"How can all three-thousand be Goa'uld?" Sam asked in a shock voice. "I thought there were only a few thousand throughout the entire galaxy…"
As she continued to read the computer screen, Vala answered absentmindedly, "There were…" she reread the information yet again, still in disbelief. "But these medical records are clear. There are two columns for each crew member, one for the host, and one for the symbiote."
Looking troubled, Daniel spoke up, "Well that explains why all the Goa'uld from the Hatchery are missing." Everyone looked at each other with troubled glances. No one said anything to this. After several moments of silence, Daniel spoke up again. "If the crew of this Ha'tak is all Goa'uld," he paused, looking down at Vala as he continued in a cautious tone, "it seems possible, perhaps even probable that the same holds true for the crews of the other several dozen ships you said these people have."
The rest continued to share troubled looks as a sense of deep foreboding rolled into the room like an oppressive fog, everyone contemplating his words in silence. Vala looked back up at Daniel in shock as he spoke, sharing his worried gaze. She nodded, replying quietly, "You're probably right."
"How many dozen was it exactly, Vala?" Cam asked in a hushed voice as the weight of the implications bore down upon them all.
Turning from Daniel to look at Mitchell, she paused for a moment before answering quietly, "Maybe eight dozen, I'd say." After another few seconds of silence, she added, "Maybe as many as twelve."
The silence in the room was thick as they all considered her words. No one said anything for a while, until Carter finally spoke out. "That would mean there could be almost half a million Goa'uld aboard all these ships."
Everyone turned to look at Sam as she spoke. Vala nodded at her words, adding thoughtfully, "There's no way any of these were former run of the mill god-posing Goa'uld. Never mind that their population wouldn't even fill this ship, let alone the rest, there's no way they'd ever form a structured organization like this."
"So where did they come from?" Cam asked, looking around the room. Hesitating, he asked, "Could these be Tok'ra?"
The rest shared troubled glances at this. "No way," Carter said, shaking her head firmly. "The Tok'ra are a dying race, they don't have this kind of population. Besides, they wouldn't attack the Jaffa like this."
"I would not be so sure, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said. At his words, Sam glared at him.
Mitchell added, "I do seem to recall reading a number of mission reports that spoke of the tension between the Jaffa and the Tok'ra." He paused then asked Sam, "Are you so sure about them?"
She answered with a bitter tone, "I was host to a Tok'ra. I know."
Cam replied bluntly, "I thought you were host only for a few days, that you only had scattered memories from Jolinar."
Carter looked uncomfortable at his observation, pursing her lips in anger. Daniel jumped in before she had a chance to reply, speaking in a calming tone, "Cam, I know you're just trying to consider all possibilities, but don't forget her father was also a Tok'ra, and for many years at that." Pausing, he glanced back and forth between them. "If they had this kind of dark, Machiavellian scheme in the works for so long, I think he'd have figured it out and said something."
Hesitating for a moment, Cam asked, "I thought that G..." he cut himself off as Sam stared daggers at him, "…that symbiotes could hide memories from their hosts."
Vala turned away from the computer screen at this. "No," she said sharply, with finality. "I assure you, host and symbiote share all memories and thoughts, and it's completely involuntary." She drew in a deep breath at this, shuddering. With his hand still upon her shoulder, Daniel gripped her comfortingly as she continued, "After being possessed, you suddenly have countless lifetimes floating around in your head. You can access those memories as freely as you do your own, and usually find yourself doing so unintentionally."
She closed her eyes tightly at this, swallowing. She then turned and looked back at the computer screen, busying herself by searching the computer again as she found herself unable to continue. Daniel leaned in and kissed her cheek softly, stepping in and wrapping his other arm tightly about her, hugging her to him. Vala sighed deeply, pressing her cheek against him, resting her head against his as she placed her arm over his that was about her waist. "I'm okay," she whispered softly to him, though she still held on to him, keeping him from pulling away although he showed no signs of trying to do so.
Clearing his throat and suddenly feeling both foolish and uncomfortable as he looked apologetically at Sam, Cam was about to say something when Teal'c reiterated. "I agree with Colonel Mitchell. We should not rule out the possibility that these are Tok'ra until we know more about them."
Everyone turned to look at Teal'c, each with a different reaction painted on their face. Hak'tan nodded solemnly in agreement while Sam's face was growing dark with anger. Cam looked very conflicted as he regarded Teal'c silently while Vala glanced over with a thoughtful expression. Daniel looked troubled as he watched the brewing tension and was the first to break the awkward silence. "Look, there's no point in speculating about this now," he started, looking to each of them as he spoke. "Whoever they are and wherever they came from, they're here. If we want real answers, here's our chance," he said, glancing up at the computer. "So let's not waste it by getting into an argument that we'll all lose."
The rest of the team looked suddenly looked sheepish at this, everyone breaking eye-contact with everyone else. Daniel and Vala looked back up at the display, going through various screens. "Since we probably don't have a lot of time here," Vala began, "what exactly are we after?" Glancing about the room, she saw a device against the other wall. "Sam, we can use those crystals over there to save information and then take them with us. Put one in the slot and I'll copy as much data as I can. I'll let you know when to put in the next one"
Carter glanced over and saw the device and the crystals, nodding as she recognized them. As she walked over, she commented, "Well, one thing that'd be good to know is how they arrived here so quickly." She randomly chose a crystal and dropped it in the opening. As she did, the stone was filled with light and the device began to hum quietly.
Cam spoke up, "First thing's first, we need to find out what's going on out there. Do we have any real chance of escape or not? If we can't get out of here, gathering all this intel isn't going to do anybody any good."
