DISCLAIMER: Not Mine. MGM and the Stargate writers got to play for real, I get to play in my head now that they are finished with them! And Suzanne Collins provided the inspiration for the backdrop/plot into which I will be throwing Daniel and Vala this time!
A/N: Thanks for sticking with me guys! More is on the way!
"Sit here. Don't move," one of the guards says, roughly directing Daniel into a wooden chair with a shove.
Trying not to look too interested, too calculating, Daniel assesses his new surroundings. It is nearly pitch black, the only hint of light coming from the flashlights the guards are carrying pointed towards the floor, so he can't see much. But at least there's more to go on than there had been in the utterly empty holding room from which he'd just been released. Daniel glances upwards, takes in the high ceiling; thinks he can make out the vague shapes of spotlights perched on distant rafters. Not too far away, he can hear a large crowd murmuring impatiently. A stage then, maybe some sort of theatre
The guards move further away, taking their flashlights with them. Now completely in the dark, Daniel strains his ears further, hoping to pick out something, anything, intelligible from the low hum of the crowd. Instead, he becomes aware of a familiar, quiet buzz. Experimentally, he extends his arm, reaching out his index finger. A subtle blue flash and accompanying sharp shock tells him that, for the moment, there is a force field keeping him within the vicinity of his seat.
While walking down a long, empty hallway moments ago, the guards had instructed Daniel that he was to stand when the lights came on. So, as the bright spotlights Daniel had thought he noticed before suddenly illuminate the world around him, he does just that. Not so much because of the guards' orders, but because he is hoping to get a better view of what is happening and, if he is lucky, a glimpse of Vala.
The stage he is on is much larger than he had thought. He is startled to realize that about 20 other people – other prisoners – are seated all around him. They sit spaced several feet apart on a raised platform, positioned to one side of the stage. On the other sits a group of state officials, if the air of importance they exude and their slightly ceremonial garb is any indication, along with a group of stylists; Daniel recognizes the cranky woman who had gotten him ready sitting among them.
He squints out through the harsh lighting, which is already beginning to cause sweat to bead upon his forehead, and sees a large crowd seated in a sort of amphitheatre. Enormous television screens above the stage and along the sides of the amphitheatre magnify the faces of different officials and prisoners as the cameras bounce around, trying to capture the first moments of the games. He doesn't see Vala on the screen though.
In the middle of the stage Daniel can see two chairs, one of which is occupied by a woman with shocking orange hair, dressed in a gaudy purple and green ball gown. She wears a plastic grin, which is turned towards the audience. Glittering microphone in hand, she seems to be waiting for the roar of applause – which began when the lights went up, but which Daniel only registers now - to diminish
Daniel's brain can't help but flash back to the karaoke night the team had had last week, at Vala's request of course. Teal'c had given Vala a karaoke machine, complete with sparkly microphones, as a gift not too long ago. Somehow, in a moment of supreme weakness, SG-1 had agreed to gather in her quarters one evening to try it out. Teal'c proved rather adept, especially with anything by Marvin Gaye. However, as it turns out, singing did not fall among Vala's many talents. Nonetheless, he can't deny having sat in one of Vala's armchairs, looking on with a rather goofy grin as Vala and a slightly inebriated Sam belted out an absolutely terrible version of Pat Benatar's 'Love is a Battlefield'.
"Welcome! Welcome one and all to the opening of this year's very special Gabanese games!" The hostess' high-pitched, nasally voice jerks Daniel out of his memory. "I am Siva Rattray here to introduce you to this year's contenders! Or should I say, re-introduce you to them! As you all know, this special anniversary year is marked by the Victor's Games! So, all of the faces on stage tonight should be familiar to you! Let's not waste any time and get straight on to the interviews!"
Siva turns and tells the prisoners – or contenders as she is calling them – to sit back down and begins inviting them, one at a time, to come and join her at centre-stage. Daniel focuses his attention on finding Vala among those seated nearby. He is sitting towards one end of the second to last row of contenders and after a few moments he spots her at the other end of the row, 5 seats away from him.
