The Lucian Alliance Heist
by
Alobear
Summary:
The Lucian Alliance are working on something big, and SG-1 go on a mission to find out what. (Set between S10E09 Company of Thieves and S10E15 Bounty.)
Notes:
This story was finally completed for WIP Big Bang 2016, after the first scene sat languishing in my Google Docs for many months. I am grateful to the WIP Big Bang community for giving me the motivation to actually write this, and huge thanks must also go to Lunalucy for the beta.
XXXXX
Now...
Cam was starting to think he might have to learn to keep his damn mouth shut.
He was currently squeezed into a missile container with Jackson – back to back, but still rather more friendly than he would have preferred. Teal'c was sharing another container with Vala somewhere nearby, and Cam hadn't yet decided who out of the four of them had drawn the short straw. He figured it was probably best not to try. The other thing he was trying not to do was fidget, but he had an itch, right in the middle of his back, and no way of reaching it any time soon. He shifted his shoulders ever so slightly, trying to relieve the itch without actually moving very much. It didn't help at all; in fact, it only managed to aggravate the itch even further.
The container shifted suddenly, sending Jackson's full weight into Cam, squishing him against the rough wooden side and forcing all the breath out of his body in an involuntary whoomph. Jackson then somehow contrived to kick him on the ankle, presumably admonishing him for making a noise. Cam felt an almost overwhelming desire to retaliate, but he restrained himself, placing the safety of the mission ahead of his desire for vengeance. Besides, the sharp pain in his ankle was now distracting him somewhat from his continuing itch. He also gained a small measure of satisfaction when the container shifted suddenly in the other direction, and this time it was Jackson who was squished against the side.
Then they were moving, being carried in a less than gentle fashion, hopefully toward their destination. Cam could only pray they ended up in the right place before he and Jackson gained too many more bruises. His prayers were answered when the crate stopped moving abruptly a few minutes later and they were dumped to the ground with an unceremonious thump. Cam dreaded to think what might have happened had the crate actually contained explosives, as had been advertised to those carrying it, and hoped the crates that did weren't being treated in quite such a cavalier manner. He waited, tense and twitchy, for what seemed an eternity after the footsteps faded away and they were finally left in silence. Eventually, he decided it was time to release the team from their confinement. He tapped his radio once, the pre-arranged signal to Teal'c that he and Vala could exit their container. Then, he thrust an elbow at the lid of his own, forcing it upward.
Zat-gun at the ready, Cam peeped out at their surroundings, relieved to see they were apparently in some kind of warehouse, stacked with crates and boxes, but with no enemy operatives currently in sight. He clambered out of the container, then reached down to offer Jackson a hand, which Jackson summarily slapped away with an exasperated glare. Cam shrugged a dismissal of Jackson's bad mood, turning instead to look for Teal'c and Vala, who were making their way over to them from where their own container had been stowed.
"Everyone okay?" Cam asked in a low voice.
"Indeed," Teal'c intoned.
"Next time, someone else can share with Squirmy McSquirmerson over here," Jackson griped, glaring at Cam. "Frankly, I'm amazed you didn't give us away."
"Well, I'm sorry!" Cam hissed. "I had an itch." He reached up behind his back to finally relieve his discomfort.
"Vala Mal Doran proved a most pleasant companion on the journey," Teal'c said, inclining his head in Vala's direction.
Vala beamed in triumph at Cam and Jackson. "Why, thank you, Teal'c," she said gravely. "A lady always appreciates being complimented on her companionship. And, for the record, I'd happily be confined in a small box with any one of you, anytime!"
"I bet you would," Cam muttered under his breath, shuddering slightly at the thought of being stuck in a small space with the ever effusive Vala. "Now that we've got that out of the way," he said in a slightly louder tone, "perhaps we could get on with the mission?" He tapped his radio. "Sam, do you copy?"
"Loud and clear," came the immediate response. "What's your status?"
Calm professionalism, Cam thought with an inward sigh, that was all he asked for. And Sam was pretty much guaranteed to give it to him – while offworld, at least. Not for the first time, he wished she was down on the planet with them, instead of stuck in orbit on a cloaked cargo ship. But now was hardly the time to question the details of the mission, since they were already so deep into enemy territory, they wouldn't be able to change the plan, even if they wanted to. Besides, this whole thing had been Cam's plan, after all, so he had nobody to blame but himself for how it had panned out.
XXXXX
Then...
