StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Prologue​

Time had long ago become meaningless. It was impossible to judge when all she saw was the inside of a tank. The voices of humans around her faded into the background. Save for the experiments. Oh the experiments. The humans kept coming to her tank, pulling her out to run tests. They would inject her with substances to test her healing. They would starve her. There was never any remorse either, merely a cold-hearted pursuit of answers. Of course, she didn't blame them for it.

Her own people had done much worse to humans. To her eternal shame, she had done much worse to humans. From what little she overheard, these humans had no way to know who she was. To them, she was a Goa'uld. Fit for nothing more than killing or using for their own goals. It did not help that Ra had left this world. That Shak'ran had abandoned it in turn.

These humans could not possibly know her identity. How could they?

I cannot blame them for this. I will not blame them for this. I won't.

It hurt, so much. The experiments had given way to forced breeding. She had intentionally sabotaged her young- rendered whatever the humans were using them for defective. It had been her hope they would then cease the breeding. It had not happened. Time was meaningless, yet she knew it had to have been years of being forced to spawn. Aging her beyond her years.

She knew all of this.

"Hey, are you okay?"

So why, then, was this young woman constantly visiting her? Her brown eyed gaze always curious and intense. Black hair falling down her back, bringing up painful memories. Paler skin than any of her hosts. And never once an outfit like the other human scientists, leading her to believe the woman was not one of them.

"You know, it really is hard to talk like this. I don't even know how much you understand me." The woman smiled brightly, nervously pushing a bit of raven hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were flushed with what seemed to be embarrassment. "And I can't understand you at all. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

A slight tilt of the head was all the Queen could give. Exhaustion and the inability to communicate in this form limited her. If this woman were a host, she could understand the hisses and squeaks that were all the Queen could offer. However, she was clearly not a host. Which made this all the stranger. The humans didn't care for her, why would this woman?

As if reading her mind, the brown-eyed woman smiled wider, and tapped the tank. "Hey, even if you can't understand me, I want to tell you something important!"

All of the Queen's attention was on the young woman. Beady little eyes focused on her, while a small tongue flicked out of sharp mandibles. This was different. Even from the other visits, this was strange.

What could she want? I can understand her quite well. Though, she does have no way of knowing that.

"It took a lot of time- everything in here is still kinda jumbled up," the woman continued, her voice full of excitement. So much so that she barely took a breath before continuing, "But I finally translated what those temples were saying!" An even wider grin, were it possible, crossed her face. "I had no idea you were her! I certainly wasn't told you were here."

For the first time, the Queen hissed. The water diffused the noise, but she couldn't help it. Cheerful...was this woman only cheerful because she could kill her now? Anyone who knew who the Queen was would do so. This woman was not one of her children. And to know who she was, without being one of her dear children? Not possible. Unless they were Goa'uld. Or a slave.

As if understanding her, the woman's eyes widened. Or maybe just the act of hissing implied hostility to her. "Oh no, I'm not going to hurt you! I'm actually kind of angry the Pangarans are doing this. They should spend more time studying the ruins before making you a test subject."

Confusion. That was all the Queen felt, the words not matching what she had anticipated in the slightest. She could file away 'Pangaran' for later. Right now, what she wanted to know, more than anything else...was who this woman was. If only she could speak to her!

"Have you had a chance to use Tretonin yet?"

Both the Queen and the woman were suddenly still and silent. There was no noise save for the steady beep-beep of the systems regulating the tank. That, and the sound of approaching footsteps. Walking with military precision. And with the sound of two male voices speaking to one another.

"Not yet, no. We can only make so much and only the rich are getting it. Damn shame if you ask me." The second voice was good-natured, but annoyed nonetheless.

However, with those voices undoubtedly belonging to soldiers on patrol, the Queen started squeaking at the strange woman. She could hardly understand her, but the woman needed to leave. If she were found, she would be punished. And the Queen desperately needed to know more about her. About how she could translate ancient Goa'uld. How she knew who the Queen was, despite not being one of her children. There were so many questions that needed answ--

"You're not going to like this, but I need you to blend with me. Now."

