Prophecy Goa'uld? by cjsplace

Prophecy Goa'uld ~ 5

Daniel stopped mid-spiel when Teal'c entered the room. Mitchell turned alerted by the unusual quiet from the verbose doctor. He readied himself for action and the possibility of an attack then relaxed upon seeing Teal'c.

Vala remained, as was her way, ignorant to this interaction, as she tried to wipe the images of wrinkled, tear-filled faces from her mind. So far, try as she might, she was having no luck. Not even recalling her most successful cons, err, privateering expeditions had helped.

When she caught sight of the large, delicious physique of the Jaffa in her peripheral vision, Daniel's voice simply became a buzzing noise in the background, and she jumped up from where she had been sprawled across the couch to exclaim, "Muscles, you're back!"

She swept across the room, bypassing the gap-jawed Daniel and perfectly posed Mitchell. Vala wrapped her once perfectly manicured hands, the nails now, chipped and ragged, around the Jaffa's arm and attempted to drag him along with her. It was rather comical to watch this as Vala bounced back into the immovable mountain, otherwise, known as Teal'c. The large Jaffa, ever the gentleman, caught her on the rebound bounce, gently disentangling her from his arm and placing her away from him. She sent him a hard glare, seeing this had no affect on him she shrugged her shoulder, accepting things in that special "Vala" way.

Regaining her composure, she said, "I'm so glad you're here, Muscles," smiling up at Teal'c in a way that set alarms off in the Jaffa leader's head. "Daniel was boring us to death trying to reason why Sineya's tasks were important. How they showed us important insight into the people and Sineya in particular, and how we could use this to convince her to help us fight the Ori…yada…yada…blah…blah…blah. I say she chose situations opposite our strengths to see how we'd react. We are just the silly little dogs and she wanted to know what tricks we'd do when we heard the bell ring."

Daniel and Mitchell stared at her as if she had grown two heads. Teal'c seemed unsurprised by her quick and somewhat accurate assessment of the situation. He had long suspected ValaMalDoran was superior in intellect to that which she displayed. She did not bother showing it unless it in someway aided her physically or financially.

"What do you mean by that?" Mitchell asked, although he was almost afraid to hear her answer.

Vala preened at the handsome Lieutenant, before drawing in a deep breath to continue her explanation. "She's already decided what she's going to do. I'd hazard a guess; she did so soon after learning about us and our mission."

"Then why all the hoopla, and the good day, bad day scenarios," Mitchell asked, his Southern drawl thicker with his frustration coming through. "If she planned to help, what would she learn about us from having us play stupid roles like dance instructor?" he muttered, raking his hand through his short cropped hair. "Does that mean she's no better than the Goa'uld, and won't help us?"

Teal'c felt torn between his loyalty to SG-1 and the confidential information and subsequent trust, of yet another secret, Sineya/Buffy had shared with him. However, he must choose his words carefully when speaking. He knew his friends would hound him for every scrap of information should he even dare to say anything in Buffy's defense. This time, as was his habit, Teal'c decided to keep his own council. This situation would work out, as it should. She had shown him she was trustworthy and he felt certain she would reveal these same attributes to the rest of SG-1 in her own time. The exhaustion Buffy had warned him about suddenly washed over him.

"I find this day has been long and that I am in need of the peace I find in kelnorim. If you will excuse me." He bowed his head to them with an inherent dignity that was as much a part of him as the warrior.

When she was sure Teal'c could no longer hear her, Vala turned to Daniel. "Something's up with Muscles. You think maybe he was sooo laaate," she drew out the vowels while wagging her eyebrows at them, "because he got sent to the principal's office for some extra lessons? Maybe, Sineya wanted to do some schooling of her own, if you know what I mean." She sent Daniel and Mitchell a naughty wink, leaving them no choice but to understand her meaning.

"Vala!" They shouted at her simultaneously, twin masks of shock on their faces.

She rolled her eyes at their prudish ways. Vala knew from personal experience Daniel wasn't a virgin and she very much doubted Mitchell was either. Why they acted like they grew up in a monastery and had never heard about sex let alone done 'it' was beyond her. Teal'c was widowed with a grown son for goodness sakes. The man was the very definition of tall, dark and handsome. Vala readily believed that if Teal'c were open to it and Daniel would never find out about it, she would so go for a booty call. However, the two men were friends, damn it, and the Jaffa for some strange reason didn't find her attractive; well, not in a sexual way. It was the strangest thing. She often knew men sometimes better than they knew themselves. Teal'c was the first one who hadn't ever taken a second look. If she wasn't, well Vala, and completely comfortable in her own skin, she would think there was something wrong with her, like she was losing her touch, or something. But, she chose to accept that it was bound to happen sometime and went on about her merry way.

Teal'c fell into the breathing pattern needed to ease his mind and allow him to reach the deep meditative state of kelnorim. His body felt different, more powerful, and more in-tune with the power he had known when he had carried the symbiote within his pouch. Pushing this thought aside, Teal'c dove deeper into the depths of his meditation.

