Disclaimer: I don't own anything Stargate related or belonging to MGM and whoever owns everything Stargate. I'm just using the idea, the premise, and the characters to write. I'll be nice and put things back, but they're not mine.
I'm posting this chapter now and I ask you, the viewers, what chapter should I write next? I do plan on writing about Camilla's experience in meeting Per'sus, but I was wondering if you all wanted me to write in chronological order (episode 1, 2, 3, 4) or in whatever order plots come at me (episode 1, 10, 25, 3, 5, 2, 4). Please let me know, you opinions all matter and I want to know what you all think before I even think of planning to post another chapter.
Now, here's the Tok'ra Parts 1 & 2.
1998, COLORADO SPRINGS, AUGUST 17TH
Allowing herself a small treat, Camilla Carter had woken up late on her birthday, smiling at the tradition her father had started six years before as she got ready for the day. In the six years she had been Camilla Carter and not Alma, she had received various gifts from friends and her sister, all of them cherished beyond expectations. With Kel'an's knowledge floating around in her mind with more of the technical being unlocked with every passing day and week, the teenage girl knew many of the gifts and cards sent and given to her were meant to be frivolous, fun and maybe useful, but those gifts still held place of importance in her heart.
Reaching for her tan shirt, jacket and fingerless gloves, Cam smiled weakly. Despite Earth having no access to the Tok'ra that she knew of, the girl had subconsciously taken to dressing in colours and clothes similar to her brethren amoung the stars, acting as a silent homage and beacon for her place amoung the Tok'ra. Slipping them on with practiced movements, she quickly ran a hand through her short hair, doing her best to remove all the tangles, even as she heard Kel'an grunting quietly in her mind.
Morning, kid, her symbiote rumbled tiredly. Happy Birthday.
Cam smiled as she glanced in her vanity mirror, running another hand through her hair. Happy Birthday, Kel', she responded. This is the first one away from home.
Shaking her head as she quickly cleaned her room, making her bed and slipping clothes into the wash basket, Cam felt her mind drifting over the previous months with more than a hint of melancholy. After having seen all the signs of cancer, she'd been unprepared for the diagnosis of Lymphoma all those months ago and she'd been just as surprised to find the man planning to move from Pittsburgh in California all the way to Colorado Springs. She'd also followed him, bringing her belongings that she would need as she ignored Jacob's orders for her to go and stay with Mark.
Shaking her head as she forced the memories to one side, she sighed and left her room, absently shutting the door behind her before she walked down the small corridor of the apartment towards the living room. Cam didn't register anything wrong as she entered the room and made to go to the radio, intent on switching it on and listening to some music. Instead, her path to the radio was blocked by Jacob's shuddering form on the carpeted floor, his morning clothes soaked through with sweat as yet more beaded his brow.
Without a second thought or Kel'an urging her to do so, Cam reached for the phone as she raced to her father, crouching at his head as she began dialling one of two numbers she had memorised as she used her free hand to easily lift Jacob's head into her lap.
"This is nine-one-one emergency, how can I help?"
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
As much as George Hammond was looking forwards to spending a quiet weekend with his grand-daughter, Jacob's cancer distracted him more than he was willing to admit. He'd saved the man in Vietnam only for him to be afflicted with terminal cancer. Knowing that it was terminal was more than enough to distract George from the paperwork littering his desk.
So, when his desk phone rang, he was thankful for the distraction to his distraction and he picked it up quickly. "Hammond," he answered automatically.
"There's a Ms. Camilla Carter on the line for you, General," the SGC's admin reported calmly.
Nodding, George leaned back in his chair and placed his pen down. "Put her through," he ordered.
"Yes sir."
There was a quick series of clicks as the call was connected and George found himself worry about what Jacob's youngest daughter was calling about.
"General Hammond?"
The Air Force General found his heart clenching at the quiet, meek, tone of the teen's voice, sounding like the scarred little girl he had met. "Camilla," he said gently. "What's wrong?"
There was a quiet sniff from the other end of the phone and George found his heart racing in trepidation. "It's dad," she answered quietly. "I'd just left my room and went to put the radio on in the lounge when I found him collapsed in front of the phone." She seemed to draw in a shuddering breath. "The EMTs brought us to the Air Force Academy's hospital, but they aren't telling me much."
Running a hand over his face, George groaned and quickly made up his mind. SG-1 was off-world on a diplomatic mission and he knew they weren't due back for a few hours yet. "Oh no," he breathed. "I'll be right there, Camilla."
He heard a quiet sniff followed by a short sigh. "Thank you, sir," the girl said quietly.
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Cam waited for General Hammond to hang up before she handed the receiver to the nurse behind the desk, smiling weakly in thanks before she turned around and walked back to the room she'd heard the doctors assigning to Jacob.
Well, Kel'an had heard, enhanced her own hearing and let her hear it, but that was merely semantics for the Tok'ra. Leaning against the wall to the right of the door, Cam closed her eyes and folded her arms tiredly.
Are you sure there isn't anything we could use of Earth technology, Kel'? she asked, continuing one of their oldest conversations.
She received a mirthless chuckle in answer. There is little that I can do to enhance Earth technology, she answered. The crystals needed for healing devices that the Tok'ra use are specifically crafted to do their work. As far as I have been able to find out about Earth, there are no suitable crystals to craft if I knew how nor are there enough crystal shards from our rummaging at the crash site to make one worthwhile.
The teen sighed and raised one hand blindly to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling the gentle rasp of her tan, fingerless gloves against the skin of her face. I just feel so useless, she said quietly. With your memories floating around in my mind, it just feels so much worse knowing that if we had access to the proper technology, we could have healed his cancer long ago. But we don't and I can't help but face the word 'terminal'!
She heard Kel'an sigh and felt an impression of a hug on her skin, the nerves firing in just the right way to tell her that her symbiote was doing her best to soothe her frayed nerves. They didn't talk any further, just taking silent support from the other as the host slid her hands into the pockets of her long, tan jacket.
An age seemed to pass before the hospital doors at the far end of the corridor on their left opened suddenly, allowing a male doctor, three nurses and one hospital bed through. Cam didn't need to look hard to see that her father lay unconscious under the hospital blanket and she bit her lip as she stood up from the wall, watching as the nurses wheeled her father inside the room while the doctor stopped in front of her. Worried at the apparent silence, the Tok'ra, both host and symbiote, felt their respective stomachs drop.
"We took General Carter up to Radiology," the doctor told her. "We took a few scans as well as CT. All of which confirmed my fears."
Leaning back against the wall, Cam ran her hands through her hair again. "Where?" she asked, needing to know.
The doctor sighed. "His liver," he answered. "It explains the slight jaundice to his skin as well as many of the other symptoms you reported to the EMTs." He sighed again. "The chemo that he's been undergoing has had no affect from the size of the growth."
Cam drew in a ragged breath, stifling tears as she looked at the doctor in disbelief. "They told us the cancer wasn't going to get this far this soon," she told him. "They said months, before it got this far… not this soon!"
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Half an hour later, Cam sat on the edge of Jacob's bed, her left leg folded neatly beneath her as her right foot stayed anchored to the floor, her knee locked as she stayed on the edge, both of her hands gently grasping Jacob's hand and wrist. Her fingers rested lightly on his pulse point, letting her focus on the racing pulse instead of her thoughts, instead of the steady hiss of oxygen coming from the poorly seated nasal cannula around his face.
She'd taken the time earlier just after her talk with the doctor, to call Mark and she'd been angered quickly. She'd known that the man had a severe hatred for his father stemming from something that had happened years ago, but his cavalier attitude to the news that Jacob was on his deathbed had quickly boiled her blood beyond many things she had experienced in her life.
