Part 1: No means No
The words "unscheduled 'gate activation" caught General Hammond's attention. He turned and looked out the control room window at the locking chevrons.
"It's the Tok'ra's signal."
Hammond let out a breath that he'd not even been aware he was holding. "Open the iris." He then hurried down to the embarkation room to meet the visitor. The iris spiraled open and after a swish of expansion, the energy of the event horizon settled into the ring of the Stargate. He immediately recognized the figure that stepped through the shimmering pool. "Stand down," he ordered the SF who had flooded the gate room. "Jacob," he said, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"
General Jacob Carter, retired, the host of Selmac, regarded his old friend. He smiled ruefully. "I hope you still think it's a pleasure after you hear what I have to say." Jacob paused as if in thought. "By the way George is Sammy here?"
"Not at present. She and the rest of SG1 are currently on a mission. They're due back in about an hour. Of course SG1 isn't known for sticking to a strict schedule."
"That's probably just as well. What I need to discuss with you involves them, well, Colonel O'Neill to be specific."
Hammond frowned and he couldn't keep from wondering what the Colonel might have done this time. "Let's continue this in my office."
For once, SG1 arrived back at the SGC at their scheduled time. They weren't early, they weren't late, and they weren't being chased. It was nice for a change.
O'Neill sauntered down the ramp from the Stargate last, having shepherded his team safely home. As he reached the bottom, Sergeant Silar hailed him from the Control room. "Colonel O'Neill, General Hammond is in conference with the Tok'ra representative. He asks that you and your team proceed for your post-mission medical evaluation and then meet him in his office."
O'Neill nodded his acknowledgment to the sergeant. "Well, kids, lets see if we can find our way to the infirmary without actually being carried there on stretchers."
Daniel rolled is eyes. "I think we can manage, Jack. In fact, walking there might be kind of a novelty."
O'Neill regarded the archeologist with a wicked gleam in his eye. "Oh, I don't know Danny-boy, with your sense of direction, you might end up in Kansas."
Jackson straightened. "My sense of direction?"
"Yeah, you have the sense of direction of a," O'Neill paused as if considering possibilities, "lemming." He then started across the room and toward the door.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "A lemon? Is that not a tart yellow fruit used in making a seasonal beverage?"
Daniel looked from O'Neill's retreating back to the Jaffa. "Not lemon, lemming, a small rodent like animal." He then hurried after O'Neill who had already made it out the door. "Jack, what do you mean the sense of direction of a lemming?"
"If they knew which way they were going ya think they would be running over cliffs into the ocean?"
"Are you implying?" "PCX3319, Danny." "That was an accident!" "And lemmings jump into the ocean on purpose?"
Carter and Teal'c listened to the two bickering down the hallway. They shared a knowing glance and followed.
Two sharp raps on the door preceded O'Neill sticking his head into General Hammond's office. "General, you wanted to see us after we were through?"
Hammond beckoned him in. " Yes, Colonel, bring your team in and have a seat. Selmac has something to tell you." He nodded toward Jacob Carter, whose slightly glowing eyes indicated that the symbiote was in control of the body.
O'Neill glanced at Major Samantha Carter who was glancing at her father, even though it wasn't her father right at that moment. He waited for the rest of his team to be seated before he finally sat down. "So Selmac, what can we do for the Tok'ra? Again."
"Actually, Colonel O'Neill, I am hoping that we can exchange services. However, first I must tell you a little of the Tok'ra.." He moved to stand directly across the table from the team. "It is possible that in the past that the Tok'ra may not have been as forth coming with information or as helpful as you would have liked and perhaps not as much as you have deserved."
"You can say that again," O'Neill muttered just a little too loudly, earning himself a sharp look from General Hammond.
"There is a reason that we guard our information and resources so closely, Colonel O'Neill. It is because up until now we have been losing. We have been losing to the Goa'uld due to simple attrition. Our numbers were limited and we had no way of increasing them. Each of our number lost in battle was a member that could not be replaced." He gestured to General Carter's body. "Our alliance with you has helped to alleviate our shortage of hosts but nothing could alleviate out central problem."
Selmac paused as if to emphasize her announcement. "That is until now. A Tok'ra female has become fertile. Anise has entered Prim'a and will spawn. The Tok'ra will become numerically strong and in less than a decade a real threat to the system lords."
Teal'c tilted his head slightly, the only indication of the import of the news. "Has Anise a Chosen?"
Jacob's body smiled as Selmac answered. "Yes, she has Chosen."
"Then the Tok'ra are doubly fortunate."
Daniel raised his finger in the air to ask a question. "You mean a Chosen, like Hathor made me her Chosen when she infiltrated the SGC?"
