by Geonn Cannon
Cam opened his pouch and stuffed the clothes inside. “These guys don’t care why we’re buying this stuff. Just keep your mouth shut and leave the money.”
“We’re not supposed to draw attention to ourselves. Three men buying women’s clothing might make us stick out in someone’s mind. A story might make it seem less remarkable.” Daniel sighed and looked for Teal’c. “So what do you think the odds are that this will turn into a real mission?”
“You mean whoever Vala came here to meet is reputable enough that we risk going to an inescapable prison to save someone who once took SG-1 prisoner? I’d say not very good.”
“General Landry did have a point,” Daniel said. “We could use whatever inside information we can get on the Lucian Alliance. We may have kicked over the anthill when we sent those bounty hunters after Netan, but the ants are still there.”
“Story as old as time.” Cam had moved closer to a fruit stand. He picked up something small and red, sniffed it, and scratched at the rind with his thumbnail. “You knock out the guy in charge, create a vacuum, and the guys underneath him rush up to fill the space. All you can do is hope the new guy in charge is better than the one you took out. Even better is if there’s a group, like the Lucian Alliance, who are so disorganized they’re too busy fighting themselves to cause trouble for everyone else.”
Daniel said, “That’s a bleak outlook.”
“I’m not saying I like it, I’m saying it’s what we’re dealing with. The Lucian Alliance is a mess. They’re cleaning house. There’s no reason for us to go out of our way to go after them.” He held up the fruit. “Do you think this rind is edible or do I have to peel it?”
Before Daniel could answer, Teal’c reappeared from wherever he’d gone. “I believe something is transpiring at the tavern.”
“Again with the taverns,” Cam muttered. He reached under his cloak and put a hand on the butt of his gun. “Hopefully nobody in this one decides to start throwing lanterns.”
Browsing stalls had taken them far down one of the side streets, but they ran back to where they had split off from Sam and Vala. Everyone else also seemed drawn to the noise, so their attention wasn’t conspicuous in and of itself. They arrived back at the tavern in time to see a flash of light in the doorway. Cam almost resisted the urge to groan, slowing down as he realized rescue was futile.
“Ah, hell, that was a transport beam wasn’t it?”
“Maybe it was for someone else,” Daniel suggested hopefully but unconvincingly.
They entered the bar and looked for their teammates, but any hope was dashed. The other customers were milling around in an awkward silence. It was too soon after the scuffle for normal conversations to have resumed. A large man was shuffling toward the back of the bar. He laughed and slapped someone on the back, swaying his head from side to side with the body language of somebody who had just won a standoff. Cam made his way over to the man, slapping him on the arm. The man turned and straightened his back, revealing just how much bigger he was than the colonel.
Cam tried not to look intimidated. “Hey. There were two women in here earlier. One blonde, the other probably loud and obnoxious.”
The man’s face hardened into a sneer. His eyes tracked from Cam, to Daniel, to Teal’c. “More friends of Vala Mal Doran…?”
“Friends?” Cam said, thinking on the fly. “Friends?! No, we’re not friends with her. We’ve been tracking her across seven systems waiting for the right moment to take her down. She walks in here and suddenly she vanishes. Did you help her escape?”
The man laughed. “Who are you?”
“Me? We’re bounty hunters. I’m Lee Majors.” He nodded at Daniel and then pointed at Teal’c. “Burt Reynolds. And the big guy… well that’s Don Johnson.”
“Jebauth Kavma, but you can just call me the man who stole your bounty out from under your nose. Trust me, my friend, I deserved the victory more than you did. For you, Vala Mal Doran was a job. For me, it was personal. I have been waiting for this day for years.” He clapped a friendly hand on Cam’s shoulder. Cam did his best not to flinch. “Come, we’re all friends here. Let me buy you a drink!”
Cam twisted away from Kavma’s grip. “That’s all right. We don’t need a drink. What do you mean it was personal?”
“Vala stole from me. She and her little friend incurred a debt. The bounty on their heads more than made up for what they took.”
