Author: Kelral Orlyana

Title: Reunion

Category: Stargate SG1 x Red Dead Redemption

Rating: Currently a T… may change as story progresses.

Pairing: None

Spoilers: The Tok'Ra (Part 1 and 2) but very little of Red Dead Redemption will be revealed.

Warning: Contains angst, mild battle scenes and mentions abuse and cruelty… though it is very mild.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate SG1 or Red Dead Redemption and make no profit posting this story.

Italics represent symbiote and host communication.

Chapter 11: To Have Faith

The Chaapa'ai is buried deep within one of these monuments. Cordesh commented needlessly. They both felt the familiar sensation of Naquadah, how it resonated with Cordesh's blood. Getting us all to the gate without the locals noticing us will be somewhat of a challenge, but not impossible.

Not really. We have already crossed paths with three expeditions. We simply need to claim to be explorers, as long as we do not do anything overtly suspicious, we will be able to pass by relatively un-noticed.

Breaking into the ruins will be more difficult. We need to ensure we do not corrupt the culture by revealing the technology hidden in these ruins. And we certainly do not want people breaking into chambers they don't understand and destroying it. So, if we break in, we have to make sure we are not noticed or found.

The Chaapa'ai won't be too close to this city. The Goa'uld would not want the device to be too near to their slaves. So, we can be absolutely certain that we will need to venture further out.

Not necessarily. It has been a thousand years or more since the Goa'uld left this world. Human colonies expand like viruses.

Hey, do not compare my species to viruses. Kirinian chided.

Cordesh did not apologise. His view on humanity had always been poor, he'd only adored his hosts and for many years Kirinian doubted that he even loved them, even now, understanding Cordesh's motives did not erase the doubt and distrust created by Cordesh's previous cruelty.

Firnan suddenly shook beneath them, startling them briefly before they realised, he was just shaking off the dust from his coat. Kirinian gave Firnan a nudge with his heel and the colt started trotting forward, sliding down a dune and speeding up to a light canter, following Kirinian's guidance as Cordesh and Kirinian zeroed in on the gate.

The closer they got the more excited they felt. No one looked at them twice, used to foreigners and their horses cantering through their markets and towns in search of fame and fortune. Those that did look twice did not pursue but muttered between themselves about greedy and impolite foreigners.

We are almost home. Cordesh commented.

We are nowhere near home. Kirinian countered. But it will be good to get off this world. I do not like the idea of being trapped on one world, particularly a world that isn't mine.

Agreed. Cordesh replied. I am able to feel the Chaapa'ai more strongly now. That large burial ground there seems to be where the sensation is most strong. If my memory is correct, which I am positive it is, humans buried their most important people, nobles and advisors to the Goa'uld.

It is likely when the Goa'uld left, the people buried the gate with the people who were last loyal to those parasites. If so, we are looking for a burial that is the last of its era, so we are looking for old Goa'uld hieroglyphs and symbols. Symbols that represent the Chaap'ai and the hara kesh will be more obscure, which means we will have to enter some of these ruins until we find the correct one.

We are fortunate the pyramids get so much attention; it should mean we do not have to compete for entry to these ruins and hopefully we will not be disturbed. It shouldn't appear too out of the ordinary if we dismount and venture into these ruins, we should be mistaken for curious tourists, and taking Firnan with us would do no harm, with so many thieves and cut-throats about people will simply believe we are trying to protect our property. The main issue we will have is trying to prevent people following us when we disappear and discovering the Chaapa'ai. We must hope we can disappear without drawing too much attention.

Fortunately, humans weren't known as the most observant of species. So, it was simply a matter of using or creating a distraction. But this was also easily done. Humans were very opinionated and greedy, and more often than not it was simply a matter of showing something 'desirable' and watching humans fight over it. A bit of cash, rare materials or objects or even food. Kirinian and Cordesh just had to find the right bait.