He saw his body small like that of a child. It was swimming in deep blue water. His arms and legs moved against the tide as he struggled toward his goal. His eyes squinted from the burn of saltwater as they searched for the hidden treasure. Teal'c stopped his frantic movements when he saw it. His lungs started to protest. He looked back toward the surface then back at the treasure, judging the distance between the two. Shaking his head, he refused to give up; he had come too far to turn back. Teal'c kicked with all his might as he swam deeper into the icy depths straight toward the treasure.

As he drew closer, it started to burn with an unearthly light, a sheer luminous green. The treasure was a rounded jewel that fit his hand perfectly and when he reached out to touch it, he understood. He understood in that moment his place in the worlds of Jaffa, T'auri, Ancient, Father, Husband, Lover, Warrior, Man. He understood and accepted.

Vala tossed in sweat drenched blankets, mumbling under her breath,"No, not real. Isn't right. I'm not. I'm not."

She lay encased within a large ornate bed with mid-wives working between her thighs while maids mopped her brow. She labored to expel life from her swollen womb. Pain flowed through her followed by joy unlike anything she had ever experienced. She watched as the midwife announced the child a healthy girl, before handing her to an awaiting Ori priest.

Vala remembered struggling up in protest as she tried to gather the child back to her body. Yet, she knew it wasn't right, wasn't hers, wasn't real. She still couldn't stop the emptiness that engulfed her even as she found herself back in a stranger's body about to be set on fire.

Daniel leant down to gently wake Vala from whatever nightmare had her in its clutches, when she shot straight up in bed and smacked him in the nose with her closed fist, shouting, "NO!"

Teal'c and Cameron burst through the door. They found Daniel in his underwear on the floor, clutching his bleeding nose. Teal'c eyebrow arched skyward, while Cameron leaded against the doorway to wait for an explanation. The soft sob surprised everyone, especially Vala.

"ValaMalDoran, are you injured?" Teal'c stepped further into the room. His dark eyes searched the distraught woman, looking for the source of her tears.

Daniel forgot his injured nose, which had almost stopped bleeding as he scrambled up from the floor to sit next to Vala. Cameron moved to the end of the bed as if his presence might in someway console her.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Daniel asked softly, placing his hand over hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

She shook her head, drawing in a deep breath as she tried to reign in her emotions. Vala had faced incredible odds throughout her life and had always found ways to wiggle out, even come out the other side better off than she had started on some occasions. The nightmare, memory, or warning, she had just experienced shook her to the bone. The idea that the Ori could impregnate her then take her child all within the blink of an eye, while she inhabited another person's body terrified her.

"Daniel, you remember when we inhabited Harrid and Sallis?" she asked, keeping her focus on the linguist's gentle face. He had become her lodestone throughout their journeys. In order for her to retell her nightmare, she needed his steady presence. He nodded then started to expound on her statement when Vala rushed to continue. She feared if Daniel went into one of his long queries she would lose her nerve. "I'm back in her body about to get "cleansed." She smiled at him when he clasped her hand tightly. "Suddenly, I'm me again, but I'm somewhere I've never been. It was some opulent room where I'm lying in the largest bed I've ever seen with people waiting on me hand and foot."

"Is this another one of your kinky dreams?" Cameron asked, wondering where she was going with this.

Teal'c turned to stare at SG-1's leader. His dark eyes seemed to burn into the younger man, making him squirm in place. Cameron couldn't ever remember the quiet Jaffa looking at him with such stern intensity.

"ValaMalDoran woke from her sleep with fear filled shouts CameronMitchell. Do you truly think she did this to relay dreams of intercourse?" His large arms crossed over an equally broad chest as he stared down at Cameron.

Cameron felt as if he were back home living with his grandmother and she had just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. "No, no, I don't Teal'c. You're right, and I'm sorry, Vala. Please, go ahead." He sat on the edge of the bed, patting her foot in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

Vala sent Teal'c one of her blinding smiles, which he acknowledged by the subtle quirking of his lips. "Where was I? Oh yes, I'm in this huge bed where I'm delivering a baby. My baby!" Her voice went up several octaves, letting them see the panic she felt at the very idea. "As if that's not strange enough, it's not Sallis' body; it's mine, me - Vala having the baby. They handed the baby to an Ori priest who just stood there waiting for her. A little girl, I had a daughter and they just took her away. I shouted and screamed for them to give her back. They simple looked at me and told me I had done my duty. I had given them the Orici and they no longer needed me. Then, I'm suddenly inside Sallis just as they set her afire."

Daniel searched her face as if there was some missing detail hidden there to unlock the puzzle of her dream. He slowly stood to retrieve paper and pencil, ignoring his teammates as he repeated Vala's words in his mind. All eyes turned to him as his team waited to hear his take on the situation. Daniel pushed his glasses up from habit while he tried to formulate his thoughts. Frankly, they terrified him. The varied reasons why the Ori would want to cause the birth of a mystical child were numerous and each one staggering in repercussions even for non-believers.