"It is similar but not the same, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c answered. Selmac inclined her head toward the Jaffa to indicate that he should explain. "Hathor has been spawning for many millennia but this will be Anise's first spawn. A female's first spawning, her Prim'a, sets her fertility for all subsequent spawns. If she has no Chosen, she will produce only a few dozen larva. If she has a Chosen, a mate who has traits that she wishes to pass on to her offspring, then her reproductive capacity increases ten fold."
Major Carter nodded suddenly. "That would make sense from a Darwinian perspective!"
O'Neill looked at his second-in-command, his expression clearly saying "huh" without any words.
Carter smiled brightly and began to explain. "Darwin, sir, survival of the fittest."
"I know who Darwin was Major. What I don't know is why you think that Anise making little boas with her main squeeze primes the pump, so to speak, into producing so many more snakelets."
"From an evolutionary stand point, it makes sense Colonel. If there is no mate available that has traits that the female desires for her offspring then why waste the genetic material and energy to produce a lot of larva? However, if good genetic material is available then you would want to maximize the number of offspring that would receive those desirable traits."
Teal'c agreed. "Indeed. Additionally, since there are only a few fertile females, each is closely protected and generally given extra considerations."
"Extra considerations as in?" asked O'Neill while shaking his head and slightly hunching his shoulders.
Selmac took up the thread of conversation again. "As in just about anything that they want, Colonel O'Neill. This is especially true during the chaotic hormonal fluctuations of their Prim'a."
"So, how can we help you? Anise wanting some pickles and ice cream?"
"As our allies, there is something that the Tau'ri can give us. Something that is of extreme importance to the Tok'ra and which only the SGC can provide." Selmac surveyed the individuals in the room. "Anise's Chosen is among the Tau'ri. She has Chosen you O'Neill."
The room plunged into abnormal silence.
O'Neill leaned back in his chair and started to laugh. "Oh, that was good. OK, I admit it, you got me. Now what do you really want?"
Selmac was replaced by General Carter. "Coward," he mumbled under his breath. "I'm afraid Colonel that Selmac wasn't joking. Anise really has designated you as her Chosen and the High Counsel of the Tok'ra believe that since Earth and the Tok'ra have an alliance you should be more than willing to..ah..provide the necessary genetic material. This is extremely important and they are willing to provide Earth with some hither to with held technologies in order to secure your, shall we say, services."
O'Neill went deathly still.
"Dad," Major Carter said, "when you say genetic material are you talking about any material that would contain the Colonel's DNA?"
General Carter winced. "No, the genetic material is harvested by..ah..when a man and a woman..ah..it's gotten in the conventional manner."
"You mean sex," Daniel said bluntly.
General Carter nodded.
Major Carter blushed.
Colonel O'Neill exploded.
"No, no and in case you're interested, hell no," he shouted, suddenly standing.
"Colonel, sit down!" General Hammond said just as loudly. "I can understand that you are shocked by the Tok'ra's proposal but you will calm yourself and finish listening to what General Cater has to say."
His face tight and visibly trying to restrain his emotions, O'Neill stared at his commander. "You knew?"
Hammond shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Jacob appraised me of the situation shortly before SG1 returned. We were both aware of your likely reaction and I must say that you haven't disappointed us. Now Colonel take your seat and give General Carter the courtesy due a representative of a close ally. An ally I might say that has helped pull your carcass out of the fire more than once."
O'Neill grumbled under his breath and balled his hands into fists but sat.
General Carter let out a long slow breath. He had tried to explain to Selmac that O'Neill wouldn't consider being Chosen the honor that the Tok'ra thought it was but Selmac had been a little short sighted on the whole situation, only seeing the gain in the Tok'ra finally having a breeding female. "I can understand that you are taken aback by the situation Colonel. However, you must understand the Tok'ra's position. They are desperate. They are slowly dying out. They have not had a new spawning in over two hundred years. If Anise had decided that a purple baboon named Herman was her Chosen then they would be trying to get him for her."
"And probably have a better chance," Daniel muttered.
"You got that right," O'Neill agreed.
The generals both chose to ignore the comments. General Carter continued, "What ever her reasoning, Anise has determined that she wants your genetic material to be incorporated into the next generation of the Tok'ra. Your cooperation is the difference between a few dozen and a few hundred Prim'ta, on this and on every future spawning. The Tok'ra are willing to do whatever it takes, give what ever you demand to see that Anise has her Chosen. No matter how personally distasteful you may find the situation, I ask that you put your personal views aside and do what is best for the Tok'ra and the alliance."
"Well, the way I see it since what you're asking is very personal, I can't very well put my personal views aside. Get Anise to chose someone else. Not interested," O'Neill responded in a hard, flat voice.
Slightly glowing eyes signaled Selmac's reappearance. "We've tried to encourage her interest in someone else, almost anyone else, Colonel, but unsuccessfully. She wants you and the Tok'ra want her to be happy. Your refusal to even consider the possibility of sharing your DNA with the Tok'ra puts us in a very untenable situation."
