The trees rustled in the gentle breeze, their shaking leaves causing bursts of sunshine to break through the leafy canopy above the heads of SG-1. The team hiked through the primeval woods in a single file, saying little as they went. Teal'c headed up the column, his massive hands gripping two P-90s with ease. The rest followed behind, each about five feet apart, carrying their rifles at the ready. All looked about apprehensively, not sure what to expect. In spite of the shared sense of tension, however, no sound could be heard throughout the wooded land; no indication there was anyone else for miles around.
"So what do you know about this hatchery?" Mitchell asked Teal'c, breaking the silence.
Turning to glance behind him, the Jaffa answered, "I am aware of the general layout of the buildings and know a few details such as the access codes."
"How did you even get that much info?" Mitchell asked, "Did Hak'tan fill you in while we were all sleeping?"
"In as far as the access codes, I did learn them from Hak'tan on the journey over. As far as the rest of it, I had already been aware of the buildings, as I was a part of the group charged with creating these facilities. I had seen the plans many times during the months of their creation." Cam found no need to reply to this, and the team continued on in silence for the rest of their walk.
Within little over an hour, the team reached the perimeter of the woods and found themselves looking at the large buildings that housed the Jaffa hatchery. Mitchell quietly called for them to stop, raising a clenched fist and crouching down in the last line of underbrush before they left the shelter of the forest. The rest of the team formed a line about him, crouching along either side. They all stayed still for several moments, listening quietly. It was several hundred yards from the line of trees until the first building, and each building had several tall towers on it with what were clearly designed to be lookout posts. The compound, however, was deathly silent and motionless.
"It doesn't look like anyone's home," Daniel said in a hushed voice, regarding the imposing buildings warily in spite of his words.
"First impressions can be deceiving, darling," Vala answered quietly, glancing at him next to her. "I'd thought you would have learned that by now," she added playfully, winking at him. Daniel glanced back at her with a smile as the two shared a lingering gaze.
"Fruitcake," he replied playfully, winking back at her. She smiled from ear to ear at this, her eyes filled with laughter as she stared back at him. Both of them chuckled softly at the inside joke before they looked back at the compound.
Mitchell and Sam watched the exchange then looked at each other with weary expressions. "I think I liked it better when they were fighting," Cam muttered quietly, to which Sam could only grin. They both then looked back at the buildings. Mitchell sighed as he reached for his radio and released its head-set and accompanying cord, wrapping it into place and setting it in his ear. The rest did likewise, though Daniel had to help Vala with hers. Mitchell switched his radio to VOX, telling the rest to do the same before he asked into his microphone, "Can you hear me Hak'tan? We've arrived at the facility."
After a moment, they all heard Hak'tan's answer in their ear-buds. "I understand. I am ready in case you need me, I can be there within two minutes."
Mitchell answered, "I copy that. Stand by; we'll call for you if we run into too much heat." Pausing again, he turned to his left, "Alright, what've we got here, Teal'c?"
The Jaffa answered quietly, "The building directly in front of us is where we house the Goa'uld queens. To the right of it is where we house the storage tanks for incubating the Goa'uld young before they are ready for implantation. To the left is a building for housing and facilities for packaging when the Prim'tas are ready for shipment to the Jaffa that will receive them."
Mitchell nodded, "Well, unless you think there's a better way for us to go in, we may as well start here." He looked past Carter to Teal'c as he asked the question. The Jaffa thought for a moment and glanced back to the Colonel, nodding.
Looking forward again, Cam paused as he gathered his thoughts. "What do you think, Sam? I figure its maybe about two hundred yards until we reach that part of the wall with that door?" As he spoke, he reached into his vest pocket and produced a small cylinder. Holding it up to his eye, he looked upwards towards the watch towers, checking one after the other.
Sam nodded, looking where Cam had been before he started checking the towers. "Yeah, I'd say it's about that. It's risky with those towers, but I don't know that we have a whole lot of choice. The only other thing we could do is wait until dark, and in the meanwhile we might have to dodge patrols, if there are any."
