"Let's go! Now!" Cam yelled at them as Daniel and Vala hesitated for a moment.
At his words, Daniel ran over to the console with the crystals. He scooped up the pile that was left and stuffed them into the pockets on his vest. He reached for the one in the device but then hesitated, looking back to Vala. "It's done!" she said loudly while entering some final instructions into the computer. As she finished, the screen suddenly went haywire. She ran over to Daniel as he took the last crystal out of the device and placed it in another pocket. Reaching over, she grabbed the device and its cord, yanking it out of the wall. Grabbing Daniel by the shoulder, she spun him around and stuffed the device in his pack.
"Okay!" she said, patting him on the back. Grasping her P-90, which had been hanging from her vest by its strap, she then ran to the door. Daniel followed closely by, also readying his weapon. As soon as Cam saw they were coming, he turned back out of the doorway into the hall and raised his weapon, firing a burst. Vala and Daniel ran out past him, joining the rest in the corridor.
As they left the room, the loud sounds of the battle filled their ears even more than in the room, the thunder of the staff blasts accented by the chattering of the P-90s firing around them. Energy blasts flew this way and that, and they realized they were being assaulted from both sides. Sam had already made her way out into the hallway and was kneeling down by the wall, firing her weapon down the corridor. Daniel and Vala immediately started firing along side their friends, finding each end of the hallway had at least half a dozen enemy soldiers firing at them.
"How about that exit?" Cam yelled between bursts of his weapon.
"Right!" Vala shouted back. Running down the length of hallway back to the section with the door, she fired a long burst, killing one soldier and forcing the rest to take cover. The rest of SG-1 moved with her down the way, staying as close to the walls as possible to avoid the deadly energy blasts that continued to fly from the other side.
Reaching the section she was looking for, she immediately began pressing hieroglyphs on the wall. As she did, Mitchell shouted, "Flashbangs!" At his words, Sam and Teal'c each grabbed a cylindrical object from their grenade pouches, while Daniel and Mitchell continued to provide cover fire, forcing the enemy soldiers to take cover or be killed. Already many bodies dressed in silvery armor lay prone at the ends of the hallway and the walls around them were splattered with red stains.
Sam and Teal'c each pulled their pins and threw their grenades down opposite lengths of the hallway, Sam shouting "Fire in the hole!" as she let hers fly. Just then, Vala pushed in the last button and the doorway slid open. As she glanced at the door, she heard Teal'c yell "Cover your ears, brother!" As she furrowed her brow at this, suddenly Daniel grabbed her and spun her around.
She looked at Daniel in shock as he suddenly embraced her, wrapping his arm about her head and forcing her to bury her face in his neck, covering her ears as best he could. Likewise pressing his face to her neck, he wrapped his other arm about his own head as he pulled her with him to crouch on the ground. "Close your eyes!" he whispered urgently even as she started to struggle in her confusion.
Suddenly she heard one ear-splitting bang and then another as an incredibly bright light filled her vision, even though all she could see was Daniel's vest. Feeling partially stunned, Vala pulled back and looked at Daniel in a daze as he pulled her up. She was having a hard time getting her feet under her, and was forced to lean on him a little. "What the hell was that?" she asked as she saw the rest of the group standing as well, pulling their hands from their ears.
"Grenades that use sound and light to stun," Daniel answered hurriedly. The hallway was suddenly and strangely silent as all weapons fire had ceased. Looking to each end, she could see the enemy soldiers looking about blindly, struggling just to stay on their feet. She could understand that they probably felt nauseous from the blast, even on the fringes she felt a little queasy from the effects.
"Everyone in," Mitchell ordered. As he did, Vala suddenly heard a small metal pin hitting the floor, followed by a heavy clunking and with a hissing sound. She looked over to Mitchell and saw a cylinder on the ground by his feet. The canister was blowing forth an incredible volume of white smoke that was quickly filling the stretch of hallway where they stood. Daniel stayed with Vala, taking her hand in his as the rest of the team filed into the narrow doorway. By the time Mitchell passed through, the smoke had completely filled the space, making it impossible for Vala to see anything more than a foot away.
She started pushing Daniel along the wall towards the entrance as they heard the sound of more soldiers arriving at either end of the hallway. As he found the doorway, staff blasts started flying blindly through the smoke. The archaeologist hurried through the portal, pulling Vala along with him. The door slid shut behind her as the enemy forces reached the fog, trying to find them in the thick white smoke.
Baal stood by the window of his office and looked out over the nighttime scene before him. He sipped the drink he held in his hand, the ice in the glass tinkling as he watched the traffic moving through the lit streets below. The lights on countless high-rises shone before him in the dark, each attempting to stave off the gloomy blackness left by the setting of the sun. A wry smirk crossed his face as he pondered the view, his eyes full of contempt and derision.
What a little people these were, he thought, so full of themselves and their meaningless accomplishments. The great irony was that they knew nothing of the world outside their little backwater star system. They had no idea how inferior and unimportant they and their affairs really were. He grinned as he considered that soon enough they would learn their place in this galaxy. The new order of things was at its dawning.
He grinned a little more as he heard the door to his office open. "It's time," he heard the woman's voice call out to him. Taking one last drink from his glass he lingered at the window for a few more moments. Turning, he strode towards the door, placing the drink down on the table by the doorframe. His secretary had already taken his coat from the stand by the door, and held it out to him as he approached. Holding out his arms, he let her put the knee-length wool coat on him. Speaking in the deep voice of the Goa'uld, he asked, "Have all of the arrangements been made?"
"Of course," she answered with a delicate tone, taking her own coat from the rack as Baal buttoned up his collar and cinched his tie back up tight again. The dark three-piece suit he wore was the same as he had worn since this morning, when he received the message he had been waiting for.
