Summary: An archaeological dig on Earth reveals an interesting find for the Tok'ra

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author.

Internal dialogue
*Symbiote speech*

They say curiosity killed the cat. In this case I am most definitely the cat, albeit one without nine lives.

At least in my defence I can say that university told me to be careful with knives and watch out for sharp pottery shards and to be wary of uneven ground and unstable walls. Nowhere in my three years of archaeology lectures did anybody say watch out for sentient aliens which may just decide to make a home inside you.

Maybe if I ever get old enough to retire from the field and lecture at a university I'll add it to my syllabus. Tack it on at the end of the usual warnings: beware of Egyptian canopic jars, they may actually be stasis chambers for small snakelike aliens.

Then again that sounds like I should be committed to a mental asylum.

Multiple Personality Disorder perhaps?

Patient speaks in a strange language and of things that don't exist. Patient also insists that Egyptian Gods are not a myth.

You think too loud.

Sorry, Didn't realise you were awake.

Well, I am now. Still digging?

Rolling my shoulders I put my trowel down on the ground and stand up to grab my water bottle from the side of the trench I had been poking about in.

Yes, still digging.

Boring. My new companion comments, her 'voice' echoing around my head.

Relaxing. I reply as I take up my trowel again. A totally mental sigh echoes between my ears as Jasria turns her attention back to catching up on current Earth affairs and data.

I can vaguely feel her riffling through my knowledge of ancient cultures, a few muttered comments about how it is wrong, wrong and oh so very wrong following her progress through my memories of lectures at university.

Not that I hadn't dug through her memories, although they weren't very clear, I'm her first 'host'. Wooooo for me. First host means that all she has is genetic memories, which are often more feelings and intuition than a clear picture.

Intuition which caused her to take a wild leap at me when I opened the stasis jar she had been stored in, I was not amused at the time, I mean those teeth of hers didn't look that big, but when they are going through your skin they hurt like hell.

Neatu.

Whatever. I reply to the distracted interruption.

Anyway at least she did apologise for hurting me, then wanted to know where her mother was. I sort of had to tell her that Egeria was a Roman Goddess and didn't really exist, therein beginning our current discussion on just how many of the ancient 'Gods' and 'Goddesses' were actually aliens of some type.

That's another one for the shrinks: patient appears to be having an argument with themself. Patient also appears to be losing.

So here I am, newly graduated archaeologist on my first dig out in the middle of nowhere in Egypt and I have an alien to look after. An alien who insists that we use something called a Chappa'ai or translated into English, a Gate to the Stars to go find her mother and siblings.

Like that is going to happen.

Well actually, we sort of struck a bargain. She stays quiet and tries not to get me into trouble, I'm thinking lab rat here, for the last few days of the dig and in return we'll use the last of my saved funds to go hunt for her Chappa'ai. I always did want adventures when I was young, maybe Indiana Jones and Star Wars corrupted me?

Anyway, back to my original train of thought: Jasria, Chappa'ai; she says she can feel it due to some mineral or something.

Naquada.

I'm getting more used to interruptions now, is that a good sign or not? Patient truly believes that they are actually two people, one of which is an alien...

"Kris?" I look up, startled out of my thoughts as a deluge of sand pours into my trench. "Shifts over, you heading back to the tents?"

"Sure, gimme a hand up." I let myself be hauled out of the trench before shaking sand out of my clothing.

Finally.

I ignore my new soulmates input and concentrate on my fellow human.

"Find anything?" I ask my fellow graduate and only other English person on the entire dig site. I'd only been away from England a few weeks and I was already missing familiar accents, and food, and nice, innocent, not out to kill me with various types of poison, wildlife.

"Nope." Alex gave me a disgruntled look. "That jar of yours is still one of the best finds."

I agree with that you know.

"Well I suppose it was in good condition." Perhaps a bit mentally unstable and slightly alien in design.

Hey, I am not mentally unstable.

"Are you alright?" I nod as Alex steered me around the guy ropes on the tent that I had almost blundered straight into. This two conversations at once stuff is a lot harder than it sounds.

"So, you looking forwards to getting home?"

"Actually I thought I might go travel the world." Alex just lifted both his eyebrows as we joined the queue to get our meals. "I know I said at Uni that I would wait a few years, but now seems as good a time as any."

"Right."

I sighed as Alex insisted he walk me back to my tent. Apparently I've been rather distracted for the past three days. Nothing to do with my new lodger of course.

