A/N: Where we start to move into the R/M category.
Chapter XIV: A Devil's Waltz
It really was only by a slip of the tongue that the information that the Shol'va, Teal'c, and his human partner, Vala, were in Melina got to Ba'al's Jaffa. And it was a stroke of bad luck that the information got to jaffas loyal to their god.
It had been one of Seevis' boys that had overheard Denya and Vala in the bar, and when he went to tell his friend that the almost infamous Vala Mal Duran and Teal'c were in the Mermide, he had not watched himself and spilled the beans to a passing Jaffa patrol.
After that everything else that happened was like a dominos motion – one small oblong piece, causing the next one to fall and so on and so on until the last piece fell and they all laid on the floor waiting to be pick up again.
§
Ba'al walked into the room, and everybody, everything froze – all seemed to slow as if time was passing through tree sap; and then just as quickly time sped back up, shattering the amber-encased moment and everything, everyone, moved.
The Jaffa shot their staffs and zats.
The patrons of the bar tried to dodge and take cover.
Seevis tried to make it to the safety of his backroom.
Teal'c shoved Vala out of the way and shot at Ba'al and his Jaffa, as did Cam and Daniel.
Vala, who had taken that extra second Teal'c had given her to gather herself, moved from behind her friend and joined in. Like hell he was going to coddle her…
A few of the mercs and assassins in the bar began fighting as well, but most were shot down almost instantly.
Cam kicked down a couple tables, using them as a makeshift cover while he tried to think of a way out of this mess. Teal'c was trying to get to Ba'al, but too many Jaffa came between him and the man. Nothing seemed to help them, and with only the upward motion of Ba'al's hand the foursome were all pushed back by the pulse wave of the hand device, roughly slamming into the wall and counter behind them.
As they lay groaning on the floor struggling to get back up, Ba'al had his Jaffa bring forward the unwilling betrayer. The Jaffa held Denya, her forehead carrying the burn of the mind probe, tears falling from her jade eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she sobbed repeatedly. "They came… I… I tried telling them they were wrong… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Vala and Seevis looked at the young woman in pain and sorrow, struggling to get back up to help her.
"Let… her go…" Vala groaned.
Ba'al smirked and motioned his Jaffa closer to grab the fallen figures. He planned to have some fun with all of them, especially the woman and the Shol'va.
As the Jaffa got closer, they forgot that the Shol'va they were dealing with was Teal'c of Chulak, and the one thing Teal'c knew was how to fight, and how to gain the advantage in a fight. As soon as the closest Jaffa got to him, Teal'c lifted his powerful legs and pushed the Jaffa forcibly, sending him flying back several feet. He then lifted himself up and grabbing the fallen staff weapon, he spun it and aimed it at another Jaffa.
Cam took the chance that Teal'c had offered them and pushed himself up. Groaning, he punched the closest Jaffa, blocking a sweep of the staff like he had been taught. Ducking the oncoming punch, he turned and pointed his gun straight at the Jaffa's head. Cam didn't blink as he pulled the trigger and moved to the next Jaffa.
While Cam was dealing with his Jaffa, Daniel was busy with his own. He had gotten up when Cam had, and briefly helping Vala up, he had almost gotten shot in the back, had Vala not taken her gun and shot at the Jaffa behind him. Now he was ducking a punch from a Jaffa as he lifted his arm to elbow him in the face. As that Jaffa was momentarily disabled, he took the opportunity to shoot at the oncoming one, before shooting at the one he had elbowed.
Not far from Daniel, Vala picked up a discarded staff weapon and began firing on the Jaffa. Striking one in the stomach she twirled the stick to hit him in the face as he fell to the floor. She then pulled her gun and fired at a Jaffa that had been getting too close to Cam.
Seevis grabbed his hidden gun from under the counter and joined the fight. He was trying to get to Denya who was crawling to a fallen table, tears still falling freely – the Jaffa had discarded her when the fight broke out.
Seevis fought back and watched as Vala and her friends fought, and fought hard. His eyes then fell back towards Denya, who was now crouching on the floor, but it wasn't the girl that held his attention. It was Ba'al.
Ba'al, who was just standing there with a sly smirk on his face. The Goa'uld did nothing but smirk, and Seevis knew things were about to get worse.
Ba'al lifted his hand and Seevis called out, moving in front of the Goa'uld. "Watch out!" The warning cost him his life, as this time Ba'al's pulse wave was strong enough to crush his bones and his organs. But in an odd twist of luck, his death had bought them time. Ba'al now had to wait for this new hand device to gather enough energy for the next his shot.
"No!" Vala heard Denya call out as Seevis fell, blood coming out of his nose and mouth. She turned to Teal'c. "We need to get out here! Five minutes ago!" She shot and blasted her way towards Daniel, who had just shot down another Jaffa.
