by Geonn Cannon
“She’s a despot,” Shein said. “She was probably the first person you spoke to when you arrived, right? Introduced herself, told you the rules of the place.”
“Rules she came up with herself,” Tanis added.
Shein nodded. “She’s been here longer than anyone else. She uses that to her advantage. She gets to know people as soon as they come in, feels them out, finds their strengths and weaknesses, and figures out the best way to use it for her own benefit. Right now she has her cronies asking around about Vala and… I keep forgetting, what did you say your fake name was?”
Sam said, “Fraiser.”
“Hold on,” Vala said. “How could she have been here longer than anyone else? This place is a death sentence, right? There’s no way she could have outlived everyone who was here when she arrived unless — ”
“Unless she’s a Goa’uld,” Tanis said.
Sam sat up straighter. She hadn’t felt anything but an unquantifiable unease when they met the woman, but secret Goa’uld infiltrators weren’t much of a problem these days. It had been so long since she’d had to pay attention to that odd little twinge that she accepted she might not have noticed. “You know that for a fact?”
“We’ve pieced it together.” Tanis walked closer to the table. “Where I come from, we have a saying: the clever hawk hides its claws. We think she was exiled about a hundred years ago. She acts like she’s the same as all of us, has the story she tells people about her crimes — ”
Shein recited, “Ship captain responsible for a smuggling run across four systems.”
“Drugs, food, people,” Tanis said along with her, their voices monotone but perfectly in sync. “You name it, she ran it.”
Tanis continued, “But people talk. The older condemned know that she was here when they arrived. They also know she hasn’t aged in that time. We even found one of the oldest condemned who claims Lokelani used to have a different face.”
“New host,” Sam said.
“There’s no shortage of potential hosts here,” Tanis said. “Lokelani makes sure the condemned who know her secret are well taken care of so they won’t spill the beans. Also, it helps that they’re all completely terrified of her. She can be kind when she wants to be, but I wouldn’t cross her. People have disappeared. No one is brave enough to ask where they went.”
Sam said, “So you want to take her place.”
Tanis grinned and shrugged. “What’s life worth if you aren’t crossing the line? I’m perfectly content to stay here, just like I told Vala. I’ve been running around my whole life and I’m starting to get sick of ending up in crappy prison cells. Viaxeiro is supposed to be the worst of the worst, but once I was here, I realized something. If no one has ever escaped, then no one has ever reported what it’s actually like here. All the rumors come from the officials who lock us up, and they have an incentive to make it sound as bad as possible. Maybe no one has ever escaped because no one wants out. I have more freedom here than I ever had out in the wilds. And I don’t have to worry about getting caught because I’m already locked up. Plus Shein is here.” She looked at the blonde and then quickly looked away. “There’s just one thing ruining it.”
Shein said, “A damn Goa’uld running the show.”
“A damn Goa’uld running the show,” Tanis echoed, shaking her head in disbelief. “I finally find a place I could settle down, and I have to live under one of those eyeshiners? No thanks.”
Shein pointed at Sam. “After we left, Tanis told me about who you are. SG-1, Goa’uld killers. I figured if anyone could help us out, it’s you.”
Tanis said, “If you get rid of Lokelani, we’ll get you out of here.”
“Why should we trust you?”
Tanis laughed. “Why would I want a member of SG-1 as a neighbor?”
“Two members,” Vala said.
“Yeah, whatever. I still doubt that. So? What’s your verdict?”
Sam pondered the proposition. Shein reached for a bowl in the center of the table and retrieved a small piece of candy in a hard round shell. She squeezed it between her thumb and her first two fingers, cracking the outside. The inside of the candy looked like some kind of creamy, dark-black nougat covering a small nut. Shein plucked out the nut and passed it to Tanis, who took it and popped it into her mouth without looking away from Sam. Shein chose one of the largest shards and placed it on her tongue, chewing it thoughtfully as she watched Sam.
“Why don’t you take care of her yourself?” Sam asked.
