A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! And my eternal gratitude to Dawn, for patiently beta-reading all the chapters I heaped on her desk--well, in her inbox.

Chapter 28: Could Have Gone Better...

"Stop fidgeting."

"Stop telling me what to do."

Mitchell gave the two of them a long, disgruntled look. Hidden by the foliage, they waited out of sight and below the radar for Sam to get on the Odyssey and beam the four of them aboard. Unfortunately, the wait was turning out to be long and idle, and nerves frayed as they swatted forest bugs and shifted uncomfortably on the damp mossy floor.

As usual, Jackson and Vala were driving him crazy. Cam looked to Teal'c, who returned his usual stoic expression. The colonel had learntby now how to read the nuances of that impenetrable visage: currently,in the Jaffa's composed gaze, he thought he saw traces of amusement mixed with exasperation. Either that or, Mitchell reckoned, he was projecting his own state of mind.

"Sam should be on board by now," Jackson was saying, carefully keeping his voice low. "If they let her board, that is."

"Were you always this pessimistic, Daniel, or are you getting cranky in your old age?" Vala inquired with faux interest, which earned her a pointed glare.

"Now that you ask, I think I did get crankier over the past couple of years—"

"Yes, I noticed!"

"—because it's been one insane venture after another," he hissed at her, "and somehow, do you know who everything can be traced back to?"

"Whom, darling," she corrected, absolutely immune to his indignation. "And you're always telling me to learn your quaint Earth dialect properly."

Mitchell decided it was time to intervene when he noticed the archaeologist open his mouth for another retort.

"Save it for the talk show, Jackson." He checked his watch, then the small device pinned to the collar of his jacket. "Make sure your beacons are active. Carter's sure taking her sweet time."

Vala clasped her hands together, leaning heavily against one knobbly tree trunk.

"I told you, you should've let me hijack the ship."

Daniel scoffed quietly and muttered something about tempting the wolf with lamb chops.

Vala grinned maliciously and shook her head at Cameron and Teal'c.

"Daniel still has issues with me stealing his mighty ship out from under him…" she explained, "which is totally understandable, of course." She turned towards the archaeologist, her voice all saccharine. "I mean, just imagine how that must have diminished your self-image and masculine confidence. I think Dr. Hutchinson would call your condition—"

That very second, a white light, accompanied by the familiar sensation of an Asgard beam enveloped them.

"—a psychosocial insufficiency complex coupled with emasculation anxiety that engenders heightened defensiveness and—"

"Well I'm glad to see your sessions with the shrink are at least enriching your vocabulary," Daniel deadpanned, then added in sotto voice, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Obviously they're not helping much in other areas."

From behind one of the consoles on the Odyssey, Sam looked from one to the other, mouth slightly open in surprise as she followed the baffling exchange.

"Don't ask," Mitchell advised.

It was then that he noticed the three crewmen holding guns trained on him and his team, and Colonel Davidson standing in his command chair, an ominous frown on his face. Mitchell's questioning eyes immediately fixed on Sam, who just shook her head and grimaced ruefully.

"Don't ask," she echoed.


The bridge of the Odyssey was rarely a place where one got to relax, seeing as how the ship was usually deployed on high-risk missions and emergencies. But the battle time buzz was nothing next to the tension that filled the room after Davidson ordered the rest of SG1 beamed aboard.

Mitchell and his team stood in the middle of the bridge, eyeing the three crewmen who edgily held them at gunpoint. Sitting in his chair, the commander of the Odyssey regarded his unwelcome visitors with a less-than-friendly frown.

"Alright…Colonels, Dr. Jackson…Teal'c, Ms. Mal Doran…I am only going to ask this once. What…is going on here?"

There was no reply, though the five of them exchanged wary glances. Davidson leaned forward in his chair, cupping his chin as he gave them a thoughtful look.

"See, the way it looks now," he stared slowly, "you were going to take aggressive action against this ship and my crew. Now, we haven't known each other for very long," he admitted with a shake of his head, "but from what I heard of the legendary SG1, this doesn't sound like your usual endeavour. Which is why I am giving you the opportunity to defend yourselves before I order you taken to the brig and call the cavalry."

"We are the cavalry, Davidson," Mitchell pointed out impatiently. "Well—we plan to be," he amended with a lopsided nod. "Soon as we get to the Ori galaxy, get whatever we need to kick their asses and bring it back to Earth before those Priors' ships make it here."

"And how exactly was attacking my ship going to help with that?"

"We weren't attacking anyone," Daniel hurried to correct, "we would've just beamed you down safely and taken the Odyssey, no harm done."

"Sure, it's fine when you do it," muttered Vala. "Tau'ri have such double standards."

Since the man did not look at all convinced by their argument, Mitchell took charge of the discussion again, taking a couple of steps towards the command chair for extra emphasis, before the twitchy guards warned him to stop.

"Listen, Davidson, this is how this show's gonna play out if you turn us in. Sure, we'll probably get locked up in a cell for life, but it'll be a damn short life, considering the bunch of ships on their way right now to blow Earth to kingdom come!"

"We need the Odyssey to complete the mission," Carter added in a serious tone, but it only made Davidson even more irritated. Much as he was genuinely trying to understand, the whole thing made no sense to him.

