Mutants & Masterminds: StarGate Freedom - Prologue: Yseult Langlois/Marty

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult followed the line of the man's arm, noting the golden structure with a frown, the gave him a nod. She rolled down the window just a bit more and handed him the money as she promised. As the man promptly stuffed it in his pocket and began to stride away, Yseult rolled the window back up and surreptitiously stuffed the revolver at the bottom of her purse, concealed by some of the detritus that her purse inevitably accumulated.

The got out of the car and locked the door, just in case the man had conned her, then briskly headed for the pyramid shaped... well, ship, she supposed. Her hands were red from the cold and her feet were frozen from walking through the slush by the time she found the man with the blue scarf.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur, but Ben, he is saying that I can be having the last seat on the transport."

[z-Servant of Ra]

The man turned and Yseult hid her reaction. He looked like he'd grown up in a place with substandard medical care; his face was pockmarked with what looked like smallpox scars, and he was missing several teeth. His clothing was clearly not modern, save for the blue scarf around his neck. He eyed her and nodded. "If you got any weapons, you need to hide them no matter what happens. The Jaffa are a'lettin' me put people on the crates in the Tel'tak, but if they see them, we'll both be shot - comprehend?"

Yseult nodded nervously. "What's your name, eye-sweet?"

She choked back an outraged statement, thinking that she must get to her family. "Yseult," she said.

"Uso... pretty, I like it." The man in the blue scarf turned and walked toward the ship, entering and waving for her. Inside it was much warmer, likely due to the twenty or so people sitting on top of boxes and crates. There was one left, a sleek black long box, and her host offered her a hand up. Once there, he left her alone.

Yseult looked around. The hold was full of people just as upset and pissed as she was. But they were quiet as the hold was shut and the ship began to move. There was little sense of motion, but Yseult could still feel it, a little. Nervously, she grabbed the box and held on.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Just to distract herself from the trip and their impending destination - and what that could entail - Yseult pondered what mechanism the alien craft used for flight. Chemical or Ion drive? Nuclear? Some way of manipulating gravity or magnetism? She was a theorist, for the most part, not an engineer, and besides, there wasn't even a hum or vibration of an engine to tell her that much, and the cargo hold revealed no secrets.

Holding the box with one hand, her other absently felt her purse, feeling the hard lumps of the gun and the portable, solid state hard drive within. Why did I even bring them with me? They will only cause trouble if found, and they realize what is on the drive... Can their computer systems interface with ours?

Scientific curiosity faded as worry for her family rose, wondering at the likely-hood that they would be able to leave, once she found them again. As long as we are together...

[z-Servant of Ra]

After only two hours and a few minutes, the ship's motion stopped. There was silence, then the door opened. "Everyone out, move it, before the Jaffa have to come and see something. You need to all be off by then."

There was a pause and then a general dash for the door. Yseult joined the crowd rushing the entrance. When she got outside, she found herself on an runway. Three Jaffa were standing with their backs to the hurrying people. They had to have heard them, but the three remained turned away, talking amongst themselves.

They were pointed away from the ship; when they were far enough away, their guide gave them directions to the gates of Cheyenne Mountain. It was a mile walk across a torn Air Force base. The sight made Yseult sad. She wished that the Americans really could have maintained enough military superiority to save the world, as they'd done in the past.

At the gates, they stood in a rough line again. It wasn't as cold as it had been in Quebec City; Colorado was having a slightly warmer day. Yseult waited patiently as the others before her talked to an official of some sort.

Finally, it was her turn. She explained herself to an irritated young man who waiting impatiently. When she was done, he said in that booming, frightening voice, "The missing persons tent is over there." He pointed and effectively dismissed her.

Feeling lost, Yseult walked over to the tent and peered inside. There were only a few people, and she was about to turn away and go talk to the man again when she saw a form huddled under a folding table. Something about it caught her eyes, and Yseult knelt for a better look. It was Monique; her daughter was wrapped in a blanket, staring at nothing.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"Oh, mon Dieu! Monique!" Yseult cried, running to her daughter, kneeling under the table and hugging her close. She pressed her cheek to her daughter's, then shifted and plastered her with kisses. Monique melted in her mother's arms, a soft, "Maman," the only word to pass her lips.

Yseult held her close, rocking lightly and humming softly, her eyes wet. It felt like forever since she had last held her daughter. Her husband and son were still missing, but holding Monique helped her to feel closer to getting her entire family back.