Hearing a gentle click of shoes, Cam tensed and looked to the door to the private room, far too many memories of Kel'an's having her ready to fight at a moment's notice. She felt a steady thrum of adrenaline enter her blood, her muscles twitching, ready for a fight moments before they both saw a familiar face at the doorway, forcing both Tok'ra host and symbiote to relax.
General George Hammond walked into the room and Cam reluctantly released one of her hands on her father's wrist and extended it to the man over her father's sleeping form. "General Hammond," she greeted him quietly.
He took her hand in his, using his free hand to gently wrap around it soothingly as he nodded at her. "Camilla," he greeted her before they let go of the other. "How is he?"
Cam took a steadying breath as she looked back to her father. "They did some scans," she told him. "Since the Lymphoma's spread to his liver, they've called it Extra-nodal now." She swallowed convulsively. "They aren't optimistic on his chances."
She focused intently on Jacob's face, on his appearance, forcing herself to look past the jaundice tinting his pale, clammy skin as he lay propped up in the hospital bed. In silent testament to Jacob's patience with her through the years, the Tok'ra didn't react as he placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"He'll pull through, Camilla," he told her firmly. "He's a fighter."
Cam forced a smile to cross her face, doing her best to fight the urge to say what she wanted. Even the best fighters can lose, she said.
But they can also win, Kel'an reminded her gently. There is no way that the man will give up. He has you to fight for.
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the sensation of Jacob's pulse beating faster at her fingertips moments before Jacob groaned and opened his eyes, his gaze focusing on her then General Hammond. "George?" he asked.
Hammond nodded as Cam gestured to the hospital chair a few feet away. "Jacob," he replied."Are you alright?"
The man snorted in answer. "I've been better," he rasped out.
Cam smiled at that, gently gripping her father's hand tighter before firmly relaxing her grip. "I was under the impression that the cancer hadn't gone this far," Hammond said as he took the seat.
Jacob grunted. "So was I," he said. "They cleaned out all the lymph nodes. The problem is, apparently," and here the man rolled his eyes slightly, "one squadron of those little buggers got themselves reassigned to my liver."
Cam smiled at the terminology, fighting back tears at that. Hammond seemed to make up his mind.
"Let me make a call," he said, reaching for the nearby phone in the room, "get Captain Carter recalled."
For a man technically dying of an incurable disease, Cam watched as her father moved with a surprising speed and gripped his forearm, halting the General. "No," he told him firmly, coughing. "There's no need."
Hammond stopped and looked at the man and Cam began to realise the depths of friendship the two had and she suddenly realised that her being there in the room wasn't going to help and she sighed, reluctantly letting go of Jacob's hand.
"I'm a little hungry," she told the two men, lying. "Is there anything I can get anyone? Coke? Pepsi? Coffee?"
Hammond smiled and nodded at her last question. "If it isn't too much trouble, Camilla?" he asked.
Cam forced a small smile onto her face and climbed off of the bed, reaching for her dark leather shoulder bag where she knew her purse was kept. "Not any trouble," she told him before she looked at her father. "Dad?"
He chuckled at her. "A burger?" he asked.
Cam chuckled in return and nodded, moving around the bed to press a quick kiss to his forehead. "I'll see what I can get," she promised before she left the room.
She walked without thinking down the corridors, heading in the direction of the canteen before she stopped and leaned against one of the walls. Burying her head in her hands, the teenager started to cry, muffling her sobs into her hands as she closed her eyes and sought the comfort of her dearest friend.
Why? she asked Kel'an brokenly. Why does he have to die?! There is nothing I can do and he's going to die.
She felt Kel'an's mental embrace again, tighter, harder, this time. I am so sorry my friend, she breathed in return, I am so very sorry that there is nothing that I can do.
Cam took a shuddering breath in. If it wouldn't kill me, I would beg you to take him as host, she said. I know you can cure cancer, but…
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Martouf paused to shake sand out of his clothes and hair – how the fine grains managed to get into his hair despite the leather cap, Martouf didn't know – as he looked at the humans in front of the rest of the Tok'ra.
The group of four, three men and one woman, had come onto the planet hours after a mechanical droid had done so, and the scouts had reported that the one had gone to the machine before shaking their head and following the rest of the small group. Looking at them, he could see one of Apophis' Jaffa and he could easily sense a symbiote within him, the humming in his blood easily confirming it, even as he felt another, weaker hum coming from the woman, her blonde hair shorter than he had ever seen a woman wear it.
Her eyes were darting around the faces of the Tok'ra, her gaze calm despite the fact that they outnumbered everyone in her group.
"We mean you no harm," Cordesh said as he stepped closer, holding his Staff Weapon at his side. "But I warn you, if you make any aggressive moves, we will fire upon you."
The man crouched in the sand, his weapon pointed at Cordesh seemed to smirk. "Same here," he said.
If Martouf didn't know any better, he would have said the man was agreeing, or at least joking with them. Cordesh laughed, letting out a chuckle. "Well," he said. "I think we have the advantage. There are more of us."
Martouf walked up, clutching at his own Staff Weapon, anger filling his veins the more he looked at the Jaffa.
"This one is a Jaffa," he said, glaring at the Jaffa before he saw the golden tint to it. "Apophis Sect."
The Jaffa bowed his head in recognition. "I am no longer in the service of Apophis," he said calmly.
Grinding his teeth, Martouf bit back a snarl. Apophis' own Jaffa years ago had spoken under torture of the harm they had done to his brother and his lover. There was little that he could forgive of any of Apophis' men.
"Who, then, are you in service to?" he ground out.
The 'former' slave of Apophis nodded to the others in the same clothes as him, the others in his group. "I am allied with these," he answered. "The Tau'ri, in battle against Apophis."
If what he says is true… Lantash began in his mind, only to drift off for a few seconds, He is the first I have ever heard of splitting from his Master in such a fashion. A bold one though it may be.
Shaking his head slightly, knowing only the other Tok'ra would see and know, Martouf knew he had missed part of the conversation listening to his symbiote. "Because they are Goa'uld," the woman said.
"Do not call us that!" Cordesh said and Martouf watched as his eyes glowed. "We are not Goa'uld."
The man crouched in the dirt seemed to think before he smirked slightly. "You know," he said calmly, "in some galaxies, this is called loitering." He looked at Cordesh. "How long do ya think we can keep this up?"
Martouf felt eyes on him, unfamiliar eyes and looked towards their source, an eyebrow arching at the woman when he saw her looking at him. "Martouf," she said, recognition in both her voice and her face.
The Tok'ra host looked at the woman, frowning now, even as he glanced to Cordesh. "I do not know this woman," he said.
He truly did not. Though her features were remarkably similar to his mate, Rosha, he did not recognise her. He did wonder about her and Jolinar and could only sigh quietly under his breath.
"But I'm right, aren't I?" the woman asked, her grip on her weapon relaxing slightly. "That's your name, Martouf."
He nodded once at her. "It is," he answered. "How do you know me?"
The woman shook her head. "I don't," she answered. "But I knew someone who did. His name was Jolinar of Malk-shur."
Martouf felt his heart stop then start again under the direction of his symbiote. Hope spread through him like wild-fire and he found his heart pounding, blood puling hot and ready in his veins. His mate was live, somewhere, waiting for him.
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Cam walked the corridors of the hospital calmly, evidence of her tears gone with a quick visit to a nearby loo before she'd carried on to the canteen and made her way back, carrying a coffee in one hand, a bottle of Pepsi in her jacket pocket and a burger in her bag. A disposable cup of milk was in her other hand while sachets of sugar remained in her jeans pocket.
Rounding the corner onto the corridor that lead to her father's hospital room, the Tok'ra found her eyes widening in horror at the sight of several nurses and doctors racing into Jacob's room.
