Chapter II: A Turn for the Worse
They all let out relived breaths as the gate room materialized in front of their eyes. Mitchell took a couple of steps down the ramp, then turned to his team and shook his head.
"That was a close one."
Carter's eyes widened slightly as she nodded; the rest of them offered no comment.
"Colonel Mitchell!" Landry walked into the gate room with a worried expression. "You're two hours ahead of schedule."
"Yes, sir…I think it's better if we stay clear of this world for now. The Ori beat us to it."
Landry nodded curtly, the lines of his face deepening as the bad news settled in.
"Is that the reason why you returned early?"
"The villagers had been forewarned," Carter supplied. "They ambushed us, sir. Adria had us in her power ten minutes after we'd reached the planet."
"Offered us Origin, again." Mitchell added. "Nothing if not persistent, this daughter of yours."
The last comment had been directed to Vala, who gave only a small grin in reply.
The general frowned at the last bits of information. For a short moment, he imagined how things could have gone wrong. How he would have sent them straight into an ambush…then quickly drove the thought away from his mind.
"How did you escape?" he asked instead.
Silence followed his question; all the 'official' members of SG1 looked at Vala. Eventually it was Carter that admitted:
"Well…we're not sure actually, Sir."
The general arched an eyebrow, wordlessly demanding an explanation.
"I believe it was due to Vala, General Landry," said Teal'c in his usual matter-of-fact tone.
"She managed to talk our way out," Mitchell added.
"Are you saying" Landry frowned, disbelievingly, "that you convinced the Orici to let you go?"
"Oh, I'm sure there's more to it…" Daniel said off-handedly, "we just haven't heard it yet," he finished with a suggestive look towards the raven-haired woman.
She simply pursed her lips in a small pout, and looked innocently towards the ceiling.
"Whatever she said, sir, it worked," Carter commented. "Adria let us go through the gate unharmed."
Landry nodded silently, digesting the news.
"Well…quite the hero then, Ms. Mal Doran!"
He gave Vala a nod of approval. What it was not in his habit to give comments like that to his subordinates, he felt she was still insecure about her value as a member of SGC. Conveying his appreciation couldn't hurt…and she had apparently just helped the team out of a dire situation.
He half-expected her to give one of her usual cheerful grins in return, but her expression suddenly became dreamy.
"Hero…" she repeated in a low voice, looking somewhere beyond them. "Definitely better than intergalactic thief and cheater…" she argued to herself with a small nod. "Yes, I think I'll rather like being remembered by this…"
Everyone frowned at the odd statement, and they exchanged confused glances. Almost unconsciously, Mitchell and Landry both looked towards Daniel. They had come to see him as the one closest to Vala…and the one who would know if something were wrong. He met their questioning gazes, but could only shrug in response. Eventually, after a short silence, Carter gave the other woman an encouraging smile.
"Vala…we're safe now. Nothing is going to happen, we're not going to die."
"At least not today," Mitchell put in. "Probably. Maybe… Hopefully. Ow," he finished in a low tone as Carter had elbowed him in the ribs.
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, just as the general spoke again, directing them all for the routine check-up in the infirmary.
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As doctor Lam examined the others, Vala slipped to her quarters. Rummaging through her belongings, she managed to find the small, ruby-colored device that unfastened the bracelets.
"Good…this game was getting out of hand," she whispered to herself as she passed the gadget over the lock of her bracelet.
Nothing happened. She tried again, with the same results.
"Oh, come on!" she complained loudly, as cold fear began to settle in the pit of her stomach. She passed the device over her wrist yet again. "I was trying to get us out of there, I don't have a death wish!" She pulled hopelessly at the bracelet. "I was just kidding about the hero business! Just. Come. Off!"
She slammed her palm against the table and lowered her head against her hands.
"Why is it that the one bluff I don't get called on has to involve my untimely demise?" she muttered to herself.
Of course, there was still the chance that the technology of the Goa'uld wouldn't work on Adria. Vala gave the useless unlocking device a short glance. Something told her things wouldn't be that easy.
She pulled at the bracelet once more just to be sure, then considered her next step. She cringed at the thought of Daniel's reaction, and again, his voice echoed in her head, telling her off for going with such an absurd and risky plan. Then again, if she didn't tell the team…
There was a knock on her door, and she quickly pulled down the sleeve of her jacket and put away the Goa'uld device.
"Yes?"
Daniel walked in with the usual half-amused, half-circumspect expression he wore around her.
"Is there a…particular reason that you sneaked out of the infirmary to come here?" He made a show of looking around her quarters. "I see you've already buried the treasure…"
"Just finished," she smiled, then grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. "Now, where are we going next?"
