Gaia - The Princess 3

Still Searchin

by romansilence

URL: http://www.area52hkh.net/asr/rsilence/gaiath03.php
Summary: see part 1

THE PRESENT: ON BOARD OF THE SCYTHIA

Janet opened her eyes to the worried green orbs of the queen; her own desperation was palatable in her voice. "She's still in the sarcophagus, Gabrielle, but she's sleeping now. She was in so much pain. I will lose her if we don't find her fast. I wish I could take it for her."

The queen took the other woman gently in her arms. "I know the feeling, but unfortunately there is nothing we can do. I feel this way whenever Xena gets hurt. All we can do is to try to make it easier for them."

"I didn't want to reawaken painful memories, Gabrielle."

"You didn't, Janet. It's hard to feel helpless. Believe me, I know. I had to live it more than once."

"When she's in the sarcophagus I know what's going on with her, but out of it she blocks me. I didn't understand it at first, but now I think that she only wants to protect me. She doesn't want me to know what they do to her."

"Samantha is and will always be a warrior, Janet, just like Xena; and there's nothing we can do to change that. It's just what and who they are," Gabrielle answered. "I'm sorry, but you just will have to get used to it."

"At least I don't have to like it. And I hate to feel this helpless. I'm a doctor, that's all I'm really good at."

"Don't sell yourself short, Janet. You're more than that, much more. I want you to relax."

"That's easier said than done," the brunette cautiously added.

"I know, Janet; it never is. There's nothing we can do but to wait. And there's no sense in wasting our time."

"So, what do you have in mind, your majesty?"

"I never had a chance to get the story of our rescue from your point of view. I already spoke with Sam when we were at your grandfather's but she was very tight lipped with a lot of things."

"I'm no storyteller, Gabrielle, but it might keep me from worrying myself sick."

After a few awkward minutes, Janet found herself recalling the whole story, starting with Samantha's repeated nightmare.

~*~

THE PAST: EARTH – JANET'S AND SAMANTHA'S HOUSE

"Sam, Sammy, wake up. Wake up, baby!" Janet gently shook her lover who was sitting up in bed, screaming Xena's name. She had been jostled awake almost an hour ago by Samantha's distress crashing through their link like a tidal wave. The small doctor had held her in her arms and tried to comfort her, but quickly was running out of options; waking the blonde seemed the only one left.

"Was it the same dream, baby?" the brunette asked a few minutes later when Samantha had calmed down some.

The blonde nodded and sought comfort against her beloved's chest.

"That's three nights in a row. Come, I'll make us some hot chocolate and you'll tell me what you remember." Janet pulled a big t-shirt over Samantha's sweating body. She also dressed and led the unresisting blonde down to the kitchen.

A couple of minutes later and with the help of some milk, chocolate syrup, and the micro-wave oven, the two women were sitting side by side in the living room with their steaming cups.

"I'm not entirely sure that it was the same dream. There are more details. It somehow reminds me of Queen Gabrielle's stories.

"I don't know what threatens Gabrielle, but Xena rushes headlong into an ambush in order to save her. Xena takes out two thirds of the opposing forces, but finally succumbs to half a dozen of tranquilizer darts. When she comes to, she finds herself in some sort of laboratory, no, a cross between lab and dungeon. She's naked and spread-eagled in one part of the room.

"A bright beam illuminates a rectangular plane on the wall to her right. I can feel that she's worried but somehow it all does not seem real. Gabrielle is brought in, bound like some sort of mummy and placed where the light is. She's visibly struggling but to no avail; she can't get free. Xena arches her back; she's hit by a whip, over and over again.

"One moment I see Xena's point of view and the next I see Gabrielle's. Someone beats and tortures Xena, and Gabrielle has to watch. They use Jaffa pain sticks, ribbon devices, and a whole plethora of more traditional things. It goes on and on, like some sort of loop with variables.

"The worst part is that I feel that I have to do something, that somehow I have the key, that I have to help them, but I don't know how. That's when you woke me. Thanks, by the way. I know it's only a dream. The Amazons would have sent word if something was wrong with their Queen, at least I think they would, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what my subconscious wants to tell me."

