Stargate
Infinity Series: Reunited Revamped

By GM Grantham

After the events of 'Flesh and Blood', Daniel and Vala share some alone time and discover some very interesting things about one another. Meanwhile, the battle against the Ori continues.

Spoilers for 'Flesh and Blood' through The Quest, Part II

Nothing of Stargate SG-1 is mine…no matter how I wish it was.

This chapter is rated PG-13.


TWO

"They were found at the end of that tunnel. The others will no longer go through the tunnel as I have warned them against it. A great beast killed one of our children. You are on your own from this point, though I feel I must warn you that this beast cannot be defeated with weapons."

Daniel nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."

With this, SG-1 entered the tunnel and began walking towards its end.

"Be safe, child," Mother Hedley called after Vala.

Vala smiled and nodded. "I will, Mother."

The deeper they walked, the better lit the path became. The walls glistened brightly, the forming diamond-like gems protruding from the sides slightly.

"I wouldn't," Vala warned as Mitchell reached out to run his fingers over the glistening walls. "It'll make the entities aware of us and we'll be plunged into total darkness."

Daniel grinned. "From experience?"

Vala nodded. "Yes."

Suddenly, Vala heard the sound of hurried footsteps moving away from them. "Hello," she called. "Is there anyone…?"

"Don't," Daniel hissed. "We don't want to attract any attention."

"Take it easy, Jackson."

"I'll take it easy when we're out of here," he muttered, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as he sneezed rather loudly. The others jumped. "Just my allergies." He sneezed again. "Sorry, Sam." She shook her head, grinning and reached into her pocket pulling out a handkerchief, offering it to him. "T'anks."

"Good to go, Jackson?" Cam asked. Daniel nodded, pocketing the handkerchief. "Good. Let's keep moving."

"What are allergies?" Vala asked as she and Daniel moved along behind the others.

"A reaction to a stimulus or stimuli that causes sneezing in its milder form," he replied.

Vala smirked. "Am I one of those stimuli?" she teased.

Daniel grinned wryly. "Sometimes I wonder…"

At last, they reached the end of the tunnel only to find that it branched off in two separate directions.

"What now?" Vala asked.

Cam's brow furrowed in thought. "Jackson, why don't you and your girlfriend take the left tunnel while Sam, Teal'c, and I take the right tunnel? We'll meet back here in an hour."

"She's not my girlfriend," he shouted in annoyance after Cam. He sighed as he and Vala took the left path.

"Why does it seem like they're always trying to get away from us?" Vala asked.

He looked at her, smiling wryly. "Maybe because we're always arguing."

"Not always."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "When don't we?"

Vala smirked. "When we're…"

He glared at her. "Don't go there."

Vala pouted. "Whyever not? It's just us. There's no one else around to hear."

He grimaced. "Just…don't, okay?" 'How old are you again?'

She smirked. "Aww. Do I embarrass you, Daniel?"

He didn't reply.

She paused. "Are you still mad at me for not telling you about Namir?"

"Who?"

She snorted. "Don't give me that. I know you better than anyone, Daniel. You were jealous."

He stared at the cave wall as they walked, his expression neutral. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She glared at him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play games with me. I don't like being manipulated."

"Well, that's news to me," he said sarcastically.

She frowned and shook her head. "Have you always been this sarcastic and rude?"

Again, he said nothing. They came to the end of the tunnel to find themselves in a large, high-ceilinged room, in the center of which was what appeared to be a control panel of sorts.

Vala's eyes glinted with curiosity. "Hmm. I wonder what this is."

He glared at her warningly. "Don't touch it."

Vala laughed. "I had no intention of it, darling. Draz, you're so uptight."

Daniel moved forward, examining it. "This is Ancient."

She looked over his shoulder as he stared at the text. "What does it say?"

He frowned. "I don't know."

"You don't have the slightest clue?" she prodded.

He rolled his eyes. "I'd have to read it first."

"Then read on," she urged.

He glared at her before going back to work on translating the scripture on the stone. His brow furrowed. "It mentions the Ori."

Vala grinned excitedly. "Does it talk about a weakness of some sort?"

