They quickly escorted their not-quite-prisoner back into the forest, and met up with Posain's team shortly later.
He greeted them with obvious relief. "That was quick work. Good job! And who is this?" He looked curiously at the stranger.
"We delayed the mission," Jahu grimly informed him, "and I'd like to know that myself."
"General Jacob Carter, United States Air Force." The older man introduced himself, glancing at Page. "I take it you know me, soldier?"
Page's back stiffened and he saluted, a gesture Jahu had seen many times among the tauri, though recently less often. "Captain Andres Page, sir, United States Marine Corps. May I say sir, it's an honor to see you out here, and a relief."
Carter returned the salute, and then turned to Jahu. "Proof enough for you?" He asked mildly.
Jahu shook his head fervently. "Keep your distance from him." He cautioned, and looked at Page. "That may not be your General talking. He may have a Goa'uld symbiote controlling his actions even now. Keep him under guard," he added to the others.
"Oh, I've got a symbiote inside me all right, but I'm no Goa'uld."
"He's a Tok'ra." Page explained, as if that would help at all.
Jahu had heard a few stories back at the Redoubt about the Tok'ra, but he'd never believed them. A 'good' Goa'uld was a contradiction in terms, after all.
"You're right to be careful." Carter continued easily. "I'll go with you to be cleared by those… Deuca you mentioned, if it'll make you feel better. If you still plan on hitting that subspace array, though, you'll need this." He slowly removed a piece of parchment from a pocket on his tunic and handed it to Page. "There are perimeter sensors protecting the compound. They'll go off if they detect anyone who isn't walking in one of the few safe routes. I marked the safe approaches on that map."
Posain and Jahu unfurled the parchment while the rest kept Carter covered. It did indeed appear to be a map of the compound and surrounding clearing. The safe zones were clearly marked on the north and east ends of the wall.
"Come to think of it, I did see them walking some strange patterns on their patrols when I was here the other day," Page added, "but I just figured they were some kind of training exercise or a way to signal that they were friendlies."
Jahu wished Page would just shut up. His submission to this 'General' wasn't helping matters. "We can't rely on this map. For all we know, following it will lead us into a trap of his design!"
"If he was our enemy, wouldn't we already be under attack, or dead by now?" Posain asked. "We should take him back and see what the Colonel has to say about it."
"We can't. Our return window won't open for more than three hours. I wouldn't risk it even if we could."
"How about P2X-418?" Page suggested. "Hargrove's there rec- I mean talking to the locals right now."
"Would that be Major Lucius Hargrove from the SGC?" Carter echoed.
There was a long silence.
"Very well. Take him there, but keep him under guard. Use your entire team." Jahu finally told Posain wearily. "We'll let Hargrove deal with him. Page, you stay here with us."
"Are you sure, Jahu?" Posain inquired. "You won't have any backup if things go badly."
"I'm sure. Get going; the sooner this is done with, the better."
-.-
"He's in bad shape, boss." Nelson firmly repeated. "It'll be a long time, if ever, before he'll be good on his own, I'm sure of it."
Tony nodded distractedly. Nelson and Haley had just returned from Kaleyus Trotaoi, Pol's homeworld. He'd actually come back with them, surprisingly, so Tony had put aside some time to deal with the situation. So far, the conversation had just been a series of consistent disagreements between Nelson and Haley.
"So how did his homecoming go?"
"About as well as you'd expect. The place is still there, but the people are all different. It was obvious he felt like an outsider there; even more than we did."
"Does he have any family left there?"
Nelson began rummaging through his pack, and eventually pulled out a yellowed roll of parchment. "Sort of. They showed us this family tree, featuring him. He and his wife didn't have any kids, and she died a few years after he was taken. His sister had a few boys, though; their descendants had a hard time wrapping their brains around the fact that he was back." He sighed. "I'm not sure the trip did him any good at all."
"Oh, I think it did." Haley contradicted him. "He saw that the people in his life kept going without him, and managed to build a good life despite his absence. I'm sure that'll comfort him as he goes on."
"I think we should take him back a few more times, boss. Get him used to being around his people again before he goes home for good."
