"If anyone is left alive head for the Stargate!" yelled Colonel Dade Rojc in to his walkie-talkie as three plumes of dirt shot up in the air around him. The Jaffa had laid an ambush and it was a beauty. Three of his team was already dead and the other one was missing. At the moment he was crouched behind a rock as the death gliders swooped over his head trying to get a shot.
They have been told the planet was a primative peaceful world, a standard first contact mission, at least thats what the UAV had shown during its orbital scan. It all looked good until they were perhaps a 100 meters from the stargate, when they had come under attack from Jaffa.
Dade's comm crackled to life and a voice came across the tiny speakers. "Colonel! Where are you?"
"Jeremiah? I'm about thirty meters from the Stargate. Where are you?"
"I'm trying to get there." The voice of Major Jeremiah Stace said across the airwaves. "But I'm getting pinned down by hostiles. Where's Tomlison and Baxter."
Dade gritted his teeth and clicked the button. "They bought it in the city. A whole Jaffa Battalion. Stace..."
"Cassi? Where's Cassi?" his Major said a tremor of panic entering his voice.
Dade bunched his hand in a fist and his eyes were full of hatred and sadness. "She... She, A glider.... " Dade Trailed off, unable to actually finish the sentance, "I'm sorry Major"
Silence ensued on the comm as the enemy began closing in. Peering around the rock Colonel Rojc opened up with his P-90 and cut down the advancing group, sparks dancing off their armor.
"Major!" Dade yelled, falling back into combat mode, in to the comm. "Get to the Stargate!"
No answer came and Dade began to fall back. "Major, that's a direct order! Move!"
"Yes, sir." Came the strained voice of his friend and collegue. In a minute he appeared from the forrest side of the city and looked like he had been in the thick of it. Blood ran down from a wound on the back of his head and neck and a long cut across lower face. He continued to fire on the Jaffa as Dade began slamming the gate coordinates in to the DHD to dial home. With a whoosh, the gate activated in a blue blur of light.
Kneeling behind the DHD to give cover fire, Dade emptied the last of his clip in to the Jaffa as Stace ran across the field and dived in to the gate. Dade ejected his clip, drew his side arm and opened fire while back in to the gate. Instantly the euphoria of gate travel gripped him and his vision blurred to a tunnel zipping through space before ending abruptly with him exiting the Earth's gate.
Dade fell back through the exit of the stargate and stumbled, crashing into Stace as they rolled down the ramp. Stumbling to their feet the wormhole cut off as the Iris closed behind them. General Hammond was watching from the control centre, he switched on the microphone. "Colonel. Where is the rest of your team?"
"Lost, sir." Dade said shock still registering minutely on his mind.
Doctor Janet Frasier had entered the disembarkation room with her medical staff team and immediately went for Stace. He pushed her aside lightly, "I'm alright."
"No you're not, Major. Let me do my job." she answered closing with him again. "General, I need to get them to the medic bay."
"Go ahead, Doctor." General Hammond answered. "We need them at debriefing as soon as possible."
----------------
A few moments later Stace and Rojc where sitting on those uncomfortable beds that only milltary hospital installations seem to be able to find, waiting while the Doctor finished checking them over. Stace stared far off thinking until he felt Tanis pulse him a warning.
Doctor Frasier had paused as she felt Stace's neck, and looked closer.
"Just a scratch doc," Stace said quickly and Rojc knowing him as well as he did, thought that there was some nervousness in his voice,"Staff beam got a little close."
She went to examine the wound closer. "That's a bad burn. Looks like you took a slash there."
"Fell against some rocks in the fire fight." Stace answered. "Building was blown to rubble with jagged edges everywhere."
Stace glanced over toward Rojc and he could tell that his commanding officer knew he was lying. ‘That's the problem having someone know you so well.'. Again to the Major's surprise he felt Tanis grunt in agreement. He kept forgotting the symbiote was there.
It was at that moment that General Hammonds voice interrupted them over the base communications system, "Major Stace, Colonel Rojc report to the briefing room immediately."
