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Chapter Text

Sam looked out the window of the space shuttle Discovery. The view was amazing. Right now they were passing over North America. It was night down there, and she could see the light from a great many cities across the continent. It was really beautiful.

She sighed, suddenly thinking of her father who had helped to give her this opportunity, putting in a good word for her with some people he knew. He had been so proud when she was accepted into the program. She really wished he had lived long enough to see her actually get sent on a mission to space.

This was her first mission - a supply run to the space station, ISS, that was currently being built. They had arrived a couple days ago, and would return to Earth again in another several days.

With everything, it would amount to more than 9 ½ days in space, total! Sam found it thrilling, even if they were only about 400 km above Earth. It was still space. Sort of, anyway.

She look out the window again, smiling a little.

"Sam?" a voice called from behind.

She turned to see the Russian Air Force commander that was accompanying them on this trip. "What is it, Antonov?"

"Houston has sent us some data - observations made by an astronomer..." he hesitated.

"Yes?" Sam said, confused. "What is it?"

"They are not sure. They've called in some experts, but they wanted you to take a look too."

Even more confused, Sam set off and followed Antonov, moving a bit slower and more deliberate than she would wish right now. She had mostly gotten used to moving in zero-G, or rather microgravity, but it was still not intuitive for her.

"Okay, let me see what you have, Captain," Sam said, grabbing on to a handle so she could stand beside the mission commander, Captain Richards, who was studying something on the screen before her.

"What do you make of this, Carter?" Richards said, moving aside so Sam could take a look. "It was taken two hours ago. When the objects were near Uranus."

"Um. Asteroids?" Sam stared at the screen, frowning as she tried to make sense of what she saw.

"Three of them? That close together?"

"Yeah, I know." Sam looked sheepish. "I just don't know what else it could be."

"Then look at his - it was recorded one hour ago."

"Looks like... um, I guess it could be the same objects, moving at the same distance from each other." Sam shook her head. "But they look like... no natural object I have ever seen. Triangular."

"They were inside the orbit of Mars when this was recorded."

"What? But how can they have moved that fast?" Sam exclaimed.

They were interrupted by an alarm coming from the comm system. Richards pushed the button to activate it. "Richards here."

"We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack. Discovery, please sit tight for now, then be prepared to ..."

The signal was broken by the sound of explosions, and then only static came through.

The three of them stared at each other.

Lieutenant Wilkinson popped his head into the room and called to them in an almost panicked voice, "Look out the window! Look!"

They all turned to do so, and what they saw made them gasp. Something huge - and triangular - had appeared. Whatever it was, it had a central pyramid and an oval superstructure of some kind that encircled it.

"It's one of those objects," Sam said.

"Spaceship! It's a spaceship!" Wilkinson insisted.

"Spaceship," Sam repeated, taking a deep breath. "Yes." She shook her head. "It appears it is."

"Oh, my god! It's attacking Earth!" Richards exclaimed.

"This is not happening!" Antonov moaned.

Disbelieving, they watched as the huge alien vessel released swarms of smaller ships, while it kept firing on various structures down on the planet.

The entire crew had held a brief meeting and discussed what to do. They could not get any contact to their ground base in Houston, and from what radio signals they had picked up from around the planet, three of the large alien ships had appeared, as well as several smaller, and were all raining down fire on the major cities.

"What do we do?" Wilkinson asked.

"What can we do?" another of the crew, Johnson, said. "We're doomed, that's how it is!"

"There must be something we can do," Sam insisted.

"Yeah? Like what? Those aliens travelled here from another star system, and we've only just figured out how to fly to our own moon!" Johnson said, morosely.

"We go over there and find some way of blowing it up - or taking it over," Antonov suggested.

"Are you insane?" Johnson asked. "How would you even do that?"

"We have spacesuits. We take the shuttle a little closer, then use the rockets on our suits to fly the rest of the way. There ought to be some way of getting inside," Antonov insisted.

"What if there isn't?" Johnson said.

"Or what if you get inside, and the environment is hostile to human life?" Wilkinson said. "At the very least there could be guards of some kind."

"That's a risk we'll have to take. I mean, what else can we do?" Antonov said. "Other than give up, and I am not doing that."

Sam nodded slowly. "He's got a point."

Richards took a deep breath. "He does. If no one else has got a better plan, then we try it."

They had several spacesuits - Extravehicular Mobility Suits, or EMUs - but only two Manned Maneuvering Units, MMUs, which were to be fit to the EMUs and enabled untethered spacewalks.

