Chapter 3: Avalon Pt. 1
Vala had been on the run for the last seven months, trying to keep one step ahead of the Lucian Alliance bounty hunters on her tail. She'd really messed up this time and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't even get close enough to Netan to explain what had gone wrong. And what could she possibly say, anyway? That she'd been out-witted by a historian? Yeah, he'd really believe that one. Damn Daniel Jackson! All she could do now was run and hope the Alliance got tired of chasing after her. But she was getting tired of running and she needed to find a safe-haven, just for a little while. No mater where she went, though, the bounty hunters had been able to track her down. She'd finally found a few days of respite on a small, out-of-the-way commerce planet where she'd learnt of the existence of an Ancient tablet. She'd asked around and found the man who owned it. She'd made up to him, flirting and making him trust her. She knew she'd succeeded when he allowed her to view the tablet, telling her the story behind it and even sharing the cipher. At first it had all been about the tablet and just how much she could sell it for. Then he'd told her that the treasure it mentioned was on Earth, Daniel Jackson's planet. That couldn't be just a coincidence, could it?
In the months she'd spent on the run, she'd made sure to inquire about the Tau'ri and what she'd learnt had intrigued her greatly. She'd been more than a little surprised to discover that these were the people responsible for the downfall of the Goa'uld. She remembered their primitive ship and almost didn't believe it. How could such a simple people take out the most powerful beings in the universe? It just hadn't seemed likely but everyone she'd asked told her the same thing. One day she'd overheard a conversation of three men who were wearing the strange uniforms she'd seen on the Prometheus. They were speaking of Daniel and one had mentioned that he understood Ancient. At the time, she'd played around with the idea of just how profitable that could be but now she was thinking about the tablet. What if she took it to Earth? Would he help find the treasure or simply dismiss her? It's true she'd had a difficult time forgetting Daniel. He'd challenged her morals, something she'd thought she'd rid herself of years ago. She'd felt an incessant need to find him and that frightened her. For so long she hadn't allowed herself to need anything and now she felt as if she had no control over this. She'd told herself that it was just some childish naivete of believing in faery stories and it would pass. Then she'd come across this tablet and it felt as if fate was forcing her to make a decision. Either go for it or miss out. She'd decided to go for it. If nothing else, she'd walk away with what looked to be a very sizeable treasure.
After acquiring the tablet she'd also procured herself a cargo ship. It had taken her almost a month to find a planet where the Tau'ri were expected but finally she'd landed on a planet where she was told a team called SG-12, whatever that meant, was to be in three days. So she'd waited and finally they'd shown up. Now all she had to do was convince them to allow her through their Chappa'ai, which was apparently more difficult than it sounded. She'd heard something about an "iris" that killed you on contact and she really didn't want to test that one. It shouldn't be too difficult to get them to let her in, though. They couldn't still be angry at her. After all, they'd gotten their ship back, relatively unharmed. And she did have valuable information.
It was with this thought in mind that she moved out of the forest where she was told the Tau'ri team were encamped and she grinned as she took in the four men. Placing two fingers in her mouth, she let out a piercing whistle and waited for them to recognise her. It didn't take long as they aimed their weapons straight at her.
"How sweet, you do remember me." Vala sauntered toward the men, hoping that the old lady had been right about this and she wasn't setting herself up for a fall.
()()()()
Wandering through Daniel's office, Vala had to keep reminding herself of exactly why she'd come to this planet. While she hadn't known just what to expect when she first saw him again, his coldness had shocked her. She knew they hadn't had the best introduction on the Prometheus but she'd hoped he'd seen beyond her self-absorbed exterior to the real person beneath. Apparently she'd been wrong. She wasn't even sure why she was so surprised. No one ever took her seriously and she'd made a lot of money that way. Maybe she'd thought Daniel was different. She'd been disappointed at his lack of kindness and fell back on flirtation and sarcasm but that only seemed to make him angrier. He'd nearly left the room before his general stopped him and forced him to at least take a look at the tablet. After that, she'd gotten down to business. So now she was idly checking out the things in his office, wondering if any of it was worth a big enough profit because, if things didn't turn out well here, she might just have to abscond with a few trinkets. Best to know the layout just in case.
"So, where'd you get this?" he asked abruptly.
"The Jaffa may have won their freedom, but there are still more than a few Goa'uld out there." she explained as she moved away from his books and toward a stack of boxes. "Most of them have lost their dynasties, though, and they're either on the run or in hiding."
"Yeah, no doubt plotting some means of regaining their power." he mumbled.
