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Ophrenet found herself standing in a fog. The room was low-lit, and filled with a swirling blue haze, coming from the excessive smoke of incense fires that burned with strange blue flames.

Kianna's fear stirred up again, but Ophrenet did her best to smother it. This was admittedly a bit of a sloppy job, as she didn't have much time. We can do this, she hastily tacked on. However, Kianna's feelings were at something of a disharmony with her own, and she attempted to separate herself from them. Showing fear would not do.

I've got this.

The place in which they were standing was of comparable size to a standard Goa'uld throne room, its wooden construction notwithstanding. Boughs and leaves were intertwined within the high rafters, giving the impression that the ceiling was open to the tree, though it likely was not. At the head of the room, a low dais was flung with a carpet. On the dais, instead of a throne, was a couch. Next to the couch, a small table was covered with grapes and other fruits and nuts.

On the couch, picking from the lazily from the grapes on the table, reclined a nude woman.

Custom varied from Goa'uld to Goa'uld, and it took Ophrenet a moment to realize she was expected to address the Queen first.

"Your majesty." She bowed low. "My name is Ophrenet. I have come to pledge my service to you."

Ashtoreth sat up slowly and silently. The incense around her and along the sides of the room sputtered. Netty could make out the Queen's lotar crouched in the shadows in the back of the room. Clearly the ban on humans in the court did not apply to at least this one slave – perhaps hypocritical, but necessary for reasons of practicality.

"You may rise," remarked Ashtoreth casually. Even her Goa'uld tone was smooth as butter.

Ophrenet stood uncertainly, and the Goa'uld remained seated pensively, legs crossed. Her hair was long and rich and full of dark curls. Her eyes were a deep black. She wore nothing, nothing at all, not a scrap of cloth or jewelry, or even a headdress. There were crescent-shaped decorations on the wall behind her, and suns and moons and stars.

Ophrenet swelled with envy. Hells. I think she is actually more beautiful than we are.

"Why do you wish to pledge your service to me?" Ashtoreth inquired placidly. "I am not ignorant to the ways of our kind. What do you hope to gain from doing this?"

"Your Majesty, you are doubtless aware that of late our kind are despised and killed on every planet where the Jaffa have betrayed us. Few safe havens remain. Here your majesty has created a place fit for the Goa'uld, where we may bide our time until the time is right for a future rise to power again." Ophrenet spoke and then held her breath.

"Indeed. I have always loathed the Jaffa. I have always believed—though others could not be so persuaded—that our dependence on them was a mistake. It was only a matter of time before they were turned against us. It was certainly a folly of the system lords to entrust not only the care of their young, but also their military forces to perhaps the only race whom they could not directly control."

She stood up. The goddess's full frontal nudity was somehow more intimidating than any article of clothing could have been.

"I agree, Your Majesty," said Ophrenet. "The preservation of our species must come first."

"You see sense, then," said Ashtoreth. She nodded to her lotar, who sprang forward at once to pull out a small table and two wooden folding chairs for the goddess and her guest.

They seated themselves, and Netty allowed Kianna to look away delicately from Ashtoreth, as she sensed her host was somewhat affronted.

"It is for this reason I choose to reproduce our kind, and foster them here on this planet. It is for this reason I welcome minor Goa'uld such as yourself into my city. My children shall inherit this galaxy, some in greater roles, and some lesser." She paused, taking a sip of wine out of a silver goblet. "Few today are worthy to rule. Myself and Ba'al are the only two of the old gods who remain. He is the only one worthy to sire my heirs. The more I see of these who gather here, the more I despise them."

Doesn't that mean you, Netty? Kianna was surprised.

"I shall attempt to earn your respect," said Ophrenet vehemently.

"Do try." Ashtoreth shrugged the goblet from hand to hand. "I expect you to manage the importation of food offerings. You may have to go over the pass. I expect that won't be too difficult for you."

"Of course not," said Netty. She was already thinking about how easy it might be to smuggle things out of the city in such a position.

"Excellent. In return you shall receive a house, the management of the slaves who carry food offerings, and of course shall retain your own personal lotar, who was pre-emptively lent to you by Hecate. And access to the Sarcophagus."

