Ezri was sitting upright on her bed when they walked in. "General, what is going on here?" she demanded. She’d grown increasingly tense each minute she was under so many guards. The two guards from before had become five, and they wouldn’t even let her get out of bed. At least she wasn’t in restraints.

Dr. Fraiser stood near the door while Hammond and SG-1 approached her bed. "We want to know more about the symbiote you’re carrying," Hammond told her.

Ezri’s eyes bulged. "My what?"

"Your symbiote. Looks like a worm, tends to be pretty nasty," O’Neill elaborated.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s a symbiote?"

Dr. Fraiser showed her the scans. "You’ve got an organism inside you that’s similar to a parasitic race called the Goa’uld. Only, there are some differences."

Ezri stared at the scans. She’d never dreamed that humans would have sophisticated enough machinery that could detect a symbiont. The Federation never had before the Trill made the symbiont’s existence public. She was quickly discovering that this alternate reality had many surprises.

"It’s not a parasite," Ezri admitted. "It’s not a…symbiote…either. It’s my symbiont."

O’Neill crossed his arms. "And what, exactly, does that mean?"

Ezri bit her lip, wondering how to explain. Jadzia and Curzon had always known how to explain their symbiotic nature; however, Ezri didn't have much experience in that area.

"Thousands of years ago, my people, the Trill, discovered a sentient life-form dwelling in underground pools on our home planet. These beings, the symbionts, were long-lived, and were capable of joining with my people. I’m one of the Trill who have Joined with a symbiont. Each symbiont moves from host to host, and each new host brings new memories to be passed down to the next host. I-Ezri-am Dax’s ninth host. I have the memories of all of Dax’s previous hosts."

For a moment, everyone was silent as they absorbed what she told them. "So, exactly what kind of relationship do you have with-Dax?" Carter asked.

"It’s a completely symbiotic one. When we were joined, I blended with Dax. I’m still Ezri-but I’m also Dax."

*****

A short while later, Jack, Jonas, Sam, and Teal’c stepped out into the hallway. "Is anyone else really confused?" O’Neill asked, rubbing his temples.

Sam shook her head in wonder. "Imagine – two races of beings capable of joining together to create something else, to become only one person and not remain as two separate beings."

"But in the process you lose your individuality," Jonas argued. "You become a part of something else, not the whole."

"Assuming she's telling the truth!" Jack reminded them. "Doesn't anyone even consider that option anymore?"

"I do not believe Ezri Dax is lying," Teal'c told him.

"Me, neither," Jonas said.

"Well, that's just peachy."

"There is one thing I'd like to know," Carter said after a moment.

Jack looked up towards the heavens with a 'There is a God!' expression.

"What?" Jonas questioned her.

"Back when Janet warned the base that SG-3 had been compromised…" She turned to Jonas. "What do you remember after that?"

Jonas' brow furrowed. "We ran out of the commissary toward the sound of gunfire. Only, it was coming from more than one direction. Half of the base personnel went one way, another went another way, and you, Teal'c, Dax, and I were following them when we caught up with-" he paused before glancing uncertainly at the colonel. "It must have been you, colonel. I'm not really sure."

Now O'Neill was remembering. "Yeah, it was me. I was about to head for the Stargate when the klaxons started, then I went to see what was going on and I caught up with you guys just outside of artillery. I can't remember what happened next."

"I can," Major Carter told him. "Two of the Goa'uld's ambushed us. Jonas and I ducked inside the weapons room while you and Teal'c covered us. Dax was hit in the leg and the arm. I don’t remember what happens next. Teal'c?"

"I do not recall what happens next either, Major Carter," he informed her. "However, I do remember carrying Ezri Dax to the infirmary, after the battle was over. I do not remember how the battle with the Goa'uld ended."

"Well, if I'm right, then Lieutenant Dax can remember that part of events," Carter told them.

"Carter?" O'Neill questioned, sensing that his scientist was developing another genius theory of hers.

"Something is effecting our memories, sir. I don't know what exactly, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Lieutenant Dax herself or whatever happened during her arrival. None of us can remember how Lieutenant Dax arrived here. Whenever we try to remember, our memories are muddled and impossible to interpret. I've asked a handful of personnel, and they can't remember what happened either. That was the first time we experienced some sort of group amnesia. The second time was just now, only this time, each of us remembers a different portion of the events."

"So what's causing it? And how do we get our memories back?" Jonas asked.

Carter sighed. "I don't know."

"Well, if Lt. Dax is the cause of it, I wouldn't be surprised," Jack said. "We don't know the first thing about her. Sure, she'd told us her story, but we don't even know if she's telling the truth. She's got a snake in her, and she said herself that she wasn't just carrying it like Teal'c here."

"I agree," Hammond said, stepping out into the hall. "I'm ordering that everyone is to have a physical to see if Dr. Fraiser can account for any memory loss. Dr. Fraiser has already cleared me; she's examining Lt. Dax right now. I wanted all four of you to get checked out before you do anything else. Colonel, when you've been checked out, meet me in my office. I want to have a little chat with our other guest in the holding cell level."

*****

The quarantine had been underway for less than two hours. The entire base was sealed off; until this memory problem was solved, no one could go in or out of the base. All irrelevant activities were postponed. Until their memories were restored, there was no point in doing something that acquired lots of concentration, such as lab work, translating work, and other kinds of work. Jack hated quarantines. The last three quarantines hadn't been very pleasant for him. The first was when he, along with almost everyone on the base, had transformed into their primal human ancestors. He spent the second one impaled to a wall in the embarkation room before being shot to temporary death by Teal'c's staff weapon. The last one had happened only a few weeks before, and Jack spent most of it chasing a paranoid ex-soldier around the state of Colorado.

