Will the Storm Break?

~*Per'sus*~

I wake up to an alarm, and I see that Aldwin sent out an emergency signal.

We should have given him guards, Einar thinks.

That would have made Lantash more hostile, I think as I run over. You know he would have noticed.

Guards meet me on the way.

"Remain calm," I order, having no idea what to expect.

"No!"

Ocker? Einar thinks.

Yes. Though I don't know why. He and Delek should have already left.

"Lantash, no," It's Jolinar voice, and she sounds worried. "He isn't-"

"He will kill Amb," Lantash replies angrily.

Lantash being furious enough to interrupt her is worrying. I have no idea what to expect as I turn a corner to see what is happening.

Lantash has Ocker pinned against the wall…with a knife pointed at his throat.

"Release him now," I order before taking in the full scene.

Aldwin is kneeling by Delek, who is on the floor. Jolinar is afraid for Ocker. Malek looks horrified. The guards surround the scene, but only one pulls out a zatnik'atel so that no one is accidentally killed.

If he fires, Ocker will be dead before Lantash is stunned, Einar thinks.

I immediately signal for the guard to hold his position.

"Stand down," I order as I approach. "Lantash, I assure you, he will not harm Amb."

"This-this is my fault," Malek stammers. There is blood on his hand and a knife by his feet.

Blue blood, Einar notices quickly.

Shit. It's mostly red, but there is blue too. What did I walk into? I really hope that Delek is only injured, but Toma? Injuries that injure a symbiote often kill the host.

"No one will punish Amb," I reassure. "He needs help. We understand that."

Lantash doesn't move, but he's listening, and I hope Ocker remains calm. He is very impulsive, often letting his emotions guide him.

"We'll help him. Killing Ocker won't help. It will only hurt him. Look at Malek. He is hurting. He needs your comfort, not more violence."

Lantash's eyes flicker towards Malek.

Ocker tenses, looking like he might make a move.

Ocker, don't do anything stupid, Einar quietly begs as if Ocker can hear him.

"Lantash, release…him…now." I command while keeping calm.

Lantash releases Ocker, who immediately goes to Delek. Toma's eyes are open, and that saddens me. He was a good man.

"Delek?" I ask, though the fact that Aldwin is not rushing him to the infirmary already tells me.

"Toma was stabbed in the back of his neck," Aldwin replies stiffly, clearly upset.

I close my eyes in sorrow.

"It-It wasn't his fault. It was my fault. My fault! It wasn't his fault." Malek stammers as Jolinar hugs him.

"We'll get him help," I promise as Lantash also hugs Malek.

"It wasn't his fault." His voice is muffled against Samantha's shoulder, and he begins crying.

"Take him to your quarters," I order gently.

My host feels almost numb.

Einar? I watch as the three ex-prisoners walk away.

That's not Amb. I mean…

I understand. No. He's not the Amb we knew. He needs help.

Ocker is holding Toma's body. Aldwin looks physically ill.

"It's my fault. I… You assigned me to watch them-"

"Aldwin, you could not have overpowered them. You did the right thing by summoning for help." I close my eyes briefly. "What happened?"

"Delek and I were leaving," Ocker says as he looks up to me, tears running down his face. "Lantash was hostile the second he saw Delek."

"He wasn't the one who killed him."

"He released him, but Amb walked out. Everything happened so quickly." Aldwin looks away in shame. "I recommend sending them to a smaller outpost."

"This is the smallest outpost," Ocker replies.

True. Garshaw and I are only here because of the ex-prisoners.

Then we make a smaller one, Einar thinks.

"Then we make a smaller one," Aldwin argues.

"Einar agrees," I say. "Make the preparations. Kilso will take over the rest of your shift."

Aldwin makes a short nod before leaving.

"Councilor." Ocker is still holding Delek. "There are places that can…help them."

That is offensive! Einar yells.

"We take care of our own."

"With respect-"

"We are not sending them away," I command.