Not every human is greedy or oblivious, Cordesh. Kirinian chided, but in truth he agreed, his experience of humanity, especially since becoming host had lessened a great deal. Although there were good humans out there, he'd been exposed to such evil that his view of humanity and the general universe had changed, he did not have much faith or hope in people anymore. Too much had been lost, and sadly much of that loss was done by humans out of fear and hate. How many people, men, women and children had been sacrificed to appease the Gods? How many times had people sacrificed another individual for the 'greater good' or for their own gain? Yes, Kirinian could no longer look at the universe with innocent eyes, he saw only evil at times and hope was in short supply. With so much devastation, what was there to hope for?

We'll change all of that. One day you will look out at those same stars and feel nothing but joy and hope. That I promise.

Don't make promises you can't keep.

This promise I intend to keep.

Kirinian sighed and kicked Firnan into a trot, the horse snorted and pranced over the sand easily jumping over small obstacles and old ruined walls and taking them further into the desert, towards a towering pyramid and many ruins. The sense of a chaapa'ai being close by grew, they knew the gate was buried in ancient chambers and that they were above it. The gate was often close to the largest pyramids, close to where the ruling Goa'uld would land their Ha'tak's and therefore always within the Goa'uld's influence preventing the primitive people and even the Jaffa using the gate without the Goa'uld's notice. When Ra left this world, he would have insured the gate was out of reach of the humans so they could not learn to use it. However, he would have also placed it somewhere secure so when he returned, he could sneak an army in before the humans could even react to the invasion. This meant that the Goa'uld would have made it easy for any Goa'uld or Jaffa to access the gate, or more likely the Goa'uld placed in it a secure underground chamber, large enough to house a small army.

We will find a way to bury it, to ensure it cannot be used to harm this planet. Kirinian thought. Ra would have left some weapons nearby to the chaapa'ai for his Jaffa, we could engineer one of these weapons to trigger an explosion and bury as much as possible if there is a chamber. If it is buried on the other hand, we will need to rig the weapons to rebury it after we use it.

Agreed.

I suspect it is in an underground chamber, simply because we are close to one of the Goa'uld landing platforms. Whether it is large enough for an army, we will discover later. But I suspect the tunnel or chamber will be connected to the pyramid. If we can sneak into the pyramid and find the secret entrance without notice we can simply destroy the secret entrance, make it inanimate and unable to open and then destroy the tunnel. We will need to ensure the explosion, if we decide to do this, is small enough to bury the tunnel and chaapa'ai and to not expose them. On the other hand, if we simply sabotage the secret entrance, we would not need to do this, we can perhaps bury the chaapa'ai with a small strategically placed explosion but we would not have to bury the tunnel.

All very good ideas, but until we find the entrance and the chaapa'ai we cannot determine our next course of action.

Of course, I am getting ahead of myself. I am just trying to be prepared.

And doing a good job. We have an idea of what to do thanks to your thoughts, now let us find out where the entrance is and see what idea is more valid in our circumstances.

Unlike the humans that were poking and probing ruins without a clue, Kirinian knew exactly where to go, knew the secret entrances and tunnels the Goa'uld used. The larger entrances to the ha'tak landing pads were a little further out, these were built for jaffa armies and small crafts which would swarm out from the mountains, getting behind rebel human armies and jaffa, trapping the Goa'uld's enemies between two loyal forces. The grounds around the pyramids were known to be stained red with blood and invaded people would soon be cowed by the mass systematic slaughter of their armies. The Goa'uld knew how to do one thing extremely well, and that was murder, primitive peoples stood little chance and advanced peoples could not withstand the force and number of the Jaffa.

Do not get morbid, my darling host. We will one day stop this.

At what price? And if what we've witnessed is true, another enemy will rise to replace this one and it may be far, far worse.

We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Kirinian envied Cordesh's confidence and feared it at the same time. But despite his reluctance he felt a small feeling of hope begin to build in his chest. If Cordesh was honest and right, they could at least change some things, give the free peoples of the universe a chance, a chance they had not had before.

Firnan snorted and hesitated at the apparent cave entrance they found a short while later but with encouragement he walked into the cavern. Once inside Kirinian dismounted, taking the reins in his hand and searching the wall. It took a few moments to notice the concealed hieroglyphs, hidden effectively in what appeared to be natural grooves but were most definitely crafted to appear natural. Cordesh hummed as he felt the naquadah reacting to the naquadah in his blood, the door trembled and slid open with a loud, earth-shattering grumble.