A very basic examination of Monique revealed that other being a bit cold, she seemed to be in fine condition. Keeping the blanket rubbed around her, Yseult rubbed Monique's tiny hands to warm them, frowning over her shoulder at the few others in the tent. She understood that they were scared and angry, but they had abandoned an eight year old in the midst of this.

Yseult turned back and placed a lingering kiss on her daughter's smooth forehead. She sat down on the cold ground, and pulled Monique onto her lap, wrapping the blanket around both of them. Then she pulled out a brush from her purse and began combing Monique's hair, gently murmuring to her, try to gently coax out of her shell.

"Monique, ma belle, ma coeur, please, do you know what happened to Papa and Loric? Do you remember where you saw them last?"

[z-Servant of Ra]

Monique was quiet for a long time, but Yseult remained patient, talking softly and drawing her daughter out of herself. Finally, her child whispered, "Papa shoved me." She started to cry, huddling against her mother. "He didn't stop the bad man from taking Loric away."

Fear froze Yseult's heart, but there wasn't enough information for her to determine what had happened. She began to ask questions, trying to coax the needed information out of her; due to her autism, Yseult took it slowly and carefully. All she was able to learn was that something had happened to change her husband's personality completely, and her son had been dragged away by armored soldiers. Monique had been released, for some, unknown reason.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult felt a mounting dread rising in her breast as she lightly rocked her daughter, murmuring sweet solaces in her ear. She had finally found a missing piece of her family, but now her husband and son seemed even further away. And worst, she wasn't sure how to find them - it was a feeling she was very unused to. Perhaps, that official will able to tell me something...

"Come on, ma belle chouette, time to get up. Papa did not mean to hurt you, he did not want the bad man to take you like Loric. We will find Papa and Loric and everything will be okay. I promise." She said it forced conviction, trying to claim some of the hope she was providing to Monique.

She scooted out from under the table, and pulled Monique to her feet. She wrapped the blanket around her for some extra warmth and held her hand tightly, leading her to the tent exit. Yseult asked the few other people in the tent if they had seen or hear anything when Monique was brought in. She couldn't keep the sharpness out of her voice; they had left Monique hiding under a table, she doubted the cared much when she was brought in.

[z-Servant of Ra]

A couple were surprised to see Monique; they hadn't spotted her under the table. More confessed to being surprised to see her, but Yseult saw their eyes slide away guiltily. That just made her angrier, but she kept her temper for the sake of information. Sadly, that was little forthcoming. The only one who could offer anything was a man with glasses and a black eye who said he'd been imprisoned with her family for a time. He'd seen François and the children, but had been released hours before Monique had been. He didn't know what had happened after.

They went back to the official, Monique clinging to her. Yseult wanted to carry her, and Monique wanted to be carried, but her child was too heavy to hold for long. Her daughter was starting to complain of sore feet by the time that they reached him again. "Yes?" he asked coldly as she reached the front of the line.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult dredged up a smile for the official's brusque acknowledgment, resolved to at least appearing polite, even if her face was going to crack from the effort. She assumed he was like an official anywhere else, dealing with people who dislike his responses regardless of what he said, and had already lost all patience. Perhaps a modicum of thanks would make him inclined to be at least marginally helpful.

"Merci, monsieur, directing me to the missing persons tent was very helpful," Yseult thanked him, keeping her smile fixed and wide, while she held Monique comfortingly to her side. "I was able to find my daughter, as you can see. Since you were so helpful, I was hoping you can do just a bit more for me, yes?" She added a note of pleading to her voice, which was unfortunately not difficult to do.

"The official at another post, she is saying that my husband and son, François Dionne and Loric Dionne-Langlois, they were taken to the Flagship of Ra and to check on their status here, at Cheyenne." She reached out a hand beseechingly, but stopped just short of touching the official. "Please, I am just wishing to be with them."

[z-Servant of Ra]

Politeness might have won the day; the bureaucrat sighed as if this were all a great inconvenience. "Let me see," he said, pulling up one of those data machines. He punched a few buttons and then nodded. "Your mate and offspring have been chosen for special service to Lord Ra," he told her without a flicker of emotion. At her expression, he added, "This is great honor to you and your family. You should be more grateful, Taur'i."

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult heard the dismissal in the bureaucrat's emotionless praise, but couldn't restrain herself from asking anyway. Special Service...? "Of course, I am eternally grateful to the... benevolence of... of Ra. Surely, it would be just a little matter to allow me to join them?"