"Why don't we try to find out, baby? The meditation technique Xena taught you; perhaps that way you can delve deep enough without losing control and will find an answer. Gabrielle taught me what to do to help." Samantha looked at her partner with wide eyes, so Janet continued. "She said that one day we might need it to differentiate between dream and reality, to find the truth behind the surface of fleeting images."

"How could she have known?"

"I don't think she knew. It's only natural that a human being seeks clarity every once in a while. Xena and Gabrielle gave us time-honed tools to find it; and with a bit of luck we even will find more."

"Do you really think we can do this on our own?"

"It's worth a try, Sammy."

~~~

THE PAST: EARTH – CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN

"Then at least authorise a standard recon by SG-1, Sir."

"No, Major Carter, there's no reason to check this address out now. Put it on the list we'll deal with it in a few months. Dismissed."

"But Sir...." Samantha objected. She was standing in front of General Hammond's desk, next to Janet and couldn't believe her ears.

Their meditation session had taken the better part of the night, but it had convinced them that the High Queen of the Amazon Nation and her consort were indeed in trouble and needed their help. Samantha and Janet didn't know who had captured them, only that they had to do something.

"Sir, this is really important," Janet added her two cent.

"I won't send you or any other of my men in God knows what kind of danger just because you had a nightmare and some sort of vision. We dialed Gaia and were told that everything is alright. Queen Gabrielle and Consort Xena are on a short trip and will be back in a couple of days. You can speak to them then. The President is due the day after tomorrow and insists on speaking privately with the two of you. It seems he is highly impressed by our new allies. You will stay on base. That's final. Dismissed."

Samantha saluted and Janet reluctantly followed her. The blonde carefully closed the door and stomped off to her lab with the small doctor in tow.

"All we know now is that the Amazons are not aware of the danger their leaders are in. We should have tried harder to convince him, argue with him, Sam. Xena and Gabrielle need you."

"They need us, but arguing wouldn't have done any good. Didn't you see the vein on his forehead? It was throbbing. I know him. When he's in a mood like this nothing will change his mind and without the general's permission there's only one way left, but I can't ask you to do that."

"What's our first step?"

"Janet, we probably will get court-martialled if we really do this. Do you really want to risk your career because I had a couple of bad dreams? Do you want to risk losing Cassy?" the blonde asked.

"For a card-carrying genius you can be annoyingly dumb, my warrior. I love you. I would risk everything for you; I'll follow you wherever you will go. And I believe that what we saw during the meditation is real. They need us. We're in this together. So, what's our first step?"

"Cassy needs you, Jan. She needs her mother," the blonde said pleadingly.

Janet looked at her partner and knew that she was right. Cassandra needed her. She closed her eyes for a moment. She then went to the wall mounted telephone to her right.

"Doctor Fraiser here Sergeant, give me an outside line, please, bugs-free... No, patch it through to Major Carter's lab."

Samantha looked questioningly at her lover. What did Janet need a secure line for?

"Thank you, Sergeant.... No, I'll dial myself." The small doctor once again closed her eyes to help her remember the right sequence of numbers and quickly punched them in. Samantha recognised a number in Washington, DC.

It rang six times and Janet was about to give up when the other end of the line finally was picked up.

"Mac, it's Janet. I need some advice... Yes, I know what time it is; just answer my question and I let you go back to sleep... Sorry, don't take it personally; I'm just in a hurry... I have to know something... Okay, if someone disobeys a direct order from one's commanding officer, what will happen... Article 32A... A hearing... Let's say for humanitarian reasons... Good. Thank you, Mac... No, only hypothetical... No, I'm fine. Go back to sleep. I'll call you in a few days at a more civil hour, and thanks again."

Seeing Samantha's confused face she quickly explained, "Mac is an old friend of mine. She's with JAG. She said that should there be any charges, there will be a hearing after article 32A where a judge will decide if there are sufficient reasons for a court-martial. She said that if lives were saved by disobeying the orders the worst case scenario would be a dishonourable discharge; so, Cassandra will be safe according to the President's written guarantee."

The blonde looked at her partner and studied the determined set of her jaw and shoulders. She knew from experience that there would be no changing of her mind, but she also knew that they still were walking on very thin ice concerning military protocol and regulations.

"Fine, Janet. I give, but should push come to shove I will take responsibility for dragging you along. I will convince them that I didn't give you a choice. It's the only way to really make sure that nothing will happen to you and Cassy. And I won't be contradicted on this one, please."

Now, it was Janet's turn to study the astrophysicists face. Under normal circumstances she would have had a lot to say about Samantha's overbearing protectiveness, but now simply was not the time to call her on it. They didn't have the time for an argument, so, she simply asked. "What will be our first step?"

"First of all, we have to get out of the mountain," Samantha slowly answered, immensely relieved that her fiercely independent lover chose not to contradict her just now. The rational part of her mind knew that they were all but through with this particular part of their discussion but like the brunette she was driven by the deep-seated instinct that they had to act fast. So, her mind slipped into soldier mode.

"Go to the infirmary. Pack what you think we will not be able to get on Gaia. I'll do the same here. Without the resources of the SGC we will need the help of the Amazons. I only hope that we will have more luck with convincing them than we had with the general.

"In an hour I'll come down complaining about a headache and dizziness or something. You will bring me home. I still have the cell phone Gabrielle gave me. We leave a message for Cassy, contact the moon station, and gate to Gaia. – You know we really are lucky that she has this sleepover at Tara's tonight."

Two hours after leaving General Hammond's office Janet and Samantha were ready to go. Next to the note for Cassandra was an envelope labelled "General George Hammond. Eyes only."

The Amazons on duty at the moon base didn't question their use of Athena's Ring and they didn't question why the two Earth women didn't use their own Stargate.

