LIBERTINES AND LIBERATION
CHAPTER 39 – White Rabbit
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Stargate characters, ideas or themes. As a matter of fact, Stargate can have my ideas if they want them (wouldn't that be great). All standard applicable disclaimers apply to this piece. I have tried to source any materials quoted in furtherance of this story.
Spoilers: Probably some for Season 10 and beyond
Summary: Vala and Daniel centered storyline adventure (hopefully); relationship (okay yes); angst (yup); comfort; etc.
Rating: R to NC-17 in some parts, with some language and sexually graphic material. Warning: This chapter contains some violence.
Author's Note: This is my first Stargate fiction. Thanks E, for the beta assist. This story will have multiple chapters.
Author's Note: This chapter had a beta assist from my Beta Boy. Unfortunately he had been imbibing in some fine champagne. And, I confess, I had some too, so if there are typos, I blame the bubbles.
Author's Note: All you silent readers, tell me what you think of this story. We've been together through 39 chapters, and I'd like to know what you think!
Com-traya Ya'll! Com-traya!
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No Escape
Las Pul'gas stood by the door of the cell in the basement of Tarsoot's fish shop. He was watching Joaquin slowly surrender the zat ni'katel that he had taken from Slaviash. "You are making a wise decision Joaquin. I would have killed your woman; I still might if you do not drop that weapon soon," Las Pul'gas threatened holding the two zat ni'katels aimed at Vala.
Jack's black ops trained mind ran escape scenarios, all of which he rejected as quickly as he formulated them. He was out of ideas for even a risky escape. Jack lowered the zat as Slaviash moved towards Jack to reclaim it.
"Vala, looks like we're going to be here awhile," Jack told her.
All of a sudden a loud crash was heard above them. Ceiling and debris fell all around them striking Tarsoot and Slaviash. Jack instinctively raised and fired the zat at Las Pul'gas. With his free hand, Jack grabbed Vala around the waist and pulled her closer.
The zat blast hit Las Pul'gas dead center, but his symbiote kept him from full incapacitation after only one blast of the zat.
"No," Las Pul'gas yelled as he fired one of the zat ni'katels at Jack and Vala's position.
Las Pul'gas' shot hit his target. Because Jack and Vala were standing so close, the energy from the blast was split between them. Both fell to their knees with disorientation, though neither one was knocked unconscious.
Before either Jack or Las Pul'gas could fire a second time, the rings that had crashed through the ceiling encircled Vala and Jack.
Las Pul'gas' second round of zat blasts repelled harmlessly off the exterior of the rings.
The 6' 2" frame of Jack O' Neill was already recovering from the half dose zat blast as the rings encircled him. He gave Las Pul'gas a little wave and a shrug of the shoulders as they were ringed out of the cell.
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Budget Line Item, Vala Mal Doran
Hank Landry sat in his office quietly signing the requisition forms that had piled up on his desk in the last twenty four hours. Landry would occasionally glance across his desk to where Richard Woolsey sat reviewing the contents of a folder marked, "SGC Revised Budget."
Landry had worked long hours to create the leaner budget required by the IOA's announcement that fifty percent of the SGC budget would shortly be redirected into amassing ships and weapons and away from the ongoing operation of the Stargate program. The cutbacks gutted the SGC and the Stargate program.
Landry had lost sleep over the Draconian measures required to operate the SGC in the black under the new leaner budget. Across the board cutbacks, transfers, wide scale discontinuation of research had all been a part of the budget that sat before Woolsey now. Such cuts were nothing new in Landry's career, but he found them harder to swallow given the vital importance of the Stargate program. Landry had secretly wondered whether some of the talented people would even stay at the SGC when they saw the new reality under the cutbacks. They might be better off trying to make alternative funding arrangements with other agencies.
Then a miracle had occurred courtesy of Jack O' Neill and Vala Mal Doran. The US government had agreed to reinstate additional funding to make up the IOA budget cuts. As far as Landry was concerned, the turn of events was nothing short of amazing, in the true sense of the word. Especially since it had been cutbacks imposed by the US government that had required IOA funding in the first place. Now, Landry could even look forward to modest increases in future SGC budgets.
Ironically, Landry had partially blamed Vala's behavior at a meeting in Washington for the original budget cuts. She had more than made up for her past sins now.
General O' Neill had ordered Landry not to share information on the augmented budget that would now be provided by the US government. So Landry patiently watched as Woolsey's brow furrowed in concentration and then, confusion.
"I see that you have made the necessary cuts to personnel and other expenses in order to meet the new IOA cutbacks in your budget," Woolsey said a bit incredulous at Landry's ability to make what must have been hard choices in cutting personnel and departments.
"Well it wasn't without pain," Hank Landry told him.
"Yes, well here's something that might make these cuts a bit less painful," Woolsey said handing General Landry a piece of paper.
"The IOA is willing to offer the following personnel other positions," Woolsey explained.
"I'll keep that in mind, but I don't think it will be necessary," Landry said.
"Really? How is that possible," Woolsey queried.
"That's a bit off topic, Mr. Woolsey," Landry told him in a commanding voice. Richard Woolsey looked at Landry's surprisingly stern demeanor.
"General Landry, there's one person on that list that the IOA is quite insistent about having reassigned from the SGC," Woolsey said.
"Oh, who might that be?"
"Vala Mal Doran," Woolsey answered. "In fact, the IOA is no longer willing to fund Vala Mal Doran as SGC staff."
"Oh, and what would she be doing for the IOA," General Landry asked.
"That would be classified," Woolsey said.
"I have the highest clearance," General Landry said.
"Not for this you don't," Woolsey said.
"Well Mr. Woolsey, please tell the IOA that I'm sorry I can't accommodate the request. Ms. Mal Doran has already been reassigned to Jack O'Neill's Department of Home World Security," General Landry told him.
