Chapter 53

"The first and most obvious means of travel--the Stargate--is out of the question."

"They let me through before," Vala protested.

Sarilis shook her head. "They let you through injured and unconscious. I doubt the Jaffa will be happy to let you just walk right on through, flash your amulet, and demand they turn over their prisoner to you. For one thing, you don't know for certain they didn't recognize Daniel."

"If that was the case, why did they let me go, then?"

"Letting you go was extremely uncharacteristic as it was. Getting a second amulet was brilliant, dear, but I don't think it will be of much use in this case. They should have kept you both, injured or not, until such time as a decision could be made by the First Prime, a lesser Goa'uld, or Osiris herself... or Anubis. None of the Jaffa who captured you was the First Prime, correct?"

"I honestly don't know," Vala admitted. "It was dark. They had torches, true, but I wasn't really paying attention."

"I'll guess not, then," Sarilis guessed, "or you would probably have seen a glint of gold." She paced in front of the counter behind which she kept all her repair tools. "It could have been a field patrol, then, and not garrison-based. If so..."

"What?"

"How is your Goa'uld impression these days?"

Vala blinked. "Other than one use of the voice modulator, I haven't had to pretend to be Qetesh since Daniel came along, since he's helped me keep up a steady income. No more skimming riches off the hard work of Qetesh's former slaves, that's for sure. Daniel wouldn't approve anyway."

"No, he wouldn't," Sarilis agreed. "But I don't think he'll mind us playing a little mind game with the local Jaffa. Most Goa'uld aren't aware that Qetesh is dead, as she was really quite minor in the grand scheme of things, correct?"

"Other than Baal's occasional overtures to try to convince her to become his Queen, that's right. Oh, and a one-time entanglement with Athena."

Sarilis rubbed her hands together. "Excellent. You, my dear, are going to ring right into the stronghold on that planet and demand the Jaffa return your slave."

"My slave?"

"Daniel, of course. He and your... lo'taur stole something from you and since you can't find the lo'taur--who, quite fortunately, looks just like you--you'll just have to get the information out of her lover. Then you wave your little ribbon device menacingly, the Jaffa drag Daniel to you, and the two of you ring back to the ship."

"What ship?"

The former bounty hunter grinned. "We'll just have to borrow one, won't we? I hear Andron's had a recent string of luck, so why don't I pay him a visit?"

Vala gaped. "Andron has a ship? Since when?"

"Only recently," Sarilis answered. "Here's the deal, girl: you go find out what you need to find out from your Han friends, while I worry about acquiring the services of our portly little friend. I'll meet you in the field next to the town walls."

She nodded vigorously, thanking her friend for her help. "I know you really have no reason to care what happens to either of us, but--"

The older woman laid her hand on Vala's shoulder. "In the last two years, girl, you've become like a daughter to me. A rebellious teenage one, at times, but a daughter nonetheless. I've never seen you quite so happy as you have been since Daniel came into your life, so I will do whatever I can to help bring him back to you."

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Vala inwardly cursed her recent emotional instability while outwardly professing her gratitude again. Together, the two women grabbed their respective packs and headed out into Katana's early dawn, separating once the front door to the shop was securely locked.

Returning to the Stargate again, she felt as though she was in a daze, the last who-knew-how-many hours little more than an exhausting blur. She'd pretty well sorted out what she could remember, though there were gaps from the time she first began attempting evasive maneuvers from the pursuing death gliders until she woke up in the forest in Daniel's arms, as well as from the time he kissed her farewell until waking in her bedroom at the Hans' palace. Most of the trek through the woods, though, was surreal and disorienting. Time seemed to compress and contract until she really had no idea how long they'd been running from their pursuers.

Of course, the amount of time spent in the forest didn't really matter. The important thing to keep track of was how long it had been since she and Daniel were separated. It had been approximately eight hours--or glasses on the water clock, as the case may be--from the time she was pushed through the Han 'Gate until she'd awakened in her room. She'd spent another two hours talking to first Yuna and Mai, then Sarilis.

Before the wormhole had even snapped shut behind her, Vala was halfway across the Han courtyard, Yuna and Mai coming out of the side door of the house to meet her. The older woman was still in her loose silk robes, but her daughter had changed into a functional-looking coverall, complete with utility belt and holstered pistol. She looked quite ready for action.

"Osiris' last-known location was Rumares," the matron announced without preamble. "At the top speeds capable to even the most advanced Goa'uld ships, it would take her approximately seventeen to twenty hours to reach the only star system Mai could find within the radius you described."

"And we've already lost ten of those," she replied, crossing her arms. "I'll never get there before she does."

"Not necessarily," Mai corrected. "That would assume that Osiris was informed immediately after you were sent through the Stargate and instantly departed Rumares for the outpost. That's highly doubtful, though, so you may have a few more hours than that."

She sighed. "I'm hearing a 'but' in there somewhere."

The younger woman nodded. "But Osiris might already have been on her way for some other reason. Either way, without the same sort of advanced engines, it would take us fifteen hours to get there at top speeds. There's a shuttle being prepped as we speak, and--"

"What about from Katana?"

Yuna frowned. "You have a ship there?"

"Sarilis has promised to secure one. She's come up with an incredibly crazy plan that just might be ridiculous enough to work."

Digging into one of her belt pouches, Mai produced a small hand-held computer. Punching the glyphs for Katana into the device, she looked up with a smile. "That saves us about two hours."