~~~

THE PAST: GAIA – THE COUNCIL HALL

They stepped through Athena's ring and quickly made their way to the village.

Warriors in full gear and battle masks were in the main square, their eyes glued to the door of the Council Hall, their ears straining to find out what all the shouting was about. Samantha and Janet slipped through the lines, surprised that they had been able to get this far without being stopped or otherwise intercepted. They recognised Aria in one of the front rows. The blonde got her attention and sent her a couple of hand signals asking her to sneak them in the large room. The young Amazon nodded and let them to a back door.

Inside they found the council of Elders, the weapons' master, a couple of armed guards, and Major Jessica Williams, the leader of the current research team. There was a lot of shouting going on. A few of the Elders obviously were accusing Earth of having something to do with the just reported disappearance of their queen, her consort, her regent, a contingent of Royal guards, and a ship. General Hammond's call had made them suspicious.

Samantha's whistle was loud and shrill enough to potentially pierce a few eardrums, but had its desired effect. The women all fell silent and turned their eyes to the three newcomers.

"Earth has nothing to do with their disappearance, venerable Elders," the blonde said instead of a greeting.

"Says someone from Earth; very reassuring," someone murmured rather loudly.

"I give you my word as a warrior," Samantha simply stated.

"That's good enough for me," the weapons' master said and walked to Janet's side. "Do you know where our queen and her consort are held and who has them?"

"We think we know where they are. We have a gate address, Master Niva, but we don't know who or why," the doctor answered.

"You know where they are, but you have nothing to do with it. What kind of crap are you trying to sell here, Earthlings?"

Samantha took a deep breath. She knew that what she was about to tell the assembled women on her world would have possibly earned her a session with a shrink. General Hammond at least had given them the benefit of the doubt. She only hoped that Amazon spirituality would be strong enough to believe her. So, she quietly told them about her dreams and the meditation session she had had with Janet.

There was stunned silence in the room. Finally, a silver-haired woman slowly rose from her seat. She leaned heavily on a cane and limped over to them. Samantha didn't know why, but she took two steps forward and knelt in Amazon fashion in front of the crone.

"Look at me, Samantha Gabriella Carter."

