2013 Scifibigbang Story: Hunting Qetesh's Treasure

[alexs_storybook]

Title: Hunting Qetesh’s Treasure
Author: alexcat
Beta Reader: Larry
Artist: casper_san
Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Characters/Pairings: Cameron Mitchell/Vala Mal Doran, Teal’c, Sam Carter.
Genre: Romance/Adventure/Drama
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,390
Summary: Vala was Queen of more than one planet as the Goa’uld Qetesh and now she wants Mitchell to help her retrieve her treasures. Sg-1 is in for lots of adventure and a surprise or two as they go hunting Qetesh’s treasure.
Author's Notes: I’d like to thank my hubby for his beta work. I’d also like to thank Casper for the artwork. Last, the mods at scifibigbang - they make it all so easy! Mods, I have a Tumblr but no idea what to do with so if you like, linking there would be great.

~~~


Prologue

Cameron Mitchell had a strange and disappointing first day at his new assignment.

After the Battle of Antarctica, General O’Neill had let him pick his next gig and Cameron had asked to be sent to Stargate Command under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado and to join SG-1, General O’Neill’s team from the beginning of the Stargate era. SG-1 was legendary and Cameron wanted to be a part of that legend himself.

His new CO was an odd fellow, General Hank Landry. Landry was all folksy and funny but Mitchell was pretty sure there was much more to him than just that. He’d joked rather lamely when they met then he let Mitchell in on the real joke.

That joke was on Mitchell. All of SG-1 had moved on. General O’Neill was now in DC, Colonel Carter was at Area 51, Jackson was heading out to Atlantis on the Daedalus and Teal’c was back on Chulack, trying to iron out a viable government for the newly free and very diverse Jaffa nation.

Then the strangest thing of all happened.

The Stargate klaxon rang out! Someone was coming through the gate with SG-12. Mitchell accompanied Landry down to the Gateroom and that was when he saw her.

Vala Mal Doran.

She backed into the room, dressed in form fitting black leather and when she turned around, he felt the jolt to his … well, he felt it down low. The leather getup was tight and was cut so low that it just did cover her full, creamy… damn, she was hot!

She sauntered over to him, looked him up and down as if he were a piece of meat.

“I know we haven't met. That I'm sure I would remember.”

General Landry said, “Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell.”

“Nice outfit,” was all he could manage.

All he could think of was getting her out of that outfit though it would be some time before he managed it. Several years, actually.

Yes, it had been a very strange day for Cameron Mitchell. It would not, however be the last one.


*****

Chapter One - Saving the Galaxy Again

Cameron was leery of a galaxy without bad guys. They all were still here at Stargate Command but with funding cuts and no real threat hanging over their heads, the Stargate program had scaled back their operations quite a bit. A lot of what they did now was to check up on worlds they’d already befriended..

Cameron Mitchell loved going through the wormhole but he was an adrenaline junky and when the most challenging thing they did was sit down and eat too much strange food with their hosts, he got bored. It wasn’t that he wanted to fight to the death every day but he did love adventure. He loved outwitting the enemy and achieving his goals while keeping them from achieving theirs.

To be honest, he loved to fly high and shoot things.

And he was bored.

Bored!

Bored to death!

That was what got him into trouble when Vala Mal Doran came tapping on his apartment door after work one Friday evening. He should have looked through the peephole and pretended that he hadn’t seen her but instead, he opened the door.

“Vala, what brings you out of the mountain?” Vala still lived in her tiny quarters inside Cheyenne Mountain though Sam was helping her look for an apartment. He wasn’t sure Colorado Springs was ready for Vala Mal Doran though.

“I just wanted to visit. Can’t a girl simply visit a friend?”

He knew something was up then.

“A girl, maybe. You, no. You have something in mind. Spill it.”

He hoped it didn’t involve him ending up without pants. Vala had a way of getting him into awkward situations. And most of them involved him losing his pants.

“Well, I do have something in mind.”

“Jackson busy?”

She waved her hand. “You know Daniel. He was studying some horridly boring manuscript or something when I left.”

He did know Daniel and Vala was probably right, though he also knew that deep down, she was in love with Jackson and that Jackson could be in love with her if he’d let himself realize it. He also knew she thought she had a better chance of manipulating him than she did Jackson. And she was right there. He was a sucker for her feigned innocence and all that wild hair. And those legs. God, her legs went on and on. Suffice it to say, he had trouble telling her no.

Even that awful class reunion business back home. What he would never tell anyone was that first night, when his mom made up a room for them, he’d been tempted, more tempted than he would have thought possible, to sleep with her in that room. To more than sleep with her, actually.

“So what is it you have in mind?”

“Well, when I was Qetesh, I ruled more than one planet, you know.”

Cam nodded. “I guessed as much.”

“And I had many treasures on more than one planet.”

“I figured you’d already squandered any treasure you had.”

“Well, I would have but I, um, well, I forgot about this one.”

Cameron laughed. “You forgot treasure?”

“I was evidently rather busy scheming to do other things at the time. With Baal.”

Cameron laughed. “I don’t even want to know.”

“No, you really don’t. Anyhow, I was hoping that you’d go with me to my, to Qetesh’s planet to find my treasure.”

“What do I do? Tell General Landry that you and I want to go treasure hunting?”

“Well, there was technology, Goa’uld tech that the Trust could still be hunting. Or perhaps even the Lucian Alliance.”

Mitchell sighed. She was going to get him to do this. He knew it as well as she did. He might as well just give in and go talk to Landry as soon as possible.

“All right. I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, I was going to meet Sam and Dr. Lam for dinner. Wanna come?”

“Two women?” Vala winked at him. “I didn’t think you had it in you!”

Mitchell blushed despite his efforts not to. Damn her! She could make him feel like an idiot the quickest of any woman he’d ever known and she seemed to enjoy it even more than his fifth grade teacher had.

“We’re going to eat some pizza, go to the movies. You’re welcome to come.”

“I’d rather have you all to myself!” She kissed his cheek and was gone in a flash, wiggly butt, long legs and all.

*

Cam enjoyed his ‘date’ with his female colleagues so much that he actually forgot about Vala’s proposition until Saturday morning. He decided to put off talking to General Landry until Monday. This was a rare weekend that he had off and he planned to spend it doing nothing but watching ballgames and drinking beer.

It did not work out that way, however.

Vala was on his doorstep again on Saturday morning. Early Saturday morning. Cam answered her knock still in a pair of raggedy sweatpants and nothing else.

“What is it that cannot wait until Monday?”

“I’m ready to go treasure hunting, aren’t you?” She was decked out in one of her leather getups that always made Cam feel a little squirmy. At least this one wasn’t quite as skimpy as the one she’d worn the day they met.

“I was actually thinking about sleeping in and then watching some ballgames on TV.”

“How boring! Come on.” She pinched his bottom somehow as she backed him into his apartment. “I’ll make coffee while you shower.”

She wasn’t going away. She was going to hound him until he gave in. He sighed and headed for the shower. When he was done and dressed in normal gating attire, he went to the kitchen.

“Here!” She handed him a cup of coffee and a banana. He sipped the coffee and it tasted like – like pond water. He handed her the cup.

“That’s the worst coffee I’ve ever had. Let’s go. We’ll grab something at the Starbucks drive-thru on the way. And you’re paying!”

