Whoo! This is the product of me getting over some killer writer's block. Sorry it took me so long to wrap this up, but better late than never.
Stargate, the universe, and it's characters belong to MGM and not me. I'm just playing in the sandbox a bit.
...
"Hey, Teal'c," Mitchell whispered. "You'd tell me if we were going in circles, right?"
"I would indeed tell you. That, however, is not the case at this moment."
"You're sure? I'm just mentioning it 'cause this wall looks mighty familiar."
"I am sure."
"Fine, so long as you're sure."
Cam chuckled to himself as Teal'c sighed in mock annoyance. He knew the Jaffa wouldn't lead them in circles, trusted him without question in fact. He just took a sort of perverse pleasure in tweaking the big guy. Teal'c knew this, and seemed to take just as much pleasure in returning the favor at the most inopportune moments.
Usually in a room full of people, just as Cam was putting food in his mouth.
They eased around another corner to find themselves in a hallway that looked unsurprisingly like the half-dozen others they had passed through. The same gray/brown stone walls and ceiling, with a dim light fixture placed at even intervals. Not a door in sight. The only upside to all of this was that there were also no snarling, bullet-proof mutts around to break up the monotony.
Man, I hate this. This place is a frigg'in maze. I hope Carter and Jackson are having more luck than we are.
Teal'c looked around at his soft growl of frustration with a slight smile. "This is a most disconcerting place, is it not, Colonel Mitchell?"
"Yup. Never liked mazes, not even the corn mazes my parents took me to as a kid. Something about being this turned around never settled right with me. Think all this is on purpose?"
"Indeed. It would ensure that any who made it this far would be unlikely to find their way to the Hunter's private residences and workrooms. It would also make it easy for his beasts to ambush them."
"No kidding. I bet the Bast use scent to get around this place. Could be some following us right now."
"I have little doubt that they know we are here."
Cam grimaced. "Now there's a comforting thought. Let's keep moving."
They continued on like this for what seemed like hours, though every time Cam looked at his watch he found that only a couple of minutes had passed since the last time he looked at it. After the fifth time of this, he yanked his watch off and crammed it into a pocket just to remove the temptation. This place was getting to him. He thought they might be moving up, but it was so slow going that he couldn't be sure. All he could do was follow Teal'c to wherever he was leading them and try to keep hold of his sanity.
A few (hundred) turns later, and they were met with the welcome sight of an open doorway, warm light streaming welcomingly through it. The two men eased their way closer, hugging the walls on either side. As they came close to the door, Teal'c silently pointed out the trip wire stretched across at shin level. Cam grimaced and wondered how many people had just rushed through like idiots and gotten their heads blown off.
A cautious head poke into the room found it echoingly vast and seemingly deserted. Cam and Teal'c nodded and both stepped over the wire and entered, weapons ready. Cam took a second to study this new place.
What he first noticed was that the room was enormous. It was larger than the Gateroom back home. There were two levels to it, the one they were on, and an arena like floor below, divided by half a dozen wide stone steps. Enormous skylights in the ceiling showed a sky slightly lightening into dawn, but most of the light in the room came from panels interspersed along the walls. Like the rest of the building, everything here appeared to have been carved from the cliff itself rather than assembled in any way.
A low growling behind them interrupted his inspection of his surroundings as two Bast came up the hallway he and Teal'c had just left. The lights on their harnesses winked eerily in the dim light.
"Damn, I was hoping Carter would have done something about that by now."
"Indeed."
The hunters stepped gracefully over the trip wire and advanced on them. They began to back up until they were at the edge of the first step leading down. Cam was wondering why they hadn't been attacked yet when he realized they were being herded. "I guess we're supposed to go down there. Man, I hope this isn't going to be a Gladiator kind of thing."
As they reached the open floor, a door slid open on the far side and a sort of electric wheelchair glided through. In it was the wizened old man they had met earlier. Except he seemed a whole lot older when you weren't looking at him on a screen. A blanket covered shrunken legs, but Cam could see the reminders of the powerful man he must have once been.
