Chapter 11 Help In Unexpected Places
Daniel lay on the cell floor, in the basement of Athena's palace. His BDU jacket on the left side had become little more than a sodden, bloody mess.
Mitchell had patched the archaeologist up as best he could, with some of the bandages and pads that one of the guards had allowed him to keep from his pack, but what Daniel really needed was Carolyn Lam and a nice sterile operating theater. At least the bleeding seemed to have tailed off now. Mitchell dreaded to think how much blood his friend had lost – if he had to guess he'd say a couple of pints. The Colonel rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. He hoped the survivors of SG-13 and 15 were okay – they had all been separated as soon as they entered the palace and thrown into separate cells. Mitchell suspected that it was because Athena had something special planned for Daniel and himself.
It was virtually silent inside the cell – the only sounds that could be heard were from outside - unknown footsteps, a door opening or closing, voices talking and laughing in the distance. After an hour or so, the sound of someone approaching could be heard – Mitchell stood and moved towards the back of the cell where Daniel lay, his defense mechanism kicking in.
The thick metal door swung open slowly with an infinitessimal squeak, to reveal a very young man standing in the doorway. Another guard hovered behind him, grinning lazily.
The younger one spoke. "You're friends, the Tok'ra," he said. "The one's who you thought were hiding up in orbit..yes?"
"Uh…what about 'em?" Mitchell asked warily.
"You know that they're not up there anymore, don't you?" the young guard asked.
The other guy behind sniggered. "Our spy took them all down," he bragged. "One, two – then number three. You know that?"
"You don't know that for sure," Mitchell reminded him. "You got super deluxe X-ray vision, pal? 'Cos that Tel'tak had an Al'khesh hot on it's ass last time I saw!" A horrible, icy-cold trickle was slithering down Mitchell's spine and pooling in his stomach. Not Vala, he thought, please - not Vala.
"I think that you'll find it was the other way around," the younger guard beckoned him closer, but the Colonel didn't move. "You see the flames in the sky? We did - the fireball was visible from the palace. That was your friends' on the Al'kesh, that was. Our Tel'tak called in a short while back. You're on your own now."
Mitchell's heart was thumping hard, palms sweating. Not their team mate, gone. Not her. A red mist swirled in front of his eyes – turning his back on the guards he threw himself against the wall, saying nothing but punching his fist against the brickwork, over and over.
The older, thicker set guard laughed furiously, clapped the other on the back and retraced his steps along the passageway. The younger fellow, eyes inscrutably dark, folded his arms and moved back to stand against the far wall of the corridor, leaving the cell door open.
Mirchell crossed the cell to stand by Daniel again, and began to pound his other fist blindly against the wall until a low voice broke in on his meltdown.
"Leave it." Daniel, voice quiet and thin with pain, spoke slowly. "Mitchell – stop. Stop!" He tried to push himself up, but the pain was too great and he flopped down again. He thought that his heart had turned to stone – he felt nothing, he was nothing. Should I weep? Scream and shout? Daniel lay, unmoving, unfeeling."Cam – please – stop." After a moment he reached out again, trying to catch hold of Mitchell.
The Colonel at last stopped his self-destructive ministrations - his knuckles were a bloody mess, the skin torn away across the back of his hands and on his fingers. He didn't care – he shook them fiercely as he walked across the room, sprinkling tiny droplets of blood.
Daniel watched his CO expressionlessly, his heart and soul buried under ice.
After a long, strange moment he heard the tiniest of tiny taps against the edge of the cell door and, shifting his gaze, saw the young guard still standing there.
The boy nodded slightly at the two men before quickly scanning the passageway. "Colonel Mitchell," he whispered. "Dr Jackson." He seemed to lean in even closer, if that were possible. "It is the Al'kesh who fired upon the Tel'tak. The Jaffa here lost contact with the spy just before we saw the last explosion in the sky. The Al'kesh left to repair it's shields but will return, I am sure. We must pray that the Tau'ri ship will also return quickly as well."