"Well you haven't taken her name off the SGC staff list," Woolsey said.
"Oh, she's still with the SGC too; Home World Security plans to loan her to my department for SG1 operations," General Landry said.
"Where is Ms. Mal Doran, I would like to extend the IOA offer to her directly," Woolsey said.
"I'll let her know you wish to speak to her, but unfortunately she's not here today. I'm sure you'll be the first person she calls when she gets back."
"I'm sure the IOA will have questions," Woolsey said.
"I'm sure they will, but the SGC and the United States Government is not in the habit of answering questions about how they choose to spend their money. We're here to discuss how the SGC plans to spend the IOA's funds. Now given the drastic reduction in IOA support, and the demands the IOA have placed on this facility, here are a list of requirements which the IOA will need to agree to before the SGC accepts IOA funds."
Richard Woolsey took the file that Hank Landry handed to him. "The IOA will provide separate funding for the Russian Stargate team. The IOA representative will have access to the SGC twice a month! How is it that you feel you are in a position to dictate terms," Woolsey asked.
"Again Mr. Woolsey, that's really not on point," General Landry told him. "The funding the IOA provides does not give them the right to dictate all the terms of operation for this facility. I'm late for another meeting; please get back to me with the IOA's response to that proposal."
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What the Hell Just Happened?
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," Jack wondered out loud as the rings fell away. They were kneeling in a small ring room with grayish metal walls.
Jack struggled to his feet, leaving the still dazed Vala kneeling and propped against his leg. He turned quickly around aiming Slaviash's zat at the ready, but there was no one else in the room.
Jack knelt back down, took Vala's chin in his hand and turned her face upwards so he could look at her pupils. "Vala, how ya doin'?"
"Uh . . . okay, what just happened," Vala asked still confused and breathing hard.
"I have no idea, but it was good timing," Jack answered as he helped Vala stand.
"Yeah, too good in fact," Vala said rubbing her neck and trying to focus.
"Look, I don't know who our fairy godmother is, but we should reconfigure these rings and get back to Sonny," Jack told her in an urgent whisper noticing the bruising on the side of her face from her earlier encounter with Tarsoot. "Are you up to doing that?"
"Do you hear that hum," Vala asked.
At first Jack thought Vala's ears might be ringing from the zat blast. But then he also picked up on the hum. "Yeah, I hear it."
"We're on a ship," Vala concluded still leaning against Jack.
"Okay, all the more reason to get back to our own ship," Jack told her making a sweeping gesture with his hand indicating she should start working the controls.
Vala looked around the room, walked over to a lever control and smiled, "No, I don't think we should do that."
"Why the hell not," Jack said in a more urgent whisper.
"Jack, doesn't anything seem familiar to you," Vala whispered back.
"No Vala, it looks like a dozen other ring rooms; they all look alike," Jack told her.
"I don't think so Jack," Vala smiled pointing at the lever below her hand which featured a prominent purple glass bubble on the handle.
"Sonny? We're back on Sonny?" Jack strode to the controls and opened the door. The hallway beyond the room was marked with doorways indicating that they were in the part of the ship furthest from the main bridge.
"We're in that weird auxiliary ring room. The one at the back of the ship that we said had no real purpose," Vala told him.
"If we're back on board Sonny, then someone else must be on the ship too, and they're interested in us," Jack assessed.
Vala bit her lower lip, "I was afraid you'd say that. It could be any number of nasty possibilities." She took a deep calming breath. "We're closest to the auxiliary bridge. We need to scan for life signs and figure out what's going on, don't you agree?"
"I do; let's go," Jack told her taking hold of her arm to make sure she didn't stumble and make noise.
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Fill Me In
Sam walked into Daniel's office unnoticed by the pensive archeologist who had his head buried in his research.
"Hey Daniel, how's it going?" Sam gave him a warm smile.
"Well I wish we knew what was happening with Jack and Vala," Daniel smiled back and sighed.
"Me too; we'll know soon enough though," Sam said quietly.
"All this waiting reminds me of when I had appendicitis and couldn't fight the replicators on Thor's ship," Daniel told her. "I was stuck here, but I felt like I should be out there with you guys."
"If I know you Daniel, you've put all that pent up energy back into your research. So what's the story with this Minoan Snake Goddess?" Sam picked up one of Daniel's photographs of the charm.
Daniel hesitated only a moment before he began, "Well I found it on a charm bracelet that Vala owns. The bracelet is an antiquity, and you must know what I thought when I saw it on her."
"Oh," Sam said quietly as her face tensed.
"Yeah, she told me that the bracelet had belonged to her mother, but I didn't believe it at first. Then I found this image in the Qetesh data." Daniel handed a print of Vala and her mother to Sam. "That's Vala and her mother, Sam; look at the bracelet on her mother's wrist."
"Vala told you the truth," Sam smiled with warm relief for her friend.
"Yeah, she did. This little charm on a bracelet that Vala's mother owned is a real puzzle. I mean, how did a 4000 year old goddess from an Earth culture end up on the wrist of a woman on an alien planet? According to Thellas, no Goa'uld is associated with this goddess identity. That's consistent with the facts I have," Daniel explained.
"What about the Asgard," Sam asked.
"Yeah, I've been looking at the data base, but I'm about ready to declare that a dead end." Daniel took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Sam picked up another image of the snake goddess, "What about the Ancients?"
"That's a possibility; I've looked at our available data, but there's nothing so far," Daniel told her.
"Have you talked to Vala about it," Sam asked.
"I've asked; she doesn't remember much about her mother." Daniel hesitated, "She gets upset and confused when I bring up her mother."
"I've noticed that too," Sam agreed. "Too bad we can't find Jaycek and ask him about it."
"Yeah, I'm an idiot for not grilling him about Vala when he was here," Daniel shook his head.
