Smoke
By: sleepie_kid
CATEGORY: Alternate Universe, Angst, Romance
WARNINGS: None
AUTHOR’S NOTES: This started like an obsession about Bonnie & Clyde (Romeo & Juliet in a getaway car), and since I am the biggest fan of AUs (not that I don’t love the show deeply, don’t get me wrong), I took the liberty to develop this into a Daniel/Vala story. Atm I’m not sure about anything concerning this story, so I’d love to hear what you think. Now enough with the babbling, enjoy.
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:
http://sleepie-kid.livejournal.com/
PROLOGUE: Smoke
The smell of beer and
smoke hit him like a concrete wall when he entered the gloomy bar at the end of
the street. A strange form of music was coming from a corner, the result of
drunken playing on a string-instrument. In spite the obvious delirium
experienced by the player, the music sounded quite good.
Tiredly, he plunged
himself into the nearest chair and looked for the waiter. Turning his head a
little, he caught the sight of her carrying a tray full of drinks to a table
making a lot of noise in the back of the bar. He frowned, never having liked
people who draw to much attention to themselves. Because whatever the case may
be, getting attention never turned out in his favor.
"Yes?"
Caught up in his own
recollections, he did't realize that the waitress had come over. Now she was
standing there, measuring him with her smoky eyes, hand on paper to take an
order.
"I'd like..
something." She tilted her head a little to the left.
"Well, we're out
of that," she mumbled, smiling briefly.
"Edible," he
finished. "Something to eat would be nice." Her hand ran quickly over
the page of the notebook.
"That I can bring
you. Drinks?"
"Yes, yes please.
Whatever's good with whatever you're bringing me." He turned his head
following a leaving guest with his eyes. The bar was emptying quickly. Must
have been some collective call to bed, he figured. Turning back, he saw the
waitress was gone.
Moments later she
returned with a full tray of treats, one more delicious that the other. But
most of them, he enjoyed the smile appearing on her lips when she saw the
obvious excitement he felt about the food. It had been to long, all of it.
That night he found
out her skin was smoky too.
CHAPTER 2: Ha’upu
Except for a lamp standing in the middle of the round table, the room was dim. Her fingernails made a hushed scratching-noise dragged along the metallic surface.
"You know, I think the two of them were made for each other. Like destiny or something." She looked up, dark lashes rounding in blue eyes. "And I admit it sounds silly, but how else would you explain everything the two of them managed to pull off together. It's like combining two matter streams of opposite energy levels, and getting a black hole as result."
"This is all very fascinating, Colonel, but would you care to share with me the location where they were last seen?" She frowned at the spoken rank, not having been 'colonel' in a while.
"The moons of Ha'upu." The lie was too carefully wrapped to be detected before having served its purpose.
"I am thankful for your cooperation, Samantha. We will notify you if anything else comes up." The door into the dark room opened, and two officers came in. That's at least what they preferred to be called; the militia of the galaxy, keepers of peace and justice. She cursed under her breath.
"These gentlemen will show you the way out." Without looking at them, she got up.
Outside the room Sam blinked repeatedly before her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Nearly all the walls of the station were made of glass. The people present ran around blindly, handing over reports and filing out different forms.
On her way towards the landing-platform, she managed to catch a glimpse of Cameron being escorted towards one of the interrogation rooms. They'd got him too. It didn't surprise her, not really. Suddenly, he turned his head and saw her looking at him. Her hair was longer, much longer then it had been the last time he'd seen her. She moved her lips slightly, but enough for him to understand what she meant. Code 11, location B - Ha'upu - clear as crystal. He made a short nod, and she was gone.
* * * *
The cargo bay of the
Ha'tak felt cold and unwelcoming, and he found himself comparing it to the
vastness of space around him. Even the blankets Vala had brought along for the
long trip didn't quite take the sharpness off it. Needles, was that the thing
it reminded him off? Icy needles drilling themselves into that place on his
lover back the blankets failed to cover?
Opening his eyes, he
shook it off and sat up a little. A short glance around the room was enough to ensure
him they were still moving. The slight pressure of her head in his lap was
enough to know that it was still deliberate. Reaching out from beneath the
blankets he stroke her hair gently. She moved a little in her sleep.
"Uhm,
Daniel?" Turning to lie on her back, she opened her eyes a little to look
at him.