Nodding, Vala replied, "Very pragmatic. I tend to agree." Sifting through various screens, she pulled up a schematic representation of the Ha'tak vessel again, this time displayed above a drawing of the planet they were circling. The icon for the ship was very crowded by several groups of smaller dots moving about it and the planet. All of the icons had hieroglyphics associated with them, all moving with them. The multitude of icons and symbols made the display very cluttered.
"What are those?" Cam asked, pointing at the many clusters of smaller dots moving about on the screen.
"Death glider squadrons," Daniel answered with a resigned voice as he read the associated pictographs.
Cam replied, "Well, that answers that." Sighing, he added, "So much for our escape plan. Even if we could set charges and detonate the ship after making our escape, we'd get taken out by those gliders."
Vala tilted her head slightly as she read the screen, her brows furrowing together. Because he was still standing very close to her, Daniel noticed the movement readily. "What?" he asked quietly, even as she moved her hands over the controls again. As she did, the display zoomed in on the Ha'tak again but this time changed its focal point to center on the lower decks on the tetrahedron. As she zoomed in, another icon with glyphs associated to it became much more apparent. As the display became more granular, the icon grew from a mere dot into a distinctive ring shape. The ring stood upright upon a platform within a room of the lower decks.
"Is that what I think it is?" Cam asked with a hopeful voice, even as the rest of the team started to share optimistic looks.
Smiling widely, Vala glanced over at Mitchell. "That," she said with an exultant voice, "Would be our ticket out of here." Glancing back to the screen, she smiled triumphantly as Daniel kissed her cheek firmly, squeezing her to him while he beamed in excitement. Clutching his arm about her tightly, she said, "It's so like the Goa'uld to bring a Stargate along with them."
Twenty hooded figures in dark brown robes stood in an even half-circle at the foot of the dais leading up to the Stargate. Each of the twenty held at their side a staff weapon, resting the butt of the weapon on the ground beside them. The room was made of stone blocks, with many columns spiraling skywards to a ceiling too high to be seen in the shadows. The only light was provided by torches burning within sconces upon the walls and pillars. No sound could be heard save for the crackling of the torchlight.
The Stargate sprang to life, each of the seven chevrons lighting up, one after the other. As the lights came on, those standing about the base of the dais aimed their staff weapons at the Gate. The hands that clutched the weapons were wrapped as if in bandages, no skin was visible. The wormhole exploded forth and then settled back down into the calm pool that was the event horizon. The twenty waited without moving while the light from the gate shimmered upon them. A lone figure stepped forth from the silvery pool.
This one was dressed in plain, silvery-grey robes with a dark gray tabard bearing two dagger-like markings on either side. In one hand, the robed figure carried a wooden staff tipped with a large blue crystal embedded within the wood of the staff itself. In the other hand was a rather plain-looking book. A silvery-grey hood with thick black trim covered the head. In the darkness of the room, the face was not readily discernable, but the skin was pale and dry like parchment. The silvery pool disappeared behind him, leaving the room as dimly lit as it was before he arrived.
The twenty stood motionless as the figure looked down calmly upon them. "I am here to see your mistress once more," the man said plainly, looking about those at the base of the stairs.
After a moment of still silence, one at the center of the arc stepped forward and climbed two steps. The figure said nothing, but made a motion with a bandaged hand for the other to follow. Turning without hesitation, the same figure walked back down the stairs while the newcomer followed without word. The gray-robed one fell in behind the brown-robed figure and they proceeded in silence, walking to one of the many stone archways along the circular wall of the room.
The hallway echoed with the sounds of their footfalls and the tapping of the two staves on the ground as they walked down the hallway in silence. It could be seen that the one in brown robes was a good foot and a half taller than the newcomer. The length of the corridor was lit by torches like the ones in the Gateroom, the flickering light casting dancing shadows upon the walls as the two passed by each torch.
After several minutes, they came to a large metal door that was flanked by two more hooded, brown-robed figures. The two bowed as the one approached, the door opening of its own accord. The brown robed figure passed through the doorway, followed by the man in gray robes. As they passed through the portal, they entered into another large, circular room. Like the other room, this one had a number of stone columns reaching up into the darkness above. Also like the other room, there were twenty robed figures standing about a stone dais that rose up out of the floor, though these faced outwards rather than inwards. At the top of this platform sat a large, ornate throne carved from ivory. The throne was flanked by a pair of large bronze braziers, both burning brightly to cut through the oppressive darkness.
Seated in the throne was a raven-haired woman dressed in a flowing black gown. The garment was very plain and covered her completely, exposing nothing but her hands and her head. The woman's face was a flawless alabaster, her skin smooth and lovely, a sharp contrast to her ruby-red lips. About her neck she wore a silver pendant with a red jewel set in its center. The woman looked down from her throne with her dark eyes to the two that approached. "So you return as you said you would Prior," she called down in a clear and crisp voice, which was also cold and emotionless.
Casting back the hood, the bald-headed man looked up at her. "Have you read of the Book of Origin and considered its teachings?" he replied to her, tilting his head slightly.
"I have," she answered, her hand moving to touch a book sitting up on an arm of her throne. The volume was akin to the one carried by the Prior. "There are many questions that I would ask you, before I and my people give our faith to the Ori." She paused before continuing, "but if you give me the right answers, then I will give your gods the obedience of the thousand thousands of my kin."
The Prior nodded deeply, bowing slightly. "I will gladly answer whatever questions you may have." Lifting his head back up, he smiled at the woman. "It is good that you ask questions, for that is the beginning of the way in which one may attain true Enlightenment."
