Daughters of the Queen
Sequel to
Blood
of My Heart, Beloved of My Soul
Chapter
9
Hidden
Hope
“Daniel,” Lantash whispered hoarsely only to stop speaking, afraid to put any of his thoughts into words.
“It says what you think it does. No wonder they wouldn’t allow a Goa’uld to come in here. If these writings are what I think they are, then any Goa’uld that could translate them could find and destroy the daughters of the Queen of the Tok’Ra,” Daniel said quietly.
Lantash reached out a hand and with trembling fingers touched the words carved into the stone. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Kataya always told me that there were other Tok’Ra queens. She swore to Siesha that she would find one and return her to the Tok’Ra. She said she would take her as her own symbiote to be sure she was indeed a Tok’Ra. She promised her she would give birth to the next generation of Tok’Ra if necessary. That is what she told me after Siesha died,” Lantash said softly, his mind in the past as he remembered his mate and her symbiote. “Of course, if Kataya comes back, that would be out of the question now, but at least I now know that her insistence that there were other Tok’Ra queens was based in more than wishful thinking. I wonder why Kataya never came here to find the answer to where they were? She searched many worlds looking for them, I know,” Lantash said, sounding puzzled.
“She would not have known to come here,” said a voice from behind them.
Spinning around to face the same woman they had come into contact with before, Daniel asked, “Who are you? And what do you know about this place and these writings? Why wouldn’t Kataya know? And why do you keep popping in and out like a Jack-in-the-Box?” Daniel asked his questions rapidly.
“My name is Valynara. I was a host of Egeria. I brought her here to teach her that which she must know that she might become the mother of the small dragons whose hearts were good,” she responded to the first question he had asked.
“Then the legends that say that she did not like the way the System Lords treated their hosts are untrue,” Lantash said quietly.
“No, they are correct. She did not like the way they treated their hosts. My permission was asked before we blended. However, she was Goa’uld and her natural arrogance tended to make her forget, on occasion, that it was my body and not hers to do with as she wished. The majority of the time, we had a truly symbiotic relationship and that is what she hoped to pass onto her children.”
“So you never subjected her to what you subjected me to?” Lantash wanted to know.
“No, she was never subjected to what you were. However, I did one time cut her off from the ability to do anything other than what I wished and gave her no input into what happened. I suppose you could say that I put her in solitary confinement, although it was not quite as stringent as what I inflicted on you. I also pointed out that pain was usually added when the Goa’uld were in control and gave her a slight taste of what it would be like for the host. Needless to say, feeling as she did already, she was appalled by what I showed to her.”
“You see, until then, although she did not like what the System Lords did to their hosts, she had no desire to combat them. At that time, her children were born knowing they should share the host body equally and treat them with respect. After her experience with me, she felt strongly that their ways must be stopped. When none would listen to her, she set herself to become the mother of a new race of Goa’uld. This I know from her return to us here.”
Sadness was in the woman’s face as she continued. “By the time she came back to us they were hunting her. She had populated several worlds with her offspring but had no way of knowing what would occur when they matured and she was on the run. She could only assume they would continue to fight the Goa’uld, since that was part of the genetic memory she passed on to them.”
“When she was aware the System Lords would soon catch and kill or imprison her she came to us and asked if she could leave a record here for her children to find and follow to their new queen or queens. We believe she left a memory with her children of this place and a legend or some trigger that would lead them here knowing that if they were true Goa’uld they could not access the gate. Had you mentioned her, I would have known who you were but not even in your mind did I hear you calling her,” she said, her voice laced with regret at what she had inflicted on him.
After sending a look of apology to Lantash she continued, “She had managed to give birth to several daughters, a feat in and of itself. I am sure you are aware of how rare a queen is. She did not tell us where she had hidden them. She asked that we inscribe into these walls her story, which we did as well as we could and make it seem the same. It made no real sense to us, though, so we were not able to discover where she hid them and I am afraid that much of what we know of this dialect has been forgotten over the years. It will be up to you to translate it, though I will help as much as I can.”
“We asked her to remain here with us in safety but she refused saying she wished to continue in her fight both by producing more children and in actual combat. We promised to kill or send away any Goa’uld that managed to find and access this place and we have guarded it ever since.”