"Oh please, no," she breathed, suddenly running along the corridor and almost into General Hammond as she entered the room.
She saw one doctor checking Jacob's pulse before he shook his head. "Again," he said, picking up a pair of paddles. "300."
She watched as he rubbed the paddles together for a moment before he placed them on two orange squares on Jacob's bare chest, his hospital gown torn and shredded from the nurses rushing to get the pads in place. The Doctor nodded.
"300," one nurse confirmed.
"Clear!" the doctor ordered, the nurses stepping back slightly at his command.
He pressed the paddles to Jacob's chest and a shock surged through her father's body, arching it. The doctor placed the paddles down and checked her father.
"Normal sinus," he clarified. "Okay." He smiled as he pulled his penlight out and leaned over slightly, shining it in Jacob's eyes. "Hey General. How're you doing?"
Cam sighed in relief as she heard the flat lines disappear as Jacob merely groaned in response. She moved passed Hammond over to her father's side, placing the coffee down with the milk. She gently took her father's hand into her own and grasped it gently, careful not to use all her strength.
"Just hold on dad," she muttered. "Please. Please, don't die. Hold on."
She looked up moments later when she heard Hammond clearing his throat from behind her and she turned her head to look at him.
"I'm going back to base," he said. "I'm calling Captain Carter back."
Cam nodded at that and looked at her father, tears in her eyes. "He won't admit it, but he needs to see her," he said. "He told me about the award ceremony being cancelled and how disappointed he'd been, not able to know what his daughter was up to."
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Cam didn't rest in the hours that General Hammond was gone, despite her nerves ruling ruthlessly over her. Kel'an's presence in her body was enough to keep her awake, her symbiote removing the chemicals building up in her body from her worry and the exhausting day.
She and Jacob hadn't spoken, instead sitting in silence, the Tok'ra fretting over the situation yet she felt calm, spending some literally quiet time with her father, the two of them sitting in companionable silence. The young Tok'ra kept silent watch over her father, even as he dozed off multiple times, acting as a silent guard, pleading silently that he would hold on just a little longer.
It took time, but eventually Cam heard multiple footsteps, one set she recognised easily, walking down the corridor outside the room. Kel'an had heightened her hearing long ago, lifting it far above normal and the host was easily able to block out the noises coming from the nurses in the room, one of which was checking on her father's IV port in the back of his hand.
She looked up at the door, relaxing slightly as she saw General Hammond and a woman she remembered was Jacob's eldest, biological daughter from the few Christmas' she had spent with the woman back in Pittsburgh and Kel'an hummed in her mind quietly, relaxing Cam's heightened hearing as Hammond stood at the open door. They both knew the two people who had entered and they relaxed.
"Clear the room, people," Hammond ordered.
Her heart stuttering in her chest, Cam made to stand up at that, well aware that Jacob was turning his head to look at the man. Seeing the General shaking his head, she relaxed and slowly sat back down, her muscles relaxing slightly, even as she heard Jacob sigh tiredly.
"I told you not to recall her," he said.
Sam seemed to smile and chuckle as she stepped over to his bed, the woman apparently relaxed in her green uniform now that the nurses were gone, drawing a small frown from Cam as she felt a hum filling her veins – a small hum that she knew other Tok'ra and Goa'uld associated with other hosts.
"Happy to see you too, dad," she said, taking a careful seat on the right hand side of his hospital bed, perching herself there carefully.
"You wanted me to tell you what Captain Carter does," Hammond said as he closed the door and walked over. "So I thought maybe she could tell you herself."
Jacob arched an eyebrow, looking between the two. "Yeah?" he asked. "What happened to the classification?"
"It's still classified," Hammond told him. "But you both just got clearance."
Cam frowned at that and looked at the General and her sister. "But why do I have it as well?" she asked quietly.
Hammond looked to Sam before she sighed. "If Dad agrees to this, then you'll have to come along," she said. "We thought it'd be easier to explain than have to lie to you."
Cam nodded at that, looking between Samantha and Hammond, drawing a pained sigh from Jacob. "Why now?" he asked. "Why not earlier?"
Samantha looked to him. "Well, believe it or not, we need your help dad," she answered.
Jacob barked out a laugh before he started coughing. "What?" he rasped out. "The Pentagon wants me to deliver a message to God when I get up there?"
Hammond chuckled, shaking his head. "Not exactly," he said.
Jacob rolled his eyes. "Well, I don't plan to see the other guy," he said.
Samantha Carter seemed to sigh. "Dad?" she asked. "Have you ever heard of the Stargate Program?"
He shook his head, sighing again. "No," he told her. "Is it one of your satellites?"
Cam watched the conversation from her seat beside her father's bed, her eyes distant as she began to panic in her mind, feeling Kel'an smothering her physical reflexes, loosening her rapidly tensing muscles, easing her panicked breathing and slowing her frantically beating pulse.
Stargate? Cam asked her symbiote. Please tell me I did not just hear Stargate come from my 'sisters' lips!
Kel'an chuckled mirthlessly in her mind. Wish I could, she said. It looks like this planet does have a Chappa'ai!
"We discovered a piece of alien technology," Samantha was saying, drawing her out of her thoughts and conversation. "It can send us to thousands of planets all over the galaxy."
Cam looked up at Hammond, her eyes wide as she took in the new information. "You aren't kidding, are you," Jacob said, forcing himself to sit up in the bed.
Sam shook her head. "No," she answered and that was the last straw for Cam.
A smile that was more surprise than joy split Jacob's face; as Cam leaned back in her chair, surprise echoing throughout the entirety of her being. "Holy Hannah!" he exclaimed before he took a breath. "So, what do you want me to do?"
Samantha smiled and let out a relieved breath. "Well, we'd like you to travel to one of these planets with us," she said.
"Why? So I can die there?"
The woman's smile widened for a moment before falling slightly. "No," she replied. "Actually, I'm hoping what we want you to do will cure your cancer."
"They have a cure there?" he asked as he forced himself to sit up further. "What's the catch?"
Hammond sighed. "It's a doozie Jacob," Hammond told him. "I won't lie to you on that."
Cam looked them at that, finally deciding to speak up, looking between the two that had arrived. "Where is the Chappa'ai?" she asked before she felt her eyes widening.
She'd meant to ask where the device was, not to say what it was and she found everyone's eyes on her at that moment, all of them wide with surprise. Sam and General Hammond seemed to be even more surprised as they looked at her and the Tok'ra watched as her sister turned slightly, tilting her head to an angle of disbelief as she looked at her.
"Where did you learn that word?" the older woman asked.
Cam swallowed convulsively, her whole body tensing once more as she felt adrenaline starting to pump through her veins, speeding the naquadah throughout her body. Taking a breath, she looked at her sister and licked her lips anxiously.
"Who's your symbiote?" she asked after a moment.
Surprise echoed on her sister's face as well as Hammond's as Sam sat back slightly. "Jolinar of Malk-shur," she answered. "Why do you ask?"
Cam swallowed convulsively again. "She should have memories of a Tok'ra and his host," she said. "Al'ek and Kel'an."
She watched her sister closed her eyes, frowning before she relaxed and looked at her. "Al'ek went missing six years ago," she said. "Presumed dead after so long."
Cam nodded slowly at that. "I became Kel'an's host," she said quietly. "That is how I know."
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Knowing urgency that relied on more than one life, Jack drove the military vehicle himself, driving just over the limit and taking all the shortcuts he could remember. He glanced into the back of the truck, watching as Captain Carter and her sister spoke with their father, the man looking between the two as they talked.