"Sharing my DNA," O'Neill said, his voice raising as he placed his hands on the table and again pushed himself up from his seat, "isn't that just a sanitized way of saying you want me to scr..."
"Colonel that is enough!" General Hammond demanded. "If you can not sit down and discuss this in a civilized fashion then you can go to a detention cell and consider how an officer should act when discussing policy issues with a foreign ambassador. I do realize that the issue being discussed affects you personally but.."
"There is no but..sir..because there is nothing to discuss."
Daniel shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I'm reluctant to mention this but what about, ah, artificial insemination? Jack wouldn't actually need to.."
"Actually Dr. Jackson," General Carter interrupted, "I suggested that as a possibility but it was flatly refused by both Anise and her host, Freya."
"And me!" O'Neill interjected quickly.
"Colonel, we have technologies to offer...Colonel O'Neill, where are you going?" Selmac asked as O'Neill suddenly turned and walked toward the door.
"Since I have no intention of staying in here and discussing stud fees, I thought I'd head down to the detention cells and consider how I should act when discussing policy issues with a foreign ambassador who doesn't know how to take NO for an answer." He let the door slam shut behind him.
Those remaining in the room shifted uncomfortably. After a few seconds Teal'c stood and bowed slightly to General Hammond and General Carter. "With your permission, I shall accompany Colonel O'Neill."
General Hammond nodded. "Teal'c please see that the Colonel doesn't leave the base. Maybe after he's cooled down a little we'll be able to discuss the situation more calmly."
The slight raising of his eyebrow indicated just how likely Teal'c thought that would be.
After Teal'c left, the room plunged back into silence. Finally, Sam looked at her father harshly. "Dad," she began to accuse.
"Before you start Sammy, you have to understand how serious the Tok'ra are about this issue because it is literally their future. This is a make or break deal as far as they're concerned."
Teal'c stood in the open door of the detention cell and watched the Colonel pace; four paces in one direction, turn and four back. Suddenly the Colonel stopped and glared at the former first Prime.
"So, General Hammond send you down here to make sure I don't decide to leave the base?'" he asked.
Teal'c straightened perceptibly before answering. "He did not send me but did indicate that I should make sure that you would be available should your presence be required."
Teal'c studied the Colonel. When he was the First Prime of Apophis, if the false god desired a servant to do something, it was done regardless of the personal feelings of those involved. However, he knew that these Tau'ri had free will that was tempered by the structure of the military chain of command. He did not believe that General Hammond could order O'Neill to comply with Anise's desire but he was unsure. "Colonel O'Neill, do you believe that General Hammond will order you to..."
O'Neill turned and stabbed his finger at Teal'c as if it were a knife. "Don't even say it and no, as much as the General might want to appease the Tok'ra, I don't think he would dare order me to...cooperate. Even if he did, I wouldn't obey because as far as I'm concern it would not be a legitimate order." O'Neill resumed his pacing.
Teal'c watched his commander for a few more minutes. "Colonel O'Neill, you seem agitated. If you are resolved that you will not share your DNA with Anise and if you can not be compelled to do so, then why do you remain upset?"
"I'm not upset, I'm angry."
"About what are you angry, O'Neill?"
O'Neill stopped his pacing and stared into the air above the Jaffa's head. "I just am. I can't believe they have the gall to ask me to.....produce snakelets with that....Anise. And right now Selmac is up there trying to convince General Hammond to try convince me to do it." He moved over to the single, hard bunk and sat warily down. "It'll be a cold day in hell before that happens, no matter what they offer."
"What if they offer an ion canon?" Daniel said as he came up to stand beside Teal'c.
O'Neill winced. "An ion canon? Carter must be practically drooling at the thought of getting her hands on one of those. Where is she anyway? Are the rats already deserting the sinking ship?"
Daniel pointed vaguely back up the hallway. "She's still talking to her father. I think she's trying to figure out how she can persuade the Tok'ra to let her get her hands on that ion canon without Anise getting her hands on you." He absentmindedly adjusted his glasses. "After you left, Selmac kept talking to General Hammond and kept upping the ante. The Tok'ra are really serious Jack. If you don't cooperate it could be the end of the alliance. Not to bring up the past but you're the who said that we need our allies, not their stuff."
"I can't believe that you think I should go along with this asinine proposal," O'Neill grumbled.
"I didn't say I thought you should go along with it Jack. I'm just saying that, I don't know what I'm saying. Right now it seems like a no win situation for you, the Tok'ra and the alliance." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I keep remembering when Hathor took over the base and wanted me to be her Chosen. My skin still crawls. On the other hand the Tok'ra are our allies and this is very important to them." He shook his head. "I don't know what I would do if I were in your situation."
Teal'c stepped into the room. "Among the Goa'uld breeding females are rare and given much power. To be Chosen for a Prim'a is considered to be a great honor worthy of only the most notable warriors."
"Well it's an honor that I could do without," O'Neill snapped.
