Chapter Fifteen: Getting Organised
"Stop worrying," said Eve to Wesley. "She's in no danger. I mean what can they do to her? She's a Whitelighter. If anything happens she can just orb back here. Anyway as far as the Goa'uld are concerned she's just another local."
Eve's plan had been simple. Jenny would allow herself to be captured by the Goa'uld. Hopefully she would be taken north to the main Goa'uld base in the northern continent. Once there she would orb back and pick up Wesley and Eve, thus avoiding the need for the delay and risk of sailing north.
"I just don't like waiting here in safety while somebody else takes the risks," said Wesley.
"I thought you were a Watcher," said Eve. "Isn't that what Watchers do, stay back while the slayer takes all the risks?"
"Keep your mouth shut about something you know nothing about," replied Wesley heatedly. "That's not the way a Watcher works with a slayer." He walked away from Eve before he said any more and tried to calm himself down. At least it's not the way things are now he added to himself. I suppose I thought it was true when I first went to Sunnydale though. I really was young and stupid then.
Eve had hit home with her remark, something that came as a surprise to her. She had been getting along with Wesley and this was the first time for a while that her habit of making barbed remarks had hit a sore spot. She decided to keep it in mind for future reference. People generally reveal more when they're angry she thought.
As Eve continued to watch the Goa'uld base from the concealment of the nearby trees, what could only be some sort of transport aircraft took off. According to Jacimo and Illis this contained the latest contingent of locals to be rounded up by the Jaffa. Jenny should be aboard.
The destination was unknown but was assumed to be the northern continent as that was the direction taken by such planes in the past. Contact with people living in the north in the Goa'uld occupied territory had revealed that the people sent north were formed into labour gangs to work on Goa'uld construction projects and newly established intensive farms.
Today however there was a change. For some reason the aircraft, after taking off and heading north began to climb steeply and soon was headed straight up. Now it looked like nothing more than the launch of a space shuttle as it disappeared into the sky far above.
"What does your plan say about that then?" asked Wesley who had returned to watch after his short frustrated walk. "Looks like they may be heading into orbit, or even off to another planet."
"What's the problem?" said Eve. "Jenny's still a Whitelighter and last I heard that's the direction of heaven. She's bound to be at home up there."
"I hope she doesn't go too far to orb back before she realises what's happening," said Wesley.
"I suppose she might have to orb from orbit," said Eve. "Say, it that why they call it orbing, because going upstairs is like being in orbit?"
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The arrival of the SG teams with the witches was very different to the previous visit to Kallistien. For one thing there was a large armed guard on the Stargate, the commander of which insisted on taking all the SG-1 and SG-12 weapons.
On being told that the Tau'ri had returned and this time had brought their witches with them the commander became much more respectful. He had all the visitors escorted to a local hotel, still under guard however, and explained that somebody would come to see them there.
The hotel was large and bustling with people. Apparently the city was pretty well full because of a session of the High Council. Nevertheless a floor was reserved for visiting dignitaries and rooms, including a central meeting room, were allocated to the Tau'ri party.
Later in the day Councillor Lultesh, an overweight bustling sort or man who had met SG-1 on their last visit, arrived with two witches, Meddine and Okesh. The witches wanted to talk to the sisters alone but Prue refused to agree.
"We're all together," said Prue. "Whatever you want to say to us you can say to them. That's the way we operate."
This was not at all to the liking of the Kallistien witches but they agreed. On the other hand it impressed Councillor Lultesh who was used to the secretive ways of the Kallistien witches and found it a refreshing change.
So it came out that the Kallistians wanted help from the Tau'ri witches in their wars with the Goa'ulds Marduk and Apophis. They explained what had happened and how things stood at the moment.
"Sorry," said Piper. "We don't do wars. People killing each other, not our thing. We only deal with the supernatural and non-human threats like those Replicator thingies."
"Threats to humankind and the like," said Phoebe. "Monsters, goulies and things that go bump in the night."
"The Goa'uld are not actually people," said Daniel who then explained in more detail what he had explained briefly to Paige back on the Replicator spaceship. He explained about the Goa'uld symbiotes and the Jaffa and about the period when the Goa'uld ruled Earth.