For a moment, the six paused, staring wordlessly at the schematic-like drawing of the Stargate on the screen before them. Breaking the silence, Cam asked the next obvious question. "Where is it? Do you think you can get us there undetected?"
Vala zoomed the display back out to show the surrounding deck. After pausing for a moment as she thought about it, she then answered, nodding, "It should be fairly doable. I can get us within a few corridors of the door to the room. If we're lucky and play our cards right," she paused, grinning as she managed to stick in yet another idiom, "then we should be able to make our way without too much trouble, if any."
"That Stargate is only going to be usable for as long as we're in this star system," Daniel reminded them. "We need to take advantage of it as quickly as possible."
At his words, the sense of triumph that had filled the room suddenly evaporated. "You're right, Jackson," Mitchell said somberly, his expression growing grim. "They're probably damn near ready to depart. By the looks of what we found down on the planet, they've just about finished what they came to do."
Vala muttered, "Never mind the fact that you sped them along by demolishing the main building of the hatchery…"
Frowning bitterly at her words, Cam cleared his throat. He then proceeded to say, "We need to get as much info as you can and just take it with us." He looked at the computer screen and asked Vala, "Can you just…" he hesitated, "download it all into those crystals, and we'll sort through it later?
Vala pursed her lips at his suggestion, snorting as she glanced at him irritably. "It's not as simple as all that," she said disdainfully. "There's a lot of information here and those crystals only hold so much. Besides which, there's formatting issues and just getting the data in a state that…"
Sighing, Mitchell interrupted her, "Look, just get what you can. We all know what the important questions are, so grab whatever you find that's relevant. Go after whatever you think might shed some light on what we're facing." Vala nodded at this and set about sifting through screen after screen on the display.
"If we're worried about the mother ship leaving the system, why don't we take out the engines?" Sam interjected. Everyone paused and looked at each other in surprise at her suggestion. They then all looked over to her. "I'm thinking we should split up for that. It's probably going to take a while for Vala to grab the right information here. If we don't have a lot of time before they start to leave, then we'd best not all just sit around here waiting for her."
Teal'c nodded, "I believe Colonel Carter is correct. Although Hak'tan and I do not know the secret passages that Vala used, we do know the rest of the ship. We should be able to take passageways least used to make our way from here to the engine room. There we can destroy the control crystals, thus preventing the Ha'tak from leaving this system."
Considering the points for a moment, Mitchell then nodded. "That sounds like a plan. Teal'c, Hak'tan, and I will go to the engine room." Turning to Vala, he continued, "Vala, you Daniel and Sam stay here and get as much data on these guys as you can."
With that, Vala moved her hands over the controls to bring back the schematic of the Ha'tak. She zoomed in on the room they were in, then pulled back the display to show the engine room, highlighting both rooms and the various paths between them. "Thought you might want a quick confirmation of where we are," she said, glancing over to Teal'c and Hak'tan. The two Jaffa studied the map for a moment and then nodded.
"I recognize it, Vala Mal Duran," Teal'c replied, glancing from the computer screen back to her. Nodding solemnly to her, he added, "Thank you." Returning the nod, she smiled back at him.
Cam spoke up at this point, "Alright, the three of us are going to head out and take out this thing's engines. If we feel lucky, we'll see about setting explosives in the power core."
"Actually, that shouldn't be necessary," Sam interrupted. "The last time we blew up a Ha'tak, we put all our C-4 on the Stargate they carried with them that time. The Naquadah it was made of was more than enough to amplify the explosion and take out the ship. Since we're going to use the one on this ship as an escape, there's no reason we cant plant the explosives there before we depart. You shouldn't even need the C-4 for those crystals in the engine room, just a quick spay of a P-90 and that'll be all she wrote."
Nodding, Cam answered, "I like that even better."
Sam replied, "Just don't forget to take out the spares they carry too." With the last, she glanced over at Teal'c and Hak'tan, who both nodded.
"Indeed, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said. "Presumably, these Goa'uld keep their redundant crystals in the same locations within the engine room of a Ha'tak as is typical of all other mother ships. If that is indeed the case, then I know where to find them."
Cam interjected, "Actually, we'd probably just be better off by dropping a live grenade in the crystal bank. If we can destroy where the crystals plug into, that'll take care any chance they can repair the damage."
"Yeah, that should about do it," Carter said after a moment's thought, looking to the Jaffa, who nodded with her.
"Alright, so after the three of us blow the crystals, we'll have to make fast tracks out of there," Cam started to say. "Since it's not too far away from here, we'll return and round up you guys. At that point, Vala, you can take us back into the hidden passageways and get us to the Gateroom on this ship. From there, we plant our C-4 on a one hour timer and gate home."
Vala nodded, "Right. We'll be ready with as much data as we can fill by the time you get back." As she turned her attention back to the computer display, she quickly changed the screen back to the seemingly endless lines of Goa'uld hieroglyphics that she had been pouring through. Every now and again, Daniel pointed to the screen and suggested she pursue the information referred to by a given set of glyphs. They had already started the process of copying data, as demonstrated by the crystal periodically glowing more brightly now and again.
As the two set about their task, Cam and the two Jaffa walked to the door. The Colonel looked at Carter as he walked, nodding his head to the door. Sam came over, looking quizzical as she approached. Stepping close to her, he spoke, keeping his voice low as he glanced back at Vala and Daniel at the computer screen. "Keep an eye on the doorway and make sure you guys don't get jumped," he warned with a concerned voice. "Those two have been pretty distracted by each other to begin with since we started out, and now they're actually working on something important together." He glanced back at Carter as he finished. His expression was resolute as he waited for Carter to dispute his view of the situation.
