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 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 hoarded his time awake by pestering her with a thousand questions about anything he might have said or done that could provide some clue to his origins. The intense flashbacks finally faded as quickly as they began, leaving him wrung out, but hopeful. It wasn't much, but the recovery of his surname seemed a victory. He was no longer just "Daniel", but "Daniel Jackson".

Vala was an even greater mystery than ever before, though, watching him constantly as though he could have a relapse at any moment. He supposed that it was possible he could, but the constant mother-henning was as frustrating as it was endearing. After he'd begged her to let him take a walk to regain some of the strength he was sure he'd lost during his incapacitation, she finally let him out of her sight for a whole five minutes before tracking him down in the market. On the way back to Sarilis' shop, she'd gotten fussy when he inhaled a whiff of something foul-smelling and had a fit of coughing to clear his sinuses of the stench.

Actually, he remembered similar behavior from Jack, Sam, and the petite physician, Janet. Maybe there was just something about him that inspired certain people to try to mother him, and others to try to beat the living daylights out of him.

He grinned wryly. Some people—Jack, for example—apparently had both urges.

"What's so funny?" Vala asked as they were escorted into the Hans' drawing room.

"Nothing," he answered. "Just something weird about Jack."

"From what you've told me so far, everything about Jack is weird."

Daniel laughed. "Good point."

They waited in companionable silence, though Vala was a little twitchier than normal. He wondered if maybe it was her restless spirit itching to get back to adventure and excitement, especially after having spent the better part of the last week watching over him. If so, maybe the reason the Hans had asked them to come was to inform them of a new contract. None of the other leads they had to date looked terribly promising, seeming to require a degree of research and surveillance they currently weren't able to spare the time and effort to accomplish.

He scratched his newly-grown beard absently, intrigued by the idea of pursuing a new mystery himself. If his many adventures with his friends were any indication, he'd lived for the thrill of discovery. If his unreliable memory was correct, he'd also died for it, too, and on more than one occasion.

Daniel hadn't shared that strange revelation with Vala yet—not that he was aware, anyway—and found himself reluctant to give her anything else about which she could potentially worry. He seemed to have made a bad habit of dying, so maybe there was some credence to Tarchios Marson's theory of immortality after all.

Finally, Han Kazo entered the room flanked by his wife and eldest daughter and followed by Kien Lu and Liu Shao. Daniel was surprised to see the two agents, having thought they'd be busy furthering the family's business on other planets. The entourage greeted the treasure hunters with formal bows, leaving Daniel to wonder what direction this particular meeting was to take.

"Master Daniel and Lady Vala," began Han Mai, the grown daughter of the family's patriarch, "you have been acquainted with this family for just under two full moons, yet already you have proven your faith and value in many ways. The decision has therefore been made to extend you an invitation of full membership of the family, with all the rights and privileges granted any of the adopted cousins."

Daniel blinked in surprise, looking to Vala for his cue. Whatever they were being offered was clearly a high honor, though he wasn't quite sure what the benefits of such an arrangement could be. She was their business and financial expert, after all, he was just the translator.

"I—We're flattered," the dark-haired woman began, stammering just slightly. "I'm just not entirely sure it's the right arrangement for us."

"Our arrangement does not change," Kazo assured her. "Your terms of employment with the Han family remain unaltered; it is only the benefits of rank which increase. Yuna and I would like you two to enjoy the protection and influence bearing the sign of the family offers."

"You mean the amulets?" Daniel asked.

"That is the physical representation of such, yes," the burly man replied. "Although they will be of no assistance to you on planets where we have no presence, they may be able to gain you aid where you otherwise might not have any allies."

Vala crossed her arms. "But will they require any sort of oath of allegiance?"

Kazo and Yuna exchanged a glance. "Only that you uphold the three tenets of Han philosophy: honor, wisdom, and courage. We would ask of you nothing further," promised the matriarch.

The dark-haired thief sighed. "Well, I'm never the first, rarely the second, and occasionally the third. I'm afraid I have to decline, tempting as it is."

Taking his cue from her, Daniel shook his head. "Then I must decline as well."

"Actually, you should accept," Vala corrected.

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you are the embodiment of all three and it might come in handy to have the... influence of the Hans at your disposal."

The compliment took him by surprise, especially given the nearly backhanded manner in which it was delivered. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Well?" Kazo prompted.

He shrugged. "Vala says it's a good idea and I trust her." Out of the corner of her eye, it looked like his partner flinched. When he turned to look at her though, her expression was imperturbable. "Is it a one-time offer only, or can Vala reconsider at a later date?"

"The invitation remains open, of course."

The ceremony was refreshingly brief, consisting of little more than him pledging to uphold the family philosophy, and Kazo accepting him as a "cousin", with all the powers and protection any kin would receive. When the amulet denoting his new status was placed around his neck, the patriarch bowed respectfully and boomed, "Welcome to my family, Daniel of Makosis."

"Daniel Jackson," he corrected with a smile, returning the bow. "It is an honor, Master Han."

Kien Lu and Liu Shao then stepped up to offer their congratulations, the shaven-headed man slapping Daniel on the back amicably. "Shao here thought he'd landed the trade lead of the week, but thanks to you and Vala, it is I who have secured not only a lead, but have even begun the negotiations for an agreement!"

"What did we do?" Daniel asked in confusion.

Vala slipped her arm around his elbow. "Oh, that's right, you don't remember. We managed to sweet-talk the Lacanans into considering a trade between Jaya and the Hans."

"We did?"

"You did," agreed a familiar voice.

Daniel turned his head and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Syntagos."

Balin beamed. "Nice to see you on your own two feet again. You did not look nearly so steady when we parted company."

"I guess not," he agreed. "So Jaya's going to become a trade partner with the Hans?"

"If all goes well. Part of my punishment for being insubordinate to my superior included reassignment... to the diplomatic command," she replied.

Vala struggled to maintain a straight face, lips twisting in vain. "How terribly unfortunate."

The syntagos laughed. "It's proving to be more exciting than I thought! Getting to be the first person from my world to travel to another is interesting enough."

Daniel grinned back, but when Balin turned to speak with Kazo, he leaned toward Vala and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Why do I get the impression you aren't telling me everything?"

"About what?" she asked, all innocence.

"About how we got off Jaya... how we talked the Lacanans into considering a trade deal."

"Don't worry, darling, I'll tell you all about it later." She patted his arm, moving off to join Yuna and Mai.

Liu Shao shook his head. "She's a clever one, Miss Vala."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. He scratched at his beard again, wondering how he'd let Vala convince him to not shave the four days' growth accumulated during his illness. She said she liked the look of it, but he'd never been confident enough in his choices of apparel or grooming to contradict her. "What sort of lead did you say had, Shao?"

"A trade lead, of course. The only problem is that they're a bit of a paranoid race. They do not wish to let anyone through their Stargate. In order to be able to conduct business with them, Master Han will have to decide on an acceptable neutral location where we can meet to discuss terms."

"Why not just meet them here?" he frowned.

Shao shrugged. "Paranoia on our part. We typically do not give the coordinates to our world to anyone but our agents and other employees. In fact, Syntagos Balin is here only because she was escorted."

It made a great deal of sense, he realized. By limiting the number of people who knew how to find them, the Hans were protecting their planet from unwanted visitors. In fact, it was the reason his own people had been reluctant to let—

"Master Daniel? Miss Vala?"

"Yes?" Vala replied, gliding back to Daniel's side as though she hadn't even left.

Balin tucked her arms behind her back. "One of the reasons I came today was to extend a formal apology to you for the way my government treated you during your time on our world, and return the packs and weapons we confiscated. The Senate has also authorized me to offer you a reward for putting us into contact with the Hans. We'll never be able to fully repay you, but perhaps there is something we can offer."

Vala opened her mouth to reply, but Daniel found himself unable to resist reminding her, "They don't have ships." She pouted and started to speak again. "They don't have precious metals, either."

"Drat," she muttered, sticking out her lower lip and looking like a sulky teenager. She brightened almost immediately, though. "You wouldn't happen to have a means of correcting minor visual impairments, would you?"

Chapter 33

"I'm bored."

"Hi, Bored, I'm Daniel."

Vala scowled. "You know, that was actually funny the first two times you said it. The last eight were not nearly so amusing."

Daniel looked up from the tablets he was studying and sighed. "Which begs me to ask: was it really necessary to inform me of your level of boredom ten times?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't really go any faster on this, Vala. Realistically speaking, we knew when we started that not every ancient artifact we pursue is going to be easily recovered in just a matter of days. Some of these things have been lost for thousands and thousands of years."

"I know," she pouted, "but we've been in this library for almost two weeks."

"Then go find something to keep yourself occupied," he answered, bending back over his translations. "Go shopping in the market or something."

"Hmmm, that'd be fun... except that we have no money." She gave him an impish grin. "I spent it all last week."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish I could think of something for you to do, but since you don't read this language, that doesn't leave much. You don't really have to stay here with me, you know... you could go to some other planet and do whatever it is you did before you and I met."

Vala turned around, planting her rear on the desk right next to the tablets. "Are you sure it wouldn't make you jealous of the other boys?"

"I think I can manage," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He'd long-since given up trying to figure out the way her mind worked. Her logic twisted, turned, and doubled-back on itself so many times, a bloodhound would be unable to follow the trail.

Sighing again, he rubbed at his eyes. Thanks to the brilliant optical surgeons on Jaya, he no longer had to worry about having to squint to bring the letters into focus, which lessened his likelihood of experiencing headaches. Unfortunately, Vala could still induce them all on her own.

"I've got a great idea," she began unexpectedly.

He looked up. "You're still here?"

"Of course, silly. Anyway, why don't we skip this Horus Potion and go on to the next one on the list, hmm?"

"It's Auris Potensa, and you sound like Jack when you deliberately mess up the names." He started to tap his stick of charcoal against the desk top before realizing such an action would probably break it. What he wouldn't give for a simple ballpoint pen! "Besides, if we go on to the next one without having fully explored this one—"

"Yawn," she remarked.

"—Then the last two weeks really will have been a complete waste," he finished, ignoring her other favorite way of expressing her restlessness. "When we get to the new place, I'll be starting all over again with fresh references, establishing new rapport with the local loremasters, and basically just doing everything I've been doing here."

Vala crossed her arms. "Well, it doesn't look to me like you've accomplished much of anything."

Daniel groaned. "It takes time, Vala. Seriously."

"What if I need a little time?" Grinning saucily, she leaned toward him, letting the low cut of her shirt give him an "interesting" view. "Hmm? I'm not about to leave you here all by yourself."

He gripped her upper arms and pushed her back, sitting her upright once more. "I wouldn't be by myself. There's a whole monastery full of monks here."

"You would fit right in, wouldn't you?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Clearly it wasn’ta vow of silence," she huffed, sliding off the table.

"What?"

"Figure it out, darling." Throwing a wink at him, she vanished around the corner of one of the massive bookcases.

