Female of the Species

by Geonn Cannon

  Daniel blinked a few times and put on an awkward smile. “Sure.”

  “I’ll think about it. Even if we don’t get caught, I probably shouldn’t risk showing my face around the Overseers after sticking my neck out like this.” He grinned slowly. “Me, helping out the Tau’ri. Working with SG-1! I feel like I’m doing my family proud. Please, Dr. Jackson, tell me something about one of your adventures. Preferably a time when you stood against the Goa’uld.”

  “Uh.” Daniel looked at Cam. “Uh… well. Okay… Teal’c and I went back to Abydos a year after the SGC officially started up…”

  Cam noticed that Teal’c was standing at the back of the bridge, head slightly lowered with his arms crossed over his chest. He moved closer and lowered his voice so he wouldn’t interrupt Daniel’s anecdote.

  “Buddy? What’s on your mind?”

  “I am considering our options. Carolyn Lam will alert Colonel Carter and Vala Mal Doran to our presence. They will therefore be prepared should we make a move to rescue them from Viaxeiro.”

  “What are you thinking, a kamikaze run at that force field? I don’t think we’d be the first ones to try that, and Pemphero says they’ve got guards down there to discourage that sort of behavior.”

  Teal’c said, “Any escape attempt would require far more coordination between ourselves and the women of our team than we are currently capable of. We cannot so much as signal them of our intentions. They would be required to improvise immediately once our plan is in action, and that is only if they deduce what we need them to do.”

  “Wow. Never seen you so glass-half-empty, buddy.”

  “My concerns are merely practical, Colonel Mitchell. There is a reason no one has ever escaped this prison. Our odds are very low.”

  “Any suggestions on how we could improve them?”

  “We could have delayed sending Carolyn Lam to the planet until we had a plan.”

  Cam sighed. “Yeah. If we’d known Pemphero was going to be so helpful, maybe we wouldn’t have been so quick with the drop-off. But I thought it was important to let the ladies know we were up here as soon as possible.”

  Teal’c nodded once and faced forward. “There is no sense in weeping over spilled lactose.”

  “It’s cry — ” He narrowed his eyes, unsure if Teal’c had really gotten the idiom wrong or if he was just screwing with him. “Right. Well, Carter and Vala are pretty quick on the uptake. If we make enough noise, I’m sure they’ll pick up on it.”

  Teal’c made a soft noise of agreement. “And we must hope our efforts are compatible with whatever plans they may already have in place.”

  “Yeah.” He patted Teal’c’s arm. “That’s the spirit. Keep it optimistic.”

  Daniel was still telling his story. “ — and, uh, since his bullets weren’t working, Jack took his knife and flung it at Heru’ur’s ribbon device.”

  Pemphero cackled. “Did it work?”

  “Oh, yeah. Blade went right through his hand.”

  Pemphero rocked back in his seat and clapped. “Amazing!”

  “At least we have a new fan. Kind of a nice change of pace.”

  Teal’c raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

  ~#~

  Vala resisted the urge to skip back to the cold-water. Tanis was still in position to watch Lokelani’s stronghold and didn’t look up as Vala joined her on the roof.

  “Carter just headed out with a couple of new arrivals.”

  “Those aren’t just new arrivals,” Vala said, dropping onto her stomach next to Tanis. She stacked her hands and rested her chin on them. “The dark-haired one is our friend. Dr. Carolyn Lam. If she’s here, that means the boys aren’t far behind. Rescue is right around the corner.”

  Tanis tensed. She sat up straighter and flipped up the lenses of her sight enhancers. “So I guess that means you’re leaving soon.”

  “Well, we’re going to do our best to follow through with the deal,” Vala said. “I doubt SG-1 would willingly walk away while a Goa’uld is in charge.”

  “Right,” Tanis said.

  Vala looked at her. “Having second thoughts about staying behind? I’m sure I could convince Sam and the others to make room for Shein if you want to go.”