"O'Neill, meeting you allowed me the opportunity to free myself from the slavery of Apophis but I am still a slave to the Goa'uld. I would readily cast aside my symbiote and free myself totally from the Goa'uld if it did not mean my death. However, if there were Tok'ra symbiotes available, that would open options not only to me but to other Jaffa who would stand against the system lords."
"Et tu, Teal'c?"
Daniel seemed momentarily taken aback. "That was very literary of you, Jack, but Teal'c does make a valid point. The system lords would quickly fall without their armies of Jaffa and system lords' Jaffa can't survive without a symbiote and they can only get them from the system lords. Rebellion might be more likely if there were alternative sources of symbiotes available to them."
"All right then," O'Neill said suddenly standing, "I know what I gotta do."
"What?" Daniel inquired cautiously.
"Well, I thought about murder. I'm positive I could make it look like an accident, a case of auto-erotic asphyxiation gone horribly wrong."
Daniel made a strangled sound. "Auto-erotic asphyxiation!"
O'Neill grinned wickedly at him. "Danny, you ol' dog you, I am truly shocked. Not quite the innocent that I thought you to be."
"Although I know the words, I do not understand," said Teal'c. "Why is smothering another in an automobile considered arousing?"
Jack nodded toward Jackson. "Mr. Kama Sutra here will be happy to explain that bit of pop culture to you later, Teal'c. Besides, I said I thought about it, but then I considered the mountain of paper work I would need to fill out after the body was discovered and I can't remember if the Tok'ra have a sarcophagus. That raising from the dead stuff sort of takes the permanence out of killing someone. So, although it was fun to think about, I discarded that as a real solution to the problem. No, we do need the alliance with the Tok'ra and the Tok'ra need some poor schmuck to be a Chosen."
"You're going to..ah..share your genetic material with Anise?" Daniel asked, somewhat startled by Jack's sudden turnaround.
"Hell, no, that's never gonna happen. What I need to do is convince Anise to chose someone else." O'Neill looked innocently at his two friends and teammates. "I can be pretty persuasive."
"That means stubborn and irritating," Daniel said offhandedly to Teal'c.
O'Neill smiled as if handed a compliment. "Yeah, that too."
O'Neill, decked out in standard mission gear, and General Carter, who was wearing the same robe ensemble that he had been wearing when he had arrived, stood in the embarkation room waiting for the chevrons to engage. The rest of SG1 and General Hammond stood in the control room to watch them depart. Daniel's slightly annoyed look and Carter's slightly anxious one, clearly indicated that they still weren't very happy that they were not being allowed to accompany the Colonel. Teal'c wasn't happy either but he wasn't letting it show.
It had taken quite a bit to convince General Hammond to let him go with Carter/Selmac to the Tok'ra's home world alone. He had privately fessed up to his commanding officer that while he had no intention of sharing any bodily fluids with Anise, with the possible exception on spit, if worst came to worst and there was no other way to keep the alliance with the Tok'ra except to capitulate to their demands, he didn't want the rest of the team, or anyone else for that matter, to know. If he had to just suck it up and do the unthinkable, he wanted plausible deniability that it had never happened. That meant no witnesses.
"I'm surprised that you agreed to go to Vorash so easily Colonel," Jacob said casually while they waited for the 'gate to engage.
Hands resting easily on his MP-5, he had refused to leave home without it, O'Neill responded harshly. "Just you remember, I'm only going to talk Anise into choosing someone else. I'm not going so I can get a front page headline on the Enquirier that reads I fathered two hundred alien offspring. That's not going to happen."
"Whatever you say Colonel," Carter agreed quickly.
"Tell me something, Jacob."
"What?"
"Were the Tok'ra really going to give us an ion canon in exchange for services rendered?"
"Chevron seven engaged," said a disembodied voice from the control room.
Jacob shook his head. "No."
"Didn't think so," Jack said smugly, as if having his suspicions confirmed.
"Just the plans for one."
End Part 1
Part 2: My Work Here is Done
Jack was furious. The walk from the Stargate on Vorash to the transport rings went well enough. Jacob and Selmac both knew when to be quiet. However, once down in the tunnels of the Tok'ra, things didn't go quite as he had thought they would. He thought the Tok'ra would be in the mood to party but it seemed more like their party had been raided.
Jacob/Selmac was immediately met by a few other counsel members and whisked way. Jack was politely but firmly asked to accompany a solid looking man, who would have made a good tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, to a cell. Well, in all honesty, it was well appointed and comfortable considering it literally was a hole in the wall but when you can't leave when you want to and there's a guard outside the door to make sure of it, it's a cell. Still, Jack took some comfort in the fact that the Tok'ra was suppose to be an ally and that no matter what was going on right now they needed him in one piece and breathing. This made him reasonably certain that the next person through the door didn't want to kill, torture or maim him. So he was just furious, with this rapidly shading into furious and bored.
