Klaxons sounded for an off world activation and instantly all of SG1 dropped what they were doing and headed straight for the Gateroom. The gang from Sunnydale followed them curiously, Buffy easily keeping up with O'Neill's long stride. Dawn and Willow followed Sam up into the control room and stared amazed at the technology around her.
The Stargate was spinning in his frame, smoke pouring from the sides and with a sudden whoosh, the event horizon formed in the centre of the ring and blew out into the room before dropping back and shimmering beautifully.
"Sweet mother of Zeus" Xander breathed when he saw it. O'Neill turned and frowned a little when he saw that he had been followed. He motioned for Xander and Spike to hang back by the door and then noticed the rest of the Sunnydale gang crowding the entrance. Buffy stood next to him, no intention of moving anywhere.
Two figures came through the rippling horizon and Carter let out an exclamation. Dawn and Willow followed her down into the gateroom and they watched curiously as Sam was embraced closely by one of the people who had come through the gate.
"Hey Dad" she said, hugging him.
"Hey Sam."
She stepped back and smiled politely at her father's companion, a Tok'ra she had met before and secretly did not like. Anise smiled back at her but Sam knew that she was oblivious to Sam's coolness.
"Hey Jacob. What are you doing here?" O'Neill was not even slightly casual and did not even bother to nod to Anise, someone whom he distrusted deeply.
"General Hammond contacted me. He believed we might also be able to help in this matter. We've been aware of Ahmose for some time and we believe that your attempts to free the people of the planet you landed on, will coincide with our attempts to liberate his system."
O'Neill pulled a face. "What?"
"We can help you, Colonel," Anise said in her earnest helpful way. He shot her a look filled with dislike and turned back to Jacob Carter.
"Well, we've also found some new friends," he gestured to the gang of young people standing behind him. "Trust me. You gotta hear this one."
Jacob raised an eyebrow in query, a habit which Selmak had installed in all of her hosts but followed Jack up to General Hammond briefing room.
Daniel glanced at Giles and made an executive decision to distract them while Jack and Carter dealt with the Tok'ra.
"Who wants a quick tour of the base? We've organised some quarters for you while you're here. It's not the Hilton I'm afraid but it's not the slums either."
"That would be great, Dr Jackson" Buffy's little sister gave him a cute smile and beckoned enthusiastically to the others to follow them. Buffy grinned. She knew a crush when she saw one and while Daniel was pretty cute, he wasn't her type. Not any more, she thought to herself.
Buffy found herself walking next to Teal'c at the back of "tour" as Daniel showed them the commissary, where she had already been, the Infirmary, where she had already been and then to their quarters.
"You are surprisingly strong for such a small woman BuffySummers," Teal'c said. "I am still surprised that you were able to beat the vampire so easily whereas I had great trouble."
She shrugged. "It's a knack. Besides," she added charitably, "I've had more practice than you."
He gifted her with a rare smile and she smiled back. She liked this man, so big and yet he seemed so gentle. She had known instinctively that she could trust him and the Colonel had given her the lowdown on Teal'c so she knew where he was coming from. He had done some bad things but was making up for them now. Not exactly a journey for redemption but close enough.
Dawn's excited squeal caught her attention and she excused herself, pushing past Anya to stand next to her sister.
"We've allocated quarters for you all but we weren't sure if you wanted to share."
Buffy looked at Giles for help and he smoothly took over, organising everything.
"Xander and Giles can share, Willow, you and Anya can share, Buffy can go with Dawn and I'll have a single ….."
"Hmmm that's convenient" Anya said "Looking for some peace and quiet were you?"
Giles didn't even bother to answer her question and turned to Daniel instead. "If that's OK?"
"Sure" Daniel nodded. "Your stuff is topside still but I'll arrange for it to come down to your quarters." He glanced at his watch. "Why don't we track down the other team and get some food?"
"That sounds great Dr Jackson" Dawn gushed. Buffy could barely hide the roll of her eyes.
"Actually, you know what? I think I'll just hang here. I've already eaten."
"Do you want me to bring you something?" Dawn asked but her sister shook her head.
"Nope. You go eat."