Can you introduce me?

What? I started in surprise as Jasria piped up; she had been silent throughout dinner.

It would be nice to speak to somebody else.

And when he goes running for the police, army or whoever?

Then we run the other way. I sighed at her logic. Thousands of years of memories she may have but she still had many qualities I would associate with some of my young cousins.

"Kris? Kris!" I glanced up at Alex as he waved a hand in front of my face. "You are not alright."

"Fine." I said as I yanked him into my tent.

"Bloody hell."

"Sorry. I sort of forgot my own strength." He snorted as he rubbed at his arm.

"So?" He prompted when I said nothing.

I took a deep breathe as I tried to work out how to inform him I had a sentient alien in residence.

"You know that canopic jar? Well you see..."

"Okay, so sentient alien? How long have you been planning that joke Kris? Well thought out and researched though. What the?"

*What Kris has been telling you is not a joke.* Jasria pointed out as I mentally hovered in the background as she took care to glow our eyes and speak with the strange tone she added to my voice.

"Oh hell. Oh bloody hell."

Jasria just raised one of my eyebrows and crossed my arms as she waited for Alex to gather his wits.

*Here*.

I mentally blinked as my finger pointed of its own accord to a spot in the middle of the map Jasria, Alex and I were peering at.

There's nothing there. Unless you count the contour lines and little images of trees.

"That's in the middle of the forest." Alex pointed out.

*The Chappa'ai is there.*

Ok, ok. So the Chappa'ai is in the middle of nowhere. I have a bad feeling about this.

Is that a quote from the Jedi film?

Yup. At least I can be famous for being the one to corrupt a real alien into a Star Wars fanatic.

*So we get the train to here, then get a car to this town, then walk the rest of the way.*

Something like that. I had a sudden vision of us clinging to the roof of a car as it sped towards our destination.

"Thanks." I said to the van driver who had given us a lift, my vision of 'getting a car' thankfully not coming to pass.

*Welcome to Colorado Springs.* Jasria read as we passed the sign at the edge of town. *Not much further now.*

"Good." Alex said, his thoughts no doubt mirroring mine. Last time she had said not much further we went in a big circle, wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't been in London Heathrow airport with a flight to America to catch.

You said it wasn't much further.

It shouldn't be.

You said it wasn't much further about three miles ago.

'...'

I raised a mental eyebrow at the silence. Jasria?

It's definitely here. I can feel it. Her voice sounded like she wanted to cry.

What do you mean?

I mean it should be here. She sighed as she sat down on a concrete block. I don't understand. It's like I'm right on top of it but its invisible.

Jasria, stand up. She got halfway up before she froze.

Now I feel stupid. She said as she turned to regard the hatchway she had sat down on. But really, who sticks a Chappa'ai inside a mountain?

"Kris? Jasria?" Alex asked as we stared at the hatch.

I have a really bad feeling about this. I said as she unlatched the cover and peered down a very deep hole.

*It's down here. It must be.*

She slid into the hole and started down the ladder as Alex pulled the hatch closed above us and followed us.

Eeeeep! Jasria said as we exited the hatch, handing control over to me and hiding in the back of my mind.

"Errrr, we come in peace."

None of the soldiers even twitched.

I told you I had a bad feeling about this. I leaned back against the bed as I watched the humming lasers that ran in front of the cell bars.

We're nearly at the Chappa'ai.

And that helps us how? I asked gesturing at our surroundings.

It doesn't, I just thought it might make you feel better.

"I don't suppose you have any plans now?" Alex asked from across the room, behind his own set of bars.

"Not really." I said as I shifted on the cot.

I sat up as the door opened and three people entered.

"You do know that breaking and entering is a crime?" A grey haired man in American military fatigues asked rather rhetorically.

"We didn't know this was a military base." Alex nodded from where he was hovering at the edge of his cell. "I mean, who puts a base underground?"

"Us apparently." The grey haired man replied with a grin.

"Sir." The woman said with a frown. "I think, I feel." She stopped with a confused look as she glanced between me and Alex.

That's it. I barely blinked as Jasria shattered the silence in my mind. That's what I can feel.

What?

It was almost hidden under the gate signal but the woman has been a host.

Apparently the woman had come to the same conclusion as she backed away, her hand going to her waist and a weapon that wasn't there.

"Sam?" The other man asked

"One of them is a Goa'uld."

I am not!

Shush Jas.