He glanced to General Hammond sitting in the passenger seat on his right. "How does the kid know?" he asked quietly. "Carter mentioned she did, but didn't say anything further."
Hammond looked at him as he took a sharp right-hand corner turn. "Apparently Camilla Carter's a host to one of the Tok'ra," he answered as Jack push the speed of the truck up higher, accelerating as fast as he dared on a straight stretch of road. "From what she says, she sensed her sister when she came into the room."
Jack shook his head, glancing in the rear-view mirror, watching the family again. The younger, Camilla Carter, seemed to hold herself with military ease, her back straight, her posture ready for a fight even as she remained fairly relaxed.
"Carter said something about it a while back," Jack admitted. "Said she could 'sense' T' and know it was him by the way he felt."
Hammond nodded. "From the way Ms. Carter spoke, it's similar for her," he said.
"It's because of the naquadah in our blood, Colonel, General," they both heard a small, female voice speak from the back of the truck.
Jack looked in the rear-view again, seeing Camilla Carter looking back at him calmly, her father sitting beside her, his eyes wide. The man hadn't heard the conversation at the front of the truck.
"And how did you manage to hear us?" Jack asked the teen.
She shrugged one shoulder calmly. "Tok'ra have mildly heightened sense on a normal day," she answered. "You might as well have been talking normally for all I could hear."
She smiled slightly, weakly, almost suddenly embarrassed and Jack could only shake his head with a small smile. The kid was a smart one, he'd give her that. Had a smart mouth uncannily like her sister, he mused.
"Do I even want to know how you know?" heard General Jacob Carter ask.
"Tok'ra, dad," Camilla Carter said. "Tok'ra."
SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1- SG-1
Cam walked into the 'Gate Room', her arms crossed over her chest as she watched the Stargate dialling, her mind mulling over some of the information that Samantha had given her. She was well aware of Samantha and Colonel O'Neill helping Jacob into the Gate Room with them, even as she heard words of 'Chevron 5 encoded' in the air.
She watched the Stargate accept the chevron, co-ordinate, before turning calmly to enter the next one. She barely listened to the conversation going on between her father and the other two, watching the movement of the ring with a critical eye, looking for any trouble with the Stargate.
Too many memories, she told Kel'an. I know exactly how quickly things can go wrong.
Her dearest friend chuckled in her mind, grinning weakly. As do I, she agreed before she sighed. We'll have to sing the mourning song when we can.
Cam nodded to herself, her eye distant. I am sorry about Jolinar, she said quietly. I know how close you and Al'ek were to her.
Kel'an chuckled again. Jolinar may have been the mate of Al'ek's brother, she admitted, but we were still very good friends.
The Tok'ra host nodded, tensing slightly as she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You been through one of these before kid?" Colonel O'Neill asked her when she turned her head to look at him.
They both heard 'Chevron 6 encoded' echo in the air as the girl shook her head. "First time Colonel," she admitted politely. "But with Kel'an's memories, I know what I can expect."
The Colonel seemed to accept that as he nodded his head slightly. "Geeks managed to work out a few bugs," he told her. "First trip through the Gate froze the first team, but that's sorted."
Cam nodded slightly, accepting the information calmly as the Stargate's inner ring stopped spinning and the final chevron was accepted. Smiling with distant familiarity, the teen watched as the event horizon arched outwards like frothing water before settling back into the Stargate like a pool of water.
She glanced to Colonel O'Neill. "Looks good," she told him before she started up the ramp calmly.
Despite her lack of first-hand experience, Cam knew what to expect as he heard the other three walk up behind her. She calmly stepped up to the Stargate and walked into it. The sensation of being on multiple, high adrenaline, rollercoaster's rushed through Cam's veins, drawing a whoop of delight and glee as well as the urge to take another trip through the Stargate to feel the rush. It was one of the better things she had experienced in her life and she grinned like a maniac as she appeared on the other side of the Stargate, stepping onto soft sand a few short steps away from the Stargate.
What a rush!
Kel'an chuckled in her mind, delighted. It's always like this, she agreed. It is one of the small pleasures I allowed myself as a symbiote within a host.
Cam nodded as she slowly walked away from the active Stargate, moving slowly through the dunes, letting Kel'an's memories from years past to guide her where she needed to go. She'd just neared where she and Kel'an knew the rings to be when she heard the sound of the Stargate shutting down in the distance and smiled.
They made it, she commented as she stepped into the centre of the hidden transport rings, stilling her body.
Now they just have to catch up, Kel'an agreed a heart beat before the Goa'uld transporter rings lifted up into view around her.
A flash of white light was the only sign to the young Tok'ra host that the Goa'uld devices were working before the Rings moved up and out of the way, revealing a heaving crystal tunnel in front of her. Tok'ra, hosts and symbiotes, moved quickly between other corridors, carrying various Goa'uld crates towards her.
Cam moved out of the way, feeling's Kel'an grip on her body. Her symbiote carefully directed her out of the path of the Rings that moved back into view, taking the pile of crates up and of the tunnels.
Where would Garshaw be? Cam asked her symbiote.
Instead of answering, her symbiote gently directed her body along a slightly less busy tunnel, the crystals still forming the geode-like cavity. Pausing at a junction of two crystal tunnels, Cam glanced around the corner and felt her eyes widen at the sight of Garshaw and her host. The woman hadn't changed from Kel'an's memories and Cam swallowed.
With her brown hair swept back from her face in a mildly intricate knot, the host barely looked older than thirty when both Cam and Kel'an knew her to be older, much older. Her dress also flattered her without seeming to loudly declare the utility of the outfit, slits hidden down the sides of the skirt of the outfit would allow for Garshaw and her host to move quickly should the need arise.
Obviously sensing a new presence, the woman turned her head to look right at Cam and the girl swallowed convulsively as Garshaw frowned and stood, her hands tensing as her eyes seemed to glow angrily.
"Who are you?" Garshaw, the symbiote, demanded. "We do not recognise your face."
Cam bowed her head politely as she moved into clearer view, well aware of Garshaw's status amoung the Tok'ra. "I am Camilla," she said respectfully. "I am Kel'an's host." She saw the disbelief clear on her face and took a steadying breath, well aware that Tok'ra guards were only a single 'kree' away. "When Yosuf became a host over a century ago, she left behind her sister and her family," she said. "You told Kel'an that you both went back occasionally through the years, keeping an eye on them despite your deeds."
Surprise dawned on the elder Tok'ra's face before she smiled. "It is so good to greet Kel'an once more," Garshaw said.
Cam smiled and nodded, bowing her head and closing her eyes, understanding the request of the Tok'ra from the High Council. Kel'an took control willingly, quickly, and lifted her head as the glow dissipated from her eyes.
"Tek'ma'te, Garshaw, Yosuf," Kel'an greeted calmly, a smile drifting across her face.
A delighted smile drifted across the host's face, Kel'an noted, and the woman took in her host's body, nodding after a few moments. "We had long thought you dead, Kel'an," she said. "How long have you been within your host?"
Kel'an smiled slightly. "A few years," she said evasively. "But while we came to introduce my new host to you, we came to see Saroosh and Selmak."
Garshaw nodded in understanding. "Saroosh is old and is looking for a new host," she told her.
Kel'an nodded her head, bowing politely. "I understand that Captain Carter of Earth has offered her father," she said. "I know this, Garshaw for her father is also my host's father."
Surprise widened the other Tok'ra's eyes and Kel'an chuckled softly. Garshaw took the knowledge and nodded, accepting it.
"Go," she said. "Martouf stays with Selmak. She will not last much longer."
Kel'an nodded and bowed her head, gently nudging Camilla back into control. The teenager took it and looked up at Garshaw before she bowed politely.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tok'ra Garshaw," she said carefully. "Please forgive me, but I need to talk with Al'ek's brother."
