It was early evening. Atli had managed to eat a little, and was trying to think of what to do now. He felt very young and very alone, missing his parents and his sister. He tried to decide on a course of action, but his thoughts inevitably returned to his family and he started crying again. Eventually he pulled himself together and decided he had to do something, anything, to keep his mind off what had happened.
He should leave - who knew, perhaps the men with the tattoos on their foreheads would learn that he existed and return to capture him. Atli felt terribly guilty about having escaped when his parents and sister had not, but most of all he felt guilty at having done nothing to try and stop the intruders.
Slowly he started to pack a few things he would need into a backpack. Clothing, tinned goods and energy bars, a blanket, several bottles of water, rope, fire starters,...as he continued adding things he realised he needed cooking gear - something portable. While he was still living at home his parents would sometimes take him and his sister on a camping trip. He remembered that they used to store the gear in a room at the back of the old bomb shelter.
Putting all the rest into his backpack, he thought for a moment, then went to his parents bedroom and took all his family's jewelry. Money would probably be worthless now, but he took that as well. Just before he left, he went back and took pictures of him and his parents and sister - including the new ones that had been taken just a week ago.
Having put on his jacket he then took a last look around him, shouldered the backpack and went to the shelter to pick up the cooking gear before he left. He had decided he would try to get to the northern part of the country where his mother's aunt lived. He could hopefully stay with her, at least for a while.
Inside the bomb shelter it was very dark. The power had gone out many hours ago and had not been restored. The shelter had an emergency generator, of course, since it was built for wartime. He felt the urge to power it up in order to restore some feeling of normalcy, but decided against making any unnecessary noise. He should be able to find what he needed using his flashlight. If that was not enough, he seemed to remember there should be some battery-operated lanterns somewhere.
He snuck around inside the building, quickly locating what he was looking for. It was on the top shelf, of course. Great! Typical! He moved an old chair over and stepped up on it. He had just grabbed the cooking gear when someone stepped into the dark room. He almost fell off the chair and nearly dropped both flashlight and cooking kit, just from the shock. His staggering made the light beam hit his face.
"Atli?" The figure in the doorway asked. "We thought you had been captured together with your sister when the Jaffa...the large men who serve Nephthys...came earlier."
Atli stepped down from the chair and shone the light towards the voice...he seemed to recognize it...where had he heard it? The he recognized him.
"Johan...Johan Malek...is that not correct?"
"Yes, it is." Johan said. "I am very glad to see you got away. Come - my friends are in the other room. Tell us what happened."
Atli nodded and followed him, not really wanting to talk about the events of the day, but grateful to no longer be alone. While he did not know these people well, he had met them before and he knew his father had trusted them. That was enough for now. He greeted the others and wearily sat down to tell his story.
"...and that is all I remember...one more thing...who are these men who serve Nephthys? They are scaring...huge and muscular with...a sort of tattoo on their forehead. It looks like...I don't know...a cup perhaps, or maybe a goblet? Though there were some other symbols on it as well."
"They are called 'Jaffa'," Jena said. "They are actually slaves, servants of Nephthys. They are almost always extremely loyal. The goblet-like image you saw on their foreheads is her symbol - it marks them as hers. Others like Nephthys have their own Jaffa, with their own symbols."
"Where will you go now? You cannot stay in your parents house, but I see you have realised that already." Johan indicated the young man's backpack.
"Yes...I have family in the northern territories - my mother's aunt lives there and I hope she will let me stay there...perhaps help her on her farm...I have no plans for anything else...I doubt the university will reopen soon."
*If ever...* Zarin remarked to her host.
"We will also be going north, trying to get to the chaapa'ai. Hopefully it will not be heavily guarded - yet. We expect to attempt to leave the city around midnight, when it is very dark." Jena said. "If you want, you can accompany us some of the way - it is a long walk to the chaapa'ai and your knowledge of the area could be very useful."
"I would like that..." Atli said. *Very much!* he added in his thoughts. He much preferred walking with these people than trying to travel the whole way alone. He had secretly feared having to be all alone, walking through the darkness tonight.
"Good. That is what we will do, then. There are several hours yet before it is time to leave. We should take the opportunity to rest and get something to eat."
"There is plenty of food in the house...I can go and fetch some of it. What we don't eat or take with us will rot anyway...I suppose it is safer spending the time until we leave out here in the shelter?"
"Probably no one will come back to look for you - yet at least. The Jaffa will not care...however, staying out here is the safest. We will go with you and bring here what we need." Jena said.
After picking up food, water, blankets, and whatever else might prove of value to them on their trek, they returned to the bomb shelter to await midnight.
-
A few hours later.
*Zarin, have you noticed? Our young friend is just sitting over there in the corner, not talking to anyone, looking as if his world has just ended - which it has I guess, but I do think we should try and talk to him - he has been like this since we ate.*
*Yes, I know. I am not so sure he would appreciate our interference...his parents have been killed, his sister abducted by Jaffa - his entire civilization brought down and any dreams he might have had for his future life have been crushed. Perhaps he would like to be alone with his thoughts and memories.*
*Maybe so, but I believe it would do him good to talk...perhaps we should ask if he would like to come with us when we leave this planet? There is very little future for him or anyone else here. The most he can hope for is a life as a slave...it would be such a waste of his talents!*
*No one should be a slave, but would he want to leave with us? I do not believe he would appreciate going with us to the base...and how would he react when he learns that we are the same species as the Goa'uld who have just robbed him of everything...I doubt he would look on us with friendly eyes.*
*You give him far too little credit. It will take us several days to reach the chaapa'ai by foot. It is quite far away and we can only travel by night, and we will have to evade the Jaffa patrols. It will give us time to get better acquainted and by then he may be able to understand the difference between the Tok'ra and the Goa'uld.*
Zarin snorted, but then sighed and gave in to the wishes of her persistent host. *Very well. You may be right.*
Jena got up and walked over and picked up a cup of tea for herself and one for Atli. She went and sat down next to him, as she handed him the tea.