Another long silence permeated the room.
Mitchell picked his jaw up off of the floor. "And you know this because…?"
The young man smiled. "I am one of the Tok'ra infiltrators amongst Athena's troops."
Mitchell felt his face begin to split into a growing smile. "So again, the Al'kesh is safe?"
"It is." Quickly, their new ally scanned the corridor again. "I heard that whoever was flying it demonstrated considerable tactical prowess with the controls."
Daniel's heart unfroze. His eyes felt bizarrely teary, and he needed to clear his throat. "Vala," he whispered.
Mitchell nodded. "Should have known our Princess was too wily to get herself blown up!"
"I must go." The guard was already backing away. "I will return when I have any news."
"Hey, thanks!" Mitchell hissed after him. Then he turned to Daniel. "Just gotta hang in there, man." He looked at the bloodied mess of his friend's clothing,and the paleness of his face. But there was a tiny smile tugging at Daniel's mouth now, and a look of hope in the eyes of both men. Mitchell patted the archaeologist's shoulder gently. "We just gotta hang in there."
o – o – o – o – o –
Vala stood on what passed for the Al'kesh's bridge as the Gou'ald ship hung in space, circling lazily in orbit around the planet below. Behind her several Tok'ra were fiddling with crystals and wiring – she'd left them to it. As long as their cloak was working, getting the shields back online was just urgent, rather than an emergency. They'd manage it, soon enough.
Vala meanwhile, was formulating a plan. She was pretty sure that it wasn't a very good one – not up to the grade of one of Samantha's, and undoubtedly one that would have made Daniel protest vehemently if he was there with her. But he wasn't, and neither was Sam, so she had to think up something on her own.
"Jerrun," Vala looked back over her shoulder, to where the young man was handing out small snack bars to the hungry.
"Yes?" He approached, offering her one of the energy snacks.
Vala took it and opened it immediately. She rarely said no to food, having been hungry so often when she was out on her own. "Jerrun," she repeated. "I've been hibernating a plan." She paused. Again, not quite the right expression. "No – I've been hatching a plan." That was it – she nodded proudly.
"And?" The young Tok'ra also opened an energy bar for himself.
"Well, this ship is now cloaked." Vala took a bite of her snack and chewed thoughtfully. "So – we're pretty much safe here until Samantha comes back in the Hammond. And she will come back, I'm sure of it."
Vala took another mouthful of energy bar. "Now," she continued. "There's not many of you left, and those who are – well, there's quite a few injured. Vielkah is in charge, and you're her second in charge. Like a lieutenant. Like the lieutenants back at the SGC. But probably not like a Major. That would be too much. And definitely not a Colonel, I think. I rather imagine that I'm the Colonel – like Cameron, and Samanatha. Colonel Mal Doran – sounds rather fun." She briefly drifted away before shaking herself mentally. "Anywho, as Jack would say – I'm the unofficial Colonel now, you're the unofficial Lieutenant, and Vielkah is – well, a Captain. Yes. Captain." Vala chomped some more of her snack. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is…."
"You're going to go down to the planet. You're leaving Vielkah in charge, and as she's injured, I'm second in charge. We are to wait for Colonel Carter to return in the Hammond. Correct?"
Vala blinked, eyes wide. "Well – that's very good. Congrats, darling, that is exactly what I was thinking." In went the last morsel of energy bar. "If I go alone I can move quicker and more quietly than in a group. I was once a Gou'ald, and I've had dealings with both Charlotte Mayfield and Athena in the past. I have also, on occasion, had to use – er – unorthodox means of gaining entry to places. So out of all of us, I am the best person to attempt this mission. Plus, Daniel and Mitchell are my team mates. Or they were. Still are. I hope." She chewed her lip, eyes clouding with the concern which she'd been trying to squash since their escape from the Tel'tak. A moment later Vala squared her shoulders and shook her wavy blonde tresses back over her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm officially in charge of this bucket of – bucket of…." She couldn't remember the saying. "…this bucket of stuff. So. I'm going down there. Jerrun – ring transporter. Now."