"You may as well give up the act now we know you are in there." The older man said as he glanced between myself and Alex.

"Can you tell which one is the host?" He asked the woman in a whisper that was clear enough thanks to Jasria's enhancement of my senses.

"What act?" Alex asked. "I thought you said the Goa'uld were the bad guys."

"They are." I replied. Jas, I really think you're going to have to say hello.

Fine. She said as I felt my body stop responding to my commands.

*We are not Goa'uld.*

That was subtle.

"Right." The elder man drawled with a disbelieving look. "Glowing eyes, flunky voice, look like a Gould to me."

*I am not.* Jasria crossed my arms and tilted her head backwards.

"You even have the arrogance." The man said as he leant back against the wall.

I felt our posture slump. *Fine don't believe us.*

"Okay, okay, say you aren't Goa'uld. What are you?" the younger man asked looking extremely sceptical.

*I'm... Well, I don't know.* Jasria frowned as she tried to find a label that fit. *I'm Jasria, daughter of Egeria and a member of the Resistance movement.*

"Egeria?" All three had perked up at mention of that name.

*You know my mother?* Jasria asked moving to the edge of the cell closest to the Americans.

They exchanged a silent look amongst themselves. "We knew Egeria."

*Knew?* Jasria asked as I felt a wave of fear wash through my mind.

"Yes. She died about four months ago."

I was abruptly returned to control as she withdrew and mentally hid in a corner.

"Did Egeria have any other children?"

"You're the host?"

"Yes. Kris. Children, Egeria?"

Another round of silent communication was held before the woman nodded. "She had other children."

"Don't even think about trying to escape." The grey haired man said as the three of them suddenly filed out.

"So Jasria's mother is dead but her siblings aren't and hopefully they've gone to contact them." Alex stated as he returned to his cot and flopped down onto it.

"Either that or they've gone to prepare a lab for us." Dissection of the patient shows that they may actually have been telling the truth as a strange alien lifeform was found within the human body.

Bad mental image. Jas commented from the depths of my mind as she caught several of the visuals I had conjured.

Sorry. I apologised, trying to think of something other than diced human and dissected symbiote.

The next visitor to our cells woke both Alex and me as the original trio escorted a couple of humans in dark brown leathers into the room.

I frowned as my senses tingled with the now familiar feeling of naquada, much stronger than the woman's signature.

*You are the one who claims to be a child of Egeria.*

"Nope. I'm the walking talking caravan."

The younger of the two men frowned while the elder smirked, along with the American trio.

"I take it you want me to wake her up?"

*Yes.*

Go'way. I was presented with an image of a symbiote rolling over and using its fins to pull a blanket over its head

I think some of your siblings might be here, but if you don't want to speak to them... I let the sentence trail off.

No, am sleeping.

Ok, I'll just tell them to go away then.

Good.

I raised a mental eyebrow and started counting to ten in goa'uld.

WAIT!

*Who are you?* Jasria asked as she practically had me leap across the cell from the bed to within an inch of the lasers.

*Malek, my companion is Selmak.*

*Who is your friend?* Jasria asked as she gestured at the elder brown garmented person.

Malek shot us a confused look. *Selmak.*

*Oh, I thought you meant your host was named Selmak.*

*No, my host is Ash, Jacob is Selmaks host.*

*Right and my home is called Kris.*

*Home?* The confused look had now given way to complete bemusement as Malek appealed to Jacob or Selmak for help.

"Tau'ri slang." Jacob said with a very American accent.

"Guess I'm not the only Earthling to be a host then." I stated as Jasria let me speak again.

"No. So, your symbiote, she's one of Egeria children?"

"Not exactly." Malek and Jacob exchanged a quick glance at each other. "She's Egeria's daughter." I inserted before they started thinking we were a big bad goa'uld.

*Daughter?* Malek asked with wide eyes.

Well that got their attention. Is there something special about being a daughter rather than a child? I asked Jasria as Jacob let his head dip.

*You are a Queen?*

You're royalty?

Not that type of Queen. Jas said with a small mental huff. Only Queens can breed.

"Apparently she is." I said with a shrug.

*We must speak with the High Council.* Selmak said as he and Malek both inclined their heads in my direction and promptly fled from the room.

"Well that was interesting." Alex said as we were once again left in peace. "You think they'll let us go anytime soon? Or at least bring coffee?"

*Humans, you all have one track minds.*

"What for coffee? Kris doesn't drink it."

