A/N: Just wanted to wish all my readers a belated Happy New Year.
SGC, an hour later.
Willow was still rubbing her head as Faith sat next to her after having been beamed back with General O'Neill, Colonel Carter, and baby Debbie from Santa Barbara with the Colonel and General having immediately gone to Colonel Dixon's house where his wife was going to help babysit Debbie, Faith and Willow were sitting together with the redhead's head the Slayer's shoulder/ It would be a few minutes later that Daniel walked into the infirmary and Willow pulled her slightly throbbing head off Faith's shoulder and smiled at the archaeologist.
"Heard what happened, Daniel," the redhead said, "you and Anya alright?"
"Yea," said Daniel, "Buffy and Amy took care of the assassin before any of us even knew what was going on. He's been taken into custody and being sent over to Area 51 for questioning."
"Good," nodded Faith.
"How're you?" asked Daniel as he looked at Willow and then at Faith, "heard what happened to your place."
"Still a bit of a headache," said Willow, "but I'm gonna be fine. The ringing's in my ears gone though."
"And Big G said that he's going to go check out the house with Sam before getting back here," Faith added, "I hope the blast didn't destroy the Charlie's memory box."
"Jack told me about that years ago," said Daniel nodding his head, "I just talked to him. He said the fire department found it while investigating the bombing. Don't worry, he said that the Pentagon would be taking care of everything."
"Good," sighed Faith just as Dawn and Jon came in with cups of coffee on a tray. Dawn was one of the first people called after Willow and Faith were attacked and their home blown up. The both of them cut short a movie marathon before hurriedly leaving Jon's apartment and then arriving at the SGC where Willow was already slowly regaining consciousness. With Faith and General O'Neill gone off to save Colonel Carter, Dawn was the first person Willow saw when she regained consciousness. Back in the present day, Dawn handed a coffee to Willow while Jon handed one to Faith and Daniel before taking their own cups and putting aside the tray. Willow told Dawn that she was once again sorry about her losing all her clothes.
"You think the pendent you got me for my birthdays survived?" asked Dawn.
"Hope so," said Willow who knew Dawn was referring to the pendant the redhead commissioned to be made by one of the Athosian gem-smiths thousands of years ago, before Hera's death. Willow said that the fire department would be gathering their personal belonging before handing it to the S.F's who were already guarding the smoking wreckage. Willow knew that it was the last of it's kind given that, according to Teyla, the gem-smiths were all wiped out; the secrets of how to make their beautiful creation gone with them as well.
While Faith helped Willow turn her body until her feet were hanging off the edge of the bed, Teal'c walked into the infirmary wearing a set of muddy robes with Dr. Lam following close behind. Willow and the others asked if he too encountered an assassin while the doctor was taking out some medical items to dress the cut scorch mark on his upper arm after his sleeve was pulled up by a nurse. Teal'c was tell Willow and the others that he was attending a meeting in regards to the formation of the new Jaffa government, before seeing Ishta as he was meant to, when he and several other Jaffa were attack by a man in brown and blue armour. The Jaffa said that the assassin was killed quickly thanks to the report sent by the SGC in regards to the attacks on Willow and Faith. Soon enough, everyone was joined by General Landry, Colonel Mitchell, and Vala… the latter two had successfully laid a trap for the man hunting them before capturing him, and then sending him to the Prometheus Station where he was zatted by an awaiting Marine.
Dawn and Jon knew that the group had some things to talk about, so she placed her hands-on Willow's shoulder before telling her and Faith that she and Jon would be heading back to the latter's apartment. Dawn whispered that she'll stay with Jon for the night after heading for the burnt-out house and searching for any belongings they could retrieve, especially the pendent. Willow nodded her head before confirming that she and Faith would be staying at their quarters in the SGC. After Dawn kissed Willow on her cheek, she walked out of the infirmary with Jon, leaving Willow and the others to wait for Colonel Carter and General O'Neill to return to the SGC.
It was another hours later that the General returned with Colonel Carter, fully clothed after changing at her own home after having been beamed there with General Carter and General O'Neill. The three of the walked up to the briefing room where a recovered Willow was sitting with Faith by her side. The two of them, Daniel, Teal'c, Colonel Mitchell, and Vala then stood up before General Landry, seated at the head of the table, asked Colonel Carter if she and Debbie were doing alright.