"I'm on it!" Cam called out as he dodged a staff blast by jumping over the counter. Behind the counter, Cam called the ship. "Prometheus, come in! Prometheus!"
The static seemed endless, and then, "Cam? What's going on? Is everything okay?" Above Cam glass bottles shattered and he had to cover his face at the falling shards.
"No, I wouldn't say that! We're under fire. Ba'al's Jaffa. We need you to beam us out, like yesterday."
Again there was static, before Jack came back – his voice fierce. "Get ready down there, you're coming home." Cam had never heard such beautiful words. Standing, he called out.
"Get ready, guys! We're getting zapped!" Cam jumped back over the counter, firing, and made his way to Teal'c, Daniel and Vala.
Daniel sighed gratefully, beginning to feel the odd and familiar sensation of the beam. It was only as the white light flashed, that Cam and Daniel noticed that Teal'c and Vala weren't glowing white like they were. So did Vala and Teal'c, both getting increasingly worried. In a split second Cam quickly reached out and wrapped his strong arms around Teal'c who was the closest to him. Daniel did the same for Vala.
White flashed.
§
Jack watched in apprehension as the group appeared stumbling to the floor on the bridge of the Prometheus in left over momentum. He sighed in relief for a second, when he noticed three pairs of limbs instead of four and paled.
As the three detangled from each other, Jack watched as they all paled as he had.
It was Cam that broke the uneasy silence. "Where's Vala?"
§
On Sahal, in the now ruined Mermide, Vala fell to the floor, which had almost been Daniel's arms. As a tear escaped her eyes, she closed them and turned them into grey steel as she faced the monster at her back.
Struggling with fear and more than a few bruises, she managed to get up. "Ba'al."
"Vala Mal Duran. It is a lovely name, I have to admit." He said her name as if he was savouring it and strode over to her, eyes flashing gold. "So what, pray tell, did you want in my temple, my dear?" Ba'al asked as his hand grabbed Vala by the neck, his fingers crushing it slightly.
Vala spat in his face.
"Ah, I see you haven't changed." Ba'al grinned evilly, his grip growing tighter. "This will be entertaining."
§
The bridge of the Prometheus was filled with an edged silence that seemed to halt the air itself. Sam was pale, Cam stood frozen, but Jack kept his eyes on Teal'c and Daniel. Both stood stiffly, taught wires that when snapped would sting and scar everything they touched. Jack could see the tension Daniel's body held and began preparing for what he knew would come next.
"Daniel."
"Why weren't they beaming out with us?" Daniel asked, his voice low.
Sam stepped forward, knowing her answer wouldn't appease her friend – knowing nothing could appease her friend, "The transmitting devices we have in our arms we… I never gave them to Caro to implant in Teal'c and Vala."
"So I grabbed for her too late."
"Daniel," Sam sighed.
Daniel ignored Sam and turned to Jack, "We need to get her back." It was not a statement, but a demand.
"Daniel," Jack started to speak only to be cut off.
"No. No, Jack." Daniel's eyes flashed in rare anger that would not be easily remedied, "I left a planet once before with no argument because they were dead. I knew there wasn't anything more I could do. It's different this time – she's alive. I know she's alive and we need to get her back. And if you don't want t— "
"Daniel!" Jack interrupted. "Whoever said we weren't going to help her."
Daniel met Jack's brown eyes and saw something he hadn't seen in a long time. Fury. Determination. He felt unconsciously better – they were going to get her back.
Jack turned to his crew, shifting into the commanding officer that he seldom unleashed. "Walter, I want you to get Ferretti, Evans and Markowitz and have them ring down to the planet, go to this bar and see if they can get any information about what happened there tonight and where Ba'al might have taken Vala. And I want a report in an hour."
"Yes, sir."
"Cam, I want you to brief those three and get me all the intel we have about Ba'al and this planet."
"Already done."
Cam and Walter rushed out of the room.
"Sam?"
"Yes?"
"I want you to go with Teal'c and get him that damn transmitter, get one ready for Vala too." Teal'c was already moving to the door as he heard the words.
"Yes, sir." Sam followed Teal'c out of the room – the man a silent warrior preparing for a fight.
Jack then turned to Daniel. His friend tense and still, the air around him vibrating with an aura of worry and anger. "Can you handle this?" Jack asked, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
Daniel just raised his eyes and looked at him. Jack sighed, "Okay then, get cleaned up. I want you all in the office in an hour." Daniel left the bridge taking his silence with him.
Jack turned to the remaining crew, all jump-started under their captain's hard gaze. "There is no disengaging that cloak."
