Fiction > Het Fic > Novels > Honor Amongst Thieves (Original Version)

Honor Amongst Thieves (Original Version) by Cleo the Muse
Rating: Older Kids
Genre: Het (Daniel/Vala), AU, Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Some foul language (though nothing too severe), some questionable comments from Vala, and (since some folk don't like him) Jonas Quinn.
Episodes: Nothing's sacred. Basically, any episode which has either Daniel or Vala in it (and maybe a few which don't), so... the first movie through season ten?
Synopsis: Vala Mal Doran steals a cargo ship, but wrecks it on a backwater little farm planet whose people don't even speak a dialect she can understand. Fortunately, there is a stranger living among them who is able to translate. He arrived on that planet in a flash of light only months before, and has yet to remember who he is. When a conversation with the incorrigible thief leads him to remember his name, Daniel agrees to travel with her through the Stargate to find his past.
Notes: Loosely based on Ael L. Bolt's "Five Daniels That Weren't: The Third Daniel - Pirate". Now, the part that might REALLY send you for a loop is that I wrote and posted a chapter EVERY WEEKDAY for three months to get this plot bunny to stop nibbling on me!
Status: Completed as of May 16, 2007
Disclaimer: See The Fine Print.  I don't own Stargate... it owns me *eg*.

Ch. 1-10      Ch. 11-20      Ch. 21-30      Ch. 31-40      Ch. 41-50      Ch. 51-60      Ch. 61-70

Honor Amongst Thieves

Chapter 21

"This was a bad idea."

"It was your idea."

"I didn't say we should walk into a trap, did I?"

"It wasn't a trap, it was a mud pit."

"How did we get caught if it wasn't a trap?"

"You're the one with all the book smarts."

"You're the one with all the street smarts."

"'Street smarts' don't include swamps."

"I don't think 'book smarts' cover 'em either."

"Well, you're the one who—"

The young, nervous-looking guard banged the butt of his rifle into the metal bars. "Will you two stop?"

Daniel barely suppressed a wicked grin at the obvious frustration of their captor, sharing a knowing glance with Vala through the divider between their prison cells. They'd come to this watery planet in search of yet another of the many lost treasures of the galaxy and had been spotted and surrounded by some sort of local patrol. Fortunately, the militia had rules to follow, and had merely locked the two outsiders into the garrison dungeon, presumably until their superiors came to question them.

So far, they'd been treated well enough, but that wasn't necessarily saying that their accommodations were pleasant. Daniel had suspected that a dungeon in a swamp would be damp, moldy, and smelly... and he was very disappointed to be proven right. They were rapidly growing restless with boredom, which is what had inspired their childish game.

After a long moment of quiet, their watcher relaxed, thinking he'd put an end to the bickering. Vala flicked the young man a quick glance out of the corner of her eye, and Daniel nodded subtly. It might not be wise or productive, but at least it kept them amused.

"You're the one who said we should surrender."

"You're the one who thought we should keep running."

"How was I to know we'd step into a mud pit?"

"You're the one with the perfect vision."

"Well, if your vision wasn't so lousy, you might've seen the pit."

"How's that my fault?"

The beleaguered guard struck the bars again. "Enough!" Scowling, he spun about and marched over to the door leading out of the jail, banging on it and yelling out for someone. The door swung open and the youth stormed out, slamming it shut behind him.

Vala visibly sulked. "Well, so much for our entertainment." She glanced around the dank prison, then murmured, "See anything interesting?"

"Our guards, actually," Daniel answered just as quietly. "Their clothes were just as muddy as ours, but underneath, they looked like some sort of camouflage... like an organized military. Their weapons looked pretty advanced, too."

"Somehow, this primitive dungeon doesn't quite fit the rest of the picture," she agreed. "I'm guessing this planet's not been occupied by the Goa'uld in many years. The Stargate was in a cave—"

"—And I made the comment as we passed through that some of the boulders looked freshly-fallen. They didn't have any moss or other growth on them," Daniel finished.

"The 'Gate's in a cave in a remote area, and the entrance cavern's only recently been opened by seismic activity," she guessed. "I bet these people have never met anyone from another planet."

"Surprise," Daniel quipped. "So... first contact. I guess we need to convince them we're peaceful explorers from another planet?"

"Much better option than trying to explain we're marauding spacers here to steal an ancient treasure."

"There's that." He started to add another sarcastic comment to the mix when the abused-sounding hinges of the dungeon door squeaked open again.

Two newcomers stepped through, dressed in matching tailored suits that Daniel's brain immediately called "class A's," though what that meant, he hadn't a clue. He did realize that all the shiny bits of metal attached to the shoulders and fronts of their jackets probably meant these were officers, perhaps those in charge of this waterlogged facility. They were trailed by another of the ubiquitous camo-clad soldiers—though not covered in mud—who took up guard on the step beside the old door.

The man kept his face as carefully neutral as possible, but the woman's eyes seemed to hold just the faintest hint of amusement. She was older than her companion with gray-streaked blond hair and laugh lines on her face, but nearly a head shorter than Vala. The dark-haired man was probably nearer Daniel's own age—whatever that was, he grinned inwardly—and actually an inch or two taller than him.

The woman cleared her throat. "The Natalro Accords forbid the practice of torture—"

"Lucky us," Vala remarked dryly.

"—Therefore, I ask that you stop tormenting my cadets," she finished as though the other woman hadn't spoken.

"Cadets?" Daniel asked, smothering his grin. "This is some sort of training facility?"

She raised an eyebrow. "This is Expeditionary Preparedness Encampment Malkin Beta."

"Oh, thank you very much for explaining that, but we're not from around here," he replied. "My name's Daniel, and this is Vala... we're peaceful explorers from another planet."

The female officer's other eyebrow went up, and she tipped her head to one side. "Another planet? Well, I must admit, young man, that's new to me."

"Wonderful," Vala jumped in, missing the sarcasm—intentionally, he suspected. "We'll save the 'take me to your leader' speeches and just ask to be let back out into the ever-so-lovely swamp you have here. And don't worry, we can find our own way home just fine."

"I don't think you understand, Miss... Vala? The two of you have trespassed on a secure military training facility, which is an offense punishable by a minimum of a five-year prison term."

"Can we get time out for good behavior?" the incorrigible thief asked hopefully.

Daniel groaned. "Look... uh..."

"Syntagos Balin," the woman supplied. "This is Phelagos Nivene."

"We're really, really not from around here. Honestly," he pled. "There's a cave out there in the swamp that holds a giant, circular ring of metal called a Stargate, which is a device capable of transporting people all across the galaxy."

"Really."

"Uh, yeah." Realizing neither officer looked the least bit impressed, he sighed. "Look, the items your troops—your cadets—took off of us should be proof enough that we're not from this planet. You should be really careful, though, because some of them are, uh..."

"Are weapons?" Balin asked. "We gathered that. Trespassing on a secure military training facility while in possession of unregistered firearms is punishable by a ten-year term."

"So much for good behavior," Vala sulked. "But tell me: will we have to spend all ten years in these grand accommodations, or will it be somewhere warmer and dryer? Less smelly, too, if you please."

"It's a state violation, Miss Vala... convicted offenders go to Bauras, of course."

"Of course," Vala agreed, then muttered, "whatever that is."

"Melano Bauras Immuras," Nivene spoke up for the first time. Daniel and Vala just blinked. "It's a prison?"

"Oh!" Daniel exclaimed. "Why didn't you just say so?" He bit the inside of his cheek, realizing that now was not the time for Jack's behavioral influences to show themselves. "Sorry, my mouth just gets away from me sometimes."

"That happens to aliens, too?" Balin asked drily.

"Good one!" Vala exclaimed. "But yes it does, particularly the males."

Balin's lips twitched as Daniel leveled a mock-glare at his partner. "I see."

"Despite appearances and other similarities between our people, Vala and are from a different planet entirely. Actually, two different planets."

"Or so we think," the raven-haired woman added.

"Men are from Mars, women are from Venus," he joked, earning himself three confused expressions, with only the guard at the door refraining from staring at him. "Sorry. About five months ago, I had my memory erased, so I'm not really sure what planet's my homeworld. But that's beside the point."

"In your case, that is the point," Vala joked.

"True. Anywho... from what historians have been able to gather, thousands of years ago, a race called the Goa'uld discovered a planet full of primitive life-forms. They soon found that these people made excellent... uh, slaves... and seeded them all across the galaxy. Those slaves were our ancestors... all of ours: the two of you, me, Vala, everyone—or at least everyone who looks somewhat like we do. Now, the First World was lost in time, but many believe that it still exists."

"It's possible your planet is the First World," added Vala.

Balin looked skeptical. "Well, so far you've not told me anything but a creatively abridged version of the Enhodos."

"Enhodos?"

"Um, 'inward journey'?" Daniel puzzled. "Oh, 'arrival!' Sorry, Vala, not the First World."

"Drat!"

"There is one way to prove they're telling the truth," Nivene began. "We could have samples of their codicus analyzed."

Balin nodded. "And if you are from this world, your profile will be matched and you will be punished for your transgressions. Perhaps another year or two on your sentence would serve as suitable recompense for your insolence and lack of cooperation."

"Oh, goody, more years of service. But do we get to go free when you find out we're not from this planet?" Vala asked.

"We shall see," she replied, "but that will not be up to me. In the meantime, you will be moved to less-crude quarters."

"Thank heaven for small favors," Daniel sighed. "Not that this place hasn't been enjoyable... or the company pleasant. Any chance of getting a shower and a meal?"

Balin's lips quirked. "We can arrange that." She nodded at the guard at the door, who acknowledged the order and summoned another soldier.

The treasure hunters were instructed to present their arms through the horizontal food slots on the cell doors, whereupon the two soldiers fastened thin metal wrist-restraints in place before unlocking the noisily protesting gates. They were then herded up the stairs into the muddy courtyard though which they'd been dragged earlier. This time, the enclosure contained a boxy "thing"—for lack of a better term—covered in a camouflage paint-scheme. As they were ushered toward it, a panel opened on the side of the vehicle and swung downward to form a ramp.

The interior was even less-spacious than Daniel thought it'd be, but he did note that the walls at the door were about seven inches thick. Benches lined the walls to either side, and he and Vala were guided to sit on the left as Balin took a seat opposite them. One of the guards remained standing in the compartment while the other passed through the door in the wall to what was probably the cockpit of this armored troop transport. Nivene, it seemed, was not to travel with them.

Soon, the rear hatch lifted into place and the craft shuddered with a high-pitched whine. There was the brief sensation of rising in the air, then they began to move, presumably out of the dilapidated fort. Once underway, Balin leaned forward on her own bench. "Listen, I'm sure neither one of you truly wants this situation to devolve any further."

"You got that right," Daniel answered.

"I was a student at Naetilius Scola myself. Mid-session exams were last week, which means that you finals take this week to try to pull off some crazy idea you've had. If you'll cooperate and tell me who you really are before I commit medical resources to the task, I’m willing to work with your professors to prevent you from being expelled for this stunt."

"Stunt?" he repeated numbly. "You think we're... college students pulling a senior prank?"

"Neither of you look quite young enough, but the accents are very well done. I'm sure a little make-up here and there goes a long way, and your so-called 'weapons' were a brilliant touch." She leaned back in her seat, the amused glint back in her eye. "I must admit, your genuine-looking reactions to those ridiculous prison terms were the best part of the whole act."

"That's because we weren't acting," Vala replied, looking as incredulous as he felt. "I'll be the first to admit to being an excellent liar, but Daniel here is terrible at it."

"Hey!"

"Just look at him!" the thief continued. "Look into those pretty blue eyes and tell me he's lying to you. Go ahead."

"Pretty?" Daniel coughed.

"Well, not as pretty as mine, but they do well enough."

Balin looked back and forth between them, confusion etching her plain features. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"I've never been more serious in my life," Vala replied firmly.

"Oh, my."

Chapter 22

"That's incredible."

Vala rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest as she slouched in one of the simple but surprisingly soft chairs in the training facility's headquarters. "Now do you believe us?"

The female officer named Balin stared at the analysis of Daniel's and Vala's blood samples, eyes wide with shock. "You really aren't from this planet, are you?"

Daniel exhaled heavily. "No, we're not. We came through the Stargate, which was hidden in a sealed-off cave out in the swamp until a recent earthquake or something opened it."