Rojc was behind Stace as he entered the briefing room, and Stace looked into the room then seemed to hesitate, before finally going ahead. Rojc glanced at him as they took there seats, opposite a Tok'Ra. General Hammond was at the head of the table, and began, "The Tok'Ra have impressed upon me it is vital that they know immediately everything you saw on that planet, so I've asked you in the spirit of co-operation to give them a full report immediately."
"Whats so important about this planet?" Rojc asked.
Stace glared across at the Tok'Ra and then averted his eyes. Though Tanis was not in control much of the symbiote's thoughts and impressions flowed over in to his concscience mind. It was quite evident that the Tok'Ra had sometime ago earned the ire of the minor Guo'uld and he held them in contempt instead of anger as most of his species.
The Tok'Ra spoke, in the deep voice that demonstrated to all that the Guo'uld inside him was in control, "That is not important to you, just tell us what you saw."
Rojc bristled at this, turned to the General, "Sir, we should at least know why they want the intellegence!"
"Colonel Rojc you will tell these people what happened on the planet right now. It's imperative that we know. Thats an order."
Rojc turned back to the Tok'Ra, anonyed now, "I'll tell you what happened, we went through the gate on your intellegence and were shot to pieces, I lost two good friends, thats what happened!"
"Did you see any indications of Guo'uld on the planet?" the Tok'Ra asked, indifferent to Rojcs tone.
"The hundreds of Jaffa not give you an indication!" Rojc responded, he glanced at Stace to see how he was taking this, and saw his eyes glising with what seemed to be equal parts anger and sorrow.
"But actual Guo'uld, did you see any." the Tok'Ra insisted again
Tanis stirred and a feeling of being uncomfortable washed across Jeremiah's mind. ‘What have you been up too?'
‘Nothing to warrant your hatred, Tau'Ri.' The symbiote answered. ‘A small matter between the minor lords. I see that the Tok'ra are in the habit of using you tau'ri for their own uses.That proves they are no better then the Guo'uld masters.'
Stace broke out of his revelrie as Rojc was still tearing in to the Tok'Ra to the adamant surprise of General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill (who had just arrived).
"...I'm sorry I didn't get to check which of the humans where humans and which we're possed by snakes, I was a little busy getting shot to pieces... " Dade paused mid-breath, looking at the Tok'Ra opposite him carefully, "... but you knew that didn't you, you expected Guo'uld there, you wanted us to find somethink out, want us to do your dirty work."
The two visitors rose to their feet, "Clearly there is nothing to be learn't here, once again humans prove they have not come far enough to be a true power in the Galaxy."
Jeremiah knew nobody heard it, but the agonized scream that shot through his mind echoed with the pain, lonliness and misery that ripped in to the the Major's soul. Tanis' anguished cry and hatred flowed across and without thinking Stace leapt to his feet. "You're responsible for killing my fiance"
With a swing fueled by anger Stace struck the Tok'Ra hard and the man fell to the ground hard. The guards grabbed Stace who was fighting to get in another swing. The Tok'Ra wiped his mouth, blood was dripping from his lip. Without a word he rose and exited the office, General Hammond paused for only a moment, "You to are restricted to quarters. Take him away."
----
Jeremiah's quarters were bleak except for the picture of Cassandra on the bed table. The young man sat on his bed staring at the picture still wearing his fatigues. His mind was tired and Stace knew the grief had not hit him yet.
"I should have kept her with me." Jeremiah said looking at the picture.
‘From what I know from your memories, Tau'Ri, you had no choice, but to do what you were trained to do.' Tanis spoke in his mind.
"I don't need reasoning from you." Stace hissed.
Almost immediately a burning pain erupted from the base of his skull and a strange slithering uphoria spread through him. He felt Tanis shifting and moving around under his skin.
Stace gripped his head and growled. "Stop that!"
‘I'm sorry.' Tanis said. ‘I was unable to take up a comfortable position in you since we were quick in the blending. To keep my profile small, I must wrap myself around the base of your spine.'
Stace gritted his teeth. Second thoughts about Tanis had surfaced, but he had no choice. "Make it quick."
The slithering feeling returned and in greater strength, but passed and Tanis settled in. ‘Done, Tau'ri. For what it is worth, I'm sorry.'
"A Guo'uld apologizing, That's something to here." Stace laughed bitterly.