“We have had little contact with the outside world since then, staying here to guard her secrets. By the same token, we also did not bring up the legend of the Great Battle, not wanting our curiosity to give away our knowledge. It is too easy for us to pick up stray thoughts from one another if we are not completely guarded and our easiest course was to cut ourselves off except for occasional meetings with family. We felt we would know when Egeria’s children came for they would be looking for her. You did not appear to be here looking for her, so I assumed you were a Goa’uld who had somehow managed to come through.”
“You are the first and as you explained, you are one of the small dragons of her hopes. Now you must find your new queen and perhaps even some of your brethren for the Great Battle is past and you took part in it. That was the signal that you had indeed become all that she wished you to be.”
“As for why Kataya would not have known about this place, no one knew, not even Artereos. As for why she believed there were other queens of this type, I do not know. There could very well be a legend from the myst-time that speaks of them for they were a part of the prophecy of the All. And if they were a part of that, then there could very well be other legends that mention them and perhaps she knew of them.”
Turning to Daniel she said, “Dayillon of Alexandrian was a great scholar, a leader and crusader of causes, an enemy of ignorance, intolerance and the Goa’uld. Kataya believed in him and his abilities and he could very well have told her of such legends if Artereos did not. Perhaps you know the answer to that question better than we. Although you and Kataya both were born millennia after the myst-time, still the legends were well known then. And I believe you found many that had been forgotten over time. That is all I can tell you, for that is all I know.” With those words, she disappeared leaving his last question unanswered.
Martouf, Lantash and Daniel sat in silence, each busy with their own thoughts. Finally, Daniel said quietly, “I don’t think we should make this common knowledge, Lantash. I know you want to rush right out and tell the Tok’Ra but the truth is that the Goa’uld are still a force to be reckoned with and I don’t believe we want one whisper of this to leave this place. To alert the Goa’uld to a new Tok’Ra Queen would be to start a world-to-world hunt for them by the Goa’uld. When they found them, it would be a wholesale slaughter.”
Lantash’s first response had indeed been to go immediately to the Tok’Ra High Council with his information. Daniel’s words, very much a bucket of cold water, sobered him instantly. He knew that Daniel was correct. They could not allow word of this to leave this place. Sadness in his voice he said, “You are, as usual, correct Daniel. We must keep this information to ourselves,” he sighed tiredly.
“I don’t think we have to keep it completely to ourselves. I didn’t mean it that literally. I simply meant we couldn’t go to them with the information. That won’t stop us from bringing a few of them here though. Do you have any suggestions who to call into the latest Tau’ri/Tok’Ra covert operation?” Daniel asked with a slight smile knowing Lantash and Martouf both would understand his allusion. It was once again time to falsify a request for people to come to the Tau’ri.
“We should keep the number to a minimum,” Lantash frowned, thinking. “Jacob, Jocasta, Brialek and Malek perhaps?” He finally asked. “I believe they are all to be trusted implicitly. Although Selmak will wish to return to the council with the information, I believe that given the possible consequences, he will agree to working on finding them first and reporting it only when we can find a safe place for the Queen or Queens to be hidden.”
“Sounds good to me. Listen, why don’t you take that bedroll and lie down. You look tired still.” His realization of how tired and worn Lantash looked caused Daniel to frown. “Are you feeling all right Lantash? Are there any lasting effects that we need to know about?” He asked.
Lantash’s first impulse was denial, his usual response, but changing his mind he said, “Well actually, she told me that it would take time for me to heal as it had to be done slowly. She started the process and it will continue but I must not attempt to hurry it along. She did warn me that I would be quite tired for at least today and possibly longer.”
“I thought she healed you,” Daniel said, obviously upset at what he considered a falsehood.
“No, you misunderstood. She blocked the pain until it heals. I am not sure why she did not simply heal it but I received the impression that the nerves she damaged must heal on their own to be fully functional again. She also advised me against trying to simply put forth new filaments. It seems the device works much like the Furling mind and it damages all of those nerve types thus attempting to put forth new ones would simply make more damaged tissue to be healed.”
“This may also be a better answer to your earlier question about why the Furlings cannot defeat the Goa’uld using this method. When she was explaining this to me, I had the impression that the immobilization corrects itself over time if the device is not used periodically or unless the damage is so sever it causes death to the symbiote. Therefore, they must kill them, remove them or continually damage them.”
“Once a symbiote is within the Furling body, they have full control of them without the device. Definitely, a most effective means of control. And, because of all of this, I am going to let Martouf take over talking to you. I believe talking to him would be less tiring on me. I will still be able to help you, I believe,” Lantash said as he moved back to the bedroll and lay down upon it, a sure sign that he was indeed not feeling well. It was disconcerting to see him that way.