~~~


Chapter Two – Generally Convincing

“You want to what?” Landry came around his desk and looked at them both as if they’d begun speaking Mandarin or worse, Klingon.

“General Landry, I have reason to believe that there is still a large amount of Goa’uld technology there as well as some of my own personal property.”

“Would this property be some kind of treasure?”

Vala tried to look innocent but that was something way beyond even her many abilities.

“It might be, sir, but I’d gladly give twenty percent to the SGC or the IOA or whoever.”

Landry raised one bushy eyebrow. “Twenty percent, you say? That’s mighty generous, considering you’re an employee asking to use our multimillion dollar equipment to go on what could be a wild goose chase, for all I know. It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”

Vala feigned innocence.

“Sir, there really could be some items of value there. At the very least, we might keep them from the Trust, who are probably still out there trying to find any leftover Goa’uld tech. Not to mention the Lucian Alliance,” Cam said, knowing that he really should have let Landry tell her no and be done with it.

Landry looked at Cam. “You really think there is anything of value?”

“Your guess is as good as mine on that account, sir.”

Landry sighed. “Jackson is not available. He’s working on some translations for the DOD. Teal’c is offworld but has assured me he is more than willing to go on missions and Colonel Carter is available so I guess the four of you go then.”

Cam could feel Vala’s excitement. She very nearly hummed with it. That’s what worried him. For her to be so excited, there must be something that she wasn’t telling him or General Landry. He remembered the secret she kept when they went to P8X-412. That was when they’d learned that she’d been the Goa’uld Qetesh and the people of that planet had worshipped her.

Look what happened to them there, he thought, and sighed. What was he getting himself in for?

“Sir, I suggest we wait until Monday. It’ll give us time to get some intel from Vala and maybe find out if anyone here has actually been to that planet yet.”

Landry nodded. He tended to give his teams as much leeway as possible, SG-1 most of all. They all had more experience in space than he did, after all. When safety became a concern, he tightened the reins pretty quickly. He’d already seen too many potential disasters of global proportions in his few years here. He trusted his teams but he knew at the end of the day, the responsibility was all his.

“Go see Jackson and Carter and see if they know of this planet then contact Teal’c. He is at a Jaffa council meeting, I believe. His son is joining the council and Teal’c is there to support him. I expect Rya’c will be happy to have his father gone and not looking over his shoulder. He is a rather independent sort, I gather.”

Cam nodded and left the room, Vala on his heels.

“What’s the name of this planet?”

“Qadesh. It was named for – me.” She smiled sweetly at Cam.

“Did you name it?”

“Well, of all the - yes, actually, I did. Qetesh is a fertility goddess, you know.”

“No, I didn’t know that. So did your worshippers have orgies?”

She actually blushed. “Um, well, yes. On occasion we might have. Little ones. Tiny, itty bitty ones. ”

It was Cam’s turn to blush as mental images flittered through his mind. “Let’s go find Jackson. Maybe he knows something more about this planet, like the gate address.”

“Oh, I know that already. But Daniel always has some knowledge about everything, doesn’t he?”

Cam couldn’t argue there. Jackson did indeed seem to know a little about everything.

He was pouring over a huge dusty volume when they arrived in this office. He didn’t look up for a few moments, hoping perhaps that they’d go away when they saw that he was working. Finally he looked up at them.

“Can I do something for you?”

“Vala has decided that she wants to go to another of Qetesh’s planets and we thought we’d see if you knew anything about it.”

“What is it called?”

“Qadesh.”

“Of course it is. Do you know the gate address?”

She gave it to him.

“This is not one of the planets we’ve visited though I do think it’s on the original list that we had before Jack downloaded the Asgard data base.”

“What does that mean?” Cam asked.

“That we don’t know a thing about it,” Daniel answered.

“We’ll send the M.A.L.P. through before we go ourselves then. We’ll ask Teal’c if he has any knowledge of the place too.”

Vala snorted. “I have knowledge of the planet. It’s a planet with people. Like you.”

“But will they be glad to see you? Will they try to kill you? Are there Goa’uld still there? Are they armed?”

She waved her hand as if such things were beneath her. Some of the mannerisms of her Goa’uld days had stuck with her even when her Goa’uld had been removed. This was one of them.

“I’ll need to use a voice device to make them think I am still Qetesh.”

Cam rolled his eyes. “That worked so well for us on P8X-412.”

“Well, it would have had they not found out that I wasn’t their god!”

The claxons went off, signaling the Stargate activating. They were expecting Teal’c and it was indeed their friend who came through the wormhole.

He smiled in his quiet way and nodded to Mitchell.

Vala stepped up and hugged the huge Jaffa. “Muscles, do you remember a planet called Qadesh?”

“I believe that was a planet ruled by Qetesh under Lord Baal at one time. You remember it too, I’d think.”

She nodded. “Yes and we’re going there to hunt tr – err - technology.”

Cam smiled over her head at Teal’c, who simply nodded to her.

Their fourth member joined them in the Gateroom. “I hear we’re heading out soon?”

“Colonel Carter,” Teal’c acknowledged in his soft voice.

“Hello, Teal’c. How is Rya’c?”