Garshaw chuckled and nodded, gesturing to the tunnel behind her. "Go," she said gently. "I understand shared familial ties."
Cam bowed again to Garshaw before she stepped back into the tunnel and back along her path, moving quickly. She weaved between the people, barely registering other people dressed in clothes similar to that of her sister and Colonel O'Neill as she focused on reaching the tunnel chamber that held Martouf.
Knowing where the most activity around a dying host was centred, usually, Cam followed the pattern of tunnels, almost running before she skidded to a stop outside the room she knew held Al'ek's brother and she watched as a sandy haired man stepped out from the room, a frown crossing his face as he looked at her.
Cam recognised him immediately; she remembered the eyes, the hair and the uniform Martouf wore like humans did normal, casual clothes. "I do not recognise you," Lantash said. "Explain yourself."
Taking a breath and squaring her shoulders unconsciously, Cam forced herself to look at Al'ek's living brother. "I am Camilla, Kel'an's host," she told him.
Fear, worry, confusion and finally denial crossed the male Tok'ra's face as he shook his head. "Al'ek, his host, is missing," he denied.
Cam shook her head, feeling tears in her eyes, memories of the farmer's field and Al'ek's body and pain suddenly at the fore of her mind. "He is not missing, Lantash," she told him. "Kel'an and I burned his body in a field on Earth. I know of Jolinar and her fate and I know that you and Al'ek were hosts for close to one hundred years before I became Kel'an's host."
She watched as Lantash bowed his head, closing his eyes and Cam knew control was changing hands from symbiote to host as Martouf lifted his head and looked at her, moving closer and crouching in front of her.
"How much do you know?" he asked her, gently grasping her shoulders.
Cam swallowed, taking in a shaky breath as she looked at the older man. "I know that you have scar on your shoulder from one of Cronus' Jaffa fifty years ago," she said. "I know that Al'ek and Kel'an returned the favour to the Jaffa, killing him before helping you heal from your injury." She took another breath as she continued to look at him. "I know that when you first saw Rosha and Jolinar, Martouf, that you were tongue-tied and it took you just under a year to garner her affection."
She saw the denial before she saw the acceptance and saw the minute shudder run through Martouf's body. "Kel'an?" he asked quietly.
Cam nodded and bowed her head, feeling Kel'an lift it moments later. The symbiote glanced at her former brother, smiling slightly in the way she knew Al'ek had often done.
"I am here, Martouf," she said gently. "I am sorry about Al'ek."
Kel'an found her heart clenching in sympathetic pain as Martouf's expressions mirrored it. He hates me, Camilla breathed.
Watching as Martouf bowed his head, his shoulders shaking as he offered control over, Kel'an shook her head when he wasn't looking. Never, she told her host firmly. He hates that he was not there for his brother. Martouf could never hate you.
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Martouf let Lantash take control barely aware of what his symbiote said to Kel'an as he struggled with the new information about his brother. He had always known it was a possibility, but his older brother had always been the one man he knew to defy whatever odds were handed to him.
He can't be dead, he denied, despite the evidence that presented the opposite to him.
Kel'an had found a new, young, host and had burned Al'ek's body. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't despite knowing Kel'an was in front of him, speaking truth.
"Tell me what happened to Al'ek," Lantash spoke, his voice aimed at both Tok'ra.
Martouf watched as the host's body swallowed convulsively and he was struck at the revelation that it was the host in control now, not Kel'an. "I had run away from home," the young woman said quietly. "I was injured and limping down one of the dirt roads when I heard an explosion." She swallowed again and wiped at her eyes, wiping at the tears that had started to fall. "I went into the field and found Al'ek lying… lying…"
Martouf gently nudged at his symbiote. Please, my friend, he begged.
The young woman had to be scared, suddenly unsure and Martouf was certain that his own reactions had contributed. With Kel'an as her symbiote, the ties he held with Al'ek easily shifted to the young woman in front of him and he had the urge to comfort her, soothe her fears.
Lantash bowed his head and Martouf quickly took control, tightening his grip on the young host's shoulders for a heart beat before relaxing. "You became Kel'an's host?" he asked her gently.
The girl nodded and wiped at her eyes. "Years have passed, but I still cry remembering how I found him and Al'ek," she admitted.
Smiling Martouf pulled her close. "Al'ek was my brother," he said. "Kel'an was my brother's symbiote. And you, because of this, are now my sister."
He felt her shift in his arms and the girl looked up at him, a frown creasing her forehead. "Really?" she asked before she flushed and looked away. "With Al'ek's memories, I've always thought of you like a brother… but I never…"
Martouf chuckled and held her close again. "You need not have worried," he said. "Many other Tok'ra hosts have taken on familial ties of previous hosts. I would not think twice about doing the same." He held her tight against him, breathing in her scent, feeling Lantash aiding his memory in remembering the scent of his new sister, a smell that he would grow to cherish as much as he had cherished Al'ek's growing up. "I am glad to meet you, Camilla Carter."
Camilla chuckled in his arms, her shoulders shaking slightly. "And I you, Martouf," she replied.
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Cam followed Martouf into the chamber that she knew held Saroosh and Selmak, seeing the other, young hosts around the woman who lay asleep on a crystal bed, a thin sheet covering her and offering her a modicum of warmth.
She knew the woman was old, having spent close to two hundred years as a host and a mother to two boys born into the Tok'ra. But despite knowing and having Kel'an's memories, it was still surprising to see the old woman lying unmoving on the bed.
"I am sure that Kel'an has given you memories," Martouf said quietly, "but it can be jarring to see our mother lying so ill."
Cam nodded as she stepped up beside her new brother, taking in the smoothed features as the woman rested. "I never thought to be able to come to the Tok'ra," she said quietly. "I never thought that I would be able to find out what happened to Al'ek's murder."
Martouf arched an eyebrow at her, glancing to Saroosh before he pulled her to one wall of the chamber. "Are you certain?" he asked her.
Cam nodded, feeling Kel'an's own hum in her mind. "The memories I have are of Al'ek meeting up at the edge of Earth's solar system," she began, "the meeting went wrong between the ships somehow after the traditional greetings and assurances were made – in the correct coding as well – and Al'ek's ship was attacked." She shook her head then. "Al'ek flew by Earth, got caught in the planet's gravity and crashed only a few hundred feet from where I was walking."
A groan echoed in the air and Cam turned her attention to the old woman lying on the table between the two young Tok'ra. Moving forwards carefully, Cam watched as Saroosh's eyes opened and fixed on her face.
"I do not recognise your face," she said softly.
Cam smiled weakly at that, nodding as she accepted the truth from the woman who she viewed as a mother. "I am Camilla," she said gently. "Kel'an's host and Al'ek's successor."
She saw the widening in the woman's eyes, saw the distant look come and go before she nodded, sighing as she patted the bed beside her. "Come," she said firmly. "Sit beside me child. Let me get a good look at you."
Ever conscious of the two young Tok'ra, Cam moved and carefully lifted herself up onto the edge, shifting her position slightly as Saroosh seemed to take in her appearance. Not entirely used to the scrutiny, she waited the woman out before she saw a small smile drift across Saroosh's face.
"Not easily swayed," she commented. "That is good." When Saroosh reached towards one of her hands, Cam easily gave it to her, glancing at Martouf and seeing the older man's own small smile as she did so, even as Saroosh patted her hand. "It is good to have a daughter."
Cam smiled at that, biting back tears as she looked at the woman. "And it is good to have a mother," she replied.
Saroosh seemed happy with that and Cam sighed as she drifted back to sleep, her eyes closing. Smiling and shaking her head fondly, the young Tok'ra host climbed off of the bed, chuckling as she felt Martouf helping her before she saw the slightly different set to his shoulders, easily seeing that Lantash was in control.