For her part, Sam pursed her lips as she reluctantly conceded the point. "I'll watch our six, but you three need to be careful, too."
Cam smiled, nodding. "We will, don't worry about us." Turning back to the two Jaffa, he said, "Ready when you guys are." Teal'c and Hak'tan looked at each other and nodded. They approached the door which opened up before them. Creeping out into the hallway, the three left silently, the door shutting behind them.
As the door shut, Daniel called out with a troubled voice, "Hey Sam, come look at this." Carter turned at the sound of the archaeologist's voice, walking over to join the two at the console.
"What've you got?" she asked, curious about what they'd found.
With a move of her hand over a control, Vala caused the display to show the Ha'tak yet again. Another gesture of her hand caused the view to zoom out and show the entire Kevlin solar system. As she did, Kevlin Prime came into view. Carter could see another triangular shape by the moon. She frowned at this, "It looks like they've moved to clean up the last of the Jaffa in this solar system."
Vala nodded, "That's not all, either." With another gesture of her hand, she pulled back the zoom on the display even further. The solar system shrank to appear as a mere circle within the nebula that sheltered it. In this view, the circle representing the solar system also had two triangles next to it.
"Okay," Carter began, "so the two triangles represent the two Ha'tak operating in this solar system, right?"
"That's right," Vala answered, continuing with an ominous voice. "Keep watching." She moved her hand again. As the display continued to change, revealing more and more of the nebula, suddenly more circles like the one representing the Kevlin system were revealed. A good half dozen sprang into view. Each of these systems had anywhere from three to ten triangles next to them.
Carter blinked. "That's how they got here so quickly," she said in a surprised voice. "There are other systems within this nebula, and they'd already made themselves at home here."
Vala nodded, "That's right. The nearest star system is about two months away, using sub-light engines." She shook her head sadly, "It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away."
"Why wouldn't the Jaffa have considered this possibility before they chose this system for their hatchery?" Carter asked, still absorbing the information.
Daniel jumped in at this point, "Because they only knew about this star system." At his words, Vala moved a finger and suddenly the gate addresses for each star system appeared. The one for Kevlin was highlighted. The archaeologist continued, "That gate address was on the Goa'uld cartouche back on Abidos."
With another gesture, Vala caused the other gate addresses to become highlighted instead. "These others were not," she finished for Daniel. Turning back to Sam, she added, "I can tell you with certainty that the entire list of gate addresses the System Lords and the Goa'uld knew were captured on that cartouche. The Jaffa, in turn, only know what the Goa'uld had discovered."
Carter hesitated, then said, "Wait…I recognize some of those addresses." She paused again and then continued, "Yeah, they were in the list that Jack created using the Ancient knowledge all those years ago."
Daniel nodded at this. "Yup," he answered grimly.
"So how did these Goa'uld get the list?" Carter asked, but then grimaced as she realized the answer. She looked at Daniel and they both said together, "The Trust."
Vala looked back and forth between them with a confused expression. "Sorry, what are you two trusting in here?"
Daniel looked at her with a grin, "The Trust was a group of very powerful men on Earth that had felt we should be attacking the Goa'uld more aggressively. They had incredible means at their disposal. At one point they got so desperate that they stole the Stargate from the SGC and launched a series of attacks on Goa'uld planets using the symbiote poison the Tok'ra developed. To launch that attack, they had also stolen the list of gate addresses we kept on file at the SGC"
Nodding, the raven haired woman looked even more confused as she replied, "So you think these men provided this list to these Goa'uld?"
Sam shook her head, answering, "No, that's not very likely. Shortly after we stopped their attacks and reclaimed the Stargate, The Trust was taken over by Goa'uld agents of the System Lords. At that point, they probably got a hold of the address list." She looked at Daniel, both looking rather distressed at the thought. "That was several years ago at this point. Who knows where the list has gotten to by now."
Frowning, Daniel nodded. After several moments of silence, he said, "Well, there's not much we can do about it at this point." Looking back to the display, he added, "At least we know how this happened now."
"What we're missing is why," Vala replied with a furrowed brow, returning her attention to the display as well.
"That and about a dozen other questions," Daniel muttered.
Sighing as she nodded, Vala waved her hand over a control, changing the display yet again, banishing the graphical view of the nebula and replacing it yet again with lines of hieroglyphics. Vala continued to bring forth screen after screen of pictographs, both she and Daniel watching closely as the text flew by.
Sam moved to lean against the wall by the door. Glancing back to the two at the computer console, she watched as Daniel occasionally suggested one thing or another to try. The display would change at this, but then after a few seconds, they both shook their heads and Vala would try something else. Everything inside of Sam made her want to jump into the middle and help, but of course there was nothing she could do. Reading Goa'uld would ever be beyond her.
After watching a few iterations of the cycle, Sam realized they were in for the long haul now. Sighing, she watched the door warily while keeping an eye on what the other two were doing. She kept her P-90 at the ready, worried that the door would fly open at any minute with Goa'uld on the other side.
Cam, Teal'c, and Hak'tan made their way through the veritable labyrinth of corridors after leaving the computer room. With every turn, they expected to end up in a fire-fight with enemy soldiers. Luck was on their side, however, as they were able to avoid those they did encounter. More than once they had to duck into a room or an alcove as small groups of troops could be heard approaching their hallway from one end or the other. Each time they waited tensely as the soldiers passed them by, the sounds of the boots ringing through the hall.
