A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the previous chapter. This one is partly based on the episode "It's good to be King" (SG1: S08e13). Enjoy and please review.
Willow's Apartment, Tuesday, 0500 hours.
Willow awoke to find her hands chained to a wall in what looked like a large room in a cave.
"What the hell?" said Willow to herself as she tried to use her telekinesis to rip the chains out of the wall, but no matter how much she tried, it just wouldn't budge.
"Where am I? What is this place?" thought Willow to herself as she looked around her. The area was damp, dank and smelled of wet moss. She saw that the cave walls were wet and there were two tunnels nearby with light coming from one end.
"Is that the surface?" asked Willow to herself when she heard sounds coming from in front of her.
She walked forward until she realized that she was actually on top of a steep drop off. Looking down, she could see the silhouettes of thousands of people who had their arms and legs all chained to the cave floor.
"What is this?" thought Willow as she took in the horrible sight in front of her.
"You are awake" said a man from behind Willow. She turned around and saw the man who had spoken standing with a few others as they approached her.
"Welcome, Athena" said the man in the middle who seemed to be carrying an intricately carved box of some sort.
"Who are you? Look, I'm not who you think I am" said Willow, "I am a Captain in the United States Air Force, release me now and…."
"Silence!" said another man who Willow gave a death glare at.
"Look upon what you have provided us, Athena" said the man in the middle as he clapped his hands and a light from the floor below shone brightly onto the bodies.
Willow walked over to the drop off with the group of men beside her and looked at the scared faces below who looked back at her. She could see that all of them had been stripped of their clothes and were chained to the floor in very short links that had no room for any slack, unlike the chains that were around Willow's hands. She could see that there were more people but because the chain holding her had no more slack, she couldn't move step forwards anymore.
"Thank you, Athena" said another man as he and five others walked down a hidden stairway to the floor below, "you have helped to bring light and order upon this world."
"This is torture!" screamed Willow at the lone man standing next to her, "This is wrong, whatever it is you people are doing is wrong."
"No" said the man next to her, "we're creating destiny."
"What destiny?" asked Willow, "what are you talking about?"
Suddenly, Willow heard the sounds of men and women screaming from the bottom of the cave and since the chain had no more slack, she was unable to take a good look at what was going on. All she could hear were the horrible screams as she got onto the cave floor, closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears to stop hearing the sounds and to wish that she was back in Faith's room.
"Stop" pleaded Willow, "please stop; the screaming, what are you people doing?"
"Red"
"Stop, please" said Willow again as she had her hands on her ears.
"Red!"
"No" said Willow.
"Damn it" said Faith as she turned Willow onto her back and slapped her face, "Red, wake up!"
"NO!" shouted Willow as she snapped her eyes open and used her telekinesis to roughly push Faith onto the ceiling before gravity took over and she landed onto the carpeted floor.
"Ow!" said Faith as she slowly pushed up and looked at a bewildered Willow who was looking back at her from the bed, "bad dream?"
"Oh God, Faith!" said Willow and she quickly jumped out of bed and kneeled right beside her, "don't move anymore, alright."
"Don't intend to" said Faith as she grimaced and lay her head back into the carpeted floor.
Willow put her hands on Faith's back and concentrated as a white light emanated from her hands. After a few minutes, Willow removed her hands and helped the brunette Slayer stand up slowly.
"You alright?" said Willow sheepishly.
"The pain's gone, body healed" said Faith as she looked over herself, "yeah, I'm ok."
"I'm sorry" said Willow as she helped Faith sit back down on the bed.
"Did you have a nightmare about dinner with Soldier-boy and his wife, again?" smiled Faith.
"No" said Willow as she sat beside her.
"Than what was it?" asked Faith.
"I don't know" replied Willow.
"Red" said Faith, "I heard you talking in your sleep. And this wasn't the first time. This was just the first time I've seen you have a violent reaction."
"Oh" said Willow as she looked down at the carpet.
"Who's Athena?" asked Faith as she crouched in front of Willow.
"I don't know" said Willow as she looked at Faith.
"Willow" said Faith as she caressed her cheek, "what's going on?"
"I really don't know, Faith" said Willow softly as she got up from bed, "I'm going to put on some coffee."
"Hey" said Faith as she grabbed Willow's arm and pulled her back down onto her bed, "are you alright?"
"It was bad" said Willow as she looked at Faith.
"The dream?" asked Faith.
"I don't know what it was" said Willow, "thousands of people screaming in pain; that's what I heard Faith, thousands of men and women screaming in pain as they died."
"It wasn't real" said Faith as the two young women sat facing each other on the bed in the darkness.
"It felt real" said Willow, "I felt the chains around my, I mean Athena's, arms. I could smell the muskiness of the cave; I could smell the sweat from the frightened bodies."
"You think it was a dream like the one you had about Anubis?" asked Faith.
"I really don't know" said Willow, "if it is, what's this supposed to represent? That over a thousand people in a cave somewhere are going to die?"
"Just taking a wild guess here" said Faith as she put her hands up.
"I'm sorry" said Willow.
"For what?" asked Faith.