Balin looked up, brow furrowed. "There was an explosives exercise just a few weeks ago. No one mentioned opening a cave, but no one was required to make a thorough investigation of the blast site afterward." She began looking around her desk frantically. "I need to call the Senate. No, I need to secure the cave then call the Senate. Wait, Strategos Calius then the Senate—"

"Secure the 'Gate," Daniel advised, "then notify your chain-of-command. Let them worry about contacting the Senate."

"Oh," she blinked, freezing in place. "You're right."

"He has that tendency," Vala joked. "So... while you're letting the whole-wide world know there really is life out there, do you mind if Daniel and I get those showers and meals you promised? I'm cold, damp, miserable, and starved."

"Of course," Balin sighed, resting her forehead on her upturned hands. "Lakios Alma, the woman at the desk just outside my door, will be able to assign you quarters while on-site."

"Thank you," Daniel answered. "Are you okay?"

Pausing as she reached for the communication device needed to speak to her secretary, the officer gave a short laugh. "I'm the syntagos in charge of a training facility, so forgive me if I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"I think you're doing a great job," Vala replied, earning a look of amusement from Daniel. "For a syntagos in charge of a training facility," she amended.

Lakios Alma was given instructions as to the care and feeding of the self-professed pirates, but Balin wisely withheld information about their origins. They were then escorted to adjoining rooms with their own private washrooms, and Daniel remarked that the suites must have been built for the training facility's visiting VIPs.

"Very Important Persons," he amended at the look of confusion she gave him.

The doors were closed behind them, Alma promising clean clothing and hot food as she departed. Vala put her hands down on the simple but serviceable dining table and leaned toward her partner. "Okay, Daniel, spill."

"Spill?"

"VIPs? Chain-of-command? Am I missing something or is this another language you speak that I don't?"

He rolled his head back and sighed. "A little of both. Remember how I used to wonder if I was a part of some sort of military organization?"

"Well, we both agreed that was ridiculous." She crossed her arms, cocking her head to one side. "Or at least we agreed that before we found out you were such a handy shot with a gun."

"There's that," he grimaced. "I'm almost certain I did work at least with a military group, if not necessarily for one. What I mean is, I wasn't a soldier myself, but they were my friends and co-workers. Balin reminds me a lot of the woman from my, uh, group. She's a lot shorter and a few years older—Balin, that is—but there's still something very... reassuring."

"You mean the sister-figure?"

"Yeah. Her name's just on the tip of my tongue," Daniel replied, glancing around for a place to sit down without getting it dirty. Vala thought it was charming that he'd refused to do the same in Balin's office, too. Finally, the archaeologist just leaned against the wall and slid down it to the floor, elbows propped up on his knees.

"Sam," he said at least, grinning. "Her name's Sam. Samantha. Her dad sometimes calls her Sammy, but she threatened to break my arm if I ever tried to call her that again."

Vala laughed. "I think I like this 'Sam'; she sounds like one tough lady. Tell me more."

Daniel's eyes twinkled. "I don't remember a whole great lot, really. She and Jack didn't get along too well at the start, but she and I hit off from the moment we met. Twins separated at birth who finally meet as adults and realize how much they have in common. We finished each others' sentences. It drove Jack nuts."

Vala felt a pang of deep sadness for what Daniel had lost. From all she'd heard so far—and she was sure there were more memories she had yet to drag out of him—her partner had made himself a family out of friends and coworkers. Part of her sorrow could be attributed to the knowledge that he'd lost them, but there was now the realization that he'd forged these connections in absence of the real thing. Now that his wife was dead, he didn't have a real family.

It looked like they had another thing in common, though Vala's isolation was partly by choice. Resisting the urge to sigh heavily or scream in frustration—she wasn't sure which—she cast about for a place to sit. Other than the floor, there didn't seem to be anyplace other than the chairs or bed. Giving up, she walked over to the door Alma had indicated led to the adjoining bedroom. Unsurprisingly, it was the mirror image of the room in which she stood.

"If you wanted me to shut up, you could've just said so," Daniel sighed.

Vala pushed the door shut a little harder than she intended. "I was listening! Twins separated at birth, sentence finishing... that sort of thing."

"Which is funny, because that wasn't the last thing I said." He frowned up at her. "Are you okay? You seem a little... on edge."

"I'm not on edge, I'm just feeling... a little out of my depth. That's all." She yanked open the door on the back wall and peered into the utilitarian washroom. "There are towels in here already, Daniel. We could shower while we’re waiting for food and clean clothes."

She glanced back over her shoulder in time to see him drop his head and shake it. "'Out of your depth'?" he echoed, then gave a little snort of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Vala huffed, leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not used to dealing with people who have never met people from other planets."

"It's not that," he grinned. "Well, not entirely, anyway. Do you realize that the only person on this planet who has any experience with first contact situations is an amnesiac who doesn't even know his own last name?"

"We're in big trouble," she declared.

"Could be. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear and convince the local government that we were really only passing through and mean no one here harm. We also need to give them a heads-up on what to expect... out 'there', in case they decide to try experimenting with the 'Gate."

"You really have done this before, haven't you?" Vala marveled, impressed with his quick and steady logic. Gone was the shy young man who'd nervously stepped through the Stargate on Makosis. Up to this point, she'd felt like she was their leader, the one who determined their direction and course of action in anything they set out to do. Of course, his intelligence had guided them on more than one occasion, but the decisions had all been hers. Now he was taking the lead, and Vala was surprised to discover she was okay with that... maybe even just a slight bit relieved.

"It's what we did, I'm sure of it," Daniel answered, closing his eyes in remembrance. "Me and Jack and Sam... and the big guy, T... T-something. Teal'c."

"You remember them," she breathed, happy for him and yet inexplicably saddened at the same time. "Maybe not everything yet, but... that proves its all still there for you to relearn!"

He pushed off the floor, rising to his feet. "'A man's shadow is clearest when the sun shines, but when darkness falls, is it not still there?'"

"I guess so," she replied, "whatever that's supposed to mean."

"I think it means 'hope'. Even when we can't see hope, it's still there." He smiled, meeting her eyes.

For a long moment, Vala was held in place by the warmth and wisdom in the depths of those wonderful blue pools. She'd long known him to be a man of learning and intelligence, but now she truly realized there was a wealth of knowledge and experience within him that was as-yet untapped. Daniel was a natural-born leader, though he'd surely be the first to say otherwise.

That, of course, was exactly why she wasn't going to say anything just yet. He had this strange habit of thinking the worst of himself, but the best of others. Whoever he really was, whoever he turned out to have been, Vala knew she had finally found someone in whom she could believe, even if he was only just a fellow human. Besides, she'd never put much stock in immortal beings or gods, especially after having been forced to serve as a host to a Goa'uld.

It was faith. A strange kind of faith, of course, but what wasn't strange in her life? If she was going to be completely honest with herself, she might as well admit there was also... love. Maybe not the kind of love that gave princes and princesses their happily-ever-afters, but a definite mutual admiration that went beyond the bounds of mere friendship. For now, it was enough.

"You're right," Vala smiled, returning his gaze steadily. "There's always hope."

Chapter 23

A knock at the door interrupted the connection and Daniel tore his eyes away from Vala's, having found himself drawn into the changes going on just behind that stormy gray exterior. Whatever she'd just realized, though, would have to wait. He called out for the person on the other side to come in, reluctantly turning partly away from his partner. The door swung inward, admitting Syntagos Balin and a young man they hadn't met yet. He left the stack of cloth he carried on the corner of the bed, then was dismissed by his commanding officer.

"My superiors were... shocked, to say the least," Balin began. "Actually, they don't really believe either of you are who you say you are despite the results of the codicus analysis."

"To be honest, Balin, it doesn't really matter to either of us if your superiors believe we're aliens," Daniel explained. "The important thing to me and Vala is if we're allowed to leave."

"At this point, I have to wait until my superiors arrive. I can't make such a determination on my own." She gave a short laugh. "This would have been so much easier if you had been final-year students, you know. You'd have been sent back to your professors and been reprimanded or expelled, I'd have been reprimanded for allowing my security to get lax, and all the phelagi and lakii would have berated their cadets for letting their perimeter get so sloppy."

"That sounds more complicated to me," Vala observed.

"Bureaucracy: the dark side of civilization," Daniel sighed. "That scenario would have been less-difficult because it was one which had solutions already in place. You and I make things more difficult because no one here has ever dealt with what happens when you encounter someone from another planet."

"Problems without paperwork to resolve them beget more paperwork," Balin replied, shaking her head. "I thought you said you'd had your memory erased, Daniel."

"I had," he began, "but I remember more and more each day. I know now, for example, that I used to work for a military organization with its own draconian bureaucracy—another thing that seems to be universal. My friends and I were a team of explorers who traveled through our own Stargate to meet other cultures, learn from them, and trade with them."

"That sounds exciting," the syntagos smiled.

"Well, your people have that opportunity now," he replied. "This world and mine don't seem to be very different in terms of technological advancement, though I've certainly never claimed to be an expert on technology."

"You're more advanced than most," Vala chimed in, "but less advanced than others. That means no one is likely to see you as a strong rival, but you are capable of defending yourselves to some extent."

Balin looked thoughtful. "I see. Perhaps it would be best if you share this information with Tarchios Marson, my direct superior. I actually came to tell you that he and his staff will be arriving tomorrow morning, and that Strategos Calius—who reports directly to the Speaker of the Senate—will be here in three days."

Vala sighed. "So much for leaving the planet tomorrow."

Inwardly, Daniel agreed. Although they didn't have anywhere they needed to be right away, the length of their stay had just been down-graded from "undetermined" to "indefinite". For some reason, the thought of so many high-end military officials coming to meet the off-worlders made him uneasy, and he wished he could talk Balin into just letting the two of them leave. Unfortunately, he knew that she was required to keep them in custody, just as it had been her duty to report their presence to her superiors.

Bureaucracy, he decided, sucked. "Thank you for telling us," he said, instead.

Balin turned to open the door when another knock sounded. This time it was their dinner, which the two apron-clad women bearing it quickly set out on the table, then excused themselves. Finally, the syntagos showed them how to operate the intercom system next to the door, explaining that any soldier who answered would be able to contact the housekeeping staff or even Balin herself.

"Tomorrow's going to be a long day," she smiled, pausing with her hand on the door. "If I know Tarchios Marson, he'll have surrounded himself with petty pencil-pushers who like to ask the same questions over and over again, just so they can look important. Not terribly productive, but as you have already observed, Daniel, it is a bureaucracy. Still, I hope you rest well, and I'll see you in the morning."

In unspoken agreement, they fell upon the food first, Daniel deciding that it didn't really matter if his mostly-dried mud-caked self left dirt on the cushioned chairs since the base had its own cleaning crew. The fare was filling but simple, perhaps even a little on the bland side. Neither he nor Vala was going to complain, though, as the last time they'd eaten had been before they set foot on this planet—twelve hours, by the dark-haired woman's estimation.

At last all the food was gone, and Daniel used the intercom to request the removal of the empty dishes. He then turned around and inspected the surprisingly soft sleeping garments he and Vala had been given. "I hope they don't intend us to wear these all the time," he joked weakly, refolding the shirt and trousers.

"They'd cut quite the fashion statement," she responded in kind.

"Maybe we can wash our regular clothes in the shower and leave them out to dry all night. I have a sneaky suspicion we'd never get them back if we handed them over to the local laundry services. That'd be a shame, 'cause I've really gotten attached to this coat."

Vala quirked a grin. "I've really gotten attached to your pants."

Oh, so it was to be one of those conversations. "Thanks to all the mud, they've really gotten attached to me."

She strode over and picked up the smaller set of clothes. "I could help you remove them, you know."

"Any excuse to get into my pants?" Daniel sighed inwardly, knowing he'd walked right in to that one.

"Who needs excuses?" Vala replied cheekily. "I mean, if we really wanted to, I can think of a few excuses. For example, we could say that in an effort to conserve water, we have to share the shower."

"Is that an invitation?"

"Sounded like one to me. You're not saying 'no', is that a yes?"

Daniel swallowed, not willing to back down this time, though he didn't know why. "That might not be a bad idea. If the hot water heater's not so great, that'd save one of us from a cold shower."

This was her game, but he was learning at the hands of a master. On second thought, perhaps he should make no mention of hands. It was like playing a game of Chicken, he realized. They were two objects on a collision course, waiting for the other to flinch first. If one of them didn't dodge...