If the Queen had eyelids, she would have been blinking in shock. The woman's own brown eyes were deadly serious, as her hand reached for the lid of the tank.

Even as her hand touched the tank, a sad smile crossed her face. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but now that I know who you are, I can't leave you in here. You are far too important to the Galaxy."

Uncaring of the consequences, the woman pushed open the lid of the tank and splashed her hand into the warm water. Long fingers wrapped around the Queen's body, instinctively releasing itself from her prison. It was instinct that had her diving into the open mouth of the woman in front of her. Instinct that wrapped her body around the woman's spine.

Instinct...

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"Okay, this is weird."

For the first time in decades, the Queen heard another voice. The blending was rushed of course. Ideally, there would have been much more time. For now, a tentative bond would have to suffice.

"I am sorry for this." The Queen attempted to push feelings of regret sadness hope along with her words.

A smile crossed the wom--her--their face. Brown eyes flashed with a gold-white light, the woman scrambling to her feet. Ignoring the blood flowing from her mouth, she stumbled out a different exit than the one the soldiers were patrolling. As her legs began to power a sprint out of the building, her mind was consumed by the Queen.

"Not your fault. This was my bad idea, but I really couldn't leave you in there." A weak chuckle came from the woman's lungs, as her hands pushed open a door. Light, real sunlight, shone down on their shared body. "Honestly, I was planning this from the moment I translated those ruins. You would not believe how long that took, even with what that bastard put in my head."

The Queen's confusion overwhelmed the woman's bitterness. "Knowledge? Strange, you do not feel like a previous host. Surely you have never blended."

Grinning as she ducked through newly constructed buildings and down side streets, the woman shook their head. Her lungs burned from the mix of pain from the blending and exertion, but she never once slowed down. Even when they entered an empty area surrounded by trees, she kept running. The moment the Pangarans realized what had happened, they would panic and begin looking for anyone with signs of Goa'uld possession. They had to.

"Very long story and has nothing to do with the Goa'uld. Just give me a sec...aha!" The woman's feeling of joy filtered into the Queen. Her pounding legs came to a gradual halt, a small alcove hidden behind a tarp coming into view. One that the woman entered, revealing a low-arched room carved of stone. An annex to the Temple the Queen had been imprisoned in, most likely.

A pang of loneliness echoed across their new and fragile bond. Where the woman felt joy at the shelter, the Queen was reminded of her long imprisonment. It was true that stasis was essentially dreamless sleep. She did not remember any of it. Yet, staring at these walls- even if they were not the ones she had been held in -just reminded her. She could still vividly see Ra's triumphant face, as he placed her in the jar.

"Farewell, my Queen. May you suffer for all eternity."

If the way her host was shuddering and sliding down the wall was any indication, she felt and saw it just as well as the Queen did. One of the issues with a blending. Both host and Queen would share memories and emotions. It was the nature of the process.

Nonetheless, the Queen desperately sent relief apologies sadness across the bond. Attempting to assuage the rattled nerves of her host.

"Well, I could have done without that." The woman sighed heavily, reaching a hand to her pounding heart. Decades, centuries, millennia of feelings had hit her all at once. It was impressive she withstood it. "Ra was a right monster, wasn't he?"

Putting greater effort into controlling her feelings, the Queen agreed. "He was. For all his air of civility, Ra was only exceeded by Sokar and Anubis for brutality. He merely hid it better."

"I have no idea who Sokar is, but Anubis is vaguely familiar." Shaking her--their--head, the woman smiled weakly. An equally weak laugh escaped her, as she wearily got back to her feet and started gathering up supplies and food. "Anyway, I think it's time we introduced ourselves properly! Though, I already know who you are..."

"Egeria, Queen of the Tok'ra." The Queen, Egeria, did not bother being reluctant or nervous. She did not bother hiding her identity. The very nature of a Tok'ra was trust between host and Tok'ra. Lying was anathema to this. It had simply been so long since she had thought of herself as anything but the Queen the Pangarans used for their experiments. "You took a large risk, trusting me as you did."

The woman shrugged, "Maybe I did. But I don't think so. If I can trust anyone on this planet, I can trust the Queen of the Tok'ra. I know that much, even if I don't know much more than that."