She watched her friends walk off down the corridor, Teal'c large frame bringing up the rear and entered the quarters that Daniel has shown her as hers and sat down on the bed. She bounced a little. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right. Not like this whole military thing. She felt a little on edge put couldn't quite put her finger on why.
The vibes coming from Teal'c were identifiable, it was that snake thing that was setting off her Slayer sense. Willow's power was also a tangible sensation. But there was also something else. Despite what O'Neill had said to her earlier, she could sense the undercurrents in the SG team. She would have to be blind not to be aware of the looks Major Carter and O'Neill were giving each other and wondered why they weren't together. Her thoughts drifted to Riley and Sam Finn and a smile creased her face. She wasn't jealous, she liked Sam Finn a lot and while she had also liked Riley a lot, she would not have been able to marry him.
A quiet knock on the door disturbed her thoughts. Speak of the devil, she thought as Sam Finn poked her head round the corner.
"Hey Buffy" she said. "Can I?"
"Sure" Buffy invited her in and Sam grabbed one of the upright chairs and settled herself on it facing Buffy on the bed.
"How are you doing?" she asked and Buffy shrugged.
"OK I guess."
"I didn't want Riley to call you" Sam said bluntly. "You've been through a lot and I didn't think that you should be responsible for this as well."
"Its OK" Buffy reassured her. "I'm glad to help. We all are."
"I was sorry to hear about Tara. Is Willow OK?"
"She wasn't. But she will be."
Buffy was slightly surprised by the friendliness of the conversation, Sam Finn chatting to her as if they had just met for coffee one day rather than being shanghaied off to a secret military base to discuss ridding a planet of vampires.
"Good" Sam seemed a little uncomfortable. "Well, y'know. I thought I would just drop by. Say hi."
"Come on Sam. Spit it out."
"How did Spike get his soul?" she blurted out. "How can we trust him after what he did?"
Ah, thought Buffy. So that was it. Spike.
"Did Riley send you?" Buffy asked and watched the tell tale flick of Sam's eyelashes.
"He's just concerned, Buffy. You two didn't really get a chance to talk the last time you saw each other. And the last time you saw each other, you were…. y'know…. doing the wild thing with a vampire."
"Wouldn't be the first time" Buffy said dryly and Sam laughed suddenly.
"No, I guess not." Sam looked serious. "He just doesn't want to see you hurt. Neither of us do. He still cares for you Buffy. He's so proud of you."
"You're jealous?" Buffy asked curiously.
Sam shook her head, "I couldn't be jealous of you. You're the Slayer. I'm me. We're different people, Buffy." A look of tenderness entered her eyes. "We just want to be sure that you're OK."
"I'm OK" Buffy answered her. "Really."
Sam Finn seemed satisfied with that. "So how did Spike get his soul?" she asked and Buffy shrugged her ignorance.
"All that matters is, he has it. He's a better person now. A good man."
As long as you believe that, Sam thought to herself, at the hopeful look on Buffy's face. She rose to leave but Buffy called her back.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"You two. You're happy?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. We're happy. We're lucky in lots of ways."
Buffy smiled. "Good."
"I'll see you later"
Sam Finn left her quarters and Buffy laid back on her bed, realising for the first time in a long time, that she was finally at peace with herself over Riley. It was a good feeling.
She was disturbed by another knock on the door, this time it was Jack O'Neil. She was half asleep but shook herself awake in record time.
"Hi" he said, by way of introduction. "I wonder if we could borrow you for a moment."
"Sure" she said, swinging herself off the bed which, whilst not being too hard or too soft had turned out to be pretty uncomfortable. She stretched her arms, feeling her joints pop a little and glanced in the mirror automatically and frowned.
"Give me a minute" she said and he lounged against the door until she had tugged her blonde hair into a neat ponytail and straightened her clothing. "OK, ready to rumba."
Buffy followed him through the maze of corridors back up to where the Gaterom was and then up to the General's briefing room.
Seated at the table was Major Carter, the two strangers she had seen come through the Stargate and General Hammond. She took a seat opposite Major Carter again and gave a brief smile round the table.