§
Vala's mother had been raised with impeccable manners, and she had tried to impart them upon her children. She had taught them which utensils to use and when to use them, she had taught them not to raise their voice, not to curse, not to fight without reason, not to spit in public, to always be courteous and polite. She had been a woman of impeccable manners and a striking smile.
Vala had chosen to keep only one of the two qualities.
In the Jaffa's arms she had kicked, cursed, screamed and spat. She had fought her way free for a second, but then was grabbed just as quickly.
After her almost escape she had been rendered unconscious. Now she woke with a splitting headache and the knowledge that things were going to get worse. Getting up she saw that she was in a small, pit-like room with no visible escape hatches or way to climb up, and looking up she saw that it would be quiet a ways up too. Sighing she let her head fall backwards to the wall, cursing herself for the move, as she slid down dejected. She had to find a way out this mess.
She heard a noise from above. Looking up, she saw a Jaffa looking down at her.
"You are awake. Lord Ba'al will be pleased to hear this."
Vala scoffed, "I'm sure. Be sure to tell him I liked the palace in Selenis better."
The Jaffa just glared at her and walked away. Vala again let her head drop.
She had to find a way out this. Quickly.
§
All five stood in Jack's office. Cam was the first to speak up, "How are we going to do this?"
Teal'c stepped forward. "I have informed Bra'tac of the situation. He is sending all the information he has on Ba'al and his fortress on the planet, as well as the names of certain undercover Jaffa in Ba'al's operation."
"Caro already gave Teal'c the transmitter and I'm taking this," Sam showed them a small black med kit that held the pistol injector, "to be ready to give one to Vala as soon as we find her."
"Get me an extra one." Jack stated. Sam looked at him questioning, but nodded.
"We've also taken all the information we have on Ba'al and the rough layout of the fortress, but he might have made a few changes since last time. After we compare it with what we're getting from Bra'tac we should be able to get a better idea of what to expect." Cam added.
Jack nodded. "Okay, good. Now I don't want to be the bad guy here but how do we know that Ba'al hasn't just killed her?" Looking at everybody in the room, he avoided looking at Daniel.
Daniel stared at Jack. He hated Jack's question but knew it was a question that had to be asked.
"Because," Teal'c answered, eyes glancing to Daniel before facing Jack, "five years ago on the planet Selenis, Vala Mal Duran and I killed the goa'uld Katesh, his queen. He will want to… take his time." Teal'c finished the sentence with cold hatred burning in his eyes.
Jack straightened; more determined than before, because he knew just how Ba'al would like to use that time. "We'll get her back. But even with all this, I hope you all know that it's going to be a bitch getting in and out of that fortress – again. You remember what it was like to get me out."
Daniel spoke for the first time since he entered the room, voice tight. "So we'll do it again."
Jack smiled; it was the edged and sharp not-smile that had gotten him several nicknames back in the Abydonian army. "Damn right we will."
"Sir?" They heard from the com.
Jack pressed the com. "Yes, Walter?"
"We just got the wave from the Jaffa."
"Send it down." A few seconds later, Jack's rarely used table screen lit with the information from the wave. Sam leaned over and brought up all the files they already had on the fortress and the five of them leaned over it. There could be nothing left to chance.
§
Vala fought every inch of the way as the Jaffa dragged her to where Ba'al was waiting. Part of her knew it was in vain, but another part wasn't willing to give up so easily. When they finally to got the room, she vaguely noticed the doorways and window, but kept their positions in her memory. She was dragged and thrown against a wall that seemed to grip at her skin and clothes. It didn't take her long to understand she couldn't move.
This was not good.
Then the opposite doorway opened and she felt part of her freeze as Ba'al walked in, his lo'tar following him like a sick puppy. The lo'tar stood and waited as his 'god' extended his arms, then he obediently took Ba'al's outer robes. It made Vala sick, and now Ba'al stood in front of her, his cruel smirk chilling her to her bones.
"Now, my dear, I should be probing you about what you wanted with my temple first," he raised his hand and Vala tensed with fear, "but lucky for you that can wait – I have an awfully handy sarcophagus, and we have a previously pending situation, don't we?"
"Now, Ba'al, you can't still be upset about that, can you? I mean, Katesh? I always heard she was a bit of whore anyway. I honestly think I did you a favour for taking care of her," she smirked.
Ba'al slapped her and Vala winced at the sting of it. She spat out the blood that gathered in her mouth back at him. Okay, obviously that was still a sore spot. She watched as Ba'al walked across the room and opened a case his lo'tar had place on the table. Vala felt her blood freeze. She watched as Ba'al slowly laid out the ten short daggers on the velvet cloth as if they were precious jewels and then watched as he opened a small case, long, thin and black. From this case he took out a syringe filled with a pale yellow liquid.