After some discussion, they had decided that Sam and Antonov would be the ones to try and board the alien ship. The rest would stay on the space shuttle. Since they had been ignored by the aliens until now, they hoped that would continue to be the case. If Sam and Antonov had not returned after 8 hours, the crew on the shuttle would move further away and stay inconspicuous until they could hopefully land safely somewhere on Earth and escape the aliens.

This was of course something that would be made a lot easier if Sam and Antonov succeeded in disabling or taking over the alien ship, as unlikely as that sounded.

Feeling a little light-headed, Sam let herself slide out of the shuttle, wearing the EMU. She had practised spacewalk, but never such a long distance as this, and she had never done much maneuvering using the MMU. She would manage, though.

The alien ship was almost a kilometer away. The propellants in the astronauts MMUs could affect a change in velocity of about 25 m/s, but with two tanks each of only 5.9 kilograms of nitrogen, they could not be fired continuously. That should not be necessary, though, as they would mostly just need a few pushes in the right direction, provided they could maneuver well.

Sam placed her fingers on the controllers, remembering what to do from her training. The right controller produced rotational acceleration for roll, pitch, and yaw. The left controller produced translational acceleration for moving forward-back, up-down, and left-right. When they reached their target, there was an automatic attitude-hold function that maintained their position. Of course, in this case they were going to travel further than usual, and also to an alien ship which could move unexpectedly and had both weapons and unknown things sticking out. She did not feel at all sure they would succeed.

Regardless, she nodded at Antonov and they set off towards their target.

They managed to break their speed, using their propeller rockets, and stopped just short of hitting the hull of the alien vessel.

"Any thoughts on how we get inside?" Sam wondered.

"I was thinking we could use the exit that those small fighters we saw used. It looked as if it was just a little higher up on the side," Antonov said.

"Then let's try go there," Sam said. She carefully stretched out her gloved hand and touched the surface of the vessel. "Wow, it's an actual alien craft." She slowly shook her head. "I never thought I'd experience something like this."

"Agreed. I just wish the situation was different," Antonov said grimly.

They activated their propulsion rockets and raced along the ship, towards the location where they had seen the smaller vessels come out.

"It was about here they came out - through that opening up there, I think." Antonov said, pointing.

"How can there be an opening into the ship? That they're leaving open?" Sam wondered, looking at the location. It did indeed seem that there was an opening with light shining from the inside.

"To be able to fly in and out quickly, maybe?" Antonov suggested.

"I suppose they could have a big hangar or something in there which is not pressurized, and then the pilots are wearing spacesuits or something."

"If those fighters even have pilots. Maybe they're automatic. Or piloted by robots. Or maybe the aliens doesn't need air," Antonov suggested.

They had reached the opening and Sam stretched out her hand to grab hold of the edge. Instead she hit something invisible which pushed her back, and for a moment the whole area around where she had touched glowed and flickered. "What the..."

"Force shield," Antonov said. "They have force shields!"

"That's just something they have in sci-fi..." Sam shook her head, maneuvering herself back. "But I agree. Looks like it."

Antonov touched the apparent opening carefully, and the area around his hand glowed. "Well, we are not getting in this way."

"There must be another opening. I mean, they've got to have a way to get outside and do repairs, don't they?" Sam pointed out.

"I guess..." Antonov said, not sounding as if he was convinced.

They searched for a long time and was about to give up when Sam called Antonov over the radio, "I found something! I think it's some sort of entrance hatch for... maintenance, maybe?"

Antonov expertly maneuvered the rockets of his suit to where Sam was. "Let me take a look."

Both examined the area around the possible hatch, finding nothing which looked like it could be used to open it. "Maybe it's not a hatch," Sam concluded.

"I think it is." Antonov ran his hand along the edge of the suspected doorway.

Suddenly, the hatch slid aside, revealing an opening.

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed.

"Unless..." Antonov carefully put his hand through the opening, more than half expecting to be stopped by a force shield as they had before. "No, it really is a way inside!"

More than a little uneasy, they both clambered inside, hindered by their bulky spacesuits. When they were inside, they spent some time looking for a way to close the hatch, and finally found it.

The light became stronger when the door out was shut. Sam looked around. "It's hard to believe, but we're actually inside an alien ship!"

"Yes." Antonov looked at the walls. "Well, inside a small airlock, or whatever."

Just as he said that, an inner door opened, allowing access to the rest of the ship.