"We have been working together for some years to stop the Goa'uld taking over more worlds, including the Earth," said Teal'c. "We should certainly assist the Kallistians in their fight."
"Besides," the witch Meddine had explained, "it's not just us. The Goa'uld are making war on witches on other worlds." She explained about the Goa'uld using magical portals and a Stargate to kidnap other world witches. "They might come to your world someday."
"If they haven't already," added Lultesh.
"Do you know anything about this Goa'uld Marduk, Teal'c?" asked Jack.
"Marduk is one of the Goa'uld who was on Earth many years ago..." said Teal'c.
"Marduk was the name of the chief god of ancient Babylon if I remember correctly," said Daniel.
"These Goa'uld pretended to be gods?" asked Phoebe.
"They actually think they are gods," said Sam. "They expect their followers to think the same. They use high tech tricks to make people believe it and they're utterly ruthless."
"Marduk was the chief rival of Ra and Apophis for many years," continued Teal'c. "In recent years he has avoided conflict with other Goa'uld as much as possible. It was thought that this was because of weakness but it may be he has been biding his time and building up his forces."
"And picking off places like Kallistien where there are no other Goa'uld," suggested Jack. "Or at least not until Apophis turned up. Why does that guy keep turning up everywhere we go? I thought the universe was meant to be pretty big?"
At that moment there was a loud explosion. The explosion seemed to have come from several blocks away. Everybody rushed over to the window to see what was happening. Everybody but the SG Military personnel who all dropped to the floor.
"Get away from the windows people!" ordered Jack in a loud voice. "And get down! Standing by a glass window when there are bombs going off is the worse thing you can do."
As the others moved away from the windows a second explosion went off, coming it seemed from about the same location.
"It's the Council Building," said Okesh. "The Goa'uld are attacking the High Council Building."
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Jack walked into the meeting room of the hotel to find it empty apart from Daniel who was sat at a table upon which were piled a large number of books. Daniel looked up from his reading.
"Everything OK?" he asked.
"Yup," replied Jack. "SG-12 are now back on Earth."
Following the attack on the city Jack had decided to send SG-12 back to Earth to report to General Hammond about the Replicators and the situation on Kallistien, in particular the war between the Kallistians and the Goa'uld. The time loop had now run out. Jack had assured the Kallistians that the Tau'ri would do all they could to assist in defeating the Goa'uld.
Jack had sent a request for weapons and a few combat troops but these would never be sufficient to make much difference in a world wide war, especially as the enemy had space and teleportation technology. Jack's main plan was to improve the Kallistien technology. As a first step he had also asked for communication equipment, in particular as many radio sets and operators as possible in order to improve Kallistien communications since radio was barely known to them. Then there were the witches.
At the time of the attack on the High Council Hall the Kallistien witches had rushed off and taken the witch sisters with them, insisting that they needed their immediate help. The sisters had gone on the understanding that they would only be involved in protecting people and saving lives. Jack had been fobbed off by the Kallistien witches with the promise that the Kallistien military would soon be sending some representatives to speak with him so he and the other non-witches agreed to stay in the hotel.
Communication with the sisters since that time had been via Paige who had orbed back and forth a few times. That was how Jack had learned that the sisters had been taken to the main witch defence HQ and had helped in the defence of the city by boosting the magical shields used by the local witches.
On her last visit Paige had explained that the sisters believed that the Goa'uld had been kidnapping witches from Earth and bringing them to Kallistien. They seemed to have some way of controlling them and making them work for them. What they wanted was for a letter to be delivered from Piper to her husband Leo.
"Leo can contact other witches, real witches, and help you do something about it," Paige had explained. "Piper's letter explains all about it."
Jack had sent an explanation, together with Piper's letter, onto General Hammond as part of the report he sent with SG-12. In the meantime he was still waiting to meet the Kallistien military. He urgently needed to talk to them about how the Tau'ri assistance could best be used to help in the war.