Turning to her, Ba'al held the syringe up and presented it to Vala. "This little cocktail is what you would call a neural enhancer, it will intensify anything you feel, any sensation." He walked up to her and gently dragged the point of the syringe across her skin, she tried to move her head away but couldn't, she only felt a drop of the liquid trail down her cheek like a yellow tear. Ba'al stood right in front of her and whispered quietly, as his eyes flashed gold, "Especially pain." He smiled and roughly injected the liquid into her neck.
Vala groaned, but didn't cry out. After the liquid was fully in, he removed the syringed, and Vala ground out through clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill you."
Ba'al laughed as he walked away towards the table with the daggers. "I have no doubt that you believe that, but one thing is for sure, my dear Vala – I'm going to kill you first." Turning he picked up one of the daggers, aimed it and launched it at her. Almost as if she was outside her body, Vala watched as the dagger cut through the air like it was on a mission and its mission was to embed itself in her chest.
Vala wished she could later say she didn't scream, that she was strong and didn't give Ba'al the satisfaction. She would be half right – she hadn't screamed but the sound that had left her lips had been an unnatural one, one reminiscent of a dying beast looking for mercy. Ba'al didn't wait for her to stop before he launched the next dagger and the next.
Then Vala did scream. Loudly, and for a long time.
Vala screamed until sound could no longer escape her bloodied lips.
§
A couple hours later, Jack looked over at each person in the room. "Let's get this done." Together the five looked at each other and left the room in grim determination.
When the group beamed down to the planet they beamed into the Mermide, where Ferretti, Evans, and Markowitz had arrived earlier. It had been the dirtiest, dodgiest, dingiest, most corrupt bar in all of Melina, and now it was little more than a war zone. Denya, who had somehow managed to survive along with a few other patrons who had long ago left, sat by the counter as Evans tended to her wound. When the white lights flashed again, she turned her head in awe as the arriving group now stood where her friend had been taken, and the man that had practically raised her had been killed.
"What are you doing back?" she spat at them.
Cam stepped forward. "We're here to get Vala back."
Denya looked at them for a beat, poised to argue and then nodded. "Get her back safe."
"Are you sure you should stay here? It can't be safe…" Sam asked, looking around at the mess around her.
Denya followed Sam's eyes and smiled sadly. "It's my home. I'll hide out with friends for a while, and then I'll fix it up." She looked at the bar. "If there's one thing that ex-cons and crooks like, it's a place with a sordid history." She smiled ironically, her jade eyes falling to where Seevis still laid covered in a tablecloth. "I should call Gran, she'll want to know."
Jack and company stared at the young woman in silence for a few seconds, then Jack turned to Ferretti.
"Lou."
"Yes, sir?"
"I'm going to need you three to join us as we take the fortress. You'll be going with Sam and Daniel. Evans, you'll be with Teal'c and myself. Cam, you and Markowitz will be the last team." Jack headed towards one of the tables, placing his holo-disc down and turning it on to show the layout of the fortress.
"Okay, here is how it's going to go. We're going to make our way in here through this weak tower base that the rebellion has provided for us. Then we're going to make our way to this building by the inner wall and there should be a passage way that will lead us inside this room that, according to the plans, is…"
"The armoury," Sam filled in and clicked on the hologram, zooming in on the inside of the fortress.
Jack continued. "Cam and Markowitz, here is where you two are going to hold our position. Ferretti, you, Sam and Daniel are going to head to Ba'al's little holding pits where hopefully Vala will be. Me, Evans and T, here, we'll be going to his fun room, where we hope Vala isn't. The minute we have her we rendezvous, get her a transmitter, and radio the Prometheus. Then it's bye-bye, Sahal. Everybody got that?" Jack looked up at his team.
They all nodded.
"Okay, then we head out." As the group left the bar, Cam turned back to Denya.
"You better get out of this place soon." He met her sad eyes in sympathy.
Denya nodded, and motioned to one of Seevis' boys who stood by the man's body. "We're just going to get him out of here first. Good luck."
Cam nodded and left the Mermide Beni Salama. A few minutes later Denya and the man left also, hefting between them the body of Seevis, the former owner of the dirtiest, dodgiest, dingiest, most corrupt bar in the city of Melina.
§
Ba'al grinned maniacally as he held the hand device to Vala's head. He had to admit the woman was strong, both mentally and physically. Already back from her second trip to the sarcophagus, she still resisted the probe and still fought against him and his Jaffa. If he had known she would have been this fun, he would have played with her more when he had her back on Selenis. She had been stubborn then too, but then his queen had wanted her. Katesh would have loved to inhabit this body, and break it from the inside out.
Katesh. His queen. His Katesh. Whom this one had killed. Fury burned through him like a virus and he exerted more pressure on the hand device.
