Updated version 2.0. 6-29-2017

Record keeping: The Soldiers of Darkness are one of the many types of minions that serve the Shadows. The most commonly known are the Drakh. A lesser known group are the Soldier of Darkness. Little is known about them but it is known that the soldiers are for all intents and purposes, and can turn invisible as easily as the Shadow aliens can. But they can also phase through walls. As far as we know, there are few if any images of these aliens. There is a cave pictorial of the alien as described below in this chapter. One was killed on the Babylon Five station but the actual creature was difficult to see as it died from all the weapons fire poured into it. We don't know how many of these aliens there are and we don't know how the Shadows used them. They might have been used as infiltration units, assassins or covert activities where a high body count is encouraged. We really don't know. All we do know is that they exist and have for tens of thousands of years. Who knows, maybe they are the Bverse's version of 'Aliens'. We also know they feed on their victims in a way similar to but different from the Wraith. They feed but they are primarily soldiers...of darkness.

Roads Paved in Shadow

Book I

CHAPTER FIVE

Carrina III

Tok'ra Home Base

The current home base world of the Tok'ra was located sixty-five light years from the Terran star system. For a world now under the Protected Planet treaty, other than the empire of the Race and its two subject worlds, this planet was a lot closer than the far majority of the Terran allies. It was one of several worlds the Tok'ra considered of lesser value.

One of the allies of the Terran humans the Tok'ra had little to do with was the culture called the Race, a species of warm blooded reptilian like aliens with imperialistic tendencies and its two-subject species, the Halless and the Rabotev, also reptilian species.

The Race, who were now commonly known as Lizardians among the Terran allies went forth to conquer the Terrans approximately twelve years earlier and in the process discovered a much larger universe. When the Tok'ra discovered this, they were both amused by the Race's arrogance and horrified that the Terrans had chosen to make friends and then allies instead of exterminating them. Why O'Neill and the leadership of his world chose to make peace with such an alien enemy living so close to their world had confused and mystified them. To the Tok'ra, mercy was extended only after very careful consideration. Given the Tok'ra's long history with the Goa'uld, their confusion was understandable and often resulted in the fear of the unknown. The Tok'ra often considered what they saw as possible but inferior allies, in terms of how much they could benefit from such an alliance. Because of this approach in choosing their 'friends, the Race held little interest to them, that was until the Terrans pulled them into an alliance.

Because of their long history of hiding in the shadows and fighting as the underdog against an enemy that would first torture them in every way before killing them several times over and over, it was somewhat justifiable that the Tok'ra shied away from Earth as much as possible. Earth was minutes away from the Corrina star system by the hyperdrive used by the Terrans therefore, if they chose to, the Terrans could wipe out the Tok'ra before they even realized that they were there. That fear focused the Tok'ra's attention on Earth with almost the same level of concern as they had with the Ashtorath System Lords. In their opinion, the Tau'ri were becoming too strong and growing too rapidly, causing the Tok'ra to fear what they might become. That fear however didn't stop them from associating with the Orbanian and to a lesser extent, the Langaran. Because of this association, slowly but surely and despite their fears, the Tok'ra were becoming stronger, more secure, and more of a true unified culture. They never had the opportunity to grow as a species because until recently there had never been a time when they weren't at war against the Goa'uld.

Formally realigning themselves with the Terrans would go a long way in assuring their security, they had to stop running if they had any chance to begin developing as a nation. Their future on this world was unsure, but the Tok'ra had hopes that they would be able to stay put even for a while. However, they had other problems that need to be addressed as well, the most critical of which they had to focus on was their lack of numbers.

There were approximately twelve hundred surviving Tok'ra in existence. Their scientists and the Orbanians had started working in earnest on ways for the Tok'ra to increase their symbiote numbers and they also needed hosts, willing ones for that to happen. That meant that they needed friends. They were pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few individuals among the Orbanians that were willing to become hosts. With that attitude in mind, it was likely that even some people on Langara and possible Earth might be willing to open their horizons and become hosts if the relationship with those worlds improved.