Grinning slightly, he replied, "Good. As ever, you serve me well, Charlotte." Turning to face her, he smiled, "be sure to continue doing so, and your rewards will continue to grow." His smile disappeared as his look changed into a sharp glare and he added, "But fail me, and you'll wish you'd never been born." The woman's smile vanished as he spoke and she pulled her coat tightly about her shoulders, looking at him with a nervous gaze.
Baal, however, again smiled warmly at her as if he'd just told her of tomorrow's weather. "Come," he said in a normal voice, losing the sound of the Goa'uld. He immediately walked out the door to his office, pulling on his gloves, "We have work to do."
Charlotte Mayfield hesitated for only a moment as he strode out from his office into the corridor. She then followed behind, closing the door to his office behind her. Hurrying to catch up, she came to stand beside him as he pressed the button for the elevator. "If I may ask, why are you making this deal?"
Glancing back over to her with a smirk, Baal considered her question for a moment. "It does seem a little one-sided, doesn't it?" he finally answered.
As the door opened and they entered into the elevator, Charlotte pressed on, "Exactly. I mean, you're getting a lot of money for what you're selling him, but how does that help you?" Baal pressed the button for the ground floor and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. With a confused expression, she continued, "You're not hurting for Earth currency, you have it in abundance. Moreover, it's not going to help you with matters off-world."
Chuckling, Baal nodded and answered simply, "All very true." As they spoke, the elevator descended rapidly, the floor counter decreasing at a fast pace.
The woman furrowed her brow as she watched him regard her with a bemused expression. "You're getting something out of it," she said simply.
The Goa'uld grinned at her as he watched her ponder the issue. "You shall see when the time is right." At this, the elevator doors opened and Baal walked out into the building lobby. Charlotte followed behind him, watching him with a confused brow. As they walked out of the building and onto the sidewalk, a man leaning against the corner of the building in a dark jacket suddenly stood up straight.
Baal and Charlotte spoke to the doorman, and within a few minutes, a limousine pulled up. The man reached his hand up to his face and spoke quietly into a device on the inside of his wrist. As the limousine pulled away, a cab parked in front of the next building over started up and began to follow the limo through the New York streets.
As the door slid shut on the corridor, the group found themselves in the darkness of the secret corridor once again. Cam looked back to Vala, asking, "Okay, where to?"
Looking around Daniel to see him, she answered, "Just go straight ahead. We'll come out into one of those rooms again."
The Colonel nodded. Turning back forward, he passed the message down the line to Teal'c. Within a few seconds, they all were moving forward through the dark corridors.
After a few moments, Daniel spoke up. "Uhm," he hesitated, "Vala…"
Sighing as she recognized his tone, the raven haired woman answered with a weary voice, "Yes Daniel?" She'd learned long ago that he used that voice whenever he was going to bring up a difficult or problematic question.
Grimacing in frustration at the sound of her reply, Daniel answered in a concerned but also slightly irritated voice, "Since we now know everyone else on this ship is a Goa'uld, and since Goa'uld have genetic memories, wouldn't it stand to reason they all know about these passage ways?"
Everyone stopped in their tracks at his words, looking to each other with worried glances. Suddenly the very narrow spaces in the corridor seemed downright constrictive. Vala thought about his point, her irritation with him vanishing for the moment. "Well, it's possible," she began. After a moment's thought, she continued, "I don't know how widely spread the knowledge of each secret was. Qetesh knew of quite a few goodies, but she always suspected there were quite a few she didn't know about." She grew silent again, then added, "I remember there were a few instances where various Goa'uld she killed could have probably saved their own necks if they'd known about one trick or another."
After another short spell of silence, Cam spoke up. "Well, if these guys do know about it, we shouldn't linger here in the middle of a hallway." Looking forward to Teal'c at the head of the column, he said with finality, "Let's go."
They continued on the rest of the walk without any further discussion. Soon enough they came out into another room exactly like the one they had been in before, except that in the center there were holes in the floor and ceiling. A ladder came up from the hole in the floor and extended up into the ceiling, both ends disappearing into darkness.
The team filed into the room one by one. As Sam emerged, she looked about the room and muttered for all to hear, "I wish we'd known about these passages before, it'd have saved us a lot of grief over the last ten years." She glanced at Teal'c, grinning slightly as she spoke.
The Jaffa smiled at her words, nodding. "Indeed," he said simply, with a pleasant expression.
As he emerged, Cam looked at the two and chuckled. He then began to change out the clip on his P-90 and asked, "Alright, what's the plan?"
"The Stargate's probably going to be heavily guarded at this point," Sam said with a worried voice. She too started to change out her weapon's clip.
"Maybe," Vala answered nonchalantly with a knowing voice and a devious grin as she took care of her P-90. She pointedly avoided looking at anyone while she spoke, focusing on her weapon instead.
Daniel blinked at her tone and exchanged glances with the rest of the team. Glancing back to the woman, he asked, "Vala?"
The raven-haired woman looked up at him with a smile, "Yes, Daniel?"
The archaeologist glanced back to the others, then to her again. He grinned slightly, asking further, "What did you do?"
Her smile grew at his question. Raising an eyebrow at him, she asked with her best innocent voice, "Why Daniel, whatever makes you think I did something?"
The playful look in her eyes made it impossible for Daniel to resist the infectious nature of her smile. "Because you've got that look," he answered with a smile in his voice and on his lips.
"What look?" Vala started to answer playfully, but as she did, Cam cut her off.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Mitchell's voice was thick with irritation. Vala and Daniel both turned to look at him. Daniel looked surprised and a little sheepish while Vala's glare could have cut a hole straight through the man. "We really don't have time for you two to flirt your way through twenty questions. Now the both of you have been drooling over each other this whole mission. That's enough already." Looking at Vala with a harsh stare, Cam asked her directly, "What the hell did you do, and how is it going to help us?"
Vala stared daggers at Cam as he finished speaking. Glancing over to Daniel who merely shrugged helplessly, Vala rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration. After gritting her teeth in silence for a moment, she answered, "While I was logged into their computer, I planted a few nasty surprises for this house of vipers." The rest of the team shared interested looks at this. "For starters, I locked them out of their own computer core, scrambling all access codes and crashing a few critical systems while I was at it."
