Elsewhere in the city, a waterfall of sludge flowed out one of the city's air vents. It gathered on the ground before forming a humanoid figure. Far from human but it had two arms and two legs. But after a moment it formed a naked Charles Martin, the form it actually knew. It closed its eyes to concentrate, colored materials forming on its mimicked skin. A naked human was going to stand out. It had to create clothes.

The structure was very strange but it was mostly made of organic material. Plants. Animals. It didn't need to create the perfect thing, just a replica that would pass for a single glance. After a bit, it finally worked, materializing the black BDU over the body.

It was a temporary disguise but it will use it until it can no longer work.

"Hey," Donavan greeted as he wheeled past Martin. But Martin stopped when he noticed something about the wheelchair-bound man.

"Half…" Martin hissed.

"What?" Donavan asked, stopping his wheelchair and turning around.

"Half…" Martin repeated. Martin walked up to Donavan, his eyes still locked on the man. "Half…"

"Half…half of what?"

Martin put his hand on Donavan chest and traced his fingers down to Donavan's stomach. Suddenly, Charles plunged his hand into Donavan's stomach. Donavan let out a strangled scream as the hand tore through his flesh, blood flowing out of him. He gripped the arms of his wheelchair, squeezing so tightly he practically tore it off.

"Hey!" a voice yelled. It was an airman coming over after hearing the scream, pistol drawn. Suddenly, Donavan flew backwards and away from Martin, falling out of his wheel chair, his face and clothes covered in blood. He was hyperventilating, his feet desperately pushing him across the ground as he scrambled backwards.

That's when Donavan realized. His legs were moving.

He reached down and lifted his shirt. His stomach was covered in blood. But as he wiped it away, he realized there was no wound.

"Whole…" Martin said.

"Martin, turn around with your hands above your head!" the airman ordered. Martin did turn around. But instead of raising his hands he began walking toward the airman. "Don't come any closer! STOP!"

Martin did not obey. And the airman fired. Three bangs, three shots center mass. Holes formed in the clothes but no blood spurted forward. Martin looked down at his body. The jig was up.

When he looked back up at the airman, his face had become discolored, turning a dark shade of red like dried blood. His facial features began to deform. His face literally sagged as if it was falling off his skull. His fingers began to droop from his hands. It was as if his flesh was melting.

No.

His flesh was melting. In moments, Martin had become a pile of sludge on the ground. The airman gaped, stumbling backwards, not sure what to do with what was in front of him.

The airman's eyes watered. It was like staring at the sky on a bright sunny day. His eyes couldn't focus on the sludge in front of him. He prepared to fire again but the sludge began to move. It slid across the ground and dove for an air vent in the wall, effortlessly sliding between the grate.

-.-

By this point, the infirmary was crowded. Soren had joined the guards. Doctors had come in to check out the ones who got caught in the battle. Finally, Mercer and Steven Chen walked in.

"I assure you, I am fine," Sam said impatiently, trying to shrug off the doctors. Samanya was genetically enhanced. It would take a lot more to hurt her than normal person. And even if she was hurt, chances were she could just heal. But the doctors were not taking any chances and were swarming her.

"You may move away," Mercer said as he approached. On command, the doctors parted like water as the General walked up to the knight. "I need answers."

One of the doctors tried to give Sam an oxygen mask but she shoved it away.

"It appears the Charles Martin I found was never him," Samanya explained. "I believe it attacked Charles Martin and assumed his identity. I believe it is also responsible for the recent attacks in the city."

The recent attacks. People found unconscious and missing their memories.

"Where is the creature now?" Mercer asked.

"Escaped through the ventilation."

"This thing is a non-cellular organism," Kara said. "It doesn't have a defined structure like us. It's practically a living liquid."

The SGC has encountered a lot of different aliens but this was their first living liquid. But just because they've never encountered living liquids before doesn't mean they haven't seen anything comparable. Like the water the Russians once found, controlled by microscopic organisms living in it. Not a true living liquid but it behaved the same.