The thing inside Beru controlling him in the same way that the symbiote once controlled its human host felt its master's call. The telepathic signal it had been waiting for the last three weeks slammed into Beru's mind like a brick. He didn't feel pain but there was a constant awareness that the controller allowed him to experience at every waking moment. The symbiote was trapped in his own mind, trapped in the body of his host and friend; a host that hid in a shell of his own making. Inside of his own mind, the Tok'ra screamed and screamed in frustration but the human host's body wasn't his to control anymore. Instead, he was forced to simply smile like a stupid idiot. That happened a lot lately and Beru hoped and prayed to gods he didn't really believe in that the others would recognize that something was wrong; but, they hadn't. Most of them assumed that he had finally accepted that the Tok'ra would start rebuilding their connections with the Tau'ri. Of course, that was the furthest from his thoughts and if anything, he entertained hopes that the Tau'ri would invade and somehow kill him but that was a far-fetched fantasy.

The thing inside controlled him completely, but ironically it didn't or rather it couldn't read his thoughts or that of his host's ruined mind. That seemed to be a major difference between his own species and this thing inside them both. However, it was a master empath and could detect the smallest deception. Maybe it was too alien to understand his thought patterns. It didn't matter. Beru could spew his hatred all he wanted, but the creature didn't care long as it carried out its mission.

"Beru, are you alright?" asked Turo. He was concerned as Beru seemed a bit off. "You have not been acting like yourself."

"I'm fine," Beru answered. "I am just concerned with the proposal we're sending to the Terrans tomorrow."

"It's not easy losing is it," said Turo with an air of sympathy. He understood how the man felt. Failure always left somewhat of a bitter aftertaste. "I'm still concerned about it myself, but I will honor the will of the council."

"As will I." Beru smiled wistfully. "If not, we can always find another planet away from their influence."

Inside his dwelling, Beru sat cross legged, waiting. He had done everything requested of him. He had betrayed the two Tok'ra agents on Kalex II to his new masters and allowing for their ship was commandeered. He wanted to but he couldn't even express the self-loathing he felt for those that he was responsible for killing. The monsters, the soldiers of the creatures he now knew as the Shadows were on the Tok'ra Al'kesh. No one, not even the Terrans would see the coming threat for what it was. With their expansive sensor net, they naturally would have tracked it, identified as Tok'ra and ignored it. The ship was on schedule and so would have been tagged as part of normal Tok'ra traffic, the ship had landed without incident twenty minutes ago so plans were already in motion.

One thing the controller had done was flash an image of the aliens called Shadows into Beru's mind; even the name suggested danger and the aliens true name; Beru couldn't even begin to pronounce. However, the name or the image flashed to him said 'shadow' and that was as good a name as any. What he glimpsed of its image was horrific and he really didn't want to know anything more about the creature's true masters. What he did know was that the controller was obviously pleased because it manifested itself on his shoulder. For one of the few times since he had been compromised, the creature's eye was plainly visible. It looked around obviously pleased but then it fixed its gaze on Beru. The possessed Tok'ra wanted to scream in terror once more as he truly understood for the first time how huge the filthy creature inside him had to be. His entire shoulder was molted and scaled green as the alien thing within him corrupted his own body and molded it into its own natural self. Despite his horror, Beru was nonetheless fascinated at how easily the creature could camouflage itself. No one noticed the creature's presence unless it wanted them to. By its visible presence now, Beru knew that the time had come.

The eye fixed its gaze on Beru's face. It was filled with mirth as Beru tried once again to gather the will to do something, anything to warn his people. It was useless. The creature inside him was in maintained absolute control and as far as he could determine, it never slept. Utterly defeated, he sat down on the chair and waited for instruction from the thing within. Those instructions came quickly and despite his silent protests he was forced out into the tunnels of the city.

