Chapter Six

Adria woke to the sound of crying. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. Being in the infirmary had been loud and it had taken time to get accustomed to the quietness of the guest quarters. She was under what Teal'c had called 'home arrest' and hadn't been allowed out. She hadn't fought it.

Days ago her mother had explained things in detail to her and she was not surprised the people her mother referred to as the Tau'ri were frightened of her. The stories had given her nightmares but her mother had wanted to prepare her for any latent memories that might appear.

Whatever or whoever she had been was a lifetime ago. Adria had no recollection of having any powers or terrible thoughts. She could only recall images of her mother and another kind male, which her mother had explained was her step-father at the time, Tomin. She could also recall another friendly presence, one her mother was sure was Daniel Jackson—the father of her brother, which was tucked safely into her mother's stomach, like she had once been.

It pained her that she couldn't remember and she longed to meet both Tomin and Daniel. A part of her didn't feel it was fair to be locked up for committing crimes she couldn't remember but then she recalled the depth and severity of the pain she had apparently wrought upon countless peaceful societies. She might've been an Ori but after hearing stories of burning whole towns and villages, the thought of Origin made her ill. She didn't want to be in a cage—that was a family trait, she had been assured—but couldn't see how the Tau'ri would ever let her go free.

She turned towards the source of the sniffling, sitting to turn her lamp on. "Mother?"

Vala wiped her face and tried to smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I was just...sad."

Adria was carefully trying out new facets of her personality. She often felt like being silly and whimsical when she was with her mother but that feeling disappeared when she was gone and the guards outside glared at her with contempt.

"Daniel," she offered. "He appeared to the Generals. Told them how he helped you and spared your life. Apparently he was very convincing about how permanent your new status was. It looks like the IOA are going to be ready to make a decision very soon."

"And he did not come to see you? The baby?"

She shook her head. "No, he didn't. Hence the strange weeping of a mother in the corner of a darkened room. But on the bright side, anything that can convince them to let you stay is a bonus. I've gotten rather tired of escaping jails," she joked. "If one can tire of such a thing."

Adria wasn't sure how to respond—her mother had been the one to comfort her and she didn't possess enough wisdom to counsel her. So instead, she threw back the covers of the bed and motioned for Vala to join her.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I have caused you and my brother enough pain without Daniel adding to it. Whatever the outcome is, I'm sure I'll be fine. Your lessons on swindling and how to steal a cargo ship have been well-received, although I am not sure I will need them."

Vala snorted. "Every self-respecting woman needs to know how to steal a cargo ship. And no child of mine will conduct themselves in the galaxy without knowing how to get a bargain. Especially if you should ever have the misfortune of running into your grandfather."

Adria grinned, remembering the stories of Jacek. "I should very much like to meet him. It sounds like confusing him with my identity would be most enjoyable." She lowered her voice. Now was probably not the right time to discuss this, but with the impending decision of the IOA, she was running out of time.

"If they decide to let me free, I know what I would like to do with my life."

This got Vala's attention. "You don't need to follow me or protect me," Adria continued. "But I'd like to figure out who I am. Underneath the loss of memories. I have done some awful things that I feel I need to atone for," she paused. "I would like to visit Tomin. I understand that he has returned to his own home and would probably not care to see me and it is very far away, but all the same. If I had grown with a normal life, he would have been the closest thing to a father."

Vala didn't say anything so Adria continued. "I might start with a world that needs assistance. And if they accept, I'd like to help. And when my brother is born, I would very much love to see him and see you happy."

The change in Adria had overwhelmed Vala but she felt like sobbing all over again. She imagined years of being able to watch this person grow without the taint of the Ori. Somehow, the Ori had managed to find such a sensible and curious soul to pile their evil intentions on to. And the good parts hadn't even come from her. She was reminded of Tomin, before the Priors came knocking at their door and of Daniel's steadfast opinion that somehow, all things were worth saving.

"I think that's a very noble cause," Vala finally said. "But you won't be doing it alone. I'm sure General Landry would be able to find us somewhere to start—that has a world class rest and relaxation centre for your old mother to rest her feet once in a while. Oh! And a private hospital so Apple can get his treatment too."

"We will have to see when they make their decision," Adria added. Vala didn't say anything but stood from the bed, pulling the covers back over Adria.

"Yes, we will. You should get some sleep. Being a prisoner is tiring work. I should know. I'll come and see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Adria replied and turned out the light.

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I was expecting," Major Lorne said, scowling at the figure on the table.

Teal'c nodded in agreement. "Perhaps having no face was of more use to him."

Cameron stretched and took another look at the body of the host laid out in front of him. "Look, the poor bastard had a bad enough time being a host to Anubis for thousands of years, only to end up dead from the only way possible to save him. Let's give him a break and go check out how ugly the damn snake is."

Five days after they had arrived, the still body of Anubis had been delivered into the Tok'ra extraction chamber. They had sprung into action immediately but both host and symbiote were dead. The whole debacle hadn't been a debacle at all but Stargate Command had been happy for teams to to spend time with their allies.

The Hammond had been recalled back to Earth and Colonel Mitchell was overseeing the teams' debrief with the Tok'ra before heading back to the SGC. He had been startled by seeing Ba'al former host lurking around, but it turned out the man was nothing like his sick bastard of a symbiote. Intef was well-spoken and didn't once show off that shit-eating grin he was capable of.

Intef had made himself scarce when the body of Anubis had arrived and with good reason. He was glad Vala hadn't been here to see it—the Tok'ra had still removed the symbiote from the body and were intending on giving the host proper burial rites.

The radio crackled and Teal'c motioned for the Colonel to follow. It was time to pack up, go home and face the lack of macaroons. An hour later they were disembarking. The mood around the base was quiet and Walter quietly informed him the debrief was moved until tomorrow. Siler walked past with a sad look on his face, avoiding SG-1 altogether.

"Okay, is it something I said?"

"Everything appears to be a little too quiet," Teal'c commented. Major Lorne said nothing and excused himself.

"C'mon, let's go find Landry."

"No need," General O'Neill replied from up the hallway, his hands in his pockets. He had forgone the dress blues for green BDUs, although his face showed more stress than a man in relaxed BDUs should. "I'm sure I can fill you in."

"O'Neill," Teal'c greeted. "Has something transpired in our absence?"

"Oh, well, you could say that. The IOA have decided not to send our lovely Adria to Area 51."

"Is that not cause for celebration?"

"I'm pretty sure there's a 'but' coming," Cameron groaned. O'Neill raised an eyebrow at the poor choice of words.

"Oh there's a 'but'—a big 'but'. Adria has been given her freedom but as part of that freedom, she has been denied permission to settle here on Earth—including the base."

Cameron felt his stomach drop. "And I suppose everyone's favourite princess-?"

"Oh yep. Just turned in her resignation."