Jack had only checked his watch at least twenty-four times since he was politely but firmly asked to stay put, so he knew that he had stayed put for exactly one hour and fourteen minutes before the door opened and Jacob entered, hopefully, with an apology and an explanation. Jack did notice that the linebacker didn't move from his position outside the door when the General, retired, entered.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position from where he had sprawled in the chair, O'Neill pushed the brim of his cap up with one finger. "Jacob, long time no see."
Jacob chose to ignore the Colonel's sarcasm. If he were in Jack's position he might be feeling a tad put out as well. "Jack, while I was on Earth, a situation developed. The Tok'ra now have reason to believe that the situation has become very serious."
Jack feigned surprise. "Really?"
"You remember Aldwin?" Carter asked.
Feeling more concerned, Jack nodded. "Yeah, reluctantly helped Teal'c get us off of Netu. Still, seemed a decent enough guy. What happened?"
"For the last several years, Aldwin has been working rather closely with Anise on several projects. Consequently, he developed what we all thought of at the time as a close friendship with her that bordered on infatuation."
O'Neill shrugged. "Well, no accounting for taste."
"We do know that when Anise became Prim'a he seemed delighted on a personal level. We all thought it was just because of their close working relationship; that is until she announced that you were her Chosen. Aldwin was very strident in his arguments against it. He tried to persuade Anise to Chose among the Tok'ra and I suspect that in private he tried to persuade her to Chose him."
"While I was on Earth it appears that, somehow, Aldwin was able to persuade or force Anise off planet."
"Maybe he just got through to her and they went somewhere a little more romantic than a cave." He turned slightly and ran a finger down the rock wall. "Not my first choice for a DNA sharing."
"He kidnapped her. He took her to Elousha. They discovered the planet several weeks ago. It was an abandoned world that had once been in the domain of a very minor system lord."
"If you know where they're at and you're certain that he took her against her will, go pick her up." O'Neill was beginning to wonder why Jacob seemed so grim. The problem didn't seem so big.
Jacob shook his head. "The key word there is WAS abandoned. We did send someone after them and shortly after they arrived so did a contingent of Jaffa. Most of our agents are off world. We'd appreciate it if you would help us get them back."
Jack tilted his head and came to a quick decision. "Let me get my team. Soon as they arrive we can head out."
"I'd rather you didn't take your team with you Jack."
O'Neill looked at Carter suspiciously. "And that would be because?"
"Samantha is a part of SG1. She's out there risking her life and getting hurt all the time and there's nothing that I can do to keep my little girl safe. This is going to be dangerous and just this once I want to protect her and if you ever tell her I said that I will deny it."
Jack sat silently studying Jacob. Standing abruptly he headed for the door, taking it for granted the line backer would get out of his way. "Well, then, I'd better call home and tell dad I'm gonna be late and not to wait up. Then you can show me where the Tok'ra keep the big toys for the big boys."
So long as he didn't have to listen to someone explain how they worked, O'Neill loved toys and the Tok'ra had some good ones. He especially liked the little metal ball that when thrown through the 'gate acted as a remote viewer; a compact Tok'ra version of a MALP that could double as a baseball. Now that was his kind of technology.
There were Jaffa on the other side of the gate. That was expected. The concussion grenade that O'Neill threw through the 'gate apparently wasn't. One of the downed Jaffa was sent back through the 'gate to Vorash were he would be questioned about the system lord he served. The rest disappeared via zat, zat, zat.
O'Neill and Carter followed the path that lead away from the 'gate in hopes that it would lead to the rest of the Jaffa as well as Aldwin, Anise and any other stray Tok'ra that might be around. Once there they would first assess the situation and third rescue them. It was the second step that was still a little fuzzy. Step one worked just as planned. At the end of the trail was a single large building that more closely resembled a fortress than a pyramid. The one entrance that was readily visible from the wooded area in which they had secreted themselves was guarded by a half dozen Jaffa. They assumed that any prisoners would be inside, all nice and cozy and likely guarded by more Goa'uld warriors.
Since O'Neill thought that he could persuade Anise to chose someone else, he wasn't feeling particularly suicidal. Therefore a frontal assault didn't seem to be the best strategy. They made their way around the structure looking for other openings or weaknesses. They didn't find any. They were reconsidering a frontal assault when Jack noticed a lone Jaffa waking the perimeter. Jack and Jacob conferred quickly and quietly. Dressing like and infiltrating the enemy was so standard it seemed almost clich‚ but given the other option, a suicidal frontal assault, it seemed a pretty good plan.
They followed him until he was out of sight of the other Jaffa and then put the zat gun to good use. Jacob was elected to play dress-up since Jack only knew one Goa'uld word. They split up and set the plan, such as it was, in motion. As Jacob rounded the corner dressed as a Jaffa, O'Neill stood up from his hiding place and shouted the only word he knew.
"Jaffa, kree!"