"Not bad…" Mitchell began with respectful voice, though Vala impatiently talked over him, her own voice thick with irritation.
"In addition," she continued, "I set up a series of timed events to run after I started the sequence. Fifteen minutes from now, three death gliders are going to detach themselves from the ship and fly out into space."
Teal'c lifted his head at this, saying simply, "A diversion."
"You got it, sweet cheeks," Vala replied flippantly. Daniel blinked at her words, looking at her with a furrowed brow. Although she saw his gaze, she continued without acknowledging it. "Five minutes after that, the lights on the deck with the Stargate along with five others are going to go dark. I chose the good ones, including those with the power core, the engine room, the Pel'tak, and a couple of other juicy targets."
The rest of the team looked to one another, each looking impressed. Sam and Mitchell nodded to one another. Cam looked over to the other woman, commenting, "Nice work, Vala."
Raising an eyebrow at him, her expression grew bitter as she replied sardonically with an icy chill to her voice, "So glad you approve."
Mitchell suddenly looked like he felt very awkward at this. He looked to Daniel who glared back at him, offering no support. Clearing his throat, the Colonel asked somewhat meekly, "So when do we head out for the Stargate deck?"
Glancing at her watch, Vala thought about it for a moment. "We can go now. By the time we get to the door, we'll have about five minutes left."
"Let's move out then," Cam said simply.
Without another word, Vala stalked to the ladder and started to climb down. Shooting one last parting glare at Cam, Daniel followed immediately behind her, the two Jaffa standing ready to go next. As they started to go one after the other, Carter pulled Cam a few feet away from the ladder. She whispered harshly to him, "You know, you might want to consider cutting them a break, especially her. There's no need for you to be riding their asses like this." Cam frowned at this and was about to say something but she continued, "Since you seem to need the reminder, don't forget that you practically begged each of us to rejoin SG-1."
Sighing, he looked at her with a tired expression and answered just as quietly, "You three, not her."
Raising an eyebrow at this, Sam answered tightly, "Well I'm sorry to disappoint your little fantasy about what you thought your SG-1 was going to be, but it seems that she's part of the package now." She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in and then added, "You may not want to push the matter any further. If you force her out, I suspect you could find yourself also short one archaeologist."
Teal'c called out from the ladder, with just his head poking out, "Colonel Carter…"
Turning at his voice, Sam answered, "We'll right there, go ahead." The Jaffa nodded and continued down.
Glancing back to Mitchell, Sam paused and then added, "You know, none of us treated her with any respect or gave her a break before," she paused, glaring harshly at him as she spoke, "and she almost ended up sacrificing her own life for our sorry asses because of it." Lifting her head slightly, she said with finality, "Me, I've made my choice not to treat her that way again." With that, she glared at him for one last moment and walked over to the ladder, climbing down. Cam stood alone for a moment in the room, his expression dark as he looked at the hole in the floor. Shaking his head as he walked over, he climbed down after the rest.
General Landry sighed as he signed the last document in his stack, setting it in the pile for pick up first thing in the morning to go in the outbound mail. With bleary eyes he glanced up to the clock on the wall. He found himself yawning as he read twenty-one hundred hours on the clock. He stretched as he stood up, feeling stiff and tired. He glanced at the used coffee cup and the plate covered with cake crumbs and streaked with chocolate. Those could wait to be returned to the mess until the morning, he decided.
Reaching to the end of the desk, he picked up Dr. Jackson's package. He paused as he considered the plainly wrapped package, uninteresting except for a certain seal on it's back. Turning around behind him, he knelt down and opened his private safe. Placing it safely inside, he closed the door, hearing it click as he pressed it shut. He gave the dial a spin, stood and walked out of his office, turning off the light as he entered into the briefing room. Closing the door behind him and locking it shut, he walked over to the stairs going down.
As he descended the stairs into the Stargate Control Room, Landry looked from Walter to the only other tech in the room. Both were quietly going about their work. Walter sat at his typical computer console, while the other tech was attending one of the standing consoles in the back of the room.
"Well gentlemen," Landry began without pausing or breaking his stride, "I trust everything is well in hand. I'm going home to get some sleep."
"Yes sir," Walter called out as Landry started down the stairs leading into the hallway. "Have a good night."
Landry waved without looking back, sighing happily as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He had made it halfway out the door when suddenly he heard the Stargate spring to life while alarms sounded within the Gateroom behind him. "Unscheduled off world activation," Walter called out as the General stopped dead in his tracks, drawing in a tired breath. He saw the red lights flashing on the far wall of the corridor just beyond the threshold he stood upon.
With that, he turned around and slowly climbed back up the stairs, each step a Herculean effort. "What've we got, Walter?" he asked, his voice thick with fatigue.
"I don't know," he started, but then cut himself off. "Receiving a Jaffa IDC, sir," he finished. After a brief pause, he added, "It's Bra'tac."
Nodding, the General said, "Open it up, son." As he spoke, he turned on his heel and descended the stairs yet again, making his way into the Gateroom
"Yes sir," Walter called out, even as he placed his hand over the control pad and the iris slid open with its usual scraping sound.
Landry entered into the Gateroom, walking past the half-dozen SFs on duty. Normally, there wouldn't be a 24-hour guard in the Gateroom, but between the Ori threat looming on the horizon and now this new, mysterious foe, he had felt a few extra measures were appropriate.
From the base of the ramp, the General watched as Bra'tac emerged from the event horizon of the Stargate. The wormhole disappeared behind him, and he looked down at the other. "Greetings, Landry," he walked down the ramp as he spoke, coming to stand before the man. "There is news that I must share with you."