"Wow! I just noticed something - gravity! We are not floating, so they somehow have artificial gravity!" Sam exclaimed, lifting her foot and putting it down again, amazed.

"You are correct." Antonov lifted his foot as well, then put it down. "Close to Earth-normal, I would say."

Sam slowly shook her head. "This is so very weird." She gazed out into the surprisingly normal looking corridor. "We won't be able to move around wearing these suits. Do you think we'll be fine breathing the air?"

"I guess we will find out." Antonov hit the release and opened his helmet, then breathed in and out a few times. "Seems okay, I think."

Sam removed her helmet as well.

Since the air appeared safe enough, they took off their spacesuits completely and placed them in the corner of the small airlock, hoping no one would think to look inside. Wearing only the liquid cooling and ventilation garment that they had on under the spacesuit, they ventured out into the corridor.

Chapter Text

"This is fascinating," Antonov said in a hushed voice.

"Yes - and very strange." Sam looked at the walls. "Modular, and it looks like it's made of gold... and then there's those brazier standing here and there, despite the electrically lighted panels." She shook her head. "Not how I'd picture alien technology at all."

"Not to mention these." Antonov pointed to some symbols. "That looks like hieroglyphs. Maybe there is more to the stories about aliens and ancient Egypt than you would have thought."

"Right now I'm ready to believe almost anything," Sam said, keeping her voice down.

They continued through the corridor until they heard a sound, as if a group of people were marching through the corridors in heavy boots.

"Behind there!" Sam whispered, pointing to a small alcove where a statue stood. A rather frightening statue, depicting some sort of demonic figure.

They hurried to hide behind the statue, and shortly after a group of four beings in armour marched past. They wore shimmering red and black armour with stylized wings on the shoulders, and looked very much like warriors straight from the underworld. On their heads they wore what looked like red metal skullcaps.

"Damn, that was creepy!" Antonov told Sam in a low voice, when the sound of boots had disappeared in the corridors.

"Agreed." Sam was silent for a moment. "But aside from the armour, those beings looked very humanoid."

"You are correct, they did. Very strange. Did you notice that they also had weird tattoos or something on their foreheads?"

Sam nodded. "Yes. I wonder what that meant."

They walked in the opposite direction of where the aliens had gone, keeping eyes and ears open for enemies as well as anything that might help them save Earth.

"It was stupid of us to come here," Antonov said despondently when they had spent another several minutes in fear, hiding from yet another group of aliens, dressed just like the first. "I do not know what we can do."

"Well, we know they are not so different from us, and that's an advantage. Makes it easier to find some way of hurting them," Sam said, as she carefully peeked into a room through an open doorway. "Looks like some sort of storage."

"Someone's coming!" Antonov suddenly warned, having heard what sounded like a sneeze.

They hurried into the room and threw themselves down behind some large crates just as a group of people entered the corridor. Sam and Antonov were listening as the muted steps came closer and closer, and finally entered the room they were hiding in. These people were really not making much noise at all, and in fact it seemed as if they were sneaking.

Sam risked a peek over the side of the crate, and to her surprise she spotted four humanoids dressed in what looked like BDUs. Two of them had opened a crate and was looking at the contents. Another one of them turned just as she quickly pulled back to safety, and fearing she might have been spotted, she crouched behind the crate, her heart beating like crazy.

They heard someone approach, and a moment later a large black man with a golden tattoo on his forehead - and dressed in BDUs - stepped behind the crate and pointed a strange weapon at them, activating it. "Surrender yourselves!"

"You speak English?" Sam asked, surprised. "I mean, of course you do. You're wearing a BDU."

"He has a mark on the forehead. Like those aliens we saw," Antonov said.

"Teal'c is a Jaffa," said a man with glasses and brown hair.

"Jaffa?" Sam wondered. "But you're from Earth, right?"

"Yup, we're from Earth - except for Teal'c. He's from Chulak. I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill of the US Air Force. Who are you guys and what are you doing here?" He frowned at the clothing of Sam and Antonov as they rose. "You're astronauts?"

"Yes," Sam said. "I'm Captain Samantha Carter, currently with NASA."

"I am Colonel Yuri Antonov of the Russian Air Force, serving as Mission Specialist on Discovery's mission to ISS."

"Well, pleased to meet you, good folks. If I may repeat the question; why are you here?"

"We are here to destroy this ship," Antonov said.

