by Geonn Cannon
“Here as a potential host for our Goa’uld overlord, or here on Viaxeiro?”
“The latter.”
Viona moved to the stairs and began climbing. “Arson.”
“That’s all?”
Viona smiled over her shoulder. “It may have been the residence of our world’s leader. And the homes of seventeen of his closest advisors.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Ah. That fits better.”
“So we get up here, you figure out the machine, turn it off — ”
“I don’t turn it off,” Sam said. “And I don’t do anything but figure out the controls for now. I can’t thin the atmosphere until I find out if Vala and Tanis found a way to keep us awake.”
They arrived at the roof. The device was a huge satellite dish lying on its back like a massive bowl, with the controls on a platform beside it. The dish was low enough to the roof that it wouldn’t be immediately noticeable from the ground. Sam pushed up the sleeves of her borrowed uniform as she approached the control panel. How many times had she been in this very situation? Life-and-death stakes, and a complicated array of buttons and crystals with commands she’d never seen before.
She’d done pretty much the same thing when she was a kid. Computers, calculators, her brother’s remote control cars. She’d taken them apart so she could learn how to put them back together. This was the same basic thing. These pieces were made to go together, she told herself, just figure out how they fit.
The first thing she noticed was schematics for one of the tri-barreled guns in the guard towers. Lokelani has access to their security, she noted as she scanned the information. I guess that settles where the loyalty of the guards truly lies. As far as she could tell from a quick glance, it wasn’t possible to disable the guns from this console. But she could eliminate their targeting systems. She found an option that shared the new command with every gun in the network and activated it. The guns could still be fired manually, but without a computer to work out trajectory and wind speeds, it would be next to impossible to hit a moving object on the ground.
“One problem dealt with,” she reported.
Viona had wandered toward the edge of the roof and was squinting toward the wall. “What could that possibly be about?”
Sam saw a ship had landed in the salt plains. Boxes were collected in the shadows underneath the ship’s belly, and she could see people moving around them.
“It’s just a supply ship, isn’t it?”
“Something is off about it. Look at the crowd around the gate.”
Sam could see the crowd, and she could see it looked like they were on the verge of a riot. Half the guards looked like they were trying to settle everyone down, while the other half was escalating the issue by roughly forcing women onto the ground.
“Looks like Vala and Tanis have been busy.”
She focused on the controls again. There was always some logical arrangement to how these things were set up. She was starting to see it, even if she might not know the exact meaning of each specific button. There was a screen at the top and, when she tapped a button on the lower left side, it came to life with a wall of text.
“Okay, here we go,” she muttered.
She didn’t know how long she had been working on the controls before Viona hissed something under her breath and ran across the roof back to the stairs.
“We’re about to have company,” she said.
“Damn.” Sam’s hands twitched, eager to grab a gun or even a zat. They should have taken the time to search the house for weapons.
Viona peeked over the edge. “It’s Lokelani. Tell me you’re about three tikunra away from figuring that thing out.”
Sam said, “I’m not sure about that unit of time, but I highly doubt it.”
“I’ll buy you some time.”
“Wait…”
Viona was already on her way down the stairs. “Dying for a cause is better than dying in a cage. Just figure that thing out! Hello, Goa’uld…”
Sam heard the sounds of a fight on the stairs. She scanned the control panel again, baring her teeth in frustration. She couldn’t just hit buttons blindly. If she turned off the force field, they would all be exposed to the vacuum of space and there wouldn’t be a second attempt. Viona cried out on the stairs. The fight wasn’t going to last very long, and then she’d be out of chances.
“You’ve got one shot at this, Carter,” she said. “Make it count.”
Different cultures used different symbols for numbers, but they were generally more complex for greater integers. By that logic, she could determine that the numbers on the panel were meant to be read left to right, like English. So left was lower (zero) and right was higher (nine). Turning the force field off wouldn’t help her at the moment, but turning it up higher… She pressed two fingers to the display and slid them up along the screen, watching as the readout went from yellow to green to red.