The Corrina spaceport was by most anyone's standard a small place, only three buildings made up the facility including a terminal, maintenance building, and a storage facility. Like most designs by the Tok'ra, it was designed to be unobtrusive. Thousands of years battling the System Lords had taught the Tok'ra to be cautious and that attitude permeated everything in their culture even with the end of that conflict. Other than a few buildings located on the surface, the small Tok'ra city comprising approximately twelve hundred people was underground, designed as a series of interconnected tunnels that stretched for five miles in every direction. Because of their pervasive fear of invasion and to maximize security, openings to the surface were virtually non-existent. The city was accessible only by a set of ring transporters. With an iris on their stargate, limited access to the two-mile deep city, and a location so close to Earth, the Tok'ra people considered

The Tok'ra Al'kesh landed next to an identical looking Orbanian ship. The Al'kesh design now represented some the most common ships found in the galaxy and other than a few modifications that distinguished some of these ships, the Goa'uld designed vessel was a universal sight. Terran deep-space tracking systems constantly observed those vessels moving throughout the one hundred light-years out to its max range. Despite the cool Tok'ra-Terran relationship, the Tok'ra always used IFF to identify their ships. Any ship without a known IFF or flight plan was challenged and if necessary, brought down. That security precaution was another of a long list of things that the Ashtorath hated about the Terrans. The Ashtorath knew exactly where the Tok'ra world was located but couldn't get near it without starting a war they couldn't yet win.

Corrina space traffic control checked the schedule. The freshly landed craft was on time and the IFF checked out, plus Chenel knew the owners, so she gave it little thought. Oddly though, the door opened but she hadn't seen anyone exit the vehicle. Being pre-occupied with her responsibilities she really hadn't paid any attention so when the crew exited, she might not have noticed it.

After a couple of minutes, the hatch hadn't closed and that was a violation of the rules. Irritated, she signaled the transport. Following standard procedure, she activated her transmitter and called the ship's pilot. "Unr'le," Chenel transmitted.

"You know you're breaking the rules leaving the hatch opened like that. If you do not close it immediately, I will have to ask security to detain you. You know what the fines are like. You know you're breaking the rules leaving the hatch opened like that. If you do not close it immediately, I will have to ask security to detain you. You know what the fines are like."

Chenel was focused on her work so she never noticed that the door to her own compartment was open and she almost didn't hear the other sound. The sound was strange, but the sound of her co-worker gurgling and hitting the floor was unmistakable. She turned and saw her co-worker Cusca crumbled on the floor, a huge hole in the middle of his chest. Panicking, her eyes darted about trying to find her friend's killer but unable to see anything. Her fear ramped up because that meant only one thing. A Goa'uld killer had infiltrated Corrina. An invisible assassin had infiltrated most likely using the Al'kesh.

Ashrak! But the trackers should have alerted us! They should have worked!

She never finished her thought as a large burn hole appeared where here heart used to be and an instant later her brain was broiled by a second shot from the energy weapon. The space traffic controller was last of six to die. Chenel never knew but she was wrong. It wasn't an Ashrak that had infiltrated the base.

Unimpeded, the enemy moved to where the hidden two ring transporters were located and they waited.

Beru's zat'nik'tel fired again, killing the Tok'ra responsible for monitoring the ring transporters on the surface. The man had died with a look of horror, pain and betrayal etched into his face. Quickly, Beru placed his weapon back into its hoister. It had served its purpose for now.

For security purposes, the ring transporters that accessed the Tok'ra city could not be activated from the surface. Everything was controlled from within in the city. It was a paranoid precaution or a rightfully paranoid people but one that the Council insisted on in even this current era of openness.

Beru thought it was a mistake then and he still believed it. Using his foot, he pushed the last of the dead bodies out of the way. Beru knew the people he just killed. In fact, He'tan had been been forced to shoot him down.

With no one to stop him, he moved to transport control and quickly activated it. The former Tok'ra stared at the rings as they rose to prepare for transport. The majority the people in the galaxy had no idea that the transport rings were flat discs that enlarged when functional. It was a marvelous piece of technology, one of the now dead supreme System Lord Ra's better inventions. It used the same morphing technology as did his own personal Jaffa guards used. The other lords used inferior versions of the technology as Ra always hoarded the best tech for himself.

