AN: Thank you so much for your reviews! They are what keeps me going! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter I: (It All Started As) One Particularly Good Bluff

The day before…

"Kill them all—except for him."

"Wait!"

Vala moved between her daughter and the menacing soldiers with weapons trained on the rest of the SG1 team. Things were not looking good. The moment they had set foot on the planet they had realized they were too late…the peaceful villagers of Juna had already accepted Origin.

And they had been waiting for SG1.

No sooner had the five of them gone through the stargate, that they had found themselves surrounded by armed villagers. Adria's new personal guard. And then she had showed up, victorious and smug. Vala knew an ambush when she saw one. They had played right into her daughter's hands.

The same hands that were now ready to signal the soldiers to fire on Carter, Mitchell and Teal'c.

Vala took another step towards Adria, preparing herself for her biggest gamble yet.

"Wait!" she repeated. "Let's talk…"

"I'm tired of your interfering, mother, and my patience is wearing thin."

"You're making a big mistake."

Adria gave her a condescending look.

"I do not make mistakes."

"Listen to me…" Her voice softened considerably, as she played her remaining cards. "I am your mother, above all else. I don't want to see you taking this road."

"You will, once you receive the light into your heart."

Vala cringed at her daughter's placid tone. Her mind was working frantically to come up with a way out of their dire predicament…but her heart felt some genuine kind of sorrow for Adria.

"How come she gets the chance to turn to the dark side and we're written off?" Mitchell quipped.

He glanced at the weapons his team had been force to discard… they were too far away to offer any real chance. Carter met his eyes, and Mitchell knew she thought the same. They couldn't fight their way out of this one.

"What about me?" Daniel asked, trying to buy some more time—he hoped someone would come up with a plan. "Why not kill me?"

Adria smiled unpleasantly.

"We have…plans for you, Daniel Jackson."

He returned an uneasy smile of his own.

"Why doesn't this make me feel any better, I wonder…"

Vala watched the exchange silently. Her mind was made up. It was probably the craziest and most inefficient plan she'd ever come up with. But with a bit of luck, she'd be able to bluff their way out…or else get them all killed faster. She reached inside the pocket of her olive-green jacket, and felt the object she was looking for. It was one of the Goa'uld bracelets she had affixed on Daniel so many months before…

She smiled to herself as she remembered why exactly she had brought the bracelets with her to this particular mission. It wasn't the most orthodox of intentions…but now it might just save their lives…if her gambit worked out. She walked again towards Adria, until they stood at less than arm's length.

"Look at me…" her eyes were almost pleading as she spoke to the young woman "is there nothing of me inside you?"

Adria simply gave her a blank stare.

Vala shook her head sadly, and reached a hand to caress her daughter's cheek. The other's golden eyes fixed her with some sort of understanding disdain. But she did not draw back, and Vala felt her heartbeat accelerate as Adria reached a hand to her shoulder. She squeezed the bracelet up her sleeve.

"You will understand, mother."

Vala nodded slowly, keeping her gaze locked with Adria's. Her hand still softly caressed her daughter…

…and before the younger woman could react, she had caught her wrist and slapped on the bracelet. A second later, its counterpart rested securely on her own wrist.

"What!!"

Adria pushed her aside and down to the ground with surprising force, anger contorting her features. Swiftly, Vala found two weapons trained on her, while the other soldiers closed the circle around the rest of the team. Mitchell and the others tried to tell what was going on, but the captors obstructed their view. They could still hear Adria's furious voice, though.

"What have you done?"

Vala slowly got up. She smirked knowingly and held up her right hand; sunlight reflected off the copper-colored bracelet.

"I have linked us together," she whispered. "Our lives were already connected, as mother and daughter. Now that link is more real than ever." She arched both eyebrows to emphasize her words, and hoped the other would be convinced. "If I die, you die, darling. Will that make you reconsider?"

"You're lying!"

"You're a Truth Seer, Adria. Look at me and see it for yourself."

Adria was shouting angrily, but Vala still kept her voice low. For one, she did not want to hear what the others had to say about her plan. Daniel's disbelieving voice was already yelling in her head, pointing out what a hopeless bluff it was. And then, she didn't want to test the soldier's devotion with her story, lest one of them became too trigger-happy.

"If we live, we live together," she stated confidently to her daughter. "Or else both of us die."

A depressing prospect, not to mention unlikely, but Vala could see doubt in her daughter's eyes. Then Adria laughed maliciously, which did not strike her as a particularly good sign.

"You think you've done well, mother…well this doesn't change much," the Orici said viciously. She signaled the soldiers, who stepped closer to Vala. "You're coming with me, and the rest of them will die anyway."