The attention of all six guards went immediately to O'Neill. Seven staff weapons were raised. One of a Jaffa shouted what sounded like gibberish to Jack but which he was pretty sure meant, very loosely translated, "who the hell are you and by the way please put down your weapon." Jack fired and quickly ducked behind a tree which was shattered by the force of the energy weapons. A piece of splintered wood hit him, cutting his cheek. Jacob hit the guards from behind. The first three went down before the others even realized they were being fired on. Jack ran to his next bit of shelter, firing at the remaining guards. It was all over in a matter of seconds.
Wiping at his cheek, O'Neill met Carter in front of the entrance. The zat was employed once more to clean up the area, after divesting the bodies of anything that might prove useful. Jack picked up an extra staff weapon. They waited anxiously outside the door for several seconds but no one came to investigate the noise. Feeling hopeful that there might not be any more Jaffa hanging around, they entered. They were hit by a ribbon device and went down before they had gone more than a few feet.
In the second between being unconscious and fully conscious, O'Neill realized that he was laying on a soft surface that felt and smelt feminine and that someone was fiddling with the buttons of his jacket. He rolled away in what he hoped was the correct direction and fell a good foot and a half to the floor where he thudded in an undignified heap. Quickly opening his eyes, he took in the scene. He was laying on the floor, one as cold and hard as any that he had ever fallen onto, beside a rough cot on which Anise was sitting. Jacob was standing by the closed and presumably locked door and Aldwin was standing dejectedly in the far corner, his arms crossed and glaring at him.
"I told you Colonel O'Neill would be fine, Anise," Aldwin said from his corner.
"Colonel O'Neill was injured in his attempted rescue of me, Aldwin; a rescue made necessary by your injured pride and refusal take no for an answer. If I choose to take into consideration his well being you have no cause to complain," Anise retorted harshly.
Aldwin first looked angry and then his face fell. "I apologize Anise and to you as well Colonel. This whole situation is my fault. I should never have placed my personal feelings above the well being of the Tok'ra." He looked down at his feet and said in a low voice, "Forgive me, Anise, for placing you in danger. I should never have protested your choice of a Chosen. I should have realized that your devotion to our cause would have been the primary factor in your choice. Forgive me, Colonel O'Neill, I will not stand in your way."
"Actually," O'Neill began as he stood, "that's sort of why I'm here, this whole Chosen thing. However, maybe we should discuss it after we get out of here."
"Of course you are here because you are Chosen, Colonel, and you are correct, we will speak of our joining after you have affected our escape. Once I am safe, then the future of the Tok'ra will be assured." She smiled boldly at Jack. "Our Prim'ta will be many and the Tok'ra will increase and grow stronger." She stood suddenly and grabbing O'Neill kissed him hard on the lips.
O'Neill attempted to push Anise away but she was very strong and he had difficulty breaking her lip lock. Finally he succeeded and shoved her back. "Now stop that!" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "There'll be no more kissing and no joining! Maybe I should just come out and say it now. You have to Chose someone else."
Anise eyed Jack speculatively. "You are too modest Colonel if you believe that I should chose some one more worthy."
"No, I think you should chose someone who actually likes you," O'Neill retorted.
Anise smiled knowingly and smoothed her hands down her sides. "Do you not like us, Colonel O'Neill? Do you not find Freya's body desirable?"
The last time O'Neill had seen Anise, she was wearing little more than a sports bra and bicycle pants. This time he wondered if two Dixie cups, a wash clothe and rubber band would cover more. How in hell was she staying warm? "Freya's very attractive in a slutty kind of way. That's part of the problem."
Anise looked confused. "I don't understand."
"You, Freya's body, me, I don't do threesomes. It's a personal choice, no reflection on you." The latter said in a belated attempt to be at least a little conciliatory. He didn't really want to alienate the alien after all.
Lifting her head in an imperious fashion, Anise contradicted him. "Your personal choice is of no consequence in this matter Colonel O'Neill. If you wish to honor Earth's alliance with the Tok'ra, you will do that which is best for the Tok'ra. Since I am Prim'a, what is best for me will be what is best for the Tok'ra."
"For crying out loud you self serving, manipulative, bi.."
Jacob interrupted the arguing pair. "Could you two continue this later? I think I hear a guard coming."
That got everyone's attention. O'Neill quickly scanned the group. "If anyone can distract the guards, do. If you see a chance take it." He turned quickly as the door opened. A large Jaffa, staff weapon at the ready, was framed in the doorway. A second, equally large, guard stood behind him. The lead Jaffa opened his mouth as if to command them when his eyes widened and his gazed shifted over O'Neill's shoulder. Jack knew a chance when he saw one.
Jack grabbed the staff weapon and pulled forward while simultaneously kicking the Jaffa backward into the guard standing behind him. Both went down. Quickly reversing the staff, he charged and fired it before they could recover. Turning back to the room to beckon the others to follow, he saw Anise putting her top back on.