"I've had dreams where this Athena appeared in my dreams before" said Willow.
"What?" asked Faith surprised, "when?"
"Maybe three times, including this one" said Willow, "but every time she appeared to me as a little girl."
"Oh" said Faith.
"Right after she appeared, something bad always happens to me" said Willow, "the first time was the thing with Anubis."
"Don't remind me of that" said Faith.
"The second time was right before my breakdown" said Willow.
"Oh" replied Faith.
"But this time I didn't see the girl" said Willow, "it was as if I was watching things from her point of view."
"Oh" said Faith, "do you know what she looks like?"
"Yeah" said Willow, "the little girl looks like me when I was younger."
"Really?" asked Faith.
"Show me a picture of myself when I was a kid and I could swear to you that it was Athena" said Willow.
"Have you told Sam or any of the other's about this?" asked Faith.
"I don't know how to bring it up" said Willow, "do I say, 'guess what, I think I'm going insane because I've been dreaming about little girls.'"
"Umm….." said Faith.
"Yea" said Willow as she rubbed her hands on her face, "I know that part about dream about little girls sounded bad, but she looked exactly like me."
"You said you have the Ancient and Furling genes right?" said Faith.
"You're thinking that maybe she's an ancestor of mine?" asked Willow.
"Hey, stranger things have happened, Red" said Faith.
"This is a bit too farfetched" said Willow as she smiled at Faith, "even for us."
"Maybe" said Faith as she looked at the bedside clock, "what's really farfetched is getting up at this ungodly hour when we have a briefing at ten."
"How much longer can you sleep?" asked Willow as Faith lay down on her bed and patted the empty space next to her.
"Maybe another four hours if you're not here, but two hours if you are" said Faith grinning.
"You're a real bad influence on me" said Willow as she got up and moved to the empty space next to Faith. She eventually got under the blanket and wrapped her arms around the Slayer.
"Are you really alright?" asked Faith as she looked at Willow.
"After talking to you about Athena?" said Willow as she lay her head on Faith's chest, "yea, I am."
"Do you think she could be an Ancient?" asked Faith.
"I don't know" said Willow as she held on to Faith tightly, "but it still doesn't explain the dreams though."
"True" said Faith, "It would be cool though."
"How so?" smiled Willow as she looked up at Faith.
"Think about it" said Faith, "you would technically be distantly…"
"Yeah" interrupted Willow smiling, "by a few thousand years, you mean? Well, depending on whether this 'Athena' really existed and when she existed. I mean she could be just a figment of my imagination."
"Very funny" said Faith, "as I was saying, you could be distantly related to a goddess of Ancient Greece."
"If so" said Willow grinning, "then I demand you worship me."
"Oh, but I do" said Faith before she whispered into Willow's ears, "but you worship me more."
"What can I say?" said Willow smiling, "you're a vixen."
"And don't you ever forget it." said Faith as she ran her hands through Willow's hair, "You should tell the others."
"I will, but not now. Not until I know exactly who she is and if she really did exist." said Willow as she looked up at Faith before laying her head back down on her chest, "now go to sleep."
"Yes, ma'am" said Faith as she rubbed circles on Willow's back, "see you in a few hours, again."
"Yeah" replied Willow as she closed her eyes.
Cheyenne Mountain, Tuesday, 1000 hours
"Good morning kids" said the General who was already sitting down and waiting for the other members of SG1 to arrive.
"Hey Big-G" said Faith as she leaned back on her seat.
"Morning, Sir" said Willow as she took her customary seat next to Faith.
"Alright" said the General as he looked at Faith, "so have you settled your differences with Lt. Colonel Finn yesterday?"
"Yea" said Faith, "we had a chat after he talked to you about the Initiative."
"So can I assume that there'll be no issues between the two of you?" asked the General, "at least during missions?"
"I guess" said Faith as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Faith" said the General, "I need to know how you feel, truthfully. Can you work with his team if I put SG-25 and SG-1 on missions?"
"Yea" said Faith confidently, "I mean we'll have issues no matter what, but we won't bring it with us, during the missions."
"Alright then" said the General.
"Hey Jack" said Daniel who was accompanied by both Teal'c and Colonel Carter.
"Daniel, T, Carter" said the General as he nodded his head.
"Sir" said the Colonel followed by Teal'c with his customary head nod.
"Alright kids" said the General as he leaned forward and rubbed his hands together, "looks like Carter requested a change of mission this morning."
"Oh?" said Willow as she looked up at the Colonel.
"Well" she said, "we received intelligence from the Tok'ra that the war between Ba'al and the other system lords have reached a critical stage."
"Is it because he controls the Kull Warriors since Anubis' defeat?" asked Willow.
"Indeed" said Teal'c as he looked at Willow, "it is as we have predicted, the Jaffa are no match for Ba'al's Kull Warriors."
"So he controls those armoured guys and kills the rest of the snakes for us" said Faith shrugging her shoulders as she looked at Colonel Carter.
"I know" said the General, "but apparently, that's a bad thing too."
