( Symbiote's thoughts )
The most annoying thing about being a Tok'ra at her age, Sarah decided, was that Vinnet refused to help with homework. She knew so many of the answers, and yet, she wouldn't just tell them to Sarah. Well, the girl could access anything Vinnet knew, but if the Tok'ra had to figure it out, Sarah couldn't just tap into it. She stared down again at the English homework, one of the few things that Vinnet couldn't do quicker than her host.
About half-way through the worksheet, the doorbell rang. Sarah leaped up and pulled open the front door, which had barely aged since they'd gotten it a couple months before. She was quite surprised to find an older man in a suit and tie standing on the other side.
"Can I help you?" she asked cautiously, trying to keep the door between her and him as much as possible, mostly to keep her dogs from escaping.
"Yes, you can," replied the man. His smile definitely gave Sarah a bad feeling. "Are you Sarah Anderson?"
She started. How did he knew her name? And why? "Should I know you?"
His grin faltered with the unintended insult to his pride. "I'm Senator Robert Kinsey."
"You know, I'm too young to vote, even in the next election, and my mom's not home right now, so you can't talk to her."
Kinsey nodded. "That's okay. I'm actually here to see you."
(opening credits.... :D )
Sarah swung the door open a bit more, allowing a short, spirited dog to leap at the screen door. Surprised, Kinsey took a defensive step back. The Tok'ra smiled sweetly. "Sorry about that. Ted gets excited when we have visitors." She stared at the car in the driveway, a black Cadillac SUV. "Should I be worried that a Senator's come knocking at my door?"
He laughed lightly. "No, not at all. May I come in?"
"No."
The smile dropped off his face. "Please, I need to speak to you about a matter of grave importance."
"Front door's as good a place as any. We're already speaking, so speak up." At this point, she bent down to pick up her dog, who set his chin on her shoulder.
Kinsey's eyes narrowed. "You don't understand. This is very important. We should talk about it inside."
Sarah smiled again, checking to make sure the screen door was locked. "No, you don't understand. I don't know you, so you're not coming in. If you try, my dogs might become rather agitated."
"Are you threatening a senator?"
She thought a moment, playing the words back in her head. "You know what, I guess I am. But you see, the dogs get riled when any strange person comes in, especially if they sense that I don't particularly like them, so you might as well give if up and say whatever you're gonna say here and now before I close the door. 'Cause for all I know, you're some psychopath from downtown."
Kinsey was not amused. "Fine," he snapped. "Tell me about your recent experience with the Goa'uld."
Sarah stared for a moment. No one was supposed to know about that. "The what?"
The senator squirmed a bit, not completely sure this was the right house. "The Goa'uld. The Stargate. Any of it."
Sarah shrugged, which was a little difficult with a good thirty-pound dog in her arms. "See? I knew you were some psychopath from downtown." As she finished, she bit her tongue. Mouthing off to a member of one of your government's ruling bodies wasn't a federal offense, right? Right?
Kinsey glared for a few seconds then began to turn back to his car. "I'm not done with you yet," he snarled before walking away.
*--*--*
The next afternoon, the phone rang. "Hello?" Sarah answered.
"Hel-lo, Sarah," came Colonel O'Neill's perky voice from the other end. "How are you?"
"Pretty good," she replied. "Uh, Jack, some guy showed up at my door yesterday. He asked me to tell him about Goa'uld and the--"
"Yeah, about that," Jack interrupted, not really willing to speak about top-secret stuff like that over the phone. "Kinsey got the president to order us to tell you to cooperate with him."
Sarah stared. "You know how much trouble I could get in with my mom?"
"The president, Sarah."
"So what? I didn't vote for him! He's just some guy I don't know who just happens to be our Commander in Chief." She sighed. "But I guess I see what you're saying. This senator guy, does he know about... all that?"
"Yup," Jack answered. "Every detail he can get his slimy little hands into."
"All right. But I'm not going out of my way for this."