Two weeks previously, Vala had bounced into the briefing room, where the rest of SG-1 and General Landry were gathered, and sat down at the table with them. Cam saw her falter slightly at the General's stern expression, but her habitual wide grin was back in place again almost immediately.
"I promise you're going to be very happy with what I have to say," she announced.
"I hope so," Landry said, drily. "I have to admit I'm not used to being summoned to my own briefing room by one of my subordinates."
"General!" Vala exclaimed, looking mock-horrified. "There's no need to make it sound dirty." She looked thoughtful. "Though I have always been partial to dominance-submission roleplay."
Cam rolled his eyes, wondering not for the first time if granting Vala an official place on the team had been a mistake. "Just get on with it, Vala," he said. "Why are we here?"
She turned her sparkling eyes on him. "Why, I'm glad you asked, Colonel Mitchell. I've had a very interesting communication from one of my old contacts in the smuggling world."
Jackson held up a finger to interrupt her, his brow furrowed. "You've been on base for days. How exactly could you have received a message from off-world?"
Vala looked coy. "A girl has to keep some secrets to herself, Daniel," she said. "How else can I maintain my air of mystique?" She batted her eyelids at him, undeterred by his impatient expression.
Landry laid his hands flat on the table, a clear sign he had had more than enough of Vala's games. "Let's set aside the issue of a possible security breach for the moment," he said, pinning Vala with a disapproving glare, "though you can be sure we will return to it in due time. What was so important about this message that it required an emergency briefing?" Vala opened her mouth to respond, but the General quickly continued, "And without the usual embellishments, if you please."
Vala sighed. "You people are just no fun," she pouted. Then, finally responding to the General's hard stare, she straightened in her chair and put on an expression of sober efficiency. "According to my contact, the Lucian Alliance is working on something big, some kind of weapon that has the potential to change the power balance throughout the whole galaxy."
"And how exactly is that news supposed to make us 'very happy'?" Cam asked. He realised he had been grinding his teeth, and made a conscious effort to stop. His blood pressure had always been rock solid, even back when he was a combat pilot. If anything was going to change that, it was having to deal with Vala on a daily basis.
"Because," Vala said, her tone making it clear that what she was about to say ought to be blindingly obvious, "now that we know about the weapon, I figured we can go and steal it!"
Jackson rubbed his hands over his face, pulling his bottom lip down briefly to create an impression of stunned despair.
"Of course you did," he said. "And do you have a plan as to how we're actually going to do that? Or any more information about what the weapon is, what it does, or where it's being developed?"
Vala was not even remotely put off by Jackson's very sensible questions. "That's why I called the briefing," she said. "So we can come up with a plan. That's what teamwork's all about, after all, isn't it?" She looked round at them all in turn, her eyes bright and hopeful.
There was a brief moment of silence. Cam was trying to think of a way to respond, and figured that was probably what the others were doing, too. Eventually, Sam spoke up for the first time, and Cam threw her a grateful smile for taking a turn at running up against Vala's twisted logic and irrepressible self-assurance.
"How reliable is this information?" she asked. "Can we even trust that such a weapon exists?"
Vala looked affronted. "It's absolutely reliable!" she said. "Are you calling the credibility of my smuggling contacts into question?"
Jackson raised his eyebrows and just looked at her for a long moment.
Vala met his gaze stubbornly for a couple of seconds, then raised her hands in surrender and let her breath out in a huff.
"Fair enough," she said. "Maybe not all my contacts are exactly trustworthy, but this one is, I promise. We're even still friends and everything. He wouldn't feed me false information. We can definitely act on this in good faith - and we should, quickly, since we have no idea how close to completion the weapon is, and we certainly don't want to give the Lucian Alliance the chance to use it against us. Even if we can't actually steal it, we should at least find out where it is and destroy it."
Landry sighed. "Recommendations?"
XXXXX
Now...
"We're in the warehouse," Cam told Sam. "So far, so good. We'll take a look around and see what there is to find. You still okay up there?"
"No trouble yet," she reported. "There are a couple of ships in orbit, but they're not active. It certainly doesn't look like they're expecting opposition. It shouldn't be a problem for me to sweep in and pick you up once you've got the intel."
"Well, just let us know if anything changes," Cam said. "Mitchell out."
Jackson was looking round at all the crates, and his expression suggested something was bothering him. Cam could practically see the cogs going round in his brain.
"What is it, Jackson?" he prompted.
