"Pa-pu! Pa-pu!" a little girl raced through the Fields of Eromathea, each stride bringing her closer to her home by the river side. She looked to be about 12, although she was young, she was very strong. Her father had made sure of it. Long black hair flowed wildly in the wind, and a small tear shed from the side of her eyes as they were assaulted by the dust and polin of the land. "Pa-pu!"

"What is it Aiza?" said her father as he rushed from their home. His wife slowly followed him, holding in her arms a baby boy.

"Visitors emerged from the gate of the stars! They warn of an attack and the Chief elders have called forth the Order of Igsuon!" She was out of breath as she moved to her mother to grab the baby. The word igsuon meant 'protection.' All the citizens of his world were required to train the ways of the warrior, even women and children. In their laws, the Order of Igsuon stated that should any impending threat come to their villages, all adults that were capable would take arms against their enemy.

Several districts would come together to form a single organized land unit while the trained warriors served as the primary defense in the skies. Yet even with all their planning and training, no one could have expected the massive forces of the Goa'uld and the destruction it was about to bring forth. Martouf watched as his little girl quickly prepared herself, grabbing the packs full of food supplies, weapons, and other essentials that she would need as she and the rest of the children and elderly wait through the attack. His wife, the only love he's ever known since childhood, instinctively and just as quickly as her daughter, began arming herself. In short time she transformed from loving caretaker to fierce warrior, just as he transformed from the role of farmer and provider.

Before heading to the main capital, he and his wife escorted their children to safety. In the dense forest near their house, within the depths of a cave, was the entry way into an intriquite tunnel system. The system was hidden deep underground and interconnected with the other villages and districts. This was the place of hiding for any citizen not fit to fight in times of battle children, elderly, pregnant women, etc. He opened the heavy doors and handed his daughter a torch. "You know where to go. Be safe and follow the laws, until we come to retrieve you."

"Take care of your brother my love, you are now in charge of this family."

"Yes, Ina (mother)" his wife held her children tightly in her arms, momentarily he watched the loving exchange, and he too came forward and held his family in his arms. Before saying their final 'good-byes' and 'I love you's' he knelt down and looked his daughter in the eye.

"Do not cry Aiza, there will be no tears in this family. Be brave." He said to her. She nodded her head in understanding and walked through. He closed the opening behind her, and covered it with a dense thicket of vegetation. He then kissed his wife one last time before they began running to the main capital.

Martouf had never seen such chaos and destruction in all his life. All the training they had endured could not prepare his people for this… The men and women fought with all their hearts, but many were now dead on the ground laying in pools of their own blood. He had been separated from his wife early on in the battle. He missed her so much, but he could not think of that now. In his mind he thanked the visitors for their warning. Had they not come, surely all the children would be among the piles of the dead. Menna… Aiza…Josai… The names of his family rang through his head, giving him hope and reason to keep fighting as all his energy quickly became depleted.

He watched in horror as a group of men women were being dragged by their feet to a large room that had been used for meetings. The men and women were unarmed, their weapons taken from them and used to kill their fellow citizens. Ironic that the tools created to protect the citizens would be used in their destruction - but the again, this was what the goa'ul specialized in. Silently and ever so stealthily he followed them, his knuckles becoming white as he tightly gripped his projectory weapon. In the large room, the men and women were being separated to two different sides by the guards. Hiding behind a large pillar in the upper balcony, he watched the atrocities that took place before them. The intruders wore armory he had never seen before – large and metallic, they could be heard from a great distance away. With a flash of light a man appeared before them. He was adorned with jewels and fine clothing, he was not a warrior, but someone who obviously held a great deal of power.

"My Lord!" with a single nod of acknowledgment, he ordered the gruesome murder of the men. Martouf bit back the urge to run in and fight, he was vastly outnumbered and would've been instantly killed had he done so. He leader than fixed his gaze on the group of women before him. He smiled perversely at them. The guards grabbed one of the women. Shaya, Martouf knew her, she and her wife were childhood friends, and often Shaya would volunteer help care for their children. Having just watched her husband be killed, Shaya was grief stricken and afraid. Her body convulsed in fear and she did not fight back when the guard pulled her in front of their leader.