"Yes, and in the meantime, they are having a lot of trouble maintaining the lifestyle to which they've grown accustomed over the last 5,000 years or so." Seriously, what was with all of the boxes? Was he planning to leave? That just wouldn't do, not after she'd gone to so much trouble to find him. She bit her lip thinking about the other items she'd brought with her. She didn't want to use the kor mak bracelets, but she realised now that they were the only way to ensure his compliance. Taking a deep breath, she moved over to stand next to him, rambling on about the many Goa'uld artefacts currently on the market. She smiled sweetly at him but her merely shook his head and looked back toward the tablet. She brushed it off and asked him how much he thought it was worth.
"Well, the Ancients aren't exactly known for secret stashes of gold." Was he laughing at her? She didn't have time to contemplate that, however, as he picked up one of the bracelets and examined it. Damn, he wasn't supposed to notice those. She picked up its mate, hoping he didn't realise what they were before she could follow through with her plan. "Wait a minute. These markings are Goa'uld. The treasure's supposed to be Ancient. What do they have to do with this?"
Well, so much for that. Time to think fast, she told herself. She told him they were only loosely related but when he asked how, she came up with the best story she had, hoping he believed her. "Have you ever heard of the Goa'uld Nut?" She had to hold in a shudder at the name. Qetesh had had dealings with that particular Goa'uld and they were not pretty.
"As in cashew? Pea? Oh, you mean the Egyptian sky goddess?"
"Yes." she said excitedly. Maybe this would be easier than she'd thought.
"Nope. Never heard of her."
Never mind. Oh, well... "Well, these were her ceremonial marriage bracelets. She wore one and her husband of the moment wore one."
"'Of the moment'"
Yep, he was definitely mocking her. "Yes, she had many. It's one of the few admirable things about her." And, oh, there were so very few. Suddenly she realised that he was distracted and quickly snapped the bracelet she'd been holding onto his wrist while snatching the other from him.
"Ow. What are you doing?" He tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge. Vala grinned even as he moved away from her toward the guards. She continued to smile as they pulled their weapons on her and Daniel told her to take the bracelet off.
"Not until we find the treasure."
"What!?"
"These bracelets link us together." she said as she slapped the other one to her own wrist. "The tablet is mine and I want my fair share of what it leads to."
Daniel looked upset but she couldn't be bothered with that right now. She was going to get what she came for, no matter what it took.
()()()()
Okay, so not what she'd had in mind, Vala thought as she took in her surroundings. She was locked in a small grey room with few furnishings. The guards had dragged her away from Daniel just after she'd issued her ultimatum and placed her in here. Now she was idling around, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into. She was sitting on the desk, holding a strange looking light when the door opened and General Landry stormed in.
"Come to torture me?" she asked, aiming the light at him. She'd learnt early in life that it always paid to be on the offensive first.
"How old are you?"
"Hmm..." she said as she set the lamp down and made her way to him. "Mental abuse won't work either."
"I have a daughter about your age. Hasn't listened to me since she was twelve. Doesn't matter what I say or do." he told her and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. What was it with these Tau'ri and the need to share their problems?
"You're not going to bore me with your personal life, are you?" she asked when she couldn't take any more. "I have to admit, an hour or two of that might break me."
"I don't like being deceived." he said angrily.
"I'm not here to hurt any one." she said in her defence. And that much was true. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Daniel. But a girl had to do what a girl had to do. She tried telling exactly that to Landry but he interrupted.
"I'm about as interested in your sob story and you are in mine." He continued to ramble along, another unpleasant Tau'ri attribute apparently, and she smiled and nodded in all the right places. But suddenly she wasn't feeling so well. A dizzying sensation came over her and she grabbed for the general. He was still speaking when everything went dark.
()()()()
When Vala finally awoke, she was staring up at a ceiling with blindingly white lights. When she glanced down, she discovered that someone had taken off her leathers and replaced them with a pair of ugly, baggy clothes. Why did this people insist on undressing her all the time? She tried to move her hands but found that they were being restrained. Great, that's just great. She slowly became aware of the voices in the room and looked up to see Colonel Mitchell and a large man talking to Daniel. The tall one, a Jaffa apparently, was explaining the purpose behind the bracelets. When he got to the part about both wearers being equally affected, she thought she was going to be sick. Why couldn't anything work out easily for her?
"That's just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
All three men turned toward her and stared. Finally Daniel raised himself up and glared. "You didn't know?" he asked, incredulous.
"Well, I knew it would make you sick. I didn't know it would have the same effect on me too."
"How could you not know?" Daniel said angrily.