She sits straight in her chair; her head held high, her face a stony mask. She seems to be focused rather intently on the conversations happening between the hostess and the contender currently sitting across from her – a large burly bald man with muscles the size of watermelons. Staring straight ahead as she is, Vala doesn't seem to have seen Daniel yet. He's more relieved to see her than he would like to admit and he can't help but pause to simply take in the sight of her. Her hair is flowing down her back in a sleek black curtain. Small sections on the sides have been pulled back and braided, creating the impression of a crown woven around her head. Her dress, a shocking blood red, is tight and shows off her curves well. Daniel had heard his own prep team talking about whether they wanted him to look conservative or sexy – Daniel can't help but notice that, in Vala's case, they seem to have gone with the latter.
Daniel turns his attention back to the proceedings at centre-stage, glancing towards Vala every once in awhile to see if he can catch her eye. Her attention remains on the interviews, barely moving a muscle. As each contender finishes with Siva they are escorted off-stage, until finally only Daniel and Vala are left in their chairs. Daniel's name is called first. He stands slowly and hears the soft crackle of the force field around his chair cutting out.
As his feet carry him forwards, he debates trying to slip some intel into his interview in the hopes that somewhere, out in the audience, the rest of SG-1 are watching. Then he remembers he has has very little information to relay, having been either blindfolded or locked up in isolation since being taken into custody.
He passes Vala and tries to catch her eye. Her face lights up almost imperceptibly when her gaze meets his, and he feels an answering rush of warmth. For now, she is alright.
"Well here we have our wildcard for this year! The only new contender! Daniel Jackson of Earth!" The interviewer's grin widens at the crowd's response. They seem very interested in him, just as Vala had predicted. It makes sense, he is new, foreign, and they have no idea what to expect from him. Based on what he has seen of his competition though, Daniel is fairly certain they are going to be rather disappointed.
"So Daniel, if I understand correctly, you are just a traveler – an offworlder who was passing through Gaban earlier today! Why did you volunteer for the games?" Siva asks him eagerly.
Daniel pauses before answering. He tries to see Vala over Siva's shoulder, hoping she might give him some indication of what to say, but the spotlights are on centre stage and Vala has been cast into shadow.
He goes for honesty. "I… was visiting Gaban with my friends when one of them was stopped by security and told that she had to participate in the games this year. I didn't know what was happening, but thought it would be a bad idea to separate so…I volunteered. At the time, I didn't really realize what I was getting into…" he trails of, then forces a chuckle and adds, "I'm fairly certain I still don't know what I've stumbled into exactly." A wave of hushed muttering passes through the crowd. Daniel can't tell whether it comes from sympathy, or excitement.
"So, who's your friend dear? Which contender?" Siva asks with a sugary sweet grin. She quite obviously already knows; there is a glimmer of twisted glee in her eyes as she awaits his answer.
Daniel eyes her for a moment until, reluctant but seeing no way to avoid responding, he clears his throat and says,"Uh…Vala. Vala Mal Doran."
"You are here with Vala Mal Doran?" Siva plasters a terribly fake look of shock onto her features and lets out an overdramatic gasp as she looks towards the audience.
Daniel stares stonily back, unwilling to take part in the charade any further, but his affirmation isn't needed either way. He can feel the energy rising in the room, the audience's thrill at this turn of events palpable. Daniel's interview comes to an end, because it is now time for what is now painfully clearly the grand finale for the evening's festivities: Vala.
It's safe to say that despite the situation, Daniel's curiosity is peaked all the more by this and he can't help but wonder what happened to Vala all those years ago, when she was a victor in these games. All he knows is that thinking about it clearly makes Vala lose control, shut down. To do that, it must have been something terrible.