"'Us?'" Vala repeated.

"I'll be going with you, of course," she answered. "We've sent a message to Father, and he promised to inform the Tau'ri immediately. Master Daniel's team, SG-1, left the negotiations the day before yesterday, but the remaining team can always relay the message to their homeworld."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Speaking of which... what is Miss Camir's plan?" Yuna asked.

"I'm to pose as Qetesh and demand my escaped 'slave' be returned to me, since the Jaffa were foolish enough to allow my lo'taur to escape when they captured him."

The matron beamed. "That is most clever indeed! Do you have everything you need to pull off the deception?"

"A ribbon device and a Tok'ra voice modulator," Vala answered. "That should be enough."

"No, it won't," Mai corrected, "you need an appropriate outfit, too."

She could have smacked herself. Qetesh had always dressed so that hardly anything was left to the imagination. Vala preferred more subtle clothing for herself... but only slightly so. Actually, since Daniel had come along, she'd begun to dress more conservatively, as he'd proven to be better-relaxed around her when she wasn't attired quite so distractingly. "I could go back to one of my old haunts and round up a garment or two," she began, "but I hate to delay further."

Yuna spun around and waved to one of the servants crossing the far side of the courtyard. "Go to Missus Qiu-Shan and bring back her hand-welter, a spare cutter, and a bolt each of black and red silk--no patterns or as unadorned as she can find. We are clothing a Goa'uld Queen, so be quick!"

"We won't actually make an entirely new garment," Mai smiled, "but make a few modifications to something you already possess. We'll have plenty of time on the way there."

"But I don't know how to sew!" Vala protested, wondering just how and when this entire rescue operation had been taken completely out of her hands.

"You won't need to, Miss Vala, just leave it to me," the Han daughter replied confidently.

A few minutes later, the breathless servant rushed back outside, two pieces of folded cloth draped across one arm and a covered basket firmly in-hand. "Missus Qiu-Shan put together a kit for you, Missus Yuna," he gasped, handing over his burden.

Mai intercepted the load. "These will work nicely. Let's hurry, Miss Vala... we haven't time to lose!"

Vala nodded and turned back toward the Stargate, only to turn a complete circle back to Yuna. "Oh! I almost forgot: I need to return the extra amulet!"

"Keep it," the matriarch replied. "It's time you wore one of your own."

"But I haven't taken any sort of pledge or anything," she reminded her.

Yuna waved her off with a smile. "That is a mere formality. I think we've known one another long enough to trust one another, yes?"

Impulsively, Vala flung her arms around the older woman's neck, then spun around again and headed for the 'Gate. Punching in the address for Katana, she gave Yuna one last wave, then stepped into the event horizon.

Once on the other side, there was no mistaking where Sarilis could be found. In the fallow field at the bottom of the hill rested the unmistakable shape of a tel'tak, the hatch on the side open and waiting. A familiar figure was sitting outside of the ship on a crate or box, feet propped up on the fence post.

"Well, I like the ship too, but I didn't hire a decorator," the former bounty hunter joked when the two younger women reached the edge of the field. "Is that cloth for curtains?"

"Very funny," Vala replied, rolling her eyes. "Sarilis Camir, I'd like you to meet Han Mai. She'll be along for the trip."

Sarilis let her feet fall off their perch and stood. "You've sure grown a lot."

Mai bowed. "I believe I was six the last we met, Miss Camir."

"Well, now I feel old," she sighed, digging out a control from one of the many functional pockets on her work coveralls and activating it. The crate rose on a pocket of air and was then easily pushed back inside the cargo ship.

"Where's Andron?" Vala asked, looking around the inside of the ship. She wasn't even going to ask how the former bounty hunter had come to meet the Han's eldest daughter some twenty or more years ago.

Sarilis kicked the side of the crate. "And he'll stay there until we're finished with his ship, if he knows what's good for him."

She gaped. "You shoved him in a box?"

"Of course not, girl, I asked him to climb in all on his own and stay put or I'd give him trouble with some people he really doesn't want upset with him. I'm amazed he fit, truth be known. He's put on a considerable amount of girth in recent weeks."

"I still want to be you when I grow up," Mai laughed, dropping the dress-making supplies on top of Andron's current abode.

"I don't plan to grow up," Vala replied, flipping her hair playfully. "Unfortunately, we have some very grown-up business to attend to, and not much time in which to do it. It'll take us twelve or thirteen hours to get to where Daniel is, so we'd better get moving."

"Ten or eleven," Sarilis corrected. "You know that toy you recovered from Hardis' ship? Turns out we can use it to boost the engines a smidge. Probably not safe to do it for long, of course, but every little bit counts, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," she agreed, putting her arms around her friend and giving her a hug. When she pulled away, the older woman looked suspiciously misty-eyed. Sarilis recovered her equilibrium by giving the crate another satisfied kick and strolling over to the pilot's seat.

Minutes later, they were safely in hyperspace, racing Osiris to Daniel.


Author's Notes:
Happy 1,000 everybody! I'm simply, well, overwhelmed by the response this //cough// monster... er, monstrous tale has garnered! Of course, once the email servers are finally fixed, so too will my inbox be... overwhelmed, that is. Alas! Ladies and gents, this story is going past 60 chapters, I do believe, but I don't know how far past, though.

Darn, right?