At his side paced a young Bast, barely the size of a golden retriever. A thick collar and stout lead attached to the chair itself was the only thing keeping it there, if it's body language was anything to go on. The chaise stopped several feet away from them, and the old man studied them intently. Taking in the whole picture of the old man sitting back in his chair with his fingers steepled Burns-like, Cam lost it and started laughing.
The old man raised an eyebrow. "I must say, that's the first time I've ever gotten that reaction from my prey. Please tell me what you find so amusing."
Cam took a moment to catch his breath. "Sorry, just I always have these great expectations from the bad guys we meet, and then you turn out to look just like the villain in every cheesy spy movie I've ever seen. Come on T, back me up here."
"I too see the similarity, Colonel Mitchell. I recall several such characters from our last movie marathon. The one containing a man named Austin Powers, I believe it was."
The old mad tightened his lips at them as that last statement set Cam off again.
"Whoo! I needed that," Cam said at last, wiping his eyes.
"How did your kind ever defeat the Goa'uld?" the hunter asked, bemusedly.
"The Ori were a hell of a lot tougher than the snakeheads. You should count yourself lucky a Prior never wandered through your 'gate and played your game. Oh yeah, about that game, here we are. What do we win?"
"You two?" the old man exclaimed in surprise. "You haven't been prey yet. You didn't cross the valley, so you win nothing. The three who started two days ago are not here, and they only have an hour to go. But-," and the man frowned." Since they had help, they will have lost anyway. I'm afraid you all will be my guests for the foreseeable future due to the trouble you have caused me."
Cam put on his best innocent face. "Help? What help?"
"Oh, I know very well what kind of help you've had."
He gestured toward a door on the opposite wall than where they had entered, through which three Bast were herding Carter and a snarling Ishaq ahead of them. Sam gave him a grim look as their captors forced them down the stairs and grouped them together in the middle of the room.
"I'm guessing you couldn't find the off switch," Cam muttered as Sam was pressed up against his back.
"Nope. Found every other system but the command controls for the harnesses. They caught us just as Ishaq was going to show me a different room."
Cam glanced down at the young Bast, who was still making threatening noises at both the hunter and the circling males. Cam could practically feel his growls vibrating through his body when he pressed up against his legs for a moment. Carted had to have rigged the harness he was wearing, since he was obviously still on their side.
The Hunter shook his head sadly. "You disappoint me," he said, looking at Ishaq. " You could have been as great as your sire. A fine hunter, it was a shame to lose him last year. Luckily I have more of his line to train up." He stroked the cub at his side, who whimpered and tried to get to the older Bast. Only Carter's hand gripping the loose skin on his neck kept the enraged Ishaq from lunging at the old man.
What happened next made all of them want to join Ishaq in jumping the smug old man.
"And here comes the instigator of this little rebellion now." Yet another door, this time on the ground level, slid open and another Bast stepped through.
Clinging to his back was Vala.
It was obvious from the bruises on her arms and face, not to mention the distinctly ruffled appearance of her mount, that she hadn't gotten up there willingly. The familiar set of her mouth told him she had gone passed annoyed and was now fully in the realm of pissed beyond all reason.
The reason for this became apparent as three more Bast came in dragging an unconscious Eshe between them. Covered in deep gashes, missing an ear and huge patches of skin, it was amazing she was still alive. Cam had to look closely to see her ribcage jerking up and down as she breathed shallowly. The old matriarch had also not come quietly and had been torn to ribbons for her efforts, though some deep wounds on the males carrying her showed that the old girl had still had some fight in her.
The male carrying Vala gave a violent shake, sending the woman tumbling off with a pained yelp as her injured leg landed on the stone. There was a sickening thud as Eshe's body was also unceremoniously dropped to the ground. Carter gasped and took a step in their direction, but was caught up short by lots of growling. Teal'c tensed as his hand tightened on his weapon in frustration. Vala slowly inched over to the old Bast and pulled her battered head into her lap, glaring daggers at the old man sitting serenely in his chair.
Well, that did it. Cam didn't care how old this guy was, he was going down.