"Lantash attacks Ren'al, and you blamed her for it."

"That was a misunderstanding."

"And what was this?!" He gestures to Delek. "You didn't discipline Lantash, so they learned that they could get away with attacking us!"

"I am sorry for your loss." I look back as others approach with a stretcher to take Toma's body. "However, in all likelihood, Amb does not even know what he did wrong, and you want to punish him?"

"Not punish-"

"Sending them away will be seen as punishment, and we will forever lose Malek, Lantash, and possibly Jolinar."

Ocker looks to Delek.

"Delek is your batch mate. Ren'al is your wife. You are not objective here. You can't be. Go to the Haz base."

"Ren'al."

"I'll assign her there soon, along with the task of bringing Delek's body to you."

"I will not leave her behind."

"You will do as you are ordered…and do not speak to me in such a tone again."

Ocker glares.

"Take the time you need to mourn him, but do not go near Malek, Lantash, or Jolinar."

He makes a soft huff, then leaves.

I head into the quarters of the ex-prisoners.

Malek is laying down, staring at the ceiling while Lantash and Samantha clean blood off his face and hands. I wonder how many times they have had to do that. With him. With Martouf. Perhaps with Samantha as well.

Malek slowly sits up, then edges to the end of the bed.

"If possible, I would like to speak to Amb."

Malek retreats, and Amb immediately kneels on the floor.

"You don't need to kneel to me." That makes me feel uncomfortable, and the fear in his expression tells me how truly broken he is.

Amb doesn't move.

"Please, stand…or sit on the bed if you prefer."

Lantash and Samantha, thankfully, encourage him to do so, and he sits back down on the bed.

"Amb… You committed murder."

Amb doesn't respond.

"I know what you had to do in prison, but you aren't in prison anymore. No one here is going to hurt you."

"You aren't here to punish me?"

"No. I'm here to talk to you."

Amb takes comfort from the others.

"How did you know of Delek's actions?"

"We heard the Tau'ri speaking about him," Lantash replies.

Traitors, Einar thinks.

"Amb…" I glance down. "Delek was demoted and punished for his lies. He learned from his mistake. He didn't need to die." Most likely a foolish mistake, but that will be addressed.

Amb looks down.

"And Toma? He was innocent. The mistake was Delek's choice." I pause briefly. "Do you understand that?"

"Malek says I was wrong…"

"But?"

"Delek hurt us. People who hurt us have to die."

His mates hold him close.

"I don't understand…why it's suddenly wrong." He cries. "I don't… I'm so confused."

"I know. We will help you. Aldwin is making a new outpost, one with far less people. It will be much calmer. I think you will find that to be much more…comfortable."

Amb nods, but no one really responds. I see fear in both him and Lantash.

"It's my fault," Lantash says. "I enforced that rule."

"To survive," Samantha says in defense. "That's how you survived. That's why we all survived."

"I take full blame," Lantash continues.

It will be a while before they trust us, Einar thinks.

Yes. I bow my head, giving him control.

Lantash tilts his head.

"Since Aldwin is setting this up, the Tok'ra, Kilso, will be down your hallway. If you need anything, let him know."

"I…" Lantash frowns. "I need my writing supplies.

"I will have that sent in."

"Thank you." His voice is soft.

"Has the room you need been grown?"

"Yes."

Einar leaves, heading to the infirmary. We immediately hear arguing between Anise and Ren'al.

"I did as you asked," is Anise's confused voice.

"Why did you take his image?" Ren'al's voice is tense, which means she's furious, which is rare.

I feel exhausted. So much seems to be happening at once.

Relax, love. Einar rubs his hand over me. I'll take care of this.

I press into his hand, but stay alert.

"You told me to write a report on his death."

I suspect I know what happened here.

The two women stop as Einar enters the room. Toma is under a heavy sheet on a bed. Einar grabs the tablet next to him.

"Anise, what exactly did Ren'al tell you?"

"She informed that Delek had been killed, and that she needed a report."