"He has nothing in common with those people anymore. There's no reason for him to go back at all!"
"Stop." Tony cut in quietly, and they both complied. It's surprising how often that seems to work, he reflected. I'll have to remember that. "Haley, are you suggesting he stay here, with us?"
"Why not? It's not like he has anywhere else to go!"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe… uh… his home?" Nelson responded sarcastically.
She ignored him. "There's more, Tony. He's welcome here, but he could also really contribute to the Survivors if he stays."
Tony gave her a level stare. "I think it's a little too early to consider recruiting him, don't you?"
"That's not what I meant." Haley paused, apparently formulating her case. "He's been a Goa'uld for over ninety years. Seraus no doubt used him to access every key piece of technology in this place! If he can remember how…"
"Then he can suffer all the more because of those memories!" Nelson visibly tried to control his temper. "He was held captive, mostly in this facility, for decades. Hasn't he been through enough already?"
"It's not just that, though. Even if he can't remember how, or doesn't want to, he's still the only one on the planet who can use those devices. With his cooperation, I think I could finish the adaptor I was working on back at the SGC. That way, we could use any Goa'uld machinery we find on our missions, not just the basic weapons!"
Tony raised his hands to quiet both of them as he thought it through. It would be helpful to be able to use some of the more powerful technology in this place. Thanks to the database, they had a pretty good idea what all of it did, at least. Still, there was one factor neither of them seemed to have considered.
"Has he told either of you what he wants to do?"
Both of them shared an uncomfortable glance. "Actually, uh, he hasn't said much of anything since we got back, boss. He just went back to his infirmary bed and laid down."
"Then it's obvious he needs more time to come to grips with all of this. As far as I'm concerned, he's welcome to stay, as long as we can maintain base security, but only if he chooses it. I'll present the options to him myself."
Both of them started to speak, but he beat them to it. "In the mean time, I'm ordering both of you to steer clear of him for at least a day. He can't come to any decisions with the two of you yammering away at him."
Nelson nodded immediately, and Haley grudgingly followed suit.
"All right. Dismissed."
-.-
Hargrove fought to keep his warring impulses from showing on his face, as the Deuca slowly ran one of his wrist-scanners over the back of their visitor's neck. He certainly looked like General Carter.
The two of them- or three, depending on how you looked at it- had worked closely during the days following the signing of the Tok'ra-Earth Treaty document. Hargrove's initial suspicion of the man was due to his… alternate personality would be the best way to put it. The symbiote inside him went by the name of Selmak, and was the source of pretty much all the intel the Tok'ra decided to share with Earth. However, as the days had passed, Hargrove had slowly come to appreciate the sheer burden of memory the symbiote must carry, and the fact that what they were sharing barely even scratched the surface. While he'd concluded that he would never be comfortable carrying one of the things around inside him, he’d been forced to admit that they would make good allies.
If this man wasn't an imposter, it could mean remarkable things for the Survivors. Or terrible things; he hadn't yet decided.
Just to be safe, though, he kept his handgun at the ready, and a few feet away the members of SR-4 were watching carefully in case their visitor tried anything stupid. The seven of them were just outside a local village, within sight of the Stargate, and the inhabitants were busy discussing his latest recruitment pitch. He wasn't the best judge of his own public speaking ability, but Suna had claimed he was getting better at it. He certainly was more comfortable with it, nowadays.
The Healer beckoned him over, and Hargrove looked into the scanner's display. He read the results aloud, without much surprise. "Sure enough, there's an adult symbiote wrapped around your spinal column and attached to your brain. Based on its size and physical attributes, it appears to be well over a thousand years old."
"Two thousand, actually. What did I tell you?" He straightened up and looked at Hargrove with mild amusement.
"That doesn't prove anything, though. You could have killed Selmak and taken his host for yourself."
The General, if it really was him, gave a light laugh and focused his attention on Hargrove. "You guys really are suspicious, aren't you? I suppose a group organized by you would have to be, wouldn't it? Fine, then. Ask me questions only I could answer."