"That would be terrible," she agreed, taking a tiny step forward and narrowing their proximity dangerously. Collision was imminent. "Cold showers have a tendency to... dampen enthusiasm."

"Your enthusiasm never seems to suffer," he observed, precariously inching forward himself.

"My enthusiasm has never been in question," she replied saucily, making that final, fatal step forward, the arms holding their respectively clutched garments bumping into one another.

Daniel swallowed heavily, the tension in the air heavy enough to taste. A tiny, traitorous part of his mind was asking him what would be so wrong about saying yes. There was no denying she was an attractive woman, and there was plenty of evidence to support her willingness to... involve herself with him. Hadn't she been trying to seduce him from the moment they met?

No, he realized suddenly, she hadn't. She'd been flirting, certainly, but he now knew she had taken it easy on him. She was much, much better at the art of feminine wiles than he'd ever guessed, and could likely make mere mortals such as he fall to their knees in worship of her alluring mystique. Since he was only human, what would be the harm in giving in this time?

Because, said that annoying little practical side of his mind, it wouldn't be for the right reason.

A knock at the door shattered the tension, Daniel turning his head to call the housekeeping staff in to remove the dishes from dinner. When he turned back, the door to the adjoining room was clicking softly shut.

He never tested the water heater's capabilities. From the moment he stepped into the shower, he twisted the faucet's knobs to cold and left them there.

Chapter 24

For the thousandth time in the last four hours, Daniel reminded himself that this was a bad idea. He'd been afraid that the people coming to question them—whom Jack would have called the "brass"—were going to separate him and Vala and interrogate them one-on-one. They hadn't, thankfully, but that didn't make it any less of a bad idea.

The first interminable hours had been mainly a re-hash of what Balin had already asked of them: their names, where they were from, and their purpose for being on this planet. They'd answered the first—with Vala omitting her surname in deference to Daniel's inability to recall his own—explained the second to the best of their knowledge, and understated the third. It would have done them little good to admit they were treasure seekers who'd arrived only to locate and loot a long-lost bit of statuary the Hans were sure they could sell for a fair price.

"The blood samples taken to test your codicus against our state database were very interesting," began Epstanimos Sadros, the scientist who had arrived with Tarchios Marson's personal staff. "While neither of you had particularly unusual genetics—other than a few markers not found in our population—your bloodwork showed a very interesting anomaly, Miss Vala: traces of an element which is very rare on this planet."

"That would be naquada," Vala replied tightly, "and it's the result of having had a rather insidious parasitic infection. Most who get it don't survive."

Daniel's eyebrows rose at the sharpness of her tone. Although she'd previously talked to him about her possession by the Goa'uld Qetesh, she seemed to be making it very clear to their questioners that she had little to say about her "parasitic infection".

"It's actually not all that terribly rare on other planets," he exaggerated slightly, pulling the attention off her. "Unfortunately, the, uh, parasites in question typically inhabit the worlds where it's most common."

"How many worlds have an abundance?" asked Marson.

"An abundance?" Vala repeated. "Perhaps a few hundred. In the grand scheme of things, that's not much, though. There are thousands and thousands of worlds out there."

"Given the number of symbols on a Stargate, it's possible there are millions of planets. Most in this galaxy are ruled by the dominant society, the Goa'uld," Daniel interrupted. "They're an evil race, one which views the human population as little more than slaves at best, and cattle at worst. Another species, the Jaffa, is used as cannon fodder for their petty wars with one another."

Marson steepled his fingers. "What steps would we need to open trade negotiations with them? We'd want to bargain for metals and other minerals, of course."

"You can't negotiate with them, you can't bargain with them," he answered. "From what I can remember—which, admittedly, isn't much—my own people were at war with the Goa'uld. I don't think we fought them over territory or mining rights or anything like that, I'm pretty sure it was because we wouldn't bow down and worship them as the gods they think they are."

"And given what I know of the Goa'uld, that's a pretty fair guess," Vala agreed.

Another of the tarchios' aides cleared his throat. "You seem to remember a lot for a man with no memory."

"He remembers languages and cultures," she snapped, leaping to his defense. "None of the important things, like where he comes from, or even his real name. That's partly why he and I are exploring so many different planets... we're hoping to jog his memory, or maybe even stumble across his own people."

"But if there are thousands... millions of worlds, that seems to be an exercise in futility."

"Which is why we're still stumbling around," Daniel remarked. "Well, at least we were until we stepped in a mud pit and were rounded up by a bunch of very surprised-looking cadets."

"Cadets who haven't been informed who it was they caught," added Balin, speaking up for the first time. "Based on my own reaction, sir, I don't think we should let the public know about the... Stargate just yet."

"That is my assessment as well," Marson replied, "which is why we'll be moving it to a more secure facility."

"You can't do that!" Vala blurted and Daniel agreed. If the military were to move the Stargate from its present location, they might not ever be permitted to get near it again.

"I can do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of my state," the tarchios answered imperiously. "If that means moving the... Stargate, then so be it."

"Ley lines," Daniel prevaricated. "You can't move the Stargate because... each is always placed on a natural intersection of interstellar ley lines."

"Ley lines?" the third aide questioned.

"Yeah... they're invisible conduits of subspace energy," he continued, throwing a look at Vala to help him. She was far better at spinning fairy tales than he was, after all.

The unspoken communication worked. "Using the Stargate hurtles one along these invisible lines to other planets," she chimed in brightly. "Each of the symbols you enter on the pedestal is another turn along the way. The more symbols, the more turns you have to make."

"You pre-program your destination," he added, getting into the spirit of things. "Of course, there's a built-in failsafe that keeps you from making a wrong turn down a dead end. The, uh, rift doesn't open if that happens."

"Is there a limit to the number of turns?" Marson asked.

"No," Daniel answered.

"Seven," Vala replied simultaneously. Daniel barely managed to suppress his wince, but his partner recovered quickly. "At least that's the longest address I've ever tried."

"My friend Jack got an eight-symbol address to work once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Actually, I guess the limit's got to be nine, since there are nine of those little lights all the way around the circle."

The aides were looking very interested, making the archaeologist grateful he'd chosen to not tell the truth. They seemed far too predatory for his liking. "How do you find these... addresses?"

"Trial and error," he answered, since it was partly true.

"Unless you have a map of the ley lines or a way of detecting them, yes," Vala agreed, taking to the fabrication as readily as he'd hoped she would. "It's hard to know what turns you have to take if you don't know where you're going."

"But you can make guesses," Marson frowned.

"Yes, but it could take a long time." He paused for a moment, an idea forming itself so suddenly he again marveled at the terrible influence Vala had had on his sense of morality—or at least his ability to lie—since they'd met. "Say, for example, we assign a color to each of the symbols on the Stargate. Each color indicates a different direction, as we said, relative to... the center of the galaxy. An address could be something as simple as blue then red, or maybe as complicated as blue, red, white, black, green, gold, and purple. It could even be blue, then red, then red again."

"Why two reds?"

"In case you didn't want to stop at the Stargate at that intersection, but continue down the same ley line to the next one." Mentally, he thanked the little old lady from Gishoral for her fantastic direction-giving abilities.

"Now before you go wondering how we got here," Vala answered, interrupting the next question before it was even vocalized, "we had a written address from some old scrap of parchment Daniel found. We then had to compare our location relative to the center of the galaxy, then calculate the number and direction of turns needed to reach the address."

"That sounds unnecessarily complex," Balin remarked dryly.

"Which is why the most powerful races have spaceships for travel," the dark-haired thief continued. "The Goa'uld, for example, have hundreds, maybe thousands of very advanced interstellar space craft, armed to the teeth with all sorts of deadly weapons in case any of their worshippers should try to rebel against them. Stargates are the only way to travel for poor folk like me and Daniel."

Marson frowned. "I see." His expression and tone indicated otherwise. "You said you are something of an expert on languages and cultures, Mister Daniel."

"I won't claim to be an expert, but I do know one or two of the more common ones," he replied, earning himself a bemused look from his partner.

"Perhaps you would like to look at samples of a language our own people have been unable to decipher for hundreds of years."

Sorely tempting though it was, Daniel had no desire to remain a "guest" of this planet and people. Tarchios Marson made him extremely nervous for some unfathomable reason. If Daniel had learned nothing else these past six weeks, it was to trust his instincts, especially when memory failed him—as it often did.

"If it's a language native to this planet, I probably won't be much help," he explained, which was neither true nor false. If the language hadn't originated on this planet—as it most likely had not—then it very well could have derived from one of the twenty or so other languages he knew.

"Yet you speak the same language we do," Marson pointed out smugly.

"That's a phenomenon known as the 'common tongue'," Vala answered. "No one has a good explanation for that."

"Although some suspect the ley lines are involved in that, too," Daniel added impishly.

"There may be another way you can help us," began Sadros. "We also ran a comparative analysis of the rate of cellular degeneration. You, Miss Vala, are approximately thirty years old by our estimation of time."

"You know, it really isn't polite to ask a lady her age."

"Of course not. Mister Daniel, we had estimated you to be about the same age, perhaps even as late as mid-thirties, but your test results were... intriguing."

"If I remember correctly, I'm closer to forty," he answered.

"I'd never have guessed," the dark-haired woman remarked, looking mildly surprised.

Sadros smirked. "Then your homeworld has discovered a way of halting the ravages of time, as our results show you to be less than a year old."

"You look astonishingly mature for a man your age," Vala joked.

He coughed. "That's not possible. I may not remember a great deal of my life, but I do know I was born almost forty years ago."

"We tested the samples twice, achieving the same results both times," Sadros replied. "The implications are incredible! If we could find out what has halted the break-down of your codicus, it could slow or even halt aging in our own populations, perhaps even—"

"I think you're barking up the wrong tree," he interrupted. "If my planet had discovered the Fountain of Youth, our population levels would be unmanageable. Furthermore, I doubt that one of the friends I remember would have had a head full of gray hair, or that the man to whom we both reported would be bald."

Too late, he realized that he shouldn't have been so adamant about defending his apparent versus physical age. Instead of deterring the inquisitive scientist, he was now even more curious than ever. The feelings of unease which had been nagging the back of his mind since the question-and-answer session first began now returned full-force.

"Maybe we should adjourn for the day, Tarchios," Balin suggested, clearing her throat lightly. "We have been questioning them relentlessly for several hours, now, and I'm sure Daniel and Vala are tired and hungry."

Marson scowled, perhaps contemplating if he'd accomplish anything further by continuing to question the aliens. Finally, though, he glanced at the clock on the wall, noted that its digits were now indicating the early evening, and acquiesced. "But I will certainly have far more matters to discuss in the morning," he cautioned.

Once inside his and Vala's quarters, Daniel turned to the syntagos and thanked her profusely for her intervention. "Are these rooms free from..." He gestured to his right eye and ear.

After a moment, Balin understood and nodded. "I intend to keep them that way, too," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Only because you're the only person I feel we can trust right now," he replied. "We can't stay here. I don't know what Marson's mad scientists have in mind for the naquada in Vala's blood or the unexplainable state of my cellular degeneration—or lack thereof—but it can't be good."

The short woman winced. "Epstanimos Sadros has been Tarchios Marson's top advisor for many years now. Because of my rank, though, I am unable to say what terrible advice the tarchios has been given."

"Of course, you can't," Vala replied, lips quirking. "I suppose you also can't tell us why they were so interested in sources of naquada."

"Actually, that I cannot because I don't know. I also am unable to tell you that our planet suffers from a severe shortage of metals, which I can't say would be of tremendous interest to those in charge of our government."

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. "So you're saying—or rather not saying—that if Vala and I can negotiate a trade agreement which helps to replenish the limited supply of metals you didn't tell me you have... we might be able to go?"

Balin sighed heavily. "I doubt that will make a difference to Tarchios Marson. I quite imagine he'd rather have our own people plunder the mines of other planets." She shook her head. "I'm afraid I have to leave you for the evening. The cooks should be along with your meal within the next hour. I've sent a private message on to Strategos Calius to request haste, but he will likely not arrive until the morning after the morrow. He is, I believe, a far more reasonable man than Marson."

"Again, thank you," Daniel answered. "I don't suppose there's any chance Vala and I can get our personal effects returned? We have spare clothes in our packs, along with a few other valuables. I have a wood-carving set, for example, that—"

"I can't promise anything," the officer responded with a sad smile, rubbing a hand across her face tiredly. "But I also can't tell you that your belongings are locked in the cabinet across from Lakios Alma's desk. Just in case you feel the need to find your own way home."

