Think about how long thirty-five seconds is. Imagine trying to write a paragraph in those seconds. Now imagine that in that paragraph you have to give good reasons why you shouldn't listen to yourself. You have to convince yourself not to give in to what your mind is telling you to do. It has to be so convincing that you believe it; and it has to get finished in thirty-five seconds. Then you have to run.
This was what Vala had to do. She was sitting at the desk in her room, waiting. She knew that it was going to happen soon, and when it did, she would be ready for it. Indeed, she soon felt her mind clear. She picked up a pen and began to write. Vala's hand flew across the paper. She made a list, and wrote down some good reasons. Suddenly the pen dropped and she wanted to tear it up and burn it. Then she read number one on the paper. 1. Resist the urge to get rid of this paper! Vala managed to leave the room with the paper still lying intact on her desk.
At the same time this was happening, Mitchell was trying to figure out how to convince Sam that they should tie up Vala and drag her back through the Stargate with them fast enough so that Scott wouldn't know what they were doing. Cameron's mind was clear. It had been for three hours now. Sam still seemed to be dazed, and since Mitchell's talk with Vala hadn't been good for anything except to get him shot, he decided that it wouldn't be the best idea to convince Sam that Vala needed to go back. What further convinced him was the fact that Sam still had her P-90 with her. Therefore, Cameron wanted to make sure that his plan was foolproof.
He already had some ideas that it hadn't been a coincidence that Sam, Vala, and himself had been convinced that Vala should stay here. He strongly suspected Scott, who was in a big hurry that the Stargate should be finished so that SG-1 could go back to wherever they had come from. But Cam couldn't do anything about him because he didn't know how many people in the village were on Scott's side. With his luck, he would kill Scott and then turn around to see the whole village standing there ready to kill him.
Sam, in the meantime was trying to figure out how she could convince Cameron that they should forget about leaving Vala here in the village. She wondered how she could possibly tell Cam that Scott was the one who convinced Vala that she didn't want to go back to SGC. Judging from the way Vala had shot at Mitchell when he had suggested that they go back through the Stargate, it wouldn't be the best thing to suggest. Sam only had a few minutes of thought before her mind relaxed back into the fog. Then she got up and went to talk to Vala.
"Vala, did you hear anything about how long it would be before the Stargate is fixed?" Sam asked as soon as she met Vala.
"I heard that it'll be ready tomorrow," Vala said. She appeared to be waiting for something, or someone. She had her plan all worked out. She knew exactly what she was going to do. Vala planned to go and find Mitchell. "Hey Sam, do you know where Cameron is?" she asked.
"Uh...by the river, I think," Sam said.
"Thank-you. Now, I have to go. Bye!" Vala went inside. She ran straight to her room, where she changed her clothes. There was no resistance this time as she dressed in the pants and shirt, discarding the dress. She grabbed the paper off the desk and looked at it. 2) Change your clothes. 3) Get the gun 4) Find Mitchell. Vala already knew where he was. She ran through the back door, anxious that no one, particularly Scott, should see her.
Scott was not the person that Vala met. It was Melaine. She looked very angry. "Where are you going, Vala?" Vala's friend asked.
"Oh, hey!" Vala said, laughing. "What are you doing back here?"
"Vala! Answer my question. Where are you going?"
Vala smiled. "Oh, well, it's just such a beautiful day. I thought I'd go for a walk...go for a swim...have a picnic..." she shrugged and smiled again.
"No," Melaine said, shaking her head.
"No?" asked Vala hesitantly with that smile she got when she was up to something mischievous. She also shook her head.
"No," Melaine said. She looked dangerous. She looked like a murderer. Her eyes were glowing.
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll just have to..." she stopped talking as she grabbed onto Melaine with a chokehold. Melaine was stronger than she looked. She grabbed onto Vala and flipped her onto the ground. Vala jumped to her feet, and dug her elbow into the back of Melaine's neck. Melaine gasped, and seemed to loose some of her strength. Vala took advantage of it and kicked her in the head. There was a thump as Melaine's body relaxed and she lay limply on the ground. Vala took one last look at her, turned the opposite direction.
Mitchell saw two women approaching. They were both running. Sam reached him first. "Cam, I really think we should just forget the whole plan to leave Vala behind! It would really be just..."
"...simpler to take her with us and spare the grief of leaving her all alone. I really don't think it's..." Mitchell interrupted.
"...safe to leave her behind here all alone here when we don't know what could happen to her here. She really needs to go back," finished Vala. She looked behind her.
"And, um...guys, can we...hurry on that?" she asked. Three other people were running, and all of them were carrying stun guns.
"Okay," said Sam. "That's probably a good idea. The gate is ready, by the way."
"Well come on, I'm not anxious to be..." Mitchell started.
"COME ON!" Vala yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him with her. "We don't have time!"
They barely got to the Stargate in time. Mitchell dialed it and they practically flew through it. Vala caught her breath as she realized that she was going home. And she could see if she could find out what was happening with Daniel.
