"I'm telling you, you're wasting your time," said the security officer escorting Teal'c through the corridors of the various ambassadorial suites.
"Nevertheless," said Teal'c, "it is my duty to make the attempt."
"Yeah, maybe, but getting him to help you with this is – " the man shook his head and trailed off.
Soon, they arrived and the officer pressed a wall panel next to a door. After a while, the door slid open to reveal Ambassador G'Kar, holding a tall glass of ruby-coloured liquid and standing rather unsteadily.
"My friend!" he said, his face breaking into a grin when he saw Teal'c. "I take it you've heard the wonderful news? Have you come to join in the celebration? Come in! Come in!"
G'Kar ushered Teal'c inside, then stared pointedly at the security officer until he took the hint and stayed put, standing guard outside the door instead.
"I am sorry to interrupt your… celebration," said Teal'c, looking around the room where G'Kar had evidently been celebrating alone, "but your fellow ambassador has been kidnapped."
"I thought that might be why you were here! Glass of taree?" he offered, lifting his own near-empty glass. Teal'c shook his head and G'Kar shrugged and began pouring himself another.
"I have come to ask for your assistance in securing his rescue," said Teal'c.
G'Kar spilt the drink he was pouring. "You have?" he said, confused.
"Ambassador Mollari has been taken by a Goa'uld," explained Teal'c, "a parasitic being from my universe that poses a dire threat to yours by its mere presence here. I can tell that you are a warrior; your assistance in this battle would be most advantageous."
G'Kar sighed. "My friend, you are new here and know only a little of our history, but you must understand that for me to come to the aid of that man is simply unconscionable."
"While it is true that I am not of this place," said Teal'c, "I imagine that the role of ambassador is largely the same as it is in my world. Diplomacy, concessions, compromise; these are nothing more than a formal cover for the real business underneath: scoring points against one's opponent. Often, the surest way to win those points is to do the very action the opposite side least expects."
"What are you saying?"
"Help me to rescue Mollari and, to borrow an Earth phrase, he would 'owe you one'."
G'Kar considered this. "It would be most amusing to see his face when he realises I was the one who saved his life," he said, half to himself, "and very embarrassing for him, too. He would lose considerable face with the rest of his delegation…
"Very well," he said at last, putting down his glass and turning to Teal'c. "Perhaps it's the taree talking, but let us go and save that pompous old windbag."
Teal'c bowed his head in gratitude.
"Besides," added G'Kar, brightly, "I swore to him he would die by my hand one day and I would hate to break a promise."
A sighting of the escaped pirate sent Jack and Garibaldi, along with Sam and Daniel and what must have been half of Garibaldi's security staff, to one of Babylon 5's docking bays, where they were met by G'Kar and Teal'c.
"I'm surprised to see you here," said Garibaldi to G'Kar.
The Narn raised a hand to his chest. "Mister Garibaldi, I am offended. Ambassador Mollari could be horribly maimed or even killed," he said. "How could you possibly think that I would miss that?"
Garibaldi shook his head and turned to Teal'c. "Here, I got this out of lockup for you," he said, handing Teal'c back his zat gun. "Jack tells me it's non-lethal."
Teal'c took the weapon and turned to Jack with a questioning look.
"It can be," said Jack, defensively. "What it won't do, though, is punch a hole in the hull and that Goa'uld hand device might, so we're gonna need it."
Garibaldi turned to his security team. "Okay, people, this bay's a dead end so let's get it done right. Fan out, watch for gaps in the line, and keep your eyes and ears open. Our priority is getting Ambassador Mollari out of this in one piece, so no one fires unless I give the order."
Everyone took up positions across the landing bay and began to move forward methodically, the tall stacks of crates and various pieces of bulky machinery creating a maze out of the vast room. The ground crew had been hastily evacuated when the call came in, but certain functions still ran automatically, the shadows filled with sounds and movement which snagged the attention, only to turn out to be a robotic refuelling pipe or an automated repair drone.
"Vikander!" shouted Garibaldi into the dark. "Come out peacefully. We just want to make sure the ambassador is unharmed. There doesn't have to be any shooting here."
"Please, hold your fire!" they heard Mollari shout from quite far back, which was followed by a dull thump and a muffled cry.
As one, Garibaldi and the others turned towards the source of the sound and began moving in.
"Come on out, Vikander," Garibaldi called again, hoping to get another bead on her position. "There's no way out of here and we have you pinned down. It's over."
"You will call me Shesmu!" she shouted back, her voice deep and distorted. She sounded close. "Keep back or I kill the Centauri. I will not let you stop me now."
"You know we can't let you stay here," Jack shouted.