"She was devastated to let me go," said the Colonel nodding her head, "I told her that dad will be coming to pick her up since there are some bad people who want to hurt me. She's asleep the last time I checked up on her, which was two minutes ago, when we entered the mountain."
"I'm sorry that I have to ask you to stay away from Debra," General Landry said while General Carter gently rubbed his daughter's back, "it's only until we get a solution to this thing with the Lucien Alliance."
General Landry then said that they were prepared to start the briefing. The Colonel walked up and sat next to Faith, who patted her back after she had taken a seat. The blonde officer leaned forward and asked Willow if she was alright, and then asked the same to Faith and the others. She apologized saying that she was so concerned about Debbie's safety that it escaped her mind to ask about her teammates.
"We're worried about Debbie, Mark and the others," said Daniel leaning forward, "how are they taking this?"
"The kids are still scared stiff," said the Colonel, "dad's going to be heading out there with Debbie once the fence has been fixed. Which should be after this briefing."
"We'll be taking the family to Seaworld," said General Carter nodding his head, "it'll be a distraction from what happened."
"Good call," said General O'Neill nodded his head.
"Now," said General Landry leaning forward with his hands on the table while he looked at Willow, "Major, tell us what you know from your insight into the dead assassin's mind."
Willow told them everything they had seen; from the number of assassins, to the name of the new leader, to the name of the black-market dealer the assassin used to get her weapons. She also told SG-1, and the three Generals that the Alliance blamed the SGC for the drastic drop in their money inflow from Kassa production. She then said that all those who entered the factory were washed with a green light that deposited tracking nanites into their bloodstreams. Willow further explained that it was the signal from the trackers that the assassins were following; it was how the members of SG-1 were so easily found. Faith looked at General Carter and said that their blood was drawn to find out if what Willow gleaned from the assassin's mind was true and they were being tracked. Willow then explained some of the other images she had seen until just before the explosion that destroyed the house.
"And I found Charlie's box," said the General nodding his head while Faith gave him a thumb up. General Carter then told Willow and Faith that the fire department were still going through the debris that used to be their house, and would be bringing by any whole personal effects they find to Petersons Air Base.
"Where do we take the assassins for questioning, General Landry?" asked Teal'c.
"Area 51," replied the General as he leaned back on his chair, "everyone rest up. Tomorrow morning, we head for Area 51 to question the prisoners. And once that's done, we'll decide on an appropriate response."
"I'm all for finding out where they have their ship building and maintenance facilities," said Colonel Carter.
"Or," said Willow raising her hand, "is there a way to modify the Avenger virus? Make it target only the Lucien Alliance worlds?"
"Let's not do the virus again," begged Daniel recalling what happened the last time the Avenger virus was uploaded to the Stargate network. Not only was the entire network in the galaxy disabled, Daniel's team was one of many that was stuck off-world. His team were experiencing a continuous downpour while waiting for the gate network to be reactivated; and he was miserable the entire time. He even ended up in the infirmary with a severe case of the flu.
"Ok," said General O'Neill, "so no virus. Which I'm ok with too. We could try and turn the assassins, have them take out the leader instead."
"But would that not require some proof that we are telling the truth," said Teal'c.
"Muscles is right," Vala added, "do we know when Netan was killed?"
Willow said that she had read that information from the assassin who attempted to kill her and Faith. However, the redhead also added that the assassins may not take their word for it even if they had the evidence. Vala then frowned and crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward on the table. She said to herself that there must be something the Alliance would want above all else.
"Well, you know them better than any of us," quipped Colonel Mitchell as he looked at Vala who stared back at him with a scowl. A scowl which quickly turned to a grin as she leaned towards the man and said that she indeed knew something. Something that the Alliance prepared over anything else.
"Territory, my friends," said Vala as she looked at everyone, and the lightly punched Colonel Mitchell in the arm before turning to the others. She said that the leader of the Alliance was the one with the most territory, "with territory comes the Kassa in that territory, and so the influence and the money."
"So," said General Landry, "we're going to try and flip one of the assassins? How's the territory transferred from the current leader to the one who takes him out?"
Vala said that the leader of the Alliance takes out any threat to his power by killing off the immediate threat and then taking his territory.
