Blood of my Heart, Beloved of my Soul

Part VIII

Samantha Carter's eyes popped open and just as quickly shut. Oh, God, it had been a dream. A wonderful dream, true, but only a dream. She wasn't in bed with Martouf and Lantash. She cracked one of her eyes open just to make sure. Two beautiful blue eyes looked back at her, but, they were ocean blue, not the silvery, gray-blue that was Martouf's eyes. She sighed deeply and opened her other eye.

"Um, I don't suppose you remember how and why we are both in your bed, do you Daniel?"

"Well, let's just say that while there are a few missing pieces here and there, I don't think I've forgotten anything major, Sam." He grinned slightly at the unintentional pun. He thought about calling her Samantha, but decided not to tease her. This situation was going to take some careful handling.

"God, Daniel, I am so sorry."

"I do remember apologizing in advance, Sam. And I remember that you did, too."

Sam winced. "What exactly do you remember Daniel?"

Daniel smiled. "One of the nicest propositions I've ever had."

Sam cringed inside and briefly closed her eyes again. "Daniel, did I ask you to kiss me?"

"Um, yeah, I remember that part. And the part where you asked me to call you Samantha and speak Goa'uld when I kissed you."

Sam sat up, hid her face in her hands and moaned. "I can't believe I did that. I mean I believe what you're telling me, Daniel, I have a vague recollection of it; I just can't believe I actually did that."

"What do you remember, Sam?" Daniel asked softly.

"We went out to dinner, watched some TV, listened to the stereo, drank some more wine, and relaxed. When we opened the last bottle of wine, we started to talk about Kataya and Lantash and Martouf." She frowned in concentration. "I started thinking about a conversation Janet and I had. I kept wondering why I hadn't fallen in love with such a wonderful man." She sighed deeply. "I was curious about whether I would react to kissing you. Having drunk to much wine, I got the courage to ask you to kiss me. After that, it gets a little blurrier." Suddenly she looked down. "Oh, thank God, we're still sort of dressed."

"Jammies," Daniel stated succinctly. He laughed before quickly stopping, grabbing his head. "Wow, what a headache. Time for aspirin and coffee." He looked over at Sam. "That was my first reaction, too, Sam," he said with sympathy in his voice, even as he chuckled. "At least neither of us completely lost our minds."

Sam grabbed a pillow, and whacked him with it. "Daniel! This isn't funny. We could have…We almost…What if we had…" She stopped, and her eyes widened in horror, "What if they find… How can we explain…What are we going to…?" She finally stopped her disjointed, garbled attempts at speech and said, "Daniel, why were you laughing?"

Daniel looked at her earnestly. "I was laughing because I just woke up to find myself half-dressed and in bed with my best friend, Sam." His laughter dying as he took her hand and held it, softly stroking it with his thumb. "I needed my friend last night, Sam, and I think she needed me. Not in a sexual way, but in a," He stopped. "You know what one of my last thoughts was before I went to sleep? That I can remember, I mean? It was that you were my anchor, a part of my heart." Pausing again, he looked at her and smiled sweetly. "Sam, you are a beautiful, warm, caring woman and I am so lucky to have you as a friend. I'm not sorry I kissed you last night. We both needed a shoulder to lean on; arms to hold us, and the warmth,
and comfort that only close physical contact can give. We trust each other enough to be able to ask for what we need. You had a reason for asking what you did, Sam, and I had a reason for agreeing. Remember the cave? We can ask anything of each other, Sam. Anything, and not feel like the other one will think less of us.

"Well, you needed to be kissed and held and so did I. I don't think any less of you for needing that. And, if you pretended that I was Martouf and Lantash, I can accept and understand that, too. We both needed comfort for our own reasons and we gave that to each other. I'm okay with it, Sam, and I hope you are, too. We felt safe with each other. Nothing happened and even if it had, we would have worked through it. We're here for each other. That's what friends do."

Daniel finished his monologue and smiled teasingly at her. "As for all of the questions that are running around your head like demented squirrels in a cage, I think I can answer at least some of them. At least the ones I think you were trying to ask, that is," he added cheekily.

