Next morning, close to noon.

The Tok'ra had arrived home very late after several last-minute meetings, followed by two receptions and a dinner. They were still sleeping in their rooms at the guesthouse. Today they would return home, having made the bitter choice to accept failure. The planet would almost certainly fall to Nephthys within the week, and there was nothing left for them to do.

They awoke to the sound of someone hammering on the door to Zarin's room. Jena, who was more of an early riser than Zarin, dragged herself to the door and carefully listened for any danger. Hearing only the one person calling to her to open the door, she decided to chance it. She did not sense a symbiote. No Jaffa then, which was good. She opened the door.

It turned out to be the aide of one of the politicians who had been told the truth about the Tok'ra. He almost fell into the room, obviously exhausted from having hurried to get there.

He looked at Jena, then at the others as they sleepily staggered out into the hallway. His expression was slightly fearful. "Statesman Sujun told me to bring you this message: 'Your prophesy has come true. Nephthys has come. Her underlings arrived early this morning and her ships are now here. The politicians were questioned and you were betrayed by chairman Sholnek. Jaffa are on the way. Sokkolf's forces are trying to defend the city, but they are losing badly. Save yourselves. Do not die for our stupidity. Run!' That is the entire message." The aide jumped at the sound of a distant explosion. "Good bye." Scared, he looked over his shoulder, then ran. Outside the booming voice from Nephthys's speaker systems could be heard, followed by a distant thunder.

"Thank you!" Jena shouted after him, immediately realising he would not have heard it. Zarin took control, as she and the others ran back into their rooms, quickly dressed and grabbing the most important. Less than 15 minutes later they were all out on the streets.

Most of the explosions were coming from the northern and eastern directions where the governmental areas were. They ran to the nearest autorail station and found that the trains were still running. The Tok'ra boarded the first train going towards the south-western suburbs.

They had almost reached the outskirts of the city, when the power went out and their train stopped. The Tok'ra got off and looked around. There were fewer people here, except for those exiting the train with them. Most of those immediately started running around in confusion. The explosions and weapons fire could still be heard, and seemed to be coming closer. They could not stay here.

"I recognize this area." Jena said. "We are only one stop from the station were we stepped off when we visited Kori."

"Yes, I believe you are correct." Johan looked blankly at them for a moment, while communicating with his symbiote. "Malek suggests we go to Kori's house and hide until nightfall in the old shelter where we met with Kori the second time. The city will be dark without the electricity and we may be able to escape undetected...I agree with him. We need to hide somewhere - soon, before the Jaffa land troops here. We were betrayed, so Nephthys knows there are Tok'ra on the planet. We will be a high priority target. Kori's place is relatively close and he will not report us if he sees us."

The others agreed and they all started to walk in the direction of Kori's house, trying to stay in the shadows and keep to the safest and quietest route.

-
Meanwhile, another place in the city.

Atli had decided to spend the day visiting some of his friends from school. He had not seen them all year while he had been at the university. They lived close to the governmental area of the city, so he had taken the autorail there. Shortly after getting off the train he had heard a strange noise from above. When he heard it again, he and everyone else looked up. They soon spotted a huge pyramid shape in the sky. It spat out swarms of small ships, which zoomed across the sky. Then a huge 3-dimensional hologram - at least Atli thought it was a hologram - appeared in the sky, just below the pyramid. It looked like a beautiful, but very arrogant woman. She was dressed tastelessly in golden robes. A few seconds went by before she flashed her eyes and started to talk in a strange, flanged voice.

"I am your Lord Nephthys. I have come to claim what is rightfully mine. As a sign of my power, I will now let the fire of heaven fall upon this world."

Moments later, Atli heard a sonic boom. It was followed by a burning meteor, streaking across the sky. A little later the ground shook from the distant impact.

"If you do not immediately surrender and worship me, I will eradicate you," the voice continued.

Suddenly, the sky was filled with different ships, coming from the garrison outside the city. The battle for the planet now began above the heads of the terrified population.