"That will be quite impossible, Taur'i. You may go."

"Please, I -"

"Leave. Now." The bureaucrat's voice snapped with double-timbered menace, eyes flaring gold. Monique pressed her face to her mother's chest with a whimper.

Stroking her daughter's hair softly, Yseult led her away, glancing quickly away so the alien official would not see her glare. Her other hand shook - for the first time in her life, she wanted to shot someone, and believed she had to will to actually go through with the deed.

With only twenty dollars in her pocket, and the banks still not operational, Yseult was at a lost. Cheyenne Mountain was the only lead she realistically had - the Ottawa Resistance, if she could even contact it, was too far. With little other recourse, Yseult began looking for a way down to town, trying to sooth Monique as gently as she could.

They were both in pain with lost, and now, were starting to get hungry.

[z-Servant of Ra]

After an hour of trying to find a ride with no luck, Yseult started to steel herself for a long walk into the nearest town. She was able to learn that the name of that place was Colorado Springs. With a sigh, she took a firmer grip on Monique's hand.

Her daughter was tired before they'd cleared the front gates, which was seeing more traffic than it ever had. There they paused for a break, and Yseult hid her despair over how long it was going to take them to get to shelter at this rate.

"Hey, hi." The woman's voice brought Yseult's head up. She was short and plump, with sandy hair and gray eyes. She was middle-America average woman, if a bit petite and heavy. "I'm Georgia. You look like you could need some help."

"Yes," Yseult said, trying not to let her pure relief taint her voice. "I am Yseult and this is Monique. We're trying to get to Colorado Springs."

"Is your family there?" Georgia asked. Yseult couldn't stop the glance backwards toward the pyramid-topped mountain. "Ah, yeah. I've seen a lot of that. Why don't you come to our place? We have a bed and breakfast that wasn't seeing much business, and we've been putting people there during this."

Yseult hesitated. "We?" she asked, her hand on her daughter tightening.

"My husband Jerry," she said, pointing to a man talking to a family of three; the husband and wife couldn't have been more than twenty, and they were huddled around the infant she held. Georgia grinned and said, "There's another room filled." She smiled at Yseult. "What do you say? Want a place to stay?"

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"I - yes, Monique and I, we would be appreciating that very much. Merci beaucoup," Yseult said with a tired smile of her own, trying not to sob both relief and pain at still lacking her husband and son. She bent sllightly, giving Monique a kiss on top of the head, assuring her softly in French, "See, honey, we will be going someplace warm and with food, soon."

With Georgia leading her to her van, Yseult picked Monique up with a soft grunt, carrying her the short distance, rubbing her back soothingly. Yseult looked over at the slightly taller, somewhat heavier woman, her breathing a little laboured.

"The banks, unless electronic transactions are enabled once more, I am afraid I have very little with which to pay you for your kindness." A thoughtful look crossed her elegant features. "But perhaps I can help you in other ways, yes? I am a scientist and professionally trained doctor."

She glanced back at the levitating mountain, then pulled her eyes away with a shudder.

[Marty]

Such chaos.

Marty wandered around the outside of the complex. His eyes kept trailing to the ship hovering above. As the Jaafa moved about and kept order he did his best to not bump in to any of them.

"Alright Marty boy what do you do now?"

He had already been processed. Now he just had no money, no where to stay, and no idea of who to talk to. Not being from this area had the draw back of not knowing anyone. Still he had been in situations like this before. For now he just walked around looking half lost and half curious about everything he saw, and still glancing up at that pyramid.

[z-Servant of Ra]

"Hey, buddy, you look lost." The friendly voice brought a quickly suppressed smile before Marty turned, eyeing the man walking up to him.

"I am," Marty said, frowning. "I don't really have anywhere to go, at the moment."

"Well, my wife and I are putting people up in our bed and breakfast for now," the man said, stepping forward and offering a hand. Marty took it as the man pumped his hand and said, "I'm Jerry. Follow me."

He led Marty to a van and got him a seat. There were three seats left, all in the second row of seats. Marty climbed in and glanced around. No one already there seemed in a mood to talk, so he remained quiet. Jerry went back out, approaching another couple who looked dazed.

A woman lead another to the van. She smiled at Marty and said, "I'm Georgia."

"Marty," he replied as the slim, small dark-haired woman climbed into the van and took a seat.

