Female of the Species

by Geonn Cannon

  There was silence from the other bed for a long time. Finally Vala very quietly said, “Well. Thank you again, Samantha.”

  “You’re welcome.” She settled back against her pillow. “We should try to get some sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Sam.”

  “Goodnight, Vala.”

  ~#~

  The diamondgut helped, and Cam found himself actually enjoying the second leg of their journey. Teal’c seemed to be meditating and, after checking his vitals, Carolyn had fallen asleep with her head tucked against his shoulder. Daniel had a small notebook out and was holding it close to his face so he could scribble in the dim light. Odai was awake but staring blankly at the far wall, either daydreaming or conserving his energy.

  Cam finally got bored of just sitting around. The drink Kimo gave him had settled his stomach enough that he was willing to risk unfastening his seatbelt. He moved up behind Adamaris’ seat to watch her fingers dance along the controls. It was difficult to understand what she was doing, but it seemed as if the ship required near-constant course correction. She rested two fingers on a glass dome set into the panel like she was tracing their route on a globe. When she reached over to push up a slider, Cam realized a buzzing sound he didn’t realize he’d been hearing grew quieter.

  “Looks pretty complex,” he said.

  “Takes a lot of training. Years of lessons.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “And then years of experience to learn when to ignore those lessons.”

  “Whoa-hey,” Kimo laughed, “he’s a pilot after all!”

  “The only downside to going through the Stargate is I don’t get to fly much anymore. Well, and I get to see all these sweet ships I’ll most likely never get a chance to fly.”

  Adamaris pushed away from the controls. “I can’t stand in the way of a fellow windfoot. Sit down.”

  Cam hesitated. “I’m not going to crash us into an asteroid field or anything, am I?”

  “No.” Adamaris looked at Kimo. “No, right…?”

  Kimo said, “No. Right now, it’s clear enough so we’d only need one pilot anyway. I can cover if he makes any mistakes.”

  Cam didn’t need any further persuasion. He dropped into the seat Adamaris offered and pulled himself closer to the console. Adamaris put a hand on the back of the chair and pointed to where he should put his hands.

  “Take it easy. I know right now it feels like an explosion in progress, but you just have to be gentle and it’ll respond. This thing is a wild animal, okay, and all you’re doing is guiding it.”

  “Right.” Cam watched the hyperspace streaks washing over the screen in front of him. He let out a slow breath and whispered, “Never gonna get old…”

  Adamaris looked over her shoulder at the rest of SG-1, then leaned closer to Cam. She lowered her voice. “Sorry for everyone making fun of you earlier. Can I tell you a secret?”

  “Sure.” He didn’t take his eye off the screen. “I love secrets.”

  “This ship isn’t balanced right. Never has been. There’s something wrong with its artificial gravity and, when we put on a significant burst of speed, it… well, it’s hard to explain. But if you imagine the gravity of this ship like a bubble and space as a wave, they wash over each other.”

  Cam wasn’t quite following, but he nodded anyway. “Okay.”

  “The thing is, it’s so subtle that most people don’t even feel it. The only people who are really bothered by it are pilots who can feel something is wrong but can’t tell what it is.” She patted his shoulder. “The only reason you were so green is because you know how a ship ought to feel, and this one was throwing you all the wrong signals. Truth is, Kee and I wouldn’t let anyone touch the controls of this beauty if they didn’t get a little tustle-tummy on their maiden voyage.”

  “Really?” Cam felt immensely better. “Well, how about that. So… wait, if it was just my senses fooling with me, why did diamondgut help? What was it?”

  Kimo, who had been listening silently, laughed at the question. “Liquor.” She looked over with an impish grin. “We got you a little drunk, windfoot.”

  Cam scoffed with offense, then shook his head and moved his hands across the controls. “You ladies are definitely trouble.”

