10 - The News

~*Sam*~

I am disappointed when Aldwin, not my dad, comes through.

"Hey, what's up?" Jack greets.

"The council has sent me to provide you with information about the Goa'uld known as Zar."

"Alright."

We go to the meeting room.

Aldwin sits down. He looks very serious and official as I sit.

"We've heard of him. Worked for Anubis. Now he's on his own," Jack replies.

"Yes," Aldwin confirms. "He's taken over most of the Feran Sector."

"And?"

"And he's…bad."

Jack frowns. "Well, yeah, he's a snakehead."

Aldwin clearly takes offense, and I sigh. Really, Jack?

"A bad snakehead. Not like you. Did you really come here to tell us about a minor Goa'uld?"

"Yes."

"You had to know we already knew about him, right?"

"…Yes."

"Then what is going on?"

"There is another matter."

"Oh." I watch Jack gesture. "Go on."

"We sent an operative out. He has missed his last reports. It's been over three months."

Jack frowns. "You think we've been compromised?"

"He didn't have any information that would compromise the Tau'ri."

"Rescue op, because hey, we're in."

"Three months is not usually an issue. It happens. However, in this situation, we have reasons to believe he has been killed."

"You believe that a lot."

"Even if he were captured, we have no idea where he is."

"Feran Sector," Jack says with a point of the finger.

"The Feran Sector has 152 planets," Teal'c says. "Zar has 89 known prisons."

"And this is a minor Goa'uld?"

"Most of the planets are not worth the effort to fight for them."

"So he basically claimed a bunch of planets no one else wanted?"

"That is correct," Teal'c replies.

"I never said he was captured by Zar," Aldwin corrects. "As I said, it is a different matter."

"You implied…" Jack pauses, realizing that Aldwin is telling us something off the books. "Right. I obviously misunderstood you."

Aldwin smiles slightly.

If Dad hadn't visited two weeks ago, I would worry that it was him.

"So…? Anything else I might…misunderstand?" Jack asks.

So why…? I wonder.

"There was a…minor conflict between two Goa'uld. One bragged of having captured a Tok'ra."

No. My skin suddenly feels like ice.

"But you think he's dead."

"The other planned to take him for himself, so we believe the Tok'ra was killed to prevent the theft."

"Malek," I say in dread, desperately hoping to be wrong. His expression confirms my fear.

"Oh," Jack says softly. "We'll let you two talk."

He and the others leave.

"He talked about you frequently. You made him very happy. When the alliance broke, he missed you." Aldwin's expression is solemn.

I glance down, feeling mixed. He cared. It's too late. I should have told him…what?

"I do not know if the feeling was mutual."

"I didn't realize it until after I lost him," I admit in guilt. My heart feels cold.

"Emotions can be confusing."

"Tok'ra always seem so sure about how they feel."

He smiles lightly in amusement. "There are two of us. We do not always know what we feel or even who feels what."

That makes me feel better.

"Even if you had felt nothing for him, which is not true, I felt that you should know."

"If Zar has him?"

"We are quite certain he was captured. He was most likely tortured to death to prevent the other Goa'uld from taking him."

"If he's in one of those prisons?"

"He will be questioned on a regular basis. We don't know anything about Zar's prisons or why he has so many."

"Thank you for telling me." I don't know Aldwin well, but I know he jumped threw a number of legal leap holes just to tell me about Malek.

:.:.:

As we head to the gate room, I notice he looks uncomfortable when he sees Beth Parker.

"Wait, did she harass you too?"

"She was very pushy, despite the fact I am both married and my host only favors men."

"And you didn't say anything?"

"It was easier to stop coming around."

I frown. "That would have been before Malek and I… How many Tok'ra has she harassed?"

"I know Freya doesn't like her."

How pushy does one have to be to annoy "We say hello by kissing" Freya? I realize I'm judging, yet… Yeah, that is a serious question.

"Would you mind investigating?" I frown. "This is all very strange. I'm starting to think she harassed more of you than we realized."

:.:.:

I curse Amb as I looked through the security tapes.

"Sam?" Janet sits by me.

"The Tok'ra believe that Malek was killed."

"I heard. That's why I came looking for you. How do-"

I curse again. "I don't have any pictures of Amb."

"I'm sure he would understand."

I sigh. "Martouf and Malek were easy. Getting Lantash was difficult, but I knew… There!"

"He's just eating. How can you tell?"

I smile. He's sitting by himself, looking nervous. "That's Amb." I go to the computer to print out his picture.

"Sam?"

Only then do I register what she said, why she is here.

"Janet. I'm sorry. Thank you for coming…" My voice wavers. "I want to be alone."

"I understand." Janet gives me a comforting hug before leaving.

To be continued…