He looked at her and spoke sincerely. "Sam, we really didn't do anything terrible or wrong. Yes, we let things go a little far, but the truth is that we aren't," he sighed deeply and looked at the ceiling for a moment before returning his gaze to her. "The truth is, that they have no more claim on us, than we do on them. It was a personal `moment out of time' between friends, Sam, so stop beating yourself up over it. You have nothing to feel guilt over and neither do I," he stated decisively and firmly.

"You're right Daniel. You know," tears welled up and threatened to flow, "you really are a wonderful man, Daniel Jackson, and I am one incredibly lucky woman to have you for a friend. You are so very
special."

"Thanks, Sam, that means a lot to me," he said quietly.

Suddenly Daniel grinned at her as he swung off the bed. "And you might want to know, you weren't the only curious one in this bed last night, Major-Doctor Carter. I remember feeling distinctly disappointed when you managed to get that t-shirt on." With that parting shot, he headed for the kitchen throwing over his shoulder, "I'll fix some coffee. You can have the bathroom first, but we're going to have to move it if we don't want to be late."

Sam laughed. Daniel would make some very lucky woman a wonderful husband. Evidently, Sam thought, I can't see any man but Martouf and Lantash. She got up and headed for the bathroom. Daniel was right; they were going to have to hurry if they didn't want to be late.
~
General Hammond walked into the briefing room and started the meeting with his usual aplomb. No one could have guessed that he had just been informed that the newest addition to the SGC could change, if necessary, into something slightly feline. The news had actually made him feel slightly better. This was the SGC. What he'd heard was bizarre. Therefore, things were back to normal. It was a relief.

"Good morning, everyone. It looks like we're all here, so we'll get started. Colonel O'Neill, Kataya and I had a meeting earlier this morning. One of the things discussed was that she share a little historical background on the Alliance of the Four Races, how they relate to one another, so that we can get a better understanding of our newest allies. Kataya, please, begin whenever you are ready."

Kataya stood, smiled briefly, and began her part of the briefing. "As you all know there was once an alliance of four great races: The Nox, whom you have met. The Asgard, whose friendship you have won. The Ancients, whose technology, you Colonel, have been in intimate contact with and the Furlings, with whom, up until now, you have had no contact."

"The Nox and the Ancients are both very powerful races. The Nox have become a pacifist society, interfering only in a non-violent way. While they tend to keep to themselves, they will interact with other races. They use illusion, as you know." She stopped, obviously thinking, and then added, "They have learned to use the forces of nature to regenerate themselves, a trait, which, to a certain degree, the Furling share."

"The Ancients have ascended to another plane of existence. Occasionally they return to this plane and interact with us.
However, they have policies of non-interference, which they usually adhere too. Because of this, we tend to class them as pacifist as well. When they do interfere, their powers are immense. They are, in my opinion, the most powerful of all the races."

"In many ways the alliance of the four races is still strong. While the Nox and the Ancients do not join in the fight against the Goa'uld, they do not ostracize us because we do. The Asgard and the Furling have remained, in many ways, warrior
races. The Asgard have developed extensive technological abilities. Their intellectual capacity is truly amazing and their battle fleet is second-to-none. Both the Asgard and the Furling, consider themselves to be friends to all and protectors of all, except the Goa'uld, of course."

"The Furlings strongest ties are with the Asgard. Our philosophy is similar. Our goals are the same. When Thor approached my father, it reminded us that the battle against the Goa'uld, while slowly being won in our sector of this vast universe, is not going as well in others. At one time, the Furling had ties to earth. It has always been my father's intention to return to the battle here one day when he was needed. Thor's request simply brought the day of our return to this part of the Universe forward in time. I am the first to come to fight along side you."

"My father has also decided to place some of our agents in System Lord strongholds in this sector. They are extremely well trained and very adept at what they do. They have in fact, had centuries to perfect their abilities. They are extremely sensitive to others thoughts and have the ability to `intercept' thoughts without being detected by the Goa'uld, unlike when they touch a human mind. Moreover, of course, what an agent does in the line of duty isn't considered `idle' and therefore, it's not forbidden. I expect to begin getting reports from our agents soon. I will of course share all information gathered with the SGC. It is our hope that as our sector becomes more stable, we will be able to be of more help."