Daniel frowned, worrying, but nodded, saying, “Go ahead and rest. I’m going to sit here and mull over what she told us.”
He sat quietly as he mused about the story Valynara had told them and the message he had found. A trick of the light coming through the window was the only thing that had led him to the spot. Normally, he would not have noticed anything at all amiss with the stones. Had he not been sitting in that exact spot at that exact time, he never would have known it was there.
So how had Egeria known that her offspring would come here to look? This planet wasn’t even on the Goa’uld radar screen. It had been downloaded from the Ancients knowledge into Jacks brain. Valynara was right, she had to have left some type of message in her offspring about this place, planning all along to come here.
Daniel put himself in her place as well as he could and let his agile mind drift to possible scenarios. She knew she would be hunted down and imprisoned or killed. She would have laid her plans carefully. She would have given thought to who she could trust to guard the directions to her daughters whereabouts. The only one that would come to mind would be the host she trusted and probably even loved above all others and the one that would probably live long enough to keep and guard her secret. Her Furling host, Valynara, would be who she would turn to and that is what she had done.
Having made her plans and decisions, she would have left some type of information in her offspring’s genetic memory that would guide them here if they became all that she hoped. Something that would mean nothing to them if they had not. What would it be? A legend? A Song? What would trigger it and how would it be triggered? Obviously, the Great Battle was the defining event that would call them forth to find their queen. But they believed her dead, Daniel knew, so they would not come looking for her. Would she have left some primal need in them, perhaps? Or a legend they had discounted, believing her dead and without female offspring?
Daniel frowned at the inconclusiveness of his thoughts and turned them in another direction. The Tok’Ra of today almost had to come from her later children for they had the will to fight the Goa’uld whereas the earliest ones would have had only the desire to share the host body. Hadn’t Garshaw, or Anise, said at one time that there had been Goa’uld that had defected though? Those could have been from the older children. Those had stopped now though, so, it was a fair bet that the sarcophagus had corrupted them, they had died out, or they were living quietly in a host somewhere in some backwater world that no one ever went to. Or, all of the above.
She had left children on several worlds. So did that mean there could be adult Tok’Ra out there that had never taken a host? How long, he wondered, did a Tok’Ra live without taking a host? Could they live, like their blended brothers, indefinitely with the right combination of circumstances? Blended Goa’uld needed the sarcophagus to keep the human body from deteriorating, not their own, so it stood to reason that they could live for a very long time without a blending. Depending on the worlds she had put them on, there could be some still out there, waiting to be found.
Daniel’s thoughts circled and came back to his original musings. There had to be an old Tok’Ra legend, something that would have told them to come here but it was so old no one remembered it or they didn’t know what it meant. Or, they had simply disregarded it because they knew she was dead.
Great. So, now he had to figure out not only what all this ancient Furling said but also dig into Tok’Ra history. Not that digging into history was a chore, but it could be overwhelming and he was kinda in a hurry now. This was something he could do for Kataya. Finish her quest for her. He couldn’t become their queen, but he could at least find the symbiote. He wondered why Lantash had said Kataya couldn’t become the queen now even if she came back? He’d have to remember to ask him. He’d bet it had something to do with himself. Lantash would assume that Daniel would object to Kataya becoming a Queen to his people and giving birth to symbiotes. Well, it was an odd thought and would take some getting used to he supposed, but if he could only have her back he wouldn’t care. God, he missed her so much. Stop it Daniel, he chided himself, those thoughts get you nowhere and only cause you more pain.
He changed the direction of his thoughts and his lips quirked in a wry smile. Jack wouldn’t be pleased either because there was a possibility they were going to need Anise. They needed access to Cadwaellon and the archives there to go through any old Furling legends and that was not something he had any idea of how to get to. They couldn’t even get to Avilion, let alone Cadwaellon. If Valynara turned up again they needed to ask her how to get through to Avilion or Cadwaellon. He needed reference books, something, anything that would help.
Abandoning that train of thought, Daniel sighed and said, “I think I’ll start video taping the walls. I’m also thinking about having General Hammond send for the Tok’Ra we decided on and have him send them through to here. And I think we might need Anise, even though you, she and Jack aren’t the best of friends. What do you think?” Daniel asked. Receiving no answer, he looked over and realized that Lantash and Martouf were fast asleep. Hearing Jack approaching, he quickly got up and made his way to the door, motioning him to remain quiet on his way outside to talk to him.