A surprisingly firm hand was laid on her cheek. The blonde raised her bent head. Her gaze was captured by intense grey eyes that seemed to see to the bottom of her soul and beyond.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes, but I thought you didn't leave the lower regions of the temple?"

"I had reason to change my mind, warrior child, and before: just because I don't let anyone see me, doesn't mean that I stay inside all the time," the old woman said with a smile. Her voice became very soft; obviously she didn't want to be overheard by anyone else. "After you returned to your world Xena came to me and finally let go of her guilt. During all these centuries her feelings were so strong, her self-loathing, and self-recriminations. I never blamed her; Artemis wouldn't have wanted me to, but I couldn't stand seeing her in so much pain. Now, I no longer have a reason to stay separated from my Amazon children."

The woman turned around and addressed the rest of the room, "Now is a time to fight, with heart and head. Give the young warrior and her healer whatever they ask for." Then she once again turned towards Samantha, "Let me know when your preparations are made, warrior child. I will go with you."

The blonde knew that she should at least have tried to convince her to stay but she simply couldn't do it, so she answered, "Yes, Mother Egeria."

The old woman left the hall the way Samantha and Janet just had come in and took Aria with her. When the door closed behind her, the same grating voice from earlier said.

"It can't be. They haven't been here long enough to be completely initiated. Only the initiated can perform the ritual you described. I don't believe you." The owner of the voice was an overweight brunette with beady brown eyes.

"Do you doubt Mother Egeria's word, Pecana?" Master Niva growled. "I don't."

The woman cast an angry stare at Master Niva and left the room. No one followed her.

"What do you need, Samantha Carter?" one of the elders wanted to know.

"The gate we will have to use is heavily guarded: ten Jaffa, staff canons, and a watch tower. Queen Gabrielle and Consort Xena are held in the basement of some dilapidated temple about a mile and a half from the gate. I don't have any intel on the others," Samantha said.

"So, the first thing we will have to do is to create a diversion, take out the watch tower and keep the guards from calling for reinforcements." Niva commented.

"And how do you intend to do this, young warrior?" another sceptical elder asked with sarcasm in the voice.

"I have an idea, but we might need some outside help.

"Some time ago SG-1 was captured by the Goa'uld Hathor. Teal'c flew an old death glider through the Ring and General Hammond took out the watch towers. The glider has been returned to Chulac and Master Bra'tac would certainly help us. We then could send in some ground troops," Samantha clarified.

"We might not need the Jaffa, Major," Major Williams said. "Two of my group were assisting Consort Xena with a new vessel she's been building. It's small enough to fit through the Ring, highly manoeuvrable, a state of the art weapons' system and enough room for about a score of people. Before Consort Xena left she had a little test ride that exceeded her expectations. She told us that she adapted a few features from our phantom fighters. Susan and Jennifer told me that it had been a really wild ride."

"This would make things much easier. Do you think Xe... the Consort would mind, Master Niva?"

"No, she wouldn't mind. The Ge... The Consort wanted to show her new toy off to you anyway, after their return; if it serves to get her and the queen home, all the better."

Samantha easily detected the strain in the older woman's voice and instinctively knew that it was due to the fact that her just newly returned lover now once again was missing. Larina was the Captain of the Royal Guard and thus always at the queen's side when she left the planet. During a hunting trip the Goa'uld Nirrti, in need of a new host after escaping Cronos' torture, had possessed her body and she only had been freed with Samantha's and Janet's help during their first stay with the Amazons.

"Let your best pilot do a test flight with the new ship. I'll need a few snipers in the ship to guard our back as soon as we touch ground. Enough ground troops to secure the gate. Another squad with special ops experience to take the temple or whatever it may be."

"Slow down, Samantha. What's a sniper? And what's special ops?"

"A sniper is a sharp shooter, someone who is able to hit the wing of a dragonfly at two hundred feet. And special ops, special operations, means that someone is trained to infiltrate buildings, get information, kill, and get out without being seen or heard."

"I understand. It will be no problem to find qualified volunteers. I'll get back to you in half a candlemark."

"Master Niva, Major Carter, count us in. Four of my group are civilians, but of the rest everyone has had battle experience on or off world. We would be honoured to participate," Jessica Williams said.