"I get the impression he didn't spend a lot of time at home when Vala was a child," Sam observed. "Do you have the bracelet here?"
"Yeah," Daniel removed the bracelet from his desk and handed it to Sam.
"Hm, I wonder what the circles and square charms represent," Sam said almost to herself.
"And, Vala got these strange hair combs from her mother too," Daniel showed Sam the combs. He demonstrated how the combs released and broke into individual teeth shaped like snakes.
"This almost seems like a puzzle," Sam observed. "Can you send me copies of all your images of this stuff?"
"Sure, but why," Daniel looked at her noting that she had her interested scientist expression on.
"I'm going to feed it in to the computer and run some simulations," Sam told him.
"Knock yourself out," Daniel smiled.
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Scanners
Jack and Vala had spent the last few hours running scans of the ship in both the auxiliary and main bridges of Sonny.
"Jack, I've run every scan four times, they all conclude that you and I are the only two life signs aboard our ship." Vala was punching buttons to run a third diagnostic on the scanners.
"Could the scanners be wrong," Jack asked.
"Sure, I suppose, but this is the third time I've run the diagnostic on the system. Everything is running within normal limits," Vala told him. "I've also looked at the maintenance logs on the scanners. Ruznak repaired, installed and double tested the system using my specifications. Nothing in the scanner system has been tampered with since Ruznak gave us the ship."
"So how did we get back to Sonny without our remote devices?" Jack rubbed his face in frustration.
Vala shrugged, "I'm not sure, but we need to figure this out."
"I've seen Goa'ulds call up rings and make quick escapes without a ring platform," Jack told her.
"We didn't have any wrist control devices for a function like that. But, the rings that transported us back onto Sonny definitely have that capability," Vala told him.
"Ruznak never said anything about Sonny having a feature like that," Jack pointed out.
"Well he did say that there were features on the ship that he didn't know about," Vala countered. "I think he just missed the feature. The extra control panel required is right behind the main panel and you could easily miss it. But as far as I can tell, that doesn't explain how Sonny's systems activated at the exact right time to save our behinds."
"Maybe our remote controls for the platform ring devices also activate this feature," Jack suggested.
"You're talking about some kind of remote biometric sensor that triggers the rings? I suppose it's possible the device calibrated to our heart rates when we used the rings. Some kind of failsafe to protect the life of the crew, maybe," Vala said skeptically. "It's possible, but I'll need Sam to figure something like that out."
"But we're positive that there's no one else on board," Jack asked one more time.
"Well if there's someone on board, they aren't being picked up by our very sophisticated scanners," Vala said.
"I did a physical sweep of the ship while you were doing that, and I found nothing out of the ordinary," Jack said. "Vala, have I told you how much I love this ship!"
"Well there was your missing pie," Vala said.
"You really didn't eat it," Jack sought her reassurance on the point.
"No, I really didn't," Vala told him. "You couldn't have simply forgotten you ate it?"
"I guess I could have forgotten, but I really thought I'd saved it back," Jack shook his head. "I can't say a missing piece of pie is enough to declare that we have a stowaway. If we have an undetectable stowaway, then he's had plenty of opportunity to murder us in our sleep; instead he's eating pie."
Jack looked around the bridge, "Hello!! Hello!! If you're here, come on out; we're not going to hurt you!"
Nothing but the continued hum of the engines and computers greeted Jack's call.
Jack shook his head. "I don't know what else we can do to figure this out right now. And I think we have a more pressing issue. What are we going to do about that little breeding pond down there?"
"Jack, we've been running on adrenaline for twenty four hours. Unless we're in immediate danger, we need to get something to eat. Let's talk about what our next move over a meal," Vala gave Jack a tired smile. "Okay?"
Jack nodded with kind eyes, "Yeah, let's go see if we have any dried fish on board; I have a hankering."
"Oh, ha, very funny," Vala said with a queasy look.
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In the Briefing Room
General Landry walked into the briefing room to the nods and greetings of SG1.
"Colonel Mitchell, did everyone receive my triple C memo," General Landry asked, using the term for a memo that was shredded after it was read.
"Yes sir," Cameron answered.
"Then, as you all know, General O' Neill and Vala Mal Doran are off world on a matter for Home World Security. We've set up a series of due back dates. They're due to check in on the Alpha site within the next twenty four to thirty six hours," Landry said. "That window was set to consider the possibility that they were successful in procuring a ship."
"Yes sir," Mitchell acknowledged.
"To that end, I've scheduled SG1 to do a threat assessment of the Alpha site."
The members of SG1 smiled.
"I assume a standard threat assessment of the Alpha site will suffice," Daniel asked.
"I have written the orders giving you broad leeway for the assessment in order to cover your rendezvous with Jack and Vala. If they've managed to procure a ship, then SG1 will rendezvous with them at the Alpha Beta site." General Landry explained. Alpha Beta was the nickname used for a temple about an hours hike away from the base on Alpha site.
"Yes sir," Cameron said.
"Colonel Carter and the rest of you will assist with any testing, maintenance and retrofitting the ship needs."
"If anything comes up, send a member of SG1 through the gate with an update. If not, you can keep me informed using the code I've outlined and a gate runner from the Alpha site."
Yes sir," Mitchell responded.
"You leave 0900 tomorrow morning," General Landry told them with a little smile.
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Snappy Jack
Vala and Jack sat in the galley eating a reconstituted Katana stew that was very popular with the Lucian Alliance.
"Hey, this stuff is tasty," Jack said. "No wonder you considered joining the Alliance."
"Well you know I love to eat, Jack," Vala countered. "It would never have worked out. No blue Jell-O, no chocolate and no pizza."
"Yeah, those are deal breakers," Jack agreed. "How's your arm?"
"I'll live," Vala said rubbing her arm. "How's your face?"
"I guess I'll live too," Jack smirked. "We made a good team down there."
Vala nodded and gave him half a smile.
