Author's Notes: I have an exam every day this week… oh well, if I don't know the material by now I ain't ever gonna (would you believe my exam tomorrow is English?) and I really want to watch Avalon only I can't find my remote!
Chapter 37: The Odyssey
Daniel's arms automatically tightened around his cargo and he resisted the practically overwhelming urge he had to step back, which would have been completely useless should he have actually followed through on it.
"Adria," Cam said, without taking his eyes off the soldier his P-90 was trained on.
Adria rolled her eyes and sighed, premeditating what he was going to say, "you are of no threat Colonel," she said smoothly "your weapon's are primitive at best," she did not seem at all fazed by Teal'c turning one of his guns on her and shifting his finger none-to-discreetly on the trigger, despite the face that the bullets would proof to be of no use should he actually fire Cam felt vaguely reassured anyway.
"Congratulations by the way," Adria turned to Daniel, her eyes cold and yet glittering with something he couldn't place "does she please you?"
Daniel's eyes narrowed "what do you want Adria?" he asked, his voice edged with exhaustion.
The question was always the same, the answer equally as mundane and the result detailed to perfection. A dance they had long since learnt the routine of and performed a thousand times before; the audience always the unaware, the winners broken champions, applauded and presented with medals, badges, promotions, handshakes and gracious 'well dones' from people they had never met and didn't really care for. It was all the same; a picture perfect reprint.
"What I want? Doctor Jackson it's not about what I want, it's about what needs to be done," her eyes narrowed and her tone of voice became sharper and more pronounced "now give my mother back."
"No."
"She belongs with me," Adria continued "her place is with the Ori, by my side she will be protected."
"Vala belongs with us," Cam snapped shortly.
Me, Daniel thought, she's mine.
No! God, she wasn't a possession she was a person, a living, breathing, human - alien - being, she didn't belong to anybody.
Adria flicked her fingers idly and all three P-90s flew away from the team, were disabled and then thrown to the far side of the hall where no one could reach them, "this is none of your concern Colonel Mitchell. It would be in your best interest for you to stay out of it; that is if you value your life in the slightest."
Adria had never made an outright threat to kill them, she'd allured to it, suggested it but never actually said 'if you don't, I will kill you, no questions asked' at least not at a time that he could remember. Which meant that this time she was riled up, annoyed, irritated even, none of which were befitting of an Orisi, unless…
"You're jealous," Mitchell exclaimed, waggling his fingers at Teal'c to stop him from reaching for his sidearm "you're jealous."
Adria blinked.
"That's why you want Vala back. You're jealous of Lexy and Jackson!"
"Colonel Mitchell…" Teal'c intoned warningly but Cam paid no heed.
He laughed dryly; the expression in his voice was sincere and confident despite how he could hear his heart hammering so hard it was liable to leap out of his chest. But if he could keep Adria distracted from hurting anyone long enough then maybe Sam could disable the shields and they could get the hell out of dodge.
The warriors raised their weapons threateningly; all but two of them aiming them at the Lieutenant Colonel, ready to fire on request.
"You want your mom back because you hate the fact she's actually happy away from you. That she has a life, and people that care about her and every single one of them is an 'unbeliever'."
He was so intent upon mocking the Orisi that he didn't see it coming.
Sam blinked hard; frustrated by the task in front of her and yet determined not to give up. She tapped another round of keys whilst she rummaged, one handed, around in her pack for another wire to see if another connection might serve its purpose and she could hack into the ship's controls; she didn't find one.
Her mind wandered for a moment to the rest of her team and as she waited for her latest data input to register within the system she reached for her radio "Cameron," she said and paused for a response, not receiving one she proceeded anyway "I'm having a little-" she hissed an expletive when static roared in her ear.
Being thrown into a wall hurt like a bitch, or that's the conclusion that he came to as he now lay prone on the floor after having slid down said wall and currently feeling like he'd shattered half his spine. The silence that reigned afterwards was creepy to say the least as all eyes were either on him or engaging in some sort of playground-esque stand-off between Adria, Daniel and Teal'c.
"Cameron,"
Adria didn't turn to look at him but addressed him anyway "Colonel Carter I presume,"
As discreetly as possible he cut Sam off; breathing into his radio so as to cover up whatever she said next; if he so much as whispered 'radio silence' then what little was left of their bag of tricks was blown.
Taking a heavy breath that made his lungs feel like they were full of lead he caught Daniel's eye as he inadvertently took a tiny step backwards; Cam hoped he understood the swift nod he sent in his direction.
