Martouf

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Martouf

Summary

Martouf was the name of the human host who was blended with the Tok'ra symbiote named Lantash. He was introduced in the episode, 2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1", and died in the episode, 4.05 "Divide and Conquer". Martouf shared many adventures with SG-1 during the few years that they knew him.

Character Biography

Martouf Meets SG-1

Martouf and Rosha on their last night together
Martouf meets Carter and discovers she carries Jolinar's memories
Martouf and Carter share a moment together

The circumstances behind how Martouf became the human host to the Tok'ra symbiote Lantash aren't known, but for the majority of humans who became Tok'ra hosts, the union was fully consensual. Lantash was the older of the two, having been spawned by Egeria, the queen symbiote who opposed Ra and created the "against Ra"—Tok'ra—movement about two thousand years ago. Because the bond between the two was mutually beneficial and full, Martouf exhibited a maturity that seemed beyond his years. His quiet demeanor was often in sharp contrast to Lantash's usually more "passionate" nature. Martouf became one of the closest allies that the SG-1 team had ever known, while Lantash for the most part remained silent. The two always made it clear when Lantash spoke as he used the altered voice to make his presence known. (2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1", 2.12 "The Tok'ra Part 2")

The team met Martouf and the Tok'ra through Jolinar of Malkshur, the Tok'ra symbiote who went against the ideals of the Tok'ra when she took Samantha Carter as an unwilling host. Jolinar had been blended with a female human named Rosha, and it was Rosha/Jolinar and Martouf/Lantash who had been mated for well over a century (Tok'ra hosts live to be over 200 years old due to the healing and regenerative powers of the symbiotes). (2.02 "In the Line of Duty", 2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1")

All Tok'ra lived very intense lives during their efforts to overthrow the Goa'uld System Lords from within, so it wasn't unusual for mates to be separated during some of their missions. One mission sent Rosha/Jolinar into the ranks of Sokar, but almost immediately they were discovered and sent to Netu, Sokar's version of Hell. Nobody had ever escaped from Netu before, but Rosha/Jolinar found a way. They gained access to the Lord of Netu's private chambers where Rosha had sexual intercourse with him. After he fell asleep, Rosha/Jolinar obtained the key to the ring transporter that connected Netu to Sokar's facilities where he kept cargo ships. Rosha/Jolinar had been severely tortured, but this liaison tormented them even more. Because they wanted to protect Martouf/Lantash from this horrible truth, neither one spoke about how it was that they had escaped from the inescapable Netu. (3.12 "Jolinar's Memories Part 1", 3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

Shortly afterward, the mates were separated once more by another mission, and Rosha was lost as Jolinar took a male host to hide from a Goa'uld assassin who had been sent by one of the System Lords. This male host died during an attack on his homeworld, and that is when Carter became Jolinar's new host. After the Ashrak found them and used a device of torture called the Hara'kash, Jolinar sacrificed her life in order to save Carter's. (2.02 "In the Line of Duty")

Although brief, this blending between Jolinar and Carter left Carter with fragments of Jolinar's memories. Using a memory of the coordinates to one of the Tok'ra's hidden bases, Carter led her team to P34-353J, where they met Martouf/Lantash and several other Tok'ra, including Selmak, who blended with Carter's father Jacob Carter so that both could be saved. The moment that Carter met Martouf/Lantash, she recalled the deep feelings that Rosha/Jolinar had for them. Martouf/Lantash explained that the host and symbiote loved as one and grieved as one. Carter was so confused by Jolinar's feelings that she felt she couldn't move forward with any other romantic relationships until she had it all sorted out. (2.11 "The Tok'ra Part 1", 2.12 "The Tok'ra Part 2", 3.15 "Pretense")

Martouf Accompanies SG-1 on Missions

Martouf's disposition changes as Lantash takes over
Martouf leads a delegation to Earth concerning Jacob/Selmak's capture by Sokar
Martouf under the influence of the Blood of Sokar

Whenever Jacob/Selmak couldn't make the trip to the SGC to coordinate their plans against the Goa'uld, it was usually Martouf/Lantash who served as the lead Tok'ra representative. They came to the SGC when they heard that Apophis had been taken by SG-1 after his escape from Sokar, who had been torturing him because of his and Ra's part in overthrowing him when he once led the System Lords. Martouf tried to convince them that keeping Apophis on the base was too risky and that Sokar would seek to harm them, but the Tau'ri (humans of Earth) felt that they needed to interrogate Apophis. Lantash finally spoke out in a rather demeaning and harsh manner. Point blank he told them that they were endangering their entire race if they didn't return Apophis to Sokar immediately. The contrast in Martouf and Lantash was so severe that even Carter was stunned. Martouf asked that they forgive Lantash for his "passionate" opinion, but knew that Lantash was right about the dangers. (2.17 "Serpent's Song")