"So there Barbarella, are you willing to say the seven little words I long to hear?"
Vala gave him a puzzled beauty queen smile, "I don't know what you're talking about Jack."
"I'll start you out," Jack said, "Repeat after me Vala, 'Jack, I was wrong and you were right.'"
Vala rolled her eyes, "That's not fair; I couldn't have known Tarsoot would have changed so much that he would be gunning for me and growing larval Goa'uld."
"True, true, but you could have told me that you stole his ship the last time you saw him," Jack said to her in an exasperated tone.
"Why," Vala said.
"Well it was relevant to the reception we were walking into for one thing," Jack told her.
"It was my ship, Jack! Besides, I've stolen his ship before and he never got pissed enough to zat me. I will admit that he would have made a most untrustworthy crewman," Vala smirked.
"Ya think," Jack said with a snarky expression.
"I am sorry that you got hit defending me, Jack," Vala said sympathetically patting his arm.
"Hey unless it's the space monkey groping ya," Jack quipped.
"Well thank you very much, but I can take care of myself." Vala stated. "What's a space monkey?"
"Oh, that's one of my pet names for your Daniel," Jack smirked.
"I don't know what you're talking about Jack," Vala remained enigmatic.
"Vala, even the Lucian Alliance knows what I'm talking about," Jack smiled wickedly.
Vala changed the subject, "Answer the question, Jack. What's a space monkey?"
"Oh, a space monkey is just a little prankster able to maneuver in and out of trouble with ease. I'm about ready to dub you Mrs. Space Monkey regardless of whether Daniel has put a ring on your finger."
"I'd probably skip the wedding and head straight to the wedding night anyway," Vala winked.
"Careful people will be calling Daniel easy if you do that," Jack quipped.
"Easy! I don't think anyone could call Daniel easy with a straight face!"
'Well considering you kicked the dots out of Tarsoot's eyes when he punched me, I'd say Daniel's honor will be well protected," Jack joked.
"I'll always defend the integrity of your body, Joaquin, I have to deliver you back to Samantha in good enough shape to satisfy her sexual needs," Vala smirked.
"Okay, lady, we won't be discussing Carter's sexual, uh, needs," Jack scowled.
Vala grinned, "But Daniel's needs are fair game huh?"
"Daniel expects me to keep up the banter," Jack told her. "He'd be heartbroken if I didn't rib him."
"Uh huh," Vala said in a tone that showed she believed not a word. "Daniel's not here."
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Off to the Alpha Site
Hank Landry stood watching Walter Harriman dial the coordinates of the Alpha site.
"Chevron Six engaged," Walter called.
Below the control room, Landry watched the members of SG1 sans Vala prepare to go through the Stargate. Dr. Jackson looked on edge as he waited for the wormhole to form heralded by the familiar "kawoosh" sound.
"Chevron Seven engaged," Walter called. The event horizon blasted into existence and the shimmering watery wormhole beckoned.
"SG1, you have a go," General Landry said. "Good luck."
SG1 to the last man was looking forward to this mission.
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Frankensnakes!
Vala and Jack were finishing up their meal when they brought up the situation on Nerutas again.
"We need to get a sample of the larva and take it back to Dr. Lam," Vala told Jack. "Sam will probably want one too."
"Yeah, we do; we need to know what Las Pul'gas wants with a bunch of Frankensnakes," Jack told her.
Vala gave him a puzzled look.
"It's like Frankenstein only with snakes," Jack explained.
"I actually get that. Mitchell and I watched Frankenstein at Halloween," Vala smiled proudly.
"Good girl," Jack smiled like a proud papa.
"Those people down there don't have time for us to analyze a larval snake sample. I mean the Stargate is broken so we can't get back here in time; we're the only chance these people have," Vala told him.
"Look, that's an ambitious project for two people still trying to figure out how their ship works," Jack stated.
Vala considered his words. She nodded her head up and down, "Yes it is; but I don't need any more regrets to keep me awake at night. Don't we have to try?"
"Yeah, I guess we do. If we can't figure out a way to take those hatcheries out now, a lot of the human population down there will be incubating Frankensnakes next week," Jack agreed. "Will these scanners pick up concentrations of naquedah?"
"I think so," Vala nodded.
"Can't we do a scan and locate the Goa'uld larva based upon naquedah concentrations," Jack suggested.
Vala motioned with her hands as she explained, "Normally ship scanners pick up naquedah in rocks and soil; you know, things that don't move."
"Well Carter always just reconfigures or something," Jack said. "Can't you do that Vala?"
Vala rolled her eyes, "Oh, no problem; I'll just reconfigure this scanner like your astrophysicist girlfriend could! Jack, I'm not that MacGyver person that Teal'c loves to watch on Spike TV. I can see Samantha has spoiled you for mere mortal women."
"Okay, so no scanners. Don't get touchy; we mere mortals must stick together," Jack said casually like it was no big deal.
"I'm sorry," Vala apologized.
"Look we don't know that Carter would have been able to do it either," Jack questioned trying to lighten the mood and get Vala to relax. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way; we'll go down to the planet and hunt for the hatcheries. I'll bet one of the hatcheries will be near the fish shop."
"What about the other two hatcheries? I don't think we have time to search the whole planet," Vala frowned.
Jack thought she had the look of someone holding something back.
"What?" Jack moved his hands in the classic "out with it" gesture universally understood.
"I can't be sure you understand," Vala began.
"No one is asking you for an absolute guarantee here, Vala," Jack encouraged.
"Well, I could try changing the scanner's range of acceptable variances in rock thickness," Vala told him slowly.
"Where does that get us," Jack asked calmly.
"We don't care exactly where every Frankensnake is; we just want to pinpoint the general vicinity. Changing the acceptable variance might get the scanner to read moving larva as varying widths in the rock," Vala said. "I mean, we're going to want to pinpoint our blast at the highest concentration points anyway, so it's not the end of the world if the scanner reads a larva or two twice because it's moving."