  “No, we’re staying. It’s…” She wrinkled her nose and swept her hand across the pebbled surface of the roof. “I… I sent you the message to warn you away, and I was pissed to see you show up, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing you again. Okay? You were the best partner I ever had. You’re the only one I could still tolerate after going our separate ways. And if anyone else had shown up as a member of SG-1, I probably would’ve written them off immediately. Good riddance and don’t get caught in my afterburners, you know? But I was able to look past it with you. That probably means something. And I’m going to miss you when you’re gone, because after this, we probably won’t see each other again.”

  Vala tried to keep her emotions in check. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speaking so sweetly without ending it with an insult.”

  Tanis ignored her and flipped the lenses back over her eyes.

  “You know, I wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble for just anyone. Viaxeiro Caldera? Just suggesting it to the rest of the team was a huge gamble. I used so much of the goodwill I’ve acquired with them because I thought they had a chance to save you. Because I thought you deserved to be saved. You’re the only person I’ve worked with I feel that way about. So what you were saying… what you didn’t say… I feel the same.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Tanis said.

  “Nobody on SG-1 can insult me quite the way you do.”

  Tanis smiled at that. “Good to know I’m undefeated. Your friend, the new one who came in. Is she a good soldier?”

  “Carolyn…? Uh… well… I know for a fact that she’s made every member of the SGC bleed. And everyone, no matter their rank, is frankly frightened of her.”

  “Hmph,” Tanis said. “At least the Tau’ri were smart enough to send a warrior.”

  Vala sheepishly looked anywhere but Tanis’ direction. From the corner of her eye, she caught movement across the roof but didn’t acknowledge the new arrival.

  “So,” she said as casually as she could muster. “That Shein… she seems pretty capable herself.”

  Tanis smiled. “She’s more than capable, Vala. She could take you down in pretty much any sort of contest. Charm, pickpocketing, planning. I’m not saying this to make you feel inferior, because she’s better than me at all that shit, too. I’d have been jealous as hell if I ever ran into her out in the real life. But here? Where we don’t have to compete? I can respect her.”

  “Wow,” Vala said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you gush so much over a conquest.”

  “She’s not a conquest.” Irritation crept into Tanis’ voice. “I told you, I’m here for good. I’m settling down. And Shein is a big reason for that.” She flipped up her lenses again. “I’ve always been about taking things. Making them mine, possessing them. I don’t want to steal Shein. I just want to be in her life. And I swear, if you mock me for this…”

  “No, no, nothing of the sort,” Vala said. “Nice to have it clarified.”

  Shein said, “It sure is.”

  Tanis twisted to see Shein standing a few feet behind them. She looked back at Vala and realized she’d been aware they weren’t alone. She grunted and dropped back down onto her elbows.

  “That was a nasty trick, Mal Doran.”

  Shein lay down as well. “And dangerous. What if you had badmouthed me? I’d have made you find a new cold-water to spend the night until I calmed down.”

  “All right, all right,” Vala said, “enough flirting. Samantha is down there with Dr. Lam in the belly of the beast. What do you say we go catch up with her so we can brainstorm a way to remove Lokelani from power and get off this rock once and for all?”

  Tanis pushed herself up and took off the magnifying lenses. “Sounds good to me. I hate being on surveillance duty.”r />
  Vala stood as well. She dusted off her clothes and looked at Shein. “We’ve got a ship out there with the rest of our team waiting for us to open the door. I’m sure in your time here you’ve come up with some plans to escape if you were ever granted the opportunity.”

  “Oh, lots.”

  “Preferably one that doesn’t end up with a lot of corpses or half the prison escaping with us,” Vala amended.

  Shein’s expression soured. “Oh. I’ll have to think about that.”

  “Well, think quick,” Vala said as they walked toward the ladder which led to the street. “I’d hate to make the boys wait any longer than necessary.”

  ~#~

  Carolyn eyed a group of guards leaning against a building’s wall. One of the men followed her with his eyes but didn’t make a move to stop them. Koty’r followed them, remaining silent. Carolyn saw no reason to cut her loose yet. She waited until they had turned a corner before she spoke. “So what’s the hierarchy here? Do those guards have authority over you, now that you’re a member of Lokelani’s little militia?”