Atli ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the closest city-transport station. An autorail train was just about to leave, and he threw himself inside it a few seconds before the doors closed behind him.

Scared and with a pounding heart he let himself fall down into one of the seats. Only one or two other passengers were there - most people had just scurried around in a panic instead of going anywhere in particular.

It was not until now that Atli regained enough of his senses to realise, that in a stroke of luck he had actually boarded a train going in the direction of his parents house.

He heard several explosions and looked out of the window. A fierce battle was raging in the air. The defenders were putting up quite a fight and several alien vessels were blown out of the sky and crashed down near the central train station. However, it was clear that the attackers had superior numbers and that they were gaining the upper hand. Fires had broken out across the city. Terrified, he looked away, glancing at the the people on the train. They did not seem to be interested in talking - studiously avoiding to look out the windows - looking as if they were trying hard to pretend none of this was happening.

The city transport had just pulled into the station nearest his parents house, when a large explosion was heard and all power went out.

Atli pushed open the door and got out, then quickly ran up the stairs to the street. Carefully looking around, he ran to the other side where he would be covered by the trees.

Several airborne vessels skimmed cross the sky while he hurried home. Another one flew past and landed not far away, just as he threw himself inside his parents house and locked the door after him.

Hearing the door close his parents ran into the room, followed by his sister. His mother embraced him, looking extremely relieved. "Oh, thank Anubis on his mountain that you are safely home. The times are ending," she cried. "The gods of old have returned to let their wrath fall upon our blasphemous heads. This is the punishment for approaching the Ring of the Gods - for trading with foreigners who use what is only permitted for the gods..."

"Mother! This has nothing to do with the chaapa'ai or the visitors from Toven. Someone calling herself Nephthys arrived in a flying ship - a spaceship - shaped like a triangular mountain."

"That is what Anubis lived in. It is as the old stories tell us - Nephthys has the signs of the Gods?"

"Her eyes did glow - and her voice was somewhat like thunder, as is foretold - still, I think she may be using our stories to scare us..." Atli had started to calm down. He was safely home with his family, and he could now think more clearly and rationally about what he had seen.

"We will talk of this later," his father said, returning from having received a tele-communication. "I have just received word that all who are associated with the government are being rounded up and killed, their families taken to Nephthys - as hostages presumably. She has occupied the governmental palace. We should leave immediately."

Just then, someone hammered hard on the door and ordered them in a loud voice to open it. Atli's parents turned white and panicked. Then his mother, Aldis, regained some of her senses. She grabbed hold of him and his sister Svala, pushing them ahead of her. Their father nodded to her and motioned at them to go with their mother, as he slowly went to open the door.

Hurrying them to the room furthest away, Aldis pushed first her daughter, then her son into a closet each.

"Stay there and be quiet NO MATTER what happens." She pushed a basket in front of Atli's hiding place, making it look as if none could have entered it. She was about to do the same for Svala when she heard angry voices inside the house, and Kori trying to question the intruders. Realising it would be safest for her children if she was not standing close by, she quietly closed the door behind her and went to the next room. She then pretended to emerge from it as a group of noisy, large men came dragging her husband. Kori was trying to reason with their leader.

All the men were dressed alike, in some sort of uniform - wearing chain-mail perhaps? - and on their foreheads they all had the same symbol, something that looked a bit like a goblet.

Aldis just stared at them for a moment, in total shock. Before she had time to think of what to do, one of the Jaffa had grabbed hold of her.

"You are the wife of Kori?"

"Yes," she answered, scared.

"Search the rest of the house. If you find any others bring them here," the leader ordered a group of his men.

Terrified, Atli sat absolutely quiet, barely daring to breathe. He could hear the loud, angry voices in the corridor outside. What did they do to his parents? Would they find him and Svala as well? Suddenly, the door to the room was opened and a large man entered and started to search the place.

There was a small crack along the edge of the closet door, and Atli could see the man walking around, looking everywhere. Soon he was standing just outside the closet. Atli held his breath, certain that the door would be ripped open and he would be found and dragged out to some horrible, unknown fate.