He had just completed the translation of the fifth tablet and started the sixth and final text when voices drifted to his ears. He dropped his charcoal stick.

"—Just be a little bit of fun, you and me."

"I—I... Miss..."

"Vala," Daniel began, a little sharper than he had intended. "Leave the monks alone."

Without replying, the dark-haired thief clenched her jaw and stalked off down the aisle. The hapless young monk she'd been propositioning stared after her before turning wide eyes on Daniel.

"Is she your burden?"

"My what?"

The younger man scuffled his feet uncertainly. "It is said that traveling scholar-priests carry their burdens with them, so that temptation is never more than an arm's length away. That their continued resistance to temptation is what keeps them strong, makes them worthy."

"First off," Daniel began, wiping the black dust of his fingers before folding his hands on the desk, "I'm no priest—though Vala seems to think I've taken a vow of chastity. Secondly, she's my friend, even when she's acting like a hormone-driven teenager. She's led a rough life and seems to think that if she keeps everyone off-balance with her... her sexual advances, she doesn't have to worry about forming any real emotional bonds with anyone. It's a defense mechanism."

From the expression of confusion on the monk's face, he'd understood only about one word in ten. "She is a very strange woman."

Daniel smiled. "I'll give you that. Still, she's saved my life, helped me get through some very rough patches, and generally just been there when I needed her. If she hadn’t found me when she did… well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be the man I am today."

"Then she is your… betrothed?"

Clearly, this man’s medieval upbringing didn’t foster the concept that men and women could simply be friends with one another. On a strange note, he found the idea of being more than "just friends" with the incorrigible thief to be not at all unappealing. He knew enough about his own past, though, to know that his attempts at romantic relationships had all been spectacular failures.

Daniel had been burned so many times, he felt like Gran’s mythical bird. He remembered most of the general details of his and Sha're's tragically short-lived marriage, but the day-to-day was faded, as though he'd already begun to forget them before his mysterious amnesia. More often than not, it was Vala's face which interposed over his deceased wife's, which didn't help his confusion any at all. Then there were two young women with long, curly blond hair, and his instincts told him neither relationship had lasted long nor ended well.

In fact, the only lasting bonds he could recall having made were those of his teammates, although even that was being called into question as he remembered more of the times leading up to what he suspected had been his death. It was far safer, then, to keep Vala within the realm of friendship. Her flirtatious mannerisms were enough to tempt a saint, and he was certainly no saint, no matter what kind of pedestal she seemed to place him on at times. He trusted her with his life and his sanity, but she was a woman who had made her way in life by toying with men's hearts, and he was not about to offer up his own for her amusement.

"Master Daniel?"

He nearly leapt out of his seat, having forgotten the young monk was still there. "Sorry, I got sidetracked. To answer your question: no, we're not betrothed. Our relationship is very, very complicated, and let's just leave it at that." He cleared his throat, realizing a change of topic was in order. "Brother, could you do me a favor? Check with the archivist to see if he has any other documents related to the, uh, Auris Potensa?"

Chapter 34

The little old man with the donkey and cart wisely kept out of the way when he saw Vala storming down the hill from the monastery, muttering imprecations about brilliant linguists who could be so incredibly dense at times. Normally, she would have had a smile and a wave for the elderly farmer who brought his produce to the monks every day, but she was presently not in the mood to favor anything male with an expression which might be misconstrued as approval. Men, she decided, were all a bunch of idiots.

The monks, she could understand the monks! They, at least, had devoted their lives to the preservation of knowledge and pursuit of "spiritual" endeavors... even if it was to a god that was most likely just another Goa'uld. Daniel, on the other hand, was a linguist, a historian, and even a warrior, but was seemingly immune to her every effort to make her attentions known. Smoldering glances which could make most men putty in her hands rolled off on him like rain on a well-oiled cape.

It was nearly a mile from the library to the village and the storm that had kept them from venturing to the monastery the previous day had left the road a soggy mess. She had complained every step of the way on the trip up the hill this morning, which she had realized only-too-late was the wrong thing to do. Daniel had immediately replied that she could just stay in town and didn't have to hang around while he researched the so-called Orb of Power. She wasn't about to admit to him that she was afraid to leave him alone, and even more reluctant to be left alone.

She had never in her life met anyone like Daniel. In her experiences, most men could be easily led around by their nether regions by a woman strong enough to take control. She'd seen it with her own father, especially after her mother died and the fool re-married the witch, Adria. It was skill she had quickly adapted for her own after being sold off to a weapons trader by said wicked stepmother, using the finely-tuned art of feminine wiles to get her way on more than one occasion.

The scholar was seemingly impervious to her charms, however, and she worried that he would one day grow tired of her or remember enough of his past to seek out his friends. He'd be gone from her life forever, and she was astonished to realize how much that particular thought pained her. When they had first become acquainted, she had thought he would be wholly dependent on her, but as soon as his valuable skills as a translator were discovered, their roles were reversed. Suddenly, it was Daniel who had the means to ensure their survival, and she had done her very best to make herself indispensable to him.

Vala had never let him know that her own presence among the Hans was superfluous, that there was nothing she could do that was actually needed. It was, in part, the reason she'd refused the generous offer of membership to the family. Even though the Hans had been wonderful, she also couldn't imagine binding herself in any way to anyone's purpose but her own. Protecting Daniel wasn't truly a breach of that vow, of course, as his continued good health and well-being were in line with her own interests.

She snorted, kicking at a stray rock in the road and accidentally sending it into a flock of bleating sheep. So far, her "protections" included ensuring that he wouldn't need to resort to wearing spectacles to read his precious tablets, scrolls, and tomes, and convincing him that the beard he'd grown was a good look for him. It was, of course, and she suspected that even shaving his head bald would not have been detrimental to his appearance. They were minor, almost insignificant changes, though, and she had secretly stolen another look at the bounty marker before they left Katana. To her eyes, it was still painfully obvious that the Daniel with whom she traveled was the Daniel of the First World.

The narrow two-story buildings of the town loomed nearby, so she sought out another rock on which to vent her frustrations. She was careful not to inadvertently aim it in the direction of hapless livestock, watching it describe a satisfyingly long arc before splatting into a patch of some sort of vegetables. The people of the village didn't care for her at all, whispering behind their hands whenever they saw her out walking alone. For some reason, they seemed to think Daniel was akin to royalty, but Vala was met with nothing but scorn.

Although she was terribly fond of styling her hair in various ways, she'd taken to letting it flow freely down her back just to spite the locals. One of their many ridiculous religious beliefs seemed to hold that women should never let their hair be unbound. Since they were also forbidden from cutting their hair, Vala thought it was a terribly foolish notion and began flaunting her freedom to wear her tresses as she saw fit. As a result, some of the younger women looked on her with admiration, while the older ones did so with disdain. Daniel had attempted to explain the custom to her, but Vala didn't really care.

Holding her head high, she strolled down the muddy street, swaying her hips exaggeratedly just to infuriate the housewives industriously working to wash and bleach linens. As expected, the women's eyes tracked her every move and their sharp tongues were not far behind in whispering to one another how shameful and sinful her behavior was. Normally, Vala got along very well with women of all walks of life, but the females of this world were unusually and annoyingly perverse. She had half decided much of what was wrong here was the presence of so many unmarried men living just down the road.

The area of town Daniel had generously dubbed the "market" was little more than a group of craftsmen's establishments, including the butcher, the blacksmith, and the tanner. Whenever the Hans brought their caravans to this world, the convoy usually set up in the same square, but they weren't expected to return until this planet's mid-summer. There were several small booths occupied by visiting merchants from other villages, but Vala had already seen—and been un-impressed by—the wares they had to offer. Despite what she had told Daniel, she had yet to spend so much as a sliver of precious metal on anything beyond their food and lodgings.

As she stood surveying the shops and tried not to choke on the chemical stench wafting from the leatherworker's, she spotted a faded sign for another business which seemed to be far more intriguing. She was only two steps inside the tavern before she realized that this was not a place where women were generally accepted. In fact, the only female in the room other than herself was a very bored-looking serving wench, who rather tiredly deposited a pair of foaming tankards on a table

All eyes were immediately on Vala, conversation coming to an abrupt halt as the men gathered at the tables looked up at the intruder on their little haven. She waggled her fingers in a flirtatious "hello", then sauntered over to the bar as though she had every right to be there. In her opinion, she did... there wasn't a "no girls allowed" sign on the door—not one she could read anyway.

"May I assist you?" the barmaid asked hesitantly. Vala noticed that even she wore her hair long and braided in a coil around her crown.

"Bring me the strongest fermented beverage you have," she announced, giving each man who still stared at her a returning glare of defiance. "Make it a large one."

The brunette made an ‘oh’ of surprise. "But women don't drink such—"

"This one does," Vala retorted, lazily leaning against the counter and canting her head to one side. "I also wear my hair long and loose, so don't make such a big deal of it." She realized another fundamental difference she'd almost missed. "And I wear pants, too."

"Yes, ma'am." Suddenly timid, she scurried around behind the bar and emerged with a wooden tankard nearly as tall as the length of her forearm. It was filled at one of the taps on the back wall, then set before her, nearly foaming over the lip.

Vala smiled in thanks and slapped down a slip of silver that was probably worth at least ten times the cost of the alcohol. Not at all worried if she spilled any, she lifted the heavy mug into hand and took an experimental swallow. As she expected, it was bitter and pathetically weak compared to many intoxicants she had sampled over the years. The weight of anticipation in the tavern indicated their obvious belief she would find the beverage either revolting, become quickly inebriated, or both.

Clearly, the men of this town had never met Vala Mal Doran. They were about to become acquainted.

"So, drinks at the tavern while the womenfolk do the daily chores. Pretty nice deal you have," she remarked casually. "But I guess it's different during planting and harvesting seasons, right?" There was no reply, so she shrugged, took another swig of her drink, and strolled over to a table where four men were embroiled in what seemed to be a game of chance. "Mind if I join you?"

The men exchanged startled looks. Finally, one dipped his head in acquiescence and pushed a stool out for her. "Do you know the rules?"

"No, but I'm a fast learner," she promised.

And she was, though she kept up her "losing streak" for far longer than would really have been necessary. After the noise level in the room at last returned to the level she expected it had been before her arrival, she stopped playing so conservatively. Her earnings slowly began to pile up, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the bar. She soon had a flock of admirers crowded around the table, drawn in by the novelty of a woman who left her hair loose, wore trousers, drank foul beer like it was water, and was a deft hand at games of chance.

She'd collected a tidy little sum of winnings when there was a commotion at the door. "Vala, I found it!"

She nearly choked on the last of her beer, turning around to face Daniel. He was flush with excitement and panting slightly, indicating he'd probably run all the way from the monastery to tell her his good news. The thrill of discovery was a far better look for him than the expressions of annoyance he'd been wearing lately.