"Yeah, I don't see a lot of options," Cam frowned, pulling the small telescope away from his eye. "I don't see any sign they're occupied, but it's hard to say for sure" he muttered, not liking the situation already. He had a bad feeling about it, but knew they were only wasting daylight by lingering at this point. After another pause, he said, "Alright, let's go." With that he stood and started to dash across the open space towards the building. The other four followed suit, running as fast as they could until they reached the nearest wall. They assembled at the wall in a line, all breathing a little hard, except for Teal'c. They moved quietly along until Mitchell reached the door, which he then moved to the other side of, glancing across at the large Jaffa. "So you said you know the code?" he asked Teal'c, motioning to the console on the side of the door he just left.
The Jaffa liberated one of his hands from a P-90 and reached for the keys, answering, "Indeed. Unless it has been changed, I should be able to gain us access." He then proceeded to punch in a combination.
"Good, I was hoping we wouldn't have to blow the door," Cam replied, looking behind him down the rest of the length of wall. As he did, he suddenly noticed more towers along the perimeter of the trees, which looked like they had fixed gun turrets. He recognized the typical heavy blasters used by Jaffa in such installments. As far as he could tell, none were manned at the moment. "Turrets!" he whispered loudly down the line, pointing in the general direction of the ones he saw. The rest of the team looked while Teal'c operated the keypad, all looking more worried than before.
After Teal'c keyed in the last button, the door slid into the wall on Cam's side. He immediately pointed his P-90 through the door, turning on its flashlight as he looked about the darkened room. Teal'c already had his second weapon in hand again, and quickly rushed through the door in a crouch as Mitchell searched the room. Sam immediately moved to the other edge of the door, sweeping the other side of the room with the light from her P-90. The three were greeted by an empty room, with two other doors on two adjoining walls. "Clear," Cam and Sam said together, entering the room behind Teal'c. Daniel and Vala followed behind quickly. Teal'c punched a key combo on the inside wall and the door shut behind them.
Except for the six beams of light issuing forth from their weapons, the room was suddenly completely dark with the closing of the door. "Is there a light switch in here or something?" Vala asked as they looked about.
"It would seem there is no power," Teal'c answered.
"So why do the doors work?" she replied with a slight tone of frustration.
"The doors each have their own power source so that in the case of a building-wide failure, no one will be trapped inside," Teal'c answered in a flat tone. If she didn't know better, Vala would have thought she heard a hint of irritation in his answer.
"Alright then, which way?" Daniel asked, casting his light from one door to the next, seeing no signs or writing to indicate where either went.
Teal'c looked at the two doors, pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts before answering softly. "The door on the left leads to the facilities on the lower levels which are for preparing the queen mothers for a forced breeding cycle. The door on the right leads to a set of stairs to the upper floors where the queens are kept."
Cam looked from one door to the next. Turning to the group he said, "We'll go to the upper levels first. We can check on the damage there, the queen mothers are probably rather rare and are rather crucial to this little operation …?" he cast his light over to Teal'c at this, who nodded in response. Taking his light away again, he continued, "From there we can go up to the towers. If there's anyone still around here, they'll likely have positions in the towers. We can at least ascertain whether or not those spots are empty, maybe even deal with whomever we find up there."
After a moment of silence, Vala answered, "Makes sense."
"Okay big guy, get that door for us, will ya?" Mitchell moved to the door on the right with the rest of the team. The others illuminated the doorway with their lights as they all watched Teal'c enter the code. "Is it the same code throughout the base?"
"Indeed," Teal'c answered as he paused before pressing the last button. "The code I am using is the master that will open any door. Other codes were used to restrict various Jaffa to their sections and duties, but a code was also implemented to allow unrestricted access." He paused as he looked to Colonel Mitchell, who positioned himself on one side of the door while Sam took the other.
Cam drew in a deep breath before whispering, "Do it." At this, the Jaffa pressed the final button and the door slid open.