"Not a bad idea, but it won't stop Sokar, I'm afraid. Even assuming you succeeded, he's got two ships more in orbit, and a bunch of alkesh's and deathgliders," O'Neill told them. "You'll just make him angry.

"I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson. That's Teal'c, who's a Jaffa as Jack said, and that one over there is the fourth man on our team, Major John Smith." He pointed.

"We're very happy to see all of you," Sam said. "So. If you don't mind me asking, sir, what's your plan?"

"Yes. Does this mean you have a plan to take out the aliens and save Earth?" Antonov asked, hopeful.

"I wouldn't say we have a plan, as much as we are planning to have a plan," O'Neill said carefully.

"We are reconnoitering," Teal'c informed them.

"As Teal'c said. We should get going. As should you - back to your shuttle," O'Neill said.

"We will help you," Antonov insisted.

"Thanks, but no thanks! You have no idea what it is you have gotten yourself into! Get out of here before you get all of us killed!" O'Neill told them.

"Then perhaps you should tell us what is going on," Sam said, tersely. "I think we deserve that.

"We are not leaving before you do so," Antonov insisted. "Besides, those... those men with marks on their foreheads..."

"Jaffa," Daniel said.

"Jaffa. They went in the direction we came from. Several groups of them."

O'Neill sighed deeply. "Daniel - give them a brief update of all of this." He waved his hand, indicating the ship, the aliens, all of it.

Daniel nodded. "Uh, yes. Well, we're on Sokar's mothership. Sokar, he's, he's a Goa'uld. A type of parasitic alien that takes human hosts. The Goa'uld are pretty bad.

O'Neill snorted. "That's an understatement! They've enslaved most of the Galaxy!"

"Yes," Daniel agreed. "Then there's the Jaffa. They're genetically engineered soldiers. Strong and loyal. Also incubators for the Goa'uld young."

"For real?" Antonov asked. "Teal'c too?"

"Yes," Teal'c said.

Antonov made a low whistle. "Wow!"

"Why are they attacking Earth?" Sam wondered.

"To make us slaves?" Antonov suggested.

"Ah, partially. Also, we, we kinda pissed them off. The Goa'uld I mean," Daniel said.

"I mean, how could little us do that?" O'Neill asked rhetorically.

"The Tau'ri have interfered in the schemes of several Goa'uld, and caused some of them to lose territory, manpower, and resources. The Tau'ri are indeed a formidable force," Teal'c said.

"Thanks, T. Not sure how much that is going to help us this time," O'Neill said, a grim expression on his face. "Well, you got the explanation you wanted. Now go get your space suits and get back to your shuttle."

"We can help you," Sam insisted.

"We both have military training," Antonov reminded him. "Besides, the Jaffa may be waiting for us."

"Yeah, if they catch us they'll know for sure to come look for more of us humans. You don't want that," Sam pointed out.

O'Neill sighed. "Fine, you can come with us, but stay in the back, and don't say or do anything unless you're told!" He went to the crate they had been looking in before discovering Sam and Antonov, and took out two weapons similar to what Teal'c had threatened them with. "These are zat guns. Smith - you show them how they are used."

"Goa'uld ships use control crystals such as these," Teal'c said, pushing a button to open a tray of coloured crystals.

"Nice, so if we destroy those, they can't control the ship?" O'Neill wondered.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a commanding voice called from the other end of the corridor.

"Crap!" O'Neill exclaimed, seeing the Jaffa.

"You will surrender at once!" the Jaffa insisted. Three more guards showed up beside him, then two more.

"Run! Get in there!" O'Neill shouted, indicating a room with an open doorway, maybe 20 feet from where they were. He fired at the Jaffa with his MP5.

Teal'c and Smith shot at the Jaffa as well, covering the retreat of the others. Sam fired off one shot with her zat'nik'tel and unexpectedly hit and stunned a Jaffa. Antonov shot at them as well. More guards appeared around the corner and they followed Daniel who was running for the nearest room.

Just as Sam was turning to enter the room, she was hit by something searing hot in the back, and she cried out as she fell. Daniel and Antonov grabbed an arm each and pulled her to relative safety.

Sam made a pained groan, and coughed weakly.

"Carter!" Antonov exclaimed, falling to his knees beside her.

"I..." Sam tried to speak.

Even more Jaffa flooded the corridor, and Teal'c, Smith, and O'Neill retreated to the room where the others were. Teal'c touched one symbol by the doorway, and the door closed, just before their enemies. O'Neill quickly shot at the symbol with one of the zat'nik'tels, disabling the opening activation device.