"Really?" she prompted, casually scooping up her winnings and nodding her thanks to her fellow gamers. Rising lazily to her feet, Vala linked her arm with her partner’s and casually guided him toward the door. A last, impish wave to the room gave her a great view of the stunned expressions on the patrons’ faces.

How joyful was the sound of breaking hearts!

Chapter 35

"Was that a bar?"

Vala affected an expression of shock. "Of course not!" At his look of complete incredulity, though, she amended, "It was a gaming hall that happened to also serve alcohol."

"Sure." Daniel shook his head as though to clear it. "Walk with me back to the library and I'll tell you what I discovered."

"Darling, I'm yours," she replied, leaning toward him just slightly. She smirked to herself as the local shrews glared at her "wanton" behavior.

He gave a muffled snort that could have been suppressed laughter. "You enjoy harassing them, don't you?"

"Doing what?"

"Nevermind. In this case, I say 'keep it up'."

She nudged his side with her free hand. "Don't like 'em either, do ya?"

He frowned, gently swatting her fingers away from his ribcage. "I didn't say that. As I tried to explain earlier, they have reasons for doing what they do, though it turns out I was wrong on a few points." He cleared his throat. "Okay, so after you, uh, embarrassed Brother Bonifas, I sent him to check with the archivist for anything else related to the Auris Potensa. I thought he was gone an awful long time, but then he returned with not only the master archivist, but the abbot, too."

"Well, that was more than you asked."

"It was because of what I asked. Father Constasis wanted to know why I was so interested in such an artifact of 'great evil' and what I planned to do with it."

"And what'd you tell him?"

"Er, mostly the truth. We planned to take it from this world so that its evil wouldn't be among them any more."

Vala laughed. "Well, that's one way to put it. And they bought it?"

"Well, that's essentially what we want to do, so yeah. Then Father Constasis sent Brother Bonifas away and had Brother Petrus go retrieve what was apparently the original six tablets on the item. He told me that they were recovered from 'Lillia's Garden'."

"Who's Lillia?"

"That's what I asked. Based on the story he told me about Lillia and her consort, Adamus, I suspect her to have been a Goa'uld who took on the persona of Lilith, the first wife of the mythical first man, Adam."

"Okay, I'm lost."

Daniel sighed. "Sorry, I sometimes forget you and I aren't from the same planet. Certain religions and cultures hold the idea that a divine creator shaped Man from earth and breathed life into him, naming him 'Adam'. Now, some groups believe that he also created an equal for Adam at that time, a woman named Lilith. After a dispute, Lilith left the Paradise created for them, so God took a rib from Adam and made another woman named Eve."

"From a rib?"

"According to some, it's supposed to be a symbol that she was made from part of Adam, and therefore under his command instead of his equal."

Vala raised an eyebrow, deliberately poking Daniel in his own ribs. "I don't think so."

He laughed, pushing her hand away again. "You see, that's exactly why the people here don't like you. You clearly don't see yourself as my inferior—and don't for a moment think I see you as such. They also have taboos about women cutting their hair or wearing men's clothing because their religion tells them it is sinful to impersonate a man."

She looked down, grinning inwardly when Daniel's gaze followed her own to her exposed cleavage. "No mistaking that."

Her partner coughed. "Noooo," he drew out, rolling his eyes. "Modesty's another big thing with them. But anyway, loose hair is associated with Lilith to these people, so they essentially are comparing you to their demon queen."

Vala frowned. She'd certainly been called many things before, but "demon queen" was a new one. Actually, there'd been a somewhat similar title for Qetesh, but the Goa'uld had discouraged its use, preferring to maintain her pretense as a "beloved" and "benevolent" goddess.

They had at last reached the monastery gates and were let in by one of the monks who—oddly—had a smile for them both this time. After carefully wiping their feet on the massive rug just inside the temple doors, they continued down the echoing halls toward the library.

"Did he just smile at me?" Vala asked, confused.

Daniel grinned. "He did. I guess Father Constasis wasted no time in giving them all the good news."

"What good news?"

"According to local legend, there's a curse Lillia supposedly cast on this world for Adamus having left her for Ava… Eve. You might've noticed that there are considerably more women here than men..."

"I figured that was because a goodly number of them were here."

He shrugged. "Well, according to Father Constasis, a quarter of all male children born don't survive past five years. It's probably caused by a fatal genetic defect passed down the generations, but they believe it's Lillia's curse. At any rate, legend holds that the curse will be lifted when Adamus returns with Lillia to the garden she created for them to share."

Vala sighed, brain thoroughly crossed by all the atoms and lilies. How Daniel could keep all these things straight, she would probably never understand. "Okay, but what does that have to do with the Orb of Power we came here to get?"

"Translation error. When the monks transcribed the tablet in its original language into their version of Medieval Latin—uh, I don't know what language you would call it—they made a few errors. It's not Auris Potensa, but Arbis Potensia. 'Tree of Empowerment'... quite possibly an allusion to the mythical Tree of Knowledge. I won't get into too many details about that, but given that it was in Lillia's possession, it's likely we'll find it in her Garden."

"We're looking for a plant?"

"The root of evil," he grinned, then winced. "Sorry, lousy joke. I doubt it's actually a plant of some kind but a computer database. A storehouse of knowledge, maybe. In any case—and the point I think you're waiting to hear—"

"Definitely," she agreed, flopping heavily into one of the chairs and propping her feet up on the desk.

"—I think you and I can impersonate Adamus and Lillia."

Completely lost in his leaps of logic, Vala sighed again. "The ladies down the hill all seem to think I'm the spawn of Netu anyhow, so I fail to see the purpose."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm getting ahead of myself again, sorry." He propped a hip up on the table, resting his hand atop one of the slabs of stone. "I had a lot of trouble translating the first tablets the archivist gave me because there'd be entire passages that would make little sense, as though the monk who first made the translation from the original didn't quite understand what it was he was inscribing, but was going for the closest equivalent he did know. Of course, I didn't know there was an original set, so I was about ready to chalk the whole thing up to the ravings of a mad man. That's when I discovered the passage about Lillia securing her Garden so that the only way to get back in was to present herself and her, uh..." He winced. "Present herself and her 'beloved' and prove themselves by three tests. Here was where the scribe then broke from translation to apologize for not understanding what the three tests were."

"But the original tablets do, yes?"

"Yeah." He moved his hand atop another one. "Basically, we'd have to speak, give samples of blood, and... uh..."

"What?"
He cleared his throat. "'Exchange affection'. Direct quote."

Vala felt her face break out in a grin. "You mean we get to stand in front of a door and—"

"Kiss. Maybe it's just a kiss," he suggested quickly, looking uncomfortable.

Did he really find that thought so revolting? He hadn't seemed to mind the first and only time they'd "exchanged affection". Then again, he hadn't remembered his long-lost wife then, either. Was the ghost of Sha're to hang over Vala forever? "Maybe," she agreed neutrally, swinging her feet to the floor. "Do we know where the entrance to the Garden is?"

He nodded. "According to Father Constasis, this monastery was built atop it."

"Talk about being underneath our noses," she muttered, leaning across the table to peer at the original tablets. To her astonishment, the stone faces were not covered in the same angular text as the ones Daniel had previously been translating, but with blocky, uniform characters. "This is the language of the 'Gate Builders!"

Daniel blinked, frowning at the tablets. "And?"

"You can read it?" Vala gave a noise of exasperation, waving her hands. "Well, of course you can. Is there any language in the known universe you can't?"

"I'm sure there are a few," he frowned. "What's the big deal?"

"'Gate Builder technology, Daniel. It's the most valuable thing ever. This probably means that Lillia had access to their language... which could very well mean that her little Tree of Knowledge was a database of 'Gate Builder knowledge and technology!"

"But the Ancients—the 'Gate Builders—died out tens of thousands of years before this culture came into being. In fact, the society from which the people of this world were taken wasn't even formed until thousands of years after Ra was evicted from the First World."

Vala raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

"Two things. First, my team and I encountered a similar civilization that had been taken by Sokar. Rather than trying to take the role of the stern but benevolent god they worshipped, Sokar took the opposite tact and posed as Satan... essentially a demon. Lillia did the same thing with these people, and might even have been Sokar's consort at one point."

"You said two things. That's really the same point, you know."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I think it should be pretty obvious by now. The only way I can possibly know all the things I do about the various cultures we've encountered—especially the ones which didn't form until after the First World was supposedly lost—is because I'm from there. I'm Tau'ri."

Chapter 36

"Tau'ri?" Vala repeated, looking so lost and bewildered that Daniel immediately felt sorry for her.

"Sorry, it's just what I remember Teal'c telling me his people called the First World. My world. I seem to recall him being referred to as 'Teal'c of the Tau'ri' on an occasion or two, even though I know the name of the planet he came from is Chulak."

"So... the First World has been found?"

Daniel shook his head, wondering if maybe he'd given her too much information at once. "After they overthrew Ra, the people of my world buried the Stargate. The people who live on this world had to have come here some other way... by ship perhaps. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I think we can fool the so-called 'tests' into accepting us as Lillia and Adamus. There's a word next to 'blood' which basically translates to 'power stone', which I'm guessing is—"

"Naquada," Vala concluded. "Which I have in my blood and you don't. How will that work?"

"Based on what I've read, I think Adamus and Ava were human."

"Oh. What about the speaking part?"

"Well, I'm hoping it's just referring to announcing ourselves in Goa'uld and possibly Latin." He grimaced. "I hope it doesn't call for the actual sound of a Goa'uld's voice because there's no way either of us can fake that."

His partner grinned, rising from her chair. "Leave that to me. I'll be back in no time, darling. Don't go exploring without me!" She impishly tapped his bearded cheek as she walked by, casting a long glance over her shoulder to see if he was watching her go.

Thankfully, she hadn't pressed the "kissing" issue, though he was uncertain whether he was relieved or disappointed. The one kiss they had shared was not long after they met, and he wasn't about to kid himself by pretending it hadn't been... nice. Surprising, yes, but nice. The only problem was, he had his nagging doubts that she had any kind of serious feelings for him, especially after having witnessed how much she enjoyed winding up the men at the tavern.

Shaking his head, he set about making transfers of the original tablets, grateful Father Constasis had been kind enough to give him sufficient paper for the task. Soon, he had rubbed copies of all the tablets and was carefully laying them in order so that they could be returned to the vault from which they'd come. As he placed his hand on the final one, he felt a sudden sensation of vertigo.

"I'm an Ancient."

Sam turned to look at him, confusion etching her features. "What?"

"Not me personally, but the Others like me. They're the Ancients."

A man similar in height and age to himself walked over to the table, staring down at the tablet revealed. "This is written in one of the oldest dialects of the Ancients," Jonas exclaimed.

It had all been in front of him, yet he had never managed to put the pieces together, not even when Orlin had built his own miniature Stargate in Sam's basement—something he and Orlin had reminisced over before they were scolded by the Others for being too attached to the lower plane. They had always seemed to be holding something back from him, and now that he knew, it was so obvious. How could he have not known?