The stairwell was as dark as the room they were in. Not a single window existed to let any light in. Sam and Cameron pointed their P-90s through, the narrow cones of light cutting through the darkness as the two aimed their weapons this way and that, checking every dark corner of the room from the doorway.
"Clear," Mitchell and Sam said one after the other, at which Teal'c moved quickly into the space. His twin weapons cast their light before him, illuminating his way. He quickly pointed one up the stairway before them, but only empty stairs were revealed. Mitchell whispered into his headseat, "Daniel, Vala, take the stairs". The two then both darted into the small room, the strips of light from their weapons painting the way before them as they proceeded to run up to the first landing.
Daniel whispered, "Clear," into his microphone as he beamed his light up to the next landing while Vala took position on the other side, shining her light back down where they came from. Both Carter and Mitchell then ran into the well and up the stairs, with Teal'c following behind after he closed the door. Cam ran ahead with Carter behind, the two holding their P-90s ready as they crested the next landing. They saw a closed door with another keypad and more stairs going up. Mitchell shone his light about as he proceeded to the far end of the landing while Carter took up position at the top of the stairs.
"Clear," Sam called, echoed shortly thereafter by Cam. Teal'c followed behind with Vala and then Daniel bringing up the rear. The five congregated at the top of the stairs, all watching the flights up and down carefully with their weapons pointed at the ready. "Alright, what's through this door?" Cam asked Teal'c quietly, looking at the closed portal with caution as Daniel replaced him in watching the stairs above. Vala took up a position watching the stairs below while Sam kept her weapon pointed at the door, its flashlight illuminating its surface and the keypad next to it.
Teal'c paused for a moment, then answered just as softly, "I believe this leads to the area where we store the queens. There is likely a series of water tanks similar to the one that held Egeria on Pangera."
Mitchell replied with irritation, "Okay that reference means nothing to anyone here except for Sam." He sighed as he imagined the Jaffa perhaps raising an eyebrow in the darkness. "Well, that means this'll be our floor. What's up further, the guard towers for this building?"
Teal'c whispered, "Indeed. I believe that is what we will find above us."
Mitchell moved to one side of the door, casting his shadow upon it as he stepped into the light from Sam's weapon. He tapped Teal'c on the shoulder as he passed, pointing to the key panel. The Jaffa moved to use the controls. "Let's take this one by the numbers, people," Cam whispered into his headset. "I want everyone sharp for this."
"I don't know why you're so worried," Vala whispered bitterly in reply, "we're only walking into a dark room filled with live Goa'uld queens that would all probably love to trade up their current cramped accommodations for a nice, comfortable human host…"
"Enough!" Mitchell hissed into his microphone, casting his flashlight on Vala. Surprisingly enough she looked rather sheepish as the bright light shone on her.
"Sorry," she whispered even more quietly, her tone truly apologetic. Sam moved opposite Cam on the other side of the door, while Daniel took up position beside Cam, crouching down. Vala took the hint and did so do likewise, crouching beside Sam.
The door opened within moments and the dark room was suddenly filled with the four shafts of light shining in. As the four looked about, the beams from the flashlights on their weapons shone through numerous large tanks filled with water. For several tense moments, the four shone their flashlights this way and that, each looking from tank to tank in growing apprehension. "The tanks are all empty," Mitchell was the first to observe, his voice tight with tension, "they're all intact, and all of them have doors on top that are open."
"How is that possible?" Teal'c asked softly in shock, still on the other side of Cam and Daniel.
"I don't know, but I don't like it," Mitchell replied in a hushed whisper. He started to cast his light about the floor, the others quickly doing the same as they realized what he was looking for. "Anyone know how long a Goa'uld can live outside of water?"
"I have no idea," Sam answered quietly with a nervous voice, her heart racing as they all considered the room before them.
"Well, I vote we close the door and try the one downstairs." Vala answered a little too loud with a fear-laced voice. "I've already been a host once and I have no desire to be one again…"
"I'm half inclined to agree," Cam started, but suddenly a loud clatter was heard deep inside the room. "Shit!" he whispered sharply, shining his light where the noise came from. The rest did the same, but the room was too vast for their light to reach that far. All they could see were the several rows of tanks which obscured their view as the water absorbed and reflected most of the light from their weapons.
