About a month later, shortly after they had celebrated Martouf's 18th birthday.
It was now time for him and the other two new hosts to go on their first, real mission. They had picked an easy one, and Jolinar would be in charge of it.
During the time that had passed, Martouf and Lantash had spent much time together with Rosha/Jolinar. They had still not decided if they wanted to continue being mates, but they were getting to know each other and becoming good friends. That was an important first step.
*Jolinar...I am still unsure about Martouf. He is cute...and sweet...and yes, he is attractive, but it still bothers me that he is so very young. Or perhaps that I am so much older...I just don't know. I love Lantash very much...I cannot bear the thought of ever losing him, or of not being his mate, but...and I do like Martouf...what do you think?*
*As I have said before, I do not care about the age difference - it is not truly relevant. I love Lantash as much as you do, and I want to continue being his mate. They are getting impatient, even though they try to hide it...they want to resume the relationship, both of them. Poor Martouf, he cannot help himself from feeling what Lantash feel. You know that I loved Nemura very much, and I always will love him...but I think that in time I may come to love Martouf as much or even more...which means that so would you. He is a very good match for Lantash - and for us. Soon we must decide. I think no later than when we return from this mission. I believe the only right choice - for all of us - is to take Martouf as our mate as well, and to continue the relationship with Lantash.*
Rosha sighed deeply. She had known Jolinar would say this. Deep down she agreed with her...she was just not ready to accept it fully - yet.
*You may be correct. We would most likely be very happy with them as mates, but...I feel as if we are betraying Nemura...and so short a time after learning of his death.*
*I have felt this way as well, but consider this; by not taking Martouf - and Lantash - as mates, we are betraying Lantash. In a way this is also a betrayal of Nemura, as he would want nothing more than happiness for his closest friend and soul mate. He would want us to continue the relationship with Lantash - and with the one he has entrusted his best friend with.*
*I guess I can see it that way...very well, I shall give it serious thought. After the mission - I promise.*
Rosha/Jolinar had now arrived at the chaapa'ai. The group with new hosts, Martouf/Lantash, Aldwin/Gerim, and Marid/Korra were waiting for them.
She smiled at them all, giving Lantash and Martouf a warm look. "This should be a short and easy mission. We are going to Telrak to negotiate with a trader. He claims to have obtained a large cache of Goa'uld weapons, technology, data crystals, and various other trinkets. They were stolen from one of Heru'ur's storage rooms, so the data crystals could very well contain valuable information. We can of course always use the weapons. If his claims turns out to be true, this would be a very useful trade. We are to meet our contact later today, and he will then arrange a meeting with the trader as soon as possible.*
Everyone nodded, and they turned to the chaapa'ai. "Martouf - you have learned the address to several of our safe planets. Please input the glyphs for one of them and open a wormhole."
Martouf walked over to the DHD, excited and nervous to be asked to do this. *Lantash - which one?*
*Anyone - you pick.*
He entered an address and pushed the big red center button. The chaapa'ai sprang to life and activated with the familiar 'kawoosh'. They all walked through. When the wormhole had closed, Jolinar entered the address for their destination, and they went through.
The planet appeared peaceful. No one was in the immediate vicinity of the chaapa'ai, but they followed a well-travelled road to a nearby village bustling with life.
Martouf looked around with interest. This was the first planet he had been to, where he would get to meet the population. It was very different from his home world. There were no modern technology. He thought back to his history classes. This place looked very similar to how his planet had been around the time when the Goa'uld had just left. It fascinated him to no end to see this live...until he suddenly realised his own world would probably be more or less like this in a generation or two. During the rest of the walk he was very subdued. They were going to an inn where they would meet their contact.
Later, when they had just finished dinner, a man approached them. They had all noticed him watching them from the corner. He had been there since they sat down to eat. The man wore relatively nice clothes and seemed to be about 50. He looked quickly at all of them, then somehow realised Jolinar was the leader and turned to her.
"Welcome to our village, my lady. Dare I hope you might be traders who have come through the ring? Perhaps in search of...unusual merchandise?"
"Thank you...yes, perhaps we are." Rosha replied. "If the merchandise here truly are as exquisite as we have been told."
"Might it have been my dear brother Jofus who mentioned this to you?"
"Yes, indeed it was - when we met him on Kellana."
