Three chapters in about a week, that must be a record for me. Hopefully they're decent chapters.
They landed with a heavy thud on the ramp, facing a heavily armed group of soldiers. Vala sighed at the greeting, but had expected no better – Daniel's mind, unbeknownst to him, had prepared her for just this welcome. Shifting toward the archaeologist to assess his status, she watching in relief as he tentatively pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing only slightly at the superficial burn on his upper thigh. Rising, she offered him a hand which he gratefully took. Once standing, Daniel transferred the bulk of his weight to the unharmed leg and exhaled slowly.
"Doctor Jackson?" Hammond's voice broke the silence, "care to tell me what exactly is going on?"
"It's a long story, General."
It always is, Hammond thought, considerably relieved at the sight of the relatively unharmed Daniel. But there was another matter at hand. "Who is this?"
"General Hammond, this is Vala Kyair – she helped us out after the explosion on the Marsi's planet."
The general looked at the young woman standing at the linguist's side and wondered what she was. In essence, she looked like a human. Standing around five-foot-seven-inches tall, her body was slender and lithe. It was in the details that she differed. Her eyes were a vibrant, uncanny blue. The woman's hair, which hung down to her waist in soft waves, was a silvery-white in hue. Even if a person managed to accept all of that as normal, her stance and the manner in which she observed everything, was reminiscent of an animal. He had noticed that particular similarity primarily when Teal'c had stepped closer to Daniel, the woman's nose had begun to twitch slightly, as if she were testing a scent within the air.
Jack moved forward, speaking now. "She's not one of the Marsi."
"No, she isn't. Jack, Sam, Teal'c, meet the Marsi's monster."
"She's what they've been hunting for three hundred years!" Jack's voice rose in disbelief, something that soon reflected on numerous faces in the gate room. Having said that, his mind clicked in on another relevant bit of information about the Marsi's 'beast'. "Those people said that their monst… are you telling me that she's the one who killed the Goa'uld on that planet?"
"Uh, yeah."
For a moment O'Neill merely looked at Vala, then he smiled. "I guess we owe you one." When his words provoked confusion, he continued. "Saved us the trouble."
In the few minutes that it took for the conversation to occur, Janet had arrived in the embarkation room and had immediately gone to Daniel's side. Finding the only visible wound to be very minor, she indicated to him that he was to come to the infirmary to get it cleaned.
Hammond nodded his agreement, holding his questions for the debriefing. "Report to the infirmary and get checked out." His gaze rested on the strange woman. "Both of you."
At this inclusion, the Ka'rosh raised a snow-hued brow and she questioningly turned to Daniel.
"He wants you to be examined," Vala seemed about to protest so the archaeologist hurriedly continued, deciding to present it to her in terms she'd appreciate. "To make sure you're not a Goa'uld."
"I understand."She lowered her head in consent and followed the dark-haired woman in front of her, aware of those who trailed behind.
As soon as everyone was seated, less than thirty minutes later, General Hammond looked directly at Vala. "How did you get through our iris?"
"General?" Daniel's face momentarily held a trace of confusion before he seemed to grasp the problem. "I never sent my code through for you to open the iris. We should have been killed." He suddenly looked at the Ka'rosh. "How did you know the address for Earth? For that matter, how did you activate the Stargate in the first place?"
"My people found the dialing device unnecessary, our own energy is capable of powering the Chappa'ai. Under normal circumstances I may have used the Ancient device instead, however the situation demanded we depart as quickly as possible." She paused briefly before moving on to the other questions. "I found the address for your planet, as well as the warning of your.. iris.. from within Daniel's mind."
The archaeologist nearly choked on the coffee he was attempting to swallow. "You what? Are you telling me you're telepathic?" When the word produced no comprehension, he explained. "You can read minds?"
"Yes and no. At the moment there is the chance of my picking up on your thoughts."
"At the moment?"
"I am not, what you would call, telepathic. However, in healing you, you're body now contains a great deal of my energy and as a side effect, we are somewhat linked. Even now, however, it would require close proximity to you for me to determine anything of your thoughts."
"That doesn't explain how you got through the iris." Jack was a little uneasy by the whole ordeal and still a bit miffed by the dealings with the Marsi.
"My species is predominantly an energy based life form, capable of breaking ourselves down into a nearly pure energy state. In such a manner, passing through most objects becomes possible. Because the energy in Daniel's body is, in a large percentage, mine, it allowed me to do the same to him."
"I feel a connection to you," Sam stated bluntly to the woman.
"As do I," Teal'c confirmed.
Jack sensed their eyes on him and nodded. "Yeah, why is that?"
"For the same reason as Daniel, your bodies hold within them traces of my energy. Do not worry," she continued, noting the exchanged glances, "as your bodies regain strength, your own energy will prevail and destroy the last remnants of mine. As that occurs, any bond with me will fade completely."