"Jacob, Anise – I'd like to introduce you to Buffy Summers. She's the expert that I was telling you about. Buffy, this is Jacob Carter, and Anise. They are what is known as Tok'ra. They carry a symbiote as the Gou'ld do but host and symbiote exist together in harmony."
Buffy eyed Jacob Carter with curiosity. "You've got a snake thing?" repeating Dawn's comment to Teal'c from earlier that day.
Jacob gave O'Neill a quick grin. He liked this girl. "I do. Would you like to talk to Selmak?"
"It talks?" Buffy was astonished and then realised how rude she had been and covered her mouth.
Jacob took no offence at her outspoken comment and simply closed his eyes and opened them again. They glowed bright white for a moment and then he spoke in a deep timbred voice with a harsh edge to it, startling Buffy.
"Greetings BuffySummers. Colonel O'Neill has spoken highly of you. I hope we will be able to work together."
Well that's just a little bit creepy, Buffy thought to herself but this time kept her thoughts to herself.
"Nice to meet you too er.. Selmak."
Jacob Carter closed his eyes again and re-opened them and smiled.
"Happy now?" he asked and caught the slightly masked shudder. O'Neill hid his disgust for snakeheads a lot better than Buffy did.
"So what's the deal?" Buffy asked. "I heard something earlier about us helping each other."
"Jacob and Anise are here at my invitation" Hammond said. "I thought they might be able to provide some help with this."
"And?" Buffy prompted.
"General Hammond has suggested that we might be able to help with the evacuation of the prisoners on the planet" the symbiote, Anise spoke, her voice hard edged, "but we believe it might be worthwhile to take a step back and look at the larger picture."
"What larger picture?"
"The prisoners on that planet are under the rule of Ahmose. He is a system lord and one that we have been watching for some time." Anise stood and paced the floor steadily. "We believe that instead of dealing with the result, we deal with the reason. Destruction of the system lord Ahmose."
"The system lord?" Buffy repeated. She looked at O'Neill for help but found none. He didn't understand any more than he did.
"If we're talking coming up with a plan here, we need everyone. I can't make a decision and send my friends after some almighty system lord without their agreement."
"Their agreement?" Anise looked astonished. "It is what needs to be done, they do not need to agree."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Listen lady, I don't know where you come from but where I come from, if I'm going to put my friends in danger, I'm going to need a damn good reason why."
"Surely the destruction of a system lord is a good reason?"
"Not for me." Buffy stood and addressed General Hammond. "You asked me to come and help you rid a planet of vampires. This whole system lord business was not part of the plan. I kill demons. Not people."
"Ahmose is not a person. Hundreds of planets would benefit from the removal of this lord from power."
Buffy held up one hand. "Save it."
"You will not help?" the Tok'ra seemed confused and appealed to her companion for help. "Selmak?"
"Miss Summers has every right not to want to take part. She is not a soldier, nor does this war involve her. From what Colonel O'Neill tells me, she is already involved in one."
"Surely the war against the Gou'ld should take precedence over petty arguments."
"Listen lady! I don't know who you think you are but let me tell you something. I've saved this world more times than I can count. I don't need to go and take some system lord to save the world. I've been doing it since I was 16. So lets have a little less of the petty arguments and a little more of the respect otherwise I'll kick your two toned creepy eyed ass back through the Stargate to wherever the hell you came from."
"Bravo" O'Neill applauded but ceased clapping at a sharp eyed glare from the General.
"I understand how you feel Buffy. Anise does tend to be a little enthusiastic sometimes. I appreciate that this is a much bigger idea than just taking on a planet full of vampires and saving some prisoners. But I believe she is right." Jacob Carter spoke tactfully. He had spent the last couple of years talking O'Neill round to his ideas, this little girl shouldn't be any harder.
"If we could deal with Ahmose in a permanent way, it would enable us to save millions of people on hundreds of planets. We would be grateful for your help."
"Just supposing we said yes" Buffy held up a quelling hand as Anise was about to speak. "Why do you need us? You've obviously done the whole saving the world thing before too. What do you need us for?"