The man nodded, satisfied they were indeed the ones he was supposed to meet. Rosha seemed to have relaxed as well, which meant everyone else in her group did the same.
"Then I know just the right trader for you. I am Simmen of Oarid. Come to the back entrance of the old temple just south of the city, tomorrow at noon."
"We look forward to meeting him...now, it is late and we have travelled far. We would like to bid you good night and retire for the day."
"Good night, my lady." He nodded to her, then to her three companions. "...and to you, young gentlemen."
"Do we not appear an unusual group of traders?" Aldwin wondered, after they had returned to their room. "A young woman with three even younger men as companions, one of which is only just barely an adult..."
"Not at all - and if they suspect anything I shall introduce you as my apprentices, learning the trade from their master." Jolinar giggled.
"Don't push it, Jolinar!" Lantash warned, then smiled mischievously, "...or we shall start addressing you as 'the old and wise one'!"
"Wise? - yes, but old? I can certainly do without that description - you can use that for Selmak, but not me!" she slapped Lantash playfully on his butt. "Behave, young one, or I shall have to spank you..."
Lantash got a naughty glint in his eyes, and was just about to respond, when Korra interrupted.
"Oh, yes, Lantash. Do show some respect for your elders..." he collapsed on the bed, laughing hard, while Jolinar looked as if she did not know whether to laugh or be angry.
*Give up, or they will never cease their teasing.* Rosha gave her symbiote a hug. *Besides, for a symbiote you are still very young.*
They sat for a while longer, enjoying the rare opportunity to just relax and have fun with their friends. Everything was going well. Hopefully, tomorrow they would be able to conclude their business.
-
Next day. The Tok'ra had arrived shortly before noon, and had now waited about 30 minutes.
*Maybe he is not going to show up? Do you think he is suspicious of us?* Martouf wondered.
*Perhaps - traders in goods like these are always somewhat suspicious. If they were not slightly paranoid they would not live long. More likely though, he is observing us to make sure we are not up to something. They might fear we brought guards or perhaps even contacted the original owner of the merchandise. I have noticed someone over there in that ruin,* he indicated a small building with a fallen in roof, about 60 feet from the temple, *...from time to time, checking us out.*
A few minutes later a little group of men showed up. They looked scruffy and shady, but that was to be expected. Simmen was not with them.
"You are the leader?" one of the men asked Rosha.
"I am. You are a friend of Jofus's brother, Simmen?"
"Yes. You may call me master Argo...I hear you have shown interest in some of my more...unusual goods."
They continued talking back and forth like that for some time before 'master Argo' decided they were thrust-worthy. He indicated they should follow him.
The group walked for maybe 20 minutes along a partly overgrown track. It was obvious something heavy and bulky had been carried this way not long ago, as many of the branches along the way were broken off. The path led them to a cave opening which they entered.
Several of Argo's men lit torches and gave one to Argo. He led them through a network of tunnels, walking for almost 20 minutes before they came to a large room with several crates. It had been made by digging out and enlarging both sides of the corridor. The tunnel seemed to stop in the room, or perhaps it continued on, unseen behind an outcropping of rock at the back of the room.
"Everything in this room is part of the sale. Take a look at it. You either buy all or nothing."
Rosha nodded. "Of course. We quite understand..." she went over to the crates and started examining their contents. "There are many good weapons, both staff weapons and zat'nik'tels - about 20 of each, as well as a couple of boxes of various grenades. Though, perhaps there are a bit fewer than we had hoped... The rest is of little or no value to us...Goa'uld technology that we either do not know the use of or which can only be used by the gods... Still, we will honor the agreement and take it all."
"Excellent. Now, hopefully we can agree on a fair price for these goods. I am sure you will admit it is an unusual find...Goa'uld weaponry are not for sale every day."
"True." Rosha took off her backpack and removed a large piece of dark cloth from it, which she spread out across one of the nearest crates. She then began retrieving one piece after another of the most exquisite and expensive jewelry Martouf had ever seen. It even surpassed what they had offered to Zefina!
Rosha motioned to the other Tok'ra, and they each brought her their backpack. Not long after she had laid out many beautiful pieces of jewelry, several small figurines carved in precious stone, and a number of vials containing perfumes. To that she added several scarves made of silk so fine they were almost translucent - all richly decorated.