Landry regarded him with a worried expression, answering warily, "Well this can't be good news," he started, continuing, "in fact this must be fairly bad if you've come to tell me in person." His eyebrows knotted together as he asked with a worried tone, "Your news doesn't concern SG-1, does it?"
The Jaffa shook his head at this, answering, "No. While we are still unable to connect to the Chappa'ai on Kevlin, we have no new information to say with certainty what the fate of your people and mine is." Landry nodded, looking slightly relieved until Bra'tac continued, almost in a whisper, "I have further news of attacks by our new foe against the Free Jaffa." Looking about, he asked, "Can we talk somewhere more private?"
Nodding, Landry answered, "Certainly. We'll go my office and talk there." As he turned and started to lead Bra'tac out of the Gateroom, suddenly the Stargate sprang to life again, the same alarms and flashing lights issuing forth from the Control Room. The Iris snapped shut as Landry stopped at the door to the Gateroom, turning back to look at the stone ring in shock. "You've got to be kidding me," he said with a frustrated voice.
Sighing, Landry looked to Bra'tac, who stood waiting behind him with a calm, placid expression, though the slightest grin turned the corners of his mouth. The General chuckled, saying to the Jaffa as he led him into the Control Room, "I see you know the way I'm feeling right now. I imagine that given your responsibilities, you're no stranger to a never-ending stream of crises erupting for you to handle." As he climbed up the stairs, he said further, "In fact, I would guess lately you've been as beleaguered as me."
Chuckling, Bra'tac answered with a wide grin, "You are most correct, Landry. The last few days have been quite a challenge for this old Jaffa." Landry looked back over his shoulder and smiled back.
As the two crested the stairs into the Control Room, Landry pointed at the stair case that disappeared into the ceiling. "You can wait upstairs, Master Bra'tac. With any luck, I'll be up to join you shortly." The Jaffa nodded as Landry walked over to stand behind Walter. As he climbed the stairs, Bra'tac heard Walter talking to the General, though the details were lost to him as he reached the top.
Walking over to the window that looked out into the Gateroom, Bra'tac watched as the undulating light from the Gate shone on the far side of the room, made brighter by the reflection off the closed Iris. Grimacing as he wondered what this new event portended, he hoped that all would prove to be well. Things were looking grim enough with the news he brought for Landry and the Tau'ri.
After climbing down several flights on the ladder, Vala finally stepped off of it onto the floor of yet another circular room with seven doors. She crossed her arms as she waited for Daniel to follow her off the ladder, glaring at him while watching him descend. As he found his feet on the floorboards and turned to face her, she slapped him hard on the arm. "Thanks for nothing!" she snapped in a harsh whisper.
Looking shocked at this, Daniel grasped his aching shoulder while he asked quietly in a surprised voice, "What'd I do?" He glanced over and saw Hak'tan began to emerge from the ceiling. He then turned his attention back to Vala, gently pulling her away from the ladder to the wall.
"It's what you didn't do!" she whispered fiercely at him, shaking off his grip as they reached the wall. "You could have said something instead to him of letting him make me look like a complete ass!"
Daniel frowned at this, replying sharply, "Okay, one, he was yelling at both of us, so if you look like an ass, so do I."
"Oh, that's a real comfort," Vala snapped back, her voice growing louder than a whisper. Daniel kept talking over top of her, speaking even more loudly than she was so he could be heard.
"Two, maybe he was right," he added, frowning slightly as he sighed, "I mean, as much fun as it is to banter with you, this probably isn't the best time. We are running for our lives here, after all."
Vala frowned even more at this. Huffing at him, she said rather loudly, "Oh, well I am so sorry, Daniel. I never do seem to do what you feel is appropriate, do I?" After a brief pause, she added bitterly, "I guess in spite of all the kind words of late, I still don't fit in to your little gate club, do I?"
Sighing, Daniel glared at her as she spoke, frowning. She stared back at him mercilessly, raising an eyebrow. "Vala," he said tensely, "damn it, you know that's not true."
Placing her fists on her hips, she tilted her head slightly as her stare bore into him. She asked sharply, "Isn't it?"
"No." Daniel said with finality, adding "It isn't." as he stared back at her just as intently.
After a few moments of glaring at each other in silence, they both suddenly realized that the rest of the team had congregated at the ladder. Glancing away from each other, they saw the others were awkwardly milling about and trying to avoid looking at the two as they waited quietly for them to stop yelling at each other. Vala looked back at Daniel sharply, who stared back just as angrily. "This way," she finally said with a sour voice, spinning on her heel, entering one of the nearby doorways.
Daniel followed after her wordlessly. The Jaffa waited by the door, looking to Sam and Cameron to go next. Glancing about at all of the identical doorways, Cam muttered, "How in the hell does she know which one to take?" He then wordlessly entered into the passage way. Sam shook her head with a sigh and followed as Teal'c and Hak'tan brought up the rear.
The six made their way down the passage way in silence, the tension between them thick and palpable. As before, Vala turned to enter one of the darker corridors that branched off of the main one. After several minutes, they came to a corridor with an end. As before, a single pin-hole of light shone forth in the dim length of hall.
Vala leaned in to peer into the light. After a moment she stood up straight again and glanced at her watch. She then turned behind her, opening her mouth to say something. When she saw Daniel, she stopped, looking surprised. Pursing her lips, she then looked around him. As she saw Colonel Mitchell, she closed eyes and sighed in frustration. Speaking aloud to no one in particular, she said, "We've got three minutes." At that, she spun back around, facing the end of the hallway. Crossing her arms, she leaned against the wall with a huff as she stared into the darkness.
As he watched Vala turn her back to him, Daniel grimaced sorrowfully. He felt very frustrated and a bit confused, more so now that he had a few moments of quiet. Since her return, he'd found himself on an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, and with barely any time to think sort them all out. Each time he thought he was starting to understand how he felt about this woman, something happened to throw him for a loop again.