"That should keep them out for a little while," O'Neill said.

"It is unlikely to stop them for long," Teal'c told him. "They will be motivated to open the door."

"Captain Carter was hit by a staff blast!" Daniel shouted to O'Neill and the others.

"Damn!" O'Neill swore. "Teal'c, would Sokar have a sarcophagus?"

"Most likely, but it will be extremely well guarded. We are unlikely to be able to gain access."

A large crash was heard from the door, but it held. O'Neill threw it a worried look. Moments later there was another crash, then another.

"Sokar's Jaffa are attempting to enter by destroying the door," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I know." O'Neill looked around the small room, hoping to spot something, anything, which could be used to block the door. There was nothing.

An explosion was heard, and the door came crashing in. The Jaffa had blasted it with their staff weapons.

The fight was over moments later, when a Goa'uld shock grenade exploded in the room.

"Ah, finally you wake! Humans are so weak." Sokar snorted. "And Jaffa, but what can you expect from a traitor."

"You are the one who is weak, parasite!" Teal'c told Sokar.

Sokar just motioned at a nearby Jaffa who pushed his painstick against Teal'c for several minutes. "I am your Lord Sokar!" He turned to look at O'Neill. "You are the leader of this pathetic team. Colonel Jack O'Neill. I promise you, I will make you regret you came here. You will all regret it, and you will beg me to end your miserable lives."

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Please. Melodramatic much?"

"Fool! You will burn in the cleansing fires of Netu!" Sokar exclaimed.

"I was feeling a little chilly, but no thanks."

Sokar flashed his eyes. "You joke, human. This will soon end. Jaffa, throw them in a holding cell until I have finished conquering their pathetic world."

"Wait, you need to help Captain Carter!" Daniel exclaimed. "She was shot."

"I need do no such thing, human! There are enough of you that I will get any information I want, and I have no need of more sex slaves right now." He suddenly grinned. "Jaffa, kree! Throw them in the cell with the Tok'ra traitor!"

Chapter Text

Sam made a low groan as she hit the floor of the cell, but neither moved nor said anything else, giving the others cause for concern.

"Captain Carter?" Antonov said. "Sam?" He felt for her pulse on the side of her neck, and found it. "She's alive, but I don't know for how long." He shook his head. "What kind of weapon was that? Plasma-weapon?"

"Staff weapon. Yeah, I think it shoots plasma," Daniel said, giving Sam a worried look.

"Hey! Let us out! We have wounded!" Smith shouted, banging on the large, golden door.

"They will ignore you," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I know."

"What kind of people decorate their cells like this?" Antonov shook his head, feeling equal parts disbelief and disgust as he looked around.

"The Goa'uld do tend to have a rather unique taste in interior design," O'Neill said drily. "This is normal. For them."

Antonov nodded, then returned to checking on Sam's wound. "It's bad. Don't you guys have any way of treating this, if you've encountered those weapons before?"

"Unfortunately there's only the sarcophagus - a device the Goa'uld has, which can heal people," Daniel said.

A low moan interrupted their discussion, and they all looked to the other end of their cell. There, partially hidden under a bench, lay someone with their back to them. The clothing seemed to have been expensive, but now it was in tatters and bloody.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Daniel asked, walking over to the figure.

"Right, Sokar said someone else would be in the cell," O'Neill mumbled as he also walked closer.

"It's a woman." Daniel kneeled beside her and touched her shoulder.

She half-turned and her eyes fluttered open. "I..." She coughed and blood seeped out.

"Shh. Don't try to talk," Daniel said.

"Get away from her!" Teal'c suddenly exclaimed. "She may be Goa'uld!"

"What?" O'Neill exclaimed. "Why do you think that? Daniel! Get over here!"

Daniel moved back quickly, almost jumping back from the brown haired woman.

"Do not... worry. I... I am not... Goa'uld," the woman managed. "My name... is Talia."

"If she is a Goa'uld, she may be trying to trick you into coming close enough for her to take a new host." Teal'c warned.

"I think she's Nasyan," Daniel said. "Look at that tattoo."

Talia nodded shakily. "I am." She coughed again, and more blood dribbled out.

"Did Sokar torture you?" O'Neill asked, making sure to stay at a safe distance in case there was a symbiote in the badly injured person.

"Yes." Talia was silent for a long time. So long that the others almost get worried enough that she had died that they were going to check on her. Then she drew a rattling breath, which ended on a coughing fit. "Your friend... was... shot. By a Jaffa."

