Fairbairn blinked in surprise, her curiosity piqued. “Helena, how’s that possible?”
Helena hesitated, drawing strength from the rosary she clutched. “When I was with the Rogue NID, I... volunteered for an experiment,” she confessed, her voice heavy with regret. “They wanted to use Goa’uld technology without blending with a symbiote. I hoped it might help me use the healing device, though Colonel Galli clearly had other plans. He wanted me to wield the Kara-kesh.”
Fairbairn’s eyes softened with a flicker of understanding. “And the experiment succeeded?”
“To a degree,” Helena replied, her tone darkening. “Using Goa’uld technology triggers severe headaches for me—crippling ones. It became so unbearable that they prescribed an inhibitor to block the Naquadah’s effects.”
Fairbairn tilted her head. “Do you know why it caused such a reaction?”