"Tell me what you were doing in the temple!"
Vala had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out. "Taking in the sites, it's been a while since I've been here and I heard the new decor was really good."
Eyes flashing, Ba'al pushed harder.
Vala struggled, feeling the burning pressure on her forehead, inside her head. Everything felt like it was being pounded down with a sledgehammer. Vaguely she wondered how long it would be before she died again.
§
It took them about two hours to get to the fortress. A large, long structure near the outskirts of the city, built hundred of years ago, its composition barely needed to change, telling everyone just how fortified it was. Over the course of those years, very few people had managed to break into it, and even fewer had managed to break out. To many it would be a daunting task, but the crew of the Prometheus had already managed to do it once before.
It was just a matter of doing it again.
They were up for the challenge.
Getting through the outer wall was the easy part, especially considering the weak tower base that allowed them their in. Under the cover of night, they had managed to avoid the outside patrols and disabled the one they had encountered. Inside the fortress, reaching the inner wall was a great deal more complicated. They had less cover, about a hundred feet, and more Jaffa guards.
Cam took point as they started to head through the hundred feet that would take them to the building with their way in. Thankful for the cover of night they made the first fifty feet with relative easiness. Fifty-five feet in, Cam heard the two words he hated the most.
"Halt!" They all moved back deeper into the shadows of the wall.
Turning, the group saw a small Jaffa patrol heading their way. Teal'c turned to Jack and the others. "Continue, I will handle them."
For a second it looked like Jack was going to argue with the man, but then nodded. "We'll meet at the building. Cam, Markowitz, stay with Teal'c." Cam nodded, moving towards the Jaffa guard, and watched as Jack and the others continued.
Teal'c and Markowitz stealthily moved forward, and as the Jaffa reached them, Cam dodged a staff blast and punched. The Jaffa guard staggered, and Cam took the opportunity to shoot, hitting the Jaffa square in the chest. The Jaffa fell. Turning, he watched as Teal'c snapped the neck of another one and Markowitz blasted another with his own staff weapon.
"Let's go." Nodding, the two other men followed the young commander as they headed towards the building.
Getting there, they were met by Evans who stood guard by the door, waiting to cover them if need be. Rushing inside, Cam immediately held his gun back up, pointing at the Jaffa that stood in the room.
"Don't shoot!" exclaimed Daniel, standing in front of the Jaffa. "He's with the rebellion."
Getting a nod from Jack, Cam lowered his gun and shrugged. "Never hurts to be cautious."
"Indeed." Teal'c stepped up and nodded to the younger Jaffa warrior. "Your status?"
"Master Teal'c, I am Hapi." The Jaffa bowed low. "I received word from the rebellion that you would require assistance in infiltrating the fortress. I will do what you ask."
"Very well. What do you know of the prisoner Ba'al has acquired?" Teal'c's voice took a deeper tone, one that would scare anyone into telling the truth. It wasn't any different for the young Jaffa in front of him.
Hapi looked nervously between the grouped warriors. "I do not know much. I heard that the prisoner, a young human female, had been brought in because she had defied Lord Ba'al. She was taken to the holding pits, but I do not know much else."
Teal'c nodded, seemingly appeased that Hapi was telling the truth, and placed his large hand on the young man's shoulder. "That is much help. Thank you, Hapi."
Cam was about to snort, when he met Sam's look and then did nothing.
"Okay, then," Jack said, "the plan doesn't change. Hapi?"
"Yes, sir!" Hapi stood solider straight.
Jack raised his eyebrow. "We're going to need to you show us how we're getting into the fortress from this building, and we're going to need someone to keep the other Jaffa off our backs as long as possible when we get inside. Can you do that?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Nice." Jack waved Hapi forward, "Lead the way."
They all watched as Hapi stepped up to a wall and pushed down on a lever. Slowly but surely a section in the wall opened.
"This way."
Sam stepped forward. "Jack, here." She handed him an extra kit with a transmitter. "Just in case you find her first."
Before they entered Jack said one last thing. "We know what we have to do, so let's do it."
They all headed in through the tunnel that went from the outside building to the inner fortress to the armoury. When they reached the armoury, they didn't need any words as they all split into their groups. Cam watched as Hapi left the room first, signaling that it was safe to follow. Then Jack, Evans and Teal'c left, heading to Ba'al's torture room. Sam, Daniel, and Ferretti headed towards the holding pits. Popping his head out the door he watched as a Jaffa patrol moved past where they had just missed Sam's blond head. He turned to Markowitz. "Let's hope they find Vala fast."