As he saw beyond her selfish, lying façade, he'd been surprised to find such strength of spirit within her. When she had thrown herself into harms way to save them back at the Ori beachhead, he found himself feeling like a complete fool. Since her return, she kept surprising him by her displays of strength, courage, and tenderness. He'd seen her when she was most vulnerable, something he thought she'd let never anyone see. Several times since she'd come back, he believed they had made a real connection. As he took a few moments to reflect, he was surprised at how all of it made him feel. As difficult as it was for him to admit to himself, he realized that he had a growing affection for her.
He felt incredibly frustrated by everything that had happened since they got into that firefight on the planet. It seemed like after sharing so many intimate moments on the first half of the trip, now they were at each other's throats all the time. He wondered why the two of them were constantly fighting now. It was almost like they were sliding back to the way things were before she disappeared. As he considered that, he suddenly found himself aching inside. Losing what they'd gained since she returned was the last thing he wanted.
Leaning close to her, he whispered, "Vala…"
The raven-haired woman glanced back at him with cold, dark eyes. She whispered back bitterly, "I'm not talking to you, Daniel."
He winced slightly, her words stinging sharply. Pursing his lips, he whispered bitterly in reply, "Fine. You don't need to talk to me, just listen." Vala turned her head away at this. The silence was deafening. Clearing his throat, Daniel went ahead and spoke in a soft whisper. "Look, Vala, you couldn't be more wrong if you think you don't fit in with the rest of us. If you hadn't been with us, we'd all be dead now." Drawing in a deep breath, he added with emphasis, "Again." He paused, hoping for some kind of reaction. Seeing none, he continued to speak quietly.
"For what it's worth, Cam yelling at the two of us doesn't mean a damn thing." Chuckling somewhat nervously to himself, he continued, "You should have seen how many times Jack would yell at me over the years for one thing or another while we were off-world." Grinning to himself, he said, "I mean, the man positively hated me the first time we went to Abidos. By the end of the trip, Jack and I had risked our lives for each other, and we were left with an incredible respect for one another. Now after all the years and everything we've been through, we've become the closest of friends. But you should have seen some of the fights and arguments we've had over the years."
Vala fidgeted at this, turning her head slightly further away from him. He smiled slightly as he continued, "That's the way these things go. In the thick of it, when we're depending on each other for our very lives, tempers flare and things get said. But at the end of the day, we all go home and the stress and the close shaves just bring us all closer together. The harsh words are forgotten, they never add up to anything." He smiled fondly at her, even though she wasn't looking at him still. Reaching up to touch her arm, he added quietly, "You'll see. It's all part of how one joins this 'gate club' you keep referring to."
At this, Vala turned to look at him. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes looking into his intently, but betraying no emotion. Suddenly her watch started to beep. Glancing down at it, she pressed a button and it grew silent. Looking back at him, she said simply, "Time to go." With that, she turned away and looked into the pinpoint of light again.
She then pulled back and looked around Daniel to Cam. "The hallway is dark, so it looks like everything's going to plan. I don't see any guards or soldiers out there, but like Sam said, there could be a lot between us and the Stargate."
Nodding, Cam answered, "Alright, open the door." Pausing as he glanced at the exceedingly narrow walls of the corridor on either side of him, he added, "I guess we'll have to exit like we did the last time."
Vala sighed at this, turning around and focusing her attention back on the door. She manipulated something in the darkness, and suddenly the doorway opened up, although it was difficult to tell as beyond lay nothing but pitch blackness. Without another word, Vala squatted down as she had before, tucking her head between her knees and wrapping her arms about her legs. As Daniel swung his first leg over, he half expected a repeat of the scene before. After he swung his second leg over, he was surprised to find himself disappointed as she left him unmolested. Frowning, he stepped out into the darkness while the others followed behind.
Daniel watched Mitchell and Sam exit the hallway, followed by Teal'c and Hak'tan who carried Vala out as before. She hadn't made any noise when Teal'c lifted her up over his head. Likewise, she hadn't complained when Hak'tan set her down. She simply got her balance, turned on the flashlight on her P-90, and started to make her way through the hallway. The rest followed suit, and five other beams of light began shining forth as they walked through the corridor.
The six made their way through the darkness cautiously, but with an underlying sense of tension and urgency. The hallways were completely still and silent. With every turn, they expected to find masses of troops blocking their way. However, corridor after corridor proved to be empty.
As they paused at yet another intersection, Vala hesitated before going any further. After glancing around the corner, she turned back to the rest. "It's empty," she whispered, adding, "The room with the Stargate is at the end of this passage."
"Why haven't we encountered any resistance?" Sam whispered with a worried tone. At her words, the rest of the team exchanged glances in the edges of the light from their weapons.
Teal'c spoke up, "Perhaps the diversion was successful. They may believe that we have left the ship."
Sam replied, "That's possible. The nebula would be preventing them from scanning the inside of the ship to find us."
"Which also explains why they hadn't been able to find us this whole time," Cam added.
"Or, since Vala locked them out of the computer, they can't communicate," Daniel offered. "Maybe they can't coordinate their troops." He glanced over to Vala at this, but she didn't say anything or look back at him.
After a few moments of tense silence, Cam said, "Well, we may encounter resistance once we go through those doors." Drawing in a deep breath, he continued, "We can't just sit here waiting, though. Let's do this."
The rest nodded and gripped their weapons at the ready. Vala proceeded around the corner, with the rest of the team fanning out around her. As they approached the door, Cam looked at the control panel. "I don't suppose you know the access code, do you?" he asked Vala.
The raven-haired woman nodded as she answered, "Yes, I did think that far ahead." With that, she approached the control panel and keyed in the code. Pausing on the last digit, she turned to look at the team. "Ready?"
Teal'c and Hak'tan positioned themselves in front of the door while Cam, Daniel, and Sam took up positions on the edges. Looking to the rest of the team, one after the other in turn, Cam then looked back to Vala. Nodding, he said, "Do it."