Either way, they had to clear the place.

"Mister Stavig is already heading the sweep of the city," Mercer said. "But if this thing's not Lieutenant Martin, then where is he?"

A silence fell upon the room. There was an answer than none of them wanted to consider.

"This creature has been pulling the nutrients right out of its victims so it has to leave a corpse."

"If you're suggesting he's dead, Kara, then I don't want to hear it," Chen interrupted. "Not until we see said corpse. General, permission to search for Charles." Mercer looked at Osborn. It was her who dictated whether Chen be subjected to physically strenuous activity until his abdominal muscles fully regenerated. But Kara nodded at the General.

"You can join Sir Arcturus," Mercer permitted. "I'm not chancing more victims. Get Hailey's life signs scanner."

Chen couldn't wait.

"Sam, let's go!"

Arcturus got to her feet and ran after Chen. Soren Stavig and Samanya Arcturus were the two top fighters in the expedition so it made sense they head the two sweeps. One for the monster and one for Charles Martin.

"General," one of the guards yelled, running into the room. "Creature's been spotted in the Delta Complex."

"Then relay the information to Mister Stavig," Mercer snapped.

"Already have, sir. But…you need to see this."

They all looked up when they saw the impossible. Donavan walked into the room. All eyes were on him now as he used the legs that had been paralyzed since the Stargate Council attack.

"What…" Hailey gawked.

"You're walking!" Kara exclaimed.

"I'm walking!" Daonavan yelled excitedly. Donavan had been paralyzed from the waist down for so long. In spite of all their advancements in medical technology, repairing a shattered spinal chord was beyond them. Yet, somehow the impossible had just happened. They were all stunned to see him up and about.

"While we're all pleased for you, Donavan," Mercer said. "Perhaps we can get an explanation as to how this happened."

And like that, the celebrations died down.

There was a lot to explain.

-.-

The tram doors opened and Chen and Arcturus stepped out. While they certainly needed to be on edge, they didn't need a fully armored knight of Aurox so she wore the black body suit worn beneath the armor along with the chest piece and coat. She didn't get the mechanical enhancements since she only had part of the suit on but she still had her augmented strength. Chen followed closely behind her fully geared up.

Chen stayed close to Arcturus. Arcturus was the one with the shield so Chen stayed behind her, Hailey's life signs scanner on his wrist and aimed forward. It was essentially a wrist mounted PDA with a flip screen. Unlike the Ancient scanners it was based off of, which showed a top-down map, Hailey's scanner showed life signs directly in front.

"Clear," Chen reported. Chen kept close to Arcturus with his MP7 while she led on. Once in the arm of the city, they took an ark to reach the general location and a few minutes to walk to Martin's last known location.

Chen really appreciated having Arcturus around. Sure, Soren was also a master combatant but Chen didn't trust the former-terrorist. Arcturus was a great reassurance and great for situations like these. He didn't need to feel bad taking cover behind her since it was more likely she'd kill anything that jumps them.

"Wait a sec," Chen hissed, giving Arcturus's shoulder a squeeze. "I've picked up something."

Chen pointed at the corner ahead. Arcturus adjusted herself and aimed it at the corner.

"Any other signals?" Arcturus whispered. Chen quickly scanned the surroundings but nothing came up.

"No."

"Then take formation."

Chen complied. He folded down the screen before readying his MP7 and rushing to the other side of the hallway. That way if they have to shoot they ran no risk of shooting each other. They approached slowly, ready for anything.

Suddenly, it leapt out. Chen and Arcturus raised their weapons, ready to fire…then froze.

"Ahhh…jeez," Chen said, raising his left hand to half cover his eyes. "Just what I need to see: my best friend's ween."

A very naked Charles Martin had jumped out. He looked at the two of them like a deer in headlights before finally realizing who it was.

"Hey, 'bout time you showed up!" Martin exclaimed, throwing his hands up in disbelief.

"Wait!" Arcturus said, her weapon steady. "We already encountered a Charles Martin. How do we know you are him?"

