"If the quiet is really making you that crazy, you could ask Kelly to sing something." Daniel tells Jack, after everyone's done eating.
"You've heard her sing?" Sam asks, shoving the wrapper into her pocket.
"She sings?" Jack asks Daniel, not exactly sounding thrilled.
"Yeah." I say, putting the wrapper for my lunch into the same pocket as the wrapper from dinner.
"Let's go." Jack says, and we all start walking.
"Do you know any decent traveling music?" Sam asks.
"Some, but I'd kinda like to know what you consider 'traveling music'." I say.
"How 'bout something of your own?" Jack asks.
"I'm not a writer." I say, smiling. "But I do know this one song by 'Allison Krauss' called 'Broadway'. It just popped into my head."
"Go for it." Sam says.
"Fine with me." Jack says.
The entire rest of the way to the ridge near the base I sing 'Broadway' and 'Seven Nation Army' by the White Stripes among others. Once at the ridge, Sam and I are ordered to distract the guards so that Jack, Teal'c and Daniel can get in easily.
"Just do it like last time." Jack says as we start to head out.
"Right..." Sam says, and we walk away.
"We fought the guards last time." I say.
"I know."
"So how precisely are we supposed to distract"
"Men?"
"Oh. Normal guys this time, eh?" I say, thoughtfully as we approach the front gates.
"Well, I don't know about normal, but they're still men."
"All right, then we'll be fine. Mind if I take the lead?"
"Go right ahead." Samantha says, falling a step behind me just before we come within shooting range. I lead her straight through the gates and the guards cross their weapons in front of me. I glance at each of them, look back at Sam, and jump high over their weapons. They take and hold aim at me so naturally I take a step back so that when they shoot, the hit each other, not me. They fire at the same time and they both go down. "Nice trick."
"Did that for a movie, didn't think it would actually work in reality, though." I say, as the guys join us.
"Most people need wires and stuff to do that." Jack says, and Daniel and I fall in step beside each other.
"True." I say, as Daniel grabs my hand.
"I thought we were supposed to distract the guards, not kill them." Sam says to me.
"Yeah, I know, but distracting Jaffa seemed to be more difficult." I say. "If I had my way, the guards would've been drunken slobs that wouldn't notice if an entire bloody army had marched through."
"Okay." Jack says.
"Did anyone else hear that?" I ask quietly, a little while later as we're walking down a hallway.
"No." Daniel says, after I stop walking.
"What did you hear?" Sam asks, as everyone else stops walking.
"Some sort of electronic beeping. No one else heard it?" I say.
"No…" Jack says.
"Might be some sort of alarm." Sam says, turning to me. "Do you still hear it?"
"No. Now it's more of a whine." I say, listening hard. "I'm gonna suggest we take cover, and quickly."
"You heard the girl, move!" Jack cries and we all get out of the middle of the corridor just before six Jaffa come around the corner. They say some things in some language other than English and leave.
"Good call, Kelly." Sam says, as we all walk back into the hallway.
"Thanks." I say, glancing around.
"Let's go." Jack says.
"How did you hear that?" Daniel asks me quietly a little while later.
"I was listening for it, sort of." I say just as quietly.
"Are you still listening for it?" Daniel asks.
"Kind of." I say. "What's wrong."
"Do you want me to be quiet?" Daniel asks.
"I do." Jack says. We all hear a cry from behind and the charge of a weapon. "For the love of…" He mutters as we all slowly turn around. The three Jaffa soldiers aiming charged weapons at us say something else and then two of them come towards Daniel and I.
"You all want to move in about two seconds." I say quickly as the Jaffa - who had started out at the opposite end of the corridor and were not moving quickly - came closer. "Now!" I cry as the Jaffa come within range.
Sam and Jack duck behind pillars at my signal, but Daniel hesitates and Teal'c refuses. I take three seconds to shove Daniel out of the way, leap up, and kick each of the soldiers in the head on my descent. I land and grab a staff weapon from one of the now unconscious soldiers and rush the last one standing as he shoots at me. He misses Teal'c and re-aims at me, but I'm too close. I slam one end of the staff into his exposed head and chuck the staff down another hall towards an approaching soldier, hitting him in the center of his chest hard enough to shatter his breastbone and send a shard of bone through his aortic valve. I turn around and run back to Daniel, Sam, Jack and Teal'c.
