Possession
By onyx-dreams
I do not own SG-1 or its characters, though I'm still wishing pretty damn hard for a red-ribbon wrapped Michael Shanks in my stocking. ;) Not to be creepy or anything, but a girl can wish.
Vala slowly came to, registering that her head felt like an Al'quesh had slammed into it at full ramming speed. The next thing that she registered, mainly because she couldn't use them to rub her pounding temples, was that her hands were restrained behind her back. It was also either pitch black or she had gone blind. Fear crept into her. The last thing she had remembered…
She stormed angrily off into one direction. There had to be a limit a woman could take at being insulted at every turn. A woman would walk away after having been told she's nothing but a burden for the 50th time by the man they loved with everything they had. Though to his credit…she'd never told him and her Daniel may be a smart man, but there were some things you just needed to bludgeon him upside the head with until he got the point. Emotions were one of those things.
She had walked for a solid 10 minutes in a single direction before it occurred to her that she should be walking AROUND the camp and not AWAY from it. She paused and took a deep breath and looked up at the two moons and giant gaseous planet with rings sitting above her. How beautiful the stars were, twinkling away with abandon, not a care in the mortal world for the comings and goings of flesh. Though she knew she should turn around, her little clearing beckoned for her to sit down and marvel at the sky for a while and forget about her Daniel problems.
The last thing she heard was the crack of a branch behind her before stars exploded inside her own head…
She…she'd been abducted…again…only this time it was off-world. It wasn't the Trust, the search for her wouldn't be confined to just Earth this time, but she found mild comfort that the Ori galaxy was no longer a standing issue. With her small little comfort, she cried to herself. She could feel the stitches in her arm where her transmitter had been removed…she was so tired of struggling for survival. She was done with that. She knew Earth life had made her a little soft. But she was ready to settle down. Earth was home now, the Tau'ri of SGC her family. She had found where she belonged. And she had given it up all in a moment of angry stupidity.
Deep down, she knew Daniel cared. All the times he had been there when no one else had. Where she had been lost in the dark and he had shown like her beacon to lead her back home. Always gentle with her when she was hurt, rough with her when she was being stupid. So many times he had taken shots that had been meant for her, put his reputation on the line to get her the chances she needed to get to where she was today; a respected member of SGC and SG-1, and he had even fought for her tooth and nail against the IOA to have her recognized as an American citizen, social security number and passport and all. And every time he had achieved it for her, he would smile in pride at her. Pride that she could better herself.
And here she was, in the dark, god knows where. Because she just had to press Daniel's buttons. Which resulted in him being annoyed and telling her she was a nuisance. Which she was sometimes looking back. What was it that Cam always said? Hindsight was always 30/30?
She stopped her self-pitying for a moment as she felt the light vibration of engines coming up through the floor. She was still in space. Hurtling to god knows where. Far away from Daniel, who she desperately wanted to be right here with her telling it would be okay. That this would be over and he would walk through the door any minute to whisk her away from her newest nightmare.
Almost in tandem with her wish she heard a door open in front of her along with a glaring bright light that bit into her eyes. She hissed a little to herself and looked up at the looming shadow that was breaking up the intense light. Not really able to make out any distinct features from the shadow, she couldn't stop herself from breathing out a "Daniel…?"
Her response was one that filled her with dread. The dark chuckle was definitely not something that would leave Daniel's body. She curled up into a tight ball as she suddenly realized something with horrifying clarity. She had no clothes on…the light breeze whisking over her sides and arms and legs made that terribly clear.
"Don't worry sweetheart. You'll be learning a few names real soon so you won't have to guess. You're going to fetch a pretty penny being Tau'ri and all."
Vala let out a mental scream. She'd been found by a slave trader…one who sold his attractive female captures for more than just manual labor…she'd thought her days of being taken against her will had come and gone with Que'tesh…and now this…
'I'm so sorry Daniel…'
Daniel couldn't believe it. The Tokra had gone a little overboard on their end of the bargain, but he wasn't about to complain. When he had made his departure through the SGC gate to the appointed rendezvous point with the Tau'ri allies, all he had expected waiting for him was a single Tokra with maybe a couple cases of weapons grade naqueda at his feet. Instead…instead there was an entire Al'quesh WITH weapons grade naqueda aboard. It had been retro-fitted with the best tech the Tokra could get their hands on also.
Daniel turned to gape at the symbiote and host that had sat there waiting for him. "You know…this is a little more than I was banking on…"
"Dr. Jackson, we have not been the most forthcoming of allies to the Tau'ri. And most of all, we feel indebted to you in particular. We know you seek a team member of SG-1 who only a handful of us have ever gotten to meet or know, but who we have helped before in freeing her from her submission to the Go'auld Que'tesh. We do not wish her harm. And we know that what you will be dealing with will be very dangerous. For all the Tau'ri's bravery throughout the galaxy, they know very little about the scum out here. We don't know where you will be going Dr. Jackson, but you are one of the unsung heroes of this galaxy. We do not wish to hear of your demise. So we are sending you out with the best we can provide."