Jackson turned to look at him, momentarily confused by the question. "Oh, I was just wondering," he said. "If The Lucian Alliance has developed some kind of super-weapon that's going to make them masters of the universe, why would they be stock-piling standard, run-of-the-mill weapons in this warehouse?" He gestured at all the crates stacked around them. "This lot must have cost a fortune. Why would they waste the money if what they're developing is going to make all this obsolete?"
"Who knows what goes through these guys' heads?" Cam said, though a sliver of uncertainty started to coil in his belly. "Maybe all this is a backup plan in case their uber-weapon doesn't work properly. Or maybe they're planning some kind of coup on multiple fronts and they need a more traditional attack option to ensure total dominance." That was a less than pleasant thought, and Cam wished his brain wasn't quite so good at coming up with doomsday scenarios. He pushed several other ideas hurriedly aside. "Anyway, let's move out before someone comes back to check up on their purchases."
Cam took another look at their surroundings. There was a large metal shutter blocking the doorway they had presumably been carried through, but there was another, smaller door on the other side of the warehouse space. He figured that would most likely lead into the rest of the Lucian Alliance base, so he headed in that direction, the other three following close behind him. He kept his zat-gun primed and raised in one hand, while he used the other to try the door handle. It turned easily and the door opened smoothly when he pulled it toward him. Nodding to the others, he slipped through and into the corridor on the other side.
Glancing in both directions, Cam saw a completely empty hallway, with more doors evenly spaced along it. There were no guards posted at any of them, but also no way to tell what might be behind them. And there were a lot of doors. This was going to take some time, and be extremely risky. They could burst in on enemy soldiers, or be caught breaking into rooms at any moment, and it would take Sam at least a couple of minutes to get into range to pick them up if things started going wrong. Wanting to get this stage of the mission over with as quickly and quietly as possible, Cam picked a direction at random and moved swiftly and stealthily down the corridor. At the first door on the left, he motioned for Jackson and Teal'c to take up a position on the far side, keeping Vala behind him on his side.
Once everyone was ready, Cam repeated his process for opening the warehouse door - zat-gun primed to deal with any surprises. This door opened just as easily as the previous one, revealing what looked like some kind of office. It was empty of people, but there were several consoles on the desks, and even more cabinets lining the walls. They all stepped cautiously inside the room.
"Teal'c, watch the door," Cam said. Looking at the other two, he continued, "I guess it makes sense to start with the physical files."
Cam, Vala and Jackson dispersed to three separate corners of the room and started rifling through the cabinets. Cam first started feeling suspicious when it turned out that none of the drawers were locked, and all of them were stuffed full of paperwork. It wasn't long before Jackson made a soft noise of discovery and moved to one of the empty desks, a file folder in his hand.
"What have you got?" Cam asked, stepping over to join him. Vala crowded in on his other side.
"Um, I think, maybe exactly what we were looking for?" Jackson's tone was uncertain, but he laid several documents out for them to see.
Cam inspected them and quickly identified that they were blueprints for some kind of weapon. He couldn't grasp all the details of its form and function without further detailed study, but whatever it was, it certainly looked pretty badass. His apprehension flared.
"Freely accessible in the first room we came to?" he said, glancing at the other two in alarm. "I don't think so. This is starting to feel very much like a -"
Before he could complete the sentence, the sound of a zat blast rent the air, and Teal'c toppled through the doorway and collapsed unconscious to the floor. Before any of them could react, something rolled through the doorway after him, and Cam just had time to recognise it as a Goa'uld shock grenade before it went off.
His last thought as his senses were overwhelmed what that he was going to kill Vala.
XXXXX
Then...
The General had been quite cautious about acting on Vala's information, a very sensible approach in Cam's view. It was one thing to trust that Vala was confident the intel was reliable, but it was quite another to leap into action without at least trying to get some corroboration from a second source. The SGC put feelers out to all the independent contacts they could get in touch with, and all the information came back the same. Word across the entire galaxy was that The Lucian Alliance was working on something big, and was close to completing it, whatever it was.
The next time SG-1 and the General met in the conference room for a briefing, Vala looked particularly smug.
"Now are we ready to make a plan, based on the perfectly reliable information I brought you days ago?" she asked, archly, looking round at them each in turn.
"It does seem as if Vala's contact was telling the truth, sir," Sam added. "But we still can't get any details about what exactly the weapon is. We've identified the most likely location for it, though, based on all the intel we've been able to gather from multiple sources. By all reports, it's a Lucian Alliance weapons bunker on one of the planets we know they control."
"Time to go on the offensive, then, Colonel?" Landry arched an eyebrow at Cam.