As Vala pushed the last button, the door slid open and the five shined their six beams of light into the darkened room. Each held their breath as they looked into the room, anticipating a hail of staff blasts. The silence which greeted them was more deafening and tense than had they faced the army they expected. As they shone their lights about the room, they saw only the Stargate on its dais and the DHD. As they shone their lights on the stone ring, they noticed the opening was covered by a metal plate.
Seeing that there was no one within the room, Cam muttered, "Okay, our luck can't hold for much longer here…" After another second of hesitation, Cam said, "Everyone in, now."
At this, they all rushed into the room and the door shut behind them. Shining his light on the covered Stargate, he said, "Okay, let's see if we can get this thing working." He then shone his light about the room, turning to Vala and asking, "Is there any way you turn on the…" suddenly the lights came on in the room. "…lights," he finished dryly. Sighing, he looked over at Vala who was standing in the middle of the room, her arms crossed.
The raven haired woman looked back at him with a cool and detached expression. She raised an eyebrow as Mitchell asked, "Lemme guess…you had these lights on a timer too, didn't you?" She nodded wordlessly at him. Clearing his throat, he added, "Er…thanks."
She tried to suppress her smile at this, but was only partly successful. "Anytime," she answered, though in spite of her smile, her voice was somewhat cool.
Mitchell then turned his attention back to the gate. He looked up at the metal plate that covered the center of the ring. "Okay, this presents a problem." Letting his P-90 hang by its strap, he walked up the dais. The two Jaffa and Daniel followed him up the stairs, all looking up at the cover thoughtfully.
"I'm guessing they covered it to prevent anyone from dialing in," Daniel said thoughtfully.
Nodding, Cam added, "Or from dialing out." He thought for a moment along with the others. As the four men looked up at the plate and started to discuss various ways to remove it, Sam and Vala stood together near the DHD, watching them.
Sam glanced over at Vala while they watched the four at the top of the dais. Clearing her throat, she said quietly, "For what it's worth, after everyone else had gone down the ladder I really chewed Cam out for what he said."
Vala glanced over at Carter with a surprised expression. After a moment's pause, she smiled at the other woman. "Thanks," she said simply. Sam returned the smile and the two looked back to watch the men. After a moment, Vala frowned and added with a bitter voice, "I just wish Daniel had done the same."
Looking over with a sympathetic gaze, Sam answered, "Look, I'm guessing the reason he didn't is he's feeling rather insecure about what's been developing between you two. Cam put him on the spot about that, it probably left him feeling very awkward and uncomfortable." Vala looked back at Sam with a confused expression.
Smiling slightly, Sam added, "You need to understand Vala, Daniel's what we call a geek, like me. He was never very popular when he was young, and social situations make him nervous and uncomfortable, especially ones involving girls." Pausing at this, Sam adding awkwardly, "although in my case, it was situations involving boys..." Vala grinned at this and Sam continued, "He's much more at ease reading books and solving problems then he is dealing with other people." Grinning, she added, "especially people who make him feel the way you seem to make him feel."
Vala smirked at this, looking to the floor. She chuckled, "I've always rather doubted that I have that affect on him." Pausing, she added, "Hoped, perhaps, but probably rather in vain."
Sam smiled knowingly at this, causing Vala to raise an eyebrow at her as she looked back. "Don't be so skeptical," she answered. "You didn't see him while you were gone. He was a wreck."
Vala looked at Sam with surprise. "Really?" she asked with a hopeful voice. Then she furrowed her brow and said with an abashed expression, "Okay, that didn't sound right."
Chucking quietly, Sam replied, "It's okay, I know what you meant." She then added, "and yes, really. I mean, think about the way he reacted when you came back through the Stargate yesterday."
Vala hummed at this, looking up at the top of the stairs as the men talked. "I suppose." Pursing her lips, she frowned slightly, "I'd still like to kick his ass for how he left me hanging dry." Sam stifled another chuckle and Vala glanced back at her again. "I said that one wrong didn't, I?"
Smirking playfully, the blonde-haired Colonel answered, "Yeah. What you wanted to say was 'he hung you out to dry'. The way you said it sounds…well weird."
Vala shared in Sam's good-natured smile and nodded, "Got it." She hesitated before she looked back up at the dais and said, "Thanks again, Sam."
Nodding, the other woman said warmly, "Anytime. Think of it as an advance on the chat we'll have back home."
Vala smiled warmly at this. She then glanced back up at the dais. After a moment, she asked, "Think they'll figure it out?"
Sam paused for a moment and answered, "Not likely. We'll give them another minute and then let them in on it."
At the top of the dais, a rather spirited debate had been waging back and forth. Daniel suddenly said in a raised voice, "Teal'c that thing is going to weigh more than half a ton." It was the first time the men had said something loud enough for the women standing at the DHD to hear.
Glancing back at Vala, Sam said, "Okay, maybe we should just tell them." The other woman made a pained expression as she realized what was being discussed and nodded a few times. Sam then called out to them. "It's probably closer to a ton. If it's made of anything resembling steel like we're familiar with, its density would put it at fifteen hundred pounds, easily."
Sighing, Daniel turned to look at Sam, "Thank you." Turning back to Teal'c he said, "There's no way we can lift that, let alone safely."
Asking in a tense voice, the large Jaffa replied, "Then what do you suggest, Daniel Jackson?"
At this, Carter shared a quick grin with Vala and walked over to the dais. Climbing the stairs, she said, "Well, this really isn't that difficult."
The four men exchanged glances as the blond-haired Colonel spoke. After a few moments of silence, Cam asked with an irritated voice, "Care to enlighten us?" Jackson knotted his eyebrows together as he waited with expectant curiosity.
Sam grinned as she looked to him, nodding. "Yeah, actually. Of course you see how like the rest of the Stargate, the plate is about two feet down into the floor of the dais here?" She pointed at the ground, the four men following the line of her finger.
"Uh, yeah…" Daniel began, looking over to Sam who was grinning even more.
