Chapter 34

Cadet Jennifer Hailey slowly processed the information she was given. Jon O'Neill was the clone of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Jackie Jackson was in fact an eighty-eight year old woman. Her mind slowly replayed the few conversations she had with her and realized Jackie probably did build the plane with her bare hands and really did eat squirrel during the Great Depression. After the briefing the cadets were given a tour of the base and greeted others they that would be working with on the mission by Cameron Mitchell and Jackie while everyone else returned to their duties.

They came to the gymnasium and found Vala and Teal'c were squaring off in another sword fight. The wooden blades clashed as they went back and forth for measure. As they stood and watched just inside the gym Vala had disarmed Teal'c with once swift move.

Mitchell's eyebrows raised, "Boy she's getting batter at that."

Jackie smiled, "She needs to be."

He asked, "Why? Goa'uld don't use swords. They use hand-thingies."

"Because there are some very powerful weapons out there," she simply replied. She walked in and held out a hand to Teal'c who stood winded with sweat pouring from his skin. He couldn't understand how Vala maintained such endurance for he figured she should be as exhausted as him. Jackie gently touched his upper arm and took the wooden sword, "Take a break, T."

He gave a nod, "Very well."

She then faced Vala, "Up for another round?"

Vala smiled confidently, "I might be able to actually beat you this time. I've improved."

"I'm counting on it," she told her.

The pair squared off in an epic battle of wooden swords. Back and forth they went gaining and losing measure.

Mitchell noted, "Damn, those two are good."

As they continued the fight Daniel walked by with a paper in hand looking for Jack. He paused outside the door and cocked an eyebrow. He looked down at his notes and then over at Jackie and Vala in a mock sword fight.

Daniel walked in, "Anyone seen Jack?"

Mitchell looked back, "Nope! What's up?"

"Jackie, Vala…" he called out to them.

They then halted their match and walked over to see what Daniel wanted.

Vala smirked amused, "You called?"

He asked, "What do you know about the legend of King Arthur?"

Vala admitted, "Never heard of him." She glanced at Jackie who stood smiling. "You heard of this legend?"

"Everyone on Earth has," she told her.

Daniel asked, "And what do you know about a weapon called Calibun, Jackie?"

Vala cocked an eyebrow and shifted her weight. She told him, "It's a legendary sword that Qetesh tried to get but failed."

Jackie nodded, "I know she failed! Caliburn is called Excalibur in the legend. The sword is coded with a gene so only a true heir of Camelot can wield it."

"Kaamelot was destroyed," Vala reminded her.

"That was an outpost," she told her. "Different Kaamelot. There was an outpost of Kaamelot spelled with a K and then there is the city of Camelot spelled with a C."

Vala gasped, "There is city named Camelot too?"

"Ma'at and her host picked the outpost to throw off the other Goa'uld from the city." she explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let me get this straight!" Mitchell interrupted. "There is a city called Camelot and a sword called Excalibur?"

Jackie warned, "The sword can only be wielded by the true heir of Camelot. It's genetically encoded. Anubis would love to get that sword but not he even he can remove it from the stone it is encased in. Only the true heir can. Once the true heir removes the sword the city will be unlocked and Camelot can rise again. There are two genetic codes needed to unlock the sword: The true heir of Camelot and the heir of sorcerer, the man who put the lock on the city to protect it from the Goa'uld."

Daniel asked, "The sorcerer? You don't really believe that do you?"

She explained, "The sorcerer was real! There was a whole bunch of them. Like an entire society. Where do you think we get the witches and wizards legends from? They were real and they could do what appeared to be magic but they had special gene that like the Ancient gene, could unlock technology that was present but wasn't obvious. Ma'at's host was one of those sorcerers and she made it so no Goa'uld could claim that sword no matter what host they took. To undo the locks you need two genes: One from the heir and one from a sorcerer."

Vala wondered, "So where do find this heir and this sorcerer?"

She smiled, "In time."

Vala smirked, "Let me guess. You're the heir and I'm the witch!"

She laughed, "You are funny!"

Daniel wondered, "Do you by any chance know where the city of Camelot is located?"

She nodded, "I do."

"And?" he asked.

"That's top secret," she told him.

"Why?" he snorted.

"Because there is no use in us going there if it's locked," she stated.

P3X-1288

Jon led the teams and cadets for the mission through the Gate. He stood at the top of the stone steps before the event horizon in tan BDU's and peered through the darkened goggles at the arid desert. The corner of his lip tugged up as he gathered they were in for a long, hot day under the burning sun. Off in the distance he spotted a pyramid sticking out of the sand. He quickly gathered that it was the ship they had come for.

Jackie stood beside him in identical gear and cheered, "Right where I left her."

Jon looked at Sam who stood to his other side in identical gear and noted, "Goa'uld mothership."

