with the tips of fingers, concentrating on the barrage of memories. "Nothing mean. Nothing unpleasant." He said although no was there to hear. "Even my childhood was so much darker than this."

"Have you killed?" Corwin leered.

"That's not a fair question! Everyone here has done what they had to in varying situations. . ." Despite Sam's opposition, the projector showed her in ancient times, taking a staff weapon from a Jaffa and shooting a man in royal finery. Then throwing a knife into a slave girl. The last image was more recent, she wore the gown she had when she fell through the Stargate. Using a za'tarc, she shot several Jaffa.

"Seshat, why did you come back here?" Sam interjected.

The image simmered, changing to Daniel's face. A soft smile touched his moist lips. His hair looked tousled. Then it was gone, replaced quickly by a data crystal. Then rapid flashes of data strings, names, Stargate addresses. Finally, a huge barren hole in the crust of a planet.

"We found a crystal like that on her when she came through the Stargate." Janet turned to look at Sam.

"It holds the addresses for the planet I believe have false arks." Seshat vocalized softly. Daniel thought she sounded painfully tired.

"The sleeper bombs?" Sam asked.

"Yes" The image changed to a golden box, encrusted with precious stones. "I have also included the knowledge to disarm them."

"To what end?" Corwin asked.

An image of a crater in the desert sand and rock slowly solidified on the projector. Pieces of chiseled stone and human limbs scattered the ground at her feet. The more detailed the image became, the more carnage was evident. Hundreds of bodies, torn to pieces. "Please turn it off." Ati's voice pleaded.

"What is this place?" Sam asked as gently as she could as she switched off the projector.

"Long ago, Thoth experimented with an explosive device. Actually, he did a lot of work with weapons. He presented me with puzzle, an equation so complex he could not solve it on his own. I was enthralled and I solved it. I found out he used it to create these small, extremely powerful explosive device. He tested in on a library dedicated in my name. A library full of innocent scholars!" Ati's human voice shook with pain and fury.

She looked up to the window at Daniel. He bit his lip, face tight and eyes serious. "When Daniel showed me the engravings," She began again. "I learn how much I had been betrayed and how many of these he'd built. I had to do something."

"So why not just tell them?" Corwin asked with less edge than before.

"They had no reason to trust me. I had to gather the all the information I could. I had to move before the Goa'uld loyal to Thoth discovered I spent time with the Tau'ri. If they learned the truth they never would have lowered their guard enough for me to steal this information." She looked over at the Tok'ra. "I don't want to see any more cities destroyed just because a power hungry Goa'uld or a foolish treasure hunter tampers with one of these devices. Do what you want with me, just don't discount this information."

"What do you want to do now?" Janet asked.

"The only thing I've ever wanted to do. I want to learn and I want to teach." Seshat answered. "I have been used for my knowledge by more powerful Goa'uld for my entire existence. I want to be free of it."

"You understand that you're loyalty will still be in question. You will have to earn our trust." Corwin crossed his arms tightly.

"Are you offering me a place with the Tok'ra?" Seshat's strength was waning.

"I'm offering you a chance to earn it." Corwin nodded.

Seshat looked up at Daniel. He gave her a sweet smile. She rested her head back. "May we continue later? I am tired."

Daniel sat back in his chair. He watched everyone filtered out of the isolation room, as he still sat alone in the observation room. Watching her chest rise and fall as she rested, he felt a deep relief throughout his body. His feeling about her had been right.

A light tap brought his head around. Janet stepped into the room. "I thought you'd like to know I'm moving her to VIP Room Three. The infirmary beds are full. SG-6 got into something and have head to toe rashes. Didn't want to leave her here, so the General granted the request. You can go see here once she's moved."

"Really?" Daniel looked back at her small sleeping form.

"M-hm. She's been asking about you since she woke up." Janet sat down beside him. "Give us a half hour then you can come see her. In the meantime, why don't you go get something to eat." She patted his shoulder. "We'll take care of her. Now go. Take care of yourself."

More to come...