Jacob Carter grinned at her, a grin his daughter knew well. He had an ace up his sleeve and Buffy was about to get hit with it.
"Didn't we mention it? We believe that Ahmose is a vampire as well."
The Stargate was spinning in his frame, smoke pouring from the sides and with a sudden whoosh, the event horizon formed in the centre of the ring and blew out into the room before dropping back and shimmering beautifully.
"Sweet mother of Zeus" Xander breathed when he saw it. O'Neill turned and frowned a little when he saw that he had been followed. He motioned for Xander and Spike to hang back by the door and then noticed the rest of the Sunnydale gang crowding the entrance. Buffy stood next to him, no intention of moving anywhere.
Two figures came through the rippling horizon and Carter let out an exclamation. Dawn and Willow followed her down into the gateroom and they watched curiously as Sam was embraced closely by one of the people who had come through the gate.
"Hey Dad" she said, hugging him.
"Hey Sam."
She stepped back and smiled politely at her father's companion, a Tok'ra she had met before and secretly did not like. Anise smiled back at her but Sam knew that she was oblivious to Sam's coolness.
"Hey Jacob. What are you doing here?" O'Neill was not even slightly casual and did not even bother to nod to Anise, someone whom he distrusted deeply.
"General Hammond contacted me. He believed we might also be able to help in this matter. We've been aware of Ahmose for some time and we believe that your attempts to free the people of the planet you landed on, will coincide with our attempts to liberate his system."
O'Neill pulled a face. "What?"
"We can help you, Colonel," Anise said in her earnest helpful way. He shot her a look filled with dislike and turned back to Jacob Carter.
"Well, we've also found some new friends," he gestured to the gang of young people standing behind him. "Trust me. You gotta hear this one."
Jacob raised an eyebrow in query, a habit which Selmak had installed in all of her hosts but followed Jack up to General Hammond briefing room.
Daniel glanced at Giles and made an executive decision to distract them while Jack and Carter dealt with the Tok'ra.
"Who wants a quick tour of the base? We've organised some quarters for you while you're here. It's not the Hilton I'm afraid but it's not the slums either."
"That would be great, Dr Jackson" Buffy's little sister gave him a cute smile and beckoned enthusiastically to the others to follow them. Buffy grinned. She knew a crush when she saw one and while Daniel was pretty cute, he wasn't her type. Not any more, she thought to herself.
Buffy found herself walking next to Teal'c at the back of "tour" as Daniel showed them the commissary, where she had already been, the Infirmary, where she had already been and then to their quarters.
"You are surprisingly strong for such a small woman BuffySummers," Teal'c said. "I am still surprised that you were able to beat the vampire so easily whereas I had great trouble."
She shrugged. "It's a knack. Besides," she added charitably, "I've had more practice than you."
He gifted her with a rare smile and she smiled back. She liked this man, so big and yet he seemed so gentle. She had known instinctively that she could trust him and the Colonel had given her the lowdown on Teal'c so she knew where he was coming from. He had done some bad things but was making up for them now. Not exactly a journey for redemption but close enough.
Dawn's excited squeal caught her attention and she excused herself, pushing past Anya to stand next to her sister.
"We've allocated quarters for you all but we weren't sure if you wanted to share."
Buffy looked at Giles for help and he smoothly took over, organising everything.
"Xander and Giles can share, Willow, you and Anya can share, Buffy can go with Dawn and I'll have a single ….."
"Hmmm that's convenient" Anya said "Looking for some peace and quiet were you?"
Giles didn't even bother to answer her question and turned to Daniel instead. "If that's OK?"
"Sure" Daniel nodded. "Your stuff is topside still but I'll arrange for it to come down to your quarters." He glanced at his watch. "Why don't we track down the other team and get some food?"
"That sounds great Dr Jackson" Dawn gushed. Buffy could barely hide the roll of her eyes.
"Actually, you know what? I think I'll just hang here. I've already eaten."
"Do you want me to bring you something?" Dawn asked but her sister shook her head.
"Nope. You go eat."
She watched her friends walk off down the corridor, Teal'c large frame bringing up the rear and entered the quarters that Daniel has shown her as hers and sat down on the bed. She bounced a little. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right. Not like this whole military thing. She felt a little on edge put couldn't quite put her finger on why.