Sam contemplated trying Daniel or Teal'c's radio but just as she was about to the sign on her laptop flashed twice before disappearing; announcing that her data input had been accepted. A tingle of excitement flitted through her as she hit the last few key stokes; the familiarly loud buzz of the shield's dissipating signaled her success.
Reaching for her radio she unclipped it from her shoulder as she clicked the button three times, paused for a short click of response before putting it back on her vest and changing channels so as to let Emerson know they were ready.
Cam was about to say something else when his radio clicked three times and he discreetly clicking the button once, giving a mental countdown of three before he launched himself, in a flying tackle, at Adria, he felt his shoulder scream in pain as it impacted with her body a split second before everything disappeared and reformed as the bridge of the Odyssey.
He pushed himself back, off balance he staggered into a wall before straightening; looking up he grinned as he realized their plan had worked.
"Well done," Emerson praised the team, his crew standing around him, weapons trained on the Orisi as she blinked at them, fury evident in her cold eyes, he fixed his gaze on Adria "welcome to the Odyssey,"
General Landry bustled into the infirmary with an expression on his face that Carolyn recognized from her childhood as one that read ''fess up fast' she ducked her head and smirked at the deer-caught-in-headlights Sam was trying, and failing, to disguise as one of sincere apology.
"Recon," he spat "I said recon,"
"No one got hurt sir," Cam said absently, smiling at Carolyn as she patted his good shoulder to say that she was satisfied with the strapping she had placed on it.
"That can come off tomorrow I should imagine Colonel; it's just a precautionary measure," she muttered to him, smiling back.
Landry gave him a dangerous look that he had the good sense to divert his gaze from, "will someone please tell me what happened?"
Sam glanced at Daniel pitifully, she didn't want to 'sell him out' as it were but she had no choice, not that he seemed to be at all bothered; he'd taken a seat next to Vala's bed as soon as entering the infirmary, and much like after the accident, and Lexy's birth, he had refused to move.
"The Ori ship had landed," Teal'c spoke, not even having to glance at Sam to tell her to be quiet "the goal of our mission was to attempt to retrieve Vala Maldoran," he spoke in such a way that Landry wouldn't have argued with him if he could have been bothered.
He had known that they would have gone after Vala at risk of life and limb, that's why he had called the Odyssey and briefed Emerson through a video link what was going on and given him the co-ordinates of where SG1 had been sent.
Landry decided on a different tactic "why is Adria in a holding cell?"
"We heard she doesn't play so nice with others," Jack quipped, sauntering into the infirmary and eliciting grins from Sam and Mitchell as they tried to bite their lips in amusement at Jack's comment.
The General glared at him and Jack did not seem at all fazed.
"I went ahead to get Vala," Daniel said slowly and all traces of smiles slid from the faces of the room's occupants "the others were beamed aboard the Odyssey,"
Picking up where Daniel left off so as to give the General no time to recover from that statement so that should he actually explode, which seemed to be a definite possibility, he only did it once, Cam spoke "Colonel Emerson told us that you had radioed him and with Jackson already on the Ori ship we had to come up with a new plan."
Taking her turn Sam carried on, "the anti-Prior device was recently modified to hold Adria-"
"You knew it would work?" he was incredulous and his voice held more hope than he actually felt.
Sam paused "not exactly,"
Landry exhaled heavily and gestured for them to continue.
"Colonel Emerson didn't agree with us at first," Mitchell felt the need to defend the other man "he took some convincing," his expression supported his comment.
"I was to take down the Ori ships shields whilst Cameron and Teal'c went and found Daniel," Sam glanced at Mitchell.
"We found him and Vala and were just about to make our break for freedom when Adria showed up. Once Sam had disabled the shields I grabbed Adria and the Odyssey beamed us up sir,"
"Which is why she's in a holding cell, anti-Prior device included," Jack tied the story off with a flourish, "she was rather quiet actually," he said, contemplatively.
"Maybe she's feeling foolish about getting caught." Carolyn asked, her suggestion hadn't meant to sound so innocent but it did and she found himself flushing.
"Maybe," came a muttered agreement for several people but it was hard to tell who.
Landry ran a hand over his face again; he needed coffee.
Author's Notes: Shorter than last time – sorry, I put everything I could think of into that chapter but ::shrugs:: it doesn't matter really. Review please!
Next Chapter: As Vala recovers in the infirmary the truth of Sam and Jack's relationship comes out and Daniel and Adria have a little talk.