Now wasn't that a curious statement! Egeria didn't know what to make of it. Was this woman not native to this world? She did call the others Pangarans, implying she wasn't. Yet if the Pangarans had used their Chappa'ai then they would have drawn the attention of the Goa'uld they had once driven off. Most curious.

"Anyway, you can call me...Ripley."

It was true that Egeria had long ago lost her last host. That she had been living decades in a tank. But she could still feel deception and a feeling of overwhelming loss over the bond. The mix made no sense.

"That is not your name." Egeria stated.

The woman- 'Ripley' -tensed. Before her shoulders fell, her hands dropping the piece of fruit she had been about to bite into. Her dark hair fell in front of their eyes, and Egeria knew this was a sensitive topic. One that had her host quite upset. "Like I said before, that is a very long story."

Upset enough to speak aloud, instead of across their shared bond.

"I apologize. I had not realized this was such a sensitive topic for you." Egeria sent legitimate feelings of regret across the bond once more. It seemed like most of what she felt had been regret.

"No, that--" the woman sighed again. Her mind returned to the bond, her own sadness very clear. "You couldn't have known. I'll tell you everything, eventually. Right now...we need to get off this planet. I'll tell you this though- the name I was born with is not mine anymore. I'm...well, a clone. A clone that was left here as a long-running experiment. That's how I could translate the temple, and even that took over a year."

Egeria would have frowned, if it did not mean taking over their body. Cloning. That was a technology the Goa'uld had little interest in, but one that they knew existed. Why would...who would leave a cloned woman here? As an experiment?

"Is that also how you knew who I was?" The Queen could not stop herself from asking that question.

Another shrug, "Yes. Though I doubt that the one who did this to me knew you were here."

Filing away those questions for later, Egeria let herself submerge into their shared consciousness. Focus on finishing the blending, now that they were safe- if only for the moment. Her questions, her many many questions, could wait. It was more important that they figure out a way off this planet, and for that, they needed to be properly blended.

Only then could Egeria know for certain that Ripley had no intention of betraying her.
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"I almost expected the Chappa'ai to be buried."

Ripley snorted at Egeria's words, looking out at the distant form of the Chappa'ai. Soldiers patrolled the streets of Pangar's capital and spotlights had been set up all over the city. They knew Egeria was gone, and they were going to find her. Or so they thought...the Pangarans did not know the purpose of the Chappa'ai in the slightest. Their soldiers had expected a domestic terrorist or a madman and were searching civilized areas. The ruins were barely a concern to them.

A large mistake, of course. One that Egeria was familiar with from her own time dodging Goa'uld attempts to capture her.

"It was never buried, I don't think." Ripley whispered softly, returning to using her actual voice. Her breath misting in front of their face. "Then again, maybe they dug it up. Either way, it's here now."

"Indeed." Egeria agreed, a palatable relief rushing through her. They could never evade capture forever, she knew that better than anyone. Not if they remained on this world. "Do you trust me, Ripley?"

"Of course."

To her credit, there was not even a shred of hesitation in Ripley's words nor in the conviction she sent across the bond. Egeria was warmed by that. The trust that only a true Tok'ra host would have for their partner. It had been so long since she had felt that. Too long. Perhaps, now, that would change? She hoped so.

"Very well," for that to happen, however, they had to first escape. Then they could learn more about one another in relative safety. "If you can get me to the dialing device, I know a world that should be safe."

Ripley raised their eyebrow, "What world?"

If Egeria were human, or in control of their body, she would have flushed. Instead, a sense of loss passed over the bond. A loss she had never quite forgotten. "The world that was once my home. Ra ordered the citizens enslaved and the world razed upon my rebellion and declared that it would forever be left as a reminder of my treason. The very nature of his declaration is intended to prevent Goa'uld from ever returning, lest they risk his wrath. When I was..."

The Queen cut herself off, the memories rising up again. She would not subject her host- her partner -to that again. Not if she could avoid it.

"When I was captured, the world was under guard by his forces as well. However, the state of the Temple leads me to believe it has been many thousands of years since that time. It is possible Ra is no longer as stringent in his guard, and we may yet find the resources I had hidden from his gaze before I left."