“As stubborn as ever, I fear.”

“I have the M.A.L.P. ready to send through,” Carter said as Siler entered the room with the unwieldy machine. He walked it to the ramp, using a remote device and waited for Walter to dial the gate. The whoosh appeared and drew back, leaving what appeared to be an upright pool inside the Stargate. Siler maneuvered the robotic device into the gate and it went through the wormhole to P9X-911.

~~~


Chapter Three – I Spy

The M.A.L.P. rolled onto a green field, a sunny green field. There were no buildings in sight and the place was quiet but it didn’t stay that way for long. People began to come into range and they almost all stopped and looked at it, chattering to one another and pointing but none coming very close.

Then what appeared to be some Egyptians came toward the device.

“Goa’uld?” Cam asked.

“Maybe, maybe not, Colonel Mitchell,” Carter said.

“That’s no problem. I can use my Goa’uld device and fool them.”

“But they could be real. You’re just a fake,” Daniel said as he had joined them to see what was in store on the other side.

“I can still use a hand device if I have one with me.” She had used it to heal people on Qetesh’s other planet when they’d been struck down with the Prior’s Plague.

Landry broke in. “I’ll see what I can do. Area 51 is pretty tight with the Goa’uld devices after that Sodan cloaking device got lifted by the Trust, but I do have a few friends left here and there.”

The man walked all the way around the M.A.L.P. but did not touch it. He went back the way he came and said something to the others that made them disperse. When everyone was gone, Siler manipulated the M.A.L.P. to look in all directions, to check for a DHD and to take samples of the air quality and temperature.

“Everything looks good, sir,” he said to the general. “The DHD seems to be all right and the air is still breathable with a nice temperate climate. A little on the warm side but temperate.”

“All right then, Vala. SG-1 has a go for Monday morning. I’ll see about getting you a hand device before then.”

“One more thing. I think I need to dress the part and perhaps have Teal’c and Cameron dress as my Jaffa guard,” Vala said.

“What about me?” Carter asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.

“You can be my servant,” Vala said with a wince. “That way you can move around without many people questioning you.”

Carter sighed but nodded. It wouldn’t be the worst thing she’d done.

They had a busy couple of days ahead if they were to go to this planet on Monday. Teal’c gated home and came back with Jaffa attire for him and Mitchell. They’d have to improvise on their helmets. Vala took Sam and went shopping in Denver for a few dresses appropriate for a Goa’uld queen and came back with three scandalous red dresses that were almost like wearing nothing.

Finally by Sunday night, they had assembled what they needed and tried on their costumes. The Goa’uld hand device and weapons were real but the Goa’uld and her entourage were not. They all hoped the paraphernalia was enough to fool the people on the planet, no one more than Vala.

They gated to P9X-911 early on Monday. Cam was nervous in his Jaffa garb. He even had a fake mark on his forehead as did Teal’c to mark them as Qetesh’s Jaffa. Carter wore a simple peasant’s dress with lots of nice little pockets to hide things like a zat and some C4. A girl never knew when she’d need such things.

The M.A.L.P. was still in the clearing when they came down the steps in front of the Stargate. There were no people abroad but it looked to be as early here as it had been on earth. They checked their equipment and Vala, using her voice machine, said, “All right, Jaffa, let’s go see what my planet looks like today.”

Cam and Teal’c preceded her and Samantha followed behind Vala a few paces. Vala knew where she was going but it was still quite a stroll to the village. Though the area was wooded and green, the people still dressed in Egyptian garb, perhaps something that Vala had brought with her when she came as Qetesh.

They had not gotten far when a man stopped and dropped to his knees.

“Praise be, your Highness!”

Vala nodded toward him. “Take me to my throne!” She said in her enhanced voice.

He rose from his knees and ran toward the largest building in the little town they were entering. Vala walked at a brisk pace but did not hurry as she followed him.

Cam noticed that there were others watching, others who he’d swear he’d seen before. The only thing he could think of was the Trust. Or maybe some members of the Lucian Alliance that he’d met a couple of years ago.

When one of them spoke to Vala as she entered the main hall, he knew who they were.

They were all Goa’uld. They looked familiar because they were Goa’uld. It was something he couldn’t explain exactly but there was a sameness about them all.

This couldn’t be a good thing.

“We have awaited your return, Qetesh. It has been quite a long time,” the Goa’uld said to her.

“I have been otherwise occupied. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a lot going on out there.”

“We have not left the planet, as per your instructions. We are still mining naquadah and stockpiling it in the warehouses.”

Qetesh, for that is who she was now, nodded and moved to the gilded chair on the dais in the front of the room, her throne room.

“Let my people know that their god, Qetesh, has returned to them once again. We will speak to them in three days time.”

The underling bowed and left her alone in the huge room with her Jaffa and her servant.

“You may see to my quarters, Jaffa, Carter.” She spoke though her eyes told them it was for show as they might be watched here in this public hall.

“Yes, my master,” Teal’c answered as he and Cam moved toward the back of the room to a hallway that led to the living quarters part of the Goddess’ temple.

“They even have a sarcophagus,” Cam remarked as they looked around the huge room.

“We might need it if things go wrong,” Sam said quietly as she bowed before Vala.

“You might indeed,” Baal said as he walked into Qetesh’s boudoir.

~~~


Chapter Four – Goa’uld No More

All the SG-1 members stared at the man who used to be the host for the Goa’uld System Lord Baal. He smiled his most disarming smile. It was not a reassuring sight.

“Hullo, Vala.”

Teal’c wordlessly aimed his staff weapon at the intruder. He slid the activation device back until it clicked, ready to kill the intruder immediately.

“No need to be violent, Teal’c.”

“What are you doing here? Who are you anyway?” Cam lifted his weapon too.

“I’m Baal.”

“You were Baal,” Carter said.

“I am still me… my Goa’uld was not so very different from me. He was just a little more powerful.”

“What are you doing here, Baal?” Vala asked.

“I’m trying to find any Goa’uld artifacts you left here. The Trust will pay handsomely for them and I do fancy living like a god even if I’m not one anymore.” Baal’s smile was as oily as it ever was.

“Those are mine!” Vala hissed at him. The weapons moved a bit closer and he held up his arms.