Finally, they managed to make their way to the engine room. The hallway was empty, and would have been silent except for the loud pulsating hum of the engines. As they approached the doorway, with Teal'c leading the way, the large Jaffa paused. The three listened as the humming started to grow louder and the pulsing started to increase in frequency. The large Jaffa then looked back at Cam. "Colonel Mitchel," he whispered loudly, pausing again before continuing, "I believe they are getting ready to leave orbit."
Nodding, Cam readied his P-90. "Then we don't have any time to waste," he whispered in reply. Taking in a deep breath, he nodded to the two others. "Let's just do this and get the hell back."
Teal'c gripped his twin P-90s, while Hak'tan popped open his zat gun. The two glanced at each other, then to Mitchell, each nodding. Gripping his own weapon tightly, he glanced at the doorway, then back to them. "Go!" he whispered sharply.
Teal'c and Hak'tan ran into the doorway, with Colonel Mitchell right behind. Turning the corner, they saw the large, cavernous engine room. A large metal column with windows emitting a white light that pulsated with the hum of the engines rose out of a wide hole in the floor, extending up into the ceiling above which had a similar hole. Six silver-armored individuals stood about the room, attending various consoles and control panels. They all turned as the three entered, looking surprised as they realized these were not fellow crew members. Each reached for the zat'ni'katel that they carried.
Teal'c immediately fired his weapons at the two closest to him, the staccato sound of his rifles roaring over the hum of the engines. The two fell to the ground in a bloody mess even as Colonel Mitchell aimed upwards, firing at one on the cross-walk. The man jerked as the bullets struck him, forcing him against the back railing, which he fell over, dropping into the pit below with a cry. Hak'tan stunned two with his own zat, firing in rapid succession. The sixth man dove behind a console, peaking out to fire a charge at Mitchell.
The Colonel dropped as he saw the man out of the corner of his eye, the electric discharge narrowly missing him, striking a console behind him instead. The panel in the wall crackled loudly at the electrical input, causing other panels to spark and surge. The three quickly found cover behind consoles near them as more blasts followed. Cam and Teal'c fired several bursts at the soldier, causing him to take shelter, their bullets peppering the space around him.
"We don't have time fort his!" Cam shouted to Teal'c, reaching into his grenade pouch. Producing one in his hand, he pulled the pin and let the handle fly, throwing it across the room as the man peaked out again and raised his zat, ready to fire. The grenade struck him in the head, dropping between him and the console, hitting the metal floor plates with a clang. Looking down at what struck him, the man jumped up to move, but as he did the grenade exploded. The blast consumed the panel as it tore the man's body to shreds, throwing it in pieces back against the far wall.
The three stood and Teal'c moved quickly into the engine room. At the same time, Hak'tan moved back to the doorway, watching the hallway with a concerned look. "We must move quickly, Colonel Mitchel," Teal'c said in a grave voice as he reached a particular console. Tapping it with his hand, a panel slid forth, revealing the array of control crystals inside.
Coming over with another grenade in hand, Mitchell looked at the recess exposed by the open drawer. He nodded as he grasped the pin, looking at Teal'c. "Ready?" He asked tensely, feeling a little nervous about this.
"Indeed," the Jaffa answered with a steely look in his eyes.
Nodding again as he drew in a deep breath, Mitchell pulled the pin and let the handle fly off. He half placed, half tossed the grenade into the depths of the recess and heard it bounce around with clunking noises. As the grenade left Cam's hand, Teal'c tapped the panel again, and the crystal bank started to slide back into the empty space. The two then ran away as fast as they could, the drawer continuing to close as they did, until it stopped short. The motor pulling it in starting to make a grinding sound as a loud banging noise could be heard from the gears slipping. The sound of glass cracking could be heard as the drawer continued to try and close itself.
Within the space of another two heartbeats, just as the two reached the doorway, the panel exploded with a loud roar, erupting with the sound of ripping metal and breaking glass. The front piece flew off and the hole breathed out a burst of fire and red-hot crystal shards, which created a tinkling sound as they flew out across the room. The metal front to the drawer flew out with a severe velocity, bounced loudly off of the floor several times and then slid forward until it finally came to a skidding stop by hitting Mitchell's boot.
As the explosion went off, the three looked up at the humming column, which quickly grew silent and dark. The engine room was suddenly eerily and completely silent. Breathing in a deep breath, Mitchell said, "Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Just then, a low-pitched alarm started sounding, and a deep, computerized voice could be heard throughout the hallway speaking Goa'uld. Suddenly loud voices could be heard down the length of hallway from which the three originally came. Cam, Teal'c, and Hak'tan tensed as they heard it, looking to one another.
Cam looked over at Teal'c with concerned expression. "That didn't take long. Can we go the other way?" he asked, nodding down the opposite side of the hallway.
Glancing in that direction, the Jaffa answered, "I believe so." Without another moment's hesitation, they ran down the length of corridor. Just as they reached the end, they heard the footfalls and the shouting from the far side get suddenly louder. Turning, they were suddenly assaulted by multiple staff blasts that peppered the area about them harmlessly. Cam fired a few bursts from his weapon as Teal'c and Hak'tan turned the corner. Pulling a grenade, he pulled the pin and let the handle fly, throwing the deadly orb down the hallway for all he was worth. He then turned on his heel and ran after Teal'c and Hak'tan.
"Well, we knew this wasn't going to be a walk in the park," Cam shouted as they ran. The grenade exploded behind them, screams echoing through the corridors. Almost immediately afterwards, they heard more feet running and a clamor that followed behind them. Mitchell gripped his weapon tightly, idly wondering if they'd make it out of this in one piece as the three made their way through the passages.