"These people have got a war going on," said Jack who was by now becoming frustrated by the waiting. "They're threatened with destruction and here we are waiting, waiting and doing nothing. You'd think they'd at least find the time for an urgent talk with their allies."
"They don't think of us as the real allies," said Daniel. "Their culture has been dominated by witches for centuries. As far as most of them are concerned it's our witches who are the real allies. Everything else is window dressing, or at least that's the way they think."
"Even after they've been attacked by Goa'uld weaponry?" asked Jack. "You'd think they'd have a bit of respect for technology by now."
"So what are you studying?" asked Jack picking up one of the books from the pile on the table and flipping through it.
"Kallistien history," replied Daniel. "I was trying to find out something about how the Kallistians got rid of the Goa'uld the last time. So far I've found nothing except the witches are given the credit for it."
At that moment Sam entered the room. "We've got visitors," she said.
"At last," said Jack.
"It's not the military people we've been waiting for," said Sam. "It's some more witches. They're on their way up."
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The teleportation rings had deposited Buffy and the others in an outdoor location but thankfully the sun had already set so there was no immediate risk of Drusilla going up in flames. They were in a short alleyway at the back of a row of identical wooden huts. It all looked something like a military base, possibly a Goa'uld base but all was quiet in a middle of the night sort of way.
Because they expected Angel, Willow and Tara to join them pretty well immediately the group moved away from the arrival area to wait in the shadows of a nearby building.
"I'll scout around," said Drusilla. "See what I can find out." With that she melted silently into the darkness as only an experienced vampire could do.
"You don't think she's feeding do you?" asked Kennedy who never felt comfortable around the souled vampires. All her instincts told her to dust them. Why Buffy and Faith didn't seem to feel the same way she never understood. "I'll keep an eye on her," she continued.
"No," said Buffy grabbing Kennedy's arm before she too could disappear into the darkness. "We mustn't get scattered all over the place. Anyway we need to compare notes."
As the group continued to wait for the others Buffy quietly explained what had happened to her, Faith and Cordelia. Xander explained what had happened back on Earth. Buffy then went on to explain what Drusilla had told her about the Charmed sisters and the SGC.
By now it was clear that something had gone wrong back on the space vessel. Time continued to pass and Angel, Willow and Tara still failed to appear. Surely they weren't still fighting to keep the air from rushing out of the hanger deck area?
"We've got to go back," insisted Xander.
"How?" asked Gwen. "There's no machinery at this end." Gwen opened her hands wide to illustrate what everybody could see. It was pretty dark in the alleyway but everybody could see sufficiently well to realise that there was no transportation equipment, well no equipment of any sort, in the area.
"Well there must be one on this base somewhere," said Xander. "Let's search for it."
"And do what?" asked Kennedy. "If we go right back where we came from what are we meant to breathe?"
By now Xander was becoming frustrated. Before a full blown argument could break out Buffy stepped up to him. "I'm sure they're all right," she said. "You don't think Tara would let anything happen to Willow do you? I expect there's something wrong with the transport device. They'll be alright." I hope, she added silently to herself.
Buffy now turned back to the others but before she could say anything else some lights came on, on the other side of the base and they heard shouting followed by the sound of gunfire. Something had disturbed the sleep of the occupants of the base.
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As Jack, Sam and Daniel awaited the arrival of their visitors they heard noises coming from the corridor outside the room, including shouts and a number of heavy thuds. They all left the room to find out what was going on.
The visitors had indeed arrived. They consisted of Councillor Lultesh and three women, presumably the witches. Also present and for the moment pinned immobile to the wall was Teal'c. The odd thing was that although Teal'c was being held against the wall by one of the young women there did not seem to be any sort of magic involved. Teal'c was being held by a straight arm against his windpipe.
Obviously there had been some sort of misunderstanding. Teal'c was quite obviously a Jaffa and the new arrivals has therefore reacted to him as if he were an enemy because the only Jaffa they had so far met had been hostile and working for the Goa'uld. Councillor Lultesh was attempting to explain things.
"No, no, no," said the Councillor. "Teal'c is a friend. He's one of the Tau'ri."