"Sorry, that won't work either. If you are a Goa'uld, you have access to all the General's memories, and could answer as him if you wanted." Suddenly, he had an idea and turned to the Healer. "Scan for the residual radiation associated with the sarcophagus. Any Goa'uld that old has undoubtedly used one repeatedly, and we know the Tok'ra don't, not even in emergencies."
Thanks to the Goa'uld database on Hovak, they knew what kind of radiation traces to look for. Seraus had been experimenting with creating a sarcophagus on his own, without much success. There had been a bunch of human prisoners he'd subjected to various procedures towards that goal, none of whom had survived. Hargrove hid a shiver as he recalled reading through the translation Blake had provided him on the experiments. He had a strong stomach, but even he'd been affected just by reading about it.
When the Healer finished his scan and slowly shook his head, Hargrove sent him over to the others.
"Good enough for you?" Carter asked.
"For now, at least." Hargrove admitted. Almost reluctantly, he gave a salute. "It's good to see you again, General. Sorry about the precautions. You understand."
Carter returned the salute offhandedly. "Only too well. Now, I hear you've got a Colonel in charge of this outfit. I'll need to talk to him immediately."
"Sorry, sir, that's not possible. He's currently at our home base, and for security reasons, we only dial in to that planet at specific intervals. You'll have to wait at least an hour to talk to him."
"Really." Carter's voice was flat.
"If it helps, sir, I'm the closest thing we have to a second in command. Maybe I can help."
Carter hesitated for a few seconds, evaluating him, and then nodded. "Ok, first things first: I need to know if there are any more of your 'missions' going on right now, and where." There was a faint but unmistakable note of scorn in his voice when he said the word.
"You'll need to call them back right away," he continued, "and I may need to get some of my people in place to get them out of trouble, like I just did for your team back on Mivos. Then I need to know the 'gate address to every planet your people have visited, and exactly what you've done on each one." He hesitated. "Oh, and when you get the chance, have your Colonel assemble every one of your people at your home base for my inspection."
Hargrove took a step back. This was even worse than he'd feared. "With respect, General… why? We have a number of tactical missions in progress, mostly reconnaissance, but hauling everyone back for an inspection would put some serious crimps in the Colonel's plan. It would certainly cost us the momentum we've built up since we started missions up again."
"That's the idea." Carter responded bluntly. Hargrove couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, as he went on. "If you keep going with these 'missions' of yours, all you'll end up doing is getting yourselves killed. You have to put a stop to them, right now."
Hargrove took a look around. Posain's team was still watching them, but was thankfully out of easy earshot. He took a deep breath as he considered ways to phrase his response, but couldn't come up with a good way. Finally, he just up and said it.
"I don't believe that'll be necessary, General."
Something dangerous appeared in Carter's expression. "Wanna run that by me again, Major?" He said softly.
"Posain told me what you did back on 117, or Mivos as you called it. We appreciate your help, believe me, but we had a contingency plan in place in case things went south. There was danger, yes, but less than you seem to think."
Carter inexplicably lowered his head for a second, and when he looked up again, his eyes flashed white. [You don't comprehend the true danger you're facing. The System Lords are aware of what you did to Nereus, and right now they don't care. However, if you begin to meddle in their affairs, they will destroy you!]
Hargrove had known that Selmak might surface, and the deeper voice he used was a surefire sign of it. Still he was a little surprised at the vehemence in the alien's voice. Before he could respond, though, Carter was back. "Until we can figure out what happened to the SGC, you and your people will have come with us. You'll be safe at one of the secondary locations the Tok'ra have set up as safe houses."
"We won't be- wait, what did you say? What happened to the SGC?"
Carter shook his head. "We haven't had any contact with Earth for some time. At first, I thought it was just bad timing on our part, but recently we heard about a group of humans with Earth weapons running around causing mayhem. We dialed Earth to get some answers, but weren't able to get through. I assumed the 'gate was still just busy, but we've tried several times over the past few weeks, with no luck. It's probably nothing: maybe one of Sam's brilliant ideas went sideways or something, but the Council sent a ship to make contact anyway. We should be getting some answers soon."