As she speaks, Einar looks at the report. Images of Toma. Images of their bones, focusing on the stab wound.

I take over on instinct, looking at the images.

Delek suffered, Einar thinks is sorrow.

Unfortunately, I agree with him. It was probably only for a few of seconds. However, in those seconds, we see that he squirmed.

Per'sus? Einar tenderly reaches out to me.

Suddenly, his host is dead and he is cut in half. No wonder he panicked.

Maybe he was in too much shock to be aware of what was happening?

If that were the case, there would be more damage to Toma's brain. The squirming is minimal. In spite of his fears, I see that Delek made sure not to hurt him, a desperate hope that Toma might live.

"Anise, we know who killed then," I say as I look to her. "This is not a murder investigation."

She is genuinely surprised by that.

"Delete the images and keep the report at a minimum." I hand her back the tablet.

"Yes, Councilor." She steps away, stops, then gives control to Freya.

"We apologize. Anise meant no offense." Freya leaves when there is no reply.

"Ren'al, it was an honest mistake," I say.

"I thought I told her." She closes her eyes. "How could this happen?" She is angry as she looks to me. "How did Lantash know?"

"He's not the one-"

"It doesn't matter who, it matters that they knew!" She grits her teeth, then takes a deep breath. "My apologies… No Tok'ra would have been so foolish to say anything, not so soon, not the day he and the others returned."

"I assure you, I will have that investigated."

"It was the Tau'ri, wasn't it?"

"…Yes."

She walks away.

~*Jolinar*~

Per'sus sends us to the new outpost with far less people. Almost immediately, I see an improvement in my mates.

Martouf has a new tablet, one that he can write on for as long as he needs.

"It's easier than writing on the wall," he says. He is in a small alcove, leaving against the wall, holding a stylus as he tests the tablet.

Sam smiles. "It's better?"

He looks up to her and nods with a small smile.

Sam sits by him.

Malek also has a tablet. He's at the table though, and I think he is drawing.

"Malek?" Sam says.

He shakes his head.

Has anything like that happened before? Sam asked.

Not like this. We are given orders at times, knowing that Tok'ra can or may die. We do not blame or hate each other for it. Every time I was out there, working, I knew I might die for something greater.

Aldwin once followed orders that nearly killed some of us.

It is not easy to do. It weighs heavy on your heart, always.

Sam nods slightly.

But this? Something so completely unnecessary and so personal? Done as he slept? Malek will never fully recover from this.

~+~+~.

A few days later, Jacob returns from Earth. Sam leaves to greet him, and without us saying anything, our husbands know that she wants to talk to him alone.

"Sammy." He smiles.

Sam hugs him, and they find an empty room to talk.

"How do you feel?" He asks.

"Do you know about Delek?"

"Yeah." Jacob frowns as he sits down. "Not a way for a Tok'ra to go out."

Sam sits by him.

"How is Malek doing?"

"Sorry," she replies as a way of telling him that she won't be answering that.

Jacob nods then takes out envelopes.

"What is this?"

"From Mark and his family."

"Mark must be furious at me."

"No, he's furious at Pete, especially… Mark knows…everything."

"What?" Her heart sinks. "Everything? Pete told him?"

"No, not exactly, it's just… Pete is…empty. Mark figured out… He figured things out. He never said anything, but… He knows."

"If he never said anything…"

Selmak is very good at reading people, I think.

"Mark doesn't expect to see you for a while, and he says he understands. He wanted me to tell you. That's why they all wrote the letters, so you feel family love."

"I will write back."

"They would like that."

She smiles.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Jacob offers.

"Jolinar has been very helpful."

Her answer makes me wiggle in joy, and that makes her laugh.

Jacob smiles. "Selmak has missed her."

Sam smiles, and her memories tell me that she didn't realize we were good friends.

Given my actions, that would have been most awkward to tell you before.

I understand. She hugs her dad, and we feel his arms wrap around her.