"Because the person I stole it from didn't tell me that part!" She matched his tone. Suddenly a pillow was hurtled at her and she deflected it away with a grunt. He acted as if she had wanted this to happen. She tried to listen in as the men discussed how to take it off but was distracted by her own thoughts. What had made her think this was a good idea? Suddenly his blue eyes flashed in her mind. Oh, right.
"Please tell me you know how to take this off!" Daniel yelled, interrupting her musings.
"Yes, of course I do." she said after a moment. "I mean...that's assuming the person I stole them from was honest about that part."
"Just...do it."
"All right!" Was he always this annoying? "As soon as we find the treasure, and I get my fair share."
Again the men started talking amongst themselves. She nearly cheered when Mitchell mentioned going after the treasure. She could get to like that man.
"Look," Mitchell said. "the tablet is written in Ancient code, right? I know it's not the lost city of Atlantis we're looking for here, but whatever it is could be worth finding."
Vala held her breath as she waited for Daniel to respond.
"Or you're just going to have to marry that chick."
"Yeah!" Vala said happily. "Let's make babies!"
Daniel sighed again and she laughed. Oh, this was going to be fun.
()()()()
It had taken a couple of hours but Vala and Daniel had been released from the infirmary and she'd wasted no time in changing back to her leathers. How anyone could walk around in those hideous blue...things they'd put on her, she couldn't understand. Now she was wandering about Daniel's office, perusing the boxes once again. She noted happily that there were less of them now and more things were back on the shelves. That gave her some hope. Maybe everything would turn out all right after all. She'd just discovered a sceptre-like artefact and was assessing its value when Daniel interrupted.
"Are you sure you have this cipher right?"
"Yes, why?" Of course she was sure. Did he believe her to be an idiot?
"I can't believe I missed the Daedalus for this." he muttered and moved past her to his desk.
"Get over it." she told him, not allowing him to dampen her spirits. She felt that they were finally on the brink of something here and she could tell Colonel Mitchell felt the same as she listened in on his chat with Teal'c. He was just saying he thought Daniel would come up with something when the man in question started muttering again.
"This can't be right."
"What is it?" she asked excitedly and wondered vaguely if Mitchell was psychic. She tried to keep up as he started rambling on about Ancient databases but she grew confused and knew the others had as well when she looked over to them for assistance. "And what does this have to do with the tablet?" she finally asked.
"See, the tablet talks about a treasure but it doesn't make any specific reference at all to where it is."
"Well it is supposed to be here. That's what the person I stole it from told me..." She trailed off a bit as the each turned to glare at her. Had she really just let that slip? "Before I stole it from him." Thankfully she was saved from any more questions when Daniel continued, saying he believed he knew where the treasure was located.
"All right, time out." Mitchell said, making a strange gesture with his hands. "If the tablet doesn't say..."
"It doesn't say, specifically, but it...it is signed, by a guy named Myrddin."
The name meant absolutely nothing to her so she again glanced to the others, hoping for clarification. None was forthcoming as they looked just as mystified as she felt.
"Never heard of him." Mitchell commented.
"I-I think you have." Daniel stuttered, growing more excited with each word. "And the amazing thing is, his name also appears in the database."
"The Ancient who carved this tablet is one of the Ancients who returned to Earth from Atlantis?" Teal'c asked dubiously.
"Yes."
"I have an Uncle Marvin." Mitchell put in sceptically. "I'm pretty sure I don't know any Myrddins."
"Uh...That's because his name in English sounds a little different. It...have you ever heard of...Merlin?"
"Merlin? King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? Merlin?" Mitchell asked. At Daniel's assurance, he continued. "Was an Ancient?"
"I think so."
"See, that is what I'm talking about!"
Throughout the strange exchange, Vala grew more and more confused. She had no idea what they were talking about and she could see that Teal'c was just as in the dark. But apparently they'd stumbled across something great as Daniel quickly got to work on his computer, not saying another word for at least an hour. This had better be good, for all she was having to put up with.
()()()()
Vala had never been so bored in her entire life. Listening to Daniel go on...and on and on...about some hollow hill that may or may not actually exist was her idea of torture. And she'd seen enough torture in her life to be an expert. She'd gotten excited when Mitchell had mentioned something called the 'Holy Grail' but she'd quickly been shot down when she asked about it. Wasn't there one Tau'ri with the appetite for treasure? Such a curious people.