Before the weapons' master could answer, Samantha said, "I'm sorry, Major Williams. I appreciate the offer but it won't be possible. Major Fraiser and I are AWOL. We left the base against General Hammond's explicit orders. Following my command or even going with us would leave a permanent reprimand in your files."

"I'll still be with you, Sam. You saved our collective asses more than once, and I owe you personally. Besides, these women have made us all feel at home in their world. It's time to give something back."

"Volunteers only, Jess. Tell them what to expect, worst case scenario; and you will keep your mouth shut when I accept full responsibility for whatever happens," the blonde answered with a forced smile and looked down at the outstretched hand when she surprisingly was clasped in a warrior handshake.

"Master Niva?" Samantha called when Master Niva and Major Williams were about to leave the room. "There's a lot of open space around the temple. I would feel better if we had a few Tok'ra crystals to go underground."

"I'll see to it, young warrior."

The door closed behind her. They heard the weapons' master yelling orders. Janet put her arms around her taller lover and held her for long minutes without talking. She could almost see the wheels turning in the head.

"Relax, Sammy. You'll need your strength later," Janet whispered in her ear.

"I know, Jan, but it's so spooky. I really met Egeria. She talked to me. To the Tok'ra this is like meeting the Virgin Mary descending straight from heaven. When I knelt in front of her, it was as if every story Jolinar has ever heard about her was suddenly in my head."

"But that's not all, right?"

"No, it's hard to explain, but the moment I saw her, I knew her. It was like an echo of what I'm feeling for you. Deeper than Jolinar's memories, deeper than her love for Martouf, much deeper, older; almost as if the part of Jolinar that still was Artemis suddenly had come to life, if only for the fraction of a heartbeat," Samantha answered hesitatingly. "It's frightening and wonde..."

Before Sam had a chance to go into further detail, Master Niva burst through the front door. "The ship doesn't work. We tried our most experienced pilots but none of them could even get the machines to engage. There must be something wrong with it."

"Master Niva, are the rest of our troops ready?" The other woman nodded. "Good. I suppose Consort Xena was at the helm during the test flight, right?" Another nod. "Good. The access codes, Xena might have blocked them. I'll have a look. Janet, please go to the infirmary. Get the rest of your supplies and one or two healers. We might need them; bring a healing device if they have one."

