Ziusudra Mordek, Presidential Deputy for Intelligence, had elected to handle at least the initial stages of the alien's questioning himself. He studied the subject, sitting quietly across the table. The youth and vulnerability that had won Kevin Elliot the championship of Troop Leader Ulmesh and Scholar Ashptim was deceptive. The deliberate relaxation of his body and alertness of the eyes in the impassive face made it plain the alien was trained to resist interrogation, even torture. It would be both faster and more humane to try to induce him to cooperate willingly.

"No doubt you are feeling somewhat aggrieved, Lieutenant Elliot," Mordek began. "I understand your feelings, please try to understand mine."

"I do understand, sir," he answered, surprising Mordek. "If anybody knows what it's like to face a merciless, massively superior enemy it's us Tauri. There are those of us who believe the defense of our world justifies any means, and I can see where they're coming from, but they're wrong. The SGC's policy is to make alliances and trade for technology and material. It's worked pretty well for us and we're a good ally, if I do say so myself."

"Myself," Mordek echoed, taken aback and trying to regain the initiative. "And exactly which self am I talking to, Kevin Elliot of the Tauri or Lantash of the Tok'ra?"

"Kevin Elliot," he answered promptly. "Would you like to talk to Lantash?"

Mordek hesitated only a split second. "Yes, I would."

The alien looked down at his hands, loosely clasped on the table top, then up. Mordek recoiled in involuntary shock. An entirely different personality was looking back at him out of those eyes!

"I am Lantash of the Tok'ra," said the alien, an old smile touched the young face. "In some ways Mr. Mordek, I understand you even better than Kevin does. We Tok'ra have been fighting the Goa'uld a very long time and we are ruthless. Far more so than Kevin or his people know." The face hardened into grim lines. "I am not proud of it, or of some of the things I have done. As Kevin would say, the end does not justify the means -" another brief smile flickered in reaction to something only he could hear. " - or at least not always. I can confirm what Kevin said about the Tauri. They are indeed a good ally; intensely loyal, recklessly courageous and far, far more idealistic than we have become." A bleak and ancient sadness looked out of the youthful eyes. "I had not realized just how cynical we Tok'ra had become - and many of us still don't see it. But we must face the fact that our numbers dwindle and our cause falters. I believe if the Goa'uld are defeated it will be by the Tauri, not the Tok'ra."

----

The 'kawoosh' roared out of the Stargate. The three human members of SG-1, standing in a row in the embarkation room, didn't so much as blink, just waited for the interface to stabilize before walking side by side into the puddle.

This was not going to be a pleasant mission but SG-1 had unaminously volunteered for the follow up to Revenna. Somebody had to find out how the symbiote specific poison had performed and bring Kevin Elliot's body home. Who better than the Team who had left him behind? According to the Tok'ra the poison should have dissipated but Jack O'Neill, by now all too experienced in scientific 'shoulds' had ordered Teal'c to remain at base anyway - just in case.

Carter waved the doo-hicky the Tok'ra had given her at arms length, frowning in concentration. "No reading, sir."

"That's good, right?"

"Yes, sir," she switched off the thingy and tucked it in a vest pocket.

"No bodies," Daniel observed.

"Ground zero should be click or so thataway," Jack pointed.

Ten minutes later: "'Nough bodies for you, Daniel?" the archaeologist didn't answer, he was too busy trying not to hurl.

Carter was less squeamish. She picked her way through the semi-liquid remains to the all to familiar shape of a sarcophagus and looked inside. "Empty, sir."

Jack was looking at the bodies. Lots of Jaffa, one thoroughly dead Snake - "No Elliot."

Carter picked up something near her feet. "The canister, sir. They looked at each other over the carrion. "If Lieutenant Elliot was put into the sarcophagus just after triggering the poison -"

"He'd survive," Daniel finished, still keeping his distance. "But where is he?"

"Would you hang around here?" Jack asked, and gnawed a considering lip. "He couldn't get home without a GDO, does he know any other addresses?"

"I doubt it, sir. But Lantash would."

Yeah, right. Not only had they left the boy behind, they'd let him be snaked. Great. "Okay, kids, time to phone home."

-----

Teal'c walked out of the puddle followed by SG-13; Schaeffer and Carrillo in those stupid green berets; Kennedy the team geek; and Jack's favorite Snake. That wasn't sarcasm, he genuinely liked Liorin - it wasn't the poor guy's fault that he'd been born a parasite. And yes there was a definite irony in the fact that the only Tok'ra Jack really trusted was a reformed System Lord. Life's funny that way.