Thankfully the general had seemed just as annoyed with the lecture because he quickly put an end to it, forcing Daniel to get to the point. He had come up with an idea to use some technology to see into the hill, to figure out if the stories were true. Why he couldn't have just said that, she didn't know, but he'd gotten General Landry's approval and now they were aboard the Prometheus on their way to find the treasure. She was having a difficult time containing her excitement. At least about the treasure. As for Daniel...Well, she'd pretty much given up the idea of him being her true love. There was no way she could spend her life with one so boring. And he'd shown so much promise when they'd first met. Oh, well. Better to cut her losses and move on. But not without her treasure. She'd come too far for that. That's why she hadn't fought when Daniel insisted she be made to stay in this cell. The same one she'd broken out of before, as a matter of fact. Didn't these people ever learn? If Daniel didn't come for her soon, though, she'd just have to make a break for it. In fact, she was just about to do it when the door opened to reveal Daniel, Mitchell and Teal'c. She gave them her most winning smile and went with them to the control room. Walking slightly ahead with Daniel, she had to keep herself from jumping up and down.
"What do you think we'll find down there?" she asked.
Daniel sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He seemed to do that a lot, at least around her. He looked behind them but sighed even deeper when he realised that Mitchell and Teal'c were too far back to be of any assistance. She grinned at him again.
"Let's just get there and find out what they've discovered. Chances are there's nothing here and we've come on a wild goose chase."
"What do water fowl have to do with this?" she asked perplexed.
"You know what, never mind. Even if they do find something, we probably won't be going down."
"What!" Vala stopped dead and pulled him to a stop with her. "It's my tablet! I have more right than any of you to go down there."
"Well, maybe if you hadn't put these damn bracelets on us, it wouldn't be an issue!"
They stood and glared for a few moments when Mitchell interrupted. "Everything all right here?"
"Fine." they said in unison and turned to stalk down the corridor, neither aware that they unconsciously matched strides. When they reached the control room, Vala had to hold in a smile when she recognised it but couldn't resist the need to harass Daniel a little.
"Ah, now this brings back memories."
"How's that?" he asked without looking at her.
"Isn't this where I beat you up?"
"No." he said, refusing to play along.
"No, I'm pretty sure that right there is where I crushed your-" She started to caress his cheek before Mitchell interrupted again.
"All right, excuse me, kids." he said, pushing between them. "Marks, what do you got?"
The young man explained about how the Asgard sensors were able to depict some caverns and Vala felt her excitement growing again. She leant in to get a closer look, making certain to use her...assets to her advantage.
"Can you see what's in there, say large piles of precious metals?" Her nearness had the desired effect as Marks reddened and seemed at a loss for words. Unfortunately, Daniel pulled her away before she got any information. She was going to say something when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She sent him a questioning glance before shrugging and going back to hear Marks' explanation. She'd analyse Daniel later. There were more important things to do now, such as figuring out how to get down there. The men were arguing but none of them seemed to realise the obvious.
"Rings." she finally said and they all looked at her strangely. She wanted to roll her eyes but decided to explain instead. Maybe they'd let her go if she was nice. "The Ancients were the Gate Builders, right? And they invented the rings, too. They had to get in and out of there somehow, and I know this ship has rings. It's how I-"
"Yeah, yeah." Daniel interrupted, placing a gentle hand to her back. "Good times, good times. She's right, though."
Oh, how she loved to hear that.
"If there are rings down there, we should be able to lock on." Marks informed them. "But your radios won't work."
Vala couldn't help the smile that slowly lit her face this time and it only grew larger when Mitchell said they'd all be going down. All that treasure...She was pulled away from her calculations when the colonel spoke again.
"Ladies first." he said looking at her.
She'd never been called a lady and nearly snorted at the title. Instead, she decided to mess with Daniel some more. "Well then, after you."
For a moment she thought he was actually going to say something but he turned to leave without a word. No matter, she was finally going to get her treasure.
()()()()
"Don't you think I should have a weapon?" Vala argued as they readied themselves to be ringed into the cavern. "I really am quite proficient with them, you know."
"I know." Daniel said mockingly. "And, no, you should not have a weapon."
Vala crossed her arms with a pout as the rings activated. She hadn't known quite what to expect when they reached the cavern but a vast expanse of nothing was not even on the list. "Well, I haven't been this disappointed since Daniel and I had sex." She didn't even bother to look back to see his reaction to her tease but decided to walk toward a staircase with a stone altar at the top. Suddenly a sword appeared and Vala stopped in her tracks. Well, that was unexpected.
"A sword in a stone." Mitchell said as if that meant something.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, getting quite tired of all these Earth references she didn't understand. It made her feel out of her element and she certainly did not like that feeling.
"Well, King Arthur once pulled a sword from a stone as proof of his righteousness and royalty." Daniel explained.