Daniel was again staring up at the Al'quesh. At this rate, he may be able to set up a very real identity in space. His hopes soared at the thought of how well this could play into his hands. He glanced back at the Tokra to find him scowling.
Daniel looked back not really knowing how to react. "Yes?"
"Your glasses Daniel Jackson. We are not all that familiar with Tau'ri medical procedures but do you have no way of fixing your eyesight?"
Daniel looked a little taken aback. "Well…we do…it's just that it costs a lot of money and with all the world saving I've had to do the past few years, I didn't really have the recuperation time to sit and wait for my eyes to heal from said surgery. It takes almost 6 months for the eyes to fully heal."
The Tokra continued to scowl. "Daniel Jackson, if you can wait a day, I can have your eyes fixed and healed in that time. It would do to deviate as far from your normal look as possible. Should you encounter the Lucian Alliance, they know very well what you look like."
Daniel suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He hadn't really thought about that part. He got the no Tau'ri items in his possession but totally forgot how infamous he was with certain places in the galaxy that would recognize him, Tau'ri items or not.
He gave a curt nod to the Tokra giving his assent to go ahead and fix his eyes. A new ship, a new freedom, a new look…Daniel was reinventing himself…
He had to chuckle as he already had 'created' a name for himself. And how plucky that it was during the whole Vala and Prometheus incident.
"Olo. Hans Olo."
The Tokra turned and gave Daniel a questioning look. Daniel shook his head in silent laughter. "Nothing…a little inside joke that just came to mind. Lead the way."
The Tokra took Daniel into his own Al'quesh and showed him to the small medical bay that had been interfaced. As a matter of fact, to Daniel, the Al'quesh only looked like an al'quesh on the outside. The inside was radically different from any Go'auld ship he had ever seen. His Tokra contact smiled at him. "We took a few liberties with the ship while we were improving the tech. We had to make sure none of it was Tau'ri or Asgard in nature, but what you will find in here is some of the best tech you will find on the open and black market in the Galaxy. Along with the tech, we had an inkling you might take on a collector kind of persona, so we decided to do a little decorating that might suite your tastes."
And what a job they had done…most of the décor was still goa'uld in nature, but there were tapestries and carpets from other worlds, a couple of paintings and some statues.
"All of it is secured to the walls and floor so that should you encounter…turbulence for lack of a better word, everything won't get destroyed immediately. Here is the medical bay. All you need to do is lay down here," the Tokra motioned toward a padded medical bed, "and we can be done in minutes. You won't feel a thing except some mild itching. That itching is what is going to keep you grounded for the remainder of the day as the goa'uld healing tech can only do so much and your body has to finish the rest on its own."
Daniel complied, laying down and pulling his glasses off his face. The Tokra stood above him with what looked rather like goa'uld healing device, but as it was passed over his eyes, it certainly stung a little more than any healing device he had been exposed to before. But the difference was instantaneous.
Daniel blinked a couple times, thinking his eyes were going to refocus themselves to where they had been for his whole life. He sat up and looked around and saw the Tokra grinning at him. "There. Done. I shall be on my way now. The al'quesh has cloaking technology so you're safe here for the moment until you decide to take off. Remember not to scratch at your eyes too much or you'll slow the healing."
Daniel nodded his head, still looking around the medical bay with absolute amazement at not having to have glasses or contacts to focus anymore. He heard the door to the room whisk open and shut, but he continued to look and gawk at his surroundings. He got up and began glimpsing over all the hardware located inside the medical bay. He knew there were a few things Dr. Lam would love to get her hands on, not to mention Sam. He was in a tech heaven short of finding himself on Atlantis.
Most things he recognized enough to know he'd be able to use them easily, but there were others that left him a little stumped. Hopefully the database onboard would have some "for Dummies" instructions on how to use everything.
Good god, the Tok'ra wasn't joking. His eyes were itching like crazy. To stop himself from rubbing his eyes to try and be rid of the itch, he began to wander around what remained of the Al'quesh. He found the galley stocked with food he'd never heard of before but hoped didn't taste like crap, the restroom which was a decent size, but not especially big, a small research room with an interface that made it apparent that this was the primary way to access the ship's database, a small holding area for prisoners, and his bedroom.
His bedroom was the most richly furnished of any area. There was a thick, soft maroon carpet on the floor and his bed was more like a Japanese futon, single mattress directly on the floor. The sheets white and the comforter black. There was a large armoire on one side of the room for his clothes. The walls had tapestries hung from them. He didn't want to think about what all this had ended up costing the Tok'ra. They claimed this was their due to the whole Tau'ri race, so he could only hope he kept it in one piece long enough to get it back to Earth when he had found Vala to hand over the unbelievable amounts of tech on it.
