Chapter Seven: The Getaway
Vala let out a deep breath having finally rid herself of both the Ori and SG-1.
'Not bad for a day's work.'
She gave a fleeting thought to the extra toast she'd make to herself tonight after completing her getaway. There was still plenty of fine liquor left in her stash and plenty of reasons to partake after the day she'd had. Seeing Daniel and the others would no doubt encourage her disturbing dreams and if there was one night that she wouldn't be able to handle it, it was tonight.
There were a lot of things that Vala had no hope of living up to. She wasn't a great partner-in-crime; she made a terrible wife if her past attempts were any indication. She was apparently horrendous at leading a quiet, trouble-free life, or a least as quiet and carefree as battling intergalactic evil with the Tau'ri allowed. At one point, Daniel had made her question those things about herself with his caring and belief in her. If it hadn't all turned out to be a lie, who knows what she could have become. When she really thought about it though it didn't matter. She wasn't meant for those things.
But the one thing that Vala knew she excelled at was self-preservation. The Earth people had a saying about cat's having nine lives. As far as she was concerned, that was nothing compared to how many times she had cheated an almost certain demise.
Vala silently cursed herself for yet again thinking in terms of the ones who had so recently betrayed her. As she was waiting out the Ori on the roof and justifying her reasons for helping SG-1, it became clear to her that no matter how much she denied it, what she was feeling right now was a deep heartbreak; it was the most hurtful kind of emotion a girl like her could experience. There was no denying that it was going to continue to hurt for a long time to come given how foolishly she had allowed them behind the emotional walls that she usually guarded so carefully. Maybe she was expecting too much of herself so soon but, nevertheless, Earth was no longer her reference point and she had to stop using that as a basis for interpreting her own circumstances and the world around her.
Well, that part would be easy now. With her latest escape plan, she would get rid of them for good. By now, hopefully they will have realized that and would give up their efforts to recapture her.
Now where to? I hear that planet with the abandoned Goa'uld mine and the rocky beach on the south continent is excellent this time of the year.
She pondered her options as she stealthily made her way to the underground rooms that SG-1 had been using for a base. They were so gullible thinking that she'd taken the first transport or gate trip off the planet. But the old "wait and switch" as she had taken to calling it was the perfect back-up plan after the Ori had arrived. She had dropped enough hints and set up a damn fine ruse to ensure that they would surely follow the neat trail she had left for them - in the wrong direction. All she had to do was place a few coins in the right hands and the deceptions evolved quite nicely. By the time they got to the busy commerce center on a planet three sectors away, she'd be long gone. Hopefully, they'd never suspect that she had been hiding out waiting for them to leave before going her own way.
But just because she wanted to get away from them once and for all didn't mean that she wanted them turned over to the Ori either. From her spot on the roof, she had seen the soldiers steadily heading towards SG-1's direction. Knowing the her former teammates as she did, they were likely to walk right into the Ori's hands so it was better to make sure they were stuck in one place where they couldn't get themselves into trouble. So she had quickly snuck down and put a few simple panels in the door to stick it in place - no one would be making it in or out without dislodging the pieces she had quietly wedged in the door. Besides, with them locked away, it was that much more time she had to put her plan into action. She may not be a proclaimed do-gooder like them, but she didn't throw people to the wolves behind their back. That was their specialty, hypocrites that they were.
At the moment, her curiosity had gotten the better of her bitterness as she wondered how they had been tracking her in the first place. If they had some kind of technology that would keep them on her trail she needed to know about it. Or at least that's the reason she kept repeating to herself as she made her way to the secret room after seeing the team split up without their equipment. No doubt Samantha had left her laptop and it wouldn't take her long at all to do some quick digging before acquiring some intel of her own.
When she arrived at the room in question, she found their stash pretty easily, knowing how they worked. She passed on stealing any of their provisions - she didn't want anything from them anymore. But she did turn on Sam's computer to see what she could find out. The password had been laughably easy to bypass but, as they feared, she did still have plenty of knowledge about their technology. And it helped that she had known SG-1 rather well. Or so she had thought, she reflected bitterly.
The screen instantly displayed the last scan for Ori soldiers which now showed no signs of enemy targets. To Vala's relief it also didn't appear to be modified to pick up anything about her either. She minimized the program and was about to poke around in the files when a different screen than she had been expecting popped up. It showed a series of ancient symbols arranged and organized in a pattern she recognized.
It wasn't Samantha's computer, it was Daniel's.
Looking at the familiar files and folders brought a wave of both longing and resentment, neither welcome emotions given her present situation. She shook her head and tried to clear her mind of everything but the task she had come for. However, she immediately noticed a file folder at the bottom of the screen that caught her attention and held it. The folder had her name on it.
As if in a trance, she slowly scrolled to the folder and opened it, revealing a series of files and documents having to do with her. Most of them appeared to be maps and charts with different intel on the planets she had visited since leaving Stargate Command. Some of them were files with all their known information on her - her history, past planets she had knowledge of, etc. It wasn't surprising that they would be carrying around her life story and then some. They were trying to recapture and imprison her after all. But she was amazed and appalled at the detail of the information they had collected. They even knew of her most reliable contacts and go-betweens, including Kul and Binny. That must be one of the ways they had discovered her current whereabouts.
When she went further into the folder, she discovered a file with pictures of her of all kinds. Some with her former teammates and some of her alone. When she stumbled on one of her and Daniel together she quickly closed the file. She remembered that day well and that picture had captured the moment perfectly. In the photo, she was looking as if she were doing something to annoy Daniel and he was pretending to actually be annoyed but was secretly amused.