"Excalibur." Mitchell said.
"Actually, that's a common misconception." Daniel informed them and continued to drone on. Oh great, another lecture. She soon grew tired of it so decided to get a closer look at the sword. Mitchell seemed to have the same idea because he walked up to it, laughing as he attempted to pull it out.
"Give it a try, Muscles, I'll give you half." she whispered to the Jaffa at her side. He looked as if he was about to say something then decided against it. She gave him and encouraging smile but was interrupted by Mitchell.
"Okay, yeah, that's in there pretty good."
Vala took a quick step back when she heard a strange rumbling noise and watched in amazement when a hologram appeared before them. It spoke of honour, righteousness, and other boring virtues Vala knew she didn't possess. But then it mentioned a 'storehouse of riches' and she couldn't help the grin that lit her face.
"That's incredible." Daniel said as the image disappeared. He started to ramble again so she decided to move toward the sword herself.
"Yes, yes, yes." she said in frustration and wrapped her hand around the hilt of the weapon, trying fruitlessly to pull it out. "Fascinating is the one thing it is not. How do we prove ye worthy and get all to be revealed?"
"I have no idea, but something tells me 'truth of spirit' might be a problem for you."
"You know nothing about me."
"That's because everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie."
Not everything, she thought and was about to say so when Mitchell interrupted...again. He seemed to have a knack for that.
"Don't make me separate you two."
She decided to keep her mouth shut this time and tried once more to pull the sword out as Teal'c suggested they check out the tunnels. Mitchell agreed and left with the Jaffa, leaving her with Daniel. She watched him leave then looked back at the irritating man she was stuck with, in more ways than one. Letting out a deep breath, she headed for the other tunnel, hoping they'd find the treasure quickly and she could be on her way. Following the tunnel, she once again tried to convince Daniel to give her a weapon but he still refused. She even tried the old 'icky creature' thing but he wouldn't listen.
"I'm sure if there is a monster down here, it's going to be much more scared of you than you are of it." he said in a disinterested tone. "Especially once it gets to know you."
She stopped for a moment and stared at his back. Yep, she couldn't wait to be on her way again. Putting aside her thoughts for a moment, she followed him around a corner to be met by a dead end in the form of a room. When they stepped up to the opening, a group of lights lit by themselves. Daniel said something about candlelight and fire but when she asked what he meant by it he let it pass. Shrugging, she entered the room, deciding to explore, when the door suddenly closed. She took a step toward it but it was too late. Flashing her torch around the room, she realised there was no other exit. She looked back to Daniel in the hopes he knew what to do next.
"Okay, the hologram said that 'only those with the wealth of knowledge and truth of spirit will pass'. This has to be a test."
Well, even she realised that. So, no immediate help from him. They moved toward a stone altar in the centre of the room. It held two pots, one gold and one silver, both with Ancient writing underneath. "What does it say?" she asked, indicating the gold one.
"It says, 'the universe is infinite'."
"That seems 'infinitely' not useful." she said in annoyance and pointed to the silver pot. "What about this one?"
"'The treasure is in this pot.'"
"Really? I was hoping for something a little more substantial, but okay..." She reached for it but Daniel stopped her. "Too obvious?"
"Give me a minute." he said. After a few seconds, though, she grew bored and went for the pot again. "Not a minute." She stared at him for a few seconds more before he said, "Still not a minute."
Sighing, she moved away from him, hoping to find an answer to the puzzle but none was forthcoming, so she moved back to the altar. "Okay, how about this? We open both of them. Whichever one the treasure's in is the right one."
"No, I think that's the wrong idea. There's two pots here. I think the point of the exercise is to only open one pot."
"This says, 'treasure is inside'."
"Right. Which makes it the obvious first choice."
"So, over to the gold-"
"No."
"Back to the silver then." Finally fed up with the game, she lifted the lid amidst Daniel's protestations. She looked down and saw nothing. "It's empty. There's nothing I hate more than a bold faced lie." Placing the lid back, she went for the gold but Daniel grabbed her arm.
"Wou...Would you stop!"
"What? We're already trapped in here. How much worse could it get?" Suddenly a rumbling sounded and she looked up to see that the ceiling was lowering on them.
"How about that much?"
"It was a mistake the moment I said it. The moment." She pulled her arm away from Daniel and lifted the lid from the gold one. "This one's empty, too!"
"I know!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"I know!"
"So what do we do?"
"I don't know!"
"You don't know!? So now is a bad time to tell you I hate small spaces!?" She was beginning to panic now and she was not one to do so often. This was bad. Very bad.