"Bow before your God Heru'er!" He yelled. She cried, the guards released her arms and she instantly fell to her knees. He smiled at her submission. But she was not the queen he longed for, she was not strong enough. He looked to one of his guards, one that obviously held a higher position than the others. "Kala, my first prime," he smiled, "see how your god is generous. I give her to you as a gift for your services." A cold shiver ran down the Martouf's spine as he watched Kala grin widely. "Yes my Lord, I thank you." Kala then grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the other room. The women huddled closer together as they heard her cries of pain, no doubt in their mind what Kala was doing to the poor Shaya. Her beauty was her curse and Kala was taking great pleasure in it. Martouf poised his weapon, aiming it at the leader. In the other room Shaya's cries became louder and louder. Suddenly, upon the sound of a single staff blast her cries ceased. Martouf closed his eyes and breathed deep. His hands shook as he gripped his weapon ever tighter. His palms were covered with sweat. He watched as their leader gave an order for the selection of another. From the center of the group the guards dragged a woman with long black hair. Her beautiful brown skin was covered with blood, both of her own, and that of her friends that she had fought side by side with. Martouf's eyes widened. "Beloved" he thought.

"Kneel before your god!" but she did nothing. When the guards released her arms she stood tall, staring angrily at the man before her. "Kneel!" one of the guards hit her behind the knees with his staff weapon. She bit her lip to prevent the cries of pain from coming fore. She fell to the ground but quickly stood again. The god smiled. Martouf fought the urge to run to her, but even if he had there was no way of saving her. Instead, he waited for an opportunity.

"Do you not know your place in this world woman?" He whispered into her ear. His hot breath over her neck caused her stomach to turn and she wanted to vomit at his touch but refrained from doing so. She chided herself for shaking like a coward. He smiled wickedly. "I will make you my queen and soon you will shudder beneath me!" She closed her eyes, forbidding the tears from coming. "Destroy them, I have no need for those women. I have found my queen." With that said, the bright light came again and in its wake, appeared a beautifully adorned alter. At the same time other women were being shot dead just as he men were not long ago. Martouf began to move from behind the pillar, but just as he did a strong grip on his shoulder caught his attention. The man wore the colors of sand, and from his clothing the Martouf could tell that he was among those who had come to warn his people. His eyes were stern, pleading for Martouf to stand his ground and not move from his hiding place behind the pillar. Martouf turned his head again towards the center of the room. His wife kicked and bucked as the guards dragged her to the alter and began tying her down, not once did she allow a scream to escape from her lips. Martouf then turned his head to the Tok'ra, his eyes conveying the words in his mind, 'I cannot.'

"Before you receive my queen, I will make you mine!" Upon hearing his words, Menna's eyes widened with fear, a feeling which only increased as he began to hover above her. A blast from behind the pillars flew through the room, only to be stopped by an invisible force field that surrounded the leader. "Jaffa! Cree!"

The man in beige quickly grabbed Martouf's arm and ran as fast as he could to the nearest exit. He stopped short when he saw that it was covered with Jaffa guards heading his way, turning the other direction he was knocked out by the end of a staff weapon. Martouf suffered the same fate. The staff weapon created a large cut on the side of his temple and began to bleed profusely.

Heru'er stood as he waited for the guards to bring the two men before him. "I will take great pleasure in torturing you Tok'ra!"

"Heru'er, you are just as disgusting as I remember you last." The man chuckled, to which he received a painful blow from the guard behind him. Martouf cringed. He looked at the alter, eyes locking with that of his wife's. At that moment, she whimpered and began to cry.

"Menna…" he weakly called out to her.

An evil grin crossed Heru'er's face as he witnessed the loving exchange. "Ahhh.. I see that you know this woman. Soon she will be my queen."

"No!" Martouf yelled through gritted teeth. His protests only made Heru'er laugh more. The tok'ra beside him dizzily began to pick himself up, and watched as Martouf took a staff weapon to his stomach and double over in pain.

"Martouf!" Menna cried. Heru'er slowly walked over to the alter. She screamed and he placed his hand over her mouth. He quickly pulled away when she bit his hand.

"Insolent fool! " he slapped her across the face, leaving a large cut in its wake. "Fight me and he will die before your eyes!" His gaze diverted to Martouf and the guard swiftly hit him against the stomach once more. Martouf looked to his wife as she looked to him. She stopped fighting, fearful of what this man might do to her love if she did. The god then grinned at her. "Soon you will forget all about this man." He moved to hover above her once more. Violently he began ripping apart her clothing and soon she was naked before him. He removed everything form her body, all but one thing, the necklace that Martouf had given her upon their union, his promise to her that he will love and protect her always, and she in turn would love and protect him. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of the necklace upon her skin, bracing herself for the feeling she was about to receive next.