"Reliving such an experience through your nightmares must have been frightening," he sent her one of his gentle Daniel smiles. "I'm worried about why they needed this child, more importantly how did they know Sallis was Vala? Why did they choose her? Did it have anything to do with her time as Qetesh? The scrolls I found before we came here referred to the Heaven's Gate Child born from darkened waters. It spoke about how the child will drown the fires and allow the light to shine once more. Perhaps, the Ori fear the child and think to control it by raising it from birth. The possibilities are simply impossible to calculate. Should they somehow turn this child into an iconic figurehead for Origin…our jobs have just gotten incredibly more difficult. For her peace of mind, and to determine what this means in our war against the Ori, it's imperative that we learn the truth behind Vala's dream." He stepped back over to the bed to gently squeeze her shoulder.

The members of SG-1 weren't the only ones finding it difficult to sleep. Buffy stood on her balcony, staring out at the quiet vistas below. She knew her people would find her decision to go with SG-1 hard to understand. They looked to her to hold Dara Seans together as its leader. But she was more than that to them though. Buffy had become their matriarch, teacher, adviser, protector, and most importantly, their friend. She loved them fiercely and would lay down her life for them. Her heart hurt at the thought of leaving her beautiful little planet. It had blossomed from the almost desolate place she arrived at so many years ago into the lush rolling hills and fruitful plains she saw from her balcony. It took years before the land bore fruit. After back breaking hours under the sun, and nurturing the seedlings through heavy rains and harsh winters before Dara Seans lived up to its name. It was in truth a second chance for the planet and its inhabitants.

A large figure came to stand beside her. "There will be some protests. Yet, they know you would never leave unless you felt it necessary. I have placed Ry'kal in charge while we are gone," Shat'tac announced in his deep booming voice.

"We? Shat'tac, you're needed here. What if the Ori send another Prior?"

Buffy had spun around to face her First Prime startled by his words. She thought they had settled this matter. The only reason she felt assured Dara Seans would remain safe during her absence lay in the knowledge Shat'tac would remain behind to protect everyone. She knew 'the Voice' had promised to keep the Ori away while she went off with SG-1 and agreed to look after Vala. Though, it was true she had listened to her omniscient guardian throughout the years. She couldn't shake the little voice in her head that whispered to her to put back-up plans in place to ensure Dara Seans' protection. Some whisper from her past reared its head at the oddest time, telling her not to place the entire fate of the planet in some higher being. If it were only her well-being, she would take whatever came her way, but when an entire planet of innocents was at stake.

Shat'tac crossed his large arms over his impressive chest as he faced off with her. His face frozen in a stoic mask as he answered her. "Sineya, my place is and always will be at your side. You must leave Dara Seans, this I understand. But, you must understand I will go with you to guard you as I have done since the day you arrived here. Do not ask me to break my oath."

She slowly nodded in defeat. It shouldn't surprise her that he had found someway around her orders without directly disobeying them. Shat'tac put his duty as her First Prime before all else, even his own safety. They had argued over this until they were both blue in the face. It was the only subject on which he wouldn't budge - stubborn man.

She wondered how the SG-1 would take the news. They came here hoping to find an ally against the Ori. Whey they saw her kill the Prior, they assumed she would jump at the chance to join them. It had shocked them, as it had many others that she wanted no other life outside the one she had on Dara Seans. Buffy had had this discussion with Lya. It still amused her that this peace-loving advanced race saw her as an evolved being. She did appreciate their help with her re-growth efforts.

The story varied slightly with regard to the help she had received from Narim. His gratitude for her returning his youngest son without any expectation of reward led him to the same conclusion. The advanced technology created by Narim's people resulted in Dara Seans acquiring the small fighters Lt. Mitchell had slobbered over in envy. Buffy had mentioned her need to find some way to defend her planet from aerial attacks. He had quizzed her long into the night. She had accepted his and Lya's gentle probing of her mind as simply their way. It had paid off handsomely, when months later Narim stepped through the Chappa'ai followed by the sleek little fighters. It was rather comical to watch them obey him like obedient little puppies. She remembered the surprise on his face when she had asked him to include some minor adjustments to the powerful machines.

Shat'tac's description of Lt. Mitchell's expression when he saw them was priceless. He compared SG-1's leader to Celary at mealtime, not pretty. Celary had no teeth. They secreted extreme amounts of acidic saliva to dissolve their food, which they lapped up with cylindrical tongues.

She knew Lt. Mitchell wanted to know more about her little babies. He was just going to have to keep on wanting. SG-1 may get her and Shat'tac's help, but no other resources would leave Dara Seans to aide in the war against the Ori. She wouldn't leave her world, her home, defenseless. Dara Seans had powerful allies, which she fully planned on keeping.

Its true, Shat'tac trained the men religiously. The universe in which Dara Seans existed wasn't a peaceful one. Her first priority was the safety of her people. She didn't go looking for battle; rather she worked hard to avoid it, knowing the heavy cost. This fact had secured her two powerful allies who she planned to call on to aide in Dara Seans' protection during her absence. She slipped into her inner chamber to make the necessary arrangements.

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Prophecy Goa'uld ~ 5