Lightning flashes, sparks shower... in the blink of an eye, you have mis-seen.

"I mean, I always suspected, but I never really knew for sure." But now he did, and now he had so many, many more questions.

"What does it say?" Sam asked.

"It says the Ancients evolved from a race of humans that lived long before us. They were wiped out by a plague that was sweeping across the galaxy. Many learned to ascend, the rest died out." Why hadn't they told him? What was the purpose for keeping their origin a secret? What more was Oma hiding from him? "I have to go."

"Where?"

It couldn't be expressed in terms of location, as the plane on which he existed was everywhere and nowhere all at once. "I’ll be back. Don’t lose that tablet; it talks about a Lost City that’s more valuable than anything."

He was startled back to awareness when his forearms collided with the desk, just barely managing to regain tenuous control of his limbs in time to prevent his head from following after and slamming into the tabletop. His knees were shaking as though he'd never used them, and he quickly sat down before they completely gave out on him. Trembling, he laid his forehead against the cool wooden surface before him and tried to regain control of his racing pulse.

Once again, Daniel had discovered only more questions in finding answers. He hadn't been completely right in his guess that he'd died, it turned out. Instead, he had shed his physical form and become... something else.

"The Benu bird, it is said, dies in flame, but is reborn from the ashes," Gran smiled in her motherly way. "A painful way to die, yes, but the bird returns to life brighter, wiser, and more wondrous than ever."

He didn't feel bright, wise, or wondrous at all. In fact, he felt faintly sick, knowing somehow that the discovery he had made—the tablet he had entrusted to his friends—had come at a terrible, terrible cost.

"What have I done?" he asked aloud, but nothing in the library was able to offer him an answer.

Finally, Daniel ordered himself to stop wallowing in guilt over what he didn't know and certainly couldn't change. If he hadn't been able to prevent whatever disaster had occurred when he was a powerful extra-planar being, what good could he possibly do as a mere mortal? Nothing, he decided, so he should concentrate his efforts on places and ways in which he could make a difference... at least to Vala, if no one else.

It didn't settle well with him, but he told himself to try to ignore the aching feeling of guilt.

He finished carefully folding his papers away and tucking them into his pack, giving the desk one last glance to make sure he wasn't missing anything he absolutely had to have. Just as he was about to turn and go wait for Vala by the monastery's entrance, a frighteningly familiar dual-toned voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Tau'ri, kree!"

In horror, he turned around to face the Goa'uld behind him... only to greet the amused expression of Vala Mal Doran. "How did...?"

"An amusing toy I borrowed from the Tok'ra," she replied, voice deepened unnaturally and echoing. "I never could figure out why they had need for it anyway."

"Turn it off."

She pouted, reaching up to the glowing yellow jewel on the necklace she now wore. As the stone's light faded, Vala dropped her hands to her hips. "Spoilsport," she teased in her normal voice.

Daniel blew out a shaky breath. "You scared the crap out of me," he admitted. He glared at her suspiciously. "How many villagers did you send running for cover before you got here?"

She pursed her lips contemplatively. "Not more than about... oh... a dozen or so."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, a smile coming unbidden to his lips. "You're a wicked woman."

"You see? I'm playing the part already." She cleared her throat. "I take it by your reaction you've heard a Goa'uld speaking before."

He nodded. "My wife was made a host, remember? Then there was the bastard who stole her, Apophis. There were probably others, too... and it was only just over two months ago when I first remembered having announced myself to be the Great Oz. I now know I also used some kind of device to record my voice and transmit it with the necessary changes."

"That's it?"

"For now. Why?"

She hesitated. "Truth be known, I'd heard of the Tau'ri before now. Learning that they're the people of the First World is very interesting, of course. I hadn't heard much, mind you, because the Goa'uld are hesitant to talk about anything which may seem to undermine their authority. A group of human rebels who have been known to thwart their rule on occasion is certainly nothing they'd want discussed."

"I can imagine not," he agreed.

Vala bit her lip. "You know, it might be best if we kept your being Tau'ri just between the two of us. We can't have people thinking you're some sort of radical, now can we?"

"Well, what about the Hans? If you've heard of my people, they surely—"

"The Hans essentially work for the Goa'uld," she interrupted. "Not directly, mind you, but in essence. I can only imagine what they have to do to get the various System Lords to agree to allow their caravans on their planets. Honestly, I don't want to know, but my chief guess is that they sell intelligence."

"Troop movements, fortress strength, that sort of thing?"

She nodded. "In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the whole reason we were allowed to leave Gishoral after Baal's forces took over was because the Hans were the ones who told Baal that Yu had withdrawn his ships from the system."

"Oh." He hadn't even considered that possibility. "So I'm guessing it's a good thing we have the Hans on our side, but we really can't trust them?" The expression on her face told him he'd hit the nail on the head.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, realizing that he really wasn't cut out for trying to figure out the twists and turns of what he was only now discovering was an extremely complex game of galactic intrigue. "Okay, let's just find this Garden and get this over with. If we find what we think we're going to find, we can decide then what to do with the information. Obviously, anything which goes to the Hans could potentially end up in the hands of the Goa'uld."

"And that," Vala agreed, "would be a bad thing."

Daniel swallowed heavily. Was there anyone he could trust? Not the Hans, apparently, and while he trusted the dark-haired woman beside him with his life, he'd been given every reason to believe he couldn't trust her with his heart. Did her capriciousness also extend to alliances? In that case, her refusal to accept membership with the Hans could be indicative of her unwillingness to commit herself to any cause but her own. How strong, then, was their partnership?

He was going to have to watch what he said and did very carefully, then. No one could be permitted to know that he had once been an Ascended being like the very Ancients themselves. As he had slowly recovered memories from all other aspects of his past life, he wondered if he might also begin retrieving fragments from his time as a higher form of life. If so, he instinctively knew that that kind of knowledge should never be allowed to fall into anyone's hands.

Chapter 37

Father Constasis personally led them into the catacombs beneath the monastery, a battered copper lantern in hand despite the powerful flashlights the treasure hunters carried. As they descended deeper underground, Daniel began to wonder if maybe the temple hadn't been built atop a hill, but was the hill. Perhaps earth had been packed around the walls of the old tunnels until all that remained exposed was what was now the ground floor. It actually made the most sense, really, as they had chosen to deliberately build the monastery above the Goa'uld's old stomping grounds.

His archaeologist's instincts told him they were perhaps seventy or eighty feet below the top of the hill now, and near the same elevation as the town. As though confirming his guess, they finally reached the bottom of the stairwell.

"I will await you at the top of the stairs," the abbot announced. "I carry three spare candles with me. When I have placed the last in my lantern, I will be forced to return without you."

"We understand," Daniel answered. "It shouldn't take us long to find out what we need to find, but I can't guarantee we'll have the necessary tools with us to, uh, remove the Auris. We may have to just settle for deactivating or neutralizing it and coming back for the remnants later."

"That is acceptable," Father Constasis agreed. "I wish you both the best of luck. The door to the Garden is just at the end of this hall."

"Thank you for all your help," he replied.

"You've been great," Vala added, offering a cheeky smile of her own.

They made their way down the hall, flashlights reflecting off the gold-plated door ahead of them. It was perfectly hexagonal in shape, perhaps ten feet in diameter. To either side of it were dark stone walls, as though the stone masonry corridor had been built right up to an existing building. When Daniel's light picked up dust gathered in the corners, he realized that was exactly what had happened. Over the years, dirt had sifted between the join between the disparate wall types.

"So," Vala began, sweeping her light around the end of the hall. "Step one: announce ourselves." At his go-ahead gesture, she tapped the crystal on her necklace. "Tal'mac Lillia!"

"Ego sum Adamus!"

They waited expectantly, but nothing happened. Just as Daniel opened his mouth to suggest Vala try the name "Lilith", the hexagon split down the middle and retracted into the wall on either side.

"Excellent," she grinned, switching off her voice modulator. "So, blood's next, right?"

"Yep," he agreed, digging into his coat pocket for the wrapped dagger one of the monks had given him. They stepped cautiously into the new room, noting another set of six-sided doors and a receptacle beside it.

"What if it requires the specific genetic make-up of the original Lillia and Adamus?" Vala asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Then all this is for nothing. I would think that Lillia wouldn't have been so quick to be that exclusive, though, especially knowing that it could be possible she may have to take another host. Besides, if she never recovered her, uh, ex-husband, she'd never be able to get back in then either."

"Good point." She held out her left hand, thumb pointed upward so that he could carefully draw a dark red bead of blood. He did the same to his own thumb, then they held their hands over the receptacle and squeezed out a few drops each. Again, the door was slow to respond, but soon groaned out of the way, opening their way to the third and final door.

"Oooh, my favorite part," she smiled. "How will the door know when we've 'exchanged affection'?"

"I have no idea," Daniel replied. "Actually, I take that back... it might have heat sensors, detecting an increased blood-flow which is a sure sign of... um..."

"Excitement?"

He coughed. "Excellent word for it."

"So we could actually just get mad at one another and it would still open."

"Or maybe it has some way to detect an increase in endorphins... I don't know!"

She draped her arms around his shoulders. "I'm ready if you are."

Daniel swallowed heavily, hands resting carefully on her hips as they drew closer. If he was right on either count, then he and Vala were going to be getting pretty involved in this kiss to make the door open for them. He could feel his own pulse begin to accelerate, licking his lips as he realized that merely being this intimately close to the beautiful thief was enough to increase his endorphin level.

Just before their lips touched, the door shifted and began to slide open, the treasure hunters whipping their heads around to stare in surprise. "I guess it's the thought that counts," Daniel quipped, surprised that it had been that easy.

Vala turned his head back to face her, stormy gray eyes flashing. "Not to me, it doesn't."

He was suddenly reeled into a searing kiss, the dark-haired woman's arms once more around his neck so that he could hardly pull away from her. Not that he really wanted to, if he were honest with himself. His own hands crept up to her nape, fingers threading through the waves of raven locks spilling over her shoulders and holding on for all he was worth. Then he told his brain to just shut up and enjoy.

Finally, they had to pull away to catch their breaths. Daniel panted, staring at her with wide eyes while she looked back at him with equal shock. "That was..." he began.

"Uh-huh," she gasped, looking just as stunned as he felt. "You mean..."

"Do you?"

"You too?"

"Yeah." Testing his theory, Daniel pulled her in for another, thankfully-shorter kiss, though it was no-less sweet than the first. When they drew apart this time, he looped his arms around her waist and held her close. "I thought you were just teasing me like you do everyone else."

Vala gave a throaty laugh. "I was beginning to think you weren't interested in girls."

He chuckled. "I was married, that should have been a clue."

"Yes, but it was 'Jack' this and 'Jack' that... and I seriously began to wonder."

"Mmm." He gave her another kiss on her temple, feeling so deliriously happy his toes wanted to curl up inside his boots. "We could probably stay here all day, but why don't we go check out the Garden then..."