Martin scoffed. He had no idea what was going on and could only put pieces together.

"Before I answer that, could I at least have some pants?" he asked.

"Don't look at me," Chen said quickly. "I only have one on me."

Arcturus said nothing, just taking off her long coat and handing it to Martin.

Martin eagerly put it on, finally dressed since he first woke up.

"Alright, somebody wanna bloody tell me what's going on?" he asked. "What do you mean 'another Charles Martin'? And why was I naked?"

"Context clues should tell you everything," Chen said. "We found another Charles Martin. But Sam's right. How do we know you're the real one?"

"Bloody hell! I'll just ask the Doc to examine me, alright?!"

-.-

Chen Looked down at Matin from the observation room window. Real or not, he had to be isolated and guarded until further notice. He turned around when he heard the door open to let Kara in.

"Any word?" Chen asked her, eager to hear that this was his friend.

"Still waiting for the results," Kara said. "But once it passes, hat should be the last of the tests."

"So what's the deal with Donavan?" Chen asked, gesturing away. Donavan was in a different room entirely so it wasn't like he could point at the man. "Paralyzed for all this time and now he's walking. You do something?"

But Kara shook her head.

"Donavan said he was attacked by that creature," she explained. "It got interrupted and when it was finished, he could walk again."

"Wait," Chen said skeptically. "You mean a failed attack left them better than they were before?"

"Not buying it?"

"No."

Before more could be said, they both heard a loud buzzing coming from Osborn's coat packet. She reached in and pulled out a PDA, checking the data.

-.-

Martin could feel Soren standing behind him, probably a shotgun and axe bayonet at the ready. Samanya stood in front of him, her sword planted on the ground.

"I'm guessing my evil twin must've been a right bastard if I warrant this much security," Martin remarked.

"Seven people were attacked," Samanya explained.

"Alright, fair," Martin said, leaning back. "I'm just glad you guys let me have some clothes."

Charles couldn't stay in Samanya's coat forever. So when they got back to the city, they got him a jumpsuit to wear while Osborn did her examinations. Blood work. CAT scans. Everything. Martin just sat there with his two guards.

"You know, I get you two guarding me," Martin said. "I do. Security breach and all. But you don't have to be so uptight. Either of you could kick my ass let alone together."

"You may look and speak like Charles Martin," Arcturus said. "But I will keep my guard up until I have confirm that that is who you are."

"Well, you can relax," Kara said, walking with the test results. "This is Charles Martin. His cells are intact with nothing resembling cytolysis."

"So we can stand down?" Soren asked, seeming to materialize out of nowhere from behind Martin. Martin almost jumped in surprise at Soren's sudden appearance.

"You may stand down," Mercer said. Samanya held her sword back down at her hip while Soren slung the H-699 over his shoulder. "Are you certain of this, Doctor? You said this creature can mimic human cells."

"True, but the creature was a non-cellular organism," Kara explained. "They use very specific proteins that mimic the cells walls. I'm not picking up any of that. The cell and its DNA are human."

"Obviously your tests are wrong," Martin remarked. "They should be reading superhuman."

A remark that made Chen groan.

"Great, so Charles Number One was the imposter," Chen concluded. "Where the hell did he go?"

"I will order all personnel to be confined to their room for the time being," Mercer explained. "That will allow us to track the creature. Major Hailey, I want you to use your life-signs scanner."

Hailey nodded.

"In the meantime," Mercer said, stepping over in front of Martin. "I am very interested in what happened to you."

Martin choked on words he didn't have and shrugged. What could he say? He didn't even get a chance to write his mission report.

"We heard a noise from one of the adjacent rooms," he said. "I went to check it out. And…and that's it. It's blank after that. Next thing I knew, I was waking up naked on the floor."

"Unfortunate," Mercer said. "It is difficult to properly evaluate what we're looking at without that knowledge."

"Wait a minute," Chen said. "Your mission was days ago. You telling me you didn't just walk back to Central City?"