"Yes, sir," Cam confirmed. "We figure infiltrating the bunker is the best way to find out what we're dealing with. If we can see whatever it is they're working on with our own eyes, we'll be in a much better position to decide what to do about it."
"I've already told you what we should do about it," Vala said. "We should steal it, and use it against them."
"Regardless," Cam said, glaring at her, "the next step is to gain access."
"And do you have a plan as to how to do that?" the General asked.
"Well, there doesn't appear to be a Stargate on the planet in question," Jackson said, "and the approach to the bunker is heavily guarded both on the ground and in orbit. We think it would be very difficult to get in without some kind of help."
"And how do you propose getting that help?" was Landry's next question.
"Since the target is a weapons bunker, we figure the best way to get inside is to pretend to be some weapons," Cam said with a grin. He quickly continued, at the General's confused expression. "If we can use Vala's reliable contact -" he acknowledged Vala's triumphant smile with a reluctant nod "- to help us set up some kind of weapons sale to the Lucian Alliance, chances are high they'll transport whatever we give them to the target site. If some of us hide inside the crates, we'll get carried right inside, along with the actual weapons."
The General looked skeptical. "You want to sell weapons to The Lucian Alliance?"
"Only a few, sir," Cam said hurriedly, with what he hoped was a confidence-inspiring smile. "Besides, if what we're hearing about this uber project they're working on is true, a few more missiles here and there in their arsenal aren't going to make any difference in the long run."
"That isn't exactly very reassuring," Landry said, "and I'm more than a bit wary of you trusting your safety in that kind of situation to someone outside the SGC."
"That's where I come in, sir," Sam said, with her own encouraging smile. "We'd only use Vala's contact to put us in touch with The Lucian Alliance, not to make the deal itself. Colonel Mitchell, Daniel, Teal'c, and Vala are all known to Lucian Alliance operatives now, so they'd be no use going undercover. But the only Alliance people who know what I look like are - dead." She grimaced, probably thinking about her experiences on the Odyssey, not so long ago. "So, I can be the one to make the actual sale, and then follow the 'goods' to their destination, and be on hand to provide an escape route once the rest of the team have the intel."
"You didn't tell me you already had all the details of the plan worked out!" Vala pouted.
She had been nowhere to be found when Cam had called the others together to brainstorm ideas, and Cam had actually been quite glad to be able to have a rational discussion without inane interruptions for once.
Vala continued to look put out for a moment, then she brightened considerably, and bounced a little in her seat. "Sounds like fun, though! I've got dibs on sharing a weapons crate with -"
They were spared having to find out who Vala wanted to share a crate with, as the General interrupted her at that point.
"Do you really think this will work?" he asked Cam, still looking doubtful.
"It's the only plan we've been able to come up with, sir," Cam said, though he wondered himself why the others had been so willing to go along with it. Even he had to admit it was pretty thin. Maybe they should have waited until they'd been able to locate Vala. Despite her annoying traits, she could be quite creative, on a good day.
"It doesn't seem like we have much choice in the matter," the General said. "Okay, you have a go."
XXXXX
Now...
The first thing Cam felt upon regaining consciousness was really stupid. Then, the blinding pain in his head registered and he didn't have the energy for anything other than lying extremely still. He must have emitted some kind of noise - perhaps an agonised groan, though he couldn't be sure - because Jackson's voice immediately spoke up.
"Mitchell? Is that you?"
It was a struggle to make sense of the words through the pain and he wasn't sure he would have been able to swear absolutely to his identity under oath, but he thought he managed to reply hoarsely, "Yeah."
"When you open your eyes," Jackson continued, his tone slightly strained, "don't panic that you can't see. It's just a side effect of the grenade and it'll wear off in a few minutes."
It was then that Cam realised his eyes were actually already open but, as far as he could tell, he was in pitch blackness. Or, in fact, not, if Jackson was to be believed. With some effort, he rolled up into a sitting position and leaned forwards, pressing the heels of his hands into his temples. He wasn't sure if that helped, or if the effects of the stun grenade were gradually starting to wear off, but the pain lessened somewhat. A few moments later, the blackness receded a bit and he could see blurry shapes moving close by him.
"Are Teal'c and Vala here, too?" Cam asked, blinking furiously.
"We are," Tealc's deep voice intoned.
"We were just waiting for you to rejoin us," he heard Vala say.
That brought Cam up short. "Hey, how come all of you aren't as incapacitated as me?"
"This is your first run-in with a jaffa stun grenade, right?" Jackson asked.