“I thought -”

Vala cut him off. “You thought you could go back to being Baal? I think we should contact the Tok’ra.”

“As long as I’m not Goa’uld, they don’t care what I do.”

“But we do.” Cam stepped closer. “And we certainly care what the Trust is up to. Working with them could win you a trip to a cell at Area 51.”

“You are no fun at all,” Baal said to Vala. She smiled back at him.

“Take him away,” she said to Teal’c and Cam. “Put him in a cell.”

“Wait! I’m not alone and as of yet, most of these people don’t know you’re back.”

“Who is with you?”

He couldn’t answer because he was, in fact, alone. “I will help you find artifacts then.”

“Baal, I know where they are. This was my planet, remember?”

“I remember my Goa’uld taking yours away from here, to somewhere else so he could mine the naquadah for himself.”

“Well, that didn’t last long now, did it?”

“It paid handsomely but you’re right, it did end rather abruptly when other things became more important.”

Vala again motioned for him to be taken away. Mitchell and Teal’c nudged him with their weapons and put him in a cell off the main hall. It would seem that the Goa’uld always had need of cells wherever they went and plenty of them.

Vala turned to Sam. “I’m surprised they are still mining naquadah. There must be a huge stockpile by now.”

“I’m surprised no one else has found this planet so far,” Carter said.

“I think we should operate on the idea that the planet might have been discovered. The Lucian Alliance is not quite as powerful as the Goa’uld were but they are certainly ruthless and deceptive.”

“Is what you left here that important? This mission might compromise more than just SG-1 by the time we get done with it.” Carter was not happy being here with a contingent of Goa’uld as well as Baal. If their luck held out, they could expect the Lucian Alliance to make themselves known at any time.

Vala simply nodded and said no more.

When Teal’c and Mitchell returned, they indicated that they’d secured Baal.

“Now what?” Cameron asked.

“We allow my people to worship me, grab the goods and run like hell!” Vala said as she activated her Goa’uld speaking device again.

Cam shook his head and took his place to the side and slightly behind her throne.

Her supplicants came soon enough and with them they brought goods – food, precious gems and metals, trinkets and treasures fit for a god. Vala was appreciative in her own way and they all left happy that they’d served her well.

Cameron had seen her in action as a god before and that hadn’t gone so well, especially when Jackson had made her tell them the truth. Perhaps this time they’d have more luck but if Baal showing up already was any indication, then they were about par for the course.

Vala rose from her throne and motioned Samantha to attend her as they stepped from the dais and moved out one of the side doors to the rooms that were reserved for the god. Her Jaffa followed her from the room.

Once the door was secured, she removed the hand device and her voice synthesizer and flopped down in a chair.

“I forgot how tiring being a god can be. Fetch me my robe, will you Sam?”

Carter raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “Not in here, I won’t. You’re on your own. I’m going to bed. Is the bed at the door mine?” She nodded to the cot placed right by the locked door.

“Yes, that is yours.”

“Where do we go?” Cameron asked.

Vala shrugged. “I have no idea where the Jaffa slept. The one on guard was always awake if I needed him and I suppose the others had quarters somewhere.”

“Barracks, they should have a barracks somewhere nearby,” Teal’c said. “I shall go find it and one of us will go there, the other will stand guard.”

“You go, big guy. You look more like a Jaffa than I do.”

Vala winked at Cam and said, “Besides, he’s my First Prime! I think he shall take me for a midnight walk through the streets of my city after I’ve rested a bit.”

Cam took his place outside Vala’s door and waited. In about an hour, she came out in her Goa’uld garb again.

“Shall we walk?” Her voice was deep and sultry all the time but the voice device made her sound downright scary, Cam thought as he bowed slightly and motioned for her to take the lead.

“Do you think Baal will give us trouble?” She asked as they strolled down a quiet street.

Cameron laughed. “Of course he will. That’s what he does.”

“Maybe we should just leave him locked up.”

“That would be my advice.”

“So Cam, what do you think of my planet?” She gestured around them.

It was a lovely planet, much prettier than the other one she had ruled. There were large forests with miles and miles of nothing but trees surrounding the town. It appeared that there were mountains to the north as well.

“It would seem to be a place where one could hide something quite easily,” Mitchell said.

She winked at him and when she was sure no one was looking, she gave him a quick kiss to the lips. “One would think so, wouldn’t one?”