Vala, who had watched the exchange with the candy, said, “Leverage.”
Tanis looked away. Shein pursed her lips and focused on the shards of candy still in her hand. Sam realized what Vala was saying. If Tanis went after Lokelani and failed, Shein could be hurt or relocated as punishment. Neither woman could make a move without putting the other one in danger, and neither of them was willing to take the chance.
“We were stupid enough to let Lokelani see our vulnerability,” Tanis said, still looking at the wall instead of at Sam. “She doesn’t even have to threaten us. We’ve seen how she operates. We know what she would do if either of us crossed her.”
Sam thought back to a day on a Goa’uld mothership, a dire situation which had almost led to General O’Neill getting a lobotomy. Just because he wouldn’t admit the real reason he’d stayed behind. Sam knew all about that kind of vulnerability, and she hated how much sympathy she felt for Tanis and Shein. She also thought about their chances of getting off this rock without help, especially now that a Goa’uld was allegedly in charge.
“How many Goa’uld have you killed?” Shein asked.
“Me personally…?”
“If you’re talking about SG-1, it’s fourteen,” Vala said.
Sam frowned. “That doesn’t sound right.”
“The commissary staff have a chart in the kitchen.”
Sam would have to look into that when she got back to the base. If she got back to the base. She was about to tell Tanis they would take their chances alone, but Vala spoke up first.
“Give us a chance to talk privately, take a look around to confirm what you’re telling us, and we’ll get back to you with an answer.”
Tanis raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m lying?”
“Well, darling, you know what they say.” Vala flipped her hair. “Keep your friends close, but count your money when they step away.”
Tanis grinned. “I suppose that’s solid advice. Fine. You should probably get the lay of the land anyway. Go ahead, take your time. You know where to find us when you’re ready to work out the details.
“Samantha, let’s go for a walk, hm?” Vala moved to the door and gestured with her head for Sam to follow. Sam stood up and brushed by Tanis, waiting until they were outside with the door closed before she turned on Vala.
“What the hell was that?”
“I took initiative. I know Tanis better than you, so I knew exactly the right thing to get us out of the room without pissing her off. C’mon.” She started down the hall.
Sam caught up with her. “We’re not agreeing to her plan.”
“It’s a Goa’uld!”
“Allegedly.”
Vala rolled her eyes. “We can at least investigate to see if what she’s saying is true. And if it is, the possibilities are endless! If she’s concealing the fact she’s a Goa’uld, who knows what else she’s hiding? She could have a ship hidden somewhere. Maybe it’s cloaked in orbit and she has transport rings so she can come and go as she pleases. Hell, maybe her home is so big she has a Stargate hidden inside! When you’re dealing with a Goa’uld, nothing is off the table.”
Sam said, “Or Tanis made all that up and wants us to kill her competition so she can take over.”
Vala pursed her lips. “I won’t lie, that is a possibility. But this is what SG-1 does! Ride into town, see an injustice, make things right, then…” She pushed one hand out in front of her as illustration. “Back home again.”
“Usuall
y there are more of us in that scenario.”
“Ugh, again with the ‘just little old me.’ Yes, Sam, we are but two members of SG-1. But that’s almost half! With your brain, you can imagine what they would do if they were here and tell me what to do. I can fire a gun as well as Daniel. I can charm anyone as well as Colonel Mitchell. And…” She flexed her arm and looked down at her biceps. “I don’t quite have Teal’c’s muscle, but I can hit someone with a pot again, if it comes to that.”
“On the ship, you said we were at a disadvantage because we didn’t have the rest of the team.”
“That was different. We would be punching up from a lower position in that case. Here, we’re on even ground. We have time to think and plot and plan. We’re not tied up in a little room. We can do this!”
They were back on the street, and Sam moved Vala closer to the wall.
“You know, the last time you volunteered me for something like this, you insisted I could use Merlin’s device to take an entire village out of phase. I got an Ori staff blast to the gut.”
