"Nike," she sputtered after managing to successfully swallow the grape. "Leave us."

Nike left, though not without a suspicious glance, and closed the door behind her. Ophrenet jumped down from the dais and ran, barefooted as she was and in her draped gown, over to Jonas.

She immediately reached behind his head and untied the gag, which had been pulling cruelly at his lips. It fell to the ground, and he spat out the wad of cloth, then spat again, and a third time, more disgustedly, then licked his lips.

He looked around at the room, then again at her. Kianna and Netty jockeyed for priority, finally deciding to wait and see whom he addressed first.

"Kianna?"

"Jonas…" said Kianna, hesitantly. "Are you all right?"

"All things considered."

Jonas Quinn was the kind of person who wore his emotions on the outside of his face 24/7. However, those emotions tended to exist on a sliding scale from "happy five-year-old" to "you've got to be kidding me", and usually he displayed some middling combination of the two. Right now he was leaning toward the latter end, with a slightly disturbed smile.

"I thought I was going to have to be the one rescuing you. But apparently you seem to be doing all right for yourself."

Netty dropped to one knee in front of him, working on untying the rope around his wrists. "Jonas, this is NOT what it looks like."

"Then… what is it? Cuz to me it kinda looks like you're being a Goa'uld… doing, you know, Goa'uldy things."

"No, Jonas, no, please no." She begged him as she finally got the cord loose and pulled it apart with her fingers. "You don't understand. I'm so glad you're here, I need your help. We've got a real problem on our hands."

"I'll say." He stretched his arms and flexed his fingers.

"Listen! Just listen to me, okay? Hear me out."

"All right, fine. What's going on here?" He paused. "No, wait. I want to hear it from Kianna."

"All right." She bowed her head, (more of a visible sign to him than a need within herself, as they often switched instantly and seamlessly) and transferred control to Kianna.

"We meant to get back to you on time," said Kianna. "We really did. I'm sorry you're here. This wasn't supposed to happen."

"I figured," said Jonas. "That's why I came after you. If I'd assumed the worst of you, I wouldn't be here."

Netty, at least, found this comforting.

"Okay, well, it took us almost our full time limit to get to the point where we could steal the symbiotes. But Ashtoreth caught us in the act and threw us in jail. That ran out the rest of our time." He was looking confused again, clearly not understanding how she could go from being in jail to being queen so fast.

"Ashtoreth called us up for judgment before the Goa'uld. As punishment, Netty was ordered to kill our Lotar."

"Yikes. Also, you have a Lotar? Since when?"

"She was… complimentary." Even Kianna felt a little too embarrassed to explain about the priestesses right now, given what had just happened.

"I mean I kind of know what happened next, because it's all anyone can talk about, but…"

"We killed Ashtoreth."

"Netty? Or you?"

"Both of us. It was her idea, but I supported it."

"…ah."

She bowed her head again, and Netty was back. "You do realize I have to figure out what to do with you, right?"

"Yeah, I know, the whole sacrifice thing and all that. I knew you wouldn't kill me, and it seemed like the easiest way to get into the city."

Suddenly an idea came to her. "Don't worry," she said. "I have an idea. Kneel down."

"What?"

"Just do it."

It was rather difficult for him to get on to his knees, since he still had the ankle chains attached – she'd forgotten about that –and she grabbed his hand to help him slide down. "All right, stay there."

Ophrenet threw the doors open. "Nike!" she called.

Nike slid into the room, eyeing Jonas up and down now that his face was visible.

"Arrange accommodations to be fixed for this man immediately, in my palace."

Nike sneered. "Is that not a job for your Lotar? Am I your slave?"

"It will be in future, but he cannot create his own accommodations. This is my new Lotar."

Jonas's head raised sharply.

"Has your old Lotar displeased you, Your Majesty? I'd be happy to kill her for you."

"No!" said Netty. "No, um… I simply prefer a male Lotar."

Jonas's face cracked into a bemused smile shifting heavily toward "you've got to be kidding me".

"Send my old Lotar back to her village."

"But Your Majesty. No human may see the inside of the Veiled City and depart alive."

"Bloody hell!" stormed Ophrenet. She'd just about had it with Nike. "For the last time, what did I tell you about those damn rules? Ashtoreth is dead, and I killed her. Do as I say. Send Marian back to her village. Along with generous gifts of grain and food."

Nike stepped out of the doorway, grumbling under her breath. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"And I do mean generous. At least fifty pounds of grain. No skimping. I'll find out."

Nike side-eyed her and slammed the door.

I'll really have to do something about these Goa'uld and their attitudes. This is unacceptable.

After she'd gotten Jonas's ankles unchained, they went upstairs.

In the room adjoining the Queen's suite, Marian's items had been moved out to make way for the new Lotar. Since Marian hadn't traveled with much, that meant mostly a new wardrobe, which Jonas had to make use of immediately since he had traveled the last four days in his sweaty Kelownian outfit, which was by now quite torn. While Kelownian clothing did tend to have a mild dash of eccentricity, with their collar clasps and rectangular silhouettes, it had nothing on the outfits afforded to a status symbol such as a Lotar.

"This was the best one," he said, picking at his shoulder. It was a decorative red sleeveless jerkin and knee-length trousers. He still managed to wear it like it was a dorky sweater.

Ophrenet raised an eyebrow.

"Heh." He laughed a little. "We should really get out of here, though. I came to rescue you, remember? Not to ruin your little party, but it's time to go."

"We can't just leave," protested Netty.

"Really. And why not?"

"Well, here's what I was thinking." She led the way with him through the narrow halls and stairs back to the throne room. "We have all the supplies we need here for my research, and all the symbiotes are already here, being adequately sustained. I'm in charge. The city itself is pretty secret. As long as Hecate works for us, the Goa'uld that come in are subordinate to me. You're safe under the guise of my Lotar and can come and go."

She emerged from the door in the back of the throne room, and shrugged, leaning against the wall. "This could be our new base of operations. I mean, for the whole thing. I don't see any reason why not."

Of course you want that. I should have known.

"Umm…." Jonas cocked his head. "How about the fact that you're running an entire planet full of slaves that think you're a god?"

"We can change that."

"Will the other Goa'uld accept that? Who will supply their demands and the needs of this city if not the slaves?"

Netty frowned. "Jonas, I don't see why you have to be such a downer. The humans here love me."

"Most likely because they prefer your rule to Ashtoreth," he told her with a wry expression.

"Well, of course," she said, irritated.

"But I'm sure they'd like not being slaves even better."

"I know that! They won't have to be slaves."

"Yes, they'll just serve you for free for fun."

Netty glared at him.

He crossed his arms. "Look, I don't know, Netty, if you do have a plan it's all sounding pretty fuzzy to me."

"Just come with me to the lab," said Netty. "Then you'll understand. I can explain the problem there, and if you help me solve it, maybe we'll be able to leave faster."