"So, Liorin, you gonna tell us where Lantash went?"

SGC's resident Snake habitually avoided the special effects, not wanting to creep out his human colleagues, but nobody ever had any trouble telling when he was driving as opposed to his teenaged host. "Unfortunately no, Jack. But I can give you a short list of possible destinations."

"How short?"

"Eight."

"Eight!"

"Don't complain, Colonel, it could have eighty," put in Schaeffer.

"Or eight hundred," added Carrillo.

Liorin shook his head grimly. "We don't have anything like that many safe worlds left."

"Safe world," Jack echoed. "Like a safe house?"

"Yes, sir." That was Carter, wearing the funny faraway look she got when she was dipping into memories that weren't her own. "Worlds unsuitable for use as a base but designated as emergency destinations and cached with survival and communications gear."

"That's right, Sam," Liorin looked at her with interest. "Any suggestions as to which Lantash might have chosen?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, no."

The Tok'ra shrugged. "Never mind, even if Jolinahr were here I suspect she'd have to guess just as I do. One more thing, Jack, Lantash could have revived at any time over the past three or four days. The fact that we haven't heard from him -"

"Means he and Elliot have most likely walked into more trouble," Jack finished for him.

Liorin shrugged a little ruefully. "The way our luck's been running lately..."

"Right," Jack could only agree. One disaster after another. Damn. That put the cabosh on splitting up. "Okay, then, listen up boys and girls: We keep together, it'll take longer but we may need all the firepower we can get. Be ready for trouble. Liorin, spin the wheel and let's see what we get."

"It'll be the last one," Kennedy said to Carter. "It's always the last one."

"Quiet in the ranks," Jack ordered, silently conceding she was right.

-----

"Well that wasn't too bad," Kevin murmured to his other half, folding his arms behind his head as they reclined on yet another hard bunk. "Of course they haven't hit their stride yet."

I am not prepared to share technical information. Lantash warned.

"Doubt it would do them much good if you did," his host replied. "From what I've seen I'd place their technological level at least fifty years behind ours. They're still using vacuum tubes for Pete's sake!"

Who is this Pete anyway?

"Say what?"

The Pete whose name you keep invoking. A deity of some kind?

Kevin laughed. "Hell no! At least I don't think so. It's just an expression, I don't know where it came from."

Sometimes I think Tauri are insane.

"You know we are! But this one isn't crazy enough to hang around here. It's not so much Mordek as the mad scientist crew. They might do anything."

I agree escape would be wise. Suggestions?

"What, they don't teach escapology in Tok'ra training camp?" Kevin teased. He'd already given their cell a quick scan. "I don't see any cameras, and they won't have motion sensors at this level of technology, but I'm willing to bet they've got a mike on us and you saw that big humping surveillance camera covering the hall. But that door's a simple deadbolt."

I will be able to help with that.

"Oh?"

Let us just say you are considerably stronger than you once were, Kevin.

"Oh, ho!" He looked at the door. "You mean I can do a Steve Austin?"

Steve Austin -? I won't even ask!

"Please don't," Kevin smirked. "It would take way to long to explain. Okay, door taken care of but that camera means we're going to be spotted right off. We'll probably have to fight our way out of here."

Consider that your department.

"Come on, they don't teach you guys hand to hand either? What kind of training do you get?"

Languages, stealth technology, infiltration techniques, how to deal with smart mouthed hosts -

"Okay, okay I get it. You're the brains, I'm the brawn. Now that's settled.. I'm afraid we'll have trouble fitting in. I'm a bit lighter skinned than most of the locals and my eyes are the wrong color."

A rare color perhaps but not unknown. I spotted at least three other personnel with hazel or green eyes and several as fair skinned as you, Kevin.

"Really? How, when?

I don't nap when you are in charge of the body, Kevin. I observe and analyze.

"A regular Sherlock Holmes, huh - don't ask!"

I wouldn't dream of it.

Kevin looked at his watch. "No telling what the local time is but I suspect they've let up on us because it's getting late."

A legitimate deduction, Lantash agreed, and carefully did not ask why his host found that simple statement hilarious.

"So," Kevin said, recovering. "We give 'em a few hours to settle down for the night, then make our move."

Very well.