"However," Vala then added, "if the leader is killed by his Second… or if a Second is brave enough to do such a thing that wouldn't blow-back on him, then the Second would become leader and gain the territory of the previous leader. And if the new Leader is fear like Netan? Then there would be another challenge."
"If we could flip these assassins," said General Carter, "you think they'd go for a deal?"
"If it gets him power, prestige, and territory?" asked Vala, "then I don't see why not."
General Landry then sighed and looked at SG-1, and then thought about the other teams that went up against the Lucien Alliance. He was aware that they could be targets as well. He didn't want to open up a second front with the Alliance while they still had the Ori and the Rogue Cylons to deal with. Taking a few deep breaths, General Landry then told SG-1 that he understood their need to gain revenge on the Alliance for send people to kill them, and at the same time putting their friends and family in danger. General Landry continued explaining that he didn't want another front opening up where the Earth would be a direct target.
"We can ask the Tok'ra to infiltrate the Alliance," said General O'Neill after saying that he agreed with General Landry, "but they'll need some intel of where to start. Carter? Interview the one who attacked you in Santa Barbara. Take Red with you."
"Yes, sir," nodded Colonel Carter.
"Red," said General, "make him think about what he wants to say. That's the types of questions I need you guys to ask, and that's the answers we need for Red to read using her abilities."
"Yes, sir," answered Willow.
"I'll take the woman," said General Carter, "the second one who attacked us in Santa Barbara."
"Dad," said the Colonel as she looked at the anger on her father's face, "I need you with Debbie. Please, she needs you to take her away from here to Santa Barbara, and then to Seaworld."
"Sam," said the General, "Debbie and I can be beamed to Mark's place tomorrow after the 'interview'. We'll be there, but for now, I…"
"Please, dad," begged Colonel Carter while Colonel Mitchel and the others looked away nervously at hearing the cracks in the blonde Colonel's voice, "take her away tonight."
General Carter stared at his daughter's pleading face, and despite his desire to see one of the people who threatened his family squirm under questioning, he relented. The General said that he'll head back after the briefing to pick up some of Debbie's clothes and toys before picking up the little girl. The Colonel thanked her father before taking a deep breath while Faith rubbed her back gently. General O'Neill could only look on while imagining holding Colonel Carter tight to comfort her. The man then looked back down at the table when suddenly he felt as if he was being watched. The General then looked up and leaned back on his seat and stared at Willow who was sitting across from him with a sly smile on her face.
The general coughed before looking away and leaning back towards the table while General Landry said that Faith and Teal'c would interrogate the assassin who tried to kill Daniel, while Daniel, Colonel Mitchell and Vala would interview the one who tried the latter two members of SG-1.
"Lets get every bot of information, and then have it sent to the TOk'ra," said General Landry, "once the Ori and the Rogue Cylons are dealt with, then we can think about our response to the Alliance. Let's not kid ourselves, there's no way to know if they would take this deal… and if they do, how long it would hold."
"Understood," said SG-1 before they were dismissed.
Area 51, the next day, 0800 hours.
Ronin Terzan was one of the assassins sent to kill members of SG-1 and the other teams who had destroyed the Kassa processing facility and Space-port on P1W-182. The last thing the middle aged man remembered was turning around at the home of Colonel Carter, at least the place where the nanites in her bloodstream had led him and his partner to, before getting hit by a Zat blast by the other woman whose pictures were distributed to him and his partner. Their responsibility was to retrieve Colonel Carter and three others for the Alliance leader, Goras Jonal, in return for rewards that included a small share of the Kassa profits and a small piece of territory. However, once the zat blast hit him, he knew he failed the mission. The man tried to break the vial in his molars that would release a liquid to not only kill him, but react with a chemical injected into his bloodstream that would cause a massive explosion.
And it was the fact that he wasn't dead that had Ronin worried. He looked at the grey wall room before turning to the glass on the left, and then at the metallic bar on the table that was bolted to the cement floor. He tried to pull apart the handcuffs that was attached to the bar while gritting his teeth. He pulled harder before he let off a yell and relaxed, panting as he looked back at the glass.
"I know I'm being watched!" he exclaimed, "come on out and…"
"You really don't have the right to demand anything," said a redhead he recognized from the picture of SG-1 that was circulated to the assassins by the leader of the Alliance. The assassins had picked their targets, and then gone after them. Their duty was to capture or kill them before returning to the Alliance leader. Ronin and his partner Kilena selected Faith, Colonel Carter, and two others. The both of them tracked the Colonel to her family home, and were then supposed to find and capture Faith. And then they were supposed to get to their next targets.