"I just woke up a few hours ago."

Chen didn't buy it. The timing was too convenient.

"He might not be lying," Osborn remarked. "Maybe the creature has some way to keep him under. It'd be awkward if the real Martin came in while the fake was still undercover."

"There's no way to know for certain," Arcturus said. "Not unless we know precisely what the creature did to Lieutenant Martin."

Something they couldn't do since Martin couldn't remember. The frustration was clear on everyone's faces. They needed to gather as much information as possible. Ideally they would

"It's there," Martin said. "I just need a way to access it. It's…"

Martin fell silent, closing his eyes like he was trying to reach out.

"Could this be the result of some sort of traumatic disorder?" Mercer asked Osborn.

"It's possible."

"I don't think so," Martin spoke up. "There's something else here. I can see…memories that aren't mine."

"Could delusions and psychosis be another affect?" Chen asked, earning a glare from Martin.

"I'm telling you, it's something else!" he snapped. "I think whatever happened…deleted my memories. Or buried them. Or something."

"I see…" Mercer said. "Doctor Chen, if you please."

Mercer gestured toward the hallways and Chen obliged. Chen couldn't guess what Mercer would want. He worked with computers. He didn't know a thing about medicine.

"Doctor Chen," Mercer said calmly. "I understand you approached Anise with a…proposition"

"I did," Chen admitted.

"For future reference, if you ever come up with these brilliant plans, approach me. However, in this case it may prove fruitful."

"What are you thinking of?"

"Among the supplies brought by the Typhon were Tok'ra memory recall devices."

Chen paused. The term sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"The Tok'ra use them to dig up suppressed memories," Mercer explained. "I do not know if there is any truth to Lieutenant Martin's statements but I must investigate all the same."

"So you want me to get these memory things."

"Ask Anise for them. I will prepare the rest on this end."

-.-

Chen knocked at the door to Anise's lab. As Amelia Franklin, a research technician who reports to him, he knew exactly what was going on in the lab. The Tok'ra was working on some new shielding project but she turned around to greet him.

"Doctor," she said in her human voice. No doubt playing her role as Doctor Amelia Franklin.

Chen didn't speak at first. He instead closed the door behind him. He did not want to get interrupted. Anise raised a curious eyebrow when she saw this. Clearly this was something they could do in private, so she lowered her head to let the symbiote take over.

"I assume you wish to speak to me regarding this…partnership?" she asked.

"You could say that." Chen said. "First request: we need a Tok'ra memory…thing."

"Memory thing?" Anise repeated.

Chen growled in frustration. He's only heard about this device in passing. He's never seen it nor has he never used it.

"Memory recall device," he finally proclaimed. Anise tilted her head curiously.

"Why do you need this?" she asked.

"You know those attacks you've been hearing about? Martin might know something about it, but it's buried deep in his memories. If the recall device works the way I've read, it should be able to dig up the suppressed memories."

"Has General Mercer approved of this request?" Anise asked.

"He's the one who suggested this."

Anise raised an eyebrow, leaning against the table as if deep in though.

"Clearly the local Council has approved of this arrangement," she said. "I will have to ask permission to lend you our technology."

Barely a day into their partnership and they were already running into roadblocks.

"You really have to get permission for every little thing?"

"If I requested technology from you, would you hand it over without permission from Mercer?"

"Fine, fine, fine, you win that one. But how will I know the answer?"

This partnership was still a secret which meant he would have to be informed through other means. Anise didn't answer at first, instead going back to her work as if she was about to ignore the question.

"You understand that the Council is unlikely to lend you our technology if they don't know what it's for," Anise pointed out. Chen just growled at this response. How much was HE allowed to reveal.

"I assume you've heard about the attacks around the city?" Chen asked. "We think there's something buried in Charles Martin's memories that can give us a hint as to what it is."

"And you need a Tok'ra memory device to surface any repressed memories," Anise concluded. She closed her laptop and turned around to face Chen.

"Prepare Lieutenant Martin," Anise said. "I'll still have to put in the request but I see no reason for them to deny."