The tok'ra closed his eyes and looked to the floor. So many times had he seen this sort of atrocity, and every time he felt the same amount of pain, same amount of disgust and sorrow. He steered his eyes away and attempted to shut out the cries of pain. But he could not.

Martouf fought violently to break free of the guards, save his wife, and kill the man that dared to harm her. But the guards had a strong grip, and there were several of them holding on to him. Two guards, one which had been standing behind Martouf and the other behind the tok'ra readied their torture sticks. Martouf cried as he felt the pain and shock through every inch of his body. The last thing he saw was his wife, he heard her cry out his name as every aspect of her being was being taken from her.

Hours later Martouf awoke in a dark cell, just as the heavy doors were being opened. The man, the tok'ra that Martouf had seen earlier was thrust through the entry. He landed right on top of Martouf, reminding him of his many wounds which, upon impact, were reopened and began to bleed again. "Will this nightmare ever end?" he thought to himself. He could taste the blood in his mouth. Breathing was painful, he held his chest as he slowly made his way to check on the tok'ra who was now curled on to his side on the floor. Martouf turned him to his stomach. The man was barely alive and Martouf feared that this man would soon be dead, not because he knew this man, not because this man would meet his demise in an attempt to help people he did not know, but because if this man died, Martouf would truly be alone.

"Where are we? What is happening?"

"We…we are in a, a gou'uld, argh!" he cried out in pain "… mothership. We… are being sigh tortured." The meaning of his words did not truly hit Martouf. Instead, he continued to fish for answers.

"Why?"

"Infor-information, from…me. You, I do not – argh – know. Dying… I am dying…"

"Is there anyway I can help you? We can get out of here."

"Yes." The man paused. He was quickly losing consciouness.

"Well..?"

Martouf watched himself take down the guards, only it was not him that was doing it. Running past golden corridors and into one room after another, he witnessed as he moved with such skill and precision that he was amazed. Physically he felt as if he was healthier than he's ever been in his entire life, but he did not know how that was possible.

"Menna…. Menna, I have to find Menna." He said to himself.

/We cannot, we must leave now/

\what? Who are you, what has happened?\

/Relax Martouf. I am Lantash. I am the one who has healed you./ Martouf realized that all his cuts and bruises were now gone, his blood-stained clothing were the only evidence that they had even existed. He no longer tasted his own blood.

\how?\

/I cannot explain now, if you really must know then search through my memories and you will see the answers which you seek. I must focus on our escape./

\Menna…\

/Menna is no more. She has become the host to Heru'er's queen./ Just as Lantash finished his explanations he felt the pain of Martouf's loss come over him like no other. But what was he to do? An attempt to rescue her would surely lead to their downfall, and with it the entirety of the tok'ra.

Lantash heard several guards in formation making their way to his direction. They were only seconds from reaching him. Quietly, he sneaked through large double doors, only to find himself in a bathing chamber. In the center was a giant bath. Steam eminated from the surface of the water, and flower petals floated beautifully alongside several candles. He stood facing the slender and well toned back of a woman whose black hair had been pulled to the front, exposing her long neck on the other side.

\Menna!\ Martouf cried, but his voice would not say the words. Slowly Lantash reached into one of Martouf's pockets where earlier he had placed a vial of green fluid. He broke the vail in half, allowing the liquid to cover and saturate his hand. Slowly he crept behind her. Luckily she was alone and unguarded in the room. Just as Lantash was several feet from her, she turned around. Her eyes glowed in shock, and before she could yell for the guards Lantash placed his hands over her mouth and nose. Martouf didn't know what was happening, and he couldn't stop himself. He yelled for the creature inside him to stop hurting his wife, but he did not. Soon she was passed out, the weight of Menna's body filled his arms, but she was light as a feather. Her skin was soft and wet, Lantash was overwhelmed when he felt the love Martouf had for this woman. He took a sheet and wrapped it around her body. He carried her with him as he made his way to where he knew the gliders would be.

Lantash was successful in locating and procuring a glider. But that was only the easy part, and he knew that it wouldn't be long before someone would detect that one of the gliders was activated. Ignoring Martouf's never ending protests, he tightly tied Menna's body. He then surrounded her with pillows that he had found in one of the rooms of the ship. Moving to the controls, he began setting the coordinates for a nearby solar system.