However, they were the ones who were caught. And he had no idea where Kilena was being held.
"So," said the blonde, the one Ronin recognized as Colonel Carter, followed the redhead into the room, closing the door behind her. The both of them walked over to the table and the redhead sat down while the blonde glared at Ronin, "we know about the nanites in our bloodstream. They were put there by the green light that washed over us? Am I right?"
Ronin just glared at the blonde without an answer.
"According to the data we found in your ship," said the redhead, "I'm sure you already know who we are. I'm Major Rosenberg, and that angry woman who's eyeballing you right now… and I'm telling you that I literally feel her wanting to strangle you to death… is Colonel Carter. Now, my dear man, what's your name?"
Ronin turned to look at Willow, but all he did was smirk before looking away. He never said a single word.
"You're lucky," said Colonel Carter as Ronin looked back at her, "you got us to question you. Your friend? The one who blew my brother's fence? Well, she's talking to Teal'c and Faith. And I'll tell you that's not a really good combination. Here's the deal… we know we're being targeted for something that we didn't do."
"We didn't kill Netan," said Willow.
"But the Kassa factory and the space-port? Yeah, that was all us," said Colonel Carter nodding her head while Willow stared at Ronin as her chin rested on the palm of her hand, while her elbow was rested on the table, "we'll keep on hitting the Lucien Alliance's Kassa production facilities because… well, you people are criminals."
"But we don't do assassinations," said Willow as Ronin looked at her, "we didn't kill Netan. In fact, we'd like to know who killed him as well."
"There's something the Alliance needs to know," said Colonel Carter, "the galaxy is at war on two possible fronts. One is with the Ori, I take it you heard of them?"
Ronin looked away while frowning, and then looked back at Colonel Carter and Willow; and then nodded his head.
"If they knew where your facilities are, the Ori wouldn't just destroy them," said Willow, "they'd kill everyone on the entire planet."
"And the other faction are some human looking robots," continued Willow, "we have no idea where they are at this moment, all we know is that they've already attacked two worlds that we know of."
Despite this new information, Ronin didnt not say anything at all. The fact was that her didnt believe anything these people were saying. His loyalty was only to the Alliance and Goras. No one else matter, no other words mattered except for the words from Goras' lips.
"Now," said Colonel Carter as she walked around the table while Ronin stared at Willow, "tell us where the new leader of the Alliance is holed up. You tell us first, and then your fate won't be as bad as your partners."
"You'll be considered an enemy combatant," said Willow, "and you'll be put into one of many deep holes we have on Earth for people like you. the only difference is that you'll have slightly better food and a television set; it's a audio-visual device for entertainment purposes."
"And that," said the Colonel as she slapped the back of Ronin's head. The man turned, stood up and rushed the Colonel who stepped back without an expression on her face as she recalled this was one of the people who tried to hurt her in front of her family. The cuff that was attached to the bar on the table went taut, and Ronin was unable to take another step towards the Colonel. In addition, Willow mentally pulled him back and slammed him face down on the table… the bar crashing against his ribs. Ronin was struggling to get up while a calm Colonel Carter, from whom Willow could feel anger, slowly walked around the table until she was facing Ronin's panicked face. The man was wondering what was happening because as far as he was aware, Willow was seated with her hands behind her head whistling a tune, and the Colonel was standing a few inches away. However, he felt pressure holding the back of his neck down onto the table. The Colonel continued to say that the television was for the first person to talk about the Alliance's bases, fleet strength, and their ship building and maintenance facilities.
"Of course, you may not have that information," Willow said as Ronin struggled to get up but was unsuccessful while the redhead continued to speak, "but you'll be helping yourself if you tell us where we can find people who can give us that information."
"You just declared war," said Colonel Carter as she sat down and glared at Ronin while remembering Debbie's cries from earlier that day, "we intend to send a message to your leadership that it was, first, a really bad idea; and secondly, they have bigger things to worry about than us."
"So," said Willow leaning forward as she let go of her mental hold on the back of his neck, "what's your name?"
