Downtime-9

Pl-357 was a desolate planet, but there were areas that could support life and it was here that the SG team would spend their time. The humanoids were bipedal, with two arms that seemed far out of context with the rest of their body. When introductions were made it was hard to shake hands, but the SG officers were able to manage. The leader of the group stood a little less than five feet, yet he was taller than any of the others. Their language was similar to English, with a lightly different inflection on certain words and syllables.

"It is an honor to have you visit our world, Colonel Mitchell, I am Pheliope and for now I am considered the elder of my people. It will be my pleasure to show you around our facilities and perhaps you would do us the honor of taking several members of my council to visit your planet."

"Thank you, Pheliope, perhaps we can arrange such a visit after we have discussed the reasons for our visit," the Regala spoke using Mitchell's voice. Mitchell's frustration and anger continued to rise, but there was nothing he could say or do while the creature maintained control. Mitchell felt like an outsider as he listened to the conversation, while inside he was screaming at the others to look at him, really look at him.

"Cam, are you all right?" Vala asked. She'd been watching him closely and felt something was wrong, but could not quite grasp what it was.

"I am fine, Vala, come on, we need to catch up with the others. Pheliope does not seem the type to talk to anyone, but the leader of our people, and right now that is me."

"Cam, you're sweating," Mal Doran said and reached up to touch his cheek, but he pulled away and glared at her with such intensity she thought she would burst into flames if she continued to hold his gaze. She watched as his eyes became hooded and softness returned, but she'd seen the darkness in the deep depths that spoke of an inner madness.

"We need to go," the Regala told her and waited until she fell into step beside him.

Mitchell could feel the creature's anger and wished Vala wasn't standing so close to him. The Regala controlled everything except his deeper thoughts, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it from finding his inner feelings. 'God, Vala, don't do anything to make it angry,' he thought. He could see her out of the corner of his eyes and tried to speak, but the Regala would not allow him to voice his thoughts. He could see Teal'c, Carter, Jackson and Pheliope's people moving along the ridge, away from the Stargate, and felt the darkness of the creature as it expended it's energy on controlling his movement.

"Cam, I think you should return home and let Dr. Lam check you out."

"Now why would I do that, Vala?" the Regala asked.

"Because you look like you're running a fever and…"

"I am fine, Vala, quit interfering with my life!"

"I'm not…" Mal Doran said, eyes opening wide as she felt Mitchell shift beside her. She grabbed for his arm as her feet slid on the loose stones and she felt herself sliding toward the edge of the cliff. She barely had time to register the smile on Mitchell's face as she went over the side and tumbled headlong down the steep embankment. She thought she heard Carter or Jackson cry out her name, but it was Mitchell's laughter that followed her into the darkness when her body came to rest against something that did not forgive the impact against it.

Cameron Mitchell silently screamed as he watched Vala's body, looking like some kind of twisted marionette tumbling down the cliff. He fought, fought with everything he had to grab for her, to go after her, but there was nothing he could do as she came to rest against a barrier half way down the slope. He could just make out her body, twisted as if she was made of something other than skin and bone, legs dangling over the edge. 'Vala…oh God, Vala…no…no…' His mind registered the other beside him and could hear his own voice speaking in concerned tones as they tried to figure out how to reach Vala.

"Mitchell, did you hear anything I just said?" Jackson asked, angered that his friend seemed unaffected by the sight of Mal Doran's broken body so far below.

"What…oh, God, she fell…I tried to catch her, but she slipped in the loose stones and she fell before I could reach her," the Regala lied, smiling inwardly as he felt his host's anger building. It knew Mitchell had feelings for the female lying in a crumbled heap below them and would allow the guilt to fester in hopes of keeping the human in line.

"Pheliope, do you have anything we can use to get down to her?" Carter asked.

"There is an old trail…it is very treacherous, but one perhaps two men could get to her," Pheliope answered.

"Teal'c and I…"

"No, Dr. Jackson, Teal'c is too large and would collapse certain areas of the trail," Pheliope explained, staring at the man he knew as Mitchell. Something about the man's eyes did not seem quite right, but having known the man such a short time, he could not voice his fears. His people had always been able to read the emotions of others and right now Mitchell seemed to be almost gleeful as he looked upon the injured female on the ridge below them.

"Jackson, you and I can get to her…besides we'll need Teal'c to help anchor us," the Regala explained and turned to Pheliope. "How do we get to this trail?"