"It's all right,
we're still in hyperspace, go back to sleep." She moaned saying something
he didn't quite catch, but dozed of without protesting. Eying her curled-up
form on the bench next to him, he came to remember how easy it had been for him
to get used to this constant running and hiding. A smile slowly spread across
his face.
He hadn't had the
slightest idea. For two months in her presence he couldn't even imagine that
she would turn out to be the person he knew her to be now. What were the odds
of stumbling upon a so-called notorious space-pirate on a planet barely even on
the map? Though he never asked her how he got there or why. It was like the
golden ring on her ring-finger - it didn't really matter. She was there, with
him now, turning out to be the most important alliance the surviving Tau'ri had
made since Delta-site became their permanent home. Knowing the back-doors to
almost everything and everyone, he didn't argue that she had been useful to
them, but his own reasons for staying with her this long were not of tactical
use only. They were just so much more than that.
Suddenly, a jolt went
through the ship, sending most of the people standing in the cargo bay to the
ground. Catching a falling Vala, Daniel overheard several others complaining
about the fact that the Ha'taks used for transporting refugees were done for
long ago, and should be exchanged. Refugees, he tasted the words. Well, the
cover did suite them.
"What's- what's
going on?" A sleepy Vala got to her feet hiding a yawn behind gloved
hands.
"We're here.
Delmak." Picking up their bags Daniel headed for the rings, closely
followed by Vala. Well inside the circle he stopped, giving her a chance to
rest her head on his shoulder from behind.
"You know, if
someone told me six months ago that I would be shipping to the home-world of
Sokar, I'd swear that person was crazy and had him locked up." The
sentence was cut in half by the transporter, and the last part was said in whisper
as the group emerged on the surface of the once sinister world. Picking up
their bags, the two of them walked out of the ring-lobby and strode off through
the busy streets of the capital.
As they ducked into a
narrow ally between two main streets, Daniel suddenly froze at the sound of a
voice he once wished he'd never hear again.
"Doctor Jackson.
What a pleasant surprise." The smirk was present in every word. Vala's
eyes widened.
"Netan."
Daniel's hand slowly turned to reach for the gun within his robes.
"Don't bother,
Doctor. My men will have you both holed out nicely," the smirk widened,
"before you have the chance to act on your stupidity."
Moments of tense
silence went bye without any movements on either side. Thinking quickly, Daniel
dropped the bags to the floor, turning to Vala.
"RUN!"
His scream echoed in
the narrow streets. As did the sound of bullets and energy blasts.
CHAPTER 3: Breathe
"Please state your full name."
"Cameron Mitchell."
"Your current rank and allegiance, please."
Mitchell rolled his eyes, looking at the interrogator as if he was a crazy person. "Oh, come on," he spat. "This isn't why I'm here, so bring it." The interrogators exchanged looks.
"What can you tell us of the current whereabouts of Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran?"
"What I can tell you and what I want to tell you are two different things, Lucian." The words were spoken recklessly, telling the interrogators nothing but the mere fact that their subject was not willing to cooperate. Before they could respond, he spoke.
"A long time ago he told me of how he first met her. It was on this planet, primitive thing. Didn't even have a gate. He had no idea who she was, and she didn't recognize him at once either. It's actually a quite funny story that after a while got pretty messy." He took turns in eying the men. "That's kinda of why I'm here now, yes?"
"Their whereabouts, Mr. Mitchell." Cameron looked to the floor for a brief moment, repeating his promise to Sam over and over in his mind.
"What was the damn name again. Ha'upu? At least Hapu-something." Throwing a quick glance at them, he folded his arms across his chest. "Some time ago. A moon I think. And don't pretend like you've not already gotten their last transmission."
"Your...friends have a history of tapping with the coordinates, Mitchell. We would appreciate your cooperation."
"Sure you would." He looked away. The two interrogators exchanged looks once more before they both got up and left the room. Cameron took a quick look around, and finding nothing unusual except for the mirror he knew went one way, he sighed. The Lucians were getting to him.
As if the fact that the people of Earth had been vaporized
by the armies of the Orici wasn't enough, the Lucian Alliance had to use the
remains of the scorched planet to blow up the ships in orbit, and demand
control of all the other worlds, serving as a form of policemen throughout the
remains of the unconverted Milky Way. With Dakara gone, there had been no
collective force to resist them, but the rest of the free
Bre'tac said that all they had to do now was wait for the last battle between two evils, in patience. The scattered remains of SGC did not agree, and on general Landry's orders SG1 had done what they had to survive.