‘Have you not realized that I'm not a System Lord, nor am I affected by the abusive use of the Sacophogus? I have lived my life with as little use of the machine as I can and you need to understand that. I am P'Nai.'
There was a knock at the door and Tanis went silent.
"Enter."
The door opened and Rojc entered. He closed the door behind him and stood looking at his friend. They were silent for a minute.
"Thanks." Rojc said.
"For?" Jeremiah asked raising an eyebrow.
"Hitting that Tok'ra. You don't know how much I wanted to cave his face in."
Jeremiah laughed silently and heaved a sigh.
Rojc looked around the room and then grabbed a chair in the corner and sat down. "I took the liberty of talking to Teal'C while off duty. Asked him if he knew what the Tok'Ra were after. All he could tell me was that from my report, the Tok'ra were probably trying to find out if one of the Guo'uld minor lords were allying himself. Did you see those jaffa with just a horizontal bar on there forehead?"
"Plenty."
"Teal'C says there were jaffa belonging to a minor Lord who controlled three planets in that star system. His name was Tanis. It seems Tanis is a very small group of Guo'uld that potray themselves not as gods, but as heroes fighting the gods like hercules, Jason, Ulyysese. They call themselves--"
"P'Nai." Stace finished thinking.
"Yeah." Rojc said curious. "how did you know?"
"uh..." Stace quickly thought reazlining that again Tanis' knowledge had washed over his mind again. "I heard the jaffa saying something about it. Those Guo'uld courses Dr. Jackson offered did teach me a few words."
Stace knew that his friend did not believe him totally, but could not come up with any other explanation. Jeremiah tried to change the subject.
"Any idea what they'll do to me?"
"General Hammond will probably let you off with a warning since you did just come from back from a bad experience. I think he plans to assign you to work with Captain Carter for a few weeks since you had a degree in astro-physics."
Stace felt Tanis get worried. Both knew full well that at that close of proximity, Samantha Carter would have no trouble sensing Tanis' presence. "I prefer just getting back to work, Colonel."
"I know what you mean, but General Hammond is in charge even if he doesn't deserve it."
"Sir, I need some rest." Jeremiah said.
Dade stood and nodded. He left the Major to his thoughts.
-------------------------
It was shortly after as Dade walked down the corridor that he bumped into a young, at least he thought, woman hurrying the opposite direction.
"In a hurry," he asked.
She ignore him as she hurried past, as she did so Dade caught a glimpse of her name etched on her military uniform, "Amanda Walker"
'Bloody rude these new officers' he thought and headed towards he quarters. He had been serving with the RAF at the stargate program for some time now, as an exchange officer from the British military. He had always liked the Americans, Jeremiah had become one of his closest friends, but sometimes he wished they would take a little more time to think about people and a little less about beaucracy.
He had often times thought about quiting for just that reason, to return back home, but the thought of alien worlds and new adventures kept him here, even now he was still a boy at heart.
-----------------------------
"Are you sure?" Julna asked his senior as the two sat in there assigned quarters. The two Tok'Ra representatives had been on the way out, but Nuten wanted to stay for a little longer. "There was a Jaffa in the room. You could have sensed him."
"I know." The older man responded as he sat in one of the chairs and stared at the wall. "but it felt like there was another one in the room with us. You were closest to the Tau'Ri. Did you sense a symbiote?"
Julna shook his head. "I was pre-occupied."
Nuten nodded with a hint of a smile. "You must practice your diplomacy, my friend. He was grieving from a loss."
"We needed the information."
"I know. I am not arguing that. You should have had a little more tact for the situation. But I really believe that the symbiote was in one of the surviving members of SG-11."
"It must be that human called Stace." Julna said with some venom.
"Why? Because he hit you?" Nuten with a smile more prominent on his usually stone cold features.
"No, I spoke with Colonel Rojc after the meeting...to...to apologize, but it was extremely brief."
"Understandable."
"I was in close proximity and I didn't sense it so with reason it should be the other."
Nuten nodded. "We shall confront him tommorow, but I warn you, Julna, we must tread lightly because if we are wrong we may turn the Tau'Ri against us and you know the Council wants to keep them as allies as long as possible."