New fic: Deception
Title: Deception
Rating: T
Summary: A mysterious planet holds quite the adventure for SG-1 Daniel/Vala
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate and all that jazz...
Deception: Chapter 1
A/N: This story is dedicated to all of my twitter friends, but especially to spacegypsy1 and ShanksyMellark for the following prompts: funny, lost, fighting, loving, Vala confused, Daniel not confused, and alcohol.
Vala's POV
P4X-322, that is the name given to the next planet on our list of jaunts across the galaxy. This one shows some promise though. They sent the MALP through and we found a very advanced culture that is more than willing to meet us and set up some sort of diplomatic trade agreement. I am a little suspicious about this since I'm not really sure what Earth could possibly offer a culture such as the one that seems to be on the other side of the Milky Way.
"Vala! Hurry up! Everyone else is waiting for us at the gate!" Daniel yells at me from the other side of the door to my quarters like that will help make me pack faster.
"I'm coming! It takes time for a girl to pack for a whole week of inter-planetary travels ya know!"
Yep, a whole week of P4X-322 is in store for me and the rest of SG-1. A whole week of dull diplomatic discussion on trade alliances. I quickly shove some more BDUs and Jerry the giraffe into my pack before swinging open the door to an angry looking Daniel.
"Took ya long enough! Come on, let's get going!" He begins to pull me by my arm towards the gate room.
Ah Daniel, his aggressive side always shows through when I'm around. The man confuses me beyond reason. One minute he is nice and friendly and almost...loving to me and the next, total anger and frustration.
Don't get me wrong, I care about Daniel, a lot, but my feelings confuse me. I swore to myself a long time ago that I would never let a man get the best of me, but here I am caring about this man more than I probably should.
Before I know it we are through the stargate and on P4X-322. I am on edge right away by the sight that is before me. A huge city looms in the distance, tall skyscrapers littering the horizon and small flying vehicles flitting around everywhere. That's not what has me concerned though. It is the building right in front of the stargate with two doors labeled 'males' and 'females'. At first I thought it was some sort of public restroom or something, but I was quickly proven wrong.
A man and woman stood before us to greet us.
"Welcome to Trunthia! I am high chancellor Carvin and this is my wife Lilya."
"Nice to be here. I'm Lt. Colonel Mitchell, and this is Lt. Colonel Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and Vala. Should we start negotiations right away?" Cam took charge, stepping out in front of the rest of us.
Carvin and Lilya regarded Cam in alarm, before Lilya spoke up. "We have some...regulations on Trunthia that you will need to abide by before we can set up any negotiations."
Regulations? What was going on here?
Cam frowned. "What kind of regulations?"
Carvin took over for his wife. "Well, you see, we have a horrid disease here that has ravaged the planet. Ever since then we have had to screen all visitors before allowing them into the city. Most off-worlders do not show symptoms of the disease, but at least ten percent are carriers of it. Therefore, we will need to subject you all to tests to make sure that you are not carrying the disease."
Okay, just get me out of here now. No, seriously I mean it! I dislike testing of any sorts, but especially medical testing!
Teal'c came forward to speak next. "Does this disease affect Jaffa? Because I no longer carry a symbiote, I am on tretonin."
Carvin and his wife looked at each other nervously before responding. "Actually, Jaffa with or without a symbiote seem to carry the disease most often, for that reason, we must ask you to leave our planet."
Teal'c looked taken aback, but Daniel was outraged. "Excuse me? You are demanding that Teal'c leave here because he 'might' carry the disease? You just got done saying that we all might carry it!"
Carvin hesitated a bit before answering. "That is so. However, the rate of Jaffa carrying the disease is more like ninety percent compared to ten percent of human off-worlders. Also, many Jaffa have be shown to develop symptoms of the disease; we are only trying to protect him as well as ourselves."
I didn't believe them for a second, but before I could say a word, Teal'c bowed his head.
"I will leave, this mission is too important for all of you to miss out on because of me."
Apparently that was good enough for Cam because the next thing I knew, Cam and Daniel were being hauled off to the 'males' door and Sam and I were escorted to the 'females' door.
Inside was like an enlarged version of the infirmary at the SGC only with different machines.
Several people in starched white uniforms usher us to the center of the room.
"We will be testing you now. Please remove all of your clothing minus your underthings."
It's not that I have an issue with being almost naked in front of complete strangers (minus Sam of course), but to be put through all of the screenings and testings that we went through was almost humiliating. They took samples of our hair, skin cells, saliva, blood, and urine before we were done.
We pass the screenings and are taken back to Daniel and Cam who have passed as well.