Daniel drew in a deep breath as he whispered regretfully, "I think we're committed now…" At this, Vala reached across and slapped him hard on the shoulder, to which he reacted with a self-muffled yelp of pain and a hurried reply, "Look, if the enemy is still here and that was one of them…"
"Jackson's right," Cam answered quickly in hushed tones, continuing sharply, "Let's go." He and Sam darted into the room, followed immediately by Teal'c who ran past Daniel and Vala while they continued to secure the doorway.
Daniel stood to go and took two steps before he realized Vala was not behind him. He stopped and turned back. In the light cast from his weapon, he saw seeing her frozen where she crouched, her face a portrait of complete fear, her eyes filled with terror. Vala looked up at him, able to see his face in the shadowy edges of her own light. She shook her head, swallowing hard. Leaning in, he held out his hand to her, staring into her eyes with a reassuring gaze. For the space of a couple of heartbeats she could only look up into his eyes, biting her lip, unable to move as fear gripped her heart. Clenching her teeth tensely, she then reached out and took his hand. He pulled her up, squeezing her hand tightly. Vala squeezed back, nodding for him to go ahead as she withdrew her hand so they could both hold their weapons properly. Daniel stared into her eyes one last moment and turned, running into the room. She didn't hesitate to follow directly behind him, afraid to let him out of her sight and become alone in this horrific place.
The two of them darted through the rows of tanks, following far behind the rest now. As she ran behind Daniel, it suddenly occurred to Vala that she was the last person in the formation. She had the sudden terrifying vision of being taken by a Goa'uld with no one realizing that it had even happened. With that thought, the darkness began to bear down around her as the light on the muzzle of her P-90 suddenly seemed small and insignificant, swallowed up in the vast field of pitch black filling her vision.
As they ran, the lights from her and Daniel's weapons occasionally shone into empty tanks of water, causing them to suddenly fill with light, catching her eye and causing her heart to leap in her chest as she again and again thought she saw movement inside. The only sounds that she could hear was the quiet burbling of the moving water in the tanks, the echoing footfalls of her and Daniel, and above all her own ragged breath and the pounding of her own heart in her ears. She felt cold sweat running down her neck and back as every shadow seemed to take the form of a snake that leapt out at her. It was all she could do to keep from screaming.
Suddenly the rows of tanks gave way to empty floor as she and Daniel emerged onto the far side of the room. She drew in a deep breath as they ran; exceedingly glad to be in an open space. It had felt like they had been running through that horrible place for hours, even though she knew it had been less than a minute.
The team regrouped as they saw a considerable length of empty floor until the far wall. Shining their lights through the empty space, they saw a doorway with a cluster of bodies piled before it. As their beams of light illuminated corpse after corpse, all were revealed to wear the traditional armor of Jaffa warriors. It was very clear that there had been a struggle at the doorway; these Jaffa had not given up without a fight. Mitchell started to move forward again, and the rest moved with him. The five approached cautiously, taking care not to make too much noise.
As they walked forward, Vala felt her heart still pounding away rapidly in her chest. Daniel was a step ahead of her, focused on what lay before them. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement in the darkness. Casting her light in that direction, she saw nothing more than a bare wall with a dangling, severed electrical wire that jumped as it sparked now and again. This was worse than being in the rows of tanks, she suddenly realized. In this huge open space, a Goa'uld would have lots of room to leap as it picked her as a host. Vala gripped her weapon more tightly as she wondered if a snake would find her to be a more preferential host because she had already been one before.
Something moved in the shadows on her other side, she turned and shone her light again, finding nothing but a cabinet door hanging on one hinge, swinging back and forth. When she turned back forward, she cried out as she saw someone standing in front of her. She covered her mouth as she recognized it was Daniel, realizing with a sickening horror how close she had come to pulling the trigger. The rest of the team had paused at the sound of her cry, pointing their lights back on the two of them. "What's wrong?" Daniel asked quietly, squinting in the light of her weapon and shielding his eyes with his hand.