  Sam shook her head. “They’re just ensuring no one tries to escape. Most of the prisoners seem happy to stay put, so they don’t really have anything to do.”

  Vala came around the corner ahead of them, followed quickly by Tanis and Shein. Sam motioned toward a nearby alley. She led her small group into the alley and waited next to a long, squat dumpster until Vala joined them. Vala ran up to Carolyn and wrapped her in a crushing hug that impeded her ability to breathe.

  “Dr. Lam!”

  “Oh. Uh, hello. I wasn’t aware we were at this level of friendship.”

  “She’s a hugger,” Sam said.

  Vala said, “I’m just so glad to see you!”

  “It’s, uh, it’s good to see you, too.” She managed to wriggle free from the embrace. “Colonel Carter has been filling me in about everything.” Tanis and Shein had stayed at the mouth of the alley to watch for guards, Cai Thior, or Lokelani. “I take it this is Tanis Reynard and…”

  “Shein Pranassa,” Tanis said. “You’re Lam?”

  “That’s right. Uh, the name we gave to Lokelani was Ma Barker.”

  Sam said, “Colonel Mitchell’s idea?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Figures.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Koty’r lifted a hand. “Koty’r A’yiti. Not that anyone asked. But they said Tanis… you?” She pointed and Tanis nodded. “They said you would be in charge if all goes according to plan. Might be nice to get in good with the new leader. So if you need my help, you’ve got it.”

  “Why?” Sam asked.

  Vala cleared her throat and whispered. “Samantha, isn’t there a saying about animals being given as gifts that should keep their mouths closed?”

  “No, we need to know why she’s so willing to stay behind in a prison.”

  Koty’r said, “What prison? Out there, I see a town that’s running smoothly. I don’t see any temples to dead false gods. I don’t see anyone sitting in the street begging for scraps. This place is a paradise compared to what I’m leaving behind. The only downside I can see is that there’s a Goa’uld calling the shots. You want to change that. I’m in.”

  Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. Do the guys have a plan in place?”

  Carolyn said, “Well… they were mostly just playing it by ear. We’ve been going all-out just trying to find this place. All the team had to go on was rumor and innuendo. Couldn’t really come up with a viable escape plan until they knew what we were dealing with.”

  “That’s fair,” Sam said. “Where are they now?”

  “Staying out of sight,” Carolyn said. “I think the plan was wait to see if you could pass along a signal or, if too much time went by, just charge the place. They’re worried about the guards, though.”

  Tanis said, “The real threat is the landmines and the blasters on the wall. Even if you get across the sand to a waiting ship, those guns will blast you out of the sky before you even reach the barrier. But let’s say you find a way around those obstacles. It doesn’t answer the problem of Lokelani. I hate to sound like a petulant child, but you did give your word that you’d help get rid of her before you left.”

  “Right,” Sam said.

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Vala said, “and I just might have a solution. I was thinking that this prison has been around for… what… at least as long as the Goa’uld have been running around? And it’s been populated exclusively by women like me and Tanis and Shein, people whose immediate thought is to find a way out. Generations of sneaky, clever women who made their living getting out of tough binds. And none of them have been able to find a way out.”

  Sam said, “You’re not making me feel better about our chances here, Vala.”

  “No, but listen. Why haven’t they been able to find a way out? Because… the only way out is crazy and dangerous and the sort of thing no sane person would even consider.”

  “Sounds like the Tau’ri,” Tanis said.

  “We do have a reputation for dumb ideas,” Sam admitted. “What are you thinking?”

  Vala blew air between her lips and pointed straight up. The women around her followed her finger. They saw clotheslines strung between buildings with curved rooftops, they saw small wooden platforms that served as balconies, with crawling vines of potted plants creating an elevated forest in the narrow alley. Someone with an open window was cooking a meal that made Sam’s stomach growl idly. At first she couldn’t figure out what Vala was talking about. When it did click, she snapped her gaze back to Vala’s incomprehensibly smiling face.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “It’s just crazy enough it might work!”