Cam nodded, then wished he hadn't. "Yeah," he said, again.
"They still always knock you right out, but the intensity and duration of the after-effects seem to lessen, the more times you get hit by one," Jackson explained, then added wearily, "Teal'c and I have been here a few times before."
"And Vala?" Cam asked.
Her tone was rueful when she replied. "Jaffa weapons are pretty common out in the galaxy these days. I've had my fair share of run-ins with people who like to play with stun grenades."
His surroundings were starting to come a bit more into focus, and the headache was continuing to diminish, so Cam concentrated on looking around to discover more about where they were. That turned out to be two rather small cages. Jackson was crammed into the corner of one, with Teal'c crouched opposite him, testing the bars. Vala was practically lounging along the side of the other, taking up most of the space, and leaving Cam scrunched up against the door, which looked both securely locked and very sturdy. Further investigation revealed the unsurprising fact that he had been relieved of his weapons and radio.
"Any luck?" he asked Teal'c.
"Indeed not," Teal'c said. "Our prisons appear to be well built."
"Perfect," Cam muttered. "So, it seems clear from our present surroundings this whole enchilada was a trap all along."
He looked over at Vala, but she suddenly seemed to be studying her fingernails very carefully. He maintained his glare and, eventually, she looked over at him and threw her hands in the air.
"Okay, okay," she said, testily. "Maybe my contact wasn't as reliable as I thought. But all your fancy allies said the same thing. They must all have been duped like we were."
"And there's very little purpose in trying to assign blame at this point," Jackson said, frowning at Cam.
"It makes me feel better," Cam said, though even he had to admit he sounded petulant.
"Would we not be better served in attempting to find a way out?" Teal'c said, still feeling along each of the bars, despite his previous statement.
A new voice spoke up from beyond the confines of their prison. It was male, rich and cultured. "Oh, I think you will find that escape is quite impossible," whoever it was said, almost lazily.
Cam squinted up from his cramped position, and saw a tall, muscular man in a Lucian Alliance uniform approaching. He came to a halt a few feet away from the cage, and looked down at them with a cruel smile twisting his lips. He had shaggy, greying hair, a craggy, lined face, and cut quite an imposing figure. It didn't hurt that he was looming over them from his vantage point outside the cages, while they were reduced to crouching on the floor.
"I take it you're our host?" Cam said, rapidly fixing his usual bravado into place.
Given their respective positions, though, he wasn't surprised the man looked less than concerned by Cam's lack of obvious fear.
"Yes, I am," the man replied. It was then that Cam noticed the pain stick he was tapping rhythmically against his thigh. "You may have heard of me. My name is Kefflin."
"Oh, crap," Cam said, letting his head fall back into his hands.
XXXXX
Then...
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Cam growled out of the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, absolutely!" Vala beamed. "It really is the only way to get what we need. Andreas insisted it was the only thing that could persuade him to go against the Lucian Alliance directly. I know he sent us the original message about the weapon without prompting, but it's one thing to pass along information surreptitiously; it's quite another to knowingly set up a false deal and betray one of the most powerful operations in the galaxy."
Cam sighed, and glanced over at Jackson, who was stalking along at his side, his expression thunderous. The two of them were dressed in leathers that left their arms and most of their torsos bare, and were uncomfortably tight across the groin and ass regions. Vala had produced the outfits from who-knew-where on their arrival at the planet where her contact, Andreas, was based, and had told Cam and Jackson they would have to change into them before they proceeded to the meet. When Cam and Jackson had baulked, Vala had refused to tell them the location of the rendezvous until they gave in.
Cam was just grateful she had waited until they'd already gone through the Stargate to spring this little gem on them. He didn't want to think about the consequences of walking through the SGC wearing this outfit, and he was pretty sure Jackson would have refused altogether, mission be damned. Vala was similarly attired, but then that kind of thing was her normal off-world gear when non-regulation clothing was allowed, and she was striding along, perfectly happily, behind them.
They walked into a bar and all heads turned to look at them. Some continued to stare, either in appreciation or suspicion, while others quickly turned back to their drinks or companions. Vala made a beeline for a table in the far corner, Cam and Jackson now trailing reluctantly behind her. A seated man looked up at their approach, his wary expression rapidly clearing as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly.
"Wow," he breathed, his eyes raking first Cam and then Jackson, and his mouth stretching into a predatory grin. "Vala, I owe you an apology. I know what I said, but I never thought you'd actually be able to deliver."