However, before we can talk anything through with them, we are all whisked away to the fancy hotel for off-worlders.
Carvin leads us to two doors. "The room on the left is for the ladies, and the right is for the men. We serve meals all day downstairs in our dining hall; feel free to go down there whenever you would like. Also, in honor of our upcoming trade agreement, I would like you all to have several bottles of Trunthia's finest ale. I promise that you have never tried anything quite as tasty as this!"
He thrusts a case of bottles at Cam before taking his leave. "See all of you tomorrow afternoon at the city hall for negotiations!"
I can't take it anymore, I have to say something. "Don't you all think that all of this is just a little bit...wonko? I mean screening us for some odd disease and then putting us up in their fancy hotel with free alcohol?"
They all stare at me like I've grown horns or something before Daniel finally speaks up. "It is a little bit odd about the alcohol I guess, but I see no reason why they shouldn't screen us for carrying a disease that is rampant on this planet."
Sam and Cam nod in agreement.
Later on that evening, we are all in Daniel and Cam's room going over the negotiations when Cam decides we should try out the ale that Carvin gave us. It surprises me when he says this because I am supposed to be the irresponsible on one the team, not the commanding officer!
The drink that they give us is potent, to say the least. However, it isn't like the alcoholic beverages on Earth at all. It's fruity and fizzy without any of the harsh aftertaste of alcohol. Sam, Cameron, and Daniel have all had at least four helpings of the drink each, while I have just finished one. There is something...off about the people on this planet, something sinister and dark that I can't quite put my finger on, but I don't like it. I'm not sure what exactly is making me feel this way, but I definitely don't trust them.
"Vala! Why aren't you drinking with us? This stuff is great!" Sam tips her glass in the air at me and I stare at her in horror. She isn't even acting like herself anymore.
"I'm good, thanks." I try to force a smile at my friend as she pours herself another drink.
"Let's play strip poker!" Cam chuckles as he fumbles with the playing cards he keeps in his pack.
Strip poker sounds like fun to me, maybe it will set my mind at ease a bit. I doubt Daniel will play though, he can be such a prude at times.
"I'm in," Daniel says, and I wonder how many drinks he has actually downed. This isn't like him at all, in fact, none of my friends were acting as they should, especially on such an important mission.
Cam continues to fumble with the cards until I finally take them off of him and deal. The rounds go by quickly, and before I know it, we are all down to our shirts, pants, and underwear.
Daniel is the first to lose his shirt, I take a nice long look at his hairless chest and the hard planes of his abdomen. He is amazingly attractive and I was definitely taking advantage of being able to see him half naked.
The next round goes by in a flash and it is down to Sam and Cam.
"Read 'em and weep Carter!" Cam says as he places down a full house.
Sam smirks and places down four of a kind. "I believe you have lost Mitchell, now off with that shirt!"
I can't help but to giggle at their silly antics, but it is still so odd of them to be behaving in such a manner, and matters only get worse when Cam begins to pull of his shirt...and sing.
He lifts his black t-shirt over his head as he begins to sing. "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts!"
Sam and I nearly double over in laughter while Daniel gives a dazed smile. He's looking a little bit out of it.
"Are you okay Daniel?"
He scrunches up his face to look at me. "Hmm?...Wha?"
Yep, he's gone. Before I can tell him to get to bed, I hear a strange slurping sound and turn to see Cam and Sam kissing each other. They are practically sucking each others' faces off and I look back at Daniel to see what he thinks of all of this. However, the man has passed out already, his head slumped forward at an uncomfortable angle.
I have to stop this nonsense. "Cameron! Samantha! What are you two doing?!"
The two colonels look at me and then back at each other in confusion.
"I...I don't know...I'm sorry Sam." Cam shuffles away nervously.
Sam just nods and turns to help me get Daniel onto his bed.
I can't get off this planet soon enough. Everyone has gone absolutely wonko!
Chapter 2
I wake up the next day and am immediately surprised to see that Sam is still sleeping. She is usually the one who gets up bright and early and has to wake everyone else up.
Concerned, I walk over to her sleeping form.
"Sam?"
No response, I try shaking her instead.
"Mmph."
Ah, so she is alive, I try her name again. "Sam, wake up!"
One blue eye peeks open at me from beneath her sleep tousled hair.
"Vala?" She jumps to attention and regards me in an odd manner. "My head feels kinda funny."
Yeah, I'll bet it did after all of those drinks she consumed. "Well, you did drink a lot last night."