True to Lantash's warning, Sokar launched an attack against Earth through the Stargate. The iris protecting the base held, but it wasn't going to last. Once the 38-minute window for an open wormhole passed, the Tau'ri sent back Apophis' dead body and Sokar ended his attacks. But in the time that Apophis was in Dr. Fraiser's care, the host who had been taken by the Apophis symbiote reemerged, confused and alone. Daniel conversed briefly with the host and tried to comfort him, but everyone knew that when they returned Apophis that they had betrayed the host who would once again suffer torture at Sokar's hands. Martouf was slightly confused about his human friends' show of remorse and guilt, thinking that they would be glad that Apophis would suffer for the many things he had done to them. Of all people in the universe, the Tok'ra host should have been more aware of the horrors that the hosts of Goa'uld symbiotes experience as prisoners in their own bodies and as witnesses to innumerable and unspeakable atrocities. (2.17 "Serpent's Song")

Almost a year after this incident, Jacob Carter/Selmak were captured by Sokar and sent to Netu, and Martouf/Lantash went to Carter for her help in getting them out by using the Memory Recall Device to access Jolinar's memories about Netu. She recalled the last night that Rosha/Jolinar and Martouf/Lantash had spent together walking along the ridge of Noctana and gazing at the two moons that were out that night. Martouf/Lantash had such strong feelings about that last night that Carter was afraid to tell them how it was that Rosha/Jolinar had escaped. When it came to finally telling them, Carter had to make certain that they knew that they had not been betrayed and that Rosha/Jolinar loved them greatly. (3.12 "Jolinar's Memories Part 1", 3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

Bynarr, the Lord of Netu, was the one with whom Rosha/Jolinar had had sex in order to obtain the access key to the ring transporter. Carter knew immediately whom to ask for when she, Martouf, O'Neill, and Daniel were identified as new prisoners. Little did they know that Apophis was on Netu, and he used SG-1's arrival to win Sokar's favor by obtaining valuable information from each through the use of a hallucinogen called the Blood of Sokar. (3.12 "Jolinar's Memories Part 1", 3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

Apophis killed Bynarr and then began his vie for his position. He sought information about the Asgard from O'Neill, the iris code to Earth's Stargate from Carter, the whereabouts of his son from Daniel, and the location of the Tok'ra's secret base from Martouf. Apophis threatened to kill Carter before Martouf's eyes if he didn't tell, but it was Rosha that Martouf saw in his hallucination. Breaking down and crying, Martouf told Apophis that the Tok'ra base was on Entac. Apophis let both live, perhaps thinking that he could gain even more information. (3.12 "Jolinar's Memories Part 1", 3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

When they were returned to the pit in which Jacob/Selmak were recovering, Carter told Martouf that he shouldn't have given away the Tok'ra base just to save her life. He told her that he knew it was her in his hallucination, basically letting her know that he was well aware of the effects of the Blood of Sokar and was not as weak as she believed. Martouf had told her that he had endured torture before and she then realized that he had lied about the Tok'ra's base. (3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

Through amazing team effort, the prisoners escaped from Netu right as the Tok'ra destroyed the moon and Sokar along with it. Little did they know that Apophis had escaped and would eventually take over Sokar's domain. (3.13 "The Devil You Know Part 2")

Martouf Dies

Martouf begs Carter to prevent his programmed suicide
Carter cradles Martouf after she kills him
Martouf's memories die with Elliot/Lantash

Through all of the interactions that Stargate Command, especially SG-1, had with Martouf, Jacob/Selmak, Aldwin, Anise, and many others of the Tok'ra, a formal treaty was finally drawn up between the two. After Daniel and the Tok'ra negotiated the final draft of the treaty, the High Councilor of the Tok'ra agreed to sign it with the President of the United States on Earth. Preparations for the meeting were taking place at the Tok'ra's secret base when all of a sudden, Maj. Graham of SG-14 tried to kill Per'sus. His attempt failed and he committed suicide with the very same weapon he was supposed to use. Anise recognized the behavior as that of a zatarc, a brainwashed assassin who was programmed by the Goa'uld for a certain mission and if that mission failed, they'd commit suicide, targeting their brain so that they wouldn't lead anyone to their captor or to a chance to override the programming. Anise developed a zatarc detector, similar to a lie detector, which she used against the rest of SG-14 and additional SGC personnel, including SG-1. The zatarc detector wasn't foolproof, and as a result, O'Neill and Carter were deemed to be zatarcs. (4.05 "Divide and Conquer")