Ophrenet nodded. She sensed a mild alarm in Kianna. Wait, she told her host.

"Her Majesty is most generous."

"I am a generous god." Ashtoreth smiled. "You shall find it in the ground-level water terraces."

Netty—

"My Lady, is it true that Bacchus is your second in command?" Ophrenet asked.

Ashtoreth laughed delicately. "In a manner of speaking. He has charge of the drink offerings. You are not beholden to him, Ophrenet. Only to me."

Rather than dismissing her, as Ophrenet expected, Ashtoreth nodded to her lotar, who poured Netty her own cup of wine. Netty took this as the invitation it was, but hesitated to drink.

"Is it not ironic," mused Ashtoreth, "the situation in which we now find ourselves? We who are inclined to fight each other so bitterly for territories must now band together in order to survive."

"Indeed, Your Majesty."

"You may be wondering how I manage this. It's no secret that everyone here is plotting to kill me." The blithe tone with which Ashtoreth said this belied her sentiment. Ophrenet stared back innocently.

"And don't flatter yourself. I am under no delusions that you are the exception to this rule."

Neither Ophrenet or Kianna were quite sure what to say about this, so they remained silent.

"But none of them have the stones for it. They know that if they ever succeeded, they'd have to answer to Ba'al. So they must content themselves with competing amongst one another. My position is safe. Yours, Ophrenet, is less so."

Ophrenet shook herself slightly. "Point taken, My Lady."

Ashtoreth fortunately moved on. "Is this what the next generation of Goa'uld is coming to?" she complained, throwing her head back, and her arm over the back of the chair. "None of them have the true sensibility of the old gods. The power, the fury. The memories are there but their own lives are frivolous and lazy. They've had everything handed to them. In my day we went to war for Sarcophagi. Now they're a dime a dozen. It's really quite pathetic. The old gods cared about the future of our species. At least they bothered to reproduce. Say what you want about Apophis, but at least he was a family man." She gestured around as though Ophrenet could see what she was pointing at. "Look at this crop, born a thousand years after Ra's generation. Nike, goddess of victory, ran to me in defeat. The furies are constantly at each other's throats. Bacchus is never sober. The Fates—well, I'll confess they were a misstep in one of Ba'al's cloning experiments. The closest thing we have to another old god around here is Pan. He's got the sense of personality, but he can't even read. His preferred host is an Unas. It's enough to drive a goddess mad."

She snapped her head forward again suddenly and looked into Ophrenet's eyes with a fixing gaze.

"But you. Your generation, the young Goa'uld, have never had it easy. You have to work if you want power. I appreciate that."

Netty drew back slightly.

Ashtoreth also paused, and Netty could see every muscle in her body tensing. "And you are also interesting."

"What do you mean?" asked Ophrenet, trying to sound calm.

"I find you suspicious. I accused you of plotting to kill me. Every other Goa'uld who has pledged into my service would hasten to deny this accusation, telling me quickly some mediocre excuse for their purposes here."

Ophrenet flinched slightly. This queen was far too intelligent.

"But you did not. That suggests to me that perhaps you do have another purpose here, and you do not wish for me know what it is. In fact, you would rather let me believe that you are here to kill me than tell me your true intentions. I find this intriguing." As she spoke, she had risen and begun to walk around the table, passing behind Netty.

"But it also suggests that you are, perhaps, not here to kill me. This commends you to me. Whatever it is you are up to, I will discover it." She smiled. "However, if you serve me well over time, I may see fit to grant you a regency on your own planet once I rise to power alongside Lord Ba'al. Does this proposition please you?" Ashtoreth again ascended the dais to stand before her couch. She took to hand a scepter with a u-shaped crescent upon its end, which had been leaning against the wall.

"It pleases me much, my Queen." Ophrenet knelt on one knee before Ashtoreth.

"Very well." Ashtoreth dipped the scepter towards her. "Rise, Ophrenet, goddess of the harvest."

Netty felt a sudden and unexpected rush of pride and heady excitement.

Simultaneously, Kianna began to question the series of life choices that had placed her in this particular situation at this particular moment.