Fortunately O’Neill seemed to think her reaction was due to their flamboyant outfits. “Don’t mind the dress code. Just another day in the wild and wacky SGC, Captain.”
“Yes, sir. Ah. I wanted to let you know I was ready. I didn’t know Dr. Jackson was back. If you would prefer for me to step aside and allow him to take over…”
He looked at Daniel. “I don’t know. He doesn’t really seem dressed for it.”
Daniel ignored the comment. “Actually, Captain, I think you have a better chance at swaying her than I would. SG-1 might not have much personal history with Kali, but we are kind of infamous among the Goa’uld. Maybe having you at the table, rather than me, is one of the things that’s making her talk.”
“Right.” O’Neill nodded. “Then get in there and get cracking.”
Morello looked at Getty, smoothed her hands over the front of her jumpsuit, and went into the interrogation room.
Kali lifted her head slightly and focused on the doorway. She had obviously been asleep sitting up waiting for the next round to begin, but she was trying to hide the fact. Her shoulders were back, her head held high, and she moved her hands to fold them together in front of herself despite the handcuffs. She was determined to look like she was completely and utterly in charge.
Morello pulled out her seat, sat down, and looked the Goa’uld in the eye. “You lose.”
A wrinkle appeared between Kali’s eyebrows, but she said nothing.
“Whatever happens in this room, whatever goes down with the Jaffa and your doomsday device, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that isn’t up for debate, the only thing that is an unassailable fact, is that you have lost. There is no possible way you can come out of this a winner. You’re on the run from people who once worshipped you as their goddess. They would spit on you if they walked into this room. You think we’re holding you here because we’re scared of you, but no one on this base is tense. No one cares that you’re here. They all pity you.”
“How dare you mock me?”
Morello shook her head. “I’m not mocking you, Kali. I’m simply putting things in perspective. When we decided to go looking for you, we found you in a matter of hours. Living in squalor, scrounging for food, and clinging to the last vestiges of the power you once held.”
Kali slapped both hands down on the table. “You will know how powerful I truly am once…”
Morello leaned forward. “Once what? Your machines go off? I have a coffee maker at home that will make me a fresh pot even if I don’t go home tonight. That doesn’t make me a god. You programmed a machine. No one cares. And if we let you go right now and walked you to the Stargate, where would you go? What hole would you scurry down this time, and how long do you think it would be before your Jaffa found you? You lost, Kali.”
Kali seethed and curled her fingers until the nails were biting into her palms.
“But Bhavatarini still has a chance to win.”
Kali’s expression changed just a fraction. “What did you say?”
Morello said, “It’s your other name. Redeemer of the Universe. When you lived on Earth, you were seen as a destroyer, yes. But you were also revered as a mother goddess. The great protector. There are myths that speak of you as the kindest and most loving of all the gods in the Hindu faith. Mother of the Universe.” Morello smiled. “The centuries of infighting and scheming among the Goa’uld may have hardened you, but I don’t think they’ve completely destroyed the part of you that showed compassion. And I doubt the Mother of the Universe would do something as cowardly and vindictive as poisoning an entire race of people just out of spite.”
Kali took a deep breath.
“You can’t win. But there’s still time to change the game. You can be Bhavatarini again.” Morello stood up and tugged at the hem of her jacket. “Threats aren’t going to change anything, and offering incentives… we don’t have anything you want. We could lock you in a cage and protect you from any vindictive Jaffa who come looking for you, but I don’t think that’s an ending you’d accept. So all we can do is ask for you to help us and hope you choose to do the right thing.” She turned to the one-way glass and nodded. “I realize this room is probably very boring to be locked up in all day, so I thought we’d offer you something to look at.”
A projector on the other side of the glass showed the image of a wide green river flanked on either side by bright green fields. Kali leaned forward and her eyes widened.
“We call that area of the world Bangladesh now. It’s the area you once ruled over. In fact, it might be the place your human host once called home.” She was quiet for a moment to let that sink in. “We have quite a few images that we’ll scroll through over the next hour or so. General O’Neill will be in to see you again at some point. No games, no tricks. We’re just asking you for help. This is the end, Kali. No more battles, no more vanquished enemies and newly-claimed territory. You’re done. Don’t let your last act be one of anger and mass murder. That’s not who you are. It’s never been who you are.”
She turned to the door, but Kali spoke before she could leave.
“What is your name?”
“Captain Frances Morello.”
“I… thank you, Frances Morello.”
Morello nodded. “You’re welcome.” She left the room and, once the door was closed behind her, slumped against the wall. Her mind had been filled with horror scenarios gleaned from mission reports. Hand devices and superior Goa’uld strength, pain sticks and forcing themselves on new hosts. She had just faced down a Goa’uld without blinking and the adrenaline was leaving her body in waves of violent tremors.
General O’Neill came out of the observation room with Colonel Getty in tow. She steadied her nerves and faced them both.
“Good job in there, Captain,” Getty said.
“Thank you, sir.” She looked at O’Neill. “Do you think it will work?”