The vibes coming from Teal'c were identifiable, it was that snake thing that was setting off her Slayer sense. Willow's power was also a tangible sensation. But there was also something else. Despite what O'Neill had said to her earlier, she could sense the undercurrents in the SG team. She would have to be blind not to be aware of the looks Major Carter and O'Neill were giving each other and wondered why they weren't together. Her thoughts drifted to Riley and Sam Finn and a smile creased her face. She wasn't jealous, she liked Sam Finn a lot and while she had also liked Riley a lot, she would not have been able to marry him.
A quiet knock on the door disturbed her thoughts. Speak of the devil, she thought as Sam Finn poked her head round the corner.
"Hey Buffy" she said. "Can I?"
"Sure" Buffy invited her in and Sam grabbed one of the upright chairs and settled herself on it facing Buffy on the bed.
"How are you doing?" she asked and Buffy shrugged.
"OK I guess."
"I didn't want Riley to call you" Sam said bluntly. "You've been through a lot and I didn't think that you should be responsible for this as well."
"Its OK" Buffy reassured her. "I'm glad to help. We all are."
"I was sorry to hear about Tara. Is Willow OK?"
"She wasn't. But she will be."
Buffy was slightly surprised by the friendliness of the conversation, Sam Finn chatting to her as if they had just met for coffee one day rather than being shanghaied off to a secret military base to discuss ridding a planet of vampires.
"Good" Sam seemed a little uncomfortable. "Well, y'know. I thought I would just drop by. Say hi."
"Come on Sam. Spit it out."
"How did Spike get his soul?" she blurted out. "How can we trust him after what he did?"
Ah, thought Buffy. So that was it. Spike.
"Did Riley send you?" Buffy asked and watched the tell tale flick of Sam's eyelashes.
"He's just concerned, Buffy. You two didn't really get a chance to talk the last time you saw each other. And the last time you saw each other, you were…. y'know…. doing the wild thing with a vampire."
"Wouldn't be the first time" Buffy said dryly and Sam laughed suddenly.
"No, I guess not." Sam looked serious. "He just doesn't want to see you hurt. Neither of us do. He still cares for you Buffy. He's so proud of you."
"You're jealous?" Buffy asked curiously.
Sam shook her head, "I couldn't be jealous of you. You're the Slayer. I'm me. We're different people, Buffy." A look of tenderness entered her eyes. "We just want to be sure that you're OK."
"I'm OK" Buffy answered her. "Really."
Sam Finn seemed satisfied with that. "So how did Spike get his soul?" she asked and Buffy shrugged her ignorance.
"All that matters is, he has it. He's a better person now. A good man."
As long as you believe that, Sam thought to herself, at the hopeful look on Buffy's face. She rose to leave but Buffy called her back.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"You two. You're happy?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. We're happy. We're lucky in lots of ways."
Buffy smiled. "Good."
"I'll see you later"
Sam Finn left her quarters and Buffy laid back on her bed, realising for the first time in a long time, that she was finally at peace with herself over Riley. It was a good feeling.
She was disturbed by another knock on the door, this time it was Jack O'Neil. She was half asleep but shook herself awake in record time.
"Hi" he said, by way of introduction. "I wonder if we could borrow you for a moment."
"Sure" she said, swinging herself off the bed which, whilst not being too hard or too soft had turned out to be pretty uncomfortable. She stretched her arms, feeling her joints pop a little and glanced in the mirror automatically and frowned.
"Give me a minute" she said and he lounged against the door until she had tugged her blonde hair into a neat ponytail and straightened her clothing. "OK, ready to rumba."
Buffy followed him through the maze of corridors back up to where the Gaterom was and then up to the General's briefing room.
Seated at the table was Major Carter, the two strangers she had seen come through the Stargate and General Hammond. She took a seat opposite Major Carter again and gave a brief smile round the table.
"Jacob, Anise – I'd like to introduce you to Buffy Summers. She's the expert that I was telling you about. Buffy, this is Jacob Carter, and Anise. They are what is known as Tok'ra. They carry a symbiote as the Gou'ld do but host and symbiote exist together in harmony."
