Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Land of the Lost (Combat Oriented Mission)

[z028 Riley]

*There wasn't enough time, Dec. Not even for me. This worked. Please. I don't want to do that again. It hurts you and you and Red have been doing so well. I don't want to mess that up. Please.* The mental voice was hers, as was the thrum of concern and hope that underlay the thoughts.

To the others, the otherworldly beautiful woman took another step towards Death Incarnate, holding out a hand to him. Aloud she said, "And I did try. You all just went ahead and told me I should mindrape him for what was important to the SGC and leave him to die. Like just because he was different, his life had no value beyond being useful to us or the SGC." She shrugged and let out a puff of a sigh, "Why would you think I would be okay with that? We've got power. We're novas. We're better than that."

She looked him directly in the eyes, both arms out now. "You can kill me. You're one of the few people that can, without a plasma cannon or something. Please don't."

[Yseult Sierra]

The soundless hum of Yseult's telekinetic field sprang to unseen life as the imminent threat emanating from Sgt. Perrault Red washed over her. She got to her feet with a soft grunt, the reciprocal aches of forced healing paining her. She wiped at the blood from her nose, only noticing it as it trickled across her lips. She swallowed with convulsive fear as those gleaming silver eyes tracked her every movement without shifting any focus from Kyria.

Her eyes were cool as she listened to Kyria's/the Tok'ra's plea, not in full agreement with what she said. She would have done - and still would do - everything she could to restore him to health, but he was in no way entitled to taking a host against its consent. She couldn't quite fault it for a desperate act to save his own life - any living creature does the same - but it would have to pay the for the consequences of its actions. They just had to make sure Kyria didn't end up paying as well.

She edged closer to the confronting duo, turning to face Declan. "Sgt. Perrault, I can see the... symbiont inside Kyria - it truly is gravely injured. Give me a moment, and I will try to heal it beyond critical condition. Then it will be free to remove itself."

Her head swiveled, her eyes hardening on Kyria, though the stunning red-head could tell Yseult was staring at the Tok'ra itself. Her eyes were nearly all turquoise, only slivers of white seen at the corners of her eyes. "We will ask your host if he wishes to house you once more. If not, we will return to the SGC and you will be able to remove yourself there, bathing in an appropriate solution until the Tok'ra come to retrieve you."

[The Red Man]

*Kyria?* Dec thought back to her. *Wait a minute: you're okay and you consent to this? That puts a different shape on things... But damn it! The Snake should have at least ASKED first.*

*No fuckin' shit, Kyria! You scared the piss outta us!* Red's mental tone was as harsh and unyielding as his voice. *You and Livy are about the only two people I'd actually REGRET killin'. And we never said 'Let the Snake die'. Fuck, Slitherin' Sam there is an ally, technically. Those are people that you try to keep alive if you can.*

*We'll stand down, Kyria. But I don't like the way it just jumped into you. Damn it. If Red had been in the driving seat when it pulled that shit without warning, he'd have killed it mid-jump.*

*Damn skippy I would. Was tryin' to as well, but you were too busy freakin' out.* Red sounded mildly disgusted with Dec. *Tell your 'guest' he's fuckin' lucky that Dec's an over-emotional retard, and when he gets into his next host body he'd BETTER send you somethin' nice or it's his skinny ass.*

The mental exchange between the two (or was it three) hyper-intelligent novas took maybe five seconds. Telepathy was remarkably efficient for such things. When communication happened at the speed of thought, and the brains involved were faster than supercomputers, it was possible to do a lot of talking in very little time. To Yseult's eye, the grimace faded from Sgt Perault's features as Red seemed to submerge. Dec's face was a stoic mask as the twin blades he was holding were snapped back into their sheaths with a single blurring motion, and he stepped forwards, taking Kyria's hands in his.

"You scared the hell out of me." he said quietly in a thick voice, uncaring that Yseult was right there as he gently squeezed Kyria's fingers, his heart in his gaze. He searched her impossibly lovely face and eyes for a moment, then smiled a little and pulled her into a hug without thinking, having forgotten the state of his attire.

[z028 Riley]

She didn't seem to care about the gore and the blood as she hugged him back. She'd never really had to face the fact that she could be killed so directly head on before, and he could feel the shiver of an adrenaline crash go through her as she hung on to him.