Skepticism at her words was quite clear, as Ripley carefully stalked down to the Chappa'ai. She was clearly no soldier, yet she did her very best to be quiet and stealthy. Despite the fact she was focused much more on Egeria than on her path to the dialing device, cleared of all growth and obstructions. And, for that matter, any researchers. Obviously those involved in the temple were the first risks of a breach at the facility.

"What if Ra never left?" Ripley asked the obvious question. More out of worry than suspicion, something Egeria was thankful for.

"Then we will likely die." Egeria had little care for lies, however. She was honest.

Ripley snorted, "You're real helpful Egeria!"

Her words were harsh, but her feelings were understanding. Ripley's skulking in the dark had reached the Chappa'ai, and there was no hesitation when she set her supplies down and looked at the dialing device. The dim red crystal was unmarred by the ages it had sat in this place, and the device was in perfect working order. It was merely a matter of inputting the address. Simple.

"I am sorry," the Queen would have sighed. "However, my knowledge is woefully out of date. I could not tell you what worlds are controlled by the Goa'uld. I could tell you ones that were controlled in my time, such as Abydos. But I could not tell you ones that are not...when a habitable world was found, the Goa'uld often took them. And any bases my children had are likely long since gone. So the only option..."

"Is the world where you know Goa'uld are not allowed to go, I know." Ripley smiled, and even though Egeria could not see their face, she could feel the amusement. "Well, no choice is there? And I get to go to another planet too! So that's exciting!"

There was a childish glee at the idea of visiting another world, a glee that had Egeria smiling as she took control. Their hands, her hands, reached down and began to input the dialing sequence. Each palm on the dialing device set their location. Each glyph lit on the Chappa'ai marked one more tie to her home, before she had become Tok'ra. Egeria would be lying if she said she were not excited- yet dreading -this visit herself. If Ra had left, there was still no guarantee that her fall back resources were left.

But it truly was the only choice.

And as her hand came down, at last, upon the central crystal? Egeria felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia as the Chappa'ai flashed to life. Shouting began to echo in the distance at the flash of blue light and the noise of the portal. The Pangarans would not fail to notice it. There was no time to transfer back to Ripley, and so, she reached her hands down to pick up the supplies herself. Egeria pushed off from the platform at a sprint, dashing up to the portal. She didn't even cast one look back.

It is time to leave this world. I am saddened by the Pangarans who will die without my aid. But it is time I returned. Time I aided my children again.

Without a hint of hesitation, Egeria and Ripley charged through the Chappa'ai. And into a galaxy that would never be the same again.​

Whee another new idea that wouldn't let go.

Joking aside, this is something that has been bugging me for some time. Stargate is my favorite science fiction series, period. Username aside, I like it more than Star Wars. That I haven't written for it in a long time comes down to the fact other ideas took precedence. Admittedly, other ideas I haven't posted on here. This is the first fic (by me) that I've posted on here in a very long time actually. Probably easy to tell with how my writing style has evolved, I imagine.

At any rate, Stargate. Egeria. An idea I haven't seen done before, and one I wanted to try out. We'll see how this goes. And if it gets any attention, really. Here anyway.

(I also forgot how much work it is to manually put in the italics and such)

Intriguing start, and very nicely written to. An interesting look at a symbiote/host bond.

I'm intrigued, and I'd like to see more

It had been many, many years since Egeria had used a Chappa'ai. The sensation had never left her, however. One second, standing in front of the Chappa'ai in an open field. The next, stepping out in--in--

This is not where I remember the Chappa'ai being located.

Egeria knew that it was probably uncomfortable, so soon as it was, for her to retain control of Ripley's body for this long. Tok'ra shared, they did not dominate. But as their brown eyes stared at their surroundings, Egeria could only blink. For their very unfamiliar surroundings had her confused. She had not really expected to come out where she had remembered. Ra had claimed he had destroyed her only access to this world. Enslaved the people. Yet, despite that, some part of Egeria had still expected something much colder.

Certainly, she had not expected coming out in what appeared to be a storehouse.