"Nice to meet you, Marty. Yseult, could you put your daughter on your lap? We need to fit two more in this run."

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"Pas de problème, Georgie," Yseult with a grateful sigh as she sat down, "Venez ici, ma belle."

Yseult gently pulled her daughter close, the young girl curling up on her petite mother's lap, filling it. She softly laid Monique's head to her shoulder, tucked the fuzzy grey blanket around her snugly, and murmured a French lullaby, her lips pressed to her daughter's head. Almost instantly, Monique sighing with the long, slow breaths of deep sleep.

Yseult continued singing to her daughter for a few minutes more, than fell silent. After a moment, she turned her head to look at the man sitting next to her. "You too, you are finding yourself lost, missing your family, and far from home?" she asked, her accented soprano melancholy.

Yseult was a remarkably attractive woman with short, glossy black hair. Her fine, sculpted features were smooth and stunning, with an ageless beauty that placed her anywhere from her late twenties to late thirties.

[Marty]

They all seem so lost.

Marty gave a warm smile to Yseult.

"If you need she can sit on my lap. Not using it for much else right now." He figured there was no better place to start then here. Had to talk to somebody if he was going to get anywhere in this area.

"Sorry if I seem a bit...friendly. Just nice to see someone else who's mind hasn't been completely destroyed by this whole affair. As to lost I like to always hope I am where I need to be. As to family..." He stayed silent for a minute, looking out the windows. Then he tapped his chest. "My family is right here. They died several years ago."

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult's arms tightened almost imperceptibly around her daughter, though the sorrowful smile she flashed held more than a trace of gratitude and sympathy. She had just found her daughter and she had no intention of letting her out of her embrace yet.

"Merci, thank-you, but I am being okay, and I am sorry for your loss." And she truly was. Her husband and son may have been out of reach (for now), but she still held hope that she would get them back. Death... There are still out there, and I will get them back.

"My family, we became... separated due to the... event, but I found out there were here and was able to procure transportation on one of their vessels. I found Monique, but..." She closed her eyes and took a long shuddering breath, holding it. When she released a long moment later, her eyes snapped open, shifting with a liquid gleam to glare at the levitating pyramid.

"... My son and husband, they are there I think. Chosen for 'special service' to Ra," she finished with venomous bitterness. She shook her head and gave Monique a kiss on her smooth brow, then returned her gaze to Marty, stretching out a small, elegant hand. She had a surprisingly sure grip.

"I am Yseult Langlois."

[Marty]

Marty shook her hand. He figured it would do no good to comment on the special service. Still it was probably best to mention something about how she had said it. Lowering his voice he leaned close to her.

"You should be careful with your tone when you are speaking of Ra. As far as the Jafaa are concerned he is your god and will be praised as such. Anger is fine and good in this situation but you will never see your husband or your son again if you get killed. I know this vehicle looks to be filled with just us humans but never let your guard down. You never know if someone here is really serving "them"."

Doing his best to hide it he took a quick glance around to see if anyone around them had the right attitude or look to be a spy from the gods.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult's eyes widened with furious disbelief that anyone would willingly side with the alien invaders, but it quickly faded away. What would I be willing to do, if it spared my family?

She gave Marty a sharp nod of understanding, murmuring back, "Unfortunately, I am believing you are quite right." She leaned her head on the back of the seat, her eyes drifting shut, and Marty could see just how weary this woman was, exhaustion and grief etching every smooth line of her face. In a voice barely more than a breath, she added, "They will rue separating me from François et Loric."

[Marty]

This one has promise. But it will take more than just a single woman with a grudge. Marty got comfortable and watched out the window, glancing around from time to time. He felt somewhat nervous not having a weapon. Also somewhat nervous about having to trust others again. He made a not of the names she had mentioned. When he got a chance he would see what had become of them.

[z-Servant of Ra]

The van arrived at a sprawling, cute Victorian-style house. Grinning, Georgia hopped out and opened up the doors. "C'mon," she called cheerfully, "don't keep us waiting." Everyone unloaded, walking into the house.

There were already a lot of people there, standing in knots around the room, talking softly. They were clearly afraid and lost.

Georgia led them through the common rooms while Jerry paused to talk softly to people. Georgia showed everyone to rooms. "Marty, here you go, this single is yours, and Yseult, this double for you and your girl across the hall. What do you guys need right now? Clothes, toiletries? Anything to eat or drink?"