"Stay here?" cried Shesmu. "You think that I want to remain in this ridiculous universe? I thought it a miracle that I survived when my glider crashed through the chappa'ai, but then I found myself here, in this foolish place where absolutely nothing makes sense!"
"So come back with us," Jack offered. "Come on out peacefully and we'll take you back when we go."
"In chains, of course!"
"Well, duh," muttered Jack under his breath.
Shesmu gave a short, bitter laugh. "Oh, no," she said. "Escape may have been my plan at first, but since then I have made allies out there in the darkness of space who showed me the true opportunities available in this universe."
Garibaldi gestured to a few of his officers to move forward into better positions.
"Keep her talking," he whispered to Jack.
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem," Jack replied in a low voice. "She's a Goa'uld."
"I have been setting this up for months! Finding a new host, infiltrating those pathetic Raiders, employing a techno-mage, doing endless research on the backwards nonsense which passes for science here! Then you turn up, SG-1, the heroes of the Tau'ri, come to stop me just as my plans are coming to fruition."
Jack gave Garibaldi a 'see what I mean?' look and then shouted to Shesmu: "We didn't come here to stop you! I mean, we will now, obviously, but if it hadn't been for your clumsy theatrics, we wouldn't have even known you were here!"
"Killing the Gaim was supposed to slow you down," Shesmu yelled, "but these people can't even conduct a murder investigation properly. I'm warning you, though: keep chasing me and we shall see how long their 'last, best hope for peace' holds out once the Centauri ambassador is a bloody mess on the floor."
"For the record," shouted Mollari, "I'm against that course of action." In response, there was the sound of another punishing blow.
While they were talking, Jack saw Teal'c and G'Kar making their way around the outside of the landing bay, keeping out of sight and getting into a flanking position.
"So," shouted Jack, already wincing at the transparency of his question, but trying to keep Shesmu distracted from spotting Teal'c, "what's that weird sphere thing supposed to do, anyway?"
"That 'sphere', as you call it, shall provide the bridge between these two universes," said Shesmu, triumph in her voice. "Every Stargate on every Goa'uld-occupied world will be activated at once, all pointing here, forever open. One word from me and legions of Goa'uld and Jaffa will descend upon this place, to claim it as our own, and there is nothing you can do to stop this now."
"I can't believe that worked," muttered Jack to himself.
Suddenly, a massive burst of noisy static crashed in from all around them, accompanied by a piercing squeal of feedback.
"Not again!" shouted Garibaldi over the din.
"SG-1, come in," said General Hammond, his voice booming from every audio device on the station. "Your mission time is almost up. Please respond."
"Not now," muttered Jack, grabbing his walkie-talkie and speaking quickly: "Mission on track, sir. Requesting immediate radio silence."
Hammond signalled his acknowledgement by cutting communications. The silence that followed was ringing and empty. Suspiciously empty.
"Does anyone have eyes on the fugitive?" shouted Garibaldi.
They moved forward cautiously, guns pointed into every shadowy corner.
"Here!" called Teal'c from his position deeper in the bay.
Shesmu wheeled towards him, dragging Mollari around as a shield, and raised her hand device as Teal'c fired his Zat. The crackling burst of energy hit the Centauri full in the chest and he slumped in her grip, unconscious. Her hostage now a dead weight, Shesmu snarled and flung him at G'Kar before taking to her heels. Teal'c fired another blast as she fled but G'Kar staggered into him under the weight of Mollari and the shot went wide.
"Clear!" shouted Teal'c and the others surged forward, boots pounding on the metal floor.
Ambassador Mollari blinked up at G'Kar as the painful stunning effect of the zat weapon began to wear off. "G'Kar?" he said, unable to believe his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Saving your worthless hide, apparently," replied G'Kar, setting the Centauri down on the floor with as little care as he could manage. "It seems that our ridiculously honourable new friend here has a very bad influence on me. Believe me, it won't happen again."
There was a new sound from deeper in the docking bay which rose steadily in volume.
"She's got a ship!" shouted Garibaldi. "How the hell does she have a ship?"
Over their heads, a heavily patched Goa'uld glider sped past and towards the exit into space. Jack raised his borrowed PPG but Garibaldi shouted: "Don't bother – it won't work against hull plating." Into his communicator, he yelled: "Scramble Alpha Wing – now!"
Alpha Wing launched in double quick time, speeding into space in pursuit of Shesmu's glider. SG-1 was invited to a command room by Commander Sinclair and Lieutenant Commander Ivanova to follow the chase on some of the large display screens there. Long-range cameras from the station tracked each of the fighters, as well as Shesmu's fleeing glider, in perfect clarity.
"You know, we've flown quite a few ships in our time," said Jack. "If you've got any spare fighters, maybe we could help out."