“Martouf and Lantash are asleep. Evidently, the damaged nerves that have to heal are taking a lot out of Lantash and Martouf experienced a lot of the pain so he’s kind of out of it, too. That they are asleep isn’t what’s important, but what we found in there is,” Daniel said quietly.
Looking earnestly at Jack, he continued, “Jack, we found proof that there were other Tok’Ra Queens and there’s a chance they are still out there, hidden somewhere. Supposedly, the walls in there have the directions of where to find them. I’m about to contact General Hammond to see if he can get some of the Tok’Ra here without alerting them to why. We can’t let this get out Jack. Every Goa’uld System Lord in the universe would be out hunting them, trying to get to them before we do.”
“We, Daniel?” Jack asked.
Daniel pinned Jack with a level gaze saying, “I am going to help the Tok’Ra find at least one of their queens, Jack. Their numbers are dwindling. Without a Queen, they have negative population growth. Egeria made sure their memories contained the information they needed to fight the Goa’uld. The information of where her daughters are was left here, until they had proven themselves by being part of the Great Battle. Well they did and here we are. If I have to leave Earth to do this I will, Jack. Don’t force me to it, if you can help it.”
Ignoring the last statements, Jack focused on something else Daniel had said. He asked, “What about the Great Battle? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Come inside, I’ll show you,” Daniel said. “Just do it quietly.”
Pulling the stones away from where he had replaced them, he showed Jack the inscription. Speaking softly so as not to disturb Lantash he said, “It says, ‘I leave this record so those of my surviving children, in the aftermath of the Great Battle, may find the daughters I have left for them. Egeria.” Daniel replaced the stones and motioned Jack to go back outside.
After following him out he said, “The guardian, Valynara, came back after we found it. It seems that she was Egeria’s host and, well, it’s a long story but the point is that when the Goa’uld were hunting Egeria, she came back here to her former host and asked to leave instructions, directions, for her children. The thing is, she didn’t want them to find it unless they proved themselves to be ranged against the system lords and their treatment of the hosts. Valynara used a milder form of what she did to Lantash and it made her determined to become the mother of a race of Goa’uld that would fight to change the ways of the System Lords and defeat them if necessary. She didn’t want them to find the daughters she left unless they were willing to fight the System Lords. The Furling teaching methods seem most effective.”
“What do you mean effective, Daniel? Effective in what way?” Jack wanted to know.
Daniel looked at he ground for a moment before looking back at him and then he said, “Evidently, what the Furlings can do in its most drastic form, the form she used on Lantash, is cause deterioration and inflammation of the filaments that the Goa’uld use to communicate. The more they try to interact with the host, the more pain they are caused. Soon they are completely cut off from all sensory input. Complete sensory deprivation, Jack. The perfect Goa’uld prison.”
“Egeria already disagreed with the way the System Lords treated the hosts. From what Valynara told us, she inflicted a much milder degree of deprivation on her than she did on Lantash, but it was enough to convince her that the System Lords needed to be actively combated. Egeria was hunted and as far as we know, killed. However, her children and her genetic memory live on. These daughters were born with the will to defeat the Goa’uld, Jack. They are a sentient species and they deserve to live just as much as we do. I for one don’t want to see them become extinct. Are they Goa’uld? Physiologically, yes, intellectually and emotionally, no. I’m going to help them.”
“Have Martouf and Lantash recovered?” Jack asked.
“No, evidently whatever it is they do to the filaments has to heal on its own. She did just enough that he could function again and the rest has to take care of itself, otherwise it won’t heal correctly. She said he should be all right within a day or so and she did block the pain according to what Lantash told me.”
Jack nodded. “Let them rest.” Jack paused before saying quietly, “Daniel, what does Lantash say to all of this? How does he feel about it?”
“I think he’s in a wait and see pattern right now, not wanting to get his hopes up, but anxious to start trying to find them before this leaks out. He understands that he can’t just go announce to the Tok’Ra that there are Queens out there without taking the chance the Goa’uld will find out.”