Daniel said, “Her little friend? Do you mean the blonde woman?”
“No, she was new. I don’t know who she was, but she probably deserved to go as well. Whoever she may be, she’s associating with Vala Mal Doran. Guilty by association, yes?” He gave a hearty laugh.
Cam and Daniel looked at each other. Daniel closed his eyes and nodded in silent agreement. The message had been a trap, and Vala walked them right into it. Cam bit back a sigh and focused on Kavma again.
“The bounty on Mal Doran and Reynard. Who set it up?”
Kavma started to answer, but then slowly narrowed his eyes on Cam. “If you are bounty hunters who have been on Vala’s trail, should you not already know this information?”
Daniel said, “We’re… independent contractors.”
“What did you say your names were?”
Cam motioned for Daniel to start for the door. “You know, I think we’re just going to mosey on out of here. You won, fair and square, so there’s no point in dwelling on the past…”
Someone rushed Teal’c from behind. He must have seen the attack coming just in time because he put up his elbow, catching the man in the chin. Another customer grabbed Teal’c’s other arm and twisted it. Teal’c spun on the ball of his foot and punched the man in his sternum. Daniel pulled the zat from his belt and managed to get off two shots before he was shoved hard against the railing. His weapon tumbled from his grip into the pit, where the bartenders kicked it out of his sight.
Kavma’s hand shot out and closed around Cam’s throat. Air suddenly became a luxury. As Cam’s feet were lifted off the ground, he saw Teal’c receive a blow to the abdomen which sent him to his knees. He was still recovering from a brutal battle, and his opponent had gotten a very lucky blow. Others noted the weakness and focused their attack on Teal’c’s midsection. He was fending them off as best he could, but there were too many.
“I think you are Vala Mal Doran’s friends, Lee Majors,” Kavma growled. “And perhaps I will fetch a very good price for you as well.”
~#~
Teal’c was almost on his knees. Brutal fists pounded against him, blood from reopened wounds seeping through his clothes. He couldn’t get his arms free to fend off the attacks, so he did the next best thing. He wrapped his arm around the closest attacker and pulled him close, squeezing him so tightly against his chest that the man couldn’t draw breath. Suddenly every blow intended for Teal’c was striking the other man, giving Teal’c time to breathe. He straightened with a primal shout and threw his weight forward.
He knocked a trio of men over the railing, and they fell on top of the bartenders who didn’t scatter quickly enough. He kept his left arm around his human shield as he spun and lashed out with his right hand. The mob backed up now that they had seen what he was capable of, and Teal’c dropped his now-unconscious battering ram to the floor. With visible effort he forced himself to his full height, drew the zat from his belt, and aimed it at Kavma with a hand which didn’t shake.
“Release him. Now.”
Daniel had his back against the wall, hands raised. “I would suggest doing what he says. You just had your debt repaid. It would be a shame if you weren’t around to enjoy that, don’t you think?”
Kavma considered the argument for a long second. Mitchell’s eyes were unfocused, and he was slapping fruitlessly against Kavma’s wrist. Finally, the big man relaxed his grip. Mitchell sucked in a deep breath and hit the ground, stumbling back upright as Daniel was also released.
“The ship that took Vala Mal Doran and her friend is already gone. You woul
d not be worth the effort to call them back. But if I ever see your face in this establishment again — ”
“Trust me, that won’t be an issue,” Mitchell croaked. He rubbed his throat and backed away. “Lee Majors will never set foot on this planet again, you can count on that. Burt, Don… let’s go.”
Daniel offered Teal’c an arm, but Teal’c refused. It probably would have weakened his threat if he needed help walking, but he’d been hurt badly during the scuffle. Every eye was on them when they cleared the door, and from the looks they got in the square, it was obvious that sounds of the fight had traveled. Teal’c saw sunlight glinting on mostly-concealed weapons as they passed but he didn’t meet anyone’s gaze in case they took it as a challenge.