Let's hope no one heard that. Kirinian thought quietly.

We are far from human settlements and even if someone did hear us, the door will close behind us, they will not see us or the door and it will not open for anyone who does not have a symbiote. We will be safe.

Still, Kirinian worried. He didn't want any human being aware of them.

Sure, enough the door slid shut behind them, startling Firnan as if ground back into place and then fell silent. Cordesh and Kirinian listened for what seemed forever but was probably only ten or twenty minutes. When no voices came, they relaxed and slowly pushed onwards. Firnan slowly walking behind them, clearly nervous and unsure of this dark, cold tunnel.

The dust that laid upon the floor showed a great time had passed since the tunnel had been used. Any paintings or markings left had faded somewhat, but the lack of sunlight meant that most had retained most of the detail and some indication of colour. Cordesh even noted a craftsman's signature, laughing at the audacity of a human slave leaving a mark on the Goa'uld's property.

The humans who helped build this tunnel were most likely executed by the Jaffa to prevent anyone not loyal to Ra knowing about this tunnel. I am glad that at least one thing survived Ra's wrath, even if it is only a signature. This man, Chibale will be remembered, one day when humans are ready, they will find this tunnel and know of this man. His legacy will be as great as the Goa'uld's, he will be remembered as Ra's craftsman and subject. Imagine the Goa'uld's fury if they realised the Tau'ri remembered the builders as well as the names of the Gods. Cordesh laughed heartily. It makes me want to mock the Goa'uld, but that would simply bring their attention to us and to the Tau'ri before the Tau'ri are ready to face the Goa'uld.

Kirinian was surprised at Cordesh's passionate speech, it reminded him of before, when Cordesh had been such a passionate and loving symbiote. He'd thought such a kind symbiote had been a lie, a deception but now he hoped the Cordesh he'd loved was being revived, returning to Kirinian just like Kirinian had first prayed for when Cordesh had turned on him.

We will have that bond again, my darling host. Now let us get off this world and back home amongst those stars.

The walls began to light up, the gold glowing as torches began to light at their approach. Stone walls turned to elaborately decorated halls, hieroglyphs on the wall revealing they were on the right track and approaching, if not under the pyramid.

A little further and we will be free of this world. Kirinian commented as he soothed Firnan, rubbing the horse's soft nose. Getting the horse through the gate may prove a problem but the horse was incredibly obedient if a little stroppy at times so Kirinian did not think he'd have too much trouble.

Ra thought he'd return. Cordesh commented with disgust when they finally entered and found the ring perfectly preserved and ready for use within the chamber.

Could we destroy the dialling device? Kirinian asked. Without that the humans could not use the gate. They will not be able to foolishly leave this world until they are ready.

It would take some doing, but I can see a stockpile of weapons. It will have to be a powerful explosion, but I believe we are far enough below the surface that the humans above may simply believe it to be an earthquake.

Kirinian secured Firnan and let Cordesh take control. Almost immediately the symbiote was checking the weapons. Working out which one's were strongest, which one's had any energy and how to effectively rig the energy to the dialling device and the gate to get the most efficient and powerful explosion that would hopefully bury the gate and destroy the gate.

If we do this right, not even the hieroglyphs around this chamber will survive. It will be dust or buried deeply beneath the rocks above. We can collapse this whole chamber and turn much to ash. A final mockery to the Goa'uld, so much of their power forgotten and destroyed on this world. These Tau'ri will be free from them, at least for a while, until the Tau'ri begin venturing out.

How long do you think that will take?

I cannot answer since I did not converse with the Tau'ri for long, but I suspect a couple of centuries, maybe more. The fact these Tau'ri have guns similar to the team we met within the tunnels; I suspect we are very close to that time. These guns we have seen seem to be primitive versions of the guns those soldiers had. Let us hope we can make enough of a change before the Tau'ri start showing up.