"Well, that explains the foreign element that I found in Doctor Jackson's blood." Fraiser piped up, having remained silent until now. "I found traces of the same element in the dried blood on the rest of SG1's clothing, however their test results showed no sign of it. I plan to continue to monitor all of SG1 until it's completely gone from all of their systems." It wasn't that she didn't trust the stranger, exactly, it was simply that yes, the woman was a stranger added to the fact that Janet refused to let anything like that go unwatched.
"Keep me informed, Doctor." Hammond responded, pleased with the quality of work that was a constant in the people under his command.
"Yes Sir."
"If you healed us, why did I wake up alone by the gate?" Jack suddenly asked.
"You were the first I came upon. When I found you, I was not aware of there being any others. As I was healing you, I noticed the Jaffa. Initially I disregarded him, having no intentions of aiding a servant of the Goa'uld. However, when I realized that he was not evil and did not serve the Goa'uld, I realized I would have to settle for mostly healing you and returning you to the Chappa'ai in the hope that your own kind could aid you with any further requirements. I left you there knowing that you soon would wake up, and that you would know that all would be well."
"How could it 'all be well' when my team was still on that damn planet?" Colonel O'Neill was tired, quite apparent to all, and it reflected in his speech.
"I did not know more than the Jaffa existed, and I knew he would last long enough for my return. I left Ca'eles to guard him in my absence. With a little aid, the Jaffa would live. When I'd finished with him, and proceeded to move him, I noticed a third pack and that was when I found the woman." Vala stopped, briefly indicating Sam with a glance. "She was badly wounded, and I had to hurry. There were voices in the forest."
"The hunt."
"Yes. I knew it was only a matter of time before they came across you all. I gave," she paused once more, disliking having to keep referring to the blonde female as 'the woman.' "What are you called?"
Carter smiled for the first time, "You can call me Sam."
The Ka'rosh nodded, then went on. "I gave Sam enough energy to sustain her, and used a portion to shield her after hiding her within the brush. I then sent Ca'eles and Lasha to keep the hunters busy. Once assured that the Marsi would not soon cross the area, I hurried to bring the .."
The big Jaffa, understanding, supplied his name.
"I hurried to bring Teal'c to the Chappa'ai and in haste returned to where I'd left Sam. She was alright, as I had counted on, and the voices were no longer a threat for the time. However, as I was carrying her to the Chappa'ai I almost fell over another." Vala turned her shimmering blue gaze on Daniel. "I no longer had the luxury of time. I was forced to bring Sam only a fraction of the way back and hope she could make the rest of the journey on her own. I then returned in haste to where I'd left Daniel. He was worse off than the rest of you, I think he may have been nearly on top of the device when it exploded. By that time Ca'eles and Lasha had come back, and I sent them to make sure Sam was alright."
"The wolf and the bird!" Carter exclaimed suddenly.
"Yes."
"Speaking of them," Daniel cut in, "Where are they?" He recalled seeing them until they all stated being fired upon.
"Do not worry," Vala smiled. "They are safe."
"Why wouldn't they let her go back to the village then?" asked Jack. "I know the Marsi are a little creepy, and they don't like you at all, but they could have helped her."
"They would have found a way to kill her. While I don't deny the Marsi's hatred of me, it is important for you to note that they sent you out into a forest that had various explosives hidden beneath the ground. Unless I am mistaken, they did not mention those to you?" The low, strangely accented voice made it a statement rather than a question. She knew the Marsi well enough to know they'd intentionally sent the humans out into the forest with the idea that they would end up just as they did.
"Are you saying they were intentionally trying to kill SG1? Why?" Hammond found the idea hard to grasp. Not that all civilizations out there were nice, but this was a first using this particular method.
"The Marsi dislike any who are not just as they are."
"I knew I didn't like their Cor… leader." Jack growled.
A faint, humorless, smile turned up the corners of Vala's mouth. "She is the worst of them. The rest of the council are but her puppets. She has absolute rule there, as her family has had since the departure of the Goa'uld."
"So," Hammond spoke, calling their attention back to the topic at hand. "You sent a wolf and a bird to guide Major Carter and then?"
"I did not have the energy to heal Daniel completely. I was not sure I could even keep him alive for long, for I needed rest and the voices were nearing again. As swiftly as I could, I brought him back to my home and once there, proceeded to heal him to the best of my capabilities at the time. Enough that he would live until I had rested. His recovery, as a result, was slower than the rest of yours and it took a good deal of time to bring him to the Chappa'ai."
"Once you got to the Gate, Doctor Jackson, what happened?"
"We were almost immediately under fire, sir. We came through the gate," he shrugged, since all of that had been covered. "After that storm, I don't know how the Marsi knew we'd be there, but apparently they did."
Jack looked sheepishly at his friend for a moment. "We might have had something to do with that."