Hargrove's blood ran cold. "Uh, you need to call them back, right now." Carter gave him a confused look, and he hurried on. "Look, it'll take too long to explain but trust me, if that ship gets too close to Earth it'll be destroyed!"
While he still looked suspicious, Carter proceeded to dial the 'gate and send a message through with a handheld device. Hargrove didn't breathe easy until the General had heard back from his people, and had been told the ship had stopped. "Now, how about you tell me why I just did that?"
Hargrove nodded. "I'll try, sir. Just try to keep an open mind. It's a pretty crazy story."
-.-
As he stepped through the 'gate on 418, Tony wasn't quite sure how he would handle this new situation. Over the past months, he'd gotten used to the fact that the Survivors were basically on their own. Sure, the Deuca were helping them with supplies, and now arms, but everything else had been on their shoulders so far.
He and Hargrove had discussed what would happen if they should ever make contact with the Tok'ra, but neither of them had anticipated this. In some ridiculous way, he'd almost convinced himself that they would be proud of what the Survivors had accomplished so far, and perhaps would help them go further. I guess they want to shut us down, instead.
Down the slope from the 'gate, he could see the aging General talking with Hargrove. He pushed his apprehension aside, as he couldn't simply ignore this situation, and approached them with as much boldness as he could fake. "General Carter, sir." He saluted. "I'm Colonel Marcus. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
The General returned the salute. "Likewise, Colonel. From what I’m told, you’ve accomplished a great deal, considering what you had to work with. Very impressive."
"Thank you, sir."
"Hargrove filled me in on the situation with Earth." The General shook his head in amazement. "I gotta say, it's like nothing I've ever heard before."
"I had the same thought, sir."
"I'm curious, though, Colonel. You've been on your own for over five months now. Why didn't you come to us for help? You had to know the Tok'ra would be willing to help you."
"It wasn't a matter of choice, sir. None of us had the 'gate coordinates to Vorash, so we had no way of letting you know what was happening. Without that address, we had to wait for you to notice us, which you apparently did."
"We certainly did. You've definitely made an impression on the Tok'ra, that's for sure. I'm not surprised, but then I know you better than they do. Still, it's time you let us pick up the slack. We've got the intel and resources to find this… control terminal a lot more easily than you could. We've found several planets where you and your people should be safe from Goa'uld retaliation, at least until we can find a way to send you home."
And there it was. The suggestion, so innocent-sounding, that would shatter the Survivors just as effectively as a Goa'uld attack on Hovak.
Tony tried to keep his voice pleasant. "Thank you for the offer, sir, but that won't be necessary. My people are perfectly capable of jumping this hurdle, just like all the other problems we've beaten."
The General's voice hardened. "It wasn't an offer, Colonel. Get your people together, and get them prepped for relocation. Now."
Tony braced himself. "At the risk of repeating myself… no sir. I know I'm risking my rank by saying this, but right now I've got bigger problems than my career to worry about."
"In fact, he's not risking his career, sir." Hargrove stepped in close. "You retain your rank, General, but we're no longer under your command. When you blended with a Tok'ra, and became a liaison between them and Earth, you gave up any official authority over SGC personnel, and that includes us. Besides," he added, "I think you'll find the Colonel's opinion to be shared by every member of the Survivors. We're in this for the long haul, whether you approve or not."
Tony gave him a sidelong look. Hargrove had probably come up with a dozen possible paths this conversation could have taken, and probably had a response ready for each one. A response that would have the Survivors continuing on their own.
Suspicions that he'd put aside months ago were suddenly shifted back to the forefront of his mind. The way Hargrove had said that…
He looked back at the General. "I wouldn't have put it so bluntly, but he's right, sir. Even if I did agree with you, I wouldn't go to the Survivors and tell them to stand down. I don't have that right, and even if I did, I doubt they'd listen."
Carter looked back and forth between them, the frustration on his face slowly fading into something else. If he hadn't known better, Tony would have thought it was respect.
"You know, you're a lot like another Colonel I know."
Tony knew instantly who he meant. He smiled tentatively in response. "I'll take that as a compliment, sir."