"Which you also didn't mention," Vala observed.

"Exactly."

Chapter 25

Vala bolted upright, visions of various victims of the cruel Qetesh still flashing at the edges of her consciousness. Memories such as these rarely disturbed her any more, as she had blocked as much as she could of those painful times from her mind. For some reason, vague shadows of memory were dredged up by the questioning she and Daniel had endured at the hands of Marson and his cronies.

Cursing, she leaped out of bed, realizing that not all the moans of distress she was hearing were faded echoes. Daniel lay sprawled in his nest of bedding on the floor in front of the door to the adjoining room. His right hand was tucked behind his head, but the left lay out-flung, twitching convulsively on the scratchy carpet.

It had been his suggestion to share rooms that night, citing a feeling of unease with Balin's superior officer. He'd also insisted on his usual place on the floor, although she tried to persuade him that they were both mature adults who could surely behave themselves. She was going to give him a piece of her mind over it, too, but first she had to wake him.

"Come on, Daniel," she prodded, carefully laying her hands on his shoulders. "I hoped we were done with these nightmares already."

At her gentle shake, he awakened with a gasp. "Vala?" he guessed, unable to see much of anything in the room's near-darkness.

"It's me," she confirmed. "You were having a bad dream again."

Released from her grasp, he sat up. "I'd hoped I was done with those."

She smiled at the echo of her own thoughts. "Remember enough of it to share? Sharing always makes it easier, I say."

He gave a soft snort. "Easier for whom?" He shook his head. "Actually, it was several different memories all jumbled together. I don't think they were all part of the same thing... no, I'm sure now they weren't."

"Can we take this to the bed?" she asked. "Uh, what I meant was, this carpet isn't exactly comfortable, so can we sit on the edge of the bed, at least?"

"Yeah," he agreed, pushing to his feet. When they were comfortably settled hip-to-hip, he exhaled heavily. "It had to have been one of my team's... missions. We found ourselves on a world in cataclysm, volcanic ash covering everything. We were turning back to leave when I discovered there were people underneath the ash, too."

"Ew."

"They were still alive," he clarified. "We brought them back to our planet. I'm not sure what happened next, but somehow our government—or a division of it, at least—found out that these people were way, way more advanced than we were."

"I think I can see where this is going," Vala remarked. "Considering what we're facing right now, I'm not surprised you're remembering a similar situation."

He nodded, resting his forearms across his thighs and steepling his fingertips. "Unfortunately, this world doesn't seem to have a version of me. Jack and Sam couldn't help because they answered to the military and had to follow orders. Teal'c and I were able to help them plan an escape because we weren't military."

"So Balin's in the same situation, isn't she? She can't actually help us because of her orders."

"Exactly."

She shifted. "Okay, so you said it was more than one memory."

"The second one—or at least when I put them in what seems to be chronological order—has the same person who tried to take the... other people. This time it's Teal'c he's interested in. Actually, I think they were always trying to get a hold of a real, live Jaffa, but this time Teal'c had some sort of contagion or something."

"Teal'c's a Jaffa?" she gaped.

"I didn't mention that before?"

"No..." Vala frowned. Where had she heard of a Jaffa named Teal'c? Unable to immediately summon the memory, she set it aside as another remnant of Qetesh. "It doesn't matter anyway. Go on."

"Oh. Um... it's another mission, another planet. They'd never met people from offworld either. Unfortunately, our arrival contradicted their long-held belief that their god created them."

"Must have been a Goa'uld," she reasoned.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We were captured—Sam, Jack, and I—and tossed into little cages where they, uh... tried to get us to give up Teal'c's location and confess to being spies for their religious enemies."

Vala stilled. "They tortured you, didn't they?" She couldn't see his face, only his silhouette. "Daniel?"

"Yes." He snorted quietly. "The worst thing is, it wasn't like they were primitive villagers. They were trained soldiers and more technologically advanced than my own people. They hurt us because we wouldn't tell them what they wanted to hear. And the ironic thing? It was one of their civilians who got us out of there."

"I'm sensing a trend, but I notice a distinct lack of helpful civilians around here."

"Which is why we're just going to have to get out of here on our own. Something tells me that hanging around isn't a good idea, and we probably should've tried to make a break for it tonight, exhausted or not." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Marson can't move us anywhere until Calius gets here. After that, he could probably cart us off wherever he wants and Balin won't be able to do anything to stop him."

She nodded grimly. "We better find out what we can from Balin, tomorrow... today, then. We don't really even know how far it is to the 'Gate, what direction, what's between us and... Daniel, we are in over our heads so far, we could tunnel for months and still not dig ourselves out of this mess!"

"Yeah... this sucks."

A sudden thought crossed her mind. "You know, usually when I'm in anywhere near this much trouble, at least it was because I did something really fun first."

Daniel shook his head. "I'll trade your irony for mine. I'm pretty sure everything I've lost—all my memories and knowledge and whatever else—are still in my mind. Unfortunately, getting what I need out of my head seems to be like... like using the research computer at the Hans' library. It's all on-demand." He inhaled sharply. "Every time I need something, it's there. But I have to know I need it before I can access it."

"You've remembered some things on your own," she reminded him. "Your friends' names, for example."

"Yeah, but that's more personal stuff. I'm talking about the scope of my experiences... the things I've learned and seen and done. The things that are trained, those are there when I need them, too. I don't know I can speak or read a language until it's put in front of me."

"I'm the same way."

His head jerked up to look at her, though he couldn't possibly make out more than just her shape. "What do you mean?"

She took a deep breath. "Qetesh. I've blocked out most of the things from my time as a host. It thoroughly annoyed the Tok'ra who performed the extraction, because they were hoping I'd be able to give them intelligence on her territories and Baal’s and... and who knows what all else."

"Sam was host to a Tok'ra."

Vala did a double-take. "You had a Tok'ra and a Jaffa on your team?"

"Was a host... The symbiote died, leaving her with some pretty unique properties in her blood. Naquada, of course, but there was something else, too." He snorted again. "You see what I mean about on-demand? Nothing, then bam! There it is. Sam's dad is a Tok'ra."

"Well, in my experience, they're deceitful, traitorous little cowards. The one who removed Qetesh from my body and killed her? He first tried to get me to accept a Tok'ra symbiote so that it could present the façade that Qetesh was alive and well. When I refused, he left me there." Her hands fisted on the coverlet, recalling those first agonizing, confusing weeks. "They incited rebellion on my own damn planet then 'rescued' me from the hands of the people who were taking out hundreds of years of slavery on Qetesh... and me. After I refused to help them, the bastard left me there again."

"With the people who'd already tortured you once," Daniel realized. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she replied, choking just a little. "But here we go with irony again... there are a few worlds out there that still think Qetesh is alive and well... because I've never let them realize otherwise."

"Vala..."

"I know. I know it's wrong, and yet I've done it anyway. But since we've wandered way, way off-topic, the point of this whole thing is, there are times when I remember things from my time as a host, and they're usually triggered by something else. So if anyone can understand what you're going through, Daniel, I'd like to think I can."

He was quiet for a long moment, then his questing fingers found hers and gave a gentle squeeze. "I've never thanked you properly for everything you've done for me. Taking me in, helping me out, letting me follow you all across the whole galaxy... Despite our current circumstances, thank you. I really mean it."

"Thank you," she replied, laying her free hand across his arm. "I was at one of the lowest points of my illustrious career when I crashed near your little village. Those crystals were the only thing I had to sell, and without you I'd have never gotten the Hans to give me a fair price. Without you, there is no way they would have been interested in employing me. You're turning me into an honest woman!"

He laughed. "Not hardly. You're turning me dishonest. I never used to be able to lie."

"'Ley lines'? I have no idea where that came from, but it was a stroke of genius."

"On-demand information. I needed something completely logical sounding and yet utterly ridiculous, and I ended up with a wacky archaeological theory from my homeworld. Of course, it had to do with ancient structures and not Stargates, but it worked." He gave her fingers another squeeze, then let go. "Tomorrow's going to be another long day... and tomorrow night even longer."

As he stood and made to move back to his pile of blankets, Vala clutched his wrist. "Sleep on the bed."

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor, Vala, forget it."

"Up here with me... Really, it's big enough for three of us."

"You’re even more adventurous than I thought," he teased.

"Silly. Besides, if you have another nightmare, I won't have as far to go wake you again." She held her breath, wishing she could make out his facial expression in the darkness.

"Okay," he answered at last.

They settled beneath the covers, each carefully sticking to their chosen side of the bed. For a long time, Vala lay watching the ceiling until Daniel's breathing evened out, signaling his own surrender to slumber. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes.

If either dreamed, it didn't disturb the sleep of the other.

Chapter 26

"So sorry to keep you waiting," Marson apologized, though Vala knew it was insincere. "Where were we again?"

"I'd just asked if we could have a little reciprocal information," Daniel nearly snapped, his temper having worn thin. Vala would have been surprised at his display of impatience were it not for her own irritation. Frankly, she was tired of this game Marson insisted on playing.

"Ah, yes, and I believe I told you that you were in no position to make any demands," the tarchios replied. Thankfully, he'd left his pet scientist and other hangers-on out of this meeting.

"I beg to differ," the younger man argued—and if the tests Marson's cohorts had completed were correct, "younger" was definitely right. Not that Vala believed the tests were right, of course. "You want us to give you information about the rest of the galaxy, about the places we've been and things we've seen, yet we know nothing about this planet. We don't even know what it's called, let alone how... how many continents, oceans, or moons it has! For that matter, since we came through the Stargate into the middle of a foggy swamp, we don't even know how many suns you have!"

"You're asking us for information on technology and resources," Vala continued, picking up his thread, "but since we know next to nothing about your own technology and resources, how can we make comparisons?"

"They're not asking for much more than a school child would know, sir," Balin appeased. She'd agreed to meet Daniel and Vala earlier in the morning while they ate their breakfast, but had been understandably leery of giving them more information. Thanks to Daniel's explanation of events, Vala now knew the syntagos was risking her career—and possibly her life—by helping them as much as she already had.

"You're far too sympathetic, syntagos," Marson warned, eyes narrowing as he emphasized the woman's lower rank.

"With all respect owed you, sir, they've given us no reason to mistrust them. In fact, they have been nothing but patient, polite, and cooperative up to this point... despite having been chased, imprisoned, and questioned. All things considered, sir, I think they deserve to know a little about the people they're helping."

The dark-haired officer's jaw worked, lips almost curling into a sneer but stopping only just short. "Very well. Answer their questions, syntagos."

"Thank you, sir." Balin laced her fingers and rested her hands on the top of the table. "We call this planet Jaya, and the state I serve is Lacana. The surface of Jaya is nearly four-fifths water, with five main landmasses. Each of these landmasses is a state of its own, though we were at war with two of the states up until—"

Marson cleared his throat. "Syntagos..."

"Sorry, sir." She didn't look any more apologetic than her commanding officer had earlier. "There is but one moon, Artema, and one sun, Apellus. Although the majority of the people live on Jaya's five states, others live on the islands surrounding each state and in the mining colonies on the moon."

"Your moon is habitable?" Daniel asked.

"No, the colonies are underground and artificially regulated."

"That's enough, syntagos," the tarchios announced. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Mister Daniel?"

"Not really," he answered, "but I suppose it's a start. It at least gives me some much-needed insight into your culture, anyway, as well as your need for the Stargate."

"Overpopulation?" Vala guessed, glancing at her partner.

"Probably not or they wouldn't be interested in the secret of eternal youth," Daniel answered, looking Marson directly in the eye as though challenging him. "My guess is that metals are the greatest concern. I mean, it makes sense: the planet is nearly covered in water. Unless you've developed some very ingenious mining methods, anything beneath the ocean's surface is out of reach... which is why you've moved on to your moon."

"You're a very observant man," Marson replied, confirming Daniel's assertions.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm also just a man," he continued, scowling at the tarchios. "I'm an archaeologist and a historian, not a technology expert, and certainly not some kind of 'ageless immortal'."

"And I'm an expert on ancient artifacts and somewhat of an authority on the Goa'uld," Vala supplied, pleased with herself for coming up with a simplified explanation of her own talents. "Now, because we know a lot of people from our travels, we might be able to find someone who knows someone who can set you up with a trade agreement for minerals and metals. I know it's not what you really want to hear, but it is the best we can offer."

"Just what would we trade in return?" Marson scoffed. "Water? Air?"