  “And don’t you forget it, Colonel Mitchell.” Adamaris looked at the chronometer attached above the screens. “We’ve got a little ways left before we reach the Overseers. I’m going to the back of the ship to rest my eyes. Kee, let me know if we’re coming up on any rough patches and I’ll take over for the new guy.”

  “Will do,” Kimo said.

  Adamaris went into the back. Daniel looked up from his notebook to watch her go, then looked at Cam.

  “See? Nothing to be ashamed about.”

  Cam said, “You tell anyone at the base about the fact I threw up because of space turbulence, and I’ll fight dirty, Jackson. I know things about you. Shameful things.”

  Daniel smiled and went back to his notebook. Cam settled into the seat and smiled as he let his hands get used to the controls. He was well aware of the fact that Kimo was doing most of the actual flying, but that didn’t matter to him at the moment. All that mattered was that he had an entirely new class of ship at his command. He wasn’t going to squander that with silly details.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  THE FLOOR shuddered under their boots, prompting everyone to prepare for the end of their trip. Kimo returned to take over the controls from Mitchell. Daniel put away his books, Carolyn checked to make sure Teal’c didn’t need any of his dressings changed, and Odai sat up straighter to stretch without actually moving very much. He rolled his neck and looked toward the front of the ship.

  “It’s about time.”

  “The Overseers are all about discretion,” Adamaris said. “They can’t exactly be under the radar if they’re in the middle of every shipping lane in the sky.”

  When they had slowed enough for it to be safe, Daniel unfastened his restraints and got up to move behind Kimo’s seat. The wild waves of hyperspace fell away to the normal starscape, and he scanned the vicinity for their destination, craning his neck to get a better look.

  “That’s no moon,” he said, knowing it was what Jack would have done in his place.

  The space station was shaped like an obsidian egg, studded at regular intervals with outcroppings he assumed were docking slips. Dozens of vessels were hooked up and, when they moved in closer, it was possible to see into the station where people were moving around. Kimo angled the ship toward the flattened underside of the egg. As she repositioned them, the bottom of the station was revealed to be a hangar. The station’s gravity made it look like the ships were hugging the wall like houseflies.

  Daniel closed his eyes and swayed a bit, unexpectedly queasy.

  “You okay, Jackson?”

  “Yeah, just-just trying to keep everything down. I apologize for mocking you earlier.”

  Fortunately it seemed as if Mitchell was on too much of a high to gloat. “Don’t worry about it. Just try to talk through the nausea.”

  “So,” Daniel said, “all these other ships…”

  Adamaris said, “Couriers to pick up the condemned and take them to Viaxeiro, suppliers to bring food and clothing, and guards either going on- or off-duty. Prisoners get condemned on their home planet or caught by a bounty hunter. The prisoner is bounced around until they get dropped with one of the… hm. Kee, how many people like us would you say there are?”

  “No more than ten.”

  “Right,” Adamaris said. “One of the ten or so couriers who know how to find the Overseers’ station. This is where they’re officially condemned, and the pilot of the courier ship is given the current coordinates of the prison.”

  Mitchell seemed to file away that information for later, but Daniel focused on something else Adamaris had said. “Guards go off duty? So the guards are allowed to come and go?”

  Kimo was already shaking her head. “If
you think you’re getting in that way, you’re out of luck. Every battalion has a captain who knows what his men look like. Strangers won’t be able to just throw on a uniform and slip aboard the ships unnoticed.”

  “That’s a ‘you’ problem,” Adamaris said. “We agreed to get you to the Overseers and we’ve done that. We’ll do you one better and stick around for a while in case you need a ride back to a gate world. But it’s not our job to get you to the prison.”

  Mitchell said, “That’s okay. We don’t want to cause you any problems.”

  “We do appreciate the ride,” Daniel said.

  Adamaris found an empty slot and guided the ship down.

  ~#~

  Once the ship was secure, Kimo and Adamaris stood to give the team a proper farewell. Kimo had moved Daniel’s glasses to her jacket pocket but, as she stood, she took them out and put them back on. She smiled at him and stuck out her hand.