However, nothing happened. The man just took the lid off of the large basket and looked inside it briefly, then walked on. Atli was just starting to breathe easier, when the man stopped beside Svala's closet. He was about to continue his search elsewhere, when a small sneeze was heard from inside.

The man yanked open the closet door and Svala almost fell out, only to be immediately captured. She yelled and kicked at her enemy, but he was much too strong for her to escape. The man carried her out to the others in the corridor.

"I found this one. There were no others."

"Good." The leader looked around. All his men had returned. "No one else anywhere?"

"No, my Lord."

"Then take Kori and his wife outside and execute them - as a warning to the population of this world of what will happen to them if they try to resist or be anything other than the slaves they are. Take the girl to Nephthys palace."

Carrying their crying and fighting prisoners off, the Jaffa left the house. All was quiet again.

Atli stayed in his closet, too shocked to do anything else. His parents were probably killed by now - and who knew what fate awaited his sister - and what had he done? Nothing! He had done nothing to help them. He hated himself for it, but he had enough survival instinct to stay where he was. He did not dare leave his hiding place for a long time. What if they came back?

-
The Tok'ra arrived at Kori's house shortly after the Jaffa had left. They found two bodies outside the house and no one alive in the vicinity. Zarin carefully looked around for any sign of enemies. Seeing none she snuck over to the two dead.

"Staff-blasts. Jaffa did this." She turned them over, seeing it was who she had feared. "It is Kori and his wife," she said sadly.

Malek nodded. "Nephthys is killing everyone who is even remotely a part of the government. That was to be expected - she does not wish to leave anyone for the people to rally around in a rebellion."

*I hope it is not our fault they are dead - poor Kori and Aldis...I wonder where their two children are?*

Zarin gave her host a hug. *It is most likely as Malek said, and they would have been killed in any case...I grieve for them as well...as for their children - they were probably taken to Nephthys, to be either slaves, hostages - or hosts.*

*Hostages?...but their parents are dead!*

*They and others like them would be held hostages to assure that the people obey. Nephthys will also patrol with ships and likely deploy orbital weapons platforms. The majority of the population will probably not believe she is a god - at least not at first. That is the 'problem' with more advanced civilizations and the main reason why the Goa'uld keep their planets at such a low level of development...Nephthys must rule with fear and terror for a long time, before new generations grow up and believe her to be a god.*

The Tok'ra looked around the house and garden. All was quiet and they proceeded to the bomb shelter, to hide there until night fell.

-
Much later that day.

Atli had been sitting in the closet for several hours. He had tried to move around a little, but he was terrified of making any noise. He had lost almost all feeling in his legs. When almost an hour had past since the men had left, he had decided to leave his hiding place. He had just started to push the door open, when he heard someone - voices!

They had somehow been able to walk around in the house without making noise and he had not heard anything until someone spoke just outside the room. The voice had said something about the house being empty and that they should leave. He did not think it had been the same who had killed his parents, but he was not ready to chance anything. Also - the next voice he heard was strangely distorted, much like Nephthys had been, but it did not come through a speaker, so that could not explain it.

Perhaps this were some of her people? That would be even worse! Especially since they apparently did not need a speaker system to talk that way - what if Nephthys really was a goddess - and an evil one?...but if the intruders had been gods, should they not have known he was here?

Confused and scared, he had quickly made the decision that it would be far too dangerous to leave. Now, however, almost two hours more had passed and no further disturbances had happened. He was starting to get hungry, and he really needed to relieve himself.

He listened for a little while, holding his breath. All was quiet. He carefully pushed the door open a little bit, enough so that he could get an arm out and start pushing the basket away. It went well for a little while, until he tried getting up to a half-standing position, to be able to reach out and get the basket fully out of the way.

His legs were numb from sitting like this for so long, and he fell out of the closet, tripping the basket over with a loud crash. Hitting his arm on a chair, he yelped out, then quickly shut up and lay still for several minutes, listening.

Feeling reasonably certain that no one had heard him, he got up, rubbing at his arm. Thankfully it was neither broken nor bleeding.