"Discuss the terms of our partnership further?"

"Yeah."

Reluctantly, they disentangled their arms from one another and stepped into the darkened room beyond. Right away, Daniel realized that the only thing that had ever grown in this "garden" were scientific theories. It was a laboratory, complete with scopes, diagnostic tools, and computers.

Vala whistled appreciatively. "Someone was a busy little bee."

"But I know what the pride of the garden was," Daniel replied, shining his light on the back wall. It was nearly black and covered in the familiar blocks of Ancient text. In the very center was a rounded object, beveled and extended out from the wall only a few inches. "It's an Ancient repository of knowledge."

"Really? What's it do?"

Daniel leaped forward, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back just as the device extended out farther in response to her proximity. "Oh, nothing much. Just grabs your head, scrambles your brains, and eventually kills you."

"Doesn't seem very useful to me," she remarked, eyes wide. "Good thing you caught me in time. I take it you've seen one of these before?"

He nodded. "Jack had a close encounter that—"

"Oh. Jack again."

"Funny. Anyway, since we don't have a means to contact the Asgard, it'd probably be best if we just leave this alone for a while."

Vala nodded. "What about everything else?"

He shrugged. "We pull all the data crystals and hope there's some decent information on them. Hopefully, at least one of them will contain something on whatever genetic sabotage Lillia conducted on the population, and we can get somebody—the Jayans, maybe—to devise a cure."

She tapped the end of his nose with a forefinger. "How incredibly noble of you."

"It's in the job description," he quipped.

They "exchanged affection" briefly again before turning to the various pieces of lab equipment and stripping all the data crystals out of the computers. Within an hour, they'd scoured the entire room and collected everything that looked like it might be of importance. Daniel was reluctant to leave the repository out in the open, but realized that there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Shouldering their packs, they left the lab, closing the doors behind them once more.

"Want to go open the last one again... just for fun?" Vala joked as they activated the first door and stepped back into the old catacombs.

"Not now, but maybe we can practice when we get back to the apartment."

She stroked a hand down his arm and linked her elbow with his. "Darling, I love the way you think."

Father Constasis was still waiting for them at the top of the stairs, having obviously been in the midst of prayers. "Were you unsuccessful?"

"We got in," Daniel answered. "It was a crystal garden, and we took most of what we could. There are still a few things we'll need to retrieve later, but we got a lot of it."

The abbot looked relieved. "And Lillia's Curse?"

Vala hefted her pack slightly. "With a little help from some of our friends on other worlds, we may be able to lift it."

The priest bowed deeply. "Then you will have our eternal gratitude! Will you stay awhile and share the evening meal?"

"We should really get back," Daniel replied. "I imagine you'll want these crystals gone as quickly as possible."

"Oh, of course," he agreed, bowing again.

Daniel grinned and squeezed Vala's hand. He knew why he was in a hurry to leave, anyway, and crystals had nothing to do with it. Her answering chuckle clearly replied, "Message received."

Once back on the top level, they endured the thanks and congratulations of the monks gathered to greet them, gritting their teeth in embarrassment because they really hadn't done anything yet. At last, they were outside and walking back down the hill, arm-in-arm. They didn't say anything, just enjoyed the clear air and each other's company, the thrill of excitement and anticipation making their steps quicker.

In their haste, they didn't notice the ambush until it was too late to react. Daniel had time to see only the brilliant blue flash of a zat's energy before darkness fell.

Chapter 38

Vala sat up with a gasp, hand fluttering to her throbbing head. The sudden movement made her feel faintly nauseated, and she had to quell the bile rising in her throat. As the urge to lose her lunch faded, she carefully felt the lump above her right ear, fingers jerking away when it proved to be tender. She must have struck her head when she fell, after she and—

"Daniel!"

The room was pitch black, leaving her with no clue whether or not she was alone. Trying to ignore the pounding in her skull, she rolled to her knees and began to crawl, hands questing before her in search of obstacles. The floor was made of rough wooden planks, offering her no clue about her captor other than the fact that they were not on a ship... or at least, not a spaceship.

She sincerely hoped that "they" included Daniel as well. Her initial fear upon feeling the sharp shock of the zat was that bounty hunters had caught up to them.

Her fingertips glanced off something hard, and a return inspection revealed pitted metal beaten into a cylindrical shape. There was a similar column just inches away, and another only a few more inches from it. Wherever "here" was, it was clear she was not a guest but a prisoner behind bars.

Heaving a sigh, she continued her investigation of the perimeter of her cell, mentally calculating the dimensions as she reached each corner. Since she could reach each side with an outstretched foot and hand, it was no more than six feet across in any direction. It was also painfully obvious that she was alone, as she had yet to stumble across Daniel. Her prison was two walls of metal bars—one of which seemed to have a gate—and the other two were wooden slats, much like the flooring.

She rapped her knuckles on the walls, noting by the sound that they weren't terribly thick, but obviously well-constructed by the complete lack of light shining through the gaps. It could be night, she supposed, but even then there would have been a sliver of moonlight through the cracks or something. Then again, it was entirely possible that she had been somehow blinded, but a quick wave of her hand in front of her face proved that theory wrong. She could just barely make out the shape of her hand, so it wasn't completely dark.

"This is getting old," she muttered.

"Vala?"

She nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you were—"

He gave a low chuckle. "It takes more than a zat blast to kill me."

"Killed" was the least of her concerns at the moment, but now was neither the time nor place to get into the discussion she belatedly realized she should have had with him about the bounty on his head. "Are you okay?"

"My elbow hurts like it hit something on my way down, but other than that I'm okay. You?"

"I think my head hit your elbow, but I'm otherwise fine."

"So... is it dark in here or is it just me? Ow."

"It's dark... and watch out for the bars."

"Thanks for the warning," he replied, sounding just a little closer than he had. "I guess a set of bars right here means we aren't in the same cell."

"It's in between us?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "Come toward my voice."

Vala pushed herself to her feet and began to slowly walk in his direction. Her outstretched hand soon collided with one of his and he wrapped his fingers around her knuckles, drawing her close.

"We should stop meeting like this," Daniel joked.

Despite herself, she laughed. "Darling, you make being captured by the bad guys so much fun. It's not supposed to be, you know."

"That's 'cause I went to the Jack O'Neill school of snake-baiting. Of course, it's more appropriate when the bad guys in question are Goa'uld, but it works for pretty much anyone else, too. Did you see who shot us?"

"No, but should I be worried by the fact that you've had so much practice?" she asked, letting her head rest against his chest.

His free hand threaded through her hair. "Well, the fact that I've been captured again is a pretty fair sign I've gotten away all the other times, isn't it?"

Her reply was forestalled by the sudden opening of a nearby door, brilliant light spilling through the rectangle and blinding the prisoners temporarily. A human-shaped silhouette moved to stand in the threshold.

"Well, don't you two look cozy."

Vala quickly turned to meet the newcomer, though Daniel didn't relinquish his hold on her hand. "It would have been far more comfortable without these bars in the way," she retorted.

The stranger laughed. Dragging a low stool over, he sat down in front of the door, the backlight continuing to cast his features in shadow. Whoever he was, he either intended to keep his identity a secret or simply wanted them to guess who he was. "I'd heard you'd gotten into bed with the Hans, Vala, but hadn't realized it was literally." He held out a hand and let something fall from his clenched palm. Although she couldn't make out any details, it was obvious by its shape that it was Daniel's amulet.

"Don't believe everything you hear," her partner replied. "By the way... who are you?"

"My manners are slipping," he tsked, wrapping the amulet around his fist once again. "I'm a bounty hunter. The name's Hadris."

Vala felt as though a fist of ice was wrapped around her heart. Hadris was one of the preferred bounty hunters employed by the Lucien Alliance. If anyone had the means to find out who Daniel really was, it would be the thrice-damned Luciens. They held no love for Goa'uld rule of the galaxy, but they were opportunists always on the look-out for a profitable venture.

"Never heard of you. Sorry."

Hadris chuckled. "I can't really fault you for that since I don't even know your name."

Daniel's lips quirked. "Well, as you say, I'm a Han. One of the cousins: Han Solo."

Nearly fainting in relief, Vala was grateful he'd had the prescience to not reveal his real name... though how Daniel could have known about his infamy, she couldn't guess. Perhaps it had been base instinct, a natural need to guard his identity. The icy grip on her chest loosened now that it was apparent Hadris was not after Daniel for the exorbitant price on his head.

"Funny. You don't look like a Han."

"I'm adopted." He cleared his throat. "So... did you just stop by to chat or what? I mean, you could have just asked, if that was the case... rather than shooting us."

Hadris rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned toward them. "Now, where would be the fun in that? Besides, the last guy we sent to 'talk' didn't come back."

Vala rolled her eyes. "That sounds like your problem, not ours."

"Oh, but he was an old friend of yours, Vala. Arturis Maz?"

Daniel's hand tightened only slightly on her own. "I'll echo that sentiment. That's not our problem."

"Then I'll make it yours. Arturis last checked in to report the two of you had entered Peklenc's temple. Since they knew he was going to wait for you just inside, that leads me to believe you two are responsible for his disappearance." He flung the amulet at the bars, the pendant glancing off the metal with a dull clang before falling to the floor just inside Vala's cell. "When they sent someone to check, of course, they found the whole mountain had come down on top of the temple. You managed to escape, but I somehow doubt Arturis was so lucky."

"I don't know what you expect us to say," Daniel answered evenly. "If he was your friend, then you have my condolences."

"So you are acknowledging he's dead then?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Look, that place was a maze. I made a map of it, which Vala and I followed to get to the final chamber—empty chamber, I might add—and back again. If your friend got lost in there, I can't help you. If he did something stupid to bring the whole mountain down on top of him, then I really can't help there, either."

The bounty hunter was silent for a long moment, perhaps assessing them in some way. Finally, he stood, shrugged, and headed for the door. "Maintain your lies if you want. I have a few friends out here who have a lot more questions for you. I can't guarantee they'll be as nice about receiving honest answers as I have been."

Vala shared a look of concern with her partner. The harsh lighting cast his face into sharp relief, the shadow cast by his beard making him look stern and commanding. She had often wondered what it was about him and his people that had the System Lords so afraid to speak openly of them. The look in his eyes, the set of his jaw... she was certain now that their sheer determination was what had made them one of the most formidable enemies the Goa'uld had ever faced.

And Daniel, she recalled with a smile, was number one on their list.

"We're going to get through this," he offered, reaching out with his free hand to stroke her cheek.

"I trust you," she replied.

Chapter 39

Daniel felt faintly sick, the memory of the man he had killed coming back to haunt him just as he thought he'd put that horrible event behind him. In a way, he was relieved that Maz's death still bothered him, as it meant he hadn't lost his belief in the sanctity of life. Even someone who had tried to kill Vala—and whose cohorts had tried to kill him—still deserved to be granted dignity in death. He'd wanted to tell Hadris the truth, but somehow doubted that the bounty hunter would have taken it well. For whatever reason, this was personal for Hadris. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something familiar about the other man's behavior.

