Important legal type stuff: See Chapter 1
Author's Note: There were supposed to be some asterick lines denoting scene changes in the last chapter that apparently didn't make it through reformatting. I think I've got that problem fixed for this one. Again, please R&R to let me know how you think I'm doing. I'm kicking around ideas for two different endings, one shorter than the other. Which one I choose will depend on the responses I get.
Messages
Chapter 2
"So let me get this straight," General Landry was none too happy about being woken up in the middle of the night, "one of the members of my flagship team sees dead people?"
"More like dead person, Sir." Mitchell corrected. The General shot him a look that clearly said that the sarcasm was not appreciated.
Daniel intervened, "It's just Vala. Every time I've tried to sleep in the past few days I keep getting these horrible visions. Now they're even happening when I'm awake."
"Dr. Jackson, are you sure this is something you should be telling me about and not, say, the base therapist?" General Landry's voice was getting louder.
Teal'c tried to take control of the conversation, "General, if I may explain."
"Oh please do." Landry quipped.
"We believe that Vala MalDoran is in need of our assistance, and that she is able to communicate this through Daniel Jackson because of the link they both shared due to the bracelets." Teal'c continued.
"So what if she is? As I remember, this whole mess with the Ori began because of her and her little treasure map." He replied.
"Sir," Daniel tried, "while no one on this base is as happy to have Vala gone as I am, she doesn't deserve this. I've seen what they do to 'non-believers' in that galaxy first hand. And I feel responsible for her being there."
"General, Sir." Carter tried a new tactic, "Vala was the one that figured out how to destroy the super-gate. And she has apparently been helping fight the Ori just as hard as any of us."
Mitchell caught onto Carter's idea and added, "Sir, when this whole thing hits the fan we are gonna need every single ally we can find. She has already proven what she's willing to sacrifice to help us."
Landry looked into the sea of big blue puppy dog eyes he was getting from the human portion of SG-1. Hell, even Teal'c looked like he might break down and beg. He let out a loud sigh and said, "And here I was, wondering how George always let you all get away with murder. Apparently I'm no stronger a man than he is." As he paused he could see their eyes start to light up. "What's your plan?"
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It had taken them that entire day, but by nightfall they had a plan. It had required SG-1 to call in just about every marker they had. They realized that getting to the Ori's galaxy was going to be the toughest part. Time was of the essence, and Earth would not be able to spare Prometheus for the length of time this mission would require. Essentially their plan made them the baton in an intergalactic relay race.
Tomorrow they would gate to the Alpha Site. There they would be met by a Tok'ra, one of Selmak's oldest friends, who would be giving them a lift in his ha'tak to a planet code named "the Omega Site", at the far end of the galaxy. At that point they would rendezvous with the Deadalus, which was on its way back to Atlantis. There they hoped Carter and Daniel might be able to find reference to the Ori in the Ancient's database.
The next challenge would be to pry Daniel away from the city of the Ancients once any information was obtained and Sam and Rodney MacKay finished some alterations on one of their "jumpers". Sam still felt a little dirty about that part. It was her "influence" over her Atlantian counterpart that landed them the rental of one of their ships, provided she was the one to help him add a hyperdrive and modify it for travel of more extensive distances. And so what if she may have also let him believe that she was actually looking forward to seeing him. Mitchell had tried teasing her about it. His "Vala would be proud" comment was fortunately made at the SGC instead of on a ship where she could have dumped him out the airlock.
They would gate, in the modified jumper, to a planet at the far end of the Pegasus Galaxy, where they would continue on to a designated point outside the galaxy, where Thor would be able to pick them and the puddle jumper up. The Asgard were still busy cleaning up the few remaining replicators hiding in their galaxy, while trying to rebuild a home-world for themselves. It took General Jack O'Neill personally begging the Asgard High Council to let Thor and a ship go for any amount of time at all. The entire time it would have taken them to go from Earth to the Galaxy HE 1013-2136 and back was out of the question, but he would be able to take them most of the way there from Pegasus. They would then fly the last bit of the trip themselves in the jumper, whose cloaking ability would prove extremely useful when they reached their destination.
After dropping the team off at Atlantis and refueling, the Deadalus would immediately set out for HE 1013-2136. That way, by the time SG-1 got there, did some reconnaissance, and extracted Vala, they would be there to meet them and return them to Atlantis. From there they could simply dial Earth and gate home.
They had no idea how they were actually going to extract Vala. That part would be played-by-ear once they found her and assessed the situation. They realized that there were already about a thousand different ways that this mission could go horribly wrong. But they had to try. They were SG-1. It's what they do.
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So far things were going flawlessly. That fact actually had them quite worried. As they neared the Omega Site, their Tok'ra chauffer noted, "You seem troubled. Isn't everything going as planned?"
It was Teal'c that responded, "Indeed. That is the reason for our concern. We are awaiting the descent of the second piece of footwear."
They were dropped off in a clearing on the surface. As the team started making its way towards the planet's defunct Stargate, Carter explained why they couldn't just gate there. "We knew this planet existed and of its strategic positioning on the outer rim of the galaxy, but we could never make a connection trying to dial in to their gate. On one of the first test flights of the Deadalus we stopped in. The small group of indigenous people were quite friendly and showed us the remnants of their Stargate. Turns out that the DHD is missing and that the gate itself really is damaged beyond repair. No one has been able to use it in hundreds of years. But, on the bright side, the rings located near the gate still work. That's how we're getting picked up. We figured that this planet would be perfect for missions like this."
"You actually plan for missions like this?" Mitchell questioned. "What other scenarios do you have plans for?"
"You probably don't want to know." Carter replied.
They arrived at the gate area slightly ahead of schedule. The group sat down to rest on the crumbling edge of the stone steps leading to the broken gate. They waited silently to hear the crackle of their radios and the voice of Colonel Caldwell telling them that their ride was here. Instead they heard the sound of the first chevron lock on the gate as it became active.
Mitchell's back was to the gate. He knew what was happening, but he still had to ask, "Is that sound what I think it is?"
Daniel replied snidely, "Yup. That's the sound of the second piece of footwear."
At that they all dove out of the way as the event horizon ballooned outward.
As they all established defensive positions, laying flat to the ground with P90's aimed at the gate, Mitchell yelled to Carter, "I thought you said that thing was busted?"
"It is. There is no way that this should be happening."
"Then I guess it's a pretty safe bet as to who we're gonna see step through this thing." He responded.
As expected, a prior appeared through the gate. Its back was towards them, so all they could see was long white hair, pale colored robes, and a glow-y blue staff.
"Prepare to fire on my mark." Mitchell commanded. "Ready…"
The next sound they heard came from Daniel, "Aw Crap!"
As the prior turned to face them, they all recognized the figure before them, despite the blanched features, expressionless face, and ghost white hair. It was, or at least had been, Vala.
"You have GOT to be kidding!" Was the only thing Mitchell could get out.
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To Be Continued...