"That's fine."
An hour later, the doorbell rang again. Having a pretty good idea of who it was, Sarah took her time getting there, but she made certain that both dogs were inside and on the main level of the house. Finally, she opened the door.
"Hello, Miss Anderson. May I come in?" Kinsey questioned.
"Na'nai," the Tok'ra answered, but she reluctantly held open the door, leaving the senator to get the screen door himself. The man grinned and entered the house, only to be greeted by a chorus of barking and two dogs running up to him. He finally made his way over to the furniture, where he sat down, vaguely aware that his black suit was now covered in white fur.
Sarah plopped down into a chair opposite Kinsey's position on the couch. "What do you want?"
"No respect for elders," Kinsey grumbled under his breath.
"No," Sarah corrected, "no respect for people who insist on barging into my house uninvited. Like you."
His eyes narrowed; she wasn't supposed to have heard that. "Tell me about your experiences with the Goa'uld," he demanded.
"Sure," she replied somewhat sarcastically. "How long ago do you want me to begin?"
"Your experiences."
She nodded. "I had this dream last night..."
"The Goa'uld, not your dreams!"
"It's a memory," Sarah continued, unfazed by his interruption. "I was thrown down to my knees in front of Ra."
"Ra is dead. Tell me about Baneb... Baneb..."
"Fine," she said, sounding a bit miffed. "He's about five foot six, not all that thin, fairly light complexion..."
"No!" Kinsey yelled. "The president told you to cooperate."
Sarah shrugged. "I know. And I really don't care." Then she grinned. "I'm an obstinate little teenager, remember?"
Kinsey frowned. "Just tell me what I want to know and I'll leave."
"Well, what do you want?" Kinsey opened his mouth, but she continued. "I've got chocolate milk, lemonade, a few sodas downstairs, old orange juice, water..."
His frown grew deeper. "You are a Tok'ra, correct?"
Sarah decided that this was fun, provided it wasn't a capital offense, so she pretended to take offense to the question. "I'm a person, thank you very much! Are you a Tok'ra?"
"Are you a Tok'ra?" he repeated, less than amused.
"What, you can't sense the naquada in my blood?"
"No," he answered shortly. "May I please speak to... what was its name... Vanet?"
Sarah stared for a moment. "Vinnet doesn't particularly want to speak to you. She says that from what she's seen of Earth politics, it would put a mark on her honor to do you the favor of speaking directly to her. But if you give me a minute, I'll see if I can convince her that every human had the potiential to be a good person at some point or another."
Kinsey scowled. There was no other way to put it; he just scowled, but sat quietly, staring at the Tok'ra girl, who stared right back. Finally, she nodded once before her eyes flashed. (Sarah had made certain to have her eyes fully open and visible to the senator.) Kinsey's eyes narrowed, but he didn't flinch.
"I assure you, Senator, my host was exaggerating. She has no appreciation for your visit, and so is attempting to take it out on you."
"I understand, Vonet."
The Tok'ra's eyes flashed again. "My name is Vinnet of Iechnor."
"Yes, of course. So can you tell me what happened on this Setite?"
"I suppose," she answered flatly. "What happened was that I finally took a new host after three months."
"Three months?" Kinsey repeated calmly. "How did you survive that long?"
"We have methods. Needless to say, they are not pleasant and are considered especially... boring."
"I see. Why did you take this young lady as a host?"
"Senator, I had very little choice in the matter. I could risk exposing my identity and sending this girl to die or I could take her as a host. Which would you prefer?"
"At the moment?"
"At the moment, I am especially pleased with Selmak's decision."
"Selmak?" Kinsey repeated. "As in Jacob Carter?"
"Yes."
"He chose this young lady as your host?"
"In a manner of speaking. I do not regret leaving it to him."
The senator shook his head, getting back to business. "What kind of technology does Banebdjedet have?"