"Here. Have some hot tea - it will be a long and hard journey and we will all need to be in as good a shape as possible."
Atli took the cup without a word, but gave her a weak smile. They sat in silence for a little while, then Atli looked at Jena.
"What do you think will happen to Svala...my sister? Is she still alive? Honestly?"
Zarin and Jena thought back to the young girl they had seen at the dinner. She was already very beautiful, and it was clear that she would most likely become a host.
"Yes, I am quite certain that she is alive...it is likely she has been taken as a host...the Goa'uld...Nephthys people...they are really parasites who need hosts to interact with their surroundings..."
"A host? What does that mean? Nephthys is a parasite? Will Svala be herself?"
"Her personality and all that she is will be suppressed, but she will be alive. The technology exists to remove the parasite, and if you are very lucky then maybe, one day, you might be able to rescue her."
"That sounds horrible! Poor Svala!" Atli looked devastated, then hope shone in his eyes. "Could we not go and attempt to rescue her now?"
"I'm sorry, dear Atli, but that is completely out of the question. Your sister...Svala...she and others like her would be kept in a secure place, very heavily guarded. In all probability she is not even on the planet anymore, but will have been sent back to Nephthys home world."
-
About an hour later, Atli had fallen asleep. Jena shook him gently. "Wake up...it is time to leave."
They walked quickly through the dark, deserted streets. They were very careful not to make any noise. Only once did they hear people - a small group of Jaffa who seemed preoccupied with the bakery goods from the store they had just raided.
*The Jaffa seem totally absorbed - I guess they have never been to a planet like this, where there is plenty of food and everything. It must be strange for them to see non-Goa'uld technology.* Johan observed.
*Yes. I wonder if it will make them question Goa'uld magic. Perhaps that is one reason why Nephthys took out their power grid.*
*I certainly hope it will give her problems, huge problems...*
They were currently walking through one of the suburbs. It would soon be time to find a place to hide for the day. While the time was only shortly after 3 in the morning, the eastern sky was already starting to become rosy - not surprising, given it was summer and the capital were fairly high on the northern hemisphere.
"Atli...how well do you know this area? Is there some place close by where we can hide during the day?" Johan asked. "It would be too dangerous to walk around when the sun is up and people start getting out."
"There is a school two streets from here. I attended it while we lived here for a few years. It is summer break and no one will be there - besides, I doubt any parents would have sent their children out for anything the day after having their planet occupied by an evil god...alien parasite...whatever!" He looked around the street they were on - dawn was breaking slowly and all was quiet. It looked deceivingly beautiful and peaceful. There were no signs at all of the terrible things that had happened yesterday.
"All right. It sounds like it a plan. Lead the way."
They arrived at the school less than 30 minutes later. It looked completely empty. It was surrounded by a large schoolyard and sports-grounds. A small forest could be seen nearby. They walked until they found a window that had been left open. Atli glanced shyly at Zarin. "I think I am the smallest. If one of you would help me up, I can probably fit through the window."
*How rude!* Zarin snickered to her host. *I think he was implying that you are fat, and that you would stand to loose a few pounds...I, on the other hand, am slim as a willow...*
*He wasn't looking at our waistline, and you know it! Besides, you shouldn't be talking. Remember how you gorged yourself after our last mission?...and who had to run it off again? Next time you will get your share of the exercise!*
Meanwhile, Lantash helped Atli, and he crawled through. Soon he found and unlocked a door, letting the others in.
"There is no power, so it is quite dark. There is an old shelter here somewhere. We found it one year and played in it...it should have a generator and I think even a small shower unit."
"Sounds very nice. We may all wish to shower before we leave tonight, but for now it is safer to stay in a room with multiple exits, if anyone should show up." Jena said.
They spent most of the day sleeping and talking. Exhausted from the recent day's mental and physical exertion, Atli fell asleep and slept almost all of the day. The Tok'ra went to an adjacent room and discussed their situation, planning how to get away from the planet.
Lantash went looking for a tele-ball. The locals had managed to reverse engineer a Goa'uld long range communications device left behind by Anubis. The result was the tele-ball. It was still expensive, but available in all major cities. If Lantash found one, he hoped there might be an official newscast which would give useful information about the current situation. It would be nice to know if Nephthys had imposed martial law, for instance.
After a while he found one in the staff lounge and turned it on. Every channel repeated the same communique over and over again. Nephthys's first prime began by announcing that the audience would be honoured by a message from their Goddess Nephthys. Then she appeared on the screen, flashing her eyes and began speaking: "I am your Goddess, Nephthys. I have come to claim what is rightfully mine! Worship me or I shall strike you down without mercy. You have done surprising well during the time you were left to fend for yourself. However, most of your gadgets are blasphemous, an insult to the Universe and I am here to provide much needed guidance. It will be a difficult transition, but afterwards your lives will be in accordance with the will of the Universe. Your are to be commended for your excellent mining operations, which I will allow to continue in my name. My loyal Jaffa have been deployed to keep order during these trying times. Do not tempt them with foolish disobedience, as they are neither as intelligent, nor as merciful as I your beloved Goddess..." she continued along these lines for quite some time.
Disgusted Lantash turned off the transmission.
*We will learn nothing more from that self-absorbed tyrant...*
*Agreed, Lantash. We should return to the others and tell them what we have learned.*
Returning to the others, they quickly reported what little information had been contained in the broadcast. After a short discussion, the Tok'ra took turns keeping watch and sleeping, trying to get as much rest as possible before the nights journey.