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"Merci, Georgie, you are being very kind for doing this," Yseult thanked her benefactor with heartfelt gratitude, stifling a yawn with the back of a fist. With the thought of an incipient bed in relative safety, the bone-crushing exhaustion she had been holding a bay returned with a vengeance.

"Perhaps, a bit of food for me and my daughter, and something to be wearing for sleep, that is all we are needing at the moment. The rest, it can be waiting for tomorrow, yes?"

Yseult opened the door to the proffered room and began leading her daughter in while speaking over her shoulder. "Finding my family, at least my daughter, it was taking me a very long t-"

Yseult's dark, blood-shot eyes rolled up, her hand slipping off the doorknob, and she slumped bonelessly to the ground with barely a sound. Monique, still wrapped in the grey blanket like a cowl, crouched next to her mother, unusually undisturbed.

"Maman? Maman?" she said in her soft, high voice, prodding Yseult with both of her hands balled in fuzzy fleece.

[Marty]

Marty quickly stepped across the hall. He knelt down next the body. Looking behind him he spoke quickly and calmly. "Go find what ever passes for a doctor around here quickly." To the daughter. "Don't worry little one, she is probably just tired." He carefully and with some difficulty lifted up Yseult and got her to the bed. Wishing again he had brought some medicine with him. Of all the things he regretted about his current situation it was the lack of supplies

After he laid her down he carefully turned her head and checked the back of her neck. Best to make sure.

[z-Servant of Ra]

"Alright," Georgia said and left. Monique watched Marty with too-large eyes. She was shaking a little, a fine trembling that seemed to lock her into place as she watched the stranger touch her mother.

There were no marks on the back of Yseult's neck, and he'd already seen that the front were free of them. Her pulse, which he checked next, was steady and strong. He was further reassured that she was just exhausted.

Georgia was back a moment later with an older man. "This is Darren, he's an EMT - I can get a doctor if we need them."

Darren leaned over Yseult and did an examination. "She'll be fine," he announced. "She just needs some sleep."

[Marty]

Marty gave a relieved sigh. "Thank you sir. Georgia I was about to ask for some food do you think you could send some up here, I better keep an eye on the little one why Yseult sleeps."

Marty walked over and knelt down before the daughter whose name he still had not picked up. "Didn't I say not to worry? Maman just needs to rest for a bit, aren't you tired also?"

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Monique stared up at the tall man who wasn't her father with dark, soulful eyes, then slowly nodded, asking with her soft voice, "J'ai faim, je veux une pomme."

Almost seeming to have forgotten her request, and the man to whom she had asked it, Monique turned away from Marty and climbed up onto the bed with her mother. With deliberate attention, the young girl carefully tucked her fuzzy grey blanket around both her mother and herself, then pressed her back against Yseult's side and pulled one of her arms over her.

Despite her exhausted slumber, Yseult's motherly instincts were still intuitively aware, and the petite woman rolled onto her side and hugged her daughter close, lips pressed to her daughter's head. Almost instantly, both dark-haired girls ceased their shifting, peaceful rest overwhelming them.

[Marty]

After the two had settled Marty turned to Georgia. "if you could bring up that food and a little for the two of them when they wake up."

Rather then going back across the hall he took a chair in the room and pulled it over to the window facing out and sat down. For now he best focus on creating a good relationship with these two, especially if her family members had been taken to become host.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

...She was running down a road paved with snakes, their coils twisting and writhing beneath her feet, making each step a battle. She carried her daughter on her back, who seemed to get heavier each minute. She was chasing after François and Loric, who stood upon an inverted tetrahedron, floating above the path just out of reach. For each straining step she took, the flying pedestal moved further and further away. She was trying, so hard, but her husband and son kept growing more and more distant...

Several hours later, Yseult stirred, then her eyes snapped open, arms clutching her daughter close. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings, remembering the last two days in unfortunate clarity. My exhaustion, it has taken a toll and I must have lost consciousness.

The man she had sat next in the van was half dozing in a chair, a covered tray next to him on the end table. Yseult could smell the chicken noodle soup, still warm. She gently prodded her daughter awake, quietly shushing her plaintive cry. Both of them sat up, rubbing the sleep from their eyes with a similar, left-handed gesture. Her stomach rumbled, recalling to mind that the last time she had eaten was just a small breakfast outside La Baie, which seemed so long ago, now. For Monique, it might have been even longer.