Vinnet shrugged. "I am unsure. Our objectives were to dispatch his queen and kindle enmity between his Jaffa and that of Nephthys. I was also to take a host. Nothing about that included any particular attention to the technology he had at hand."
"I see."
"So how do you intend to use that knowledge?"
"I don't know yet," he admitted. "What technology did you notice while there?"
Vinnet rolled her eyes then sat forward in her chair. "Considering I was confined to a tank for my survival until I took a host, Sarah can probably tell you more." With that, she dipped her host's head, allowing her to speak. When he saw this, Kinsey groaned.
Sarah looked up toward the ceiling. "Lesse. When they walked into my house, they had staff weapons. Getting off the ship, they had staff weapons. Taking me to blend, they had staff weapons. When Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter beat them up, they had staff weapons. So I think we could safely say that Banebdjedet's Jaffa have staff weapons."
"What else did you see?" Kinsey grumbled.
"Well, I suppose they also had sliding doors and artificial lights. Obviously some way to build bases and the like. If he's a typical Goa'uld, he'd have a hand device and a sarcophagus, although that might have been too expensive for him, considering what politicians have done to drop medicare for elder Goa'ulds..."
"You can stop there," the senator announced. "I don't appreciate your responses. The President of the United States of America asked you to cooperate with me."
"Yes, I suppose he did," Sarah replied. "Come to think of it, I think I actually heard of you before." The representative sat up straighter in his seat. "Jack mentioned you. He said you thought the Goa'uld wouldn't pose a threat to Earth because God would protect us. (I only slightly disagree with you there.) So, as a God-fearing man, you'll understand that obeying my parents weighs heavier than obeying the president. I'm only doing you this favor because Jack asked it as well, and he's my friend."
Just then, the two heard the front door opening. Sarah sighed, trying to prepare herself for any trouble she might get in. As she expected, her mother entered the house, immediately turning toward the living room. "Sarah!" she scolded. "Who is this? Why--"
The senator stood, now appearing more respectful than he usually did. "Ms. Anderson, I'm Senator Robert Kinsey. I'm here to speak to--"
"Sarah, why in the world did you let him in here? You don't know who he is!" she continued, her voice now beginning to convey anger.
"Mom," she replied, wondering how she could explain herself. "Colonel O'Neill called--remember him from a couple months ago? He said the--"
"Ms. Anderson," Kinsey interrupted, "I've been sent here to ask your daughter a few questions about that incident."
The mother sent a warning glare to her daughter then sat beside her. "Then continue."
Sarah shot a glance to Kinsey, at once glad that they could no longer discuss her trip truthfully and disappointed that she would no longer be able to taunt him with snippets of details. "Go ahead, Senator. I'll try to answer your questions as fully and as truthfully as I can."
He glowered briefly. "Ms. Anderson, what we have to discuss is classified. I'm afraid I'll have to ask that you leave the room."
"No. I will hear whatever you have to say to my daughter."
Sarah sighed. "Mom, he's right. It's classified for a reason."
"You know about it."
She closed her eyes, exasperated, knowing that the sooner the pain in the mikta had his answers, the sooner he could get out of her house. "A lot had to happen for me to come back," she replied, speaking truthfully. "And a lot of people aren't too happy about it."
"Then tell me."
Sarah dropped her head into her hands, trying to make the well-practiced Tok'ra motion look normal. To Kinsey's dismay, her voice still sounded normal when she spoke. "I'll ask Jack later if I can tell you what we're talking about, but because of certain nay-sayers," she commented, glancing pointedly to the senator, "I don't know if I'll be able to tell you."
The mother glanced to Kinsey, in his perfect suit and cocky manner. "Get out before I call the police."
He put on his usual arrogant smile. "Ms. Anderson, I am an elected official of the United States. There's no reason to call the police."
"I don't care if you're the president. Get out of my house," she insisted, standing again.
He glanced from her to the Tok'ra and to even the dogs then hurried back to his car, the Tok'ra's mother locking the door behind him.