§
Ever since they beamed Cam, Daniel and Teal'c on board, Sam had felt enormously guilty. She hadn't even thought to give to Vala and Teal'c the subspace transmitters. And now they were back in this horrible place because she had been too focused on everything else to do something as easy and simple as giving her friend something that could have saved her life. Double-checking she had the kit, she focused on the route she was on.
Walking carefully through the fortress, she followed the path she had memorized from the layout. She knew this path well – they had followed it for Jack three years ago. She'd never forget it.
Too focused on getting herself, Lou and Daniel to the pits as fast as possible she would have lost her head if Lou had not tackled her and gotten her out of the shot's range. Moving to the closest cover, she turned her body and began shooting.
"I think they know we're here," Daniel called out, quickly moving from his own cover to shoot at the blasting Jaffa.
"Sam, Daniel, when I say move – move! Sam, you lead the way!" Lou yelled as he ducked from a staff blast and tried to make it further down the hallway.
Sam nodded, turning to find Daniel to see if he was ready. Daniel nodded.
"MOVE!"
As one Sam, Daniel and Lou ran almost backwards down the hall, shooting as the Jaffa advanced on them. Turning a corner, Sam led them down corridors and hallways, when she practically skidded to a halt. "Twelve o'clock!" Shooting at the approaching Jaffa, she just managed to duck out of the way of a zat blast.
Lou didn't get so lucky as the staff blast hit him straight in the shoulder. Gripping his shoulder the man moved forward and shot the Jaffa dead, before he continued.
Reaching Sam, Daniel joined her in shooting the Jaffa that had gotten in his way. Sam could see the determination in his blue eyes and knew that nothing would stop him from getting to Vala. He pulled her forward and they continued fighting their way to the pit. Sam watched in awe as Daniel shot, punched, and blasted, when they picked up an errant staff, in awe. She knew Daniel was not a solider, but sometimes she forgot that he had been trained by some of the very best ones. Reloading her gun and throwing cartridges to Lou and Daniel, she wondered when he had become a warrior, when they had all become warriors.
"Move!" she called out. Now leading the group, as Lou now moved between her and Daniel, she calculated it would be only a couple more hundred feet to where Vala was, hopefully.
§
When Ba'al heard of the intrusion of his fortress, he had been in the process of starting his bath. Torture was an exhausting business after all and he had needed to relax, Vala being one of the more frustrating captives he had ever had. She kept on fighting against him, and while amusing, he just really wanted to shut her up. Maybe he would start the next session by ripping out her tongue or slicing her throat. The former would be more fun, but the latter held a certain delicatesse that had him itching for his daggers. His Katesh had always liked knives.
He had wondered if he should have given her this break. She had needed to be revived, but maybe this reprieve would raise her spirits again, compel her to try to escape again. She was on her fourth try. But he didn't worry too much, she'd be foolish to try a fifth, plus his Jaffa and lo'tar were making sure the woman stayed in her place. A place where she would be for a while – he still needed to figure out why she had snuck into his temple.
But then his bath was interrupted with the news that his fortress was once again being infiltrated, he stood in a rage and killed the Jaffa that had informed him.
Teal'c. The Shol'va. He had come to free his friend. And he had help.
Throwing clothes on, Ba'al's eyes glowed a fiery gold.
§
Leading his group, Jack stared at the walls of the fortress around him. Gods be damned, how he hated this place. Suddenly he was wishing he had killed Ba'al when he had had the chance. And if he had the chance today he would. Or he'd give his chance to Vala, who he was sure wouldn't disagree to killing the creep.
Turning a corner, he motioned Teal'c and Evans to halt as a patrol passed by. They waited for a beat, and then Jack motioned them forward. There were too many patrols for his liking but it didn't stop him as they continued forwards.
As they turned to the next hallway, Jack jumped back as a staff blast hit the wall. Turning back to Evans and Teal'c, he smirked, "So much for the element of surprise."
"Indeed," was all that Teal'c said as he left their cover and began to fight. Jack and Evans just shrugged at each other before they followed the man.
Aiming at the closest Jaffa, Jack fired his gun, Evans right behind him.
Teal'c was busy engaging in hand to hand with two others, and Jack fired again. The Jaffa turned on him and Jack barely missed the punch that came his way, it clipping him in his chin. Staggering, he lowered his body to regain his balanced and saw Evans land the butt of his gun in the Jaffa's face. Turning, this time he landed his own punch that quickly followed a shot to the leg.
Three hallways and one more patrol later, which Teal'c took care off impressively swiftly, they continued forward until they heard a doorway opening and a sleek voice call out to them.
"Teal'c, I expected it was you, but you, O'Neill. I have to say this is an interesting turn of events." Ba'al stepped forward with an arrogance that Teal'c and Jack wanted to shoot off his face. Surround by his Jaffa, he acted as if he was untouchable.