“As for how he feels about it, well think about it, Jack. What if you thought that every female on earth was sterile and that as people died and weren’t replaced you would eventually see the end of the human race through attrition? Then suddenly someone said, hey, wait a minute, we think there might be one or two females that aren’t sterile; we just have to find them and the human race is saved. All we have to do is translate four walls of an ancient dialect that none of us know, figure out what the translations mean in order to find out where they are, and do it before the ones trying to kill them to wipe out the human race get to them first. How would you feel?” Daniel asked, as he looked unwaveringly at him.
Jack sighed, “I’d want to do everything within my power to find them first and see to it that they were protected so they could become the mothers of the new human race. I do understand, Daniel, on the other hand, where are they going to get hosts for all of these baby Tok’Ra? And who is going to raise them to the point that they can take a host? Are you going to volunteer to become a Jaffa?” Jack asked him.
“No. But the Jaffa rebels still need symbiotes Jack. Why couldn’t they raise Tok’Ra instead of Goa’uld? I know it would take some doing, but it’s a possibility. And if not that then they can be raised in tanks, you know. Moreover, we’ve never looked into finding hosts like we should have. There are a lot of people out there that would welcome the chance to survive a terminal illness. In addition, I don’t think other societies are as bothered by it as we are. They do find willing hosts, Jack. I think that is a road we will have to go down sooner or later. For now, we just have to find her or them,” Daniel said, quietly.
“I think we need to contact the General and get Jacob, Malek, Brialek, and Jocasta here. We may need Anise, but if so we could bring her in later. One of us should go tell him about what we’ve found privately because I don’t even want this rumor to get started at the SGC. This could be the future of this race as a viable species and I don’t want to take chances with that,” he stated firmly.
“I know you probably don’t want to do this at all so if you want me to go talk to the General, I will,” Daniel said softly.
“Actually, Daniel, I don’t have a problem with it. I know what you are thinking and I do still feel the same in a lot of ways, but having some of them here, and getting to know them kind of changed some of my feelings about them. I’m still not gonna volunteer just yet, but I’ve not really got a problem with others doing it. It’s kind of hard to hold a grudge when you have a host thank you for talking the general into allowing the blending, which is what Jacob did. He seems content with it and if he can do it, I can see others doing it, too.”
“If they really do have a sharing relationship, like Jacob’s and Martouf’s, I think it’s great. But, if you’ll think about it, until they spent those weeks with us, all we ever saw was the symbiote in control. The weeks they were with us showed that they really do both use the body, which I, for one, always doubted. So, I will go and talk to the general and we’ll see about getting the Tok’Ra here. Are Martouf and Lantash fit to take over command until I get back?”
Daniel stared at Jack. “I, well, I suppose so. I mean they aren’t incapacitated, just asleep.”
“Fine, I’ll have to wake them and let them know I’ll be back later,” Jack explained.
Turning and walking back into the building, the two men were surprised to see Martouf just sitting up. After greeting them as they approached, he said, “Lantash is still resting. I believe he is better, though. Even that short nap seems to have helped.”
Jack looked at him intently before saying, “I’m glad you’re awake. I’m heading back to the SGC to talk to the General about getting Jacob and company here a.s.a.p. I need you to take command until I get back,” Jack told him.
Martouf stared at him much as Daniel had before saying, “Me, Colonel?”
“You and Lantash are the ranking officer, Martouf. It’s your responsibility to take command when the commanding officer is absent. I’m gonna be absent. You’re in command.”
Jack sighed. “Martouf, you and Lantash were given rank in our military based on your experience and your abilities. You studied our command structure among many, many other things. You did well. You passed the tests with flying colors. I’ll be back as soon as I can, Major. Hold the fort till I get back,” he ordered.
Turning to Daniel he said, “Dial home for me will you Daniel? I’m going to go let Teal’c and Lt. Stevenson know that the Major is in charge until I get back.”
Martouf stood stunned as Jack walked out the door and headed to tell the others he had to go to earth, but would be returning soon.
“I won’t even tell you I told you so,” Daniel said, as he input the glyphs for home.
Jack came back in and headed for the gate. “Code accepted, Daniel? He asked.
“No. No, Jack it hasn’t been,” Daniel said, sounding surprised and a little uneasy. “Something must be going on at the base for them to refuse to accept our code,” he continued quietly.
“Shut it down, Daniel. I’m not going through if they aren’t accepting the code,” Jack said, equally as quiet.
The three of them watched as the wormhole shut down. They stared at it as if expecting it to have an answer, but for now, it remained silent.