“But everything else worked out fine! And you’ve healed up nicely from that!”
Sam rolled her eyes. “I have an alternate plan. We go to the other side of the city and pretend that whole conversation never happened. We don’t have time to do a criminal’s dirty work for her. We need to get off this rock. We’ll get close to Lokelani and investigate. If we find evidence she has a way out of here, that’s when we’ll worry about making use of it. Tanis has made it very clear she doesn’t plan to go with us when we leave, so we can’t waste time thinking about her. The only thing that matters is finding the quickest route to a Stargate and getting home.”
Vala’s face had become stone. “I understand. I understand that you only see Tanis as a thief. Pretty telling.”
Sam sighed. “Vala, you’re a completely different…”
“Am I?” She shrugged. “I was just like Tanis. Worse, sometimes. So if you think she’s nothing more than a thief — ”
“Do I have to point out again that she’s literally in prison?”
Vala held her arms out to either side. “So was I, from time to time! And so were you. And every member of SG-1. Tanis is in prison because she was tricked, not because she was tried and convicted in some Earth courtroom. She did what was necessary to survive. That doesn’t make her a bad person. It doesn’t make me bad, either!”
Sam said, “Lower your voice…”
“No! You don’t respect me. That’s fine. You know what, you go work on whatever brilliant plan you’re sure to come up with, and I’ll work with Tanis. We’ll just see which one of us ends up leaving first.” She started to leave, but then came back. She poked her finger against Sam’s shoulder. “And when I escape first, I just may consider sending the Odyssey back here to pick you up. But don’t count on it.”
With another flip of her hair, Vala turned and stormed away. Sam knew it was better for them to stick together but, at the moment she was grateful for the opportunity to get away from the other woman for a little while. So instead of pursuing she walked in the other direction and thought about her options.
No prison was inescapable. Viaxeiro wasn’t self-sufficient. Supplies were brought in and guards were sent out. Prisoners were dropped off by ships which then managed to leave. There had to be some way to utilize that. On Hadante, the prison had a Stargate through which the prisoners could receive food. On Netu, Bynarr had rings in his quarters which went down to the planet. Both of these were fatal flaws SG-1 used to escape each respective ‘inescapable prison.’ So far, Viaxeiro didn’t seem to have anything she could employ other than Lokelani’s control over the landmines, but that was useless if there was no one waiting to pick them up.
The end of the street widened so that the intersection was a large open egg-shape. Other prisoners had gathered there, and more than a few glanced at her as she joined them. She wondered if any of the Lucian Alliance bounty hunters had used photographs to hunt for the team, and how many of those bounty hunters might be incarcerated alongside her. She tried to keep her head down as she walked. She needed to find someplace quiet where she could think, rest, get her thoughts in order. She was never going to find a way out of the prison if she was constantly looking over her shoulder.
“Sri Fraiser!”
Sam was grateful she’d chosen such a familiar name. It had been shouted from a distance, almost lost in the din, but she still stopped and looked around for the source. The crowd parted to allow Lokelani to pass, flanked by two women in the orange uniforms of the Cai Thior. Sam wondered if the woman went anywhere without them as escort.
Lokelani was smiling brightly as she approached but Sam couldn’t help but notice the women had weapon-like holsters on their belts. She kept her guard up and forced a smile. When she was close enough, Sam focused hard to see if she could detect the presence of a symbiote. There was nothing, but she’d lost a bit of faith in her ability to sense symbiotes. It wasn’t a skill she’d been called on to use since the downfall of the Goa’uld. She had spent years ignoring the sensation whenever she was close to Teal’c when he still had a symbiote, so now it was difficult for her to pin down with any certainty.
“Lokelani. I… was just looking for you.”
“I thought you might be.” She briefly looked around the area. “Is Sri Mal Doran not with you?”
Sam said, “No, we thought we’d explore separately for a little while.”