"Okay." Jack nodded.
"If it works, the reconfiguration would allow the scanner to read the larva as a single block, like a big rock," Vala said.
"Do it," Jack ordered. "What do we have in the arsenal that can take out a hatchery or two once we figure out where to strike? We want maximum destruction with minimal collateral damage."
"What about the pulse thingie? The one that Ruznak said was stolen technology from the Tollan," Vala suggested excitedly.
"Do you know how to accurately fire that thing?" Jack looked at her skeptically.
"Sure, why not?"
"We don't want to kill an entire planet of innocent people, Vala."
"Jack, those Frankensnakes will be primtahs next week. A lot of those people are going to end up as Jaffa incubators, and Tarsoot said they were fatal to the human Jaffa incubators. We have to take the risk; it may be the only chance those people have," Vala with a look of quiet desperation.
"Good point," Jack said, "Let's do it."
"This could take a little time, Jack," Vala warned.
"Well you better get started Missy," Jack said.
"Look, why don't we try it on the area near the fish shop first. If you get some kind of naquedah reading from your scanner, then I'll go scout it out and if I'm lucky, I can pick up Carter's sample," Jack told her. "We can at least take that one out."
"Oh no," Vala was shook her head with a little panic in her eyes. "If anyone is going down to the planet's surface again, it's me. I've already put you in harm's way too much. I promised Sam and Daniel to bring you back safe and sound."
Jack looked at the raven haired woman with fresh eyes as she continued to insist on being the one to go to the planet's surface. Her insistence wasn't based merely on bravado. She clearly felt a responsibility to Sam and Daniel to keep him safe. And, she was willing to risk her own life to honor that responsibility. She really was a full fledged member of SG1 now, Jack mused.
"No Vala, I have to go; you have to stay and figure this stuff out," Jack told her with a General's tone of finality.
"But Jack," Vala began.
"No, no, no, no," Jack stated. "I am not Daniel; you will not argue with me about it because this is not up for discussion. Vala we both have to work together and do what we're best at if we're going to save those people. I guarantee that Daniel would agree with me."
"I think Daniel would want you safe, Jack," Vala protested with fear in her eyes.
"Daniel would want us both safe that's true, but not at the expense of an entire planet of people," Jack told her softly.
Vala nodded in defeat. She knew Jack was right.
"And since I'm going anyway, I think I'll use the Reole chemical and see if we can get some tongues wagging about Emeteo," Jack smirked.
"Well that's a little ambitious considering that our friends down there already know we're here," Vala countered.
"Oh, I don't know about that, we escaped hours ago with rings crashing through their ceiling and that was after we warned them that we were working for someone with a big well defended ship. I'd say the scene is set," Jack said as he waited for her to argue the point further.
"Well it means you have to get up close to one of them; it's too dangerous without back up. I don't like it," Vala told him.
"Duly noted, but I'm doing it anyway," Jack told her. "So the plan is that I ring down to the platform, grab a couple of Frankensnakes, jab one of the three Stooges with Reole chemical, stomp around like this Emeteo guy, ring back up and then we destroy the hatcheries -- piece of cake." Jack grinned.
"Right, and while you're taking your stroll on the planet, I'll reconfigure this scanner, work out the telemetry for a strategic strike against the mutant larva that will avoid collateral damage but be big enough to destroy the hatcheries and then figure out this complicated Tollan weaponry," Vala smiled and held up her hands. "It's another piece of cake!" Vala grinned mischievously, "That reminds me, I'm hungry."
"You better not eat my cake while I'm undercover, Vala," Jack warned.
"Well you could stay aboard and guard your cake," Vala suggested.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Can we focus please?"
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Alpha Site
Cameron was the first to step through the event horizon onto the Alpha site. Like Earth, the Stargate was in a concrete underground facility, which looked remarkably like Cheyenne Mountain.
"SG1, welcome to the Alpha site," General Hazmotti greeted from the control room. "Once you settle into your quarters, please meet me in the briefing room."
"Yes sir; thank you, General," Cameron spoke for SG1.
A tall younger man with a pock marked complexion stepped forward in the Alpha site gate room. "I am Airman Olson; I'll show you to guest quarters."
"Thank you, Airman," Cameron said. "Are we your only arrivals today?"
"Yes sir," Airman Olson told him. "I have the briefing reports that General Landry requested we provide to you."
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SG1 sat in the Alpha site briefing room.
"So how's Hank doing," General Hazmotti asked Samantha Carter.
"Fine sir," Sam smiled.
"Well be sure to tell him that I'm grateful to him for lending us SG1 for this assessment. Your insights will be invaluable considering all the threats you've seen first hand," General Hazmotti told them.
"Thank you sir," Cameron said.
"So before General O' Neill left, he told me that SG1 was to have carte blanche in performing this assessment," General Hazmotti reported. "Do you have an outline of what you have in mind?"
"I'm sorry sir, we don't. For now, we'd just like to have a look around the planet. Your assessment reports for the base look good. We'd like to get the lay of the land top side and see if there's any other suggestions we might be able to make," Cameron explained the cover he had worked out for the rendezvous with Jack and Vala.
"Well I'll assign a team to accompany you," General Hazmotti said.
"We prefer to take the tour without escort," Cameron countered. "It's helpful not to have any preconceived notions on this type of assessment."
"Of course," General Hazmotti said, slightly annoyed at being countermanded by a colonel.
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Cameron looked at his teammates as they gathered in his guest quarters.
"Well General Hazmotti didn't look happy about letting us run loose by ourselves," Cam said.
"Indeed," Teal'c said.
"That's not going to be a problem; will it," Daniel asked. He'd seen military types become quite paranoid with evaluations. He was beginning to think this cover story might have been unwise.