Vala slightly lowered her rifle to get the light out of his eyes. She felt sick to her stomach and wondered if he realized how close she'd come to firing on him. Shaking her head, she said tensely, "Nothing, let's just finish this so we can get the hell out of here." Daniel nodded and turned, walking to catch up with the rest who had already started moving again. Hurrying to walk side-by-side with him, Vala allowed almost no space between them. Her pace not only kept with his, but pushed him to move faster. He glanced over at her. In the shadowy light from their weapons, he could see the intense emotions painted upon her face. He was deeply concerned but decided this was neither the time nor the place to speak of it.
As the team reached the doorway and the dead warriors, they saw no movement and heard no sound. "Looks like it was quite the fight," Mitchell whispered, shining his flashlight around the bodies sprawled out on the floor. Numerous staff-blast wounds could be seen on many bodies, and most were badly bruised and beaten, having received considerable physical abuse in the fight. He noticed one had his neck twisted far further than it should have gone, the head hanging unnaturally. Another Jaffa was nearly broken in two. Frowning, he found it painfully clear that these fellows had been badly outmatched by their foes, but he had a hard time imagining what could have caused this kind of damage. "I thought the noise came from over here, though…" he muttered as he and the rest looked about, their flashlights casting this way and that.
Shining his light on the thick, metal doors of the room, Cam found that they were badly damaged and literally torn open. He started to walk through the bodies as he investigated the doors more thoroughly, amazed at what he saw. There were no marks from energy weapons, but rather the solid metal looked like it had been pounded again and again by something very big and very powerful and then torn asunder. Standing in the midst of the pile of corpses, he looked from one door to the next and tried to imagine the battering ram or machine that the enemy must have used. He came up empty, however, as each misshapen dent in the door was different than the last. He would have expected more uniform marks than he was seeing here.
Suddenly Cam felt something grab his ankle. He yelled out in shock, his heart leaping out of his chest. The beams of light that were moving around the scene suddenly all converged on him as he jumped away, wrenching his foot free of the iron grip that had him. He started to stumble through the pile of bodies, the lifeless faces leering up at him as he lost his balance. He almost fell into them, but bumped into someone large and solid, and a heavy hand grabbed his shoulder. He almost yelled out again before he suddenly realized it was Teal'c. The large Jaffa pulled him up so he stood on his own feet, asking, "What happened, Colonel Mitchell?"
"Something grabbed my foot," he answered as he tried to catch his breath. The adrenaline coursed through his veins as he cast his light on the bodies before them.
"Are you sure?" Vala asked with a tense voice as she shone her light in the general vicinity of where he had yelled out.
"Positive," Mitchell replied.
"Something's moving!" Daniel called out, tightening his grip on his P-90. The rest focused their lights on where Daniel's was, and sure enough there was a hand beneath the bodies that was twitching and flailing about slightly. The hand was on the end of an arm that was dressed in Jaffa armor. Teal'c stepped forward and grabbed the first body, heaving it off the pile. As he moved the second one, they saw the arm was connected to a Jaffa with a staff blast that had hit half of his symbiote pouch. Aside from a few bruises, he seemed to have no other injuries. Teal'c crouched down and gently sat the warrior up halfway, resting his head gently in the crook of his arm. The man's face was pale as he struggled for breath, obviously in great pain. Teal'c spoke quietly to him, "Rest easy, brother, you are with friends."
Her fear momentarily forgotten, Vala immediately moved forward with her hand device ready, stepping through the bodies and coming to crouch along side of the warrior. She wordlessly held the device over his stomach, and scarlet light washed over the horrific wound. The Jaffa began to cry out in pain, causing the rest of the team to look about in a slight panic, worried at what he might draw down upon them. The wound proceeded to close up, but Vala kept using the device after the wound was healed. It became clear that Vala was having a difficult time, enough so that Daniel stepped up behind her and asked gently, "What's wrong?"