It was too bad that Teal'c wouldn't have cared even if he was, as the very livid Jaffa shot at Ba'al. Only one struck, right in Ba'al's chest and the Jaffa began to fire. Jack managed to get few before taking cover. He saw Teal'c and Evans do the same with the nearby stone columns.
Stumbling and eyes glowing in hate, Ba'al lifted his hand and sent out another pulse wave. Jack, Teal'c and Evans jumped out of the way as the pulse wave hit the wall behind them, crushing it under its pressure.
Ba'al only gave a nasty sideways smile, wiping blood from his lips. "Be sure to tell Vala, it was much more fun this time. And you, O'Neill, it was nice seeing you again. I don't doubt that we'll meet again before long." Teal'c growled as he rushed the Goa'uld, but he would never have reached his goal, as Ba'al ringed out.
"Fuck…" Jack got up and reached Teal'c, grabbing his arm he turned the furious man towards him, "Teal'c! Teal'c!" Teal'c's eyes met his and Jack knew that sooner or later Ba'al would be a dead man. "Listen to me, at least now we know she's still alive." Teal'c just shook Jack off and continued down the corridor.
Jack glanced to where Ba'al had ringed out – he really wanted to shoot that bastard. Following Teal'c and Evans to where he was now sure Vala was being held, he was suddenly he was glad he had sent Daniel with Sam, because if Ba'al's smirk was anything to go by Vala wouldn't be in the best shape.
§
Playing possum was one of the best tricks Vala's various teachers had taught her. It came in handy in more situations than you could imagine, and in Vala's opinion it was only second best to playing a sometimes wonko sex kitten. After her second trip from the sarcophagus, she already had it down.
And now back from her fourth trip it was time, the room was now blissfully empty.
It was twelve jaffa steps from this doorway to where they were strapping her down. Then it was ten steps from there to the other door and outside that it was about thirty steps to the first hallway that would hopefully lead her out of here and opposite to the pits they had kept her before. But that didn't matter right now. Now all that mattered was that it was five steps to the table.
Three. Four. Five.
As the Jaffa passed by the table where the now clean daggers laid, Vala took a mental breath and acted. Extending her arms and swiping a dagger from the table, she bent her leg at the knee and with the heel of her foot she slammed it right into the Jaffa's nose. She could feel his blood against her skin, as she dug the dagger into his side. Falling with the Jaffa, she scrambled to get up and immediately seeing Ba'al's lo'tar entering the room she threw the dagger at him. Knife throwing was definitely the third best lesson she had ever been given.
She didn't wait to look as the young man fell to the floor, shock on his face, because she was too busy grabbing two more daggers from the table and rushing out the door. She didn't register the not so far away sounds of gunshots and staff blast.
Running, the world was a dizzy, hazy cloud. Running, everything was sense, she was all instinct, dodging passing jaffa, ducking behind pillars, striking fast when someone got in her way. Slashes to the neck and arms. Grabs at staff weapons. Blasts at breastplates. Punches where she could land them. She was instinct, not bothering to care about the felled Jaffa because there was only one thought that ran through her head:
Escape.
Running, she headed to the first exit she could find. Running, she didn't notice that the gunshots and footsteps where getting closer. All she knew was that she needed to get away, she needed to get to the gate – rings were too risky, she needed to get to Dakarra or Ivalice, because she had no way to make contact with the ship. Turning a corner she paused, someone was coming. She breathed.
Vala counted the approaching steps and right when the oncoming figures would have reached her, she struck. But her dagger would not get to the desired clavicle of her opponent as Teal'c held her arm.
She met her dear friend's brown eyes and felt relief as he lowered her still dagger-clutching arm. She wouldn't be able to describe the absolute relief she felt in seeing her friend, his strong hand gripping her, Jack behind him holding a gun at her, and Evans covering their backs.
Exhausted, she let herself fall into Teal'c's arms.
§
"Vala Mal Duran, can you hear me?"
But Vala said nothing as she held onto her friend as Jack shrugged out of his thick leather jacket and wrapped it around her.
"Vala Mal Duran!" Teal'c repeated, holding her shoulders tightly and getting no response.
"She appears to be in shock, captain," Evans stated, still covering the group.
Teal'c held her as Jack grabbed her face. "Vala! Look at me, kiddo." He was in shock over her state. She was pale, so fucking pale, and had silent tears filling her eyes. Her clothes were in tatters, her leather vest barely held together, her pants full of rips, feet bare, one which looked to be bleeding, and dark, almost black, dried blood everywhere. Jack knew all to well what had caused those cuts and rips, just as he knew why there was dried blood all over her, but no apparent open wounds. She had been put in the sarcophagus, which meant she had been brought back to life. Which meant…
"Vala!" Jack gripped her face between his hands, forcing her to look at him, to see him. Hear him.