It took much longer than Chen would like. He did go back to the infirmary to tell the others that Doctor Amelia Franklin would be along with some Tok'ra memory devices. What he didn't count on was her taking almost an hour.

"Alright, hold still," Anise said, lining up the small disk with Martin's temple. He practically leapt out of his chair when the disk was pushed into his temple. Hailey and Chen cringed at the sight. It looked like he got a thumbtack pushed into his skull.

"BLOODY HELL!" he exclaimed.

"It's alright, that is all the pain you'll feel," Anise said reassuringly. But that didn't really make Martin feel better. He wasn't thinking about the pain he'd feel in the future. He was thinking of the pain he just felt.

"Why are we even using this?" he asked, rubbing the area around his temple. "Don't we have those other memory devices?"

"If you're speaking of the Galaran memory device, unfortunately those cannot access hidden or suppressed memories."

"Alright," Martin sighed. "So, what now?"

"Lay back and relax," Anise said. Martin did as he told, laying back in the hospital bed. He even closed his eyes and made himself comfortable. "I want you to think back to the mission, to exploring the empty halls of Millennium. Describe what you see. Every detail, even what you already told us."

Martin was quiet for perhaps the longest period of time he was ever quiet.

"Alright, I'm in the hall," he said. "I hear a noise from a nearby door. Donavan says he doesn't pick up anything."

"Go on," Anise said. "What did you do next?"

"I approach the door. I…put my ear against the door. I hear…sloshing."

"Sloshing?" Hailey repeated.

"Like, like someone's slurppie."

Anise worked her magic on the controls.

"What happened next?" she asked.

Martin was quiet for a bit. For a moment, Anise wondered if Martin fell unconscious or fell asleep.

"It…explodes?" he said, confused by what he was remembering. "Yeah, the door blows up. I'm on the floor. This…sludge monster…it's sliding out of the room. My teammates are all injured. Bleeding. Blood everywhere."

Mercer glanced over at Samanya and Soren. They had found Martin's team but did not report any blood.

"I assure you, General," Samanya said. "There was no blood when we arrived."

"I concur with Sir Arcturus," Soren echoed. "With the exception of damage from the explosion, the location was clean."

"My memory…it's really fuzzy…" Martin murmured.

"Take it slowly," Freya said. "If you cannot remember what happened immediately after then remember details of the last thing you do remember."

"Ok…" Martin said. "I'm…looking around. I see my men. I'm…injured. I can't move my legs. I look up. There's…there's something there. A blob monster. Wait a minute. I…uh…"

"Lieutenant," Freya said. "Don't try to make sense of it, not yet. What do you see?"

"Uh…people," Martin stuttered. "I'm on Millennium, but everyone's wearing these weird uniforms. I think these people are Ancients…and I see Asgard!"

Martin gritted his teeth like he was in pain.

"Charles?" Chen said, unsure about what was happening. "Franklin, what is happening?

"Lieutenant," Freya said. "You need to relax."

But it seemed her words fell on deaf ears. Suddenly, Charles bolted up, his eyes wide like he just awoke from some sort of nightmare. He reached up to tear out the memory recall device.

"Do not tear out…" Freya began to yell but Martin had already yanked the disk from his temple, immediately regretting it as he curled up in pain. Freya rushed over to him, examining his head. "Superficial injuries," she reported. "But you need to allow a professional remove that."

"Lieutenant?" Mercer asked curiously. It was obvious he found something.

"I know what it is," Martin said, handing the memory device back to Freya.

-.-

This debriefing was bigger than what could be accomplished in the infirmary. Martin was allowed to get dressed. Then they all met in the conference room to discuss what he realized.

There they sat. General Mercer at one end of the table with Martin, Hailey, Chen, Soren, Arcturus, and Osborn all there.

"I can't get a precise name," Martin admitted. "Lymphian…maybe? All I got when I was digging for a name was a bunch of squelching noises."

"You said you saw Asgard and Ancients," Mercer said.