"Well, we'll have to take an easy going approach to the assessment and keep the General calm," Cam said. "That's about all we can do."
"O' Neill and Vala Mal Doran have not come through the chappa 'ai," Teal'c observed. "Would they not already be here if they did not procure a ship?"
"Yes, Teal'c's right," Daniel agreed. "It looks like they have a ship."
"Yeah, I think so too. Gear up people, we're leaving in forty five minutes," Cam told his team
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Sam I Am Not!
Jack was bouncing a small green ball on the floor of Sonny's bridge. He stopped frequently to watch Vala's progress, or really lack of progress.
Finally Jack called over to the scanner monitor where Vala sat, "You've had two hours; do you have a lock on the Frankensnakes now?"
Vala gave him a pissed off and exasperated look, "Jack this would go faster if you didn't keep asking that. I'm missing something; I can't get this thing to recalibrate to my command!" Vala got up from the monitor and walked towards Jack with a big sigh of frustration.
"Well do you have it approximately there," Jack asked as he went back to bouncing the green ball.
Vala stole Jack's ball on the bounce. "Jack, didn't we just talk about how I'm not Sam? I'm doing the best that I can!" Vala bounced Jack's ball with a mean determination.
"Well no one's asking you to be Carter," Jack said surprised by the level of frustration he sensed coming off of Vala. "Besides, you've stolen the Prometheus; and you rigged the hyper drive on the Odyssey that time the Alliance wrecked it. So, I know you have a few tricks up your sleeve too," Jack encouraged.
Vala bounced the ball hard towards Jack who caught it and bounced it back. "I may have peaked too early with you Tau'ri. You all have overblown expectations when it comes to my technical skills. But no pressure or anything; yes, I know something about technology, but that doesn't mean I can completely reconfigure an alien scanner in two hours."
Vala was clearly cranky and tired. Her signature pigtails were askew as she focused on bouncing the ball. "I think I'm going to remove the crystals and reconfigure from scratch, that's going to take me about a day, so you best settle in."
"Vala, our Tok'ra buddy and his Lucian Alliance friend do have a ship up here. The longer we sit here, the more chance we'll be detected," Jack told her pointedly.
"Jack, we're cloaked and scanning for ships; there's nothing else to be done."
Jack spoke calmly, "Do the best you can okay? Do me a favor and give it another try before you unplug it."
"It won't do any good, but okay," Vala nodded walking back over to the monitor.
She started to reconfigure the scanner yet again. "Well I'll be the uncle of an Ellish trader; my last configuration seems to be working!"
"What'd you do?"
"Nothing," Vala said confusion plain on her face. "It shouldn't be working."
"Maybe it had to think about it for awhile," Jack said.
"An internal reboot process," Vala suggested skeptically. "Sonny is a good boy; this is the second time he's come through with some unexplained miracle."
"Yeah, well . . . it's working . . . right now we need to focus on blowing up some Frankensnakes," Jack said.
Vala was looking at the monitors, the glow from the displays giving her cheeks a greenish tint, "Okay based on this scan, I would say there are three hatcheries. You were right, there's a hatchery by the fish shop. There's also a hatchery here and here." Vala pointed to the map on the monitor.
"Is the weapon ready," Jack asked.
"I've been a little busy," Vala looked at him annoyed at the question. "I'll have to synchronize it to the scanner."
Jack ignored Vala's mood. "Okay you work on that; I'm going fishing." Jack looked a bit like a boy who had been cooped up inside on a rain day. He headed off the bridge to gear up, "Stay alert up here, just in case, huh?"
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Take a Hike
Daniel was doing a poor job of hiding his impatience. SG1 had been geared up and ready to head out to Alpha Beta for twenty minutes. He wanted to get going on the hike. But it seemed that every person at the Alpha site was determined to stop them in the hallway for a quick discussion. When General Hazmotti had stopped them for a quick word with Cameron, Daniel could do nothing but bide his time silently.
Now finally free of Hazmotti, Dr. Sigmar Acer, one of the Alpha archeologists was intent on waylaying SG1, and Daniel in particular.
"Dr. Jackson, if you have a minute, I'd like to ask you a quick question about this section of Goa'uld text," Dr. Acer said with a pleasant smile.
Normally Daniel enjoyed talking to the intelligent Dr. Acer, but if the man didn't get out of his way today, Daniel was seriously contemplating a sucker punch to Acer's jaw.
"I don't have a minute," Daniel said curtly. "Send me a memo." Daniel stepped around Acer without stopping.
Teal'c raised an eyebrow in the direction of Sam, but neither of them made a comment.
Cameron seemed oblivious to Daniel's apprehensions, so when Colonel Alex Adams held out a hand to Cameron, he'd stopped for a word with his old friend.
Daniel was about to explode waiting for the two to finish their inane conversation. His foot nervously tapped as he stood next to Sam.
"Alright Colonel Adams, I'll come find you when I have some free time. We'll have a rematch on that sparring session. Teal'c here can be our referee," Cameron said.
"Indeed," Teal'c affirmed his willingness to participate.
"Well that sounds like a plan Shaft; you know I love to kick your butt," Colonel Adams said.
"Alright, business before pleasure," Cameron said giving the order for SG1 to hike out. "Let's go check out Alpha Beta."
"You sure you don't need anyone to come with you so you don't get lost," Colonel Adams asked.
"We'll manage thanks," Cameron responded with a grin. "Let's go people."
Daniel Jackson let out a sigh of relief. He'd hoped Vala's mission to acquire a suitable ship would be fruitless. Now it looked like Jack and Vala were definitely traveling back by ship.
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Six Degrees of Emeteo
Jack ringed back to the platform on the planet's surface and headed in the direction of the fish shop. It was late afternoon, and the wind off the stripes of ocean water was picking up. Jack felt the chill wind across the five o'clock stubble on his grizzled and bruised face. His knees felt stiff from the hours spent on the cold stone floor of Tarsoot's fish shop. Now the chill in the wind made his knees ache.