"You said to distract them," she stated matter-of factly as she smoothed the clinging material over her breasts.
As he and Jacob bent to pull the bodies into the room, O'Neill spared a glance at Aldwin and commented dryly, "I guess all guys are the same regardless of how many fins they got." He took a staff weapon and handed the other to Carter. Nodding at the Tok'ra, he asked, "You two were here before, do you know the way out? Are there other Tok'ra being held? Do you know where they are?"
Aldwin looked at Anise before answering. "Anise and I know the way out of the fortress and there are three others that are being held. The ones that came to find us. I believe they are likely imprisoned on this floor. I will help you find them."
"Jacob, you and Anise head back to the Stargate. Aldwin and I will free the others and then meet you there. We should only be about fifteen to twenty minutes behind you. If it takes us longer than that go on through, don't wait."
"Colonel O'Neill, you should take me to the Stargate while Selmac and Aldwin free the rest," Anise insisted.
O'Neill shook his head but didn't bother to respond or argue. He touched Aldwin on the shoulder and took off down the hallway, trusting that the correct Tok'ra would follow him. "A snakehead decides she wants to have your children and suddenly she thinks she owns you," he muttered crossly. At the end of the hallway, he waited for Aldwin. "Which way?"
Aldwin paused and then proceeded forward. "I believe they will be down this way."
The two men walked quickly down the corridor. "So, tell me, Aldwin, why do you think Anise Chose me?" Jack asked in a quiet voice that would not carry.
Aldwin appeared momentarily annoyed before answering. "She believes that you have traits that would benefit the next generation of the Tok'ra."
"Like what?"
"You are brave," Aldwin answered.
"You're brave."
"You are loyal."
"You're more loyal to the Tok'ra than I would ever be," countered O'Neill.
"You are stubborn."
"OK, I got you there." Jack paused at a door and listened. Hearing nothing within, he continued, "You know why I think it is?"
Aldwin opened the door across the hallway and peered into the empty room. "No, why do you think Anise Chose you?" He moved to the next door.
"Well besides by roguish good looks and keen sense of humor, I think she Chose me because I don't want her. Woman are always wanting things they can't have. See you, you're too easy. She's started taking you for granted." Listening at another door, he gestured the Tok'ra over. "In here." The door was locked.
Aldwin whispered urgently to those inside to stand back and then Jack opened the door by blasting it with the staff weapon. A quick check that everyone was all right and then Aldwin began leading them out of the fortress. Unfortunately, before they made it to the exit, they were spotted. With only one staff weapon between the five men, it became a mad dash to get outside with O'Neill providing covering fire as best he could. One of the Tok'ra was slightly singed before they made it out and into the cover of the wooded area.
Still being followed, they made their way to the Stargate. If the Jaffa had any sense they would have headed there immediately to try to block their escape. Jack only hoped that Carter had gotten there first and been able to hold the 'gate until they arrived. He spared a glance at his watch. Unless things had gone south fast, they should still be waiting for them.
They were almost to the Stargate when the Jaffa caught up with them. O'Neill dodged for cover and fired the staff weapon while yelling for Anise to open the gate. The Jaffa continued to advance slowly, their energy blasts aimed at the 'gate platform to keep them from escaping. Seeing that Anise was in danger, Aldwin rushed for her blindly and protected her with his own body while she finished dialing out. Jacob stood over them trying to provide covering fire. The gate opened with a swish and Anise ran through. Jack backed slowly toward the gate while allowing the other Tok'ra to escape. In seconds it was only he and Jacob on the platform. Jack nodded his head sharply indicating that Jacob should go. A second later he backed into the 'gate, still firing at the rapidly approaching Jaffa. An energy blast whizzed by him so closely that he felt the heat of it on his face. Then the absolute cold of 'gate travel enveloped him.
Jack stumbled out of the 'gate backward and promptly fell on his butt. This saved said butt as an energy blast erupted from the Stargate and passed through where his chest would have been had he been standing. The blast was closely followed by a trio of Jaffa. However, there were several targets and in the moment of confusion two died immediately. A third aimed his weapon directly at Anise. Aldwin jumped in front of her, his back to the 'gate, and waited for the pain of being hit. It never came. The blast went wild, hitting the DHD and breaking the central crystal. Looking around he saw the third Jaffa lying on the ground. O'Neill had reversed the staff and used it to sweep the warrior off of his feet.
"And stay down," O'Neill shouted at the prone Jaffa. Jack looked up and saw the DHD. The he saw where he was; it didn't look like Vorash. "OK, where the hell are we and how are we getting back now?"
Anise stepped from behind Aldwin and walked to the DHD. She gently ran her hand over the ruined device and shook her head. "You should have been more careful, Colonel. It will take much effort and time to fix this 'gate."
O'Neill grumbled, "Sorry, next time I'll politely ask the guy that's going to shoot you to put his weapon down before I take him out."