The man - Andreas, Cam assumed - was thin and weaselly, with dark curly hair and a scraggly beard. He looked exactly like the kind of guy Cam would expect to find in a bar on a backwater planet, preparing to do a shady deal. He glanced at Cam again, licking his lips, and Cam sighed inwardly. He briefly considered what Sam's reaction would have been, had the mission required her to dress up like a sex object for the delectation of some grubby lowlife. It didn't bear thinking about. But here he and Jackson were, taking one for the team. Nothing like some double standards in gender politics.
Vala grinned, presenting her two teammates to Andreas with a flourish like a magician's assistant.
"Do I ever not deliver on my promises?" she asked, then suddenly looked uncertain. "Wait - don't answer that. Anyway, this time I've been as good as my word, at least."
"And then some," Andreas agreed. He seemed unable to decide where he wanted to focus his gaze, flitting it about in a way that was starting to make Cam feel distinctly uncomfortable.
Cam pulled out one of the spare chairs, and sat down, trying to ignore the way his pants creaked as he did so.
"You'd better be ready to hold up your end of the deal, then," he growled.
"Oh, sure thing," Andreas said, though he glanced around the room a bit nervously. "I'd far rather be on good terms with the Tau'ri than The Lucian Alliance. I'm totally backing you guys in the war. Just let me know exactly what you want me to set up, and I'll have it sorted for you in no time."
Cam felt a little shiver of apprehension. This guy seemed just a little too eager to help them out, not least considering he would be at far greater threat from The Lucian Alliance if his betrayal got back to them, than he would be from the SGC if he refused to help them. Still, Vala vouched for him, so - no, wait, that's wasn't really much reassurance at all. They had come this far, though, and he would hate for all the effort he and Jackson were putting in to go to waste.
Not to mention, it was the only lead they had, so they had little choice but to see the plan through.
"Okay," Cam said, leaning forwards on his arms, conspiratorially. "Here's what we need…"
XXXXX
Now...
"You surely weren't foolish enough to think I would let your last little escapade go unanswered," Kefflin said. "When I heard that one Colonel Cameron Mitchell had had the temerity to impersonate me, and cause the deaths of quite a few high-ranking Lucian Alliance members, I decided I had to act. I couldn't let people think they could get away with such things unpunished."
"You should be thanking me, not gearing up to torture me," Cam said, eyeing the pain stick warily.
"And why is that, pray tell?" Keffin asked.
"Didn't I catapult you into pretty much the top spot in the Alliance, by taking out all the guys in between?" Cam said.
"And what, precisely, about my previously secluded lifestyle on my out-of-the-way little planet made you think I would relish being in charge?" Kefflin tapped the pain stick against his leg again, menacingly.
Vala spoke up. "So, you lured us here to take revenge? How did you get Andreas to betray me?"
Kefflin smiled down at them, his expression predatory. "Oh, it didn't take much, I assure you. Your previous alliances were always flimsy at best, Vala Mal Doran, and you really haven't been making much effort to preserve them. Plus, you must know that men like Andreas are very susceptible to bribery. They will generally sell their allegiances to the highest bidder, especially if the offer includes something of which they are particularly fond. Andreas is a simple soul, and a couple of attractive workers from my farms, who were happy to take an extended holiday with him, were more than enough to persuade him to lead you into my trap."
Cam levelled a glare at Vala, who just shrugged.
"Andreas was always a sucker for a nice piece of ass," she said, "and you and Daniel were hardly likely to give him a better offer, were you?"
Cam ignored her, turning instead back to Kefflin, though he had to crick his neck to meet his gaze.
"So, now what?" he asked, impatiently. "You play with us for a while, before eventually feeding us to your pigs?"
He knew it probably wasn't prudent to provoke their captor, but he would almost rather endure the pain stick than listen to the guy monologue any more.
Kefflin thrust the pain stick toward the cage and laughed when Cam involuntarily flinched away.
"Oh, don't worry," he said, airily. "I have no intention of killing you - or even harming you - myself. I prefer not to get my hands dirty with that sort of thing. Besides, why indulge in unnecessary physical violence when I can profit by your capture in much more satisfying ways?"
Cam sighed. "Dare I ask?"
"There are plenty of other people in this galaxy who would be more than happy to pay a very large amount of money to take you off my hands," Kefflin said. "So, once I secure Colonel Carter to complete the full SG-1 set, I'll be holding an auction. Enjoy your stay until then. Trust me, these accommodations are likely to be much more comfortable than wherever you'll end up next."