Daniel frowned. "Technology. Methodology. Most of the worlds out there have primitive agricultural systems which would benefit greatly from more advanced farming techniques. Of greater interest to you, perhaps, are the others who need better, safer mining practices. Probably the best things you could offer any of them are healthcare and education, which are virtually unheard-of on most worlds abandoned by the Goa'uld. But unless you want to make yourselves a dangerous enemy, stay away from the planets still ruled by them."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a simple fact," Vala replied. "The Goa'uld think they're gods. Anyone who impinges on the domains they claim as their own is a threat to their authority, and they'll take action."

"They'll find us to be a more-than-formidable foe," Marson promised.

"Oh, please!" Daniel laughed in disgust. "Just because you managed to subdue your enemies on two other states makes you think you can defeat a powerful race who will bombard your planet from orbit? Hell, they won't even have to do that... all it takes is a big explosive device pitched through your Stargate and this state's history, anyway. Like I said before, I'm no expert in technology, but I have seen enough of your weapons—and that transport that brought us here—to know that you really, really shouldn't mess with those guys!"

Vala had never before seen her partner so passionate about anything. He was fighting a losing battle, though, as she could see that the tarchios had as closed a mind as anyone she'd ever met. Perhaps still flush with the glow of victory over their neighbors, he truly believed his people to be invulnerable to the Goa'uld or any other threat out there. The selfish, petty part of her almost wanted to witness his first encounter with a Goa'uld ha'tak and see if he was still convinced of his own superiority. The other, more rational side—the side which had begun to get noisier ever since she first met Daniel—argued that no matter how much of a jerk Marson was, the rest of Jaya probably didn't deserve the same fate.

"Sir, they are the only source of information we have about the—"

"Not another word, syntagos!" Marson snapped. "And you—you!—have no right to come to my planet and make threats."

"I am not crazy." The odd, flat tone startled Vala. She whipped her head around to stare at Daniel, realizing that while his eyes were open, he actually wasn't looking at anything.

"Maybe not, but you are a fool to think that Jaya's most powerful state will sit idly by while—"

"Senator, they are coming."

The dark-haired man fumed. "Tarchios! Not some weak-willed, useless excuse for a spineless senator!"

"Sir!" Balin protested.

Taking advantage of the sudden chaos, Vala lunged for Daniel's shoulders, hissing his name between her clenched teeth. She gave him a shake, then another one. Amazingly, it worked, snapping him out of wherever his mind had taken him.

He looked around in confusion. "What just happened?"

"I think you had a flashback of some kind," she replied, nearly shouting to be heard over Balin and Marson.

"Of what?"

"You called Marson 'Senator'."

Daniel gave her a wide-eyed look before they both turned to look over her shoulder at the arguing officers. Marson was nearly toe-to-toe with the diminutive Balin, but the woman didn't look the slightest bit cowed by the height he had over her. Instead, she was apparently listing a number of times when Marson had exceeded his authority or defied the governing body of the state. Vala silently cheered her on, then turned her attention back to her companion. He'd never zoned out like that before and that concerned her.

"Did anything else happen in that dream you forgot to tell me about?"

He swallowed heavily. "Other than you being in one of those little cages right next to Jack and Sam? No..."

"You dreamed I was there, too?"

"It was a nightmare, okay? It started as a memory but it got all twisted... and... and I'm not really sure, but there was some kind of kidnapping. Sam was kidnapped, Jack and Teal'c and I went to save her. That guy from the first two memories was also with us, only he was on our side this time. When Teal'c and I got upstairs, you were lying on the floor and—"

"I'll have you arrested, syntagos!"

"Not on my base, sir!" Balin snarled back, not intimidated in the least. "Now, when Strategos Calius gets here, we can all discuss this rationally and come to a conclusion we can all—"

"The only conclusion will be the one where I leave this base with these two in custody!" Marson roared. "The amount in her blood alone is enough mineral to enhance two more warheads, and if we can get more on other worlds, all the better!"

"Excuse me?" Daniel interrupted. "Warheads?"

Balin made a noise of disgust. "We 'defeated' Massona and Dorae when then-Strategos Marson melted an ancient statue down to create a pair of projectiles. The results were… devastating."

"The results were exactly what we'd hoped for," Marson retorted. "Only the Senate seemed to think—"

"You built naquada-enhanced bombs?" the archaeologist demanded, incredulous.

"We saved thousands of lives by stopping the war when we did!"

Beneath her hand, Vala felt Daniel's rigid anger change imperceptibly. She turned her head, witnessing his face taking on a distant expression. "I just wish there was another way."

"Daniel..." she began, squeezing his shoulder gently.

Suddenly, he leapt back from the table, staring at his upturned palms in horror. "Don't touch me!" he pled, arms curling protectively around himself.

"What's going on?" Marson demanded.

"He's having another flashback!" Vala explained hurriedly, though she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the bad dream from the previous night or not. "He's never had these before, not until today."

"—Something called 'ataxia'," Daniel continued in a frighteningly calm voice, still pressed against the back wall of the room. "Surface tissue, brain tissue and internal organs will inflame and degrade… I believe that's called necrosis."

Balin choked. "Blazes, that sounds like what happened to the others!"

"The others?"

The officer nodded, eyes wide. "In the two cities that were hit, the people not killed in the initial blast—"

"—If I don't drown in my own fluids first, I will bleed to death... and there is no medical treatment to prevent that," he finished with a small, pained smile.

Marson slammed a fist on the table. "He's some sort of mind-reader now?"

Vala shook her head, torn between screaming at the tarchios to shut up and just trying to awaken Daniel from whatever hellish world he was in now, babbling to the unseen. She crouched in front of him, tentatively reaching out to stroke the back of her hand down his face, hoping the gentle touch could get through to him since all else had failed. "Please, Daniel."

He gave a pained moan, eyes rolling back into his head as he suddenly began convulsing. Shocked, Vala nearly fell over, sweeping an arm out just in time to catch herself. Balin dove in front of her, catching the back of Daniel's head before it slammed into the wall. Yanking him downward, she pressed on his shoulders, holding him on his side.

"Help me!" she shouted at Vala. Before the younger woman could react, Daniel gave one final shudder and went still.

Chapter 27

Everything hurt. Almost afraid to open his eyes and see the mess his body had become, Daniel lay still for a long moment, willing the air to continue flowing through his damaged lungs. When the breath came easily, his eyes snapped open to confront an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Daniel?"

Startled, he turned to the side, meeting the concerned gaze of an attractive woman with long, black hair framing her face. "Vala?"

"Daniel, I was so worried... are you okay?"

He frowned, taking stock. Other than an all-over burn like he'd been in an intense work-out and hit the proverbial wall, he seemed to be well enough. Cautiously, he lifted a hand in front of his face, marveling at the smooth flesh. "I think so. What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," she replied, grabbing for his hand and clutching it with her own. "One minute, you were yelling at Marson, the next you were on the floor with your back against the wall, talking to no one."

"No one?"

"No one who was present." She stroked the back of his hand. "I think you had some sort of flashback. According to Sarilis, I used to get them every now and again when I first moved in above her shop. She said I would be fine one minute, then be trapped in the past the next."

"Where was I in the past?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Actually, you had two flashbacks, but I don't know if they were from the same incident or not."

"Tell me."

"You called Marson 'Senator'."

"That's the title for a particular type of politician," he answered.

"And politicians are... bad?"

He gave a surprised laugh. "Let's just say you will never be one, Vala... you're too honest." At her expression of bewilderment, he shook his head. "Okay, so I'll have to think on the first one. What about the second one?"

Letting go of his fingers, she began to fiddle with the edge of the blanket. "Well... first you said you wished there was another way. Then you jumped away from the table and stared at your hands like they didn't even belong to you. You told us all to not touch you, then... Well, like I said, you started talking to people who weren't there."

Daniel frowned, feeling his eyebrows furrow as he did his best to remember. For all his efforts, he found only a blank from the time Marson started his "high and mighty" routine about defending the planet against a threat he'd never even met until waking only moments ago. It troubled him deeply, if only because this was the first and only hole in his memory that was from the time after he'd arrived on Makosis.

"According to Balin, you were describing the symptoms of exposure to naquada radiation. The worst part is, you were saying them as though you were going to be experiencing them." She let go of the bedding and met his eyes, startling him with the moisture hovering just at the corners of her own. "You... It hurt you when I touched you. You shook like you were caught in a prolonged zat blast. If Balin hadn't held you down, you might have hurt yourself."

"I had a seizure," he guessed, "which explains why I hurt all over, anyway. What next?"

"You passed out."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to pull his thoughts together. A thousand questions plagued his mind at any given time, but now he had even more mysteries to add to the pile. Whatever had just happened had clearly frightened Vala, which elevated his own concern. She seemed to know so much about everything at times that it was unnerving to see and hear her so... at loss.

Not to mention the unshed tears and fear, which he never would have expected from her. For all Vala’s good humor and outrageous behavior, a part of him had trouble associating her with deeper emotions. It wasn't that he doubted she was capable of them, though, far from it.

He just never expected her to show them for him.

Sam, though... Sam had once cried for him, expressing regret for never having told him how much she cared for him, how much she regretted having helped him to neglect their friendship. Her pain had been a mirror for his physical injuries, mourning the time they'd wasted just as she mourned—

He shot upright, the sudden motion startling Vala into eliciting a muffled squeak of surprise. Swearing under his breath, he stared at hands that shifted from healthy to covered in bloody sores and back again before he could even blink.

"Daniel..."

"I was dying. Vala, I... I didn't... my friends, I... I was dying." He clenched his fingers into fists, fighting the ghosts of pain which plagued him anew and robbed him of his ability to think clearly. "It hurts..."

His trembling was stilled a moment later when she stood and carefully wrapped an arm around his back, chin resting atop his head. "It’s all in the past, Daniel," she crooned, stroking his hair with her free hand.

Closing his eyes, he let himself revel in this moment of surprising tenderness. When he finally felt his turmoil ease enough, he reached up and gave her shoulder a careful squeeze. "Thank you for being here."

"Where else would I be, silly?" she teased, letting him go. "Whatever it was that happened to you, you're fine now. Your friends must have found a way to heal you."

Daniel wasn't sure of that. He was certain there had been attempts to heal him, but the success of each endeavor was difficult to determine. He was pretty sure Sam had tried to operate one of the Goa'uld healing stones like what Vala had used to heal his leg only a few weeks before, but for some reason—

"Daniel! Don't do this again," Vala ordered, suddenly in front of him and cupping either side of his jaw with her hands.

He blinked, wondering how she'd moved so quickly. "Do what?"

"You zoned out on me again," she answered, slumping in her chair again. "Who's Jacob?"

"Sam's dad."

"The Tok'ra?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You told me—or someone—to tell him to stop."

Sighing, Daniel rubbed his temples in frustration. "I don't know, Vala." Swiping at his eyes, he looked around the room, noting for the first time that he was in what appeared to be a medical ward of some kind, but he and Vala seemed to be alone. "Where's Balin?"

"Under house arrest," his partner admitted, grimacing. "Marson was somehow able to uphold his authority over her, but neither of them is allowed to leave until the strategos gets here." She crossed her arms. "I'm worried Balin might have gone too far."

"How so?"

"Well, she tore into Marson after your first flashback. Apparently, he was responsible for enhancing some of their deadliest projectile weapons with naquada he got from melting a rare artifact—my guess is, it was probably the statue we came here to find. He then launched one at each of their rival states."

Daniel swallowed heavily. "But that would have—"

"Done a lot of damage? Yes, and the people who didn't die in the blast... well, let's say I think you're familiar with what their symptoms were."

He frowned. "And the government of... Lacana... They didn't have a problem with that?"

Vala shook her head. "Oh, they did, but apparently he was very careful and never actually broke any 'rules of engagement'—whatever that means—by his actions. The only thing they could pin on him was exceeding his authority, which was enough to demote him from strategos to tarchios." She lifted her chin. "Personally, I think he should have been shot."

"Me too," he agreed. "Out of curiosity... did they leave us locked in the infirmary?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, I'm thinking we should probably get out of here now."

Her jaw dropped. "Daniel, you've been unconscious for four hours!"

"I should be well-rested then, right?" Carefully, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pleased to see that he was still wearing his own clothes. He shifted his weight to his feet, then slowly pulled himself upright. "See? I'm fine."

Fortunately, she was able to catch him when his first step proved to be less steady than he expected. "Sure, you are."