"The Furlings are a powerful race. However, so are the Goa'uld. We have been at war with them for millennia, as have the Asgard. It has taken over a millennium to bring them under control in the Pegacian System, alone, which was the sector where I had been stationed. It is only in the last fifty or sixty years that we have seen significant progress throughout our entire sector. In a few places, the fighting is still fierce and every gain we make is hard won. We, the Katteri-enti Warriors, are few, in comparison to the Goa'uld."

"Like the Asgard, we have protected planets. We call some of them `clans of the Furling'. Wiccadia, my mother's world, is one of them. In recent years, we've added even more planets to those under our protection, by doing so it stretches our Warriors thinly. The reason I am telling you this, is so that you will perhaps understand that while the Furlings are powerful, we are neither invincible nor infallible. We have made and will make mistakes. We do not believe joining the Tau'ri in this war is one of them."

"We have taken a page from the Asgard `Book of War'. We use the Goa’uld’s own fears against them. They are no different from us, in that they fear that which they do not or cannot understand." Shrugging, she continued, "In other words we bluff as well as, if not better than, the Asgard do. We have learned our lessons well. The biggest weaknesses the Goa'uld have are their arrogance and belief in their infallibility. We use those things against them as much as possible."

"General Hammond also expressed a desire for me to explain a little about our abilities, so there would be no misunderstanding of what I can or cannot do."

"Our abilities, that is, those of the Katteri-enti Warriors, have finite perimeters. While they are useful, they are not without their own set of weaknesses. Energy once used, must be replenished. We use a light meditative state to do this. The ways we can use energy are varied. We can for instance, throw up an energy field around us as long as we are fairly close together and it does not need to stay in place for a long period of time. We can throw up a barrier to slow the enemy's progress. Doing things like this takes large amounts of energy. We can also `throw" energy, much the same way as the Goa'uld, using a ribbon device, our dagger or a sword. It will be helpful for you to know that we cannot, for example, use a shield and continue to keep multiple telepathic links open. In other words, the amount of energy required determines what we can do and for how long."

"We cannot defend against large numbers unless there are many of us." She smiled somewhat wryly. "And in your case, there is only one. You are already aware of our telepathic abilities. The last advantage we have against the Goa'uld is our natural ability to control and/or kill a symbiote if it attempts to blend with us."

Kataya's gaze seemed to roam indifferently from the General, to the Colonel to Teal'c as she continued speaking. "From my father I inherited the Katteri-enti spirit, the ability to draw on the energies of the Universe and channel them for use in
energy weapons, telepathy and some healing."

She smiled gently. "From my Wiccadian mother, I inherited the ability to draw, use, and channel some of the forces of nature. My empathic abilities also come from her. I can use them to heal minor wounds as well as to take pain away. We can sustain a person with major injuries with our own life force for a limited period, but they must be taken to a healer" she nodded toward Janet, "or Doctor as soon as possible before our life force is drained. Eventually, we must make a choice if there is no healer. We must relinquish the person who is injured or both of us will die."

She hesitated and again, her eyes went to the three men. "Last night, I discussed my ability as a Katteri-enti with Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. The Colonel in turn relayed my information to the General this morning." She stopped speaking and her gaze settled on Daniel. “It was not my intention to go into the details of my abilities with all of you at this time, but this
morning, Merdwin convinced me that it is information you should have. As he pointed out, it's a shocking thing to see when you are aware that it can happen, how much more so to be taken unaware? So in the interests of both the team, and Dr. Frasier, as she may be called upon to treat me at sometime, we decided it would be best to induce a complete manifestation of the Katteri-enti Warrior."

Colonel O'Neill sat up straight in his chair, where he had been lounging. "Complete? As in you didn't show us everything last night?"

"I showed you the manifestation as it affects my physical appearance," she replied, "I just did it without the light show."
With those words, Kataya stepped well away from the table, drew her sword from its scabbard, swung it in a few graceful arcs, and proceeded to show the members of the SGC what it was that really scared the hell out of the Goa'uld.

It wasn't just her eyes that glowed like a large jungle cat, the inch long claws that could slice their throats or the incisors that could rip their necks open. It was the unearthly flashes of multicolored lights that rippled around her and sprang from the tip of her sword like bolts of electricity only to run down her arm and fly from the tips of her fingers.