She shook her head, finding it difficult to speak while she used the device. "The dead symbiote…poison…" She winced a little but then clenched her jaw with a new determination, moving the device away from the now healed wound towards his chest and head. The Jaffa cried out all the more, his body convulsing with pain. Finally his whole body clenched for several moments and then completely relaxed though he began to breathe in uneven gasps as the light from the device faded. As it did, Vala's arms dropped and she started to collapse, but was quickly caught up in Daniel's arms. He pulled her up, holding her to him as she went almost limp for a moment. Starting to recover, she found her own footing though she lingered in his arms, readily wrapping an arm about his waist.
"Teal'c, he needs Tretonin," she said weakly. The Jaffa nodded and reached into one of his pouches, producing the small vial. As he injected a shot of the serum into the other, Vala wordlessly rested her head on Daniel's shoulder, leaning against him quietly as they all watched the two Jaffa.
Upon the injection of Tretonin, the rise and fall of his chest almost immediately assumed a more rhythmic motion. After a short while he started to stir, managing to open his eyes. The man winced at the circle of bright lights shining down at him. He shielded his eyes as he struggled to sit up completely. Teal'c helped him, watching with a concerned expression. "What is your name, Jaffa?" he asked the other quietly.
The Jaffa looked about the floor bathed in the cluster of light beams, trying to get his bearings. He frowned as he saw the bodies surrounding them and then looked at the other Jaffa sitting with him, his expression turning to one of recognition. "You are Teal'c," he said simply with a surprised voice.
"Indeed," he responded, nodding at the other. "What is your name?" he repeated gently, asking further, "What happened here?"
The other blinked for a few more moments, looking around as he continued to regain his wits. Looking back at Teal'c he answered, "I am Rak'nel," he paused before continuing, "We were attacked by a great many foes. There was no warning. They swarmed out of the forest and quickly forced their way into each building, killing Jaffa as they went." He paused, trying to stand. Teal'c helped pull him to his feet and half dragged, half supported him as they moved past the corpses out into the hallway, the rest of SG-1 following behind. After they had traveled down the hall several feet, Teal'c eased Rak'nel down so he could sit with his back against the wall.
As the rest followed behind, Daniel continued to support Vala, helping her find her way through the pile of bodies. After they had all entered into the hallway, Mitchell came up to them and said, "Daniel, I want you and Sam to go down the corridor a ways and make sure there're no surprises waiting for us."
The archaeologist hesitated as he continued to help Vala stay on her feet, looking at Cam incredulously in the shadows of the lights from their weapons. Sensing the brewing conflict, Vala took matters into her own hands and pulled away from Daniel, though her hand found his in the darkness. "It's alright, Daniel." He looked away from Mitchell to her, his expression turning to one of concern. He opened his mouth to argue, but she pressed a finger of her other hand against his lips. "I'm doing much better," she said, anticipating his protests. "Really, it's okay." She squeezed his hand in hers, smiling warmly at him. His expression clearly showed that he was unconvinced, but he didn't argue with her. Instead, he squeezed her hand back and reluctantly pulled away, casting a parting glare at Mitchell as he walked over to where Sam was waiting for him. The two walked down the hallway, the cones of light cast from their P-90s growing smaller as they went, finally disappearing around a corner.
Suddenly finding it necessary to lean against the wall as she watched them go, Vala turned to look at Mitchell in the shadowy edges of the lights from their weapons. She wrapped her hand about her microphone, asking in a bitter tone, "Was that really necessary?"
Covering his own microphone, he answered flatly, "Actually, yes it was." His voice was unapologetic as he spoke. "We don't know what's down that corridor, and we're obviously going to have to wait a few minutes for you and Rak'nel to regain your strength."
"So why didn't you go with Sam instead of making Daniel?" she asked further, her tone just as acid as before.
"Because," he said in a weary voice, "I need everyone sharp, both here where we have people hurting, and down the hallway where we're scouting. If I went with Sam and left Daniel with you, he'd be too focused on your welfare and wouldn't be paying attention to what was going on around him."