*He did ask. I've been talking with him since Livy took off, there just wasn't a chance to play walkie-talkie with the rest of you. I'm sorry. I gotta figure out a better way to talk to everyone at once. Like the mikes...only, telepathically. I've been working on it, just....not enough yet.*

She pulled back from him after a moment and took stock of what was going on. She'd tuned Yse out, not because she didn't care what the doctor had said, but simply because taking your eyes of Red when he was pissed was pretty much a guaranteed death sentence. And the Jaffa. She had forgotten about them.

[Mr Fox]

Unnoticed by everyone but Red the villagers had gone to their knees and were now face down on the ground praying silently not to be smote by an angry god, or three. They had all heard stories of how it had been when the gods had walked among their ancestors, of their capricious ways, but the stories failed to convey how forceful and dangerous they must seem. And so they waited silently to be addressed and commanded.

Meanwhile only a minute or two passed before the next group of novas arrived. But rather than tell the tale every time a new group appeared they waited until everyone was safely present. By then Yseult had healed the Symbiote to some small degree, at least enough that it was no longer in immediate danger of dying.

((Yseult please make another healing roll. Everyone else, you are now in the scene. The jaffa are still waiting face down hoping not to be smitted.))

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult frowned with nonplussed irritation at being completely disregarded by both of the other specialists. And the Tok'ra. Still, she was a doctor, and had given her word. She stepped away a bit, her breathing rapid and shallow as she prepped herself once more to mend the broken, hands fisted at her side. She peered intently at the foreign organism coiling around Kyria's spine. The Tok'ra was considerably smaller than a human, but its genetics were quite complex, the strands of DNA very dense.

With Kyria still focused on Sgt. Perrault, Yseult reached out once more, her biological awareness guiding her as she attempted repair the extensive damage to the snake-like creature dwelling beneath Kyria's flesh.

With shocking ease, Yseult wove the extraterrestrial cells together, skin and organs restoring themselves in perfect harmony, even as she payed a toll for her gift. Her eyes grew sunken, surrounded by darkened rings, muscles cramping, blue and black contusions breaking across her flesh as capillaries burst.

She staggered, almost falling from her effort.

Click to reveal..

Health Manipulation: Stamina + Biological Manipulation (QP 13/30)

Has Xenology 2, in case there are difficulties manipulating the Alien Organism

Health Manipulation: 7d10.hits(7)= 5 Successes! Damn!

Tok'ra Symbiont regains 5 Lethal Health Levels, Yseult suffers 2 Leathal Health Levels

HL: Injured (-1), QP: 13/30, WP: 4/6

[The Red Man]

Yseult barely registered the movement as she staggered, but the blood-stained sergeant was at her side as though he'd been there all along, rock-solid hands steadying her with ease.

"Easy, Doc." he said softly. "Healin' takes it outta you, huh?" Glittering cold silver eyes studied her face, their chill precision at odds with the gentle concern in Dec's voice and expression. "Shit." he cussed quietly as his heightened 'killers sense' picked up the extent of Yseult's injuries. He looked around briefly, noting the other Specialists arriving and setting up a perimeter.

"Take a seat next to the guy on the floor, Doc. Eeeaaasy now." The grim warrior was as solicitous as a nurse as he helped Yseult to sit, then cast his gaze over to Kyria. "I think she's done somethin' nasty to herself healing your guest. How' it doin'?"

[Mr Fox]

Kyria felt a surge from the symbiote as if it had just been doused in a bucket of cold water. In her mind she heard, Egeria's ghost, what was that? There was a strong sense of shock and amazement, but there was also a sense that the symbiote was much improved. I've never experienced anything like that. It was stronger than the hand device and faster than a sarcophagus. There was a brief pause then it added, May I address the healer?

Meanwhile Cam and the others had established the perimeter and now he wanted answers, "What happened? Why is Yseult injured?"

[z028 Riley]

*Sure. Gimme a sec to give them warning.*

"Guys, Kornan's going to talk. He wants to talk to Yse. I'm gonna see if I can still communicate with one of you while he's in the driver's seat, so to say." She glanced over to the rest of the group and focused on Cam. "Um, don't shoot. They were both dying and I didn't know that Yse could heal that well. Yeah....anyways. Ladies and gentlemen..." her lips twitched up in a nervous grin, "....and soldiers, Kornan."