He shook his head. "It talks about the Ancients before they ascended. 'A powerful race, the Ori, came showing the true path to ascension. They were welcomed with open arms. But they had deceived us. Our world was conquered and our people enslaved. We were oppressed for many generations before at last we broke free. We allied with three other races, the Nox, the Furlings, and the Asgard; we warred for many years. An Ori plague fell over our world and the only escape was death. We studied and discovered much, at last finding an alternate path. With our new-found knowledge, we at last defeated the Ori."

Vala paused. "That's it?"

Daniel frowned. "The rest of it has been eroded, possibly by time."

"So then we came all this way for nothing," she pouted.

"What'd you find there, Jackson?" Cam asked.

They turned to see Teal'c, Sam and Cam standing at the entrance to the tunnel.

"Nothing helpful," Vala replied.

"I'd hazard to guess it's some kind of collective text."

"There appears to be writings on the walls, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

Daniel looked up and moved toward where Teal'c stood running his fingers lightly over the etchings. Daniel moved toward the wall, staring at the markings.

"What is it, Daniel?" Sam asked, noting him studying the writings intensely.

Vala frowned slightly and moved to stand next to him. "More Ancient?"

He nodded. "Sam, do you have the camera? I'll need to take images of this back to the SGC to analyze."

Sam produced the camera and handed it to him. He snapped pictures of the writings and then noted in his journal of where the writings and control panel were located.

Vala moved forward, gazing at the symbols. "Do you think the wall writings will contain some kind of key?"

Daniel nodded. "As a matter of fact, Vala, I think they will."

Suddenly, there were another set of echoing footsteps. "We should get out of here before whatever that is finds us," Vala observed.

The others nodded and moved toward the entrance to the cave.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Halfway through the main tunnel, they discovered they were the victims of a cave-in.

Daniel frowned. "There has to be some way out of here."

A loud, faraway roar caught their attention and Daniel frowned, returning his attention to creating a gap in the rocks. He grunted in frustration as his continued efforts failed. He sighed and backed away, brushing the dirt from his BDU's.

Cam raised his zat gun, aiming at the pile of rocks. "All right, stand back."

Teal'c put his hand on Cam's arm, stopping him. "I believe that would be most unwise Colonel Mitchell."

Cam frowned. "Why?"

"Teal'c's right," Sam agreed. "It could cause the entire tunnel to collapse."

"What do you suggest?" Cam asked, exasperated.

Daniel sighed. "I guess we try moving the rocks one at a time."

Vala rolled her eyes. "That'll take hours. As long as he aims for the stones nearest the ground, it shouldn't collapse the tunnel. All we need to do is create an opening large enough for someone small to fit through."

"She's right," Carter said, kneeling on the floor, examining the stones for a weak point. "If you aim right here, it should create a hole just big enough for someone about Vala's size to fit through."

Again, Cam raised his zat and the others stood back. He fired the weapon and a small opening was created. Vala grunted as she slipped through the little opening, her hips getting stuck for a moment.

"I've gained a little weight. I just had a baby after all," she said, frustrated, knowing that on the other side, Daniel was frowning.

At last, she managed to slip through, but not without bruising her hips.

"That's it. I'm going on a diet," she muttered. "Stand back," she said aloud.

"What are you doing?" Daniel called from the other side.

"Stand back and you'll see," she replied.

She pulled the device out of the knapsack at her waist and placed it on the rocks, setting it for twenty seconds. She moved back and covered her face. The device detonated and the rocks were turned to dust. To the surprise of the others, there was no large explosion.

"What was that?" Sam asked curiously.

"A bomb, obviously. A far less volatile version of your grenades. It simply disintegrates the object it is attached to."

Daniel glared at her. "You could have caused another cave in!"

Vala sighed. "I knew what I was doing, Daniel. You forget I called this planet home once. I explored these caves so many times that I developed devices for emergencies just like this."

"Why couldn't you have used the device while we were trapped behind the rock?" Sam asked curiously.

Vala shook her head."It won't work as effectively if you use it behind the rock. That would have caused another cave in."

Vala offered one of the devices for Sam to look at and she nodded. "This is really impressive. What materials did you use to make this?"

"A pinch of potassium nitrate, some wires and a plasticid casing made from a special plastic I picked up in trade."

Daniel took the device Sam handed him. "This is brilliant."

Vala grinned. "I've been known to get clever ideas from time to time."

There was a moment of silence. "Let's get back to the SGC so I can study these writings," Daniel said.


TBC…