She turned and marched back toward the palace, leaving Cam standing in the middle of the street with his hand to his mouth, staring after Vala Mal Doran.

~~~~


Chapter Five – Behavior Befitting a God

The city rose early, so the god, her servant girl and her two Jaffa rose early as well. Samantha dressed in her servant garb and found some men to bring warm water for Vala’s bath. She’d given herself a sponge bath but realized that she was going to have to figure out some way to have her own bath, at the least.

Teal’c supplied the answer. “You can be either my wife or Mitchell’s and we can claim a house near the palace for our use. That would give us all a place away from prying eyes.”

Sam grinned at him. “It’s you then. Mitchell can stay here with Qetesh. Maybe he can use her royal bath.”

Teal’c nodded and went to secure quarters for himself and his new wife. He couldn’t help but smile. This was a first for them, having played many parts over the years but never as man and wife.

Mitchell was still antsy over the whole thing. He knew they’d be in deep trouble if the real Goa’uld who remained here found out that Qetesh was not a god but a powerless human just pretending to be their god.

“What shall we do today, your worship?” He asked Vala when she made her appearance.

“‘My Queen’ will do, Jaffa,” she answered him and told him that she’d like to ride through her city on a litter today, to see her people.

“A litter, My Queen?”

“Yes, you are First Prime. It’s your job to see to such things.”

“Maybe Teal’c would be a better First Prime.”

“He might but I want you,” she purred in her god’s voice. “Now go find that litter for me.”

It was easier than he’d thought as servants awaited their god’s every desire and soon she was being carried down the dirt street of her city, waving regally to the crowds that had come to see their god returned to them. Even the contingent of Goa’uld who had kept the palace for her seemed convinced that she was Qetesh.

Cam was at her side, walking by the litter. This was getting stranger and stranger. He wasn’t even so sure anymore that Vala remembered that she really wasn’t Qetesh. He just wanted to get whatever she came for, grab Baal and go home before things got weirder than they already were.

Then of course, things got weirder.

*

One of the Goa’uld motioned him over when Vala had finished her tour of the city and was heading back to her palace. She had been in her element as she’d smiled and nodded at the citizens lining the street to get a look at her.

“I have news and dare not give it to Qetesh.”

“Then give it to me. I shall tell her.”

“Seven ships landed just outside the city and there are several more in orbit. We think they are from the Lucian Alliance, here perhaps to try to take Qetesh’s territory and her treasures.”

Cam did a mental facepalm but stayed outwardly calm.

The Lucian Alliance? Were they here with Baal? Were they in cahoots with Vala after all this time? She certainly had been a smuggler in the days before she strolled through their Stargate.

“I will tell my mistress. You will wait for her orders.”

As soon as they were back in her royal apartments, Cam hustled her into her bedchamber.

“Hold it, Cameron. I know I make a sexy god but-”

“Never mind how sexy you are. The Lucian Alliance has landed seven ships and are orbiting the planet as well. Do you know anything about this?”

Vala looked truly terrified. “Why would I?”

“Just checking. We obviously don’t have enough of an army to fight them or enough ships to even challenge them.”

“So what do we do?”

“You’re the god here.”

“I need more Jaffa.”

“We need more weapons,” Cam told her.

“There are plenty of weapons if they’ve not been taken and even a few surface to air weapons. The Goa’uld will know about them and they will fight for me as well.”

Weapons were good but depending on a group of Goa’uld was not a good thing, not to Cam any way. He wished Sam and Teal’c would get back soon.

Oddly enough, they showed up only a few minutes later, almost as if summoned.

Teal’c had heard rumors that ships were landing outside the city and he and Sam had hurried back. Cam told Teal’c and Carter what Vala had said about her weaponry and about using the Goa’uld as soldiers against the Lucian Alliance.

“I don’t see any other way, Cam,” Carter said quite reasonably. “They’ll fight for their god if she asks. So will the people of the village. Even if we leave with nothing, we still owe it to these people to help them. Qetesh owes them that for waiting for her.”

“So where are these weapons?” Cameron asked Vala. She smiled and started to answer him.

“I think I know,” Teal’c answered instead. “Follow me.”

There was a whole floor beneath the main floor of the palace and that was where the queen’s secret arsenal was kept, among other things. The other things were chests and boxes filled with some of the treasures that Cameron figured Vala came back for. He and Teal’c opened boxes of staff weapons and zat'ni'katels, among other more exotic weapons like hand held explosives devices.

“We need to get these things out of here and into the hands of Qetesh’s followers,” Cam said as he looked around the storeroom.

“Carter can help us bring them up into the throne room and from there, we can distribute them.”

They carried one box up and brought Carter back to help with the smaller weapons. Soon, they had moved enough weapons to arm most of the adults in the city. Vala decided to speak to her people from the steps of her palace.

She looked as cool as if she really were a god when she began to speak to the people who were gathering.

“My people, my First Prime tells me that ships have landed just outside our town. I am afraid you will all have to help us defend this town. I have brought my weapons for you to use. Teal’c and C’amron will hand them out.”

Cam smiled at the name she invented for him and because he was pretty sure this was the worst mission he’d ever been on.

The very worst.


~~~

Chapter Six – Bad Boys, Bad Boys

Most of the townspeople knew how to use the weapons so Teal’c and C’amron began to divide the men and women without children into units and the rest, the elderly and the young mothers and children, they herded into the hills after having them all go home and get water and what they needed for their children. There were caves in the hills they’d hid in when they’d been attacked years before.

Some of them had even hidden from Qetesh in these very caves.

At last they were ready for whoever had arrived in those ships.

Then Vala remembered Baal in the cell.

“I believe our prisoner needs to be brought before us. If anyone is to hurt him, it will be me.”

Mitchell wasn’t sure it was a good idea at all. “You sure? He knows your secrets, my Queen.”

“Well, we can’t leave him to the mercies of someone else, can we?”

Mitchell knew they needed to keep him close so he didn’t tip anyone to their secret. If the other Goa’uld found out about Vala, they all were dead, plain and simple. And he didn’t want to be dead.

Teal’c fetched Baal, who came into the room with his most irritating smile in place.

“In trouble, are we?” He asked with a snarky grin.

“Only you if you open that mouth,” Mitchell said as he nudged the former Goa’uld host with his staff weapon.

“Do you have a plan?” Baal asked.

“Shoot whoever comes through the doors,” was Vala’s answer.

“That’ll work.”

They heard weapons firing, not staff weapons but guns. The Alliance had arrived but the sounds eventually died out. That meant one of two things. The Enemy had been defeated and the gunfire ceased or Qetesh’s people had fallen thus the gunfire had ceased.

The doors to the palace burst open with Teal’c and several of the natives pushing a dozen men into the room. Mitchell had seen one or two of them before. They were Lucian Alliance. And they had to be kept quiet.

“Put these men in the cells immediately,” Mitchell told Teal’c, who nodded and complied. They must not be allowed to tell the Goa’uld who he and Teal’c were. Or who Vala wasn’t.

“What happens now?” Qetesh asked her First Prime.

“They may attack from the air, my Queen. Or they may leave and come back with reinforcements.”

Mitchell frowned. They couldn’t just run off and leave the natives to fend for themselves. They needed to rid the planet of the Goa’uld and set up a trade partnership for the naquadah and for the planet’s protection. With all the money problems on Earth, he wasn’t sure just how they were going to do that.

He knew one of them needed to go through the gate and send a message to the IOA, the Tok’ra or maybe the Jaffa – someone needed to help them and they needed someone with ships. Lots of ships.

“My Queen, we should make contact with your armies off planet,” Mitchell finally said to Vala.

She nodded. “You may do so, C’amron. I will retire to my apartments for now.” With that pronouncement, she rose and waited for all to bow before her, then swept from the room. Her serving girl followed as well as her second in command, Teal’c.

Cameron made his way to the Stargate. He dialed the gate and waited to talk through the camera on the M.A.L.P. He detailed to General Landry what was happening and what they needed.

“I’ll do what I can. Check back in six hours, Mitchell.”

It wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear but it was all General Landry could do at this point so he went back to the palace and reported to the others.

Carter suggested Mitchell go check with resident Goa’uld about what was circling overhead. If the Lucian Alliance attacked from the sky now, there was not much they could do but if they landed another wave, they’d have at least as much chance as before.

Before he left the room, Mitchell looked at Vala. “If I’d known we’d have this much trouble, I’d have closed the door in your face when you showed up at my house!”

Vala simply grinned at him.

*

Teal’c had made it to the Stargate for the next call with Landry and the news had been mixed. The Jaffa had agreed to send a few ships but they didn’t have but a handful to spare for such a mission. The Tok’ra, as they normally did, made excuses as to why they could do nothing. Landry had opted not to say anything to the IOA. He felt it would be just borrowing trouble to do so yet. They had enough trouble as it stood.

The skies had been quiet. The Goa’uld reported that the ships were still orbiting the planet but nothing more.

SG-1 met back in Vala’s apartments. She’d removed her voice device finally and sounded like herself.

“We probably should have never come here,” she said as they all ate the delicious native dishes the palace cooks made for them. The food was much like Greek or Middle Eastern food on Earth and everyone seemed to be too hungry to waste any effort on speech for the time being.

Mitchell finally looked at her and stated, “I wondered when you were going to come to that conclusion.”

“On the other hand, I think you’ll find the treasures worth the trouble. Provided we make it out alive.”

“That’s the catch, isn’t it?” Cam said to her in a way that came out kinder than the words sounded.

After they’d eaten, Teal’c and Carter rose. “We’ll be going to our house. Send someone for us if you need us, either of you,” Carter said as she followed Teal’c out the door.

Mitchell gathered up all the dishes and stacked them on the tray so the serving girls would have an easier time removing them.

“Put your voice back in, my Queen.”

Vala yawned. “I think not tonight. Go ahead and sleep on Carter’s cot. It’s been a long day.”

The last thought he has before he drifted to sleep was just that, it had been a very long day.

~~~



Chapter Seven – Surprise, Surprise!

Daylight brought few changes. Vala woke early and donned her god clothes and her voice synthesizer. Today she would hear disputes among her people and would offer her judgment as their god and ruler. Mitchell couldn’t forget that this woman had let an entire planet be her slaves long after her Goa’uld had been removed.

But she’d been through a lot since then.

She’d given birth to what amounted to a real god and seen her grow into one of the most evil beings their galaxy had known. He cringed when he thought of the beautiful Adria, a creature created from Ori and human to enable the Ori to use the energy of millions of believers to assure themselves power and immortality. A creature who was zealous in her belief that the entire galaxy would follow her or be destroyed.

In light of those facts, Vala wasn’t nearly as scary after all.

Teal’c and Sam arrived shortly after Vala got up and Sam fetched food from the kitchen for all, not just Vala. They planned their day, which revolved around Qetesh’s duties as Queen. Mitchell and Teal’c would guard her as she heard cases and Carter would try to slip away to the M.A.L.P. and talk to General Landry again.

Other than that, it was wait and see… or wait and hope the Lucian Alliance was content to sit in orbit until reinforcements arrived from Earth or somewhere give them a hand.

*

The court was like small claims court in costume. This guy stole that guy’s mule… wife… axe… and that guy wanted it back or at least something to ease the pain of losing his mule, wife or axe. Cam was impressed with Va - Qetesh’s fairness when dealing with the people.

It took several hours as many people waited for judgment. Not all were happy but all did comply peacefully and left the audience without incident. When she was done with her duties, Mitchell and Teal’c escorted the queen back to her apartments.

“Now what?” Mitchell asked.

“Now we find my treasure and get out of here.”

“We can’t leave these people to fight alone.”

“If we find my treasure, they won’t have to fight alone. We must beat the Lucian Alliance to it. For this planet’s sake. For Earth’s sake.”

She would say no more, even when Mitchell questioned her.

Carter arrived back soon after.

“The Jaffa are on their way but not many of them. Master Bra’tac is leading them. They will contact us as soon as they are close enough.”

Mitchell spoke. “They can’t hope to get through the alliance without being detected, can they?”

“Well, they can use their cloaking devices to get in but that won’t work for long,” Carter answered him.

Vala broke in. “They won’t have to maintain secrecy for long. We need to get out of the village and into the mountains. Now.”

They all looked at her.

“What is there?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

None of them were happy that Vala would say no more but they began to get ready to get out of the village. They all changed into the clothing that the villagers wore, though they did keep their weapons. Teal’c went out to find some sort of transport, a wagon perhaps would do, since they didn’t want to be recognized.

“We can’t leave Baal here,” Carter pointed out. “He’ll sing like a bird to anyone who will listen and I’m sure the Lucian Alliance will be glad to hear what he has to say.”

“Aw, do we have to take him along?” Mitchell asked, almost in jest.

Carter smiled and shrugged. “Can’t be helped. Maybe we can gag him so we don’t have to listen to that mouth.”

“Who knew his host was as big of an ass as the Goa’uld was.” Mitchell said.

In the meantime, Teal’c returned with a wagon pulled by two horses. He’d borrowed it from a livery near the edge of the village. It was big enough for them all to ride in easily.

Once they were ready and had their prisoner properly quieted, they sneaked out a back entrance to the Queen’s apartments. The Goa’uld always had various and secret ways in and out of their buildings.

They were headed for the mountains within half an hour. It seemed they had made a good escape and were making good time. Mitchell just hoped they were moving fast enough.

Vala told Teal’c where to go as they found a narrow road at the foot of the mountain. The mountains were rolling hills so the roads were not terribly steep, just winding around and around. It took several hours to wind their way up into the hills and out of sight of civilization.

They came to a fork in the road and Vala indicated that they should go to the left. They rode for another hour or so and saw a metal door in the side of a hill beside the road. It was partially covered with vines and growth from the surrounding forest. It looked as if it had not been disturbed in quite a while.

“Hide the wagon and let’s clear away the brush,” Vala told Mitchell and he obeyed as if he were her Jaffa in actuality.

Once the doorway was cleared, Vala entered a code on the keypad lock and pushed it inward. They all followed her in, Teal’c guarding Baal in the rear.

As soon as they were inside the door, Mitchell’s jaw dropped. He knew what Vala’s treasure was.

It was a Goa’uld mothership hidden under the mountain.