Merdwin had risen and stepped away from the table and was standing near her. He caught the pulses of energy and flung them back to her. It was as if the two beings were playing or dancing with it. She stopped it as quickly as she had begun. It left a slightly charged feeling to the room.

She looked around the table at the faces watching her and Merdwin in silence. Her eyes stopped and dwelt on Daniel's face. "Now you know exactly what we are."

Daniel looked at her with a wide startled gaze. Then he smiled at her. "I've always thought it beautiful. I never grow tired of
seeing the Fire Dance." Kataya smiled.

Colonel O'Neill was the first to say something. He turned to Daniel and demanded, "What the hell is a Fire Dance?"

Still looking at Kataya, Daniel didn't hear the question. Merdwin came to their rescue. "It is a manifestation of our energy, Colonel O'Neill. While it can be amazing to look at and experience, the form Kataya and I used, is harmless. We would not use a harmful form in such a confined space with not only all of you, but these delicate instruments around."

"When a Katteri-enti attacks, we manifest as you have just seen, but we use a more harmful form of our energy. As you can imagine, in a true battle situation, we have only a limited amount of energy to expend. When we use the energy to wound or kill, it leaves us and does not come back, unless, of course, we kill as a Katteri-enti. I believe Kataya explained that to you."

"I don't know what it means," Samantha Carter spoke up.

Kataya's eyes did not leave Daniel's as she spoke. "When we kill using our hands rather than a weapon, Major Carter, we absorb the life force of the one killed. It helps to replenish our energy but we rarely kill in that manner. The Goa'uld refer to it as a `ritual killing'. We always give the Jaffa the choice of fighting or leaving the planet. If we have to kill that way and we send the Jaffa back to the System Lord they came from, it is rare that we have to repeat it. If we are lucky, we only have to kill one or two that way and the others go back to tell the tale of the `killing power' they encountered." She shrugged. "It is another form of bluffing, except that there is at least something to back it up."

Major Carter was obviously deep in thought. "So if you can absorb energy, then staff weapon blasts don't affect you?" she asked.

Kataya shook her head. "Staff blasts are a different form of energy and can hurt us substantially. We're able to absorb only a small portion of it. We can however, heal ourselves of a staff blast that is not fatal in much the same manner as a Jaffa or a Tok'Ra, which, of course, is convenient."

She paused slightly, and then continued, "The ribbon device is another matter all together. If a Goa'uld gets close enough to
attempt to use one on us, we can reflect it back to them. As you can imagine, they only try that trick once." She smiled an evil little smile, remembering a past event. "Katteri-enti translates into Kat entity. We do not change into cats; we simply take on some of their attributes."

Teal'c suddenly spoke up. "I realize this will be a trivial question but it has been, as the Tau'ri would say, `sprinting through my mind'-”

"He means `running through my head', "Jack interjected.

"-since last night. Do you have increased night vision?" Teal'c continued speaking as if O'Neill had not said anything.

"Our vision is better than most at night, but not in the manner of a cat. We lack the cellular structure in the eye that cats have. Our hearing also is only slightly better than average. Are there anymore questions?"

"Yeah, can I get one of those cool swords?" Colonel O'Neill asked laughingly. "Maybe something with a few extra blue waves?"

Merdwin laughed with him and replied, "I'll see what I can do Colonel. I see no reason we couldn't do that. The colors emitted, however, will depend on your energy patterns." As he looked at Janet Frasier, he continued, "I'll deliver it myself."

"People if I could have your attention, please," General Hammond was ready to get his briefing back under control. "I think we've all been given enough information to think about for now. Colonel O'Neill and I both feel that while Merdwin is available to us, we should concentrate on sessions with the two of them. He will be helping Kataya in working with all of you, and other key personnel, to train you in the use of the telepathic links. We are hoping that at least some of you will be able to develop the ability to activate the links for yourselves once Merdwin or Kataya have placed them.

"SG1 has a routine `meet and greet' scheduled in two weeks with the Heyerians. Let's see if we can't at least have a basic network up and running by then. Since it's a routine mission, it's a perfect time to try out your new advantage without being under pressure. I'll let you work out your own schedule of when who wants to work with whom. If there is nothing else, dismiss-"

"Excuse me, General Hammond."

"Yes, Major Carter?

