Female of the Species

by Geonn Cannon

  “What does she think she’s doing?”

  “It’s obviously just suicide,” another woman said. “Place your bets on how long it will take the landmines to burn her.”

  Silence fell as people saw Sukhan and her companions. The crowd parted and soon she saw for herself what they were talking about: a lone prisoner running across the sand toward the Wayfarer ship. Calyree stepped forward to stand beside Sukhan, looking to her for confirmation that they should take action. A prisoner outside the walls when a ship landed was a huge violation—enough to bring unwanted scrutiny from the guards. Their arrangement was fragile, but it had worked so far. The Cai Thior stopped situations before they became problems. They could punish the sole troublemaker and that would be the end of it. The guards, if forced to intervene, would punish the entire population. Sukhan didn’t need confirmation from Lokelani about what needed to be done: this prisoner had just taken a death sentence…

  And yet…

  “The landmines have obviously been disabled,” Onora said. “We cannot allow her to get any further or the guards will take action.”

  “I know.”

  A member of SG-1 was on the planet. Lokelani was on edge about something, and the alarms going off couldn’t be a coincidence. She rubbed her fingertips against her palm as she watched the prisoner running. This had to be related to Carter.

  “Sukhan,” Calyree said with some urgency. She had drawn her weapon but kept it by her side. “We have to take her down or we’ll all suffer.”

  “No,” Sukhan said.

  A murmur went up through the crowd. Calyree and Onora both tensed, knowing that a dangerous precedent was about to be made.

  Calyree lowered her voice. “Have you gone insane?”

  “No. Things have changed.”

  Calyree looked at the women around them. “If we don’t do something to stop her right now, the guards will. And we will all be punished for not stopping it.”

  “Then perhaps we should do something about the guards before they become an issue.”

  Calyree’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t reject the idea.

  Sukhan caught the attention of the women closest to them. “Word of what just happened will spread to the guards soon enough. They’ll station themselves at the guns to shoot that vessel down. See to it that they don’t get a chance.”

  “What are you saying?” the woman asked.

  “I’m saying the Cai Thior are finally taking over this prison. Spread the word.”

  Sukhan looked at the retreating figure again. A handful of people were standing outside the ship, watching her until she was close enough they could speak. Sukhan wished she had some idea of what they were saying but, after a moment, the woman stepped around the men and disappeared into the ship.

  Sukhan felt something tighten in her chest. Whoever the woman was, she had just done the impossible. There was still a chance that the guns would destroy the ship before it was able to leave the atmosphere, but that they could do something about. At the moment she was willing to hope. Viaxeiro was no longer an inescapable prison.

  ~#~

  “Well?”

  Sam looked toward the voice. She was standing at the door to her cell, hands on the bars, trying to figure out a way to get out.

  “Well, what?”

  “You say you are Colonel Carter? The woman once called M’jor and Captun, the intelligence agent of SG-1?”

  Sam raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never heard it phrased quite like that, but that is who I am.”

  More silence from the other cells until a different woman said, “I don’t believe you. If that is true, then what are you doing here? Were you captured?”

  “Sort of,” Sam said. “It was part of a plan to help an old… acquaintance. Ideally we would’ve been able to come in with a plan, but things went haywire almost immediately. We’re kind of flying by the seat of our pants here.” She thumped one of the bars with her finger. “As you can see by my current predicament.”

  She heard the other prisoners whispering amongst themselves.

  “Your plan of escape,” the first woman said. “Does it include eliminating Lokelani Kiir?”

  “Not originally,” Sam said, “but we amended our list of goals as soon as we found out she was a Goa’uld.”

  More whispers. “If you are Colonel Carter, then we can help you get out of here.”

  “Great. But…”

  She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against the bars. She knew that any help they provided would come with a price tag, and it was most likely going to be taking them with her when she escaped. She couldn’t do that. She also couldn’t make the promise knowing she would betray them when the time came to leave. She still remembered when General O’Neill had lied to Fifth, and how that deception led to one of the most powerful enemies they’d ever seen. An enemy that had worn her face.

  “I can’t promise to take you with me when I leave,” she said. “I’m sorry, it’s just not in the realm of possibility.”

  “Just get us out of these cages,” one of the women said. “We’re happy to stay on Viaxeiro as long as Lokelani is gone.”

  “That, I can promise,” Sam said.

  “What do you need from us?”

  “I need to find the force field generator. Do you know where it is?”

  “There’s a device on the roof of this building. It controls several things throughout the city, I think.”

  Sam let herself hope. “That sounds like exactly what I’m looking for.”

  “We can get you to it.”

  Sam said, “If you can get out of here, then why do you stay?”

  “Because there’s nowhere to run. Escape from Lokelani, and she’ll sic the guards on you. Not to mention the Cai Thior. And half the other prisoners would turn on us to stay in her good graces. Even if we got out and managed to convince a handful of other prisoners that she’s a Goa’uld, there’s no way we would’ve stood a chance against her lackeys. We stayed because we didn’t have options. Removing Lokelani gives us options.”

  “Okay,” Sam said. “Let’s get out of here before she comes back.”