"What's wrong? We're not dead, so that's a good start isn't it?"

Ripley's mental voice showed none of the discomfort she likely felt. Egeria still winced.

"Perhaps, though I would not celebrate so quickly." Her host's eyes scanned the area, seeing nothing but an expanse of crates all around. The Chappa'ai itself was in a crate that now bore a neat circle through the center. "There do not appear to be any guards, however, we may be trapped here."

"Why? There's a door right there!"

The woman wasn't wrong. The storehouse had a very clearly marked exit. However, that was not what Egeria had meant. No. They were trapped...

"I was referring to this world. There is no dialing device." Egeria supposed it was possible that it was in another crate. However, long experience had taught her to look at the worst-case scenario first. "It may, possibly, be hidden. However, it is equally likely it was destroyed or moved away from the Chappa'ai."

Silence. No reply from Ripley.

Egeria sighed softly and began moving towards the only clear exit. Ripley was thinking, she knew that. Equally, Egeria knew that staying in place was a foolish idea. Regardless of the state of the world, she was unarmed. If enemies- be they Jaffa of Ra or someone else -were to appear? She would be armed only with her wits and Ripley's blending-enhanced strength. Not a good position to be in.

Not least because she carried the hopes of her entire people with her. She was the one and only Queen for the Tok'ra. If she died, so too did her dream and that of all her children.

I will never let that happen. Not again.

As her hand reached out to the door, Egeria clenched her fist. Ripley's voice returning in a rush.

"Egeria. What world are we on?"

Her overly cheerful companion was oddly subdued. Egeria frowned, and continued to push the door open, revealing a dilapidated warehouse district in the dead of night. Moonlight shone down on the old buildings, illuminating their rusting frames and showing that she was most assuredly not where the Chappa'ai should have been. Her eyes trailed over the unfamiliar structures...dull grey and sheet metal. Not a hint of gold or stone in sight.

Not Goa'uld.

Rushing across the empty area from the Chappa'ai towards the shelter of another building, Egeria formulated her answer. "Would you know if I told you, Ripley? Part of the blending is sharing memories."

"I know that!" Ripley protested, a hint of her old fire back. Only a hint. "Still, I didn't think...why here? Of all places?"

That answer was something Egeria had not wanted to give. Part of her had been shocked, when the memory had come to her. But she had not anticipated having to explain so soon...if at all. As her legs carried her into the shade of another storehouse, Egeria thought about her plan. She had intended to spare her host the pain of knowing where they were, if they even survived the transition. Her stored materials were well-hidden and wouldn't have required going out of her way.

That clearly wasn't an option now.

"Leaving aside the fact that I truly believed Ra when he told me he had razed this world to the ground," the Tok'ra Queen began, as she stuck her head out and began looking for any signs of life. Finding none, she sprinted towards a gate marking the edge of the warehouse district from the rest of--wherever she was. "I had hoped to spare you of the need to know. That was not a fond memory I saw, Ripley. My first goal was to escape Pangara, my second to spare you any pain, and my third to escape this world in turn and hopefully find the one who did this to you. Be it alone or with the aid of my children."

There was silence again, as Egeria's booted feet cracked along the worn pavement beneath them. As her hands grabbed onto the small padlock on the gate, ripping it free with little effort before she began speaking again.

"You saved my life. The least I could do to repay you was to spare you any pain. I am sorry I did not tell you sooner."

If Ripley were in control of their body, she likely would have blushed. Even without control, Egeria felt a slight warming of her cheeks while pushing the gate open. Something that made her smile as she rushed away from the warehouses and towards the lights of a city. A city larger than any she remembered.

"That wasn't necessary..." Ripley's voice was self-conscious. Feelings of confused gratitude filtered through the bond.

All the Queen did was shake her head and convey her own calm care gentle across their bond.

"Maybe so, but the difference between a Goa'uld and a Tok'ra is that we care for our hosts as if they were our own lives, as we share this life. It is a small sacrifice to make, for all that you give us." Smiling softly, Egeria continued into the bustling city. Humans surrounded her on all sides, dressed in strange and wondrous clothing.