"Yes, Sir" said Colonel Carter as she stood up and handed everyone some papers to look through, "the Tok'ra thought we should know that in the face of imminent defeat, some of the system lords are seeking out areas of refuge. The planets that they had abandoned long ago are being scouted as possible sanctuaries."
"And this affects us how?" asked the General.
"Well, one of these planets falls under the domain of the System Lord, Ares" said Daniel.
"Ares?" said Faith.
"Yep" replied Daniel as he looked at the smirk on Faith's face, "hey, no one ever said that the Goa'uld were original."
"Anyway" said the Colonel, "this is the same planet where the Tok'ra dropped off one Harry Maybourne almost two years ago."
"Oh" said the General, "again, and this affects us how?"
"I'm guessing that the Tok'ra want us to get Maybourne out?" asked Faith.
"Indeed" replied Teal'c, "if we do not, then he may be captured by Ares' Jaffa."
"Again" said the Colonel, "and this…"
"I guess what Teal'c is trying to say, Sir, is that Maybourne faces torture, interrogation and even death at the hands of Ares."
"Oh, that" said the General as Colonel Carter took back her seat, "alright fine, go get him."
"Yes Sir" said Colonel Carter as she smiled at the General and then at Willow.
"You guys leave in an hour" said the General.
Gateroom, SGC.
"Have I told you ladies thanks?" said the Colonel as the three women of SG-1 stepped out of the women's locker room.
"Yea, you did" said Faith smiling.
"Glad you liked the weekend revelry, ma'am" said Willow as she doubled checked to make sure she had all her equipment.
"You got everything, Red?" said Faith.
"Yea, but I still cant help thinking I forgot something." said Willow.
"Extra ammo?" asked the Colonel.
"Compass? Combat knife? Nine milimeter?" asked Faith.
"Yeah, got everything" said Willow.
"You've got your P-90" said the Colonel.
"Yep" replied Willow.
"So you got everything" said Colonel Carter as Riley and Sam walked towards them.
"Colonels" said Colonel Carter and Willow.
"Colonel, Captain" said Riley and Sam.
"On your way to a mission?" asked Riley.
"Yep" replied Faith, "you guys got two weeks of training, right?"
"Yea" said Riley, "we've actually on our way to the weapons range now to meet Colonel Reynolds."
"Oh" said Colonel Carter, "Goa'uld weaponary?"
"Yes" said Sam.
"Beware of the Zats" said Faith, "It's a bit complicated to fire."
"Really?" asked Riley as he noticed that Colonel Carter and Willow were looking at Faith in confusion.
"Yeah" said Faith, "people think the pointed end should be aimed at your target, but the truth is that it's the other way around."
"Faith" said the Colonel as she tried not to laugh before looking at Riley, "she's kidding, the pointed end is aimed at your target."
"Always the prankster, huh?" said Riley.
"Of course" said Faith, "but if I makes you feel any better, you still get shot by Colonel Reynolds."
"Yep" said Willow, "stings like hell, Sir."
"I'm sure" said Sam as she and Riley started to walk towards the locker rooms before she turned to Willow, "Willow, we should have dinner again in the weekend. Maybe make a standing dinner thingy, I mean as long as there's nothing that can end the world."
"Sure" said Willow.
"All right" said Sam, "good luck in the mission."
"Good luck, Colonel" said Colonel Carter as the female members of SG1 walked over to the elevator and went down to the Gateroom.
"Teal'c, Daniel" said Faith as she, Colonel Carter and Willow entered the Gateroom ten minutes later.
"Ready?" asked Willow.
"Indeed" said Teal'c.
"Chevron Seven, locked" said Walter as the wormhole was formed following the unstable vortex.
"I tell you" said Willow as she whispered to Faith, "I never, ever get tired of that."
Faith could only look at Willow and smile.
"Let's move out" said Colonel Carter as she and Teal'c walked through the event horizon first, followed by Daniel and Faith, and then Willow who took up the rear.
Maybourne's Planet, Unknown Designation.
"So this is the planet the Tok'ra put Maybourne on" said Willow.
"I see trees of green" said Faith as she looked around.
"But, unfortunately, no red roses" replied Daniel with a smirk.
"Nice" replied Colonel Carter as she and the others went down the stairs from the platform the Stargate was on.
"According to the Tok'ra" said Teal'c as he scanned the immediate area, "the people on this world are primitive."
"Willow" said the Colonel as she looked back at her as they were heading towards the DHD that was located further away near some tall grass, "sense anything?"
Willow: "We're surrounded."
Willow made that telepathic broadcast to all of her teammates and immediately they brought up and armed their weapons.
"Alright" said the Colonel as she pointed her P90 at the empty space in front of her, "Come on out."
Just then a group of men stood up from behind cover of the long grass and pointed weapons at SG1.
Carter: "Willow, shield us telekinetically. Just in case."
Willow: "It's up ma'am."
"Crossbows? Really?" whispered Faith.
"Come on" whispered Willow, "we used to do that too."
"Put down your weapons" said one of the men who had SG1 surrounded.
Daniel noticed a woman had stood up next to him with a crossbow pointed at his chest.