He walked back to the bridge of the al'quesh and located the cloaking mechanism and turned it on. He would like to sift through the database some more but the whole thing with his eyes was going to drive him nuts. Better he laid down and slept through it then started going through possible worlds to immerse himself in to start finding Vala. He wanted more than anything to go in search of her now, but he needed to see what the Tok'ra had handed him and determine what his best course of action would be. And to do that best, he needed non-itchy eyes…
He wandered back to the bedroom and laid down on his back, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. As he closed his eyes, he wished to the bottom of his soul that he'd walk out of this situation with Vala. And he also wished he could be wherever she was right now, because something was telling him that something was going horribly wrong for her.
Vala struggled hard against her captor. They had reached wherever they had been going, and although Vala knew what the clothes that had been tossed into her cell had meant, she was more than happy to get out of her naked state. That didn't quite mean she was ready to cooperate though.
She was guessing their stop was a higher end slave market. The clothes she was wearing…even she was hesitant to call them clothing…were of a very fine quality. These were what she would consider wearing to seduce Daniel…if she ever got the chance again. The thought threatened to break her into tears but she managed to subdue them. If she ever wanted to make it back, she'd have to get out of here first.
All that was holding her right now were some of the finest made handcuffs she'd ever seen and a collar with a thin silver-looking chain attached. She knew better than to think that it would snap as easily as it looked. She also knew that if she did manage to break it, it would give a rather nasty zap that would leave her unconscious. She did the slave trade a little after being sprung from Qetesh, and she did regret it. It was a horrible business even if there was money to be made. It reminded her too much of her own submission to the goa'uld.
"Let me go Fatty."
The slave trader turned and glared at her. As far as her knowledge of the slave trade went in the galaxy, this man was NOT in the top 10 successful ones. But his acquisition of her might very well change that. She thought of all the people that would love to get their filthy hands on a Tau'ri female slave. She'd be the only one… Not to mention the SG-1 patches on her uniform made her a top catch. Almost an ultimate prize short of the person being Sam, Cam, or Daniel. No one knew who Vala MalDoran was on SG-1…
She was tugged forward by her collar and she let out a low growl. This man was getting on her nerves. He was all greasy looking, short, and fat to boot. How was she ever overcome by him? Oh yeah, that's right, he'd HIT HER! Only Daniel or Muscles or Cam was allowed to hit her!
"Oh, I'll let you go alright Tau'ri. To the highest bidder. I already have some impressive offers for you. Taking you to the selected auction room where you will sit until I've met with every potential buyer and let them have a good look at you."
A lecherous glitter entered his eyes. Oh yes…the looking, copping feels…female slaves were hardly manual labor slaves. She didn't show any reaction in front of Fatty at his comment, but inside she was crying. She thought her days of being…well raped is the only word for it…were over. She hadn't had sex since she'd left Tomin, which was almost a year. Daniel didn't know, but she'd come to terms with Tomin and they'd both agreed to break the marriage. He needed to focus on his religious work and she needed to focus on her work with SG-1. And Tomin wasn't a fool either. She'd made the mistake of showing little too much concern for Daniel when they had been captured by Adria and tortured. Vala cared for Tomin…a lot. She did love him…but she loved Daniel more, in a way she couldn't explain…maybe because it was, there was a time when Tomin had doubted her, truly doubted her integrity. He'd left her to sit outside for days, starving to death. Daniel…Daniel had never lost his trust in her. Yes she drove him wonko, and he often got exasperated at her antics, but he'd never stopped his support of her, his belief in her. And as she thought that, it struck a chord deep in her. Her Daniel was looking for her. She knew it. He was somewhere out here in space searching for her.
It didn't make her current situation any better, but it made her feel as though she'd get through this in one piece. She just needed to stay alive and sane.
She glanced around the room she had been led into. It appeared to be glass on all sides, but there seemed to be some sort of door blocking view into each pane. Fatty walked over to a ring and snapped her leash into it.
"I'd recommend not getting close to the ring dear Tau'ri. It detects if your collar gets too close and gives a nasty zap. Don't want your price dropping because your sparky personality got quenched by a nice shock."
Vala huffed at him and sat down haughtily on the bench provided in the middle of the room. She stuck her tongue out at him and then turned away, staring at her reflection. She took in her appearance and was reminded again of where she was and what was happening to her. The man had taken a few liberties with her old uniform. Pervert…her military issue pants had been exchanged for daisy dukes of the same color, the top was a smaller version of the original except it was tied in the front. Her boots had a bit more heel than what was practical. At least in Daniel's opinion…oh and here she goes setting off her sniveling again for a man who claimed to hate her existence. But he was such a hot man who's even negative attention she craved like a drug.
Fatty had departed the room leaving her to her own devices. She again turned in her impish nature and stuck her tongue out again. She then turned to eye the ring the leash was attached to. She didn't doubt Fatty's claim that the collar would shock her a new one. No need to bluff when big money was on the line for the real deal.
Vala nearly squealed when one of the shutters behind one of the windows slid open. She stood and turned her body to face him in order to glare, but her eyes immediately widened in fear.
"No…NO!"
A/N: Another chapter…was hoping for a few more reviews but c'est la vie. Hope this one wasn't too bad either.