"Yeah. We know the Alliance was looking for more races to join them. Apparently this galaxy had a few contenders, including these guys."

"How are you getting this information exactly?" Hailey asked.

"I don't know for sure but I think these are the alien's memories."

Uncertain glances were exchanged all across the table. One of their own being influenced by alien memories was never a good sign. It might be nothing. But better safe than sorry.

"What else did you see?" Mercer asked.

"Something happened," Martin continued. "I can't be certain. They called it…hunger?"

"What, so there was a food shortage across the galaxy?" Chen remarked.

"It's possible that 'hunger' is not the exact word Lieutenant Martin is looking for," Freya said. "Remember, these are merely perceived memories. I think that 'hunger' is merely the term Martin comes up."

"Yeah, I think she's right," Charles remarked. "I don't think 'hunger' refers to famine. It seems like a title or a name. Whatever 'The Hunger' is, everyone was scared of it."

"As fascinating as this all is, this does not help us be deal with the current situation," Mercer interrupted.

"Actually, General," Martin interrupted. "I think it does. What if we have it all wrong?" Martin asked. Everyone in the room looked at him, confused but curious by what he meant. "We thought this thing was a monster or an animal. Just a space predator hunting us."

"Like a vortrix," Samanya said.

"Precisely! We never stopped to wonder if it could be sentient or benevolent. Seven people attacked but no one dead. It literally fixed Donavan's back. It could've done so much carnage, but it hasn't."

"You said it attacked you," Hailey pointed out.

"I don't think it was trying to. I think it was accessing my memories. You said it spoke English. How else could it have done that?"

"Hey, three galaxies of English-speaking aliens but it's the English-speaking slime monster that has you raising your eyebrows," Chen remarked.

Mercer did not react to this statement. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated Martin's conclusion.

"What would you suggest, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"Doc Oz said me and my team were malnourished. You also said the people around the city who were attacked were the same. If this thing was trapped here, I imagine it'd be starving."

"You think it's trying to replenish?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, it attacked those people to feed. Feed enough that it can go on without killing the person. So let's feed it."

"I'm not feeding my people to that thing," Mercer stated.

"It doesn't have to be people," Kara said excitedly. "The nutrients leeched out of every person can be found in something as simple as sugar."

"There we go!" Martin exclaimed, matching her enthusiasm.

"We're still making a lot of assumptions," Chen pointed out. "Obviously they never joined the Alliance. Can you get a why? What if they're sort of evil and feeding this thing is just us unleashing the next big threat onto the galaxy?"

"Even in its weakened state, it has proven difficult to capture," Soren said. "We may be able to contain it but it will be difficult."

Eyes fell upon General Mercer. The options were laid out. Now a decision had to be made.

"Your call, sir," Hailey said.

Mercer paused, stroking his mustache.

"Lieutenant Martin…" Mercer spoke. "Are you certain this thing will not harm us?"

"As certain as I can be sir," Marti spoke. "General, I won't pretend I know this thing inside and out. But I know it enough to give it a chance."

Mercer was silent again. He had a lot to consider.

"Doctor Osborn," he said. "If this thing is a living liquid, it can't be harmed by our bullets. What is your recommendation?"

"Heat. The H-699 and an ion rifle on minimum yield will do the trick."

"General," Martin protested. Surely the General was not considering trying to take it down by force.

"Relax, Lieutenant," Mercer said calmly. "I will attempt the peaceful solution. But I want insurance. Hailey, take our H-699. Mister Stavic, grab an ion rifle. Sir Arcturus, I assume your weapon will be enough."

"It is," Arcturus said assuredly. Mercer nodded, taking in all the information.

"Doctor Osborn," Mercer said. "Get the needed materials ready. Try to find this creature. We'll do it your way, Lieutenant. But if I suspect anything is going wrong, we kill it."

Martin wasn't exactly happy with this but it was better than just killing it.

"How do you intend to find it?" Chen asked.