"Be careful, Sammy." The blonde nodded and followed the weapons' master in a light jog.

~~~

Three quarters of a candlemark later, Janet arrived with her backpack at the open space in front of the laboratories; two Amazon healers had already joined with the rest of their forces. They had urged Janet to stay with them, telling her that a healer's place was not at the front lines. Having had this discussion more than once with General Hammond, she didn't even bother with an answer. Instead she had gone to meet with her partner. In the place of the green pastures to which Janet had become used, there was a steel platform. It was empty.

Niva and a small detachment of Royal Guards greeted her. The weapons' master told her that everyone was ready to go. The ground troops already were close to the Ring and would follow the ship as soon as they got the all-clear. Samantha initially had planned to let Mother Egeria and her escort form the rear of the ground troops, but the crone had insisted on going with the first line, in the ship. Samantha would pick them up at the temple as soon as she was confident that she had the ship well in hand.

"Sam? I thought she wanted to leave the flying to someone else," Janet asked incredulously, already suspecting that her adrenaline-driven partner would have used any excuse to fly something brand new, especially if others had already tried and didn't get it to work.

"The warrior tried Janet, really. The ship easily responded to her commands, but as soon as she let go of the controls the engines died down. We even tried a pilot change in flight, but it went on autopilot and landed. It's different than our other ships, almost as if it had been made especially for her."

"So, Sam's in her happy place," Janet commented with a smile designed to hide the question marks popping up in her mind. A ship that could be handled by Consort Xena and her lover only, strange. 'Was it because of the naqada in their blood or was there more to it?' It intrigued her to no end but now was not the time to ponder this specific mystery.

Master Niva's voice snapped her back to the here-and-now, "Happy place? What do you mean?"

"Just a figure of speech Colonel O'Neill uses whenever Daniel, Doctor Jackson gets the chance to spent some time on a dig. For Sam, it's playing with new technology, finding out how it works, understanding it. She tends to forget everything around her."

"Look up. Here they come."

High in the sky was a very small black dot. As it came closer it looked like a big bird, an eagle, no, more like a very big hawk. Then it was gone, simply gone from one moment to the next. Janet squinted her eyes and tried to find it again. A strong breeze passed her and suddenly something appeared on the platform.

It took her breath away. It was all lines and curves; its black hull was glistening in the sun. It was elegant, stunning, beautiful; everything aircrafts in her eyes definitively were not. And it was more than that; it looked like a predator ready to swoop down on its prey. There was only one word that adequately described it. It was perfect.

A panel slid aside and a couple of Royal guards left the airplane, chatting excitedly among themselves.

"Illiana, report!" Master Niva barked.

"A perfect joyride, weapons' master," the older woman who had once guarded Samantha in the infirmary answered with a big smile. She added in a more professional tone. "All systems work at one hundred percent; weapons are operational and about the only thing we were able to operate on our own after Samantha Carter unblocked them."

Samantha left the aircraft and greeted her lover with a kiss. "Isn't she a beauty? She obeys the slightest command and her inertial dampeners are a dream come true. You can do loops and rolls without feeling it in your bones. It's just great. Her engines are quieter than a fly on the wall. I think they work with some kind of anti-gravitational field or negative gravity. It's way beyond everything we can do on Earth; and I haven't the faintest idea how it really works. I can't wait for Xena to explain it to me. It's revolutionary and not the type of technology the Amazons usually work with."

"Calm down, baby. Yes, it's beautiful, and I don't want to throw a wrench in your enthusiasm, but it also is too big to fit through the gate, much too big with these wide wings."

"Oh, they're retractable, no problem," Samantha answered with one of her brilliant smiles. "And we will go through with activated cloak. They won't know what hit them. Let's go. The others are already waiting at Athena's Ring."

~~~

Ten members of the Royal Guard, including Illiana, the weapons' master as temporary leader of the Guard, Major Williams and two other members of her team, Janet, Mother Egeria, and Aria were belted in their seats and on the short way to the Ring. Suddenly the comm was activated and a voice announced an audio message from Earth.

General Hammond ordered Samantha and Janet to come back to the SGC and immediately report to his office.

Samantha tapped the response button. She said, "I'm sorry, General," and cut the link.

She turned towards her lover and smiled sadly at her, "Well, now it's official. We're not only AWOL but also disobeying a direct order of our superior officer."

"We knew it would happen sooner or later, Sam. It was our decision, and when all of this is happily over we will worry about how to deal with General Hammond and the rest of the brass."

"You're right, Jan. We have something more important to do," she kissed her lover and reactivated the comm., "Priestess Melosa, please dial Athena's Ring. XS-01 is ready to descend." Samantha said.

"XS-01, warrior?" someone asked.

"A ship needs a name or at least a designation, and until Consort Xena has a chance to properly name it, I'm going to call it XS-01, Xena's secret," the young woman answered and smiled at the soft snickers coming through the comm. link.

A few moments later Melosa's voice came over the comm. link. "Activated. Scan confirms ten Jaffa in the immediate vicinity of the Ring, young warrior. May the spirit of Gaia protect you."

"Thank you, Priestess Melosa. We'll do our best to bring the queen and her consort back."

She didn't say, "We'll bring them back safe and sound", knowing that Janet's and her vision of the forces guarding the gate had been correct caused her to fear that the rest also had been based on reality.

Xena definitively was hurt or injured, and though Gabrielle had seemed physically unharmed at the time there was no telling how long she would stay that way and what seeing her consort suffer would do to her soul.

Considering the stories she had read about the two of them that should have been enough to keep her worried. She also knew that a simple whip never would have been enough to break the consort. She was tougher than that – and Gabrielle never would dishonour her lover's pain by giving in either.