*You're up.*

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult accepted Sgt. Perrault's solicitous aid, wincing slightly as his surprisingly gentle touch brush a particularly sensitive bruise. She knew that forcing tissue in a such a manner produced a reciprocal effect, but she hadn't realized the extent of cumulative uses in such a short time.

"Merci, Sgt. Perault. Healing in such a fashion, there is a sympathetic, action-reaction effect. The... side effects for multiple uses in such a limited amount of time are rather more... pronounced than I would like."

She gave him a thankful grin, then explained the intricacies of her method of rejuvenation once more when Cameron and the others joined them, adding, "I had not tried to mend injuries of this degree to such an extent before. I had only stabilized Dr. Balinsky from critical condition. The more I must manipulate tissue beyond its normal capacity, the more exacerbated the side-effects. I truly hope there will be no one else requiring more than standard medical aid during the rest of this mission."

Upon Kyria voicing Kornan's request, Yseult sighed, than nodded. With Sgt. Perault's offered arm, she got back to her feet, hissing at the pain, straightened her shoulders, then regarded Kyria calmly, waiting for the Tok'ra to speak.

[Mr Fox]

Kyria's posture and demeanor suddenly changed and her voice became the double echo, "Thank you Doctor. Had I known you possessed such ability I would have tried to hold on for the moment longer it would have taken you to heal my host. Genmal will be very appreciative when he awakens no doubt and I am sure he will wish me to return to him as soon as possible. I day or so for me to recover a bit more of my strength, or another session of your amazing healing and I will do so." He paused a moment as he felt Kyria reach out mentally and engage in conversation with first Dec to reassure him and then Cam to belay his fears of compromise.

Kornan's jaw dropped for just a second before he said, "Fascinating. I've never had a host before that could continue to communicate with others when I was in control of the body."

[Rorx]

Gwyn kept an ear out for what was happening among the Specialists but turned to face the kneeling Jaffa, Now's when I could do with some of that super-Charisma Cam and Caine have got...Nevermind, deep breath and...

[in Gou'ald]"All except your village counsel should go about your business. The councillors should wait by the well, we will be with you shortly."

He pauses to see if they will need to be further convinced/ordered while he continues to listen to what is going on behind him.

[Mr Fox]

The villagers at first seemed reluctant to move from their kneeling positions but eventually when they saw that Gwyn was watching and seemed to expect obedience they slowly moved to comply. With in a few minutes all the Jaffa were in their huts except the village leaders who now knelt by the well.

They waited patiently for the gods to sort out their business and command them.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult gave 'Kornan' a curt nod, noting the distinctive change in the stunning red-head's posture. "I am being afraid that you will having to wait before I can utilize my restorative biological manipulation once more, unless there is a grave emergency. It... requires a tremendous amount of... of effort on my part. But you, you are very welcome. I am glad that I was in time to aid Genmal as well."

Leaning into Sgt. Perault's strong yet gentle support, Yseult glanced around the village, noting the village leaders kneeling by the well with a raised brow. "Kornan, did you find what you had been sent here to locate?"

[Mr Fox]

Kyria's head shook in the negative. "No. This was once Anubis' main world, and has always been rumored to be a storehouse of valuable technology and treasures. When I arrived following one of Ba'al's ha'tak, I detected a power source on the planet, but when I approached everything in my ship went dead and I crashed not far from here. These jaffa found me and brought me to their village." She gestured at the elders kneeling by the well.

"Over the centuries many parties have come here seeking treasure, but none have ever returned. Now I know why. There is some kind of technology dampening field that stretched up into high orbit over the planet. I actually detected some debris and ships in orbit, but I didn't have time to investigate. I felt it was important to beat Ba'al's forces to the power source and keep it out of his hands. In retrospect that was a mistake."

An slight smile that looked odd on Kyria preceded his final comment, "On the bright side as you say, the source of the signal lies only a couple days journey to the north on foot."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"That was only our secondary goal," Olivia said softly. "We got you." And that's were my interest in this ends. "Honestly, this damned mission has gone so far sideways with this... development that I think we should head back. Brass will want to know about this." She shrugged casually. "If they want that device, we can come back for it."

She maybe shouldn't have said something like that in front of the Tok'ra, but secrecy had been shattered the moment it had blended with Kyria. It now knew far more than Command had ever wanted the Tok'ra to know. Olivia wasn't sure that was a bad thing, but she knew it probably wasn't a good one.