*The chocolate craving makes up for that.* Jasria stated as she once again returned my body to our cot.

One thing I have found about having a symbiote is that I now need less sleep than I used to. That would have been nice, unless you're stuck in a small room with absolutely nothing to do. I found myself envying Alex who had finally given in to fatigue and was sleeping like a log.

Door?

Jasria sighed. Your turn.

I spy with my little eye something beginning with L.

Laser?

Nope.

Lock?

Got it. I think we've used up all available items that we can see you know.

Jasria sighed again. I'm bored.

You know you remember things from Egeria, do you remember any other symbiotes?

Possibly. I got a vague sense of riffling through memories before she turned her attention back to me. Only a few.

Who?

A couple of other Queens, Sekhmet, Nepthys, Ma'at, one named Hathor who mother really hated. A few other Goa'uld who I think followed mother when she declared war against Ra.

Anybody we might meet, if we're allowed to join. I mean, if they don't cut us up.

I felt Jasria contemplating before she answered. Garshaw, a minor Goa'uld who held the planet Belote, Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone who held Tartarus and Jolinar who held Malkshaw.

Alecto, Megaera and Tisiphone? I asked with the knowledge of a modern Tau'ri archaeology student. The three Furies, characterised in some modern myths as being evil personified?

I remember looking at that lecture memory. Your lecturer said there were other views of them, some even showing that they were considered benevolent deities. Perhaps that reflects the fact that they joined my mother?

Possibly but...

Our argument was cut short as the approaching naquada sense let us know we had visitors again right before the door swung open.

I tilted my head as I regarded Selmak and Malak and waited for them to speak.

*The Tok'ra High Council wish to speak with you.*

"What about my friend?" I asked as I was released from my cell.

"He'll be fine. He just has a lot of paperwork and secrecy act things to sign."

"Oh. I don't?"

Jacob shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Will you stop being so, so bouncy? I asked as we got closer to the Chappa'ai's naquada presence.

Sorry. She said as she stopped wriggling in my neck. It's just so exciting.

"Wicked!" I said as I jumped down the steps and shook ice of myself. Hey, why don't they get the ice treatment? I asked Jas as Malak and Selmak appeared devoid of any frozen water.

It only happens the first few times you go through, and then your body will get used to it.

I'm on an alien planet Jas. Oh my God, I'm on an alien planet. I suddenly yelled at Jas as the thought finally filtered through my mind.

A False God?

Figure of speech. I said as we started to move away from the Chappa'ai.

I managed a startled squeak as we stopped on the edge of a tree line, just hidden from the Chappa'ai and rings suddenly appeared around us.

*Jasria, this is the High Council of the Tok'ra.* I nodded to the assembled people in the room I had been led to before allowing Jasria to take control.

*I know you.* She said as she stared at one of the women. I felt my face twist into a frown as Jas tried to catch an elusive memory.

*Garshaw.* the women started when Jasria said her name. *Garshaw, minor Goa'uld under Nepthys, held the planet Belote, defected to Egeria's Rebellion after an attempted assassination by Ra.*

Several of the other Tok'ra turned to Garshaw who seemed frozen.

Jas tensed as Garshaw came around the low crystal table which had separated us. *I only ever told Egeria it was Ra who had ordered the attempt on my life.* she said when she stood in front of us.

*Mother left me much knowledge.*

Garshaw reached out, her hand coming to rest just beneath our collarbone as she memorised our unique naquada resonance. *Welcome home Sister.*

*Garshaw?*

*I believe she is Egeria's Daughter.* The rest of the Tok'ra exchanged glances, several of them flicking there fingers in a way we could almost understand.

They must have refined mothers secret spy language since I was placed in stasis. Jas said as the Council seemed to come to a decision. *We will trust in Garshaws' judgement in this matter.* One of the Tok'ra said as he stepped forward to speak for the Council.

Which means?

I'm not sure.

*Welcome to the Tok'ra Jasria, Daughter of Egeria.*

*Thank you.* Jasria said inclining our head to the Tok'ra Council and to the curious who had infiltrated the corridors outside the chamber we were in. *We hope we will live up to the faith you have placed in us.*

Jacob suddenly appeared beside us. "I have to beg to get leave to go visit Earth, don't forget you are a Queen." He said with a grin and a wink before disappearing amongst the other Tok'ra who seemed to appear around us, each one welcoming us to their lives and to the fight.