While Carter was being held to prevent her supposed programming from activating once in the presence of Per'sus or the President, Martouf confided in her that he had grown "quite fond" of her and wished that she would undergo a risky procedure to remove the programming. Eventually, though, O'Neill agreed to undergo the procedure while Carter was put under sedation. He explained that her brain was much more valuable than his. As Carter was being put under, she realized that the zatarc detector had reacted to their suppression of their feelings for each other that came to the fore when they were trapped aboard one of Apophis's ships. Retesting after admitting their secret feelings proved her theory correct and both were cleared. (4.03 "Upgrades", 4.05 "Divide and Conquer")

Anise tested all the Tau'ri and Tok'ra she thought could have had access to Per'sus and the President, except for one. Realizing nearly too late, they tried to make it to Martouf before he welcomed Per'sus and the President to the talks. Daniel tried to get him out of the Gate Room, but it was too late. Martouf's programming kicked in and he began to fire his weapon. Carter rushed into the room with a zat gun, and Martouf, after having been shot several times by SGC personnel, begged her to kill him before he killed himself. Martouf knew that his brain could be studied to improve the zatarc detection and reprogramming process. Carter fired on him twice, thus ending his life and sparing his body. She ran to him and caressed him, her feelings for him from either her own self or Jolinar or a combination of the two evident as she cradled his dead body and cried. Anise promised her that his death would ultimately proved to be a noble sacrifice. (4.05 "Divide and Conquer")

The Tok'ra took Martouf home with them to Ravanna and placed him in stasis, hoping to repair the damage. Unfortunately, after several months, his body could not be saved, but Lantash survived. Without a new host readily available, Lantash was also placed in stasis. When SG-1, except for Daniel who was on a secret mission to activate the Tok'ra-developed symbiote poison at the Goa'uld System Lords' summit, and SG-17 were visiting the base as part of the new treaty, Carter visited the room where Lantash was being held and talked with Ren Au, the Tok'ra in charge of the symbiote poison and Lantash's well-being. Carter believed that the Tok'ra didn't value Martouf as highly as they did the symbiote Lantash and that they made no attempt to save him after conducting their research into the zatarc programming. Ren Au tried to assure her that Martouf lived on in Lantash. Then, the base came under attack and Ren Au transferred the Tok'ra's research to a crystal right before she died when the chamber collapsed. Lantash's stasis chamber was crushed and he took Lt. Elliot of SG-17 as his new host, but Elliot was severely injured. Most of Lantash's strength went to healing Elliot, but Elliot spoke for Martouf/Lantash when he told Carter that he loved her just as he had loved Jolinar. Martouf and Lantash loved her as one. (5.15 "Summit Part 1", 5.16 "Last Stand Part 2")

Lantash perished on Ravanna when he used the only vial remaining of the symbiote poison to stop the Jaffa troops from overrunning the base so that SG-1, including Daniel and Jacob/Selmak who had arrived in answer to their distress call, could escape through the Stargate. With Lantash's demise, that part of Martouf that remained within him also perished. (5.16 "Last Stand Part 2")

Martouf in an Alternate Reality

Alternate Martouf kisses Carter goodbye

Alternate realities or parallel universes exist in which similar events take place, but different decisions are made, thus making some realities close to each other and some very different. When an alternate SG-1 developed a way to bridge alternate realities through the Stargate and a black hole, an SG-1 team consisting of Dr. Janet Fraiser, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, and Martouf arrived. This group was in the process of trying to find the cure to the Prior Plague, a horrible disease brought to the galaxy by the Priors in their quest to convert everyone to worship a group of ascended beings known as the Ori. This Martouf was very similar to the one that Carter knew, and she couldn't help but be attracted to him as they worked closely together to find a way to get all of the alternate teams home. He admitted that she and he had been in a relationship in his reality but it didn't work out. His Carter had moved on to be with someone else, but he obviously still had feelings for her. Carter told Martouf that she missed him, and they were about to kiss when they were interrupted. Eventually, the method to reverse the effects of the bridge were obtained from the team that had created it, and Martouf and his team were sent home with the cure to the Prior Plague that had been developed in Carter's reality. (9.13 "Ripple Effect")

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--DeeKayP 19:29, 17 Feb 2005 (PST)