'All lies,' she thought to herself again.
Another file caught her interest titled "Vala Homecoming" and she clicked on it, hearing the DVD player in the computer whirring to life. And before she could stop it an image of herself appeared and began talking to her.
When Sam and Daniel were about half way to the gate, they radioed Jossef and Anderson who told them that Vala had not been in that direction since the Ori had left. They had kept their distance well into the forest as the soldiers had explored the town but it had been quiet ever since they had made their way backto their post. Sam stayed behind to check the area anyway and compare notes on the odd new tactics coming from the Ori, post-Adria. Daniel radioed Cam and Teal'c with the news and was going to join them in their search of the dock but decided to go back to the underground room to pick up their gear first. If they had to make a quick getaway after Vala, no need to waste precious moments backtracking for leftover stuff.
The day was turning out to be one, big frustrating disappointment. They had been so close to finding Vala and she had slipped through their fingers again. There was no way the IOA was going to let them look for her much longer, not with the situation still very much a problem between them and the Ori galaxy. He was wondering if she would end up being lost from them forever, wandering the universe thinking they had given up on her in every way possible.
With his mood about as low as it could go, he certainly hadn't been prepared for what greeted him when he looked in from the passageway. Even with her back to him, the glow from the computer, and the light from the corner streaming in, there was no mistaking the woman standing across the room. He would know her anywhere; young, old, across the galaxy and across time. The words coming from the computer were also unmistakeable and familiar.
'In a few hours, you won't remember any of this but you have a life and a home here. I know you're about to believe that me and the rest of the team are the scum of the earth. But I'm hoping that even out there, when you're all alone, some part of your mind will know the truth—that we're all family and we want you to find your way back home to us…to me. Even though it's just back to my dusty office and my grumpy disposition.'
'Daniel, I will always want to find my way back to you. Never forget that…even if I do.'
When the recording ended, she stood there staring at the frozen image of her on the screen, looking relaxed and happy despite the dangerous mission she had agreed to. Her eyes were slightly averted towards beyond the camera to the man standing behind the device looking back at her just as adoringly. Standing here under these circumstances so many weeks later, he couldn't remember how he had restrained himself from taking her into his arms after that.
His attention was quickly brought back to the present when he heard the whine of a zat being charged and readied against him. Sure enough, although she hadn't turned from the computer, she had her gun expertly trained on him.
Daniel wasn't scared. They had been in this situation before and he knew that she wouldn't hurt him. Much.
Finally breaking the silence, Daniel spoke to the woman he had been searching and longing for in his heart for what seemed like eternity. "I've never forgotten, just like you said," Daniel pleaded. "Please say you'll come back to us. Come home to me, Vala."
She had heard Daniel sneak up behind her although she was sure that he hadn't known she would be there. She was in shock by what she had just seen which was almost unheard of for her. She had been to the ends of the galaxy and then some. There was very little that surprised her. But this? Could the last few weeks have been a fabrication in her mind? Or was it just another Tau'ri lie? They would certainly use any means to get her back to Earth and lock her away for the rest of her life.
She couldn't turn around fully. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want him looking at her with those deep, trusting eyes, imploring her to believe things that she never would have entertained before meeting him. He had this power over her that she used to love. She would reach for it and cherish it hoping that it would turn into something special for the both of them. Now it just felt like another weapon to use against her, especially now when she didn't know what to think.
But those words in the video seemed so familiar, like a deep dream buried inside her subconscious. Was it just that she wanted to believe it? She couldn't afford to be wrong. She couldn't afford to trust them again.
Daniel could see the panic and uncertainty rise in her and for a woman like Vala, that was a dangerous thing. She was standing right there in front him and he would not - could not - let her slip from his grasp. "Vala, everything you've believed for the last couple of weeks is just a fabrication. There's no imprisonment at Area 51. There's no betrayal at all. We've been looking for you to explain this since you didn't show up with Adria at the rendezvous point."
"Adria? I haven't seen her in months, not since your little extended vacation with her and the Ori." She turned around still not looking directly at him but carefully accessing whether the rest of SG-1 was with him and if she was going to have to fight her way out. If it was a choice between battling them or letting them take her back, she would do as much harm as she needed to in order to get away. She didn't want to hurt them, she just wanted to be away from them. Why couldn't he accept that?
"Things didn't go as planned and for that I am so sorry. You were certain that she would capture you at that first planet and bring you to the rendezvous point so that we could get you back. But something went wrong and the timing was off." He nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "It's a long story Vala, one that I would love to tell you when you're not pointing a gun at my chest."
Vala felt cornered and confused. Something seemed to stir in her head but she couldn't trust it. Just like she could no longer trust the man in front of her. She had to get out of there quick. She'd sort it out later. "Get out of my way Daniel. I don't want to hurt you."
"Then don't go! You shouldn't be out there alone anymore. You're past that. You've changed being with us." Vala shook her head and moved closer to the entrance, her zat still trained on him. "And I don't want to be alone anymore either." This stopped her in her tracks and she hazarded a quick glance into his intense, sincere eyes. "We all need you back. But I need you back most of all. Please, don't leave me again," he pleaded.
It was like she couldn't breathe. The look on his face, the desperation in his voice. She didn't know what to believe. She remembered clearly that they had betrayed her. But so much of it still didn't make any sense, it happened so fast. But this wasn't real. None of it was real.
Vala made a dash for the exit pushing Daniel aside before he could react. But Daniel was quick and pulled out his own zat intent on stopping her by whatever means necessary. He ran after her and before either could clearly comprehend what was happening the sound of a zat blast echoed in the passageway and then darkness.