"But you've already got the approval for the mission," he barked, losing patience. "Why all the subterfuge, why attempt to hijack the ship two days before we're scheduled to depart for the supergate?"

Another glance exchange among SG1. Daniel volunteered an offhand shrug.

"We…needed it a little early."

Davidson's eyes widened with disbelief.

"And you couldn't go through the proper channels to move up the departure date?"

Vala gave a small derisive scoff.

"Been there, done that, didn't work, had to wing it."

Before anyone could reply, Harris looked down at his station, then up towards his commanding officer.

"Sir? Washington's pushing the connection," he informed Davidson. "They want to know what's happening and why we called them."

"Tell them we've had some unexpected guests," his superior instructed. "Hold the details, Lieutenant." He turned back to SG1, a new note of urgency in his stance. "Colonel Mitchell, I think you'll agree that things aren't looking too good for you at the moment. Now, I have the greatest respect for you and your team, so I want to get the facts straight before making any decisions."

Instinctively, everyone in SG1 looked towards Cam, and they subtly moved closer together, not enough to raise suspicion, but enough to let him know they would back his chosen course of action. Standing, hands behind his back in one of his usual stances, Teal'c moved squarely to a flank, putting himself between two of the armed men and his team-mates. Vala's shoulders tensed ever-so-slightly, as she prepared to reach for the Zat inside her jacket. Daniel's eyes darted around the bridge, keenly taking in the details. If they were going to rush the Odyssey bridge crew, now would be the moment…

But Mitchell simply gave a curt nod and held his palms up in a pacifying gesture.

"Alright, Davidson. You want to get your facts straight? Here's the deal," he started. "Earth's got a big bull's-eye painted on it, and we might have a way to stop it from becoming target practice for the Ori ships. Now to that end, we need the Odyssey…and a couple of other things. Only the President wouldn't give us the go, so we had to…improvise."

He paused for a second.

"Which," he amended, with a shake of his head, "could, frankly, have gone better."

He looked to Sam, who arched her eyebrows and returned a shrug.

"He was a tougher customer than we counted on," she commented in a low voice, which made Vala theatrically roll her eyes and mutter "amateurs…".

"If you turn us in, we might lose the only chance to find the Ori library," said Daniel. "There's no one else at the SGC more qualified to go to their galaxy and decipher whatever knowledge Morgan Le Fey's tablet leads us to! This could be our only way of defeating the Ori once and for all!"

"And just how are you going to get the ZPM to activate the supergate?"

The abrupt question surprised them. Daniel's eyes widened, and Mitchell looked incredulously towards Sam.

"I figured it out, Colonel Mitchell," Davidson said dryly. "And I'm not impressed. What you and your team are doing is treason. Not to mention impossible to accomplish. I have no choice but to—"

"I know this may sound clichéd," Daniel defended, "but does the phrase "for the greater good" make it any better?"

"Getting us locked up isn't going to help anyone," Vala added, "and at the risk of sounding overconfident, we are the best chance this galaxy's got right now. How long do you think that cloaking device can hide Earth? What about the rest of the planets the Priors are enslaving? Are the Tau'ri just going to hide and let everyone else fend for themselves?"

"When the Asgard left their legacy to the Tau'ri, the fifth race," Teal'c spoke for the first time, and everyone deferred to his baritone voice, "they also bequeathed their protectorate agreements. And Earth has alliances of its own to uphold. If we can help them and ourselves at the same time, should we not at least try?"

He took a step towards Davidson's chair, ignoring the guards' nervous twitches, and looked the commander of the Odyssey straight in the eyes.

"We must reach the Ori galaxy," he finished, "and attempt to defeat the Ori permanently. Your assistance at this point would be…beneficial, Colonel Davidson."

And just like that, there was nothing left to say. The rest of SG1 simply nodded their quiet agreement, looking expectantly towards Davidson. The colonel sat in silence, measuring them with a pensive stare. Finally, he stood up from his command chair.

"Lieutenant Harris, is Washington still on the line?"

"Yes, Sir."

"You have permission to reveal the presence of our guests to them. Let them know SG1 tried to hijack the Odyssey, and tell them I will be holding them in the brig until someone arrives to escort them to a more suitable facility for interrogation."

He gave Mitchell a cautioning glance.

"Don't even try it, Colonel. I do not want any blood shed on my bridge, but my men are under orders to shoot you at the smallest aggressive move."

"You're making a big mistake," Vala warned. "This is going to cost Earth much more than—"

"Escort them to the brig," Davidson cut her off with a nod to the security guards, then looked to SG1 once more. "And please, don't test my men. This is all a regretful incident, and I would be truly sorry if any of you ended up hurt as a result."


A/N: While I was replying to last chapter's reviews, I had this spectacular revelation. See, up until then, I'd thought reviews at the end of a chapter are a bit like applause at the end of a play (or--to court humility--rotten tomatoes, but you get my point...): a bit of a one-sided kind of communication. But what with the not-so-new-anymore "review reply" thingy that has installed, said communication is not so one-sided anymore! I've gotten a lot of precious insight and ideas from your reviews and PM-s, and I can honestly say, at least some aspects of this story have changed due to our conversations ;). Like, some characters getting more "screen" time. Or some not getting killed off. Or certain scenes taking place.

So, to get to the point of this seemingly endless rant! I'm really loving this little dialogue we've got going. So thank you for making it happen!

Myosotis