"It is perhaps a quarter mile down the trail," Pheliope explained. "Brofleen, go to the village and bring back the ropes."

"Yes, Pheliope," Brofleen answered and took off running along the trail.

"He is swift and will meet us at the edge of the trail," Pheliope told them.

"We have everything we need in our gear," Jackson assured him and turned to Carter. "Sam, will you stay here and watch her…make sure she knows we're coming for her if she wakes up before we reach her?"

"I'll be here," Carter assured him and sighed heavily as she watched Mitchell for any sign that he was worried about Vala. The man had certainly seemed worried, but since the initial fears, she'd seen no evidence that he was affected. 'What the hell's going on with you, Cam,' she thought as they disappeared down the slope.

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Once they reached the narrow ledge leading out to the ridge, Teal'c helped Jackson and Mitchell with their harness and made sure they were both secure. The SG colonel led the way onto the path and inched his way toward their injured team mate.

Mitchell knew the creature would never allow him to touch Vala, to feel her heart beat beneath his fingers, but he could still see with his eyes the damage caused by the fall. A fall he'd engineered, albeit unwillingly, yet it was still his body that had insured her fall. His eyes watching as she fell, his mouth smiling when she'd sought a reason for his actions. How could he ever make her understand that it was not him, that he was being guided by a hideous creature that controlled everything that made him who he was? Everything except the lower levels of his mind, the very part of him that loved her so much…'God, Vala, I'm so sorry,' he thought and felt as if his heart was ripped from his chest as they finally reached the ledge and Jackson knelt beside the unconscious woman.

"Daniel, how is she?" Carter's voice floated down from above and Jackson turned to see her, blinking several times until his eyes adjusted to the distance.

"She's not good, Sam, we're going to need something to lift her out of here without causing any more damage," Jackson answered.

"Brofleen brought back a pretty good version of a stokes and I think we can use it to pull her up here."

"Send it down!" Jackson shouted and turned to Mitchell who stood watching him, disinterestedly. Daniel wondered if the man could possibly be suffering from shock, and prayed that was what it was or else Cameron Mitchell had suddenly become one cold fish. "Mitchell, Sam's going to lower down a stokes, get ready to catch it."

"Sure, Jackson," the Regala said, relishing the feel of horror emanating from its host's mind. It glanced up as something was lowered and waited for it to reach him, while listening to Jackson explain his findings as he examined Vala Mal Doran. It felt Mitchell's mind fill with hope that the female was alive, but quickly squelched it by trying to dig its claws deeper into the human's subconscious. Its anger grew when Mitchell closed off that area, once more keeping the Regala from finding his deepest, most intense feelings.

"Mitchell, what the hell's the matter with you?" Jackson spat.

"I am just worried, Jackson," the Regala said, grabbing the wooden stokes and placing it on the narrow ledge and holding it in place. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need to keep her as straight as possible," Jackson answered. It took several minutes before they had her in the stokes and secured with the primitive, but effective straps that would keep her from being bounced around. Daniel glanced up in time to see Teal'c and Carter, along with several of the humanoids waiting for the signal that they were ready.

"Daniel, we're throwing down a couple of ropes for you and Cameron. We'll pull the tree of you out together…you and Cameron can guide the stokes up," Carter called. It didn't take long for the two men to grab the ropes and attach them to their own harnesses.

"All right, Mitchell, let's get her out of here." Jackson took one side and watched as Mitchell did the same. He glanced up just as the group above them began to pull them out of the precarious position they'd been in. He knew Carter had probably already contacted Stargate Command to let them know they'd be retuning before schedule and that Carolyn Lam would be present when they entered through the gate. His own cursory exam had revealed very little, but he'd feel a lot better when they reached home and turned Mal Doran's care over to the medical staff and the equipment available to them.

"Cameron, keep it steady," Carter called out when she noticed Mitchell's nonchalant way of holding the side of the stokes. Several times he'd miscalculated and Daniel had barely been able to hold it steady. She breathed a sigh of relief when they were able to reach over the ledge and pull the unconscious woman up. It wasn't long before they were all standing on solid ground and bidding goodbye to Pheliope and his people with the promise that they would return as soon as they were able, or another team would take their place.

"Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c began and motioned to the other end of the stokes as he bent to pick up his end.