[z028 Riley]

*Cam, if we're going to get this thing, we should do it now. Once we get back to base, the command and everyone is going to go ballistic and freak out for weeks. Best to already have the device for people to look over than lose the chance and give Ba'al that much longer to get it himself. And it doesn't have to take us days. The cat's pretty much already out of the bag, let's just get this done and then get home so people can yell at me. Again.*

She couldn't sigh with Kornan in control of her body, but the Colonel could hear it anyways.

[Mr Fox]

"Guys, I think you're overlooking something here. We can't go anywhere. There was no DHD back there at the gate, and even if there was the field preventing any technology from working will prevent it from dialing out. Best we can do back at the gate is let Landry know our situation and make sure he doesn't send anyone else through and trap them here with us. We've got several hours yet before we're over due, Gwyn can fly back and let them know when they dial in. For now we have to go after that device if for no other reason than to shut it down." Cam didn't look happy, but then it wasn't a happy situation.

[Rorx]

Gwyn nods, "Yeah, I'll go if need to, but we did leave a guard behind at the Gate. In the meantime, we could go at a slower pace with myself, Livy and Ryan carrying or towing most of the rest of you and Omar hoofing it. I reckon we could still make it in an hour, maybe 90 minutes."

He looks over at the waiting Jaffa leaders, "After all these guys have already seen us arrive here, watching us leave isn't going to cause us anymore trouble than we are already in."

[Mr Fox]

Cam considered, "Ok, we'll leave Vinny in place then and continue on from here."

He turned to the elders, "What lies in that direction about two days journey?" He pointed toward where the To'kra indicated.

If anything the elders cringed more, but one of the oldest spoke, "That is the city of the Priests. It is sacred land, no one goes there except to receive the blessing and pay yearly tribute." He put a hand on his middle above his pouch. "But you are gods so perhaps you might go an survive though it is not time for the blessing or offering."

[z028 Riley]

Kyria blinked as the Goa'uld language filtered through the mind of the Tok'ra in her and made it intelligable. *Cool.*

*Cool? Ah. Yes, 'cool'.*

Kornan nodded with Kyria's body. " We should go quickly, then. Ba'al's Jaffa will be searching for me and the chappa'i, even if it is unusable. The quicker we get to this energy signature, the quicker we can find a way off the planet." He/She knelt next to his previous host, running a hand over the man's face. He spoke with authority to the Jaffa elders, "You will care for him, keep him safe and his presence here secret from any others that may come to your village until we return."

His/her manner was of one used to giving command, but some of the specialists caught the slight flicker of surprise as that air of command was augmented by Kyria's nature as a nova. The Jaffa were practically genuflecting themselves before the red-headed teen, and all he'd meant to do was keep Genmal safe until they returned and could figure this mess out.

Click to reveal..

Use of Commanding Presence and the Voice.

*You okay? I mean, I know Yse healed you, but you still feel a little....off.*

*What just happened? I felt...something. You are a hak'tar?* The mental voice was confused and Kyria could feel Kornan's conciosness reaching out to hers, trying to discover her through her own memories.

*Um, not quite. I'm from a different Earth. I'm a nova, which I guess is pretty much like what you mean by "hak'tar". And you just used quantumn...well, we did. This whole shared body thing...it's a little weird and taking a minute to sort out. We just...overreacted to your desire to keep Genmal safe. The Jaffa will be fine, nothing you did hurt them, it just made sure they understood how important it is and encouraged them to follow your orders.*

The symbiote could feel Kyria doing something, exerting a mental control and finess that would have been impressive for a Goa'uld or Tok'ra and was simply astounded for a human. She was walking a psychic tightrope, trying to find the balance point between giving the symbiote what it needed to function with her and making sure that he didn't trip over himself or the squishy baselines around (well...semi-squishy, Jaffa weren't as breakable as most baselines) with her powers.

[The Red Man]

Dec watched Kyria as the alien spoke through her, the posture and manner of speaking so different from the girl he knew and cared for that it made his teeth grit a little. He knew that she was okay in there, trusted that she knew what she was doing. But still... dammit.

"Ready to move out when you are, boss." he said to Cam, looking around at the other Specialists and focusing on the job at hand. "We doin' this like before? Flying in shuttle-runs? If so, take me in on the first run so I can do some recce work. 'City of Priests' don't sound like it's too secure as a place, but if they don't like visitors they'll have all manner of guards and shit, I'm betting."