"Cam," Carter whispered in his ear, shaking him out of his anger. "Look at the arms of his chair. There are control panels there. How much do you want to bet those are the ones we're looking for?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course they are. Like I said, I've seen this movie before. So how do we get to it?"
"No idea."
"I've been playing this game for far too long to lose to a bunch of insignificant humans and a group of my own animals," the Hunter was saying. "I have even defeated Gao'uld, the self proclaimed gods. There is nothing you can do that I haven't seen and countered."
"Yeah right. A true hunter would have done the work himself, rather than enslave a race to do it for you." Cam didn't bother to keep the contempt out of his voice. If only there was a way to get to that chair. Than the old windbag wouldn't be so confident.
Just as the old man was getting himself wound up again, the unmistakable report of a 9mm echoed in the room. The control panel on the arm of the chair exploded in a impressive shower of sparks, causing the man to jerk and curse with surprise, almost falling out of his seat. The cub squalled in fear and yanked the leash from suddenly slack fingers, scuttling across the room to cower behind Ishaq's front legs. Electricity arced and sputtered on each of the males harnesses, causing their wearers to yelp and whine, some of them falling to the ground as their muscles twitched in the current.
"Well, he didn't see that coming," Cam muttered. " I was wondering when he'd show up."
Standing at the top of the stairs was the cause of the all the commotion, an extremely miffed archaeologist. As usual, Jackson had been through the wars. He was filthy, covered head to toe in a fine black powder for some reason. Unfortunately, the dirt wasn't thick enough to hide the ugly, spreading bruise and split eyebrow that gave mute testament as to how he had lost his glasses this time. His bandana was tied tightly around his upper arm and dried blood was streaking down almost to his wrist. There was an unblinking, glacial look in his blue eyes, one that he only got when he was truly pissed. Sam called it "the Bedrosian stare".
All in all, he just looked like someone you didn't want to mess with at the moment. Hell, thought Cam. He's one of my best friends, and I don't want to mess with him right now.
And that was before Daniel's reinforcements showed up. Black shapes appeared and joined him at the top of the stairs until nearly two dozen Bast ranged on either side of him. He was flanked by Sagira and the largest Bast they had seen yet, a huge male who nearly stood eye to eye with the archaeologist's six foot frame. He roared in fury, his gaze fixed solidly on Eshe, and the old hunter, still trying to recover some composure, visibly blanched at the sound.
"You!" he screamed at Daniel. " What have you done?"
Daniel smirked, but there was no humor in it. "I just always seem to get caught up in rebellions somehow. I don't know why. Oh by the way, my side usually wins."
The old man glanced around. All his hunters were regaining control of their bodies, shaking their heads with confused moans. Cam saw with relief that their eyes had turned to the Bast's normal shade of green-brown, rather than the cold yellow orbs of those being controlled.
And as one, those eyes all turned toward the old man now cowering in his chair.
He began to desperately punch at the ruined controls, yelling, " Rolan! Rolan!"
Daniel started down the stairs toward him, his huge shadows at his side. "If Rolan happens to be your assistant, I'm afraid he wont be joining us. He's taking a little nap down in one of the cells."
With angry growls, every Bast closed in on their long time captor. Cam stepped forward, not knowing what he could do against a whole bunch of righteously angry beings with big teeth, but he just couldn't let the old man, no matter how much he deserved it, be ripped to shreds right in front of him. Luckily, Daniel beat him to it. He started talking to them in a soothing manner in their native tongue, touching them on the shoulder or back as he walked between them, making his way to where Vala and Eshe were. The rest of the team didn't know what he was saying, but it seemed to work. Slowly, one by one, they began to relax.
One big harnessed male stepped up to within a few inches of the frail man, studied him for a moment, and deliberately sneezed in his face. The rest of the clan growled and muttered in approval, and Cam was reminded of something he had once read about some Native American practices. The Bast had just counted coup on his enemy. The once mighty hunter was reduced to what he really was, a harmless old man.