  “It’s suicide,” Sam said.

  Carolyn looked between them. “What’s going on?”

  “She wants to find the force field generator and turn it off.”

  “That sounds really, really incredibly stupid,” Carolyn said, her voice taking on a hint of panic. “Let’s not do that.”

  “Just for a second!” Vala said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “If the sky literally disappeared?” Sam said. “All the oxygen on this planetoid would immediately get sucked out into space, suffocating us all. The temperature would drop so fast we might freeze to death before we asphyxiated. And if we’re unlucky enough to be close to a sun, anyone who miraculously survived both of those things would be hit with such a massive dose of UV radiation, they’d be burnt to a crisp.”

  Vala meekly said, “But… just for a second…?”

  “That’s why I said ‘immediately’.” Sam rolled her head and pressed both hands against her eyes. “Vala… I want to be more open to your plans. I really do. But this plan is just bad. Humans can’t survive in a full vacuum. There…” She stopped short and her eyes swam out of focus as her attention turned inward. Vala could almost see words forming behind her irises.

  “But…? Is there a but…?”

  “There’s…” Sam looked up at the sky again. “It would be suicide to turn off the force field entirely. But if we could thin the atmosphere…”

  Shein said, “What is she talking about? Are they going to burn the sky?”

  Tanis said, “They better not.”

  “No,” Sam said. “The sky would still be there. Vala, do you remember the first time you left the base?”

  “Daniel took me for ice cream at a lovely little parlor at the base of the mountain. There’s — ”

  Sam waved her off. “That’s not important. I mean when you were driving down the mountain. You said you could barely breathe.”

  “Right!” Vala said. “I felt as if I’d been running a marathon.”

  “The part of the world where our base is located has a very high elevation,” Sam explained to the others. “The atmosphere is thin. People who aren’t accustomed to it find themselves short of breath. There’s something like seventeen percent less oxygen at that altitude. We can�
�t turn off the force field, but maybe we can turn it down enough to thin the air. We knock it down to…”

  Her eyes glazed over again but Vala snapped her fingers before she could completely drift away.

  “You can do the math later! Would that work?”

  “I think so,” Sam said. “We would have to find a way to protect ourselves from the hypoxia, and the Goa’uld might be able to stay conscious, but the Cai Thior and the guards and all the innocent bystanders Lokelani might otherwise use as human shields would be taken out of play.”

  Tanis said, “And if you thin the atmosphere enough, you could get a radio message out to your friends. We’d just have to find a radio.”

  “Oh.” Carolyn reached under her belt and showed them the radio. “Just in case.”

  Tanis looked excited. “Does this mean we have a plan?”

  Sam nodded slowly. “I think we have the shape of a plan. Which is better than what we had a few minutes ago.” She looked at Vala and nodded her thanks. Vala beamed with pride that she’d helped. “But it doesn’t mean anything unless we can find the force field generator and figure out how to manipulate it. Carolyn, Koty’r, you go with Vala, Tanis, and Shein. See if you can find oxygen masks, life support systems, anything we can use to stay conscious when we take out the air.”

  “And you?” Tanis said. “Where will you be?”

  “If anyone on this rock is going to know about the generator, it’s Lokelani. I’m going to do my best to make her tell me where it is.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  TEAL’C FAMILIARIZED himself with the controls of Pemphero’s ship and used them to determine the area of space they were traveling through. They were currently skimming along the edge of a small planetary system which boasted three worlds capable of supporting life. They were well within the sprawl of the Stargate network, so it seemed likely that one of the worlds would have a Stargate. At the rate Viaxeiro was moving, however, he expected they would be out of range when the time came to make a daring escape. He scanned ahead for other systems and found something else instead.

  “Pemphero.”

  The pilot had been slumped in his seat, dozing, but he was immediately alert. He moved his hands to the controls and watched the readout.