Fic, Soulmate, 2/12
Oct. 30th, 2012 07:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hathor_girlShe went to see Anise, before leaving for Earth.
"Anise, is there no change? No new discovery that might cure Lantash?" Sam asks.
Anise is quiet for a moment, then shakes her head. "No, I'm afraid not. I do have some leads, but without more information into where in the brain the programming happens exactly, or how it is done, there isn't really much I can do."
"It's really too bad Martouf don't remember which Goa'uld did this." Sam observes.
"Yes, however, as you know he has some memory loss from that period, no doubt caused by the Goa'uld who programmed Lantash as a zatarc. We have tried helping him with a memory recall device, several..."
They are interrupted by Martouf who comes running into the room. "I remembered!" He looks agitated.
"Remembered what?" Anise wonders.
"Which Goa'uld took us! That means you can help Lantash, right?"
"Yes, perhaps, if we can get to his experimental data." Anise looks thoughtful.
"Who is it?" Sam asks.
"Apophis. He's desperate to avenge himself on both Lantash and myself, the Tok'ra in general, and most of all the Tau'ri, because of his original downfall, and after that, what we said on Netu and how we tricked him, causing him to be punished by Sokar."
"That makes sense." Anise says.
"It does." Sam agrees.
"But with Sokar's fleet and domains, Apophis is dangerous. We cannot get an operative there to steal his data on the zatarc programming. It is simply too dangerous! I am sorry, Martouf." She looks apologetic.
"Then I am going myself. You can't deny me this! Like this, I'm no use to the Tok'ra anyway."
Anise frows and is about to say something, when Sam interrupts. "I'm going with you."
It had taken some arguing, but Sam and Martouf - with some relucatant support from Anise - had managed to convince the Council to let them go and try to steal the data from Apophis's laboratory. Sam had gotten permission from Stargate Command as well, as they were interested in the data as well.
"Okay, how do we do this? You can't exactly pretend to be a Goa'uld without Lantash, and Apophis knows how we look in any case." Sam says.
"We will think of something, I am sure." Martouf answers, feeling more confident with the prospect of being able to finally do something to take him closer to his goal of reblending with Lantash.
Sam and Martouf went to the planet where Martouf and Lantash had been caugth. They were dressed very modestly, as common slaves. Martouf had allowed his beard to grow for more than a week, while they discussed with the Council, so that would serve to hid him. Both he and Sam had also coloured their hair black, to look more like the locals on that world.
"It's really strange seeing you with a beard." Sam says in a low voice, as they walks through the village in the early evening, looking for a place to sneak into the castle where Martouf was sure the lab was.
"Believe me, I don't like it anymore than you do - and I hate having to shave also. It is just one more thing reminding me Lantash is not with me, to control its growth." He looks unhappy.
"I think maybe we can get over the wall there." Sam says, pointing to a place where the trees grow close. "If we can avoid being seen - and I have no idea how to get back out afterwards."
"Let me go in alone. I will find a way out, if there is one."
"When did you get so willing to take insane risks?"
"I've always were a little like that. I was willing to go down to Netu alone, remember?" He gives her a wry smile.
"Oh, yeah, I remember."
"Of course, then I wasn't alone. I haven't been alone for more than 20 years. Now I am, so I have nothing to lose." He looks unhappy.
"Stop that! We'll get the data, and Lantash will be cured, and you'll be together again." Sam insists, thinking how wonderful that will be - and that maybe then they can all be together. "And don't even think I'm going to let you go alone, because I'm not!"
Martouf looked at her for a moment, then he nodded slowly. "Very well. I am unwilling to risk your life as well, but I will not say no to your offer." He pointed to some bushes and trees nearby. "We can hide there until nightfall."
It was very dark, and none of the moons were up. Martouf had climbed up into the tree neares the wall, followed by Sam, and he was not crawling along a branch that stretched almost to the wall, while she waited further in, since the branch could likely not carry both of them.
He made a jump, and landed on the top of the wall, swaying a little, but managing to regain his footing. He looked around again, and listened for a while, but they did not seem to have been heard. He motioned at Sam.
She repeated what he had done, and soon she was standing on the wall beside him. They looked around, on guard, for a little while longer, then both allowed themselves to slide to the ground, inside the courtyard.
They were at the far end, and no guards were near. They hurried, following the wall, keeping in the shadows, and reached some buildings that turned out to be storage sheds. At this late time, no one was around, and they snuck inside. After some searching, they found clothes that was typical for slaves that worked in the kitchen, and put it on.
Now better disguised, they found one of the service corridor, used for when slaves were bringing food and other things into the castle, and followed it.
"Do you have any idea where the lab is?" Sam whispers, as they hides out behind some large pieces of art. Jaffa had shown up a few minutes ago, and had passed them without discovering them, but they did not feel confident to leave their hiding place just yet.
Martouf frowned, then shook his head. "No, not really. I am fairly certain it is in the other end of the castle, but that is all."
Sam nodded. "Figures."
They had managed to make their way to the other end of the castle, though it had taken them several hours. Twice they had almost been discovered, and once they had been forced to walk completely in the open, passed some Jaffa that was sitting and joking and playing some sort of game. Fortunately, they had just looked towards them once, and then Martouf had put his arm around Sam and smiled sheepishly at the Jaffa. They had laughed rancously, assuming he was one of the male slaves who had gotten lucky, and was having a late-night hot date with a slave girl.
Finally, they made it into a corridor Martouf felt he recognized, and soon they had located the lab.
They opens the door, just a crack, and gazes inside.
"Damn." Sam whispers. "There's someone in here." She nods in the direction of the back of the room, where she had just spotted movement.
Martouf nods, and answers in a low voice. "Yes, probably the Goa'uld scientist shares your propensity for working on projects at all times of the day. How unfortunate."
Sam rolls her eyes. "Not you too! The Colonel always complains about that. So, what do we do? Do you know if there is an alarm he can activate?"
"Not if we're fast enough!" Martouf pushes the door open and sneaks inside, and Sam has not option but to follow him, which she does, shaking her head.
They get to within maybe 15 feet before the Goa'uld realises someone is there - probably detecting the combined weak naquadah signatures from Martouf and Sam, though they are not yet close enough to feel him.
"Who's there? I told you to never come in here without my specific order!" He spots them. "Human slaves. Are you here to clean? Go away! My equipment and apparatuses are too sensitive for your to mess around in here!"
Sam marvelled for a moment at how similar he was to human scientists, including his fear of the cleaning personnel damaging his devices. Then she and Martouf pulled out their zats at the same time and shot him, felling him and killing him.
Martouf grabs then hand device from him, then shoots him one more time, disintegrating him. "This can come in handy." He stuffs it in a pocket.
"Do you know how to use it without Lantash?"
"Of course - he may be better at it, but I have long since learned to do so, and I have enough naquadah in my blood for it to react to me, even if not as much as you have...and not like when Lantash is with me. I hate not being able to sense the Goa'uld and the Jaffa. It feels like I am missing a sense. And it reminds me again of how much I miss Lantash, and how worthless I feel without him." Martouf adds the last part of the sentence in a whisper.
"You'll have him back. Come, we need to find the data on the zatarc process and get out of here, for you to become Lantash's host again!"
Chapter 3 >>