Cam couldn't help but grin at that. "I guess we won after all, " he said, and let the old man stew impotently in his chair, guarded by a couple youngsters to keep him out of trouble. "Teal'c, why don't you get these two to show you where those cells are and stash our friend with his assistant. We can decide what to do with him later."
Teal'c nodded. " A good and fitting idea, Colonel Mitchell." The two young Bast puffed their chests with importance and trotted toward the lower door, Teal'c following behind, pushing the chair with it's occupant protesting the entire way.
Sam had already rushed over to their injured friends, trailed by Ishaq, Sagira, and the huge male that had arrived with Daniel. The archaeologist himself had collapsed on the floor next to Vala, looking pretty worn out. The two looked bad, but Cam knew they would live. His main worry was for the old girl who had helped them from the start.
The damage to his friend was much worse up close. Cam had seen some pretty horrific injuries in his time. Some had even been to himself. But this was about as torn up as a living thing could be and still actually be alive. Carter had her first aid kit out, but the standard bandages and butterfly strips seemed woefully inadequate in dealing with wounds he could practically fit his hand into. Eshe's breathing was rapid and shallow, and even the worried nudges from her grandchildren didn't rouse her.
"I don't think this stuff is going to help much, "Sam said, echoing his thoughts. " She needs some serious medical treatment. I might just be delaying the inevitable." Regardless, she began to pack gauze into the wounds and tape them up as best she could..
"Well, we have to do something, "Vala said shakily. "They caught us as we were between hiding places. She was trying to protect me. She was outnumbered, but she never quit."
Daniel squeezed her shoulder. "We'll do everything we can." The giant Bast moaned and rubbed his head against Daniel's shoulder. "I know, Abasi. Oh, everyone, this is Abasi, Eshe's mate. He was being kept in a cell separate from the rest of the clan. Evidently he was a little too strong willed to make a good hunter. Sagira freed him while I was, ah, occupied."
"Occupied? Is this the part where you tell us how you got all banged up? Cam wanted to hear this story.
"I had some issues with that servant of his. He got in a few good hits." He touched the side of his face gingerly. "He had neutralized Sagira, but she managed to get the cell doors open. The guy didn't stand a chance after that. I convinced them not to kill him, knocked him out and shoved him in a cell."
Cam reached over and swiped his hand down the sleeve of Daniel's shirt. It came away black. "What is this stuff?"
"Coal dust. I told the Bast that we needed to get up here as fast as possible, and they led me to some kind of coal chute. I had to rock chimney climb up it. I guess the Bast have been using it to secretly move around for some time."
"Well, all I have to say is damn good timing, and damn good shot. I don't know if I could have listened to the old fart much longer. Carter, how's our girl doing?"
"Still alive, somehow. I think I have the worst of the bleeding stopped, but she needs a lot more. She's probably pretty shocky at the moment. We need to find a fast way to the 'gate or some other kind of treatment, or she's not going to make it."
As if the fates had herd her, their radios crackled a moment later. "SG-1, this is Odyssey, do you copy? I repeat, this Odyssey calling SG-1, do you copy?"
They all looked at each other in surprise for a moment before Cam thumbed his radio. "Yeah Odyssey, we read you loud and clear. How did you guys get back here so fast?"
General Smithton's humor filled voice came over the mike. "We're probably going to get some complaints about how fast we hustled our passengers off, but I had the feeling you were going to need some backup. Though I think those people were so happy to be warm again that they probably didn't even notice when we left. Colonel Carter's message was a good enough excuse to dump them and get back here as fast as we could."
Sam looked up from her work as her team stared at her. "What? I told you I had found everything but the harness controls, didn't I?"
Cam shook his head, wondering why he even tried to keep up with her. "Well, we're sure glad you came, sir. We're going to need that ride after all. We have some wounded here, two of my team and a native."
"We'll bring them up and have a medic team ready. Stand by."
"Thank you, sir." Before Daniel could do more than open his mouth, Cam shushed him. "Compared to the rest of us, you are not fine, so I don't want to hear about it. Go with Vala and the lady here and make sure they get treated right. The rest of us will deal with any loose ends here."