Sam then continued with an amused voice, "Yeah, well, you see that slit in the side of the dais, the one that connects to the inch wide slit in the wall?" She moved her finger to trace out the line made by the narrow openings in the floor, the dais, and the wall.
Daniel sighed, nodding as he saw what Sam was talking about. "So we can just roll it away." Daniel shared a pained look with Mitchell, who winced as his fellow colonel pointed out what was now so blindingly obvious.
"Pretty much," Sam answered with a broad smile. The four men shared a defeated look.
In spite of this, Teal'c looked back to Carter and stated defiantly, "We still need to lift the plate down from within the Stargate into the track."
Vala spoke up at this, climbing the stairs. "Did you notice of those little gadgets on the platform of the dais?" She grinned, pointing to the two stubby posts that held the Stargate between them in the dais. "You know, the ones holding up the Gate?" As the men looked for the first time, it was then obvious that each post had a relatively small clamp that held the plate in place. "Well, it would seem to me that those devices are there to bring the plate down into the track, as much as they are there to hold it in place." She looked to the Jaffa with a smug expression.
Daniel sighed at this, glancing over at Vala. The woman flicked a glance at him, but for only a moment. Cam spoke up, "So how do we activate the clamps?"
Thumbing back over her shoulder behind her, Sam smiled as she said, "There's a switch on the wall by the DHD, where we were standing."
Cam and Daniel shared a defeated look. Cam pursed his lips as he turned back to the two women. "Well ladies, if you would like to do the honors, we'll get this cover plate rolled away and go home."
"Love to," they answered together, sharing a triumphant grin as they did. At this they turned to walk back down the dais, leaving the four men standing forlornly at the top of the dais. The four shared one last look as Vala and Sam walked down the stairs.
"Serves us right for not bothering to take a step back to look at the problem," Daniel muttered flatly. Glancing over to Cam, he added, "How hard would it have been to have looked down at the floor instead of up at the top of the Gate all this time." He sighed, pursing his lips in frustration.
Cam shook his head, "Forget it," he said plainly. He then looked at everyone, saying, "Okay, let's fan out, just in case this doesn't work as expected. Daniel, Teal'c, you guys stand on the side of the plate opposite of the hole in the wall. Hak'tan and I will take the other side." As he started to move to his own directions, he said in a louder voice, "Stand well clear of the plate. If that thing comes down, it'll crush whoever or whatever is in its way."
As Vala and Sam reached the DHD, they looked back up at the four at the top. "It's not going to fall," Vala said, "it's already several feet down into the dais, it'll be even deeper when it falls," she added, sharing another grin with Sam.
"Yeah, well," Cam answered, "let's not risk anyone's life on it, shall we?"
Nodding, Sam replied, "Good point, Cam," though she and Vala shared another look. Reaching out to grasp the lever in the wall, Sam then looked back up to the top of the dais. "Ready?" she asked as she saw the four were all in position.
The four looked to one other, each nodding. "Do it," Cam said tensely. At his words, Sam pulled the switch and the clamps released, swinging completely open, reaching down to touch the top of the opening in the dais, forming a track. The plate immediately slid down the short rails, landing in the slot with a loud bang.
Immediately Teal'c and Daniel started to push the wheel, while Cam and Hak'tan grasped the handles and pulled from their side, pulling it. The four heaved and strained, grunting as they slowly started moving the plate forward ever so slowly. The metal groaned and scraped against the stone of the dais as they started to get it rolling, an inch at a time.
As the four heaved, Vala and Sam quickly glanced at each other and ran up the stairs, Vala running to the far side while Sam joined Cam and Hak'tan. They each grabbed open handles and joined in with the rest, heaving as they all slowly managed to get the plate rolling faster. The three on the side nearest the wall climbed down the stairs of the dais as the plate rolled forward.
As Vala joined Teal'c and Daniel, she grasped a handle and put her shoulder against the wheel, below where Daniel and Teal'c were doing the same. She was on the opposite side of the disk that Daniel was, while Teal'c stood directly in line with the wheel, using his height to get the best leverage he could. As the disk slowly rolled forward, Daniel reached down to grab another handle to get better leverage, encountering Vala's hand as he did. They glanced at each other at this, Daniel surprised to see Vala there. She looked back at him wordlessly, straining along with him and Teal'c. They both grasped the handle together; pushing for all they were worth while they just looked wordlessly into each other's eyes.
Just as the last bit of the plate was about to emerge from within the dais, its other end started to slide into the wall. At this, the three nearest the wall moved closer to the others, all six straining to keep the momentum. With great effort, the six managed to roll the disk the rest of the way, groaning as they pushed the disk, grimacing as the metal occasionally scrapped against the inside of the wall. Finally, as they pushed it in the last bit that they could, they heard a loud click inside the wall and the disk froze in place, with just a quarter of it sticking out, enough for a person to reach up and grab to reverse the process.
"That seems to be it," Sam said between gasps of breath, panting with the rest of them. Even Teal'c and Hak'tan looked winded. The four humans gasped for breath, saying nothing more as they all tried to recover from the extraordinary effort that had been required.
"Alright, let's set those charges," Cam said, still breathing heavily as he climbed back up the stairs. Reaching into his pack, he pulled out his C-4. The rest of the team followed behind him, each panting as they fumbled with their packs, getting their explosives as well. As he crested the dais, he walked behind the stone ring and slapped his brick on its back, planted it firmly. He turned as Sam approached, taking her brick as she offered it, planting it with his brick and wiring it together. He did the same with the C-4 that Teal'c, Daniel, and Vala brought up to him, finally placing the timer on the last brick. "I'm setting it for thirty minutes," he said, the timer beeping as he manipulated it.
"How about we wait to start the timer until after we've successfully dialed Earth?" Daniel suggested, looking a little concerned. Vala grinned slightly at this, glancing sideways at him.
