Mia watched curiously as General O'Neill and Jonas approached the nearest tree, apparently offering it greetings of some sort. She giggled, realizing they had probably decided to try her suggestion to communicate with the planet, and were going about it all wrong. Observing their attempts for a few moments, the two men chatting casually to their tree of choice, Mia burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, sinking back into her seat to catch her breath. Collecting herself, she depressed the 'talk' button on her radio, saying "That's not quite what I meant, General."
She watched O'Neill grab his own radio, replying, "I know what you meant, Mia. I'm holding that option as a last resort. For the moment, I'd rather see if we can draw these folks out into the open to chat." Mia shook her head.
"It isn't going to work, General," she replied. "They're energy now. They're not just going to appear and strike up negotiations for a hostage release. You need to connect with them on their level."
"You mean I need to let the local plant-life infest my brain," replied O'Neill crisply.
"Yes," said Mia.
"Like I said, we're keeping that option as a last resort," he repeated. Mia huffed, frustrated. "General, you're wasting time they may not have!," she snapped. He winced, visible even from where she sat.
So absorbed was she in her argument with O'Neill, Mia didn't immediately notice the thick white haze creeping in along the floor of the puddle-jumper, nor the bright green shoots silently forcing their way up through the ship's hull. It wasn't until one of the tendrils pierced through the thick military-issue boots she wore, lancing painfully into the sensitive skin on the sole of her foot, that she finally looked down, exclaiming in surprise. Attempting to jump up to the relative safety of the console, Mia underestimated the strength of the vine's hold on her, toppling forward and hitting the floor with a solid 'thunk'. She barely had the chance to register a sense of horror before the white haze engulfed her, and the little green tendrils worked their way in through her skin.
Jack saw Mia fall, disappearing from sight through the puddle-jumper's main view port. "Mia, report!," he barked into his radio, already running in the direction of the small craft. Empty static crackled back to him in response. He cursed under his breath, pushing himself even faster toward the ship. What he saw when he arrived made his blood run cold, and his soldier's instinct kicked in, calling out orders to everyone in his immediate vicinity.
Lying on the floor of the puddle-jumper, Mia was cocooned in a web of spindly green tendrils, thin trails of scarlet blood trickling from hundreds of entry points all over her body. From where he stood frozen in place, Jack couldn't even be sure whether or not she was still breathing. Seconds later, Doctors Lam and Lee were pushing past him into the tight confines of the ship's interior, equipment at the ready. As they scanned and examined the girl, Jonas came running up behind Jack, stopping just beside him.
"What happened?," Jonas asked, a note of shocked disbelief in his voice.
"I think the planet decided to try a little communication of it's own," replied Dr. Lee, gently prodding the newly grown shoots sprouting through the ship's floor.
Dr. Lam nodded her agreement. "There are definitely two separate brainwave patterns registering here," she replied, checking the device she had quickly attached to Mia mere moments before. "One of them is the same alien pattern we saw with Colonel Carter and the others," she added, crouching down beside the teenager to check the rest of her vitals.
Jack dully registered the doctor's words, noting with some relief that Mia was at least still alive. For now.
"General, are you all right?," asked Jonas, genuinely concerned. Then, to the group as a whole, "This has to be a good sign, right? I mean, at least they're trying to communicate with us now." Nobody said a word as they gazed down on the deathly still form of the teenaged girl.
Jack stood transfixed, watching as the doctors fussed over and examined his young charge. All he had wanted was for her to be safe. For all of them to be safe. Now he felt he was once again faced with the possibility of losing everyone he cared for in one single fell swoop. Moving numbly up the ramp onto the ship, General O'Neill carefully knelt down beside his daughter, gently reaching out to touch her broken skin beneath the rough and wiry shoots growing in a tangled mass around her. Through her.
'I should have listened,' he thought despondently to himself.