Anise ignored him. "I couldn't take the risk of the Jaffa following us to Vorash, so I sent us to a small Tok'ra outpost that is used as a supply depot. Luckily there is also a teltec here for emergencies. I believe this will count as one. Follow me."
Jacob said it would take the teltec a few hours to get back to Vorash and a Stargate that would take Jack back home. Jack wandered to the cargo hold and stiffly sat down. He pulled his jacket off and idly fingered the scorched material. If the Jaffa had been a better shot, it would be his shoulder that was burnt. He rolled the coat up and stuffed it behind his head to use as a pillow. He had just closed his eyes when he felt a hand on his brow. He reached up and grabbed it then looked to see whom he had caught. It was Anise, well go figure.
"Colonel O'Neill, may I have my hand back, please." The voice was softer and subtly different. O'Neill released Freya's wrist. "May I sit with you?"
O'Neill shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Freya flowed fluidly to the floor. The silence stretched out between them. Finally, the host broke it. "Colonel O'Neill, I know that Anise can come across as being ill-mannered at times but she means well and she only has the best interest of the Tok'ra at heart."
Leaning back, Jack closed his eyes again. "Ah huh."
"She Chose you for a good reason. As you value your allies, you shouldn't be so resistant to being generous with your genetic material."
"Well that's always been a problem for me. I don't share or play well with others. Especially when we're talking about sharing bodily fluids."
"You have characteristics that would be very valuable in the next generation of the Tok'ra."
Jack continued to look as if he were dozing. "Yeah, but what if the snakelets got my sense of humor and Anise's sense of honor. The next generation would be screwed." He opened his eyes and straightened. "Freya, why hasn't Anise considered Aldwin to be her Chosen?"
"Aldwin? Why should we choose him?"
"How 'bout 'cause he's brave, totally devoted to the Tok'ra and he loves you, or rather Anise..er..both of you." Jack pressed home the point. "He was willing to die back there just to make sure you would be safe. That wasn't because Anise is Prim'a. That wasn't for the sake of the future of the Tok'ra. That was because he would rather die himself than see anything happen to you and Anise."
Freya's posture and voice changed as Anise took control. "He is a good friend but what does he have to offer us, O'Neill?"
"Sometimes good friends make the best...ah...Chosen. After I'm long gone, he'll still be there for you; helping you, fighting along side you, taking care of you and all your little snakes. More importantly, he loves you." Jack lay back and pulled his cap down. "If Aldwin had died back there, what would you be feeling? Maybe you should be asking what you have to offer him."
Anise looked over at Aldwin where he sat slumped dejectedly against the opposite wall. "Perhaps I should consider all my options more carefully."
She stood and walked across the room and sat beside Aldwin. O'Neill peered from beneath his brim and covertly watched them. They sat talking quietly for several minutes. Then Anise cautiously reached over and took Aldwin's hand in hers. He looked at their hands dumbly and then a brilliant smile transformed his tired features as he stared into her eyes in adoration. Satisfied, Jack settled himself more comfortably and went to sleep.
Anise and Aldwin stood with O'Neill in front of the Stargate while Jacob input the symbols that would take Jack back to Earth. "Thank you Colonel O'Neill. I am forever in your debt."
"Just name your first hundred or so kids after me and we'll call it even." O'Neill smiled at the pair. "Take care."
Aldwin returned the smile and nodded his good-bye. Stepping back, he left Anise standing alone with the Colonel. She eyed him boldly. "Colonel O'Neill, now that we are more or less alone, what is the real reason that you did not wish to be my Chosen?"
O'Neill quickly thought of an explanation that she would accept. "I'm intimidated by your beauty."
Anise nodded in understanding, smiled, turned and went to stand beside Aldwin. The energy stream erupted from the 'gate and, once it settled into its pool, O'Neill sent his code through to alert the base that he was the incoming traveler. He then stepped into the event horizon.
O'Neill exited the Stargate and sauntered down the ramp. General Hammond and his team were waiting for him at the bottom.
Hammond noted the cut on O'Neill's cheek as well as his scorched and torn jacket. "Colonel, are you all right?"
"Hunky-dory, Sir," Jack responded. He pushed his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "Anise has a new Chosen and the Tok'ra are still our good buddies."
Hammond eyed O'Neill speculatively. "Well, good job Colonel. After you get checked out and cleaned up, report to me for a full debrief."
"Yes, Sir."
SG1 waited till the General had left before they greeted their commander. "So, tell me, Jack, what really happened," Daniel asked, gesturing vaguely at the torn and burnt jacket.
"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary." O'Neill glanced slyly at Carter and grinned. "Except I think I may have found a way to distract the guards next time we're captured. Tell me, Major, do you still have that sweet little tank top number?"
A special thank you to my Beta reader, Denise, for her proofing and suggestions. Any remaining errors are totally mine.
July 21, 2001 © The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
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