He dismissed the unknown as inconsequential for the moment, deciding to focus on the matter at hand. He hadn't been joking when he'd told Vala about his many imprisonment experiences, but there was one element which was missing this time: the rest of his team. Even at times when their personal conflicts had been greatest, they had managed to pull off some rather daring escapes. His team wasn't here, though, and weren't likely to dash to the rescue with reinforcements from Stargate Command.

It was up to him and Vala to make their escape on their own. Obviously, his partner was looking to him to take the lead, having vocally assured him of her faith in his skills. He only wished he had faith in himself. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, trying to figure out what Jack would do.

What would Jack do? He found himself reminded him of a time when he and his teammates sat around watching some dumb science fiction B-movie Teal'c had rented. After the tenth or eleventh painfully-contrived plot element, they'd turned their attention into dissecting the movie with a hilarious, beer-inspired game of "what would so-and-so do?" Each suggestion became more and more ridiculous, with Sam's "what would MacGyver do?" possibly topping the list as the most absurd, though it was closely followed by Jack's "what would Homer Simpson do?"

Daniel shook his head, attempting to clear the non sequitur. It was odd how he could recall the tiniest, most seemingly-useless memories, yet still have difficulty calling to mind the address glyphs for his homeworld. He gave the room a quick inspection now that he had some light by which to see, and found himself puzzled by the small building's construction.

He was interrupted from his musings by the arrival of several new silhouettes in the door. There were four of them, all muscle-bound ogres who unlocked their cell doors and grabbed the prisoners roughly. Daniel's hand was torn from Vala's as they were yanked apart and dragged out into the sunlight.

"I can walk, you know!" the feisty thief exclaimed, struggling futilely with her escort. Although nearly as tall as his own guards, Daniel was having difficulty keeping up with the deliberately-hurried pace they set. A part of him knew it was just another interrogation technique, one designed to put the prisoners off-balance... literally and figuratively. He just hoped they weren't also going to—

A blow to the back of his legs sent him to his knees. He rolled his eyes in disgust, wondering why all the bad guys did the exact same thing. Was there some kind of Finishing School for Evil Henchmen? As they pulled his arms behind his back and tied his hands together, he reflected that at least this time, he didn't have any eyeglasses for them to break.

"Do you find your situation funny?" asked the sneering man in front of whom he and Vala had been forced to kneel.

"Just comparing universal intimidation techniques," Daniel replied with a slight grin. He then shrugged at the bemused expression he received from his partner.

The blond-haired leader looked down on the treasure hunters as though they were something he'd just scraped off his boot. "Perhaps you'd care for another demonstration of them, then."

"No, no," he denied vehemently. "I'm a quick study, got it the first time."

"His behavior is as impudent as yours, Vala."

"Thanks!" she answered brightly. "I've taught him everything I know."

Daniel grimaced as he was cuffed across the back of his head, a startled cry revealing that Vala had just experienced the same treatment. "Okay, this is cute," he began, glaring over his shoulder at the brutes. "Now how about telling us why you dragged us out to—" he glanced around briefly "—a shack in the middle of nowhere?"

"I will ask the questions," Blondie snapped. "What is your name?"

"Han Solo," he replied, "though it was Indiana Jones before the adoption." This time, a slight nod was his warning that he was about to get hit again. Lucky him, it came in the form of a boot to his ribs.

"Your name matters not. Vala, I'll put this in simple terms so that you will be unlikely to misinterpret them: where is the weapons shipment you stole from Arturis Maz?"

Vala blinked, all innocence. "Weapons shipment?"

Daniel let out an involuntary gasp as he was hauled to his feet, a solid punch connecting with his unprotected abdomen. As he doubled over, he managed to gasp out, "Oh, I did not miss this." As his partner looked at him with wide eyes, he met her gaze and hoped she got the message that he was okay, and had had much worse. In fact, these guys were strictly amateurs so far... not that he was about to offer any suggestions for improving their technique, of course.

"Forget it," Hadris announced from somewhere behind the prisoners. "Vala's a cold-hearted bitch who could care less what happens to any man in her company."

"Stay out of this," Blondie ordered. "Allow me to refresh your obviously-faulty memory. You and your paramour-of-the-moment, Arturis Maz, intercepted a shipment of Goa'uld weapons bound for Baal's armies. Since the Lucien Alliance had also staked a bid for the same cargo, we kindly offered you an immediate buyer for the weapons. A finder's fee, if you will. While Maz was aboard my ship, negotiating the terms of the agreement, you opened fire on our engines and fled."

"Way to go," Daniel grinned, earning himself a back-handed slap.

Vala lifted her chin. "You'll have to give me a few more details, I'm afraid. I've stolen so many ships over the years that—"

Blondie grabbed a fistful of the thief's hair and pulled down, tilting her head and spine back at an uncomfortable-looking angle. "Cease the games! Either reveal the location of the al'kesh and its cargo or forfeit a prize of greater worth!"

"An al'kesh, you say! Well, why didn't you say in the first place?" she replied impudently.

"Tell me where it is."

Vala grinned cheekily. "I think it's called a 'black hole'."

Daniel choked back a snort of laughter. "Navigational error?"

"Tiny one," she agreed.

The Lucien leader wasn't impressed. "The truth!"

She rolled her eyes. "That was the truth."

Daniel had only a split-second warning before one of the goons laid into him. His head was rocked back by a powerful punch to his jaw, shooting sparks across his vision and stealing his breath. There were three, perhaps four more blows after that, aimed at his ribs and belly.

"Why don't you go pick on somebody your own size?" he scowled, spitting blood from his split lip. "I know a few Unas who would love to—"

"Silence!" The leader's order was punctuated by a jab to Daniel's left kidney that buckled his knees. The only things holding him upright were the ogres standing behind him.

"Fine, I'll give you the coordinates," Vala seethed, "but you'd better give us back our gear and all the data crystals you stole from us."

"You're in no position to negotiate."

She flipped her hair imperiously. "On the contrary, I am. I have something you need or your boss is going to come down on your head... and probably disconnect it from your shoulders, while he's at it. You, on the other hand, possess a few items of..."

"Passing, sentimental value?" Daniel suggested.

"Exactly."

Hadris stormed past, pushing Vala's attendant guard out of the way as he hauled the woman to her feet. "Was that all my brother was to you?" he snarled, putting his face only inches from hers.

Daniel blinked in surprise, shocked to see the un-scarred twin to the face that had haunted a few of his nightmares before the majority of his memory returned. He recognized the man's anguish, now, having seen it on the face of a young man whose father Teal'c had slain. He'd witnessed the same pained expression on the face in the mirror far too many times.

"Well, he was a pain in the ass and terrible in bed," the thief answered casually, outwardly unfazed by the bounty hunter’s proximity.

Before the guard could stop him, Hadris Maz slapped Vala hard, sending her spinning to the ground. Two of the ogres tackled her attacker, then, wrestling with him while he cursed Daniel’s partner, hurling several rather unpleasant epithets at her and vowing revenge.

Blondie was obviously displeased with the disruption, gesturing for the burly men to get rid of Hadris while he returned his attention to his prisoners. Clenching his jaw, he drew a knife from the top of his boot and approached Daniel. "Enough deception. Tell me where the weapons shipment is or your friend dies."

Daniel swallowed, feeling the edge of the blade resting uncomfortably close to his jugular. He met the Lucien’s eyes squarely, challenging the man and letting him know he was not afraid. Blondie was briefly taken aback, perhaps believing anyone so close to death would be weak with fear.

Clearly, he’d never met anyone who had faced death as many times as Daniel had.

"All right," Vala began shakily. "I’ll tell you."

Chapter 40

"I don't get it."

"Don't get what Daniel?" Vala sighed.

Although she couldn't see him, she could certainly hear him as he paced around the confines of his cell. "Why'd you steal the ship in the first place if you weren't going to sell the cargo yourself?"

She blew out an exasperated huff of air, leaning back against the wooden slats behind her. "This wasn't any ordinary weapons shipment. We're not talking zats or staves or anything simple like that. Baal had apparently drawn up some sort of plan to attack one or more of Anubis' strongholds, a plan which required a number of naquada-enhanced explosives."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. Arturis lied to me and told me the al'kesh we planned to commandeer was full of refined weapons-grade naquada ore. After I discovered what was really aboard, I couldn't let him sell it to the Lucien Alliance."

Her partner heaved a frustrated sigh. "Let me guess: the Luciens would have used it to kill innocent people?"

Vala nodded, then realized he couldn't see her, either. "I won't pretend I'm some noble crusader for the unfortunate like you are, Daniel, but I think I have a relatively unique stand-point for recognizing when a group of people plan to cause chaos and destruction just so they can get what they want. The Luciens are unscrupulous cowards, little more than a collection of thugs who've managed to get their hands on a few Goa'uld ships. They're also insanely jealous of the Hans and the little niche Kazo's ancestors managed to carve for the family in the galactic economy."

"The trade agreements that let them—and us—travel to any number of planets, right?"

"Correct. The Hans have one restriction to which the Luciens are not beholden, though, and that is the possession of armed ships."

"You mean that they aren't allowed to have them while the Luciens are."

"Well, the Luciens technically aren't either, but they don't consider themselves under Goa'uld rule." She cleared her throat. "In a way, the Hans are developmentally prohibited, much like planets protected under the Goa'uld treaty with the Asgard."

Daniel's pacing stopped. "Oh. So if we were to recover any advanced technology, Kazo would be forced to either hand it over to the System Lords or destroy it?"

"Or he could decide to keep it for himself and hope the Goa'uld never find out what he has or they'll destroy him. I've suspected for some time now that the reason the Hans won't give out the address to their planet to just anyone is because they have a few things they'd like to keep hidden."

"You could definitely be onto something there," he agreed, boots scuffing against the floor as he resumed walking his cell's perimeter. "I know for a fact that there are worlds under the Asgard treaty that continue to develop technologically despite the agreement."

"Like the Tau'ri?"

"Uh, yeah." He coughed lightly. "So... what really happened to the weapons?"

Vala smiled. "I was telling the truth the first time. As far as I know, they're well on their way down the gullet of a black hole. Waste of a perfectly good al'kesh, but I couldn't have loaded those bombs onto the ring platform by myself to dispose of them any other way, and certainly couldn't safely detonate them. So I plotted a course that would take the ship out of hyperdrive as near to the event horizon of a black hole as I could manage, rigged the navigational computer on a timer, and ringed off the ship. If gravity hasn't already crushed the ship or torn it to shreds, it should soon."

"'Soon' being relative, of course," Daniel offered lightly. "Good grief, maybe I was around Sam too much, too."

"What do you mean?"

There was a slight creak of wood as he likely stopped to lean against one of his own outer walls. "I'm not sure if I ever told you this or not, but scientifically speaking, Sam and I are complete opposites. She's into the 'hard sciences'—physics and geology and even biology—but I'm a 'soft sciences' guy... human behavior stuff. She's analytical and very methodical; I'm prone to following intuition and impulse. We'll both talk a problem to death, though."