"Looks like it," she sighed.

Jon looked at Jackie, "I take it we have to walk all that way?"

She nodded, "Through scorpion infested sand."

"Great," he looked back at Sam. "Scorpions?"

"Scorpions, dung beetles, snakes and…" Sam spotted a cloud of birds fly overhead in a circle, "Vultures."

Jon looked behind at Teal'c, "Sounds like fun!"

Teal'c merely looked back unenthused.

Jon motioned, "This way campers!" He stepped off the platform and started tromp through the sand with his crew behind him.

Sam walked next to Jackie and spoke candidly, "Jon's getting more and more like Jack."

"It could be worse," she mentioned.

Sam asked amused, "How's that?"

She looked behind her at her father walking with Vala who chatted non-stop. He rolled his eyes most annoyed and wished he could get away from her. She grinned, "He could be just like my father."

Sam grumbled, "I still can't believe your father bought my husband and plane."

She laughed, "The difference between men and boys is the size and cost of their toys."

"He's gonna get killed in it," Sam huffed. "It's a biplane for crying out load. It's a rickety bucket of bolts."

"The first planes were nothing more than a bicycle with wings," she reminded her.

"And those biplanes aren't much better," she shook her head.

Jackie glanced back once more as Vala continued to make herself into a pain for Fred.

Fred carried the load of gear on his back and wasn't thrilled that he was asked to let Jack's clone Jon take the lead. He thought he should be leading the mission but respected Hammond's wishes. As they tromped through the sand Vala chatted away.

"So," she continued. "Your daughter, disguised as Ma'at invited Qetesh for a meeting and when she wasn't looking she spiked her dink. Qetesh tried to kill her but we passed out and when I woke up the Tok'ra had removed her from my head. That's how me and Jackie got to be best friends…"

Fred groaned in agony, "You don't say."

"Yep," she continued on. "Oh, by the way I think she might be royalty. Is there any royalty in your family?"

"No," he sounded.

"You sure?" she pondered. "Because apparently there is an heir to Camelot who is royalty…"

"It's not my kid," he huffed.

"Okay," Vala puckered in thought, "But Ma'at chose her for a reason and I just thought…"

"You thought wrong," he grumbled.

"Are you sure because if my best friend is royalty I really should know," Vala retorted.

Fred glared at her, "Will you shut up!"

Vala touched his lip with her index finger rather amused and warned him, "There is also a witch and that's probably me, so soon as I figure out how to be a witch…I'm gonna turn you into a frog."

Fred yelled ahead, "Jackie!"

She and Sam looked back.

"You're best friend is a pain in the ass," he told her.

"I know," she agreed. "That's why I like her."

"Anyone got any duct tape?" he hollered out.

McKay yelled from behind, "I do! Why?"

Fred pointed to Vala, "To tape her trap shut!"

Vala whined, "You're rude and not much fun at all."

"Vala," Jackie warned her. "My father really doesn't tolerate disobedience as well as Daniel and he will really do it."

Vala suddenly got the message that if there was one man she didn't wish to upset it was man she was upsetting. She slowly nodded, "I see."

They soon made their way into the ship. Jon led them deep inside shining the flashlight to peer through the darkened corridors. So far everything looked abandoned.

He shined his light onto Fred who was to act as his backup, "Take McKay to engineering," he then shined a light on Sheppard, "Take T, Frasier, Weir and the cadets and make sure no one else is here." He then looked at Vala, Jackie and Sam, "You three with me."

Sam agreed, "Sir."

Before Jackie could say anything Vala started up once more.

"Ooh, am I supposed to throw a snappy salute?" she became sarcastic. "Yes sir, no sir, where do you want me to crap, sir?"

He looked at Jackie who stood biting her lower lip in annoyance. "I liked it better when Dee was your best friend."

"I miss her," she slowly nodded rather embarrassed.

Vala defended her friend, "You can't speak to her like that! She's royalty. She's the heir of Camelot." She stood confident that she was right and Jackie had to be the heir. For only in legends of royalty would someone such as Vala be taken under the wing of such a prominent figure. She figured Jackie must be the queen of Camelot and she had been chosen to act as the queen's eyes and ears.

Jackie spoke softly, "I'm not the heir."

Vala would hear nothing of it, "Of course you are. That's why Ma'at chose you to be her host. Don't you see, we just need to find this sorcerer's offspring and you're good to go."

She chuckled, "If it was only that easy."

Fred huffed, "If my daughter is the queen of Camelot then that makes me the king and I say you get your ass in gear and shut the hell up, Vala."

Vala's face went long, "Is he the king?" She gulped upon the thought for Fred would indeed make her life miserable in Camelot.

Jackie assured her, "My father is only a king in his own mind."

As they all started off in different directions Vala kept chatting, "You sure about that because frankly he scares me."