The five previously flattened rings rose from their carriers, energy pulsing within the rings as the advanced circuitry warmed up, preparing for the massive amount of information that was seconds from being transmitted. Inside the rings a beam of light streaked down and stabilized inside the rings' opening, for an instant the light was too bright for Beru to directly look at. Beru couldn't see what has just transported down, but he knew that something was in there and that it wouldn't be friendly.

Whatever they were, they were invisible.

"Again," the Keeper prompted. Beru repeated the transporter process once more. Like before there was nothing there for his eyes to see.

"Again!"

His hands danced over the controls three more times. Finished, he stepped over the bodies of his dead friends. The allies of the Keeper were already spreading out moving with purpose into the tunnels. He turned one last time and looked at the people he'd just killed and them followed behind the intruders.

It was a leisurely half hour's walk through the crystalline tunnels to the Corrina stargate and Beru took his time getting there, making sure that he wouldn't cause any undue attention. The ring transporter room was now under the care of whatever had transported down thereby ensuring that whoever entered that room received an automatic death sentence. Surprisingly in this moment of clarity, he realized that it never occurred to him that the city's design was a near-perfect death trap. There were very few entrances and exits and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. Well, it was too late to change things now, he mused.

The relatively small underground city was built followed the pattern originally designed by the Tok'ra architect Manasas who had died more than a thousand years earlier. The original design was never intended to be a permanent rendering, but something to be used as a comfortable but temporary residence as the Tok'ra continually fled for their lives. The design had served them well throughout those long years and the symbiotes never thought to change what wasn't broken. The city was built of seven levels and each level had seven main tunnels or passageways with smaller interconnecting arteries that led to private quarters, recreations and research areas. The actual tunnels were grown using a technology that the Tok'ra guarded jealously. Unfortunately, the Tau'ri obtained a working sample of the generative crystal technology due to the small technology exchange completed before the Tok'ra broke ties with Earth. Beru was against it but his opinions about the exchange was largely ignored. It was to their credit however that the Tau'ri were given only the earliest versions of the tunneling technology. Of course, everyone knew this the those Earthers didn't complain and Beru assumed that they were making their own strides and advances like they did everything else. But for now, they were still behind the Tok'ra. Here in the city, their own advances in the crystalline generating technology was obvious. For example, the crystals in the city generated their own internal light making the need for artificial lighting essentially unnecessary.

The alien controlling Beru ignored all of this as it proceeded towards its next target. Passing quite a few Tok'ra, Beru waved politely to those that knew him, but ignoring their attempts at small talk he smiled and waved them off with the attitude of someone who had important and immediate things to do.

Unknown to them, Beru was flanked by two invisible infiltrators and accompanied by a third alien, different from the two, walking with him. He hadn't seen it but he knew that whatever it was, it was the master of these creatures.

The invisible aliens quickly positioned themselves in all critical areas. Main communications had two of the soldiers inside the room with the people there and Beru suspected that those people were already probably dead. The ring transporters were under his master's control and guarded. The spaceport was under their control/ Main power had four infiltrators waiting for the signal. The plan was proceeding smoothly and as planned. It was only a matter of time however, that the Tok'ra would discover that they weren't alone.

Anise always believed herself a brilliant scientist; however, she had to admit that here expertise didn't extend to the subtler aspects of bioscience. She wasn't the type of researcher that specialized in medicine. But delightfully, she couldn't deny that her current project was yielding results far quicker than she had anticipated. In fact, she was enjoying herself working with the remarkably intelligent but very young Orbanian scientists assisting her. It wasn't like working with the Terran SG-1 team who never openly acknowledged her scientific capabilities. Here, she was happy.