"We don't mean you any harm" said the Colonel assertively.
Carter: "Willow, can you connect us for communications?"
Willow: "Done."
Daniel: "Looks like we've got ourselves a standoff here, guys."
Teal'c: "Indeed."
"We're allies of the Tok'ra" said Willow as she pointed her P90 at one of the men who had a crossbow trained on her.
Faith: "Well, acquaintances at best anyway."
Daniel: "Let me talk to them, no need to shoot up the natives."
"Hi" said Daniel as he slowly put his weapon down, "we're explorers from a planet called Earth. We came here looking for a friend of ours, maybe you've heard of him. Goes by the name of Harry Maybourne?"
Colonel Carter watched the people in front of her look at each other in confusion.
"You know, shifty fella? Beady eyes….. no?" said Daniel.
Just then one of the women stepped forward and spoke in a commanding voice.
"You will follow us to the village and meet with King Arkhan" the woman said, "he will discern your true intentions."
As SG1 put their weapons down slowly, the group who had them surrounding atared to lead them towards a small village in the distance.
As they were nearing the village after having walked for the better part of thrity minutes, Willow started to have a strange feeling of déjà vu.
Willow: "Odd."
Carter: "Willow?"
Willow: "I have a feeling I've been here before."
Daniel: "Maybe it just one of those places that look similar to some place you've been to on Earth?"
Faith: "Dream?"
Willow: "No"
Teal'c: "We have arrived."
King Arkhan's village was constructed using heavy grey stone, and was medieval in appearance, with banners draped from walls on the upper level of the dwellings. People were bustling to and fro between one open space to another. Colonel Carter and the others saw tables, food stuffs, water, and a stove all readily accessible in what seemed to look like public areas.
The woman, who SG1 learned was called Garan, led them into an open hall with a dais at the far end. There were yellow and black shields mounted on the wall above the throne along with swords and other weapons. On the dais, several women surrounded someone who was seated on a throne. One woman stepped back and revealed the face of the 'king' who was enjoying some type of red coloured fruit.
SG1 stared at the 'king' in surprise as they realized who it was.
Willow: "Is that?"
Daniel: "No way."
Faith: "I've seen his pictures, looks like him."
Carter: "That's it, I think it's the end of days."
"Maybourne?" said Colonel Carter, her voice reflecting her shock.
"Colonel Carter?" said Maybourne as he hastily swallowed the fruit and sat straight up.
"This is King Arkhan" said Garan as she stared down SG1 before turning to face Maybourne, "My lord" said Garan, "our hunting party found these off-worlder at the Gate."
"Hey guys" said Maybourne, "long time no see."
"Maybourne" said the Colonel, "what do you think you're doing?"
"You know" said Maybourne as he stood up and approached SG1 while surrounding by four women, "I always knew it would be you who'd be coming."
"You were expecting us?" said Daniel.
"Kind of" said Maybourne as he looked at Willow and Faith, "umm…. Where's Jack? And who are they?"
"General O'Neill's back at the SGC," said Colonel Carter.
"Seriously?" said Maybourne surprised, "huh, who would have thought he'd make General. But good for him."
He then turned to Willow and Faith.
"And you ladies are?" said Maybourne.
"Captain Rosenberg" said Colonel Carter as she motioned towards Willow before looking at Faith, "and that's Faith."
"Civilian?" asked Maybourne.
"Yea" said Faith.
"Interesting" said Maybourne.
"Maybourne" said the Colonel as she walked into his line of sight while he was looking at both Willow and Faith, "you sounded as if you were expecting us."
"While doing quite well for yourself, if I may add" said Teal'c.
"Well" said Maybourne, "it's a long story."
"We don't have time for your long stories" said the Colonel, "we need to get you out of here, your life is in danger"
"I know" said Maybourne as everyone looked at him in shock, "the Goa'uld are coming."
"How did you know that?" said Colonel Carter.
"Come" said Maybourne ignoring the Colonel's question as he walked towards a table topped with fruits of various sizes and colour, "let us eat and drink first."
"Maybourne" said the Colonel as she slammed her hand on the table, "we don't have the time."
Willow was looking on as the Colonel was arguing with Maybourne, when she felt the skin on the back of her neck crawl.
"What was that?" thought Willow to herself.
"Athena" said a voice she didn't recognize.
"Not now" thought Willow to herself, "please, not now."
"Athena" said the same voice again as Willow turned around only to see everything around her melt away. The village was gone and all that remained was flat grass land as far as the eye could see.
"Who are you?" said Willow as she approached the dark haired, older looking man dressed in some kind of a brown and grey coloured uniform.
"Athena" said the man as his eyes looked behind Willow, making her turn around only to see someone who looked like a slightly older version of herself walking towards the man. Looking closely, Willow could see that she was wearing the same uniform as the man.
Willow looked on as the man smiled as the woman, known as Athena, walked towards him and held both his hands and bowed her head down slightly at him.
"Janus" said Athena.
"It has been too long" said Janus as he raised her head with a finger below her chin.
"Four years since our people returned to Earth" said Athena, "How are you?"
"I am well" said Janus smiling, "and you?"