Kirinian watched fascinated as Cordesh efficiently took out the energy sources in some of the weapons and strategically placed the others. Within a short couple of hours, the whole chamber was rigged. Cordesh dialled the gate and triggered the countdown as the gate engaged. Kirinian half-panicked watched as Cordesh coerced the horse through the watery looking substance that formed within the ring. Kirinian thought he'd have a heart attack when Firnan shied away, as he was very much aware of the explosion that was going to happen in seconds. Fortunately, he'd taught Cordesh well and they walked into the wormhole. Kirinian shrieked into their mind as the wormhole collapsed seconds after the walked through. Had they walked through a second later, they could have died. But the collapsed wormhole told them the explosion had worked and the chaapa'ai was unusable.

If I did it correctly the humans may find the gate and nothing else when the time comes. It will take them decades if not centuries to work out how to utilise it. But hopefully they will not find it for some time. It should be well buried by the explosion. Cordesh commented as he used Kirinian's tricks to calm Firnan who was clearly startled and distressed.

Kirinian took the opportunity to look upon the world they'd chosen. It looked like a place on earth, large grasslands and small copses of trees and a woodland or forest on the horizon, but the dialling device and the chaapa'ai in plain view behind them proved that they had made it. They were no longer on Earth.

We did it. Kirinian thought.

We did. Cordesh added. Now we have to find and endear ourselves to a Goa'uld.

And then we can start making changes.

Yes, but first we need a change of clothes. We can no longer look human. If we are to be an ashrak we need to make sure we dress and act the part.

We may need to approach Selket. She is not a system lord and she is incredibly paranoid and unlikely to know much about the Tok'Ra and therefore won't know much about us. If we can endear ourselves to her or infiltrate her ashrak's we may be able to hide ourselves and make changes without anyone knowing.

Or we could simply endear ourselves to a different Goa'uld and become their assassin. There is nothing that says we have to become an Ashrak for Selket. Besides Selket is very paranoid and is more likely to kill us then listen to us. Her ashrak are also likely to notice a newcomer who is not like them. No, it is much better if we find a more… reasonable Goa'uld.

Kirinian snorted at the word reasonable. Have anyone in mind?

Apophis is always trying to rise above his station. If he thinks he has a powerful assassin loyal to only him it will boost his ego and make him more likely to spare us. He is also stupid enough that we could talk our way out of most trouble. His loss of his First Prime, Teal'c and the humans he enslaved is proof of this.

We will need to be careful.

Of course. And we will need to find a 'safe' place, somewhere we can keep Firnan when we don't need him. Which is why I thought of this world. It is an uninhabited world, it was once used as a supply world to support the establishment of human slave colonies, once these colonies were able to support themselves and supply the Goa'uld with a steady flow of slaves this world became mostly forgotten. It still flourishes with natural resources, meaning it is an incredibly safe world, at least for some time. Any Goa'uld who returns would not want to destroy so much resource for no reason. This is advantageous to us because it means we have an endless supply of resources, access to any forgotten stocks left behind by the Goa'uld and Jaffa and an opportunity to make contact with any visitor. Although we may end up spending much time off world, we currently have time to find Firnan a safe home. I believe there is wildlife similar to Earth upon this world and various herds of horses. At least that was the report some centuries ago when the Goa'uld were still here. If necessary, we can release him. Though it will be useful if we can keep him semi-feral. I am sure we will need him for certain adventures and missions.

Leave the training to me. You focus on working out our next steps. I will do my best to help and not to hinder.

You have yet to hinder me, my love. Your advice and thoughts have been nothing but helpful and informative.

Just…

Just what, Kirinian?

Just…don't hurt me again. Please. I don't want to experience that again.

Never, my love, never again.

Neither mentioned the way Cordesh tightened around Kirinian's spine nor did the speak of the great amount of guilt and remorse that filled them both. Instead, Cordesh receded, giving Kirinian control once more and guiding him to reach the forest and begin the search for a safe haven.

Kirinian hoped that this was a new beginning for them all, and that they were not walking into more pain and despair with their plan. He didn't want to hope, but the confidence and determination he felt from Cordesh encouraged him to hope that they could make a difference. And that with their acts they could help the Tok'Ra thrive, or at least allowed more Tok'Ra to survive the fury and hatred of the Goa'uld.

We will make a difference. Cordesh promised.

And Kirinian couldn't help but believe him.