Vala opened her mouth to reply but found she couldn't think of anything to say to that. To her own surprise she realized that he was absolutely correct. After waiting in silence for a few moments, Mitchell pulled his hand away from his microphone. Vala started to do the same but hesitated, keeping her mike covered. Cam watched her in tense anticipation, expecting further argument. Instead, she said quietly, "I'm sorry." He blinked in his surprise. Vala continued with a contrite tone, "You're right, that's exactly what would have happened." She then removed her hand from her microphone and closed her eyes to rest as he continued to regard her in stunned silence.
The four then waited for several minutes, with Mitchell constantly checking his watch. After he'd timed two minutes, he whispered into his headset, "Sam, Daniel, please respond. Have you found anything?"
Vala bit her lip for the several seconds of silence that followed, breathing a sigh of relief when they heard Sam in their ear-pieces, "That's a negative, Cam. The length of the hallway is clear. There are several rooms along here, but none have anyone inside. The hallway ends with a room containing another fight of stairs going down. We had only just reached the door when you called but we could see another pile of bodies. It looks like the Jaffa were trying to keep the invaders from entering this floor, but they were just as overwhelmed as the group we already found. We didn't have a chance to step inside. Did you want us to go back and investigate?"
Cam replied into his mike, "Negative Sam, you and Daniel bring it back. We'll investigate that room as a group, it's very unlikely we're going to find another survivor. There's either nothing there or a nasty surprise, and I don't want to send just the two of you in if it's the latter."
"Copy that, Cam, we're on our way," she answered. Silence followed, lasting until they saw the beams of lights reappear around the corner that had swallowed them up the first time. The two walked back over to the group, Sam walking up to Mitchell. "The fight looked like it was pretty nasty. There are a few windows, however, so there's light in the room."
"That's good to hear," Mitchell commented, "It'll be good to see some daylight after all this. Do you have any idea on how long until sunset?"
Thinking about it for a minute, Sam answered, "I figure it'll be probably four more hours or so." Cam nodded wordlessly at this, thinking for a moment while they waited for Vala and Rak'nel to regain their strength.
As Sam and Mitchell spoke, Daniel had walked over to Vala. She smiled wordlessly at him while continuing to lean against the wall. Her face still had a weary look, though not nearly as much as before. Daniel smiled back as he wrapped an arm about her, gently trying to pulling her to him. She didn't protest, but rather sighed happily as she melted against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Daniel briefly considered her in silence. He then leaned his head near hers and whispered softly, "How're you doing?"
"Better," she replied just as quietly, lifting her head slightly to look at him with a slight smile.
"You had me worried back there. I've never seen you afraid like that," he continued.
She looked into his eyes briefly. Nodding, she closed her eyes and leaned in closer, whispering even more softly, "You have no idea what it's like to be a host, Daniel…" Her voice trailed off at this and she snuggled up against him, drawing in a deep trembling breath, saying nothing more. Daniel hugged her to him, kissing her forehead softly.
After several more minutes, Mitchell figured that Rak'nel was looking much better. It appeared that the time they had waited allowed the Tretonin to make a much greater effect. "Are you ready to tell us more about what happened now?" Mitchell asked the Jaffa.
Looking up and nodding, Rak'nel answered, "Yes. The enemy was exceedingly strong in number, and tore through our defenses with relative ease. I was part of the guard that was protecting the queens, as you have likely already surmised. We expected those doors to hold them for much longer than they did, but they were able to penetrate them as you see there." He paused as he glanced to the mangled doors just a short walk away from them. After collecting his thoughts again, he continued. "As soon as there was a breach between the two doors, I was struck by the staff blast, leaving the wound that you healed. It had seriously wounded both me and my symbiote. Within moments more bodies fell over top of upon me and shortly after that, all sounds of fighting ended."