Daniel gave him a sour look, but didn't argue. Even if Cam didn't want him to get checked out, he was the best person to have there if Eshe woke up. He and Vala held on to the wounded Bast, and a moment later were whisked away by a bright light.
And the rest of the team were left to deal with a room full of deliriously happy Bast.
Sam held her wire cutters up. "Anyone who needs a harness taken off, come over here." At once, all the hunters clustered around her. She was going to be very popular for awhile.
Cam was going to go help her, when his radio crackled again. "Mitchell," he responded.
Major Marks's voice came over. "Colonel Mitchell. I think you better get up here. We're having a bit of a situation."
Cam rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. He turned to Carter. "Ok, you keep an eye on things down here. I guess I'm going up to deal with a "situation". He thumbed his radio. "I'm ready."
When he arrived on the bridge of the Odyssey, he found himself right smack in the middle of a full on shouting match between the ship's head doctor and a pissed off archaeologist. A med team was seeing to Vala, or rather trying to, but she kept batting their hands away and pushing them toward where Eshe was lying, still unconscious, on the cold deck. Smithton was trying to get some order, but the two men weren't paying attention to anything around them, and he was starting to get annoyed. Generals were not used to being ignored. The rest of the bridge crew had stopped whatever they were doing and were watching the chaos in startled surprise.
"I told you, Doctor Jackson, I am not a vet. I wouldn't know the first thing about treating an animal like this."
Cam was impressed when the man held his ground as Daniel loomed over him, that look in his eyes again. "And I told you, this is not an animal. She is a sentient being and an ally. You've had both Jaffa and Asgard on this ship before, this is no different. And the longer you stand here arguing with me, the less her chances are."
The doctor opened his mouth, but Cam stepped in before Daniel could verbally flay the man alive. "Now Jackson, I'm sure the good doctor wasn't suggesting that he would actually refuse to treat our friend, " he said, joining his teammate in staring the man down. "Were you?"
General Smithton joined them. "Of course he wasn't. " He gave the man a stern look. "Were you, Major?"
The doctor looked from the twin pair of ice blue eyes glaring at him to the uncompromising look on the General's face, and calmed down. He turned to his team. "Alright, let's get these two ..patients.. on gurneys and get them to the sick bay." He turned to Daniel and nodded apologetically. "You too, Doctor Jackson."
Daniel, being the man he was, nodded back, accepting the gesture for what it was. "I'll be along." The doctor hurried after his team.
"Don't be too hard on him, Doctor Jackson. He's a good man, but a little new to all this, and I think he just panicked a bit," said Smithton.
Daniel smiled slightly. "We were all new at this at some point, sir. You either learn some flexibility, or you don't survive. He should get it soon. I'd better get down there before Eshe wakes up or Vala breaks something." He nodded to the General and walked wearily toward the door.
"Good man you got there, Colonel," Smithton said as the archaeologist left the bridge.
"One of the best, " Cam agreed.
…...
They were in surgery for over two hours with Eshe, closing the horrible wounds and removing an eye that had turned out to be too badly damaged to repair. Vala's leg was cleaned up and she was put on some IV antibiotics just in case of some other kind of infection. It seemed that a friendship of sorts had sparked between the old matriarch and the ex-thief during their hours of hiding, and Vala sat next to the low bed they had put the Bast on to recover, her legs and body supported by pillows.
Daniel sat on a bed nearby, watching quietly. Every so often, Vala would reach out a hand and stroke the silky black hide someplace not covered in bandages. Every time she did this, Daniel smiled. He like to see this softer side to his friend. It was so different from the Vala they usually saw. It was a Vala he could easily come to love.
The young doctor approached him somewhat warily, and Daniel smiled at him. "It's ok. I don't bite. You did a good job there." He nodded toward the sleeping Bast.
"Thank you, sir. I just wanted to apologize for the way I was acting. This whole idea of space travel and aliens is pretty new to me. I've only been with the SGC for a few months."
"The General said as much. Apology accepted. How are her chances."
"Surprisingly good. Her vitals remained weak but stable throughout the surgery. There's some muscle damage that's always going to be there, but she should be able to get around all right. She's a tough old thing."