"Yes, she was."

"I know... someone who can... help her," Talia slowly got out. It was clearly taking all her strength just to speak.

"Who? Please, tell us!" Antonov begged, approaching her.

Teal'c grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "We do not know she is not Goa'uld."

"Your Jaffa friend... is correct," Talia said. "In a way. My Jolinar is not... Goa'uld. She is Tok'ra. She tries... to heal me. She will... fail."

"Tok'ra?" O'Neill asked, then nodded. "Right. That's what Sokar said."

Teal'c had a strong reaction to the name Jolinar, but gave a curt nod. "There is an old legend among the Jaffa for them to speak of concerning a group of Goa'uld who opposed the ways of the System Lords. This group is called the Tok'ra."

"Goa'uld resistance?" O'Neill asked, disbelieving.

"Yes."

"But it's a legend," O'Neill asks.

"Perhaps there is truth to this legend."

Talia's eyes glowed golden white, causing all of them to gasp and take another few steps back, away from her. She spoke, her voice now tinged with a flanged distortion, "Believe it. The Tok'ra... are real. I am... Jolinar of Malkshur."

"Teal'c?" O'Neill asked.

"The name Jolinar is known from the legends. It is said Jolinar once tried to overthrow one of the System Lords but was defeated when Apophis joined the battle. Jolinar escaped during the slaughter of his armies."

"Her, I guess," Daniel said.

"Can you prove that you are this Jolinar?" O'Neill asked.

"Unfortunately..." She coughed violently. "...we do not... carry identification."

O'Neill rolled his eyes. "Okay. So you're a Tok'ra. How does that help us? You said you could help Captain Carter."

"I can... probably heal her wounds."

"How?"

"By making her... my host."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen!" O'Neill said.

"I am not Goa'uld. She... would be herself. Like Talia."

"Teal'c? Have you heard of something like that?" O'Neill asked.

Teal'c shook his head. "Nothing of the host survives. Jolinar is likely pretending to be Talia."

"We do not impersonate our hosts!" Jolinar exclaimed hotly, before coughing violently.

Antonov had looked at the exchange, and now he spoke, "If you lived, would you be able to help us save Earth?"

"She's a Goa'uld! They don't help humans. She'd just take the planet for herself!" O'Neill insisted.

"It is possible," Jolinar said. She closed her eyes. "I am weak. I must... rest. Try and repair... some of the damage."

"Possible you could help? Is that what you meant?" Antonov asked.

"Yes." The voice that answered now did not have the distortion.

"You can stop pretending you're your host. We're not buying it," O'Neill said.

"I am Talia. Jolinar is... trying to... repair some... of the many injuries," she sounded exhausted, just speaking.

"What can you do to help Earth?" Daniel wondered, focusing on that.

"If Jolinar lives... maybe she can help... kill Sokar. Take the ship."

"Hah. If you could do that, wouldn't you have done so already?" O'Neill said.

"There is... a way out of here. But... too weak."

"Then why didn't you use it before you were tortured?"

"Something we did not... know. Someone... who can help."

"Tell us. If we succeed, we'll come back for you. Put you in Sokar's sarc," O'Neill said.

"No. You cannot... without Jolinar. He would not... believe..." her eyes closed and her head rolled to the side.

"Is she dead?" Antonov asked.

Teal'c approached carefully and touched the side of her neck. "No, she is merely unconscious."

"Okay. Good," Antonov said. He threw a worried look at Sam. "Captain Carter is not doing so good. We're not going to get her back to Earth in time to help her, are we?"

Daniel looked at O'Neill, who shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, but that's pretty unlikely - and even if we did somehow escape and get back to Earth, it doesn't look as if there's a lot of medical assistance on standby there right now."

Antonov nodded. "Then... perhaps we should consider Jolinar's offer? She says she can save her, if she takes her as her host."

"Save her!" O'Neill snorted. "I wouldn't call becoming a Goa'uld host to be 'saved'. Besides, she said she 'probably' could heal her."

"I assure you, you do not want your friend to become a Goa'uld host. My wife was taken as a host!" Daniel told him, looking distraught.

"I realise that, but this Jolinar says she is not Goa'uld, but Tok'ra. You said yourself that meant Goa'uld resistance," Antonov pointed out.

"Fat chance of that making a difference!" O'Neill said. "If it's even the truth."

"Yes, they are Goa'uld resistance," Teal'c said. "They are still Goa'uld."