“I’ll go dial the Gate,” Daniel said, an acknowledgment that he was the most unscathed of the group. “I assume we’re going back to Earth so we can regroup.”
Cam said, “Yeah. We need to figure out our next move. Because right now, Carter and Vala are en route to the worst prison in the galaxy, and rescuing them is definitely a mission Landry and O’Neill will sign off on. We need to figure out a way to get them back.” Daniel hurried up the stone path to the Stargate. Mitchell looked at Teal’c. “And hopefully Landry has some idea of what our first step should be ’cause, Teal’c, buddy, I don’t even have a clue where to start looking.”
CHAPTER FIVE
SAM KEPT her head down, chin on her chest, even after regaining consciousness. She was sitting propped up against the wall, legs stretched out in front of her, with her hands enclosed by something heavy and metallic. She knew she was aboard a ship; she could feel the vibrations in the hull and hear the hum of engines somewhere to her right. People were moving around on the opposite side of the space from her but no one was speaking. She tried to determine how long she’d been unconscious. She’d never heard of anyone being knocked out by a zat for more than an hour, but there were people who only reported losing stretches of ten minutes. And in situations like this, a lot could happen in ten minutes.
Someone kicked her boot. “We know you’re awake, Vala’s friend. No point faking.”
She raised her head and looked up to see a small man with a misshapen head looming over her. Behind him she got a sense of the room she was in: cramped, stacked with unmarked crates and oddly-shaped. It took a moment for her to realize that the slope of the ceiling and angle of the walls indicated they were being kept in a hidden compartment. They were probably aboard a ship normally used for smuggling. This time, she and Vala were the cargo.
Her jailor had a small black mustache over twisted, puffy lips that seemed to plump up when he smiled. “You were a bonus,” he said with either a lisp or an accent. “It wasn’t personal against you. We didn’t even know Vala had taken up with a new partner. But you surely knew this was a risk when you started working with her. You got a name?”
Their most recent encounter with the Lucian Alliance had proven SG-1’s names were well-known throughout the galaxy, but it seemed their faces weren’t quite as famous. She knew Mitchell or General O’Neill would be able to come up with something witty or clever on the fly, but her mind was a blank for pop culture references. She said the first name that came to mind.
“The name is Fraiser.”
He put a hand flat on his chest. “I am Nyoman, and I am afraid that is the extent of our politeness, because you have no reason to be polite to someone in my position. You see, I am tasked with escorting the lady Mal Doran - along with anyone unfortunate enough to be in her company - to a place called Viaxeiro. It… is not a nice place.”
Sam said, “I’m familiar with it.”
“Mm-hmm,” Nyoman said. “Its reputation is quite well-known in your circles. Criminals, I mean to say.” He reached up and touched his bulbous forehead with two fingers. “We’re not taking the most direct route to it. There’s not exactly such a thing as a direct route to Viaxeiro. That’s part of its appeal. But we’re also being sure no one can follow us. Cautious-like. So hopefully you’ll be nice and snug for the trip.”
She smiled tightly up at him. “I doubt my comfort is high on your list of concerns.”
“You may be right there, Fraiser,” he said as he walked to the door, “but feel free to complain as much as you want. We’ll be right out here ready to cater to your every need.”
The door hissed shut behind him.
Vala said, “Quick thinking on the fake name.”
Sam had to lean forward to see her. She was on the other side of a protrusion in the ship’s hull. She was lying on her side like a dropped doll, her hands bound like Sam’s but her cuffs were connected to a second pair on her ankles. She pushed herself up with a quiet grunt, flipped her hair out of her face and opened her eyes.
“Fraiser. Isn’t that a television program?”
“She was a friend,” Sam said. “You don’t happen to recognize that guy, do you?”
“Nyoman? No.” She squirmed in an attempt to find a more comfortable position. “Afraid not. He’s unimportant, anyway. Just a lackey deliveryman, hired the same way Kavma was.”
Sam said, “Great. And I don’t suppose you have any theories about who could be behind this?”