The change was apparent almost immediately. Sam felt as if she had just gained a hundred pounds, falling forward against the machine. She heard cries of pain and surprise as the rest of the prisoners felt the same effect. It was hard to draw breath but she forced herself to move. She got back onto her feet. Her hand skimmed along the metal of the panel, too heavy to lift, and she twisted it back to where it had been at first. The pressure let up, and she drew in a relieved breath.
She hoped the momentary shock had given Viona the upper hand, and that it hadn’t affected Vala and Tanis too badly.
“Neat trick with the pressure,” Lokelani said.
Sam closed her eyes. They were so close to success.
“It didn’t save your co-conspirator, however. We both fell hard, but I will be able to heal the worst of this host’s damage. Viona was not so fortunate.” She coughed, and it was a wet sound. Apparently it hadn’t fixed all the damage yet. “In a way, I’m grateful to you. Any Goa’uld worthy of a kingdom needs to face down the great SG-1, at least once. Killing you will be a rite of passage, one that I will take great pleasure in completing.”
When the Goa’uld spoke again, it abandoned the pretense of a human voice and instead used the familiar hollow intonation meant to terrorize their prey.
“Turn around, Samantha Carter, so I may see the life drain from your eyes when I kill you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
VALA PUSHED herself up off the ground and checked to make sure the life support devices hadn’t cracked when she fell. One moment she’d been running through the city and the next, it felt as if a two-hundred pound gorilla had jumped onto her shoulders. She’d been paralyzed for a terrifying moment before the weight went away and she was able to move again. Everyone else on the street, guards and Cai Thior and prisoners alike, had been similarly affected. She looked back and saw Tanis wiping blood from her nose.
“All right?” Vala asked.
“It’s not a real jailbreak until someone is bleeding.”
“That’s a terrible philosophy.” Vala looked toward Lokelani’s home. “I think that was a message from Sam that she’s found the generator.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Tanis said.
Vala was torn between loyalty to her friend, continuing the mission to free Shein, and her chance of escape. Tanis didn’t let her suffer for long.
“Go. I’ll free Shein. If you and Carter get a chance to escape, take it. Don’t worry about taking out Lokelani.”
“We made a promise.”
“And now I’m releasing you from that promise.” She sighed and looked around, then stepped closer so she could speak more quietly. “You came all this way for me. You jumped into the fire feet-first without a plan to get yourself safely out of it, and doing it risked your new home. No one has ever gone to those extremes for me. No one’s ever taken a chance for me. It’s what I imagine having a family feels like.” She held out her hand. “You don’t owe me anything. We’re square.”
Vala gripped Tanis’ hand. “You were a great partner.”
Tanis grinned.
“Do you remember Ta’jicura?”
“Ugh.” Vala wrinkled her nose. “Just hearing the name makes me think of the smell. Why in the world would you bring that up now?”
“I have a little vault there. It’s where I store the blackmail material I’ve picked up over the years. You can access it using the same passcodes I used when we worked together. Your people said you could come on this mission if I gave them information on the Lucian Alliance? Well, that’s a literal treasure trove. I’m not going to need it, so take whatever you think will make the Tau’ri happy.”
Vala was stunned. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Go on. Your team needs you.”
“And Shein needs you.”
Tanis aimed a finger in Vala’s face. “And if you ever tell anyone that I helped out two members of SG-1, heads will roll.”
“Two memb — ” Vala caught herself when she realized what Tanis had said. She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Right. No one will hear about it from me.”
“Good.”
Vala blinked back the sudden moisture in her eyes. “Try to stay out of trouble… if you can.”
Tanis grinned. “Try to get into trouble. Every now and again, even if just to prove you still can.”
Vala laughed and nodded. “Goodbye, Tanis Reynard.”
“Bye, Vala Mal Doran.”
They turned away from each other and went off to save their respective partners.
~#~
“The hell was that?” Cam asked, brushing the sand from the sleeves of his uniform.