“It’s as good as anything else we were trying. Now all we can do is wait and hope she makes the right choice.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Tanis didn’t trust many people in her life. During her three years of exile, she was forced to rely on Corso and Pender, but she was always aware they could turn on her at any time. It was that distance which allowed her to turn on them when the time came, which led to her escape from custody. She worked alone whenever she could, and she took partners as fresh fish she could leave in the water if sharks started circling too closely. Extra sets of hands often came in useful, and sometimes two heads were definitely better than one, but she didn’t let herself get too comfortable relying on someone else.
Vala was different. They argued and they disagreed, and yes, Vala had cost her that damned Kull warrior armor, but the benefits of their partnership far outweighed the losses. She hadn’t done a formal accounting but her rough estimate said she had gained more working with Vala than she’d ever made working on her own. Still, she preferred to work solo. She considered herself a solo act with occasional accompaniment. When Vala first started talking about Kali’s treasure, Tanis went along for one simple reason: she wanted to take the whole thing for herself. It would be a tidy way to end their association, and she had little doubt Vala would do the same to her given the chance.
But as the days marched on, she started changing her mind. She started thinking about her cut rather than how she would get away with the whole thing. In fact, if pressed, she would have been willing to cut her percentage so Vala could have more. She deserved the majority. She had valid reasons for going after this particular prize and Tanis was just a helping hand. Tanis caught herself and suppressed those feelings with a quick shake of her head; she almost felt compassionate. Those were dangerous waters to tread.
They were still at the rented house, and Tanis was out on the veranda to watch the incoming ships. She had sent a few subspace messages to associates with connections in the food service industry. One of them, she knew, was bound to have information about Wyrrick’s party. They had three days
to get in and be vetted by Wyrrick’s security or their opportunity would be lost. Tanis’ hands were clammy and she had a constant buzz of excitement at the possibility of another big score on the horizon. Riches, gold, jewels… she didn’t know exactly what Kali had used to decorate her palace, but she knew it would be worth all the trouble they were going to.
She saw Vala returning up the dirt path that led to their temporary headquarters and got up to go inside. Their dinner was still on the table, plates loaded with strips of meat from a local creature garnished with small red fruits. Tanis picked up one of the meat strips, sniffed it, and popped it into her mouth. It was moist but somehow extremely salty, and Tanis made a face as she took a drink from her flask. She was wiping her sleeve across her lips as Vala came in.
“Good news!”
“You brought something to take the taste of dinner out of our mouths?”
Vala swung her bag around to the front and unclipped the top. She withdrew a small pouch and tossed it underhand to Tanis. “Try it with that. I saw some people in the tavern dipping it in the sauce, seemed to be a universal recipe.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Tanis said. “Do you have any other good news to report?”
“Indeed I do. I know who is providing the food for Wyrrick’s party.”
Tanis raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
Vala preened a bit, tossed her hair, and gave Tanis a toothy grin. “Us.”
“That’s a given. But who are we — ”
“No, it’ll be us. See, we figure Wyrrick is going to vet anyone who works his party. I intercepted a few subspace messages, discovered he was researching several renowned chefs. I used the Lucian Alliance contacts to make sure he discovered something to disqualify each of them. At the same time, I seeded the network with just enough information to send him looking for the exclusive and reclusive Ai Okano, Lord Yu’s former personal food preparer. Most people think that she vanished and became a recluse, but lo and behold, she is getting back into the business of private functions, and she believes Wyrrick’s party will be a wonderful place to kick-start her new life.”
“So I’ll be the waitress. Actually serving food, not just wearing the uniforms and faking it?” Tanis glared at her. “You swore after the last time I wouldn’t be thrown into another menial position.”
“This is not menial! Bite your tongue! You’re providing the food for the biggest party the galaxy has ever seen!”
“You do this every time, Vala. You put me in some subservient position while you’re the hero, the one the mark needs to fix everything. I’m sick of it!”
“I do not do that! How dare you?”
Tanis said, “I was the maid at the palace, I was the cargo chief at the depot, I was the file clerk at the registry office… meanwhile you were the doctor, you were the navigator, you were the magistra. I can’t believe I was just thinking about how great it was working with you. You are always the elite and I am always the worthless serf. What are you this time, hm?”
Vala kept her gaze steady. “Waitress.”
“Waitr — ” Tanis blinked.
“Yes, I figured since this job required access to trays, dollies, and carts, that it would behoove us to have someone in position to load and unload said items. I thought it seemed quite lowly, and out of deference for you taking those jobs so frequently, I assigned it to myself.”
Tanis winced. “Right.”
“No harm done.” Vala tossed her hair out of her face and cleared her throat. “The important thing is that we have our jobs figured out. Now we have several days which we will need to use wisely. Can you actually cook?”
“I can fake it well enough for one of these things,” Tanis said in a sheepish voice. “The portions will be small enough that no one is going to notice if it tastes like g’may.”
“G’may?” Vala said. “I like g’may. It’s tangy. Little pungent.”