“Oh, suspects? I have suspects. It’s quite a list.”
“I’ll bet,” Sam said. “How long have you been conscious?”
Vala said, “Only a few minutes. Long enough to overhear their plan includes taking us through at least three Stargates.”
Sam closed her eyes and bumped her head against the wall behind her. “Fantastic. So much for Cam and the others following our trail.”
“We still have the implant tracker chip thingies!” Vala’s cheerful voice sounded forced. “The one your doctor implanted in my arm. They can just transport us out of anywhere we go.”
Sam kept her eyes closed. “That’s assuming they have the slightest idea where to look. And if this Viaxeiro place is as inescapable as you make it out to be, I’m sure they have some method of blocking the signal from getting through even if the Odyssey did miraculously show up in orbit. We’re going to be just as trapped as Tanis.”
Vala’s smile collapsed. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well… on the bright side…”
Sam opened her eyes and glared across the room.
“Right.” Vala withdrew. “Not in the mood for bright sides. Got it.”
“If they’re planning to take us through multiple gates, that will be our best opportunity to escape. Do you know how many other people are aboard?”
“At least three,” Vala said. “There’s probably more, but not many. I’ve been on ships like this before. They’re cramped with a crew larger than six. If there were that many people running around we’d definitely hear them.”
Sam said, “Okay. So three to five, let’s say. Not the worst odds, but…”
“I don’t recommend it.”
“As you so helpfully pointed out when you suggested this mission, SG-1 has been captured a few times before.”
“Yes, SG-1! As in you, two large men, and Teal’c. The odds are slightly more in your favor as a group. I, on the other hand, have more experience being captured alone or with one other woman. Trust me, Samantha, these aren’t men we want to cross. We should wait until we get to the prison when we have more time to plan.”
“Vala, if we have a chance to avoid being sent to the prison, we have to take it.”
“It’s a bad plan,” Vala said.
“It’s our only shot. We can’t guarantee what will happen once we’re at Viaxeiro.”
Vala grunted in frustration, baring her teeth. “Could you please just listen to me for once? This is General O’Neill’s cabin all over again!”
Sam furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you it was unwise to traipse through the forest hunting those creatures, and that a better plan would be drawing them to us. Then, I pointed out how odd it was for a creature to attack us the way it did. Y
ou all ignored me and nearly got poor General Landry torn apart! And did I say anything? Did I even offer a very well-earned ‘I told you so’? No. I did not.”
“Vala…”
“Not to mention I put my very life at risk to warn the SGC about the Ori attack. I made that plan all by myself and I think it worked out fairly well, all things considered. But that is a whole different matter!”
“Vala, you — ”
“No! I’m speaking. At the cabin, if Mitchell or Daniel had suggested waiting until morning to go after the creature, you all would have at least considered it. But no, because it came from me, someone who is now an official member of your team with a fancy arm patch and everything, it was dismissed out of hand. I’m not just going to drop it this time. You may be an astrophysicist and a colonel in the Air Force, but this is my area of expertise, and we’re dealing with my life just as much as yours, so I’m going to call the shots.”
Sam said, “Are you done?”
“Yes.”
“I was going to say you’re right.”
Vala huffed. “Oh.”
Sam sighed and looked toward the door. “You do have a lot of experience with saving yourself from situations like this. And you have been a full member of the team for a while now. We can’t count on the rest of SG-1 or the SGC for backup. So—why do you think it’s a bad idea to try escaping?”
“These people obviously set the trap for me. They didn’t expect you and don’t know what you’d probably be worth to the right bounty hunter. So if we make a fuss, you’re going to be the one they attack to make sure I stay in line.”
Sam scowled. “That’s a fair point.”
“Mm-hmm. It’ll be much safer for both of us if we wait until we’re actually at the prison to make our escape. There has to be opportunities. Prisoner drop-offs, staff that comes and goes, supply ships. Between the two of us, we should be able to figure out a way to hijack one of them and find our way home.”