The young Tok'ra, nodding slowly, said, "Very well." He moved to the back of the bridge area, and the transport controls. Vala went and stood in the centre of the ring platform. She had her Zat and a pistol tucked into her leg holsters. She also had her long, thin hunting knife inside her boot, and another one in a sheath pinned into the back of her BDU jacket. Just to be on the safe side there was a small caterpault stuffed in a tactical vest pocket, and a bundle of rubber bands in another. Secreted elsewhere upon her person were tissues, plasters, chocolate, a tiny unicorn on a keyring, a bright pink lipstick, a nail file, her lockpick, Daniel's credit card and her small Gou'ald healing device.
"Okay." Vala patted her pockets, took a deep breath and pulled the Zat from it's holster. She nodded at Jerrun, and tried to look braver than she felt. "Beam me down, Spotty."
The young man pressed the buttons in sequence. A few moments later and the rings materialised in a bright glow around Vala, then took her away to the planet below.
o – o – o – o – o –
She re-materialised in a closely overhung grove of ferns and birch trees. Vala ducked down immediately, but there was nobody about, not a single soul. She waited, listening, for a good few minutes, before gingerly unfolding herself and standing up. Then she paused again, listening, for many long, long beats. But there was nothing – just the gentle whispering of the breeze in the trees, and the singing of numerous birds.
Good sign, Vala thought. Birds. Means no bad guys around. I hope.
She set off, walking as quickly as she dared, through the undergrowth and keeping off of the main path. She'd only walked a few minutes when, coming around a lazy curve close to the road, she saw Athena's palace directly in front of her. And very close.
Vala slipped through the tall brush and nettles which ranged along the edge of the woodland, grimacing and hissing when her hands were stung in a couple of places. She knelt and crawled for the last ten yards or so – after a few feet she gave up with the stupid nettles – her poor face and neck had four or five raised red wheals on by the time she was at the edge of the undergrowth.
Vala waited again. Nobody was about. She hoped that this was a good sign, and that Athena and her guards weren't expecting any resistance. At least from down on the planet anyway. A large, brownish red door, with burnished brass handles was close to her, but the ex-burglar avoided that, moving instead to a low window several yards to the right of the door. Out came the lock pick and Daniel's credit card – mere seconds later and Vala had the small portal open, slipping inside easily.
She found herself in a narrow basement corridor with a low ceiling and clean, whitewashed walls. Waiting yet again, she listened intently for further noise. There was some talking and laughter away to her left, but no sounds to her right so she chose that direction. The corridor turned left ninety degrees at the end, peeping round the corner Vala saw a small vestibule area about half way down, where two guards were sitting chatting quietly at a small table. They both had their backs to her.
Hmmm. She bit her lip and pulled out the Zat. She didn't want to kill either of them but it might be the only way. She needed time to try and find Mitchell, Daniel and the others. Vala lifted the Zat with a firm grip and levelled it at the back of the guard who was nearest to her. He was taller and stockier – easier to hit, she thought grimly, and fired the gun.
He froze in the blue white light infinitesimally before dropping to the floor. Vala was already half way down the corridor by the time the smaller man leaped to his feet and spun around to face her. It was the young guard who had spoken to Mitchell and Daniel, the Tok'ra spy.
She froze.
"Stop!" he hissed fiercely, before also stiffening, his eyes wide. "Wait!" He raised his hands, and a smile began to creep across his face. "I am not what you think! I am working with the Tok'ra! Your friends are safe – I will take you to them."
Vala couldn't seem to find her voice. She swallowed convulsively.
The young guard dropped his hands, his own eyes misty. "Mother," was all he managed to get out, before Vala embraced him, as he hugged her back fiercely.
"Laylun," she said softly, against his ear. "Laylun."
TBC...
Remember Laylun? Vala's lost orphan? You knew he was going to turn out okay though, right? :-)
More soon!