He gave them a little wave and strode away, out of view.
Cam slammed his palm against the cage bars.
"Well, this is another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into," he muttered. "How did this even happen? Granted, the whole thing was a trap, but how did he know Sam was with the SGC when she set the deal up? We picked her to make that contact precisely because she wasn't known by sight to the Lucian Alliance."
Jackson looked up from where he had been sitting, dejectedly, in the corner of his cage the whole time. "I can't imagine it would have been difficult for Kefflin to get pictures of any of us, given enough motivation. As he says, we're not exactly unknown in this galaxy."
Vala opened her mouth, but Cam cut her off before she could say anything.
"Don't even start," he said, jabbing a finger at her. "I don't want to hear one word out of you." He capitulated. "Unless it's a miraculous escape plan, of course…"
She immediately dropped her gaze and started fiddling with one of the straps on her uniform.
"Anyone?" Cam asked, hopefully.
There was a deathly silence as all of them avoided looking at him.
"Perfect," he murmured, hoping against all hope that Sam was somewhere nearby and would avoid capture long enough to come up with a way to free them.
XXXXX
Then...
Cam came out of the SGC men's locker room, rolling his shoulders as he moved down the corridor. He had never really appreciated before just how easy his uniform was to move around in. And it was certainly a relief to be out of clothes that creaked with every step. There was nothing like a bit of discomfort in the course of a mission to make him appreciate the little things in life.
As he walked past the door to the women's locker room, however, a burst of laughter brought him abruptly to a halt. He took two steps backwards and glanced through the open door, to see Sam and Vala sitting next to each other on one of the benches. They looked exactly like a couple of schoolgirls, sharing secrets and, with those two, that wasn't likely to be good, in his experience. He raised an eyebrow inquiringly, though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what they were talking about. At his inquisitive expression, Sam cracked up again, and Vala graced him with an unrepentant smile. Of course, he should have realised they would be talking about him, and not in a good way.
"How come you get to have all the fun?" Sam asked, and Vala shrugged.
"Just lucky, I guess," she replied, her eyes still on Cam.
He went for an indignant glare, but that just made them laugh even more. He decided discretion was the better part of valour, turned deliberately back to the corridor and continued on his way. Back when he was working so hard to get SG-1 back together, he should have guessed his reward would be endless insubordination and derision at every turn. Perhaps, if he had been more commanding about it, and less of a fanboy, things might have been different, but he didn't think so. The flagship team of the SGC operated by its own rules, after all, and, if he was honest, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Cam hadn't seen hide nor hair of Jackson since their return from setting up the meet with Andreas, and he couldn't blame the guy for laying low. Despite the relative low key nature of their mission, the embarrassing details of the trip were already all over the base, thanks to Vala. Cam was just grateful she hadn't had a video camera to hand, or they'd never live it down.
He heard swift footsteps coming up behind him and turned to see Sam hurrying to catch him. She fell into step beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry, Cam," she said, though her smile still had a hint of mocking amusement in it. "I've taken enough shit on this base that I really ought to be defending you, rather than joining in."
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I can take it. You don't become a combat pilot without being able to take some ridicule. Besides, that argument's never stopped you laughing at me before," he pointed out, thinking about all the times she had teased him for losing his pants in the course of a mission. "Why grow a conscience now?"
"Good point!" She elbowed him in the ribs. Then she sighed. "I wish Daniel could take it in good spirit, like you. I'm sure he used to have a sense of humour, but since Vala joined the SGC he just seems to be getting grumpier and grumpier."
"Hmmm…" Cam mused. "Well, you have to admit Vala would try the patience of a saint, and she does target Daniel more than the rest of us. He just needs to learn not to show her how much it gets to him; it only makes her worse. She seems to have Teal'c eating out of the palm of her hand, though."
Sam laughed again. "Yeah, it's cute, isn't it? You certainly can't accuse her of making things boring, at least. Speaking of which, don't you all have a date with some weapons crates about now?"
Cam groaned. "Don't remind me. And who says Vala gets to have all the fun? This whole next section of the mission is all on you, Colonel!"
"No pressure, huh?" She gave him a sideways grin. "I'm actually quite looking forward to it. It's good to get out from behind my computer screen for a while. Lately, it's all been lab work or giant spaceships. Not that I don't love all that too, of course, but it's nice to do some fieldwork on a smaller scale for a change. Not to mention," she continued, nudging him again, "getting to stuff the rest of you in boxes and sell you to the enemy!"