"Don't you ever do that again! Inviting someone into the house while I'm gone! What were you thinking?"
Vinnet sighed, then spoke, careful to keep her voice sounding normal. "Senator Kinsey doesn't pose a threat to us." *Not physically, anyway.* "I've heard of him. The president asked Colonel O'Neill to tell me to talk to him."
"You don't know that that's true," she replied. "Mr. O'Neill could just be saying that."
"He wouldn't. He doesn't particularly like Kinsey."
"And that doesn't throw up a red flag in your mind?"
"No. It doesn't," Vinnet replied honestly, wishing she could provide her reasoning.
"Sarah, go to your room."
The Tok'ra nodded slightly then headed up the stairs to her room, where she closed the door and stared at the portable phone on her now-computer-less desk.
Vinnet, I can deal with you mouthing off to my mother and all, but seriously, I don't know if I want to risk her catching us talking to anyone after coming home to Kinsey in the house.
*I suppose that would not benefit the situation.*
Ya think?
*How do you suggest we resolve it?*
You know the past as well as I do. The best thing to do is exactly what she asks without comment or complaint.
*Senator Kinsey will most likely return. How do you suggest dealing with him?*
In the event she doesn't ground us for your mouthing off to her, we could always bring Lauren and meet up with him at some coffee shop. Then he'll have to hide a lot of his exasperation and keep his voice down. For now, though, we might as well write a letter or something, do homework. Keep occupied.
*Communication counts as keeping one occupied.*
I knew you were going to say that. Sarah sighed, yoinking control from her newfound friend and lying back on her bed.
* * *
About ten minutes later, Vinnet, again in control, heard a knock on the door. "Come in," she called after a second, still unused to the idea of doors.
Sarah’s mother entered and sat on the edge of her bed. "You understand that I worry about you, that I trust you not to let any strangers in."
"I have betrayed that trust," Vinnet replied, feeling a pang of guilt for destroying something her host had apparently worked so hard for.
The other nodded, her expression confused. "You couldn’t have thought about that before you let him in?"
*Now I understand why Colonel O’Neill was so firm in his dislike of that politician.* "It did not come to my mind," she lied, careful to stick with singular pronouns. "When a senator showed up at the door, I was too surprised to think about the consequences." The good news is, Sarah thought sarcastically, your frankness will either annoy her or comfort her. *Your faith and certainty in the outcome is overwhelming.*
"Next time, think about them."
"I will," the Tok’ra promised.
The conversation halted for a couple seconds before Sarah’s mother again spoke. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Fine," Vinnet replied warily. *Will she always be this astute?* Nah, if you talk to her often enough, she’ll figure something about "being caught hacking databases" changed me. *She’ll be right.* …True.
"So what did you and the senator talk about before I got home?"
She shrugged. "What I saw on the databases, what the people at the Air Force were like, how they treated me," she lied, resisting the urge to add that he asked about the base’s menu.
"Sarah," she began, staring at her daughter’s face. "Why did you do it?"
"The hacking?" Vinnet guessed, her question confirmed by the mother’s silent nod. I didn’t! Sarah replied in her thoughts, These Jaffa minions barged into our house, and they took me on their ship. I couldn’t help it! I wouldn’t ‘ve gone if I’d had a choice, ‘course then I wouldn’t have become a Tok’ra… Maybe I would have gone anyway if I knew that’d happen… "I couldn’t help it," the symbiote continued, echoing her host’s words. "I was bored."
"I thought I’d taught you better."
"You did, Mom," Vinnet replied, again using her host’s words. "I just didn’t listen."
The older human shook her head, ending the conversation. "Listen, you’re grounded. That means no visiting with friends, no phone calls, and you don’t talk to that Kinsey fellow again."
"Yes, ma’am," the symbiote replied, careful to keep her tone from being offensive, just as her host instructed. Sarah’s mother left, closing the door behind her.