"I am fine" said Athena, "I have been wanting to visit home, even dialled the Stargate but when it came to activating the worm hole.."
"You could not" said Janus.
"No, I could not" said Athena, "I keep on remembering what you said about the woman needing the full power of all the Potentia for your plan to be a success."
"Plan?" said Willow to herself, "what plan?"
"I am glad" said Janus, "how is your father?"
"I have not seen much of him since we returned to Earth" said Athena.
"I see" said Janus.
"He comes to visit me at times" said Athena sadly, "but even that has been few and far between."
"Are you continuing your research at the continental outpost?" asked Janus.
"Yes" said Athena, "I believe that I can use the data I've brought back, and the equipment there, to replicate my previous results. And if it works, we can deal with some of the creatures we have found on the planet."
"An army of genetically engineered living weapons, again?" said Janus as he shook his head disapprovingly, "you know the Council's feelings on those weapons, I highly recommend you do not restart those projects."
"Come now, Janus, I am only conducting research" said Athena smiling, "but it's not as if you, yourself, never caused problems for the Council."
"Council?" said Willow as she looked on at both Athena and Janus, "what council?"
"You are, as ever, correct" said Janus as he kissed Athena.
"OK" said Willow to herself as she tried to avert her eyes, "this is seriously awkward."
"So is this why you called for me?" asked Athena as she stepped back smiling, "to kiss me somewhere my father would not find us?"
"No" smiled Janus, "there is something I want to show you."
Willow followed them for another twenty minutes before they reached a cylindrical looking object.
"No way" thought Willow to herself in surprise.
"You have done it again, have you not" said Athena as she looked at Janus.
"Yes" he replied, "without the council watching my every move on this world, I recreated the vessel that crash landed into the ocean."
Willow looked on as Janus pressed a button on the side of the object and a small ramp went down.
"Come" said Janus as he held out his hand to Athena.
Athena, in turn, grabbed a hold of his hand and went into the object.
"Wait" said Willow as she ran towards the ramp which started to close up.
"Willow!" said Daniel's voice on the radio.
Daniel: "Willow."
Carter: "Captain Rosenberg, where are you?"
Faith: "Red? You walked away while we were all arguing with Maybourne, where the hell are you?"
Teal'c: "Willow Rosenberg, are you well?"
"Colonel" said Willow on the radio,
"Damn it Willow, we've been trying to contact you for over forty minutes" said Colonel Carter.
"Ma'am" said Willow on the radio while she stared at the same cylindrical object that was now covered under some dense foliage with its front window encrusted in dirt, "I think I found something, something big."
"Where are you?" asked the Colonel.
"There's a trail near the last place I remember we were talking with Maybourne" said Willow, "just follow it."
"I'll be coming up with Faith" said the Colonel.
"Yes, ma'am" said Willow as she started to remove some of the foliage that covered the object.
"Daniel, Teal'c" said the Colonel, "you go with Maybourne and check out what he's been talking about."
"You mean the so called prophesies at the temple ruins?" said Daniel.
"Yea" said Colonel Carter as she turned to Maybourne, "this better not be an excuse to stay here."
"Trust me" said Maybourne, "to see is to believe."
"Right" said the Colonel as she and Teal'c walked up the trail while Daniel and Faith followed Maybourne as he walked in another direction.
Willow's Trail, thirty five minutes later.
Willow had used both her hands and her telekinesis to remove the dense foliage that covered the object which she later learned after having wiped the dirt from the front window was a ship of some kind. Once everything was cleared, Willow stepped back as sweat covered her face and arms, and took a look at the object and whistled.
"Nice" thought Willow to herself as she looked at the object which seemed to be about eight meters in length and about five meters high. She ran her hands over the smooth surface which had designs cut onto its surface.
Willow walked to where the ramp was in the vision as she pressed the button on the side and waiting for the ramp to descend. Switching on the flashlight on her P90, Willow shone it into the darkened cabin to make sure there was no one there before she gingerly entered the craft. Once she stepped in, she noticed that the lights in the ship flickered before turning on.
"Wow" she said as she slowly walked into the ship. At the entrance to the ship, Willow noticed some sort of contraption that looked like nothing she had seen before. She then walked up to the control console at the front of the ship.
"Willow!?" called the voice of Colonel Carter from outside the ship as Willow ran back to the ramp and peeked her head out.
"Ma'am" said Willow excitedly, "you have to see this."
"What is… woah" said the Colonel as she and Faith walked into the ship looking surprised.
"I know" said Willow as she looked at Colonel Carter, "I'm sorry about walking off earlier and making you worry, but I had something like a vision where two people led me here."
"Vision?" said Colonel Carter, "while you were awake?"
"Yes" said Willow.
Faith: "Athena?"
Willow: "Yeah."
"Sam" said Daniel's voice over the radio.
"Daniel" said Colonel Carter as she spoke excitedly on the radio, "you're not going to believe this but Willow found a small ship."
"Really?" said Daniel.
"Yeah" replied Colonel Carter, "did you find anything?"