[Mr Fox]

"This time we are going to do it like we had planned before. We'll all go in one big impressive group. It will take a little longer, but we'll be safer. I don't like the thought of being split up if we run across a Ha'tak full of jaffa. Besides, those priests might have other tech that works besides the tech negating field, I wouldn't put it pass Anubis to plant some booby traps."

The team mounted up so to speak, with the fliers taking those that needed carrying. The two days walk only took a couple hours of flight time. As the group approached it became clear why the Priests could defend against the jaffa tribes. Their city was built on the top of a large hill with flat barren ground all around. No one on the ground could have approached within miles without being seen. The closer the team came the more evident it was that the 'city' was built among ruins of the Ancients. Their distinctive architecture was unmistakable.

Cam directed the group to come in for a landing in a large ceremonial looking plaza with a circle of standing obelisks carved with blocky symbols surrounding it.

It did not take long before a group of men some in robes some in Jaffa armor bustled into the plaza. The men in robes seemed to be in charge, but one of the Jaffa nearly as big as Omar looked angry and his demeanor was make more fierce by a long jagged scar running from his right temple done across his mouth only barely missing the eye. It was he who spoke, "Who are you and how did you come here from the sky?"

One of the priests looked a bit nervous, but made a commanding gesture to the jaffa, "Silence Tolnak! This is the business of the Priests." Despite his words he remained silent himself looking at the newcomers calculatingly, but with some curiosity.

[Rorx]

As soon as they landed Gwyn had pulled out his camcorder and PDA, calling up the Ancient translation data he had stored there from Daniels notes. Or at least he tries to but gets nothing on either device. There follows a period of cursing in a variety of langauges as he remembers the technology block on the planet.

When the Jaffa emerged he largely ignored them and carried on with his cursing under his breath while he tried to copy the carvings and runes into a notebook, leaving it to Cam and/or the Tok'ra to sort out the politics of the situation. If it came to a fight he was ready for melee, and kept on eye on where the nearest Jaffa was in case he needed to use the alien as a shield.

[Yseult Sierra]

Seeing Gwyn's fierce annoyance with the non-functioning devices, Yseult stepped up to his side, laying a soothing hand on his arm. "Allow me, Gwyn," the blond doctor whispered, barely moving her lips to avoid attention from the priests and Jaffa approaching. "I will memorize and translate the symbols, if there are of Ancient or Goa'uld manufacture, yes?"

Yseult's inhuman eyes flicked back and forth, up and down, with shocking speed, perusing the symbols marking the obelisks surrounding the plaza, committing them to memory. The Ascension Device had gifted her with several alien languages, and now, she was thankful for it.

Only a small portion of her attention was reserved for the approaching men, sure that the others could handle, or at least give her enough time to react in a timely fashion. Politics and socializing, they were not her strengths.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan was happy that combat was ver, but also slightly annoyed. His utility on the mission had dropped rather precipitously, and Went around checking the weapons they had, seeing what sort of ammunition levels were left, not that he really remembered alot of firing going along.

He nodded to Declan, The Seargeant was a scary motherfucker in battle,Someone even an expert soldier like Ryan didn't want to deal with when he was pissed.

[Rorx]

Gwyn turned to Yseult, calmer now that he was busy with the copying, "Thanks Doc, I know Gou'ald, its just the various dialects of Ancient that I still need Daniel's notes to help me with now. Although I'm getting better. I've already started on Asgard as well, but at least some of the runes they use are the same as the Icelandic Futhark runes."

[The Red Man]

Dec scanned the plaza as the Specialists 'dropped in', immediately setting up a few dozen escape/withdrawal scenarios even before the Jaffa arrived on the scene. With the addition of potential hostiles, his mind began calculating the dizzying number of permutations and variables for the possible confrontation.

Tolnak is the most aggressive, the other fighters look to him. They're also nervous due to the priests being edgy. He's used to being the boss.... probably doesn't like taking orders from the priests. That one - he wants a fight, but he's too disciplined to start it without his leader's say-so. That guy there - he's new: never seen a real fight before. Well trained, but his training still has the 'new car smell'. He might get nervy and slip up. Huh. Those three are gettin' a little piqued at the way Gwyn seems to be ignoring them. Jaffa are big on ceremony and ritual. Better say something...