No! Sarah thought to her "soul mate." Don’t even think about it! If this is what she does for talking to Kinsey, I don’t even want to think about what she’d do if she caught you. Please, I mean…
*If you don’t want to risk him returning here, we’re going to have to do something.*
Vinnet, are you even listening? What if—
*Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of experience being discreet.*
Yeah? That’s nice. What are you going to arrange?
*You’ll see.* After checking the hall to make sure her host’s mother had returned to the main level, Vinnet picked up the phone and dialed the number for the SGC. A few seconds later, she heard a familiar voice on the other side. "I need Kinsey’s phone number to prevent him from doing something rash…"
* * *
The next day, Sarah and Lauren sat alone at a corner table in the lunch room, which was within a few feet of a door to the outside. It was the beginning of the last lunch of the day, a time when the cafeteria was overly noisy and anyone who didn’t belong wouldn’t be recognized.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lauren wondered. "From what you tell me, this guy’s a real jerk."
Sarah shrugged. "Vinnet’s got a point. With me being grounded, it wouldn’t make much sense for him to try to come to my house again. Nor could I meet him anywhere else. This isn’t exactly the kind of thing you can talk about over the phone, either."
"Here he comes," she noted, motioning to a well-dressed old-ish man walking across the parking lot. "Want me to lock the doors?"
Sarah smiled. "Nah, just let him in so we can get it over with." After Lauren did so, the two found seats at the table with Kinsey two chairs to the left of Sarah and Lauren on the Tok’ra’s right.
"Who are you?" he asked bluntly.
"Her friend, Lauren Krege," she replied.
He turned to Sarah. "You told her?!"
The Tok’ra rolled her eyes. "Look, she went with me, so she already knows everything. Now, we figured you wanted something else. Speak now before I’m supposed to leave for health class."
He glanced from one teenager to the other. "Was this necessary?"
"Yes; because of you and Vinnet’s unfamiliarity with the workings of my family, we’re grounded. Which means I shouldn’t be talking to you. But you made it clear you’d turn out to be a real Goa’uld about the whole thing, so we’re sitting in a loud room trying to settle it." She took a deep breath. "Now what do you want?"
"Tell me about your experiences with the Goa’uld," he demanded, not looking particularly happy about being the only one not eating at the lunch table.
"Look, I hear you’re high-up on the get-what-you-want chain. Why don’t you just get your hands on a copy of the mission report?"
"You didn’t write one."
Lauren rolled her eyes, butting into the conversation. "Look, whoever you are, we didn’t see any Goa’uld. We saw Jaffa, lots of stoic Jaffa who did exactly what their higher-ups told them to do."
"Fine," Kinsey snorted, looking back at Sarah. "Why are you here?"
"What?" Sarah exclaimed. "It’s my school. I’m here because I can’t drop out until I’m sixteen, though I won’t then either. Or, if you’d rather, I’m here because it’s my scheduled time to have lunch. I’m here because I’m not sick. I’m here because I don’t have any classes. Why?"
"No, why are you, as a Tok’ra, here on Earth?"
"Oh." She glanced at her friend then allowed her symbiote to surface.
"We are here, in part, because Sarah is so young," Vinnet answered, keeping her voice low, but not making the effort to modify it. "Goa’uld do not generally take children as hosts, so Sarah and I cannot go on a mission for the Tok’ra. As for why we are not at the base, I’ll tell you the truth: we need hosts. Earth is a prime resource to retrieve some."
"Hosts?!" repeated Kinsey. "You won’t have a single host from this country if I have anything to do with it!"
"Settle down and keep your voice low," ordered Vinnet. "If the teachers notice you, life will not be so easy. As for your assertions that we’ll have no hosts, that is not up to you."
"I have ways of making sure you don’t harm the population of this grand country."
"We won’t ‘harm’ anyone here, Senator, nor will we take anyone against his or her will. But if you’ll remember, the promise of hosts was one of the main reasons why we decided to become your allies in the first place."