"Luckily. I wanted to ask you, would it be all right to bring her family up to see her. According to my teammates, they're pretty anxious."
The doctor smiled. "I don't see why not. It's not like they aren't housebroken, right?"
His grin widened, and Daniel took it for the joke it was. "Right. I'll just go ask the General."
He made to leave, but the doctor stopped him. "First I need to see that you're all set. How's that arm?"
"It's fine. Doctor Lam will want to check it out when we get home, but it doesn't feel too bad right now."
While Eshe had been in surgery, a nurse had expertly cleaned and stitched his arm and eyebrow. They would scar, and he knew Jack was going to give him grief about how they matched now. He'd had a shower, a change of clothes and a cup of coffee, and was feeling human for the first time in days. The rest of SG-1 had rotated between coming aboard to clean up and get a bite to eat, and staying on the planet with the Bast. He was due to go down and talk with them. If they wanted to, Smithton had already offered to take the clan home to its ancestral home, just as soon as Sam found the location in the Hunter's database.
The Hunter and his servant would be released from their cells and allowed to remain in their compound.
But the Odyssey would be taking the Stargate with her.
…..
The bridge crew were noticeably nervous when Sam beamed up with Abasi, Ishaq, and Sagira. It was one thing when the Bast was unconscious on the floor. It was quite another when faced with three huge predators looking around them with keen interest. As they made their way toward sick bay, personnel hugged the wall to get out of their path.
Daniel, who had met them on the bridge, got the impression that the Bast were deriving a great deal of amusement from it.
Abasi cantered across the room as soon as he caught sight of his mate. He sniffed at her bandages and tenderly licked the top of her head. He looked at Daniel.
*She will be well?*
*Yes, the healer told me she will recover. She will be weak when she walks, and she lost an eye, but she will be healthy.*
Abasi crooned his pleasure as he settled down to keep vigil with Vala, his grandchildren at his side. The medical staff slowly moved closer, touched by the obvious care these creatures had for each other.
An hour later, Eshe began to show signs that she was coming around, and opened her eye to the excited faces of her family. She caught sight of Daniel and gave him an amused, one eyed wink.
*Plenty fight left.*
…...
Three days later, the Odyssey was heading home, having relocated the Bast to their home world. Daniel and Sam had beamed down with Sagira and Abasi near a settlement, to be met by a boisterous mixed group of humans and Bast. When Daniel explained the situation, they were delighted to welcome their lost kin home. Eshe had made remarkable progress, and when the clan walked down the ramp to set foot on their native soil for the first time in generations, the battle-scared old matriarch was with them, supported by her mate on one side and her grandson on the other. The Partners would continue her healing.
There were some fond goodbyes, for the entire crew had become fond of the cheerful, intelligent, Bast. The Tau'ri had made some good friends, and after they got the gate address, promised to come and visit.
SG-I had gone directly home via Stargate, and having been debriefed and checked out, were gathered in Daniels office.
"So, what's on the agenda? We got the next few days off, courtesy of Landry. What's everyone going to do?" Cam asked.
"Well, Vala and I are going to have a girls day out tomorrow. Spa and shopping." Sam grinned. "Why, want to come?"
"Yeah, pass. Guys, we need to counter that with some testosterone. I've got extra tickets to the football game. T, football?"
"I believe I will. Air Force has fought well this season."
"Awesome. Jackson?"
"Sure, why not. I have a lot of work here to catch up on, but that's why I have assistants."
Cam backed away from the archeologist slowly. Carter, call a lockdown. There's a pod person here that looks like Jackson."
They all laughed as Daniel rolled his eyes tolerantly.
"So how about we get together at my place after the game for a movie night? There's this old movie I've been wanting to see. It's got Fay Wray in it. Always easy on the eyes. It's called The Most Dangerous Game.
A moment later he was being chased out of the office by Sam and Daniel throwing pens at him.
"What! What did I say?"
…...
Fin
In case you didn't get that last part, The Most Dangerous Game was the story I based this off of.J They actually did make a movie out of it. It wasn't bad.