Chapter 22

Ten Years Earlier

Aja Mal Doran-An Tal sat staring out her kitchen window. From there she could see her husband, Netan, sitting beneath a large tree, his face buried in his notebook. The daughter of wealthy merchants, she had always resigned that she would marry the son of wealthy merchants and live out the rest of her life as a trophy wife whose only purpose was to look pretty and throw extravagent parties. She had grown up knowing that would be the course for her life and never thought that there could or would be anything else set in stone for her. That changed, however, when her father passed away unexpectedly leaving all of his wealth to her mother, Adria. Still a young child when it happened, Aja had only passing memories of her biological father, and the events that surrounded his death. She did, however, remember the many 'uncles' that would frequent their home in the months and years that followed. None of which were very likeable and none of which stayed for very long.

Around the time of her tenth birthday, her mother returned from an extended vacation with one such uncle and his teenage daughter. Her mother had told her that this uncle, Jacek, was her new father, making his daughter, Vala, her new sister. Vala wasn't around very often, only every few months and for long periods of time during the summer seasons. For the first few years, neither Aja nor Vala spent a great deal of time with one another and the time they did spend was often the scene of spectacular arguments and the occasional brawl. Aja saw Vala as her father, who she had come to learn was nothing more than a gold digging con artist and Vala had scene Aja as nothing more than the image of her mother, a spoiled and haughty brat. By the time Aja had reached her teens, Vala seldom came around anymore and she wished for the day when Vala would stop coming all together. At that age she began to follow the track that had been laid out for her all of her life, courting the sons of various wealthy merchants and businessmen in the hopes of finding a husband.

That was until she met Netan.

Netan An Tal, was by no means wealthy. His father, Tritan, was a drunk who ran a pub in one of the most dangerous villages on their planets. Known for being a meeting place of smugglers, it was a constant hot bed of the criminal under belly. His mother, Alyse, was a teacher. Alyse, came from a family that although it wasn't wealthy had enough money to secure her a place as a teachers apprentice. After many years of schooling and some time teaching small schools, she returned home and became a private tutor to their planets social elite. As a result of her background Alyse made sure that Netan, recieved the same level of education as any of the children she tutored. One of the families she tutored, the An Tal's, took to Alyse and Netan with great affection, often inviting them to various social occasions and families dinners. When Netan was young, his mother died. The An Tal's adopted Netan, feeling that Alyse wouldn't have wanted him raised by his father, given the kind of life he lived. Tritan agreed and Netan never saw him again. Although the An Tal's were kind to him and did their best to treat him like their son, Netan always felt as if he didn't belong. This was always evident in social functions when the An Tal's would introduce him to their rich friends, and make it a point to tell them of how he was rescued from a life of poverty and criminality.

It was at one such function, a birthday party for his step-brother, Rayden, in which the two were introduced. Aja immediately took to Netan and found him to be the most fascinating person she had ever met. Unlike the many boys that she had encountered over her life time he was interesting. Netan was very well read and talked about things that Aja had never even heard about before. She took to his every word as if it were gold and found the more time she spent around him, the more she never wanted to leave. That was until Rayden showed up and told her that Netan was nothing more than his families charity case and that she shouldn't be bothered with the likes of him. Embarassed, Netan took off and although he was supposed to be beneath her stature, Aja stood up to him in front of Rayden. Slapping Rayden, she took off after Netan, finally finding him sitting beneath a large tree, his face in a book. Aja told Netan that what Rayden said was wrong and that she didn't think of him like that.

Netan told her that one day soon, he would leave their village and he would travel to other worlds. He would become an explorer and would make a great discovery about some never before heard of lost civilization. For hours they sat, talking about their dreams and during that time she realized that maybe there could be more to life than wealth and that there could be more to her life than just being some man's wife. She kissed him and from that moment on, they were never apart. The opposition their relationship recieved from their families caused them to run away, seeking solace in a village a few days travel from their own. It was there she was reunited with Vala and she found that once removed from the constant eyes of their parents, the arguments ceased and the understanding began. At first the two would spend hours, just talking, catching up on the things that had happened to them since the last time they had met, including Aja's story of how she had met and fell in love, with Netan. For the first time in their lives, they had felt like real sisters. They had become family.

Now, years later, she found herself settling down into a life she had never imagined for herself, but never felt more comfortable in. In recent years Netan had grown to become Cheif Historian of their village and dedicated his time into researching the Stargate trying to figure what wonders lie on the other side. Watching Netan sitting there, she found after all of these years, she was still fascinated by the way his mind worked and how even the littlest things would set off his wonder.

"Is he under that tree again?"

The familiar voice broke Aja's concentration.

"Vala," Aja said as she walked to up to and greeted her sister with warm embrace. "What brings you here? I thought that you and Jaleyn's mother were going to be busy all day with last minute wedding preparations?"

"That was the plan, however on my way there I realized there was something more important that had to be done."

"What could be more important than you're wedding?"

Vala looked at Aja and immediately a cold feeling ran up her spine. With a cold, wide smile, Vala's eyes flashed a strange orange color. Terrified and confused, Aja began to back away from her sister.

"Vala, what's going on? What is with your eyes?"

"The name is Qetesh," Vala said in a deep and unnatural tone. "And there is something from you I need."

Looking out toward the window she could see Netan, frozen in his place, his eyes fixed to the sky. A few seconds later, their eyes met, and she could see them full of terror.

"Aja!" Netan screamed as he ran towards the house. "There are ships. Everywhere. I think the village is being attacked!"

Aja looked once more to Vala, who now had a large metallic object on her hand.

"Don't hurt him," she begged. "Whatever it is you want, I'll give it -- I'll do it, just don't hurt him."

"Done," Vala said raising her hand towards Aja. "But keep in mind, that later, I will hold you to that promise."

oooooooo

Kebechet looked towards Netan, his eyes looking at her, but right thru her. She knew that it wasn't her he wanted to see.

"Netan!"

Calling his name seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he had been under. Looking back at Ba'al, he looked at her confused.

"Why did you kill him?"

"That is not Ba'al," she said as she lifted herself from within the coffin and stood heavily on the cold floor.

"What do you mean, that is not Ba'al?"

"He is a clone."

"How did you know that?"

"Let's just say that I may have been sleeping, but I was not asleep."

"What does that mean?"

"I will explain later. For now, help me to Ba'al's ship I need the sarcophagus, otherwise you will have awakened me only to watch me die."

Netan looked and saw small streams of blood began soaking thru her dress near her abdomen. No longer hesitating her scooped her up and walked towards the ring transport.