“What now?” Daniel finally asked.
Frowning, Jack said, “We wait thirty minutes and then we try again.”
“I have contacted Artereos for you, Dayillon. He will be sending the requested materials to you as soon as he can. He is pleased at the information I have given him and he has taken it upon himself to request of the Tok’Ra that they send the persons you wished for to you here.”
“Valynara. How did you know what I wanted? I thought you weren’t supposed to read minds,” Daniel said, his voice almost accusing.
“We are not. However, I am a Guardian of this place and I will protect it. If doing so means I monitor your stray thoughts, then I will do so. I have not “read” your mind, I have simply picked up your stray and throw away thoughts. It is working to your benefit, is it not?”
“Well, yeah, but I just don’t like the idea that you can see what I’m thinking.”
She smiled at him and shook her head, “I will not be delving deeply, Dayillon, have no fears of that.”
“Do you know what is going on back on Earth? Why they won’t accept our access code?”
“I do not believe they wish you to come home yet. I am sure they will have an explanation in due time,” she replied, as she watched the gate.
“You’re expecting it to activate. Do you think the Tok’Ra will be here that quickly?” Jack asked
“I do not know when they will arrive,” was the uninformative answer.
“Then why are you watching it? Jack wanted to know.
“I have no idea,” she said her voice calm and her demeanor unruffled. “You were all gazing at it and perhaps I simply joined you in watching it,” she continued, the remainder of her answer as uninformative as the first part.
Removing her gaze from the gate without haste, she changed the subject saying, “The villagers have been made aware of your presence here and that it is acceptable to me. I doubt they will bother you, although they could become curious. They are a very polite people. Many still have symbiotes from Egeria’s first children. They will not join your fight perhaps, but they will be eager to meet others of her offspring.”
“Many here would take symbiotes and join your battle, though. It was one more thing we could do in case Egeria’s children proved to be warriors against the Goa’uld. It will not be as difficult to find hosts as you think Colonel because Dayillon, I am sorry I should attempt to remember to call you Daniel, was correct in his statement and many cultures do not have the problem with it that you do.”
“The people here were raised on legends of the symbiotes and the long life and health they impart. To have one in one’s family is a great honor. So, we will hope that we can find others of your kind that are grown, Lantash, for they have hosts waiting. And now that I know of you, we will also be a place you may look for hosts when you have need.”
“I didn’t even know there was anyone living here. We thought the planet was deserted,” Daniel said quietly
“We removed the people from this area long ago, Daniel. It was not necessary that they have use of the Corridor of the Stars and we preferred that this temple fall into disuse. We wished it to appear that this planet had nothing of value on it. It was a precaution, nothing more. We have never, until today, had a Goa’uld come through except for Egeria. I should, of course, have realized at once who and what you were. I did attempt to search your mind, but as I mentioned before, I did not find you searching for Egeria. Now that I know you did not come here specifically for that, I can understand why I did not.”
“But to return to my story of the people here. There is a large population here. Many towns and villages exist beyond the hills of this valley. We designated this our sacred place and the people, in return for our protection of them, have granted this to us.”
“So you’ve set yourselves up as the local deity?” Jack asked, not sure he liked the sound of that. “That doesn’t sound like the Furling.”
Smiling at him slightly she said, “It is our sacred place, Colonel O’Neill, not theirs. They have there own beliefs, which we do not interfere with. They are very aware that we are an alien species that brought them here millennia ago to protect them.”
“Before we isolated ourselves here we gathered humans who were willing to blend as well as those who were already blended with Egeria’s earlier offspring. Their numbers have grown.”
“So they weren’t all blended.” Daniel stated.
“No, they were not all blended, and as for the symbiotes among them they only take hosts who have already had their children. It works quite well and will be a steady supply of hosts for any symbiotes of the Tok’Ra who need them as well as any new symbiotes found.”
“I do sincerely hope that you find other worlds with grown children of Egeria on them. She should have chosen only waters that would sustain them indefinitely or else put them into stasis jars to hide them. She did not really say, but I had the impression that she probably did both hoping that if one group did not survive perhaps the other would,” she said quietly. “And I believe she might have chosen unpopulated worlds for the ones in the stasis chambers and populated worlds for the ones born into the waters. Otherwise, her children would not be here today.”