  “You heard her, ladies.”

  Sam heard metal grinding against stone in one of the other cells. She craned her neck in an attempt to see what they were doing, but the angles were wrong. She could only see three other cells, the women within shrouded in darkness. They reached out to each other, passing something from cell to cell until finally the woman next to Sam had it.

  “We worked out this escape plan a while back, gone over it a few hundred times until we had it perfect, just in case we decided we didn’t want to become her next host. We know that none of us stand a chance against a Goa’uld, but given the options… I personally would rather die fighting than have one of those snakes in my head.”

  “I know how you feel.”

  The woman placed a device on her cell door. “Look away!” she warned.

  Sam covered her face as the device popped and fizzled. The cells lit up briefly in a series of quick flashes accompanied by the hiss and smell of burning powder. Sam heard something metal hit the ground and bounce. When she looked, the door had swung open and the woman inside the cell had emerged into the middle of the room. She went to a panel on the wall and flicked every switch. Sam’s cell door was the fourth to open. She stepped out with the other prisoners. They stared at her, keeping their distance.

  Sam offered a weak smile. “Hi.”

  “You came to our planet once,” one of the women said. “Latona. We were attacked by Svarog because of your people. But your team helped save us. You brought peace back to our planet.”

  “The Sentinel,” Sam said. “I remember. I thought your people didn’t care about material things.”

  She offered a half-smile. “Not everyone is in this prison for the crime of theft.”

  Sam decided not to think too hard about that. It was the exact reason she couldn’t promise freedom to any of her fellow prisoners.


  Another woman said, “Our world was enslaved by Cronus. Then one day, his Jaffa fled. We received word through the Chappa’ai that your team was responsible for killing him.”

  “SG-1 is responsible for freeing many worlds,” one of the woman said, “for better or worse. False gods fell and chaos rose like dust around their corpses. But we cannot blame them for the consequences of their actions.” To Sam, she said, “Come with me. I will take you to the generator. The rest of you, Lokelani is certain to discover this sooner rather than later. Stand in her way and do not let her pursue Colonel Carter.”

  The women nodded silently.

  The Latonan woman stepped forward and offered her hand. “I’m Viona.”

  Sam shook her hand. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t tried this before because there’s a difference between being willing to go on a kamikaze mission and just plain suicide. We are surrounded by Lokelani’s guards and we’re currently unarmed. We may have a member of SG-1 on our side, but we still have a long way to go before we call this a victory.”

  She was right, of course, but Sam couldn’t help but think escape was finally within her grasp.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CAM REMAINED tense the entire time Carolyn was running, certain that every step would activate the landmines Pemphero had warned them about. Through the opening in the wall, he could see women wearing matching outfits watching her escape, but none of them made any move to stop her. Teal’c noted their inaction as well.

  “Perhaps it has been so long since anyone acted so brazenly, they are uncertain of how to react.”

  “Could be.” When she was close enough, Cam moved forward to get between Carolyn and the guards, just in case they found their nerve. “Didn’t expect to see you again so soon, Doc.”

  She was breathing heavily from her run, but wasn’t panting. “Didn’t have… much of a choice… had to… make sure you knew Carter’s plan. Wasn’t sure… how much of the message got through before the signal died.”

  “We got that they’re okay and they have a plan.”

  Teal’c had retrieved water from the ship and he handed it to her. “Thank you.” She took a long drink. “Carter is going to thin the atmosphere to knock everyone out. You should prepare for a quick getaway.”

  “Why don’t we just fly over, set down in the town square, and pick up Carter and Vala? The guards didn’t stop you leaving.”

  Teal’c said, “That would be unwise, Colonel Mitchell. If the city is indeed in a state of unrest, there would be nothing to stop the other prisoners from attempting to board as well.”

  “Good point,” Cam said. “It might not be a riot now, but a ship landing right in the middle of the prison could push it over the edge. We’re lucky they’re still afraid enough of the landmines to risk making a run for it even after what they just witnessed. Any chance the guards will take an interest in us sitting out here?”

  “I think the guards have more on their hands right now. But Carter and Vala can’t leave yet — they have to get rid of the woman in charge. She’s a Goa’uld.”

  “What?” Cam said.

  Teal’c said, “This is a small kingdom with very little possibility of being overtaken by another System Lord. She is guaranteed a steady supply of new residents and potential hosts.”

  “Exactly. Tanis said it was the price of helping with the escape plan.”

  “So Tanis Reynard is here?”

  “Yeah. But she’s not coming with us.”

  Cam snapped his gaze away from the guards to look at her. “What? You mean this whole mission has been a wash?”

  “On the contrary,” Teal’c said. “General Landry hoped this mission would provide intelligence on the Lucian Alliance. While uncovering the location of this prison, we have established contacts within the syndicate and discovered some of how it operates. By that measure, Colonel Mitchell, I believe this mission could indeed be considered a success.”

  Carolyn said, “Plus the SGC doesn’t have to hold Tanis prisoner indefinitely without a trial.”

  “You have a point there.” Cam looked back toward the city.

