Chapter Twenty-Four: Ostracized
The men of the League had left the big dining room, returning to their own projects, all stunned and sickened by the realization that the Goa'uld they had been hunting was in the head of their leader. Mina and Daria sat alone, each lost in her own thoughts.
"Is there any way we might be mistaken?" the vampiress asked. "About Tom being the Goa'uld?"
Daria bit her lip. "I don't know," she said, her stomach twisting as she saw the anguished look in Mina's green eyes. "If he were, he'd have Naquadaa in his blood, and I normally would have been able to sense it if I got close to it, but he had the drug that can mask its presence…" she trailed off, realizing belatedly that she was rambling. "Mina…"
"Is there anything we can do for him?" Mina's voice was cold and sharp, painfully direct in the demand, making the Tau'ka wince.
"If he really is the host… no," Daria replied, shoulders slumping in defeat. "The symbiote is too directly bound to the host to remove it without killing Sawyer. I'm sorry."
Perhaps the apology was too much for the vampiress, on top of everything else she'd heard. Mina glared at the alien. " 'Sorry'?" she demanded, eyes blazing in sudden anger. "It doesn't matter to you, does it? You're just concerned that this Goa'uld will interfere with your precious prophecies, aren't you?"
Daria flinched away from the other's accusatory attack, startled by her bitterness. That wasn't what she'd meant at all- had she ever implied such a thing? "Mina, no, it's not like that-"
"Oh, but of course," Mina replied acidly, all of her frustration and anger finally being let loose on the nearest available target. "As long as Dr. Jekyll is not harmed, it's all the same to you, isn't it? If you and your people hadn't gotten involved here, this never would have happened and Tom wouldn't be being controlled by that… that… thing!"
The Tau'ka was struck dumb by the accusations. After a moment of total bewilderment, she felt her temper rise. How dare Mina accuse her of being that unprofessional, to put her heart above the safety of this world's inhabitants? She glared at the vampiress, labradorite eyes flashing dangerously.
Mina met her gaze bluntly, not willing to back down. It wasn't fair, that Tom was the one in danger here. Hadn't she suffered enough between Dracula and Jonathon and Quincy and Dorian? Just when she'd started to come to terms with herself, just when she'd started to become happy. And here was Daria, presuming to extend her sympathies, while she and her chosen mate were content and free of possession.
"I wish you had never come," Mina said bitterly. "Never come to Earth, bringing your wars with you. You should have stayed on that miserable rock you call your homeworld."
With that final remark, Mina stood sharply and swept out of the room.
Daria sat there for a long moment, stunned and hurt by the vicious words thrown at her by a woman she had thought a friend. Slowly, she got to her feet and made her way to the room she'd claimed as her own for the duration of the League's investigations.
Mina was clearly hurting, torn by the loss of someone she was falling in love with. It only made sense for her to lash out at someone she perceived to be immune to the disaster. But Daria wondered… if she had fought harder to go with the League when they'd left Verris, could she have prevented Sawyer being taken as a host? Could she have stopped this?
It was a question no one could answer, but she wrestled with it as she sat at the desk in her room and stared at a book on excavations in the Valley of the Kings. Her eyes skimmed the lines, but her mind refused to make sense of the English words printed on the pages.
She had no idea how long she remained in her room, ignoring the call to supper, going from staring at the book to pacing tight little circles around the floor. There had to be a way to fix this, some way to get the parasite out of Sawyer without killing him. The Tok'Ra, the rebel sect of the Goa'uld who lived in mutualistic rather than parasitic relationships with their willing hosts, had such methods. She knew this, and knew the procedure. But she was no Healer- she wasn't even a trained Medic, beyond the first aid every Tau'ka learned. What was more, she did not have access to the equipment or drugs that would paralyze the parasite for removal. If the Goa'uld was not paralyzed before being removed, it would release a biotoxin that would kill Sawyer within minutes. He might die free of the alien, but he would still die. And while she was not directly at fault, she still felt sick and disgusted with herself, knowing that one of her kind's ancient enemies had gotten so close to her without her knowing it.
Jekyll came up to her room sometime as the sun set, looking concerned. "Daria, are you alright?" he asked.
The Tau'ka looked up from her pacing and nodded. "I'm fine," she said. "It's Mina who isn't."
"I know," he said quietly, coming up to put a hand on her shoulder. A bit of the tension she'd been feeling ran out at his touch, but not enough to relieve the headache she was getting. "I talked to her."
Actually, she shouted, he cringed, Hyde corrected with the telepathic equivalent of a smirk.
Daria smiled wryly, perfectly able to visualize just that happening to her skittish chosen. Then her face fell again. "There must be a way to fix this," she said softly.
"Is there a way to get that thing out of his head?" he wanted to know.