"With all personnel confined to quarters, any life sign not in the right area…" Hailey spoke. She didn't need to finish the sentence. Chen knew what the plan was.

-.-

The slime creature was walking down an empty hall in Millennium, not even bothering to maintain its disguise. It had reassumed a figure somewhat resembling Charles Martin but it didn't bother making the features. Its face was half melted, it didn't bother getting new clothes, and its body looked more like a wax mannequin.

As it approached the corner, Soren Stavig stepped out, ion rifle in hand. Soren had the gun readied but he was not on edge. The slime creature then turned around and began marching away. But Then Arcturus appeared at the other end of the hallway.

More people flooded into the hall. Steven Chen. Jennifer Hailey. Kara Osborn. Guards.

The creature stopped again. It was surrounded. So it had only one thing to do. The features on the creature began to vanish as it melted once more

"Wait!" a voice called out. The real Charles Martin ran out, a crate under his arm. The creature, clearly understanding his words, stopped melting to see what the human wanted. Martin held a hand up to show he had no weapons. He couldn't do the same with the other since he had a box underneath it.

Charles carefully set the crate down and opened the lid, revealing the box to be full of sugar. He slowly slid the box forward and stepped back.

"All yours," Martin said. "Eat up."

Martin could see the sludge creature consider the offer, looking down at the box with his 'head'.

"Go ahead," Martin said again. Finally, the sludge monster moved toward the box. It melted and let itself flow into the box.

Something was clearly happening. He could see color begin to change. It was no longer leaking puss and water. It turned a bright pink instead of sickening brown and red.

Finally, it slid out. It reformed itself away from the box, but it didn't bother reestablishing a human form.

"Charles…" Chen said suspiciously while Mercer stepped into the hall.

"It's ok," Martin said. "Let it happen."

The spink slime slid forth, long thin tendrils waving like seaweed in the ocean. It reached forward with a tendril. Martin knew what was going to happen next. He closed his eyes and prepared himself as it began to flow into his mouth and nostrils.

-.-

Charles opened his eyes. The world around him was fuzzy, out of focus. This must've been what it was like to be nearsighted.

It was just like the memories he visited with the memory recall device. He was on Millennium, surrounded by figures.

Yet, even that description didn't quite fit. Thinking about it, it was probably because he wasn't actually seeing any of this. These were memories, memories downloaded into his mind that he could now view like they were his own.

But these memories weren't the only thing he was getting.

Hunger…

There it was again, that word.

But Hunger didn't really describe it. It was just the closest English word. It was something. All engulfing. All consuming.

And a mistake. A mistake made because the Ancients decided to give a world technology it wasn't ready for. And it attracted the attention of something that nearly rendered the known universe uninhabitable in spite of a united multi-galaxy alliance standing against it.

One mistake on behalf of the Ancients was all it took to fracture the Alliance. And that fracture would grow until the Alliance would disband, the universe devoid of life and the Alliance was forced to seed corners of the universe with life in their image.

And it was left behind. A survivor of his race. A race that was once a candidate to join the Alliance but was now nothing but dust. It remained, feeding off what little power went through the city's conduits.

-.-

Martin returned to his own body, though the trip was not gentle. He keeled over choking as the Lymphian retracted its tendrils from his nose and throat. Martin keeled over but he felt a pair of hands steady him. Looking over he saw Hailey and Chen next to him.

"I'm fine," he said, looking up at the creature. Its appearance had changed. No longer was it a giant ooze of what look like liquified flesh. It was now a slick black mass. It had expanded into an amorphous blob floating before them. In many ways it looked like a yarn ball of tentacles and tendrils forming a floating ball. But each tentacle was clearly made of the gelatinous substance. Some tentacles dangled freely beneath the mass.

"You were one of them," Martin muttered. "Your people were candidates to join the Alliance."

The Lymphian lingered in front of them. It neither nodded nor shook its head. Then again, by this point it had no head. Despite its massive dark appearance, Martin felt nothing ominous from it. Powerful. And intimidating in appearance. But there was no sense of malice.