Jack was thinking about a hot bath when he saw Tarsoot and Las Pul'gas walking down a path to an area of the water that had been cordoned off. Did that mean that Slaviash was still inside the fish shop? Was he alone? Jack assessed the odds and listened at the door for noises before he carefully slipped into the shop.
The shop was in ruins. There were cases of dried fish smashed open and ground into powder by the force of the descending rings. The stench of fish was almost overwhelming now. Jack noticed that several cases of dried fish had fallen down the hole in the floor caused by the rings. Dried fish spilled out of crates and into the standing water covering the basement floor. Jack could see the remainder of the destroyed cell where he and Vala had been locked up. Now there was a layer of stinking, bloating, formerly dried fish covering the cell floor.
A small office was just behind the smashed glass counter of the fish shop. Jack quietly avoided debris and looked inside the office. Slaviash lay asleep on a small cot. His head was wrapped in bandages and blood had seeped through to the outer layer.
Slaviash slumbered fitfully so Jack wasted no time. He entered the room and jabbed Slaviash with a ring containing the Reole chemical. The pain from the jab awakened Slaviash almost instantly.
"Slaviash, you have become sloppy. Since when do you sleep in my presence," Jack growled.
Slaviash's eyes opened with a look that told Jack the Reole had drugged Slaviash into a highly suggestive state.
"Who are you," Slaviash rasped groggily.
You don't recognize Emeteo, the brother of Anateo, and leader of the Lucian Alliance!" Jack scowled menacingly.
Slaviash's eyes widened with shock and fear. "Emeteo? I thought you were dead!"
"That much is obvious or you would never have come to Nerutas to do the bidding of that Tok'ra scum," Jack growled getting into the spirit of playing a baddie.
Slaviash was scrambling to sit up and desperately trying to shake the cobwebs out of his mind. Slaviash said too loudly, "Where have you been, Emeteo?"
"Does it matter," Jack held a knife to Slaviash's throat. "Are you so pathetic that you desire to return to enslavement? Do you wish to lick the boots of your master Las Pul'gas? Do you only have loyalty for those with a snake in the head?"
Jack wasn't quite sure where he was coming up with this stuff, but he suspected he was channeling some of his deep seated frustrations with the Tok'ra. Time and time again the Tok'ra had accepted the advantages that the Tau'ri provided only to have the Tok'ra hold back information and technology that would have benefited their human allies.
Whatever the source, Jack's dramatic improvisation did the trick. Slaviash quieted as all his senses became fixated on the knife at his throat and the dangerous man he thought was holding it. "You want to go back to worshiping the Goa'uld?"
"No, but I thought you were dead. Las Pul'gas is strong and delivers profit," Slaviash said in a pleading tone.
"Well I see profit in not allowing the Lucian Alliance to fall into the hands of some whacked out snake head," Jack improvised. "I see profit in humans running the Alliance and not submitting to enslavement by the Goa'uld so easily yet again," Jack as Emeteo sneered. "I intend to run the Alliance myself. I see great profit in that for both of us, Slaviash," Jack told him. "Are you with me, or against me," Jack asked as he pressed the knife further onto his throat.
Jack watched as Slaviash took a deep swallow with great discomfort where the knife pressed against his throat. "I am with you Emeteo."
"Good, do you have a ship," Jack asked him.
"Yes," Slaviash said.
"Do you know where Las Pul'gas' hatcheries are?"
"Yes," Slaviash said.
Jack handed the man a piece of paper and pen. "Show me," he instructed.
"I want you to rig the generators in those hatcheries to explode," Jack ordered.
"I don't know how," Slaviash confessed.
"It's easy; open the case, switch the leads and turn the settings to maximum. I want you to rig the generators at all three hatcheries; I want it done now," Jack ordered.
"I cannot; Las Pul'gas has many men. He will kill me," Slaviash whined.
"If you cannot complete a simple task such as this, then what good are you to me," Jack sneered and pressed the knife into Slaviash's throat harder.
"Wait! Wait! Emeteo, I did not say that I would not do it; I only said that it would be difficult," Slaviash pleaded.
"That's better. After the generators are rigged, you will take your ship to Onwaska and gather information that you think I will find useful in solidifying my roll in the Alliance. You wait there until I send someone to contact you. My man will ask you, 'Where can I get a flying monkey?' You got that? Understood," Jack told him.
"Yes Emeteo, your man will ask me about a flying monkey; I understand," Slaviash said.
Slaviash scrambled away from the knife at his throat visibly grateful to receive such an unexpected reprieve.
"Oh, Slaviash, if you make any contact with Las Pul'gas and Tarsoot, I'll have my men shoot you down before you make the rings," Jack warned.
"It never entered my mind, Emeteo," Slaviash said with false sincerity. In truth, Slaviash briefly considered the idea of whether he should alert Las Pul'gas, but he too had a deep seated hatred of the Goa'uld. And he knew that doubling crossing Emeteo was not a wise choice for long term health.
Jack watched as Slaviash walked in the opposite direction of the first hatchery where he knew Las Pul'gas and Tarsoot would still be inspecting larva. Slaviash was taking no chance that Emeteo would think that he had contacted Las Pul'gas.
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Late! Twenty Four Hours Earlier
The Alpha Beta temple sat at the top of a steep foothill. Daniel had previously identified the architecture and markings as Egyptian. The human population had abandoned the planet long ago when the naquedah mines ran dry. So the temple with its functioning ring platform and communications capabilities had long been abandoned. The SGC had decided to leave those capabilities in place as back up systems for emergencies.
SG1 reached Alpha Beta after an invigorating hour long hike.
"Well judging by the piece of junk Vala found that time we needed a ship, Cameron began. "There's no telling what kind of ship she'll show up in."