Buffy eyed Jacob Carter with curiosity. "You've got a snake thing?" repeating Dawn's comment to Teal'c from earlier that day.
Jacob gave O'Neill a quick grin. He liked this girl. "I do. Would you like to talk to Selmak?"
"It talks?" Buffy was astonished and then realised how rude she had been and covered her mouth.
Jacob took no offence at her outspoken comment and simply closed his eyes and opened them again. They glowed bright white for a moment and then he spoke in a deep timbred voice with a harsh edge to it, startling Buffy.
"Greetings BuffySummers. Colonel O'Neill has spoken highly of you. I hope we will be able to work together."
Well that's just a little bit creepy, Buffy thought to herself but this time kept her thoughts to herself.
"Nice to meet you too er.. Selmak."
Jacob Carter closed his eyes again and re-opened them and smiled.
"Happy now?" he asked and caught the slightly masked shudder. O'Neill hid his disgust for snakeheads a lot better than Buffy did.
"So what's the deal?" Buffy asked. "I heard something earlier about us helping each other."
"Jacob and Anise are here at my invitation" Hammond said. "I thought they might be able to provide some help with this."
"And?" Buffy prompted.
"General Hammond has suggested that we might be able to help with the evacuation of the prisoners on the planet" the symbiote, Anise spoke, her voice hard edged, "but we believe it might be worthwhile to take a step back and look at the larger picture."
"What larger picture?"
"The prisoners on that planet are under the rule of Ahmose. He is a system lord and one that we have been watching for some time." Anise stood and paced the floor steadily. "We believe that instead of dealing with the result, we deal with the reason. Destruction of the system lord Ahmose."
"The system lord?" Buffy repeated. She looked at O'Neill for help but found none. He didn't understand any more than he did.
"If we're talking coming up with a plan here, we need everyone. I can't make a decision and send my friends after some almighty system lord without their agreement."
"Their agreement?" Anise looked astonished. "It is what needs to be done, they do not need to agree."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Listen lady, I don't know where you come from but where I come from, if I'm going to put my friends in danger, I'm going to need a damn good reason why."
"Surely the destruction of a system lord is a good reason?"
"Not for me." Buffy stood and addressed General Hammond. "You asked me to come and help you rid a planet of vampires. This whole system lord business was not part of the plan. I kill demons. Not people."
"Ahmose is not a person. Hundreds of planets would benefit from the removal of this lord from power."
Buffy held up one hand. "Save it."
"You will not help?" the Tok'ra seemed confused and appealed to her companion for help. "Selmak?"
"Miss Summers has every right not to want to take part. She is not a soldier, nor does this war involve her. From what Colonel O'Neill tells me, she is already involved in one."
"Surely the war against the Gou'ld should take precedence over petty arguments."
"Listen lady! I don't know who you think you are but let me tell you something. I've saved this world more times than I can count. I don't need to go and take some system lord to save the world. I've been doing it since I was 16. So lets have a little less of the petty arguments and a little more of the respect otherwise I'll kick your two toned creepy eyed ass back through the Stargate to wherever the hell you came from."
"Bravo" O'Neill applauded but ceased clapping at a sharp eyed glare from the General.
"I understand how you feel Buffy. Anise does tend to be a little enthusiastic sometimes. I appreciate that this is a much bigger idea than just taking on a planet full of vampires and saving some prisoners. But I believe she is right." Jacob Carter spoke tactfully. He had spent the last couple of years talking O'Neill round to his ideas, this little girl shouldn't be any harder.
"If we could deal with Ahmose in a permanent way, it would enable us to save millions of people on hundreds of planets. We would be grateful for your help."
"Just supposing we said yes" Buffy held up a quelling hand as Anise was about to speak. "Why do you need us? You've obviously done the whole saving the world thing before too. What do you need us for?"
Jacob Carter grinned at her, a grin his daughter knew well. He had an ace up his sleeve and Buffy was about to get hit with it.
"Didn't we mention it? We believe that Ahmose is a vampire as well."