Chapter Four

"Uh, Daniel. Are you busy?" Vala asked from the doorway to his office.

"Apart from trying to catalogue these artefacts from P6X878, you mean," he sighed with tiredness not irritation. He was glad to see her: she'd not been around much today and he'd been starting to wonder if she was hiding from him. "No, I'm not busy. How can I help?"

"Oh, good. I've had an idea and I wanted to try it out on you before I go to General Landry with it," Vala informed him, coming into the room and stopping at the end of the raised desk.

"An idea you've got to try out on me first. Sounds ominous," Daniel said with a raised eyebrow. He noted the barrier between them and wondered why Vala was keeping her distance.

"No, it's a great idea. It's just Landry might not think it's worth our while but I'm sure it will be."

Daniel was intrigued. "All right, Vala. I'll bite. What's the idea?"

Vala came a few steps closer and explained, "Well, it just occurred to me that, in all the time that's passed since the Tok'ra…rescued me…I've never been back to Qetesh's most secret base and it might-"

Daniel interrupted her: "-It might what Vala? Might be an absurdly stupid idea! You want to go deep into what is now Ba'al's territory for what?...Why are you even considering something so dangerous?"

He knew he sounded harsher than he meant to but he was anxious. What was going on with Vala and why wouldn't she talk to him about it? Vala stepped close enough to touch his arm.

"Hear me out, Daniel. Please?"

Daniel sighed but grasped her hand so she couldn't move away and said, "All right. What's there?"

Vala's stance softened and she leaned a little nearer. "Qetesh had lots of goodies hidden away that might be of use to us in dealing with Ba'al…or whatever bad guys turn up now the Ori are gone."

"When you say goodies…this isn't going to turn out to be a treasure hunt, is it? I thought you'd gotten past wanting to go on those."

"I just want to help make Earth a safe place, Daniel." She looked at him sadly. "Don't you think it's time you trusted fully that I've changed?"

Daniel was stung by her words. "I do trust you, Vala," he affirmed. "I thought you knew that…Okay, what's so important, you want to look up Qetesh's old base?"

"Well, at the very least, there should be lots of zats and staff weapons, which are always useful but I'm hoping Qetesh's last acquisition will be there as well."

"And what might that be?"

"A way to detect cloaked Goa'uld ships. We'd be able to track down Ba'al and any clones that are still around more easily. It would give us an advantage over anyone using old Goa'uld ships as their preferred method of transport."

Daniel straightened up and nodded at her. "Okay…that does sound interesting," he admitted. "So we gate there and then what?"

Vala wrinkled her nose. "Uh, actually, we can't gate there."

"There's no Gate?" Daniel almost squawked at her.

"Well, there is a Gate but Qetesh had an impenetrable barrier not unlike the one we have here at the SGC…and I've tried but…I can't remember the way to deactivate it. You'd think with all the memories that keep resurfacing, whether I want them to or not, it wouldn't be so hard to remember something useful."

Daniel noted the comment about memories resurfacing but decided not to press for more information yet. "Maybe you're trying too hard...Anyway, you know how lazy the majority of the Goa'uld were. Qetesh probably left her security to her First Prime. She might not even have known the code."

"True."

"So…how were you thinking we'd get there?"

"I thought we'd gate somewhere close by, maybe Trenellin, and borrow a ship," Vala avoided his eye as she said the name of the planet.

Daniel didn't miss the fact that it was Trenellin that she had dialled up in her sleep. What was going on in that brain of hers and who or what was waiting on Trenellin? Daniel felt a flash of jealousy: he hoped it wasn't an old boyfriend.

Vala was still talking: "Then I thought you and I could sneak across Ba'al's territory somewhere near the base and have a nose around. See what we can find."

"And there's the forty million dollar question: what are we likely to run into? Our old friend Ba'al might be guarding the place, given how his territorial ambitions expanded."

"No, I don't think so, Daniel. Ba'al's stretched pretty thin these days and only Qetesh's personal guard knew where the base was. Most if not all of them were killed when Qetesh was captured…Nobody knows about the place. There shouldn't be anyone there."

"Okay…I admit it sounds promising…maybe worth our while…But…Vala, are you sure you want to go back there. Won't it…upset you? Remind you even more of what you went through. Is that a good idea?"