General Landry sighed as he looked up from the papers on his desk. The clock read almost twenty-hundred hours, or at least that's what his bleary eyes told him. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes with his palms, resting his head upon them. It had been a long day so far, and he was barley even half done, by his estimations. Just as he figured, the day had proven to be one long string of catastrophes, with the promise of more to come. Still, everything had been relatively minor compared to what he felt in his gut was coming on the horizon.
He glanced back down to his papers, trying to continue reading. After a few failed attempts, he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get anything more done until he had a break. Maybe he should see about getting some food, he thought. After a moment's consideration, he realized that coffee was more along the lines of what he needed.
He glanced over to the corner of his desk, smiling as he looked at the plain package sitting where Colonel Simons had left it. It had been a small victory, but a pleasing and worthwhile one nonetheless. The General had expended considerable effort on that matter, probably more than he should have. He had needed to place a couple of phone calls to see the matter settled, but at the end of it all he had won. The sycophant had little choice but to leave the package in Landry's care for delivery to Daniel when the archaeologist finally returned.
Sighing, Landry stood and decided he was going to make his way to the mess and get the cup of coffee. Maybe he'd even treat himself to some kind of desert. He exited his office through the door that lead to the briefing room, deciding to make a stop in the Gate control room. He liked to be on top of everything that was going on, both with his facility and with his people. He had long ago learned that the best way to do that was by walking around, checking in on how everyone was doing at random times.
As he opened the door and glanced over the briefing room table, he stopped short as he saw someone had crawled underneath it. It was a Gateroom tech, he realized by the jumpsuit. "What's the problem, airman?" he asked in a gruff voice, more than a little annoyed at this.
At the sound of Landry's voice, the tech banged his head on the table. Landry winced, imagining that it must have been pretty painful by the sound of it. He tilted his head in surprise as Martin Keegan emerged. The General instantly remembered that Walter had been pulling a double to cover for his fellow sergeant since the young man had called in sick. "What're you doing here, son? I thought Walter was covering for you."
Standing up, Keegan nodded, "Yessir, he was. After I called in, though, I took some medicine and decided I was okay to come in." He had a clipboard in his one hand, and something else in his other.
Nodding, Landry never took his eyes off the other for a second. "Uhuh. What were you doing under that table, airman?" His stare bore into the sergeant as he waited for the answer.
Lifting up the hand not holding the clipboard, Keegan replied, "Dropped my pen, sir." He presented what he was holding, which was indeed a pen. "I was on my way to see you, need you to sign these forms." With that he held out the clipboard as well, offering it to the General.
Hesitating for a moment, Landry came over and took the clipboard and the pen from the Sergeant. Glancing the paper over, he nodded a few times, asking, "So why're you here four hours after your shift ended?"
The Sergeant answered, "Just trying to catch up on a few things, help out how I can, sir."
Landry looked up at Keegan from the forms, watching him intently. Finally, he signed the paper and then handed the clipboard and pen back to Keegan. "Is that all, son?" he asked with a tired voice.
The Sergeant shook his head. "No sir, SG-18 is dialed in and is ready to make their latest report on the search for SG-9."
Blinking, the General glanced over to the window the briefing room had out into the Gateroom. Sure enough, the undulating light of the Stargate was bathing the far wall, made more bright by the fact that the iris was closed. He had been so wrapped up in what he was doing that he hadn't even heard the alert of the incoming wormhole. Sighing, he nodded and made his way for the stairs, Keegan following behind.
Monitors in the Gateroom showed the MALP camera view of Colonel Anderson, who stood talking with one of his fellow team members. As the General approached the tech sitting at a console, Keegan handed the clipboard to the same tech and turned to go. Landry watched him leave for a moment with a thoughtful expression when suddenly the airman seated before him spoke up. "Colonel Anderson is ready, sir."
Blinking at this, Landry turned his attention back to the displays, asking, "What've you got, Colonel?"
The Colonel turned his attention away from the other SG team member, answering, "Nothing, Sir. We can't find anyone from SG-9, and we can't find the ring platform control panel they told the Beta site they had found." The General sighed at this, frowning deeply as he heard the news. The Colonel continued, "We'd like to keep searching, Sir, if you'd give us the okay."
Shaking his head, the General answered, "Negative, Colonel. You've been out there for almost twelve hours, it's time for you to bring it in." As he saw Anderson about to protest, Landry cut him off, "We're not giving up the search son, I've already got SG-4 lined up and ready to go." Glancing down into the Gateroom, he did indeed see SG-4 in full gear, ready to depart. Tapping the tech on the shoulder, he said, "Open the iris."
The metal scraping sound resounded through the cavernous Gateroom and the control room through the speakers. Turning back to look at the monitor, Landry continued, "Come on home, Colonel. Tell SG-4 what you know and they'll pick it up. Then come up to the briefing room and tell me."
"Yes sir," Colonel Anderson replied, turning to call out to his team, directing them to the gate. The General turned to head back upstairs. As he reached the foot of the stairs, he paused, calling out to the technician. "Son, would you please find someone to get me a cup of coffee from the mess?" He climbed a few stairs as the sergeant answered affirmatively. Landry then hesitated, clearing is throat, he added, "Also, have whoever it is bring me a slice of cake or something, will you?"
The tech replied with another yes as Landry climbed up the stairs, feeling very tired suddenly. As he climbed towards the top, he could hear his office phone ringing. Yes, it was going to be a very long couple of days, at the very least.