"Pay attention, guys." Dec murmured to Yse and Gwyn from the corner of his mouth as he drifted past them, his deep voice soft. "Don't blank the hosts. Time to geek out later." Meanwhile, his stream of observation and consciousness didn't let up for a nanosecond.

... that one's weapons aren't maintained - undisciplined. That quiet-looking dude is probably the best fighter after Tolnak. Veteran, watchful eyes. That priest used to be a warrior, but was lamed in his left leg and switched to the priesthood. Those two Jaffa are looking at each other and hanging back some. Watch them. Third priest there, hes'...

[Mr Fox]

The third Priest spoke, "Johlan speaks the truth, this is Priest business, but Tolnak has asked an excellent question. How did you come to us from the sky. What technology do you use that allows you to fly on this world where none exists, or would you have us believe you are true gods, ones that don't rely on tricks and machines to make their followers believe in their 'magic'."

Cam was surprised by the bold question. In a couple sentences the man had declared the Goa'uld to be false gods and stated their own defiance of their former masters. He looked to the cultural experts among the SG members to answer the question.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia stepped forward, smiling. "Greetings," she said in Goa'uld, careful to be neither aggressive nor subservient. "We don't need technology to fly, and we are not gods. We are only gifted men and women who only want to see the tyranny of false gods torn down. We are here on a mission to rescue an ally, but now must shut down whatever blocks the use of the Chappa'ai. If you allow us to do this, we will leave in peace. If you resist, we will respond with all of the force you have seen displayed. And quite a bit you have not seen yet."

Despite her disgust at threatening people with violence, Olivia kept her voice smooth and even. She could have a hot shower later.

[Mr Fox]

Cam smiled, it was a good response.

The 'head' priest's eyes narrowed. "You would have us make ourselves defenseless? Goa'uld ships come still, two have crashed only this week. Without the Guardian we would stand no chance in the face of the invaders. We owe our existence to it, turning it off is out of the question."

The big Jaffa could not be restrained from responding to the threat and added on the priest's heels, "Your force will be met with deadly resistance. You invade our home and threaten us? Gods or not we will destroy you." He hefted his modified staff weapon and his men followed suit, but they did not fire waiting to see how the invaders would respond.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Wait." Olivia put her hands up. "There is a way out of this without violence." She turned to the effective CO of the attack party. "Cam, how would our superiors feel about forging an allegiance with these Free Jaffa? We help them defend themselves; they help us develop our own Guardian." She glanced back at the priests, feeling very exposed between them. "Is this even something your people would consider?"

Inside, she hoped for the best; hoped for peace. They'd brought enough blood and death to this place today. Let it be enough.

[Mr Fox]

Kornan spoke in Kyria's mind, This is a very delicate situation. These people have rejected the Goa'uld but even they still pretend to be servants of the 'gods' to those down on the plains doling out symbiotes to the masses. After what happened to Egregia I am offended by this practice, but I will put my personal feelings aside if I can assist with a peaceful solution. This practice must stop however. You must use your talents to get these people to accept Tretonin! Belatedly, he added, Please.

The priest again motioned for the Jaffa to stand down which they reluctantly did. "If you truly can fly and are so formidable as to need no technology then we will hear your words, but do not expect us to leave ourselves undefended! If you wish to learn of the Guardian then you must give greatly in return and in equal value."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia smiled, her expression and posture placating. "I don't know that we have to take the Guardian from you; our teams could come and study it. Knowledge is powerful, indeed. We have found that other Jaffa groups have benefited from our technology, our medical knowledge in particular. Have you heard of tretonin?"

One of the priests shook his head, frowning.

"I think you'll like it," Olivia said with a smile. She didn't have the supernatural charm of some of the other specialists, but she did have a natural way with people. Her appearance was closer to their own, as well, and despite her strange manner and language, she was still more familiar. "It's a drug that emulates the effect that the symbiote has on your immune system." As the priest stared at her, startled, Olivia nodded and said, "I know of entire groups of Jaffa that have not been forced to incubate symbiotes for their own health. It is true freedom for the Jaffa."

[Mr Fox]

Rather than pleased the Priest looked unhappy at the news, the Jaffa warriors however looked very happy. For the first time the big Jaffa, Tolnak, grinned, it was almost a frightening sight with that jagged scar.