Samantha cloaked the ship, retracted the wings, and switched from jet propulsion to something she had dubbed 'heli power'; it let the powerful aircraft hover like a silent bird. The blonde pilot let the ship sink until it was right in front of the gate.

~*~

THE PAST: M5X-179

"Master Niva, Illiana, prepare the weapons. We're going in." Samantha gently pushed the control stick forwards and only moments later the other side came into view. Though going through the gate thanks to the effort Samantha had put in, was by far no longer the bumpy, stomach turning ride it had been at the beginning, it still was far from the smooth monorail trip the ship now made it.

Niva gunned the watch tower and Illiana took out one of the big staff guns. Two passes later none of the guards was left standing. They died without knowing what had hit them.

Janet began to have a very bad feeling. Yes, they had a new toy the Jaffa didn't know anything about but it had been too easy, much too easy. She had the bad feeling that their unknown enemy's main forces would be waiting for them at the temple. The tense lines in Samantha's face told her that her lover probably harboured the same dark suspicions.

The blonde Major landed the ship close to a wooded area to the right of the Gate. The external sensors had told them that the only life signs on the planet were centered around the old temple. Unfortunately a dampening field kept them from scanning the interior of the structure.

The warriors of the Royal Guard secured the Gate and Illiana sent the all-clear back to Gaia. Minutes later a squad of warriors stepped through and immediately fanned out.

They obviously knew what they were doing and the blonde Major decided to let Master Niva handle the routine procedures; and not only because she knew the Amazon warriors' strengths better than anyone else.

"Master Niva, would you..."

"I'm on it, warrior. Group two and three, guard the Gate. Illiana, take the scouts and find out what we'll have to deal with. I don't like it that we can't get any readings of the temple or its immediate surroundings. Group four, prepare the crystals."

~~~

"Samantha Carter: Mother Egeria wishes to speak to you." Aria reported with her right knee touching the ground.

The old woman had taken a seat on the trunk of a fallen tree and motioned for the blonde to sit next to her. Samantha studied the older woman's silhouette. The form of her eyes and nose reminded her of the people of the East but not Japanese or Mongolian. She knew she should be able to place it, a part of her knew this woman almost as well as herself, but it was just out of her reach.

"Why didn't you take command, warrior child? They all would have obeyed you – and please don't bore me with the obvious reasons."

Samantha smiled. "Master Niva needs to be occupied. It doesn't do any good for her to have time to think about her mate, at least not too much."

"You are wise beyond your years, Samantha."

"No, not really, all I know is that I would be a nervous wreck if something like this would have happened to Janet."

"Mother Egeria; I want you to stay with the rear guard when we go in."

~*~

"Are you sure that this is what you want?"

"Yes, warrior child."

This time it wasn't the symbiote that answered but the host. Diti was older than most of the System Lords' hosts, being as close to an Ancient as any mortal could get, thanks to the teachings of her long dead lover.

"I am tired of going on without her, warrior child. And now that Xena finally has forgiven herself, there's no need to hold onto this life any longer."

Samantha meanwhile was down on her left knee, clasping one of Egeria's hands between her own. The crone's other hand once again was on her cheek. She was tempted to close her eyes, but what she saw in Diti's eyes made her decision easy.

"Then, that's how it shall be," the blonde said and reverently kissed the still strong hand.

Before the Air Force major had a chance to get back on her feet one of the scouts returned.

Samantha and the weapons' master listened pensively to the detailed report. They had been prepared for Jaffa, but not for the presence of a rather large contingent of Tok'ra, at least that's what the sand-coloured clothing proclaimed them to be.

They now would need more than just a few crystals to succeed. With the Tok'ra involved, it was more than probable to assume that they already had created a large network of tunnels under the temple and leading away from it. Instead of growing their own little escape tunnel they now would have to find another way in and out. The dampening field still prevented them from getting any energy readings out of the dilapidated building.

"I don't like it," Master Niva muttered. "We have no way of knowing if the dampening field is not also a force field like the one they use to protect their ships. We will need more equipment to get through a force field and it will take time, time we don't have with the queen and the consort at their mercy. We'll have to work with the worst case scenario."

"It at least seems so. Doesn't mean that I have to like it, Master Niva," Samantha answered with grim determination in her voice.

"Now you sound like our Queen, young warrior. We could ask for reinforcements from home and lead an open assault against the temple."

"I'm thinking more of a multi-pronged attack, Master Niva. Janet, the dungeon or whatever it is they hold the queen and the consort in, do you have any idea how deep underground it might be?"

"I'm not sure, Sam, but it must be way under groundwater level. There was moisture on the walls, and then there was the smell... Yes, definitively under groundwater level. Why?"

"If we're lucky the people underground won't hear it when we attack the guards at ground level. Janet, I want you stay with Egeria and Aria, the whole time, and please, don't argue with me."

Janet only nodded. Her lover was in command mode, and there was enough of a soldier in the doctor to know when it was best to simply obey an order.

"Master Niva, please, post one of the Guards next to the DHD, ready to dial out any minute. Half of the sni... the sharp shooters will fan out in the trees to guard our retreat. If push comes to shove, we could come in hot. See that the back of the Ring is also guarded. I don't want to be taken by surprise. Pick ten of your best fighters to come with me, divide the rest in two groups. Timing will be of the essence. This is what we'll do..."