"I'd never have guessed," Vala remarked dryly.

"Funny. So did you give them the correct coordinates or what?"

Vala shrugged. "It doesn't matter either way, really. He wouldn't believe the truth when I told him it, and... I couldn't let them keep on hurting you."

He exhaled heavily and was silent a moment. "You're probably not going to believe me, but on a scale of one to ten, where one is a stubbed toe and ten is... well, radiation poisoning, that barely rated a one-point-two."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, forgive me for not knowing what your pain threshold is! But while I doubt the cut of a knife rates up there with radiation, it could still kill you!"

Daniel made a noise of frustration. "And what happens the next time they threaten me to get you to talk about something you probably shouldn't? Are you just going to buckle under pressure again?"

"Of course not!" she snapped. "I gave them what they wanted only because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. They didn't know who you were and would have killed you just to prove a point. Then where would I be?"

"'Didn't know who I was'?" he repeated. "What's that mean?"

Vala mentally backpedaled, rising to her feet and making her way over to the bars between their cells. "Oh, we've had this conversation before, and I think I'll nearly be repeating myself by saying that I care about you, you idiot! I don't have a great number of people in my life I actually like, and I'm not about to lose you... especially not now that I know you like me, too!"

There was a shuffling sound as he changed position, then Daniel was right in front of her, one hand coming to rest on her shoulder and the other cupping her jaw. "I'm sorry. I forget sometimes that... that I'm not alone anymore."

"I think that if you go back and really re-examine those memories of yours, you'll find out you haven't been 'alone' in a long time."

"Vala..."

"Don't 'Vala' me," she snapped, jerking away from his touch. "You're going to listen this time. It's one thing to be intentionally provoking our captors when they're not doing anything more menacing than slapping you around a bit. It's entirely another when there's a knife to your throat and you're still giving challenging looks. You can't play games with your life like that, Daniel!"

"It's my life!"

"Not if you throw it away, it isn't... and just how do you think I'd feel if you got yourself killed? How can you be so incredibly smart about some things and so ridiculously stupid about others?"

Daniel let out a heavy sigh. "Because I am, as you've pointed out, a complete idiot. I—I don't... Vala, I've died so many times already it's like it doesn't mean anything anymore. Hell, every time I let somebody get close to me, I lose them. It's like I'm cursed or something and I... I guess that's part of the reason why I tried so hard to not fall in love with you."

She felt like someone had just knocked her down, her legs refusing to support her any longer. She slid to the ground, clutching at the bars for support. "Fall in love with me?"

There was another creak of wood as he leaned back against a wall. "Yeah. I don't do things half-way any more, Vala, I can't. With Sarah and Sha're... they each had only half of me and maybe that was the problem. Some part of me always had my nose stuck in a book instead of—"

"Daniel, I would gladly take only half, if that's all you could give. I was content just to have you as my friend, but I'm positively thrilled that I mean more to you than that. You got under my skin from the moment we met, but it wasn't until Jaya that I realized that what I felt for you was more. I panicked a little, actually."

"Panicked?"

"I'd never actually loved anyone other than my parents. My mother's been dead for nearly twenty years and my father... well, let's just say he proved to be a constant disappointment who was never around when Mother or I needed him. I guess you could say I'm just as messed up as you are."

Daniel gave a low chuckle. "What a pair we are."

They rested in companionable silence for a long time, the surrounding darkness not nearly as oppressive as it had been. Finally, Vala cleared her throat. "You know, all this emotional bonding would be a lot nicer if we weren't still trapped in this gods-forsaken cell."

"Yeah. How long to they plan to keep us here?"

She sighed. "Probably until they realize I wasn't joking about the black hole and come back to kill us."

"That sucks."

"Definitely. Of course, I'd be a lot happier if we found a way to escape before then. One of them apparently got very friendly and took my lockpicks while we were unconscious. Do you think we could pry up the floor boards and dig ourselves a tunnel?"

He laughed. "That would take a long time to do, especially since we don't have shovels or anything. Then there's the fact that the gaps between the boards seem to be..." He trailed off, then a sudden scrabbling noise was heard.

"Seem to be—what?" she prompted, wondering what he could be doing. Was that the sound of his belt buckle being unclasped?

"Thank you, Sam! They're sealed with dried mud," Daniel answered, a strange scraping sound accompanying his words. "I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Think of what?"

"Earlier, there was something nagging me about a stupid movie Teal'c made the team watch once. Uh, movies are like a play that's been recorded so that you can watch it again. Anyway, after we all got tired of the horrible actors and worse plot, we started making up ways that someone else in the same situation would have handled it. I don't even remember what the scenario was, but Sam somehow came up with a reasonably logical way for her favorite action hero to use shoelaces, belt buckles, and a piece of gum to get out of it."

"And this helps us... how?"

"Because we're going to use our belt buckles to dig. Not the ground, of course, but the mud that's dried between the slats."

Apparently, he was making progress, as a spot of light began to show through where he had obviously been grinding away at the chinking between the boards. "What will that get us, then... besides air and light?" she asked, pulling off her own belt and diligently applying the corner of the buckle.

"These boards were fastened from the inside." There was a brief break in his scraping as he stopped to search the end of one of the planks. "It feels like they used wooden pegs to attach them to the posts on the outside of the building. It won't be quiet, but if we can get enough of this mud cleared, we could possibly get our fingers between the boards and pull them off the wall."

Vala grinned as a sliver of evening light began to shine through the section on which she was working. "Genius."

"Thanks."

"Next step, then, is to take out the goons our blond friend left here to guard us. Any guesses where our weapons and gear are?"

"Well, Hadris and Blondie took only the one tel'tak, so I hope our stuff is in the other one." Daniel had already made two wide gaps in the mud chinking, one hole on either side of the plank. He carefully slipped his fingers into the holes and gave the board an experimental tug. The end of the board popped free with only a slight squeak of the wood. "This might be easier than I thought," he grinned.

They worked quickly and quietly together until well after the sun had set, stopping only when their guards came to deliver their supper. Finally, Daniel had cleared away the bottom four boards of his section of wall and was able to pry them off and crawl through the gap. Once on the outside of the shack, he helped Vala to finish up her own chinking and pushed on the unencumbered slats as she pulled.

Armed with a loosened slat each, they approached the grounded tel'tak and opened the hatch to the interior. The "ogres", as Daniel called them, were appallingly lax in their security and hadn't set a proximity alarm or established a watch. Instead, they were asleep in their cots on the floor of the cargo bay, zats only just slightly out of reach. "Slightly" was more than enough for Vala. Before either man could register that they were neither alone nor armed, they were zatted and dragged off the ship.

"Too easy," she smirked to herself as she powered up the ship's systems. She hadn't expected brilliance from the Luciens, however, so wasn't about to complain.

Daniel, having returned from his inspection of the cargo hold, nodded in agreement. "As long as we get away, I don't care. Our stuff's back there, by the way."

She grinned and activated the engines, taking off from the planet's surface and heading for the darkness of space. Once safely out of the planet's atmosphere, she set a course for Katana and accelerated the ship into hyperdrive. Finally feeling safe in the streaky glow of the subspace corridor, she turned to her partner. "And now we’re pirates," she announced, reeling him in for a long-overdue kiss.

"Ow," he muttered when he was at last released from the embrace, looking slightly dazed. The bruise darkening his left jaw didn’t help him look any steadier on his feet. "Okay, as enjoyable as that was, no more kissing 'til the split lip's better."

Vala pouted, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Want to go get the healing device out of my pack?"

Chapter 41

He traced the slightly-angular glyph once before pressing it down, the shape and the outline of the panel glowing from within as they were locked into place. Before he could over-think this too much, he quickly tapped the final symbol—the point of origin—and slammed the palm of his hand down on the red dome in the center of the device. A flood of blue swelled outward from the standing ring of stone before rushing back on itself and taking on the resemblance of a vertical pool of radiant water.

Daniel swallowed heavily, gazing longingly at the mesmerizing play of light rippling across the wormhole's event horizon. He couldn't fathom ever growing tired of seeing the Stargate come to life, bridging thousands of light years, permitting those vast distances to be crossed in a single step. This particular threshold could not be passed at this time, however, not without spelling certain doom at the other end of the connection. The address had come to him in a dream, had felt so terribly familiar and normal as his fingers caressed each of the symbols before activating them.

After several long minutes, the wormhole snapped shut, some internal mechanism of the Ancient transportation device sensing that nothing was passing through the circle. Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose and turned around, preparing to trek down the hill and return to his new home. Vala was all he needed now, not the memory of friendships which had once been. Despite the saucy thief's colorful history and occasionally-eccentric behavior, she was the woman with whom he had quite accidentally fallen in love. To his utter amazement and delight, his affections were returned. For the first time in what felt like a long time, he was happy.

He couldn't figure out why she was lying to him, though, or what it was she was concealing.

"They didn't know who you were," she'd accidentally let slip, quickly changing the subject when he questioned her on it. Perfectly innocent words by themselves, but she'd said them as though she knew something more... something dangerous about the Luciens finding out who he was and his planet of origin. He was Doctor Daniel Jackson, former member of SG-1, native of the planet Earth. He was Tau'ri and an archaeologist, linguist, and anthropologist. He was a former scholar and soldier, now a treasure hunter and aspiring space pirate. He could not possibly be someone so famous—or perhaps even infamous—that Vala would need fear the revelation of his very name could bring either of them harm.

Or was he?

He felt tremendously conflicted and distracted, having difficulty reconciling the actions of the woman he trusted with his life. He trusted her to watch his back and keep him somewhat stable and sane, but it was becoming apparent that she had taken her protective instincts a step farther and was guarding something from him. But what?

The front door of Sarilis Camir's repair shop banged shut behind him, announcing his return to the ladies currently picking over some random bit of junk found aboard Hadris Maz's personal tel'tak. Now, of course, the vessel was the property of Vala Mal Doran and Daniel Jackson. His partner looked up and smiled brightly in greeting, bouncing up from her chair and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, giving him a quick kiss. The older woman merely nodded his direction and returned her attention to dismantling the device on the table before her.

"Enjoy your walk?" Vala asked cheerfully.

"Yes. Can we talk in private?"

She recoiled slightly, perhaps not liking the expression on his face. He thought he was maintaining a neutral expression, but he could have been wrong. "About what? We could go upstairs, if—"

He nodded quickly. "Yes, upstairs is fine. It's about something you said day before yesterday."

"Oh," she replied simply, spinning on heel and wrapping her arms around herself. He recognized the gesture as one of his own and mentally sighed. He had hoped to not make her feel defensive in any way, but it seemed he hadn't done a good job of it.