"We don’t need you as allies," he replied, narrowing his eyes.
Vinnet sighed. "So you say, but you have very little idea of how much we’ve done for you."
"Oh?!" he replied. "Perhaps you don’t realize how much we’ve done for you!"
Vinnet retreated, allowing her host to speak. "Alright, so most people at this point have determined that bickering like this is pretty pointless. Both parties have done a lot for each other. It’s a rewarding alliance. Now what’d’ya say we get on with our lives?"
"Fine. Are there any other reasons why you’re here?"
"Sure," Sarah replied. "Vinnet wanted her own way. I thought it’d be cool to stay at the Tok’ra base, but she was curious about our culture. Not to mention that she thought I didn’t know enough science and math to really be able to contribute."
"Hosts from other places know more?" Lauren wondered.
The Tok’ra shook her head. "No, but she wanted to see if we knew anything that could help them. That and she wanted me to know as much as possible on my own."
"Enough. So curiosity is why we’re letting an alien loose on Earth," he concluded.
"You son of a Goa’uld!" Sarah shouted, her voice just barely above the constant noise level. "Jack said you probably had a purpose in mind when coming here. I should’ve listened. All this just so you can have ammunition to get me off Earth? You self-righteous Ha’shak! You’re all into protecting Americans! I’m an American citizen, too, if you haven’t noticed! Whether Vinnet is or isn’t, I’m still here, and I’m still the one talking most of the time!"
Lauren leaned back, a little shocked by her friend’s sudden rage.
Kinsey began to stand up, but thought better of it. "I will do whatever needs to be done to ensure the safety of the other Americans. It’s no different from sending a murderer to prison."
"Except that I haven’t done anything. The only thing people think I’ve done to break the law is hacking into Air Force computers, and wouldn’t ya know it, I never did such a thing. The next closest thing was probably not picking up after my dog when I took him on a walk. Oh, yeah, let’s just lock up all—"
Her eyes flashed, and all involved parties were grateful she’d chosen to sit with her back to the rest of the crowded room. "Your accusations are premature, Senator. You don’t know that we are any threat to you."
"I know enough to know that you’re only going to be trouble," he replied.
Lauren rolled her eyes, then glanced behind her to see an approaching teacher. "Excuse me, but we’ve got another problem."
Vinnet and Kinsey caught sight of the teacher. "Mr. Kinsey, as much as you may dislike it, it might benefit you to act as Lauren’s or my parent."
He shook his head, sent one last glare to the girls then stormed away toward the school’s main entrance, quickly passing the teacher. When she arrived at the table, she glanced over the two students. "What’s going on here?"
"My step-dad just stopped by to pick up my brother," Lauren explained, giving Vinnet time to switch back to Sarah. "He was mad I didn’t have him ready to go this morning."
The teacher nodded then continued walking through the room.
"Sarah," Lauren began, "you think he’s done annoying you yet?"
She shook her head. "All I know is that I’m not done with him yet. The very suggestion that Vinnet’s evil or that she’s come to, I don’t know, terrorize people—it’s absurd! I doubt he knows the difference between Goa’uld and Tok’ra, so that’s my mission."
"Wait, you’re going to try to convince Kinsey that Tok’ra aren’t evil? Good luck!"
Sarah grinned. "Yup. Thanks."
* * *
Sarah and Vinnet sat on the bed in Sarah’s room, reading a magazine on Ancient Egypt. Or at least, pretending to.
When are you going to start working on your master plan?
As soon as I get an idea.
Of course. It won’t work, though. You were fairly accurate at lunch when you called him a son of a Goa’uld. You were off by only one generation.
Sarah grinned. True. There’s just that little problem of not sensing any naquadah in him.
Perhaps he hides it; he’s definitely no harcesis.
This brought another grin to Sarah’s face. Maybe the parent Goa’ulds were as stupid as he is.