With his track record, things would get worse for him and the rest of the people trapped in the SGC.

Wait a minute here…when did the quarantine start? Two hours ago. Right. So if he knew that, why couldn't he remember the past two hours?

Jack and General Hammond were on the holding cell level. They were gong to interrogate the Goa'uld. Even though the amnesia-problem was a high priority, they also needed to know if more Goa'uld were coming.

Jack rubbed his temples. Didn't Fraiser clear him and the general? What was it she'd said? Something about nothing being visibly wrong with his brain. He couldn't really remember exactly what she'd said Amnesia aside, that wasn't unusual - he never could understand all that science mumbo jumbo anyway.

*****

"Lt. Dax, we're all losing our memories around here," Jack told the alien woman seated across from him at the briefing table. Jack furrowed his brow. "And now I've forgotten what I was going to say. Imagine that," he said sarcastically.

Carter, Teal'c, Fraiser, Hammond, Teal'c, Jack, and Dax glanced around the table at each other. "What's the last thing anyone remembers?"

"Hammond and I were on the holding cell level," Jack said.

"I was getting checked up by Dr. Fraiser," said Jonas.

"Would you say that those events happened three hours ago?"

Jack and Jonas glanced at their watches. They nodded.

"Major?" Hammond questioned.

"The memory blocks are happening more frequently, sir," Carter said. "They're also happening more often."

"When can we expect the next one to occur?" asked Hammond.

"I can't say for certain, sir. My best guess is that in six hours from now, something will happen that will erase our memories of the previous three or four hours."

"Well, that's nice to know," Dax muttered.

Jack turned to Teal'c. "So what were you doing three hours ago, Teal'c?"

"I was meditating," Teal'c answered, "In an attempt to see if I might remember events better."

"Did it work?" Hammond asked him.

"It did. I can remember a flash of lightning colored blue, but that is all."

"Are you sure it was blue?" Ezri asked, her eyes wide.

Teal'c thought for a moment, then nodded. "I am certain."

Ezri sighed. "Then it might be my fault after all."

"Lieutenant?" Jack prodded.

Ezri glanced around at all of them. "I told all of you about my dual nature, right?"

"I think so," Jonas said. "Anyone else remember that?"

Amazingly, everyone nodded. "Okay, then. When symbionts on in the underground pools on Trill, they can communicate to each other through telepathy. Whenever they send out a thought, a band of blue energy carrying the thought is visible on the water's surface."

Everyone sat up straighter in their seats, alarmed by this piece of information. "So the Dax Symbiont's way of communicating is affecting everyone here somehow?" Carter asked her.

"That's one explanation, I guess," Ezri confirmed. The scientist part of her, of Dax, leapt to the foreground. "Something about this alternate reality that's different from mine might cause it."

"So what exactly happens?" Jonas asked.

Ezri sighed. "I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before that I know of." Memories flooded her mind, Jadzia's memories to be exact. Ezri remembered when (something) caused the spirits of Dax's former hosts to possess the other officers aboard Deep Space Nine. That was the closest experience Dax had to what was happening now.

"We should check the security tapes," Jonas said. "See if there are any clues there."

Hammond nodded in agreement "I told security to go over the surveillance tapes of the past few days." He stood and walked over to the wall intercom. "Let's hope they remembered to do so."

He paged security. Ten minutes later, two of the men from surveillance, Lts. Sands and LeBlanc, entered the briefing room. "Did you find anything interesting, lieutenant?" Hammond asked LeBlanc.

"Yes, sir," reported LeBlanc. "At least we think so. We kept forgetting the parts of the tapes we'd already gone over."

Lt. Sands held up two tapes. "We did find something that we think you might find interesting, sir." He glanced uncertainly at Dax. "It's about Lieutenant Dax, sir."

"Go ahead."

Sands inserted one of the tapes into the VCR.

The recording was of the gate room. "This shows Lt. Ezri’s arrival," LeBlanc told them.

The gate sat there, inactive. Suddenly, the inner ring began to

move. The chevrons locked into place as the marines filled into

the room and got into defensive positions.

The gate activated. SG-1 appeared through the event horizon. They

walked down the ramp while Hammond ordered the marines to stand

down. The gate shut down behind SG-1. Only, when the wormhole dissipating,

a figure stood in its place. It was Lt. Dax.

There was instant chaos. The marines repositioned their pistols,

ordering SG-1 to hit the deck. SG-1 did so. They heard Hammond bark out, "Hold your fire!"

The group in the briefing room watched, amazed, especially Ezri,

as the Dax on the screen took one small step before she began to

convulse. She grasped her stomach as she fell forward onto the ramp.

Blue bolts of lightning-like energy emerged from her stomach and

flew outwards, striking everywhere. They struck inanimate objects

without leaving any marks. They also struck every person in sight.

When each person was struck, they seemed to freeze in place.

A moment passed before the bolts disappeared. SG-1 stood up, glancing

at each other in confusion. The marines noticed Lt. Dax first. They

pointed their weapons at her. Ezri stood up slowly with her hands up.

Lt. LeBlanc stopped the tape. Shocked silence ascended on the group.

Then, angrily, Jack turned to Ezri. "What the hell was that?"

Ezri just shook her head. "I don’t know."

"Really," Jack said, sarcastically.

Hammond stood. "Lieutenants, escort Lt. Dax to the infirmary."

to be continued

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