Tanis made a gagging noise at the back of her throat.
“With a little sauce? Perfect.”
Tanis rolled her eyes.
“Anyway, I brought some food so you can experiment with some signature dishes.” She squinted and looked around the house. “Do you have any idea what a kitchen might look like?”
Sam didn’t like going home when there was something big happening at the base. From the moment she took the elevator up to the surface, she felt the urge to run back downstairs just to make sure there was no update or crisis that required her attention. Then when she got home, her first stop was always the phone so she could call someone who had stayed at work and get a sitrep. She had been mocked for this more times than she could count. Daniel and General O’Neill both knew her commute time so well that often she had called only to have them answer and ask, “Eight minutes late, Sam. Did you stop to pick up a coffee?”
She eventually surrendered the self-consciousness that prevented her from keeping quarters at the base. She only used them in extreme cases, and many times knowing she had a bed a few levels away was the only reason she got any sleep at all. When she was still rising through the ranks, she accepted the whispers and rumors that she was burning the midnight oil to prove her worth to ‘the boys club’. Now she was a colonel, she had established her credentials with everyone who mattered, and still she stayed at her computer long after everyone else had gone home. Now she accepted she worked so tirelessly because she simply had to know the answers or the questions would never let her get to sleep.
It was times like these when she was glad she had a little corner of the base to call her home. There was nothing for the team to do, nowhere for them to go, until it was time to scout Wyrrick’s home planet. They had two days before leaving, and Sam was trying to use her pent-up anxiety to do something useful. The messages from Atlantis still needed to be catalogued, and she was using her free time to collate them for eventual delivery to the proper friends and family members.
She had used the private bathroom to change out of her disguise, scrubbing until her skin was raw and pink instead of the ugly green paint Bellee had insisted on using. The bathroom was another reason she was glad to have the quarters. She appreciated having access to a private shower where she could wash off the dust of alien worlds as soon as possible. She loved exploring, loved knowing she stood where no one from Earth had stood in hundreds or thousands of years, but once she was back home she couldn’t help but feel wrong.
Afterward she changed into blue BDUs, combed back her wet hair, and settled down to check in on a few of her ongoing projects. She knew Daniel was using their post-war downtime to finally settle in with his catalogue, and Sam was hooked into Area 51 to see what progress research and development had made on some of the tech they’d brought back over the years. She desperately wished she could be there, on the scientific front line, now that she wasn’t as necessary on the military side of the fight. The only thing holding her back was the fact SG-1 needed her, but with General O’Neill’s promotion and Teal’c spending more time with the Jaffa, it was only a matter of time before it was just her and Daniel on the team with two strangers. And if Daniel was willing to spend more time with his books and the team was being rebuilt anyway…
There was a knock on her door that startled her from thoughts of defection. She answered and smiled when she saw her visitor. Teal’c had also changed out of the costume Bellee had given him, electing instead for the simple black T-shirt.
“Speak of the devil.”
He tilted his head to the side. “Am I unwelcome?”
“No! That’s just something we say, uh, when someone… I was just thinking about you, and now you’re here. It’s based on a superstition that…” She narrowed her eyes as her voice trailed off. “You know, sometimes I think you fake confusion just to make us think about how ridiculous we sound sometimes.”
“I would do no such thing, Colonel Carter.”
She grinned. “Come in. Any progress with Kali?”
“No. However, I find Captain Morello’s strategy to be qu
ite… unconventional. It is not a tactic I would have suggested using on a Goa’uld.”
Sam sat at her desk. “Do you think it has any hope of working?”
He gave the question some thought before he responded. “The Goa’uld have been defeated. This was achieved via strategies I would never have considered before I became acquainted with the Tau’ri. I do not know if the gambit will be successful, however I would not be surprised should it bear fruit.”
Sam chuckled. “I think that’s the nicest version of ‘it’s just crazy enough to work’ I’ve ever heard.”
He smiled and looked at her computer. “Have I interrupted your work?”
“No, nothing that can’t wait. What brings you by?”
“The past several days, I have been struggling with the question of my future. When the current crisis ends, I believe I will once again depart the SGC and Earth.”
Sam said, “We all understand why you have to leave, Teal’c. No one holds it against you. When you joined us, your goal was to help free the Jaffa. We succeeded, against all odds, and now your place is with them. You’ve earned your right to help them through this transition period. Of course that doesn’t mean we won’t miss you like hell.”
He smiled again. “And I shall miss everyone here as well. I cannot help but feel ungracious for leaving the moment my goal has been achieved.”
“You didn’t leave us, Teal’c. You’re here now.”
“For selfish reasons.”
Sam shook her head and stood up, resting one hand on his arm. “No. You’re here because we asked you to be here, and you came back. I have no doubt that in the future when we need you, you’ll be here for us again. Just like we’ll always be here for you. Even if you leave SG-1, you’ll still be a member of our team. It’s more than just a shoulder patch.”
SG1-24 Two Roads Page 18