Lantash flew with perfectly calculated maneuvers as he dodged the attacks from pursuing gliders. Martouf was beginning to understand the tok'ra and goa'uld, but he was still fearful. He watched in awe as he saw his planet for the first time, from the view of outerspace. Areas where large cities once stood were now replaced by large flames. He didn't know what had happened to his children and he feared for their safety. He prayed that the goa'uld did not find the underground cities in which they Aiza and Josai would've taken refuge. Suddenly Lantash slowed his speed.

\What are you doing?!\

/Trust me, I am well experienced in flying…/

\They are approaching us!\ Martouf warned. But just as the other gliders were about to reach them, Lantash released an explosive from behind the ship and turned on the hyper-drive. Martouf felt his head against the back of his chair, it was as if it was glued on and he could not remove it. All he could do was watch as they flew with great speed past the stars.

Following the decided procedure, Lantash carried Menna through several gate systems before dialing the Tok'ra home world. He kept her eyes blindfolded, just incase she awoke. Martouf was grateful that they had the capability to remove the devil which had taken possession of his beloved.

The experience had hurt them both very badly. Menna and Martouf feared for their children, and for their friends' children. They begged and pleaded but were not allowed to return to Eromathea, it was too soon, and too risky. Menna refused to take a symbiote, fearful that it would only be a repeat of what she had gone through. And so Martouf and Lantash no longer asked. Lantash remained dormant around Menna, as he knew she was not completely comfortable with him yet. This allowed for her and Martouf to have privacy. It was obvious to everyone that Menna had suffered greatly. In private she did not even allow Martouf's touch to comfort her, and she never told him why. Martouf assumed it was because she was ashamed of him, he blamed himself for not being able to protect her as he had promised, and thought that she no longer found him worthy. Little did he know it was herself she blamed. She was fighting an inner battle and losing. Menna blamed herself for not protecting Martouf as she had promised, and allowed for him to be hurt by the monster, for betraying him and allowing another to… And their children, oh how they missed Aiza and Josai. She should've gone back for them, but she didn't know how.

Two weeks after their arrival on the Tok'ra base and the removal of Heru'er's queen from Menna's body, Martouf searched the surface for his wife. Dusk was fast approaching and he was always fearful when she was alone. He called out her name over and over again. But he heard no replay, only the echos of his voice through the night sky. Martouf reached the side of a cliff where he saw the slender shilouette of his wife in front of the beautiful orange glow of the moon. He smiled at her. "Menna, my love…" She turned to face him. Her eyes were full of tears as she sadly smiled back. "I am sorry Martouf." She softly said to him. "I could not keep my promise to you." He frowned as he realized what she was about to do. Martouf began quickly running towards her. "I love you, forgive me…" She whispered as she leaned her body back. He screamed her name, reaching out for her hands. His fingers were able to grab her wrist just as she fell. His hand held on to her for dear life as his other hand gripped the root of a tree, keeping himself stable.

"Menna…"

"I love you." She said once more. And with her free hand she grabbed his wrist. He breathed a sigh of relief thinking he was now able to pull her up. But just as quickly as his breath came, his eyes opened wide with shock. She was not gripping him so she could be pulled up. No, she was trying to break herself free from his grasp.

"Menna. No, please!" He let go of root to grab her with his other hand. Feeling his body begin to fall, Lantash took control and anchored his feet on the same root. Martouf cried as he dangled against the rock-face. His last memory of his wife was of her smiling sadly at him as she fell towards the rocky edges of the shore. Her body lay dicrepid upon the pile of the large rocks. An instant death. Large waves smashed against the rocks, breaking and splashing upon contact, then taking with it small rocks and debris. Soon the ocean claimed her body, carrying her to the depths of the ocean.

Lantash used the roots and weeds to pull himself up off the cliff. Fearful that Martouf would commit the same heinous act of suicide, he refused to allow him any control until they reached the tunnels. Martouf cursed him every step of the way for it. In Eromathea, it was acceptable to commit an act of self-sacrifice if someone had failed their family and loved ones. But it was rare, fore everyone was well trained and knew their part in society. Martouf wallowed in his thoughts. It was he who failed to protect his family, he had failed to protect his wife, and rescue his children…" So why was it was Menna that committed Iba-jan?

"Martouf…it is time to get up. Get up Martouf." The soft sweet sound of Menna's voice reverberated through his mind.

"Martouf… get up."

"Menna…"

"Martouf! Get up!" the gentle feminine voice was replaced by a manlier, more urgent one.

"What?" he whispered.

"Jacob! We're in here!" yelled Daniel Jackson. "Martouf's down, we have to hurry!"