Argo looked at it all with a greedy expression on his face. These things were at least the value of the weapons he was selling, and far easier and less dangerous to sell. Much of what he was selling were Goa'uld gadgets and technology, which could only be used by the gods. Worthless in every way to him and any buyer he might find - including this group buying all the junk... As expected they only seemed interested in the weapons. He wondered idly if they would sell them again, or if they were involved with some kind of rebellion. Somehow he suspected the latter, which made them potentially very dangerous people to associate with... However, the reward was more than high enough and soon they would be rid of this dangerous merchandise. He shuddered and hoped they had not been followed...he suspected they had been seen leaving the planet where they had found the goods. The quicker this transaction were done with, the better. He looked through the jewelry and precious knick-knacks. He decided it was more than adequate payment.
"If you throw in one more of these necklaces," he indicated a thick gold chain with several emeralds, "then I will accept the trade, though I will loose some money on it...but I am feeling jovial and it is such a hassle finding thrust-worthy buyers nowadays."
*Not to mention the fact that you want nothing more than to be rid of this dangerous load of merchandise - besides, our jewelry more than pays for the weapons. The rest is of no value to him or any other buyer he might find...he wants to cheat us...* Jolinar remarked sarcastically to her host.
Rosha giggled internally, but looked outwardly calm. She took another necklace from one of the backpacks. They had expected to pay much more for this, despite what its value might be. The man must really be desperate since he did not try to haggle. Hopefully, no one would show up looking for him before the Tok'ra had time to get away with their catch. She smiled to Argo and placed the necklace on the table with the rest of the goods.
"Of course. Then we are agreed?"
"Certainly, my lady." He grinned. "My men will help you carry it all to the Ring of the Gods. From there you are on your own - though your men does not seem up to the task." He laughed and collected his payment. Then he turned to one of his men. "Josan...go check if the way is clear."
The man nodded and disappeared back through the corridors. He had not been gone for more than maybe 15 minutes before they heard noises and something sounding like staff blasts. Moments later Josan came stumbling back into the room, bleeding from a grazing staff blast to his side. "Jaffa...lots and lots of them! They're in the tunnels!"
Argo got a panicked expression and quickly shouldered the backpack he had put the jewelries in. He then grabbed a staff weapon, ran for the back of the cave and disappeared behind an outcropping of the rock. Another tunnel led from there to a back exit. Before anyone could follow, he shot the roof behind him, collapsing the opening into the cave-room and removing that way out as an option for the others.
"Traitor!" one of Argo's men yelled after him. "If we ever get our hands on you..."
Josan ran to the crate with the grenades. Rosha grabbed his arm.
"No! Even if the explosion in these confined spaces somehow fails to bring down the roof on our heads, the shock wave will surely kill us all."
"They'll be here in a few moments! If we try to use the staff weapons we'll have to stand in the middle of the corridor with nothing to hide behind - they can fire at us freely - and they're about 30. We are only four - and a young woman and three kids!"
Lantash had finally had enough of these people and turned angrily on Josan. "I am no child!" his eyes glowed briefly. "I have just about had it with you idiots!" Martouf sighed internally, having tried and failed to stop his fiery symbiote.
Somewhat taken aback by being confronted with what they perceived as a god in their midst, the four remaining criminals almost fell over each other in their attempt to get as far away from Lantash as possible.
Rosha sighed. Lantash had blown their cover, but she and Jolinar decided to make the most of it. Giving Jolinar control, she turned to Lantash and the others. "Grab the hand devices and come over to me here by the opening to the corridor. If we stand two on each side we can get cover from the walls and send as strong a shock wave as possible towards the Jaffa. If we work simultaneously, these small corridors should focus the combined wave enough to kill many of them, and push most of the rest back. The survivors will either flee or regroup and attack. I think the former. In any case, we have time to prepare." She then turned to Argo's men, allowing her eyes to flash a white golden. "You four - stand over there, keep quiet, and do not interfere, and you may still live!"
The four scared men just nodded and huddled close where Jolinar told them to stay. Lantash went to pick up the hand devices and handed one out to Jolinar and each of the other Tok'ra. They then hurriedly took up the positions she had ordered them to.