  “Just in case we’re not the ones who take you home, I want to take this chance to say goodbye. It’s been our joy to be your escorts, SG-1.”

  Daniel shook her hand. “And, as far as intergalactic thieves go, you’re the nicest we’ve come across in a while.”

  “Ahem,” Odai said.

  “You tried to hand us over to the Lucian Alliance in exchange for a bounty,” Daniel said without looking back at him.

  Odai said, “Still. A little rude. I’m right here.”

  Daniel ignored him. “Enjoy the glasses, Kimo.”

  “I certainly will, Dr. Jackson. Good luck saving your friends.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cam looked at Carolyn and Teal’c. “So, Doc? Is he cleared to come out and play?”

  “Under ordinary circumstances,” she said, “not a chance. But given the fact it’s Colonel Carter and Vala, I know nothing I could say will keep him from going with you. As long as I’m able to keep an eye on him…”

  Teal’c inclined his head to her. “Thank you, Dr. Lam.”

  “Don’t make me regret it, okay?”

  Cam looked at Odai. “How about you?”

  “I think I’ll hang around, see if I can get a few jobs for these Overseers.” He leaned to one side so he could see Adamaris. “They pay well?”

  “They pay so well, sometimes I think they don’t understand how money works.”

  Odai smiled at Cam. “I’ll be fine. And this makes up for everything between us. You take care of the Ori and we’ll consider our business done. The next time we run into each other, I don’t want to hear anything about debts or favors.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Cam said. “Good luck getting hired on.”

  Odai stood up. “Good luck on your suicide mission.”

  “Getting Carter and Vala out of the prison or stopping the Ori?”

  “Well, if one of them doesn’t do it, I’m sure the other will.” He saluted to Adamaris and Kimo as he headed for the back of the ship.

  Adamaris said, “We can’t promise how long we’ll be here. Someone might hire us as couriers and demand we leave immediately, or we could be here for days looking for a charter. But if we’re here when you need to get home, you just call up. You’re pretty fun passengers.”

  “Thanks,” Cam said.

  They walked through the back of the ship. Odai had left the hatch open for them, even though he was nowhere to be seen when they descended to the hangar deck. Cam took a moment to admire the rows of ships stretching out to either side - he thought he’d seen a few of them from an F-302 or the bridge of the Odyssey - before he began looking for a way into the station proper. The hangar was wider than it was tall, with a segmented roof which reminded him of a ribcage. A few other new arrivals were walking toward an opening in the far wall.

  “So what’s the plan, Jackson?” he asked as they began walking. “We knock on doors until we find the big boss, then ask them politely to grant a couple pardons?”

  “I don’t think that would work,” Daniel said.

  “Nor do I,” Teal’c said, “in no small part because Vala Mal Doran is, in fact, most likely guilty of the crime for which she was incarcerated.”

  Mitchell scoffed. “Come on, man, statute of limitations! Besides, she wouldn’t even have gotten caught if it wasn’t for some goon she had a beef with setting a trap for her. If that’s not extenuating circumstances, then I don’t know what is. Entrapment, T, it’s a thing.”

  “Be that as it may,” Daniel said, “do you really think the people who took over a rogue planet as a prison and built this as their headquarters are going to be reasonable?”

  “That… is a fair point,” Cam said. They passed underneath the belly of a ship that reminded him of a Wraith dart. “So we don’t go to the bosses. We can’t sneak in with the guards. That leaves the supply ships. We find someone who could use a few laborers and, bang, we’re at the prison ready to bust out the girls. Nothing to it. Be home in time for supper.”

  They had passed through the opening and now stood in a wide corridor that curved away to either side. Humans and humanoid aliens shuffled along the carpeting. Some moved with clear confidence that they knew where they were going while others moved slowly and consulted shining screens embedded in the walls.

  “It’s astounding anyone is able to maintain something like this in secrecy,” Carolyn said. “Odai told me a little about its origins while we were en route. It has to be unbelievably old.”