"We've got this," replied Sinclair, and then, seeing how Jack was, watching the action unfold on the screen, he added: "I know you'd rather be out there instead of watching it on here. Believe me, I get that. Don't think I don't appreciate the offer, but a Starfury isn't something you can jump into without training."
Jack nodded, resignedly. "Cool name, though," he said, before turning back to the screens.
The cameras adjusted, bringing up a wider angle on Shesmu's fighter. "She's heading for the Jumpgate," said Ivanova.
The voice of Alpha Wing's leader came through on the comms. "Not if we have anything to say about it. She won't even get close. Moving to intercept, full burn."
Sinclair leant in towards the microphone. "Dillon, this is Sinclair. Shoot to disable her vessel, if possible," he ordered.
"Orders received and understood, Commander," replied Dillon.
"Uh, is that wise?" asked Daniel. "That's a Goa'uld out there who's trying to bring in an invasion force."
"She's a wanted murderer," replied Sinclair, "and I'd like to be able to hand her over to the Gaim delegation alive to stand trial for her crimes."
The fighters began to close in on Shesmu's glider. "Commence firing, maximum burst, but keep it wide," Dillon ordered his fellow pilots. "We want to stop her, not end her."
The Babylon 5 fighters let loose a volley of energy that exploded around Shesmu's glider, causing it to spiral out of control, venting smoke into space.
Below the screens, a radar display lit up with a warning, showing half a dozen small, red dots heading towards Alpha Wing's formation. "Dillon, you've got six fighters on an intercept course," said Ivanova. "Break pursuit. They're right on top of you."
"I see them," replied Dillon. "I think the fugitive's vessel is toast now anyway." On the radar display, Alpha Wing's ships broke formation and lined up to engage the incoming fighters.
"We're scrambling Beta Wing to provide support," said Ivanova.
"Some more of Shamu's little pirate buddies?" asked Jack.
Ivanova nodded, not taking her eyes off the displays. "Must have been hiding just outside of scanner range."
"Hanging in space, just waiting for their leader to come out?" said Sinclair. "I've never seen behaviour like that in a Raider before."
"The Goa'uld do have ways of inspiring loyalty in their followers," said Daniel.
Jack nodded. "Torturous, murderous ways."
Something pinged in Sam's pocket and she pulled out a small tablet screen. "No, no, no!" she said, as writing scrolled across it. "Shesmu's shutting down the phasing on the sphere."
"What's that say?" asked Jack, pointing at the writing. Sam rolled her eyes and held the screen up for him to read: "Thanks for all your help."
"Of course this is what she wanted all along," said Sam, angry with herself. "It was written in her own damn notebook!"
"Don't beat yourself up," said Ivanova. "That sphere was going through the hull one way or another, and at least you let it out the easy way."
"Yes, but now she can open the bridge that lets in the Goa'uld!" replied Sam.
Sinclair pointed at the displays. "Pull up a view of the Jumpgate," he ordered and a screen lit up, showing lights already pulsing down the side of the Jumpgate, its girder-like structure bathed in a deep purple glow discharged from the sphere.
"Has anyone got eyes on the fugitive?" asked Ivanova. "New orders: we need to take her out immediately, at all costs. I repeat: at all costs."
Dillon's voice crackled through the comms. "I've got her," he said, grimly. "She's heading towards the Jumpgate." From the noises in the background, it sounded as though he was under heavy fire himself.
The Jumpgate emitted a blast of purple light which flared outward before collapsing back in on itself in a shimmering conical wormhole.
"Come on… come on," muttered Jack under his breath as the glider neared the Jumpgate, with Dillon's fighter weaving between enemy fire behind her.
Suddenly, every speaker around them erupted with noise and several deep, distorted voices all started speaking at once.
"That's the Goa'uld language," shouted Daniel. "They're coming through!"
Dillon fired a burst of energy which clipped the rear of Shesmu's glider, causing it to spiral wildly towards the open wormhole. Before he could get off another shot, the critically damaged glider touched the surface of the event horizon and exploded, the massive fireball engulfing the glowing sphere beside it and causing the wormhole to dissipate. As soon as it was closed, the sphere sputtered, withered, and died away. The voices from the speakers immediately fell silent.
Without their leader, Alpha and Beta Wings made short work of the remaining Raider fighters and set a course back to the station.
Sinclair cleared his throat. "Well," he said, "I won't say it hasn't been an interesting visit having you here – although I could certainly have done with a little less mayhem and dire peril – but I believe your window for leaving is due to close shortly and I have a rather difficult update to deliver to the Gaim delegation."
"Understood," said Jack. "We'll gather our things and get out of your hair... if, uh, someone can give us a lift to the Jumpgate?"
Ivanova smiled and nodded, then gestured for them to follow her from the room.