Barrages of color assaulted her from every corner. Men and women of pale complexion and dark skin. A dizzying variety of clothing and strange land vehicles. Signs in a language she did not know, advertising everything from food to electronics. It was almost overwhelming in the casual complexity.

Ra had not razed this world. He had let it grow beyond what any Goa'uld would allow.

"...we remember Ra, but only as a mythological figure. One among many."

Ripley's tone held a hint of bitterness, when Egeria's eyes trailed over everything surrounding them. What was unfamiliar and amazing to her, was quite familiar to her host.

"I had no idea we were coming home, Egeria."

Home. The first world. Tau'ri.

No matter what one called it, Egeria knew it as the last place she had felt safe. Safe in the ignorance of Ra to a world he had left behind, content with his Empire and concerned with the Asgard. Her official revolt had stripped this world from that position. And, apparently, let it grow beyond her wildest dreams. Part of her wondered if any of her children remained. The rest of her...worried for her host.

"We won't remain long, Ripley," Egeria tried to comfort the woman she shared her body with. She gave everything to that goal. "I merely need to reach either Egypt or where the Chappa'ai once rested."

The host sighed herself, "Egypt would be easier. And I think I can get us there."

As Egeria walked along crowded streets, she felt a strong sense of resigned anger from the bond. Frustration and loss all rolled into one. Why?

"How do you plan on that?" Egeria was honestly curious.

"I may be a clone, but I still remember all the information we need to access my accounts. We can get the money and find a flight to Egypt. Not a problem."

She could say that, but Egeria still felt the tangible sense of regret. Buried under anger. Her host was not happy about this idea. She hated it in fact. Yet she was clearly determined to do it anyway.

"Ripley...what about..." The Queen attempted to get a word in.

And failed.

"She isn't me!" Ripley's anger boiled over. Their bond was close, closer than any Goa'uld.

Egeria had not needed to finish her sentence, for Ripley to know what she meant. To know that Egeria was talking about the woman she was cloned from.

"I know what you want me to say. You want me to find another way, and not mess with her life. But you know something, Egeria?" Ripley's bitterness carried through, the cheerfulness she had buried it with long gone. "That was my life. My family. My friends. She may be the original, but I remember everything. I miss everything. So you will have to forgive me if I don't much care about taking away from her."

Egeria felt that her host was lying. But she remained silent, fading to the back of their shared consciousness and allowing Ripley control of her body once more.

"You know, I almost don't believe it."

Two men, clad in the uniforms of the United States Air Force, stood in front of a massive crate. Despite a tarp being laid over it, the rather large hole in the front was still very visible. The rather large and perfectly circular hole.

The taller of the two men snorted, when he looked over at it, "Jacob, I didn't believe it either. But here we are, and there it is."

Jacob Carter chuckled, running a hand through his thinning black hair. His dark eyes weren't directed at the crate, but at his old friend. "George, if I weren't here I still wouldn't believe it. To think we only found out about this because we're the ones that were called in."

"Exactly." George Hammond, of course, knew more than he let on. He knew about the Stargate, if only thanks to time-travelers from his future. This, however, was not something that note had mentioned.

If anything, he hadn't expected to find out about the 'gate until the proper time. Something had gone wrong.

"Colonels?"

That, of course, could wait for later. George and Jacob turned their heads, to look at the man who had brought them here. A young, bright-eyed private who had been on patrol that night when he came across the gate to the Air Force warehouses busted open. Further exploration- following footprints in the muddy ground -had lead to this warehouse, and what it contained within. Lacking any knowledge of it, the man had called in his superior...Jacob Carter, on leave from active duty pending reassignment.

Jacob, unsurprisingly, called in George when he saw exactly what the man had brought him to. His old friend had alluded to there being something he couldn't tell him several times. George was horrible at keeping a secret from his best friend.

Or, I never expected to need to keep the secret until the program officially started.

Snorting once more, George was the first one to speak up to the private. "What is it son?"

"General West, sirs. He wants to talk to both of you."

The two Colonel's shared a look at that, blinking in unison. West was something of an important man. Hard running and hard working, someone that men both looked forward to and dreaded serving under. And, unusually, not someone associated with warehouse districts.