With the decision to contact the Tau'ri finally settled within the council, it allowed her to focus more on her projects. Anise sincerely hoped that her rocky relationship with the SGC and the Earth people in general would improve after the Tok'ra-Terran relations were re-established. The Orbanian scientists liked her and just as importantly, she felt comfortable being in their presence. It wasn't like being with SG-1 in which every time she went to Colorado Earth, she had to strain to maintain her composure around Colonel, now General O'Neill. He was always so arrogant and suspicious of her and her fellow Tok'ra; always assuming that her people would become like the goa'uld at any given moment. O'Neill and his team, and by extension most of the leadership of Earth, didn't trust her, and all because of a few experiments that went slightly wrong. It wasn't her fault that experiments were unpredictable; that was the nature of experimentation. Things went wrong sometimes. They never grasped the fact that she always had the greater good for both the Tok'ra and Earth in mind each time she performed her studies. She did admit though, if only to herself, that some things didn't turn out as she'd hoped. Her failures and O'Neill's unrelenting sarcasm grated on her in ways that she had never anticipated as it was the nature of science to fail occasionally, but their harshness did hurt when she worked so hard for the benefit of everyone. She was trying, really, really trying.

Winnow, a nine-year-old Orbanian girl, looked on unabashedly at the distracted Tok'ra. "May I ask what were you thinking about? Is there something wrong with the experiment?"

Embarrassed by her apparent lapse, the Tok'ra returned the favor. Both Anise and her host Freya couldn't help but smile at the very innocent little girls. The Orbanian girl and her two ten-year-old compatriots, Tennia and Shae, were extremely intelligent and that was the reason why they were assisting her in the current research instead of the chief medical specialist who was away on a deep cover mission.

The children weren't natural geniuses. Their extreme intelligence was derived from the Orbanian use of nano-technology. The nanites stored and allowed t the children of Orban to retain and access massive amounts of information. So, it was no surprise that the young ones here were invaluable in helping with developing a stable naquadria micro-reactor and were also assisting the Tok'ra in finding ways to improve their infantile reproduction sciences. The medical understanding and knowledge of the Orbanians was just as impressive as their physical sciences and the Tok'ra desperately needed the assistance of those experts in the fields of biology and medicine. Anise had to commend the Tau'ri for their success in bringing the Orbanian people into their alliance, or coalition as they termed it. Their desire to bring in various governments and species into the Tau'ri sphere of influence was impressive, almost obsessive in a way but she could easily see the resulting benefits. This was something that she resolved to study more and see if some of those ideas could be incorporated into the Tok'ra before it was too late.

To her people, it was time that represented the enemy. The Tok'ra population was stagnant and it was an ongoing concern for her people who were heading for extinction, much like the Asgard had. According to the Tau'ri the Asgard were never able to correct the cloning deficiency which pushed them towards extinction. If their war hadn't occurred (and that conflict was still was one of the most closely guarded secrets the Terrans held) they still might not have found a cure in time. Anise and her people feared the same thing would happen to them and they were determined to avoid that fate. They knew that the problem lay in their natural reproductive system.

In nature, only a select few mature larvae forms developed the ability to produce more larva. This mechanism was a genetic safeguard which kept the Goa'uld-Tok'ra symbiotes from over populating their natural eco system. When they were removed from that system, only a select few symbiotes retained the ability to reproduce large numbers of offspring. Human bodies, although easily repairable weren't the symbiotes natural hosts. This change in hosts greatly complicated the already complex reproductive system. Occasionally, one could overcome this challenge and become a Queen. Each of Ra's queens had that reproductive ability and produced vast numbers of Jaffa as a result. There were a few other queens, all of them highly prized and all of them were dedicated to the Goa'uld way of life. As much as she hated the comparison, her species could be compared to the life cycle of ants and bees. The insect queen lays the eggs and her children serve her. After the loss and later death of queen Egeria, the Tok'ra had lost theor only progenitor and their inevitable slide towards extinction began.

But with the Orbanians help it was a strong possibility that the Tok'ra could turn on the reproductive systems of any symbiote long enough to produce a few viable larvae and then turn the system off. Diversity would increase and one female wouldn't be stuck producing hundreds of larvae in batches throughout her lifetime. Anise couldn't think of anyone who wanted to become a brood queen for the rest of their lives. And, Tau'ri aside, there were many worlds filled with people that were interested in the blending. The benefits were significant and would significantly increase the numbers of the twelve hundred or so Tok'ra still existing.

