A/N: The most absurd way someone ever found out about our marriage was when said someone (a co-worker) hit on me and refused to take no for an answer...in front of my husband.
Chapter 5: Vala Mal Doran
Vala was pissed. No, that wasn't a strong enough word. She was enraged. Their boys had left them on this godforsaken rock. To die. Or be tortured. Or worse, to die over and over without the sweet release of death because that was Ba'al's preferred MO. The bastard. All men sucked and not in the good way.
"Stop," Samantha groaned from her prone position. The Colonel had her head in Vala's lap, allowing Vala to rub her temples in an attempt to ward off the pain from the Goa'uld ribbon device. "I can hear you thinking from here."
"You can't hear someone think," Vala looked down at Samantha with sympathy. The woman had been working with those boys for years – well at least two of them. Vala had learned the hard way not to trust men; she couldn't believe Samantha had failed to learn the same lesson by now. "Unless you've met Nirrti. She's a nasty telepathic bitch," Vala added flippantly.
"Met her. Killed her, well SG-1 did. I think. I was sort of dying at the time," Sam groaned, trying not to remember that last incident.
Vala eyed Samantha. She didn't cotton to many people, but the more she got to know this woman warrior, the more she liked her. In fact, her new 'team' had all been starting to grow on her until the jerks left them here to die. This is why she always worked alone. Being alone meant no one could hurt you.
"They didn't leave us to die," As if reading the other woman's thoughts, Sam said through clenched teeth, her body rigid from pain. This was the final stage of the ribbon device's energy leaving the body. The last F-You of basic Goa'uld torture. Sam's entire body shuddered then blessedly relaxed as the final bit of pain leached away. "They were following orders from General Landry. You heard the exchange just like I did."
"Yet another man making decisions about us," Vala sneered.
"They had no way of knowing we couldn't radio out. Landry made a judgement call. It's standard on-world protocol to pull back, regroup, and charge back in with double the force," Sam said, sitting up to lean her back against the wall of their prison cell. Neither SG-1 nor Landry could have known only their outgoing coms were damaged in the firefight. It was almost as bad as being out of phase—hearing but unable to communicate or affect decisions.
"Except we aren't on your world," Vala gave her a hard stare. Militaries across the galaxy brainwashed their soldiers to protect their own against criticism, which is why Sam's next words surprised her.
"Yeah, Landry made a bad call on this one," Sam admitted with a sigh. While Hank Landry was a brilliant military strategist on Earth, he hadn't learned the intricacies of dealing with off-world conflicts. On Earth, the bad guys could only run so far. But off-world, falling back to regroup often meant losing people forever due to the limitless possibilities of Stargate travel.
"So we're on our own," Vala sighed defeatedly.
"No, we're not," Sam shook her head emphatically. "You haven't been a member of SG-1 long enough to know this, but we don't give up on one another. And we never leave a person behind."
Vala felt a spark of something deep within the pit of her stomach. She'd been betrayed too many times to count; had been used, beaten, and tossed aside like garbage. But listening to the surety in Sam's voice tore through the darkness she was accustomed to living with and gave her a small glimmer of hope.
Making a show of pushing her hair back from her face, Vala stomped down the emotions threatening to break through.
"Very well," she nodded, assuming her normal air of superiority. "If you have faith in our boys, then so shall I."
"I absolutely have faith in them, but I also have faith in us," Sam said as she used the wall to push into a standing position. "I'm not going to sit here like a damsel in distress. Let's figure a way out of this gilded hellhole." Sam held out a hand to Vala and hoisted her onto her feet with a sharp tug.
"I knew I liked you," Vala grinned at the other woman. "I think an access panel is over here."
"Come on," Sam motioned for Vala to follow as they crept through Ba'al's Goa'uld mothership.
They'd broken out of the holding cell approximately ten minutes ago and had been making their way to the rings platform. As far as Vala could tell, the ship was still on the planet. The engines were silent and the lack of Jaffa patrolling the vessel indicated they were still canvassing.
"If I remember correctly," Vala pointed toward a darkened corridor. "The rings' platform should be down there."
"You've been here before?" Sam asked casually as they crept
"As Qetesh," Vala shrugged. She usually didn't talk about her time as a host, but she knew Samantha was one of the few people who might understand. "I typically try to block out those memories, but I know she and Ba'al had a thing and spent a lot of time aboard."
"I still have flashes of Jolinar's memories, and I only carried her for a few days," Sam admitted as she stopped, looking left then right, before taking off at a jog down the corridor. As they rounded the corner, the ring platform came into view. "Jackpot," Sam grinned back at her, moving to the control panel and got to work.
As the women stepped onto the platform, a small group of Jaffa entered the room.
"Jaffa, Kree!" One of them yelled as the ring platform engaged and staff blasts flew around the room.
The pain was immediate. White hot fire ripped into Sam's leg as one of the energy blasts grazed her before the rings could demolecularize them.
"Son of a—" Sam collapsed as soon as they rematerialized on the planet. Her leg was a mess. Black and red charred skin surrounded exposed muscle. The blast had easily burned away a good inch, maybe two of flesh. Luckily, the blast had also cauterized the wound.
"Sam!" Vala called, hoisting her into an upright position and practically dragging her down a hill. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Leave me and go!" Sam growled. "I'll only slow you down!"
"Oh no," Vala shook her head as she tried to bear Sam's weight. "We girls gotta stick together."
"Vala—" Sam started to reason.
"No!" She looked at Sam sharply. "I don't leave my friends behind."
Vala was scared. Not the bullshit-your-way-through-a-horrific-situation scared, but a bone deep terrified. This was a sensation that she hadn't felt in a long time. She shook her head and tried not to think of her past.
"This is bad," Vala said mostly to herself as she looked out of their makeshift shelter. Samantha was in serious danger of losing her leg. It was covered in dirt and grime. Infection was clearly starting to set in, judging by the woman's almost white pallor.
"SG-1 will find us," Sam said. Her voice was weak, but she spoke the words with conviction.
"How can you be so certain?" Vala asked, crossing to her. She wished she could offer some comfort. Water. Medicine. Hell, she'd even willingly use a Goa'uld healing device if it meant Samantha would live.
"Because I trust them," Sam replied.
"Well, forgive me if I don't share your optimism," Vala bit out. "General Landry might not even allow them to come back right away."
"Doesn't matter," Sam said, her eyes closing. "Daniel or Teal'c or Cam will get word to Jack."
"Jack—" Vala searched her brain for the name. "General O'Neill?" She knew the man was the man, as in the guy who gave them all orders. But why— "He was the leader of SG-1 before Cam."
"Before me," Sam smiled, then grimaced. "I was the leader, then Cam."
"Right," Vala remembered the stories Daniel had been telling her about SG-1. They'd been together a long time. "I'm sure your former leader will be upset that you're missing but—"
"Husband," Sam interrupted; she was fighting to stay awake.
"Husband?" Vala looked at the woman as the words began to sink in. "General O'Neill, our boss, Landry's boss—"
"Is my husband," Sam sorta giggled, her eyes glassy from the pain. "Landry's gonna be so surprised."
"He doesn't know?" Vala knew her mouth was hanging open.
"N-Nope," Sam popped the 'p' as if trying to force the word past her lips before the pain and exhaustion finally won. Despite fighting to stay awake, she passed out moments later.
Vala sat in the silence as the news washed over her. After a moment she grinned. Maybe, just maybe, they'd make it out of this alive after all.