Nesert

2.13

Episode 8.08 "Covenant"

Nes began the journey back to Earth, this time with files provided by Ba'al on the operations of The Trust. From her reading and her previous knowledge obtained from the SGC, The Trust seemed to be a self-appointed protector of Earth. They had no rules beyond "the ends justify the means," and they were willing to do anything and everything. Though they considered the Goa'uld to be their enemies in general, that didn't mean they were opposed to using them when they could. In many ways, The Trust was simply a group that functioned like Nes had at times, and that knowledge bothered her. Was she really willing to operate without any moral code at all? To do whatever she, and she alone, deemed necessary to achieve her goals?

Her objectives were so fuzzy and fluid, it was really hard to tell. Did she alter her morals to achieve goals or her goals to maintain her morals? There were times when she had given up her goals in order to help someone, to save people. Surely that meant she wasn't quite as amoral as The Trust, right?

Nes beamed herself down to one of the houses she owned in DC, this one on Embassy Row, though she owned several others scattered in various neighborhoods. While Sekhmet had certainly spent quite a bit of time in the city, exerting her influence over the various politicians, she had no love for her time there. One would think that a goa'uld would fit in nicely with the power hungry men and women of the area, but Sekhmet had merely felt disgust for their desperate attempts at controlling those around them. They were inferior at what the symbiote had considered an artform and therefore she could have no respect for them. Instead she used their desires against them, manipulating subtly in most cases, but also resorting to flat out blackmail when needed. Even now, the information Nes had on hand could easily take out the majority of those in power and she was only mildly ashamed that she'd continued collecting not just money, but favors as well. She could run the city and country if she so chose, but that still did not endear her to the games that the area's occupants insisted on playing

The Renaissance Revival townhouse was lovely nonetheless, and Nes could at least appreciate the architecture and antiques while she lived within its walls. The memories were not nearly as enjoyable, though, and she found herself taking up residence in a smaller guest bedroom rather than the master. Too many liaisons had occurred there, too many men bound to serve the goa'uld by their uncontrolled appetites. Nes' stomach churned at the thought of how the country had been shaped by the things that went on behind those doors, hosts' bodies used in whatever ways gained Sekhmet her desired results.

Nes made the necessary calls to set herself up in the city, getting money, identification, and other necessities for her current persona, choosing a queenly name to complement Ba'al's kingly selections, and then made herself scarce for the rest of the day as her home was cleaned and stocked with groceries and other supplies.

The next morning, Nes donned business attire and glasses and took a cab to Farrow-Marshall Aeronautics in Bethesda. It was as simple as requesting a meeting with Charlotte Mayfield, Emyr Kagan's name a guarantee that she was rapidly added to the vice president's calendar for the day. Nes was escorted to a conference room with glass walls, Miss Mayfield likely not wanting too much privacy for a meeting with anyone sent by Ba'al, and she waited rather impatiently, pacing through the drably decorated room.

While Nes may have been able to contain her jealousy with the idea of unknown and faceless women with Ba'al, the blonde who walked into the room made it difficult to keep her eyes from flashing in rage. She was slim and classically pretty with blue eyes and long straight blonde hair, but her too short skirt and low cut top indicated to the more experienced, though younger, woman that Charlotte had not climbed to her position on her resume alone. Nes congratulated herself on choosing an outfit that suggested class rather than availability, knowing that would gain her the respect she sought, especially with the direct contrast with Mayfield.