Nesert

1.7

Tessa suggested they leave the United States for a while and Sekhmet agreed, taking them to Torrelavega in Northern Spain. The house was breathtaking as they drove up, an 18th century villa with thick stone walls and perched on a hill overlooking its small vineyard. The surrounding land was lush and green and Tessa was anxious to spend a few afternoons walking the grounds.

The interior of the home was just as appealing, with rich woodwork, tapestries, and stunning portraits (several of which were Sekhmet in various hosts in various eras), and Tessa enjoyed the tour Sekhmet gave her, passing information along of when and how items were acquired, parties that were thrown, memories made in various nooks and corners. Over two years as a host and yet Tessa still did not tire of the simple awe that she herself could now remember when the antiques in front of her were newly made.

Sekhmet changed personas as she changed houses, each location seeming to bring out a different part of her personality and history. In this house, she seemed to breathe deeper and found the people of this area to be welcoming and friendly. They loved their land and culture and wished to share it with anyone who ventured there, especially a rich young woman who spoke their language like a native. Interestingly, Sekhmet had homes where she resisted the urge to kill, though that usually meant she couldn't stay there for too long before the need became too great. They only stayed two weeks in Torrelavega before moving on, but Tessa managed to extract a promise from Sekhmet to return at some point sooner rather than later.

While Sekhmet slept, Tessa agonized over her cowardice during their time at the SGC. She knew she needed to put all of her hard work into action fighting against Sekhmet, but that fear of imprisonment rather than death kept her dormant. Though now she couldn't ignore the fact that every new death could possibly have been prevented. Had she pushed Sekhmet to attack Apophis as he lay dying, her master would now be imprisoned, putting an end to the killing spree.

She had to stop her and Tessa finally determined one night that she would do whatever was needed to that end, even accept a long life of imprisonment in Area 51 with a goa'uld to torture her mind and body.

After several months abroad, Sekhmet again journeyed back to the States to check in on the Stargate program, calling her management agency to set up the house she owned in Colorado Springs. Built in the Spanish Mission style in the early twenties, Sekhmet had bought it within weeks of learning that the Stargate had been moved to the city, and while the house itself was beautiful and gave them stunning views of the nearby mountains, its main charms for the goa'uld were its relative isolation from neighborly observations as well as its proximity to the Air Force Base.

That geographical nearness now gave her access to the monitoring devices she'd left behind during her time as Kristen Brooks and the first bits of new information learned were the death of a goa'uld she did not wish harm upon and the resurrection of another she wished to slaughter herself.

Seth had been killed by SG-1. They'd infiltrated his cult complex north of Seattle only a few weeks ago, but Sekhmet wasn't exactly sad as much as wistful for what Seth could have been.

Learning that Apophis was no longer dead, however, was almost too much to bear for the grieving mother. While some of the rage was divided up between Stargate Command and Sokar, the brunt of it she reserved for herself. She should have slaughtered him when she'd had the chance, destroying him so thoroughly that no sarcophagus would have been capable of reviving him.

The only consolation was that Apophis was again in Sokar's possession and that was no pleasant fate, though she wished his agony were from her own hands, and this desire for a more tangible revenge on Apophis slowly began to shape an idea she had shoved aside for centuries.

Perhaps it was time to leave Earth.

At first, Tessa assumed this was just a passing fancy that Sekhmet's fear would eventually repress, but her need for Apophis's death, once thought to be fulfilled, roared back into life with a new force. Tessa did her best to bring up the logical objections she hoped would quiet the voice of revenge, but Sekhmet now saw those protests as simply challenges to be overcome.

When finally Tessa realized that Sekhmet was unlikely to be swayed at this point, she began to plot her own path, one that led to the capture (and hopefully death) of Sekhmet and herself. Before their time impersonating Kristen Brooks, Tessa could have maybe gotten away with simply murder charges, death penalty even, but now the Stargate program knew her face, and that face, once she was caught, would be known by every man, woman, and child in the majority of the countries around the world. She would be famous and that meant she would be claimed by the Stargate program before it was discovered by the regular authorities that she was host to an alien.

Still, the fame over the case could lead to a better outcome. They wouldn't be able to just shut her away until she died. Reporters, politicians, the victims' families would all demand information and justice. The Stargate program couldn't afford to get wrapped up in the conspiracy theories that would erupt if she simply disappeared after capture, could they?

Tessa resumed her nightly exercises with more vigor, but she knew that at this point she was as strong as she could be. And that likely still wouldn't be enough. She already sensed that the most likely outcome out of all of this was simply that Sekhmet would take another host and kill her. There was so little chance of anything that looked even remotely like success, but these thoughts led only to hopelessness.

She needed to tap into some of the goa'uld overconfidence she experienced as she helped torture their victims. Sekhmet rarely had self doubt and even when she did, it was minimal compared to a human. Tessa finally grit her teeth (metaphorically of course) and resolved to see herself more as Sekhmet and less as the old Tessa. After all, how much of the old Tessa was actually left anymore? She was a killer now...and not a very reluctant one, which she tried not to let the bits of the old Tessa dwell on.

She started slowly, flashes of Sean and his death with undertones of sadistic pleasure, but then she found one of Sekhmet's favorite parts of the whole affair so she began to think with glee of the moment Sean realized she had drugged him. Sekhmet enjoyed the memory, but was also concerned that her host would begin to wallow again.

"I've been thinking, Sekhmet." Tessa had to convince the goa'uld that the old Tessa was really gone. "I didn't fully appreciate the beauty of that moment with Sean. The look on his face..."

Tessa chuckled in a mixture of her own tone and Sekhmet's, and her master twisted their mouth into the familiar smirk as the two of them again ran the memory in their head.

"We should do that again," Tessa finally said wistfully. "I don't think I'd get so attached this time which would make it...fun."

Sekhmet breathed deeply, immersing herself in the sense of accomplishment as her host finally seemed to accept her role as protégé. "I'm sure we could find another detective somewhere to play with a bit."

Tessa filled her corner with a slinky type of energy, one she had experienced many times with Sekhmet as she prowled for her next victim, a deliberate calm forcing the muscles to wait for the moment of attack. "Where to, then?" she asked her master. "New England would certainly be nice this time of year."

Sekhmet smiled, remembering all the times she'd visited her various homes in that area during the autumn months. For a goa'uld, she had a special appreciation for natural beauty and the crisp fall air always made her feel free. She had diligently sought out those experiences where she could on this planet, trying to fill the void left by being grounded. The real freedom she had craved for these centuries bound to dirt and rock had been for stars and space, moons and planets, the vast emptiness of possibility.

She would hone Tessa's skills with this last exercise before venturing back out to the galaxy and again seeking the revenge that had continually eluded her.