Martouf looked on in awe as Lantash quickly and without difficulty put on the intricate hand device. *I have seen one of those in a museum, and while our scholars knew some of what it was used for, they were never able to make it do anything, or even just activate it.*
*Naquadah...you need naquadah in your blood to use it - and you also need to know how to use it. It draws some energy from yourself - less the better you are trained in its use - and it is controlled by the user's thoughts and feelings.*
Meanwhile, everyone had taken their places and waited for the Jaffa to approach. Martouf/Lantash were on the left side of the corridor, covered behind the wall. Marid/Korra and Aldwin/Gerim hid on the right side.
As Korra put on the hand device and prepared to use it, he felt his hosts revulsion. *Marid?*
*I am sorry. The Goa'uld of our world used one of those to kill my best friend when he made the 'error' of trying to stop the Goa'uld from taking his wife as a slave. I have never seen one of those on anyone but a Goa'uld, and to see one on my own hand...to observe you put it on with such skill and ease...for a moment it was very disconcerting...*
*It is disconcerting for me as well, as the ribbon device is as much a symbol of Goa'uld oppression as the ha'tak. Our easy ability to use it also reminds us of the uncomfortable fact that biologically we are - as much as we hate to admit it - Goa'uld.*
*I understand...you should not be ashamed that you can use it. Your ability to pose as Goa'uld is what makes you able to fight them from within...and philosophically you are very distant from them.* He hugged Korra. *...and, after all, it isjust a weapon, and I understand that in some cases it is better suited than most - like this.*
*Thank you.* Korra hugged Marid back, very relieved.
"Ready!" Jolinar whispered, and they all focused on the task ahead. Seconds later the Jaffa turned the corner at the end of the corridor. The Tok'ra allowed them to walk for a little while longer, until the majority had turned into the tunnel leading up to them and were in a direct line of fire. Then, when the first of them were about 30 feet away, the Tok'ra simultaneously sent a shock wave towards them. It worked even better than expected, killing the first 10 of the Jaffa and throwing the rest about 20 feet through the air and hard against the far end wall. They landed badly wounded in a large heap. They pulled themselves to their feet as quickly as their protesting bodies would allow them and limped away, carrying or supporting those of their comrades needing it. Recognizing the blast as coming from a hand device, they were convinced there was a very angry and extremely powerful god in the chamber ahead. They did not wish to provoke him or her further. They fled.
Relieved, Jolinar and the other Tok'ra relaxed and turned to the four terrified humans cowering in the corner of the cave.
Lowering the hand device, Jolinar dipped her head, giving Rosha control. She looked at the humans, weighing the options.
"You are not responsible for Argo's betrayal. I will pay you 10% of Argo's take if you will help us move the merchandise from here to the chaapa'ai."
"Ehrmm..." Josan stammered. "That is very generous of you, my Lady...Lord...but we are only humans...?"
"Relax. We are not exactly Goa'uld either...I would take the deal while it is still on the table."
Josan looked at his companions who were quivering on their knees. "We accept, my Lord."
Rosha sighed, not liking to be treated like a Goa'uld. She went to one of the crates, picked up a healing device and walked over to Josan. "Let me take a look at that blast wound..." she put on the healing device and turned it on, letting it pass a couple of times over the wounded area on Josan's side. The wound healed before their eyes. "So...is that not better?"
"Thank...thank you, most merciful goddess..." he sank down to his knees, before Rosha grabbed him and pulled him up.
"I said we are not Goa'uld. We do not desire worship."
The man looked at her with surprise, then nodded.
Rosha had gone back to the crates and started to coordinate which things were the most important and should be carried out first. "We will have to go twice, as we only have 8 pairs of hands."
Heavily loaded, the group slowly carried their loads to the chaapa'ai. Arriving first, Martouf/Lantash put down the box containing various Goa'uld gadgets and went to stand by the DHD. When all of Josan's men had staggered past them, they quickly dialed an address, making sure no one saw the glyphs.
The goods were then carried through and placed behind some bushes nearby. When all the Tok'ra and humans were through, Martouf redialed the address for Telrak. Back there, all went to the cave to pick up the rest. Arriving back at the chaapa'ai, the wormhole was again opened. Rosha turned to Josan and the other humans.
"Thank you for your help. As agreed, here is your payment." She counted out several jewels and handed each of them some, as they stared in disbelief - obviously they had not expected to live, let alone get paid.
"Thank you, my Lord. It was a pleasure doing business with you - please come back soon."
"I might - but loose the title, as we are not Goa'uld."
The Tok'ra lifted the crates, groaning under the weight and staggered through the chaapa'ai.