"The Tau'ri are Jaffa?" asked Faith sceptically, making no move to release her hold. Teal'c had not so far offered any resistance but he was surprised by the strength of the arm holding him up against the wall. His feet were barely on the ground. The young woman was taking most of his weight without effort. He presumed that magic was in some way involved.
"No," interrupted Jack, causing the visitors to turn around. "We're the Tau'ri. Teal'c is now one of us. He doesn't work for the Goa'uld any more."
"And you trust him Mister...?" asked Cordelia having a good look at the rest of SG-1.
"Colonel," said Jack. "Colonel Jack O'Neill and yes, I trust him. Teal'c has saved our lives on any number of occasions."
"O'Neill? The Tau'ri are Irish?" said Cordelia astonished. "Are you serious?"
"Irish-American," said Jack. "US Air Force."
"Could you erm, release Teal'c," asked Daniel. "Before he turns blue."
Faith looked at Cordelia who shrugged. Faith decided she could always take up where she left off if necessary so she released Teal'c who at once began massaging his neck.
"Perhaps we could go inside and get on with the introductions," said Sam leading the way into the meeting room.
Councillor Lultesh carried out the introductions so that at least everybody knew who, if not exactly what everybody was. He introduced his companions as the witches Maralli and Cordelia as well as Cordelia's companion Faith. He introduced the members of SG-1. Councillor Lultesh also proudly announced that he had been appointed as Ambassador to the Tau'ri. This caused Jack to groan inwardly.
Jack had been dealing with various human societies for quite a while now and had some idea of the way these things worked. What usually happened was that some local politician or busybody set him or herself up or had himself appointed, as the contact person to deal with the Tau'ri. From then on that person became very jealous of his position and tried to make sure that all contact with the Tau'ri went through him.
It they were lucky the person so appointed was an influential, easy going person who facilitated contact and made things run smoothly. More often however the person involved proved to be an enormous road block to getting anything done as it was often somebody whose idea of their own importance was greatly exaggerated and there were interminable delays as they referred back and forth to those with the real power.
"Daniel Jackson, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter," said Cordelia. "So three of you are Americans with one Jaffa."
"So why are you calling yourselves Tau'ri?" asked Faith.
"They are not Tau'ri?" asked Lultesh who suddenly had the horrible vision of his new and important post disappearing, or becoming much less important.
"We are Tau'ri, but we're Americans as well," said Sam quickly. "Earth is called Tau'ri out here. Are you Americans as well? Were you amongst these kidnapped witches we've heard about?"
"That's right," said Cordelia. "The Goa'uld have been snatching people through their magic portals and their Stargate on Earth."
"They're operating a Stargate on Earth?" asked Jack. He turned to Sam. "How is that possible without us knowing? Wouldn't it interfere with our Gate?"
"Not necessarily," said Sam. "Not if it was originally brought in by Goa'uld spaceship sometime from somewhere else," suggested Sam. "That way it might have a different dial up address and not interfere with our own Gate, like those Gates the Goa'uld have on their big ships."
"So what Piper said in her message is right," said Daniel. "The Goa'uld have been snatching witches from Earth."
"Piper?" said Faith. "Do you mean Piper Halliwell? What's she got to do with this?"
SG-1 explained about how they had come to work with the Halliwells and what they were doing on Kallistien. Cordelia and Faith explained about how they had come to Kallistien.
"So you're a Tau'ri witch," said Maralli to Cordelia, evidently delighted. "That explains why you're so strong."
"You have to get used to that around here," said Faith. "Witches everything, everybody else nothing, or that's what is seems if you hear the local witches speak."
"So if you're not a witch why did they snatch you?" asked Daniel.
"And what exactly are you?" asked Teal'c who was once more massaging his neck.
"I'm the one who beats up on the Jaffa," said Faith grinning. "If I think they deserve it."
"But don't worry," said Cordelia to Teal'c. "Since you're not a demon or vampire you're pretty safe, Faith won't slay you."
"Slay?" queried Daniel remembering a certain book that he had been reading not so long ago.
"Don't ask," said Jack quickly to Daniel. "Just... don't... ask."