Vala surprised him by suddenly kissing him quickly. "Thanks for the concern, Daniel, but I'll be fine. You never know, maybe it will even help me get…what does Carolyn call it? Closure?"

Daniel wondered if that was actually the main reason she wanted to go back to Qetesh's base but doubted she'd admit it. Vala stepped away from him and started walking towards the door.

"Anyway, I think I'll go and see General Landry now. If you think it's an okay plan, I'm sure he'll approve it."

Only mildly annoyed, Daniel called after her, "Wait a minute, Vala. I never said I thought it was an okay plan! Vala! Vala!"

He stared at the doorway as if she might reappear, even though he knew she wouldn't. Although it might be a bit dangerous, he almost hoped Landry would say yes. If he was reading Vala right, she wanted to go because she thought it might help her put Qetesh behind her. If it would help her, he'd support her plan as long as he could be there and help her through whatever emotions got stirred up as a result.

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

Vala and Daniel walked down the steps from the Trenellin Stargate onto the muddy path that led away to a small dump of a town that looked like it had been cobbled together from bits of ships, broken stones and odds and ends. As they walked, Daniel said, "I still can't believe Landry said yes to us going on this little trip. Just when did you get so good at wrapping everyone round your little finger!"

Vala looked confused. "I didn't touch him with my finger or any other body part."

"No, I meant…never mind."

"Yes, well, the good General knew it was an excellent plan," Vala bragged. "Little effort for maximum gain."

Daniel said, "I hope you're right about that." He shifted the backpack on his shoulder into a more comfortable position and asked, "So tell me again why did we decide to only bring one backpack and how come I'm carrying it?"

Vala offered him a cheeky grin. "Because you're a gentleman?" she suggested.

"Oh yes, that's right, I forgot, I'm a gentleman…More fool me," Daniel said. "Just how many hair baubles did you pack and why do they weigh so much?"

"How many books did you pack and surely they weigh more?" Vala countered.

Daniel smiled. "Fair point. I'll quit complaining.

"I wish you would!"

They came to a crossroads and Vala pointed left. "If we walk this way towards the market, we should find Mykah's import/export business."

Daniel glanced sideways at Vala. "Yes, this old friend…? Who is he exactly? When you say import/export…he's obviously a smuggler…Someone you worked with in the good old days? But just a friend, right?"

"Why? Are you jealous, Dr Jackson?" Vala teased.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I just want to know if I need a gun handy! Your track record with old friends isn't that good."

Vala stuck her tongue out at him but she could see, underneath the humour, he was feeling insecure. She stuck her arm through his. "He was just a friend, Daniel. You don't need to worry."

Daniel protested. "I'm not worried…So he's a friend? Not someone you worked with?"

Vala shook her head and said quietly. "He and his family looked after me."

"Looked after you when?"

Vala looked at the road ahead as if she had spotted something valuable and wasn't going to lose sight of it. "After the Tok'ra rid me of Qetesh… After I tried to return to my home planet and found I no longer had a home…they took me in and looked after me."

"Oh." Daniel squeezed her arm.

"They were kind to me…Gave me a fresh start as a…an independent cargo carrier…what else was I going to do? There aren't exactly many occupations out there for ex-Goa'uld hosts."

As they rounded a corner and headed out into the busy marketplace, Vala said, "Here we are. He should be around here somewhere."

Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud voice bellowing: "Vala Mal Doran!"

Daniel turned towards the source of the sound and blinked. "Oh boy! I hope that's not someone you've annoyed or cheated in the past: that guy's got muscles on his muscles! Do I need to get my gun out?"

"No silly! That's Mykah…Mykah! So good to see you, you old rogue!" She pulled away from Daniel and jogged towards the mountain of a man who had called her name.

"Come here, girl." The tall man pulled Vala into an embrace that lifted her off the ground. Then he put her down with surprising gentleness and held her away from him. "Let me look at you. You look well. These Tau'ri are treating you all right then."

Vala smiled at him. "Yes, they've been good to me." She suddenly remembered Daniel, who had joined them and was waiting to be introduced. "Uh…This is my…my friend, Daniel." Friend? It was silly but she didn't know what she was supposed to call Daniel. She'd have to ask him when they got back home.