"If they can change host, can't they leave a host without killing it?" Antonov wondered.

"I doubt that, but even if they could, I can assure you they wouldn't!" Teal'c said.

"Believe me. Being dead is far preferable," Daniel said.

"Even if I accept that, what about Earth? Jolinar said she might be able to help us."

"Why would she do it, though?" Daniel said.

"All Goa'uld seek power," Teal'c pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess she'd like getting out of here and take the power Sokar has, but why help us afterwards?" O'Neill said.

"It is a gamble, yes, but we have nothing to lose," Antonov said.

The others looked at each other. O'Neill slowly nodded. "This is probably the worst idea in the history of bad ideas, but you're right. We've got nothing to lose. When Captain Carter wakes up, we ask her if she want to do this for Earth. If she says yes - and she probably does, it's Earth after all - then we try your gamble."

Chapter Text

It was almost ten minutes later when Sam slowly came to. She let out a low moan when she tried to move, immediately calling the attention of the others.

"Carter! How are you?" Antonov asked, very worried.

"Not so good." She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and looked around. "Right - still in the golden alien cage. Not a nightmare then."

"Unfortunately no," O'Neill said. "Listen, Captain, there may be a way for us, for you, to help Earth."

Sam tried to sit up, then cried out and immediately gave up on that idea. "Sounds good. Not sure I'll be much help, sir."

"That depends. We've got a suggestion for you. I just want to say, it's your choice, and I won't blame you for saying no," O'Neill said.

"Well, can't get much worse than it is." Sam smiled wryly. "Let me hear it."

"I will do it," Sam said, the conviction in her voice as much for her own sake as for the others.

"You're sure?" O'Neill asked. "Teal'c here is reasonably sure this Jolinar is a member of a group that fights guys like Sokar, but she's still a Goa'uld. An alien parasite who can - and probably will - take full control of your body. To be honest, we also don't know if we can trust her to help us save Earth."

"But she might help you, which is a lot more than we have now," Sam groaned when she tried to move her arm, the pain almost causing her to lose consciousness. "Damn."

"Okay, we will move you closer to... to Jolinar. So she can, ah, change... host," Antonov swallowed, more than a little creeped out at the thought of an alien parasite jumping into his teammate.

"You're ready?" O'Neill asked.

Sam nodded. "I guess so. If you can ever be ready for something like this." She sighed. "I had so looked forward to going into space. Well, at least I got to do that... and meet aliens. Become an alien, I guess." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I really hope Jolinar helps you save Earth."

They lifted her and moved her as carefully as possible. Sam could not suppress a small cry of pain when they accidentally touched her injured shoulder, but she gritted her teeth and endured the pain.

"Jolinar?" O'Neill queried, as he uncomfortably poked at her unconscious form.

A low moan escaped the woman, and a few moment later, she spoke, "I am... still alive."

"Good. We have a host for you." O'Neill sighed. "Just don't try anything - like grabbing someone else."

"Tok'ra do not... believe in taking unwilling hosts," she sounded faintly insulted.

O'Neill snorted. "That's nice - if I believed you. Never mind. Captain Carter here has... volunteered. Make sure you don't make her sacrifice be in vain. We're counting on you to help us save Earth."

"Captain Carter... I am very grateful... for your offer. I shall do my best... to heal you. To make sure... you do not regret this," Jolinar said, sounding exhausted. "Please, I am becoming weak... soon I will be too weak. The transfer... must happen... soon."

"Captain?" O'Neill asked.

"Wait - just one thing. I have a brother. Mark. We're not really speaking, but..."

"We'll find him and tell him," O'Neill promised.

"Thanks." Sam grimaced from the pain in her shoulder and fought to keep conscious. "I am ready, Jolinar."

"How long will it take before she wakes up?" Daniel asked, looking at Teal'c.

"I do not know. Presumably the symbiote is concentrated on healing her new host."

"Let's hope she finishes before Sokar calls on us again," O'Neill said. "I'd much prefer getting out of here before he finds the time to torture us. It would be nice to save Earth before he turns all the cities into rubble too."

"How can you be so calm?" Antonov exclaimed. "Did you not see the, the creature that emerged from the dead woman and jumped into Captain Carter?"

"We did, and I assure you, it crept me out," Daniel said, shuddering.

"I have seen Goa'uld take hosts before, though never quite like this," Teal'c said.

"What do you mean?" O'Neill wondered.

"You've only seen them jump from Jaffa pouches, right?" Daniel asked.