Daniel had just climbed out of the box when he was thrown to the ground. Only Teal’c had managed to stay on his feet, so he was able to watch as all the women gathered at the city’s entrance fell like dominoes. Whatever happened seemed to have passed, and he could stand normally again. He offered a hand to Daniel and helped him up.
“It seems reasonable to assume that Colonel Carter and Vala Mal Doran are responsible.”
“Atmospheric pressure suddenly goes crazy in the middle of an attempted jailbreak?” Cam stretched his back and grunted. “Yeah, I can see Sam and Vala’s fingerprints on that one. Jackson, why don’t you head into the ship and tell Pemphero he should probably be ready to make a hasty retreat. If I spot our people running this way, I don’t want to lose time warming up the engines.”
“Yeah,” Daniel said. “It’ll be nice to stretch my legs after being crammed in that box for no reason.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “Hey, I offered to get in the damn box!”
Daniel muttered something under his breath as he continued up the ramp.
~#~
Sam carefully raised her hands from the control panel, holding them out to either side so Lokelani could see she wasn’t going for a weapon. “This is a pretty incredible piece of tech to leave in the hands of a prisoner. How did you convince the guards to let you have it?”
Lokelani laughed. “Humans are so short-sighted. I didn’t walk up to the guards and convince them to hand over control of the weapons and the force field. I did it slowly, over time. I offered to perform maintenance, I asked for replacement parts I didn’t need, I upgraded the system until I was the only one who knew how it worked. It took a lifetime but eventually I had wrestled complete control for myself. I built my stronghold around the device.”
“Clever.”
“Nothing clever about being patient,” Lokelani said. “But my patience is running thin, Colonel Carter. Face me and end this.”
“Killing me is a little shortsighted, don’t you think?”
“Silence.”
The Goa’uld sounded weak and, when Sam turned around, she could see why. Blood covered half of Lokelani’s face, and her left arm was hanging at an unusual angle inside her blouse. She must have taken a hell of a fall, and the symbiote was likely the only reason the host was still standing. It must have been taking most of her power to heal the damage, leaving little energy for speaking. Her posture was slumped, but the arm aiming the modified healing device was steady as a rock. There was approximately ten yards between them, too far for Sam to rush her but likely within range of the device. Sam faced her and Lokelani grinned.
“I may not be able to boast about this accomplishment, but I will have the satisfaction of knowing I succeeded where so many other System Lords failed. Ra, Anubis, even the great Apophis, none of them could claim to have killed a member of SG-1.”
“Actually, Apophis did kill us once… and Cronus technically killed us. They were robot duplicates, but they were so much like us that I think you could make the argument — ”
Lokelani hissed, “I told you to be silent!”
Sam shrugged. “Okay. Go ahead. Kill me. But when you realize the opportunity you missed, you’ll kick yourself.”
The healing device wavered. Lokelani’s fingers tightened around it, and her eyes narrowed. Sam could see her struggling to figure out what she had missed.
“Everyone you had locked up downstairs is gone. All those potential hosts are now running around telling everyone who will listen that you’re a Goa’uld. But that’s the least of your problems. Unless you have a sarcophagus hidden somewhere in the house, the body you’re currently using isn’t going to last long. Sure, killing a member of SG-1 would be quite an accomplishment. But taking one as a host…?”
Uncertainty passed over Lokelani’s features. The healing device finally wavered. It occurred to Sam that a tumbleweed slowly blowing across the roof between them was the only thing the moment was missing. She could hear the prisoners down on the ground, confused and nearly panicking at everything that had happened in the past few minutes. It wasn’t a quick-draw situation. She was unarmed so there was no way to get the upper hand.
“What’s the best way to avoid being hit by a car?” Sam asked.
Lokelani said, “What?”