After about fifteen minutes, Sam looked over in frustration at the other two for the umpteenth time. The screen changed again and again, the text constantly refreshing. The search had not gone well. Since they'd learned about what other dangers the nebula hid, they'd been unable to find anything beyond the mundane data and software for use by those running the Ha'tak. As they found system after system, it quickly became apparent that it was all there to simply support an extensive bureaucracy dedicated to maintaining the Ha'tak, its fighter craft, and supporting subsystems.
Sam found herself growing increasingly frustrated at being unable to help while watching the two find dead end after dead end. Daniel and Vala too were obviously getting tired and aggravated. They had quickly started to snipe at each other, and it was steadily getting worse as time crept by and they had nothing to show for their efforts.
Sam's frustration at the fruitlessness of the search was not only compounded by watching the two fighting with each other. Because she always felt so at ease with computers, she was sure she could have found what they were looking for more easily, if only she could read the display. She cared for Daniel, and had a growing respect and affection for Vala, but watching her them fumble about like this was enough to send her over the edge.
"There's so much to look through here," Vala said quietly in exasperation, almost to herself. She frowned, "It's like we're searching for a needle in a haystack."
Sighing, Daniel ran his one hand through his hair as he watched the screens fly by, then gripping the back of his neck. As the two had snarked at each other, he had stepped away from standing so close to her, leaning his hands on the edge of the console to give his back a rest. Glancing over to her, he said bitterly, "Well, maybe if you'd try looking at the last document store that I pointed out to you…"
Turning back to him, she pursed her lips, snapping back, "Oh, like the last five you suggested? What makes you think this one would be any different?"
Having listened to the two, Sam had barely been able to glean how they might be searching, and it felt all wrong. Clearing her throat as Daniel opened his mouth to fire back at Vala, the blonde-haired Colonel suggested, "It seems to me that the answers to things like why they attacked and who they really are is likely to be buried pretty deep in a well protected part the system." Daniel and Vala stopped and both turned back to her at this. Continuing, she asked in a weary voice, "Is there some kind of messaging system?" Looking to Daniel she amended, "You know, something like email." The two looked to each other at this, surprised at the suggestion. They looked back at her as she finished, "You're most likely to find the interesting details of what they're doing here by reading their communications rather than their data stores."
Blinking at her suggestion, Daniel looked over at Vala, grinning at her. "Now why didn't you think of that, darling?" Vala said spiritedly as Daniel's grin evaporated and he raised an eyebrow at her. Grinning up at him, she turned back to the computer, wiping the display and bringing it back to what had by now become a very familiar main menu. Within a few screens, Vala paused as a list was presented, overshadowed by a small box with a block of hieroglyphs within and a blinking prompt.
"More secure indeed," Daniel said, frowning at what was apparently a login prompt of some kind. He looked over at Vala, "Think you can get in here?"
She frowned as she studied the screen. "I might be able to," she started, "but I'm worried that will set of a few alarms." She thought for a moment and then said, "I think I can find a back way to get what we're looking for…we can take the information with us, but we won't be able to read it without a little effort."
Daniel looked back at Sam at this, looking confused. "What do you mean?" the Colonel asked, sharing Daniel's confused look.
As the screens started to fly by again, Vala answered with an absentminded tone, "I can't access the data through the messaging program without breaking a few things that will probably get their attention, but I think I can get copies of the communications data through other means."
Sam nodded, "You're basically accessing the files on the file system that an email client uses to store the messages, but not opening those messages in that program so you can read them."
Vala paused, furrowed her brow slightly, then shrugged, "I suppose that's a fair approximation." Pausing what she was doing, she turned to Daniel, asking, "Could you please put in the next crystal, darling?"
He nodded, going over and switching out the one that she had been using and replacing it with one he found. As he did, he asked, "So where does the effort come in? Do we need to simulate the messaging program?"
Chuckling at his answer but then frowning as the system made an unfriendly noise at her, Vala answered, "No, if the data were in a readable state, we wouldn't really need the program." Pausing as the screen flashed a few times, she continued, "The data is going to be encrypted when I put it on those crystals." She looked at Daniel, and then back to Sam, saying, "We're going to have to break the encryption."
Sighing, Carter looked up at the screen with a concerned expression. "I have to imagine Goa'uld encryption algorithms are pretty complex."
Vala nodded as she turned back to the screen, proceeding while the system complained a few more times at her efforts. "I suspect you'll find them challenging compared to what you're used to, but I imagine I understand them enough that we can manage to break the encryption."
Sam frowned, shaking her head slightly as she watched the screen, "Have you ever tried to crack something that's encrypted, Vala?"
The other woman stopped at this, then glanced back to Sam. "Well…not really, no." She hesitated as she watched Sam's expression. "I figured you'd be able to manage that part, you'd just need me to tell you how their system works…"
Shaking her head again, Sam looked down at the floor and then back up at Vala. "It's not particularly easy to break encryption. You've got two ways to do it. One is a brute force attack, where you run all combinations of the encryption key to find the right one. We can try that, we've got a few supercomputers at our disposal back on Earth." Pausing, she continued, "But I suspect those won't even be powerful enough to do it in any reasonable amount of time." Sighing, she continued, "The only other way is to find a vulnerability in the algorithm…basically a weakness in the mathematics that provides a short-cut or alternative to the key. That's only if there's such a weakness to find. Even after you've found it, that just makes brute-forcing easier."
Vala bit her lip at this. "Oh," she said simply. Frowning slightly, she said, "Well, I guess we'll just have to try and see what happens." She turned back to the console and moved her hands over the controls. The screen changed a few more times, and then the crystal started flashing within the device. She glanced over at the crystal and nodded as she saw it blink, then turned back to the screen. "Well, we should be able to grab most, if not all of their messages."