"It is true, that is so, and it may explain the difference."

"You don't look convinced, Teal'c," O'Neill said.

"I have never seen a Goa'uld enter through the host's mouth. All I have ever seen, they enter through the neck. Indeed, my master Bra'tac has said it is assumed this is to avoid remembering the horror on the face of the host."

"Because that's the face they'll see in the mirror every day. I guess that makes sense," Daniel said.

"So, what's different here? Is it because this snake was weak and it's easier this way?" O'Neill asked.

"Perhaps," Teal'c said.

"Maybe it's personal preference?" Antonov suggested.

O'Neill sighed. "I don't really care one way or the other. I'm tired. Let's try to get some sleep until our new Goa'uld friend there wakes up. If she wakes up."

It was much later, when Teal'c touched O'Neill's shoulder, waking him. "The Goa'uld has awoken."

He blinked a few times, trying to wake up quickly. "Captain Carter?"

"She is awake?" Antonov asked, rousing as well.

"Do not see your friend. It will be the Goa'uld," Teal'c warned. "Regardless of what she says."

"I am awake," Jolinar said, the flanged voice making Antonov shudder. "So is Samantha... Sam, as she tells me she prefers to be called."

"You can stop faking the whole 'sharing-the-body-with-my-host' crap. You're not convincing anyone," O'Neill said flatly. "So you survived. Are you ready to help us?"

Jolinar made a small, almost inaudible sigh. "I am." She rose and stretched, then looked towards where her former host's body were. The face was covered with a handkerchief. Jolinar went to her and kneeled beside her, removing the cloth and looking at the dead woman's face. "I shall miss you dearly, Talia. I promise to do my best to avenge you." She put the cloth back and got up, turning to the others. "I am ready."

The others had been somewhat surprised by her behaviour, which did not seem typically Goa'uld, but none of them said anything.

"Right. Good. So, how do we get out of here?" O'Neill asked.

"Sokar's holding cells have a weak spot," Jolinar said, going to the door. She slowly slid her hands down over the wall, along the left edge of the door, her eyes closed, concentrating. When her hand was about 2 feet above the floor, she stopped. "About here, I think," she murmured.

She suddenly slammed her hand as hard as possible against the wall in that exact spot. A loud beep was heard, and then the door slid up a short distance, enough that you could get a hand under. "Help me push it open!" Jolinar told them. "Quickly!"

They ran to help her, and together they forced the door open enough that they could slide out under it.

"What was that you did?" Antonov asked.

"The opening mechanism of Sokar's doors are susceptible to hard shocks." Jolinar rubbed her hand, and flexed her fingers.

"I take it this is not the first time you've been in one of these cells?" O'Neill asked.

"Unfortunately not," Jolinar said.

"You could have told us what you planned to do," O'Neill said. "And what you've got in mind now too."

"Later. We must find a place to hide. Quickly," Jolinar said. "The alarm will sound in a few minutes. This way!" She turned and started down the corridor.

"Crap!" O'Neill exclaimed, as he hurried after her together with the others. "What did I just say about not keeping us informed before you do something?"

Jolinar froze. "Jaffa!" she whispered. "Only one, I believe."

They could now all hear the heavy footsteps of the armoured guard. They waited with baited breath, a few feet from where the corridor turned. Moments later, a single Jaffa appeared.

"Alarm! The prisoners have escaped!" He started to swing his staff weapon to bear on them, but Teal'c and Jolinar attacked at the same time, and he was down before he could do anything.

Jolinar snatched his zat'nik'tel. "Teal'c, he would appear to be about your size. Take his armour - I will be back in a few moments."

"Hey! Where are you going? We need to get out of here!" O'Neill called after Jolinar who had run back to the cell. "Why the hell did we agree to work with a damn Goa'uld?" He looked at the unconscious - or dead - Jaffa on the ground. "Better grab his clothes and gear, Teal'c - we can only hope Jolinar knows what she's doing."

They distantly heard the sounds of a zat'nik'tel firing, trice, and then Jolinar returned.

"Why did you go back?" O'Neill demanded angrily. "And hand over that zat gun immediately!"

Jolinar gave him a cold look. "I needed to make sure my former host could not be resurrected for eternal torture. This zat'nik'tel is mine. Get your own."

O'Neill stared at her, momentarily speechless.

Before he could decide what to say, Teal'c had finished putting on the guard's armour, and they all hurried off in the direction Jolinar indicated.