Found - part 21

Here's the twenty-second chapter! Enjoy! Reviews are very very very very very very very very very very welcome!

Luke turned the two halves of the broken Ancient tablet over in his hands. "Are you sure this is a treasure map?" He asked Vala, who was sitting in the pilot's seat of their small goa'uld cargo ship, her feet propped up on the dash.

"Of course I'm sure." She said automatically. After a second, a frown creased her forehead, and she turned to face him suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

Luke shrugged. "It's just, I was expecting it to look more like a map. And why would a race as advanced as the Ancients resort to recording things by carving them into stone? It just doesn't add up."

Vala rose from her seat and snatched the tablet back from him. "Look, squirt, I've been around in this galaxy for a lot longer than you have. I'll decide whether or not the treasure map is a treasure map." She wrapped it back up reverently and stowed it in her bag.

Luke smirked. He'd heard the defensive tone in her voice and knew that meant he'd struck a nerve. "Ok. Forget I mentioned it."

He stared out of the window at the now familiar distortions of hyperspace. Every second they were getting so much closer to Earth. He couldn't decide whether he was excited, terrified, or both. As their arrival drew nearer, he occasionally found himself wondering what it would be like to stay with Vala. Despite her slippery nature, he'd grown a little attached to her, and he knew she was fond of him and was having fun turning him into her protégé.

As if sensing his thoughts, Vala turned to him. "Hey squirt." That was turning into a running nickname. He'd have to make sure it stopped if he did decide to stay with her. "What are you going to do when you get them to let you stay on Earth?"

Luke leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I don't know. Study, I guess, and then join their Stargate program when I'm old enough. I was considering becoming a scientist like my Mom, but I think the lack of action would bore me to death."

"You think those military boys see a lot of action? They're just stuck in their bases most of the time, and when they do get out, all their fun gets spoiled by having to follow protocol and mission objectives. You wanna be a trader, you'll see way more action that way. Trust me." She grinned at him, and he smiled back.

"The SGC doesn't have a program for space traders. If I want to go out into the galaxy, it's the military or academia."

"Then don't stay at the SGC."

"I have to."

"Why?"

Luke studied her face. Was she offering him the option of staying with her? "I have nowhere else to go."

"Didn't stop me." She remarked. She jumped up and stood behind his chair, spinning it round to face the stars. "You've got the talent for it, I can tell. You could be out there, a free agent, answerable to no one …" She cocked her head to one side. "If you want, I could get you started. Set you up with a bit of cargo to trade."

Luke sighed. She wasn't offering a spot as her side-kick, then. "Thanks, but –"

An alarm went off, interrupting the conversation. "What's that?" Luke asked nervously. Vala darted back to the pilot's chair.

"We're receiving a transmission." She answered, hands flitting over the controls. "It's a text message." She pressed a few more buttons, and the view screen was displaying a scrolling goa'uld script.

"What does it say?"

Vala waited a moment before answering, her eyes scanning the message, and then sat back in her chair. "Oh dear."

"What?" Luke couldn't stand the waiting, and Vala looked worried. Vala never looked worried without good reason.

She got up again, and perched on the dash in front of Luke's chair. Taking his hands in hers, she tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Darling, there's been a development. I've just been relayed a message through back channels, from an alliance of jaffa who I owe a teensy bit of money to."

Luke frowned. That couldn't be it. She wouldn't hold his hands and play mother-hen if it was just a couple of jaffa calling in a debt. "And …?"

"They've taken some hostages to make sure I pay up."

He sighed in exasperation. "Vala …"

"I know, I know, I should pay my bills like a good girl, but that's not the problem."

"The jaffa taking hostages because of you isn't a problem?"

"Oh it is, it is, but not the main problem." She said hurriedly. "It's who the hostages are."

"Oh?"

"They're your parents."

For a moment, the ship was completely silent.

"Come again?" Luke said.

"The hostages are your parents." Vala repeated, looking at him like he was a bomb waiting to go off.

Luke frowned. "My parents are stuck on a planet with no Stargate, and no ships capable of interstellar travel, in another galaxy. The jaffa are lying to you."

Vala winced. "Are you sure?"

Luke nodded with an incredulous smile. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm sure."

She breathed a sigh of relief and abruptly dropped the 16 year old's hands. "Phew. That's a relief. We'd have got off to a really bad start with the SGC if I'd got a few of their people captured."

Luke frowned at her. "Yeah, but if they had believed it was their people, they might have helped us free them. As it stands, there are two people out there being held with their lives on the line, and they're relying on you to save them."

Vala's mouth dropped open. "That's actually a good point. And its four people, not two."

"Oh? Who are they claiming the other two are?"

"A young boy who they didn't name and an old jaffa called Teal'c. I've heard of the jaffa, actually – he's quite famous as the revolutionist who started the downfall of the goa'uld and won freedom for the jaffa."

"Wait a minute, Teal'c? I've heard of him too, he used to be on SG1 with my mom and dad. Vala, if he's there, we have to save him."

Vala rolled her eyes at him. "Luke, if they lied about your mother and father, what's to stop them lying about the jaffa?"

"Well, we should at least check when we get to Earth – maybe find out if he's missing."

"I thought you wanted me to go and pay my debt now?" She asked with a small smirk.

"I do, but I don't think you're going to."

"You're right about that. With the absolute fortune I'm about to make on Earth, I can more than pay off my debt to our friendly jaffa colleagues, without having to sell valuable cargo in a rush and having to accept discount prices."

Luke shook his head. "I can't believe you sometimes."

Vala looked him straight in the eyes. "Hey, I'm trying to survive out here. Sometimes I have to fight dirty to protect my livelihood. If I sold all my cargo and then gave all of the revenue to the jaffa, then where would I be? I'd have nothing, and I'd be effectively finished, or at least seriously disadvantaged for a while. You don't know what its like."

He sighed. "I know, its just . . ."

"You don't like leaving people in harm's way. Don't worry, the jaffa want their money. If they kill the hostages, what possible incentive would I have to give it to them? They're gonna keep those people alive and captive until I pay, which gives us more than enough time to gather some capital." She assured him. "I'm going to send them a message, informing them that their money is on the way, but could be slightly delayed as I have to collect on a sale to get it."

Luke nodded. "Alright. So we're still headed for Earth?"

"Yup. We'll be there in 20 hours."

What do you think? I was worried I'd made Vala seem a little too cold ... Anyhoo, let me know what you thought.

Message for tennessee14: sorry, your email address wasn't included in the review so I couldn't reply to answer your question. The answer is Luke is Sam and Jack's son, Tally's younger brother. Look back at chapter 11, 'Luke's Story' for a more detailed answer!

Beka :-)