Mia found herself alone in an enormous cavern, pale blue lights set high along the walls, dully illuminating the space with their eerie glow. She shivered involuntarily, moving toward the nearest wall to run a hand along the rough and overgrown surface. The air was cool and damp in the cave, though not unpleasantly so, she admitted to herself. At least the military-issued jacket seemed to keep the worst of the chill at bay.
Mia walked to the center of the cavern, holding her shoulders back and her chin high with a confidence she did not entirely feel. Addressing the empty space in the rolling tongue of the Ancients, she called out, "I am a descendent of your one-time allies, the Ancients, and of the humans of Earth. I wish to speak on behalf of my friends." Silence answered her words, and as the moments ticked by she began to wonder what she should do next. Then suddenly a gentle presence reached out, brushing the corner of her awareness, drawing her attention away from the cavern and into the silence of her own mind.
"We did not expect more to come," whispered the presence, tickling the edges of Mia's senses as a light breeze might ripple across a pool of water. Mia closed her eyes, carefully focusing on the gentle voice inside her mind.
"Our friends need our help," she replied internally, showing the presence an image of SG-1 trapped beneath the heavy foliage on the planet's surface.
"The others who came before felt no such loyalty for their fallen," the presence replied, curiosity tingeing the words.
"You mean Ra's Jaffa?," she asked, trying to summon an image of armoured Jaffa bearing Ra's crest.
"Yes," the presence whispered. "They came long ago, before we had fully become one with the planet," the voice explained.
"The Goaul'd are conquerors, but are easily deterred," Mia replied, remembering Daniel's stories of Goaul'd System Lords declaring inhospitable planets off limits lest their Jaffa take them there by mistake, inadvertently dooming them to their own mortality. Man-eating plant-life would probably constitute an inhospitable environment to a Goaul'd's self-preserving mind.
"Yes," the presence agreed. "The violators fell, and no others came."
"The text we found said that they 'came not in peace,'" said Mia. "What was the transgression of our friends, to be sentenced with the same fate?"
The presence stirred restlessly in her mind. "They took of us," it replied at last, clearly uncomfortable.
"Is there another way to pay for this crime?," she asked, still uncertain as to the nature of the offence itself.
"There is not," replied the presence, a little more firmly.
"So they must die for what they have taken?," Mia asked, trying to understand the presence's reasoning.
"They must return that which they have stolen," the presence explained patiently.
Mia frowned internally, struggling to grasp the full implications of the conversation at hand. "May I ask what exactly they stole from you?," she inquired at last, praying for a little clarification.
"An act of violence was committed on the surface," the presence replied. "A piece of ourselves was removed. The resulting wound pains us, even now."
"You were injured by the theft?"
"Yes."
"Is the damage permanent?," she asked, concerned.
"It can be repaired with sufficient life-force energy," replied the presence.
"Is that what you're extracting from our friends?," Mia asked, understanding slowly dawning.
"Yes."
"Will they survive the process?"
"It is not likely," replied the presence mournfully. "They are very weak, even now."
"Is there another source of energy we could offer in exchange for the release of our friends?," she asked, suddenly hopeful.
"There is not," the presence said. "Life force taken must be restored in kind."
"How much more of this life force do you need?," Mia asked cautiously, her mind working overtime to find another solution.
"More than your friends have left," replied the presence sadly. "We do not wish to be the cause of their demise. We have seen within, and understand that there was no malice behind the act. We are a just and peaceful race. However, we must repair the damage, and we no of no other way."
"What if you had more of our kind to draw on?," she asked. "Would you be able to extract what you need without killing anyone?"
The presence was quiet for a time, and Mia began to wonder if she had offended it. At last it said, "Yes."
"How many more would you need?"
"One more should suffice," came the satisfied reply.
"Then I volunteer," replied Mia quickly, silently hoping this was the right thing to do.
"Before we take of you," cautioned the presence, "You must warn your friends to return to themselves. They will suffer permanent damaged if they do not withdraw from the female's mind before they disconnect from us."
The presence's words startled Mia, and she asked, "Can you help me?"
"Yes."