Yseult looked at the man, realizing that he was probably the one that had moved her to the bed. With a sigh, she got up and step to his side and gently coaxed him to the bed. She was glad that he was conscious enough to move himself with just a little help from her, since he seemed to be as tall as her husband, if not so broad across the shoulders. She was a little woman and had no hope of moving him on her own.

She pulled the covers up to his shoulders, carefully picked up the tray on the end table, then led her daughter to the small table and pulled up the cover on the tray. The tray held three bowls of soup (two full), some crackers, a couple of sandwiches of a spam like substance, and a pair of apples.

It seemed a feast. Yseult crumbled some crackers into Monique's soup, as she liked, then set to slicing an apple for her, while her daughter started on the soup, blowing on every small spoonful, before eating anything herself.

When they were done, Yseult dug around in her purse, pulling out several pencil crayons and a small colouring book to entertain her daughter. While Monique bent over the table to colour, Yseult moved behind her to brush the tangles from her long, black hair, reviewing in her mind what she had learned of the parasite and the alien soldier during her autopsy.

I will have to ask Georgie if I can get access to a decent computer to review the data on my hard drive. I may be able to extrapolate how they function together, what they do for each other.

[Marty]

Marty felt him self being moved but also walking. He saw the hallway. He was being walked forcibly but kindly. He looked to his mates. They wouldn't meet his gaze. He was brought in to a room with the captain. The man motioned to a seat and had him sit down. "They are all dead."

From the bed Yseult heard him mutter. "Who is dead?" Then he tossed and turned. "Ra did this?" Suddenly he sat up when a spoon was dropped in a bowl. His hand flew in to the air almost like he was holding a weapon though she wasn't sure what it could have been. For a split second his eyes were pure rage. Then it was quickly replaced with the same calculated calm they had on the van. He looked around the room and gave her a nod.

"Sorry I guess I fell asleep. Didn't seem right to leave you and your little one alone. Whose name I still don't have by the way. Also I can't understand a word she says, this is the only language I know."

He got up from the bed and went to the window looking out.

"I guess the question is what my next step is..." Time to see if she was in the frame of mind to take some bait.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"It was not being a problem, and thank-you. Marty, is it?" Yseult said, asking her question politely, but seeming to know his answer. "Ma belle chouette, she is called Monique, and she does understand English, she just prefers to speak in French."

She tucked Monique's hair behind her ears. "Monique, utilisez votre Anglais, s'il vous plais."

"Okay, maman," her daughter said in English less accented than her mother's. She didn't look up from her colouring book.

Yseult turned her attention back to the man staring out the window, studying him intently with dark eyes. She had heard his mutters, saw his reactions as he awoke. She slid a hand surreptitiously into her purse, her action concealed by her daughter's body.

"You're are knowing what 'Ra' has done to may family. What did he to you and yours?"

[Marty]

Marty kept watch out the window for a few moments while he considered. Speaking in a low voice.

"He killed them all. They had learned too much, gone too far. They were close to curing cancer. They might have been about to break the light barrier. Who really knows, all I know is they learned too much and that angered the great and mighty Ra."

Marty glanced over to the table. "Would you truly like to know what happened to your husband and son? Think carefully about this. The down side to knowledge is we are stuck with it." After a moment Yseult nodded and Marty sighed. He walked across the room and sat down at the table.

"The Goa'uld are a race of worm/snake like creatures. They seek out host in beings like us and take control of them and live in them. Without a host the Goa'uld is mostly defenseless. Your family was most likely found "fitting" enough to be host. They are gone. Once one of them get in to you then you are no more.

I am here to see to it that Ra shares the fate he gave my family. But I need help."

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

A look of terrible loss crossed Yseult stunning features as she held her tightly to her chest, her darks eyes shining, fine trembles wracking her body. But surprisingly quickly, the trembles passed, her delicate jaw firmed with resolve, and her eyes glinted furiously, like black lightning.

"This...Goa'uld," Yseult said, mouthing the word several times, and gently placing her hands over her daughter's ears. "These Goa'uld, I have seen one. It leapt from an artificial organ - functioning in a manner similar to an incubator - in one of the alien soldiers - Jaffa, I believe? - and inserted itself in the back of the neck of a native soldier, a young man. I was able to remove the... parasite without killing it, as well as saving the young man. So it seemed it was trying to usurp the nerve system, yes? And they do not use their own soldiers as... hosts?"