"I'll have to be," he corrected, regaining his balance. After pulling on his boots, he walked over to open the first door he came to, frowning when it revealed only a closet full of linens and other supplies.

Vala smirked at him. "It's over here," she answered, walking over to a different door. To his astonishment, she began fumbling with her bodice, plunging her hand down her neckline and drawing out a small set of metal picks. Grinning at her companion, she fiddled with the lock on the door for a moment, then turned the handle easily. Easing the door open a crack to peer out into the hall. "Looks clear."

Amazed at her resourcefulness, Daniel quickly grabbed a few of the blankets, bandages, and some of the medications whose purpose he recognized, stuffing the lot into a drawstring bag that was probably intended to hold dirty laundry. Tucking the sack beneath his arm, he stepped up to the door leading out of the infirmary. "I can't believe it's that easy."

"Picking that lock might not have been simple for just anyone," Vala whispered back, glancing down another empty hallway before crossing to another door. It was unlocked and opened to reveal a stairwell. Carefully placing their steps to reduce the echoes, the pair hastened down two flights, Daniel translating the signs next to the doors until they came to the floor which held Balin's office. Their belongings were in the cabinet across from her assistant's desk, just as the syntagos promised. Shouldering their bags, the treasure hunters returned to the stairwell.

"Maybe we should try to get one of those shuttles from the vehicle bay," Daniel suggested. "Do you think you can fly it?"

"Darling, I can fly anything," she promised jauntily.

Daniel frowned. "The only thing that bothers me is the lack of guards. Even at night, there should be people patrolling the halls. I'm worried that we're walking into a trap."

Vala shrugged. "Why allow us to escape in the first place if they're only waiting to catch us again?"

"I can think of a reason," he began, licking his lower lip nervously. "If Marson catches us trying to escape, he gets around his obligation to keep us here until Strategos Calius arrives. He could have us carted off to wherever he wants while everyone else searches for us in the swamps."

"So what do you suggest, then?"

He closed his eyes, then shook his head. "We have to try for a transport. If they find out we've gotten away before we get back to the 'Gate, we'll have a much bigger welcoming committee than what we'd meet otherwise."

"They probably won't expect the zats," Vala pointed out, hefting her own weapon for emphasis. "We can shoot anyone we need to without worrying about accidentally killing anyone. They'll have to be a lot more careful."

"They don't need us alive, Vala. All Marson is interested in is my DNA and the naquada in your blood." Daniel hated to be the bearer of bad news, but he knew Marson's type. "For that matter, he could have us killed trying to escape and get what he wants that way."

The dark-haired thief swallowed heavily, reaching out a hand to briefly squeeze his arm. "We have to try anyway, Daniel. You know that."

Sighing, he nodded again. Between her sense of direction and his quick translations of the wall plaques in the corridors, they were soon at the double-doors leading out to the vehicle hangar. A smaller shuttle than the one in which they'd first arrived was parked nearby, and they moved cautiously toward it, weapons at the ready. Daniel motioned for Vala to hang back to cover him while he checked the interior of the ship. Just as he was reaching for the control he assumed opened the cockpit door, the seals released. He jumped back, nervously waiting for whoever had activated the hatch to appear.

Phelagos Nivene smiled sheepishly. "Oh, look. I had just programmed my shuttle to head back to Malkin Beta when you surprised and over-powered me."

Daniel gaped. "Did Balin—"

"The syntagos did not ask me to help. Nor did I tell you that she didn't."

Vala stepped up next to Daniel, grinning broadly. "Of course she didn't."

Nivene's expression flattened to his customary stoicism. "Just do me a favor and try not to give me a concussion. I want it to look like I put up a fight but I'm not that vain."

"Oh, we have a better idea," the thief grinned, aiming her zat and squeezing the trigger. "Tell Marson what that felt like."

Chapter 28

"Ugh. This place is just as nasty as the first time around," Vala griped, glaring at the wet ground squelching beneath her feet.

"Imagine that," Daniel remarked dryly. "Come on, Vala, you know we couldn't have landed the ship any closer to the 'Gate. We'd have been sitting ducks trying to get out the door."

"I know, I know," she sighed, giving the dark mud a final, baleful look. The clearing around the cave containing the Stargate had been brightly lit with floodlights, indicating the presence of the guard Balin had had to place around the device. The feeling that they were wasting valuable time chafed, especially knowing that Marson likely knew of their escape by now. Nivene wouldn't have stayed unconscious from the zat's effects for long, and would therefore have been required to report their escape upon awakening.

Unfortunately, they didn't know if the syntagos had been able to work her mutineering magic on the soldiers watching the cave. It was her partner's lack of conviction on the matter that sealed the argument for Vala. She hadn't gotten where she was in life by being a trusting soul, but Daniel had gotten under her skin in a way no one else ever had.

She spared a glance out of the corner of her eye for her companion, noting that he was moving along as easily as ever, as though none of the day's "events" had any effect on him. For all his insistence that she was "corrupting" him, he remained a decent and trusting man at his core, and she found herself instinctively reciprocating that trust. The more he remembered about his past, the more confusing the picture of who he had once been became to them both. Still, she had always trusted her instincts, and those were telling her that all would be well in the end.

Funny, since she hadn't gotten where she was by being an optimist, either. It seemed he was a far stronger influence on her than she was on him. She glanced over her shoulder at her partner, her smile fading as she noticed his hands held oddly in front of him, as though bound.

"Okay," he began suddenly, panting for breath. She spun around, grabbing for his hands just as he stumbled. "I know it seems completely unlikely that you understand a word that I'm saying but, uh... I've gone about as far as I can go at this particular pace… so with your permission... I think I'm going to fall down now!"

And fall down he did, knees buckling and bringing him crashing into the mud as though at the very limits of exhaustion. She tried shaking his shoulders, calling his name, but none of it brought him back from wherever his mind had taken him this time. Finally, when he began ranting about a "radio", she sent up a quick plea for forgiveness and slapped him as hard as she could.

"What the hell was that for?" he complained.

Vala inhaled deeply, raising her chin. "Getting you out of another of those flashbacks."

He blinked, looking around at the fog-shrouded trees. "Ooo-okay," he drew out, shaking his head. "Where was I this time, besides taking a siesta in the middle of a swamp?"

She hadn't any idea what a "siesta" was, but if it had anything to do with him taking an unexpected tumble to the ground, it was appropriate. Knowing his clothes would soon be soaked, she pulled him to his feet. "You acted as though we were moving too quickly for you to keep up, and asked my—or someone's permission—before you fell."

Daniel sighed. "This just gets weirder and weirder all the time. What could be causing them?"

She threw up her hands in frustration. "Like I know? One minute you're fine, the next you're off somewhere else. I'm thinking your imaginary friend had the right idea and I should just tie you up and drag you along with me."

"'Tie me up'?" he repeated, eyebrows rising in surprise. "Okay, I don't want to know where I just was."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," she remarked, moving around to his pack and digging out one of the foamy-feeling blankets from the raided supply cabinet. After cutting it into several strips and stowing the remainder away, she quickly tied a loop of cloth around each of their waists and connected the crude belts with a third piece about five feet in length.

They picked up their pace, then, trusting their tether to help him follow her easily even with his weaker eyesight. Vala felt more confident, too, knowing that if he were to have another of his episodes, she wouldn't have to worry about him falling behind and her not noticing.

She had almost dared to believe they would make it. Just as the lights illuminating the clearing began to shine through the trees, the sudden tug at her waist nearly yanked her off her feet. She managed to convert the recoil of the stretchy fabric into momentum to spin her back around to face her companion, who was now staring at the ground at his feet and insisting they needed to help someone named "Melosha".

"We do not have time for this!" Vala hissed, hauling back to slap him again. The blow connected just as he was straightening up from a crouched position, and though she could have sworn she hadn't hit him hard, he spun around and fell with a startled cry.

"Teal'c!"

"No, no, no!" she spat, dropping to her knees and shaking his shoulders, patting his cheeks, and doing everything she could think of to return him to consciousness.

"Over here!" shouted an unfamiliar voice, the sounds of the 'Gate's guards crashing through the undergrowth meeting her ears.

For a brief moment, she considered untying the cord binding her to Daniel and using his discovery as a distraction to make her own mad dash for freedom, but dismissed that plan immediately. Bitter tears stung her eyes. Freedom for herself would mean nothing if she betrayed Daniel to gain it.

"We're here!" she shouted, digging into her pack for her handlight and activating the beam to serve as a beacon. "My friend needs help!"

Within moments, they were surrounded, and she blinked through the moisture to attempt to discern any familiar faces. They weren't the young, anxious expressions of the cadets who trained in this area, and her heart sank at the realization that these may not have been guardians set by Balin. Marson would have his victory it seemed, but at least Vala knew she had managed to adhere to the trust Daniel placed in her. She felt an irrational sense of pride in her accomplishment, which was immediately chased by a feeling of dread.

"My friend is sick," she told the soldiers, uncertain whether it would make any difference to them or not. "We just want to go home. Help me carry him. Please."

"I'm sorry, Miss," one of the men began, lowering his weapon just a fraction. "We have our orders."

The traitorous moisture now trailed down Vala's cheeks. "Damn your orders! Marson doesn't see us as people, only as science experiments so that he can build more weapons and make himself and people like him live forever! Just get us to that ring and we'll be gone and never bother this world again." She stroked a hand down Daniel's slack face. "Better yet, let me send him back through the Stargate and I'll stay here. I'll tell you everything you want to know about the—"

"I'm sorry," the man repeated, jerking his head at his fellow troops. She struggled when she felt them pull her away from Daniel, kicking and punching like a madwoman, refusing to go down easily. When one of them produced a knife and sliced through the line connecting her to her fallen partner, her knees buckled. Silently crying, she watched as the men lifted her friend with surprising gentleness before staggering to her feet and trailing along behind, numb.

They emerged into the clearing, the brightness of the camp lights stunning her momentarily, blending with the surrealism of the near-escape to further her disorientation. It finally occurred to her that the level of care the soldiers were giving them could be indicative of their allegiance to Balin, and for a moment she dared to hope.

Her hopes were dashed moments later when she was ushered into a small, pre-fabricated shelter and Daniel’s stretcher placed on the groundsheet beside the door. They were then sealed in, prisoners once more. Collapsing beside her partner, she threw her arm across his chest, laid her head on his shoulder, and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 29

"In here, sir."

Vala's eyes snapped open as a shaft of light crossed her face from the open door. When the source of light was revealed to be a lantern carried by another of the heavily armed soldiers, she rolled to her feet in a guarded crouch, attempting to place herself between the newcomers and the still-unconscious form of her friend. The woman made no move toward her or Daniel, instead carefully hanging her light from one of the thin ceiling beams and taking up position in the far corner. As Vala looked on warily, two men entered the enclosure, closing the door behind them.

The first man was several years older than either of his companions, dark hair showing glints of steely gray beneath the harsh lighting of the lamp. Like Balin and Marson, his shoulders and chest were decorated with shiny bits of metal, indicating his status as an officer, and a high-ranking one at that.

"How is your friend?" he began, pulling a chair out from beneath the table against the far wall.

"Sick," Vala answered simply, eyes flitting to Daniel's pale, slackened face.

The man leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. "How did he become ill?"

She sighed wearily, too tired to fight and too emotionally exhausted to lie. "Several months ago, he appeared in the middle of a field on a farm planet with no memory of who he was or where he came from. He stayed there until the two of us met—nearly two months ago—when he agreed to travel with me to other worlds in the vain hope that we might one day find his people or his past. He has always suffered from nightmares, but only today—yesterday, rather—began experiencing flashbacks. I don't know if it's something on this planet causing them, the... the stress of this whole situation gone horribly wrong, or if it's simply a natural step in the gradual return of his memory." She bit her lip, settling cross-legged on the ground and stroking a hand through Daniel's hair. "I don't know, and I don't care. I just want him safe."

"I see," the man answered. "Please forgive my lack of manners. I am Strategos Calius, Polimarkos of Lacana."

"Vala Mal Doran. This is Daniel... well, just Daniel for now."

Calius nodded. "The two of you have a staunch supporter in Syntagos Balin. She seems to believe the two of you would be of greater help to our world if we simply let you leave."

"Daniel has that effect on people. He makes them trust him even when they really have no reason to," she smiled sadly.

"Tarchios Marson has a different story," the strategos continued.

"I'm sure he does."