"You all right? I didn't mean to push you into that wall. I'm sorry." I say softly to Daniel.
"Yeah, I think so." Daniel says, as we all come into the middle of the hallway.
"Everyone else okay?" I ask, turning slightly from Daniel.
"Yes." Sam says.
"The Gao'uld staff weapon was not built for that use." Teal'c says.
"Oh, well, tough luck. Worked well enough." I say. "We should move now."
"Right. Let's." Jack says, and we continue down the corridor. A little while later we plant one bomb out of sight and about half an hour later we plant another on another side of the building. On our way to plant the third plastique, we run into some more Jaffa soldiers who seem to know who I am. I dispatch them with no trouble at all, but twist my ankle further bolting in a different direction. I don't let it slow me down as we plant the rest of the plastique in two more locations and head off to the room previously occupied by Ah'dreen to plant the C-4.
"Are you all right?" Daniel asks me quietly, as we get closer to our destination, noticing the slight limp I'm gaining.
"Yeah, I just landed oddly after that last fight." I say just as quietly, looking at him. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Tylers don't die nicely, right?" Daniel says, wrapping his arm around my waist.
"Right." I say, as we all turn a corner to find four guards outside the doors we want through. We scramble back around the corner before they see us. "What in the nine hells is left in that room for them to protect!?" I whisper harshly.
"Apophis?" Jack asks sarcastically.
"That is a realistic assumption O'Neill." Teal'c says softly.
"I was right? Really?" Jack whispers.
"It is a possibility." Teal'c says.
"This is great, but are we gonna go finish up or what?" I say, impatiently.
"Yeah, you wanna lead again?" Sam asks quietly.
"Sure." I say, with a deep breath. "Anyone gonna help me out this time?"
"Think you'll need it?" Jack asks.
"Might. Four in armor, against one in nothing." I say.
"Okay." Jack says. "Kelly leads, we'll watch your back." I nod and glance at Daniel, who looks worried. "Let's go."
I stroll around the corner ahead of everyone else looking for all the world like I was just going for a walk in a garden, not walking right into a fight. The two nearest guards aim their weapons at me and I rush them. I leap up into the air and take out one guard with a roundhouse kick - in midair - and stun another in the same move. The other two guards have now drawn other weapons, which prompts me to draw my knife, I resist the urge and focus on the guy I've just stunned. A kick to the guard's face shatters his nose and a swift uppercut to his nose finishes the job. I hear gunfire and jump - literally - ten feet in the air just as I was starting to shift my weight to launch myself at the other two guards. I land and look around me. All four guards are down and Jack, Teal'c, Sam and Daniel are walking towards me.
"Okay, what was that?" Sam asks.
"What did you expect? I wasn't expecting gunfire just then." I say.
"Sorry." Daniel says, and I look at him quizzically. "I fired first."
"Oh." I say. "It's alright. Not bad timing, by my guess."
"Can we - ?" Jack asks.
"Oh, of course." I say. We all burst into the room and look around, Jack and Teal'c leading with weapons drawn.
"Empty." Sam says, after a preliminary search. "Well, not 'empty', but nothing of importance."
"A trap." I groan, ninety-eight percent sure of myself.
"A what?" Jack says, turning towards me.
"Three, two, one…" I mutter slowly to myself, as I turn to watch the doors, which close and lock right on cue. "I hate this part of the movie."
"Kelly, what are you talking about?" Sam asks, as I start inspecting the room. "I've already done that, remember."
"First clue was nothing important in a guarded room. Second was the door closing. I've done his half a billion times in the movies, now I figure we've either got ten seconds before some sort of death trap kicks in, or five seconds before some automated message kicks in telling us that we'll be dead in ten seconds. One way or the other it doesn't matter, we gotta get the bloody hell out of here." I say, keeping my eyes on the ceiling.