"You say my family, they are gone. I say, that is not so. The human mind, it is a resilient thing. The Goa'uld, it is a manner of parasite. It can go in, it can come out. I am a bio-geneticist, an extremely skilled one. I found a method to deal with Alzheimer's. I will find a way to deal with... these!" she finished, investing her last word with the utmost disgust.

One had reached back down into her purse, feeling the cold steel of the revolver. She was cool, cold, calm. "Now, you, 'Marty'. Where are you really being from and how are you being coming here?"

[Marty]

Marty looked at her a slightly different way now. Now he was measuring her. His eyes rolled down to her hand currently hidden in her bag. Then they came back up and met her gaze.

"Alright, if you insist. I am from a planet called Toltana. If you really want we can find something to look at the stars and I will show you where it is. Many cycles ago the Goa'uld decided my peoples technological advancement had grown high enough that they would soon be a threat. Too advanced to be easily culled like they are doing here but not yet advanced enough to defend from a dozen mother ships. I am sure you can get the idea.

When I heard that Ra was heading for the world of the Taur'i I saw a opportunity to kill the king of the gods and decided to take it. I managed to sneak on to a ship using a chappa'ai and waited for them to land at which point I got off and started looking.

Is that honest and believable enough for you or should I try the story that I am from Texas?"

Marty leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. Well you are in it now Marty boy. Either she is pissed with them for taking her family or she is going to be pissed off enough with you turn you in to the Jaffa.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult studied Marty with cool, dark eyes, not sure if she believed his story. On the other hand, his did mention enough that she was willing to entertain the thought that his story was entirely factual. Besides, she didn't have a plan to get her family back. Yet.

"I would never believe you are from Texas," Yseult said off-handedly, still scrutinizing everything he said. "Tell me everything you know of these 'goa'uld' and their relationship with their soldiers. My son, he is only five years old. The Goa'uld, they will take 'hosts' so young? And what is this 'chappa'ai'?"

Marty may have wanted to eliminate Ra, but if these alien parasites had harmed her husband or her son, many, many, more would pay. She had always used her skills to heal and help. But they could be used to harm and hinder as well.

They would regret it immensely if she did so.

[Marty]

"Alright, you have many questions. I will go over a couple right now."

Only five cycles? Perhaps...

"There may be hope for your son. I have never heard of a host that young however I think I know what has happened to him. Ra has a thing for young ones. He likes to surround him self with them. If that is the case he will most likely go without harm. Assuming Ra stays here we might be able to get to him but that is a big assumption. I know that this is your planet and up until yesterday you all were the only ones in the galaxy but trust me Ra has more important things to deal with then just this planet."

Marty looked at the empty soup bowl and thought about how the food wasn't all that bad. He should see about finding more food soon. It had been awhile since food was so easy to come by.

"A chappa'ai is a device the Goa'uld use. It is also referred to on many planets as the ring of the gods. It is a device that allows near instant traveling between two planets. Don't ask me how I can sometimes get a broken one to work but I do not understand the science behind them. Some of the mother ships have chappa'ai on them. I have heard rumors there is one somewhere on this planet but I don't know where. Most likely buried or the Goa'uld would not have needed ships to get here."

Marty considered her for a moment. One person did not make a resistance but if she could help him find others.

"Listen, I would love to spend all day catching you up on every thing there is to know about living in this galaxy with the knowledge of being able to travel through the stars but right now we have more important issues. I came to this planet under orders from one of the Goa'uld. Although they would kill anyone who suggested it they are not the unified front that they appear. As you would expect from creatures that name themselves gods they have feuds and most of them would most likely kill others if they had the chance. The only thing that keeps them together is fear of Ra. As soon as the planet is mostly pacified Ra is going to put one of the more minor Goa'uld in control. That is the Taur'i's opportunity to do something. That is why I am here. If enough problems arise it will most likely mean the end of that Goa'uld and it will give us all a shot at taking down Ra.

Now I need your help, we need people that are willing to fight the Goa'uld but be smart about it. Just gathering a small army and rising up just means the Jaffa are going to over run us or that the Goa'uld will just get in their ships and go to orbit and level the entire planet. Also I can not let every Taur'i I meet know who I am. Do that long enough and word will get back to the Goa'uld that I am here and where as I have a friend in high places he can't help me if I am named a traitor and dragged in front of them. So as far as anyone else here is concerned I am Marty Stoker recently of Dallas, Texas. My family was all military and among the first to be killed by the Jaffa when they arrived.