“Ah.” Lokelani folded her hands together. “I am glad that I found you. It’s something of a tradition for me to dine with newcomers. Not all of them, of course, but the ones I think are particularly interesting.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Me? Interesting? I don’t know about that…”
Lokelani clicked her tongue. “You’re far too modest. Most of the women who come here have long histories, reputations, that sort of thing. But not you. I’ve asked around and no one has ever heard of you, Sri Fraiser.” She was still smiling, her features kindly, but her eyes were hard and searching. “I find that fascinating.”
“Wouldn’t that be proof I’m not worth getting to know? There’s a reason I’m working as Vala’s apprentice. I still need to make a name for myself.”
“So you’re a newcomer to the world of crime.”
“That’s right,” Sam said. “I was only sent here because I happened to be with Vala when she was captured. Wrong place, wrong time.”
Lokelani said, “A tragedy, to be certain. You must have had quite a life to end up here. I would love to hear the entire tale over… I’m sorry, what part of your meal cycle are you on? Mid-day? Evening?”
The interminable shuffle between ships and gates on their way to the prison meant that she’d lost track of Earth-time, but the mention of food made her stomach audibly growl.
“I think I would eat whatever you were willing to serve me,” she said.
Lokelani laughed. “Most are, when they arrive.”
Being invited in was definitely the easiest way to get a look at wherever this woman called home. Sam looked around to see if Vala had materialized in the crowd, but the only faces looking back at her were strangers. She gave up looking and resigned herself that she was willingly following a woman she knew she couldn’t trust into a potential trap.
She had essentially found herself in quicksand, then, after alienating her only real ally, began digging herself deeper.
Not your best plan, Carter, she thought as she allowed herself to be led away.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ODAI WAS still laughing, although he had stopped a few times to catch his breath. Cam and Daniel sat across from him and waited impatiently. Daniel examined the ceiling joists. Cam had his arms crossed and kept his eyes locked on Odai, features locked in a scowl. Odai’s face was still red when the laughter finally tapered off and he could speak again. He reached for his cup and shook his head before taking a long drink.
“Okay,” Cam said, “now that we have that out of the way — ”
“No,” Odai said as he put his cup down. “No, that’s not out of the way. That’s only out of the way if you move on to something less ludicrous. You say the name Viaxeiro again and I’m just going to start up again.” He snickered and shook his head. “I’ve always heard the Tau’ri were some crazy den jen rat n’key, but this goes beyond the pale even for you.”
Daniel said, “We’re not asking you to help us break them out. We just need to know where it is.”
“That, by itself, is a pretty tall order, Dr. Jackson. The whole appeal of Viaxeiro is that no one knows where it is.”
Cam smiled. “Come on. Guy like you? You’ve got to have your ear to the ground. You know all the secrets no one wants you to know. Secrets are currency.”
“Be that as it may, I can’t help you. If I were you, I’d focus on taking down the Ori. It’s just as impossible, but at least there you can go down swinging.”
Daniel said, “Okay, fine. We don’t have to know where it is. What sort of crime would hypothetically get someone sentenced to Viaxeiro?”
“Whoa.” Cam cleared his throat. “Uh, Jackson? Can we take a second here?”
Daniel turned toward Cam and lowered his voice. “I’m only asking hypothetically.”
“We can’t help anyone if we’re stuck in the same prison as Sam and Vala.” Odai’s chuckle had turned into a full laugh, drawing Cam’s attention. “Is something funny?”
“I’m just picturing you two as Viaxeiro prisoners. I shouldn’t laugh.” He nodded at Daniel. “With the right facial enamels, you would make a very fetching young lady.”
Daniel frowned in confusion. “Why would…?” Realization dawned. “It’s a women’s prison.”
Cam looked at him. “You don’t think…?”
“That Vala knew it was a women’s prison, expected to be taken prisoner, and that’s why she insisted on going on ahead with Sam and not the rest of the team?” Daniel let his irritation show. “No, it hadn’t crossed my mind. Sam’s probably thrilled.”
“Oh, yeah.”
