"Unauthorized gate activation."
The alarm sounded and it wasn't long before General Landry and three-fifths of SG-1 reached the control room. Teal'c was off-world and Cam was off-duty for a few days. Walter looked up from the screen.
"We are receiving a video transmission, sir."
The general nodded for him to connect.
The screen flickered and a young girl's image appeared on the screen. Her green eyes were determined and a frown crossed her face. She sniffed before speaking.
"She can't be more than eighteen," Sam noted.
"Please let me through," the girl said, in a pathetic tone. "I am alone and unarmed. I just need to speak with you. Please. I promise, I wish you no harm."
The team looked at each other and shrugged. The general spoke first.
"Let her in," he said, "but have defenses ready, just in case."
The iris opened and sure enough, only the girl walked through. She saw that she was surrounded by men with guns and froze, not daring to take another step.
One of the men searched her backpack, but found it merely contained a small teddy bear, a few clothes and some vanity items. She was dressed as though she belonged in the 1950's; a light purple T-shirt, with a darker purple skirt, falling just below her knees. Her shoes were white Mary-Jane-style heels. It was determined rather quickly that she'd told the truth. She was unarmed.
The girl tightened the pale ribbon which held her black hair in a high ponytail and watched as the general ordered his men to stand down. She still did not speak and waited as Landry approached her. She looked rather scared as he came closer.
"Welcome to Earth," he said, extending his hand. Timidly, she accepted the handshake.
"Thank you," she replied. She swung her backpack around her shoulders. She bit her bottom lip. "To be honest," she said, "I came here because I heard that," she hesitated, "I heard that you have Qetesh," she finished. "I need to see her."
Everyone froze. "You're a Goa'uld," Daniel said as he walked into the room. Immediately the guns went back up.
A look off offense and fear crossed the girl's face. "I most certainly am not! I despise the Goa'uld!"
Daniel looked at her skeptically. "Then why do you want to see Qetesh? And what makes you think we have her, or even know where she is?" Of course they knew, but for security reasons, they wouldn't tell her until they were sure she could be trusted.
"I heard from a few reliable sources that she was seen with you. Please? I just need to see her. It's important." There was a faint glint of desperation in her eyes.
Daniel approached the girl slowly. He cleared his throat. "Qetesh is dead," he said.
Suddenly the fear on her face was replaced with utter terror. Her eyes filled with tears. "She is...dead?"
"She was killed by the Tok'ra several years ago."
In a flash, new hope dawned in her eyes. "The Tok'ra?" she asked, a glimmer of hope returning to her expression. Daniel nodded. "Then," she hesitated, "what of the host? The Tok'ra don't kill the host!" She sounded almost too enthusiastic.
Daniel and General Landry exchanged a look. The general swallowed.
"Please tell me she is still alive!" the girl exclaimed, almost begging. "Please tell me Vala is alive!"
"She is," Landry nodded.
The girl suppressed a big grin. "May I please see her?"
"Why?" Daniel asked. He knew Vala had a shady past at best, and he was worried this girl wasn't as innocent as she looked. How could she be if she had been friends with Vala?
She cleared her throat. "I can't tell you." She looked at the ground.
Still looking in from the control room, Sam turned to look at Vala. "Do you know her?" she asked.
Vala shook her head, wracking her memory trying to remember her face. There was something familiar about her, but she couldn't say she'd known her - at least not in recent years.
"Who are you?" Daniel asked.
Biting her lip again, she responded, "On my planet, they call me Natalie."
"That's not a very alien name," Vala commented from the other room.
"On your planet?" the general asked. "What planet is that?"
"I cannot tell you that, either. It is against our laws. For our security. To tell you would be to commit treason."
"Wait," Daniel said, picking up on something. "You said Natalie was the name you went by on your planet. Is that not your name?"
She shook her head. "No," she said. "My planet is a lot like yours in some ways, names being one of them. But to tell the truth, while I have grown up there, I was born somewhere else. I adopted the name Natalie as I was accepted into their world."
"What is your real name?" Daniel asked.
"The name I was given when I was born was Nalia."
Vala gasped and her face turned pale. Sam rushed to catch her before she passed out.
"I take it you do know her?" Sam asked.
"Yes," Vala replied, but said nothing more. She steadied herself. "Can it really be her?" she whispered so softly Sam could not hear. She stared at the girl, studying her features. "Impossible."