"I don't think so."

She slipped a small knife from her sleeve, and held it to her own chest. Mentally, she kicked herself—why had she imagined Adria would just cave in and let them all go? Her carefully improvised plan was going downhill. Rapidly. Obviously her daughter shared that thought, as she laughed once more.

"Please. I know how much you love your life."

"Oh I don't know, this whole prospect of a life of imprisonment aboard the Ori ship while my months-old daughter takes over the world…it's not all that appealing."

Adria's smile vanished.

"You wouldn't."

Vala tilted her head. She couldn't even see the rest of the team behind the heavily armed soldiers.

"Tell the men to stand down. You'll let me and my friends go through the stargate."

"Never."

The raven-haired woman sighed inwardly. They were headed for a stalemate…but she wouldn't be defeated at a bluff game by her two-months old daughter, damn it! She squeezed the small dagger, feeling its tip against the fabric of her uniform.

"Wait!" Adria frowned anxiously, then laughed again. "I'll just heal you."

Vala gave her a sadly mocking look. In fact, she hadn't exactly considered that option, either; the plan that had seemed so brilliantly easy had more holes in it than the fuel tanks of ships she used to scavenge. But she had to keep Adria from realizing that. She shook her head, trying to look confident in her plan. Apparently, it was working, as the younger woman said in an angry voice:

"Your friends will go through the stargate, but you go with me. I will not trust you."

Vala smiled widely. She knew victory when she saw it.

"No. You could just as easily order your ships to Earth, next. I will be there as an…what do they call it? Insurance policy."

She gave Adria a bright smile, just as the other glowered in powerless ire.

"Alright, mother. You win—this time." She signaled the soldiers who lowered their weapons, then gave her mother a dark look. "Until I find a way to undo this, and you will feel the consequences."

"Yeah…"

Vala had no doubt she would eventually live to regret this plan. But for the moment they were saved, and her bluff would probably go down in history. Because it had been a bluff right? She swallowed hard. Somehow, the idea of the bracelets working on the Orici suddenly seemed less absurd.

She shook her head. It was ridiculous. Turning to the others, she noticed they looked slightly stunned by the sudden turn of events. She grinned proudly and sauntered towards them with confidence.

"Alright let's go."

The soldiers still regarded her suspiciously. But Adria gave them clear orders.

"You will accompany them to the stargate, and make sure they pass unharmed. It is the will of the Ori."

What did you do? Mitchell mouthed. Vala shrugged with a lopsided grin.

"Hallowed are the Ori."

The soldiers lowered their weapons. Mitchell reached to pick up his own guns, and they twitched nervously.

"Whoa…easy, there." Cam winked. "Will of the Ori, remember?"

Adria's furious glare followed them for another moment, before the woman disappeared in a flash of blue light. Daniel walked to Vala and gave her a serious look.

"What exactly did you do?"

"Erm. I grounded her." He arched an eyebrow, and Vala shrugged innocently. "What?"

He just shook his head with a roll of his eyes, and they continued to walk in silence towards the stargate. Somewhere along the way Vala caught up with him and matched his stride. Biting her lip, she asked in a casual voice.

"Erm, Daniel? Just how long is it going to take us to reach the gate?"

"Ten minutes, maybe? Why?"

"No reason…just striking up a conversation."

He gave her a skeptical look again.

"Well, how about you tell us what you did back there?"

"On the other hand, I've always been a silent road companion…"

"No, really," Carter had overheard their conversation and jumped in. "I thought we were done for…how did you manage to get us free?"

"Oh, you must know by now that I'm your lucky charm…"

Daniel rolled his eyes again. Teal'c turned to give Vala an austere look, but those who knew him could read the amusement in his eyes.

"Indeed."

A short distance away, the stargate came into sight. Mitchell gave the soldiers a cheerful look, although his hands still nervously gripped the gun. Better safe…

"Well, thanks boys, you've been great company, think we can find our own way from here…"

They gave him blanks looks, but nodded.

"Hallowed are the Ori." Then they turned their backs on the team, heading back the same path.

"Er, yeah, that." Mitchell shrugged, thenn pointed a finger at Daniel. "Dial us home, Jackson."

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AN: We'll find out what Vala was doing with the bracelets in later chapters...they were there for a reason not just for convenience! Also…the plan was very sloppy, but it was meant to be that way…they were in a no-win situation and it was the best she could come up with. As far as Vala is concerned, it worked: they are free, end of story. Whether it worked better (or worse…) than she would have imagined…we'll have to wait until next chapter to find out!

Please let me know what you think! Any questions, comments, suggestions? They're always welcome! So please review!

Myosotis