Chapter 38

Vala sat up with a gasp, hand fluttering to her throbbing head. The sudden movement made her feel faintly nauseated, and she had to quell the bile rising in her throat. As the urge to lose her lunch faded, she carefully felt the lump above her left ear, fingers jerking away when it proved to be tender. She must have struck her head when she fell, after she and--

"Daniel!"

The room was pitch black, leaving her with no clue whether or not she was alone. Trying to ignore the pounding in her skull, she rolled to her knees and began to crawl, hands questing before her in search of obstacles. The floor was made of rough wooden planks, offering her no clue about her captor other than the fact that they were not on a ship.

She sincerely hoped that "they" included Daniel as well. Her initial fear upon feeling the sharp shock of the zat was that bounty hunters had caught up to them.

Her fingertips glanced off something hard, and a return inspection revealed pitted metal beaten into a cylindrical shape. There was a similar column just inches away, and another only a few more inches from it. Wherever "here" was, it was clear she was not a guest but a prisoner behind bars.

Heaving a sigh, she continued her investigation of the perimeter of her cell, mentally calculating the dimensions as she reached each corner. Since she could reach each side with an outstretched foot and hand, it was no more than six feet across in any direction. It was also painfully obvious that she was alone, as she had yet to stumble across Daniel. Her prison was two walls of metal bars--one of which seemed to have a gate--and the other two were wooden slats, much like the flooring.

She rapped her knuckles on the walls, noting by the sound that they weren't terribly thick, but obviously well-constructed by the complete lack of light shining through the gaps. It could be night, she supposed, but she thought that even then there would have been a sliver of moonlight through the cracks or something. Then again, it was entirely possible that she had been somehow blinded, but a quick wave of her hand in front of her face proved that theory wrong. She could just barely make out the shape of her hand, so it wasn't completely dark.

"This is getting old," she muttered.

"Vala?"

She nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you were--"

He gave a low chuckle. "It takes more than a zat blast to kill me."

"Killed" was the least of her concerns at the moment, but now was neither the time nor place to get into the discussion she belatedly realized she should have had with Daniel about the bounty on his head. "Are you okay?"

"My elbow hurts like it hit something on my way down, but other than that I'm okay. You?"

"I think my head hit your elbow, but I'm otherwise fine."

"So... is it dark in here or is it just me? Ow."

"It's dark... and watch out for the bars."

"Thanks for the warning," he replied, sounding just a little closer than he had. "I guess a set of bars right here means we aren't in the same cell."

"It's in between us?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "Come toward my voice."

Vala pushed herself to her feet and began to slowly walk in his direction. Her outstretched hand soon collided with one of his and he wrapped his fingers around her knuckles, drawing her close.

"We should stop meeting like this," Daniel joked.

Despite herself, she laughed. "Darling, you make being captured by the bad guys so much fun. It's not supposed to be, you know."

"That's 'cause I went to the Jack O'Neill school of snake-baiting. Of course, it's more appropriate when the bad guys in question are Goa'uld, but it works for pretty much anyone else, too. Did you see who shot us?"

"No, but should I be worried by the fact that you've had so much practice?" she asked, letting her head rest against his chest.

His free hand threaded through her hair. "Well, the fact that I've been captured again is a pretty fair sign I've gotten away all the other times, isn't it?"

Her reply was forestalled by the sudden opening of a nearby door, brilliant light spilling through the rectangle and blinding the prisoners temporarily. A human-shaped silhouette moved to stand in the threshold.

"Well, don't you two look cozy."

Vala quickly turned to meet the newcomer, though Daniel didn't relinquish his hold on her hand. "It would have been far more comfortable without these bars in the way," she retorted.

The stranger laughed. Dragging a low stool over, he sat down in front of the door, the backlight continuing to cast his features in shadow. Whoever he was, he either intended to keep his identity a secret or simply wanted them to guess who he was. "I'd heard you'd gotten into bed with the Hans, Vala, but hadn't realized it was literally." He held out a hand and let something fall from his clenched palm. Although she couldn't make out any details, it was obvious by its shape that it was Daniel's amulet.

"Don't believe everything you hear," her partner replied. "By the way... who are you?"

"My manners are slipping," he tsked, wrapping the amulet around his fist once again. "I'm a bounty hunter. The name's Hardis."

Vala felt as though a fist of ice was wrapped around her heart. Hardis was one of the preferred bounty hunters employed by the Lucien Alliance. If anyone had the means to find out who Daniel really was, it would be the thrice-damned Luciens. They held no love for Goa'uld rule of the galaxy, but they were opportunists always on the look-out for a profitable venture.

"Never heard of you. Sorry."

Hardis chuckled. "I can't really fault you for that since I don't even know your name."

Daniel's lips quirked. "Well, as you say, I'm a Han. One of the cousins: Han Solo."

Nearly fainting in relief, Vala was grateful he'd had the prescience to not reveal his real name... though how Daniel could have known about his infamy, she couldn't guess. Perhaps it had been base instinct, a natural need to guard his identity. The icy grip on her chest loosened now that it was apparent Hardis was not after Daniel for the exorbitant price on his head.

"Funny. You don't look like a Han."

"I'm adopted." He cleared his throat. "So... did you just stop by to chat or what? I mean, you could have just asked, if that was the case... rather than shooting us."

Hardis rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned toward them. "Now, where would be the fun in that? Besides, the last guy we sent to 'talk' didn't come back."

Vala rolled her eyes. "That sounds like your problem, not ours."

"Oh, but he was an old friend of yours, Vala. Arturis Maz?"

Daniel's hand tightened only slightly on her own. "I'll echo that sentiment. That's not our problem."

"Then I'll make it yours. Arturis last checked in to report the two of you had entered Peklenc's temple. Since we knew he was going to wait for you just inside, that leads me to believe you two are responsible for his disappearance." He flung the amulet at the bars, the pendant glancing off the metal with a dull clang before falling to the floor just inside Vala's cell. "When we sent someone to check, of course, we found the whole mountain had come down on top of the temple. You managed to escape, but I somehow doubt Arturis was so lucky."

"I don't know what you expect us to say," Daniel answered evenly. "If he was your friend, then you have my condolences."

"So you are acknowledging he's dead then?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Look, that place was a maze. I made a map of it, which Vala and I followed to get to the final chamber--empty chamber, I might add--and back again. If your friend got lost in there, I can't help you. If he did something stupid to bring the whole mountain down on top of him, then I really can't help there, either."

The bounty hunter was silent for a long moment, perhaps assessing them in some way. Finally, he stood, shrugged, and headed for the door. "Maintain your lies if you want. I have a few friends out here who have a lot more questions for you. I can't guarantee they'll be as nice about receiving honest answers as I have been."

Vala shared a look of concern with her partner. The harsh lighting cast his face into sharp relief, the shadow cast by his beard making him look stern and commanding. She had often wondered what it was about him and his people that had the System Lords so afraid to speak openly of them. The look in his eyes, the set of his jaw... she was certain now that their sheer determination was what had made them one of the most formidable enemies the Goa'uld had ever faced.

And Daniel, she recalled with a smile, was number one on their list.

"We're going to get through this," he offered, reaching out with his free hand to stroke her cheek.

"I trust you," she replied.

Author's Notes:
The folks want to go out to eat, so 'tis a few minutes early. You don't mind though, do you?

More tomorrow! My laptop should probably arrive sometime this week... //taps fingertips together and does a Mr. Burns-like "Ehk-sellent"//