He paused again as he struggled with the intense memories. "I faded in and out of consciousness several times as my dying symbiote tried to heal both of us, but to little avail as it turned out. I heard a considerable commotion each time I awoke. It was clear the fighting was over, but something else was happening. At first I thought that perhaps we had won the fight, but when no one came looking for me in the pile of bodies, I knew it was the enemy. They were very busy for some time, but what they were doing, I do not know."
Looking to Teal'c in the shadows from the half-dozen beams of light, Mitchell answered, "I think we know. The tanks that held your Goa'uld queens are empty. The tanks are undamaged, but what they held are gone."
Blinking in disbelief, Rak'nel answered, "You think they were taken by our foe?"
Teal'c nodded, "Indeed, it seems most likely. The doors on top of each tank were opened, but without any application of force. I am sure that before you and your fellows entered the battle, you had left the tanks closed and sealed."
Rak'nel nodded, his brow still furrowed as he tried to absorb the news. "Of course, but how could they have opened them? Only the four Dis'tras knew the codes for those vessels."
"That doesn't mean anything," Vala answered disdainfully. Everyone looked to her and Daniel as she spoke. She was standing on her own now, though she hadn't pulled away from him in the slightest. Sam and Mitchell couldn't help but consider how he hadn't pushed her away, either. "I've always found that every security measure has a weakness allowing it to be beaten. It's really just a matter of finding that failing and exploiting it," she continued, shrugging nonchalantly as if what she said was trivial and obvious.
Rak'nel shook his head. "That is not possible. These tanks were designed to be the most secure in the galaxy."
Chuckling softly, Vala replied with a sneer, "I'm sure they were."
At this, both Rak'nel and Teal'c bristled at her words. Mitchell stepped in before any of them could say anything further, "Look, it doesn't matter how they did it, the simple fact is that the tanks are open, the Goa'uld queens are gone, and it's exceedingly unlikely that it was due to do anything other than the attack on this facility. How isn't really important, the big question is why."
He paused, looking back and forth between the three. Seeing no one arguing his point, he continued, "Why would anyone want to steal Goa'uld queens? If they were simply interested in destroying your ability to supply infant Goa'uld to your people, it would have been far easier to simply bomb this facility to the ground. It's obvious that these guys were able to bring considerable force to bear. If they were able to bring in a veritable invasion force, it's very likely that they could bring in some heavy, space-borne weapons platforms as well." Pausing, he added, "Hell, since these guys use Ha'tak vessels, it's possible even probable that they had brought their troops in a few Al'kesh. Isn't that the typical troop transport you guys use, Teal'c?"
The large Jaffa nodded slowly as he considered Mitchell's words. "Indeed," he said simply, looking very thoughtful.
After a short spell of silence, Vala piped up. "Well, we're certainly not going to figure out the answer to all those questions by just standing around here in the dark." The rest started to look to each other at her words. She glanced over to the other Jaffa and spoke in a sincere voice, "I'm ready to keep going if you are, Rak'nel."
The Jaffa stared at her with a hard look for a few moments, but then silently nodded, standing of his own volition. Vala stood away from Daniel at the same time. The two regarded each other tensely, but said nothing. Rak'nel then walked back over to the other room, looking about for a staff weapon. As he picked one up, Colonel Mitchell came over. Covering his microphone with his hand, he said quietly, "Look, I know we've all just met, but you should believe me when I tell you that she's actually a good person. Yeah, I know she kinda rubs people the wrong way, but she means well in the end."
Placing the butt of his staff weapon on the ground, Rak'nel glared at Mitchell in disbelief before answering. "How can she be a good person if she obviously knows a great deal about opening locks and stealing things?"
The Colonel shrugged and answered, "Can't speak to that, but you should know that she's the one that healed you and brought you back from death's door." The Jaffa blinked in stunned silence at this. "Think about it, will ya?" Mitchell added with finality, clapping the Jaffa on the shoulder as he walked away, removing his hand from his microphone.
"Alright, people," he said as he approached the group. Pausing to wait for Rak'nel to join them, he finished, "Let's go see what other surprises we've got around here."