This chapter's not my favorite... I had some trouble with the structure of the first section. But here goes. Only two more after this! And thanks again for all the lovely reviews...

“Martouf is alive?” Carter cried.

The Jaffa host to Lantash nodded grimly. “If he is, only just, unless he has been placed in a sarcophagus. It has been many hours since I left him.”

“So, you’re telling me that they forcibly extracted you? How did you end up in the Jaffa?”

“When you thought I was killed by the collapsing tunnel, I feared the same fate was coming, but the group of Jaffa who attacked me had managed to get a crystal and formed a tunnel to the surface. They took me to a planet where a base was set up. When I was extracted, I managed to jump into one of the Jaffa and make my way here.”

“Really,” Carter frowned. “I didn’t know that was even possible.”

“Neither did I,” he admitted.

“How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “My strength is returning.”

Carter glanced over at the tank across the room. “The immature symbiote’s in pretty bad shape. I’d imagine it’ll be a while before either of you are completely healthy again.”

“It feels… strange… this host.”

“Don’t worry, Lantash,” she rubbed his arm comfortingly. “We’ll find Martouf.”

“That may be difficult. If this host – Shelmet, I believe – is correct…” he paused in thought. “They are planning to implant a Goa’uld symbiote in Martouf and send him to spy on the Tok’ra, posing as me.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “It’s a good thing you managed to escape. But unless you know where the new Tok’ra base is…”

“No,” he shook his head. “Only the High Council know the addresses.”

“Then we have no way of contacting them.” She added pensively, “This could be a useful strategy for the Tok’ra. Blending with a Jaffa wouldn’t arouse as much suspicion –”

Lantash interrupted her, “Although I was able to fight for control of the body, still the blending process is incomplete. I do not know if it can be completed. Even so, I would rather not have Shelmet’s thoughts interfering with my own…” He muttered to himself, “I have committed sin enough. This one more will not change anything.”

Carter shook her head, “Lantash, you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I took an unwilling host,” he said flatly. “I am no different than the Goa’uld.”

“You know that’s not true,” she protested. “You wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t had good intentions. You came to warn us, and to protect your own people. We can still save Martouf. This doesn’t have to end badly.”

He remained silent, eyes lowered.

Carter’s sighed, giving in for the moment. “Which Goa’uld is running this operation?”

“I’m not sure if I can pronounce it,” he laughed halfheartedly. “It’s something like W –”

“Wisakedjak,” Daniel finished for him, entering with a notebook in hand.

“Excuse me?” Carter raised her eyebrows, amused.

“Wisakedjak, often anglicized to Whiskey Jack.”

“Did someone call?” O’Neill asked jokingly as he entered with Teal’c.

“I took the liberty of doing some research on the…” Daniel gestured to his forehead, addressing Lantash, “thing on your forehead. Look,” he said as he sat down next to Carter by the hospital bed. “Remember how I said that Ikto, the Goa’uld from Jolinar’s memory, was a Lakota trickster god?’

“Yeah.”

“Well, the Goa’uld this Jaffa,” he nodded to Lantash, “serves is Wisakedjak, a god of the Anishinaabe, a group of Native Americans including the Odawa, the Algonquin, and so on.” He paused for a moment, glancing at his listeners. “At first I thought it was just a fluke, that Ikto might have just shared the same name, but…” He put the notebook down. “Do you understand the ramifications of this?” Meeting silence he threw his hands in the air. “This completely changes what we thought we knew about the Goa’uld. This means that they were here, on Earth, until the eighteenth, maybe even nineteenth century.” He ran a hand over his face. “For all we know, they could still be here.”

“I will tell you nothing,” Martouf sneered, bound do the table he lay on.

“Oh, I think you will.”

“Never,” he choked out.

Wisakedjak shrugged, as if giving up the fight. “No matter. In time, I will have learned all I need to know.” He held up a memory device, twirling it between his fingers as he loomed over the table, a grin spreading across his face.

“Sir, we have to rescue Martouf.”

“Hang on,” O’Neill interrupted. “When have the Tok’ra risked their sorry butts to save us? Ever?”

“Indeed they have been less than forthcoming with assistance,” Teal’c agreed.

O’Neill grinned. “Ha.”

“No offense, sir,” Carter retorted, “but what happened to ‘We don’t leave our people behind’?”

“You see, he’s not quite one of our people –”

“On the contrary, O’Neill,” Teal’c said, “The Tok’ra are our allies. And despite your distrust of them –”

“Ah!” O’Neill shushed him with a wagging finger. “Down, Sparky.”

“However,” he raised an eyebrow, “I believe that Martouf would do the same for any one of us.”

“General,” Carter began again, ignoring Colonel O’Neill’s protests, “It’s essentially my fault that he was taken.” She glanced at SG-1, then back. “I need to clean this up.”

“Very well,” General Hammond nodded. “Take SG-3 as backup. You’ll leave at 1400 hours. Dismissed.”

“Hansen and Skinner secure the gate,” O’Neill ordered. “The rest of you with me. We’ll split up, do a decent search. If Martouf was right –”

“Lantash, sir,” Carter corrected.

“Yeah. If Lantash was right, we know where Martouf will be. If you encounter any resistance, do what you can and skedaddle. We’re not here to pick a fight. When we leave we’ll set some charges; blow the place. Carter, Teal’c, you’re with me. Danny boy, go with SG-3. Any questions?” Met with no response, he nodded and loaded his P90. “Keep radio contact. Let’s move out, campers.”

“If he’s still where he was when Lantash escaped, Martouf should be in an isolation room three corridors down,” Carter whispered.

“And if he’s not?” Daniel asked.

O’Neill stopped them to peer around the corner. He jerked back and signaled for them to take cover. A troop of Jaffa passed by, accompanied by two others.

As they disappeared, Carter hissed, “Well, I think I know who leaked the Tok’ra base address.”

“What?”

“One of the men with those Jaffa? He was Tok’ra. A High Council member, fairly new. I don’t think he’s really working for the Tok’ra.”

“Why would there be a spy against the Tok’ra here?” Daniel asked. “I mean, Wisakedjak’s a pretty minor Goa’uld. He’d need some pretty powerful allies to have the manpower to run the Tok’ra out. Why would this spy be here?”

“Freelancer?” O’Neill suggested. “You know, I always liked those guys. Completely unprincipled. But they never try and pretend they aren’t.”

“I know,” Carter addressed Daniel. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Hang on, maybe it does,” Daniel held up a finger. “Something just struck me.” He took a step, collecting his thoughts. “Ikto was a Lakota god. And Wisakedjak played exactly the same role amongst his people. Now, during the eighteenth century the Anishinaabe and the Lakota were almost constantly at war with each other over land disputes. It only makes sense that there would be some tension between the two Goa’uld.”

“Tension?” O’Neill scoffed.

“Now, this is just speculation, but I’m betting that Wisakedjak has had an eye on memory technology ever since Ikto first used it, trying to gain the upper hand. When Jolinar killed Ikto, she also destroyed the only one who knew how to use the devices to alter memory.”

“That would explain why there’s a spy among the Tok’ra from a relatively unknown Goa’uld.”

“Exactly. Wisakedjak got wind of the missing memory devices and took the opportunity.” Daniel stopped momentarily, glancing behind him. “Ikto used them, but Jolinar defeated him before he could work out the kinks. But if Wisakedjak – or any other Goa’uld, for that matter – can perfect them, they could be one of the biggest threats we’ve come across.”

Carter’s eyes widened slightly as she imagined the consequences. “Without our memories… we have nothing against them.”