Cam looked over at Daniel as he spoke, nodding. "That's a good idea, Jackson. Dial it up," he said as he walked away from the Gate, following the rest of the team as they gathered at the DHD.
Upon reaching the device, Daniel started to punch in the address for Earth. He paused at the seventh symbol, hesitating and turning to Hak'tan. He asked, "What's our point of origin?" As Hak'tan opened his mouth to answer, Vala sighed in frustration and reached across Daniel to press the last symbol. Without hesitating, she reached further and pushed the red button in the center, causing the Stargate to activate with its customary whoosh.
Daniel blinked as she did this, turning his head to look at her. Vala looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm surprised, darling," she said flatly, still a little out of breath as they all were. "I would have thought you'd noted what it was while we were looking at the Stargate logs on the computer."
Daniel's mouth hung open at this for a moment. He then pursed his lips and grinned wryly at her. It thrilled him to see the faintest hint of a smile on her lips as she looked into his eyes for a moment. But then she looked away, walking to stand a few feet off. The archaeologist sighed as he watched her, his excitement fading as she avoided his gaze.
At the same time, Mitchell was punching in his code on his GDO as he walked over to the Gate. Climbing the dais, he reached the Gate, his radio crackled to life as he crested the last stair. "SG-1, we copy your IDC," Walter's voice was crisp and clear over the radio. "The iris is open, enter when ready." Sure enough, the blue light on Mitchell's device flashed on. The Colonel then reached behind the gate and within a few moments a beeping sound could be heard.
"The timer's set and counting," Cam said, somewhat rhetorically. Pausing for a moment, he looked at the team in the light of the Stargate, pausing for a moment on each of them. They looked at him expectantly, each seeming to wonder what the wait was for. After Mitchell looked from Teal'c to Sam to Daniel his gaze then found Vala, lingering as he looked at her deliberately for a moment. She furrowed her eyebrows as he stared at her, giving him a perplexed look in return. Mitchell's gaze flicked back to Daniel for a moment, who looked just as confused. The Colonel then looked back to Vala and started to smile, nodding knowingly. Daniel and Vala shared confused looks at this. From her vantage point, Sam smiled as she watched the wordless exchange.
"Let's go home, people." Cam said simply, waiting at the top by the Stargate for the rest. The other five all approached and climbed the stairs, each suddenly looking extremely tired as they did. As they crested the stairs, Vala and Daniel each looked at him with confused gazes, though neither said anything. Mitchell simply smiled even more mysteriously at them, waving both through in their turn.
Sam came up next, nodding at him with a smile. "Glad to see you're coming around," she said with good natured sincerity.
He sighed, answering with a grin, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Nodding his head towards the gate, he said, "Get going, would ya?" She smiled all the more at this and then turned and passed through the event horizon.
As Teal'c and Hak'tan came up, they both nodded to him, entering the Gate without a word. Cam hesitated as he turned to go, looking into the room quietly for a moment. Drawing in a deep breath, he turned and passed through the event horizon. The Stargate then shutdown after he disappeared with the rest, leaving the room in stillness with only the steady beeping of the timer keeping the room from utter silence.
General Landry walked into the Gateroom as the four members of SG-9 walked down the length of the ramp, following SG-4. "Where in the hell have you four been?" The General boomed as they descended the ramp.
"Sorry, General," Parker started, "We would have checked in but…" The Colonel was cut off as suddenly the chevrons on the Stargate sprang to life on after another and alarms issued forth as the iris scraped closed.
"Unscheduled off-world activation," Walter called out over the PA system.
Landry sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head in exasperation. Without another word he turned and left the Gateroom, making his way back to the Control Room. As he passed through the door into the hallway, he glanced up at the window above the Control Room. He and Bra'tac exchanged pained glances, the old Jaffa sharing a wry, knowing grin with the General. The members of SG-4 and SG-9 hurried down the rest ramp and joined the SFs standing in defensive positions at the far end of the room.
Climbing the stairs, the General asked with a weary voice, "What've we got, Walter?"
After a moment's pause, Walter answered, "Receiving IDC, sir." Hesitating as he read the display, he then looked up to the General and added, "It's SG-1, sir."
"Well, it seems like tonight is homecoming night." Landry answered with a tired smile. "Open it up, Walter."
Walter placed his hand on the Iris control panel. As the Iris scraped open again, the Sergeant spoke into his headset as he did, "SG-1, we copy your IDC. The iris is open, enter when ready." Landry waited for a moment before Daniel and Vala walked through the event horizon. He nodded as he saw them, turning to leave the Control Room and return to the Gateroom.
Balinisky blinked as he saw Daniel walking down the ramp, running over with an eager expression. "Dr. Jackson!" he blurted with the excitement of a child with a new toy, "You are not going to believe what we found on PX8-317!"
Daniel looked over at Balinksy with a disinterested expression, nodding. "I'm sure it's very impressive," he said indifferently. The red-headed archaeologist watched with a shocked expression as Daniel walked past him without a second glance. As she followed behind him, Vala watched Daniel with a furrowed brow, her expression growing concerned. She glanced behind her at Sam, who glanced back at her, sharing her troubled look.
By the time General Landry reached the Gateroom door, Sam and the two Jaffa were walking down the ramp, followed shortly thereafter by Mitchell. The wormhole then dissipated behind the Colonel as he made his way down the incline. Landry looked about the room from his vantage point at the doorway, grinning slightly as he observed the crowded Gateroom. The room was getting loud with the growing buzz from people's chatter as the three SG teams bantered back and forth.
Clearing his throat Landry called out for all to hear, "Alright everyone," he paused as the room grew quiet and they all turned to look at him. "I'm sure there's a lot to tell regarding your respective excusions, so let's drop our gear here at the door and gather up in the briefing room and get through it." With that he turned and walked back to the control room. The twelve SG team members then all made their way to the doorway, depositing their weapons and vests and filing out into the hallway and following the General up towards the room upstairs.