He spoke quickly, "You have this drug with you? Does it have to be used many times or is one dose enough? Can we make it ourselves?" The questions were like a gun firing, bang, bang, bang!

The one of the under-priests glanced at the big jaffa fear evident in his face.

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan looked around and waited, still fairly tightly coild from before, wondering just what the others were playing at now. He was ready to go, and no doubt Declan could be counted on in that event.

He sat and waited, having little to add.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult stepped forward as Tolnak began firing his questions, a controlled smile on her lips. The priest seemed wary, but the warrior caste looked enthused, and that seemed promising.

"We unfortunately are having none with us, but if we are able to return to our land, we are being able to procure the substance easily enough. Tretonin, it is as my companion has said, many Jaffa, they are now using it. If you are willing to learn, we should be able to be showing you how to make Tretonin for yourselves, if you are desiring."

Yseult frowned slightly, but gave herself a firm nod. If she had the time, she might have been able to process a longer lasting, if not permanent, alternative for tretonin. "It is not a true cure for your need for the symbiotes, but it is a replacement that you can manufacture yourselves. Tretonin, it requires a daily dose to maintain the effect."

[Aradia McConnell]

Click to reveal..

Sorry for getting so behind in this fic guys. With everything out of order for a bit and then a week or so at one point that I didn't post, I fell way behind. I've gotten caught up and will be participating from this point on. Please assume that Ari's been fairly quiet, has done what she's been told as far as helping transport people, and the like.

Aradia watched quietly with Gwyn and Ryan and Dec, not participating in the discussion. She didn't know a lot about the medicine Yseult and Livy were discussing with the Free Jaffa, and it wasn't the first time she'd felt out of the loop. She'd tried studying a lot of the back files, but Aradia had always been a more hands-on kind of girl. She learned stuff by experiencing it, not by reading about it. She was at least starting to feel more comfortable around people of other species - hell, most of 'em looked mostly human anyway, though the idea that Kyria had a snake wrapped up around her spine at the moment creeped her out to no end.

But no, she wasn't here to do the talking, so she didn't. In fact, she hadn't received instruction to do otherwise yet from Cam, so she was still in her flight form - something that resembled an eagle in shape, though large and strong enough to have carried one of the other specialists to the location and with the combination of brown and cream feathers that mirrored Aradia's hair as she usually wore it. She had received at least a few stares from some of the Free Jaffa - no doubt they'd never seen a bird of that size before. But until she was told otherwise, to them she would remain just as she was. It was better that way anyway - she wasn't sure if she were in her human form that she would be able to conceal the faint nausea she was still fighting off from seeing Dec/Red in action for the first time. She knew what the man was capable of, but she'd never been on a mission with him before. Seeing it was vastly different than reading about it in black and white.

[Rorx]

Gwyn smiled slightly, it was painfully obvious that the Priest class here had used their control over the supply of symbiotes as one of their basis for power over the Warrior of the Jaffa. Now Yseult and Livy were blithely ripping that away from them. He hoped the ladies had spotted this themselves and had thought of how to redress the balance a little otherwise it might cause as many problems for thier mission as the Trenonin could solve.

[z028 Riley]

Click to reveal..

Activating Awe

Kyria watched the interplay of powers and spoke carefully, just loud enough that the priests and warriors would have to pay close attention to catch everything she was saying. "Tretonin is a measure of freedom from the Goa'uld, replacing the incubation process that provides your immune system with itself. However, it must be taken regularly, daily at least, and you will be as equally dependent on it as the you are currently on the symbiotes. It is an answer, but it is not complete freedom. For that you will have to learn how to reconstitute the immune systems your ancestors had before becoming Jaffa. We can provide the tretonin, and as it is advantageous to both of us for the Jaffa to be free of their slavery to the Goa'uld, we will continue our efforts to find a permanent and heriditary solution."

She glanced back the way they had come, down to the plains where the other Jaffa lived. "True freedom from false gods will mean more than fighting or hiding. It means that everyone must be free of their superstitions and their dependence on the Goa'uld. The mind and the body must work together, to deprive another through ignorance is just as harmful as allowing them to starve or cutting off their hands. Freedom is uncomfortable, dangerous, and above all it means change." She stopped, guaging the reaction to her words, then held out her hands the way Jaffa did when greeting one another with respect or agreeing to an action before doing it. "But it's worth it, if you're brave enough."