"You wouldn't happen to be claustrophobic, are you?" Jack asks, watching me.
"Nope, just not quite ready to consider dying." I say.
"Found the rings." Daniel calls from across the room.
"Rings?" I mumble.
"Charges?" Sam asks Jack, as he and Teal'c go to stand near Daniel.
"Sure." Jack says, as I walk closer to everyone else.
"How are rings gonna help?" I ask Daniel, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Kelly has a point, Daniel Jackson. Rings will only take us into Apophis's ship if it has arrived yet." Teal'c says.
"Well the only other way out is the door." Jack says. He stops as if something has just come to him and turns to me. "Any chance you could open those doors, Tyler?"
"Well, uh, nothing's impossible. I'll take a look." I say, I look over the doors, kick it once here the doors meet with my most powerful kick, land, and continue to look at the doors, which are still locked. I go over to the panel that seems to control the locks, act on a hunch by punching a few buttons. Nothing happens, so I unzip my left boot.
"What are you doing now, Tyler?" Jack asks me as I take out my electronic lock-pick kit.
"Is that what you're calling me now?" I ask Jack, starting to really work on the locks.
"Think so." Jack says.
"All right, just curious. I'm trying to deactivate the lock." I say.
"Charge is set." Sam says.
"Everyone over this place?" I ask a few minutes later.
"Think so." Sam says.
"Yep." Daniel says, walking back over to me.
"Good. 'Cause we can leave now." I say a second before I open the doors.
"Let's go!" Jack says, and we all bolt out of the room and down the corridor towards the entrance.
We get out and to the edge of the forest in seemingly no time. Sam and I detonate the bombs and we continue on to the Stargate. Daniel dials us up, the 'gate activates and we all go home.
"Ms. Tyler, can I see you for a minute in my office?" General Hammond says a little while after we get back to the base. "Welcome back team."
"All right." I say, unsure, throwing Daniel a worried, curious look that he catches, before General Hammond leads me off. "What's this about?" I ask, once the door to his office is closed behind me.
"I didn't bring you in for the SG team alone. I have an actual mission for you."
"Okay, I have three questions: What's the estimated length of this mission?"
"A month, two at most."
"Will I be able to return to SG-1?" I ask. "If I so choose, and if they'll have me, of course."
"If you ever want to return you of course can."
"All right, so what's this mission about?" I ask.
General Hammond explains it's a diplomatic mission to Russia to get a better grasp on what they're doing over there and how we can benefit equally from mutual cooperation regarding the Stargate. I find out why me in particular, stare at a pen for five minutes deciding whether or not to take the mission, and try to make up my mind. I ask if I can have some time to think, which he grants. I leave General Hammond's office and somehow wind up in the doorway of Daniel's office.
"Oh, hey." Daniel says, after turning to put a book away.
"General Hammond asked me to take a mission in Russia." I say quietly.
"Oh?" Daniel says, looking completely broadsided and a little hurt.
"Um, did you take it?"
"Getting anywhere with that today?" I say, dreading the moment I have to tell him I'm leaving.
"Come in." Daniel says, I come in and he closes the door behind me. "Alia what did you say?"
"Daniel, I - " I say, hugging myself as I take a big breath. "I haven't said anything yet."
"Oh." Daniel says, seeming to break.
"Dan, I thought you should be the first to know." I say, as we look into each other's eyes. I hug him, pressing my forehead into his shoulder, as my mind realizes that his eyes are full of tears. "No tears, love. You cry and that'll get me going."
"All right."
"Besides, I'd like you to take care of my car while I'm out of the country if I leave, so it's not like I won't be back."
"I'll take well care of it." Daniel says, holding me. "Will you write?"
"As often as possible. I'll call and email as well, but if I'm not back in two months don't be surprised."
"Why's that?"
"I'm considering going back to medical school."
"Oh."
"Don't worry. I don't know where yet." I say. I kiss him passionately and look into his eyes. "I'm leaving in two days if I go at all. I also persuaded Hammond to give SG-1 those two days off, claiming that everyone took a real beating on that last mission."