"You are going to let Dr. Lam check you up," he replied, sliding his arm out of her grip, "and the rest of us are going to the briefing room."
"Oh, she can just check me up later, I'd rather not miss the briefing…given that I played the crucial role in our daring escape…"
"Yeah, we don't really know what that role was, now do we…" Daniel retorted, but couldn't think of a real reason to refuse her request. "Alright, but you're going to the infirmary first thing after the briefing."
"Yes and…how long will that take?" she asked with faked disinterest.
Daniel wasn't fooled.
"As long as it takes…why do you keep asking that?"
"No reason…"
Before he could ask anything else, they caught up with Carter, Mitchell and Teal'c, on their way to the meeting as well. The two colonels were bantering lightly as they reached the iron stairwell that led to the briefing room.
Vala was about to follow them up the stairs as a wave of dizziness struck her. She swore under her voice, and grabbed onto the metal railing, closing her eyes as the world tilted at dangerous angles.
Right behind her, Teal'c noticed her sudden predicament.
"Are you not well?" he asked with his usual unaffected solicitousness.
"What…no, no I'm fine…I…"
She suddenly leaned heavily against the railing, her face pale and her eyes squeezed shut. Teal'c grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling, just as Daniel rushed forward.
"Vala? What's wrong, what—" Something suddenly clicked in his mind, and a frightening realization hit him. "What did you do!"
He grabbed her hand and violently pulled up the jacket sleeve to reveal the bracelet around her wrist. His eyes widened in panic. Alerted by the shouts, Sam appeared at the top of the stairwell. As her eyes moved from Daniel's stricken expression to the copper bracelet on Vala's hand, she figured everything out in an instant. She grabbed the phone on the wall.
"I need a med team to the briefing room, now!"
"Wh-what? What happened to her?" Mitchell's face fell as he spotted the Goa'uld armlet. "Tell me that's not what I think it is!"
Neither Teal'c nor Daniel replied, the former still supporting Vala's weight, while the latter held her wrist between her fingers, massaging it almost unconsciously.
"Damn it…hold on, we'll find a way out of this…"
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"How is she?"
Outside the infirmary, General Landry and the rest of SG1 had waited in tense silence until Doctor Lam had come to bring them news. Her expression was grim.
"Not good. We couldn't counter the effect of the bracelets last time, and we can't do it now." She looked them in the eyes, and shook her head. "We're losing her."
"No!!" Daniel clenched his fists. "We have to do something! Contact the Ori! Dial back Juna!"
The rest of them kept quiet, trying to deal with the news. Mitchell eventually shook his head in puzzlement.
"What I don't understand…how could that technology ever work on Adria? The Goa'uld were vastly inferior to the Ori in knowledge…it's hard to believe something of theirs could work on her!"
"Adria is human…" Carter pointed out in a tired voice.
"That is correct, Colonel Carter. I also presume that is why the Orici let us go," Teal'c added.
"Bue how could she let Vala go, then?"
"She must not have known…" Daniel whispered dejectedly. "Or not cared!" he added with more vehemence. The thought of Vala dying while Adria remained unharmed angered and frightened him beyond measure.
"I do not believe that is the case, Daniel Jackson. If she had known for sure that this technology would not affect her, she would have ordered us killed."
"Teal'c's right," Carter agreed. "But could it really end like this…could this kill Adria?"
She hated to voice the question, but she knew it would come up eventually. Landry picked it up, as he stated in a low, firm voice.
"This…could be a victory that could turn the tides of the war in our favor."
"No."
Daniel's voice had lost its vehemence. It was cold and neutral, but the determination in his eyes was almost tangible. Carter tried to catch his gaze to let him know they would never even consider losing one of their own that way, but he kept his stare fixed on the general.
Landry, too, tried to make that clear, but Daniel wouldn't even let him finish.
"I don't want to make this decision either—"
"You can't make this decision! None of us can! It's not our right to barter with Vala's life!!"
A pregnant silence followed his outburst. Eventually, Carter pointed out in a soft voice:
"At this point, we can't do anything either way."
And no one said anything else, and they simply waited while Dr. Lam fought her hopeless battle.
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AN: Why would the bracelet not come off? Is someone interfering, perhaps? Next chapters will make that clear…meanwhile, here is a preview of chapter three!
"I'm sorry…"
oooooooooooo
"I'm…ascended, right? Well…this is not what I would've imagined…"
"…you are not ascended…you must make the decision."
"What is there to decide? Between this and being dead—"
"Hello, mother."
oooooooooooo
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Myosotis