It began to float down the hall, now ignoring the guards that still aimed their weapons.

"General," Martin said loudly. "I suggest you order them to lay down their weapons."

Mercer narrowed his eyes, clearly reluctant.

"Lieutenant," he said. "If he's accessed your memories then he is a security risk. I can't let it leave."

"General, I need you to trust me," Martin insisted. "It didn't get a chance to join the Alliance but their race came damn close. This is not something you want to stand against."

Mercer let out a quiet growl. So feeding it essentially empowered it. Well, it was too late to do anything about that now. All Mercer could do was act appropriately to the current situation.

"Stand down," Mercer ordered the guards. And they immediately complied, lowering their weapons and stepping to the side. Soren and Samanya didn't question, immediately complying with Mercer's orders. And the Lymphian floated past them.

"I am still uncertain of this decision," Mercer said as Osborn went over to check up on Martin.

"Bloke was gone the moment he woke up," Martin said. "Even before we fed him. We were just slowing him down."

Mercer sighed again.

Suddenly, their radios crackled to life.

"Uh…General…" Donavan said over the radio. "The gate's just activated. And I'm receiving reports of a…floating thing seen near the gate room."

Mercer and Martin exchanged glances. They had just discussed how dangerous this thing was. Mercer didn't like just letting this thing leave but he didn' have much of a choice.

Soren walked over to Mercer and handed over his radio.

"This is General Mercer. Do not take any action against the creature. In fact, Donavan, I want you to order all guards to lay down their weapons and step back until that creature is through the gate."

"Sir?

"That is an order. Understood?"

-.-

The Lymphian made a slow but steady path to the gate room. As per Mercer's orders, guards were dropping their guns and stepping back, letting the floating mass of tendrils through. No one dared to stand in its way. They could feel the creature before they saw it. And they dared not challenge it. As it entered the gate room, everyone stood up to stare in awe as it floated toward the center.

Martin and company quickly rushed into the control room to watch the creature, which halted at the center of the gate room. It turned back to look at them one last time before it finally went through the gate. And the shimmering blue portal shut off.

-.-

It was hours later before the team met up again, watching as Donavan tried and tried again to dial the coordinates they saw the creature go to.

"Chevron seven won't lock," Donavan declared. They didn't see the order of the symbols but they did get the symbols themselves. All that was left was trying all the permutations. At least that would be the case if any of them worked.

Mercer and Hailey looked over the list of permutations. They had tried all of them three times. Yet none of them worked. Martin was also there, personally invested since that thing had been posing as him all that time.

"I don't get it," Hailey said. "At least one of these permutations should work."

"Could you gotten the symbols wrong?" Mercer asked.

"Maybe. Or maybe whatever is at the address he dialed isn't a stargate. Maybe it needs some sort of special activation signal to connect. Or extra energy."

"Or maybe he just made the computers look like they're giving a different address," Martin said. "I don't think we'll ever know. But at the very least we know the Lymphians are out there somewhere."

"Are they even as advanced as the Alliance?" Hailey asked skeptically.

"They were considered a candidate to join them so they have to be."

"Their level of technology is irrelevant," Mercer interrupted. "Our standing mission is to find new alien civilizations and establish relations with them. If the Lymphians are out there, we'll meet them again."

-.-

A/N: Hello everyone. It's been quite a long time. I decided to take a break from the series for a bit but now I'm back.

One of the things I wanted to do was introduce candidate races. Races that nearly made it into the Alliance. And this also gives a sneak peak into the backstory of the Alliance. I'll be doing another story on that soon.

The idea of the Lymphian is a living liquid. True living liquid. Not a pile of living cells but a noncellular organism. I don't think scifi pushes boundaries enough, especially nowadays. Our current understanding of biology is that every living thing is made of cells. So introduce a non-cellular organism because it defies our current understanding of science. It not only comes off a more alien but makes us question what other forms can life take.

Anways, I'm going to be getting back into it. Please let me know what you think and enjoy.