From a medical standpoint, the key to initiating and reactivating the reproductive system by medical treatments remained elusive but Anise and the medical team she was working with were making progress. The complete Tok'ra gene map was known for generations, however the complex sequence to turn on and turn off larva production in a (and she hated this word) drone strained even some of the best minds of both symbiote and human. The proper gene activation required not only detailed symbiote biology but host biology both interacting as a single reproductive unit. If just one Tok'ra female had the predilection for reproduction it would have been so much easier. As things were, Anise and her fellow scientists had to follow the slow path of scientific investigation and experimentation without a specific guideline to follow. But the Orbanians were helping overcome this problem and with luck, the Tok'ra wouldn't have to fear extinction by sterilization.

"No, there is nothing wrong," Anise answered. "our results lookpromising. "I am simply contemplating what life might be like if I am able to produce progeny. Would I choose a mate or proceed on my own? Each has its benefits and drawbacks."

Winnow shrugged. "You could choose either," she answered as only a ten-year old super genius could who didn't really see the difference.

"It is complicated," she answered more to herself than to the young child and the two others expectantly waiting for an explanation. "I could use the genetic material of a fellow Tok'ra or possibly Jack O'Neill of Earth. He is an old specimen but once we normalize relations with Earth perhaps I can use O'Neill's gametic material to produce a child or five. Despite our differences I would welcome the contribution of his genetic material so that the Tok'ra might develop better bonds with the people of Earth. History records that such unions were commonly used by many government throughout the galaxy to solidify economic and political opportunities."

"Winnow looked upset. "I thought he hates you."

Anise looked shocked. "How do you know that he hates me?"

"Everybody in the alliance knows that." She shrugged. "I don't think he would agree to such a union or contribution as I believe his opinion of you has changed all of these years. "

"I can't see why he wouldn't be interested," she huffed. "I am not unattractive, and he would not have to be involved in raising our spawn."

"I don't think you understand," Shae added. Even as she spoke she was accessing her nanite memory processors. Reviewing her memories of her family in seconds, she began speaking once more. "I believe that your host Freya has a better idea of what I am speaking about. My father and mother always says that It is not just having a child that is important but it is the connection that people have with their children. Anise, I do not think your idea is wise. You do not understand the nature of human interactions. I think both you and Freya will be hurt if you try this.""

"But I know everything that Freya knows," Anise countered. The woman's symbiote was miffed that she was being lectured by a child. "I have had access to her thoughts and feelings for years. I most certainly understand human psychology."

"I do not believe you do," Shae countered. "My father…"

The artificial lighting went out and then the power to the equipment died a second later. Anise looked around confused by the power interruption–there were so many backups that it was almost impossible unless…that's when she panicked. Her analytical mind immediately concluded the worst possible scenario. The power came from the main generator complex.

The only way it could fail was if someone turned to off.

One of the young Orbanians looked around surprised by the power loss. What's happening? Why is there a loss of power?"

Anise didn't answer as she continued trying to come up with a viable plan of escape. The natural crystal light reflected off her face and reflected the pure fear enveloping her.

It was Freya who answered the children. "We have to go!" The only thing both Freya and Anise could think of was the stargate and escape if it wasn't already blocked off. "We have to leave now!" she said as she grabbed a small experimental piece of equipment, her personal weapon and pushed the girls out of the laboratory into the main hallway among the increasingly larger numbers of people.

Anise was not happy with her odds. Everyone in the city would come to the same conclusion and their means of escape would be that much more complicated.

Like the Tau'ri stargate, the Tok'ra had seen the wisdom of protecting their stargate. With few exceptions, there was no way that anyone or anything that they knew of (other than radio, gravitational waves, and Tollanian phase shift technology) could get through when the iris was closed. The barrier would open only if the proper code was initiated by those wanting to come through. Once identified, the Tok'ra monitoring the gate would manually open it from their side. It was a powerful, very simple and effective deterrent. But their security had its weaknesses. Beru reached the secured area stepping over the bodies of three of his people. Using his security pass, he touched the pad and but stopped short. The door was already opened. As he went to push the door open, it opened of its own accord causing him to stumble slightly as something pushed him forward into the gate room. Several more of his people splayed across the floor. Most had a single burn mark across their chests, all but one of them were dead except one…