She was quiet for a moment before saying, “If I am correct, the children that are today fighting the Goa’uld were born before she came here and I believe there are possibly more adults from that time out there somewhere on uninhabited planets waiting for their brethren to find them. I also suspect that you may find Egeria’s children from after she was here, on uninhabited planets as well as in stasis. I believe she intended to have as many children as she possibly could before the System Lords found her. Unfortunately we do not know how long it was after she left here before Ra hunted her down and destroyed her.”
“All of this information will be a very big help to us, Valynara. I know you said you didn’t have any other information for us, but I don’t believe that is true. I think that just as this information will perhaps be of some benefit, so will other of your recollections help us,” Daniel said earnestly. “Please, anything at all that you remember like that or anything you think of that she said or did, might give us a clue. Please, come talk to us of her and her time here, often.”
“I, too, wish to know of her. We have only memories left to us, we never knew her as you did. Perhaps it seems odd to you that we would wish to know our Queen, but I believe many of us would wish to hear of her.”
“Why would you think I would find it strange or odd that you would wish to know her? She is not just your Queen, Lantash, she is your mother,” Valynara pointed out softly. “I know that the Goa’uld think of them as Queens, but I believe the she left more with you than that. As you learn to dig deeper you will begin to understand this. As for my knowledge of her, I will freely give what I have. I will also give freely of my memories of her, for she was very dear to me.”
Suddenly, the Stargate was activated and a wormhole was established. Stepping out of the blue pool was a startled looking Jacob Carter and company. He stopped short at the sight of SG1 and looked around the building they were in.
Giving a lopsided smile, he said, “Okay, how did you guys do that? We got the message from Artereos that we were needed for a mission with the Tau’ri and to expect to stay for quite some time, we dialed you, our code was accepted, our luggage sent through and then we walked out here. Sans luggage it seems,” he continued as he realized that only the group had materialized on this side of the gate.
“Well, maybe it was Valynara,” Daniel spoke up.
“Who?” Jacob asked, as he walked down the steps that led to the gate.
“Valyn-” Daniel said as he turned to the woman, only to find she had once again disappeared. Daniel expelled a gusty sigh, “I wish she’d stop doing that!” he exclaimed. “Moreover, I’d like to know How she’s doing that,” he said, sounding exasperated.
“Well whomever you are talking about obviously isn’t here, so perhaps you can just tell us how we’re here and, while you’re at it, why we’re here?” Jacob said, even as he realized that the group in front of him was almost as disoriented as he was.
“I think Lantash and Martouf should be the ones to tell you why you’ve been brought in on another ‘covert op’,” Jack said quietly, as he nodded to the man standing next to them.
As the group of Tok’Ra looked at him, Martouf shrugged and Lantash took control. “It is Daniel’s discovery. Perhaps he should be the one to tell you,” he said almost diffidently.
“Ah, no, I don’t think so. This is your discovery as much as mine and it means a great deal to you and your people. You take them over and show them.”
“Show us what?” Jacob said, sounding almost testy. “Do you think you could stop passing the buck long enough for one of you to explain why Artereos of Cadwaellon, instead of George Hammond of the SGC, contacted us to tell us that you needed us? Hm? Anyone?”
Looking from one to the other of the three men facing him, Jacob realized for the first time that Lantash didn’t look well. “Lantash, what’s wrong with you?” He asked abruptly. “You look extremely tired.”
“I am extremely tired, Jacob,” Lantash answered quietly. “However, I understand that I will be better by tomorrow, so it is not important. The reason you are here is though.”
He looked from Jacob to the other three Tok’Ra with him. “It is important to all of us and it must stay between those of us who are here. It must not be talked of except when we are absolutely sure no one can overhear us. We are on a world that is protected by the Furling. The gate here will not let a Goa’uld through, as far as we know. We think it is like the one on Avilion.”
Turning, he walked to the fountain and kneeling in the dust and dirt, he removed the stones and called them over to him. He was not surprised when Malek knelt beside him and reached out, with fingers that trembled, much as his had, and traced the words cut into the stone.
“What does this mean, Lantash?” He asked, afraid to believe what he was reading.
As he swayed slightly, Daniel came up to him. “Lie back down, Lantash. I suspect you have to rest or it will take longer to heal.”
Nodding his head, Lantash agreed but did not go back to lie down. “I will lean up against the fountain and you can explain to them what we have discovered, please, Daniel.”
“Somebody better explain and quick. I want to know why this wasn’t brought before the council,” Selmak said forcefully. “If I am correctly understanding this statement, there are Tok’Ra queens somewhere out there.”