~~~


Chapter Eight – Take Me to Your Mothership

“Vala! Where did you get this?” Cam asked.

“Qetesh was a System Lord, Mitchell. She had resources. She had to protect them. This is what Goa’uld use to protect their resources.”

Cam was thunderstruck.

“There is a small fleet to go with it as well. We just need enough pilots to fly them all.”

“We can worry about a fleet later. We need to fire this mothership up and get rid of the Lucian Alliance,” Cam said.

“We need to wait on the Jaffa then we can attack them and get rid of them,” Carter reminded him.

They began to explore the mothership and found their way to the bridge. Vala pressed a few buttons and the lights began to come on all over the ship. She grinned at a handcuffed and gagged Baal. “Is this what you were looking for, my love?”

He made as if to lunge for her but his bonds prevented it. His eyes flashed almost as if he still carried a Goa’uld.

“Mitchell, there are several Death Gliders onboard as well.”

Cameron smiled. He did love to fly! He couldn’t wait to try one out.

“We can’t all stay here though. The villagers need someone to lead them as well,” Vala reminded them as each one was busy looking around the bridge.

They all turned and looked at Vala, stunned that she was the one with the selfless thought this time. Or any time for that matter. She grinned and shrugged.

“I can’t hang around with you all the time without some of it rubbing off on me, now can I? Teal’c, come back to the village with me. Mitchell, you and Carter get this thing up and ready to go at our signal. There ought to be some hand held communication devices somewhere.”

She rummaged around the bridge and came up with several of the small devices and gave one to Teal’c and one to Carter. She ducked her head and darted over to Mitchell and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Good luck!”

And Vala and Teal’c were gone, leaving Carter, Mitchell and their prisoner on board Qetesh’s treasured Ha’tak.

*

Mitchell sighed as he and Carter tested all the systems. It seemed Qetesh’s mothership was in fine shape, filled with fighters and weaponry and even a cache of durable food goods for a long journey for a full crew.

“Do we have a chance against the Lucian Alliance this time?” He asked Carter.

Sam shrugged. “Vala has a way about her. If the Jaffa show up in time, yeah, I think we stand a chance.”

“Do you think she has any other surprises out there? Another planet maybe?”

“One thing about Vala, you can never tell what she has up her sleeve. That’s the problem with her.”

Mitchell smiled. “That’s also the best thing about her.” ‘That and her legs,’ he thought to himself as he checked another system., but he didn’t dare say that aloud.

*

Master Bra’tac stood at the window on the bridge of the Jaffa Al’kesh. They were coming in cloaked but the ships in orbit around the planet were not cloaked. They were a mix of all sorts of ships from several different places but the majority of them were Goa’uld vessels. From what he’d gotten from Teal’c, the Lucian Alliance were the people manning these ships. There were quite a few of them.

He wondered if SG-1 had any firepower to aid them. He didn’t have enough ships in his small armada of cloaked vessels to win in a battle with this number of ships.

That did not mean he wouldn’t try though.

He cautiously settled into an orbit to watch, knowing that the other ships who’d come with him would do the same. Used to flying cloaked ships, they had plans for circumstances such as these.

Right now, they waited. It was the only safe and sensible thing to do.

*

Back in the village, Vala held court and told her people of the threat from the men orbiting their planet, asking them to aid her and her Jaffa in defense of their planet from the criminals who sought to take their livelihoods and maybe even their lives.

She was pleased to find that there were still some among the people who knew how to fly her ships. There had never been a huge contingent of Jaffa and even when Qetesh really was their Goa’uld God, she’d used native human pilots as well as her Jaffa and Goa’uld ones. She called on them now, giving them instructions to the mountains where Mitchell and Carter awaited them.

After her speech to her people, Vala turned to Teal’c. “Now what do we do?”

“Wait. The attack, when it comes, will most likely be from the ships in orbit, so getting men to fly what we have is the most important thing.”

“I hate not doing anything!”

Teal’c simply nodded in agreement. “As do I.”

*

The villager pilots reached the mountain and found their way in as Vala had instructed them. Cam was glad to have them though he wondered if they really knew how to fly the Death Gliders and the Al’keshes that were tucked into the mountain as well. He took them to their ships and had each man fire up the ship and tell him how to fly it before he was even half satisfied, for half satisfaction was all he got.

He made his way back to Carter in the Ha’tak.

“You can fly this thing all by yourself?” He asked, knowing the answer even as he said it. Carter was every bit the pilot he was, maybe more since she’d commanded a ship of her own in the Pegasus Galaxy.

“Yep, I’m good. You flying an Al’kesh or a Death Glider?”

“I’ll lead the gliders. The men said Teal’c will be back to lead the Al’keshes.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving Vala alone.”

“Me either but I’m not sure what else to do. She needs to be in the city. The people need her now. They do consider her their god and queen.”

“All right. I’ll take this one up as soon as Teal’c arrives back. With any luck at all, the Jaffa will be here soon to aid us at least a little.” She smiled at Mitchell and kissed his cheek. “Good luck, Col. Mitchell.”

“I have a feeling that we’re going to need it.”