On the way back to the landing bay, they passed Ambassador Kosh and Daniel asked to stop for a moment.
"Uh, hi," he said, staring up at the imposing figure of the Vorlon. "I wanted to be the first to let you know, we did what you asked of us."
Kosh looked down at Daniel in silence for an uncomfortably long time. Something about the Vorlon's long pauses made Daniel feel he needed to fill them just so there was some semblance of a conversation.
"We stopped Shesmu and destroyed the bridge between our two universes," he said.
At last, Kosh spoke: "Yes, the contamination has almost been removed."
"Almost? But Shesmu's gone," said Daniel, and then it dawned on him: "Oh. You mean us. Right."
Ambassador Kosh began to walk away. "The way shall not be open long," he said, without turning around.
"You're welcome!" Daniel called after him. "Next time you have a dream, keep it to yourself!"
While Daniel was speaking with Kosh, Teal'c spotted Ambassador G'Kar and went over to say goodbye.
G'Kar's face lit up. "Teal'c!" he exclaimed. "I was hoping I would see you again before you left."
Teal'c smiled and nodded. "And I you, my friend. It was an honour to fight by your side."
"And it was a joy to me," replied G'Kar, "to see Londo Mollari so thoroughly humiliated all day long. Ah, look, here he comes now. Mollari!"
Ambassador Mollari feigned having only just noticed them as he tried to hurry by. "Do you mind?" he said. "I am a very busy man and I do have places to be."
"Aren't you going to thank the man who saved your life?" asked G'Kar.
"Saved my life?" replied Mollari. He pointed indignantly at Teal'c. "He shot me!"
G'Kar looked offended. "I meant me!"
"You?" scoffed Mollari. "You were barely there. Typical Narn, trying to claim credit for the achievements of others."
With that, the Centauri ambassador shook his head as though gravely disappointed and continued on his way.
G'Kar frowned and took off after him, the two of them trading insults back and forth as they went.
Bringing the two into peaceful communication had indeed proven impossible, thought Teal'c, but for one glimmer of a moment they had fought for and not against one another that day. Perhaps there may be some small hope there for the future after all.
Upon arrival at the docking bay, SG-1 and Ivanova were met by Chief Garibaldi.
"I thought I'd come and see you off," he said.
"I appreciate it," said Jack, shaking Garibaldi's hand. "Hey, if you're ever sucked into a freak wormhole or a timewarp or whatever, and find yourself in our world, come look us up."
"In the universe where mind-controlling snakes burrow their way into people's heads?" said Garibaldi. "Yeah, I think I'd be looking for a friend if I ever found myself in that situation."
"Just remember, it's O'Neill – "
"With two L's, I know," interrupted Garibaldi, with a laugh. "See ya, guys."
SG-1 finished stowing their gear and pulling on their bulky spacesuits. Ivanova shook her head at the absurdity of the sight.
"Okay then," she said, gesturing towards the open doors in the hull of a large ship. "All aboard."
Once they were inside, the ship took off and they had a mercifully uneventful journey back towards the Jumpgate.
They hung there in space, clinging to the rim of the freighter's airlock, looking out at the Jumpgate in expectation.
"Uh, Daniel?" said Jack, after a full minute of nothing happening.
"Give it time," replied Daniel, hoping he sounded more certain than he felt.
At last, the Jumpgate began to light up along its structure and a wormhole erupted and then settled into a cone of rippling blue light.
"Stargate Command, this is Colonel O'Neill," said Jack, over his radio. "Please respond."
"Jack, it's good to hear your voice," replied General Hammond.
"Likewise, sir," said Jack.
"Everyone okay over there?"
"All present and accounted for."
"Great news. Listen, we've got your IDC and the iris is open," said Hammond, and even over the radio, they could hear the smile in his voice. "Come on home, SG-1."
The four travellers pushed off from the ship and floated towards the shimmering pool, and soon the rush of the wormhole twisted and blurred before them once more, time and space contracting and then expanding until it deposited them, not onto the ramp of their own Stargate, but back out into the vast darkness of space.
The team hung there in the black void for a few moments, in stunned silence.
"Carter?" prompted Jack at last.
"It didn't work," said Sam, in disbelief.
"You know what? I was about to come to that same conclusion."
Sam tapped the movement thrusters on one side of her suit's backpack, turning slowly around to view the way they had arrived. "There's no sign of the Jumpgate," she said.
"Well, this day just gets better and better," said Jack. "What are our options here, Carter?"
Before Sam could answer, a woman's voice cut through on their comms: "Would any of you care to explain to me how you all floated out of the wormhole wearing antique space suits?"
"Ivanova?" asked Jack.
There was a pause. "No," said the voice. "This is Major Kira Nerys of Deep Space Nine. Now what the hell do you think you're doing out there?"