"All right. What are you thinking about doing?"
"I don't know, maybe do the hang out and not get Jack pissed off at me thing, maybe do the bar-b-que thing, whatever people can agree on."
"Where could we have a bar-b-que?"
"I could find a park or something. The food wouldn't be a problem, I grill well."
"It's up to you what you want to do with your send off." Daniel says, with a heavy sigh.
"I will be back. I promise." I say, heading for the door. I go back to my room, lock my door and take a quick shower before changing into a different business suit and starting to pack. I get everything packed up long before Sam comes to see me.
"Daniel told me you might be going to Russia."
"Yeah. General Hammond asked me to go on a diplomatic mission, so I'm taking advantage of it."
"To do what?" Samantha asks incredulously.
"To take care of my sister." I say. "I don't want to get into it."
"Well, you don't seem pleased to go."
"Samantha, no offense, but in the words of Armedia Tyler 'duh'." I say, getting upset. "I don't really want to go to Russia." I say softly, calming down.
"Then why go?" Sam asks.
"Because I…" I say, exasperated. "I might have a sister in some very serious trouble."
"Oh, and she's there."
"Yeah, but hey, I'll be back." I say with a sigh, "but in the mean time, you wanna go drivin'?"
"How's that special?"
"I drive a Viper."
"Oh… sure, let's see if I can get some time off."
"I've already got sometime off for you guys." I say, playing with my keys.
"Oh cool. Jack's gonna appreciate that."
"Yeah, I was thinking we could just, like, go bar-b-que or something. I'm just not used to being alone right before I leave the country, or a job, or anything."
"Sounds like fun. When's that?"
"Probably day after tomorrow." I say, thinking over what I've already shoved in a suitcase.
"Oh, okay, I'll ride with you for the thing, then." Sam says.
"Okay, that'll be fun. It's always kind of fun to get lost with people." I say, closing both suitcases. "I think I'm going to go find Daniel again. Gimme your phone number, though, so that I can get a hold of you when I figure out what I'm doing with the bar-b-que." She writes down her phone number for me, and I go shove my suitcases in the car before going to grab Daniel in the cafeteria.
"Hey, Tyler, did you talk to Hammond about some r&r time for us before you leave?" Jack asks, as I walk in and towards the table that he's sitting at with Daniel and Teal'c.
"Yeah, it just feels wrong if I get on a plane without some sort of sendoff party. Besides, I think that it'd be nice if when I came back we were all friendly towards each other. You in?" I say, sitting down next to Daniel.
"Sure, do I have to pay for anything?" Jack asks.
"Nothing except maybe gas to get places. It's warm enough now that I was thinking about doing the bar-b-que thing." I say, grabbing Daniel's hand under the table.
"Do you have a particular place in mind to do this?" Teal'c asks me.
"Actually, my sister has a pretty big house not far from here. It's kind of a drive, but worth it if we don't have to worry about the public." I say, taking into consideration that Teal'c probably doesn't walk around in public with that gold tattoo in plain sight.
"And your sister wouldn't be there?" Jack asks.
"No, she's usually in New York with my Dad, but she was out here for a little while."
"Cool." Jack says.
"Yeah, wait till you see the house." I say, smiling as Daniel starts to rub my hand.
"Well, I think that I'm going to go catch up on some translations. Take it easy for a little while." Daniel says, scooting back from the table.
"I'll have Sam get a hold of you when we figure out what's what. I'm gonna go with him for now." I say, following Daniel as he leaves.
"You don't have to come and help me work, you know." Daniel says a minute later, on the elevator.
"Yeah, but you don't have to work either." I say, smiling a little, as he looks at me with an eyebrow arched.
"What where you thinking?" Daniel asks.
"I was thinking, you, me, my car, your apartment... I have to stop by a grocery store on the way to your apartment, but there are ways to make that fun…" I say mischievously.
"Hm, I think we could do that." Daniel says, hitting another button.
"Cool." I say, as he slips an arm around me.