Silence again settled over the rest of the room as she went back about working the controls. "Now then, let's see what else we can find," the raven-haired woman said quietly, the screen changing again as she continued the search. Daniel leaned against the console with the crystals, crossing his arms and watching from afar. Vala glanced back over to him, asking with a smile, "Aren't you going to join me, darling?"
The archaeologist smiled back, answering, "Oh, I can read the screen just fine from here."
Vala raised an eyebrow at him. She then smirked and replied, "Now, now, dear Daniel, there's no reason for you to go and sulk."
Frowning at her words, he opened his mouth to say something when suddenly they heard a low-pitched alarm out in the hallway. As soon as the alarm went off, the room and hallway was suddenly filled with a deep, computerized voice speaking Goa'uld. Vala and Daniel looked up at this, listening. "Oh crap," Daniel said, instead of whatever he was going to say to Vala.
"What?" Sam asked with a weary voice and a worried expression. She was growing very tired of not knowing what was going on around her.
Vala turned to look at the blonde-haired woman. She spoke with a wry grin, "Well, the good news is that our indefatigable Colonel Mitchell and his Jaffa side-kicks have accomplished their mission and shut down the engine core."
"The bad news," Daniel finished for her, "is that the entire ship is now on high alert. All personnel have been called to battle stations. In particular, search teams are being deployed to this deck." Vala turned back to the computer and started hurrying her search along. She glanced over at the blinking crystal with a worried expression, turning back to the screen as she sifted through screen after screen. Daniel came over to stand with her, placing his hand upon her shoulder. She glanced up at him and he smiled down at her, telling her softly, "I'm done sulking now."
Smiling back up at him, she winked, "Took you long enough." As his smile turned into a dour expression, she grinned even more and turned back to the screen, continuing her search.
Daniel too looked back up at the screen, and as he did he suddenly said, "Wait!"
Vala pulled her hands off the controls and the quickly changing display of Goa'uld glyphs suddenly froze on the screen that she was on. "What?" She asked tensely, looking up at him.
Pointing up at the display, Daniel answered, "That link, there…"
Trying to follow the line of his finger, Vala furrowed her eyebrows as she looked. Blinking as she focused in on the icon, she looked back up at Daniel with an irritated expression, "That's just a list of logs, darling."
Daniel looked back at her, excited as he nodded, "Yes, I know."
She paused, then continued in a patient voice, "Daniel, it's the same kind of sundry thing we've been finding all this time."
Grinning, Daniel looked at her with a knowing expression. "Not exactly."
Vala looked confused at this, glancing back to Carter. The other woman looked thoughtful and nodded as she said slowly, "I think I know what he's after…"
Pursing her lips in frustration, Vala sighed and turned back to the console. Placing her hands back over the controls, she followed the link Daniel had indicated. Turning back to him, she asked bitterly, "Okay, now what?"
After a moment's hesitation, Daniel said, "There, the Stargate logs."
Vala blinked in surprise as the words left his lips. Looking back up at the screen, she knotted her eyebrows together until she found what he was talking about. Moving her hands over the controls, the display changed once more and another list appeared, this one filled with two columns of gate addresses and a string of hieroglyphs at the end. Most of the values in the first column were the same addresses, but not all. The second column had many different values, but several repeats could be seen.
The two read the lines in silence for a few minutes, Daniel's smile growing even more broad as Vala's frown turned into a wry grin. "Well I'll be damned," she muttered.
Daniel answered in a quiet, triumphant voice, "Never underestimate the power of the mundane."
Glancing back up at him, Vala raised her eyebrow as she quipped, "Yes, I've come to realize that I shouldn't sell you short all the time."
Daniel looked back down at her from the screen and made a sour expression. He was about to say something when Carter spoke first. "Well?" she asked, growing even more weary of the fact that she had to keep reminding the two that she was completely in the dark until they told her what was going on.
They both turned back to look at her as she spoke. Vala glanced up at Daniel for a minute, shaking her head and grinning at him in spite of herself. Smirking down at Vala for a moment, Daniel then turned to Carter, answering, "These Goa'uld keep very detailed records of everything. That includes anything that passed through the Stargate on this ship."
"For example," Vala continued, "Goa'uld queens from the surface." Glancing back up at the display for a moment, she then turned back to Carter, "as well as several hundred Goa'uld Primtas and a considerable amount of equipment from the facilities below."
Blinking in surprise, Carter said, "Well that sure answers a lot of questions." After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Can we copy all this?"
"As it so happens," Daniel answered, "these records are considered too trivial to encrypt or protect in any great way."
Turning back to the display, Vala opened her mouth to say something when suddenly the display flashed a message and the computer spoke in Goa'uld with a low-sounding voice. As Vala listened and read, she glanced over to the crystal device. "We've got all of the messages," she said. Looking up at Daniel, she continued, "Could you change the crystal again?"
The archaeologist hurried over and swapped the crystal with yet another one they hadn't used yet. As the new crystal started glowing in the device, Vala began working furiously at the controls. Screens of hieroglyphs flew by as she said, "I'm going to copy all of their logs, who knows what else we'll find in there."
Nodding, Daniel came back to stand by her. "Grab the inventories too." Vala nodded at this when suddenly the door flew open. The three of them turned in surprise, Carter raising her weapon even as Colonel Mitchell burst in through the doorway. Sam jumped at the sight of him, pulling her weapon's muzzle up and away from the doorway. The three in the room could immediately hear the sounds of machine gun fire, staff blasts, and zat discharges flying about out in the hallway.
Mitchell looked about at the three of them and yelled urgently, "We gotta go, let's move!"