Sam slowly pushes herself off her bed and begins to get ready. "No, not like a 'drunk' or 'hangover' kind of feeling, more like a 'I don't remember much of what happened last night'."
"You don't remember anything?"
She sighs. "The last thing I remember is downing a few of those drinks Carvin gave us, then it starts to get very fuzzy. Did we play cards?"
Wait a second, she really doesn't remember playing strip poker or kissing Cam? "Umm...yes, yes we did."
I find it strange, very strange, that Sam does not recall the events of last night. I decide not to tell her about her and Cam's kiss; I know she would be mortified.
We get ready quickly and find the boys equally as blank minded as poor Sam. None of them seem to remember the drunken debacle that they got themselves into last night. Oh to have had a camera last night. Friendly blackmail never goes out of style.
We make our way to the city hall place and find Carvin, Lilya, and some other official looking people awaiting our arrival.
Carvin smiles at us. "You've arrived! Let's begin negotiations right away!"
The man seems like he is in a good mood, but I still don't trust him. He reminds me too much of someone I knew once in the Lucian Alliance. He was charming, but deadly.
Cam is rambling on and on about the negotiations and what we can offer them and they can offer us and blah, blah, blah. I'm incredibly bored already.
I try pestering Daniel since he is the one sitting next to me. I kick his foot a few times, but he ignores me. Time to try something else. I slowly side my foot up his leg and I hear his breath hitch. Ah, a reaction!
I smirk to myself as I draw my foot up towards his thigh.
"Vala," he turns and glares at me.
"Yes?" I try to give him my innocent look.
"What are you doing?" I can tell that he is trying to whisper so as not to alert anyone that we weren't paying attention.
I smile slyly at him, he is so much fun to annoy at times. "I'm bored. I'm going wonko just sitting here like this!"
"Well stop," he hisses, "this isn't for your amusement, it's for an important trade alliance!"
I roll my eyes at him before losing myself in a daydream.
The meeting goes on for hours. Eventually, a young man with dark hair and eyes enters and passes us each a glass of water.
I am thankful for the beverage, and since I am the only one not engrossed in trade negotiations, I thank him.
"Why thank you...uh?" I search for his name.
He blushes at me before answering. "Boro, and you're very welcome miss."
I smile at him. He is obviously smitten with me already, not that I can blame him. "I'm Vala," I reply to him before being rudely interrupted by Lilya.
"Boro! Stop bothering Miss Mal Doran! Go back to work!"
I open my mouth to defend the poor man, but the negotiations start before I can get out one word.
It is in the late evening when we finally get done, and new trade alliance seemingly imminent, we head to the restaurant type thing that is on the first floor of our hotel.
Trunthian ale is served with our dinner, but I abstain and go for water instead.
"Hey, don't you guys think we should lay off of the alcohol?"
Cam chuckles at me. "Why should we Princess? It doesn't seem to give us a hangover or anything."
What the hell is wrong with him? "Yes, but you don't seem to remember much about anything you've done after two or more servings."
Daniel huffs his annoyance at me. "Your point being? We are fully aware of the important things like how our trade alliance is coming along. Who cares if we can't remember what we've done at night?"
Sam and Cam nod in agreement to Daniel and they clink their glasses together. I swear that every one of them has gone absolutely wonko. Why is it that I am the only one who sees an issue with the side effects of the ale? Why can't I seem to quell the feeling that something is terribly wrong here?
Carvin and Lilya join our dinner and announce that there will be a party right after we eat to celebrate our upcoming alliance.
The 'party' that they speak of ends up being loud music and dancing. The ale has already taken effect in Cam, Sam, and Daniel, and the three of them are out on the dance floor making fools out of themselves trying to mimic the dancing of the native Trunthians.
I just sit by myself and wish that I could have fun like the rest of my team. However, the feeling of unease that I have had since we first arrived has only strengthened.
"Miss Mal Doran?"
I turn at the sound of my name and see the young servant boy, Boro. "Yes?"
He looks down at me with obvious concern in his eyes. "You are not partying with your friends?"
"No, I really don't feel like it."
"Oh, so I guess you haven't had any Trunthian ale?"
What exactly was this man getting at? "Umm, no. I don't care for it."
Boro grabs my hand and starts to pull me up towards him. I wrench myself away in alarm. "What are you doing?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down...I need to show you something."
Why I decide to follow Boro remains to be seen, but I do. He leads me out of the room and down the street to a large building near the center of the city.
"Where are you taking me?"
He whips around and faces me. "I'm trying to save your life."
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to post this second chapter. I had some issues with it and needed time to figure some things out. Please review! :)