"Sarah!" her mother repeated, standing in the doorway. The Tok’ra looked up expectantly. "I need to talk to you. Will you come downstairs?"
A weight settled in the pit of the Tok’ra’s stomach; all cheer and merriment evaporated. "Sure," she replied, dropping the magazine and hurrying down the stairs after her mother. Once on the main floor, they sat on opposite ends of the couch.
"It’s been two months," her mother began, "and you still haven’t told me what happened with the Air Force."
Sarah sighed. She doesn’t believe me. I hate keeping secrets. No; to tell her would betray the trust the SGC and Tok’ra have invested in you. She won’t believe me. "I was abducted by aliens. They messed with my head. The Air Force brought me back to Earth."
"Sarah," she replied, warning in her tone, "don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth."
"What do you want me to say?" she snapped. "That I regret my part in what happened? That I’d do it differently?"
"Just tell me what happened?"
"Fine, I’ll tell you what they told me I could tell you—again."
"No, tell me what really happened, not what they told you."
So if I really tell her, the SGC, the Tok’ra, and Banebdjedet are all going to want to slap me upside the head, right? Or something similar. She thought briefly of Jack and Sam, even Jacob, all of whom trusted her to keep the secret. "I can’t. I’ve promised them. I love you a lot, but… While I was there… It could have turned out so much worse!"
"It still may turn out worse if you don’t tell me."
Stick to the cover. Throw details in. I won’t let you say too much. Sarah rolled her eyes, belatedly realizing her mother would see. Have to get used to that… "Fine. I was upstairs, on my computer. They rang the doorbell. I looked outside to see who it was, and when I saw, I didn’t want to answer the door. So I didn’t. And they came in."
"The door was burned."
Why didn’t they ever come up with a good explanation for that? Curse Jaffa. They can not make anything easy. "It was?" Yes, feigned innocence might work, but I don’t know that that will work. "I didn’t see," she replied truthfully, though she knew full well that it had been hit with several staff weapon blasts. "Anyway, when they came in and saw me at my computer, they paused for a couple seconds then told me I had to go with them…"
"I’m having a hard time believing you," her mother admitted. "You don’t sound like you’re telling the truth."
Maybe because I’m not? You can’t tell her, Vinnet warned. Too much is at stake. Suppose she were to find out then confided in one close friend, who confided in one or two close friends? While that wouldn’t be our problem, it doesn’t disprove what Kinsey was saying. "Tough; I am," Sarah replied after listening to Vinnet.
"Then why do you take so long to answer? How come it almost always takes so long to get your attention?"
Sarah rolled her eyes and sat back against the couch. "I think too much. And then I get really caught up in thinking." True…
She shook her head. "Well, if you don’t want to answer me truthfully, I guess you’re going to be grounded for a long time."
"I guess so."
* * *
Sarah picked at her cereal, not really hungry but obliged to eat since lunch wasn’t until noon.
You’re going to have to talk to her sometime. The enmity between you two cannot continue for the next four years.
"Really?" the host whispered sarcastically. "I would’ve never guessed." What would you want me to do, anyway?
Working on your cover story might help.
"You’re the one sitting in my head all day and refusing to help me with schoolwork. You think of something." I wouldn’t have to think of anything if we hadn’t blended in the first place.
Do you think I’m not aware of that?
"No. I’m sorry," she replied, really meaning it. "I’m just…"
I know, remember? You noticed the emotion-sharing the first day.
Sarah smiled slightly. "Will you, though?"
Yes, I will. Unless there’s something particularly interesting in science class.
"Will I what?" a voice behind Sarah asked.
She spun around in her chair. "Mom! Hi! I thought you were in the shower?"
"No." She glanced around the room. "Who were you talking to?"
Kal’ma, Sarah whined. "No one. I was just practicing for my project in theater class."
"I see. If you ever need to talk, I’m here."