"It is good that she has accepted you," her brother's symbiote commented. "After giving birth to two sons, I believe Saroosh gave up her dream of having a daughter."
Cam chuckled. "And I gave up the hope of having a mother who loved me," she told him, patting his shoulder. "I'll tell you sometime about myself when we aren't pressed for time."
Lantash smiled at her as they both turned their attention to Saroosh, watching the woman. They both waited patiently, making gentle small talk, keeping out of the way of the two women seeing to Saroosh.
"The man that Captain Carter offers is her father," Cam found herself say a few minutes later. "He is also mine."
Lantash smiled at that. "Then his luck is strong if he has two special children," he said.
Cam smiled in return. "Lucky that he adopted a child that had a connection to the Tok'ra," she replied.
Hearing shaky footsteps matched by surer ones, Cam turned around, recognising her father and her sister's footsteps. Lantash joined her as they saw Sam and Jacob.
"You have returned," Lantash commented.
Samantha nodded. "Yes," she answered. "This is my, our," she nodded at Cam then, "father, Jacob Carter."
Cam didn't need to turn to sense the nod her brother's symbiote gave. "Honoured," he said politely before Cam felt a change. "I am Martouf. You have two, very special, daughters."
Cam hid her frown, stifling her reaction, wondering just how she knew who had changed hands. You will always be able to sense those closest to your heart, Kel'an whispered quickly. Al'ek was very much the same with Martouf and Saroosh; he always knew who was in control.
The female Tok'ra smiled slightly as she saw Jacob frowning slightly. "Why does he talk like that?" he asked quietly.
Chuckling under her breath, knowing her father wasn't really trying to be rude, Cam knew her father had forgotten just how sensitive their hearing could be.
"He's a Tok'ra dad," Samantha said quietly. "Cam and I told you about them."
Cam patted her brother's hand gently on the table beside her, smiling slightly as recognition dawned on Jacob's face. "He doesn't mean to be rude, Martouf," she whispered to her brother. "He has only recently been let in on the secret."
Martouf hummed from beside her. "Well," they both heard Samantha begin hesitantly. "I don't know if I'd call them aliens, sort of half-alien I guess. I mean, the outside is human, and the inside is shared between a human and a symbiote. Martouf is… actually two different… souls, I guess, sharing the same body."
Cam smiled at that, chuckling. "Maybe not souls," she said, looking at her father and sister. "But certainly sharing is involved." She shrugged a shoulder, her eyes going distant as she remembered how it had been explained to Al'ek. "The symbiote gets protection in the human body and the human gets a longer life-span."
Jacob nodded as he looked between them and Cam heard her symbiote's chuckle in her mind and she didn't stop the small quirk to her lips as she looked at her father. "And that's what you want me to become?" he asked, his eyebrows arching. "You've got to be kidding me."
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Jacob was many things and he knew that despite the lymphoma, he was pretty overwhelmed. Too many things had happened in one day and he was still trying to gain his equilibrium.
He'd learned within the space of two hours that his youngest daughter was host to an alien, his first daughter had been one, and that travelling to other planets had gone a lot further than he had ever imagined. Shaking his head and forcing aside the mild sickness from all the chemo, Jacob knew he wasn't angry with Sam – he couldn't be when she's kept her word and the government's secret, much to his consternation.
He turned and walked slowly back into the room, his body aching with every step and Jacob found his eyes widening as he saw Camilla sat by the old woman's head, gently mopping at her brow. He forced his gaze to Sam.
"I'm not sure I can do this, Sam," he told her.
"No one wishes to pressure you in any way, General Carter," he heard a voice speak and Jacob turned to look at the owner, frowning when he saw Camilla looking at him but her posture was different, more assured, more 'grown-up'. "The decision is yours."
He nodded. "But, before deciding," the other, Martouf, said, "might I suggest that you – you take a moment to get to know the symbiote that wishes to blend with you?"
Jacob took a breath and moved closer to the crystal bed, gesturing to the woman lying prone on it. "This is her?" he asked.
"Actually, you can only see the host," Sam answered. "The symbiote's inside her."
"Inside her?" he asked.
"Talk to her, dad," Cam urged him, suddenly the one to speak now, her strange, double-toned voice gone. "Get to know Selmak, Saroosh."
Jacob looked from his youngest daughter to the woman next to and watched as her eyes opened before she looked at him calmly.
"If you agree to the blending, we could be together for a very long time," she said moments before coughing.
If Jacob was being honest, there had been days where he had felt the same, willing to talk before descending into coughing fits that left him breathless.
"You don't look so good," Jacob commented had calmed her breathing.
"You are no vision of beauty yourself, sir!" the woman countered with a smile.
Jacob smiled in return, laughing before he groaned and started coughing, well aware of the woman doing pretty much the same. It was several long, painful seconds before he could stifle his coughing, swallowing against the sudden dryness in his parched throat.
He shook his head as he took a deep breath to calm his beating and his aching heart. "It's alright," he told Sam before shaking his head again. "Sorry."
As he settled his breathing, he watched as looseness took over the woman's body as he looked back down at her from his daughter.
"I'm the one to whom you should be talking," the woman said, her voice changed.
"You are the one I'm talking to," he said, shaking his head as he looked up. "Why, why did your voice change like that?"
Camilla smiled at him. "The host, is talking now dad," she explained. "Much like mine did when Kel'an took control."
"I am Saroosh," the woman said, drawing his attention back to her. "I am in the position to help you most."
"How's that?"
"I will die," Saroosh explained weakly. "Selmak will live on, you will take my place as host."
"Um," Jacob said, shaking his head. "I don't understand."
He honestly didn't. He was still overwhelmed despite the ease of the conversation.
"Selmak is a wonderful Tok'ra," Saroosh continued, smiling. "She is selfless and caring; she is good company; she has a wonderful sense of humour."
Sam smiled at him. "Well, that's good, dad," she chirped. "You can sit around for hours cracking yourself up."
Jacob glared good naturedly at her. "That's funny," he said.
Saroosh chuckled slightly. "She's not far wrong," she agreed. "I've had almost two hundred years of laughter thanks to Selmak." She smiled slightly. "I'm biased of course, but I believe Selmak is amoung the best educated of the Tok'ra." She sighed sadly. "You will probably be overwhelmed by the knowledge and wisdom you will gain upon blending."
"So," Jacob began, "I get all of this thing's, err, what did you call is? In their head?"
"Symbiote," Cam supplied.
Jacob nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "I get all its memories and stuff?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, dad," she agreed. "Something like that."
"Then I won't deceive you, sir," Saroosh said. "We have some pretty awful things buried in our memory."
Jacob watched as Camilla's skin flushed as she nodded, seeming to agree with the woman lying on the bed. "Such as?" he asked.
Camilla glanced down at Saroosh, a sad look on her face. "Countless atrocities committed by the Goa'uld," the aged woman answered calmly, "some of our own."
The woman on the bed coughed, wincing. "The loss of the host before Saroosh," she told him gently. "And you will feel Selmak's mourning for Saroosh."
Jacob nodded as he covered his mouth with one hand. "Will excuse me ma'am?" he asked before he hurried from the room, one hand pressed to his stomach.
The chemo and the sudden new news finally got him and Jacob found what little he'd eaten returning to the world from the path it had taken. He was aware of Sam at his side, rubbing his back as he dry heaved for a moment.
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Cam looked up as she heard the sounds of military boots walking into the room. Jacob had walked into the room and nodded at Martouf.
"Okay," he said after a moment. "What do I have to do?"
Martouf smiled slightly. "First, Selmak would like to interview you."