Siva motions for him to leave the centre of the stage and he turns back the way he came. He sees several people motioning for him to come backstage, the same way the other contenders had left. He glances at them and begins to move in their direction but all of his attention is on Vala. He hears her name boom over the sound system in the annoying nasal voice of Siva Rattray. She stands in response, almost robotically, and heads towards the interview chair. She is clearly making every effort to carry on the act she began in the village square when they had been arrested earlier that day. Her chin is up and she appears both bored and defiant all at once.
He is so focused on Vala that he doesn't notice how wild the crowd has gone as soon as she moves into better view and her close-up is shown on the screens around the amphitheatre.
Daniel has taken his good time heading towards the wings so they pass next to one another as Vala makes her way towards Siva. Their eyes lock once more and Daniel can see Vala's mind is racing, it seems as though she has so much she wants to say to him, but nothing comes out. Neither of them notices that their little exchange is being broadcast in close-up around the amphitheatre, nor do they notice the silence that falls over the mass of spectators for just a moment as the crowd observes them.
The armed stagehands silently 'encourage' them both to continue walking, so in the end they say nothing to each other. Daniel reaches out and allows his fingers to brush against Vala's as he passes her. 'We're in this together' he tries to convey with the small touch. Arriving backstage Daniel is told to wait and so he turns and looks back at audience as Vala sits across from the hostess who is visibly bubbling over with excitement. The crowd is cheering enthusiastically for her, some of them even look as though they might burst into tears at any moment.
Daniel turns his attention to Vala and Siva, and listens.
On the darkened stage Vala sits in her very uncomfortable chair, struggling to keep her composure. Falco's presence earlier had both helped her hold herself together and unsettled her all at once. When he had finished his work and left her in her holding room, she had felt more alone then she had in years. Now sitting here, knowing that the other contenders, her soon-to-be opponents, are all around her she feels as though she can hardly breathe, her throat is constricting, her chest heavy. She didn't think anything could have been as terrible than the last time she sat on this stage. But now, with her memories haunting her and the knowledge of exactly what is to come clawing at her, it's a hundred times worse. Making things even harder is the fact that Daniel is stuck here as well, because of her…
Vala tries to think about something else, anything else. 'The forcefields are new,' she mutters to herself. She proceeds to shake her hand sharply in an effort to relieve the pain from the electrical shock she received after venturing an arm out to her left. Vala wonders if the new addition to the ceremony is her doing. The last time she had found herself in one of these lovely chairs she had allowed her instincts to take control and had slipped off the stage before the lights came on. She had almost reached an exit when the stage lights were illuminated revealing her empty chair. This caused a frenzy of officers to move in front of all the exits including the one Vala was about to use. She attempted to blend into the crowd but was found out rather quickly, dragged back to her chair and forced to spend the rest of the ceremony with two soldiers on either side of her for company. Leenan had said that was when he knew he wanted her for an ally, when he noticed her, when he…
No. This wasn't the time for that. She shook her head quickly to clear it.
As the lights go up the noise from the crowd is intense but she can barely hear it over the blood thumping in her ears. Her hands grip the wooden chair until her knuckles are white and her heart is racing. She hopes her face remains emotionless. Vala looks for something to focus on in order to try and hold onto her calm. Her eyes fall on the chairs at centre stage, more specifically on the ridiculous looking Siva Rattray. Her hair is an abhorrent orange this year but Vala can't help but think it is an improvement over the lime green she remembers.
The interviews begin and Vala sneaks a look at the other contenders. This was not going to be an easy competition. They were all rather imposing. Of course they were, they had all won their games. She only glances around a few times, always trying to keep her gaze at centre-stage, trying to remain stoic. She does however manage to catch a glimpse of Daniel near the other end of the row in which she is sitting. He is dressed in dark pants and a dark shirt that shows off a bit of his chest. She's happy to see that he is well and what's more he looks quite good, very attractive. That will work in his favor.
Slowly the other contenders complete their interviews and leave the stage until she hears Daniel's name being called. She watches as he crosses the stage and can't help but smile a little when he catches her eye. But no, that will not do. It's better if there is as little connection between them as possible, better if the crowd isn't even aware they are friends, or…close in anyway.