"Sir, I'm wondering if we should be letting our other allies know of the latest development? After all, the Tok'Ra are allies of ours who have agents already in place with many of the System Lords. If Kataya's father is sending their people in, then might it not be a good idea if we could at least let them know what is going on?"

"An excellent point, Major Carter. Thank you for reminding us of it. We're also allied with the Tok'Ra who are in our sector, so we are very familiar with working with them. Would we need to go to them or will they come here?" Merdwin directed his question to the General.

Jack looked disgusted. "General, do we have too?"

General Hammond sent Jack a warning look. "I believe they're right, Colonel. This could help them as well as us and as allies it is our responsibility to inform them of anything that might either help or hinder them."

"I don't see them going out of their way to inform us of everything that happens," Jack grumbled. As far as he was concerned, the only time the Tok'Ra came to them was when they needed something.

"Perhaps not, Colonel. I'm going to inform them and request that they send someone to come to meet with us on a matter of mutual interest." He smiled at the Major. "I don't think there is any real hurry." He then turned to Merdwin and Kataya. "Major Carter's father is Tok'Ra." He's the liaison."

Merdwin nodded "In that case, we'll hope to see him. It will be a pleasure to meet with Major Carter's father."

"All right, people, if there is nothing else?" Raising his eyebrows in a silent question, he proceeded. "Dismissed."

Daniel stood and approached Merdwin. "Hi. I don't know if you caught my name or not, but I'm Daniel
Jackson."

"I remember you, Dr. Jackson," Merdwin acknowledged. "You were the one that volunteered to link his mind with Kataya's."

"Yes," Daniel said baldly. "You usually join with Kataya in the Fire Dance. This time you didn't enter her aura. Why? And an even better question, how do I know that?"

"It is not for me to explain. You must discuss that with Kataya."

"Then Sam was right, and she is putting images into my head? Daniel sounded angry.

"No, she is not. She is the trigger, nothing more." Merdwin looked directly into Daniel's eyes. There was no evasion there. He was giving an honest answer.

Daniel hesitated, obviously troubled by some thought. "We've been enemies." Realization came into his eyes and he stared at Merdwin. "No," he said slowly and bluntly, "we're more than enemies. We're rivals."

Merdwin nodded. "In the past, we both danced the Fire Dance with her. Why didn't you join her today? You wanted to. You knew she would never hurt `you'."

"Yes," Daniel ground out, "I wanted to." He eyed the other man. "I need to know what's happening to me."

"You need to speak with Kataya. She will tell you. Neither of us is hiding anything. I admit I didn't' realize at first who or what you were." He gazed levelly at Daniel. "Things change. We won't be rivals this time. Now, if you will excuse me, I promised General Hammond and Janet that I would work with them on the link. I don't wish to keep them waiting." He gave Daniel a short bow, turned and left.

"Daniel? Are you all right?" Sam asked as she walked up behind him.

"Yeah, Sam," Daniel sighed. "I'm great if you consider realizing that you think you're love with an alien, is great."

"Welcome to the club, Daniel." Sam smiled crookedly. "Now you know how hard it can be."

"At least Martouf is human," Daniel replied somewhat testily.

"So is Kataya, and at least there is only one of her," Sam shot back.

"Martouf doesn't have inch long claws that could gut you, or fangs that could snap your neck," he retorted.

"Kataya can't crawl inside your head and take control of your body," Sam snapped.

"Martouf doesn't play with bolts of energy that could kill you," he retaliated.

"He does when he uses a hand device," was Sam's immediate come back.

"Sam?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"You want to go out to get something to eat tonight? Maybe have some wine and talk?"

"Yeah, I think I do. But let's not waste time by going out to eat. How about we go to my place and order a pizza?

"Sounds good. I'll pick up some wine." He looked at her and then suddenly smiled. "I'll bring my own jammies. Your sweats might not fit me."

Sam just shook her head and laughed. She knew that he was right. He'd need his sweats. They'd tested those waters and found them sweet, but not sweet enough for them. They were both looking for that passion that burned and writhed within the Fire Dance.

As they left the briefing room, Sam decided she wanted to see Kataya. After all, she had the perfect excuse, being the only member of SG1 who had not tried a mind link. There was no time like the present.