"Huh?" was Jacobs rather eloquent response.
Selmak opened her eyes and sighed. "If I am to spend the next hundred years or more with you as my host," she began, "do you not think I have the right to decide if I even like you?"
Jacob laughed lightly and Cam smiled in answer relieved. "What's not to like?" he asked. "Just ask my daughters, I'm a teddy bear."
"Oh yeah," Cam began sarcastically.
"Real teddy bear," Sam finished for her, just as sarcastically.
"How do you feel about the Goa'uld?" Selmak asked as she turned her head slightly to look at Jacob curiously.
"Well, you are the first one I've met," Jacob said, stepping into Selmak's trick question.
Cam groaned as she let her head fall into her hands even as Kel'an mental growled at the association. It honestly seemed that there was a direction association between the words and the reaction that it seemed to bring out in all Tok'ra
"We're Tok'ra dad," she said. "Not Goa'uld."
"Ah," Jacob said after a moment. "Trick question?"
Sam nodded in response as he looked at her. "Remember dad," she said. "I tried to explain the difference."
Jacob nodded. "Right, right," he said, remembering, Cam noted. "I apologise, I guess I've never met a Goa'uld before. Although from what Sam and her people tell me, I don't think I like them very much."
Selmak looked at Martouf and nodded once. Cam remembered what that meant, climbing down from the bed before following Martouf out into the doorway as he led Sam there to give the other two a bit of privacy. They all watched as the two spoke quietly for a minute before Selmak smiled.
"I have decided I like you," she said, loudly enough for them to hear her.
Cam smiled slightly as she looked on, waiting until either her father or Martouf's mother called for them. "Super," Jacob said quietly.
"But I must be sure that you understand, there will be no turning back," Selmak said. "I cannot blend with you, cure your disease, then leave. To do so would probably kill us both."
Jacob nodded. "I understand," he said. "Let me ask you something. After we do this, will I still be able to talk to my daughters?"
"The way Saroosh talked to you, yes," Selmak answered. "But you and your daughters must understand, the blending may not work at all. I am very weak, and the damage to your body may be too extensive."
Jacob nodded again. "In other words, we might die anyway," he said.
"Yes."
Jacob turned to look at them for a moment before he looked back at Selmak and bit his lip. "Then can you give me five with my kids?" he asked.
"Of course," Selmak agreed.
Jacob smiled and moved away, walking towards them. Martouf rested his hand gently on Jacob's upper arm.
"You must hurry," Lantash spoke. "We don't have much time."
Jacob nodded as Cam followed after Lantash as he moved to Saroosh's side. Cam looked over her shoulder and smiled at Sam for a moment as Jacob touched his oldest daughter's shoulder, pulling her to the side so he could speak with her.
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Enough time had passed that Cam had said her words to her father, embracing him tightly before moving to take a seat in one of the alcoves in the room, staying quiet as she watched everything happen. She's already gone through the blending and knew that despite the fact they she and Sam and Martouf were in the same room, the Blending was generally a private process between hosts and symbiote.
"We do not enter our hosts through the back of the neck," Martouf told Samantha. "This just leaves a scar that many of us find unsettling."
"So why don't the Goa'uld do it this way too?" her sister asked..
"The Tok'ra believe they don't wish to remember the horror of their host's faces whenever they see their own reflection," Cam told her quietly, intruding on the conversation for a moment. "We don't know for sure."
Samantha looked at her and nodded after a moment.
"You must step away, Captain Carter," Martouf told her gently.
Jacob turned his head slightly. "Goodbye kids," he muttered.
"See you soon dad," Cam heard Sam mutter before Jacob turned back, clearing his throat slightly. "Now what?"
"Kiss me," Selmak told him weakly.
"You're kidding me right?"
"No, I am not."
Cam watched as the two humans leaned towards each other before Jacob gasped, his body arching and stiffening as the young Tok'ra knew Selmak was taking the offer of a new host. "Goodbye, dear friend," she heard her father's altered voice say before drifting off.
Cam bit her lip and leaned forwards slightly, resting her head in her hands as sobs started to wrack her body. Please Kel'? she silently begged her symbiote. Please.
She stepped back from the control of her body, feeling Kel'an taking it moments later as her body stiffened and her crying stopped gently.
Kel'an looked up seeing Martouf pulling the thin blanket over Saroosh's face while he talked quietly with Sam. Another Tok'ra dashed inside, still wearing the desert uniform most Tok'ra wore when they hid around the Stargate on the various desert worlds that had required the new uniform.
"Our scouts have spotted the Goa'uld ships dropping from hyperspace," they reported. "They will start attacking from the air and through the 'Gate within hours. Garshaw orders that we must destroy the complex."
Kel'an stood up then, gaining the Tok'ra's attention. "We cannot move Selmak's new host!" she said. "They will both die if we do so!"
The Tok'ra nodded and left the room. Kel'an looked back at Jacob, consoling Cam for a few minutes until Yosuf, Garshaw's host walked inside, leading a group of men that Kel'an didn't recognise except for O'Neill.
"Martouf, all the tunnels but this one and the escape have vanished," Yosuf told them. "All other Tok'ra have gone to the new homeworld; we must go now!"
Kel'an shook her head. "Saroosh is dead Yosuf," she spoke, letting Cam's feelings pour into her voice. "You know as well as I do that we cannot move them."
"When and if he awakens, Selmak knows where we'll be," Yosuf replied. "He can follow."
"But the Goa'uld are coming," one of the other men said, wearing similar clothing to O'Neill although he wore a pair of large, circular glasses. "They'll capture him."
"If he's captured, he will die before he will reveal our whereabouts!"
"Well, then take him with you!" Sam snapped.
"Or we'll take him with us," O'Neill said.
Martouf shook his head. "I'm afraid that to transport him now, he will die," he said and Kel'an felt her heart constrict in sympathetic pain as Cam groaned at the news. "He needs to remain stationary until Selmak has completed her repairs."
Sam looked torn for a moment. "We can't just leave him here!" she stated, pain clear on her face.
"I will remain with him. If I can get him out, I will," he told them. "If not, I will allow the vanishing tunnels to consume us before the Goa'uld get here."
Yosuf lowered her head, allowing Garshaw to take control before she shook her head. "I cannot allow you to die in this way," she said. "We must leave now!"
Sam bit her lip before she nodded. "I'll stay," she said.
"As will I," Kel'an agreed.
"You are even more vulnerable since you contain the memories of Jolinar, Captain Carter!" Garshaw told her. "I cannot allow you to stay. We must go now!"
"She's right, Captain," O'Neill agreed. "We have to go."
Sam shook her head. "With respect, no, sir. I am not leaving him here."
"Captain Carter, Kel'an and I will all remain," Martouf said. "I will assure that we will not be taken by the Goa'uld."
"Please, Colonel. I need to be here."
O'Neill looked at her for a moment. "Right," he said before he nodded to the two other men. "Daniel? Teal'c? Let's go."
He turned around, the two men staying behind for a moment, sharing a look before they followed after him. Garshaw looked at the trio as they stayed standing. Kel'an nodded and Garshaw turned and left before Kel'an lowered her head, allowing Cam take control once more.
Martouf moved to sit beside her, gently pulling her against him, and Cam felt herself relaxing slightly. She stayed against her brother, ignoring both her brother and her sister and she sought some comfort. It was only when a sigh echoed from Jacob's lips did Cam react, standing up to look.
"Dad?" Sam asked, looking at him hopefully as he sat up.
"Martouf?" Selmak asked and both Cam and Sam looked disappointed.
"I am here," Martouf responded as he got to his own feet..
"Should we not make our escape?" Selmak asked when the tunnel shook as blast from the space hit the surface.