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed remembering the torture he had undergone when the cloaking capabilities failed on the ship that Vala purchased with SGC naquedah.
Everyone took a long drink from their canteen as they sat on the temple steps.
"I guess we'll know in a few hours. Let's set up camp," Cameron ordered. "Jackson you have first watch on the com device."
Daniel nodded acknowledging the assignment.
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Daniel woke with a start in his sleeping bag on the temple floor and consulted his watch.
"Okay, they're a day late, what do we do?" Daniel could feel the panic rise as he looked around the temple floor at his teammates.
"We wait Jackson, there's nothing else to be done. We wait, at least another 24 hours," Cam told him. "In the meantime, we run the threat assessment that we were asked to do."
"Daniel, we've all been late before," Sam soothed.
"Indeed," Teal'c said.
"Yeah, that's what worries me," Daniel said with a tensed jaw. "Next mission, there's going to be another means of communication."
"I agree," Mitchell said. "Alright people, we might as well use the time constructively. So, let's take a look at this temple and run some threat assessment analysis."
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Jack Attack
"Vala, did you get all that," Jack spoke into his communicator.
"Yes I did, Slaviash is off to rig generators and watch for a man asking him about a flying monkey. You have a thing for monkeys don't you Jack?"
"Well who doesn't," Jack quipped.
"Good work! If you ever get tired of the Tau'ri, you and I could make a good team out on Jaycek's circuit," Vala quipped.
Jack raised an unseen eyebrow at Vala's suggestion of a career as a grifter.
"I've found our equipment and remote controls; I'm going to set a few fires in ye old fish shop. By the way, something definitely smells fishy down here. You so owe me for sparing you the smell of all this bloated fish."
"I offered to go, Jack!"
"Anyway, I'm hoping the fire will draw Las Pul'gas and Tarsoot away from the hatchery. It's about half a click from here. If I can, I'll sneak in and get our larva sample," Jack explained.
"Sounds like a plan," Vala said. "By the way Jack, at some point somebody needs to explain to me exactly what a click is," Vala told him.
"Later; how's your end coming?"
"Still working on it," Vala answered.
"Yeah, well those generator explosions will do damage, but there's no guarantee they'll take out the whole hatchery."
"No, my guess is that they won't do that," Vala said. "How did you know to tell Slaviash to blow the generators?"
"It's not my first time at the dance, lady. Besides, I couldn't just let Slaviash go on his way; I had to give him a job and keep him busy. We need him to spread the return of evil Emeteo rumor. It wouldn't work if Emeteo just let Slaviash go off too easy."
"I know, Jack. You're doing good down there," Vala told him.
"Vala I've got a few fires smoking in the fish shop. If everything goes according to plan, it shouldn't be long before Tarsoot and Las Pul'gas come running," Jack explained. "I'm leaving the com open, but request radio silence until further notice; understood."
"Copy that; good luck, Jack. Vala out."
Jack ran out the back door of the fish shop as black smoke began billowing out through the windows and the hole in the roof. He ducked down behind a cart to wait for evidence that Las Pul'gas and Tarsoot had returned to deal with the fire.
Minutes passed and flames began to shoot out of the back door of the shop. Then Jack saw Tarsoot running up the path.
"Vala, only Tarsoot's coming back, I'm going to try to stab him with the Reole chemical," Jack told her.
"No Jack! You have Slaviash and that's enough," Vala argued.
"Requesting radio silence," Jack said without commenting on Vala's argument.
Jack watched as Tarsoot ran up the path oblivious to everything but the destruction of his shop. As he ran by Jack's hiding place, Jack sprang out and jabbed him with the Reole chemical.
"Tarsoot, you would do well to remember the name Emeteo; I should kill you for bowing to a snake head again," Jack growled channeling his best Emeteo impression.
"Emeteo!" Tarsoot's eyes were wide with terror.
Tarsoot's mind flashed on Emeteo's face and the days of excruciatingly painful torture he had suffered. He remembered Emeteo's sick twisted grin when he took over the hot irons and prods in order to torture Tarsoot himself.
Tarsoot had been terrified that Emeteo would kill him when he was done. But there was the matter of some missing cargo, so Emeteo had spared Tarsoot's life and released him. Tarsoot had agreed to pay Emeteo twice the value of the missing cargo.
When Emeteo went missing, Tarsoot had not bothered to continue those payments. Now Tarsoot believed that Emeteo was standing before him, and he was terrified that Emeteo had come to exact punishment for the audacity of that oversight.
Jack hadn't noticed the sharp eight inch net cutter sticking out of Tarsoot's pocket until it was too late. Tarsoot had a feral look in his eyes as he raised the curved knife and slashed at the Emeteo before him. He made a deep slash in Jack's side.
Jack cried out in pain. His breath sounded harsh and choppy to his own ears. And before Jack could recover, Tarsoot lifted the net cutter again and plunged it into the gash in Jack's side.
Tarsoot's strike made deep wounds in Jack's kidney and spleen. Toxins in the kidney spilled into Jack's blood system. Blood poured out of Jack's wounds.
Then Tarsoot raised the knife again and aimed it at Jack's heart.
Author's Note: The title of this chapter is based on a Jefferson Airplane song called White Rabbit off their album Surrealistic Pillow.
Author's Note: My Alpha site scene contained a little homage to a couple of people I respect and admire. Thanks for all the input.
Author's Note: The Minoan Snake Goddess actually exists. I have taken broad artistic license weaving fact and fiction together to suit my story. Anyone interested can find information on the internet with the search term "Minoan Snake Goddess. Any facts that survived the bend of my fiction to make it into this chapter were gleaned from research of various scholarly works, in particular Encyclopedia Mythica and the article, Minoan Snake Goddess by Dr. Alena Trckova-Flamee, Ph.D.