Suddenly, the door opened and Mitchell turned to face the newcomer.
"Your information checks out. You are free to leave." The man in the doorway was wearing a Lucian uniform that indicated he was high up in the system. Noticing the odd look Mitchell was giving him, he added: "But do not for a second believe that we will not lock you up if we ever encounter you again." Mitchell snorted. Had they only known.
"No hard feelings. Bigger fish to catch, ey?" With a short grin, he left the interrogation room heading for the landing-platform.
* * * *
What he remembered
best was the silence. It was as if the world had ended, and they just sat there,
to shocked to move, to shocked to talk, to shocked to breathe. But they were
all thinking, thinking exactly the same thing: they had survived. Miraculously,
barely, against all the odds in the unending universe - but they had. And then
Sam had cried. Without sobs or hyperventilation, breathing silently, with tears
streaming down her face. She cried so that they didn't have to.
* *
"You will speak,
Doctor, or you will die." Pain, darkness. More pain. Were the old
bullet-wounds acting up again, or had they made some new? Darkness.
* *
Neither of them slept
the first night, even though the days on Delta also came in 24 hours at a time.
He had found Mitchell in the gym, beating the crap out of a strangely distant
Teal'c. They didn't need attention. Sam said she didn't need any either, but he
knew that she had been listening to the last transmission from Stargate Command
over and over again for the better part of twelve hours. Realizing he couldn't
blame her, he told her that he wanted to hear it again too, and squeezed her
shoulder when Jack's voice screamed "shut it down, shut it down before
they get through". The next morning, Landry found them sitting in separate
chairs in the lab with the recording still running.
* *
"Tell us the
location of the new Tau'ri homeworld." This time, the pain didn't hurt as
bad as last time, but lasted quite longer. He passed out with his jaw still
clinched.
* *
When the sergeants
finally sorted out which boxes belonged to who, Daniel was surprised to find a
newspaper on top of the stack of books in his. Without reading it, he placed
the paper carefully on a shelf by itself, afraid it might cease to exist like
everything it stood for. Had the editor known that this would be the last words
ever printed beneath the blue skies of mighty Terra? What was he thinking
during his last hours? Did he cover his head before turning into history?
* *
"Acting brave,
are you? Come on, what good will it do you in the long run? Your planet it
dead, Doctor Jackson. You are saving none." Different voice, same pain.
His body shivered between seizures.
* *
It took only two days
to count and register all the remaining SGC-personnel and civilians that had gone
through the Gate before it closed. But it took almost a month before the
command and its new purpose was established. Daniel preferred staying in the
background for the better part of it, responding only to direct questions and
orders. And even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew the time for playing
peaceful explorers was over. Now came the time for putting an end to all of
this, and to do that they needed knowledge. It was then Landry suggested that
they do what an old ally of Earth had once done, and get to the Ori by
infiltration. The suggestion was well received, and the next day two large
letters were painted on the outside of the building: TO - tok'ori - in honor to
those who perished fighting a similar enemy.
* *
"If you are
hoping your friends will come for you, you are wrong, and they won't. Why won't
they? Because they are captured, like yourself, and that precious partner of
yours, Vala, you have no idea what we'll do to her if you don't-" The kick
Daniel sent to the interrogators head cost him his sight in return.
* *
Teal'c never lingered
on being responsible for having drawn the Ori to the galaxy. Loading his gun as
the Gate dialed, he said that eventually something else would have come along.
Daniel envied him that, but never stopped blaming himself for diciphering the
tablet that let them find the treasures of Avalon and the ancient communication-device.
Even though he hadn't been the one to take the sub space-train to Ver Eger, he
knew that without him, it would never have happened.
* *
"Daniel?" A
familiar voice reached him through the darkness that had now become constant.
He tried to move towards the sound of it, to answer, but gave up. It couldn't
be real, he was dreaming again.
"Daniel? Oh no,
what have they done to you." The sudden warmth of her palms against his
cheeks sent shivers through his body. "Open your eyes, Daniel.
Breathe." Was it? It couldn't be, it couldn't. Then a glowing yellow color
appeared in front of him, and suddenly he could see her, on her knees beside
him, holding a goa'uld healing-device, smoky eyes concerned and happy. He
kissed her before darkness took him away.
To be continued…
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