Martouf smiled and Cam recognised from Al'ek's memories that Selmak had occasionally stated the obvious, oblivious to the funny side of many around them. "Yes, we should," he agreed.
"Uh, is my dad in their somewhere?" Sam asked.
Selmak nodded before he lowered his head, closing his eyes. After a moment Jacob lifted his head and sighed.
"I'm here Sam," he replied and looked at Cam, smiling weakly. "Hey kid." He groaned quietly then. "Oh man," he ground out. "Talk about your hangover."
"How are you dad?" Sam asked.
"I'm awful," Jacob replied truthfully. "Headache the size of Kuwait. There's too much stuff in here."
Cam smiled and laughed lightly, surprising everyone. "It'll be like that for a while dad," she told him. "It took me a few days to get used to Kel'an."
Jacob smirked at her slightly and he got off of the bed. "Whoa!"
Immediately Martouf shot to his feet, Cam right behind him. "What?" Sam asked.
Jacob merely laughed and bent all his limbs, obviously checking something. "No more arthritis!" he exclaimed happily. "Holy Hannah! No more arthritis!"
Cam looked up at Martouf and he nodded. "We should make our leave as soon as possible," he said, drawing the other two's attention. "This way."
They didn't exchange words as Martouf led them through the rapidly diminishing tunnels. They barely managed to get to the tunnel where the rings were as one of the tunnels started collapsing. Martouf moved quickly and pulled one crystal near the rings before he joined the others in the clear area as the rings descended, surrounding them in a white light before they appeared on the sandy surface. The rings, instead of descending back into the tunnels, like Cam had expected, separated one by one until they disappeared, a wordless signal of the destruction of the tunnels beneath them.
Sam and Martouf looked around for a moment before they ran to the Stargate that lay in the distance. They reached the Stargate quickly, but not before the Stargate started spinning.
"They are attempting to come through the Stargate," Martouf commented as Sam moved to the partially sand covered dialling device.
"Not if I dial out first!" she snapped, pressing the symbols in quick succession. "We'll go to Earth. You can go wherever you need to from there."
They had all turned to look at Sam and now looked at the Gate, worry clear on their faces. "Did Sam open it, or did they?" Cam asked.
"We have no choice!" Selmak told them as he placed a hand on Cam's shoulder, pressing her closer to the Gate.
"Wait!" Sam called out as Gliders flew overhead.
The woman tapped at the device she wore on her wrist and Cam watched as a light changed on the device, drawing a nod from Sam. That was all that Selmak apparently needed and pushed Cam ahead of himself as they raced towards the Gate, the young Tok'ra the first to go through the Gate. Cam grunted when she came through on the other side, rolling down the ramp to land in small heap at the flat concrete bottom, winded.
"Ow!" she muttered as she slowly stood up, hearing Selmak, Martouf and Sam getting to their feet behind her, even as she roll her eyes. "Well, that was fun." The rush had returned, heightened by the hope that they had been the ones to control the Gate instead of things being the other way around.
"I must give you thanks," Selmak said, smiling as he walked down the ramp. "You have saved my life and that of my new host." Selmak nodded once more, smiling. "We thank you."
Garshaw smiled and her body seemed to relax. "This is wonderful news," she said softly.
"Can we talk to your new host?" General Hammond asked.
Selmak bowed his head slightly, allowing Jacob to take control. Jacob seemed a bit unsure of what to do as a few moments passed before he raised his head. Jacob cleared his throat a bit self consciously.
"So when the little fella inside me is talking, do I sound like she does?" he asked.
One of the men Cam had only briefly met on the former Tok'ra homeworld nodded once, inclining his head at Jacob. Cam smiled, remembering the quiet conversation she had had with Martouf, remembering what he had said.
"That is correct," he stated calmly, almost like he was used to the phenomenon.
Jacob raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly. "That's strange," he admitted. "I can feel myself talking, but it's not me saying the words, you know?"
"Don't know," O'Neill told him and Cam smirked slightly at his remark. "Take your work for it." Cam felt her smirk widen.
"How do you feel?" one of the other men asked.
"Well," Jacob began, smiling as he rested a hand on Cam's shoulder lightly. "Considering I have one of those things inside me, pretty damn good!" He nodded to Hammond and they moved off, away from the group and talked quietly.
Cam looked up when she felt a hand replace her father's on her shoulder. She smiled when she saw Martouf standing there. He gently drew her away from the others, leading her away from the Tok'ra before he crouched down in front of her and held out a hand sized circular device. Cam recognised it immediately.
"A healing device?" she asked him. "This is yours."
Martouf smiled at her and pressed it into her hands. "I think you'll be staying here with your sister," he began quietly. "I have a feeling that you will need this."
Cam held it firmly in her hands before she wrapped her arms around Martouf's shoulders. "Thank you," she muttered. "Thank you brother."
She felt Martouf hug her back, enveloping her small frame in his arms. "I will take care of Jacob Carter as if he were my own father," he told her.
Cam nodded. "I know," she said, understanding he meant it.
"We must go," Garshaw said finally.
"You are safe here," the first man said.
"Because of the spy, the Goa'uld may already be at the site the Tok'ra have moved to."
Sam looked at Martouf who stood up now, Cam standing in front of him, holding onto the healing device. "You can't stay a little longer?" she asked.
Martouf shook his head. "No," he replied. "We must go quickly and stop the tunnels there before they are grown."
"They have to move the Tok'ra again before the System Lords get there," Cam piped up.
"Do you not have a dialling device here?" Garshaw asked as she absently pulled the thin black shawl tighter around herself in an attempt to warm her host against the chill in the military room.
O'Neill nodded. "Yeah, we slapped one together," he told her.
Garshaw's eyes widened slightly. "You made it yourself. Impressive," she said. "Will you show it to me? I would like to put in the coordinates myself."
Hammond nodded and gestured to the now open sliding door next to him. "This way," he said, leading her out of the room and towards the room that overlooked the Stargate.
Martouf smiled once more at Cam before he moved over to Sam and talked quietly with her while the Stargate dialled out. Garshaw soon came back in, following Hammond before she moved to the ramp at the base of the Gate.
"There will come a time when the Tok'ra and the people of the Tau'ri will destroy the System Lords," Garshaw said with a smile.
"This'll be a good day," O'Neill agreed as the first man, the one with the glasses, raced over, carrying a small box. He handed it to Jacob who took it curiously.
"Um, this box has a signature on it that we can recognise," he told him. "Just send it through the Gate and we'll know you want to contact us."
"Thank you," Garshaw said. "Come, Selmak, Kel'an."
Cam smiled, nodding. "Per'sus," she said. "I know."
She saw Samantha and the others frowning at her. "What?" her sister asked.
Chuckling Cam moved to follow. "Every new Tok'ra host needs to present themselves before Per'sus, leader of the Tok'ra," she said. "I need to go and get permission to stay."
She turned to look at Jacob and watched as he, in turn, looked at O'Neill and smirked slightly. "Selmak says," he paused, still smirking, "let me see if I can translate this: 'Don't call us, we'll call you'."
Cam smiled and followed after her brother and father. She was leaving her home behind for now, but she had to follow with tradition. She paused as she felt Samantha press something into her hands and frowned, looking down at the device in her hand.
"You'll need that to get home," her sister told her. "It's a normal radio. Talk to us and we'll let you know when to come through."
Cam smiled slightly and nodded, slipping the radio into a pocket before she followed her father and brother through the Stargate, leaving Earth behind.
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Glissoning Raven: Yes, you're right. Admittedly you aren't the first, but nonetheless, I'd like to hear your plot ideas and opinions. Please. I hope you like this chapter as I plan on writing other pieces out for TiA.