Ronin slowly got us while glaring at the two women in front of him. He imagined a bullet through their head before looking away saying he wasn't going to answer any questions. However, unbeknownst to him, he remembered the very day he and his partner, as well as the other assassins, received their orders from Goras. Ronin recalled that he and his partner had their helmets covering their faces, faces which no one knew, when Goras called for them by name and handed them the data on Faith, Colonel Carter, and two others; one from SG-30 and another from SG-34. What Ronin didn't know was, that Willow was 'seeing' and 'hearing' the assassin's thoughts… and a small smile appeared on her face while Ronin leaned back on his chair and scowled at the two women.
Colonel Carter, noticing the smile on Willow's face, knew that Willow had the man's name before she went on to asking the pre-arranged questions. All the while, for the next hour, Ronin didn't speak. At the end of the hour, after asking several other different questions, the Colonel was mentally informed by Willow that they had been told everything they needed to know.
"Good thing to be loyal to the Alliance," said the Colonel as she got up with Willow just as the door to the room slide open and two S.F's walked in carrying activated Zat's. Ronin looked at the men, and then at Willow and Colonel Carter, and back at the S.F's who raised the Zat's. He sighed and mentally prepared himself for a long prison sentence; he knew the price of betraying the Lucien Alliance, and there was no way he was planning to pay it.
"I am loyal to the Alliance," said Ronin as he stood up, "there will be more like me sent after you. And you two, your team, and the others will die."
"Yeah, yeah," said Willow while Colonel Carter nodded at the S.F's who fired their zats. The blue beam hit Ronin and then he collapsed onto his chair. The blue energy was crackling along his body as Colonel Carter and Willow walked out of the room, past the entrance, and into another room where Colonel Mitchell was standing with General O'Neill and Vala. The others were watching the interrogation of the female assassin, while Daniel and Colonel Dixon.. who was called in to assist, was questioning the man who went after Colonel Mitchell and Vala.
"Anything, Red?" asked General O'Neill as the door to the interrogation room was closed behind them after the two S.F's took Ronin away. Willow and Colonel Carter saw the man dragged off before turning to Colonel Mitchel and General O'Neill. Willow said that she recovered information on certain people who the assassins had been in contact with; these people were Seconds to Goras, and were familiar with everything the SGC and the Tok'ra needed to know on the Lucien Alliance.
Colonel Mitchell and the General listened to what Willow and Colonel Carter had to say while they were walking out of the observation room and into the hallway. It would be later that day when all of the interview reports were sent to General Landry and General O'Neill. The next day, everyone met at the SGC to discuss the next step as far as the deal was concerned. Among the assassins, only one agreed to flip against Goras.
A man named Ventrall. The one who attacked Vala and Colonel Mitchell.
Goras' Hatak Class flagship, two days later.
Two days later, Ventrall walked past the fallen guards killed by a bounty hunter he hired. The hunter pointed his weapon at the frightened Goras, who guards lay on the floor dead, before being shot in the back by Ventrall himself. The hunter was killed by the very man who hired him since he needed the guards disabled. With the guards' and the hunter's blood pooling on the floor of Goras' ship, Ventrall walked over the dead body and approached Goras who released a sigh of relief before saying that Ventrall would be richly rewarded.
"I know," said Ventrall as he shot a plasma bolt through the body of Goras. The man fell to the floor dead while Ventrall remembered the deal he had made with the SGC. It was a deal neither side liked, but it was accepted nevertheless. He would get the territory and riches from the sale of the Kassa, but the Alliance could not expand out from its current territory. If it did, then the Tau'ri would hit back with everything they had in their arsenal. Ventral didn't know if it was true, but the one thing that convinced him on the sincerity of the Tau'ri threat was that the Asgard would support them in any action against the Alliance. General Landry and a man named Woolsey had told him that with the threat of the Ori and the robotic beings called the Cylons, they didn't need the distraction. So, if the Alliance made any move against Earth or tried to gain more territory, then they would face a combined Asgard and Tau'ri fleet that would decimate the Alliance.
All Ventrall could do was agree to the deal.
As he sat on the command chair of the Alliance flagship, he knew he would have support from a majority of the Seconds. He was one of the most feared bounty hunters after all, and those who didn't support him or didn't like the deal… he already planned to have them killed.
For now, there was going to be peace. A fragile peace between the Alliance and Earth, but peace nevertheless.
TBC