"I'm at the ruins with Teal'c and Maybourne" said Daniel, "his so called prophesies were taken from columns that had Ancient writings on them. This one column here mentions things that have already happened and things that will happen."
"What are you saying?" asked Colonel Carter.
"What I found seems to be an historical account of events that haven't even happened yet" said Daniel, "and Sam, Maybourne was right. The inscriptions on the pillar says that 'The oppressors of old will return, to seek dominion over the land. Those of a distant world will come to vanquish the evil ones again'."
"Daniel" said Willow over her radio, "are you saying that the Ancients actually mastered time travel?"
"According to this" said Daniel, "yeah."
Willow then shone her light on the contraption at near the ramp and looked at Faith and Colonel Carter in wonder.
"Ummmm.. guys?" said Daniel.
"Daniel" said Colonel Carter.
"There's references to a time travel device here" said Daniel as he looked at Teal'c and spoke slowly and in surprise, "and its described as being in a small ship."
"Are you sure?" asked Willow.
"Yep" said Daniel, "Willow, how did you know about the ship?"
"Long story" said Willow, "will tell you later."
"Daniel" said the Colonel, "head back to the village, we're bringing Maybourne back and this ship. If we can get it out."
"Sam" said Daniel as he looked at the columns, "this is very interesting, and there's a lot to translate."
"Daniel" said the Colonel, "we don't have much time. Ares' ship could be here in fifeteen minutes, or one hour…"
"Or tomorrow" said Daniel, "we don't really know when."
"Daniel" said COloenl Carter, "Maybourne's the mission, we need to get him out."
"Alright" said Daniel as he resigned himself to defeat.
"See you at the village" said Colonel Carter, "Carter, out."
"So" said Faith as she looked at Colonel Carter, "If this is Ancient technology."
"It needs an Ancient to pilot it" said Colonel Carter as she looked at Faith.
"Or someone… close" said Colonel Carter as the both of them looked at Willow.
Willow turned around and sat down on the chair in front of what seemed to be the flight controls.
"Woo-hoo!" said Willow excitedly as she put her hands on the controls.
"If this is anything like the chair in Antarctica" said the Colonel as she came up to the control console while Faith sat in the passenger seat, "all you need to do is concentrate. Maybe that would start the engines."
"Alright" said Willow as she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Willow could hear the hum of the ship's engines as it powered up slowly and opened her eyes only to see the lights around her blinking along with the control console.
"Ok" said Willow the power suddenly cut out, "That's not good."
"At least we know the engines are working" said Colonel Carter.
"Willow" said the Colonel, "lets see if we can get this ship moving huh?"
"Yes, ma'am" said Willow as she stood up and headed to the back.
"I'll do a patrol around the immediate area" said Faith.
"You'll be alright?" asked the Colonel.
"Yep" smiled Faith as she walked down the ramp.
"Faith" said Willow as she followed her down, "we're all linked mentally, call us if you need anything."
"Of course" said Faith smiling as she went for her patrol.
"Everything alright with you girls?" asked Colonel Carter.
"Yes ma'am" said Willow, "couldn't be happier."
Its been almost three hours since Willow found the ship, with Faith conducting patrols around the small vessel every fifteen minutes or so.
Faith: "Big Guy, I'm bored out of my skull here."
Teal'c: "As am I. Maybourne is attempting to select the items he requires for the journey back to Earth, he had been conducting the same exercise for the past two hours. Have Willow Rosenberg and Colonel Carter completed repairing the vessel?"
Faith: "Red tried again after Sam rerouted the power from the Time Machine part of the ship to the primary power batteries or whatever it's called, I actually glazed over for a while there."
Teal'c: "Indeed."
Faith: "It worked for a bit before sparks flew from all over and the power died again. So now they're saying that it looks as if the primary power thingamajig is out of juice so they have to reroute the controls to the secondary thingamabob."
"Faith" said the Colonel, "we're ready to try it again."
"Coming" said Faith.
Faith: "Gotta go Big Guy, hopefully this is it."
Teal'c: "Very well, Faith Lehane."
Just as Teal'c finished telepathically talking to Faith, he noticed Daniel running towards him.
"Teal'c" said Daniel looking worried, "I think we're too late, the gate just activated."
Teal'c's eyes widened before he followed Daniel up to the Stargate where they hid behind some tall bushes.
Menawhile, back at the Anicent ship, Willow was seated again at the flight controls.
"Try it now" said the Colonel from the back as she connected a cable to the overhead power conduits.
"Alright" said Willow as she looked at Faith who sat right beside her.
"Good luck" said Faith as Willow nodded.
Willow closed her eyes again and concentrated.
She opened them only when she slowly heard the engines humming to life.
"Yes!" said Faith as she looked around her and saw all the lights, especially the lights at the control console blinking before it became steady. The engine hum increased more and more as Faith and the Colonel smiled at each other, when suddenly sparks flared from the over head conduits and the Colonel covered her face just in time and the entire ship went black.
"Sam" said Faith as she ran over to the Colonel, "you alright?"
"Yea" said the Colonel as Faith helped her walk outside, followed closely by Willow.