  Teal’c said, “If they are anything like the Goa’uld, there is a high probability that those who have been incarcerated have helped increase the wealth of their jailors.”

  “So they arrest the criminals and keep their loot?” Carolyn said. “That doesn’t seem right.”

  “No one’s watching the watchers,” Cam said. “They make the rules, they benefit from the spoils, and who’s going to tell them no?”

  She sighed. “I guess you run the risk of corrupt law enforcement no matter where you go. Nice to know humanity isn’t unique in that.”

  Everyone else seemed to be moving in a clockwise direction, save for the people who were heading into the hangar, and Cam decided they couldn’t go wrong by following the crowd. Once they got a better feel for the place he might suggest splitting up, but for the time being they needed to be a group. He was afraid if anyone drifted off on their own, they might never find them.

  “A lot bigger than it looks from the outside,” he said.

  “The black-and-grey coloring probably helped create that illusion,” Daniel said. “If it wasn’t for all the ships hooked up to it, this whole place might have been next to invisible from the wrong angles.”

  Cam said, “The more I hear about this prison system, the less I like it. Maybe our best bet to get Carter and Vala back would be busting the whole place apart.”

  “That would be inadvisable,” Teal’c said.

  “He’s right,” Daniel said. “We have to assume that most of the people who sent prisoners to Viaxeiro had a good reason to do so. On Hadante, we thought Linea was a helpless old woman who didn’t pose a threat to anyone. It turned out she was a mass murderer known as the Destroyer of Worlds.”

  Cam said, “And caused an entire planet to lose their memories and get younger. Right. All I’m saying is, Sam and Vala never even got a trial. They were picked up by some bounty hunter with a beef and sentenced to life in a secret prison. Tell me that sits right with you.”

  “Well, of course it doesn’t,” Daniel said. “We also have to assume that what some cultures consider a crime worthy of imprisonment on Viaxeiro isn’t a crime by our standards. But unless we’re willing to start making ourselves policemen of the universe, there’s not much we can do about it.”

  Carolyn said, “What about this Tanis Reynard person? The whole reason we’re in this mess is because Vala wanted to get her out. Are we sure she deserves freedom?”

  Cam said, “I’m hoping Carter and Vala are making that evaluation right now. When the time comes to leave, they’ll let us know if Tanis belongs in jail or if she’s com
ing with us.”

  They were now walking along the outer wall of the station. They arrived at an open area with a carousel in the center. Men and women in brown overalls and orange shirts were sorting packages by the sticker on their sides. Through the portholes, Cam could see docked ships were attached to long transparent tubes like they used at the bank. Parcels shot through the tubes and arrived in an airlock, where they waited until one of the stevedores released it onto the belt.

  “We need to get aboard one of those ships,” Cam said, pointing through the glass.

  “I agree,” Daniel said. “Any idea how to get aboard them, seeing as their crew doesn’t seem to actually come onto the station? I mean, if they planned to disembark, I imagine they would go to the hangar like Kimo and Adamaris did.”

  Cam thought for a second. “Okay. It’s not a perfect plan, granted.”

  Daniel moved closer to the conveyer belt and cleared his throat. One of the stevedores glanced at him before going back to work. “No samples.”

  “Oh, no, I wasn’t… that’s not what I was…” He looked to the team for help and started over. “We, uh, we want to help. With the… the supplies, supplying… food. And whatnot.” Cam sighed, sure Daniel could hear him even a few feet away. “What I’m trying to say is…”

  Carolyn stepped around him and stared up into the sunken face of the worker. “I’m a doctor. Do you know what that means? A physician, a healer, a — ”

  He grunted and moved his head. Carolyn looked at Cam, who gestured for her to continue with whatever she had planned.

  “Good. Because I know there’s a lot of stuff moving to Viaxeiro, but I haven’t heard a thing about medicine or doctors or nurses or anything that would account for the health of the people that have been sent there. Who do I speak to about booking passage?”