fan fiction: finding home chapter 2
If you missed Chapter One, find it here.
Chapter Two--The Betrayal
2012
Cameron had been right about the pre-death torture. The Alliance wanted to make examples of them.
Their poor team leader looked almost as bad as he had after tangling with Replicator Merrick on the Odyssey.
Daniel and Teal'c hadn't been returned to the cell yet. But Vala could hear Teal'c's anguished roars.
Anything that could make the Jaffa sound like that couldn't be good.
No one had come for Vala yet, and she wondered why. Maybe it was the Matthias she knew, and he remembered his debt to her.
She'd like to talk to him-she had a rather different payment in mind.
One of the guards approached the cell, dragging Daniel in tow. The archaeologist was in similar shape to Cameron. The guard threw him unceremoniously against the wall and turned to Vala. "Your turn. The boss is eager to see you."
Marvelous. Vala was eager to see him too.
Matthias was seated in a grand dining hall, an elaborate meal spread before him. "Ah, Vala, my dear. Do come join me."
Vala took a seat and eyed him expectantly.
Sipping his wine, Matthias gave her an assessing glance. "I never expected to see you with the likes of SG-1. Running some sort of long-game con, are you?"
Could she convince him of that? Get them released and meet up with them later? It was worth a shot. "Something like that, yes. They're worth quite a lot. And although they end up captured a fair amount, none's ever been able to hold them."
"Which is why I have no intention of doing so for long," Matthias said. "A quick kill is far more efficient. And then I'll be catapulted to the very top of the Alliance heap."
"Listen, you owe me. You know you do. And you know that you've let it go for so long that I can pretty much demand whatever I want from you now." No matter how loose the morals of the Alliance and its members might be, there was a certain honor code. Debts were always repaid, and favors were always called in.
"All right then. Make your demands. I have a fair idea what they'll be."
"Let me sell SG-1. I have a contact who'll pay top-price-all that you paid that bounty hunter and much more. You'll turn a tidy profit. I'll only take twenty percent."
"I profit far more by killing them. Especially after you take your cut."
"You owe me," she said again.
"So I do. Fine. Get in touch with your contact. And you get twelve percent, no more."
Vala made a show of rolling her eyes. "Oh, all right." She stood to leave. "I'll begin making arrangements."
"Not yet, my dear." Matthias leaned forward. "You see, I don't actually believe you're doing any sort of 'long game.' You're setting your friends free, not selling them off to a higher bidder. And I'll let you do that, because I do owe you, and it's what you've requested as payment. But don't for a minute think I've fallen for it."
Damn. Why couldn't real life serve up villains as stupid as the ones in Tau'ri fiction? "I supposed I should have known you wouldn't."
"Yes. You should have. Think carefully, Vala. I'll release your friends. But you won't be going with them. And I'm going to make sure that in the end they won't have wanted you to. No matter what payment you manage to negotiate for them, it will not compare to the gains I would have made in Alliance standing for their execution. So you will make up the difference."
"How?" She barely got the word out.
Matthias smiled, a cold, calculating smile. "Sit back down. I'll fill you in."
###
Knowing there was no other way out, Vala went along with Matthias's plan. She allowed him to remove her subcutaneous tracker, and she "sold" Daniel, Cameron, and Teal'c to Narain, making sure Narain knew to let them go as soon as they were away from Matthias's ship. "Don't make it look too easy," Vala told her old associate. "But don't really hurt them either. And let them get away."
And she made sure her team knew she'd betrayed them. The initial contact with Narain, where she explained the real plan, was done away from the others. But she made a second call in front of them, pretending to sell them to save her own neck, haggling to get the best price. She openly flirted with Matthias, allowing him to touch and kiss her and ignoring Daniel's growing displeasure. Vala also negotiated with Matthias a hefty percentage of his future profits. If she had to join him, he'd damn sure make it worth her while.
Cameron pleaded, Daniel shouted, Teal'c stood silent and disapproving. But in the end they were led to the rings. Narain's ship was in range now. "Sorry, darling. Guess I couldn't keep up the act any longer. Never was any good at being a good girl." Vala's tone was bored and uncaring. Matthias wanted this done properly. SG-1 had to buy this.
Apparently they did. "Vala, no!" Daniel shouted as she activated the rings.
And then they were gone. Matthias smirked in triumph. "Nicely done, my dear. I didn't think you could pull it off."
"I've always pulled it off when it mattered," she answered coldly.
"Quite so. I expect you to keep doing just that. I'll enjoy reaping the benefits."
Vala hated his smugness, but for now she was stuck. She'd bide her time until an opportunity to escape arose.
And truth be told, as much as she loved working with the SGC and being part of the "good guys," Vala still had no qualms about lying, cheating, or stealing. She had no intention of staying with the jerk a minute longer than necessary, but it was still kind of fun to put her old skills to use again for a while.
At least she was alive and her teammates were safe. It hurt too much to think about how they must hate her now, but they were okay and that was really all that mattered.
She carefully saved her earnings from the various schemes Matthias had going, but it was about six months before her chance to get away arose.
Vala was meeting a contact on the fourth moon of Torrell. The guy was a ridiculously easy mark. She had him off doing Matthias's bidding far more quickly than should've been possible. But that gave her extra time. She got herself into a high-stakes card game and won enough to buy information.
The information led to a highly successful swindle of an important member of the nobility.
That got her a ship.
Not much of a ship, but she could make it work. Another quick stop to purchase a cloaking device, and she was on her way.
She couldn't return to the SGC, but she could still go back to Earth. For now, that was enough.
Continue on to Chapter 3.