Can we work together Yseult?"

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

Yseult listened intently to everything 'Marty' said, committing it to memory, trying to piece it together into a whole that she could accept.

Instantaneous travel. Ra has come with a force large enough to conquer a planet. It stands to reason that Ra had accurate information prior to his invasion. If he had spies here, what event triggered his wrath? If he had no spies, then someone or someones from here went to him, using this Ring of the Gods, as we have no vessel capable of stellar travel. There is someone from here using this Chappa'ai. That Ra did not deign to use it would seem to indicate that there are limits on how many can use it simultaneously. There may be other limits as well.

"Yes, I believe we can work together, 'Marty'" Yseult said firmly, though Marty could hear the quotations around Yseult's use of his appropriated name.

She leaned closer to him, her voice dropping to a bare whisper. "I know there are some who are resisting the invaders as they can. I aided a platoon of soldiers who had been engaged and they told me that they were joining a resistance based around Ottawa, the capital of Canada. They had the parasite - the Goa'uld - that I removed from one of their compatriot's neck. I will need to study these creatures, and their soldiers as well, with proper facilities, if you wish any real aid from me."

[Marty]

Marty considered what she said for a few minutes. Dangerous enough to just be getting ready to fight them but if they were caught studying one...

"You know I think I am still hungry. For right now lets just work on finding other people. Any analysis you do is probably going to have to wait until everything calms down and there are a dozen jaffa walking around every corner. I am going to go get some more food."

With that he headed for the door. As he opened it he glanced back at her.

"If your son and husband can be saved, I will do everything in my power to help do it. I have seen enough families destroyed."

With that he headed down the hall way and started looking for anyone that could direct him to more soup.

[Dr. Yseult Langlois]

"Thank you, and I will do what I can to aid you in your endeavors."

Yseult watched Marty leave, then turned her attention to her daughter, running her hands absently through her hair. Finding others to join a resistance group, that was something she was ill prepared for, socializing was not one of her strong suits. Bethany would have been ideal, and her thoughts strayed to the other woman, hoping that she was okay, that she was safe with her daughter Ariel.

With a sigh, Yseult patted Monique on the shoulder. "Come on, little one, let's get up and see if we can find Georgie. You are beginning to stink and need a bath, I am thinking." Yseult made a cursory sniff of herself. "I am needing on too. Let us see if Georgie has some extra clothing for us, and perhaps some toiletries and we will get you cleaned up, yes?"

Monique gave no sign of hearing her mother, focusing intently on her colouring book, carefully staying within the lines, and Yseult sighed again. Sometimes, her daughter's autism left her locked within her own world, and it took some extra effort to pull her out. Yseult gently ran her hand down Monique's arm, covering her fall fist with her hand, slowing the movement of the crayon. Finally, Monique blinked and looked up at her mother.

"Ah, ma belle, there you go. Get up, time to find our hostess, okay? I will ask her if she has some colouring pencils for you and some extra paper, you will like that?"

"Oui, maman," Monique said in her soft voice, nodding enthusiastically, a faint smile on her young face.

"Okay, let us go, then. We do not want to keep you waiting."

Yseult got Monique to her felt and led her out of the room, keeping her purse with her, giving her daughter a brief frown as she plucked up the grey blanket and draped it over her slight shoulders, hands balled in its folds.

[z-Servant of Ra]

Marty didn't need anyone to direct him to soup; his own nose found it, leading him to a pot on a white, square block with knobs. It was radiating heat, and he decided it was a food preparation tool. Making a note to ask Yseult about it later, in private, he helped himself to a bowl and ladled the thick soup into his dish.

Hearing conversation, he left the heating block and found several people in a room obviously intended for communal eating. They glanced at him nervously, but no one stopped him as he took a seat and began to listen. They were angry and frustrated, and Marty began to realize just how deeply this planet valued freedom. A group of Jaffa would have needed him to stir the pot. These people were stirring it already.

Developing a resistance wasn't going to be the hard part, he understood. Getting them to do what he wanted would be a bit harder.

Yseult found a linen closet, but no clothes. Continuing her wandering, she found Georgia consoling a weeping woman in another room. Drawing back to give them privacy, she waited until Georgia came out. She was surprised by the pinched, angry look on the woman's face. She still managed a smile for Yseult and Monique. "Yes, Yseult, what can I help you with?"