“Yes, Selmak, there very well may be. And, if you go running to the council with the news, then we can figure the Goa’uld will know sooner rather than later. Then we can watch as they start a world by world search for them, to destroy them, before we ever get a chance to decipher the information she left behind,” Daniel said quietly.
“I take it there is more to this than just this sentence?” Selmak asked, somewhat mollified by the sense of what Daniel had said.
“Yes. Some of the writing on these walls was added later. We believe the newer writing is the information that Egeria left to help her children find the new queen or queens and any of their brethren that still survive,” he explained, nodding towards the walls surrounding them. Reaching down, he replaced the stones. “It’s a long story. I suggest we make camp and get settled. Lantash needs rest.”
The next thing they knew, they were in a suite of rooms over looking a large valley. Daniel squeezed the bridge of his nose again. He wished she’d stop doing things without telling them. But the smell of food was making itself felt. And she was standing in the doorway.
“You may leave through this door or the back way at any time. You will not need to keep guard, but you may do so if you wish. We will be watching over you, however, so you have nothing to fear. Lantash does need rest.” She frowned before saying, “I was more severe than I had realized, but he will recover, probably after he sleeps for several hours.” She walked to him and placed her hand on Martouf’s neck, then nodded her satisfaction with what she felt.
“You should spend the evening explaining what you have found and learned. I believe that by sometime tomorrow, you will have the items you feel you need, Daniel. Goodnight.”
Daniel shook his head as she once again disappeared. “There has to be some type of transport beam or something. She can’t just disappear into thin air,” Daniel said, his frustration obvious. The Tok’Ra trunks suddenly appeared in the spot where she had been standing.
“It looks like the Furling air transportation department found your luggage, group,” Jack said with a grin.
Setting his weapon down, he headed for the table of food, following Daniel’s example. “I agree with her. We should eat and then you can all discuss this. Lantash needs food and rest first though. Talking can come later.” The Tok’Ra stared at him.
“What?” Jack asked. “Hey, he’s my 2IC now. I take care of my people, okay?”
“Nothing, Jack. Nothing at all,” Jacob said as he clapped him on the shoulder on his way to the table. “I take it that was Valynara? He asked.
“Yeah, lady in a green dress with a decided preference for coming and going both quickly and quietly. She has a serious grudge against the Goa’uld, too. We thought she was gonna kill Lantash, before Daniel could make her understand that he was Not Goa’uld and she had a serious problem with Teal’c at first,” Jack elaborated, as he watched Daniel take a plate of food to Martouf.
Hearing footsteps, he turned and saw both Teal’c and Lt. Stevenson entering. “Valynara said you wished our attendance, O’Neill,” Teal’c said quietly.
“You and the Lt. need to eat, too,” Jack sighed. The woman certainly liked to arrange everything. “After that we’ll decide on who takes what watch.” At least she was leaving that decision to them.
Noticing the murmuring of voices, he turned and watched Daniel as he offered a plate of food, only to have Martouf shake his head no. He watched as Daniel insisted until Martouf gave in and agreed to eat. Good, he wouldn’t have to make it an order. He turned back to the other members of his now enlarged team. The Tok’Ra were eating, but you could tell they were stunned by the turn of events.
“Listen, I know this is a shock, but I think she’s right and we should just talk a little tonight and then actually get started on trying to figure this all out tomorrow. Like she said, Lantash hasn’t recovered yet, and if we do too much talking, he’ll stay up instead of sleeping like she said he should.”
“I believe we are all simply trying to assimilate this information, Colonel,” Malek said quietly. “I would like to know what is wrong with Lantash though.”
“Ah, well, she used some kind of device on him and it damaged the nerves he uses to communicate. So, it kind of wears him out to talk right now. She said it would get better on its own; in fact, it has to heal on its own for it to heal right. He just has to be patient,” Jack replied, equally quietly.
Seeing Malek frown, he said, “She was doing what she promised Egeria she would do, Malek, which was protecting the information here and keeping it safe for Egeria’s children. That’s you guys, so be glad she was willing to defend it.”
Martouf looked up and said, “The information about Egeria is an interesting story. Moreover, I believe Daniel could tell you after we finish eating. Then tomorrow, we can begin work on finding our new queen. The new,” he paused as if listening and then said, “The new Mother of the Tok’Ra race.”
TBC