"Well, I'll say this is bigger than we thought." Jacob was the first to recover, shaking his head bemusedly.

"Apparently so." George agreed, privately reflecting that his friend had no idea of what they were in front of. "Shall we go meet the General then?"

Jacob chuckled and pointed at the exit, "Lead the way George."

Raising an eyebrow, George did as asked. With a nod at the Private, the aging Colonel lead his friend out of the building and to where General West waited. Said General stood by his personal car, talking quietly with an old woman. West towered over the woman, leaning down to hear what she was saying. Barely above a whisper.

They didn't want to be overheard, and George had a fairly good idea why.

"General West?" George was the first to speak, as he and Jacob came to a halt a respectful distance from the superior officer. With a salute, he introduced himself, "Colonel Hammond."

"Colonel Carter," Jacob added with his own salute.

West nodded at the woman one last time, and turned to the Colonels. He gave both men an appraising gaze, looking them up and down in the way only a senior officer could do. Grunting softly at whatever he saw, the General returned their salute. "At ease, gentleman. I admit, this is all rather sudden and unplanned. For one thing, neither of you are technically authorized to enter that warehouse."

Jacob twitched, ever so slightly. George just nodded. He had known as much himself, being well-aware how secretive the Stargate really was. Even years after he met SG-1, he had never seen the slightest trace of it before today.

"However, it is too late to do anything about that," West continued, raising a hand to gesture at the woman by his side. His face was sour, but the General didn't stop speaking. "And Ms. Langford has raised an excellent point, that we will need more military men in the program now. Consider yourselves reassigned to Project Giza, Colonels."

The tiny woman, Langford, raised an eyebrow. Her voice carried a noticeable accent when she spoke, somehow radiating more authority than the General himself. "General, the very fact that someone came through the artifact and escaped means the genie is out of the bottle, so to speak."

Before West could reply, Jacob's incredulous voice interrupted him, "Wait, someone came through that thing? Is it something out of Star Trek?"

If only you knew, Jacob.

George couldn't help but snort at the idea. West didn't seem to notice, or care, about his reaction. The General only reached a hand up to his brow, rubbing it wearily. Annoyedly.

"Colonel Carter, we have no idea exactly what that device is. There were theories, experiments...Ms. Langford was convinced it was a gateway of some form." Looking at the woman by his side, West sighed. He lowered his hand and speared Jacob with his sharp eyes. "It was largely her actions that lead to the reopening of Project Giza. We had been intending to move the artifact to a safer location soon. And then someone comes stumbling through it, and all of our plans are gone. You and Colonel Hammond are involved in this now, like it or not."

"We have concrete evidence," Langford took over, her own voice filled with smugness at the discomfort West was clearly feeling. "That this gateway connects somewhere. Likely another world. And if that is the case, we need more men and women in the program."

Jacob frowned, "And that means us, ma'am?"

"If necessary, yes."

There was an uncomfortable pause, after Langford spoke those words. No one seemed to know what to say. From the smug woman, to the annoyed General, and to the confused Colonels. Jacob probably couldn't believe what he was hearing. George, however? George knew exactly what to say at this moment.

What else was there to say, really?

"I'll do it, ma'am, General." The Colonel snapped his heels together, coming to full attention. He hid a smirk behind military properness. "As you said, like it or not, Colonel Carter and I are involved in this now."

Of course, George Hammond was in this for more reasons than that. Early as it may have been, his place was with the Stargate. He knew that. His future self had known it, when he sent back that note with SG-1.

"If Colonel Hammond is in, so am I," Jacob sent a sarcastic smile at his friend. One George returned in full force.

West nodded grimly, crossing his arms behind his back. "Very well, gentleman. Welcome to Project Giza." Staring both men down, West inclined his head at the warehouse behind them. "Your first task, will be tracking down the woman- yes, a human woman -who came through that artifact."

"How will we find someone like that? Respectfully, sir, they could be anywhere." George pointed out.

"Indeed they could. However, our cameras did get a good image of the woman," West uncrossed his arms, and sighed heavily. "Not only is she a human woman, she is a citizen of the United States of America."