Sam moved one foot forward, shifting her weight onto her toes. Lokelani registered the movement and brought the healing device back up. Instead of attacking, Sam unlocked her knees and let herself fall forward out of the weapon’s range. The best way to avoid being hit by a car, Jacob had once told her, is to stay out of the street. She hit the roof with her hands and knees and shoved forward like a quarterback, using her body as a projectile. She wrapped her arms around Lokelani’s waist and tackled her hard.
Lokelani was so surprised that she let go of the healing device. It clattered somewhere behind them. Lokelani took the brunt of the fall, the wind knocked from her body when Sam landed on top of her. They grappled briefly - Sam managed a punch to Lokelani’s face, while Lokelani brought her knee up into Sam’s gut. They both ended up breathless and throwing sloppy punches at one another. Sam’s knuckles glanced off the rooftop when Lokelani moved her head at the wrong moment and she hissed at the pain as blood trickled down her fingers.
“What’s your plan, Carter?” Lokelani’s teeth were stained with blood. “Are you going to beat me to death?”
Someone else answered before Sam could say anything. “She doesn’t have to.”
Sam put her hands on Lokelani’s shoulders to keep her down as she twisted to look toward the stairs. Sukhan was standing there, along with the members of the Cai Thior Sam had met inside. Aalid and Calyree remained next to Sukhan, while Onora spotted the healing device and went to retrieve it. Sukhan was holding a small stun weapon. Sam tensed, unsure who it was being aimed at.
“You’re just in time to save me,” Lokelani said in her normal, unenhanced voice. “You will be greatly rewarded for your loyalty.”
Sukhan stepped closer. “Your days of giving out rewards is long past, Goa’uld. Did you truly think you could maintain such a secret? We allowed you to rule because you gave us power, because none of us felt confident we could defeat a Goa’uld. We knew about your potential hosts in the basement and didn’t wish to become one of their number. But then a Goa’uld killer arrived and gave us hope.” She turned her gaze to Sam. “Thank you for giving us this chance, Colonel Carter. You can
step away from her now.”
Sam hesitated. “What are you going to do with her?”
“They’ll do nothing but provide me with a new host,” Lokelani said, her voice echoing as she rose to her feet. “It was near time for me to make a change anyway. I believe you’ll do nicely, Sukhan.”
Sukhan reached up and lifted her hair with one hand, turning her back on the Goa’uld. “If you believe you are capable of taking me as host, be my guest.”
Lokelani lunged. Sam’s reflex made her take a step forward, but there was nothing she could do. Lokelani, mouth open wide, grabbed Sukhan’s shoulders.
She froze. Her eyes flashed yellow and she stumbled backward. Sukhan had simply put her hand on the hilt of her sword and pushed down, raising the blade behind her. Lokelani had impaled herself on it with her attack, and now grabbed it with both hands in a futile attempt to save herself. She dropped to her knees and, a moment later, collapsed.
“I would have been a fine host,” Sukhan said, “for someone far worthier than you.”
Sam looked at Lokelani’s body before slowly raising her eyes to Sukhan. “Vala and I…”
“As far as we’re concerned, the prison is much safer without you in it.” She was still watching Lokelani, as if expecting the Goa’uld to slither out. “Your vessel is waiting. If you leave now, no one will attempt to stop you.”
Sam nodded and looked at the device. “I was going to thin the atmosphere. Put everyone to sleep so no one would try to escape with us.”
“Some members of the Cai Thior are stationed at the wall to ensure no one tries to stop you, and no one tries to join your escape. Despite everything else going on, the majority of the women here do deserve to be incarcerated. The rest of the Cai Thior will take care of the guards.”
Sam cleared her throat. “One last thing. Vala and I sort of promised we would help Tanis take over the prison in exchange for her help.”
Sukhan twisted her lips.
“I’m not saying Tanis is the greatest person in the world,” Sam said, “and to be honest, I’d probably think twice before I left her alone with anything I cared about, but they have the same goals as you. Tanis and Shein consider this their home. They’ll fight to protect it. It’s probably going to be rough around here for a little while. You’re going to need all the help you can get to keep the peace.”