"Uh, thanks… That, um, means a lot to me." Her mother nodded and walked away. Too close! Sarah thought. If anything like that ever happens again, Vinnet, your cover’s blown sky-high!
I know. Perhaps you shouldn’t talk aloud, though I understand it’s hard to do for the first year or so.
Great. So I have to go through a whole year before people stop being so suspicious. Real comforting.
Up to a year. I’ll remind you when you’re ‘talking to yourself’. It should be no problem at all to get you to stop.
Sarah sighed, finished her cereal, and headed out the door for school. During homeroom, one of the school’s secretaries called over the intercom, asking for her to report to the office. Three minutes later, she entered the bustling room. "Excuse me, I was told to come here," she explained to an official-looking person.
"Anderson?" The lady looked up to see Sarah’s nod. She pointed back and to the left. "It’s that open door right there."
The Tok’ra nodded then ventured into the smaller room labeled ‘guidance office.’ There, she found a councilor and Lauren waiting for her. "Please close the door behind you," he said. After she did so and sat, he continued. "Yesterday, several students and teachers reported seeing the two of you with a man at lunch."
Sarah dropped her head into her hands, sighing. "Sorry to drag you into this, Lauren."
"It’s all right," she replied.
"This man," the councilor continued, "hadn’t checked in with the office, but a couple of the teachers recognized him."
Seth spawn! Sarah thought. That’s the last thing we need!
"How is it that you know Senator Kinsey?" he pressed.
Sarah shook her head. "Couple months ago, I hacked into some computers," she lied. "Kinsey wanted details on what I saw."
"That doesn’t make sense."
"He’s the chairman of a civilian oversight committee," Lauren explained. "And she saw some top-secret stuff."
"Next time," he scolded, staring at Sarah, "you can meet on your own time, not at school. Tell me, why did he meet you here anyway?"
Any time you want to bail me out, you’re more than welcome. You’re doing fine. Remember: as important as all these things have been to you in the past, you are now aware of greater things. Thanks for telling me all I care about amounts to a pile of mastradge fodder. It’s just what I needed to hear. Vinnet sent a warm, encouraging feeling to her host.
"He wouldn’t gotten me in trouble with my mom," Sarah explained. "Next time, I’ll just meet him in the parking lot or something."
"Your own time, Miss Anderson."
"Yes, sir." Whenever I actually have time again. If all this works out, maybe we can arrange a bit of vacation this summer. No sooner? We’ll see.
He paused for a few seconds. "Are you always so quiet and well-thought out?" he wondered.
"No," Sarah answered quietly. "I’m not always this quiet, but I suppose I do think stuff out a lot."
The councilor ignored Lauren’s sudden burst of laughter and nodded. "You understand I’ll have to contact your parents."
Sarah’s eyes widened. "No, please! I’d much rather take, say, a week of detention than have you call my mom!"
"Why?"
"Think about it. She found out that I broke into some government computers then found me talking to a senator about it when I can’t tell her. If she found out I talked to him again…"
"Maybe you’ll think about the consequences more in future situations." With that, the councilor left the room, presumably to do paperwork and call parents.
"Alright, Vinnet, any time you want to go home…"
A small laugh escaped Lauren. "What, she’s actually considering it?"
"She’s just thinking in terms of a vacation instead of an internship or permanent residence, unfortunately." I’m a field operative; I don’t have much experience in weapons development. Since you are so young and do not possess a broad knowledge base in science, it is doubtful that we could contribute as much as we could after you finish your education. "Thanks for the support, Vinnet," Sarah groaned.
"What if you told your mom part of the truth? If she knew about Vinnet, I’m sure she’d understand why you had to talk to Kinsey and why you act weird sometimes."
"I do not!"
"Yes, you do. You talk out loud to a snake in your head. You talk to each other a lot, and when you do that, it’s hard to get you to snap out of it."
Sarah thought a moment, easily recalling examples to prove her friend’s point. "I’m sorry," she said, her voice sincere. "I guess you’re right. I should tell her."