It was a woman and she was floating two feet above the floor. No, that was wrong. Beru saw that she was being held up by something huge and strong enough to keep her lifted effortlessly. She screamed silently, her eyes filled with terror and pain. The more he looked the more he was convinced that something held her effortlessly. The thing turned visible and at its sight, Beru wanted to scream too. It was tall easily seven feet tall with large hook-like horns located on its arms and legs. The creature had large bone plates covering its hip areas like armor. Its stomach area was so thin that Beru wasn't sure how such a thin midsection could possibly support its upper body. The ribcage was expanded and elongated. Its spinal column had what looked like spike protruding from out of each vertebra. The back of its neck was covered with small protective spikes and on top of its head were two huge curved horns. Its hands were claws of differing lengths that extended the length of its forearm. But it was the face that threatened the man's sanity. It was the face of a monster, a reptilian-like predator of ancient times, with its mouth filled with long curved teeth. It was feeding on that poor woman whose name for the life of him he couldn't remember. Repulsed, yet fascinated, he continued to watch as the woman's body withered away. The creature looked to be absorbing her fluids and organs. It reminded him of what the Tau'ri had reported about the aliens called the Wraith. None of the Tok'ra had seen the aliens but the reports of its feeding reminded him of what was happening now. But this appeared different as the alien's claws appeared to be phased into the woman's body. For a moment her pain-filled eyes touched his pleading for help., then the light in her eyes generated by the symbiote died, the thing dropping the withered husk to the floor in satisfaction. Then the light in her eyes generated by the symbiote died. The thing dropped the withered husk. How it had fed on her was unknown and Beru really didn't really care. All he wanted to do was run and keep running but the controller wouldn't allow him.

It made him watch.

Something else appeared literally next to him. It was another thing, another black colored monster that almost reminded him of an Earth spider with too many legs filled with spikes. It was completely different than the thing that fed off the woman. The creature was easily twice his size and its six pairs of eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence. All Beru could hear in his mind was...

"Master."

The Shadow glided towards the DHD controller and examined it quickly. "Disable it," it whispered to Beru who promptly did so.

"You failed in your mission," it said to Beru. "You failed to convince the Tok'ra to join our cause. There are consequences to your failed actions. We are not pleased with failure and we are not finished with you. You will live to serve us. And you will watch as your people die."

Beru instantly denied the Shadow's accusation. No matter what was happening, it wasn't really his fault, he was being made to do all of this. He mentally cursed the creature. The Shadow merely cocked her head in amusement.

With that, the Shadow disappeared as did the satiated shadow minion. Beru was forced out of the gate room and into the main halls to watch as the slaughter continued.

Phased back into invisibility the Shadow watched as its puppet leave the room. The female was pleased with the operation so far. Exposure to the symbiotes had taught her how to adjust her phased form so that the Tok'ra and Goa'uld symbiotes could no longer detect them. It was a natural ability of theirs, used to remain undetected among the younger races. But they required exposure to their targets and now that she was undetectable by the symbiotes, she would teach it to the others as soon as the mission was over. For now, she studied the Stargate. This device would be the key to keeping the experimental population contained. That, along with containing and abandoning hyperspace travel would be the key to everything.

Her people were devoting a lot of resources to this grand experiment. Failure was unthinkable and if it did fail or if the young ones here interfered too much, then they would understand what true vindictiveness was.

Eyes gleaming, it moved out of the room to monitor her Shadow minions' progress.

On level four, Kella and Turo were running towards the armoury, desperately hoping that emergency power was still operating so that they could open the door. Other than standard security, the city's population was unarmed. The people, unable to fight back, were being slaughtered by an Ashrak hit team throughout the city. The weapons the enemy was using sounded like nothing they'd heard before. Therefore, most people assumed that the enemy was using a new type of extremely powerful weapon as the two men and the guards with them had seen holes melted through almost a meter of crystal formation. Driven by fear, the men raced towards the weapons storage area. All of them tried their best to shut out the screaming and the smells of burning flesh and equipment starting to overwhelm the now stagnant air circulating system.