Jacob's shocked exclamation of 'Holy Hannah!' summed up the feelings of both Colonels quite well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Soooo

Earth. I picked this for a couple reasons. The biggest ones being a desire to change up the canon something fierce, and because Egeria- logically -would not know of any safe havens with the Tok'ra. Thousands of years in a jar will do that.

As such:

I thought 'hmm, what planet would she consider to still be safe even after so long?'. She has no way of knowing what the power struggles among the Goa'uld are like, after all. So I looked at the mythology. Egeria, the mythological figure, is from Roman mythology. Early, early Roman mythology. Her interactions with a Roman king around the 600s BC puts her quite firmly after Ra left. Thousands of years so.

One could assume that the Roman legends would relate to someone who was on Earth during Ra's reign, but I find that unlikely. More likely she was there after Ra left. There are a couple ways this could happen. Ship is the obvious one, since the Alpha Gate ('Ra's Gate') was buried by this point.

However, there is another option.

Fair Game- the episode where the Goa'uld allow Earth into the Protected Planet's Treaty -indicates that the Goa'uld knew of the Beta Gate. This shouldn't be possible, theoretically. Ra didn't know about it when he brought the Alpha Gate. So how do the System Lords know Earth has two Stargates? There are only four options I can think of:

1. A spy or traitor in the SGC/NID tells them. There's no evidence of this.
2. Apophis scanned Earth and saw both 'gates, this gets to the other System Lords. Again, no evidence.
3. The Rogue NID's use of the Beta Gate alerted the Goa'uld to a second Earth gate. Possible, not likely.
4. Someone in the Goa'uld did discover the Beta Gate.

Number Four seems the most likely to me. I can easily see some ambitious Goa'uld, once Ra left, deciding to try dialing Earth on the off-chance the humans unburied their Stargate. Or even one desperate enough to gamble it as an escape. When this happens, the Beta Gate is the one that gets dialed- because it is in a place it can be dialed, as Solitudes showed. How exactly this happens is up to debate.

But one can then assume that, after the Goa'uld found the Beta Gate, they decide to leave it. There's no use to them for a Stargate in the middle of a glacier. Goa'uld like Zipacna or whoever took the Mongols- much as we may like to forget Emancipation was a thing, it indicates the Goa'uld kept going to Earth a long time after Ra left -would probably go back by ship. However...

Egeria and the Tok'ra, interested in a 'safe haven' use the Beta Gate. Perhaps they leave a Tel'tak by the gate, ready to take them somewhere else on Earth. This avoids needing big ships or hyperspace travel to Earth, while keeping the Beta Gate mostly secret. After Egeria is captured, the Tok'ra abandon Earth.

Not likely in canon, but this is marked as an AU for several reasons :V

Also, Ripley. There's a lot more to her than it seems, emotion-wise. Why she can be cheerful in the last chapter, but not in this one. It was the final nail in the 'pick Earth' coffin. Because it allowed for a big, defining, character moment.

Great to see you're back.

I have got one thought - if the Beta Gate had an (apparently) functional DHD connected to it, why didn't incoming wormholes default to there when the Alpha Gate was buried or didn't have a DHD?

Post season 1's "Solitude" this can be explained by them unplugging the DHD when they moved the Beta Gate, but before then all incoming wormholes should have gone to the gate with the active dialing device. Just a thought.

True enough, though we know that the Beta DHD was functional. Sam just didn't dial anywhere other than Earth, and the NID managed to drain its power when they used it. Somehow.

This said, the common time I've seen for Egeria being captured is right around 1 AD, give or take a few years on either side of that divide. Nearly (or right at) two thousand years of no use is plenty of time for the DHD to be iced over like it was in Solitudes and disconnected again. Even longer if you take into account my theory (in-canon) that the Goa'uld just gave up on it once they realized it was little use to them.

(and ignore the Roswell book)


In other news, I couldn't have had better timing to post this chapter than Stargate: Origins being announced.

It just occurred to me that the reason the Beta Gate wasn't the default gate may have been something as simple as the ice in the glacier shifting enough to block the gate from opening. That's much simpler.