Daniel held out a hand to Mykah and was somewhat startled to find himself being hugged. It was like being crushed by a mountain. "Uh, hi. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise, young man. Come with me and I'll show you the ship I have ready for you. She's small but she's fast and she'll get you where you want to go." He started walking towards a line of buildings at the far edge of the town.

Vala grinned at the huge man and said, "That's great. I knew I could count on you, Mykah. We'll get her back to you as soon as we can."

"You're heading straight out then?" Mykah asked with obvious regret. "Pameena will be sorry you don't have time for a visit."

Daniel looked at Vala. "Pameena?

Vala answered with a soft smile: "Mykah's wife…and the person largely responsible for saving my sanity. Without her, I would have…Well, I don't know what I would have done."

Mykah looked embarrassed on his wife's behalf. "Ah, she just mothered you, girl. No big deal."

Vala patted his arm. "Well, it was to me. Give her a big hug from me and tell her I promise to visit soon."

"I will," Mykah promised her. "Maybe you could look in on your way back? Now, tell me, Vala, where is it you're going exactly and why are you borrowing a vessel from me? I take it wherever you're going requires the type of vessel that can slip in and out of places without being seen."

Vala answered the question reluctantly: "Well, we're going to the Qatana system. We're going to see if there's anything useful left at Qetesh's old base."

Mykah stopped dead in his tracks. "What! Why on earth…? Vala, girl, what are you thinking? That's madness."

"Oh pish! It's a sure fire thing the place is abandoned."

"Sure fire trouble!" Mykah argued back.

Daniel interrupted: "Who holds the Qatana system now? Is the base still in use? Heavily guarded?"

Mykah shook his head. "I don't know anything for sure. We all heard the old rumours that Qetesh had a base in the Qatana system but no-one knew exactly where it was. Anyway, in our line of work, it's always best to avoid looking for trouble. Ba'al expanded his territory a long way…he might have found it. Does it matter?…I'm more concerned about what you're going to put yourself through, girl."

Vala shrugged her shoulders, affecting an unconcerned air. "I'll be fine, Mykah. Qetesh is behind me. She's got no hold over me now."

The three of them arrived at what was obviously some sort of hangar. Wide doors were open on both sides to allow ships to fly in and out. At the moment, there was little activity going on. Mykah led the way inside and gestured to a small sleek looking silver ship in the shape of an arrow.

Vala practically salivated when she saw it. "Is that the ship?"

"Yes, I call her the Dart."

"She's beautiful." Vala stalked off to get a closer look.

Mykah grabbed Daniel's arm and said quietly, "Daniel?...You're her friend?"

"Uh, yes. I am."

"Then I want to ask you to do something for me. Look out for her. Make sure she doesn't get herself into trouble."

Daniel grimaced at the man towering over him. "That's easier said than done…but I get the feeling you already know that!"

Mykah laughed. "Too true. She has an amazing ability to attract trouble…but she's not as fearless as she pretends…and if you'd seen what was left of her when Qetesh was removed…well, it took her a long time to get anywhere near being a normal person. She was a mess. Pameena did her best but there's a lot about being a host that Vala's just shut away, out of mind…one day it might just force its way out."

Daniel nodded. He decided to confide in Mykah and said quietly, "I know…Something happened recently that seems to have brought back the nightmares she used to have…I was worried this trip might be a bad idea but…you know Vala, it's tough to talk her out of something once she's made up her mind."

Mykah nodded. "That's true enough. You'll look out for her though?"

"Always…and thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there when she had no-one else. I'm glad she wasn't totally alone," Daniel said and really meant it.

Mykah shuffled his feet uncomfortably at Daniel's gratitude but was saved from answering by the sound of the Dart powering up. Suddenly, Vala's head stuck out of the door and she shouted, "She's all ready to go, Daniel. You coming?"

Daniel nodded again to the big man beside him then jogged over to join Vala, who shouted past him to her friend: "Thanks Mykah. We'll bring her back to you in one piece."

Mykah waved at her. "You'd better!...Be careful."

Vala shouted back: "When am I anything else? See you!"

She flashed him a grin then slammed the door shut. Mykah watched the Dart rise a few feet, hover and then zip out of the hangar doors. He hoped Vala knew what she was doing and he hoped he'd see her again soon, all in one piece.