Once inside the bedroom, he pulled the door shut and grabbed one of the chairs from the table along the wall. Taking the other chair for her own, Vala seated herself on the opposite side of the table and primly clasped her hands together on the flat surface. "I realize I didn't exactly say that I loved you in return," she began quickly, staring at her fingers, "but I do you know."

"I know," he answered softly, scooting his chair as close to the table as possible and taking her hands in his. "That's not what I wanted to talk about, though."

"Oh."

Daniel sighed, knowing this could be difficult. "Now that we're... together, I think we should try to be as honest with one another as we possibly can. It's probably going to be us against the galaxy many times in the future, and I think it would be a lot easier if we... if we could ensure that another thing we can always count on between us is trust."

"Of course," she agreed, nodding solemnly. "Why are we bringing this up now? I've told you already that I trust you, Daniel."

"Do you? Because you've been lying to me, but I don't know for how long or why."

"Lying to you? What do you mean?"

He exhaled heavily. "The other day, you seemed to imply that if the Luciens had known who I was or where I came from that they wouldn't have been so quick to threaten to kill me."

"I didn't say that," she replied, frowning.

"You didn't really have to say anything. It was what you didn't say that bothered me, actually." He closed his eyes, then opened them. "Vala, do you know who I am?"

"Of course," she answered. "You're Daniel Jackson of the Tau'ri, the man I love."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "That's not what I meant. I don't want to sound distrustful or anything, but I can't help but feel that you know something about me you're not telling."

Vala shook her head, but then stopped at the expression of disappointment he gave her. Her shoulders drooped as she slumped in her chair. "You're Doctor Daniel Jackson of SG-1, a team of Tau'ri warriors credited with the deaths of several well-known System Lords and who-knows-how-many minor Goa'uld."

He rubbed at the knots of tension along the back of his neck. "How did you find all this out about me?"

Now she looked truly miserable, drawing her feet up onto the edge of her chair and wrapping her arms around her knees. "From a Goa'uld-issue bounty marker. An old one, though, from before the Tok'ra reported you dead."

Despite himself, he felt his lips quirk. "Ah, yes. Aris Boch once told me I was worth about a day's rations."

Vala choked. "A day's rations of what? For everyone in the galaxy?"

"Well, he didn't specify, but—"

She gave a humorless bark of laughter. "Daniel, I have no idea when or where you might have met a notorious bounty hunter like Aris Boch, but I can tell you that as of the issue of this last marker, you were quite likely the single-most valuable catch in the entire galaxy."

Daniel felt his jaw drop. "'Single-most valuable?'" he repeated numbly.

"Not much more than your Jaffa friend, Teal'c, but the Lucien Alliance would have been able to buy themselves a few ha'tak by handing you over to the System Lords."

"You're kidding."

She shook her head. "And that was what you were worth before you were reported dead. If word got out that you were actually alive and no longer under the protection of the rest of your team? There wouldn't be a hole deep enough on any planet in the galaxy to hide you from the opportunists who'd come to make a name and fortune for themselves. You would be hunted the rest of your life."

He couldn't believe it. He was a scholar, a scientist. What could he have possibly done to merit such obvious hatred from the most powerful rulers of the galaxy? Yet for all his incredulity, he was unable to deny the pained honesty in Vala's eyes, the terrible truth that she'd been concealing for who-knew-how-long in what he suddenly realized was a well-intentioned attempt to protect him from his own apparent notoriety.

"I only found out about it after mentioning the names of your friends to Sarilis," Vala admitted.

"Sarilis knows?"

"She's the one who showed me the marker. It was while you were having all those terrible flashbacks, Daniel. I actually went to tell you, but when I sat down beside you on the bed, you were just so happy to have remembered your surname that I made the decision to not tell you. I am so sorry, Daniel, I thought I was doing the right thing, but—"

"Hey," he interrupted, stretching across the table to grab one of her hands. "You did it to protect me, didn't you?"

"Yes. I was afraid that... well, I was afraid. I almost lost you on Jaya, and then you had all those horrible flashbacks, and then I... I thought maybe it would be too much for you to take in at once."

Daniel smiled sadly, thinking back on the muddled confusion that was the week following their return from Balin's homeworld. "You're probably right. I might also have not remembered you'd said anything and we'd still be right here, having this conversation. It might have been the wrong thing to do, but your heart was definitely in the right place."

Vala looked up at him, looking so hopeful he wanted to leap across the table and enfold her in a hug of reassurance. "Do you forgive me?"

"Absolutely," he agreed, giving her hand a squeeze. "There are some things I've been keeping from you, too. Since we're shooting for honesty, I might as well go ahead and..."

"You don't have to," she quickly denied, shaking her head vehemently.

"I can't expect you to tell me the truth about everything and not do the same myself," Daniel replied. He drew a deep breath. "I remember almost everything now. When I took a walk just a little while ago, it was to go up to the Stargate and test out a few addresses I remembered. Most of them worked, too, including the one for Earth."

"Why didn't you—?"

"Because I don't have the necessary device or codes to get through the shield covering the Tau'ri 'Gate," he answered. "Most importantly, though—and I know you need to hear this—I couldn't leave. I couldn't leave you."

"But Daniel, it's your home."

He squeezed her hand again. "My home is here. With you."

Vala looked happy enough to cry, and he wasn't so certain he wouldn't join her if she let the tears fall. "Daniel... that's... I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," he smiled. "There's something else, too. The Tok'ra weren't wrong in reporting me dead."

"But you aren't dead."

"Not anymore. I actually wasn't to begin with, not really." He drew in a deep breath. "When the 'Gate Builders disappeared, not all of them died out, not completely. Some of them transcended their physical forms and became creatures of energy, of light. I met one of these Ancients on another planet once, and when I lay dying from radiation poison, she came to me and offered me the chance to Ascend, to be like them."

Vala's eyes widened. "And you accepted?"

"It was either that or risk permanent disability or even death," he answered. "I thought I could do more that way, too. I thought that becoming something that powerful would mean that I would have greater opportunity and ability to help those in need. I was wrong, and my wife's world paid the price. Anubis destroyed it."

"I'm sorry."

"So am I. That might be why I came back to human form without my memory. Maybe I chose to leave, maybe I was punished and kicked out." He shrugged. "Either way, I don't plan to go back anytime soon."

This time Vala offered him a comforting squeeze. "Don't you at least want to contact your friends? If they've believed you to be dead all this time, won't they want to hear from you?"

He bit his lip in contemplation. "Maybe... maybe I can give a message to one of the Tok'ra and ask them to pass it along to the SGC."

"Daniel, you can't risk the Tok'ra finding out you're alive, either. If one of their operatives gets captured and interrogated..."

"I know, which is why I'll encrypt it. Something only my teammates are likely to understand."

"Are you sure that's all you want to do?" she asked, rising and walking around the table without letting go of his hand.

He pulled her down so that she was sitting across his lap and gave her a kiss. "You're all I need now. If I can give them a little closure, though, maybe it will help me..."

"Get over them, too?" she suggested, twisting her upper torso so that she was mostly facing him.

"Something like that," he agreed.

She smiled then, leaning in for another kiss. When she pulled back, though, she stroked a finger down his cheek. "First thing we're going to do," she began, "is shave this beard."

"I thought you liked it."

"I only asked you to keep it because I thought it would change your appearance, make it a little less likely for someone to recognize you. I don't think it helps all that much, though." She scrunched up her nose. "Besides, it's all scratchy when I kiss you."

"Consider it gone," he promised.

Chapter 42

The cold snap of the fresh mountain air awakened his senses like nothing he had ever experienced on any other world. For as much as Colorado Springs had become home these last several years, Teal'c knew nothing would ever take Chulak's place as the land in which he had grown from a child to a man. It was the planet where his own son had been born, though Rya'c had lived for many years in the Land of Light. A smile graced his lips when he caught sight of the armor-clad form of his elderly mentor, Master Bra'tac.

"Teal'c!" the older Jaffa greeted, smiling in return. "It is good to see you again, old friend."

"Likewise," he agreed, firmly grasping the proffered arm in the traditional warrior's greeting. "What was the nature of the emergency?"

Bra'tac leaned on his staff weapon. "Our brethren among the ranks of Ramius and Tilgath have yet to report. The two False Gods were to meet and discuss the possibility of forming an alliance, and I fear some ill has befallen our brothers."

Inwardly, Teal'c sighed. It wasn't as though he cared nothing for the fate of his fellow Jaffa rebels, but that the smaller targets—the lesser goals—sometimes seemed to dominate the time he had available. There were greater tasks to accomplish, he knew, and longed for the day when he could take part in a final, noble battle to overthrow the rule of the System Lords.

Unfortunately, in the last several months, these minor battles were nearly all in which he could become engaged. Certainly, helping the female Jaffa of Moloc to overcome their dependence on symbiotes had been rewarding and rescuing his son and mentor from imprisonment on Erebus had been personally important, but it was difficult to be content with such universally-insignificant victories when so much more was at stake.

It was not his place to question Bra'tac's methods, however. The older Jaffa was far wiser than Teal'c felt he ever could be, and constantly reminded him that sometimes, it was the smaller blow that felled a mighty opponent. He knew this in his heart, but also knew that it often took hundreds of tiny strikes to fell a many-headed beast such as the System Lords. Rather than voice his pessimism, however, he dutifully followed his teacher through the newly-opened wormhole. Once on the other side, Bra'tac wasted no time in directing them toward the boulder field which was to have been the place of meeting for the two minor Goa'uld.

"You seem unusually quiet today," Bra'tac observed.

"I am restless," Teal'c answered at last, having taken time to consider his response. "Two days ago, we held a celebration for Jonas Quinn at O'Neill's residence. It was in honor of a full Earth-year as a member of SG-1."

"Upon your return, extend to him my congratulations."

He inclined his head. "I will."

The older Jaffa seemed to study him carefully for a moment. "Yet this celebration does not make you happy."

"It has been three months since we last heard word of Daniel Jackson. O'Neill has become most concerned that ill may have befallen him."

"As do you."

Teal'c nodded again. "As do I."

Bra'tac returned his regard to the path before them. "The man I once believed to have been a puny weakling has often proved to be more resourceful and cunning than I would ever have suspected. Trust in him again, Teal'c. When he is ready to return to the Tau'ri, I am confident he will find a way to do so."

Again, he knew the wisdom in his master's words, but reconciling such things with his heart was difficult. The last they had known of Daniel Jackson was that he held little memory of his past and likely no way to defend himself should one of the System Lords discover him. O'Neill's greatest fear was that Anubis—whom his Ascended friend had left to confront before the destruction of Abydos—would learn of Daniel Jackson's return to the living, and see it as an opportunity to seize him. SG-1 knew from their experience with Thor's abduction that the half-Ascended Goa'uld possessed technology which could extract information directly from a victim's mind. All that Daniel Jackson was or ever had been would then be in the hands of the most evil creature in the galaxy.

The crunch of gravel underfoot sounded astonishingly loud to Teal'c's ears, and he cast a glance at Master Bra'tac, a frisson of di