"He seems to believe it would be better to keep you here, learn from you and study the differences between your people and ours."

Vala sneered. "Marson just wants to filter all the naquada out of my blood and use it to create more weapons like the ones he used on your enemies. He wants to learn the secrets of immortality and thinks that Daniel's the key to that."

"Is he?"

She heaved a sigh. "He remembers dying of radiation poisoning, like what happened to the people who survived those two weapons only to sicken and die later. He doesn't recall being healed, yet here he is."

"So you are saying that you don't know."

"No, I don't know!" she snapped. "Look, we know that your world has nearly depleted your available minerals, that metals have become increasingly scarce especially after who-knows-how-many years of war. Daniel and I work for a man named Han Kazo, who is one of the few people in the galaxy permitted by the ruling body of System Lords to establish trade relations with the worlds ruled by various rival factions. I can't guarantee anything, but we can at least try to arrange a meeting between your people and the Hans. Compared to most of the worlds out there, your machines and medicines are quite advanced, and would make valuable trade commodities."

Calius leaned back in his chair. "You would have us to engage in barter for what we need? Why, when we can just take what we want?"

Her hands fisted. "Because you stand a chance of angering people who actually have the right to the ores you are stealing. Because Daniel and I won't tell you how to use the Stargate so you'll be lucky to hit on the right combination of symbols to get you to another planet. Even if you do find your way to another world, a different set of symbols is required to get you back... and good luck figuring out the exact combination for that on your own, too."

"And?" he prompted.

"Everyone needs a friend. Even at some of the lowest, most dreadful times in my life, I've always had one or two people on whom I could rely. Since Daniel came into my life, I've had someone whom I respect and care for at my side nearly all the time. He's made me realize that no matter how brave and self-sufficient I think I am, it's always better to split the workload and share the profit than to be greedy and selfish and all alone."

Calius seemed to think on this for a long moment, gazing contemplatively at the pair. Unable to keep eye-contact, Vala resumed her ministrations, stroking the fine strands of dark blond hair and taking in the open, guileless expression of the unconscious man before her. Never before had he looked so vulnerable, so completely helpless. In the last six weeks, he had proven his value time and time again, his innate brilliance solving some ancient mystery, his unwavering courage saving them both in the face of crisis.

It was time she returned the favor. "Look, I'll stay here and provide you with whatever information you require if you'll just allow me to send him through the Stargate to people who can care for him."

"You are afraid for him? His condition frightens you?"

"Yes. Daniel is normally a very strong man, both in mind and body."

"You would sacrifice yourself for him?"

"To save him? Yes."

"You love him."

It wasn't a question. "Yes."

The strategos leaned forward in his chair once more. "People do the most terrible things in the name of hate, yet they also do the most amazing things for love. I do not understand what Tarchios Marson meant when he said you were alien to us. Your people and mine are not so very different at all."

Vala felt her heart flutter. "You'll let him go?"

"I'll let you go," he corrected, then amended, "both of you. Our own race has cursed our planet, and I'll have no part in dooming two people innocent of our crimes. If you can speak with your master and convince him of our need, you would have the thanks of a grateful state, a thankful planet. Do not feel obligated, however, as you owe us nothing. Nothing. We have imprisoned and threatened you and may have even inadvertently caused or worsened the condition of your friend. For that, you have my most humble apologies."

Surprised by the sudden turn of events, Vala stammered out a thanks, placing her hands in her lap and lacing her fingers. "What will happen to Syntagos Balin?"

"She will be reprimanded for insubordination against Tarchios Marson." Calius' voice changed, suddenly bordering on amusement. "She did not, as I understand it, help you in anyway." At Vala's look of surprise, he gave a conspiratorial wink. "I know the ways of one of my best students, Miss Vala. She knows the game as well as any and will maintain that she did not disobey her orders or oath in any way, that mere chance had the base guards seeing to a minor crisis on the other side of the complex last night and that bad fortune put Phelagos Nivene in your path."

"And since she didn't tell us where to find our belongings, we were simply lucky to find those as quickly as we did," Vala agreed. "Strategos, you are not at all what I expected for..." She stalled, trying to come up with the appropriate word.

"For a man in my position of power?" he suggested. "Quite so. My many critics say I am too soft to be the Polimarkos, that the leader of the armies of Lacana should be a firmer man. The Speaker of the Senate and I disagree with such assertions. Perhaps, in answer to these complaints, I should bend a little more. I think your Daniel understands this."

"My Daniel," she smiled, liking the way that sounded coming from her lips. "Thank you, Strategos. Da... my Daniel thanks you as well."

The older man returned the expression, motioning for his two guards to step up to either side of the stretcher. He opened and held the door leading out of the shelter so that the soldiers could maneuver the litter back outside and into the early morning air. Interested eyes followed their trek across the clearing to the cave entrance, the fallen boulders having been cleared away from the hole in the cliff-face.

As they stepped into the cool darkness of the cavern, Vala self-consciously cleared her throat. "You know, Daniel and I were blowing smoke about the way the Stargate worked."

"I know," Calius answered. "I have seen the recordings taken of your questioning and discovered a fatal flaw in your, ah... 'ley line' theory. The rotation of our planet on its axis and its revolution around our sun are both very strong arguments against the supposed inflexibility of these lines."

She nodded sheepishly. "You can move your Stargate and its accompanying pedestal to a more secure location," she admitted.

"Which we will begin to do when you two have safely passed through it," he assured her.

Vala stepped up to the pedestal and briefly searched her mind for the coordinates of an uninhabited and relatively mineral-poor planet she'd once stumbled across in her misspent youth, unwilling to trust the locals to not attempt to follow them. When the Stargate activated, shedding its blue radiance upon the walls of the cavern and the awestruck on-lookers, she knelt beside Daniel and gently tapped his cheek.

A bleary eye the color of the event horizon peeked at her. "Let's go," she offered with a smile, carefully pulling him to his feet and draping his arm across her shoulders to help him stagger the dozen steps to the Stargate. She turned back just before the shimmering pool, waved farewell, then stepped into the waiting wormhole.

Chapter 30

"Oh, for cryin' out loud."

Jonas Quinn tried his absolute best to not sigh in frustration, but he did give his team leader a look of exasperation. "Thank you for your time," he smiled to the village headman. "Excuse us for a moment, please."

Just as the Kelownan thought, O'Neill barely waited until they were outside of the small dwelling before complaining, "If they didn’t want to set up a trade agreement, they could’ve just said so!"

"Actually, he did say so, Colonel," Jonas replied. "They already have an exchange established with a group of traders who come through the Stargate three times a year. They’re here now even, which is a good thing, really."

"How’s that?"

"Well, according to the headman, the caravans are owned by a family which has similar trade agreements with hundreds of other planets. It might be that the people we really want to talk to are the Hans, make a treaty with them."

"I thought the Huns were the ones who crossed the Alps."

Jonas suppressed a grin, shaking his head. "Oh, they were. But this is the Han family, like the Han Dynasty that ruled China from around 200 B.C. until about 200 A.D."

"Ah!" O’Neill exclaimed, as though that explained everything. It had taken Jonas a long time to realize that the colonel really wasn’t even half as dumb as he pretended to be, but that he simply didn’t care for detail which didn’t immediately pertain to the matter at hand. It was a habit hard to break after years of reporting directly to academic and government officials, though.

They soon met up with Major Carter and Teal'c, who had been taking a tour of the village's perimeter while Jonas and the colonel spoke with the headman. The pretty major seemed to be excited about something, so when the team rejoined, she nearly burst with joy.

"One of the people we met outside the wall was repairing the stone bridge across the river," she began. "The tool he was using to cut the blocks was a trinium-edged saw!"

"I thought the mineral survey didn't come up with any of that stuff," O'Neill replied.

"It didn't," she agreed, "which is why Teal'c and I asked the man where he got it. He said that he and his wife saved up for months to buy it from the traders who pass through here from the Stargate."

"Yeah. Our pal, the head village guy, told us about them already." O’Neill looked mildly put out. "As long as they have a trade agreement with these guys, the locals aren't interested in anything we have to offer."

"They are representatives of the Han family," Teal'c announced, "one of the few trade organizations permitted to conduct commerce between worlds belonging to varying System Lords."

"You've heard of them?" Jonas asked.

"Indeed. Though Apophis did not permit their presence on his worlds, I recall their visits to the villages under Cronus' domain when I was a small boy."

"That could be pretty useful," he replied, drawing looks from the rest of his team. "Think about it: an organization like the Han family would have access to hundreds of worlds across the galaxy. If we talk to these guys, we could potentially have trade access to planets that are entirely out of our reach. Indirectly, of course, but it's still something."

Carter tipped her head to one side. "That's actually a really good idea."

"What, going through a middle man?" O'Neill asked.

"Essentially, yes," Jonas agreed. "It's really not much different than... shopping at the mall on Earth."

"You shop at the mall?"

He wasn't about to admit that he'd actually enjoyed going shopping with Major Carter and Doctor Frasier on a few occasions, as he was certain the colonel wouldn't understand. "What I mean is, the stores there are the intermediary between the shopper and the manufacturer."

"A supply chain," Teal'c suggested.

"Exactly!"

O'Neill seemed to consider this for a long moment before shrugging. "Let's go see if these guys want to be our Wal-Mart."

"Wal-Mart?" Carter mouthed, shaking her head. Jonas met her gaze and offered a grin of amusement.

The team made their way over to the brightly-colored tents tucked against the wall just inside the town's gates, Jonas curious to see what sorts of marvels such a widely-known group of traders had to offer. It never ceased to amaze him the many wondrous and strange things the galaxy held, even though he'd been a member of the team for just a few weeks shy of a year. The three continents of his homeworld were so boring and small by comparison.

To his astonishment, the tents were devoid of any overt signs of technology, as though the travelers were deliberately making themselves appear on the same level as their customers. Perhaps, he wondered, they weren't much more advanced anyway, as they still operated under the rule of the Goa'uld. Either way, he had plenty of questions to ask and couldn't wait to begin.

A guard standing near the entrance of one of the tents turned and announced their approach to the interior of their structure, making Jonas' mind leap to try to catch up with the familiar-sounding language. When a man emerged from the shadows, rattling off instructions, he realized they spoke a variant of a language with which he'd only recently tried to become familiar: Cantonese.

After the Stargate program was revealed to the other major members of Earth's United Nations Security Council, Jonas had begun studying the history, language, and culture of each of the powers out of pure curiosity. His homeworld held only three major governments, after all, with the differences in their societies having diverged only a few hundred years before now. China and Russia had particularly intrigued him, if only because of the similarity between Earth's Cold War and the war which his own people faced.

"Greetings," he offered cautiously, hoping he had the wording right and fervently wishing he had one of the linguistic field guides Doctor Jackson had compiled. "My name is Jonas Quinn. We come seeking knowledge and trade."

"You come seeking to the right place," the man replied, hooking his thumbs into his wide belt. "My name is Liu Shao, and I speak for the Han family."

"May we have verification of such?" Teal'c asked suddenly.

"Of course, Master," Liu answered, removing an amulet from beneath his silk tunic and presenting it to the Jaffa. Teal'c studied it only briefly before returning the item to the trader. "What brings the First Prime of Apophis to my door?"

"We're explorers from a planet called Earth," Jonas explained, making a mental note to ask his fellow alien about the amulet later. "We actually came to establish a trade agreement with the people of this world, but were told that your people have an extensive network already in place."

Shao offered his arm to guide them into the tent and waited until they were seated on cushions around the low table before replying. "Apophis was not known for permitting our caravans on his worlds. We must first know the System Lord who rules your planet."

O'Neill snorted. "There isn't one."

"We serve no false god," Teal'c continued. "As you are no doubt aware, my companions are warriors of the Tau'ri."

The trader smiled. "Of course, Master... Teal'c, isn't it? And as I am sure you understand, the position of the Han family is tenuous at best. We must maintain neutrality."

"We're not asking you to side with us against the Goa'uld," Jonas back-pedaled. "We seek medicines, technology, and minerals, however, and are interested in the opportunity an organization such as yours presents us. You can trade with worlds we can't even set foot on without putting ourselves in jeopardy."

"How very true. Still, trade with the Hans usually means opening your world to allow us to freely offer our goods and services to the people of your planet. I did not believe the Tau'ri were willing to do so."

"No, but we could make other arrangements," Carter suggested. "We could come to you, maybe, or meet on a neutral planet to make the trades."