"Ma'am" said Willow as she looked at the Colonel's face, "you have some burns on your forehead and cheeks."
"I can feel it" said the Colonel.
"How about your eyes?" said Faith.
"My vision's alright" said the Colonel as she looked up, "just seeing some orange."
Suddenly Faith saw Willow's eyes widen as she looked back down the trail.
"Red?" said Faith.
"We have a slight problem" said Willow.
"Sam" said Daniel on the radio, "we have Ares' Jaffa and his first prime here."
"We're too late" said Willow.
"Looks like that prophecy thing Daniel was talking about is coming true" said Faith.
"Willow" said the Colonel, "is our mental connections still active?"
"Always is unless you order me to shut it down ma'am" said Willow.
Carter: "Daniel.. Teal'c, from now on mental communication only. Go back to the village and lay low for awhile. We'll try and figure something out from this end."
Teal'c: "Very Well, Colonel Carter."
Daniel: "Sure, Sam."
"Faith" said the Colonel, "you know the way back right?"
"You want me to provide backup?" asked Faith.
"Yes" said the Colonel, "but be careful out there."
"Faith" said Willow.
"You gotta be here with Sam" said Faith, "get that thing ready will you?"
"Sure" said Willow.
"Good" replied Faith as she pointed at the Ancient ship, "cause you owe me a date on that."
"Ma'am?" said Willow as she looked at Colonel Carter.
"I've got no problems" said the Colonel.
"Alright" said Willow grinning as she turned back to look at Faith.
"See ya" said Faith as she cautiously walked down the trail.
Faith: "Big guy, I'm coming back to the village. How many Jaffa are we talking about here?"
Teal'c: "Two at the Gate and another seven walking towards the village. The First Prime is heading towards the village as well."
Faith: "Alright. So that makes it eight then. Easy."
Daniel: "Be careful, Faith."
Faith: "Will do."
Faith had made it to the edge of the village in thirty minutes as she hid among the dense foliage. Taking out a scope from her vest, she saw that the Jaffa had all but taken over the village. She looked on as the First Prime was talking to Maybourne as another Jaffa pointed a staff weapon at a woman who was kneeling in front of him.
Faith: "Daniel, are you at the throne room?"
Daniel: "Yea, where are you?"
Faith: "Trail…. behind you, hiding in the foliage. What's going on?"
Teal'c: "Ares' First Prime, Trelak is now aware of the prophecies and has taken the woman to show his Jaffa the ruins of the temple."
Faith: "Great those ruins are close to the ship. If they find it, then they'll search the immediate area."
Teal'c: "Indeed."
Faith: "Red."
Willow: "Yea?"
Faith: "Can Teal'c send me a mental picture of the directions he took to the ruins?"
Willow: "Yes."
Faith: "Big Guy, please tell me you heard that?"
Teal'c: "Indeed. I am remembering the directions at this moment."
Faith: "Got it, thanks. You guys hang tight."
Daniel: "Be careful, Faith."
Faith: "Read you five by five, Daniel."
Faith tracked the three Jaffa and the villager from the woods until they had reached the ruins. From her hiding spot, she saw that the villager had shown them one of the columns which one of the Jaffa seemed to have taken a keen interest in. She then saw the Jaffa signal the woman to wait for them at the ruins while they searched the area.
"Alright then" thought Faith to herself, "come to mommy."
Faith watched the Jaffa heading to her location so she moved deeper into the woods, staying just in front of them. Finding a very thick trunked tree, she hid behind it since she was aware that they had to come this way.
Once the three Jaffa passed the tree she was hiding behind, Faith stepped up behind the Jaffa who had taken up the rear and grabbed his arm that held the staff weapon and crushed his wrist while at the same time she put her arm around his neck as she held him as a shield against the staff weapon blasts of the other two Jaffa. Releasing the hand she had crushed, Faith reached back and got her Zat which she immediately fired at the other two Jaffa.
Once the Jaffa had gone down, she dropped the dead Jaffa she used as a shield before walking to the other two and firing another Zat blast at each of them.
"Night… night" said Faith as she deactivated and holstered her Zat.
Faith: "Guys, three down."
Daniel looked at Teal'c and smiled once they heard from Faith.
Daniel: "Glad she's on our side."
Teal'c: "Indeed."
Faith: "How's it going back there?"
Daniel: "Trelac heard the sounds of the staff weapons firing, but he thinks that the Jaffa killed the villager. He's using her death to keep the other's in line out of fear."
Faith: "Red, how goes the ship?"
Willow: "Almost done. You alright?"
Faith: "I think one of the blasts landed too close to my arm. It got burned a little but nothing major. I'll be fine."
Willow: "Alright, I'll heal you when you get back."
Carter: "We're ready to try again. Faith, I need you to get back to the village. Stay out of sight if you can."
Faith: "Got it Sam."
Faith grabbed one of the fallen staff weapons and ran to the ruins where the female villager was waiting for the other Jaffa. She told the villager to hide somewhere away from the village until the situation had been settled. Once she took care of that, Faith went back into the woods and ran to the end of the trail near the village.