And he was gone to the bay that held the deadly little fighters that the 302 had been patterned after.

~~~


Chapter Nine – Against All Odds

They were ready.

As ready as they’d ever be.

Mitchell was all set to lead his little squadron of Death Gliders while Teal’c was set to follow the Ha’tak out with his squadron of Al’keshes. The men who’d come to fly the ships had seemed to be rather fearless but that didn’t belay his own fears that they may not be up to the task.

Mitchell hoped that the Jaffa would be there as well. And sooner rather than later.

Carter began the process of bringing the Ha’tak out of the mountain and into the sky. The great pyramid atop the ship rose out of the mountain as soil and even trees fell from the sides, revealing the huge ship. As soon as they were far enough above the planet, the Death Gliders boiled out of it like angry little hornets. Behind it came the Al’kesh fleet, which disappeared as soon at it achieved a high enough altitude.

The battle for the planet had begun.

*

Master Bra’tac saw the mothership on his radar as soon as it began to rise from the surface.

“Get ready. They are coming up from the surface. They have a mothership,” he said to his co-pilot, knowing that the rest of the group would follow his lead and knowing they saw the same thing he did.

When all the ships had cleared the planet, Master Bra’tac decloaked and fell in with them, along with the other Jaffa ships under his command.

*

Carter immediately began targeting the larger of the enemy ships and blasting them out of the sky while Mitchell engaged the fighters with his own fleet. The Al’keshes went where needed, cleaning up here and there and escorting the mothership in her orbit of the planet.

The battle didn’t last long. The Lucian Alliance, though they had more ships, did not have as much weaponry as Qetesh’s fleet and their allies.

Mitchell and his fighter wing were relentless in their pursuit of the enemy fighters. He remembered the beatings he’d suffered at the hands of these men and the one time that being beamed away was the only thing that kept all of them from being killed by the Lucian Alliance. He showed them the same mercy they’d shown him and SG-1.

Sooner than anyone thought, it was over. The few remaining ships had surrendered or escaped into space. Bra’Tac and the Jaffa rounded up any stragglers and relieved them of their ships.

Before nightfall, Mitchell was able to report to Qetesh back down on the planet that the battle was done and they’d been victorious. It was time to deal with the Goa’uld and time to figure out what to do with Baal.

But first, it was time to celebrate their victory.

*

The citizens pulled out all the stops. The streets were lined with tables of food and brightly colored banners. The area in front of the palace was filled with cheering and celebrations as the people waited for their queen to speak to them.

When Mitchell had arrived at the palace, he was escorted to Vala’s apartments immediately. A huge grin split her face as he approached her.

“You did it!” She grabbed him and hugged him hard. He returned the favor, lifting her into his arms, swinging her around and kissing her before he even realized what he was doing. When he did realize what he’d done, he set her down.

“Shy? You?” Vala teased.

“Just got a little carried away.”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I must speak to the people.”

“What will you tell them?”

“That they have done a fine job of defending themselves and are to be congratulated. I will tell them that they are now mature enough to have their own government, under my tutelage, of course, and that we have a wonderful new market for their naquadah as well. So they need not worry about being poor again.”

She straightened her clothes and stepped out of her apartments and onto her dais. She began to speak.

“My people – I am very proud of you this day. You have defended yourself against a formidable enemy and you have prevailed. I believe now that you are ready to govern yourselves. You no longer need a queen to oversee your everyday lives. I will send advisors to help you get your government started and I will certainly visit as often as I can but you are a people who have earned your freedom. Our Jaffa allies have recently earned their own freedom and will help you as well. ”

No one was sure what the reaction of the crowds was going to be but they were elated as she detailed the plans she had made for their benefit and they cheered long after she’d finished speaking and returned to her rooms.

Carter had remained aboard the Ha’tak. She meant to fly it back to Earth. The SGC would get its mothership this time. Teal’c and Bra’tac were still with their fleets as well though all but Carter would be planetside soon.

Vala turned to Cam as she closed the door to the outside world.

“Thank you for coming here with me, Cameron.”

“But what about your treasure? You ended up sending most of your treasure to the SGC or giving it back to the people.”

“What’s the big deal about a little treasure? I’ve lost and found more treasure than you can even imagine and you know what?”

Mitchell shrugged, having no idea what she was about to say.

“The day I marched through your Stargate looking for Daniel was the day I found real treasure… I found all of you. My friends.”

Mitchell laughed. “You are so full of crap, Vala Mal Doran!”

“Well, I do have a few jewels in a box hidden in my trunk.”

“That’s the Vala we know and love!”

She laughed and rang for her dinner. “Want to join me?”

“Why not? I am your First Prime, after all.”

~~~

Chapter Ten – All’s Well That Ends Well

Qetesh’s planet was a beehive of industriousness the nest few days as the SGC came in to help start the planet on its road to independence while the Goa’uld were delivered to the Tok’ra to have their hosts removed.

Baal was sent back to them too even though they didn’t want him. No one wanted the handsome rogue and the Tok’ra literally drew the short straw where he was concerned. Mitchell was sure they’d not seen the last of the sneaky rascal.

Mitchell seldom left Vala’s side since they were keeping up the charade that she was still System Lord Qetesh. Everyone suspected that the people knew she wasn’t really the same person she was before but no one said anything to the contrary so they all played along.

On the day before they were scheduled to leave aboard the Ha’tak, Vala called Mitchell into her rooms.

“I want to ask you a question.”

“Fire away,” was his answer.

“Did you mean to kiss me the other day?”

“Uh, well it kinda just happened.”

“Kiss me now, Cameron.” She moved toward him and instinctively, he backed up but he couldn’t back far because the wall stopped him. What could he do?

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “You are the most aggravating woman in the world,” he mumbled as he kissed her a second time.

“I know. I really am but-”

“Shut up, Vala.”

“I’m shutting-” The next kiss did shut her up and it was quite some time before anyone said anything intelligible in Qetesh’s bedchamber.

*

General Landry was thrilled with Vala’s prize but not so much with the fact that they’d had to fight a war on an alien planet in the name of a fake Gao’uld Queen. Still and all, things turned out rather well.

The people of Qadesh had newfound freedom and enough naquadah in the ground to keep their economy going for many, many years. The SGC had a Ha’tak and a fleet of Goa’uld ships along with more technology than they’d ever captured before. The galaxy had almost no Goa’uld left. The capture of Baal had probably hogtied what was left of the Trust for a while and the Lucian Alliance was a shadow of its former self, having lost a good portion of its offensive capability and many of its members.

Daniel Jackson was back from his assignment and was genuinely interested in some of the artifacts they’d brought back in Qetesh’s stash. He was there at the debriefing after the mission was finally done.

“So what kind of Qetesh was she this time?” Jackson asked Mitchell.

Mitchell didn’t say anything for a long time then with a rather wistful grin, he answered, “She was the kind of queen any man would be proud to serve, Jackson. She was great.”

Daniel laughed, not really believing a word Mitchell said. He didn’t catch the wink that Vala gave Cameron after he spoke.

Mitchell thought to himself that she might end up with Jackson some day but for a few hours on a planet far away, she’d been his queen, all his. And that thought made him smile even more.

~end~