She listens to Daniel explain how he ended up in the games and prays to whoever will listen that he doesn't mention her name. He looks in her direction a couple of times, and she tries to indicate that he shouldn't mention her. Even as she rests her elbow on the arm of her chair and subtly drags her thumb and forefinger across her lips in an effort to indicate that he should not bring her up, she knows that he probably can't see her. Not that Siva would have allowed such silence on Daniel's part, even if he had noted Vala's warnings. Siva of course asks Daniel who he arrived with and when he replies and she hears the response of the crowd it's all Vala can do not to smack her forehead with her palm. This just got more complicated.
As they pass on the stage Vala can't help but meet his gaze. She has a lot she would like to say but she is focusing on what to do next more than anything. There is no point in pretending not to know each other now, but how far should she take this? What should her strategy be? As it turns out she doesn't have much control over the situation as they are both being encouraged to keep walking by the harsh looks and rather straightforward gun-related gestures of the offstage guards. They break eye contact and Daniel moves past her as he heads offstage. Vala feels his fingers reach out for hers, a ghost of a touch really, but it is enough. Enough to remind her of exactly what she has to do.
'Time to put on a show,' Vala thinks as she continues towards Siva, who looks at her like a dog looks at a steak. If she is going to keep Daniel alive she will need all the support she can get from the audience, from sponsors. From the sound of the crowd she still has some fans out there…hopefully she can keep them.
Siva doesn't waste any time and delves quickly into Vala's history with the games. For her part, Vala dodges the questions as best she can while attempting to remain personable, flirtatious even.
"Your last performance here was quite memorable, Vala- "
"How flattering," Vala answers with a wink, trying to cut Siva off.
"It was all rather tragic wasn't it? Does being back here bring all the memories rushing back?" Siva continues to push.
Vala takes a deep breath and silently reprimands herself for the emotion that creeps into her voice, "What do you think Siva?" she answers quietly. By the murmur of the crowd Vala figures has her audience's sympathy, so she doesn't worry too much about the slip-up.
"What about Leenan? You must be thinking of him, being back here on the stage where you first met." Siva is digging still.
This...this is too much. She can't talk about him without losing her composure and the last thing she wants after the parade of deadly titans that have gone before her is to appear weak. No one will bet on her or waste their money on sponsoring her if she looks like a sniveling fool next to vicious killers. Vala struggles to keep her emotions in check and arranges her face into a convincing stoic expression, but she fears it's not her best work. "Leenan is the past Siva, I'm focusing on the present."
Seeing that this line of questioning isn't getting her anywhere Siva, too, focuses on the present.
"So, Daniel Jackson." Siva smiles. "We've just met him. Quite handsome. How exactly do you know each other?"
"We work together," Vala replies curtly.
"Is that all? Daniel said you were friends, did he not?" Siva inquires tilting her head slightly.
Vala lets herself smile a little. "He did say that. We are friends I suppose."
"Just friends? Not perhaps…more than friends?" Siva says, crossing her legs and leaning in closer as if they are sharing secrets and not in front of a dozen cameras live-broadcasting their every move to millions of viewers.
Vala has regained control of herself completely by now and she raises a rather snarky eyebrow "He did say friends didn't he? Then that's what we are." Let them speculate if they like, but she won't give them anything more to gossip about, not right now. The mystery will keep them more interested anyway.
Besides, if Vala is honest, she doesn't really know the answer to that question herself.
Finally, her time runs out and Vala makes her way offstage to the sound of excited applause. She seems to have been a hit with the people of Gaban yet again, so mission accomplished for now.
In the distance she sees Daniel being pulled through a side door, a door that she knows leads to an elevator that will take them towards their sleeping quarters. She looks to either side and sees another set of guards ready to escort her to her own room. Forcing herself to keep her head held high for these last few minutes in 'public' (who knows if they are still filming her) she allows herself to be led away.
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