She shook her head. "Not without killing him. If we had a sarcophagus handy, we could risk it- Goa'uld sarcophagi can heal almost any injury and even bring people back from the dead, but we don't have access to one… Chaos and Fortune, what are we going to do?" She said the last as she buried her face in his neck, feeling her eyes start to sting.
Jekyll flinched at the sudden movement, but after a moment tentatively put his arms around her.
Good, Hyde said approvingly. Progress. Now you kiss her, then you start undoing the fastenings-
"Edward, shut up," Daria muttered as Jekyll flinched again and made to move back.
That's how these things work, sweetheart.
"I know how these things work," she said dryly. From experience, no less, but there was no way she was going to say that in front of Henry- pale as he was, if she mentioned previous lovers to him now he'd probably keel over from shock. Poor repressed human. "I just don't think now is the best time."
It's ALWAYS the best time for-
Jekyll cleared his throat. "Edward, please…"
Fine. But you really ought to do something about her…
"Edward!" the other two shouted.
The physician shook his head. "Daria, I'm sorry about him, really I am…"
"Don't be."
"What?"
"Don't be sorry," she said again. "I'm not offended. Neither of you has ever managed that. Besides…" The Tau'ka smiled and kissed him, lips working gently against his. "I wouldn't still be here if I didn't see something I liked."
Anything he could have said to that was lost in the kiss, or while he blinked away the heady rush the act always left him with.
"I…" He blinked again and shook his head to clear it. "Well, what I came up here to tell you was that the rest of us are going into the town to keep looking for information. Are you coming?"
She considered this for a moment. Going out would mean meeting Mina, and she did not feel up to facing the lady-vampire until the immortal's temper had cooled considerably. "No," she said. "I'm going to stay here and work on my reading, if that's alright."
He nodded. "We shouldn't be out too late- well, except Skinner. You know what he's like. Will you be alright by yourself?"
"Yes," she replied. "I think I can manage."
Are you sure you don't want any company?
"No, thank you all the same, Edward."
Jekyll's face flushed with embarrassment again. "G-good night, Daria," he stammered weakly as Hyde cackled.
The Tau'ka smiled. "Good night, Henry."
He left, and she returned to her book.
It was at least an hour later when she heard the faintest of noises behind her. Daria sat still, though she made sure to keep her body relaxed as she strained for any further sound.
A resonant voice in her ear made her jump. "Tek-ma-tet, Tau'ka."
Her mouth went dry as she realized who the person behind her must be. "Kheti," she said softly in Goa'uld. "What took you?"
The Goa'uld inhabiting Sawyer chuckled, the sound making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "You, my dear, have been far too scrupulous in making sure you weren't alone. Until now. A shame that mage got one of his friends to fish you out- drowning you would have tidied this up so well."
Daria mentally considered her options. She had no idea what sort of weapons the Goa'uld might be carrying, or holding at her back right now. And they were strong- far stronger than a normal human, stronger even than a Tau'ka. Even Mina would have difficulty physically restraining a Goa'uld.
Her eyes flicked around the room, searching for anything heavy enough for her to telekinetically throw at Kheti. She saw nothing likely- nothing small enough for her to lift, anyway. She couldn't choke him like Vader was able to do- they both needed to see their victim to do that, and Kheti was right behind her. She could sense his smugness, and it galled her to have to bide her time for the moment. Perhaps if she kept him talking…
"What do you want with me?" she asked.
He laughed again in a cruel parody of Sawyer's own. "Well, I had wanted to kill you," he said. "But when Nebthet learned that one of Hecate's creations still lived, she decided it was time to take a new host."
A finger trailed along the side of her jaw in a caress more suited to a lover than to a creature like the Goa'uld inhabiting Sawyer's body. Her skin crawled at the touch.
"Dear little Tau'ka," Kheti said. "Finally fulfilling the role she was created for. And such a lovely specimen for my queen…"
"And you think I'll just go with you?" Daria hissed.
Again that cold, paradoxal laugh. "I am not that stupid, Tau'ka."
Something small and sharp dug into the skin of her upper arm- a needle. Her flesh burned as the syringe dumped its load into her bloodstream, then numbed as weakness began to take hold of her body. Daria wanted to scream in fury as she recognized the effects of the sedative Jekyll had found in Sawyer's bag.
She forced herself to her feet and lashed out, bent on doing as much damage to her captor before unconsciousness claimed her. Her fist hit the Goa'uld in the jaw of its host, and she mentally winced- Sawyer would have felt that, from whatever corner of his overruled mind he watched from.
The Goa'uld reeled back from the force of her punch, the syringe flying from his hand to shatter on the floor. But it was a feeble resistance- already, Daria's knees were buckling as the sedative took effect.
She had one last effort in her. Gathering every bit of willpower she had against the gathering darkness in her brain, she focused a single telepathic message.
HENRY!
Spent from forcing out such a powerful mental cry, Daria's knees buckled.
Blackness claimed her.