"We'd best go check that everything's ready," Cam said. "It's nearly time to set off for the meet."
XXXXX
Now...
The captured members of SG-1 had endured what felt like hours of uncomfortable confinement, with little in the way of sparkling repartee to pass the time, when Kefflin came storming back into view. His expression was enraged and he was gripping the pain stick tightly enough to make his knuckles go white. He strode up to the nearest cage and, without a word, thrust the torture device through the bars and straight into Cam's side.
Completely unprepared, Cam sucked in a sharp breath as pain exploded throughout his body and his vision was flooded with orange light. He tasted the bitter tang of acid in the back of his throat. He opened his mouth, not sure if he was going to scream or vomit. Before he could find out, though, the pressure in his side retreated and the pain abruptly stopped, leaving him gasping for breath and shaking with reaction. After a couple of seconds of clenched teeth and tensed muscles, he managed to throw off the memory of the pain and aimed his best glare up at Kefflin.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded. "And what happened to not getting your hands dirty?"
"Your Colonel Carter," Kefflin spat, as if the words tasted foul, "is causing me no end of trouble. I've got five ships out scouring the system for her and she has not only thus far evaded capture, but has somehow made two of them actually crash into each other."
"Woo-hoo! Go, Sam!" Cam crowed, then immediately regretted it when Kefflin gave him another dose of the pain stick.
"Hey!" he protested once the aftershocks had faded once more. "Look, I get that you're frustrated, but don't you need to keep us in pristine condition for your little auction later? Somehow, I don't think your buyers will still be prepared to pay top dollar if we're all slightly singed, or worse."
"Ah, but they'll pay even less if I don't have the complete set," Kefflin said, "so I plan to lay a trap for Colonel Carter. You Tau'ri do seem to be susceptible to that sort of thing, after all. This one will be somewhat less elaborate than my previous ruse, however, and a lot less subtle. I will contact Colonel Carter on one of your radios, and she will listen to you scream in turn until she surrenders."
Cam sighed inwardly. He had faith that Sam could evade Kefflin's goons for quite some time, perhaps indefinitely, but listening to her teammates being tortured would likely have her giving herself up in no time.
Kefflin produced an SGC radio from his jacket pocket and depressed the button.
"Colonel Carter, can you hear me?" he said.
There was a tense silence as they all waited for Sam to respond. She didn't.
Then Kefflin stepped up next to the cage again, and said into the radio, "Colonel Carter, this is the sound you will hear until you agree to surrender, land your ship within the grounds of my compound, and disembark without any weapons concealed on your person."
Cam steeled himself against the expected pain, but it didn't help. Within a couple of seconds, he was yelling his head off.
Through the haze of agony, he heard Sam's voice shout, "Stop!"
The pain abruptly cut off and Kefflin stepped back, raising the radio to his mouth. "Ready to give in already, Colonel?" he asked. "I'm disappointed."
"No," Sam said. "I just needed a couple of extra seconds to get an exact lock."
As rings descended through the ceiling, encircled the cages, and the room disintegrated, Cam had the satisfaction of seeing Kefflin hurl the radio to the ground in fury, and actually shake his fist at them. Then, the familiar surroundings of a hatak vessel cargo hold came into focus.
"Sam!" Cam called out joyously. "You're a genius! Now how about coming back here and letting us out of these cages?"
"Kinda busy here!" Sam's voice sounded over the intercom. "I've still got three Lucian Alliance ships on my tail, and I can't quite get enough distance to jump to hyperspace without them being able to follow right behind us. Sorry I had to ring the cages up, too, but I was working in less than optimal conditions and thought it would be better that way than to potentially leave some bits of you guys behind."
"Fair enough!" Cam said. "You just concentrate on what you're doing, then. We can hang tight until we're out of enemy air space." He turned to Vala. "And speaking of space, any chance of me giving me a bit more of it, please?"
Vala was still stretched luxuriantly full length across the diagonal of their cage, leaving Cam only a tiny corner in which to crouch. "I don't think so," she said, with a shrug.
"Do I need to point out," Cam ground out, "that I just got tortured because of a failed mission that was entirely your fault?"
She gave him her most earnest expression. "I've been having some trouble with my back, and Dr Lam said I should lie flat as often as possible."
She flicked her hair with one finger and turned her face away from him.
Cam settled down as much as he was able, to endure what was sure to be a long and uncomfortable journey. Apparently, sharing a weapons crate with Jackson wasn't the worst option after all.
THE END