"What then, do you offer?" Shao asked, resting his chin on his hands.

"Food, medicine, the usual stuff," O'Neill replied nonchalantly. "Obviously, my team and I aren't authorized to make or break the deal with you here and now, but we just want to find out if it's possible."

"And what of knowledge? You stated you came seeking knowledge and trade."

"What types of knowledge are we talking about?" the colonel asked. "Intelligence, history, what?"

Shao bowed his head, smile still firmly pasted in place. "All these and more. Please understand that intelligence is not secured, that any information you wish to purchase from us is not guaranteed to not be sold to the next person who asks. It is likewise with anything you tell us of yourselves. Our neutrality is paramount."

"Of course it is."

"Still, we do offer this capability. We also recently acquired the services of two very gifted collectors, so should you have need of a particular ancient artifact recovered or mystery solved, we can provide there as well. Because of the state of your conflict with the System Lords, however, I will also need to consult my superiors. We will contact you through the Tok'ra with the location and time when we can next meet."

"Don't call us, we'll call you?" O'Neill guessed. "Well, thanks a bunch for your time. Let's head back, kids." Once outside, he muttered under his breath, "Complete waste of time."

"Not necessarily, sir," Carter answered. "Liu Shao didn't exactly tell us to go away, and he seemed pretty confident an arrangement with us would work."

"Yeah. Work for them."

Jonas frowned. "I wonder if we could enlist the help of their 'collectors' in finding the Lost City."

"Well, that's a bad idea," the colonel retorted. "Some Goa'uld will ask these guys why the Tau'ri have been so quiet lately and Mr. Neutrality there will tell them we're looking for an Ancient storehouse of weapons. I'll pass."

"Then perhaps we could request their assistance in looking for Daniel Jackson," Teal'c suggested.

O'Neill spun around in frustration. "No! That's as bad an idea as the one Jonas had. What do you think will happen if Anubis knows Daniel is alive? That he's out there somewhere?"

Unable to come up with any scenarios which ended well for SG-1 or Doctor Jackson, Jonas sighed and nodded in defeat. Still, he couldn't shake the niggling feeling that Liu Shao had been laughing at them all.

Chapter 31

"I am reminded a great deal of your first days here," Sarilis Camir began.

Vala looked around the booted feet she'd crossed atop the worktable and frowned at her friend. "Oh, yes, the days of the unending flashbacks. The nightmares, the disorientation, the confusion, the nightmares, the nausea, the constant fatigue, the nightmares—"

"Yes, those," the former bounty hunter continued. "Only in your case, most of the flashbacks and nightmares could be chalked up to Qetesh."

"True," she admitted. "In Daniel's case, I don't know where he gets his. Some of them are understandable, like the day before yesterday's dream involving the first time he saw his wife after she was taken as a host. Others make no sense at all, like the four hours he spent cowering in the corner yesterday, muttering about unseen dead things coming to get him and make him one of them."

"How much of it is the product of an overactive imagination and how much is the burden of a man who has simply seen too much?" Sarilis mused, determinedly scraping corrosion off some random bit of gadgetry. "So what brought you down here this time? Reasonable or outlandish?"

"A little of both," Vala admitted, bending forward to pull the footwear off and cast it and her socks in the floor. She wriggled her bare toes with a sigh. "Apparently, his parents were killed in an accident he witnessed as a small child."

"That's... unfortunate."

"Well, it certainly goes a long way toward explaining how he got to be as stubborn and independent as he is today," she replied, then narrowed her eyes at her friend when she heard what sounded suspiciously like a "look in the mirror" sort of snort. "That's the 'reasonable' part. The 'outlandish' comes from the fact that he was apparently forced to relive the incident over and over again as an adult."

"Why?"

"Based on what I heard, I guess that he and his friends were imprisoned in a sort of state of altered reality by a being Daniel referred to as 'the Keeper'. For no fathomable reason whatsoever, this 'Keeper' seemed to think that reliving one of the most traumatic events of Daniel's life was highly entertaining."

"And I thought the Goa'uld were cruel," Sarilis remarked, lifting the cup of spiced juice she favored and taking a long drink. "Actually, from the sounds of things, Daniel and his friends were considerably well-traveled."

Vala nodded. "Incredibly diverse, too. From what I can tell, Jack is a few years older than Daniel, and a sort of combination brother and father figure for him. Samantha—or 'Sam', as he calls her—is a fellow scholar, though more of the mechanical sort. The last member of his team is harder to place, but I get a sense of deep, mutual respect between Daniel and Teal'c."

Sarilis choked in her cup, coming up sputtering. "Excuse me?" she managed after a strong cough.

The younger woman rolled her eyes. "I thought you stopped adding 'extras' to your juice."

"There are no spirits in it, if that's what you mean."

"Well, then what's with the drowning impression?"

"You said the last man's name was Teal'c?"

Absently, Vala began to toy with a dark lock that had escaped the girlish twists she'd gathered her hair into that morning. "Not a man, actually, but a Jaffa."

"Holy fire," Sarilis swore, leaping up from the table with surprising grace. Vala was glad she'd never been foolish enough to think that the former bounty hunter's advancing age was slowing her, especially when maneuvers like that proved her vigor had in no way diminished.

"What?"

The silver-streaked redhead rummaged around in one of the cabinets containing her old working gear. "Give me a moment." Finally, she emerged from one of the drawers with a small box tucked into her fist. Triumphantly, she placed the item on the table and righted the chair she'd knocked over in her haste. Settling onto the seat again, she pointed at the box. "This is a Goa'uld bounty marker."

"Oh, please, Sarilis, I know what those are," Vala sighed, having briefly considered a career as a bounty hunter before realizing she really didn't have the ruthless streak necessary to be successful.

The older woman smirked. "But I bet you've never seen this." She pushed a button and the display came to life, projecting a string of Goa'uld symbols which declared, in simplest terms, wanted dead or alive. "These are the Tau'ri. The four whose pictures are contained in this marker are known as SG-1, and almost anything bad that's happened to any of the System Lords in the last decade can be attributed to them."

"I've heard the Tau'ri mentioned briefly," Vala admitted, "but never really paid much attention. They're human rebels, yes?"

"Not just any human rebels," Sarilis corrected. "They are the destroyers of Ra, rebels from the First World."

"It's been found?" Her sources of information needed a firm talking-to if they'd failed to mention a little thing of mild interest like the discovery of a lost legend. Realizing that the older woman was practically itching to continue her presentation, she gave a sigh and a "go ahead" gesture.

The button on the side of the cube was depressed again, changing the image to that of a handsome man with gray hair peeking out from below his strangely-shaped green hat, his left eyebrow bisected by a faint scar. The picture had clearly been rendered from Goa'uld sensor images, catching the man with a nearly feral grin of triumph on his face, but he still bore an unmistakable resemblance to the Makosin village elder, Atrus. Colonel Jack O'Neill, read the accompanying text, known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Marduk, Ra, Seth, and Sokar.

Vala gasped in horror, letting her feet fall off the table's edge to the floor. This was Daniel's friend Jack? The reward listed below the man's image was suitable for a man clearly deemed responsible for the deaths of not one, not two, but seven former System Lords. Anyone lucky enough to successfully capture and collect on that prize could retire in comfort.

Apparently satisfied she had a captive audience, Sarilis activated the device again with a flourish, changing the display to that of an attractive blond female, defiance radiating in the set of her jaw and stubborn gleam in her eyes. Major Samantha Carter, the text stated passively, former host to the Tok'ra dissident, Jolinar of Malkshur. Daughter of Jacob Carter, host to the Tok'ra dissident, Selmak. Known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Seth, and Sokar.

The next image was not of a human, but of a large, dark-skinned Jaffa. A gold emblem gleamed on his brow, though the quality of the picture was not such that Vala could discern the shape. Teal'c, former First Prime of Apophis. Shol'va. Leader of Jaffa rebellion. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Ammaunet, Apophis, Cronus, Hathor, Seth, and Sokar.

"I can't believe it," she squeaked. The rewards being offered for the capture of these mere rebels was enough to feed an entire planet for a year. The bounty on Teal'c alone was approximately the same as Qetesh's entire amassed wealth.

"I can't believe I didn't realize this earlier," Sarilis remarked, shaking her head. "It's a good thing—a terribly good thing, I might add—that I'm already retired."

The final image struck her numb, though the familiar blue eyes were partially concealed behind circles of wire-rimmed glass. Doctor Daniel Jackson. Known Tok'ra collaborator. Known member of the terrorist faction SG-1. Complicit in the deaths or defeat of Ammaunet, Apophis, Hathor, Ra, Seth, and Sokar.

"No," she managed in disbelief. She had more she wanted to say, of course, but the only thing able to pass her lips was another muffled expression of denial.

"Vala," Sarilis began, switching off the projector. "If you were ever serious about being a bounty hunter, you have one of the galaxy's most valuable marks upstairs in your bed. He's worth just as much as the shol'va, as much as any Tok’ra… and that says a lot. But—and this is a big, big, 'but'—if you care for that boy any at all, you are going to have to keep an eye on him. Both eyes. These markers weren't issued to a great many in the game, only those of us with the skill or means to go after such a catch, but there are bound to be others out there who might recognize him."

She pressed her hands against her face. "I had no idea. None."

Her friend softened. "If it's any consolation, girl, I didn't either. You see, this particular marker was issued just a little under two years ago. If I remember correctly, Osiris had just raised the bounty on Jackson to match that of the shol'va when this came out, but then the whole thing was invalidated a few months later when he was reported dead."

"The shol'va? Teal'c?"

Sarilis shook her head. "Jackson. I guess that's partly why it took me so long to put two and two together: he was supposedly no longer among the living. Well, that and the fact that he currently doesn't wear those silly spectacles on his face."

Vala moaned and slumped in her seat. "What am I to do, Sarilis? What can I tell him?"

"The truth?"

She gave a wheezing laugh. "Oh, of course! 'Good evening, Daniel, did you sleep well? By the way, it's a good thing you're suffering from violent flashbacks and can't leave this room, 'cause it seems you're tied for number one on the Goa'uld hit list!'"

The former bounty hunter threw up her hands. "Fine, don't tell him! But all this time you've known him, he's been trying to find out who he is, to find his people. The Tau'ri may not be all that well-known in some circles, but I guarantee you can go to one of those helpful little Tok'ra friends you pretend to ignore all the time, whisper in his ear that you needed to contact the Tau'ri on an urgent matter, and I'm sure he and his little snaky passenger would jump at the chance to assist you and the legendary Doctor Jackson."

Vala choked back a sob. "You're right, of course. I... I should tell him." Stumbling to her feet, she wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat, hoping she neither looked nor sounded as awful as she felt. Daniel might not have the best vision of all—in fact, had apparently worn corrective lenses most of his life—but he was hardly blind or deaf. Taking her time to compose herself, she slowly and quietly ascended the staircase at the back of the shop, easing open the door at the top of the landing.

"Hey, Vala," murmured a sleepy voice, head turning to greet her.

She hesitated. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
Daniel shook his head. "I've been awake for a few minutes now."

"Oh. Sleep well?" She nearly choked again, her words unconsciously echoing her earlier sarcasm.

"Surprisingly, yes," he answered, smiling. "Good dream this time. Don't really remember a lot of details of it, but my friends were in it. At one point, Teal'c tried to get my attention." He licked his lower lip. "Funny thing, I wonder now how I could forget that he always called me by my first and last names together, like they were all one word."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My name’s Daniel… Jackson."

Knees too weak to support her further, she sank down on the edge of the bed. "Nice to meet you, Daniel Jackson." She bit her lip. "Did you learn anything else?"

As Daniel began relating the fuzzy details of "team nights" with his friends, the little voice Vala had come to recognize was her conscience began to berate her for being stubborn, foolish, and selfish. She mentally told the hateful thing to shut up and leave her alone. This was the right decision for them both... it had to be.

Chapter 32

Daniel inhaled deeply, enjoying his first breaths of fresh air in nearly a week. Since first falling ill on Jaya, he'd spent the next four days in fevered delirium, shifting between reality and his apparently eventful past. Each "spell" left him weak and exhausted and more confused than ever. Vala had been there for him through it all, though, somehow getting them off the planet on which they'd been trapped and back to their apartment all on her own.

Her resourcefulness amazed him, but he hadn't yet asked her how she'd managed to escape, much less drag his undoubtedly useless self with her. In fact, he was embarrassed to admit that he'd selfishly hoa