~~~

The still cloaked ship left the ground. Egeria had insisted on going with Samantha and the others. The discussion with Samantha had been cut short by Egeria's simple statement. "This is how it has to be, warrior child, and besides you'll need one of these."

Samantha took the ribbon device but didn't put it on. She really didn't like using them, but she also knew that she probably wouldn't have a choice. The first time she had consciously used one of them, in the escape tunnel of Seth's stronghold she had been shocked how her anger, fear, and pain had been transmuted into energy and the cold satisfaction she had felt looking down on the Goa'uld's dead body had reawakened a lot of her old fears. Now, she knew herself better, in Janet she finally had found her centre of balance, but she also was not naïve enough not to know that the darkness she feared was waiting just around the corner.

~*~

THE PRESENT: SCHU – THE THRONE ROOM

Her thought processes must already have suffered from her stay in the sarcophagus. What had she been thinking? One could not argue with a Goa'uld, one couldn't even talk to them reasonably.

She had still been weak when they had dragged her out of the sarcophagus. Her hands had been bound to a metal bar that ran behind her neck and her feet were held apart by another inflexible metal device. She was made to kneel in front of the throne and introduced to the joys of a Goa'uld pain stick that reminded her all too vividly of her time on Netu. She couldn't help but cry out at the intense pain.

"Why did you kill Isis and Osiris? They were helpless. They were supposed to remain in the containment jars for another millennium, until they had learned their lesson."

This snakehead really had the potential to surprise her. Unfortunately, the woman saw her silence as another insult and made her displeasure felt. Then she heard a familiar voice.

"Please, my Queen, give her time to answer."

Surprisingly the raven-haired woman didn't punish him for his insolence, and Samantha had a short respite.

"Isis was already dead when we found the jar. The containment field malfunctioned. By that time," the blonde said with effort, "Osiris' jar was only cracked. He took a young woman as a host, a young woman who still has horrible nightmares about the atrocities Osiris made her commit. He allied himself with Anubis and tried to kill some friends of ours. We stopped him."

"What happened to my child?"

"Our friends have a way to separate the host from the symbiote. The host returned to earth and the symbiote has been transformed. He now is a Tok'ra."

"Is this how the Goa'uld you have been a host to has been removed?" the Goa'uld asked with a hint of real interest in her voice.

"No, she was a Tok'ra. She died under the torture of an Ash'rak. She willingly gave her life to save mine. The Tok'ra lost a lot with her death," Samantha answered honestly.

"What was her name?"

Samantha tried to stall. She knew that Jolinar had stolen a small ship from Nut when she tried to escape the Ash'rak. "You don't want to know, Queen Nut."

"Answer!"

"Her name was Jolinar of Melkshur."

The reaction was swift: Nut grabbed the staff weapon from a startled Aisato and shot her point blank in the chest.

Next: The Rescue