"I have it," the Regala told them and began the trip back to the Stargate.

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Carolyn Lam's team was ready when SG1 returned through the gate. She quickly had Mal Doran transferred to the stretcher and wheeled away from the Stargate before anyone had a chance to ask questions. Physician's instincts kicked in and she knew Vala could have internal injuries as she guided her team toward the infirmary.

The Regala watched them leave and again felt Mitchell's fears and worries. A hint of a smile formed and disappeared before anyone had time to see it, but the Regala knew it had to be careful around the others. It had been such a simple thing to get rid of the annoying female, but too many accidents could bring suspicion down on it and its hosts and that would be dangerous.

"What the hell happened out there?' General Hank Landry snapped.

"Vala had an accident," the Regala answered.

"I can see that…how the hell did it happen?" the older man persisted.

"We were walking toward Pheliope's village. Cameron and Vala were behind us when we heard her cry out," Carter began and turned to Mitchell for the rest of the story as they walked away from the Stargate.

"What happened, Colonel?" Landry demanded.

"I'm not sure, Sir…I mean we were walking along and Vala was asking questions when I heard her cry out. I turned just as she fell and I tried to catch her, but the stones were loose and it was like she was sliding on ice. She went over the edge before I could grab her. I tried, Sir, I really did, but it was too late," the Regala explained, shoulders slumping as if in defeat. "God, I can not get that picture out of my head…I can still hear her cry out…I could not stop it from happening…I could not…I need to make sure she is all right."

"Colonel, I'll expect a full written report on my desk in the morning," Landry told him.

"Yes, Sir," the Regala said. It was so easy to fool these people and it began to think of ways to bring more of its kind to earth. Perhaps a new feeding ground was what they needed and there were parts of earth with temperatures that could easily sustain life…their life.

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Cameron Mitchell had met people he didn't like before, had tackled creatures he thought were the vilest things ever created, but nothing compared to the Regala. The hideous parasite defied description, simply because it went far beyond anything he'd ever come up against. The creature never seemed to sleep and was continuously trying to find a way into his subconscious, but Cam was not going to let that happen. It would be like giving up the final piece that made him who he was. So long as he had that one hidden recess, he was still human.

The Regala continued to seek entrance, but he fought to keep it out and felt as if it was the biggest victory in his life. The Regala may control everything that made him human, but it did not quite control everything that made him who he was. It controlled how he breathed, when he ate, what he ate, and where and when he slept, but it did not control his thoughts or his feelings. It cause him pain when he fought to keep his final secrets, but Cameron had felt pain before and survived much worse than what his parasite caused him to suffer. What he couldn't quite handle was the pain of seeing Vala hurt by his hands.

Three hours had passed while they waited for word on Vala, yet the Regala continued to show no remorse over what it had done. Mitchell knew it was staying at the infirmary simply because it enjoyed seeing the other's suffering, while making him endure the strained silence of not being able to communicate with his friends. He could sense Carter and Jackson watching him through hooded eyes, while Teal'c did little to hide his own anger. He silently cursed when the Regala stood and stretched, before turning away from the others, sensing that the creature was under some kind of distress.

"Where are you going, Colonel Mitchell?' Teal'c asked.

"I do not know about the rest of you, but I need to get something to eat," the Regala told them flatly.

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Carter spat.

"I missed lunch and it is well past dinner," the creature explained. "I will return as soon as I have eaten."

Mitchell could feel them watching him even as the Regala turned away and walked out of the infirmary. He prayed their suspicions would continue to grow until one of them confronted him, but so far no one seemed to be following him. They made it to his quarters without speaking to anyone and entered to find everything as it had been when he left. The single glass, showing sign of the sludge the creature ate sat on the table and Mitchell felt horror stricken as the creature mixed up another glass of the noxious stuff it survived on. Again he felt as if his gut was on fire as soon as the sludge slipped down his throat. He fought to expel it, but his hand covered his mouth and he was forced to swallow again and again in order to breathe.

The agony twisting through his gut made him nauseas, yet it was far worse when it came back up in his throat and the parasite forced him to swallow it back down until he curled into a fetal ball. Soft sobbing sounds reached his ears, but for the life of him, Cameron Mitchell could not understand where they were coming from. As the creatures claws dug deeper into his skull, Cameron Mitchell lost touch with everything around him and welcomed the brief respite unconsciousness offered.

TBC