Jack didn't let go of Jonas immediately. Quinn was still too shaky on his feet. But a moment after they materialized on the bridge of the Al-Kesh, Sam had barreled into them for a fierce hug. Jack slipped his arm away and let Jonas cling to Sam for a moment.
"I should have known you would all come. I shouldn't have doubted that," Jonas said, quietly.
"You doubted?" Sam asked, leaning back to look at him.
"I know! Crazy huh?" Jonas grinned. "General, I don't even know how to begin to thank you."
"We'll think of something," Jack shrugged with a twinkle in his eye.
Jonas got a hearty arm clasp and hug from Teal'c and was then introduced to Mitchell, whom he thanked profusely.
"Not a problem," Cam drawled softly and meant it.
Vala and Sancha, slightly damp around the edges from their showers, joined them, which required further introductions. Jonas nodded in dawning understanding as Sancha's role in this was explained.
"You feel up to a trip to the planet?" Jack asked, "We have a couple of surprises for you."
"Well I love surprises, and I've already had a few so far, so let's go," Jonas grinned.
With Vala holding onto Sancha and Sam to Jonas, Jack hit the remote and beamed them away.
(0)
The reception in the Command Room at the Kelownan settlement was very different from the last time SG-1 had been in the room. Vacik was absent. Mraisch was tied to a chair in front of the desk and gagged. Rising from the chair behind the desk was Daniel Jackson.
"Welcome back," he said. He was smiling but everyone who knew him could feel the icy anger simmering just below his pleasant expression. "It's good to see you again, Jonas. We've secured the site and Commander Vacik is with SG-8 overseeing the evacuation to the Beta site. The ruins there should provide the Kelownans enough infrastructure for now." He nodded to the stranger in their midst, "You must be Sancha. I'm Daniel Jackson. Welcome back as well."
"Daniel!" Sam said, delighted. "SG-8?"
He nodded. "They volunteered to be the backup team. Jillian and I had a brief discussion about how it was okay for me to go if it was okay for her to go. So here I am. To make the report as short as possible: venimus, vidimus, clunes calcitravimus."
"What?" Jack asked.
Daniel looked at him over the top of his glasses and his expression said that he strongly suspected Jack knew perfectly well what he had just said. He pointedly didn't answer.
"I need to thank you all," Sancha said, "It's not every day that anyone gets the better of my father."
"I warned him," Jack said, lightly, "Playing games with SG-1 is not a good way to maintain a healthy life or any kind of power structure."
"He and I have a great deal to talk about," Sancha said, "Starting with his willingness to let me rot in a spice mine owned by his sworn enemy as long as he got his precious Fortune 3000."
"You might want to consider," Vala said, shrewdly, "that he set you up deliberately to be kidnapped so that he could take the ship and gain control of your company."
Sancha's eyes narrowed dangerously. Sam spoke up. "Not just that. The targeting array on the ship did exactly what it was designed to do. While it was sitting there on that landing pad it made a complete sweep, diagnostic and recording of Ar'loc's defensive system and the layout of the fortress. I suspect he was going to use it to destroy Ar'loc once and for all, whether you were out of there or not."
While the women had been speaking, Mraisch had turned the color of a fish belly and Sancha's face turned to fury glazed stone. "You miserable, sneaky, cold-hearted manipulative bastard," she snapped. She took a deep breath and turned to Sam and Vala, "I know he never promised to pay you. Vala explained everything while we were cleaning up. I can't tell you how grateful to the two of you I am for getting me out of there. Name your price."
They exchanged glances and then Sam said, "We got Jonas back and that's really the reason we did it."
Sancha waved a dismissive hand. "I doubt it. You already had a plan to rescue your friend that had nothing at all to do with rescuing me. I mean it, name your price."
"If we had to have something, I'd like a copy of the ship's recording of Ar'loc's defenses," Sam said.
"Me too," Vala said instantly, "There is some serious retribution I would like to rain down on his tattooed head."
Teal'c rumbled to life. "The Jaffa would also enjoy a chance to bring him to justice." When Sam and Vala looked at him in surprise, he explained, "He is one of ours. He dishonors everything it means to be Jaffa."
Sancha threw a malicious smile at her father, whose eyes grew wide. Muffled protests came from behind the gag. "Oh, I can do better than that. Take the ship."
Sam looked stunned. "Oh we can't-"
"Yes you can. The ship is a prototype. There are already more coming out of my shipyard. He," she waved a dismissive hand towards her father, "never paid me for it. It's mine to do with as I please and I please to give it you."
Vala and Sam stared at each other for a long time. Then Vala said, "Well, I don't actually need it. I've got a few ships stashed all over the galaxy. But take it if you want it. I just want to be along for the ride when you take out Ar'loc."
"Done!" Sam grinned, thrilled with the idea of all that technology in her hands. She turned back to Sancha, "I'll take it. Thank you." Then she looked with question and hope at Jack because keeping that technology out of the hands of the Air Force was going to be tricky.
But Jack just shrugged. "I don't have to report your private property to anyone," he said, "We'll make it our secret."
Sam's grateful smile was dazzling.
At that moment there was a movement at the door and Ashlen came running in, out of breath and wide-eyed. "Jonas!"
She ran across the room and into his startled arms, throwing hers around his neck and holding on for dear life. Her mouth reached for his and he responded on instinct. They kissed with the urgency of lost love found, of heart's pain eased at last. Jonas's arms tightened around her they clung together that way until they had to come up for air.
"Hi," he said, looking down into her eyes.
"Hi, yourself," she answered.
"You're kind of pretty," Jonas went on, "Of course if my wife finds out that you kissed me like that we're both going to be in big trouble."
Ashlen laughed and nuzzled into his chest. Vala, smiling broadly, said, "Ashlen, I think I like your husband," which made everyone laugh.
"Did you hear?" Ashlen asked Jonas, "They're evacuating us to the Beta site. We'll be under Earth protection."
"Such as it is," Jack said, cautiously.
"What about Ainsley, and your parents?" Jonas asked.
"We have a cloaked ship," Jack said, "We'll go back and get as many people as we can onto it and take them there. I can't promise we'll be able to keep doing that."
"I might be able to convince the Jaffa to render assistance," Teal'c said, "though I cannot promise anything either."
It didn't matter that Teal'c could not swear to the help. Both Kelownans were smiling. "It's more hope than we've had in a long time," Jonas said, looking around at the team he should never have doubted, not even for a moment. "Thank you. From both of us. From all of us."
(0)
Venimus, vidimus, clunes calcitravimus – we came, we saw, we kicked ass.