  “Get on the ship and stay out of sight. And congratulations, Dr. Lam. You just officially became the first woman to ever escape Viaxeiro.”

  “We’re not off the ground yet.’’

  Cam clucked his tongue against his teeth and muttered, “She just had to say it, didn’t she…?” He shook his head. “Teal’c, get Jackson out of the box. Time for Plan K or L, or whatever letter we’re up to by this point.”

  ~#~

  Tanis was the one who found the life support equipment. There were ten devices, each one looking like a pair of shoulder pads with oxygen reserves hanging off the back. A facemask was raised up off the chest to cover the mouth and nose. Vala and Tanis each put one on and gathered enough to outfit their little rebellion.

  Outside, everyone was buzzing with curiosity about what might be going on. The alarms had stopped, but now the prisoners seemed to be provoking the guards. The few Cai Thior she had seen stopped to engage in a quick, whispered conversation before running off again. Everywhere they looked, people were abandoning their storefronts and porches to see what was causing all the commotion. A few shared rumors that a supply ship had landed outside the walls and wasn’t preparing to depart. If anyone noticed Vala and Tanis’ strange new accessories, no one took the time to question them.

  They were near Tanis’ cold-water when they spotted Koty’r. She saw them at the same time and made her way over, meeting them halfway.

  “Looks like you completed your part of the mission,” she said.

  Tanis said, “From the sounds of it, you didn’t do so badly yourself. Where’s Shein?”

  “In custody, as expected. I followed and saw that they put her in a building near the walls.”

  “I know that place,” Tanis said.

  “I’m more worried about Dr. Lam,” Vala said. “Shouldn’t she be with you?”

  “Plan changed. Shein and Carolyn got cornered by some guards. Shein let herself get captured, but Carolyn saw a chance to go over the wall and took it.”

  Vala gaped at her. “That was not in the plan! So she’s out there somewhere? She’ll die!” It was such a foolhardy chance to take… like dialing a Stargate in the middle of a firefight.

  “Relax, she’s fine. A ship landed right after she went over the wall. She ran out to it, and the Cai Thior just… stood there.”

  Tanis frowned. “They let her go?”

  Koty’r shrugged. “I watched the whole thing happen. The Cai Thior ladies were there, they saw her, and they decided to just let her go.”

  Vala said, “Why would they do that?”

  Tanis was looking at the crowd around them. “Because for all their authority, the Cai Thior are prisoners here, too. And hope can be a very persuasive thing. For some reason, your friend was able to cross the distance without setting off the landmines. That’s never happened before. They could be taking it as a tipping point.”

  Vala said, “I’m not certain I want to give these women hope, but if it means Carolyn got to safety, I suppose I can live with it. Any word on Samantha?”

  Koty’r shook her head and gestured at the sky. “I’m guessing she hasn’t found the generator yet. I know I just showed up, but I imagine all hell is going to break out when she flips that switch. I’d prefer to be laying low when it happens.” She nodded at the life support devices. “Did you grab one of those for me?”

  Tanis handed her one. “If anyone asks you where you got this…”

  “I’ve never heard of either of you,” Koty’r said as she slipped the shoulder pads over her head. “Good luck, ladies.”

  They watched her flee. Tanis looked toward the entrance to the city. “If she’s to be believed, your way out of here is sitting out in the salt plains. No landmines and the Cai Thior are ready to make a stand. All you have to do is run out there and you’re free.”

 
“Yeah, until those guns shoot us out of the sky.”

  “Still, you could be safe on the ship while the Cai Thior get this revolution underway.”

  Vala shook her head. “Sam might need my help. She would stay behind for me, too.”

  Tanis said, “Are you sure about that?”

  “One hundred percent. Just like you’re not going to let Shein rot in a cell while everyone else is having fun.”

  Tanis grinned. “A jailbreak in the middle of a jailbreak? If this has to be our last hurrah, at least you’re keeping it interesting.”

  Vala winked and led Tanis through the growing crowd of prisoners on their way to see what was happening at the main gates.

  ~#~

  Sam led the liberated prisoners up the stairs, pausing at the doorway to make sure Lokelani wasn’t anywhere nearby. Once she confirmed the Goa’uld and her Cai Thior weren’t lurking, she motioned the rest of the women up.

  “This is too easy,” one of the women said. “This place is usually crawling with Cai Thior.”

  Sam could already hear the commotion outside. The male voices indicated there was some sort of dust-up with the guards. “Sounds like they have other problems to worry about right now.” She turned to the women. “Get somewhere safe. Things are probably going to get hectic before too long, and you don’t want to get trampled.”

  The women fled, leaving Sam with Viona, who gestured toward the back of the house. “The generator is on the roof. Stairs are on the back of the building. I hope you know what you’re doing, because I don’t have a clue how the thing works.”

  Sam let her lead the way. “That’s never really been a problem for me, to be honest. Goa’uld, Ori, Asgard… I’ve come across every kind of technology imaginable in the past ten years, and not one piece of it came with an instruction manual.” Viona pushed the back door open and swept the yard to make sure no one was there before she waved Sam through. “Can I ask, just for the sake of my own curiosity, what led to you being locked up here?”