Someone screamed at the top of their lungs, "Ashrak!" before the voice was cut off with a finality that was undeniable. It did make sense. Somehow the Ashtorath had gotten those assassins onto the city and they were killing everyone. It was either multiple Ashrak killers, or possibility the Reetou were attacking the very heart of the Tok'ra. The screams of terror and death rose as did the weapons fire. And nowhere was the enemy seen.

"They're everywhere!" yelled Turo. He was almost out of breath, enhanced stamina notwithstanding. "How did they get in?"

"Don't know," one of the others with them answered. They control the rings, communications, and they have shut off the power! We're trapped. The gate's the only way out."

"We have to save as many as we can," Kella rationalized. "Fight our way to the stargate."

The dozen men and women turned the corner to see Beru standing in front of the weapons secure area. He looked sad.

Kella looked at him immediately saw him for what he was. Traitor!" Beru could feel the mixture of surprise and contempt emanating from him/. "Why?" he asked just as Rana and a few that were with him arrived.

Beru was devoid of emotion. "You should have listened to me and agreed to my associates' demands. It is my fault for what has happened and it is your fault for what happens now."

Rana pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Get him out of the way!" he snapped in a fit of murderous rage. His eyes glowed brightly as three Tok'ra security pointed their zats directly at him. Before any of them could even press the triggers each one died with a blast to their chests.

The others panicked as the invisible soldiers moved in among them and began tearing them apart. The things didn't use their strange weapons. They used what nature had given them to lethal effect. Within a minute it was over. Turo was knocked to the side almost tumbling over Kella. Both were still alive as was Rana. All of them realized that their survival was no coincidence.

Beru stood impassively while two of the nightmare creatures turned visible and began feeding on a couple of the severely wounded. Their agonizing moans filled the tunnels.

"Sorry," Beru said as he pointed to one of the surviving members of the counsel. "You are not needed."

Turo was suddenly gripped by impossibly strong claws that dug deep into his body and effortlessly lifted him from his feet. He tried not to scream but he couldn't help it as sharp claws dug deep into his host's body. His terror was overwhelming as he felt everything that he was began to dissolve away. He was being eaten alive and darkness was consuming him. His agony didn't last long and his shriveled corpse dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap. Several bodies were picked up and their heads removed. Kella's head was sliced off and placed into a chest along with the others.

Rana was glaring at Beru with a mixture of terror and hatred. He knew he was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. But what he had just witnessed was almost beyond comprehension. He had no inkling what those creatures were. Like most of the others he assumed that the Ashtorath were the ones responsible. Now, he was sure they weren't. He couldn't believe that Beru was a Goa'uld plant, a deep cover spy. Certain precautions had precluded that possibility.

Beru sensed his confusion and decided to answer his unspoken question. He was being allowed to do that much. It was a final insult to top off his impending death. "I am not my own," the man intoned in a cold voice. "I had no choice in this matter." His voice was a study of controlled coldness. "If you had listened to me, if you had taken the deal they offered then none of this would have happened."

Rana looked confused for a moment. "Wait, are you talking about the deal you tried to have us agree to?" Another of the aliens appeared in front of him and reached out. Rana rocked with fear, shrank back away for it. Rana, rocked with fear, shrank back, away from it. The soldier of darkness grabbed him and brought him to eye level and examined him carefully causing the Tok'ra to void himself. He struggled to speak despite his agony. "What–what is this thing?" he demanded of Beru. The pain was increasing as the claws dug into his chest and stomach. With pain-filled eyes he looked at the pure blackness of the monster's mouth filled with yellowish brown teeth. "What is it?"

Despite the coldness in Beru's voice, his once friend appeared sad as he began shaking his head.

"I don't know what kind of alien it is," Beru answered. "What I do know is that it has to do what it has to do. This it needs your head. I am sorry."

There was a short gurgle as Rana's head was sheared off at the shoulders and the body discarded onto the floor. His head was quickly placed into the chest along with the rest.

The soldiers disappeared once again. They went off to join the others in the hunt.