Sluggishly, Vala met his eyes, blinking. "Captain Jack…" Her eyes were hazy and unfocused, but as Jack still held her face, their eyes connected. Pulling her back to them, they began clearing from the cloudy grey to flashing silver.
Jack never thought he'd like hearing that horrid name again and smiled. "You just couldn't wait for the rescue, could you?"
In Teal'c's arms, she coughed – dry and laboriously, but coming back to herself. "I was never the type."
"Here you go." Evans gave Vala a water bottle that she took gratefully with a small thank you.
Jack smirked. "Good for you. Give me your arm?" He took out the pistol injector Sam had given him.
Vala looked at him in question, handing the water bottle back to Evans.
"It's an injector for the subspace transmitter so you can get beamed out."
"Okay. Go for it." Vala extended her arm, hiding her face in Teal'c chest as the needle punctured her skin, similar to how the syringe had done before, to how the daggers had.
Jack watched Vala's face closely. "Teal'c's gonna help you move, okay?"
Vala blinked as Teal'c helped her lean on him. Opening her eyes, she shifted against him and grabbed his extra gun. "I don't need it. I'm ready." Her voice was strong, she stood straight, eyes hard and Jack couldn't help but think that Daniel had picked a good one.
It still didn't mean he bought her act. "The hell you are… Teal'c, keep her with you. Evans, keep our six," he ordered.
"Yes, sir."
The larger man nodded as well. "You should radio Samantha Carter."
With a nod, Jack did just that. "Sam? Ferretti? Come in."
"Jack," Daniel's voice came through the radio and Jack watched as Vala's eyes focused on the radio. "We haven't found Vala! She's not here."
"I know, I have her."
"Is she okay? Let me talk to her," Daniel exclaimed, and even as Vala reached for his radio, Jack pulled back.
"She's fine, she wasn't even waiting for a rescue."
"She's fine?" Jack could hear the relief in Daniel's voice.
"Fine. You'll talk to her when we get back."
"Oh thank the gods," Jack heard Sam exclaim, and chuckled.
"Yeah, something like that." Sobering, he commanded his teams. "Make your way to Cam and Markowitz. Cam, you got that?"
"Yeah, I got it. We'll be waiting." Jack heard some staff fire in the background.
"Okay, everybody, let's move," Jack ordered, and with Vala, Teal'c and Evans, they made their way to the armoury. They just had a fortress full of Jaffa between them and the room.
Heading back to where they had left Cam, Vala asked Jack a question he really wished she wouldn't have. He had forgotten the girl was a clever one too.
"Why isn't Daniel with you?"
"I sent him with Sam to the holding pits, just in case you were there." Jack focused straight ahead.
"But you knew I wouldn't be there." Vala grabbed Jack's shoulder to turn him towards her. It wasn't a question.
"I did."
"Then why…"
"I didn't know how we would have found you, Daniel…" Jack's deep brown eyes held hers, "He's already seen someone he cares about die. I wasn't about to let him…"
"Okay," Vala nodded and Jack knew she understood.
Jack nodded back. "Let's move." As stealthily as possible, they made their way through the fortress.
There were only about thirty feet away from the armoury when Teal'c pushed them out of the way of several blasts.
Turning, they saw that they were getting some company. As they readied to shoot they watched as the Jaffa staggered forward, then fall to the floor revealing Hapi, Sam and the others behind them.
As his team moved forward, Daniel rushed towards Vala. The second they were near each other he took Vala's shaking figure into a tight embrace. His hand threaded through her hair and rested on her neck, pulling her close, brushing their noses and foreheads together.
"You okay?" Daniel's voice was a whisper breaking up the air.
Vala shook her head, eyes watery. "No… I don't think I am." Daniel nodded and held her tighter, the arm around her waist bringing her flush against him. Vala acquiesced to Daniel's grip, holding on fiercely as if the universe itself was held in that moment between them. Her hand gripped on his shoulders and the bridge of her nose laid in the curve of his jawline.
"We're getting out of here," Daniel promised into her hair.
Hapi's young voice broke the moment for everyone but the two embracing figures. "You must hurry. More Jaffa are headed his way."
Jack nodded. "Okay, thanks Hapi, now get out of here." The young man nodded and headed back they way he came. Closing the last thirty feet, they entered the armoury where they were met by Cam's gun.
Cam dropped the gun the second he saw who it was, and Jack noticed the two unconscious Jaffa in the corner. Obviously they hadn't been the only ones to get some action. Cam shrugged at his brother-in-law's look, and radioed the Prometheus.
A second later Jack watched the world flash white, Vala still in Daniel's arms.