Back at the Ancient ship, Willow was back at the controls after having used trial and error as she tried to reroute the power again through some secondary conduits, while Colonel Carter used her laptop to check the power level readings.
"Think this will work, ma'am?" asked Willow as she grabbed the flight controls.
"Let's try" said the Colonel as she pressed a button at the back of the ship and the ramp moved up to its closed position. She then walked up to the front and sat down at the seat next to Willow.
Willow closed her eyes again and concentrated, she smiled as she heard the engines begin to hum again and opened them as the lights started to activate all around her.
"It's working" said the Colonel excitedly as she noticed the control console was lighting up until it too was steady.
"Power levels are increasing" said Willow as a holographic Heads Up Display popped up indicating the current power levels and other vital statistics of the ship.
"Fly?" asked the Colonel.
"Yes!" said Willow as she pulled on the controls and the ship started to shake as the remaining vegetation fell off and it rose into the sky.
"Nice" said Colonel Carter as they headed up through the upper atmosphere as she checked some of the readings on the console, "we've got another ship out there, Willow. And its big."
"There it is" said Willow as she saw the large Ha'tak class pyramid ship bearing down on them.
"Oh boy" said the Colonel as the pyramid ship started to fire at the much smaller Ancient vessel.
Willow was doing everything she could to avoid the plasma bursts from the pyramid ship as she weaved the craft between one blast after another.
"You're doing great, Willow" said the Colonel as she looked nervously at the red head, "relatively."
"Yes, ma'am" smiled Willow as she closed her eyes again, "weapons."
As soon as she said those words, Willow opened her eyes to see a different HUD pop up with a targeting reticule already aimed at a section on the ship.
"Fire" she thought just as she and Colonel Carter saw two bright yellow missile like objects heading to the ship and then impacting it.
"Keep firing, Willow" said the Colonel.
"Looks like that's it" said Willow as a red coloured message popped up on the same HUD, "all weapons are depleted."
"Let's hope you hit some vital systems" said the Colonel.
Just then, the two women saw explosions beginning to erupt from several openings within the hull of the gigantic ship. It resulted in a massive explosion that completely obliterated the pyramid ship.
"I guess those were vital systems?" asked Willow smiling as she looked at the Colonel.
"Relatively" said the Colonel as she smiled at Willow, "how about we get back to the village?"
"Yes ma'am" said Willow as she turned the craft around and headed back to the surface of the planet.
Willow: "Guys, we activated the Ancient ship. Also, good news, Ares' ship has been destroyed; they're not getting any reinforcements in."
Faith: "Cool."
Teal'c: "Indeed."
Faith slowly came out of hiding when she saw no Jaffa near her location and ran behind a large stone pillar near the throne room where Trelak was getting agitated about the Jaffa who had gone to the ruins. There were to have returned some time ago so he ordered another two Jaffa to go to the ruins and find out what was going on.
Faith: "Red, two Jaffa heading towards the ruins. Think you can use your telekinesis to take care of them?"
Willow: "Got it."
Faith: "Big Guy, Daniel…. I'm in the village, behind the large pillar at the entrance to the throne room."
Daniel: "We're on the other side, next to the throne. Trelak will be facing you once you come out from hiding."
Faith: "Thanks. I've got a staff weapon with me."
Teal'c: "Ensure that your killing shot is true, Faith Lehane."
Faith: "Of course, Big Guy."
From behind her hiding spot, Faith saw the two Jaffa walk off towards the ruins. Once they had left the village proper and were out of sight, she stepped out from behind the pillar and faced Trelak who looked at her in surprise. Just as he was about to bring up his staff weapon, Faith fired a single blast into his chest, instantly killing him. The other two Jaffa behind him brought up their weapons at Faith just before Daniel and Teal'c came out of hiding while pointing their own weapons at the heads of the Jaffa.
Faith: "And that, ladies and gentlemen, makes it four for today."
Teal'c could only smile and nod his head at the brunette Slayer.
Teal'c: "Colonel Carter, the village is secure. However, two Jaffa are moving towards the temple ruins."
Carter: "Willow already got them, including the two guarding the Gate."
Willow: "We'll be landing the ship near the DHD, just meet us there when you can."
Daniel: "What do we do with the two Jaffa here who are still alive?"
Teal'c: "I suggest we bring them to one of the camps of the rebel Jaffa, they would be able to gain some information from these two."
Carter: "Agreed."
"Ma'am" said Willow as she brought in the Ancient ship for landing next to the DHD where the bodies of the two Jaffa guarding the Gate lay dead thanks to her telekinesis, "I'm guessing you'll be examining the technology on the ship when we get back?"
"I know what you're going to say" said the Colonel smiling as she and Willow got up once the ship was landed.
"You became a psychic ma'am?" said Willow with a grin.
"You, Dr. Lee and myself will be getting first crack at this baby" said the Colonel as she looked at the technology surrounding them before she and Willow walked to the back and pressed the button to bring the ramp down.
"So" said Willow smiling at Colonel Carter once they stepped onto the tall grass near the DHD, "who's going to tell General O'Neill that we're bringing him a present?"
TBC